Reason Hit & Run has posted a great news clip from Texas showing floor votes in the Texas legislature.  In the era of hanging chads, dead men voting, and lost absentee ballots, it seems that politicians in Texas just don’t seem to understand what “one person, one vote” means.  It’s worth a watch.

That is, John Frohnmayer - brother of UO President Dave Frohny. Frohnmayer, who was appointed as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, only to be fired soon after for funding “obscene” art, will run in the 2008 election for U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith’s seat. But get this, he is running as an independant.

“We who have been Republicans should be weeping about the state of the Republican party,” he said. “Because the Republicans have always stood for fiscal responsibility and we have a president who has taken a $3 trillion surplus and turned it into an $8 trillion defecit in seven years.

Frohnmayer, who left the Republican Party in 2005, is a former student of the UO Law School. He currently lives in Corvallis where he is an affiliate professor of liberal arts at Oregon State, “where he teaches First Amendment issues and ethics in the history department.”

“The order of the day ought to be that partisanship ends when a person is elected, and for every minute the person is in office after that, the person ought to be doing the public’s business.”

6 years ago, today, the lenses with which we look at the world were tainted. 6 years ago, a normal morning for the United States of America, came crashing down in flames and smoke as the hijacked passenger airliners were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon Building in Washington, D.C.
It unified our nation, and we vowed to never let it happen again. The world rallied around us in our time of need. In our time of most pain, we were also the strongest and most resolved people.
But it cast our nation into a shadow of fear. Partisan politics have torn our country apart since. We have lost legitimacy in the eyes of much of the world. We are mired in two wars halfway across the globe, and our beloved troops, our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors, those that volunteered on behalf of this great nation, are dying everyday. The American people increasingly are questioning the justification and purpose of this war.
And so, on this September 11th, this 6 year mark, I ask you to remember it. Remember that day, honor that day, the people that died. Don’t ever forget, like I almost did, that September 11th was a day that showed the resilience and resolve of the American people. Remember how we got to where we are today as a nation. And think of how we can regain our reputation with the rest of the world.
Most importantly, remember what it means to be an American. I won’t say what I think it is, because to each person, being an American means something different.
No matter what, I was, am, and always will be proud to be an American.

In twp separate but related incidents, public schools banned the game Tag and suspended a 13-year old kid that drew a gun that looked more like a trapezoid with smiley faces.

Wow. The series of school shootings that happened a few years ago shouldn’t be ignored, and I think schools did a few things right when it came to responding to threats of violence. But this is taking it way too far. The drawing didn’t even LOOK like a gun. What’s more is that preventing students from drawing weapons will not take away their fascination in them. What kid didn’t play soldier or pretend to shoot people with their finger guns?

On the other hand, I agree with the suspension of the kid. If he is that deluded to think that a gun looks like that and has smiley faces on it, he should learn a lesson.

The justification that the Colorado school uses for banning Tag is absolutely ridiculous. “[Tag ] causes a lot of conflict on the playground”. Conflict is an inherent aspect of life! Every conflict I have been through has made me a stronger person. If these kids don’t know how to deal with conflict young, what are they going to do in Middle and High School, college, and in the real world? What the hell is happening to our country? Our country is turning into a country full of sissies. These schools banning Tag are deluding our nation’s youth into thinking that life is fair, that there are no winners or losers, and that everyone can live in harmony without scraped knees. Bullshit.

A story published in Reuters today noted the USA as the most heavily armed society in the world, on a gross scale and per-capita scale. Apparently, we have enough firearms to give 90% of our population a gun, and U.S. citizens own 270 million  of the world’s 875 million known firearms. Second up per-capita is Yemen (wtf?), Finland, and Switzerland.

What is more interesting to me is the fact that we have such good registration of our firearm ownership. Sure, we’ve got a lot of guns lying around and we’ll shoot the shit out of you (and each other) but at least we’re open about it.

In the video linked below, CNN is interviewing two university students, one Democrat and one Republican. CNN asks them who they think will take the primary for their respective parties, and are absolutely shocked when the Republican says Ron Paul. However, Miss GOP’s arguments make a lot of sense. Ron Paul really is a true conservative, and the majority of the Republican party has strayed from their traditional values.

