My guess is no -- at least not until Hamas returns to its primary mission of murdering Jews in the name of Allah.

Hamas gunmen consolidated their hold over large swaths of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after attacking military posts controlled by the rival Fatah movement, whose own fighters responded with a daylight raid in the West Bank, broadening the civil strife.

At least 21 Palestinians were killed Wednesday across Gaza, driving up the four-day death toll to at least 63 in factional violence that both Palestinian parties described as civil war.

The Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing that has begun referring to Fatah as the "Jew American Army," gave the Fatah-dominated Palestinian National Forces across northern Gaza until Friday evening to surrender their weapons and turn over their posts. The Hamas tactic, which has included broadcasting inaccurate claims from minarets that Fatah posts have fallen, has proved highly effective in prompting outgunned Fatah fighters to flee.

At least one battalion of the Palestinian National Forces was reported to have run out of ammunition and others may be approaching the end of supplies. Israeli officials have warned for months that Hamas has been stockpiling ammunition, small arms and explosives.

Personally, I think anything that results in more dead terrorists is a good thing for the world.

But there is some hope that the average Palestinian may recognize that the continuous blood-letting of the last several days is a bad thing.

Scores of Palestinians demonstrated in the streets of Gaza City calling for an end to the violence, to no apparent effect.

Now if only they recognize that an end to the murder of Israelis is in their best interest as well, perhaps we will get some peace in the region .

Oh, and just a little reminder about the hateful nature of the Terrorstinian factions doing the fighting.

Among yesterday's dead was a 14-year-old boy and three women, all killed in a Hamas attack on a Fatah security officer's home.

"They're firing at us, firing RPGs, firing mortars. We're not Jews," the brother of Jamal Abu Jediyan, a Fatah commander, pleaded during a live telephone conversation with a Palestinian radio station.

Minutes later both men were dragged into the streets and riddled with bullets.

After all -- killing Jews is what these (so-called) people are all about.

Posted by: Greg at 01:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 408 words, total size 3 kb.

Just a reminder of the high personal standards set by Barack Obama in his personal and political life.

Antoin Rezko, an entrepreneur of considerable charm who found riches in fast food and real estate, is known around Chicago as a collector of politicians.

Back in the 1990s, Mr. RezkoÂ’s office was adorned with framed photos of candidates he viewed as up-and-comers. Among them was Barack Obama, a state legislator whose first campaign donations included $2,000 from Mr. RezkoÂ’s companies. As Mr. Obama built a career that carried him to the Senate in 2004, Mr. Rezko was there with him, holding fund-raisers and rallying support.

Now, as Mr. Obama runs for president, the once-beneficial relationship with his old friend and patron has become problematic.

Last fall, Mr. Rezko was indicted on federal charges of business fraud and influence peddling involving the administration of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, whose picture was also on Mr. RezkoÂ’s wall. Since then, Mr. Obama, a Democrat, has had to answer questions about a land deal with Mr. RezkoÂ’s wife, Rita, and about other ties to him.

Since early June, Mr. Obama has given to charity more than $21,000 in donations that his Senate campaign had received from Rezko associates now linked to the federal inquiries. He gave away $11,500 from Mr. Rezko himself last fall.

And for all that Obama tries to distance himself from Rezko, he'll never be able to escape this one.

And when Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, bought a house in 2005, Mr. Rezko stepped in again. Even though his finances were deteriorating, Mr. Rezko arranged for his wife to buy an adjacent lot, and she later sold the Obamas a 10-foot-wide strip of land that expanded their yard.

The land sale occurred after it had been reported that Mr. Rezko was under federal investigation. That awkward fact prompted Mr. Obama, who has cast himself as largely free from the normal influences of politics, to express regret over what he called his own bad judgment.

“Senator Obama is a very intelligent man, and everyone by then was very familiar with who Tony Rezko was,” said Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a nonpartisan research group. “So it was a little stunning that so late in the game Senator Obama would still have such close involvement with Rezko.”

D.

I.

R.

T.

Y.

Seems to me he'd be a good fit on the ticked with Hillary, don't you think, given the high ethical standards they set for their friends and associates (and spouses).

Posted by: Greg at 01:00 AM | Comments (236) | Add Comment
Post contains 436 words, total size 3 kb.

Sponsored Post

As you apply for a mortgage, you need to seriously consider where you will get your mortgage advice? Will you go to the bank you have always done business with, or will you work with a mortgage broker who can offer you deals from a variety of mortgage providers on mortgage rates and terms. I took the latter course, and was able to get myself a mortgage with a low down payment and low interest rate -- one that was tailored people in my profession. Had I gone to my bank, I might have missed that one because it was offered through a different lender that I did not do business with. So if you are looking for Texas mortgage brokers, you might want to look here -- and for Houston mortgage brokers (including the one I worked with), check out PersonalHomeLoanMortgages.com.

Posted by: Greg at 12:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 146 words, total size 1 kb.

To be honest, there is less to this story than meets the eye, though you cannot tell that from the headline and introduction.

An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism.

The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau's national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI's domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews. The earlier report found 22 violations in a much smaller sampling.

Sounds bad -- until you read the next paragraph.

The vast majority of the new violations were instances in which telephone companies and Internet providers gave agents phone and e-mail records the agents did not request and were not authorized to collect. The agents retained the information anyway in their files, which mostly concerned suspected terrorist or espionage activities.

So the reality here is not that the FBI acted inappropriately, but that they received more information than they initially requested. Actual instances of inappropriate requests were a mere handful -- about two dozen.

Now why would the FBI keep the additional information received and how was it justified? Well, the Post explains that here.

Of the more than 1,000 violations uncovered by the new audit, about 700 involved telephone companies and other communications firms providing information that exceeded what the FBI's national security letters had sought. But rather than destroying the unsolicited data, agents in some instances issued new National Security Letters to ensure that they could keep the mistakenly provided information. Officials cited as an example the retention of an extra month's phone records, beyond the period specified by the agents.

Case agents are now told that they must identify mistakenly produced information and isolate it from investigative files. "Human errors will inevitably occur with third parties, but we now have a clear plan with clear lines of responsibility to ensure errant information that is mistakenly produced will be caught as it is produced and before it is added to any FBI database," Caproni said.

So what we have here is a situation in which the procedures were unclear and so agents acted to bring the information within the scope of the law after it had been erroneously given by someone else. Really, can you blame them? Would you want to be the FBI agent called to testify before Congress following a terrorist attack and have to explain why you destroyed a key piece of evidence that could have nipped the plot in the bud? I know I wouldn't -- and no amount of good faith in having done so would ever allow one to be absolved of doing so in the eyes of the American public. As it is, I expect that some of those records that have been isolated under current procedures could be the source of much contention if they ever prove to hold a "smoking gun" in a future terrorism case.

Oh, and the actual rate of violations?

