February 21, 2009
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I have a number of former student in the Marines (as well as other branches of the military) right now, and I hope that they are capable of living up to the standard of courage and selflessness set by Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan Yale.
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A Pentagon report requested by President Obama on the conditions at the Guantánamo Bay detention center concluded that the prison complies with the humane-treatment requirements of the Geneva Conventions. But it makes recommendations for improvements including increasing human contact for the prisoners, according to two government officials who have read parts of it.
I wonder when the apologies to George W. Bush will start.
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February 20, 2009
Ted Rall, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, doesn't think Wednesday's New York Post editorial cartoon was penned by a racist. But he does think it was a "misfire," a "cheap form of editorial cartooning" that fails to carry any real commentary or message and is common in major publications today.
The cartoon wasn’t very good – but it wasn’t at all racist.
Indeed, IÂ’d argue that the uproar tells us more about those outraged than it does about those responsible for the cartoon and its publication.
And interestingly enough, a lot of cartoonists are feeling the heat over how to draw Obama.
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Americans named President Obama as their No. 1 hero, followed by Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King, in a new Harris poll.
Others in the top 10, in descending order, were Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Abraham Lincoln, John McCain, John F. Kennedy, Chesley Sullenberger and Mother Teresa.
Once can, of course, argue that including Jesus is not entirely appropriate, given his divinity.
Now were I to list my personal top 10 – excluding Jesus – it would look like this.
1) Ronald Reagan
2) Martin Luther King
3) John Paul II
4) Robert E. Lee
5) Abraham Lincoln
6) Margaret Thatcher
7) Winston Churchill
Charles Martel
9) Thomas Jefferson
10) Douglas MacArthur
H/T Hot Air
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Israeli President Shimon Peres chose hard-line Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new Israeli government on Friday, ending days of speculation and giving Netanyahu six weeks to put together a ruling coalition.The question now is whether Netanyahu will form a narrow government with his hard-line allies or a broad government along with his centrist rival, Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni. His choice will have serious ramifications for the Mideast peace process.
Peres made his announcement early Friday afternoon after holding meetings with Netanyahu and Livni. An official ceremony appointing Netanyahu was to be held shortly afterward.
My hope is that Netanyahu forms a government without Kadima, given that Israelis rejected the left-wing and voted strongly for conservative parties. A centrist regime would not really meet the needs of Israel, either -- especially since Livni demands that Netanyahu agree to a rotating premiership.
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Chicago has yet to recoup the $1.74 million cost of President Obama's victory celebration in Grant Park -- despite a burgeoning $50.5 million budget shortfall that threatens more layoffs and union concessions."The Democratic National Committee has not yet paid us,'' Peter Scales, a spokesman for the city's Office of Budget and Management, said Thursday after questions from the Chicago Sun-Times. "We're reaching out to them this week."
Funny, mayor Daley was shocked and offended by suggestions that Obama and the Dems might stiff the city for the bill back in November. Guess we know who looks the fool now.
And it appears that Chicago isn't the only city stiffed by the Obama campaign.
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At the end of a long and pointless conversation between two Fox News reporters covering a zoo escape, John Gibson compared Attorney General Eric Holder to a monkey.A monkey escaped from the Woodland park Zoo in Seattle and despite the fact that authorities are "taking this very seriously," Julie Banderas and Harris Faulkner were not, cracking jokes about the monkeys' bright blue scrotum.
At 2:48, they toss to John Gibson who complains that he can't get away with saying "bright blue scrotum" on the radio then follows that up by saying, "We were talking about Eric Holder today on the radio and his bright blue scrotum."
Given the journalistic standards Arianna “PuffHo” Huffington, it isn’t surprising that the writer, Alex Leo, didn’t bother to check out the recording closely enough to determine that it was a fake. After all, Gibson is the enemy to these folks, so just run with it and destroy the man’s reputation.
Only after it was irrefutably proved by conservative bloggers that the recording was a hoax did Leo and HuffPo issue a retraction/apology.
As John Gibson notes, this is part of a pattern intended to delegitimize him --conservative voices in the media.
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February 21, 2009
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
In what may be among the more shameful moments in American diplomatic history, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the repudiation of a central premise of our nationÂ’s founding document on behalf of the Obama Administration during a visit to one of the most repressive states on Earth.
Human rights violations by China cannot block the possibility of significant cooperation between Washington and Beijing on the global economic crisis, climate change and security threats such as North Korea's nuclear program, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday."We pretty much know what they are going to say" on human rights issues such as greater freedoms for Tibet, Clinton told reporters traveling with her on a tour of Asia. "We have to continue to press them. But our pressing on those issues can't interfere" with dialogue on other crucial topics.
Because after all, we canÂ’t let little things like the Red Chinese regimeÂ’s wholesale violation of the fundamental rights due its citizens to interfere with other, more pressing matters.
