Saturday, June 26, 2010

Larwyn's Linx: Jan Schakowsky's mystery earmark

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Nation

Jan Schakowsky's mystery earmark: BigGovt
Arizona Park a 'No-Go' Zone for American Citizens: PJM
Big Government, Bad Journalism: Doc Zero

Cheney Hospitalized, Liberals Concerned: RWN
Blago Trial Testimony Contradicts Obama, Jarrett: Moran
The Unlikely Republican: AT

Economy

The U.S. Department of Illegal Alien Labor: Malkin
Obama's Sharia-Compliant Finance Advisor: Zombie
AFL-CIO economist goes nuts on Cavuto: Hot Air

Disclosure Act: More Unconstitutional Obamaism: RWN
Harkin Promises Return to Card Check: RWN
White House Denial on ShoreBank is Sestak-Like: NLPC

Climate & Energy

McCartney Supports Obama's Bungling of Oil Spill: RWN
Was massive Saudi spill concealed from public in '93?: Insider
No..............: Ace

Media

Number Six: Malkin
Don't take candy from concern trolls: LegalIns
Communist Goals of 1963: BlogProf

JournoList is a Progressive PR Firm: Leak the Rest: Verum Serum
Obama's Chicago Network: Moonbattery
Jewish Clergy Group: Elena Kagan Isn't ‘Kosher’ to Serve on Supreme Court : CNS

Why the news makes you angry: AT
Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge -- Know whattImean?: Protein
The Audacity of Not Listening: Marathon

World

Iran Wimps Out: Ledeen
End of the European Siesta: City Journal
N Korea seeks $75 trillion in compensation: ABC News (Au)

SciTech

iPhone 4 antenna issue: Pointing fingers: CNet
Want Someone to Take a Decision Seriously? Hand Them Something Heavy: Discover
Get 'em, Boies: Salesforce countersues Microsoft: CNet

Cornucopia

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Golfing: BigGovt
A New Republican Ad: Maggie's Farm

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Christine O'Donnell for U.S. Senate 2010 - Defeat Mike Castle


Friday, June 25, 2010

Shovel-ready: Democrat-approved, bat-wielding union thugs smash vehicles, bodies at Philadelphia construction site

The same breed of union bosses pulling strings at the White House appear to be using their traditional persuasion techniques in a Philadelphia suburb.

Violence erupted at a King of Prussia construction site Wednesday, and today, police are seeking the public's help to apprehend some bat-wielding assailants.

...Officers responded at 7:10 a.m. Wednesday to the King of Prussia Plaza area of Mall Boulevard for reports that union protestors were blocking the entranceway to the new Toys R Us building site. While en route, an assault was reported in the mall parking lot.

Upon arrival, police found two construction trucks with their rear windows completely shattered, and one victim bleeding from the head. The victims said they were blocked by numerous union protesters from entering the construction site, and so they drove to the mall area to await police assistance.

A short time later, a black sedan pulled up and several men exited with baseball bats, ran up to the two trucks and repeatedly slammed the bats into the windows. As the workers exited the trucks, at least two were then physically assaulted with the baseball bats, and one victim had to be hospitalized...

...Another victim was able to use his cell phone to photograph the assailants and their vehicle.

Police said the construction site is being protested by Local 401 of the Iron Workers Union... The vehicle was described as a black, four-door Chevrolet with a Pennsylvania license plate. One of the assailants was described as a clean-shaven, white, mid-30s man with short blondish brown hair, about 6-foot-1 with a husky build.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Upper Merion Police Det. James Godby at 610-265-3232.

I, for one, feel comforted that Democrats financially support these kinds of gentle tactics with various carve-outs and payoffs -- from health care, to nationalizing the auto companies, to financial "reform" and state bail-outs. Worthy bunch of blokes, eh?


Hat tip: MP.

Democrats so busy giving themselves the right to regulate free speech, they can't be bothered with trivial matters like setting the federal budget

If you needed more proof that Democrats have no regard whatsoever for the rule of law, I would like to enter the ill-named "DISCLOSE Act" into the record as exhibit Z-42 million.

Spearheaded by the loathsome Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the malignant Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the Orwellian DISCLOSE Act would be better termed "The Democrat Incumbent Protection Act of 2010"; it is explicitly designed to prohibit free speech by conservatives while promoting free speech for progressives.

