Debra J. Saunders from Creators Syndicate

At Least Spanky Had Grace To Leave Quietly for 09/15/2009

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Will the sex scandal of former GOP Assemblyman Mike Duvall make a difference for the California GOP? In that Duvall — now known as Spanky — had the good sense to resign 15 hours into the scandal, the answer would be: No.

Orange County Republicans are like weeds. Cut off one and another will grow in its place. With any luck, Duvall's replacement will respect the position and n ...

Updated: Tue Sep 15, 2009

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Inside the Glorious Nation of ACORN for 09/17/2009

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I would not go see the film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" because I found more cruelty than humor in deliberately exposing unwitting civilians to the easy ridicule of smug sophomores.

Now the right has its own Borat-style entertainment. Equipped with a video camera, conservative activists James O'Keefe, 25, and Hannah Gile ...

Updated: Thu Sep 17, 2009

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Democrats' Quest for Balance in 2009 for 09/20/2009

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democrats seem to have shifted their thinking on a number of issues since President Obama took the oath of office. Figure some Dems have more faith in government with a like-minded man at the helm, and besides, circumstances have changed. But also figure that some Democrats were just looking for sore spots — and their anti-Bush rhetoric was based not on principle, but raw opportunism.

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Updated: Sun Sep 20, 2009

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L.A. Is Not 'Chinatown' for 09/29/2009

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Our Betters in Europe, of course, are outraged that Switzerland arrested and may allow the extradition of film director Roman Polanski, 76, a fugitive from California justice after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old in 1977.

The French culture minister, Frederic Mitterrand, sniffed, "In the same way that there is a generous America that we like, there is also a sca ...

Updated: Tue Sep 29, 2009

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Senators Have Wires Crossed on Security for 10/01/2009

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

On Tuesday, Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old Afghan immigrant who was a teenager in Queens during the Sept. 11 attacks, pleaded not guilty to federal terrorism conspiracy charges in New York.

This is a scary story. Police stopped and searched Zazi's rented car on the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 10, as the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks loomed and President Obama was about to joi ...

Updated: Thu Oct 01, 2009

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Newsom's Nanny Problem for 10/04/2009

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's been a long, strange trip since Gavin Newsom became San Francisco's mayor. When he first ran for City Hall's top job, Newsom led with a campaign to do something about the city's homeless population. Well, the homeless are still here, but Newsom has moved on to a new target — he is running to be the next governor of California by picking on the personal habits of people who for the mo ...

Updated: Sun Oct 04, 2009

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The Second City Becomes Fourth City for 10/06/2009

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

If you want to understand why some conservatives were gleeful over Chicago's fourth-place finish in its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games — after President Obama and the first lady flew to Copenhagen to pitch the American city to the International Olympic Committee — consider this quote in the New York Times from Anita DeFrantz, an IOC member from the United States: "I ...

Updated: Tue Oct 06, 2009

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Dems Change Stance on Military and Afghanistan for 10/09/2009

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

At the Democratic National Convention in Denver last summer, then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged to "finish the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan."

Lately Obama has toned down his rhetoric when it comes to succeeding in Afghanistan. "I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a ...

Updated: Fri Oct 09, 2009

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Lose at the Ballot, Push! for Payback at the Bench for 10/11/2009

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker opened the gates to hell this month when he ruled that strategists for Proposition 8 — the 2008 ballot measure, passed by 52 percent of California voters, that limited marriage to a man and a woman — must release internal campaign documents to measure opponents.

Political activists of all stripes beware: Unless this ruling is overturned ...

Updated: Sun Oct 11, 2009

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What Happened to Global Warming? for 10/13/2009

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

"What happened to global warming?" read the headline — on BBC News on Oct. 9, no less. Consider it a cataclysmic event: Mainstream news organizations have begun reporting on scientific research that suggests that global warming may not be caused by man and may not be as dire and imminent as alarmists suggest.

Indeed, as the BBC's climate correspondent Paul Hudson reported ...

