GOODBYE

It is said that there is a time to every purpose. This shows it's self to be especially true as this, the time to say goodbye, arrives.

The California Conservative has served it's purposes. I've had the chance to develop my writing, make use of my extra time, and bounced ideas off of a group of very bright readers. But now, my free time is gone, my readers are gone, and I believe that I'm writing as well now as I am going to.

The great writer and humorist Mark Twain may have been wrong when he said, "There are laws to protect the freedom of the press's speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press." After all, we have freedom of thought and freedom of expression. With the growth of blogging, we have BECOME the press. Our protection is self-education. Our protection is inquisitiveness. And our greatest protection is to never close the discussion.

As I close this forum, think on these things...

• Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

• Love your family, especially your children.

• Love your Country, and your neighbor.

• Love the Truth, more than you love your self-interest.

• Check to see if your Time expenditures align with your Priorities.

• Live in peace.

• Forgive, but do not dismiss. Forbear to resent.

Prop 73 Revived: How You Can Help

I actually got this e-mail last Friday and was intending to post it then but I got caught up in other things and forgot. But regardless, here is the latest e-mail from the people who are trying to revive the parental notification initiative:

Last November Prop. 73 - The Abortion Notification Act lost by a slim margin at the polls. Primarily because our extreme left friends along the San Francisco and Los Angeles coasts voted heavily against it.

Several reasons may be to blame. Possibly because voters didn't understand it and their unions told them to vote no on the Governor's initiatives (which they may have grouped this together with). Another reason may have been NORAL and Planned Parenthood's last minute multi-million dollar investment in TV Ads that distorted the truth - in fact they straight out lied.

Regardless, this is not a proposition that we can give up on. We have a moral responsibility to protect our daughters.

Under current law, a 12 or 13 year old girl can have a abortion performed on her without her parents even being made aware. Make no mistake, an abortion is an intrusive surgical procedure that can have life altering complications and could even result in death.

Why is it that a 13 year old girl cannot be given an aspirin at her high school,have her ears pierced or even go on a field trip without her parents permission. Yet, she can go with her boyfriend, counselor or alone and have an abortion. It makes no sense.

We are working to get the Parents' Right to Know and Child Protection Initiative on the ballot. I urge you to help us protect our children.

To qualify, we need hundreds of thousands of signatures on petitions. This is where you can help. If you can spare a few hours to gather signatures we need you. Please email me and extend an offer to help gather signatures. Those few hours will make a difference in whether we retain the status quo (where parents don't have a right to protect their child) or do what is right.

For more information you can visit www.ParentsRight2Know.org or call 866-828-8355.

Thank you,

Angel Sanchez Jr
CARNHA Southern Region Vice Chair

I fully endorce this intitiative. Last November, many voters just voted "No" on everything because of frustration with the system, but they did not really know what they were voting no on. Thus, Prop. 73 faced a very uphill battle.

But hopefully Parental Notification will get another chance and this time the voters will be less apathetic.

Think Before You Increase Minimum Wage

The debate in California over whether to raise the minimum wage has really heated up over the past few days.

First the California Republican Assembly unveiled radio ads targeting Republican State Senator Abel Maldanado (who’s also running for controller) for carrying Governor Schwarzenegger’s bill to raise the wage by a dollar an hour. The ads are running in Maldanado’s home district so that constituents can call him and set him straight.

Then yesterday and today, respectively, Senator Bob Dutton and Former Assemblyman Tony Strikland (who’s running against Maldanado) authored pieces opposing any increase in the minimum wage. It has created a rift in the GOP between the liberal Republicans and the Conservative Republicans.

I will have more on the minimum wage issue in an upcoming full length column because I find the issue interesting, but I will say right now that this is really common sense to me: If you force a business to raise the wage it pays it’s employees, one of four things will happen:

A. The business will just suck up the cost.
B. The business will pass the cost on to it’s consumers.
C. The business will lay off some workers in order to pay the rest the prescribed wage.
D. The business will just close up shop because of high operating expenses.

Of course, there are a ton of legally questionable things that the business could do (like hire illegal immigrants) but let’s assume that this company is ethical and wants to strictly obey the law.

