Deval Patrick's Weird Science

Governor-elect Deval Patrick supports efforts by Massachusetts to force the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide (you might recognize that as the gas you exhale every 10 seconds). He has also pledged to put Massachusetts in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a local "Kyoto Treaty" for New England states.

Why? Global warming, of course!

Everything you need to know about the weakness of the Al Gore/Global Warming "science" is here. The undeniable conclusion: Nobody knows what the earth's temperature is going to be in 100 years, and nobody knows if humans can do anything to significantly impact it even if we had to.

So let's focus instead on what we DO know...at least all of us who aren't going to be Massachusetts' next governor:

1-- The RGGI will raise the cost of heating your home and business in Massachusetts, which might be a problem since we already have the highest energy costs in America;

2-- The RGGI will drive businesses out of Massachusetts and will keep new businesses from coming here. Why, because...

3-- Just as China and India aren't signing up for Kyoto (and raising their energy costs), Colorado and Indiana are signing up for RGGI. Why would a high-energy-consuming business like manufacturing come to Massachusetts when they can open the same factory in Missouri and not pay the RGGI costs?

Deval Patrick: Together We Can Drive Your Electricity Bill Through The Roof and Cost You Your Job, Too!

Thanks US Airways, Part II

My take on the angry imams is in the Boston Herald today.

The Smoke Nazis Strike Again

I'm sure someone at The Scotts Company--the big, mega-corporate lawn care business--can explain to me how a guy smoking a Marlboro in the privacy of his own home impairs his work hauling bags of fertilizer or selling rakes.

And they're going to have to, now that they've fired Bostonian Scott Rodrigues for failing his drug test. That's right: The Scotts Company drug tests its employees...for cigarettes.

According to his attorney, Mr. Rodrigues was smoking a pack a day when he was hired and was down to about six smokes a day when he was fired. Not good enough for the Smoke Nazis at The Scotts Company. Somebody sniffed out the scent of menthol in his urine sample and now Scott Rodrigues is on the street.

I think the Scotts Company and its mandatory "tinkle in the Camel cup" policy is stupid. What do they care what legal activities that have no impact on his job Mr. Rodrigues chooses to enjoy? If the argument is "what he does at home is affecting his health," well, OK. Does he ski? Does he sky dive? Eat mustard-based BBQ? Have unprotected sex with other men?

ALL of these activities increase your health risks. Are the folks engaged in these activities (particularly the last one) going to be fired?

Having said that, I am an ardent defender of the right to be stupid (a right I exercise on a daily basis), and if The Scotts Company chooses not to hire smokers, same-sexers or Scientologists, they should have that right. Mr. Rodrigues has no right to work for The Scotts Company and they have no duty to employ him.

What I love about this story is how clearly it reveals the Left's abandonment of its principles. Every Cambridge liberal is going to cheer The Scotts Company for doing to smokers what they would utterly denounce were it done to homosexuals. Their position is that they support discrimination when it hurts people they don't like.

Of course, Nazis, the Klan and Al Sharpton all share the Left's view that there is "good discrimination" and "bad discrimination." Rational people support the IDEAL of freedom, including the freedom to run your business as you choose. We understanding that a private person's freedom to discriminate will reveal their character, good or bad.

But if you can explain why firing smokers is OK but firing lesbians should be illegal, well, you're probably a member of the Deval Patrick transition team.

Can Islam Save Christmas?

More (ahem) good news from Boston Mayor Tom "Shots Fired!" Menino: Boston's Enchanted Village, a Christmas...er, "holiday" tradition in downtown Boston since 1940 is no more. Despite higher taxes and a growing economy, the Menino administration just can't find the few thousand dollars it would take to keep Christmas shoppers coming downtown to see this staple of the New England Christmas season.

But wait--There's a chance that Islam can save Christmas right here in Boston!

You see, the same Mayor Menino who can't find the money for the Enchanted Village recently made a $1.8 million donation of city property to the Islamic Society of Boston for the construction of a mosque. Now, you might ask "How can a city donate land for a house of worship? Whatever happened to the Constitution?"

You, obviously, are not a state legislator in Massachusetts...

So here's how our Muslim neighbors can save Christmas: The ISB could do what any other religious group would be required to do, and actually pay for the city property given to them illegally for Menino's Mosque. That $1.8 million could then be used to keep the Enchanted Village on display for years to come.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a rip-roarin' Ramadan to all!

Thanks, US Airways!

US Airways is already under investigation for showing common sense. If you'd like to show your support for US Airways, you can contact them here.

The REAL Story On The USAir Imams

What you won't read in the Boston Globe-Democrat about the strange and unsettling behavior by the six imams removed from a US Airways flight.

Among the highlights:

Witnesses said three of the imams were praying loudly in the concourse and repeatedly shouted "Allah" when passengers were called for boarding US Airways Flight 300 to Phoenix. "I was suspicious by the way they were praying very loud," the gate agent told the Minneapolis Police Department.

Passengers and flight attendants told law-enforcement officials the imams switched from their assigned seats to a pattern associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks and also found in probes of U.S. security since the attacks -- two in the front row first-class, two in the middle of the plane on the exit aisle and two in the rear of the cabin.

"That would alarm me," said a federal air marshal who asked to remain anonymous. "They now control all of the entry and exit routes to the plane."

And how much sympathy do I have for idiot imams in the post-9/11 world who feel the need to shout "Allah!" at the top of their lungs while people are boarding an airplane? Slightly less than Ann Coulter does.

Coulter suggests that this entire event might be a publicity stunt by US Airways. Personally, I can't imagine a better slogan for an airline than "We're the airline angry Muslims refuse to fly!"

