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

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

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

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

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

And then there is this one.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maybe they are finally taking the situation seriously.

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

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

It's called a free market.

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

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Could you imagine doing this to a disabled kid?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pratti was dumbfounded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ArenÂ’t you liberals proud of your new allies?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And evidently she reciprocates the sentiments of this racist scumbag.

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

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

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

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

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Another one bites the dust!

Good news from Saudi Arabia – more dead jihadis.

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

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

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

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Another one bites the dust!

Good news from Saudi Arabia – more dead jihadis.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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According to this press account, the restaurant referenced in my post yesterday has offered an apology for labeling patrons as “Jew Couple” on their bill – and their charge submitted to VISA.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The sentence which follows is almost too bizarre for me to believe I have to type it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The ABA has spoken. Judge John Roberts is "well qualified" for the US Supreme Court. That is, I believe, what the Left used to cal the Gold Standard" for judges.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Maybe I wonÂ’t speak firmly to that customer service rep next time I place a customer service call.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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I read the Harry Potter books for fun, and to know what my students are reading. IÂ’ve made a point of not delving into deeper political meanings.

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

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

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

Wait until you hit the punchline.

Posted by: Greg at 02:57 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I don’t know how 4 out of 10 constitutes “half”, but the data confirms what we already know – the Mexicans are coming in droves.

In the survey of 1,200 Mexican adults, conducted in May by the Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center, 46 percent said they would like to live in the United States if they had the opportunity. Among college graduates, 35 percent said they would head north.

"Even at the high ends of the socioeconomic characteristics, we see that the propensity to migrate is quite strong," said Pew Hispanic Center Director Roberto Suro in Washington. "Mexico's economy doesn't satisfy their expectations."
The survey also concluded that 21 percent of Mexicans are inclined to work in the United States without proper entry documents.

Maybe yesterdayÂ’s suggestion of invasion and annexation isnÂ’t such a bad idea. After all, they would no longer need to move in order to be in the United States.

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If they consider this acceptable, it is clear that they are not the “family restaurant” they claim to be – unless anti-Semitism is one of your family values.

Two diners on a date at a fancy Jersey Shore restaurant were furious when they saw the check — which listed their table as that of the "Jew Couple."

Brooklynite Elliot Stein says he was shocked that a waitress at the Parkhill's Waterfront Grill in Allenhurst [New Jersey] printed the slur instead of a table number on his $36.75 bill.

As if that weren't bad enough, the 23-year-old shoe buyer told The Post, the offensive phrase then turned up on his credit-card statement two weeks later.

The response of restaurant management?

Stein said he took the offensive bill and showed it to Jewish friends seated nearby who said they could not believe it.

When the group started questioning the manager, Stein said she simply told them there was nothing derogatory about the statement.

Stein said he was then asked to leave for making a fuss.

The restaurant's general manager, Malia Wells, yesterday told The Post that the offending phrase was a matter of "poor judgment on the part of a bartender."
The server, shown as Karina on Stein's bill, has since "moved on," Wells said. She would not say whether Karina was fired.

"We are a family restaurant, and we welcome everybody," she said, adding that the words "Jew Couple" were never intended to be derogatory.

And I suppose that “Spic Couple” would be just fine, too. Not to mention “Niggers”, which your fine staff probably also uses. I know I would raise a real fuss if “Fat Couple” showed up on my bill. After all, none of it is meant to be derogatory, right Ms. Wells?

That your manager tossed out the offended couple for daring to challenge the use of a slur on the check tells me there is something much more sinister at work. How about all the decent people on the Jersey Shore making their disgust with bigotry in their midst by finding somewhere else to eat if there isn’t a more sincere apology? It shouldn’t take long to shut the place down if one is not forthcoming.

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If they consider this acceptable, it is clear that they are not the “family restaurant” they claim to be – unless anti-Semitism is one of your family values.

Two diners on a date at a fancy Jersey Shore restaurant were furious when they saw the check — which listed their table as that of the "Jew Couple."

Brooklynite Elliot Stein says he was shocked that a waitress at the Parkhill's Waterfront Grill in Allenhurst [New Jersey] printed the slur instead of a table number on his $36.75 bill.

As if that weren't bad enough, the 23-year-old shoe buyer told The Post, the offensive phrase then turned up on his credit-card statement two weeks later.

The response of restaurant management?

Stein said he took the offensive bill and showed it to Jewish friends seated nearby who said they could not believe it.

When the group started questioning the manager, Stein said she simply told them there was nothing derogatory about the statement.

Stein said he was then asked to leave for making a fuss.

The restaurant's general manager, Malia Wells, yesterday told The Post that the offending phrase was a matter of "poor judgment on the part of a bartender."
The server, shown as Karina on Stein's bill, has since "moved on," Wells said. She would not say whether Karina was fired.

"We are a family restaurant, and we welcome everybody," she said, adding that the words "Jew Couple" were never intended to be derogatory.

And I suppose that “Spic Couple” would be just fine, too. Not to mention “Niggers”, which your fine staff probably also uses. I know I would raise a real fuss if “Fat Couple” showed up on my bill. After all, none of it is meant to be derogatory, right Ms. Wells?

That your manager tossed out the offended couple for daring to challenge the use of a slur on the check tells me there is something much more sinister at work. How about all the decent people on the Jersey Shore making their disgust with bigotry in their midst by finding somewhere else to eat if there isnÂ’t a more sincere apology? It shouldnÂ’t take long to shut the place down if one is not forthcoming.

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Stars and Stripes reports this story.

