To celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham LincolnÂ’s birth, the US Mint will issue commemorative pennies with a variety of designs on the reverse.

“A penny for your thoughts” will have extra meaning in 2009 — the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Lincoln cent.

To commemorate the event, the U.S. Mint, at the direction of Congress, will introduce four rotating designs on the 1-cent coin for that year depicting different aspects of LincolnÂ’s life.

Those designs will replace the engraving of the Lincoln Memorial on the “tails” side of the coin. The famous profile of the 16th president will remain on the “heads” side.

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which provides recommendations on such matters, met Tuesday and got into a lively debate over what those rotating images should be.

The question of the design to depict the Lincoln presidency provoke some discussion and dispute. The panel didnÂ’t like the designs of the incomplete US Capitol building (Lincoln ordered construction to continue during the war to signify that the union would endure). Instead, there was a request for designs related to Lincoln as a war president (perhaps visiting troops) or relating to emancipation. Personally, I believe a design depicting Lincoln at Gettysburg would be most appropriate, given the fact that the Gettysburg Address so neatly unifies those two elements.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

A masterpiece of American rhetoric and a cogent statement of our nation’s republican form of government, love of liberty, and debt to those who serve our nation in time of war. They are words to remember today – ideas appropriate to commemoration on our nation’s coinage.

H/T Don Surber

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Supporters of Hillary ClintonÂ’s campaign frequently hearken back to Bill ClintonÂ’s Administration for clues about what her administration will be like.

But consider what this answer tells us.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) dodged a curveball thrown at her by moderator Tim Russert in tonight’s debate after she disavowed the use of torture against terrorists, even in extreme circumstances, only to be told her husband took the opposite position on Russert’s Meet the Press. “Well, he’s not standing here right now,” Clinton responded. The moment brought her huge applause, and her campaign promoted the clip as “Tonight’s Video Moment.”

So, she won’t be a repeat of Bill Clinton – and she is very correct to note that he is not going to be the candidate in 2008. Let’s hope the American people recognize that fact.

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I suppose that she would have been welcome if she were denying the Holocaust, calling for the destruction of Israel, and giving support to those killing Americans – at least if the principal were adhering to the Columbia University understanding of free speech and academic freedom. Instead, a few parental complaints were sufficient to get Alveda King’s speech cancelled.

A decision to cancel a speech by an anti-abortion activist at a Des Moines high school is sparking criticism.

The principal of Roosevelt High School, Kathie Danielson, says she canceled Friday's appearance by Alveda King because some parents complained about her message.

The Iowa chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it implies the school is taking sides on the abortion issue. Spokesman Ben Stone says Danielson is doing a "disservice" when she decides she must protect students from controversial viewpoints.

King is a niece of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Danielson says it was a good opportunity to hear King on issues such as diversity. But parents complained about her political and social views.

Of interest, though, is the fact that King was not scheduled to speak on abortion at all. Her topic was, by all indication, her lifetime involved with civil rights. After all, as an author and minister and former college professor and state legislator, she might just have something of importance to teach these students on that subject—and about her uncle, whose life and work in that area ought to be an inspiration to every American. Add to the fact that attendance a the speech was voluntary, it seems hard to believe that anyone was going to be coerced, indoctrinated, or proselytized as a member of a captive audience of students.

However, that was not good enough for some.

Danielson explained the decision in an e-mail to the parents. When the school scheduled King in August, the plan was for King to speak about her civil rights journey.

Then Monday, "several community members" called to complain about King's allegiance to anti-abortion issues and abstinence. There was also the sticky possibility of King's expressing her religious beliefs in a public-school setting.

Those still wishing to hear King's message, Danielson added, could see her at either Iowa State or Drake.

Danielson said she called King, had a nice talk and came away impressed.

"She is a wonderful person," Danielson e-mailed, "and our conversation was meaningful and enlightening. We will visit in the near future about the possibility of scheduling a time when she could speak to our parents."

That's good, because King has a compelling story to tell. The students should be allowed to hear it.

The irony of this situation is not lost on me. You see my knowledge of history and constitutional law makes Roosevelt High School in Des Moines a familiar name to me – and it ought to be to any educator.

After all, Roosevelt High School was one of the schools at which the events occurred that gave rise to the Supreme CourtÂ’s seminal decision of freedom of speech in schools, Tinker v. Des Moines. And while the circumstances are different, we again see a small group deciding that there are some ideas, well-within the mainstream of American political belief, that must be suppressed at all cost in the public schools. Such actions were wrong then, and are wrong now.

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Remember that "one man, no vote" edict promulgated by the Democrats regarding Florida? Well, it should also apply to Michigan -- but the Democrats have made an exception to the rules on no campaigning in that state. What is that exception?

In one reluctant concession, the Democratic chairs in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and that great American tradition, the Nevada caucus, are graciously allowing one exemption to the no-campaigning rule so the candidates can participate in a conference held in Dearborn by the Arab American Institute.

Are you following all this? HereÂ’s where we are so far:

Florida:

A) One man, no vote.

B) No talking to any Floridians who are not waving checkbooks.

Michigan: Both of the above, but Arab-Americans organized into a large conference are exempt.

So lets get this straight.

Florida, with its many Jewish voters, will be off limits to the Democrat candidates, and its voters will be disenfranchised by the DNC.

Michigan, with its many Arab and Muslim voters, will be granted a special exception to the rules -- and, I suspect, be subject to a lesser penalty so as not to disenfranchise those groups despite holding its primary two weeks before Florida.

Given the realities of the last six years, does it seem odd to you that the Democrats are prepared to accommodate a group that has shown great sympathy towards the jihadi cause while disenfranchising Jewish voters who are accused of having too much influence on American politics and policy? It seems to me that the disparity is objectively anti-Semitic -- and given the rhetoric that has come out of the pro-Democrat netroots and anti-war movement, that is a point that should not be easily dismissed or discounted without closer examination.

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The artificial limits imposed upon religious literature in prison libraries has been lifted following a public outcry over the absurd limits and nebulous standards behind the list.

Facing pressure from religious groups, civil libertarians and members of Congress, the federal Bureau of Prisons has decided to return religious materials that had been purged from prison chapel libraries because they were not on the bureauÂ’s lists of approved resources.

The bureau had said it was prompted to remove the materials after a 2004 Department of Justice report mentioned that religious books that incite violence could infiltrate chapel libraries.

After the details of the removal became widely known this month, Republican lawmakers, liberal Christians and evangelical talk shows all criticized the government for creating a list of acceptable religious books.

