Russia causes a mess for the FBI and the American political process

"Integrity" portion of FBI motto compromised?

There has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) over the last couple of years. 

Much of that controversy involves what is becoming increasingly apparent partisan political activity by some in leadership positions in the nation's leading law enforcement agency during the 2016 Presidential election process and its aftermath.

The key terms and the names of the players involved have been regularly splashed across news headlines. Fusion GPS, Russia meddling, deleted emails. Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Robert Mueller, Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Loretta Lynch, Andrew McCabe. 

What is all the fuss about, and what is the truth? Who actually did what? Was anything illegal or improper done? If so, was it anything for Americans to truly be concerned about? Is this all just political gamesmanship? 

In the news today, McCabe has "stepped down" as deputy director at the FBI. Per a report from Kelly Cohen at the Washington Examiner this afternoon, this move appears to be "tied to a forthcoming watchdog report on how the agency handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server."

That email investigation began to develop some time around October 1, 2016. With the Presidential election just over a month away, according to a May 2017 piece by Peter Elkind at ProPublica: "agents sifting through files on a laptop belonging to the former congressman Anthony Weiner, as part of a sex-crimes investigation, had stumbled across emails sent by Clinton when she was secretary of state."

Per Elkind, over the next few weeks as the investigation into Weiner's alleged relationship with a 15-year old girl unfolded "the agents concluded that the laptop contained thousands of Clinton messages."

This was problematic for a number of reasons. The FBI under Comey had already been looking into Clinton's email practices for more than a year. 

During her tenure as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, Clinton had used her private home email server to send out official communications. More than 2,000 of these emails contained information that was classified at the time, or would be acknowledged as such later. Comey identified 65 of the emails as "secret", and another 22 as containing "top secret" information.

Anyone who understands computers and the Internet can understand why the use of a private email server by someone like the Secretary of State is a dangerous practice. Without the protection of government-based servers, the emails could easily be intercepted by hackers. This could potentially send devastating classified information into the hands of those who would do our nation harm.

Hackers from Russia and Serbia were known by the Clinton team to both have awareness of the email server vulnerabilities, as well as to have actually made hacking attempts during 2011 and 2012.

As more information was revealed over time, the FBI finally began an investigation in 2015. The purpose was to determine whether Clinton and/or her aides had jeopardized national security. If so, to determine who could be held responsible for such actions.

The controversy deepened when it was revealed that Clinton had directed that some 30,000 emails should be deleted. 

Monica reminds us that it wasn't her scandal

HLN, which was formerly known as 'Headline News', is a cable TV network spun off CNN by Turner Broadcasting. Today the network broadcasts a mixture of traditional news and real crime stories.

In a recent announcement, HLN said that they would revisit what it called "The Monica Lewinsky Scandal" with a two-hour special program.

Many readers may be too young to know who she is, and those who do may have forgotten all but her name. Let's do a quick review of exactly why Monica Lewinsky became such a public figure, along with a little background as to how she got into such a sensitive position.

In 1995, Lewinsky graduated with a degree in psychology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. That summer, family friend Walter Kaye, an insurance big wig who was also friends with Hillary Clinton, helped her land an unpaid internship in Washington, D.C. in the office of White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta.

Per Jeff Leen of the Washington Post back in 2008, one of Lewinsky's fellow interns that summer painted her as extroverted, hard-working and ambitious. In the coming months there would be rumors, some started by her own comments, that she had somehow developed an uncommonly close relationship with President Bill Clinton.

By December, Lewinsky had been moved to a paid intern position with the Office of Legislative Affairs. She would later confide in a friend, Linda Tripp, that she had begun an affair with the President a month earlier.

Per a USA Today article in 2008, Lewinsky had her first sexual encounter with Clinton in the private study of the Oval office on November 15, 1995. The two repeated this Oval office tryst under similar circumstances just two days later. 

This was the beginning of a physical relationship that lasted approximately a year and a half. There would be, according to Lewinsky, a total of nine sexual encounters between the two. There was never sexual intercourse, but fellatio and other sex acts were involved.

