Sibby Online

An infrequent Senate speech by Tim Johnson

Yesterday Tim Johnson said goodbye on the Senate floor to Tom Daschle. I have not forgotten Johnson’s mention of the Taliban wing of the Republican Party. At the end of his speech, Johnson referred to the person who some think is the inspiration to the Taliban wing of the Republican Party:

"It was Jesus Christ who said, "Inasmuch as ye have done unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." And no matter what level of accomplishment and power, Tom ... never forgot the least of people who Christ referenced. And while we will no longer have Tom Daschle to lead us in this body, we are both instructed and warmed by the example that he gave us during his 26-year congressional career.

"He and his wife, Linda, have made an extraordinary team and will always be among the closest of friends to my wife Barbara and to me. I will never serve with a man whom I admire more than Tom Daschle. And it is with very great sadness that I say goodbye to his presence here in this body. But more than anyone I've ever served with or ever will serve with, he has added glory and meaning to the term 'United States Sen..'"

Tom and Linda did make "an extraordinary team". I am sure they will continue to have a prosperous life in Washington DC.

Hillary’s run for President stopped?

Here is the opening to a must read WorldNetDaily report:

The man who organized a star-studded Hollywood gala to benefit then-first lady Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign has authored a riveting account of his life among the rich and famous, shining the light on members of the would-be presidential candidate's staff and the Democratic standard bearer herself.

Aaron Tonken, who quickly became a friend to top celebrities after once living in an L.A. homeless shelter, penned the last portion of his tell-all book, "King of Cons: Exposing the Dirty, Rotten Secrets of the Washington Elite and Hollywood Celebrities," from behind bars. Part of his story includes what he considers a betrayal by government officials – which occurred after copping a plea and cooperating with the feds' investigation into fund-raising impropriety.

Deer hunting on the Internet!

Check this report out:

Underwood, an estimator for a San Antonio, Texas auto body shop, has invested $10,000 to build a platform for a rifle and camera that can be remotely aimed on his 330-acre (133-hectare) southwest Texas ranch by anyone on the Internet anywhere in the world.

The idea came last year while viewing another Web site on which cameras posted in the wild are used to snap photos of animals.

"We were looking at a beautiful white-tail buck and my friend said 'If you just had a gun for that.' A little light bulb went off in my head," he said.

Internet hunting could be popular with disabled hunters unable to get out in the woods or distant hunters who cannot afford a trip to Texas, Underwood said.

New bunch of Hitlers

From WorldNetDaily:

Singer Linda Ronstadt, who made headlines during this year's presidential campaign by expressing solidarity with filmmaker Michael Moore, is now comparing current U.S. political trends with events in Nazi Germany.

"People don't realize that by voting Republican, they voted against themselves," Ronstadt told USA Today regarding the race for the White House.

On the issue of the ongoing battle in Iraq, Ronstadt added, "I worry that some people are entertained by the idea of this war. They don't know anything about the Iraqis, but they're angry and frustrated in their own lives. It's like Germany, before Hitler took over. The economy was bad and people felt kicked around. They looked for a scapegoat. Now we've got a new bunch of Hitlers."

The comments are just the latest in a string of controversial remarks the singer made this year. In July, her dedication of a song to Moore during a concert in Las Vegas prompted her to be escorted off the Aladdin Casino and Resort property.

Compassionate conservatives

I thought this letter in today's Argus Leader by Pete L. Fransen is right on the mark:

I read with interest the AP article in the Nov. 10 Argus Leader about the most generous and least generous states. The piece indicates that the 10 states leading the nation in charitable giving are all "red" states (voted for President George W. Bush) and all but one of the top 10 least generous states are "blue" states (voted for Sen. John Kerry).

It would seem to me that most compassionate conservatives in the "red" states are willing to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to helping out the less fortunate, but the liberals in the "blue" states prefer to put other people's money where their mouth is.

Thune has clout confirmed

The Hill reports an important decision by the Republican Senate:

The Republican Conference changed its rules yesterday to give Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) new powers to ensure party discipline.

A coalition of loyalist and new senators managed unexpectedly to push through the more sweeping version of the proposed changes, defeating a watered-down proposal.

The stronger one, which passed on a 27-26 secret-ballot vote, allows Frist to fill half of all vacancies on “A” committees as he chooses. The other half would be made by seniority, the traditional way Republicans award committee slots.

“It certainly leaves the option open for significant changes in the way we do business around here,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), an opponent of the idea.

Critics warned that Frist could use his new powers to punish those who challenge party orthodoxy and reward those to toe the leadership line. Asked how he would employ his new powers, Frist told The Hill, “Sensibly, reasonably, responsibly.” He said he looked forward to “maximizing the strength of each U.S. Senate member.”

But Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a maverick who has criticized White House strategy, said, “I’m one who believes we must always be careful of centralization of power in any institution. We have to be careful with this. It has some unintended consequences.”

Most senators expressed optimism that Frist would wield the new authority wisely.

“See how it works,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “Change is good,” he added.
Opponents of the idea mostly rallied around a weaker version, sponsored by conference Chairman Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), which would grant the leader the ability to appoint two slots on each “A” committee as they became available.

One GOP aide said the stronger version prevailed partly because of support from a newly elected crop of seven GOP senators, who stand to gain from it. Since there were two mutually exclusive proposals on the table, “there was no middle ground,” the aide said.

Aides are already speculating about who will gain. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) hopes to win an open seat on the Appropriations Committee, having helped deliver a four-seat gain as chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. Allen is up for reelection in 2006, and both he and Frist are mentioned as possible GOP presidential candidates in 2008.

Frist could use his powers to create a star out of the new freshman class. The highest-profile member of the class is probably Sen.-elect John Thune (R-S.D.), who knocked off Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Thune has already been a staple on television talk shows since the election.

Tonight (Wednesday) John Thune was on Fox News Hannity & Colmes. Thune did a great job of handling questions from both hosts. The only times I saw Tom Daschle on that program was when it was taped in advance and the only host asking questions was lefty Alan Colmes. That chicken picture comes to mind.

Herseth degrades new SD delegation

In another obvious attempt to glorify his college buddy Tom Daschle, David Kranz provides this quote from Stephanie Herseth in today’s Argus Leader:

"We will need to be focused on heavy lifting we have to do because of the lack of a leadership position that Senator Daschle has had in communicating important issues like water projects," she said.

So Herseth thinks that Thune, Johnson and herself are not leaders. Perhaps she should speak for herself. No doubt John Thune will be doing the heavy lifting for South Dakota. Not only is he the only one from the South Dakota delegation who is part of the majority, he is also a hero for getting rid of the chief obstructionist.

It looks like Herseth already has learned what its like to be one of 435 while being a member of the minority party.

I read reactions from Daschle supporters who whine that the future of South Dakota is now bleak with no one of power in the Senate to get things done for South Dakota.They are saying what we all know, Tim Johnson has proven to be not much of a leader.

Feminists are the Democrats down fall

Here is an excerpt from a column by Jonathan Smith after he pointed out Bush increased his Hispanic support by 9% due to the ‘value issues’:

To fix this and keep minorities from bailing ship, the most important step the Democratic Party can make is to give up on feminists - a small voting bloc - and stop forcing all of their candidates to be pro-choice. If Roe v. Wade survives a Republican Federal Government for the next four years, then nothing will really make abortions illegal again.

Therefore, it is unwise to constantly align yourself with that ruling when many Americans are still uncomfortable with it. By stopping all the lip service for pro-choice, the Democrats will finally appeal to the 30 to 40 percent of voters who call themselves "born-again Christians," according to slate.com. Even though this is the best plan of action for the party, it's unlikely to happen. Though feminists are a small percent of the American public, they do a lot of the groundwork for the party.

Slander from the left

DVT notes a report from The Hill accusing us of committing lies as we worked to remove Tom Daschle from the U.S. Senate. In today’s Argus Leader is a letter from Jack Billion that contains this crap:

This election speaks most loudly about those who participated in its tenor of negativity, misinformation and outright dishonesty - Senator-elect John Thune, Dick Wadhams and certain religious figures in the state.

I can’t believe the level of hypocrisy coming out of the left. It was Daschle who ran a campaign promoting himself as pro-life, pro-gun and anti-tax. By bringing forward his actions in DC that proved he represented the exact opposite positions on those issues, we were attacked for being liars and causing the negative tone. That crap is continuing and as during the election, I am not taking this lying down (pun intended). It’s time to hit the letters to the editor, that is if the Argus Leader will print them. No joke intended.

Thune has clout

Looks like the majority party in the U.S. Senate is looking at changing rules so that Thune’s clout can be put to better use. From The Rapid City Journal:

Sen.-elect John Thune, R-S.D., said a vote by Senate Republicans today could determine what kind of committee assignments he gets when he joins the Senate in January.

Thune explained that Republican senators get committee appointments based strictly on seniority. But a vote today could change that, Thune said in a phone interview Monday.

"The Democrat leader has always had more latitude in making assignments," Thune said. Senate Republicans today could vote to adopt a similar system, giving their leaders more leeway in making committee assignments.

"From my point of view, that makes a lot of sense," said Thune, who will begin his first term in the Senate. "The more senior members, I'm sure, are going to want to keep the rules the way they are," Thune said.

Thune said that the Bush administration and key Republican leaders likely feel some gratitude to him for defeating South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle, the Democratic Senate leader, in the Nov. 2 election. National Republican leaders blamed Daschle for blocking many of President Bush's legislative priorities.