April 19, 2005

"...I think it's dead. Sorry...."

 

     -Recent quotation from Sam Donaldson,

      regarding the current state of network

      news in an era of cable and

      broadband internet connections.

 

 

To All,

     Ever the "journalist" to the last, Donaldson has been scooped even by that most "timely" of periodicals, the monthly newsletter. Networks have been dead since Bret Hume broadcast his first gossip from The Political Grapevine, if not when Newt opened up Thomas.loc.gov to the little people. Lucky for Sam, mohair wool is "in" just now. He ought to get a good price this year.

 

In other news:

 

The German Shepherd:

     With the pronouncement of the words "...habemus papan...", the world discovered today that the Papal Conclave had voted for

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the replacement for the dearly departed John Paul II.

 

     But despite the roar of approval of some 170,000 of the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, the sound of secular raspberries could be heard from idiot boxes far and wide. For in a previous status, the newly announced Pope Benedict the 16th had also fulfilled the function of defending traditional Catholic faith in the face of a determined assault from the relativists of modern society.

 

    Now, it can be said that liberals, both in and out of the Church here in the United States, would have preferred a weak or "moderate" prelate instead of John Paul II. After all, any guy who had to deal with both the Gestapo and the NKVD, and lived to tell about it, was nobody's pushover. Instead, the "modernization" of the Catholic Church has been seriously delayed, perhaps defeated, by John Paul's own tenacity. Of course,  Way-Lefties had hoped for a toy-poodle-that-can't-hunt as his successor (all the better to run their archdioceses without the threat of papal censure). But in Benedict, they are now faced with another leader whose apologetics is as fearsome as needed to withstand the anathema of modern Hegelianism. And if the articles released within nanoseconds of today's announcement are any indication, their open awareness of that fact is a violation of that political dictum warning one to not let one's opponent "...see them bleed..." in public.

 

     As such, it is hard to imagine how this latest election defeat cannot but mean disgust and rejection from those likely Catholic and Christian voters who are comfortable with their religious beliefs (Roughly half of all Catholic voters, at last count, consider themselves more conservative in religious issues.). After all, it is from the Left these days that practicing Christians (Catholic, Protestant or Reformed, and Eastern Orthodox) are being subjected to otherwise prohibited "religious tests" when being judged for public office. (Heck, if Senator Schumer's standards of today were Donkey Party dogma in 1960, Hyannis Port would not be the political "Mecca" that it is now.). In other words, the self-righteous Left may end up having to concede yet another voter bloc that, in a previous political epoch, they had a lock on. (The 1960's is well within this poster's memory. But given the current standards of the day being that a week is an eternity in politics, it seems appropriate to start applying geologic terms at this juncture.).

 

      Also, the Lamestreamer's outpouring of invective against Pope Benedict can only serve to further harm Democrat standings among those voter blocs (Latino) that Democrats hope to gain ground with in the near future, not just such traditional blocs as Irish and Polish Americans. Given that Latinos are considered by pollsters and demographers to be the voter bloc of the future, this can only mean that a certain amount of brain death has occurred among certain elements on the Left End of the political spectrum.

 

     Now, if Howard Dean and His 40 Dongs intend to use the Schiavo Case as an example in the next election, they perhaps are better off pulling the feeding tube of campaign donations and letting the Party go the way of other political parties that have found themselves beyond resuscitation. As Zell Miller has so clearly implied, no political party can continue to alienate so many voters and expect to prosper at the polls nationally.

 

     But luckily for the Party of Jackson, they are not under the tender mercies of a Judge Greer at this juncture. So long as they repent their past ways and come to a modus vivendi with the faithful that does not include the business methodology of a George Soros (a jutsu of shorting them in the market place with a smidgeon of greenmail added in), they may just survive this latest strange trip they have booked at Priceline.com. Luckily for Democrats, Popes are in the forgiveness and sanctity of life business. It would not be the first time that political leaders found it efficacious to go to Rome, rather than "tough it out" in a political Purgatory. A kiss of a ring, a few "Hail, Mary's", and they would once again be a viable group of pols looking for votes on Election Day, instead of a group of "Outies" bucking the trends of History and Providence at the same time. Surely this is a price worth paying to remain relevant over the next few cycles.

 

Story coverage may be found at:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050419/D89IL2HO0.html

 

 

Registration is Confiscation Update:

     While firearms activists are watching the San Francisco and Illinois initiatives with interest, it should not go unnoticed that yet another crazy registration scheme seems to be wending it's way towards life as a law of the land.

 

    Only in this case, what is being registered is political speech, a First Amendment right necessary to the safeguarding of the Second Amendment. Activists may find themselves subject to the hell of quarterly FEC filings if things go the "wrong way".

