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Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: Voters Should Decide Doctor-assisted Suicide
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks to the Sacramento Press Club, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, in Sacramento, Calif. Schwarzenegger said that Infrastructure needs have been ignored by politicians for years in favor of flasher, immediate measures.
Voters, not elected officials, should decide whether to make California the second state after Oregon to allow doctor-assisted suicide, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Tuesday.
“I personally think that this is a decision probably that should go to the people, like the death penalty, or other big issues,” the celebrity governor told the annual Sacramento Press Club lunch. “I don’t think that we — 120 legislators and I — should make the decision..”
And why did the people of California elect him?
DOH…. to make decisions.
Arnold’s re-election is a NON-STARTER.
Technorati Tags: ArnoldSchwarzenegger, California, Doctorassistedsuicide
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Los Angeles Times Watch: The Joel Stein FLAP
Joel Stein from It’s All About Joel
The FLAP:
Joel Stein’s column in the Los Angeles Times: Warriors and wusses
I DON’T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.
I’m sure I’d like the troops. They seem gutsy, young and up for anything. If you’re wandering into a recruiter’s office and signing up for eight years of unknown danger, I want to hang with you in Vegas.
And I’ve got no problem with other people — the ones who were for the Iraq war — supporting the troops. If you think invading Iraq was a good idea, then by all means, support away. Load up on those patriotic magnets and bracelets and other trinkets the Chinese are making money off of.
But I’m not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they’re wussy by definition. It’s as if the one lesson they took away from Vietnam wasn’t to avoid foreign conflicts with no pressing national interest but to remember to throw a parade afterward.
Blindly lending support to our soldiers, I fear, will keep them overseas longer by giving soft acquiescence to the hawks who sent them there — and who might one day want to send them somewhere else. Trust me, a guy who thought 50.7% was a mandate isn’t going to pick up on the subtleties of a parade for just service in an unjust war. He’s going to be looking for funnel cake.
Besides, those little yellow ribbons aren’t really for the troops. They need body armor, shorter stays and a USO show by the cast of “Laguna Beach.”
The real purpose of those ribbons is to ease some of the guilt we feel for voting to send them to war and then making absolutely no sacrifices other than enduring two Wolf Blitzer shows a day. Though there should be a ribbon for that.
I understand the guilt. We know we’re sending recruits to do our dirty work, and we want to seem grateful.
After we’ve decided that we made a mistake, we don’t want to blame the soldiers who were ordered to fight. Or even our representatives, who were deceived by false intelligence. And certainly not ourselves, who failed to object to a war we barely understood.
But blaming the president is a little too easy. The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they’re following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying. An army of people ignoring their morality, by the way, is also Jack Abramoff’s pet name for the House of Representatives.
I do sympathize with people who joined up to protect our country, especially after 9/11, and were tricked into fighting in Iraq. I get mad when I’m tricked into clicking on a pop-up ad, so I can only imagine how they feel.
But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you’re not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you’re willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism, for better or worse. Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it’s Vietnam.
And sometimes, for reasons I don’t understand, you get to just hang out in Germany.
I know this is all easy to say for a guy who grew up with money, did well in school and hasn’t so much as served on jury duty for his country. But it’s really not that easy to say because anyone remotely affiliated with the military could easily beat me up, and I’m listed in the phone book.
I’m not advocating that we spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War, but we shouldn’t be celebrating people for doing something we don’t think was a good idea. All I’m asking is that we give our returning soldiers what they need: hospitals, pensions, mental health and a safe, immediate return. But, please, no parades.
Seriously, the traffic is insufferable.
Over the top – you betcha!
Moronic – an aptly used term.
Are others outraged – many.
Reuters: L.A. Times writer defends incendiary Iraq columnCaptain Ed at Captain’s Quarter’s: Hell No, I Won’t Show … Support
Michelle Malkin: THE MOST LOATHSOME PEOPLE IN AMERICA
Hugh Hewitt: Joel Stein, Los Angeles Times Columnist: “I don’t support our troops.”
Hugh Hewitt’s radio interview of Joel Stein on KRLA, Los Angeles this afternoon – audio and transcript here.
