Playing the Theocracy Card

For years the game of politics has been won by the race card. In fact Jessie, Kweisi, Rangel, Louis et al. have created a whole industry based on the race card. Recently, though, a new card has been played, the "theocracy card." Senator Salazard, D-Co recently used it when he called James Dobson from Focus on The Family "the Antichrist." He might have lost that hand (He later apologized for the slur).

But there are anti-religion zealots out there pointing at the crib, cross or commandments covering their mouth and exclaiming here comes the theocracy.

Whereas the race card was black and white, the theocracy card is what you want it to be. The race card was punctuated by a fist pumped in the air while the theocracy card is played with a knowing sneer. That anyone would live by moral values dictated by some netherland ghost is incredulous to the ant-religious zealot. After all, it was those religious nuts who put Bush into office and he's the true hitlerterian Antichrist.

I had a strange conversation with a business owner friend of mine. He kept referring with trepidation to the "religious thing" taking over the country. I couldn't get him to give me a specific example of how he thought the government was becoming a theocracy other than his reference to Bush's faith based grants. But I countered, here are charities with volunteers who passionately believed in what they're doing. As a businessman didn't he realize that these people were more likely to do a cost effective job than the pro charity managers?

But vagueness is what you get when you discuss the theocracy card, sort of a black -helicopter-the-moon landing-was-produced-in-Hollywood mentality. Proponents absolutely fear that some day the country will be run by a President Benedict the First.

I don' think so, Tim.

You know you're playing too much golf (if that's possible) when:(Give yourself 1 point for each yes answer.)
1) Your golf shoes wear out before your street shoes.
2) You put yourself to sleep by replaying your last round.
3) You know all the maintenance men by their full Christian names.
4) You can't park your car in your garage because of the indoor driving range.
5) To you, the definition of an optimist is a golfer at the turn.
6) You may be late for an appointment, but never for a tee time.
7) Your sandals have golf cleats.
8) The only writing utensils you have are golf pencils.
9) You got rid of 140 lbs in order to play more golf (she weighted 120).
10) You take a July golf vacation in Phoenix.
11) If you don't show for golf on Friday, the course sends someone to check on you.
12) You're unable to have a bowel movement unless reading a golf magazine.
13) You can't get the sand out of your hair
1 to 3 points - (consider bowling), 4 to 6 points -- (Beginner), 6 to 10 points -- (Under achiever). 9 to 13 points -- (You need to have your meds adjusted. You need help)

Send Voinovich A Check

Senator Voinovich must go. Here is a senator that missed several Foreign Relation committee meetings on the confirmation of John Boltor for ambassador to the UN who then waltzes in to the deciding meeting and holds his hand up asking for more time to consider the meanest of Bolton towards his subordinates.

Voinovich isn't stupid. He realizes that if everyone in Washington was held up to the "Mr. Roger " test, he'd be looking at scorched earth. Even straight talking Senator McCain would be gone.

He wants something. Perhaps he wants to stop the closing of military bases in his state or money from the RNC for his reelection bid in 2006. Or maybe he want to appeal to the 90% of Ohio voters that didn't vote for Bush in 2004.

And here's a problem with the GOP and Bush, there just doesn't seem to be any retribution for RINOS (Republicans in name only). If we could just clone LBJ as a Republican, he would solve our problems.

What incenses me is that senators whose actions affect the whole country will only take emails from their constituents.

So I snail mailed Voinovich a $100 check made out to his "opponent in 2006."