FBI officials said the audit found no evidence to date that any agent knowingly or willingly violated the laws or that supervisors encouraged such violations. The Justice Department's report estimated that agents made errors about 4 percent of the time and that third parties made mistakes about 3 percent of the time, they said. The FBI's audit, they noted, found a slightly higher error rate for agents -- about 5 percent -- and a substantially higher rate of third-party errors -- about 10 percent.

Higher than we would like, but not an unreasonable rate given that we are dealing with a period that included the earliest anti-terrorism investigations with the new tools given investigators in the wake of 9/11. I wish we had a breakdown of these errors over time, to see if the rate has decreased from the earliest days.

Posted by: Greg at 12:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 679 words, total size 4 kb.

Sponsored Post

Looking for online backup for your blog? Why on earth would you need that? Well, think of two words -- SERVER CRASH. Or how about these two -- VIRUS INFECTION. Or even this pair -- HACKER ATTACK. They all happen. That's why you need to check out IDrive-B. They have a great deal on a new service -- Online Backup for your blog -- 1 Gigabytes free, $4.95 a month for unlimited online storage. Templates, entries, graphics -- everything! You can be up and running again in no time if you avail yourself of this service.

Think it can't happen to you? I've seen it. And I'm not just talking about the cyber-jihadis that go after Jawa Report of the angry lefties who attack Little green Footballs. One of my buddies lost everything when a virus infected his server. Another made a mistake and deleted everything. Heck, the other night I accidentally deleted the entire template for my blog -- thank God I had a backup copy to restore what I had lost by hitting a button when I shouldn't have!

The nice thing about IDrive-B is that it does a regular backup of your site automatically. That's right. You set it up and it takes care of the issue for you instead of requiring you to do it manually. Then you don't have to think about it at all -- until the unexpected happens. Just call it Blog Insurance.

Posted by: Greg at 12:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 246 words, total size 2 kb.

It appears that the end of this earthly life is approaching for Ruth Bell Graham, wife of Rev. Billy Graham.

Ruth Graham, the ailing wife of evangelist Billy Graham, fell into a coma Wednesday morning and appears to be close to death, a family spokesman said. "She appears to be entering the final stages of life," said Larry Ross, Graham's personal spokesman.

* * *

"Ruth is my soul mate and best friend, and I cannot imagine living a single day without her by my side," Graham said. "I am more in love with her today than when we first met over 65 years ago as students at Wheaton College."

Ross said Ruth Graham was treated two weeks ago for pneumonia and her health temporarily improved before declining because of her weakened condition. Ross said she is being treated at her home outside Asheville, in the town of Montreat.

She celebrated her birthday on Sunday and was alert, Ross said. Billy Graham and four of their children are now at her side. The couple's youngest child, Ned, is flying in from the West Coast.

"Ruth and I appreciate, more than we can express, the prayers and letters of encouragement we have received from people across the country and around the world," Graham said.

"Our entire family has been home in recent days and it has meant so much to have them at our side during this time. We love each one of them dearly and thank God for them."

Her approaching death has led to an announcement about where the Grahams will be buried -- a decision that split the family in recent months as questions arose over whether the couple would be buried in her hometown near Asheville or at the new Billy Graham library.

With his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, in a coma at home in western North Carolina, the Rev. Billy Graham announced yesterday that she will be buried in the city of Charlotte and not in her beloved mountains at the site she said she favored as recently as a week and a half ago.

"After much prayer and discussion, Ruth and I made the decision to be buried beside each other at the Billy Graham Library in my home town of Charlotte, N.C.," Billy Graham is quoted as saying in a news release posted on the Web site of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The couple made this decision in early spring, the statement said, and decided to announce it "now that she is close to going to heaven."

Unfortunately, this does not appear to have ended the contention.

Posted by: Greg at 12:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 444 words, total size 3 kb.

Sponsored Post

I never thought much about mortgages before I bought my house. Yeah, I knew mortgages were secured loans with the money guaranteed by the house itself, but never about what went into actually getting one. I went in blind, never stopping to look at a mortgage calculator to figure out what I could afford or doing any research. Nor did i give any consideration to seeking mortgage protection insurance. Fortunately, I got in with a good broker who found me an excellent loan at a good rate -- but we all know folks who are having trouble paying their loans, especially those who got adjustable rate mortgages that have seen interests rates balloon. I'm glad I'm not looking for a house today or considering remortgages/refinancing, mainly because I am locked in at a very good rate that I cannot beat.

Posted by: Greg at 06:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 143 words, total size 1 kb.

You know, this argument is only persuasive if you accept its starting premise -- that those opposed to the current proposal giving amnesty to border-jumpers really hate immigrants and want to keep foreigners out of the US.

How do you justify a border fence? Why is it OK to consign millions of unskilled Mexicans to lives of desperate poverty? I'm told it's because Americans should care more about their countrymen than about a bunch of foreigners. OK, but how much more? Surely there's some limit; virtually nobody thinks, for example, that Americans should be allowed to hunt Mexicans for sport. So, exactly how much are you willing to hurt a foreigner to help an American? Is a foreigner's well-being worth three-quarters as much as an American's, or half as much, or one-quarter as much?

The column then goes on into a rather tiresome analysis of wages and ends with a fatuous comparison between our immigration policy and the three-fifths compromise (which the author gets precisely wrong -- but then again, so is his entire analysis) that is designed to paint advocates of border security as knuckle-dragging nativists who hate Mexicans.

The problem is, of course, that he is dead wrong. The overwhelming majority of us welcome immigrants from anywhere on the globe -- but what them to come here legally, and for our government to stop those coming illegally. Indeed, we recognize the need to make immigration from south of the border "safe and legal" -- not unsafe due to the means and location of illegal border crossing or dominated by criminals who have no regard for their human cargo.

Posted by: Greg at 04:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 274 words, total size 2 kb.

Notice that it isn't we infidels who have staged another attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra -- it is Muslim terrorists.

Early morning blasts Wednesday destroyed two minarets at the same Shiite shrine in Samarra where an attack last year demolished the mosque's gilded dome and plunged the country into a wave of deadly sectarian violence.

No one was injured in the 9 a.m. explosions at the revered Askariya shrine in Samarra, about 65 miles north of Baghdad. But officials said it was just the sort of event that could spark a spiral of retaliatory attacks and make it harder to reduce the violence that has brought the addition of thousands of extra U.S. troops stationed at high-profile posts on the streets of Baghdad and elsewhere.

Let's hope for calm among the Shi'ites after this latest atrocity by al-Qaeda terrorists. When will it finally be acknowledged by the world's Muslims that al-Qaeda is not a friend to any of them -- and that the US is not their enemy?

And I'm curious -- how many Korans were desecrated in THIS attack?

Posted by: Greg at 04:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 198 words, total size 1 kb.

Sponsored Post

You folks know how important handicapped accessibility is to me, given my wife's mobility issues. Well, Ameriglide is a leader in the field of handicapped accessibility. They provide stair lifts, vertical lifts and wheelchair lifts of all varieties to make homes accessible for their residents and to make going out into the community to be easier. If you or a relative has accessibility issues, check out Ameriglide.

