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I like playing backgammon. It is a fun game of skill and strategy. But when I enter a casino setting, my game of choice is Blackjack . I've always loved the game, and have ever since I learned it as a kid. Figuring out how to get to 21 is a lot of fun for me -- and I'm pretty good at it. And now I am pleased to see that one of my backgammonfavorite sites, BackgammonMasters.com, is offering blackjack to interested players.

This will be a great site for eh online gaming community. After all, BackgammonMasters.com is available in 10 different languages, allows for chat capabilities, and now, with its Blackjack game, will allow for 5-player games and the possibility of viewing a game in progress for a while before jumping in. Those are some neat features, and are expected to produce a 300% increase in traffic for BackgammonMasters.com.

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Posted by: Greg at 01:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've got a better idea -- let's step up immigration raids now and continue them at a high pace all the way through the census.

The Census Bureau wants immigration agents to suspend enforcement raids during the 2010 census so the government can better count illegal immigrants.

Raids during the population count would make an already distrustful group even less likely to cooperate with government workers who are supposed to include them, the Census Bureau's second-ranking official said in an Associated Press interview.

Deputy Director Preston Jay Waite said immigration enforcement officials did not conduct raids for several months before and after the 2000 census. But today's political climate is even more volatile on the issue of illegal immigration.

Enforcement agents "have a job to do," Waite said. "They may not be able to give us as much of a break" in 2010.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman declined to say whether immigration officials would halt raids. "If we were, we wouldn't talk about it," Pat Reilly said.

"For us to suspend that enforcement would probably take a lot more than one meeting," Reilly said. "We would have to discuss this at the highest levels of both agencies."

Why do i suggest stepping up the raids instead of slowing them down? Two reasons.

1) Enforcing our nation's laws and securing our borders should be a priority. If we do enough to enforce the law and rid ourselves of some of the immigration criminals, we might just luck out and have more leave voluntarily before they are caught and deported.

2) Given that the Census is used to fund federal programs and congressional representation, the more immigration criminals we can rid ourselves of the better. Border jumpers should not be getting government services or political representation. After all, they are not even legitimately here. Not only do I not care if they are under-counted, I don't believe they should count at all in any government formula.

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UPDATE -- 8/19/2007: Current projections show Hurricane Dean heading well to the south -- but I'm not canceling those reservations yet.

BUMPED DAILY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE -- SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS

8/18/2007 -- Tropical Storm Erin was just a bunch of heavy rain around here -- but Hurricane Dean may not be.

My darling bride and I are making preparations -- we have two different hotel reservations in two different cities, depending on what the forecasts tell us.

Please offer up some prayers that we don't need to evacuate -- after all, who can forget the fiasco two years ago!

Posted by: Greg at 05:59 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Three 1000lb bombs are dropped from a B1 jet onto Mazdurak, a villiage in Kajaki, Afghanistan after a fierce firefight with the Taliban.

"I f*cking told you nothing but bacteria would live!"

H/T Jawa Report

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Granted, it isn't a ringing endorsement, but the editors of the Washington Post have concluded that there is no legitimate reason to keep Leslie Southwick off the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, despite opposition from liberal groups who want a minority judge and object to a couple of opinions he joined but did not write.

For that reason, and because of his relatively pinched approach to judging, Judge Southwick wouldn't have been our first choice for this vacancy. Nor do we like the results in the custody and racial slur cases. But we cannot find fault with Judge Southwick's narrow but ultimately legitimate interpretation of the law in those cases, and we do not find in his record the anti-gay, anti-worker caricature his opponents have drawn. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the lone Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote in favor of his confirmation, got it right when she concluded that if senators were to examine Judge Southwick's entire career, including his stint as a judge advocate in Iraq, they would find a "qualified, circumspect person."

So one of America's most liberal senators and the capital's most liberal newspaper have come out behind Judge Southwick. It is time for the Democrat leadership in Congress to allow a vote -- and, if they are honest, support his nomination.

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The New York Times has a piece today by Adam Liptak that makes for interesting reading. it outlines how conspiracy charges may be the way to put away terrorists and would-be terrorists early -- and for a very long time.

But the real innovation in Mr. PadillaÂ’s case, some legal experts said yesterday, was more subtle than those dueling talking points suggested. The Justice DepartmentÂ’s strategy in the trial itself, using a seldom-tested conspiracy law and relatively thin evidence, cemented a new prosecutorial model in terrorism cases.

The central charge against Mr. Padilla was that he conspired to murder, maim and kidnap people in a foreign country. The charge is a serious one, and it can carry a life sentence. But prosecutors needed to prove very little by way of concrete conduct to obtain a conviction under the law.

“There is no need to show any particular violent crime,” said Robert M. Chesney, a law professor at Wake Forest University and the author of a recent law review article on conspiracy charges in terrorism prosecutions. “You don’t have to specify the particular means used to carry out the crime.”

I still believe these cases don't belong in the criminal justice system -- but if that is where we are ultimately forced to deal with terrorists, this looks good to me.

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So the dog-fighting barbarian had better get used to the notion of having the same experience of some of his dogs -- locked in a cage as somebody else's bitch.

Two of Michael VickÂ’s co-defendants pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a dog fighting ring, leaving the Atlanta Falcons quarterback to face federal charges alone unless he to can strike a deal with prosecutors.