Described by some on staff as a bit forward, and by others as outright flirtatious, Lewinsky was moved in April 1996 into a position as assistant to the Pentagon's chief spokesman, Kenneth Bacon. The move came because some of her superiors felt that she had grown too close to the President.

Lewinsky also had a reputation as a hard worker who was willing to genuinely put in long hours. She seems to have been an enigma. While exhibiting drive and determination, she also came across as distracted at times, with a fairly obvious crush on the President.

During a February 1997 liaison, Clinton purportedly left stains on Lewinsky's dress during one of their encounters. The revelation that the dark blue dress had been preserved with this "evidence" would later became a part of the public lore involving their relationship. A month later, the two had their final dalliance with one another.

Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, and Pocahontas

At the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump honored three members of the Navajo Nation who had helped America as "Code Talkers" during World War II.

The Code Talkers were recruited to the United States Marine Corps during the war. They transmitted messages via radio using a code developed from their unique native language, one which the Japanese were unable to decipher. 

In remembering and honoring the group yesterday, the President chose the occasion to take a swipe at one of his favorite political foils on the Democratic side of the aisle, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts:

"You were here long before any of us were here, although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas.”

The Trump-Warren feud stretches back into the Presidential campaign last summer. Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee. Warren was considered an early contender for the Vice-Presidential slot for the Democrats on the ticket with their own presumptive nominee at the time, Hillary Clinton. 

Warren would attack Trump at Clinton campaign rallies and at her own speaking engagements. Per the New York Times, for instance, Warren called Trump “a man born with cash in his fist and hate in his heart.”

Trump would then fire back, at one point beginning to use the Pocahontas reference. This was his way of bringing up claims made by Warren throughout her political career that she is partially of Native American ancestry. There have been numerous vitriolic barbs slung back and forth between the two ever since. 

Warren has claimed, per the Washington Post, that she is of Cherokee and Delaware Indian heritage. During her 2012 Senate campaign, this claim was disputed by her opponent, Scott Brown. The Cherokee demanded proof, and Warren was only able to fall back on old family stories. 

The bottom line according to the Post's 'Fact Checker' researchers: "There is no documented proof of Warren’s self-proclaimed, partial Native American heritage..."

Warren's name has also been floated as a possible candidate for the 2020 Presidential election as the Democratic Party nominee. When the President refers to Warren in joking terms as "Pocahontas", he is taking a calculated jab at her. He is also clearly hoping to provoke some type of public response.

Warren responded, of course, stating “It is deeply unfortunate that the president of the United States can’t even make it through a ceremony honoring these heroes without throwing out a racial slur.”

Per the Huffington Post, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye appeared on CNN’s “New Day” program earlier today and made this comment: 

“Pocahontas is a real person, not something that’s just made up. This is a young lady, a Native American woman that played a critical role in the life of this nation, and to use that person in that way is unnecessary and is being culturally insensitive.”

Pocahontas is a genuine historic figure, not just a character in a Disney movie. She was the daughter of Wahunsenacawh, the paramount chief of the Powhatan people, whose land the original Jamestown colony had settled upon. Her actual life story, though brief, was pivotal in early relations between peoples of the Old and New Worlds.

The White House came back at Warren on Monday afternoon through press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who stated per The Hill: “I think what most people find offensive is Senator Warren lying about her heritage to advance her career."

My own feelings on the issue can fairly be summarized by a statement made on CNN this morning by the former communications director for the White House, Anthony Scaramucci. 

"At the end of the day — we're getting a little bit too micro-managing with each other's languages and the whole political correctness movement," Scaramucci said per The Hill. "I think most people, in general, are tired of it ... I'm totally tired of it."

What Lies Ahead in 2009?

