Technicalities

Wonder What This Means

So, the way the game works in our presidential races (mostly). You go head to head with people in your party, you do primaries etc. Then you go to the convention and get yourself nominated when you've won enough delegates. So, what the hell does THIS mean???

Kerry May Delay Accepting Nomination

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that the presumptive Democratic nominee is considering delaying the acceptance of the nomination in a move that would allow Kerry to spend more money in his presidential bid against George W. Bush.

Of course it's about the money...

Federal campaign finance rules allow candidates to spend $75 million once they are the official nominee, but Bush will not accept the nomination until five weeks after Kerry, giving him five extra weeks to spend primary campaign cash.

So, there you have it folks - in an effort to circumvent the campaign finance rules, there may be a non-nominational Democratic Convention.

What morons these people are!!! They all knew the rules when they set up the convention times. It's not like it was a surprise or anything. So, basically what they are saying is - hey we don't like the rules the way they are, it goes against our interests, so lets just get around them. Are we surprised? Remember those who don't want to follow the rules in the little things - seem to think they don't have to follow the rules in the big things either. (after all I do know that bending this rule is not the end of the world - I simply think it's a terribly bad precedent)

Why didn't they make their convention later in the Summer? I didn't know there was a rule that said the Dems have to have their convention 5 weeks before the Republicans. I do know why they are saying this now though, so Kerry has a chance to see the polls before he decides what he wants to do. We don't expect him to change his ways at this late date now do we???

The Surreal World of Chicago Politicians

Ah Chicago politicians, they have such a unique view of the world.

Via Eugene Volokh and Clayton Cramer we are treated to the delightful story of South Side Alderman Arenda Troutman. Apparently the Alderman has been the victim of some recent burglaries. Resulting in her request for...

A South Side alderman insisted Wednesday that she is entitled to have a squad car parked outside her home on weekends because she was the victim of two recent burglaries.

So, let's get this straight, the Alderman feels she is entitled to 24/7 personal police protection. Matt over at Stop the Bleating has a legalistic take on this that I quite agree with. Among some of the things he has to say

When they are entitled to privileges that the average citizen isn't, it creates a disconnect between the People and the government that, I think, can't be good.

However, apart from the legal aspects and the fact that the average citizen can not get this level of service for themselves, I believe there are a few questions that the Alderman really should answer.

1) How long do you require this type of police service at your home? A day? A week? A month? A year? Durning the rest of the time you hold office? Until you move away from the area? For the rest of your life?

There are no defined parameters here. Will there be a time when the threat ceases to exist? How will we know?

2) To what other citizens should this same level of protection be provided? Elected officials only? Those who have had a certain number of break-ins? Those at a certain income level? Those who live in select areas?

3) Who is going to pay for this extra protection? According to the article it would cost $366/day for a first year cop for a single day. Do the tax payers just eat this? Will more officers need to be hired to provide this service? Is there money in the budget for this? Will you raise taxes for it?

Not to mention the salient fact that if a cop is stationed at her house, he can't be doing his job elsewhere in his precinct. So, we must then ask...

4) Is the Alderman's request going to put other people in the area in danger of more crime because the bad guys know that the cops are sitting over at her place?

If I lived on her street, I might be pretty happy to see a cop sitting around keeping away the bad guys, but what about the people in the next block or so? If it was me, I'd be a little peaved, to say the least!

Now if there was some sort of evidence that she was being targetted because she is an Alderman and is being intimidated, I would have no problem with extra police protection. But, in this instance, it looks as if she is a victim of burglaries that are an ongoing problem in her area.

Let us leave this topic on an even more amusing note. Here is her quote when asked if she deserved special police protection.

"Deserve it? Damn right," she said. "I should receive the protection I am receiving. I am an elected official. You're darn right."

I just get such a kick out of the Chicago politicians!

*** Joining the OTB Traffic Jam

Decisions.... um yeah decisions

Over at Instapundit, Glenn was finding a strange bit in this article on John Kerry.

One Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a group supporting Kerry's candidacy recently convened a focus group in Ohio and the participants literally sat on the edge of their seats as the group ran test ads explaining the senator's background.

"Outside Iowa and New Hampshire, some people don't even know he was a veteran," the Democrat said of Kerry, a decorated combat veteran in the Vietnam War.

Hmm - I don't know if I find this strange, but I do think it might be a wake up call to CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS (MSNBC and FOX have too small an audience), but hey guys, look at this - NO ONE is listening to you! This is especially funny when you realize how very hard they've been pushing Kerry. And yet the only people who know about his Vietnam service are those from Iowa, New Hampshire, and the blogosphere. Lovely!

But what REALLY caught my eye in this article

Another Democrat with long experience in dealing with Kerry said, "He's never in his life made an important decision before the 11th hour and 59th minute.

This is about the scariest thing you could think of in a President. I know they're talking VP candidate in this case, but go back and read that again.

"He's never in his life made an important decision before the 11th hour and 59th minute.

Do you want a President - any President - sitting on the hot seat during a crisis situation, and asking "How long do we have before I have to decide?"

The 9/11 Circus Commission

Ah the 9/11 Commission, that bi-partisan group of people who are only trying to figure out what went wrong... heh! Today was the BIG day. Bush and Cheney sat down with the commission in private to chat about what they knew when and why they weren't clairvoyant enough to "know" about the planned attacks. Important stuff, no?

