Hezbollah will not disarm and withdraw from southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah refused to disarm and withdraw its fighters from the battle-scarred hills along the border with Israel on Tuesday, threatening to delay deployment of the Lebanese army and endangering a fragile cease-fire.

The makings of a compromise emerged from all-day meetings in Beirut, according to senior officials involved in the negotiations, and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora scheduled a cabinet session Wednesday for what he hoped would be formal approval of the deal. Hezbollah indicated it would be willing to pull back its fighters and weapons in exchange for a promise from the army not to probe too carefully for underground bunkers and weapons caches, the officials said.

In other words, this is just another repeat of the situation that occurred after the adoption of UN 1559 the last time Israel had to clear out the jihadi rat's nest in southern lebanon.

Posted by: Greg at 10:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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No word on whether using incandescent lighting instead of neon would have maintained the monument's secular status -- honoring the founder of Houston's Star of hope programs for the poor

A Bible must be removed from a 50-year-old monument in front of the Harris County civil courthouse because a district judge changed it from a secular to a religious use in violation of the Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

"Its recent history would force an objective observer to conclude that it is a religious symbol of a particular faith located on public grounds," a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 decision.

Except, of course, that its history is clearly secular, according to the opinion in question.

Although secular in purpose when it was erected in front of the old civil courthouse in 1956, former state District Judge John Devine and his court reporter, Karen Friend, changed the character of the monument when they refurbished it in 1995, the majority said in a 24-page opinion.

* * *

Jolly, writing for the majority, said that the original purpose of honoring Mosher was secular, but that purpose was changed in 1995 when Devine and Friend placed a neon light inside the monument to outline the Bible.

Devine had campaigned on a platform of putting Christianity back into government and had Christian ministers lead prayers at the rededication ceremony for the monument, the opinion said.

Oh, and for those concerned about this rather unobtrusive display and its annual cost to the taxpayyer, evidence presented in the cas showed that the cost to the county is a whopping $93.16 per year.

Posted by: Greg at 10:30 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I guess they prefer promoting the dirty Republican over the clean ones.

With dwindling hopes of keeping Tom DeLayÂ’s longtime House seat from falling to a Democrat in November, Texas Republicans on Tuesday called an urgent meeting for Thursday to exercise their only option: agreeing on a write-in candidate.

But that slender prospect — no such write-in campaign has succeeded in the state — seemed to suffer a blow when a leading candidate facing party opposition disparaged the meeting, saying “that may have worked in Moscow,” and vowed to keep running even if it meant two Republican write-in candidates.

“I’m in the race and I’m in it to win,” said the candidate, David G. Wallace, the part-time mayor of this booming Houston suburb named for its onetime Imperial sugar factory. He said he might be too busy campaigning to attend the meeting.

Yeah, Dave has a history of skiping any meeting where he cannot be assured of a ready-made majority in his favor. That is why he couldn't be bothered to meet with Harris County GOP precinct chairs back in May.

I'm particularly disturbed the paper could not be troubled to include a single quote from the other major candidate in the race, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. She was interviewed at length for this article on Monday morning, but you wouldn't know that from reading this article. I wonder what they have against clean, competent, qualifed conservative women who don't leave a trail of slime behind them?

Posted by: Greg at 10:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Some folks have asked why I believe David Wallace to be unethical, corrupt, and unfit to represent the GOP in the CD22 Congressional race, even as a write-in with no significant chance of winning. Well, I received the following item tonight that supplies a neat summary of the problems with David Wallace. I also have all or almost all of the documents and articles in question, though I was having difficulty uploading them for my site

