If we're to define matters based on group identification, however -- and the left makes clear we will -- there is an irony here.
You could roughly say that old white men built the whole modern world....
Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero once said, "To be ignorant of the past is to be forever a child. For what is the time of a man, except it be interwoven with that memory of ancient things of a superior age?" Demonizing white men old or dead keeps the young and alive disconnected from them and hence from the past. This gives us a civilization of children, just the kind of people a pied piper can lead.
CAIRO - An assembly drafting Egypt's new constitution voted on Thursday to keep the principles of Islamic law as the main source of legislation, unchanged from the previous constitution in force under former president Hosni Mubarak.
The issue was the subject of a long dispute between hardline Salafi Islamists and liberals in the assembly which will vote on each of 234 articles in the draft constitution before it is sent to President Mohamed Morsi for approval.
After that, Morsi must put it to a popular referendum.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that nominated Morsi for the presidency, hopes that quick approval of the constitution will help end a crisis ignited by a decree that expanded his powers.
While Article Two of the constitution - describing the source of legislation - stays the same, the constitution includes new provisions explaining what is meant by "the principles" of Islamic law, known as sharia.
The assembly also approved a new article that states that Al-Azhar, a seat of Sunni Muslim learning, must be consulted on "matters related to the Islamic sharia."
Share on email Email | Print | 5 Comments | Share on facebook Facebook | Share on twitter Twitter | Share Share November 29, 2012 Former IL Rep. Mel Reynolds seeks 'redemption' by running for Congress again Rosslyn Smith
It seems that former Congressman Mel Reynolds is running for his old seat.
Disgraced former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds said he will ask voters to focus on his congressional experience rather than his state and federal criminal record as he announced his bid today for the seat held by Jesse Jackson Jr., who has resigned.
At a downtown hotel news conference, Reynolds acknowledged having made "mistakes" in the past. For his campaign, he will try to assume the mantle of an incumbent while also seeking redemption from voters. Red and white campaign signs urged voters to "re-elect" Reynolds "so he can finish the work" while another stark red sign with white letters said simply: "Redemption."
Redemption? How about restitution to Illinois taxpayers for two unnecessary special elections and remorse for inflicting an ongoing political soap opera on the residents of the benighted Second District? This seat seems to bring out the worst in Democrats, both in terms of the morality of the incumbents and prediliction of the party bosses in Springfield to gerrymander the boundaries it to suit their current needs. This time they may have been too clever for their own good.
Here is the back story. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Congressman Gus Savage was embarrassing Illinois Democrats with his remarks about whites and Jews, as well as accusations of sexual harassment. Savage had faced primary challenges in 1988 and 1990 from an articulate Rhodes Scholar turned professor of political science named Mel Reynolds. When the map was redrawn after the 1992 census the Democrat power brokers decided to minimize any potential damage to the party by cutting off some of the city precincts and extending Savage's district into the South suburbs, a move that was likely to cause Savage to lose the next primary. Sure enough, in the March 1992 primary Reynolds, the favorite of the white liberals, finally bested Savage.
Democrats were so pleased with the articulate, clean cut Reynolds the freshman Congressman was given a prized seat of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Unfortunately while Reynolds didn't spout racist nonsense he quickly exposed himself as both a moral reprobate and a thoroughly corrupt politician. In August 1994, Reynolds was indicted on charges involving a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer. Reynolds, who ran unapposed in November,1994, refused to resign. He was convicted on 12 counts related to having sex with a minor in August, 1995. He finally resigned his seat on October 1. While in prison a whole new set of charges for corruption emerged. In 1997 Reynolds was convicted on 15 counts of bank fraud and lying to the SEC.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. won a special election to complete Reynolds term in December, 1995. While most long time observers of Illinois politics are not surprised by the recent corruption charges, by many accounts Jackson wasn't a bad Congressman. He spent far less time spouting inflamed rhetoric and more time working on economic development matters than his famous father. He was particularly willing to reach across the aisle when it came to a pet project, a possible third airport to be located south of Chicago.
As for the composition of the district, after the 2000 census the Second District lost some of the suburbs added after the 1990 census and became one of the most heavily African American districts in the nation. When Republicans won several Congressional seats in Illinois in 2010 the Democrat party bosses again decided to play games with the shape of the Second District. The boundaries were stretched all the way south past Kankakee to include the residence of Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who chose to relocate rather than face such an uphill battle. These boundaries left Jackson in a district that was still minority majority, but only by the thinnest of margins.
Jackson drew a serious primary challenger last March in former Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, the Democrat Kitzinger beat in 2010. I suspect the large suburban/rural portion of the district was one reason Jackson chose not to resign over the summer despite his reported health issues and looming legal battle. On short notice Halvorson might have been a strong favorite among the county chairman and ward/township committeeman who select ballot replacements.
Halvorson has already announced she will run in the upcoming special election on February 26. With perhaps as many as a dozen hats to be tossed in the Democrat ring the racial politics are about to get real interesting. Congressman's Jackson's wife, Sandi, a Chicago Alderman, is said to be interested, as are many other city, county and legislative officials with varying levels of name recognition and community support. In a crowded field of black candidates Halvorson's name recognition in the parts of her old district now inside the Second District could put her on top and Illinois has no provisions for a run off if a certain threshold isn't met.
Because strange things can happen in a special election with a crowded field it is to be hoped a presentable candidate files on the Republican side. This isn't a seat that could be held beyond one term but it is always best to be prepared when the other side seems on the verge of forming a circular firing squad with identity politics being the ammunition of choice.