Posted by: Greg at 04:10 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 70 words, total size 1 kb.

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Heck, let them keep on killing each other -- then let the Israelis come in and take out the rest of the murderous scum.

Gunmen of the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah sharply escalated their fight for supremacy on Tuesday, with Hamas taking over much of the northern Gaza Strip in what began to look increasingly like a civil war.

Five days of revenge attacks on individuals — including executions, kneecappings and even tossing handcuffed prisoners off tall apartment towers — on Tuesday turned into something larger and more organized: attacks on symbols of power and the deployment of military units. About 25 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 wounded, Palestinian medics said.

In one Hamas attack on a Fatah security headquarters in northern Gaza near Jabaliya Camp, at least 21 Palestinians were reported killed and another 60 wounded, said Moaweya Hassanein of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

After a senior Fatah leader in northern Gaza was killed Monday, FatahÂ’s elite Presidential Guards, who are being trained by the United States and its allies, fired rocket-propelled grenades at the house of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, of Hamas, in the Shati Refugee Camp near Gaza City.

An hour later, HamasÂ’s military wing fired four mortar shells at the presidential office compound of Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, who is in the West Bank, a Fatah spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, said in a telephone interview.

“Hamas is seeking a military coup against the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

Hamas made a similar accusation against Fatah. Hamas, which has an Islamist ideology, demanded that security forces loyal to Fatah, the more nationalist and secular movement, abandon their positions in northern and central Gaza.

Let's remember, folks, that these two terrorist groups are part of the "unity government" of the Terrorstinian Anarchy. If this is their idea of unity, I fail to see how any reasonable individual can advocate giving the Palestinians a state of their own.

Posted by: Greg at 04:03 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 328 words, total size 2 kb.

Sponsored Post

Are you the sort of person who likes sending greetings to your friends via email. Tired of the cookie-cutter offerings from many greetings sites? Well, you can make your own "phreeting" (photo + greeting), which is designed and created by YOU. Select a photo, type your message, and send! Quick, easy, and PERSONALIZED!

Posted by: Greg at 06:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 56 words, total size 1 kb.

Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, this does not strike me as particularly good news for the GOP in CD22.

From an email sent out by Harris County GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill about a meeting held today for party activists involved in taking back CD22 for the GOP.

Paul Bettencourt, Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector, was invited to attend the meeting to discuss the demographics of the district and his future plans. At the meeting, Mr. Bettencourt stated: “I want to encourage an open primary for anyone who wants to serve the citizens of Congressional 22.” Mr. Bettencourt also stated that, at this time, he is not planning to run in CD22. (emphasis mine)

The decision of Paul Bettencourt not to run for Congress in CD22 is the most momentous thing to happen since the courts ruled that Tom DeLay could not be replaced n the ballot last summer. Bettencourt, if he were to run, would be the prohibitive favorite to win the nomination and take back the congressional seat in this overwhelmingly Republican district.

More At Texas Safety Forum, Professors R-Squared, Texas Politics

Posted by: Greg at 12:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 193 words, total size 1 kb.

One has to wonder, given that they've lost 90% of their members since 2001 and are primarily bankrolled by just two-dozen individuals.

Membership in the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has declined more than 90 percent since the 2001 terrorist attacks, Audrey Hudson will report in Tuesday's editions of The Washington Times.

According to tax documents obtained by The Times, the number of reported members spiraled down from more than 29,000 in 2000 to less than 1,700 in 2006, a loss of membership that caused the Muslim rights group's annual income from dues to drop from $732,765 in 2000, when yearly dues cost $25, to $58,750 last year, when the group charged $35.

The organization instead is relying on about two dozen individual donors a year to contribute the majority of the money for CAIR's budget, which reached nearly $3 million last year.

Word is that tomorrow we will learn the names of the organization's major contributors, courtesy of the FOIA request filed by the Washington Times. This could be interesting.

UPDATE: Cover-up? All donor names redacted by the IRS.

Posted by: Greg at 06:10 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 190 words, total size 1 kb.

This is an interesting development.

Apple said Monday that it would make its Safari Web browser available for Windows-based PCs, opening a new front in its rivalry with Microsoft.

The announcement came at the end of a presentation made by Steven P. Jobs, AppleÂ’s co-founder and chief executive, at the companyÂ’s annual World Wide Developers Conference. It indicates that Apple is increasingly confident in its ability to compete against MicrosoftÂ’s desktop computing monopoly.

I'm downloading the program to see how it works -- though it is still in beta rather than a final release. Still, given that Internet Explorer and most other Microsoft software is released with as many bugs as your average beta software, I don;'t see a problem with that. You can get it here.

Posted by: Greg at 04:50 AM | Comments (50) | Add Comment
Post contains 133 words, total size 1 kb.

I think the teachers are really setting themselves up for trouble, defying a court order to end the strike. But IÂ’m always shocked by the level of ignorance shown by some folks in responding to calls for better salaries and benefits for teachers.

An ongoing strike pitting Quincy teachers against town officials escalated yesterday, as parents complained their family summer plans are being thrown into turmoil.

Teachers vowed to ignore a court order forcing them back to work today. School officials canceled another day of school as talks with the teachersÂ’ union stalled again last night.

“This is splitting the city in two. People have a lot of opinions about this,” said parent Kelly Tinney, who said she backs the teachers even though she had to switch shifts at work to care for her 9-year-old daughter.

Other parents arenÂ’t as forgiving.

“They only work 180 days a year and they get 90 percent of their health insurance paid,” said Saori Caruso, whose daughter attends Bernazzani Elementary. “My husband works a lot more and he has to pay nearly all of his health insurance.”

I always find it interesting when I hear arguments like Caruso’s – parents who are willing to spend inordinate amounts of money to get their child the latest luxury item, but think that they should pay their child’s teachers on the cheap.

I also find this comment a bit silly as well.

Outside City Hall, parent Roberta Lee said of the teachers, “If they want to do this, why can’t they do it during the off season so the parents don’t have to find day care and the kids can finish the year? It’s not right.”

Let’s think here for a minute – strike during summer vacation would have what impact, exactly? No one would notice, because the kids would be out of school. You wouldn’t care or have to think about the issues because you wouldn’t be inconvenienced in any way. A strike during the school year, however, sort of makes you think about how much value you place on what these teachers do for you and your children, doesn’t it? Do you think that might just be the reason why the strike is occurring now and not in July?

Of course, I’m not a big fan of strikes by public employees or of unions in general. And personally, I’m pretty impressed by the pay and benefits offered by the schools up there in Massachusetts, compared to what we get down here in Texas. Since I’m off school for the summer, I’d be glad to come up and teach for you for a couple of weeks – and would even be open to staying on permanently. So if there is anyone from the Quincy school district personnel department reading this, feel free to send me an email with an offer of employment.

