The Turks are continuing their anti-terror operations in Iraq despite now official demands from the Iraqi government that they stop.
I still see no reason why I shouldn’t be entirely with Turkey on this. This is the Bush Doctrine in practice. If the Iraqi kurds are going to house terrorists, then they have to deal with it when others come in to root out the terrorists.
Moe Lane over at Red State notes how Obama is putting our allies on notice with his horribly ill-conceived plot to ban the production of fissile material.
Should he hold onto his delegate lead, it’s going to be fun pummeling this little weasel, and defining him in the eyes of the public as the ineffectual lefty lightweight that he is. Jimmy Carter: meet Mike Dukakis.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Too many Republicans are letting themselves get bulled into bad science. For crying out loud, this is stupid and self-damaging.
The California Republican Party has again adopted “a strong, conservative pro-life, pro-family platform”, says Flash Report, but I think what really happened in San Francisco is that conservatives and moderates fought off an extreme pro-abortion fringe and joined to put in a moderate platform that reaches out in a reasonable way to a left-leaning state.
It has been my view for years that abortion, not opposition illegal immigration or any other issue, is the big reason California Republicans fail to win elections statewide. Some left-leaning Republicans agree with me on that, and tried to get the party platform changed to a platform more fitting of the San Francisco environment of the Spring convention this weekend.
Some portray our platform as an extreme right-wing platform far out of touch with a pro-abortion state. In my view though, our California party platform is fairly mild, and a good compromise without giving up our principles. Here is the Sanctity of Life portion of the CRP platform last adopted and apparently re-adopted this time:
We note Thomas Jefferson’s sentiment that “the care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government,” and that the United States Constitution guarantees no one “be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” The CRP affirms its support for the protection of innocent human life at every stage, from the pre-born to the elderly, the infirm and the disabled.
As the Party for Life, we stand with the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose taxpayer funding of abortion and abortion for sex selection. We oppose the heinous practice commonly known as partial-birth abortion and urge the State Legislature, the Congress and President to pass legislation to ban this procedure. To restore to the states the right to determine the abortion issue, we support the reversal of Roe V. Wade. We oppose efforts to legalize assisted suicide.
We support and strongly encourage positive alternatives to abortion such as adoption, which we will promote through legal reforms. We support the existence of pregnancy counseling centers throughout California that offer a private sector alternative during a crisis pregnancy. As well, we support parental consent as a prerequisite for any minor receiving family planning services or having an abortion.
For all that this platform says, note what it does not say. The platform does not even call for a broad ban on abortion: its plan is not a ban except the save the mother’s life, not a ban with the three-exception rule, and not a ban after the first trimester. The state party platform actually takes the moderate position of only banning abortions on minors without parental consent, partial birth abortion, taxpayer funded abortion, sex-selection abortion, and reversing Roe v.Wade (and presumably successor cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey).
Contrast this with the opening of the 2004 national platform‘s statement on abortion:
As a country, we must keep our pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. That is why we say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life.
The national party goes as far as to call for a Constitutional amendment banning abortion. Now that is an extreme conservative position, one that notably a great many Republican members of congress and Presidential candidates will not even support without reservation. The California party, however, is right where it should be: refusing to give up on what is right, but focusing on the possible in a state out of touch with human decency on a vitally important issue.
Well I did more Internet searching, and I had more maps to do after that last one I thought I’d finished up with in Phantom Brave. Completely worth it to get the La Pucelle flavor in the last map.
And my goodness this guy who shows up after you beat the last map, is going to take me a bit to beat.
Despite the hopes of some Democratic opponents of the War on Terror – wishing that the fighting would escalate in Iraq and give an excuse to retreat – radical Islamofascist Muqtada al-Sadr has extended his truce in Iraq for another six months.
And my how things have changed in Iraq, judging by this AP quote:
Sheik al-Sadr has said he needs time to reorganize his militia and the announcement was widely seen as a bid to bolster his image as a major player in Iraq as Shi’ite leaders jockey for power ahead of an anticipated U.S. force reduction.
I find it interesting that the way to gain prestige in Iraq now is to present yourself as a peacemaker, someone trying to help build Iraq back into a thriving country. It seems to me that if one were expecting everything to fall apart once the surge ends, the smart strategy would be to hit one’s opponents first, but Muqtada instead is continuing the truce.
One even wonders if the Mahdi Army even has the strength it used to have, or if some of its numbers have decided that the fight is not worth having anymore, and that they’d rather help build up their homeland. That would explain the need for reorganization, I believe.
In any case, this report is just another sign of transformation in Iraq, that the people are seeking order again after a distressing period of score settling. I welcome this news, as it is another step toward peace and freedom in Iraq.
Mike Spence, President of the conservative California Republican Assembly, has a tip for conservatives who want to steer the Republican party in a new direction: run for office. The details are geared for California, but I imagine things work the same in other states.
A tremendous game, just as you’d expect between the new Lakers and the new Suns. It’s funny that despite both teams having new big men (Shaq making his first appearance in a Suns uniform), you get a final like Lakers 130, Suns 124 without any overtime.
The win is so so critical for the Lakers. The Lakers retake the Pacific division lead by moving into a tie with the Suns, but also winning the season series 3-1, and therefore taking the tiebreaker.
So close throughout, but it was nice that the Lakers led most of the way, if only by a few points.
We’ll see what the Suns can do when they adjust to Shaq, though. Right around, oh, the Western Conference Finals I guess.
According to the former Dean for America, Democrat Charlie Brown’s 2006 challenge in California CD 4 was responsible for “launching an unprecedented grassroots movement that has forever changed the electoral dynamics of the 4th Congressional District.” Well, heh heh, even if that were true, it appears that movement is going to come right back.
A poll last week showed State Senator Tom McClintock, arguably the most respected conservative in California, ahead in the primary of announced candidates, taking 44% to former Rep. Doug Ose’s 11%, and CRA-endorsed Rico Oller’s 6%. As a result of this poll, McClintock is now considering getting into the race (Link via governing.com).
According to the Sacramento Bee, Red State-endorsed Eric Egland is ready to withdraw and endrose McClintock should the former candidate for Governor and Lt. Governor run. “He is a proven conservative. I’ve supported him in the past and I would love to support him again.” Egland said.
In a time when conservatives are losing leaders like John Shadegg, now is a great time for a man like Tom McClintock to run for Congress.
California State Senator Jeff Denham was one of the Republicans who held firm in the budget battle last year. So as payback, Senate Democratic leader Don Perata is leading an effort to recall Denham.
However according to Flash Report, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is opposing the effort and standing up for a conservative. Thank you Governor. This is what Republicans are supposed to do: stick up for each other even if we disagree on some issues.