May 31, 2008

I Agree With MoveOn.org

Former White house Press Secretary Scott McClellan should not profit from his book.

The liberal anti-war group MoveOn.org today launched a petition drive calling on former White House official Scott McClellan to donate the proceeds of his book to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The petition drive, intended to create pressure for Mr. McClellan to be asked about it on the morning news-interview shows Sunday, is the latest signal of a backlash by Democrats and Republicans alike against the former press secretary for turning on his ex-boss, President Bush.

MoveOn's petition e-mail, sent out to its supporters Saturday morning, said that Mr. McClellan's "coming clean is admirable.”

"But McClellan shouldn't profit off the role he played in our nation's largest foreign policy blunder,” the release reads.

"After spending years defending the Bush administration and perpetuating the lies that led our country into war, Scott McClellan is poised to make bank — his tell-all book is a bestseller and he may make hundreds of thousands or millions,” MoveOn says. "Meanwhile, our troops are still dying in Iraq.”

It really is very simple. If we are to believe Scott McClellan, he stood up and lied to the press on a daily basis for years, and he did nothing to stop what he knew was a contrived effort to take America into an unnecessary and unjustifiable war. As such, he is part of a great criminal conspiracy -- and he should no more be permitted to profit than would any spree killer or child molester would with a book about his crimes.

On the other hand, if Scott McClellan is lying in the book itself there is no justification for his profiting by what would be a fraud committed against the American people in the interest of undermining the government.

Either way, I'm going to disregard everything in the book -- after all, much like David Brock, his entire argument is "Trust me -- I'm a liar!"

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May 30, 2008

School's Out

This has been a rough school year for me, so I have to admit that I've been looking forward to the last day of school for a while now. There were some wonderful high points, but also a number of negative events that just made this year harder than any in the past. And given the reconfiguration of my school and the resultant reassignment of faculty, I was having problems with my enthusiasm for returning to my school next year -- but planned to do so anyway.

Until last week -- when a wonderful opportunity fell into my lap that I think is a change for the better. So next fall I'll be teaching something different in a different school -- and believe I will be refreshed by the change.

I'll be picking up my last three boxes tomorrow, turning in my keys, and preparing to begin a whole new adventure.

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What's Right, Or What's In The Rules?

I always love it when students are able to figure out how to handle a situation better than the adults in charge -- and hope the adults in charge make the right choice here.

The state's governing body for high-school sports again finds itself stuck between its rules and what many consider common sense.

This time, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association faces a protest from Nicole Cochran, a senior at Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma. Cochran finished more than three seconds faster than her competition in the girls 3,200-meter run at the Class 4A state track and field meet in Pasco, but she was disqualified after an official flagged her for running on the inside lane line.

One problem: a video shows she didn't do it.

"I'm still in a little bit of shock," Cochran said Thursday afternoon. "That's pretty much all everyone can talk about."

The video — which shows that a Bellarmine Prep teammate, not Cochran, stepped on the inside lane line — was shot by flotrack.com, a track Web site. Since the event's controversial finish late Friday night, the video has circulated throughout the state's track community, triggering many to call for the WIAA to reverse the disqualification and name Cochran the winner.

That, WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese said, isn't likely to happen.

He said the WIAA must follow the rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which prohibits the use of unauthorized video for reviews. In addition, the race official's ruling is considered a judgment call, which Colbrese said is non-reviewable.

Fortunately, there may be a couple of factors that let them overturn the erroneous judgment call.

Cochran and Ellis list several problems with the disqualification ruling, including that the disqualification form indicates the infraction occurred on Lap 7, even though the video shows the official raised his yellow flag on the final turn of Lap 6.

At the same turn on the seventh lap, Cochran moves outside to take the lead.

"Even without looking at the video, you have a disqualification form with the wrong information," Ellis said.

Also, Ellis said the WIAA should consider that one of the two race officials watching that turn refused to sign off on the disqualification.

Sounds to me like the disqualification itself ought to be disqualified here based upon the obvious inaccuracies in it.

But even if it isn't, this shows that our kids do, in fact, know that what is right ought to trump the rules in such a case -- and those involved handled the situation themselves at the meet.

Andrea Nelson, a sophomore from Shadle Park of Spokane, was named the official winner, but she walked off the podium and hung her gold medal over Cochran's neck.

"It kind of gave me chills," Cochran said. "It was really emotional."

Then the rest of the top eight finishers passed their medals down to the person who crossed the finish line ahead of them.

As hard as these kids have worked to get to this level of competition, I can only imagine how hard it was for those eight kids to take a step down the ladder voluntarily -- especially that poor young lady with the eight-place medal who went home empty-handed as a result. I wish they had included her name in the article, because I'd argue that her sacrifice was every bit as heroic as Andrea Nelson's in giving up the gold to the girl she knew had won the race.

Now, can the adults straighten out this mess?

Posted by: Greg at 11:14 AM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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May 29, 2008

More Outrageousness At Trinity UCC -- UPDATED

And this time, I've even met the perp!

Let's look at the hate speech being spewed in the sanctuary this time -- with an introduction from Barack Obama's NEW pastor, not Jeremiah "I didn't know he was that extreme" Wright.

Pastor Otis Moss: He needs no introduction. HeÂ’s a friend of Trinity, heÂ’s a brother beloved. HeÂ’s a preacher par excellence. HeÂ’s a prophetic, powerful pulpiteer. He is our friend. He is our brother. He is none other than Father Michael Pfleger. (Crowd on its feet, standing ovation, loud applause). We welcome him once againÂ…

…Pfleger: [Unintelligible] to address the one who says, “Well, don’t hold me responsible (gesticulating) for what my ancestors did. But you have enjoyed the benefits of what your ancestors did and unless you are ready to give up the benefits (voice rising), throw away your 401 fund, throw away your trust fund, throw away all the money you put into the company you WALKED INTO BECAUSE YO’ DADDY AND YO’ GRANDDADDY AND YO’ GREATGRANDDADDY–(screaming at the top of his lungs)–UNLESS YOU’RE WILLING TO GIVE UP THE BENEFITS, THEN YOU MUST BE REPSONSIBLE FOR WHAT WAS DONE IN YOUR GENERATION ‘CUZ YOU ARE THE BENEFICIARY OF THIS INSURANCE POLICY! (Wild gestures, wild applause).

Â…We must be honest enough to expose white entitlement and supremacy wherever it raises its head.

I said before I donÂ’t want this to be political because, you know, IÂ’m very unpolitical (mocking tone, huge laughter).