From rubble to avenging angel: The U.S. Navy is using steel from the World Trade Center in a new ship, according to the Navy.

Ten tons of steel from the World Trade CenterÂ’s twin towers will be used in the construction of the USS New York, according to a Navy official.

The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock is slated to be commissioned in 2008.

“USS New York will ensure that all New Yorkers and the world will never forget the evil attacks of September 11, and the courage and compassion New Yorkers showed in response to terror,” said New York Gov. George Pataki at the ship’s 2002 naming.

The response of WTC 9/11 survivors and the families of those who died is particularly moving.

For Patrick Cartier Sr., the ship is an honorable way to remember his son, James Marcel Cartier, who was killed when the South Tower collapsed.

“You’ve got the very soul of the event in that mangled steel, and all of that steel which housed all the people fell along with them and they were all consumed in that terrible fireball and that collapse,” the New York City man said.

Using the steel for the new ship would capture the spiritual essence of those who died in the World Trade Center, Cartier said.

“If you would you use that steel, it would almost be a resurrection,” he said.

New York City firefighter Bill Butler also praised turning the steel from the World Trade Center into a fighting vessel.

“It’s a great testament to the strong will of the people who died that day,” said Butler, who was in the North Tower when it collapsed.

Butler was in a stairwell on the fourth floor when he heard what he said sounded like two freight trains roaring by in opposite directions.

It took him five hours to get out of the collapsed tower, he said.

Butler said the New York Fire Department supports U.S. troops. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them every single day and we appreciate them defending our freedom, and we’re doing our best on the homefront,” he said.

This will truly be “America’s Ship”.

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Senator Patrick Leahy slandered Judge John Roberts in comments designed to pave the way for leftist groups to announce their opposition to his nomination to the US Supreme Court.

Sen. Patrick Leahy says Supreme Court nominee John Roberts holds "radical" views and has been an "eager, aggressive advocate" for policies of the far right.

While stopping short of announcing his opposition to the appointment, the Vermont Democrat's written statement Tuesday was by far the most critical he has made since President Bush nominated Roberts.

Firing his broadside one day after the release of 5,000 pages of Reagan-era records, Leahy said Roberts' views were "among the most radical being offered by a cadre intent on reversing decades of policies on civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, privacy and access to justice."

However, even the AP notes that the recently released documents show nothing of the kind.

In material released Monday, Roberts emerged as an attorney serving in the Reagan White House who held views generally in line with those of other conservatives. He was sympathetic to prayer in public schools, dismissive of "comparable worth," referred to the "tragedy of abortion" and took a swipe at the Supreme Court for being too willing to hear multiple appeals from death row inmates.

"Those papers that we have paint a picture of John Roberts as an eager and aggressive advocate of policies that are deeply tinged with the ideology of the far right wing of his party, then and now," Leahy said in his statement.

In other words, Senator Leahy has just announced that ANY conservative nominee is unacceptable and outside the mainstream.

No mater what the results of the last several elections show.

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Senator Patrick Leahy slandered Judge John Roberts in comments designed to pave the way for leftist groups to announce their opposition to his nomination to the US Supreme Court.

Sen. Patrick Leahy says Supreme Court nominee John Roberts holds "radical" views and has been an "eager, aggressive advocate" for policies of the far right.

While stopping short of announcing his opposition to the appointment, the Vermont Democrat's written statement Tuesday was by far the most critical he has made since President Bush nominated Roberts.

Firing his broadside one day after the release of 5,000 pages of Reagan-era records, Leahy said Roberts' views were "among the most radical being offered by a cadre intent on reversing decades of policies on civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, privacy and access to justice."

However, even the AP notes that the recently released documents show nothing of the kind.

In material released Monday, Roberts emerged as an attorney serving in the Reagan White House who held views generally in line with those of other conservatives. He was sympathetic to prayer in public schools, dismissive of "comparable worth," referred to the "tragedy of abortion" and took a swipe at the Supreme Court for being too willing to hear multiple appeals from death row inmates.

"Those papers that we have paint a picture of John Roberts as an eager and aggressive advocate of policies that are deeply tinged with the ideology of the far right wing of his party, then and now," Leahy said in his statement.

In other words, Senator Leahy has just announced that ANY conservative nominee is unacceptable and outside the mainstream.

No mater what the results of the last several elections show.

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Ward Churchill is taking a one semester sabbatical this spring, to research and write more anti-American bullcrap on the taxpayerÂ’s dime.

University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill said he plans to take a sabbatical in the spring to finish a book about the repression of the Black Panther party.

Churchill said he needs the one-semester sabbatical to finish his research project, adding that his leave has nothing to do with a CU faculty committee's ongoing inquiry into his writings.

Pauline Hale, a spokeswoman for the university, said CU's regents have not seen the request for the sabbatical and that protocol requires they approve all such leaves.

Churchill said the request was approved at the college level last fall, before controversy erupted in January over an essay he wrote shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, comparing World Trade Center victims with Nazi Adolf Eichmann.

The request was approved by the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Churchill said, and he had assumed it was approved by the regents.

"I have not heard that anything went awry," Churchill said Tuesday "My assumption was that things went in a normal fashion."

Now it is known that Churchill has a history of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and just plain making stuff up. Does it really take a work-free semester to do that – especially since his fall class load consists of only one course?

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Some anti-American Americans will go to any lengths to draw moral equivalency between terrorists and the US government. Take this response to Star-Tribune columnist Kate Parry, who criticized her own paper for failing to call terrorism terrorism.