But after reading the Washington Times' coverage of the provocative, unnecessary and unsettling behavior of the imams (who had just attended a "fight the power!" imam convention), I honestly wonder if this wasn't a lawsuit setup by the CAIR crowd. A handful of imams act in a manner that all but forces the airline to respond, then scream "Profiling! Profiling!" as soon as they are removed from the plane.

All just in time for the Christmas travel season. Terrific.

Now come the usual threats of boycotts, lawsuits, blah, blah, blah. Angry liberals demand that I be offended that Muslims acting weird on airplanes aren't treated the same way as Methodists (as if you could actually GET a Methodist to pray aloud in public).

Sorry. No go. I don't feel sorry for these imams, not one bit. They were not treated unfairly in the least. Is it unfortunate that Muslims must be viewed by all rational people as more dangerous than non-Muslims. Yes. Is it tragic? Yes. It is the tragedy of the current state of Islam.

Want To Do Something For Charlie's Chumps?

Rep. Rangel has repeated his assertion that young men who have the chance for a "decent career" would never serve in the US military today.

Now, I'm not as brilliant or intellectual as the Chairman-in-Waiting of the House Ways and Means Committee, but I have spent some time in Iraq and at American military facilities from Hawaii to Walter Reed. And I did not find the folks serving our nation to be of limited intellectual or economic capability.

Maybe they are all a bunch of chumps, as Charlie Rangel insists. Maybe they're just Americans with a sense of duty to their nation. Either way, if you'd like to join me in suppporting these young men and women, please click become part of Operation USO Care Package.

It's one way we can thank these young men and men for ignoring Charlie Rangel.

Read. This. Now.

Mark Steyn is the best columnist writing in English today. Period.

And if you haven't gotten your copy of America Alone, don't wait 'til Christmas. It's too good.

What's NOT News At the Boston Globe-Democrat

My high school band director was a very successful jazz musician and played with bands like Les Brown. One of the life lessons he taught me was a jazz maxim that "Some of the most important notes are the ones you don't play."

I think of him frequently while reading my daily edition of the Boston Globe-Democrat.

It's hard to imagine another capitol city daily paper that would not run a single editorial about the legislature abandoning the state constitution and refusing to cast a legally required vote on a citizen-initiated petition. That's the kind of story editorial writers live for: Defend democracy! Defend the rule of law! Power to the people!

But from the BG-D? Crickets.

Today, Vladimir Bukovsky has an article at NRO recounting Sen. Ted Kennedy's secret communications with the Soviets during the Cold War, during which time he was openly aiding the Communists to undermine the elected government of the United States. It's not a new story at all. We were talking about it on my radio show weeks ago.

But at the BG-D? Cue the crickets, one more time.

How does a major daily paper ignore a story like this...ABOUT ITS OWN SENATOR? It's not like they have to look for a local hook. Kennedy is the local hook. But they simply refuse to cover it. Astonishing.

At a minimum, the reports of Kennedy's secret cooperation with Soviet Russia reveal that our senior senator was completely wrong about the Soviets, the Reagan Doctrine and the power of freedom. It's also rather disgusting for a liberal like Kennedy to demonstrate such a willingness to accept 100 million people living under tyranny across Eastern Europe, as though there is no moral element to his support for the Soviet spies and gulags.

But beyond that, it's impossible to read Kennedy's offers to help the Soviets defeat the efforts of the West without asking the obvious, common-sense question "When does this become treason?"

Kennedy and one of his trusted aides weren't just offering advice. They also gave the Russians information that was supposed to be for our embassies and representatives negotiating with the Soviets. I don't know if this makes Sen. Kennedy a spy, a traitor or just one of the many dopey liberals who could support Communist tyranny but call the Nicaragua freedom fighters "terrorists."

But as a newspaper reader, it seems to me that these are exactly the kinds of questions one would expect to find people writing about in the Boston Globe-Democrat.

Radical Coup at Boston Area Mosque?

UPDATE! The Jewish Advocate has a new article on this story and the petition to support our immigration enforcement agents.



That might be the real story behind the federal government's crackdown on visa fraud by

As reported by Miss Kelly (among others), some members of the Islamic Center of New England’s mosque in Sharon are afraid to speak out about problems there after their moderate imam was pushed out last year by the now-indicted Hafiz Muhammed Masood.

Masood came to the attention of federal authorities during their successful prosecution of Muhammad Khalil on visa fraud charges. Prosecutors alleged that Khalil (pictured above) is an admirer of Osama bin Laden and his jihadist philosophy, and they caught him on tape praising bin Laden and calling for Muslims to "arm themselves”" for "another attack."

What's the connection between Khalil of NYC and Masood of Boston? We don't know yet, other than it appears they both abused the religious-workers visa system to help Muslims immigrate to America under false pretenses.

The usual suspects, such as the pro-Hamas Muslim American Society-Boston, have denounced the arrest of the Boston-area imams as anti-Islamic bigotry. But does the MAS have anything to say about what's actually happening at the ICNE, or the allegations that the clerics and congregation there are becoming radicalized?

If only moderate Muslims would get half as angry at the people destroying the image of Islam as they do at people who draw pictures of the Prophet.

Why The West Is Losing, Part XXXVI

This posting from Jim Geraghty at NRO just makes me want to cry. It appears to be about the recent poisoning of one of Russian President Putin's enemies, but it's really about the West's absolute refusal to face the fight that is upon us.

The part of this post that tells the most tragic truth about liberalism's ongoing cultural suicide is the email Jim received from an angry reader who denies both the facts (our enemies use murder, torture and horrific weapons like chemicals without pause) and the obvious conclusions (negotiating with these dirtbags is useless).

