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Political Talking Head Triteness
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER One Last Thing: Voting lines lead right to superdelegates By Jonathan V. Last Inquirer Opinion Columnist Full article Jonathan Last Phila. Inquirer Excerpts: Let's begin with one paramount fact: The superdelegates will determine the Democratic nomination. Neither candidate will capture enough pledged delegates to win without them. The contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will not be settled by purely democratic means. The common misconception is that superdelegates are basically like jurors: They listen to each side's case and then apply a specific set of instructions and a strict legal framework to make their evaluation. But superdelegates don't work that way. They're more like the College of Cardinals: They decide by feeling their way through moral and political, not legal, claims. And as in electing a pope, there is no right or wrong. At some point the superdelegates will send up the white smoke, and their decision will be, by definition, legitimate. So instead of debating the "legitimacy" of their decision, it's more useful to ask how they'll do the deciding. TOWNHALL.COM When In Pain, Find Someone to Blame: NAFTA! By Terry Paulson Thursday, April 24, 2008 Full article Terry Paulson Townhouse.com Excerpts: It’s an election year again, and protectionist policies are again being played to a populist drumbeat in Democrat primaries. Facing difficult economic times and a painful housing market downturn, too many Americans are taking the wrong lessons. NAFTA is not the problem! America has been getting a wakeup call from the world, but far too many are whining and clamoring for more government support instead of responding to the challenge. Many feel that they are entitled to a good standard of living, increasing salaries and increasing benefits. Most workers thought they could learn a skill, find a comfortable career, and work comfortably into retirement. Unfortunately, the world has changed, and too many Americans are desperately trying to hold on to jobs that are rapidly becoming unnecessary. For the first time in history, anything can be made almost anywhere and sold everywhere. Talented and motivated workforces in India, South Korea and China are just a mouse-click away! These changes aren’t just taking American jobs; they’re also creating jobs. Most of those foreign workers are using American software. Most are drinking Cokes. They watch our TV shows, and they want the brands that we have. As other countries become more successful, they can afford to buy more American goods and services. The weakening dollar has already accelerated our export numbers. StarTribune.com Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota By KATHERINE KERSTEN, Star Tribune Last update: April 9, 2008 - 12:45 PM Full article Katherine Kersten Star Tribune Excerpts: Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion. Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers. TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The building also houses a mosque. TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief. Wall Street Journal Small Victories for Tort Reform By JOHN STOSSEL April 4, 2008; Page A12 Full article: John Stossel Wall Street Journal Excerpts: Foes of lawsuit abuse have been writing gleefully about the fall of Dickie Scruggs, Bill Lerach and Melvyn Weiss. All three lawyers are likely to spend time in jail for plotting to bribe a judge (Scruggs) or paying kickbacks (Lerach and Weiss). Good riddance. Locking them up will stop them from further damaging America – at least for a few years. But it's a small victory for reformers. GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAII Congressional Hypocrisy on School Choice By Evan Feinberg April 2, 2008 Full article Evan Feinberg Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Excerpts: In his final State of the Union Address, President Bush called on Congress to rescue disadvantaged children from failing public schools. Unfortunately, most politicians on Capitol Hill continue to deny poor children the same opportunities they support for college students and, most importantly, their own children. President Bush proposed the "Pell Grants for Kids" initiative to give low-income children the same thing that college students get - federal scholarships to attend a school of their choosing. He also highlighted the success of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which has helped thousands of low-income kids escape failing schools in the nation’s capital. When it comes to higher education, nearly everyone supports boosting scholarship options. Through the federal Pell Grant program, 5.3 million students last year received need-based scholarships totaling $14 billion for college tuition, fees, and other expenses. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle regularly champion efforts to boost funding for the program. MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE By NEIL H. SIMON, Media General News Service March 27 2008 Full article Neil H. Simon Excerpts: WASHINGTON-The 2009 federal budget will include funding for some strange animals if one Virginia lawmaker has his way. Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from southwest Virginia, has requested $744,325 to study the horseshoe crab and $250,000 for hair sheep - a unique bread of short-haired sheep that does not require shearing. Both requests would go to Virginia Tech, which already has efforts to establish a "hair sheep research center" to study the genetics of the sheep and improve the animal's resistance to parasites, and get more people to buy the lamb's meat. ###