Public information on David Wallace, Mayor of Sugar Land and an announced Republican Candidate for Texas Congressional District 22, from earliest to current.
A. David G. Wallace on April 28, 1988 filed a voluntary petition of personal Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Collin County Texas. Chapter 7 means that Wallace paid his creditors nothing.
B. A November 23, 1991 article in The Guardian (London) identifies Wallace as a business partner of Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The article reports that Wallace and Thatcher were business partners in a firm identified as Emergency Networks, Inc.
C. An April 2, 1995 article in The Sunday Times reports that the IRS accused Emergency Networks, Inc. of not paying the taxes withheld from employees’ pay to the IRS. The article reports that a memo shows that Wallace, a director of the firm was “fully aware of the unpaid taxes.”
D. The 4/2/95 Times article also reports that employees (Liquori and Hughes families) of Emergency Networks complained that health insurance premiums were withheld from their pay but that the firm did not pay the premiums to the insurance company leaving the employees without health care for which they paid. The Liquories had to file personal bankruptcy when they were unable to pay their medical bills for lack of health insurance they had paid for.
E. An October 17, 1994 article in The Independent -- London Emergency Networks,Inc. was placed in Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1994.
F. A November 25, 1992 article in The Guardian (London) states that a secret United States government communications identified Mark Thatcher as being involved in a Saudi Arabia arms deal. The same article reported that Howard Teicher, who was monitoring military build-up in the Middle East indicated that Mark ThatcherÂ’s name turned up in diplomatic dispatches from US Embassies in Europe and Saudi Arabia regarding Middle East arms deals in the 1980s.
G. An October 10, 1994 article in The Guardian (London) reported that David Wallace and Mark Thatcher were partners in Grantham Company, an investment company that would “look for companies on hard times and put up the money with some hands-on management” said one associate. The article also reported that Thatcher in 1992 was named in a US court in connection with a $4 billion payment to a Saudi national by Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace to help them with a defense contract with Saudi Arabia. An October 10, 1994 article in the Los Angeles Times reported that both the Sunday Times and Independent said that Mark Thatcher earned a $19 million commission for helping secure the Saudi Arabia arms deal. The LA Times claimed that the Sunday Times said the allegations that Thatcher profited from the arms deal came from transcripts of telephone calls tapped by Saudi intelligence between members of the Saudi Royal Family and its agents.
H. Thatcher for many years maintained that he was not involved in any arms sales, but an April 5, 2005 Dallas Morning News article reported that Mark Thatcher in a plea bargain agreement pleaded guilty in South Africa to helping finance a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.
I. An October 2, 1994 article in The Observer Newspaper reported a Houston attorney, William King (now Managing Partner of Linebarger, Heard law firm’s Houston office), revealed that Mark Thatcher and his business partner David Wallace were being sued by John “Jay” Laughlin under anti-racketeering, or RICO, legislation. Laughlin claimed that he was duped after David Wallace took over his firm, Ameristar Fuels, and he was squeezed out of management. Laughlin claimed that Ameristar was worth at least $2 million when Wallace took over in 1993 and that by September, 1994 when Wallace placed Ameristar in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy that the firm had a negative $6 million worth. Thatcher and Wallace maintained that they did nothing wrong, but in an August 1, 1995 article The Guardian (London) reported that Thatcher paid approximately $500,000 to settle the case.
J. The 4/2/95 article in The Sunday Times reported that Grechen Hyland, financial controller of Ameristar claimed that “Wallace wired large sums of money to Indonesia without supporting documents. I lost count of how many times I requested documents of these outgoing wire transfers.”
K. A January 22, 1995 article in the Mail on Sunday (London) reported that Barnet Skelton, Jr. an attorney investigating Ameristar stated that Wallace was simply a pawn of Mark Thatcher. The article reported that Jay Laughlin, who had filed a RICO suit against Wallace and Thatcher, claimed that the money Wallace used to take over Ameristar came from Thatcher. Skelton claimed that Thatcher wanted to conceal his involvement in Ameristar to evade US tax law. Ameristar enjoys several US tax privileges on condition that all of its shareholders are US Citizens or residents for tax purposes and Thather was a resident of Switzerland. Laughlin stated that Margaret Thatcher was encouraging her son Mark to “distance himself from Wallace” and that Wallace was asked by Ms. Thatcher to resign as Treasurer of her foundation.
L. It appears that David Wallace and Mark Thatcher were business partners in at least two failed businesses from about 1990, shortly after Wallace filed personal bankruptcy until 1995 when the suit by Laughlin was settled, during the time that Thatcher was identified as profiting from arms deals involving Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
M. An August 3, 1998 Dallas Business Journal article reported that WallaceÂ’s investment firm The Markpoint Co. had acquired Power Battery Inc. WallaceÂ’s firm supposedly pumped $1 million into Power Battery and exchanged about $14 million in private stock from LSM International, Inc. a south Texas battery manufacturer that Markpoint purchased in 1997. The new company was named Consolidated Power Battery Corp. Wallace was paid to manage the business but on August 22, 2000 Wallace placed the company in bankruptcy (Case No. 00-37735-H4-7 (Chapter 7).
N. On October 20, 2000 the Bankruptcy Trustee for Consolidated Power Battery Company (CPBC), Robbye R. Waldron, sued Wallace and other Directors of CPBC for mismanagement. Wallace and the other Directors settled the lawsuit for a $300,000 payment.
O. On January 8, 2001 Wallace filed a Proof of Claim against the bankrupt CPBC on behalf of Wallace & Associates Investments, Inc. (f.k.a. The Markpoint Company) for $107,643.78. The bankruptcy trustee filed an objection to the claim pointing out that Wallace was an insider and a director of the bankrupt CPBC. The claim was denied.
P. On January 8, 2001 Wallace as Manager of SVP Management LLC, the General Partner of Sundance Venture Partners L.P. filed a Claim against the bankrupt CPBC for $820,974.84. The Bankruptcy Trustee of CPBC, Robbye Waldron, filed an Objection To Claim pointing out that Wallace was an insider and director of the bankrupt CPBC. The claim was denied.
Q. On December 21, 2001 WallaceÂ’s firm, Wallace & Associates Investments, Inc. borrowed $76,794.04 from SouthTrust Bank, Houston, Texas for 6 months. David Wallace personally guaranteed the loan.
R. Wallace failed to pay the note according to its terms and on June 12, 2002, after Wallace had been elected Mayor of Sugar Land, SouthTrust filed suit, Cause No 773900 in County Court at Law # 1 Harris County Texas to collect from Wallace.
S. On December 2, 2002, while Wallace served as Mayor of Sugar Land, Wallace entered into an Agreed Final Judgment whereby the court ordered David Wallace, individually, and Wallace & Associates Investments, Inc. to pay SouthTrust an amount totaling $82,870.42 plus post judgment interest of 10% per annum. Wallace agreed to pay SouthTrust $1,000.00 per month, with all sums to be paid by December 31, 2003.
T. Wallace failed to pay according to the terms of the Agreed Final Judgment.
U. SouthTrust abstracted the judgment by filing it of record with the County Clerk of Harris County on February 2, 2004.
V. On February 27, 2004 attorneys for SouthTrust filed a writ of discovery on David Wallace. As of January 1, 2006 the amount Wallace owed totaled about $100,000.00 including accrued post judgment interest.
W. A March 1, 2005 article in the Fort Bend Sun Newspaper reports that Wallace had received a one-third equity interest in a real estate investment trust from Will Perry and then placed that equity interest in his childrenÂ’s trust which places the equity interest beyond the reach of WallaceÂ’s lenders and creditors.
X. The 3/1/05 article also revealed that Wallace had moved his office into W. C. PerryÂ’s office in early January 2005 and had taken a position as Chairman investment Committee W. C. Perry Realty Investment Fund & W. C. Perrry Properties, L.P. WallaceÂ’s announcement that he had taken a position with W.C. Perry as an executive created a concern about conflict of interest on a proposed land development project involving the City of Sugar Land, Imperial Sugar, Cherokee Investment Partners of Raleigh North Carolina (developer of the project), W. C. Perry Properties and the State of Texas for the acquisition and development of the Imperial Sugar Mill property and adjacent state of Texas land in Sugar Land. The project involved the potential of favorable financial benefits being granted to the developer and one of its partners, Perry Properties, to develop the project. There was the potential for abatements or other financial benefits being granted from the city, county, or state to the developers. The city had been in discussion for several years on what should happen with the property following Imperial SugarÂ’s bankruptcy and Wallace had privileged information on the project.
Y. A March 8, 2005 article in the Fort Bend Sun revealed that the City Council of Sugar Land had created a “firewall” around Wallace following his announced involvement with Perry and would exclude him from any further discussions on the Imperial Sugar/Cherokee Investment Partners project.
Z. Harris County public documents shows that on February 6, 2006 a Limited Partnership, NC Two LP of Raleigh, North Carolina, created and controlled by NC Ventures, Inc. a Stafford, Texas firm owned by Wallace’s former neighbor and campaign contributor Michael Hrebenar provided Wallace a Satisfaction of Agreed Final Judgment thereby releasing the judgment lien previously filed by SouthTrust Bank against Wallace. According to public information, NC Ventures, Inc.’s business includes acquiring bad debts from financial institutions at a substantial discount from the amount of the debt and collecting the debt. The industry standard for this type of purchase of bad debts is about 10¢ on the dollar. According the Harris County public documents NC Two LP controlled by NC Ventures, Inc. acquired Wallace’s bad debt from Wachovia Bank successor to SouthTrust Bank on September 7, 2005.
AA.On June 30, 2006 Wallace filed a Financial Disclosure Statement relating to his pursuit of US Congressional District 22 seat that showed he earned $85,775 for the six months of 2006 and $160,000 in 2005 the majority coming from (W.C.) Perry Properties Brokerage Services ($60,000 in 2006) ($120,000 in 2005). That report discloses the interest in W. C. Perry Properties, LP (valued between $1 and $5 million) given to Wallace in 2005 and explained above is held by his dependent children. The home Wallace lives in is also owned by his dependent children (valued between $250,000 and $500,000) as is an interest in Sugar Land Entertainment Enterprises, LP (valued between $250,000 and $500,000) and 4660 Sweetwater Professional Centre Partners, LP (valued between $50,000 and $100,000). Such ownership structure effectively renders Wallace judgment-proof should lenders or creditors attempt to collect from Wallace. It is not known if Wachovia Bank knew about WallaceÂ’s earnings in 2005 or about the interest in the real estate investment company that Perry gave Wallace when it sold, at a discount, the SouthTrust loan made to Wallace to NC Two LP.
Wallace’s track record over an 18 year period involves personal bankruptcy, multiple business failures, and accusations of impropriety including RICO violations. Though he has recently stated he “turns businesses around”, he has not publicly presented specific examples of successful turnarounds.

Now let's be real honest here -- there may be perfectly logical and reasonable explanations for some of these items -- but a reasonable person must wonder if such explanations exist for every single one of them, including the legal/business/financial issues that are currently at issue. And more to the point, do we really want to have a candidate with this much baggage following in the footsteps of our former congressman, whose ethical record has been questioned over the years -- and who is currently facing criminal charges?

Whether the CD22 precinct chairs decide to endorse a write-in candidate or someone already on the ballot, we need someone of high integrity with as clean a record as we can find. And i'm sorry, folks, but David Wallace is not it.

Posted by: Greg at 03:35 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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But it seems they are seen as undesirable by Australian farmers.

Australian scientists have called on the country's farmers to report any ugly sheep found in their flocks.

A campaign called "Xtreme sheep" aims to study sheep with undesirable wool features to unlock the genetic makeup of the prized merino and ensure production of its high quality fleece.

The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) said Tuesday its search for "Australia's ugliest merino lambs" may hold the key to securing the nation's A$2.8 billion (US$2.1 billion) wool industry.

The institute said ugly lambs -- with uneven wool, strange fibres, clumps of wool that fall out, bare patches, no wool, or highly wrinkled skin -- are usually culled by farmers.

"Before sending them to the abattoir, we'd like farmers to talk to us first, because studying animals with extreme features offers one of the most efficient ways to find good genes that can impact on certain wool traits," said project leader Simon Bawden.

"It might seem a paradox that ugly wool may be good, but when looking through a genetic profile, the random genetic mistakes act like a flag, speeding up our search to finding genes critical to wool formation and synthesis," Bawden told reporters

The institute hopes to the DNA study will lead to improvements in Australia's merino wool, making it stretchier, less scratchy, shinier and easier to spin, and better able to compete against synthetic fibres.

So far only 10 ugly sheep have been found this lambing season, which stretches from April to September, when statistically there could be hundreds, said the institute.

Sounds interesting -- and I bet that such sheep would be welcome in College Station, had the Aggies' animal husbandry program not been ended by the Texas Legislature due to large unexplained expenses for candy, flowers, and sexy lingerie from Victoria's Secret.

Please feel free to add other Aggie jokes in the comment section.

Posted by: Greg at 01:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Despite the fact that contemporary acts of terrorism are committed almost exclusively by Muslims, our government refuses to take the reasonable step of subjecting every Muslim to special scrutiny while flying.

There is, however, another group that gets singled out for searches -- and you will be outraged.

A little-known fact about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that the U.S. military requires soldiers to travel in uniform from theater. An even lesser known fact is that the Transportation Security Administration aggressively targets war veterans as they travel home to their loved ones.

At Baltimore's airport on my way back to Orlando from Iraq, there were about 50 soldiers in line, waiting to be cleared by TSA. I noticed soldiers taking off clothing, and then they assumed the position so commonly seen in police-chase videos, arms and legs spread wide as a screener passed a wand close to their bodies. Soldiers were asked to remove belts, boots and shirts, and their carry-on bags were ransacked.

