Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Interesting: Hillary Ineligible for Cabinet Post?

It seems eligibility is in the news today. Via Instapundit, I read two articles, one at DailyKos and one at The Volokh conspiracy, regarding Hillary Clinton's eligibility to serve as Secretary of State for the Obama administration. My reading of the story online indicates the DailyKos blog came first.

The source of the issue is something called the Emoluments Clause, which is a clause in the Constitution that essentially states that, while a person is serving a term of office to which they were elected, he or she may not be appointed to any civil office which was newly created, or for which the compensation was increased in that same term. So because there was a pay raise given to the position of Secretary of State during Senator Clinton's current term, she is ineligible for appointment to this office. The wording: "No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office."

That's not all, either. This is not, apparently, the first time the issue has come up. Multiple examples are available at the sources above, but one in particular would be pertinent in the case of Hillary. When President Nixon wanted Sen. William Saxbe for his Attorney General, he had Congress reduce the wage, which had been increased and triggered the clause, in order to get around the restriction. The maneuver has been dubbed the "Saxbe fix".
 
 
Link: Calabe Howe

Monday, November 24, 2008

SC To Have Sales Tax Free Holiday For Gun Sales

We should do this in our state!

Link: Columbia, SC—Most people are probably unaware of it, but on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, handguns, rifles and shotguns will be sales tax free in South Carolina. State lawmakers passed a bill in June that includes the sales tax holiday on firearms. They called it the Second Amendment Recognition Act.

Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Greenwood, was the sponsor of the original bill. He said he got the idea after talking to the owners of a hunting outfitters shop in Clinton about the late summer sales tax holiday for back-to-school supplies and clothing. The store owners said they could use the stimulus, too. "It was to help dealers," Rep. Pitts says. "Another point was to bring recognition to the 2nd Amendment."

Kent Parsons, manager of Barron's Outfitters hunting and fishing store in Columbia, says the days after Thanksgiving are typically busy sales days anyway. He's hoping that even more people than usual will be buying shotguns and rifles from his store since they'll be sales tax free. Sales tax will still be charged on ammunition and accessories.

Global Socialists Toast Victory over America

"...the growing anger over the endless series of taxpayer bailouts is getting louder and louder."

The American people may be losing their jobs and savings, but on Friday night, on the eve of the international financial summit, they provided President Bush and other G20 leaders a lavish banquet that included $300-a-bottle wine, Vermont Brie, eggplant fondue, and rack of lamb. Details of the "culinary delights" and "sumptuous feast" provided to the politicians who departed their black limousines were included in wire service stories. They were toasting the demise of America as a global economic and military superpower and planning to loot another trillion dollars from U.S. taxpayers. 
 

 

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Mythical Creatures

Quote from American Thinker:
 
I'm still searching for the mythical creature that is the "financially conservative, socially liberal" politician.  In virtually every case, the pro-abortion or pro-gay marriage politician is the first to vote against a tax cut, the first to vote for more spending and quick to compromise principles on any issue there is.
 
Using the National Journal's ratings of Senators in 2007 , the correlation coefficient between "economic" scores and "social" scores is 90%.  That means they almost always go together; financial conservatives are social conservatives and vice versa.   Every Senator scoring above 60 in economic issues, scored above 50 in social ones.  Every Senator scoring below 40 in economic issues, scored below 50 in social ones.  If there is such an animal as a "financial conservative, social liberal", it does not exist in the US Senate.
 

Monday, November 17, 2008

Shopping, Got Deer?

Fun picture from South Carolina
 

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Prescott, AZ -- Midnight McCain Rally (11/3/08)

I arrived early to the historic place where Barry Goldwater announced his presidential candidacy -- the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, AZ. (The clock shows 6:00)


The advance crews were setting up for the midnight McCain speech. (Note the Boy Scout!)


Security then cleared everyone out the area until 9:00 pm to get the crowd through metal detectors.

I met some new friends and we passed the time at the local brew pub ...


We joined the big line to pass security and get into the rally. Some veterans were walking around the crowd with US and P.O.W. flags. The crowd rewarded them gratefully with cheers of support.

We were treated to one of the local Prescott bands performing in the gazebo.


The rally got going. The state dignitaries arrived. Pictured in the center is Cong. Duncan Hunter, who might become the Sec. of Defense in a McCain administration. Next to him is GOP House candidate Sydney Hays, a great American; Cong. Trent Franks, another great American; Cong. Jeff Flake came a bit later as did Cong. John Shaddag and Sen. Joe Lieberman!


Hank Williams Jr. performed some of his hits. I really howled when he sang his McCain-Palin adaptation of "Family Tradition." The first part of the new lyrics blasts the liberal news media, and those phonies deserve it. Sell all your stock in the liberal media! (Apologies for the picture quality. I was behind a tree and the light was funky for my little digital.)

And, of course, there is the obligatory idiot (with the Nobama T-shirt) yelling "Keep the White House white." Never give this jerk a job. That is my eye in the lower right. Other than the dingbat, the crowd very large and excited to be part of this historic event.

Then around 12:30 a.m. John McCain and his wife, Cindy, spoke to the crowd. The teleprompters were taken down just before he entered the stage. I imagine he has the stump speech down pat by now.

Fortunately, my fellow FReeper SparkyBass posted this photo of McCain, et. al on freerepublic.com. I poached and posted it here since my pictures were not as good as his. Interesting that we both were near and around the same place at the rally and we've never met. Anyway, thanks SparkyBass!

Here is another example of how close-knit our country is ... even with over 300 million people. My new friend pictured here came to the rally in large part because her uncle served with John McCain while they were POW's. Her uncle was one of our soldiers who didn't make it back.


Finally, to complete the story of the Midnight McCain Rally in Prescott, AZ; I asked permission to photograph the local Obamabots. They agreed and we wished each other good luck in the election.


It is rather odd to me that the Obamabots sprinkle skull images on their attire. They appear to be the peaceful culture of death; which, I believe, is reflective of the historic socialists who love you until you individually step out of line.

God Bless the USA!