Option A is of course what proponents of the minimum wage think will happen. However, in many cases that is simply not possible. The business doesn’t have the resources to just suck it up, so they have to look to another, less attractive alternative.

Option B would raise the cost of goods for all consumers, including those who have the least. The employees would earn more, but they would have to pay it right back when they go to the grocery store because milk now cost 10 cents more. So it really doesn’t help anyone.

Option C would be great for those workers who are fortunate enough to keep their jobs. However, the rest of the employees would be looking for other work. They would be receiving no wage at all.

Option D would be bad for everyone. Instead of receiving whatever pay they earned prior to the mandated raise, all of the employees of this company would now be receiving no pay at all. Now tell me, how is that good for them?

So you can see, this is really a common sense issue when you look at it; minimum wage increases hurt those who they are supposed to help.

CRP: No Credentials for Bloggers at Feb. Convention

The California Republican Party has declined to issue press credentials for bloggers at it's upcoming convention at the end of Febuary. As Boi From Troy reports:

At the Fall 2005 Republican State Convention, the Bear Flag League, with help from Insurance Commissioner Candidate Dr. Phil Kurzner organized a salon for bloggers where down-ticket candidates such as Tony Strickland, Gary Mendoza and Eric Siddall came to talk about their vision for California and the State Party.

Then-communications director Karen Hanretty caught wind of the plan and offered to issue press credentials to bloggers for the Anaheim event. That weekend in Anaheim, John Fleishman and Steve Frank announced that they planned on starting their own blogs. Little did anyone know what would happen next.

When Republicans failed to win, place or show in November’s special election and Governor Schwarzenegger got his ship back on track by hiring Susan Kennedy, Fleischmann and Frank went apoplectic on their blogs…and the media fell in love. Profiles in California papers preceded a front-page profile in the New York Times.

As extremist forces try to force out Schwarzenegger’s Chief of Staff, Susan Kennedy, by submitting a resolution at the February CRP convention withdrawing the Party’s endorsement of the Governor, Fleishmann and Frank are front and center, profiled, now, in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rather than try to identify new voices that are constructive within the party among the blogosphere, the Party had a knee-jerk reaction to the attention Fleishmann and Frank are getting, categorically denying press credentials to bloggers at their February convention in, of all places, the Silicon Valley. Talk about irony.

The party should be embracing bloggers; we are essentially the voice of the base of the Republican party.

Shame on the party for not recognizing this. This action is certainly not going to help Arnold this year.

Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey

Cindy Sheehan was arrested at the State of the Union Address shortly before President Bush began his speech. According to Sheehan's sister, Dede Miller, she was invited by Democratic Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey. The Washington Post was unable to reach Woolsey for comment, so TCC gave it a try. My e-mail to her read as follows:

Dear Congresswoman Woolsey,

I write a local newsblog called The California Conservative. It can be found at
http://alanmanning.blogspot.com/

I understand based on a news report on WorldNetDaily.com that you recently invited Cindy Sheehan to Bush's State of the Union Address. I'd love the opportunity to ask you a few questions about this.

Of course, you know that Ms. Sheehan is a controversial figure. She has been identified repeatedly as the most vocal/visible dissenter of the current administration. Knowing the likelihood that she would create a scene, why would you invite her? Did you first advise her that it would be unlawful for her to demonstrate inside the building?

Please respond directly with the answers to these questions, or to set up a live online interview with me. I'm sure that a number of 6th Congressional District voters frequent this site, and your response, or lack of response, will be telling.

Please let me assure you that if you allow me to interview you, I will treat you with respect. I look forward to your contact.

-Alan
Editor & Chief Contributor
The California Conservative

Congresswoman Woolsey's website told me, "I will be responding to your specific concerns shortly" after I submitted my e-mail. Let's see if she responds...

State of the Union

CLICK HERE to read last night's State of the Union Address
(thanks to WND)

AOL's News Intentionally Misleading?

Here's the title of the lead story on AOL News:

He Says We're'Addicted to Oil'

...next to a big 'ol pic of G-Dubb

Now, of course, the inference to those who just read the headlines and not stories is that President Bush is admitting once-and-for-all that his administration is obsessed with the acquisition of oil. Shame...