"We're fighting a war. Do you guys think we're a threat?" I asked as I spread my legs and arms.

The screener replied, "I dunno," and kept his wand in motion.

Before long my leave was completed and I was at Orlando International Airport, standing in line, waiting to clear security again. This time my wife accompanied me through the checkpoint so we could spend every last minute together before I returned to Iraq.

I wore my desert uniform, and as I approached the gate, a TSA screener directed my wife and me to additional screening after my bag had been inspected and scanned. My wife was searched, making an already miserable event, my leaving for war a second time, even worse than the first time.

Travelers shook their heads in disgust. One man glared incredulously at the screeners and said, "Unbelievable."

I was humiliated, not because I was being searched, but because I was being searched while wearing the cloth of the nation -- a U.S. military uniform. While wearing the flag of our nation on my sleeve, enroute to fight a war to support my government's interests, I was categorized as suspicious.

The same government that employs both the TSA and U.S. Army sent me a contradicting message. It trusted me enough to train me, give me a weapon and send me to do its dirty work, but it didn't trust me enough to fly on commercial airplanes with other citizens without close scrutiny.

That's right -- damn near every Mohammad, Abdul, and Osama can get through the screening checkpoint without extra scrutiny by the screeners, because of concerns about profiling based upon race, ethnicity, or religion. On the other hand, American soldirs in uniform, traveling on military orders, are specially searched with frightening regularity.

Including these soldiers.

Since then I've been further dismayed to learn the TSA doesn't even exempt severely wounded war veterans. According to the TSA, it tries to gracefully screen soldiers wounded in battle by making sure security screening is conducted "with empathy and respect."

"We want to make sure the overall experience for the service member is as expeditious and pleasant," as possible, the TSA Web site states.

Odds are wounded soldiers will set off metal detectors, but the TSA won't find weapons intended for use in hijackings. Instead, the TSA will learn their detectors were set off by the shrapnel still embedded in the soldiers' bodies, or the metal components of prosthetics, or plates that now hold service members' bodies together.

Welcome home. Thanks for your service.

Incredible!

H/T Stop the ACLU, CanÂ’t Keep Quiet!, Bring It On!

Posted by: Greg at 01:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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At least that is my interpretation of this latest anti-Israel move by the Secretary General of the UN.

Anticipating Hizb'allah's failure to comply with a UN-brokered ceasefire, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a letter to Jerusalem at the weekend, insisting Israel not respond militarily to any violations of Security Council Resolution 1701, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Annan said Israel should only respond in immediate self-defense, and not by relaunching a wider military offensive against the terror group.

In effect, the UN chief was saying that Israel should totally ignore Hizb'allah efforts to reestablish itself in southern Lebanon and Syrian efforts to resupply the group, and should only respond in a very pinpoint manner to any further firing of missiles at northern Israel.

Both the Lebanese military and French forces expected to bolster peacekeepers already on the ground in southern Lebanon have said they will not confront Hizb'allah with force if the terror group fails to go along with the ceasefire terms.

Israeli government sources said Annan's letter was unacceptable, and that a firm response was being drafted.

This is, of course, how the UN has always treated the Israelis – rules that apply to it do not apply to its enemies. In this case, Israel will be held rigorously to the letter of the agreement, but Hezbollah will be allowed to act with impunity – just as it was when it was required to disarm under resolution 1559 several years ago.

Posted by: Greg at 12:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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At least that is my interpretation of this latest anti-Israel move by the Secretary General of the UN.

Anticipating Hizb'allah's failure to comply with a UN-brokered ceasefire, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a letter to Jerusalem at the weekend, insisting Israel not respond militarily to any violations of Security Council Resolution 1701, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Annan said Israel should only respond in immediate self-defense, and not by relaunching a wider military offensive against the terror group.

In effect, the UN chief was saying that Israel should totally ignore Hizb'allah efforts to reestablish itself in southern Lebanon and Syrian efforts to resupply the group, and should only respond in a very pinpoint manner to any further firing of missiles at northern Israel.

Both the Lebanese military and French forces expected to bolster peacekeepers already on the ground in southern Lebanon have said they will not confront Hizb'allah with force if the terror group fails to go along with the ceasefire terms.

Israeli government sources said Annan's letter was unacceptable, and that a firm response was being drafted.

This is, of course, how the UN has always treated the Israelis – rules that apply to it do not apply to its enemies. In this case, Israel will be held rigorously to the letter of the agreement, but Hezbollah will be allowed to act with impunity – just as it was when it was required to disarm under resolution 1559 several years ago.

Posted by: Greg at 12:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Imagine herds of mammoth wandering the tundra – it could happen, maybe even in our lifetimes.

BODIES of extinct Ice Age mammals, such as woolly mammoths, that have been frozen in permafrost for thousands of years may contain viable sperm that could be used to bring them back from the dead, scientists said yesterday.

Research has indicated that mammalian sperm can survive being frozen for much longer than was previously thought, suggesting that it could potentially be recovered from species that have died out.

Several well-preserved mammoth carcasses have been found in the permafrost of Siberia, and scientists estimate that there could be millions more.

Last year a Canadian team demonstrated that it was possible to extract DNA from the specimens, and announced the sequencing of about 1 per cent of the genome of a mammoth that died about 27,000 years ago.

With access to the mammothÂ’s genetic code, and with frozen sperm recovered from testes, it may be possible to resurrect an animal that is very similar to a mammoth.

The mammoth is a close genetic cousin of the modern Asian elephant, and scientists think that the two may be capable of interbreeding.

Why do I have visions of Fred Flintstone and a big plate of mammoth ribs?

Posted by: Greg at 12:51 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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See, Jimmy Carter isn't just the worst president of the twentieth century; he can also lay claim to a much higher title.

SPIEGEL: You also mentioned the hatred for the United States throughout the Arab world which has ensued as a result of the invasion of Iraq. Given this circumstance, does it come as any surprise that Washington's call for democracy in the Middle East has been discredited?

Carter: No, as a matter of fact, the concerns I exposed have gotten even worse now with the United States supporting and encouraging Israel in its unjustified attack on Lebanon.

SPIEGEL: But wasn't Israel the first to get attacked?

Carter: I don't think that Israel has any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon. What happened is that Israel is holding almost 10,000 prisoners, so when the militants in Lebanon or in Gaza take one or two soldiers, Israel looks upon this as a justification for an attack on the civilian population of Lebanon and Gaza. I do not think that's justified, no.

Gee -- this jackass cannot differentiate between kidnapped soldiers and captured terrorists who have been tried before in court and sentenced for their crimes. Under the principles here, the taking of hostages by Iran during his administration was legitimate and the rescue mission he launched was not.

But he does say one thing I agree with.

As you possibly know, historically, our country has had the capability of self-correcting our own mistakes.

He is correct -- our nation made a grave mistake in electing Jimmy Carter as president in 1976, and self-corrected by electing and re-electing Ronald Reagan as his successor.

H/T -- RCP Blog, Truthdig, Hot Air

Posted by: Greg at 12:00 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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One of the most important pieces of space history has been misplaced in NASA's archives.

The government has misplaced the original recording of the first moon landing, including astronaut Neil Armstrong's famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," a NASA spokesman said yesterday.

Armstrong's moon walk, seen by millions of television viewers on July 20, 1969, is among the transmissions that NASA has failed to turn up in a year of searching, spokesman Grey Hautaloma said.

"We haven't seen them for quite a while. We've been looking for over a year, and they haven't turned up," Hautaloma said.

The tapes also contain data about the health of the astronauts and the condition of the spacecraft. In all, about 700 boxes of transmissions from the Apollo lunar missions are missing, he said.

"I wouldn't say we're worried -- we've got all the data. Everything on the tapes we have in one form or another," Hautaloma said.

NASA has retained copies of the TV broadcasts and offers several clips on its Web site. But those images are of lower quality than the originals stored on the missing magnetic tapes.

Because NASA's equipment was not compatible with the TV technology of the day, the original transmissions had to be displayed on a monitor and reshot by a TV camera for broadcast.

Hautaloma said it is possible the tapes will be unplayable if they are found because they have degraded significantly over the years -- a problem common to magnetic tape and other recordable media.

This will be a tragic loss if the materials are lost or damaged beyond recovery.

Posted by: Greg at 10:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are We Could Be Heroes by Done With Mirrors, and Israel Has No Right to Exist by One Cosmos. 

Here are the full results of the vote.

Posted by: Greg at 10:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The CD22 situation has been a mess for some time. We had a congressman who decided to walk away from the nomination after the priimary. We had a state party that handled the situation poorly. We had local party leaders who tried to control the situation for the benefit of friends and cronies.

