France is burning and all Chirac can do is declare a state of emergency.

President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency Tuesday, paving the way for curfews to be imposed on riot-hit cities and towns in an extraordinary measure to halt France's worst civil unrest in decades after 12 nights of violence.

Ralph Peter's in the NY Post today:

Utterly devoid of self-awareness, the French cherish their image of America as racist. But minorities in the United States have opportunities for which their French counterparts would risk their lives. Our problem is that demagogues convince the poorest of our poor to give up on getting ahead. In France, the non-white poor never have a chance of any kind.

France has no Colin Powell or Condi Rice, no minority heading the equivalent of a Fortune 500 company, no vibrant minority political culture. When Americans who adore la vie en France go to Paris (the intelligentsia's Orlando), they don't visit the drug-and-crime-plagued slums. If tourists encounter a Moroccan or a Senegalese "Frenchman," he's cleaning up the sidewalks after the dogs of the bourgeoisie.

Willfully blind to reality, liberals continue to praise the racist culture of France by citing the Parisian welcome for Josephine Baker or the Harlem jazz musicians in the 1920s. But the French regarded those few as exotic pets. The test is how they treat the millions of immigrant families whose members don't play trumpets in bars or sell their flesh in strip clubs.

Posted by: Gary at 10:41 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Unless you live in New Jersey, Virginia, California or NYC, you don't have any statewide offices or ballot initiatives to vote for or against.

But chances are in your town or city there are municipal elections. Turnout for these races is always low. It's ironic that the people who never vote, complain that they don't feel like their vote makes a difference and most of the people who do vote, only cast their ballots in elections where they actually have the least amount of influence.

You vote counts, even if you are in the political minority where you live. It is a right that brave men and women are fighting for every day. It is also a responsibility. And to take the right and responsibility lightly or to ignore it altogether is an insult to the armed forces past and present who gave all to defend it. And keep in mind the Iraqi citizens who risked their very lives to cast their vote (many for the very first time) a couple of weeks ago.

I'm not one to lecture, so I'll back off the pedantic tone. But consider how much time it takes to stop and gas up your car before work, run over to Wal-Mart on your lunch hour to pick up diapers or go out of your way to the grocery store on you way home because you're running low on milk or orange juice. That's about how much time it takes to vote. A lot of times it takes less time than those tedious errands.

Don't you think casting a vote is worthy of the same amount of your time that it would take you to stop by the post office to mail some bills that have to go out that day?

Now stop being a whiny, bitching pussy and go do it. ;-)

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This past Saturday morning I rolled out of bed, thew on some ratty clothes, put on a baseball cap and headed out to pick up some bacon, egg & cheese breakfast sandwiches for the family. As I drove down a road lined with trees adorned with mult-colored foliage, I was listening to my favorite talk radio station, WABC out of NYC.

The morning guy on Saturdays is Mark Simone. Simone is one of those old-school radio guys. Though he's a conservative-leaning Republican, he's extremely gracious to hostile callers (probably too much, in my opinion). He does, however, have a firm grasp of the facts and very politely rebutts the standard talking points that many of the callers throw out at him. I was amused to hear two consecutive callers making the same point with regard to the latest incarnation of the "Bush Lied" meme that Democrats are harping on heading into the 2006 mid-terms. more...

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The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter Eight is posted.

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UPDATE: Giants WIN, Baby!! 24 - 6. Not the prettiest game you ever saw. But that reception and TD by Jeremy Shockey was sweet!

Now the focus is on tonight's game with the Eagles v. the Skins. Whatever the result will be a big deal for them, but it could go either way for me as they're both 4-3.
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Thus far, the Forty-Niners have racked up only two wins for the season - both of these were at home and the most recent one was last week against Tampa Bay.

Thus far, the Giants have yet to win on the road this season (New Orleans doesn't count as it was really at Giants Stadium). And Eli Manning has yet to win on the road at all.

This week is a big test. The next two weeks, the Giants need to rack up two more in the win column (at San Fran and at home v. Minnesota) because after that their schedule is brutal and ladden with critical division games.

