No, I'm serious -- who is responsible for feeding the children? Is it the parents, or is it the government?

That is my reaction to an editorial in today's Houston Chronicle.

Last month, needy children ate more than 2 million free, nourishing meals thanks to the Houston Independent School District. The Galena Park school district fed wholesome meals to 48,000 hungry youngsters.

Both school systems should be commended for recognizing the importance of a reliable, accessible source of food for children whose parents can't provide it. So it's inexplicable that both districts left the same kids utterly adrift when both shut their doors to prepare for the school year.

Now wait just one minute here. What is the business of a SCHOOL district? Is it providing an education for its students, or is it the complete care and feeding of the kids year round? I think the answer is obvious to sensibele, thinking people. That would explain why the Chronicles editorial staff gets the answer wrong.

Now I have to be careful here, because I work in one of these districts, but it seems to me that we have lost focus on the mission of the public schools. That mission is the intellectual, social, and moral education of children. It is not to be a one-stop medical/feeding/day-care center. During the school year, my district offers a free day-care program for the offspring of our students, a free/low-cost heath care clinic for students, and a free/reduced lunch program for all students. This summer it offered free breakfast and lunch for any "child" who walked in off the street, regardless of income -- and "child" was defined as AGE 20 AND UNDER! That's right. We had "children" age 18-20 (what most thinking people would generally refer to as "adults") walking into school buildings and being fed at taxpayer expense. What was even more absurd, the regulations imposed by the federal government forbade the sale of these same meals to school employees who were working in the building, including those of us who were actually teaching summer school!

Now, though, that the program is over, the Chronicle is upset that these districts are shirking some sort of purported moral responsibility to feed the children when there is no school in session.

Like other school districts around the country, Houston and Galena Park are eligible for reimbursement from the federal government for food and operating costs of student free meal programs. The government pays $2.74 for each meal a child consumes, which can be used to hire staff to handle the food and monitor the number of meals served. But as summer school ends and the fall semester starts to loom, school systems apparently find it difficult to keep serving the federally-funded meals on their campuses. Galena Park stopped serving its meals Friday; HISD shut most of its 256 cafeterias several weeks earlier.

This needless lapse in stewardship should not be allowed to happen. Even if entire school systems must close their doors for maintenance, the schools can still act as conduits to get that free food to poor children. Even after a district has ended its program for the summer, it can restart it again as a sponsor for another site, almost until the start of the school year. All the district needs to do is contact nonprofits, whether community centers or churches willing to provide a site where children can eat. Schools can invite teachers or contract cafeteria personnel to freelance as food managers at the interim locations. More than likely, some parents and other community members would be happy to oversee a meal program for free.

Arranging interim food service in the summer might be time-consuming, but what task could be more urgent?

I don't suppose that the Chronicle ever considered proposing that private groups run such programs without government money or oversight. After all, how can we possibly expect there to be positive results without government involvement? And I can't help but laugh at the notion that teachers should volunteer to run such programs -- after all, Texas teacher salaries are only about $6000 below the national average. Why doesn't the Chronicle send its employees out during the middle of the day to run such programs if, as they claim, "there is no task which could be more urgent"? All of this overlooks such antiquated notions as having the children fed a meal at home, prepared by a parent or other family member.

It's certainly feasible: In San Antonio, the schools have organized an almost seamless transfer of summer meals. There is no excuse for Harris County school districts to deny the same services for our own hungry children.

Right now, tens of thousands of Houston children are going without needed meals. Administrators at HISD and GPISD should get on the phone to help them right now. They'll likely find plenty of nonprofits eager to lend a hand. Galena Park Boxing Academy, which is also a child enrichment center, has space for 200 children to eat free meals at once, academy President Kenny Weldon said. The facility can even supply a monitor.

"Of course we'd be willing," Weldon said. "What do you do — take care of kids for one part of the year but not the other?"

But then again, maybe I am too hard-hearted. Maybe the editorial is right. Children need to be fed year-round, and parents are clearly not up to the task.

But what about other school breaks and holidays? These children should not be left to fend for themselves for a week or two at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Spring Break! Clearly, the cafeterias must remain open during those times off as well.

And what about the irresponsible practice of sending children home on Friday afternoon and closing the cafeterias over the weekend? It seems absurd that we would expect children to survive through a Saturday and a Sunday without a hot breakfast and lunch. School districts need to keep the cafeterias open on the weekend as well, to avoid subjecting our nation's children to two whple days without nutrition.

I've also got a solution to what I see as the "dinner problem". By extending the school day by two or three hours, we can make sure that each student gets a hot dinner, ensuring three square meals a day. The interim time could be devoted to additional instructional time, though I certainly see the objections of those who see the extra classroom time as educators over-emphasizing academics.

But what I've not managed to solve is how to guarantee that evey child gets a bowl of ice cream and a kiss on the forehead before bed. What do you think -- are parents up to such a task?

Posted by: Greg at 02:15 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 1136 words, total size 7 kb.

For once I agree with the Houston Chronicle on something.

It's official: Lance Armstrong makes it a magnificent seven

Lance Armstrong closed out his amazing career with a seventh consecutive Tour de France victory today -- and did it a little earlier than expected.

Because of wet conditions, race organizers stopped the clock as Armstrong and the main pack entered Paris. Although riders were still racing, with eight laps of the Champs-Elysees to complete, organizers said that Armstrong had officially won.

The stage started as it has done for the past six years -- with Armstrong wearing the race leader's yellow jersey. It ended the same way, too -- with him celebrating, this time by a comfortable margin of more than 4 1/2 minutes.

One hand on his handlebars, the other holding a flute of champagne, Armstrong toasted his teammates as he pedaled into Paris to collect his crown. He held up seven fingers -- one for each win -- and a piece of paper with the number 7 on it.

When it was over, Armstrong saluted the race he's made his own.

"Vive le Tour, forever," he said.

Well done!

Posted by: Greg at 01:23 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 197 words, total size 1 kb.

Once again, the Israelis are making noise about the "unjust" sentence of traitor Jonathan Pollard, who betrayed the United States by spying for Israel.

Knesset Law Committee chairman Michael Eitan, a former chairman of the Knesset Pollard caucus, expressed disappointment with the US legal system. Israel has proven to be more humane than the US, Eitan said, noting that nuclear spy Mordechai Vanunu served only 18 years.

"Pollard is serving a sentence disproportionate to his crime," Eitan said.

He said he believed that the Pollard case could now only be resolved between the US president and the Israeli prime minister.

Now I'll agree that the sentence is disproportionate to the crime -- but unfortuantely, Pollard did not qualify for the death penalty which he richly deserved. And it is an injustice that he is serving this sentence alone -- but the Isaelis refused to turn over those officials who recruited and coordinated his betrayal of the United States, as well as those who approved his spying.

Let me offer Israel this easy-to-understand message from one American citizen -- shut up about Pollard, and quit trying to get him released. Remember that you are the JUNIOR partner in this strategic relationship, and that you need the US much more than we need you, given that you suck at the US foreign aid teat to the tune of at least $4 billion annually. Any American president who lets Pollard go will be rejected by the American people, if not impeached. So Pollard will stay in a US prison, where he belongs, until he rots -- and that is how it should be. Deal with it.

Posted by: Greg at 01:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 287 words, total size 2 kb.

Congressman Tom Tancredo makes an excellent point in response to those who criticize his misreported, mishcharacterized "nuke Mecca" statement.

Fundamentalist Muslims have advocated the destruction of the West since long before the attacks of Sept. 11, long before the Madrid, London and Bali attacks, long before the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, long before the attack on the USS Cole and the 1993 WTC bombing.

In many respects, the decision of "moderate" Muslims to acquiesce to these actions and even provide tacit justification for them is just as damaging to global safety and security as the attacks themselves.

Until "mainstream" Islam can bring itself to stop rationalizing terrorist attacks and start repudiating and purging people like Ali and Hajjar from its ranks who do, this war will continue. As long as this war goes on, being "offended" should be the least of anyone's worries.

Exactly -- and until "condemnations" of terrorism and extremism by Muslim groups and organizations stop having a "but" in them, I don't care if how offended the Muslims are.