And it's not just me saying that: Van Hollen and other Democrats have clearly stated that the goal is to prevent grassroots efforts from polluting the public discourse before the 2010 midterm elections.

Best of all, the DISCLOSE Act was crafted behind closed doors and its full impact has yet to be determined.

[House Democrats] are planning to unveil their bill at a press conference Thursday morning in front of the Supreme Court and have set the goal of passing their bill by July 4... Van Hollen has said he’s hopeful the bill could be implemented in time to affect newly legal ad spending in 2010 congressional races.

It's true: Democrats don't give a crap about what the Bill of Rights says; and to top things off, they're purposely spitting on the Supreme Court's recent Citizen's United decision.

For crassly political purposes, Chairman Van Hollen and his lieutenants at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee decided behind closed doors that the First Amendment applies only to labor unions and certain advocacy groups that scare them sufficiently.

Citizens who are members of other grassroots groups will be muzzled by this legislation for no reason other than that they belong to a group without the financial and lobbying muscle to exempt itself from this bill.

Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats in Congress are hanging on to power by a quickly fraying thread, and this bill is nothing more than incumbent protection in its worst and most cynical form.

In short, House Democrats just voted themselves the right to license free speech. Preferred groups like public sector unions and trial lawyers get unlimited free speech licenses while grassroots organizations are prohibited -- under threat of criminal penalties -- from exercising their First Amendment rights.

As for the things a Congress is supposed to do?

Like, say, set a federal budget?

Well, they can't actually be bothered to deal with that kind of trivial matter.

They've got a radical agenda to pursue. That includes regulating free speech, amassing record deficits sure to destroy the fiscal health of the country, and nationalizing one industry after another.

But neglecting the federal budget resolution is -- how do I put it? -- historic. It hasn't happened since the Congressional Research Service started tracking these things.

The Democratic controlled Congress has overlooked a small, but rather significant detail in their desire to remake America... They forgot to present a budget this year.

"Skipping a budget resolution this year, a move House Democrats are considering, would be unprecedented.

The House has never failed to pass an annual budget resolution since the current budget rules were put into place in 1974, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The budget resolution is a non-binding document whose main purposes are to set discretionary spending caps for the coming fiscal year, lay out the framework of the majority's fiscal policy and create the option of easing legislation through the Senate via fast-track reconciliation procedures.

Gee, they're so... historic.

Democrats in Congress won't do the things they're mandated to do (like pass a budget), while they constantly do things they're not legally authorized to do (like nationalize industries and regulate free speech).

We're getting a firsthand view into how a society crumbles, deliberately undermined from within by lawless, would-be tyrants.

It's November or never.


Hat tip: Christine O'Donnell for U.S. Senate 2010 - Defeat Miserable Mike Castle in Delaware. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Democrats: Free speech for me, not for thee

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Nation

Democrats: Free speech for me, not for thee: Tapscott
Gov. Brewer's Letter to Pres. Obama on Border Security: RWN
House ’shreds constitution for partisan gain’: WashExam

SCOTUS upholds key part of Patriot Act: PJM
Old, left wing narratives die hard: AnBlkCon
Debunking a Pro-Gun Control Study: PJM

Economy

Fed Agencies Join Arizona Boycott: AT
Teachers' union freaks out over retirement contributions: BlogProf
Democrat Economic Suicide Bombers: AT

Anyone noticed we don't have a budget this year?: AT
Medicare "fix" is just a gimmick: WashExam
1,300 Prison Inmates Get $9 Mil In Homebuyer Tax Credits: Riehl

Climate & Energy

'Green' Energy Company Threatens Econ Professor: PJM
The Drilling Ban Is Soros' Bonanza: RCM
Gulf cleanup workers threaten mutiny: CSM

Ken Salazar gets an ass-kicking. Over to you, Capitol Hill.: Malkin
Plans to Evacuate Tampa Bay Are Put Into Place, Pensacola Beach Closed: GWP
After Overturning Obama’s Drilling Moratorium Leftists Threaten to Kill Judge Feldman: GWP

Media

Media’s 'Standards' On Sex Scandal Featuring Al Gore: RWN
DISCLOSE Act attacks freedom of speech: WashExam
Boycott Fox News (?): Ace

I'm Beginning to Believe This Obama Fellow Is Unequal to the Task: Van Voorhees VII
Blame Reynolds: the 39 Confessions of Saint Glenn: AmDigest
Woof: Oh Al, You Dog!: AmDigest

