Daily archives: March 24th, 2009

Gov. Bobby Jindal is Trying to Stand Up

March 24, 2009
AmericaBarack ObamaCongressEconomyElectionsRepublicans
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It’s going to be quite a ride watching the Republicans try to reorganize themselves.  They really want power.  They should focus on issues and developing policy.  Their only policy is their stubborn ideology regardless of circumstances.

Governor Bobby Jindal is trying to position himself for a presidential bid for 2012.  He says it’s time for the GOP to stand up to President Obama.

Of course it is.  Why wait until you have ideas?

From CBS 2 Chicago:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal again found himself carrying the Republican mantle opposite a primetime appearance from President Barack Obama on Tuesday, saying Republicans must be ready to defy the president when they disagree with his policies. He also joked about his widely panned response to Obama’s address to Congress last month.

“We are now in the position of being the loyal opposition,” Jindal said at a Republican congressional fundraising dinner that only by coincidence fell on the same night as Obama’s news conference. “The right question to ask is not if we want the president to fail or succeed, but whether we want America to succeed.”

Saying “the time for talking about the past is over,” Jindal said Republicans have begun to find their voice after back-to-back elections losses — motivated by what he called historic Democratic spending excess.

“The time for talking about the past is over.”  Of course it is.  The past is how we got into the mess we’re in right now: Republican policies, George W. Bush, historic Republican spending excess.

Yes, and don’t you forget it: Historic Republican spending excess.  In all the wrong places.

Stand up, Bobby.  Repackage for us the same, old, dangerous Republican policies that paved the way for the Great George W. Bush Recession — and thank Americans they tossed your party’s sorry collective asses the hell out of Dodge.

Jordan Brown, 11, Should Be Charged as a Juvenile

March 24, 2009
gun controlLegalViolence
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Jordan Brown

Tragic news out of Wampum, PA:

The 11-year-old boy accused of shooting and killing his father’s pregnant fiancée is due in court on Tuesday.

Kenzie Houk, 26, was eight months pregnant when, police said, Jordan Brown shot and killed her at her home in Wampum in Lawrence County.

Brown, who was charged as an adult in the case, is expected to appear in court on charges of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors have said his motive may have been jealousy.

There is no good way to resolve this situation.  A woman and her unborn child are dead.

But an 11-year-old boy being charged as an adult with first degree murder?

This is insane.

The crime is horrible.  Punishing this child as an adult is insane. And a crime.

Three Cheers as Old Notre Dame Invites Obama

March 24, 2009
Barack ObamaPhilosophicalReligionWhite House
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As an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, I was very pleased to hear that the University has invited President Barack Obama to deliver the 2009 Commencement Address.  I was in the room in 1985 when then-Gov. Mario Cuomo spoke at Washington Hall, presenting his views on abortion.   I still have my copy of his embargoed talk.

I applauded the University then, and I applaud them now as they invite the President to address the graduates.

Some Catholic groups are not so happy.  From The Observer online:

Several religious and pro-life groups nationwide are expressing outrage and threatening to protest in South Bend after the University announced President Barack Obama will deliver the 2009 Commencement address at Notre Dame’s graduation ceremony May 17.

Assistant Vice President for News and Information Dennis Brown told The Observer a rumor that University switchboards were overwhelmed with callers and had to be shut down Friday night is false – a claim made by a March 20 article on pewsitter.com.

Although many outside groups are protesting University President Fr. John Jenkins’ decision, The Observer reported in an Oct. 8, 2008 article that Obama led the student body with 52.6 percent of the vote in a mock election held by student government, in which 2,692 undergraduates and graduate students voted.

Further along in the article, we read, “A representative in the office of Cardinal Francis George, president of the USCCB, said Cardinal George declined to comment on the issue because Notre Dame is out of the organization’s jurisdiction.”

I’m sure the Bishop John D’Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese will weigh in.  He’s a frequent critic of the University.  But the University is doing the right thing.

I first met President Obama when he was running for the United States Senate, and was immediately convinced that he is a man of outstanding character and intellect.  I consider him a man of tremendous compassion.

I’m very proud of my Alma Mater today.  Three Cheers for Old Notre Dame!