January 4, 2007
Jan 04 01:45 The End of Private Property Rights in America? Jan 04 09:05 A New Policy; Playing Both Sides Jan 04 09:45 Negroponte Returning to State Dept. Jan 04 10:25 Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem? Jan 04 11:02 Great News For the Right Blogosphere, Bad News for Liberals!!! Jan 04 13:33 A Slap in the Face Or Friendly Advice? Jan 04 15:27 She's Gotta Be Kidding, Right? Jan 04 17:10 Oil Prices Drop Precipitously Again Jan 04 23:23 Coker, Trestman Interested in Gophers Job
Prior years: 2006
The End of Private Property Rights in America?
I'm not usually given to making such dramatic suggestions but I think it's warranted in this case.
Bart Didden wanted to put a CVS pharmacy on his property in Port Chester, N.Y. He even obtained approvals from the local planning board.Let's hope that the Supremes get it right this time. Let's hope that they don't have 5 liberal idiots rule like they did in Kelo v. New London. I'd doubt that the Founding Fathers would've thought that the taking of land for a developer's profit is a legitimate use of eminent domain laws.
But because a portion of the CVS site was in a blighted redevelopment zone, Mr. Didden was told that planning board approval wasn't enough. He'd have to reach an understanding with a private company that had been selected by Port Chester officials to control all construction inside the renewal zone.
The developer, Gregg Wasser of G&S Port Chester, told Didden he'd have to pay $800,000 or give G&S a 50 percent stake in the CVS business. If Didden refused, Mr. Wasser said, he would have Port Chester condemn and seize his property and instead of a CVS he'd put a Walgreen's drugstore on the site.
This also speaks volumes about the impact a liberal 'make-it-up-as-you-go' jurist can have on people.
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 1:47 AM
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A New Policy; Playing Both Sides
By now, everyone pretty much everyone knows about Eli Lake's must read article on how Iran is fighting a can't lose war. Here's the money quote from Lake's article:
The news that Iran's elite Quds Force would be in contact, and clandestinely cooperating, with Sunni Jihadists who attacked the Golden Mosque in Samarra (one of the holiest shrines in Shiism) on February 22, could shake the alliance Iraq's ruling Shiites have forged in recent years with Tehran. Many Iraq analysts believe the bombing vaulted Iraq into the current stage of its civil war.I wish that I could predict that this information will effectively end the cooperation between Moqtada al-Sadr's militias and Iran but I doubt that it will. What it might do, however, is give Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani reason to accept a more 'Sunni-friendly' sectarian government while marginalizing al-Sadr.
It's at this point that I hope President Bush considers Robert Tracinski's article before his upcoming Iraq policy speech. Here's what Tracinski has to say:
How can we quell the conflict in Iraq, further suppress the Sunni insurgents, and begin to dismantle the Shiite militias--if we don't to anything to stop those who are funding, training, and supporting these enemies? Just as we can't eliminate terrorism without confronting the states who sponsor terrorism, so we can't suppress the Sunni and Shiite insurgencies in Iraq without confronting the outside powers who support these insurgents.This option isn't likely to be a viable option because our military is already stretched thin and because Democrats likely wouldn't authorize war. Still, it's a necessary step if we truly want a stabilized free Iraq.
One of the reasons why I'd like to see President Bush propose this is to paint Democrats into a corner. Are they willing to support a war against Iran? If not, why not? After all, they've repeatedly told us that they're a bigger worry than Iraq. Posing this question to them would tell the American people that Democrats can't be trusted with national security issues. It's time that people held their feet to the proverbial fire.
This would also serve to illustrate the foolishness of Nancy Pelosi's choice of Silvestre Reyes as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 9:08 AM
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Negroponte Returning to State Dept.
The NY Times is reporting that John Negroponte is returning to the State Department as Condi Rice's second in command.