No doubt the Secretary of State and the President she represents are hoping that this courageous reordering of American priorities will win them this yearsÂ’ Neville Chamberlain Prize for Achievement in Diplomacy and the Stalin Prize for the Advancement of Freedom.
UPDATE: As if on cue, the Chinese have begun a new crackdown on those who oppose the government and want to exercise those inalienable rights. That's what happens when you put human rights second.
More At Don Surber, Hot Air
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February 19, 2009
HereÂ’s what one local ICE agent did.
On a Sunday morning, in a church sanctuary near Conroe, an off-duty immigration agent tapped Jose Juan Hernandez on the shoulder and asked him to step outside.A 31-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico with three prior deportations, Hernandez quietly followed the agent and promptly was detained on suspicion of illegal re-entry after deportation, said Gregory Palmore, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman in Houston.
The case would be unremarkable, except for the setting. The fact that Hernandez was detained in church has sparked controversy locally. Hernandez was arrested Oct. 26, pleaded guilty to the re-entry charge this month and is scheduled for sentencing in April. He remains in federal detention in Conroe. HernandezÂ’s attorney, Rick Soliz, said he plans to file a complaint against the ICE agent in connection with the arrest.
“I wonder what the agent was thinking, if he was thinking at all,” Soliz said. “How do you decide to do that in the middle of a religious service?”
I guess I donÂ’t see the problem. We donÂ’t recognize the concept of sanctuary under our laws. Indeed, it would be quite an offense against the First Amendment if our laws did so. And given that the entire incident came off in an unobtrusive manner that didnÂ’t create a disturbance, IÂ’d argue that the agent ought to be praised, not condemned.
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, 
, 
PP,
The police officers who stopped Oklahoma City motorist Chip Harrison and confiscated a sign from his car told him he has a right to his beliefs, but the U.S. Secret Service "could construe this as a threat against President Obama," according to the incident report released this morning.
The sign was quickly returned by the department, where higher-ups recognized the First Amendment violation that had occurred. But by that time the Secret Service was on his doorstep.
'The Secret Service called and said they were at my house," Harrison said.After talking to his attorney, Harrison went home where he met the Secret Service.
''When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren't going to ransack my house or anything ... they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn't a part of any hate groups."
Harrison said he invited the Secret Service agents into the house and they were "very cordial."
''We walked through the house and my wife and 2-year-old were in the house," Harrison said.
He said they interviewed him for about 30 minutes and then left, not finding any evidence Harrison was a threat to the president.
I’m curious – what would they have done if they had found that Harrison was a member of a “hate group”? Membership in “hate groups” is not illegal – and expression of extreme political sentiments (and Harrison’s position is hardly extreme) is fully protected by the Constitution.
HereÂ’s hoping that this law-abiding patriot, who dares to dissent from the pro-abortion orthodoxy of the Obama regime, files a lawsuit of sufficient size to quell the tendency of some law enforcement officers to violate the right of Americans to freely engage in political expression.
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![2009-02-18-cartoon[1].jpg](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/2009-02-18-cartoon[1].jpg)
I won’t defend it – I think it is in poor taste.
Because there is a seriously injured woman fighting to recover after the real chimp attack – not because of any slight, real or imagined, to Barack Obama.
Let me explain.
1) Barack Obama and his administration didn’t write the stimulus bill – it was a product of an all-Democrat team assembled by Pelosi and Reid to write the bill. Thus the comment from the cop cannot legitimately be taken as referring to President Obama.
2) Even if Barack Obama had personally written every word of the stimulus bill, I would not find the uses of the chimp imagery to be inappropriate. Such imagery was directed against George W. Bush for eight years without a word of complaint from any liberal that I ever encountered. If it was acceptable for President 43, then President 44 is an equally legitimate target of such barbs.
3) Barack Obama is President of the United States. He happens to be black. He is not the African-American President. We degrade the office, the man, and his accomplishments if we give Obama a special pass or special protection from certain criticism or certain imagery that would be otherwise acceptable if directed against a President of another race.
Now let me take matters a step further. The cartoon itself is not an act of racism – and more to the point is certainly not an act of intentional racism. The reality is that the chimp imagery is, lamentably, topical due to the Connecticut chimp attack of earlier this week. It is not as if someone up and decided to put a chimp in a cartoon for no apparent reason. Similarly, this isn’t a call for an assassination because the chimp in the cartoon was shot and killed – it was a direct play on the tragic events just a few days before in which the crazed primate was shot and killed.
Should the cartoon have run? IÂ’d argue that the best answer is a negative one. It isnÂ’t funny. It is subject to misinterpretation because it is not clear. It is insensitive to the seriously injured victim. But in the end it just isnÂ’t racist.
Or if it is, it is certainly less racist than these two noted cartoons about a prominent African-American in public life who was the subject of indisputably racist treatment in editorial cartoons which was met with silence by the same folks who are righteously outraged when they perceive a slight directed at Barack Obama.
![danziger_rice[1].jpg](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/danziger_rice[1].jpg)
![oliphant_rice[1].gif](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/oliphant_rice[1].gif)
Now am I ignoring that there has been a lamentable history of depicting blacks as apes and chimps? Not at all – but I’m also not ignoring the fact that when we place this cartoon in context there is little reason to argue that Obama’s race was the (or even a) motivating factor in the cartoon (especially since I don’t believe is even intended to reference Obama). And rest assured that when and if I see actual racism directed at Barack Obama, I’ll condemn it. But in the (probably apocryphal) words of one Sigmund Freud, “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” – and I think this one is merely a cigar.
By the way, I would like to note two recent ways in which I have used a chimp reference in relation to Barack Obama – both times to draw parallels to the sort of disdainful treatment received by George W. Bush during his time in office. In a couple of instances, to parody the deranged ravings of too many Leftists who for eight years have referred to the former president as “Chimpy McHitlerBurtion” or some variation thereof, I have referred to Obama as “Chimpy al-Hussein bin-Osama” in a satirical fashion. Similarly, I asked a couple of pointed questions – one of which related to the classification of George W. Bush as a chimp by liberals – in this post about the desire of Obama’s handlers have the capacity to electronically feed the President answers during press conferences:
>Even George W. Bush could competently deal with the media. Apparently Barack Obama cannot do so. In light of that, IÂ’d like to know who the real dummy is, which one really operates at the level of a trained chimp? After all, Bush may not have been as pretty as Barack or have been a polished orator behind a teleprompter, but at least he could answer questions from reporters without being programmed by someone else.
Again, the chimp reference is not racial slur – it is set forth to offer a comparison to eight years of derogatory references to the intelligence and abilities of George W. Bush, who could answer press questions unaided despite lacking Obama’s oratorical gifts and alleged soaring intellect. In no way did race even enter my thought process.
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February 18, 2009
No one with any sense takes offense at the teaching of Greek and Roman mythology. After all, the stories are fundamental to so much of Western culture over the last three millennia. But out of concern for secular values and sensitivity to members of other faiths, the literature of the Bible is often overlooked in our educational system today, despite its centrality to so many of the literary, artistic, and musical works of Western civilization.
Fortunately, one Brit gets it – and is getting a lot of attention for saying so in public.
Children are being robbed of their heritage because schools are failing to cover classic Bible and history stories, the Poet Laureate warned yesterday.Andrew Motion called for all children to study the Bible at school for its 'great' educational stories such as the temptation of Adam and Eve, the siege of Jericho and battle between David and Goliath.
He warned that traditional stories were in danger of disappearing from public knowledge because they are no longer being properly imparted to children at school.
Too many students arriving at university to study literature or history have merely a 'sketchy' knowledge of Bible stories, history stories and Greek and Roman myths, and would struggle on their courses as a result, he said.
And please remember – Motion is not a believer. He considers the bible to be nothing more than a book of myths and legends, but he recognizes the fundamental power of what it contains. So, too, the mythology of the Greeks and Romans, which too many of our children know only from video games and animated films. And as for the history – I often despair when I find that stories I took for granted as a kid are unknown to too many of my students. In our push for modernity, we are losing so much of our cultural heritage.
But then again, we have too many young people who have been saturated with a modern media culture that does not really value knowledge or deep thought – or even basic skills. In recent years I’ve been told that “books today are called movies” and “since history is in the past it doesn’t matter because I’m going to live in the future.” And just yesterday, I had a 9th grader tell me that she wasn’t sure what time it was because “I don’t understand what the pointy things on that kind of clock mean.” Will they know where we are headed in the future if they do not understand the past?
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The conference, dubbed the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign, also gave impetus to Sunni clerics concerned about the growing power of Hezbollah, the Shia movement backed by Iran, which rose to international prominence in its own war with Israel in 2006."Gaza is a gift," the Saudi religious scholar Mohsen al-Awajy told me. He and other delegates repeatedly referred to the Gaza war as "a victory".
"Gaza," he continued, "gives us power, it solves our differences. We are all now in a unified front against Zionism."
In closed meetings after sessions delegates focussed on the creation of a "third Jihadist front" - the first two being Afghanistan and Iraq. The intensity of the Israeli attack had "awakened all Muslims," Mr Awajy claimed.
"Palestine is a legitimate theatre of operations for jihad (holy war)," he added.
Let us clarify – based upon the Quran, history, and the words of those in attendance at this conference, this is nothing less than a call for the extermination of the Israeli people.
The time has come for every person in every free society to pick a side.
The choice is clear,
Side with the one liberal democratic state in the Middle East. Or side with the forces of seventh-century barbarism combined with modern weaponry and terrorist methods.
Because once they are done with the Jews, the next target will be the liberal democratic nations of the West – or at least those which have not submitted to dhimmitude.