…When Hillary was crying (gesturing tears, uproarious laughter from audience)–and people said that was put on–I really don’t believe it was put on.

I really believe that she just always thought ‘This is mine’ (laughter, hoots). ‘I’m Bill’s wife. I’m WHITE. And this is mine. And I jus’ gotta get up. And step into the plate. And then out of nowhere came, ‘Hey, I’m Barack Obama.’ And she said: ‘Oh, damn!’ WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!?!?! (Crowd going nuts, Pfleger screaming). I’M WHITE! I’M ENTITLED! THERE’S A BLACK MAN STEALING MY SHOW. (SOBS!) SHE WASN’T THE ONLY ONE CRYING! THERE WAS A WHOLE LOTTA WHITE PEOPLE CRYING!

IÂ’m sorry. I donÂ’t wanna get you in any moÂ’ trouble. The livestreaming just went out againÂ…

Let's look at the matter closely.

1) If Michael Pfleger were black and were to make such venomous comments about blacks from the pulpit of a white church, he would likely be called, with some justification, a self-hating Uncle Tom by the black community.

2) Michael Pfleger is well known for this sort of crap in Chicago. Anyone who invites him to preach knows exactly what they are going to get.

3) This is the new pastor of Trinity UCC, Otis Moss, doing the introduction-- not Jeremiah Wright. He is the one who invited Michael Pfleger, and allowed him to rant on like this. So much for a new tone at Trinity.

4) Given the pervasive nature of the partisan politics preached from the pulpit at Trinity UCC, is it time to yank their tax exempt status yet?

When I was a seminarian in the Chicago area back in the early 1990s, I went to St. Sabina several times and heard what goes on there -- this is not atypical. I knew priests who had worked with Michael Pfleger, and was even taught by some of them. I heard the stories from the Chicago seminarians, and the Chicago priests. Their assessment, and mine, was that Pfleger was more consumed by his own ego and agenda than by the teachings of Scripture or the Church. Some have even argued that Pfleger's position at St. Sabina is akin to that of Jim Jones or David Koresh.

And let's not forget that this is the same Michael Pfleger who defied the authority of his own Archbishop, Francis Cardinal George, to make personnel assignments as is his right under canon law -- and went so far as to threaten schism if his demands were not met. Already weakened by the pedophilia scandal that had wracked the archdiocese for several years, George backed down rather than suspend Pfleger's priestly faculties over his failure to live up to his priestly commitment to obey his bishop, much less excommunicate Pfleger over his threatened schism.

Obama, of course, has issued another mealy-mouthed statement distancing himself from Pfleger, who was another one of his close spiritual advisers according to early versions of his campaign website.

“As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause," Obama said in a statement.

Sorry, doesn't cut it, Barry. You are still a member of a congregation that regularly allows, encourages, and revels in such hate mongering -- and you have been there for two decades, been married there and raised your children there. That you refuse to address that in a substantive way is proof that you lack the moral resoluteness to confront and reject evil when it might carry a personal cost for you. That is a trait that is unacceptable in a president -- and given the documented history of John McCain's willingness to do the right thing even in the face of certain torture, it is clear that only one of you has what it takes to serve in the highest elected office in the United States.

Oh, yeah, and an even more weaselly statement oozed from the mouth of Michael Pfleger.

"I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them."

Bullcrap, Mikey -- you are sorry that you got caught. Why don't you butch up and admit it -- and admit that you still stand by every vile word that dripped from your mouth in that video, just like did when you threatened the life of a gun dealer. And after this, do you think you have the stroke to fight a transfer directive now that your FOURTH six-year term as pastor of St. Sabina is up?

This is just one more in a chain of extremist associations that Obama has to explain away -- Wright, Rezko, Ayers, Pfleger -- of the sort that would kill any white candidate. When will Barack Obama be held to that standard? And what will he say when and if that rumored tape of Michelle Obama speaking at Trinity ever surfaces? As Hillary Clinton discovered earlier this year, it is rather difficult to disassociate yourself from your spouse.

st-obama-of-assisi.jpg

UPDATE: Guess what -- Barack Obama has made sure that $100,000 of your tax dollars go to support Michael Pfleger and St. Sabina. That means that he is clese enough friends to subsidize make you subsidize Pfleger, but not close enough to know what he really stands for. Can we really afford to have to have a guy like this as president?

UPDATE 2: Obama quits Trinity.

H/T Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit

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Chronicle Of A Stupid Controversy

I'm sorry -- those who made a big deal out of Rachel Ray's scarf in a Dunkin Donuts commercial were simply nutty.

A few months after doughnuts became a presidential campaign issue, they stood at the center of a storm created by right-leaning bloggers. This was a story about “donuts and dumb celebrities” who were “mainstreaming terrorism” to make a buck, asserted Little Green Footballs and Michele Malkin. And Atlas Shrugs revised a bell-ringing catchphrase thusly: “TIME TO MAKE THE JIHAD!”


Suddenly, Dunkin’ Donuts was accused of promoting terrorism, thanks to the wardrobe choices of Rachael Ray, its celebrity spokesman, during an online advertisement. According to the bloggers, she had decided to embrace “hate couture” by wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf popular in the Arab world and preferred by Yasir Arafat and other Palestinian militants during their rise in the West Bank and Gaza.


“The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,” Michele Malkin wrote in her nationally syndicated column. “The Keffiyeh Kerfuffle,” as she called it, might warrant a boycott. Other bloggers agreed.


On Tuesday, Dunkin’ Donuts announced that it was dropping the advertisement. But they also made clear that this was all a big misunderstanding. “Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design,” the company said in a statement, according to The Boston Globe. “Absolutely no symbolism was intended.”


Moreover, Rachael Ray’s role was minimized — the controversial scarf “was selected by her stylist.”

The upshot is that the scarf probably wasn't a keffiyeh. This was a tempest in a teapot, fueled by several folks who I like, respect, and in at least one case have a good personal relationship with via email. It was simply silly, in my opinion.

But what it does do is show the power of the blogosphere -- and the potential power of those of us on the right if we embrace efforts to harness that power in the way that the left has done.

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Girl Scout Cookie Money Thief Sentenced

Remember these thieving bitches?

bitches.jpg

One of them just got three years in the slammer!

Saying she is "an out-of-control drug user," a juvenile court judge on Wednesday ordered Girl Scout cookie-money thief Stefanie Woods confined to a high-security facility for up to three years in order to address substance-abuse and mental-health problems.

