The Frozen Tundra Of….. Louisiana

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas took on a new meaning in Louisiana as eight inches of snow fell in parts of that state. New Orleans got about an inch, while a town to the northwest got the full eight. Also hit with snow were Alabama and Mississippi.

Up to 8 inches of snow was reported in parts of Louisiana. Snow also covered a broad swath of Mississippi, including the Jackson area, and closed schools in more than a dozen districts.

A heavy band of snow coated windshields and grassy areas in New Orleans, where about an inch accumulated. A peak of 8 inches was reported in Amite, about 75 miles northwest of New Orleans, said meteorologist Danielle Manning of the National Weather Service in Slidell.

Accuweather reports that an inch of snow fell in Lafayette, Louisiana – the first time there has ever been any recorded snowfall there in December.

The entire eastern part of the country is under a string of flood, storm, snow, ice and wind advisories.

To Seat Or Not To Seat

I have heard a number of pundits cheerfully express – with great confidence – that If Rod Blagojevich were to appoint someone to the Senate that that body would “refuse to seat him (or her). Turns out it isn’t that simple. Supreme Court cases on the matter of seating members seems to favor Blagojevich. It is not anywhere near as cut and dried as the pundits want it to be.

Washington – Senate Democrats threatened this week to refuse to seat any new Illinois senator chosen by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but it is not clear the senators have the legal authority to reject a fully qualified appointee.

In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled the House of Representatives could not refuse to seat Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, a New York Democrat who was accused of putting his wife on the payroll and misusing travel funds to vacation in the Caribbean. Despite those charges, he was reelected by his constituents in Harlem. “The Constitution does not vest in the Congress a discretionary power to deny membership by majority vote,” wrote Chief Justice Earl Warren. Congress may “judge only the qualifications set forth in the Constitution,” he said.

The qualifications are minimal. A senator must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen and “an inhabitant” of the state. The ruling in the Adam Clayton Powell case served as a precedent in 1995 when the Supreme Court struck down term limits for members of Congress. The justices said the states may not add extra qualifications.

Are there any restrictions on who Blagojevich could appoint? I don’t Think there are. This is the section of Illinois law that covers the filling of a vacancy in the US Senate:

(10 ILCS 5/25?8) (from Ch. 46, par. 25?8)
Sec. 25?8. When a vacancy shall occur in the office of United States Senator from this state, the Governor shall make temporary appointment to fill such vacancy until the next election of representatives in Congress, at which time such vacancy shall be filled by election, and the senator so elected shall take office as soon thereafter as he shall receive his certificate of election.
(Source: Laws 1943, vol. 2, p. 1.)

Many states have restrictions on the governor blocking him from appointing himself. It surprises me not at all that Illinois has no such restriction. They also have no limits on campaign contributions.

So the nightmare scenario for Democrats: Blagojevich simply appoints himself. They can’t keep him out of the Senate and he has a really, really big soapbox to stand on and raise hell. Blagojevich has just about zero – no, less than that – left in political capital right now. It is this or naming names to get a lighter sentence. (Bonus question: which of those two options strikes more fear into Democratic politicians?)

No, I am not advocating any such thing. He’s a crook and deserves the full weight of the justice system stomping down on him. I point this out more to take issue with those confident pundits out there.

Blame = Politics

Victor Davis Hanson looks at the sudden change in tune by the media and the incoming Obama administration. He asks some questions that everyone should consider when vicious political attacks start flying. Questions that identify the vicious political attacks for what they are.

When someone screams about a terrible policy of the present administration, just pose four questions:

First, was the controversial decision taken with bipartisan support? Second, were there precedents for such action in prior Democratic administrations? Third, will such polices continue under the newly elected Obama administration? Four, have the media changed their position on the issue since the November election?

If the answer is yes to these questions, then the acrimony was probably about politics and style, not principle and substance.

Take the so-called war on terror. The Patriot Act passed Congress in October 2001 by majorities in both parties — and was reauthorized in 2006. The original versions of the FISA wiretapping accords were enacted under the Carter administration in 1978.

It is already driving many on the left bonkers. They are very upset with many of Obama’s picks for high office. Soon, they will finally understand that they were played like violins by Democratic politicians. That’s when it will get ugly. For now, I notice a lot less news coverage of many of the hot button issues that the Democrats rode into the election. And a lot more “thoughtful” discussions in the media where they have backpedaled – hard – from their pre-election coverage. Interesting, isn’t it?