Re-orienting to Life's Priorities

Carmon begins an endearing blog post over on Buried Treasure by quoting Guillaume Apollinaire, the French-speaking poet of the early 20th Century (who was actually born Wilhelm Albert Vladimir Apollinaris Kostrowitzky), "Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

She then goes on to describe how difficult Apollinaire's advice can be when you're a woman with a husband and kids and aging parents and a business and a home and, yes even a blog to take care of! So, bless her heart, she's thinking about taking a break -- from the blog, of course, for the other duties can't be scrimped on -- and I'm quite sure I'm just one of many who was touched by her comments:

She concludes her post:

For the first time in a long time, I haven’t felt compelled to blog much, perhaps because there isn’t much left over after my brain has been so inundated with such compelling events... I’m trying to fit in some reading to fill up the well, which feels a bit empty right now, and I may take a break just until I return from helping my mom.

One thing I’ve learned after almost seven years of blogging is that it doesn’t make a big difference in the bigger scheme of things if I stop talking on the internet for awhile. That doesn’t mean I don’t have things to say, and I hope the Lord continues to use the things I say for His glory and furthering His kingdom. But He does that when I show hospitality to friends, when I comfort my little boy whose arm is aching, and when I let my mom know how much I love her and take care of her needs during a scary time. Doing those latter things is choosing the better part right now. Sometimes it seems there’s so much chatter about the world falling apart that nobody is doing what it takes to make the world a better place, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s better to be a busy body than be a busybody.

Do I hear an “Amen!” out there?

You do indeed, Carmon...more than you know. So, thanks for the timely and wise exhortation, one applicable not merely to bloggers but just about all the rest of us too.

Pro-Abortion Vandalism Unchecked, Unpunished, Unreported

Pro-abortion vandalism is alive and kicking in Wisconsin which, of course, is more than can be said about the victims of pro-abortion violence. And, like the barbarism of abortion itself, the coercive intolerance represented by pro-abortion vandalism is seemingly protected by Wisconsin officials.

Here's the story that is going largely unreported by the MSM. Pro-life students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point created a "Cemetery of the Innocents," a demonstration featuring 4,000 white crosses and pro-life signs. They had permission from the school to do so as have pro-abortion groups doing their thing.

Not surprisingly, the first evening the display was up, it suffered some vandalism. But that was nothing compared to what happened the next day when a student government official threw a temper-tantrum and pulled up hundreds of the crosses, demanding that his Constitutional rights were more important than those of the pro-lifers.

And, though a security cop was right there, nothing was or has been done about the crime.

Here's the video of the numbskull committing the vandalism...and getting away with it.

Smart & Educated vs Conservative & White

Uh, lady; your ideological slip is showing.

On the syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Kim Genardo, a political reporter for NBC's Raleigh, North Carolina affiliate, WNCN-TV channel 17, divided North Carolinians into two categories -- those who are "smart" and those who are "conservative" -- as she predicted that "smart, educated" primary voters won't be swayed by Jeremiah Wright but was unsure how "conservative, white, rural voters" would vote as she admitted she's not "in touch with them." She contended: "The smart, educated pool of voters who go to the primaries, they're not buying necessarily this guilt by association. But, that being said, what about your more conservative, white, rural voters?"

(Media Research Center's CyberAlert, 2640)

Stopping Drunk Drivers: Interlock Initiatives Moving Forward

There seems to be a fresh breeze of sanity blowing through a few statehouses recently -- at least on the issue of drunk driving. A couple of weeks ago I was congratulating the Nebraska Unicameral for unanimously passing LB 736, a bill that will require the installation of an alcohol ignition interlock device for both a first and second drunk driving conviction. And today I have high hopes that similar action may be taken by Missouri and Colorado.

House Bill 1423 passed the Missouri House, 137-4. It would require repeat drunken driving offenders to pass a mechanical sobriety test (ignition interlock device) before putting their vehicle into drive. The Senate must approve it and the Governor must sign it into law, but the Senate's judiciary committee voting 7-0 to approve the House bill is an encouraging sign.

Republican Representative Neal St. Onge from St. Louis County was pleased. He explained that there are 118,000 multiple drunken driving offenders on Missouri roadways. About 43,000 of them have three or more drunken driving convictions, and 7,500 have five or more convictions for driving while under the influence of alcohol. "This would get most of them off the road."

Then get it done, Missouri.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, the state in which my father was killed by a drunk driver in 1985, HB 1194 has passed the Colorado House and Senate. This legislation will increase penalties and require ignition interlock usage for first time DUI offenders. It also will more effectively hold DUI offenders accountable for their actions while maintaining an incentive and performance-based program.

Here too such a bill is long overdue. In 2006, for example, 226 people were killed in Colorado as a result of alcohol-related crashes. Presently, about one third of road fatalities in Colorado involve a drunk driver.

If you live in Missouri, please contact your Senators and Governor Matt Blunt, asking them to enthusiastically and quickly pass 1423. In Colorado, call or e-mail Governor Bill Ritter and ask him to quickly sign 1194.

In fact, even if you don't live in those states, you can make these appeals. Hey, you know people in these states, right? And you have to occasionally drive through them, right? Of course you do, so feel free to contact them too.

Saving lives is an affair for all of us.

Today's Posts

"Guilty as Sin, Free as a Bird, It's a Great Country" -- Obama Pal's Desecration of the Flag (and More)

Rosie & Wright

Looking for a Less Aggressive China? Don't Look to its Youth.


Please, No "Baptizing" of the Dead Here

The Scandal of Campaign Finance Reform

Couldn't Happen in California: Another ASC Breakthrough

Hamas Admits Holocaust -- But Claims It Was a Jewish Scheme to Get Rid of Undesirables

"Guilty as Sin, Free as a Bird, It's a Great Country" -- Obama Pal's Desecration of the Flag (and More)

John Ruberry over at Marathon Pundit posts an incredible picture of Bill Ayers trashing a U.S. flag. And the photo isn't from Ayers' distant past in the Weather Underground; it's from a Chicago Magazine story written in 2001. It was in that year that Barack Obama and Ayers were serving on the same board, the same year that Ayers made donations to Obama's State Senate campaign, the same year that Ayers was capitalistically touting his biography, Fugitive Days.

