Samuel Alito nominated to the Supreme Court!

Well, that was quick! This morning, Bush nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Hooray! Bush said, "Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges of America and his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of judicial experience. He's scholarly, fair-minded and principled and these qualities will serve him well on the highest court in the land." Bush added that Alito has more judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in 70 years. Alito is considered a conservative federal judge. Of course the conservatives in Congress are overwhelmingly happy about this pick, while the liberals are quite angry. Senate Minoriy Leader Harry Reid said he was "disappointed" in the pick of Alito in that he is not a "consensus nominee" and said one day earlier that that nominee would "create a lot of problems. The nomination of Judge Alito requires an especially long, hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers. Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for the. Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people." He went on to criticize Bush for not choosing a woman or Hispanic for the seat, saying, "He has chosen yet another federal appellate judge to join a court that already has eight justices with that narrow background." That's interesting, because if I remember right Bush's last nomination was a woman....hmmm.
It should be interesting to see how many liberals do vote him down because he was UNANIMOUSLY confirmed in a liberal controlled senate 15 years ago.
And quickly yet another great example of blatant liberal news bias:
The Chief White House correspondent for CBS news, John Roberts described the President’s selection of Judge Samuel Alito as "sloppy seconds," saying, "So, Scott, you said that -- or the President said, repeatedly, that Harriet Miers was the best person for the job. So does that mean that Alito is sloppy seconds, or what?" He said this during a press conference with White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. The fact that he would suggest that is absolutely ridiculous. Bottom line is that the democrats are pissed off because last week it seemed like the White House was collapsing in on itself. However, with a new nominee who will almost assuredly pass, gasoline prices coming down, economy still growing, Iraq doing better by the month, and indictments that were much less severe than many might have thought, the White House really seems like they're on a new path. Things are looking up just a week after it seemed like nothing could go right for Bush.

Libby's troubles: Perjury or not?

Well, its pretty clear that Libby did contribute to the ousting of the name of Valerie Plame. Since Fitzgerald did not charge him for that though, he obviously comitted no crime in doing so. The thing Libby is being accused of is that he knowingly lied to CIA investigators and to a grand jury under oath. However, today one of the reporters who had a conversation with Libby about Plame does not think that Libby actually comitted perjury.

Matt Cooper (the journalist with whom Libby had a conversation, had this to say: "And I had heard the day before from the president's political advisor, Karl Rove, that Wilson's wife might have played a role in dispatching him to Africa, and that she worked at the CIA."
"So I asked Libby if he had heard anything like that. And he said, 'Yeah, I've heard that, too." This came during a very short conversation between the two. Apparently when Libby was questioned about this he left out the fact that he "told" Cooper about the CIA operative (Plame).

To commit perjury you have to KNOWINGLY and PURPOSEFULLY lie to the grand jury. So, its seems in this case anyways that, Libby did not commit perjury, the most serious charge he is faced with. Don't get me wrong, this is all not to say that he is inoccent. Probably far from it. It's interesting how history repeats itself. Libby was not charged with the original act, he is being charged with lying about it....

Demonic Condi

See a problem here? Click here for more info....

2,000 deaths

So, recently the "milestone" of 2000 deaths in iraq occured. It is truly sad that 2000 men and women have died there in order to protect our freedoms and our way of life. It is clear that the far left could not wait for this day to come. They were gearing up, planning their protests, vigils, etc for this day. My question is, why is the 2000th death any more important than the 1,304 death or the 403 death? Sheehan of course continues with her protest of the war my laying down in a symbolic death. And of course this time she had a huge smile on her face when she did it, just like last time she was arrested. I can't sum it up as well as Michelle Malkin, so here ya go:"The carnival-like atmosphere that surrounded her arrest at the White House last month did little to convince military families that Sheehan and her pink lingerie-clad Bush-bashing brigade have the troops' best interest at heart. Those "911 was an inside job" and "Castrate Cheney" signs didn't help much either."

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, director of the force's combined press center, is pushing back against the inevitable media tide. He deserves our support. In an e-mail to the press that should be disseminated far and wide, he properly challenged the anti-war movement's number as a phony excuse to protest.

"I ask that when you report on the events, take a moment to think about the effects on the families and those serving in Iraq," Boylan wrote on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press (which has been among Sheehan's most ardent sycophants). "The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives."
"Indeed. These are people, remember, who liken Iraqi terrorists to America's Minutemen during the Revolutionary War.
Who oppose not only the war in Iraq, but also the invasion of Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Who believe the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and at Shanksville, Pa., were a Bush conspiracy with Israel and/or Saudi Arabia.
Who applaud when left-wing professor Ward Churchill gloats about "chickens coming home to roost" and suggests that the peace movement should support the fragging of American troops.
Who use the names and images of dead American soldiers against their families' wishes to propagate anti-Bush hatred.
Who believe Saddam Hussein should be freed and Guantanamo Bay emptied.
Who carry around banners that proclaim "WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS WHEN THEY SHOOT THEIR OFFICERS."
It just makes me so sad to see what these crazy lefties are doing to this country, and the fact that the liberal media feeds into all of it.

