Muslim Taxi Driver Solution

This article in the StarTribune discusses the problem at the Minneapolis St. Paul airport of Muslim taxi drivers refusing fares if it is obvious that the passenger is carrying alcohol. The airport's solution (from the article) is to color code taxi lights to make clear which taxis are willing to take passengers with alcohol.

This is actually a tricky question. We shouldn't force a private businessman to do business he doesn't want to do, but this solution is too accomodating. There is a queue for getting passengers. The taxis have to wait, sometimes for hours, and this queue is managed (I believe) by the airport authority. They should have a simple rule: take or refuse any passenger you wish, but if you refuse, you go to the back of the line.

Senate in the Balance

According to the New York Times the Democrats have new hopes for taking the Senate. To support this argument they cite the new trouble for George Allen and his supposed racial slurs. Have things really changed? Apparently, the New York Times failed to site a new poll from Survey USA taken the last few days, showing Allen up 5 points. The same lead Allen had in early September. The Times also states that Harold Ford in Tennessee is a viable challenger. The same poll SurveyUSA, is the only poll that had Ford up. The Times also acknowledges that New Jersey is in play for Republicans, where Kean has had a lead in the polls since August.

If Allen's race is now considered a toss up, then so is Dewine, Burns, Chafee and Steele, who all three are behind by about 5 points according to Real Clear Politics. The Times wants us to think there are 6 toss-ups.

The only way for the Dems to win, is to take 6 seats. Under a reasonable view of the current polls, one would say that of current Republican seats four lean democratic: Santorum, Chafee, Dewine, and Burns. Two are toss-ups: Talent and Corker, and one dem seat, Kean, leans Republican. If Dems win all the toss ups this gives them only 5 seats. That is essentially exactly where all the predictions were a months ago... so how is the Times analysis any different?

My prediction - a lot less will change than people think....Republicans lose in Ohio, Montana, and Pennsylvania. Nothing else changes.

Give Me Lard or Give Me Death!

The NY Times Reports:

"The New York City health department urged all city restaurants yesterday to stop serving food containing trans fats, chemically modified ingredients that health officials say significantly increase the risk of heart disease and should not be part of any healthy diet.

The request, the first of its kind by any large American city, is the latest salvo in the battle against trans fats, components of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which three decades ago were promoted as a healthy alternative to saturated fats like butter... "

How kind and generous of cities like New York to be asking us now to cook with more ingredients like butter and lard. It's about time the two, arguably more flavorful ingredients made their way back into the bellies of society with the pendulum swing! Banning Crisco from our lives will "obviously" make us physically healthier as a society. One can only imagine how quickly McDonalds will bring back the Beef Fat for cooking their fries and promote it as the "healthy alternative".

Where are the Hurricanes

This year Democrats were counting on two things: high gas prices and more hurricanes. Unfortunately things haven't worked out for them. Current the price per gallon in the twin cities is as low as $2.07 per gallon. If gas falls below $2.00 Democrats will cry foul. The latest line is that Bush is manipulating the price for the fall election... Bush is a genius!

Democrats are also suffering from the lack of hurricanes . Last year they told us that we were in for a future of devestating hurricanes and that the reason for this onslaught was us humans driving our SUVs (and the democrats accuse Republicans of fear mongering!) Maybe there still will be more hurricanes, however, so far this year, that prediction has been a bust. According to the NOAA, we were supposed to have 13-16 named storms, 8-10 hurricanes and 4-6 major hurricanes. for 2006. In 2005, there were 28 named storms, 15 hurricanes and 7 major hurricanes.

So far this year there have been a total of 8 storms and only 4 have been hurricanes. In prior years it appears that at least 3/4s of the storms occurred prior to Oct 1. If the current rate holds, there will be a total of 10-11 named storms for 2006 and only 5-6 hurricanes. Thus, it looks as though the amont of hurricanes may be much less than previously thought.

No word yet if Bush and his buddies are responsible for the reduced hurricanes.

Iraq Creating Terrorists

The latest leak by moles in the CIA is that a classified national intelligence Report concludes that the Iraq war is fueling Islamic extremism. I assume that to conclude such a fact, the data for the report states that Iraq is being used by the extremists themselves to recruit and as an excuse to raise money for their cause.

