Congratulations to my “bestest” RedState blogger friend, mbecker, for his RedHot posting privileges.  Even though his commentary is often “redhot” itself, he tells it like he sees it, and — believe it or not — does have a “cuddly” side.

As for me, I’ll have to settle for continued “Mr. EdHot” posting privileges.  And I thank the RedState editors for the honor of being able to participate in the finest conservative blogger community in cyberspace.

The march toward Obama’s vision of total control of individual’s lives continues.  From the authors of Universal Healthcare comes the sequel:  Universal Retirement Savings:

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/planning-to-retire/2009/06/05/should-retirement-savings-be-required.html

This is an attempt to try to achieve the type of universal coverage in retirement that we are hoping to achieve in healthcare,” says Mark Iwry, Deputy Assistant for Retirement and Health Policy for the U.S. Treasury.

That’s funny, the water in my pot is a bit warmer than yesterday.  In fact, I’m starting to see a few boiling bubbles surface.  It must be a jacuzzi!  I think I’ll just lie in here a bit longer and take a nap.

Word out of Hollywood today that President Obama’s speech in Egypt has inspired Jack Nicholson to agree to play the lead in a new movie about U.S.-Iranian relations.  See the trailer below.

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It was inevitable that additional video of SC Justice nominee Sonio Sotomayor would surface.  This may explain some of her leanings toward using personal experiences and “empathy” in her rulings.  In addition, the video reveals never-before-seen footage of Sen. Chuck Schumer and other Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_4_ZC3IM_g

Perhaps someone can embed this video for me.  I still can’t figure out how to do it.

Promoted from the diaries by Neil Stevens, with a comment: This is apparently not the first time George Tiller has been shot at. He was shot in both arms back in 1993. He also has a history of flouting sensible regulation and oversight on abortion, in a quest to perform as many late-term abortions as possible.

Because of that, combined with the fact that reports say there were steps taken to cut out security cameras, I find it highly likely that this was a politically-motivated shooting. It is entirely the wrong thing to do though, achieves nothing to save lives, and must be prosecuted vigorously. The rule of law matters. After all, how could we even enforce abortion laws if we can’t enforce murder laws?

Abortionist shot and killed in Wichita, newspaper says.

Given the nature of this breaking news event, this post will not exceed the minimum threshold word count or supplemental analysis.

I have two early observations about today’s announcement of Sonia Sotemayor as President Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

1. Headline:  “First Black President Nominates First Hispanic SC Justice.”  Unfortunately both parts of this statement are inaccurate.  Our president is not black but of mixed race.  Sotemayor is not the first Hispanic nominee.  FDR nominated an Hispanic justice (a Spanish-American).
2. One broadcast journalist made the comment that the selection of Sotemayor will help President Obama solidify his political ties to Hispanics, especially in border states.  This reminds me of a situation which occurred in my life in the early 1990′s.  I was managing a CEO search for a hospital along the U.S.-Mexican border in a community with a heavily-dominant Hispanic population.  I mentioned to the search committee chair that I presumed there would be a preference for Hispanic candidates, given the nature of the community and the medical staff.  His answer surprised me.  He said, “One-third of our medical staff is Mexican-American, one third is Caribbean-Hispanic, and one-third is Central/South American Hispanic.  There is significant distrust and ill-will between all three groups.  If we hire an Hispanic CEO, he or she will immediately lose the support of two-thirds of the medical staff.  However, if we hire a non-Hispanic, he or she will be equally distrusted by all!”

I have heard about this intra-Latino rivalry in other places, too.  It’s unfortunate that it exists, but it does exist.  It will be interesting to see how the Mexican-American community reacts to a Puerto Rican Latino SC Justice nominee.  Personally, I hope any person or group opposing her nomination does so on the basis of her qualifications and/or judicial philosophy.  However, if President Obama is looking to score political points with the Hispanic community in border states, he may find it not so easy in this case.