Harriet Miers withdraws her nomination!

Wahoo! I'm so happy. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not all that sure that she would have been a bad nominee. But the fact that the conservatives were incredibly upset while many of the dems supported her (at least they just waited while the reps fought it out) obviously cant be a good thing for bush and the republican party. I seriously hope he puts up someone who really deserves it this time, cause lord knows there are a ton of people. That being said, I think that Miers was qualified. If you look at her record, its quite clear that she was, even though shes never been a judge. But the fact that she really didnt have any record, makes that nomination a mistake for the white house. There were countless reps speaking out and two GOP groups who were just about to start ad campaigns against Miers.
"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Bush said. "Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers -- and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her." This is really a good point. This lady had a possibility of fulfilling one of the most important jobs in this country. The fact that she stepped down in order to save the white house scruitiny is quite admirable. Thank you harriet miers, and Bush, please save us the arguing this time....

My Free TV update

Well, I got my free Dell TV!!!! Wahoo! In case you didnt see my earlier posts on this, I signed up over the summer on dells website for a "1 in 100" sweepstakes for a brand new 26" LCD tv. The sweepstakes was run through eprize. Anyways, it came to my parents house. I didnt want it shipped here because we're on a rural route and our mail service sucks. I couldnt decide whether I wanted to keep it or sell it on ebay. Well, I had my brother open it to make sure it worked, and he said he really liked it. So basically he offered me $900 for it, which is probably about what I could have gotten on ebay. Let me tell ya, its a nice damn television. Anyways, I'm pretty happy, because I basically got 900 bucks for free. Of course I sold the tv without ever even getting to see it which makes me sad.

And you thought your shampoo was safe....

Take a look at this article. Seems as though many of the things we use everyday for washing, cleaning, etc may actually be very harmful in the long run. Many of the products presented in this article contain known carcinogens. In some products, many of the ingredients have never even been tested for human safety. This seems absolutely ridiculous to me. The problem is that the cosmetics industry is "self-governing" meaning their products do not undergo testing by the FDA. Considering people use on average 9 personal care products a day, for a total average of 126 different ingredients, this is actually really scary.

Technorati

For all those that dont know what technorati is, its basically a website that keeps track of blogs and allows you to search them. On their website, they have a list of the top ten searches. Today, the top search is: "leading by (bad) example" This seems very strange because there are currently only two posts on the topic. This just raises the question of just how biased these results are. "Bush defrocked" was one of the top searches when there were only two posts on that as well. Just seems strange to me, and I wonder how items like this keep showing up.

Pujols is amazing!

Even though I've seen this home run about 200 times, I can honestly say I will NEVER get sick of it. Even if my beloved cardinals lose one of the next two games, this was still nothing short of amazing.

iPod Video

Well, apple finally came out with the long awaited ipod video. I've never had an ipod, and never wanted one because I have an iriver, which I love. The thing is, the iriver i have came out about 2 years ago, and guess what, you can play video on it. It's not necessarily easy, but you can copy dvds you own to the player and watch them on the 2 inch color screen.
Who knows, maybe if i actually did have an ipod I would fall in love with it like it seems everyone else does, but for now I'd rather put my money into something cheaper with many many more features.

Iraq

Well, after the elections this past weekend, its clear iraq is on the right track. The constitution is almost assured of passing after looking at the initial numbers. The turnout was overwhelming. 77% in fallujah(which just a year ago was a haven for terrorists), 78% in Kirkuk, 64% in basra, and the rest of the cities/regions all report at least 54% turnout. All of these areas except for anbar (where fallujah is (97% no, because this area is dominated by sunnis)) voted overwhelmingly in favor of the constitution (97% yes in basra, 70% yes in diyala, 95% yes in karbala, 63% yes in kirkuk, 78% yes in ninevah, 90% yes in Thi-Qar, 95% yes in wassit). Now, honestly, to me it didnt really matter which way the vote went (of course it was best that is passes), but I think the overall success here is in the shear numbers of people who voted. When you really think about it, that is quite amazing. Lets not underestimate what these people are risking by voting. They are going to polling stations surrounded by iraqis and americans (mostly iraqis this vote) with automatic weapons, they are under the constant threat of being killed by a terrorist, then they have to dip their finger in ink, showing they voted, which they could be killed for. Let's face it people, this is nothing short of amazing. I wonder how many US citizens would turn out to vote if these were the circumstances. I'm thinking around 5%. So, for people to say iraq is a failure is obviously misleading because clearly the iraqis wanted to be free. Now, we can debate all day whether or not the US should have gone into iraq, but clearly no one can deny the fact that the people are happy to have a democracy, and happy saddam is gone. Of course, you wont hear any of the blog world talking about this success, but thats just because they dont have anything negative to say about what happened this past weekend in iraq.

