Peggy Noonan has some choice words for the huge binge that the President and the Congressional GOP leaders are currently on as a political strategy:

I never understood compassionate conservatism to mean, and I don't know anyone who understood it to mean, a return to the pork-laden legislation of the 1970s. We did not understand it to mean never vetoing a spending bill. We did not understand it to mean a historic level of spending. We did not understand it to be a step back toward old ways that were bad ways.

I for one feel we need to go back to conservatism 101. We can start with a quote from Gerald Ford, if he isn't too much of a crabbed and reactionary old Republican to quote. He said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have."

The administration knows that Republicans are becoming alarmed. Its attitude is: "We're having some trouble with part of the base but"--smile--"we can weather that."

Well, they probably can, short term.

Long term, they've had bad history with weather. It can change.

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Is this real, I wonder?

h/t: Ace

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Ah, the first day of Autumn. The one time of year when the rest of the country is actually envious of my neck of the woods.

click "read more" to continue... more...

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Bill Roggio at The Fourth Rail has an excellent Flash presentation, documenting recent operations in the Western provinces in Iraq. Many foreign terrorists are captured. Most are obliterated.

Go view the presentation here.

h/t: Memeorandum

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Gary Andres' column in the Wash Times today looks at the current trend of Democrat strategies and shakes his head. Instead of harnessing Liberal enthusiasm to champion its own legislative agenda, the party has resorted to simply trying to tear down that of the Republicans. Message to Dems: Voters don't like that!

Republicans and conservatives sometimes sentimentally yearn for the good old days, wondering why Democrats don't play by the old rules. No such luck. Some of the loudest and most influential voices in the Democratic Party -- such as Simon Rosenberg of the New Democratic Network, and blogger Markos Moulitsas from the Daily Kos -- care more about creating acrimony than alternatives. These activists dominate party voters, volunteers and contributors, and their message to Democratic congressional leaders is clear -- combat yes, consensus no.

As Howard Fineman wrote in Newsweek recently, Mr. Rosenberg and his new Democratic allies argue success lies "not (in) ideological purity but combativeness." The "left" wants Democratic lawmakers to erect barriers blocking the party's move to the center and to hamper cooperation; congressional leaders have clearly heard the request and already started construction -- a political public-works project that won't stop anytime soon.

Then again, maybe a better title would be "The Democratic Party: Stuck On Stupid".

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You are a Social Moderate (50% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (73% permissive) You are best described as a: Capitalist Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Didn't care all that much for the questions, but I guess this is pretty much correct.

h/t: The Llamas

Posted by: Gary at 11:21 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 yeah, according to this little test, i'm branded a socialist now (does that mean i have to grow a beard?) wtf? it said i'm MUCH more socially permissive than economically permissive (no big shock) but since nixon took us off the gold standard and money only has worth because we all agree that it does, i think i can live with that.

Posted by: the most rev. jack habit at September 22, 2005 09:32 AM (yT+NK)

2 You leftwinger you! Check out mine. http://rightwingnation.com/index.php/2005/09/20/265/

Posted by: rightwingprof at September 22, 2005 09:58 AM (/IE5Q)

3 I took it. You are such a liberal

Posted by: Ryan S. at September 22, 2005 11:02 AM (8pUTL)

4 geez... let's come up with a different name then liberal as it makes me sound like a staunch supporter of the demo-hacks.

Posted by: the most rev. jack habit at September 22, 2005 12:25 PM (yT+NK)

5 Call me a Republican: On the "famous people chart," my results circle hovers right over Ronald Reagan's heart. (Awwww...) Glad to see me on here, Gar?

Posted by: Georgia Girl (gfsil) at September 23, 2005 06:10 PM (M2L+3)

6 The old place wasn't the same without ya. Love the email address. No go watch "Battlestar Galactica"!!!

Posted by: Gary at September 23, 2005 08:44 PM (97wWn)

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Time for one of the very best shows on television to premiere. If you didn't watch last season, it's not too late. ABC willing be showing a one-hour "summary" special at 8pm EST that will bring anyone not familiar with the show up to speed enough to understand what's going on. The new episode is at 9pm, which is its new time slot.

OK, guys, still not convinced? Click the "read more" link for a better incentive... more...

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Liberal Oasis has a lengthy post lamenting "What went wrong?" with the Roberts nomination and lays out a plan for how to attack the next nomination.

Personally, I found a lot of this fascinating. I take the post's basic premise to be "we didn't define the nominee or attack him aggressively enough, and we lost". Here are a few examples of how they think things should go differently with the next nominee (emphasis is theirs): more...

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Bush met with Senate leaders this morning to go over some potential candidates for Justice O'Connor's spot on the Supreme Court, but the President had his poker face on and wasn't giving any indication of how he was leaning. This of course drove Democrats (and official pain-in-the-ass Republican Arlen Specter) nuts.

Democrat Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who has already voiced his opposition to John Roberts, was pretty peeved at the prospect of Bush picking one of the judges he and his fellow partisan hacks had been filibustering over for the Appeals Court.

Reid said Tuesday he would view it as a "poke in the eye with a sharp stick" if Bush nominated any of the 10 appeals court nominees whom Democrats blocked in recent years, including some who were later confirmed. That group includes federal appellate judges Owen and Brown.

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Due to a post by the Puppy Blender last night, we are seeing the wide distribution of this video of General Honore verbally smacking down an idiot reporter at a New Orleans press conference, saying "You are stuck on stupid!", which is something I've been waiting for someone...anyone...to say to the media for years.

The transcript of the whole press conference is here, courtesy of Radio Blogger, and linked by Vodkapundit.

And thus, a new catchphrase was born.

UPDATE: Slublog updates the WWII guy poster and a variation from Ace of Spades. The more this catches on, the more pissed off the media is going to get.

