Slimy Racial Politics
As Justice Alito’s concurring opinion makes clear, ugly racial politics were at the heart of the Ricci case.
Governor Charlie Crist
The Wall Street Journal describes him as;
The Republican Barney Frank.
Yes, you read that right.
Senator (Elect) Franken
From Norm Coleman;
Dear Friend,
The news has arrived from the Minnesota Supreme Court and the conclusion to the 2008 United States Senate election has been reached.
I want you to be among the first to know of my decision to congratulate our newest Senator, Al Franken, for his victory. And, I ask you and all Minnesotans to join with me in giving our prayers and support to our state’s new Senator and his family.
You have been my hope and my strength and my courage for these past many, many months. Your prayers, your comfort and your wisdom have guided me through the most difficult times over the past 8 months.
There are not enough words to express my gratitude and that of my family for your commitment to this effort. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done to make my life an incredible adventure.
God Bless You and Minnesota!
Sincerely,
Norm Coleman
McCain-Feingold Revisited
Will the Supreme Court finally end McCain-Feingold’s attempts to stifly free speech? A despairing ultra-liberal certainly thinks so:
If Republicans were wondering how their 2012 presidential candidate is going to compete against President Obama’s $600 million fundraising juggernaut, the Supreme Court seems poised to provide an answer: unlimited corporate spending supporting the Republican candidate, or attacking Obama.
In a Supreme Court term that has had its share of surprises, the court saved one of the biggest for last. Rather than publish an opinion at the end of the term as expected in an obscure campaign finance case, Citizens United v. FEC, the court issued a rare order for reargument of the case in September (before the usual start of the term). At that point, the court will consider whether to overrule its two previous decisions that in 1990 and 2003 upheld limits on corporate spending in federal elections.
Given the dynamics of the court, there is a great chance the justices will use the opportunity to overrule limits on how much money corporations can spend supporting candidates—whether or not Judge Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed in time to hear the case in September. In the Voting Rights Act case the court considered last week, the court ducked the constitutional question in favor of narrow statutory interpretation. In contrast, in Citizens United, the court is likely to address the constitutional questions head-on, and the outcome likely will not be good for supporters of reasonable campaign-finance regulation.
Cap and Trade
The Catastrophic Energy Tax Bill (AKA Cap and Trade) will face tough going in the Senate. Jay Cost does the math.
Girls gone wild!!! Cops pepper spray and arrest drunken lesbians at late-night bash for Francine Busby
Francine Busby is the perennial challenger to Congressman Brian Bilbray in California’s 50th Congressional District. Her 2006 campaign blew up when she publicly encouraged illegal aliens to campaign, if not vote, for her.
Her 2010 campaign is off to a rip-roaring start:
A fundraiser for Francine Busby, who is running for Congress, ended in chaos Friday night when sheriff’s deputies responded to a noise complaint, pepper-sprayed some of the guests and arrested the party’s hostess.
Shari Barman, 60, was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer and battery on a peace officer. She has since been released. A court appearance has been set for Aug. 11 in Vista Superior Court.
[...]
Deputies first went to the Cardiff home on Rubenstein Avenue at 9 p.m. to issue a warning after a neighbor called and complained about the loud party, sheriff’s Sgt. Chuck Yancey said.
He said deputies returned later when the party hadn’t quieted down, and one deputy asked for Barman’s date of birth so he could file paperwork alerting the city to the noise complaints.
Sheriff’s officials said Barman refused to give the deputy the information, and that’s when things got out of control. A crowd of about 30 to 50 partygoers surrounded Barman when he tried to arrest her, and they were able to separate her from the deputy, Yancey said.
Pepper spray was dispersed on the crowd, and the deputies were able to reach her again. At one point, a person refused to let go of Barman’s leg so the deputy could take her away. Barman also allegedly punched the deputy, Yancey said.
I have got to get an invitation to Busby’s next event.
Red Lobster, In the Black
On March 19, 2009, I wrote about the results of Darden Restaurants;
My grandfather did not fare real well in the 1930’s and I remember him telling me what his family had to eat. A red lobster was not on the menu in his house.
The only thing in a state of depression at Red Lobster is the lobster being eaten at a table of people talking about “the depression.”
Please pass the butter and tell Congress while things are not the best, it is not as bad as some people are saying.
Red Lobster was in the news again last week;
Darden Restaurants Inc. late Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $123 million, or 87 cents a share, compared to net income of $101.8 million, or 71 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $1.97 billion from $1.82 billion.
Please pass the butter and the lobster fork! 
Rolling Stone on Goldman Sachs
The must-read article of the year is Matt Taibbi’s Rolling Stone expose of Goldman Sachs. If you want to know who’s getting rich at your expense, and at the expense of future generations, it’s Goldman Sachs bankers. There’s a revolving door between Goldman Sachs and Washington D.C., and when in Washington, the banksters implement policies that enrich themselves at the expense of the public. The recent Treasury and Fed multi-trillion dollar bailout debacle is only the latest example in a long history.
Go buy the new Rolling Stone. Better yet, subscribe. But if you can’t wait, you can read the article here.
P.S. Fast-forward to the end of the article to see what the latest Goldman Sachs fleece-the-taxpayers scheme is (hint: there was a vote on it in Congress today).
What Happened to GOP Solidarity?
The vote was ever so close;
8 Republicans voted yes. 43 Democrats voted no.
If not for these eight, “cap and trade” would have failed;
Republicans voting yes: Bono Mack; Castle, Kirk, Lance, LoBiondo, McHugh, Reichert, Smith(NJ)
How can these particular republicans justify voting against a finite cost “stimulus bill” but then vote in favor of a bill whose costs could make the stimulus bill look minuscule?
I hope Redstate is right;
UPDATED: Both James Inhofe and Harry Reid predict the legislation is dead in the Senate.
There is no way anyone can justify going down this path when nations like China and India are going to do absolutely nothing.
They should rename the bill as the “Made in China Economic Stimulus Act” because that’s what it effectively encourages.