Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Of John Kerry And "Real Men"

My US Senator, John Kerry, said today that Republicans are afraid to debate "real men" like himself on the issues of Iraq, terrorism, etc.

What an interesting comment. For nearly a year now, I've been hosting a radio talk show here on 96.9 FM TALK in Boston. My producer has repeatedly called Sen. Kerry's office and requested that he join me for an on-air conversation--debate, if you will--on various topics of the day, including I'm sure, Iraq and terrorism.

Sen. Kerry has refused every invitation without explanation.

96.9 FM TALK is a successful FM talk station in Boston, not Boise. The vast majority of our listeners are John Kerry's constituents (we also reach NH and RI). And while I'm not a representative of the GOP, I did spend six years working on Republican political campaigns. I also happen to think John Kerry is wrong on almost every issue, including terrorism and the Middle East.

But John "Real Man" Kerry won't even debate ME? Some "real man."

Senator Kerry, I'll be on the air every day this week. As usual. There is an open invitation for you, sir, to join me any day, any time I'm on the air. As usual. All you have to do is call. Your press flak has the number. I know he does because we've left it with your office repeatedly.

Will you make the call this time, Senator? No, you won't. As usual.

I guess a "real man" really is hard to find.

Happy Halloween!

"Madame Speaker?"
Now THAT'S scary!

"A Botched Joke"

I couldn't agree more.

Monday, October 30, 2006

All Of These Things Are Just Like The Other

What two things do the following all have in common:

Deval Patrick
Tim Murray
Martha Coakley
William Galvin
Timothy Cahill
Joe DeNucci
Martha Coakley
Marian Walsh
Pam Richardson
Robert O'Leary
Rachel Kaprielian
Ted Kennedy
William D. Delahunt
John F. Tierney
Stephen F. Lynch
John W. Olver
Michael E. Capuano


They've all been endorsed by the Boston Globe. And they're all (prepare to be shocked!)...Democrats.

Now, let's go to the list of Republican candidates for any office endorsed by the Boston Globe in the upcoming election.

...
...
...

Exactly. Not one.

Ah, but it's sheer coincidence, Michael! There just aren't any good Republican candidates this year.

OK, then what about 2002? How many Republicans for major offices did the Globe endorse?

...

OK, then what about 2000? Surely, in the past six years, the Boston Globe has given its endorsement to at least ONE Republican candidate--right? Just one?

The Globe has become so pathetically and openly partisan that, in at least one endorsement this year, they don't even MENTION the name of the Republican in the race. How sad is that?

Which is why, as of today, New England's Newspaper Of (Broken) Record is officially re-named:

The Boston Globe-Democrat.

There's nothing wrong with being partisan. But there's a lot wrong with pretending you aren't. UPDATE: The New York Times, which owns the Boston Globe-Democrat, has issued all of its endorsements this year and guess how many non-Democrats they're backing?

Ben Hearts Deval

Ah, true love. He's been dissed by Deval Patrick (who went so far as to say that he still belongs in prison), but Ben LaGuer is still givin' it up for his former penpal:

As the Kerry Healey campaign continues to run smear and fear ads featuring me, I am hopeful that the people of Massachusetts will choose a Governor based on real issues that affect their daily lives. I only with that Republicans and Democrats could come together and act for the greater and common good of all people.
Notice that LaGuer is smart enough not the write out the actual statement "Please vote Deval Patrick." But as every lover knows, the truest words are often left unspoken.

Comrade Kennedy Rats Out the USA

A powerful US Senator is secretly communicating with America's military enemies. The Senator offers the enemy his political help in defeating America's defense plans and forwarding the enemy's objectives. He also suggests that the enemy's actions be coordinated (secretly, of course) with the Senator's in time with upcoming American elections. He does all this WHILE we are at war, while our soldiers are in harm's way and while every single American lives under direct threat of military assault from the very government the Senator is helping.

Is this news? Not at the Boston Globe, it's not. Especially when the enemy is the Soviet Empire, the American president is Ronald Reagan, and the US Senator violating his oath of office and betraying his nation is Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Kremlin).

If you haven't seen the media coverage of Sen. Kennedy's secret communications with Yuri Andropov in 1983...well, you must be a Boston Globe reader. Don't bother trying to justify the Globe's decision to completely ignore this story. It's the Globe. It long ago abandoned any pretense of objective journalism, and now contents itself to cheerleading for vacuous liberals and denouncing any journalism that upsets Islamists.

