Nominee Samuel Alito may be our next Supreme Court justice. Bush, showing he has learned from the Miers mess, carefully drew attention to a few points in his nomination speech.
Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court [the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals] for 15 years, and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.
He has participated in thousands of appeals and authored hundreds of opinions. This record reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal merits carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion.
He has a deep understanding of the proper role of judges in our society. He understands that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people.
Alito himself showed why he was on the short-list of conservatives with his follow-up introduction.
Every time that I have entered the courtroom during the past 15 years, I have been mindful of the solemn responsibility that goes with service as a federal judge. Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional system.I am happy with Alito nomination, even though I wish he were younger. At 55, he is pushing the envelope of what I would call an effective nomination given that no one knows who may hold the presidency when Alito dies or retires. However, I like everything else. He has been a voice of reason on the liberal 3rd Court. Alito is a family man, so his children will be impacted by his decisions. And as President Bush so emphatically pointed out, Alito has more judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in seven decades.
Many Republicans have already provided press releases supporting Alito. No surprise there, what do you expect them to say? The big surprise with Miers is that Bush's base didn't think she was qualified. I find the response of liberals to be far more enlightening. Many liberals, including Henry Reid, were strong supporters of Miers. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has compiled some quotes. I've copied those of influential Democrats.
Continue reading "Bush Nominates a Qualified Conservative"
Three weeks after Germany's election, conservative leader Angela Merkel is set to become Germany’s first female chancellor.
Under the power-sharing agreement, Schroeder’s Social Democrats would get eight seats in the Cabinet, compared with six for Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union.
The fat lady still hasn't sung in Germany the BBC reports that the power sharing agreement is only be the start of a lengthy and more detailed negotiation on the small print of future government policy. According to the Associated Press, the power sharing deal, even though approved by party leader, must still be approved by party conferences and in parliament. That process could take several more weeks.
From California Yankee.
In a move that I think everyone can agree is common sense -- except for sex offenders with impotency -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill banning the state health care system from paying for Viagra for poor sex offenders. I still don't understand why taxpayers should end up paying for anyone's Viagra, but especially in the case of a sex offender. If anything, erectile dysfunction drugs should be outlawed to anyone with sex offender status.
In addition Schwarzenegger also signed bills allowing children to testify in court via closed circuit television, prohibiting parents from having custody of their children if the parent lives with a registered sex offender, blocking the state's Department of Mental Health from placing sexually violent patients near schools after release from treatment and allowing state and local officials to use global positioning systems to monitor parolees.
Federal support for subsidized Viagra was curtailed earlier this year when a New York state audit found nearly 200 sex offenders benefiting from the program.
Schwarzenegger then asked state agencies to stop prescribing the drugs to sex offenders and asked lawmakers to pass a bill that would outlaw the coverage.
Sounds good to me. Now about those illegal aliens getting Viagra and other prescriptions and health care on the taxpayers dime...
Originally posted at Diggers Realm
The Democrats' efforts to improve their image with religious voters after their 2004 presidential election defeat backfire.
The Associated Press reports a new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that fewer people now see Democrats as friendly to religion now than felt that way a year ago:
That number has dropped from 40 percent in August 2004 who thought the Democrats were friendly to religion to 29 percent now.
“The change is seen across all groups,” said Scott Keeter, director of survey research for the Pew Research Center, which conducted the poll for the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
After President Bush's reelection, the Democratic National Committee initiated numerous efforts to strengthen its standing with religious voters:
The DNC hired someone to coordinate religious outreach, encouraged state parties to work more closely with the religious community, and had Chairman Howard Dean meet with clergy and others in the religious community during his travels around the country.
According to the poll's findings, the Democrats have experienced a sharp erosion in the number of Americans who believe the party is friendly toward religion. Only about three-in-ten (29%) see the Democrats as friendly toward religion, down from 40% last August.
From California Yankee.
The Associated Press reports that President Bush is moving toward allowing illegal aliens who came to the U.S. before February 2004 to qualify for guest-worker visas. Illegal aliens arriving after that date would be deported:
“They're trying to split the baby,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said of the White House plan, “and I don't think they can do that.”
The proposed McCain-Kennedy approach to immigration reform would create 400,000 three-year visas for guest workers and would let undocumented workers stay in the U.S. while they apply for the program. The Cornyn-Kyl proposal would create two-year visas and require that guest workers and illegal aliens leave the U.S. before they can apply for the chance to work legally in the country.
According to the Associated Press, President Bush does not favor requiring illegal aliens to be sent home to apply for the visas.
From California Yankee.
Last Friday Judge L. Phillips Runyon III dismissed trespassing charges against Ramirez and seven other illegal aliens. The illegal aliens, from Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, were charged with trespass after traffic stops when they produced fake identification and admitted they were in the country illegally.
The Daily News Tribune reported that Judge Runyon agreed with defense lawyers that the police chiefs in New Ipswich and Hudson were improperly trying to enforce federal laws:
“The criminal trespass charges against the defendants are unconstitutional attempts to regulate in the area of enforcement of immigration violations, an area where Congress must be deemed to have regulated with such civil sanctions and criminal penalties as it feels are sufficient,” Jaffrey District Court Judge L. Phillips Runyon III ruled.
[. . .]“The current charges clearly conflict with the comprehensive menu of federal immigration offenses, sanctions and penalties by attempting to add a new one to them,” Runyon wrote.
He said federal law has a mechanism to let local officers assist in enforcing immigration law.“This role for local law enforcement exists within the federal plan for enforcing immigration violations, which is further indication that Congress intended to preclude any local efforts which are unauthorized or based on other than federal law,” he said.
From California Yankee.
Arizona's law prohibiting illegal aliens from receiving some public benefits has survived a challenge by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
The Washington Times reports that a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's Proposition 200:
“The appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The district court record reveals that there was no case or controversy between plaintiffs and the state of Arizona when pleadings were before the district court,” the panel said.
Proposition 200, won approval from 56 percent of the voters in November's election.Under the law, state and local government employees to verify the immigration status of those seeking public benefits they are prohibited from receiving under federal law and to report to federal immigration authorities any applicant who is in violation of U.S. immigration law. State employees are also subject to criminal charges if they fail to report illegals aliens, and requires people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
From California Yankee.
The presidential primaries are still a long way off, not starting until early 2008. But that hasn't stopped presidential hopefuls from visiting New Hampshire in an effort to lay the groundwork for a future campaign.
It seems the left over campaign signs from the 2004 Presidential elections have barely rotted away when TV, radio, and newspaper ads touting the efforts of a would-be candidate are starting to make their presence known.
Former 2004 running mates Senator John Kerry and ex-Senator John Edwards were slated to visit the state today, though there apparently no plans for them to meet. This is Edwards' third visit this year. There's no doubt in my mind that they're both planning another run for the White House.
Those supporting the idea of Hillary Clinton running for president will be visiting later and will be funding ads supporting her run.
Others presidential hopefuls visiting New Hampshire include Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana), Governor Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico), Senator Bill Frist (R-Tennessee), Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska), Senator George Allen (R-Virginia), Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts), Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado), and a host of others. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is scheduled to visit the state next month.
It is the beginning of the next great political silly season. Let the glad-handing begin....
(Cross-posted to Weekend Pundit)
by Robin Burk
From time to time I've been posting articles about Latin America, specifically Hugo Chavez in Venezuela of late. The region is an important one globally, our closest geographic neighbors after Canada and one that I think potentially poses either great opportunities or, as I fear, serious security and other challenges in the coming decades.
The countries of Latin America have had varied histories, but most have experienced a lot of poverty and political repression, some of which the U.S. has turned a blind eye to — or quietly supported. Now these countries are linking into the global economic, trade and political networks that so characterize our times. The question is, WHICH networks will they join, and to what end?