So it's time for the team to stay focused and beat a team that is certainly beatable. They should take advantage of their weak secondary and prepare for their strong pass rush. A solid performance by the offensive line is critical here, not only in protecting Manning but also in creating lanes for the running backs. The Giants offense will need to keep their plays balanced if they are going to be able to capitalize on their passing game.

I give San Fran credit for beating the Bucs last week in their house and the Giants must not take this game lightly.

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1 What a strange team you have if a 24-6 victory is "not the prettiest game you ever saw." My team won today too!

Posted by: Georgia Girl (gfsil) at November 06, 2005 10:58 PM (M2L+3)

2 Penalties, penalties, penalties!!

Posted by: Gary at November 06, 2005 11:06 PM (0eYgQ)

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The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter Seven is posted.

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A German firm called Nutzwerk Ltd has a policy that makes whining a fireable offense:

Manager Thomas Kuwatsch said those who get up on the wrong side of the bed should stay at home and work out their grumpiness rather than come into work.

But he warned those taking too much time off for bad moods would face the sack.

"We made the ban on moaning and grumpiness at work official after one female employee refused to subscribe to the company's philosophy of always smiling," he said.

"She used to moan so much that other employees complained about her complaining. Once it was part of the contract however, our employees really started to think positively.

Graphic from: Theodore's World

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John Hinderaker at Powerline, on the Democrats' current "pre-war intelligence" tactics against President Bush:

"I think perhaps the Democrats in the Senate are trying to distract their activist base from the reality of their own impotence."

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FLOTUS is 59 today!

Happy Birthday to a terrific woman who reminds us what it's like to have a First Lady with class!

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1 Yes, Happy Birthday to a great First Lady!

Posted by: Georgia Girl (gfsil) at November 04, 2005 10:49 AM (EHefn)

2 Couldn't agree more. Cheers!

Posted by: reverse_vampyr at November 04, 2005 06:17 PM (Ns5kk)

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Well the Lefties at MoonBat.org are really egging them on. Their latest email is sounding the alarm to its members:

It is important at this moment, when Reid and others are fighting these important fights that we make sure they know we've got their backs. They're taking a risk—they need to know we support them and recognize this sort of leadership. It's important that the Democrats don't let the issue die. We'll be working more and more over the next several months as we get close to the 2006 elections to encourage them to stand up and fight.

They've even got a website: Give 'Em Hell, Harry Dot Com. Next November is going to be hell alright, for any Democrat who embraces these nuts.

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See this picture?

Now look closely. See that little bitty red part inside the little blue part at the top of Alaska? That's where we will soon be drilling! Despite all the whining and moaning from the environmental whackos, it looks like it takes a slap in the face (and the wallet) to make people realize that we need to start drilling from our own sources.

I wrote a heads-up that this was coming down the pike back in August. Now it looks like its finally going to happen in the next couple of weeks. What a perfect time, when the Democrats are already flailing. Now the GOP can finally put an end to their perennial ANWR filibuster. You want to play around with Senate procedures, guys? We can play that game too.

UPDATE: The Senate just passed the motion! Now the House and Senate versions must be reconciled.

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An old one, but relevant nonetheless:

This and other such quotes by Democrats before the U.S. went into Iraq, assembled here.

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While the folks on the far Left are rubbing their hands together with glee over Harry's hissyfit earlier this week, BullDogPundit points out how the Dems are embracing a doomed strategy that will help keep them losing:

The Democrats have offered no alternatives to what they would do differently in Iraq. Rather, they are obsessed on their belief that the President lied about WMD's. While their kook base may believe that , out here in the real world most people don't. Was the intelligence wrong? Yes. But no one with sense thinks anyone deliberately lied about it to get us into war.

Further hampering their efforts are the fact that 28 Democrats voted in favor of the war, including many of those who now want to be President. That is not an enviable position to be in. What are they to say "Look, you should elect me because I was stupid enough to be manipulated?"

While Democrats are banking on a 1994-like coup of Congress in 2006, the situations between these two election years is like comparing apples to oranges:

Could the GOP done as well as it did if they just hammered on Clinton? I think not. Rather, they had a list of new ideas that the voter could look at and say "Yeah, I agree with this".

