The Cosby Show and the Supreme Court

When I was growing up (now I’m showing my age), the favorite show of everyone was The Cosby Show. It was like the American Idol or CSI of it’s time.

The Cosby Show came on last night after another program and I was transformed back to my childhood. To my recollection, we thought this was just a great show – not a great show that happened to feature a black family, just a great show. I’m sure ethnicity was a topic of conversation, but to a young kid it really wasn’t that important.

Juxtapose this with the decision on Tuesday regarding President Obama’s pick to fill the soon to be vacant seat of David Souter to the Supreme Court.  Sonia Sotomayor has been tapped to fill this position. One of the major reasons that were put out into the newsosphere (my word) of her pick is her ethnicity. Is that really that important? How about her great legal mind? How about her decisions? Maybe those things are not as important in today’s culture.

Maybe this is petty coming from a pasty white male, but personally I’m all for the best person for the job regardless of national heritage or color of skin. Isn’t that what we are really looking for with our leaders? Just checking. Honestly, I really didn’t expect President Obama to fill the seat with a Justice Roberts or Justice Thomas. I expected him to fill the seat with someone that shares his point of view from the liberal end of the spectrum. As one of the most liberal members of congress while he was in that office, that should be expected. The fact that he also has a near majority in the Senate really gives him the power to nominate anyone he wants. Besides, he’s replacing a liberal leaning member of the court, so believe it or not, I’m really not that worked up about the whole thing.

Obama announcement:

This is an interesting video to show some of her views on how the court should operate:

This is also an interesting quote from Judge Sotomayor:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life”

We’ll see what happens, but in my book this pick is really a foregone conclusion.

Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

The Dark Pelosi

I just love Steven Crowder.  He uses some awesome comedy to really hit home on all kinds of issues.  I love the “Joker” reference.  Enjoy.

Of course, that is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Thomas Payne Speaks!

This is a great video that The Great Illuminator had posted today.  Great words heading into the Memorial Day weekend.  I personally agree with the spoken words by this modern day Thomas Payne. 

The conservative politicians in our great country should start speaking like this and invigorate the electorate.  Long live Thomas Payne.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

How About A Matchbox Car To Drive

Before long the only car I will be able to drive is one of my son’s Matchbox cars. 

President Obama announced that he wants the auto makers to improve fuel efficiency standards (CAFE) to 35.5 MPG by 2016 – four years earlier than required by law.  At the front end, this sounds great.  I would love to have a car that got 35.5 MPG, but at what total cost?
The current standard is 27.5 MPG for cars and 24.5 MPG for light trucks.   Jumping from 27.5 MPG to 35.5 MPG in just over six years is a massive jump.

Obama Said:

“The projected oil savings of this program over the life of this program is 1.8 billion barrels of oil.”

My initial questions are:

• How much will these cars be with typical increases in cost over those three years? 
• Will the price increases eat up these potential savings?
• Where will the Government get the additional tax money not collected through the gas tax (reduced consumption = reduced tax money)?
• Why the accelerated push to increase the standards?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for reducing dependency on foreign oil and a cleaner environment, but it seems that these standards are really a wash in the end.  We will probably pay more for gas with added taxes and we will be forced to drive smaller cars down the road.  The Government will obviously not come into your house and take your gas guzzler, but choices will be diminished. 

There really is no other way around it.  Auto companies will have to have an average of 35.5 MPG for their whole fleet.  So…if an SUV only gets 15 MPG, another car in their company must average higher than the standard to meet the average.  Without saying it, this high standard will reduce choices for consumers in the long run.   Not to mention the safety issues for a lighter car – all those SUV’s will not immediately go away.  It is obvious that President Obama is taking advantage of the weak auto companies by accelerating the standards. 

 

Here is a full video of the press conference:

To be fair, these standards have been around since the mid 70’s and have been supported by many administrations, but that doesn’t make it a good idea to force auto makers to produce cars that the consumer is not interested in buying.  It is obvious that the public wants more fuel efficient cars but have been unwilling to give up comfort to achieve this end – those two ideas don’t intersect very often.

This is much ado about nothing catering to the EPA and the environmentalists.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Take That Perez Hilton

Since the Miss California thing is still making news, I thought it appropriate to feature this video from Steven Crowder.  If you don’t know Mr. Crowder you need to check out his video rants – very funny (based on your political perspective I suppose).

Wanda Sykes is Lovin’ on Limbaugh

I love it when comedians try to be funny by trashing conservatives. 

