Whack Jobs

The Birthers are a growing group in this country that is nothing more than the largest collection of Whack Jobs I have ever seen in my whole life. The fact that the Republican Party and some of its members, even want to associate themselves with this movement, is outright nauseating to me and shows the total disarray the party is in. This excerpt, from an article on Politico.com, illustrates the ignorance being touted about the Obama Birth certificate issue;
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19450.html
By BEN SMITH
A quick reality check, before we dive in: The challenges to Obama's eligibility have no grounding in evidence. Courts across the country have summarily rejected the movement's theory — that Obama can't be a citizen because his father wasn't —as a misreading of U.S. law; and Hawaii officials, along with contemporary birth announcements, affirm that Obama was in fact born in Honolulu in 1961.

The following article pretty well states what the official rulings are on the Obama Birth Certificate and how I feel about this whole movement;
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/03/06/birthers_court/
Obama "Birthers" slapped around by federal judge
By Alex Koppelman
Finally, a judge has given the "Birthers" -- the people who argue that President Obama is not eligible for the presidency -- the spanking they so sorely deserve.
In his opinion dismissing one lawsuit filed on behalf of a retired Air Force officer who argued he needed to see even more proof that Obama was born in the United States, U.S. District Judge James Robertson wrote:
This case, if it were allowed to proceed, would deserve mention in one of those books that seek to prove that the law is foolish or that America has too many lawyers with not enough to do. Even in its relatively short life the case has excited the blogosphere and the conspiracy theorists. The right thing to do is to bring it to an early end.
Robertson also wrote dismissively -- even angrily -- about Philip Berg, the man pulling the strings behind this lawsuit. Berg, who's also a 9/11 "Truther," has been at the forefront of the Birther movement and has advanced various nutty theories about Obama's birth and citizenship. In his opinion, Robertson notes that imposing civil penalties against Berg would only provide him fodder for his crusade, but does threaten such penalties against a local lawyer Berg brought in to help with this case.
As the judge noted, and as I wrote in an article examining the psychology of this conspiracy theory specifically and conspiracy theories generally, even an opinion like this is, unfortunately, unlikely to bring an end to this particular madness.

So, for all you Whack Jobs out there, including CNN’s Lou Dobbs, get a life! Get over yourselves and as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said about the 2000 election results, Get over it! We have too many issues in this country and around the world that require our attention. The birther issues are a waste of time and quite frankly are a waste of oxygen on those individuals that have nothing better to do than be a Whack Job! Maybe those people should get a real job and be part of the solution in our world instead of a big part of the ongoing problems.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/22/liz-cheney-defends-birthe_n_242555.html
http://news.aol.com/main/obama-presidency/article/the-birthers-obama-conspiracy-theory/363461
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/03/06/birthers_court/
http://www.thebirthers.org/
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/birther-boom/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19450.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/23/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5182746.shtml

Know When To Speak Up Or Shut Up

At the end of his press conference on the Healthcare Bill being written, President Barack Obama surprised many, as well as, me with a comment about race relations. The statement was in response to a question about an incident involving a Harvard Professor and the Cambridge Massachusetts Police Department. The following are excerpts of his answer, as provided on Bloomberg.com by writer Edwin Chen;
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqSwABfzJgs0
President Barack Obama said police officers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, “acted stupidly” in their arrest of Harvard University African-American studies professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after responding to reports of a burglary at his home…………….Obama, 47, began his comments by saying Gates, who he referred to by the nickname Skip, “is a friend, so I may be a little biased here.”
The president said that while “I don’t know all the facts” of the arrest or the role race played in it, the case highlighted “a long history in this country of African- Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.”
He added: “That’s just a fact.”
“I am standing here as testimony to the progress that’s been made” on race relations, he said. “And yet the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, this still haunts us.”

I believe these comments about the incident were inappropriate for a man of his position and were stated at the inappropriate time. First of all, when the President called Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., by his nickname Skip, this should have been a warning to him, to take a no comment. When the President than stated that he might be a little biased about the case, since Professor Gates was a friend, should have set off alarms in his politically savvy head. Finally, to admit he did not know all the facts should have been a slam dunk (to coin a phrase) in SHUTTING UP!

