"The Hammer Has Fleas!"

How many more "former" or "ex-" DeLay aides/staffers will suffer through this headline?

"Former DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty"

Today, it's former DeLay Deupty Chief of Staff Tony Rudy.

It was only a couple of days ago (March 29th) we were learning about the 70-month sentence of the man DeLay would once describe as one of his "closest and dearest friend[s]," Jack Abramoff.

And shortly before that (March 26th), we were reading about DeLay's former Chief of Staff Edwin Buckham: Former DeLay Aide Enriched by Non-profit. DeLay's wife also figures into the mix of this scandal.

And lest we forget these other aides/staffers/associates who have come under indictment and/or intense scrutiny within the last year: Michael Scanlon, Jim Ellis, Drew Maloney, Todd Boulanger, and Jessica Boulanger. (Google the names yourselves to find relevant links)

There's a saying that if you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas. There's also a saying that you will be known by the company you keep.

So is Congressman DeLay just a really bad judge of character and a victim of a series of unfortunate circumstances with shady characters who took advantage of his better nature, or ..... ???

Un retrato vale un mil palabras

Translation: A picture is worth a thousand words

If you want a perfect illustration of the irony, sadness, and meaning behind the whole "pro-illegal-immigration" parades and protests, here it is, taken from a "protest" in Dallas:

A few things worth noting here:

1. This girl jumped into a fountain and apparently was drowning and needed to be rescued.

2. She appears to be either unconscious or, at least, totally unaware of the predicament she is in.

3. "American" paramedics, likely trained in "American" schools and using "American" technology, know-how, and safety precautions, have come to her aid.

4. She has "Mexico" tattooed (although likely a temporary one) on her chest.

Intelligent people can draw all the irony and symbolism they need on their own. If I have to explain it to you, I can't help you. I wonder if she would have received this type of aid in her "homeland"? The fact that non-citizens are not even allowed to protest in Mexico just makes it all the more ironic.

If ignorance is bliss, this young lady must be ecstatic.

For more outrageous pictures that also effectively illustrate the real motive behind this madness, click here. (hat tip: Michelle Malkin)

Caspar Weinberger, R.I.P.

Caspar Weinberger has died. He was 88.

In March of 1983, Berkeley Breathed authored a Bloom County strip that still bounces around my headfrom time to time… In this particular strip, detailed nicely by Radley Balko (found after googling “jasper wine and sugar”),

Opus and Milo Bloom are sitting on grassy hill, and Opus begins to recite some poetry:

How I love to watch the morn with golden sun that shines,
up above to nicely warm these frosty toes of mine

The wind doth taste of bittersweet, Like jasper wine and sugar.
I bet it's blown through others' feet, like those of...

(Struggles to think of a rhyme...)

Caspar Weinberger.

At which point Milo, who was enjoying the verse, shouts, "Start over!"

The strip elicited the following response on official stationery from the Department of Defense:

Dear Mr. Breathed,

Many a morn I've longed to see
A comic strip be kind to me.
On 30 March, before my eyes
A penguin watched a warm sunrise.
In this land of so much bounty
Could I have that great Bloom County?

Sincerely,
Caspar Weinberger


R.I.P., Mr. Secretary.

"And you wanna be my latex salesman?!?"

The 21st century continues to be in the throes of an information revolution that has changed the nature of American life: How we watch TV, where we get our news, holding politicians accountable, etc.

Gary Gillen wants to lead the FBC GOP during this technological explosion.... but apparently his campaign is still stuck with nuttin' but a pencil and a "Big Chief" tablet. As one of my favorite local misanthropic curmudgeons reports, Gary Gillen is filing his Texas Ethics Commission reports on paper.

She notes that this is perfectly acceptable under the law. As she points out, the law states in pertinent part:

Under the new law, a filer may claim an exemption from electronic filing only if the filer does not use a computer to keep current records of contributions, expenditures, or donors AND if the filer does not exceed $20,000 in political contributions or expenditures in a calendar year.

Hmm... so Gary Gillen is tracking all this information by hand? No "early adopter", this Gillen fellow. And just to make sure he's not just trying to get out of filing electronically, he further has to:

"...swear or affirm that I do not use computer equipment to keep current records of political contributions, political expenditures, or persons making political contributions to me.

