Fair and Balanced

Helen Thomas, White House correspondent, told the writer of this syrupy paean of her thoughts on George W. Bush:

“This is the worst president ever,” she said. “He is the worst president in all of American history.”

If I were a lesser man and had a tendency to make sarcastic remarks, I would say, "Well, she should know; she's lived through all of them."

But, of course, I shall refrain from doing so.

Ugh

Iraq it set to take the presidency for a couple of months of the Conference of Disarmament, a UN-related body (meaning, according to the eUNuch quoted in the article that it's "a unique, multilateral negotiating disarmament body within which international, binding legal agreements are negotiated." and reports to the General Assembly but isn't for some reason actually under UN auspices.) The presidency of the conference rotates alphabetically with Iraq's term beginning in late May and ending in July. The article contains many priceless quotes:

"I think the main public relations concern is, What does it do substantively?" [U.N. spokesman Farhan] Haq said. "Since it's not exactly a body that has been meeting to deal with issues substantively for several years, the main worry is not about a procedural issue such as who is the chair; it's about what it can do."

If it's not been "meeting to deal with issues substantively for several years," why hasn't it gotten around to them?

"Whatever Iraq is doing, or its state, life goes on," [United Nations Disarmament Commission Deputy Secretary Timur Alasaniya] said. "International legal instruments are still working. We cannot suspend them because of something that is happening in accordance with the rules. Unless they will be altered by the members themselves, they will remain the same. The rules say chairmanship goes by rotation in alphabetical order."

Apparently it's too much trouble to have a li'l rule that says "If your regime seeks to develop nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction in order to threat the Free World, no high-falutin postition on conferences supposedly aims at stopping you from getting these things in the first place."

Sheesh

Link Love

Owen Courreges (sorry, Owen, I just too lazy to put an accent mark over the first "e") has a brillant list of why Saddam needs to be kicked out.

Goodness Gracious Alive

According to the United Nations, one man approached the hotel's security gate with a metal instrument before Iraqi guards wrestled him to the ground. He was found to have three knives, the United Nations said.

About 40 minutes later, another Iraqi man stopped a U.N. vehicle outside the headquarters, pleading "Save me! Save me!" in Arabic, according to the United Nations.

The man, apparently unarmed, forced his way into the driver's seat of the stopped vehicle. As an Iraqi guard struggled to pull him out, a U.N. inspector watched from the passenger seat.

Are you an Iraqi and think about defecting? The UN inspectors ain't the ones to go to.

After a long hiatus, I've posted an item at CampusNonsense.com

Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Since today is the 30th anniversary of that historic decision, I would like to ask this simple question to the pro-abortion crowd: Why would the overturning of Roe v. Wade be so awful? Let's think about it. What did this legal decision do? The answer is that it invalidated the abortion laws, all passed by duly elected legislatures, of the 50 states. If the Supreme Court were to today strike down Roe, it would not mean that abortion would be automatically be outlawed; the states would once again be allowed to enact or not enact abortion laws. Some states will restrict abortion, others will keep the status quo, and the rest might extent abortion "rights." The point is that the residents of the individual state would be allowed to either vote on referenda deciding the legality of abortion or elect governors and members of their state legislatures that will pass and sign laws concerning abortion. Why would the pro-abortion Left, who loves to proclaim its devotion to democracy and the "will of the people," be so against letting the people choose?

Maybe they are afraid that the result wouldn't be to their liking...

On this day in history

Jefferson Davis, Senator from Mississippi, resigns his seat on 21 Jan. 1861 after Mississippi passes an ordinance of secession.

Quick Links

Did you hear something? That's the sound of Jonathan Adler laying the smack down on the anti-S.U.V. crowd.

If you're in San Franscisco, that might be the sound of the windows being broken by a group of anti-war protestors. Um, I guess they missed a memo...

Reason #1,543,693 why the U.N. is a sorry joke of an organization: Libya was voted overwhemingly to chair United Nations Human Rights Commission. Keep this factoid in mind when someone says we need U.N. approval to go into Iraq.

Speaking of Iraq, the UK plans to send a 25% of its army might to the Persian Gulf.

