Monday, August 30, 2004Opening Night at the RNCOverture I heard that the Democrats have a “Truth” Squad watching over this convention and that Senator Hillary Clinton is a leading member of it. Somehow my feeble mind just doesn’t go to a word association that joins truth and the name Clinton together. Perhaps they should have called her a gatekeeper instead. Now “gate” I can associate with Hillary. Travelgate, Chinagate, Whitewatergate. Meow. Act One The curtain goes up with a thirteen year old from the swing state of Michigan doing her best to sing the National Anthem which is one of the hardest songs to sing and too much to ask of most thirteen year old voices, hers included but she gave it a great try. Guess that was the demonstration of the family values thing. The invocation from the Muslim Imam was a nice little inclusive touch. A medley of Broadway tunes ending with “On with the Show” was very apropos and honest. Ron Silver gave a good speech from the perspective of a 9/11 Democrat who is now supporting President Bush. Ron is not the usual actor. He holds a Master’s Degree in Chinese History. He is unlike most of the Hollywood intellectuals who never finished high school or dropped out of college but feel sufficiently qualified in their political analysis to attempt to educate the rest of us. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. John McCain flipped a coin and decided he was a Republican today. He has been out stumping for the President for quite sometime now despite his friendship with John Kerry. What does that tell you about Kerry? The Maverick McCain is a media darling, at least he was before tonight’s speaking engagement. John’s speech was one of his best ones. The theme was “Rendezvous with Destiny” and the need to fight, (yes fight as in kill not appease) the evil in the world. I’m sure Michael Moore (who was hired to cover the convention for US Today) was gagging. (Memo to subscribers: cancel that subscription.) The sucker punch came with his comment about a “disingenuous filmmaker” who would have us believe’….the crowd went nuts booing Moore and chanting four more years. Pan camera to Moore who takes a bow. At least the moron acknowledges he is a disingenuous filmmaker. Given the time John McCain spent as a POW, it would be difficult to believe that he would support a war of any kind but he does support both wars we have fought under this Commander in Chief as wars that had to be fought not wars that we wanted to fight. Three family members of victims of 9/11 did a tear-jerking segment following Senator McCain speaking with courage and conviction. This was followed with a moment of prayer not silence and a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace. Rudy Giuliani spoke about the need for clear leadership in this dangerous world. He held out the olive branch saying that neither party has a monopoly on virtue and that Democrats are not always wrong-just most of the time. He talked about how glad he was on 9/11 that President Bush was President at the time. He chronicled terrorist attacks and the failure of accommodation and appeasement. Rudy was the only speaker that brought up Mr. Kerry’s inconsistencies but did it with a sense of humor. He then said that Kerry’s flip-flops explain why John Edwards sees two America’s. Hey, New York is a rough town. You gotta be tough to play in that league. Rudy gave a great speech, he’s primed and ready for 2008. All in all it was a very positive opening night with little Dem bashing. Tomorrow, Act Two. posted @ 08:37 PM MST [link] [Karma: 3 (+/-)] Convention Corner It's here! The Republican Convention starts tonight. It will be interesting to see what this party is able to do with it's millions of taxpayer dollars to showcase itself. Tune in tomorrow. posted @ 04:18 AM MST [link] [Karma: 4 (+/-)] Friday, August 20, 2004Heating UpWell the good Senator Kerry finally acknowledged the controversy that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have been talking about for weeks and the NYT finally puts something about it in print. The Kerry counter to these allegations is to "Blame Bush” and the NYT does just that along with the entire vast right wing conspiracy. Two interesting posts prompted me to put down my book and comment today. The first one I saw out on Jen Martinez's blog that she picked up from the Washington Times yesterday about a new and improved Silver Star Citation and the second is from Front Page Magazine that questions Mr. Kerry's DD214. Here's a link to the Kerry Website that lists his military records so you can check it out yourself. I would love to see a ton a hits on this page to add to the angst of the Kerry campaign. Back to my books. posted @ 05:12 AM MST [link] [Karma: -41 (+/-)] Tuesday, August 17, 