Blogging Blue

Sometimes I wonder what conservatives would do if faced with a candidate of their own who consistently flip-flopped on important issues, given the glee with which some folks on the right have attacked Democrats for flip-flopping on issues. I’m hoping to get an answer to my curiosity now that Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain has flip-flopped on the war in Iraq. After all, who can forget when McCain said he was fine with American troops staying in Iraq for a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years:

But now McCain’s changed his tune, declaring today that the Iraq war can be won by 2013:

“By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won,” McCain told an audience of several hundred here in the capital city of a general election battleground state.

So my question remains…will conservatives attack John McCain for yet another flip-flop on yet another key issue?

No Comments »

Leave it to Patrick McIlheran to come to the defense of an almost indefensible position. Earlier today, Paddy Mac blogged about a recent controversy that’s come to light in Georgia, where a bar owner thought his idea to make t-shirts comparing Barack Obama to Curious George would be good for a few laughs. First Paddy Mac starts off his blog by saying:

Jerks: If the bar owner either didn’t know that it’s widely regarded as an insult to call someone a monkey, that it’s considered still more insulting to say it of a black person, or that Obama is black and so you really should avoid the monkey imagery, he’s an idiot.

Or he’s just being provocative.

So according to Paddy Mac, the bar owner’s just a jerk or an idiot, or perhaps he’s just being provocative. It couldn’t be the bar owner’s really just a racist showing his racist stripes. After all, we’re talking about a bar owner in Georgia, so it’s not as if this guy’s oblivious to the fact that comparing an African-American person - and in this case an African-American who just happens to be running for President of the United States - to a monkey might be just a tad bit racist.

McIlheran goes on to attempt to rationalize the t-shirts as a little “tit for tat,” pointing out that President Bush himself has been the target of unflattering comparisons to a chimpanzee:

Then again, this would be more obvious if we weren’t just wrapping up eight years in which comparisons of national leaders to chimpanzees were just ordinary political dialog from many of the same people all enthused over Obama. What goes around…

What seems lost on Paddy Mac is the fact that all comparisons of Bush to a chimp have to do with the fact that Bush doesn’t seem to be much smarter than the average trained chimpanzee, while conversely having nothing to do with Bush’s race or ethnicity.

H/T to Dan Cody over at Left on the Lake

4 Comments »

Now I’ve seen my fair share of video of the nastier side of Bill O’Reilly, but no matter how many video clips I see, each time is like the first time. Now maybe I find humor in odd places, but this particular clip made me shoot milk out my nose as I watched it.

Now I have two questions and a statement. First the questions:

Is it just me, or does Bill-O seem like a bit of a prima donna?

And

What’s with O’Reilly going from zero to full-fledged rage-aholic in the blink of an eye? Did someone not get enough love from mommy as a kid?

And finally, the comment:

Bill O’Reilly sure can drop f-bombs with the best of ‘em.

1 Comment »

A few weeks ago, the Oak Creek and Franklin common councils voted in favor of naming the South 27th Street corridor the “Boomgaard District,” a name that’s the brainchild of the South 27th Street Steering Committee and Zizzo Group Advertising + Public Relations, a Milwaukee firm hired by the cities for $370,000 to brand and market the district for development. Not long after the name was announced to the public, folks from both communities began to question the choice, and what began as a few bloggers noting their confusion and concern has turned into a full-fledged news story.

What I found to be most interesting in the MJS story on Boomgaard was a quote attributed to Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender, who said:

“I want it changed,” said Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender, who broke a 3-3 Common Council tie in favor of the name during a closed session in March - an apparent violation of state open meetings law - though he insists he was never enamored of the choice.

“My heart wasn’t in it then, and it’s not in it now,” he said.

What I can’t help but wonder is why Mayor Bolender voted in favor of a name he wasn’t absolutely sold on, and what’s more, I can’t help but wonder why he voted in favor of a name he didn’t fully support, given the fact that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent coming up with the name. I’ve emailed Mayor Bolender for clarification on why he voted in favor of the Boomgaard if he wasn’t fully convinced it was the right choice for the 27th Street corridor, and hopefully he’ll have a good answer, because his comments voicing his concern about the name - which come after the public has reacted negatively to the name - seem to fly in the face of his vote in favor of the name.

Greg Kowalski over at Today’s Concerns has some excellent commentary on the decision to name the corridor the “Boomgaard District,” and he’s been leading efforts by bloggers and citizens of both communities, so go check out what’s he’s written on the “Boomgaard Boondoggle.”