The Left is literally running away from reality. They simply will not follow any facts, as long as those facts lead to the conclusion that we must act with force to defend ourselves.

If you're one of these cultural cowards, could you just surrender now, convert to Islam and force your wife into a burkha now? Because I'd like to go ahead and get started ignoring you right away.

My Thanksgiving Gift To You

The mandatory, must-have dish at the Graham Family Compound on Thanksgiving is Alex Patout's Sweet Potato Praline Casserole. It's one of those dishes that, once you bring it to a family meal, repeat performances are MANDATORY, not optional. It even gets the ultimate yam-based compliment: "I don't like sweet potatoes, but I love this!"

I discovered the recipe in Patout's cookbook, which gets a regular workout in my kitchen. I had the opportunity to cook with Alex a few years ago when he competed in the Cajun Culinary Classic in Lafayette, Louisiana. (He took four gold medals and "Best In Show." Wow.)

His approach is "keep it simple, keep it local [ingredients] and keep it delicious. His Sweet Potato Praline Casserole is a great example.

UPDATE: I've received several emails like this one from Jack in New Hampshire:

Michael,

Just a note to thank you, thank you, thank you, for that mouth-watering Sweet Potato Praline recipe. I prepared it for our thanksgiving dinner with family and they loved it!! Some were actually trying to steal the leftovers to take home.
Seriously, it was a very big hit. I plan to make it again at every opportunity.
Thanks again.

Jack

They Should Name It The "Deval Patrick" Scholarship

There's no bigger supporter of race-based government action than our governor-elect, so I think it would be completely appropriate for the Boston University College Republicans to name their whites-only scholarship after Mr. Patrick.

The students say they're trying to make some point about racism being "wrong." Whatever. Kids, you're never going to get the race-obsessed American Left to abandon racism as a fundamental social value. Give it up.

However, if any "White Americans" want to sign up for the cash, just link here.

Worst Newspaper In America?

You know my choice, but you can cast your vote here. The winner goes head-to-head against the NYTimes in a future showdown.

Ivy League Free Speech: Anti-Semites, Yes! Islam Critics, No!

New England liberals dismissed my complaints about terror-sponsor and anti-Semite Mohammed Khatemi speaking at Harvard a few weeks ago, claiming that my fellow protestors and I didn't understand the concept of free speech.

They were wrong, as usual ("free" speech does not equal "consequence-free" speech).

But where are those liberals today now that Nonie Darish, author of Now They Call Me Infidel, has been banned from Brown University?

Muslim students pressured their fellow students to dis-invite Ms. Darwish and silence her criticism of the harsh and horrific treatment of women in the Muslim world. Interestingly, one of the groups that backed down under Muslim pressure was a campus women's-rights group.

You go, girls! Way to stand up for the sisters!

Well, you can keep the infidel out of Brown, but you can't keep her off the airwaves. Ms. Darwish is scheduled to be my guest tonight in the 8pm hour. If you know any students at Brown, please spread the word and tell them to turn their radios WAY UP!

UPDATE: Freedom wins! Just interviewed Ms. Darwish and she told me that Brown has now re-extended an invitation for her to speak--this time on behalf of the entire school! The blogosphere and talk radio win another victory for free speech.

Nobody's Too Dumb For the Boston Globe-Democrat

Reading the Globe-Democrat's coverage of the marriage amendment rally, I came across this quote regarding the constitutional issues raised by the legislature refusing to vote on the amendment:

"The constitution doesn't actually require the Legislature to take a vote. It says that they have to discuss it and debate it, and I don't think there is any good argument that there hasn't been a lot of discussion and debate."

Now, I've heard quite a few novel legal theories attempting to defend the legislature's refusal to vote, but the "all they have to do is debate" was a new one. So I sent Professor Friedman the following email:

Professor Friedman,

I just read your comments in the Globe re: the process of amending the Constitution. I've also been reading the MA Constitution and I can't find the cite for legislators being required merely to "discuss it and debate it" when it comes to a lawfully-submitted amendment to the Constitution.

I did find Article IV, Section 3: A proposal for an amendment to the constitution introduced by initiative petition shall be voted upon in the form in which it was introduced, unless such amendment is amended by vote of three-fourths of the members voting thereon in joint session, which vote shall be taken by call of the yeas and nays if called for by any member.

Obviously, you know far more about the law than I. Could you please let me know where to find the "discuss and debate" clause in the state constitution regarding the treatment of lawfully submitted amendments?

Thanks so much for your time!


Michael Graham

I was hoping for a helpful reply, one with legal citations--maybe some Latin thrown in for effect. Instead, I got:

Mr. Graham,

The Constitution does not require a vote, but plainly the legislators are expected to do something with initiative petitions, and that something would, given the procedures outlined, seem to be discussion and debate about a proposal.

I hope this answers your question,

Lawrence Friedman
Assistant Professor of Law
New England School of Law


Uh, am I stupid? Or is this answer NOT an answer? In fact, it appears to be a nonsequitor (in case Professor Friedman is logged on, that means "a non-responsive answer with no relation to the original question.")

Professor Friedman--sorry, make that "Assistant Professor"--clearly is not a credible source on the legal issues at the heart of this story. So why did the Boston Globe-Democrat use him as a source? Why hang your key 'graph on someone so clueless regarding the constitution?

Could it be that Friedman was the only lawyer they could find offering any argument in defense of the legislature? And since he was the only attorney giving the BG-D the answer they wanted, he's the one they quoted?

Another proud journalistic moment from the folks on Morrissey Blvd.