However, even the Kool-Aid drinkers at the Globe have to be feeling a faint spasm of guilt over ignoring a story about a local US Senator and his borderline treasonous activity on behalf of a Communist empire that, at the time, held 100 million people against their will. Secret letters to the leader of France about Merlot production would be bad enough. But Sen. Kennedy's collusion to advance a government of gulags against the defense of America is astoundingly offensive.

Isn't it? Or is the Globe's motto really "Any enemy of America is my friend?"

Friday, October 27, 2006

Dick Cheney Goes Off The Boards

One of the most annoying characteristics of the bumbling Bushies is how they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. When Dick Cheney made the mistake of an oblique reference to waterboarding terrorists ("dunk in the water"), Team Bush reacted in typical fashion--implausible denial.

Vice Presidents shouldn't be making comments about any interrogation techniques America might use on captured, high-value terrorists, but once he let it slip, why the denial? Why not come out and say what most Americans want you to say, namely that the temporary discomfort of waterboarding is nothing compared to the deaths that have ALREADY been prevented by using the technique on Khalid Sheik Mohammad (among others).

I'd love for Sen. McCain to explain to me why this technique--which we use on some of our own soldiers as part of their training--should not be used on an Osama or a KSM when we've captured them. I'd love for him to say that, when push comes to shove (or in McCain's coercive-interrogation-free world, when "finger poking" comes to "belly slapping"), that he'd rather see the next WTC fall than see a terrorist waterboarded.

Then again, a lot of people would love to hear a coherent explanation of Sen. McCain's "torture is always wrong...except when it's not" position. Not gonna happen.

But that's no excuse for the Bushies. Get tough, Dick, and stand up for the good guys. It's not just the right thing to do, it's also politically smart.

No wonder the Bushies won't do it.

UPDATE: This is an excellent overview of the issue of waterboarding and coercive interrogation.

Noonan: Why Republicans Deserve To Lose

Republicans, most of whom are conservative in at least general ways, and who endure the disadvantages of being conservative because they actually believe in ideas, in philosophy, in an understanding of the relation of man and the state, are still somewhat concussed. The conservative tradition on foreign affairs is prudent realism; the conservative position on borders is that they must be governed; the conservative position on high spending is that it is obnoxious and generationally irresponsible. Etc.

This is not how Mr. Bush has governed. And so in the base today personal loyalty, and affection, bumps up against intellectual unease.


--Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal today.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

"No, I Represent The People. You Represent The Media"

Governor Mitt Romney delivers a heapin' helping of the Natural Truth to a pompous, deluded, self-important member of the Boston media.

It's hilarious.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The Natural Truth About The Healey For Governor Campaign

Listen Early and Often!

I'm filling in for Jay Severin this afternoon from 3-7pm and then....

Live debate reax starting at 8pm!

So make plans now to join me on air either during your drive home or after you watch the debate on Channel 4.

Be there!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Healey's Only Hope: Dead Girl or a Live Boy.

The saying, attributed to Edwin Edwards of Louisiana but which actually pre-dates him in southern politics, is this "The only way I can lose this election is if they catch me with a dead girl or a live boy."

Deval Patrick has reached the "dead girl/live boy" stage of this campaign. Unless there is some unforseeable political earthquake, Deval Patrick will be Massachusetts' first Democratic governor in 16 years. Period. End of story.

Why is this race officially over? Here's the race by the numbers:

1- Negative Ads. Voters HATE negative ads!!! Voters never support people who use them, they're scary and make me hide under the bed until they go ......(forehead smack). Sorry about that, I was channeling Andy Hiller.

The REAL Reasons The Massachusetts Governor's Race Is Over.

1-- 25%: Deval Patrick's lead over Kerry Healey in the latest Survey USA poll.

2-- 27%: Deval Patrick's lead over Kerry Healey in the latest Suffolk University poll.

3-- 3-1: The ratio of registered Democrats to Republicans in Massachusetts.

4-- 54-41%: The Democrats/Republicans numbers in the latest generic poll on which party Americans would like to see in control of government.

5-- 69%: The number of Massachusetts voters surveyed who say Deval Patrick will raise taxes as governor, in the same poll that gives him 53% of the vote.

6-- Healey 59%, Patrick 26%: The percent of voters answering "yes" when asked if the candidate would be "soft on crime."