And then you had the little people -- the precinct chairs who represent the grassroots of the party. We tried to conform to all the various problems that arose along the way, doing what we heard from the people of our precincts and operating in the dark too many times.

Finally, it seems that we might have a say in this process, and that we might really have some element of control over what happens next.

Or at least we will if one local politician listens to what we have to say, and if one member of congress stops trying to direct what is happening.

Now it appears that we might be permitted to have our say -- and one candidate is saying he does not care. David Wallace has already filed his write-in candidacy documents. He has not waited for the grassroots to speak. He has not indicated that he will defer to us and withdraw in the event we reject his candidacy. Indeed, Wallace has been actively courting the NRCC, seeking the endorsement of that organization despite the fact that almost every GOP congressman has signed on to the idea of listening to the grassroots.

David Wallace -- hear me clearly. If you make this run over the objections of the precinct chairs of CD22, we will come after you. We will fund your opponents in your mayoral reelection bid, we will walk the city of Sugar Land to campaign against you, and we will oppose you in any other political race you seek to compete in. Do not place yourself above the people or the party.

And to those on the national level who want to support Wallace regardless of what we say -- rest assured, we will be coming for you as well. Back our candidate, or back none at all -- or face our wrath.

Posted by: Greg at 11:42 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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We finally have students in our classrooms today.

It should be interesting, given we are going off the block schedule these kids have always known and going on a traditional schedule of 45-minute periods.

Posted by: Greg at 10:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And drawing editorial cartoons for the Sacramento News and Review under the name John Kloss.

After all, how else can you explain this little gem?

So let's shout out a hearty "Sieg Heil!" to Herr Kloss and his editors and publishers, who would no doubt never consider publishing these, for fear of losing their heads.

H/T Instapundit, Texas Safety Forum, Volokh Conspiracy, Solomonia

Posted by: Greg at 10:13 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I really have to wonder what world the editors of the NY Times live in. It is certainly a very different one than I do.

Look at this bizarre statement at the end of today's editorial.

The Geneva Conventions protect Americans. If this country changes the rules, itÂ’s changing the rules for Americans taken prisoner abroad. That is far too high a price to pay so this administration can hang on to its misbegotten policies.

Let's look at this, shall we.

Since the end of WWII, Americans have not received the protections afforded under the Geneva Conventions in any conflict.

In Korea, our prisoners were subject to brainwashing and deprivation. Ask John McCain about the respect for the Geneva Conventions in Vietnam -- torture and degrading treatment were the norm there. Not only is one American POW still unaccounted for follwoing the Gulf War in 1991, but it is also known that female POWs were subject to rape. And in Iraq and Afghanistan today, those who our courts grant the protections of the Geneva Conventions (incorrectly, according to the clear language of the treaties) subject captive Americans to beheading. Not one perpetrator of such abuses against Americans has ever been brought to justice by either US, national, or international courts.

Would you care to explain to me again how Americans are protected by the Geneva Conventions?

Posted by: Greg at 06:38 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I don't particularly find this activity to be useful, but the response to this protest is instructive.

A protester staked out the home of a Muslim candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates, holding a sign and wearing a T-shirt that mocked Islam.

Timothy Truett sat in a folding chair Saturday on the cul-de-sac outside Saqib Ali's home in Gaithersburg with a sign reading "Islam sucks," and a shirt with the slogan, "This mind is an Allah-free zone."

Curiously, though, Ali did not seek to dialog with Truett.

Ali took several photographs of Truett but refused to speak to him, saying he did not get the impression that Truett wanted to start a constructive dialogue.

"We don't waste our time talking to people who hate us," Ali said Sunday.

Interestingly enough, that is precisely what we are told the US needs to do -- we need to talk to those who hate us in order to understand them and seek to change our ways so that they no longer feel alienated from us. Similarly, Israel is expected to engage in peaceful negotiations with those who launch rockets and send suicide bombers to kill her citizens. But Saqib Ali doesn't feel he (or the Muslim community) needs to reciprocate.

But then again, what do you expect? Those who speak loudest for Islam today -- al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, etc -- would rather fight, maim, and kill those who refuse to submit to Islam than take a single step towards accommodation and coexistance. Perhaps Mr. Ali and Mr. Truett are not that far apart in how they view the world.

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And before it even went into effect.

Hezbollah, you see, refuses to comply with a major precondition for peace.

A meeting of the Lebanese government on the disarming of Hezbollah south of the Litani River was canceled on Sunday following an announcement by the Shi'ite organization that it was not willing to discuss the subject. Hezbollah informed the government of its stance through the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Beri, who serves as a conduit to the organization.

Beri informed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora of Hezbollah's decision, and Siniora decided to cancel the meeting.

This is the first time in weeks that a rift emerged in the official Lebanese stance. Officially, the government of Lebanon denied reports that any dispute has emerged.

Interesting, isn't it, that the government of Lebanon is taking directions from the terrorists? And that the jihadi swine are refusing not only to abide by UN Resolution 1701, but also by the earlier Resolution 1559, which required that the governmetn of Lebanon disarm the UN after Israel pulled out of southern Lebanon the last time the world community demanded that the Jewish state stop defending itself from Hezbollah attacks.

Olmert must go, and his successor must utterly destroy the terrorist bases in southern Lebanon.

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I've never made a secret of the fact that I find "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to be a flawed policy, and the ban on homosexuals serving to be equally flawed. But this argument in support of it is particularly dumb.

Even its supporters acknowledge that don't ask, don't tell isn't perfect.

"It's like what Churchill said about democracy -- it's the worst system possible, except for all the other ones," said Charles Moskos, a military sociologist at Northwestern University who helped craft the policy.

But, Mr. Moskos said, allowing openly homosexual service members would hurt the morale of the military rank and file and make many recruits uncomfortable.

"There are few situations in life where you're forced to live in intimate circumstances not of your choosing," he said.

I cannot help but point out the flaw in Moskos' position on the issue.

First, we have an all volunteer military. Nobody is "forced" to be a part of it. Individuals voluntarily chose to submit themselves to military discipline and military policies.

If anything, Moskos' argument is much more suited to arguing that the desegregation of the military by Harry Truman was unwise and inappropriate. After all, that happened during the days of the military draft, when there wre thousands of American men involuntarily serving and being forced to live in circumstances not of their choosing. Many of them, especially those born and raised in the segregated South, had no desire to live and work as equals with blacks -- much less find themselves under the command authority of those they had been raised to view as "niggers" who were inferior to any white man. Truman ordered desegregation to happen, and made it clear that those who could not accept the policy should be prepared to leave the military. And it worked.

Ending the ban on homosexuals serving in the military would create no more serious problem -- and those who find themselves unable or unwilling to serve with their fellow Americans on an equal basis should be prepared to leave teh military under less than honorable circumstances.

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From the Boston Herald.

Kennedy calls Cheney’s attack on Lamont “ugly and frightening”

Well, Teddy would know ugly and frightening.

Besides -- more people have been killed by Ted Kennedy's driving than by Dick Cheney's comments about Ned Lamont. I'll be concerned about the issue when the numbers change.

By the way, was Kennedy sober when he blamed America for the plot to blow up airliners with liquid bombs?

“Five years after 9-11, it is clear that our misguided policies are making America more hated in the world and making the war on terrorism harder to win.”

Who is making ugly and frightening comments, Senator? Whose words went too far?

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My troll Ken, who claims to love Jews (but only the ones he claims are real Jews -- the anti-Zionist ones) is thrilled that more "Yids" (his word) have been killed by "God's troops" (again, his term for Hezbollah).

Why post this? So that it will be on the record what a pathetic wretch this anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying, dhimmified apologist for terrorism really is.

Oh, yeah -- he also praised Hezbollah for killing Marines in Beirut in 1983 in a note today.

Update: I meant to include this wonderful comment about Hezbollah.

Aquinas' 'baptism of desire' easily includes Moslem warriors who fight antichrists

Gee -- this stuff comes right out the neo-Nazi playbook.

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He opposed Israel and went to help Palestinian children -- only to be murdered by Palestinian terrorists. I wondered if he changed his mind as his life's blood drained from his body through a stab wound in the back?

Angelo Frammartino, a 24 year-old student from Italy who arrived in Israel as a human rights organization activist, was stabbed to death Thursday by an Arab knifeman.

"He believed in what he did and was always ready to help others," a friend described him.

The website of Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported that Frammartino was working for the setting up of a children's supper camp for Palestinians in Jerusalem's Old City, and was supposed to return to Italy on Friday.

The youth was stabbed in the back while walking with four friends in the Sultan Suleiman street in the capital, near the Prahim Gate.