UPDATE: It's been 12 days, and the Boston Globe-Democrat STILL hasn't run an editorial on the legislature's massive civil rights violation. 12 days, and counting.

Thanks, Mumbles.

Did you know that Mayor Thomas Menino was one of the politicians lobbying the hardest to get the legislature to abandon the Constitution and refuse to vote on the marriage amendment?

“I agree with the legislators who voted to deep-six the anti-gay marriage amendment. I hope we can put an end once and for all to this issue and get on to more pressing issues," Menino said after the legislature refused to cast a constitutionally-required vote on a lawfully offered amendment.

Because, sadly, the legislature didn't "vote to deep-six" anything. They voted to go home without voting. That is clearly against the law.

So Mayor Menino supports ignoring laws that we don't like, eh? Gee, I wonder how he'd feel if Boston residents "voted to deep-six" their next property tax bill? Or paying their parking tickets? What's the mayor going to say if we all stop? That we have to obey the law?

If Mayor Menino thinks it's OK for the legislature to break the law, why not the rest of us?

Cheerleading For The Troops

This is Kristen O'Neil, one of the Patriots Cheerleaders participating in Operations Season Greetings 2006. And she'll be our special guest on the Michael Graham show tonight!

The Patriots Cheerleaders will bring holiday cheer to American troops stationed overseas from November 19 through December 2, 2006.

Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Base, are sponsoring Operation Season’s Greetings 2006. Appearing at USAFE bases and deployed locations, the show will feature six of the Patriots Cheerleaders. Members of the cheerleading squad have entertained military troops in more than 20 countries since 9/11.

Sharing the spotlight with the cheerleaders is country music artist Jaime O’Neal, John Popper from Blues Traveler and radio talk and music show host Delilah. The U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Reserve bands will perform as the opening act for the shows.

Operation Season’s Greetings performers will visit Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany; Incirlik AB, Turkey; and several deployed locations in Southwest Asia.

Is Massachusetts Ready For A "Free Lunch?"

That's the idea behind the Free Lunch Project.

"The Free Lunch Project is an effort to recruit 20,000 dependence-loving people to move to Massachussetts or perhaps California, Venezuela, Illinois or Wisconsin. We are looking for progressive reformers, communitarian activists, and folks from all walks of life, of all ages, creeds, and colors who agree to the political philosophy expressed in our Statement of Intent, that government exists to provide jobs, and should punish those who interfere with the redistribution of wealth. "

Sadly, it also appears to be the idea behind the Deval Patrick administration.

C'mon, Deval--You're Better Than That!

It turns out that Deval Patrick is a fan of casino gambling. It also turns out that he is open to the idea of bringing casinos to Massachusetts--perhaps hoping that it will make up for some of the jobs that will be fleeing the state once he works his "magic" on the economy.

I, for one, am delighted and puzzled. As a cruel, mean-spirited conservative, I LOVE gambling. It's a great way to separate suckers from their money. And since I don't gamble, every dollar that goes to the state is a dollar I don't have to pay. Perfect!

Do the economic and social costs of gambling fall more heavily upon low-income/minority families? Absolutely. But I don't care--I believe in freedom, even for people who can't do math.

That's why I love the lottery. It's the ideal form of taxation: A voluntary tax on the stupid. And I love highly-taxed casino gambling.

But can someone tell me why Deval "We're Better Than That" Patrick is a fan, too? Doesn't he care about the poor people, the elderly on fixed incomes and the minority families who will see a disproportionate amount of their income sucked up at the black jack tables and slot machines? Does he really think making money outweighs the impact to the vulnerable in our society?

To paraphrase former Sen. John Edwards: Who does he think he is? Wal-Mart?

Has Deval Patrick already abandoned his principles?

Those of you impolitic enough to ask "WHAT principles" need not reply.

John Kerry And "Friends"

"Ah, come on, guys--wait up! Don't you want to come hang out with Theresa and me?"

The Extremist Threat...Is Here

Don't miss Glenn Beck's 1-hour special on CNN Headline News Wednesday night. If you care about the looming terrorist this, this is must-see TV.

I Hate To Say "I Told You So," But...

"I think I must have missed a meeting or accidentally deleted an email from Moveon.org or something, because I still haven't seen the Democratic plan to fix Iraq and kick terrorist butt...what do you mean there ISN'T a Democratic strategy for terrorism? Of course there is. There's gotta be. I mean — seriously — what kind of political party has no war plan at a time when were actively at war?" --Me, two weeks ago.

"WASHINGTON — "More Americans rank Iraq as the top priority of the new Democratic-controlled Congress, but nearly three out of five say the Democratic Party does not have a plan to deal with the war."-- The AP, today.

Who Screwed You?

What MA legislators voted to ignore the constitutional mandate that they vote on a valid petition brought by 170,000 citizens? The list is here.

The "Saddam"-ites Win In The Massachusetts Legislature

The two premises upon which all Western democracies are based are the consent of the governed and the rule of law. We get to make our own rules, and once we make them, everyone has to follow them.

Dictators and mullahs, like Saddam and Osama, reject these two ideas out of hand. They believe that the leaders should lead and the people should do what they're told. Saddam rejects the law and Osama rejects the consent of the governed.

Today, in the Massachusetts legislature, 109 liberal legislators proudly declared themselves Saddam-ites. They shamelessly, openly and without apology abandoned the rule of law at the Constitutional Convention considering the same-sex marriage amendment.

The "Con Con," as locals call it, was only convened because the legislature had to--the state constitution is very clear on this. The people did their part by gathering more than 170,000 signatures for the amendment and presenting them to the legislature.