7-- 1/2: The share of voters who are women.

8-- 1.2%: The share of women who actually like Kerry Healey. (This number is a rough estimate.)

9-- 1: The number of Bechtel Parsons Brinkerhoff employees still working on the Big Dig under Romney/Healey's watch to kill her campaign.

10-- 0. The number of people who are voting for Deval Patrick because of what he will actually do when he becomes governor.

MA State Sen. Marian Walsh Admits It On The Radio**: "I Smoke Pot!"

The ONLY debate between the candidates in the Suffolk-Norfolk State Senate District took place on my radio show Tuesday night, and thanks to an open and honest discussion between incumbent Sen. Marian Walsh and her opponent, Doug Obey, the voters now know that:

Doug Obey will not vote to raise your taxes. Sen. Walsh announced* Tuesday night that she will.

Doug Obey does not believe that illegal immigrants should have the same rights as American citizens. Marian Walsh pledged* her support for immediately giving illegal immigrants all the rights of citizenship.

Doug Obey believes the people should have the right to vote on issues like taxes and marriage. Sen. Marian Walsh told us* she doesn't support democracy.

And finally, Sen. Marian Walsh proudly acknowledged* that she currently smokes pot. Doug Obey doesn't.

I asked the tough questions and we got direct answers from the two candidates. Where else is that happening in the Boston media?

So if you want an admitted* pot-smoking, tax-raiser who doesn't believe in democracy for Americans but supports full citizenship rights for illegal immigrants, vote to re-elect Sen. Marian Walsh!

If you don't, you might consider supporting Doug Obey.

*(Sen. Marian Walsh's answers were all provided by her officially designated representative in the debate, the Magic 8-Ball.)

Buy This Book. NOW.


America Alone by Mark Steyn is probably the most important book you'll read this year. The fact that it's also one of the funniest and most enjoyable to read is a happy coincidence.

The reason I say to read it right now, as opposed to saving it for a quiet weekend in front of the fire, is because Steyn's book is the perfect anecdote to the nitwits currently gloating over the bad news and dead bodies in Iraq.

Steyn lays out how hopeless the "let's hide under the bed and wait for the Islamists to go away" strategy is. Read this book, and you'll realize just how much we have to lose in Iraq.

It's a lot more than a GOP election.

Don't Miss The Conservative Cage Match...TONIGHT!

Are you ready to RRRRRRUUUMMMMMMMMBLE? Live, tonight, on the Michael Graham Show, it's the Right-Wing Rumble you've been waiting for!

In one corner, it's Jonah "Go For The Throat" Goldberg.

In the other, it's Jeff "The Jewish Guy Who's Really Tough In A Fight But I Can't Think Of A Word That Starts With 'J'" Jacoby.

And the grudge match comes to your radio...tonight!

Jonah Goldberg wrote a column calling the invasion of Iraq a "worthy mistake." Jeff Jacoby responded with a column of his own, throwing down on "that pathetic, panty-wearing loser" Goldberg (OK, so I'm paraphrasing.)

Who will survive this Conservative Cage Match to the Death? Tune in tonight to find out!

Be there!

"Killed By Wishful Thinking"

Col. Ralph Peters' column today puts a name to the vague fear I've had about Iraq for months--namely that strategic errors in the execution of the Iraq occupation have rendered the country ungovernable for the moment:


The administration ignored an ironclad rule of conflict in failed societies: A fraction of 1 percent of the population, armed and determined, can destroy a fragile state. If you are not willing to kill that fraction of a percent, the remaining 99-plus percent will suffer terror, massacre and chaos.

Our weakness of will and wishful thinking made Iraq safe for our enemies. They can walk the streets unarmed. We can't.

We did the right and virtuous thing by deposing Saddam Hussein. There's no reason even now to regret that act. But history will condemn us - justly - for the moral cowardice we revealed after the fall of Baghdad: We would not kill the handful of men who needed killing. Now they've converted tens of thousands to their cult of violence.

Imagine how different the situation would be had our forces been allowed to plan for a military occupation with rational rules of engagement, if looters had been shot and if we had taken on the militias as they were forming. Had we occupied the Sunni Triangle with sufficient numbers of troops and had we killed the Shia provocateur Muqtada al-Sadr as he began assassinating peaceful rivals in mid-2003, Iraq would've had a chance.