We are at a point in our great nation where race is becoming a dying issue. The generations coming up behind mine, which is the baby boomer generation, could care less about the nationality, color of one’s skin or religious beliefs of any individual. To comment as the President did last night, will only instigate and continue an issue that is long on the road to being a dead one at best. So, shame on you Mr. President, for the showing of low class to no class in your behavior. Being a middle aged white male, growing up in a racist family, I overcame many racist beliefs and voted for you because I felt you could lead us in a new direction. But, rest assured, if you are nothing more than the same old story with a different face, me and many like me will turn away from you in a heartbeat. That would be something the GOP would relish.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25329.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR2009072203871.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqSwABfzJgs0
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-gates-analysis24-2009jul24,0,2990550.story

And That's The Way It Was

When I was growing up and through my early adulthood, no one person could garner my attention more than Walter Cronkite. I am sure my parents thought I listened to him more than I did them. But, for honesty and integrity in reporting the news, Walter Cronkite was and will be, unsurpassed in keeping America appraised of the news events that shaped our daily lives.

I found two articles that combined; fully conclude the enormous impact Mr. Cronkite had during his news reporting career. The first article is by Brian Stelter of the New York Times; http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/remembering-the-way-it-was/
Explaining ‘The Way It Was’ to the YouTube Generation
By Brian Stelter
Sean McManus, the president of CBS News, learned of Walter Cronkite’s death while he was at the dinner table on Friday evening, sharing a meal with his two children, ages 8 and 10.
After taking the phone call, he tried to explain to his children — who have grown up bombarded with news and information — the value of Mr. Cronkite’s once-a-day news updates.
“There probably will never be anybody who has the presence and the stature and the importance that Walter Cronkite had in this country,” Mr. McManus said in a telephone interview, recalling what he told his children.
“I tried to explain to them that most people in America expected to get both good and bad news from one man, and that was Walter Cronkite,” he said. “That will never be duplicated again,” because of the fragmentation of the media.
Mr. McManus sensed that his children had a hard time comprehending what he meant.
“It’s really hard,” he acknowledged, “to remember just how influential and important he was.” He cited Mr. Cronkite’s famous declaration that the Vietnam war would end in a stalemate.
Viewers and Web readers now, he said, “are so used to being assaulted by so many streams of media that it’s hard for them to imagine that there were only three or four ways to get news and information on TV.”
On an evening when Mr. Cronkite was on the minds of the television industry, Mr. McManus sounded a sad note about the splintered media environment. TV executives are always looking for the next Cronkite, he said, “but I don’t think anybody will be in that position of prominence again.”
CBS News still operates out of the same building on West 57th Street in Manhattan where Mr. Cronkite anchored the “CBS Evening News.”
While he had not visited recently, Mr. McManus said, “his presence really is palpable in the halls of CBS News.” On Friday evening, the news division felt numb, even though Mr. Cronkite was known to be in ill health for some time.
A little more than a year ago, Mr. Cronkite paid a surprise visit to the news headquarters. Even the interns who weren’t yet born when Mr. Cronkite was anchor were “literally looking up to him,” Mr. McManus said.
“When he walked in the newsroom, it was like Thomas Jefferson walking into a history class at a university,” he said.