The bureau has not abandoned the idea of creating such lists, Judi Simon Garrett, a spokeswoman, said in an e-mail message. But rather than packing away everything while those lists were compiled, the religious materials will remain on the shelves, Ms. Garrett explained.

In an e-mail message Wednesday, the bureau said: “In response to concerns expressed by members of several religious communities, the Bureau of Prisons has decided to alter its planned course of action with respect to the Chapel Library Project.

“The bureau will begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed in June 2007, with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as material that could be radicalizing or incite violence. The review of all materials in chapel libraries will be completed by the end of January 2008.”

It is nice to see a little sunshine and public outrage bringing about a policy shift that makes sense. Get rid of the problem materials after a review of what is in the libraries, and in the future don't add anything until it has been reviewed. Packing away unobjectionable material based upon an arbitrarily defined limit of 150 items was the wrong way to go -- and the new policy is substantially better.

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In light of recent controversies on California colleges campuses regarding controversial speakers and faculty members and the Columbia University speech by Mahmoud the Mad, Victor David Hanson offers up a criteria regarding who should be welcomed and given a platform at such prestigious institutions of higher learning.

In each of the above cases, the general public has had to remind these universities that their campuses should welcome thinkers who have distinguished themselves in their fields, regardless of politics and ideology. The liberal Chemerinsky, the Clinton Democrat Summers and the conservative Rumsfeld have all courted controversy -- and all alike met the criterion of eminent achievement.

But the propagandist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not. Unlike Chemerinsky, Rumsfeld and Summers, he used the prestige of an Ivy-League forum solely to popularize his violent views -- and to sugarcoat the mayhem his terrorists inflict on Americans and his promises to wipe out Israel.

Here's a simple tip to the clueless tenured class about why a Larry Summers or Donald Rumsfeld should be welcome to speak, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shunned: former Cabinet secretaries -- yes; homicidal dictators killing Americans -- no.

Sounds like a reasonable standard to me -- what do you think?

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Maybe, suggests Roger Simon at Politico.

There are two unbreakable rules for picking a running mate: Never pick anybody who might overshadow the top of the ticket, and never pick anybody you cannot completely control.

So Obama might be eliminated on both counts.

Then there is the Rule of Firsts. The Clinton campaign does not want to force too many “firsts” on the American electorate.

Electing the first woman president will be challenge enough. Electing the first woman president and first African-American vice president at the same time? Forget it; they donÂ’t need that kind of problem. (The same reasoning might prevent New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who is Hispanic, from getting the vice presidential nod.)

Does this mean that only white males need apply to become HillaryÂ’s running mate? Probably.

Which is why Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio, Sen. James Webb of Virginia, and even former Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri are all having their names tossed around.

Personally, I think there is a better reason to reject Obama -- his lack of experience. Hillary has enough of a credibility problem with some voters on that score (First Lady isn't a training ground for the Presidency), and selecting a national novice like Obama might leave the ticket open to questions about how qualified they really are. That is why I'd argue that Clinton might do well to go for a"double first" pick and tap Bill Richardson for as her running mate.

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The Cooperative Bank is a consumer led, ethically driven bank in the UK. It offers a wide array of options for its customers, and has a variety of banking services for its online customers, including credit cards

You can get a card with 0% on purchases and balance transfers for six months, or you can choose a card that earns money for your favorite organization. Really, you have the chance to do business with a bank that shares your values and gives you an excellent bargain as well.
One of the neat things, though, is that the bank operates on the following principles.

Through our investments, we seek to support the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In line with this, we will not invest in:

* any government or business which fails to uphold basic human rights within its sphere of influence.
* any business whose links to an oppressive regime are a continuing cause for concern.

An excellent set of principles given the current state of the world, don't you think?

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These numbers sure look like it.

A brand-new CNN/WMUR poll finds her with a 23-point lead over Obama in New Hampshire (43%-20%). Back in July, her lead was nine points (36%-27%).

The question, of course, is this -- is the increasing lead a sign that Democrats have united behind her? Or is this limited to one state? And is this support stable, or is Hillary Clinton peaking way too soon?

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IÂ’d like to see the movie Banished.

There are ghosts haunting Marco Williams’s quietly sorrowful documentary “Banished,” about the forced expulsion of black Southerners from their homes in the troubled and violent decades after the Civil War. Dressed in what looks like their Sunday best, in dark suits and high-collar dresses, they stare solemnly into an unwelcoming world. A couple ride in a cart along a pretty country road, and others stand awkwardly before houses with peeling paint. There are few smiles. Photography was then a serious business, though being a black landowner, part of a fragile, nascent Southern middle class, was more serious still.

The events and the period covered are clearly one of the great missed opportunities of American history, one of those “what ifs” that those of us who are students of history often look at and think of with a heart-felt sadness.

And it looks like Williams has done a great job, hitting many important but little-known incidents.

Mr. Williams isn’t one for hysterics or histrionics, even when seated across from a Ku Klux Klan leader who says he wouldn’t be happy if this African-American director moved in next door. The Klan leader lives in a nice-looking house adorned with white supremacist banners in Forsyth County, Ga., which in 1912 brutally expelled an estimated 1,000 of its black residents. Mr. Williams guides us through this terrible history, often while strolling on camera through the scene of the crime, talking to white residents and dredging up memories. He also uncovers some repellent images of a white mob trying to stop a peaceful, interracial civil rights march in the county in 1987. The marchers sing “We Shall Overcome.” The mob throws rocks.

There is so much more to the story than can be told by this 87-minute movie, which only casts glances at Reconstruction, the question of reparations and the bitter, enduring, living legacy of slavery. Although Mr. Williams somewhat overstates his case when he says that racial cleansing has “remained hidden,” there’s no denying that this ugly chapter deserves more than an occasional well-meaning documentary. (A national day of mourning might be a good start.) The 1997 fiction film “Rosewood” recounted one such expulsion that took place in central Florida in the 1920s, and journalists, activists and descendants, including those who appear in “Banished,” have dug into the archives and sifted through the evidence. Mr. Williams has done his own part to shed needed light, though I wish he had dug longer, harder.

In late 2006 The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., published a series about an 1898 white riot to destroy a political alliance between blacks and poor whites in Wilmington, N.C., where the literacy rates for black men were higher than those for whites. One agitator, a former Confederate soldier and the future mayor of Wilmington, vowed that he and other like-minded whites would never surrender “even if we have to choke the Cape Fear River with carcasses.” What followed was a coup d’état, possibly the only time that a municipal government was toppled in American history. Black residents were murdered; the local black newspaper was torched, and survivors exiled. Reconstruction died, and Jim Crow moved right in.