Now it's too late. Too late for more troops. Too late for the massive crackdown that would be required. Too late to restore the rule of law after we enabled the spread of lawlessness. Too late for the average Iraqi to live in peace.

It's up to the Iraqis now. And they appear to be their own worst enemies.

This is the essence of my complaint about the Bush Administration: Good idea, lousy execution. Iraq was the right place to start the process of transforming the Middle East, the right place to be the "midwife of democracy," as one Middle eastern opponent of Bush's Iraq policy grudgingly conceded last year.

But doing the right thing isn't the same as doing the thing right. We have clearly screwed the pooch in Iraq, and what frustrates me is that it appears we could have done it right. Some argue that Iraq wasn't unwinnable, but Col. Peters points out the other decisions that could have been made.

Imagine if we had made maintaining order our number one priority after taking Iraq. Imagine if we'd said a week after toppling Saddam: "Hey, Iraqis--we know you hate us and you're going to hate us no matter what. We don't care, because we know that if we can get you on the path of democracy, 20 years from now you'll never remember all the pain and unavoidable missteps of a military occupation. So here's the deal: We're going to kick ass, we're going to use violence and we're not going to be overly careful about it, because we want to get out ASAP and beating down everyone who even looks at us cross-eyed today is the best way for us to be out of here tomorrow. So grab your ankles and we'll get this over with as fast as we can."

People who are angry over Bush and the WMDs are missing the point entirely. Everyone made that mistake, and it was the right mistake to make. (The alternative--we do nothing about Saddam and a couple of Iraqi anthrax bombs go off on the NYC subway--was the unacceptable mistake)

What we should be angry about is that this war has gone so badly and NOBODY has been fired. That we are just now talking about "reviewing our strategy," when we should have done so after the riots in Baghdad, or after the first Fallujah, or after al-Sadr arose as a political force.

There is no substitute for victory. President Bush's unforgivable failure is his inability to understand that simple truth.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Speaking Of Great Books


My good friend Melanie Morgan's new book is out. American Mourning isn't the usual "conservative vs. liberal" debate book, though in its own way it makes some very powerful arguments. However, it makes them by telling the story of how two different families reacted to the battlefield deaths of a son.


You've probably heard about how Cindy Sheehan responded to the death of her son, Casey. But do you know about Casey's friend Justin and how his dad Joe responded to Justin's death?

Two brave young men. Two tragic deaths. Two very different--and very telling--responses.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Quick Question For Patrick Supporters

Has crime in Massachusetts gone up or down since Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey took office? Take your time....
Think about it....
Are you sure....

Here's the answer, according to the FBI:

Year Crime Index (per 100,000 citizens)
2002 484.9
2003 473.1
2004 458.8
2005 456.9

Anybody notice a trend here?

Tagged Out!

An Attleboro mom and 96.9 FM TALK listener, Kim Askew, has started a website to take on the wimps and nanny-staters who have banned "tag, touch football and all unsupervised running games" from her local elementary school.

The website is called Dontbagtag.com. Tomorrow (Saturday) from 10am-noon, she'll be at Willette Elementary School with petitions calling on the school system to pull their head out of their aspirations and allow a return of common sense.

Her efforts, first featured on our show, are starting to get media attention and it appears the bureaucratic bozos may be backing down.

If so, it's yet another victory for the "Natural Truth."

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Democrats Are Promising To "Turn This Economy Around!"

I can't think of a better reason to vote against them.

As George Will points out today:

Nancy Pelosi vows that if Democrats capture Congress they will "jump-start our economy." A "jump-start " is administered to a stalled vehicle. But since the Bush tax cuts went into effect in 2003, the economy's growth rate (3.5 percent)
has been better than the average for the 1980s (3.1) and 1990s (3.3). Today's
unemployment rate (4.6 percent) is lower than the average for the 1990s (5.8) --
lower, in fact, than the average for the last 40 years (6.0). Some stall.

Will also quotes from an excellent study by the American Enterprise Institute about the real-life wealth being enjoyed by the middle class. Despite the whining of NYTimes pinheads that the only people doing well are the super-rich, AEI shows that the consumption rate--the buying of stuff we want, like clothes, cars, meals, etc--has doubled for the middle class since the early 1990s.

We're working harder, yes. And we' re enjoying it more, too. More people doing more work and more fun?

No wonder Democrats hate this economy.

Breaking The Law? No Problem. Noticing That Someone's Breaking The Law? Negative Campaigning.

