1 F*** urself!!!He's not a false prphet n bout da pic of da 'Muhammad Outrage Pig n what not'..y dun u watch ur mouth n be creful wit ur cments a**hole!!Mybe da thng dat da fther did might be aggresive n wrng but no damn right 4 ppl 2 cment dat way!!!

2 Wtch ur mouth n b creful wit wat ur pstin' n cmentin' coz ppl hv no damn rite of labelin' him as a false prophet n bout da pic of "Muhammad Outrage Pig" n what not, let's face it,wuld u luv it if ppl talk bout Jesus dat way coz Jesus isn't God but Prphet!!!!!

3 Excuse me, but last time I checked I live in a free country where I don't have to watch my mouth because the followers of a false religion created by a delusional murderous pedophile don't like my words. And given that your false prophet dictated a book of lies that deny the divinity of Jesus, I'd argue that you people already say something much more insulting about him than I said about MuHAMmad -- indeed you came here spewing the same insulting language, you offspring of a bitch and a boar. And I can't help but note that you cannot even forthrightly condemn the father in this case, saying only that his actions "might" be wrong. But then again, that is what your Satanic faith teaches -- enslave the non-believer and murder those who reject your false religion in favor of True Faith in Christ.

4 Wether u live in a free country or not u still gotta 2 watch out ur mouth & u all wer da 1st ones 2 say dat he's a false prphet whereas he's not n u thik dat prticualr pictre of a pig will not cause disaster n chaos of ppl know bout it n it's a shame.We'r not sposed 2 humiliate uther ppl's religion n yet u did.It's not enough isn't it with wat the Dutch did???????N u also said "Satanic faith teaches?????"Dat's da way?At least wen i said all dos words i wuld label dem "f***" like dis!!!!!Get it!!!!

5 Listen, you semi-literate spawn of a dog and a pig, I am well-within my rights to express my belief that your faith is a Satanic counterfeit, just as you are perfectly within your rights to make the false claim that Jesus was merely a prophet and not the Son of God. I am in no way required to "watch my mouth" -- and any religion that believes that picture will be the source of "disaster and chaos" is a pretty pathetic one -- the faith of the weak-minded sociopaths who are incapable of accepting that others do not share their religion and are not bound by the sensitivities of a faith they consider to be a fraud. As far as what the Danes (not the Dutch) did, it was an exercise of their human rights to express their religious opinions in a peaceful, non-violent way -- and was responded to with barbarism by you and your co-religionists who were offended by the depiction of the murderous child-raping barbarian who created your faith. So I will continue to express my belief that Christianity is the True Faith given us by God, and that Islam is a Satanic counterfeit designed to lure the unwary into the bowels of Hell -- and I won't tell you that you need to "watch your mouth" if you disagree, due to the likelihood that Christians will engage in acts of mayhem, violence, and terrorism if you don't. That, you see, is the difference between my faith and yours -- we are assured that the Light of Christ will prevail over the darkness of false religions, and so we do not need to engage in such behavior.

1 Andrew Young the admitted father of the John Edwards story: The arrests for worthless checks, DWI, burglary, criminal mischief, the federal tax lien webofdeception.com

2 adolescentes dominicanas desnudas

Posted by: Jane at Sun Jan 18 05:35:09 2009 (bqTlE)

Houston Cop Shoots Man With Sword

You never know what will happen in Houston, Texas -- it sure is great to be back from vacation!

Take this story.

A Houston police officer shot a man who was wielding a sword at him Saturday night, officials said.

Police found the man in a driveway in the 3300 block of Hastings. The man, whose name was not released, approached police with the sword.

Officers retreated, asking the man to put down the weapon. Police said the man continued to advance toward the officers.

One of the officers shot him once in the chest.

HPD has already released the video of the incident.

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Howard Dean Renounces White Vote On Behalf Of Obama And The Democrats

Either that, or he just played the race card.

"If you look at folks of color, even women, they're more successful in the Democratic Party than they are in the "white", excuse me, the Republican Party."

Given the history of racism and hate-mongering that has been a part of the Democrat Party since its very inception, I don't think the demented doctor really wants to go there. After all, his is the party of slavery, treason, Jim Crow, and massive resistance. His party is the one that has historically tried to block every true advance in civil rights.

But if Howard Dean really wants to label the GOP the party of white people, so be it -- I'm sure that John McCain would be pleased to accept the same proportion of the white vote that Barack Obama will get of the black vote. But then again, since we Republicans follow the philosophy of one of the greats of our party in judging our fellow Americans not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, I can assure you that we won't be making the sort of appeals that are the stock-in-trade of the Dean Democrats.

UPDATE: Maybe these three guys are the the sort of support sought by Barack Obama and the Howard Dean Democrats.

UPDATE & BUMP: Gee -- someone in the media finally got around to covering this one -- though not nearly as much as this story deserves. Imagine the uproar if a McCain surrogate had called the GOP the "white party" -- or the Democrats the "black party".

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Will Democrats Complain About "Attempted Disenfrancisement" Of Dick Cheney?

How dare they ask him for a state-issued photo ID!

Vice President Dick Cheney got carded. Not for drinking but for voting.

It happened at the Teton County clerk's office Thursday in Wyoming, when the vice president, accompanied by his wife and a Secret Service detail, dropped in unexpectedly to cast an absentee ballot in next Tuesday's primary election.

An election worker, Mike Farady, asked the vice president for his driver's license.

"The reason is we are supposed to confirm identity with a photo ID and it also helps confirm residency and that was the easiest way to do it," Farady told the Jackson Hole News & Guide. "I know he is the vice president and I know he can vote, but I wanted to make sure he can vote here and now."

Will there be the same complaints from Democrats one would get if the person asked were a retired nun, an African-American ex-con, or an illegal immigrant from Latin America?

Probably not -- after all, he wasn't going to vote for their candidate. And since he is a heterosexual white male US citizen, he's not a member of any of the groups whose interests the Democrats claim to be interested in protecting.

We Republicans, of course, are simply grateful that they take ballot security seriously in some parts of the country.

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Evil Americans Sic Vicious Dogs On Religion Of Peace Members

Well yes, they were members of the Taliban fleeing US troops, but that won't matter to the supporters of Islamist terror.

U.S. coalition dogs bit two fleeing suspected Taliban militants during an operation in eastern Afghanistan in which a total of eight insurgents were detained, the coalition said Friday.

The raid Thursday in the Muslim country's Paktika province targeted a Taliban subcommander wanted for kidnapping, killing Afghan soldiers and involvement in roadside attacks, it said.