Well, via Instapundit we find that 2 of the commission members Lee Hamilton and Bob Kerrey both had to leave about an hour early. Yep - out of a 3 hour meeting these 2 missed about 1/3 of it. Why you might ask?

Two Democrats on the panel, Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton and former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, left the session about an hour early. Hamilton, a former congressman from Indiana, was said to have had a prior commitment to introduce visiting Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin at a lunch

Oh yeah, we wouldn't want to slight the Canadian Prime Minister just to hear Bush and Cheney talk about old news now would we? I mean the Canadian government has been so supportive of our battle against terrorism... As for Bob Kerrey, I'm very curious to know what was so VERY important that he had to take off in the middle of all the fun. After all, he's been one of the biggest critics of the administration handling of everything to do with 9/11. From Bush having the gall to be out of Washington and sitting with a group of school kids, to not being a mind reader of terrorists, to having a woman National Security Advisor who can outwit him.

Not only that, but according to New England Republican, Kerrey has been diligently preparing for this little get together. It seems he was getting low on material for entertaining the news media questions to ask of commission witnesses, so he dropped by Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" for some help.

Just two days before the 9/11 commission is scheduled to question the president of the United States about intelligence failures that precipitated the loss of more than 3,000 Americans, Senator Bob Kerrey asked a comedian for pointers

Ah now we know EXACTLY how seriously Kerrey takes these hearings. Perhaps the material he gathered was just not going over very well. Do you think he was trying to trip up Bush and Cheney with the end result that he landed flat on his face?

Thought for the Day

From Mark Steyn

And do Americans want to hand over responsibility for Iraq to someone who won't even take responsibility for the car in his driveway?

Hat Tip: Hugh Hewitt.

Mine or Not Mine

Apparently Kerry is anti-SUV (I haven't paid that much attention, but this is what I have heard). So, Kate has Kerry's answer to the "Do you own an SUV?" question. No - I'm not going to excerpt - it's short so jump over and read it :-)

Now Instapundit is linking to a story about Kerry and his command of a swift boat. Was he the skipper or wasn't he? That is the question.

I wonder if the answer will be - Well I was the skipper before I wasn't the skipper... Or something to that effect.

Oh Yeah, Ralph is still around

Remember Ralph? You know Ralph Nader? You know the guy who's trying to run for president as some sort of "Independent"? Yeah - that guy. Well, I guess by now you've figured out he's not doing very well.

According this story he's still out there and moving even farther to the left than he was before so he can get some attention.

Nader is advocating a pullout, within six months, of all U.S. military forces from Iraq.

Well, isn't that nice. We go in, get rid of a nasty dictator, are working as hard as possible to get an Iraqi government in, and all Ralphy boy can think of is to cut and run. Leaving... what? A power vacuum in the mid-east? Leaving everything to the UN? Letting the terrorists set up their camps again so they can cause a few thousand more deaths per month in major US cities? Is that your strategy Ralph?

Nader contends that his proposal for a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops would reverse the cycle of violence in Iraq by signaling an end to the U.S. occupation, which has become a unifying factor for mainstream Iraqis and insurgents. His plan also calls for the removal of all U.S. civilian military contractors and businesses from Iraq and for their replacement with an international peacekeeping force under the United Nations' leadership. He is also warning college students that the machinery for a military draft "is being quietly put into place."

Ah yes, we are once again causing all the problems. If we just leave, everything will be okay. Yeah, those "insurgents" are really just nice peaceful people if the US leaves them alone... Um sure Ralph.

Oh and don't forget to pick up your tinfoil hat on the way out - especially if you're of draft age. It will keep the government from finding you and drafting you and sending you into the Iraqi quagmire! If anyone is interested, I can set up a booth to sell garlic, crosses, and voodoo dolls too.

You have to wonder...

It seems that the FEC is investigating a party that raised more than $1 million for Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign.

The scope of the grand jury inquiry and the identity of its targets remained unclear. The Justice Department is believed to be focusing on whether anyone made false statements about how contributions were collected and disbursed.

Why is it that the Clintons always seem to be surrounded by such shady people? Do they know ANYONE who isn't under investigation for some sort of crime?

The liberals of the world are constantly calling into question the ethics of Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney over their "close ties to powerful oil companies" (something that is perfectly legal). Doesn't it bother them in the least that the "close ties" the Clintons have are to people who are committing crimes?

The PDB

The Presidential Daily Briefing that has caused so much uproar in the 9/11 Commission hearings is now online. Here's the redacted text as carried by Fox News. So what does it say about hijackings...

We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a [deleted text] service in 1998 saying that Bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft to gain the release of "Blind Shaykh" 'Umar' Abd aI-Rahman and other U.S.-held extremists.

Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

Looks to me as if they were looking for someone to hijack a plane and hold prisoners to exchange. A HUGE difference from what actually happened - such an enormous difference that the 2 events aren't even in the same ballpark. This certainly upholds what Condi Rice stated in her testimony on Thursday morning. No direct threat, no narrowing of places to look.

But we all know that the Dems will never be satisfied with this - it doesn't make the Bush White House look bad at all. You KNOW what the next thing will be. They will want to have ALL PDF's released from that summer!

A Visual Perspective

Keith of Thinkin Bout Stuff has gone to the trouble of putting up some graphs everyone should take a look at.

First we have a couple of pie charts that give a more visual impact of how often Senator Kerry has NOT voted this year.

The other set of charts relates to my earlier post on Gasoline prices. He's got the charts that put things in an historical perspective.

Go check it out - sometimes a picture is worth a million words. *G*