June 25, 2007
THE former presidential front-runner, John McCain, may drop out of the 2008 race by September if his fundraising dries up and his poll ratings continue to drop, according to Republican insiders.The speculation, vigorously denied by McCainÂ’s camp, is sweeping Republican circles after a disastrous few weeks in which the principled Arizona senator has clashed with the partyÂ’s conservative base on immigration and also alienated independent voters by backing President George W BushÂ’s troop surge in Iraq.
Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republican party, said: “He’s a battler, so I’d expect him to carry on, but everyone is waiting to see what his new fundraising totals are. That’s pretty critical. If he doesn’t have the money, he won’t be able to run.”
The second fundraising quarter for candidates closes at the end of June and McCainÂ’s results should be known by mid-July.
The interesting question is this -- if McCain does leave the presidential race, how does his support break? Does it fracture, or go as a block t one of the other candidates -- possibly raising a second-tier candidate's profile or putting one of the front-runners into a commanding lead?
Posted by: Greg at
12:37 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 208 words, total size 1 kb.
Retirement speculation focuses on Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both liberals. Stevens is 87 years old; and although Ginsburg is 13 years younger, her frail appearance has often prompted conjecture of poor health.These justices have also taken to reading their dissents from the bench in recent months, a practice that Curt Levey, general counsel for the Judicial Confirmation Network, believes may signify their displeasure with being in the minority on several important cases.
Justice David Souter, 67, who was appointed by President George H. W. Bush, also is rumored to be considering retirement.
Jan Crawford Greenburg, author of the recent book, "Supreme Conflict: The Inside Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court," has written that the Bush administration has prepared a "short list" of possible nominees should a justice step down.
According to Greenburg, possible nominees include Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals; Priscilla Owen and Edith Brown Clement, both of the Fifth Circuit; Diane Sykes of the Seventh Circuit; Loretta Preska, a New York Federal District judge; and Raoul Cantero of the Florida State Supreme Court.
While all six are considered conservatives who would fit the president's judicial restraint criterion, Preska and Cantero are more junior than nominees over the past 20 years. All justices since Scalia's nomination in 1986 have been elevated from the Federal Court of Appeals.
Quin Hillyer, senior editor for the American Spectator and a regular contributor for the conservative blog ConfirmThem, told Cybercast News Service that he knows of "nobody who really believes there will be a new Supreme Court vacancy" at this time.
Levey agreed with Hillyer to a point. Though there are no rumors of an imminent retirement floating around Washington, he told Cybercast News Service Friday: "I'm not sure you can take that as an indication one way or the other. These upcoming vacancies are such a closely held secret, so rumors often have no correlation to the truth. When [former Justice Sandra Day] O'Connor retired, the conventional wisdom was that [former Chief Justice William] Rehnquist was to retire, not O'Connor."
If any of the three justices mentioned were to retire, the replacement would certainly be more conservative. And each of the potential replacements mentioned is well-respected -- and it is interesting to note the presence of a Hispanic and a black woman on the list.
More likely, in my eyes, is a death between now and the 2008 election -- and every day closer to that election contributes to the difficulty of getting ANT nomination through the Senate. The precedent? Lyndon Johnson's unsuccessful attempt to elevate Justice Abe Fortas to the center chair in 1968 -- although I doubt that any potential nominee would be as scandal-ridden as that Johnson crony.
Posted by: Greg at
12:26 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 498 words, total size 3 kb.
You love this kind of stuff, don't you. You know what I mean -- those business promotional items that businesses give out to promote themselves with clients and the public in general. It is quite surprising how much good will they generate with consumers and clients -- and employees.
Well, if you are in the market for business promotional products for your business, Gimmees.com is a great place to turn for all your promotional item needs. They have gone way beyond the traditional pen, key chain and koozie type merchandise and offer items like picture frames, watches and clocks, and computer supplies. I honestly don't think there is anything that they won't print with your logo -- I'm almost overwhelmed by the options available. So drop by Gimmees.com to see how you can best promote your company!
Posted by: Greg at
12:20 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 140 words, total size 1 kb.
Every day there is some reminder of what Mark Harris calls 'the lost years'.It could be his daughter's reference to a particular birthday party or a family holiday. It could be talk of exams sat, dentists visited or pop stars worshipped.
Each time it happens, he feels a stab of regret. 'I missed so much,' he reveals, with understandable bitterness. 'They took my daughter's childhood, her formative years, from me. Lisa is 20 now. I didn't see her between the ages of ten and 16. An awful lot happens in a child's life in that time, and I missed it all.'
Lisa missed a lot, too. She sits by Mark's side as he talks, a beautiful and assured young woman, but one still coming to terms with the fact that her father simply wasn't there when she needed him - and for an entire decade she did not know why.
'There were times when I needed a father figure - for reassurance and advice,' she says, with quiet restraint. 'There just wasn't one there.'
But the story of what happened to the Harris family isn't just another tragic case of broken homes and estrangement. Mark, Lisa and her two younger sisters were wrenched apart by the state.
Mark was not a feckless, irresponsible father. He did not walk out of his children's lives. Rather, he was ordered out by the family courts, and when he objected - insisting it was his right to see them - he was dealt with in a scandalous way.
Mark Harris went to prison for his girls. He was jailed for waving to them after a court order demanded he sever all contact. It was the most shameful chapter in an extraordinary ten-year custody battle.
He has now 'won' - today, two of his daughters live with him - only because they shared their father's determination to re-establish their relationship.
Sadly, even today, all it takes is a single accusation by a mother to get a father thrown out of the lives of their children. Even though the laws that created it are gone, the presumption of maternal custody is still strong, even in states where the law allows for joint custody. Even a hint of "abuse" (defined at a low level -- and often without any evidence to back the accusation) will be sufficient to deny custody to a father and impose strict limits on his visitation rights. I've seen it in too many cases.
Posted by: Greg at
12:13 AM
| Comments (274)
| Add Comment
Post contains 461 words, total size 3 kb.