Posted by: Greg at 03:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 486 words, total size 3 kb.

Here's an interesting discussion of a fun cultural issue -- do diamond engagement rings really serve a legitimate purpose in our day and age?

But there's a powerful case to be made that in an age of equitable marriage the engagement ring is an outmoded commodity—starting with the obvious fact that only the woman gets one. The diamond ring is the site of retrograde fantasies about gender roles. What makes it pernicious—as opposed to tackily fun—is its cost (these days you don't need just a diamond; you need a good diamond), its dubious origins, and the cynical blandishments of TV and print ads designed to suggest a ring's allure through the crassest of stereotypes. Case in point: An American couple stands in a plaza in Europe. The man shouts, "I love this woman!" The woman appears mortified. He then pulls out a diamond ring and offers it to her. She says, in heartfelt tones, "I love this man." And you've probably noticed that these days diamonds really are forever: Men are informed that their beautiful wife needs a "Twenty-Fifth Anniversary" ring (note this ad's reduction of a life to copulation and child-rearing), and single women are told not to wait around for guys but to go ahead and get themselves a "right-finger ring." Live to be 100 and a woman of a certain class might find her entire hand crusted over with diamonds. A diamond company, you see, is unrelenting. In their parlance, "the desire is there; we just want to breathe more life into it."

But the desire wasn't always there. In fact, the "tradition" of the diamond engagement ring is newer than you might think. Betrothal rings, a custom inherited from the Romans, became an increasingly common part of the Christian tradition in the 13th century. The first known diamond engagement ring was commissioned for Mary of Burgundy by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria in 1477. The Victorians exchanged "regards" rings set with birthstones. But it wasn't until the late 19th century, after the discovery of mines in South Africa drove the price of diamonds down, that Americans regularly began to give (or receive) diamond engagement rings. (Before that, some betrothed women got thimbles instead of rings.) Even then, the real blingfest didn't get going until the 1930s, when—dim the lights, strike up the violins, and cue entrance—the De Beers diamond company decided it was time to take action against the American public.

I got off easy on this one.

My darling wife and I, early in our dating, had seen an amethyst ring while out shopping, and she mentioned how she loved amethyst more than any other stone because purple is her favorite color. The ring itself had beautiful stained-glass window cut-outs on the side that were backed with more amethyst -- and since we were both seminary students that had a special meaning to us both. Lastly, the amethyst is my birthstone, which added to the significance.

When, some months later, we began talking about marriage, there was never any doubt in my mind about what ring I would get her -- and the fact that she mentioned the ring in another context around the same time served as confirmation that my decision was the right one. It came as something of a surprise to her when I slipped it on her finger -- and she assured me that no other ring would have moved her more. To this day, her friends still say that they envy her for having an engagement ring that MEANS something rather than simply fulfills the social expectation of a diamond solitaire.

But Meghan O'Rourke does raise a really interesting question as well -- in a day and age when women usually work and we are confronted with insistence upon gender equality and equity, does I make sense for a man to go into hock to buy several thousand dollars worth of diamond while the woman in return gives him . . . nothing? Are we really dealing with a relic of a sexist, patriarchal view of the world that needs to be abolished? Come on, feminists -- speak up!

Posted by: Greg at 02:21 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 695 words, total size 4 kb.

1 This feminist says yes, perhaps, but it's also about the way we (Americans? humans?) allow corporations to control our desires.

I doubt many women would look deep inside and decide that owning a sparkly little rock is more important to them than the lives/limbs of African children (or even just being debt-free). You hit the nail on the head as far as where that pressure comes from -- DeBeers. Advertising. Being told constantly that if she is a worthwhile woman, she must be given diamonds (post hoc ergo propter hoc, if she doesn't have diamonds, she's not worthwhile.) And you men have your own advertising mine-field to navigate, mostly full of cars as far as I can tell.

I wish we would all take time to evaluate our desires before indulging them... we have come to resemble a nation of infants, in many respects. Would truly mature people put themselves deeply into debt for something useless but shiny?

Posted by: Elizabeth at Tue Jun 12 11:06:31 2007 (TsRMu)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Frankly, I don't see there being much likelihood of conservatives bolting the party if Rudy gets the GOP nomination, despite the premise of this article.

A growing number of influential social conservatives are speaking out against Rudy Giuliani, with some threatening that they will take flight from the Republican Party in 2008 if the former New York mayor is the GOP nominee.

Giuliani's support for abortion rights and gay rights has not to date prevented him from winning the support of a sizable number of socially conservative voters, according to polls. But the continued strength of his candidacy is causing alarm among leaders of conservative advocacy groups, many of which have been major players in Republican politics.

Why don't I see this happening? Simple -- I don't see Rudy being on the GOP ticket in 2008, and certainly not in the top spot. He's going to the convention with a bunch of delegates, but not enough to win. And if we end up with some sort of brokered convention, my guess will be that we get a Romney-Thompson or Thompson-Romney ticket -- with Rudy offered the AG spot and an eventual Supreme Court seat and McCain installed as Secretary of Defense.

But let's assume for a minute that we are going to see Giuliani at the head of a GOP ticket -- what then? Are these conservatives really going to stay home or vote for a third-party ticket when the result will be the election fo a president much more hostile to their values? Will President Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, or President John Edwards really help advance the pro-life, pro-family agenda more than President Rudy Giuliani? I'd like to think that these folks will recognize that the impact of that third-party vote would be infinitely worse that the impact for a vote for Rudy and a GOP Congress.

Posted by: Greg at 02:11 AM | Comments (31) | Add Comment
Post contains 315 words, total size 2 kb.

Sponsored Post

From time to time, even the most law-abiding people need an attorney. And yes, that can include facing criminal charges, even if you are not guilty. And if you do, you want the best, most experienced lawyer you can find, lawyers that provide you wit an aggressive courtroom defense.

If you need Los Angeles Criminal & DUI Lawyers, one of the best firms available is the firm of Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin. The firm has been in business for over half a century. They are Bar Certified Speciliasts, and they have beenrecognized as among the preeminent lawyers in their field. Not only that, but they are available to you 24/7 if you find yourself in need of counsel.

Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin -- when you need legal representation in the Los Angeles area.

Posted by: Greg at 02:01 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 137 words, total size 1 kb.

Before transferring to be closer to home, I spent my first two years of college at a school with a strong honor code that forbade cheating. I thought that was great -- but every year we had students expelled for violating the honor code. I really wonder how much impact this new proposal from the TEA will have on the problem of TAKS cheating.

Students will be asked to sign honor pledges next year that they will not cheat on the state's high-stakes test, and school districts could suffer lower ratings if cheating is found, education officials said Monday.

Frankly, I don't know that having the kids sign honor pledges imposed from outside will have any impact on a kid bound and determined to cheat. But i do like this idea.

They'll also use several test versions in the same classroom, making it harder for a student to look over someone's shoulder and make cheating easier to spot if they do, because all seats will be assigned.

Having multiple versions in the same classroom only makes sense, in my book -- and my school has already implemented the assigned seats model and had encouraged it even before it was a mandate.

But for all the talk of "widespread cheating" on the test, the statistics do not really bear that out.

The education agency has been battling allegations of widespread cheating on standardized tests for the past 2 1/2 years. In 2006, Utah-based Caveon Test Security was hired to conduct a study of test scores, and flagged about 700 Texas schools for irregularities.

State investigations cleared most of the schools of cheating allegations. But 16, including four Houston charter schools, remain on the list of campuses with testing irregularities.

In a state the size of Texas, 16 schools is not that significant. And as is pointed out by one school administrator, the initial group of 700 schools got flagged for doing the thing that the tests were supposed to encourage -- improve student performance.

However, Gonzalez said he hopes TEA has a better independent audit than the one done by Caveon. Those flagged schools were publicly named before local officials had a chance to review and contest the data even though the vast majority were cleared.

"They dinged you if your scores were too good even if it was from all the tutorials and steps we took to help kids do better," he said.

In other words, finding a program that works was initially deemed evidence of cheating by the company hired to do the reviews. If such a standard is applied this year, I can only imagine how my school's leap in math scores will be interpreted -- even though it can be accounted for by changes in scheduling, class size, methodology and resources allotted to the math department.

Of course, I personally believe the TAKS test to be a joke. I don't believe it shows what it claims to show, and doesn't measure what it claims to measure. maybe, just maybe, the impending change to end-of-course tests will fix that problem.

Posted by: Greg at 01:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 520 words, total size 3 kb.

Sponsored Post

Drug abuse happens in our society, all too often. So does alcoholism. We have all seen it, and the toll it takes on family, friends, and co-workers of the addict. But the impact is most pressing upon those who are addicted. They need help to get the intoxicant of choice out of their system and to develop a sustainable, healthy way of life that does not continue in enslavement to the addiction that has come to dominate their lives.

Where do you turn when you need to seek help for someone in need of rehab -- or for yourself? Well, there are many fine Drug Rehabilitation facilities out there -- including Cliffside Malibu, located on the California coast in overlooking Zuma Bach. The program is individualized to meet the needs of the individual patient.

Cliffside's program focuses upon the following elements.
* Determine appropriateness for treatment for each resident
* Detox affected residents, when necessary
* Evaluate individuals for substance use disorders and any co-occurring (dual diagnosis) disorders
* Offer each patient an individual drug rehabilitation plan which maximizes comfort and the potential for success
* Provide treatment for residents' families through our three day family program
* Develop an aftercare plan which supports the program's philosophies and objectives

If this sounds like a program that you or a loved one needs, contact them via this link or at 1-800-501-1988

Posted by: Greg at 01:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 234 words, total size 2 kb.

While I can understand the need and the desire to keep anyone affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood out of power, this is not the way to do it.

Egyptian security forces barred voters from entering polling centers in opposition areas Monday during the first national elections since the U.S.-backed government of President Hosni Mubarak pushed through constitutional changes that analysts say were intended to keep the Muslim Brotherhood from power.

In Awseem, a dusty town north of Cairo that is a Brotherhood stronghold, security officers lined up behind chest-high plastic riot shields to block all entrances to a locked polling place. Officers clenching automatic rifles alongside a row of police wagons effectively sealed off another voting site.

Residents in other towns around Egypt on Monday complained of police turning them from the polls and occasionally beating them. One person was killed in election-related violence, the Associated Press reported.

In areas loyal to Mubarak's National Democratic Party, voters surged into polling sites. In Bortos, also north of Cairo, a girl of 15 said she cast a ballot for the NDP, and children who appeared much younger than the voting age of 18 waved fingers stained with the pink ink used to mark ballots and boasted that they had voted.

Given other infringements on civil liberties in Egypt (restrictions on the rights of the Copts, prosecution of anti-government bloggers), this goes a long way to show just how unacceptable the Mubarak regime really is. Are we really improving the situation in the region by backing such a farcical election?

Posted by: Greg at 01:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 269 words, total size 2 kb.

Sponsored Post

Looking for a great place to live? Try Asheville, North Carolina, nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina. The Asheville Real Estate market is great right now, so now is the time for you to find yourself the home you want. Not only that, but since the market is booming you are certain to see your investment retain and increase its value over the years. There are many new Asheville homes on the market, and luxury homes Asheville in are also readily available at reasonable prices.

Why Asheville? Well, it is a small city with good schools, a university, and fine entertainment and night life. With a nice climate and beautiful natural surrounding, who wouldn’t want to move to Asheville, given the chance?

Posted by: Greg at 01:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 128 words, total size 1 kb.

Maybe we'll luck out and they will wipe out their entire breed of terrorist scum.

Gunmen reportedly fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the home of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas today as the worst factional fighting among Palestinians in nearly a month appeared to intensify.

Earlier today, mortar shells hit the Gaza City office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, the Associated Press reported. No one was hurt in the two attacks, according to the A.P.

The prime ministerÂ’s home and office had come under attack on Monday when violence elsewhere in Gaza left at least nine dead. The death toll on Monday made it the bloodiest day since a fierce two-week bout of internal violence ended in mid-May, and the number of dead appeared to rise again on Tuesday, with the A.P. reporting the death toll over the two days of violence now at 18.

The latest fighting has erupted despite a cease-fire that was supposed to come into force on Monday morning.

Now imagine that -- they violated a cease-fire. Sort of like they have every time there is supposed to be a cease-fire with Israel. When will the world recognize that the problem is not the Jews -- it is the Arabs.

Posted by: Greg at 01:25 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 218 words, total size 1 kb.

Sponsored Post

Well, PayPerPost.com just keeps on expanding! They just today, they got themselves $7 million in new funding, which will allow them to continue expanding operations in the field of consumer generated advertising via the blogosphere. They have also announced, in celebration, the "Lucky 7's" promotion.

What do I think they need to do with the cash? Well, I personally want to see them use it to increase the client base of PPP, which will certainly put money in both their pockets and in the pockets of bloggers like me. After all, the more they can get folks to advertise on blogs -- especially as they have begun to get movie studios and a band like the Police to do, the more opportunities there are for me to make more and bigger money as the business grows. And as much as I like some of the great promos out there, like this one, HD Tuesdays and Oppapalooza, I’d still rather see more and higher paying opportunities directed towards those of us with a Google Page Rank of 5, not just the ones that are tantalizingly out of reach for PR 6 & 7 bloggers. Still, whatever happens is bound to help me and the rest of the regular posties out while helping their bottom line and the high level of blog ethics they encourage.

more...

Posted by: Greg at 06:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 663 words, total size 5 kb.

Will Muslims riot against the terrorists?

NAIROBI - The Kenyan capital was rocked Monday by a bomb blast thought to be the work of a suicide bomber who blew himself to bits while clutching a copy of the Koran, injuring dozens of people.