In July, the legislature did its part...by postponing a vote until two days after the November election. In Massachusetts, this is known as a "profile in courage."

Today, the legislators were faced with a simple choice: Either vote "yes" to send the amendment on to the next step, or vote "no" and kill it now. Even if they had voted "yes," the constitution still requires the approval of TWO consecutive legislatures before the amendment reaches the ballot box. We're not exactly talking mob rule here.

But it was still too much democracy for the Democrats of Massachusetts. Today--two years away from the next election--the legislature voted...to not vote. They voted to recess until January 2nd, the last day this legislature will exist. And they've told the amendment's opponents that they have no plans to meet that day.

This presents a problem. Under the Massachusetts constitution, "A proposal for an amendment to the constitution introduced by initiative petition shall be voted upon." The legislature has no choice. They are constitutionally required to vote on the amendment, up or down.

If they adjourn without voting, the governor and/or Supreme Judiciary Court would, in theory, order them into session. This reveals the master stroke of the Saddam-ites: There simply won't be enough time.

If the legislature has adjourned today without voting, Gov. Romney could have ordered them back into session under the law, and he could continue to do so for the next two months--and Mitt Romney, with an eye to South Carolina's GOP primary, would have been happy to oblige.

However, when this recess ends on January 2, the governor of Massachusetts will be Deval Patrick. Even if he wanted to enforce the law (a highly unlikely scenario for a same-sex marriage supporter like Patrick), there simply won't be enough time. At midnight, January 3, this legislature will no longer exist.

Will the legislature have broken the law? Of course! Will they have violated the constitution? Absolutely! Will they have screwed over 170,000 citizens of Massachusetts? No doubt about it!

But will anyone else care? Ay, there's the rub...

The liberals of the Massachusetts legislature will have illegally forced the amendment's supporters to start over and gather another mountain of signatures. Of course, these citizens with families to feed and bills to pay, may respond by saying "Why bother?" After all, if the legislature is prepared to abandon the constitution and flagrantly violate the law today, why shouldn't we expect them to do the same tomorrow? If anything, the new legislature, like the new governor, will be even MORE liberal than the current one.

In any other state, the decision of an elected legislature to throw the petitions of 180,000 citizens in the trash--and break the law in order to do so--would be considered outrageous, shameless and unacceptable.

In Massachusetts? It's just another day in paradise. If the Iraqis don't want to shoot Saddam Hussein, I'm sure we can find him a place in the Massachusetts legislature.

UPDATE: Some listeners/emailers are claiming that today's vote was merely postponed a vote that actually will occur in January and, therefore, no law is broken and the issue will be decided then. Here's what the anti-democracy group MassEquality said about today's actions:

"MassEquality campaign director Marc Solomon late today hailed the move by the Legislature to recess the Constitutional Convention until Jan. 2, thereby all but guaranteeing defeat of the proposed ballot measure."

"When You're Debating The Polls, You're Losing"

Some 96.9 FM TALK listeners were frustrated with me the past two weeks because I refused to even entertain the argument "Hey--these polls are bogus! Healey can still win."

Sorry, folks, but the whole point of the Natural Truth is to ignore nonsense like this, even when it's nonsense I'd like to believe in. But it's an unavoidable fact: Polls work (mostly). The candidate who's debating the validity of the polls is a candidate who is losing.

It's so obvious that even my clueless-but-affable buddy David Kravitz at BlueMassGroup has even noticed it. He notes how accurate local polling was, and reminds us that it was similarly accurate before the primaries.

As much as it pains me, I must suggest you follow the advice of my liberal pal: "...the next time a campaign spokesguy or sympathizer tries to downplay polls showing his candidate way down by saying that the campaign's internals show a much tighter race, smile, nod politely, and go about your business. "

He's right, folks.

On The Other Hand...

There is some bad news in Tuesday's election results for the Angry Left:

The property rights movement gained ground Tuesday as voters in nine states passed measures to restrict governments from exercising eminent domain in order to enlarge their tax revenue. In Michigan, opponents of racial preferences in public hiring, education and contracting easily passed their referendum, 58 to 42 percent, in spite of being outspent more than three to one. In Minnesota -- the only state Democrats have carried in each of the past eight presidential elections, but one that is becoming a swing state -- Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty was reelected. And, come January, the number of Republicans in the House (at least 200) will still be larger than the largest number during the Reagan years (192 in 1981-83).-- George Will.

Can Borat Save The World?

Find out here.

Forget The Politicians, Remember The Heroes!

Please make plans now to join me at the Boston Veteran's Day parade this Saturday. Find all the details here.

What I'd like to see? Lots of children. Lots of kids in their Scout uniforms and high schoolers in their football, soccer or baseball uniforms. Plenty of young women and men in their ROTC uniforms.

Most of all, I'd like to see thousands of Americans taking 90 minutes out of their busy weekend to make sure our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice.

90 minutes. One day a year. That's all I ask. So....BE THERE!

Justice For The GOP

Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.-- H. L. Mencken.

What should pain Republicans most--and President George W. Bush most of all--is that they deserved everything they got in the mid-term elections, and more.

As I wrote in October 2005, President Bush lost his claim on conservative voters long ago. As I said in the spring of 2004, President Bush owed it to the troops to fire Don Rumsfeld. And as I've said repeatedly to anyone who will listen, this President has committed the unforgivable sin of sending American soldiers into battle without his commitment to their victory.

From letting George Tenet keep his job at the CIA to keeping the disastrous military leadership that repeatedly got Iraq wrong, President Bush has proven that other considerations were more important to him than victory.

Well, Mr. President, you've gotten your wish at the ballot box and in the streets of Iraq: Something other than victory.