But what I find interesting in this review, even with the commentary on the Wilmington incident (which I wrote about earlier), is the fact that a single word appears nowhere in the entire piece. This despite the fact that it is crucial to the story being told, and the evil being perpetrated. It points to the thing that linked the overwhelming majority of the perpetrators of these great evils, and the overwhelming beneficiary of them.

The missing word?

Democrat.

After all, the guilty individuals in most of these acts of domestic terrorism would have been Democrats, and the political party that benefited would have been the Democratic Party. It is an institution that today still benefits from the legacy of its own racism, even while trying to place the label of “racist” on its political opponents to obscure its racist past while exploiting black misery in the present. It is the party that placed a Klansman on the Supreme Court in the 1930s, and which still has an old Kluxer serving in the US Senate today.

For some reason, Manohla Dargis leaves those details out of the review. I hope that Marco Williams didnÂ’t leave them out of the movie.

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Smoking pot while awaiting sentencing and subject to drug testing – how freakin’ stupid can you get?

A federal judge placed tighter restrictions on Michael Vick on Wednesday after the Atlanta Falcons quarterback tested positive for marijuana.
Because of the result, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson placed special conditions on VickÂ’s release, including restricting him to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and ordering him to submit to random drug testing.

The urine sample was submitted Sept. 13, according to a document by a federal probation officer that was filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

This could result in a longer sentence for Vick, because the judge can take such violations of release conditions into account when determining the amount of time he must serve.

I wonder – will this violation lead to an additional suspension by the NFL under its drug policy after his release from prison (state or federal, as the case may be) and reinstatement in the NFL?

Posted by: Greg at 10:33 AM | Comments (20) | Add Comment
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Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.

Children at a downtown preschool got an unplanned lesson in animal rights activism when their pet rabbit was stolen and anti-circus fliers were left in the animal's cage.

Sugar Bunny vanished from the Community Building Children's Center during a celebration of building renovations Saturday evening, teachers said.

"Somebody stoled him," 5-year-old Zion told The Spokesman-Review, which gave only the first names of him and other children in a report on the heist. "I'm sad."

Lori Peters, a teacher, said watching, petting and playing with Sugar Bunny helped the little children overcome separation anxiety. The theft is being reported to police but it's unclear whether the preschool will find a new pet, she added.

The fliers that were left were for protests against the Ringling Brothers Circus, which was in town Friday through Sunday, and showed a picture of a bear trying to escape beneath the bars of a cage. Listed at the bottom were People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Northwest Animal Rights Network.

Save a child. Save a pet. Shoot an animal rights terrorist.

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I’ve stayed out of this controversy, because every time I’ve tied to examine the facts the incident seems more and more muddied. After all, something is clearly wrong in Jena, Louisiana – but the facts underlying the incident are often obscured by the haze induced by the heated racial rhetoric (often amazingly fact-free) surrounding the incident.

The district attorney offers an explanation of why he brought the serious charges he did in this case. The heart of his argument is compelling, when one considers what actually happened last December at the high school.

Last week, a reporter asked me whether, if I had it to do over, I would do anything differently. I didn’t think of it at the time, but the answer is yes. I would have done a better job of explaining that the offenses of Dec. 4, 2006, did not stem from a “schoolyard fight” as it has been commonly described in the news media and by critics.

Conjure the image of schoolboys fighting: they exchange words, clench fists, throw punches, wrestle in the dirt until classmates or teachers pull them apart. Of course that would not be aggravated second-degree battery, which is what the attackers are now charged with. (Five of the defendants were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder.) But thatÂ’s not what happened at Jena High School.

The victim in this crime, who has been all but forgotten amid the focus on the defendants, was a young man named Justin Barker, who was not involved in the nooses incident three months earlier. According to all the credible evidence I am aware of, after lunch, he walked to his next class. As he passed through the gymnasium door to the outside, he was blindsided and knocked unconscious by a vicious blow to the head thrown by Mychal Bell. While lying on the ground unaware of what was happening to him, he was brutally kicked by at least six people.

Imagine you were walking down a city street, and someone leapt from behind a tree and hit you so hard that you fell to the sidewalk unconscious. Would you later describe that as a fight?

Only the intervention of an uninvolved student protected Mr. Barker from severe injury or death. There was serious bodily harm inflicted with a dangerous weapon — the definition of aggravated second-degree battery. Mr. Bell’s conviction on that charge as an adult has been overturned, but I considered adult status appropriate because of his role as the instigator of the attack, the seriousness of the charge and his prior criminal record.

So what we have here is an attack on a kid completely uninvolved in the noose incident. It was unprovoked, with six young thugs kicking and stomping their unconscious victim. That isn’t a fight – it is an ambush designed to maim (and perhaps kill) a defenseless individual based, it would appear, solely upon race. Frankly, I’m disturbed that there is no hate-crime enhancement to these charges, just as I would expect there to be if a group of white kids did the same to a black kid. As a result, I think those aggravated battery charges are appropriate – and one could argue (as does prosecutor Reed Walters) that the adult charges against Bell were not unreasonable in light of his previous criminal record.

Where I disagree with Walters is his assessment of the criminality of the original noose incident. Surely there was some aspect of civil rights law, either state or federal, that might apply to what happened that day. The “prank” was clearly designed to discourage students from fully and freely exercising their civil rights at the high school, and as an incident taking place on public property ought to be treated in precisely the same manner as a cross-burning would have. But even if my position is wrong on this point, there is no possible way of justifying the assault on Justin Barker – which might best be described as an attempted lynching of an innocent man in the “best” race-hating tradition of the KKK.

Now do I fault people who have been outraged over the situation in Jena? No, I don’t – given the amount of misinformation out there it is hard to drill down to the facts. I wish the media had done a better job of reporting on this, and that the blogosphere had exercised a little more restraint before buying in to all the claims being made about the case by one side. This isn’t Selma, and it isn’t Scottsboro – let’s quit pretending it is.

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This seems to be the sort of thing he and his entourage might do.

Police flooded a Brooklyn precinct with extra cops yesterday following the discovery of swastikas and other anti-Semitic messages scrawled on two synagogues and several other buildings and cars.
Twenty extra detectives were added to investigate the incident, which sent shivers through Brooklyn Heights.
In addition to the swastikas found late Monday, the culprits placed on cars fliers that read, "All Jews Die. Israel Land of Jews Die," above a swastika and "SS."
The rabbi at a synagogue violated with a swastika laid the blame on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying his visit inspires anti-Semites.
"I think [his] visit here spurred hate-mongers to come out of the closet," said Rabbi Aaron Raskin of Congregation B'nai Avraham.
"I have numerous congregants whose parents are survivors of the Holocaust. It brings up bad memories. [A swastika is] not just a symbol - it represents the deaths of 6 million people."

