12/20/07 Thursday Conservatively Speaking

 

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ssociate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas brightened an otherwise dreary rain swept Tuesday evening with plainspoken wit, humor and humility. I was lucky to see and hear him speak at the Ronald Reagan Library and attend a subsequent dinner under the wings of Air Force One. Justice Thomas describes himself as an ordinary man from Georgia to whom extraordinary things have happened.

 

He was given ample opportunity by questioners for pomposity by gracefully declined instead talking about his core interest in the meaning of the words in the U. S. Constitution, statutes and intentions of the framers. Saying other Justices questioned too much (inferring they listened too little) compared to his mostly silent demeanor he told of his wonderment 16-years ago when first appointed to the Court at age 43 and the then Chief Justice Rehnquist’s advice. “For five years,” said Rehnquist, “you’ll wonder how you got here, and after you’ll wonder how the rest did.”

 

The miserable drive on dark, rain soaked roads was well worth the hazard to hear a clear thinking man speak about the need to end national cynicism. This modest black man’s yearning for his home in Savannah, Georgia; great regard for President Reagan and heart-warming, reassuring faith in America – makes me glad for attending.

 

Women polled by the New York Daily News are more forgiving of Clinton White House fellatrix Monica Lewinsky than a “home wrecker” like Judith Giuliani for trysting with the then-married mayor when she was Judith Nathan by a 40% to 35% margin. One in five volunteered that they wouldn’t trust their children with either the Giuliani’s or Clinton’s.

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hey call themselves America’s forgotten soldiers. Skip to next paragraphFour decades after the Central Intelligence Agency hired thousands of jungle warriors to fight Communists on the western fringes of the Vietnam War, men who say they are veterans of that covert operation are isolated, hungry and periodically hunted by a Laotian Communist government still mistrustful of the men who sided with America. “If I surrender, I will be punished. They will never forgive me. I cannot live outside the jungle because I am a former American soldier.” Xang Yang, a Hmong jungle warrior hired by the Central Intelligence Agency to fight Communists on the western fringes of the Vietnam War. Read the rest of the New York Times’ story at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/world/asia/17laos.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

 

Vietnam’s Montagnard tribesmen, who are largely Christian, have long been the victims of severe harassment and persecution at the hands of atheist communists. In the 1960s and 1970s many Montagnards fought for their independence siding with the U. S. against savage communist repression of them for their religion and fierce independent spirit. In the 1960s they were armed with crossbows and spears against machineguns and high power rifles. When abandoned by the U. S. they retreated into the Annamite Mountains in central Indochina. Today – 32-years later – a new generation still dodge persecution in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia being mercilessly hunted, tortured and killed.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is troubled and Bill Clinton is working to resurrect it without completely over shadowing her as what he insisted she be somewhat ironically marketed as the “change agent.” Bill criticized the media for giving Obama “the nod” signaling how much trouble his wife’s campaign is in. Two months ago Hillary had a 12% lead on Obama among black voters — now they are tied.

Mike Huckabee (17%) has leapfrogged the Republican field into second place in California, a new Field Poll released at 6AM today finds and is

only eight percentage points behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (25%), who has been perched atop the state’s polls all year long. Thompson has dropped from the first tier marking just 6%. McCain and Romney are at 12% and 15% respectively.

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n 1880 an English land agent refused reforms and to lower rents in County Mayo, Ireland on the hard pressed Irish tenants ordering those in arrears evicted. Protest grew and the agent was ostracized by shopkeepers and merchants refusing him any service, he was forced to import his food under guard, and even his mail was not delivered and often “lost.” By the time the land agent died in England in 1887 his name was infamous worldwide – he was (Charles Cunningham) Boycott.