When a wedding party of 40 people is wiped out by a misplaced American bomb, these people are just as dead as if a suicide bomber waded into the group and blew himself up. The survivors and their families suffer and grieve just as long and just as hard. How much of a difference, in practical terms and in terms of morality, is there between the two methods of killing the innocent?

Dean DeHarpporte,

Eden Prairie.

Dean fails to recognize, of course, that his letter contains the essential difference between the two. I wonder if Dena would treat poaching deer the same as hitting a deer that runs in front of his car on a dark road, or does he only see the dead deer -- motive and intentionality be damned. A homicide bombing is a fully intentional criminal act of cold-blooded murder, while the other is a sad and accidental twist of fate.

(HAT TIP – Media Blog)

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The CornerÂ’s Tim Graham points out a bit of liberal hypocrisy when it comes to the lives and health of Americans.

The Los Angeles Times reports that state and federal officials are investigating the deaths of (now) four California women who've died after taking the RU-486 abortion-inducing drug cocktail. The first one most media outlets ignored was teenager Holly Patterson in 2003, but the latest is Oriane Shevlin, a 34-year-old mother of two, who died from a blood infection in June. Wendy Wright at Concerned Women for America and others have been on the FDA's case on this one, which was ram-rodded through the regulatory process in the last year of the Clinton administration.

When it comes to the FDA, the networks would rather obsess over less lethal scandals from corporate greedheads, like, I kid you not, Taco Bell taco shells: "The charge is that Taco Bell taco shells sold in grocery stores contain a gene-altered corn specifically banned from food because of the risk of allergies in people," CBS reporter Wyatt Andrews explained. "While there are no known reports of injury, this finding by a coalition of environmental groups is the most serious evidence so far of the potential danger in some gene-altered food."

Yep – we cannot leave taco shells on the market because they contain grain which has never harmed anyone who has eaten them – but four dead women are not grounds for removing the RU-486 feticide drug.

I’m curious, though. Isn’t DEATH the ultimate infringement on “a woman’s right to choose”? Guess not.

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Jonah Goldberg makes a point that I have tried to make.

The great irony is that the people who resort to such "arguments" (they're really just insults) are the ones questioning free-speech rights, because they are suggesting the criticism was inappropriate and, in some vague and stupid way, unconstitutional. Right? That is the upshot of what they're saying. I mean, if you immediately assert that someone has the right to say something as a way to rebut criticism, aren't you implying that such criticism violated their rights — which is, by definition, unconstitutional.

The paranoia enters into it when you consider the nature of the accusation. If you immediately assume that criticism from the political Right is tantamount to questioning someone's constitutional right to speak in the first place, what you are really saying (Pace Dan Savage) is that if you scratch a conservative you'll find a Storm Trooper just under the surface. We knuckle draggers may say we're just offering criticism, but what we really mean is that anyone we disagree with has no right to say so. That so many on the Left seem to believe this, says a lot about the intellectual and psychological state of Lefties while saying nothing of interest about conservatives. I don't think it's always a matter of projection — assuming your enemy sees things the same you do — but I do think this knee-jerkery illuminates in a small way the bad faith of the Left. Not only does the "I have the right to speak" tantrum dodge the merits of specific criticisms, it starts from the assumption that as a matter of first principles left-wing protest should never be questioned.

Indeed, that's the reason the Left has rallied so fiercely behind Cindy Sheehan. Wedded to a form of identity-politics logic which says some "authentic" voices cannot be questioned and inauthentic voices need not be listened to, these hardcore left-wing activists love Cindy Sheehan because they think she's above reproach. They immediately resort to the argument "How dare you question a woman who lost her child!" Sheehan's loss is obviously a terrible one. But the death of her son does not make her anymore qualified to rant about Israel and oil tycoons controlling American foreign policy than it would be if her son was alive. But her backers do not care, indeed they don't think anyone has the right to even point this out.

So rant on, Saint Cindy Sheehan of the Ditch, Our Lady of the Martyred Soldier. You have every right to spew your venom towards our president and our country – and even the anti-Semitic rhetoric that has brought Nazi/Klan moron David Duke to your support.

But I have the right to say you are wrong. And the speech-suppressing fascists are those among your supporters who demand silence of those of us who criticize the dishonor you bring to your sonÂ’s name and sacrifice.

Posted by: Greg at 01:30 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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When Houston Mayor Bill White created the Safe-Clear mandatory towing program for local highways, he meant well. The program has been one embarrassment after another for the city, and has exceeded the expected cost. Now it seems to be a source of victims for criminals.

Andrea Anderson broke down along Highway 59 near Collingsworth. A Safe Clear wrecker was dispatched.

"I was hot and sweaty and waiting for a long time," she said. "I was forced to use the Safe Clear program, where I could have used my warranty tow."
A wrecker from Unified Auto Works towed Anderson's car to Humble. She paid the bill with her check card. Several days later, Anderson checked her bank account and found more than $600 worth of unauthorized charges, along with a list of overdraft fees.

Around the time Anderson was trying to figure out who was draining her bank account, a different woman's car broke down along Interstate 10 near Lockwood. Again, a wrecker from Unified Auto Works was dispatched as part of the Safe Clear program.

The woman talked with the Troubleshooters but asked to remain anonymous. She told them she also paid Unified with her credit card. And soon after, she also got hit with hundreds of dollars in unauthorized charges.

These women had no choice of towing company, and were forbidden to call the company of their choice or use AAA. Thanks, City of Houston, for providing criminals with easier access to victims.

(Hat Tip: Lone Star Times)

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First it was New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Now Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano is acting to shore up border security in her state by declaring a state of emergency and setting aside funds to deal with the crisis.