 

    As recently covered by C-Span, the FEC has posted some proposed rule-changes to implement certain court-ordained aspects of the McCain-Feingold, "Protect Politicians From Their Own Glass Jaws" Act. Included in this appears to be inclusion of the possibility of Internet communication of a certain size being possibly considered as a "regulated public disclosure", which would then be subject to a filing with the FEC as a possible election contribution. They are also defining certain parameters as to how the "media exemption" can apply to Internet content, which can effect those firearms rights groups that have not had the foresight to publish print news and information to its membership.

 

     All 13 pages of triple column rule proposal can be found at the FEC website at-

 

   http://www.fec.gov/pdf/nprm/internet_comm/notice_2005-10.pdf

 

 

     The FEC recommends that comments on the proposed rulemaking should be sent electronically to-

 

                                  Mr. Brad C. Deutsch,

                                  Assistant General Counsel,

                                  FEC   at

 

                                  internet@fec.gov  

 

or the Federal eRegulations Portal at-

 

                                  http://www.regulations.gov

 

Comments must be received by June 3, 2005, to be taken into consideration for the rulemaking. Firearms activists are encouraged to write any applicable comments well before that due date. Of course, any rulemaking that would negatively impact internet communications, or require mass document filing that would otherwise detract from the FEC's oversight of other, more rational threats to the body politic, could be succinctly opposed with written commentary. Remember, be direct, but be polite. No one catches honey with Bandini these days.

 

 

And We Vote, Too:

     As gratifying as it is to hear House Majority Leader Delay consider himself to be "among friends" the other day at the NRA Convention's Keynote Speech in Houston, it was just as heart- warming to realize that much of the reason firearms activists get to practice this "obscure" hobby of ours is due to Tom Delay's tireless efforts on behalf of the Second Amendment.

 

     As such, the spurious attempt to "Newt-er" Tom Delay is revealed to be a cynical political ploy when viewed in the light of day. Republican response to the "shocked, shocked " nature of Donkey claims was belated, but as on point as any good student of rapier could hope for. From articles in the AP to books by liberals such as Adam Bellows (aptly titled " In Praise of Nepotism"), it is clear that politicians from both sides of the aisle often utilize relatives for a whole host of campaign functions that are specifically legal under the rules ("...Et tu, Nancy?...").

 

     Even Delay's career-long support for other small-government issues (lower taxes, less red-tape, etc) would lead one to reasonably assume that interests come to discuss issues with the Congressman because of his political beliefs, not on the premise of being able to "buy off" a politician with contributions or in-kind transfers (free and friendly publicity from a press corps "in on the deal", for example, is a longtime favorite of those on the Left Side of the Aisle as well as certain Senior-and-Senile Senators from Arizona.).

 

    In comparison, no one would seriously question lobbying or campaign contributions to Hillary! from NARAL, Planned Parenthood, or any of the "children's-issue" advocacy groups, because the Junior Senator from New Yahk has a LONG history of advocacy for these kind of "Progressive" (read LEFTY) positions. Or as with Jane Fonda's recent attempts at at "come back", and her recent espousal of certain predictable political positions, it is impossible to expect those wearing faux-leopard-patterned leotards to change their spots after a lifetime or two (Gee, Barbarella was made in....?!!!!), or perhaps maybe even three.

 

    Yet valuable Congressional time is wasted on such games. This is time better spent on addressing Social Security reform, alleviating shortages in the nation's refined petroleum product capacity through reform of red-tape, and coming up with a way to infuse spinal columns into Senators "blessed" with notochords on the judicial nominations front. (After all, firearms activists are only two "good" Supreme Court judges away from Individual Rights Nirvana). And if it turns out that Rush Limbaugh is onto something with the "Dems-are-defending-Jim-McDermott-by-Attacking-Tom-Delay" hypothesis, then the hypocrisy of the Party of the Flying Jackass will have been highlighted as never before.

 

     Now, it is certain that Congressman Delay was grateful for the receipt of the only kind of firearm that can be had at the Nation's Capitol without, literally, an act of Congress (Technically there is no such thing as an obsolete firearm, only an inoperative one.). On the other hand, the temptation to go varmint hunting from the Well of the House should be more than tempered by the fact that the true firepower lies with the voting and lobbying power of 4 million NRA members. In this battle it is better to be armed with phone trees, broadband connections, and a desire to come to the aid of those who have helped us defend the Second Amendment. And if opposing political partisans do not learn to recognize what the thundering sound of stampeding firearms activists-cum-voters sounds like, they may just end up in the next election flatter than one of Jacque Chirac's favorite crepe dishes in the process. Stay tuned.