The full story instead states: "Bush was to say the United States must reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers - a goal often stated over the decades but never realized - and push for development of alternative fuels like hydrogen and ethanol, wind and solar power, and construction of nuclear power plants."

This is a far cry from, "we're addicted to oil." Not only did AOL/AP spin the story in this way but there are another 100 or so instances of LLM spin to be found in this story. I wasn't aware that the Associated Press and AOL had begun doing editorial pieces, but I'm sure they'll be interesting.

Alito's In - Kerry's Pissed

By now, we've all read and heard repeated news reports of Alito's confirmation as Supreme Court Justice. One thing that I found interesting, wasn't that he made it, or that the filibuster effort was unsuccessful. I was surprised (but not really) at former presidential candidate John Kerry's words.

He indicated that Alito's voting record gave "the extreme right wing unbelievable public cause for celebration." Kerry added, "The vote today is whether or not we will take a stand against ideological court-packing."

Let's take note. I know that we in this great nation seem to have a corporate case of Attention Deficit Disorder, but let's pay attention to what Kerry says a few years from now when a Democratic president is "packing" the courts with liberal judges. Will he lead the filibuster then?

No Rudy in '08

I have begun to periodically write pieces for a website and e-mail newsletter called Republican Voices.

My newest article is about the possibility of Rudy Guiliani running for President in 2008. Here is an excerpt:

Merely two years from now, voters from both major political parties will begin to go to the polls to select the person who will be their party’s choice to be the next President of The United States.

Unlike in the last Presidential election cycle, we Republicans will also have to choose a new nominee. Early polling indicates that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is a frontrunner for the nomination. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken last December of 405 Registered Republicans found that 30% would vote for Giuliani in the primary, placing him 8 points ahead of his closest challenger, US Senator John McCain.

No doubt that Rudy Giuliani was a great mayor of New York City. During his tenure as mayor, overall crime in the city was reduced by 57% and murders by 65%. He obtained record low student to teacher ratios in New York’s public schools and increased education spending from 8 to 12 billion dollars. At the same time, however, he cut the welfare rolls in half and approved $2.5 billion in tax cuts.

His leadership after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks was also superb. He was constantly on the front lines of the rescue and recovery effort while the President and other officials had to tend to their other duties in Albany and Washington. He became, as he was quickly tagged, “America’s Mayor.”

However, the above things do not mean that Rudy Giuliani would be a good President.

Read the whole thing here.

(The picture isn't mine, BTW)

Abortion vs. Women's Equality

Katelyn Sills has written an excellent essay on how abortion really hurts women's equality. Here is an excerpt:

First, let us examine women from our past. In the last hundred years, women have seen enormous progress in gaining equal rights with men, only to have abortion destroy many of those rights and liberties. Women suffragists led the campaign for women’s rights, and the vast majority of these women were very strongly anti-abortion. Susan B. Anthony, one of the most widely recognized feminists, said, “I deplore the horrible crime of child murder… No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed… but oh! Thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime.” Susan B. Anthony’s newspaper, The Revolution, stated that, “When a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is a sign that, by education or circumstances, she has been greatly wronged.” Elizabeth Cady Stanton said that “When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we wish.” Mary Wollstonecraft condemned those who would “either destroy the embryo in the womb, or cast it off when born.” Victoria Woodhull, the first female presidential candidate, said "The rights of children as individuals begin while yet they remain the foetus." and "Every woman knows that if she were free, she would never bear an unwished-for child, nor think of murdering one before its birth." Thus, early feminists in the past understood that abortion is a symptom of inequality and exploitation, and certainly not a solution for women.

You can read the whole thing here.

All I can say is that I am amazed. This essay does not sound like it was written by a 15 year old. I am not sure that I could even write something like this.

Katelyn submitted this essay in a contest open to all high school students in the Sacramento Diocese and took first place. She won $250 and read her essay on the steps of the State Capitol at a pro-life rally there last Tuesday.

Congradulations, Katelyn!