I think the good rabbi is correct – Mahmoud the Mad and his Jew-hating, Holocaust-denying rhetoric can bring the nut-jobs out of the woodwork to express the sort of bile spewed by this “world leader”.

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Once upon a time, it was understood that a property owner could decide who they wanted to rent to – or who they did not want to rent to – based upon pretty much any standard they chose to set. After all, the government really had no business interfering in that decision on whether or not to enter into a contract with another.

Unfortunately, government decided to get involved. Sometimes it was through laws mandating racial or religious segregation, and later it was through laws banning such discrimination. As time moved on, we saw additional groups added to such “fair housing” laws, so that in many places one may not make such decisions based upon race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, family status, disability, veteran status, and a host of other criteria.

Do we now need to add laws preventing discrimination against those with tattoos and body/facial piercings?

Gilbert Carrillo thinks tattoos are an artform. He's been to tattoo conventions and one of his tattoos was featured in a magazine. "Ever since I was 18, to now, 25, bit by bit, covering up here, covering up there."
But last month, Carrillo's tattoos kept him and his wife, Melissa, from moving into an apartment complex called the Villas at Medical Center. "We liked the apartment, we brought them a check for the deposit and a check for the application fee," says Melissa.
Later, Gilbert went by to look at the apartment wearing a short sleeve shirt. The next day, the Carrillos were told they didn't qualify to live there, because the tattoos on Gilbert's arms violated the policy on personal appearance.
"For them to be so judgmental on a person's appearance, and for them to judge someone based on them having a tattoo is just ridiculous, you know," says Melissa.
The Carrillos were also upset that the manager refused to refund their full $70 application fee. But mostly, they feel the policy is discriminatory.

Ah, there we have the word – discriminatory. And they are, in fact right – but in the sense that one notices the differences among and between things and people and responds accordingly. There is no provision under the law that would (ordinarily) prohibit discrimination based upon body “art”.

We contacted one of the owners of the apartments: A southern California doctor named Edward Frankel.
Frankel e-mailed us a statement saying his apartment complexes do, in fact, "reject prospective tenants who have... tattoos exposed on the neck, head, hands and wrists, or large tattoos that cover over 40% of the lower or upper arm."
Frankel says, "We do not discriminate. The above applies to persons of any race, color, gender, etc."
Frankel, and his partners, have purchased numerous upscale apartment complexes in San Antonio and Dallas, where they've also banned pierced eyebrows and tongues. Tenants can't have more than one nose piercing, or more than five earrings.

Fine – this is the standard the owner wants. One can argue it is absurd, but that is one of the nice things about property ownership – you get to make decisions about how to use your property. Do we really need to go the next step and have the government act to ban such discrimination? I certainly hope not.

Unfortunately, we have added so many exceptions to the right to determine who one rents to that I wouldnÂ’t be surprised to see new law come out of this case. ThatÂ’s too bad, because what we really need to do is restore the property rights of owners by repealing all or most of the limits placed upon the rental of real estate. While there might be some individuals and companies that make decisions that I find despicable, the reality is that my standards should not ordinarily be the basis for limiting property rights. After all -- is it really freedom if citizens are only permitted to act according to the dictates of government and the majority (ore even a vocal minority) find acceptable?

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Coalition forces have killed 165 jihadis.

Two battles killed more than 165 Taliban fighters and a U.S.-led coalition soldier in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday as President Hamid Karzai prepared to discuss the escalating violence with President Bush in New York.
One of the clashes began Tuesday when several dozen insurgents attacked a joint coalition-Afghan patrol with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades near the Taliban-controlled town of Musa Qala in Helmand province, with Taliban reinforcements flowing in all day, a coalition statement said.
The coalition said it returned artillery fire and called in fighter aircraft, killing more than 100 of the Taliban fighters. One coalition soldier was killed and four wounded.
The coalition said there were no immediate reports of civilian deaths or injuries.
Taliban militants overran Musa Qala in February, four months after British troops left the town following a contentious peace agreement that handed over security responsibilities to Afghan elders. Musa Qala has been in control of Taliban fighters ever since.
Situated in northern Helmand province, Musa Qala and the region around it have seen the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan this year. It is also in the middle of the country's poppy-growing belt.
In neighboring Uruzgan province, more than 80 Taliban fighters attacked a joint Afghan and coalition patrol from bunkers near the village of Kakrak in a six-hour battle Tuesday night, the coalition said.
Coalition artillery and air support bombarded Taliban positions, killing more than 65 insurgents, it said.
Three civilians were wounded in the crossfire, it said. No Afghan or coalition forces were hurt.
The battle took place near an area where more than three dozen insurgents were killed as they prepared an ambush six days ago, the coalition said.

HereÂ’s hoping that they enjoy eternity in Hell.

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Laws that allow the seizure of assets when someone is convicted of a crime never bother me. But actions like this one strike me as heavy-handed, and lead me to question how they can be squared with our rights under the Constitution.

Driving 11 miles over the speed limit cost one driver more than a quarter-million dollars this weekend — at least for now.

A State Patrol trooper spotted a Honda Accord speeding southbound on Interstate 5 on Friday, according to State Patrol spokesman Jeff Merrill. It was raining, and the driver was cruising down the freeway at 71 mph. So the trooper pulled the driver over, Merrill said.

The 35-year-old from British Columbia, who had a valid driver's license, struggled to tell the trooper where he was going and how long he had been in Washington, prompting the trooper to search his car, Merrill said.

The trooper found two suitcases in the trunk — one filled with $276,640 in cash. The driver claimed he won the stacks of dollar bills at 23 casinos in Washington, California and Nevada, but he was unable to produce any receipts, according to Merrill.

The money was confiscated as the State Patrol investigates the incident. Merrill said if it is determined the man obtained the money legally it will be returned to him.

1) On what basis does one have to account for one's whereabouts to a police officer during a routine traffic stop?

2) How does the failure to do so constitute probable cause to search the vehicle?

3) Upon what basis does the government legitimately seize property and assets that are, on their face, legal to possess?

4) Shouldn't the burden here be the other way around -- why should any individual be required to prove that he obtained property legally to get it returned? Shouldn't the burden be on the state to prove otherwise?