This second article is by Daniel Schorr, an iconic Journalist in his own right. As of this writing, the article is only hours old and will be accompanied by a television program, to be aired, later this evening on NPR (National Public Radio);
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106859991
News Analysis
by Daniel Schorr
Walter Cronkite Will Be Hard To Replace
Audio for this story will be available at approx. 7:00 p.m. ET
All Things Considered, July 21, 2009 · I imagine that no one would have been more astonished and more delighted than Walter Cronkite at the vast amount of ink and airtime occasioned by his death last Friday. That a generation later he should share a global stage with the moon landing anniversary would have seemed only the natural order of things.
Three decades after he reluctantly vacated the anchor seat at CBS News, no one has come to fill his place in American hearts and minds as the prototype newsman, the most trusted man in America.
Once asked to run for office, he said, smilingly, that he could not step down.
His image was the impartial purveyor of facts, without bias or opinion. Actually, some of his most dramatic moments involved departures from objectivity. The spontaneous "Oh boy!" as he watched the moon landing; the catch in his throat when he announced that President Kennedy had died. The eruption, "I think we've got a bunch of thugs here," from the anchor booth at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago when he saw Dan Rather being roughed up by security guards. And, famously, his 1968 visit to Vietnam and on-camera conclusion that the war was unwinnable and should be ended.
President Johnson told his aide Bill Moyers, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."
Cronkite also drew on his reservoir of trust when it came to reporting the Watergate scandal. In October 1972, about a month before the election, Cronkite noted to me, as designated Watergate correspondent, that CBS wasn't giving enough attention to the deepening investigation.
"This has been mainly a newspaper story," he said. "It's time to make it a television story."
We put together two lengthy packages summarizing all that was known about the scandal.
Ben Bradlee, editor of The Washington Post, later said that Cronkite and CBS had turned a newspaper story into a national story.
No one commanded more confidence than this plainspoken newsman from the Midwest. And, given the trend toward tabloid journalism, we are not likely to soon see another "Uncle Walter."

So, of all the famous people who have died recently, Walter Cronkite is like loosing a close relative. Only a few other journalist, along with Edward R. Murrow, can stake a claim of honesty, integrity and confidence in reporting, that Walter Cronkite takes with him. Though many may try to emulate him, there is no one on the horizon, who can match the stature of this Journalistic Icon. And that’s the way it was.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?fID=571&rID=3376
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106859991
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/07/20/2001774.aspx
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/remembering-the-way-it-was/

To The Moon Or Mars

I remember when I was a child witnessing the lunar landing of Apollo 11. Like millions of people around the world I was glued to my television set as the grainy images appeared of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking across the surface of another world. Recently, the 40th Anniversary of this event had arrived. NASA used this opportunity to celebrate the successful mission and to showcase the future endeavors of the space agency. The crew of this historic mission has been touring and lecturing about the future and where we should be heading with space exploration. The following is an excerpt from the Buzz Aldrin interview by Tariq Malik, as it appeared on the Fox News website; http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533785,00.html?test=latestnews
Buzz Aldrin: Put Humans on Mars By 2031
By Tariq Malik
The moon may have been the entire world for a day for Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin 40 years ago, but today he hopes the United States and the world set their sights on a far grander goal: Spreading humanity to Mars and perhaps asteroids and comets.
But NASA's plan to replace its three aging space shuttles with Orion capsules to carry astronauts to the moon by 2020 may not justify its $35 billion cost if it stops there, said Aldrin, one of the first humans to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 landing on July 20, 1969.
Instead, the United States can aid international partners in exploring the moon and free up its own spaceflight resources to develop systems for even more ambitious goals, he told in an interview.
"While the international explorers, with our help, are going to the moon, we can develop the long-duration life support systems for other things," said Aldrin, 79. "Flying by a comet, visiting an asteroid and station-keeping with it."
Mars within reach
With an international base on the moon and vital technologies like in-space refueling, Aldrin envisions an ambitious series of expeditions to send astronauts on a deep space mission to visit the asteroid Aphophis when it swings near Earth in 2021. A temporarily manned base on the Mars moon Phobos could follow, he added.
"By that time, we'd be ready to put people in a gradual permanence on Mars by 2031," Aldrin said. "That, in a nutshell, is what I really think we should be doing."
NASA's current transition from the space shuttle to Orion is a huge step backward, Aldrin said. The shuttle's may not have lived up to its initial expectations, but its ability to haul tons of cargo to orbit and land on a runway is a capability that should not be lost in order to replace it with something faster and cheaper, he stressed.
"What happens to U.S. space global leadership if everything is going to be done on the cheap and we're not going to think ahead, and we're going back to the moon for some reason that really won't justify the cost of human habitation," he said.
The United States should "do the things that this nation can do and strive toward maintaining globally space leaderships. And that means lifting bodies, runway landers and not going back to the moon, because we've been there," Aldrin added.