“It was a bomb explosion and body parts have been thrown apart,” policeman Gabriel Omondi told AFP after the blast in front of the crowded City Gate restaurant on Moi Avenue, one of Nairobi’s main streets.

When false rumors circulate of Koran desecrations by American troops, Muslims riot. When false accusations claim a Koran has been desecrated by a Christian , that Christian often ends up dead in a mob action. So will there be a similar response to blowing up a Koran as part of a suicide bombing? Or do Muslim terrorists who desecrate the Koran during their acts of violence get a pass?

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson's Website, Committees of Correspondence, DeMediacratic Nation, Maggie's Notebook, On the Horizon, The Pet Haven Blog, Webloggin, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, third world county, stikNstein... has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Dumb Ox Daily News, High Desert Wanderer, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 03:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 213 words, total size 3 kb.

Kudos to Mort Zuckerman for reminding the world that Palestinian terrorism pre-dates the Six-Day War.

The Palestine Liberation Organization, created three years before the Six-Day War, was dedicated to taking back all of Palestine from the hated Jews. We forget that the PLO carried out terrorist attacks in 1964, 1965, and 1966, when Israel was in possession of no occupied territories whatsoever. We forget that a victorious Israel immediately offered to return Sinai to Egypt and the Golan to Syria, only to be met with the Arab League's famous three "nos": no peace, no recognition, and no negotiation. If the Palestinians had wanted a viable state of their own, they could have had it long ago.

As yet another "peace plan" is being prepared to back Israel into a corner and give the Palestinians a baseline from which to start negotiating (for each new proposal giving them more becomes their new minimum standard in negotiations), the fundamental reality needs to be dealt with -- until the Palestinians are willing to fully and unambiguously recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, any attempt to create a Palestinian state serves only to empower Israel's enemies and undermine her security.

Posted by: Greg at 01:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 211 words, total size 1 kb.

Every study proves it. And the quicker it is implemented, the more lives it saves.

Among the conclusions:

• Each execution deters an average of 18 murders, according to a 2003 nationwide study by professors at Emory University. (Other studies have estimated the deterred murders per execution at three, five and 14).

• The Illinois moratorium on executions in 2000 led to 150 additional homicides over four years following, according to a 2006 study by professors at the University of Houston.

• Speeding up executions would strengthen the deterrent effect. For every 2.75 years cut from time spent on death row, one murder would be prevented, according to a 2004 study by an Emory University professor.

And for all the folks criticizing the studies, there has not been a single study to show that they are wrong. People just don't like the outcome.

And this also overlooks the other important issue -- no one who is executed ever commits another murder, while those sentenced to life without parole or a lesser sentence have the capacity to (and, indeed, have) kill fellow inmates and/or guards at the facility where they are incarcerated. After all, how much deterrent effect is there in sentencing an individual serving a life sentence to another life sentence?

Now this is not to say that we should rush to execute anybody, or that we should lower procedural safeguards. However, it does indicate that eliminating the death penalty results in a greater death toll.

Posted by: Greg at 01:20 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
Post contains 254 words, total size 2 kb.

Have we descended so far into the depths of pro-abortion political correctness that using the word "baby" is now forbidden?

A full-term fetus was found in a southwest Houston apartment Sunday after the mother went to the hospital, police said. Nurses at Ben Taub General Hospital became suspicious when the woman arrived there about 8 a.m., police said.

"It looked as if she had just given birth," said John Cannon, an HPD spokesman.

Hospital workers called police when the woman denied having a baby. Officers found the fetus inside the apartment in the 5100 block of South Willow.

Although the fetus appeared fully developed, HPD investigators couldn't say whether it was the result of a miscarriage or had been born.

"We'll have to wait on the medical examiners to rule on what happened, exactly, to the baby," said Sgt. Bobby Roberts, with HPD's homicide division.

The mother, about 23, was still at the hospital later Sunday, where detectives expected to question her again. They also want to speak with the father.

If we are talking about a "full-term fetus", then miscarriage is not an option. What we have is either a live-birth or a still-birth of a BABY! Why can't the Houston Chronicle have the decency to acknowledge as much?

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson's Website, Committees of Correspondence, DeMediacratic Nation, Maggie's Notebook, On the Horizon, The Pet Haven Blog, Webloggin, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, third world county, stikNstein... has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Dumb Ox Daily News, High Desert Wanderer, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 06:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 293 words, total size 3 kb.

Sponsored Post

My darling wife and I may be making a trip back east to see her mother this summer. I found some good deals at Travelocity.com, but wondered if I could do better. I hit CouponChief.com and found a number of Travelocity coupon codes -- one of which will slash my total cost by over 10%. You see, it always pays to look for ionline shopping coupons before you buy -- it will usually save you cash.

Posted by: Greg at 06:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 80 words, total size 1 kb.

Yeah, that's right -- what goes up does, indeed, come down -- including the price of filling your tank and taking a drive.

Gas prices are down for the first time since January, according to a national survey released Sunday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped more than 7 cents in the past three weeks, to $3.11, the survey found.

Drivers in Jackson, Mississippi, are getting the best deal at $2.87 per gallon. Chicago drivers are paying the most -- $3.61.

The Lundberg Survey of about 5,000 gas stations was carried out June 8 and May 18.

When the average price of gasoline hit $3.18 in May, it was the highest price ever recorded, even when adjusted for inflation, according to a previous Lundberg survey.

The 7.37-cent drop comes nowhere near offsetting the $1.00 rise in the price of gas that occurred between January 19 and May 18, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

"It's unlikely we can see the other 93 cents any time soon," she told CNN in a telephone interview.

Most of that 7-cents-relief came from lower prices charged for gas produced in refineries outside the United States, she said.

"Some of our domestic refining capacity is still just limping along, after at least four months of extraordinary down time," she said, citing seasonal maintenance and more than 30 other events "that were beyond ordinary seasonal tune-ups," including fires and explosions.

The nation's refineries are operating at 89.6 percent capacity, down about 6 points from normal, she said.

And I agree that we are unlikely to see the other 93 cents in the near term, but i wouldn't be surprised to see the prices drop some more -- around here I'm paying $2.89 -- I wouldn't be surprised to see $2.50 to $2.75 before the summer has ended.

Posted by: Greg at 05:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 312 words, total size 3 kb.

Why on earth would the LA Times run a column about a Mormon presidential candidate by an anti-Mormon writer who is trying to drum up sales of her anti-Mormon book and the anti-Mormon movie based upon it? That is my question after reading this piece by Sally Denton -- which does nothing but rehash a 150-year-old atrocity and long-repudiated Mormon doctrines while expressing skepticism (which I share) about Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS Church.

Particularly disturbing is this paragraph.

Still, is it fair or legitimate to hold Mitt Romney accountable for dark deeds committed many years ago by the church to which he belongs? If we start down that road, where does it lead? Shall we, for instance, burden Bill Richardson with the Inquisition because he is a member of the Catholic Church?

