Free Republic

If anyone should learn from the recall election, it is voters. Just about the time we think state legislators have found a constructive lesson in California's recall election, they prove us wrong again. Take, for example, a recent display of petty tyranny. Petty tyrants, according to Carlos Castaneda, come in three subcategories: pinches tiranos, pinches tiranitos, and pinches tiranitos chiquititos (the teeny weeny kind). We'll leave it to you to judge the category befitting behavior in last week's special session. Members of both political parties qualify, as columnist Jill Stewart makes clear (on the Comment page). The Republicans started it...

Rebecca Mercuri has analyzed California's recall ballot data and reports that it confirms numerous doubts about election systems. Her results demonstrate that the style of voting system in use (punchcard, optically scanned, or touchscreen) cannot be generically considered either "good or bad". She asserts that the particular model of the system, as well as the procedural controls in place in each county, along with the ballot layout, may have considerably more impact on the reliability of the election results than the type of system deployed. The analysis revealed some shocking details. Of the 8,359,168 votes cast statewide, some 384,427 (nearly...

THE RECALL'S BIGGEST LOSER -- missus clinton by Mia T, 10.9.03 It is critical to think out of the box, beyond California. For the clintons, the California recall election is no less than a proxy for their war with the Kennedys for the control of the Democrat Party (and the country). Mia T, EPILOGUE: THE 9TH CIRCUIT RULING(IMPEACHED EX- PREZ STUMPS FOR DAVIS CLINTON PARADIGM PROVES INSTRUCTIVE FOR CALIFORNIA)   clinton: "This is WA-A-AY bigger than Gray Davis." If ever there was a counterexample to Tip O'Neill's old saw ("all politics is local"), it is the recall... BIGGEST LOSER (viewing...

In these days of darkening gloom, swirling events, and political cynicism, there is one weapon of warfare which, sadly, many Christians have neglected in fighting the good fight. It's the weapon of intercession, or prayer.Over the past 20+ years, with groups such as the Moral Majority, the Christian Coalition, and their many spinoff organizations, people of faith have been encouraged to vote their convictions. The weapons of our political battles have been, in all honesty, the weapons of the world: mailing lists, money, grassroots organizational abilities, media buys, newsletters, spokespersons on cable news programs, and the like. The one weapon...

Former Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss tells Celebrity Justice exclusively that she has been harassed and ambushed by representatives from the LA Times and the Boston Globe, trying to find out if the actor turned candidate has ever had a penchant for hookers. Link here !

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six women who met Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets and other places over the last three decades say he groped them, the Los Angeles Times said on Thursday. In interviews with the Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks. A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, while a sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been...

[Editorial] Sean, Sean, Sean... From the very minute that Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for Governor of California, Sean Hannity's behavior has been more like a star struck groupie than a professional commentator or political pundit. Sean has admitted many times, on both his radio and television shows, that his views are much closer to those of State Senator Tom McClintock, the real conservative in the race. Yet, Hannity supports Arnold. He insists that he "hasn't endorsed anyone," but it's clear who his horse is in this race. Hey, we like Arnold too--and if McClintock wasn't running, we'd support him...

Broder, the so-called "dean" of Washington journalists, focuses on Davis' personality as the source of his problems. Interestingly, he traces the problem to Davis's growing up as "the oldest child of an abusive, alcoholic father". But some political insiders believe that growing up as the oldest child of an alcoholic father had scarred Davis's personality in ways that have been politically costly. They say that the emotional coldness, distrust of others, avoidance of conflict and relentless self-discipline displayed by Davis are characteristic of adult children of alcoholics.These are exactly the opposite of the characteristics the press said resulted from Clinton's...

It is critical to think out of the box, beyond California. For the clintons, the California recall election is no less than a proxy for their war with the Kennedys for the control of the Democrat Party (and the country). EPILOGUE: THE 9TH CIRCUIT RULING(IMPEACHED EX- PREZ STUMPS FOR DAVIS CLINTON PARADIGM PROVES INSTRUCTIVE FOR CALIFORNIA)   clinton: "This is WA-A-AY bigger than Gray Davis." If ever there was a counterexample to Tip O'Neill's old saw ("all politics is local"), it is the recall...A vote for McClintock is a vote for HER (requires Flash Player 6, available HERE) hillary...

IMPEACHED EX-ERSATZ PREZ STUMPS FOR DAVIS CLINTON PARADIGM PROVES INSTRUCTIVE FOR CALIFORNIA by Mia T, 9.14.03 Hamilton (or Madison) discussed the importance of wisdom and virtue in Federalist 57. "The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust." (Contrast this with clinton, who recklessly, reflexively and feloniously subordinates the common good...

LOS ANGELES -- California Gov. Gray Davis enlisted the help of the Democratic Party's biggest name on Sunday in his attempt to keep his job and defeat what he once again characterized as a Republican power grab. Former President Clinton implored members of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Central Los Angeles to tell their friends and neighbors to vote against the recall on Oct. 7, saying it wasn't just bad for Davis but for the state and the entire country. "Gray Davis and I have been friends for a long time. I don't want this happening to...

Conservatives of Two Minds on Backing Schwarzenegger By JOHN M. BRODER Dan Davidson, a pastor in Santa Ana, Calif., calls Arnold Schwarzenegger unacceptably liberal on social issues. LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22 — Hoping to unite their party around a single strong candidate, some prominent conservative Republicans endorsed Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor today and urged his principal Republican rivals to withdraw from the race. The Lincoln Club of Orange County, which helped underwrite the campaign to put the recall of Gov. Gray Davis on the ballot, said Mr. Schwarzenegger had the best chance of reclaiming the governor's office for Republicans. In...

Schwarzenegger on Leno Schwarzenegger, best known for playing a killer robot in three "Terminator" movies, opened his campaign with a raw display of the extraordinary media platform at his disposal, announcing his candidacy on NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno." Among those caught off-guard by the announcement was his close friend and another potential candidate, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. One of Riordan's closest advisers said the mayor thought he had an understanding that Schwarzenegger would withdraw from the race, easing Riordan's way in. Riordan aide angry "So this is what it feels like to be mugged," the adviser...

Arnold has been silent on whether or not he will run for governor. We won't know for sure until Wednesday. But we do know as of today that his interest in the recall is more than casual. The Rescue California committee has just filed an electronic report with the Secretary of State's office disclosing a $50,000 contribution to the recall campaign received from Schwarzenegger on Aug. 3.