If we are wise and lucky, it will be the Central American and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement. Unfortunately, many Senators (primarily Democrats) oppose CAFTA and it is in danger of not being approved here. U.S. failure to approve this agreement will do more than sabotage a fledgling trade pact: it may well doom our relationships with Latin America permanently, as Andres Oppenheimer notes. And that will do more than create tensions or foster continued economic and political problems for Central America. (h/t Publius Pundit)
It just might mean that those countries actively align with China, harbor Islamacist and other terror groups and pose a serious security threat to the U.S. and allied nations.
Dennis Morrisseau is a retired restaurant owner from West Pawlet, Vermont who's running as a Republican for the seat being vacated by Bernie Sanders. If elected, he promises to bring articles of impeachment against president Bush. Morrisseau doesn't appear to have a web site, and in lieu of a national party he's trying to go the grassroots route a la Howard Dean.
“GOP candidate calls for impeachment” quotes him as saying:
“This leadership isn't very Republican and I don't think it's very popular with Vermont Republicans… Republicans in this state tend to be mind-your-own-business people, keep taxes low and government small… [Former VT Gov. Deane Davis] was the best environmentalist we had in this state… That's Republicanism in Vermont. We like small businesses. We're afraid of outsiders and large businesses. That's what I'm about…. I think I've got a great shot… There's been movement since the election, if you track the polls. That's not just Democrats, that's Republicans, too. Down in southern Vermont, [Bush] is reviled among Republicans.”
If his message gets any further attention, expect the fact that he was one of the founders of VT's liberal, anti-Vietnam War Liberty Union Party as well as the fact that he's a former Democrat to be used against him.
Red State seems to be laying all the cards on John Roberts.
Update; AP is confirming it is Roberts.
It should be noted that Red State beat the AP to that confirmation by two minutes.
Keep an eye on this blog throughout the evening.
A round up/tracking of blog reactions here
An opposition by Alliance for Justice (pdf) [via Daily Kos]
Plenty at Volokh, including a list of groups that opposed Roberts in 2003.
Disclaimer:I grant that this is one person's opinion, and I will present it without commentary.
I just had a conversation with a source, (said source wishes to remain anonymous for professional reasons), intimately familiar with the Fifth Cicuit and got the following reaction to the possibility of the nomination of Judge Clement:
“Not much of a worker”
“Not the sharpest pencil in the box”
“A completely average federal judge”
All in all, my source believes that this is somewhat of a stealth nomination, and that the lack of a track record may be her most appealing qualification.
President Bush will name his selection for the open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EDT, a senior administration official said.[…]
The name at the top of the list appears to be that of Judge Edith Clement (search), a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. Activists have already prepared a video testimonial from long-time lawyer friends of Clement, who is known by the nickname “Joy.”
FOX News has learned that Clement has already been interviewed by Vice President Dick Cheney, a possible sign that she is the choice for the high court.
I'm sorry — didn't we just finish this?
Well, time's up. Here we go: Governors who would hope to be president of the United States are (informally) stumping in Iowa (CNN).
Particularly active: Pataki (NY), Vilsack (Iowa), and Huckabee (Arkansas). Oh, and Romney (MA). Those who read this page have heard me say it before: Keep and eye on Romney — he's gonna get the nod before all is said and done.
The Associated Press reports Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, says he will continue heading the court as long his health permits:
“I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement,” Rehnquist, 80, and ailing with thyroid cancer, said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. “I am not about to announce my retirement. I will continue to perform my duties as chief justice as long as my health permits.”
From California Yankee.
USA Today reports that the “outing” of Wilson's wife “may not have been a crime at all.”
According to USA Today, in his book, “The Politics of Truth,” Wilson writes that he and his future wife both returned from overseas assignments in June 1997:
Neither spouse, a reading of the book indicates, was again stationed overseas. They appear to have remained in Washington, D.C., where they married and became parents of twins.
Six years later, in July 2003, the name of the CIA officer — Valerie Plame — was revealed by columnist Robert Novak.
The column's date is important because the law against unmasking the identities of U.S. spies says a “covert agent” must have been on an overseas assignment “within the last five years.” The assignment also must be long-term, not a short trip or temporary post, two experts on the law say. Wilson's book makes numerous references to the couple's life in Washington over the six years up to July 2003.
“Unless she was really stationed abroad sometime after their marriage,” she wasn't a covert agent protected by the law, says Bruce Sanford, an attorney who helped write the 1982 act that protects covert agents' identities.
From California Yankee.
Despite four trips to early primary and caucus states this year, Colorado's Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo says he is not running for president.
The Washington Times reports that Tancredo will run unless a top-tier Republican candidate takes a strong position on cracking down on illegal immigration and lowering legal immigration:
“My task is to get one of them to take this on,” Mr. Tancredo told about 50 members of the Christian Coalition of Iowa who gathered in a community center in Cedar Falls on Friday night. “If they don't do that, if I cannot find someone to do that, if they just give lip service to it and not the heart, yeah, I will run. I will do that.”
Tancredo believes the reception he received in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Georgia are an indication of how important the issue of immigration has become.
From California Yankee.
Associated Press reports that Westport's Democratic First Selectman Diane Farrell took the first formal steps for a rematch with Republican Congressman Christopher Shays:
Farrell, a Democrat who lost to Shays in 2004, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission that will allow her to begin raising money for her campaign.
Shays, meanwhile, will file an FEC report Friday that will show he has already raised about $500,000 for his re-election bid, according to his campaign manager Michael Sohn. Sohn said Shays will finish the second quarter of the year with about $375,000 in cash on hand.
From California Yankee.
A roundup of Rove stories:
Nearly two years after stating that any administration official found to have been involved in leaking the name of an undercover CIA officer would be fired, and assuring that Karl Rove and other senior aides to President Bush had nothing to do with the disclosure, the White House refused on Monday to answer any questions about new evidence of Rove's role in the matter.
Dems urge Rove to clear air on leak:
Democrats yesterday pressed White House aide Karl Rove to “clear the air” about his role in the leak of a covert CIA operative's identity to the news media after disclosures that he was a Time reporter's source on that story.The heat on Rove rose after the White House yesterday rebuffed reporters' questions about his role, citing the special prosecutor's probe - even though two years ago a Bush spokesman called suggestions Rove was involved “ridiculous” and said anyone who was would be fired.
“The prosecutors overseeing the investigation had expressed a preference to us that one way to help the investigation is not to be commenting on it from this podium,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said yesterday.
Press Batters McClellan on Rove/Plame Link
White House in a bind over Rove e-mail
Blog links:
Captain's Quarters
Powerline
Billmon
Just One Minute
Mickey Kaus
The Associated Press reports President Bush is meeting with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the committee; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; and Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to talk about the Supreme Court vacancy:
While the president has held telephone conversations with the four senators before, Bush's breakfast with the four Tuesday is their first meeting in person about the vacancy.
“The president is not prejudging anything,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Monday, adding that Bush and his advisers have reached out to more than 60 senators. “He wants to hear what their views are and hear what they have to say as we move forward on a Supreme Court nominee.”
From California Yankee.
Supreme Court Justrice Sandra Day O'Connor submitted her retirement notice to President Bush on Friday, setting the stage for a contentious battle over her replacement.Bush is scheduled to speak from the White House Rose Garden at 11:15 a.m. EDT to announce the retirement. Sources said he will not be naming a potential successor for O'Connor.
“Dear President Bush, this is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor. It has been a great priviledge indeed to have served as a member of the Court for 24 Terms.
“I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the Court and its role under our constitutional structure,” O'Connor wrote.
Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman and the 102nd person to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Judicial Offices:
Nominated by President Reagan as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court on July 7, 1981; confirmed by the United States Senate on September 22, 1981; and took oath of office on September 25, 1981.
Appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by Governor Bruce Babbitt and served from 1979 to 1981.
Elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix, Arizona. and served from 1975 to 1979.
Some quotes from Justice O'Connor:
- A moment of silence is not inherently religious.
- Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom.
- Having family responsibilities and concerns just has to make you a more understanding person.
- I don't know that there are any short cuts to doing a good job.
- It is a measure of the framers' fear that a passing majority might find it expedient to compromise 4th Amendment values that these values were embodied in the Constitution itself.
- It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.
- My hope is that 10 years from now, after I've been across the street at work for a while, they'll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote.
- Statutes authorizing unreasonable searches were the core concern of the framers of the 4th Amendment.
We hold that the reckless disregard for human life implicit in knowingly engaging in criminal activity known to carry a grave risk of death represents a highly culpable mental state that may be taken into account in making a capital sentencing judgment not inevitable, lethal result.
Possible replacements include Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and federal courts of appeals judges J. Michael Luttig, John Roberts, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Michael McConnell, Emilio Garza and James Harvie Wilkinson III. Others mentioned are former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, but Bush's pick could be a surprise choice not well known in legal circles.Another prospective candidate is Edith Hollan Jones, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who was also considered for a Supreme Court vacancy by President Bush's father.
Lots of talk over at The Corner
Bench memos at National Review
A quarter-century after they were taken captive in Iran, five former American hostages say they got an unexpected reminder of their 444-day ordeal in the bearded face of Iran's new president-elect.Watching coverage of Iran's presidential election on television dredged up 25-year-old memories that prompted four of the former hostages to exchange e-mails. And those four realized they shared the same conclusion — the firm belief that President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been one of their Iranian captors.
“This is the guy. There's no question about it,” said former hostage Chuck Scott , a retired Army colonel who lives in Jonesboro, Ga. “You could make him a blond and shave his whiskers, put him in a zoot suit and I'd still spot him.”
Scott and former hostages David Roeder, William J. Daugherty and Don A. Sharer told The Associated Press on Wednesday they have no doubt Ahmadinejad, 49, was one of the hostage-takers. A fifth ex-hostage, Kevin Hermening, said he reached the same conclusion after looking at photos.
Documents obtained by Judicial Watch under the FOIA reveal the extent to which Bush's guest worker plan resulted in a spike of illegal immigration. The documents also reveal administration attempts to cover up that fact.
See Bush “Temporary Worker Proposal” Caused Increase in Illegal Immigrant Crossings, New Docs Show for the documents and Judicial Watch's summary.
According to the document entitled “U.S. Border Patrol Survey Analysis”, the BP conducted a survey for three weeks beginning on January 7, 2004. They asked detained illegal aliens why they came to the U.S. About 45% said it was because of Bush's plan, which many considered to be an amnesty. The administration stopped the survey after just three weeks.
Judicial Watch also obtained a document entitled “White House Approved Talking Points”, which contains:
“Do not talk about amnesty, increase in apprehensions, or give comparisons of past immigration reform proposals… Do not provide statistics on apprehension spikes or past amnesty data…”
President Bush promoted his immigration plan on various occasions long after January 2004, including during the presidential debates and on Bill O'Reilly's television show.
UPDATE: See Administration accused of withholding information on immigration for the administration's side of things.
UPDATE 2: On a related note, see “AP: U.S. Blocked Release of CAFTA Reports”:
The Labor Department worked for more than a year to maintain secrecy for studies that were critical of working conditions in Central America, the region the Bush administration wants in a new trade pact…
The mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won 62% of the votes defeating ex-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
According to the BBC, Ahmadinejad's win means all the organs of the Iranian state are now in the hands of conservative hardliners.
Mr Ahmadinejad, 49, who campaigned on a conservative Islamic platform, had surprised observers by beating five other candidates in the first round to reach the run-off.
The election was not without controversy.
First, the U.S. and Britain criticized the election because many reformists, and all women candidates, were barred from running.
Second, there were fresh ballot-rigging allegations in Friday's runoff election. The chairman of Rafsanjani's campaign in Tehran province, accused the basij, a militant volunteer force, and the revolutionary guards of trying to skew the results in Mr Ahmadinejad's favor:
“We know they are ballot rigging,” he told the Guardian.
“We are receiving reports that the basij and revolutionary guards are involved in ballot rigging and cheating. There's a probability that ballot boxes in at least two mosques in Tehran will be annulled.
“They have also been making propaganda for Ahmadinejad and that's forbidden. The law states that in the last 24 hours before polls open, you are not allowed to issue publicity for candidates. “
The Los Angeles Times reports that Ahmadinejad has never held an elected office. He has been the appointed mayor of Tehran for just two years. A former Revolutionary Guard and instructor for the pro-government Basiji militia, he talks tough toward Iran's enemies and promises to reverse what he views as the watering down of the militant politics of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic's founder.
Ahmadinejad's victory doesn't bode well for any improvement in relations between Iran and the West. Ahmadinejad said that better ties with the United States would not be a priority. He doesn't support Western-style democracy and last week said:
We did not have a revolution in order to have democracy.
From California Yankee.
via the AP:
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people’s homes and businesses — even against their will — for private economic development.It was a decision fraught with huge implications for a country with many areas, particularly the rapidly growing urban and suburban areas, facing countervailing pressures of development and property ownership rights.
The 5-4 ruling represented a defeat for some Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.
The opinions in Kelo, et. al. v. New London are here.
I have more thoughts here.
The New York Times reports that Senate Democrats continued to block the nomination of John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations this evening, refusing to give Mr. Bolton a vote on his confirmation.
Tonight's vote to end debate and move to actual confirmation fell six votes short of the 60 required, 54 to 38.
From California Yankee.
...The programs also support loans to businesses through banks and community-managed lending pools, and offer technical assistance and information to help agricultural and other cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their member services...This is a partnership between the Mexican government and the U.S., and it's apparently only open to legal residents from Mexico, not illegal aliens or those from other countries. The Mexican consulates in the U.S. will be deeply involved in these programs. According to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns:
"USDA looks forward to continuing to work with Mexican authorities to enhance outreach to the Mexican community," said Johanns. "USDA administers 43 rural development programs designed to assist rural residents and communities increase their economic opportunities and improve their quality of life. Expanding access to these programs in underserved communities in need, especially the Hispanic community, is a priority for the Bush Administration."See also the long transcript of Johanns' remarks in Mexico City on May 13 for more, including the information that this is related to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.
Note that the press releases alternate between the "Mexican community" and the "Hispanic community", presumably referring to U.S. citizens. Of course, those two are not the same thing.
Currently, most Democratic politicians would probably react to these programs by suggesting that the USDA wasn't giving enough breaks to citizens of another country. However, perhaps in the near future a Democrat will decide to do the right and the politically popular thing and vociferously oppose such programs. That could prove quite damaging to the Bush administration and the Republican party.
On a related note, the FDIC is working with the Mexican consulate in Chicago to give home loans to illegal aliens. And, for a long-running case involving the USDA, see "Racism In The Fields".
Having vetoed nearly 60 bills in her term, including some key bills to cut benefits and the flow of illegal aliens into the state, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano is facing a political backlash that could cost her re-election in 2006. The nearly 60 vetoes is the most by any Governor in the states history.
Bills she has vetoed include one denying in-state tuition and day care for illegal aliens and one allowing law enforcement to enforce immigration law on May 20. On May 10 she also vetoed a bill making English the official state language which would have allowed the state to save money by not having to provide all official documents in multiple languages and would have encourage assimilating immigrants into the American culture more effectively.
She also vetoed a bill that would have officially rejected the Matricula Consular from Mexico as a valid form of identification which an FBI official has said are "easy to forge" and a "major item on the product list of fraudulent document trade currently flourishing across the country and around the world.".