During the operation, ''two militants attempted to flee and were pursued by coalition military working dogs,'' the coalition said in a statement. ''Both militants received dog-bite injuries, one of which required treatment on scene by coalition medical personnel.''

No doubt we will soon be hearing demands for the following things from the Leftists who support the Taliban over their own country.

1. An end to the use of dogs in the Crusade Against Islamist Terrorism because the enemy considers the animals unclean.
   
2. A public apology by the President and US commanders for the use of dogs in the Crusade Against Islamist Terrorism.
   
3. A paid lawyer and early court date for a civil suit by the Taliban against the US military and the dog-handlers for the injuries received when they were bitten.
   
4. War crimes charges against the dog for biting the fleeing terrorists.
   

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Corrupt Murtha Aids Corrupt Contractor

Well, we've known for three decades that John Murtha is a dirty politician. Why should we be surprised by this?

Rep. John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat known for delivering federal money to defense contractors in his district, is now going to bat for a constituent's company that was convicted last year of illegally exporting components of military equipment.

Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, wrote State Department officials in late June urging them to meet with the president of Electro-Glass Products, a 50-employee company that was convicted in April 2007 of illegally exporting components of night-vision goggles to a company in India. The Mammoth, Pa., firm has been sanctioned by the State Department, and Murtha argues that the action threatens to put the firm out of business.

So remember -- when it comes to national security issues, John Murtha will take the side of alaw-breaking company rather than the United States. It is time for a change n Pennsylvania. Vote for Lt. Col. Bill Russell -- for the sake of America.

H/T Hot Air, Michelle Malikn

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Dems Nominate Candidate Without Probate Experience For Probate Course Race

Yep -- that's your Harris County Democrats. While we in the GOP selected the highly qualified Georgia Akers to run for the bench left vacant by the death of Judge Russell Austin, Democrats looked only at previous vote totals in making their choice.

Former Democratic judge Kathy Stone will face Republican associate judge Georgia Akers in the Nov. 4 Harris County election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Probate Judge Russell Austin in June.

Democratic precinct chairmen selected Stone over two other contenders for the nomination Thursday night. Similarly, Akers got the GOP nomination last month by winning a precinct chairmen's vote.

Although Stone lost elections for civil court benches in 1998 and 2004, she swayed some precinct chairmen Thursday by pointing out that she was one of the party's top vote getters in those years as Republicans swept county elections.

Her two competitors emphasized their probate experience -- she emphasized her one electoral victory (and two electoral losses) for a civil court bench.

Oh, yeah -- and this significant factor.

Stone, recalling that her judicial portrait hangs in a downtown county courthouse, told the Democratic meeting, "I would like to join my portrait, please."

Too bad the Democrats couldn't be bothered to select a serious candidate with significant qualifications for the court she seeks.

And in the mean time, someone pack and ship Stone her portrait, so that she doesn't need to go to the courthouse to feel complete.

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McCain Campaigns & Deals With Policy While Obama Body Surfs

When Republicans take a vacation during a crisis, it is a sign that they are not serious or competent, according to mouth-frothing liberals. On the other hand, sno-cones and body surfing during a crisis don't seem to bother liberals -- so long as it is Democrat Barack Obama engaging in such frivolous activities.

For the last several days, Senator Barack Obama has seemed to fade from the scene while on his secluded vacation here, as his opponent, Senator John McCain, has seized nearly every opportunity to display his foreign policy credentials on the dominant issue of the week: the conflict between Russia and Georgia.

Only once, at the beginning of the week, did Mr. Obama discuss the fighting in public, when he emerged from his beachfront rental home to condemn RussiaÂ’s escalation, in a way that seemed timed for the evening television news. He took no questions whose answers might demonstrate command of the issue.

Mr. McCain and his surrogates, however, have discussed the situation nearly every day on the campaign trail, often taking a hard line against Russia to the point of his declaring the other day, “We are all Georgians.”

Well, it really is quite simple to explain -- McCain knows the region and the players, and has a wealth of foreign policy knowledge to draw upon. Obama has speeches and press coverage -- so while war rages between Russia and Georgia, we know what his focus is.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama bodysurfed today at Sandy Beach today, a place he frequented as a teen-ager growing up in Honolulu.

Barack Obama may be just fine when it comes to photo-op speeches before foreign audiences advocating non-specific hope and change. On the other hand, he is way over his head in the case of a serious foreign policy crisis.

Is this Barry Hussein's "Dukakis in a tank" moment?

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Did Edwards & Supporter Orchestrate Cover-Up?

It sure does seem that way, as the connection between Edwards, campaign finance chair Fred Baron, and the lawyers for Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young become public.

Remember last year, when Hunter and Young independently claimed that Young was the father of Hunter's child after Edwards claimed there was no affair? Well, the mainstream media (in their haste to prop up the Democrat contender) missed something that competent professional journalists should have caught.

Seemingly issued independently of Mr. Edwards, the statements appeared to deflate the anonymously sourced reports of an Edwards tryst. But what went unnoticed was that the two lawyers shared an important connection to Mr. Edwards that suggests they were part of an orchestrated effort to protect him, one that is continuing even after he admitted last week that he had an affair with Ms. Hunter but denied that he fathered her child.

The lawyers are linked through Fred Baron, a wealthy Dallas lawyer and former finance chairman for the Edwards campaign who was a key player in the campaignÂ’s response to the scandal. Mr. Gordon has worked with Mr. Baron on class-action personal injury cases, and Ms. Marple helped defend a lawsuit brought against both men and their law firms by an asbestos manufacturer.

This is information that should have been quite easy to find -- if journalists bothered to look. But rather than actually check out the story, the press took it all at face value, and therefore let the story stand precisely as the Edwards spin machine wanted it to. It saved Edwards' candidacy and image for some months, and allowed him to be near the top of the VP/Cabinet list for eventual nominee Barack Obama (until he got caught with his hand in the nookie jar last month).

Now why does this matter?

Two reasons.

1. The affair and cover-up occurred during Edwards' candidacy for the Democrat nomination.
   
2. The cover-up and media complicity likely impacted the result of the entire Democrat nominating process in favor of Barack Obama.
   
3. It appears that there may be misuse of campaign funds or foundation funds to aid in the cover-up.

While some corrupt Democrats may want to argue that this affair is not the business of the public, I think the circumstances surrounding the case make it clear that this is a matter of serious public concern.

More at Hot Air

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Musharraf Resignation Coming -- Likely Not Good News

I've made it clear that I am not a fan of Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf. That said, I'm not sure that his impending resignation is good news.

While it appeared almost certain that Mr. Musharraf would leave before facing impeachment, there was great uncertainty over what would follow. Many Pakistanis believe the country could suffer even greater instability after Mr. Musharraf goes.

