Charges against Tom DeLay, “The Hammer,” are gone.
“Ronnie Earle indicted Tom DeLay for a crime that didn’t exist, wasn’t on the books,” DeGuerin said.
It’s not completely over, but the politically-motivated smear job by prosecutor Ronnie Earl, which resulted in his stepping down as House Majority Leader and helped contribute to the Democratic takeover of the House in 2006, did real political and personal damage to DeLay.
Love him or hate him, DeLay was prosecuted unfairly by a runaway prosecutor. Earl should be held to account, just as Mike Nifong was.
Then again, Earl could end up like Eliot Spitzer and get elected governor for his excesses.
His MySpace page now lists his occupation as “EX – carphone warehouse salesman.”
Next gig: performing for the Queen. Godspeed, Paul. (I’ll send you the bill for all the Kleenex – I’ve yet to make it through one of your performances without weeping.)
JOHN, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting.
KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation of the holy Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom …
The Magna Carta was hardly the end product of a Western march to freedom – it took centuries to evolve, and much blood was spilled in the interim – but it was a significant milestone. It’s a thought that bears consideration in a world where people get impatient for resolution to conflict after a few months or years.
Potts, Britain’s Got Talent‘s breakaway opera phenomenon, does it again, and is heading to the live Sunday finals:
I’m sure some of his success is the sheer novelty of a solid operatic tenor wedged in between armpit orchestras, kitten jugglers and prop comics. But even if his venue is a novelty, what he brings to it is not. I truly hope this will bring Paul a long and fulfilling musical career.
There is but one downside: the inevitable TV movie “based on actual events”.
Update: Since I saw the clip I posted yesterday, I’ve been trying to put my finger on just what it was that brought tears to my eyes, beyond the music. This reader comment posted by Jonah Goldberg on The Corner brilliantly verbalizes my thoughts.
The video came up and there’s this dumpy guy with bad teeth. Then he started to sing. Now, I’m not an overly emotional person, but halfway through I realized I was crying. Haven’t done anything like that in many, many years, and I wondered, as I dried my eyes, how in the world his singing could have caused such a strong reaction in me. The video has been on a loop in my head ever since, and I think I’m ready to make a guess.
His expression before he begins to sing is that of a man resigned to disappointment. Even when he smiles, his eyes convey a profound sadness. He has been a nobody all his life. He, and perhaps only he, knows he has greatness inside of him, but he is obviously a humble man, massively insecure, afraid of rejection, unsure of himself outside the cocoon of anonymity….
Read the whole thing. (Heh.® Indeed.™) What separates his latest performance from his first: the tuxedo-clad semifinalist not only knows he can sing, but he now knows we know it. Whether or not he takes the prize in the contest, Paul Potts is a winner.
Czech president Vaclav Klaus has a compelling piece in the Financial Times.
As someone who lived under communism for most of his life, I feel obliged to say that I see the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity now in ambitious environmentalism, not in communism. This ideology wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central (now global) planning.
Klaus’ article has an overall tone of “oh, no, not again.” He lived under tyranny for decades, and sees the iron fist behind the current move to impose an ideology – in this case, “global warming” environmentalism, on vast swaths of people whether they want it or not.
He’s been there. He’s done that. Now that he and his people are free, he won’t relinquish that freedom easily.
The question is, how many will listen, and stand with him.
And I said nothing, because I wasn’t a svelte billioneiress with a DUI record.
Then I realized I was the only one not talking about it.
Must be a slow news week. Presidential debates? Immigration/amnesty bills? G-8 summits? MacBook Pro announcements?
Please. Get your priorities, straight, people. Paris is burning.
And kicking and screaming. Yes, she deserves jail time, but I can sympathize with the culture shock that jail would be to anyone, let alone someone to whom the world is her personal Galleria.
During a question on abortion at the third GOP debate, Giuliani was compared to Pontius Pilate. Giuliani’s attempt to answer was frequently interrupted by…lightning.
“For someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a frightening thing that’s happening right now,” Rudy joked, as McCain and Romney made a point to distance themselves from Giuliani’s podium…just in case.
Rudy McRomney, the big three of the declared and debating candidates, had a decent night, and I sincerely hope that the seven also-rans will soon shake out of the field to allow for more substantive debates between the front-runners. Even cutting the current field in half would help.
I thought Rudy came out ahead again, followed by Romney and McCain. Rudy’s abortion stance is more pro-choice than many GOP primary voters are comfortable with, but he’s handling the issue far better than he did in the first debate. On his gravitas re the war against those committed to killing us, he is unmatched. He also doesn’t flinch from taking the media and the domestic opposition to task. He stands out as a tough and serious leader in a challenging time.
McCain’s ardent defense of the immigration bill is doing him no favors in the GOP whose nomination he seeks. He’s a smart and capable leader most of the time, but when his uppity side asserts himself, as it does over immigration, he loses me.
As for Romney, he’s still struggling with the flip-flop label. Many fear he’s more Clinton-slick than Reagan-solid, and he hasn’t dispelled that concern yet. Even so, I still like him; Mitt has a steady demeanor, and he’s likeable. The big question in the end may be, do we want someone we like, or someone who specifically scares the crud out of the bad guys.
My two dark horse favorites on stage are Gov. Mike Huckabee and Duncan Hunter. Once again, Huckabee’s a witty charmer, and Hunter carries Tancredo’s agenda better than Tancredo does.
Tom Tancredo, Tommy Thompson, Jim Gilmore, Ron Paul? Meh. The problem of the early campaign is that there’s no compelling reason to exit the field just yet, so they’ll stick around longer than they should. As Romney said, it’s great fun to run for president; who wouldn’t get a kick out of it? But at least Pat Paulson had the good grace to run low-key; he never begged for a place on the stage.
Everyone’s still waiting for FRED! to make it official. Until he declares he’s a wild card – he can be whatever people want him to be, but he’s already lost three opportunities to define himself in a direct and free forum. In the long term that could be a mistake. Or a masterstroke.
Just my opinion, but comparing the GOP to the Democratic Party debates is a striking contrast. Much as I dislike Hillary Clinton, she’s the only Dem candidate who looks ready for prime time. The GOP has at least four active candidates who look like they could do the job. On the Democratic side? Obama’s interesting but probably too early; I saw all I needed of John Edwards four years ago; Joe Biden’s ship sailed twenty years ago; Gravel has no chance; Kucinich is Ned LaMont without the charisma; Bill Richardson has some good governing experience but is a lousy candidate.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say the current field is a leftist conspiracy to make Hillary look viable.
But in the end, the relative strength of each field could impact the momentum each candidate brings to the general election. In that sense, I’d rather be the Republican nominee than a Democrat right now.