My letter published in today’s Wall St. Journal:

Sen. Obama Has Already Defined His Values Clearly
In regard to Douglas E. Schoen’s “Obama and the Values Question Mark” (op-ed, May 12): Sen. Barack Obama’s “values” are anything but a “question mark.” In fact, we know what Sen. Obama “values” because he has told us.

We know that he values bigger, more intrusive government and higher taxes because he has proposed the largest tax hike in U.S. history and almost a trillion dollars in new spending. We know he values de facto open borders and blanket amnesty because he has consistently opposed construction of a border fence and is in favor of providing in-state tuition, health-care benefits, educational services, and welfare to illegal aliens.

We know he believes that we have lost in Iraq and is in favor of immediate troop withdrawal. We know that he believes that guns and religion are things that bitter Americans cling to. We know that his pastor and spiritual mentor for 20 years, who worked on his campaign, believes that 9/11 was an inside job, that the government spread the AIDs virus to kill blacks. We know Sen. Obama is also in favor of taxpayer-funded abortion on demand and opposes bans on killing infants born alive after a failed abortion attempt, putting him to the left of even the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

Mr. Schoen recommends that Sen. Obama “start wearing the flag lapel pin” to demonstrate his “patriotism” and talking tough on “crime” and “public safety.” Sen. Obama can. But it won’t change the fact that those of us who have been paying attention have a pretty good idea about the senator’s values.

Gregg Jackson
Los Angeles

Here is the news,

Interpol confirmed documents today showing that US Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.), a leading opponent of the Colombia free-trade deal has been working with a go-between, who has been offering the FARC terrorists help in undermining Colombia’s elected and popular government.
Colombia is America’s closest ally in South America.

Wow. Unbelievable. A local congressman undermining our staunchest ally in Latin America, AND, working with terrorists to do it. This is big local news, right?

WRONG

0 articles for “congressman jim mcgovern and farc” from Boston Globe
0 articles for “congressman jim mcgovern and interpol” from Boston Globe
0 articles for “Raul Reyes and Jim McGovern” from Boston Globe

Ditto for the Herald. Nothing. Not a word.

So, his constituents are in the dark, at least if they rely on the local papers for their news. Wouldn’t you want to know if your congressman was undermining democracies and working with terrorist organizations?

What is their excuse? Other MSM outlets have reported on this story in the past few months, including the WSJ,

A military strike three weeks ago killed Raúl Reyes, No. 2 in command of the FARC, Colombia’s most notorious terrorist group. The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.), a leading opponent of the free-trade deal. Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia’s elected and popular government.

Mr. McGovern’s press office says the Congressman is merely working at the behest of families whose relatives are held as FARC kidnap hostages. However, his go-between’s letters reveal more than routine intervention.

The always excellent Gateway Pundit has been following this story from the start, when reports indicated that Democrats may have been cooperating with FARC against the elected and popular government of Columbia.

Today, Gateway Pundit has an update, with Interpol’s confirmation of the story. Click here for the details.

Specter wants outside probe of Spygate

In advocating for an independent inquiry, Specter cited what he called a conflict of interest for the NFL. He said the league and its owners have a financial incentive to put the scandal behind them because “the core of their game is integrity.”

Sen. Specter is right, even the appearance of a conflict of interest damages ones integrity and leads to questions about their motives. He should know.

As we noted before, Sen. Arlen Specter is doing the bidding of Comcast in his battle against the NFL. It has been my contention all along that this isn’t really about Spygate at all. Why? The league and the cable companies are in a billion dollar fight over the future of the NFL Network. Comcast lines Sen. Specter’s pockets more than any other corporation in America.

See what he means, conflicts of interest are bad, bad, bad.

“If the public loses confidence in professional football, it will be like wrestling. They’re not going to have the gates. They’re not going to have the TV. It’s going to be a totally different thing.”

Again, Sen. Specter (R-Comcast) is exactly right. Once the public loses confidence in an admired institution, it may never come back.