Posted by: Greg at 10:36 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 178 words, total size 1 kb.

I really didn't. I never imagined hat anyone could sink lower than the arrogant politician I listed below. I didn't think that any so-called American could degrade our honored war dead and their faimlies any further.

And now I find that I am wrong. That someone could do this to the pregnant widow of a dead soldier is so incredibly infuriating.

Vandals are compounding the grief of a Tri-state soldier's family.

Not even 24-hours after Private First Class Tim Hines's wife and family said goodbye at his funeral, American flags that had adorned their Fairfield yard were piled beneath a car and burned.

Hines' sister-in-law woke up to hear her car alarm around 5:30 a.m. and saw her car on fire.

As firefighters brought the fire under control they discovered a pile of around 20 American flags underneath the car.

Neighbors say Hines' wife's family had flags line their front yard and on the porch.

Those were taken as well as flags in neighboring yards.

Hines was injured in Iraq and flown to Walter Reed Hospital in the Washington, D.C. area, but succumbed to the injuries before he could return home.

Hines' wife Katy is eight-months pregnant with their second child. She buried her husband on Friday.

Katy Hines had just moved back into her parents' home and woke up to find her sister's car consumed by flames.

Investigators believe the flags piled underneath were used to start the fire.

There are no words -- only fury.

And yet some still want to claim that their "dissent" is a higher form of patriotism than support for our troops. Yet such actions prove that it is really treason.

God bless and comfort the Hines family -- and may He righteously deal with those who committed this evil act.

(Hat Tip -- NeoBabble, Instapundit, Along The Tracks, The Anchoress, and The Violence Worker.)

UPDATE -- I've just come across this article, which adds a beautiful act of kindness to this sad story.

Hines met his wife, Katy, at Cincinnati Christian School. They had a 2-year-old daughter, Lily, and Katy expects to give birth to their second child in about two weeks.

An anonymous donor gave Cincinnati Christian $130,000 to cover tuition for Hines' children.

I do not know who you are, but God bless you for this gift. May you be richly reqarded in heaven.

Posted by: Greg at 10:20 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 407 words, total size 3 kb.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich of Indiana, PA died on July 10, 2005, fighting for his country in Iraq. He is a hero, and as such he and his family deserve to be treated with the utmost respect. That is why the actions of Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll are particularly egregious.

Now put yourself in the place of the Goodrich family. You have lost a family member. You are at the funeral in a church full of mourners. And then someone you don't even know shows up at the church and plunks down among the family. I'll let Rhonda Goodrich, Staff Sgt. Goodrich's sister-in-law, pick up the narrative.

In a phone interview, Goodrich said the funeral service was packed with people "who wanted to tell his family how Joe had impacted their lives."

Then, suddenly, "one uninvited guest made an appearance, Catherine Baker Knoll."

She sat down next to a Goodrich family member and, during the distribution of communion, said, "Who are you?" Then she handed the family member one of her business cards, which Goodrich said she still has.

"Knoll felt this was an appropriate time to campaign and impose her will on us," Goodrich said. "I am amazed and disgusted Knoll finds a Marine funeral a prime place to campaign."

Goodrich said she is positive that Knoll was not invited to the funeral, which was jammed with Marines in dress uniform and police officers, because the fallen Marine had been a policeman in McKeesport and Indiana County.

"Our family deserves an apology," Rhonda Goodrich said. "Here you have a soldier who was killed -- dying for his country -- in a church full of grieving family members and she shows up uninvited. It made a mockery of Joey's death."

What really upset the family, Goodrich said, is that Knoll said, 'I want you to know our government is against this war,' " Goodrich said.

Yeah, you read that right -- during the funeral for one of our honored war dead, this arrogant BITCH of a politician had the audacity to look a member of the family in the eye say "I want you to know our government is against this war."

I'm sorry -- I've never been a big believer in having politicians at funerals unless they are friends of thedeceased, the family or are otherwise invited guests. They certainly should not be showing up in any sort of "official capacity" without clearing it in advance with the family. And no one at a funeral should do or say anything to add to the distress or the grief of the surviving family. There are other times and places for that.

But that is what Lt. Governor Knoll did. She showed up uninvited. She dishonored the deceased hero. She deeply hurt and offended the family.This woman needs to be driven from office by the people of Pennsylvania and loyal Americans everywhere -- whether they be supporters or opponents of the war in Iraq. Some things are simply beyond the pale. Dishonoring a dead Marine and distressing his family falls into that category, and must be reason to end her career.

Further commentary on this issue from Blackfive, Large Bill Pontificates, Pennywit, Media Lies, The Indepundit, and Michelle Malkin (who even quoted me!)

Posted by: Greg at 03:33 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 554 words, total size 4 kb.

1 Greg I agree,rude witch can't behave herself no better than that she deserves to run out of office actually the old fashioned way via a mob of angry tax payers.this modern way of doing politics doesn't work!it is a proven failure!one way would be to get her out of office but my personal favorite is for her to be run out with a stick or a pipe.

Posted by: Lisa Gilliam at Sat Jul 23 17:45:14 2005 (ynXtq)

2 Couldn't agree more. How dare she. How DARE she?

Dishonring someone from my hometown (Indiana, PA) while she was at it, too. Let's run Jabba the Hutt (Gov. Rendell, who looks like aforementioned Star Wars character) and his minion out of Harrisburg.

Posted by: B. Minich, PI at Sat Jul 23 19:52:44 2005 (XX1SF)

3 Sounds like she's been taking lessons in etiquette from DailyKos.

Posted by: marcus at Sat Jul 23 21:18:49 2005 (mq+EB)

4 I'm out here in Iraq with the 3d Battalion, 25th Marines, SSgt Goodrich's unit. I can't articulate the disgust and the revulsion I feel upon reading this news.

As a Marine Corps officer, it is unethical for me to express political opinions, but my opinion of this sorry excuse for a human being has nothing to do with politics. After seeing dozens of my fellow Marines in my battalion get killed these past few months, I always felt that at the very least that these men were being honorably brought back to their families and laid to rest with as much dignity as our nation could afford to provide.

This woman has misrepresented our government, and poorly represents the state of Pennsylvania. If Pennsylvanians have any self-respect at all, they will take whatever legal methods are available and toss her out of office immediately.

Posted by: Mike Rentner at Sat Jul 23 22:48:49 2005 (ru0sP)

5 More proof, as if any were needed, that the Dems are becoming completely unhinged. And as they continue to slander Rove, Tancredo and Roberts, they will remain silent about her, as they did about Durbin, Dean and Reid.

Posted by: Jim O'Sullivan at Sun Jul 24 01:19:00 2005 (ywZa8)

6 This is exactly what happens when desperation rears its ugly head in trying to hold onto Democratic powers by doing the most ridiculous, most abusive, and the most asinine actions. She gets the Howard Dean Award.

Posted by: mcconnell at Sun Jul 24 03:38:51 2005 (2J8V4)

7 Don't count on Dem moonbats being run out of Pennsylvania.

The Democrats own the labor unions and the bloated urban/state public employees. Resistance is futile.

I lived in Pittsburgh for a few years where the Dems drove the city to near bankrupcy and still overwhelmingly got re-elected. PA is one of the most corrupt states in the nation - just look at the Turnpike Commission for starters.

I wish the story had ended with someone at the funeral decking this hag.

Posted by: onecent at Sun Jul 24 06:48:46 2005 (i5+jM)

8 onecent - have to concur about Pittsburgh - why they kept electing Murphy until he wanted to leave himself is beyond me.

Philly is even worse, and they outvote the rest of the state.

However, Rendell isn't invincible - I think he can be defeated with the right candidate. Just not sure who that will be (though Lynn Swann would be interesting - being a former Steeler could be enough to get him the Pittsburgh vote, though that would turn off most Philly fans. )

Posted by: B. Minich, PI at Sun Jul 24 16:52:47 2005 (ChDjf)

9 I thought politicians go to military funerals all the time? You guys make it sound like she got on the podium and insulted the family. Could it be that she actually took the time to attend a funeral of a Marine and to pay her respects? Do you need an invitation to go to a funeral? If so, why the hell do you need obituaries? I don't get it.