Common Sense Plan for Infrastructure

The California State Assembly Republican Caucus has presented an alternative to the Governor’s massive infrastructure bond. (As reported by The Flash Report)

The plan mandates that unless the state is in a fiscal crisis, at least 1 percent of general fund revenues must be dedicated to infrastructure projects. This would be a significant increase from what we spend now. The proposal also provides for up to an additional $750 million when annual budget spending grows by $5 billion or more. All and all, it would provide about $35 billion over the next decade.

And we would get it without the massive borrowing, higher taxes, and increased debt that the Governor’s plan would likely bring. So we can literally have the best of both worlds: More infrastructure with no tax increases or massive borrowing.

Now, will anyone listen to this proposal? Time will tell.

State Lawyers Forced to Stay With CalPERS

New lawyers for the State of California won't get to opt out of the CalPERS retirement program:

A first-of-its-kind union contract provision that would have allowed state lawyers to opt out of California's public retirement system has been quietly dropped after legislators indicated they would not approve the deal, according to state personnel and union leaders.

The decision to drop the "opt-out" measure marks a reversal for the Schwarzenegger administration, which had touted its proposed contract with the 3,400-member state lawyers' union as an example of its long-sought pension reform.

But the provision ran into opposition in the Legislature, which must approve all state collective bargaining agreements. Democratic leaders and other labor union officials were concerned that the option of not participating in the California Public Employees' Retirement System would set a bad precedent.

"When we started looking at the details, we were concerned that it had the potential to undermine the financial standing of the entire (pension) plan," said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. Maviglio said if other labor unions also agreed to allow new workers to opt out of CalPERS, the system would find itself with fewer employees paying in and more retirement obligations to pay out.

The contract was first agreed to in October by negotiators for the state Department of Personnel Administration and the lawyers' union - the California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment.

Here we have a case where everyone directly involved was satisfied - the lawyers, the union, and the state. But the liberals in the legislature had to come in and get in the way even when almost everyone agreed it was acceptable. Now these lawyers will have to stay in the bearucratic CalPERS program even if they want to make the personal decision to invest somewhere else.

So much for the freedom to choose.

Reasons To Read The California Conservative

10. You're tired of CNN, the Communist News Network

9. You live in Davis, and need a breath of fresh air

8. You live in Rio Linda, and need to learn to read

7. Your kids have told you what their teachers are talking about

6. You don't have much time, and only want to read the good stuff

5. You've already read everyting on the walls of your cubicle

4. You own Birkenstocks

3. You to laugh at Hilliary

2. You're non-political/non-social... and don't have an opinion

1. You're opinion is wrong [GO TO THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATIVE]

The California Conservative AGREES with the ACLU!

First, let me draw your attention to the image below...

Notice the red areas... the LEFT atrium and the LEFT ventricle. My point???? Even the most conservative hearts have a left side.

*** *** ***

The story on My Way News titled "Male Student Wins Fight To Wear Skirt" should have made me want to fight. Generally, I'm opposed to almost every position that the ACLU takes. When I read this AP story however, I found something different... reason.

The story states that "The (Hasbrouck Heights School) district's dress code bans shorts between Oct. 1 and April 15, but allows skirts, a policy 17-year-old Michael Coviello believes is discriminatory," and that the student wants to wear skirts to school to "bring attention to the fact that the ban on shorts doesn't make sense."

This is exactly how policies and laws change. We bring an injustice to the attention of as many people as people, and let the people speak. I think that students should be encouraged to express the same first-amendment rights as youths that they will enjoy as adults. The overall part that matters here isn't how teens dress as much as it is getting them involved in the process of change.

Iran: "MOST DANGEROUS NATION ON EARTH"

This month's WhistleBlower Magazine describes Iran as the "Most Dangerous Nation on Earth," stating,

"Iran is intent on possessing both nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles to deliver them, as well as electromagnetic pulse weapons, which experts say pose a direct and major threat directly to the American homeland."

I've heard of some legislators complaining that the president hasn't taken any proactive measures against Iran thusfar. However, this is coming from the same side of the isle that called Bush a "cowboy" for acting pre-emptivly against Iraq and insisted that he should have continued with diplomacy.

