The Democrat Smear Campaign

I seldom say anything good about Chris Matthews, but he did a great public service today with this quote:

An obviously angry Matthews said, "I'm sitting here holding in my hands a pretty disgusting document. This is put out not for attribution, but it comes from the Democrats. They're circulating it; I can say that. The first thing they nail about this Italian-American is he failed to win a mob conviction in a trial ... way back in '88. In other words, they nail him on not putting some Italian mobsters in jail from the family. Why would they bring up this ethnically charged issue as the first item they raise against Judge Alito?

"This is either a very bad coincidence or very bad politics," he added, and warned Democrats that their sneak attack will backfire. "Either way it's going to hurt them. ... Not abortion rights, not civil rights but that he failed to nail some mobsters in 1988 -- this is the top of their list of what they've got against this guy. Amazingly bad politics."

The memo failed to note that Alito won a major prosecution against the Genovese crime family.

This fight has been coming for a long time. And the best part is that the Left will spend much of their time shooting themselves in the foot, among other places...:-)

Filibustering is Looking Alot Less Likely

Both DeWine and Graham have said this will not be filibustered, period. Only a couple more from the Gang of Fourteen, and it can't happen, period.

Sam Alito: A Conservative Home Run!

Great choice. Wish he'd done it a week ago. Now the battle lines are drawn the way they should be, and conservatives are no longer in a circular firing squad. Yippee!

The Waiting is Over: The Coming Battles

The National Review editorial today is worth reading, and mirrors my views on the Libby indictment. My post yesterday was written at noon. The National Review editorial at 6:20pm. :

There has been much high-minded talk about how the Valerie Plame controversy is really about the case for the Iraq war. No. For liberals, it has always been about inflicting as much damage as possible to the Bush White House, especially by taking out through indictment its most central player in the person of Karl Rove. That has not happened. Nor has special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald alleged a conspiracy at the top levels of the Bush administration to out a CIA agent. What he instead charges in his five-count indictment is that Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, lied to investigators about conversations with three reporters. This long-hyped, two-year investigation appears to come down, in other words, to one man's alleged dishonesty when investigators came knocking. This is not Watergate or Iran-Contra, but neither is it a trifle.

And this:

Fitzgerald's merits aside, the limits of special-prosecutor investigations were once again evident in this case. Two years later, we still don't know important facts. Was Plame covert? Fitzgerald can't or won't say. Who is “Official A” (although we can all guess)? Who were the other unnamed officials? It is a prosecutor's job to build a criminal case, period, full stop. But in high-stakes political controversies, that's not really the public interest — disclosure is. Then, everyone knows the facts and the public can make its judgments on what is appropriate. Offending officials can be punished with resignations and public obloquy. Except in dire cases — say, bribery — that process should take precedence over prosecutions rather than the other way around.

OpinionJournal also has an editorial worth reading. The left will continue to wail about how this is about Iraq, yet Patrick Fitzgerald, in his somewhat long-winded press conference, clearly stated this case is NOT about Iraq,but about lying to the Grand Jury. I'm thinking the Left will selectively leave out that part of his statement.

Tough History is Coming: Peggy Noonan

I've been reluctant to do much blogging lately, and couldn't figure out why. I've been fighting a nasty sinus infection, and feeling generally blah. Reading other blogs left me with the impression others were suffering sinus infections too. Now I know different.

Truth is, I've been overwhelmed, and didn't realize it until I read Peggy Noonan's column this morning. Here's the first paragraphs:

It is not so hard and can be a pleasure to tell people what you see. It's harder to speak of what you think you see, what you think is going on and can't prove or defend with data or numbers. That can get tricky. It involves hunches. But here goes.

I think there is an unspoken subtext in our national political culture right now. In fact I think it's a subtext to our society. I think that a lot of people are carrying around in their heads, unarticulated and even in some cases unnoticed, a sense that the wheels are coming off the trolley and the trolley off the tracks. That in some deep and fundamental way things have broken down and can't be fixed, or won't be fixed any time soon. That our pollsters are preoccupied with "right track" and "wrong track" but missing the number of people who think the answer to "How are things going in America?" is "Off the tracks and hurtling forward, toward an unknown destination."

I'm not talking about "Plamegate." As I write no indictments have come up. I'm not talking about "Miers." I mean . . . the whole ball of wax. Everything. Cloning, nuts with nukes, epidemics; the growing knowledge that there's no such thing as homeland security; the fact that we're leaving our kids with a bill no one can pay. A sense of unreality in our courts so deep that they think they can seize grandma's house to build a strip mall; our media institutions imploding--the spectacle of a great American newspaper, the New York Times, hurtling off its own tracks, as did CBS. The fear of parents that their children will wind up disturbed, and their souls actually imperiled, by the popular culture in which we are raising them. Senators who seem owned by someone, actually owned, by an interest group or a financial entity. Great churches that have lost all sense of mission, and all authority. Do you have confidence in the CIA? The FBI? I didn't think so.