I further swear or affirm that no person acting as my agent or consultant, and no person with whom I contract, uses computer equipment to keep current records of political contributions, political expenditures, or persons making political contributions to me. "

Nice bunt!

Where's Rodney King when we need him in FBC?

Why can’t FBC GOP’ers just get along? Why does there have to be so much animosity and acrimony – particularly in the race for FBC GOP Chairman?

I have to, unfortunately, plead ignorance as I have only been on the fringes of FBC politics since joining the fray, but what’s the deal? Particularly with regard to Mr. Gillen and his (seemingly) significant disdain for Mrs. Howell. (You thought of “Lovey” from Gilligan’s island just now, didn’t you? You didn’t? Hmm… well, I did.)

Why can’t he just take his ill-gotten promotion of his endorsement from Eric Thode, his smoke-filled-back-room endorsement from the man with the cowardice of his convictions, Mayor Wallace, and just play nice on his road to victory in the runoff? Is it really necessary to tear down Mrs. Howell in campaign speeches just to build himself up?

Here are a few ideas Mr. Gillen will never read, but would ignore even if he did:
1. Go on record thanking Mr. Thode for his endorsement, but gently disagree with the manner in which it was advertised.
2. Have a phone conversation with Mayor Wallace and (quietly, nicely, and privately) ask him to either publicly come forward with his endorsement or just shut up about it and stop the back-channel endorsement effort. It’s not really much of an endorsement if one isn’t willing to go public with it, is it?
3. Apologize to Linda Howell for the pathetic and feeble attacks, and go back on the campaign trail saying nice things about your opponent and her years of service to the party – but add why you think your service, experience and vision would be more beneficial to the future of the FBC GOP.

But I will guess he won’t do these things. Civility has long since been abandoned in politics by partisans on both sides of the aisle, regardless of the nature of the opponent. And, admittedly, I’m regrettably one of the perpetrators from time to time.

Technical foul, Mr. Gillen.

Abdul Rahman UPDATE

Michelle Malkin has the latest and greatest all wrapped up for us in the matter of Mr. Abdul Rahman...

My two cents take: The White House had a lame, tepid response and should be ashamed of their flaccid rhetoric. The leaders of Afghanistan (and the judge in the case) will likely use the "excuse" that, "Well, we can't kill him because he's insane". Both are pitiful, but both are better than the alternatives (saying nothing; execution).

It's a strange precendent for Afghanistan to set... expect the levels of "mental illness" in the former land of the Taliban to increase significantly -- and not just the kind brought on by "post-traumatic stress disorder". I wonder what they'll call it... and what they will do to those "afflicted" with it.

Gee, uh, I'm so glad we "liberated" Afghanistan

It sure didn't take a long time for them to revert back to their Islamist ways:

Via VOA News: Afghan Man Faces Execution After Converting to Christianity

"Under Afghanistan's new constitution, minority religious rights are protected but Muslims are still subject to strict Islamic laws.
And so, officially, Muslim-born Rahman is charged with rejecting Islam and not for practicing Christianity.

Appearing in court earlier this week Rahman insisted he should not be considered an infidel, but admitted he is a Christian. He says he still believes in the almighty Allah, but cannot say for sure who God really is. "I am," he says, "a Christian and I believe in Jesus Christ."

(Hat tip: Michelle Malkin)

His Muslim family turned him in... nice.

WHY ISN'T THIS ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NYT AND THE WP?

Oh, yeah... the religions aren't reversed... And you can't blame George W.Bush... Got it.

But GWB should be getting involved. If he's not, it's inexcusable.

The president would have to sign the papers authorizing Rahman's execution, a move that could jeopardize Mr. Karzai's standing with human rights groups and Western governments.
....
But political analysts here in Kabul say he will be under significant pressure from the country's hard-line religious groups to make an example of Rahman.

Let's see, kowtowing to "hard-line religious groups" (a.k.a., "murderous thugs") or listening to the American cash cow... Decisions, decisions.

The Umpire insists you make the right call, Mr. Karzai. Regardless, may God bless the courageous example and steadfast faith of Mr. Abdul Rahman. (Daniel 3:16-18)

How's that for "perspective", Mr. Feinberg?