The president obviously sees this as an important issue, as he's declaired a continued state of National Emergency, but I haven't heard of any real solutions offered. I'm kind of wondering what my readers think that we should do about the threat posed by Iran... click "comments" to sound off. I'll give MY imput in the comments area in a few days.

Italian Athiest Sues Catholic Church for "Lies"

Unfortunatly, this is not that hard to believe in this day and age:

Rome - Lawyers for a small-town parish priest have been ordered to appear in court next week after the Roman Catholic cleric was accused of unlawfully asserting what many people take for granted: that Jesus Christ existed.

The Reverend Enrico Righi was named in a 2002 complaint filed by Luigi Cascioli after Righi wrote in a parish bulletin that Jesus did indeed exist, and that he was born of a couple named Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth.

Cascioli, a lifelong atheist, claims that Righi violated two Italian laws by making the assertion: so-called "abuse of popular belief" in which someone fraudulently deceives people; and "impersonation" in which someone gains by attributing a false name to someone.

Cascioli says that for 2 000 years the Roman Catholic Church has been deceiving people by furthering the fable that Christ existed, and says the church has been gaining financially by "impersonating" as Christ someone by the name of John of Gamala, the son of Judas from Gamala.

Does Michael Newdow have an Italian cousin?

More Trouble For Arnold

More evidence that Arnold Schwarzenegger is in trouble

Republican activists disenchanted with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday that they will try to strip the governor of the party's endorsement unless he fires his new chief of staff, Democrat Susan P. Kennedy.

Restive Republicans said they would rally conservatives behind a resolution, to be offered at the state GOP convention in San Jose next month, that may give Schwarzenegger an ultimatum: Dump Kennedy by March 15 or the party will withdraw its backing of his reelection bid.

Drafts of the resolution are circulating, and proponents of the idea are planning to meet in Palm Springs this weekend to discuss strategy.

The insurgent party members said they are attempting to mobilize support among gun owners, abortion opponents and other conservatives.

"We've gotten to the point where we've just had it with the guy," said Michael Schroeder, an attorney from Corona del Mar and a former chairman of the California Republican Party. "It's become clear that he's no longer pursuing a Republican agenda."

Steve Frank, a conservative activist from Simi Valley who is planning to attend the convention, said: "I know who he is today. I have no idea who he will be tomorrow…. And we need some predictability as to which Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor."

Party members said they resent Schwarzenegger's recent efforts to woo Democrats and that he is appointing too many of them to judgeships. They also dislike his plans to borrow $68 billion for a sweeping public works program, and say that his state budget is fraught with spending that California cannot afford.

I am unsure of whether I support this resolution or not. It seems to me that Arnold would still be much better than either of the two Democrats running.

But this is representative of a huge mistake that the Governor is making – he seems not to really care about satisfying the Republican base. He knows that conservatives are not about to go out and vote for Phil Angeledies or Steve Westly, so he feels that it is safe to leave them and go out in search of some moderate and liberal support.

But the mistake he is making is that to win political office, you need some people to not just like you, but love you. Because it’s the people that love you that are going to go knock on doors, make telephone calls, and get out the vote for you. If you do not have people willing to do that, then you are basically dead.

That is the track that Arnold seems to be going down right now. In November, it could be that a large percentage of Californians will like him and rate him favorable. But he will have no one who is committed to him.

Arnold needs to show us why we should work to re-elect him this year. Because right now, I see no real reason.

Joke of The Day

OK, this is an absolutely non-political post, but I heard a great joke at school today and I could not help but pass it on. So here it is:

A man comes into town on Tuesday. He stays for two nights, and then leaves on Tuesday. How is this possible?

Come on, take a guess in the comments section! First person to get it right wins high self-esteem!

Bin-Loco is Back!

An AP story I found on AOL news reports that Osama is at it again. Always the friendly diplomat, he offered the US a "long-term truce with fair conditions that we adhere to." Bin Laden, however, failed to specify exactly what these conditions might be. The White House response was exactly what you'd hope for. Press secretary Scott McClellan said, "We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business."

Bin used polls and current events to try and incite anger against the Bush administration. I'm sure that in Davis, this will work. I hope we stop worrying about getting our precious personal calls wire-tapped, and start focusing as a country on putting terrorists "out of business."