Napolitano said none of those bills would have solved immigration-related issues. She added that the immigration law enforcement bill did not include federal funding, so it would have cost the state millions of dollars."She is going to regret it," said Kathy McKee, founder of Protect Arizona Now. Her group played a major role in the passage of Proposition 200, which denies many public benefits to undocumented immigrants.
Kat Rodriguez, Tucson's Coalicion de Derechos Humanos coordinator , said Napolitano sent a strong message by not giving in to anti-immigrants while recognizing that "these bills would've been destructive to our community."
The coalition, however, regretted Napolitano's signing of a bill that prohibits use of taxpayer money for the construction of day-labor centers. She approved the legislation the same day she vetoed the most recent anti-immigrant bills.
"Day laborers won't go away," Rodriguez said, stressing the centers provide the workers some protection from exploitation.
It should be an interesting election in Arizona in 2006.
Originally posted at Diggers Realm
There's been a lot of talk, more than usual this early in the election cycle, about the 2006 Senate races and the odds of either party picking up seats and changing the dynamics in a Senate now perennially deadlocked over judicial nominations and other business. In fact, much partisan strategy over these battles will, as always, be shaped by the prospects for the next election - where the parties hope to gain, where they fear to lose, and whether they expect to be dealing from a stronger or weaker hand come January 2007. With that in mind, let's take a look, using some hard numbers, at the political terrain for the 2006 Senate races.
There are polls, of course, but polls this early are volatile. Before we get to the polling data, there are two main pieces of hard data - actual votes - that we can use to evaluate the political climate in a state entering the beginning of a Senate race. The first is the red/blue issue: when people were paying greatest attention, which party did they side with? The polarizing nature of the 2004 election, with a conservative Republican and a liberal Democrat, sharpened that distinction. The second is the history of this Senate seat: how did the incumbent do in his/her last election? This second item is of particular importance where the incumbent is running again, although you do have to bear in mind that you are dealing with election results from six years ago, before 9/11, the Iraq War, the Florida Recount, Enron, judicial filibusters, Terri Schiavo, blogs, etc., etc., etc. Rather than rest on one or two of these data points, let's combine the two. I present a ranking of the Senate seats to be contested in 2006, from most to least likely to change parties, based on adding (1) the incumbent party's percentage of the vote in the last race for this seat (S%) to (2) the incumbent party's percentage of the vote in the 2004 presidential election (P%) (all numbers from FEC sources here, here and here):
| ST | Incumbent | P | Notes | S% | P% | R% | D% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE | Ben Nelson | D | B | 51.00 | 32.68 | 83.68 | |
| RI | Lincoln Chaffee | R | 56.85 | 38.67 | 95.52 | ||
| ND | Kent Conrad | D | 61.37 | 35.50 | 96.87 | ||
| FL | Bill Nelson | D | B | 51.04 | 47.09 | 98.13 | |
| MN | Open (Mark Dayton) | D | A | 48.83 | 51.09 | 99.92 | |
| MI | Debbie Stabenow | D | A | 49.47 | 51.23 | 100.70 | |
| PA | Rick Santorum | R | 52.41 | 48.42 | 100.83 | ||
| WA | Maria Cantwell | D | A | 48.73 | 52.82 | 101.55 | |
| NJ | Jon Corzine/Open | D | B | 50.11 | 52.92 | 103.03 | |
| MO | Jim Talent | R | A, E | 49.80 | 53.30 | 103.10 | |
| NV | John Ensign | R | D | 55.09 | 50.47 | 105.56 | |
| VA | George Allen | R | A | 52.26 | 53.68 | 105.94 | |
| DE | Tom Carper | D | A | 55.52 | 53.35 | 108.87 | |
| MT | Conrad Burns | R | 50.55 | 59.07 | 109.62 | ||
| CA | Dianne Feinstein | D | D | 55.84 | 54.31 | 110.15 | |
| OH | Mike DeWine | R | D | 59.90 | 50.81 | 110.71 | |
| NM | Jeff Bingaman | D | 61.70 | 49.05 | 110.75 | ||
| WI | Herb Kohl | D | 61.54 | 49.70 | 111.24 | ||
| ME | Susan Collins | R | 68.94 | 44.58 | 113.52 | ||
| NY | Hillary Clinton | D | B | 55.27 | 58.37 | 113.64 | |
| CT | Joe Lieberman | D | 63.21 | 54.31 | 117.52 | ||
| MD | Open (Paul Sarbanes) | D | 63.18 | 55.91 | 119.09 | ||
| WV | Robert Byrd | D | 77.75 | 43.20 | 120.95 | ||
| TN | Open (Bill Frist) | R | 65.10 | 56.80 | 121.90 | ||
| MS | Trent Lott | R | 65.88 | 59.01 | 124.89 | ||
| TX | Kay B. Hutchinson/Open | R | 65.04 | 61.09 | 126.13 | ||
| IN | Richard Lugar | R | 66.56 | 59.94 | 126.50 | ||
| HI | Daniel Akaka | D | 72.68 | 54.01 | 126.69 | ||
| AZ | John Kyl | R | C | 79.32 | 54.87 | 134.19 | |
| MA | Ted Kennedy | D | D | 72.69 | 61.94 | 134.63 | |
| UT | Orrin Hatch | R | 65.58 | 71.54 | 137.12 | ||
| WY | Craig Thomas | R | 73.77 | 68.86 | 142.63 |
Observant readers will note that I'm missing a state, Vermont. The problem is that Jim Jeffords ran there as a Republican in 2000, so it's hard to make anything of his 65.56%-25.42% thumping of his Democratic opponent. Kerry won 58.94% of the vote in Vermont, so if you double that and throw out the Jeffords anomaly, the D% should probably be 117.88, ranking the state near Maryland as an open seat the Democrats ought to be able to defend.
Notes:
A=Unseated incumbent in 2000 (or 2002, in Jim Talent's case)
B=Won open seat in 2000
C=Ran unopposed in 2000
D=Ran against divided opposition in 2000
E=Won special election in 2002
These notes are important. John Kyl is in a very strong position, but he ran unopposed in 2000; he's not quite as bulletproof as he looks. The Democrats may seem weak in several spots because they ran the table in close Senate races in 2000, but several of those candidates knocked off incumbents last time around, and will start in a stronger position this time around with the headwind of incumbency at their backs rather than in their faces. I figured “divided opposition” where the two main candidates pulled below 96%, leaving a number of voters on the table, but since Ted Kennedy beat his opponent 72.69%-12.86% in 2000, that doesn't amount to much.
I'd hesitate to say what threshhold indicates a realistic chance of a seat changing hands, but obviously anyone below 100 has to be viewed as an opportunity for the other side, and anyone above about 110 is - other than open seats - an extremely tough race. You can see that most of the most competitive races, based on this criteria, involve Democratic-held seats.
Of course, all of this is prologue; the 2006 races will be fought, like every election, with a new backdrop of issues and partisan mood and momentum, which so far seems to be favoring the Democrats. The number of genuinely competitive races is bound to be reduced if credible challengers can't be located, as was the case in 2004 in Nevada, for example, where Harry Reid was vulnerable but the GOP couldn't get a serious challenger. But the numbers above at least provide a solid guide to where the needle stands entering those races, and how far it has to move to save or defeat the incumbents listed above.
The exit polls of today's vote on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe: 62% voted, of which 37 % yes and 63% no. Read the breaking news.
A former FBI official claims he was “Deep Throat,” the long-anonymous source who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate coverup to The Washington Post, Vanity Fair reported Tuesday.W. Mark Felt, 91, who was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s, kept the secret even from his family until 2002, when he confided to a friend that he had been Post reporter Bob Woodward's source, the magazine said.
“I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat,” he told lawyer John D. O'Connor, the author of the Vanity Fair article, the magazine said in a news release.
