It's Your Money, and I'm Welcome to It

I caught part of Sen. Hillary Clinton's interview on the O'Reilly Factor last night. It seemed to be much of the same. One comment from her that stood out to me involved raising taxes. She said that she'd only raise taxes on people making more than $250k a year. Her reasoning was that such a tax increase would allow for tax cuts for the people who work for their money.

Um, excuse me? Where does Hillary Clinton, or any politician, get off deciding who really deserves what they make. I've met people with six and seven digit incomes who worked their asses off for every penny they got. And I've met people scraping by on minimum wage who not only didn't even deserve what little they were making, they should've been charged rent by their employer for the space they took up during the work day.

The whole idea that government gets to decide who is more deserving of the money they earn implies that all money really belongs to the government in the first place. Sorry, but there's nothing Democratic about that concept. To me, it sounds more like this.

Outraged! Outraged, I say!

I guess Barack Obama has finally had his Sista Souljah monent.

Obama says he's outraged by former pastor's comments

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he was outraged and appalled by the latest comments from his former pastor, who asserted that criticism of his fiery sermons is an attack on the black church and the U.S. government was responsible for the creation of the AIDS virus.

The presidential candidate is seeking to tamp down the growing fury over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his incendiary remarks that threaten to undermine his campaign.

"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama told reporters at a news conference.

After weeks of staying out of the public eye while critics lambasted his sermons, Wright made three public appearances in four days to defend himself. The former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago has been combative, providing colorful commentary and feeding the story Obama had hoped was dying down.

Hat tip: Drudge

Let's see, it took him 20 years as a member of Rev. Wright's flock, and another couple months as a Presidential candidate to figure out that Wright is an extremist nut. From where I sit, that can be chalked up to one of three things:

1. Obama is very slow on the uptake.

2. Obama figured it out long ago, but lacked the guts to speak up.

3. Obama is feigning outrage in order to put the issue to rest so he can refocus our collective attention on his mantra of "change."

So, which is it? Is he dumb, gutless, or a slick-talking con man who thinks we're all idiots? Whichever one it is, I wouldn't want this guy in the big chair during a time of crisis. Would you?

Bombast from Bloomberg

NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg--who's not a Republican, but he played one on TV (long enough to get elected, at any rate)--is at it again.

NY mayor looking forward to an 'adult' in the White House

NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who decided against a White House run, said Thursday his endorsement will go to the most straight-talking candidate and predicted "at least we'll have an adult in office who can lead and can accomplish something."

Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned- independent, later ducked a question about whether he was taking a shot at President Bush.

h/t: Drudge

Of course he was taking a shot at Bush, how stupid does he think we are? OK, I know; too stupid to decide for ourselves on what to eat, or whether to smoke.

But look on the bright side, every minute that Mike Bloomberg spends sniping at President Bush is one less minute spent thinking up new ways to run our lives under his pined-for nanny state.

Alberto Martinez Case Update

Here's the latest in the murder case against SSG Alberto Martinez.

Prosecutors to appeal ruling in fragging that killed Suffern Army captain

Prosecutors in the murder trial of a man accused of killing two Army officers in Iraq will appeal a court decision that prevents them from using potentially incriminating statements made by the accused to officers who arrested him.

Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez, 40, of Troy, N.Y., is charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the 2005 deaths of Capt. Phillip Esposito, 30, of Suffern, who was his company commander, and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa., second in command of the 42nd Infantry Division's headquarters support company in Tikrit, Iraq.

The statements in question were allegedly made by Martinez to an officer while he was being advised of his rights and to other law enforcement officers, but were not formally recorded.

Col. Stephen Henley, a military judge hearing pretrial motions, refused to admit the statements in the final court-martial scheduled for July and refused it again on appeal. The prosecution, however, was given the right to appeal to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

One aspect of this story that has been lost in the news media's (limited) coverage is the impact all of this is having on the families of the murdered men.

Family pleas over soldier's trial

CHESTER — Lou Allen's family has campaigned heavily to have the murder trial of his accused killer held at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The military said no.

The family then campaigned to have a video feed broadcast to West Point so family and friends of 1st Lt. Allen, from Chester, and Capt. Phil Esposito of Suffern could watch as the much-postponed trial begins in late June.