So do we in the West stand with Israel – or with the terrorists?
I know which side IÂ’m on.
And you?
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A $100,000 fundraiser for Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) held last year at a big-game ranch in Western Pennsylvania may have violated campaign-finance rules, according to campaign-finance experts.Campaign-finance records do not reflect any payments from Murtha to LBK Game Ranch or the companyÂ’s president, Bill Kuchera, for the use of the site for the Aug. 21 fundraiser. The records also contain no mention of in-kind donations from Kuchera to MurthaÂ’s campaign for the event.
Federal election law allows private citizens to host fundraisers at their residences, and campaigns are not required to reimburse the hosts for costs associated with these types of events or to list the donation of space as an in-kind contribution in campaign-finance records.
Under that rule, a married couple can host a fundraiser in their home and spend up to $2,000 without triggering any campaign-finance disclosure laws. Single people may spend up to $1,000 of their own money on these events.
But campaign-finance experts say the Murtha fundraiser poses serious questions and may have broken the law because the event was held at a for-profit corporation. LBK Game Ranch owns the 161-acre ranch where the fundraiser took place, county property records indicate, so Murtha would not be able to benefit from the residential exemption even if Bill Kuchera occupies a house on the property.
In other words, this is an illegal corporate contribution to the Murtha campaign. And given that Kuchera and his companies (which have been the recipients of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars through the connection to Murtha) are now under federal investigation related to the misdirection of federal funds for the purchase of the property where the illegal event occurred, it seems clear that Murtha needs to divest himself of all contributions raised at the LBK Game Ranch and all funds raised from officers and executives of Kuchera’s companies. Oh, yeah – and go to jail or pay a hefty fine for his end run around the law.
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Using patterns of how animal species spread, the world's most wanted terrorist can be tracked down to a town in the tribal region of North West Pakistan it is claimed.By factoring in his need for security, electricity, high ceilings to accommodate his 6ft 4in frame and spare rooms for his bodyguards, the search can be further narrowed to three walled compounds.
According to a team led by Thomas Gillespie, at the University of California in Los Angeles, bin Laden's location is "one of the most important political questions of our time".
Now there are two points IÂ’d like to make about this interesting bit of speculation:
1) Why wasnÂ’t this material handed off to the government rather than the press?
2) Does anyone disagree with the notion that all three should be bombed to rubble?
Given the inclinations of the current administration, though, I canÂ’t help but wonder if weÂ’d send Predator drones or a special envoy to deal with bin Laden. After all, the current administration is giving its support to the imposition of sharia law in parts of Pakistan to pacify Islamists. Why not negotiate with the worldÂ’s most wanted terrorist while they are at it? On the other hand, Obama has adopted a lot of Bush Administration strategy for dealing with the Crusade Against Islamofascist Jihad, so maybe this information will be used to cut the head off the venomous serpent that is al-Qaeda.
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But some states offer another solution. Consider Massachusetts, which includes the option for taxpayers who view the stateÂ’s tax cut earlier in the decade to be bad policy which immorally withholds needed resources from the state. All taxpayers need to do is check one little box on their return to use the older 5.85% tax rate instead of the current 5.3% rate.
Here are the latest DOR numbers. As of yesterday, 640,783 individual taxpayers had filed their 2008 returns. Of those 640,783, exactly 293 opted to pay at the higher 5.85 percent rate.Back me up on the math here. If 640,000 is the number, then 6,400 would be 1 percent, and 640 would be one-tenth of 1 percent. And 293 is less than one half of one tenth of 1 percent. So the percentage so far this year is one-twentieth of 1 percent.
Moonbats, I beseech you! Send in some more of the dough from PaterÂ’s trust fund. Otherwise, how can we offer alms to the neediest among us, like Deval PatrickÂ’s unemployed neighbor with the new made-up $120,000-a-year state job, and the Bulger hack whoÂ’s been collecting for 15 years and now was just handed a brand new $150,000 made-up state job?
Actually, the state claims the Beautiful People are twice as likely to check the higher-rate box this year, but two times zero is still zero. Even sadder is how much the commonwealth has collected from these 293 individuals - exactly $24,098.
Again, these are rough calculations, but I think that works out to just under $90 per filer. If $90 is .55 percent of your taxable income, you made about $18,000 in 2008.
What does this show? It demonstrates that liberals are not REALLY against tax cuts. They need that extra cash – after all, the Kennedy clan needs every penny it can find to keep up the family compound at Hyannis and a sailboat fleet that dwarfs the navies of some third world countries – while Joe & Jane Workingstiff can be counted upon to cough up a couple hundred extra bucks a year to pay for the needs of the non-working class and illegal aliens among us. It is YOU, average American, who these rich liberals want to see pay more so they don’t have to – as demonstrated by their unwillingness to cough up a miniscule 0.55% when they have both the means and the option to do so.