Vice Chairman Honored for Contributions, Service Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 27, 2007 – Cannons boomed, honor guards marched -- their multicolored flags rippling in the wind -- and a Macaw parrot made a surprise appearance today as defense, military and U.S. leaders gathered here to honor the retiring vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Peter Pace salute as part of Giambastiani’s retirement ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., July 27, 2007. After graduating from the Naval Academy with leadership distinction in 1970, Giambastiani rose to become the seventh vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Pageantry reigned at today’s ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy for Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, who retired after 37 years of commissioned service. Hosted by Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the event attracted a virtual “Who’s Who” of well-wishers who feted Giambastiani and honored his service and contributions. Among them were Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, national security advisor Stephen Hadley, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant commanders from around the world, and foreign ambassadors. Pace led the four speakers who took the podium in the “yard” of the Naval Academy -- where not only Giambastiani, but also his late brother Chick and his son Pete earned their Navy commissions -- to praise his vice chairman. But before uttering a single accolade, Pace let it be known that “if you put together all that we say (about Giambastiani), we still will have only scratched the surface.” Political Pace said he took great confidence knowing that he could always turn to Giambastiani to do the hard jobs and that he could always count on him for straight-forward, clear-sighted guidance. “It has been a blessing to know that no matter how short a timeline I gave you or how short the notice, that if I turned to you and said, ‘Ed, could you do this?”… you never blinked, (and) you always did it with a smile on your face,” Pace said. “You always made me feel that whatever I had just dumped on you was a privilege for you to receive,” he added, drawing laughter from the crowd. Pace said he most valued the counsel Giambastiani offered him. “You always looked me in the eye and told me what you believed, what should be done next and how it should be done,” he said. “To have you side by side … (and) to know that your brain and your energy has been available to this country has been a blessing.” Political Cheney praised Pace and Giambastiani as “a remarkable team” that has given the Defense Department and the nation “extraordinary leadership and accomplishment.” He called Giambastiani “a man of ability, a man of discernment and a man of character” who could be counted on “time and time again to accept the most demanding assignments.” Cheney noted some of those assignments: commanding a nuclear-powered deep-research submarine, a fast-attack sub, a submarine-development squadron, and the Atlantic submarine fleet. “In every station, he excelled, bringing competence, reliability, courage and something more,” the vice president said. But Cheney had special praise for Giambastiani’s ability to look ahead, recognize what’s needed and help forge the path to getting there. “This is a man who gets to where he is going by virtue of perseverance and clear-focused thinking,” the vice president said. He pointed to Giambastiani’s insight in leading transformation as commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command and NATO’s first supreme allied commander for transformation. From there, he went on to serve as vice chairman, leading the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and “making the decisions that design the armed forces of the future.” Political “Ed Giambastiani stands out as a visionary and a strategic thinker of the first order,” Cheney said. Gates offered high praise for Giambastiani’s professionalism, remembering back to the days when they served together at the Central Intelligence Agency “in the middle of a virtual intelligence war.” He noted the direct impact Giambastiani has had on men and women and uniform. At Joint Forces Command, he worked closely with Army Gen. Tommy