* * *

Baker convicted Woods on May 13 of petty theft and two counts of violating probation after a nonjury trial for her role in the stealing of $168 from 9-year-old Girl Scout Gracie Smith outside a Winn-Dixie in suburban Boynton Beach. In a letter to the judge, Gracie urged him to sentence Woods to community service in the form of cleaning up a Girl Scout camp.

Woods was a juvenile at the time of the misdemeanor offense. A girlfriend, also a juvenile, took an envelope containing the cookie sales money and got into a car that sped off with Woods at the wheel. The next day, Woods and her friend boasted and showed off for television camera crews and found themselves making national news.

Woods will remain in a secure juvenile detention facility locally until there is a bed available at a state-run facility at the second-highest security level, as ordered by Baker. That could be a month or two, a Juvenile Justice worker told the judge.

She eventually will be in a prison-like setting where she will undergo a psychological assessment - she's been diagnosed at least once as bipolar - and individual and group therapy. "It is the hope that once and for all, she will address her substance abuse issues," Baker said.

Based on reports he receives, the judge will decide whether Woods remains confined for three years or is released earlier.

She may get out of juvenile detention briefly next week. That's when she's due back in adult court to be sentenced for a "dine-and-dash" incident for skipping out on a Denny's without paying a $25.84 check she incurred with the same friend from the cookie-money theft.

You have to read the string of outrageous claims made by Baker and her lawyer to try to get her leniency -- something which backfired in a big way. Here's hoping that her next court appearance -- on that charge from Denny's -- nets her some additional time.

What a pair of scummy, scuzzy wenches!

Posted by: Greg at 10:42 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Stonehenge A Cemetery

But is that all it was? And why did it become the astrological/astronomical observatory that it undeniably is? This discovery doesn't answer those questions.

New radiocarbon dates from human cremation burials among and around the brooding stones on Salisbury Plain in England indicate that the site was used as a cemetery from 3000 B.C. until after the monuments were erected around 2500 B.C., British archaeologists reported Thursday.

What appeared to be the head of a stone mace, a symbol of authority, was found in one grave, the archaeologists said, indicating that this was probably a cemetery for the ruling dynasty responsible for erecting Stonehenge.

“It’s now clear that burials were a major component of Stonehenge in all its main stages,” said Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at the University of Sheffield in England.

In other words, we still have some serious questions that need to be answered -- but it is exciting to have one more bit of history to add into the mix.

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Car Loans

Are you in the market for a new car? If you are, you are probably looking for some sort of financing. After all, how many of us actually have sufficient liquid cash reserves to plunk down the entire price of a new car in cash? Of course this means you need to get a Car Loan to pay for the thing. Without question, you are going to want the best terms available. After all, who wants to pay more than they have to for their vehicle? Where can you find Online Car Loans that fit your needs? Why not try BasicCarLoans.com? They offer great loan terms to fit the needs of folks in all sorts of situations – I’m sure they have one for you.

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Obama Campaign Chooses Memorial To Slain Cops For Latrine Site

I know – any complaints about this are merely a distraction from the Obamessiah – and they don’t help out Michelle Obama’s children (not that I’m mocking her – Obamessiah says she is off limits).

Portland police officers have asked for an apology after they said organizers of a Barack Obama rally set up Porta-Potties on a memorial honoring fallen officers.

Earlier this month, 75,000 people gathered in Waterfront Park in downtown Portland to hear Obama speak at a pre-primary rally.

And how, exactly, would organizers have known that this was sacred ground dedicated to the memory of fallen police officers (many of whom were no doubt at the rally that day – Obamessiah sees dead people)?

Brennan, who controlled the crowd near the Portland Police Memorial, noticed several Porta Potties set up in the middle of the memorial. Brennan had been at the site five days earlier for an annual memorial service and a flag was still set at half mast on the day of the rally.

When Portland cop Thomas Brennan contacted the Obamessiah campaign about the blatant act of disrespect, the complaint was ignored. But hey, heÂ’s Obama!

st-obama-of-assisi.jpg

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Stupid Journalist Tricks

Clearly, some folks have no concept of what a right is and its place in our system.

ThatÂ’s clear in this column by Tom Eblen of the Lexington Herald-Ledger.

As society becomes more diverse, we must regain the lost art of compromise. Otherwise, we'll never be able to deal with complex problems in ways that protect everyone's rights. Polarization may be good for special-interest groups and political parties, but it's bad for America.

If Second Amendment absolutists keep standing up and daring others to pry their guns from their "cold, dead fingers," eventually somebody's going to do it.

Now I wonder how Eblen would respond to the same call for “compromise” in the case of freedom of the press. After all, the same “helping law enforcement for the sake of public safety” can be used to argue in favor of allowing police unfettered access to the notes and work product of reporters. We know, however, that Eblen would blow a gasket defending his First Amendment rights in the event that someone were to seriously propose such a thing. Heck, his employer has waxed eloquent in the past against requiring reporters to submit to subpoenas on the same basis as ordinary citizens. I guess that maybe he and his journalistic confreres consider some rights to be more precious than others.

But let me remind Eblen of one thing – when they come to pry his keyboard from his “cold dead fingers”, it will be many of those same special-interest Second Amendment absolutists who will be standing there trying to defend him from the stormtroopers in jackboots – provided that Eblen hasn’t managed to compromise away their ability to do so.

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Barack Obama – Nothing Burger

This is an interesting assessment of Barack Obama’s policy proposals – more of the same old Democrat tripe. So much for change.

Obama has not emphasized any signature domestic issue, or signaled that he would take his party in a specific direction on policy, as Bill Clinton did with his "New Democrat" proposals in 1992 that emphasized welfare reform or as George W. Bush did with his "compassionate conservatism" in 2000, when he called on Republicans to focus more on issues such as education.

Obama's campaign is "clearly politically transformative, it's clearly from a policy standpoint been cautious," said James K. Galbraith, a liberal activist and economist at the University of Texas at Austin who had backed former senator John Edwards in the early primaries.

"The change that Senator Obama has promised is one of tone and leadership style," said William A. Galston, who was a domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton and is backing Sen. Clinton but who said he would enthusiastically support Obama if he is the party's nominee. "He has not dissented from party orthodoxy in the way Bill Clinton did on the way to the presidency in 1992," Galston added.

In other words, the only “change” we have to “hope” for is in terms of packaging – the contents will all remain the same, with the same old failed Democrat strategies of the past. Consider him to be John Kerry without the experience and military service – or Michael Dukakis with charisma.

Posted by: Greg at 10:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Is This Really The Washington Post?

I was stunned when I read these words this morning.

