I Did Not Nominate That Woman, Miss Miers

Dubya finally has his own "devil in a blue dress." The revolt of the GOP blogosphere is nearly complete. Nothing the president has done up to this point has had such an universally negative response on the web. Bloggers credit themselves with removing Trent Lott from the top spot in the Senate- will their influence once again win the day? -Or will the tempest stay in the teapot? I think the president has a mixed record on sticking to his guns. Barring some major distraction, Dubya's going to have a very long month defending Miss Miers. He's certainly left some of his other nominees to twist in the wind...

No Mas! No Mas!

OK I give. I was holding out hope that Dubya's choice of Miers was evidence of some hidden strategery, But I can't do it any more. I think the pre-9/11 Bush has returned to depress and dehabilitate the conservatives. From
David Frum's Diary on National Review Online:

Their reaction to the nomination has been almost perfectly unanimous: Disappointment at best, dismay and anger at worst. Here's the tough truth, and it will become more and more important as the debate continues: There is scarcely a single knowledgeable legal conservative in Washington who supports this nomination. There are many who are prepared to accept, reluctantly, as the president's choice. Some still hope that maybe it won't turn out as bad as it looks. But ask them: "Well what if the president had consulted you on this choice," and the answer is almost always some version of: "I would have thought he was joking."

Dubya's done more for the country, both good and bad, than anyone expected. Nevertheless, his tendency to give ground where none is warranted, to compromise at the time when battle is required, demanded even, has been his greatest shortcoming. Whereas the union is strong, the threat of civil unrest a mere phantom, we need a true leader to stand firm and let the strength of his ideas sway the people to follow. We need a divider, one who will draw the lines of debate so stongly that our positions cannot be reconciled or compromised away. The president's frequent returns to the safety of middle ground do a disservice to him, his conservative constituancy and ultimately the country as a whole.

Blood Money

I've never been a fan of red-light cameras. I've never been caught by one, so that's not the reason why.

These cameras are dangerous traps, preying on the drivers unfamiliar with the area. In Wilmington, the regular crops of new drivers include tourists, college students, and people coming to receive treatment at the regional medical center. These folks suffer not only from the tickets when they miss the very short yellow, but from the accidents that occur when the familiar drivers alter their behavior for this one intersection and stop short without warning for the short yellow.

I understand that the T-bone crash typical of running a red light can be truly horrific, but that does in no way give the government the green light to endanger it's populace with a product that causes a different sort of accident. The fact that these cameras are revenue generators just adds to the outrage. The government should not be making money from auto accidents, period. A community should be ashamed to have these vultures posted on their street corners.