It May Get Uglier In Iraq

Is Acknowledging a 100 Year Old Crime Worth One Soldier's Life Today?

With this news pushing to the front, the situation in Iraq and the wider region could boil over. Did Turkey commit genocide on Armenians in World War I? Absolutely. Is it necessary for Congress to make an official proclamation about it when we have thousands of our soldiers in harm's way?

The Democrats must know that what they are doing is causing tensions to rise in Turkey, and by extension in Iraq. Where was the fervor to acknowledge this crime in the last nine decades? Assuming that they are aware of the implications, how do they explain the need for such a proclamation nearly 100 years later when our soldiers may experience a direct impact in their theater of operations?

They can't. This petty behavior at such a perilous crossroads causes me to almost lose faith in our system of government. If the Democrats want to behave like petulant jackasses, let them do it with issues that won't get soldiers killed. Or, they could be adults and do their electioneering with the strength of their own alternatives.

The problem with the last sentence is that, if nothing else, the Democrats as a whole have demonstrated that while they have plenty of hot air, they have no ideas. It takes an idea to create an alternative.

A party built on dissent has no vision. Will Americans follow the blind? We'll find out for better or worse in 2008.

Clinton Campaign Plagued by the Appearance of Malfeasance

Compared to the burgeoning Hsu Scandal, few things would register on the radar. But the latest news surrounding the Clinton campaign is disturbing in a different way. The Hsu scandal, which gives the Clinton campaign the appearance of being ethically lax, or potentially worse, incompetent, is an indictment of Hillary Clinton's apparent friendships.

The New Jersey scandal is a potential indictment of her political alliances.

"Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, 60, allegedly accepted $5,000 at a secret restaurant meet, offering to use his influence to name the dummy company Passaic's official insurance broker.

Rivera, a former cop with a checkered history, was also a featured member of Clinton's long list of campaign endorsements. He was on Clinton's Mayor's Council and her National Hispanic Leadership Council.

Clinton's camp, still red-faced from the embarrassing runner taken by fugitive fund-raiser Norman Hsu a day earlier, quickly booted Rivera from the campaign's committees.

"These are serious charges," campaign spokesman Blake Zeff said." - Emphasis Added

The charges against Rivera are serious. The charges that could potentially levelled at Clinton are equally serious. If it turns out that she is not involved in selecting with whom she allies, then she is negligent in keeping a smooth running and clean machine. If she is responsible, do we want a person in the White House that would readily associate with people like this?

Democratic Debate Focuses on Wrong Solutions

The Democrats held another debate last night and focused on domestic problems. The usual suspects carried on with the usual rhetoric. I'll include a brief snip of the recap.

From the Full Story at the New York Times:

"For 90 minutes Thursday night, eight Democratic candidates debated before an audience made up largely of one of their party’s most reliable and liberal constituencies, African-American voters, and used the stage to urge a revitalization of domestic programs they said had faltered under President Bush.

They called for spending more on schools in poor neighborhoods to lower class sizes and raising salaries for teachers to prevent a drain of educators from inner-city schools. They called for rolling back tax cuts on the wealthy to pay for expanded health care and provide job training."

The Article continues to point out how the concensus was that America needs to spend more money to solve its problems. Roll back tax cuts and take the money from that to spend on schools and our problem goes away. Does it really?

I'll cite just a brief example of how wrong that idea really is. To do so, I'll use educational funding and reading results. The two sources I'll use are:

The 2005 Census Bureau's Report on Educational Spending [PDF] Page 10 and

The Nation's Report Card [PDF] Page 14

I'm certain more than a few will claim that I'm oversimplifying the problem, but I am responding directly to the notion that rolling back tax cuts for the rich and spending the money on education will solve our education problems. Money isn't the solution, accountability is. We can't buy accountability, we have to demand it and then follow through with oversight. In fact, when I hear that schools need more money, I automatically think that the unions are into the process again.

Looking at our examples above, I'll take the highest and lowest money totals, New York and Utah. New York spends $14,119 per student, or almost three times what Utah spends $5,257. Does that lead to three times better results?

Here's the reading report card (in percentages):

New York - 8% Advanced, 26% Proficient, 36% Basic, 31% Below Basic

Utah - 8% Advanced, 27% Proficient, 34% Basic, 32% Below Basic

That's roughly the same result. I don't have the time to break down all of the numbers on demographics, but immigrants per capita skews roughly equal and if one were to adjust for the cost of living, New York would still hold a higher spending position.

That means that spending doesn't cure educational woes, which brings us back to the Democratic debate. Old ideas about eliminating problems with money are tired and futile. We need new ideas focused on method and accountability. The Democrats can't say that because they are supported heavily by unions who represent teachers, not students.

Maybe we could find a party ready to look out for students before teachers. That's an innovative thought.

Gore leads in New Hampshire Dem Race

From the Full Story at Politico:

"A New Hampshire presidential poll by WHDH-TV and Suffolk University shows that local Democrats prefer Al Gore to any of the current contenders.

Hillary Clinton has a solid lead over the rest of the current Democratic field. The poll, released this afternoon, shows 37 percent of likely Democratic voters backing Clinton or leaning towards her. Barack Obama was at 19 percent, with both John Edwards and Bill Richardson at 9 percent.

Al Gore, however, could enter the race as the leader. When his name is added, Clinton loses more than a quarter of her support, while Gore is backed by 32 percent.

Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani lead the GOP field. The former Massachusetts governor is supported by 26 percent of likely GOP voters, with Giuliani slipping to 22 percent. John McCain and Fred Thompson are both at 13 percent, a major move backwards for McCain. Romney's support, which relies heavily on younger voters, is up 7 percent from a comparable poll in March, when he trailed Giuliani (37 percent) and McCain (27 percent)."

So Mr. Global Warming leads the Democrats outright, even unannounced. Frankly, the way this race is shaping up, nothing surprises me. More interesting to me is the McCain plummet.

I think that McCain's best hope to look like a triumphant leader capable of rallying presidential support went down in flames 46-53 today, and it may be the final straw for longsuffering supporters eager for a glimpse of good news. I suspect only die-hard loyalists will be with him during the long retreat.

The race is still young, but all indicators point to a roller coaster winter and tough spring for the contenders.