LOST To Be Voted On Today, Get On The Phone

World Net Daily:

The U.S Senate is scheduled to vote today on the ratification of the United Nations' Law of the Sea Treaty, a wide-ranging measure critics say will grant the U.N. control of the 70 percent of the planet under its oceans.

With Democrats in nearly unanimous agreement with the treaty and the Bush administration behind it, it will be up to a handful of determined Republican senators to derail it.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he will oppose the plan, and other senators have indicated they have heard from constituents who are afraid of the proposal.

"In the same way that the people prevailed in the Senate in the matter of defeating the illegal alien amnesty bill, it is entirely possible that the U.N. power grab known officially as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) could be rejected," one commentator noted.

"If you want a U.N. on steroids, you want the Law of the Sea Treaty," Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., has said.

A two-thirds vote is required for approval, meaning only 34 "no" votes can kill it.

...

The Heritage Foundation warns the treaty would have unintended consequences for U.S. interests – including a threat to sovereignty.

The conservative think tank says "bureaucracies established by multilateral treaties often lack the transparency and accountability necessary to ensure that they are untainted by corruption, mismanagement or inappropriate claims of authority. The LOST bureaucracy is called the International Seabed Authority Secretariat, which has a strong incentive to enhance its own authority at the expense of state sovereignty."

"For example, this treaty would impose taxes on U.S. companies engaged in extracting resources from the ocean floor," wrote Heritage fellows Baker Spring and Brett D. Schaefer. "This would give the treaty's secretariat an independent revenue stream that would remove a key check on its authority. After all, once a bureaucracy has its own source of funding, it needs answer only to itself."

"The United States should be wary of joining sweeping multilateral treaties negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations," say Spring and Schaefer of Heritage. "Specifically, the benefit to U.S. national interests should be indisputable and clearly outweigh the predictable negative consequences of ratification."

Other critics fear the treaty will be used as a back-door to implement policies against global warming without any accountability to the American people. Parts of the treaty, they say, mandate international regulation of U.S. economic and industrial activities on land. With that in mind, critics of the treaty believe so-called greenhouse gases could be viewed as ocean pollutants.

Read the whole story.

We need to do what is best for the U.S. Giving up our sovereignty is not it.

Get on the phones.

Senate contact numbers can be found here.

RWN: Proof Of Rudy's Bad Intentions On Illegal Immigration

John Hawkins gives his review of this article:

If you turn off the job magnet by cracking down on businesses that knowingly hire illegals, the overwhelming majority of illegals who are already here will leave and the torrent of illegals crossing our Southern border will slow to a trickle.

On the other hand, if you take the Rudy Giuliani approach, then the illegal immigration problem becomes unsolvable because you really can't round up and deport them all. The only practical way to get rid of most of the illegals who are already here is to make life as miserable for them as possible, cut off their sources of income, and thereby force them to self-deport.

Check out the rest of his post here.

We simply cannot afford to put Rudy in the general election.

How Long Does It Take Hillary To Fip Flop?

About 45 seconds:

It is funny to watch the candidates try to answer questions they have not prepared for. The question clearly caught "her thighness" off guard. When she realized what she had said, she tried to save face but it was too late.

Hillary is supposed to be a very smart women. She is not. What she is good at is politics.

Congress Deserves The 11% Approval Rating

From Politico:

In a closed-door meeting before the last vote on the children’s health care bill, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer appealed for the support of about 30 wavering Republican lawmakers. What he got instead was a tongue-lashing, participants said.

The GOP lawmakers, all of whom had expressed interest in a bipartisan deal on the SCHIP legislation, were furious that the Democratic leader from Maryland had not reached out to them in a more serious way early on. They also criticized him and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois for failing to stop his allies outside Congress from running attack ads in their districts, while they were discussing a bipartisan deal.

The result was a predictable one for this bitterly divided Congress. The House vote for a second SCHIP bill was a healthy majority, but not the two-thirds needed to override another veto vowed by President Bush. Only one Republican switched his vote — to oppose the measure.

Democrats accused Republicans of hurting kids. Republicans howled about a heavy-handed, uncompromising Democratic majority. And another chance at bipartisan consensus slipped away.

“They spent $1.5 million through their various shill outreach groups attacking me and a handful of my colleagues,” Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.) said before the Hoyer meeting, “but they did not spend five minutes to approach me to ask for my vote.”

This us-against-them mentality has been an ongoing storyline of the new Democratic­-controlled Congress. On the big items — Iraq, health care and spending — party leaders have shunned compromise.