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1 This man should be the next predident.

Posted by: David at September 21, 2005 09:50 AM (6wTpy)

2 Don't knee jerk about Honore becoming President. It was a timely and excellent remark. I would like many more of same. Republicans are always pussies, no match for the sewer sniper demon-rats.

Posted by: Tatiana at September 21, 2005 10:06 AM (dJJ6u)

3 First heard this on Laura Ingraham this morning and they were joking (and serious) that he should take Scott McClellan's place as White House Spokesman.

Posted by: Wordsmith from Nantucket at September 21, 2005 03:18 PM (nrGCx)

4 i am all for that. he should be the next president!

Posted by: AShley at September 24, 2005 08:11 AM (UPWcN)

5 i am all for that. he should be the next president!

Posted by: AShley at September 24, 2005 08:11 AM (UPWcN)

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John Hinderaker at Powerline looks at the latest NY Times report that suggests the choice will be a woman. Considering that it's the Times doing the reporting, I'm inclined now to think that it won't be a woman. But should it be someone outspoken like Janice Rogers Brown, I agree with Hinderaker: Bring.It.On!

I agree that Brown would probably be unable to treat Dem Senators like Biden, Durbin and Kennedy with the elaborate respect that they don't deserve, and that her hearing would produce fireworks like we haven't seen in a long time. But so what? She is much smarter than her Democratic opponents, and she'd do fine. And, more important, the views she would be defending are held by the vast majority of Americans. Let's go ahead and have that fight, is my view.

Don't hold your breath for an anouncement until the final roll call in the Senate for Roberts. How Dems vote on him will probably also have an influence on who is nominated.

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Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter Eleven is posted.

Which is a freaking miracle, considering BLOGGER SUCKS ASS!

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Koppel on Peter Jennings:

"I am not gay, not that there's anything wrong with that...From the time I first met Peter 41 years ago, until our final meeting a few weeks ago, I felt a thrill whenever I saw him."

h/t: NealeNews

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The fellas over at Dog Snot Diaries have been poking their sticks at the Lefty blogs and stirred up a hornets nest on the topic of Michelle Malkin. Really vile stuff.

What is it with these Democrats these days? I swear, if I woke up everyday so full of bile and rage, I think I'd probably kill myself. Go check out these mean old meanies here.

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Fear of accountability, that is.

However, poor Dan is now pushing his corporate conspiracy theories to explain why he couldn't get away with making wild accusations of a sitting President based on fabricated "evidence" even he agrees is suspect. Of course, in sticking to his Bush TANG story, Rather claims that even though the proof is fake the story is accurate.

Yeah, OK Dan. You just stick to your guns there. You see, Dan thinks he was merely hung out to dry by the powers that be because they couldn't take the heat. Addressing the Fordham Univ. School of Law in Manhattan, he spoke wistfully of the good old days of broadcast news.

"There was a connection between the leadership and the led . . . a sense of, 'we're in this together,"' Rather said. It's not that the then-leadership of CBS wasn't interested in shareholder value and profits, Rather said, but they also saw news as a public service. Rather said he knew very little of the intense pressure to remove him in the early 1970s because of his bosses' support.

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Not content be an obsure footnote in history, Cindy Sheehan has turned the pressure up on the NY Senator to appease the anti-war Left.

War protester Cindy Sheehan came to New York last night with a blunt warning for Senator Clinton: End your support for the war in Iraq or else.

Visiting New York City for the first time since leaving her campsite outside President Bush's vacation ranch in Crawford, Texas, Ms. Sheehan told a packed audience in a Brooklyn church that Mrs. Clinton "knows the war is a lie" but because of her political ambitions refuses to voice any opposition.

Will Sheehan demand a "sit-down" with Sen. Clinton as well? Only if the journalists are there. And they have to much of an interest in her success to do that.

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Sent via email from my older brother (no, that's not him in the picture).

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Although the result of Sunday's Parliamentary election seems eerily familiar to Americans, the political realities in Germany (and the EU in general) reveal much bigger problems.

Pam Meister reviews Mark Steyn's take on the state of Europe and makes a sober observation:

It's like a burning car wreck--we can't do anything about it but stare as those involved suffer until the fire truck arrives. Will the fire truck arrive in time?

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UPDATE: 27-10 GIANTS WIN!!!

----------------------------------------------

Tonight at 7:30 - the "alternate" Monday Night Football game. I know this was supposed to be a Saints home game and Katrina changed all that. I know the Saints are the sentimental favorite in this nationally televised game. I know the country will be rooting for New Orleans because of that city's recent hardship.

But I also know I could give a shit because this is FOOTBALL baby and I hope Big Blue puts a world of hurt on these guys - winning by three touchdowns!!!!!

And of course if the Saints win, I'll say I was secretly rooting for New Orleans because I felt sorry for them.

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I swear. You really have to search - and I mean really search - to find any story on yesterday's historic Parliamentary elections in Afghanistan.

Afghan voters had a 50% turnout, there was no major violence reported and women were pulling off their burqas at the polling stations in celebration. While former Taliban thugs threatened to disrupt the election, the day was a peaceful one.

What patrolling Canadian soldiers witnessed instead on Sunday was a virtual national holiday. Afghans casually strolled down the streets of their two major cities after all non-essential traffic was ordered off the road, on their way to do something they thought would ensure a brighter future -- vote.

"Everyone is so happy. It's like we are waiting for Christmas to come," said Abdullah Shahood, a 22-year-old poll observer for candidate Abdul Razziq.

"Everyone is optimistic."

Hmmm. Now why would the U.S. media be ignoring something so significant? Oh yeah, I forgot. They're too busy covering the big anti-Bush speech that Bill Clinton made yesterday. What the hell was I thinking?

Posted by: Gary at 02:28 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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