When the calendar turned from 2007 into 2008 a year ago, how many would have been able to envision so many of the events that would transpire in the new year. Pretty much everyone knew that there was going to be a tough, divisive political race in the Presidential election campaign. But how many just one year ago would have given Barack Obama much of a chance against Hillary Clinton? Not many. Clinton had been the 'presumptive nominee' of the Democratic Party for a couple of years leading into 2008. And how many of you had ever heard of Sarah Palin, let alone knew that she was the governor of Alaska? The media-driven Obamamania of the past year showed that the man can campaign. But can he lead a nation? We will begin to find that out as certainly one of the biggest stories of the year unfolds. In just a couple of weeks Obama will be sworn in as the first half African-American President in U.S. history. That will indeed be one of the biggest moments of 2009, but the real stories will be how the new Obama administration handles domestic and world events during the year. From Iraq to Israel, Afghanistan to India, Pakistan to Iran, the Middle East will remain a cauldron bubbling with potential Islamism-inspired disasters. The U.S. economy continues to struggle thanks to the short-sightedness of government bailouts of failing businesses, a situation that is only likely to worsen in the new year. The new President may need to make a Supreme Court nomination in 2009. SCOTUS Justice John Paul Stevens will turn 89 years old in April, and likely only held on to his court seat hoping to be replaced by a similarly liberal thinker, now more likely with the Obama election. Who will be among the famous deaths in 2009? In the last year we lost silver screen legend Charlton Heston, director Sydney Pollack, politician Jesse Helms, and musicians Bo Diddley & Levi Stubbs among many others. Closer to home our Philadelphia police department had lost officer Chuck Cassidy at Halloween in 2007, that coming on the heels of having lost officer Gary Skerski who was similarly shot and killed by a robber in spring of 2006. Who could have imagined that 2008, rather than offering a quiet respite from those tragedies, would heep on even more with the murders of four officers in the line of duty: Steve Liczbinski, Isabel Nazario, Pat McDonald, and Tim Simpson. We can only hope and pray that 2009 is a quiet, safe year for our police officers and fire fighters in Philly. We certainly deserve that much. On a lighter, brighter note, who could have foreseen the stunning, thrilling rise of the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series championship. The antics of Charlie Manuel, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, Brett Myers, Shane Victorino and company brought sports excitement that the city had not seen for a long time, and finally ended our quarter-century title drought. Can any other Philly team step up and take us on a similar ride in 2009? Across the country, around the world, and right at home in our own families 2009 will likely prove to be a year of changes, challenges, and highlights. There is no such thing as a true crystal ball. There is no one who can foresee the events of the coming year. We just have to let them play out while working them to the best for ourselves and our families when possible. Remember that through it all, God has a plan, both for humanity overall and for you in particular. Stay strong, keep a positive attitude, and always remember to turn to Him for help in times of struggle and in thanks during the good times.