The Leftist 'Purification' Movement: AT
Obama and Dems heading for electoral disaster: York
Daily Kos: 'US Military Not Best and Brightest; Our Sickest and Most pathological Criminals': WZ

World

I’m not surprised, I’m not shocked, why are you?: Protein Wisdom
Greece puts part of itself up for sale: ZH
Canada's chief spy: foreign powers control country's politicians: Telegraph

SciTech

“Who’s your Verisign?” — Malware faking digital signatures: Sophos
Crab comes out of its shell: Ace

Cornucopia

It was bound to happen (Photo o' the day): Black & Right
What a difference a year makes: MOTUS
This Is The Naked Woman Who Stole Two Cars In Utah: Jalopnik

Images: CNN
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Tim Scott for Congress

QOTD: "When Blago snickers and hams for the camera on his way out of the courtroom of his corruption trial, think of all the the conspirators in spirit that stand with him. This is beyond "joke," well past "disgust," and into something else. The State Government is broken.

In fact, ALL levels of government in the State of Illinois are broken. The Speaker of House gives away tuition to the top university to friends and family like grocery store cheese samples. The Cook County President routinely raids the treasury for contracts to individuals that sell Urban Translation services – what ever that is. And the management legacy of the Mayor of Chicago may be a daily body count number that rivals Iraq, assets sold off to pay for bloated TIF zones, and a charter school system run by highest bidder instead of character and quality of mind.

It's clear we live in a failed State. It is time to outsource our State Government to Iowa or Wisconsin. Blago the Dirty has helped drag this State so low, so deep in the gutter that drastic action is needed; we either outsource this government or like other third world failed states, we ask for the US Government to step in and manage us until a real elected government can be chosen, because only thugs and crooks rule here." -- 'Citizen'


Thursday, June 24, 2010

Frances Rice: Black Republicans Make History

By Frances Rice, President, National Black Republican Association.

Congratulations to the black Republican candidates who won their primaries several months ago, as well as on June 22nd, the most notable of whom is Tim Scott of South Carolina who received over 68 percent of the vote in the Republican Party runoff. A Charleston resident, Scott is also a state representative and previously served 13 years on the Charleston County Council. He is vying to become South Carolina's first black Republican congressman in more than a century. If successful in November, Scott would be among the first black Republican legislators elected since the 2003 retirement of J.C. Watts from Oklahoma.

Scott and the other black Republican nominees, if elected in 2010, would join the ranks of the first blacks who were elected to Congress during the Reconstruction era - all Republicans. On the list that is posted on the NBRA website are the first two black Senators and the 21 black members of the House of Representatives.

Hiram Rhodes Revels of Mississippi was the first black elected as a United States Senator, serving from 1870 to 1871. He was followed in the Senate by black Republican Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi. Republican Joseph Rainey of South Carolina was the first black to enter the House of Representatives.

During the era of Reconstruction, Democrats - using the Ku Klux Klan - launched a reign of terror against Republican leaders, especially black Republican elected officials. A series of brutal acts by Democrats were among the reasons there were no more black Republicans elected to Congress for nearly one hundred years, until the election of Edward Brooks of Massachusetts in 1966.

Racism in the Democrat Party - past and present - is buried by the liberal press since it does not fit the media template in which the Republican Party is painted as a racist party. The charge that the Republican Party lacks diversity prevails in spite of the existence of around two million black Republicans in America. Ignored by the media is the fact that a black man, Michael Steele, is chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Invisible to liberal journalists are talented black Republicans such as NFL hall of famer Lynn Swann; boxing promoter Don King; singer/songwriter Lloyd Marcus; actor/wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; rapper/actor James "LL Cool J" Todd Smith; and businessman/talk show host Herman Cain.

Virtually no credit is given to Republican leaders for their inclusiveness, including President George W. Bush who appointed more blacks to high-level positions than any president in our nation's history. Bush's appointees included Gen. Colin Powell as the first black Secretary of State and Dr. Condoleezza Rice as the first black female Secretary of State. Both of these accomplished black Republicans were derided as "House Negroes" by Democrats.

While denouncing the Republican Party because so few blacks attend Republican meetings, journalists overlook how the denigration of black Republicans by Democrats instills in most blacks a reluctance to become politically active in the Republican Party.

