Filling Robert Byrd's Seat

National Journal "WV law gives Gov. Joe Manchin (D) the power to appoint Byrd's replacement. If a vacancy occurs within 2 and a half years of the beginning of the next term, the governor appoints a replacement until that next election. But state law says an election must be called if a vacancy occurs more than 2 and a half years before a term expires. Byrd's term would have had 2 and a half years left as of next week -- July 3."  Uh, OK.

Are we ready for a cyber-Pearl Harbor?

Washington Examiner "Congress is, at least, making a serious effort at dealing with cybersecurity. Lawmakers need to keep working till they get it right. We will have to live with the consequences of the law for a very long time. And we deserve a cure that isn't worse than the disease." James Carafano

Will Elena Kagan Defend the Rule of Law?

Heritage "Kagan even suggested that nominees with thin records (and Kagan’s record can definitely be considered “thin,” since she has no judicial experience, few academic writings, and virtually no litigation experience prior to her current post as Solicitor General), should face a heavier burden when answering senators’ questions. So what “substantive issues” should senators press Kagan on to see how her “theory works in practice”?"...

A few 'vapid' questions for Elena Kagan

George Will "If Congress concludes that ignorance has a substantial impact on interstate commerce, can it constitutionally require students to do three hours of homework nightly? If not, why not?
-- Can you name a human endeavor that Congress cannot regulate on the pretense that the endeavor affects interstate commerce? If courts reflexively defer to that congressional pretense, in what sense do we have limited government? "
These were just two from the article; wait'll you read the entire thing. This may be the most linked to article today, so why shouldn't we as well?

Key Questions for Elena Kagan "These are but a few of the questions that must be answered, and answered fully, in order for Senators to assess whether Elena Kagan can put aside her personal preferences, apply the law as it is written, and dispense justice without regard to the parties before her. Kagan was correct in suggesting that the burden is heavier when a nominee comes before the Judiciary Committee with a less substantial paper trail. The Senate must hold her to that burden and demand genuine answers." Heritage.

Obama fills oil drilling panel with opponents of offshore exploration

Detroit News "So the appointment of a high-level presidential panel to help set future drilling policy is welcome -- as long as that group is basing its work on solid science and not ideology.
"Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of technological expertise on the panel appointed by President Barack Obama. Instead, it is filled largely with members who come out of the environmental movement, many of whom have expressed opposition to offshore drilling. The panel includes no members from the oil industry, which could bring valuable expertise to the discussion as well as better insight into the economic impact of policy proposals."
America's rivals around the world must love this guy.

Want to protect the poor? Then give them jobs

UK Telegraph "The tragic inevitability of government intervention is that when you create a permanent agency to deal with a problem it has an inherent tendency to make the problem itself permanent."

When Lame Ducks Bite

Townhall   "Politico’s Mike Allen recently reported that The White House plans to schedule the Senate-House conference on a cap ‘n trade bill for after the upcoming elections “so House members don’t have to take another tough vote ahead of midterms.” And just last week, Democratic Senator Tom Harkin suggested the same technique might work to pass the unpopular card check legislation, noting that “[a] lot of things can happen in a lame-duck session.” "
 Carol Platt Liebau is an attorney, political commentator and guest radio talk show host based near Los Angeles.

Being Strangled By Government

Star Parker "Needless to say, all of this would be just fine if there was a shred of evidence that government spending us into oblivion made us better off. Not only is there no such evidence, but the proof in the pudding is the opposite.
"Look around the world. The economies that are the most free are the ones that are the most prosperous. Those with the largest encroachments of government are the ones that perform the worst.
"A study released a few weeks ago by three professors at Harvard Business School boldly challenged common perceptions about the benefits of government spending." Here also: "Watch the deteriorating transformation of the U.S. economy from January 2007 — approximately one year before the start of the recession — to the most recent unemployment data available today." LaToya Egwuekwe

I'M VOTING SMARTASS IN 2010  "...But back to Biden's recovery tour: Biden shows up to a custard shop in Greenfield, Wisconsin. This is where he encounters the owner of Kopp's Custard and we get the following exchange:"...

The Third Depression  "We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost — to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs — will nonetheless be immense. " PAUL KRUGMAN. Via Drudge

Neal Boortz on FINANCIAL REFORM  "Oddly enough, what Obama fails to realize is that businesses do not pay taxes; they collect taxes from their customers and pass them on. That .15% tax will be a tax on the people doing business with that bank. Oh .. and how long before it is increased, and how high will it go? Therefore, Obama is going to "recover" taxpayer money by raising taxes on businesses that will then pass along those increases to the consumer. Amazing how that happens and how easy it is to understand! It makes me wonder what a little logic in Washington could do for this country."   

The Rev. Wright Race-Baiter: “White folk done took this country”

Weasel Zippers "You have to read it to believe it."...

Obama's race-rant Rev. rages on "The civil-rights movement, Wright said, was never about racial equality: "It was always about becoming white . . . to master what [they] do." Martin Luther King, he said, was misguided for advocating nonviolence among his people, "born in the oven of America."

Democratic-Media Complex Comes Under Attack After Weigel Kerfuffle

Gateway Pundit "On Friday it was discovered that Dave Weigel, The Washington Post’s contributor on conservative issues, was also a member of “Journolist”, an exclusive leftist email list-serv. Weigel resigned from The Washington Post after his association with this far left group that frames the talking points and steers the message of the democratic-media complex was revealed."

Weigel Not Alone: For Rank Partisanship, Consider NYT’s Gail Collins  "This morning I stumbled on a Times piece when a friend posted it on Facebook. The title alone caught my attention because it was so unbelievable, “The Age of Nancy.” Writer Collins wrote an unabashed anthem to Nancy Pelosi that was filled with talking points straight from Nancy’s staff –"

On Networks, 'Controversial' Law Means Conservative Law   "By comparison, the networks branded few liberal laws as controversial. The recent health care reform law, which 55 percent of likely voters would like to see repealed, wasn’t labeled “controversial” once. Neither was the auto bailout package, which 53 percent of Americans believe was a bad idea. The only two liberal laws described as controversial in the transcripts were Oregon’s assisted suicide policy, which ABC’s “World News Tonight,” called controversial on Oct. 5, 2005, and a California law requiring serial numbers on bullets, which ABC’s “World News Sunday” called controversial on Oct. 14, 2007."
"Other conservative laws deemed controversial by the media included No Child Left Behind, a law banning partial-birth abortion and a law allowing oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

Cartoon from World Magazine

Obama and the Woes of the Democrats

Karl Rove "It has taken a year and a half of bad policies to put Mr. Obama and Congressional Democrats in their precarious position. As voters hold them accountable for misdeeds, mistakes and misjudgments, Democrats will endure a beating this year they are not likely to forget soon."
The fear is that predictions such as this will set Democrats up for a moral victory if any Conservative wins by less than a landslide. Picture the headline: "Republican wins, but only by five points!"