No Comments »

Apparently, pretty low:

A Florida football player was kicked off the team Friday after turning himself in on charges he used the gas credit card of a woman who was killed along with another player in a motorcycle accident.

Jamar Hornsby, a 21-year-old junior safety, learned Thursday that a judge had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges he used the dead woman’s gas card for six months, so he surrendered on charges of credit card theft and fraudulent use of a credit card, lawyer Huntley Johnson said.

…

The credit card belonged to Ashley Slonina, a Florida junior. She was riding a motorcycle with another football player, redshirt freshman Michael Guilford, last October that hit a median at a high rate of speed, police said. The two died at the scene. They were not wearing helmets.

Hornsby started using the gas card the day after Slonina died. The card was used 33 times in Alachua County and another 37 times in Jacksonville, where Hornsby is from. The total amount was $3,000, said Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Stephen Maynard.

As someone who works in the criminal justice system, I’m not often surprised or shocked by an account of criminal activity, but this story shocks me. It takes a truly depraved individual to stoop so low as to use a dead person’s credit card, and all the more disturbing is the fact that Jamar Hornsby started using a dead woman’s credit card only a day after she had died.

Truly despicable.

No Comments »

Just two weeks ago, the federal government released results of a study it completed regarding the frequency of drunk driving in Wisconsin. According to the study, more than 25% of adults in Wisconsin drive under the influence of alcohol, putting Wisconsin at number one in the nation when it comes to people who admit to driving drunk.

Fresh off the heels of that report being released came the terrible tragedy of Jennifer Bukosky, who along with two of her children was killed by Mark Benson. At the time of the accident that killed Bukosky, Benson was driving without a license and while under the influence of at least three different prescribed medications, and only two days before the crash, Benson had been in court pleading guilty to a 2007 drunken driving conviction, his third, in Brookfield. He was ordered April 23 to not drive and was sentenced to 75 days in the county’s work release jail, but was given until May 9 to report there.

The fact that Benson was still driving despite having just been convicted of his third OWI is simply outrageous, but thankfully lawmakers are already starting to take notice that Wisconsin is at a crossroads when it comes to how we handle repeat drunk drivers. Today Governor Jim Doyle announced that he believes a third conviction for intoxicated use of a vehicle should be made a felony. Lawmakers have already started to take action, with some calling for revocation of driving privileges and confiscation of vehicles for people convicted of a third offense of driving under the influence.

I’ve always felt Wisconsin needed to do a much better job of being tough on drunk drivers, especially repeat offenders, because a car isn’t much different than a loaded gun in the hands of a drunk driver. People can be - and have been - seriously injured or killed at the hands of folks driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and it’s time lawmakers took a tough stand. I’ve never been a strong advocate of depriving folks of property as the result of their criminal activities, but in this case I think someone who’s been convicted multiple times for drunk driving should face the possibility of losing their vehicle forever. It’s a steep price to pay, but perhaps it’ll serve as a deterrent.

Patrick over at Badger Blogger has more on this issue, as does Cindy over at Fairly Conservative

5 Comments »

What’s wrong with this picture?

If your guess had to do with the fact that John McCain isn’t wearing a flag lapel pin, then you’d be correct. What I’m wondering is where’s the indignation from folks on the right about the absence of a flag lapel pin on McCain’s lapel, especially considering how some on the right have made an issue of the fact that Barack Obama has been caught without a flag pin on his lapel. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, so if folks on the right are going to get all righteous and attack Obama’s patriotism for not wearing a flag lapel pin, then they ought to start questioning John McCain’s patriotism as well, for the sake of consistency.

There’s also been a lot of uproar recently over Barack Obama’s association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, especially in light of Rev. Wright’s inflammatory and sometimes anti-American rhetoric, and now comes the latest attack against a supporter of Barack Obama, courtesy of the folks over at Badger Blogger:

Michelle Malkin points us to the latest outrage from one of Barack Obama’s friends, this time is isn’t the bigoted preacher, it is the unrepentant terrorist, Bill Ayers.

Ayers once again makes it clear that he has No Regrets from his time with the 1960’s terrorist group, The Weather Underground. They bombed police stations and government buildings, now he is a respected (by some) professor in Chicago, where he because a friend of Barack Obama.

The picture is very telling, isn’t it?

But Don’t Question Their Patriotism!