Gov. Janet Napolitano on Monday declared a state of emergency along Arizona's border with Mexico, freeing up $1.5 million in disaster funds to help border counties combat booming illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

Napolitano criticized the federal government for "moving too slow" on border security, evolving into a hot-button, election-year issue in Arizona and across the country.

"This is a federal responsibility, and they're not meeting it," Napolitano said. "I've just come to the conclusion (that) we've got to do what we can at the state level until the federal government picks up the pace."

Napolitano's announcement came three days after New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson issued a similar declaration, complaining that the federal government has failed to stem growing smuggling-related violence to the east of Arizona, an increasingly popular illegal immigration corridor. Both governors are Democrats.

In the mean time, we have the GOP governors of Texas and California doing little or nothing to deal with the crisis along their borders. And we have a GOP president and GOP Congress all talking about amnesty plans and guest workers rather than acting to stem the tide of invading immigration criminals.

WhatÂ’s the deal, Republicans? Do you really want to lose the next few elections?

Posted by: Greg at 01:25 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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When you have things like this happening in Arizona, it would seem to be time to assert our sovereignty aggressively. Maybe a 50-mile irradiated buffer zone on the Mexican side of the border – or a simple conquest of the corrupt nation and eventual incorporation of its territory as states, once it has brought itself up from Third World standards.

At 11:30 a.m. on April 22 this year, a Mexican helicopter landed in the Robinsons' backyard. Arivaca resident R.D. Ayers had driven to the ranch that morning to visit his injured dog, then under Dr. Robinson's care.

Ayers describes stepping outside the house to see what he describes as "a military Huey-type helicopter" circling, at the same time that a truck from the Tucson Fuel Co. was pulling into the yard. The Tres Bellotas gets its power from diesel generators, and that fuel has to be delivered.

As he approached the chopper, Ayers says six men in black, commando-type uniforms stepped out. Five had ski-type masks over their faces, and they wore body armor and carried automatic rifles. On their sleeves, Ayers saw the word, Mexico.

They stood in a defensive posture around a sixth man, their leader, who identified himself as a member of the Mexican police. He pointed aggressively to the fuel truck and asked what it was doing there. Ayers, in Spanish, told the man he was in the United States, not Mexico, and that he had no business in this country and needed to leave.

But the commander refused to listen and began walking toward the truck, at which point Ayers placed himself between the commander and the truck, again telling him to scram. After a few minutes, the tense confrontation ended when the commander ordered his troops into the chopper, and they split back across the border.

Ayers suspects that the Mexicans--one of Robinson's cowboys identified them as federales, Mexican federal police--were escorting a drug shipment to Tucson, and wanted to haul it in the fuel truck. Or they wanted to steal the fuel. The chopper had followed the truck much of the way down Tres Bellotas Road.

"Men with fully automatic weapons and masks don't just show up to say hello," says a still-outraged Ayers, owner of a backhoe company and a former EMT in Arivaca. He added that if he'd had his gun, he might've fired on the invaders. "I wasn't going to back down. This is my country."

These drug incursions occur with some regularity along the border. The Kays and Robinson say they're personally aware of three such incursions this summer alone, and it's worth noting that the men who recently shot two Border Patrol agents near Nogales also wore black, commando-type gear.

But this episode, like the others, has disappeared into the vapor of national security. Tucson Fuel refuses comment. The Border Patrol won't talk about it, saying its agents got to the Tres Bellotas too late to learn much of anything. The FBI in Tucson took a report the same day and forwarded it to Washington, but they're not talking, either

Or is the US so weak that we cannot protect ourselves from the criminals who run our bad neighbor to the south?

Posted by: Greg at 01:21 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I've talked about this case before. Millionaire businessman and government official patronizeds a Masseuse with a prostitition conviction (like we believe all she was giving him was a massage), dumps his family to carry on a public affair with her, and eventually marries her. Oh, yeah, did I mention she's under a deportation order?

Well now, seeking a better venue for their lawsuit against the US government, Ralph and Nicole Yanhong Hu Isenberg have fled Dallas for New York -- on the very day on which Nicole was required to voluntarily leave the United States under an agreementshe signed with the US government.

The choice was clear: Leave the country voluntarily by Monday or be deported.

Instead of catching an international flight, Nicole Isenberg fled to New York City with her husband, Ralph, a former member of the Dallas City Plan Commission, and started preparing a federal lawsuit against U.S. immigration officials.

"We are still trying so hard to have a judge listen to our case and keep our family together," said Mrs. Isenberg, who has a 6-week-old child with Mr. Isenberg and a teenage daughter from her first marriage whom he adopted.

"We won't give up."

Mr. Isenberg, a Dallas real-estate developer, vowed to continue his fight for his Chinese wife's freedom and her green card.

"There is no better place for me to be than New York," he said Monday.

Mr. Isenberg has been grappling with immigration authorities on his wife's behalf since they met about three years ago.

He recently resigned his position on the City Plan Commission after revealing to the media that his 30-year marriage dissolved when he met and later married Nicole – formerly known as Yanhong Hu, a Dallas massage parlor worker who had once been arrested on a prostitution charge.

The misdemeanor charge was unfounded, the Isenbergs said, and was dismissed after she served five months' probation.

Both sides in the Isenbergs' immigration dispute accuse the other of egregious misdeeds.

Paul Hunker III, chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, has characterized Mrs. Isenberg as one of the worst violators of immigration law he has seen.

She is not eligible to adjust her status in the U.S., he said, because she engaged in prostitution, committed fraud by lying about the prostitution charge, overstayed her visa by more than a year and was ordered deported in absentia when she missed an immigration hearing.

Mr. Hunker, learning that he could possibly be named in the Isenbergs' lawsuit, referred questions Monday to spokesman Carl Rusnok.

"She was supposed to have left the U.S. by today. It looks like she has no intention of meeting that agreement," Mr. Rusnok said Monday.

"We will take whatever enforcement actions we deem appropriate. ... ICE is a federal organization. We have ICE agents in New York as well."

Gee, what part of "not eligible to adjust her status" is so hard to understand? The mere fact that she married a millionaire with lots of good political connections is not a basis for her being allowed to stay in the US. She is a convicted prostitute who overstayed her visa and was ordered deported years ago. On what possible basis could they possibly argue against the order to leave a country where she has no legal right to stay? Especially since she agreed to leave, and was given several extensions.

Well, they are using the kitchen sink strategy. Every possible argument is out there. All of them sound like pure bunk (and not the kind where Mrs. Isenberg used to make her moneu on her back). More offensive is the attempt to play the China card.

Mr. Cox [the Isenberg's lawyer], who speaks fluent Mandarin, said Mrs. Isenberg's case has received widespread coverage in China, where Mr. Isenberg has been called "China's son-in-law."

"I hope our government will do the humane thing, the fair thing," he said. "People in China are watching to see if we are fair to a Chinese citizen."

We4ll, Mr. Isenberg, maybe your in-laws have a spare bedroom for you over at their place. You and your wife need to get on the slow boat (or maybe a chartered jet) to China, where you and she can wait until she is eligble to come back to this country under American law.

Oh, and Mr. Cox, since the article makes it clear that you were an active participant in the violation of this agreement, which includes flight from federal authorities, I look forward to hearing that you face the appropriate criminal charges, serve time, and are disbarred as the unethical scoundrel you are.

Oh, I would like to point to one quote from an ICE representative.

"We will take whatever enforcement actions we deem appropriate. ... ICE is a federal organization. We have ICE agents in New York as well."

Send them in -- throw her out.

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She's already made antin-Semitic comments in the media. Now Cindy Sheehan has a high-profile backer who agrees with her.

Courageously she has gone to Texas near the ranch of President Bush and braved the elements and a hostile Jewish supremacist media to demand a meeting with him and a good explanation why her son and otherÂ’s sons and daughters must die and be disfigured in a war for Israel rather than for America.

Recently, she had the courage to state the obvious that her son signed up in the military to protect America not to die for Israel.

I take it that David Duke has therefore gone back to the Democrats -- right where the Klan has traditionally found its home. I wonder if Senator Byrd has welcomed him with open arms?

And given Duke's past Nazi associations, I can't help but remind folks that the name is short for National SOCIALISTS.

MORE FROM Blogs for Bush, Jack Lewis, Conservative Outpost, T. Longren, Wizbang,.

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Three weeks.

That's how long it took one pregnant Mexican woman to be deported and make it back to her illegal US residence in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

A pregnant woman who was separated from her husband and two small children and deported to Mexico on July 26 has already returned to Arkadelphia, Hispanic activists say.

The woman's story is just one of several desperate efforts to reunite families by those deported in an immigration raid at an Arkadelphia poultry plant. Cesar Compadre, a physician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and head of the Hispanic aid organization La Casa, said he met the woman Sunday while providing food and medical care to many of the 30 children left unattended in Arkansas.

"It's the most ridiculous thing; it's like the Middle Ages," an exasperated Compadre said after he and three other doctors treated 25 kids and half a dozen adults.

But Marc Raimondi, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said it should not come as a surprise when the U.S. government enforces its immigration laws. Since incorporating immigration enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security 2 1/2 years ago, expectations have changed, he said.

"It's not like before when the immigration system was considered optional by some," he told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Our goal is to return integrity to our immigration system through vigorous enforcement."

Compadre said his medical team provided the woman with prenatal care. She said she was taken from Arkadelphia less than three weeks ago, detained in Texarkana and Dallas, dropped off in the middle of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico — just across the Rio Grande River from Laredo, Texas — and immediately made her way back to Arkansas.

"She was traumatized to the point that she's almost unresponsive," Compadre said. "She's back in here and we were able to get her proper prenatal care. It's at least stable at this moment."

Raimondi could not comment on the woman's specific case, but in general, he said, returning to the U.S. illegally after being deported is a serious offense. Depending on the terms of deportation, a repeat offender could face up to 20 years in federal prison, he said.

I guess she really wants another anchor baby -- and we will get the entire extended family up here before too long.

And, of course, those enforcing our nation's laws are the bad guys, according to the slanted news coverage here.

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MoveOn won't tell you ow Iraq is moving forward. Michael Moore won't do any documentaries about the improved lives of Iraqis after the overthrow of Saddam. And the Ditch Bitch (mustn't be as nasty as the Leftists) Cindy Sheehan and her supporters won't mention any of these accomplishments for which soldiers have given their lives.

Deroy Murdock will, though, with a little help from the liberal Brookings Institution.

Most Iraqis actually see the overall security situation improving. A July 12-17 Tips Hotline survey of roughly 1,200 Iraqis in Baghdad, Basra, Diyala, Irbil, Najaf, and Salah Ad-Din found that 75 percent of respondents believe their security forces are beating anti-government fighters. Twenty percent saw the security situation as “somewhat worse” than in April, and 14 percent found it “much worse,” but 46 percent considered it “somewhat better,” and 16 percent described it as “much better.”