In a stunning rejection of the European Union's latest ambitious move to unite its 25 nations, French voters shot down the bloc's first constitution, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the charter and humiliating President Jacques Chirac.Sunday's referendum in France, a cradle of continental unity for more than half a century and the country where much of the constitution was painstakingly written, threatened to set back plans for broader European integration by years.
About 55 percent of voters opposed the treaty the first rejection in Europe. France's repudiation came ahead of Wednesday's referendum in the Netherlands, where polls show even more resistance to the constitution, and had EU leaders scrambling to do damage control.
More:
France and Europe reel from loud French 'No'
France shatters EU unity
Blogs writing about this story:
No Parasan (in English and French)
Samizdata
Chicago Boyz
Instapundit (with a slew of links)
Outside the Beltway
The Road to Euro Surfdom
Senators reached a compromise on judicial nominees. According to the Associated Press, the compromise clears the way for confirmation votes on many of President Bush's stalled judicial nominees, leaves others in limbo and preserves Senate filibuster rules.
From California Yankee.
According to the Washington Times, a report written by investigators for the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus urges the deployment of troops on the border with Mexico:
The deployment of 36,000 National Guard troops or state militia on the U.S.-Mexico border would stop the illegal flow of foreigners into America, says a congressional report that credits the Minuteman Project with proving that additional manpower could “dramatically reduce if not virtually eliminate” illegal immigration.
[. . .]
“The tide of illegal crossings on the borders of the United States is beyond unsatisfactory; it is catastrophic. It does not ebb and flow — it only grows. It is rising without measure and eroding the very fiber of our safety, life and culture,” the report said.
From California Yankee.
New York's Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, has decided not to seek a fourth term as, according to the Journal News.
Pirro is reportedly considering running for state attorney general or the U.S. Senate in 2006. The attorney general position is being vacated by Elliot Spitzer, who is running for governor. Former HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo is eyeing the attorney general position on the Democratic side. If Pirro runs for the Senate she will be challenging Senator Hillary Clinton.
From California Yankee.
George Galloway, the British member of parliament accused by a US senate committee of financially profiting from the Iraq oil-for-food programme, blasted the same committee in a hearing in Washington for using forged evidence and claims against him.
He went on to contrast his two visits to Saddams Iraq to those made by Donald Rumsfeld. He stated “The difference is Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and maps…I met him to try to bring about an end to sanctions, suffering and war.”
Galloway also argued that the real sanction-breakers were the American companies aided by the US government. He also said that his record of opposition to the Saddam regime was better than that of the US and UK administrations.
The Defense Department on Friday proposed shutting down 33 of the 318 major military bases across the United States.The proposal triggers the first round of base closures in a decade and kicks off an intense struggle by communities and lawmakers to save their facilities.
Aside from the 33 bases recommended for closure, another 29 based are being recommended for realignment. More than 775 other smaller military installations, including National Guard and Reserve facilities, will also be closed or realigned, according to the recommendations.
Blogger and TCP contributor Jeff Quinton will be on MSNBC early this evening to talk about base closings in his area.
The Washington Times reports that U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers.
From California Yankee.
Reuters reports that Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy have introduced an immigration reform bill that would allow some of the estimated 10-12 million illegal immigrants in the United States to get legal jobs and eventual citizenship.
From California Yankee.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent John Bolton's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to the full Senate without an endorsement after Ohio's Republican Senator Voinovich announced he would not support the nomination.
From California Yankee.
A POSSIBLE hand grenade was reportedly thrown toward a stage in Georgia where US President George W. Bush was giving a speech today, but the device was taken away by a Georgian security officer, the US Secret Service said.“After the president departed the country of Georgia we were notified by host country authorities of a report that during the president's speech in Tbilisi a device described as a possible hand grenade was thrown within 100 feet (30m) of the stage,” said Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry.
“It was reported that a device hit an individual in the crowd and the device fell to the ground,” Mr Cherry said.
“It was reported that a Georgian security officer picked up the device which did not detonate and removed it from the area,” he said.
NBC News, citing the Secret Service, said the Georgian officer “ran off” with the device, which was “rendered safe and did not go off on its own”.
For the past three elections, the first constituency to release poll results has been Sunderland South. This constituency has been in Labour hands since 1992, when Chris Mullin seized the seat. The seat is considered safe by any standards, with a 63% share in 2001, 68% in '97 and a hair under 58% in 1992.
And the first result of the evening is…..
drumroll, please
Chris Mullin, Labour - 17,982
That's about 59% of the popular vote. While solid, it's by no means a good sign for Labour. It's very good for the Lib Dems - they stole 3% of Labour's share.
I'll be liveblogging the results as they come in throughout the evening over at Sortapundit. Feel free to drop by to pick up the latest news.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has secured a third successive term in power with a much reduced parliamentary majority of 66, down from 161 last time, according to an exit poll of British voters on Thursday.The poll, for main television broadcasters the BBC and ITV, predicted a margin of victory in Britain's election which still leaves a slight doubt about the actual result.
[..]The exit poll forecast Blair's Labour won a 37 percent share of the vote, with the main opposition Conservatives on 33 percent and the Liberal Democrats, who opposed the Iraq war, on 22 percent.
Pound Drops; Exit Polls Suggest Blair's Majority to Be Reduced
The pound fell against the dollar and the euro after exit polls showed Prime Minister Tony Blair's parliamentary majority was cut in today's U.K. election.Blair's Labour Party may secure a majority of 66 seats in the nation's parliament, down from 161, the British Broadcasting Corp. projected. Spread betting Firm IG Index offered a spread of 88 to 94 seats as the size of Blair's majority on the day before the vote.
Timesonline minute by minute election coverage
Guardian election blog
Hurry Up Harry has an open comment thread on the election results
Here's a long list of blogs live reporting on the election.
TCP's own SortaPundit is live blogging the results.
Britons head to polls as Blair seeks third term:
Voters cast ballots in village halls, schools and even pubs across Britain Thursday in a national election that is expected to give Prime Minister Tony Blair a third term in office despite widespread anger over the Iraq war.
Blair's Post Appears Secure as Britain Votes:
Britain's voters headed to the polls Thursday with most signs pointing to an historic third term for Prime Minister Tony Blair's ruling Labor Party, but with a reduced majority that would largely reflect public disaffection with Blair's support for the war in Iraq.
Blogger Mark Kilmer covers the election.
The Union Leader reports Jorge Ramirez, a 21 year old illegal alien from Mexico plead guilty to Criminal trespass. Ramirez carried several pieces of false identification and admitted to being in the U.S. illegally.
Ramirez was ordered to pay $120 on a charge of operating without a license, and was given a $1,000 fine for the criminal trespass charge. The $1,000 fine was suspended, provided Ramirez stays out of trouble and reports to the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Manchester by Friday.
From California Yankee.
Transcript via Fox
WASHINGTON — A transcript of the televised address given by President Bush on Thursday, April 28, 2005, followed by his question-and-answer session with the media:
Good evening. Tonight I will discuss two vital priorities for the American people, and then I'd be glad to answer some of your questions.
Millions of American families and small businesses are hurting because of higher gasoline prices. My administration is doing everything we can to make gasoline more affordable.
In the near term, we will continue to encourage oil-producing nations to maximize their production.
Here at home, we'll protect consumers. There will be no price gouging at gas pumps in America.
We must address the root causes that are driving up gas prices.
In the past decade, America's energy consumption has been growing about 40 times faster than our energy production. That means we're relying more on energy produced abroad.
To reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy, we must take four key steps.
Continue reading "President Bush Conference and Q&A"Boing Boing reports that the U.S. State Department has bought itself at least one clue, and won't put RFID beacons in American passports. As one site noted:
“Americans have enough things to worry about when traveling overseas: having an electronic bulls-eye on our backs shouldn't be one of them.”