The Democrat student, on the other hand, is the epitome of stupid Democrats. She doesn’t answer the question asked, and repeatedly generalizes, saying that “I just want a Democrat in office.” Has the thought ever crossed her mind that many politicians identify with one of the two big parties FOR political, not ideological reasons? Democrats vary from “gun-control, free pot, let all illegal immigrants have citizenship” crazies to moderates that say “we should stay in Iraq but change the course and maintain a strong presence abroad”.

I hope that not all Democrats are as dumb as she is. I know that these are just two people out of millions, but the Republican is clearly more of a thinker in this case, and solidly wins my confidence.

Yup, Turd Blossom is out. Karl Rove, probably the only man with the political acumen to get George W Bush elected twice has resigned as Deputy Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to the President is gone, leaving only the question who will bust out with the funky-fresh flow to keep the press corps distracted? Go ahead, watch the President call Rove “a dear friend,” and watch Rove choke up at the remembrance of things past… just don’t blame us if you cry a little too.

So what’s next for Rove? Back to Texas to make some money, and escape the Captain Ahabs of Congress who are after his Moby Dick (Oh Yes). Apparently he shouldn’t have too hard a time getting a job either, as his employment record is quite extensive.

Rove, who never graduated from college, joked that he has “an employment record that I think would be attractive to any employer. I’ve worked in an industrial kitchen in a hospital; I’ve waited tables; I’ve worked in convenience stores and have been robbed at the point of a gun twice; I’ve pumped gas; I’ve babysat; I’ve cut lawns; I’ve delivered newspapers.”

Sorry Karl, but we all know it was mostly babysitting.

According to this Daily Tech blog entry, they have discovered a flaw in the NASA study that reported 1998 as the warmest year on record. In response, one of the NASA scientists who did the study admitted they screwed up, and the newly-corrected data now shows that 1934 is the warmest year on record, and five of the ten warmest years on record occurred before World War II.

“Global warming” has to be the one of the few topics where large groups of people blindly accept the results of studies often without independent confirmation or even peer review. Hopefully this revelation will result in a serious attempt at peer-review of popularly-accepted (I’m looking at you, Al Gore) climate studies.

Yesterday CNN hosted its much-hyped YouTube presidential debate with the Democratic candidates. Rather than a traditional moderator, all the questions posed were submitted via YouTube by “average joes” (and a snowman). I guess this was the Internet’s big chance to make good on that whole “democratizing effect” promise we’ve been hearing about for the past ten years or so. Of course, the questions were still screened and selected by CNN, which explains the notable absence of YouTube’s regular fare (crazy Japanese prank shows, people ghostriding the whip and teenagers going out of their minds on salvia).

As for the content, it seemed marginally more interesting than a regular debate; there was at least the potential to put the candidates in the hot seat, such as when a lesbian couple inquired as to why they shouldn’t be allowed to marry. If nothing else, it was a step in the right direction, although Politico found it highly ironic that the debate itself failed to produce a “YouTube moment.” Also not impressed were the folks over at Wonkette, who live-blogged the whole thing (read: sat at their computers and got drunk as the debate unfolded).

Oh dear, oh dear. Mitt Romney is on the war path. Instead of attacking his fellow Republicans, he’s switched tactics and turned his sights to the Democrats. Recently in Massachusetts, for example, Romney compared Hillary Clinton to Karl Marx, waxing thus:

“She said we have been an ‘on-your-own society’ and she says we need to replace that with shared responsibility and ‘working together society.’ That’s out with (free-market pioneer) Adam Smith and in with Karl Marx.”

Granted, we here at the Commentator are no fans of socialized medicine, but comparing Hillary Clinton to Karl Marx is like comparing, say, a Ford Festiva to Bigfoot the monster truck. One is laughable and weak, and the other is powerful, yet taken way too seriously by stupid people. Just for the sake of argument, though, let’s compare Hillary Clinton and Karl Marx to see how they stack up against each other. (more…)

This is the epitome of profiteering off of war tragedies. Forget Halliburton, forget defense contracts, whatever the left-wing blames the war for. This is about something else, something closer to my heart. It’s about veterans and service members KIA in war.