The coalition partnership between Mr. Zardari and Mr. Sharif has been deeply troubled from the start, and the current accord on ousting Mr. Musharraf is likely to fragment as soon as he is gone, politicians say.

There is little agreement, for example, between the two men on the choice of the next president.

Mr. Zardari, head of the Pakistan Peoples Party, would like the post, according to his party supporters and senior members of the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

Mr. Sharif, his rival and coalition partner, is opposed to Mr. ZardariÂ’s ascendancy to the presidency, but would go along with it if the presidency were stripped of many of its current powers, Pakistan Muslim League-N officials said.

So, the result of the impending change will be a fragmenting of the parliamentary coalition that exists in Pakistan, and the probable weakening of the Pakistani executive branch. Will the remaining government be able to deal effectively with the Islamist question along the Afghan border -- or perhaps I should ask if it will be able to deal with that problem any more effectively than Musharraf has, given the failures of the current regime which has at least had the support of the military and has at least somewhat responded to the terrorist threat as an ally. At least one of the two major opposition parties is openly sympathetic to the Islamist cause, which could make for a less effective response from the new government of Pakistan.

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Arizona Web Design And SEO

To have a successful business, whether online or in a physical location, you must have a good product of service to offer the public. But there is also the question of getting yourself known to the public at large. After all, you can be the best at what you do, but if you are unknown you wonÂ’t have any customers.

In the online world, what you need is an interesting web design site that captures the potential customerÂ’s attention. That is how youÂ’ll meet a lot of customers who come to patronize you, bringing more money in your company.

But to create that top-notch site, you need help, perhaps through this arizona web design company. This award-winning arizona seo company can help you develop a great online marketing strategy. Want to see the sort of difference they can make for you? Then check out their cool before and after gallery that will show you the type of results you will get from primeview.com. As you can see, they are great at developing sites and strategies that will help you attract and keep customers. Get started now to get the best design for your site and be on your way to becoming a top-ranked company.

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What's Wrong With This Picture?

Or is there anything wrong with it?

After all, we have had a serious problem with convents and Catholic churches being used to plot terrorist attacks in this country at the behest of Catholic religious leaders and theologians, so why shouldn't masked Muslims (whose religion is the only one in the world not connected to terrorism, according to the US government and Muslim religious leaders) be performing routine screenings of elderly women religious in American airports?

H/T Debbie Schlussel

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Just A Question

Remember -- rising oil prices were all George Bush's fault -- at least according to the Democrats. I assume that they are equally prepared to give George W. Bush credit for the latest development regarding oil supply and prices.

You know, the fact that oil production by OPEC is up, and oil prices have dropped by 24% to only $113 a gallon in the last month.

After all, if shortfalls and price hikes are the responsibility of the President, then so are supply increases and price drops.

Unless Democrats are willing to admit their claims were all a bunch of partisan hot air, and that they have been engaged in rank partisanship on oil rather than attempting to deal with the price of energy -- especially since Nancy Pelosi will allow no votes on offshore drilling, despite the fact the price began to drop when Bush dropped the Executive Branch ban on such drilling.

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More On Edwards Affair

Looks like there is more evidence that John Edwards is continuing to lie about his affair with Rielle Hunter and their love child.

Let's consider the new revelations.

1. Edwards' political operatives are still paying his mistress Rielle Hunter - and she was whisked away on a private jet two days before he confessed their extramarital affair on national TV!
   
2. Edwards secretly visited Rielle and their love child three separate times at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles this year
   
3. Hunter's sister said yesterday that the mistress' 6-month-old love child unmistakably "looks like John Edwards. She's got his eyes and jaw line and lips."

Seems to me that Edwards, who is undeniably a public figure despite the efforts of some corrupt Democrats to claim otherwise, is still lying to the American public -- and his dying wife. And given the financial issues involved -- especially as these issues could relate to illegal use of funds from his campaign or his non-profit foundation -- it would appear that a full-scale CRIMINAL investigation of the matter is imperative.

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Fairness Doctrine To Lead To Web Content Controls?

Are conservative blogs going to be silenced by the Democrats if they manage to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine?

There’s a huge concern among conservative talk radio hosts that reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would all-but destroy the industry due to equal time constraints. But speech limits might not stop at radio. They could even be extended to include the Internet and “government dictating content policy.”

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell raised that as a possibility after talking with bloggers at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. McDowell spoke about a recent FCC vote to bar Comcast from engaging in certain Internet practices – expanding the federal agency’s oversight of Internet networks.

* * *

“I think the fear is that somehow large corporations will censor their content, their points of view, right,” McDowell said. “I think the bigger concern for them should be if you have government dictating content policy, which by the way would have a big First Amendment problem.”

"Then, whoever is in charge of government is going to determine what is fair, under a so-called ‘Fairness Doctrine,’ which won’t be called that – it’ll be called something else,” McDowell said. “So, will Web sites, will bloggers have to give equal time or equal space on their Web site to opposing views rather than letting the marketplace of ideas determine that?”

The implications of this are startling -- will Blogger or WordPress have to monitor their websites to make sure that they have not become too political in one direction or the other -- especially if a politicized definition of "fairness" and "balance" is being enforced by liberal political censors regulators? Will individual web sites -- like this one, for example -- be forced to open themselves up to views not supported by their owners, thereby cutting into their available bandwidth? Will certain bloggers be forced to flee to offshore web hosts in order to exercise the rights theoretically guaranteed by the First Amendment -- or will the physical location of the blogger lead to regulation of content no matter where the server is located?

Scary stuff -- and one more reason to oppose both the so-called Fairness Doctrine and Barack Obama.

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Quote Of The Day

This sums it up rather nicely.

“In my opinion, the choice could not be more clear: between one candidate, John McCain, who’s had experience, been tested in war and tried in peace, another candidate who has not,’’ [Senator Joe] Lieberman said. “Between one candidate, John McCain, who has always put the country first, worked across party lines to get things done, and one candidate who has not. Between one candidate who’s a talker, and the other candidate who’s the leader America needs as our next president.”

Let's face it -- we are given a choice between a man of substance and one who is light on experience. We get to choose between one known for his bipartisanship, and one who won't even back his nation's president and troops when they have been successful because doing so would undercut his ideology. For those who truly put their country first, there should be no question of the better candidate.

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Catering

Have you ever needed to have an event catered – either in a hall or at some off-site location? Well believe me, there is a lot more to that process than you would imagine, especially if you are out to host an elegant event. This website, Arizona catering captured my attention immediately because it provides a lot of good information for someone looking to host such an event for the first time, whether it is a wedding, fundraiser, or other event.