I agree with Mr. Aldrin and believe the ambitions of NASA should reach well beyond the Moon. I know some critics would say we do not know enough about our own planet yet for us to be reaching for the stars. But, I believe the gains in space exploration; will help us to understand more about our own earth, its origin and how important it is to help preserve our most natural resource, the planet we live on. I believe the colonization of the Moon is paramount before we reach further into the stars. We need to perfect our technologies of living on another surface, landing and lift-off procedures, as well as, all that is needed to survive in a non atmospheric environment, away from the safety of our own world. I believe the benefits go beyond just the scientific. In fact, I believe the technologies developed will impact every facet of our lives. From the economic thru medical and all life sciences will be enhanced by a healthy and rigorous space program. I only hope our government and all governments around the world are as excited about the future of space exploration as I am.

That’s How I See It.

Website of reference;
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533785,00.html?test=latestnews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/Apollo/AS11/a11.htm
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo11/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(spacecraft)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA

Class of '94

In 1994, the Republican Party had an amazing electoral victory in the Congress. This sweeping defeat of the Democratic Party opened an era of conservative rule ushering in the “Contract with America” led, by then elected Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Many of this Class of ’94 remain in political office today. Some are members of a group that, thru scandal, may be bringing the GOP to its knees. This group resides in a church at the Fellowship Foundation residence at 133 C Street SE in Washington. Also, referred to as “The Family”, this group of individuals are some of the GOP members, whose old style thinking is slowly isolating the party from mainstream America.

The following is a brief history about C-Street and “The Family”;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Christian_political_organization)
The house on C Street
Until 1994, the Fellowship operated out of "Fellowship House," a large mansion located at 2817 Woodland Drive in Washington, D.C., currently owned by the Ourisman family. The Fellowship now maintains a three-story, 7,914-square-foot (735.2 m2) red brick townhouse at 133 C Street in Washington, D.C., near the United States Capitol, called the C Street Center. The townhouse formerly was used as a convent for nearby St. Peters Catholic Church. As noted above, several United States Senators and Representatives have lived at the C Street Center as resident members of the Fellowship at below-market rents. The property is exempt from real property taxes because it is classified as a "special purpose" use. District of Columbia law exempts from taxation "buildings belonging to religious corporations or societies primarily and regularly used for religious worship, study, training, and missionary activities" and "buildings belonging to organizations which are charged with the administration, coordination, or unification of activities, locally or otherwise, of institutions or organizations entitled to exemption."

The following is an excerpt from a radio interview of Jeff Sharlet. Mr. Sharlet is a contributing editor to Harper’s and Rolling Stone magazines. Last year, through HarperCollins, he published his book entitled “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power”. This interview was conducted by Dave Berns on public radio in Nevada;
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/19/behind-closed-doors-c-street/
Dave Berns: Scandals involving John Ensign and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford placed a spotlight on The Family. The group’s town house in Washington is a former convent with a chapel and, according to federal tax records, is registered as a church. Tenants pay below market rent.
We asked Sharlet which is the bigger story: the sex scandals, or the public conversation about The Family.
Jeff Sharlet: The story begins with these scandals. The question is, do you make the bigger connection? The real issue is not who Ensign or Sanford sleep with, but the organizations with which they pursue their policies and the sources to which they turn for moral and religious authority.
I think that is starting to come out, particularly with Ensign, because we see the role The Family plays in the cover-up. Doug Hampton said The Family had a role in moving money around for the affair, which I think a lot of outsiders look at as hypocritical. Knowing The Family, I understand that that’s not hypocritical from its perspective — that it’s actually a form of doing God’s work.
Berns: Talk about the relationship between members of The Family — they are men, not women — and the role they play as a larger group.
Sharlet: The Family began with this idea that God does not work through churches but rather through those whom The Family calls the “New Chosen.” They believe they’re chosen by God. They can’t be expected to pray with the rest of us. They need to pray in private with people of equal status.
When you join one of these prayer groups, you give these men veto power over your life, over every aspect of your life. Wives involved with The Family have said, “In my husband’s life, his brothers come first, I come second.”
I urge you to click on this link and read the interview. If there was ever a group who has elevated themselves to a level of entitlement it is “The Family”.

