Lott: Replace Rumsfeld

Mississippi Senator Trent Lott has today joined a chorus of other politicians concerned with the performance of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Speaking in Biloxi, Lott expressed his displeasure with Rumsfeld's performance,

"I would like to see a change in that slot in the next year or so," Lott said. "I'm not calling for his resignation, but I think we do need a change at some point."

Just on Monday, Senator McCain also told the Associated Press that he had "no confidence" in Rumsfeld as well. Overall, there are probably many more Republican Senators and Representatives who have grown weary with Rumsfeld grave mis-steps, but they have not yet expressed these feelings for whatever reasons. In time, the voices will only become louder as the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate.

Article at SFGate.

Rumsfeld Eases Troops

Here are some quotes from a recent town-hall discussion that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had with a number of troops stationed in Kuwait. All I can say is wow.

"You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time," he said.

Or this easing mantra,

"You can have all the armor in the world on a tank and a tank can be blown up," he said. "And you can have an up-armored Humvee and it can be blown up."

As the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate and our military finds itself stretched beyond measure, it is horrifying to see our Secretary of Defense try to calm our soldiers by saying all the wrong things. Apparently, fumbling the English language runs in the administration...

More at NY Times.

Retarded Should Get Death Penalty

The California Supreme Court is set to investigate and determine the proper criteria for mental retardation, as a way of setting guidelines for who can and can't be executed in the state. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution of the retarded violates the constitutional ban on Cruel and Unusual Punishment, so a guideline for California will be determined soon. Most states have set the level at an IQ of 70, and if California does the same, at least a dozen inmates could have their sentences changed to life without parole. But no matter what number is set, the Attorney General's office will continue to demand the death penalty for crimes involving the mentally retarded, in clear defiance of the Supreme Court. Here is what Senior Assistant Attorney General Dane Gillette had to say about those who are possibly retarded,

Even those with IQs below 70 should not be considered retarded, said Gillette, the state's death penalty coordinator, if "the actual commission of the crime demonstrates that they have the ability to act independently.''

In essence, if the crime is really bad, no matter how retarded you are, you deserve to die. Or rather, there should be no parameters and we should just keep doing what we are already doing: convicting those who are mentally retarded and sentencing them to die. Brilliant.

Full Article at SFGate.

Frame the Debate

Good news, UC Berkeley Professor of Linguistics and Cognitive Science George Lakoff will be meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday to talk about framing the issue. It is about time.

Lakoff describes how well-financed think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute churn out ideas and go out of their way to make experts available for print and broadcast reporters, talk show hosts and op-ed pages. Then Republican officeholders and candidates stick to the party's message and effectively use the same words to drive home their message. They talk of moral values, Bush's "compassionate conservatism,'' "protecting the unborn,'' "partial-birth abortion'' and "death tax,'' and drive Democrats to distraction by constantly referring to the "Democrat Party, '' instead of the "Democratic Party.''

A long-term committment is needed and Lakoff is a good man to start the Democrats on that path. Here are some of his past ideas that the Democrats seemed to ignore.

During the 2004 campaign, Lakoff suggested that instead of talking about how Bush had run up the national debt, Democrats should label it a "baby tax'' the Republican president had imposed on future generations.

He has suggested that same-sex marriage should be referred to as "the right to marry.'' Trial lawyers like vice presidential nominee John Edwards should instead be called "public protection attorneys,'' and the term environmental protection, which brings to mind big government and reams of regulations, should instead be termed "poison-free communities.''

Seems like quite a clever man; let's just hope the Democrats listen to him, although being in the minority will make it difficult to control the debate.

More at SFGate.

Hillary Haters

There is a good article in the New York Times about the numberous and steadfast Hillary Haters who will pose an obvious problem if the Junior Senator from New York decides to run in 2008. According to a recent poll, 4 in 10 Americans disapprove of her! That is a pretty high number and makes a White House run seem like a bad idea. However, there is still a lot of time for her to persuade people that she isn't the caricature they have in their minds.

Mrs. Clinton sought to counteract the damage posed by the anti-Clinton feeling by spending nearly two years traveling around the state in a calculated effort to force voters to re-examine what, if anything, is so objectionable about her.

Many Democrats and independent political strategists contend that Mrs. Clinton may have to do much the same nationally.

"To be successful nationally, she will have to defuse some of the negative feelings," Mr. Miringoff said. "One way to attempt that is to replicate what she did in with New York with her Listening Tour."

Overall, there are three really big questions. Would the Hillary haters be the kind of people that would normally vote for a Centrist Democrat? Maybe some.
Do they hate her enough to be active against her in 2008? Bingo. These people will seriously devote a lot of time.
Do the ones who support her outweigh these haters? Possibly. That name Clinton does bring a lot of people together.

Nonetheless, it may turn out that we have another very polarizing president come 2008.

Another Possible Innocent Death Row Inmate

Hours before her execution, Frances Newton was granted a reprieve from Texas Governor Rick Perry surrounding the 1987 killing of her husband and two children.

Newton’s lawyer asked for more time to have the ballistics evidence used at Newton’s trial retested and to investigate the quality of her original legal defense. Yesterday the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended by a vote of 5-1 that Newton be given a temporary reprieve of 120 days.

These cases just keep piling up and there are two other executions scheduled this week. One is in Pennsylvania, where George Banks, a mentally ill man who believes God has granted him a reprieve, will be executed tomorrow. The other is in North Carolina, where Charles Walker was convicted of a 1992 murder, despite cries of biased witnesses and lack of evidence at trial. The five witnesses who pinned the murder to Walker were also prosecuted or implicated with the murder.

More on Frances Newton.