This is shaping up to be a very slow news day. There is not much of interest happening.
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If you are a political party that has lost the last three major elections, who do you call?
Well, if you're the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom you call the Republicans in the United States.
As a party of their new Direct Democracy agenda, several prominent Tories said the party needed to transform the way voters look at the party, just as the GOP has done in the pat fifty-years.
Currently, party leaders say the Conservatives are seen as the elite, upper-class party. To regain power, the Conservatives must take the side of the common man fighting against big government.
That is a bit harder in the UK than the US. Unlike the US, there are no real "states" and most programs are run out of London. On Tory leaders, Daniel Hannan, said the Conservatives should champion the equivalent of state-rights and transfer more power to the local level.
"A lot of these ideas were of English origin but have been lost over here," Hannan said. "But they were transported to America and have flourished in the local soil."
Hannan supports citizens right to vote on local school funding and the ability to hold town meetings to decide issues.
Will it work, the Tories admit that it will take years to get their ideas in motion, but an election victory or a larger numbers of seats won by the Tories would go a long way to changing the perceptions of voters.
Defeated UK Conservatives Look to Thriving GOP -- 06/10/2005
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The Senate Thursday confirmed the nomination of former Alabama Attorney General to sit on the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The 53-45 vote ended more than two years of Democrat filibusters. Pryor had been sitting on the court since President Bush gave him a recess appointment last year.
Pryor was the third judicial nominee covered by the agreement forged by 14 "moderate" Senators who would not be blocked by filibuster.
"Once again the American people have seen that the Democrats' phony filibustering was nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to keep the majority who wanted to confirm this fine judge from casting their votes," said Concerned Women for America chief counsel Jan LaRue
The debate the preceded the confirmation vote was as contentious as usual. Democrats railed against Pryor for his "activism," while Republicans praised his decision and judicial temperament. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) attempted a mini-filibuster, but was denied unanimous consent to continue his speech after his time expired.
William Pryor Approved by Senate -- 06/09/2005
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With the confirmation of William Pryor finished, the Senate moved quickly to the nominations of Michigan Judges David McKeague and Richard Griffin to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The vote for both judges was 95 - 0.
The question still remains whether Democrats will continue to abide by the "agreement" forged by the "gang of fourteen." Will judicial nominees, included possible Supreme Court nominees, continue to receive an up or down vote after a healthy debate in the Judiciary Committee and the Senate floor? Or will the Democrats, under the leadership of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) continue to block and filibuster judges they do not agree with? My guess is the next filibuster will be for any Supreme Court nominee and will last for the remainder of President Bush's term.
That could mean a Supreme Court with only 7 justices. It will mean a change in the Senate rules to end filibusters for judicial nominees.
CNSNews.com -- News This Hour
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A popular German crime drama, 'Tarot", that has been running on state-sponsored television for 35 years, aired an episode based on the premise that the Bush Administration ordered the attacks on September 11, 2001.
The story revolves around the killing of a man described as one of the hijackers who was left behind.
While I have not seen the program, the remainder of the plot is just the biggest conspiracy theory go bad I've heard. There are hit men, Bush administration officials, CIA and FBI assassins, and more. By the end, the German police believe the story of a woman who was with the dead man.
As far-fetched as the program sounds, it resonates with young viewers and conspiracy theorists in Germany.
Since the program ran on ARD, the state-supported television network in Germany, Green Party officials are calling for a full investigation into the particular episode. "I think absolutely nothing of the conspiracy theory that has been hawked in this series. I hope this particular TV movie will be discussed very critically at the next supervisory board meeting of ARD [state television]," said Green Party Chairman Reinhard Buetikofer, who acknowledged that he had not seen the show.
TV show depicts 9/11 as Bush plot - The Washington Times: World - June 09, 2005
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If events warrant, there may be an update later in the day. Otherwise, see you Monday.
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