That seems to be the message of this bizarre column by the frequently-befuddled Joan Venocchi.

She's outraged that the Sexual Offender's Registry Board confirmed to a competing newspaper that Deval Patrick's brother-in-law (a convicted rapist living in Milton) was sent a letter instructing him to register as a sex offender.

"The outing of Deval Patrick's brother-in-law as a convicted sex offender is more than dirty politics. It also demonstrates outrageous contempt for the law, compliments of the Romney-Healey administration," Venocchi complains.

Uh, OK. So you're saying that letting people know there's an unregistered sex offender living in their neighborhood is a BAD thing, Joan?

No, no, that's not what she's saying. Her complaint is that Patrick's brother-in-law is entitled to a series of hearings and reviews, if he wants them, before his name goes on the list. But he didn't get those hearings, Venocchi argues, because he was outed by the evil Romney/Healey regime! Have they no respect for the law?

Uh, OK again. But isn't the reason he didn't get those hearings because he didn't do what he was supposed to when he moved to Milton and register as a sex offender? Didn't he choose instead to break the law and live in Milton for nine years without registering? And what kind of "respect for the law" was Deval Patrick displaying when he knew a sex offender was illegally residing in Milton and did nothing about it?

There are plenty of bad guys in this story, Joan. But as long as those bad guys are Deval Patrick and his brother-in-law, I guess we won't be reading about them in your column.

Deval Patrick Did NOT Call Ben Leguer "Thoughtful."

No, our future governor called the man who raped a woman for eight hours "thoughtful, insightful, eloquent, [and] humane." (emphasis added)

Just trying to protect Deval Patrick's reputation.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Come On, Get Heppe!

"It's a time when accidents can happen." That's the reason that Willett Elementary School principal Gaylene Heppe gives when asked why she has banned tag, touch football and all "chasing games" from her school in Attleboro, MA.

"Banning everything that creates the opportunity for accidents" seems like a bizarre standard to me, but who am I to disagree with a loony goverment-school bureaucrat? If she really means it, if she really believes banning tag at recess is a rational decision based on the "when accidents can happen" standard, then there's a lot more danger out there that good citizens must address.

Like eating. When is the ONLY time a child can accidentally choke to death on a piece of food? While eating. It's gotta be banned.

How about writing? That would involve a pencil--you know, a long, wooden stick sharpened to a razor point? Well, these death sticks have obviously gotta go, too.

Oh, and what school administator can, in good conscience, continue to allow the life-threatening danger our children are exposed to every time they climb into their parents' cars? Hundreds of children die every year in these killing machines. If we can't let kids run around a sandlot, we surely can't stand by and allow them to tempt fate hurtling down an asphalt strip at 70 mph in a metal can with 20 gallons of explosive fuel strapped to the chassis. It's an OUTRAGE!

Or at least, it's an outrage if one takes Ms. Heppe's argument seriously. As of this writing, the Attleboro school administration is doing just that.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Where's My Tax Cut, Mr. Patrick?

Our friend Barbara Anderson at Citizens for Limited Taxation asks Deval Patrick the key question--one he isn't being asked by the sycophants at the Boston Globe:

"My quarterly property tax of $864 is due on November 1. My total annual property tax on my five room house is $3,456. If you become governor, what will my property tax be next year at this time?

Great question, Barbara. And by asking it, she makes the key point. Deval Patrick has NO idea what tax rate her local town or city is going to impose. As governor, he will have no ability to control it. And if the past is any indication, local towns will raise local property taxes as high as Prop 2 1/2 will allow--no matter how much state money they receive.

So why does Deval Patrick keep saying he's going to cut out property taxes? How does he plan to do it? And even if he had a plan (which he doesn't), how would he and the legislature make it happen?

With all the whining "Dry Your Eyes" Duval is doing about the supposedly negative ads of Kerry Healy, he should probably spend some time on the common-sense questions of average citizens like Barbara Anderson.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Meter Maids Gone Mad!


With the city of Boston turning to high-tech parking meters, I hope we haven't seen the end of the professional meter maid...er, "parking enforcement officer," if for no other reason than these metering professionals have inspired some great art.

Don't believe me? You need to read "Violation: The Bitchings of a Boston Meter Maid" by Kelly Richardson. It's terrific! Hilarious, true and powerful. Loved it.

So feed that meter and pick up the book!