State Representative Larry Baker of Senatobia has announced that he will switch from being a Democrat to a Republican. This is the fourth legislator to have changed his party affiliation since Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck switched. Welcome aboard, Mr. Baker!

How about "Love Me Tender"?

Two state senators here in Mississippi, Alan Nunnelee and Delma Furniss, are working to change the state song. Well, it's about time someone did! The current song, "Go, Misssissippi" is an absolute abomination that I remember having have to sing in elementary school. Just imagine the worst show tune you ever heard, then multiply that agony by ten. You would then have a miniscule taste of how awful the song truely is. You would think a state with such a rich musical heritage could do better.

"...huge karmic retributions..."

No, that's not the name of the lastest rock band according to Ms. Sheryl Crow, it's what will happen to America if it goes in to take out the Butcher of Baghdad.

Speaking of Defections...

Mississippi State Representative Herb Frierson (106th House District) officially announced that he has switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party. Also, on the 30th December, State Senator Terry Burton declared to switch. His decision brings Senate Republicans within 5 seats of gaining control of the Mississippi Senate.

4 To Watch

Four Democrats in the House didn't vote for Pelosi to be Speaker yesterday. And all of 'em are from the South and lean more to the Right; Charles Stenholm and Ralph Hall from Texas and Ken Lucas of Kentucky voted merely "present" with Mississippi's own Gene Taylor casting a vote for "pro-defense, pro-life, pro-gun Democrat" John Murtha of Pennsylvania. Just how conservative is this gang of four? Here's a look at their American Conservative Union ratings:

Name	2001	2000	YOS	Life
Stenholm	64	52	23	73
Hall	96	88	21	83
Lucas	76	60	3	67
Taylor	64	52	13	74

YOS = Years of Service

Should we set a timer to see how long before they jump aboard the Republican ship? I think Lucas would be the first since he's been in Congress for only 3 years and wouldn't be as committed to the House Democrats. The three others, in constrast, have invested a significant number of their Congressional years being on the Democratic side, so they probably aren't as eager to leave that behind without major conjoling from the GOP.

via Rush Limbaugh

"The Snows of Mount Kilimanjaro"

Drudge points out a rather heated exchange between Babra Steisand and former GWB speechwriter David Frum:

Former Bush speechwriter David Frum details his showdown with citizen Streisand in his new book THE RIGHT MAN, hitting racks Tuesday.

"So tell me: Why did Bush flip-flop on emissions standards?" Streisand asked Frum during a heated argument about Global Warming at a gathering on the eve of the Kyoto repudiation.

"I know why he did it," she continued. "It was because of all the campaign contributions he got from Enron."

ME Never mind that Enron supported Kyoto.

When Streisand learned what Frum did for a living, she released a disdainful "Ewwwwwww."

ME: Funny, that's the same sound I make when I hear her "pontificate."

'"The snows on top of Mount Kilimanjaro are melting. There's no disagreement about that," Streisand argued.

Frum: "Look, I don't know about that. I'm no kind of expert on climate change. But, Miss Streisand, I strongly suspect that neither are you. For you, this is religion, not science."

ME: Yes! Bravo for Mr. Frum!

Streisand looked at Frum with "utter revulsion."

"I know what I'm talking about. I give a lot of money to environmental causes," she huffed and left Frum standing.

ME: So giving money to a cause = excellent knowledge of those causes. Perhaps if Mrs. Brolin would close her mouth instead of spouting off a bunch of Leftist drivel, there will be less hot air causing global warming.

Happy New Year!

"And just where have you been?" you might be asking (or not, just go along with it, please.) Well, the answer is: Georgia. My dad, our dog Anne and I went to Dublin, GA, located smack in the middle of Peach State. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had been to Georgia. Anyway, my mama is working at the hospital there on a 13 week contract (it has now been extended 2 weeks) via a placement company she has signed up with. She was off on Christmas Eve and Day but had to work the Monday before, so it wasn't feasible for her to make the 7+ hour drive to Clarksville; we went to her to spend the week there. We all had a nice time, but I'm glad to be back home sleeping on my own bed instead of an air mattress.