An assessment of this? Well DUH! Prior to Iraq, the Islamists were using Afghanistan to recruit. Prior to that it was our sanctions killing Iraqi children or our presence in Saudi Arabia.... in fact our very existence fuels Islamists. Everything we do makes them mad. Recently, the Pope and politcal cartoons showing Mohammad have been fueling extremism. The most common cause is that of the existence of Israel. In fact, the Iranian president has offered that the elimination of Israel would solve most of the problems in the middle east.

The point critics want to drive home... at least the argument they imply is that but for Iraq there would be less attacks on the U.S... wait I mean there would be less of a threat of attacks on the U.S. - whatever that means. They don't actually make this argument because it is just empty opinion. I guess Democrats would argue that they would fight a more just, kinder, and gentler war....

Our goal should be to eliminate the dangerous threats - that being the use of WMD by terrorists or terror states. Doing so is bound to make some college kids angry, and some of them even extreme. This is why we need a patriot act.

No Hope for Afghanistan

John Kerry writes in the Wall Street Journal today that we are losing in Afgnistan:

Funded largely by a flourishing opium trade, a resurgent Taliban effectively controls entire swathes of southern Afghanistan. Roadside bomb attacks have more than doubled this year, and suicide attacks have more than tripled. Britain's commander in Afghanistan recently said that "the intensity and ferocity of the fighting is far greater than in Iraq on a daily basis."

To say we are losing is an overstatement. However, Kerry notes the real difficulty about Afghanistan:

The Taliban's resurgence comes as no surprise when 40% of the population is unemployed and 90% lack regular electricity. As Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry recently said, "wherever the road ends, that's where the Taliban starts."

The problem with Afghanistan is that it is more or less impossible to reform or rebuild. A sustainable political victory is thus impossible, which is why Osama wanted us to come there so we would lose. The population is so impovershed that it will never be able to sustain itself against determined religions fanatics without our help. We should tread lightly in Afghanistan.

What they think of us

This article in the New York Times by Charles Baxter on the 6th District race in Minnesota is one of the most hilarious pieces I have read in a long time. The column is a blatent hit job:

...Having allied herself firmly with the president’s policies on Iraq and privatizing Social Security, she also advocates eliminating the estate tax. For supporting these radical reforms she is called an “archconservative,” though what she is trying to conserve, other than large family fortunes, is never scrupulously clear.

Compared to Ms. Bachmann, a suburban radical of an increasingly familiar sort, Patty Wetterling seems rather tame and pleasant and sensible — conservative, that is. In the view of Ms. Wetterling (who came into local prominence when her son was abducted at gunpoint and disappeared in 1989) we are not in the end times but in a stable world shaped by well-financed public education, Social Security, benefits for veterans, a decent respect for the opinions of others, a reluctance to engage in foreign adventures, and balanced budgets.

Perfect comparison. The Evil Bachmann v. the nice caring Wetterling.

The article gets worse:

But citizens don’t join hands much anymore in Minnesota, nor are they encouraged to. The problem faced by politicians who wish to preserve the social programs enacted by their grandparents is that President Bush has been wildly successful at creating an air of constant crisis, both foreign and domestic. Crisis rhetoric, which is inherently radical rather than conservative, dissolves social stability.

In this sense, terrorism has infected every subject and every discussion, even locally. Alarmism has become so ubiquitous in discussions of Iraq, the decline of the family and financing for Social Security and education that polarization is assured. Extremity, after all, is more newsworthy than good sense.

According to Baxter, prior to Bush we were all trying to "conserve" the social programs of our grandparents, but Bush has upset this great liberal order with his war on terror and fear mongering (i.e. crisis rhetoric). Baxter wants us to be conservative about overturning the great liberal welfare state - I think that was the same argument made by Southern slave owners. What I think Baxter (and many democrats) believe that the country would be liberal and democratic and tolerant if it wasn't for the great deceiver - Bush.

Senator Obama and Me

I have been amused recently by all the attention Senator Barack Obama has been getting because his father was born in Africa.

