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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Supreme Court Justice Souter to Retire (Legacy Will be as a Liberal, Despite Republican Appointment)

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 10:38 PM

NPR is reporting that Supreme Court Justice David Souter will retire at the end of the court's current term.

This will obviously give Barack Obama his first court pick.

Clearly, Souter's legacy was in being yet another missed opportunity for a Republican president to move the court to the right.

In 1992, for example, Souter provided the pivotal fifth vote for abortion in the famous Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.

The fact that Souter -- who, at 69, is far from the oldest member on the court -- has chosen to depart so early in Obama's term (as opposed to late in Bush's term) -- underscores the mistake George H.W. Bush made in appointing him to the bench.

Bush Chief of Staff John Sununu vouched for Souter's conservatism and persuaded Bush to appoint him.

The good news for conservatives is that, because Souter was so liberal, his departure is unlikely to change the makeup of the court. It does, however, give Obama the opportunity to pick an even younger Justice who might be around for many years to come.

There is speculation that Obama will appoint a woman to replace Souter.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Well, What's the Difference?

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 10:38 PM

It's being reported that Justice David Souter is going to retire. Accordingly, the President will get his first Supreme Court pick, and given his views and the heavy Dem tilt in the Senate, it's likely to be a very lefty one.

Well, same difference. Souter -- appointed by President George H.W. Bush -- has been one of the most predictably left-wing (and intellectually undistinguished) votes on the Court (thank you, John Sununu).

Sure, a new member may change the "chemistry" of the Court, but it's not likely to change the outcome of many votes. It doesn't strike me as likely that Chief Justice Roberts, or Justices Thomas, Scalia and Alito are likely to be "seduced" by a charismatic new liberal in the way that Justices Souter and O'Connor were, early in their careers, by Justice Brennan. (Anthony Kennedy, of course, is anyone's guess.)

It's been relatively well-known that Souter was ready to retire for some time. In a final graceless move, he apparently wanted to make sure that the son of the man who appointed him wouldn't have the chance to appoint his successor.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

If Mark Steyn's Book Were A YouTube Video...

Posted by: Greg Hengler at 6:13 PM

So far, this video has 1,232,787 views! Devastating. Just devastating. More so when it is condensed to seven and a half minutes. Don't think there is not a direct correlation to the much touted polls showing a decline in faith to the decline in birthrates. Hedonism is the wide path and a greater number of us Western "civilized" folk are choosing to walk it. Problem is, Muslims are walking in the opposite direction on an even wider path.

The summation of this video is this: You can't fight something (faith in Allah) with nothing (faith in whatever god you created). Your god may be good -- in your eyes -- but what does he call you to do? What does he say about persecution? What does he say about dying? What does he say about giving birth? What does he say about other faiths or non-faiths? Whether you believe in Christ or not, the Christian God has a lot to say about all these questions, and has answers to all these predicaments.

The results of Western Civilization's choice to abandon the Judeo-Christian God speak louder than a million Christopher Hitchens' and Oprah Winfrey's. I pray for real change. I pray that God softens our hardened hearts so that we may receive Him. It's ours -- and our kids -- only hope.

Afterthought: This video does not even discuss the number of abortions performed in the United States alone since 1973: 40 million. Consider the number of children these aborted babies would have had. Consider too, that Muslims don't abort their children.

HatTip to HotAir for providing me with the perfect title.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

World Health Organization Drops Label 'Swine Flu' For 'H1N1 influenza A'

Posted by: Greg Hengler at 5:59 PM

When clarity counts, you can count on the World Health Organization. Their reasoning rests with the likes of PETA: they want to protect pigs.

This relabeling reminds me of what Thomas Sowell wrote in his Tuesday column: "President Obama can ban the phrase "war on terror" but he cannot ban the terrorists' war on us." The same theory can be applied to this. The renaming of the "Swine Flu" does nothing to stop the virus from entering us. But, like the terrorists, at least the pigs will no longer be offended.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Carrie Prejean & 'National Org For Marriage' Make 'No Offense' Ad

Posted by: Greg Hengler at 5:39 PM

In the same-sex marriage debate--as in politics--power trumps knowledge and common sense. The governing characteristic of the gay advocate groups is their ability to leverage power with political correctness. This ad attempts to wrest away a jot of power from the Perez Hilton's of the world.

BTW: If you want a good laugh surrounding this serious Perez vs. Prejean topic, Mike Adams provides in his "My Apology To Perez Hilton" column today.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Conservative Twitter Hashtag Breaks Up

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 5:20 PM

Top conservatives on Twitter -- including yours truly (@mattklewis) -- have been using the #tcot hashtag when posting our Tweets.

(For those not on Twitter, hashtags allow others to quickly search for like-minded people or topics. For example, a post about Rush Limbaugh would be tagged #Rush and a post about the President might be tagged #Obama. The #tcot tag has been valuable in helping conservatives on Twitter network with each other)

Conservative blogger Bill Beutler even speculated that hashtags were the key to conservative success on Twitter.

But now, there is trouble in #tcot world. As TPM reports,

The #tcot movement is (or was) the brainchild of conservative activists Rob Neppell and Michael Patrick Leahy. Together, the two created #tcot-themed websites, and when the idea went viral, it seemed like they had a good thing going.

... And then today, everything came to a head. "I do not feel comfortable continuing to operate...with a partner who deliberately refuses to communicate with me on fundamental issues," a scorned Nessel wrote an his now defunct website.

