A big reason liberals have trouble winning national elections these days is their inability to recognize that a majority of the public rejects their ideas . In a column from today’s Chicago Sun-Times, Jennifer Hunter wonders if the Democrats can recruit Condoleeza Rice for a 2008 Presidential run.

She starts out by wondering why Condi, who she admits is smart, is a Republican. The rest of the sentence is worse:

It has always mystified me that Condoleezza Rice is a Republican. She’s black, she’s a woman, she’s smart.

So blacks, women or both aren’t allowed to be conservative, or Republican? Since Dr. Rice was raised in Birmngham, AL at a time when racism was rampant and she knew two of the girls killed in the 1963 church bombing, the assumption is she must fall prey to the entitlement minded, National Defense deficient Democrats. The irony in that statement is that the “open-mided” progressive Democratic Party has never seen fit to appoint one Black American to such a lofty position while President Bush has now appointed two.

Hunter forges ahead with her ignorance by accusing the Secretary of State of “being a parrot for George W. Bush” and then finalizes the insult by asking what she’s smoking. She accuses her of having no mind of her own by saying that the Bushes got their hands on her when she was young and impressionable instead of realistically assuming she comes about her views naturally. Hunter thinks all the Democrats need to do is divine how the Bush family “captivated” Dr. Rice and just explain the flaws in her philosophy. If they can only do that then Rice will flip and become a Democrat. How naive and simplistic.

This is a classic illustration as to how many Democrats couldn’t care less about ideas and are instead far more concerned with winning. Hunter wants her to run as a Democrat because she is black, and a woman, both characteristics that are important to the Dem faithful when it comes to garnering votes. This is akin to the reason the Dems have afforded rock star prominence to Barack Obama, they like his skin tone and smooth oratory abilities over the substance he brings to the table, which has been none so far. President Bush wants her on his team because of her particular education and skill set, something that overrides race and is far more important in the overall picture.

Instead of looking for a person with substance and ideas, Democrats want to find a person they think can win and then implant ideas onto them. The kicker is Hunter as much as admits that the Dems have no plan in her final sentence.

So this is my advice to the Democrats. Recruit Rice, develop some kind of solid program we bleeding heart liberals could embrace and then, get back into the White House! Got that?

Until the Democrats recognize that image alone is no substitute for substance, they can look for more time in the wilderness. If you elect an image with no underlying philosophical foundation, what exactly do you do when it is time to govern?

Posted by Biloxi in Politics at 12:49 AM EDT

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It took new research to inform us that children don’t learn as well when they study and watch television at the same time. It is studies like these that give research a bad name and would make anyone think twice about government funding for anything.

It’s hard to do homework and watch television for the same reasons that I can’t read a book in the same room the crawdads are playing in, people shouldn’t shave and drive, or why we can’t talk on the phone and listen to the radio. Something is going to be missed because you have competing stimuli. For heaven’s sake, what kind of genius do you have to be to draw this conclusion? Declarative and habit learning aside, if you get to different sets of imformation coming at you at once, one will override the other and you can bet with a kid it won’t be the math homework getting in the way of The Fairly Odd Parents.

The nugget in this whole study is the following statement:

But in general, ”distraction is almost always a bad thing.”

Geez guys, do you really think so?

Posted by Biloxi in Biloxi Says at 7:54 PM EDT

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Press Secretary Tony Snow apologized today for “overstating” the President’s position on embryonic stem cell research.

Snow had intimated that the destruction of the embryos amounted to murder and reassured the public that President Bush would not use that term. Instead Snow repeated that the President remains opposed to embryonic stem cell research because it involves “the destruction of a human life”.

I say To-mah-to…

It’s the same thing! If you destroy a human life then it is essentially murder. Both sides of the aisle play this mealy mouthed semantics game and it is another big part of what is wrong with politics these days. For cripes sake, Dick Durbin does this kind of stuff, not the President of the USA. Say what you mean and don’t be ashamed of it, people respect that more. Tony took one for the President here, his plain yet respectful talk is refreshing, let’s hope we see more of it and less of this type of tactic.

Posted by Biloxi in Politics at 5:14 PM EDT

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The more they remain the same. The article pictured above is from February 8, 1978 and was printed in a suburban Chicago newspaper. Jimmy Carter was our President and the Iran Hostage Crisis was 21 months in the future. Note the reference to negotiations and a lasting peace for the Middle East. The Camp David Accords in September of 1978 brought about different tone in the region but did little to dispel the hatred of Israel by much of the Arab (and Persian) world. This hatred led to the assasination of Anwar Sadat 3 years later . Fast forward 28 years later and we still see the seething rancor in much of the area.

The same players are involved in varying capacities and we are no closer to a lasting peace than we ever were. The only true and lasting peace in the Middle East will be achieved through victory. We must allow Israel to protect herself and achieve that victory, once and for all.

Posted by Biloxi in Middle East, Politics at 10:48 PM EDT

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Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Topinka), an American of Lebanese descent, has urged Israel to use restraint in defending themselves. I would suggest that the voters of the Illinois 18th Congressional District tell Mr. LaHood that his proposal is unbalanced towards the aggressor and request he use restraint when opening his mouth in the future. Four other members of Congress joined him in a meeting with State Department officials to discuss the issue. All have descended from Lebanese ancestors.

Should all of the Jewish members of Congress join together and demand restraint from Hezbollah who ignited the conflict by crossing the border to kill 8 Isreali soldiers and kidnap two more? While the Lebanese government is not Hezbollah they certainly haven’t done much to prevent the use of Southern Lebanon as a launching pad for their terrorist activities. How about we call for restraint from Syria and Iran as they continue to arm Hezbollah and foment agression against Israel and the West?

Israel is our staunchest ally in the region and deserves a right to defend herself. The only way they can ever hope to remain free is to vanquish their enemies and degrade their ability to attack. That is what is occuring now and it should continue until Israel can live in realtive safety, secure in their homes.

LaHood’s complaint is that an inordinate amount of civilians are being killed by the Isaeli attacks but fails to mention Hezbollah’s main tactic, which is to launch missiles into Israeli cities, killing and maiming civilians. The conflict could end, if only Hezbollah would show restraint by returning the hostages they have taken, disbanding their militias and recognize Israel’s right to exist

Posted by Biloxi in Illinois Politics, Politics, Radical Islam at 10:40 PM EDT

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Batwoman is gay, and to make sure the world knows, it was on the front cover of the Chicago Sun-Times. The paper affectionately know as the Obama News here in the Republic. Just in case anybody cares we were also treated to the news that Oprah is not.

The gay lobby and their sympathizers can effectively dispense with the charade that there is no agenda to normalize homosexuality. I have always been a fervent believer that consenting adults are free to do whatever they want and as often as they wish to do it when it comes to their private lives. I do not however, need to know what specifically it is that they are doing. If Neal and Bob want to live next door to me it is fine, as long as they aren’t having relations on their front lawn. The push to have a gay character on every television show, movie and now comic book is just an attempt to further the agenda. With few exceptions, the sexuality of the character is not relevant to the part or storyline yet we are subjected to it anyway. As for Oprah, I care not about her sexual orientation but I’m still peeved at her for inflicting Dr. Phil on us.

People shouldn’t have to hide in our open society but neither do they need to flaunt what many consider abberant behavior. The flood of publicity is an attempt to make the abnormal, normal and tar those that protest it as intolerant homophobes. While these types certainly do exist I would suspect it is number far lower than portrayed. We would be far better off were people to keep their sexuality to themselves and not use it in a militant manner to bludgeon others into submission. As we hear in Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, love, is patient, kind, does not envy or boast and is not proud . It is also a private thing between consenting adults. No matter what the left may be trying to tell us, sharing isn’t always a good thing.

Posted by Biloxi in Biloxi Says at 10:45 AM EDT

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Or is it to be bashed? Julian Bond, NAACP Chairman blasted the war in Iraq and the conservative stance on voting rights,then urged the President to attend their annual civil rights convention. President Bush has wisely avoided the meetings since taking office in 2001. While Bond says the President’s presence would show that he hears the concerns of African-Americans one would think their real desire would be to get him in attendance for a round of criticism, attempted humiliation, and demagoguery. After all, this is the group that votes nearly 100% Democratic and ran a political ad against him during the 2000 campaign using the image of chains being dragged behind a pickup truck, implying he was at very least unconcerned about the brutal murder of James Byrd and at worst in tacit agreement. This is a group that would use the occasion to criticize much like those in attendance at the Paul Wellstone Memorial or the Corretta Scott King Funeral. It’s time for the current leadership to admit their current agenda is more of an extension of the liberal Democratic Party platform than any struggle for civil rights.

The President would do well to continue his status quo in regard to this convention. When the NAACP truly wants a dialogue and will listen as well as run their mouths in criticism, then it would possibly be time for a conservative Presidential appearance, but not before.

Posted by Biloxi in Politics at 8:22 PM EDT

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At the risk of giving these two glory seeking mopes more than their undue time and exposure, I do feel compelled to tell them, YOUR TIME IN THE SPOTLIGHT IS UP!

