I fully respect the right of folks to protest -- even against the war in Iraq. I even acknowledge their right (though not the propriety) of their use of the most vile of slogans .

But I think a line is crossed when the anti-War anti-American demonstrations are held outside military hospitals.

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

The anti-war demonstrators, who obtain their protest permits from the Washington, D.C., police department, position themselves directly in front of the main entrance to the Army Medical Center, which is located in northwest D.C., about five miles from the White House. Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq.

Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

Yeah, that's right -- they are protesting wounded vets in a military hospital. So much for all the rhetoric we hear about the anti-war anti-American protesters being concerned about the troops.

And given Sheehan's prominent association with the sponsor of the Walter Reid demonstrations, it is simply one more reason to question whether she really gives a damn about American men and women in uniform. If she cannot bring herself to denounce this particular activity by Code Pink and cut her ties with a group that would engage in such tactics, then I think we have to question her commitment to anything other than an agenda which supports the killers of her son.

Posted by: Greg at 11:15 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I don't know how many of you saw the news coverage about Hilary Lister. For a quadrablegic to manage to navigate the English Channel using a sip=and-puff mechanism to control her boat is more than merely impressive. I'm at a loss for words.

A British woman on Tuesday became the first quadriplegic to sail solo between Britain and France across the English Channel, coast guards said.

Hilary Lister, 33, who is able to move only her head, eyes and mouth, took six hours to navigate her boat, the Malin, unaided through one of the busiest and most treacherous shipping lanes in the world.

"It is very emotional for me. I was absolutely certain that once I got in the boat that I could make it to France. I am too stubborn to give up," Lister told reporters as she quaffed champagne after arriving at the northern French port of Calais.

"I want to get able-bodied people to rethink their views about the disabled," she said, adding that she now wants to sail around Britain's coast.

Coast guards at the southern English port of Dover, where Lister began her journey, said it was the first time a quadriplegic had made the voyage solo.

Lister's vessel has been adapted to be controlled by the "sip and puff" method, allowing Lister to adjust the sails and tiller by blowing and sucking through two straws.

Hillary Lister was once an athlete, before her illness.

Ms Lister has been a quadriplegic for four years, due to a progressive degenerative disease, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which has worked its way up from her ankles to her neck.

And that is what made this story speak to me so loudly.

You see, I find this story both inspiring and heart-breaking at the same time. As some of you who read my words know, from time to time I talk about my wife's health problems, and the "cluster of degenerative neuromuscular conditions" that she struggles with. One of the two major ones is the condition from which has rendered Ms. Lister wheelchair bound. Fortunately, Paula's condition has not deteriorated to anything even approximating that of Hilary Lister, butthe article reminds me of the bravery that she shows every day. It also serves as a sobering reminder of what the future may hold for the two of us.

Let it be enough to say to you, my readers, that Paula is the light of my life and that the ten years we have been married have been a source of such joy to me.

And if you should ever come by the site and read this post, I want you to know that I love you, sweetheart, and that you are very much a hero and an inspiration to me.

Posted by: Greg at 02:58 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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IÂ’m not a big fan of John McCain. That said, I think he pegged this one exactly right regarding the Cindy Sheehan situation.

"It's impossible to put yourself in the position of the president of the United States and say what he should or shouldn't do. If I was president of the United States, I probably wouldn't" meet with her, McCain told the Citizen editorial board.

Sheehan, whose son, Casey, was killed in Iraq last year, stood vigil with throngs of protesters outside Bush's Texas ranch last week, demanding the president hear her argument for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Her story spawned similar anti-war protests across the nation, including one in Tucson Aug. 17.

Bush has taken heat from many for avoiding Sheehan, including some congressional Republicans who say the decision makes the White House appear unsympathetic.

McCain said he's seen Bush after meetings with families who lost loved ones - including Sheehan at an earlier meeting.

"He cares. He grieves. He has the greatest compassion and sympathy for these families and anyone who says he doesn't isn't telling the truth," McCain said. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

But giving in to demands for a face-to-face meeting would set a precedent that would potentially have costly implications for the White House, McCain said.