Egypt crisis raises fears of 'second revolution' Email this Story
Nov 28, 7:10 PM (ET)
By HAMZA HENDAWI
(AP) In this Friday, July 13, 2012 photo, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi holds a joint news...
CAIRO (AP) - Faced with an unprecedented strike by the courts and massive opposition protests, Egypt's Islamist president is not backing down in the showdown over decrees granting him near-absolute powers.
Activists warn that his actions threaten a "second revolution," but Mohammed Morsi faces a different situation than his ousted predecessor, Hosni Mubarak: He was democratically elected and enjoys the support of the nation's most powerful political movement.
Already, Morsi is rushing the work of an Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly at the heart of the power struggle, with a draft of the charter expected as early as Thursday, despite a walkout by liberal and Christian members that has raised questions about the panel's legitimacy.
The next step would be for Morsi to call a nationwide referendum on the document. If adopted, parliamentary elections would be held by the spring.
Wednesday brought a last-minute scramble to seize the momentum over Egypt's political transition. Morsi's camp announced that his Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists will stage a massive rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the plaza where more than 200,000 opposition supporters gathered a day earlier.
The Islamists' choice of the square for Saturday's rally raises the possibility of clashes. Several hundred Morsi opponents are camped out there, and another group is fighting the police on a nearby street.
"It is tantamount to a declaration of war," said liberal politician Mustafa al-Naggar, speaking on the private Al-Tahrir TV station.
With the dystopian sermons now quarantined behind a paywall, and media watchers no longer cataloging his every utterance, Beck has quietly expanded his menu of services beyond chalkboard scribbling. Visitors to his various websites will find a wide array of products on sale, from treacly Christmas books and didactic political fiction to an online marketplace where his followers can purchase a 14-ounce bag of Dark Chocolate Pecans ($10) or, if you desire to be stylishly warm when imprisoned in a FEMA camp, an alpaca barn jacket ($229). And now Beck is migrating back to television screens, having signed a deal with Dish Networks to broadcast TheBlaze TV programing—for a $5-a-month fee.
But don’t fear, Beck’s politics are still reliably bonkers (see his latest “Beautiful Mind”–style chalkboard chart here) and his aspirations slightly delusional (he expects TheBlaze TV to assist in “rebuilding the media”). He loves his country, he fears for his country, and wants to separate his fellow paranoiacs from their money while attempting to save his country. There is, of course, nothing wrong with this, nor is there anything wrong with Sarah Palin’s pursuit of television stardom. But one can hardly imagine ur-conservative media star William F. Buckley hawking gold or “gourmet quality” survivalist food kits, or showing up on the set of Dancing With the Stars. We live, after all, in the era of the “conservative entertainment complex.”
Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true especially at places like American Thinker and Hotair. It just makes you look like a boobie.
There is no "second in command" in Canada that I know of which immediately makes your statement not pass the smell test. However, Canadian folk have been known to go to the US for medical procedures for a variety of reasons. They've also been known to go to England as well. As I've told you before - the vast majority of Canadians who spend a lot of time in the US (i.e. Snowbirds) make sure they don't stay too long thus rendering them ineligible for free medical care - well, it isn't really free as they pay into an insurance program for it through their Provincial taxes.
Canadian Politician Comes to U.S. for Heart Surgery
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today Published: February 03, 2010
It is rare that a simple matter of patient choice causes an international flap.
But that's what happened when 60-year-old Danny Williams of St. John's, Newfoundland, decided to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.
That's because Williams isn't just any old Newfoundlander -- he's the premier of Canada's easternmost province, the head of its government.
The disclosure Tuesday that Williams was in an undisclosed location in the U.S., having an undisclosed procedure that he couldn't get in Newfoundland, brought catcalls from both sides of the border.
The New York Post, for instance, in an article headlined "Oh (no), Canada" used the news to take a whack at healthcare reform in the U.S. And the American Thinker blog -- among many others -- argued that Williams' choice is evidence of the inferiority of Canada's "technologically second-rate and rationed system."
In Canada, cardiac specialists defended the premier's decision as a matter of choice and at the same time noted that -- with few exceptions -- (((most))) cardiac procedures are both available and done well in Canada.
Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true especially at places like American Thinker and Hotair. It just makes you look like a boobie.
yesterday a friend was studying with her third grade son for a social studies test and when asked, "What is a written set of rules that the government must follow"...his reply was "Constipation".
It's amazing these days how much young-ins know so much about politics. Pretty much hit the nail on the head. donchathink...
November 29, 2012 Lethal Shiite Iranian Jew-Hatred, Despite Abject Dhimmitude Andrew Bostom
I have written repeatedly and at length (here, here 1,2,3, and here) about the visceral, najis ("infidel impurity")-inspired, intermittently apocalyptic (and certainly at present) Islamic Jew-hatred that has pervaded Iranian Muslim society since the nation became a Shiite theocracy ~ 1502, under Shah Ismail.
Despite being only a vestigial, vanishingly small minority that lives in abject, crushing dhimmitude, here is a pathognomonic contemporary example of how Iranian Jew-hatred manifests itself at present-past as prologue.
