Yeah – they are just here to work. Tell that to this girl.

An illegal alien, Jose Ramirez, 28, has been arrested and charged with the brutal beating of a 15-year-old girl who allegedly ignored his whistles at a construction site in Spotsylvania County.

Police say the 15 year old girl suffered a broken nose, bone fracture to the right side of her face and received approximately 30 stitches to her face and back of her head.

Police say the 15 year old girl was walking by on a road, when Ramirez, who was working on a construction project at a nearby townhouse, whistled at her.

Witnesses told police the next thing they saw, Ramirez appeared enraged and took off running after the girl. He allegedly began to beat her on her face and head.

Ramirez then fled into a nearby wooded area. Short while later, authorities found Ramirez a few blocks away. Ramirez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, allegedly resisted arrest but was finally subdued.

Ramirez is facing aggravated malicious wounding charges as well as abduction with intent to defile. Both charges carry a possible life sentence.

One more reason to send them all back.

Posted by: Greg at 12:44 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Yeah – they are just here to work. Tell that to this girl.

An illegal alien, Jose Ramirez, 28, has been arrested and charged with the brutal beating of a 15-year-old girl who allegedly ignored his whistles at a construction site in Spotsylvania County.

Police say the 15 year old girl suffered a broken nose, bone fracture to the right side of her face and received approximately 30 stitches to her face and back of her head.

Police say the 15 year old girl was walking by on a road, when Ramirez, who was working on a construction project at a nearby townhouse, whistled at her.

Witnesses told police the next thing they saw, Ramirez appeared enraged and took off running after the girl. He allegedly began to beat her on her face and head.

Ramirez then fled into a nearby wooded area. Short while later, authorities found Ramirez a few blocks away. Ramirez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, allegedly resisted arrest but was finally subdued.

Ramirez is facing aggravated malicious wounding charges as well as abduction with intent to defile. Both charges carry a possible life sentence.

One more reason to send them all back.

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The results are in!

The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are A Motive For Berger's Bizarre Behavior? by Dr. Sanity, and A Message to Cindy Sheehan by Iraq the Model. Congratulation, folks!

Want to be nominated? The Watcher himself offers an opportunity for nominations in exchange for a little link whorage. Take a look.

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What would happen if Reed were a neo-con and the rest of the group were liberal peceniks?

Pat over at Brainster's Blog imagines the chaos.

It is worth the read -- and this weeks nomination for the Watcher's Council.

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1 Thanks for the nomination; it was an honor to be considered with all those excellent posts!

Posted by: Brainster at Fri Aug 26 09:42:26 2005 (hEScd)

2 You are welcome -- and I have to be honest in saying that I'm surprised that there was not more of a vote for you. After all, your post was clever and creative in a way that all of the others were not.

And then again, that may have been the problem.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Fri Aug 26 12:03:41 2005 (R6+yj)

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WMAL Radio caved in to pressure from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington D.C based terrorist front group with roots in Hamas, and fired Michael Graham for making arguably true comments about Islam and its connection to terrorism. Having first endured a three-week suspension, the ABC Radio station demanded additional outreach and apologies, which Graham refused as a matter of integrity.

A Washington, D.C., radio station has fired a talk show host who was criticized by an American Islamic civil rights group for claiming that "Islam is a terrorist organization."

"The First Amendment and I have been evicted from ABC Radio in Washington, D.C.," said Michael Graham, who had hosted a mid-morning talk show on WMAL until he made such comments on the air as "Islam is a terrorist organization," "Islam is at war with America," "The problem is not extremism. The problem is Islam," and "We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) demanded on July 25 "that I be 'punished' for my on-air statements regarding Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism," Graham said in a statement released to the press.

Graham sounds like someone who is a straight shooter when he is on the air. Here’s hoping that someone in the radio industry will pick him up.

If we are lucky, maybe Dan Patrick from KSEV Radio here in Houston will see about picking him up to fill the mid-morning slot after Laura Ingraham takes O’Reilly’s place. I think we’d love him here in Houston.

UPDATE: Michael Graham in his own words.

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WMAL Radio caved in to pressure from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington D.C based terrorist front group with roots in Hamas, and fired Michael Graham for making arguably true comments about Islam and its connection to terrorism. Having first endured a three-week suspension, the ABC Radio station demanded additional outreach and apologies, which Graham refused as a matter of integrity.

A Washington, D.C., radio station has fired a talk show host who was criticized by an American Islamic civil rights group for claiming that "Islam is a terrorist organization."

"The First Amendment and I have been evicted from ABC Radio in Washington, D.C.," said Michael Graham, who had hosted a mid-morning talk show on WMAL until he made such comments on the air as "Islam is a terrorist organization," "Islam is at war with America," "The problem is not extremism. The problem is Islam," and "We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) demanded on July 25 "that I be 'punished' for my on-air statements regarding Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism," Graham said in a statement released to the press.

Graham sounds like someone who is a straight shooter when he is on the air. HereÂ’s hoping that someone in the radio industry will pick him up.

If we are lucky, maybe Dan Patrick from KSEV Radio here in Houston will see about picking him up to fill the mid-morning slot after Laura Ingraham takes OÂ’ReillyÂ’s place. I think weÂ’d love him here in Houston.

UPDATE: Michael Graham in his own words.

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I spent a lot of years in Lake County, Illinois, when my dad was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in various capacities. People in the area were always appreciative of the sailors, though sometimes a bit wary. IÂ’m glad to see that some have taken the time to show a bit of kindness to the military personnel among them.

Random acts of kindness are happening in Lake County.
Restaurants on the North Shore say their patrons are getting into the habit of picking up the tabs of fellow diners who happen to be military personnel as a gesture of goodwill.

At Egg Harbor Cafe, a cozy breakfast and lunch spot in Lake Forest, sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago are treated to free meals several times a month. Diners started picking up the tab after Sept. 11, manager Michelle Rasmus said.

Most of the time, it's done anonymously. All of the time, the sailors are "very grateful," she said.

The restaurant has even taken a page from diners and foots the bill of one table of military personnel every month, Rasmus said.

At the Lantern, a family-style restaurant in Lake Forest, servers have come to recognize one male customer in his 30s who always picks up soldiers' tabs when he is there.

"Sometimes their tab is bigger than his tab," said waitress Sheena Shelafoe, who has seen it happen at least five times.

It is rather heart-warming to hear about folks who want to show a little kindness for those in uniform. It’s one reason that the area will always have a special place in my heart, as one of those areas this military brat still thinks of as “home”.

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With special dispensation from the Pope, a Spanish bishop has ordained its first married priest.

A Roman Catholic bishop on the Spanish island of Tenerife has ordained a man as a Catholic priest despite the fact that he is married with two children.

The 64-year-old former Anglican pastor, David Gliwitzki, was ordained in La Laguna on the Canary Island.

The Bishop of Tenerife said the move was a unique exception within the Spanish Church.

According to Church rules, priests are supposed to be celibate. But the ordination was approved by the Pope.