Those who criticize the good senator for focusing on Spygate when there are allegedly more important issues are missing the point. There are major benefits to Specter’s Spygate fetish, he continues his long and storied history of focusing on the issues that keep Americans up at night,

S.RES.43 : A resolution honoring the important contribution to the Nation of the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on its 150th Anniversary.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.RES.83 : A resolution to amend the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit filling the tree.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.RES.95 : A resolution designating March 25, 2007, as “Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy”.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.RES.451 : A resolution honoring the achievements of Rawle and Henderson LLP, on its 225th anniversary and on being recognized as the oldest law firm in continuous practice in the United States.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.RES.452 : A resolution commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Naming of Pittsburgh as the culmination of the Forbes Campaign across Pennsylvania and the significance this event played in the making of America, in the settlement of the continent, and in spreading the ideals of freedom and democracy throughout the world.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.RES.476 : A resolution designating March 25, 2008, as “Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy”.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.RES.484 : A resolution designating March 25, 2008, as “National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day”.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.RES.529 : A resolution commemorating the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

S.697 : A bill to establish the Steel Industry National Historic Site in the State of Pennsylvania.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
——————————————————————————–

The REAL BENEFIT of Sen. Specter’s Spygate fetish is that it is distracting him from wasting millions of dollars of our money on pork projects. As Comcast well knows, the senator does his best for his donors, er, constituents. Which would you prefer, Spygate press conferences, or Specter focusing on the next appropriations bill? Here are a couple of Sen. Specter’s Greatest Hits in terms of wasting our money,

Arlen Specter’s Tangeled Web of Pork

Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, used this “emergency” spending request as an opportunity to insert a provision into the “emergency” bill which directed that a $40 million grant to the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority “be used solely for the purpose of construction, by and for a Philadelphia-based company.”

Stick with me here; the story is about to take some wild turns.

Here’s how Sen. Specter explained the earmark to his colleagues on the Senate floor last April: “This money is being allocated to develop the port facilities in Philadelphia to accommodate a very new kind of ship which will compete with air travel and which has very substantial military as well as commercial purposes.”

Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Well, maybe. Until pork-buster Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, took to the floor and blew the whistle.

McCain informed the Senate that he had been in a meeting with the Secretary of the Navy, along with Sen. Specter, to discuss this matter. He noted that he was very proud of the Navy chief “because unequivocally the Secretary of the Navy said: No, we do not want this money, we do not have the technology, we do not have the design for this, this is not one of our requirements, and we do not want to spend $40 million in this fashion.”

McCain added, “It was as strong a statement as I have ever heard from the Secretary of the Navy. This is basically a $40 million giveaway of the taxpayers’ dollars to a private corporation that has nothing to do with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has nothing to do with it.”

Sen. Arlen Specter is October Porker of the Month
Senator’s Trick Is No Taxpayer’s Treat

(Washington, D.C.) — Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) its October Porker of the Month for stuffing the fiscal 2003 Emergency Supplemental portion of the fiscal 2004 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act with pork-barrel projects that benefit his home state. President Bush submitted a request for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to help cover natural disasters, homeland security, and costs associated with the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Signed into law on Sep. 30, the supplemental stirred up a witch’s brew of $65 million for extraneous projects, including $1.4 million for three projects in Pennsylvania.

Where the President sees flood victims in need of relief, Sen. Specter sees another chance to serve federal treats to his constituents back home. The supplemental contains $1 million for the Geisinger Health System to establish centers of excellence for the treatment of autism, $200,000 for the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, and $200,000 for the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine for a minority outreach oral health initiative.

When it comes to pork, Arlen Specter has nothing in common with his favorite football team, the Philadelphia Eagles. After all, Arlen Specter wins championships!

Citizens Against Government Waste: Senator Arlen Specter is Porker of the Year

So Pats fans, which would you prefer, Sen. Specter spending his time on Spygate, or focusing on appropriations bills. I say, bring on the Congressional hearings! Keep him away from our money.

Salem (MA) Evening News
Letter: Disturbing experience at scene of Peabody crash

To the editor:

Not long ago, I witnessed an automobile accident involving a female and male driver in which the male driver was at fault.

The accident occurred on Route 114 in Peabody. When I approached the young lady to see if she was OK, I could see she was shaken up and her vehicle badly damaged.

When the Peabody police officer arrived, he took the young lady’s information and then requested the male’s information. When the male stated he “did not” have a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and was from Brazil, the officer requested proof of auto insurance.

Upon observing all this, I inquired of the officer whether there would be an arrest, to which he stated, “No.”

The young lady was baffled as well as I stood by her as a witness and for temporary moral support because she was in tears.