We’ve gotten quite a demonstration of how rich liberals really view taxes over the last several weeks. Geithner. Daschle. Rangel. I could go on, but you get the picture. They simply cheat and don’t pay. And when offered the chance to show the courage of their convictions by voluntarily paying taxes at a higher rate that they claim is appropriate and fair (and 40% of Massachusetts voters opposed the tax cuts in a 2000 referendum on the matter), they don’t put their money where their mouths and their votes have been. Let’s call it what it is – rank hypocrisy of the grossest sort. But then again, that’s what liberalism usually is.
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February 17, 2009
[T]he White House is looking to install a small video or computer screen into the podium used by the president for press conferences and events in the White House. "It would make it easier for the comms guys to pass along information without being obvious about it," says the adviser.The screen would indicate whom to call on, seat placement for journalists, pass along notes or points to hit, and so forth, says the adviser.
Even George W. Bush could competently deal with the media. Apparently Barack Obama cannot do so. In light of that, IÂ’d like to know who the real dummy is, which one really operates at the level of a trained chimp? After all, Bush may not have been as pretty as Barack or have been a polished orator behind a teleprompter, but at least he could answer questions from reporters without being programmed by someone else.
H/T BizzyBlog
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U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has acknowledged he sought to raise campaign funds for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich at the request of the governorÂ’s brother at the same time he was making a pitch to be appointed to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.Burris' latest comments in Peoria Monday night were the first time he has publicly said he was actively trying to raise money for Blagojevich. Previously Burris has left the impression that he always balked at the issue of raising money for the governor because of his interest in the Senate appointment.
In comments to reporters after appearing at a Democratic dinner, the senator several times contradicted his latest under-oath affidavit that he quietly filed with the Illinois House impeachment panel earlier this month. That affidavit was itself an attempt to clean up his live, sworn testimony to the panel Jan. 8, when he omitted his contacts with several Blagojevich insiders.
It is now apparent that Burris was involved in a quid pro quo for the Illinois Senate seat that belonged to Barack Obama before his election as president. Rod Blagojevich seems to have managed to sell the seat right in front of us, to a guy with a reasonably clean reputation for an Illinois Democrat. Now it is pretty obvious that he was as dirty as the rest of them.
Of course, this could have been avoided if the Illinois legislature had taken action to require a special election for the seat – but the desire to avoid allowing the people of Illinois the option of electing a Republican prevented that from happening. Will the Democrat-controlled legislature do the right thing now?
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In the waning days of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney launched a last-ditch campaign to persuade his boss to pardon Lewis (Scooter) Libby - and was furious when President George W. Bush wouldn't budge.
Sources close to Cheney told the Daily News the former vice president repeatedly pressed Bush to pardon Libby, arguing his ex-chief of staff and longtime alter ego deserved a full exoneration - even though Bush had already kept Libby out of jail by commuting his 30-month prison sentence.
"He tried to make it happen right up until the very end," one Cheney associate said.
In multiple conversations, both in person and over the telephone, Cheney tried to get Bush to change his mind. Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the federal probe of who leaked covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to the press.
Several sources confirmed Cheney refused to take no for an answer. "He went to the mat and came back and back and back at Bush," a Cheney defender said. "He was still trying the day before Obama was sworn in."
Now looking at this situation, I see three reasons for this decision by Bush. IÂ’d like to comment on each of them.
- Last minute pardons can be controversial and tarnish the reputation of the president who grants them. Consider not just Clinton’s Marc Rich pardon, but also the pardons issued by George H. W. Bush shortly before he left office. Why should he have opened himself up to even more controversy? Besides – why risk damaging the presidency with such a pardon?
- Pardons, especially of recently decided cases, can be seen as undermining respect for the law and jury verdicts. As the governor of Texas, Bush had a very limited power to pardon – n part because the Texas Constitution is designed to keep the executive from running roughshod over the decision of juries. Bush carried that philosophy with him to Washington – and so while he may have modified some punishments he felt were excessive, he held back on pardons in general.
- Accepting pardons keeps the recipients from clearing their names. Libby, like Border Patrol agents Ramos and Campeon, is appealing his conviction in an effort to clear his name. A pardon would have mooted the appeal – and acceptance of a pardon is generally seen as an admission of guilt. Libby remains free to work to clear his name in the courts – and to possibly receive a pardon by a future president if that effort fails.
Personally, I view the last of these as the most important one – and it is why I consider Bush’s decision not to issue pardons to either Libby or Ramos and Campeon to be the proper one, despite my belief that in both cases there was a grave miscarriage of justice in both the decision to prosecute and the decision to convict.
H/T Hot Air
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Everyone who has been in the military, especially to Iraq or Afghanistan, within the last few years needs to watch the first part of this video. Look at the "military equipment" CBS is pushing as recently stolen or "looted" from US Forces. You will notice that it's equipment we aren't even issued. Also, they blatantly lie when attempting to show night vision equipment, which isn't night vision equipment at all.
