If Only We Could Start Deporting Americans...

...then we'd have an immigration enforcement system the Bush administration would support.

Read the rest of my take on border security in the Boston Herald today.

De Duva

I can't think of a better tribute to the Bergman film tradition--and I say this as a fan--than this film, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1968.

It should have won.

Poor Little Rich Kids

From the front page of the Boston Globe-Democrat comes this truly tragic tale of woe:

When David Ludlow's wife died in a climbing accident 11 years ago, her death transformed him into a multimillionaire: He inherited Vanda Sendzimir's share of her family fortune, a $5 million trust that generates an annual interest of about $300,000. Then a freelance photographer with a passion for social justice issues, the Jamaica Plain man was plunged into a swirl of shock, guilt, and confusion.

"I've always been very left-wing politically and all of a sudden I was living incredible inequality," said Ludlow, 64. "Suddenly I was in the upper 1 percent of the population in terms of wealth, and I felt terrible about that for a long time."

He felt "terrible." Shock, guilt, confusion. How can he possible live with...ALL THIS MONEY?!

Poor David.

He's not alone. It turns out, according to the Globe-Democrat, that there are many other wealthy people just like poor (rich?) Dave, suffering from the infliction of TMI (Too Much Income). There are so many of these "Poor Me" Millionaires that they've actually started their own club: The 50% League. They give away half of their well-gotten gains in order to atone for the sin of success.

Why can't more people be like Frank Butler, a retired chief executive of a subsidiary of Kodak?

"I always dip into principle," Butler, 77, told the Globe-Democrat. He and his wife have a "substantial retirement savings" that is more than enough to pay their bills for the rest of their lives. But Frank also collects an annual pension and Social Security income of $80,000 a year.

I bet all those struggling, low-income workers getting pounded by Social Security taxes are thrilled to know that Frank's giving their money away to make himself feel better about being wealthy. Now THAT'S social justice!

But Frank Butler and his wife aren't just thinking of themselves: "Their goal is to have spent all their wealth by the time they die, leaving no inheritances for their two daughters."

See? He's going to keep his children from suffering by giving their inheritance away first! What a thoughtful guy. After all, why should your children benefit just because you worked hard, invested, took risks, etc? Aren't other people's kids just as entitled to your wealth as your kids are? What--you think your family is special?

No, no, no. They're just strangers who happen to live in your house. Your money is everyone else's money, so give it away! Preferrably to "social justice" organizations that lobby the government to raise taxes on those greedy bastards who try to pass their wealth on to their own kids.

We'll show 'em! Hillary Clinton will put every successful American worker into the 50% League.

Whether they like it or not.

Did Somebody In Iraq Say "Win?"

From two analysts with the left-leaning Brookings Institute, in the New York Times today:

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

Too bad nobody in Washington cares. Too bad American Democrats would rather beat Bush (who's leaving in 2009 anyway) than defeat Al Qaeda and the Islamists. Too bad Senate Democrats, whose mantra used to be "listen to the generals!" now refuse to do just that.

Too bad for the future of the Middle East and the future of my children that a third way between dictators and Islamist kooks will not be allowed to thrive in the heart of this backward region, and the necessary and inevitable transformation will be set back yet again. How many more terrorist attacks? How many more dead civilians? How much more support for the radicalized Muslim youth of the West?

Who cares, right? All that matters today is "Beat BusHitler! No War For Oil! Cindy Sheehan for Emperor!"

Why stop now for the facts?

Looking For Miss Kelly?

She's right here, and she's all over the story of the angry imam in Sharon, MA linked via family and philosophy to Islamist terrorism.

Illegally bringing Pakistanis into America, lying about his own actions to federal investigators, helping push a moderate imam out of a local mosque--this all looks like pretty big local news to me. And yet, as Miss Kelly pointed out, this story gets more media coverage in Pakistan than in Boston.

I guess the local press is waiting for this story to, er blow up...

The Reel Blues Fest

Get all the details here.

"Beat John Doe"

That's the goal of CAIR and its allies on the Loony Left, which is why Congressional Democrats killed the "John Doe Protection Act."

The JDPA would stop lawsuits against average citizens who "see something, say something" they find suspicious at the airport, train station, etc. CAIR filed lawsuits against the citizens who reported the angry imams at the Minneapolis airport late last year. These lawsuits sent a clear message to the traveling public that, when it comes to Muslims, keep your traps shut.

The Congress had a chance to stand up on behalf of average Americans trying to do their part to stop terrorism. Instead, the Congress sided with trial lawyers and angry imams.

What will Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Kerry say if, as happened on 9/11, an American who had a chance to stop a major terror attack says nothing, and thousands of citizens are killed yet again? Will the lawsuits be worth it then?

WTKK Listeners Speak Out On The Great Debate Of The Day!

Cats vs. Dogs!