Systematically ignored by the press are Republican-sponsored meetings attended by large numbers of blacks. Journalists avoided the regional faith-based imitative meetings held during the Bush Administration and attended by thousands of blacks. The liberal media displayed a decided lack of interest in the Washington, DC leadership conferences sponsored by Republican Senators Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Rick Santorum that attracted over 500 blacks each year. Few reporters covered the meetings hosted by the Republican Party of Florida for seven years where over 500 black Republicans attended each time. Although all media outlets were invited to the NBRA Black Republican Forum held in New York City, where football hero Lynn Swann was the keynote speaker, only C-Span bothered to show up.

The media also pays scant attention to the numerous black Republican elected officials serving around the country, most of whom were elected in largely Republican districts. Some excellent examples can be found in the sunshine state, including Florida Representative Jennifer Carroll (R-Fleming Island); Mayor Gow Field of Lakeland; County Commissioner Carolyn Mason of Sarasota and City Commissioner Phillip Walker of Lakeland. Also noteworthy is NBRA Vice Chairman Richard St. Paul who was elected to serve on the New Rochelle City Council in New York.

The press perked up a bit after a record number of black Republicans, 32 candidates, threw their hats into the political ring for the 2010 elections. Those who won their primaries and secured their Republican Party's nomination in the past few months are: Star Parker (California's 57th congressional district); Issac Hayes (Illinois' 2nd congressional district); Chuck Smith (Virginia's 3rd congressional district); Marvin Scott (Indiana's 10th congressional district); Damon Dunn (candidate for California Secretary of State); C. Morgan Edwards (North Carolina State Senate); Gwen Patrick (California House District 52); Stephen Broden (Texas House District 30); James White (Texas House District 12); Marilyn Jackson (Texas House District 51).

The two other black Republicans who won their June 22nd primaries, in addition to Tim Scott, are Bill Randall (North Carolina 13th congressional district) and Bill Marcy (Mississippi 2nd congressional district).

A laughable feature of the media's reporting on Tim Scott is the assertion by liberal journalists that Republicans had to overcome their racism in order to nominate Scott. The reporters used the racist past of South Carolina as the basis for their slam against Republicans. Never mind the fact that the Democratic Party controlled South Carolina for over 100 years after the Civil War, and it was the Democrats who were discriminating against blacks. As is explained in the article "The Myth of the Racist Republicans" by Gerard Alexander, which is posted on the Claremont Institute's website, the 30-year odyssey of the South switching to the Republican Party begun in the 1970's by Richard Nixon was not an appeal to the racists.

In a 2002 article posted on the Internet, the co-architect of Nixon's Southern Strategy, Pat Buchanan, explained the genesis and purpose of the strategy. Buchanan wrote that Nixon declared that the Republican Party would be built on a foundation of state's rights, human rights, small government and a strong national defense, and leave it to the Democrat Party - the party of Maddox, Mahoney and Wallace -- to "squeeze the last ounce of political juice out of the rotting fruit of racial injustice."

The racist Democrats (some of whom became known as "Dixiecrats" when they formed the "State's Rights Democratic Party" just for the 1948 election) did not all join the Republican Party- the party of freedom and equality for blacks. In fact, those racists declared they would rather vote for a "yellow dog" than a Republican. Sadly, most blacks today have taken on the hatred for the Republican Party from the Democrats without understanding the origin of that hatred.

Once Democrats cease their insidious racism toward black Republicans, African-Americans will no longer feel that their votes are taken for granted. They will, in increasing numbers, seize control over their own destinies. They will vote for candidates based on the content of their policies, not merely the label of their party.

That truly was the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was -- as the media seems to have forgotten -- a Republican.


Ruh Roh: Blagojevich defense notes contradictions in federal case; demands release of 2008 Obama interview with FBI

The Rod Blagojevich defense team filed a request yesterday that federal prosecutors be compelled to turn over FBI notes of its 2008 interview with President-Elect Obama. The reason? Blago's chief of staff John Harris has now -- on the record -- contradicted the prosecution's assertion that Obama had no knowledge of a quid pro quo involving his BFF Valerie Jarrett.

Rod Blagojevich's lawyers say they should be privy to remarks that President-Elect Obama made to FBI agents in December, 2008... The defense team has filed a motion asking for written reports of Obama's two-hour interview with prosecutors and the FBI, saying that testimony by key government witness John Harris has opened the door to possibly new information concerning Obama.