Protecting employees from retaliation makes sense, but it is not the province of judges to create such protections on the basis of their own beliefs of what is right or wrong, or even on the basis of their intuitive sense of what Congress meant to do or should have done. And those who today praise the outcome shouldn't be upset if in the future justices read into the law new principles that lead to results they may find less acceptable.

There is a term for what the Washington Post is criticizing – judicial activism. In the past, the paper has been loath to criticize it. Did I miss some major earthshaking event that allowed this editorial to make it into print – or is their editorial page going conservative?

What next -- a call for strict constructionalism and the jurisprudence of original intent?

Posted by: Greg at 09:25 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Coincidence? I Think Not!

After all, it is just too odd for these two headlines to appear on Drudge at the same time.

Monkeys control a robot arm with thoughts

and

NASA begins releasing robotic arm of Mars lander

Is Matt Drudge trying to subliminally communicate secret information to the public at large?

Are telekinetic space monkeys – the descendants of the original suborbital test subjects in the early days of the space program – controlling space vehicles sent to other planets?

Posted by: Greg at 08:37 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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May 28, 2008

WaPo Defends McCain On GI Bill

Imagine that -- there are flaws in the bill that the Democrats have tried to turn into a litmus test on supporting the troops, and good ideas in the bill sponsored by John McCain.

The proposal, by Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), would expand the current GI Bill to ensure full college scholarships for veterans who spend three years or more in the armed forces. As we have said, the current system has not kept pace with rising college costs and has shortchanged veterans who have endured the rigors of wartime service.

That does not mean that the measure is perfect or that the concerns expressed by the Pentagon and other critics, including Mr. McCain, should be brushed off as illegitimate or insensitive to veterans. The Pentagon argues that the measure would harm the military by providing too large an incentive for people to leave. The projected increase in departures would be offset by an increase in recruitment among those attracted by the new, improved benefit; however, that does not account for the loss of experience and added training costs. Mr. McCain and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) have proposed an alternative that concentrates on giving those who remain in the service added educational benefits, including the ability to transfer their benefits to family members; the measure would also boost benefits for veterans, although far less than the Webb bill would.

The fact that Mr. Webb's bill was co-sponsored by Republicans such as Sens. John W. Warner (Va.), the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, and Chuck Hagel (Neb.), a former deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration, adds to its credibility. But as Mr. McCain pointed out, "It would be easier, much easier, politically for me to have joined Sen. Webb in offering his legislation." Tempting as it may be, his decision not to do so should not, as Mr. Obama suggests, be the occasion for partisan posturing.

Obama, of course, did engage in just such political posturing when he attacked McCain's position as insufficiently supportive of veterans. it is also the stock-in-trade of other dishonorable candidates for office, including Texas Democrat Rick Noriega, who chose to politicize Memorial Day by denouncing Senator John Cornyn for supporting the McCain/Graham bill in a column in the Houston Chronicle -- and the following Memorial Day email blast:

Dear Greg,

In today's Houston Chronicle, Rick Noriega has authored an Op-Ed entitled "Texas needs two senators who will back our veterans."

COLUMN EXCERPT DELETED

To read the entire piece, please click here. Once you've read the Op-Ed, be sure to forward the link to all of your friends and family.

Have a safe and happy holiday.

Sincerely,

Mark Bell
Campaign Manager
Rick Noriega for Texas

Not a single mention of those who have fought and died for our country -- just a cheap politial shot on behalf of flawed legislation.

There are ways to improve the GI Bill -- but the Webb bill is not it and fails to incorporate the good ideas mentioned in the Post editorial. It seeme to me that rather than attacking those who dare to see a need for something different, the supporters of the Webb bill might consider actually taking into consideration the views of their critics to create a bill that is good for all veterans and the US military as a whole -- rather than a blunt instrument for the Democrats to club their opponents with.

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Why Federalism Isn't The Answer To The Gay Marriage Issues

I am generally supportive of allowing states great latitude in how they approach various issues. That's federalism, after all, and is one of the great principles underlying our system of government.

That said, here is an example of why the gay marriage issue cannot be left to the states -- the problem of the recognition of such marriages in states which prohibit them under their own laws.

Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”

The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.

In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality.” And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.

Yeah, all it takes is one official issuing a directive and gay marriages are recognized -- even if the legislature has explicitly declined to permit them to be performed within the state. The public policy decisions of one state -- whether made by the elected branches of government or a rogue court -- can effectively drive the policy of the other 49.

The Defense of Marriage Act, passed with great support over a decade ago, may not be sufficient to protect the right of those states that reject gay marriage to set their own policy on the matter. All it will take is one federal judge to declare the law unconstitutional to open the floodgates. As the Constitution stands now, federalism is not the answer.

That is why there needs to be some sort of amendment to the US Constitution on the matter. And I'm not necessarily arguing for an amendment to ban gay marriages nationwide. Rather, I'd like to propose a compromise which sets the Defense of Marriage Act into the Constitution itself as a tool for protecting federalism. Don't define marriage per se, but simply state that noting in the US constitution requires a state (or the federal government) to recognize marriage as anything other than one man and one woman. Then the decision of California's courts will truly be California's problem -- not one for all 50 states.

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Horrific Teacher Misconduct

Speaking as a teacher, I can understand some students make you want to "vote them off the island". There are a few every year. But we don't do it, as much as we might fantasize about it.

But one teacher apparently lacked the common sense decency to keep such things in the realm of fantasy -- and led her students in the abuse and ostracism of a special needs student in her kindergarten class!

A Port St. Lucie, Fla., mother is outraged and considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

Melissa Barton says Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo had her son's classmates say what they didn't like about 5-year-old Alex. She says the teacher then had the students vote, and voted Alex, who is being evaluated for Asperger's syndrome -- an autism spectrum disorder -- out of the class by a 14-2 margin.

What is frightening to me is that the local DA has already determined that this doesn't meet the definition of emotional abuse of a student. That may be the case, but I'd like to think the determination might take a bit longer, with the teacher left twisting in the wind.

Here's hoping that we'll at least see her teaching credentials revoked.

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Real or Not?

Yesterday I asked you about programs that create wealth, like the one at Nouveau Riche University. I suggested that you might find yourself interested in the distance learning program that they offer, the one that was featured in the January 2008 Issue of Your Business at Home Magazine.

According to the folks at Nouveau Riche University, the education you receive through their program will be affordable and designed to teach adults the path to financial success, whether you are an experienced investor or a novice in the field of personal finance and investing.

