Come sit with me a while while my wife is in the hospital. Link your favorite posts here.

No porn or ads please, but otherwise I will not limit topics or numbers.

This is my all-weekend open linkfest.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:50 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The Muhammad Cartoon Controversey has led one company to refuse to sell a magazine at its stores -- two of America's largest retailers of books and magazines.

Borders and Waldenbooks stores will not stock the April-May issue of Free Inquiry magazine because it contains cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that provoked deadly protests among Muslims in several countries.

"For us, the safety and security of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we believe that carrying this issue could challenge that priority," Borders Group Inc. spokeswoman Beth Bingham said Wednesday.

The magazine, published by the Council for Secular Humanism in suburban Amherst, includes four of the drawings that originally appeared in a Danish newspaper in September, including one depicting Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse.

Islamic tradition bars depiction of Muhammad to prevent idol worship, which is strictly prohibited.

The spokesman for the chain couches the decision -- taken before the magazine even arrived in the stores, in terms of corporate choice -- but in doing so deny any number of Americans the choice to read the magazine.

Bingham said the decision was made before the magazine arrived at the company's stores. Borders Group, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., operates more than 475 Borders and 650 Waldenbooks stores in the United States, though not all regularly carry the magazine.

"We absolutely respect our customers' right to choose what they wish to read and buy and we support the First Amendment," Bingham said. "And we absolutely support the rights of Free Inquiry to publish the cartoons. We've just chosen not to carry this particular issue in our stores."

This isn't the first act of dhimmitude by borders that I have encountered recently. They've been tracking a different aspect of knuckling under to Muslim sentiment in other areas as well, according to the guys over at Colossus of Rhodey. They have discovered that there seems to be a practice at Borders of shelving the Koran out of order in the religious books section, so that it is placed above the scriptures of all other faiths. This is done lest Muslims be offended that their book is being placed in a subordinate position to any other book. The responses they got from the company avoid answering the question of whether or not this is a policy in the chain -- to paraphrase, the response was sort of "well, its what the stores all do, but I don't think its written policy -- and we'll make sure that any store that has them shelved differently gets those Korans back on the top shelf where they belong."

I think that the spokesman for Free Inquiry says it well.

"What is at stake is the precious right of freedom of expression," said Paul Kurtz, editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry. "Cartoons often provide an important form of political satire ... To refuse to distribute a publication because of fear of vigilante violence is to undermine freedom of press _ so vital for our democracy."

From where I stand, I think the stores should carry the magazine. If the concern is that Islamofascists are going to cause trouble, Muslims should be banned from the stores. After all, they are the source of the threat, not the cartoons.

And I wonder -- how will the chains mark Banned Book Week in the future -- or will they?

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Posted by: Greg at 11:40 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is an arrogant nutjob. That seems to be a plus for her Georgia constituents, who seem to find those qualities to be a plus. As a member of Congress -- more to the point, a female African-American Democrat member of Congress -- she manages to get away with a certain amount of misconduct that most of us would never be permitted.

But this woman went well over the line yesterday.

Why she was allowed to walk away is beyond me -- and why there have been no sharges filed and no arrest made is absolutely beyond me.

Rep. Cynthia McKinney and a police officer scuffled Wednesday after the Georgia Democrat entered a House office building unrecognized and refused to stop when asked, according to U.S. Capitol Police.

McKinney, a sixth-term congresswoman who represents suburban Atlanta, struck the officer according to one account, a police official said, adding there were conflicting accounts. The officer, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident, spoke only on condition of anonymity.

No charges were filed, police said.

McKinney issued a statement Wednesday night saying she regretted the confrontation.

"I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, and I appreciate the work that they do. I have demonstrated my support for them in the past and I continue to support them now," she said.

Oh bullshit, bitch! If you really supported the Capitol Hill Police, you would have complied with a reasonable request that could have been made of any American citizen -- and of any member of Congress. You would not have "scuffled" with the cop, which is a violation of criminal law right there -- a law you and your colleagues passed. And you certainly would not have hit the officer, which would have earned most Americans a ride in a squad car and a huge legal bill, along with jail time.

And you certainly would not have forgotten that one of these guys died to protect you and your colleagues a few years ago, so that is why the security has been ramped-up for several years.

Members of Congress do not have to walk through metal detectors as they enter buildings on the Capitol complex. They wear lapel pins identifying them as members.

McKinney routinely doesn't wear her pin and is recognized by many officers, the police official said, adding that she wasn't wearing it when she entered a House office building early Wednesday.

By one police account, she walked around a metal detector and an officer asked her several times to stop. When she did not, the officer tried to stop her, and she then struck the officer, according to that account.

So she doesn't wear her identification, and tries to go around the security. One would damn well hope she would be stopped!

In her statement, McKinney said most members of Congress expect Capitol police to recognize them. "I was urgently trying to get to an important meeting on time to fulfill my obligations to my constituents. Unfortunately, the police officer did not recognize me as a member of Congress and a confrontation ensued," she said. "I did not have on my congressional pin but showed the police officer my congressional ID."

Yeah -- and if they do not recognize you, they are going to stop you and they are going to demand identification. Who are you to object, you arrogant moron? And more to the point, who are you to lay hands on an officer?

Not that this is the first time that Her Majesty The Congresswoman has objected that she is not immediately recognized by everyone, and that they have not genuflected in the presence of her sublime personage.

Not being recognized is apparently something of an issue for Rep. Cynthia McKinney , as a Capitol Police officer discovered yesterday.

In 1998, the outspoken Georgia Democrat wrote a scathing letter to President Bill Clinton accusing White House guards of racism after they failed to recognize her when she arrived for an event. For years, the Hill newspaper reported in 2002, Capitol Police kept a photo of her posted in a basement office to warn security officers against committing any other such embarrassment.

Maybe it's time to change the photo. The police department is investigating a bizarre scuffle yesterday morning between McKinney and an officer who tried to stop her at a congressional office building checkpoint after apparently failing to realize she was a member of Congress.

McKinney allegedly "stabbed" the officer with her cellphone when he grabbed her, said a police source who requested anonymity because the investigation had just begun; the officer, whom the source did not identify, is considering whether to file criminal charges. The source said the officer was not seriously injured.

* * *

How on earth did this all come to pass? Could it be the officer didn't recognize her after her recent makeover? The 51-year-old recently ditched her trademark braids for a softer, full-bodied do that started turning heads around her suburban Georgia district in January.

So apparently she doesn't even look much like her photos since she had the makeover.

This woman needs to be treated like every other American. Capitol Hill Police need to appear in her office. They need to cuff her. They need to get her out to a police car and stuff her. And in the process, they need to rough her up, just as would happen to anyone else who assaults a cop.

And then her colleagues need to expel her from the House of Representatives for conduct unbecoming a member.

Though I doubt that such a course of action would keep her constituents from reelecting her in a district designed to keep her coming back.

And for any liberal who objects to my words -- what would be your response if this were my congressman, Tom DeLay? My response would not change -- but I also believe that he would not do anything like this.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:58 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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About an hour ago (0215, local time regardless of what the time-stamp on this post says) , the hospital called.

My Darling Democrat has been moved to ICU for observation due to a test result that concerns the doctors.

Hopefully this is just a precaution. We'll see what happens.

I may post some stuff to burn off nervous energy until I can go into school and set things up for my substitute, but I don't know when you will hear from me after that.

Posted by: Greg at 05:59 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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A post in three parts relating to the high school immigration walkouts -- including a glimpse into my own classroom.

* * *

Michelle Malkin has photos from one of the many high school demonstrations regarding the immigration bill.

Be prepared to be outraged. The kids purposely insulted the American flag and flew it subordinate to the flag of Mexico.

My students and i had a bit of a discussion on these demonstrations during last period yesterday. Rumor is that they are going to do a walkout sometime today, and 2since I overheard discussion, I thought I should address it.

I may be accused of going a little bit Jay Bennish, but I think you will see where what I did differed.

My comments went something like this -- though I am condensing a bit.

"All right, guys, I'm not going to pretend that I haven't heard some of the chatter about the plans some of you have for tomorrow.

{confused comments from some students, and disingenuous denials from the ring leaders}

You know, I'm the last guy in the world to tell someone not to express their oipinion, but I think this whole walkout thing we've been seeing on Channel One and I've heard you kids talking about here is a bad idea. If you kids walk out, you can expect ISS, Suspensions, or even tickets -- and since I keep the gradebook, I know that some of you really don't need to be out of class any more this grading period.

Besides, do you know how these walkouts are being received by your average middle aged, middle class Anglo like me? Do you? You know, the folks who represent a majority of Americans nationwide? I'll be glad to tell you.

{the ringleaders are enthusiastic, and the rest of the class would like a chance to stop working}

I was listening to one of the talk radio stations over the last couple of days -- I don't remember which one, with all that's been going on in my life -- and you had a guy saying "I see all these folks waving Mexican flags and chanting "Mexico! Mexico! Mexico!' I want to go down there and start shouting 'Go back to! Go back to!'

{one of the ring leaders responds "Mister, I think somebody wants to get his ass jumped doing that."}

Jose, you're missing my point. My point is this -- has waving a Mexican flag and chanting "Mexico!" done anything to get this guy on your side? Do you think it is doing anything to get your average middle aged, middle class Anglo on your side?