Organizing a wedding is a big burden. It isn’t just the food – it is also things like napkins, glasses, centerpieces, and the like. So you really need a company that specializes in Arizona wedding catering or catering in your area.

Now if you are looking for Phoenix Arizona catering, you may wish to consider Arizona Elegant catering. They can be contacted online for an appointment, or by phone at 602.482.3334. The site itself is marvelously organized, easy to navigate, and designed to help you make the right choices for your event. WhatÂ’s more, the choices they have available to you will allow you to host a beautiful wedding reception or elegant event that best meets your needs and tastes. And they are one of the preferred off-site catering services in Arizona, so those of you in that part of the country would do well to check them out.

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NYTimes Columnist: Internet Stops Press From Covering Up Liberal Scandals

Well, that isn't exactly what he said -- but it is what NY Times columnist David Carr's comment in a CNN article really boils down to.

"I was taught when I was a young reporter that it's news when we say it is. I think that's still true -- it's news when 'we' say it is. It's just who 'we' is has changed," Carr said.

"Members of the public, people with modems, people with cell phones are now producers, editors. They can push and push and push on a story until it ends up being acknowledged by everyone."

And since the NY Times -- according to their own public editor -- didn't even deign to seriously investigate the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter story despite the easy availability of corroboration, it clearly wasn't news.

Except for those damn bloggers who kept pushing the issue after the elitist liberal media declared the affair/love child to be non-news. They kept up the pressure until it became news.

Call it the democratization of reporting -- something that Carr and the rest of the elitist liberal media seem to be lamenting today.

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Gold Medal #2 For Phelps

And the US men set a world record in the 4x100 freestyle relay.

Michael Phelps won his second gold medal of the 2008 Games on Monday, with a victory by the United States in the 4x100 freestyle relay. The U.S. finished first in 3 minutes 8.24 seconds, smashing the world record by nearly 4 seconds, with France taking silver and Australia getting bronze.

Jason Lezak provided an incredible performance in the anchor leg, coming from behind to out-touch FranceÂ’s Alain Bernard.

The French had been trash-talking the Americans for the last few days -- but it looks like this year the US will re-establish its dominance in men's swimming.

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But I Thought Dems Said There Was No Illegal Alien Voting!

Well, none that they want to talk about, anyway -- like this situation in the San Antonio area.

The investigation began after Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacquelyn Callanen purged hundreds of names from the county's roll of more than 860,000 registered voters.

In a review of the past six years, Callanen said 330 undocumented people had registered to vote, and that 41 of them had voted — even though they later acknowledged they were not U.S. citizens.

The 330 people had received jury duty summons cards because their names were culled from the county's voter registration rolls.

Callanen said 41 people admitted voting, some in multiple elections, between 2001 and 2007. Each one said they were unaware they could not register or vote.

It could not be determined when or how they registered, but Callanen said there was “nothing to indicate a systematic effort to register noncitizens. But clearly, those folks should not have voted.”

I'm curious -- did they actually look for something systematic, or di they just skim the obvious fraudulent votes/registrations off the top? After all, it seems that the list of non-citizen jury summons responses was the source of their evidence? How many other illegals didn't show were ignored (failure to report for jury duty is rampant in San Antonio) or showed and sat on the jury so as not to get caught? What would a systematic check of registration in Bexar County show?

Well, we won't ever find out.

Adrianna Biggs, head of the district attorney's white-collar crime unit who led the investigation, said authorities were unable to determine who registered the undocumented people to vote, many of whom had limited English proficiency and who appeared to be politically unsophisticated.

In at least two cases, the district attorney's office decided not to prosecute because of extenuating circumstances that would not “serve the interest of justice,” Herberg said.

He noted that Reed made a series of recommendations to Callanen that would tighten voter registration procedures and also make it easier to prosecute future instances of voter fraud.

But County Judge Nelson Wolff rejected those recommendations because “turning Jacqui Callanen into a law enforcement agent is not the goal. Enfranchising people and getting more people to participate in the electoral process is her goal.”

In other words, the head of county government in Bexar County does not see protecting the integrity of elections in Bexar County to be a worthy goal -- he would rather get more folks registered and voting, even if they are illegal registrants/voters. Anyone want to take a wild guess about County Judge Nelson Wolff's party affiliation?

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Watcher's Council Results

The Watcher's Council has spoken this week. Full results of the vote can be found here.

Council:

Votes Title

2.64   Joshuapundit: Winning in Afghanistan

1.98   Wolf Howling: PartIII: Why Exploit Our Domestic Resources

1.65   Rhymes with Right: What is a Windfall Profit?

1.32   Bookworm room: Marin CountyÂ’s Hidden Conservatives

0.99   The Razor: Red Man in a Blue Family

0.66   Done With Mirrors: Heroes

0.33   Soccer Dad: Hello martyr, hello fatah

0.33   Cheat Seeking Missiles: Time to Fire Bob Herbert

Non-Council:

3.63   Classical Values: Obama Be

2.64   Sigmund, Carl and Alfred: The Forgotten Christians of Lebanon

0.99   American Thinker: Time for an Indifferent World to Take a Stand

0.99   Neptunus Lex: A Difficult Man

0.66   Elder of Ziyon: The definitive version of Hello martyr, hello fatah

0.66   Spiegel Online: ChinaÂ’s Summer of Living Dangerously

0.33   The Baseball Crank: Politics: Racist Campaign Ad Watch

Thanks to Scott at The Razor for hosting this week's vote.

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Edwards Cheated And Lied -- Did He Steal, Too?

As much as the media tried to cover up John Edwards' affair with Rielle Hunter, the National Enquirer and the internet wouldn't let them do so. And pushed to the wall, Edwards has finally admitted what we already knew -- he and Hunter had an affair.

John Edwards admitted to ABC News in an interview with Bob Woodruff Friday that he repeatedly lied about an extramarital affair with a 42-year old campaign employee, but strenuously denied being involved in paying the woman hush money or fathering her newborn child. The former Democratic U.S. senator from North Carolina said he would be willing to take a paternity test and divulge the results publicly.

"Two years ago I made a very serious mistake, a mistake that I am responsible for and no one else. In 2006, I told Elizabeth about the mistake, asked her for her forgiveness, asked God for his forgiveness. And we have kept this within our family since that time."

All well and good -- but he denied the affair this past October when confronted about it by the Enquirer and other media outlets. So not only did he cheat, but he lied about it, too.

Here's where it gets interesting -- he claims the affair happened in 2006, and that there is no way he is the father of the Hunter's child, born this past February. Hunter and a (married) former Edwards staffer CLAIM the baby is theirs -- but the former staffer (Andrew Young -- no relationship to the former UN ambassador and Atlanta mayor) is not on the birth certificate. Furthermore, Hunter lived in the home of Young, his wife and children during her pregnancy -- not the sort of thing a wronged woman usually does in such situations.