The deaths of 54 American troops in July were maddening and painful tragedies, one and all. But these fatalities were considerably below the 137 GI deaths recorded last November, though only 36 were killed last March.

Infrastructure improvements also are encouraging. A new Kirkuk treatment plant began providing clean water to 5,000 people on June 27, the State Department reports. Another 84 U.S.-led waterworks projects are underway in Iraq, while 114 have been completed.

As Saddam Hussein relaxed in his palaces, his subjects in Kamaliya lived without sewers and relied instead on trenches that often overflowed onto the streets. Now, with Coalition assistance, 8,870 of KamaliyaÂ’s homes will receive sewage treatment. Some 600 local workers will be paid to complete this $27 million project. U.S. government-funded projects employed 110,005 Iraqis in early August.

Some 18,000 pupils will study in rehabilitated classrooms when they go back to school in mid-September. According to U.S. and Iraqi officials, 43 more schools were slated for renovation on August 6. So far, 3,211 schools have been refurbished, and another 773 are being repaired.

IraqÂ’s monthly petroleum exports have grown from $200 million in June 2003 to $2.5 billion last month. This is due both to higher oil prices and to fuel supplies having swelled from 23 percent to 97 percent of official production goals in that period. These key improvements also help explain why IraqÂ’s GDP increased from a World Bank estimate of $12.1 billion in 2003 to a projected $21.1 billion in 2004.

Iraqis who endured Baathist censorship now enjoy a vibrant, free press. Commercial TV channels, radio stations, and independent newspapers and magazines have zoomed from zero before Operation Iraqi Freedom to — respectively — 29, 80, and 170 today.

There is more -- so much more. Make sure that you click both links for some illuminating information about how the war in Iraq is chugging along steadily towards success, and towards better lives for the Iraqi people.

Because after all, Oraqis under Saddam didn't get a choice about sleeping in a ditch.

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I guess the premise sounds interesting, but given who is behind it, I'm somewhat concerned.

Ben AffleckBen Affleck is in talks to create and write "Resistance," a potential drama series about a second American Revolution that he'll exec produce with Live Planet partner Sean BaileySean Bailey.

Separate from the deal for "Resistance," Bailey has inked a new two-year, seven-figure pod deal that will keep him at Touchstone TelevisionTouchstone Television though 2007. While Bailey remains a partner in Live Planet, the Touchstone pactpact is for his solo services as a scribe and producer.

As for "Resistance," project marks the first time Affleck will go it alone writing a pilot, and comes on the heels of his deal to script and direct "Gone, Baby, Gone". Affleck and Bailey co-created the 2002 Alphabet reality/drama hybrid "Push, Nevada."

"Resistance," to be produced by Touchstone and Live Planet, will be set in the not-so-distant future, imagining a United States that's been divided into separate countries following a pair of catastrophic terror attacks.

Ensemble skeinskein will follow a band of modern patriots who are attempting to bring back the Bill of Rights and reunify the country. One person familiar with the pitch said the show ultimately will be a hopeful hour because of its pro-democracy bent.

Now this sounds like something I would watch. But do you want to make a guess who the "bad guys" are going to be? I doubt they will be swarthy fellows named Muhammad and Akbar. I suspect that more than a few will have the title "Reverend", and that none will be "Imam".

But then again, I could be wrong. Affleck might actually make a real, honest-to-God patriotic show about in which folks try to restore teh Constitution as written, not as modified by the liberal courts of the last seven decades.

Posted by: Greg at 02:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I understand the need for vigilance, but i think that situations like this are simply absurd.

Ingrid Sanden's 1-year-old daughter was stopped in Phoenix before boarding a flight home to Washington at Thanksgiving.

"I completely understand the war on terrorism, and I completely understand people wanting to be safe when they fly," Sanden said. "But focusing the target a little bit is probably a better use of resources."

The government's lists of people who are either barred from flying or require extra scrutiny before being allowed to board airplanes grew markedly since the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union say the government doesn't provide enough information about the people on the lists, so innocent passengers can be caught up in the security sweep if they happen to have the same name as someone on the lists.

That can happen even if the person happens to be an infant like Sanden's daughter. (Children under 2 don't need tickets but Sanden purchased one for her daughter to ensure she had a seat.)

"It was bizarre," Sanden said. "I was hugely pregnant, and I was like, 'We look really threatening."'

Sarah Zapolsky and her husband had a similar experience last month while departing from Dulles International Airport outside Washington. An airline ticket agent told them their 11-month-old son was on the government list.

They were able to board their flight after ticket agents took a half-hour to fax her son's passport and fill out paperwork.

"I understand that security is important," Zapolsky said. "But if they're just guessing, and we have to give up our passport to prove that our 11-month-old is not a terrorist, it's a waste of their time."

Now let's be sensible here. We know, just based upon simple logic, that no baby is going to be a terrorist. They may squall and scream in flight (which might seem almost as much of a pain as a hijacking) , but they are unlikely to be carrying explosives. We certainly know that an 11-month old is unlikely to take a crewmember hostage, or do more than projectile vomit during turbulance.

Why are these terror tykes delayed? Because they have a name somewhat similar to someone else.

How common is this?

The Transportation Security Administration, which administers the lists, instructs airlines not to deny boarding to children under 12 - or select them for extra security checks - even if their names match those on a list.

But it happens anyway. Debby McElroy, president of the Regional Airline Association, said: "Our information indicates it happens at every major airport."

The TSA has a "passenger ombudsman" who will investigate individual claims from passengers who say they are mistakenly on the lists. TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said 89 children have submitted their names to the ombudsman. Of those, 14 are under the age of 2.

