Romney suspends campaign

Mitt Romney has just given the best speech I have heard. Filled with passionate oratory, he annnounced his decision to suspend his campaign for our party and our country:

If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

It was a great speech. Apparently, atypical of his stump speeches. Too bad, but I suppose it was part of learning how to communicate to voters. Better luck during the next election cycle.

Tag: Romney Trackposted to Pirate's Cove, Outside the Beltway, Rosemary's Thoughts, Right Truth, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

S.2248

This afternoon, the Senate will be debating Senate Bill S.2248, FISA Amendments Act of 2007.

Title II of the bill (section 202 of which follows) is designed to give some protection to telecommunication service providers that cooperated with the Government's terrorist surveillance program.

SEC. 202. LIMITATIONS ON CIVIL ACTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS. More...

(a) Limitations- (1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a covered civil action shall not lie or be maintained in a Federal or State court, and shall be promptly dismissed, if the Attorney General certifies to the court that-- (A) the assistance alleged to have been provided by the electronic communication service provider was-- (i) in connection with an intelligence activity involving communications that was-- (I) authorized by the President during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on January 17, 2007; and (II) designed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack, or activities in preparation for a terrorist attack, against the United States; and (ii) described in a written request or directive from the Attorney General or the head of an element of the intelligence community (or the deputy of such person) to the electronic communication service provider indicating that the activity was-- (I) authorized by the President; and (II) determined to be lawful; or (B) the electronic communication service provider did not provide the alleged assistance. (2) REVIEW- A certification made pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be subject to review by a court for abuse of discretion. (b) Review of Certifications- If the Attorney General files a declaration under section 1746 of title 28, United States Code, that disclosure of a certification made pursuant to subsection (a) would harm the national security of the United States, the court shall-- (1) review such certification in camera and ex parte; and (2) limit any public disclosure concerning such certification, including any public order following such an ex parte review, to a statement that the conditions of subsection (a) have been met, without disclosing the subparagraph of subsection (a)(1) that is the basis for the certification. (c) Nondelegation- The authority and duties of the Attorney General under this section shall be performed by the Attorney General (or Acting Attorney General) or a designee in a position not lower than the Deputy Attorney General. (d) Civil Actions in State Court- A covered civil action that is brought in a State court shall be deemed to arise under the Constitution and laws of the United States and shall be removable under section 1441 of title 28, United States Code. (e) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section may be construed to limit any otherwise available immunity, privilege, or defense under any other provision of law. (f) Effective Date and Application- This section shall apply to any covered civil action that is pending on or filed after the date of enactment of this Act.

Considering the litigious nature of some groups (e.g., the ACLU), Title II must remain. Failure to do so would put an onerous burden on those that cooperated in good faith with Government requests for access to their facilities.

But, Sen. Dodd and a liberal cabal in the Senate introduced an amendment,SA 3907, the text of which follows:

Strike title II.

That's it! Three words that would open a floodgate of litigation having more to do with advancing a political agenda than preserving individual rights.

The liberal cabal? Besides Dodd, they are the usual suspects: Feingold, Leahy, Kennedy, Harkin, Wyden, Sanders, Obama, Clinton, Biden, and Kerry. Note the cabal includes two who would be President. Right...

Tag: terrorist surveillance Trackposted to Pirate's Cove, A Newt One, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe and OTA Weekend.

U.S. Team Applies the Brakes at Bali

Simple Numbers to Shape Climate Talks

Those "numbers" are 2C temperature rise, 445ppm CO2 and 25—40 percent reduction in global warming gases.

In the end, at U.S. insistence, none of those numbers appeared in the U.N. conference's key final document. But in the coming two years of crucial climate negotiations, as authorized at Bali, those simple numbers are sure to become chips in the high-stakes diplomatic, political and economic bargaining of almost 190 nations involved.

The U.S. team did well to resist the rush pell-mell to develop policy based on the IPCC report as the "science" underlying the report is seriously flawed:

• Thermal energy gains not temperature increase should be the metric.
• Methane emissions are mentioned in passing even though methane is a more potent greenhouse gas.
• The IPCC models claim feedback mechanisms amplify human generated forcings. But, using their own data, it can be shown those mechanisms have muted the effects of human activity.
• The models employed by the IPCC scientists have little predictive skill. As a consequence, the IPCC is currently rushing to 'fix' their models to account for the recently observed reductions in Arctic ice pack.

Given all the shortcomings in the IPCC report and the underlying science, one thing is certain: Any policy developed using the report as a basis is sure to be misdirected.

Tag: climate change Bali Trackposted to Pirate's Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, Big Dog's Weblog, Cao's Blog, and Rosemary's Thoughts, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

He forgot the 'smilies'

Wis. Teacher Arrested for Blog Comment

Bloggers and free speech advocates are calling on prosecutors not to file charges against a teacher arrested for allegedly posting an anonymous comment online praising the Columbine shooters.

Some were disturbed by the post police say James Buss left on a conservative blog, but other observers said it was a sarcastic attempt to discredit critics of education spending.

It pays to remember text does not convey intent unless the intent is made explicit. Still, I think his was a boneheaded remark to make; although not criminal, hard to justify on any grounds. One would have thought a teacher would have better communication skills.

At the same time, I wonder if we would have the same fuss if the comment had appeared on a lefty blog.

Tag: Columbine remark Trackposted to Pirate's Cove, The Amboy Times, Big Dog's Weblog, Right Truth, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.