HereÂ’s the See-BS piece.
Voice of Warriors then goes to work taking the entire piece apart, pointing out that the equipment in question is not what is issued to US forces – and in a number of cases never has been. Click the link to see just how dishonest the See-BS news really is – and what happens when our nation’s warriors have a chance to respond to this sort of crap.
H/T LGF
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Then he denied wanting to censor anything, instead arguing that he was a defender of free speech and that the only way to get free speech was for the government to require that certain perspectives be aired.
Now, at last, he comes out and admits the truth – his position is all about his personal self-interest, in particular his financial self-interest.
I know why I'm interested in it because I get up every morning at 3:45, I do three hours of talk radio every day from six to nine, that's my life, it's my business, I want to make money at it, and I want to be heard.
So let’s not call it the Fairness Doctrine – call it the Bill Press Bailout and Stimulus Package instead. It is about liberal greed as well as ideological censorship.
Listen to the audio.
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February 16, 2009
Contrast Roosevelt's slyness with Sen. Diane Feinstein's recent comment regarding the secret location of the launch sites for Predator hunter/killer drones — “As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base.”Sen. Feinstein's defense for discussing this highly sensitive information, that she was only repeating what she read in the papers, is greatly unconvincing.
It is true that the Washington Post first reported Predators operating out of bases in Pakistan, and the senator's flak catcher Philip J. LaVelle says that this report was what she was referring to. But there is a difference between making an allegation in a local paper and having the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence confirm it. After all, her remark was “as I understand it,” not “according to the papers.”
The response of my wife, a loyal part of the Democrat base, to FeinsteinÂ’s revelation?
“My God, why did she say that? What is she trying to do? Get American soldiers killed?”
No wonder the Washington Times note in the editorial about the senator’s irresponsible comments that “[t]his incident reinforces the growing impression that when it comes to national security policy the Democrats are not ready for prime time.” My only question is what they mean by “growing impression”. After all, throughout the Bush Administration we saw example after example of Democrats showing a distinct lack of seriousness in regards to national security – and I’d argue that this has been true for at least the last four decades. Here’s hoping that they grow up soon, given that they now control the two branches that control our national security policy.
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Gov. Paterson has secretly granted raises of as much as 46 percent to more than a dozen staffers at a time when he has asked 130,000 state workers to give up 3 percent pay hikes because of the state's fiscal crisis, The Post has learned.The startling pay hikes, costing about $250,000 annually, were granted after the governor's "emergency" declaration in August of a looming fiscal crisis that required the state to cut spending and impose a "hard" hiring freeze.
One raise was approved as recently as last month - when Paterson claimed the budget deficit had reached an unprecedented $15.5 billion.
![news007[1].jpg](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/news007[1].jpg)
Is it time to remove yet another corrupt Democrat from the Governor’s mansion in New York – this time for feathering the nest of his closest staff after taking back the raises of every other state worker?
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7 Broken Promises in Record Time
1. Make government open and transparent.
2. Make it “impossible” for Congressmen to slip in pork barrel projects.
3. Meetings where laws are written will be more open to the public. (Even Congressional Republicans shut out.)
4. No more secrecy.
5. Public will have 5 days to look at a bill.
6. YouÂ’ll know whatÂ’s in it.
7. We will put every pork barrel project online.
And to think that these were all supposed to be things that would result in more open, honest government that would “restore” the confidence of the American people in their institutions. But now that he has the power, such things matter less than the wielding of that power.
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11:41 AM
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The Seattle City Council is expected Tuesday to approve a surcharge on city water customers to help cover the cost of a $22 million court-ordered rebate to water customers.
In other words, the city of Seattle ripped-off the customers of its city-owned water system and was ordered to repay them for things which should have been covered by the cityÂ’s general fund. So rather than rebate the cash from the general fund (from which the initial expenditures should have been funded rather than by increasing water bills), the city will raise the cash by increasing the water bills!
I donÂ’t know about you, but this sure seems to me to be a deliberate thumbing of the nose at the court that ordered the rebates.
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![i-can-has-cheezburger[1].jpg](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/i-can-has-cheezburger[1].jpg)
No, kitty, you can't.
After all -- beef and dairy farming are inefficient and produce a great deal of greenhouse gas.
When it comes to global warming, hamburgers are the Hummers of food, scientists say.Simply switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car at home a couple days a week.
That's because beef is such an incredibly inefficient food to produce and cows release so much harmful methane into the atmosphere, said Nathan Pelletier of Dalhousie University in Canada.
Pelletier is one of a growing number of scientists studying the environmental costs of food from field to plate.
By looking at everything from how much grain a cow eats before it is ready for slaughter to the emissions released by manure, they are getting a clearer idea of the true costs of food.