And those are the kids who have had complaints filed on their behalf. How many more "terrorist twos" are there out there?

Posted by: Greg at 02:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn [YOUR LAST NAME HERE], Texas Comptroller, wants to be Governor of Texas in the worst way. If she ever gets there, I have no doubt she will be governor in the worst way. But to get the office in 2006, the loopy mother of White House Spokesman Scott McClellan will have to knock off incumbent Governor Rick Perry, who succeeded our previous governor, George W. Bush, when he went on to bigger and better things.

Perry is popular with the generally conservative base of the GOP, and is likely to win the nomination . But Strayhorn has a plan -- get Democrats and Independents to vote in the GOP primary.

he call came from a listener telling Carole Keeton Strayhorn he'd eagerly vote for her for governor in November 2006.

Strayhorn shot back Tuesday on Austin radio station KVET-FM: "November is great, but first I need you to vote on March 7. I want Republicans, Democrats, independents. All are welcome," Strayhorn said.

"And bring all your friends with you."

Strayhorn, the Republican state comptroller who is challenging GOP Gov. Rick Perry, has made few campaign forays since announcing her candidacy June 18, a tack that her office attributes to lawmakers remaining in special session to deal with school funding and tax issues.

But the former Austin mayor is well along in testing an unusual message: The March Republican primary is voters' only real chance to choose the next governor.

Her pitch asks voters to assume that the Democratic nominee will not prove to be a serious fall contender. Neither of the only announced Democratic candidates, former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell of Houston and educator Felix Alvarado of Fort Worth, has run statewide. And no Democrat has won statewide since 1994.

Strayhorn, like Perry, was once a Democrat. She also has won GOP primaries in the past.

Yet, her hunt for voters outside the party's base appears to recognize that the incumbent has the edge among Republican loyalists, who are often more conservative than the general electorate.

Let me tell you, speaking as Republican precinct chair here in Harris County, which is the largest county in Texas, that this strategy does not sit well with most Republicans I know. We have this crazy idea that if you want to use the votes of Democrats to get the nomination for governor, you need to run in the Democrat primary. Given the current candidates for the Democrat nomination, I suspect that the nomination would be hers for the taking. It is time for her to go back to that party and seek the Democrat nomination (which she might not get, having abandoned that party once) so she can face Perry in the fall -- and lose.

I'll make you a prediction right now. I'm sure that the Perry campaign and the GOP on both the state and national levels will make sure that every signature on every Democrat nominating petition (and those for Kinky Friedman) in the state is broken down by local precinct and distributed to the precinct chairs for purposes of challenging cross-over voters. After all, Strayhorn and her supporters are correct in noting that a voter can vote in either primary on election day. However, what needs to be considered is that the same law has a limitation on that choice -- if you have signed a nominating petition for an independent or a candidate for particular party, you forfeit the option of voting in the primary of a different party. Those of us serving as election judges will have some idea of who the outsiders are, and we will be ready for them.

Posted by: Greg at 02:03 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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UPDATE -- 8/15/05, 4:50 PM Central Time

I have just returned from work, and wish to acknowledge that the purported author of the letter to LST is disputing that he wrote it. As of 10:37 this morning, the linked articles have been pulled pending verification of the email's source. While not yet pulling this piece, I want to acknowledge the existance of the controversey and the response of LST. I've heard nothing from either Prudential Gary Greene or Charles Rubio asking me to do so, despite having contacted them regarding the email mentioned below. At such time as a request is made, or upon the presentation of proof that Mr. Rubio has been framed, , I will take appropriate actions in that regard.

*********

Last week, a legal secretary member at an Ogletree Deakins law firm got fired for sending an email to Michelle Malkin from work. The email contained profane slurs directed agains the talented writer for daring to comment negatively on the Cindy Sheehan story. (I've blanked out the more offensive words)

X-Originating-IP: [216.105.154.202]
From: "Mitchell, Patrick" Patrick.Mitchell@ogletreedeakins.com
To: "'malkin@comcast.net'"
Subject:
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 11:41:22 -0400
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72)

YOU STINK you nasty C***! Eat S*** and DIE bitch!!

Within hours, his employer had dealt with the situation.

Dear Ms. Malkin,

I am the Managing Shareholder of the law firm of Ogletree Deakins with offices located across the country. I was very disturbed to learn today that a legal secretary in our Los Angeles office sent you the vile e-mail referenced on your home page. Such remarks are clearly inappropriate in any context and an e-mail such as this certainly should not have been sent during working time using our firm's equipment. The comments of this employee are not reflective of the views or opinions of the firm and are directly in violation of our e-mail policy. As Managing Shareholder, I wanted to extend to you our apologies and let you know that this serious violation of our firm's work rules has resulted in the discharge of this employee.

Once again, let me offer you our deepest apologies for any discomfort that the referenced e-mail has caused. It will not happen again.

Sincerely,

Gray Geddie

The matter was handled properly by the firm within 90 minutes.

I wonder if this item from Lone Star Times will be handled as adroitly by Prudential Gary Greene Realty here in Houston. One of the realtors with the company sent a profane, possibly threatening email to one of the writers for the site, Owen Courrèges.

Name: Charles

Email: carubio@garygreene.com

You guys are a bunch of stupid dumb, very, very dumb F*****. Look me up a****** and meet me face to face. Get in the ring with that facist white trash face of yours. Dare you. In the name of CindyÂ’s virgil [sic] to meet with that war criminal of a human animal come on meet me you stupid f***.

