Erick Erickson's Blog, page 138

The Pawlenty Template

Tim Pawlenty has a new ad up in Iowa. I have started hesitating writing posts like this because inevitably the other campaigns decide I'm with the guy I'm writing about. Right now, I'm being inundating with angry emails from Herman Cain supporters accusing me of being against him. Others are attacking me for being too pro-Bachmann. So I guess it is time to go full circle and get back to the "you're a sucker for Pawlenty" emails, which I'll no doubt keep getting until I start writing about Rick Perry.

In any event, there's a point to this. There are not a lot of ads up yet. Romney has had a few. They are very well done ads, but they are particular issues going after Obama. They've been great. What we have not really started seeing yet though are the overall thematic ads we'll see throughout a campaign.

What I mean by that is when candidates start producing ads, they pick a type of ad, a type of background, a type of music, etc. And they keep it up through campaign season so you recognize the ad pretty quickly and connect it, hopefully positively, to the candidate.

Pawlenty gave us a preview of what he'd be going for with his intro video "A Time For Truth."

The ad uses piano music, Pawlenty off centered typically to the left when speaking and the right otherwise but both in black and white, lots of white backgrounds, etc. It's well done and fresh looking. Compared to Newt's intro video or Romney's, it has a more professional veneer to it and a more positive, upbeat feel.

He's taken that thematic feel and put it into a new ad campaign. I like it. I think it sets the benchmark for the other candidates and I hope they'll bring their A game to matching what his team has put together.

Here's Sean Hannity and Karl Rove discussing the new ad that keeps the intro video's look and feel:

Morning Briefing for July 8, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For July 8, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

1. Caveat Emptor: Boehner Says There's A Deal

2. OK President Obama, Let's Raise Revenue

3. The George Bush-Ted Kennedy Chickens Come Home to Roost in Atlanta

4. DSCC chair Patty Murray tries to get her some Koch campaign cash.

5. Amazon, Tennessee, Bill Haslam, and a national sales tax.

6. Lee Fang on Oil Speculation: In Over His Head

———————————————————————-

1. Caveat Emptor: Boehner Says There's A Deal

John Boehner says there is a 50-50 chance of a debt ceiling deal. Don't expect him to advocate cutting the budget, capping spending, and passing a Balanced Budget Amendment.

Boehner thinks a BBA is a "gimmick", despite his prior support for one in the nineties.

The tendency of many conservatives these days, myself included, is to dismiss out of hand whatever leadership comes up with. The tendency of others is to embrace it wholesale and thumb their noses at conservatives skeptical of the leadership's track record.

We should remember the Speaker sold us a bill of goods on the continuing resolution. Ultimately, it wound up driving up the debt, not driving it down. The $100 billion in cuts wound up being a few hundred million dollars in cuts.

I'm not hopeful. The one thing I can guarantee is that any deal John Boehner cuts is going to punt the ball. The question we must answer before giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down is just how far a punt.

Given Boehner's lack of leadership in holding the line on cutting, capping, and balancing, I won't hold my breath. But I am curious to see if it is a deal worth supporting.

Personally, my hope is that it so enrages conservatives, they finally find their testicular fortitude and hold the freaking line. It's pathetic when Olympia Snowe is to the right of them

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. OK President Obama, Let's Raise Revenue

President Obama is intimating that the GOP's opposition to "increasing revenue" is the sole obstacle to achieving a deficit reduction plan. We should call his bluff and put forth proposals to increase revenue. Then, there will be no excuses for opposing a Balanced Budget Amendment.

Obama has complained that we are overlooking the "spending through the tax code." He is correct. There are a lot of handouts ensconced in the tax code; it's just a shame that he is indifferent to them. In fact, he has increased their size and scope by leaps and bounds through his stimulus bill, denying the treasury much-needed revenue.