An American Mandate for Change

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. - John F. Kennedy"
The American people went to their respective polling places yesterday and voted, and when they were done the election result was not even close. In a truly historic victory, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was elected to the Presidency. He was elected by a 53%-47% margin over his Republican challenger John McCain, a far greater margin than this writer believed was likely or even possible. In doing so he becomes the first African-American ever elected to the highest office in the land. That may not be too significant for the younger generation raised in a largely racially integrated society. But to those of us who were alive in the 1960's and '70's, the election of a black man to the Presidency is truly remarkable. Forty years after Martin Luther King was assasinated in Memphis, Tennessee, his dream has taken its largest step forward into becoming reality. Could even the great Dr. King have had the foresight to see this happening in America this quickly, if ever at all? In electing him, the American people have shown unequivocally that we have fully matured beyond the racial prejudices and barriers that previously separated us. In a time of Islamofascist terrorism, the American people overcame fears and elected to the Presidency a man with a Muslim-sounding name and at least a familial Islamic past. In a time where Americans are believed to be divided racially, the American people overcame those perceptions and elected to the Presidency a man whose mother was white, and whose father was a black man who abandoned them. The key factor in the Obama victory was the simple but effective theme of his campaign: Change. After 6 years of war, no matter how necessary, Americans were tired of it. They have grown tired of talk about terrorists, Osama bin Laden, Islamofascism, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran. They have grown weary of a Bush administration that, though keeping America safe since 9/11, has done little to address any substantive issues beyond security here at home. Liberals wanted Bush impeached, but did not have the power to put him through the type of trial to which Bill Clinton subjected himself. In my opinion, last night's vote by the American people was all about Democrats and dissatisfied centrists ceremonially tossing George W. Bush out of the White House. Unfortunately for John McCain, an obviously good and decent man and a true American hero, he was standing in the shoes that Bush was unable by our laws to stand in himself. It likely would not have mattered in the end who was the Republican nominee for President or Vice-President. This race was certainly not decided by a dissatisfaction with a potential President McCain, or even any real problems with a VP Sarah Palin. This race was a referendum on the Bush administration, highlighted by the Obama campaign's primary message in the closing weeks that a McCain victory would signal a '3rd Bush term' and a continuation of its ideals. Hillary Clinton must really be kicking herself this morning. For years she was seen as the next great Democratic hope. She was not only the clear front-runner just a year ago, but she was the only real candidate in the race on the Dem side. Had Barack Obama never emerged, she would be celebrating her own history-making election today as the first female U.S. President. That is how much the people of America wanted a change. In the end, Republicans across the nation were fighting a battle that they had almost no chance of winning. Yesterday, Barack Obama swept to the Presidency thanks to a mandate for the very change that his campaign brilliantly called for, and he brought along a boat load of U.S. Senators and Congresspersons in his considerable wake. America will be a fundamentally different nation over the next few years. Whether that change is for the better or not is yet to be determined. I personally do not hold out the same hope that Obama's followers feel this morning. But one thing is certain, America will change, because it has been mandated by a clear majority of the people. Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama, to Vice-President-elect Joe Biden, their families and campaign staff, and all those who voted for them. When possible and as best we can, we Republicans will support you as our President. We will also oppose you vocally on issues that we feel are key to our nation and our American culture. And as we all move forward from today, may God bless America as He always has in the past.

Election Eve

Well, it's finally here: Election Eve. Just one more night of these incessant commercials that end or begin with: "I'm _______ (insert politician name), and I approve this message." 

The majority of the opinion polls are calling for a Democratic Party victory across the board for the Presidency, in Congress, and in the U.S. Senate. 

The major network news stations and the majority of the print media have been gleefully reporting these results to the public. 

There is no doubt that the prosecution of the Iraq War and the recent plummet in the stock market have hurt the Republicans most. Congress deserves as much blame as President Bush, if not more, but that just doesn't matter. 

President George W. Bush has been a target since first being elected back in 2000 in the closest American Presidential vote ever, an election that Dems believe to this day was stolen from them by the Supreme Court. 

Grannie Hits a Granny

Soon-to-be grandma Sarah Palin stepped to the podium last night at the Republican National Convention as Presidential nominee John McCain's prospective running mate.

There was much on the line as the VEEP prospect waved off a lengthy standing ovation that had the feel of a group protecting a member of it's own family.

The chills were palpable as the crowd's applause and cheers continued on and on, and the strength and length of the crowd reaction to her appearance was obviously in support of the candidate having come under vicious, personal, liberal media attacks since being announced.

It is fairly obvious that the vast majority of the conservative wing of the Republican Party is ecstatic about the Palin pick as the Veep nominee due to her character and her positions on the key issues. It is just as obvious that attacks on her and her family have touched that 'don't talk bout my _____ like that' nerve (fill in the blank with 'mother', 'sister', 'daughter', 'girlfriend', 'wife'...whichever most applies to you) with many folks.

But then Palin began to speak, and proved over the course of the next 36 1/2 minutes that she is plenty tough enough to stand up for hersel. Palin proved more than capable of standing in the box and staring down the hardball's thrown at her from the Dems and, as local radio talk show host Michael Smerconish said afterwards "hit a grand slam" with her speech.

