Lotta Love
ArchPundit
The Post-Dispatch uncovers the John Lott-Mary Rosh love poems.
McKenna plants poll with Steve Neal
Neal takes a shot at one of his two favorite targets, Peter Fitzgerald. And the news is not good for the reclusive Fitzgerald. His generic reelect is at 24 percent.
I’m surprised it is that low given Fitzgerald hasn’t been that vocal, but that seems to be the key. He makes few public appearances and doesn’t announce his schedule so few in Illinois know what the guy is doing.
Neal dislike Fitzgerald and has made no bones about it. He quite often expresses the same level of dislike for Dick Durbin. The poll was leaked from a Republican source which means someone from McKenna’s camp trying to soften the blow of taking on an incumbent. Possibly Lahood or Hastert’s people passed it on if it wasn’t McKenna himself.
Given how bruising such a primary would be and Fitzgerald’s good standing with conservatives who have the nominating process locked up, it is likely that Illinois will be a Democratic pick-up barring a stupid choice. Given the stupidest choice is thinking of running for President, Fitzgerald is probably leaving DC in two years.
Everybody is sooooo lame
As channeled by Josh Marshall. You know, I understand why unreconstructed knuckle draggers want to pretend the US is okay going it alone all of the time, but why more mainstream people haven’t been shocked at the administration’s clumsiness with our historical and democratic allies is a mystery.
Jeesh
CNN is reporting
But while the broadcast message declared solidarity with Iraqis, it made no mention of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and even denounced his socialist Baath party as "infidels."
Okay, I’m for the war, but can we stop the inane meme that Al Qaeda and Iraq are in league with one another? Bin Laden probably wants us to take out Hussein so he can start to build a pan Arab Muslim state starting with revolts in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Note on postings
Expect fewer during the day and more at night.
Volokh Gets Snarky
With Nazis and it is pretty damn funny. Eugene is normally one of the more unshakably polite folks in the world and he needs to let loose on such targets from time to time. What I missed while updating the templates….
Patron Saint of Lost Causes
Ben DeClue is running a Draft Bradley campaign. He claims there are rumblings, but I haven’t heard any from the Bradley campaign’s 2000 team so I’m skeptical. However, it is Bill Bradley, sign up.
Shocking: Regulator Sold Fundraising Tickets
The third oldest profession in Illinois is political fundraiser and the news that an SOS regulator was selling fundraising tickets to those he regulated should only serve as a wake-up call to the more dimwitted Illinois citizens who have had their heads up their butts for the last 50 years. It isn’t right, it should be stopped, and everyone to hold the damn office including people like Jim Edgar knew it went on. Clean it up, but let’s save the handwringing for something we didn’t know about.
One Case at a Time
Perhaps the Illinois penal system needs a twelve step program. Talk Left reports that Illinois’ State Appellate Defender’s office is organizing to fight every death sentence from the bottom up as they come through the system.
While I am hopeful this will result in decent representation, as I mention in the comments section, I’m concerned it will lead to lower funding levels. Don’t take that as a criticism, but my cynical spidey senses are going off.
Lotta Wrap-Up
CalPundit was turned down for an interview by Lott on his mysterious survey. Given Lott took his marbles and went home before bothering to answer why he is repeating an inferior survey, one has to wonder if the entire schtick isn’t brilliant marketing.
Get some rather dimwitted gun rights advocates to jump on your bandwagon with some half-ass research that they don’t have the technical competency to understand (or a over anxious law prof/blogger) and then cry persecution whenever anyone asks reasonable questions about your methods and evidence. Even better, always move the argument over to a survey for which there is conveniently no way to verify or disprove its existence and avoid discussing the actual methodology of it or of your primary work. Get one peer reviewed article out there, publish a book based on the article and then turn to Regnery to rake in some cash. Good work if you can get it. You can also whine that no one will hire you.
I have little more to say given that no one with any integrity is going to take this clown seriously. For those interested in following it closely, Tim Lambert continues to do a bang up job. By this point, Lott’s sexual identity is being questioned and well, it is sophomoric and kinda funny.
Having little more to say doesn’t mean nothing more to say so expect more as the situation merits.
One thing I do have left is that Lott claimed in one interview that it was reasonable to allow his wife and son to post a fraudulent review under the pseudonym Mary Rosh. He seemed taken aback by the notion that he should have intervened when they posted the Amazon review. In my view, yes he should have intervened. Teaching your children ethical conduct is an important part of being a parent. Misrepresenting oneself as a disinterested observer is far different than say posting anonymously. I can guarantee you I won’t be blogging about any of my work in my non-anonymous life.