Patterico's Pontifications

7/3/2010

Send in Palin

Filed under: Politics — DRJ @ 10:44 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Earlier today, Hot Air linked an NRO post by Kevin D. Williamson suggesting the GOP replace Chairman Michael Steele with Sarah Palin:

“Re: Steele and the RNC: Allow me to chime in with my usual observation on this subject: This is a job for Sarah Palin. Palin would be a much better RNC chairman than presidential candidate or freelance kingmaker. She’d raise tons of money and help recruit good candidates, i.e., she’d excel at doing the things Steele should have been doing instead of appointing himself Republican pundit-at-large.”

Williamson concedes Palin is polarizing but “these are polarized times. And it’s one thing to have a polarizing party chairman, another to have a polarizing candidate.”

I think he’s right, although I doubt she’d take it if she wants to run for President. What do you think?

— DRJ

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Let me get this straight: Steele makes too many gaffes . . . so let’s get Sarah Palin?

Narco-Sub Found in Ecuador

Filed under: Government — DRJ @ 6:31 pm



[Guest by DRJ]

Ecuadorian authorities have captured the first verified narco-sub:

“Long the stuff of drug-trafficking legend, federal authorities announced Saturday that they have seized the first known and fully operational submarine built by drug traffickers to smuggle tons of cocaine from South America toward the United States.”

Authorities wonder how many more subs like this are out there, and whether Customs officials should add a submarine hunting mission. Looks like that’s an affirmative.

— DRJ

New Black Panther Whistleblower to Testify Before Civil Rights Commission (Updated)

Filed under: Civil Liberties,Law,Obama — DRJ @ 5:40 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The Washington Times editors and the bloggers at PowerLine are concerned that the major media aren’t interested in the New Black Panther case, which they find odd since it involves one of the media’s favorite creatures — a whistleblower. (The problem is he’s a conservative.) Fortunately, though, the Civil Rights Commission is interested:

“As voters were casting the ballots that elected America’s first black president in November 2008, a troubling incident occurred outside a polling place in North Philadelphia, the Justice Department later contended.

There, two members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense hurled racial threats and insults at black and white voters, federal prosecutors in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division alleged in a complaint accusing the group and three members of violating the federal Voting Rights Act.

The prosecutors later won a default judgment against Minister King Samir Shabazz, whom they identified as leader of the Philadelphia chapter, and sought dismissal of charges against the organization and two other members.

Now, one of the prosecutors, J. Christian Adams, has resigned from the Justice Department amid a widening flap over the case. He said he was scheduled to testify Tuesday before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in an investigation over dismissal of the charges.”

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has posted on its home page a press release regarding Adams’ testimony scheduled for this Tuesday, July 6th. (Click on “Hearing Scheduled for July 6, 2010, 9:30 a.m. EDT” under Commission Investigations.) Also posted are numerous documents in the New Black Panther Investigation.

H/T PJ Media.

— DRJ

UPDATE 7/6/2010: Pajamas Media reports former DOJ attorneys have come forward to support Adams. In addition, in his testimony before the Civil Rights Commission today, Adams described the Voting Rights Section as lawless.

Testing ‘A Whale’ in the Gulf

Filed under: General — DRJ @ 4:38 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The Coast Guard is testing the world’s largest oil skimmer A Whale in the waters near the leaking well in the Gulf:

“The vessel will cruise a 25-square-mile test site through Sunday, according to TMT Shipping, the company that created A Whale by retrofitting an oil tanker after the explosion sent millions of gallons of crude spilling into the Gulf.”

I hope it works.

— DRJ

Mary Jo Kopechne’s Death Now an “Indiscretion”

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 3:26 pm



From USA Today:

Call it the ‘Prince Hal Syndrome,’ after Shakespeare’s Henry V, who renounced a youth of carousing to become a noble warrior king: George W. Bush overcomes an abusive relationship with alcohol and becomes president; Edward M. Kennedy transcends not-so-youthful indiscretions too numerous to list here to become a respected Senate elder.

Indiscretions?

P.S. It has been wonderful to watch all the encomiums directed at Robert Byrd — things people like Trent Lott weren’t allowed to say about Strom Thurmond. Which one is on record saying the “n-word” as a Senator again?

I think it’s my disgust with the way everyone has whitewashed (thank you, thank you very much) his background that makes this admittedly juvenile video amusing to me. Warning: it contains harsh racial language, which should not be condoned unless you are a sitting U.S. Senator who is a Democrat.

Who Said It? (Plus: Bonus Chronology of Broken Obama Promises)

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 2:57 pm



Who said the following?

1. The president can’t just wave a magic wand to say that Gitmo will be closed.

2. It’s time for Americans to realize that governing is hard work, and that a president can’t just wave a magic wand and fix everything.

Answers below the fold.

(more…)

Biden in Iraq

Filed under: Obama,Politics — DRJ @ 1:10 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Vice President Joe Biden is in Iraq to offer diplomacy:

“Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. landed here on Saturday evening for a visit that signaled a desire by the United States to step deeper into a four-month political stalemate that has become a backdrop to the drawdown of American forces this summer.”

The Administration needs a way to show it supports the military this Independence Day weekend, and Iraq is a good choice. They can thank President Bush and General Petraeus for that.

— DRJ

Quote of the Day

Filed under: Politics — DRJ @ 1:04 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

‘”It’s a very happy time for my family. … It truly is the most important thing in my life right now,” Clinton said about her daughter’s upcoming wedding.”

Isn’t Hillary politically savvy enough to know not to say things like this, even if it’s true? Apparently not.

— DRJ

Will the NRA Endorse Harry Reid?

Filed under: Politics,Second Amendment — DRJ @ 12:49 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Politico reports “the conservative Netroots are abuzz over the possibility” the NRA may endorse Harry Reid:

“The conservative Netroots are abuzz over the possibility that the NRA may endorse Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). This would be the second major slight by the NRA for political conservatives — the gun group also just negotiated a big exemption on a campaign finance bill loathed by the right.”

This strikes me as a PR and political miscalculation but bloated organizations, like arrogant people, can easily become drunk with a little success.

— DRJ

Additions to Last Night’s Funding Bill

Filed under: Government — DRJ @ 12:39 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The War Funding bill that passed the House last night had several additions such as the “Deemed as Passed” budget provision, FEMA funds for disaster assistance, and money to settle pending lawsuits with African-American farmers and Indians. It sounds like the funding for the Indian settlement wasn’t in question as much as funding for their lawyers. Was this a bonanza for some trial lawyers?

Meanwhile, in his Weekly Address, President Obama says the GOP is playing the “same old Washington games.” The Democrats have perfected the game.

— DRJ


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