Even though, there are a few people who are an influence on the residents of C-Street, no one seems to carry as much influence as Douglas Coe. To be honest with you, I felt like I was reading about Charles Manson, as I searched different articles about this man and his connections with leaders of all branches of government. I have always believed in a separation of church and state. But, after researching this article, I am not so sure we are as religious free as we think we are.

The following is a summary of election results in 1994 taken from the website; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Revolution
The 1994 elections ushered in a great number of Republican freshmen. For example, of the 230 Republican House members of the 104th Congress, almost a third (73; 32%) were new to the House.[2] In the Senate, 11 of 54 (20%) Republicans were freshmen.[2]
Many current leaders in the Republican Party and other notables were first elected to national or state office as part of the Republican Revolution:
George W. Bush - Bush defeated incumbent Texas Governor Ann Richards, a Democrat. He was re-elected as Governor in 1998, and elected to the presidency of the United States in 2000 and in 2004.
Bill Frist - Formerly Senate Majority Leader, Frist was the Senior Senator from Tennessee, first elected in 1994 when he defeated incumbent Democrat Jim Sasser. He retired in 2007, after deciding not to seek reelection.
John Shadegg - Former chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, Shadegg was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Arizona's fourth district, replacing Republican Jon Kyl, who was elected to the Senate in 1994 to replace retiring Democrat Dennis DeConcini. Shadegg is the only member of the 1994 freshman class currently in the House Republican leadership.
Saxby Chambliss - Now the Senior Senator from Georgia, Chambliss was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Georgia's eighth district, replacing retiring Democrat J. Roy Rowland.
Sam Brownback - Now the Senior Senator from Kansas, Brownback was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Kansas' second district, replacing Democrat Jim Slattery, who was running for Governor.
Robert Ehrlich - The Former Governor of Maryland, Ehrlich was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Maryland's second district, replacing retiring Republican Helen Delich Bentley. Ran for re-election for Governor in 2006, defeated.
John Ensign - Now the junior Senator from Nevada, Ensign was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Nevada's first district, defeating three-term incumbent Democrat James Bilbray.
George Pataki - Pataki was elected Governor of New York in 1994, defeating three-term incumbent Mario Cuomo. He was the longest-serving Governor in the United States when he decided not to run for reelection in 2006.
Tom Coburn - Now the Junior Senator from Oklahoma, Coburn was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Oklahoma's second district, replacing Democrat Mike Synar (who was defeated in the Democratic primary). Coburn's Senate companion, James Inhofe, was first elected to the Senate in 1994, replacing resigned Democrat David L. Boren.
Mark Sanford - Now Governor of South Carolina, Sanford was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent South Carolina's first district, replacing outgoing Democrat James H. Hodges.
Lindsey Graham - Now the Senior Senator from South Carolina, Graham was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent South Carolina's third district, replacing outgoing Democrat Butler Derrick.
Joe Scarborough - Now the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, Scarborough was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Florida's first district. Scarborough served in the House for three terms before retiring.
Fred Thompson - Thompson was elected to finish the remaining two years of Al Gore's unexpired Senate term. Thompson went on to win the 1996 Senate election. He chose not to seek another term in 2002 and was a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
It has been extremely difficult to obtain a confirmed list of C-Street residents. However, John Ensign, Mark Sanford. Tom Coburn, Sam Brownback and not mentioned above Chip Pickering and Steve Largent, all lived or are in contact with “The Family.”