The livestock sector is estimated to account for 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and beef is the biggest culprit.
Even though beef only accounts for 30 percent of meat consumption in the developed world it's responsible for 78 percent of the emissions, Pelletier said Sunday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The next “logical” steps for the acolytes of the religion of global warming? A beef ban (or at least a tax) and some sort of sanction upon dairy products as well. And when they tell you that you cannot have that cheeseburger, you will be reassured that “it is for your own good – and that of the whole world.” After all, the planet has a fever.
Hey, left-wing busybodies – keep your hands out of my fridge and off my plate!
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February 14, 2009
This case is different -- and all the more disturbing because of the differences.
Orchard Park police are investigating a particularly gruesome killing, the beheading of a woman, after her husband — an influential member of the local Muslim community — reported her death to police Thursday.Police identified the victim as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37. Detectives have charged her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, with second-degree murder.
"He came to the police station at 6:20 p.m. [Thursday] and told us that she was dead," Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said late this morning.
Muzzammil Hassan told police that his wife was at his business, Bridges TV, on Thorn Avenue in the village. Officers went to that location and discovered her body.
Muzzammil Hassan is the founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV, which he launched in 2004, amid hopes that it would help portray Muslims in a more positive light.
Well, I don't know that I would say that Muzzammil Hassan has managed to portray Muslims in a more positive light -- but I do believe he has managed to portray Islamic culture in a more accurate light. Mrs. Hassan was seeking a divorce, and had already received an order of protection to protect her from further violence by her husband. And so, as happens so often in Muslim communities worldwide, Hassan murdered his wife in an attempt to restore his honor -- something which is sanctioned by sharia law and Muslim religious leaders around the world.
Newsbusters notes this article about the sort of programming common on "moderate" BridgesTV.
BridgesTV might have had the aim of trying to improve the image of Muslims, but over two years ago, Steve Stalinsky of MEMRI outlined in the now-defunct New York Sun that the network featured Wahhabi anti-Christian and anti-Jewish sermons from Saudi TV broadcasts, including English subtitles. Stalinsky also noted that Donald Conover, one of the main hosts on the network, discussed “the power of the ‘Jewish lobby’” and urged Muslims to vote for Democrats during an interview with a Saudi newspaper in 2006.
Sounds like the same old Islamic hatemongering offered up in prettier packaging. Interestingly enough, though, such programming did win BridgesTV and Hassan an award from one "civil rights" organization -- the terrorist-linked Council on American-Islamic relations (CAIR).
![20090213CAIRBridgesAward[1].jpg](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/20090213CAIRBridgesAward[1].jpg)
Muzzammil Hassan receives award from CAIR-PA Chairman Iftekhar Hussain and CAIR National Chairman Parvez Ahmed (H/T LGF)
Daniel Pipes offers more information about BridgesTV.
I wonder -- will the MSM cover this story as it deserves? Or will we of the blogosphere have to do it for them?
More at Ace of Spades, Jawa Report, Power Line, LGF, Gateway Pundit, Debbie Schlussel, Jihad Watch, Malkin
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I'm not sure how many of the rest have adhered to his words, but I know I have. Indeed, my high school students (many of them already tatted up at 14 and 15) are rather surprised when I tell them I don't have a tattoo -- though they are quite respectful when I tell them why.
That may change, though, if these the inks in this article are ever approved for use, and if I can get the tattoo place in a sufficiently unobtrusive spot.
A tattoo for diabetics that changes colour depending on their glucose levels has been unveiled by scientists.It is hoped the breakthrough could mean the end of painful daily blood tests for millions with the condition.
The tattoo contains tiny particles of "nano ink" that change colour depending on whether they come into contact with glucose molecules.
If levels are high, the ink appears yellow. If levels of the sugar are low, it turns purple. A healthy level shows up as orange.
There are currently more than 2.5million people with diabetes in Britain and more than half a million people who don't know they have it.
Diabetics need to test their glucose levels regularly and for most this means pricking their finger to draw blood.
The tattoo only has to be a few millimetres across.
The Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories team accidentally discovered the ink while researching hydration in athletes.
While I can't see these tattoos completely eliminating the need for glucometers, I know that they would possibly cut down on the frequency of the finger sticks that go along with the use of a glucose meter. And I can't help but think that my grandfather would approve of such a tattoo, given the small size and the importance for maintaining good health.
It may, however, be two or more years before human testing trials would lead to approval by the government -- and who knows how long before insurance starts covering them.
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February 12, 2009
Some Boston College professors and students are raising a holy ruckus over the Catholic school’s return to its religious roots by hanging crucifixes in all its classrooms, calling the move “offensive” and a break from the Jesuit tradition of tolerance.“There is no choice if you don’t think it’s appropriate. You can’t turn it around,” said biology professor Dan Kirschner, faculty adviser for BC’s chapter of Hillel, a Jewish student group. “I think it is being insensitive to the people of other faith traditions here.”