Further, the 1994 takeover strategy did not start in 1993. It was many years in the making and done through with grassroots and fundraising efforts, as well as having to overcome a mindset of a permanent minority, which meant that nice, but ineffective men like Bob Michel had to go. It just so happened that the events of 1994 were a perfect storm that allowed the strategy to work flawlessly.

More please...with feeling!

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The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter Six is posted.

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...a Filibuster!

What? Oh yes, if Harry Reid's moonbat-appeasing stunt earlier this week is any indication of how desperate Democrats are, they may indeed try and filibuster Samuel Alito. So why is this a good thing?

Because two members of the "gang of 14", OH Senator Mike DeWine and SC Senator Lindsey Graham have already gone on record that if Alito is filibustered they will vote in favor of changing the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster in the case of judicial nominations. These two defections ensure that any filibuster of this nominee will result in 50 votes (plus Cheney's tie-breaker) for the Constitutional Option, which would drive a stake into the heart of Democrat obstruction. They'll be stripped of the one weapon they still have.

The only other factor is if Frist has the cojones to call for the motion. Based on his comments after Reid screwed him over with the lockdown, you can bet the good doctor will is itching for some payback. It's gotten personal.

I figure we won't have hearings until after Thanksgiving. Alito will be approved in committee quickly and passed on to the full Senate before the holiday break (Republicans control the body so the Senate won't adjourn until this is resolved). If Reid and company are pressured enough by the KosKids to go for the filibuster...game, set, match!

And to Dems, I would quote Willy Wonka: "You get NOTHING. You LOSE. Good DAY, sir!"

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Hill: "Oh God, I can only imagine where those lips have been lately."

Bill: "Oh God, she needs a shave more than I do."

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Did a little housecleaning of the Official Ex-Donkey Blogroll. Some got whacked to make room for these new additions:

- Dan of A Slower Pace returns after a couple months off.
- Why Amy Ridenour wasn't already on, I'll never figure out.
- Bohemian Conservative - poor thing is surrounded by smelly Frenchmen.
- Geology, Politics and Beer make a great combination at GeoSciBlog
- The Red Ink, a Conservative Vikings fan
- Jiblog, a Conservative Packers fan (Yikes these two should get along, huh?)
- Founder of the "Pro-Victory" Blogroll, North American Patriot
- Wild Thing over at Theodore's World (Hubba, Hubba)
- Sister Toldjah, another blog I can't believe isn't already there
- Gossip and commentary about the judiciary at Underneath Their Robes

That's it for now, hope I didn't miss anyone.

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1 Check out Maggie's Farm, a worthy addition.

Posted by: Santay at November 03, 2005 07:22 AM (JoJvT)

2 Never mind, I see you already have it. Doh!

Posted by: Santay at November 03, 2005 11:34 AM (JoJvT)

3

Posted by: Bohemian at November 03, 2005 01:32 PM (z7WO1)

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Wow, has it really been a year already? I'm not going to analyze to death November 2, 2004 but I will make some personal observations about that election.

Prior to 2000, your typical Presidential election was decided by no later than 11pm EST on election day. In fact, if you looked at the right polls you could pretty much put money down on who was going to win. Guessing the popular vote margin and the number of Electoral Votes was the real challenge.

But in 2000, all that went out the window.

(More below the fold...) more...

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John McIntyre writes in the RealClearPolitics Blog about last night's Senate hijacking:

While it may be a positive short-term maneuver, I question the wisdom of this move over the longer term. The Alito nomination has laid the groundwork for a real nasty couple of months in the U.S. Senate and this stunt by the Democrats is only going to serve to unify the entire GOP caucus, at exactly the time when the Democrats only hope to beat the Alito nomination is their ability to fracture GOP loyalty and pull 6 Senators over to their side (either to vote outright against Alito or a refusal to vote for the nuclear option). Today's invocation of Rule 21 is not going to help Senate Democrats in this cause, and in fact, it makes whatever small chance the Dems had of defeating Alito, even smaller.

As they embrace the mantras of the Lefty grassroots groups, they make themselves look silly by association. McIntyre explains:

One can honorably debate the wisdom of whether or not it made sense to go to war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. One can also debate whether the war has been prosecuted intelligently of competently. Serious people, however, can not debate whether or not the majority of the intelligence agencies of the world believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

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