But this recounting doesn't quite get me to what I mean. I mean I believe there's a general and amorphous sense that things are broken and tough history is coming.

Tough history is coming. And coming all at once. I haven't been blogging because there have been too many stories, each of which appears urgent and requires deep thought, requires time. Too much, too fast. And none of them terribly important.

A long time ago, I read Charles Hummel's wonderful booklet Tyrany of the Urgent. Separating what's important from what is urgent, and understanding how the Urgent matters can crowd out the Important ones is always a challenge.

It's something I've forgotten here at Liberty Just in Case. All the urgent stories, so eloquently listed by Peggy Noonan, have crowded out the Important stories, and left me so overwhelmed I simply didn't want to do any blogging.

Liberty Just in Case began as a way to keep my co-workers informed and entertained by stories I found on the internet. I changed on 9/11, and so did LJiC. It became, as the description below the title says, "An ongoing dialogue about Politics, Culture, Religion and the Universe in general in a September 12th world." It's that last part, "a September 12th world" that is the guide to what is important at LJiC.

September 11th, 2001 marked the end of an era, and an end to a feeling of protection for me. It was the day this nation went to war. But, in a much more personal way, it was the day I went to war. Oh, I didn't serve in the military. Too many health problems for that. But I took up the pen, or in this case the keyboard, to promote winning the war in any way I could. In the end, that's the purpose of Liberty Just in Case, to promote the winning of World War IV. That's what is important. Other news stories may be urgent, but in the end, winning the war was what brought this blog into being, and will continue to be the driving motivation of its continuance.

Two Years, and THIS is it?

So, Lewis Libby couldn't keep his stories straight, and may have lied to the Grand Jury. That most assuredly deserves conviction if true. But that's a far cry from the caterwauling from the mainstream media for the past several days. No charges related to the "outing" of a CIA agent, no charges at all against Karl Rove. The Bush administration will go on.

Now, here are my questions:
Who was Bob Novak's source?
Was Valerie Plame really a covert agent, and what exactly was her influence over the decision to send her husband Joseph Wilson to Niger.
What crime was actually committed here, and by whom?

Over the coming days, we will see more and more hysterics from the Left, both in the MSM, and perhaps more importantly, in the blogosphere. Those on the left who are honest know that their early Christmas was a bust. They'll try to make more out of this than is there, and will fail, again.

Meanwhile, those same bloggers and MSM journalists trying to make the best of these indictments were the same ones defending Clinton to the hilt. And what did the then POTUS do? Not only lied to a grand jury, but carefully and maliciously helped his girlfriend Monica Lewinsky write a false affadavit, therefore suborning perjury. Lost his law license for that, remember?

If Libby screwed up and lied, let the conviction happen. Perjury and Obstruction of Justice matter. They mattered in 1998, and they matter now. But the ones doing the Snoopy dance now are the same ones who defended Clinton then. Hypocisy? Political agendas? Yep.

One interesting paragraph at the end of the press release:

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

You think Chris Matthews will get to that part? Not likely.

A City Divided

Not Beirut, not Jerusalem.
Great story on the Northside last night.

CHICAGO -- Welcome to ghost town. The city of champions.

In Wrigleyville, the bars are empty. Not literally, but not figuratively, either.

The parking lot across the street from Wrigley Field, which usually charges $35 for regular-season Cubs games, wants only 10 bucks tonight.

"When the Cubs were in the playoffs [in 2003], I was charging $150 a car to get in this lot," the attendant tells me as I drop Jackson on him and look for Hamilton as change. "Do you know how much I'd get if the Cubs were playing tonight instead of the Sox?"

Inside the Cubby Bear, the world-famous bar that sits 10 yards away from Gate F, under the "Wrigley Field Home Of The Cubs" marquee, four doormen are on the clock (during regular-season games, it takes 15). The place holds a capacity of 2,500; tonight, there are 80 inside. The usual Wednesday Specials -- $2 well drinks, $10 buckets, $1 tacos and $1.50 Enchiladas are "un-specialed" for the night.

Ah well, wait till next year, right? Right?

A Memo to the President: Part II

Note: A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post over at GunTotin' Liberal called Memo to the President. With the withdrawal of Harriet Miers this morning, another memo was needed:

It's me again, Mr. President. Don't know if you read my last memo. Kinda doubt it, but I do know alot of other folks did see it. Decided, with the news that Miss Miers has withdrawn, to write you again.

I'm thinkin' you may be mighty angry at us conservatives right now. Wouldn't blame you a bit. We sorta pulled the rug out from under you on this one. But I'm hoping your anger will shift to those who advised you on Harriet Miers, and most especially to those who vetted her in the first place. By now, you've read the speech she gave in 1993. That speech was pretty much the final nail in the coffin, but it was only one nail of many. She just wasn't the right choice, and I'm just relieved that both she and you finally realized that.

Mr. President, Conservatives have worked hard over the past thirty years to change the courts. You've been actively involved in that fight, right up to the nomination of Harriet Miers. It's time to do the right thing, to do the thing you promised again and again throughout the campaign. You promised to nominate a Supreme Court justice in the tradition of Scalia and Thomas. It's past time for you to do that. The withdrawal of Harriet Miers gives you an opportunity to do just that.