The annual Correspondents’ White House Association Dinner always turns into a roast of the Press and some of the people in attendance.  The current President of the United States gets up and does some standup and this years event was no different.  It’s usually pretty funny and it is an annual tradition.  This year the proceedings took a strange turn.

While President Obama was very funny and self-deprecating, the “Comedian” Wanda Sykes took some time to continue the roast.  Of course we expect some good natured ribbing of the current administration, but none of that transpired.  Instead, Ms. Sykes took part of her time to trash Rush Limbaugh about his statements that he “Wanted the President to Fail”.  Either she ignored the real facts of his interview with Sean Hannity or she is being disingenuous.   I’ll go with the later.

She also compared him to Osama Bin Laden and mentioned that he (Rush) was suppose to be the 20^th hijacker in the September 11 terrorist attacks but missed his flight being too high on Oxycontin.   She also hoped that his Kidney’s failed.  We also witnessed President Obama laughing at this diatribe.  Classy, real classy.

Am I being too hard nosed on this?  Am I devoid of a sense of humor?  Hardly.  What do you think would be the press reaction to President Bush laughing at someone on stage suggesting they hoped that Jeneane Garafalo had a heart attack.  Or that Alan Colmes would get cancer.  Or if Al Franken would die in a horrible car accident.  I believe this would be front page news on every paper and on every website.

 

Wanda Sykes at the White House Correspondents Dinner:

 

Rush Limbaugh’s comments to Sean Hannity (in context):

 

The only reason I bring up this type of thing again and again is that the former President (Bush) went through Hell during his administration from the same yea-hoos (the press) in the crowd that night.   What was suppose to be a funny and good natured event turned ugly.  Does Ms. Sykes have nothing else to kid about?  She is moderately funny and is talented but this begs the question – why wasn’t she actually funny during this event?  I guess she drank the Kool-Aid before she took the stage.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Founding Fathers Series: William Few

William Few

Few was born in 1748. His father’s family had emigrated from England to Pennsylvania in the 1680s, but the father had subsequently moved to Maryland, where he married and settled on a farm near Baltimore. William was born there. He encountered much hardship and received minimal schooling. When he was 10 years of age, his father, seeking better opportunity, moved his family to North Carolina.

In 1771 Few, his father, and a brother associated themselves with the “Regulators,” a group of frontiersmen who opposed the royal governor. As a result, the brother was hanged, the Few family farm was destroyed, and the father was forced to move once again, this time to Georgia. William remained behind, helping to settle his father’s affairs, until 1776 when he joined his family near Wrightsboro, Ga. About this time, he won admittance to the bar, based on earlier informal study, and set up practice in Augusta.

When the War for Independence began, Few enthusiastically aligned himself with the Whig cause. Although largely self-educated, he soon proved his capacity for leadership and won a lieutenant-colonelcy in the dragoons. In addition, he entered politics. He was elected to the Georgia provincial congress of 1776 and during the war twice served in the assembly, in 1777 and 1779. During the same period, he also sat on the state executive council besides holding the positions of surveyor-general and Indian commissioner. He also served in the Continental Congress (1780-88), during which time he was reelected to the Georgia Assembly (1783).

Four years later, Few was appointed as one of six state delegates to the Constitutional Convention, two of whom never attended and two others of whom did not stay for the duration. Few himself missed large segments of the proceedings, being absent during all of July and part of August because of congressional service, and never made a speech. Nonetheless, he contributed nationalist votes at critical times. Furthermore, as a delegate to the last sessions of the Continental Congress, he helped steer the Constitution past its first obstacle, approval by Congress. And he attended the state ratifying convention.

Few became one of his state’s first U.S. senators (1789-93). When his term ended, he headed back home and served again in the assembly. In 1796 he received an appointment as a federal judge for the Georgia circuit. For reasons unknown, he resigned his judgeship in 1799 at the age of 52 and moved to New York City.

Few’s career continued to blossom. He served 4 years in the legislature (1802-5) and then as inspector of prisons (1802-10), alderman (1813-14), and U.S. commissioner of loans (1804). From 1804 to 1814 he held a directorship at the Manhattan Bank and later the presidency of City Bank. A devout Methodist, he also donated generously to philanthropic causes.

When Few died in 1828 at the age of 80 in Fishkill-on-the-Hudson (present Beacon), he was survived by his wife (born Catherine Nicholson) and three daughters. Originally buried in the yard of the local Reformed Dutch Church, his body was later reinterred at St. Paul’s Church, Augusta, GA.