But that isn't the biggest question, in my book. To my way of thinking it is this -- why did he hire his (allegedly) former mistress to work for his campaign after the affair was over? Why put himself in that situation, in which he would have regular contact with his (allegedly) former floozie after his dying wife was informed about the affair? Set aside the insensitivity of the choice -- why bring her back into intimate contact when there could easily be other folks who could have filled her spot on the campaign?

And then there are other questions. Why visit the (allegedly) ex-mistress in a hotel in the middle of the night? Why doe he have no recollection of the baby being in the room (or of holding the kid)? And why did one of his close aides start funneling large amounts of cash to both the unemployed Hunter and unemployed Young once both were out of the campaign -- and are we really to believe that the money wasn't in some way authorized by John Edwards, either form his campaign or foundation funds? None of this passes the smell test.

And here's the kicker -- Edwards says he wants a paternity test. But lo and behold, Hunter says absolutely not -- she will never consent to allowing her (allegedly) ex-lover to clear his name, even if doing so would perhaps permit him to be considered for vice president or an early cabinet position in a future Obama administration. It seems strikingly convenient that the one thing that could mitigate most of the damage OR totally destroy him is being denied him -- all due to circumstances (allegedly) beyond his control. This enables him to eventually return to public life while claiming that there is no proof that he fathered the child.

Obvious answer -- John Edwards was doing the horizontal mambo with Rielle Hunter right up until the day that Elizabeth Edwards got her new cancer diagnosis. The baby is John Edwards illegitimate daughter -- and he is misappropriating funds to pay off both his baby-mama and the faux baby-daddy. After all -- John Edwards has already proven that he is more than willing to cheat on his sick wife and lie to cover his own well-coiffed ass. He's even prepared to send his dying wife out to attack columnists who dare write critically about him -- apparently while he is still shagging his mistress behind her back.

That makes John Edwards scum by any stretch of the imagination -- cheating, lying, stealing scum.

Posted by: Greg at 09:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ambrosia Treatment Center

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

In my opinion, one of the hardest things about the treatment is when the patient who came in for treatment is ready to relapse after discharge from the center. That is why it is so important that the drug rehab center see to it that each patient achieves total wellness, not just social healing but also by being healed mentally, spiritually, and physically. Healing the total 4 aspects of a person is what a family wants for their love one.

That is where a drug treatment facility like Ambrosia comes into the picture. It is important to get a loved one into a good rehabilitation that will focus on the whole person. A solid program with a proven track record of success is very important so that the loved one can get treatment for substance abuse and begin to rebuild his or her life.

Posted by: Greg at 02:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Tyson Food Give In

[By David M]

Labor Day Reinstated as Paid Holiday at Shelbyville, TN, Plant; Tyson Foods Requested Change from Union

Springdale, Arkansas – August 8, 2008 - Tyson Foods, Inc. announced today it has reached a new agreement with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), an American union, reinstating Labor Day as one of the designated paid
holidays under the contract for covered employees in the Shelbyville, Tennessee, plant.

Tyson made this request on behalf of its Shelbyville plant employees, some of whom had expressed concern about the new contract provisions relative to paid holidays. In an effort to be responsive, Tyson asked the union to reopen the contract to address the holiday issue, and the union agreed to do so. The union membership voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reinstate Labor Day as one of the plantÂ’s paid holidays, while keeping Eid al-Fitr as an additional paid holiday for this year only. This means that in 2008 only, Shelbyville employees will have nine paid holidays.

For the remainder of the five-year contract period, the eight paid holidays will include: New YearÂ’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and a Personal Holiday, which could either be the employeeÂ’s birthday, Eid al-Fitr or another day requested and approved by their supervisor.

This issue concerns only the plant at Shelbyville, Tennessee. Labor Day has always been celebrated, and continues to be, at the other 118 Tyson plants across the country.

The Shelbyville complex employs approximately 1,200 people. Approximately 1,000 workers are covered by the RWDSU union agreement at that location.

CJ of A Soldier's Perspective writes of this development:

Do I feel bad at having some part in bringing this to my readers' attention and pressuring the company to change its policy? Not in the least. Especially since not one of my three emails to various other questions were answered.

[...]

Americans, real Americans, celebrate Veteran's Day on November 11th of each year, just two days after the approximate start of Eid ul-Adha. One can't help but wonder if Tyson Foods has a plan in place to (or if the union's are already working towards it) to replace Veteran's Day with the Muslim holiday. After all, with the majority of Tyson Foods Muslims coming from Somalia, what stake do they have in a holiday meant to celebrate our nation's veterans? It would be no skin off their leather bound Korans to replace another meaningless American holiday with something they REALLY care about!

This is where multiculturalism goes awry. A nation cannot exist and continue to honor its traditions if we continue to allow outsiders to dictate what those traditions are. I can't imagine Canada giving up Canada Day on July 1st because a bunch of American emigrants found it offensive and would rather celebrate the 4th of July! Isn't it bad enough that the completely non-American holiday, Cinco de Mayo has somehow crept into becoming an official US holiday? What do we care about the victory of Mexican forces led over French forces in the tiny battle of Puebla? Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more in THIS country than it is in Mexico where it is only a regional holiday in the state of Puebla!!

Read it all...

Keep up the pressure CJ, it seems that no one else is.

Posted by: DavidM at 04:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Twelve Angry Jihadis

[By David M]

The ever entertaining and enlightening James Taranto gives us his take on the conviction of Salim Ahmed Hamdan and the response of the Pro-Jihadi Newspaper of Record the New York Times.

He writes:

Earlier this week the military completed the first war-crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan. The New York Times responds with an editorial titled "Guilty as Ordered" (ellipsis in original):

Now that was a real nail-biter. The court designed by the White House and its Congressional enablers to guarantee convictions of high-profile detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba--using evidence obtained by torture and secret evidence as desired--has held its first trial. It produced . . . a guilty verdict.

As the Times points out, it also produced a not-guilty verdict:

The only surprise was that Mr. Hamdan was actually acquitted on the more serious count of conspiring (it was unclear with whom) to kill Americans during the invasion of Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001.

The charge on which Mr. Hamdan was convicted seemed logical since he did work as Mr. bin Laden's driver. But it was still an odd prosecution. Drivers of even the most heinous people are generally not charged with war crimes.

We wonder if this defense would work in a civilian trial. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, yes, my client did drive the getaway car. That is why you must acquit him. He's only a driver!" We also wonder how long it will be before the Times starts referring to Hamdan, à la Rodney King, as "motorist Salim Hamdan."