Staff Sgt. George T. Alexander Jr.

The media, and the anti-America crowd, will use Staff Sgt Alexander as nothing more than a weapon, number 2000. He was more than a number, as was the 1999th death, and all that went before. This post, from Faces From the Front, is a must read, especially if you are on the left, and plan to use this death to your own ends. The men and women you are about to write about would NOT agree with your point of view. They believed in the mission of creating a free Iraq, and were committed to completing it, even at the cost of their own lives. They were, and are heroes in every sense of the word.

Iraqi Constitution Passes

A big, big deal no matter how you look at it.

Where Has Ann Rice Been Lately?

Okay, I admit it. I stopped reading the books after The Vampire Lestat and Interview With a Vampire. But I know alot of readers have hung on every word from Ann Rice. Where she went, and what she is about to publish may surprise you.

Be sure to click on the audio link to hear an excerpt from "Christ the Lord." Not your typical vampire book...

Damn Interesting: What a Great Site

(HT to Kim Komando for this one)
You could spend hours going through all the stuff on this blog. Great stuff. It's just..uh...damn interesting.

Field of Dreams

Hard not to be a White Sox fan after game 2, unless you're an Astros fan, that is. Konerko's grand slam, followed by Podsednik's homer in the 9th. Can you ask for anything better in a baseball game?

Intelligent Design v Evolution: The Trial Continues

It's hard to find info on this trial, and harder to still to find anything from the MSM that is in any way fair or balanced. Like abortion, gay rights, gun control, and multiple other issues, journalists have a bias toward evolution, and are working hard to make sure evolution wins this debate. This article by Peter Dezikes is a perfect example.

But, do you need more proof of the bias, and the agenda?
Just scan the headlines on the trial pulled from a Google search.

For a great rundown on the trial and its participants, go to Wikipedia.

Waiting For Game One

Okay, I admit it. I'm much more of a Cubs fan than a Sox fan. Growing up in Oklahoma, one of the Cable channels we got early was WGN. It only carried the Cubs then, so I watched alot of Cub games, and only saw the Sox when they played the Kansas City Royals, also on local TV back then.
When the Cubs made the playoffs a couple of years ago (poor Steve Bartman. Sad, very sad.) me and mine were all goose bumps, and cried when they lost to the Padres, after only needing 5 outs to win the whole thing. Sigh.

One advantage to growing up in Oklahoma, but living in Chicago; I can still root for the Sox without that deep sense of betrayal felt by true Cub fans. I mean, its not like I'm rooting for Texas, or that evil Empire USC, right? Now THAT would be just wrong. :-)

Arnold Was Right Not to Attend

The Bush Administration should have listened to Arnold, and stayed away until after the November ballot initiatives. He has every right to be furious.

Waiting For This One to Explode

Syrian involvement is pretty much confirmed in the death of the Lebanese Prime Minister. They've been a charter member of the Axis of Evil for a long time. Now we'll see if anything is done about them.

Waiting and Speculating

Here's the website Patrick Fitzgerald's office set up to let us know of any indictments, or no indictments, as the case may be. The MSM apparently thinks setting up this website is a BIG DEAL. We'll see.

Waiting

Despite the constant flow of voices from the Cable networks, talk radio, and the blogosphere, this feels like a calm before multiple storms.

Hurricane Wilma is hooking left, into Florida.

Fitzgerald won't hand down indictments until next week, if at all. I'm not sure Chris Matthews will survive if something doesn't happen soon. A big part of me hopes he doesn't, or at least, hopes his career doesn't survive anyway...

Saddam's trial is adjourned until late November, assuming any of the defendants attorneys live long enough to take part.

And Saddam's attorneys may make it longer than the Harriet Miers nomination.

And, perhaps most importantly, Chicago has to wait at least a week to see if we will have a World Champion.

Waiting.

Balance of Power: Unions

A great guest blog on Unions is up at Balance of Power. And in California, Proposition 75 stands a great chance of passing. The Modesto Bee has a look:

Proposition 75 is one of the most controversial measures on the Nov.8 ballot, but it isn't complicated. It would make a rather simple adjustment to ensure fairness to all public employee union members, no matter their political philosophy.

Voters should look beyond the advertising and focus on exactly what the measure would require. If it passes, public employee unions would have to get permission in writing before any portion of dues could be spent for political purposes.

Federal law allows union members to decline to allow a portion of their dues to be used for political purposes, such as supporting candidates or ballot initiatives. In most cases, members must act to block such use of their dues, a move called "opting out."

Under Proposition 75, that process would be turned around. Public union members would have to "opt in" to have a portion of their dues used for political causes. Simply put, the burden of seeking permission would be shifted from the members to the unions. Records of the member's choice would have to be kept and recorded with a state agency.

Works for me. This is one thing from the Left Coast that should spread throughout the country. It would make up for such idiocy as Norma Rae, but just barely.