Now sure, there’s no question Bill Ayers has said and done some things that are well outside the mainstream, but if we’re going to attack Barack Obama for his association with Bill Ayers, then let’s attack John McCain for his association with John Hagee, noted for his rabidly anti-Catholic ideology. After all, let’s not forget that Senator McCain welcomed the endorsement of Hagee with open arms, saying, “Well I think it’s important to note that pastor John Hagee who has supported and endorsed my candidacy supports what I stand for and believe in.“ (John McCain, 02/29/08)

I guess what I’m hoping for is a little consistency from my friends on the right.

1 Comment »

Speaking Friday to employees at a technology plant in Maryland Heights, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, President Bush predicted the nation’s economy is on its way to better days after some “challenging times.” In his remarks, Bush said:

“I know it’s tough times, and I know you’re having to pay more at the fuel pump than you want,” Bush said. “But this economy is going to come on. I’m confident it will.”

Of course, what President Bush didn’t say is when the economy is going to “come on.” I’m sure he’s betting on things improving once all the economic stimulus checks have been distributed, but if those stimulus checks don’t stimulate the economy as hoped, what’s next? Democrats in Washington are already calling for a second dose of “economic stimulus,” while President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and many key Republican lawmakers are adopting a “wait and see” attitude. Now I don’t proclaim to be an expert economist, but I’m willing to bet that in light of the credit crunch, the subprime mortgage crisis, and rising food and gas prices, lots of Americans are going to use their stimulus checks to pay down debt or to put some money in the bank for an even rainier day, as opposed to using that money to go out and buy a new car or splurge on a consumer good.

I expect we’ll see at least more “economic stimulus” package come out of Washington before all is said and done, and hopefully lawmakers will take the appropriate action to get our economy back on track.

No Comments »

As demonstrated by yours truly and capper earlier this week, Kevin Fischer is no fan of ethics. Cindy Kilkenny over at Fairly Conservative has also done a great job of detailing all Kevin Fischer’s foibles and ethical lapses, but today I want to take a trip in the Wayback Machine…destination 1996 (emphasis mine):

October 15, 1996, Tim Cuprison in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“Quit all the speculating out there about why reporter/ conservative commentator Kevin Fischer got fired last week by WTMJ-AM (620). Despite reading here that it had nothing to do with his political views, folks who saw conspiracies out there inundated my voice mail.

Well, as is the case with most companies, the Journal Broadcast Group won’t talk about why Fischer was axed, except to say that it wasn’t for anything he did on the air.

But nosing behind the scenes, it’s clear that WTMJ management was concerned about a possible violation of the company’s ethics code. While away on vacation, it seems, Fischer took a freebie to Walt Disney World’s 25th anniversary celebration in Orlando, Fla., a huge media event. Fischer didn’t file any reports from the bash. The next week, he lost his job. Word is that after Fischer was fired, WTMJ’s radio news folks were called into a meeting and the ethics policy was restated to prevent a repeat of the situation. Fischer, by the way, won’t talk about it. In fact, he angrily told me to stop typing what he said when I called him Monday afternoon, because he wouldn’t talk to me on the record. He wouldn’t talk off the record, for that matter. KUDOS FOR KEVIN: Meanwhile, big bucks consultant and conservative policy wonk George Mitchell wrote to Fischer’s bosses praising his reporting style: “Kevin did not cloak his reporting or commentary with phony objectivity which characterizes so much of the print and broadcast journalism today. With Kevin, listeners got a clear and open expression of news and opinion. “They knew just where he was coming from, not unlike listeners to Paul Harvey, for example,” Mitchell wrote. For the record, Paul Harvey isn’t a reporter. He’s a commentator.”

So let’s recap…

• Allegedly fired for violating ethics code at WTMJ? CHECK!
• Used more vacation time in 2006 than what he was alloted as a state employee? CHECK!
• Used more vacation time in 2007 - at least 46 hours worth - than what he was alloted? CHECK!

It’s no wonder why Kevin Fischer says “Ethics Schmethics.”

No Comments »

So said John McCain when asked if he would rebuild the lower 9th ward as president:

“That is why we need to go back is to have a conversation about what to do -rebuild it, tear it down, you know, whatever it is,”

My question is this: If John McCain is ready to lead as President on Day One of his administration - as his campaign has tried to assert - then why can’t McCain come up with a better answer about what to do in parts of New Orleans still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina than some generic talk about “having a conversation,” coupled with more generic talk about either rebuilding it, tearing it down, or whatever.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I have serious misgivings about John McCain’s fitness to lead as our nation’s next President, and his plan - or rather, lack thereof - when it comes to New Orleans is just another example of how John McCain just isn’t quite ready to be our nation’s next president.

No Comments »