There's Backwards and there's . . .

BurkeWords

Monday, October 13, 1997

And by the way, using the definition of "finding something that no one knew was there", yes, Columbus did discover America. There were people on a couple of continents who didn't know anything about it.

Are you one of those people who had to go to work today? Me, too.

Words from Ireland: "When Promise Keepers says they want men to take charge, they really men they want women to be submissive."

And a Rebuke from me: "When Pat Ireland says that women should be equal with men, what she really means is that all men should be castrated."

It seems to me the two statements are equivalent in their own non sequitir way.

More on Promise Keepers on the Mall: It's been reported that not only were their demonstrators on the sidelines during the rally on the Washington Mall, but also that topless lesbians walked among the men seeking sexual purity.

If this was a test, the men must've passed. Otherwise the lead story on Saturday's news would have been "Sexual Harassment on the Mall" or "Domineering Perverts Fondle Helpless Lesbian."

Quote of the Week: And it's a quote of a quote.

The Wall Street Journal's editorial page has commented on all the fuss generated by El Nino, the weather phenomenom. It concluded it discussion with by noting:

Mark Twain, who famously complained that many people talk about the weather but nobody does anything about it, would be thrilled.

I have to agree.

Quote of the Week Runner-Up:

"The city needs a Democratic mayor." -- Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger.

"... Like it needs a hole in the head." -- C. J. Burke

California Tosses Out Term Limits

Two liberal wackos in robes on the Ninth Circuit threw out Term Limits for California state representatives that were voted for by 3.8 million people in 1990.

Proponents of Term Limits needn't be worried though. Of the 29 Ninth Circuit cases that have been appealed to the Supreme Court, 28 decisions have been overturned.

What's the difference? Conservative wackos in robes are called Klansmen. Liberal wackos in robes are called judges.

I wish I could claim credit for that, but I'm sure I've heard that one before.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the group formed to rid the world of land mines. Proponents of the blanket ban hope that this will shame the United States into signing the treaty along with other countries such as Norway and Switzerland. I don't know about you by I sleep better at nights knowing that the Portuguese have destroyed all the mines on the Spanish border.

Maybe we should circulate another petition to hand South Korea over to North Korea.

That Racist Death Penalty: Not long ago, a black man allegedly (yeah, right) killed a police office in the Bronx (New York) The D.A. there said he would not seek the death penalty, and Gov. George Pataki stepped in, removed the D.A., and turned the case over to the state's Attorney General. Now another cop has been murdered in Manhattan, and the D.A. refused to seek the death penalty even though it seems to be the definitive case as the statute is defined by law. Gov. Pataki has not stepped in in this case.

Where's the racism I alluded to? Take your pick. The D.A. in the Bronx was black, and he wasn't allowed to do his job. The defendant in the Bronx murder is black, and only black people get the death penalty. Some of the people screaming "Double Standard" are black, and that's to be expected. This is New York City we're talking about.

Not that I agree with Pataki's reasoning (and I definitely DO NOT agree with the Manhattan D.A.), but here it is: Pataki's action of stepping in to the first case is currently being challenged in court. The argument for stepping in is that the Bronx D.A. has vowed to never seek the death penalty and, so far, hasn't set up any sort of task force or review panel to set such cases in motion. By contrast, the Manhattan D.A. has begun the process, even though he's opposed to death penalty for criminals (apparently, it's okay for the cops that got shot). Additionally, this guy has appeared has also worked on federal cases that involved the death penalty, so that's another strike against taking over.

Finally, Pataki's afraid (or so he says) that just stepping in here without justification will endanger his current court battle and he might wind up losing both of them.

Maybe there's a lot of politics going on, but it aint racist politics.

Speaking of racists: There were plenty on the radio airwaves in NYC when two prominent black elected officials crossed party lines and endorsed Mayor Rudy Guiliani for re-election. They were verbally assaulted for days on radio not for betraying the Democratic party but for betraying African-Americans in total. Rep. Floyd Flake was denounced as "Flaky Floyd". Uncle Tom's Cabin anyone?

The "Extremists" Are At It Again Listen to the folks on the furthest edge of the political spectrum and they'll tell you that anyone who opposes abortion is a right-wing extremist. They've tossed that word around until it has no meaing anymore.

For example, 296 right-wing extremists voted to ban late-term partial-birth abortions. They must be right-wing loonies -- they voted against abortion. Simple math will tell you that the GOP has just over half the seats in the house, yet managed to get over two-thirds of the vote. What? Now we have Democrat right-wing extremists, too?

All I know is that Rep. Charles Rangel and I actually agree on something.

President Safe, Legal and Rare has promised to veto the bill. It doesn't have the support in the Senate to override.

Bradley Waiting In the Wings?

The New York Post has reported that should Al Gore's career take a stellar nosedive, President Clinton has former Sen. Bill Bradley waiting in the wings. Not to replace Al as Veep. To replace Clinton as President. It seems that the President is not content with grooming Gore to be a possible successor. Clinton was to name his successor, who can easily win the 2000 Election if he could avoid a bruising primary process. And naturally, he'd continue on with Clinton's policies -- whatever they are.

This should sit real well with Dick Gephardt. Not to mention Kerry and Kerrey. Oh yeah, try to tell Jesse that he's not allowed to run and then see what happens.

More Betsy Ross

Things are heating up in New York State, even if the important elections are a year away. Sen Al. D'Amato has announced that he believes Lt. Gov Betsy McCaughey, who recently switched parties to become a Democrat and who was dumped from the Governor's re-election ticket, should resign her seat. Betsy told Al, basically, to stuff it.

I say, Al, where would the Senate and House be if all your comrades who switched from the donkeys to the elephants after their elections had stepped down?

But the story gets better. There are rumors that Ms. McCaughey Ross is planning a run for the Governor's office. As it stands, she'd be the highest profile Democrat in the race -- though not necessarily the most liked.

On the other hand, she could easily run for Congress, which will put Speaker Gingrich in a bind. The Speaker's not too happy with Rep. Pete King from Long Island, but with a razor-thin edge in the House, he needs all the GOP seats he can get.

Stay tuned.

And finally John Denver has died.

No, wait, I mean the final story is that . . . I don't mean that he finally . . . Ah, skip it.