Bill & Hill's Mile-High Show

The Democratic National Convention winds down today in Denver, Colorado, culminating with tonight's acceptance speech by Barrack Obama.

In that speech, Senator Obama must go further than he has at any time in his campaign to this point. He must speak to those 'swing' voters, the true 'undecideds' who allege that they have yet to make up their minds.

So far his campaign has been only about two themes: ambiguous 'Change' and the typical liberal anti-Bush mantra.

What has been seriously lacking are specifics about what programs and policies that an Obama administration intends to implement in order to reach those goals. He cannot win over middle America with ambiguity and misdirection. For example, he cannot win with the kind of speech given the past two nights by the Clintons.

Former President Bill Clinton last night, and his wife (for now at least), New York Senator Hillary Clinton gave speeches that showed as much that they are positioning for another run in four years as they are supporting any specific Obama plans this time around.

We're Not Supposed to Mention Race....But I'm Gonna

When evaluating someone as a person, or professionally, or for a position, their race should not matter, right? Almost everyone would agree with this statement. Not all people, but most everyone, no matter their background.

Certainly this would be most folk’s public posture. Race should not matter. But does it?

I put it to you that it most certainly does, and for proof we need look no further than yesterday’s Democratic Party primary on the Democrats side.

In that primary there were two candidates. Two “people” were battling for the votes of the Democrats in the Keystone State. One “person” was named Hillary Clinton; the other was named Barack Obama.

That’s who was running…two “people.”

So why then did exit polling show that 92% of black voters cast their ballots for the candidate named Obama? What did this “candidate” have that the other did not to gain that large a backing from any single constituency?

John McCain for President

It has now been over a month since Mitt Romney ended his quest for the Republican Presidential nomination, and in the ensuing month leading candidate John McCain has dominated the only remaining contender, Mike Huckabee.

The nomination is McCain’s. He has earned it fair and square, by coming out as the last man standing in a field of tough, determined, experienced, qualified candidates.

During this month we have also seen and heard cries from the conservative wing of the Party, led by its most visible pundits, people such as Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter, that McCain is not conservative enough.

In Coulter’s case, she has even stated (I can only hope jokingly, she does have a tremendous sense of humor) that she would support Hillary Clinton over John McCain if it came down to that being our choice.

Well, Ann, it is indeed coming down to that choice. McCain vs. Clinton. Either that, or McCain vs. Obama. So it is getting to be time to let us know whether or not you were kidding.

It is time for the entire Republican Party to come together and begin to support our obvious 2008 Presidential nominee. It is time to say it loud and proud: John McCain for President!

The Great GOP Race of 2008

There will be no bigger topic during the 2008 year than the U.S. Presidential election. No matter what else happens in the world this year, the selection of the person who will lead the greatest nation on the planet at this time in our world's history is going to have far-reaching effects. Those will be not just for our country, but for the entire world.

As the year moves forward, this blog will take regular looks at the candidates, their activities, their positions, and their lives as a whole, and will provide commentary and analysis with honesty and candor.

Let's start off with a fairly basic assessment: every single major Republican candidate is better for the country than any of the leading Democratic candidates. A Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, or even John Edwards for that matter, Presidency would be a near-disaster for the country.

Higher taxes, radically increased spending and debt, weakened defense and anti-terror initiatives, liberal Supreme Court nominations. The list of ruinous actions against our nation, the future of our children and grandchildren, is almost endless.

The good news is that the entire Republican field is strong, despite the fact that there is currently a lot of inside political maneuvering and fighting. Rhetoric aside, every one of these principled men is a stronger candidate than any of the Democratic possibilities.

Can Mike Huckabee Go the Distance?

Over the past month or so the nation's pundits, broadcasters, and editorialists have been broad-sided by the sudden rise in popularity among grass-roots Republican voters of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Question really should be, why is this such a surprise to them? For months, Republican voters have been telling anyone who will listen to them that while President Bush was the best choice in '00 and '04, he has generally been a disappointment, and it is these voters who have kept the President's approval ratings low in recent years.