Updated: Tue Oct 13, 2009

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The Bay Area Bridge That Time Forgot for 10/15/2009

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

On Oct. 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake brought down a chunk of the upper deck of the Oakland-Bay Bridge onto the lower deck. Anamafi Moala Kalushia, 23, of Berkeley died. Twenty years later, some 280,000 cars use the bridge daily — and it still isn't safe.

In that time, Iraq has been in two wars and replaced bombed bridges over the Tigris River twice. In little more than a ye ...

Updated: Thu Oct 15, 2009

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Bipartisan Facade Can't Hide Health Plan's Flaws for 10/18/2009

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

If the Democrats' health care package is so great, why are President Obama and Dem congressional leaders so hungry to share the credit for its passage with a Republican?

It's not as if D.C. Dems are opposed to hogging the glory when a federal program is popular. So why did Obama feel the need to announce after the Senate Finance Committee passed a health care measure with the support of ...

Updated: Sun Oct 18, 2009

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Buying the Votes of Senior Citizens for 10/20/2009

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's hard to instill confidence in the U.S. economy when Washington keeps finding new and creative ways to spend money it doesn't have.

Take President Obama's proposal to send additional $250 checks to Social Security recipients — on top of the $250 checks they already received as part of the president's $787 billion economic stimulus package.

Because seniors don't need a co ...

Updated: Tue Oct 20, 2009

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The Real Flaw: Fox Is a No-Fawn Zone for 10/22/2009

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Obama White House's war on Fox News heated up when President Obama appeared on five Sunday talk shows in September, but snubbed Fox's Chris Wallace. Then White House Communications Director Anita Dunn told CNN's Howard Kurtz, "Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party." On ABC's "This Week" Sunday, Obama g ...

Updated: Thu Oct 22, 2009

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The Long and the Short of Steve Poizner for 10/25/2009

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Why isn't Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner doing better in his bid for governor? On paper, Poizner is a solid contender.

He's the only Republican elected to statewide office in California who hasn't starred in a blockbuster film. He's a successful entrepreneur who struck it rich developing global positioning technology for cell phones. Later in life, he turned to public service, firs ...

Updated: Sun Oct 25, 2009

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License To Drive While Unlicensed for 10/27/2009

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Mayor Gavin Newsom's office has argued that San Francisco's "sanctuary city" policy protects undocumented immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding residents.

But as The Chronicle's Phil Matier and Andrew Ross reported Monday, San Francisco has a new policy starting on Nov. 1 that prevents city cops from automatically impounding cars driven by giving never-licensed drivers 20 mi ...

Updated: Tue Oct 27, 2009

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No Fireworks with Harmer, Garamendi for 10/29/2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

No journalist who has followed Lt. Gov. John Garamendi over the years could be surprised at his answer to the final question at Monday night's debate at St. Mary's College among candidates competing to replace Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, in Tuesday's special election. When an opportunity for fulsome flattery presents itself, Garamendi does not miss a beat.

Reading a question fro ...

Updated: Thu Oct 29, 2009

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Levi Johnston Stripped Bare for 11/03/2009

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Be prepared to see more of Levi Johnston than you ever wanted to see. The 19-year-old who fathered a baby born out of wedlock to Sarah Palin's teenage daughter Bristol is about to pose nude for Playgirl magazine. Also, with Palin's book, "Going Rogue," set for release this month, some publications may follow Vanity Fair's example in October by granting the high-school dropout a byline ...

Updated: Tue Nov 03, 2009

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There Is No Honor; There's Only Killing for 11/05/2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Council on American-Islamic Relations sent out its usual roundup Tuesday of news stories alleging the mistreatment of Muslims in America. There was a story critical of the FBI harassment of Muslims in Queens, N.Y., in the wake of the arrest of a suspected terrorist. Another story concerned calls for an investigation into an FBI shooting that left Detroit Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah dead. The ...

Updated: Thu Nov 05, 2009

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D.C.'s 'Failure To Launch' National Health Care Policy for 11/08/2009

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee health care bill includes a provision that would allow parents to keep their children as dependents on their health care policies until age 26. Not to be outdone, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced last month that, as Congressional Quarterly reported, the House bill "will allow young people to stay on their parents' policies unti ...

Updated: Sun Nov 08, 2009

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