John D. Negroponte, whom President Bush installed less than two years ago as the first director of national intelligence, will soon leave his post to become the State Department's second-ranking official, administration officials said Wednesday.This will be an interesting test for the new incoming Democratic majority. I predict that they'll take his confirmation hearings as an opportunity to grill President Bush's foreign policies, especially in Iraq and President Bush's NSA intercept program. It sounds like they've got a replacement picked to replace Negroponte as DNI:
Administration officials from two different agencies said Wednesday that the leading candidate to become the new intelligence chief is J. Michael McConnell, a retired vice admiral who led the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1996. Admiral McConnell was head of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Gen. Colin L. Powell during the first Persian Gulf war, in 1991.In other words, Adm. McConnell sounds ideally suited for the DNI job. Unfortunately, that won't stop Democrats for whining about this appointment. I'll keep you posted on Adm. McConnell's chances of winning confirmation.
UPDATE: The AP's Katherine Shrader is confirming that Vice Adm. Mike McConnell will be named by President Bush as his nominee to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to replace John Negroponte, who is moving to the State Department to be Condoleezza Rice's second in command. Here's what Ms. Shrader is reporting:
The administration sought to dispel any suggestion that Negroponte's shift was a demotion. Bush personally reached out to Negroponte, an experienced diplomat, to take over the long-vacant job as deputy secretary of state, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Bush has not announced the nomination.
Bush also talked personally with McConnell about taking the job as director of national intelligence, overseeing all 16 U.S. spy agencies.
Under Donald Rumsfeld's reign at the Defense Department, there were rivalries and friction between the Pentagon and the intelligence community. Robert Gates, who took over last month as secretary of defense, supports McConnell's nomination to the top intelligence post, the official said.
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 5:19 PM
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Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?
That's the first question that must be asked of Sen. Kerry in light of his recent travels and his op-ed in this morning's Boston Globe. It'd difficult to make the case that he's part of the solution considering his advocating meeting with Syria and Iran.
Lost in the shadows of Iraq, the struggle to save the fragile democracy born of the Cedar Revolution has reached a moment of truth. If America does not act now, this key front in the broader struggle between moderates and extremists for the future of the Arab world will be lost, and the consequences will long be felt throughout the region. The radicals' ambitions for overthrow move from Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Lebanon to President Mahmound Abbas in Ramallah to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq. They are determined to achieve a clean sweep.Sen. Kerry's words wouldn't ring so hollow if he hadn't visited Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. Sen. Kerry's words wouldn't ring so hollow if he hadn't advocated meeting with Iran. Doesn't he know that they're the source of the region's troubles? What does he think can be accomplished through appeasement? After all, that's what his policies amount to.
The Siniora administration wouldn't be endangered if not for Syria's and Iran's funding of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The more this idiot talks, the more he grates on my nerves. He's a legend in his own mind. He needs someone to tell him that he's the emperor 'modeling' his new clothes. He needs to be told that he's making a fool of himself.
Anyone who has longed for a George Washington or Thomas Jefferson to emerge and lead the fight for democracy in the Middle East should come to Beirut and meet the patriots who have made incredible sacrifices for a free and independent Lebanon.Actually, Sen. Kerry would do well to recognize that President Bush deserves credit for giving the Siniora administration a fighting chance in that region. His policy of regime change was the biggest fueling event in the region. Otherwise, we'd have another Iranian proxy there already, with Syrian troops still patrolling the streets of Beirut and launching missiles into Israel from the region south of the Litani River.
There is the son of slain former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. There is the Cabinet minister whose husband was assassinated soon after becoming president, and the minister of defense, who after 12 surgeries still bears the scars of an assassination attempt. There is the mother of recently slain 34-year-old Lebanese parliamentarian Pierre Gemayel, who said to me simply: "We pay a high price for sharing what you believe in," and ask yourself whether we are paying her the debt owed for our shared beliefs.