I read the following short blurb in yesterday’s (5/13/09) USA Today.  I was immediately struck with the thought that there must be an appropriate political analogy in this story somewhere.  Rather than write one myself, I thought I would open it to my Redstate colleagues to come up with their best efforts.  I will select the winner, who will receive the prestigious “Oats & Bridle Award” — which is being custom designed and ordered straight from my barn stall.

Fort Worth — Researchers are trying an unusual aproach to combat fire ants – parasitic flies that turn the insects into zombies.  The phorid flies “dive-bomb” the fire ants and lay eggs.  The maggot that hatches inside the ant eats away at the brain.  Later, the ant starts wandering for about two weeks until its head falls off and it dies.

Let the blogger-writing-games begin.

As most of you know, recently a nationally-known comedian told a joke with a punch-line insinuating the death of a political thought leader.  Well, now the comedian has apologized.  It seems any attempt at humor that deals with political leaders and death, is well, off-limits….but only when it’s a joke about a Democrat.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/10/golf-analyst-feherty-sorry-pelosi-joke-dallas-magazine/

Forgive me if this is old news.  If it was news at the time it happened I missed it.

Thanks to Mollie Ziegler Hemingway in this month’s edition of Christianity Today for bringing it to my attention.

http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2009/may/1.56.html

“…former President and Rhodes scholar Bill Clinton revealed a startling ignorance about basic science shortly after President Barack Obama increased federal funding of stem-cell research that destroys embryos.  After CNN presented him as a policy expert on the matter, Clinton referred a half-dozen times to human embryos as ‘unfertilized’ and said they would only ‘become human beings’ if they were fertilized, which couldn’t happen with the embryos in question.”

Here’s the CNN video in question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmh9p1rlkQk

Gosh, there’s so many directions one can take after seeing this.  Was this merely a “senior statesman moment” for our former President?  Or is he really ignorant of the basic science of conception?

If a generally “moderate” Democrat is confused on the basic premise of embryonic stem cells, how many others also don’t fully comprehend what’s happening here?

Can you imagine the uproar if George W. Bush had made such a statement?

Reeling from his public relations disaster on handling the waterboarding issue, Obama may be backtracking on his decision to try Gitmo detainees in U.S. criminal courts.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30531510/

Our President is proving to be an enigma.  On one hand, the longer he’s in office the more his innate liberal worldview becomes apparent.  On the other hand, he occasionally admits the Bush Administration had it right.  Let’s see how the liberal human rights organizations react to this news.

Random thoughts about taxes in an attempt to be logical and consider logical rebuttals….

• Federal taxes should be as little as possible to support the smallest federal government possible.
• A consumption-based tax system is inherently fairer than a system based on income.
• The so-called “Flat Tax” really isn’t “flat.”  Yes, it proposes a flate “rate,” but a person making $100K will still pay considerably higher taxes than a person making $40K.  This isn’t logical or fair.  What other products or services are priced based on one’s income?  A truly “flat” tax would be a tax which is the same for everyone.
• Whatever federal tax system exists, everyone should have to contribute to it.  No one, no matter how little one’s income, should be exempt.  If you don’t pay something, you have no sense of ownership.
• Revamping our tax system may have negative consequences for charitable giving.  This is an unfortunate byproduct of a current tax system which manipulates behavior toward charitable giving.  We all do it and feel good that we’re helping a charity while somewhat “sticking” it to the government.  However, logic dictates that we all would be better off paying far less taxes, providing more disposable personal income with which we could make even greater charitable contributions.
• A tax structure which provides federal revenue for social needs — even well-deserved social needs — is NOT in any way compassionate.  Conservatives are often chided for lacking compassion because we want to reduce taxes.  Any system which forces others to pay taxes for the sake of “helping” those in need is the antithesis of compassion.  Pay taxes or go to jail.  Is this compassion?  True compassion comes from an individual decision free of coercion to provide assistance to those in need.
• To the extent our current tax system is not significantly modified, it should allow each taxpayer to set aside a portion of his/her federal taxes to be “directed” or “designated” for specific federal programs, services and/or selected private charities.  This will instill an element of market competition for tax dollars that will make our federal programs and services more efficient.
• A consumption tax will help (though not fully) engage the underground economy to contribute to tax revenues.