This is not a new practice – Pope John Paul II permitted the ordination of Anglican clergy during his pontificate. But it highlights again that celibacy is not an intrinsic part of the priesthood, and is simply a part of man-made rules. In this day of declining numbers of priests, might the time have arrived to allow the ordination of married Catholic men?

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With special dispensation from the Pope, a Spanish bishop has ordained its first married priest.

A Roman Catholic bishop on the Spanish island of Tenerife has ordained a man as a Catholic priest despite the fact that he is married with two children.

The 64-year-old former Anglican pastor, David Gliwitzki, was ordained in La Laguna on the Canary Island.

The Bishop of Tenerife said the move was a unique exception within the Spanish Church.

According to Church rules, priests are supposed to be celibate. But the ordination was approved by the Pope.

This is not a new practice – Pope John Paul II permitted the ordination of Anglican clergy during his pontificate. But it highlights again that celibacy is not an intrinsic part of the priesthood, and is simply a part of man-made rules. In this day of declining numbers of priests, might the time have arrived to allow the ordination of married Catholic men?

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There is a big dispute going on in the state of North Carolina over the use of the Koran for the taking of oaths in state courts.

Traditionally, witnesses taking the stand in court are sworn in by placing their hand on the Bible.

But when Muslims in Guilford County, N.C., tried to donate copies of the Koran for courtroom use, judges turned them down.

Chief District Court Judge Joseph Turner says taking an oath on the Koran is not allowed by North Carolina state law, which specifies that witnesses shall place their hands on the “holy scriptures,” which he interprets as the Christian Bible.

“We’ve been doing it that way for 200 years,” he said. “Until the legislature changes that law, I believe I have to do what I’ve been told to do in the statutes.”

But the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the Guilford County Courts.

“This was the first time that we had a judge … going on record and stating unilaterally what is a holy scripture and what is not — what we believe to be a violation of the establishment clause,” said Arsalan Iftikhar of CAIR.

Fine, use it, though many of us consider the Koran to be (at most) one step above Satanic. But don’t expect it to receive any extra reverence in the courthouse – so when the menstruating female bailiff wearing a Star of David who just ate a BLT carries it in her bare hands for you to use, don’t go all jihadi on us.

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This piece of excrement was gifted with talent and opportunities that many young people only dream about. He chose to be a self-centered thug, and has continued to descend to deeper depths of scumdom over the years.

Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips, who was wanted by police for domestic violence, was arrested Sunday after allegedly running his car into three teenagers who argued with him during a pickup football game, police said.

Police had been seeking Phillips since earlier this month for allegedly attacking his girlfriend twice, once choking her into unconsciousness.

Phillips joined a group of 16- and 17-year-olds in a pickup football game in Exposition Park on Sunday and got into an argument with several of the teens, said Los Angeles police officer Sandra Escalante. He left the park, but returned and drove a black Honda onto the field, allegedly running into three teenage boys, she said.

The teenagers were taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

The car Phillips was driving was reported stolen in San Diego earlier in the week, Escalante said.

Phillips was arrested and held on the domestic violence felony warrant. Charges are pending in the Sunday incident, she said.

Now tell me -- What the hell could a couple of teenagers have done or said that meritted trying to run them down? But then again, why ask? He has a string of arrests for abusing women that date back to his college days.

I remember the day this cretin was drafted by the St. louis Rams, recently announced to be coming to the city near what was then my home. I was shocked and disgusted, as was my wife. We both knew that he was unlikely to have the discipline to use his talents to their fullest -- and that even if he did, he would be simply one more example of the thugification of popular culture.

I've watched as his every move has borne out my worst expectations and more.

Go to jail, Lawrence Phillips. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

You had better start praying that your jailhouse daddy treats his bitches better than you did yours.

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Who cares about the safety of himan beings -- the wolves must be restored!

A federal judge Friday ordered the Bush administration to step up efforts to restore the gray wolf to New York and three other northeastern states, a ruling that environmentalists called a major victory.

"The wolves are howlin' " in celebration, said Patrick Parenteau, director of the environmental law clinic at Vermont Law School.

Judge J. Garvan Murtha found that the Interior Department violated federal law in 2003 when it issued a rule saying no further efforts to restore the wolf were needed.

The ruling also covers Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Efforts to restore wolves had been successful in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The government wanted to lump those states in with the Northeast in a new, 21-state eastern region, and declare that enough had been done to restore wolf populations throughout the eastern United States.

Anthony Tur, a Fish and Wildlife Service field officer in Concord, N.H., said the agency's headquarters in Washington would decide whether to appeal the ruling.

He questioned the push to build gray wolf populations in the Northeast, saying public support for such a move was unclear. He also cited disagreement in the scientific community about whether gray wolves ever populated the region.

Environmental groups argued that good wolf habitats are available in northern Maine and New York's Adirondack Mountains and that northern Vermont and New Hampshire likely would become an important corridor for wolves migrating between the two areas.

And here I was hoping for releases in Chappaqua, Harlem, and Manhattan.

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Cindy Sheehan's 15 minutes are over. Her protest at Camp Dhimmi (I refuse to defile her son's sacrifice by referring to it by his name) has pretty much exemplified the worst of the anti-war/pro-jihadi movement.

Here are some examples.

Deb Saunders points out that Sheehan's protest is less about principled opposition to the war than it is a cry for attention -- emotion lacking in logic.

Cindy Sheehan, the mother of Casey Sheehan who died in combat in Iraq, became a public figure when she demanded a second visit with President Bush so he could answer her questions: "Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?" She had set up camp near the president's home, until a second tragedy -- her mother's stroke -- caused her to leave Thursday.

By the time that happened, Sheehan, who has made her personal situation the issue and has hurled so many personal insults at others, was complaining that the protests are "not about me," they're about the war.

Not true. Cindy Sheehan never asked Bush to meet with other mothers of those who have died in Iraq. She has never tried to represent those mothers of slain soldiers who support the war. What's more, while many thoughtful critics of the war exist, Sheehan personifies the me-me-me focus of the anti-war movement. And that corner doesn't think.

Similarly, other parents of our honored war dead are speaking out against Sheehan's claims to moral authority superior to those who support continuing to oppose jihadi terrorism. Take this example from Portsmouth, NH.

Exeter's Natalie Healy lost her 36-year-old son Daniel Healy on June 28. Healy was serving as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. He died when the MH-47 Chinook helicopter he was riding in was shot down. Fifteen other Americans also perished in the crash.

Healy considered the rally a success. She was pleased with the turnout considering the slightly rainy weather and the short notice — she only started planning the rally on Thursday.

The rally started at noon and ended at about 2 p.m., although some involved with the demonstration stayed longer. The group included both veterans, as well as those who just wanted to show their support for the current conflicts.

***

In Portsmouth, Healy stood on the sidewalk clutching a photo of her son to her chest and an American flag in her other hand. Healy wants the troops to know that not all Americans feel the same way about the war as Sheehan does.

"It angers me and scares me," Healy said, speaking about Cindy Sheehan's protest. "I remember Vietnam. I remember how the protests started out back then. I'm here to do whatever I can."

Dan Healy's sister, Shannon, said support showed by the rally was wonderful. Shannon Healy said she had to take a little time off work, but felt it was important.

"No matter your politics," Shannon Healy said. "Love Bush or hate him. You have to support the men and women. ... I think Mrs. Sheehan is disrespecting the memory of her child. It's disrespectful. Her son made the choice (to be in the military)."

In interviews, some of those who spoke at the rally said that Sheehan's demonstration is aiding the enemy, by providing propaganda for the other side. Mixed with this was some anger that the media is focusing too much on the negative aspects of the war, like body counts or bombings, instead of on the good the soldiers are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That's moral superiority. This mother recognizes the value of her son's sacrifice and is proud of it. She didn't threaten offer to run her son down with the family car to get him out of combat. She hasn't constantly changed her story about a meeting withthe president or engaged in anti-American tirades. She respects what her son volunteered to do and is proud of it. Natalie healy is the voice of most service parents --not Cindy Sheehan.

And then there is this father, who has started a camp (Fort Qualls, in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, 20, who died in Iraq last fall) in opposition to Sheehan's. He has also had to fight to keep his son's memory and sacrifice from being desecrated by Sheehan's followers at Camp Dhimmi.

In Crawford, Gary Qualls, the father of a slain soldier, explained his reasons for supporting the pro-war camp. "If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that," said Qualls, who is friends with the local business owner who started the camp. He said his 16-year-old son now wants to enlist, and he supports that decision.

Qualls' frustration with the anti-war demonstrators erupted last week when he removed a cross bearing his son's name that was among hundreds the group had put up along the road to Bush's ranch.

Qualls called the protesters' views disrespectful to soldiers, and said he had to yank out two more crosses after protesters kept replacing them.

So much for the anti-American/pro-jihadi rabble who claim to respect the moral superiority of the parents of dead servicemen and women to speak out on the war. I guess that is only the case if those parents oppose the war -- supporters of the war (the vast majority of family members of Iraq and Afghanistan heroes) may be disregarded as inconsequential by the pro-Islamist Left.

Get this, residents of Camp Dhimmi and your supporters -- America rejects you.

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I admire these young people, both for their faith and their patriotism. I've got a number of students who are at World Youth Day (along with one of my colleagues, who runs her parish youth group), and I hope they are following this example.

After nearly a week of being very low-key about their nationality, a group of young Catholics from the South Hills began flying the stars and stripes yesterday.

While Pope Benedict XVI visited a synagogue in a city flooded with pilgrims who have come to see him, the teens and young adults from St. Bernard in Mt. Lebanon and Our Lady of Grace in Scott visited churches. They also acquired a large American flag to march behind today as they hike to the field where they will camp overnight before Benedict celebrates Mass there tomorrow.

All pilgrims from the United States had been warned not to display their flag because it might make them targets of political hatred. Many carried state flags -- the bear of California was everywhere. The South Hills group had carried a Steelers pennant to help them find each other in crowds where they could easily become separated.

But all week they had seen thousands of people from lands as diverse as Tahiti and Sweden proudly displaying their national colors. They had spotted a few American groups also flying large flags, with no apparent ill effects.

In a gift shop that carried flags from many nations, chaperone Zack Rosser, 22, purchased a large flag on a long pole to carry before them. And Lauren Witter, 17, of Dormont, bought an even larger flag that she literally wrapped herself in.

Youth group leader Jessica Fabus, 22, decided to accept the flag because they needed a larger banner as a sign to follow in today's hike. And she had also decided they were not ashamed to be American.

"We realized that the world problems don't matter here. We're all here because of what we have in common. You should show your colors and be happy to meet everyone, no matter where they're from," she said.

May God bless all those at this years event -- especially thoses from my school. May they be proud of their faith, and of the land of their birth.

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There's a new meme going around, courtesy of Say Uncle. I hope everybody will play along.

Oddball thought experiment:

By some bizarre set of circumstances, you are the president as of now. Name the first 5 things youÂ’d do. Level of difficulty: it must actually be stuff the president is constitutionally allowed to do.

Please note where I added emphasis -- some answers I've seen ignore this one.

1) Address a joint session of Congress and demand the following constitutional amendments:
A) National initiative and referendum.
B) Requirement that any ruling that a law is unconstitutional be affirmed by 3/4 of the Supreme Court -- and that a resolution by a 2/3 majority of both houses of Congress and signed by the president shall be sufficient to overturn such a ruling.
C) Alter the 14th Amendment to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens and non-immigrant foreigners.
D) Repeal the amendment granting Washington D.C. electoral votes, mandating instead that the city be included as a part of Maryland for presidential, senatorial, and congressional voting, because it started out as a part of Maryland -- and affirming the city's home rule status.
E) Federal Marriage Amendment

2) Overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- replacing it with "Don't Ask, Don't Give A Damn" -- permitting homosexuals in the military.

3) Appoint Condi Rice Vice President, and Michelle Malkin Head of ICE,. Fire Mineta.

4) Mandate that all federal officials travelling coach be subject to the highest level of srutiny in airports -- and that all federal officials travel coach.

5) Strictly enforce all immigration laws.

Come on folks, join in the fun. What would you do?

(Hat Tip: Say Uncle, Dangerous Liberty, TF Sterns, Eric's Grumbles.

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It now seems that some of the the Minutemen coming to Houston might actually exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. A number have concealed carry permits, and the local organizers will not forbid them to carry their weapons.

I'm not going to get into a discussion of the right to keep and bear arms. I won't discuss whether or not these folks should be carrying weapons when legally authorized to do so.

No, what I want to point out is this glaring lie from an HPD spokesman.

Houston police are aware that some of the Minutemen will be armed, and officers will make sure that all laws are obeyed, said Lt. Robert Manzo, an HPD spokesman.

Well, maybe just by the Minutemen. There will be no enforcement of our nation's immigration laws, nor laws against hiring immigration criminals. That means the border jumpers and those who aid and abet them will get a free pass -- as usual in this sanctuary city.

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Pro-abortion activists might want to consider this story as a serious challenge to their position supporting the destruction of innocent human life in the womb.

Three weeks ago, surgeons at Texas Children's Hospital performed an act of medical derring-do: They operated on an infant while he was still partially in his mother's womb and receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord.

On Friday, 21-day-old Garrett Wilson Jorgensen slept peacefully in his mother's arms, a handsome reminder of the blessings of modern medicine. Born at 7 pounds and 15 ounces, the healthy boy was headed home.

Now remember, when little Garrett had the life-saving surgery he was in precsely the same state that Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the rest of the pro-abortion profiteers argue is less than human, bereft of rights, and fodder for partial-birth abortion.

Instead, this amazing procedure was performed.

Last month, [Ellen] Jorgensen and her husband, Christopher, were looking forward to the birth of their first child when a routine ultrasound revealed something frightening: a mass blooming inside the baby's chest.