"Perhaps her coming out of a meeting and saying she had berated the president of the United States and that she demanded another meeting and had demanded meetings for other families who have now turned against the war," McCain said. "And should he continue now a dialogue with them? And if he doesn't have a regular dialogue with them, then he's insensitive and blah, blah, blah."

And to all the folks who think McCain is the only good Republican – he believes that we need to increase the presence of US forces in Iraq.

Rather than giving in to public pressure to bring troops home, the White House should be increasing the military presence in Iraq, he said.

"We cannot afford to fail. We cannot lose. If we lose, you will see Iraq factionalize, maybe be broken up," McCain said. "You will see it as a new center for Muslim extremism - slash - terrorism, and it will be sending a message throughout the world that the United States can be beaten."

So, all you folks out there criticizing the war – do you want America to win, or to be beaten? Are you with us or against us?

Posted by: Greg at 01:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I came across this interesting piece by the Canton Repository columnist this morning before breakfast. I think it raises a good point, but also needs a response because of a number of assumptions the writer makes.

ItÂ’s disturbing, this gang-tackling of anyone who dares to question the handling of the war in Iraq.

In recent weeks, Cindy Sheehan has been called “the scum of the earth,” a traitor, and other choice epithets that only a gangsta rapper could love.

SheehanÂ’s protest in Crawford, Texas, has been equated with her dancing on the grave of her dead soldier son. A few folks have even expressed glee upon hearing that SheehanÂ’s husband recently filed for divorce.

ItÂ’s only a matter of time before sheÂ’s blamed for her motherÂ’s recent stroke.

Now hold on, Ms. Goshay. Is it your contention that Cindy SheehanÂ’s right to free speech is so sacrosanct that no one has the right to criticize her words or question her actions? You object to name-calling, but give Sheehan a pass on calling the president a murderer, a terrorist, a war criminal, and a member of a crime family. As far as her motherÂ’s stroke goes, the closest IÂ’ve seen to such an accusation against Sheehan is that her actions may have increased her motherÂ’s stress. On the other hand, IÂ’ve seen any number of Sheehan supporters suggest that George W. Bush and Karl Rove used the CIA to poison the stricken woman. I guess that is acceptable, though.

And let’s be honest here – there is something unsavory about a mother using her dead son as a prop to make a political point. Especially when doing so puts her on the same side as those who really killed her son.

It’s being argued that Sheehan’s actions are hurting our troops because it provides just the spark needed by the insurgents. Doubtful. It should be clear by now that roadside bombings in Baghdad are not incumbent upon how Americans feel about the war. Terrorists don’t give a damn what we think, and they certainly don’t need an anti-war protest 6,000 miles away to feel “emboldened.”

They would kill Cindy Sheehan as quickly as they did her son, because sheÂ’s an American.

I’ll agree with your assessment that the terrorists would kill Sheehan as quickly as they killed her son (or nearly 3000 innocents on 9/11), which should be reason enough to discount the woman’s rantings. But one of the lessons of Vietnam is that a war abroad that is being won on the field of battle can be lost in the streets of America if the enemy can manage to “wait out” the resolve of the American people. If you don’t believe that, check out General Giap’s memoirs.

But criticism of Sheehan is no longer about the rightness or wrongness of her protest.

ItÂ’s about her.

Half true – it is about her credibility. To the degree that questioning he credibility is “about her”, then I agree. So what? Discerning individuals are supposed to consider the credibility of a source when evaluating an argument. Especially when that source is claiming to have an indisputable and unquestionable moral authority.

Syndicated columnists have been on the front lines of the smear offensive, questioning not only SheehanÂ’s loyalty, but her very sanity.

They argue that her protest is no longer about her dead son. They’re right — just as Terri Schiavo’s situation evolved from a private family issue to a national discourse on the right to life.