So, with everyone mentioned here and add Jeff Sessions and Mitch McConnell doing everything he can to delay the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, you have the reason why the only support the GOP can garner is their base. Maybe it is time for this class to graduate and just plain move on. The scandals are piling up and becoming laughable. In fact, the Democrats are beginning to look angelic. I can imagine how many evangelicals are turning in their graves on that thought. The sooner the Republicans can get fresh blood in the party, the sooner they will be able to capitalize on an Obama flub. President Obama is still flying high but he is beginning to look shaky with getting Healthcare and the like passed. Unless the GOP can clean up their act, they just might miss a golden opportunity if the present administration should blunder.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
Special thanks to Mike Licht Writer/Editor at NotionsCapital.com
Washington D.C. Metro Area for his comments and a link on a past article which inspired this writing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19rich.html?_r=2
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/c-street-sex-scandal/
http://hnn.us/articles/1760.html
http://www.alternet.org/politics/141278/rachel_maddow:_gop_sex_scandal_exposes_secretive_conservative_religious__group_--__
http://www.counterpunch.org/kozloff07102009.html
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/07/17/another-c-street-pol-accused-of-cheating.aspx
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/173899.asp
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/tom_coburn/index.html?inline=nyt-per
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/lindsey_graham/index.html?inline=nyt-per
http://www.captiveamerican.com/the-house-becomes-a-home-lifetime-politicians-in-the-house-of-representatives/
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/sanfords-spiritual-advisor/
http://www.thecolumbiastar.net/news/2006/0901/News/006.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/19/behind-closed-doors-c-street/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Christian_political_organization)
http://www.examiner.com/x-9981-DC-Movie-Examiner~y2009m7d18-C-Street-The-Family-and-the-hypocrisy-of-depravity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Revolution
http://www.fairvote.org/reports/1995/chp3/gans.html
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/17/thefellowship-pickering-scandal/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504480.html
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/4.html

She Is No Diana Ross

But she will still be a Supreme

The Hearings to nominate, Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court have drawn to a close. It is debatable if any testimony given could sway either side from their beliefs, in her appointment or non appointment to this high court. The Republicans appear to have hurt their party more than help it through all of these proceedings. The deep divide within the party is well pronounced as a split between the GOP exists in confirming or blocking her nomination. The following is an excerpt from an article by Frank Rich of the New York Times; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19rich.html?_r=2
The hearings were pure “Alice in Wonderland.” Reality was turned upside down. Southern senators who relate every question to race, ethnicity and gender just assumed that their unreconstructed obsessions are America’s and that the country would find them riveting. Instead the country yawned. The Sotomayor questioners also assumed a Hispanic woman, simply for being a Hispanic woman, could be portrayed as The Other and patronized like a greenhorn unfamiliar with How We Do Things Around Here. The senators seemed to have no idea they were describing themselves when they tried to caricature Sotomayor as an overemotional, biased ideologue.
At least they didn’t refer to “Maria Sotomayor” as had Mike Huckabee, whose sole knowledge of Latinos apparently derives from “West Side Story.” But when Tom Coburn of Oklahoma merrily joked to Sotomayor that “You’ll have lots of ’splainin’ to do,” it clearly didn’t occur to him that such mindless condescension helps explain why the fastest-growing demographic group in the nation is bolting his party.
I strongly urge you to read the complete article. I feel Mr. Rich has hit the nail on the head when it comes to issues within the GOP. As for the hearing in general, no testimony given, appeared to present evidence sufficient to derail the first nomination offered by President Obama.

I do believe the testimony of New Haven Firefighter Frank Ricci and Lieutenant Ben Vargas, also from the New Haven Fire Department, was unnecessary. I believe their testimony was more of a ploy, by the GOP, to bash Judge Sotomayor and to lash out at her because of her ruling against them, more than to show evidence to discredit her qualifications for the Federal Post. Both of these individuals had no objection to her becoming a Supreme Court Judge. So, why did the Republicans on this committee feel their testimony was necessary? I believe it was a political move that backfired to their cause more than offering a logical and substantial rebuttal to her confirmation.

