Friday, October 28, 2005

Early thoughts on the scuttling of Miers

This is an email I Blackberried to Scooter while I was driving home listening to Hugh Hewitt's show on the radio:

"To: [Scooter]
Sent: Oct 6, 2005 5:31 PM

"Brownbeck on HH. He met today with Miers, did not sound impressed. I'm predicting Repubs torpedo her."

Comments: Yes I was driving home at 5:30 on a Thursday. Problem?

I was thinking of a revolt on the committee. Scooter emailed me back that it would be very tough for the Republican senators to go against the President. I thought about it and had to agree.

So what? While we were spared a hearing (which would have been a disaster) and a public revolt by the Republicans on the committee, I had an inkling that the nomination wasn't going to go.

Scooter's indictment

I've not read it nor all the commentary leading up to it, and I'm not sure this is THE lie, but if Libby lied about the fact that Cheney told him about Plame early on (as his notes seem to indicate) then he was covering for his boss. Which, it turns out, he didn't need to do because she hadn't been covert for the requisite number of years.

While lying to a grand jury is a serious matter, his motives were at least selfless (cf Martha Stewart).

Query: Is the loss of Libby all that big of a deal to the White House?

Query two: Don't the facts that (1) the indictment is about only (!) lying to the grand jury, and (2) Rove was not indicted make this a rather tepid tempest in the proverbial teapot? And to query further, doesn't this take the wind out of the Left's sails AND with the upcoming strong nomination for SCOTUS, put The White House in the best position it's been in for weeks?

Never trust a grown man...

who goes by the name "Scooter."

Thursday, October 27, 2005

If only Krauthammer hit for the Astros

"Faces saved. And we start again."

A week ago, at JWR.

Miers withdraws...

Bush reaffirms his respect.

Congratulations, Chicago!

The series was better than 4-0, but the White Sox did a great job.

Conagratulations, too, to the Astros...great year.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Astros

Never been done. Brandon, you gotta get it started.

Miers and the Republican Conflagration

I know it wasn't to be applied to political parties, but I think it is related to Reagan's Eleventh Commandment.

In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Liberty; in all things, Love.

Seems like we can honestly debate whether the nomination is Essential, but certainly the Love seems to be missing.

City Journal's Nicole Gelinas on Big Easy Corruption and Violence

Of course we all knew of the reputation of New Orleans long before Katrina hit, but who knew it was this bad. Wonderfully researched article on the well-known corruption and shockingly unknown (at least to this reader) murder rates.

Marketing to Pedophiles?

Traveling east of MoPac on 5th Street, it is impossible to miss the marquis that serves as mouthpiece for the owner of El Arroyo Mexican Restaurant. Over the years, I have been amused rarely and disappointed often by the personal politics and tasteless insults “hawked” from the street on a sign, but recently I was shocked to the point of contacting the restaurant immediately.

“Show us where on the doll El Arroyo touched you” was the message Clay McPhail felt would benefit his business that day, but it remains a mystery to me to whom he was marketing with the line used to interview children in cases against child molesters.

It was painful to imagine a young child with a history of speaking out against a molester seeing the marquis and wondering why their experience was being shared with all the world to see. Who would be motivated by the sign to stop in for a margarita or a meal? A call to the manager resulted in my being told the owner had a right to post any message he chose and a call to the owner was never returned.

However, the following day the marquis read “The devil called and said we were being mean.” For some people, any kind of publicity will do. Perhaps McPhail feels indebted to me now, for having again brought his message to the public eye. My appetite for Mexican food will take me anywhere but in “the ditch” with him.

Belinda Howell
Austin, Texas

Monday, October 24, 2005

Texas vaults USC in BCS Standings!

According to ESPN.

Should last exactly one week. Trick is staying in the top two spots.