RW-(the original) Dancing Madly Backwards Through A Liberal Minefield

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez is an ally of the Iranian mullahs, a supporter of North Korea, a close friend of Fidel Castro and a good customer for Vladimir Putin's weapon factories. Now he's also a business partner of Joseph P. Kennedy II.

The former Democratic Congressman describes the deal he's cooked up with Mr. Chávez as charity for low-income consumers of heating oil. But it's worth asking what the price of this largesse is to Venezuelans and to U.S. security interests.

The arrangement is this: Mr. Chávez's Citgo--a Houston-based oil company owned by the Venezuelan government--is supplying home heating oil to Mr. Kennedy's Citizens Energy Corporation at a 40% discount. Citizens, a nonprofit outfit, says it passes the savings onto the poor, aiming to help 400,000 homes in 16 states that would otherwise have trouble heating their homes. In the process, Mr. Kennedy happens to get a high-profile publicity plug. If you think you qualify, says the television ad that drew our attention to this partnership, just dial 1-877-Joe-4-Oil.

Chavez, who is heavily favored to beat opponent Manuel Rosales, told the crowd he would confront the "devil," and that his re-election would deliver a knockout punch to the U.S.

# posted by RW-(the original) : 9:01 PM  0 comments

Former attorney general Janet Reno has taken the unusual step of openly criticizing the Bush administration's anti-terrorism strategy -- joining seven other former Justice Department officials in warning that the indefinite detention of U.S. terrorism suspects could become commonplace unless the courts intervene.

# posted by RW-(the original) : 3:17 PM  0 comments

The idea that a Muslim boycott against US Airways would hurt the airline proves that Arabs are utterly tone-deaf. This is roughly the equivalent of Cindy Sheehan taking a vow of silence. How can we hope to deal with people with no sense of irony? The next thing you know, New York City cab drivers will be threatening to bathe.

Come to think of it, the whole affair may have been a madcap advertising scheme cooked up by US Airways.

It worked with me. US Airways is my official airline now. Northwest, which eventually flew the Allah-spouting Muslims to their destinations, is off my list. You want to really hurt a U.S. air carrier's business? Have Muslims announce that it's their favorite airline.

# posted by RW-(the original) : 9:57 PM  0 comments

In 1995, when a tornado ripped through South Berkshire, several National Guard units were on hand the next day to aid cleanup efforts. But Guard help in Louisiana has been stretched thin because of the troops needed for the war in Iraq.

To the Editor of THE EAGLE:
I am writing in response to your article "Picking up the Pieces," which appeared Nov. 12. I don't believe the article's statement, "Guard help in Louisiana has been stretched thin because of ... the war in Iraq," tells the whole story.

The fact is, despite overseas deployments, the National Guard mobilized the largest response to a natural disaster in U.S. history — 50,000 National Guard members from across the country responded to the Gulf Coast to save lives and assist with relief efforts, including more than 600 soldiers and airmen from the Massachusetts National Guard.

National Guard forces were rescuing people within four hours of Katrina's passing. The Guard had more than 11,000 members involved in rescue operations on Aug. 31, when the governors asked for more troops, and amassed an additional 30,000 soldiers and airmen within 96 hours.

Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. Comparing the National Guard's response to Katrina with our response to the 1995 tornado that hit South Berkshire is ridiculous.

That said, the Massachusetts National Guard remains ready to respond to emergencies in the commonwealth. Despite Iraq and other federal missions, 5,800 of our 7,800 members are in the commonwealth, available in case of emergency. No state could respond alone to a disaster of Katrina's scale, however, and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact provides us with access to more than 350,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen nationwide.

Make no mistake, whatever comes our way, the National Guard will be there.

MAJ. WINFIELD S. DANIELSON III

# posted by RW-(the original) : 10:05 PM  0 comments

Washington, DC – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) questioned soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) commitment to eradicating corruption with her endorsement of one of the most unethical members in Congress, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), to be Majority Leader of the House of Representatives.

Rep. Murtha was listed in CREW’s report Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch). As reported in the study and by the news media, Rep. Murtha has been involved in a number of pay-to play schemes involving former staffers and his brother, Robert “Kit” Murtha.

Eight incumbents in CREW’s report lost their races to ethics issues.

“Future House Speaker Pelosi’s endorsement of Rep. Murtha, one of the most unethical members of Congress, shows that she may have prioritized ethics reform merely to win votes with no real commitment to changing the culture of corruption,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today. “How can Americans believe that the Democrats will return integrity to the House when future Speaker Pelosi has endorsed an ethically-challenged member for a leadership position? Rep. Murtha is the wrong choice for this job.”

Not only is Rep. Murtha beset by ethics issues, The New York Times reported on October 2, 2006 that he has consistently opposed ethics and earmark reform. Sloan continued, “Rep. Murtha’s opposition to ethics reform does not bode well for future Speaker Pelosi’s promise to enact ethics legislation in the first 100 hours of the new Congress.”

Melanie Sloan is available to discuss CREW’s opposition to Rep. Murtha’s candidacy. Please contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565 or press@citizensforethics.org.

CREW’s report can be found at www.beyonddelay.org.

# posted by RW-(the original) : 9:07 PM  0 comments

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

# posted by RW-(the original) : 12:27 AM  0 comments

Statement of Senator John Kerry

As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.

I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.

It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.

# posted by RW-(the original) : 4:40 PM  0 comments