Police must also let the shine into the murky corridors of the hate groups that have taken to the streets in this case. To be sure, Trayvon’s parents are pressing, reasonably in my judgment, for a better investigation. But calls for extra-judicial justice (read that as mob justice) is just plain wrong and threatens to harm, maim and kill innocent people.

The New Black Panther Party, led by Malik Shabazz is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center in these words:

The New Black Panther Party is a virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers. 

So far, this group has called for a bounty on shooter George Zimmerman. They have released “WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE” posters and offering $10,000 for Zimmerman. There have been no attempts to investigate Shabazz and the NBP movement for inciting kidnapping or violence.

We need cooler heads to prevail. If there is credible evidence that Zimmerman was not justified in shooting Martin, let him be tried. But we remain a people governed by laws — at least I think we are.

Kagan served as Solicitor General for the United States, an Executive Branch position, under President Obama. In that role she was apparently active in reviewing the legal details of the healthcare law. Had she remained in that position she would have been the primary defender of the law before the Supreme Court.

According to Section 455(b)(3) of Title 28 of the U.S. Codeices must disqualify themselves in cases where they have “served in governmental employment and in such capacity participated as counsel, adviser, or material witness concerning the proceeding or expressed an opinion concerning the merits of the particular case or controversy.” In United States v. Gipson, the Tenth Circuit held that judges must recuse themselves if they have “previously taken a part, albeit small, in the investigation, preparation, or prosecution of a case.” Other courts have suggested that, merely by virtue of a lawyer’s position as the head of an office during the preparation of a case, he or she is disqualified to sit as a judge on that case. For example, several U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal have held that U.S. attorneys who later become judges must recuse themselves from any proceeding that had been pending in any way in their offices, even if they were not substantively involved.

Senator Sessions notes that Kagan, who clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall who himself recused from over half of the court’s cases in his first year, has yet to say whether she will bow out of the discussions.

While the law seems clear we should also remind that there is a strong perception of bias in place. Any reasonable person viewing the facts of Kagan’s involvement in the preparation of this law would note the appearance of bias. The actual existence of bias is not required. Only the appearance of bias is necessary for a recusal. A justice in such a case would step down, not because they were required to do so, but because it was the right thing to do to protect our system of justice from criticism.

President Obama has managed to politicize almost every aspect of his governance. Will Justice Kagan hand him the keys to the high court? Will she do the right thing and step aside? She’s not saying. What do you say?

U.S. Budget Watch says all four candidates will actually increase the debt based upon specific spending cuts.

When only specific spending-cut proposals are credited, Romney would add $2.1 trillion to the debt by 2012, Santorum would add $5.3 trillion, Gingrich would add $9.6 billion and Paul would add $1.8 trillion.



This is important because it shows that candidates may not be willing to make the tough choices in order to bring down the debt. Only when Budget Watch allows for their very vague comments to “cut spending” can they create a scenario where expenses drop below income.

As we have asked before…does anybody get it?

Financial markets have been concerned about the future of the PIIGS – Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. In Greece, violence has rocked the streets has lawmakers have been forced to slash budgets in order to be bailed-out by the European Union. But the problem here is staggering.

Our per-capita debt exceeds that of Spain and Portugal combined!

This excessive debt explains why government sized must be reduced. We cannot afford to sustain the present system nor do we need to. Only by reducing the size of government can we begin, slowly, to reign in the debt.

Does anybody get it?

An Afghan soldier, apparently angry over the burning of Korans at a U.S. air base, fatally shot two U.S. troops and wounded four others, Afghan officials said.

The International Security Assistance Force said in a statement two military personnel were killed in eastern Afghanistan Thursday by “an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform” but didn’t identify the troops’ nationality.

The hoped for sanity is hard to find in a country tilting more and more toward Taliban influence.

CNN also reported the Taliban in Afghanistan called on Muslims Thursday to attack NATO facilities and convoys and kill military personnel.

In an e-mail message, the Taliban accused “the invading infidel authorities” of trying to calm the situation with two “so-called shows of apology, but in reality they let their inhuman soldiers insult our holy book.”

The e-mail urged Afghans to seek revenge “until the doers of such inhumane actions are prosecuted and punished.”

“We should attack their military bases, their military convoys, we should kill their soldiers, arrest their invading soldiers, beat them up and give a kind of lesson to them that they never dare to insult the holy Koran,” the message said

The terrorist leaning Taliban are not far from the very place from which they found themselves 11 years ago; the place from which we dislodged them at the price of blood.

The lessons of our mid-east involvement are clear. Our labor and blood is not appreciated. At best our efforts are temporary bandages over a problem that the people there do not wish to address. Only once fanaticism is replaced with clear thinking will there every be peace.

Tom Donohue at the Journal has a fine piece on the shortcomings of the Obama plan. It’s worth your time.

His next big project seems to be a reconfiguring of the elementary and intermediate schools in the county to drop student/teacher ratios. In some cases class sizes for a single teacher would drop from 35 to 22. That’s a 37% drop in the ratio. He deserves much praise if it pulls it off. It will take a year and you can bet there will be extreme controversy over the plan. Attendance zones will have to be reconfigured. Watch for loud complaints about this one. But in the end, Lee’s plan should be approved.
Leadership is never easy and it always brings trouble. We think Lee is to be applauded for his work.

This is similar to DOJ’s decision to drop prosecution of a black activist who was caught on tape shouting racial epitaphs and taking a confrontational stance against white people while standing in front of a polling location.

It’s time for the President and Attorney General Eric Holder to read a few lines of the country’s founding document. The Constitution proclaims equal protection under law – not just protection for those who most supported the President in the last election.

What do you think?

What happened to bring this sudden cease to military actions?

It wasn’t the United States. We have been content to ride along in the backseat of the car while Britain and France led the way toward a military no-fly zone. We were happy to let the most ineffective organization on earth, the United Nations, declare that force could be used to enforce the no-fly zone.

It wasn’t President Obama’s leadership that stopped Qaddafi in his tracks for there has been no leadership. Aside from a late speech to two our President has not stepped up to the plate. He made no decision and waited for someone else to lead.

Now here is the burning question: What if our President was a leader and stepped up two weeks ago and ordered a unilateral no-fly zone? How many lives would have been saved? How quickly would this human disaster has ended if Barack Obama could make a decision?

Does this mean that Britain and France are in the ascendancy or that America is in the decendancy?

Hey Harry! Get a clue. Voters want solutions not retread Senators more interested in politics than jobs.