People who want Cindy Sheehan to shut up and go away forget their history. History may love Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford now, but both admired Adolf Hitler and were vocal critics of AmericaÂ’s foray into World War II.

Bowing under public pressure, Woodrow Wilson won re-election in 1916 by vowing to keep America out of Europe’s war — a promise he couldn’t keep.
Before it was over and done, some Vietnam veterans protested against their own war.

Fine. WhatÂ’s your point? Protest is fine, as is opposition to war. But there is a question of time and manner. Once the war begins, the method of opposition needs to be muted in order to not give aid and comfort to the enemy.

As for questioning Sheehan’s sanity – most of us who have done so have done so respectfully, suggesting that she is still so overwhelmed by her grief that she may not be thinking straight. A fuller examination of her words and activities have led me to conclude that she is not crazy or overwrought – rather, her associations with convicted terrorist mouthpiece Lynn Stewart and a host of anti-American groups lead me to draw the conclusion that it is not simply the war she opposes, but the United States.

Among those leading the charge are Bill O’Reilly, who labeled Sheehan’s behavior “treasonous,” and Michelle Malkin, who once suggested that John Kerry may have earned his Purple Hearts by wounding himself.

HereÂ’s a theory: Perhaps Kerry and Sen. Chuck Hagen shot each another.
Columnist David Horowitz said Sheehan has joined an “unholy alliance” that is threatening to undermine the mission, which has become “an epic battle for freedom.”

If itÂ’s so epic, why are we and the British practically the only ones fighting it?

Why arenÂ’t other Middle Eastern countries who claim to love freedom throwing in with us?

How can we dog the French when Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia wonÂ’t help rescue a neighbor from the clutches of terror and despotism?

How many sheiks and princes were fighting alongside Casey Sheehan on the day he was killed?

Malkin did not accuse Kerry of intentionally shooting himself – she argued (as did one of those present when the wound occurred) that one of Kerry’s wounds was caused by blowback from his own weapon, not the enemy. Since you are so concerned about the accuracy and honesty of statements made by partisan columnists, you might want to engage in in a bit of accuracy and honesty yourself.

The rest of the argument isn’t worth dignifying – after all, most of us were taught at a very young age that one should do the right thing, even if everybody else is doing something else. I’m sorry your family, church, and school failed to pass that bit of wisdom on to you.

The central question is not whether Cindy Sheehan is right or wrong, or even if the war is right or wrong; the central question is, does she have a right to free speech, or not?

Even Bush, commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the object of SheehanÂ’s increasingly caustic wrath, defends her right to have an opinion.

Cindy Sheehan is being lambasted as anti-American, but whatÂ’s more American than speaking your mind?

Sure, Charita, Cindy Sheehan has a right to speak. But freedom to speak is not freedom from criticism. Making one’s opinion known does not exempt you or it from criticism, not even from harsh criticism. You should know that – for your column is nothing but criticism of Sheehan’s critics.
And as for your final question, I’d like to ask you in return – do you think that a Klan rally is the height of Americanism? Or do you think that the message and the messengers deserve scorn?

Posted by: Greg at 01:21 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Utah is a pretty conservative place. I don’t think I’m betraying any sort of national secret by saying that it is because of the Mormons. I mean, they are as conservative a bunch of pro-family traditionalists as you are likely to find – and they are centered right in Salt Lake City.

That’s why this move by Salt Lake City’s mayor seems sort of dictatorial to me – he’s going to impose domestic partnership benefits on the city by decree, even if the city council rejects them. After all, he has the power.

No lobbying or emotional debate necessary.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson apparently can extend health benefits to unmarried partners of gay and straight city employees anytime he wants. And he said Tuesday that he will "absolutely" offer the benefits once the city finishes its research on the plan and he gets formal word he can do it without a City Council vote.

Still, Anderson hopes the council passes a symbolic resolution supporting the idea.

"As long as we're going to do this, we should demonstrate unity on this issue," he said. "Providing for equality should not create more division in our community."

Even a symbolic resolution is hardly a sure thing. The city's seven-member council leans conservative, and this is an election year for four of them.

If the council rejects a resolution, Anderson said he would go ahead and offer the benefits anyway. Barring quick action from another city, Salt Lake City would become Utah's first government to offer domestic-partner benefits.

Do you get the arrogance there? The use of what I can only assume to be the royal “We” in the third paragraph? Translated, the mayor is saying “I want a resolution of support, but I’m acting even if you refuse me one – and if that causes division, my opponents are the bad guys.”

I’d like to encourage the members of the City Council out in Salt Lake City to go on record in opposition to these benefits. What’s more, I’d like to encourage the people of Salt lake City to vote out any member of the council who votes for a resolution of support – and eventually Mayor Anderson. His tactics are antithetical to the American system, and he and his supporters need to be righteously slapped down by the vast majority whose values he is trampling upon.

HereÂ’s a link to the email addresses of the members of the Salt Lake City Council. Be respectful, but express your views.

Posted by: Greg at 01:18 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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SheÂ’s back!

Cindy Sheehan, the anti-American mother of an American hero, is headed back to Camp Dhimmi outside of Crawford in search of another 15 minutes.

Cindy Sheehan, the 48-year-old California mom whose anti-war protest has sparked international interest and plenty of controversy, will likely return to her post near President Bush's Central Texas ranch late Wednesday afternoon after a week-long absence.

Michelle Mulkey, a spokeswoman for the peace movement that Sheehan triggered just outside the town of Crawford, said Tuesday afternoon that Sheehan was expected to be back at her makeshift campsite near the Bush ranch sometime after 5 p.m.

ItÂ’s time for the media to make the point that this woman is giving aid and comfort to the folks who actually killed her son via her anti-American rhetoric

Posted by: Greg at 01:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The American Legion passed Resolution 3 at the groups annual convention.

"The American Legion fully supports the president of the Untied States, the United States Congress and the men, women and leadership of our armed forces as they are engaged in the global war on terrorism and the troops who are engaged in protecting our values and way of life.

Do America’s veterans have sufficient credentials to satisfy the anti-war anti-American activists of their moral authority to speak on the issue?

Posted by: Greg at 01:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The American Legion passed Resolution 3 at the groups annual convention.

"The American Legion fully supports the president of the Untied States, the United States Congress and the men, women and leadership of our armed forces as they are engaged in the global war on terrorism and the troops who are engaged in protecting our values and way of life.

Do AmericaÂ’s veterans have sufficient credentials to satisfy the anti-war anti-American activists of their moral authority to speak on the issue?

Posted by: Greg at 01:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I donÂ’t blog from Dear Abby often, but this letter is just too much.

Dear Abby:

I am 62 and my husband is 93. Our next-door neighbor, "Sam," likes to expose himself. Other than that, he's a good neighbor and always ready to help out.

One day, a couple of my women friends were over visiting, and Sam stood in his doorway naked as a jaybird, waving at them. Mostly, he does this when my husband has gone inside the house.

His behavior worries me. If anything should happen to my husband, do you think Sam would try to force himself on me? Could he attack me and try to rape or murder me, or is he just a nice guy who likes to expose himself, and not the least bit dangerous?

I don't want to be a bad neighbor, and I don't want my name revealed, but this neighbor is really making me uneasy. Should I report what he's been doing to the police?

SCARED in Hawaii

Have we really reached the point in this society where we worry about being “impolite” if we call the police over someone exposing themselves? Sure, nudism may be a valid alternative lifestyle, but the limits are reached when you stand in your doorway naked for the public to see. And I wonder – would she be so hesitant to act if it was her 12-year old granddaughter (or grandson) who he waved at naked?

Posted by: Greg at 12:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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When I have taught English, I’ve used the film version of To Kill A Mockingbird. I did so again this past summer, and once again enjoyed the masterful acting of Brock Peters as Tom Robinson.

He passed away today.

Actor Brock Peters, best known for his heartbreaking performance as the black man falsely accused of rape in "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Tuesday at his home after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 78.