At the same federal courthouse where they pleaded not guilty last month, Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, and Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, accepted one felony count each related to a dog fighting ring the government says was run from VickÂ’s property in Surry, Va.

Both defendants pledged to help the governmentÂ’s case, signing statements that would be included at a possible trial of Vick, who faces three felony charges related to dog fighting. The charges could carry up to five years in prison and as much as a $250,000 fine if he is found guilty.

* * *

According to an individual with direct knowledge of the case, Vick had until 9 a.m. today to verbally accept the governmentÂ’s plea agreement. If he does not take the offer, the government will likely bring superseding charges against him which will subject him to more jail time.

My guess is that there won't be enough of Vick left following his prison stay to resume his NFL career.

Posted by: Greg at 01:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Posted by: Greg at 01:32 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The original plan for the troop surge in Iraq involved a time-limited increase in troop-strength followed by a phased drawdown of forces to a level that was congruent with American and Iraqi security needs.

Guess what -- they are sticking to the plan.

The White House plans to use a report next month assessing progress in Iraq to outline a plan for gradual troop reductions beginning next year that would fall far short of the drawdown demanded by Congressional opponents of the war, according to administration and military officials.

One administration official made it clear that the goal of the planned announcement was to counter public pressure for a more rapid reduction and to try to win support for a plan that could keep American involvement in Iraq on “a sustainable footing” at least through the end of the Bush presidency.

The officials said the White House would portray its approach as a new strategy for Iraq, a message aimed primarily at the growing numbers of Congressional Republicans who have criticized President Bush’s handling of the war. Many Republicans have urged Mr. Bush to unveil a new strategy, and even to propose a gradual reduction of American troops to the levels before this year’s troop increase — about 130,000 — or even lower to head off Democratic-led efforts to force the withdrawal of all combat forces by early next year.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of their reluctance to discuss internal White House deliberations publicly.

Administration officials involved in drafting the new strategy said the White House intended to argue that the troop increase ordered by Mr. Bush had succeeded on several levels in providing more security, with fewer sectarian killings and suicide attacks, and had established the conditions for a new approach that would begin troop cuts in the first half of next year.

At the same time, the administration will use the occasion to argue that vital American interests in Iraq and across the Middle East require a sustained commitment of American forces and that any rapid withdrawal would be catastrophic for the United States and its regional allies.

I don't see why there is any need to present this as something new. This was the announced plan from the beginning. If anything, it is new to the American public because the MSM wasn't particularly interested in reporting anything beyond "MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ" when the Surge began. The only thing that will be "new" is the assessment of how the strategy is working and the exact timetable for victory -- as opposed to the deadline for defeat that the war's opponents are putting forward.

Similar thoughts from Captain Ed.

Posted by: Greg at 01:30 AM | Comments (212) | Add Comment
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Posted by: Greg at 08:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are The "Don't Make Waves!" Theory of Iraqi Politics by Big Lizards, and General James Mattis -- Attacking the al Qaeda "Narrative" by Small Wars Journal.  Here are the full results of the vote

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The mortgage market is in turmoil right now, bringing uncertainty to other financial markets. One possibility is therefore a spike in Foreclosure proceedings against homeowners with weak credit and sub-prime loans.

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It seems that Democrat Rick Noriega has a problem with Senator John Cornyn -- he represents the state of Texas the way that Texans vote.

From Noriega's new campaign video:

For the past six years, the junior senator from this state has merely represented the Administration. The other 23 million Texans need representation, too.

Well, let's consider how Texans have actually voted. In 2000, George W. Bush received 1.37 million more votes than Al Gore. In 2004, George W. Bush received 1.7 million more votes than John Kerry.

Now I don't know about you, but based upon those numbers, the people of Texas seem to have given George W. Bush a pretty decisive mandate in 2000 (59% of the vote) -- and increased that mandate in 2004 (61% of the vote). It seems pretty clear to this observer that John Cornyn has been doing precisely what we sent him to Washington to do with 55% of the vote. That is the essence of representation -- unless you are an arrogant liberal who believes that the voters are too stupid to understand who and what they are voting for, given the fact that Texans have not given a majority of their votes to a Democrat seeking the presidency since 1976.

Noriega's entire video plays to the Kos Klownz Krowd, not to real Texans.

CLOSING QUESTION FOR NORIEGA: Having attended a conference at which a member of the US military was silenced for saying that the war in Iraq is going well while wearing his uniform, how do you dare include so many pictures of yourself in your uniform while you do voice overs on political topics?

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I've entered a contest -- and I need votes for my blog entry Introducing TeachBot Mk1. If you could drop by here and vote for me (I'm entry #7), I'd appreciate the assist.

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Sorry, Matt -- Bond is just more fun than Bourne.

Hollywood star Matt Damon has dismissed James Bond as being stuck in the past.

The actor, who appears in the Bourne thrillers, said: "The Bond character will always be anchored in the 1960s and in the values of the 1960s."

The suave spy was "so anachronistic when you put it in the world we live in today", he said, but added that Bourne was no better or worse than Bond.

* * *

"Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it, and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes," Damon told reporters.

"Bourne is a serial monogamist whose girlfriend is dead and he does nothing but think about her."

