Much has been written over where and how the Democrats went wrong. Some people attribute it to moral values, or the "stupid" red state people. Personally, I would have to say it was because they went too far to the left. I mean, regardless their speeches, I think it speaks volumes when someone like Michael Moore is given the seat of honor next to former President Jimmy Carter at the Democratic National Convention. The fact that they chose North Vietnamese shill and rabid multilateralist John Kerry as their candidate is not a good thing either. But that's a subject for a whole separate post.

Today's New York Times has an interesting commentary piece on this exact subject. The writer, Paul Starr concludes that Democrats rely too heavily on litigation when they don't get their way with the electorate:

For decades, many liberals thought they could ignore the elementary demand of politics - winning elections - because they could go to court to achieve these goals on constitutional grounds. The great thing about legal victories like Roe v. Wade is that you don't have to compromise with your opponents, or even win over majority opinion.

Democrats cannot allow their constituencies to draw them into political terrain that can't be defended at election time. Dissatisfied with compromise legislation on civil unions and partner benefits, gay organizations thought they could get from judges, beginning with those on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, what the electorate was not yet ready to give. The result: bans on same-sex marriage passing in 11 states and an energized conservative voting base.

I agree with Starr's assessment. (And I rarely agree with the Times' commentary writers.)

Indeed, this mindset has permeated through our society. For example, lets say you lose boatloads of money gambling in Las Vegas. What do you do? You sue the hotel for preying upon your gambling addiction problem.

Or let's say you're too lazy to work hard in school to improve your grades. You simply sue to avoid having your summer vacation interrupted by homework.

Not good.

Zelda -- The Urban Grind

Posted by: Ace at 09:57 AM | Comments (1)
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Oh, fine, sure-- everybody go ahead and laugh at the name of the Acting Secretary of the Air Force.

If *I* can restrain myself from giggling at the name of my boss, you can too.

Trust me, his name isn't the half of it. You know who Mr Teets' deputy was?

Robert Dickman.

I am not making this up.

Believe it or not, it used to be even worse a few years ago. The last Secretary of the Air Force under the Clinton Administration was named. . . F. Whitten Peters.

And, back when Loral did some sneaky-sneaky in transferring rocket technology to China, you know who led the special congressional committee that grilled Secretary Peters for information?

Congressman Christopher Cox and Norm Dicks.

Again, I am not making this up.

Anyways, all giggling aside: Mr Teets is a good guy, a firm hand after all the controversy surrounding the previous Air Force Secretary, James Roche.

Too bad it sounds like Teets is only a temporary choice. Big Blue sure could use the stability right about now. Hopefully, the White House sends some nominees over to the Senate right quick.

So all you wacky kids out there-- get your minds outta the gutter already, there's a war on.

-- Dave at Garfield Ridge

Posted by: Ace at 09:52 AM | Comments (14)
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If you are a regular reader of Garfield Ridge-- and if you're not, how sad-- then you've already seen this video:

The Worst TV Interview Ever.

I guess it's not really Ace-- he looks more like a Fall Guy-era Lee Majors-- but it's easy to think that it is.

DISCLAIMER: Video involves a magical mystery ending that may be uncomfortable for some (okay, all) viewers, and should not be viewed by women who are pregnant, or may become pregnant.

-- Dave at Garfield Ridge

Posted by: Ace at 09:26 AM | Comments (10)
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Apparently, the new acting Secretary of the United States Air Force is a man named Peter Teets, a name sure to strike fear into the hearts of America's enemies across the globe.

Let the dick and boob jokes begin.

[Cross-posted at Say Anything]

Posted by: Ace at 09:04 AM | Comments (7)
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31 Marines dead after their CH-53 helicopter crashed.

Also, four Marines were killed in combat, as well as an Army soldier in a separate attack.

While the cause of the helo crash is unknown, a dead American is still a dead American.

And sadly, as we approach this weekend's elections, the prospects for violence increase.

Over at Garfield Ridge, I express my concern over the Bush Administration's apparent lack of a "Plan B" in case the Iraqi elections fail.

You won't find a stronger supporter of the war than I, but it seems to me like we're riding on "wishful thinking" fumes right now. If there's one thing I've learned in my time in the Pentagon, it's that "optimism is not a strategy."

Pray for our men and women-- pray for their victory, and pray for their safe return.

-- Dave at Garfield Ridge

Posted by: Ace at 07:46 AM | Comments (9)
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Via Frontpage:

MOSCOW - A group of nationalist Russian lawmakers called Monday for a sweeping investigation aimed at outlawing all Jewish organizations and punishing officials who support them, accusing Jews of fomenting ethnic hatred and saying they provoke anti-Semitism.

In a letter dated Jan. 13, about 20 members of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, asked Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov to investigate their claims and to launch proceedings “on the prohibition in our country of all religious and ethnic Jewish organizations as extremist.”

The letter, faxed in part to The Associated Press by the office of lawmaker Alexander Krutov, said, "The negative assessments by Russian patriots of the qualities and actions against non-Jews that are typical of Jews correspond to the truth ... The statements and publications against Jews that have incriminated patriots are self-defense, which is not always stylistically correct but is justified in essence."
...
“It is possible to say that the entire democratic world today is under the monetary and political control of international Judaism, which high-profile bankers are openly proud of,” the letter says.