Yes, I know -- I'm going to hear the phrase "War on Drugs". But doesn't that really beg the question?

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Because a virtual fence will lead to virtual enforcement -- if there is any enforcement at all.

Technical and management troubles have caused the government's effort to secure a portion of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border with a chain of surveillance towers to fall behind schedule, jeopardizing the success of a costly project meant to showcase the Bush administration's tougher stance on immigration enforcement.

A $20 million pilot program to safeguard a 28-mile stretch of rough, mesquite-dotted terrain that straddles a smuggling corridor south of Tucson was supposed to be operational in June but now is expected to be delayed until the end of the year, according to the officials at the Department of Homeland Security who are overseeing it.

Ground radar and cameras that were to identify illegal border crossers so that armed patrols could be dispatched to capture them have had trouble distinguishing people and vehicles from cows and bushes. The sensors are also confused by moisture, the officials said.

Here's an idea -- brick and mortar for a real wall. It may seem to be rather old school, but it is demonstrated to work.

Posted by: Greg at 10:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I understand niche marketing, but I find the notion of limiting distribution by ethnicity to be a bit troubling.

Nike today unveiled what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.

The Beaverton-based company says the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. It will be distributed solely to American Indians; tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at wholesale price and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost.

“Nike is aware of the growing health issues facing Native Americans,” said Sam McCracken, manager of Nike’s Native American Business program. “We are stepping up our commitment ... to elevate the issue of Native American health and wellness.”

Nike said it is the first time it has designed a shoe for a specific race or ethnicity. It said all profits from the sale of the shoe will be reinvested in health programs for tribal lands, where problems with obesity, diabetes and related conditions are near epidemic levels in some tribes.

Nike designers and researchers looked at the feet of more than 200 people from more than 70 tribes nationwide and found that in general, American Indians have a much wider and taller foot than the average shoe accommodates. The average shoe width of men and women measured was three width sizes larger than the standard Nike shoe.

As a result, the Air Native is wider with a larger toe box. The shoe has fewer seams for irritation and a thicker sock liner for comfort.

However, let's be honest -- it would be nice if Nike would market such shoes for a more general population. I've never been able to buy Nike shoes because I have very wide, taller feet than their product is designed to fit. Indeed, there are only two brands of athletic shoes that fit me comfortably -- and not even all the styles from those companies. I'd love to be able to get shoes designed to actually fit my feet -- a particular concern for me in light of my diabetes -- if only they were on the market. Maybe someday Nike will be interested in making shoes that fit me and other non-ethnic Americans who need a bigger shoe.

Posted by: Greg at 10:19 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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We'll know within the year if we can require the same standard of proof of identity to vote that we do for cashing checks or getting on airplanes.

With the 2008 presidential and Congressional elections on the horizon, the Supreme Court agreed today to consider whether voter-identification laws unfairly keep poor people and members of minority groups from going to the polls.

The justices will hear arguments from an Indiana case, in which a federal district judge and a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in January upheld a state law requiring, with certain exceptions, that someone wanting to vote in person in a primary or general election present a government-issued photo identification. Presumably, the court would rule on the case by June.

I think the rulings of the appellate court judges in this case are interesting because they are both correct. Especially this point by the Democrat judge who wrote the dissent in the case.

“Let’s not beat around the bush,” [Judge Terence T. Evans] wrote. “The Indiana voter photo ID law is a not-too-thinly-veiled attempt to discourage election-day turnout by certain folks believed to skew Democratic.”

Quite true. Having grown up outside of Chicago, I readily affirm that my support for such laws is based upon my explicit and conscious desire to disenfranchise certain key Democrat constituencies.

Dead-Americans.

Fantasy-Americans.

Felon-Americans.

"Not American Citizen"-Americans.

After all, those groups have been key to influencing elections and preventing GOP victories for years. And I believe that keeping members of these groups from voting violates nobody's rights under the Fourteenth Amendment -- especially when the necessary identification documents are available free to American citizens under the voter ID laws.

Posted by: Greg at 10:11 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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When images seen as disrespectful of Muhammad are published or displayed, there are riots, death threats, and demands for government apologies. Artists have to go into hiding, and receive police protection.

When similar artwork is done of Christ, the response is much more muted.

A SWEDISH artist unveiled a sculpture depicting Christ as a well-endowed dog, saying he wanted to stimulate debate about religion and freedom of expression in the wake of a row over cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.

The artwork showed Jesus as a dog with a bloodstained head under a crown of thorns and an “enormous sexual organ”, according to Swedish press agency TT.

However, within hours of the sculpture being installed on a roundabout in Skaanes Fagerhult, a town in the south of Sweden, it disappeared.

“I want religion to stop taking society and the vulnerable for idiots,” the 59-year-old artist, Stig Ramsing, told the online version of Helsingborgs Dagblad newspaper.

In Nordic countries the display of outlandish sculptures of dogs on roundabouts is a familiar art form which has become common in the past decade.

“It is my turn to follow (artist) Lars Vilks and provoke a sensible discussion about religion,” Ramsing said.

Vilks is the Swedish artist whose cartoon of the prophet Mohammed with a dog's body published in the Swedish press triggered controversy both in Sweden and other countries.

Sweden saw protests against Vilks's cartoon, while Egypt, Iran and Pakistan made diplomatic protests about the image. Death threats were also made against both Vilks and the editor of the newspaper which published the satirical cartoon.

Will Sweden apologize to the world's Christians? Will the pope put a price on Ramsing's head? How many Swedish embassies and consulates will rioting Christians burn? I think the answer to these questions is obvious -- Christians will do none of these.

What does that tell you about the nature of the two religions? Which one is really a religion of peace?

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I cannot disagree with this editorial in today's WaPo.

THEY SAY three times is a charm -- except when it comes to getting a common-sense bill through the Senate by unanimous consent that would require its members and candidates to file their campaign finance reports electronically. The latest attempt was killed by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.). At least he objected publicly.

Since April, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee, has been trying to get the Senate to bring its filing system into the 21st century. Candidates for the House and for the White House have had to file their campaign finance reports electronically for years, as have political parties, political action committees and "527" groups. There is no good reason the Senate should not be doing the same.

Yet senators, particularly Republican senators, are blocking the innovation at every turn. The first two attempts at passage were beaten back with an anonymous hold. The reason was never given, and the identity of the objector not revealed, thanks to a fine Senate tradition. But after Congress approved the new ethics law last month, those who place holds on legislation must come forward within six days. Thus, Mr. Ensign objected publicly -- and offered a poison pill amendment.