The attacker left the knife at the scene of the crime and fled. Police set up checkpoints in the area and arrested three suspects for suspected involvement.

It is believed that the attack was a nationalistically motivated terror attack, and not an attempted robbery.

This guy opposed any Israeli effort at self-defense, and considered the various terrorist factions to be heroes.

In a letter sent a few months ago to a local newspaper, Angelo expressed his world view: "We must recognize that in a situation with no violence is a luxury in many parts of the world, but we are not seeking to prevent legitimate self defense operations. I never dreamt of condemning the resistance, the blood of the Vietnamese, the blood of nations under colonial occupation, or the blood of Palestinian youths from the first intifada," he said.

Well, they don't call them "useful idiots" for nothing.

H/t Israelly Cool, Jawa Report

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In other words, Hezbollah gets to keep on attacking. Here's hoping that an Israeli analog of Winston Churchill appears on the scene soon.

The draft ceasefire plan agreed to by the United States and France may result in an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but it will not disarm Hizbullah.

It appears that United Nations efforts are concentrating on halting Israeli military operations throughout Lebanon, but no effort is being made to eliminate the Hizbullah threat. The draft agreement only calls for pushing Hizbullah north of the Litani, not far enough from IsraelÂ’s northern border to place Hizbullah rockets out of range from northern Israeli civilian population centers.

While the draft agreement supports UN Resolution 1559, demanding Hizbullah be disarmed by the Lebanese government, it does not make this a precondition to the implementation of the ceasefire.

The plan calls or the deployment of the current UNIFIL force in southern Lebanon, to be supported by some 10,000 French forces and 15,000 Lebanese army troops. Other countries may also send troops to take part in the force, which will be responsible to prevent Hizbullah attacks into Israel.

Fortunately, it looks like the energence of a leader with serious interests in protecting Israel from the jihadis may happen sooner rather than later.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced a backlash on Friday over a U.N. proposal to end the war in Lebanon, with army officers saying they were held back and right-wing rivals calling for new elections.

"Olmert must go," read a front page headline in Israel's left-leaning Haaretz newspaper.

Opinion polls, conducted before details of the proposed Security Council resolution emerged, showed public support eroding for Olmert, a career politician who lacks the combat credentials of many of his predecessors.

* * *

Leading members of the right-wing opposition Likud party called the resolution a victory for Hizbollah.

"We will work to bring down the government," said Likud's Silvan Shalom. Yuval Steinitz, also of Likud, said the Israeli government should resign and call new elections.

Kadima party officials say they believe that Hezbollah can be disarmed through diplomacy. Unfortunately, we have seen how well such diplomacy has worked over the years. Don't these folks recognize that the diplomatic option only when there are Arab leaders serious about peace -- and that the leadership of Hezbollah does not fall into that category?

H/T Tel-Chai Nation

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I got several interesting phone calls today.

One came from a GOP leader from the area . Another came from an elected official who is not seeking the CD22 nomination. The third was a return of my call to an old friend from years gone by who now works in Washington. All were "off the record" calls, so I cannot tell you who they are. However, I can tell you that the content of those conversations filled me with a bit of hope, and lead me to moderate my opposition to plans to run a write-in for the CD22 seat.

Suffice it to say that I now know that there will be a meeting of CD22 precinct chairs at a central location sometme soon. We will have the opportunity to freely weigh-in on the course taken by the Party, including whether or not we should support any write-in candidate, as well as who we should support if we do. I was told that while my initial suspicions of a plan to bring us a candidate to affirm was more or less correct, a number of individuals (some who were a part of the meeting and some who were not) raised serious objections to that plan and pushed for this more open, grassroots-oriented plan.

This means that I did one of my commenters a grave disservice below because I was operating on obsolete/incomplete/inaccurate information. I'd like to publicly offer my apologies to Kathy for questioning her veracity on this matter.

I'd also like to add that, while I still have reservations about the possibility of any write-in candidate succeeding, I would be more than willing to support any decision that is not a mere rubber-stamping of The Virginian's hand-picking of a successor -- with the exception of a particular elected official from Fort Bend County whose personal, business, and political history contains too many skeletons for me to stomach.

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He is a hero to anti-war, anti-Semitic leftists on both sides of the Atlantic. He accepted bribes from Saddam. And now there seems to be a more explicit terrorist connection.

TERROR suspect Waheed Zaman met controversial MP George Galloway many times, his sister said last night.

Safeena, 24, said of her 23-year-old brother: “He saw it as his duty to stand up for his community and that’s what led him to know George Galloway. He has a lot of respect for him and has met him many times.”

A spokesman for MP Galloway, above, said: “Waheed Zaman is not a name that George is familiar with. He is not known to him on a personal level.”

There is no suggestion Galloway is an associate of Zaman.

Given GallowayÂ’s track record, I believe Safeeen Zaman.

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The anti-American terrorist shills at the Council for American-Islamic Relations are up in arms at the President for correctly describing the terrorists who planned to blow planes out of the sky as part of their global jihad.

A Muslim group criticized President Bush for saying that America is "at war with Islamic fascists" after U.K. authorities arrested 24 British citizens of Pakistani origin in an attempt to bomb numerous flights to the U.S. Thursday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the president's "hot button" terminology puts the name of Islam and the Muslim community at risk.

Bush called the attempted terrorist attack "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."

Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, believes Bush should not even mention Islam when referring to the would-be terrorists.

"We have to isolate these individuals because there is nothing in the Koran or the Islamic faith that encourages people to be cruel or to be vicious or to be criminal," Awad said. "Muslims world wide know that for sure."

What a load of shit. Most terrorists in the world today are Muslims, operating with an explicitly Islamic agenda based in the Quran.

WhatÂ’s more, the group wants the media to withhold information and lie to the American people about the nature of the terrorist threat.

In addition to limiting the president's comments, CAIR wants the U.S. media to disassociate Islam with terrorists "to make sure we don't start a religious war against Islam and Muslims." The group says American reporters should adopt the policies of the British media when identifying suspected terrorists.

Most British media will not identify terrorists as "Muslim," "Islamic" or "Islamists" even when physical evidence shows they were motivated by beliefs based on Islamic teachings or writings.

In other words, they want the American people to be kept in the dark regarding the true nature of our enemy.

And letÂ’s not forget this demand.

"We also urge local law enforcement agencies to coordinate with Muslim leaders to deter hate crimes," Ahmed said.

Sounds good to me. Now if the Muslim leaders of the United States would only cooperate with law enforcement in order to stop their jihadi followers from committing hate crimes against the rest of us, the situation would be much better. After all, hate crimes against Muslims (as opposed to speech protected under the First Amendment) are very rare and normally not violent – and have often been found to be hoaxes perpetrated by Muslims themselves. On the other hand, Muslims are killing people.

But I will concede this point.

"It is also important that our fellow Americans understand that Muslims are law-abiding citizens who should not be targeted or singled out because of their faith or national origin."

On the other hand, tracking chips like those placed in pets might be useful, just so we can keep track of the violent bad seed in the Muslim community.

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Seems like this is the constant complaint of the Muslim community.

``My first thought when I heard about this was that they are definitely going to blame us again," said Sima Mukhter, 27, a Muslim woman of Pakistani origin who works in a McDonald's restaurant on Edgeware Road. ``They always blame us because of what happened in the past."

We’re so sorry, Sima – how could we possibly think Muslims are responsible for this horrific plot?

Umir Hussain, 24, London E14
Muhammed Usman Saddique, 24, London E17
Waheed Zaman, 22, London E17
Assan Abdullah Khan, 22, London E17
Waseem Kayani, 28, High Wycombe
Waheed Arafat Khan, 24, London E17
Cossor Ali, 24, London E17
Tayib Rauf, 21, Birmingham
Ibrahim Savant, 26, London E17
Osman Adam Khatib, 20, London E17
Shamin Mohammed Uddin, 36, Stoke Newington
Amin Asmin Tariq, 23, London E17
Shazad Khuram Ali, 27, High Wycombe
Tanvir Hussain, 24, London E10
Umar Islam, 28, (born Brian Young) High Wycombe
Assad Sarwar, 25, High Wycombe
Abdullah Ali, 26, London E17
Abdul Muneem Patel, 17, London E5
Nabeel Hussain, 21, Waltham Forest

I wonder what common link these folks do have, Ms. Mukhter?

(H/T Malkin)

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Seems like this is the constant complaint of the Muslim community.

``My first thought when I heard about this was that they are definitely going to blame us again," said Sima Mukhter, 27, a Muslim woman of Pakistani origin who works in a McDonald's restaurant on Edgeware Road. ``They always blame us because of what happened in the past."