 

Michael Savage, whose program reaches an estimated eight million listeners a week on nearly 400 stations, suggested over the summer that a group of college students on a hunger strike in support of easing immigration restrictions should “fast until they starve to death”; then he said the Koran is “a book of hate” and adherents of Islam would do well to “take your religion and shove it up your behind” because “I’m sick of you.” Savage now faces a Muslim boycott that he says has cost him $1 million in advertising mostly from Citrix, which sells remote access to computers, and Trusted ID, which provides protection against identity theft. He is suing the Islamic boycott organizers for infringing his 1^st Amendment rights.

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esearchers are poised to cross a dramatic barrier — the creation of completely artificial life forms driven by synthetic DNA. Within 12 months they hope to transplant the manmade DNA into a cell, where it is expected to “boot itself up,” like software downloaded from the Internet, and cajole the waiting cell to do its bidding. “Evolutionary processes are no longer seen as sacred or inviolable. People in labs are figuring them out so they can improve upon them for different purposes,” says Paul Rabinow an anthropologist at the University of California at Berkeley who studies science’s effects on society.

 

Three months ago I reported on the generation of weapons beyond nuclear bombs, and China’s assertions that “nano-weapons” could be that generation. Synthetic DNA raises questions of what kinds of organisms scientists, terrorists and other creative individuals will make and for what purposes?

 

Start building a better mouse (rat) trap as scientists have discovered a rat five times bigger than the biggest rats known. . This cat sized rodent was found in an Indonesia jungle in the same area as a tiny mouse-sized opossum. Both are new species.

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o nobody’s surprise President Vladimir Putin, 55, and TIME magazine’s “2007 Man-of-the-Year”, told a party congress Monday that he would accept the prime minister’s post if his longtime protégé (who he backs) is elected president, guaranteeing Putin an ongoing heavyweight political role in Russia. He’s term limited and can not serve three consecutive terms as Russia’s President. But, many expect he will run for another term after sitting out the next one.

 

At the same time Russia has made its first shipment of nuclear fuel to an Iranian nuclear power plant at the center of the international tensions over Tehran’s atomic program, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday. “All fuel that will be delivered will be under the control and guarantees of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the whole time it stays on Iranian territory,” Russia said. The U. S. did not oppose the shipment as long as all spent fuel is retrieved and returned to Russia nevertheless Tuesday’s New York Times for some puzzling reason called it a “blow to U. S.”

President Bush also announced a reduction in deployed nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012 about a fourth the number at the end of the Cold War. The reduction is part of a U. S. - Russian Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) to reduce deployed nukes. Congressional Democrats blocked work on a new and more reliable nuclear warhead calling it unnecessary. – sources call that decision purely political and “irresponsible.”

 

Iran tested a new solid-fuel long-range missile last month showing that Tehran is moving closer to having a weapon to target Europe and U.S. forces in the region.

 

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he new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that asserts Iran stopped its nuclear bomb program in 2003 has infuriated the Saudis and Kuwaitis who call it “ignorance or betrayal.” The American intelligence community has been termed “stupid” to unprintable adjectives by Saudi intelligence officials. At best, Saudi intelligence believes that the CIA has fallen hook, line and sinker for an Iranian disinformation campaign. At worst, the Saudis believe the Bush administration has abandoned them. Privately, the Saudis have given this advice to the Bush administration: Either stop Iran now or there will be a nuclear war in the Gulf that will destroy everybody. Secretary-of-state Rice is in the region to try to patch things up.

In a sign of rapprochement The Saudi king invited the Iranian president to visit Mecca – Islam’s holiest site. Meanwhile secret talks between the U. S. and Iran reportedly continue at Saudi behest and with its sponsorship. Assuming that is correct this can be seen as a last chance for Iran to come clean and end its nuclear weapons program completely or have its nuclear and key air defense facilities blown to smithereens. It is likely that Iran halted its weapons program in 2003 as it watched U. S. led coalition forces eradicate Iraq’s military, capture and kill Saddam and many of his minions. Then it began its terror war against the U. S. but that seems to have been tamped down.