{"uhhh... No"}

Why not?

{"Cuz this isn't Mexico."}

Yeah -- and what are you supposedly protesting for.

{"To let Mexicans who are here stay here and become citizens."}

And if you wave Mexican flags and chant "Mexico!", what does it sound like you are more interested in being?

{"Mexican. What's wrong with being proud of being Mexican?"}

Nothing -- but I think you are missing the point. If you want to be proud Mexicans and wave the Mexican flag, that's great. But a lot of Americans are going to look at that and think there is a great place for you if you want to do that -- Mexico. If you want to show us that you want to be American citizens and work and live here and follow our laws, what might be a better thing for you to do?

{various kids respond -- "Carry American flags." "Shout 'USA'." "Don't disrupt school."}

Yeah, those are all good. Besides, who are the folks you most need to influence?

{Again, various kids -- "The president" "Congress" "The governor" "Mayor Bill White"}

Well, maybe not the governor or the mayor, but the first two are exactly right. What can you do to influence them? And I'm not just talking about on this issue, but I mean on anything.

{one jaded kid -- "What? You want us to write them letters? Ain't no on e gonna read letters from us."}

Yeah, they will. Maybe not the President, and maybe not Congressman Gene Green or either Senator from Texas, but someone who works for them will. They record what folks are wrting about, and pass the information on to their bosses.

{time for the challenge -- "Yeah, right. They don't care. They won't even write back."

You would be surprised. Whenever I write, I get a letter back. It may be a few weeks, but they at least acknowledge the letter. And it can change people's minds. Heck, you can even call their offices and talk to a real live person.

{"I don't know who or where to call or write."}

Do you really want the addresses and phone numbers? I'll get them for you before you leave this room -- they aren't hard to find. You can call or write them instead, and make a responsible protest -- show that you know how to be a good American, whether you are here legally, illegally, or are an American citizen. Show that you know how to work within the system.. I'll even make you a deal -- if you feel like writing a letter to the President or the Senators, or the Congressman, I'll even proofread and edit it for you before it goes in the mail. I don't care if I agree with you or not -- I'll be proud of you doing things the right way. I'll even mail it if you bring it in an addressed envelope with a stamp on it."

We talked about the immigration issue for a while -- I used examples of line-jumping in the cafeteria, and whether they would rather have someone who followed the rules or who "backstroked across the river" as a neighbor. the funny thing is, even the kids who I believe to be here illegally (or the children of illegals) said they would prefer those who follow the law.

Where it got down to a real awkward discussion was when someone asked about dealing with the illegals who are already here.

"I guess the problem is this -- we've got maybe 15-20 million illegal aliens in this country. That is somewhere between 5 and 8 perscent of the American population. What are we going to do with them? A lot of folks, myself included, can't see reqarding them by waving a magic wand and giveng them citizenship -- how is that fair to the folks who have waited for years to get their green card legally? On the other hand, rounding them all up and sending everybody back would be pretty near impossible -- and would be a real hardship when you have families where some are American citizens and some are not. So it sounds good, until you think it through. So there has to be some middle ground -- and that is what the bill the Senate is dealing with is trying to do. Read the paper, go ont he internet, do something to find out what exactly the bill does. Do it for yourself -- and then write or call if you feel like it. Do the thing that a responsible citizen does when he or she feels strongly about something.

I eventually got the addresses and phone numbers and put them on the board while they did their assigned work.

And a few were quickly jotting them down, like maybe they were thinking about writing or calling.

Maybe they learned something a damn sight more important to them than the politics and economics of Europe between the two World Wars. And maybe I found a way to teach on some of those "politics and government" standards that are easy to overlook as we spring towards the TAKS test next month.

* * *

As I was leaving school to go to the hospital to sit with my wife, I saw a group of kids (around 200 -- about 8-10 % of our students) leaving campus shortly before the bell for first period rang. They were headed towards the Senior High School (Grades 11 & 12) campus. I wondered what would happen next, and prayed it would not involve school bus transportation.

Later in the day, I got filled in by one of our French teachers when she came to visit at the hospital.

By the time the kids reached the other campus, there were about 20-30 police cars there to meet them. They were parked so that the kids could not go anyplace except into the district football stadium. A couple of them circled behind to make sure the kids didn't go back.

Herded into the stands, their parents were called to pick them up. Those whose parents couldn't come had to stay in the stadium until the end of the day -- though they could take shelter on th interior of the stadium once the wind and the rain started. All got unexcused absences, and will not be permitted to make up work. I suspect that additional sanctions will be forthcoming.

My district doesn't play -- and I am proud of that fact.

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Posted by: Greg at 04:11 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Abdul Rahman has been freed from his cell, but has not been seen since his release. He is, one would presume, in hiding from the mob seeking his blood for the "crime" of choosing to reject the falsehood of Islam for the Truth of Christianity.

Now it appears that at least one country is prepared to offer him asylum. That nation is Italy.

The whereabouts of an Afghan man who had been threatened with the death penalty for converting to Christianity was unknown Wednesday, as at least one nation began considering granting him asylum status.

Italy is considering granting asylum to Abdul Rahman, The Associated Press reported.

Italy's Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini on Wednesday will press for Rahman to be granted asylum there, the government said in a statement, according to the AP.

Rahman was released Monday after being held by Afghan authorities for his conversion from Islam to Christianity, punishable by death in Afghanistan, which follows Islamic law.

Many Muslim clerics in the country called for his death, and said even if he were freed his life would be in danger.

Muslim clerics condemned Rahman's release, saying it was a "betrayal of Islam" and threatened to incite violent protests.

Rahman had requested asylum in a Western country ahead of his release, according to the United Nations. He has previously lived in Europe.

"Mr. Abdul Rahman has asked for asylum outside Afghanistan," a statement from the office of U.N. Special Representative to Afghanistan said Monday. "We expect that this will be provided by one of the countries interested in a peaceful solution to this case."

Abdul Rahman should be airlifted to the United States, where he can live in freedom. That this has not already been done is shameful -- and a betrayal of our heritage as a land of religious freedom.

But then again, maybe Rahman would not have been any safer in this country.

Posted by: Greg at 10:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco didn't bother to try to use the school buses of New Orleans to to save residents from the oncoming Hurricane Katrina -- but now a use has been found for these flooded-out hulks.

Sell them on eBay to raise money for the under-funded, sub-standard New Orleans schools that remain open.

Starved for cash, the New Orleans school district is taking a long shot and hoping to sell its flooded, unsalvageable school buses on eBay.

Some submerged to their roofs in the black flood waters, the yellow school buses were widely photographed in the days after Hurricane Katrina and have become an icon of the city's devastated school system.

School officials acknowledge the sale of the buses on the Internet auction site may puzzle some people used to more traditional school fundraisers like bake sales.

"There's no shame in it. Not one bit," said school board president Phyllis Landrieu. "This is a new mechanism for selling things. I think it's very upbeat what we're doing."

Only 23 of 117 Orleans Parish public schools have reopened. They face a $111 million shortfall - about a quarter of the district's $430 million annual operating budget. The district also has $264 million in outstanding debt, carried over from before Hurricane Katrina.

A total of 85 schools flooded, and wind damaged many more. It took three months for the first public school to reopen. Now, the schools that are holding classes have around 9,500 students, about 15 percent of the 60,000 enrolled before the storm.

The school district plans to put one bus up for sale on eBay this week. If it succeeds, more of the 259 ruined buses will be offered.

"It's an example of how bad the situation is that we would have to come up with this idea," said Richard White, schools spokesman.

The district plans to contract out its student transportation.

I wonder whose brother-in-law or cousin will get that contract -- and whether the corrupt political system of Louisiana will allow the eBay cash to go towards education, or towards graft.

Oh, by the way -- here is the link to the auction.

Posted by: Greg at 10:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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She remains in the hospital, still fighting pneumonia.

I've been in twice today, for about four hours total, but had to teach today.

She then sent me home at dinner time to take care of the Apolitical Pooch, with directions to scratch her belly and rub her behind her ears (the dog, not my wife).

The prognosis for my beloved spouse is good, but includes more time in the hospital.

Left-wing loon Jim McDermott is know for going to foreign countries to make treasonous statements in support of our nation's enemies. Democrats, of course, call this "dissent" and label it "the highest form of patriotism".

Fine. I won't get into that political question with them.

But will they at least act against their law-breaking colleague after he has been slapped down twice by courts for breaking federal law on wiretapping?

federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Rep. Jim McDermott violated federal law by turning over an illegally taped telephone call to reporters nearly a decade ago.

In a 2-1 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court ruling that McDermott violated the rights of Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was heard on the 1996 call involving then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

The court ordered McDermott to pay Boehner more than $700,000 for leaking the taped conversation. The figure includes $60,000 in damages and at least $600,000 in legal costs.

McDermott, D-Wash., has acknowledged leaking a tape of a 1996 cell phone call involving Gingrich to The New York Times and other news organizations.

The call included discussion by Gingrich and other House GOP leaders about a House ethics committee investigation of Gingrich. Boehner was a Gingrich lieutenant at the time and is now House majority leader.