Interestingly, I have two things in common with Senator Obama. Both of us are University of Chicago Law School alums. Both of our fathers were born in Africa.

My father was born in Cameroon, the son of two Norwegian Lutheran Brethren missionaries (my grandparents).

My grandparents, who were missionaries there for 50 years, found it very difficult to gain conversions among the Mundang people until they discovered the obstacle was the Bible was only translated in the trade language of the Fulani (who basically had gained political power over the Mundang people). So, my grandparents translated the Bible into Mundang as well as other local dialects. This led to many conversions and a lasting Christian presence in this area to this day - as well as an increase in literacy.

Anyway, I wanted to share that with our readers.

I have always had difficulty with the modern left's approach to race.

That being said. Maybe, my difficulty on the question is because American racism isn't part of my family history.

But, as I charitably reflect, the racist South is in fact part of our nation's history. So, as an American, I need to empathize with an historical view where slavery and its progeny and their elimination plays a central role. I do.

Why? Because it's the Christian and conservative thing to do.

But, of course, here is the problem.

The current civil rights movement has no use for my Christianity or my conservatism.

They hate me.

Economy Cooling Too Quickly

The AP reports "Stocks retreated Thursday after the Philadelphia Federal Reserve surprised Wall Street by announcing that its broadest measure of manufacturing activity fell to a negative reading for the first time since April 2003, renewing investor fears that the economy could be cooling too quickly," and

"Investors are concerned the Federal Reserve has perhaps slowed the economy too quickly as it sought to contain inflation. The Fed raised interest rates 17 straight times over two years before leaving them unchanged for the second straight time Wednesday."

Surely readers remember my calls for the Fed to first pause rate hikes and then to actually cut the rate, and I don't relish this news. But why the hell didn't they pause the rate sooner and let the increases take effect? I stand by my prediction that we will see a rate cut by the beginning of 2007.

Finally, Hugo Chavez and I agree on something

In his hate-filled speech this morning to the UN, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, called for the UN to be reformed and also proposed that the UN move it's headquarters to Venezuela from it's current location in New York City.

A big AMEN to that, Brother! I'm ready to help them pack. When can we start? Tonight too soon?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214709,00.html

Jihad again

Common Muslim reaction to the Pope's intimation that Islam is violent:

Islam is not violent!

That is an insult!

I will kill you for saying Islam is violent!

Debate September 13WESTERN EUROPE IS LOST.

The John Adams Society
William G. Carpenter, Chairman
John Pope, Secretary
Larry Colson, Chief Whip
Roger Balfay, Chancellor


September 2006

EUROPE BY ITS OWN HAND IS RIPE FOR CONQUEST. Pervasive government regulation and a cacophony of mandates by entrenched political ninnies have dulled the fighting spirit, acclimating Europeans to the type of central control that will befall them in their inevitable theocratic Eurabia. While birth rates among non-immigrants are decreasing, public welfare systems are being overwhelmed by immigrants and their high birthrates. Incentives to economic success in Europe are inhibited by a general disdain for individualistic (American like) pushiness, high taxes, maximum workweeks and other mandates for economic security. As might be expected with such statism, economic growth is meager and unemployment is high. Of course, the economic security blanket of American tourism and the US military presence makes it easier to take the economy they have for granted.

Yes, the wishy-washy value-void push-over Western Europe presents an opportunity like a K-Mart blue-light-special to angry and driven immigrants. Given the similarities between European and US approaches to immigration, health care, transportation, and entitlements, Western Europe is a canary in our coal mine.

ON THE OTHER HAND, what better to wake tired Europe from its multicultural slumber than further exposure to the militancy that collectivist Europe ironically supports? Sometimes only through strife do people become introspective enough to seek the meaning of situations, leading them to define progress in more moral tones. As such, European heritage will persevere by merely sacrificing secular Europe.

Across Europe, people are expressing outrage about elitist politicians flagrantly pooh-poohing fears of soft conquest by immigration, and governments are finally taking measures to curtail illegal immigration. Last year, Germany booted its anti-American chancellor Gerhard Schröder, electing Christian Democratic opponent Angela Merkel who is pro-free market and pro-deregulation. And just last month, Great Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair diplomatically stated "[To] a presumed sense of grievance that can motivate people to divide against each other... our answer has to be a set of values strong enough to unite people with each other." (As for France… well, the conservatives there must still resort to giving out free condoms to woo voters, really).