He added that Bourne "doesn't have the support of gadgets, and he feels guilty for what he's done".

Well, Matt -- now you've identified why Bond has been a successful franchise since before I was born. He believes in what he is doing, he is unambiguously on the side of right, he's got cool stuff, and he gets the girl in the end (among other places). I'll take a weak James Bond film (such as Casino Royale, which I watched in Damon's honor last night) over Damon's Bourne flicks any day.

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But being a liberal multi-millionaire means never having to say your sorry.

As a presidential candidate, Democrat John Edwards has regularly attacked subprime lenders, particularly those that have filed foreclosure suits against victims of Hurricane Katrina. But as an investor, Mr. Edwards has ties to lenders foreclosing on Katrina victims.

The Wall Street Journal has identified 34 New Orleans homes whose owners have faced foreclosure suits from subprime-lending units of Fortress Investment Group LLC. Mr. Edwards has about $16 million invested in Fortress funds, according to a campaign aide who confirmed a more general Federal Election Commission report. Mr. Edwards worked for Fortress, a publicly held private-equity fund, from late 2005 through 2006.

So let's look at this real closely. John Edwards preaches about compassion and helping the poor -- while foreclosing on Katrina victims and profiting from their misery.

Q: Has he no shame?

A: No -- but then again, we already knew that.

H/T Captain's Quarters

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Well, the good news is that Jose Padilla is going away for a long time for his treasonous actions against the United States.

Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant, was convicted Thursday of helping Islamic extremists and plotting overseas attacks in a case that came to symbolize the Bush administration's zeal to clamp down on terrorism.

But it was hardly a complete victory for the government. When Padilla was arrested in the months following the 2001 terrorist attacks, authorities touted him as a key al-Qaida operative who planned to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a U.S. city. That allegation never made it to court.

Instead, after a three-month trial and only a day and a half of deliberations, the 36-year-old Padilla and his foreign-born co-defendants were convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people and two counts of providing material support to terrorists.

The problem, of course, is that the dirty bomb allegations are such that they could never be raised in open court -- too much in the way of intelligence assets would be compromised in that setting. In addition, it would set the precedent that making war on the US is a criminal, not a military, matter -- undermining the Supreme Court precedent in the Quirin case, in which one of the individuals convicted by a military tribunal was an American citizen taken in America.

The major media, of course, is conflicted. They are glad to see Padilla convicted -- but want to use that conviction as a cudgel to attack our President and not our enemies.

The Washington Post is at least a bit measured.

JOSE PADILLA finally had his day in court.

After nearly five years in federal custody, Mr. Padilla and two co-defendants were convicted yesterday on three terrorism-related counts. The months of trial in South Florida were remarkable for being relatively unremarkable: Prosecutors presented evidence that Mr. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was a member of al-Qaeda intent on using violence to advance that group's extremist goals. Defense lawyers tried to debunk those claims and offered an alternative interpretation of the evidence. A jury bought the government's case and delivered its verdict in less than 48 hours, leaving Mr. Padilla to face roughly 15 years to life behind bars, unless he prevails in an appeal.

What was extraordinary, and reprehensible, was how long Mr. Padilla had to wait for the kind of due process most Americans take for granted.

While the New York Times made it clear that George Bush and not the terrorists are who America needs to be fighting.

It is hard to disagree with the juryÂ’s guilty verdict against Jose Padilla, the accused, but never formally charged, dirty bomber. But it would be a mistake to see it as a vindication for the Bush administrationÂ’s serial abuse of the American legal system in the name of fighting terrorism.

On the way to this verdict, the government repeatedly trampled on the Constitution, and its prosecution of Mr. Padilla was so cynical and inept that the crime he was convicted of — conspiracy to commit terrorism overseas — bears no relation to the ambitious plot to wreak mass destruction inside the United States, which the Justice Department first loudly proclaimed. Even with the guilty verdict, this conviction remains a shining example of how not to prosecute terrorism cases.

Our legal system is singularly unfit to deal with terrorism cases -- just as it would have been unfit to try Hitler or Ho Chi Minh. We deploy troops, not cops, to deal with those who use (or seek to use) military force against the United States. If captured, they are to be treated as prisoners of war (if they meet the definitions of the Geneva Convention) or unlawful combatants (if they don't). In either case, it is the military that handles the problem, not the legal system. That so many folks have forgotten this basic principle is disheartening -- and shows that they really don't get the fact that we are at war.

Or maybe they think we should send NYPD to arrest bin Laden, rather than US troops to kill him.

More At Malkin, Captain's Quarters, Stop the ACLU, Pirate's Cove

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Her legal troubles marred the early months of her father's presidency. Now her marriage may be the highlight of the waning months of the Bush Administration.

Jenna Bush is getting married.

Is a White House wedding in the works? Jenna Bush, one of President Bush's twin daughters, is engaged to be married to her longtime boyfriend, Henry Hager, the White House announced Thursday.

Asked if the two were getting married in the Rose Garden, Sally McDonough, press secretary for first lady Laura Bush, replied: "They have not set any details, date or place."

Jenna Bush, 25, and Hager, 29, were engaged Wednesday in Maine, she said.