2004VacationI am resting up for the Republican Convention and taking some time off. I have several books I've started that I want to finish and a long list of those I haven't even started yet. So it's couch potato time curled up with a good book for this kid. posted @ 02:56 AM MST [link] [Karma: 9 (+/-)] Friday, August 13, 2004News FlashAn elected Democrat is involved in scandalous behavior and an adulterous affair. This is news? I thought it had become vogue since the last Commander in Cheat was given a pass. If Jersey wasn't on the target list for the Osama crowd, it may even be funny. Since it is, it's just plain disgusting. If you have no clue what this post is about, go here. Have a great weekend. posted @ 03:35 AM MST [link] [Karma: 13 (+/-)] Tuesday, August 10, 2004Is the Ship Talking on Water?When John Kerry reported for duty last month at the Democratic Convention, he had already taken on the role of Commander in Chief of the Anybody But Bush crowd. These rabid, gung ho troops were willing to back anyone, regardless of their lack of character and values, which they thought could weather the storm and sail them into the safe harbor of the White House as Bill Clinton had done previously. Like it or not Howard Dean, this nation is at war and what is needed most is a strong, wartime President that the American people can trust. John Kerry said “Help is on the way” and the troops rallied. They had a decorated war hero to challenge the sitting President they so despised. Never mind that whispers, murmurs, and questions about this decorated war hero’s past behaviors might swell like a rogue wave and take this ship off course. We have Special Forces on board from the judicial system that will help calm the rough waters and suppress this turbulence. We have a decorated war hero at the helm. But look, on the horizon, dead ahead, another swift Band of Brothers is attempting a blockade. It’s time to batten down the hatches until we regain our bearings. The media is starting to ask questions. Tell us again about “Christmas in Cambodia.” “War Crimes and atrocities you committed?” Start pumping the bilge, they're swamping the ship! Questions are being raised about the seaworthiness of this ship. Which group of these opposing veterans will be the Stand-On-Vessel? Will Mr. Kerry’s run for the Presidency be as short as his tour of duty in country? Will this ship capsize in the storm? Or will Mr. Kerry be relieve of command and shown the gangplank? Tune in tomorrow for the continuing story of John Kerry's “Love Boat” running aground on to “Gilligan’s Island” but I’m holding out for “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" as the final episode. posted @ 05:27 AM MST [link] [Karma: 2 (+/-)] Monday, August 9, 2004Nobody says it better.Mark Steyn cuts to the chase and lays it all out as only he can do. And this gem from Robert Novak is another must read. Didn't win the lottery, so I am off to work. posted @ 04:52 AM MST [link] [Karma: 9 (+/-)] Friday, August 6, 2004The Controversy ContinuesI saw the Swift Boat Veterans ad and it is really powerful. Blackfive has an interesting transcript of a CNN interview on his site , that is worth the read. You'll find some other interesting comments here also. Considering Mr. Kerry's behavior after the War, I can't help but think they brought all this on themselves by making his decorated war hero status the centerpiece of the convention. If we elected Presidents based on the service medals they were awarded, President Bob Dole would have had a landslide over Clinton. He didn't, because we don't. The rebuttal from the Kerry camp is that none of these Swift Boat Veterans for Truth actually served on John Kerry's boat. Jim Rassmann, who credits Kerry with saving his life, didn't serve on Kerry's boat either. He was a Special Ops Officer hitching a ride on Kerry's boat when he fell into the water. Does that make what Mr. Rassmann said less credible because he didn't serve under Mr. Kerry? These boats don't go it alone, they travel together and a lot of these men were all part of the same group, operating together on joint patrols. It should be noted that most of the men who served under John Kerry do support him. So I have a question for them. Mr. Kerry stated in the past that he participated in the same atrocities that he listed under oath to the Senate in 1971 calling them War Crimes. Did you participate in War Crimes also? If not, how did you avoid it since you operate as a crew? Is Mr. Kerry lying now or was he lying before? The answers to these questions goes to character. Something that became important to the American voter after eight years of the Clinton Adminstration. I can't believe the Kerry campaign chose to make his service the centerpiece of his campaign but