But let’s be honest – it sounds really good – perhaps even too good to be true, doesn’t it. Is this just a Nouveau Riche University Scam? Or do they really succeed in helping their students get rich. Is it really the sort of innovative educational program they claim or just a rip-off?

Well, they’ve established a blog that does nothing but collect and share the Nouveau Riche University experience from the viewpoint of the students. Nouveaurized.com is a one-stop site that gives you the inside view of Nouveau Riche University – from the point of view of the successful individuals who have completed the program. So if you are interested in Nouveau Riche University, be sure to stop by and read about the program from those who have experienced it for themselves, and then decide if it is real, or just a Nouveau Riche University Scam.

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Congratulations, Graduates -- And Thank You, Houston Chronicle

I've often got a lot of criticism of the Houston Chronicle, but one thing I have always appreciated about the paper is its annual feature on the top graduates at every local high school in the Houston area -- along with a database of every kid scheduled for graduation at those schools. This is something that a lot of big city newspapers stopped doing years ago due to the number of schools and students involved, but it is still a priority to the Chronicle. I just want to voice my appreciation.

And yes, offer my congratulations to all the graduating seniors in the Houston area.

Posted by: Greg at 09:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Bad Music Video

My wife was flipping channels a few minutes ago and came across a live performance of this song by the artist below.

Yeah -- David Hasselhoff doing grave damage to one of the great songs of my childhood. If there is one thing that Democrats and Republicans ought to be able to get together on, it is the necessity of legislation banning David Hasselhoff from coming within 100 feet of a recording studio.

And yeah -- the live performance was just as awful.

Hooga Hooga Ooga Chaka indeed.

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SeatExchange.com

Do you want tickets to the big game? Or did you miss out on concert tickets for the concert by your favorite group wne they went on sale. You know, such situations are really lousy -- you'd love to go, but don't have a chance. And trying to deal with a scalper is just crazy and way too expensive.

But you do have another option. There is SeatExchange.com, which has tickets available on their site for many of the events that you will want to go to. All you have to do is check them out and you will find likely find what you are looking for at a reasonable price.

Here's how it works. There is someone out there who has those tickets you want. And guess what -- they can't go because of some conflict or other. SeatExchange.com provides you two with a place to link up so that you can buy their tickets. And we all know how expensive sports tickets have become in recent years -- you can't even get into an NFL game for under $50 a person in most cities.

Best of all, SeatExchange.com has made it safe and easy for you to make a connection fast. Sellers have a choice of setting a fixed price or allowing for the best price by a given time. Once a buyer makes the connection, all the seller does is print out the shipping label and send the tickets on -- with the payment going to seller's PayPal account upon delivery of the tickets. What could be easier for you -- whether you are the buyer or seller?

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RWR Is Back On The Web

You know, it sucks to exceed bandwidth and go offline for six hours in the middle of the day.

But it is also a nice problem to have -- it means that for th third straight month my traffic has increased beyond the previous month's traffic. And since I have had the bandwidth bumped every time, that means I'm seeing a real increase.

A change is coming very soon, though, that will take care of this problem permanently -- stay tuned!

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When Ineptitude Meets High Explosives

DonÂ’t you hate it when this happens?

Six pro-Taliban militants were killed on Wednesday when their vehicle packed with explosives blew up in a northwestern Pakistani region on the Afghan border, a militant and officials said.

The explosion was caused by a hand grenade that went off accidently when their comrades were travelling through the Bajaur region, where Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants operate, a militant said.

"The hand grenade blast blew up the ammunition and explosives in the vehicle killing six militants and wounding two," said a Taliban member who declined to be identified.

I know – I’m rather disappointed that there was only a 75% kill-rate.

But at least there is the happy ending that sees these guys heading to Hell with their false prophet and his false god.

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Off The Wall

While I have great compassion for the mentally ill, this lady is just plain nuts!

A woman with a bizarre fetish for inanimate objects has revealed she has been married to the Berlin Wall for 29 years.

Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer, 54, whose surname means Berlin Wall in German, wed the concrete structure in 1979 after being diagnosed with a condition called Objectum-Sexuality.

Mrs Berliner-Mauer, whose fetish is said to have its roots in childhood, claimed she fell in love with the structure when she first saw it on television when she was seven.

She began collecting "his" pictures and saving up for visits. On her sixth trip in 1979 they tied the knot before a handful of guests.

What – she found folks as nutty as her to attend the wedding? I’m speechless.

But this may be the money quote for the entire article.

While she remains a virgin with humans, she insists she has a full, loving relationship with the wall.

Mrs Berliner-Mauer, who lives in Liden, northern Sweden, said: "I find long, slim things with horizontal lines very sexy.

"The Great Wall of China's attractive, but he’s too thick – my husband is sexier."

But not to worry about Mrs. Berliner-Mauer – she seems to have found substitute companionship. The article reports that she is currently in a fulfilling relationship with a local garden fence.

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May 27, 2008

Dem Lawyers Insist Upon Disenfranchisement Of Florida And Michigan

Not only that, but the only way to seat them all requires that it be done by the Credentials Committee in Denver on the first day of the convention.

A Democratic Party rules committee has the authority to seat some delegates from Michigan and Florida but not fully restore the two states as Hillary Rodham Clinton wants, according to party lawyers.
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Democratic National Committee rules require that the two states lose at least half of their convention delegates for holding elections too early, the party's legal experts wrote in a 38-page memo.

The memo was sent late Tuesday to the 30 members of the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which plans to meet Saturday at a Washington hotel. The committee is considering ways to include the two important general election battlegrounds at the nominating convention in August, and the staff analysis says seating half the delegates is "as far as it legally can" go.

So, the party of "Count Every Vote" is not the party of "Disenfranchise Every Voter" -- apparently as a matter of law (I'd love to see this memo -- wouldn't you?).

But that Credentials Committee challenge is important -- it gives Hillary Clinton a plausible reason to stay in the race through the Convention itself, and to wage a Kennedyesque floor fight to seat the remaining delegates. Could be really ugly -- if you are a Democrat.

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Don't Know Much About History -- The Barack Obama Story

I realize that with his scant resume, all Barack Obama really has to run on is empty rhetoric and Bush Derangement Syndrome. But since we've been talking about the historical ignorance of the presumptive Democrat nominee, let's take on another example of where he has tried to reshape the past to fit with the needs of his political present as he grasps for future power.

Last week, Obama said this.

Since the Bush Administration launched a misguided war in Iraq, its policy in the Americas has been negligent toward our friends, ineffective with our adversaries, disinterested in the challenges that matter in peoples' lives, and incapable of advancing our interests in the region.