Now that science has uncovered the cat species' evil plot to manipulate poor, unsuspecting humans, the fight between Cat People and Dog People is on!

First is was Jonah Goldberg vs. John Hood. Now the listeners are speaking out:

Michael, they're both Republicans. Cats are the elite Bush group, dogs are the moderate everyday group.

As for the Dems? Theyre birds! They flock together, and sh** on everybody whether they like it or not!

--Matt

Michael, they both love to lick their bums ... 'Nuff said!

--Amina

Maybe it's because I'm a gay man and don't have to deal with women in relationships, but I love cats.

Cats represent the triumph of freedom over slavery. I would rather have an animal with me that stays with me because they choose to than one that stays with me because they don't know any better! Think of some of the dog owners you know. You'd have to be an idiot to be friends with one let alone live with them and serve them.

– Ken.

Michael,

Speaking as a bipetual, I can say that this is my cat's world... I'm just here to open the cans.

Two things to remember:
Dogs are loyal to their people
Cats are loyal to their food

--Elaine

Which woman do you want to meet, the dog or the sex kitten?

--Stephen

Cats walk on their toilet moving around their "waste" and then jump on your kitchen table. That's all you need to know.

--Anna

Deport Them Now!

After yet another horrific murder committed by an immigrant who should have been deported, Michelle Malkin has started a movement to pressure our government to do its primary and most important job: Protect citizens.

America has always welcomed immigrants, and we should. Immigrants in the past who have come to America to create better lives for themselves and their families have made America better, too.

But there is a new generation of immigrants (mostly illegal) who see America, not as the land of opportunity, but as the land of opportunism. Come here, commit crimes and continue to live off the generosity and largesse of the American people.

There is simply no excuse for any politician, no matter how liberal, who opposes deporting immigrants who commit violent crimes here in the United States. You wouldn't let a guest who attacked one of your children stay in your home. Why would we let immigrants who attack American children remain in our country?

This is a relatively easy problem to solve. All it requires is strength of will. When criminals are deported back to Mexico and Central/South America, activists at La Raza and other racist groups will complain loudly.

They should be ignored. Will they? Only if the rational American majority speaks out. That's what DeportThemNow is all about.

Impeach Deval Patrick!

Oh, wait-- Deval Patrick wants to impeach George W. Bush! Sorry, I mis-read the story.

Does Gov. Patrick really support impeaching the president? Is he really that much of a nutroots liberal? I'd like to say "no way," but this is the same governor who lets the 9/11 conspiracy kooks use his website to spread their "the Jews blew up the World Trade Center" idiocy.

Governor Deval Patrick: Member in good standing of the Moonbat Brigades.

Michael, Who Was That Lefty Kook?

That fine gentleman was David Kravitz of Blue Mass Group. It's a great source of information from the loony left.

If Liberals Are So Smart...

...How come they're so dumb?

That's the question of the day at the Boston Herald.

Gen X? Gen Y? Gen Jones? Gen Jerk?

Find out what generation you're wired into, not based on date of birth but on use of data.

How you use the media is, Penelope Trunk argues, a much-better measure of what generation you're in.

Take the test here.

From The MA Department Of People Who Just Don't Get It

"People who had oversight over the Big Dig did a fabulous job. It's already recognized as the greatest construction project in the world. "

--Mary Jane O'Meara, Deval Patrick's acting executive director of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

Trans Fats: The Natural Truth

Below are a few of the sources I mentioned during today's debates on trans fat. The bottom line: trans fat, like saturated fats, alcohol and numerous other substances, can increase the risks to your heath if you consume too much.

So why pick on trans fats? Because it's easy. It sets the precedent (the government has the right to criminalize your diet decisions) without taking on consumers directly.

That's today. But if trans fats are killing me in restaurants today, won't they still be killing me in the grocery store tomorrow? How long are we going to allow that?

Meanwhile, the beers I order are far more dangerous than the french fries I get at my local restaurant. How long will people like Rep. Koutoujian allow my local murder..er "restaurant owner" to abuse me by selling me alcohol? Ending all alcohol consumption would save far more lives than banning trans fat.

Or don't you care about the people you're letting die, Rep. Koutoujian?

Here are those links:

Trans Fat facts: http://www.trans-fatfacts.com/faq.htm

The New York Times finds that getting rid of trans fats isn't as easy as advertised: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/dining/07tran.html?ex=1184385600&en=3b7142dc4fa7200a&ei=5070

Are there GOOD trans fats? http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3069206&page=1

More on the downside to diners of banning trans fats: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200703/kummer-fat

De-Volunteering!

"Paid" volunteers are one of my public policy pet peeves. It began with President Clinton's Americorps program, which "allows" young people to "volunteer" and earn themselves thousands of dollars in cash and scholarships.

There's a word that describes what happens when a college kid shows up at a soup kitchen and mops floors in exchange for a weekly check. It's called a "job."

