Hello Earth to Google! Anyone there?

A small, almost unnoticeable news brief on the page B4 of The Wall Street Journal today, contained a disturbing AP report. Apparently, the Pentagon had to intercede in order to thwart Google from proceeding with its plans to have "Google Earth teams" make detailed, panoramic maps of U.S. military bases.

I suspect that authorized military personnel know how to get around on those bases very well without using Google Earth.

To Google, I say: Your earth technology is magnificent, but don't you think that you might be compromising national security by plastering that content out on the Internet? (Sorry Google, I feel strongly about these things; but please don't shut down my blog).  

R.I.P. WFB

Yesterday at the age of 82, while working in his study, we lost William F. Buckley. Mr. Buckley captivated millions of us with his columns, speeches, debates, appearances on TV talk shows, authoring of 50+ books, harpsichord-playing, creation of National Review and a seminal television program for serious discourse called, "Firing Line."

WFB, Wikipedia

In my twenties, I'd watch television debates with awe and amusement as Mr. Buckley gracefully routed his opponents. He had no equal then and I'm not sure he has one today.  

Many Americans, I'm guessing under the age of 35, have little awareness of this man's enormous gifts and contributions to contemporary conservative thought. He was simply America's most charming intellectual with a legendary command of language, politics, economics, history and music.

He advocated for free markets and limited government before it was widely embraced.  He warned about secularism before it reached current proportions. 

Sometimes subtle characteristics endure. I'll not forget that sparkle in his eyes flashing as his expansive smile emerged. Mr. Buckley's radiant face revealed something more than the intellectual gifts for which he is often parodied. 

WFB with Ronald Reagan, Wikipedia

Those signature facial expressions revealed an abundant joyfulness and love of life beaming straight through the camera lens and into American homes.

Does Mr. Rivera know something pivotal about Candidate McCain?

Geraldo Rivera, Wikipedia

Yesterday, my wife and I watched incredulously as Geraldo Rivera interviewed Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones on FOX. My first reaction was that I must have missed some bombshell discovery like a photograph of Senator McCain on a boat with an attractive woman in Bimini.

No we didn't miss anything like that because there has been zero evidence to support such a "smoking gun".  Why would Geraldo Rivera be interviewing these women about the McCain story in the New York Times?

Unless Mr. Rivera knows something that the rest of us do not, linking the stories of these women and their affairs with Bill Clinton to the current McCain story, is poor journalism.  And if Mr. Rivera does know something more, he ought to report it.  

It's over for Hillary Clinton

It's over for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

It doesn't matter what happens in Texas, Ohio, or elsewhere. Her presidential bid is finished. Forget your delegate counts (pledged or not) and your polling data.

Consider instead the NY Times blog today and posts under the story, "Clinton Sharpens Her Attack on Obama"

Try to find authors supporting Mrs. Clinton. Instead, overwhelmingly, you'll find items from Democrats, that sound like this one...

"I went to an ivy league college with a lot of people who remind me of Mrs. Clinton. Bright, articulate, driven, but with an off-putting sense of entitlement. A know-it-all attitude that brooks no dissent."

It's as if scores of the party faithful are now emboldened to express heretofore repressed criticisms of Ms. Clinton, because they no longer fear retribution. Maybe this is cathartic for them.  In any event, it is over.

Ann Coulter looks at the bright side

Ann Coulter, Wikipedia

Ms. Coulter is less than enchanted with John McCain's candidacy.  Nonetheless, I suspect that Ms. Coulter and an overwhelming majority of Republicans would prefer Sen. McCain over Hillary Clinton.

Nonetheless at a recent outing, after contemplating a question from an audience member as to whether there could be any positive aspect associated with both Clintons returning to the White House, Ms. Coulter replied calmly with a smile,

"At least we'd get the silverware back."

Hilarious!

Reflections on a summit for prosperity

Yesterday on a snowy, wet Saturday, the Wisconsin Chapter of Americans For Prosperity (AFP) held its "Defending the American Dream Summit" in Pewaukee and attendees listened to speeches from Dinesh D'Souza, Steve Moore and local county Sheriff David Clark.

Attendees also witnessed a color guard, a stirring video of the late Ray Charles singing "America The Beautiful" and a film that celebrated the life and legacy of President Ronald Reagan. There was much more. If AFP hadn't delivered quality, I wouldn't have stuck around for 8 hours.  Other items from my notepad:

Wisconsin Attorney General, J.B. Van Hollen made a notable observation about Thomas Jefferson's seminal phrase in the Declaration of Independence "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".  Mr. Van Hollen noted that unfortunately, many people in our nation have misconstrued Jefferson's intent to justify an expectation for government entitlements. Van Hollen notes, that Jefferson never envisioned life, liberty and the guarantee of happiness.  Rather, the founding idea was to help people by removing obstacles, by protecting them and by giving them a fair chance, but not through guaranteed taxpayer sponsorship.

Todd Berry of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance gave a sober, tightly-constructed review of Wisconsin's fiscal mess and the accounting chicanery used to screen out our "structural deficit." Republicans are not without blame as significant red ink extends back to the Thompson administration. 

Perhaps because Mr. Berry's group is nonpartisan, he chose not to identify more recent causes of our fiscal morass. Mr. Berry said "we" created off-the-books debt by issuing bonds to fund transportation projects. Yet, the last mega-hit to the transportation account was delivered two budget cycles ago -- compliments of Governor Jim Doyle and his "Frankenstein veto" when he transferred $400 million to public education funding.  That move was not authorized by the legislature and of course it was not a "we" -- it was a "him".

NOW, that's an outrage

I never thought I'd find myself on the same side of anything as Ted Kennedy -- until NOW.  A press release from The New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) has attacked Senator Ted Kennedy for endorsing Barack Obama. 

The chapter has called the Senator's action, the "ultimate betrayal" since apparently, a vote for anyone but Hillary is beyond their sensibilities.

National Organization For Women, public logo

In fairness, the NOW national organization has officially disavowed this insipid press release, but even that might not blunt the near-term reputation damage -- compliments of its New York chapter.