Mr. Ensign wanted to add a provision to the electronic filing bill that would require an organization filing an ethics complaint against a senator to list donors who have given the group $5,000 or more. The idea deserves a debate in committee, as Ms. Feinstein offered. To try to push it through as a last-minute, non-germane add-on serves no purpose other than to kill the overall bill.

There is absolutely no reason that these documents should not be filed in a manner consistent with every other similar disclosure. My party needs to get out of the way and allow it to be done.

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This incredible story makes me cringe.

AN Croatian motorbike rider was knocked unconscious when lightning struck his penis during a roadside toilet break.

Metro.co.uk reported Ante Djindjic, 29, escaped relatively unscathed from the incident, suffering only light burns to his chest and arms.

He said: "I don't remember what happened. One minute I was taking a leak and the next thing I knew I was in hospital.

"Doctors said the lightning went through my body and because I was wearing rubber boots it earthed itself through my penis."

"Thankfully, the doctors said that there would be no lasting effects, and my penis will function normally eventually."

That's just as long as lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice.

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I asked it before, and I ask it again – can the rest of the US dump the city of my birth from America?

Once again, the city insults the military.

New York said "yes," but we said "no." Why were the U.S. Marines denied permission to film a recruiting commercial on the streets of San Francisco?

San Francisco is, once again, the center of a controversy over how city leaders treat the U.S. military. This time, it involves an elite group of Marines who wanted to film a recruitment commercial in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11.

The tension has been building in the two weeks since the city turned away members of the Silent Drill Platoon, and it boiled over Monday afternoon at a meeting of the San Francisco Film Commission.

The U.S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon performed Monday morning in New York's Times Square. They filmed part of a recruitment commercial through the start of the morning rush hour -- something they could not do in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11.

"It's insulting, it's demeaning. This woman is going to insult these young heroes by just arbitrarily saying, 'no, you're not going to film any Marines on California Street," said Captain Greg Corrales of the SFPD Traffic Bureau.

Captain Greg Corrales commands the police traffic bureau that works with crews shooting commercials, TV shows and movies in the city. He's also a Marine veteran and his son is serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.

He says Film Commission Executive Director Stefanie Coyote would only allow the Marine's production crew to film on California Street if there were no Marines in the picture. They wound up filming the empty street and will have to superimpose the Marines later.

Interestingly enough, they only needed a single lane shut down, and only for a few minutes at a time. The city regularly does more than that for construction purposes – and private businesses often hire off-duty cops to do the same thing on major streets so that their employees can exit parking lots. For that matter, the city regularly allows anti-American anti-military and political protests to block streets for longer periods of time, including during rush hour. But to let representatives of our nation’s military do so would clearly have been beyond the pale to the leftards in San Francisco city government.

So yes, let’s act as a nation and secede from San Francisco – set up the border checkpoints and build a wall to keep them out of our country.

Especially in light of what they will shut multiple streets for annually after denying the US Marine Corps a few brief minutes in one lane.

Organizers of San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair -- sponsored by Miller Brewing Co. -- have portrayed Christ and his disciples as half-naked homosexual sadomasochists in the event's promotional advertisement, and the conservative group Concerned Women for America is complaining about the hypocrisy of it.

"The bread and wine representing Christ's broken body and lifegiving blood are replaced with sadomasochistic sex toys in this twisted version of Da Vinci's The Last Supper," CWA said on its Web site.

"'Gay' activists disingenuously call Christians 'haters' and 'homophobes' for honoring the Bible, but then lash out in this hateful manner toward the very people they accuse," said said Matt Barber, CWA's policy director for cultural issues.

"In their version of The Last Supper, Christ, Who gave His life for our sins, is despicably replaced by sin itself as the object of worship."

* * *

Concerned Women for America called it "shocking and offensive" that California taxpayers are forced to foot part of the bill for the Folsom Street Fair. The City of San Francisco sanctions the event by shutting down several city blocks and providing police for security.

So let’s get this “straight” – streets cannot be closed for the US Marine Corps, but will be closed for an anti-Christian festival celebrating gay sado-masochism. I guess those are what we call “San Francisco family values”.

H/T Michelle Malkin (twice), Right Voices (twice), Bookworm Room, Crush Liberalism, Stop the ACLU

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That should settle matters, as the method of execution was one which the founders clearly viewed as not being “cruel and unusual punishment” due to its ubiquity at the time of the adoption of the Bill of Rights.

Such a course of action would clearly undo the ponderous jurisprudence of the Supreme Court on the death penalty, and what methods of execution are permissible.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider the constitutionality of lethal injections in a case that could affect the way inmates are executed around the country.

The high court will hear a challenge from two inmates on death row in Kentucky — Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr. — who sued Kentucky in 2004, claiming lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Baze has been scheduled for execution Tuesday night, but the Kentucky Supreme Court halted the proceedings earlier this month.

The U.S. Supreme Court has previously made it easier for death row inmates to contest the lethal injections used across the country for executions.

But until Tuesday, the justices had never agreed to consider the fundamental question of whether the mix of drugs used in Kentucky and elsewhere violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

All 37 states that perform lethal injections use the same three-drug cocktail, but at least 11 states suspended its use after opponents alleged it was ineffective and cruel. The three drugs consist of an anesthetic, a muscle paralyzer, and a substance to stop the heart. Death penalty foes have argued that if the condemned prisoner is not given enough anesthetic, he can suffer excruciating pain without being able to cry out.

Personally, though, I have to note that the entire debate over the constitutionality of any given form of the death penalty seems to be absurd to me. Look at the terms. Capital Punishment. Death Penalty. The goal is not to rehabilitate or show mercy – it is to exact retribution for the misdeeds of the condemned. The time has come, quite frankly, to get over the misguided notion that these folks have a right to experience no pain or suffering as they are executed. Maybe a little pain and suffering would even be good for their souls – or perhaps a foretaste of what they will experience for all eternity.

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Hearts stopped and more than a few prayers were said at Reliant Stadium Sunday as Houston Texans DT Cedric Killings was removed from the field on a stretcher after what was clearly a serious injury. Those prayers seem to have been answered.

When Texans defensive tackle Cedric Killings stood up next to his bed Monday morning, the doctors and hospital personnel applauded. All indications point toward Killings eventually walking out of Methodist Hospital.

But there are a number of questions surrounding Killings' future as he tries to recover from a fractured vertebra. Killings, who initially had no feelings in his arms or legs, fractured his C-4 vertebra in the second quarter when he collided with Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Roy Hall on a kickoff return.