Joe Wilson is inept at best and a fraud at worst, there was no outing as Wilson listed his wife in the Who’s Who in America. His trip to Niger was arranged by his wife and his op-ed in a high profile newspaper drew enormous amounts of attention to them, attention they attracted by their own actions. Valerie Plame was not covert and had not been so for some time.

The lawsuit against the Vice President, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby is a sham at best and is without basis. Don’t put a target on your back, circle it with neon lights, garnish yourself with a 10 point set of antlers and then complain about getting shot.

There was no “whispering campaign”, it was more of a shouting campaign that seemed to say, “look folks, Democratic shills at their finest“. The problem here is we have two people with access to the system who then tried to use it for partisan political purposes and it backfired on them in a big way, exposing them for the frauds they are. Unfortunately they want to carry this sham a little farther in a desperate attempt at undeserved attention. As there was no underlying crime here, there is also no basis for a civil award for speaking the truth. Where are the lefties crying for the First Amendment , free speech protections when you need them? The problem with some people is they are too stupid to recognize their own failure and seem hell bent on making ever bigger assses out of themselves. The shoe fits here Joe and Val. Time to end your charade.

That is all.

Posted by Biloxi in Politics at 6:39 AM EDT

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Many on the left think the way out of the current Middle East situation is to negotiate. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-AntiBush) claims it is a failure of the current administration “to build relationships”. He displayed his flawed reasoning on Fox News Sunday this morning. He further suggests we have the Secretary of State Dr. Condoleeza Rice, head directly to Beruit to negotiate a settlement to the current crisis by insisting that Hezbollah move out of Southern Lebanon immediately. That’s going to work out well. Howard Dean has suggested that the Middle East would not be in such turmoil if the Democrats were in charge, yet can offer no credible reason as to why.

If Israel’s May 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon and more recent withdrawl from Gaza were not able to persuade Hezbollah and Hamas to act in a peaceful manner, then what do we expect will? When the bedrock principle and most fervent belief of Israel’s middle eastern enemies are that the only solution is the eradication of Israel as both an entity and a people, there can be no true and meaningful negotiation.

Israel’s response is appropriate considering Hezbollah committed an unforgiveable act of war when they crossed into Israeli territory to attack and kill Israeli soldiers while kidnapping two others. The same can be said for Hamas. The real issue is with the countries funding and arming the two militant groups, that being Syria and Iran. The only thing to be gained by negotiating would be an unconditional surrender from any of the aforementioned groups. As long the enemies of Israel demand annihilation and deny their right to exist, it can be no other way. As her allies, we must remain steadfast. The future of the region and our national security depends on it.

Posted by Biloxi in Middle East, Radical Islam at 10:55 PM EDT

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As one of the new guys on the blog block, I was glad I made the effort to drive to the Klas Restaurant, ober by dere in Cicero. I was fashionably late as I had to be sure Mrs. Biloxi was settled in since I was abandoning her to the task of watching the multitudinous little Crawdads in our household.

Everybody was in the process of ordering as I arrived and I was left to marvel at the massive beer steins arrayed about the table. I was quickly introduced and took my seat next to that 1 guy, a great drinking companion and somebody who knows what to do with a schnitzle. It was he who pointed out to the table that Zonker does resemble Bhashar al-Assad which I found to be credible but it got kind of odd when Zonk started asking me to address him as “your excellency”.

I was seated directly across from the Great and Powerful Og who would like to tell you a story about creative uses for an elephant’s trunk. We also had a spirited discussion on prostheses, and thought how it would be nice to be distinguished from the crowd by sporting an extra appendage, Og was so inspired he wrote a song in testimony. Next to him was Dude who was most impressed with the liver dumpling soup, so much so that he showed it to us twice. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to talk to Leslie or the Windy Pundit as the table configuration prevented it. JimmyB the Conservative UAW Guy, shot down to our end of the table for a brief conversation and introductions.

Upon retiring to the bar I had more time to talk with those left and I will have to concur with Og, Tammi is fine as frog fur but also a no bullshit type who knows what life is about and how to survive the rat race comfortably and intact. She’s a refreshing personality in an increasingly pretentious society. I enjoyed three or so Fat Tire Ales while talking with the group in the bar and watching Dude quaff increasingly larger snifters of cognac. Dude, the bartender never saw a tip that large before and was trying to be nice, you didn’t have to drink it all. I also thank you for leaving your deposit in the bathroom and not my car. We are all civilized after all. The best part of driving Dude home was that I was treated to a viewing of his Condoleeza Rice for President in 2008 bumper sticker. If only she would run.

At the end of the evening I was better off for having met some quality people and excellent bloggers, we must do this again and I’m going to have to update my blogroll.

Posted by Biloxi in Biloxi Says at 10:34 PM EDT

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