FISA judges say Bush within law over NSA wiretapping program.

"...the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not override the president's constitutional authority to spy on suspected international agents under executive order."

Cynthia McKinney assaults Capitol Hill policeman.

A spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert was quick to comment on the incident.
"On a day when the Democrats are promoting their national security
agenda, it's probably not a good idea for them to allegedly strike police
officers."

Mike Murphy ends consulting for Romney; will advise McCain & Romney in 2008.

McCain takes a right turn on the road to 2008.;will give the commencement speech at Jerry Falwells' Liberty University.

Andy Card resigns as COS. Josh Bolten will move from OMB to take his place.

Card will be remembered as being one of the most humble, effective,
well-liked Chief of Staffs' in recent history. He is well-known and probably only known to most people for whispering into President Bushs' ear that the US had been attacked while the President was reading to elementary school children. Despite being a player in the WH for Bush41&43,he is a man with no real enemies. I don't think he was the problem with the WH but somebody had to thrown himself on the grenade.I wish Mr.Card all the best and I look forward to reading his memoirs.

UPDATE: ABP has it that Card is actually leaving to work on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Card is a native of Massachusetts.

Check out this new blog covering politics in AL. www.alapolitics.blogspot.com

George Mason University School of Law-where the Right rules. Basketball team ain't half bad either.

Christian teens rally in San Francisco; City passes resolution condemning the "act of provocation" by what it termed an "anti-gay," "anti-choice" organization that aimed to "negatively influence the politics of America's most tolerant and progressive city." (italics added)

So apparently San Francisco is "America's most tolerant and progressive
city." This tolerance seems to stop at the feet of the teens at this rally. Remind me to cancel my trip. Wait, I was never planning a trip.

Stop the ACLU has an interview with Congressman Aderholt about his Constitution Restoration Act.

Abdul Rahman: A Man for all Seasons?
Rahman is an Afghan citizen who faces the death penalty under Sharia law for converting to Christianity. In the words of Tony Blair today:

"This is not a clash between civilizations, it is a clash about
civilization, 'We' is not the West. 'We' are as much Muslim as Christian or Jew or Hindu. 'We' are those who believe in religious tolerance, openness to others, to democracy, liberty and human rights administered by secular courts,"

UPDATE: The case against Rahman has been dismissed.

Feingold takes lead in new DailyKos poll. When only 2% of the libs approve of the job Hillary Clinton is doing while 48% approve of Feingold. I think the question the Dems need to ask is just how far left from the pack have we strayed? I hate to post a link to this site but I think the more people see the modern face of the Democratic party, the better it is for Republicans. The disapproval of Hill C. by the libs is further evidence she is moving toward the political center for 08'.

Record Number of Americans receiving federal aid.
A USA TODAY analysis of 25 major government programs found that enrollment increased an average of 17% in the programs from 2000 to 2005. The nation's population grew 5% during that time. It was the largest five-year expansion of the federal safety net since the Great Society created programs such as Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s.

Maybe Bruce Bartlett is right in his new book Imposter:How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy.Bartlett labels Bush as a shallow opportunist who has cast aside the principles of the "Reagan Revolution" for short-term political gains that may wind up hurting the American economy. A former economist in the Reagan WH, Bartlett points to the new prescription drug bill as an increase in spending that will make tax hikes inevitable. If anything I think it is safe to say that deficit reduction will play a key part in the upcoming elections and benefit deficit hawks like Senator McCain.

Breaking News; George Clooney Outed...as a Liberal.- I am a liberal. And I make no apologies for it. Hell, I'm proud of it....That's one of the things that drew me to making a film about Murrow. When you hear Murrow say, "We mustn't confuse dissent with disloyalty" and "We can't defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home," it's like he's commenting on today's headlines.

George,

Please keep posting and making poor movies and rants on national TV. Remember when you said you refused to campaign with John Kerry b/c you thought it would hurt him on election day? You were right. Anytime you and your left wing, left coast cronies speak your mind it turns into the best advertisement for the Republican party. Number of times McCarthy and Murrow are mentioned=3 (real subtle)Thank you George,Keep up the good work(not your movies,they are terrible) but keep ranting.