The Marxists have always had a way with words. In their dyslexic world view, they refer to tax cuts as handouts and handouts as tax cuts. Concurrently, they view tax hikes as spending cuts and spending cuts (real revenue increases) as tax hikes. As such, it is no surprise that Obama seeks to punitively eliminate universal tax deductions that are broadly available for real taxpayers, like the charitable tax deduction and the depreciation tax credit for oil companies, while blithely ignoring the selective handouts to those who don't pay taxes, such as the (un)earned income credit, ethanol tax credit, and the green industry life support.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. The George Bush-Ted Kennedy Chickens Come Home to Roost in Atlanta

One of the worst trends in modern public education in the United States is using a child's performance on a standardized test to assess whether a teacher is doing his or her job and whether a school is performing or not performing.

The trend was growing before George Bush and Ted Kennedy sat down and drafted No Child Left Behind in the early part of W's administration. But then they decided to add in financial incentives and penalties and near national standards. Conservatives who were willing to speak up at the time said it would lead to dark places. Unfortunately, too few wanted to speak up against the new "conservative" President who'd just given the "liberal lion" carte blanche to draft education legislation.

As predicted by the few conservative voices in the wilderness, the chickens are coming home to roost in Atlanta, GA. A multi-year investigation into standardized test cheating in the Atlanta Public School system has found a mafia like atmosphere from the top all the way down to classroom teachers.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. DSCC chair Patty Murray tries to get her some Koch campaign cash.

I can almost understand why DSCC chair Sen. Patty Murray would try to hit up the Koch Companies for 'five figures' (read: the maximum allowed by federal election campaign finance law). First off, Sen. Murray is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer (she'd almost have to be, given that Murray actually left a voice message as well as sent a letter*). Second, what's the worse that the Koch Companies are going to do? Say no?

Well. There's no, and then there's no.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. Amazon, Tennessee, Bill Haslam, and a national sales tax.

Glenn Reynolds noted this apparent contradiction in what Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's position actually is with regard to having Amazon.com collect sales tax: is the Republican Governor for it, or against it? I say 'apparent' because there isn't one, really; there's just not enough context.

Basically, the position that Haslam is taking is that the state of Tennessee trying to impose an Amazon tax would probably wreck ongoing negotiations between the state and Amazon.com when it comes to getting a couple more job-creating distribution centers built in-state (which it probably will)

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. Lee Fang on Oil Speculation: In Over His Head

Summertime 2011, and "investigative journalist" Lee Fang of ThinkProgress has replaced the BP Spill in my blogging life. Fang's amateurish attempts to find scandal in oil commodities trading have become my new blog fodder.

Fang puts forward the half-baked theory that the evil Koch Brothers and other traders control world oil prices via speculation. His latest piece, "JP Morgan, Koch, Other Oil Traders May Buy Discounted Strategic Petroleum Reserve Oil And Simply Store It" continues the tradition of sloppy documentation and an almost total lack of understanding of business and commodities trading.

This latest offering is especially sweet, because a key source Fang cites in support of his thesis – that financial speculation drives the market price of oil much higher than it would otherwise be – in fact takes the exact opposite position.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

The Best Steven Crowder Video Ever

I'm not just saying this because his emails started going into File 13 for some reason. I think my computer doesn't like him because it found out about that one time we went out to a bar together and Crowder ordered . . . milk.

In any event, spam filter is rectified and just in time. I genuinely have to say this is Steven's best ever. This is a guy who was raised right.

Caveat Emptor: Boehner Says There's A Deal

John Boehner says there is a 50-50 chance of a debt ceiling deal. Don't expect him to advocate cutting the budget, capping spending, and passing a Balanced Budget Amendment.

Boehner thinks a BBA is a "gimmick", despite his prior support for one in the nineties.

The tendency of many conservatives these days, myself included, is to dismiss out of hand whatever leadership comes up with. The tendency of others is to embrace it wholesale and thumb their noses at conservatives skeptical of the leadership's track record.

We should remember the Speaker sold us a bill of goods on the continuing resolution. Ultimately, it wound up driving up the debt, not driving it down. The $100 billion in cuts wound up being a few hundred million dollars in cuts.

I'm not hopeful. The one thing I can guarantee is that any deal John Boehner cuts is going to punt the ball. The question we must answer before giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down is just how far a punt.