Michelle Malkin: HUGH HEWITT VS. JOEL STEIN: NO CONTEST
During Hugh Hewitt’s interview it was revealed that the editor in charge of Stein’s piece was newly annointed king, Flap means editoral editor (overseeing the Los Angeles Times’ opinion pages), Andres Martinez formerly of the New York Times and hired lackey of Michael Kinsley.
Andres Martinez
Stein and Martinez – the DUMBASSES OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES.
Huhg Hewitt URGES readers to cancel their subscriptions to the Los Angeles Times and to NOT support Stein, Martinez, Los Angeles Times or the Tribune Company since they do NOT support our troops.
By the way, Flap has NOT subscribed to the pulp edition of the Los Angeles Times in many many years – spelled does not give them any MONEY!
To cancel your subscription, call: 1-888-565-2323. (Back-up cancellation number: 310-608-0111.)
Joel Stein doesn’t support the troops. Don’t support Joel Stein.
Stein isn’t an aberration. He’s an archetype of and from the left.
Does the Los Angeles Times have a deathwish?
Technorati Tags: JoelStein, LosAngelesTimes, AndresMartinez, IraqWar, GlobalWaronTerror, TribuneCompany
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Samuel Alito Watch: Senate Judiciary Committee Sends Nomination to Full Senate
Senators Ted Kennedy (L) (D-MA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confer during the Senate Judiciary Committee voting session on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on Capitol Hill in Washington January 24, 2006.
Reuters: Panel sends Alito nomination to full Senate
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Tuesday to approve President George W. Bush’s nomination of
Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, moving the 55-year-old conservative a step closer toward confirmation by the full Republican-led Senate.With 10 Republicans voting yes and eight Democrats voting no, the committee sent the nomination to the 100-member Senate. The full chamber is to begin debate on Wednesday, with a confirmation vote as early as the end of this week.
Pretty much as Flap handicapped.
Now will come the filibuster.
Stay tuned.
Previous:
Samuel Alito Watch: Senate Judiciary Committee Poised to Approve Judge Alito
Samuel Alito Watch: Filibuster Likely?Samuel Alito Watch: Leahy Will Vote NO on confirmation
Samuel Alito Watch: Democrat Senator WILL Vote for Confirmation
Michael Ramirez on Samuel Alito Confirmation HearingsSamuel Alito Watch: Democrats Force One Week Delay in Senate Judiciary Committee Vote
Samuel Alito Watch: Senator Dianne Feinstein Warns Against Filibuster
Technorati Tags: SamuelAlito, PatrickLeahy, SupremeCourt, RonWyden
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Samuel Alito Watch: Senate Judiciary Committee Poised to Approve Judge Alito
Reuters: Senate committee set to vote on Alito
Conservative federal appeals judge Samuel Alito appeared likely on Tuesday to move a step closer toward Senate confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, which he could end up pushing to the right.
The Senate Judiciary Committee was expected to split along party lines, 10-8, in urging approval by the Republican-led Senate of President George W. Bush’s 55-year-old candidate.
The full 100-member Senate was to begin debate on Wednesday, with a confirmation vote anticipated before Bush’s state of the union address to Congress next Tuesday.
Senate Judiciary Committe approval today along party line vote.
Watch for the filibuster on Wednesday.
Change of rules on Thursday (Nuclear Option).
Confirmation on Friday or Saturday.
Stay tuned for the fireworks………
Previous:
Samuel Alito Watch: Filibuster Likely?Samuel Alito Watch: Leahy Will Vote NO on confirmation
Samuel Alito Watch: Democrat Senator WILL Vote for Confirmation
Michael Ramirez on Samuel Alito Confirmation HearingsSamuel Alito Watch: Democrats Force One Week Delay in Senate Judiciary Committee Vote
Samuel Alito Watch: Senator Dianne Feinstein Warns Against Filibuster
Technorati Tags: SamuelAlito, PatrickLeahy, SupremeCourt, RonWyden
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Canada Election Watch: Canadians Vote for Change – Conservative Party Wins
Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper his wife Laureen Teskey, along with children Ben and Rachel, celebrate his minority government win in the Canadian federal election in Calgary, Canada, Monday, Jan. 23, 2006.
