August 15, 2006

Term Limits

A few years ago, I wasn't all that concerned at the concept of a senator or congressman spending several terms in his/ her office, but I've since developed a different opinion as I've watched these folks "do their thing".

The majority of voters, Democrat and Republican alike, read the papers, watch the news and so-forth, but don't really delve into the details of their senators' and reps' job performances. They reelect a lot of complacent, useless, pontificating assholes because they simply don't have time to do any research. Many figure, "Who cares? They're all the same!"

Because of the above, we now have a permanent ruling class, people who have been in Congress forever and take their jobs for granted the same way semi-literate union factory workers might take their own positions.

It gets worse: Now these same parasites are fighting their constituencies' efforts to impose term limits on their miserable, lazy, useless asses!

A Monday editorial at WSJ's Opinion Journal by John Fund sums it up nicely.

If elected officials were half as imaginative at solving real problems as they are at perpetuating themselves in office, we'd see real confidence in government restored. Alas, the big issue on many pols' minds right now is getting rid of the term-limit laws that threaten to knock down their impregnable incumbent fortresses.

Read the entire OpEd here.

Posted by Seth at 03:40 AM | Comments (3) |

March 15, 2006

Senator Feingold: One Lonely Man

Senator Russ Feingold's proposal to censure President Bush over the Chief Executive's counterterror measure of having the NSA monitor telephone calls between terrorists and their co-conspirators between phones inside the U.S. and phones overseas has his fellow Senate Democrats scuttling around in profound embarrassment as they desperately "avoid the media at all costs" on the issue.

Democratic senators, filing in for their weekly caucus lunch yesterday, looked as if they'd seen a ghost.

"I haven't read it," demurred Barack Obama (Ill.).

"I just don't have enough information," protested Ben Nelson (Neb.). "I really can't right now," John Kerry (Mass.) said as he hurried past a knot of reporters -- an excuse that fell apart when Kerry was forced into an awkward wait as Capitol Police stopped an aide at the magnetometer.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) brushed past the press pack, shaking her head and waving her hand over her shoulder. When an errant food cart blocked her entrance to the meeting room, she tried to hide from reporters behind the 4-foot-11 Barbara Mikulski (Md.).

"Ask her after lunch," offered Clinton's spokesman, Philippe Reines. But Clinton, with most of her colleagues, fled the lunch out a back door as if escaping a fire.

So this one senator, who mistakenly "spoke for his party", now feinds himself standing by himself after putting his fellow Dems on the spot. It seems that as the midterm elections grow nearer, even the Democrats who have shamelessly slandered the President over the War On Terror are beginning to attempt to try and create temporary facades of responsibility and patriotism, and Mr. Feingold is raining on their parade.

It's enough to make you laugh with free, uncontrolled mirth at the way these opportunists and liars suddenly hide themselves from their own media to the point of sneaking out convenient back doors.

Poor, lonely Senator Feingold is understandably piqued at the lack of backup he's receiving from his Democrat colleagues.

Sen. Russell Feingold on Tuesday blamed fellow Democrats for inaction on his stalled resolution to censure President Bush for his authorizing the National Security Agency's electronic terrorist surveillance program.

"I'm amazed at Democrats ... cowering with this president's numbers so low," said Feingold, D-Wis. "The administration ... just has to raise the specter of the War on Terror, and Democrats run and hide."

Heh heh heh....

Hat Tip: James Taranto

Posted by Seth at 08:03 PM | Comments (2) |

January 18, 2006

Earth Shattering Diplomacy

This in from yesterday...

Apparently in an effort to win international support and avoid censure by the United Nations Security Council, Iran on Tuesday proposed a resumption of nuclear talks with the Europeans, a move that was immediately rejected by Britain as "vacuous."

Indeed.

The proposal came eight days after Iran resumed nuclear work at three sites in violation of an agreement 16 months ago with France, Germany and Britain that froze most of Iran's nuclear activities. The resumption prompted the European trio to declare the talks dead and call for the Security Council to pass judgment on Iran.

This should be very frightening for Iran. The U.N. "passing judgement" can only mean one of two things:

a) They might be {gulp!} censured, or

b) There might be {shudder} sanctions.

Seriously, what will they do?