"Guilty as sin, free as a bird, it's a great country" was one of the Ayers quotes accompanying the picture in the magazine.

Ruberry credits Anne Leary (blogging at Backyard Conservative) for bringing his attention to the photo and to Andrea Shea King (blogging at The Radio Patriot) for providing another photo taken at the same session. It's this one I post here. Good digging, girls! And yet another thank you goes to John Stephenson at NewsBusters for the post that led me to the others.

Now when do you think we'll begin to hear the MSM cover this intriguing, controversial, and extremely newsworthy matter. That's right...don't hold your breath.

Rosie & Wright

From the "With Friends Like These..." department comes this report of Rosie O'Donnell coming to the defense of Rev. Jeremiah Wright on the "Today" show Monday. He "made sense to me," O'Donnell said. She compared herself to Wright, saying "some people confuse passion for rage" and even stuck up for Wright's views about a racist conspiracy behind the origin of AIDS.

"There is a place in the world [for] an inspirational, liberational [sic] kind of preaching that Reverend Wright does."

Perhaps. But there's certainly no place for it in a national election, thus the disowning (finally) of Wright's pronouncements by his parishioner and friend, Barack Obama.

Looking for a Less Aggressive China? Don't Look to its Youth.

As human rights protesters dogged the Beijing Olympics' torch relay around the world, as supporters of Tibet condemned the violent crackdown in Lhasa, and as Darfur activists demanded change in China's Sudan policy, Chinese young people worked themselves into a different form of righteous anger. In online forums and chat rooms, they blasted Beijing's leaders for not being tougher in Tibet. They agitated for boycotts against Western businesses based in nations that object to Beijing's policies, and they directed venomous fury against anyone critical of China.

The anger has even spread to American college campuses. In April, Chinese students at USC blasted a visiting Tibetan monk with angry questions about Tibet's alleged history of slavery and other controversial topics. When the monk tried to respond, the students chanted, "Stop lying! Stop lying!"

At the University of Washington, hundreds protested outside during a speech by the Dalai Lama, chanting, "Dalai, your smiles charm, your actions harm." When one Chinese student at Duke University tried to mediate between pro-China and pro-Tibet protesters, her photo, labeled "traitor," was posted on the Internet, and her contact information and her parents' address in China were listed for all to see.

The explosion of nationalist sentiment, especially among young people, might seem shocking, but it's been simmering for a long time. In fact, Beijing's leadership, for all its problems, may be less hard-line than China's youth, the country's future. If China ever were to become a truly free political system, it might actually become more, not less, aggressive...

Read more of Joshua Kurlantzick's story in the L.A. Times here

Please, No "Baptizing" of the Dead Here

It seems the Vatican is getting fed up with the Mormons "baptizing" Catholics who have passed away. In fact, the Vatican Congregation for Clergy has just directed all Catholic bishops "to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained" in parish registers -- this to try and prevent Catholics from being used in the bizarre LDS rite of baptizing (by proxy) the dead.

The Vatican letter calls LDS baptisms for the dead a "detrimental practice" and directs each Catholic diocesan bishop "not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

The Scandal of Campaign Finance Reform

Here's a terrific editorial from the Wall Street Journal about the absolute failure of campaign finance reform.

All three of the contenders are avowed believers in ever more restrictive and convoluted campaign finance laws. They are also proving, with their every decision, why those laws have become a national farce...

If you don't like how this looks, send your complaints to the three candidates. They were all proponents of fund-raising rules sold as a way to "cleanse" the system. Send your complaints as well to the good-government types who pledge allegiance to the idea that money is the root of political evil. They have had their way since the Watergate era, passing reform after reform.

Yet in 2008 the role of money is more important than ever, only by means less accountable and transparent. To run for President nowadays means devoting a large share of your time to creating a fund-raising "machine." Scores of good potential candidates won't run because they can't stomach the endless wheedling required to raise campaign cash in $2,300 chunks.

If the goal was to make campaigning cheaper, that didn't work either. In the early 1990s, a respectable presidential primary campaign needed $20 million. Mr. Obama had raised more than $230 million by the end of March...

Not that we agree that the virtue of a donation is inversely related to its size. The stakes of a presidential race are high, and those with money and a motive cannot be kept on the sidelines in a free society (if it's to remain a free society). Whether as individuals or through unions or other organized groups, citizens have a First Amendment right to support their candidate – and they will find a way to do so.

Increasingly, they are turning to 527s and other independent political groups not covered under McCain-Feingold's 2002 restrictions. Between 2002 and 2004, spending by 527s more than doubled to $653 million, according to the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics. At least $177 million of that came from 52 individuals who donated more than $1 million each. Total spending by independent political groups is expected to approach $1 billion by the end of this election.

The King Canutes of reform are outraged. Their answer is to stack new regulations on top of the current malfunctioning regulations they said would solve everything. Fred Wertheimer at Democracy 21, the godfather of this mess going back to the 1970s, now denounces the 527s, which he says create "enormous inequities."

Maybe he's referring to George Soros, his billionaire ally and fellow supporter of McCain-Feingold. Today Mr. Soros and his friends conduct a fleet of liberal 527s so broad that it is nearly untrackable. The reforms that were sold in the name of minimizing the influence of "fat cats" has made one of America's richest men among the most powerful in politics. The very reforms championed by Mr. McCain could help Mr. Soros defeat the Arizonan this year.

Another unsavory result has been deterring nonprofessional candidates from giving political lifers a run for their money. No one can realistically contemplate running for office without a team of lawyers to navigate the campaign laws. This year, to complicate matters further for the benefit of incumbents and insiders, those insiders are politicizing the Federal Election Commission that is supposed to enforce all of these rules. The FEC has been left without a quorum indefinitely, thanks to a Democratic charade over one of President Bush's nominees...

The Founding Fathers would have had no trouble detecting the absurdity of having political actors determine what does or doesn't constitute free political speech. The First Amendment was written precisely to deny politicians such control. The Supreme Court has nonetheless upheld the idea of limiting campaign contributions on grounds that it would reduce "corruption." But after 30 years of contrary evidence, the Justices should revisit that fanciful notion. Money is required in modern America to amplify political speech. Attempting to limit or ban money merely gives the advantage to those best able to game the rules, or to the news media that can make nonfinancial "contributions" via endorsements.