Rob Neppell (@rneppell -- formerly known as N.Z. Bear) is a well-known conservative blogger. He apparently took the Top Conservatives on Twitter website (which ranked conservatives on Twitter based on followers and other criteria) down earlier today (you can read his message here). Michael Patrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) -- now his nemesis -- seemed to come out of nowhere. Right now, the battle is being fought over Twitter, where Leahy vows to put the site back up and Neppell says this would violate their agreement. (What are the odds this is a publicity stunt??)

Of course, this doesn't prevent conservatives from using the #tcot hashtag for search-ability reasons, but it is an interesting story -- especially considering the backdrop of conservative and Republican infighting. Even our hashtags can't get along ...

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Steele Campaign Consultants Got RNC Contracts

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 3:59 PM

http://traceyricksfoster.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/michael-steele_1250564c.jpg

During the RNC Chairman's race, I was the first to raise the issue of Michael Steele's many consultants -- and the likelihood that they would be granted RNC contracts (it is not uncommon for a chairman to bring his team with him).

Over at the Atlantic, Marc Ambinder has posted FEC data showing that Steele did, in fact, give RNC contracts to his campaign consultants.

The numbers -- so far -- aren't terribly shocking (though some might think $30K to one consultant for three months of staff consulting is generous) -- but it will be interesting to see how things look when all the NY-20 numbers are reported.

More important, though, is that RNC officials are apparently concerned about Steele's handling of the RNC's purse strings -- inasmuch as (according to the WaTimes) several "top RNC officers have presented Mr. Steele with a resolution, calling for a new set of checks and balances on the chairman's power to dole out money."

(Cross-posted at PoliticsDaily.com.)

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Putting It in Terms the Cultural Left Can Understand

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 3:57 PM

With much of the cultural left, it all seems to always come down to condoms -- so let's put the swine flu issue in terms they can appreciate.

Janet Napolitano says that because swine flu is already in the United States, there's little point to closing the border.

But, as a caller to Hugh Hewitt's radio show pointed out last night, isn't that a little bit like saying that, because HIV is already out in the general population, there's no point in urging people to wear condoms?

And now there's a dispute over whether the Department of Homeland Security has told agents at airports and the border not to wear gloves and masks to protect themselves from the swine flu. Despite statements made by a different administration official yesterday that agents were told not to take protective measures unless someone appeared to be sick, DHS people are insisting they didn't say the agents couldn't wear masks.

That's good, of course. Because otherwise, it would be like advising people to wear condoms only when becoming intimate with people who "look" like they pose an STD risk.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

PETA To Blow Pig Manure Towards Capitol

Posted by: Jillian Bandes at 3:26 PM

Quick, eat as much pork as you can, so there are no pigs left for PETA to use for this ridiculous proposal. From The Hill:

As the "swine flu" outbreak continues to make headlines, the animal rights group PETA hopes to graphically illustrate to lawmakers how the problem started in the first place.

The group has submitted an application to Capitol Police to set up a a real-life hog farm on the steps of the Capitol, complete with urine, manure and fans to blow the odor around.

In a statement, PETA says it hopes to replicate the conditions that led to the spread of swine flu and convince Americans to become vegetarians.

"Meat has long been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer, but disease-breeding factory farms could be the death of us all," said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The best way to protect animals and our own health–individually and globally–is to go vegetarian."

The potential exhibit would include three pigs, 3500 gallons of pig manure and urine and large fans. The group will also show undercover footage of hog farm conditions and distribute information on becoming a vegetarian.

Notice how the groups dedicated to reducing pork barrel spending don't stoop this low? It's because they're not liberals.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Absolutely Unacceptable

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 3:05 PM

Attorney Eric Holder refuses to rule out subjecting American officials to a foreign court's jurisdiction? Outrageous beyond words.

In speaking to reporters Wednesday, Holder also said it is possible the United States could cooperate with a foreign court's investigation of Bush administration officials.

Holder spoke before the announcement that a Spanish magistrate had opened an investigation of Bush officials on harsh interrogation methods. Holder didn't rule out cooperating in such a probe.

"Obviously, we would look at any request that would come from a court in any country and see how and whether we should comply with it," Holder said.

"This is an administration that is determined to conduct itself by the rule of law and to the extent that we receive lawful requests from an appropriately created court, we would obviously respond to it," he said.

Pressed on whether that meant the United States would cooperate with a foreign court prosecuting Bush administration officials, Holder said he was talking about evidentiary requests and would review any such request to see if the U.S. would comply.

All the weaselly qualifications about "evidentiary requests" is ridiculous. The fact is that Eric Holder is implicitly validating the right of a foreign court to prosecute Americans who were acting reasonably within the scope of their authority to try to protect the United States.

So now, not only are the Democrats willing to consider criminalizing policy differences within our own borders. They're also not willing to reject out of hand the idea that fellow citizens could be subject to prosecution in a foreign country?

Really, really wrong. Outrageous beyond words. If this happens, you can forget any decent person ever wanting to serve in government again.

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Obama First 100 Days Tour continues in Houston

Posted by: John Hanlon at 2:30 PM

Last night, the Obama First 100 Days Tour event continued in Houston, TX with radio show hosts Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved and Mike Gallagher joined by Dr. Chris Hammons from Houston Baptist University.

According to one of the people who worked on the event, over 1,000 people attended it and there was a great VIP reception before the event itself. Also, he noted that the Dunham Theater (where the event was held) was a fabulous venue and all of the hosts at the event were greeted enthusiastically.

You can check out some of the photos from this great event below. The tour continues tonight in San Antonio. Make sure to check to see if the tour is coming to your area by clicking here. Tickets are still available in some cities so make sure to order your tickets today.