The news became worse. The fast-growing tumor was pressing against the baby's heart and impeding blood flow. If Jorgensen went into labor unexpectedly, doctors said, the baby wouldn't survive — there was no room for his heart to beat or his lungs to expand.

An Austin physician referred Jorgensen to Texas Children's Hospital, one of a handful of hospitals in the nation offering fetal surgery to correct life-threatening abnormalities.

Four days later, Jorgensen was on an operating table in Houston, undergoing an operation known as an ex utero intrapartum treatment, or EXIT.

Developed in 1995 at the University of California at San Francisco, Children's Hospital, surgeons perform a modified Caesarean section and partially remove the fetus from the womb to undergo surgery while it is still attached to the umbilical cord. This allows surgeons to repair an airway obstruction or other breathing problem before the baby is delivered and forced to breathe on its own. Texas Children's did its first EXIT operation in 2001. Other successful surgeries have followed.

On July 29, Jorgensen underwent a two-and-a-half-hour EXIT operation in which doctors lifted the baby's head and shoulders from the mother's uterus and attached breathing tubes and intravenous lines.

Next, surgeons made an incision in the baby's chest, and brought the mass — which was taking up two-thirds of his chest cavity — outside his body. Only then did they cut the umbilical cord. They finished detaching the mass and completed the surgery in an adjacent operating room.

"The infant almost didn't make it to birth and (he) was deteriorating rapidly in the hours before the procedure," said lead surgeon Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, co-director of the hospital's Texas Center for Fetal Surgery and an assistant professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. "There was no room for the lungs to expand."

Olutoye said there was no evidence of malignancy in the mass, a rare growth called an immature mesenchymal neoplasm, and doctors were able to remove all of it. The surgeon said it was fortunate that the mass developed late in pregnancy, giving the baby's lungs a chance to grow.

My best wishes to little Garrett and his parents, Ellen and Christopher Jorgenson of Round Rock, TX.

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Another local hero has died in the crusade against jihadi terrorists.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Phillip George of Pasadena, who would have celebrated his 23rd birthday on Sept. 3, was killed Wednesday in Afghanistan.

His family was notified late Thursday that George was killed in battle in eastern Afghanistan, where he had been stationed with the 2nd Battalion since late May. Details of how he was killed were not available Friday from the U.S. Defense Department.

George was a 2000 graduate of Clear Lake Christian School in southeast Houston, and had been an active member of Alta Vista Baptist Church in Pasadena.

Phillip's father, a KBR-Halliburton employee working to help rebuild liberated Iraq, will be flown to Germany to accompany his son'ts body home.

I think that Lace Corporal George's sister pays the highest tribute to her brother.

"He loved being a Marine," Sara George said. "This was exactly what he wanted to do. He was also a dedicated Christian. He was serving both God and country."

His sister said George "had close friends in the military, and they were all like family. He was, in a way, a little bit shy. But he was the strongest person I've ever known. He stood up for what he believed in. He wasn't swayed by other people."

"That carried over into his being a Marine," she said. "He was loyal to his friends, to his platoon members. He was fighting for them, too."

May God grant him eternal rest, and may perpetual light shine upon him.

May God grant the George family comfort in their time of loss.

And may God grant safety and victory to his brothers and sisters in arms as they fight for freedom against those who would extinguish it.

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Energy independence.

Renewable energy.

Non-polluting resources.

These are all things that liberals tell us they support.

But not the ones up in the Cape Cod area.

Take this local resident -- Ted, a public employee from Hyannisport.

Leading this charge is Sen. Ted Kennedy, whose famous compound would have a nice view of the turbines. (To be fair, though most people say the turbines would be hard to see except on very clear days, and even then they'd be tiny blips on the horizon.)

But Ted wants no such thing spoiling cocktail hour on the veranda. So he drafted his famously green nephew Robert to join the fight - even though Robert is a senior lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which strongly backs the project.

Obviously, the reason this is so much fun is that the stakes are so small for everybody except a handful of people who deserve to lose. Personally, I couldn't really care one way or the other. I think the aesthetic arguments have some merit, but I also think wind power has more potential than most of its critics claim. The windmills would ultimately provide about 75 percent of the energy used by Cape Cod and the surrounding Islands, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard - in a clean, renewable form that, unlike older technologies, wouldn't kill birds in an avian frappe. Seventy-five percent of the area's power needs may be a rounding error when discussing America's total energy consumption, but that's a lot for any specific community.

But Ted isn't alone in ensuring that the windmills, located 5-13 miles offshore, don't clutter their ocean view with little blips out on the horizon. Take Walter, a retiree from Martha's Vinyard.

When a reporter for The New York Times Magazine called Walter Cronkite, a windmill opponent, and asked him about the proposal, the retired newsman bristled at the suggestion that this was all about selfishness. But, he had to confess, that's exactly what it is.

"The problem really is Nimbyism," he conceded by telephone, "and it bothers me a great deal that I find myself in this position. I'm all for these (windmills), but there must be areas that are far less valuable than this place is." The reporter prodded, and he said maybe the California desert would work. Isn't that a bit far away to supply Cape Cod? Well, he added, "Inland New England would substitute just as well." In fact, any place but here would do just fine.

Is seemed to dawn on Cronkite that such honesty wasn't serving his cause or himself, he interrupted his train of thought and implored the reporter, "Be kind to an old man."

In other words, sacrifices must be made -- but by the little people, not us.

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The New York Times certainly got a sweetheart deal when it got the city of New York to steal use eminent domain to acquire the land for their new headquarters. Not only did they get to lease the land at significantly less than the open market would have cost them (and eventually buy it for $1.00), but they also got the right to determine who could rent other space in the building. Who gets excluded?

The lease, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, also bars renting space in the 52-story building for "a school or classroom or juvenile or adult day care or drop-in center." It forbids "medical uses, including without limitation, hospital, medical, or dental offices, agencies, or clinics." It gives the New York Times Company "the sole and absolute discretion" to reject United Nations or foreign-government offices, including any "considered controversial" or that are potentially the focus of demonstrations. It bans any "employment agency (other than executive-search firms) or job training center" and auction houses, "provided, however, the foregoing shall not apply to high-end auction houses specializing in art and historical artifacts." Discount stores are forbidden. And the deal bars "a welfare or social-services office, homeless shelter or homeless assistance center, court or court-related facility."

In fact, any government office is excluded from the building if it would attract people who arrive "without appointment."

But wait -- I thought eminent domain was the taking of land for a "public purpose". If the public is effectively excluded from the property by a private party, how can it be deemed a public use?

I wonder -- would the Times be willing to see a similar bargain given to Halliburton, or to an oil company?

(Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin, No Land Grab, and The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid)

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Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has suffered a mild stroke.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., saw a doctor after feeling light-headed Tuesday and learned he'd suffered a mild stroke, aides said Friday.

"Senator Reid feels fine. There are no complications or any restrictions on his activities. He has undergone evaluations this week, and his doctors have recommended that he take advantage of the summer congressional recess for some down time," said a statement issued by Reid's press secretary, Tessa Hafen.

The statement said Reid sought medical attention at the urging of his wife, Landra. He was told he had experienced a transient ischemic attack.

The statement did not say where Reid was where the episode occurred or where he received treatment. Congress has been in recess since the beginning of August.

I may disagree with his politics, but I wish him well. Some matters transcend the political.

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Two US warships were attacked by al-Qaeda forces this morning. The terrorists also attacked Israel.

Katyusha rockets were fired at two U.S. warships in Jordan's Red Sea Aqaba port on Friday, narrowly missing their targets, and Jordanian security officials said they believed al Qaeda was involved in the attack.

The rockets hit a warehouse, a hospital and the nearby Israeli port of Eilat. The only casualty was a Jordanian soldier on guard duty at a warehouse, who was killed.

Jordanian security officials told Reuters most initial indications pointed to the involvement of al Qaeda, which has been blamed in recent years for several plots to launch attacks on Western targets and government installations.

"We believe al Qaeda was behind this," a security source said.

Jordanian Interior Minister Awni Yarfas told Reuters the rocket launcher was a crude device, which appeared to indicate its users "had not properly prepared for the attack."

The White House condemned the attack.

"We strongly condemn all attacks like these and are investigating in cooperation with Jordanian officials," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.

"The U.S. will always make every effort to support and defend our servicemen and women in harm's way, as they protect the American people," he said.

Jordanian security forces later sealed off the derelict Shalala quarter of Aqaba, overlooking the port, and carried out house-to-house searches, security officials said.

Responsibility has been claimed by al-Qaeda, in particular the same sub-group that attacked several Egyptian hotels last month.

Neither of the ships, USS Kearsage and USS Ashland, were hit. Both immediately left port.

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The man is chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- and the Roberts hearings are coming up. Why is Arlen Specter in Cuba meeting with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez?

VENEZUELA'S President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the United States who has threatened to stop oil supplies, has met a US Republican senator, Arlen Specter, who has also been in Cuba this week.
The left wing president met with Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the US ambassador to Caracas, William Brownfield, for two hours on Wednesday night, the Venezuelan leader said in a speech on Thursday.

The meeting came at a sensitive time in relations between the United States and Venezuela, a major supplier of oil to the US markets.

Chavez threatened last weekend to stop oil exports to the United States unless Washington halts what he called its "aggressions".

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has in turn been to Peru and Paraguay this week to lobby against the influence of Venezuela and Cuba.

Media reports quoted Specter as saying he wanted a normalisation in relations.

Before going to Venezuela, the US senator was in Cuba where he had hoped to meet President Fidel Castro but it was not known if he was successful.

I repeat -- Why?

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I've heard liberal Democrats call for taxes to increase prices to encourage conservation. It's been a staple of the "green" Left for a generation.

Now prices have risen to the realm they have supported -- and they are complaining.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday said the Bush administration should require U.S. oil companies to disclose their fuel pricing policies and production costs.

In a letter to the White House, Reid also said the Federal Trade Commission should investigate instances where a state's retail prices rise 20 percent in any given week "to determine if the price of gasoline is being artificially manipulated."

Past FTC probes into U.S. oil company pricing policies have found no sign of abuse.

And then there is this one.

Separately, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said the White House should ask oil companies for a voluntary, temporarily freeze on prices that they charge gasoline distributors.

Hey -- the prices are up, just like you people wanted. It is having precisely the impact that conservatives have said it would have. And yet you complain. Is the problem simply that the money is going into private hands, rather than the US Treasury for you to spend?

And let's not forget that you have stood in the way of drilling off-shore and in ANWR for years. Maybe we should investigate the impact of those policies that you supported.

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I thought this story was done. I figured that the use of an arguably anti-Semitic slur on a diner's ticket and the boorish behavior of the manager who ejected the diner for complaining was over, given that the employee was gone and the restaurant had issued a half-hearted apology. I figured that the New Jersey Attorney General would investigate and say tha this was a one-time incident, and the case would be closed.

Maybe not. It seems that abusive comments by staff have appeared before on the restaurant's checks, and the insulted patrons have been brushed off.

A second customer has come forward accusing Parkhill's Waterfront Grill of writing an insulting label on her check.

Joanne Fordyce ate at the restaurant July 15, 2004, but the 34-year-old human resources director didn't immediately notice that she had been dubbed "Dirty Joanne" at the bottom of her bill.

She discovered the receipt a month later while switching pocketbooks. When she went to the restaurant for an explanation, general manager Malia Wells referred her to then-owner John Parkhill, who said he didn't know anything about the bill and walked away, Fordyce recalled Friday.

Fordyce contacted the state Division of Civil Rights after reading newspaper accounts this week about the experience of Elliot Stein, 23, of New York.

I'd doubt the story -- except for the fact she still has the check with the insult on it. You can't make up something like that.

The response of the restaurant is also consistent with the action towards the patrons labelled as "Jew Couple" on their check.

Restaurant spokesman Stephen Reid, who had previously called Stein's experience an isolated incident, was at a loss to explain Fordyce's bill. He said the bartender responsible for the "Dirty Joanne" notation was no longer working there but had not been fired.

"I don't know how that happened, or why it was there. It was wrong. These are two wrong circumstances that should never have happened. We hope, now that we changed our procedure, that it won't happen in the future."

He labeled Fordyce a problem customer, saying she had a "checkered past" at the restaurant and has since been banned.

"She's been asked to leave a couple times. She's rude, picking fights with the customers and patrons," he said.

Fordyce denied that, saying the restaurant was grasping at straws because of all the bad publicity.

I don't know whether Fordyce has such a "checkered past" or not. Since the diner in the other case was ejected for making a fuss, it could be that the restaurant's philosophy is "the customer is always wrong."

Now in their defense, the restaurant has gone to a table numbering system and has a message on their answering machine commenting on the situation.

"In response to recent news reports, we at Parkhill's deeply regret and apologize for recent actions of a former employee who carelessly used poor judgment in identifying a patron's religion or race on a bar tab. These actions do not reflect the beliefs and values of our staff. Parkhill's prides itself in treating all of our customers like family."

Maybe they are finally taking the situation seriously.

What I will say is this -- I don't agree with Fordyce's call for the state to shut the restaurant down.

That's for the public to do, if they find the restaurant to have engaged in egregious conduct.

It's called a free market.

NOTE: Some customers of the restaurant have rallied to its defense, commenting on an earlier post. They seem to think the food and people are great. I just wonder how the one fellow, whose surname is obviously Italian, would have reacted to a check reading "Wop Couple" or "Dago Family"?

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Could you imagine doing this to a disabled kid?

If you're a 7-year-old kid with cerebral palsy and autism, you have to take your laughs anywhere you can get them.

Just don't have too much fun at the local movie theater, or you might get thrown out.