* * *

McDermott was never charged with a criminal offense, but Boehner later filed a lawsuit accusing McDermott of violating state and federal wiretapping laws. A federal judge ruled in Boehner's favor in 2004, a ruling that was upheld Tuesday by the appeals court.

"Because there was no genuine dispute that Representative McDermott knew the Martins had illegally intercepted the conversation, he did not lawfully obtain the tape from them," Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote in an opinion shared by Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg.

In other words, the Clinton "Justice" Department (a misnomer if there ever was one) refused to prosecute a clear violation of the law against one of their important partisan allies. It took one of the victims filing a civil suit against McDermott to get any justice -- and this unethical little weasel still does not admit his own wrong-doing.

I'll just ask one question -- would Democrats be so passive on this matter if the law-breaker in this case had been Tom Delay, and the illegal recording had been of Democrats? I think we all know the answer.

Oh, and what does this say about Democrat opposition to undeniably illegal domestic spying?

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Posted by: Greg at 02:32 PM | Comments (23) | Add Comment
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Sharon Stone clearly needs to be drug tested.

Stone, 48, who appears naked in a soon-to-be-released sequel to the provocative 1992 sex thriller Basic Instinct, said Senator Clinton had an intimidating sexuality that would cost her votes.

"I think Hillary Clinton is fantastic, but I think it is too soon for her to run (for president)," Stone said in the latest edition of Hollywood Life magazine.

"A woman should be past her sexuality when she runs. Hillary still has sexual power and I don't think people will accept that. It's too threatening."

But while Stone wants the 58-year-old Senator Clinton to wait until her sexuality subsides, singer Madonna is urging her to "go for it" in 2008, even though the timing might not be right for Americans to put their trust in a woman president.

Seems my wife’s old classmate has a bit of a “fatal attraction” going on here.

And for the record, I have no problem with a sexy female presidential candidate. I’d vote for Condi in a heartbeat.

MORE AT Michelle Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 01:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sharon Stone clearly needs to be drug tested.

Stone, 48, who appears naked in a soon-to-be-released sequel to the provocative 1992 sex thriller Basic Instinct, said Senator Clinton had an intimidating sexuality that would cost her votes.

"I think Hillary Clinton is fantastic, but I think it is too soon for her to run (for president)," Stone said in the latest edition of Hollywood Life magazine.

"A woman should be past her sexuality when she runs. Hillary still has sexual power and I don't think people will accept that. It's too threatening."

But while Stone wants the 58-year-old Senator Clinton to wait until her sexuality subsides, singer Madonna is urging her to "go for it" in 2008, even though the timing might not be right for Americans to put their trust in a woman president.

Seems my wife’s old classmate has a bit of a “fatal attraction” going on here.

And for the record, I have no problem with a sexy female presidential candidate. IÂ’d vote for Condi in a heartbeat.

MORE AT Michelle Malkin

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You’ve got to love it when the rich liberal elite show their contempt for the working man.

Consider this insult directed at Sean Hannity.

Hannity, furious that Baldwin allegedly broke a promise to appear on his show before Whitman's, wasted no time ripping into the liberal activist.

"Welcome to WABC, considering you were supposed to come on my program last week and you didn't show. What happened?" Hannity demanded.

"Why would I want to come on with a no-talent, former-construction-worker hack like you?" Baldwin answered.

Notice the insult – “former-construction-worker”. What’s the deal here, Alec? Do you really think you are better than those who work with their hands – or those who have raised themselves above their blue-collar roots?

Or is it that you are still pissed-off that you lost the plum-role of Jack Ryan to the much-more-talented Harrison Ford – who was working construction before he got his break into the acting biz?

MIRE AT Michelle Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 01:47 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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YouÂ’ve got to love it when the rich liberal elite show their contempt for the working man.

Consider this insult directed at Sean Hannity.

Hannity, furious that Baldwin allegedly broke a promise to appear on his show before Whitman's, wasted no time ripping into the liberal activist.

"Welcome to WABC, considering you were supposed to come on my program last week and you didn't show. What happened?" Hannity demanded.

"Why would I want to come on with a no-talent, former-construction-worker hack like you?" Baldwin answered.

Notice the insult – “former-construction-worker”. What’s the deal here, Alec? Do you really think you are better than those who work with their hands – or those who have raised themselves above their blue-collar roots?

Or is it that you are still pissed-off that you lost the plum-role of Jack Ryan to the much-more-talented Harrison Ford – who was working construction before he got his break into the acting biz?

MIRE AT Michelle Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 01:47 PM | Comments (94) | Add Comment
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If you think that the theft of private property for private development under the guise of eminent domain was outrageous, wait until you see this one. A city in New York is looking to steal an exclusive private golf club with members from around the country – to turn it into an exclusive, publicly-owned private golf club for city residents only.

he mayor of North Hills wants to use the power of government to condemn Deepdale--whose members are a diverse group of people from all over the country and around the world--to make it an exclusive high-end golf course restricted to people who live in his small village and would be willing to pay thousands of dollars in yearly membership fees. The model is said to be the nearby Village Club of Sands Point, which is owned by that village. There you not only have to pay village taxes but membership dues to join. A full family membership at the Sands Point club costs $18,000 a year. If this is indeed the model for Deepdale, the club would become "public" in name only but in truth would be every bit as exclusive as any private club.

The mayor even went on television twice recently to brag about his plan. He told WNBC reporter Greg Cergol that turning Deepdale into "a village golf course exclusively for the village residents" would be a nice "amenity" for them. According to the reporter, the mayor explained that "his goal" is "to turn Deepdale into a private club for his village's 5,000 residents." And he told Channel 12's Bill Mooney that his plan would "increase property values"--private property values--in North Hills.

It is time to rein-in the expansive power of government to take property, lest private property ownership becomes nothing more than a legal fiction.

Posted by: Greg at 01:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It seems that even the notoriously liberal San Francisco Chronicle finds the condemnation of teenagers based upon their religious beliefs to be out of bounds.

THE IRONY was obviously lost on the clueless San Francisco supervisors when they passed a resolution warning that a Christian youth gathering could "negatively influence the politics of America's most tolerant and progressive city."

Spare us the doomsday hyperbole, supervisors.

We can safely report that the politics of San Francisco suffered no discernible shift in ideological alignment from the convergence of 25,000 Christian teenagers listening to rock 'n' roll music and words of inspiration. There was no evidence of any surge in support for the Iraq war, affection for President Bush or oil drilling off the California coast. The medical-marijuana clubs were still doing business as usual, public dancing was still legal, the petition gatherers were still working Market Street for the latest save-the-planet cause.

The supervisors' reaction to the evangelical Christians was so boorishly over the top that only one word could describe it:

Intolerant.

Not, mind you, that the quoted politicians are particularly contrite.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, was quoted telling counterprotesters Friday that the gathering Christians were "loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting and they should get out of San Francisco." On Monday, however, Leno struck a more reasoned tone, acknowledging that his rally cry was "not one of my prouder moments." He said the youth group was "welcome in San Francisco," even though he does worry that its religious rhetoric could "under a cloak of love" feed a "fearful world's appetite for hate."

No, nothing this group of kids did fed hate – that was your job, Mr. Assemblyman, and the job of the idiots on the Board of Supervisors who engaged in nothing short of hate-speech under the guise of promoting “tolerance.”

But the best part of this is the conclusion of the Chronicle editorial.

The gathering was not an "act of provocation," as the supervisors claimed. It was a get-together of young evangelicals whose lifestyles and religious views just happen to be in the minority here -- apparently making them open season for politicians to chastise.

The young people who came to San Francisco to affirm their faith and enjoy a day of rock music deserved better. They deserved to be welcomed by a city that was as tolerant and progressive as its sanctimonious supervisors like to profess.

I wholeheartedly agree with the Chronicle on this one. In fact, I can think of only one thing more that these young people deserved – and that would have been for the San Francisco Chronicle to have printed this editorial while Battle Cry was still in session, rather than a couple of days after the event was over.

And by the way -- too bad the paper could not find its way clear to condemn the other act of religious intolerance by the Board of Supervisors. I guess that anti-Catholicism is still an acceptable, even fashionable, prejudice in Sodom-by -the-Bay

Posted by: Greg at 01:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This moron does not care what the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution says on the matter – he’s simply going to strike down the law limiting the voting rights of felons because he wants to.

A King County Superior Court judge Monday ruled that thousands of Washington felons should be able to vote even though they have yet to pay off court-ordered fines.

"It is well recognized that there is simply no rational relationship between the ability to pay and the exercise of constitutional rights," Judge Michael Spearman wrote in a ruling backing the challenge of three indigent felons.

Spearman said the state law requiring payment of all court-ordered fines and fees before a felon can vote again violates the equal-protection clause in the U.S. Constitution and the state constitution. He said "discrimination on the basis of wealth and property has long been disfavored.

Under state law, felons can petition the state to have their voting rights restored, but only after they have completed their sentences — including any probation or community service — and have paid all of their court-related costs.

State lawyers argued that the judge shouldn't make a distinction between court-ordered payments and other parts of a felon's sentence, such as jail time.

"It's rational for the Legislature to say we want you to complete everything, as opposed to start separating out sentence elements," said deputy solicitor general Jeff Even.