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Deval Patrick Says: Vote Early And Vote Often


OK, so as far as I know Mr. Patrick hasn't said those precise words. But his public policy position on voter fraud is clear and indisputable: Deval Patrick supports making it easier to commit voter fraud and opposes meaningful efforts to stop it.

In other words, if you want illegal immigrants voting in your next election--Deval Patrick is your man!

First, Patrick has already announced he wants Massachusetts to knowingly give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. These come in handy at polling places if someone mistakenly asks to see ID.

Second, Patrick wants to give illegal aliens government-subsidized housing. Given that all you need to bring to the polls when you vote the first time is a utility bill, Patrick is making sure they aren't turned away.

Then Patrick goes the next step. He opposes a law requiring voters to show a legal photo ID. With a state overrun by illegal aliens with drivers licenses, this would seem like the obvious, common-sense way to protect the ballot box. Deval Patrick says "no way."

It's the "No Illegal Voter Left Behind" Act.

By the way, the illegal immigrants and their advocates have figured this out. A group called ACORN has already endorsed Patrick for governor. Meanwhile some of ACORN's members are under investigation right now for illegally registering children, non-citizens and DEAD PEOPLE to vote. More significantly, ACORN has repeatedly engaged in voter fraud.

Why Would ANYONE Do Business In Massachusetts?

That was my reaction after reading the Tax Foundation's report on taxes and the business climate here in Massachusetts.

We have the 4th highest business income tax rate and the 2nd highest unemployment insurance tax in the entire country. Overall, Massachusetts is ranked 36th when it comes to a positive tax climate for business.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire is ranked....7th! And we wonder why businesses and families are fleeing Massachusetts?

Every voter in the upcoming election needs to ask themselves this question: Is Deval Patrick going to make this problem better, or worse? The answer is obvious.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The World Of Tomorrow...TODAY!


One of the most entertaining magazine articles I've read in a long time is actually fifty six years old. This piece from the February 1950 edition of Popular Mechanics predicts what life will be like in the year 2000.

It is amazing in what it gets wrong (we're all supposed to be commuting via personal helicopter) and what it gets right (shopping on TV). Here's a taste:

If old Mrs. Underwood, who lives around the corner from the Dobsons and who was born in 1920 insists on sleeping under an old-fashioned comforter instead of an aerogel blanket of glass puffed with air so that it is as light as thistledown, she must expect people to talk about her “queerness.”

So what would be more shocking to the folks at PM fifty years ago: That we aren't sleeping under our aerogel blankets of glass, or that the word "queerness" is more commonly used to describe congressmen than grandmothers?

Thurston Howell III DOESN'T Want Your Charity In Swellesley


At least, that's the message the charitable group "Home for Little Wanderers" got when they tried to set up a design home tour in the uber-rich liberal enclave of Wellesley.

The house, as you can see in the photo, is a low-rent dive, selling for a mere $6 million. Puh-Leeze! Lovey and I spend that every year at the Cape, really...

A design home tour works like this: People pay $25 to tour a house filled with stuff most of us could never afford. We don't park there, but ride a shuttle bus from a remote parking lot. The only sounds are the "ooohs" and "aaahs" of us peons as we gazed on how the other half lives.

But that's too much contact with the common folk for the Swells. They complained about and confronted the charity to such a degree that the group only raised a fraction of the money they were counting on.

This is nothing new from the Swells. Remember their efforts to shut down a Dunkin' Donuts on the main boulevard ("What--not a Starbucks? How gauche!")? It's all about the image, my dear.

And what more accurate image do you need of the wealthy NIMBYs of Wellesley than chasing away a charity?

Monday, October 09, 2006

Who's That Girl?


She's Nancy French, host of the website Evangelicals For Mitt and author of the delightful new book "A Red State Of Mind."

She was our guest in the 8pm hour Monday night, so if you're trying to find her--you just did!

Friday, October 06, 2006

THE FRIDAY FREAK OUT IS HERE!

Our Friday Freak Out does not, believe it or not, involve Freaky Mark Foley. He had the one shred of decency required to resign immediately and hide in shame and embarrassment. (Had he been completely devoid of decency, we wouldn't be calling him a pervert. We'd be calling him a "Democrat.")

The Friday Freak Out question is this: Which of the following statements by our likely next governor freaks you out the most?