Even should Eurabia emerge as the new Europe, circumstances may not be all that bad. Presumably a strict theocracy, there would be a social atmosphere just oppressive enough to snuff out smoldering thoughts of behavioral dereliction. Accordingly, the penalties for social deviance in Islamic states are severe, so crime rates are reportedly low.

The chairman, anxious for one last frolicsome jaunt about Europe, has called for a debate on the matter:

RESOLVED: WESTERN EUROPE IS LOST.

The Debate will be held on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at the University Club, 420 Summit Avenue, in Saint Paul. The Chancellor will preside over drinks beginning at seven o'clock p.m. The debate will begin at half past seven. While there is no dress code for attendance, gentlemen who wish to speak must wear a tie; ladies should adhere to a similar sartorial standard. For those gentlemen who arrive tieless yet wish to speak, fret not: the Purveyor of Ties will keep on hand at least one of his quite remarkable ties for just such an eventuality. Questions about debate caucus procedures or about the John Adams Society itself may be directed to the Chairman at (612) 822-8941 or the Secretary at (952) 486-8059.

www.johnadamssociety.org

Are we safer?

A question has been floating around on whether we are safer today than we were before September 11. Many answer yes… many answer no.I think the answer to this question is yes.
Here is why:

1. In a rare moment of agreement, President Bush and Senator Kerry both stated that the greatest threat to America was the proliferation of WMD by terrorist states – particularly the proliferation of nukes. I agree,Prior to the war, there were four countries listed on the state department’s list of state sponsored terrorism who were pursuing the production of nuclear weapons. These were Iran, North Korea, Libya, and Iraq. Today there are only two countries, Iran and North Korea. Of these original four, Iraq was the most dangerous because it was ruled by a single individual who used Iraq’s vast oil wealth to pursue these programs. No matter what happens in Iraq, even if the country breaks out into full scale civil war and the democracy project fails, Iraq will never again be able to pool its vast oil wealth in pursuit of nukes or other WMD. Iraq’s WMD days are over (people seem to forget this when they talk about Iraq. Similarly, Libya also disarmed mostly because they did not want to be the next Iraq.We still have work to do.

Iran and North Korea are still there. But two is better than four.

2. The terrorist army is destroyed. Osama’s stated goal was to topple Arab and other governments in the “Muslim world.” He was creating a terrorist army in Afghanistan to accomplish this goal. However, this army is largely destroyed and its leaders killed or captured. The army has been liquidated in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Without serious muscle to influence Arab governments, Al Qaeda will never be a strategic threat. In this sense they are being returned (as John Kerry stated) to the nuisance factor.

3. Even though Al Qaeda may be eliminated as a strategic threat, we still have to contend with the popularity of the ideology and all of the copy cats around the world. This can be done through intelligence and police action. We have been aggressively pursing the terrorists. Any military historian knows that those who concentrate on defense generally lose, which is why you need to go on offense if you want to win. We have done this in aggressively pursing the terrorists in the law enforcement area. This includes many unpopular programs such as warrantless wiretapping and the aggressive questioning of terror suspects. Law enforcement is also following potential terror suspects in America, monitoring mosques, and following up on radical behavior. In past conflicts, the government has been criticized and slapped down by the courts for similar behavior such as the limitation on rights during the civil war, the sedition acts during World War I, the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian Americans in World War II, and even the red scare in the government during the 1950s. However, we won those past wars and our civil liberties were restored. It is better to win and regain your principles than to perish with principles in hand.

Conclusion: We are safer.

Blame Lazy Workers for Mortgage Rate Increases

According to the AP today,

Stocks fell for a second straight session Thursday as concerns about inflation and an overall economic slowdown weighed on investors.

Wall Street, already armed with recent economic data pointing to a housing slowdown, was forced to digest sour anecdotal evidence as well. Beazer Homes USA Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. and KB Home warned that the home-building sector is facing difficulties including cancellations and spikes in inventories.