The entire global warming movement depends on scare tactics.  Even if the supposition of a global calamity due to man-made global warming were true (and it’s not), this truth would depend on “fear” to sustain itself.

Today, former Vice President Al Gore — who puts the P-U back into “Pulitzer” — testified before Congress stressing the need for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.  The basis of his proposals was “fear.”  The supposed need for a carbon tax or cap and trade system is based on fear — fear of a world dramatically changed (for the worse is the assumption) in which the existence of the human species and other species are threatened.  This is the ultimate “scare tactic.”

So when former House Speaker Newt Gingrich follows Gore in testifying to the same committee today, what does committee chairman Henry Waxman say?

“When American people hear the statements you made today, they get scared…”

Gingrich was merely pointing out the economic consequences of a cap and trade system, which is a significant “tax” on every American who uses electricity.  Yet, according to chairman Waxman, Gore and the global warming crowd’s dire “sky is falling” warnings don’t scare people.

Perhaps the real issue here is the committee chair understands that heat melts candles.  If the earth warms, what will happen to the “Wax Man”?

Modern Healthcare magazine is flashing a news bulletin that the GOP has blocked a confirmation vote on Kansas Governer Jean Sebelius as Secretary of HHS.

This comes after her nomination was recommended by a senate subcommittee yesterday on a 15 to 8 vote.

Congratulations, GOP, for standing up for principle.  Let’s see how this ultimately plays out.

I remember three years ago when I first discovered Hugh Hewitt’s radio show during my long drive home each evening.  It was a breath of fresh air.  Here was a highly intellectual conservative host dealing with substantive issues in a deep fashion.  His show became a high point of my day.

Then came the 2008 GOP Primaries.  Hugh wrote a book, A Mormon in the White House, and his radio show became a daily three hour promotional event geared toward getting Mitt Romney nominated as the GOP standard bearer.  Hugh began to lose his objectivity, turning into a fanatical cheer leader.  I tried to call him on a couple of occasions to ask him if he would deny that under any circumstance he would accept a position in a Romney administration.  It was that bad.  I stopped listening to him.

When the McCain nomination materialized, I started tuning into Hugh again and our “relationship” began to mend.  I found solace in his perspective on world and domestic issues through the lackluster McCain campaign and the early days of our collective Obama debacle.

But Hugh Hewitt has gone off the deep end again.  Fool me once, shame on Hugh.  Fool me twice, shame on me.

Hugh has now co-authored another book called The Fair Tax Fantasy.  Already Hugh is turning his show into a daily promotional tour.

Now I don’t mind Hugh or anyone making an argument against the Fair Tax or any other issue of substance.  The Fair Tax isn’t perfect, but I’m not going to defend the Fair Tax in this post. 

My point in this post is that Hugh’s endless self-promotion of his books and his extreme rhetoric only cause him to lose credibility.  He is far more effective when he is calm, deliberate and less prone to hyperbole and vitriol.  By listening to him, you’d think the Fair Tax was Satan incarnated.

Hugh, the Fair Tax may not be the perfect solution but it’s a better option than our current system.  The Flat Tax is a better option, too, but it’s not perfect either.  Let’s have a reasoned debate without denigrating either position.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has created a fire storm this week by declaring the potential of Texas returning to its historical roots of an independent nation if the federal government continues it path of socialistic intrusion on states’ rights and sovereignty.

The liberal left and the mainstream news media (a redundancy, I know) have blasted the Texas governor for his uncivilized remarks.

Yet none other than Hillary Clinton’s State Department has recently issued a report listing Texas as a country.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/041809dnnatsecedesider.3f018e8.html

As a citizen of Texas, I say…”long live President Perry.”

This is a story of service to one’s country, service to one’s community, commitment, pursuing dreams, and tragic irony.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6370704.html

Damion Jon Hobbs had always wanted to be a firefighter.  He had enrolled in the Houston Fire Department training school once before, but his training was cut short by being called to serve in Iraq.

He served his country through an 18 month tour of duty in the U.S. Army.  When he returned recently to the Houston area, he enrolled again in firefighters’ training school and graduated March 3, 2009.