If this campaign proves anything, it is that more reform on the post-Watergate model will only compound the McCain-Feingold-Clinton-Obama folly. The rules themselves are the scandal, empowering the powerful and making it harder for voters to judge the indebtedness of candidates to individuals or interest groups.

The better path is more simplicity and transparency, so office seekers can raise whatever amount they can from whomever they want so long as it is reported immediately on the Internet. It's time we reclaimed politics from the reformers who ruined it.

Couldn't Happen in California: Another ASC Breakthrough

Over and over and over again, we've seen that the promising breakthroughs in stem cell research are coming from scientists investigating adult stem cells. Indeed, beyond promise, adult stem cells are already being used in dozens of different medical treatments that are giving very real, very dramatic help to thousands...right now.

And yet the big money is still being awarded to the "dead end" research that uses human embryos. In fact, in California the millions of dollars appropriated for stem cell research are not allowed to fund any investigations at all that involve adult stem cells. Remarkable.

But though the immorality of embryonic stem cell research hasn't dissuaded the foundations and rich individuals from funding the practice, the scientific realities must, at some point, finally win the day. For instance, here's a report from the U.K. National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting in Edinburgh in which researchers showed progress with a "messaging system" that instructs adult stem cells (ASCs) to contribute to tissue repair in response to chemical signals in the body.

Such a discovery holds great hope for techniques by which ASCs could be "instructed" to repair damaged tissues. Said Professor Cay Kielty of the University of Manchester, "What we have shown is that adult stem cells respond in particular ways to some of the chemical signals in the body. The next stage will be to understand how this messaging system regulates relocation of the MSCs and instructs them to become blood vessel cells. After that, we can look at applying our understanding to develop stem-cell derived therapies for tissue repair."

This research, by the way, was funded by the Medical Research Council of the U.K. And the exciting results were shared openly and proudly at the national meeting of stem cell researchers -- even though the science involved dealt with ASCs and not ESCs.

Couldn't happen in California.

(H/T: Adult Stem Cell Awareness)

Hamas Admits Holocaust -- But Claims It Was a Jewish Scheme to Get Rid of Undesirables

UPI reports that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has finally admitted there was a Holocaust. However, the television program airing on a Hamas TV station in which the admission was made then blames the Holocaust on the Jews themselves, claiming that David Ben Gurion, Golda Meir and other "Satanic Jews thought up an evil plot to be rid of the burden of disabled and handicapped in twisted criminal ways."

This demented "documentary" is, of course, an outrageous piece of propaganda designed by Hamas to further its campaign of brazen violence against Israel. And it's certainly not representative of the peaceful, rational, hopeful dialogue that Jimmy Carter assured us was what Hamas really desired. But don't hold your breath waiting for Katie Couric to play this film clip on the evening news or for Brian Williams to go ask Carter what he now thinks of the Hamas leaders he embraced. No, like so many other atrocities perpetrated against Israel, this story will get very little traction in the MSM.

Today's Posts

Local Planned Parenthood Centers Temporarily Stop Surgical Abortions

Once Again, a Pro-Life Adoptive Parent Is Running for President

Families Need Clean Water and Antibiotics, not Population Controllers

Shouting Down Free Speech On Campus

"I Want the President of my Country to Embody the America I Have Been Waiting For"

Do As I Say, Not As I Do: The Hypocrisy of Eco-Celebrities

Local Planned Parenthood Centers Temporarily Stop Surgical Abortions

The Lincoln Journal Star finally got around to reporting the remarkable fact that surgical abortions have temporarily stopped at Planned Parenthood centers in Lincoln and Omaha. We know...but that's because we're out there sidewalk counseling. Indeed, we've been able to rejoice at the closure of this element of Planned Parenthood's insidious and violent business for over 5 weeks now, including at the Sioux City PP which the newspaper story doesn't mention.

In fact, there's quite a bit that the Journal Star doesn't tell us as Julie Schmit-Albin explains in her remarks following the story.

First, the Journal Star report:

Abortions in Lincoln and Council Bluffs, Iowa, have been temporarily halted due to a leave of absence by a key member of the Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs medical staff.

Bobbie Kierstead, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs, said abortion services were suspended sometime in the past few weeks and would return soon — which she defined as a matter of weeks. “(It) doesn’t mean three months from now.” Kierstead said she could not provide more information about the person on leave, citing human resources privacy issues. “It very definitely is temporary,” Kierstead said of the suspension of services.

News of the temporary halt was included in the May issue of Vital Signs, a publication of Lincoln Right to Life. The pamphlet said: “The Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in Lincoln and Council Bluffs, Iowa, have apparently suspended abortion appointments. We are not certain as to the circumstances, or as to how long this may last but we celebrate the wonderful news that lives are not taken at either location.”

Kierstead said Planned Parenthood maintains two health centers in Lincoln providing a full range of reproductive health care, and abortions are provided at one of them. A call to Lincoln Right to Life was not answered.

Julie Schmit-Albin wrote the following response which was printed in the comments section of the LSJ online edition:

" The flip side of this is the medical malpractice lawsuit filed against Planned Parenthood of Ne/Council Bluffs and Meryl Seversen, the abortionist. The suit was filed in August 2007 following a botched abortion at the PP South Street facility where a woman had to be taken to a hospital for an emergency hysterectomy. Does the cessation of abortions have anything to do with A: PP and the abortionist facing a lawsuit and/or B: any complaints that may have been filed with the Nebr. Dept. of Health & Human Services regarding the botched abortion? There is certainly more to this story than just a "personnel issue". It would seem the LJS would want to dig further into this. "

Julie continues in this e-mail sent to colleagues:

"There's more here than meets the eye...Something tells me if news this big hit the pro-life side; the articles and TV reports would be huge, wondering what was going on, etc. No calls from the LJS were made to NRL about this and apparently the only number they had for Lincoln Right to Life they did not get an answer on.

We need to ask the media in both Lincoln and Omaha to cover this story in depth, including the video of Chris Funk of PP currently playing on YouTube which outlines PP's future plans in both Nebraska and Iowa. Plans to close the Omaha Dodge St. PP and build a new, larger facility somewhere else in Omaha? The cessation of taking Title X funds for their Nebraska programs and concentrating on getting additional new state funding from Iowa which just came through its legislative session? The temporary (according to this article) cessation of abortions (Praise God!) at PP's Lincoln South St. facility due to a medical employee being on leave?