This story tells about Dan Frazier, a businessman in Flagstaff, AZ who is selling Anti-war T-shirts that have the NAMES OF SERVICE MEMBERS that have died on them for $20 a piece. There is nothing I hate more than a liberal or conservative or whoever that uses the deaths of soldiers and Marines for political statements. The utter disrespect for the sacrifice is appalling.

Arizona is trying to outlaw the sale of such a shirt, and Frazier is defending it as his First Amendment rights. This speaks of a larger problem with American society. People have lost moral sense whatsoever. They do not look at what is socially irresponsible or wrong, but just what is legal and illegal. And people are just looking to make a buck, regardless of the emotional or moral cost. I suppose that’s the downside of having a market-driven economy/country. Sure, Frazier might have the right to sell such a shirt (which he may not even, since I don’t know if the First Amendment applies to making profit). But does that fact that he is a shitbag and WRONG say anything to him? No.

The end of the article reaffirms all assumptions I made about Frazier: he said that any publicity is good because it boosts the sales of his T-shirts.

This story was on Digg.com: A Florida State Representative, Robert Allen R-Merritt Island, was arrested under allegations of sex solicitation. To a guy.

The undercover officer alleges that Rep. Allen was “acting suspicious” and “going in and out of the men’s bathroom”. Thereafter, he says that Allen offered to perform oral sex on him for 20 dollars.

Besides the fact that the news article implicitly emphasizes the fact that the undercover cop was male (for technical reasons regarding oral sex, of course), 20 dollars?! There’s something very, very wrong about this, because last time I checked, politicians weren’t that poor. And last time I checked, blowjobs cost more than 20 dollars. This guy Allen was either framed, or gets a real kick out of blowing men. Or maybe fellatio (giving or receiving) is a hobby of politicians in general.

Little else has been said about the story, but I think whoever got blown by Rep. Allen should just be glad that it wasn’t Hillary Clinton.

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to eat a disgusting amount of hot dogs in a short space of time, America will always be the best. Joey Chestnut claimed victory (as well as a world record) today at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest by eating a stunning 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. The former champion, Takeru Kobayashi of Japan, fell short of Chestnut’s mark by three franks.

This is perhaps the biggest symbolic victory for the U.S. since Rocky beat that big, Russian guy in Rocky IV - doubly so since it happened on Independence Day. Now we can forever remember the 4th of July for two reasons: the day we proclaimed independence and the day we took our rightful crown as hot dog eating champions of the world.

Dress up. According to the Southern District of Florida Blog, the jurors in the Jose Padilla trial showed their patriotic fervor (if not their commitment to giving Mr Padilla a fair trial) by dressing up for work yesterday. Apparently, one row of jurors dressed entirely in red, another in white and the third all in blue. What better way to prove you aren’t on the terrorist’s side? (Hat Tip: Volokh Conspiracy)

Pardon someone. Thanks to President Bush’s deep and abiding commitment to the principles which made this country great, Lewis “Scooter” Libby will have plenty to celebrate this independence day. As usual, Blogometer has a ton of blogosphere reactions, ranging from KLo’s renewed enthusiasm for the Bush presidency (ugh), to Earl Blumenauer’s comparison of Libby to Paris Hilton (double ugh). Get some perspective on the issue by checking out the Families against Mandatory Minimums list of people who actually deserve commuted sentences (via Hit and Run)

Release an intellectually dishonest movie about socialized health care. Except that it’s won’t make much money, even MTV won’t like it, and it will irritate anyone with half a brain.

Have a bong hit 4 Jesus. Just don’t do it at school. Or, just play Bong Hits 4 Jesus: The Game over at Students For Sensible Drug Policy. (via Hit and Run)

Check out the Daily Dish’s smorgasbord of reasons to love America.  Theyrange from video of Jimi playing the national anthem and “Freedom isn’t Free,” to Steinbeck and Whitman.

Get the hell off of your computer and enjoy the outdoors. Damn.

The next question is about Katrina.

This is the most boring question yet. I know, I can’t believe it either. The candidates all agree: The Bush administration screwed this up. Duh!

Edwards talks about how he personally rebuilt New Orleans. But then he talks about how we need to pay the citizens of N.O. to rebuild their own damn city.

(more…)