  • ``No. Ben wouldn't be the first guilty person in prison who was maintaining vigorously their own innocence . . . I am glad he got the DNA testing. I hope that is the end of it."—Patrick answering the question “Do you feel deceived by Laguer?”

  • “I feel proud of what I did when I wrote that letter.”--Patrick on his letter describing Laguer (who brutally tortured and raped a 59-year-old woman for eight hours) as “thoughtful, insightful, eloquent [and] humane.”

  • "I apologize to anyone who feels we didn't come forward with all the facts.”—Patrick after being caught failing to report his repeated correspondence with and on behalf of Laguer, or his $5,000 contribution to Laguer's defense fund.

  • “I have no idea about Willie Horton’s background, history, what that furlough program is.”—Patrick, answering the question “Would you have let Willie Horton out on furlough?”

  • “…when pressed today, Patrick conceded he did not investigate to determine whether LaGuer, who is imprisoned at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, was actually guilty…. Patrick said reports that racism may have played a role in LaGuer's conviction convinced him to advocate on LaGuer's behalf.”—from the Boston Globe.

Please cast your vote via email to michaelgraham@969fmtalk.com

THE FRIDAY FREAK OUT IS HERE!

Our Friday Freak Out does not, believe it or not, involve Freaky Mark Foley. He had the one shred of decency required to resign immediately and hide in shame and embarrassment. (Had he been completely devoid of decency, we wouldn't be calling him a pervert. We'd be calling him a "Democrat.")

The Friday Freak Out question is this: Which of the following statements by our likely next governor freaks you out the most?

  • ``No. Ben wouldn't be the first guilty person in prison who was maintaining vigorously their own innocence . . . I am glad he got the DNA testing. I hope that is the end of it."—Patrick answering the question “Do you feel deceived by Laguer?”

  • “I feel proud of what I did when I wrote that letter.”--Patrick on his letter describing Laguer (who brutally tortured and raped a 59-year-old woman for eight hours) as “thoughtful, insightful, eloquent [and] humane.”

  • "I apologize to anyone who feels we didn't come forward with all the facts.”—Patrick after being caught failing to report his repeated correspondence with and on behalf of Laguer, or his $5,000 contribution to Laguer's defense fund.

  • “I have no idea about Willie Horton’s background, history, what that furlough program is.”—Patrick, answering the question “Would you have let Willie Horton out on furlough?”

  • “…when pressed today, Patrick conceded he did not investigate to determine whether LaGuer, who is imprisoned at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, was actually guilty…. Patrick said reports that racism may have played a role in LaGuer's conviction convinced him to advocate on LaGuer's behalf.”—from the Boston Globe.

Please cast your vote via email to michaelgraham@969fmtalk.com

The Freaky Foley Column I Wish I'd Written

"THIS column is directed entirely to the sleazy, skuzzy, unprincipled and entirely Machiavellian Democratic political operative who helped design the careful plan resulting in the fingerprint-free leak of Mark Foley e-mails:

Bravo!

This whole Foley business is one of the most dazzling political plays in my or any other lifetime - like watching an unassisted triple play or a running back tossing a 90-yard touchdown pass on a double-reverse." --John Podhoretz in the NYPost, today.

The SECOND column I wish I'd written was Daniel Henninger's in the Wall Street Journal today:

It's hard to believe that the Foley/instant message/congressional-page/GOP meltdown story has run for a week. Other than the slaughter in Amish country, is anyone aware of anything else of note in the world that happened the past seven days? Dive deep enough beneath the Foley flotsam and you discover reports that North Korea may be preparing to conduct an underground nuclear test. China and South Korea are at this hour trying to forestall the Hermit Kingdom's nuke test and no doubt could use an expression of support and outrage from the American political establishment. Sorry, they're busy reading Congressman Foley's 1995 email traffic.

I actually did write a column this week about Foley, but I wrote it on Monday so it's somewhat dated. One point that is perhaps still worth mentioning from it:

First anti-Semitism, now homophobia? Democrats, please. Shamelessness is one thing, but demanding a homosexual witch hunt to out a gay Congressman?

Apparently Howard Dean has been replaced by Howard Stern.

When liberal institutions like Harvard welcomed anti-Semitic terror supporters like former President Khatami of Iran, I raised an eyebrow. I thought that was a job for the KKK, not the modern American Left.

Now Democrats are denouncing the GOP leadership for not assuming that any single man who e-mails teenaged boys must be both gay and a predator. "He was single, he was swishy and he was sending suspicious e-mails," Democrats complain. "Where was the lynch mob?"