Does the medical malpractice lawsuit filed against PP of NE/Council Bluffs and abortionist Meryl Severson have anything to do with the ceasing of abortions at this time? What about any complaints filed at DHHS re: the lawsuit? Have they been put on probation by DHHS? Inquiring minds want to know. There seems to be a lot of changes going on with PP of Ne/Council Bluffs and one would think the media would find it worth reporting. Guess it's our job to raise the questions and ask the media why the full story is not being covered."

Once Again, a Pro-Life Adoptive Parent Is Running for President

Ronald Reagan is, so far, the only adoptive parent to have been elected President. That may change come November for even though you may not have heard about it, there is one current presidential candidate who is also an adoptive parent, having received a little girl from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh.

In 1993, John McCain and his wife, Cindy, adopted Bridget. She has been a special blessing to the McCain family as have their other children, Meghan, Jack, and Jimmy. And the addition of Bridget to their family has helped make adoption advocacy a personal issue for the Senator.

As his official website describes, "The McCain family experience is not unique; millions of families have had their lives transformed by the adoption of a child. As president, motivated by his personal experience, John McCain will seek ways to promote adoption as a first option for women struggling with a crisis pregnancy. In the past, he cosponsored legislation to prohibit discrimination against families with adopted children, to provide adoption education, and to permit tax deductions for qualified adoption expenses, as well as to remove barriers to interracial and inter-ethnic adoptions."

Want to read a bit more about Senator John McCain's opinions and record on such crucial matters as abortion and marriage? Check it out here.

Families Need Clean Water and Antibiotics, not Population Controllers

Christina Dunigan, who blogs at Real Choice, responds to this Fox News story about Save the Children's latest global report which describes the tragic lack of basic health care for more than 200 million children around the globe.

Kids in developing nations are still dying for lack of basic antibiotics and oral rehydration therapy -- not to mention potable water and basic sanitation.

Which is why I want to throttle people whose solution to poverty is to just throw condoms, [birth control] Pills, and cheap abortions at people. It's adding insult to injury when people are helplessly watching their children die from preventable and treatable diseases, and the rich people "help" them by trying to spay and neuter them like so many stray cats. We don't need Poverty Pimps going in and throwing abortion and contraception at people whose dream is to have a few children who survive to adulthood. They need a chance of survival for their children, not a way to keep them from ever drawing breath in the first place...

Christina suggests looking to Mercy Ships and World Vision as organizations that are doing effective and morally responsible relief and development work. For several reasons, Claire and I have long partnered with Samaritan's Purse and we could not recommend them more highly as well.

Shouting Down Free Speech On Campus

The Pearcey Report has some important links to the frightening, infuriating assaults on academic freedom, tolerance and rational social discourse recently perpetrated by homosexuals on the Smith College campus.

As Brian Fitzpatrick describes the incident at NewsBusters, "At Smith College, it was a few dozen student activists screaming, chanting and banging pots and pans. With the American Psychiatric Association, it was angry letters from adult activists and bitter stories in the homosexual press. The bottom line is the same: far-left homosexuals successfully intimidated a few cowardly officials and silenced voices they don't want the public to hear.

"Not a bad way for neo-Marxist ideologues to celebrate May Day, but you'd think America's watchdogs of liberty, the free press, might raise an objection. Sadly, the liberal media haven't written a word about either story."

Well, since you don't depend on the liberal media, check out the links listed at the Pearcey Report. They include Fitzpatrick's story and this post from the Bear Diaries which gives a link to video clips of the outrageous affair.

"I Want the President of my Country to Embody the America I Have Been Waiting For"

Tom Hanks believes that America needs another "seismic shift" like it experienced in 1797.

And that's why Hanks is supporting Barack Obama for President because "he has the integrity and the inspiration to unify us as did FDR, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy and even Ronald Reagan...I want the President of my country to embody the America I have been waiting for..."

Say what?

Leave aside the incorrect use of the word "embody" here and don't bother with Mr. Hank's egoism in desiring a nation created in his own image either -- just consider what specific elements one might see in the America Tom Hanks has been waiting for, what changes in our social fabric might result when a Democrat-controlled Congress (with people like Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, Charles Rangel, and Barbara Boxer leading the charge) are given the Senate's most ultra-liberal member to sit in the Oval Office.

The "dream America" for Tom Hanks would be a "nightmare America" for those committed to the sanctity of life, to freedoms of speech, conscience and association; to fiscal responsibility; to the integrity of our borders; to national defense and honor; to educational excellence; to the right to bear arms; and to the cause of liberty and human rights.

No, Mr. Hanks; this kind of "seismic shift" we can ill afford.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do: The Hypocrisy of Eco-Celebrities

"I would like to think that we both work pretty hard for the rights of indigenous people and for the rights of conservation of the Amazon rainforest, but we do need to get around."

Well, yes. But getting around to Trudie Styler (Mrs. Sting, photo at left) means creating a carbon footprint about 30 times bigger than the average Briton's. After all, maintaining 7 homes around the world does have its environmental costs. One might naturally suppose that a couple engaging in such a lavish, eco-damaging lifestyle would refrain from posing as green crusaders and wouldn't dare pontificate about environmental issues.

Ah! Never underestimate the capacity for hypocrisy of modern celebrities.

In this Daily Mail (U.K.) piece, the reader is treated to a few snapshot descriptions of just how dramatic is the hypocrisy on these matters shown by Babs Streisand, John Travolta, Leonardo Dicaprio, Madonna, and others.

Here's just a couple of excerpts:

* Regarding Trudie Styler's public campaign for people to eat more locally grown vegetables (and thus reduce the carbon footprint caused by transport), the story relates "that a tribunal last year heard how she ordered her personal chef to travel over 100 miles to make a bowl of pasta for her youngest child and has sold olive oil and honey from her Tuscan estate, Il Palagio, 1,000 or so miles away, in Harrods in London.

* John Travolta has been vocal about everybody doing "their bit" to reduce global warming and has argued for the necessity of developing alternative fuels. But as the Daily Mail reports, Travolta owns five planes (a Learjet, 3 Gulfstreams, and a customized Boeing 707 designed to carry 150 passengers) which he flies from his own runway. "When he was flying himself back to the U.S., the staggering scale of his environmental vandalism was revealed when he landed the 707 in Ireland to refuel and it was reported that he was the only person on board."

* Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among the most outspoken of celebrities demanding simpler lifestyles from the citizenry. They have helped finance the building of "eco-homes" in New Orleans; Pitt narrated a segment of the documentary, e2: The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious; and have repeatedly said such things as, "There's a lot of problems in the world right now because of our dependency on oil."

Nevertheless, the star couple's transportation goes way beyond their hybrid Prus, "In fact, Pitt and his wife are massive consumers of oil thanks to their addiction to private jet travel. In 2007 they took literally dozens of such flights between them around the world. In August, Pitt flew from Chicago, where he was watching his wife work, to LA to perform jury duty and then flew back to Illinois the same day. Recently, the couple touched down at Nice airport aboard their own 'PJ' -- burning an estimated 11, 000 gallons of fuel on the trip from America. Pitt would have to drive his Prius to the moon to offset that.""

Read the rest here.

Today's Posts

Obama's Non-Catholic Catholics

How Can Obama Escape The Wright Factor?

"Hope Is Not a Strategy"

Confiscatory Taxes Made a Snowbird Even Out of Howard Metzenbaum

Unpleasant Tales from American Academia

Obama's Non-Catholic Catholics

Catholic League president Bill Donohue points out that Barack Obama's "Catholic National Advisory Council" has one remarkable weakness -- its members are not practicing Catholics!

...The best advice I can give Sen. Obama about his Catholic National Advisory Council is to dissolve it immediately. Of the 26 Catholic former or current public office holders he has listed as either National Co-Chairs (5), or as members of the National Leadership Committee (21), there is not one who agrees with the Catholic Church on all three major public policy issues: abortion, embryonic stem cell research and school vouchers.

Indeed, on the issue of abortion, their record is disgraceful. Consider the scorecard as issued by the most radical pro-abortion organization in the nation—NARAL. Of the two National Co-Chairs who have a NARAL tally, one agrees with the extremist group 65 percent of the time and the other agrees 100 percent of the time. Of the 20 National Leadership Committee members with a NARAL score, 17 have earned a 100 percent rating. Of those who have less than a perfect score, not one is in favor of school vouchers...

Practicing Catholics have every right to be insulted by Obama’s advisory group. What is the purpose of having an advisory group about matters Catholic when most of its members reject the Catholic position?...In short, to choose Catholic dissidents to advise him about Catholic concerns is mind-boggling...

How Can Obama Escape The Wright Factor?

There's yet another problem on the horizon for Barack Obama's hopes to become President -- a book written by Jeremiah Wright due to be published just a couple of weeks before the November election. So, no matter what Obama does to try and change the subject off of Wright right now, the controversial Reverend will force his way back onto center stage at just the worse moment.

And, speaking of Wright, the New York Post is reporting that he's got some new public relations problems of his own and they're not related to politics, to extremist sermons, or to a denunciation of America.

Here's the deal.

"Hope Is Not a Strategy"

Such actions as the the U.S. buildup of forces on Guam reveal the seriousness of an ongoing "hedge" program against the military threat posed by Communist China to American interests in the Pacific. First developed under Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the plan includes improving and extending U.S. military forces as well as bettering alliances in the region. Thus, the U.S. would be ready to counter any hostile moves made by China, moves that many believe are a real danger as China continues to deploy advanced nuclear and conventional missiles, increase its number of submarines and other naval forces, and even build up its mobile ground forces.

Michael Pillsbury, a Pentagon consultant on China, said recently that the "hedging" moves are so necessary that they will continue whoever is elected president in November, this despite harsh criticsm of U.S. actions by the Chinese government.

Pillsbury explained the "hedging" actions are an important contrast to the the naive belief held by some people that China poses no threat to the region. He quoted a senior Navy civilian as saying this U.S. game plan is desperately needed because, "hope is not a strategy."

Confiscatory Taxes Made a Snowbird Even Out of Howard Metzenbaum

Former Ohio Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, who died in March at age 90, was an ultraliberal as a politician but also a savvy and very rich businessman. Before going to Washington in 1976, he had made a fortune on parking lots.

As a three-term Democrat, he made his reputation in Washington by attacking big business and fighting anything that even hinted of deregulation. His attacks against Clarence Thomas in 1991 prompted a famous retort from the future Supreme Court Justice: "God is my judge, Mr. Metzenbaum, not you."

But we come today not to judge the late senator, only to praise him for one last act of personal financial acumen. Though a lifelong Ohioan, the senator moved to Florida in 2002, according to a declaration of domicile filed with the Broward County Clerk's office in 2003. In doing so, he avoided paying his home state's income tax (top rate: 6.55 percent).

More important as he neared the end of his life, the former senator also saved his family from paying Ohio's death tax, which features one of the highest state rates (7 percent) and lowest asset thresholds — $338,333 — in the country. Florida famously has no income or estate tax, which is one reason other than the climate that it is home to so many Northern-born retirees," the newspaper said.

Howard Metzenbaum thus denied the state in which he lived most of his life a parting financial gift. But he has at least provided the rest of us with a teaching moment in tax policy. If a liberal lion like Metzenbaum is willing to relocate late in life to avoid his state's death tax, maybe living politicians in Ohio will better understand how their confiscatory tax laws are driving its citizens to warmer climes.

(Wall Street Journal editorial, May 3)

Unpleasant Tales from American Academia

Here's a couple of items fresh from America's universities, neither one of which is very surprising but both being pretty distressing. The first concerns the overwhelming preponderance of politically liberal professors (even in Texas) and the second describes the brave but losing battle one Virginia professor is waging against the ongoing "dumbing down" of academic standards.

Today's Posts

Belarus Persecutes Peaceful Petition Signers...Just Like Norway?

Hooray for Haleigh!

The Critical Dangers of "Safe Sex"

More on the Obama/Wright Debacle (And Why has the Press Been so Timid on the Matter?)

What Happened in the Nebraska Statehouse?

Could McCain Tap Paul Ryan for VP?

Investigative Reporting: It's a Conservative, Blogging Thing

Belarus Persecutes Peaceful Petition Signers...Just Like Norway?