That's what happened to young Anthony Pratti this week. To say his parents are upset about it would be an understatement.

Anthony, who uses a wheelchair, was with his parents, his sister and his grandmother at the Loews Cineplex theaters in the Galleria at Crystal Run Sunday, watching a 1:15 p.m. matinee of the G-rated film "March of the Penguins."

The family sat in the wheelchair section provided by the theater. Anthony was having a good time, said his mom, Gina Pratti.

"He was laughing, but he really wasn't much louder than any of the other kids," she said.

About 15 minutes into the film, one of the theater's managers approached the family, she said.

"He said our son was laughing too loud," Pratti said. "My husband told him Anthony didn't understand, that he was disabled, but that we'd try to quiet him down."

Not good enough, apparently – the manager brusquely told the family that Anthony had to leave, Pratti said.

Outraged, the family followed the manager to the lobby, where they were told they all didn't have to leave – just Anthony, Pratti said.

Pratti was dumbfounded.

"I said to him, what are we supposed to do, wheel him outside and leave him there?" she said.

The manager refunded the family's ticket purchase and sent them on their way, she said.

Well, Loews, what do you have to say and what are you going to do to make your facilities handicapped accessible and friendly?

UPDATE: Loews seems to have gotten the message -- and responded appropriately.

Posted by: Greg at 02:00 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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This is in keeping with what I heard from a friend from church who had a senior role with the Discovery mission (I live five miles from Johnson Space Center).

NASA may push back plans to launch its next shuttle mission until March 2006, allowing engineers more time to solve an ongoing foam shedding problem with orbiter external tanks.

A September launch attempt of the space shuttle Atlantis and its STS-121 mission – NASA’s second orbiter to fly since the Columbia disaster – is all but out, with space agency officials stating last week that chances were slim they would make the four-day window that opens on Sept. 22.

Shuttle managers are discussing whether to push past a brief, four-day launch window in November, and even switch shuttles – launching Discovery instead of Atlantis – for the next orbiter flight, NASA officials said.

“There have indeed been discussions about that,” NASA spokesman Allard Beutel told SPACE.com, adding that an update on NASA’s shuttle program status is set for 12:00 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) today.

Unless I miss my guess, the spring mission is a done deal. The September window is too quick, there really isnÂ’t a good window through most of the winter, and a delay until March gives them significant time to accomplish something.

But I will also note – while the folks at JSC are committed to flying the shuttle, many of them are already involved in projects that are focused on the next generation of craft and their missions. Do not be surprised to hear increased talk of placing objects into L1 & L2 orbits

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I’m glad to see this – the original ruling had no basis in law, either statutory or Constitutional.

A judge who ordered two Wicca believers to shield their son from their "non-mainstream" faith overstepped his authority, an appeals court said Wednesday in dismissing the order.

The Indiana Court of Appeals said state law gave a custodial parent the authority to determine a child's upbringing, including religious training. A judge could find that certain limitations were needed to protect a child from physical or emotional harm.

The parents' appeal, brought by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, claimed among other issues that the decree was unconstitutionally vague because it did not define mainstream religion. But the appeals court based its ruling on state law.

Marion Superior Court Judge Cale Bradford added the religion language to a divorce decree granted in 2004 to Thomas E. Jones and Tammy Bristol of Indianapolis. Jones is a Wiccan activist who has coordinated Pagan Pride Day in the city.

The judge's order followed a routine court report that said both parents are pagans who send their son, who is now 10 years old, to a Catholic school. In May, Jones said neither he nor his ex-wife had taken the boy to any Wiccan rituals since the order was issued.

There is rarely a legitimate basis for allowing parents to raise their children in their own religion. There certainly was no case for issuing such a prohibition in this case.

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ArenÂ’t you liberals proud of your new allies?

Thanks to the internet, SheehanÂ’s popularity among the armband brigades is spreading like fire creeping up a moonlit cross. On the webÂ’s premier hate website, Stormfront.org, Duke supporter James Kelso (whose screen name is "Charles A. Lindbergh") posted a link to a video message from Cindy Sheehan entitled, "Mr. President, you lied to us."

Cindy is also popular at the American Nationalist Union. ANU is run by Don Wassall, former national chairman of the Populist Party, a racist third party organized in 1984 by Willis CartoÂ’s Liberty Lobby; in 1988, the party nominated David Duke for president. ANUÂ’s Nationalist News section links to four articles supporting Cindy Sheehan, including a delightful link to an article on Justin RaimondoÂ’s Hate America Right website Antiwar.com about Christopher Hitchens: "Drink-Soaked Trotskyite Popinjay Slimes Antiwar Mom "

Duke is not the only figure on the White Wing to embrace Sheehan. The explicitly Nazi National Socialist Movement backs her, as well. NSM "Commander" Jeff Schoep entitled one recent radio broadcast "NSM SUPPORTS CINDY SHEEHAN," then devoted a second broadcast to Sheehan the next day.

The racist website Altermedia.info jumped on the bandwagon early, posting multiple articles hailing Cindy Sheehan. One article, written under the pen name "Charles Coughlin," dubbed the menopausal valley girl "The Rosa Parks of the Peace Movement," an awkward metaphor considering the source. Another article, authored by "James Buchanan" (another great Democrat), hinted the "Neo-Cons" had solicited the services of the redneck who fired shots into the air within earshot of Sheehan and her leftist Big Top.

Another article written by the late Fr. CoughlinÂ’s acolyte, "Woman Loses Son in Iraq; Neocons Treat her Like Dirt," also made its way on Stormfront.orgÂ’s discussion forum, inspiring 14 pages of commentary. The very first respondent, neo-Nazi "Reichmann88," [1] wrote:

This lady sounds like a potential WN ["WN" is short for "White Nationalist" – BJ]. I'll bet she has no clue about Israel's involvement in her sons death. Sad indeed!! May God Bless Her!

Reichmann need not worry; it appears Sheehan "knew."

Another Stormfront contributor commented, "If there are any Texas WN units nearby Mrs. Cindy Sheehan they should reach out to hear [sic.]." When another message claimed Sheehan "probably would spit in your face if you approached her with WN," forum member "Messiah" assured:

I've known Cindy for over a year now, and no, she wouldn't spit in anyone's face for what they said....while she's not a WN, sheÂ’s a decent person who resents deeply what Bush has done with his lies in creating this war, and using the US for Israel's interests. I feel like she does about these Neo Con/Israel created wars.

And evidently she reciprocates the sentiments of this racist scumbag.

It has long been a tactic of the Left to tar conservatives with the words or deeds of some obscure supporters. Will the Left recognize that when they receive broad-based support from the Klan and the Neo-Nazis there may be something wrong with their position on the war?

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You have to wonder whether reality ever comes knocking on Bob HerbertÂ’s door. If it did, would the writer with the unsettling demeanor of a Steppin Fetchit for the DNC even bother to answer? Mr. Herbert is the clueless NY Times columnist who opposed the draft when he was younger but now wants to draft people based upon socio-economic status rather than continue our successful practice of having a volunteer military.

