LEAVWORLD: GRAFFITI POLITTI

I dislike Hugo Cavez at least half as much as his ex-wife does, but only because I don't know him, personally! From John Fund, at the WSJ op-ed page : Now Mr. Chávez has trouble on the domestic front. Marisabel Rodríguez, the former first lady of Venezuela whom Mr. Chávez divorced in 2004, announced she will run for mayor of one of Venezuela's most important cities in November local elections. She will run as an opposition candidate because she wants to "change the face and way of doing politics in this city and this country," she told reporters. The candidacy of Ms. Rodríguez, a public relations executive, will no doubt revive stories about the couple's messy divorce. She is apparently a past master at psychological warfare against her ex-husband. "Marisabel doesn't hesitate to talk about Chávez on TV while holding their daughter, and that is the kind of tactic the opposition likes because to fight a media figure like Chávez you need to shock people in s...

Will Obama's Chicago past come back to haunt him? That's the question posed by John Fund, in the WSJ Political Diary . Mr. Obama was on shakier ground when he insisted that none of the burgeoning scandals in Illinois politics have anything to do with him. In recent days, top Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko was convicted on influence peddling charges and Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich is facing possible impeachment hearings in the Illinois legislature over Rezko-related scandals. "You will recall that for my entire political career here, I was not the endorsed candidate of any political organization here," Mr. Obama told Chicago reporters. "My reputation in Springfield [as a state legislator] was as an independent. There is no doubt I had friends and continue to have friends who come out of the more traditional school of Chicago politics but that's not what launched my political career and that's not what I've ever depended on to get elected, and I wo...

The AP is at it again. These people want to charge bloggers for reprinting stuff like this? Give me a break, man! Here's a link to "The Sky Is Falling Down," by two very talented individuals employed by the AP. Okay, the actual title is "Everything seemingly is spinning out of control," and the individuals aren't very talented, except as liberal propagandists. Read it and weep, or laugh. Just a quick thought.

Will the windfall profits tax bring the price of gas down one cent? No. Will drilling in ANWR lower gas prices tomorrow? No. Can we have efficient alternative fuels at a cheaper cost than gas, any time soon? No. Will cutting down on our driving, and buying more fuel efficient cars bring down gas prices now? No. Whenever I hear "We can't drill our way out of this problem," I have three replies: "We can't conserve, alternate, or tax our way out of it, either." None of these will lower gas prices for years. So next time anyone says "that won't bring gas prices down one cent," remember that neither will any solution they have, in the near term. The fact is that we need a combination of increased domestic oil production and refining capacity, as we encourage promising alternative fuels. Conservation should be encouraged, and financially incentivized, when possible. There has to be a real compromise for all of these long-term measures to pass. Anythi...

It's high time someone called the Dems on their committment to education reform. Two examples are school vouchers and charter schools. Both have been successful, and both are overwhelmingly opposed by Democrats. The WSJ has a few interesting pieces on these programs, and how the Dems are trying to kill them, regardless of their real benefit to the children that use them. James Taranto's Best of the Web Today column cites Obama's defense of his opposition to vouchers, from an ABC News interview, and William McGurn's Main Street column cites Elanor Holmes Norton promising to cut off funding to the DC voucher program. And on the same day that he was extolling the need to shake up the "status quo" in education, Obama also defended his opposition to school vouchers. "We don't have enough slots for every child to go into a parochial school or a private school. And what you would see is a huge drain of resources out of the public schools," Obama s...

BUFFY, the Cosmic Kitty, insisted I give a shout- out to The Conservative Cat blog. Who am I to argue?

Here's a list of reasons I don't want to vote for Sen. McCain: His anti-American "campaign finance reform" law, which flies in the face of the first amendment. His position on illegal immigration. I don't buy his "conversion" on this issue, or his promises of securing the Mexican border first. He's buying into the whole "man-made global warming" scheme, and thinks the US government can alter it, if it was true. He really doesn't understand economics. If he did, he would've supported Bush's tax cuts from the "get-go." I believe he won't let them expire, but he may be open to other, brand new tax increases. I worry that his years of Senate experience, "reaching out" to, and "compromising" with liberals on the above issues, among others, will carry over into his Presidency. He may get their support for his foreign policy (which I generally agree with) by giving the libs free reign over domestic iss...

I'll gladly shill for Newt Gingrich on this one. Please sign this petition, because someone has to put real political pressure on our representatives to drill for domestic oil. Your signature can help Mr. Gingrich's effort to do this. Go to the link in the title to sign. DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW, PAY LESS