Having trashed one author published in Slate, let me praise another. William Saletin has done a splendid job in a series of buzzword articles. In the articles, Saletin uses wit and intelligence to get to the heart of the Democratic buzzwords and sayings. So far, he's done all nine Democrats with President Bush remaining. Here's an example of some of Saletin's translation of candidate's statements:

From Dick Gephardt on Fiscal Relief

Example: "Dick Gephardt today announced that his health care plan, if passed into law, would cover all Americans, stimulate the economy and provide the state of New Hampshire $767 million in fiscal relief over the course of three years" (press release, June 3, 2003).

What it means: Money.

What it hides: The money gets counted three times: as health care, economic stimulus, and aid to states and cities. And by the way, it comes from you.

Subtext: What I've learned from 27 years in Congress is to spin everything as a special-interest appropriation.

From Dennis Kucinich on "Free"

Examples: "Democrats can move this county forward … to making education our top funding priority and providing free college education for all" (speech to Democratic National Committee, Feb. 22, 2003). "We need to make it possible for fully paid college in this country, so everyone who wants to go to college, and that includes higher education, and law school, and medical school." (Children's Defense Fund forum, April 9, 2003).

What it means: You pay nothing …

What it hides: … until April 15.

Subtext: Nobody's going to outbid me for the campus vote.

I can't show you anymore, but read the whole series for yourself.

I have a simple principle for politics. "Politics should stop at death's door".

Apparently, some of our Leftist friends don't seem to think so. Former United States Senator Strom Thurmond's body was hardly cold when Slate Columnist Diane McWhorter accused Thurmond of fathering a Black, illegitimate child when he was 23! You got to hand it to Slate and Diane McWhorter it takes a lot of guts to raise allegations against a dead man when he can no longer rebut the charge!

It was originally made five years ago in a little read "unauthorized biography". McWhorter full of indignation demanded to know why this allegation hasn't been more widely circulated. Indeed, I could bring equal indignation to the fact that many of Bill Clinton's relatively recent affairs (as reported in "The Secret Life of Bill Clinton" by Ambrose Evans Pritchard are not better known). However, the fact that someone is alleging something does not make it so.

More importantly, such an incredible poor taste and lack of grace was shown in making this attack that I'm astonished at it! But the Cartoonist are worst. Bill Day of the Nashville Commercial Appeal portrays Thurmond as flying upward to Heaven with a terrified look on his face as he head towards the the hand of a Black god. Apparently in the left's world, the only one it's okay to suggest faces a less than pleasant eternity is Strom Thurmond.

Ann Telnaes never to be outdone for plain, simple mean-spiritedness drew a picture of Thurmond's grave with the epitath, "Strom Thurmond: Born a Segregationist, Died an Opportunist." I'm sure the grieving Senator's family appreciates this. I'm sure South Carolinans of all races who have benefitted from Thurmond's service are pleased.

In the end, these warped leftist now view funerals as political affairs. Like every other event in life, death is an opportunity to score political points, to kick the corpse of a World War II hero and deny his family the right to grieve in piece. Let me be brutally honest. Senator Paul Wellstone's record and legacy will be shown by history to be more ominous, diabolical, and damaging to the American country. Wellstone championed infanticide and the destruction of American liberty. Still, conservatives manage to show a shred of decency lacking from these most recent detestable attacks.

Just got back from a great vacation up at the Bend Guard station. My wife and I celebrated our first anniversary! Wow! I can't believe it's been a whole year. We spent two days and three nights at the very nice Guard Station. In the course of our visit and our subsequent trip to Glacier we saw a Moose, 7 deer, and 2 cows.

During the trip, the Lord gave me a sermon/pamphlet idea I'll be working on. I feel refreshed and renewed, though pretty tired.