No wonder, then, that demagogues like Hugo Chavez have stepped into this vacuum. His predictable yet perilous mix of anti-American rhetoric, authoritarian government, and checkbook diplomacy offers the same false promise as the tried and failed ideologies of the past. But the United States is so alienated from the rest of the Americas that this stale vision has gone unchallenged, and has even made inroads from Bolivia to Nicaragua.

Tom Bevan points out the problem with this assessment of responsibility for the rise of the Venezuelan strongman -- he came to power in 1998, during the middle of the second Clinton Administration.

Chavez was elected in December 1998 - two years before President Bush took office - running as a Marxist demagogue, and it was clear from the outset what kind of leader he would be. By July 1999 he had forced through a rewriting of the Venezuelan Constitution that restructured the government, vastly expanded his authority, and increased his ability to pack the court system.

I remember this period fairly well, because at the time I lived in Miami and worked with a young woman from a well to do family from Venezuela. Her parents, along with the rest of the business class in Venezuela, were petrified by Chavez and were scrambling to try and find ways of sheltering and/or protecting their assets before Chavez seized them - as he'd promised to do.

Again, all of this took place during the Clinton administration in the year and a half preceding George W. Bush's election, and a full four years before the Iraq campaign began. Though Obama would like to argue Chavez is somehow a monster of George Bush's making, the truth is that he was a bad actor from the beginning, and would have remained so regardless of who was occupying the White House.

Now I realize that it is popular among Democrats to blame everything on George W. Bush -- but there is no way that you can blame the then-governor of Texas for the rise of the dictator. For Obama to try do so is indicative of either cluelessness or dishonesty -- each of which he has displayed often in recent weeks.

Wanna bet that the MSM again ignores the Obamessiah's feet of clay?

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Becoming Nouveau Riche

Are you looking for an educational program that can teach you the way to CREATE WEALTH? If you are, you might be interested in the checking out the distance learning program of Nouveau Riche University, which was recently featured in the January 2008 Issue of Your Business at Home Magazine.

Not only that, but Nouveau Riche has been getting attention from other media outlets as well. For example, CNNÂ’s Business2.0 has featured Nouveau Riche as well as a great start-up that is showing great results for both its investors and its students. Now who wouldnÂ’t be interested in that? After all, Nouveau Riche is the sort of program that not only promises you a rags-to-riches result, but ha delivered for its alumni. And it is the results that count, after all.

The education you will receive through Nouveau Riche University is the sort that you can afford and which is about teaching you how to walk the path to financial success. That is true regardless of whether you are an experienced investor or a novice in the field of personal finance and investing. After all, they teach you the strategies of investing in assets and equity that have been shown to work– hopefully making you America’s next millionaire!

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Barack Obama -- Pimp My Holocaust!

If the words of the Obamessiah are true, then he must have been.

Obama also spoke about his uncle, who was part of the American brigade that helped to liberate Auschwitz.

As I see it, this can only lead us to one of four different conclusions:

  • ObamaÂ’s uncle (who may not have existed at all) served in the Soviet Red Army, since they liberated Auschwitz.
  • Obama is generally ignorant of the history of WWII.
  • Obama is delusional.
  • Obama is lying.

    My guess? Number four – because he has made historically implausible claims about the his family’s connection with the liberation of concentration camps in the past (Treblinka was also liberated by the Russians), unless his grandfather served in the Soviet Red Army, too.

    Oh, yeah – and Obama doesn’t have an uncle on the American side of his family, because his mother was an only child.

    Can we finally get the media to cover Barack ObamaÂ’s daily falsehoods, misstatements, and errors like they would any other candidate? After all, he ainÂ’t nothinÂ’ special.

    UPDATE: The inevitable "clarification" from the Obama campaign (what you make when the media likes you -- otherwise it is an "apology" or "confession"):

    "Senator Obama's family is proud of the service of his grandfather and uncles in World War II –- especially the fact that his great uncle was a part of liberating one of the concentration camps at Buchenwald," spokesman Bill Burton said. "Yesterday he mistakenly referred to Auschwitz instead of Buchenwald in telling of his personal experience of a soldier in his family who served heroically."

    So it appears that the correct option above was number 2. Interestingly enough, Obama's camp didn't tell us who the great uncle was so that the information can be verified.

    H/T Malkin, Sister Toldjah

    Posted by: Greg at 10:53 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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  • Carter National Security Advisor Offers Policy Advice On Iran

    Because, as we all remember, the Carter years were the high point of US-Iranian relations.

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    Yeah, I thought you did.

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    Current U.S. policy toward the regime in Tehran will almost certainly result in an Iran with nuclear weapons. The seemingly clever combination of the use of "sticks" and "carrots," including the frequent official hints of an American military option "remaining on the table," simply intensifies Iran's desire to have its own nuclear arsenal. Alas, such a heavy-handed "sticks" and "carrots" policy may work with donkeys but not with serious countries. The United States would have a better chance of success if the White House abandoned its threats of military action and its calls for regime change.

    Tell me – would you buy a Middle East policy from this man?

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    May 26, 2008

    "A Matter Of Serious Concern"

    Maybe that Iranian nuclear program hasn't been ended after all.

    At least that is the opinion of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency, in an unusually blunt and detailed report, said Monday that Iran’s suspected research into the development of nuclear weapons remained “a matter of serious concern” and that Iran continued to owe the agency “substantial explanations.”

    The nine-page report accused the Iranians of a willful lack of cooperation, particularly in answering allegations that its nuclear program may be intended more for military use than for energy generation.

    Part of the agency’s case hinges on 18 documents listed in the report and presented to Iran that, according to Western intelligence agencies, indicate the Iranians have ventured into explosives, uranium processing and a missile warhead design — activities that could be associated with constructing nuclear weapons.

    “There are certain parts of their nuclear program where the military seems to have played a role,” said one senior official close to the agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic constraints. He added, “We want to understand why.”

    The atomic energy agencyÂ’s report highlights the amount of work still to be done before definitive conclusions about the nature of the program can be made, a task that the official associated with the agency said would require months.

    So once again it would appear that Iran is flouting the will of the international community by engaging in research that is pointed towards military, not civilian, applications of nuclear technology. It has been the policy of the United States -- and the United Nations -- to stand against such research by the rogue state in an effort to end the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Such an effort needs to continue in the interest of preventing the unstable Iranian regime -- and its unstable leader, Mahmoud the Mad -- from possessing and using nukes.

    I wonder -- will this report change the mind of a certain foreign affairs neophyte running for president who has repeatedly said he will meet Mahmoud the Mad without preconditions, even though it will give him immense prestige and strengthen his grip on power in Iran?