Given Boehner's lack of leadership in holding the line on cutting, capping, and balancing, I won't hold my breath. But I am curious to see if it is a deal worth supporting.

Personally, my hope is that it so enrages conservatives, they finally find their testicular fortitude and hold the freaking line. It's pathetic when Olympia Snowe is to the right of them.

The Horserace for July 7, 2011

IA Caucus: Feb. 6, 2012

NH Primary: Feb. 14, 2012 (expected)

SC Primary: TBD

NV Caucus: Feb. 18, 2012

Michele Bachmann has caused a mystery and a feeding frenzy in the press. What's her number?

Not her phone number. Her bank balance.

It is the big question in Washington and in political circles across the nation — how much money has Michele Bachmann raised? Sources close to the campaign say she'll come in second. Romney has raised around $18 million. The next highest known number is Ron Paul, who is slightly south of $5 million with Tim Pawlenty barely trailing him. Then there's the big name with only $225,000.00.

But Bachmann's lead is going to surprise everybody. And her rise is Herman Cain's fall. This week in the horserace, we see some real shake up — probably the first legitimate shake up since the New Hampshire Primary.

Rick Perry looks set to enter the race and Tim Pawlenty is pulling some surprises out of his hat that may pay off. And sooner than I expected, the pernicious "Mormon" issue is raising its head, forcing us to confront it.

We'll get into all of that in this week's horserace on the road to the White House.

Michele Bachmann

There is little that needs to be said about Michele Bachmann other than this: she has had the perfect week.

Bachmann is now the front runner for the anti-Romney wing of the primary coalition. The only thing that can knock her off her pedestal right now is an unforced error or a Governor from Texas.

Herman Cain

Herman Cain is having a rough ride. His fundraising is around $2 million — though to his credit that's better than Gingrich's fundraising. He lost another staffer in Iowa. At least he's going on the Daily Show. If he can one up Jon Stewart, that might give him some momentum. But it is very hard to do. Stewart, after all, controls the show.

Things are not looking good for Herman Cain.

Newt Gingrich

If it were not for Newt Gingrich's paltry fundraising, Herman Cain would be at the bottom of the top tier candidates. It is devastating that Gingrich, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, would raise less money than Cain, a man with no prior political experience.

Even worse, Gingrich raised $2 million, but he spent $3 million, leaving just $225,000.00 in the bank and lots of debt.

The Gingrich campaign has ended. Someone just needs to tell him.

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman's campaign comes in 5th in fundraising with money just north of $4 million. The question, though, is how much of that is his money. The actual details have not been released. Huntsman continues to pursue a strategy of getting elitist opinion makers on his side, but I don't think that will help him this year. He's going to have to take out Romney. And right now, Romney is running strong in New Hampshire and elsewhere.

Huntsman does not fit the anti-Romney mold as well as someone like Bachmann. I also think the chances of splitting off cross over voters is less and less viable for Huntsman.

Thaddeus McCotter

From his statements thus far, I suspect McCotter is running to be a spoiler against Romney more than he is running to be President. He's not going to be the nominee. His pro-union baggage is already getting him attacked by right to work folks. He's got no long term viability as a Presidential candidate because his ability to impact others in the race.

Sarah Palin

I'm going to keep up here what I said last week about Sarah Palin. I do not, at this point, see signs that Sarah Palin is getting into the race for President. Considering, however, that she was in New Hampshire when MItt Romney announced and Iowa when Michele Bachmann announced, I definitely think Palin is trying to keep the window open to get in if her polling changes.

Right now, if I had to guess, I think she is not running for anything except continued relevance. Palin can legitimately shape up to be the king maker. I continue to dwell on her comments during the bus tour that she wants Rick Perry to run.

Ron Paul

I'll repeat my prior view on Ron Paul. He will not be the nominee, but his ability to excite a base of youthful voters is something that continues to impress a lot of people who should know better.

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty's numbers are disappointing to a lot of people, but he just picked up Mike Huckabee's daughter in Iowa and a slew of legislators in Florida. He's also got some traction in South Carolina with key supporters. Pawlenty's fundraising surprised many in that he came in less than $5 million, but he is right about where Huckabee was at this time in 2007. The problem is, he's no Mike Huckabee.

