....as I have undoubtedly inspired a greater youth involvement in the political process.
When Horn, a 61-year-old retiree living with his daughter and her family in a growing subdivision in this Houston suburb, saw two burglars breaking into the house next door on Nov. 14, he called 911 and grabbed his shotgun.
Moments later, after what the police say was a confrontation on Horn's front lawn, the two men - both illegal immigrants - lay dead on the winding Timberline Drive, leaving behind a pillowcase stuffed with jewelry and about $2,000 in cash.
Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid are letting their left-wing troops and interest groups run all over them, with the result that their signal achievement this year is a higher minimum wage. Considering most of their policy goals, this failure is good for the country. But the dysfunction amply shows that democrats are attempting to govern with an agenda that is too far left even for many in their own party, never mind the country.
spendingPope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.
The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office, one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her high-profile inaugural year than her low-key predecessor (Rep. Dennis Hastert,R-Ill.) did last year.
What else did Prissy Pelosi feel entitled to?(Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio) Boehner will be refunding more than $1 million to the treasury from the money he was allocated.
Pelosi (whom our emporary Congressrat Nick Lampson voted for) felt entitled to spend more of your money because of her "historic" election as the first woman speaker. (Ask yourself: Can we really afford another "historic" election of a freespending liberal woman in 2008?)
The increase from Hastert to Pelosi was driven largely by a surge in travel (to meet with known terrorists, for example) and a heavily fortified payroll. Pelosi has more people working for her. Hastert employed 35 people during the third quarter of last year. Pelosi, by contrast, had 51 people on her payroll during the same time period.
• A $10,000 contract to former Clinton White House speech-writer Heather Hurlburt to write the speech Pelosi delivered to the Israeli Knesset.
• Nearly $20,000 to Washington attorney Richard Meltzer to help with Pelosi’s transition.
• More than $2,400 to hire a makeup artist for the week of her swearing in. (Under fire, Pelosi later reimbursed the entire cost from her personal funds.)
When you look at the spending of the whole Republican conference, steering and policy operations to the democratic caucus, steering and policy operations, the dems are still spending like the proverbial drunken sailor.
Money is distributed evenly between the Republicans and democrats for those functions, and the party leaders decide how to allocate them.
Under that calculation, Republicans spent 18 percent less than they did last year while democrats’ spending rose 4 percent over last year. democrats, predictably, say that is not a legitimate comparison. Of course not. 
Republicans maintained control of both congressional seats that were up for grabs in special elections Tuesday in Ohio and Virginia, disappointing democrats who had hoped to extend their gains in the House.
democrats, who won control of the House last year 233-202, had hoped to benefit from the low turnout typical of special
elections.
Despite having the liberal media on their side, the democrats are in trouble in 2008 and they know it. "Billary" on the ticket will mobilize and bring grassroots Republicans out like never before. (Does anyone really think the Clintonista's aren't going to secure the dem nomination?). With her leading the ticket, dems will likely not only lose the Presidency, but both Houses again as well.
The funny thing
Nassau Bay resident Brian Klock recently became the 9th contendor to fill the GOP slot in November. He's a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve and serves in the NCIS. Wednesday's vote caught Internet companies by surprise: the Democratic leadership rushed the SAFE Act to the floor under a procedure that's supposed to be reserved for noncontroversial legislation. It was introduced October 10, but has never received even one hearing or committee vote. In addition, the legislation
approved this week has changed substantially since the earlier version and was not available for public review.Not one Democrat opposed the SAFE Act. Two Republicans did: Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning presidential candidate from Texas, and Rep. Paul Broun from Georgia.
The “incumbents’ advantage” in fundraising is a source of common complaints from those who believe the escalating amount of money needed to run a serious congressional campaign inhibits competition. In the vast majority of House contests in each election cycle, the incumbents use their established campaign organizations to outraise their opponents, often by overwhelming margins. But not always.
A CQ Politics survey of campaign finance reports for activity through Sept. 30, filed with the Federal Election Commission in mid-October by House candidates for 2008 races, found a number of challengers who entered the final quarter of 2007 with sizable campaign treasuries — including a few who even raised more money than the incumbents for the year so far.
But she has plenty of opposition in the field for the March 4 Republican primary, including Pete Olson, a former chief of staff to Texas Sen. John Cornyn ($218,000 raised, $181,000 cash on hand); Dean Hrbacek, a former mayor of Sugar Land, the largest city wholly within the district ($159,000 raised, $120,000 cash on hand); state Rep. Robert Talton ($35,000 raised, $28,000 cash on hand); and Jim Squier, a former family district court judge ($13,400 raised, $13,400 cash on hand). John Manlove — the former mayor of Pasadena, which is partly in the 22nd — just filed a statement of candidacy with
the Federal Election Commission.
The Global Warming nutzo's are at it again: a group of Israeli environmentalists is encouraging Jews around the world to light at least one less candle this Hanukka to help the environment. Really. We can't make this stuff up. But it helps to illustrate how completely craazzzzy the enviro whackos and their willing political dupes (socialists) are.On the Federal level, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday is expected to debate amendments to a bill proposed by Sens. Lieberman of Connecticut and Warner of Virginia that would create a "cap and trade" system designed to cut total U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions. These systems require industries to pay fees when they emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouses gases above a set limit, with the money going to reward cleaner businesses.Note to Congress... this has been tried and failed.
Europe tried a pollution credit trading system to curb carbon dioxide emissions after it passed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and power companies worked the system to make billions in profits. Electricity customers paid higher bills, thinking they were contributing to a cooler planet. But their money just went into the pockets of the electric companies, which didn't end up actually cutting down on their carbon dioxide emissions.
Reality Check here.
The Senate re-opened for business on Monday after a two-week Thanksgiving break, during which key Democrats traveled to Iraq and declared that the surge is working, at least from a security and military perspective. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one the top war critics, stunned fellow Democrats late last week with his statement that "the surge is working," even though he added that political reconciliation has been lagging. Murtha's view was backed by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), who also said the surge worked after he returned from Iraq.
But Reid, in a Monday press conference, ceded no ground.
"The surge hasn't accomplished its goals," Reid said. "... We're involved, still, in an intractable civil war."
So what say you now, Mr. Lampson? Are you for the troops or against them? Don't bother answering. Your record speaks for itself. Shame on you.“strategic change of course in Iraq – one including diplomacy, education, and an honest reconstruction effort,” adding that he is “not here today to criticize the President, or to engage in partisan grandstanding.”
Voting records from recent years confirm that the blue dogs are less than consistent spending hawks. The National Taxpayers Union did some checking and found that the blue dogs had an average fiscal score of 24 out of 100, earning them a grade of D as a group. It also found that last year the blue dogs sponsored $145 of new spending for every dollar of budget reductions, for a net spending increase per member of more than $140 billion. The blue dogs are consistent on one fiscal issue: stopping tax cuts.In reality, what the Blue Dog Democrats are is a cover group intended to help liberal politicians from red states, like Slick Nick Lampson, try to convince their constituents that they aren’t like the big-government, tax-and-spend types from California or Massachusetts. It lets them pay lip service to the principles of fiscal restraint and low taxes and campaign on those things without actually having to support them.
Thanks to Project Vote Smart, however, Ol' Nick can't hide from his liberal big-spending record. Check him out:
