McCain visits families of two missing Israeli soldiers

Remember Israeli Defense Force reserve soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser? The kidnapping of these two men was the catalyst for the start of this summer's Israeli-Hezbollah war. At least outside of Israeli, sadly, the two men have largely been forgotten.

From AP:

Sen. John McCain, who spent five grueling years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, met with the families of two captured Israeli soldiers Sunday, sharing his own harrowing story of survival and promising to work for their release.

Reserve soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were captured July 12 by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in a cross-border raid that ignited a 34-day war. Hezbollah hasn't provided any evidence they are still alive.

''I don't know if I was able to bring comfort, but we certainly said we would do everything in our power to bring attention to the situation and see that Geneva Conventions are observed,'' McCain said after meeting with the soldiers' relatives.

Omri Avni, Goldwasser's father-in-law, said McCain's experience gave his family a shred of optimism. ''This is a very good hope for us, because even after five years there is new life," he said.

Technorati tags: 2008 politics Elections Republicans Israel McCain

Pizza man Monaghan to deliver for Brownback campaign

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, a recent convert to the Catholic faith, has the backing of former Domino's Pizza head Tom Monaghan. A staunch supporter of traditional Catholicism, Monaghan's presence on the Brownback team can bring a lot money to the Republican's fledgling presidential campaign--but baggage as well. Not all Catholics agree with Monaghan's view of the Church.

As for Brownback, I've noticed in blog-searches that his strong opposition to gay marriage has made him the least favorite Republican among the gay community, or at least gay bloggers. Some derisively refer to the senator as "Brownback Mountain." Assuming he officially announces a run for the presidency, the Kansan risks being unofficially tagged as the anti-gay candidate.

Technorati tags: Brownback Kansas Republicans Politics 2008 gay gay marriage Catholic

John Edwards: Just one America this time

Yesterday, word "leaked out" that former North Carolina Senator John Edwards will soon officially announce that he's running for president in 2008. It appears to be an "accidental" leak to get Edwards some press and take some of the spotlight off of Barack Obama for a little while.

The 2004 John Edwards campaign focused on "two Americas." The "haves" (ex-trial lawyer Edwards is in that group) and the "have-nots" (Dennis Kucinich belongs in this one). That got him some attention during the Democratic caucuses and primaries two years ago, but it became a liability for the Democrats after Edwards joined the Kerry team as the Frenchman's running mate.

All the Bush-Cheney campaign had to say is that they only saw one America.

Now Edwards is talking about "One America" too.

Edwards has a big image problem. He picked up the nickname "The Breck Girl" for his all-too-perfect looks in 2004. Brainster over here calls him the Silky Pony. Good looks don't automatically make someone a lightweight, but that's one of the stumbling blocks Edwards faces the second time around.

Technorati tags: John Edwards politics 2008 Kucinich Obama

Chicago columnist succumbs to Obama mania

For the most part, the Chicago media has been immune to that bug known as "Obama mania."

But not Carol Marin of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Now, it seems, time has chosen Obama as his clock ticks toward a January date with destiny. And no group of people is more excited than those of us who will cover the election. We like the fact that we knew him when. Long before folks in Iowa or New Hampshire stuck out their hands to press his flesh, we actually rubbed shoulders. He's our homey and we are his. As hometown press, we're wild about this story. A politician from Chicago tearing down a barrier of race. One of our own ready to make history.

For those unfamiliar with Marin, she has a reputation, undeserved in my opinion, for journalistic integrity. She's the anchorwoman who quit her NBC 5 Chicago position in protest after loudmouth Jerry Springer was hired to do commentary segments for the station's 10:00pm news.

Her style is much different than Springer's, but her work is detestable all the same.

Technorati tags: Obama National politics Politics Barack Obama Illinois Democrats 2008 msm media

60 Minutes tonight: Revisiting the Holocaust

A perfect antidote to that farce of a Holocaust conference in Iran in being offered by CBS' "60 Minutes" tonight.

Correspondent Scott Pelley and three Holocaust survivors recently traveled to Germany to view extensive files on that evil scar on humanity.

From CBS' web site:

Seized when Germany fell to the Allies in 1945, the documents were deposited in an archive in the German city of Bad Arolsen and have been tightly controlled for privacy reasons ever since. Sitting on 16 miles of shelving, they number 50 million pages covering 17.5 million victims, not only Jews but also millions of slave laborers, political prisoners, homosexuals and Roma. They reveal the horrible: For 90 minutes on Hitler's birthday, a prisoner was shot every two minutes as a gift to the Fuerhrer. They tell the mundane: Lice on prisoners were counted and classified as small, medium and large.

Here's a comment from one of the Holocaust survivors who made the trip:

Those people who said the Holocaust didn't happen, like the president of Iran, if they have any questions about it, please come to Bad Arolsen and check it out for themselves.

Thanks to Richard Baehr of the American Thinker for the heads-up on this story.

Technorati tags: holocaust television news jewish iran shoah 60 Minutes

Obama watch: More Tony Rezko

Washington Post writer Peter Slevin does a sort-of follow-up story on Howard Kurtz' piece that appeared in the Post earlier this week.

Slevin does a pretty good job summing up the Rezko (and Stuart Levine, a Republican) pay-to-play schemes that eventually got both men indicted for fraud.

Levine later pleaded guilty, and he is now cooperating with federal authorities, causing many sleepless nights for Illinois political insiders.

What both Kurtz and Slevin miss in their stories is that shortly after Democrat Rod Blagojevich was sworn in as governor in 2003--but probably before--it was common knowledge in Springfield that Rezko was the "go-to" guy for access to "Blago." Especially if you donated money to Blagojevich's political fund.

I like this paragraph from Andy Shaw of ABC 7 Chicago, from October, 2006:

Rezko is one of few private Illinois citizens who can walk past the governor's security detail and whisper in Blagojevich's ear. Rezko had access to Blagojevich and donated at least $49,000 to his campaign fund through personal and corporate names since 2004. Having money and having access to politicians goes hand-in-hand in Illinois, according to Paul Green, Roosevelt University political science professor.

What does this have to do with Obama? Well, until late 2004 Barack Obama was an Illinois state senator. Could someone so brilliant as Obama been oblivious to Rezko's prominence in the eyes of the governor? I'm not claiming that Obama knew, or would be expected to know of Rezko's alleged illegal activities, but an odor has surrounded Rezko since Governor Blagojevich was sworn in almost four years ago.

The initial Obama-Rezko (actually Rita Rezko, Tony's wife) real estate deal took place in the summer of 2005.

As for the Tony Rezko intrigues that got him indicted, US Attorney Patrick "Fitzmas" Fitzgerald called it "a pay to play scheme on steroids."

Steroids, both real and metaphorical, will get you noticed. But did Obama miss something?

From Slevin's Washington Post article:

Obama said that he was unaware of Rezko's brewing troubles in 2005 and that Rezko sought no favors. He described himself, after eight years in the Illinois Senate and two on Capitol Hill, as careful to live within strict ethical boundaries -- refusing to allow lobbyists to pay for meals, for example, and reimbursing people for golf outings.

Technorati tags: Obama National politics Politics Barack Obama Illinois News Tony Rezko Democrats real estate corruption 2008 blagojevich

Tommy Thompson still thinking it over

Former Wisconsin Governor and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is still considering a run for president. As I noted last month, Thompson's time may have passed him by. He was a hot Republican in the 1990s, and was supposedly on Bob Dole's "short-list" of vice-presidential nominees in 1996.

Welfare reform in Wisconsin was his biggest achievement, but that issue hasn't remained on most voters' front-burners.

Technorati tags: Tommy Thompson Republicans Politics News Wisconsin

Days after gun raid on his home, Chicago Bears' Tank Johnson's bodyguard shot to death

Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson has had his problems with the law. In his latest run-in with authorities--which occurred just a few days ago--police raided his north suburban home and found six unregistered guns.

And just a few hours ago, Johnson's bodyguard, Willie B. Posey, was shot to death outside a Chicago night club. Posey's home address was listed as the Johnson residence.

Technorati tags: NFL Chicago Bears sports crime breaking news chicago illinois

Bayh says bye to 2008

I didn't think Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana had much of a chance of winning the Democratic nomination in 2008, and apparently he figured that out too.

On a side note, last Sunday's Chicago Tribune had an article about the failure of Midwestern candidates--since Harry Truman--to win the presidency. Plenty have tried, including Bayh's father in 1976, as well as a whole bunch of people from Minnesota.

But Evan Bayh won't be the latest Heartland failure.

Technorati tags: Indiana Politics Evan Bayh Democrats 2008 Elections

Pajamas Media Blog Week with Powerline

Blog Week in Review moderator Austin Bay interviews John Hinderaker and Scott W. Johnson of the popular Powerine blog.

The two Minnesotans discuss local politics, mainly the Keith Ellison congressional race, as well as their role in the breaking the Rathergate scandal.

The disusssion also includes their opinion of the Iraq Study Group report.

Listen or download here. Free subscriptions to Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review are available at the iTunes web site.

Ed Driscoll, as always, runs the control board.

The podcast is sponsored by Volvo Cars.

Technorati tags: Current Affairs Politics podcasts Podcast Podcasting iPod blog Pajamas Media Volvo politics Iraq Minnesota Rathergate