Constitutional Confusion

It just gets curiouser and curiouser…

On the one hand, here in Texas we now have a federal challenge to the constitutionality of a state law allowing a moment of silence in Texas public schools. On First Amendment grounds, of course: "Parents challenge moment of silence in schools"

On the other hand, over in Pennsylvania, a man with a different take on the First Amendment: "Man Says Obscene Gesture Is Free Speech"

So, under these assumptions, it's constitutionally permissible for Johnny to give someone "the finger", but constitutionally prohibited to ask Johnny to keep quiet for one minute. Huh?!?

It's not my point here to debate the merits of either case (although one party is clearly wrong, the other just might prevail), but I found the juxtaposition quite amusing.

"Or, we have no idea what we're talking about..."

The AP has an article today which just highlights the myopic and ignorant views of certain members of Congress when it comes to "Big Oil"...

"'Merger mania' blamed for soaring gas prices"

Lawmakers told oil executives today that a "merger mania" in their industry has significantly diminished competition and allowed soaring oil and gasoline prices.

Gee, uh, it couldn't have anything to do with fuel taxes (paid at the pump), corporate taxes, excessive governmental regulation, the fact that we haven't built a domestic refinery in 25 years, inflation, multiple designer "blends" of gasoline that can vary by state and by region, or the high cost of capital required to discover, extract, process, transport, refine, transport again, and deliver petroleum products to the final consumer -- all for less than the cost of bottled water.

Learn all about it here and here.

No, it's just that kooky "merger mania" - not the fact that some super projects can cost anywhere from $2 to $10 billion dollars. Idiots.

Primary Wrap-ups & Match-ups

UPDATE: Fort Bend Now has a good article on the runoff match-ups here.
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Well, well, well... another primary has come and gone but not without some fireworks of the shot heard 'round the state. Here's my quick two-cents take on some of the races I care about...

State Senate District 7
From Channel 11 pariah to businessman to radio station owner/operator and talk show host, Dan Patrick proved that when a dynamic personality is combined with a passion for the primary voters' hot-button issues, it creates a steamrolling-juggernaut that eats experienced and seasoned politicos in its wake. And while his ownership of the bully pulpit called KSEV had an influence in this race, the results showed something else at work here: the wrath of the frustrated GOP primary voter. With Dem opposition in November only a formality, it's nice to welcome State Senator-elect Dan Patrick to the political stage.

State Senate District 18
With his transparent bid to model his campaign after Congressman Ron Paul, (right down to the campaign slogan and the 2-3 year-old picture with Dr. Paul) Gary Gates spent the better part of the last two years campaigning for this seat -- and was up against his two-time political nemesis, State Rep. Glenn Hegar. He ran an exceptionally clean race up until the very last day when, it seems to me, he got a bit desperate and needed to go negative on Hegar. It was to be expected, though, as various other organizations of dubious conservative bent tried to smear Gates.

In the end, though, this over-achiever with a slight inferiority/persecution complex just didn't resonate with voters. What is interesting is that Gates' numerous lawsuits was not made more of an issue in this campaign. I think it was wise to keep it out, but I'm sure it was considered.

Split David Stall's votes 50/50, and this was a 60-40 victory for Glenn Hegar. Gates campaigned two years and Hegar campaigned a little over two months. The resounding defeat should send a message to the Gates campaign (like, uh, stop running) but I doubt his ego has ears.

State Representative District 28
Too many men with too much money to spend and without an outlet to validate themselves, this race quickly became the land of opportunists and opportunity when State Senator Ken Armbrister decided not to run for reelection and State Rep. Glenn Hegar vacated his seat to run for Armbrister's.

With the exception of party activist and SREC member Michael Franks, and the recent Commissioner's race election with Mike Baldwin, this was a field filled with men who were neither active in the party nor familiar with the primary voting booth.

Nevertheless, the results in this race showed it was all about the money... the hit pieces on Showalter clearly kept him out of the runoff, Michael Franks couldn't fill our mailboxes, and Randy Smith withdrew from the race. The top vote getters? Dr. Zerwas with his dozens of glossy, full-color mailers, and the Jim Adler of politics, David Melanson.

It shows all you need to do is blanket peoples homes with pandering palatitudes and you can get elected. Lack of Republican party activism and loyalty can effectively be overcome with slick marketing.

The run-off should be a doozy. An umpire shouldn't call the game before it's played, but this one is Zerwas' to lose.