Yuri Kulakovsky, the chairman of the Human Rights, Ethnic Relations and Media Committee of Belarus' parliament, is defending not only the refusal of his country's government to be influenced by a nationwide religious freedom petition signed by over 50,000 citizens, but the unjust prosecution of three of the petition's organizers. The petition organizers were fined 1,400,000 Belarusian Roubles ($662 dollars), the equivalent of two month's wages.

Kulakovsky explained to Forum 18... that the petition organisers failed to follow the legal procedure of registering an initiative group with the electoral commission before collecting signatures. Forum 18 pointed out that no such conditions for petition-gathering exist in ordinary democratic societies. "You're wrong!" Kulakovsky told Forum 18 repeatedly. "There is a procedure for such initiatives in any democratic society, and they didn't follow it."

Forum 18 asked the Human Rights Committee chairman in which other democratic countries such a procedure exists. "There certainly is in Norway," replied Kulakovsky. "We didn't make anything up, you know - we followed European democratic norms."

Well, unfortunately, Kulakovsky is dead wrong. But then government officials toeing the line of Belarus' dictator, Alexander Lukashenka, often are.

Norway has no restrictions at all for the peaceful collection of signatures. No country in the E.U. does.

Hooray for Haleigh!

Last winter, just as the state’s highest court was about to rule that a girl in an "irreversible vegetative state" should be removed from life support, 14-year-old Haleigh Poutre started to breathe on her own.

And eventually she started talking. Using simple words and spelling out others, Haleigh described the abuse she endured from an adoptive mother and stepfather. It was a terrible instance of that abuse, being kicked down stairs by her stepfather, that put her in the condition she's in.

But that abuse was nearly exacerbated, and to a fatal degree, by medical and legal officials had not Haleigh's strength kicked in just in time.

Here's a Fox News review of the story and here are Wesley J. Smith's cogent comments about it:

There is a huge lesson to be learned in this story, but we won't learn it and the media won't highlight the issue--lest we come to the "wrong conclusion" about Terri Schiavo...

I hope judges and doctors will ponder this story next time a dehydration request is made on the basis that a cognitively disabled patient--particularly a young one--will never improve or whenever hospital ethics committees try to impose futile care treatment terminations. As that great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over 'till it's over."

The Critical Dangers of "Safe Sex"

Commenting on the news of 12-year old girls having abortions in the U.K. and last week's hearings in the U.S. Congress in which several "sexperts" derided abstinence education, Family Watch President Sharon Slater brings some cold, hard and very important facts to the debate.

...“Safe sex” proponents claimed that abstinence programs do not work and that they do not prepare kids to protect themselves. They also pointed to studies purportedly proving their points.

So, who is right?

Over the past several years, I have been involved in HIV/AIDS prevention education programs in Africa. Even though literally billions of condoms have been distributed there, and billions more are being shipped in every year, the AIDS infection rates are not going down. In fact, in many places they are going up dramatically! Two years ago at the High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS at the UN, a doctor from Nigeria confirmed this when he told us, “Condoms are killing my people.”

That should tell us something about the real-world effectiveness of the approach of promoting “safe sex” through condom use.

On the other hand, there is clear evidence that abstinence programs are successful. Uganda is the classic example. It is the only African country that has significantly reduced its infection rate. In 2002, I invited the First Lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni, to give the keynote speech at a conference I chaired for UN delegates to discuss the reason for this success. She made it clear that Uganda’s success was due to the promotion of abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage and NOT the use of condoms.

So, why is that so?

Studies show that even many adults who intend to use condoms do not always use them consistently or correctly. They also show that condoms have significant failure rates. And although condom use can reduce pregnancy rates and HIV infections, abstinence can completely eliminate them.

Studies also show that children and teens who are having sex are even less prone to use a condom or use it correctly, even if they have been thoroughly educated in “safe sex” techniques. Simply put, many children are just not mature enough to decide to use a condom in the heat of the moment. A great deal of teen sex is unplanned (and adult sex too, for that matter).

It is unconscionable that schools anywhere would teach children that having sex at will and using condoms to protect themselves will keep them “safe.” In countries where HIV/AIDS infection rates are low, teen sex may lead to pregnancy, but in developing countries, and especially in Africa, teen sex is the equivalent of Russian roulette and can lead to HIV infection and death...

More on the Obama/Wright Debacle (And Why has the Press Been so Timid on the Matter?)

From James Taranto's "Best of the Web" over at the Wall Street Journal comes several interesting items about Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright and the "black church" in America. Here are two of them.

1) The real proof that Wright is right about Obama, though, comes from this passage in a New York Times story from April 30, 2007--a year ago yesterday:

Mr. Wright, who has long prided himself on criticizing the establishment, said he knew that he may not play well in Mr. Obama's audition for the ultimate establishment job. "If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me," Mr. Wright said with a shrug. "I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen."

Assuming Wright's account of the conversation was accurate--and as far as we know, Obama has never disputed it--Obama not only is acting out of political expediency now, but was making plans a year ago to do so. All part of the effort to sell him as a new kind of politician--and if you buy it, we've got some change you can believe in.

2) Black Churchmen Against Wright ---- The Los Angeles Times interviews some local black ministers and finds few fans of Jeremiah Wright:

"This didn't have anything to do with the black church--it was basically an attack on the individual message he proclaimed, which hurt some individuals," said the Rev. K.W. Tulloss of Weller Street Missionary Baptist Church in Boyle Heights. "My own members were offended by Rev. Wright's words. His views have cast a wedge between people, and that's the exact opposite of the unity Jesus represented." . . .

Bishop John Bryant of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who has known Wright for 30 years, said he would have used less provocative language. "How one speaks is as important as the right to do so," Bryant said. "If it is done in an inflammatory way, the substance of the message gets lost in the rhetorical style."

Kerman Maddox, a member of First AME church in Los Angeles, said that he had listened to hundreds of sermons in black churches nationwide as part of his political and community work, and that Wright's messages did "not represent mainstream black thought on Sunday morning."

He said he had never heard pastors curse America or proclaim, as Wright had, that the U.S. government caused AIDS among blacks. He said the common pulpit themes had long been unity, personal responsibility, loving your neighbor and improving your neighborhoods.

If this is an accurate picture, then Karl of ProteinWisdom.com has a point when he criticizes "the establishment media," saying they "not only avoided soliciting the opinion of other black religious leaders, but also promoted the notion that Wright was expressing views commonly expressed within black churches."