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    Marines Kicking Taliban Butt In Afghanistan

    I don't know about you, but this impresses me.

    For two years British troops staked out a presence in this small district center in southern Afghanistan and fended off attacks from the Taliban. The constant firefights left it a ghost town, its bazaar broken and empty but for one baker, its houses and orchards reduced to rubble and weeds.

    But it took the Marines, specifically the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, about 96 hours to clear out the Taliban in a fierce battle in the past month and push them back about 6 miles.

    Most importantly, civilians are returning to the areas that have been cleared of the Islamist scum -- hopeful that their lives can return to normal due to the work of these American military heroes.

    Hurrah for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit!

    Posted by: Greg at 10:25 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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    Barack Obama: I See Dead People

    After all, Memorial Day is about honoring American fighting men and women who gave their lives in battle for our country. Oughtn't we be worried about a candidate for president who claims to be seeing them among the crowd at one of his speeches?

    On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong.

    Yes, I recognize that it is simply another one of Barack Obama's stupid comments made off the cuff -- but tell me seriously that we would not be hearing questions about John McCain's age and mental health if he had made such a statement. And for that matter, tell me that an identical statement by George W. Bush would not be taken as another sign of his alleged lack of mental prowess -- which Obama-supporting left-wingers have been claiming for years based upon verbal missteps.

    By the way -- why isn't the press giving this gaffe the sort of coverage it gave Hillary Clinton's reference to a historical event last week? Could it be that the MSM is in the tank for the Obamessiah?

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    Posted by: Greg at 10:14 PM | Comments (137) | Add Comment
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    Copper Clad Conservatories

    Would you like to have a conservatory in your own home? Wouldn’t it be a fantastic addition to your home? Just think about how nice it would be to have one where you can spend some time among lovely plants in comfort all year round – even when the temperature outside is a bit chilly!

    Of course conservatories do not serve only as green houses any more. Now they an integral part of the home, an architectural feature that adds beauty, utility, and value to the property. Not only are they places for growing things, but they serve as a place to entertain guests or to take a little time out for yourself. Best of all, it is like having a little bit of the outdoors inside your. WhatÂ’s more, it is a hand-crafted addition to your home which will be a constant source of pride and pleasure for years, because it is uniquely yours.

    Now Tanglewood Conservatoriesis offering a new style for those folks interested in a conservatory as an addition to their home – the copper clad conservatory. A Copper Conservatories, so reminiscent of the nineteenth century, will add a whole new level of beauty and sophistication to your custom-built conservastory.
    more...

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    Palin's Polar Bear Suit Defends More Than Alaska

    For all the hysteria about global warming, there really is no proof that human beings are making a significant contribution to climate change -- or that it is anything more than a normal cyclical process that is utterly beyond human control. But that didn't stop the Bush Administration from declaring polar bears to be endangered by global warming -- despite the fact that the population of polar bears is on the rise, and may be reaching record highs. That is one reason why the lawsuit filed by Alaska Gov. Sarha Palin is a good thing.

    But there is an additional reason why this designation is dangerous -- the near limitless authority that the Environmental Protection act will now give the EPA -- and unelected federal judges -- over economic activity.

    The act, for one, requires the department to ensure that "all actions authorized, funded or carried out" by all federal agencies aren't likely to "result in the . . . adverse modification of habitat" of listed species.

    This was odious enough when the presence of a few worthless snail darters was sufficient to derail massive public-works projects.

    But because polar bears are now imperiled by global warming (officially, anyway), any carbon emissions anywhere in the country could conceivably be judged an illegal threat to their habitat.

    And far-left green outfits like the Center for Biological Diversity - the group that led the charge to get the polar bear listed in the first place - are already licking their lips at the prospect.

    So be aware -- restrictions upon your lifestyle and economic well-being may becoming, even if there has not been a polar bear in your neighborhood since the last ice age (and even if the glaciers never reached your neck of the woods) on the theory that YOU may do the polar bears harm via carbon emissions in Illinois, Virginia, or New Mexico. The speculative harms done to the polar bears will be deemed to outweigh the actual harms done to you and your children in their name.

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    WebHostingRating.Com

    Are you looking for a new web host for your site? There are lots of reasons for doing so, of course, but they all add up to one thing on some level -- you are not happy with your current host and want to make a change. Well. there are some things you might want to consider as you look -- and there is a great website full of web hosting articles that you might want to consider before making your choice. I know that I never considered a point made by one article i saw that the presence of certain "bad sites" on a hosts servers might lead to the blacklisting of my site as well. So if you are looking to make a change, drop by and do some research first. You won't be sorry.

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    The First Proclamation of Memorial Day

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    HEADQUARTERS GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
    General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868

    1. The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

    We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

    If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

    Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from hishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.

    2. It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

    3. Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.

    By order of

    JOHN A. LOGAN,
    Commander-in-Chief

    N.P. CHIPMAN,
    Adjutant General

    Official:
    WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

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    Major General John A. Logan

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    NY School Falsely Reports Parent As Child Abuser For Missing A Meeting

    I've had parents call me on the phone to schedule meetings, and then blow me off. Indeed, at least twice a year I get a message from the front office telling me that a parent has demanded a meeting with all his/her child's teachers -- only to find myself sitting around a conference table with seven other teachers and an assistant principal twiddling our thumbs when the parent doesn't bother to show up.

    I'd never think of reporting such an inconsiderate parent to CPS for child abuse. That would obviously be a false report.

    But in New York City, that's what they did in the case of a parent of an honor student who couldn't make a meeting that the school asked for.

    Bronx HS of Science senior Michel Dussack has a "B" average, an 1890 SAT score and an almost full college scholarship for the fall.

    But Dussack's mother was accused of "educational neglect" two weeks ago and was reported to the city's child-services agency - because she missed a scheduled meeting to discuss her son possibly failing gym.

    Karen Dussack, 40, is now under investigation by the Administration for Children's Services, the city's welfare agency that protects kids from neglect and abuse.

    Two caseworkers from the ACS showed up at Dussack's door in Bayside, Queens, on May 14. The ACS interviewed Karen and her husband, also named Michel, as well as their two children, Michel and his sister, Deborah, 11. They checked the home for smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors and examined the contents of the refrigerator.

    The visit lasted two hours. Afterward, someone from the agency interviewed a representative from Deborah's school, MS 158 in Queens, and the family pediatrician over the phone.

    "It was humiliating," Karen said.