The two have been dating for several years, and Hager is often seen at Jenna Bush's side at Bush family functions and formal events, such as a White House dinner in November 2005 in honor of Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Here's hoping that America can put all partisanship aside and wish this young couple nothing but happiness.

But I would like to comment on what may be the most absurd and disrespectful attempt to take a shot at the President -- courtesy, of course, of the New York Times.

President Bush, who has been the sole male in his nuclear family with the exception, perhaps, of his dog Barney, will finally have a son-in-law.

WTF? That sort of lede really has no place in a story of this sort.

On the other hand, The Washington Post scored points with me with the anecdote they used to start this story.

Back in February 2005, Laura Bush was asked about the guy her daughter Jenna was seeing. "This is not a serious boyfriend -- I hate to have to be the one to say it on television," said the first lady. "But he's a very nice young man."

And one not easily dissuaded. Henry Hager proposed marriage to Jenna on Wednesday in Maine. She said yes.

Maybe I just a sucker for silly courtship stories. Or maybe it is the fact that my mother-in-law still has the letter in which my wife offers a not so flattering commentary on me after our first meeting -- two weeks before we began dating and fourteen months before our wedding. Persistence pays off.

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Let's be honest here -- some pretty lousy things have happened in just about every society since the beginning of civilization. However, do people alive today bear some moral responsibility for the actions of their ancestors? Do they have a moral responsibility to apologize for those actions? To make some recompense for them?

I've long argued that the answer is no. Two stories today illustrate how absurd such apologies can be.

For the first story, let's go to Papua New Guinea.

THE descendants of Papua New Guinea cannibals who killed and ate four Fijian missionaries in 1878 have apologised.

Fiji's High Commissioner to PNG, Ratu Isoa Tikoca accepted the apologies at a reconciliation ceremony near Rabaul in PNG's East New Britain Province yesterday in front of thousands of people.

"We at this juncture are deeply touched and wish you the greatest joy of forgiveness as we finally end this record disagreement," Ratu Tikoca said.

PNG's Governor-General Paulias Matane told the crowd he appreciated the work of the early Fijian missionaries in spreading Christianity in the islands region.

The ceremony marked 132 years since Methodist ministers and teachers from Fiji arrived in the New Guinea islands region in 1875 headed by Englishman George Brown.

In April 1878, a Fijian minister and three teachers were killed and eaten by Tolai tribespeople on the Gazelle Peninsula.

Brown directed and took part in a punitive expedition that resulted in a number of Tolais being killed and several villages burnt down.

His actions caused a storm of protest in the Methodist Church.

Official investigations by British colonial authorities in the Pacific cleared him of criminal charges.

I'll be the first to accept the notion that contrition and repentance are good things. However, doesn't it seem rather bizarre for non-cannibals to apologize for having ancestors who were cannibals? These people bear no responsibility for the crimes or sins (and let's not discuss in this context whether cannibalism was either) of their ancestors. For what are they apologizing? Their mere descent from these people? I think the headline of the article catches the craziness of it all -- Sorry we ate your forefathers. Nobody apologizing did any such thing.

And then you get into even older historical disputes.

MORE than 1200 years ago hordes of bloodthirsty Viking raiders descended on Ireland, pillaging monasteries and massacring the inhabitants.

On Wednesday, one of their more mild-mannered descendants stepped ashore to apologise.

The Danish Minister for Culture, Brian Mikkelson, who was in Dublin to celebrate the arrival of a replica Norse longboat, apologised for the invasion and destruction inflicted.

"In Denmark we are certainly proud of this ship but we are not proud of the damage to the people of Ireland that followed in the footsteps of the Vikings," Mr Mikkelson declared in his welcoming speech delivered by the River Liffey.

"But the warmth and friendliness with which you greet us today and the Viking ship show us that, luckily, it has all been forgiven."

Good grief! We are talking about things that happened over a millennium ago! It is how the world was at the time, a much less civilized place. Warfare and raiding were an accepted part of Scandinavian culture (Irish, too -- thought they tended to do it more among themselves ). Why apologize for it?

What next? Will the Greek ambassador to Turkey make a visit to Hisarlik and formally apologize for the actions of Agamemnon, Achilles, and Odysseus during the Trojan War?

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Posted by: Greg at 11:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You sure as hell don't speak for this Republican -- and I'm one that was elected to my position by Republican voters, not hand-picked by the President.

The Republican Party's national chairman scolded his party's two top presidential candidates this week for their tough stance on illegal immigration, even as both men moved to try to one-up each other in calling for stricter enforcement.

Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, President Bush's handpicked choice for party chairman, chided former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani for opposing and mischaracterizing the Senate immigration bill Mr. Martinez helped craft.

"It's about leading on the tough issues," Mr. Martinez told the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce in comments first reported in yesterday's St. Petersburg Times. "It was easy to say, 'This wasn't good enough, this isn't right, I don't agree with Martinez.' ... But at the end of the day, what is your answer? How would you solve this?"

How? By doing what the American people want done.

Round 'em up! Ship 'em back! Rawhide!

And we can start with this one.

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Posted by: Greg at 07:52 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But don't these judges know that New Orleans is the Chocolate City, so ordinary rules about racist employment practices don't apply? Good Lord -- this is Louisiana! One can't expect honesty from elected Democrats in that state!

The New Orleans district attorney lost his fight Wednesday against a ruling that said he violated the civil rights of dozens of white employees when he fired them after taking office in 2003 and replaced them with black workers.

Orleans Parish prosecutor Eddie Jordan claimed he filled key positions with political supporters and did not discriminate based on race when he took over from longtime District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. in 2003; he fired 53 of 77 employees.

In his appeal, Jordan had argued that jurors did not have enough evidence to reach that conclusion in 2005.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict that, with interest, means Jordan's office owes the ex-workers and their attorneys about $3.5 million.

In addition to rejecting all points of Jordan's appeal, the panel also ordered U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. to set attorney fees to cover the appeal for the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs attorney Clement Donelon estimated that would add another $80,000 to $100,000 to the judgment.

All of the fired employees, with the exception of one who was Hispanic, were white. The jury found that 43 had been the victims of racial discrimination by Jordan, who is black, and awarded damages to 35 of them, Donelon said.

Jordan was a US Attorney under Bill Clinton.

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Oh, really?

Democrats seeking the White House have received more than four times as much money from some of the nation's wealthiest enclaves as party contenders did in 2003, an analysis of campaign-finance records shows.

The major Democratic presidential candidates have raised nearly $32 million from the 50 ZIP codes that were the top sources of campaign money in the first six months of the year, the non-profit Center for Responsive Politics found. In contrast, Republicans received $13.8 million.

The analysis for USA TODAY shows Democrats raised the most money in 43 of the 50 postal codes. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the top recipient in 28 areas.

In the first half of 2003, John Kerry, Howard Dean and other Democrats who ran for president raised about $7.7 million from the top 50 donor ZIP codes. President Bush, who did not actively raise money until May of that year, collected nearly $6 million in that period.

The trend in giving from such upscale areas as Greenwich, Conn., is another sign of the financial advantage for the 2008 election enjoyed by Democrats, who have outraised their Republican counterparts by nearly $60 million.

"There's a lot of pent-up demand by Democrats to win back the White House," said John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron in Ohio.

Because fewer than 1% of all Americans donate to presidential campaigns, the contributions from tony neighborhoods also highlight the influence that a tiny fraction of people will have on the contest.

"In some ways, this 2008 primary season won't be decided in the heartland or the swing states, but in Upper East Side apartments, Beverly Hills mansions and Palm Beach villas," center spokesman Massie Ritsch said. The analysis also found:

•Donors living in New York's 10021 ZIP code rank first, providing more than $4.5 million. That's up from $1.2 million in the first six months of 2003, when the area also was the top source of presidential money.

Clinton received the most, $1.4 million, followed by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, with $941,000.

Investment banker Jewelle Bickford, who gave $4,600 to the former first lady, said Clinton's Senate and White House experience make her the best candidate to cope with the Iraq war: "My support for her is totally pragmatic."

•Areas trying to boost native sons have emerged as top money sources. Donations to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama made Chicago's Gold Coast area No. 17 on the list. The 60610 ZIP code didn't make the list in 2003.

Neither did Paradise Valley, Ariz., where Arizona Sen. John McCain was its top recipient with $275,000.

"It takes more money to run for president," said developer John Graham, who donated $4,600 to McCain. "Everyone has ratcheted up their efforts to help."

•Three of the seven ZIP codes where Republicans have raised the most money are in Texas. Giuliani, a partner in a Houston-based law firm, was the leading recipient in all three.

•Some areas with close ties to Bush are no longer top sources of donations. Among them: North Dallas, where Bush lived before he was elected governor of Texas.

Seems to me that the Democrats are actually the party of the rich and over-privileged. Wouldn't it be great if this money actually went to helping the poor, like Democrats CLAIM they want to do, rather than subsidizing multi-millionaires with no contact with the wants and needs of average Americans as they seek to seize power?

But then again, why would it -- these folks in the wealthiest zip codes are giving to those exactly like themselves. And the only individual who has a clue as to the problems besetting the poor is Hillary -- after all, she has lived in government housing for much of her adult life.

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The MuNuvians are in the middle of a change of servers at this time, which may be contributing to some bugs and glitches as things get tweaked. Please forgive the technical issues that may arise -- and don't give up on me if the blog is temporarily unavailable.

In addition, in the near future I will be making some changes around here as the MuNuvians migrate to a new blogging platform. I hope you will approve.

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Even if I didn't know folks involved with this mission (and being under 5 miles from JSC, it would be hard not to know someone involved in it), I'd recognize that this decision is one with no room for error. That's why I'm surprised by this report.

Experiments conducted last night at NASAÂ’s Johnson Space Center in Houston indicated that temperatures inside a gouge on the underside of the space shuttle Endeavour were not likely to become dangerously hot during reentry.

Coupled with computer simulations that also indicated that the shuttleÂ’s aluminum frame would stay under 350 degrees Fahrenheit, mission managers may decide today to forgo any type of repair and allow Endeavour to fly home as is.

Officials have decided to delay a decision an extra day while analysis of the data continues.

Realizing that I am not a scientist, nor am I familiar with the data in question, I would hope that the final decision would be to add a space walk and make the repairs. NASA can ill-afford to lose the life of this brave crew, nor can it afford the damage that models indicate could occur without the repairs. Better to play it safe and preserve the space program than risk the loss of support that either of those two outcomes would likely cause.