It's not a church's eccentric past that makes a candidate's religion relevant today, but its contemporary doctrines. (And it's worth noting that polygamy and blood atonement, among other practices, are no longer condoned by the official Mormon church hierarchy.)

The problem -- Denton never bothers to mention a single contemporary doctrine that Romney should be held responsible for or required to answer for. Indeed, she never even bothers to explain why Romney should have to answer for those doctrines at all. Rather, she prefers to tar Romney with the "eccentric past" that she claims is not relevant today and hints at something nefarious in the contemporary faith. Indeed, she brings up only one question that Romney needs to answer.

In the end, it seems less a candidate's religion that concerns Americans and more an apprehension of fundamentalist fanaticism and a fear that the separation of church and state is becoming murky. As for Romney and Mormonism, there seems only one legitimate and relevant question: Do you, like the prophet you follow, believe in a theocratic nation state? All the rest is pyrotechnics.

Interestingly enough, Denton's question does not refer to any contemporary teaching, but to that very history that she claims should be irrelevant! So which is it, Sally -- is Romney responsible for the past of the LDS Church and every past statement by Mormon leaders or not?

Of course, as she raises the specter of Mormon theocracy, Denton neatly ignores this statement from the LDS Church itself on the issue of church political neutrality -- because bringing mentioning the statement would destroy the entire premise of her argument. As such, its exclusion instead neatly demonstrates her bigotry, ill-will, and dishonesty.

H/T Captain's Quarters

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT , The Virtuous Republic, Faultline USA, Maggie's Notebook, Big Dog's Weblog, Nuke's news and views, Blue Star Chronicles, Webloggin, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Cao's Blog, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Colloquium, Jo's Cafe, and Adeline and Hazel, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 09:27 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 475 words, total size 5 kb.

Just a little reminder from George Will.

In the 102 quarters since Ronald Reagan's tax cuts went into effect more than 25 years ago, there have been 96 quarters of growth. Since the Bush tax cuts and the current expansion began, the economy's growth has averaged 3 percent per quarter, and more than 8 million jobs have been created. The deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product is below the post-World War II average.

So, why would any sensible American want to vote for a Democrat?

And remember -- this is what happens when the Bush tax cuts expire.

Twenty-three months after the next president is inaugurated, the Bush tax cuts expire. The winner of the 2008 election and her or his congressional allies will determine what is done about the fact that, unless action is taken, in 2011 the economy will be walloped:

The five income tax brackets (10, 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent) will be increased 50, 12, 10.7, 9.1 and 13.1 percent, respectively, to 15, 28, 31, 36 and 39.6 percent. The child tax credit reverts to $500 from $1,000. The estate tax rate, which falls to zero in 2009, will snap back to a 60 percent maximum, and exemptions that have increased will decrease. The capital gains rate will rise, and the marriage penalty will be revived, as will the double taxation of dividends.

Furthermore, the alternative minimum tax was enacted by Democratic moralists in 1969 because 21 millionaires had legally avoided paying any income tax. The AMT, which allows almost no deductions, had one rate (24 percent) until 1993, when Democrats replaced it with two (26 percent and 28 percent). It has never been indexed for inflation and in the current tax year will hit almost one in five households -- 23 million of them.

Interesting, isn't it, that the group seeing the largest tax increase when the "tax cuts for the rich" expire during the next presidential term will be those making the least? And I wonder how many of those low income Americans removed from the tax rolls completely by the Bush "tax cuts for the rich" will find themselves once again required to pay income taxes with the return to Clinton-era tax policies?

Still, the Democrats want to insist that putting them in power means that "Happy Days Are here Again" -- but I would contend that will be the case only if you believe that the dark days of the Great Depression was a time of joy for Americans

Posted by: Greg at 07:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 428 words, total size 3 kb.

To the degree this keeps guns out of the hands of the truly mentally ill, I don't have a particular problem with this agreement between two adversaries.

Under the agreement, participating states would be given monetary enticements for the first time to keep the federal background database up to date, as well as penalties for failing to comply.

To sign on to the deal, the powerful gun lobby won significant concessions from Democratic negotiators in weeks of painstaking talks. Individuals with minor infractions in their pasts could petition their states to have their names removed from the federal database, and about 83,000 military veterans, put into the system by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2000 for alleged mental health reasons, would have a chance to clean their records. The federal government would be permanently barred from charging gun buyers or sellers a fee for their background checks. In addition, faulty records such as duplicative names or expunged convictions would have to be scrubbed from the database.

"The NRA worked diligently with the concerns of gun owners and law enforcement in mind to make a . . . system that's better for gun owners and better for law enforcement," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), a former NRA board member, who led the talks.

My questions:

1) How difficult will it be for victims of faulty information to correct it?

2) How long will purchase records be retained by the government?

I'm also concerned about the issue of allowing folks with minor infractions to be removed from the database. I'd personally like to see such a program expanded to include those convicted of non-violent felonies -- why should a conviction for tax evasion, for example, be the basis for losing the right to keep and bear arms?

However, this agreement does seem to be a reasonable step towards public safety -- but we must remain vigilant lest it become one more effort to unnecessarily restrict a liberty enshrined in the Constitution.

Posted by: Greg at 07:26 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 350 words, total size 2 kb.

We know that the jihadi pigs have their own twisted sense of honor, but this article is chilling right from the beginning.

We were in a small house in Zarqa, Jordan, trying to interview two heavily bearded Islamic militants about their distribution of recruitment videos when one of us asked one too many questions.

“He’s American?” one of the militants growled. “Let’s kidnap and kill him.”

The room fell silent. But before anyone could act on this impulse, the rules of jihadi etiquette kicked in. You canÂ’t just slaughter a visitor, militants are taught by sympathetic Islamic scholars. You need permission from whoever arranges the meeting. And in this case, the arranger who helped us to meet this pair declined to sign off.

“He’s my guest,” Marwan Shehadeh, a Jordanian researcher, told the bearded men.

With Islamist violence brewing in various parts of the world, the set of rules that seek to guide and justify the killing that militants do is growing more complex.

What are the rules? Broadly speaking, Michael Moss and Souad Mekhennet identify the following.

Rule No. 1: You can kill bystanders without feeling a lot of guilt.
Rule No. 2: You can kill children, too, without needing to feel distress.
Rule No. 3: Sometimes, you can single out civilians for killing; bankers are an example.
Rule No. 4: You cannot kill in the country where you reside unless you were born there.
Rule No. 5: You can lie or hide your religion if you do this for jihad.
Rule No. 6. You may need to ask your parents for their consent.

These rules is each backed with an appropriate citation from the Quran, hadith, or sharia law. And some of what is put forward is chilling -- for example, having voted for the wrong political candidate makes an individual a combatant and therefore eligible for death under the Islamic Rules.

