BROADSIDES

September 23, 2007

Marcel Marceau Dead At 84
I assume he had no last words.

September 11, 2007

"This Wound To Our Country"
Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -- the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time -- now depends on us. Our nation -- this generation -- will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.

It is my hope that in the months and years ahead, life will return almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good. Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day, and to whom it happened. We'll remember the moment the news came -- where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire, or a story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.

And I will carry this: It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end.

I will not forget this wound to our country or those who inflicted it. I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people. -- George W. Bush, September 20, 2001, at a joint session of Congress

B. Sides @ 8:28 AM

September 06, 2007

Memo To Larry Craig: Beat It!
Let me rephrase that ...

Sen. Craig, get out of Dodge. The time to fight for your career is not after you've announced your resignation from the Senate. The time to fight for your career was before you plead guilty last June to what I suspect was a highly questionable charge of disorderly conduct. (How do I know my advice is right? Because, quite simply, it's the opposite of what the nearly-always-wrong Senator Arlen Specter is telling you.)

So show some class, Larry, and make a dignified exit.

And for your information, Senator: you could've avoided this mess on your way home from the Senate in June had you a basic knowledge of the Constitution:

Article I, Section. 6:
[The Senators and Representatives] shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

But that's all academic now.

You've plead guilty and announced your resignation; it's time to go.

B. Sides @ 11:47 AM

The Stage Is Now Closed For Repairs
Sen. Ted Kennedy Jumps On Stage To Sing 'We Are The World'... -- Drudge Report headline, 09/06/07

B. Sides @ 11:12 AM