Posted by: ChenZhen at Sun Jul 24 21:29:32 2005 (tRstH)

10 Politicians go to funerals when they're invited.

And they don't campaign and hand out cards.

And for Pete's sake, they don't tell family members that their loved one died doing something that they don't support! And claim that the entire "government" doesn't support the reason why he died.

Get a clue, Chen Zhen

Posted by: Mike Rentner at Sun Jul 24 22:54:47 2005 (ru0sP)

11 Chen -- i think I address that point in my post. Let me repeat what I said.

I'm sorry -- I've never been a big believer in having politicians at funerals unless they are friends of the deceased, the family or are otherwise invited guests. They certainly should not be showing up in any sort of "official capacity" without clearing it in advance with the family. And no one at a funeral should do or say anything to add to the distress or the grief of the surviving family. There are other times and places for that.

Politicians/celebrities at a funeral take the focus off the deceased, and so making an appearance is inappropriate unless there is a relationship o prior clearance. Clearly thiswas not the case here -- and there was clearly no intent to honor the deceased. What's more, this woman's conduct was not acceptable -- it would be like going to the funeral of a slain narcotics officer and saying "I oppose the war on drugs"; or the funeral of this poor girl missing in Aruba and telling relatives "she would still be alive if she hadn't been out acting like a slut".

In short, it is conduct that was the problem.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Mon Jul 25 02:15:21 2005 (xtWQW)

12 I agree with Onecent, someone should have knocked this insensitive bitch on her ass. Her showing up at the funeral shows a total lack of class, handing out her card and telling the family "our government disagrees with the war" is a slap in the FACE. If I lived in PA. I would make it my mission to have her but ousted from office and run out of town on a rail.

Posted by: rick in texas at Mon Jul 25 07:16:07 2005 (QR3qh)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Today's horrific terror attack in Egypt has taken at least 88 lives, according to the most recent reports.

Egypt's president vowed Saturday to hunt down terrorists who unleashed a rapid series of car bombs and another blast in this Egyptian Red Sea resort, devastating a luxury hotel and a coffee shop and killing at least 88 people in the nation's deadliest terror attack.

The early morning attacks, which used more than a half-ton of explosives, came just two days after the latest strikes in London and sent an already jittery world reeling again. At least 119 people also were wounded, the Interior Ministry said.

With two extremist groups claiming responsibility, Egypt tightened security at other busy tourist sites like the Pyramids and Luxor, and the government and British tourist agencies sent large aircraft to the Sinai to fly home nervous tourists.

"This cowardly, criminal act is aimed at undermining Egypt's security and stability and harming its people and its guests," President Hosni Mubarak said during a live national broadcast. "This will only increase our determination in chasing terrorism."

Let's hope that Mubarak is able to run these folks to ground. Terrorists are teh enemies of all humanity.

But despite the admissions of guilt by al-Qaeda associated jihadi swine, guess who is being blamed for the attack on television bradcasts in the Arab world. You got it -- the Jews!

Shortly after the attacks, Egypt's state-run television interviewed retired army general Fuad Allam. He said that he was almost certain that Israel was behind the attacks at Sharm e-Sheikh and Taba.

According to Fuad, investigations have shown that the mastermind of the Taba attack was a Palestinian "apparently linked to Israel's security forces."

He added: "I'm almost certain that Israel was also behind this attack because they want to undermine our government and deal a severe blow to our economy. The only ones who benefit from these attacks are the Israelis and the Americans."

Allam's remarks were re-aired several times during the day by Egyptian TV. Other commentators who made similar charges against Israel included political figures and prominent journalists and editors.

Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, the Arab world's leading satellite TV stations, also hosted a number of commentators who claimed that Israel was behind the latest wave of terror in Egypt.

Dia Rashwan, an expert on Islamic terror groups, from Cairo, said in a phone interview with Al Arabiya: "Israel is the only country that benefits from this," he said, referring to the attacks in Sharm e Sheikh.

Dismissing the theory that Al Qaeda was behind the attacks, Rashwan explained: "We are giving Al Qaeda more credit than it deserves. What happened here negates the possibility that the attacks were carried out by ordinary elements. This is the work of an extraordinary element – one that benefits from such attacks. All the available details indicate that only the Israelis could have done this."

Majdi Birnawi, another "security expert," told Al Jazeera that he was confident that the Mossad was behind the attacks. "I believe that Mossad or some other [Israeli] security organization carried out this attack," he claimed.

Birnawi said he believed Saturday's attacks were in response to the attack at the Taba Hilton Hotel, in which 12 Israelis were killed. "Everyone knows that there are no Israelis in Sharm e-Sheikh," he said. "There are only Western tourists there. That's why it's wrong to assume that the perpetrators were targeting Israelis."

So I guess it doesn't matter if their co-religionists make a voluntary confession -- only Israel could possibly be guilty for this and every act of evil in the world. Such rampant anti-Semitism is but one more symptom of the disease of Islamist radicalism that underlies such terrorist acts.

Posted by: Greg at 03:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 638 words, total size 4 kb.

Congratualtions to Houston City Councilman Mark Ellish for his move to undo the city's sanctuary policy and have HPD officer's trained to enforce immigration law.

Since 1992, Houston police officers have been officially forbidden from enforcing immigration law in most cases. Other city departments generally take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach toward immigrants, officials acknowledge.

Now those policies are under attack. Locally, City Councilman Mark Ellis called this week for training HPD officers to enforce immigration laws. And in Washington, D.C., congressional conservatives have proposed legislation to require local police to help patrol for illegal immigrants.

Ellis, a Republican, said city officials should have heeded a 2002 proposal from then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to increase federal and local cooperation on immigration law.

"If we had done what Ashcroft and the Bush administration had asked us to do, we wouldn't have the Minutemen coming to Houston," Ellis said of the Arizona-based organization opposed to illegal immigration that has announced it will begin patrols in Houston in October.

Ellis said he does not advocate using HPD officers for raids or roundups, but critics say they fear that would be the result of such a policy change.

"It's so unjust to stop someone and ask them for their papers because they look Hispanic," said Harris County District 6 Constable Victor Treviño.

Now the only problem with Treviño's comment is that nobody is talking about random stops to check papers. What is being talked about is allowing police to inquire about immigration status and to cooperate with immigration officials who want to check the status of those being held in the city lock-up. Treviño is simply being dishonest when he talks about anything else.

ICE spokeswoman Luisa Deason said her agency would still appreciate closer cooperation from Houston police in searching for illegal immigrants who are also criminals. She noted that HPD will not let immigration officials in the city jail to check the immigration status of those detained.

An investigation last year by the Congressional Research Service cited 31 cities across the country with policies that prevent local authorities from enforcing immigration laws. That includes Houston, Katy and Austin, as well as cities such as Fairbanks, Alaska.

Some conservatives in Congress, including U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, support legislation that would cut off federal funding to such "sanctuary cities."

Not only will this extend to law enforcement, but other city departments may undo the unofficial ban on checking immigration status.

But the policy has never been formally approved by the City Council and does not officially govern other departments. Before he became a city councilman, immigration attorney Gordon Quan lobbied for a law that would make Houston a "Safety Zone" for illegal immigrants. The proposal died in 1997 after garnering no council support.

But even without the official policy, city officials outside the Police Department are not encouraged to cooperate with immigration officials, Quan notes. He does not see any point in revisiting the issue.

"I just think it would be very divisive to talk about this immigration policy," he said.

Yeah, Mr. Quan -- it might well divide you from some of your voters, namely the ones who support the enforcement of American immigration laws and those who believe in American sovereignty.

But most frightening of all is this comment by Constable Treviño.

But Treviño said that if citizens and even police started entering Hispanic neighborhoods and asking locals for their documents, it would create a major backlash.

"It'll be worse than the Civil War," he said.

So what you are saying, sir, is that there is a lawless minority among us -- folks who have broken the law to come to this country -- which will engage in acts of violence in the event we begin to enforce the laws of this country. Do you not see that it is therefore incumbent upon law enforcement to root them out, and to get them out of this country for the safety of American citizens and those aliens legally in the country? Do you not see that you are advocating surrender to the immigration criminals, jin the same manner as those who advocate appeasement of the jihadi terrorists? Frankly, sir, if you cannot bring yourself to support the enforcement of the law, you are unfit to hold your job and should resign.

Posted by: Greg at 03:39 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 730 words, total size 5 kb.

The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Is Britain Too Decadent to Survive? by Gates of Vienna, and Apologists Among Us by Normblog.  The full results of the vote are here.

And there is another opening on the Watcher's Council. See this post for further information.

Posted by: Greg at 03:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 65 words, total size 1 kb.

The death toll continues to rise in Egypt.

The most recent reports indicate that the death toll is now over 80, and that it is expected to rise further.

The attack, Egypt's deadliest terror hit ever, appeared well coordinated. Two car bombs, possibly by suicide attackers, went off simultaneously at 1:15 a.m. just more than 2 miles apart. A third bomb, believed hidden in a sack, detonated around the same time near a beachside walkway where tourists often stroll at night.

A total of 83 people had been confirmed dead, said Dr. Saeed Abdel Fattah, manager of the Sharm el-Sheik International Hospital where the victims were taken. Among the dead were two Britons, two Germans and an Italian, he added, and Czech officials said one Czech tourist was also killed. Rescue workers were still searching for victims at some attack scenes.

Several hours after the attacks, a group citing ties to al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the explosion on an Islamic web site. The group, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, al-Qaida, in Syria and Egypt, was one of two extremist groups that also claimed responsibility for October bombings at the Egyptian resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan that killed 34. The group also claimed responsbility for a Cairo bombing in late April.

The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified.

According to reports, there may be more dead in one of the hotels.

The death toll could rise, rescue workers said. The lobby of the 176-room Ghazala Gardens hotel in Sharm's Naamah Bay, the main strip of hotels, collapsed into a pancaked pile of concrete. After hours of clearing through piles of rubble and scrap metal, emergency workers called off rescue efforts, at least temporarily, there around midday.

This could get much uglier, depending on what is found in the rubble.

May God have mercy on the soulds of the dead, may he heal the injured, strenthen the resue workers -- and fling the perpetrators headlong into the very bowels of Hell.

Posted by: Greg at 03:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 342 words, total size 2 kb.

After all the discussion last Tuesday about Judge Edith Brown Clement, President bush nominated Judge John Roberts tot he Supreme Court. What happened?

Mentioning the little-known Judge Edith Brown Clement as front-runner for the Supreme Court vacancy was not a ploy to obscure the eventual selection of Judge John Roberts. She was the real runner-up, after evoking mixed reviews from conservatives.

President Bush was very much impressed with Clement during his interview with her, and sources say he gave her a White House tour. However, anti-abortion activists were not happy, contending that she has no record on their issue. Clement's supporters say she is very well thought of by conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and that she would follow his lead on the court. Princeton Professor Robert P. George, a social conservative and prominent Catholic layman, is a strong Clement backer who vouched for her.

Given Bush's early inclination to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with another woman, the reason why he passed over Clement is not clear. Sources close to the selection process speculate that the president may have suspected that Clement's supporters were too vocal in publicly promoting her.

Sounds reasonable to me -- although I suspect that the president simply decided to nominate the superior candidate.

And I say that as one who was on the Clement bandwagon.

Posted by: Greg at 02:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 229 words, total size 2 kb.

I noted a few days ago that London's Guardian newspaper had an honest-to-God (or should that be "honest-to-Allah") terrorist supporter working for it, and writing columns in support of terrorism. Well, the paper has finally done the right thing, and dumped trainee journalist Dilpazier Aslam.

Trainee journalist Dilpazier Aslam had his contract with the Guardian terminated today.

The move followed an internal inquiry into AslamÂ’s membership of the political organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir.

A statement said: “The Guardian now believes continuing membership of the organisation to be incompatible with his continued employment by the company.”

“Mr Aslam was asked to resign his membership but has chosen not to. The Guardian respects his right to make that decision but has regretfully concluded that it had no option but to terminate Mr Aslam’s contract with the company.”

The inquiry followed a piece written by Aslam for the Guardian’s comment pages entitled “We rock the boat”.

The statement added: “The Guardian accepts that it should have explicitly mentioned Mr Aslam’s membership of Hizb ut-Tahrir at the end of his comment piece.”

A correction will appear in the paperÂ’s Corrections and Clarifications column.

The paper also went into a deeper explanation of its association with this jihadi wannabe, and the group of which he is a member.

Now normally I get upset when employers fire people over their religious and political associations (though, for the record, I recognize the moral right of a private employer to fire for any reason -- including race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc). But this case falls into the exemption from my outrage. Decent people do not associate with members of certain organizations -- The black panthers, the Klan, the Nazi Party, NAMBLA, the Jewish Defense League, and the like. Aslams's group, Hizb ut-Tahrir, falls into this catgory. So far from feeling a need to condemn the Guardian, I applaud it -- and hope that it eventually the paper drops its own anti-Semitic, terrorist-apologist editorial line.

(Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin)

UPDATE: Ripclawe at Narcissistic views on News/Politics points out that the Guardian can't seem to get its story straight about what they knew, when they knew it, and why the got rid of Aslam. And Princeton Progressive Review's Asheesh Siddique engages in a gratuitous attack on Michelle Malkin (questioning her mental health and grouping her with Aslam as an extremist) while reluctantly agreeing with her.

Posted by: Greg at 05:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 405 words, total size 3 kb.

What else can you do when you believe that a person is about to set off a homicide bomb? Even leftist London Mayor Ken Livingston admits as much.

Mr Livingstone said: "If you are dealing with someone who might be a suicide bomber, if they remain conscious they could trigger plastic explosives or whatever device is on them, and therefore overwhelmingly in these circumstances it is going to be a shoot-to-kill policy."

Speaking of yesterday's operations, he said: "With each of these attacks, we have responded more rapidly and effectively and I'm glad it went as well as it did."

That does not, of course, stop complaintes from the usual suspects.

Muslim community leaders said they were taking calls from fellow Muslims who are afraid they may be targeted simply because they are carrying the wrong bag or wearing the wrong clothes.

The Muslim Council of Britain urged Scotland Yard to explain why police shot dead the Asian man who has been described as a "suspected suicide bomber". According to an eyewitness report the man was shot with five bullets. Spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said: "There may well be reasons why police felt it was necessary to unload multiple bullets into this man and shoot him dead, but they need to make those reasons clear.

"It is vital that police give a statement about exactly what occurred and explain why this man was shot dead rather than arrested and brought to trial."

Mr Bunglawala said Muslims were nervous and feared reprisal attacks.

He said: "I have just had one phone call saying, 'What if I was carrying a rucksack?' We are getting phone calls from quite a lot of Muslims who are distressed about what may be a shoot-to-kill policy."

Sorry, Bunglawala, but your co-religionists have unfortunately made Muslim lives very cheap. Jihadi swine have made it necessary for police to act in a manner that stops bombings and avoids setting off explosives strapped to the body. That means that suspects are going to die -- and they will be Muslims. I'm not celebrating it, just noting the revised reality that the terrorists in your midst have created. Until and unless you people start turning in the killers and would-be killers, this is how it will be. And until you eject the radicals from your midst, it will be impossible for the police to know who is a friend and who is a foe. I think the people of London would agree with that calculus.

Posted by: Greg at 02:14 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 420 words, total size 3 kb.

This one is already quite ugly, as at least seven explosions are reported to have killed at least 25 and wounded over 110.

Saturday's explosions at 1:15 a.m., when many tourists would have been asleep, shook windows a mile away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city popular with Israeli and European tourists, witnesses said.

A police official in Sharm el-Sheik said at least 25 were killed and 110 wounded in multiple explosions targeting the Ghazala Gardens and Movenpick hotels in Naama Bay and the Old Market area nearby. Other officials in Sharm said there may have been as many as seven blasts: three in Naama Bay and four in the market.

Amal Mustafa, 28, an Egyptian who was visiting with her family, said she drove by the Ghazala Garden — a 176-room four-star resort on the main tourist strip in Naama — and it was "completely burned down, destroyed."

Khaled Sakran, a resident, said he saw one explosion from the Old Market. "I saw the saw the fire in the sky," he told The Associated Press. "Right after, I saw a light in the sky and heard another explosion, coming from Naama Bay."

"The blast shook my house, I can see the fire and lots of smoke," Akram al-Sherif, a Jordanian who was staying at a summer house less than a mile away, said.

No group has yet admitted its guilt.

UPDATE: While the official death toll stands at 31 dead and 107 wounded, South Sinai province's governor, Mustafa Afifi, suggests that the actual death toll is 49, with over 200 wounded. It also seems that there were only three bombs, with the earlier reports of seven being based upon echoes and secondary explosions. The dead include British, Russian, Dutch, Kuwaitis, Saudis, Qataris and Egyptians.

Posted by: Greg at 02:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 314 words, total size 2 kb.

Jonathan Pollard, whose treasonous activities on behalf of Israel served to endanger US national security for years, lost another appeal .

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that Pollard waited too long to try to contest his 1987 sentence and failed to make a convincing case that he got poor legal help.

The court also ruled that it had no authority to review Pollard's request to see secret documents the Reagan administration submitted to the judge who imposed the sentence 16 years ago.

Pollard's lawyers said they needed to see the material to rebut government arguments against any new appeal or against a request for presidential clemency.

The legal challenge to Pollard's sentence was always viewed as a long shot, and his supporters have focused much of their effort on winning presidential clemency.

Pollard, who turns 51 next month, was a civilian intelligence analyst for the Navy when he copied and gave to his Israeli handlers enough classified documents to fill a walk-in closet. He was not paid when his spying began in 1984, but acknowledged that Israel later began paying him a few thousand dollars a month.

He was caught in November 1985 and arrested after unsuccessfully seeking refuge at the Israeli embassy. Pollard initially denied he worked for Israel but later acknowledged it. He claims prosecutors reneged on a promise to seek a lesser sentence in return for his cooperation.

His case has been a sticking point in U.S.-Israeli relations. The Israeli government, which granted Pollard citizenship, repeatedly has pressed for his release.

May he never be released, and may attempts by Israeli to have him set free be grounds for a reevaluation of our strategic relationship with that nation.

Posted by: Greg at 02:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 295 words, total size 2 kb.

It seemed that someone with the federal government had finally started thinking about how to use the desire of American patriots to help secure the border. Unfortunately, it appears that it was one man talking out of school -- and Homeland Security has squashed the idea.

Homeland Security officials backed off an idea to form a civilian border patrol, with spokespeople quickly batting down an uproar Thursday caused by the department's border commissioner the day before.

By Thursday morning, the agency produced a statement distancing itself from comments the day before by one of its top border officials that he wanted to look into forming a civilian border auxiliary.

"We are aware of Customs and Border Protection Commissioner (Robert) Bonner's comments yesterday; however, the Department of Homeland Security has not received any specific details of the idea that the Commissioner raised," the agency said in a statement.

"There are currently no plans by the Department of Homeland Security to use civilian volunteers to patrol the border - that job should continue to be done by the highly-trained, professional law enforcement officials of the Border Patrol and its partner agencies."

I guess this means that the Minutemen and fellow loyal American citizens are back to being the enemy, and the border-jumping immigration criminals, their disloyal advocates, and the Mexican government still rank higher in the eyes of the folks responsible for securing the borders and keeping out those who violate our laws.

Posted by: Greg at 11:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 255 words, total size 2 kb.

I am stunned beyond words that this is displayed in the offices of the California Department of Justice -- and is supported and funded by Democrat Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

Absolutely unbelievable!

(Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin and Right Wing News)

Posted by: Greg at 04:50 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 64 words, total size 2 kb.

Just a quick reminder of why it is so important that this arrogant woman be ejected from the Supreme Court and rplaced with an originalist/textualist/strict constructionist judge as soon as possible.

"In all my years of my life I don't think I've ever seen relations (between Congress and the high court) as strained as they are now," O'Connor told a conference of judges and lawyers at the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference in Spokane, Washington.

O'Connor is the Supreme Court justice who handles certain matters from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

She said an integral part of the democracy that the United States is promoting around the world is an independent court system.

"And yet, in our country today, we're seeing efforts to prevent that -- a desire not to have an independent judiciary. That worries me," she said.

As an example of the congressional tendency to pick apart court rulings, she cited a March decision that declared the death penalty for juveniles unconstitutional. The ruling noted the weight of international opinion and the fact that only one other country -- Somalia -- executes young offenders.

"Some citations were found very offensive by some members of Congress. I don't personally think it's a good idea to restrict freedom of speech or thought for anybody, even if they are federal judges," O'Connor said.

The reason, Sandy, for the bad relations is that you and your colleagues have strayed further and further from the Constitution in your decisions. You have wandered further and further away from the document that is supposed to be the supreme law of the land. As a result, the American people and their representatives are PISSED-OFF at you people. Yet you, having exceeded your authroity and wandered into a minefield of impeachable offenses, expect everyone to shut up and obey your commands like some sort of incarnate deity.

Let's look at Lawrence, for example. Now I agree with you that the Texas statute was a bad idea and I supported its repeal -- but did it go beyond what is permitted by the Constitution? No, it did not. The court's own decision in hardwick v. Bowers affirmed such statutes less than 20 years before. What changed? What was the basis for this decision in the Constitution? Frankly, there isn't one -- for not one of the Framers would have supported your decision. But you knew better than the Framers, and so amended the Constitution.

And Roper v. Simmons, the case you cite -- it isn't that many years since you upheld the execution of older teens. What changed? one or two state laws -- but hardly enough to make the argument that such executions are seen as cruel and unusual under the Amendment VIII. As for the laws of other nations -- THEY ARE IRRELEVANT TO AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW! The laws of the EU, Peru, and Outer Mongolia are not binding upon the United States -- and neither are unratified treaties. In Roper v. Simmons, though, you treated them as having precedent value that exceets that of the US Constitution, the laws of several states, and the court decisions of those states. Yeah -- we Americans, citizens of a nation that strived to be out from under the laws of other nations -- are going to be upset that foreign law will be used to interpret the meaning of our founding document.

Now you claim that you don't think the speech or thoughts of anyone should be restricted -- but that is exactly what you seek when you make this complaint. You want to pressure your opponents into silence. All your talk about an independent judiciary ignores the fact that the judiciary is but one of three branches of the federal government, and that its role is seen as co-equal to those of the executive and legislative branches. Yes, you folks serve as a check on the other two branches, but they also are to check you. They have failed to do so in recent decades, and now that there is a move on to do so you want to stop it. Sorry, Sandy, the time has come to put the Supreme Court back in its proper place.

Posted by: Greg at 04:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 731 words, total size 4 kb.

See what happens when Condi gets angry.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded an apology from Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir after U.S. officials and journalists were manhandled at a meeting on Thursday.

"It makes me very angry to be sitting with their president and have this happen," Rice told reporters on her plane before leaving Khartoum for Darfur. Earlier, she told reporters she wanted an apology.

Sudanese officials shoved U.S. journalists away from the Bashir meeting and slammed the wooden doors to his palace in their faces. Some U.S. officials were also blocked for several minutes before the Sudanese agreed to allow Rice and aides in. The media was later allowed to witness briefly

Such a blatant disregard of protocol is an insult to the US, and for her entourage to be locked out is completely unacceptabel. But then again, what should we expect from a tin-pot dictator like the "president" of Sudan.

But she got results.

Sudan's foreign minister on Thursday apologized to visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the manhandling of U.S. officials and journalists in Khartoum, a U.S. official said.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail had phoned Rice while she was on a plane to Darfur in western Sudan to say sorry. Rice had earlier demanded an apology.

"He apologized for the treatment of our delegation and the press corps," McCormack told journalists traveling with Rice.

Sudanese security staff manhandled U.S. officials and journalists outside a meeting between Rice and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

She says what she means and gets what she wants.

Rice '08!

Posted by: Greg at 04:47 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 274 words, total size 2 kb.

Senator James Inhofe, in the name of protecting a major local employer, is trying to stomp out its smaller, cheaper, more convenient competition.

A popular air travel route between Tulsa and Dallas would be shut down, if legislation being proposed by Senator Jim Inhofe goes through.