Would this not indicate that home prices should fall, the opposite of inflation? On the other hand, if the Fed sees fit to raise interest rates again, it would hurt the housing market further.

The story goes on to cite rising labor costs as part of the inflation concern. Decreased productivity pushes labor higher, yet we are seeing calls for an increased minimum wage? Is there a national work slowdown I'm not aware of? With the leaps in technology, we should be seeing increased productivity. I am flummoxed.

Economic Squeeze?

There has been a lot of talk lately in the liberal press about the supposed economic squeeze on the middle class. You have seen it in all the headlines "Wages not rising," Rich get richer while middle class gets poorer, etc... These are all doom and gloom stories written to favor liberal democrats.

Today there is an article in the Washington Post about "Mortgage Moms" talking about how Republicans are in trouble because of rising expenses for the middle class:

A less obvious but powerful variable is the interest paid by people carryingcredit card debt or mortgages whose monthly payments vary with interest rates. People buffeted by these trends have given rise to a new and volatile voting block. "People like this are making a large ripple across the body politic," said Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies. When added to the growing opposition to the war in Iraq, he said, worry about this economic crunch "is creating a political environment that is not that friendly to the party in power."

The problem with these articles is that they never say what Democrats are going to do about it other than raise the minimum raise. If the minimum raise goes from $5.00 an hour to $10.00 an hour, how will that help someone who is already making $15 an hour. The belief by some is that a raise in the minimum wage equals raises for everyone else. This is false. The story that needs to be told is that raising the minimum wage does nothing for the middle class other than cost jobs.

I hope the economic issues get debated this fall. I would like to hear how the democrats propose ending the squeeze that they say is a problem. Do you think they really care about "mortgage moms" living in $500,000 houses? Maybe they will offer a bill to eliminate the federal reserve so that democrats will control interest rates.

Proof that Crime Does Pay: Theft Ends Establishment Clause Lawsuit

The Harrison County, West Virginia School Board on Thursday voted to end its opposition to a pending lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the display of a painting of Jesus that had hung in Bridgeport High School.

After the suit was filed by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union, an unknown intruder stole the painting from the school. According to the Charleston Gazette, after being advised by its attorneys that the high profile case was moot, the Board voted to ask the plaintiffs to drop their lawsuit. In return for an end to the litigation, the Board agreed that "if the reproduction is retrieved, [it] will not put the reproduction back up as it was previously situated."

Candidate is beaten by gang, but says that police report would add to the obstacles faced by the gang members

If modern life contains parables, today's Saint Paul Pioneer Press has the most interesting I have read all year:

A North Minneapolis DFL candidate trying to meet and greet his constituents on the campaign trail ended his door-to-door run at the hospital after a gang beating. Michael Katch, 45, one of several DFLers running for a District 58B House seat, started out with a good day Friday. "I talked to a lot of nice, friendly people," he said.

But then, about 4:30 p.m., a group of kids in their mid-teens caught up to him at the corner of North Sheridan Avenue near North Ferrant Place. Katch said he didn't say anything to provoke them. Or get a chance to discuss the issues. "I said hello when I first saw them. Asked them if they were ready for school on Tuesday," he said. "I want to be neighborly." And then: "I got hit in the face. A lot."

Katch wound up at Fairview Hospital with a nose he said will have to be reconstructed. He said he hasn't filed a police report and doesn't intend to. "I don't really want some child to end up in the system because they were stupid and hit me in the face," he said. "It's hard enough for them, the things they have to overcome."

The complete story is available here.

Insecure Much?

I like to read about fad diets, since I'm of the opinion that every popular diet works as long as you stick with it, which hardly anyone does.

Anyway, in reading about them in this FoxNews article, I see the following quote regarding Beyonce's 20 pounds loss in two weeks maple syrup diet.

“This diet is void of essential nutrients and probably doesn't promote healthful eating and lifestyle habits that would sustain any weight that is lost,” says Jenna Anding, PhD, RD, LD, associate department head, department of nutrition and food science, Texas A&M University.

(emphasis mine).

Holy Moly! PhD, RD, LD, associate department head, department of nutrition and food science, Texas A&M University? Is that how she introduces herself at parties?