As reported by UPI, today (11/29/12):
A Jewish woman was stabbed to death in Isfahan, Iran, in what her family said was a religiously motivated crime....[The] 57-year-old woman, identified as Tuba N., was killed Monday, allegedly by her Muslim neighbors, who had been trying to drive the family from their home and confiscate their property, which is adjacent to a mosque..."The religious radicals even expropriated part of the house and attached it to the mosque's courtyard. The Jewish family appealed to the courts ... despite the threats to their lives. Thugs broke into her home, tied up her two sisters who were living with her, and repeatedly stabbed her to death.
The attackers then removed her hands. [emphasis added]
The killing occurred while the woman's husband was in Tehran.
...[M]embers of the city's dwindling Jewish community fear further bloodshed. Isfahan, the third largest city in Iran, was home to some 1,200 Jews in 2009. Now, however, ... estimates [are] fewer than 100 families remain.
... Iranian authorities attempted to cover up the killing and have yet to return the woman's body to her family.
Volcker said he isn’t frustrated by the lack of progress but admits he doesn’t know why the rule hasn’t been fully adopted yet.
“Whether the [final] regulation has to be as complicated, I don't know what the new regulation will be,” said Volcker. “But I don't think it needs to be as complicated as our initial regulation, which got a big reaction.”
Why haven't more lawmakers insisted on strict financial regulation? Maybe because that's not where the money is.
Members of Congress who have called for a weak, watered-down version of the Volcker rule -- a key piece of financial regulation currently under intense debate in Washington -- have received handsome donations from the financial sector, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen.
On the other hand, Senators and representatives who have urged regulators to pass a strong Volcker rule with far-reaching regulatory powers have gotten considerably less love from the financial industry.
There seem to be multiple issues. Foreign bankers used the Davos forum to express their opposition to limits on proprietary trading. Led by Mark Carney, then head of Bank of Canada, now head of Bank of England, argued that the common (?) practice of "holding inventory" in the form of sovereign bonds is a grey area where "market-making" intersects with "proprietary trading."
“Importantly, banks under the Volcker Rule may now be either unable or unwilling to carry inventory, not only in their trading account but also as a part of their traditional market making and flow trading business,” Lord, Abbett & Company, the mutual fund company, recently wrote in a note to clients. “Inventory promotes transactions that enhance and broaden liquidity.”
However, the Treasury Department studied the impact the Volcker Rule would have on liquidity across markets broadly and concluded that it would be limited.
The portfolio of embattled United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice includes investments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in several energy companies known for doing business with Iran, according to financial disclosure forms.
Rice, a possible nominee to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she steps down, has come under criticism for promulgating erroneous information about the September 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.
Rice has the highest net worth of executive branch members, with a fortune estimated between $24 to $44 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A Free Beacon analysis of Rice’s portfolio shows thousands of dollars invested in at least three separate companies cited by lawmakers on Capitol Hill for doing business in Iran’s oil and gas sector.
The revelation of these investments could pose a problem for Rice if she is tapped by President Barack Obama to replace Clinton. Among the responsibilities of the next secretary of state will be a showdown with Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.
“That Susan Rice invested in companies doing business in Iran shows either the Obama administration’s lack of seriousness regarding Iran or Rice’s own immorality,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq. “Either way, her actions undercut her ability to demand our allies unity on Iran.”
The companies in question appear to have conducted business with Tehran well after Western governments began to urge divestment from the rogue nation, which has continued to enrich uranium near levels needed to build a nuclear bomb.
Financial disclosures reveal that Rice has had $50,001-$100,000 in Royal Dutch Shell, a longtime purchaser of Iranian crude oil.
Royal Dutch Shell currently owes Iran nearly $1 billion in back payments for crude oil that it purchased before Western economic sanctions crippled Tehran’s ability to process oil payments, Reuters reported.
“A debt of that size would equate to roughly four large tanker loads of Iranian crude or about 8 million barrels,” according to the report.
Rice has additional investments in Norsk Hydro ASA, a Norwegian aluminum firm, and BHP Billiton PLC, an Australian-based natural resources company, financial disclosure show.
Norway’s Norsk Hydro was awarded in 2006 a $107 million exploration and development contract for Iran’s Khorramabad oil block, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rice’s portfolio includes an investment of up to $15,000 in the company.
Guess GES +1.94% gained after the apparel company said it would pay a special dividend of $1.20 a share, news that outweighed fiscal third-quarter results that missed analyst projections.
Aeropostale ARO -4.96% slid after the youth-focused apparel company reported earnings that were better than Wall Street expected, but gave a dour outlook for the current quarter.
Infoblox BLOX +29.53% soared after the data-center technology company reported a blowout fiscal first quarter with earnings and revenue that were well above expectations, and provided an upbeat second-quarter outlook.
Two decades have passed since nightclub entertainer and blond bombshell Gennifer Flowers stepped before cameras and announced she had a 12-year affair with then-Gov. Bill Clinton, joining a roster of attractive women who reported similar dalliances, wanted and unwanted. Miss Flowers has stepped forward once again to reveal that in 2005, Mr. Clinton offered to come visit her once again.
“I picked up the telephone, and it was him. I said, ‘No, you can’t come over here. No way.’ I said ‘No, you can’t come to my house.’ He said, ‘I’ll put on a hoodie and jog up there.’ He used to do that. I said ‘No. No. And I want you to leave me alone.’ And that was the end of it,” said Miss Flowers, now 62, as she sipped wine and laughed languidly through an interview with WGNO, an ABC affiliate in New Orleans.