I just finished reading "Strategery" by Bill Sammon.
This book goes behind the scenes with Bush/Rove and other high level officials during the 2004 campaign, Hurricane Katrina, SCOTUS appointments,the Arab Street, and daily fights with the MSM. I bought it mainly to go behind the scene with Rove/Bush during the 2004 campaign. Rove and Mehlman don't hold back when discussing their campaign strategy with the author. Reading this book it is apparent that Kerry had an early edge in the polls but his self-destruction enormously helped the Bush campaign gain ground during the campaign.
One thing that stuck out to me is the President's cool demeanor (save the first debate or any number of press conferences). Often Sammon is the only reporter on AF1 or alone with the President, there is never a moment when Bush is out of control or angry, even when flipping a 3k mountain bike or examining the first exit polls in 2004. His cool demeanor is apparent no matter the situation.
What I learned from this book is the hoops that "respected journalists"Mary Mapes and Dan Rather had to go through to put the story now known as "Rathergate" on the air. Included are refusals to air expert objections to the memos, book deals for Bill Burkitt, and collusion with the Kerry campaign.
Strategery (the 3rd in a series) which will remind people of the accomplishments of the Bush administration. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a supporter of the President or to anyone who forgot why they were. I think even most liberals would be surprised at the details included in Strategery.(I can't help but laugh thinking about Will Ferrell as I type this).

Cow in Alabama tests positive for mad-cow disease. Along with the threat of bird flu, where's the good news? Oh yeah, for catfish farmers. Farmers in Alabama sold more than $97 million worth of catfish in 2005.

Arsonists tied to Satanism- While the "all-American college boys" arrested for a series of church arsons claimed they had committed their crimes for the fun of it – with no religious or political motivation – new reports from friends say the students dabbled in the occult and Satanism. Cloyd wrote to Moseley last summer, as the two planned a road trip: "Let us defy the very morals of society instilled upon us by our parents, our relatives and of course Jesus." About the same time, DeBusk and Moseley started dabbling in the occult, according to a report by Religion News Service. DeBusk and Moseley had a darker side, according to friends. They said they claimed to be Satanists, which, they explained, was "not about worshipping the devil, but about the pursuit of knowledge."
Cloyds' Facebook lists his hobbies as:"killing innocent animals, running over squirrels with my 4runner" and "alcoholic libations."Moseley time has betrayed us! It has alotted itself for too much work and not enough libational excursions! Call me mi amor and we shall drink eric robert rudolph back in to hiding!" he wrote on Facebook in September.

Maybe it is just me but I think the fires were more than just a joke. Rolling somebody's yard is a joke. Burning churches not funny.

Results of Hotline Straw Poll at the SRLC. Frist wins, followed by Romney, with McCain and Bush tied for third.

DRUDGE sees McCains' move to write in the Presidents' name as a way to keep the Arizona Senator from being embarassed by the poll. McCain will be able to save face by counting his votes along with all those for President Bush put him near the front of the pack. McCain had asked all voters to write in the President's name as a sign of support. If everyone who voted for Bush would have voted for McCain then he finished second behind local favorite Frist.

WSJ Weekend Interview with Tom Wolfe- on voting for Bush, the subject of his new book ( immigration), and why he chose white.

Southern Republican Leadership Conference will run through the weekend in Memphis, TN. The highlight of the event will be the 2008 straw poll sponsored by Hotline. All the unsual suspects are slated to speak except Chuck Hagel,George Pataki, and Rudy Giuliani who are unable to attend.There is also a small contingent of "Draft Condi" GOPers.

If it were up to me I would make all the 08'candidates sumo wrestle while wearing those big,inflatable suits. Whoever goes undefeated wins the straw poll.I would have definetly paid the $225 fee to see that. My money's would be on McCain arrowly defeating Haley Barbour for the win.

One More Reason we Need the UAE.

-If you look closely, we have troops in Afghanistan& Iraq. We can get access through the UAE,Pakistan, and Kuwait. Congress just did Bush a favor and allowed him to sidestep any criticism over the defeat of the port deal from the UAE and throw the albatross over Congress's neck.