The illegal Brazilian male used his cell phone to call his employer, a U.S. citizen, who showed up and was allowed to drive the vehicle away from the scene of the accident, after he provided the police officer a valid Massachusetts driver’s license.

Next, the young lady inquired why the illegal Brazilian male was not arrested nor his car towed for lack of a license. He was, after all, responsible for the accident. To which the officer, to sum it up roughly, said: “It involves too much paperwork. The Brazilians refuse to show up for court when summonsed.”

Now I am curious what the training and rules of procedure are of Peabody Police Department concerning the disposition of persons found to be “without” a valid driver’s licenses? Likewise, are Illegal Brazilians without proof of a license truly above the law?

It would appear to me that the Illegal Brazilians are giving the legal Brazilians an unfair rap on this matter by not being held to the same laws U.S. citizens are responsible for obeying.

If the law is meant to protect all, is it not to be enforced upon all? Or, are some just above the law?

BILL DeTUCCI SR.

Peabody

Here is a photo from April 2005, in the same newspaper, of a wife and mother getting the news that her husband, a police officer, had been run down by an illegal immigrant who had been in the country for ten days. How many hundreds, thousands of times has this happened in between?

As I said in 2005, its time to put the illegal back in illegal immigration.

A while back I noted that Justice Alito had to recuse himself from the Exxon-Valdez damages case because of his stock ownership of Exxon.

I would think during the vetting process a nominee would be advised to sell stocks or at least put them in a blind trust. Also, it’s not exactly a recent development, this Exxon Valdez case. Doesn’t the court have pretty good visibility into the cases that are likely headed their way?

It seems so obvious, you make it to the highest court in the land, you should have to invest either in mutual funds or some kind of blind trust. In this litigious society, big business is constantly being sued and taken to court. The chances of cases impacting individual stock holdings seems fairly substantial. According to the Washington Post, it is,

Investment Conflicts for High Court
Personal Holdings Prevent Justices From Hearing Case

Supreme Court justices’ personal investments are making it more difficult for the court to do business.

The court said yesterday that it could not raise a quorum to consider review of a wide-ranging class-action lawsuit that accuses more than 50 U.S. businesses of helping South Africa’s former apartheid regime.

According to the court, only five of the nine justices could hear the case, and six are needed for a quorum. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Samuel A. Alito Jr. have holdings in some of the companies named in the suit. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s son works for another, Credit Suisse Group. He has recused himself in previous cases that involved the firm.

The case at hand is unusual, but recusals by the justices are becoming more common as the court’s docket includes an increasing number of business cases.

Roberts’s investments in Pfizer kept him out of a recent case involving the drug Rezulin. The eight remaining justices announced they were evenly split, which means the lower court ruling was affirmed without an opinion from the court.

Supreme Court appointments will be a major focus of the fall campaign. The difference between the kind of candidate McCain would nominate and the kind Obama would is striking.

McCain,

“My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power, and clear limits to the scope of federal power.”

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

“Barack Obama has always believed that our courts should stand up for social and economic justice, and what’s truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves.”

Perhaps we can take a time out from the partisan hysteria that is sure to result from the next nominee and address this issue of stock ownership and conflicts. I’m sure that is asking too much. Isn’t this one bipartisan point people should be able to agree on? These conflicts are easy enough to avoid. Why they are allowed to stand is beyond me.

What great news, Patti Patton Bader, founder of Soldiers Angels, has been selected as America’s Favorite Mom. Patti is an amazing woman who has grown Soldiers Angels from an idea into a network of 200,000 volunteers who do numerous things large and small for the men and women serving and the families they leave behind.

On Mother’s Day 2006, Matt Burden, aka Blackfive, profiled Patti as part of our Someone You Should Know series

Soldiers’ Angels Founder is “America’s Favorite Mom”

Soldiers’ Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader was named “America’s Favorite Mom” in a primetime television show Sunday night on NBC. Sponsored by Teleflora and hosted by Donny and Marie Osmond, the show highlighted fifteen outstanding mothers who had distinguished themselves in categories ranging from Working Moms to Military Moms and “Non-Mom” Moms.

Humbled by the honor, Patti is thrilled to be able to use it to continue the Soldiers’ Angels mission of “May No Soldier Go Unloved.” As the grand prize winner, she will receive $250,000, a set of household appliances, and other valuable items. Patti hopes to apply the winnings to her plans for a small ranch that will allow newly returned soldiers to relax with their families after deployments.