You have to wonder whether reality ever comes knocking on George W. Bush's door. If it did, would the president with the unsettling demeanor of a boy king even bother to answer? Mr. Bush is the commander in chief who launched a savage war in Iraq and now spends his days happily riding his bicycle in Texas.

And if the ad hominem comment in the first paragraph of this post offends you, shouldnÂ’t the second?

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Another one bites the dust!

Good news from Saudi Arabia – more dead jihadis.

Al-Qaida's leader in Saudi Arabia was killed Thursday during clashes with police in the western city of Medina, the Interior Ministry said.

Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi was among six al-Qaida-linked militants reported killed during police raids on numerous locations in that holy city and the capital, Riyadh, Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press.

Peace will come when the last of these terrorist sumbags lies rotting in the sun, with vultures and wild pigs stripping the flesh from their carcass.

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Another one bites the dust!

Good news from Saudi Arabia – more dead jihadis.

Al-Qaida's leader in Saudi Arabia was killed Thursday during clashes with police in the western city of Medina, the Interior Ministry said.

Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi was among six al-Qaida-linked militants reported killed during police raids on numerous locations in that holy city and the capital, Riyadh, Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press.

Peace will come when the last of these terrorist sumbags lies rotting in the sun, with vultures and wild pigs stripping the flesh from their carcass.

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I find this new law interesting, if it goes into effect.

North Carolina lawmakers have approved a measure that would require courts to give battered spouses something extra when they seek a restraining order - information on how to apply for a concealed weapon.

However, victim's advocates who support efforts to curb domestic violence said the measure could end up causing more problems by bringing guns into already volatile relationships.

"In my experience, if you've got a fire out there, I don't think you put it out by throwing gas on it," said Bart Rick, a Seattle-area sheriff who chairs the National Sheriffs' Association domestic violence committee. "When I read this ... I went 'Whoa.'"

The president of the gun-rights group that pushed for the measure said it's more about helping victims of domestic violence help themselves.

"We're not interested in them shooting their abusers," said Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina. "We're interested in delivering a message: When police can't protect these people, they are capable of protecting themselves."

The measure becomes law Oct. 1 unless Gov. Mike Easley decides to veto it. His office declined Wednesday to comment on his plans.

The bill, which passed overwhelmingly in both houses of the legislature, would also add protective orders to the evidence a sheriff can consider when determining whether to issue an emergency permit to carry a concealed weapon. Normally, an applicant must wait 90 days for such a permit.

I love the fact that the victim disarmament folks – under the guise of protecting the public – what to make sure that crime victims are unable to fight back.

Personally, I only see one flaw with this law – it ought to require that the court issue a Glock and a box of ammunition to the victim when the restraining order is issued.

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Am I the only one who sees these as chickenshit charges?

Gov. Bob Taft was charged with four ethics violations Wednesday for failing to report dozens of gifts that included dinners, golf games and professional hockey tickets, deepening a scandal that has rocked Ohio's Republican Party.

Taft, a Republican and member of a distinguished U.S. political family, becomes the first governor in Ohio history to be charged with a crime. The charges are also an embarrassment for a politician who has pushed for high ethical standards in his office.

Taft, could be fined $1,000 and sentenced to six months in jail on each count if convicted, though time behind bars was considered unlikely.

Taft will respond publicly on Thursday and is not planning to resign, spokesman Mark Rickel said. Prosecutors said they expected the governor to appear in court Thursday but declined to say whether a plea agreement was in the works.

The gifts were worth about $5,800 and given over four years, prosecutors said. Taft earlier had revealed that he failed to report some outings but said the omissions were accidental.

Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said the gifts included two golf outings worth $100 each paid for by embattled coin dealer Tom Noe. Noe is a Republican fundraiser whose $50 million investment of state money in rare coins launched the scandal that led to Taft's revelation that he failed to list golf outings on financial disclosure forms.

State law requires officeholders to report all gifts worth more than $75 if the donor wasn't reimbursed.

O'Brien said the gifts also included meals and tickets for a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game.

If this is what passes for “corruption” and “unethical conduct” in Ohio, then I think the laws are overly stringent. According to other reports I’ve seen, some of the gifts, meals, and outings come from long-time friends and associates. Given current prices for a meal at an up-scale restaurant, or fees for a round of golf, it is virtually impossible not to cross that threshold in the course of spending time with someone in a purely casual capacity. I took a friend to see the Houston Texans last weekend because my wife was unable to use her ticket. By the time I bought his ticket (and we were in the cheap seats), paid for parking, and grabbed a drink and a bite to eat, we were pushing that $75.00 figure. If such normal human interaction is banned under the law, then the law is an ass.

UPDATE: Taft pleads no contest, and is fined for the offenses.

Posted by: Greg at 01:46 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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According to this press account, the restaurant referenced in my post yesterday has offered an apology for labeling patrons as “Jew Couple” on their bill – and their charge submitted to VISA.

Stephen Reid, a spokesman for the restaurant, said it had been the waitstaff's practice to use descriptions of diners to identify them on checks, instead of using the table number, as many establishments do. He couldn't say how long the policy had been in effect, but said the restaurant has since switched to a table-numbering system.

"Let's say you came in in a blue shirt, and I wore a blue cap with "USA' on it. So they say the guy with the blue shirt and blue cap is table two," Reid said.

He said racial slurs were never used to describe diners. The restaurant, which is 8 years old, is owned by Michael Parkhill.

The restaurant issued a statement Wednesday saying, "We deeply regret and apologize to anyone who was offended by the actions of one of our former employees who identified patrons by their religion/race on a bar tab."

Seems weak to me, since it is unclear to what degree they have made amends to the offended patron, who was ejected to the restaurant for complaining. What do you think?

And, perhaps more importantly, what does the New Jersey Attorney GeneralÂ’s office think, as they are investigating the situation.

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Here's an article that you need to be aware of. Ronald R. Griffin has something important to say to you.

I lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.

I grieve with Mrs. Sheehan, for all too well I know the full measure of the agony she is forever going to endure. I honor her son for his service and sacrifice. However, I abhor all that she represents and those who would cast her as the symbol for parents of our fallen soldiers.

The fallen heroes, until now, have enjoyed virtually no individuality. They have been treated as a monolith, a mere number. Now Mrs. Sheehan, with adept public relations tactics, has succeeded in elevating herself above the rest of us. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida declared that Mrs. Sheehan is now the symbol for all parents who have lost children in Iraq. Sorry, senator. Not for me.

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Mrs. Sheehan as a distraught mom standing heroically outside the guarded gates of the most powerful and inhumane man on earth, President Bush. Ms. Dowd is so moved by Mrs. Sheehan's plight that she bestowed upon her and all grieving parents the title of "absolute moral authority." That characterization epitomizes the arrogance and condescension of anyone who would presume to understand and speak for all of us. How can we all possess "absolute moral authority" when we hold so many different perspectives?