Maybe we need one rule for the Crusade Against Islamo-Fascist Jihad:

If it walks like a jihaid pig and talks like a jihadi pig and looks like a jihadi pig, it is a jihadi pig -- KILL IT.

And really, how can any sympathizer with jihad object? After all, if the victims are jihadis, they end up in paradise with 72 virgins. If they are an innocent, they end up in paradise with 72 virgins. What is there to complain about?

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT , The Virtuous Republic, Faultline USA, Maggie's Notebook, Big Dog's Weblog, Nuke's news and views, Blue Star Chronicles, Webloggin, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Cao's Blog, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Colloquium, Jo's Cafe, and Adeline and Hazel, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 07:15 AM | Comments (389) | Add Comment
Post contains 458 words, total size 4 kb.

Sponsored Post

As I've mentioned, I live just a few blocks from Galveston Bay. Now there is not a lot of beach in this area, but as I travel just a few miles south, especially to Galveston Island proper, that situation remedies itself quite nicely. Indeed, I like to go down there every now and again and wiggle my toes in the sand.

Now when I was young, I lived in San Diego. We used to go to the beach quite regularly, and take our bicycles with us. It was great fun riding them along the sand, especially where it was packed firm enough to get really good traction, right down near the waterline. Years later, when we lived near the shore of Lake Michigan, I tried to do the same on my trusty 10-speed and discovered it didn't work as well. Why not? Thinner tires and issues in shifting gears as I rode. It was times like that I wished for a simple one-speed bike -- a beach bike.

Guess what? Those bikes are back. There is an internet start-up company that you can find at XYZbikes.com that sells cruiser bicycles that are designed for the beach! No more need to buy a racing bike that has more gears than you will ever use -- just a simple bike with one gear and coaster brakes (Lord! Doesn't that take you back?). You can ride it anywhere that your average person would want to go, including on the beach! And they look good -- so good that my favorite bike, the men's black, is on back order. But they do look good, seem to ride good, and the price is right. What more can you ask for?

Posted by: Greg at 07:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 289 words, total size 2 kb.

Following WWII, American troops stayed in Germany for a half century. We still have US troops in Japan, as well as Korea. I guess I've always sort of assumed that we would have a US troop presence in Iraq for the rest of my lifetime, and well beyond that. Indeed, my question is why anyone would be surprised.

U.S. military officials here are increasingly envisioning a "post-occupation" troop presence in Iraq that neither maintains current levels nor leads to a complete pullout, but aims for a smaller, longer-term force that would remain in the country for years.

This goal, drawn from recent interviews with more than 20 U.S. military officers and other officials here, including senior commanders, strategists and analysts, remains in the early planning stages. It is based on officials' assessment that a sharp drawdown of troops is likely to begin by the middle of next year, with roughly two-thirds of the current force of 150,000 moving out by late 2008 or early 2009. The questions officials are grappling with are not whether the U.S. presence will be cut, but how quickly, to what level and to what purpose.

One of the guiding principles, according to two officials here, is that the United States should leave Iraq more intelligently than it entered. Military officials, many of whom would be interviewed only on the condition of anonymity, say they are now assessing conditions more realistically, rejecting the "steady progress" mantra of their predecessors and recognizing that short-term political reconciliation in Iraq is unlikely. A reduction of troops, some officials argue, would demonstrate to anti-American factions that the occupation will not last forever while reassuring Iraqi allies that the United States does not intend to abandon the country.

The planning is shaped in part by logistical realities in Iraq. The immediate all-or-nothing debate in Washington over troop levels represents a false dilemma, some military officials said. Even if a total pullout is the goal, it could take a year to execute a full withdrawal. One official estimated that with only one major route from the country -- through southern Iraq to Kuwait -- it would take at least 3,000 large convoys some 10 months to remove U.S. military gear and personnel alone, not including the several thousand combat vehicles that would be needed to protect such an operation.

"We're not going to go from where we're at now to zero overnight," said Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the U.S. commander for day-to-day operations in Iraq.

Indeed, what we are talking about is a force that will be equal to what we had in Korea for decades -- around 40,000. Of the proposed force remaining in Iraq, 10,000 would be there to help train the Iraqi military, and I would imagine that these troops would be removed within 5-10 years as the Iraqis gain enough experience to train their own. Indeed, I suspect that the US force will be drawn down by 40-50% within 20 years -- but that we will maintain bases in the region for decades for strategic reasons.

Frankly, I don't know why anyone is surprised by the information in this story, and cannot imagine any but the most extreme members of the Left objecting -- you know, the US Out Of San Francisco crowd. For the rest of America -- those who believe in a sound military policy -- this news should be comforting.

Posted by: Greg at 06:51 AM | Comments (174) | Add Comment
Post contains 588 words, total size 4 kb.

Sponsored Post

PAYjr is a new system that lets parents put their teen's allowance on a Teen Visa debit card. In effect, it allows for keeping a spreadsheet/checklist of chores for each child. As the chores get done, the money gets transferred to the child's debit card. No chores, no cash -- pretty simple. This way a parent can also monitor where and how the money is being spent -- and restrict certain transactions and locations to places and purposes they consider appropriate for their teen.

Not only that, but it is a great way of getting money to teens when they need it. All it takes is a quick transaction on the company's website and the money is there. What's more, there is never the possibility of paying a NSF fee like with teen checking accounts -- if the cash is not available on the debit card, a transaction cannot be made.

If this sounds familiar to you, it may be because you heard about it on the CBS Evening News a couple of weeks ago. The service launches in July, but you can check out the demo now at the PAYjr Teen Visa website.

Posted by: Greg at 06:37 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 198 words, total size 1 kb.

The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are 3 Spies and Six Days by Soccer Dad, and Four Modest Proposals for Getting Out of Iraq by Dan Simmons.  Here is a link to the full results of the vote.

Here are the full tallies of all votes cast:

Posted by: Greg at 06:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 229 words, total size 5 kb.

Well, with the Police now reunited and on their world tour, there is a lot of excitement among the group's fans. This is especially true with the release of the new Police cd containing so many of their greatest hits. Personally, I will always remain a fan of Roxanne, the song that introduced almost all of us to the group.

I was fortunate enough to get to see the group on their final tour before the big break-up back during my college years. A group of us made the drive from our college up to Chicago to see them. It was, as I recall, a wild night for the bunch of us. All in our early 20s, we were old enough to drink and so indulged a bit during the concert. However, one thing stood out from the other concerts for other bands that I had been to before -- this one was much more about the music than it was about the lights, video, and special effects emphasized by so many other bands. That made this concert very special -- the emphasis was not on showmanship as much as it was on artistry.

I'm looking forward to getting the new Police cd soon, and hope to be able to score some tickets for the concert here in Houston at the last minute (my wife was in the hospital when they went on sale -- and I do have my priorities straight). But even if I don't, the CD alone will feed my love of the band, Roxanne, and the rest of their wonderful music.

Posted by: Greg at 06:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 268 words, total size 2 kb.