His slow and steady strategy continues to pay dividends and I think it is wise that he is ignoring Michele Bachmann for now. But he can only do that for so long and will now be outmatched by her in cash. More so, a Perry entry hurts Pawlenty.

Rick Perry

We need to slow down the Perry train. He is not running. At least, he is not running yet. Rick Perry may very well get in. I hear more and more that he will. But a lot of people are getting their egos bruised because Perry is not doing the requisite courting of people who presume to be someone who must be courted. It is because (1) Perry isn't in the race and (2) a lot of the complainers have heightened senses of self-worth.

If Perry gets in, Bachmann and Pawlenty get hurt. But he's not in. Yet.

Mitt Romney

The Wall Street Journal's Political Diary flagged this quote:

"For some reason, when people talk about whether Mitt Romney's Mormonism will keep him from getting elected, the focus is almost always entirely on whether evangelicals will accept him in the primaries. In recent weeks, some commentators have noted a recent Gallup poll that shows that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to hold a candidate's Mormonism against him. … The poll also found that independents are slightly more likely to say they will not vote for a Mormon than Republicans are. My theory is that some conservatives think that Mormons aren't Christian enough, while some liberals think they're too Christian. … It is nice to see the stereotype of evangelicals as especially intolerant debunked. But don't the polls — especially the numbers on independents — mean that Romney (or [Jon] Huntsman) could be a risky general-election candidate? It is probably worth thinking through since Romney has a good shot at being the Republican nominee" — journalist Ramesh Ponnuru blogging at nationalreview.com, July 5.

It is an issue about which Republicans must tread carefully, but still must tread. If the election were today, Romney would be the nominee. And as his money grows, the odds of him winning grow. Surprisingly though, Michele Bachmann continues to gain on him in key states. Even a new poll out of New Hampshire has Bachmann going into second place. If she can consolidate the anti-Romney faction, I think Romney loses.

The bigger issue for Romney is Rush Limbaugh. For the past several weeks, Rush has been rather critical of Romney going so far, yesterday, to say he thinks Romney is running against "us" where "us" equals "conservatives." Certainly McCain withstood Rush in 2008, but he had a different constituency on his path to victory — a constituency Romney is not assured of.

As I said last week, Romney seems capped out on support right now between 35% and 40% of the GOP primary. A divided field with many viable challengers continues to help Romney. If people start dropping out — particularly should Rick Perry get in — things change for Romney.

Rick Santorum

There is no buzz about Rick Santorum's financial numbers, just as there was no buzz about him running. This may be the last time we have him in this horserace as I do not see him being able to make a go of it. About the only question I have is who drops out first — Gingrich or Santorum.

The George Bush-Ted Kennedy Chickens Come Home to Roost in Atlanta

One of the worst trends in modern public education in the United States is using a child's performance on a standardized test to assess whether a teacher is doing his or her job and whether a school is performing or not performing.

The trend was growing before George Bush and Ted Kennedy sat down and drafted No Child Left Behind in the early part of W's administration. But then they decided to add in financial incentives and penalties and near national standards. Conservatives who were willing to speak up at the time said it would lead to dark places. Unfortunately, too few wanted to speak up against the new "conservative" President who'd just given the "liberal lion" carte blanche to draft education legislation.

As predicted by the few conservative voices in the wilderness, the chickens are coming home to roost in Atlanta, GA. A multi-year investigation into standardized test cheating in the Atlanta Public School system has found a mafia like atmosphere from the top all the way down to classroom teachers.

For the past decade, Atlanta's schools received national praise for their success — success measured by performance on standardized tests. And as the performance increased, the benchmarks for the tests increased. Consequently, cheating had to become more widespread.

It got to the point where teachers were having parties where they'd sit down on a weekend together and wholesale erase and redo students' test answers. Children unable to read were making near perfect scores on reading comprehension tests. The Superintendent and her school bosses would scream racism when anyone dared question what was going on. They'd behave like global warming scientists and destroy documents requested by the media. They'd fabricate, alter, and destroy evidence and obstruct investigators.

At Venetian Hills, a group of teachers and administrators who dubbed themselves "the chosen ones" convened to change answers in the afternoons or during makeup testing days, investigators found. Principal Clarietta Davis, a testing coordinator told investigators, wore gloves while erasing to avoid leaving fingerprints on answer sheets.

Davis refused to answer the investigators' questions. She could not be reached Tuesday.

At Gideons Elementary, teachers sneaked tests off campus and held a weekend "changing party" at a teacher's home in Douglas County to fix answers.

Cheating was "an open secret" at the school, the report said. The testing coordinator handed out answer-key transparencies to place over answer sheets so the job would go faster.

When investigators began questioning educators, now-retired principal Armstead Salters obstructed their efforts by telling teachers not to cooperate, the report said.

"If anyone asks you anything about this just tell them you don't know," the report said Salters said. He told teachers to "just stick to the story and it will all go away."

Salters eventually confessed to knowing cheating was occurring, the report said. He could not be reached Tuesday.

At Kennedy Middle, children who couldn't read not only passed the state reading test, but scored at the highest level possible. At Perkerson Elementary, a student sat under a desk, then randomly filled in answers and still passed.

At East Lake Elementary, the principal and testing coordinator instructed teachers to arrange students' seats so that the lower-performing children would receive easier versions of the Fifth Grade Writing Tests.

Why did this happen? Well it seems it all started out for fame and glory. Then No Child Left Behind came in with its adequate yearly progress goals. Teachers were more and more forced to give up teaching subject matter and start teaching tests. If students did badly, teachers were punished. If whole classes did badly, schools were punished. If whole schools did badly, districts were punished.

George Bush and Ted Kennedy, along with school officials at the state and local level, had decided to give financial incentive to success in public education. For many schools dealing with kids whose fathers are in jail and mothers are addicted to drugs, the kids are coming to school hungry and unable to read or concentrate. The only way to get ahead was to cheat.

And cheat they did. And cheat they do. Atlanta just got caught. But the odds that Atlanta is the only system involved are slim to none.

I talk to many, many teachers on my radio show. Most of them are real conservatives. All of them lament what No Child Left Behind has done to public school systems. The law has forced on schools a nationalized system of education and standards and a nationalized system of standardized testing.

Perversely, instead of using the standardized tests to measure a student's progress and place the child with similar performing students in the next year's grade to help the student, the tests track the teachers' progress and punishes or rewards the teacher based on how well the student does on the test.

We are no longer teaching a nation of children how to think. We are no longer teaching a nation of children how to read and write and add and subtract and understand American history and balance chemical equations. We are teaching our children how to take a standardized test. And then, when they fail, we use the result to punish the teacher, not help the child.

As federal involvement in education grows, this problem will grow too. Atlanta is just the first warning sign. This is what happens when Republicans split the baby instead of fighting for real school choice and real school reform.

Republicans Must Show They Will Shoot the Hostage

Does the party of freedom have less courage than the party of socialism? Jim DeMint thinks if the GOP fails to be bold in the debt ceiling fight that'll be why.

As the sun rises this morning, be prepared to be completely and totally disappointed in the total lack of leadership by House Republicans when it comes to taking a bold stand in the debt ceiling fight.

Just how badly are supposedly "tea party friendly" House Republicans abandoning conservatives? Olympia Snowe of Maine has gotten to the right of them. They should all break out the leather braids and self-flagellate. Shame on them.

It's true. This morning in the Wall Street Journal, Jim DeMint and Olympia Snowe are tag teaming an op-ed endorsing the Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge. They are calling on Republicans to block all deals that raise taxes . . . . or . . . um . . . "fees" as they like to call them, and instead turn their attention to three things:

Cut spending significantly.
Enact an enforceable cap on future spending.
Pass the Lee-Cornyn-Hatch Balanced Budget Amendment.

Ridiculously, conservatives in the House are dragging their feet.