The Times concludes:

"We are not arguing that the United States should condone terrorism or those who support it, or that the guilty should not be punished severely."

Right, and Nixon is not a crook and Bill Clinton didn't have sexual relations with that woman.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press dispatch about the trial complains that "Hamdan was not judged by a jury of his peers and he received no Miranda warning about his rights."

A jury of his peers? Hey, that's how we'll capture Osama bin Laden: by summoning him for jury duty.

~~

And we wonder why we question their patriotism...

Posted by: DavidM at 03:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Gravel: Support Terrorist By Terrorizing Prosecutor And His Family

Could you imagine the outrage if a former Republican candidate made such a call?

"Find out where he lives. Find out where his office is. If you've got some chutzpah - which is a word that you don't hear often - if you've really got it, find out where he lives, find out where his kids go to school, find out where his office is; picket him all the time. Call him a racist in signs if you see him. Call him an injustice. Call him whatever you want to call him, but in his face all the time. They can't take the heat; deliver it to them. We have to stop laying down to these injustices."

And since we know that Islam is a universally peaceful religion (remember 9/11, Senator), we know that no harm would come to the prosecutor's children or any other child at the targeted school.

The prosecutor's offense? Insisting that terrorist professor Sami al-Arian comply with a grand jury subpoena by providing information about the terrorists with whom he was associated. His refusal to do so has led to contempt charges at the request of the prosecutor.

I wonder what would happen if I suggested that Gravel be targeted in such a manner for his support for terrorism in this call for the harassment of a US prosecutor? What would happen if I suggested that his home and office, those of his children, and the schools of his grandchildren all be targeted -- all with signs calling Gravel a terrorist supporter? Want to bet I'd be receiving a visit from the FBI, and possibly facing criminal charges?

I'm curious -- how will the Democrats respond to this?

Will Obama denounce Gravel, who was one of the contenders with him for this year's Democrat nomination for President? Or is this acceptable to him?

Closing question -- will Gravel have a public role at Barry Hussein's coronation in Denver?

H/T Hot Air

Posted by: Greg at 03:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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US Publisher Caves To Islamist Threats

No book that fails to defer to Islamist sensitivities may be published in America, according to Random House. There is just too much danger of violence and murder.

Starting in 2002, Spokane, Wash., journalist Sherry Jones toiled weekends on a racy historical novel about Aisha, the young wife of the prophet Muhammad. Ms. Jones learned Arabic, studied scholarly works about Aisha's life, and came to admire her protagonist as a woman of courage. When Random House bought her novel last year in a $100,000, two-book deal, she was ecstatic. This past spring, she began plans for an eight-city book tour after the Aug. 12 publication date of "The Jewel of Medina" -- a tale of lust, love and intrigue in the prophet's harem.

It's not going to happen: In May, Random House abruptly called off publication of the book. The series of events that torpedoed this novel are a window into how quickly fear stunts intelligent discourse about the Muslim world.

And it looks like Denise Spellberg, a faculty member at the University of Texas, is right in the middle of stirring up the radicals who led to this act of censorship.

Seems to me that we taxpayers here in Texas should quit paying her to engage in unAmerican activities during her classroom time.

I demand that Random House either change its name to Dhimmi House or immediately publish The Jewel of Medina -- or surrender its rights at no cost to any publisher willing to do so.

Posted by: Greg at 03:43 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I Suspect One Of My Students May Have Been Involved

I hope not, but I can think of a couple of cheerleaders I have taught recently who would try this stunt -- and who would have been in Austin.

How many cheerleaders can cram into an elevator? Apparently not 26. A group of teenage girls attending a cheerleading camp on the University of Texas got stuck and had to be rescued after trying to squeeze into an elevator at a residence hall Tuesday night.

One girl fainted and was treated at a hospital and released. Two others were treated at the scene.

The elevator doors refused to open after the pack of 14- to 17-year-olds descended from the fourth to the first floor, police said. Responding to a few panicked cell phone calls from the group, police and firefighters summoned an elevator repairman, who spent about 25 minutes extricating them.

Dumb kid stuff.

Right until the cable breaks.

Will there be consequences?

Posted by: Greg at 03:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Why Is This Allowed?

There is no legitimate reason to give illegals bail.

When federal immigration agents raided a Houston rag factory and took 166 suspected illegal immigrants into custody, a Boston philanthropist and multimillionaire was ready to chip in bond money to help the workers.

Robert J. Hildreth, 57, is the public face of the National Immigrant Bond Fund, a fledgling organization that helps immigrants swept up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement workplace raids post bonds.

The controversial fund has the backing of major immigrant advocacy groups and religious leaders, but has drawn criticism from anti-illegal immigration organizations.

Since spring 2007, the fund has paid more than $180,000 to bond out immigrants snared in ICE raids in California, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Now I know that my point of view sounds harsh, but since there folks have no right to be in the US, they also have no right to walk free.

Detain, Deport. Deny re-entry.

Oh, yeah -- and bomb Mexico into submission after the latest act of war committed by the Mexican military on US soil. Unfortunately, it seems that the US is going to write it off as one more "accident" -- and do nothing.

H/T Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 03:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Who Ranks

This is the book ranked #13 on Amazon.com.

This is book #1402 and falling like a rock) at Amazon.com.

So let's talk, folks, about who is really the most powerful woman in America.

Oh, and by the way -- look what is ranked at #12.

Maybe we need to reassess the conventional wisdom about this fall's presidential race.

H/T Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 03:23 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Hot Coffee

We all know that sex sells -- but I never considered the possibility of using sex quite so explicitly to sell coffee.

Baristas at the new Belfair Espresso Gone Wild will have to cover up to meet the county's zoning laws.

The stand's sister store in Gorst features scantily clad baristas and "pastie Tuesdays and Fridays." But the Mason County has ruled that such attire puts the stand in the category of "erotic entertainment," which is prohibited in the Belfair urban growth area.

The Belfair stand opened about a week ago, but it was temporarily closed shortly afterward when county planners determined there were code violations, according to county Commissioner Tim Sheldon.

It seems that there was a great public backlash against the unusual attire of the young women in question -- but also long lines of cars on Tuesdays and Fridays. Proof, I guess that there is a wide range of moral views in that community.

And interestingly enough, this isn't the only place in the Seattle area that such issues have come up. Must be a Pacific Northwest thing -- and I say that as a guy coming from a region that may have more strip clubs per-capita than anywhere else in the country.

But I also have a different question -- what about health and safety regulations?