June 24, 2007
I keep hearing a lot about hoodia and its impact on weight loss. Now I'll admit to being generally suspicious of diet fads, but some folks seem to have success with hoodia. There is a new website out presenting information on hoodia, including testimonials and weight loss journals. This would be a good site to look at if you are interested in learning more about or are considering using hoodia.
Posted by: Greg at
11:42 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 73 words, total size 1 kb.
Here are the full tallies of all votes cast:
| Votes | Council link |
|---|---|
| 3 | Gaza Becomes Hamastan, Part 2 -- Clarity and an Opportunity Joshuapundit |
| 2 1/3 | Muslim And Christian? In One Body? Cheat Seeking Missiles |
| 2 | Happy Father's Day To the "Dragon Slayer" ‘Okie’ on the Lam |
| 1 2/3 | The New York Times Spins Away Bookworm Room |
| 1 1/3 | A Tragic Case Done With Mirrors |
| 2/3 | Overstating a Problem Rhymes With Right |
| 1/3 | Yon On Baqouba Big Lizards |
| 1/3 | The Resilience of Olmert and Kadima Soccer Dad |
| 1/3 | A Conversation With My Dead Father Right Wing Nut House |
| Votes | Non-council link |
|---|---|
| 3 1/3 | Be Not Afraid Michael Yon |
| 2 | Beware: Misleading Income Statistics Are Coming Your Way Back Talk |
| 1 2/3 | The American Left's Silly Victim Complex Adbusters |
| 1 1/3 | Twenty Years Ago in Berlin, Seeing the Rally Against Reagan Gay Patriot |
| 1 1/3 | Stacking the Deck Against Justice Thomas Pillage Idiot |
| 1 | A French Lesson for America's Grand Old Party American Enterprise Institute |
| 2/3 | What Is Your Purpose Here, Senator Reid? BitsBlog |
| 2/3 | War Against Iran Somewhere On A1A... |
Posted by: Greg at
11:03 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 191 words, total size 4 kb.
You know, I've got lots of questions about Lap Band surgery. I know that one of my colleagues underwent the procedure last year, and she certainly lost lots of weight and has kept it off. I've never really known, though, how it works and what the cost of the procedure is.
That is why I find the concept behind MyLapBandSurgery.com to be a really interesting one. This website, which has helped thousand of happy patients receive life-saving and lifestyle altering gastric bypass surgery to facilitate weight loss. Indeed, it is a real God-send for folks who don't have the sort of insurance coverage to get the surgery done under their health plan -- and I know that I don't.
Part of the secret is to have the lap band surgery performed in Mexico. Yes, you read that right -- you travel to Mexico and have the surgery done there. This seriously reduces the cost of the procedure, and puts it within reach of many more patients seeking to lose that excess weight. Of course, many of you reading this might have some serious doubts about going to another country -- especially Mexico -- to get surgery done at an inexpensive price. But that does not mean that you are putting yourself at risk. MyLapbBandSurgery.com is affiliated with a reputable hospital and works with licensed, certified physicians to see to it that every surgery is successful and has no problems. Indeed, the team has performed over 48,000 lapband and other gastric bypass surgeries with a success rate of over 98%.
How does it work? You fly into Mexico and are taken to the hospital for your surgery, You spend one night as an in-patient in a private room, and a second ioght in a local hotel before returning to you home. The staff with whom you work all speak English. All materials and procedures meet American standards for care. It is just that everything is so much less expensive in Mexico that you will save thousands of dollars, even with the travel.
So contact MyLapBandSurgery.com for more information, and look at their resource guide to what you can expect.
Posted by: Greg at
06:30 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 361 words, total size 2 kb.
The July/August issue of The Atlantic magazine includes a profile of Harlan Coben, author of 16 best-selling crime novels. The article identifies some of Coben's celebrity friends, including television host Bryant Gumbel, rock musician Nils Lofgren and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
* * * The article's author, Eric Konigsberg, reports that he accompanied Coben on a book-signing tour that stopped in Las Vegas. He describes a telling scene:
"When we arrived at our hotel, the Luxor, the check-in line looked as if it would take 45 minutes," Konigsberg writes. "Coben e-mailed Reid's office, and it took about a minute for a secretary to call the hotel and arrange for a VIP check-in and a room upgrade."
Hmm. Now, we all know how things work in Las Vegas. The more money you have, the better treatment you receive. Few people around here really argue with that, right?
But this Harlan Coben scenario is a little different.
First, we have this novelist, who lives in New Jersey, securing a favor from Reid's office. Clearly, Coben was made aware sometime in advance of this incident that if he contacted the senator's office, any problems he encountered in Las Vegas would be taken care of. Is this a common activity at Reid HQ? Who else is Nevada's senior casino host helping out in this way? Coben may seem fairly harmless, but what about others who have benefited from Reid's succor?
Second, we have somebody in Reid's office dropping everything to place a call to the Luxor to fix an inconvenience experienced by the senator's friend. Is it possible that Reid's staffers might have more important things to do than ensure VIP treatment for a New Jersey-based novelist?
Third, we have the folks at the Luxor, an MGM Mirage property, immediately bending over to provide special treatment to Reid's buddy. What does this say about the relationship between Reid and the state's dominant industry? Doesn't this suggest something more than an arm's-length association? What does the casino expect in exchange for helping out Reid's friend?
I'm curious -- since when is it the role of Congressional staffers to "hook up" the friends their bosses? And what do the folks who do these favors for staffers expect to get in return? Seems like an ethics violation to me -- because after all, isn't the appearance of impropriety an impropriety? Or is that standard only for Republicans?
Posted by: Greg at
06:11 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 444 words, total size 3 kb.
Masked Muslim moral police force a man wearing clothes deemed un-Islamic to suck on a plastic container Iranians use to wash their bottoms.
Bloodied, beaten, then taken away.
Whipped for wearing a soccer shirt.
Behead all those who wear their hair too long.
Another public beating.
The Iranian morality police arrest the infidel after forcing him to drink from the toilet watering cans hanging around his neck.
Another head busted open in the name of Allah.
H/T Michelle Malkin. Additional coverage at Gateway Pundit, Ali Eteraz, Iran Focus.
And by the way, lest you think that this is not based upon government policy, let me direct you to (of all places) an article from today's New York Times.
Young men wearing T-shirts deemed too tight or haircuts seen as too Western have been paraded bleeding through Tehran’s streets by uniformed police officers who force them to suck on plastic jerrycans, a toilet item Iranians use to wash their bottoms. In case anyone misses the point, it is the official news agency Fars distributing the pictures of what it calls “riffraff.” Far bloodier photographs are circulating on blogs and on the Internet.The country’s police chief boasted that 150,000 people — a number far larger than usual — were detained in the annual spring sweep against any clothing considered not Islamic. More than 30 women’s rights advocates were arrested in one day in March, according to Human Rights Watch, five of whom have since been sentenced to prison terms of up to four years. They were charged with endangering national security for organizing an Internet campaign to collect more than a million signatures supporting the removal of all laws that discriminate against women.
Eight student leaders at TehranÂ’s Amir Kabir University, the site of one of the few public protests against Mr. Ahmadinejad, disappeared into Evin Prison starting in early May. Student newspapers had published articles suggesting that no humans were infallible, including the Prophet Muhammad and IranÂ’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
I'm curious -- will we hear a peep of condemnation from the Left over this sort of stuff? Will the same folks who condemn the imagined "theocratic" tendencies of American conservatives speak out against the theocracy of the Islamofascists in Iran? Or does this sort of violence constitute "cultural diversity" that should be celebrated? You know, sort of like homicide bombings and honor killings.
OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, The Random Yak, DeMediacratic Nation, stikNstein... has no mercy, Big Dog's Weblog, The Uncooperative Blogger, The World According to Carl, The Right Nation, The Pink Flamingo, Webloggin, The Florida Masochist, , Azamatteroprinciple - A new blog dedicated to fighting pork barrel spending, Pursuing Holiness, and CatSynth.com, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Posted by: Greg at
01:39 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 509 words, total size 7 kb.
Sam Anderson never hesitated. Not for a moment.The walk-on forward for the University of Houston knew the decision most likely would end his basketball career, but Anderson knew the man at the other end of the phone — his cousin, Steven Anderson, 46 — was desperate for help, and that's all that mattered.
Steven Anderson's health was rapidly deteriorating because of renal failure, so one day he thought of Sam and picked up the phone. It was his only option, and Steven had put off this phone call as long as possible.
After all, everyone in the Anderson family knew how much Sam loved basketball. It had been Sam's haven as a child back home in Detroit, a refuge from the cold realities of the streets, where friends were devoured by drugs and violence.
But Sam Anderson didn't hesitate -- he said yes to his cousin almost before the question was out of his mouth. It may (but may not) be the end of his basketball career -- but the beginning of something much more important, a healthy life for his cousin.
And by way of explanation, I put that "may not" up there for a reason. During my first year of teaching, one of our students gave a kidney to her sister, and then returned to be a starter on the basketball team the following year, and even received a college scholarship to play basketball. I hope that Sam Anderson can do the same. But even if he can't, the UH program offers him support.
Cougars coach Tom Penders said that the door always will be open for Sam Anderson, as a player or even if he wants to start coaching.Anything to help "one of the most remarkable" people Penders has met.
"This is one of the greatest stories I've ever seen," Penders said. "All I can say is that Sam is going to heaven before I do."
Now there is a coach with his priorities in order.
Posted by: Greg at
01:12 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 348 words, total size 2 kb.
Sen. Barack Obama told a church convention Saturday that some right-wing evangelical leaders have exploited and politicized religious beliefs in an effort to sow division."Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started being used to drive us apart," the Democratic presidential candidate said in a 30-minute speech before the national meeting of the United Church of Christ.
"Faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, all too eager to exploit what divides us," the Illinois senator said.
"At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design," according to an advance copy of his speech.
"There was even a time when the Christian Coalition determined that its number one legislative priority was tax cuts for the rich," Obama said. "I don't know what Bible they're reading, but it doesn't jibe with my version."
Of course, Obama doesn't back up that statement -- it is impossible to do so because it is called, in common parlance, a "lie". While the Christian Coalition did support tax cuts across the board for all Americans, it never supported tax cuts for the rich only. I guess that Obama's version of the Bible has only Nine Commandments, having deleted "Thou shalt not bear false witness."
But remember what Obama and the dying, apostate denomination he addressed believe is in keeping with their version of the Bible.
Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ, a church of about 1.2 million members that is considered one the most liberal of the mainline Protestant groups.In 1972, the church was the first to ordain an openly gay man. Two years ago, the church endorsed same-sex marriage, the largest Christian denomination to do so. Obama believes that states should decide whether to allow gay marriage, and he opposes a constitutional amendment against it.
Funny, every version of the Bible I've ever encountered calls homosexuality an abomination or some synonym for that word. Would the Senator care to let us know what version of the Good Book he's reading that leaves that book out -- or should we assume that he doesn't read the Bible at all?
By the way, I'm curious -- when will Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and all the other left-wing groups that bleat about "theocracy" issue their condemnation of this theocrat?
More At The Influence Peddler, The New Conservative
OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, No Apology, Right Truth, Maggie's Notebook, Webloggin, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Phastidio.net, Cao's Blog, Stageleft, Walls of the City, 4 Time Father?, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, CORSARI D'ITALIA, and CatSynth.com, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Posted by: Greg at
01:00 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 534 words, total size 5 kb.
June 23, 2007
Hey, I dote on her (as does my wife), in large part because with no children she is truly a pet-child. That is why I spoil her. And with her eleventh birthday coming up on Wednesday, my wife and I both are thinking about a good present for her.
Given that the lovable mutt is getting older and just a bit stiffer, I'm thinking about a set of raised dog bowls for her, so she doesn't have to stoop as much to get at her food and water. Maybe I'm spoiling her a bit, but I don't think so.
There are lots of good raised dog bowls out there. I personally like this one with the simple metal frame. Let's be honest here -- she is a dog, and doesn't really have a great flair for interior design! While there are many very attractive raised bowl offerings, I just don't think she would fully appreciate the more subtle decorating nuances. And to be honest, we don't feed Carmie in a high-traffic area where a more stylish set-up would be cover up the decor sins of having dog bowls in the room.
I think we might also need to get a seat cover for the car as well. Carmie has always enjoyed playing the queen, riding in style in the back seat. Since my car just got freshly detailed (as well as repainted, courtesy of the insurance company -- thanks to the student who keyed my car with obscenities on every single metal panel!), It would be nice to keep the fur off the seats. I particularly like this hammock variety that will allow my wife and I to store some things on the floor in the back seat. Carmie will still be able to ride in style (when her head isn't out the back window), but the things on the floor will be safe, too!
Posted by: Greg at
06:45 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 352 words, total size 2 kb.
tÂ’s a question that often prompts a boastful answer or a bashful one: How many sex partners have you had?Now the federal government says it has authoritative statistics, documenting that men are far more likely to play the field than women.
A new nationwide survey, using high-tech methods to solicit candid answers on sexual activity and illegal drug use, finds that 29 percent of American men report having 15 or more female sexual partners in a lifetime, while only 9 percent of women report having sex with 15 or more men.
In this age of AIDS, I am surprised that the numbers are still this high. But I wonder -- are all those guys sleeping with the same women, to get the 3-1 breakdown?
Posted by: Greg at
12:39 AM
| Comments (17)
| Add Comment
Post contains 146 words, total size 1 kb.
June 22, 2007
Are you a business looking to ship commercial freight? LGI is a freight shipping company that specializes in US, Canada and Mexico heavy haul shipments for folks just like you!
No matter how large or how small your shipment, LGI has the ability to get it where it is going quickly so that you can go about your business. With many years of experience in all three countries, they have the ability to get shipments expedited . They are equipped to deal with over the road shipments, shipments by air, and even ocean freight. In the world of commercial shipping, these are all important methods for sending cargo where it needs to go – and you need a specialist like LGI.
Posted by: Greg at
06:54 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 125 words, total size 1 kb.
Bush touts proposal to cut back on gas
So why is this the opening paragraph?
It must take a lot for President Bush to cancel out on raising campaign cash for a fellow Republican.
In fact, the first FIFTEEN PARAGRAPHS are devoted to the relationship between the President and Senator Jeff Sessions, their conflicts over the immigration bill, political fundraising, and the president getting winded going up some stairs. Only in paragraph 16 do we get this first glimmer of information about the energy proposal.
At the power plant appearance, Bush touted his approach for cutting gasoline consumption as the Democratic-controlled Senate opened debate on a broad energy bill.
That would be the first of seven paragraphs on the president's objections to the Democratic energy proposal in Congress. By my count we have now gone 22 paragraphs without actually talking about the President's "proposal to cut back on gas."
But wait -- here it comes!
Bush wants the standard increased to 35 billion gallons a year by 2017. He calls it an "alternative fuels" standard, instead of a renewable fuels standard, because he would count so-called coal-to-liquid fuel and other nonrenewable sources.
That's right -- paragraph 23 actually deals with the topic indicated in the headline. Now we are in for some substantive reporting on the subject, right?
Wrong. The article has only two paragraphs left. I present them for your consideration.
He also pushed increased use of nuclear power, from the plant that is home to the first U.S. nuclear reactor to go online in more than 20 years. Browns Ferry's Unit 1 reactor began producing power again last month after being shut down for safety reasons in 1985. Its other two reactors returned to service in the 1990s.The reactor was shut down two days after its restart when a leaky pipe burst and spilled non-radioactive fluid. Such problems prompted Greenpeace to call Browns Ferry "a strange poster child for a nuclear future."
Nope -- nothing about gas there.
And so we get a grand total of two sentences about the president's proposal to cut back on gasoline usage -- despite the fact that the headline was about the president's proposal to cut back on gas usage. Even if we are generous and count the criticisms of the congressional plan as "touting" the president's proposal, we still see only 1/3 of the story devoted to what the headline tells us the story is about -- and the third at that!
OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Right Pundits, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson's Website, 123beta, Right Truth, Adam's Blog, On the Horizon, The Pet Haven Blog, Leaning Straight Up, Cao's Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, Colloquium, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Pirate's Cove, Church and State, The Yankee Sailor, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Posted by: Greg at
12:59 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 496 words, total size 5 kb.
I suppose the first issue is whether or not to get a good Home Security System. I've wondered about that issue a lot, especially after a home security company began calling me about the alarm going off at my home? The problem? At the time we didn't have a home security system, much less a monitoring service. They were calling me about someone else's home! And I'm not talking about a fly-by-night company -- this was one of the big names in the industry. SO I have to wonder -- is it better to be hooked -in with a company or to instead work with a system that makes contact with you and police automatically when a problem is detected?
I also wonder about the desirablilty of security cameras. Is my home a likely enough target that a security camera would be a reasonable investment instead of overkill? Or is a decoy sufficient? Personally, in my neighborhood, I don't think that either is a real important investment -- but depending upon what the new development brings to the area, I might be changing my mind on that.
But really -- what is necessary in the way of home security? Do we really need to be on camera all the time, like at school? Do we really need massive security systems? I suppose that it ultimately comes down to you neighborhood and your style of life.
Posted by: Greg at
12:52 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 288 words, total size 2 kb.
In 19 months, George W. Bush will leave the White House for the last time. The latest NEWSWEEK Poll suggests that he faces a steep climb if he hopes to coax the country back to his side before he goes. In the new poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday nights, President BushÂ’s approval rating has reached a record low. Only 26 percent of Americans, just over one in four, approve of the job the 43rd president is doing; while, a record 65 percent disapprove, including nearly a third of Republicans.
Yep -- gotta look at the Bush numbers and talk about how bad they are. Frankly, the breakdown of the polling data makes me seriously wonder at the level of ignorance shown by my fellow Americans. For example, only 34% approve of the president's handling of the economy, despite the fact that we are in the 5th straight year of strong economic growth following the Clinton recession and the economic disruptions caused by 9/11 -- growth that can be directly attributed to the president's income tax cuts for all Americans who pay them.
But then Newsweek glosses over this number.
If there is any good news for Bush and the Republicans in the latest NEWSWEEK Poll, itÂ’s that the Democratic-led Congress fares even worse than the president. Only 25 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing.In the scariest news for the Democratic candidates seeking their partyÂ’s nomination in 2008, even rank-and-file Democrats are unhappy with Congress, which is narrowly controlled by their party. Only 27 percent of Democrats approve of the job Congress is doing, a statistically insignificant difference from the 25 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of independents who approve of Congress.
Overall, 63 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, including 60 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of Independents. Apparently, voters arenÂ’t happy with anyone in Washington these days.
Newsweek, it seems, isn't interested in why the numbers are low, or what areas are driving the low congressional ratings. After all, they don't even ask about such things in their poll.
Posted by: Greg at
12:37 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 384 words, total size 3 kb.
June 21, 2007
Fortunately there is a great home organization at ShopToGetOrganized.com. They have all sorts of organizers and other household items that would certainly be useful -- like this earring organizer, now that my darling bride has gotten her ears pierced (at age 45). For that matter, she might like this item for the bedroom as well, for those days she aches too much to get around the house much. For that matter, these shower organizers might come in handy for her as well.
Posted by: Greg at
06:54 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 108 words, total size 1 kb.
This situation, though, positively makes my skin crawl.
A 40-year-old high school science teacher and cross country coach who once worked in Guilford County has resigned his position and married a 16-year-old student.Brenton Wuchae coached Windy Hager at South Brunswick High School, where she recently completed her sophomore year as one of the school's top runners. He also lives less than two miles away from the Hagers' home on Oak Island.
Wuchae married Hager in Brunswick County on Monday, according to a marriage license.
Hager's parents, Dennis and Betty Hager, said they did all they could to keep the couple apart after noticing a deeper-than-usual friendship forming between them. The parents said they tried to intervene by talking to the coach, going to school officials, pleading with police and sheriff's office detectives, even other teachers and students at South Brunswick.
But the Hagers say they reluctantly signed a consent form allowing their daughter to marry her coach.
Clearly, this relationship blew right through any and all student-teacher relationship boundaries, and he had to go. I know that this would have been a firing offense in my district, which has a strict "no dating the students" policy in place -- even if the student is 18 and the employee does not have any sort of authority over the student. We had a 22-year-old teacher from an elementary school let go a couple of years ago for dating an 18-year-old girl he knew from church, because she was still a student two months from graduation at one of our high schools. I don't want to even think about the sh!t-storm we would have if one of our teachers actually married a current student.
Posted by: Greg at
02:04 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 450 words, total size 3 kb.
GOOD FOR YOU, MR. PRESIDENT!
President Bush yesterday vetoed legislation to expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research, saying that scientific advances now allow researchers to pursue the potentially lifesaving work without destroying human embryos.Bush followed his veto -- his third since becoming president -- with an executive order aimed at encouraging federal agencies to support research that offers the promise of creating medically useful stem cells without destroying human embryos.
This story, however, overlooks the more basic point -- nothing in current law makes it illegal to do research on fetal stem cells. There are a number of approved stem cell lines that can still be funded, and there is absolutely nothing to prohibit any fetal stem cell research using private money. What this veto does is simply prohibit the use of federal money to facilitate the taking of any more innocent lives for scientific research.
There are some points to consider -- some practical, some moral.
1) If fetal stem cell research is so promising, why isn't private industry funding it to the level that these breakthroughs will be made quickly. After all, a cure for diabetes of Parkinsons would be immensely profitable. Could it be that Big Pharmaceutical (the drug equivalent of Big Oil) is so unsure of the potential that it won't put up the money for research -- or that it simply feels that federal subsidies are its right?
2) Large numbers of Americans have moral objections to the methods for obtaining fetal stem cells. Is it appropriate to take their money to fund something that offends their values at such a fundamental level? Do their values and policy preferences matter less than those of researchers and (some of) those with medical conditions that could be cured by such research -- and why?
So I applaud the stand by the president in this case. Just because Dr. Mengele some research scientists seek government funding to destroy Jewish prisoners in a concentration camp embryos n a laboratory does not means that government should facilitate such work -- or that it is morally acceptable if they get such funding.
Posted by: Greg at
01:39 AM
| Comments (213)
| Add Comment
Post contains 399 words, total size 3 kb.
Just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress.This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973. The previous low point for Congress was 18% at several points in the period of time 1991 to 1994.
Congress is now nestled at the bottom of the list of Gallup's annual Confidence in Institutions rankings, along with HMOs. Just 15% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in HMOs. (By way of contrast, 69% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military, which tops the list. More on this at galluppoll.com on Thursday).
So let me ask -- if the American people don't trust the Congress but do trust the military, do you think that maybe the notion of "supporting the troops" might best be expressed by letting them win instead of bringing them home?
Posted by: Greg at
01:14 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 176 words, total size 1 kb.
First, the issue of whetehr we are really dealing with a period of sustained glogal warming at all.
Solar scientists predict that, by 2020, the sun will be starting into its weakest Schwabe solar cycle of the past two centuries, likely leading to unusually cool conditions on Earth. Beginning to plan for adaptation to such a cool period, one which may continue well beyond one 11-year cycle, as did the Little Ice Age, should be a priority for governments. It is global cooling, not warming, that is the major climate threat to the world, especially Canada. As a country at the northern limit to agriculture in the world, it would take very little cooling to destroy much of our food crops, while a warming would only require that we adopt farming techniques practiced to the south of us.