And watching you fire Don Rumsfeld AFTER the Democrats took Congress only makes my point. If you were as committed to military victory as you are to political victory, this would have happened long ago. It didn't, and now both battles have been lost.

This election, from Congress to county clerk, was about Iraq. Sorry, Speaker Pelosi, but you're wrong. It wasn't about the economy, health care, corruption, Mark Foley, blah, blah, blah. And given that the Democrats have no plan and no clue what to do about Iraq either, it's not surprise they're already trying to change the subject.

Well, the voters have made a point and they've made it clearly: If you go to war and don't win, the American people are going to punish you for it.

And they should.

Some congressmen are whining that they're being unfairly held responsible for Bush's mistakes in Iraq. Sorry, guys, but you deserve everything you're getting, too.

Think of how differently this election could have gone if 100 Republican congressmen had lined up on the steps of the Capitol after the second invasion of Fallujah and demanded Don Rumsfeld's head. If the GOP had threatened appropriations for the military unless serious changes were made at the top, think of what the message could have been in this election: "We know there are problems, we know the war isn't being fought the right way, but we're not here to 'cut and run,' we are here to 'fight and win!'"

The same is true of President Bush. If he had followed the example of Lincoln and littered the Pentagon with the heads of generals and politicos, the Republicans would have held the Congress. But more importantly, we could be winning the war in Iraq. We could be carving a place in the Middle East where a modern vision of Islam could thrive.

Instead, the people of Iraq are losing, the cause of democracy is losing, the battle against the Islamists is being lost, and the lives of American soldiers are being lost.

So forgive me if I don't shed even one tear for the lost careers of a few hack politicians or the agenda of a president who has gotten the big issues so very, very wrong.

In war, there is no substitute for victory. Not even Karl Rove's amazing GOP turnout machine.

Chris Matthews: My Heroes Have Always Been Democrats

First, let me say "congratulations" to the Democrats for their victories on Tuesday. You won fair and square. This gives you control of Congress.

However, despite Chris Matthews' embarrassing comments to the contrary, being a Democrat doesn't make you "heroes."

Listening to Matthews blathering on about Harold Ford Jr.'s "heroic race for the Senate," I got my first taste of just how insufferable the Left is going to be for the next two years.

Look, I like Harold Ford fine. But running for the Senate doesn't make you a "hero." It makes you a politician. Winning elections makes you a GOOD politician. But neither running nor winning make you a good or bad person.

This "Courageous Harold Ford" line has been repeated ad nauseum by the mainstream media. But what is the least bit "heroic" about Ford--a lifelong politician--running for higher office? He's done it many times before. He's a politician. It's what they do.

Why isn't his opponent, Bob Corker (you know, the guy who WON?) a hero? Or Rick Santorum, who "heroically" presented the voters of Pennsylvania with his principled vision, and was summarily tossed out on his can for it. Doesn't that earn "hero" status?

Of course not. Matthews and the Lefty media call Harold Ford a "hero" because he happens to be black and he's a Democrat. Michael Steele, a black Republican who, unlike Ford, was actually attacked for being black and called "oreo," "Uncle Tom" and other racial epithets was NOT a media hero, because he's a Republican.

In other words, Democrats are good and Republicans are bad. That's the complexed, nuanced thinking of our objective, high-minded American media.

We've got the same juvenile hero-worship here in Massachusetts, where Democrat Deval Patrick ran a vacuous, incomprehensible campaign for governor based entirely on platitudes so ludicrous and insipid even Rev. Jesse Jackson couldn't deliver them with a straight face. What is Patrick? According to the media--A hero.

He's a courageous leader because he refused to take a clear stand on most issues, and because he refused to run negative ads (he didn't have to--the unions and liberal 527s ran millions in TV ads beating the crap out of his opponent, to which he never objected).

Deval Patrick is a fraud, a charlatan, a joke. But he's handsome and uses the word "hope" every other sentence, and he also happens to be black.

Instant "hero."

When he wasn't blathering incoherently about hope, faith and "fueling the future on the fumes of the past" (I kid you not), Patrick argued that people shouldn't support his opponent because "you're a better person than that." This was particularly interesting given that every poll showed most Bay Staters disagreed with Patrick on the big issues like taxes, illegal immigration and schools.

So apparently if I voted for a candidate I actually agreed with on the issues...I am a bad person. But if I voted for a guy who I thought was wrong on taxes, that made me "good?"

Believe it or not, the writers and editors of the Boston Globe-Democrat bought into this nonsense hook, line and sinker.

This is the Natural Truth: Voting for someone doesn't make you good or bad. Being a Democrat does not improve your character. This stuff is just politics. It's not morality. Any adult can tell you that.

Unfortunately, as I learned watching the pathetic pukefest between liberal Chris Matthews and Moveon.org whackjob Keith Olbermann last night, the media doesn't hire adults anymore.

An Excellent Webpage For Tracking Congressional Elections

...is right here.

Exit Poll Data As Of 5pm Today

CNN is reporting that exit polls show 63% of those voting disapprove of the job the (Republican) Congress is doing, while just 32% approve. Bad news for the GOP?

Actually, polls within the past two weeks have had the disapproval number at 70% and higher, and approval numbers in the teens! So I guess you could say that, as bad as the news is for Republicans, it could be worse.

And keep in mind that the recent uptick by Republican fortunes occurred while the Congressional numbers were even deeper in the toilet than these exit polls.

If You Just Can't Make Up Your Mind About How To Vote This Year...

..here's some input from a group of people I happen to respect greatly, and for whom I will happily cast my vote.

