Has this President ever heard of P.R?

The American Cause

Senator Ben Nelson (D-Ne) plans to introduce a bill that sets up a commission charged with the task of finding the route of rising gas prices. Nelson says that he intends to find out whether the prices are based on the market or on opportunistic price gougers.

Nelson, the most conservative Democrat (at least according to voting record) in the Senate, plans to find out how the government can deal with the dilemma, and prevent it from having a detrimental effect on the economy.

How is price gouging determined? Are the laws preventing it unfair or unconstitutional?

Times Playing Safe With Endorsements

The other day, the New York Times endorsed Fernando Ferrer for the Democratic nomination in the New York City mayoral race. The Politicker looks into it further.

Ferrer, like the other Democrats in the race, is a flawed candidate. The Times denounces his proposal to finance education through a new tax on stock trades, however, the page does not go on to detail why it's against that idea. It summarizes Ferrer's accomplishments in the least flattering language possible, making sure that readers don't give the former Bronx president too much credit for the economic improvements that he presided over. The conclusion is simple: [Ferrer is bad but the others are worse].

Perhaps this is because the Times plans to endorse Bloomberg? They endorsed Democrat Mark Green last election, in 2001, but are the Democrats of this race too tarnished from scandal and generic stances to win the approval of the most prestigious mainstream newspaper in the US? Like Christopher Shays of Connecticut, it seems that Mike Bloomberg is another Republican who can count on the support of the New York Times.

John Roberts...Again

President Bush made a wise decision today by selecting John Roberts to be his nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. While half the country would rather have one of the more liberal judges in the position, everyone can be happy that Bush didn't select Clarence Thomas, who had been rumored to be on the short list.

As far as we can see so far, Roberts would be considerably better than Scalia or Thomas.

Montclair Pitches In

According to Baristanet, two firefighters from Montclair are going to New Orleans to participate in the relief effort. Apparently Mayor Remsen intends to send two truckloads of supplies with them.

I hope that the supplies and extra labor will be constructive. However, in recent articles, I can't help but feel that New Orleans law enforcement has been using its resources in the wrong way, namely in concentrating it's efforts on looters, rather than the refugees who actually need help.

Looting is a bi-product of mass disaster, and although it's unfortunate, in the case of Katrina, it's the least of the problems. In fact, considering the conditions that many of the refugees are in, looting is necessary for survival. Although Barista went on to say that she was disappointed to hear Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson excuse the opportunistic thieves, one needs to remember that many of these looters are people who haven't eaten or changed clothes in days. The last thing that city needs are policemen shooting at a mother who swims to an abandoned store to get food for her kids.

A Lame Duck No More

As I said at Blanton's, natural disaster and death of "natural causes" are preventing Bush from being the Lame Duck we all thought he'd become.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist died last night, opening yet another seat on the court for Bush to fill. This is all happening just days before the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin hearings on the confirmation of John G. Roberts, the replacement to retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

This could be a pretty good situation for Bush. He was getting limited attacks from the left concerning Roberts, who is bound to be confirmed with a strong majority, and now, even if he nominates an even more conservative judge, the opposition won't be united. Controversial cases such as Robert Bork or Clarence Thomas were so big because the entire political world concentrated on their confirmations. Moreover, the Democrats had substantial majorities in the Senate during those votes, despite many defectors during the roll call. In fact, 10 Democrats voted for Clarence Thomas, who won confirmation by 3 votes.

Whoever Bush nominates can't be much farther to the right than Rehnquist was. Although Alberto Gonzalez has served as President Bush's virtual attorney for five years, from what I've heard about his record as a justice in Texas, he might be more open minded than other candidates.

Impeach Bush

My mom, a registered Democrat of thirty years, recently got a call from the Democratic National Committee, which was, of course, asking for a donation. She respectfully declined the request, citing that she had given before and that she chooses when and how to distribute her contributions. Sounds reasonable right?

However, the young man on the line was not satisfied with the answer. He continued pestering her and finally decided that the only was she was going to give in was if he let her in on the big plan.

We need money because we need a majority in Congress to impeach Bush!

Wow. Sounds like a plan for keeping an increasingly ineffective minority. The Republicans are geniuses for installing covert agents like that guy as volunteers for the DNC. Or is he also getting paid?