Franks, former commander of U.S. Central Command, and his successors to convert battlefield information into lessons learned “with unprecedented speed,” Gates said. But Giambastiani did more than get lessons learned to troops on the battlefield, he said. Leading the JROC committee, he “did an outstanding job of getting vital equipment to those on the front lines quickly,” Gates said. Political England, who worked closely with Giambastiani in “running the business of business” within the Defense Department, gave the most personal sendoff at today’s ceremony. Noting their strong friendship and the mutual respect they share, England called Giambastiani a smart, ethical, diplomatic leader who understands technology and defense programs as well as Pentagon and Washington, D.C., dynamics. “And I am going to miss you in all those situations -- but I am really going to miss you at congressional hearings!” he joked. England said he and Giambastiani laugh together all the time. “We share a philosophy that no matter how hard you work and no matter how hard the problem, you can have fun doing it,” he said. Part of that fun includes a story the two have shared for the past two years about a parrot, England said. In what he acknowledged was an unusual twist during a solemn retirement ceremony, England presented Giambastiani with his own Macaw parrot, “Sweetie Pie.” England closed his remarks with Morse code, a throwback to his and Giambastiani’s earlier days as Ham radio operators. To those in the crowd who don’t know Morse code, England read aloud his thanks to the Giambastianis for their service and his wish that the future holds fair winds and following seas. “Today, their fantastic voyage is not ending,” England concluded. “Rather, it is only tacking onto a new course as they run with the wind in the years ahead.” ### If you watch political television shows regularly as we do, it is difficult not to hear the constant drumbeat of pundit cliches slowly etch themselves into your brain. We’ll show you what we mean, by setting up a mock TV talk show. Following is a list of tonights political panelists on the Sox News Network: Red Pharmes, Kort Protaki, Keeri ‘a Illaison, with tonights special guest Detective Shark Merman, and your host Kit Fume. Kit begins the questioning. Kit: What did you think of Jon Birtha’s bringing to the table, the idea of pulling the troops out of Iraq, immediately? Red: Look! I may be going down a slippery slope here, but he has a lot on his plate. I think he’s making a big political mistake. Having said that, he certainly has the support of the liberal wing of the party. Kit: Kort, do you think this cut and run policy as Republicans are calling it, will hurt Democrats in the long run. Kort: Look! I’m not sure, but what I can tell you, is I don’t think it would be a smart political move for the Democrats to have all their ducks in a row. Having said that, the polls show, it might be a winning strategy. Kit: Let’s segue over to Keeri ‘a, and get her take on it. Keeri ‘a: Look! From the Democrats standpoint this may be a smart move. Putting that aside, however they might not be thinking outside the box. A case in point: The Republicans may be able to use Birtha’s service record against him. Kit: O K, moving on. What’s the latest in the Puke rape case? We have a special guest with us tonight, Sox News contributor and former detective Shark Merman to sort it all out for us. Welcome Shark. Shark: Good evening Kit. Kit: So Shark, what are we to make of these latest revelations suggesting the District Attorney doesn’t have any definitive evidence concerning the girl’s allegations. Help me out here. How can the Grand Jury indict these twenty young men? Shark: Great question. Look! You know as well as I do in today’s legal system , you can indict a ham sandwich. Red: But Shark, Look! Putting that aside for the moment, the bottom line is, the boys futures are at stake here. No telling how these delays might affect them. Shark: Look! Red, I agree but that being said, the District Attorney must have something of a political nature up his sleeve, otherwise, at this point in time, he’s going to look foolish. Kort: Look! Be that as it may, the accuser’s girlfriend, as it were, said she didn’t see any evidence of a rape. Keeri’a: Look! If you will, I think in order for the District Attorney to get any mileage out of this case, he’s going to have to raise the bar, no pun intended. Shark: Look! I agree, but what can I tell you. To stay ahead of the curve, he may have to take all the charges off the table. Kit: Look! Damn, now they’ve got me saying it. Well panel I submit that’s all the time we have. I’d like to thank our special guest Shark Merman for his thoughtful insight. So to all of you from all of us, or all of them to all of you, whatever, at Sox news, goodnight. Pause: Kit: Are we off? Engineer: Yeah! Kort: Shark, is it really true, you can indict a ham sandwich? Political Talking Head Triteness To Editorials
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