"Soldiers in Iraq Say Pullout Would Have Devastating Results"

The headline is from today's Washington Post, by the way, hardly a haven of right-wing extremism. The Post put this story on page A-16, reserving the front page during this election season for much more important stories about Mark Foley, Rev. Haggard and the word "macaca."

Priorties, folks. It's all about priorities.

What You MUST Do On Tuesday

1--Vote against electing self-righteous, fact-free, tax-raising, pro-illegal-immigrant, anti-rule-of-law Deval Patrick for Governor. For answers to questions about voting in Massachusetts, click here.

2--(and this is almost as important) See Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

It's mandatory. And hilarious.

From The "Only In Massachusetts" File

In one of those Q & A round-up of questions designed to reveal the "real person" behind the candidate ("What was your first car and who paid for it,"), Boston Globe-Democrat columnist Derrick Z. Jackson asked all the Massachusetts candidates for governor:

What book have you disagreed with the most in your life?

Lt. Governor Kerry Healey, who's problem has been her inability to connect with the average voter, picked that popular coffee-table decoration, Nietzche's Thus Spake Zarathustra.

Democratic candidate and Clintonista Deval Patrick did what we voters have already come to expect from our next governor: He didn't answer the question.

Cranky Mihos, the populist third-party guy, chose The Da Vinci Code, proving he at least understands the premise of his own campaign.

But the answer from Green-Rainbow Party candidate Grace Ross (currently at 2% in the polls) was stunning, even for a loony fringe candidate. She chose Orwell's Animal Farm.

What a breath-taking admission from an allegedly educated person. What an astonishing revelation of irrationality and radicalization. Can I safely assume then that Das Kapital is on her preferred reading list?

Here in Massachusetts we are seeing a re-radicalization of the Left. Ms. Ross, for example, has attended a pro-Hezbullah rally and a memorial service for the terrorists (not the victims) of Black September...SINCE becoming her party's nominee!

Now we're going to re-debate the merits of Stalinism? Incredible.

Can Republicans Win (Or At Least Not Lose) On Tuesday?

One smart blogger, local boy Dean Barnett, says "yes." Read it and tell me what you think.

Me? I think Dean is being too optimistic--but not by much. I think you're going to hear a lot of "the GOP cheated!" (seee below) because the Democrats aren't going to have the tidal wave success they're predicting.

For example, the Republicans will hold onto the US Senate by winning TN, MO and VA--and surprising people by holding MT and (unfortunately) RI. I also predict surprising good news in either NJ or MD--a GOP pickup of a previously Dem Senate seat.

Having said that, it's almost certain Speaker Pelosi will be addressing the nation from Washington DC (not her home district in San Francisco) on Tuesday night. The "almost" part is why I'm standing by my prediction a month ago that the GOP will hold onto the House of Representatives. I'm probably wrong, but hey--no guts, no glory, right?

Which means that the MEDIA story of the night will be "Bush Defeated! GOP Punished By Angry Electorate Punishing Them For Policies The Media Don't Support!" Nobody other than Fox News will report "Dem's Tsunami Turns To Teapot Tempest--Slim Gains, Not Dramatic Victory For Their Party."

My Other Headline Prediction: "Karl Rove--No Longer 'SuperGenius,' Just Genius Enough."

UPDATE: Howard Fineman offers his possible "GOP (Sort of) Wins" in his own insulting (sort of) way here.

"Either WE Win Or YOU Cheated"

That's liberal Robert Kuttner's claim in today's Boston Globe-Democrat, offered without irony (Democrats are, after all, the "vote early and often" party).

"[U]nless there are levels of theft and fraud that would truly mean the end of American democracy, a Democratic House seems as close to a sure thing as we ever get in American politics three days before an election... November 2006 will be remembered either as the time American democracy was stolen again, maybe forever, or began a brighter day. "

Last week, Democrats were complaining that black voters weren't going to turn out because they're assuming the elections are rigged, anyway. Now the dopes at the NYTimes-Boston Bureau tell them they're probably right. Brilliant.

I am trying to figure out what is more breath-taking--Kuttner's arrogance ("Of course we've already won this election! We shouldn't even allow the actual voting, that can only screw things up.") or his unfounded insults against his political opponents ("the only way the GOP--who've won 7 of the last 10 presidential elections--can win is by cheating!")

I've been saying for two weeks that the fact the Democrats haven't put this election in the bag shows that the American people just aren't quite ready to trust them on national security issues. It is possible--highly unlikely but possible--that the many close races in the House could break the GOP's way. And if they do, Robert Kuttner has already declared the outcome a crime.

Does Kuttner want to launch a formal investigation into how Truman stole the "it's a lock" election from Dewey? Is it time for Michael Deaver to explain how Reagan--who trailed in the polls much of the 1980 campaign--soundly stomped a sitting president on Election Day?
Or could it be that (and I know this is a foreign concept to the American Left) that elections matter? That voters exercise their autonomy one at a time in the privacy of the voting booth?

Robert Kuttner is an arrogant ass. If we didn't already have John Kerry (whom Kuttner greatly admires), I'd say he's the most arrogant ass in M-Ass-achusetts.

Thanks, Instapundit, for the link! If you're an Insta-pundit reader interested in the lunacy of Massachusetts politics, you might want to check out the item about our Green Party/"Israel Has No Right To Exist-Party candidate for governor below.

The Boston Globe-Democrat Gets It Wrong Again!

Headline from today's BG-D:

Vt.'s Sanders poised to be 1st Senate socialist

C'mon, guys. Hillary's been a Senator for six years already...

Or As The Boston Globe-Democrat Will Report It...

..."Bush Sucks!"