What’s more, the very amendment that contains the Equal Protection Clause countenances the restriction of voting rights for felons. Go here and read Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment. It is makes it clear that a state may restrict the franchise “for participation in rebellion, or other crime”. The law in question restricts the franchise until ALL other parts of the sentence for a crime are completed, and therefore needs no additional justification. The judge has therefore engaged in a wanton act of arrogant judicial activism.

Probably the only positive point I can make is that this ninny didn't try to rule that this constituted a poll tax -- at least not from what I can tell in this article.

The state of Washington needs to engage in three separate actions. First, it must appeal the decision. Second, it must impeach the judge. Third, it must remove him from the bench. Otherwise, rule of law is dead in Washington state.

Posted by: Greg at 01:20 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Unfortunately, he wasn’t seeking freedom for Cubans – he was calling for the overthrow of the American government. The oppressive Castro regime is just fine with him.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan called for "regime change" in the United States on Monday and denounced "wicked" U.S. policies for turning the world against America.

"We need a new government, we need regime change in America," he said at the end of a visit to Communist Cuba.

Farrakhan, who led the Million Man March on the Washington Mall in 1995 to promote black self-reliance, said the Bush administration's domestic policies were "sucking the blood of the poor and the weak."

IÂ’ve got a suggestion on what you can suck, Louie.

The controversial African American leader defended Iran's right to develop a nuclear energy program to reduce dependence on oil and said Washington's opposition was a pretext for a war.

"The Muslim world should unite against America's desire for a preemptive strike against Iran and Syria," he said at a news conference.

Farrakhan said a similar pretext was used by Washington to invade Iraq "to rape the treasuries of the United States of hundreds of billions of dollars to be doled out to the friends of President Bush, Halliburton and Bechtel and associates."

IÂ’d suggest Bush Derangement Syndrome, but he was making similar comments decades before anyone head of George W. Bush.

He thanked President Fidel Castro and blasted the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba as a "wicked blockade." The U.S. government has no moral grounds to criticize Cuba, where education and health care are free, he added.

Education is provided by the government in this country, you moron, and health care is denied to no one due to generous government programs.

I’ve got an idea, though – since Calypso Louie, who murdered Malcolm X, thinks Cuba is such a fine place, why don’t we arrest him and throw him into a jail for criticizing the government once he returns. After all, that is what his hero, Fidel, would do to a Cuban who spoke so disrespectfully of him. But then again, that is why this ignorant fool makes such statements about our country – there is no personal cost to doing so.

Posted by: Greg at 01:02 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Where, exactly, does Mrs. Clinton stand on illegal immigration? What about penalties for their employers? Does that include members of her own family?

NEWARK, N.J., March 27 (UPI) -- An embarrassing hole in security surrounding former U.S. President Bill Clinton turned up when one of his chauffeurs was found to be a wanted man.

Shahzad Qureshi, 42, was in one of three cars awaiting Clinton at Newark Airport last week when a Port Authority policeman happened to check license plate numbers.

The computer came back showing the Pakistani national had skipped a residency-status hearing in 2000, and a deportation order had been issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the New York Post reported.

Qureshi was still in jail Monday awaiting immigration processing, the report said.

Could it be that the Clintons, much like certain other liberal elitists, believe that the law does not apply to them?

Posted by: Greg at 12:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Every week, Watcher of Weasels sponsors a contest among posts from around the blogosphere. The winning entries are determined by The Watchers Council.

The Council cast their votes for< last week's nominees.

Council Member Entries: The Education Wonks, won for the excellent post Autum Ashante: Child Prodigy Or Something Else?

Non-Council Entries: Florida Cracker received the most votes forWhat Did You Do in the Great Gulf War II, Grandpa?

Congratulations to both excellent winners!

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My favorite Democrat entered the hospital a short time ago, with what is probably "only" pneumonia.

Until I get to bring her home, I will likely spend a lot of my free time by her side at the hospital.

If she throws me out of the hospital, though, I may get to post something these next few days.

We'll wait and see.

Posted by: Greg at 07:41 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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There are times when mere politics need to be set aside. This is one of them.

Erma Ora James Byrd, 88, the wife of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) died March 25 at their home in McLean. The cause of death was not immediately available, but the Associated Press said she had been ill for five years.

The senator's Web site said she grew up in the West Virginia coal fields and met the future senator when both were students in grade school in Raleigh County, W.Va.

They were married May 29, 1937, when both were 19, according to the site.

At the time of their 65th wedding anniversary in 2002, the senator said that "in my life, Erma Ora Byrd is the diamond. She is a priceless treasure, a multifaceted woman of great insight and wisdom, of quiet humor and common sense."

She once said in a newspaper interview that she left politics to her husband. "The people elected him, not me," she said.

The account on the Web site described a couple who "came up the hard way."

It said that their first refrigerator was part of an orange crate nailed to the side of their home and that in their early years, "they spent many hours at square dances and community events, where Robert would play his fiddle and Erma would dance."

In addition to her husband, survivors include two daughters, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Senator Byrd, I have opposed you on many things over the years, but in this one I stand by your side. The loss of a loved one, especially of a companion of so many years, is a a deep and difficult pain to the heart of even the most sprit-filled of individuals. I would like to offer my condolences in this time.

Please know that you and your family are in my prayers as you face this loss, and that it is my profound hope and faith that the Lord will pour out his healing graces upon you all.

Lord, eternal rest grant unto your servant, Erma Ora Byrd, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.

Posted by: Greg at 12:56 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I think that Time gets it right here, and others may be jumping the gun in celebrating the release of Christian convert Abdul Rahman from jail.

The dismissal of a case against an Afghan citizen for converting from Islam to Christianity has saved Afghanistan's government a damaging showdown with its primary patron, the United States. Under mounting pressure from Washington and other Western backers, President Hamid Karzai is reported to have intervened personally to have the case of Abdul Rahman, 41, who converted to Christianity 16 years ago, dismissed. But the grounds on which the case was thrown out — insufficient evidence and other technicalities, as well as questions over the sanity of the accused — do not change the basic problem that had put both Karzai and his Western backers in a tight spot.

Abdul Rahman and others like him still face the possibility of being charged with apostasy for converting out of Islam, an offense that carries a penalty of death unless they renounce their new faith. While Afghanistan's constitution embraces international human rights conventions that guarantee freedom of worship, it also codifies the role of Islamic Sharia law — under which Abdul Rahman was charged. And even while Washington and NATO governments whose troops help provide security for Karzai's government had urged Kabul to drop the charges, public opinion on the streets of Afghanistan — recently inflamed by episodes such as the furor over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad — showed strong support for legal action against the convert. But Karzai, whose government's security position remains as precarious as ever, was in no position to resist Washington's demands. As President Bush put it, "We have got influence in Afghanistan, and we are going to use it to remind them that there are universal values."

But it was not in recognition of "universal values" that Abdul Rahman was released. Instead, authorities cited insufficient evidence, insinuations about his mental state and even questions raised by the authorities over his citizenship. The legal basis for charging someone for converting from Islam to Christianity has not, thus far, been altered — the political confict that from having U.S. troops trying to protect a government that can't guarantee the right of its citizens to choose the same faith as the President of the United States has simply been kicked down the road. Not only that, the Abdul Rahman case has alerted the Evangelical Christian base of the Republican Party to the need to press the Bush Administration on the issue, and at the same time mobilized the conservative Muslim clerical establishment and the powerful Islamist politicians in Afghanistan's coalition government to defend their Sharia code. Not surprisingly, there is speculation that Abdul Rahman may leave Afghanistan once he's out of jail.

Now ignoring all the biased, loaded language in this report, what it comes down to is this -- Rahman is to be freed based not upon a human rights violation, not upon the principle that every person has the right to choose his or her own religion free of state ceoercion, but based upon technical questions about the evidence and insinuations about his sanity. This is therefore NOT a victory for human rights or religious freedom -- it is a strategic retreat on the part of the Afghan government.

Even the ruling in this case makes it clear that Rahman could be back in prison the day after tomorrow.

An official closely involved with the case told The Associated Press that it had been returned to the prosecutors for more investigation, but that in the meantime, Rahman would be released.

"The court dismissed today the case against Abdul Rahman for a lack of information and a lot of legal gaps in the case," the official said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

"The decision about his release will be taken possibly tomorrow," the official added. "They don't have to keep him in jail while the attorney general is looking into the case."

So see -- there is still every chance of Abdul Rahman being prosecuted. Or what we might see is forbearance in this case, but the eventual execution of some other convert.

We will hear over the next few days about howinternational pressure saved Abdul Rahman, and that this is a victory for human rights. Such rhetoric will be especially common from internatioanl leaders who spoke against the possibility that Abdul Rahman would be martyred for his faith. But I think the point that many folks missed, especially world leaders (including our own President), is that it didn't take an execution for there to be a violation of human rights.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss this case.

"Upon the conclusion of the call, (Karzai) assured me that respect for human and religious rights will be fully upheld in this case," said Harper in a statement.

With all due respect to both men, human and religious rights have already been violated by the trial itself, never mind the potential death sentence.

I'll take it a step further -- the arrest itself constituted a violation of human rights.The bringing of charges constituted a violation of human rights. After all, the human right in question is not Abdul Rahman's right to life -- it is his right to choose and practice his religion freely, without government coercion or interference. I therefore remain dissatisfied with the outcome here, and fearful that the response to this bit of good news will obscure the fact that arrest, trial, and execution are the potential faith for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan who accept the REAL Good News.