Along with outlawing Jewish organizations, the lawmakers call for the prosecution of “individuals responsible for providing these groups with state and municipal property, privileges and state financing.”

UPDATE: Apparently the blood libel has been "withdrawn".

UPDATE: Following a tip from Ivan, we find this:

Proust was half Jewish. Dorothy Parker was half Jewish. Frida Kahlo was half Jewish. Paul Newman and Robert de Niro are half Jewish. Walter Mosley is half Jewish and half black. Adrienne Rich is half Jewish but solved it by identifying as Lesbian. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leading Russian right winger, is half Jewish (and clearly crazy); Grigory Yavlinsky, the leading Russian liberal, is half Jewish. From my perspective, (am I the only person who has realized this?) anybody with one Jewish parent is half Jewish. Most half-Jews don't realize it: we are invisible even to ourselves...

the UNPOPULIST

Posted by: Ace at 07:26 AM | Comments (13)
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"Ted is understandably bitter having lost his ratings, his network and now his mind -- we wish him well."

- A Fox News spokesperson responding to Ted Turner comparing Fox News to Hitler.

Posted by: Ace at 07:03 AM | Comments (5)
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Well, America's first lady on NBC's West Wing anyway.

E! Online - Stockard Channing is in a jam after apparently trying to avoid a Los Angeles traffic jam.

The actress was charged Monday with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence for a December incident in which she allegedly attempted to circumvent snarled traffic on a Hollywood freeway.

The California Highway Patrol said Tuesday that the West Wing first lady was driving drunk around 10 p.m. on Dec. 14 after trying to negotiate around stalled traffic by pulling her 2003 Porsche Boxter onto the shoulder and passing the stopped cars.

Unfortunately for Channing, 60, the traffic had been halted by police, who were clearing a broken-down tractor-trailer from the freeway, and the cops immediately pulled her over.

The CHP officers said they smelled alcohol emanating from the sports car and gave the New York-born actress a on-site sobriety test, which she flubbed.

According to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, Channing's blood-alcohol level topped out at 0.13, way above California's legal limit of 0.08.

Do you ever wonder why so many celebrities get caught driving drunk? Call me a naive country rube, but I thought these people rode around in limos all day. Regardless, if anyone can afford to call a cab its these people. The fact that so many of them don't speaks volumes about their intellect.

Just another reason to ignore celebrities when they take it upon themselves to tell you how to vote.

[Cross-posted at Say Anything]

Posted by: Ace at 07:00 AM | Comments (6)
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Well, they haven't exactly banned all outside smoking, but that's pretty much got to be the next step.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Legislators in San Francisco city voted to ban smoking in public parks on Tuesday, becoming the first major American city to embrace such an expansive ban on tobacco use.

"This is the first one that includes all the parks and recreational centers in a county," said Michela Alioto-Pier, a city legislator who sponsored the proposed ban. It needs the approval of Mayor Gavin Newsom to become law.

Several smaller California cities have already prohibited smoking in city parks, including Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, as well as the central Californian city of Fresno. A few cities outside California have limited smoking bans in local parks.

The legislator behind the law manages to hit the smoking-nazi trifecta when defending her ban.

"It is a danger to our small children and not a particularly good example for them either," Alioto-Pier said in an interview. Parks are "an area unfortunately where there is a lot of litter and cigarette butts make up four times as much litter as any thing else out there. It is a detriment to the environment. It takes 10-12 years for a cigarette butt to biodegrade, and the toxins go into the ground water."

Its for the kids, the environment and...the ground water. Gotcha.

Honestly, I didn't think there were any smokers left in San Francisco. How can there be? Pretty soon they're going to be organizing the smokers into walled-off smoking "ghettos." If I were a smoker I would have moved a long time ago.

And really, why don't they just making smoking illegal and get it over with? Its pretty clear that's where they're headed anyway.

[Cross-posted at Say Anything]

Posted by: Ace at 06:23 AM | Comments (16)
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It looks like Rice is going to get the nod from an "overwhelming" majority in the Senate.

WASHINGTON - Despite strong Democratic dissent, Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's trusted national security aide and a main architect of his policies on Iraq and the war on terror, appears headed to overwhelming Senate approval as the next secretary of state.

Once approved, Rice, 50, will replace Colin Powell and become the first black woman to serve as the nation's top diplomat.

A dozen or so Democrats were lined up to vote against her Wednesday. Probably as many others intended to yield to President Bush's right to pick his own Cabinet even though they, too, harbored serious doubts about Iraq policy.

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said he would support the president's choice despite reservations about Rice's performance on Iraq. "She did no more than any other member of the administration, but they all misled," Biden told CBS' "The Early Show" on Wednesday.

The sort of hedging put on display by Sen. Biden in that last paragraph absolutely drives me up the wall. If they don't like Rice they should vote against her. This whole "Well she's a big fat lying-liar, but I'll probably vote for her anyway" thing is ridiculous.

Its typical. If Rice goes on to do something truly historic all these Senators can point back and say "See, I knew she had it in her. I voted for her." But if she falls into controversy they can point back and say "I voted for her, but I had my reservations. See when I called her a big fat lying-liar?"

Not that this whole Democrat opposition to Rice isn't just for show anyway. These people have to look like they're doing something after the thorough trouncing they received in November.

[Cross-posted at Say Anything]

Posted by: Ace at 05:42 AM | Comments (6)
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