What the hell is going on here?  What is the Congress and the government trying to do?  Why is it no one knows about this?  H.R. 2499 hits the floor tomorrow – and the press hasn’t made a peep. Perhaps everyone is cool with adding another star to the flag? This bill supposedly gives Puerto Rico freedom or something — which is weird because they already have that. What does the bill actually do? Opens the door for America to go from 50 to 51 states………..and creates a couple of million more Democrat voters.

EDITORIAL: Puerto Rico deserves better

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Democratic House leadership has announced plans to ram through a bill to stack the deck in favor of statehood for Puerto Rico. Amazingly enough, several ordinarily sensible conservatives, including House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence, are poised to help them. The collaborators ought to reconsider. Arguments in favor of political self-determination may seem reasonable, but the bill in question actually tramples self-determination in favor of an underhanded political power grab.

The single worst part of H.R. 2499, dubbed the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, is that it would allow former Puerto Ricans to vote in a pro-statehood advisory referendum even if those former residents are already registered voters in a U.S. state. Instead of voting “early and often,” this might be called the “vote here, there and everywhere” stratagem. It is fundamentally undemocratic at its core.

At its root, the bill is deliberately designed to unfairly make it harder for Puerto Rico to keep its current status as a territory with special benefits rather than as a state. It does so by setting up a complicated two-step voting process that helps proponents of all other options – statehood, full independence or some sort of weird hybrid – gang up against the option of remaining as a territory. Several previous referenda have shown that the option of remaining a territory is the first choice of a plurality of Puerto Rico’s residents, but this system effectively would take that first choice off the table.

There also is the problem that Puerto Rico is a predominantly Spanish-speaking land. No other state has ever joined the union without having English as its only official language.

Some, like Mr. Pence, might see a move toward statehood from the standpoint of a Jack Kemp-like outreach to people trying to grab the American dream. However, the late Republican leader himself surely would be turned off by the underhanded features of this legislation. He also surely would listen to his fellow New York representatives of Puerto Rican descent, both Democrats, who oppose this horrible bill. Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez and Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat, all have objected to various aspects of the proposal.*

Ms. Velazquez, who favors a constitutional convention in the territory to decide how to approach the issue, testified before a House committee last summer on the bill. “The process promoted by those bills,” she said, “has been perceived to be skewed in one form or another. It is now time to break this cycle.”

There is no good reason for any member of Congress to support such a skewed process.

* Correction: Contrary to an earlier version of the editorial, Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-NY) is a supporter and co-sponsor of H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act.

The doctor had his television on in his office when the news of the military base shootings came on. The husband of one of his employees was stationed there.

He called her into his office and as he told her what had happened, she got a text message from her husband saying, “I am okay.”  Her cell phone rang right after she read the message. It was an ER nurse, “I’m the one who just sent you a text, not your husband. I thought it would be comforting but I was mistaken in doing so. I am sorry to tell you this, but your husband has been shot 4 times and he is in surgery.”

The soldier’s wife left Southern Clinic in Dothan and drove all night to Ft.Hood. When she arrived, she found out her husband was out of surgery and would be OK. She rushed to his room and found that he already had visitors there to comfort him. He was just waking up and found his wife and the visitors by his side. The nurse took this picture.  (click on the link below).

  www.snopes.com/photos/military/forthood.asp

What?  No news crews and cameras?  This is how people with class and grace and honor respond and pay respect to those serving in uniform.

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both House of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness;

Now therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been able to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations, especially such as have shown kindness to us, and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.”

Charles Krauthammer has some great insights, as he always has.  Well worth 15 minutes of your time.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,656501,00.html

A darling of the political left has just had his morality handed to him, but how many people really care.  He’s actually leading in the ratings over the Tonight Show.  I guess viewers of that persuasion can be misguided as well.
 
The so-called comic actually used 14 year old Willow Palin in a so-called joke about having sex with Alex Rodriguez while at the same time he was boning every woman in his office.  And he has a wife and a 5 year old child.  That’s quite a compass he has there.
 
Despite his pronouncement and protestation that he had made some mistake about Willow vs. Bristol, and that he would never use a child that way and all that crap, I think he really knew exactly what he was doing.  He’s a very disturbed person.  And not a good person either.
 
Can you believe how creepy it is when someone tells stories about having sex with his employees for laughs? 
 
In any case, here’s a top 10 list of why you’d want a job working for David Letterman:
 

Jim Treacher’s Blog That Is on the Internet

“That is smokin’ accurate!” — Dennis Miller
 

Top Ten Reasons to Accept That Job Offer from David Letterman

10. Get to find out “Worldwide Pants” refers to his breathing
9. Whenever he has trouble performing, he can always count on Paul
8. Stupid Prostate Tricks
7. Pillow talk includes fond remembrances of working with Calvert DeForest
6. “Can Jay do this? Huh? Can Jay do this?”
5. Share in wistful late-life transition from “My girlfriend doesn’t understand me” to “My wife doesn’t understand me”
4. Will It Rise?
3. Tries to be nice about it when he passes you off to Biff Henderson
2. “Whoops, looks like Cheney isn’t the only one who shoots people in the face”
And the Number One Reason to Accept That Job Offer from David Letterman:
1. After the sex, he lets you keep the Palin wig