Posted by: Greg at 01:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Good Morning

Some introductions are in order, IÂ’m sure. While Greg is on vacation he asked if I wanted to fill in on Rhymes With Right and I jumped at the offer. So who am I? IÂ’m David M and IÂ’m the Editor of The Thunder Run, a denizen of Castle Argghhh!, and a new contributor at Milblogs.

Having just been locked out of my own blog by Blogger, for reasons not yet fully explained to my satisfaction, I jumped at the offer, and here I am. Of course my blog has been turned back on by Blogger and IÂ’m back to posting like normal at my regular home but that doesnÂ’t mean I canÂ’t help out a friend in need.

If you stop on over at The Thunder Run youÂ’ll see my style is a lot different than you are accustomed but IÂ’m sure weÂ’ll get along nicely.

What am I going to talk about first? Bruce Ivins, the accused Anthrax Killer.

Yesterday Richard Spertzel, wrote in the WSJ Bruce Ivins Wasn't the Anthrax Culprit, where states his claim that Mr. Ivins couldnÂ’t possibly be the anthrax killer, or at least he could not have acted alone. Spertzel states in his case:

In short, the potential lethality of anthrax in this case far exceeds that of any powdered product found in the now extinct U.S. Biological Warfare Program. In meetings held on the cleanup of the anthrax spores in Washington, the product was described by an official at the Department of Homeland Security as "according to the Russian recipes" -- apparently referring to the use of the weak electric charge.

The latest line of speculation asserts that the anthrax's DNA, obtained from some of the victims, initially led investigators to the laboratory where Ivins worked. But the FBI stated a few years ago that a complete DNA analysis was not helpful in identifying what laboratory might have made the product.

He then ends with the very critical statement:

The FBI spent between 12 and 18 months trying "to reverse engineer" (make a replica of) the anthrax in the letters sent to Messrs. Daschle and Leahy without success, according to FBI news releases. So why should federal investigators or the news media or the American public believe that a lone scientist would be able to do so?

Why indeed? WeÂ’ve seen this investigation turn into a scene from the Marx Brothers as one suspect Stephen Hatfill is hounded for years only to win a lawsuit against the government for their part in the botched investigation and now this, another scientist from Fort Detrick hounded by the government only this time the investigation ends in suicide.

Now The FBI is ready to consider the case solved but still open:

[A]fter nearly seven years — much of which was spent pointing the finger at the wrong suspect — the FBI is ready to end the "Amerithrax" investigation by outlining its evidence against Ivins, according to two U.S. officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

And yet the profile of Bruce Ivins that is emerging is far from the psychotic murderer he is being portrayed as. Even as families of victims were to get the first glimpse inside the case at the morning FBI briefing, the Justice Department, is expected to ask a federal judge to unseal documents revealing how the FBI closed in on Ivins.

It is hoped by many that, that evidence will answer many questions in the bizarre investigation. And yet some of us will be looking at this information to see just what it is that linked Ivins to the murder plot and convinced the FBI they had their man.

As news reports indicate, the case may turn on a couple of key points, including:

An advanced DNA analysis that matched the anthrax used in the attacks to a specific batch controlled by Ivins. It is unclear, however, how the FBI eliminated as suspects others in the lab who had access to it.

Ivins' purported motive of sending the anthrax in a twisted effort to test a cure for it, according to authorities. Ivins complained of the limitations of animal testing and shared in a patent for an anthrax vaccine. No evidence has been revealed so far to bolster that theory.

Why Ivins would have mailed the deadly letters from Princeton, N.J., a seven-hour round trip from his home. In perhaps the strangest explanation to emerge in the case so far, authorities said Ivins had been obsessed with the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma for more than 30 years. The letters were sent from a mailbox down the street from the sorority's offices at Princeton University.

Investigators can't place Ivins in Princeton but say the evidence will show he had disturbing attitudes toward women. Other haunting details about Ivins' mental health have emerged, and his therapist described him as having a history of homicidal and sociopathic thoughts.

As some are wont to sayÂ….developing.

Up next, Bruce Ivins the man.

Posted by: DavidM at 11:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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San Francisco: Public sex OK; mixed recyclables will be fined

(Posted by Hube)

I swear no city is nuttier than San Francisco. You can feel totally free to drop your drawers in the middle of the city streets ... and engage in any sort of sexual activity (while even the police watch!!) but if you DARE to mix up those recycling goods? WATCH IT!!

Garbage collectors would inspect San Francisco residents' trash to make sure pizza crusts aren't mixed in with chip bags or wine bottles under a proposal by Mayor Gavin Newsom.

And if residents or businesses don't separate the coffee grounds from the newspapers, they would face fines of up to $1,000 and eventually could have their garbage service stopped.

The plan to require proper sorting of refuse would be the nation's first mandatory recycling and composting law. It would direct garbage collectors to inspect the trash to make sure it is put into the right blue, black or green bin, according to a draft of the legislation prepared by the city's Department of the Environment.

"If we're truly going to be the city we promote ourselves to be, a world-class, 21st century city that advances its values and principles, we're going to have to try new things," Newsom said Thursday. "People are used to doing things a certain way. And when you change that, they say it can't be done. Well, we've proved them wrong."

I wonder if Newsom thinks that 2008 Up Your Alley Fair (first link in first paragraph) "advances [San Fran's] values and principles"? Are those folks at the fair are "used to doing things a certain way"? What can you do to change that, Mr. Mayor?

Posted by: Hube at 08:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Bravo to Portland. Maybe.

(Posted by Hube)

The city has stuck to their guns and said "no" to a Muslim request for "private time" at a city pool:

A group of Somali women have asked Portland Parks and Recreation to accommodate their Muslim faith by allowing an after-hours, women-only swim time at a city pool to be staffed only by female lifeguards.

The cityÂ’s response?

No way. Anti-discrimination employment law wonÂ’t allow it, Deputy City Attorney Lory Kraut wrote in an 11-page memo to the parks bureau June 23.

Ah, but the executive director of the local Center for Intercultural Organizing says "Portland should be flexible" and that it will "exclude" the Muslim community if it doesn't accommodate it.

Y'know what? Too bad. The Muslim community has to be accommodating too -- to their (in this case) new adopted homeland (the women are Somali). And this means recognizing that public facilities have to be religiously neutral.

One of the Somali women suggested renting the pool after hours as an accommodation. (It isn't clear from the article if this was the initial suggestion -- renting the pool -- or not.) The city still has said "no;" however, I don't see a problem with this. Where I live, religious groups (usually Christian) routinely rent [public] school auditoriums for services and other events on weekends, which, like the Portland pool situation, is after normal operating hours (obviously).

