It's Changed

Please change all your links to http://www.opiniontimes.com. I am now doing all my posting there.

The Blog: It Is A Changin'

I am in the process of changing the location of my blog to the permalink www.opiniontimes.com. I'll be cross-posting here for a short time until a full transition is completed.

In the meantime please go visit my new Opinion Times site and give me your feedback in comments below.

Shelby Foote - The Homer of the Old South?

Obituaries of Shelby Foote, the eloquent Southern storyteller and Civil War Historian, have been abounding. Field Maloney has well stated the nuances and contradictions of this well-beloved protagonist of Ken Burns' 1991 PBS Civil War documentary.

As a great fan of Foote and Civil War history, I'll never forget his description of a phone conversation he had with the granddaughter of Southern General Nathan Bedford Forrest. He had told her that he was convinced the Civil War produced two true geniuses: her grandfather and Abraham Lincoln. There was a short silence and then in a modest Southern drawl she responded, "Well you know, Mr. Foote, my family never did like Mr. Lincoln."

SCOTUS Confirmation Fight Will Draw Millions of Dollars

The imminent Supreme Court confirmation battle will draw in big money.

WaPo: "Under the scenario of an ideological battle, participants predict the competition for cash will turn the Senate confirmation into the most expensive nomination fight in the nation's history, certain to break $50 million and, if the nominee is especially controversial, likely to approach $100 million."

Partisan bickering on the left is the cause in my humble opinion. As usual, Reid and Pelosi are stirring up the reasons and will blame the President for the problem.

Bisexuality Study Asserts No Such Condition

A recent bisexuality study reported in The New York Times concludes that multi-sex attraction does not exist. Sampling in the study looks suspect to me as subjects were taken from ads in alternative magazines (high probability of various forms of sexual deviancy regardless of sexual orientation) and shown pornographic movies (which would tend to highlight deviant response rather than normal sexual response).

But the most revealing aspect of this study is what was said by Dr. Randall Sell, an assistant professor of clinical socio-medical sciences at Columbia University:

"'We don't know nearly enough about sexual orientation and identity' to jump to [the conclusion that bisexuality does not exist as a provable sexual orientation]. "

. . .or any other conclusions about non-heterosexual behavior for that matter.

Milblogger Wounded: Met President

Milblogger Chuck Ziegenfuss was wounded in Iraq recently and shipped home for surgery and recovery to DC. He recently met President Bush and his wife reports on his behalf.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.

SCOTUS Battle About to Be Engaged

The announcement has come. The first of two Arizonans is retiring from the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON -- "Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said Friday she is retiring.

O'Connor, 75, said she expects to leave before the start of the court's next term in October, or whenever the Senate confirms her successor. There was no immediate word from the White House on who might be nominated to replace O'Connor."

Let the games begin!
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UPDATE: Amy Ridenour has it right regarding the hysterical response of liberal organizations to the possibility that a strict constructionist might be put on the court in place of O'Connor: "What is it about interpreting our Constitution according to its actual words that has these folks so frightened? Like many others, I've read the Constitution. Not scary stuff."

My friend Erick at RedState.org and Confessions of a Political Junkie believes it's Garza who will be appointed. FURTHER ERICK UPDATE: Here.

Captain's Quarters has his take as well.

Instapundit has a slew of links to useful commentary on the impending replacement.

The American Mind and The Crusader.

NE Republican believes there are many "Desperate Housewives" around the country in the wake if this announcement.

DailyKos has it right. This is about abortion now. But he hopes abortion remains.

UPDATE II: RedState.org has nine guidelines POTUS should use to fill SCOTUS.

Souter May Become First Victim of "Lost Liberty"

Logan Darrow Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, has petitioned the town of Weare, NH to build a hotel at 34 Cilley Hill Road. This would be an everyday non-event until one considers the person residing there now, Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

Clements argues that the city of Weare will receive much greater tax revenue with a hotel on this property, and would therefore benefit from the enforcement of immanent domain. This, of course, is the argument behind the recent Kelo v. City of New London case which was supported by Souter.

Freestar Media, LLC: "The proposed development, called 'The Lost Liberty Hotel' will feature the 'Just Desserts Cafe' and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel 'Atlas Shrugged.'"

We at Opinion Times would like to see the Gideon Bible remain, but well done Mr. Clements anyway! This would be an appropriate monument to the excesses of Supreme Court hegemony over the actual language and intent of the Constitution.