AP--"The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to its lowest in nearly 5-1/2 years during October as 92,000 more jobs were added and hiring in each of the two prior months was revised up, a government report on Friday showed.

It revised up September's job-creation total to 148,000, or nearly three times the 51,000 it reported a month ago, and said there were 230,000 new jobs in August instead of 188,000.
The unemployment rate fell in October to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in September.

It was the lowest unemployment rate since 4.3 percent in May 2001."

And remember: Nancy Pelosi promises the Democrats will "turn this economy around." She probably will.

UPDATE: More details on the US economy four days before an election:

• Real Wages Grew 2.4 Percent Over The Past 12 Months. This means an extra $755 for the average full-time production worker or about $1,327 for the typical family of four with two wage earners.
• Real After-Tax Income Per Person Has Risen By 9.8 Percent – $2,660 – Since President Bush Took Office.
• Our Economy Has Grown A Solid 2.9 Percent Over The Past Four Quarters – Faster Than Any Other Major Industrialized Country.
• Productivity Has Grown At An Annual Rate Of 3 Percent Since The First Quarter Of 2001, Up From A 2.4 Percent Annual Rate During The Preceding Five Years.
• Gas Prices Have Fallen Almost 82 Cents A Gallon Since Early August.
• Employment Has Increased In All But One State Over The Past 12 Months Ending In September.

UPDATE: Here's the actual headline from the editorial page editor of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution re: the American economy:

"U.S. economy's downhill slide picks up speed"

The REAL Grace Ross Controversy

According to published reports, a talk show host has been fired for calling Green-Rainbow Party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross a "fat lesbian."

I didn't hear the comments, but I do find the controversy confusing.

As regular listeners know, I have refused to even say Ms. Ross's name on the air or discuss her candidacy in any way. It has nothing to do with her sexuality (who cares that she's a lesbian?) or her size (who cares that she is overweight?)

It has everything to do with her horrific politics. What should concern people is that she is openly anti-Semitic.

Until coming to Massachusetts, I'd never seen a televised debate featuring a candidate for a major office who attended pro-Hezbollah rallies. Or a candidate who went to memorial services commemorating the terrorist murderers of Black September.

Grace Ross's party, the GRP, does not believe Israel has the right to exist. In fact, their website labels Israel as an area "referred to by some people as Israel, the West Bank and Gaza."

No wonder Ms. Ross supports the complete divestiture of all American assets from Israel. She believes the victims of the suicide bombers and Hezbollah missiles are the REAL terrorists.

Here's my question: Who cares whether or not she needs Jenny Craig? She supports people who murder Jews! Hello--isn't that a significant political issue?

And by the way, we're not talking about events from her misspent youth here. Ms. Ross has done all these things DURING the current campaign. The memorial for the Black September terrorists she attended was held this September--hours after she attended a candidate event at a local synagogue.

If I were going to waste air time on this babbling, Jew-hating Commie-wannabe, I'd be talking about how until a few weeks ago, the co-chair of Ms. Ross's Green-Rainbow Party was notorious anti-Semite and terror supporter ("I would be a suicide bomber") Ron Francis of Andover. I'd talk about the maps Ms. Ross's supporters wave at their rallies showing the Middle East without an Israel on them.

I certainly wouldn't be talking about her appearance or her sexual preferences. There's a real story about Grace Ross that's worth telling (if anyone cares).

And do I even have to point out that the Boston Globe-Democrat has yet to report one word of it?

The Natural Truth About Our Soldiers

Despite what John Kerry and Charlie Rangel want you to believe, the truth is our soldiers are better educated and come from more affluent homes than the average American.

Some facts:

• The high school graduation rate of 2005 military recruits, 96.72, is higher than the rate for the general population, 79.8 percent.
• The mean reading level of 2004 recruits is a full grade level higher than that of the comparable youth population.
• The percent of recruits who scored in the top percentile of the Armed Forces Qualifying Test, the standardized test administered to determine eligibility for service, rose from 5.63 percent in 2003 to 6.43 percent in 2005.
• In 2004, 92.1 percent of those who became active-duty officers held a baccalaureate degree or higher.
• From 2000 to 2005, between 35 percent and 45 percent of active-duty officers held advanced degrees.
• As for income levels of recruits, the percentage from the poorest U.S. neighborhoods, with one-fifth of the population, declined from 18 percent in 1999 to 13.7 in 2005.
• The median household income of recruits in 2005 was higher than in 1999 and higher than the national median, indicating that more recent recruits "come from even wealthier areas than their peers” who enlisted in 1999.

How The MSM Almost Killed The Kerry Story

My buddy, John Ziegler at KFI AM640 in LA, single-handedly saved the Kerry story from mainstream media oblivion.

Zig joined me on our show Wednesday night to give the "behind-the-scenes" story of how reporters discussed Kerry's idiotic comments and decided you and I didn't need to know.

Amazing.

Maybe THIS Is What Kerry Was Trying To Say

If Americans knew the full extent of U.S. criminal conduct, they would receive returning Iraqi veterans as they did Vietnam veterans, Hersh said. “In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby killers, in shame and humiliation,” he said. “It isn’t happening now, but I will tell you – there has never been an [American] army as violent and murderous as our army has been in Iraq.” --Seymour Hersh, darling of the American Left, on the performance of the American military in Iraq.

Photo Of The Day

Everything You Need To Know About The Modern American Left

They threw out Joe Lieberman but kept John Kerry.

John Kerry: "Stuck" on Stupid

That's my take in the Boston Herald today.

UPDATE: Guess who got better grades in college, Super-genius John Forbes Kerry, "Yale Man"-- or his fellow Yale alum George W. Bush?

The answer is here.