Imagine that -- it is the sun, not "greenhouse gasses" that we need to focus on in dealing with global climate issues.
And, of course, there are teh views of scientists.
In some fields the science is indeed "settled." For example, plate tectonics, once highly controversial, is now so well-established that we rarely see papers on the subject at all. But the science of global climate change is still in its infancy, with many thousands of papers published every year. In a 2003 poll conducted by German environmental researchers Dennis Bray and Hans von Storch, two-thirds of more than 530 climate scientists from 27 countries surveyed did not believe that "the current state of scientific knowledge is developed well enough to allow for a reasonable assessment of the effects of greenhouse gases." About half of those polled stated that the science of climate change was not sufficiently settled to pass the issue over to policymakers at all.
Somehow I don't believe the opinions of climate scientists have shifted so completely in the past four years, though I would like to see additional studies on the matter. Could it be, though, that our "friends" who adhere to the religion of manmade global warming have been fudging the data?
Posted by: Greg at
01:11 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 369 words, total size 2 kb.
Our guys are tough. The enemy in Baqubah is as good as any in Iraq, and better than most. ThatÂ’s saying a lot. But our guys have been systematically trapping them, and have foiled some big traps set for our guys. I donÂ’t want to say much more about that, but our guys are seriously outsmarting them. Big fights are ahead and we will take serious losses probably, but al Qaeda, unless they find a way to escape, are about to be slaughtered. Nobody is dropping leaflets asking them to surrender. Our guys want to kill them, and thatÂ’s the plan.A positive indicator on the 19th and the 20th is that most local people apparently are happy that al Qaeda is being trapped and killed. Civilians are pointing out IEDs and enemy fighters, so thatÂ’s not working so well for al Qaeda. Clearly, I cannot do a census, but that says something about the locals.
Yon is on the scene, while the MSM reports from press releases given to them in the Green Zone -- and the NY Times report buries reports of the success of the operation in an article detailing terrorist attacks in different parts of the country. I guess that is what passes for "supporting the troops" in New York -- give the terrorists top billing and make them appear more successful by playing up their murders of civilians instead of the American fighting man's righteous efforts to wipe out the forces of Islamofascism.
H/T Captain's Quarters
UPDATE: I just got pointed to this NY Times story that deals with Operation Arrowhead Ripper more directly -- and more positively.
Posted by: Greg at
12:58 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 312 words, total size 2 kb.
June 20, 2007
If you are trying to manage Pay Per Click accounts, Acquisio has some great software that you might want to look at. This acquisio bid management software accounts for where your traffic is coming from and where it moves on to, as well as what links are productive ones for you, and includes keyword management. Such knowledge enables you to maximize your profit -- which is, after all, why you went into business in the first place, right?
Posted by: Greg at
06:06 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 82 words, total size 1 kb.
In her courtroom on the 21st floor of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn yesterday, Justice Jill Konviser-Levine sat and pondered the question of hate.“Bottom line,” Justice Konviser-Levine ruminated aloud, “is animus an element of the crime?”
The crime in question was the killing of Michael J. Sandy, 29, a gay man who was lured to a parking area in Sheepshead Bay last October, beaten and chased into traffic. He later died in the hospital.
Prosecutors have said a group of young men contacted Mr. Sandy through an online gay chat room, selecting him as a robbery victim in the belief that a gay man would be unwilling or unable to put up a fight and unlikely to report the crime.
The defendants — John Fox, 20; Ilya Shurov, 21; and Anthony Fortunato, 21 — have been charged not just with murder, but with murder under the state Hate Crimes Act of 2000, which provides longer prison sentences for crimes motivated “in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person.”
Now let's be honest here -- these guys are creeps and deserve to be dealt with harshly. Indeed, I think the most appropriate punishment for them involves a needle in their veins -- or being drawn and quartered by city buses. However, to apply the law in this manner is to prove what many of us have always said about hate crime laws, namely that they constitute unequal treatment of the law by enhancing penalties for the same crime based upon membership in specially protected classes.
Posted by: Greg at
12:12 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 349 words, total size 2 kb.
June 19, 2007
Hillary Clinton checks in as the "creepiest" candidate in the hunt for the White House, a new Forbes magazine online character poll has found.A full 15 percent of Americans say Clinton gives them the creeps - including 20 percent of men, compared to 10 percent of females.
No other active candidate comes close to Clinton, who's taken hits from pundits for getting shrill on the speaking stump, making people's hairs stand on end.
But former Vice President Al Gore, a non-candidate basking in the glow of an Oscar award for his recent documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," ties Clinton in the creep-out column at 15 percent.
Any woman who would make the policy proposals advocated by Clinton AND stay married to Bill Clinton should creep out any sane person.
Posted by: Greg at
11:42 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 166 words, total size 1 kb.
When was the last time you read a celebrity profile that was "disparaging, demeaning or derogatory"?The rules of the game, as established by the glossy magazines and the stars' PR reps, ensure that "access" (well, a half-hour chat in a restaurant that enables the magazine to proclaim it has an "exclusive" interview) and the all-important exclusive cover shot are granted only to those magazines and journalists who will refrain from anything but fawning prose. It works out well for everybody. Celebrity journalists who play along get a good payday, magazines get newsstand sales bumps, and the rest of us are inculcated into the received myths of Celebland, the legends that sustain the illusion that it is somehow truly important.
Sure, it's possible to publish a rant on the Web (as U.K. journalist Brendan O'Neill did in a devastating piece calling Brad and Angelina "celebrity colonialists"), but such critiques are largely irrelevant to the vast, well-oiled, pap-dispensing Publicity-Industrial Complex (a phrase I believe I was the first to use, in an essay arguing that J.D. Salinger's rejection of this apparatus is a reticence to be admired rather than ridiculed).
The fact is, celebrities don't need a signed contract—celebrity profilers know that the power lies in the hands of PR people, who in many cases demand writer approval before committing one of their stars to a cover story. And no profiler who makes a lucrative living off elaborate fawning wants to do anything that might jeopardize his pre-approval status.