    What's the problem? It seems that Michel has missed 8 days of school this semester and has not been participating in gym class because of his asthma -- and Mrs. Dussack missed a meeting with school officials because she had to take her other child to the doctor due to an injury to her foot.

    So a school guidance counselor decided that the best way to handle the situation was to report Mom as a child abuser -- an action justified by the school's principal as an effort to force her to attend to her child's education.

    Oh, and interestingly enough, in doing so, the counselor violated school district policy, because Michel's eight absences fell below the district standard of 10 for making such a report.

    There seems to me to be a perfectly appropriate way of handling this -- charge both the counselor and the principal with making a false report of child abuse or neglect, and have the district make a generous financial offer to the Dussack family that will more than cover the college tuition of both Dussack children in the hopes that the Dussack family does not file a multi-million dollar civil suit over this bad-faith action by employees of the district.

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    A Humiliating Trade

    Surely a ballplayer is worth more than a box of bats!

    During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself.

    That sure changed this week—he’s the guy who was traded for a bunch of bats.

    “I don’t really care,” he said Friday. “It’ll make a better story if I make it to the big leagues.”

    For now, Odom is headed to the Laredo Broncos of the United League. They got him Tuesday from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League for a most unlikely price: 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 34-inch, C243 style.

    “They just wanted some bats, good bats—maple bats,” Broncos general manager Jose Melendez said.

    According to the Prairie Sticks Web site, their maple bats retail for $69 each, discounted to $65.50 for purchases of six to 11 bats.

    “It will be interesting to see what 10 bats gets us,” Melendez said.

    So let's see -- that would make Odom worth precisely $655.00 to his new team. hardly a vote of confidence, in my book.

    But then again, this is the minor leagues.

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    Time to Revoke Jimmy Carter's Security Clearance

    After all, he's spilling the beans on classified US intelligence about the military capabilities of our allies -- in an effort to help our mutual enemies get a handle on their strength.

    Israel has 150 nuclear weapons in its arsenal, former President Jimmy Carter said yesterday, while arguing that the US should talk directly to Iran to persuade it to drop its nuclear ambitions.

    His remark, made at the Hay-on-Wye festival which promotes current affairs books and literature, is startling because Israel has never admitted having nuclear weapons, let alone how many, although the world assumes their existence. Nor do US officials deviate in public from that Israeli line. Carter, who has immersed himself since his presidency in Israeli-Palestinian relations, was highly critical of Israeli settlers on the West Bank, and of Israel's refusal to talk to elected officials of the Islamic party Hamas, although he said that Israel's security was his prime concern.

    All former presidents receive classified briefings about world affairs. It is one of the perks of having held the highest elected office in the land. But with that comes the responsibility not to disclose that information, and not to endanger our relationship with our allies by undermining their security.

    Jimmy Carter has violated that obligation, in the service of his anti-Semitic agenda of supporting terrorists and rogue nations seeking to destroy America's closest ally in the Middle East.

    Revoke Carter's security clearance now!

    H/T Gateway Pundit

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    Posted by: Greg at 02:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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    The Phoenix Has Landed

    Congratulations NASA on another job well done.

    NASAÂ’s Phoenix spacecraft made a safe, flawless landing Sunday on Mars.

    During the final, tense minutes of the descent, long stretches of quiet in the mission support room were punctuated by cheers and clapping as confirmation of crucial events like the deployment of the parachute were confirmed.

    Then, at 7:53 p.m. Eastern time, Richard Kornfeld, the lead communications officer for entry, descent and landing, announced: “Touchdown signal detected.”

    The mission controllers, wearing identical blue polo shirts made for the occasion, erupted in cheers and began hugging one another in congratulations.

    “It was better than we could have possibly wished for,” said Barry Goldstein, the project manager for the mission. “We rehearsed over and over again. We rehearsed all of the problems, and none of them occurred. It was perfect, just the way we designed it.”

    Two hours later, the first video transmissions came in from Mars -- indicating that the craft has arrived relatively undamaged after the voyage across the void between the two planets. And while there are additional tests to complete, it would appear that the craft is ready and able to perform all planned functions.

    The articles above also explain why the mission is named the Phoenix -- the mission is making use of recycled equipment from earlier missions that were scrapped following catastrophic failures. Learning the lessons of the earlier missions, the team created a mission that "rose from the ashes" of those earlier misfortunes to bring about yesterday's success.

    UPDATE: Why do we get better coverage -- and pictures -- from a foreign news source like the BBC than we do from the American media?

    Posted by: Greg at 12:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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    An Honest Assesment Of The MSM's Problem

    The best description I've yet seen of why the media went bat-shit crazy over Hillary Clinton's reference to the tragic end of the 1968 California Primary.

    This weekend’s uproar over Hillary Rodham Clinton invoking the assassination of Robert Kennedy as rationale for continuing her presidential campaign is an especially vivid example of modern journalism as hyperkinetic child — overstimulated by speed and hunger for a head-turning angle that will draw an audience.

    The truth about what Clinton said — and any fair-minded appraisal of what she meant — was entirely beside the point.

    Her comment was news by any standard. But it was only big news when wrested from context and set aflame by a news media more concerned with being interesting and provocative than with being relevant or serious. Thus, the story made the front page of The New York Times, was the lead story of The Washington Post and got prominent treatment on the evening news on ABC, CBS and NBC.

    Did you catch that?

    "The truth. . . was entirely beside the point."

    Yeah, that's right -- as far as our "objective journalists" and their editors are concerned, the truth of what they report is not particularly relevant. Rather, what matters is is the spin they can put on it to attract viewers and readers, regardless of whether or not their reporting and commentary is fair or accurate.

    As this piece later notes, Clinton said nothing outrageous.

    But it was also clear that ClintonÂ’s error was not in saying something beyond the pale but in saying something that pulled from context would sound as if it were beyond the pale.

    It would be a big story if Clinton said something like this: “Hey, I know it looks bad for me now. But, think about it. Obama could get shot and I’d get to be the nominee after all.”

    It is a small story if Clinton said something like this: “Everyone talks like May is incredibly late, but by historical standards it is not. Think of all the famous milestones in presidential races that have taken place during June.”

    And indeed, the latter is what Hillary was saying -- and at most, the recalling of the most horrific of June presidential campaign memories was an unfortunate reference, barely worth the ink (or electrons) it would take to get the story out to the public.

    What we have, then, is an irresponsible and out of control media that no longer has an interest (if it ever did) of providing us with a serious look at the nation and the world. I guess that's what we bloggers are for.

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    Posted by: Greg at 12:49 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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