We’re so sorry, Sima – how could we possibly think Muslims are responsible for this horrific plot?

Umir Hussain, 24, London E14
Muhammed Usman Saddique, 24, London E17
Waheed Zaman, 22, London E17
Assan Abdullah Khan, 22, London E17
Waseem Kayani, 28, High Wycombe
Waheed Arafat Khan, 24, London E17
Cossor Ali, 24, London E17
Tayib Rauf, 21, Birmingham
Ibrahim Savant, 26, London E17
Osman Adam Khatib, 20, London E17
Shamin Mohammed Uddin, 36, Stoke Newington
Amin Asmin Tariq, 23, London E17
Shazad Khuram Ali, 27, High Wycombe
Tanvir Hussain, 24, London E10
Umar Islam, 28, (born Brian Young) High Wycombe
Assad Sarwar, 25, High Wycombe
Abdullah Ali, 26, London E17
Abdul Muneem Patel, 17, London E5
Nabeel Hussain, 21, Waltham Forest

I wonder what common link these folks do have, Ms. Mukhter?

(H/T Malkin)

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After all, which political party holds the reins of power in the area?

A report released yesterday describes Orleans Parish prisoners trapped in flooded cells, deprived of food and water for days, and calls the scene at the jail ``some of the worst horrors of Hurricane Katrina."

The American Civil Liberties Union compiled the report through interviews with prisoners, Orleans Parish Prison deputies and staff and through legal and public documents.

``Prisoners went days without food, water, and ventilation, and deputies admit that they received no emergency training and were entirely unaware of any evacuation plan," the ACLU report said. ``Even some prison guards were left locked in at their posts to fend for themselves, unable to provide assistance to prisoners in need."

Other deputies abandoned prisoners in locked cells, where some were standing in sewage-tainted water up to their chests, according to the report.
Tom Jawetz, litigation fellow for the ACLU's National Prison Project, said the sheriff's office was ``completely unprepared for the storm."

Interestingly enough, the ACLU neglected to note that abiding by the law would have spared all of these victims from the horrors they suffered.

There is also this small note.

``The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals did more for its 263 stray pets than the sheriff did for the more than 6,500 men, women, and children left in his care," Jawetz said.

Might I suggest that the 263 stray pets are of more value to our society than those criminals who have shown themselves unable to conform to the basic norms of society?

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Kinky thinks so.

Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman on Thursday asked Travis County prosecutors to investigate Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, accusing her of possibly misusing state employees to help her campaign.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle responded by distributing to reporters his office's policy manual, which states that criminal complaints filed by one candidate against another will not be investigated until after the election.

"It's typical mudslinging politics. So much for Kinky not being a typical mudslinging politician," Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders said, referring to the complaint.

Friedman filed his complaint based on reports in the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News that Strayhorn's state staff was preparing briefing papers for her to use even when she was making political appearances.

Strayhorn's campaign has defended the use of state employees, saying she is frequently engaged to discuss state business no matter where she is.

So Strayhorn is using state employees for campaign purposes, but Ronnie Earle is not willing to investigate it now. I suppose if she had the GOP nomination it would be different.

Maybe a few of us "just plain folks" should get a copy of Kinky's complaint and file it ourselves, just to ensure that the ciminal activities of "One Tough Grandma" get investigated and prosecuted in a timely fashion by the partisan hack prosecutor in Austin.

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The Washington Post has a great piece on how the terrorists were caught before they could mount their "mega-9/11" attack.

It all began with a tip: In the aftermath of the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings on London's transit system, British authorities received a call from a worried member of the Muslim community, reporting general suspicions about an acquaintance.

From that vague but vital piece of information, according to a senior European intelligence official, British authorities opened the investigation into what they said turned out to be a well-coordinated and long-planned plot to bomb multiple transatlantic flights heading toward the United States -- an assault designed to rival the scope and lethality of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings.

By late 2005, the probe had expanded to involve several hundred investigators on three continents. They kept dozens of suspects under close surveillance for months, even as some of the plotters traveled between Britain and Pakistan to raise money, find recruits and refine their scheme, according to interviews with U.S. and European counterterrorism officials.

Precise details of the plot -- how many planes, their destinations and the date -- remain unknown. The shape of the operation changed regularly as the would-be bombers considered which transatlantic flights to target and prepared for a practice run, which was expected to take place in the next few days, U.S. law enforcement officials said.

Investigators eventually pieced together enough information from a blizzard of stakeouts, tips and wiretaps to make clear that something big was in the works, and that the plotters' preparations were nearing an end.

"It's not like three weeks ago all of a sudden MI5 knew about this plot and went to work," added a U.S. law enforcement official, speaking of the British security service. "They'd had a concern about these guys for some time -- for months. Details started to emerge, and it became clear over the last couple weeks the nature of the threat and the individuals," said the official, who like others interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity.

I encourage you to read it all -- and to note that the tip that started teh investigation rolling came from within the Muslim community. I'd love to know how many such tips are received by authorities, and how many of them turn out to be valid.

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Let's look at a couple of quotes from "mainstream Democrats" on yesterday's actions to prevent a "mega-9/11" attack.

"Five years after 9-11, it is clear that our misguided policies are making America more hated in the world and making the war on terrorism harder to win," Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Bush and Congress needed to change course in Iraq and ensure Americans are protected around the world.

"The Iraq war has diverted our focus and more than $300 billion in resources from the war on terrorism and has created a rallying cry for international terrorists," Reid said.

* * *

"This event exposes the misleading myth that we are fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here. In fact, the war in Iraq has become a dangerous distraction and a profound drain on our financial and military resources," Kerry said.

The first response? Attack Bush and seek to make political capital by denigrating the successful effort to stop the plot.

And let's not even get into quotes from the "netroots" Democrats who are claiming ascendancy.

You get the KOSsacks.

Today, we can see again what Britain gets for being a staunch ally of Bush. They get home-grown terrorists, bombings, and more terrorist plots.

You have to wonder what exactly are the benefits of hitching yourself to George W. It's like when you consider making an investment or major purchase. You look at the pros and the cons. We all know what the cons are: your people become a target for terrorists, and you breed your own terrorist cells.

So, what are the benefits? Ummmmm, well, uhhhh, okay not many. Blair has sold out his people so he can cozy up on Bush's lap. Tony is like any other man in power, he wants to more power himself, and be closer to those who have even more power.

And the DUmmies.

“Exactly—why now? Why is this major disruption being discussed NOW. What else is going on? This sounds lke another Bush diversion tactic...Get the media to discuss terror, because there is something else that they don't want us discussing. Bait & Switch technique.”

Heck, I even got a commenter here implicitly espousing a conspiracy theory for political purposes, arguing that the Bush Administration was manipulating national security for political purposes.

Curious that we're privvy to so much information. I wonder what's
REALLY goinbg on: what piece of news or bit of information is out there
that "they" want to divert us away from?

But the New York Times lives in a diffrent world -- which is the only way we can explain today's editorial.

Here is what we want to do in the wake of the arrests in Britain. We want to understand as much as possible about what terrorists were planning. To talk about airport security and how to make it better. To celebrate what worked in the British investigation and discuss how to push these efforts farther. It would be a blessed moment in modern American history if we could do that without turning this into a political game plan.

Fair enough -- except that the editorial was an attack on comments made by Dick Cheney on Wednesday and and others made by Joe Lieberman regarding ned lamon'ts weakness on terrorism issues.

I guess that only those who the editors oppose can be guilty of making tawdry political use of the terrorism issue -- it is fair comments when they agree with the comments.

But one Republican dared to pierce the Times' veil of hypocrisy.

A senior White House official on Air Force One, speaking on the condition of anonymity, dismissed the notion that there was anything wrong with these kinds of issues being mixed up in a political campaign.

“The issue is going to be discussed in the fall,” this official said. “Are you saying if the Democrats talk about the war, we shouldn’t? We will talk about the war, and we will talk about the consequences of the policies advocated by the Democrats.”

After all, the GOP has kept America safe since 9/11 -- despite the political calculations and games of the Democrats, who wouldn't mind a couple of successful terrorist attacks on American soil if it would help them take back Congress.

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This sounds like a project that only my troll Ken could love -- eliminating the Jews entirely from the Bible.

Adolf Hitler's deranged racist hatred against the Jews had no boundaries. In his war against the Jews Hitler instructed a group of German theologians to rewrite the Bible and the New Testament, in a bid to remove all mention of the Jews.

The German newspaper, Bilt Zeitung has revealed that in 1939 a group of Protestant theologians, loyal to the Nazi regime, established an institution for the "cleansing of Judaism from Christianity."