Now the Americorps system comes to the Massachusetts state government. State employees who don't show up for their taxpayer-fundeed jobs can still get paid--if they show up to perform "volunteer" works at hospitals, senior centers, etc.

So I show up at a community center for 8 hours, I get paid for it, and that's "volunteering?"

No, Gov. Patrick, that's called working.

Every day, millions of Americans take time out to actually volunteer--coaching Little League, visiting sick neighbors, helping through their church or synagogue, etc., etc. They won't get paid, they won't get a check, their employer won't let them do it on the clock.

That's service. That's charity. That's what most Americans do.

But Patrick's program of paying government workers to not do their jobs? That's just another day in Massachusetts.

"The Wrong Glue"

"After 16 years, dozens of contractors, thousands of laborers, 3.8 million cubic yards of concrete and $14.798 billion in tax dollars, the Big Dig Debacle comes down to this: $1,100 worth of the wrong glue.

And one tragically avoidable death."

Read the rest of my Boston Herald column on the Big Dig here.

Sugar Wafers!

These were the cookie addiction of my Husky-sized youth.

Hooked On Ho-Hos?

That's what some academics are suggesting during a recent conference at Yale. They want to add food addiction to the long list of other "addictions": Drugs, alcohol, nicotine, sex, videogames, shopping, etc., etc.

OK, I'll admit it: If I don't eat every day, I go through withdrawals. After two or three days without a food fix, my stomach hurts, I feel weak, and I suffer from desperate cravings for some "E", as we food addicts call "edibles."

So when you see me waddling down the street with a 500-calorie triple scoop cone in one hand and a Diet Coke in the other, don't blame me. I'm an addict!

It's All HIS Fault!

Is Mister Rogers to blame for the current spoiled-brat generation of Americans?

Deval Patrick's Risky Business

Could it be that the "Cadillac of Governors" has discovered...capitalism? Read the shocking story (OK, it's my column in the Boston Herald) here.

Why They're the Boston Globe-Democrat, Part XXXVII

"As the White House was preparing its case for war, the CIA asked Wilson, a retired ambassador who had served in Africa, in 2002 to check out reports that Niger had sent materials for a nuclear weapon to Iraq. Upon returning, Wilson told the CIA he found no evidence of such a transfer. [emphasis added]. "

So "reports" the Boston Globe-Democrat today, showing a humiliating lack of anything even resembling facts. Where to begin?

Nobody sent Joe Wilson to Niger to "check out reports that Niger sent materials for a nuclear weapon to Iraq." NOBODY. It didn't happen. The Boston-Globe Democrat is wrong. Joe Wilson was sent, at the suggestion of his wife (who then lied about it) to check this out:

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Remember that? From the 2003 State of the Union address? This is the statement that Wilson claimed afterwards his "investigation" had refuted.

Note the lack of "sending" of materials, nuclear or otherwise. It was Iraq's attempts to get yellowcake that were the subject of Wilson's alleged "investigation."

So it's true that Wilson never reported any transfer of uranium. (he wasn't looking for one). But that was never the issue. The issue was whether or not Wilson found any evidence that Iraq was "seeking" uranium in Niger. Wilson told the NYTimes the answer was "no."

But as the Senate Intelligence Committee reported in 2004, Wilson lied to the NYTimes. Wilson's own report (which he didn't even bother to write down, giving only an oral briefing to the CIA upon his return) was that a prominent Iraqi involved in the import/export business was in Niger looking for imports. Given that the only things exported from Niger are uranium and cholera, it's very likely the Iraqis were trying to violate sanctions and get their hands on the uranium.

All of this information is very public record. It took me about 35 seconds to pull up the Washington Post stories, the SOTU quote from President Bush and quotes from the Senate Intelligence Committee report. Wilson's self-aggrandizing mythology has been refuted a dozen times.

So why did the Boston Globe-Democrat get this story so wrong? Why are they "reporting" things that are demonstrably untrue?

Because if the "Scooter Lied, People Died" aspect of this story goes away, the only reason to care about it does, too.

Who (other than Rosie O'Donnell) is going to get outraged over a story about a guy who DIDN'T tell the press about Valerie Plame (that was Richard Armitage), who DIDN'T know Plame was a covert agent (she had her own CIA parking space), who DIDN'T lie about Iraq's ongoing attempts to develop nukes (Joe Wilson did that), and then DIDN'T get away with "it"--whatever "it" is. After all, Libby is still serving two years supervised probation and paying $250,000.

If the folks at MoveOn.org think that sentence is too light for perjury and obstruction of justice, they should remember what it is they wanted America to "move on" from in the first place.

What--liberals who think perjury and obstruction of justice are serious crimes? Now THAT would be a big story at the Boston Globe-Democrat.

"Terrorism? WHAT Terrorism?"

It's just Bumper stickers. Ask John Edwards.