For traditionally liberal enclaves like Portland, situations like this must really pose a conundrum. They're reflexively hostile to religion, but at the same time, they're ridiculously PC when it comes to religious (and other) minorities.

Stay tuned.

Posted by: Hube at 06:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Roomster

Looking for a roommate? It can be quite a task some times. Where do you look? The classified ads? On the bulleting board at the grocery store? How about online? That is where Roomster comes in. They can help match you with the perfect roommate for you. Check them out today at roomster.net for the right roomate!

Posted by: Greg at 07:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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McCain Leads Obama!

That is the conclusion of the latest Rasmussen Poll!

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows the race for the White House is tied with Barack Obama and John McCain each attracting 44% of the vote. However, when "leaners" are included, itÂ’s McCain 47% and Obama 46%.

This is the first time McCain has enjoyed even a statistically insignificant advantage of any sort since Obama clinched the Democratic nomination on June 3 (see recent daily results).

Now the lead is insignificant statistically at this point, but it is a first. if things continue to trend this way, we may see some real fun at the Democrat Convention in Denver.

Posted by: Greg at 01:48 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Whore Of Babylon-By-The-Bay to America: Screw You -- No New Oil!

Americans overwhelmingly support opening the outer continental shelf to drilling. Majorities in California and Florida now support such drilling, a radical change from recent years.

But there is one immovable object in the way of drilling -- Queen 9% of the House of Representatives.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday ruled out a vote on new offshore oil drilling even as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he might be open to a compromise that included it.

The scramble over expanded drilling off America's coasts — ammunition for a weekend of rat-a-tat-tat by the presidential campaigns — underscores the political power of $4-a-gallon gas. Though President Bush and other backers of new drilling acknowledge it wouldn't directly affect gas prices for years, they have pounded Democrats for opposing the measure, which is now supported by most Americans.

Pelosi called proposals to allow more offshore drilling a deceptive "decoy" rather than a solution and indicated she would bar a vote on any bill that included it. "I'm not giving the gavel away to a tactic Â… that supports the oil (companies), big oil at the cost and the expense of the consumer," she said on ABC's This Week.

The House started a five-week summer recess Friday despite Republican demands for a vote on lifting the federal ban on offshore drilling. House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said GOP representatives would be on the House floor today to protest the lack of action.

Commisar Pelosi (D-Sodom and Gomorrah) has decided -- no new drilling. Screw teh President. Screw the rest of the House. Screw the American people. We may as well rip up the Constitution and concede the reality that we live in the People's Republic of Nancy, where the only vote that counts is hers.

Posted by: Greg at 01:42 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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What Is A Windfall Profit?

No one can give a good definition, but I'll give it a shot.

A windfall profit is any profit that a group of politicians claims is too high in order to score political points by invoking class envy. There is no formulaic definition.

Take the latest attempt to create a tax on "windfall profits".

Mr. Obama's "emergency" plan, announced on Friday, doesn't offer any clarity. To pay for "stimulus" checks of $1,000 for families and $500 for individuals, the Senator says government would take "a reasonable share" of oil company profits.

Mr. Obama didn't bother to define "reasonable," and neither did Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, when he recently declared that "The oil companies need to know that there is a limit on how much profit they can take in this economy." Really? This extraordinary redefinition of free-market success could use some parsing.

So as you can see, the distinction between "reasonable" vs. "windfall" profits is ambiguous and subjective. And in real terms, these Democrats are objecting to an 8.4% quarterly profit by Exxon, and similar levels of profit by other oil companies. Exxon's annual profit for 2007 was about 10%

But somehow that doesn't seem to be an across the board standard.

If that's what constitutes windfall profits, most of corporate America would qualify. Take aerospace or machinery -- both 8.2% in 2007. Chemicals had an average margin of 12.7%. Computers: 13.7%. Electronics and appliances: 14.5%. Pharmaceuticals (18.4%) and beverages and tobacco (19.1%) round out the Census Bureau's industry rankings. The latter two double the returns of Big Oil, though of course government has already became a tacit shareholder in Big Tobacco through the various legal settlements that guarantee a revenue stream for years to come.

Interestingly enough, no one seems interested in taking on any of those industries with larger profits as having reaped an illegitimate windfall. So it must not be a percentage figure that leads to that classification.

What does the most recent effort to impose a "windfall profits" tax say?

In a tax bill on oil earlier this summer, no fewer than 51 Senators voted to impose a 25% windfall tax on a U.S.-based oil company whose profits grew by more than 10% in a single year and wasn't investing enough in "renewable" energy. This suggests that a windfall is defined by profits growing too fast. No one knows where that 10% came from, besides political convenience.

But 10% growth doesn't do it, either. After all, no one is talking about imposing a "windfall profits" tax on companies that grow 10, 20, or even 50 times as prodigiously outside the oil industry. And interestingly enough, the figure of 10% growth is set in absolute terms, not growth of profit as a percentage of total revenue. That means that even the shrinkage of profit as a percentage of revenue can constitute a "windfall profit" if total revenues rose due to a steep increase in raw materials.

What it comes down to, then, is that a "windfall profits" tax is in fact a "class warfare exploitation" tax, which is today directed against the politically convenient enemy du jour -- the oil companies.

But interestingly enough, nothing in this "windfall profits" tax will strike at the entity that saw a similarly steep increase in their oil-related profits -- various levels of US government, which received tax payments $64.7 billion from Exxon from 2003 to 2007. For the record, that is more than $19 billion more than Exxon's after-tax profit during the same period. But I don't hear the advocates of taxing "windfall profits" complaining about government raking in such big bucks -- they want to increase the government's take instead.

Posted by: Greg at 01:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Motorcycle Accident

More and more folks I know are riding motorcycles these days. I’ve got several colleagues at school who ride in on Harleys – and my principal has a really hot looking Japanese number.

But as fate would have it, one of the guys at school got creamed by a driver (fortunately not a student) on the way home one night, putting him out of commission for several weeks. You donÂ’t even want to think about the medical bills involved in that accident.

Fortunately, he found a good attorney to handle the suit that he filed against the driver, and he made a nice recovery for both his expenses, lost wages, and non-tangible damages.

And it is important to hire an attorney for such cases. The paperwork involved in a motorcycle accident can be a nightmare, and some insurance companies want to blame the biker, even if their insured was at fault. After all, for the insurance company it is all about their bottom line – so you need someone who will look out your interests.

And there is good reason to use a california motorcycle accident attorney who knows the laws regarding motorcycle accidents. You want a settlement that is fair – and it is far more likely that you will get a higher settlement with an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer who knows what to ask for. You may or may not be aware of all you are entitled to claim in a suit. Your lawyer is.

Posted by: Greg at 09:58 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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