Look, it is an admirable position to take that conservatives will not vote to raise the debt ceiling. But it is also a position that will ultimately be untenable. Already, some House Republicans are whispering about a deal with the Democrats. If conservatives draw a line in the sand and say no increase ever, they are going to be betrayed by their own side.

If, however, they seize public opinion and insist on Cut, Cap, and Balance, they'll have the support of the American people and it will put their own leadership in the awkward position of being in opposition to a large portion of the base and electorate. Conservatives must have a strategy and Cut, Cap, and Balance is the right one. It is the right line in the sand.

Some, however, are arguing that a Balanced Budget Amendment will never pass, so why bother? Some of these are the same people arguing that they should not vote to raise the debt ceiling. These are people at odds with reality.

In reality, Republicans won't get a two-thirds vote in either House when they first bring the Balanced Budget Amendment to the floor. But then, if they hold the freaking line and show their willingness to block a debt ceiling vote, i.e. shoot the hostage, they will get the votes.

DeMint is encouraged, but ultimately he worries the GOP won't have the guts to stare Democrats down. And if it doesn't, it'll be a shame, he says, because "the party of freedom has less courage than the party of socialism."

Republicans must be willing to play brinksmanship to the breaking point. If they do, they will have their way and get a Balanced Budget Amendment. But right now it doesn't look good when Olympia Snowe is to the right of most House Republicans.

Morning Briefing for July 7, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For July 7, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

1. Republicans Must Show They Will Shoot the Hostage

2. David Brooks Gets Played

3. This Needs To Be Edited Into A TV Ad

4. Casey Anthony and the Law And Order Effect

5. The Palestinian Accountability Act

6. Fast and Furious update: Ken Melson's secret testimony.

———————————————————————-

1. Republicans Must Show They Will Shoot the Hostage

Does the party of freedom have less courage than the party of socialism? Jim DeMint thinks if the GOP fails to be bold in the debt ceiling fight that'll be why.

As the sun rises this morning, be prepared to be completely and totally disappointed in the total lack of leadership by House Republicans when it comes to taking a bold stand in the debt ceiling fight.

Just how badly are supposedly "tea party friendly" House Republicans abandoning conservatives? Olympia Snowe of Maine has gotten to the right of them. They should all break out the leather braids and self-flagellate. Shame on them.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. David Brooks Gets Played

It is a familiar tactic that the Democrats have used lately — say it enough times and hope someone believes it. I was traveling yesterday and couldn't comment on the David Brooks column, but it is more and more clear David Brooks got played.

"The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, has talked about supporting a debt reduction measure of $3 trillion or even $4 trillion if the Republicans meet him part way. There are Democrats in the White House and elsewhere who would be willing to accept Medicare cuts if the Republicans would be willing to increase revenues."

This $3 to $4 trillion mysterious deal is the Democrats' talking point du jour. On CBS, Delaware Senator Chris Coons said the same.

"The next decade we can cut $4 trillion in federal spending. We can achieve real savings, and we've had plans on the table since March to do it in a bipartisan, responsible way. It's their intransigence, their refusal to consider any increase in revenue that has really stalled the talks so far. . . . I'm willing to make significant cuts in domestic spending and entitlement reform."

There's just one problem. This $4 trillion deal with entitlement reform does not actually exist. They may be saying that. David Brooks may be getting sweet nothings whispered in his ear by the White House. But there is no deal.This has become a familiar tactic by the Democrats in the past year when it comes to cutting the budget. We saw it with the continuing resolutions. We saw it with the Christmas 2010 tax extension deals. We're seeing it again. They claim there is an offer made, a deal on the table, and recalcitrant Republicans blocking the way.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. This Needs To Be Edited Into A TV Ad

The Charles Koch Foundation has come up with a web ad on economic freedom. It is an important message. I cannot stress enough that you need to watch this. It is only 2 minutes. But more importantly, the Koch Foundation needs to turn this into a 1 minute television advertisement. It'll require some work to do, but this is a message that needs to get out to the greater masses. If you are a radio show host, you should just play the audio. It is fantastic.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Casey Anthony and the Law And Order Effect

I'm not a lawyer and I don't even play one on the internet but I am a concerned citizen and the trial, but not the acquittal, of Casey Anthony concerns me greatly.