Team doctors said Monday that Killings, 29, has complete movement in his both of his legs, but his hands remain weak and so does his left arm. They said they are waiting to see if that changes in the coming days.

The C-4 is one of two vertebrae fractured by Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett two weeks ago. Everett is rehabilitating at Memorial Hermann Hospital, and has only limited motor function in his arms and legs. He is not yet able to walk.

The Bills' Everett is a local boy, so the Killings injury hit home for a lot of us in the stadium who immediately thought of the incident only two weeks ago. I'm thrilled to hear that Killings is doing better -- and that Everett is near to friends and family, and on the slow road to recovery.

Unfortunately, we have some other injury news that may have more of an immediate impact on the season, one that saw the Texans off to a strong start after five years of less-than-mediocrity.

Center Steve McKinney cannot believe the timing of it all. During five losing — and often hopeless — seasons, McKinney was on the offensive line trying to help lift the Texans to respectability.

If the Texans finally do record their first winning record this season, McKinney will be forced to watch from the sidelines.

During the 30-24 loss to the Colts on Sunday, McKinney suffered the first serious injury of his NFL career when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He must undergo season-ending surgery, and will be replaced in the starting lineup by 12-year veteran Mike Flanagan.

The loss of McKinney will be keenly felt, for he is a great performer on the field and a team leader.

And he isn't the only injury that will impact the starting lineup.

Coach Gary Kubiak said he is confident backup running back Ron Dayne (bruised ribs) will be able to play this weekend against Atlanta.

Ahman Green, who hasn't finished the last two games with a bruised knee, received positive news from an MRI, but said he doesn't know if he will be able to play Sunday. Tests revealed no damage to the knee.

"It's just sore," Green said. "(The MRI showed) nothing bad, just swelling. I'm grateful for that."

Kubiak said Green bruised the knee against Kansas City in the season opener, and it has gotten worse.

He is hopeful Green will start. If not, Dayne will fill in and Samkon Gado will back him up.

Of more immediate concern is the wide receiver position. Jacoby Jones will be out two to three weeks with a separated shoulder. He started the first game of his career against the Colts, filling in for Andre Johnson, who is out with a knee sprain.

Johnson will not return this week, either. Sunday was the first time he was allowed to bend his knee since suffering the sprain Sept. 16 against the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson sprained the posterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and must wait until they both heal.

"It's like I'm learning to walk normally again," Johnson said. "I've been in a brace for the whole week. Now, I have slack in my brace where I can bend my knee."

Fortunately, we seem likely to get WR Andre Davis back after his finger injury.

But let's be honest -- we need Johnson, Green, and Jacoby back to bolster an offense that has done a good job in the opening weeks of the season. They are performers for the Texans, and without them the talent pool is definitely a bit shallower.

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This is one of the worst political moves that I have ever sen -- and it is quite unclear who is responsible for it. Rudy Giuliani needs to step in and quash this plan immediately, and disassociate himself from those who originated it -- or else appear guilty of the most heinous act of pimping the events of 9/11.

A supporter of Rudy Giuliani's is throwing a party that aims to raise $9.11 per person for the Republican's presidential campaign.

Abraham Sofaer is having a fundraiser at his Palo Alto, Calif., home on Wednesday, when Giuliani backers across the country are participating in the campaign's national house party night.

But Sofaer said he had nothing to do with the "$9.11 for Rudy" theme.

"There are some young people who came up with it," Sofaer said when reached by telephone Monday evening. He referred other questions to Giuliani's campaign.

"I'm just providing support for him. He's an old friend of mine," Sofaer said of Giuliani.

I'm sorry -- the symbolism here is atrocious. Yes, Giuliani has made the events of that horrible day a centerpiece of his campaign, but this simply leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Better that the party be canceled and the funds be unraised than this sick idea move forward and tarnish the Giuliani campaign.

UPDATE: Don Surer disagrees.

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Looks like he may have state time to do, too.

The prosecutor in the county where Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has admitted to bankrolling a dogfighting operation plans to present evidence to the grand jury, Tuesday, that could possibly lead to an indictment.

"Yes, I'm presenting matters to the grand jury that involve dogfighting at 1915 Moonlight Road," Surry County Commonwealth Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night.

* * *

Poindexter couldn't detail the exact indictments he will pursue, but said the local investigation and the federal investigation largely focused on different crimes.

"The killing of dogs is one of those statutory prohibitions. Dogfighting is a crime, the mistreatment of animals is a crime, so you could take your pick, or take them all," Poindexter said before cutting the conversation short. "I don't have anything else to say about it. I'm through with it. Hopefully it's coming to an end."

The real question, other than the nature of the state charges, is whether the sentence will be served concurrently with or consecutively to the federal sentence that has yet to be imposed. If the latter, Michael Vick could find himself doing significantly longer prison time than he expected.

UPDATE: Vick indicted on state charges.

Michael Vick and three co-defendants were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on state charges related to a dogfighting ring operated on Vick's Virginia property.

Vick, who already pleaded guilty in federal court to a dogfighting conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing Dec. 10, was indicted on one count of beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and one count of engaging in or promoting dogfighting. Each count is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

And since these are state charges, there should not be any question of double jeopardy.

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Is the jump in violent crime an aberrational spike or a sign of something else at work?

Violent crime in the United States rose more than previously believed in 2006, continuing the most significant increase in more than a decade, according to an FBI report released yesterday.

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program found that robberies surged by 7.2 percent and homicides rose 1.8 percent from 2005 to 2006. Violent crime overall rose 1.9 percent, substantially more than an increase of 1.3 percent estimated in a preliminary FBI report in June.

The jump was the second in two years, following a 2.3 percent rise in 2005. Taken together, the two years represent the first steady increase in violent crime since 1993, FBI records show.

The uptick presents a significant political challenge for the Bush administration, which has faced growing criticism from congressional Democrats, big-city mayors and police chiefs for presiding over cuts in federal assistance to local law enforcement agencies over the past six years.

Frankly, the increase is troubling, though coming after a decade of decline might not be surprising as they initially seem. And the issue of cuts in federal aid to local law enforcement begs the question of whether local law enforcement should be funded at the federal level.

However, there seems to be a question that isn't answered by this story. To what degree does the surge in violent crime constitute a surge in gang-related crime connected to groups such as MS-13? And related to it, to what degree is the increase connected to the illegal alien population more generally?

This is not a question of scapegoating, but a genuine inquiry based upon increased media coverage of Latin American drug gangs and crimes committed by the undocumented. Are those real phenomena, or are they simply ratings boosting yellow journalism? And if the increase is connected to illegal immigration, to what degree should that impact the debate about border security and immigration amnesty programs?

Sadly, we may not be able to get those breakdowns -- the FBI classifies Hispanic perpetrators as White, so the data is not readily available to the public.

But the numbers for black-on-black crime are astounding, with there being nearly as many murders committed by that relatively small population segment against that relatively small population segment as there are by the many times larger white population against any ethnic group. That does sort of make one wonder about the focus on the questionable prosecution of the Jena 6 when there is obviously a much more pressing problem facing the black community. When will we see the major civil rights organizations making an effective effort to stem black-on-black violence in the face of a "no snitchin'" culture?

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, Rosemary's Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Big Dog's Weblog, Adam's Blog, Right Truth, Webloggin, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Inside the Northwest-Territory, Allie is Wired, Faultline USA, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Right Voices, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 10:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Kill the negative story about Hill or you don't get the promised story about Bill.

Early this summer, Sen. Hillary Rodham ClintonÂ’s campaign for president learned that the menÂ’s magazine GQ was working on a story the campaign was sure to hate: an account of infighting in Hillaryland.

So ClintonÂ’s aides pulled a page from the book of Hollywood publicists and offered GQ a stark choice: Kill the piece, or lose access to planned celebrity coverboy Bill Clinton.

Despite internal protests, GQ editor Jim Nelson met the Clinton campaignÂ’s demands, which had been delivered by Bill ClintonÂ’s spokesman, Jay Carson, several sources familiar with the conversations said.

GQ writer George Saunders traveled with Clinton to Africa in July, and Clinton is slated to appear on the cover of GQ’s December issue, in which it traditionally names a “Man of the Year,” according magazine industry sources.

A couple of thoughts here.

1) Why would any media outlet be making Bill Clinton its cover boy in 2007 -- especially its man of the year?

2) What does this say about the Clinton machine's media manipulation strategy?

3) Would the media put up such manipulation from any Republican?

H/T Captain's Quarters, Stop the ACLU

Posted by: Greg at 09:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm hoping that my wife doesn't look at this post. If she does, I'll be in BIG trouble.

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That's right. At Mailbox and Beyond, you can get residential mailboxes, door mats, hose holders and all sorts of incredibly interesting decorative accessories for your home and yard.

Seriously, they've got nice stuff you need to check out -- just don't tell my wife or there might not be anything left for you!.

Posted by: Greg at 09:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And here I thought the shelf-life of the Larry Craig story had expired with the arrest of OJ and the Britney custody saga. I guess not.

The prosecutor who brought charges against Sen. Larry Craig in an airport sex sting says he told the Idaho senator that he should hire an attorney, according to court papers filed Monday.

Prosecutor Christopher Renz, in a motion opposing Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea, wrote that he spent considerable time in a July 17 conversation telling the Idaho senator how the legal process would work if he chose to plead guilty.

"The defendant told Mr. Renz that he felt he was in a difficult situation as the result of the public office he held, in response to which Mr. Renz said that he appreciated that difficulty and for that reason the defendant should consult with an attorney," Renz wrote.

Craig, R-Idaho, did not, and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He has since said that he was panicked into admitting to a crime he did not commit. A Hennepin County judge is set to consider Craig's request on Wednesday.

Let's call "bullshit" on that claim of panic. That might work if we were talking about bing dragged right into night court for a quickie plea to seeking a quickie in the loo -- but not when there was an eight-week gap between the offense and the court date. Larry Craig had plenty of time to consult a friendly attorney confidentially. He had plenty of time to do his onw legal research. He did none of that -- he simply tried to cover up his acts.

In my book, the best claim he has is that the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain a conviction -- but since he pled guilty to the offense, I think that boat has sailed and Larry Craig missed his opportunity to raise it.

Just go away, Senator -- and quit disgracing your state and your party.

Posted by: Greg at 09:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I am always fascinated by trade show booths and displays at events I attend. Some are quite basic, but others get rather elaborate. Who designs these displays, and where do you get the supplies you need to best market your wares to the most interested and motivated audience you are likely to encounter? Try GodfreyGroup.com for a wide variety of custom and portable trade show displays, display graphics, signage, banner stands, trade show rentals, merchandising and retail displays, light boxes, literature displays, table top exhibits, and more that will make your display stand out from the crowd. So if you need to attract customers at that next event (and you wouldn’t be there if you didn’t), visit Godfrey Group.

Posted by: Greg at 09:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You may notice I've added a new blogroll here at RWR -- One ascribing to the Cowboy Code.

What is the Cowboy Code?

The Cowboy Code

1. A cowboy always tells the truth and keeps his word.

2. A cowboy is a Patriot and stands for Truth, Justice and the American way.

3. A cowboy never betrays a trust or takes advantage.

4. A cowboy is brave, but never careless.

5. A cowboy defends the weak and helps them.

6. A cowboy is kind to children, old folks, and to animals.

7. A cowboy is free from racial and religious prejudice.

8. A cowboy is clean about his person and in thought, word, and deed.

9. A cowboy is loyal, hard working and maintains a high ethic.

10. A cowboy is thankful for what God has given him.

Seems like the sort of Texas values I ascribe to.

Posted by: Greg at 09:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Furniture shopping can be a long and frustrating task. After all, it involves trekking from store to store, only to be followed from showroom t showroom by aggressive commissioned salespeople who are hungry for the commission they are going to get off your purchase. You are not a client to them -- you are a walking dollar sign.

Online furniture shopping is in some ways a much better experience. You can browse a website to find just the item you want from the comfort of your own home, without someone pressuring you to buy a particular home office desk that is being pushed by the boss this week. And rather than trotting around miles of showroom displays, you can compare all the dining room furniture or living room furniture on your own computer screen.

FurnitureFromHome.com provides you with the chance to do exactly that. They have as wide a range of furniture selections as your local furniture mega-store, but you don't need a sherpa and a couple of guide dogs to browse through it. All you need to do is point and click and there it is for you. And it is fine furniture at great prices, so you know you are getting a good deal. Indeed, the only drawback I see is the inability to examine it up close and personal -- while the delivery time on the furniture seems a bit long to me, it is not any longer than the usual back-order that you get at most furniture stores. Best of all, you can cancel or change your order at any time before shipping without penalty, which is something that most furniture stores don't allow. So unless you need it right now, this may be the best way to buy.

Posted by: Greg at 06:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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