She also had advice for Paula Broadwell, still generating scandalous news coverage of her affair with former CIA Director David H. Petraeus.
“Call me, Paula,” Miss Flowers said, miming a phone to her ear. “I’ll give you some really good advice.”
The self-described “cougar,” author and motivational speaker, incidentally, is currently shopping around a new reality show titled “The Real Housewives of New Orleans,” in which she plays herself.
Canadian Politician Comes to U.S. for Heart Surgery
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today Published: February 03, 2010
It is rare that a simple matter of patient choice causes an international flap.
But that's what happened when 60-year-old Danny Williams of St. John's, Newfoundland, decided to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.
That's because Williams isn't just any old Newfoundlander -- he's the premier of Canada's easternmost province, the head of its government.
The disclosure Tuesday that Williams was in an undisclosed location in the U.S., having an undisclosed procedure that he couldn't get in Newfoundland, brought catcalls from both sides of the border.
The New York Post, for instance, in an article headlined "Oh (no), Canada" used the news to take a whack at healthcare reform in the U.S. And the American Thinker blog -- among many others -- argued that Williams' choice is evidence of the inferiority of Canada's "technologically second-rate and rationed system."
In Canada, cardiac specialists defended the premier's decision as a matter of choice and at the same time noted that -- with few exceptions -- (((most))) cardiac procedures are both available and done well in Canada.
In New York, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, reiterated the importance of reviving the Middle East peace process. Speaking hours before the vote, he said: "Achieving the two-state solution, to which Israel and the Palestinians have committed, is long overdue."
Mr Ban said the vote was a matter for member states, but added: "The goal remains realising the just and lasting peace for which generations of Palestinians and Israelis have been longing – a peace that will end the occupation that started in 1967, end the conflict and ensure that an independent, viable and sovereign State of Palestine lives side by side with a secure State of Israel."
In Jerusalem the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel was "prepared to live in peace with a Palestinian state" but Israeli security must be protected.
Temperatures on Mercury can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees Celsius), but around the north pole, in areas permanently shielded from the sun's heat, NASA's Messenger spacecraft found a mix of frozen water and possible organic materials.
The great, acerbic 19th-century satirist Ambrose Bierce defined a revolution as “an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.” :)
He would understand events in Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak very well.
In the signature revolution of the Arab Spring, the country turned its back on a secular dictatorship only to fall into the arms of what looks like a budding Muslim Brotherhood dictatorship. Meet the new pharaoh, same as the old pharaoh. Except Egypt’s old form of misgovernment may soon look progressive by comparison.
The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a more than two-thirds majority to recognize the state of Palestine.
The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by the 193-member world body late Thursday by a vote of 138-9 with 41 abstentions.
Just when you think every bit of bacon innovation has been cooked up, another seemingly unbelievable creation is unveiled for the world to enjoy.
...
Still, covering your face in bacon-scented shaving cream does pose its share of risks. The self-described "Bacontrepreneurs" at J&D's offer a fair warning to anyone using their new shaving cream: "Prepare to be loved, admired and possibly be eaten by bears."
Jonathan Westin, organizing director for New York Communities for Change, said the success working with grocery store and car wash employees encouraged the group to take on the fast-food giants.
...
On the other hand, the National Restaurant Association sided with its member chains, saying “the New York City restaurant industry is to be commended for providing jobs through a sluggish economy.”
“The industry, including quick service restaurants, is one of the best paths to achieving the American dream and has provided opportunities for millions of Americans,” said Scott DeFife, executive vice president of Policy & Government Affairs for the National Restaurant Association, in a statement.
In praise of old dead white men -
ReplyDeleteIf we're to define matters based on group identification, however -- and the left makes clear we will -- there is an irony here.
You could roughly say that old white men built the whole modern world....
Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero once said, "To be ignorant of the past is to be forever a child. For what is the time of a man, except it be interwoven with that memory of ancient things of a superior age?" Demonizing white men old or dead keeps the young and alive disconnected from them and hence from the past. This gives us a civilization of children, just the kind of people a pied piper can lead.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/11/target_old_white_men.html
.
DeleteAt some point, the Age of Old White Men will seem the golden age.
Apres nous, le deluge.
.
Mr. Morsi, the whole world is watching.
ReplyDeleteBehind one door is the modern world with a hope of stability and peace. Behind the other door is the revolution and fidelity to Allah.
Which will be it? Door number 1 or Door number 2?
Behind one door is the modern world with no guarantees of anything. Behind the other door is the old world with a hope of order and structure.
DeleteWait!
ReplyDeleteMr. Erdogan is suggesting that we offer you a third door.
Behind one door is the modern, carnal world. Behind another door, the promised reward of 70 virgins. And behind the third door...
ReplyDelete...the hearty effort to perpetuate the world of old white men, dead or not, at The Yacht Club, McCall, Idaho.
ReplyDeleteI guess I hope the Generals take over again, it appearing to me to be the best of the available options.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, who killed Sadat the peace maker?
DeleteCAIRO - An assembly drafting Egypt's new constitution voted on Thursday to keep the principles of Islamic law as the main source of legislation, unchanged from the previous constitution in force under former president Hosni Mubarak.
ReplyDeleteThe issue was the subject of a long dispute between hardline Salafi Islamists and liberals in the assembly which will vote on each of 234 articles in the draft constitution before it is sent to President Mohamed Morsi for approval.