Karl attributes this media failure to pro-Obama partisanship, but it occurs to us that another factor may be at work. There is an ideological symbiosis between whites of the far left and black extremists like Wright: The former find moral justification for their anti-American views in the marginalization of blacks that the latter promote.

Anyone with an ideological hostility to America has an interest in promoting the notion that America is inveterately racist, and this may come into play in some newsroom decisions.

What Happened in the Nebraska Statehouse?

If you'd like a clear, thoughtful summary of just what happened in the Nebraska Unicameral's second session, you can't do better than this one created by State Senator Tony Fulton (District 29, Lincoln). In it, Senator Fulton not only gives an insightful record of the session's business but also his personal opinions on specific legislation.

Among the issues he highlights are: the lowest budget increase in years; the (overdue) passage of a "safe haven" law; his opposition (with only 14 others) to the gas tax hike; his proposal and passage of LB 736 which mandates the use of ignition interlock devices for first time DUI convictions; the innovative effort to curb the growing problem of metal theft from homes and utilities as collateral for illegal drugs; the state smoking ban; and the moving of the State Fair to Grand Island.

And, of course, of particular interest to Vital Signs readers, there's the cloning ban. Writes Senator Fulton, "After producing no resolution following several sessions, the Legislature struck a life-affirming accord on the matter of human cloning with LB 606. I worked with senators and interested groups to ensure that public funds and property are not used for destructive human embryonic research and to affirm that the policy of our state recognizes that human cloning is antithetical to the inherent dignity of human life. Senator Lathrop brokered the historic compromise. Even Senator Chambers, who has opposed such legislation in the past, recognized the value of the bill and voted for LB606. It passed 47 to 0, and this divisive debate may now hopefully be relegated to the past."

Again, the Unicameral summary is an enlightening, helpful review and it's written by one of our state's brightest and most principled public servants. Check it out.

Could McCain Tap Paul Ryan for VP?

John Gizzi, the Political Editor of Human Events, has a tantalizing Vice President possibility for John McCain -- Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan.

Ryan is a principled, hard-working fiscal conservative serving on the House Ways and Means Committee. His credentials are impressive: though only 38, he has 10 years experience in Congress; he's worked as speechwriter for Jack Kemp and William Bennett at their “Empower America” organization; he was legislative director for Senator Sam Brownback; he has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 93% with a strong record as a proponent of gunowners’ rights, pro-life legislation, and tougher measures on illegal immigration. And he's very popular in his district.

Read more right here.

Investigative Reporting: It's a Conservative, Blogging Thing

This A.P. story about Michael Brodkorb and "Minnesota Democrats Exposed" is a corker both for its liberal bias and its condescension towards bloggers. You'll see several examples of these faults as you read through the piece, beginning in the opening paragraph with its contrast of Brodkorb's interest in Senate Democrat Al Franken's tax delinquency with what the reporter obviously believes are Franken's more substantive issues.

But it goes on from there --- labeling Brodkorb's describing Franken's serious financial crimes (easily found but which had remain undisclosed by the MSM) as a "furious political assault"; conceding Brodkorb's effectiveness in having "knocked Franken off balance" but attributing it (through a Franken spokesman) as being part of "the right wing noise machine"; making Brodkorb's revelations seem somehow soiled because some of them might come via tips from...yipes... Republicans; and using the term "outing" as a pejorative for Brodkorb's admission that he was himself a Republican.

Finally, check out these two paragraphs near the story's conclusion:

[Brodkorb] first asserted himself as a political force in the 2006 election cycle by reporting that Democratic rising star Matt Entenza had hired a private investigator to investigate fellow Democrat Mike Hatch. The revelation eventually forced Entenza out of the race for attorney general.

Hatch was a main target that year, too, with Brodkorb portraying the Democratic candidate for governor as divisive and mean-spirited. When Hatch was accused of calling one reporter a "Republican whore," his temper became the story, and Hatch went on to lose narrowly to Pawlenty.

Note how the A.P. reporter (Patrick Condon) manages to put the actions of Entenza and Hatch in the background compared to the revelation of those actions. Progressive politics, at least in Condon's mind, shouldn't be concerned about a Democrat's dirty tricks (proven) or a Democrat's abusive and profane temper (proven) or a Democrat's tax dodging (proven), but rather about those "jobs, health care and global warming" that the story began with.

With all this said, even Condon's reporting faults cannot conceal some very interesting facts. The most important of which is that solid, well-researched, investigative reporting is becoming more and more the province of conservative bloggers rather than of traditional journalists.

Today's Posts

"Motherhood Interrupted: Stories of Healing and Hope after Abortion"

Paranoid Bureaucrats Don't Want You Flying the Friendly Skies

"Rethinking Childhood" Critical as U.K. Faces Mental Health Crisis Among Youth

Code Pink vs the U.S. Marines

Sex Ed "Experts" Bested by High School Senior

Sarah Palin: " Children are the Most Precious and Promising Ingredient in this Mixed-up World."

Obama's Troubles Give Hope to Dispirited G.O.P.

"Motherhood Interrupted: Stories of Healing and Hope after Abortion"

Jane Brennan, a professional counselor in Colorado, represents an increasingly common type of pro-life advocate. For Jane Brennan is a woman who believed strongly in "a woman's right to choose" -- until, that is, she made the choice for abortion herself. The physical, emotional and spiritual ramifications of her abortion started her to first doubt her decision, then regret it, and finally to persuade others to avoid the terrible mistake she had made.

In Jane's case the transformation may be a bit more dramatic than most. After all, she was once a member of NOW and volunteered for Planned Parenthood. And now Jane has devoted her private counseling practice to offering post-abortive women a safe place to reconcile unresolved grief and loss. She is a leader in her state's Silent No More Awareness Campaign and has written a compelling book, Motherhood Interrupted, Stories of Healing and Hope after Abortion.

Jane Brennan resides in Colorado with her husband and four daughters. And at her website you can learn more about her, read excerpts from the book, look at some very helpful articles, and more -- including ordering a copy of Motherhood Interrupted for yourself.

Paranoid Bureaucrats Don't Want You Flying the Friendly Skies

Unless the government watches closely, the airlines will kill you. That seems to be what many reporters and politicians believe...