Church Fires

I am sure everybody has seen this so I am not providing a link. This will be mainly opinion anyway. After reading up on the suspects today, I cannot shake the feeling that their actions run deeper than "a joke that got out of hand", as they claimed. There seems to be some accusations that these boys were Satanists. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to reach that conclusion. Sometimes things are exactly how you perceive them. You just don't wake up and decide to burn 9 churches.One reason I know I know I am right is the first thing one of the suspects lawyer said to the media was that "these weren't hate crimes."
I also don't see how buring more churches in West Alabama throws the authorities off your trail. Boy, it is a good thing that they took the same 4Runner to each church.
These churches are located not just in rural areas but rural Alabama. That makes them like double hard to find=These burnings were planned.As much as I dislike hate crime legislation(all crimes are hate crimes) I am reconsidering my stance.
I couldn't even bring myself to bounce a tennis ball off a church,much less break the door down and maliciously set the altar of 9 on fire.
These boys will hopefully have to pay for their actions in this lifetime or in the afterlife.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee targets Harold Ford, D-Tenn. for his lavish lifestyle.A website being launched by the (NRSC) repeatedly refers to the fifth-term congressman, running for the seat being vacated by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), as “Fancy Ford” and includes pictures of expensive restaurants, hotel facilities, cigars, tulips and Playboy bunnies.Other luxurious items attributed to Mr.Ford include an 2.5k Armani suit, an 20k vacation stay at the Biltmore Estate, and an 19k bill for flowers.

Iraq hung 13 insurgents today. Executions were the first since the overthrow of Saddams' dictatorship three years ago. One of those hanged, Shukair Farid, aallegedly confessed that he had worked with Syrian foreign fighters to enlist fellow Iraqis to carry out assassinations against police and civilians. Farid had "confessed that foreigners recruited him to spread the fear through killings and abductions."

I like how they do business. Hopefully they will be able to hang Saddam soon.

"Democrats failing to agree on message for 2006 midterms in spite of Republican faltering." After reading the above article it seems The Onion wasn't too far off with this one. I think it is pretty obvious that the Republicans will lose seats this Fall.

More fun with footnotes. Is Billy Madison primary or secondary authority?

"Moneyball" for law schools.NR article here. George Masons' climb up the US News & World Reports rankings.

Reaganite to run against Hillary.
Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland, a 54-year old mother from Manhattan and the highest-ranking female Pentagon official in the Reagan administration already has her own website. see preview of announcement.

SCOTUS rules 8-0 that colleges that accept federal money must allow military recruiters on campus. Alito abstained b/c he was not yet confirmed when the case was argued in December.

A Clinton divided against itself cannot stand ???
Bill defends the deal and tries to hook Joe Lockhart up with a job working for them and Hil attempts to boost her stance on Homeland Security. First off,I think the deal wasn't handled correctly; we(American people) should have been notified earlier (and I cannot believe I am saying this) but Congress should have been let in on it.
The Clintons divide is similar to the Dems in general, eager to outflank Bush and the Republicans on homeland security for the midterms or support an ally in the Middle East. Bill made his choice. What will Hillary do??

Senate passes Bill HR3199 (The Patriot Act) 89-10.

Will someone finally tell Harry Reid that he "did not kill the Patriot Act."

Payne campaign received only $250 from District 31 according to latest finance report. The rest, ~60k, came from MontgomeryPACs and Democrats outside the district. Only 3/10 of one percent of the itemized money raised by Payne came from within his district.
Mask raised more than $13,100 in contributions from residents within District 31.

West Wing Alumni to reunite for final episodes. Rob Lowe will return as Sam Seaborn for the final two episodes. Also reprising their roles with appearances in one or more of the drama's final five episodes are Mary-Louise Parker, Anna Deavere Smith, Emily Procter, Marlee Matlin, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson, Timothy Busfield and Annabeth Gish. (characters: Amy Gardner,Nancy McNally, Ainsley Hayes, Joey Lucas, VP Russell, VP Hoynes, Danny, and Liz Bartlett respectively. As I have posted before I love the show, just not the liberal slant. It is time to end it though.

Mask is House District 31 Winner
Despite being outspent, sources say Republican Barry Mask garnered 59% of the vote to defeat Democratic opponent and Tallasee mayor Bobby Payne in a special election to replace Jack Venable who passed away on 11/18/05 and held the seat for 32 years.
Good news for Republican candidates as they attempt to gain a substantial number of seats in the House and Senate. Polls from a few weeks back showed Mask leading by 10 points winning 55-45. Whatever the Mask campaign did since then worked wonders.
Barry Mask will be officially sworn in on Tuesday.