Unfortunately, there's no reason to believe that Sen. Kerry will learn that he's part of the problem, not part of the solution. Sen. Kerry is a pacifist who won't fight wars. He'll instead advocate endless diplomacy until diplomacy is meaningless. He's a carrot and stick guy as long as the stick is never threatened. Shame on him for such a foolish policy.
To provide the support he needs, we must recognize and adapt to the new realities on the ground. We've lost 3,000 American lives and invested more than $300 billion in hopes of forcibly birthing democracy in Iraq, while largely ignoring Lebanon, where democratic institutions already have a foothold. Success there, and across the Middle East, ultimately depends more on winning over civilian populations with basic goods and services than defeating armies with sophisticated weapons and technology.You can't have meaningful investment in these efforts if you aren't willing to first rid the region of thugs. Otherwise, we're just adding technology to the terrorist's infrastructure. No thanks. Sen. Kerry's world is an either/or world. You don't need militaries; you need diplomats.
Sen. Kerry would be wise to realize that America was founded amidst great bloodshed. It didn't happen because our Founding Fathers' first step was negotiating an agreement with the King of England. It happened because we fought to the death against a tyrant's military.
Sen. Kerry might not want to admit that but that's the truth of the matter.
Perhaps that's why he refuses to acknowledge the foolishness of his ways. Fools never learn, do they?
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 10:27 AM
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Great News For the Right Blogosphere, Bad News for Liberals!!!
One of the premier conservative bloggers, Patrick Ruffinni, has returned to blogging after being part of the RNC's e-campaign staff.
Welcome back, Patrick!!!
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 11:02 AM
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A Slap in the Face Or Friendly Advice?
That's the question people are likely to be asking after reading Katherine Kersten's latest Strib column. Personally, I suspect it's both. First, let's look at the 'slap-in-the-face' section:
So why not let Mike Hatch be his own man? You know, Hatch, the gracious guy who wouldn't let go of the microphone at your inauguration and spoke longer than you did? The guy who's made you his sidekick for almost your entire professional life, and the guy who calls you for roadside assistance when he slips on the ice on Christmas Eve.OUCH!!! That section's bound to leave tread marks on Swanson's ego. Kersten is clearly mocking Swanson for not standing on her own, and with good reason. Trusting in Mike Hatch to behave himself is foolish on Swanson's behalf. Hatch is a thug who should be drummed out of politics altogether. He's used his office to bully judges. He's also used OAG stationery to threaten media organizations. There's nothing honorable about him.
C'mon, Lori, you need to tell him in no uncertain terms. The whole tag-team thing is over; you are your own woman.
Yes, I know it might be tough to cut the cord. After all, in the late 1980s you worked for him when he was commerce commissioner. In 1994 you served as his spokeswoman when he ran unsuccessfully for governor in a primary. During the mid-1990s, his years in the political wilderness, you worked at his law firm, Hatch, Eiden and Pihlstrom. In 1999 you followed him to the attorney general's office, where you served as a deputy attorney general. In 2002 he promoted you to solicitor general.
After so many years as Hatch's subordinate, you may find it a challenge to call the shots yourself. Especially because the man just can't seem to live outside the spotlight's glow.
Another telltale sign is that he had to rely on Swanson to come to his rescue after he slipped "on the ice on Christmas Eve." Why did he have to call Swanson? Why couldn't he call 911 & get medical assistance? Here's the friendly advice section:
Of course, it's nice that Hatch wants to help you with the tough work ahead. But be careful. You know those wearisome uncles who announce they're visiting for a "few days" at Christmas, and are still hanging around come July 4? In December, Hatch said that "if I accept the Swanson offer, it would be for a short period." How short? Probably no more than a few weeks, or however long it takes to get his legal team going, Hatch said. Now we hear that his tenure will be indefinite.Mike Hatch is a politician and litigator who is as unethical as John Conyers or John Murtha. He's willing to use whatever tactics come to mind to advance his agenda even if they push the envelope ethically. Hatch should be getting investigated instead of getting hired.