They say that testimony contradicts the government's previous public statements that Obama knew nothing about deal-making involving the Senate seat appointment.

"Testimony elicited by the government from John Harris and wiretaps played in court raise the issue of President Obama's direct knowledge and communication with emissaries and others regarding the appointment to his senate seat," lawyers wrote in the filing... "The government has elicited testimony that directly contradicts its previous position. The government asked its cooperating witness, John Harris, questions referencing 'President Obama's preferences', what President Obama knew, and what President Obama directed others to do and say, etc."

That includes testimony from Harris that SEIU union leader Tom Balanoff was delivering a message to Blagojevich from Obama as well as testimony that Blagojevich was told Obama knew the then-governor wanted a cabinet position in exchange for appointing Obama friend Valerie Jarrett to the open Senate seat post.

Obama, as well as others close to him, were interviewed by federal investigators following the arrest of the then-sitting governor Rod Blagojevich.

Judge James Zagel has blocked a defense request to subpoena President Obama, saying what they were seeking was irrelevant to the case. Zagel did say he might reconsider the issue as the trial was underway.

Why would Obama's testimony be off-limits to the defense? It's Chicago, dammit!

World's dumbest blogger: The Obama 'recovery' threatened by outrageous GOP demands that unemployment extension be paid for by Congress

Just when you thought Matthew Yglesias couldn't sink any lower on the scale of intellectual rigor, he comes up with a new, mind-roastingly inane missive that sets new records for vacuity. His latest post -- "Senate Republicans Team Up With Ben Nelson to Strangle Economic Recovery" -- is pithy and yet... has it all when it comes to ludiocrity (is that a word?).

Arthur Delaney reports that “Democratic leaders in the Senate have apparently failed to win enough support to overcome a Republican filibuster of a bill to help the poor, the old and the jobless, despite making a series of cuts to the measure over the past several weeks to appease deficit hawks.” To be clear about what’s going on here, the bill is supported by a majority of Senators. But a minority of 41 Republicans plus Ben Nelson will suffice to kill it, and kill it they shall.

Rather than hold the Obama Democrats to account for the trillions in failed economic initiatives -- for a not-so-shovel-ready Stimulus package, burgeoning unemployment, deteriorating banks, a worsening foreclosure crisis, nationalization of failed auto companies, the Raines-Gorelick destruction of the GSEs (to name but a few) -- the WDB asserts that the GOP is somehow damaging the awesome Obama recovery by demanding that Democrats start paying for their limitless unemployment-slash-welfare programs.

You know, the "unemployment benefits" that last two years and now has workers turning down real employment offers so they can remain "on permanent vacation".

As for the "recovery"?

BWAHAHAHHAH AHAHAHHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHH AHAHAHAHHAHA HAHAHHAHAH AHAHHAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHHAHA HAHAHAHHAH AHAHAHHAHAHH AHAHAHHAHAHA HHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH HAHAH HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH AHHAHAHAHAH HAHAHHAHAHAHH (breathe!) AHHAHAHAH AHHAHAHAH HAHAHAH AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA HAHHAHAHAHAHH AHAHHAHAHAH AHAHHAHAHAHHAHA (*whew*) AKAKAKAKKAKAAKAK (*wheeze*) AHAHAHAHHAA HHAHAHAHAHAH (*cough*)

You mean this recovery?

Yglesias represents intellectual flaccidity at its finest; he is, in essence, a pundit for the pointy-headed. But he is good at it.


Yglesias as Jihadist Photo Hat tip: Boker Tov, Boulder.

Judge plays Whack-a-Mole™ with the Obama-Salazar Drilling Ban -- Reportedly States, "Get That Weak S*** Outta Here, Cowboy Ken"

Earlier today, Judge Martin Feldman slapped down the federal government's second request to resume an offshore drilling ban on 33 deep-water rigs in the Gulf.

A federal judge has denied the Obama administration's request to stay his ruling lifting a moratorium on offshore drilling moratorium until an appeals court could review the case.

In an emergency hearing Thursday, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman denied the government's motion to stay pending appeal "for the same reasons given in [the] Court's June 22, 2010 order granting the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction."

The judge's decision the first time around turned out to be a damning indictment of Ken Salazar and his Department of the Interior.