“I really am lucky to know so many heroes in my life,” said Patti, who herself has two sons in the Army, one currently deployed to Iraq. “Whether they are the troops who serve our country or the amazing mothers here on this America’s Favorite Mom program, I am honored to be in the presence of such inspirational people and also am humbled to know that America thinks the same of me.”

Patti is also excited about the opportunities this platform gives her to help people learn more about America’s military heroes and options for supporting them and their families. The attention she has received through the America’s Favorite Mom events has already drawn a number of new volunteers who want to use their talents and connections to help support the troops.

The one and only Michael Yon joined us once again to talk about his excellent new book, Moment of Truth In Iraq.

We discussed the changes in strategy and tactics that have led to the dramatic improvements, the influence of Iran in Iraq and the region, why US soldiers are the most effective diplomats and what the definition of victory is and how long it may take us to get there.

All of our interviews are also available for download at iTunes and Podcast Alley via the Pundit Review Radio Podcast.

What is Pundit Review Radio?

Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10 pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

It was a great pleasure to welcome back Jay Fitzgerald to Pundit Review Radio. Jay is a business reporter with the Boston Herald and blogs at the always outstanding Hub Blog. There is a saying that goes, “I wrote you a long letter because I didn’t have time to write a short one.” The best writers are economical with their words. Jay is one of them.

We focused on state politics this afternoon, here is hour one.

All of our interviews are also available for download at iTunes and Podcast Alley via the Pundit Review Radio Podcast.

What is Pundit Review Radio?

Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10 pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

Who knew that Kim Kardashian could make an even bigger ass of herself?

Michelle Obama has spoken frequently on the campaign trail about the amount of student loans she and Barack had to take out to get through Harvard and Princeton. Worse yet, she had to pay them back!

As she has many times in the past, Mrs. Obama complains about the lasting burden of student loans dating from her days at Princeton and Harvard Law School. She talks about people who end up taking years and years, until middle age, to pay off their debts. “The salaries don’t keep up with the cost of paying off the debt, so you’re in your 40s, still paying off your debt at a time when you have to save for your kids,” she says.

“Barack and I were in that position,” she continues. “The only reason we’re not in that position is that Barack wrote two best-selling books… It was like Jack and his magic beans. But up until a few years ago, we were struggling to figure out how we would save for our kids.”

Good thing for that Rev. Wright sermon that inspired The Audacity of Hope! Perhaps Michelle should be asking for a refund? It appears her husband, no doubt an exceedingly smart and capable man, is having some trouble with the basics, like American history and math.

Jack Kelly, a Marine, a Green Beret, a high ranking pentagon official (deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration) and now a journalist focusing on national security issues, offered up a remedial history lesson for Barack earlier this week,

In his victory speech after the North Carolina primary, Sen. Barack Obama said something that is all the more remarkable for how little it has been remarked upon.

In defending his stated intent to meet with America’s enemies without preconditions, Sen. Obama said: “I trust the American people to understand that it is not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies, like Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did.”

That he made this statement, and that it passed without comment by the journalists covering his speech indicates either breathtaking ignorance of history on the part of both, or deceit.

I assume the Roosevelt to whom Sen. Obama referred is Franklin D. Roosevelt. Our enemies in World War II were Nazi Germany, headed by Adolf Hitler; fascist Italy, headed by Benito Mussolini, and militarist Japan, headed by Hideki Tojo. FDR talked directly with none of them before the outbreak of hostilities, and his policy once war began was unconditional surrender.

FDR died before victory was achieved, and was succeeded by Harry Truman. Truman did not modify the policy of unconditional surrender. He ended that war not with negotiation, but with the atomic bomb.

Harry Truman also was president when North Korea invaded South Korea in June, 1950. President Truman’s response was not to call up North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung for a chat. It was to send troops.

We learned yesterday that during this long campaign, Barack has “visited 57 states with one to go”

The far more important issue here is the one noted above by Jack Kelley. The Atlantic’s Mark Ambinder summed up the video nicely by writing,

Obama is tired, nothing more. But if John McCain did this — if he mistakenly said he’d visited 57 states — the media would be all up in his grill, accusing him of a senior moment.