I don't want that title. I haven't earned that title.

Yeah, that's right. Cindy Sheehan is one person with one opinion. It is far from the majority opinion of the families of those who have died in this crusade against jihadi terrorists. Where are the cameras covering those thousands of onther survivors? Why are their views not trumpetted throughout the land? What makes Mrs. Shehan -- a liar whose very words condemn her as hateful of this country and a supporter of terrorists (like Lynne Stewart, for example) -- the one with the moral authority to speak?

Thirty-five years ago, a president faced a similar dilemma in Vietnam. He gave in and we got "peace with honor." To this day, I am still searching for that honor. Today, those who defend our freedom every day do so as volunteers with a clear and certain purpose. Today, they have in their commander in chief someone who will not allow us to sink into self-pity. I will not allow him to. The amazing part about talking to the people left behind is that I did not want them to stop. After speaking to so many I have come away with the certainty of their conviction that in a large measure it's because of the deeds and sacrifices of their fallen heroes that this is a better and safer world we now live in.

Those who lost their lives believed in the mission. To honor their memory, and because it's right, we must believe in the mission, too.

We refuse to allow Cindy Sheehan to speak for all of us. Instead, we ask you to learn the individual stories. They are glorious. Honor their memories.

Honor their service. Never dishonor them by giving in. They never did.

May God bless you, sir, and those many survivors whose beliefs parallel yours.

Posted by: Greg at 11:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The sentence which follows is almost too bizarre for me to believe I have to type it.

Brother Roger, founder and leader of the Taize Movement, was murdered by a woman during a service yesterday in the community's Church of Reconciliation.

The fatal stabbing of one of the world's most revered Christian leaders in his church provoked shock and revulsion yesterday.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Benedict and heads of state led tributes to 90-year-old Brother Roger, a Swiss-born Protestant pastor and the head of the Taizé community.

Investigators said the self-confessed killer, a 36-year-old Romanian woman identified only as Luminita, claimed to have attacked Brother Roger after failing to attract his attention. Details of the death of a man who dedicated his life to the causes of peace and ecumenism caused widespread disgust.

Brother Roger was stabbed three times in the throat and back during a service in the Reconciliation Church at Taizé in eastern France on Tuesday evening.

Most worshippers were unaware of the incident until blood was seen pouring from the seated pastor's wounds. His assailant was overpowered as a doctor from the congregation tried in vain to save his life. A colleague, Brother François, explained what had happened to the 2,500 people inside the church and asked them to pray for the victim's soul.

Another senior member of the group, Brother Emile, said Brother Roger died within 15 minutes of the attack. His "throat was cut" and he bled profusely from his wounds, he said. Brother Emile added: "The woman came into the middle of the choir but we didn't see her because our backs were turned. There was a scream and we turned, but the deed had been done." Brother Roger, born Roger Louis Schutz-Marsauche, established the Taizé community in 1940. He provided sanctuary for people of all faiths, notably Jewish refugees from Nazi persecution.

With more than 100 resident members of the multinational monastic community, he built Taizé into an important religious destination.

Tens of thousands of young pilgrims are welcomed there each year for periods of meditation and intensive prayer.

The beauty of the Taize movement and the community founded by Brother Roger is one of the most beautiful flowers of twentieth century Christianity. It highlights the unity of all Christinas, rather than the divisions.

The Telegraph provides a moving obituary. It would be positively sinful to try to do excerpts of their tribute to a man who ranks with Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II and Billy Graham as one of the great spiritual lights of our age.

And now the light has been extinguished -- but his life's work remains, giving glory to God.

Posted by: Greg at 04:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The ABA has spoken. Judge John Roberts is "well qualified" for the US Supreme Court. That is, I believe, what the Left used to cal the Gold Standard" for judges.

Supreme Court nominee John Roberts earned a "well qualified" rating from the American Bar Association on Wednesday, clearing one hurdle in his path to joining the high court.

The rating by unanimous vote of an ABA committee was disclosed as the Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans for the start of confirmation hearings on Sept. 6. Roberts will face almost an hour of questioning from each of the 18 senators on the committee.

The committee also will hold one hearing that will be closed to the public.

For more than 50 years, the ABA has evaluated the credentials of nominees for the federal bench, though the nation's largest lawyers' group has no official standing in the process. Supreme Court nominees get the most scrutiny.

This is the fourth time the ABA has rated Roberts. He was designated as well qualified in 2001 when he was nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He earned the same rating in 2003 when he was nominated again for the appeals courts and then confirmed. He was rated as qualified as an appeals court nominee in 1992, but the Senate never took up that nomination.

Of course, you know that being rated "well qualified" will no longer be sufficient since the nominee is a conservative. After all, , the "Gold Standard" is only the "Gold Standard" if they like the nominee.

Posted by: Greg at 03:50 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Maybe I wonÂ’t speak firmly to that customer service rep next time I place a customer service call.

Until recently, LaChania Govan's complaints about Comcast's service seemed relatively tame. The 25-year-old Elgin mother of two said she was put on hold, disconnected, even transferred to the Spanish language line.

But after persistent problems with her digital recording system forced her to make dozens of calls to the cable company in July, her August bill came with a change really worth complaining about: In place of her name were the words "Bitch Dog."

"I could not believe it," said Govan, who works in customer service for a credit card company.

She said she immediately called Comcast to cancel her service and was sent to an operator.

"She asked me for my name. I said, `You really don't want me to go there,'" Govan said.

Recounting her problems on Tuesday, she said she was transferred to a supervisor who assured her he would find out what happened and get back to her soon.

“Get back to her soon.” That is Customer Service Rep slang for “You ain’t gonna hear a thing from us, sucka!”

I realize that dealing with irate customers isn’t easy, but that’s the nature of the job. I’ve had customer service representatives tell me “you’ll just have to live with the problem” when I have called about in-warranty repairs to products. I had a credit card company many years ago that couldn’t get my billing address correct. I won’t even get in to the story of the Postal Service supervisor who hung up on me rather than deal with my problem.

I hope that Ms. Govan gets some satisfaction – and not a suggestion from Comcast that she do a legal name change to come into conformity with their records.

Posted by: Greg at 02:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I read the Harry Potter books for fun, and to know what my students are reading. IÂ’ve made a point of not delving into deeper political meanings.

Fergus Cullen, though, offers a conservative critique of the books.

I'LL ADMIT to liking the Harry Potter books, but I can't suspend disbelief any longer. The kid lives in the realm of big government, and it's interfering with my enjoyment of the Half-Blood Prince. Consider these facts about life in the wizarding world:

Huge government bureaucracies: Every time another department within the Ministry of Magic is mentioned, I wonder if the real threat to Harry's liberty is Voldemort or the Leviathan government, which has a branch overseeing all aspects of wizard daily life. There's the Improper Use of Magic Office, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, even the Department of Magical Games and Sports, which may be needed to investigate steroid use among Quidditch players.

Wait until you hit the punchline.

Posted by: Greg at 02:57 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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