When the going gets tough, Hillary gets going,
Hillary Clinton Says She Wouldn’t Have Voted For Iraq War
ABC News’ David Chalian Reports: As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to assess a possible presidential candidacy and the contours of a Democratic nomination fight, she has taken another step away from her 2002 vote authorizing President Bush to attack Iraq by saying that she “wouldn’t have voted that way” if she knew everything she knows now.
Yes, she was for it before she was against it. Churchill she ain’t. Part of me says she would never make such a mistake, to flip-flop at this late stage. The one redeeming quality about Senator Clinton’s performance has been her support of the war in Iraq. Why change now? The Kos kids are convinced you are a war monger.:) Why give back turf you’ve fought hard to acquire? What is going on? Is Hillary that worried about Obama?
Tonight it was our pleasure to speak with Grover Norquist on Pundit Review Radio. Grover is president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes at both the federal, state and local levels.
We discussed the successes and failures of the Bush administration,tax myths and the future of the GOP.
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. Hailed as â??Groundbreakingâ? by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Bostonâ??s Talk Leader.
A memorial service for US Army PFC Ross McGinnis was held today. Tonight on Pundit Review Radio, Matthew Currier Burden from Blackfive honored Ross during this week’s Someone You Should Know.
McGinnis gave his life in an incredibly heroic, selfless way. He has been nominated for the Medal of Honor, and his citation for his Silver Star read,
FOR GALLANTRY IN ACTION ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY WHILE SERVING AS AN M2 MACHINE GUNNER DURING OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. ON 4 DECEMBER 2006, AN ENEMY HAND GRENADE WAS THROWN INTO HIS VEHICLE. PRIVATE FIRST CLASS MCGINNIS THREW HIMSELF ON THE HAND GRENADE, ABSORBING THE EXPLOSION WITH HIS BODY AND SAVING FOUR OF HIS COMRADES FROM SERIOUS INJURIES OR POSSIBLE DEATH. HIS ACTIONS REFLECT DISTINCT CREDIT ON H IM, THE MULTI-NATIONAL DIVISION-BAGHDAD, AND THE UNITED STATES ARMY.
His family has suggested for anybody who wishes to make a memorial donation to send something to a service member overseas, a veteran or local service member and present it as a gift from PFC Ross McGinnis. Gifts to his unit may be sent to:
SFC Cedric Thomas
1st Platoon, C/1-26 IN
Task Force Blue Spader
APO AE 09390-1537
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. Hailed as “Groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Leader.
This entire report debunks the most common economic canards of the left.
For example:
Media myth: All the manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas, and the only ones left are in the almost empty plants of the Big Three automakers.
Even though the Lou Dobbs and John Edwards doom and gloom protectionist class warriors would like you to believe this it is not true.
Truth: American auto manufacturing is alive and well, with Honda and Toyota opening new plants in the United States. The Associated Press explained on May 28 that Hondaâ??s new 1,500-job plant slated for the Midwest is just one part of a â??$1.18 billion global expansion,â? and should boost North American â??production capacity from 1.4 million to 1.6 million vehicles a year.â?Â
In addition to plant jobs, suppliers and support services gain business from the automakersâ?? expansion. Millions of investors benefit from holding stock in these companies â?? another angle left out of many stories.
Besides leaving out the good news, journalists often fail to explain part of the bad â?? why old Detroit is in bad shape. A bit of the history of union contracts could explain why the companies are more worried about paying health care costs and pensions than making cars. Most stories about company benefits portrayed the companies as leaving their workers high and dry, instead of explaining how the powerful unions put workers in their tough spot.
Here is my other personal favorite:
Media myth: Workers are getting left behind in economic growth.
Nope. Sorry. That was is not true either.
Truth: Wages and benefits have risen at the fastest pace since early 2004. Hourly compensation in non-farm businesses increased 7.7 percent from last year, according to a September 6 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economist Brian Wesbury also said recent revisions to income figures had found â??$160 billion of personal income that was previously uncounted.â? He explained that the commonly used payroll survey, the â??major source for both average hourly earnings and wage and salary estimates,â? had underestimated the amount.
Compensation includes benefits, which have been a huge growth area. Workers are paying a lower share of their health benefits than they did in the past â?? something journalists didnâ??t factor into the overall earnings picture.
