Robert Byrd (D-lusional) speaks on the Senate floor about dogfighting.  I think he’s against it.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s against it. Or he’s drunk.

AP published a list of all the Congressmen currently under the microscope. 

SURPRISE!  Republicans lead the pack.

Bob Novak was out grab handing for his new book, “The Prince of Darkness.”  He had nothing good to say about the current leaders in the Republican field of candidates, but surprised me with this comment:

However, Novak offered his own personal endorsement of Texas congressman Ron Paul. “He’s a very engaging person… I’d like to see him as president,” Novak said. “Can you imagine him at the United Nations?”

Well, start writing about him.  The guy could use all the good press he can get.

MSNBC noticed a few notable names on the list of people who donated to Fred Thompson’s “testing the waters” committee.  The names include:

Peyton W. Manning, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, gave $2,300.

Douglas J. Feith, the former Defense Department official now teaching at Georgetown University, gave $2,300.

Katuria D’Amato, former New York Sen. Al D’Amato’s wife, gave $2,300.

Trace Adkins, a country music singer, and his wife Rhonda, each contributed $2,300 maximum.

Richard A. Wolf, the producer of NBC’s “Law and Order,” contributed $2,300.

Suddenly I feel like supporting the Indianapolis Colts, listening to some country and watching “Law and Order.”  Dun-Dun.

Rolling Stone magazine has written what I have been saying for a while now.  Ethanol isn’t the end-all, beat-all of our energy problems.  It has it’s fair share of issues and uninteneded consequences, but since Iowa holds the first primary and Iowa grows the most corn in the nation, politicians can’t get enough of ethanol.  But what is the price:

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, put it recently, “Everything about ethanol is good, good, good.”

This is not just hype — it’s dangerous, delusional bullshit. Ethanol doesn’t burn cleaner than gasoline, nor is it cheaper. Our current ethanol production represents only 3.5 percent of our gasoline consumption — yet it consumes twenty percent of the entire U.S. corn crop, causing the price of corn to double in the last two years and raising the threat of hunger in the Third World. And the increasing acreage devoted to corn for ethanol means less land for other staple crops, giving farmers in South America an incentive to carve fields out of tropical forests that help to cool the planet and stave off global warming.

We’ve covered the increase in the price of tortillas in Mexico and the importance of that food in the Mexican diet.  We have also covered the damage that ethanol does to the environment.  We have also covered the subsidies on ethanol, but it’s worth another look:

Ethanol itself is propped up by hefty subsidies, including a fifty-one-cent-per-gallon tax allowance for refiners. And a study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development found that ethanol subsidies amount to as much as $1.38 per gallon — about half of ethanol’s wholesale market price.

Remember that next time you fill up with E85 and think it’s so much cheaper than the other gas.  Add that $1.38 a gallon in and see how cheap it is.  Thank Archer Daniels Midland, the largest producer of ethanol and a giant supporter of politicians who pimp the stuff.

John Derbyshire has looked at the Ron Paul candidacy and has but one question, which he then answers: 

So, I ask again, if it’s not the man, or the war, or the latrine flies, why aren’t we conservatives all on board with Ron?

By way of an answer, let me introduce you to my friend Zhang (not his real name). Zhang came here from China after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. An energetic and clever young man, he worked at odd jobs around New York City while looking for an opportunity to make his fortune. The opportunity soon arrived. He happened upon a business opportunity — a new method of engraving on stone, the patent held by a fellow-exile with whom he had struck up a friendship. The two of them were sure they’d be rich in no time. They struggled for a couple of years to bring the thing to market. At last, defeated, they gave up. Zhang took a desk job as a clerk for a credit card company.

What was the cause of the failure? I asked him. He: “We didn’t realize this is a mature economy. So many permits, regulations, accounting rules, taxes! In China, we could have got this off the ground in no time, working out of back rooms and sticking up poster ads. Here — forget it! You’re killed by lawyers’ and accountants’ and agents’ fees before you get started. Stick up an ad, the city comes after you.”

Something analogous applies to politics. If Washington, D.C. were the drowsy southern town that Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge rode into, Ron Paul would have a chance. Washington’s not like that nowadays, though. It is a vast megalopolis, every nook and cranny stuffed with lobbyists, lawyers, and a hundred thousand species of tax-eater.

Is he right?  Are the masses of Rudy followers and Thompson fans not following Ron because they know he lives in a fantasy world?  I can see his point.  But I would rather see the man get a shot at doing it, rather than dismiss his positions completely as impossible.

Ron has a large internet following.  It will be interesting to see if they turn out in the primaries.

Canadian health care is the savior of American health care, so sayeth Michael Moore.

Here is another great result of socialized health care:

Calgary — An Alberta court will be asked to certify a $15-million class-action lawsuit against the East Central Health region, which was blasted this week for bureaucratic infighting that led to patients at one hospital being treated with dirty surgical equipment and to the outbreak of a superbug.

Socialized health care, heck, any government endeavour, will result in bureaucracy that will paralyze efficiency and destroy quality.  This is a great example of that.

Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska had some unexpected houseguests:

Investigative sources told FOX News that the FBI executed a search warrant at the Girdwood, Alaska, house. Sources would not detail what the search team is looking for, but said agents continued to do extensive work at the property late Monday.

The search began Monday afternoon when a number of federal agents were seen outside the home, the Anchorage Daily News reported. It wasn’t immediately clear if anything was taken from Stevens’ house.

Ted gave the fine people of Alaska the ole “nothing to see here, please move along” treatment:

“I urge Alaskans not to form conclusions based upon incomplete and sometimes incorrect reports in the media. The legal process should be allowed to proceed so that all the facts can be established and the truth determined,” he said.

Ted was served over 20 search warrants.

Shreveport attorney Tom Cryer won a unanimous NOT GUILTY verdict in federal district court defeating the IRS’s claim that he “willfully” failed to file federal income tax returns.Tom refused to file tax returns because the IRS could not show him any law making him liable for ‘filing’ a tax return.

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