US Senate Archieves

not a good link

I became concerned that I don't know the source of the Barbra Boxer comments on the John Mark Renolds site. Especialy the "(From a secret source following the hearings.)" comment, This link provides comments of record.

"The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I compliment my colleagues on both sides
of the aisle for a very good and thoughtful debate today on this
particular nominee.
I come to the Senate today to report and inform my colleagues on the
Secretary of State confirmation hearings held in the Foreign Relations
Committee last week."


" By now, everyone knows I posed some very direct questions to Dr. Rice
about her statements leading up to the Iraqi war and beyond. As
National Security Adviser, Dr. Rice gave confidential advice to the
President regarding the war in Iraq. She also made the case for the war
in Iraq to the American people through hours of television appearances
and commentary."



" My questions, every one of them, revolved around her own words. As a
result of my questions and comments at the hearing, I have been hailed
as both a hero and a petty person. I have been called both courageous
and partisan. I have been very surprised at this response. Tens of
thousands of people signed a petition asking me to hold Dr. Rice
accountable for her past statements.
The reason I am so surprised at this reaction is that I believe I am
doing my job. It is as simple at that. I am on the Foreign Relations
Committee. This is a very high profile nominee. This is a Secretary of
State nomination in a time of war. My constituents want me to be
thorough. They want me to exercise the appropriate role of a Senator.
Let's look for a moment at what that role is, how it was defined by
our Founding Fathers. Article II, section 2, clause 2, of the
Constitution, which I have sworn to uphold, says the President:

shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all
other officers of the United States, whose appointments are
not herein otherwise provided for.

The Cabinet is covered in Article II, section 2, clause 2, of the
U.S. Constitution.
Now, if you read this, it does not say anywhere in here that the
President shall nominate and the Senate shall confirm. It says the
President ``shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of
the Senate'' shall make the appointments."

" It also doesn't say anywhere in the Constitution that the only reason
for a Senator to vote no on a Presidential nominee is because of some
personal or legal impediment of that nominee. It leaves the door open.
Senators have to ponder each and every one of these nominations. It is
very rare that I step forward to oppose one. I have opposed just a
couple. I have approved hundreds.

"
This is a continuation of the Juditial Appointments arguments. Boxer is very partisan and Should be the target of political retrobution. The senate should take full responsibility for the Iraq war. They passed the resolutions. If they think they were lied too, they have a resonsibility to know independent of what they have been told by the Executive branch.

The Barbra Boxer from the John Mark Renolds is clearly a dim bulb. From reading her testimony you get that flavor also.

"Mrs. BOXER. Here is the thing. Dr. Rice told the American people that
there were strong ties between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Osama bin
Laden and al-Qaida. These are her words:

We clearly know that there were in the past and have been
contacts between senior Iraqi officials and members of al-
Qaeda going back for actually quite a long time.
And there are some al-Qaeda personnel who found refuge in
Baghdad.

Now, I want to show a map that the State Department put out, and it
was accompanied by a letter from President Bush, a month after 9/11.
Here is the map. The red indicates where there are al-Qaida cells.
Unfortunately, we notice the United States is red. That is why we have
to win this war. This is the list where al-Qaida or affiliated groups
have operated, and this is a month after 9/11, put out by this
administration. No Iraq. So how do you then go on television, look the
American people in the eye, and tell them that in fact--and I will go
back to her quote again:"

Maybe the problem is that the terrorist groups are not considered operating when in a sponsering country. The maps of comunist groups don't include red china or the USSR,

Barbra Boxer exposed by John Mark Reynolds

It is amazing that a person like Barbra Boxer can think herself superior to anyone. "Think of all the historic tragedies that could have been averted if people followed the Boxer Doctrine in decision making." It turns out this is just to be always right. This is delusional. Thanks to Hugh Hewitt for refering to John Mark Reynolds.

Nicholas D. Kristof: On leaving slavery behind

The story concerning the buying of a slave to free her also shows the fallacy of multiculturalism. The prejudice causing girls to be sold into slaver also prevented her from establishing a business. Her family stole from her because they felt there status enabled them to take her possessions.