The True Competition Act would close Love Field to commercial air traffic and force Southwest Airlines to fly out of Dallas-Fort Worth. Inhofe says it's necessary to protect American Airlines, Tulsa's biggest employer.

But as News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg tells us, travelers don't exactly "love" the idea.

Tulsan Emily Warren is on her way to Dallas on Southwest Airlines to visit her boyfriend. It's a trip she makes frequently. And she likes Love, Love Field that is. "I would much rather go through Love. I know Dallas-Fort Worth just gets packed.

Restrictions on flights too and from Love field were implemented when DFW was opened, at the insistance of corrupt House Speaker Jim Wright. Southwest has been operating within the limits and doing so so successfully that they have been trying to get the restrictions lifted to meet public demand. As a result, Inhofe is seeking to close Love Field completely, because the competition has cut in to American's bottom line.

Posted by: Greg at 02:16 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 224 words, total size 1 kb.

Something is up on the London Tube and a bus line this morning, two weeks to the day after the 7/7 attacks. Details are incredibly unclear at this point, but it involves 3 Tube stations and 1 bus. -- exactly like two weeks ago.

Some reports of small explosions around 1230-1245 local time, other reports of strong odors ("like wiring" -- "a sour smell"). Could this be a chemical or biological attack?

No reports of major casualties yet (and hopefully none will be forthcoming, God willing) -- some reports of minor injuries.

Heck, reports are simply very unclear. BBC & Sky are calling the blasts "minor" as of 1400 London Time (0900 Easterm/0800 Central/0700 Mountain/0600 Pacific).

UPDATE: As of 1600 London time, Prime Minister Blair has indicated that this is a minor attack without substantive causalties (Thanks be to God). Australia's PM Howard slapped down those who suggested terrorism is because of Iraq -- points out the many attacks by Islamofascist jihadi swine that predated that war, including 9/11 & Bali.

The best news is the lack of evidence of chemical or biological weapons.

Posted by: Greg at 02:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 192 words, total size 1 kb.

Many years ago, long before he was president, John F. Kennedy owned a sailboat. Over the years it has passed through many hands.

Currently, it belongs to Gregory Olaf Anderson and Harry Crosby. Unfortunately, Anderson was convicted of drug smuggling, and authorities traced the cash back to Anderson's sale of marijuana.

Kennedy bought the Star Class sloop "Flash II" in 1934 and sailed it in races off Hyannis. He sold the boat in 1942 just before shipping out for World War II.

Anderson, who bought the boat in 1996, was arrested in Arizona in 2001 and sentenced to 18 months in prison for transporting 1,300 pounds of marijuana.

After his release, he allegedly contacted a partner with the intention of setting up another drug trafficking business, not knowing that the partner was cooperating with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

DEA agents, acting on a tip from that informant, seized the boat from a storage facility in Marblehead last year.

Kerner said his client, who owns a construction company, is confident the sailboat will fetch more than $500,000 at auction.

IGiven when the boat was purchased, it wouldn't surprise me if the money came from Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy -- who is known to have been involved in bootlegging during Prohibition. It therefore seems appropriate that we've come full circle, with the boat becoming governemnt property because of drug smuggling.

Posted by: Greg at 08:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 238 words, total size 2 kb.

Americans have been organizing to monitor and report border-jumping immigration criminals for some time now. Now the head of the Border Patrol is considering creating an organized civilian auxilliary.

The top U.S. border enforcement official said Wednesday that his agency is exploring ways to involve citizen volunteers in creating "something akin to a Border Patrol auxiliary" - a significant shift in rhetoric that comes after a high-profile civilian campaign this spring along the Arizona-Mexico border.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner told The Associated Press that his agency has focused on involving citizens after noting the willingness of volunteers to help federal agents catch illegal immigrants.

"It is actually as a result of seeing that there is the possibility in local border communities, and maybe even beyond, of having citizens that would be willing to volunteer to help the Border Patrol," Bonner said.

Volunteers would need training and be organized "in a way that would be something akin to a Border Patrol auxiliary," he said. "We value having eyes and ears of citizens and I think that would be one of the things we are looking at is how you better organize, let's say, a citizen effort."

Bonner characterized the idea as "an area we're looking at." Questions such as what kind of authority volunteers would be given - would they be deputized to make arrests or carry guns - haven't been answered.

"This is what we need to study," said Bonner, who was in Los Angeles to discuss port security.

You mean you've taken this long to figure out that there are folks ready, willing, and able to give you aid and assistance in doing a job for which you are under-funded and under-manned? That was the whole point of the formation of the Minutemen.

Posted by: Greg at 03:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 308 words, total size 2 kb.

Mohamed el-Amir, father of Mohamed Atta, wants to see more Muslims follow in his son's footsteps.

El-Amir said the attacks in the United States and the July 7 attacks in London were the beginning of what would be a 50-year religious war, in which there would be many more fighters like his son.

He declared that terror cells around the world were a "nuclear bomb that has now been activated and is ticking."

The man, who gave his age as "at least 70," said he had no sorrow for what happened in London, and said there was a double standard in the way the world viewed the victims in London and victims in the Islamic world.

Cursing in Arabic, el-Amir also denounced Arab leaders and Muslims who condemned the London attacks as being traitors and non-Muslims.

He passionately vowed that he would do anything within his power to encourage more attacks.

When asked if he would allow a CNN crew to videotape another interview with him, el-Amir said he would give his permission -- for a price of $5,000.

That money, he said, would not be kept for himself, but would be donated to someone to carry out another terror attack.

El-Amir said that $5,000 was about how much it would cost to finance another attack in London.

He spawned one jihadi pig.

He's out to recruit jihadi pigs.

Can we target this bastard with a cruise missle smeared with bacon grease and make the world a cleaner place?

Posted by: Greg at 03:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 263 words, total size 2 kb.

I noted last night that many folks regard John Roberts as the top Supreme Court litigator of his generation.

I've since discovered that a couple of experts share that assessment.

Consider this comment from Justice Antonin Scalia, as related by Stuart Buck of "The Buck Stops Here", crossposted at "Southern Appeal" and "Confirm Them".

For what it's worth: A few years ago, Justice Scalia said to a friend of mine that he and other Justices thought of John Roberts as far and away the best Supreme Court litigator in the country. I asked the friend why Justice Scalia said that, and (paraphrasing from my memory) the answer was something like this: "No matter how intense the questioning, Roberts is never flustered, and is always able to calmly answer any question whatsoever, while skillfully weaving in the substantive points that he wanted to make in the first place."

And then there is the opinion of the longest serving member of the current Court, Chief Justice Rehnquist himself, as related by former clerk Ted Cruz in the National Review.

In 1995, while clerking for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, I and my two fellow law clerks asked the chief whom he thought was the best Supreme Court lawyer currently practicing. The chief replied, with a twinkle in his eye, that he thought he could probably get a majority of his colleagues to agree that John Roberts was the best Supreme Court advocate in the nation.

High praise from folks who know the court and the lawyers who practice before it. They think highly of the nominee. I'll accept their judgement as to his competence.

Posted by: Greg at 03:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 279 words, total size 2 kb.

Some folks are just a part of the fabric of your life. And if you were a science fiction fan growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, one of those people was James Doohan, who played the beloved figure of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on Star Trek.

While definitely part of the "second-tier" of characters on the show, he was a fan favorite, and those who met him at converntions unanimously reported that he was a charming man.

James Doohan died today, at age 85, following a long illness.

What was less known about Doohan was that he was a D-Day hero.

At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. "The sea was rough," he recalled. "We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans."

The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

Unlike William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, Doohan never got tired of the association with Star Trek.

In a 1998 interview, Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line "Beam me up, Scotty."

"I'm not tired of it at all," he replied. "Good gracious, it's been said to me for just about 31 years. It's been said to me at 70 miles an hour across four lanes on the freeway. I hear it from just about everybody. It's been fun."

Yes, sir, it was most definitely fun.

I hope you are on duty when I get "beamed up" to join you.

Posted by: Greg at 07:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 320 words, total size 2 kb.