Did ya miss me???

I'm back!

You might have noticed that it's been some time since I've posted here at The California Conservative. It appears that Andy Nevis has noticed, as he's stopped posting alltogether. (BTW: Thanks for your contributions, Andy. They're really appricated)

I'm curious what my readers -- if i have any left-- might think I did while I was gone. Feel free to post a comment to submit your vote. Did I . . .

a.) Join some crazy cult?
b.) Start a new job?
c.) Focus on personal and spiritual development?
d.) Work on my book?
e.) Move to Davis and buy some Burkenstocks?
f.) More than one of the above?
g.) OTHER (these should be good)

If you're reading this, please get your friends to read. Within about two days I'll be posting "Reasons To Read The California Conservative."

lib·er·al: (lĭb'er-el)
n: A person so open-minded their brains have fallen out.

[CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM RIGHTWINGSTUFF.COM]

Warner Bros. "Family" Entertainment

Warner Bros. Family Entertainment... These are the words on the top of the box that my grandmother just bought for my daughter, Kalani. The box contains a 1993 Mary-Kate and Ashley release titled, "To Grandmother's House We Go."

My good-intentioned grandmother said, "They used to be on a family show, so I knew that it couldn't be anything bad."

Here's the text from the back of the box:

Julie and Sarah Thompson are heading for Grandma's house, even though they don't have her address -- or even permission to cross the street without a grown-up! Twins Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen of Full House portray the Thompsons in this engaging Christmas odyssey. The girls hit the road by stowing away in a delivery truck driven by Eddie (J. Eddie Peck), a kindly man who patterns his life after Roy Rogers. The pint-sized pair think they're giving their overworked single mom (Cynthia Geary) a special present: a vacation from the stress of parenting. Instead they give themselves, their mom and Eddie the most incredible holiday adventure ever. Get into the Yuletide spirit as Julie and Sarah spark a madcap romp involving two lighthearted crooks who claim to be Santa's elves, a ransom demand, a mother's love, a million-dollar lottery ticket, pursuing cops, a would-be Santa and his reindeer, Roy Rogers-like heroics and , of course, the route to Grandma's house. Sound like fun? [TCC says, "no!"] It's more than that. It's a ho-ho-ho-lot of fun!

Why couldn't she have picked up "It's a Wonderful Life"??????

UK School Suspends Student For Wearing Cross

This comes from Drudge:

A school today defended its decision to exclude a pupil after she refused to take off her crucifix necklace.

Sam Morris, 16, was told to remove her cross and chain on Thursday by deputy head teacher Howard Jones at Sinfin Community School in Derby.

When the year-11 student refused she was told not to return until today and without the item of jewellery.

The 1,070-student comprehensive has a strict policy which bans most jewellery being worn.

This is the real reason that we have a First Amendment, folks. To prevent things like this from happening here.

(Hat tip:Stand Up and Speak Out)

Euthanasia by Machine

This story from Isreal is somewhat interesting:

Machines will perform euthanasia on terminally ill patients in Israel under legislation devised not to offend Jewish law, which forbids people taking human life.

A special timer will be fitted to a patient's respirator which will sound an alarm 12 hours before turning it off.

Normally, carers would override the alarm and keep the respirator turned on but, if various stringent conditions are met, including the giving of consent by the patient or legal guardian, the alarm would not be overridden.

Similar timing devices, known as Sabbath clocks, are used in the homes of orthodox Jews so that light switches and electrical devices can be turned on during the Sabbath without offending religious strictures.

Parliamentarians reached a solution after discussions with a 58-member panel of medical, religious and philosophical experts.

"The point was that it is wrong, under Jewish law, for a person's life to be taken by a person but, for a machine, it is acceptable," a parliamentary spokesman said.

"A man would not be able to shorten human life but a machine can."

Color me confused. Isn't this still killing by a human being even if a human is not the one physically doing the killing?

How long until this is introduced by a legislator in the United States?