But, as ABC's crack investigative reporter John Stossel argues in this enlightening Town Hall column, it just ain't so. Indeed, the negative hype coming from bureaucratic agencies and the scare-mongering headlined from the MSM (and let's face it, journalists love horror stories more than a 14-year old boy) "flies" in the face of the facts.

...What about alarmist claims that the FAA has been lax in enforcing its own procedures? If the claims are true, then where are the bodies? The best evidence that FAA enforcement is unnecessary is to assume it's been lax -- and then to note that airline travel, though busier than ever, has never been safer.

We need to rethink the premise that government inspections keep us safe.

Clifford Winston and Robert W. Crandall of the Brookings Institution write: "[T]he fundamental problem with most regulation is that the regulatory agency does not have sufficient information, flexibility and immunity from political pressure to regulate firms' behavior effectively. Fortunately, the market, and in some cases the liability system, provide sufficient incentives for firms to behave in a socially beneficial manner."

To see who really regulates air safety, do a thought experiment suggested by George Mason University economist Donald Boudreaux, who blogs at Cafe Hayek:

"Suppose that all government regulation of airlines were abolished today. Does ... Congressman [Oberstar] suppose that airline executives would tomorrow fire all inspectors and maintenance crews, indifferent to the prospect of losing multimillion-dollar assets in fiery crashes? Does he not see that airlines with poor safety records would have difficulty attracting customers? Is he unaware that airlines' insurers have ample incentives to work closely with airlines at keeping air-travel safety at optimal levels? In short, is Mr. Oberstar really so dimwitted to think that airlines will be safe only if they are regulated by government?"

Yes, I think he is.

And sadly, most of his colleagues, and mine, agree with him.

Read the whole of Stossel's piece here.

"Rethinking Childhood" Critical as U.K. Faces Mental Health Crisis Among Youth

"Rethinking childhood is one of the most important issues facing the UK."

That's the opinion of Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of UNICEF. And, if the organization's new report is anything close to accurate, he's spot on. For that report rates U.K. kids as having one of the worst "well being" standards in Europe with over a million children suffering from ":clinically recognisable" mental disorders. Depression, anxiety, drug use, esteem, promiscuity, anorexia, crime -- these shouldn't be the stuff of childhood but, for hundreds of thousands of British kids, they apparently are.

The report argues that the mental health problems stem from pressure on youngsters to grow up too quickly. Michele Elliott, of Kidscape, agrees. "Drugs and alcohol are more readily available, and we are forcing sexual images on children from a young age when they are not ready for it."

Peter Pan, where are you when we need you?

Code Pink vs the U.S. Marines

John Malek sent over a heads up about this remarkable video clip from Jon Stewart's Daily Show. I'm sure it's one you'll want to view too. It concerns the efforts of Code Pink demonstrators to close down the Marine recruiting office in Berkeley, California. It's funny...but only if you don't stop to think too long about the hypocrisy, irony and sheer idiocy these CP peaceniks represent.

Sex Ed "Experts" Bested by High School Senior

Patricia Roeder hasn't written an op/ed column for the Truth, an Elkhart County, Indiana newspaper for awhile now. As a high school senior at Goshen High School, she's a little busy with other matters: school, working on scholarships, applying to colleges, and so on. In fact, she was so occupied with other things she decided she wouldn't write for the newspaper until "something incredibly irritating or major happened."

An Associated Press story about the STD rate among teenagers did it. And, as you'll see in Patricia's response, she has a clearer, healthier picture of the issue than do most of the so-called experts in the field.

It's a spirited, effective argument for chastity that Patricia writes, a splendid piece to hand to your kids and grandkids. It's a great one also to send over to your pastor and youth pastor. Check it out right here.

(Hat tip to American Life League)

Sarah Palin: " Children are the Most Precious and Promising Ingredient in this Mixed-up World."

The Family Research Council, in congratulating Todd and Sarah Palin on the birth of Trig Paxson Van Palin, writes:

If anyone can relate to the struggles of raising a special needs child in this unforgiving world, it's Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R). Last week, she and her husband welcomed their fifth child, Trig Paxson Van Palin. During her pregnancy, the couple learned that Trig would be born with Down's syndrome. A pro-family champion who has advanced the culture of life at every opportunity, Palin was faced with embracing this harsh reality in the public spotlight where she has so often lived out her personal beliefs.

Although it was difficult at first, Palin says she and Todd now feel chosen by God to raise "an absolutely perfect" son. In an era when over 80 percent of Down's syndrome babies are aborted, the Palins feel they have been extremely blessed. In a personal letter to her family and friends, Palin wrote, "Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this... Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in... Trig is no different, except that he has one extra chromosome." To the people who think that Trig shouldn't have been born, Palin says, "Look around. Who is perfect or even normal?"

Now back on the job, Palin is using her testimony as motivation to work even harder to protect unborn children. This week, she helped to bring new legislation to the floor that would ban partial-birth abortion and promote parental consent on minor abortion. A woman who has never wavered in her defense of life, Palin is off to a great start as an up-and-coming GOP governor with political skills and personal ethics. We congratulate the Palins on their newest addition and pray that their story is an inspiration to couples everywhere.

Obama's Troubles Give Hope to Dispirited G.O.P.

By all odds, Republican retention of the White House should be as imperiled as it was in 1932, when the hapless Herbert Hoover faced FDR. Yet John McCain, who presides over a disconsolate party many of whose leading lights not only do not love him, they do not like him, is even money to be the next president of the United States.

What explains this?

Answer: Barack Obama, the probable nominee of the Democratic Party -- his cool and pleasant demeanor aside, and his oratorical skills notwithstanding -- is being steadily pushed by his own mistakes, and rivals Hillary Clinton and McCain, outside the social, cultural and ideological mainstream of American politics.

Hillary's victory in Pennsylvania confirmed what Texas, Ohio and Florida hinted at. Barack has not closed the sale with Middle America. Moreover, he may never close the sale.

What is Barack's problem?

Though he has stitched together the McGovern wing of the party -- the anti-war crowd, the cause people, the professoriat -- with the Jesse Jackson wing -- 90 percent of the African-American vote -- he is being systematically pushed out of the heartland of the party, the white working and middle class. And reinforcing the impression in Middle America that Barack is "not one of us" is the core of both the Clinton and Republican strategies. And they are working...

Read the entirety of this Pat Buchanan Human Events column right here.