I recently had a commenter here insisting that sucide bombings were unIslamic and condemned byt islamic teaching. he even pointed to a British group for support. he insisted that this was the only legitimate interpretation of the Koran. Interestingly enough, though, this same poster (he called himself acrobat) could not bring himself to condemn death threats against another blogger who had shot-up and burned a couple of Korans as an act of political protest That made me a bit suspicious of his assertions.

Well, guess what -- while some groups seem to be unambiguously condemning suicide bombings as unIslamic, others are hedging their pronouncements.

Britain's largest Sunni Muslim group met in Birmingham on Sunday and issued a binding religious edict, or fatwa, condemning the suicide attacks that killed dozens on three London subway trains and a double-decker bus as the work of a "perverted ideology." The group's governing council said the Quran forbade suicide attacks and called such terrorism a sin that could send the perpetrators to hell.

Three days earlier at the London Central Mosque, 22 imams and scholars also condemned the July 7 attacks and said the four British Muslim suspects should not be considered martyrs because innocent civilians were killed. But the Muslim leaders stopped short of condemning all suicide bombings.

"There should be a clear distinction between the suicide bombing of those who are trying to defend themselves from occupiers, which is something different from those who kill civilians, which is a big crime," said Sayed Mohammed Musawi, the head of the World Islamic League in London.

Underlining the sensitivity of the issue, Musawi's contention that attacks are justified against "occupiers" came only after a spokesman for the leaders read a carefully worded statement condemning the London attacks. Even so, none of the other scholars and imams at the event expressed disagreement with his stance.

So, who do we believe -- those who say that such attacks are never justified, or those who say they are justified. And given that other Islamic leaders have rejected the notion that there is such a thing as a civilian as unIslamic, who are we to believe?

Posted by: Greg at 04:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 371 words, total size 3 kb.

When I woke up this morning, I was shocked to see that my post on the two Ediths was getting a lot of hits while I slept. With about 200 hits by 0900, I figured I might get 500-600 hits for the day.

I had a workshop to attend across town this afternoon, so I had no computer access until around 1800. I was shocked by what I found.

Day -- Tuesday

Date -- July 19th 2005

Page Loads -- 4,761

Unique Visitors -- 3,872

First Time Visitors -- 3,738

Returning Visitors24

I've since discovered that Google had me ranked #2 for searches on Judge Clement for much of the day, and high for Judge Jones. And the Supreme Court Nomination Blog had my trackbacks on both the ladies and several other candidates.

YIKES! What woulda happened if I had been Instalanched?

Posted by: Greg at 04:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 150 words, total size 1 kb.

Judge John Glover Roberts of the DC Circuit has been appointed to the US Supreme Court by President George W. Bush.

NAME - John Glover Roberts Jr.

AGE-BIRTH DATE - Jan. 27, 1955, in Buffalo, N.Y.

EDUCATION - BA, Harvard University, 1976; JD, Harvard Law School, 1979.

CAREER - Nominated by President Bush on Jan. 7, 2003, to U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; confirmed by Senate on May 8, 2003; principal deputy solicitor general, U.S. Justice Department, 1989-93; private practice, Washington, D.C., 1986-89, 1993-2003; associate counsel to President Reagan, White House Counsel's Office, 1982-86; special assistant to attorney general, U.S. Justice Department, 1981-82; law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist when he was an associate justice, 1980-81; law clerk for Judge Henry Friendly, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 1979-80.

FAMILY - Wife, Jane; son, John, and daughter, Josephine.

QUOTE - "Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land. ... There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

Two things I would like to point to in this brief profile.

First, the quote from the confirmation hearing is not what it appears to be. As a lower court judge, Roberts lacked the capacity to overrule Roe. As a member of the Supreme Court, it would be within the scope of his authority to engage in a fundamental reexamination of a case which even its supporters admit is a train wreck (7-2 as to the result, but no decision garnering majority support as to the source of the right -- in other words, "we say it is a right, but we can't begin to authoritatively say why.") Whether Roe is eventually affirmed or overturned, there needs to be a significant rethinking of abortion jurisprudence.

Second, some might note that Judge Roberts has only two years of judicial experience on the DC Circuit. This is not a problem. A number of justices have never served as a judge prior to their nomination to the high court. Others have had only minimal judicial service -- including Justice Thurgood Marshall, the greatest Supreme Court litigator of his generation (I've heard similar statements made about Roberts tonight), whose time as a judge on the Second Circuit consisted of only about three-and-a-half years judicial service before he resigned to become Solicitor General.

Not a bad pick, all things considered. While I might have preferred a different candidate, I am inclined to give Jufge Roberts my full support, barring some truly troubling disclosure during the confirmation process.

A great listing of blogs about the Roberts nomination can be found at Blogs For Bush.

Posted by: Greg at 04:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 451 words, total size 3 kb.

And sadly, we lost another honorable man this evening -- one who has been maligned for decadees, but who deserves our honor as a hero.

General William Westmoreland has died.

Westmoreland died of natural causes at Bishop Gadsden retirement home, where he had lived with his wife for several years, said his son, James Ripley Westmoreland.

The silver-haired, jut-jawed officer, who rose through the ranks quickly in Europe during World War II and later became superintendent of West Point, contended the United States did not lose the conflict in Southeast Asia.

"It's more accurate to say our country did not fulfill its commitment to South Vietnam," he said. "By virtue of Vietnam, the U.S. held the line for 10 years and stopped the dominoes from falling."

He would later say he did not know how history would deal with him.

"Few people have a field command as long as I did," he said. "They put me over there and they forgot about me. But I was there seven days a week, working 14 to 16 hours a day.

"I have no apologies, no regrets. I gave my very best efforts," he added. "I've been hung in effigy. I've been spat upon. You just have to let those things bounce off."

Later, after many of the wounds caused by the divisive conflict began to heal, Westmoreland led thousands of his comrades in the November 1982 veterans march in Washington to dedicate the Vietnam War Memorial.

He called it "one of the most emotional and proudest experiences of my life."

Be sure to read this oobituary. It is a fitting tribute to the man -- and that is, in and of itself, a surprise, given it comes from CNN.

Posted by: Greg at 05:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 297 words, total size 2 kb.

A London-based, Saudi-owned newspaper has spoken out against those who argue that Islamist terrorism is the fault of the West.

Arabs and Muslims must stop using the United States as an excuse for terror, a London-based Arabic paper said Monday.

In an editorial, Ash-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, which is Saudi owned, said it was time to stop using President Bush as an excuse for terrorist acts such as the July 7 London blasts and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

It said many opposed U.S. and British foreign policy, "but they don't crash planes into buildings or blow up cars, buses and underground trains in London."

It said it was time to stop blaming others when "we all know there is a rise of extremism in our societies," and criticized Arab and Muslim "so-called intellectuals" appearing on Arab television channels after the London blasts.

"They make you think that George Bush and Tony Blair themselves went to Leeds and led a group of youth in London and pressed the explosive buttons," it said.

It called for "speaking in one voice to accept responsibility and start looking for ways to get out of this chaos that will affect all of us...if we don't do away with 'George Bush made me do it,' we will not achieve progress in wiping out extremism."

Now if we can only do away with the dhimmi-wannabes in the West who claim that this terrorism is the fault of George Bush, Tony Blair and the actions of the West, then we will have made real progress in getting rid off our extremists, too.

Posted by: Greg at 04:14 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 275 words, total size 2 kb.

I blogged about the theft of Sgt. Sammy L. Davis' Medal of Honor the other day. It has been recovered.

Indianapolis Fire Department divers found Sammy L. Davis' medal on the city's south side, but police declined to release details of where or how the medal was recovered, saying the information would jeopardize an ongoing investigation.

Authorities identified Gaetano Barbieri, 35, as a suspect in the medal's disappearance and a rash of vehicle break-ins. He was arrested Friday on charges in at least two cases, but as of Monday, he wasn't charged in connection with the medal's disappearance, police said.

That it took divers to recover the nation's highest military decoration seems to indicate that this creep dumped it. I hope his fellow inmates treat him appropriately.

Davis, a Mooresville native who lives in Illinois, said by phone Monday that he was grateful that the medal was recovered.

"It's been very hard the last four days not knowing where the medal was (or) if it would ever be recovered, but thanks to the efforts of many, a great burden was lifted off my of soul," Davis said.