Democrats are under tremendous pressure from liberal activists to take a hard-line approach against everything Bush. Republicans face similar pressure from their own base to stick with the president and prove they are serious about curtailing spending, even if it means less cash for a popular state-run health care program for children not covered by Medicaid.

Bush has only inflamed those tensions. He has threatened to veto Democratic legislation 46 times this year, according to data compiled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). House Democrats have circulated a tally that puts the number at 35.

Of course Bush has threatened to veto some of the stuff coming out of Congress.

I agree that the Republicans have grown way to accustomed to big spending. That is the reason they are no longer in control of Congress. That being said the tax cuts have really helped the economy. If they were to cut spending it is hard to tell how good the economy would be.

The Democrats have shown no interest in the bi-partisanship they talked about in the run-up to the last elections. All we have had are investigations and insane legislation from them.

Terrorist Leaders Are Worried About Olmert's Health

From World Net Daily:

Palestinian terrorists today expressed frantic concern for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's health following media reports he would hold a news conference announcing the diagnosis of a medical ailment.

At the news conference, held at 1 p.m. Jerusalem time, Olmert told reporters he will undergo a surgical procedure in the coming months to remove the early stages of a "cancerous tumor" in his prostate.

Olmert told the packed news conference he would continue with his duties as prime minister and will not undergo chemotherapy or radiation. He said the tumor was detected 10 days ago during a routine checkup, shortly before a trip to Russia.

The prime minister's doctors said the microscopic tumor was very treatable and the surgery was not urgent.

Prior to the press conference, television channels and radio networks today dramatically announced Olmert would disclose an unspecified illness.

Following the reports, WND's Jerusalem bureau received calls from almost a dozen terrorists, including senior leaders, asking whether the online news agency had any information about Olmert's illness and expressing concern for the prime minister.

The terrorists were all members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the declared military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. The Brigades, together with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, took responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years and has carried out thousands of shootings, grenade attacks and rocket launchings aimed at Jewish civilian population centers.

"I don't want him to leave office or die before he has the occasion to follow through with his promises of granting amnesty," said one leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

He may be the only Jew these terrorists do not want to see dead.

I have complained about Olmert time and again on this blog. He is too eager to give up strategic sites inside Israel.

I hope he is alright and makes a full recovery from whatever health issues he has. I also hope that he changes his beliefs that if he gives in to the terrorists, they will suddenly stop wanting to kill the citizens of Israel.

Mark Levin At FRC Values Voters

Listen to Mark's speech here.

The speech is about half an hour, but it is well worth your time.

Fred On International Global Gun Control

Via The Gun Nut:

Last year, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights declared that international human rights law requires all nations to adopt strict gun control laws. These “minimum” provisions are much more restrictive than any of those on the books anywhere in the U.S. and would almost certainly violate the Second Amendment of our Constitution.

Besides concluding that all nations are obligated under international human rights law to control the small arms and light weapons to which its civilian population has access, the UN report remarkably denied the existence of any human right to self-defense, evidently overlooking the work of Hugo Grotius, the 17th century scholar credited as the founder of international law, who wrote, “It is to be observed that [the] Right of Self-Defence, arises directly and immediately from the Care of our own Preservation, which Nature recommends to every one. . . ,” and that this right is so primary, that it cannot be denied on the basis that it is not “expressly set forth.”

There is another disturbing aspect to this call for international global gun control. Throughout modern history, the forced disarmament of people by its government has often been accompanied or followed by that government’s commission of often massive human rights abuses. In fact, no genocide in the 20th century occurred when the victim population still possessed small arms, legally or illegally, with which to defend themselves.

So now the UN wants to disarm civilians? Where was the UN when the massacres in Rwanda occurred? What did the UN do to protect the victims of ethnic massacres in Bosnia? Disarming civilians under the guise of international human rights law will only lead to more such genocides by ensuring that civilians can never defend themselves! It would be funny if it weren’t so perverse.

Thankfully, the Framers of our Constitution recognized this potential peril to our liberty, and enshrined in our Second Amendment the more basic right of self-defense. The U.N. can say what it likes about other countries’ citizens’ possession of small arms being a violation of human rights law, but so long as the United States is a sovereign nation governed by its Constitution, its words will have no effect here. And I am glad for it.

Once again Fred gets it.

The UN held meetings in July of this year. They have for several years now. The objective of these meetings have been to take guns from the citizens in all nations that are in the UN.

Win, Fred, Win

What Has Happened To The Hurricanes?

The Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies:

Unless a dramatic and perhaps historical flurry of activity occurs in the next 9 weeks, 2007 will rank as a historically inactive TC year for the Northern Hemisphere as a whole. During the past 30 years, only 1977, 1981, and 1983 have had less activity to date (January-TODAY, Accumulated Cyclone Energy). However, the year is not over...

2007 lowest September activity on record since 1977

For the period of June 1 - TODAY, only 1977 has experienced LESS tropical cyclone activity than 2007. There are currently two worldwide tropical cyclones: Tropical Storm Noel and Unnamed Arabian Sea TS...

On average to date (1970-2006), the Eastern Pacific season is 97% completed, Western Pacific 82%, North Atlantic 93% and overall Northern Hemisphere 87%.

Remember how global warming was the cause of Katrina, and it would only get worse. How can this report be true?

The fact is, the change that takes place in the climate is still a mystery. Al Gore does not have it figured out any more than the average Joe on the street. Scientist don't know what is going to occur either.

Trouble In The Democratic Party

It seems a lot of people in the Democratic party are upset with there members in Congress:

An ardent lifelong Democrat, Hillary Keyes thought that when her party took control of Congress, it would finally bring an end to the Iraq war. After all, to her the 2006 election was a mandate on Iraq.

But Keyes is at the 2007 state Democratic Party convention this weekend, still pleading with members of Congress from her own party to end the war.

"It's so frustrating," said Keyes, of Boca Raton. "People I know are frustrated with the Democratic Party."

While the war for most is the biggest issue in America, ending it has become a serious dividing point for Democrats. At the state Democratic Party convention, the division is hard to miss.

While state Democrats were listening to U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., speak on Saturday, anti-war activists were a few miles away demanding an end to the war and expressing doubt that Democrats would stand up and get the job done.

Many Democrats see Hoyer's moderate approach to Iraq as a key reason why Democrats in Congress have settled for modest bipartisan measures to bring incremental change rather than bringing the troops home and challenging Bush more aggressively.

To some Democrats, it looks like their party's leaders are afraid that Republicans will label them as irresponsible if they advocate immediate withdrawal.

That includes the presidential candidates, who some say should be more aggressive in calling for an end to the war.

"The Republicans have been able to play the card calling the Democrats 'soft on terror,' and so most of the candidates haven't come out strong enough against it," said Jim White of Gainesville.

Read the rest at the link.

This may be a good sign for the Republicans in '08. The Democratic party is torn between the anti war crowd and the moderate Democrats that do not want to lose the war. It has been difficult for the democratic candidates to pander to both sides of the argument.

Condoleezza Rice Gets Advice On "Middle East Peace" From Carter And Clinton

Reuters:

Anxious not to repeat mistakes of past Middle East peace-making, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has turned to former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter for tips ahead of her own conference this year.

Rice invited Carter, a vocal critic of Bush administration policies, to the State Department on Wednesday where the two discussed his Arab-Israeli peacemaking efforts in the 1970s, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Friday.

Their talks were "good and cordial," he said. They focused on the Middle East and not Carter's recent criticism of President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq and elsewhere.

A Soviet specialist, Rice also telephoned another former Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who tried, and ultimately failed, in his eight years in office to bring the Israelis and Palestinians together.

There never has been and never will be peace between Israel and the Arabs.

If the Bush administration is looking for a "Legacy", they need to look somewhere else. It will not happen.

Another "Proud" Moment For The Democrat Led Congress

Looks like they have set another record:

Today, President announced a new record set by the Democrat-controlled Congress.

"Today Congress set a record they should not be proud of: October the 26th is the latest date in 20 years that Congress has failed to get a single annual appropriations bill to the President's desk."

It looks like they have accomplished giving us the "change" they promised before the election. Unfortunately it has all been change for the worst, not the better. So far all they have given us is stupid investigations and meaningless legislature. Of course they did get a chance to reprimand Rush for nothing. And they got rid of Scooter Libby. Other than that what have they done?

Now we get Rangel wanting to go ahead and destroy job growth, as well as the economy. Nancy and Harry wanting to grow SCHIP into an unsustainable monster. Hillary wanting to give us the health care Cuba has. Etc...

Wonder how long the Democrats are going to enjoy that 11% favorable rating. Single digits can not be far away.

Congress Rebukes BATF For Going After Gun Dealers

From WorldNetDaily:

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has been given a
rebuke by Congress for its aggressive attacks on firearms dealers who may have paperwork errors in their record-keeping.

The citation in the 2008 Appropriations Bill was pointed out by Ryan Horsley, who manages the historic Red's Trading Post in Twin Falls, Idaho, and blogs about 2nd Amendment issues.