So when Angelina Jolie is proclaiemd "the best woman in the world" by Esquire, don't be surprised. And when celebrity activism gets trumpeted as proof of the heightened caring and moral superiority of the over-privileged entertainment class, don't be shocked. After all, questioning the validity of the cause or the contentions of the star can end your career.
Posted by: Greg at
11:36 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 340 words, total size 2 kb.
As I mentioned in another context today, there really is a cult of celebrity in our society today, with many worshippers just waiting to get the latest scrap of information about their favorite stars and personalities. I guess that has always been the case, because fan magazines, celebrity tabloids, and scandal sheets have been popular for as long as i can remember.
But where to you get your celebrity news on the internet? Well, you can look at CelebrityGossip.com, a news aggregator that brings together all the latest in celebrity news, happenings, an gossip. Not only that, you get the pleasure of voting on the stories to rate them, so you can help push the news about your favorite stars to the top of the charts!
Posted by: Greg at
11:34 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 130 words, total size 1 kb.
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg abruptly left the Republican Party yesterday, declaring himself free of a "rigid adherence" to ideology and stoking speculation that he will use his multibillion-dollar fortune to mount an independent bid for the White House.The founder of the Bloomberg financial media empire has repeatedly denied interest in the presidency. At a technology conference yesterday in which he attacked partisanship in Washington, he said: "I plan to be mayor for the next 926 days." But he has refused to rule out a run for the presidency, even discussing the possibility privately with close advisers and beginning to travel around the country, including a trip to the home of the nation's first primary, New Hampshire.
In a statement posted on the official Web site of New York City late yesterday, Bloomberg said that his plans "haven't changed" and that abandoning the Republican banner will better reflect his approach to governance. Bloomberg was a longtime Democrat before shifting his allegiance to the GOP before his first mayoral run in 2001.
"Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles and that good ideas should take precedence over rigid adherence to any particular political ideology," the statement said. "Working together, there's no limit to what we can do.
For all the talk of a presidential run, I want to know where his base would be? It certainly won't be among the mainstream of the GOP, because a pro-abortion, anti-gun candidate who lacks Rudy Giuliani's record on terrorism simply will not draw from among conservatives. And as far as Democrats, they already have a whole raft of candidates who essentially hold the major tenets of Bloomberg's politics. Where is he going to draw votes?
Posted by: Greg at
11:28 PM
| Comments (15)
| Add Comment
Post contains 340 words, total size 3 kb.
A few well-placed accessories around your home can really spruce the place up. The same is true with your garden. Some of the accessories can even be functional -- things like Rain Gauges, thermometers and such things. They also add value to your home when you try to sell -- the address plaque in our yard was one of the little touches that we found attractive.
Anyway, OnlineDiscountMart.com has a bunch of new home and garden accessories like Bird Baths just in time for summer. You really ought to check them out.
Posted by: Greg at
07:09 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 97 words, total size 1 kb.
June 18, 2007
At least nine firefighters re dead in a blaze that swept through a Charleston, S.C., furniture warehouse officials tell ABC News."There is the presumption they were tragically and heroically lost," Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley said early Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. "This is a tragic matter."
* * * Witnesses said the store's roof collapsed, throwing debris over about two-dozen rescue workers. Onlookers were hit with flying ash.
"It was like a 30-foot tornado of flames," said Mark Hilton, who was struck in his eye.
No words can amplify the horror -- or the heroism.
Posted by: Greg at
11:56 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 121 words, total size 1 kb.
Our brave troops will still be fighting in Afghanistan this September even if the magnetic ribbon support decals on Toronto Fire trucks and ambulances won't be.The city has ordered the Support Our Troop decals to be removed from all fire trucks and EMS vehicles on Sept. 4, the Sun has learned.
The reason? It depends on who you talk to. And there are lots of contradictions.
Some say it is because it was not brought to council for proper approval, others say protocol was not followed. Another reason given is it was a one-year project.
But many City Hall sources tell me it has everything to do with some complaints from a few anti-war citizens who have the ear of some leftist councillors -- and felt the ribbons were in support of the war in Afghanistan and not just in support of the troops.
I'm sure that there were a few folks in Toronto who sympathized with the Nazis during WWII and opposed the war as a result. Would their objections have stopped municipal efforts to support the troops in 1943? Why should their objections today stop efforts to support the troops now?
Posted by: Greg at
11:53 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 247 words, total size 2 kb.
The Iranian ambassador to the UN has complained that the UN Security Council has done nothing to stop Israel's ''unlawful and dangerous threats'' against Iran.On Monday Javad Zarif protested a recent statement from Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz that Israel has not ruled out military action against Iran to disable its nuclear programme.
He also referred to a similar statement that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made in April.
Yiddish has a word for such an action -- chutzpah. Ironic, isn't it, that this Jewish dialect is the source of the only word that adequately describes this move by the terrorist state of Iran?
Posted by: Greg at
11:45 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 148 words, total size 1 kb.
Did you see Reno 911! Miami The Movie? Did you like it? Well, guess what -- the new UNRATED version of the film is out on DVD, and it is even more hilarious than the original!
In honor of the release of the DVD, the official website for the Reno 911! Miami The Movie DVD has added four new games that you can access by clicking in the upper right hand corner of the site. These four games are:
Game # 1 - Most Wanted
Game # 2 - Calling All Units
Game # 3 - Midnight Shootout
Game # 4 - PSA
Each of them is fun in its own way, but the one that I really struggled with is Calling All Units. I had to get my squad car to the corner of Wett & Panty to stop a crime, without destroying my car and too much civilian property along the way. Well, thank God I drive better in real life than I did in the game. I never did make it to the scene of teh crime, finally seeing my squad car explode just feet from teh marker. I'd managed to rack up $151,000.00 in costs to the city while earning a mere $1900.00, with no Bustin' Bonus for successfully fighting crime. I'm starting to think it is a good thing that I'm the teacher and my kid brother is the cop!
Posted by: Greg at
11:39 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 242 words, total size 1 kb.
Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda/Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.
A Pakistani journalist was invited to attend and take pictures as some 300 recruits, including boys as young as 12, were supposedly sent off on their suicide missions.
The tape shows Taliban military commander Mansoor Dadullah, whose brother was killed by the U.S. last month, introducing and congratulating each team as they stood.
"These Americans, Canadians, British and Germans come here to Afghanistan from faraway places," Dadullah says on the tape. "Why shouldn't we go after them?"
Which means, of course, that we ought to be paying extra attention to young Muslim men of Asian descent -- and that we will instead step up our searches of crippled nuns using walkers, active duty military personnel, and families with sippy cups and bottles for their young children.
Posted by: Greg at
11:37 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 204 words, total size 1 kb.
Did you know that Asheville, North Carolina is noted for its great architecture? Really, it is a hidden treasure at in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. Not only is tehre the Biltmore estate, but there is a beautiful Art Deco City Hall, the Neo-Gothic Jackson Building, and the Arts and Crafts-style Grove Park Inn. Not only that, but there is a historical district chock-full of Victorian-style houses and other buildings. The Biltmore Village area, where many of the craftsmen responsible for constructing the Bitlmore Estate lived during their labors is also noted for unique architectural features that are not found outside of the Asheville area. There is even the Spanish Renaissance-style Basilica of St. Lawrence,
You can get your own little bit of architectural history in the Asheville area by purchasing Asheville Real Estate. Prices are good, values are appreciating, and the local beauty is astounding. There are even great rates on your Asheville mortgage. So come on! What are you waiting for?
Posted by: Greg at
11:28 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 167 words, total size 1 kb.
Without any sort of fanfare, AT&T Inc. has started offering a broadband Internet service for $10 a month, cheaper than any advertised plan.The DSL, or digital subscriber line, plan introduced Saturday is part of the concessions made by AT&T to the
Federal Communications Commission to get its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp. approved last December.The $10 offer is available to customers in the 22-state AT&T service region, which includes former BellSouth areas, who have never had AT&T or BellSouth broadband, spokesman Michael Coe confirmed Monday. Local phone service and a one-year contract are required. The modem is free.
The plan was not mentioned in a Friday news release about AT&T's DSL plans, and is slightly hidden on the AT&T Web site. A page describing DSL options doesn't mention it, but clicking a link for "Term contract plans" reveals it. It's also presented to customers who go into the application process, Coe said.
The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kbps, matching the speeds of the cheapest advertised AT&T plan, which costs $19.95 per month in the nine-state former BellSouth area and $14.99 in the 13 states covered by AT&T before the acquisition.
I checked it out last night, and I am eligible. Since I'm paying $10 a month right now for dial-up connection that has been a little bit unsteady the last few days, I may just have to make the switch.
My question -- do other DSL providers start dropping their prices to match this AT&T offer? Will this set off a bidding war for customers?
Posted by: Greg at
11:17 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 296 words, total size 2 kb.
You guys have probably figured out that I am not always the most together person in the world when it comes to some areas of my life (but then again, that is true of most folks). One area for me is yard maintenance -- especially mowing the law in our fire ant infested part of Texas. And because I strive to get teh job done as quickly as possible, I sometimes do some really stupid things.
Take last summer. Rushing around to beat the rain, I neglected to put the gas cap back on the mower after topping off my fuel supply. No big deal, just pick it up and replace it, right? Wrong -- I put it on top of the engine cover, and as we mowed it fell off. Again, no problem, except for the fact that I discovered my mistake when I was hit in the leg by a mangled plastic object that at one time had been sort of vaguely round with thread on the interior -- my gas cap.
For a while it seemed I might have to replace the entire mower, since I could not find a replacement cap for love or money. Nobody in the area had one -- not Walmart (where I had bought it several months earlier), not the hardware store, and not even the local lawnmower repair shop (well, that isn't quite true -- they wanted $35.00 for a replacement, which included a half-hour labor charge to find the right one). Where else could I find lawnmower parts?
Luckily, I did manage to find the part online through the engine manufacturer -- for $8 plus tax and shipping.
Posted by: Greg at
11:10 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 282 words, total size 2 kb.
So why on earth did the state of California think that the Supreme Court would hold any differently than they did in this case?
A unanimous Supreme Court ruled yesterday that passengers in vehicles pulled over by the police have the same rights as drivers to challenge the legality of the traffic stop when it results in an arrest.The court said that passengers, like the driver, are "seized" by police when the vehicle they are traveling in is stopped and are thus covered by the Fourth Amendment and allowed to challenge unreasonable searches and seizures.
In the specific case before the court, a California passenger named Bruce Brendlin was charged with drug possession because of drug paraphernalia found in the car in which he was traveling. He argued that the discovery of the evidence was the result of an unconstitutional seizure because police lacked probable cause to make the traffic stop.
But the California Supreme Court said Brendlin had no grounds to make such a challenge because he had not been seized by the police and had given tacit approval to the search by staying in the car rather than leaving the scene.
The Supreme Court said that made no sense.
"We think that in these circumstances any reasonable passenger would have understood the police officers to be exercising control to the point that no one in the car was free to depart without police permission," Justice David H. Souter wrote for the court. During the case's oral arguments, several justices expressed that opinion.
Now California was one of only three states to have a court precedent that held passengers were not seized in such a situation -- proving that most state and federal judges have, at one time or another, been involved in a traffic stop and are able to recognize from experience what the evidence presented to them shows. That the decision would be unanimous was hinted at back in oral arguments, as several justices hammered the lawyer for the state of California.
Not that Mr. Brendlin will walk away from this case a free man -- the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the lower court in California to determine if there might be some other basis for allowing the evidence to be used -- such as the fact that as a felon on parole he had a more limited right against warrantless searches.
Posted by: Greg at
11:07 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 476 words, total size 3 kb.
Posted by: Greg at
10:52 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 51 words, total size 1 kb.
68 queries taking 0.6686 seconds, 770 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