Now the family doesn't think it will get that, either.

At a recent pre-trial hearing in Fort Bragg, N.C., the prosecution asked to have a video feed broadcast to an armory in Latham, N.Y., two hours away from Chester, and near the family of the accused, Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez. The judge has not yet ruled on the motion.

OK, I'm no lawyer, but I fail to see how this (mis)treatment of the victims' families serves justice. Or is justice not a priority to the military in this case?

Iraq: Getting a Clue

Here's a shocker: Our illustrious media is, yet again, totally missing the point in covering the current troubles with the Shia militias in Iraq. Unbelievable, isn't it? If you're interested in some good, in-depth analysis of the situation, check out CTA Symposium: Iraq v. Mahdi Army. The symposium includes analysis by Bill Roggio, Dr. Michael Ledeen, LTC Ralph Peters (Ret.), and Mohammed and Omar Fadhil of the Iraq the Model blog. Forget the mainstream media*, if you want to understand what's really going on over there, these folks are the place to start.


*Please note that I'm not suggesting you give up on the MSM entirely. They're still a good source for stories on Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and other really important stuff. They're just useless when it comes to stories involving domestic or foreign policy, that's all.

Alberto Martinez Update

Here's the latest on the case against accused murderer Alberto Martinez.

Soldier's murder trial faces delay

The trial for a soldier accused of murdering two officers in Iraq in summer 2005 could be delayed another 40 days by prosecutors seeking to strengthen their case.

Jury selection in the court-martial of Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez of Troy, N.Y., is scheduled to begin on June 24. Prosecutors at a Fort Bragg pre-trial hearing on Thursday said they need a key piece of evidence that was suppressed in the fall: statements that Martinez made to investigators shortly after an explosion that killed Capt. Phillip T. Esposito and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen of the New York National Guard.

Martinez is accused of detonating a mine to kill the officers. There has been testimony that he clashed with Esposito, his commanding officer, and faced a reprimand — which could cost him a rank and pay — for illegally giving military-owned computer printers to an Iraqi. If convicted, he could get the death penalty.

Other developments in the case:

The prosecutors asked Henley to permit a closed-circuit video feed of the court-martial be transmitted to upstate New York so the family and friends of Martinez can more conveniently observe the case. The trial is expected to run approximately five to eight weeks, not including the time required for jury selection.

Defense lawyers asked for all autopsy photos to be suppressed because images of the men’s wounds might mislead and inflame the jury. Prosecutors argued they need the photos to describe the officers’ injuries to the jury.

And the case keeps dragging on, as Martinez's lawyers look for any technicality they can find to avoid facing the facts about this case; facts that hang a big "guilty" sign around their clients neck. In the meantime, the families of the two murdered men continue to suffer through delay after delay, unable to move on with their lives. It's been three years, for crying out loud. Whatever happened to "Justice delayed is justice denied?"

Race and Unity and Flags, Oh My!

Barrack Obama gave his big speech today, the one that was supposed to distance him from the nutty hate-filled rantings of his longtime (20 years) pastor and spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright. The picture above shows Obama giving said speech (and no, it's NOT an AP photo). Check out all those flags. I count four in that picture. Wow. Barrack Obama must love this country. Either that, or he thinks most of us are friggin' idiots that are easily manipulated by careful staging and ornamentation.

Another Great Message to Our Daughters

Who didn't see this coming? It looks like Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the whore at the heart of the Eliot Spitzer scandal, is well on her way to fame and fortune. What's next? A book deal? An acting career? Maybe a a photo shoot in Penthouse?

Great example for our daughters, isn't it? Get an education? Work for a living? Why bother? That's what mom and dad did, and look at how dreary their lives are. You too can be a "high class call girl." Cash and valuable prizes are waiting for you. And maybe you can become famous, too. Hey, who needs dignity and self-respect when you can have fame and fortune? And just when I thought Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton were the worst role models ever. Oy!

And while we're on the topic of "high class" prostitution, can we please stop calling it that. A person who has sex for money is a whore. There's nothing classy about that, regardless of the price tag.