I a larger scope, liberals have no respect for property rights. They feel the greater good requires them to take from the rich to give to the poor. In the same way this prevents a needed service from being established such as the girl was doing with her shop. The liberal philosophy takes needed resources from those how would make something of them, and gives them to those without the motivation to provide for themselves.

The story mentions the family starving but I suspect they may have been merely hungry. In any case they would starve eventually if they had no better way to raise money than sell there children.

President Sworn-In to Second Term

The President is rightfully proud of the job he has done in the last four years and the courage to have large ideas not only for the next four years but for the next forty years. The Democrats had forty years to do there thing, and now the President and the Republicans will have a chance to fundamentally change the way America does business.

" After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire." Democrats are the leftist remnant of international communism. Them and the former allied in Europe. In addition to the ship wreak of communism there is the little shipwreak of failed social programs. In former times, these failures could be ignored, but now with demands on the resources of the country, those that don't work need to go.

“We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. “This flies in the face of the liberal critics who say the President is arrogant and untruthful. The problem is that liberals have an alternate reality. It is a reality where they are the smartest on the planet, where they are the natural rulers. Where there intelligence is granted to them by liberal consensus as a reward for them expressing the approved ideas. To deny thier world view is to be a liar. They hate George W. Bush because he has a different world view, and when tested, his is correct while theirs is flawed. They have lost power, lost position, and even their perceived intelligence. Reality is harsh.

" So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world." This the rulers of the last 40 years would consider overreaching since they were not successful in their goals.

" My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm." The liberals will hate this because they don't believe it is possible. They prefer to fail rather than upset the world leaders who have a vested interest in the status quo.

" The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: 'Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it.'" Like the "bring it on" quote that liberals love to hate, this is bound to upset the better-red-than-dead liberal leaders. George Bush is dangerous, they say, And they are right to the extent their own activities which perpetuate the hatred and distrust in this country on which they hope to regain power are likely to be curtailed.

Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

There is the constant drumbeat that the war in Iraq is only about Weapons of Mass Destruction. This is simply not true as shown here. In spite of this the liberal press repeats the lie hoping it will be accepted as truth.

Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989

It is interesting to see the times that previous presidents have made reference to God in addressing the nation. Lincoln says"Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged."

How appropriate to today’s problems and today’s religious debate. This speaks both to the criticism of the Democrats that the Republicans went into Iraq with insufficient force. It also speaks to the Democrat’s complaining that if the war is not won and the peace cleaned up in a matter of months the country is in a quagmire.

A lesson in arguing

Wk13_Reasoning.pdf (application/pdf Object)
The above is a discussion of logic and reasoning. I am often mistified how two more or less reasonable people can arrive at such different conclusions starting with the same data. Slide 8 in the above discusses fallatious arguments and the basics of argument. It points out that it is necessary to formulate the premises the argument is based on. Assuming both paries are seeking truth, and not just to win, proper formulation of the argument will assist both parties in refining their arguments and will assist in winning future arguments.

why Thomas L. Friedman is wrong

• Thomas L. Friedman: Iraq vote only way to shake out tribal strife

I find the assumptions made by this and other liberals to be at the basis of the continuing disagreement over Iraq. He says:"Let me explain: None of these Arab countries - Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia - is based on voluntary social contracts between the citizens inside their borders." Nor was that of the Americas prior to the United States. Nor is it now with respect to the Democrate party. Nor was it invisioned that the multiple factions in the united states would ever agree on how things should be done.

This is clearly a racist statement. This is Arabs are incapable of self government. Why don't we just say that all countries should be ruled by the Friedman brand of liberal princes.

He then says" What the Bush team has done in Iraq, by ousting Saddam, was not to "liberate" the country ". Why is it that we need to do good for Iraq when we went to war to punish them for attacking the united states. Wouldn't a situation which destroyed all of the countries mentioned fit US interests as well as a Democratic Iraq? We need to destroy the Arab extremists who daily pledge to destroy us. Fortunately, a Democratic Iraq would do that, but a chaotic Iraq could do so as well .

" America cannot win that war", shades of Viet Nam- get over it.