After that, Morsi must put it to a popular referendum.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that nominated Morsi for the presidency, hopes that quick approval of the constitution will help end a crisis ignited by a decree that expanded his powers.
While Article Two of the constitution - describing the source of legislation - stays the same, the constitution includes new provisions explaining what is meant by "the principles" of Islamic law, known as sharia.
The assembly also approved a new article that states that Al-Azhar, a seat of Sunni Muslim learning, must be consulted on "matters related to the Islamic sharia."
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=293978
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November 29, 2012
Former IL Rep. Mel Reynolds seeks 'redemption' by running for Congress again
Rosslyn Smith
It seems that former Congressman Mel Reynolds is running for his old seat.
Disgraced former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds said he will ask voters to focus on his congressional experience rather than his state and federal criminal record as he announced his bid today for the seat held by Jesse Jackson Jr., who has resigned.
At a downtown hotel news conference, Reynolds acknowledged having made "mistakes" in the past. For his campaign, he will try to assume the mantle of an incumbent while also seeking redemption from voters. Red and white campaign signs urged voters to "re-elect" Reynolds "so he can finish the work" while another stark red sign with white letters said simply: "Redemption."
Redemption? How about restitution to Illinois taxpayers for two unnecessary special elections and remorse for inflicting an ongoing political soap opera on the residents of the benighted Second District? This seat seems to bring out the worst in Democrats, both in terms of the morality of the incumbents and prediliction of the party bosses in Springfield to gerrymander the boundaries it to suit their current needs. This time they may have been too clever for their own good.
Here is the back story. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Congressman Gus Savage was embarrassing Illinois Democrats with his remarks about whites and Jews, as well as accusations of sexual harassment. Savage had faced primary challenges in 1988 and 1990 from an articulate Rhodes Scholar turned professor of political science named Mel Reynolds. When the map was redrawn after the 1992 census the Democrat power brokers decided to minimize any potential damage to the party by cutting off some of the city precincts and extending Savage's district into the South suburbs, a move that was likely to cause Savage to lose the next primary. Sure enough, in the March 1992 primary Reynolds, the favorite of the white liberals, finally bested Savage.
Democrats were so pleased with the articulate, clean cut Reynolds the freshman Congressman was given a prized seat of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Unfortunately while Reynolds didn't spout racist nonsense he quickly exposed himself as both a moral reprobate and a thoroughly corrupt politician. In August 1994, Reynolds was indicted on charges involving a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer. Reynolds, who ran unapposed in November,1994, refused to resign. He was convicted on 12 counts related to having sex with a minor in August, 1995. He finally resigned his seat on October 1. While in prison a whole new set of charges for corruption emerged. In 1997 Reynolds was convicted on 15 counts of bank fraud and lying to the SEC.
ReplyDeleteJesse Jackson, Jr. won a special election to complete Reynolds term in December, 1995. While most long time observers of Illinois politics are not surprised by the recent corruption charges, by many accounts Jackson wasn't a bad Congressman. He spent far less time spouting inflamed rhetoric and more time working on economic development matters than his famous father. He was particularly willing to reach across the aisle when it came to a pet project, a possible third airport to be located south of Chicago.
As for the composition of the district, after the 2000 census the Second District lost some of the suburbs added after the 1990 census and became one of the most heavily African American districts in the nation. When Republicans won several Congressional seats in Illinois in 2010 the Democrat party bosses again decided to play games with the shape of the Second District. The boundaries were stretched all the way south past Kankakee to include the residence of Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who chose to relocate rather than face such an uphill battle. These boundaries left Jackson in a district that was still minority majority, but only by the thinnest of margins.
Jackson drew a serious primary challenger last March in former Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, the Democrat Kitzinger beat in 2010. I suspect the large suburban/rural portion of the district was one reason Jackson chose not to resign over the summer despite his reported health issues and looming legal battle. On short notice Halvorson might have been a strong favorite among the county chairman and ward/township committeeman who select ballot replacements.
Halvorson has already announced she will run in the upcoming special election on February 26. With perhaps as many as a dozen hats to be tossed in the Democrat ring the racial politics are about to get real interesting. Congressman's Jackson's wife, Sandi, a Chicago Alderman, is said to be interested, as are many other city, county and legislative officials with varying levels of name recognition and community support. In a crowded field of black candidates Halvorson's name recognition in the parts of her old district now inside the Second District could put her on top and Illinois has no provisions for a run off if a certain threshold isn't met.
Because strange things can happen in a special election with a crowded field it is to be hoped a presentable candidate files on the Republican side. This isn't a seat that could be held beyond one term but it is always best to be prepared when the other side seems on the verge of forming a circular firing squad with identity politics being the ammunition of choice.
Rosslyn Smith
ReplyDeleteEgypt crisis raises fears of 'second revolution'
Email this Story
Nov 28, 7:10 PM (ET)
By HAMZA HENDAWI
(AP) In this Friday, July 13, 2012 photo, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi holds a joint news...
CAIRO (AP) - Faced with an unprecedented strike by the courts and massive opposition protests, Egypt's Islamist president is not backing down in the showdown over decrees granting him near-absolute powers.
Activists warn that his actions threaten a "second revolution," but Mohammed Morsi faces a different situation than his ousted predecessor, Hosni Mubarak: He was democratically elected and enjoys the support of the nation's most powerful political movement.
Already, Morsi is rushing the work of an Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly at the heart of the power struggle, with a draft of the charter expected as early as Thursday, despite a walkout by liberal and Christian members that has raised questions about the panel's legitimacy.