Copy taken directly from the National Archives Website:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers_georgia.html

Image: Courtesy of National Archives, Records of Exposition, Anniversary, and Memorial Commissions
(148-CP-157)

Founding Father Series: William Leigh Pierce

William Leigh Pierce

Very little is known about William Pierce’s early life. He was probably born in Georgia in 1740, but he grew up in Virginia. During the Revolutionary War Pierce acted as an aide-de-camp to Gen. Nathanael Greene and eventually attained the rank of brevet major. For his conduct at the battle of Eutaw Springs, Congress presented him with a ceremonial sword.

The year Pierce left the army, 1783, he married Charlotte Fenwick of South Carolina. They had two sons, one of whom died as a child. Pierce made his home in Savannah, where he engaged in business. He first organized an import-export company, Pierce, White, and Call, in 1783, but it dissolved less than a year later. He made a new start with his wife’s dowry and formed William Pierce & Company. In 1786 he was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and was also elected to the Continental Congress.

At the Constitutional Convention Pierce did not play a large role, but he exerted some influence and participated in three debates. He argued for the election of one house of the federal legislature by the people and one house by the states; he favored a 3-year term instead of a 7-year term in the second house. Because he agreed that the Articles had been insufficient, he recommended strengthening the federal government at the expense of state privileges as long as state distinctions were not altogether destroyed. Pierce approved of the resulting Constitution, but he found it necessary to leave in the middle of the proceedings. A decline in the European rice market adversely affected his business. Soon after he returned to Savannah he went bankrupt, having “neither the skill of an experienced merchant nor any reserve capital.” Only 2 years later, on December 10, 1789, Pierce died in Savannah at age 49 leaving tremendous debts.

Pierce’s notes on the proceedings of the convention were published in the Savannah Georgian in 1828. In them he wrote incisive character sketches that are especially valuable for the information they provide about the lesser-known delegates.

Copy taken directly from the National Archives Website:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers_georgia.html

Founding Father Series: William Houston

William Houston

William Houston was the son of Sir Patrick Houston, a member of the council under the royal government of Georgia. He was born in 1755 in Savannah, GA. Houston received a liberal education, which included legal training at Inner Temple in London. The War for Independence cut short his training, and Houston returned home to Georgia. For many years members of Houston’s family had been high officials in the colony. With the onset of war, many remained loyal to the crown, but William, a zealous advocate of colonists’ rights, was among the first to counsel resistance to British aggression.

Houston represented Georgia in the Continental Congress from 1783 through 1786. He was chosen as one of Georgia’s agents to settle a boundary dispute with South Carolina in 1785 and was one of the original trustees of the University of Georgia at Athens.

When the Constitutional Convention convened in 1787, Houston presented his credentials as one of Georgia’s delegates. He stayed for only a short time, from June 1 until about July 23, but he was present during the debate on the representation question. Houston split Georgia’s vote on equal representation in the Senate, voting “nay” against Abraham Baldwin’s “aye.”

Houston died in Savannah on March 17, 1813, and was interred in St. Paul’s Chapel, New York City.

Copy taken directly from the National Archives Website:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers_georgia.html

Image: Courtesy of The Georgia Historical Society

UK Heads Toward Censorship

Is there any wonder we broke away from these guys over 200 years ago?  The UK version of the US Homeland Security has released a list of people they have banned from entering the country including White Supremacists, Islamic Extremists and an American talk show host.  A talk show host?  Are you kidding?

The talk show host is Michael Savage.  Those you who don’t know him or have not listened to him…he’s an extreme right host.  Most of the time he is way too radical for my taste, but not to the extent of fomenting violence.  Now, I’m more of a Glenn Beck guy – kind of radical but much lighter in the presentation – Savage light I guess.  This move by the ruling party (Labour Party) led by UK Socialist Gordon Brown is a direct attempt to censor opposing viewpoints.  I have no idea of the UK laws, but we are heading toward the same type of policy in this country.

The so-called “Fairness Doctrine” has been floated by liberal politicians as a way to stifle the conservative message in America.  This type of policy places limits on radio stations to bring a “balanced” approach to their station by bringing opposing viewpoints and ideas.  The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been an outspoken advocate of this idea.  What happened the the free market deciding these things?  What happened to the off button on the radio? 