In a scathing 22-page ruling accompanying the injunction order, U.S. District Judge Feldman referred to the oil drilling ban as "overbearing," "heavy handed," "misleading," "confused," as well as "arbitrary and capricious." The drilling moratorium was declared May 6 in response to the massive BP oil spill and originally was to last only through the month, but on May 27 President Obama announced that he was extending it for six months...

...Judge Feldman took strong issue with claims of alleged scientific and engineering consensus cited in Secretary Salazar's report to justify the shutdown of drilling in the Gulf.

"Much to the government's discomfort and this Court's uneasiness," Judge Feldman wrote, "the [Salazar report] Summary also states that 'the recommendations contained in this report have been peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.'" That claim has proven to be untrue. In fact, a supermajority of the experts involved reportedly oppose the moratorium and have denounced the report's claim as a "misrepresentation." As Judge Feldman noted, this "misleading" claim by the government is cause for "apprehension about the probity of the process that led to the Report."

In other words, the judge called Obama hack Ken Salazar a liar without actually calling him a liar.

Well played, Judge Feldman.


California taxpayers relieved to find out that their hard-earned dollars help subsidize gambling by illegal aliens, welfare recipients

Runner-up headline: The brilliance of the Democrat Party's limitless welfare state mentality: California welfare cards can be used in casino ATMs

I'm sure California taxpayers are relieved to discover that their hard-earned funds are subsidizing gambling by welfare recipients (including millions of illegals).

California welfare recipients are able to use state-issued debit cards to withdraw cash on gaming floors in more than half of the casinos in the state, a Los Angeles Times review of records found.

The cards, provided by the Department of Social Services to help recipients feed and clothe their families, work in automated teller machines at 32 of 58 tribal casinos and 47 of 90 state-licensed poker rooms, the review found.

State officials said Wednesday they were working to determine how much money had been withdrawn from casino ATMs by people using the welfare debit cards...

...the system of paying out welfare benefits via bank cards was created under Schwarzenegger's predecessor, Democrat Gray Davis.

...The cash portion of California's welfare benefits comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program... ...Each year, California gets $3.7 billion from the federal government for the program, while state and local governments kick in an additional $2.9 billion...

...Global Cash Access, a Las Vegas firm that provides ATMs and other equipment for more than 1,000 casinos in the United States, started programming their machines to reject welfare cards more than a decade ago.

"Unless a state tells us to allow access to their EBT cards, we will continue to block these cards from being accepted at our devices," said Katie Lever, the firm's general counsel. "It's really easy to do."

It turns out, then, that taxpayers across the U.S. are also helping to subsidize gambling by welfare recipients.

But, hey, Cali's budget deficit is only $19 billion -- and the country's is only roughly $1.6 trillion -- so the amount involved here has got to be a tiny fraction of that huge amount.

Isn't Democrat governance cool?


Hat tip: Drudge. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Hey, has anyone seen or spoken to Robert Byrd (D-Klan) lately?

With a 59-41 advantage in the U.S. Senate, Democrats continue to push an aggressive agenda before the November midterm elections. There is even talk that a defeated, lame-duck Congress would pass wildly unpopular legislative packages like Cap-n-Trade and Amnesty for Illegal Aliens.

So with massive bills hanging on a single vote in the Senate -- 60 votes are needed to break a filibuster -- one man seems to have curiously disappeared from sight.

That would be Robert ("The Kleagle") Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, a one-time Ku Klux Klan chieftain and leader of the Democrat anti-Civil Rights movement in the sixties (along with Al Gore's poppa). Byrd's 92 years old -- with more than 50 years in the Senate -- and has suffered from a variety of ailments over the last decade.

Hospitalized for six weeks after a May 2009 infection.

Hospitalized after a September 2009 fall and infection.

Has suffered from a debilitating form of Parkinson's Disease for years.

Had to be wheeled repeatedly onto the Senate floor in December for a series of health care votes and gave a "thumbs up" for aye votes or "thumbs down" for nays.

In his rare appearances, Byrd appears extremely frail and able to only haltingly read a few prepared statements.

The key questions for West Virginians in particular -- and Americans in general:

• Is Byrd physically able to perform his duties as both a Senator and President Pro Tempore of the Senate?

• Is he mentally able to fulfill his responsibilities?

• Does Byrd have free will -- or is he directed to vote and speak based upon the commands of his retinue?

These would appear to be very important questions that require an independent medical assessment. Perhaps one of our beloved reporters in the legacy media -- or an enterprising young new media star like Don Surber -- could pursue these important questions.