The next step would be for Morsi to call a nationwide referendum on the document. If adopted, parliamentary elections would be held by the spring.
Wednesday brought a last-minute scramble to seize the momentum over Egypt's political transition. Morsi's camp announced that his Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists will stage a massive rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the plaza where more than 200,000 opposition supporters gathered a day earlier.
The Islamists' choice of the square for Saturday's rally raises the possibility of clashes. Several hundred Morsi opponents are camped out there, and another group is fighting the police on a nearby street.
"It is tantamount to a declaration of war," said liberal politician Mustafa al-Naggar, speaking on the private Al-Tahrir TV station.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20121129/DA2RAFR02.html
The MB will probably come out on top unless the army does something which seems unlikely.
Conservative Entertainment Complex
ReplyDeleteWith the dystopian sermons now quarantined behind a paywall, and media watchers no longer cataloging his every utterance, Beck has quietly expanded his menu of services beyond chalkboard scribbling. Visitors to his various websites will find a wide array of products on sale, from treacly Christmas books and didactic political fiction to an online marketplace where his followers can purchase a 14-ounce bag of Dark Chocolate Pecans ($10) or, if you desire to be stylishly warm when imprisoned in a FEMA camp, an alpaca barn jacket ($229). And now Beck is migrating back to television screens, having signed a deal with Dish Networks to broadcast TheBlaze TV programing—for a $5-a-month fee.
But don’t fear, Beck’s politics are still reliably bonkers (see his latest “Beautiful Mind”–style chalkboard chart here) and his aspirations slightly delusional (he expects TheBlaze TV to assist in “rebuilding the media”). He loves his country, he fears for his country, and wants to separate his fellow paranoiacs from their money while attempting to save his country. There is, of course, nothing wrong with this, nor is there anything wrong with Sarah Palin’s pursuit of television stardom. But one can hardly imagine ur-conservative media star William F. Buckley hawking gold or “gourmet quality” survivalist food kits, or showing up on the set of Dancing With the Stars. We live, after all, in the era of the “conservative entertainment complex.”
Remember Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker? It seems a straight line progression from them through the Tea Party to Beck.
DeleteYou're a belly putter Ash, but everyone guessed that. Beck by the way has called almost all that has happened lately.
DeleteAsh, why did your second in command up there in Canada come to the United States for his heart surgery?
DeleteBeck has called all that has happened lately, really? Like what - Obama's shellacking of Romney?
DeleteNo I don't use a long putter or anchor it. Why would you care anyway?
Second in command in Canada - who the heck is that?
Can't recall his name, read it on a blog.
DeleteLike all the stuff in the Mid East last couple of years.
I care about your golf game.
Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true especially at places like American Thinker and Hotair. It just makes you look like a boobie.
DeleteThere is no "second in command" in Canada that I know of which immediately makes your statement not pass the smell test. However, Canadian folk have been known to go to the US for medical procedures for a variety of reasons. They've also been known to go to England as well. As I've told you before - the vast majority of Canadians who spend a lot of time in the US (i.e. Snowbirds) make sure they don't stay too long thus rendering them ineligible for free medical care - well, it isn't really free as they pay into an insurance program for it through their Provincial taxes.
ASH
DeleteAcute Coronary Syndrome
Canadian Politician Comes to U.S. for Heart Surgery
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: February 03, 2010
It is rare that a simple matter of patient choice causes an international flap.
But that's what happened when 60-year-old Danny Williams of St. John's, Newfoundland, decided to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.
That's because Williams isn't just any old Newfoundlander -- he's the premier of Canada's easternmost province, the head of its government.
The disclosure Tuesday that Williams was in an undisclosed location in the U.S., having an undisclosed procedure that he couldn't get in Newfoundland, brought catcalls from both sides of the border.
The New York Post, for instance, in an article headlined "Oh (no), Canada" used the news to take a whack at healthcare reform in the U.S. And the American Thinker blog -- among many others -- argued that Williams' choice is evidence of the inferiority of Canada's "technologically second-rate and rationed system."
In Canada, cardiac specialists defended the premier's decision as a matter of choice and at the same time noted that -- with few exceptions -- (((most))) cardiac procedures are both available and done well in Canada.
Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true especially at places like American Thinker and Hotair. It just makes you look like a boobie.
DeleteThat goes both ways.
yesterday a friend was studying with her third grade son for a social studies test and when asked, "What is a written set of rules that the government must follow"...his reply was "Constipation".
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing these days how much young-ins know so much about politics. Pretty much hit the nail on the head. donchathink...
Heh, well, he started out good. And, also ended well.
ReplyDeleteThelma and Louise go over a physical cliff -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z88U915uq8
November 29, 2012
ReplyDeleteLethal Shiite Iranian Jew-Hatred, Despite Abject Dhimmitude
Andrew Bostom
I have written repeatedly and at length (here, here 1,2,3, and here) about the visceral, najis ("infidel impurity")-inspired, intermittently apocalyptic (and certainly at present) Islamic Jew-hatred that has pervaded Iranian Muslim society since the nation became a Shiite theocracy ~ 1502, under Shah Ismail.
Despite being only a vestigial, vanishingly small minority that lives in abject, crushing dhimmitude, here is a pathognomonic contemporary example of how Iranian Jew-hatred manifests itself at present-past as prologue.
