A New York Senate seat is sure to bring the Princess much attention, which will only hurt her chances at winning the election in 2010. So my fellow Republicans, let’s all write to Governor Paterson and tell him he should appoint the Kennedy heir to the Senate. She could personally rebuild the New York State Republican Party!

Claiming there’s only one President at a time, Mr. Obama refused to comment on the Israel-Gaza conflict while centrally planning the entire US economy with his new team. There were moments the members of his team seemed to look a bit confused, as if thinking “Does our new boss have any clue what the f*** he is doing?”

He soon answered the unspoken question by naming Leon Panetta as the new head of the CIA. It’s the year of the clueless in Washington! Heck, we’ve been safe for over 7 years, why not play roulette with the lives of Americans?

It’s starting to look like the change we were waiting for is defined as “The same old faces we’ve seen in Washington for decades, only this time we’re playing musical jobs!”

But there are a few new faces. Harry Reid defiantly came out in defense of Al Franken’s vote stealing while vowing to stop Roland Burris (whose appointment may be embarrassing but is still legal) from being sworn in.

Yet some things never change. Like Nancy Pelosi’s face, no matter what emotion she attempts to convey.

Of course, both sides deny that one had anything to do with the other. I wondered what else Bob Congell’s been spending money on. He seems to follow the political winds while hedging his bets. On 9/22/08 he donated $10k to the Democratic Committee of New York State. He also donated thousands to Hillary Clinton’s campaign as well as the campaign of newly elected congressional Democrat Dan Maffei.

Before mid 2007 Congel gave mostly to Republicans (other than Hillary Clinton) but when the political winds shifted so did his political contributions.

By way of background, Mr. Congel’s been promising Central New York that his DestinyUSA dream will be the saviour of our local economy for years. There was a big media blitz a while ago. At one point they hired a group of unskilled workers at a salary of $60,000 apiece to do unspecified duties. It was all very confusing. Most were later laid off and I have no idea what happened from there.

In the meantime DestinyUSA has been more hype than anything else. Every time a new piece of steel appears on site it’s big news but other than that there hasn’t been much going on. As far as I can tell no new tenants have been announced, and with the way the economy’s going it’s doubtful any large retailers are planning to expand.

Were those DestinyUSA jobs part of the quarter million or so jobs promised to New Yorkers by Hillary Clinton? I suppose we’ll never know.

I just find it interesting the way the press is treating all of these little scandals surrounding President-elect Obama. They never questioned his own fundraising activities, they’re downplaying his and Rahm Emanuel’s connection to Rod Blagojevich, ignoring the story about Hillary Clinton while glossing over the grand jury investigation of Bill Richardson. 

When Democrats are in charge this is all just politics as usual.

Mr. Obama knows the Republicans will balk at any big spending package so it sounds like he’s throwing them a bone in the form of “tax cuts”. According to the Wall Street Journal some of these tax cuts will go to those who pay no income tax.

The largest piece of the overall tax relief would involve cuts for people who pay income taxes or who claim the earned-income credit. It would serve as a down payment on the “Making Work Pay” proposal Mr. Obama outlined during his election campaign, providing a credit to offset Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes of $500 per individual or $1,000 per family.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama said he would phase out a similar tax-credit proposal at around $200,000 per household, but aides said they haven’t settled on an income cap for the latest proposal. This part of the plan is similar to a bipartisan initiative launched in early 2008, which sent out checks worth $131 billion. (Emphasis Mine) Read full story.

Republicans should demand more detail before supporting these so called tax cuts. First of all, Social Security and Medicare weren’t designed as welfare systems, they were billed as insurance for our old age. (Basically it’s a big Ponzi scheme that depends on the young paying into the system to pay for the old. If today’s workers stop paying the payroll tax won’t we simply be making those programs more insolvent?)

Furthermore, not everyone paying Social Security and Medicare payroll tax pays income tax. By giving those individuals a tax cut what they’re really doing is redistributing wealth, just as Obama promised to do. Without knowing the income cap for these tax breaks there’s no way of knowing if they’ll have any stimulative effect on the economy.

But when it comes to showing support for Israel, mum’s the word. That’s when we hear “There’s only one President at a time.” Does the president-elect support Israel’s right to defend itself? Will he continue the US support of Israel? We don’t know and neither does Israel. It would be nice if he could send some sort of signal.

Liberals never seem to understand that you get what you pay for. While building a community in 17 days may sound like a great idea, there’s no doubt corners were cut and sound building practices were ignored.

One man pulled up his floorboards to find rubbish 5ft deep under his kitchen. Other complaints include cracking walls and rotting door frames that let in rats and ants. Many residents have complained of mildew and mysterious skin rashes.

One resident said her children were suffering from skin complaints. “The intentions are good, but when the politicians and big-shot stars have left we’re stuck with the consequences. This house looks pretty but inside it either stinks or sweats,” she said. Read full story.

Another resident dismissed the complaints, saying that if someone has mildew they should buy a bottle of bleach. While that isn’t bad advice, bleach won’t keep walls from cracking and wood from rotting. Houses should last more than eight years.

An old saying comes to mind. “Do it right the first time.”

CNN features corruption mired Rod Blagojevich, the sex crazed Elliot Spitzer and John Edwards, and the criminal bribe taker Ted Stevens among four others. Each of these men in the CNN list have either been convicted of criminal actions, are indicted for corruption, lost their positions, been drummed out of their party, or are soon to face jail time. Among these eight criminals, however, is a name that doesn’t belong among this class of serial abuser of the public trust. It won’t be shocking to note that among the worst sex criminals, bribe takers, liars and thieves in politics for 2008, CNN ridiculously included the name of Governor Sarah Palin.

Palin, however, has done nothing remotely like what these other political ner-do-wells have done. She did not take bribes, she did not indulge in sexual dalliances with co-workers or call girls, she did not get booted from her party or lose her job as Governor. She is not under indictment nor does she face jail time, yet CNN includes her in a list with Rob Blagojevich, John Edwards, Kwame Kilpatrick, Larry Langford, Tim Maloney, Elliot Spitzer and Ted Stevens.  Read full story.

Mr. London makes a compelling case that the rise of secularism will bring about the fall of American exceptionalism. He questions how we will fight radical Islamists if we ourselves don’t believe in anything.

He beats down the secularist argument that science and religion cannot coexist, citing examples of how science and religion have not only coexisted but flourished when working side by side. (Ironically, one thing science has been unable to prove is that there is no Creator.)

This well timed text reminds us of what makes America great and warns of what will bring about our downfall. Economic freedom without moral reason (think Bernard Madoff), or any freedom without moral constraints is hazardous.

The Vietnam War brought about a tremendous distrust of authority, of both religion and government. It seems the distrust of religion remains, yet we’re putting our very well being into the hands of the government. Mr. London warns that the “bureaucracy of the state can, and has, supplanted civil society’s role in carrying out a perceived national mission.”

Collectivism cannot make us altruistic. The government cannot force empathy. Belief and morality matter. Values matter. The Christian values that made our country great matter. 

This book is an excellent reminder of why these things matter and the consequences of changing our values with the changing times.