Read the rest of the Top 10 Economic Myths of 2006 Here.
We will be discussing many of them with our guest Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform tomorrow night on our show at 8 p.m. EST.
I’ve always said that everybody likes Mitt the first time around. What’s not to like? A first impression is important, so good for Mitt. The problem is that the longer you are around him, the more you realize,
“Geez, you’re really pandering to me.”
National Review’s Rich Lowry has the details.
Wait until the 2nd amendment crowd gets a hold of Mitt’s views on gun control. These people, for the most part, are absolutists. Let’s say you believe it should be illegal to buy a semi-automatic machine gun that could stop a tank in its tracks at the local Wal-Mart. That position would mean that you are a “gun grabber” and “enemy of the 2nd amendment”.
What are they going to say about the self-described “the true conservative in this race” when they see this,
In favor of the Brady Bill
Regarding the Brady Bill which required waiting periods to buy a handgun, Romney stated, “I don’t think [the waiting period] will have a massive effect on crime but I think it will have a positive effect.”
– Boston Herald, 8/1/1994Supports federal assault weapons ban
According to his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney “is a supporter of the federal assault weapons ban.”Signed state assault weapons ban
On July 1, 2002, Romney signed a permanent ban on assault weapons. “Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” Romney said, at a bill signing ceremony with legislators, sportsmen’s groups and gun safety advocates. “These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”
My problem with Mitt isn’t that he’s not conservative enough for me. It’s that I hold most of the same positions he is now running away from. His reasons for doing so are obvious, which makes the pandering that much harder to stomach.
This is the time of year for top ten lists. Here are the 10 current trends in the mass media that ought to disturb us according to Peter Kahn, a Pulitzer-winning journalist, and chairman of Dow Jones.
The blurring of the lines between journalism and entertainment;
The blurring of lines between news and opinion;
The blending of news and advertising, sponsorships or other commercial relationships;
The problems and pitfalls inherent in pack journalism;
The issue of conflict and context. On most issues most Americans are not on polar extremes;
The exaggerated tendency toward pessimism;
The growing fascination with the perverse and the pathological–John Mark Karr journalism;
Social orthodoxy, or political correctness;
The media’s short attention span;
The matter of power
His full article is here.
On another media note, the 2006 Dishonest Reporter of the Year Awards are out. As you can imagine, the competition was fierce. Seeing the list, and the accompanying photos, brings back some great memories. This is truly the best of the worst.
We are so fortunate to have brave men and women sign up for the military at a time of war when it is highly likely that they will see combat. It is awe inspiring. That is what is so offensive about Charlie Rangel, John Kerry and the rest who say only dead enders end up in the military. James Taranto of Opinion Journal has been running reader reaction to Rangel’s recent comments,
“If a young fellow has an option of having a decent career, or joining the Army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq. If there’s anyone who believes these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No bright young individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of some educational benefits,”
Read James Taranto’s five part reader reponse here.
Military meets, exceeds recruiting goals
By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs, the Defense Department announced.
The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 â?? meaning 105 percent of its goal.
This reminds me of an unforgettable story from the early days of the Iraq war. I remember posting on it and found the original source. It was from Citizen Smash circa 2003,
Martin Savidge of CNN, embedded with the 1st Marine battalion, was talking with 4 young Marines near his foxhole this morning live on CNN. He had been telling the story of how well the Marines had been looking out for and taking care of him since the war started. He went on to tell about the many hardships the Marines had endured since the war began and how they all look after one another.
He turned to the four and said he had cleared it with their commanders and they could use his video phone to call home.
The 19 year old Marine next to him asked Martin if he would allow his platoon sergeant to use his call to call his pregnant wife back home whom he had not been able to talk to in three months. A stunned Savidge who was visibly moved by the request shook his head and the young Marine ran off to get the sergeant.
Savidge recovered after a few seconds and turned back to the three young Marines still sitting with him and asked which one of them would like to call home first, the Marine closest to him responded with out a moments hesitation “Sir, if is all the same to you we would like to call the parents of a buddy of ours, Lance Cpl Brian Buesing of Cedar Key, Florida who was killed on 3-23-03 near Nasiriya to see how they are doing.”
At that Martin Savidge totally broke down and was unable to speak. All he could get out before signing off was “Where do they get young men like this?”