As reported by UPI, today (11/29/12):
A Jewish woman was stabbed to death in Isfahan, Iran, in what her family said was a religiously motivated crime....[The] 57-year-old woman, identified as Tuba N., was killed Monday, allegedly by her Muslim neighbors, who had been trying to drive the family from their home and confiscate their property, which is adjacent to a mosque..."The religious radicals even expropriated part of the house and attached it to the mosque's courtyard. The Jewish family appealed to the courts ... despite the threats to their lives. Thugs broke into her home, tied up her two sisters who were living with her, and repeatedly stabbed her to death.
The attackers then removed her hands. [emphasis added]
The killing occurred while the woman's husband was in Tehran.
...[M]embers of the city's dwindling Jewish community fear further bloodshed. Isfahan, the third largest city in Iran, was home to some 1,200 Jews in 2009. Now, however, ... estimates [are] fewer than 100 families remain.
... Iranian authorities attempted to cover up the killing and have yet to return the woman's body to her family.
Monkeys in Cairo, Monkeys in IRan andor course...
ReplyDeleteMonkeys in Canada...
Volcker Says Rule Is Already Changing Wall Street
ReplyDeleteVolcker said he isn’t frustrated by the lack of progress but admits he doesn’t know why the rule hasn’t been fully adopted yet.
“Whether the [final] regulation has to be as complicated, I don't know what the new regulation will be,” said Volcker. “But I don't think it needs to be as complicated as our initial regulation, which got a big reaction.”
What's the problem?
Lawmakers Who Opposed Volcker Rule Got Big Contributions From Financial Sector: Report
Why haven't more lawmakers insisted on strict financial regulation? Maybe because that's not where the money is.
Members of Congress who have called for a weak, watered-down version of the Volcker rule -- a key piece of financial regulation currently under intense debate in Washington -- have received handsome donations from the financial sector, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen.
On the other hand, Senators and representatives who have urged regulators to pass a strong Volcker rule with far-reaching regulatory powers have gotten considerably less love from the financial industry.
There seem to be multiple issues. Foreign bankers used the Davos forum to express their opposition to limits on proprietary trading. Led by Mark Carney, then head of Bank of Canada, now head of Bank of England, argued that the common (?) practice of "holding inventory" in the form of sovereign bonds is a grey area where "market-making" intersects with "proprietary trading."
“Importantly, banks under the Volcker Rule may now be either unable or unwilling to carry inventory, not only in their trading account but also as a part of their traditional market making and flow trading business,” Lord, Abbett & Company, the mutual fund company, recently wrote in a note to clients. “Inventory promotes transactions that enhance and broaden liquidity.”
However, the Treasury Department studied the impact the Volcker Rule would have on liquidity across markets broadly and concluded that it would be limited.
This belongs in an earlier thread.
ReplyDeleteThere's a joke about primal screams in there somewhere.
:)
DeleteUnusual situation. Maybe they will learn to bark one day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CsAswqqiK4
:)
DeleteYou're right. They Sound like republicans, even if they don't look exactly the part.
BY: Adam Kredo
ReplyDeleteNovember 29, 2012 4:32 pm
The portfolio of embattled United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice includes investments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in several energy companies known for doing business with Iran, according to financial disclosure forms.
Rice, a possible nominee to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she steps down, has come under criticism for promulgating erroneous information about the September 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.
Rice has the highest net worth of executive branch members, with a fortune estimated between $24 to $44 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A Free Beacon analysis of Rice’s portfolio shows thousands of dollars invested in at least three separate companies cited by lawmakers on Capitol Hill for doing business in Iran’s oil and gas sector.
The revelation of these investments could pose a problem for Rice if she is tapped by President Barack Obama to replace Clinton. Among the responsibilities of the next secretary of state will be a showdown with Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.
“That Susan Rice invested in companies doing business in Iran shows either the Obama administration’s lack of seriousness regarding Iran or Rice’s own immorality,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq. “Either way, her actions undercut her ability to demand our allies unity on Iran.”
The companies in question appear to have conducted business with Tehran well after Western governments began to urge divestment from the rogue nation, which has continued to enrich uranium near levels needed to build a nuclear bomb.
Financial disclosures reveal that Rice has had $50,001-$100,000 in Royal Dutch Shell, a longtime purchaser of Iranian crude oil.
Royal Dutch Shell currently owes Iran nearly $1 billion in back payments for crude oil that it purchased before Western economic sanctions crippled Tehran’s ability to process oil payments, Reuters reported.
“A debt of that size would equate to roughly four large tanker loads of Iranian crude or about 8 million barrels,” according to the report.
Rice has additional investments in Norsk Hydro ASA, a Norwegian aluminum firm, and BHP Billiton PLC, an Australian-based natural resources company, financial disclosure show.
Norway’s Norsk Hydro was awarded in 2006 a $107 million exploration and development contract for Iran’s Khorramabad oil block, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rice’s portfolio includes an investment of up to $15,000 in the company.
So, Ms Rice owns stock in an Eurozone Company that clipped the Iranians for a billion bucks.
DeleteThat is a qualifier for greater things to come, no?
Unlike Mitt Romney's Persian investments.
DeleteHer accounts are not reported being maintained in Cayman or Swiss banks.
DeleteLet US know if that changes
Guess GES +1.94% gained after the apparel company said it would pay a special dividend of $1.20 a share, news that outweighed fiscal third-quarter results that missed analyst projections.