There is a new idea, well not so new as it has been tried before, called the Performance Tax.  Essentially this is a run around to squeeze more money out of radio stations – talk and music playing – for the record companies.  If enacted the stations that play music of any type would have to pay this tax.  Now I’m an advocate of artists being paid for their work and stations and others that use music already do pay – upwards of $550 million annually in royalties.  This excessive new tax seems to be a stealth fairness doctrine extracting money from stations and ultimately shuttering those stations.  One step closer to total Socialist control of the airwaves in my mind.  This subject is way to complicated to cover in this short post about Savage but it is related.  We’ll do that later.

Of course, that is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Founding Fathers Series: Abraham Baldwin

Abraham Baldwin

Baldwin was born at Guilford, Conn., in 1754, the second son of a blacksmith who fathered 12 children by 2 wives. Besides Abraham, several of the family attained distinction. His sister Ruth married the poet and diplomat Joel Barlow, and his half-brother Henry attained the position of justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Their ambitious father went heavily into debt to educate his children.

After attending a local village school, Abraham matriculated at Yale, in nearby New Haven. He graduated in 1772. Three years later, he became a minister and tutor at the college. He held that position until 1779, when he served as a chaplain in the Continental Army. Two years later, he declined an offer from his alma mater of a professorship of divinity. Instead of resuming his ministerial or educational duties after the war, he turned to the study of law and in 1783 gained admittance to the bar at Fairfield, CT.

Within a year, Baldwin moved to Georgia, won legislative approval to practice his profession, and obtained a grant of land in Wilkes County. In 1785 he sat in the assembly and the Continental Congress. Two years later, his father died and Baldwin undertook to pay off his debts and educate, out of his own pocket, his half-brothers and half-sisters.

That same year, Baldwin attended the Constitutional Convention, from which he was absent for a few weeks. Although usually inconspicuous, he sat on the Committee on Postponed Matters and helped resolve the large-small state representation crisis. At first, he favored representation in the Senate based upon property holdings, but possibly because of his close relationship with the Connecticut delegation he later came to fear alienation of the small states and changed his mind to representation by state.

After the convention, Baldwin returned to the Continental Congress (1787-89). He was then elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served for 18 years (House of Representatives, 1789-99; Senate, 1799-1807). During these years, he became a bitter opponent of Hamiltonian policies and, unlike most other native New Englanders, an ally of Madison and Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. In the Senate, he presided for a while as president pro tem.

By 1790 Baldwin had taken up residence in Augusta. Beginning in the preceding decade, he had begun efforts to advance the educational system in Georgia. Appointed with six others in 1784 to oversee the founding of a state college, he saw his dream come true in 1798 when Franklin College was founded. Modeled after Yale, it became the nucleus of the University of Georgia.

Baldwin, who never married, died after a short illness during his 53d year in 1807. Still serving in the Senate at the time, he was buried in Washington’s Rock Creek Cemetery.

 

Copy taken directly from the National Archives Website:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers_georgia.html

Cinco De Quatro?

Those of you who might have slept through Spanish class in High School that is translated as the “Fifth of Four” or something close to that.   Now, I feel compelled to bring up this sort of gaff as it was done ad nauseum over the last eight years in the Bush White House.  The video below shows this gaff (you only have to watch the first 30 seconds or so unless you really like torturing yourself).

Juxtapose this statement with the one below:

I think you should take your own advise Mr. President.  Take a couple classes in Spanish or brush up on your Spanish alphabet.  Or maybe, fire your teleprompter.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Joe Biden Is An Idiot

Too strong of a headline?  I don’t think so. 

In an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC’s Today Show, VP Biden remarked that he has advised his family to stay off planes and subways for fear of contracting the Swine FluMexican Flu.  Really?  If Dick Cheney would have said something like this the ridiculous coverage of this new strain of flu would have paled in comparison.  Why does this colossal boob get away with this idiotic behavior.  I already know the truth that the MSM is not interested in making it a real issue.

 

 

Another colossal Idiot (I just love the word colossal), Robert Gibbs, tries to explain what VP Biden “meant” to do:

Robert Gibbs stated in his press conference that “I think what the Vice President meant to say…”.  I think old Joe is pretty clear in his statements.  He has no censoring mechanism to stop him from staying stupid things.  Again, if this happened during the last 8 years, and it did from time to time, it would have been front page top of the fold news.  As it is we’ll have to rely on bloggers and Fox News to give us the real poop and hype these gaffs. 

Of course, this is just my opinion

Rob’s Rant