In the end, I believe Judge Sotomayor, will be confirmed to the highest court. I believe the hearings have shown her that people do pay attention to what you say. I believe she has learned that any decision she makes will be scrutinized and her legacy of fairness and interpretation will either brand her as a wise justice, or as a candidate who lied to a committee to gain a position of prejudice. We can only wait and see.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-sotomayor19-2009jul19,0,7689719.story
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/26/huckabee-maria-sotomayor_n_207620.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124784239343058333.html
http://www.slate.com/id/2219037/
http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/election/1444
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090717/ap_on_go_su_co/us_sotomayor_ricci_9
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19rich.html?_r=2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071701310.html
A special acknowledgement to Andrew Cohen of CBS News via Twitter for the research information provided.

A Den Of Mistaken Morality

During the George W. Bush administration, lobbying and the influence on how our government operates was a topic of concern. The fickle finger of accusation pointed to an address known as K-Street. But today, another street looms on the horizon of Republican scandal and deceit. 133 C Street SE, simply known as C-Street, has become the new den where bad behavior is the new signature for the battle weary GOP.

Residents of this address such as Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada, former resident, Republican Congressman Chip Pickering of Mississippi and frequent visitor Republican Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina have made this residence the new focus involving adultery and sexual liaisons. All of this from a party that has wooed the religious right with Bible quotes and themes of country and family values. The following is a sample of the scandals coming from a residence that is listed as a Church; http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/jul/14/house_c_street/
The house on C Street
By Patrick Kelley (Contact)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK will be leaving Washington next year to come back to Kansas to run for governor. He’s picked a good time to get out of town.
Scandals have drawn unwelcome attention to the senator’s home in the nation’s capital — the house at 133 C St. SE. Brownback lives there with five other members of Congress, including Sen. John Ensign of Nevada. Ensign has admitted an affair with a member of his staff and news reports have alleged questionable payments made to that staff member.
Other residents of the house apparently counseled Ensign about the affair and at one point supervised his writing of a letter breaking off the relationship. Ensign apparently called his lover soon after the letter was sent and told her to ignore it.
Ensign is not the only politician who has sought advice at C Street. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a former member of Congress, recently told a reporter that he went to the house for advice about his affair with a woman in Argentina.
So the house on C Street and its residents, like it or not, are now in the spotlight — connected, at least peripherally, with two current sex scandals in U.S. politics.
The resulting scrutiny has extended to the house itself and its role in politics.
U.S. News & World Report reported that the house is owned by a “secretive religious organization” alternately known as the “Fellowship” or the “Foundation.” The bottom two floors of the building are registered in tax records as a church. The members of Congress live on the third floor. Each pays $600 a month rent, an extremely low rate for housing within walking distance of the Capitol.
Commentators have begun to ask what role the group that owns the house plays in the careers of its tenants and what influence it may wield in matters of government.
Brownback has not been connected to the Ensign or Sanford scandals beyond mention that he is a resident of the house. But the scandals have directed attention to the house, its owners and the people who live there.
That is the sort of attention that a candidate for Kansas governor can do without. Perhaps it is time for the senator to find more expensive quarters for the rest of his time in Washington.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor

To me, this residence is nothing more than a Legislative Frat house. The Republican members of Congress and the Senate that live there do nothing more than, try to relive their college years and present nothing less than a “Boys behaving badly” attitude. This is in direct contradiction to the Christian beliefs the GOP tout as their mantra to gain the American public support. If you find this behavior acceptable for your public representatives then, rest well knowing that, while K-Street keeps the GOP wallets fat with lobbying and bribes, C-Street will keep their loins well greased so no Republican Politician has to feel overstressed. Between the past Democratic shenanigans and the present Republican implosion, I will remain Independent. Well, at least for now.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/revealed_the_sanfordensign_connection.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Coburn#Personal_life
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25067.html
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/another_c_street_vet_falls_to_an_extramarital_affa.php
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504480.html
http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/jul/14/house_c_street/