Maybe the same thing could be done at 125 Broad Street in New York City at the ACLU headquarters. Just think of it: a brand new hotel bringing in more tax revenue per square foot than office space. On the first floor is the new home of New York Evangelical College with adjacent Court House which hangs the Ten Commandments above the bench.

Read the press release here.

Hat Tip: Drudge Report.

Economist: Religious Just Starting Rise

Economist.com gives its take on the rise of the "Religious Right" in American politics.

"Religious America's switch to the right is rooted in two things: liberal over-reach and conservative organisation. The consistent whinge from the Christian right about "liberal activist judges" exceeding their mandate contains a kernel of truth. In the 1960s and 1970s, judges changed America from a country where every school day began with a prayer, and abortion and pornography were frowned on, to a country where school prayer was banned and both abortion and pornography were protected by the constitution.

The fact that the courts were running so far ahead of public opinion in a generally religious country bolstered the religious right in two ways. It provoked white evangelicals to join the political fray. And it persuaded all religious types to bond together. Protestants and Catholics, who used to be at loggerheads, have now found common ground, especially on abortion. "

This is not just a passing fad but the result of more than 25 years of effort which has led to a more mature and diverse Christian response to political and legal actions. President Reagan's move to remove the Fairness Doctrine which led to the rise of Rush Limbaugh and a slew of conservative radio talk shows and the emergence of the blogs has also facilitated the rise of Social and Evangelical Conservatives.

The gains which took fruit in 2004 have not yet consolidated, but a successful 2006 election in Congress and with various Senate and Governors' races could change the political landscape for the proceeding 20-25 years.

Durbin on a Bad Run

IowaHawk has found evidence that Dick Durbin is having a bad run in the customer service area. Thankfully, these few samples give us an example of patience and tolerance from one of our Senate leaders.

Green Counter-revolution

Zach Wendling opines about Kelo:

"Now that development interests official[ly] trump property rights, I think it's natural to wonder, 'What trumps development interests?' "

This makes me consider that now with government help I can get rid of my pesky neighbors and get that green space my boys have been craving!

PowerLine gives George Will's opinion on the decision.

Nobel Prize Nominee Says Terri Schiavo was Able to See

Confirming the suspicions of some, a Nobel Prize nominated Doctor confirms that Terri Schiavo was aware and not blind when she was killed in a Florida hospice. Dr. William Hammesfahr, a Florida neurologist, disputed some of the autopsy results in a recent interview.

LifeNews.com Unlike the constant drumbeat from the husband, his attorneys, and his doctors, the brain tissue was not dissolved, with a head of just spinal fluid," Hammesfahr explained. "In fact, large areas were 'relatively preserved.'"

"Obviously, the pathologists comments that she could not see were not borne out by reality," he said.

"The autopsy results confirmed my opinion ... that the frontal areas of the brains, the areas that deal with awareness and cognition were relatively intact," Hammesfahr added.

As a result, the Florida physician said Terri likely had little trouble with her eyesight in the years leading up to her death.

"In fact, the relay areas from the frontal and front temporal regions of the brain, to the spinal cord and the brain stem, by way of the basal ganglia, were preserved, thus the evident responses which she was able to express to her family and to the clinicians seeing her or viewing her videotape," he said.

The Doctor also noted the autopsy did not verify Terri's husband Michael's claim that she suffered a heart attack nor did it rule out physical abuse as the cause of her collapse and loss of oxygen back in 1991 which resulted in her deteriorated neurological condition.

Hammesfahr pointed out that the autopsy shows Terri's collapse was not the result of bulimia, eating disorders or a heart attack. That leaves open the possibility that Terri's collapse could have been the result of physical abuse.

"As we noted in the press, there was no heart attack, or evident reason for this to have happened (and certainly not of Terri's making)," he said.

He also indicated that the autopsy did not completely check for all types of physical abuse and he and a neurologist for Michael both agreed neck injuries were present.

Unfortunately, a woman who was fully mentally aware was destroyed by a court system unwilling to make life the ultimate test of good law. By refusing to embrace the concept of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness," a rogue judge destroyed innocent human life. And by neglecting the enumerated executive power given to him, the Florida Governor sat back and watched it happen allowing the question to remain open: will we as a society ever again value the concept of life as the foundational principle of our freedoms?