That’s my read on Harriet Miers. I can live with that. In fact, I am betting that Bush is counting on her past background as a Democrat to pacify the left (Harry Reid did suggest her to Bush). He will have a harder time with some Republicans, but not those part of the gang-of-14.

My gut says Harriet Miers is to the right of O’Connor but to the left of all the other conservatives on the court. Roe v. Wade doesn’t get overturned, but state partial-birth abortion bans and parental notification laws are upheld. Gay marriage? Anyone’s guess.

The far left might be pissed. The far right might be pissed. That gives me confidence Miers is the right pick to replace O’Connor.

A Texas Democrat is about the same as a California Republican. I was born and raised in rural Texas and I have lived in the SF Bay Area for a total of 8 years now – I speak from some first-hand experience. Hell, I didn’t become a Republican until last year.

I’m good with Harriet. Would have been happier with Janice Rogers Brown (a California Republican – ahem), but good with Harriet.

**UPDATE**

I am never suprised at how Michael’s opinion on everything goes no deeper than the first web site he read it on.

**UPDATE**

Gay Partiot has a preditions list that is ended up 2 for 3 at the moment.

**UPDATE**

Check this out – keyword site traffic analysis for this blog today…:

Num Perc. Search Term
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24 41.38% harriet miers lesbian
5 8.62% harriet miers marital status
4 6.90% harriet miers gay
4 6.90% harriet miers gay rights
1 1.72% panties moments caught on tape
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1 1.72% is harriet miers a lesbian?
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1 1.72% harriet miers gay
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1 1.72% gay marriage in minnesota september of 2005
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—————————————————
58 100.00%

If I had my way, the people that did this (link below the fold) would be hunted down and the same thing done to them – except by their genitals.

Read more…

MJ @ Impossible Scissors has two great posts tonight. The first is some commentary on Paul Hacket, Marine Corps reservist turned congressional candidate. MJ makes an excellent point:

Although many great leaders have worn the uniform, the uniform doesn’t always make for a good leader. Hiding behind the camoflauged battle dress uniform doesn’t shield us from partisan hypocrisy.

The second post is almost too eerie because I felt the same resurgence of pride in the Shuttle program I think MJ is describing he felt today (at least that is how I am interpreting this post).

The only thing I would add is part of NASA’s change in direction, more in the way of attitude than anything else, may also be attributable to Spirit and Opportunity. Those two rovers are now coming up on Earth year number two when they were only supposed to last six months. Aside from the technical achievement, we are learning more about Mars in the last nearly two years than we have learned in the last thirty. That has to give NASA a good morale shot-in-the-arm and people that feel good about what they do tend to do great things.

I am normally asked at least once a month how I could be gay and Republican in that exasperated-disbelief kinda way. “Don’t you know they hate you? They don’t want you to get married for crying out loud! How much more proof do you need?”

Well, like SOME ACTUAL PROOF would be nice, especially since there is a whole lot more to the contrary, including a new Pew poll.

Just over half of those polled, 53 percent, said they support civil unions for gay people, while 36 percent said they favor gay marriage – a slight increase on both issues from a year ago.

The American people can be very reasonable when you are not trying to force-feed them something they are not prepared to accept. And just because they are not ready for something, doesn’t mean they hate – it means they disagree.

**UPDATE**

Remember what I was saying about evidence to the contrary? If the leftist Democrats rake this guy over the coals and the NY Times goes after his kids (which is disgustingly sleazy but not at all surprising coming from the Times) they can kiss 2006, 2008, and quite likely 2010 goodbye.

Gotta love this.

Now, let’s get that damned foam problem fixed and get on with it already! I wanna see a man on Mars before I die and the longer the damned ISS takes to get completed the more chance I am going to be worm food before Mars happens.

Read this.

Where will it all end? Our choices are threefold.

We can wind down — essentially the position of the mainstream Left — and return to a pre-September 11 situation, treating Islamism as a criminal justice matter or deserving of an occasional cruise missile. This, in my view, would be a disaster and guarantee another mass attack.