Why has the President been a disappointment? Is it because of his handling of the War on Terror? Hardly. That is just one of the many reasons that Dems hate the man, but has little or nothing to do with Republican dissent. We on the right support the President's measures in that regard, which we understand have helped to keep our nation safe since 9/11.

What we Republicans have been shouting from the mountaintops is that we are completely dissatisifed with the outrageous spending policies in Washington, which are way out of control, and which the President has done nothing to help control with vetoes or leadership.

Narrowing the '08 Republican Field

Busy as this particular American's life is, I had to record this week's debate among the current Republican candidates for President in 2008.

After finally getting to watch the debate in it's entirety last night, I can say without any trepidation that it is time to narrow this field.

So having heard their positions and judged the pulse of the party to this point, and with apologies to these men, each of whom would be a better President than either of the Democratic party front-runners, it is time to say goodbye to the campaigns of Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, and Ron Paul, good men all.

This would leave the field consisting of, in alphabetical order by last name: Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson.

The following is my own brief take on where these candidates currently stand with me, an average Republican, as they move forward looking for my vote:

Any Port in An Islamofascist Storm

It has taken me over a month to finally formulate an opinion on the entire port sale issue, and there is one thing of which I am absolutely certain.

There is no way that anyone who had any type of knee-jerk response to the idea of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) purchasing an interest in a half-dozen U.S. port operations was basing their opinion on anything other than either emotion or ignorance.

However, that is not to say that in the end, many of those people are not right. The sale of any interest whatsoever in our ports, or in any vital American infrastructure, to the UAE is a mistake that should not be allowed to stand.

That is not an easy statement for me to make. I am a converted, hard-core capitalist who believes firmly in the ability of the free market to be left alone to sort out most any issue. As I read over the positions of the pro-deal folks, I was swayed towards their capitalist arguments, and was prepared to take up the mantle of the unpopular “let the deal stand” side.

But then, I would read and research some more, and be swayed to the anti-deal side. The side that does not trust an Islamic government that has previously shown outward and covert support for terrorists who murdered Americans, and which continues to take political positions such as the refusal to recognize Israel as a legitimate sovereign nation.

Good Old Mr. Wilson

The insiders of Washington, D.C. and most especially behind the hallowed walls of the White House are sitting on pins and needles today, as they await word from the offices of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald as to whether any indictments will come down in the "CIA Leak" case. 

Word is that indictments could possibly come for top Bush administration assistant Karl Rove, as well as to Scooter Libby, the top aid of VP Dick Cheney. There have even been some rumors as to Cheney himself being indicted. 

All the furor is over a former U.S. diplomat named Joseph Wilson, and his wife, former CIA operative Valerie Plame. Concern was that Plame's status as an undercover agent was compromised when she was outed, possibly by Rove and/or Libby, in retaliation for Wilson having provided public information that the root causes of the Iraqi war were questionable at best. 

This is the Dem spin. Many others feel that the entire investigation is little more than a witch hunt, retaliation for the impeachment of then President Bill Clinton for lying under oath in the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. 

The trouble for the current administration may actually come not from findings that an agent was outed, but actually that one or more of the players involved may have lied in the investigation process in an attempt to cover-up something potentially embarrassing. 

A great article on the background that I would advise as a must-read for those wanting to understand this issue is available at http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/217wnmrb.asp

Bush League Bush Administration

The administration of President George W. Bush has been disappointing to me and many others who got them elected. 

Major changes need to occur quickly and extensively. Otherwise, the bush league actions and inaction of the President, his team, and many elected Republicans threaten to make his Presidency one of the least respected in recent memory.

Now don’t take that commentary to mean that I am turning into some liberal Democrat on you folks. Far from it. 

LibDems such as John Kerry, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Fritz Schumer would certainly have many criticisms for the President and the Republicans. But their criticisms would certainly be nearly the opposite of mine. 