Peters was diagnosed with the disease in January and had been receiving chemotherapy treatment, according to Marilyn Darby, his longtime companion. His condition became worse in recent weeks.

He died peacefully in bed, surrounded by family, she said.

Peters also had a special place in my heart because of his appearance in two of the Star Trek films.

May he rest in peace, and may those who loved him find solace at this sad time.

Posted by: Greg at 12:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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When I have taught English, IÂ’ve used the film version of To Kill A Mockingbird. I did so again this past summer, and once again enjoyed the masterful acting of Brock Peters as Tom Robinson.

He passed away today.

Actor Brock Peters, best known for his heartbreaking performance as the black man falsely accused of rape in "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Tuesday at his home after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 78.

Peters was diagnosed with the disease in January and had been receiving chemotherapy treatment, according to Marilyn Darby, his longtime companion. His condition became worse in recent weeks.

He died peacefully in bed, surrounded by family, she said.

Peters also had a special place in my heart because of his appearance in two of the Star Trek films.

May he rest in peace, and may those who loved him find solace at this sad time.

Posted by: Greg at 12:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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More than one out of every eight girls at Canto, OhioÂ’s Timken High School is pregnant as school starts this fall. If that number astounds you, please consider that it does not include those who have already had a child. What is the reason?

There are 490 female students at Timken High School, and 65 are pregnant, according to a recent report in the Canton Repository.

The article reported that some would say that movies, TV, videogames, lazy parents and lax discipline may all be to blame.

School officials are not sure they what has caused so many pregnancies, but in response to them, the school is launching a three-prong educational program to address pregnancy, prevention and parenting.

IÂ’ll resist the temptation to make a snide comment about the contention that school officials donÂ’t know what has caused so many pregnancies. IÂ’m sure that a health of biology textbook clued them in really quick.

No, the reason is that sex has no consequences today. Look at what the school is doing – creating a parenting program to help these kids raise their kids. If it looks anything like my school district’s program, it will include free day care, free medical care, special scheduling, and a coordinator to get the new mothers hooked up with all the relevant entitlement programs. Getting pregnant and dropping a kid at age 16 won’t have any consequences at all – and when the little girl with the rotund belly is the guest of honor at a cafeteria baby-shower surrounded by all of her friends, being a “baby mama” will continue to look glamorous. And I won’t get into the question of the small number who actually get married on Saturday and come to school on Monday showing off their new wedding ring. And after graduation, many of them will be eligible for special scholarship money for overcoming the hardship of being a teenage mother.

I can still remember the day when getting pregnant (or even married) meant that you education was over. You had made an adult choice, and needed to live with the adult consequences. But with the consequences removed, what incentive is there for a young lady to put a dime between her knees and keep it there until graduation? None.

I realize that shame and consequences are dirty words in today’s society, and that using them marks one out as a cold-hearted SOB with an archaic value system. But let’s be honest – those social sanctions worked. Maybe we need to go back to them.

Either that, or more of my colleagues had better expect to hear what I heard from a student in my class several years ago – “Mister – I think I need to go to the nu-u-u-u-u-r-r-r-s-s-s-e! My baby’s coming.”

Posted by: Greg at 12:52 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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We have many American heroes fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. HereÂ’s an American coward hiding in Canada, Joshua Key.

Key and his wife Brandi (shown) were at Algoma University College last night to talk about American war resisters like himself and to appeal to Canadians for help.

Their visit was part of the official launch of the New Democratic Youth of Canada's national War Resisters Campaign. aimed at convincing the Canadian Government to grant sanctuary to American servicemen and women who object to the war in Iraq.

Audience members were told last night that Josh suffers from severe posttraumatic stress disorder because of the events he witnessed and was forced to participate in while stationed in Iraq.

Because of his condition and because of the estimated 8,000 or more American war resisters like him. the Keys and others are calling for changes to the Immigration Act of Canada.

"The war in Iraq is illegal," Josh said. "We are hoping people of Canada will stand up and say war resisters are welcome here."