As WND has reported, his company is in a court fight now with the federal agency over paperwork errors that largely involved insignificant issues, such as a missing poster or a purchaser failing to provide a county of residence to accompany and street and city address.

Inspectors for the BATFE have been visiting his business regularly in search of records mistakes, he said.

Read it all at the link above.

This kind of thing must be stopped.

What did Congress say?:

"The committee has heard reports that AFT has pursued license revocations and denials against firearms dealers based on violations that consist largely of recordkeeping errors of various types that are unlikely to impede tracing investigations or prosecution of individuals who use firearms in crime," the members of Congress said. "The Committee encourages AFT to consider lesser gradation of sanctions for recordkeeping errors."

Rangel Introduces His Tax Plan

From the Washington Times:

The Democrats' top tax-writer yesterday introduced a massive plan to give tax relief to 90 million working families, a long-anticipated tax-code overhaul that Republicans criticized as the largest proposed tax increase in U.S. history.

The bill would expand income-tax breaks for the middle class while limiting deductions and adding taxes on high-end earners, increase the tax rate on "carried interest" fund managers earn on investments, and cut corporate tax rates. The Democratic plan also would repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT), because it is set to penalize middle-income families this year.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat, said the changes would provide Americans a "greater sense of equity and fairness" about the tax system.

...

Republicans say the rewrite of the tax code, which Mr. Rangel touts as the "mother of all tax reforms," would raise taxes $1.3 trillion by itself or more than $2 trillion when coupled with Democrats' plan to let expire President Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner said the bill couldn't come at a worse time — amid a slowing economy and a mortgage lending crisis — and threatened to reverse five years of gains from Republican tax cuts that reaped job growth, rising household incomes and increased federal tax revenue.

"Imposing higher taxes at this time will doom our economy, put people out of work and cost the federal government revenue that is badly needed if we are in fact going to balance the budget," the Ohio Republican said.

If you take it away from the rich and give it to the middle class, who is going to provide the jobs for the middle class? Oh sure you get a couple of hundred dollars more a year from the 'relief' plan, but how does that compare with losing your job?

You Had Better Be Glad That Is A (D), And Not A (R), Beside Your Name

Look what Sen. Joe Biden has said now:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — In what the Washington Post is describing as a "stumble," Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in an interview with the paper Wednesday that Washington's high minority population is one of the reasons for the city's education problems.

Explaining why schools in Iowa are performing better than those in Washington, D.C., Biden told the Post, "There's less than one percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than four of five percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you're dealing with."

"When you have children coming from dysfunctional homes, when you have children coming from homes where there's no books, where the mother from
the time they're born doesn't talk to them — as opposed to the mother in Iowa who's sitting out there and talks to them, the kid starts out with a 300 word larger vocabulary at age three. Half this education gap exists before the kid steps foot in the classroom," the Delaware Democrat added.

The paper reports Biden's campaign quickly sought to clarify the remarks, saying in a statement that the senator was not making a "race-based distinction" but rather a "socio-economic" one.

Check out the statement I have put in bold letters.

No further comment is required.

Brownback To Meet With, Possibly Endorse Rudy

From The Hill:

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is considering endorsing Rudy Giuliani for the GOP presidential nomination and will meet with him Thursday in Washington to hear his views on abortion.

Brownback, who ended his White House run last week and is a champion of social conservative issues, said he would consider Giuliani because he had heard that the former New York City mayor had changed his position on partial-birth abortion and has pledged to appoint to the courts strict constructionists who would not overturn anti-abortion laws.

If Brownback pledged his support, it would be a big boost for Giuliani. It might help shore up the biggest perceived weakness of his candidacy — namely, the lack of support among social conservatives because of his stance on abortion.

“I’m going to meet with him and I’m going to talk to him and hear what he is specifically saying now because he’s changed on a number of the abortion issues,” Brownback said in an interview. “He’s changed on partial-birth [abortion] and he … has said he would appoint strict constructionists.”

When asked about Giuliani’s position on allowing women the right to late-term abortions, also known as partial-birth abortions, Brownback said: “He is opposed to it. That’s what I’ve been told indirectly. I want to hear it from him.”

Brownback has not indicated that he is likely to support Giuliani, but he has not ruled it out. He said he is also considering endorsing other top-tier Republican
candidates. Several have asked for his support in telephone conversations, and Brownback has already met with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to discuss a possible endorsement.

Given that Abortion was about all that Brownback was running on, I doubt he would endorse Rudy. Who knows I could be wrong. I hear a lot of people who I thought were social conservatives endorsing him.