Posted by: Greg at 02:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My heart aches for those who die under tragic circumstances and their survivors. However, I'm troubled by a new trend that has developed in recent years -- the notion that the victims of such tragedies (or their families) are entitled to compensation from the government.

Virginia Tech will offer the families of the 32 students and faculty members slain by Seung Hui Cho a one-time payment of $180,000 from a fund created to receive private donations in the weeks after the April 16 massacre, the administrator of the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund said Wednesday.

The administrator, Kenneth R. Feinberg of Bethesda, said the university plans to distribute the entire $7.1 million fund to the families of those killed and to the 27 people wounded in Norris Hall.

Those who were wounded will receive $40,000 to $90,000 apiece, depending on the severity of their injuries, as well as free tuition at Virginia Tech.

"We are hopeful this effort can continue the healing process for those most grievously touched by the April 16 tragedy," said Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger.

Some slain students' relatives, who plan to meet this weekend, appeared unimpressed by Feinberg's decision on distribution of the fund.

"It was expected. We've got to take a look at it and decide if there is going to be a response or not," said Joseph Samaha of Centreville, whose daughter Reema was killed in Norris Hall.

Now the charitable response to this tragedy was touching, and the desire of so many folks to help was admirable. But the families involved want more. And that is a response that troubles me deeply.

Why, exactly, does the state of Virginia owe the victims anything? Can the state of Virginia really be said to be responsible for the acts of a madman? I simply do not believe that it is. And the mere fact that the state has deep pockets is not a sufficient cause to demand compensation.

Posted by: Greg at 02:00 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Back in college, there was this kid in one of my classes who could have been a twin for Sanjaya from American Idol. Man, was he ever sold on the benefits of "self-hypnosis" for purposes of self-improvement. I laughed then, but over two decades later he is the guy I remember.

Even 25 years later, I still think back to that presentation in class when I see stuff about this site for hypnosis downloadshypnosis downloads to help improve people's lives -- all available over the internet or on CD. Frankly, I'm astounded by the number of hypnosis downloads available. I guess that it indicates there are lots of people who find these programs beneficial, just like my classmate. You can find hypnosis downloads for memory improvement, skill development, ending destructive personal habits, or even to help cope with pain. There are all sorts of possibilities for you.

And even better, the folks at Instant-Hypnosis.com really want you to try their material. They offer fantastic discounts for you! And since all sessions come with a money-back guarantee, you do not pay a thing for any session with which you are not completely satisfied. That, my friends, is a sign of confidence in one's product, being prepared to give up every penny with the assurance that one's customers will be happy enough to stay with the program in the future!

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I've got serious questions about the man's character, but I do like what he has to say on this issue.

In a sweeping repudiation of the conventional wisdom that America's war on terrorism must address Palestinian Arab national grievances, the leading Republican contender for the presidency is warning of the dangers of pressing too soon for Palestinian statehood and is asserting that Israeli security is a "permanent feature of our foreign policy."

"Too much emphasis has been placed on brokering negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians Â-- negotiations that bring up the same issues again and again," Mayor Giuliani writes in an essay published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. "It is not in the interest of the United States, at a time when it is being threatened by Islamist terrorists, to assist the creation of another state that will support terrorism."

In some of the boldest language on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict used thus far by any presidential candidate, Mr. Giuliani writes: "Palestinian statehood will have to be earned through sustained good governance, a clear commitment to fighting terrorism, and a willingness to live in peace with Israel."

That language appears to be a direct shot at President Bush and Secretary of State Rice, who are making just such a push for final status negotiations between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert in September, despite Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June.

And Rudy is dead right on this one. The creation of a Terrorstinian state would be fundamentally destabilizing to the region, and undermine the security of the one truly free nation there. Furthermore, any argument over whether or not Israel "should have been" created is a moot point -- the Jewish presence in the region has been increasing for over a century, and after sixty years the Israelis are not going to go anywhere. Any attempt to make them do so would inexorably result in a new Masada.

Am I an uncritical supporter of Israel? No, I am not. but any American policy in the Middle East that undermines Israel is not in America's best interests -- and at a time when we are fighting forces of radicalism that tend to create instability in the Middle East, we should not be creating a new state to serve as a home for such radicalism.

Posted by: Greg at 01:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Tell me -- which party's views does this more accurately reflect?

According to a 1963 U.S. News & World Report story, President Kennedy said, "I don't think we can undo the past. In fact, the past is going to be with us for a good many years in uneducated men and women who lost their chance for a decent education. We have to do the best we can now. That is what we are trying to do. I don't think quotas are a good idea. I think it is a mistake to begin to assign quotas on the basis of religion or race -- color -- nationality. . . . On the other hand, I do think that we ought to make an effort to give a fair chance to everyone who is qualified -- not through a quota -- but just look over our employment rolls, look over our areas where we are hiring people and at least make sure we are giving everyone a fair chance. But not hard and fast quotas. . . . We are too mixed, this society of ours, to begin to divide ourselves on the basis of race or color."

Expansion of opportunity and opposition to quotas. I believe that his words could be substituted for the current language in the GOP platform and made no difference -- but these same words uttered by a Republican today would be labeled as racist by Democrats.