But for this small victory I give thanks to God.

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Posted by: Greg at 07:49 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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But only after endorsing him, despite knowing of his support for terrorism against Israel.

Democrats pulled an Arab-American candidate from their election ticket on Saturday amid a furor over comments he made four years ago that some interpreted as sympathetic to Palestinian suicide bombers.

At the urging of state party leaders, including Gov. Jon S. Corzine and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, Passaic County Democrats withdrew its endorsement of Sami Merhi for freeholder, a member of the county's legislative body. They chose a school board member to run in his place.

"I'm in shock, feeling betrayed," Merhi said. "They should be ashamed of themselves."

The Lebanese-born Merhi made the comments at a September 2002 Democratic fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, where he condemned the Sept. 11 terrorists "as cold-blooded murders" and "crazy fanatics."

When asked whether he would apply the same label to Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israelis, Merhi said, "I can't see the comparison."

From what I can tell, the real reason Merhi opposed the 9/11 attack was that his godson, who worked at the World Trade Center, died at Ground Zero. I feel reasonably confident he would be a part of the "you have to understand the grievances" crowd had he not lost family that day.

What is shocking is that this terror-backer feels he is the one who has been victimized here.

Mehri indicates he may run in the primary without an endorsement, or he may sek theRepublican nomination for the position. Speaking as a Republican, I'd like to say that he is not welcome in my party, any more than David Duke was welcome. I don't doubt that national party leaders will show up in Jersey to campaign against him if he does attempt to befoul our party by seeking our noimination.

Posted by: Greg at 06:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This letter is certainly a damning one, coming as it does from a historian and former service secretary. Should we take it seriously, and abandon our support for the President?

I recently ran across the text of a letter, penned by liberal historian and former Secretary of the U.S. Navy George Bancroft, about the president of the U.S.

In it, he wrote: "How can we reach our president with advice? He is ignorant, self-willed, and is surrounded by men, some of whom are almost as ignorant as himself.

"So we have the dilemma put to us. What to do when his power must continue for two years longer and when the existence of our country may be endangered before he can be replaced by a man of sense. How hard, in order to save the country, to sustain a man who is incompetent."

If your response is that even his allies should abandon him, given his incompetence, you would certainly change history.

After all, the "man who is incompetent" is not George W. Bush -- it is Abraham Lincoln.

Reviled by enemies -- and even by allies -- in his lifetime, Lincoln is generally remembered as one of the greatest leaders this nation has ever had, regardless of his flaws and errors. I can point to other presidents similarly reviled -- Jefferson, Truman, Reagan -- who are seen today as men of vision and (if not greatness) high achievement.

So remember -- George W. Bush is in good company.

Posted by: Greg at 06:14 AM | Comments (79) | Add Comment
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The New York Times does an interesting profile of the next United States Senator from Maryland, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. The personal biographical information on the man is compelling.

Open and personable, Steele had a prominent speaking role at the Republican convention in 2004, and by the following spring the Republican hierarchy was trying to coax him into the Senate race. The field was kept clear. Money was promised. It didn't matter that Steele lacked some of the attributes typical of a candidate running for high office. He was not a proven vote-getter, having ridden to victory as the running mate of Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a popular congressman from outside Baltimore who became the state's first Republican governor elected in 36 years. Steele, who is 47, had no personal fortune to offer up to the cause, no campaign war chest. He had been an associate in a law firm, then left that job to open a consulting firm that struggled.

What Steele had to offer, as a candidate, was personal biography, his inspiring life story: childhood in a poor section of Washington; college at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore; then three years studying for the priesthood at a monastery, where he wore the long white tunic of the Augustinian order before deciding that his call to service lay elsewhere. His mother had worked in a laundry, making the minimum wage; his stepfather drove a limo. His parents weren't educated themselves, but they valued learning and made sure the homework in their household got done. Steele's only sibling is Monica Turner, a Georgetown-educated pediatrician (as well as an ex-wife of Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champ).

The thing is, the article never seems to realize that it answers the question found in its title, "Why is Michael Steele a Republican Candidate?" It talks about a philosophy of self-reliance, pro-live policies, a focus on family, on faith, and on exonomic opportunity, but never wants to accept that these are, in fact, the reason for Steele's finding a home in the Republican party. It talks about his outreach to Democrats (especially black Democrats) as if that is somehow a negative, when it is the ultimate positive.

I'd have to say that the article is worth the read, and reasonably fair -- especially given the source.

Posted by: Greg at 06:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ted Byfield of the Calgary Sun asks some pertinent questions of Canadian Muslims in light of the Abdul Rahman case. I believe that, with a little bit of tweaking, they are equally pertinent for Muslims in America.

Certain questions arise here. Is it true that Islamic law makes the conversion of a Muslim to Christianity, or any other religion, a capital offence?

Is it true the Qur'an requires his execution?

Is it true, as has been frequently reported, that it is illegal to preach the Christian gospel in a country under Islamic law?

Is this also punishable by death?

Is it true the goal of the Islamic faith is to bring all the countries of the world under Islamic law?

In short, is one objective of the Muslim faith purely political?

Is it the aim of Canadian Muslims to bring such a "perfect constitution" to Canada?

And if they succeeded, and Canada became an Islamic country, would the Christians be allowed to continue preaching the Gospel, including to Muslims?

If all these things are true, then would it not follow that Muslims are opposed to freedom of religion?

Obviously, if you cannot preach a religion, then this is a central prohibition against its practice.

How therefore can a Muslim contend that he supports the Charter of Rights and Freedom?

In the western world, Muslims are certainly free to preach and practise Islam. They are not arrested.

If a Christian converts to their faith, the Christian is not put in jail and brought to trial.

Christians would certainly pray for his soul, but I know of nothing in the Christian Bible that requires his execution.

Do Muslims perhaps regard this reaction as a weakness in Christianity?

How do Muslims reconcile these Qura'nic requirements with their portrayal of Islam as a religion devoted to peace, goodwill and mutual understanding?

Or, in the view of their faith, is such benevolence confined to relations among Muslims, not to their dealings with "infidels."

And if this proscription exists, ought they not to include it in their portrayal of their faith.

The rule would be: "Love your neighbour as yourself, provided he is a Muslim."

Harsh questions, to be sure -- but questions that need to be asked in light of recent goings-on in the Muslim world. Whether we are talking about the arrest of Christian converts, the execution of homosexuals, the uproar over the Muhammad cartoons, or the refusal to allow American troops in the Middle East to openly practice their faith out of "sensitivity" to Islam, there appears to be a pattern of barbaric intolerance at work. Is this part and parcel of Islam? If it is, why won't Muslims admit to this.

And more to the point, how do we safeguard civil liberties and human rights in the face of a growing movement that seems to seek to strip all others of their rights?

Posted by: Greg at 05:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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We've heard it from Rev. Jesse Jackass Jackson and others -- holding an election in New Orleans today would disenfranchise thousands, and result in a white electorate deciding the direction of a black city. The election must be delayed.

Here is one example.

From the very top, let's get something straight.

I think that Ray Nagin, the black mayor of New Orleans, did a terrible job of planning right before Hurricane Katrina hit the city. His leadership during the storm, when people were stranded and dying, was abysmal. And his leadership hasn't gotten any better in that tragedy's aftermath.

That said, I'm appalled that the U.S. Justice Department has blessed the disenfranchisement of black voters in the Big Easy's upcoming municipal elections.

The hurricane and subsequent floodwaters forced more than two-thirds of New Orleans' population to flee that city. Indeed, officials urged and ordered many reluctant residents to leave.

Officials directed residents to get on buses and planes headed out of the Gulf Coast disaster zone. Many of the evacuees had no idea where they were being taken. Against their will, many ended up in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and other cities hundreds -- even thousands --of miles from their devastated New Orleans neighborhoods.

Now that the city is scheduled to hold elections for mayor, guess what? No special provisions are being made to accommodate voting by New Orleans residents who are involuntarily exiled outside Louisiana.

To make matters worse, the U.S. Justice Department, which is charged with making sure that minority voting rights are not being denied, has approved this totally unfair plan.

Don't forget, many of the people forced out of New Orleans were black and poor. Many who have been able to stay or to move back already are white and/or have some measure of financial wealth. Though 23 people have signed up to challenge Nagin, the real race is between Nagin and either Mitch Landrieu or Ron Forman, both of whom are white.

Yet the issue here is not race. It's fairness -- for everyone.

So while the issue ostensibly isn't race for this author (David Porter of the Orlando Sentinel), it is all about race.

But what about the reality on the ground in the New Orleans area?

Interestingly enough, here is what a demographic analysis of the city and the surrounding areas shows. according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

A substantial majority of New Orleans' registered voters still reside within the city or its suburbs, and their racial makeup closely mirrors that of all registered voters before the storm, according to new data commissioned by the secretary of state.

The new data challenges the popular notion that the out-of-state votes of displaced New Orleans residents loom large over the April 22 election, as well as the perception that in-town voters are overwhelmingly white and those out of town are overwhelmingly black, said Greg Rigamer of GCR and Associates, who produced the data as a consultant for the state.

In the first statistical portrait of registered voters, as opposed to overall population, Rigamer's company found that about 80 percent of the city's 297,053 registered voters either have not filed a change of address form or have listed a new address within the metro New Orleans area, the data show. The actual percentage of voters living locally is not that high -- not everyone who has moved informed the post office -- but the data strongly indicates that a majority of voters remain nearby, Rigamer said.

"If I was a candidate running this race, I'd really focus on the local voters," Rigamer said.

Further, the data shows the proportion of white voters to black voters living in the metro area -- although not necessarily in Orleans Parish -- remains almost the same as before the flood, about 32 percent white and 62 percent black. And the data on race is more reliable, Rigamer said, because of the massive size of the sample.

In other words, there is no raqcial or economic disenfranchisement if the vote is held today. The elections can be safely held without unduly impacting any group covered under the voting rights laws of the United States.

Isn't it a bitch when liberal talking points rund smack-dab into a pile of contradictory facts?

Anyone want to bet that it makes a difference?

Posted by: Greg at 10:37 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I wrote earlier this week about the Board of Supervisors in Sodom-By-The-Bay seeking to cause a schism in the Catholic Church because of their belief that there was insufficient separation of church and church. I now learn that they are also passing resolutions condemning evangelical youth rallies, and that members of the board are leading rallies against religious gatherings in the city.

More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally."

"Battle Cry for a Generation" is led by a 44-year-old Concord native, Ron Luce, who wants "God's instruction book" to guide young people away from the corrupting influence of popular culture.

Luce, whose Teen Mania organization is based in Texas, kicked off a three-city "reverse rebellion" tour Friday night intended to counter a popular culture that he says glamorizes violence and sex. The $55 advance tickets for two days of musical performances and speeches were sold out, but walk-up admission was available for $199.

After stops in Detroit and Philadelphia in the next few weeks, Luce wants to unleash a "blitz" of youth pastors into the communities to do everything from work with the homeless to find new ways to bring others to Christ. He challenged youth leaders to double the size of their groups in the next year.

And then he plans to return to San Francisco next year to chart their progress.

So what we have here is, pure and simple, First Amendment protected activity – the free exercise of religion and the exercise of freedom of speech and assembly. Such things are pretty frightening to the leaders of government in San Francisco, especially when we are talking about Christians gathering to support the historical teachings of Christianity.

That's bad news to Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who told counterprotesters at City Hall on Friday that while such fundamentalists may be small in number, "they're loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting, and they should get out of San Francisco."

Get that – Christians who oppose sexual immorality, violence in media, and who engage in evangelism and work with the homeless are “obnoxious. . . disgusting, and . . . should get out of San Francisco.” So let’s make that clear – Christians who believe in Christianity are not welcome in a city named for the gentlest of Christian saints. We have it from the mouth of a member of the California State Assembly.

But back to the city government.

Earlier this week, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution condemning the "act of provocation" by what it termed an "anti-gay," "anti-choice" organization that aimed to "negatively influence the politics of America's most tolerant and progressive city."

Gee – sounds like the rantings of the Islamofascists who wanted the heads of the Danish cartoonists. Dissent from the religio-political orthodoxy of the government of San Francisco is “an act of provocation.” Gee – I thought that it was an act of human freedom, and that (to quote the Left) “dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” I guess that isn’t the case if you are a Christian.

And letÂ’s not let this Supervisor off the hook.

"Even if it is done by a Barnum & Bailey crowd with a tent and some snake oil, I think we need to pay attention to it," said Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who authored the condemnation resolution. "We should not fall asleep at the wheel."

Sorry, Tom, the problem is not that these folks are suckers with snake-oil – it is your constituents who are d*ck-suckers getting oiled-up in the bathhouses and spreading STDs though unprotected anonymous sex. The problem is those in the homosexual and "progressive" communities who are are intolerant of any disagreement with their agendas, civil rights and civil liberties be damned. Address those issues, Mr. Supervisor, not the religious beliefs of those who dare to disagree with you. Maybe you need to pay a little more attention to the real problems run amok in your city, rather than acting as a Grand Inquisitor condemning the heresies of those who do not share your views. I hate to be so rude and graphic, sir, but you seem to be so hung up on prescribing orthodoxy that you are willing to jettison American freedoms in the name of sexual license.

And let me remind the government of San Francisco of this little quote from Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, over sixty years ago.

If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)

You folks have been out of line in these recent religion resolutions, for you are attempting to do precisely what Justice Jackson notes is forbidden -- you are attempting to establish what is orthodox and to prevent (or at least interfere with) the expression of views which contradict that orthodoxy. Such actions are, however, completely above your pay grade (and forbidden to every public official). Justice Jackson further noted this about individuals like you.

Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.

This is what we saw in Nazi Germany, and in the old Soviet Union.

It is what we see today in Red China, Cuba, and North Korea.

This is what we see in Afghanistan today, as a Christian sits in a prison cell facing possible execution for daring to reject Islam, which is the religious orthodoxy in that country. I've suggested that we need to use military force to topple that government and ensure religious freedom.

Your actions lead me to believe we are not far from the day when we will have to use troops to topple the city government in San Francisco, lest the legitimate rights of American citizens be suppressed and their lived threatened by the enactments of the Board of Supervisors. After all, these resolutions have placed the government of the city on the same totalitarian trajectory.

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Too cowardly to show his/her/their face and voice contemptable political opinions publicly, one or more scumbags defaced a sign dedicating a part of a recreational trail to the memory of a soldier killed in Afghanistan.

The family of a Green Beret who was one of the nation's first casualties in the war on terror in Afghanistan was outraged after discovering vandals had defaced a sign honoring the soldier with anti-war graffiti.

"I felt like I was going to vomit," said Michael Petithory, the brother of Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory.

"It was just pure rage," he told the North Adams Transcript.

Daniel Petithory was killed Dec. 5, 2001, along with two other soldiers when a U.S. bomb landed about 100 yards from their position north of Kandahar.

Michael Petithory discovered the vandalism on Thursday as he biked along the Ashuwillticook Trail.

The words "oil," "Bush" and "Christian Crusade" and other phrases were written in black marker on the brown metal sign.

Family and friends cleaned the sign, which is one of three along a stretch of the trail that honors the Cheshire native. The other two signs were not vandalized.

Daniel Petithory was a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart. He joined the Army shortly after graduating from Hoosac Valley High School in 1987. He is buried near family members in Cheshire Cemetery.

Police in Cheshire and Lanesborough are investigating, but there had been no arrests as of Friday evening. Cheshire, a town of approximately 3,500 residents, is about 140 miles west of Boston.

Vandals are, of course, a pathetic breed to begin with. That they would desecrate a sign memorializing a member of the military who died in the service of the country makes this crime that much lower. And that they seem to have forgotten that the action in Afghanistan was directly related to the 9/11 attack indicates a level of ignorance and immorality that is almost pathological.

Daniel Petithory had made the army his career, according to his father, Lou.

"He had been in the military for 14 years, so he was one of the older guys on his team," Lou Petithory told the Boston Herald. "They made military history. They were 200 Green Berets inserted into Afghanistan, and within two weeks the Taliban was gone.

"I'm so proud of my son for being part of that," he said.

Mr. Petithory. all Americans who love this country are proud of your son for having been a part of that, and roundly condemn this disgusting act of America-hating cowards.

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The sound you just heard was another door being slammed in the face of leftoids seeking to destroy Tom DeLay with corruption allegations.

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has advised friends that he has no derogatory information about former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and is not implicating him as part of his plea bargain with federal prosecutors.

Abramoff's guilty plea on fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy charges requires him to provide evidence about members of Congress. That led to speculation that this would mean trouble for DeLay, who faces money laundering and conspiracy charges in Texas.

However, Abramoff has not given a clean bill of health to any other congressman -- including Rep. Robert Ney, who has stepped down as chairman of the House Administration Committee. Ney was the only member of Congress named in court papers connected with Abramoff's guilty plea Jan. 4.

You just have to feel for these folks as they try to destroy my congressman -- every time they turn around they run into these little obstacles. Unethical prosecutorial conduct. Charges that are invalid. Lack of evidence. Why, its almost enough to make a guy want to chip in to get them some Thorazine to tame their dementia.

Almost.

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And in the course of that service performed deeds of heroism so compelling that Desmond Doss was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Not bad for a pacifist who refused to carry a weapon out of a profound respect for the word of God and human life.

Desmond T. Doss, Sr., the only conscientious objector to win the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II, has died. He was 87 years old.

Mr. Doss never liked being called a conscientious objector. He preferred the term conscientious cooperator. Raised a Seventh-day Adventist, Mr. Doss did not believe in using a gun or killing because of the sixth commandment which states, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). Doss was a patriot, however, and believed in serving his country.

During World War II, instead of accepting a deferment, Mr. Doss voluntarily joined the Army as a conscientious objector. Assigned to the 307th Infantry Division as a company medic he was harassed and ridiculed for his beliefs, yet he served with distinction and ultimately received the Congressional Medal of Honor on Oct. 12, 1945 for his fearless acts of bravery.