I'm a conservative, not a libertarian. Generally speaking I'm all in favor of putting asses in jail. What I'm not in favor of is the life, liberty, and property of American citizens being treated as some sort of a game. That is why the Casey Anthony trial makes me angry.

Much of the commentary on the Casey Anthony trial has centered on what is being called the "CSI effect": the alleged belief that juries require more scientific evidence, like that routinely developed on the television conglomerate CSI: Whatever (where apparently jaywalking rates investigation by a half dozen lab tech cum SWAT members). I disagree. If anything the Casey Anthony trial showed that juries aren't necessarily overawed by scientific hoohah. If anything, I think the Casey Anthony verdict was a direct result of the Law and Order effect.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

5. The Palestinian Accountability Act

One of the more intractable components of our foreign policy dating back to the Clinton years has been the obsession of creating a Palestinian state. The career egghead diplomats in the State Department believed that if we would only send billions in aid to the venerable leaders of the Palestinian Authority and grant them statehood, they would put down their terror toys and sing kumbaya. To that end, we have given them billions in aid and provided them with military training during the past two decades.

Those of us who lack the credulity of a toddler understand that Mahmoud Abbas is not a dulcet freedom-lover, and the PA/Fatah is not a moderate Muslim boys' club. It's time to end the good cop/bad cop charade between the "extremist" Hamas and the "moderate" Fatah – by treating them as co-equal perpetrators of terror. Abbas has repeatedly called for armed struggle against Israel (in Arabic, of course), glorified suicide bombers, and is closely linked with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an Iranian-funded terror group that rivals Hamas in its ferocity in recent years.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

6. Fast and Furious update: Ken Melson's secret testimony.

The sound that you're hearing is the muttered "Uh-oh" of a plethora of staffers at the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives. Of particular interest is the letter that Oversight Chair Darrell Issa and Judiciary Ranking Member (for now) Chuck Grassley sent to Attorney General (for now) Eric Holder regarding Melson's testimony… but we'll get that in a moment.

For those coming in late: Issa and Grassley are investigating the horrifically botched Fast & Furious program that Justice/BATFE had put together, starting in late 2009. F&F was this ingenious method by which the federal government ended up knowingly and deliberately permitted illegally-resold firearms to be supplied to Mexican narco-terrorists; said narco-terrorists then proceeded to use those guns to shoot various hostages, Mexican civilians and police officers, at least one US Border Agent… as you can imagine, the Mexican government is not exactly pleased about any of this, which is why elements within said government are currently muttering about extradition treaties. This is where Kenneth Melson comes in: he is the Acting Director of BATFE, and was apparently picked to be the duly-assigned sacrificial lamb in this particular drama.

Only, it turns out that Melson doesn't actually believe in any of that dulce et decorum est pro Duce mori stuff; so he grabbed a lawyer and started talking to Issa & Grassley – on July 4th, no less. So now, let's talk about that letter.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

The Horserace, The Alleged Deal on Capitol Hill, and Casey Anthony #EERS

Tonight on WSB, I'll start and end the show with my weekly take on the Presidential Horse Race. I'm going to get into the alleged deal on Capitol Hill. And the jurors are speaking about Casey Anthony. I'm finally intrigued by the case.

You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

Consider this an open thread.

This Needs To Be Edited Into A TV Ad

The Charles Koch Foundation has come up with a web ad on economic freedom. It is an important message. I cannot stress enough that you need to watch this. It is only 2 minutes. But more importantly, the Koch Foundation needs to turn this into a 1 minute television advertisement. It'll require some work to do, but this is a message that needs to get out to the greater masses. If you are a radio show host, you should just play the audio. It is fantastic.

The best thing about this ad is that unlike Little Lee Fang, the kid from Center for American Progress who spends a lot of time writing about things the kid doesn't even understand, this is extremely fact based and shows the dangers of the policies Little Lee and his teenage cohorts advocate.