Canada is welcome to keep this coward – though I would prefer to see a SEAL team sent in to get him so that he can face his punishment as a deserter.
I wonder – is there any possibility that the US government could revoke the citizenship and passport of this filth and his family so that we can ensure that they are never, ever, permitted to set foot on American soil again?

Posted by: Greg at 12:50 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This is just stupid, and offensive.

Conservative U.S. evangelist Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying the leftist leader wanted to turn his country into "the launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."

The founder of the Christian Coalition said during the Monday night television broadcast of his religious program, "The 700 Club," that Chavez, one the most vocal critics of President George W. Bush, was a "terrific danger" to the United States.

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said.

"We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator," he continued. "It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack condemned Robertson's comments as "inappropriate" and said they were from a private citizen and did not represent the U.S.

While I would not object to seeing the people of Venezuela rise up and give him the Mussolini or Ceaucescu treatment, I donÂ’t want to see our own government get back in this business over one tin-horn dictator.

Shut up, Pat!

Posted by: Greg at 12:49 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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This is a topic near and dear to my heart, since I’m a member of the local GOP ballot security committee, which trains poll-watchers and election judges how to spot and stop vote fraud. Selwyn Duke reports on some of the means by which fraud is perpetrated in Washington DC.

Experience has taught Deep Vote that it is transiency which provides Democrat political operatives with the most golden of opportunities to steal votes. In depressed urban areas an inordinate number of residents move in and out every year, with some taking up residence for only a brief time.

Stability is less common among the poverty-stricken and others suffering social dysfunctions, and such people are more numerous in large urban areas than elsewhere.

A high rate of transiency inevitably leaves a large number of people who no longer live in an area on the voter rolls. The local authorities, says Deep Vote, “are always somewhat late on removing non-residents.” All the Democrat operatives need do then is ascertain who these people are and vote for them. Deep Vote explains the mechanics of this process.

What we first need to know is that the Democrat operatives who are central to this fraud are known as “block captains” and “apartment captains.” Deep Vote tells us that a captain is a GOTV (Get out the vote) term for a campaign volunteer who knows the territory and is given a list of voters on his block or in his building who are believed to be sympathetic to his candidate. He is then charged with the task of driving these partisans to the polls.

Deep Vote then explains that since captains are usually “local/neighborhood leaders” or in the least have “been there for a while,” they “would know who has moved out.” It is then that the captains examine the voter rolls and “vote those people.”

This problem is not just confined to large urban areas. Yeas ago, as the GOP committeeman for a college campus voting precinct, I found that there were many registered voters who had long since moved on. Take my own dorm room as an example. There were six voters registered to that address – and I was the only one of them who actually lived there. It took me three months to get those voters tracked down and registered at their correct address or purged from the rolls. It never crossed my mind to engage in the mischief that was available to me.

Why are these ineligible voters left on the rolls?

Deep Vote also mentions factors that have exacerbated this problem by enabling these election thieves. First, many states have enacted “Motor Voter” laws, which he says often increase the chances of this type of vote-fraud. The reason for this is that such laws lead to the registration of larger numbers of irresponsible people who live transient lifestyles.

Then, not surprisingly, where there’s the appearance of corruption and turpitude there often lurks the Reverend without a congregation, Jesse Jackson. Some years ago he brought pressure to bear on Washington, DC to stop purging the voter rolls because doing so was “racist.” You see, racism is something on which ol’ Jesse is an authority.

Anyway, such a story is reminiscent of the hue and cry that ensued when Florida purged its voter rolls; back then accusations of racism were hurled as well. Just know, though, that those who use this ploy are scoundrels, scheming to facilitate the vote-fraud that can vault their candidate into office. Such people are to be despised.

Yeah, that’s right – easy registration and difficulty in purging the rolls (where it is done at all) make the casting of votes by these ghost voters that much easier. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the mischief that can be made of the process by these “extra voters”.