They obviously didn't read Winds of Change.NET's RFID briefing before hatching that idea. The bad news? State continues to pursue other forms of RFID for passports, though the alternatives don't make a lot of sense either as far as I can see (one idea: giving passports the equivalent of tinfoil hats…). There's a better way.
USA Today, reports that President Bush will propose new initiatives to increase domestic energy production, including building oil refineries on abandoned military bases.
From California Yankee.
Los Angeles Times reports that San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy announced he will resign July 15, just seven months into his second term.
From California Yankee.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Ohio Republican Senator George Voinovich is surprised by the reaction to his surprise announcement that he wasn't prepared to vote to confirm John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.
From California Yankee.
Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell is undermining the nomination of John R. Bolton's nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations.
The Washington Post reports that Powell told at least two key Republican Senators that Bolton is a “very problematic government official:”
Powell spoke in recent days with Sens. Lincoln D. Chafee (R.I.) and Chuck Hagel (Neb.), two of three GOP senators on the Foreign Relations Committee who have raised concerns about Bolton's confirmation, the sources said. Powell did not advise the senators to oppose Bolton, but offered a frank assessment of the nominee as a man who was challenging to work with on personnel and policy matters, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
The New York Times also reports on Powell's involvement.
From California Yankee.
Connecticut's state Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill that would make Connecticut the first state to recognize same-sex civil unions without court pressure.
Governor Jodi Rell has said she will sign it into law.
From California Yankee.
The Senate yesterday turned back a proposed amnesty for up to 1 million illegal alien agricultural workers and their families.
According to the Washington Times, the Senate fell seven votes shy of the 60 required for the amendment, which would have offered the illegal aliens a three-step path to citizenship.
The defeated amnesty was part of Idaho Republican Larry Craig's “Ag-jobs” legislation:
Ag-jobs would have created a three-step path to citizenship for agricultural workers who were in the country illegally at the beginning of the year and had worked 100 days out of 12 months in the agriculture sector.
Under the proposal, the workers would earn temporary legal status, leading eventually to a green card denoting legal permanent residence, and then the chance to apply for citizenship.
“I don't call that amnesty; I call that hard-earned labor paid for to get the ability to stay and work,” Mr. Craig said.
From California Yankee.
The Associated Press is reporting that Vermont Senator James Jeffords won't seek re-election.
Jeffords was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House in 1974 and to the U.S. Senate in 1988. Jeffords abandonment of the Republicans in 2001 gave Democrats control of the Senate.
According to the Associated Press, Jeffords will make the announcement Wednesday afternoon in Burlington, three sources close to the senator said.
From California Yankee.
The New York Times reports that the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, will ask the panel's Republican majority to delay today's vote on the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.
According to the Times, Biden will urge the panel to allow more time to review allegations that Mr. Bolton has acted abusively toward subordinates and others.
From California Yankee.
Redstate.org reports that Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) has introduced a companion piece of legislation to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's bill (S.678) to exclude the Internet from the definition of “public communication” in the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002. This would free the blogosphere from FEC restrictions regarding linkage to political campaigns, as reported last month. This is a cause that is bringing out both conservative and liberal bloggers (see Daily Kos).
[ via Slashdot ]
Private GOP tensions over Tom DeLay's ethics controversy spilled into public Sunday, as a Senate leader called on DeLay to explain his actions and one House Republican demanded the majority leader's resignation.“Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election,” Rep. Chris Shays, a Connecticut Republican, told The Associated Press in an interview, calling for DeLay to step down as majority leader.
DeLay, a Texas Republican who was admonished by the House ethics committee last year, has been dogged in recent months by new reports about his overseas travel funded by special interests, campaign payments to family members and connections to a lobbyist who is under criminal investigation.
Interesting, related article at Salon.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, eager to lead his Labor Party to an unprecedented third straight term in power, ended weeks of speculation Tuesday and called a general election for May 5.Blair traveled to Buckingham Palace where he asked Queen Elizabeth II for permission to dissolve parliament — a formality that marked the start of the official election campaign.
Upon returning to his Downing Street residence about 20 minutes later, he declared: “There will be a general election in Britain on May 5.”
The date — exactly one month away — had been widely anticipated for a number of weeks, although it was announced 24 hours later than expected in the aftermath of Saturday's death of Pope John Paul II.
Labor is expected to be returned to power, but a fresh crop of opinion polls on Tuesday indicated that it was losing its lead on the main opposition Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats well back in third place.
As many of you know, Winds of Change.NET isn't my only blog these days. Here are a few of the articles I've been running on DefenseIndustryDaily.com, in case you've missed them - a combination of interesting tech and a bit of “defenseology” from the military/ organizational side of the ledger:
TOP TOPICS
- April 1 Special: A story about a “dumb” solider - with a cameo by Miyamoto Musashi.
- Dept. of Defense takes over the U.S. Air Force's top 21 weapon-buying programs. Scandals and retirements have taken their toll, and the DoD is taking over. This has implications for $180 billion worth of weapons programs.
- A decade ago, the Marines' AV-8 Harrier vertical-takeoff jet was the most accident-prone plane in America's arsenal. Then an enterprising program manager changed all that. Now the Harrier jet is finding its niche amidst the urban warfare that typifies Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- IT and Communications are huge these days. Britain's armed forces are starting an $8-11 billion deal with EDS, the U.S. Congress is paying special attention to this area as defense budget deliberations continue, the U.S. Army has a $20 billion program on the way, and the USN is buying big bandwidth. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to tighten its grip on the defense sector. Given the M$ (in)security record, that ought to worry us.
- Some recent U.S. investigations of illegal arms exports by the folks at ICE.
Other Items Include:
MQ-1 Predator plans; V-RAMBO; New semiconductors; battlefield visualization; Shoulder-fired missile defenses for planes; $1.5bn NORAD upgrade; 30,000 JDAMs; Ultralight 155mm howitzers; Halliburton; Navy program way over budget; F/A-22; What's this Joint Common Missile controversy?; BAE buys M2 Bradley manufacturer for $4bn; British to privatize their aerial tanker fleet for $25bn?; Turkey's turkey of an idea; South Korea increasing defense budgets.
The Associated Press reports that John Rowland, Connecticut's former Governor, was sentenced today to a year in prison.
Rowland was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey after Rowland pleaded guilty to a corruption charge in December:
Dorsey sentenced Rowland to a year plus one day in prison, four months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. He ordered Rowland to report to prison on April 1 in Fort Devens, Mass.
“Officials are expected to serve not his own interest or the interest of his friends, but the highest interest of the community,” Dorsey said. “Gratuities were accepted as if they were his due.”
From California Yankee.
The recent appointment of 3 high-profile women who are all close cofidantes of President Bush is a strong indication that W. intends to change a department that often seemed to be missing the point of George Schultz's classic story, and pursuing its own policies abroad.
The first appointment is one everybody knows: Condoleeza Rice. The President now has a Secretary of State who is seen around the world as someone who speaks with his voice (and sometimes vice-versa). Well, the model of powerful women who are close confidantes of the President must be working, because W. just extended it. Twice.
In large organizations, there's a saying: “personnel IS policy.” That's certainly true here.
President Bush will recommend that Defense Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz take over as head of the World Bank, a senior administration official said Wednesday.Wolfowitz has been Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s top deputy and a lightning rod for criticism over the U.S. invasion of Iraq and other defense policies.
The administration began notifying other countries that Wolfowitz was the U.S. candidate to replace World Bank President James Wolfensohn, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made. Wolfensohn is stepping down as head of the 184-nation development bank on June 1 at the end of his second five-year term.
The Associated Press reports that former NAACP President and five-term U.S. congressman will run for the U.S. Senate in 2006.
From California Yankee.
Illegal immigration is heating up as an issue this week, after simmering just beneath the surface around the blogosphere for some time. I'm glad we're paying attention to the issue, but I also worry about some of the reactions I'm seeing. More on that below.
- Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says al-Qaeda and other terror groups are doing everything they can to enter the U.S. from Mexico and Canada.
- The Arizona border with Mexico has been extremely porous - and well trod - for some time. According to the Washington Times,
“Currently, about 5,000 'unapprehended' illegal aliens trespass the Arizona-Mexico border daily, and another 5,000 invade the United States from the Texas, California and New Mexico borders. That's 10,000 a day … over 3 million a year,” said Mr. Gilchrist. [NOTE: the total population of the U.S. is 297 million.- rkb]
More than 1.15 million illegal aliens were apprehended last year by the Border Patrol while attempting to enter the United States. Nearly 40 percent of them were detained in southern Arizona along a 260-mile stretch of border known as the Tucson sector.
- The Mexican government has published a guide for migrants which some decry as advice for illegally entering the US and other say is meant to save lives - tragically, many people die in the Arizona desert while entering illegally.
Reuters reports that Maryland's Democratic Senator, Paul Sarbanes will not run for re-election. The 72 year old Senator Sarbanes was first elected to the Senate in 1976.
Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, an outspoken arms control expert who rarely muffles his views in diplomatic nuance, is President Bush's choice to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the announcement Monday with Bolton at her side.
“The president and I have asked John to do this work because he knows how to get things done,'' Rice said at a State Department news conference. “He is a tough-minded diplomat, he has a strong record of success, and he has a proven track record of effective multilateralism.''
AdvertisementBolton promised to work closely with members of Congress to advance Bush's policies and said his record demonstrates “clear support for effective multilateral diplomacy.''
“The United Nations affords us the opportunity to move our policies forward,'' said Bolton, who acknowledged that in the past he has written critically about the world body.
Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan, while not mentioning Bolton by name, told reporters: “The person he (Bush) has selected to nominate to the position of ambassador to the United Nations is someone who shares the president's strong commitment to making sure multilateral organizations are effective.''
“This president believes it is important that the United Nations focuses on achieving results to make the world a safer place and a better place,'' McClellan said.
On March 3rd, Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ), and Congressmen Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) held a joint press conference announcing the introduction of the ADVANCE Democracy Act. The bill makes the promotion of democracy abroad official U.S. policy, significantly increases funding for pro-democracy NGOs, mandates that U.S. embassies assist pro-democracy movements, and creates a senior position in the State Department primarily concerned with the promotion of democracy.
I crashed the (journos-only) Senate Press Room and listened in. Here's a summary of the bill, here's my description of the questions and answers, and here's how I got in. As it turns out, journalism is a lot like sausage—tightly encased to keep the dubious contents under wraps.
There has been much speculation in the Korean media that North Korea is a prime target of this bill, and the statements of the congressmen pretty much confirmed that. Two of the six questions were specifically about North Korea, and North Korea was probably second only to the Syria / Lebanon situation in the number of specific mentions it drew. Here's the Chosun Ilbo's take, and here's the Joongang Ilbo's.
President Bush yesterday appointed a career agency insider as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, taking environmental groups by surprise and earning the White House rare praise from advocates who long have been bitter foes.Stephen Johnson, 53, whom a former colleague praised as “the ultimate technocrat,” is the first career EPA employee to head the agency. He has been the agency's acting administrator since Michael Leavitt left to become health and human services secretary in January.
[…]
The selection, subject to confirmation by the Senate, won bipartisan praise. It even won praise from environmental and industry groups locked in battles over Bush administration policies that generally ease strict regulations in favor of industry-friendly policies.
For most of his 24 years at EPA, Johnson held nonpolitical jobs in the part of the agency that regulates pesticides. He was promoted to a senior position there by the Clinton administration. Bush in 2001 named him assistant administrator for pesticides, which made him a political appointee, and the president has promoted Johnson twice since then.
“He knows the EPA from the ground up and has a passion for its mission — to protect the health of our citizens and to guarantee the quality of our air, water and land for generations to come,” Bush said. “I've come to know Steve as an innovative problem-solver with good judgment and complete integrity.”
A former Virginia high school valedictorian who had been detained in Saudi Arabia as a suspected terrorist was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and with supporting the Al Qaeda terrorist network.Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court but did not enter a plea. He claimed that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.
The federal indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush. They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali “would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street” and, alternatively, “an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb.”
According to the indictment, Abu Ali obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator to assassinate the president.
More than 100 supporters of Abu Ali crowded the courtroom and laughed when the charge was read aloud alleging that he conspired to assassinate Bush.
President Bush told European leaders Monday that trans-Atlantic unity was essential to take on shared challenges — including Middle East peace, an alleged Iranian nuclear threat and moves away from democracy in Russia.On the first day of his fence-mending tour through Europe, Bush dined with French President Jacques Chirac, who was among the most vocal critics of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Speaking briefly to the media alongside Chirac, Bush said making this his first dinner in Europe since he won re-election shows “how important” his relationship with Chirac is “for me personally … and for my country.”
“Every time I meet with Jacques, he's got good advice,” Bush said, turning to Chirac. “I'm looking forward to listening to you.”
Chirac, through a translator, said the United States and France have “always had warm relations” and share “many ideals and values,” which they have worked for 200 years to “keep alive.” In the struggle against weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, he said, “we have the same approach.”
Asked if relations were strong enough that Chirac would be invited to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Bush joked, “I'm looking for a good cowboy.”
Spain yesterday became the first European nation to vote decisively yes to the EU constitution in a popular referendum, to the relief of the Spanish government and European leaders.Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister, said: “This is a great day for all Europeans. The support that we have obtained is very extensive, and strengthens Spain's role in Europe. I am very satisfied.”
The verdict, though expected, provided the hoped-for endorsement for future referendums planned throughout Europe in coming months.
Spain opted to kick off the process, confident that its traditional pro-European sympathies would make a positive first step.
Some 42.3 per cent voted, fewer than in 22 previous Spanish elections, but comfortably above what the government had feared. The turnout matched the European average for euro-elections in last June's European Union poll in Spain, 46 per cent voted.
Of votes cast, 76.7 per cent were in favour of the treaty for a constitution, 17.3 per cent were against, and there were 6 per cent blank votes.
Barcepundit did the live blogging.
He has the whole day wrapped up, including the final results.
Advance excerpts of speech President Bush will deliver in Brussels. From Fox News via the White House.
The alliance of Europe and North America is the main pillar of our security in a new century. Our robust trade is one of the engines of the world economy. Our example of economic and political freedom gives hope to millions who are weary of poverty and oppression. In all these ways, our strong friendship is essential to peace and prosperity across the globe and no temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on earth will ever divide us.Today, America and Europe face a moment of consequence and opportunity. Together we can once again set history on a hopeful course away from poverty and despair, and toward development and the dignity of self-rule away from resentment and violence, and toward justice and the peaceful settlement of differences. … As past debates fade, and great duties become clear, let us begin a new era of transatlantic unity. …
Our greatest opportunity, and our immediate goal, is peace in the Middle East. …
We seek peace between Israel and Palestine for its own sake. We also know that a free and peaceful Palestine can add to the momentum of reform throughout the broader Middle East. …
Lasting, successful reform in the broader Middle East will not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen from within. …
Together, we must make clear to the Iraqi people that the world is also with them because they have certainly shown their character to the world. … All nations now have an interest in the success of a free and democratic Iraq, which will fight terror, be a beacon of freedom, and be a source of true stability in the region. … Now is the time for the established democracies to give tangible political, economic, and security assistance to the worlds newest democracy. …
America supports Europe's democratic unity for the same reason we support the spread of democracy in the Middle East because freedom leads to peace. And America supports a strong Europe because we need a strong partner in the hard work of advancing freedom in the world. …
The nations in our great alliance have many advantages and blessings. We also have a call beyond our comfort: We must raise our sights to the wider world. Our ideals and our interests lead in the same direction: By bringing progress and hope to nations in need, we can improve many lives, and lift up failing states, and remove the causes and sanctuaries of terror. …
Our alliance is determined to promote development, and integrate developing nations into the world economy. …
Our alliance is determined to encourage commerce among nations, because open markets create jobs, and lift incomes, and draw whole nations into an expanding circle of freedom and opportunity. …
Our alliance is determined to meet natural disaster, famine, and disease with swift and compassionate help.