Posted by: Greg at 01:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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First, they wanted to take away a worker's right to a secret ballot.

Now they want to require that employers recognize unions that represent only a minority of employees.

Seven labor unions asked the National Labor Relations Board yesterday to order employers to bargain with unions, even when the unions represent only a minority of employees.

This would be a sharp departure from current practices, in which employers are required to bargain with a union only after it shows that a majority of employees at a workplace support it.

The unions hope that such a change will make it easier to unionize workers. Today, 7.4 percent of private-sector workers belong to unions, less than a fourth of the rate in the 1950s.

Frankly, this notion is absurd. To require an employer to have different wage scales and benefit packages depending on union membership is unreasonable. And that is exactly what the result would eventually be -- because the next step for the unions is to demand not only negotiations, but binding arbitration or mediation with the employers.

Indeed, the entire notion that an employer has an obligation to bargain with a union at all is absurd -- after all, why shouldn't a business be able to look for the best value for his dollar by picking a different supplier? If he can do this with raw materials, he should also be permitted to do this with labor.

Posted by: Greg at 05:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This is, dare I say it, among the most pathetic things I have ever heard of.

In the last few months, bottled water — generally considered a benign, even beneficial, product — has been increasingly portrayed as an environmental villain by city leaders, activist groups and the media. The argument centers not on water, but oil. It takes 1.5 million barrels a year just to make the plastic water bottles Americans use, according to the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, plus countless barrels to transport it from as far as Fiji and refrigerate it. ...

Dave Byers, 65, from Silver Spring, Md., discussed the issue with his wife, Pat, on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a 90-degree Saturday. “I think it should be banned, actually,” he said of bottled water.

Now, according to to this piece at Reason's Hit & Run blog, we use 20 million barrels of oil a day.

And if we take accepted figures that water bottles make up a whopping .02% of our oil consumption and plastic bags consume .16% of our oil, that makes up les than two-tenths of one percent of our oil consumption.

Assuming such bans would not require shifting to products that would consume any of the oil saved (a brainless assumption -- but hey, let's humor the acolytes of the cult of man-made global warming), that means our daily oil savings would be a whole 36 thousand barrels of oil a day -- or a bit over 13.1 million barrels of oil a year. In other words, the savings is less than 2/3 of one day's oil consumption. The total savings would have been consumed by the American public by 3:47 PM on January 1.

Yeah. Great job, folks.

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Well, looks like Don Imus is making all the right steps to get himself back on the air.

First, he settles with CBS.

The voice of Don Imus could resurface somewhere on the radio dial as soon as this fall, after Mr. Imus and CBS announced that they had settled the remaining differences about his firing in April over remarks deemed insensitive to women and blacks.

Neither Martin Garbus, the lawyer representing the radio host, nor CBS, which owns WFAN, the AM station that had been the flagship for his morning talk show, would comment on the terms of their agreement, citing a confidentiality clause. Mr. Imus was due to be paid nearly $40 million over the almost four years that remained on his contract.

While some Imus associates suggested yesterday that his final payment was at least $20 million, Karen Mateo, a spokeswoman for CBS Radio, characterized that figure as too high.

Now he is trying to get hired somewhere else.

Because so much of the radio spectrum has been carved up by conglomerates, the list of broadcasters that could offer Mr. Imus the possibility of a flagship in New York, as well as a syndicated network of affiliates, is relatively short. There is Citadel Broadcasting, which owns WABC-AM in New York, but to install Mr. Imus in the morning, it would have to bump “Curtis and Kuby,” a relatively popular talk show. Steve Borneman, president and general manager of WABC, said yesterday that he was happy with “Curtis and Kuby” and that neither he nor anyone else at his company had spoken with Mr. Imus or his representatives.

Another possibility is Clear Channel, but many of its New York stations also have popular morning shows, including WLTW-FM, a light music outlet that is among the most lucrative in the nation, and WHTZ-FM, better known as Z100, which plays pop music.

WOR, an AM station in New York owned by Buckley Broadcasting, is also a possibility. But like any other potential employer, WOR would have to support the salary that Mr. Imus is seeking, believed to be in the range of $8 million or more a year.

Personally, I look for him to end up on a satellite gig like Howard Stern.

But this doesn't end the legal issues for Imus.

Don Imus is facing his first lawsuit from a player on the Rutgers Women's Basketball team for derogatory comments that cost him his job as a radio host in April, ABC News has learned.

Kia Vaughn, star center for the Rutgers Women's Basketball team, has filed a lawsuit against Imus for libel, slander and defamation -- the first civil suit to be filed against the former radio host. Vaughn is asking for monetary damages of an unspecified amount.

"This is a lawsuit in order to restore the good name and reputation of my client, Kia Vaughn," said her attorney, Richard Ancowitz, in an exclusive interview with the ABC News Law & Justice Unit.

The suit names Imus individually, but it is also waged against MSNBC, NBC Universal, CBS Radio, CBS Corp., Viacom Inc., Westwood One Radio and Imus producer Bernard McGuirk.

Today's suit refers to terms used by Imus April 4 -- including referring to women on the team as "nappy headed" -- as "debasing, demeaning, humiliating, and denigrating" to Vaughn and her fellow players. "There's no way these bigoted remarks should have seen the light of day," Ancowitz told ABC News.