Impose a Megatons For Food Program?

Kofi & Son would be strongly supportive, as they would undoubtedly see some lucrative financial opportunities in the offing, as would most French U.N. diplomats and a few others of their ilk, such as a certain corrupt, left wing scumbag, terrorism supporting British traitor named George Galloway (spit).

In a letter on Tuesday, Javad Vaeedi, deputy head of the Supreme National Security Council, emphasized Iran's determination to "continue its full cooperation" with the International Atomic Energy Agency, adding that Iran "spares no effort in removing any ambiguity on its peaceful nuclear activities through dialogue and negotiation," according to a copy of the letter obtained by The New York Times.

Expressing appreciation for the Europeans, it added that Iran "considers dialogue and negotiation as the best course of action" and "is prepared to make the process a success."

But the letter, addressed to the three foreign ministries and sent through their missions in Vienna, gave no indication that Iran would resume the freeze on its conversion, enrichment and reprocessing of uranium as required by the agreement.

Of course not! It's amazing how after dealing with Islamofascist governments for so many years, these dynamic diplocrats would still like us to believe that they'll bring anything reasonable to the bargaining table.

And camels might fly...

It's always the same deal: The Muslim country offers nothing except doubletalk, promises they can break, according to their religious beliefs, because they're made to infidels, or simply stands firm while insisting that all concessions come from the western governments involved in "negotiations". And somehow they manage to word their diplomatic dictum in such a way as to give the impression that they're proferring offers of great sacrifice to themselves and great benefit to all mankind.

Sure they are.

"It is unacceptable," said a German official, who described the letter as "a lot of nice words without any concrete offer."

Good for you! You tell 'em!

And tell 'em again, and again. Western diplomacy with Iran as regards their nuclear programs is reminiscent of something I saw in a cartoon as a kid where one character draws a line on the ground and says, "I dare you to cross this line."

The other character crosses it.

The first character draws a second line on the ground.

"I dare you to cross this one." He challenges.

What follows is: "And this one." "And this one." etc...

The U.N. and its Old Europe members have already proven themselves a toothless, unapplicable, cowardly, corrupt and overly expensive attempted remedy to the world's more dangerous problems.

So,

Indeed, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, Iran's representative to the international nuclear agency in Vienna, said in a telephone interview from Vienna that Iran's decision to resume nuclear fuel research was "legal and irreversible."

He added: "We are ready to negotiate with the Europeans and the Russians. It is now their turn to understand us."

He called it unfair that Iran's scientists had not been able to conduct their nuclear research under the freeze, saying, "The philosophy of telling scientists not to think and research is contrary to human rights principles and the United Nations Charter."

Which means exactly what it reads like.

Iranian diplomats will talk day and night for as long as possible, buying time for their continued nuclear research and the development of their first atomic weapons.

Given the spinally challenged diplomacy of the folks in western Europe, "as long as possible" can mean forever, or at least right up until there is a mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv and a score or so additional suitcase nuclear devices fall into the hands of terrorists. One suitcase nuke goes a long, long way.

Then again, perhaps Israel will do unto Iran's nuclear reactor program what they once did unto Iraq's.

Or for the entire issue coming down to the Eleventh Hour option of the U.S.(it always comes down to our country) allowing Iran to produce and deploy a nuclear weapon while the U.N. talks to a wall, or executing a military operation, up to and including invasion, to prevent a probable nuclear holocaust by removing the extremist government and replacing it with the same kind of democratic government we have helped install in Iraq.

Jeezzzz!!!! I can already hear the howling, booing, hissing, weeping and gnashing of teeth coming from the port side over that one!

They'll just have to get it through their pointed, tinfoil covered little Utopian liberal heads that our entire operational profile in the Middle East and Southwest Asia is ultimately an act of self defense against people who don't think like we do but would sure love to kill us, man, woman and child, because we don't worship as they do, either.

All that said, I do not for a minute believe that this situation we now face as regards Iran's nuclear weapons development energy program is going to be resolved peacefully.

All the Europeans and that useless fucking idiot U.N. nuke agency czar Mohamed ElBaradei are doing is blowing smoke, lots and lots of smoke.

Posted by Seth at 07:40 AM | Comments (4) |