Today's tipsheet from The Hill:
Tough CrowdLester Crawford, President Bush's pick to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will likely undergo a difficult confirmation process. Senate Democrats believe many FDA decisions on drug safety have been politicized under Crawford's watch as acting commissioner. They are preparing to pepper Crawford with tough questions about FDA decisions regarding Plan B, a morning after pill to avert pregnancy, as well as VIOXX and other related pain relievers. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is developing his own legislation to deal with a new FDA oversight panel, while Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) are working on an FDA bill. Still, like other Bush nominees, Crawford will likely make it through the Senate after getting some rough treatment.
Next up: Herding cats
Expect the Senate to take up bankruptcy reform legislation the week following the upcoming Presidents’ Day recess. The second week after returning from the break, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) plans to take up the supplemental spending bill funding military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frist wants to take the budget to the floor the following week, setting a packed March schedule for the Senate. Whether the Senate can follow Frist’s tight timeline remains to be seen. Frist likened his job to “herding cats” when he unveiled the March agenda at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce speech this week.Partisan panel
Can partisanship be wished away? Probably not, but new House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) is certainly trying. At the panel's first hearing Tuesday night, Lewis lamented that too often of late, “We've brought the culture of the campaign trail into the subcommittee room.” He said he hoped to reverse that trend in the 109th Congress. But partisanship is certainly alive and well on the committee, as Lewis's rules were approved by a party-line vote, and ranking member David Obey (D-Wis.) commented that the minority “will have minimum high regard for these decisions” by the majority.Golden money
Even though Californians run the House Appropriations, Ways and Means, Rules and Armed Services committees, that's apparently not enough power to get the Golden State all the money Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ® says it needs. Meeting Thursday with members of the delegation — including 33 Democrats and 20 Republicans — the governor was expected to discuss with representatives bringing home a bigger slice of the federal pie. In particular, sources said, the governor is concerned about funding for Medicaid and transportation.
EXCLUSIVE AUDIO INTERVIEWS WITH TOP POLICY MAKERS!
The Hill is pleased to announce a new and exclusive service to its readers, Bisnow on Business' Policywonk Weekly, an e-mail summary and set of links to AUDIO interviews with top politicians, government officials, scholars and trade association executives on the biggest business and economic issues facing Congress. Co-produced with renowned local business news service Bisnow on Business, Policywonk Weekly allows readers to hear top news sources in their own words and voice — without having to wait until Sunday and hoping they'll be on Meet the Press! Policywonk Weekly, presented by powerhouse lobbying firm The Carmen Group, is quickly becoming “must listening” for all political aficionados.
President Bush announced Thursday that he picked John Negroponte, the current U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to be the nation's first national intelligence director.The new official will oversee 15 separate intelligence agencies, including the CIA.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush may take questions from reporters following the announcement.
The New York Observer reports that the three CBS employees asked to resign over the biased “60 Minutes” story that resulted in RatherGate are lawyering-up and are still drawing paychecks from CBS.
Five weeks later, the crisis is not yet behind Mr. Moonves. And far from resolving the problem of the network’s credibility, the independent report commissioned by CBS appears instead to be leading to a confrontation, with defenders of both the ousted CBS staffers involved in the debacle and top CBS management asserting two different truths from the same document.
Mr. Howard and two other ousted CBS staffers—his top deputy, Mary Murphy, and CBS News senior vice president Betsy West—haven’t resigned. And sources close to Mr. Howard said that before any resignation comes, the 23-year CBS News veteran is demanding that the network retract Mr. Moonves’ remarks, correct its official story line and ultimately clear his name.
Mr. Howard, those sources said, has hired a lawyer to develop a breach-of-contract suit against the network. Ms. Murphy and Ms. West have likewise hired litigators, according to associates of theirs, and all three remain CBS employees and collect weekly salaries from the company that asked them to tender their resignations.
From California Yankee.
Lots of web sited devoted to US Presidents … not many devoted to those who lost the race for that office. But there is one: Defeated Online. Check it out.
More...">Democrats elected Howard Dean chairman of their national party on Saturday, casting their lot with a skilled fund-raiser and organizer whose sometimes caustic, blunt comments can lead to controversy.The 447-member Democratic National Committee chose Dean on a voice vote to replace outgoing party chief Terry McAuliffe. The former Vermont governor and presidential candidate had promised to rebuild the state parties, take the offensive against Republicans, and better explain party positions on issues.
A message from Chairman Dean
Howard DeanToday your representatives elected new Party leadership. But more importantly they endorsed the idea that our Party must always be led by the people — because your participation makes the Democratic Party a powerful force for change.
Our success depends on every single one of us taking responsibility for our Party's future. We have to commit to an active role in the political process. And we have to grow the Democratic Party in every single state so we can protect the values that bring our Party — and the vast majority of Americans — together.
We have new leadership and new energy. And thanks to your hard work and Terry McAuliffe's solid leadership we have enormous opportunities.
Please read my plan for our Party — and send me a note about yours. Together our work will make our Party stronger.
Thank you.
Howard Dean
Text of Dean's acceptance speech here.
Yesterday in my mailbox: A “2005 State of the Union Survey” from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The survey's mission:
This is a critical moment in history for America and the Democratic Party. We must hold the line against the radical, mean-spirited agenda of George W. Bush and forcefully assert positive policies to improve the lives of Americans. This is your opportunity to let the Democratic leadership know your priorities for the future.
It asks questions about the “State of the Union” (“What is your outlook for the state of the union during the second term of George Bush? Positive, Negative, Uncertain?”), social security, education, etc., and is covered by a letter from Nancy Pelosi. Her letter begins:
Do not despair. Despite the re-election of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, we still have a fighting chance to block their radical, mean-spirited agenda.
I was hoping for an online version for you, but there's nothing on the survey over at DNCC (or its blog). Not quite sure how I got on the mailing list … I'm not a registered Democrat. Perhaps from being at the convention.
Regardless, the whole thing once again raises my points of the Dems (1) defining themselves by what they're against rather than what they're for, and (2) having no strategic message. A similar Republican survey would have led with “Do not despair. Despite the re-election of Michele Catalano and Alan Nelson, we believe the best path for America is one where you have lower taxes, less government, and more security.”
Based on this survey, the Dem message is: “We're against Bush and for positive policies.” Uhh … OK. Doesn't come close to passing the “strategic message” tests of universal, simple, broad, actionable, what & why, and relevant. Way too broad, not actionable, and the why (being against Bush) isn't nearly optimistic or forward-looking enough to motivate anyone near the center.
Might we expect different things from Dean? I hope so, just for a change of pace.
The Associated Press reports that the House of Representatives approved Congressman James Sensenbrenner's Real ID Act of 2005, H.R.418 by a 261-161 vote.
The legislation will force the states to make sure they're not granting driver's licenses to illegal aliens, allow the federal government to complete a controversial fence on the border with Mexico, regardless of environmental concerns, and grant judges broader power to deport political asylum seekers.
States will have three years to comply with the new federal standards dictating what features driver's licenses must have. They could still issue special driving permits to illegal aliens, but those permits would not be recognized as identities for boarding airlines or allowing entry to federal buildings.
From California Yankee.
Tim Russo is Democracy Guy. (And he wonders if G. W. was OK with juice at the Rangers.)