Damion was assigned to a Houston Fire Department station on the city’s southeast side.  His station captain, James Harlow, was a 50-year-old, seasoned firefighting veteran who was known for his decisiveness and compassionate service to fire victims.  Harlow took the rookie under his wing and served as his mentor.  They responded to several routine calls early on, but nothing of dramatic significance.

Early Easter morning, while most of Houston slept in preparation for sunrise services or family gatherings, Damion’s station responded to a house fire.  It was his first “true” structural fire.

The crew’s efforts had an immediate impact; the fire was thought to be well under control.  Captain Harlow no doubt thought it a great “training” moment for his rookie and both geared up and entered the house to finish off the job. 

However, something went terribly wrong and the fire suddently returned with a vengeance.  The two firefighters were trapped and perished.

Two dedicated public servants.  One a seasoned firefighter vet with a family, providing leadership and mentoring.  The other a Iraqi War vet fighting his very first fire….on Easter morning.

Through the tragic irony we can find comfort in a hope of resurrection on the Day of Resurrection.

For the sake of argument (only), let’s say I’m a widowed, elderly man diagnosed with a terminal illness.  I’ve been given 18-24 months to live.  My estate is currently valued at $3 million, which includes the value of a modest $500,000 fully-paid-for home, and $2.5 million in retirement investments.

These financial figures may seem excessive to many.  However, a $500K home in most major cities is not extravagant.  A $2.5M investment portfolio will be generating (conservatively) about $100K in annual income — again, nice but not extravagant.

If my illness takes my life before 12/31/10, my son and daughter will inherit what’s left of my entire estate.  If I die the next day, the government will take 45 percent of the value of my estate over the first $1 million.  So, 45 percent of $2 million is $900,000.

That’s right.  When the death tax returns in 2011, Uncle Sam is back in the business of wresting away almost half of estate values above $1 million.

So, let’s list the areas President Obama is taking over:

• the banking system
• executive compensation
• the auto industry
• workers’ rights to a secret ballot
• right-to-lifers’ taxes to support experimentation on those in the earliest stages of life
• funding for non-embryonic stem cell research
• the rightfully earned property of the deceased

I don’t know about you, but in this scenario, I’d be seriously considering lacing my 2011 New Year’s Eve champagne with a bit of cyanide.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/teachers-union-calls-for-an-end-to-faith-schools-1662932.html

That’s what the teacher’s union of Britain wants to see.

“Religious groups, of whatever faith, have no place in the control and management of schools,” said one union leader.

As the new U.S. administration continues to lead our own country down the many paths already trod by our socialist European friends, how long will it be before we face the same outcry in our own country?

I find it strange that those seeking to shut down faith-based schools due to fears of intolerance indoctrination or so intolerant of those with a faith-commitment.

Any talk of the federal bail out of troubled banks being a temporary act of the government can now be put to rest.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123879833094588163.html

How many of you thought that once the troubled banks were stabilized, they would start repaying the government?  Well the government, it seems, doesn’t want the money back.  Even banks who didn’t want TARP money to begin with — and were forced to take it — can’t get Obama to take the money back.

The reason is obvious:  as long as the banks hold TARP funds, Obama can control the banks.  And control is what this President is all about.

I use to think we were just like the frog placed in the pot of gradually heated “socialism” water.  It’s really not that bad now…it’s worse.  Unlike the frog who doesn’t notice until he’s boiled, we know what’s happening.

The question is:  do we have the strength to jump out of the pot?  Our window of opportunity is closing as Obama gets closer to securing the lid on the pot.

Tonight’s Drudge headline features a photo of our President “yucking” it up with his fellow world leaders in a photo op.

(For some reason I can’t paste the photo into this diary).

President Obama has his arm around another world leader as he stands behind the President of China giving the classic All-American “thumbs up” sign…a symbol known in the U.S. as “ready to go.”

However, in several cultures and countries across the globe, this “thumbs up” sign is an obscene gesture.  Given that millions could be viewing this photo, has our President just flipped off a significant part of the world, including some of our allies?