Good Riddance

A good day as Saddam Hussein is hanged. Only the New York Times could find fault with this. They would rather see him made an example of Western liberalism, perhaps put him up in a nice cell, well-furnished, to teach him the errors of his way. He's dead,. He should be dead and it would be good if we all got to see it. Will the Left ever get it?

New Cinema

Clint Eastwood's companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, is a masterpiece of filmmaking. It provides the perfect balance to the previous film and coming on its heels, offers a unique insight into a segment of history never before covered in such detail. Ken Watanabe's performance is mesmerizing, worthy of all accolades. Whether Eastwood will take home another Best Director Oscar is, of course, open to conjecture. Is he deserving? Unquestionably. He is without a doubt, the most creative directorial force in American cinema today.

Pelosi Strikes Again

House Speaker-to-Be Nancy Pelosi's recent naming of California congressman Reyes to head the intelligence committee has been addressed by this writer before. Now Congressional Quarterly reports that in interviewing Rep. Reyes, he knew nothing of the Sunni/Shite differences regarding the insurgency in Iraq, nor could he provide any information regarding the terrorist organization, Hezbollah, saying he was unfamiliar with it. This man is more qualified than Rep. Harmon? Only in the eyes of a spiteful, vindictive woman like Pelosi. Fasten your seatbelts. It will be a bumpy ride ahead.

Iraq Study Group Plan

Now that the Iraq study group has issued its long-awaited, though well-leaked plan, the Left is lining up quickly to throw its usual support to any stupid idea and this report is full of stupid ideas. It again assumes that Syria and Iran are stable, free-thinking regimes, perfectly willing to put aside personal interests in order to find workable solutions. Why is Irag in trouble? Precisely because Syria and Iraq are supplying arms and men to the conflict. I have no doubt the talking heads from the Left will manage to get some of these looney ideas into practice, given the recent control they have gained in both Houses. And those Republicans running scared from their own convictions in order to salvage their seats will no doubt throw their support to the Democrats. So much for backbone. Prepare for more attacks.

Pelosi Strikes Again

Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has furnished more evidence of what promises to be a disasterous term running the House. In rejecting the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, Jane Harman, for the leadership position on that committe in favor of an anti-war ideologue, Pelosi is playing personal politics again. She has never liked Harmon, personally or professionally, and certainly doesn't appreciate Rep. Harmon's willingness to study an issue as well as the evidence before making informed decisions. But that is Pelosi's leftwing agenda and so Harmon pays for it. The Democrats are a mess.

Same Old Same Old

So much for the "new and improved" Democrats. Speaker-to-be Pelosi's recent debacle over her support for the looney leftie Murtha and the ringing rejection by her fellow Democrats doesn't bode well for their prospects. Everyone knew Murtha was a no-go but Pelosi stuck with him because he shares her cut-and-run strategy for Iraq. Guess we will have these in-house battles for the next two years. It would be great fun if it were not for the sad truth that these clowns will make policy.

The Future

Since the Democrats now control both houses, all talk of cooperation is, of course, moot. Nothing substantial will happen over the next two years unless President Bush caves in or the remaining Republicans cede all power to the Left. We will see. I have little hope for Iraq as it looks like Vietnam all over again. The U.S. was winning that war but Walter Cronkite managed to convince the American people it was a bad thing and so Nixon caved. It will likely happen here as well. The left never gets it, preferring to wallow in fantasy that those who live in the middle ages (terrorists) or those who are deluded (Iran, North Korea) are willing and viable partners for negotiations. I suspect we must prepare ourselves for the coming disasters.

2006 Election

While the Senate remains in doubt, the decisive Democrat victory to gain control of the House bodes ominously for the coming years. Democrats, of course, never met a tax they didn't like so whatever savings have been made in the past decade are about to disappear. The economy is presently zipping along, lowest unemployment in modern history, record Dow averages, but all likely to go the way of individual freedoms as we are sure to see loads of legislation designed to "soak the rich" as the Left is fond of saying, but in reality means everyone. Additionally, government programs, bloated as usual will reappear to satisfy the Democrat base, the lazy who see government as the answer to everything and personal responsibility a curse. We'll see how they manage to placate North Korea and Iran, since in the past they have shown no willingness to confront evil. As for terrorism in general, the Left has always viewed it as a law enforcement problem, hence, their greatest concern is to ensure people who cut off heads in the name of god have their rights certified in a court of criminal law. Yes, it looks ominous.