The Democrats would advocate that we should get out of Iraq as quickly as possible, reverse the tax cuts, and turn our attention to redistributing wealth from the wealthy and middle class to the poor.
Theirs is a recipe for failure. But sadly, so is the President’s.

President Bush was elected by his base to aggressively protect our nation, reduce taxes, reform the tax system, reinvent social security, and if given the opportunity appoint conservative, originalist jurists to the Supreme Court. Thus far, on almost all of those mandates, he and his administration have failed us.

Commander-in-Chief, or Chef?

On his local talk radio show this evening, Dom Giordano (1210AM, 6pm show) reported the results of a New York Times poll that stated that 33% of all men would not consider voting for a woman for President, from either party. Not Hillary Clinton. Not Condaleeza Rice. Certainly not Geena Davis. No one who wears a bra, who has or once had a monthly period cycle, who was capable of bearing children. No one with long hair, who wears perfume, who may wear a skirt, etc. No woman. None. Nay, say never. No how, no way. Hmmm. I know we still have the element who thinks women are better off barefoot and pregnant, who see women more as the 'chef' than the 'chief', but it's still hard to believe that we remain such neanderthals. What would such men do if presented with the dilemma as put forth in a new book by Dick Morris that pits Condi vs. Hillary in a theoretical 2008 Presidential matchup? My guess is that we would be back to a good old-fashioned ideological battle, and the sexism would be tossed right out the window. But my concern as a conservative would be our strong base in the South. Could the good ol' boys really vote for a black woman for President of the United States? My guess would be that in the end, the answer would be "yes". I would just love to see them placed in that predicament, where they actually had to confront that part of themselves, and finally get over it. You go girls!

Michael Scheuer Calls a Spade a Spade

This morning on his local radio broadcast, Philadelphia talk radio icon Michael Smerconish had on as his main guest Michael Scheuer, former head of the “bin Laden” desk for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Scheuer has just released a book titled “Imperial Hubris”, which he wrote under the pseudonym of “anonymous”.

One thing that I found refreshing about Scheuer’s opinion is that he was and is able and willing to look beyond the usual labels that all political and ideological sides of the terrorist issue like to hang on bin Laden, and to simply call a spade a spade.

What I mean by this is that far too often those on the far end of the political Right want to label bin Laden as a terrorist, a madman, a demon, a devil, a deranged killer, a murderer. Those on the far end of the political Left have called him an Islamic freedom fighter, a rebel, an insurgent leader. And of course, many have found far more colorful labels to hang on the man.

Scheuer points out that bin Laden is neither a demon nor a freedom fighter. He is a mainstream Muslim, a devout believer in Islam, a sincerely spiritual man.

Osama bin Laden says what he means, and he means what he says, and in this way he is a man of integrity. You don’t have to wonder what bin Laden thinks about any issue, he tells you how he feels, over and over.

In fact, more than we Americans, Osama bin Laden is willing to call a spade a spade.

For this reason, bin Laden is more dangerous to the United States and the future of our nation than most any other single man has ever been.

Radical Islam as an entity is a bigger threat to freedom, democracy and capitalism than any other ideology that has ever come down the pike. This includes everything from Nazism to Communism.

Finding the 'Right' Way

Embed from Getty Images

Gingrich (L) and the Contract With America led to my vote for Dole (R) in 1996

On a brisk November morning back in 1996, I walked into a polling place located inside the H.A. Brown elementary school in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, signed my name in the register, and walked into the voting booth.

Though I was about to turn 33 years of age in just a few weeks, I was about to experience a first in my life.

As I pulled the handle and the curtain closed behind me, I faced the list of elective offices on the ballot, including that of the President of the United States of America, and searched the list for the one name that I was looking for above all others.

When I found the name of Bob Dole, I pulled over the small lever next to his name, forcing an ‘x’ mark into a tiny window, signifying that he would receive my vote. I pulled the handle back and locked in my first-ever vote for a Republican candidate for President of the United States, marking the beginning of a new era in my life.

It was the first time that I voted the Right Way.