That could be a long time, especially since Hatch will be setting up a "complex litigation team." (Isn't it nice to have a man to do that complex work?) Nowadays, one good piece of "complex litigation" could keep Hatch employed through at least two or three more attorneys general.
And how about the troubling things that people say about his bulldog personal style? You'd best be on your toes about his tendency to spin yarns and throw his teammates overboard when the going gets tough, as it inevitably does. Think for a moment about another fine aspiring politician who was her "own woman" until Hatch saw an E-85 excuse to cover a humiliating loss, caused in large part by his own foibles.
This also raises serious questions if Swanson would prosecute Hatch, considering Hatch's links to her. There's an ethical trainwreck heading in Ms. Swanson's direction & it's got Hatch's fingerprints all over it. I wish I could be confident that she'd sidestep that trainwreck but I suspect that Hatch either bullied her into hiring him or she's as ethically challenged as he is.
First, pick your own agenda. Year after year, we've heard from Hatch that evil Minnesota corporations are perpetrating malevolent designs on us poor ignorant folk that only he can foil. These corporate bogeymen are guilty of nefarious things: Collecting bills. Turning down some insurance claims. Running their own corporate affairs. Will they stop at nothing?I'd love seeing the AG's office be used for actually fighting crime & prosecuting meth crimes but those aren't appealing to Democrats because they look for shakedown opportunities, first threatening them with lawsuits, then letting them off a bit easier if they contribute to the DFL. I don't see that happening with a Democrat. That's why I voted for Jeff Johnson, a man who would've brought the right priorities to the job that Hatch didn't & Swanson won't.
How about giving us a new vision that focuses more on real crime? Like your sensible use of the office's bully pulpit to urge legislative hearings on law enforcement funding, with an eye to cutting Minneapolis' high crime rate and methamphetamine distribution in outstate Minnesota.
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 1:34 PM
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She's Gotta Be Kidding, Right?
That's my first reaction to a quote in this Strib article about Amy Klobuchar's swearing in. Here's the section that I thought was most laughable:
Klobuchar was accompanied to the Capitol by Mondale at the head of a large contingent of Minnesota dignitaries. After she told well-wishers that she was bringing with her "a Minnesota moral compass."Was Ms. Klobuchar's moral compass in the shop getting repaired when she waited several days before she terminated Tara McGuinness for her role in Klobogate? As I recall, she waited until after a Tuesday night debate before making it public. That's some moral compass, Ms. Klobuchar.
Likewise, was Ms. Klobuchar's moral compass in for repairs when she cut sweetheart deals with gangsters who killed Tyesha Edwards? It must've been since she pled out 2 of the 3 thugs.
Frankly, Ms. Klobuchar will be a disaster in the mold of Mark Dayton. Her moral compass lapses notwithstanding, she's an airhead who doesn't get along with people, doesn't understand the Constitution's separation of powers and who created a hostile work environment for the attorneys in her office.
The last I looked, most Minnesotans wouldn't think that those are the product of a moral compass. They're the product of an ethically challenged individual.
Then again, what should we expect from a Minnesota lawyer?
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 3:27 PM
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Oil Prices Drop Precipitously Again
For the second straight day, crude oil prices dropped precipitously.
Crude oil closed 2006 at $61.05 a barrel. It's now at $55.59 a barrel. That's a 9 percent drop in 2 trading days. I was just out shopping & gas was $2.189 a gallon, which it's been holding at for awhile now. I suspect that the Twin Cities, which is cheaper than St. Cloud, will be selling for under $2 a gallon by this time tomorrow.
What I find interesting is that the calls for investigations into "excessive oil prices" & price gouging have disappeared now that prices have dropped. What's caused this drop in prices? Here's what the article says:
An unseasonably mild winter in the Northeast and Midwest has led to a buildup in inventories and, as a result, weaker prices. "There is no winter at all, thus we have a lot of supplies with no home and prices have nothing to do but fall," said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Florida.In other words, the markets have acted as markets always have and always will. Increased supplies translate into lower demands with translates into cheaper prices on commodities.