2006 elections

It appears now that the Democrats are likely to acquire control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate following next month's elections. While that bodes omniously for tax relief and security, perhaps it will energize those who truly seek to reform big government and the insidious dependancy it fosters. Much of what is in need of overhaul in the United States can be traced to the pre-WW II programs that saw government as the answer to all problems. Less government is the answer to problems. Getting individuals to accept responsibility for taking care of themselves instead of seeking to place blame on others for their own failings has become a way of life unfortunately. Perhaps a few years of disasterous government intrusion brought by the party of "lets take your money and spend it foolishly on boodoggle programs" will get us back to where we need to be.

First Monday

Today is First Monday, the opening of the new session of the Supreme Court of The United States. It also marks the first full year for the latest appointee, Judge Alito. There are four terrific judges on this Court, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito. Unfortunately, Justice Kennedy now assumes the role of so-called swing vote, and his record is not promising. If only Justice Stevens would retire so we could get a real adherent to the Constitution and not another who thinks he or she knows what's best. Viva Scalia!

recent dust ups

The outcry from the muslim world over Pope Benedict's remarks is exactly the proof that what that philosopher he was quoting said is true. We are told that most muslims are not rioting, that once more the moderate muslim world is peace-loving. Pardon me if their moderation is underwhelming. Islam needs to be open to the kind of criticism that other faiths must endure. Muslims can dish it out but can't take it. Bravo il papa!
As for ex-president Clinton's flare-up on Fox news, it too proves just how the "great communicator" is a congenital liar. Not only is his so-called defense a pack of untruths and misleadings, but again he demonstrates how he resorts to anger and accusations whenever the truth confronts him. Recall his anger and finger-waving while denying any contact with Monica.
Lastly, as for that dwarf Hugo Chavez, his desire to replace the Cuban corpse is so transparent and his vaudeville act at the UN only illustrates how pathetic the socialist left remains. Take away his oil and he is a clown, actually he is a clown even with it

Education Today

Now that the fall semester has begun, I can once again see that today's freshmen are progressively worse in their preparation for college work. Most students are clueless when it comes to what it takes to be self-motivated and serious about intellectual work. High schools continue to foster a dependency that prevents students from developing the necessary skills with which they can succeed in college. Thus too often college work is little more than extended high school. I am still amused at how many students think that "extra credit" is part of college. Discipline is a dirty word to them. It is a dirty word in society at large, I am afraid. We have a culture of victimization that makes true higher education nearly impossible. Everyone believes that he or she is "owed" something, that personal responsibility is ridiculous. Professors who stress it are outmoded, passed over for promotion and even ridiculed. I find it incredulous that colleges even have guidance counselors who promote a high school atmosphere. It is no wonder that America's educational system is a joke. I see little hope for its future.

Now that the DaVinci Code has been in cinemas for over a week, the public has been steadily flocking and so far, making the film a success. Critically it has had less success. The film is rather dull, a bit too long-winded and though still outrageous in its claims and particularly nasty in its biased presentation of Opus Dei, it is probably worth seeing, if only to satisfy curiosity. It is no Passion of the Christ and deserves to be forgotten.

Antonin Scalia

For those interested in both the law and good prose, I urge you to take a close look at the writings of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Not only is he witty, sarcastic and cogent, but his work is also quite scholarly and his lawyerly acumen outstanding. His prose style far outshines that of his Court Colleagues. Read, for example, his parsing of Justice O'Connor's flimsy reasoning in Casey to uphold the right to an abortion. Or take a look at his superior reasoning in Maryland v. Craig if you believe he is simply a right-wing apologist. Justice Scalia has been a refreshing force on the Court and one Justice who has restored this writer's faith in the judiciary.
New York Attorney General recently called Justice Scalia a "strict constructionist" and criticized him for being antirights. Mr. Spitzer should know better. Justice Scalia is an Originalist, not a strict constructionist. The former does not seek to discern original intent when interpreting a Constitutional statute as the latter does. Rather, an Originalist is only concerned with learning what the framers may have thought what they wrote meant when they wrote it, not to try to think as they did. That is what the legislature must do, pass laws, not the judiciary. But Mr. Spitzer seems to have missed the separation of powers part of the Constitution.

The View from Almeria

Let us review. The Vatican's call for a boycott of Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code, while understandable, is misguided. There is no question Dan Brown's novel is replete with mis-information, false accusations, outright lies and a bit of historical truth, this film affords an opportunity for those of us interested in engendering a genuine desire to learn history and separate it from the revisionist tripe that oftem masquerades as fact. Let us see the film and then point out all of its untruths. Perhaps then we will be able to restore something of the value of knowing history.