 

Iran understandably fears the military power of the U. S. and is concerned a misstep could lead to a devastating Israeli attack with regional acquiescence. Whether or not its trepidation will engender sincerity or more likely delay until it can judge the outcome of America’s presidential election is the issue. My bet is on the latter.

 

Iranian naval forces will conduct large-scale naval exercises at the strategic Strait of Hormuz, where some 80 percent of the world’s oil passes. It is a congested area where U. S. and coalition naval forces are concentrated. The exercises are set for February 2008 right in the middle of U. S. elections.

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n Thursday’s episode of ABC’s The View, Barbara Walters expressed dismay that President and Mrs. Bush would have the temerity to mail Christmas cards containing Scripture as a greeting. The passage that offends Walters reads, “‘You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You gave life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”

President Calvin Coolidge issued the first White House Christmas message to the American people in 1927 writing it himself on official White House stationary. President Eisenhower greatly expanded the practice and since then it has been a “tradition.”

A recent USA Today/Gallup poll, more people said they trust Republicans over Democrats on the issues of terrorism (by 10%), illegal immigration (by 7%), and moral values (by 4%). More people said they trust the Democrats over the Republicans on taxes (by 2% - within the margin of error) and on issues such as Iraq and the economy.

Huckabee and Romney are tied in South Carolina. Huckabee now leads Romney and Giuliani in Florida and has stretched his lead in Iowa. Nationwide it is Mike Huckabee still on top nationally in the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination — Mike Huckabee at 23%, Rudy Giuliani 17%, Mitt Romney at 15%, Fred Thompson at 13% and John McCain at 13%. Romney has been leading in New Hampshire.

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n an “unforeseen and unprecedented” shift, the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels, the top food and agriculture official of the United Nations warned Monday. “We’re concerned that we are facing the perfect storm for the world’s hungry,” said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Program. Part of the issue is conversion of food stuffs for ethanol fuel and some say global warming. For decades the U. S. pumped tons of grain into the system. In addition prices are rising due to increased transport costs.

The latest ENERGY BILL signed Wednesday by President Bush will continue domestic ethanol production but transition it to switch grass and wood chips away from corn and other grain. Sugar beets are also a good source but they too are a food stuff.

Democrat heavyweight TED KENNEDY is yet unwilling to throw his political weight around by endorsing anyone in his party’s ever more ragged race for the 2008 presidential nomination. Obama is the only top-tier Democratic candidate who has not been endorsed by a national union.

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resident Bush’s administration’s political tone deafness is a symptom of a general inner-ear malady of the American conservative “movement” that has it stumbling around like rudderless drunken sailors looking for their ship in a strange port. Hillary Clinton has over half of voters insisting they will NOT vote for her regardless of opponent while Republicans seem determined to disorganize its one car funeral.

Nanny-fornians propose to tax drinks that are too surgery and add warning labels to any with added caffeine.

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ontinuing a reprehensible pattern of family-wide irresponsibility Britney Spears’ 16-year old sister and Nickelodeon star is pregnant by her 18-year old co-star. This raises the specter of statutory rape and continues a pattern of profligate behavior by a family whose mother is said to have written a book on parenting — its publisher has indefinitely delayed printing. One wonders if the online Nickelodeon “store” will feature maternity ware for its children and teenage clients? Forest Gump’s admonition that “stupid is as stupid does” springs to mind.

Striking Hollywood writers are threatening to kill off this year’s Academy Awards program. We can only hope.

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inally, Tuesday evening the SANTA BARBARA CITY COUNCIL unanimously passed an anti-war resolution calling for the withdraw of troops from Iraq to a standing ovation in a council chamber jammed with the likes of: Iraqi Veterans for Peace*, Code Pink and The Raging Grannies. The feckless resolution will be sent to President Bush. In November local voters soundly rejected extending the terms of council members and the Mayor.

*At least two of that claimed membership did not serve in Iraq.

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