Hilarious!

Haha, this is hilarious!

Don't Pass Gas

Don't Pass Gas

Great article talking about the role of authority and responsibility in the government. Take a look at it
"David Brooks on "Meet the Press" Sunday said he thought Katrina had given rise to a greater public desire for "authority" and "order." I found what he was saying typically thoughtful, but I differ with him. That difference gives rise to this piece.
I don't think Americans are or have been, by nature, lovers of authority. When we think of the old America we think of house-raisings on the prairie and teeming cities full of immigrants, but a big part of the American nature can also be found in the story of Jeremiah Johnson, the mountain man who just wanted to live off by himself, unbothered and unmolested by people and their churches and clubs and rules. He didn't like authority. He wanted to be left alone.

We live in the age of emergency, however, and in that age we hunger for someone to take responsibility. Not authority, but a sense of "I'll lead you out of this." On 9/11 the firemen took responsibility: I will go into the fire. So did the mayor: This is how we'll get through, this is how we'll triumph.

In New Orleans, by contrast, the mayor seemed panicked, the governor seemed medicated, and the airborne wasn't there until it was there and peace was restored. Until then no one took responsibility. There was a vacuum. But nature abhors a vacuum, so rumors and chaos came in to fill it. Which made things worse."

Shell Game

This is kinda fun....click here

Pathetic

This is absolutely pathetic....someone actually counted the number of times bush blinked, shifted weight, licked his lips, etc. For such a "wonderful and credible news source" (HA!) this sure is pretty stupid.
Read it here

Inside a water bottle

Ever wonder what it would be like to be inside of a water bottle? Click here.

Bush's speech

Wow, I know I do usually say this after his big speeches, but it was awesome. He's finally said some of the things I've been wishing he would say for years now. He basically stood up to the criticism he's been receiving and bluntly laid out the overall reason why were in iraq: "Some have also argued that extremism has been strengthened by the presence of the coalition in iraq, claiming that our presence in that country has somehow caused or triggered the rage of radicals. I would remind themthat we were not in iraq on sept. 11, 2001, and al queda attacked us anyway." "The government of russia did not support operation iraqi freedom, yet militants killed more than 180 russian school children." "Against such an enemy, there is only one effective response, we will never back down, never give in and never accept anything less than complete victory."
He also laid out everything we've done since sept 11...foiled terror plots here in the US, exposed black market operation in nuclear technology, getting libia to abandon chemical and nucular weapons programs, stopped dozens of shipments containing weapons technology including equipment for irans balistic missile program, etc....
"Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. It's a dangerous illusion refuted with a simple question: Would the United States and other free nations be more safe or less safe with Zarqawi and bin Laden in control of Iraq, its people and its resources? Having removed a dictator and aided free peoples, we will not stand by as a new set of killers dedicated to the destruction of our own country seizes control of Iraq by violence."
Check out the full transcript here

Plant Phys Test

So, my plant physiology class is incredibly hard, or at least I thought before this week. See, the class is about half graduate students, and the teacher is really really hard. Before class we print out his Powerpoint slides and use those to take notes. On a usual day we get through about 12 pages (4 slides per page). Most of the slides have I would say, around 100 words on them average. He just basically reads through them, and thats it. And most of this crap I've never heard of before, so I thought the test was going to be really really hard. Well, the friday before the test he gave us a list of 35 questions to study. He then told us that the questions on the test would be directly from that! The questions were mostly really really hard, but I did my best to study them all. Then I took the test, and he actually generally chose some of the easier questions from the list, so I was feeling pretty good about it. Well, a week later I got the test back and I got a 95%!!!!!!!!! WAHOO! (At the beginning of the semester I was hoping just to pass the class) The even better part is that about half of the class literally got 50% and below. The teacher just laid out all of the tests, and when looking for mine I saw a lot of 35's, 40's, even a 31! And I think a lot of those were graduate students. So my question is are graduate students here not all I think they're cracked up to be? I mean, we were given all of the questions beforehand! Even better was the fact that each question is graded based on the answers of 5 or so random papers, so I was being compared to graduate students, and beat their asses! For a class that I was just hoping to pass as of a few weeks ago, thats not too bad!