ABC, Washington Post Push Biased Poll About Filibustering

ABC,Post Push Biased Poll About Filibustering
ABC and the Washington Post touted a new poll, clearly rigged in its questioning, to supposedly show that a majority of Americans oppose a change in Senate rules concerning confirmation of judicial nominees. CBS, ABC, and NBC blasted Senator Bill Frist because he -- heaven forbid !-- criticized judicial filibustering on a videotape broadcast from a Christian church.
www.mediaresearch.org

Libraries should be a key target of the Patriot Act

In his article Check It out in National Review, Deroy Murdock relates librarian Kathleen Hensman's recollection of a 2001 visit to her Deray Beach library by two 911 terrorists. According to Murdock, "Hensmen had ethnic Arab neighbors in her native southeastern Michigan, though she rarely saw such folks at her library in southeastern Florida". Hensmen recalls, "they (the Alshehri brothers) stood out in my mind because not many Middle Eastern people pass through here."Check It Out" at, http://www.nationalreview.com/murdock/murdock200504250750.asp

Senator Salazar's Duplicity

In an article published April 23 Denver Rocky Mountain News reporter M.E. Sprengelmeyer suggests that objections to Senator Ken Salazar's duplicitous stand on judicial nominees came from evangelicals. He reports; "The senator ignited a firestorm at a news conference Wednesday, when he blasted ads from the political arm of Focus on the Family pressuring him to change U.S. Senate filibuster rules and allow up-or-down votes for seven stalled judicial nominations."

But the word on the street is that criticism of Salazar has more to do with his waffle on judicial nominees than his attack on Focus on the Family.

One person, I spoke to, called Salazar's office because he doesn't like politicians that break their campaign promises. To him his call had nothing to do with the religion.

Reporter Sperengelmeyer views the issue differently as his lead states, "The phones rang a couple times each minute. E-mails came fast and furious. And by the close of business Friday, Senator Ken Salazar's staff had heard from thousands of folks either angered or heartened by his verbal attack on the state's biggest evangelical Christian group".

"Salazar won back some old friends and made some new political enemies this week, after he accused Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family of using "un-Christian" political tactics to clear the way for controversial judicial nominees".

"Since Wednesday's news conference, Salazar's Denver office tallied 416 phone calls supporting Salazar's stand and 2,218 calls opposing him. Many of those were repeat calls from people reading the same prepared scripts, spokesman Cody Wertz said".

Seems to me with over 5 to 1 calls against Salazar's waffle, he made more political enemies than he won back old friends. And what does the reporter's little aside that people were reading from the same prepared script have to do with the issue other than to discredit the opposition.

M.E. further reports, "A Virginia group called The Judicial Confirmation Network created a Web site,www.salazarwaffles.com/, highlighting Salazar's pre-election statement saying he supported giving qualified judicial nominees an up-or-down vote."If we can't trust Ken Salazar to stick to his word on the most important issue of the day," it said, "how can we trust his word on any other issue important to the people of Colorado."

Amen.

This week the Golden Carp is awarded to reporter Billy House at the Arizona Republic

Recently in the Arizona Republic a reporter by the name of Billy House (what adult still goes by Billy except maybe Jimmy) writes: "A TV ad campaign aimed at saving the Senate filibuster rule is airing in Arizona ..with the flickering image of Sen. Jefferson Smith played by Jimmy Stewart in the classic 1939 film
Mr. Smith goes To Washington.

He continues " The goal of the Arizona ads funded by the liberal People for the American Way Foundation is to encourage Sen John McCain, R-AZ., to fight to help save the rule, which allows for extended debate in the Senate to have the effect of preventing a vote." (notice he does not qualify his piece by mentioning that limit is on debate in the judiciary committee ONLY)

Further on he writes, " ..Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist R-Tenn., has threatened to invoke the so called 'nuclear option' this month that would have the effect of undoing the 200-year-old Senate filibuster practice".
Still no mention that the change would only apply to the judiciary committee.

Then he reports, "If Frist succeeds, the votes of just 50 senators and the tie-breaking vote of the Vice President would be enough to cut off debate and confirm any nominee to the federal courts or the Supreme Court."

WHAT? The name of this guy's column (its not an op-ed) is AZ IN D.C. and he does not know that the proposed option only applies to the judiciary committee. Yes, a majority would only be needed to cut off debate under the "nuclear option", but then the entire senate would have to vote to confirm. Evidently McCain is listening to the Liberal People for the American Way. He does not support ending debate in the senate on judicial nominees.