Or we can continue to pacify Iraq. We then wait and see whether the ripples from the January elections — without further overt American military action into other countries — bring democracy to Lebanon, Egypt, the Gulf States, and eventually the entire Middle East. This is the apparent present policy of the administration: talking up democracy, not provoking any who might disagree. It may well work, though such patience requires constant articulation to the American people that we are really in a deadly war when it doesn’t seem to everyone that we are.

Or we can press on. We apprise Syria to cease all sanctuary for al Qaedists and Iran to give up its nuclear program — or face surgical and punitive American air strikes. Such escalation is embraced by few, although many acknowledge that we may soon have few choices other than just that. But for now we can sum up the American plans as hoping that democracy spreads faster than Islamism, and thus responsible government will appear to ensure terrorists and WMD disappear.

The above, of course, is what we plan, but gives no consideration to the intent of the enemy. As we speak, he desperately searches for new strategies to ward off defeat as jihad seems more likely to lead to ruin than the return of the caliphate.

For now Islamic fascist strategy is to make such horrific news in Iraq that America throws up its hands and sighs, “These crazy people simply aren’t worth it,” goes home, snoozes — and thus becomes ripe for another September 11.

Immediately.

Just a little update folks. I still don’t have my Powerbook. Apparently, 80GB hard disks are a rare commodity – the 16th is still the target date. We are also going on our mini-vacation tomorrow so I will be out of town until Friday and won’t be doing any blogging. I am firing up the PC on Saturday so I will hopefully resume semi-regular blogging soon – thanks for hanging in there with me.

Condi is off to a nice start.

Reinforcing tough talk against Iran from Washington, Rice made clear the U.S. enmity to Iran’s religious rulers.

“The Iranian regime’s human rights behavior and its behavior toward its own population is something to be loathed,” she said.

Mullahs beware – Condi is coming for you.

It is about time.

WASHINGTON – The Senate voted Thursday to confirm White House counsel Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, setting aside Democratic complaints he helped craft questionable U.S. policies on the treatment of foreign prisoners.

Gonzales, 49, a longtime friend who was President Bush’s legal counsel when he was governor of Texas, became the first Hispanic to be the nation’s top law officer when Vice President Dick Cheney swore him in shortly thereafter in the vice president’s office in the West Wing of the White House.

The vote was 60-36, with all the opposition coming from Democrats. The “no” votes were the second most ever lodged against a successful nominee for attorney general. John Ashcroft, whom Gonzales succeeds, was confirmed 58-42 on Feb. 1, 2001.

“This is a breakthrough of incredible magnitude for Hispanic-Americans,” said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., calling Gonzales “a role model for the next generation” of Hispanics in this country

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said he expected Gonzales, a former Texas judge, “to help lead the way for the creation of an America that despises hate and bigotry and recognizes that every human being deserves a government that will fight for the dignity and equality of all.”

Other Democrats opposed Gonzales, accusing him of being evasive in his answers to their questions about White House policies in the war on terrorism.

“He was so circumspect in his answers, so unwilling to leave a micron of space between his views and the president’s, that I now have real doubts whether he can perform the job of attorney general,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

“In short, Judge Gonzales still seems to see himself as counsel to the president, not attorney general, the chief law enforcement officer of the land,” Schumer continued. (ed. emphasis added)

Translation: He wasn’t willing to back down from what he believed in. Sorry Charlie.

Recently, a leftist co-worker found a book in our break room called I Pledge Allegiance, by D.K. Webb. I work for a company that sells many things, including books, and this was a demo some vendor left laying about in there – a freebie, if you will.

In a very lame attempt to antagonize me, he brought it into my office and left it on my desk for me to find. When I came in and found it, he muttererd something about it being “my speed.” He was right – it is, and the message is more appropriate now than any other time in my life.

So to JM, I say thanks for the book, and…

“When our voices are silenced by our own lack of initiative and conviction, or muted by apathy and self-centered pursuits, then we have abandoned our solem vow of loyalty. We have forsaken the right to freedom. We have become parasites upon the lives of true patriots.” – I Pledge Allegiance by D.K. Webb

And you are welcome to borrow my new book whenever you like. You may find it is your speed as well.