It's worth noting that Democrats screaming last fall for investigations into price gouging are silent now. their calls for investigations didn't cause a ripple in the price of oil. A kinder, gentler Mother Nature, mixed with a change in people's consumption and conservation habits and the markets are responsible for that. For all their bluster, Democrats' yapping meant nothing to the drop.
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 5:11 PM
Comment 1 by Jim C at 10-Feb-07 08:47 AM
THEY'RE BaAaAck!!!
The Oil Scammers seek any excuse to drive the oil price above any reasonable boundaries. They defy the law of supply & demand subverting the market, exploiting the people and supplying aid and comfort to the likes of Ahmadinejad & Chavez. So the latest excuse is [surprise surprise] it gets cold in the winter. And geez folks, we actually use the heating oil stocks in the winter. Who woulda thunk it?
http://news.tradingcharts.com/futures/7/5/89185557.html
The biggest market driver recently has been the weather, which last week depleted U.S. supplies of distillate fuels, which include heating oil, by the largest amount since December 2005, noted Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover. With temperatures still below normal across the Northeast United States, which consumes 80 percent of the nation's heating oil, traders are bracing for the U.S. government inventory data on Wednesday to show an even bigger decrease.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/wdistus1w.htm
Stocks of distillate fuel oil
2004-Jan 01/02 135,515 01/09 138,321 01/16 135,469 01/23 131,023 01/30 124,152
2004-Feb 02/06 118,258 02/13 112,470 02/20 111,380 02/27 111,309
2005-Jan 01/07 122,980 01/14 123,764 01/21 121,485 01/28 118,598
2005-Feb 02/04 115,607 02/11 112,516 02/18 111,760 02/25 110,022
2006-Jan 01/06 133,766 01/13 134,677 01/20 136,466 01/27 136,268
2006-Feb 02/03 135,955 02/10 136,862 02/17 135,602 02/24 134,096
2007-Jan 01/05 140,965 01/12 141,875 01/19 142,625 01/26 139,977
2007-Feb 02/02 136,345
Now if the market was actually living by the law of supply & demand the price of oil would be dipping as we currently have a record supply on hand for the month of February despite the disttillers keeping production down.
All other stocks of oil are also at record levels of supply.
I guess the old Brooklyn Bidge trick stopped working so the leeches took to oil.
Coker, Trestman Interested in Gophers Job
That's what Chip Scoggins is reporting in Friday morning's Strib. Here's specifically what he's reporting:
St. Louis Park native and former Gophers quarterback Marc Trestman acknowledged Thursday that he has been contacted by University of Minnesota officials about their opening for a head football coach.Mark Trestman would be a great hire because he's had a distinguished career as an offensive coordinator in the NFL, including a stint as the 49ers when they still were a formidable opponent. Larry Coker would be an intriguing candidate, too, because he was just recently fired as Miami's head coach. As the Hurricane's coach, he certainly developed a network to the best talent in Florida.
Former University of Miami coach Larry Coker said he has not been contacted by Gophers officials but admitted that he is "definitely very interested" in the job.
Miami would still get the best of the best recruits down there but you could put together an impressive team with the leftovers. Bringing in skill position players from Florida would help him field a solid team, which would help him recruit Minnesota's best, too.
Gopher football fans should be excited about the possibility of hiring a strong replacement for Glen Mason just based on the interest that Trestman & Coker have shown. In addition to Trestman & Coker, former Vikings head coach Mike Tice has expressed interest in coaching the Gophers. That's a pretty strong group of candidates & the process is just starting.
Word is that they want to have Mason's replacement in place before this month's end. Hiring a topnotch guy would certainly help keep this year's recruiting class intact. It would also give future recruiting a major boost, too.
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2007 11:23 PM
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