Posted by: Greg at 12:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 649 words, total size 4 kb.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, since IÂ’m a member of the local GOP ballot security committee, which trains poll-watchers and election judges how to spot and stop vote fraud. Selwyn Duke reports on some of the means by which fraud is perpetrated in Washington DC.

Experience has taught Deep Vote that it is transiency which provides Democrat political operatives with the most golden of opportunities to steal votes. In depressed urban areas an inordinate number of residents move in and out every year, with some taking up residence for only a brief time.

Stability is less common among the poverty-stricken and others suffering social dysfunctions, and such people are more numerous in large urban areas than elsewhere.

A high rate of transiency inevitably leaves a large number of people who no longer live in an area on the voter rolls. The local authorities, says Deep Vote, “are always somewhat late on removing non-residents.” All the Democrat operatives need do then is ascertain who these people are and vote for them. Deep Vote explains the mechanics of this process.

What we first need to know is that the Democrat operatives who are central to this fraud are known as “block captains” and “apartment captains.” Deep Vote tells us that a captain is a GOTV (Get out the vote) term for a campaign volunteer who knows the territory and is given a list of voters on his block or in his building who are believed to be sympathetic to his candidate. He is then charged with the task of driving these partisans to the polls.

Deep Vote then explains that since captains are usually “local/neighborhood leaders” or in the least have “been there for a while,” they “would know who has moved out.” It is then that the captains examine the voter rolls and “vote those people.”

This problem is not just confined to large urban areas. Yeas ago, as the GOP committeeman for a college campus voting precinct, I found that there were many registered voters who had long since moved on. Take my own dorm room as an example. There were six voters registered to that address – and I was the only one of them who actually lived there. It took me three months to get those voters tracked down and registered at their correct address or purged from the rolls. It never crossed my mind to engage in the mischief that was available to me.

Why are these ineligible voters left on the rolls?

Deep Vote also mentions factors that have exacerbated this problem by enabling these election thieves. First, many states have enacted “Motor Voter” laws, which he says often increase the chances of this type of vote-fraud. The reason for this is that such laws lead to the registration of larger numbers of irresponsible people who live transient lifestyles.

Then, not surprisingly, where there’s the appearance of corruption and turpitude there often lurks the Reverend without a congregation, Jesse Jackson. Some years ago he brought pressure to bear on Washington, DC to stop purging the voter rolls because doing so was “racist.” You see, racism is something on which ol’ Jesse is an authority.

Anyway, such a story is reminiscent of the hue and cry that ensued when Florida purged its voter rolls; back then accusations of racism were hurled as well. Just know, though, that those who use this ploy are scoundrels, scheming to facilitate the vote-fraud that can vault their candidate into office. Such people are to be despised.

Yeah, that’s right – easy registration and difficulty in purging the rolls (where it is done at all) make the casting of votes by these ghost voters that much easier. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the mischief that can be made of the process by these “extra voters”.

Posted by: Greg at 12:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Thanks to the racial gerrymander required by the Voting Rights Act, Sheila Jackson Lee will be in office making a fool of herself for years. Here is the latest chapter.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee visited the anti-war inspired "Camp Casey" near President Bush's ranch on Monday, lending support and words of encouragement to several families whose loved ones died in Iraq.

"It is time to bring our troops home," Lee said at the demonstration started by Cindy Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., on Aug. 6.

Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Army Spc. Casey Sheehan died last year in Iraq, is currently in Los Angeles to be with her mother, who had a stroke. But about 60 other people were spread between two anti-war campsites near the ranch on Monday.

"What we want to do is give America a sense that it's OK to speak up and ask questions," said Lee, a Democrat from Houston.

She said that coalition forces of U.S. allies could come in to fill the security gap in Iraq.

Before you get too impressed, remember that this is the same buffoon who complained that the names for hurricanes didn’t sound black enough, and who asked NASA staff if the Mars Rover had taken any pictures of the flag that Neil Armstrong had left behind. She’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer – which is why she is the only member of Congress to associate herself with the group camped out in Crawford.

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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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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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