According to his Medal of Honor citation, time after time, Mr. DossÂ’ fellow soldiers witnessed how unafraid he was for his own safety. He was always willing to go after a wounded fellow, no matter how great the danger. On one occasion in Okinawa, he refused to take cover from enemy fire as he rescued approximately 75 wounded soldiers, carrying them one-by-one and lowering them over the edge of the 400-foot Maeda Escarpment. He did not stop until he had brought everyone to safety nearly 12 hours later.

When Mr. Doss received the Medal of Honor from President Truman, the President told him, “I’m proud of you, you really deserve this. I consider this a greater honor than being President.”

Mr. Doss’ exemplary devotion to God and his country has received nationwide attention. On July 4, 2004, a statue of Mr. Doss was placed in the National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta, along with statues of Dr. Martin Luther King, President Jimmy Carter, and retired Marine Corps General Gray Davis, also a Medal of Honor recipient. Also in 2004, a feature-length documentary called “The Conscientious Objector,” telling Doss’ story of faith, heroism, and bravery was released. A feature movie describing Doss’ story is also being planned.

Mr. Doss died Thursday morning in Piedmont, Ala. He is survived by his wife, Frances; his son, Desmond T. Doss, Jr., and his brother, Harold Doss.

Visitation will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, at Heritage Funeral Home, located at 3239 Battlefield Parkway, Fort Oglethorpe.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 1, at 3 p.m. at the Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church located at 4829 College Drive East in Collegedale.

Burial will take place on Monday, April 3, at 11 a.m. at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the Doss family requests that donations be sent to the Desmond Doss Museum Fund at the Georgia-Cumberland Conference office (P.O. Box 12000 Calhoun, Ga., 30703).

This man, ladies and gentlemen, was a true hero. We look at today's crop of "peace activists" and find a motley crew of ne'er-do-wells and whiners who have little respect for this country or its soldiers. Contrast the actions of Desmond Doss with the refusal of the recently rescued Christian Peacemaker team hostages to offer so much as a word of gratitude for the actions of military personnel who rescued them from terrorists who kidnapped them and murdered one of their number.

I have no doubt that Mr. Doss is this day in Paradise, in the company of the One True God.

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UPDATE: The Washington Post has this obituary, which is very good. It notes that Doss was not the only conscientious objector to receive thh Congressional Medal of Honor, merely the first. The other, Cpl. Thomas W. Bennett, a medical aidman who died while serving during the Vietnam War, also received the nation's highest military honor.

I urge you to click below to read the extended entry, where I have reproduced the full text of the citation that accompanied his Medal. You will be awe-struck by the degree of bravery exhibited by this man over the course of several days. Such Christ-like devotion to his fellow man in the face of his own possible death -- including while seriously wounded himself -- brought tears to my eyes. more...

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Democrat obstructionism has claimed another well qualified Bush judicial nominee.

Henry W. Saad, one of President Bush's appeals court nominees blocked by Senate Democrats, withdrew his name from consideration, a presidential aide said yesterday.

Democrats have accused Saad, a Michigan appeals court judge, of being hostile to employment-discrimination claims and lawsuits by consumers.

"Judge Saad asked to have his nomination withdrawn, and we intend to honor that request," Bush spokeswoman Erin Healy said.

Saad's nomination to the Cincinnati-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit was submitted to the Senate in January 2003, and he was renominated last year. His nomination was one of 10 blocked by Democrats, who used the filibuster, which allows unlimited debate, to prevent a Senate vote.

He was not included in a bipartisan agreement by 14 senators last year to avert a Senate showdown over the use of filibusters to block judicial nominees. The agreement allowed three of the 10 nominees to go to a vote.

Saad was rated "well qualified" by a "substantial" majority of the American Bar Association's committee that rates judicial nominees. Under Senate rules, Saad's nomination cannot be withdrawn until Congress returns Monday from its recess.

Notice that – “well qualified”. The Democrats are after results they like, not a judiciary full of well qualified, impartial judges.

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This is interesting – and really disturbing.

A prominent Harvard law professor, Alan Dershowitz, is alleging that the authors of a Harvard Kennedy School paper about the "Israel lobby," one of which is the Kennedy School's academic dean, culled sections of the paper from neo-Nazi and other anti-Israel hate Web sites.

"What we're discovering first of all is that the quotes that they use are not only wrenched out of context, but they are the common quotes that appear on hate sites," Mr. Dershowitz, who is identified in the paper as part of the "lobby," told The New York Sun yesterday.

"The wrenching out of context is done by the hate sites,and then [the authors] cite them to the original sources, in order to disguise the fact that they've gotten them from hate sites."

The paper, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," was written by the Kennedy School's Stephen Walt and a political science professor and the codirector of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago, John Mearsheimer, and published by the Kennedy School.

In the 83-page "working paper," the professors suggest that a vast network of journalists, think tanks, lobbyists, and largely Jewish officials have seized the foreign policy debate and manipulated America to invade Iraq.

The paper has drawn sharp criticism from prominent Harvard faculty, Harvard students, and a member of Congress, with many critics alleging that the document is riddled with factual inaccuracies and suffers from bias and faulty research.

According to Mr. Dershowitz, one of the paper's most prominent critics, Messrs. Mearsheimer and Walt not only demonstrated "shallowness" in their analysis,but also based that analysis on quotes and viewpoints widely available on the Web sites of hate groups.

The paper, the law professor said, was "simply a compilation of hateful paragraphs lifted from other sources and given academic imprimatur." Mr. Dershowitz said that he and his research assistants were currently working on a comparative chart showing the parallelism between parts of the Walt-Mearsheimer paper and quotes available on neo-Nazi Web sites.

I can’t wait to see the full results of the analysis, which already appears to show that Jew-hatred is at the heart of much of what passes for “scholarship” on issues related to Israel and the Middle East.

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We are getting reports of Vice President Cheney’s “demands” when he travels. Tell me, is there anything in this for folks to get worked up about?

At least that was the evidence from "Vice Presidential Downtime Requirements," the heading of a document posted Thursday on the Smoking Gun Web site and confirmed as authentic by Mr. Cheney's office.

The document listed 13 requirements. Among them were these: All televisions sets in Mr. Cheney's hotel suite should be tuned to Fox News, all lights should be on, and the thermostat set at 68 degrees. Mr. Cheney should have a queen- or king-size bed, a desk with a chair, a private bathroom, a container for ice, a microwave oven and a coffee pot, with decaf brewed before arrival.

The vice president should also have four cans of caffeine-free Diet Sprite and four to six bottles of water. He must have the hotel restaurant menu, with a copy faxed ahead to his advance office. If his wife is with him, she should have two bottles of sparkling water, either Calistoga or Perrier.

For his reading material, Mr. Cheney should have The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and the local newspaper.

Hmmm… the man wants a comfortable room in which he can work, simple amenities, and a few favorite refreshments that are consistent with his health needs. He wants to be able to plan for a heart-healthy diet at mealtime. He wants access to current mainstream news sources, including the up-to-the-minute convenience of Fox News, since his job requires he be up-to-date on domestic and world affairs. Oh, the unreasonableness of it all!

At least if you view the world through the eyes of a sufferer of “Bush Derangement Syndrome.

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We are getting reports of Vice President Cheney’s “demands” when he travels. Tell me, is there anything in this for folks to get worked up about?

At least that was the evidence from "Vice Presidential Downtime Requirements," the heading of a document posted Thursday on the Smoking Gun Web site and confirmed as authentic by Mr. Cheney's office.

The document listed 13 requirements. Among them were these: All televisions sets in Mr. Cheney's hotel suite should be tuned to Fox News, all lights should be on, and the thermostat set at 68 degrees. Mr. Cheney should have a queen- or king-size bed, a desk with a chair, a private bathroom, a container for ice, a microwave oven and a coffee pot, with decaf brewed before arrival.

The vice president should also have four cans of caffeine-free Diet Sprite and four to six bottles of water. He must have the hotel restaurant menu, with a copy faxed ahead to his advance office. If his wife is with him, she should have two bottles of sparkling water, either Calistoga or Perrier.

For his reading material, Mr. Cheney should have The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and the local newspaper.

HmmmÂ… the man wants a comfortable room in which he can work, simple amenities, and a few favorite refreshments that are consistent with his health needs. He wants to be able to plan for a heart-healthy diet at mealtime. He wants access to current mainstream news sources, including the up-to-the-minute convenience of Fox News, since his job requires he be up-to-date on domestic and world affairs. Oh, the unreasonableness of it all!

At least if you view the world through the eyes of a sufferer of “Bush Derangement Syndrome.

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I could have told you this without spending the money on the survey.

Heck, I have told you this without spending the money on a survey.

Amid growing concern about the city's homicide rate and overburdened social services, a new poll finds Houstonians increasingly weary and wary of the 150,000 Louisiana evacuees who landed here after fleeing Hurricane Katrina.

Three-quarters of Harris County residents surveyed by Rice University sociologist Stephen Klineberg say the influx of Katrina evacuees, many of whom remain seven months after landfall, has put a "considerable strain" on the Houston community.

Additionally, two-thirds say evacuees bear responsibility for "a major increase in violent crime," and twice as many local residents believe Houston will be "worse off" rather than "better off" if most evacuees remain here permanently.

The preliminary results of Klineberg's annual survey, which is expected to be finalized later this month, suggest that a sizable fraction of area residents have tired of their guests from New Orleans.