if all you have to showcase is your medals or your voting record, I understand why they chose the medals. Maybe a better centerpiece would be that he is able to marry really rich women. There's no denying that one. posted @ 05:31 AM MST [link] [Karma: 4 (+/-)] Wednesday, August 4, 2004Fox News Bats a Double Last NightIf you didn't see the interview of Gen. Tommy Franks on Hannity and Colmes last night, here is the link to the video it's worth listening to. Part Two of the interview will be aired tonight. The video of O'Reilly's interview with Laura Bush is another one you should watch. The link is the same. She is such a class act, just what a First Lady should be. President Bush is winning the bobblehead election. Newsday has the scoop. posted @ 04:45 AM MST [link] [Karma: 13 (+/-)] Sunday, August 1, 2004The Healthcare Crisis in this CountryI have to admit upfront that I have a personal bias on this subject because of my last twenty years of experience in the Healthcare system from the trenches of being a staff nurse to the Administrator of outpatient surgery centers. But I think I may have the answer as to how to control health care costs or at least have them level out. The current Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States is a trial lawyer turned politician. Pardon the cynical side of me, but I see this as a natural progressive degenerative disorder infecting most of DC. Having raped the healthcare system to attain a personal fortune worth about $70 million dollars, multiply this figure by the number of trial lawyers specializing in Personal Injury and now you know why an aspirin costs $10 at a hospital. Factor in a small percentage of actually incompetent practitioners of healthcare who deserve to be sued and your aspirin is up to $15 to cover the exorbitant cost of malpractice insurance. Here’s my prescription: 1. Eliminate trial lawyer contingency fees under existing laws prohibiting gambling and usury. I think everyone would consider a 33% cut loan sharking and certainly not usual and customary in any other business. Guido would probably be able to make you a better deal. 2. Set up a government agency that provides Legal Insurance. Legal representation should be the right of every American whether they can afford it or not. Make sure that the government agency sets ridiculously low reimbursement rates to attorneys for their services and tell them that the quantity of referrals will make up for the low reimbursements. This will spawn a number of private Legal Insurance Companies that will use the Federal Legal Insurance Rates as the absolute maximum reimbursement. 3. Enact stiff penalties for using any attorney that is not in the provider network. This forces the attorneys to become in network providers by limiting their access to potential clients. 4. Drill into the heads of every plaintiff that despite the careful explanation of complications that was fully explained to them that may arise, if the outcome isn’t what you expected-sue, sue, sue. You were told you had a good case. If it didn’t yield the settlement you expected, the attorney must be incompetent. 5. Set a ridiculously low co-pay amount that the policy holder will have pay and make sure that even a panhandler can come up with the fee. This will allow booking of appointments for the most trivial matters. Encourage them to make sure they check with their lawyer before any decisions are made. 6. Courts and Clerk and Recording Offices would require the attorney carry malpractice insurance to practice or do business with them with a minimum of $1 million/incident and $5 million/aggregate coverage. When going from one malpractice insurance company to another for better rates, the company the attorney is leaving will require them to buy a “tail” which is extended coverage to cover any lawsuits not filed against them at the time the policy ended but may be filed in the future. The new company will require proof that this tail has been purchased before issuing a new policy. Sit back and watch health care costs level out and then decline. Crisis over. posted @ 04:49 AM MST [link] [Karma: 4 (+/-)] |
Here: Blog Archives About Me There: Old Site Archive Other Links Menopausal Screeds Links: Favorite Blogs:  Andrew Sullivan Blackfive Chief Wiggles Eject Eject Eject Electric Venom Instapundit Jennifer Martinez O'Hara Factor Rings of Benzene Useful Fools USS Clueless Vodkapundit Vox Zonitics Favorite Iraqi/Middle Eastern Blogs: Land of Pharaohs Hammorabi Iraq the Model Mesopotamian Favorite authors who actually make a living at it: Ann Coulter Ben Shapiro Charles Krauthammer Dave Barry George Will James Lileks Hugh Hewitt Jonah Goldberg Mark Steyn Michelle Malkan Oliver North Peggy Noonan Rich Galen Rich Lowry Susan Estrich Thomas Sowell |