ASSociated Press: Conservative Party Wins in Canada Election
Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party won national elections Monday and ended 13 years of Liberal rule, a victory expected to move Canada rightward on social and economic issues and lead to improved ties with the United States.
Congrats to fellow conservatives in the Great White North.
“Tonight friends, our great country has voted for change, and Canadians have asked our party to take the lead in delivering that change,” Harper told some 2,000 cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters in Calga
How Canadian policy will change under the conservatives:
Harper has said he would reconsider a U.S. missile defense scheme rejected by the current Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin. He also said he wanted to move beyond the Kyoto debate by establishing different environmental controls, spend more on the Canadian military, expand its peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and Haiti and tighten security along the border with the United States in an effort to prevent terrorists and guns from crossing the frontier.
Here is to better Canadian-American relations.
Stay tuned……..
Previous:
Canada Election Watch: Stephen Harper Will Be Next Canada Prime MinisterCanada Election Watch: Early Returns Hint at Conservative Party Gain
Canada Election Watch: Michael Moore Bemoans Apparent Conservative Party Success at the Polls
Technorati Tags: Canada, StephenHarper, ConservativeParty, PaulMartin
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Iran Nuclear Watch: John Bolton – “President Bush Won’t Tolerate Nuclear Iran”
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton speaks at the United Nations in New York January 18, 2006. Washington and its EU allies say it is time the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, sent Iran’s case to the U.N. Security Council, which could eventually decide to impose sanctions on Iran.
The Jerusalem Post: Bolton: Bush won’t tolerate nuclear Iran
US President George W. Bush will not accept a nuclear Iran, John Bolton, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said Monday.
Bolton, speaking from New York via video hook-up to the Interdisciplinary Center’s Herzliya Conference, said that Bush was determined to pursue the issue through peaceful and diplomatic means, “but has made clear that a nuclear Iran is not acceptable.”
According to Bolton, Bush worries that a nuclear-equipped Iran under its current leadership could well engage in a nuclear holocaust, “and that is just not something he is going to accept.”
Bolton said that if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) referred the Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council in early February, it would still be unlikely for the UN to immediately slap sanctions on Teheran.“In the first instance I suspect that if it comes to the Security Council in a few weeks we would look for a statement that essentially calls on Iran to comply with the existing IAEA resolutions,” Bolton said. “I think that would be a gut check for the Iranians, and if they don’t heed that warning we would have to consider what to do next.”
The diplomats are dotting I’s and crossing T’s but will Iran stand down?
Doubtful……
Stay tuned…..
Previous:Iran Nuclear Watch: Condoleezza Rice – Refer Iran to United Nations Security Council
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Warns West Over UN Nuclear Referral
Iran Nuclear Watch: Winds of War – Talk of Military Action
Iran Watch: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – Challenges Europe to Take Back Jews in IsraelIran Watch: Winds of War – Iran President Meets Anti-Israel militants in Syria
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Moving Currency As Pre-Emptive Move
Jacques Chirac Watch: Threats May Spur Iran’s Nuclear AmbitionsJacques Chirac Watch: France Will Respond to Terrorism with Nukes
Iran Nuclear Watch: Mohamed ElBaradei Rejects EU Call to Condemn Iran at February IAEA Meeting
Iran Nuclear Watch: IEAE to Hold Emergency Iran Meeting February 2nd
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Scorns EU 3’s Draft Nuclear ResolutionIran Nuclear Watch: France Rejects Iran’s Request for More Talks on Nuclear Program
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia and China Do NOT Support Sanctions Against IranThe Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image
Technorati Tags: Iran, Russia, China, SergeiLavrov, UnitedNations, UnitedNationsSecurityCouncil, ZhouWenzhong, NicholasBurns, EuropeanUnion, MahmoudAhmadinejad, ManouchehrMottaki, JacquesChirac, Chirac, France, Iran, Nuclearweapons, nuclear, AbdulQadeerKhan, AliLarijani, CondoleezzaRice, JohnBolton
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Day by Day by Chris Muir