October 2004

I’m arriving late to this event, but I wanted to add to the noise around President Bush’s comments on the Dred Scott decision (case). The Supreme Court ruled that Scott, a slave, was property and could not obtain the rights of citizenship.

Dred Scott’s case holds a unique place in American constitutional history as an example of the Supreme Court trying to impose a judicial solution on a political problem. The ruling, which helped to precipitate the Civil War, has long been considered one of the court’s great “self-inflicted” wounds. (Source)

Just One Minute (a blog I recommend you visit) does a round-up of comments round the blogosphere. More on this later. I want to keep it on the radar screen.

Addendum (reasonable hour): Now that I’ve had some caffeine, let’s delve a bit deeper into Dred Scott, shall we?

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I wasn’t a fan of Christopher Reeve (or those red boots he wore in “Superman”), but I liked the first and second “Superman” movies, especially the first. I had a crush on Clark Kent but not on Superman. Strange?

I liked him in this movie.

Reeve lobbied for more stem cell research, a very controversial topic I’ve never written about. Here’s all the information you’ll ever want to know about Reeve and a site devoted to the Superman character.

Wait a minute…now that I think about, I didn’t like the blue tights, either!

Substantive blogging to resume tomorrow. Come back and see me!

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Ten years ago, at the pinnacle of her career, multiple Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, Anita Baker, gave it up to raise her two sons and care for sick relatives.

My reasons for listening to Baker were purely self-centered at first. I acquired a taste for her jazzy style of singing only after many people, including members of my own family, said I resembled her. (No vocal resemblance!)

Baker has returned to performing, but on a very limited schedule. She works a couple of days a week and will be taking her kids on tour with her. I suppose it isn’t much of a sacrifice for a wealthy entertainer to work this way.

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I haven’t read it and probably won’t. I’m taking it easy tonight because the holiday weekend will be spent working on projects, one BIG, others small (including developing an op-ed based on the “Acting White” study). I won’t give details on the big one unless it’s successful. If not, I’ll pretend I never mentioned it.

So this post will be mainly updates on what others (including yourselves) are saying about the report. The report basically reports that no WMDs were found in Iraq. As I state in the post title, so what? No doubt John Kerry will use this bit of alarmist information to hammer President Bush tonight, who had better be on top of things. Good grief.

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The journalists at the New York Times are so biased they can’t see straight. I enjoy reading their always-lengthy corrections page. This appeared today (reg. req.):

An article yesterday that examined statements by Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator John Edwards in their debate on Tuesday night incorrectly supported Mr. Edwards’s statement that millionaires who receive stock dividends pay “a lower tax rate than the men and women who are receiving paychecks for serving on the ground in Iraq.” While some military officers may pay a higher rate, most soldiers do not. The monthly pay of enlisted troops in Iraq, as in other combat zones — and the pay of officers there, up to a ceiling — is exempt from federal income taxes. [Original article]

First of all, I have to note that the NYT properly adds an apostrophe “s” to the end of singular nouns ending in “s” instead of only the apostrophe. (Edwards’ hat, for example). So many writers don’t know the grammatical rule (drives me crazy).

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I just received an e-mail from Demond Hunter. He was serving our country in Iraq, and he’s just returned home! Some of my fellow TCB members and I are acquainted with him through blogging, and I know they will be as happy and relieved as I am. Some of you may remember this post. Please read it again.

I’ll update this post later today with more information.

Update: Demond will be blogging about the recent Iraq-had-no-WMDs report soon, and I will link to it. Check out Power Line’s post. More on the report from B4B.

Bush: “War in Iraq Was Right Despite No WMDs”

Update II (5:11 p.m.): Demond has updated!

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I confess my ignorance on this matter, and I’d appreciate if you commenters with knowledge of the oil-for-food scandal would tell me what it’s all about. JustOneMinute blogs about it and Halliburton. (I’m beginning to dislike that word.) Power Line also has information.

Since I can’t follow all the news all the time, what’s this about liberal thugs stealing campaign signs? And violence? Not the “give peace a chance” crowd! I thought they were into slaughtering only the unborn. You live and learn, I guess.

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