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Deval Patrick: The NEW Mike Dukakis?

This is Willie Horton. He was a notorious murderer allowed to go free by the liberal policies of Michael Dukakis. He went on to commit yet another horrific crime.
This is Ben LaGuer. He's a notorious rapist. Until last month, his website featured a supportive quote from MA gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick--who is proud to be supported by Mike Dukakis. For years, Patrick urged LaGuer be released or, at the least, re-tried.


This is today's Boston Globe, reporting that Deval Patrick and his campaign lied at least two times about Patrick's support for LaGuer. This is Patrick's campaign admitting they "misled reporters" about his pro-LeGuer efforts.

And this is Deval Patrick last year, when he was asked by reporters for the first time about Willie Horton:

“Would you have let Willie Horton out on furlough?” Patrick was asked.

“I have no idea about Willie Horton’s background, history, what that furlough program is,” he replied, visibly exasperated.

“Should first-degree murderers be eligible for furloughs?”

“Let me try to be clearer,” snapped Patrick. “The death penalty does not work. And in the case of those who are convicted of the most serious crimes, I believe in life without possibility of parole.

“Or furlough?”

Without possibility of parole.”

And THIS is the man 55% of Massachusetts' residents want to be their next governor.

UPDATE: The story gets worse. When pressed by reporters, Patrick acknowledged that he had not investigated LaGuer's case. So why did he get involved in the first place? The Globe says:

"Patrick said reports that racism may have played a role in LaGuer's conviction convinced him to advocate on LaGuer's behalf."

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Red Light Cameras Will Keep You Safe..

...and other big-government myths will be exposed on the Michael Graham show today.

While Bostono Mayor Menino wants cameras at every street corner, there's a body of evidence that these cameras result in MORE, not fewer, accidents.

Need Another Reason To Run To Dunkin Donuts?


Because illegal immigrants are running from them! Pro-amnesty/open borders groups are calling for a boycott of Dunkin Donuts because the company is complying with federal law by refusing to knowingly hire illegal immigrants (as opposed to many other American businesses, who openly break the law on a regular basis).

Since when do businesses get boycotted for OBEYING the law? Why aren't the law-breaking businesses in trouble? Welcome to the upside-down world of Bush/McCain/Kennedy immigration policy.

I, for one, am adding a Dunkin run to my schedule today--and every day for the foreseable future. And I'm going to make sure people know why I'm there: "Thanks for obeying the law."

It's that simple...which is why the pro-illegal idiots hate it so much.

(Thanks to Massbackwards and Michelle Malkin for the logo!)

Monday, October 02, 2006

The Natural Truth About A Dirtbag Congressman

Mark Foley, disgusting pedophile wannabe? You bet. But beneficiary of secret GOP plot to lock down the pedophile priest vote? Hardly.

The reason you find this story so confusing is that it has been so confusingly reported. If you aren't paying close attention, you're likely to "hear" that the GOP House leadership knew about Freaky Foley's sexually explicit emails to former pages and did nothing more than give him a slap on the wrist.

This is (as of the latest media reports) simply not true.

What Hastert knew about last year is what the St. Petersburg Times knew about last year---and didn't report. They knew about five questionable emails with no explicit sexual content. Don't believe me? Read them for yourself.

It was only after ABC reported on these emails that other pages stepped forward with the explicit IMs involving the measurement of male organs and monkey spanking.

So, what are Democrats complaining about? They are "upset" that Denny Hastert didn't act when the first, vague, non-sexually-explicit emails were discovered. Democrats apparently believe that what Hastert should have said was:

"We've got a Congressman who asked a 17-year-old boy for a picture. Obviously Foley's a homo--and a pedophile to boot! So we're holding hearings, we're ordering all pages to stay away from him and we're running a primary opponent against him. We have to--you know how them GAYS are!"

In other words, Democrats are denouncing the leadership of the GOP for not being homophobes.
Brilliant.

UPDATE: Read this AP story about Foley's teary-eyed farewell speeches to the pages (male and female), and you'll see why a pre-emptive declaration of Foley as a pedophile would have been difficult. Everyone who had an overly-emotional band director or youth pastor knows the type. Are they perverts? Most of the time, no.

The Democrats really are being idiots about the Foley case. But that doesn't mean it won't work.

UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal nails the homophobia issue here.