The institution's official purpose was to cleanse the Protestant Church of all ceremonies with non-Aryan influences, and to compile alternative scriptures derived from the Nazi ideology and spirit of the Church.

Church staff worked incessantly, conducting comprehensive surveys and publishing a large number of documents that imbued Christianity with Nazi commentary.

One of these publications, the German Book of Faith, included the rewriting of the 10 commandments in the spirit of Nazi ethics, and also added two more commandments:

Respect God and depend on him entirely; maintain silence before God; refrain from any form of hypocrisy; hold sacred thy body and life;
hold sacred goodness and respect; hold sacred truth and loyalty; honor thy mother and thy father; help thy children and become a role model; maintain purity of blood and sanctity of marriage; much wisdom; always be prepared to help and forgive; respect thy Fuhrer; serve in joy thy people through labor and sacrifice – this is what God demands of us."

Sick, disgusting, repulsive stuff -- but right up the alley of most of the anti-Semitic "Christians" who support Hamas, Hezbollah, and other genocidal jihadi out to erase israel from the map. Their beliefs don't really differ from those of the "Christians" who cooperated with Hitler in combatting "eternal Jewish enemy".

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We just need The Virginian to go away -- and stay out of the process of cleaning up the mess he has left in his wake. But the Chronicle doesn't see it that way.

The former congressman, who engineered a Republican majority in the Texas House, probably has reduced the number of U.S. House seats Democrats need to regain a majority. He owes residents of District 22 a fuller explanation of his behavior.

Whatever his reasons for cutting and running, Tom DeLay will never again be seen in the same light by either friends or foes. As a constituent labeled DeLay in a letter to the Chronicle, it seems "The Hammer" has become "The Quitter."

Really, it does not matter. We have been screwed, blued and tattooed by Tom Delay over the last several months Any explanation is irrelevant and unproductive -- and no more welcome than his involvement is selecting his successor.

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We voted for a constitutional amendment on spending and passed it, seeking to control government spending. But the only folks with the standing to enforce it are the folks only folks who can break it -- meaning that the amendment is null-and-void as far as the courts in Texas are concerned, because the people have no remedy for its violation.

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Houston taxpayer group against legislative leaders over the level of state spending.

Visiting state District Judge Bill Bender of Seguin ruled Monday that Citizens Lowering Our Unfair Taxes didn't have standing to sue the Legislative Budget Board over the state's constitutional spending cap, which limits the state budget from growing more than the Texas economy.

* * *

Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Attorney General Greg Abbott, who defended the legislative leaders, said the judge "properly ruled that these issues fall strictly within the province of the Texas Legislature and the Legislative Budget Board."

Now the problem is that the Legislative budget Board has allowed for growth beyond what the amendment permits -- and the legislature has gone along iwth it, rahter than making the tough decisons to rein -in spending.

Clout's Edd Hendee, who also hosts the morning show on KSWV radio, notes the outrageous nature of this decision.

Edd Hendee, CLOUT's executive director, said the group will file an appeal with the Third Court of Appeals in Austin.

"If a taxpayer doesn't have standing in a courthouse, I question who does," he said.

After all, those violating the Constitution are unlikely to take legal action to force their complaince with the mandate -- but they have been held to be the only folks with standing to do so.

If you want to read more, Lone Star Times has coverage of the "hearing" -- at which the judge heard no evidence.

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Bravo to the Brits for breaking up this plot.

British authorities said today they had disrupted a "major terrorist plot" to blow up passenger flights between the United Kingdom and the United States, prompting a security clampdown at British and U.S. international airports and a cascade of delays in trans-Atlantic flights generally.

London's Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said 21 people had been arrested in London and in Birmingham England after a months-long investigation into what he said was a plan for "mass murder on an unimaginable scale." He did not say why the announcement was made today.

That seems like a bit of hyperbole to me -- after all, we can all imagine mass murder on a pretty big scale after 9/11. The plot here seems to have involved bringing down AT LEAST 10 aircraft, and as many as 50 people may have been involved.

The result has already been a disruption of trans-Atlantic air service that is only a fraction of what we would have seen if the plot had succeeded.

U.S. officials raised the "threat level" for air transport to red, the highest alert.

Passengers at Dulles airport in Washington and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport were told to expect intensified searches, considerable delays and new restrictions on carry-on items, with particular attention to liquids of all types, especially liquids with a gel-like consistency.

Medicines and baby formula was permitted but at airports in Britain, passengers were being asked to taste these liquids in the presence of security guards.

American Airlines canceled six Thursday flights between the United States and London to accommodate the delays at Heathrow airport, spokesman John Hotard told wire services.

American held three London-bound morning flights, one each from Chicago, Boston and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. To balance those cancellations, the airline also dropped three afternoon or evening flights scheduled to travel from London to those U.S. cities, Hotard said.

The British response has been even more stringent.

London's Heathrow airport, the busiest airport in Europe, was closed to most European flights Thursday morning after officials raised Britain's national security alert to its highest level -- suggesting a terrorist attack may imminent. Huge crowds formed at security barriers.

Homeland Security has responded by banning even more common items from aircraft.

" Due to the nature of the threat revealed by this investigation, we are prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being carried on the airplane. This determination will be constantly evaluated and updated when circumstances warrant. These changes will take effect at 4:00 AM local time across the country. Travelers should also anticipate additional security measures within the airport and at screening checkpoints.

"These measures will continue to assure that our aviation system remains safe and secure. Travelers should go about their plans confidently, while maintaining vigilance in their surroundings and exercising patience with screening and security officials.

It appears that Muslims are still permitted on aircraft, however, despite their known connection with terrorist plots -- including this one.

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Posted by: Greg at 10:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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That certainly seems to be the conclusion being drawn by law enforcement in this case.

Investigators in southeast Ohio said they were working to unravel how two Michigan men charged with supporting terrorism came to have airplane passenger lists and airport security information.

Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, both of the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, were being held at the Washington County jail on $200,000 bond each, which could be raised at a Thursday afternoon court hearing. Each was charged Wednesday with money laundering in support of terrorism.

Deputies stopped the two on a traffic violation Tuesday and found the flight documents along with $11,000 cash and 12 phones in their car, Sheriff Larry Mincks said.

It wasn't clear what significance the airline information might have. Assistant County Prosecutor Susan Vessels declined to comment on whether the manifests were for upcoming flights or those that already had flown. She also would not give the origin or destination of the flight or flights.

FBI spokesman Mike Brooks in Cincinnati said his office was investigating.

The pair have bought over 600 phones in recent months, phones just like thos being used in Iraq and other parts of the world by Cindy Sheehan's freedom fighters terrorists.

Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks said initially the men lied about their reasons for purchasing the phones, which led to the charges.

Abulhassan and Houssaiky are expected to appear for an arraignment this morning in Marietta Municipal Court.

“Eventually they indicated they would sell the chips inside the phones to another individual in the Dearborn, Mich., area for $5 more than they pay for the phone,” Mincks said.

Maj. John Winstanley said the sheriffÂ’s office has received notices from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warning individuals are purchasing the phones for terror related activity.

“It’s their belief that they send these TracFones overseas, and they use (the chips) against the troops, detonating bombs,” Winstanley said.

And if Dearborn, Michigan rings a bell with you, it might have something to do with recent rallies over teh war in lebanon -- rallies in favor of Hezbollah, a group with a history of killing Americans.

Mincks said Dearborn has a large Lebanese population and has been the site of pro-Hezballoh rallies recently. He said the department was not profiling, but admitted that because of the suspects’ descent the incident “caused a bit of a stir.”

Of course we wouldn't want to profile folks who look like terrorists, believe like terrorists, and speak out in support of terrorists, even if they are buying items that are used by terrorists. After all, we all know that Islam is a religion of peace, right, no matter what percentage of the world's terrorist acts are conducted by Muslims acting in the name of Islam. There is certainly no need to look at Muslim groups or houses of worship -- and certainly not to give them special scrutiny. We need to pay every other group the exact amount of attention.

After all, we all know that the cops always closely scrutinize the membership of Curves whenever there is a serial rapist, just to avoid concerns about profiling.

(H/T Schlussel, Malkin)

Posted by: Greg at 10:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Thanks for the correction on the title, zalame!

Well, their Islamo-Nazi leader has talked about wiping out the Jews. Why should we be surprised that he has deployed troops to help.

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard have been found among Hizbollah guerrillas slain by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, Israel's Channel 10 television reported on Wednesday citing diplomatic sources.

It said the Iranians were identified by documents found on their bodies, but gave no further details on how many were discovered or when. Neither the Israeli military nor Hizbollah representatives in Beirut had immediate comment on the report.