"Don Imus referred to my client as an unchaste woman. That was and is a lie."

I don't see this case as having any real merit.

First, given the ubiquitous nature of the word "ho" in contemporary culture in contexts not referring to prostitution, I don't know that there would be a showing that Imus actually impugned the young lady's morality.

Second, given the public support Vaughn and her teammates received from the American public, I don't believe she can actually show damages.

Third, given that the statements were made the day after she appeared in the national championship game, it could reasonably be argued that Vaughn was a public figure, requiring her to meet a higher burden in any libel, slander, or defamation action under the doctrine enunciated by the Supreme Court in the Sullivan case back in the 1960s.

If Imus is smart, however, he will quickly approach Vaughn and her teammates and settle this case quickly --because it is the decent thing to do and would indicate some sort of contrition on his part.

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There really is no debate in my eyes. The basic argument is spelled out in the opening paragraph.

Over the strong objection of federal safety officials, a quiet movement to lower the legal drinking age to 18 is taking root as advocates argue that teenagers who are allowed to vote and fight for their country should also be able to enjoy a beer or two.

Forget the statistics and the arguments about alcoholism and drunk driving. When we are telling ADULTS that they are responsible enough to enter a binding contract, marry, fight, and vote, but not to drink a beer, we have crossed the line into absurdity.

Besides, I this argument is really a dangerous one.

James C. Fell, a former federal highway safety administrator who is a senior researcher on alcohol policy with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, acknowledged that “it’s not a perfect law. It doesn’t totally prevent underage drinking.”

But Fell said the age restriction “does save lives. We have the evidence.”

But if that is the case, why stop at 21? Why not raise the drinking age still higher -- 25, perhaps, or maybe even 30? After all, that would make it still harder for young people to get alcohol, and cut down (in theory) on alcohol abuse and deaths among those who are younger and less responsible. Heck, why not raise the drinking age to 50, and cut the fatalities still further?

Well, because of what we know from the Prohibition era. Prohibition does not really work. Treating adults like children will only lead to contempt for the law and its massive violation.

Sort of like what the statistics show with the current drinking age laws.

The federal governmentÂ’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that in 2005, the most recent year for which complete figures are available, 85 percent of 20-year-old Americans reported that they had used alcohol.

Yeah -- really effective. What these laws have done is made 85% of our young people into criminals -- and bred contempt for the law in general.
But in my mind, it all comes back to the initial argument-- and absurdities like the one that I see going on now in my own neighborhood.

A kid on the block is in boot camp, having just graduated from high school in May. He's getting married when he finishes basic training in a couple of weeks. He and his new wife are going to buy a house that her grandmother owns (he is in the reserves). They can do all of these things without parental permission.

But at their wedding reception, their parents will need to be present for them to be allowed to have their champagne toast.

Where is the logic in that?

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Posted by: Greg at 02:43 AM | Comments (254) | Add Comment
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The Bush Administration is about to designate Iranian President Mahmoud the Mad's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. Its about time.

Formed in 1979 and originally tasked with protecting the world's only modern theocracy, the Revolutionary Guard took the lead in battling Iraq during the bloody Iran-Iraq war waged from 1980 to 1988. The Guard, also known as the Pasdaran, has since become a powerful political and economic force in Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rose through the ranks of the Revolutionary Guard and came to power with support from its network of veterans. Its leaders are linked to many mainstream businesses in Iran.

"They are heavily involved in everything from pharmaceuticals to telecommunications and pipelines -- even the new Imam Khomeini Airport and a great deal of smuggling," said Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations. "Many of the front companies engaged in procuring nuclear technology are owned and run by the Revolutionary Guards. They're developing along the lines of the Chinese military, which is involved in many business enterprises. It's a huge business conglomeration."

The Revolutionary Guard Corps -- with its own navy, air force, ground forces and special forces units -- is a rival to Iran's conventional troops. Its naval forces abducted 15 British sailors and marines this spring, sparking an international crisis, and its special forces armed Lebanon's Hezbollah with missiles used against Israel in the 2006 war. The corps also plays a key role in Iran's military industries, including the attempted acquisition of nuclear weapons and surface-to-surface missiles, according to Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Clintonoids at the Center for American Progress are complaining that this move might make Iran less cooperative with international efforts to rein-in its bad behavior.

The administration's move could hurt diplomatic efforts, some analysts said. "It would greatly complicate our efforts to solve the nuclear issue," said Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear proliferation expert at the Center for American Progress. "It would tie an end to Iran's nuclear program to an end to its support of allies in Hezbollah and Hamas. The only way you could get a nuclear deal is as part of a grand bargain, which at this point is completely out of reach."

Such sanctions can work only alongside diplomatic efforts, Cirincione added.

"Sanctions can serve as a prod, but they have very rarely forced a country to capitulate or collapse," he said. "All of us want to back Iran into a corner, but we want to give them a way out, too. [The designation] will convince many in Iran's elite that there's no point in talking with us and that the only thing that will satisfy us is regime change."

In other words, expect the Left to advocate capitulating to this terrorist group as well as al-Qaeda.

Posted by: Greg at 02:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Posted by: Greg at 01:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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