Public safety officials will return the medal to Davis during a ceremony in Indianapolis on Thursday, Rinehart reported.

Thank you, Indianapolis, for treating this hero with the respect he deserves.

Posted by: Greg at 04:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 225 words, total size 2 kb.

Burning of Rome.

Czar murdered.

Man whose name is synonym for traitor born.

Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.

Ted Kennedy takes Mary Jo for a drive and leaves her to die so he can sober-up and cover-up.

And it all happened today!

Makes you sort of wonder about Intel, though.

Posted by: Greg at 04:01 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 55 words, total size 1 kb.

Will tusks disappear from elephants?

ELEPHANTS in China are evolving into an increasingly tuskless breed because poaching is changing the gene pool, according to new research by zoologists.

Up to 10 per cent of Asian elephants in China now have a gene that prevents them from developing tusks, up from the usual level of 2 per cent, academics at Beijing Normal University said.

Zhang Li, an associate professor of zoology, said: "The larger tusks the male elephant has, the more likely it will be shot by poachers.

"Therefore, the elephants without tusks survive, preserving the tuskless gene in the species."

Since only male elephants have tusks, there are now four female elephants for each male in China, up from the ideal ratio of two, Prof Zhang said.

Similar changes in elephants' tusk development and gender ratios have been reported in Africa and India, but China was not thought to have been as badly affected.

And for those of you who want to comment on evolution, go ahead. But let me note one simple fact for you -- this is, at best, a microevolutionary change, not a macroevolutionary one. After all, they are still clearly ELEPHANTS.

Posted by: Greg at 06:47 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 203 words, total size 1 kb.

How cruel are we to the terrorists housed at Gitmo? You decide.

Abdullah M. was missing a leg when he got to Gitmo. In due course, he was fitted with a prosthetic leg and given occupational therapy to teach him how to use it. In the Orwellian inversion that dominates "world opinion" and requires us to prove we're the good guys, he was interrogated and -- after convincing our guys that he really wasn't a terrorist fanatic -- released and repatriated to Afghanistan. Now sought for involvement in the kidnapping of Chinese engineers and a bombing of the Islamabad Marriott, Abdullah is walking around on the artificial leg we evil Americans paid for.

Yep, that's right -- we did what the Lefties want and let the guy go, and he went right back to his terrorist ways. All while wearing an artificial leg we bought and paid for as part of our humanitarian treatment. I bet he walks around on that leg with his fellow terrorists, telling them how evil Americans were. If that were th case, Americna troops wouldhave left his jihadi butt on the ground to bleed out. This is why these people cannot be released until hostilities are over -- if then.

And, of course, there is this simple division of prisoners.

They are divided into separate mini-camps. Those who follow camp rules, basic stuff such as "don't throw feces on the guards," get to wear white uniforms and live in a semi-communal environment. In the minimum-security camp, I saw groups playing soccer and volleyball. One guy was jogging around in his issue slip-on sneakers. Others, who are less cooperative, get fewer privileges. Medium security camp inmates wear tan uniforms and are kept in cells, allowed out often to exercise. Everything is done in ways calculated to respect Islam.

Inmates' Korans -- in the medium security camps, hung from the steel mesh walls in surgical masks -- are accompanied, in every cell and exercise area I saw throughout Gitmo, by little black arrows painted on bunks and floors, showing the direction of Mecca. Many prayer rugs were in evidence, as were chess sets, playing cards, and -- in the minimum-security camp -- prescription sports glasses. In the maximum-security building, the Korans sit in the narrow windowsills. Interrogators will even interrupt interrogation sessions to allow detainees to pray. One interrogation I observed passed through the 4:30 p.m. call to prayer. The detainee, engaged in conversation with his interrogator, ignored the call and kept talking. To these faux-religious thugs, Islam is apparently less important than a cold Diet Coke.

Notice the fundamental difference in treatment from that received by those "detained" by our enemies -- they get to wear orange jumpsuits and have their heads cut off on videotape.

Posted by: Greg at 06:40 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 484 words, total size 3 kb.

The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are I Despair. by The Sundries Shack, and Al Qaeda Attacks: A Flash Presentation by Winds of Change.Here are the complete results. .

Two announcements for you.

If you want to be nominated for this week's vote, see this post by the Watcher regarding link whorage.

And if you want to join us on the council, go here for details about an open seat.

Posted by: Greg at 05:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 81 words, total size 1 kb.

How do the Democrats view the American people? As bumbling idiots who don't need to be told ther truth if it gets in the way of accomplishing the aims of the Democrat party.

Check out this bit frm the New York Times Magazine.

The facts of the filibuster fight hadn't necessarily favored them; in reality, the constitutional principle of ''checks and balances'' on which the Democrats' case was based refers to the three branches of government, not to some parliamentary procedure, and it was actually the Democrats who had broken with Senate tradition by using the filibuster to block an entire slate of judges. (''An irrelevancy beyond the pay grade of the American voter,'' Garin retorted when I pointed this out.) And yet it was their theory of the case, and not the Republicans', that had won the argument.

Isn't it good to know that the Democrats hold you in such high esteem, America?

Posted by: Greg at 04:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 178 words, total size 1 kb.

Reenlistment rates are up -- and look at the response of the Left.

Comments from Americablog. I'll highlight some of the truly relevant parts.

Bit surprised that there are that many dipshits re-enlisting - but not really.

Anyone who would re-enlist would do so strictly for selfish reasons; to put one's life on the line for a War ran by a bunch of facist thugs for profit is insane. Of course, I don't like Judges, I don't like cops, and I don't particulary like the military (or should I say the types that join).

Brave ain't got shit to do with it -- they're over there 'cause they have to be there, and then there are others for whatever selfish reason, go after money, etc...

Though I support the troops I embrace the freedom fighters first, since we are the illegal invaders stealing oil, and running a War for profit. So long as there is chaos the theft continues. May the freedom fighters drive the imperialistic facists from their country -- and since the entire Planet thinks Bush is more of a threat than 10 bin Ladens, there is absolutely no way we can win in Iraq.

But that is what the facists want, chaos. That way, they can continue pumping 1 billion a week out of the ground while no one's looking. They are pigs, ever one.
Montiel | 07.18.05 - 10:50 am | #

AND

Wow. I guess we should be honored. The Navy recently offered our high school senior daughter $150K to pay for her intended BSRN degree. Not a chance in hell that they'll get her, as long as Bush is in office and this illegal war is going on.

The services are desperate for intelligent, skilled people.

Mainly because the intelligent, skilled ones are skedaddling out of that quagmire as fast as they can.

It's the ones who still really need the money to survive and feed their families in this BushCo downward spiraling middleclassworld that are re-upping.
kgirl | 07.18.05 - 11:05 am | #

You get the impression, I think.

Posted by: Greg at 04:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 371 words, total size 2 kb.

I don't often blog on "Letters To The Editor", but this one from today's Houston Chronicle hit it right on the head.

Looking in the wrong direction

On the same day that immigrant rights activists warned the Minutemen that they will be watched for illegal activity, a Honduran MS-13 gang member was accused of murdering 28 men and women.

Perhaps these so-called activists should be looking elsewhere for illegal activity.

SALOMON FUENTES
Houston

Exactly right, Mr. Fuentes -- though i won't happen. There is no political capital to be gained by the Democrat politicians who support immigration crime in going after MS-13. After all, that would mean arresting members of the gang, many of whom are here illegally, and admitting that the Minutemen are right in saying that such border-jumpers are a threat to the United States.

Posted by: Greg at 03:19 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 145 words, total size 1 kb.

According to Bill Gertz, Plame's cover was blown twice -- by the CIA itself.

Mrs. Plame's identity as an undercover CIA officer was first disclosed to Russia in the mid-1990s by a Moscow spy, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In a second compromise, officials said a more recent inadvertent disclosure resulted in references to Mrs. Plame in confidential documents sent by the CIA to the U.S. Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Havana.

The documents were supposed to be sealed from the Cuban government, but intelligence officials said the Cubans read the classified material and learned the secrets contained in them, the officials said.

Posted by: Greg at 03:05 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 163 words, total size 1 kb.