Major mistake, Charles. You don't want to use your professional address to send stuff like that out. I mean you gave Owen and company the ability to find you on your employer's website. It also made it possible to find your company website with its one lonely little listing (Has it been a tough month so far, Charles? I suspect it is going to get worse real quick). They also tracked him down on Houston's IndyMedia affiliate. I also found him in this article in the local throwawy community paper.

I dropped Mr. Rubio a quick note, just to let him know what I think of folks who do stuff like this.

Wow -- I would have thought that someone who thinks he is a professional would have given some thought to using his work email to send a profane letter to a media outlet. Good going, Charles -- now I know not to list my house with Gary Greene or any other company with which you are associated. I wonder if the folks who listed that house with you would feel if they saw your level of professionalism. I wonder how your bosses will feel. Maybe we should find out.

You are welcome to your politics, but your choice to write from work has some consequences. I believe that bad publicity and the destruction of your career qualify as consequences. Do you agree?

I suspect that you will have plenty of free time to go join Ms. Sheehan in her Crawford ditch before too long. My guess is that your letter guarantees that you will need to reside there significantly longer than she does.

I also sent the following to his office manager and several partners in Prudential Gary Greene.

I wonder -- have you folks seen this piece yet from Lone Star Times?

http://lonestartimes.com/index.php?p=1342

I don't think that Mr. Rubio is giving your company a very good image. Since he is using your company domain's email address (and, I would presume, equipment) to send out profane political statement and what could be reasonably seen as a threat against a writer, I think it would be highly appropriate for you to take action.

I know that even though I bought my house through your company and was very happy with the service received, I won't list my house with your company, sell to a buyer who is represented by your company, or buy from a seller represented by your company as long as Rubio remains affiliated with Prudential Gary Greene.

Now let me make this clear -- Rubio is entitled to whatever political beliefs he wants. But when he starts sending out material using his work address, using profane language and seeming to make threats, I think it is important to seek appropriate action from his employer. Charles Rubio made his views a work-related matter when he sent that little message to Owen.

Posted by: Greg at 01:32 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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We are currently in our second special legislative session here in Texas. Both have been called to deal with education issues, including teacher pay. So what has happened so far? Lots of nice words about teachers (while trying lowering our pension, increasing our contribution to the pension system, an increase in the retirement age and multiple attempts to gut hard-won provisions of state law that let us have a lunch period, planning period, and safe, orderly classrooms), but no movement on the pay raises for teachers, who are paid over $600 below the national average.

But the legislature has passed something.

And there is the Texas statehouse, where lawmakers, meeting in a so-called "education" session, recently sent Gov. Rick Perry a bill giving judges a pay raise while continuing to reward teachers with compliments and promises.

(Guess, in case you haven't heard, which profession's pay is tied, under a longstanding law, to legislators' retirement benefits. Yes, the bill that went to the governor will give those pensions a boost.)

Just so you understand what the legislature gets out of this bill, let me explain the situation. The Texas legislature is a part-time job which pays an annual salary of $7200. Yes, you read that right -- seven thousand two hundred dollars. Legislatorscan retire at age 50 with a pension of around $35,000 with 12 years of service -- and can receive over $100,000 with sufficient years of service and senior leadership positions factored in. Now the legilators could have amended the bill to eliminate the windfall to themselves (which, by the way, is some $6400 annually -- close to the amount Texas teachers are paid below the national average), but they didn't.

Which is not to say judges do not deserve a pay raise -- but look at what they are getting.

The judicial bill, which Perry is expected to sign, will increase the state's contribution to a state district judge's salary from $101,000 to $125,000 a year, which counties can continue to supplement. Salaries for court of appeals judges will rise from $107,000 to $137,500, and for members of the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals, from $113,000 to $150,000.

The raises, the first enacted by the Legislature since 1997, will bring judges' salaries in Texas more in line with other states.

Funny, isn't it, that the folks whose pay is being increased to the national average are already making over $100,000 annually, while teachers are only going to see half of their gap closed by this legislation -- and $1000 of that will be an illusion, switching our untaxed health care stipend to taxed salary dollars.

And i won't get into the issue of the failure to appropriate the money needed for new textbooks which are sitting in warehouses waiting for delivery.

These two issues of education funding may go by the wayside -- but at least the elected officials goth theirs during the "education" special session.

Posted by: Greg at 07:25 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has declared state of emergency in four counties along the states border with Mexico. The government of Mexico is displeased.

Richardson cited "violence directed at law enforcement, damage to property and livestock, increased evidence of drug smuggling and an increase in the number of undocumented immigrants" in declaring the emergency.

He said the border security situation "constitutes an emergency condition with potentially catastrophic consequences."

Imagine that -- agovernor is trying to make sure that law enforcement and other citizens are not killed by human smugglers, drug smugglers. and immigration criminals. He's trying to preserve the private property of individual citizens. he's trying to see to it that there is a decrease in the number of individuals violating the territorial integrity of the state by crosing borders illegally. What could he possibly be thinking?

How did the Mexicans respons?

"The Mexican government considers that some of the New Mexico government's statements are generalizations which don't jibe with the spirit of cooperation and understanding needed to address border problems," Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said in a press statement.

In other words, how dare you explicitly criticize the criminal aliens who cross from our country to your state, and, implicitly, the corrupt governemnt that encourages it in exchange for bribes.

Mexico thinks it can dictate our border policy to its own benefit. Its words and actions have been completely unhelpful in ending the problem.

Vincente, I'll listen to your complaints when some government official declares open season on illegals, with no bag limit. Until then, shut up and keep your people on your side of the border.

Posted by: Greg at 07:03 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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