More Conservative Support To Let Tookie Live

It seems that the effort to Let Stanley “Tookie” Williams live is gaining some traction among conservatives. Consider this comment from Aaron Park (Roseville Conservative) last night on The California Campaigns Blog:

Tookie deserves clemency, but a life setence never to be a free man again. He has proven his rehabilitation by the books he has written and the impact he has had on many lives. It would be an injustice to execute him.

That being said, I am a 1000% advocate of the death penalty. But, because of Tookie's situation and the Extraordinary circumstances of his life, I think we should let him live... caged up.

Aaron is about as conservative as you can get, but he sees the real issue here: that Tookie Williams will do more dead than alive.

Hopefully more conservatives, and eventually the Governor, will come to the same conclusion.

ACLU sues NORAD for Tracking Santa

The ACLU today announced in a statement that they were asking NORAD not to do their annual Santa tracking this year because Santa is religious and only comes on a Christian holiday, thereby discriminating against other religions. The ACLU threatend to sue if NORAD does not abide.

"Santa is bigoted against Jews, Muslims, aithiests, and all other children who are not Christian. We have no problem with him being discriminatory, however the government should not be supporting his discrimination," the ACLU said in a statement.

Neither NORAD nor Santa had any comment, however an inside source at the North Pole tells us that all ACLU lawyers have been moved to the naughty list. "As a result of this suit, all ACLU lawyers have been declared naughty," the source told us, "Instead of getting money, which is always what the lawyers ask from Santa, each ACLU lawyer will be given a copy of the bible regardless of his or her religious affiliation."

The ACLU would not comment on The North Pole's threat.

(parody!)

On Tookie

Opinion: Conservatives should be tough, but merciful.

Stan "Tookie" Williams has been all over the news lately. Conservatives, in an effort to take a "tough on crime" stance, may have a tendency to declare clemency out of the question. But there are a few things about Tookie to remember:

-He has been nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping to prevent gang violence.

-He has been nominated four times for the Nobel Literature Prize for his children's books that warn young people about the pitfalls of joining a gang and exposes them to alternatives.

-He maintains innocence of the crimes he was accused of, and (claims to have) faced racist discrimination throughout his trial. [these bullet points from savetookie.org, recently promoted by rapper Snoop Dogg]

Most importantly is what seems to be a genuine remorse and change of direction in Stan's life. In his 1997 apology letter, Tookie wrote,

"So today I apologize to you all who must cope every day with dangerous street gangs. I no longer participate in the so-called gangster lifestyle, and I deeply regret that I ever did... I pray that one day my apology will be accepted. I also pray that your suffering, caused by gang violence, will soon come to an end as more gang members wake up and stop hurting themselves and others. I vow to spend the rest of my life working toward solutions."

These statements, in my view, are more valuable than any number of children's books. In short, I feel the same way on this subject that I did on Teri Schaivo... where there is debate, err on the side of life.

The Real Story of the First Thanksgiving

By Benjamin Franklin (1785)

“There is a tradition that in the planting of New England, the first settlers met with many difficulties and hardships, as is generally the case when a civiliz’d people attempt to establish themselves in a wilderness country. Being so piously dispos’d, they sought relief from heaven by laying their wants and distresses before the Lord in frequent set days of fasting and prayer. Constant meditation and discourse on these subjects kept their minds gloomy and discontented, and like the children of Israel there were many dispos’d to return to the Egypt which persecution had induc’d them to abandon.

“At length, when it was proposed in the Assembly to proclaim another fast, a farmer of plain sense rose and remark’d that the inconveniences they suffer’d, and concerning which they had so often weary’d heaven with their complaints, were not so great as they might have expected, and were diminishing every day as the colony strengthen’d; that the earth began to reward their labour and furnish liberally for their subsistence; that their seas and rivers were full of fish, the air sweet, the climate healthy, and above all, they were in the full enjoyment of liberty, civil and religious.

“He therefore thought that reflecting and conversing on these subjects would be more comfortable and lead more to make them contented with their situation; and that it would be more becoming the gratitude they ow’d to the divine being, if instead of a fast they should proclaim a thanksgiving. His advice was taken, and from that day to this, they have in every year observ’d circumstances of public felicity sufficient to furnish employment for a Thanksgiving Day, which is therefore constantly ordered and religiously observed.”