ReplyDeleteAeropostale ARO -4.96% slid after the youth-focused apparel company reported earnings that were better than Wall Street expected, but gave a dour outlook for the current quarter.
Infoblox BLOX +29.53% soared after the data-center technology company reported a blowout fiscal first quarter with earnings and revenue that were well above expectations, and provided an upbeat second-quarter outlook.
heh, hoodie
ReplyDeleteTwo decades have passed since nightclub entertainer and blond bombshell Gennifer Flowers stepped before cameras and announced she had a 12-year affair with then-Gov. Bill Clinton, joining a roster of attractive women who reported similar dalliances, wanted and unwanted. Miss Flowers has stepped forward once again to reveal that in 2005, Mr. Clinton offered to come visit her once again.
“I picked up the telephone, and it was him. I said, ‘No, you can’t come over here. No way.’ I said ‘No, you can’t come to my house.’ He said, ‘I’ll put on a hoodie and jog up there.’ He used to do that. I said ‘No. No. And I want you to leave me alone.’ And that was the end of it,” said Miss Flowers, now 62, as she sipped wine and laughed languidly through an interview with WGNO, an ABC affiliate in New Orleans.
She also had advice for Paula Broadwell, still generating scandalous news coverage of her affair with former CIA Director David H. Petraeus.
“Call me, Paula,” Miss Flowers said, miming a phone to her ear. “I’ll give you some really good advice.”
The self-described “cougar,” author and motivational speaker, incidentally, is currently shopping around a new reality show titled “The Real Housewives of New Orleans,” in which she plays herself.
“I’m always looking for romance,” she explains.
Washington Times
ASH
ReplyDeleteAcute Coronary Syndrome
Canadian Politician Comes to U.S. for Heart Surgery
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: February 03, 2010
It is rare that a simple matter of patient choice causes an international flap.
But that's what happened when 60-year-old Danny Williams of St. John's, Newfoundland, decided to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.
That's because Williams isn't just any old Newfoundlander -- he's the premier of Canada's easternmost province, the head of its government.
The disclosure Tuesday that Williams was in an undisclosed location in the U.S., having an undisclosed procedure that he couldn't get in Newfoundland, brought catcalls from both sides of the border.
The New York Post, for instance, in an article headlined "Oh (no), Canada" used the news to take a whack at healthcare reform in the U.S. And the American Thinker blog -- among many others -- argued that Williams' choice is evidence of the inferiority of Canada's "technologically second-rate and rationed system."
In Canada, cardiac specialists defended the premier's decision as a matter of choice and at the same time noted that -- with few exceptions -- (((most))) cardiac procedures are both available and done well in Canada.
Wow, a politician chose to go to the US for heart surgery - that must mean the health care in Canada sucks.
DeleteTo paraphrase Mark Twain:
DeleteThere are none so insufferable as expat pricks.
In New York, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, reiterated the importance of reviving the Middle East peace process. Speaking hours before the vote, he said: "Achieving the two-state solution, to which Israel and the Palestinians have committed, is long overdue."
ReplyDeleteMr Ban said the vote was a matter for member states, but added: "The goal remains realising the just and lasting peace for which generations of Palestinians and Israelis have been longing – a peace that will end the occupation that started in 1967, end the conflict and ensure that an independent, viable and sovereign State of Palestine lives side by side with a secure State of Israel."
In Jerusalem the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel was "prepared to live in peace with a Palestinian state" but Israeli security must be protected.
Temperatures on Mercury can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees Celsius), but around the north pole, in areas permanently shielded from the sun's heat, NASA's Messenger spacecraft found a mix of frozen water and possible organic materials.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.space.com/18687-water-ice-mercury-messager-discovery.html
The great, acerbic 19th-century satirist Ambrose Bierce defined a revolution as “an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.” :)
ReplyDeleteHe would understand events in Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak very well.
In the signature revolution of the Arab Spring, the country turned its back on a secular dictatorship only to fall into the arms of what looks like a budding Muslim Brotherhood dictatorship. Meet the new pharaoh, same as the old pharaoh. Except Egypt’s old form of misgovernment may soon look progressive by comparison.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/the-brotherhood-delusion-richard-lowry-84358.html#ixzz2DeeeRD3I
The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a more than two-thirds majority to recognize the state of Palestine.
ReplyDeleteThe resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by the 193-member world body late Thursday by a vote of 138-9 with 41 abstentions.
Australia was one of the abstentions.
Just when you think every bit of bacon innovation has been cooked up, another seemingly unbelievable creation is unveiled for the world to enjoy.
ReplyDelete...
Still, covering your face in bacon-scented shaving cream does pose its share of risks. The self-described "Bacontrepreneurs" at J&D's offer a fair warning to anyone using their new shaving cream: "Prepare to be loved, admired and possibly be eaten by bears."
Jonathan Westin, organizing director for New York Communities for Change, said the success working with grocery store and car wash employees encouraged the group to take on the fast-food giants.
ReplyDelete...
On the other hand, the National Restaurant Association sided with its member
chains, saying “the New York City restaurant industry is to be commended for providing jobs through a sluggish economy.”
“The industry, including quick service restaurants, is one of the best paths
to achieving the American dream and has provided opportunities for millions of
Americans,” said Scott DeFife, executive vice president of Policy & Government
Affairs for the National Restaurant Association, in a statement.
On this date in 2001, George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles, passed away. He died at 58 years old after suffering from lung cancer.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a brain tumor.