"These results reflect what I'm hearing from my constituents," said U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston. "I think the percentage of people unhappy with the deadbeats from New Orleans would be larger but for the big hearts of Houstonians who want these folks to get back on their feet, as I do."

Why the shift in public opinion? Increased crime, increased violence ins chools, the strain placed upon cstate, county, and city services, the indications that the federal assistance Houston (and the entire state of Texas) was promised in September will not be forthcoming.

Oh, yeah -- we are also tired of able-bodied folks siting on stoops and curbs sipping on forties.

Culberson said the sentiment is much stronger, at least in his district (which includes west Houston, the Texas Medical Center and much of western and northwestern Harris County). He said his constituents are concerned about rising crime and no longer want to house New Orleanians who choose to rely on social services.

"If they can work, but won't work, ship 'em back," he said. "If they cause problems in the schools, if they commit crime, there ought to be a one-strike rule — ship 'em back."

Although Culberson said he has been trying to attach such a provision to pending legislation, it's unclear how such an idea could be implemented.

"Whatever we want to do, these are American citizens, and they can stay here if they want," said Eckels. "The difference is, when they're here and they get into trouble, there are consequences. They put up with a lot of things in New Orleans that we don't put up with here."

In other words, we don't liek the fact that our quality of life is being dragged down to the level that existed in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina.

Perhaps the biggest issue is this one -- we are getting indications that New orleans will welcome back the productive citizens, but not rebuild housing for the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. The result will be "urban renewal via hurricane", with the poorest of the poor dumped in our backyards permanently. We were glad to help -- and are even still willing to help -- if we don't, ultimately, have to bear the burden permanently -- and alone.

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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been in contact with the Afghan government to express the official concern of the United States government over the arrest and possible trial/execution of Christian convert Abdul Rahman.

In an unusual move, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned President Hamid Karzai on Thursday seeking what she called a "satisfactory outcome" of the case of Abdul Rahman. The 41-year-old former medical aid worker faces the death penalty under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for becoming a Christian.

* * *

Rice told reporters in Washington on Thursday the case was "a very deeply concerning development" and she had "raised it in the strongest possible terms" with Karzai. "There is no more fundamental issue for the United States than freedom of religion and religious conscience," she said. "This country was founded on that basis, and it is at the heart of democracy."

I'd love to know what "strongest possible terms" means when applied to a country we recently liberated and which we are currently providing with military assistance and lots of foreign aid cash. Regardless, this is better than the anemic performance by State Department officials earlier in the week. But unfortunately, this call did not include a demand to drop all charges and relase Mr. Rahman, whose only "crime" is following Jesus Christ instead of the false prophet Muhammad, in contravention of the laws of the Religion of Barbarism.

Rice spoke to reporters following her unusual direct appeal to a foreign leader.

"We look forward, hopefully, to a resolution of this in the very near future," Rice said, without elaborating.

Although she asked for what her spokesman called a "favorable resolution," Rice evidently did not demand specifically that the trial be halted and the defendant released.

"This is clearly an Afghan decision," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "They are a sovereign country."

Nor does it appear that there is any inclination todrop the charges on the part of the Afghan government.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters she had received assurances from Karzai in a telephone call that Rahman would not be sentenced to death.

"I have the impression that he (Karzai) has a firm willingness" to abide by the human rights requirements, Merkel said going into pre-European Union summit talks. "I hope we will be able to resolve this."

So unless they ,make the unacceptable determination that Christianity is a mental illness (which is no different thant he position of their former occupiers, the Soviet Union), there is no prospect for stopping the trial.

Part of the problem, of course, are those who lead the Religion of Barbarism in Afghanistan.

Senior Muslim clerics demanded Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity be executed, warning that if the government caves in to Western pressure and frees him, they will incite people to "pull him into pieces."

* * *

His trial has fired passions in this conservative Muslim nation and highlighted a conflict of values between Afghanistan and its Western backers.

"Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die," said cleric Abdul Raoulf, who is considered a moderate and was jailed three times for opposing the Taliban before the hard-line regime was ousted in 2001.

Notice -- this is the MODERATE MUSLIM LEADER who is saying that Abdul Rahman must die for accepting the Truth of Christianity ofver the falsehood of Islam. It is the individual who was seen as not being Muslim enough by the extremist Taliban who insists death is the only proper penalty for accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God instead of the blasphemies against Christ found in the Koran. Can we really believe those who call islam a religion of peace and tolerance if such an individual is leading the lynch mob in the event that international human rights standards win out over the murderous practices espoused by Muhammad himself?

After all, leaders from Kabul's largest mosques are instigating the murder of Abdul Rahman.

"He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian," said Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque.

"The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed."

Raoulf, who is a member of the country's main Islamic organization, the Afghan Ulama Council, agreed. "The government is playing games. The people will not be fooled."

"Cut off his head!" he exclaimed, sitting in a courtyard outside Herati Mosque. "We will call on the people to pull him into pieces so there's nothing left."

He said the only way for Rahman to survive would be for him to go into exile.

But Said Mirhossain Nasri, the top cleric at Hossainia Mosque, one of the largest Shiite places of worship in Kabul, said Rahman must not be allowed to leave the country.

"If he is allowed to live in the West, then others will claim to be Christian so they can too," he said. "We must set an example. ... He must be hanged."

The clerics said they were angry with the United States and other countries for pushing for Rahman's freedom.

"We are a small country and we welcome the help the outside world is giving us. But please don't interfere in this issue," Nasri said. "We are Muslims and these are our beliefs. This is much more important to us than all the aid the world has given us."

The United States must act to stop this act of barbarism -- and to prevent future ones.

Islam Delenda Est

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I teach a college level American Government class in the evenings -- eight weeks on, then eight weeks off. We meet three days a week, from 8-10. The school is 45 minutes away from my home, making for pretty late nights when you consider that I get up at 4:45 to be to the highschool by 6:45 AM.

Last night, my students finished their exams. I graded them and turned in final marks before heading home.

I'm free in the evenings now for about two months. Time to get reaquainted with my wife and my dog.

Sounds like a good reason to open up a post for trackbacks on any subject!

You know the drill for my linkfests -- feel free to link here with any interesting posts you have made recently. I won't limit the number of links, but I will ask you to act reasonably. No Porn, no advertising links, please.

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1 Hi

Posted by: Valium at Sat Apr 1 13:21:39 2006 (MhDGS)

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This takes the cake. And I wonder about the reason given.

Bosses at a Stockholm hospital have asked a nurse called Jesus to change his name, after concerns that it might cause confusion among patients.

According to Jesus, an auxiliary nurse at Huddinge hospital, his superiors were worried that patients told "Jesus will be coming soon ," might get the wrong idea.

"If they thought that Jesus was coming they might believe that they were already dead," the nurse told The Local.

Jesus, who will now use his middle name Manuel, said he didn't have a problem with the change.

"I understand why they wanted me to use my middle name," he said.

But, he added, "my name never usually causes me problems."

Does anyone suspect that there might be an ulterior motive – such as concern about offending the Religion of Barbarism.

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Strangely enough, I donÂ’t hear anyone in the Democrat Party calling for resignations or imprisonment, as they do regularly with Tom DeLay. I guess it is because they are members of the right (and by that I mean Left) party.

Let's start in the state of Misery . . . uhhh. . . Missouri.

A political committee dedicated to helping Democrats win seats in the Missouri House must pay a $104,000 state fine for financial misconduct during the 2002 elections.

The fine, one of the largest ever levied by the Missouri Ethics Commission, stems from an admission by the House Democratic Campaign Committee that it mixed its money with another committee, came under the control of a candidate for office and failed to properly report donations and spending in support of candidates.

In addition to the committee, U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis and a former House member, must pay a $600 fine for his involvement with the committee's practices.

The fines are the result of an internal investigation, said Robert Connor, executive director of the Ethics Commission. Additional fines are possible, Connor said.

In addition to Carnahan and the committee, the statement of facts that accompanied the fine said former lawmaker Bill Gratz of Jefferson City and Team Missouri, a committee that commingled funds with the Democratic campaign committee, also violated campaign finance laws.

Both the Democratic committee and Team Missouri are considered continuing committees under Missouri law, which means they are not established to elect any single candidate.

And also this, from Maine (and Rhode Island).

Former Democratic Party Chairman Patrick Colwell owes Maine voters an explanation.

Colwell resigned Sunday, several months before the end of his two-year term and just weeks after news broke of a highly questionable series of transactions involving campaign funds.

On Dec. 31, Maine's Democratic Party gave $10,000 to the campaign of Matt Brown, a Democrat from Rhode Island who is running for the U.S. Senate.

Two weeks later, the Maine Democrats received $6,000 from Richard Bready, a Rhode Island businessman who supports Brown and had already given the maximum donation to him under Rhode Island law.

Bready also gave $5,000 to the Democratic Party in Massachusetts and $6,000 to the Democratic Party in Hawaii. Both organizations also gave money to Brown's campaign.

In all, Brown received $25,000 in donations from the Democratic Party state organizations in those three states -- money that has since been returned.
Federal election laws prohibit money exchanges made to avoid campaign donation limits. The flow of money from Maine to Rhode Island and back appears to be exactly that type of transaction.

Dem corruption – its all around us. But don't expect any real punishment, because honesty is optional for Donks.

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