Iran, like fellow Hizbollah patron Syria, insists its support for the Shi'ite guerrilla group is purely moral.

Israel says many of the rockets being fired against its civilian and military targets are Iranian made, and that Hizbollah fighters taking on its forces trained in Iran. Washington also accuses Tehran of actively funding Hizbollah.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards are traditionally very close to fellow Shi'ite Muslims in Hizbollah and were deployed in south Lebanon in the 1980s.

But Israel is still the bad guy, according to the international community.

(H/T Captain's Quarters)

Posted by: Greg at 03:16 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Greg, when you're updating the blacklist, do not, under any
circumstances, blacklist an URL containing square brackets, these
things: []



If you do that, you will break comments for the whole of mu.nu.  Which is a bad thing.

Until we can get everyone onto the new comment system (which doesn't suffer from this problem), please be very careful with this.  The spammers are deliberately putting poisoned URLs in the spam to cause this sort of problem.

P.S. Hey, nice comments!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Wed Aug 9 15:46:39 2006 (FRalS)

2 you probably mean: killed in Lebanon, right?
And yes, I wonder why the Israelis are not showing pictures of their documents, that could have been a huge PR win.

Posted by: zalame at Wed Aug 9 16:24:46 2006 (59Iel)

3 Thanks for th correction.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Wed Aug 9 16:25:30 2006 (59Iel)

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An American sailor with a distinctly Jewish name is in the brig accused of spying -- for Russia.

A sailor facing espionage and desertion charges has been held at a Norfolk, Virginia, brig since March, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.

Ariel Weinmann, 21, is suspected of having worked on behalf of Russia, said military sources close to the case.

He was likely to have had access to technical manuals and other material on submarine systems, Navy sources said. No one else in the Navy is suspected of having worked with Weinmann, they said.

The fire control technician third class, assigned to the submarine USS Albuquerque, attempted on three occasions to pass classified information to foreign agents, the charges against him state.

Those incidents occurred in March 2005 in Bahrain; October 2005 in Vienna, Austria; and March 2006 in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the charges.

In addition to the espionage allegations, Weinmann also faces desertion charges, which could result in the death penalty. He is accused of deserting in July 2005 during his first tour of duty.

A customs agent took Weinmann into custody March 26 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when he tried to re-enter the United States.

The case is the second involving allegations of military spying by Russia. The Defense Department has said it suspects Russia collected information about American intelligence in Iraq from U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar, in 2003.

That didn't stop the Arab press from reporting the story very differently, according to the Jerusalem Post.

A US Navy sailor, Ariel J. Weinmann, is suspected of spying for Israel and has been held in prison for four months, according to an article published Monday in the Saudi daily Al-Watan. It reported that Weinmann is being held at a military base in Virginia on suspicion of espionage and desertion.

According to the navy, Weinmann was apprehended on March 26 "after it was learned that he had been listed as a deserter by his command." Though initial information released by the navy makes no mention of it, Al-Watan reported that he was returning from an undisclosed "foreign country." American sources close to the Defense Department told Al-Watan that Israel was the country in question.

Given the lack of a free press in Saudi Arabia, it is clear that this was an attempt at misinformation and propaganda to drive a wedge between the US and Israel at a crucial time for both nations. Are we really sure that the Saudis are partners in the war on terrorism -- or are they out to see to it that the terrorists succeed in eliminating Israel -- and her Jews -- from the face of the earth?

Posted by: Greg at 01:32 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Now such a statement could have been made at any time during the DeLay saga -- after all, we chairs were told it was our process to direct, right up until the point that the state GOP leadership and the local county chairs realized that there was a substantial bloc that actually wanted to go a direction other than the hierarchy wanted. Now it appears that the plan is to select a write-in candidate without the involvement of the real grass-roots of the party, and then tell us that we must support the candidate or face the wrath of that leadership for our disloyalty.

State and local Republican Party officials were scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. today in an attempt to find a write-in candidate to serve as the partyÂ’s last-ditch hope to hang on to Congressional District 22.

Party insiders named Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs and Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace as the two candidates whose names most likely will be discussed at todayÂ’s meeting.

* * *

Local party officials said Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser has called a meeting of local party leaders – presumably State Republican Executive Committee members – at an undisclosed area location at 11 a.m.

Late Tuesday afternoon Benkiser issued a statement saying “Republicans are working together with grassroots leadership in the district to get behind and vigorously support one candidate, whether he or she is on the ballot or not.”

“We need to have a meeting of the leadership and get people together and come out with who we’re willing to support,” Kathy Haigler, a Harris County GOP precinct chair and SREC member. “You keep the door locked until you come out with one name.”

* * *

Haigler said party leaders may discuss potential write-in candidates this morning, then quickly call a meeting of precinct chairs within CD-22 – which encompasses portions of Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties.

It’s possible the precinct chairs would be asked to vote for one candidate, “and you tell anyone else if they run” as a write-in, “they’ll be blackballed forever” in future races by the Republican Party, Haigler said. “They’re only going to hurt the party by spitting in the wind.”

I'll say it right now -- any individual involved in making such a selection or offering such an ultimatum had better be prepared to be blackballed forever by the grass-roots. I've spoken to a number of folks this evening who are deeply offended at being cut out of the process by the leadership while being expected to act as a rubber-stamp for their selection.

And I say this especially because of the very wise observation of Sheryl Berg.

Sheryl Berg, Harris County GOP Senate District 11 chair, said she believes the choice for a potential write-in candidate is between Wallace and Sekula-Gibbs.

However, she added, GOP Chairman Benkiser may not “advocate for either one of them” because neither was likely to have been chosen by the four-person District Executive Committee that would have selected DeLay’s replacement had the courts allowed it. That committee’s members were to have been chosen by CD-22 precinct chairs in each of the four counties.

“At the end of the day,” Berg said of the Republican leadership, “I think they’re going to choose not to come up with one person.”

Let me make it clear -- it is not Tina Benkiser's place to advocate for anyone in this process. And as for the fact that neither Wallace nor Sekula-Gibbs (or Tim Turner, who has also indicated he would consider a write-in bid) were unlikely to be selected by the CD22 District Executive Committee, let me point out that the leading candidate has indicated his disinterest in giving up his seat in the legislature to make this long-shot bid, as have several other individuals. Only two have been willing to stand up and offer themselves as sacrificial lambs -- and it seems that the same folks who will not consider candidates who actually stepped-up to the plate earlier in the process appear to be out recruiting others to run, despite the fact they also would not have been selected by the DEC.

I'll state my position again for those who have not heard my words before -- absent the sudden emergence of a candidate who would overwhelm Lampson as a write-in -- which I believe would require selecting someone of the stature of former president George H. W. Bush, given the obstacles to winning such a race -- I believe the only reasonable choice is to discourage write-in candidates and throw our support behind Libertarian Bob Smither, whose name will at least appear on the ballot.

UPDATE -- Bob Dunn offers an additional revelation on today's meeting.

Texas Republican Party Chairman Tina Benkiser, resigned congressman Tom DeLay and local members of the state GOP executive committee met Wednesday to lay plans for bringing the party behind a single write-in candidate to run for the congressional seat DeLay just vacated.

What the hell is the supposedly-a-Virginian former congressman doing in the meeting to select my party's candidate here in Texas after he abandoned the job? I'm sorry -- any involvement by Tom DeLay inescapably corrupts the process and the resulting candidate. Anyone who stayed in that room once DeLay arrived is so tainted by his presence that they need to resign whatever position they currently hold and retire from politics due to a profound lack of judgement. And as for DeLay himself, he just needs to take his happy ass back to Virginia and stay there. We've seen what his help has done for us.

Then there is this little gem from Tina Benkiser.

Attendees at the Wednesday meeting with DeLay, Benkiser and members of the SREC said DeLay did not mention any specific candidate for his former seat in Congress.

“He’s expecting there to be a write-in candidate, but he wants the party to make that decision,” one attendee said. “He’s going to stand behind the party.”

* * *

“Obviously, I have talked with Congressman DeLay,” Benkiser said. “This race is not about him. This race is about giving voters a choice.”

She was not specific about how a single candidate will gain the party’s favor in serving as the write-in challenger to Lampson and Smither. She said holding a meeting with the precinct chairs from within CD-22 “is certainly an option.”

Listen, bitch you arrogant fool, you have just shown how far you will go to corrupt the process in order to get the candidate of your choice. That meeting with the elected representatives of the grass-roots is merely "an option" is a sign that you lack the integrity to hold your office. I regret having ever supported you for your position. Resign. Now.

And let me also say that I have difficulty imagining any situation which would allow me to support the candidate produced by this process.

Posted by: Greg at 12:47 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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