Amir Hoveyda, head of BC’s chemistry department, blasted the school in an e-mail to the Herald for “not being interested in an exchange with its faculty members.”
In an interview with the college newspaper, The Observer, which broke the story, Hoveyda described the crucifixes as “offensive” and the university’s actions as “anti-intellectual.”
“I can hardly imagine a more effective way to denigrate the faculty of an educational institution,” he is quoted as saying. “The insult is particularly scathing, since such symbols were installed without discussion . . . in a disturbingly surreptitious manner.”
Now wait just one minute. This is, at the end of the day, a Catholic institution run by a Catholic religious order. It is not unreasonable for the school to therefore make some expression of its Catholic identity -- and a crucifix in the classroom is really a pretty minimal intrusion of Catholicism into daily life on campus.
To those who have an objection to crucifixes in classrooms at a Catholic college, I have a suggestion -- try a non-Catholic school instead.
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I began blogging a bit over four years ago to find an outlet for my grief at the death of the greatest president of my lifetime. This just reminds me how far the country has descended away from its founding principles in the two decades since Ronald Reagan left office.
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![wsj21209[1].gif](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/wsj21209[1].gif)
Congratulations, Democrats, for bringing the Era of Fiscal Irresponsibility to an entirely new level heretofore unseen in our nation's history -- and after less than one month of controlling the legislative and executive branches!
H/T Ace, Gateway Pundit Power Line
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07:28 PM
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One out because he's corrupt (Richardson).
One out because he's a tax cheat (Daschle).
One disgraced and discredited because he's a tax cheat (Geithner).
One disgraced and discredited because he supported the Marc Rich pardon and pardons for terrorists (Holder).
Yeah, Obama and his crew sure can vet those Cabinet picks.
And once they found one with some actual principles, he withdraws because he can't go along with the bad policies and corruption of the Obama Administration.
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination to be President Obama's commerce secretary on Thursday, citing "irresolvable conflicts" over issues like the economic stimulus package and the census."It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the census there are irresolvable conflicts for me," Gregg of New Hampshire said in a written statement.
Republicans have been largely unified in their opposition to an economic stimulus bill that now totals $789 billion. They say it is full of government waste and won't create enough jobs to turn the economy around.
And in the past week, the GOP has stoked controversy over Obama's plan to share oversight of next year's census, which is carried out by the Census Bureau, part of the Commerce Department -- though Gregg said that was only a "slight" factor in his decision to withdraw.
I applaud Judd Gregg, who I don't always agree with when he goes maverick but who I certainly respect. He recognizes that his independence would be gone the minute he was confirmed.
Barry Hussein claims he is surprised by Gregg's move. Could it be due to the fact that the Senator has shown that there is, indeed, honest politicians out there -- something that an Illinois Democrat like will have never encountered in the course of his meteoric rise from obscurity to mediocrity in the highest office in the land.
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The editor and publisher of a top English-language Indian daily have been arrested on charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims.
The Statesman's editor Ravindra Kumar and publisher Anand Sinha were detained in Calcutta after complaints.Muslims said they were upset with the Statesman for reproducing an article from the UK's Independent daily in its 5 February edition.
The article was entitled: "Why should I respect these oppressive religions?"
It concerns the erosion of the right to criticise religions.In it, the author, Johann Hari, writes: "I don't respect the idea that we should follow a 'Prophet' who at the age of 53 had sex with a nine-year old girl, and ordered the murder of whole villages of Jews because they wouldn't follow him."
Now those are historical facts, attested to by Muslim sources. Why is it that stating that one is unwilling to follow the teachings of such a depraved individual constitutes a criminal offense? I personally think it constitutes common sense, as well as evidence that one adheres to superior system of moral values.
Interestingly enough, there have been no attempts to prosecute those who claim that Jesus was not the Son of God but merely a prophet, that he is inferior to Muhammad, and that he was a follower of the teachings of Muhammad even before the coming of that false prophet. As a Christian I am outraged by such statements, which are part and parcel of Islam and which hurt my religious feelings those of many other followers of Christ around the world. Could it be because we don’t find it necessary to riot and murder when we hear such offensive views expressed, but that we instead respect the basic human right to speak and believe free of government oppression or coercion – or the threat of violence by the followers of a barbaric faith that demands respect that it neither earns nor deserves.
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"They're worse than useless. These are terrorists. These are domestic terrorists. They want the country to fail, for GodÂ’s sake. They want exactly what anyone who attacked this country on September 11, 2001 wanted. The real internal terrorists are the Republicans, I mean, isn't that clear? Rush Limbaugh is a bigger threat to this country than Osama bin Laden. He's a bigger threat than anybody that the CIA can invent. He's a bigger threat than any terrorist that ever leveled its sights against the United States, Limbaugh is, so why isn't he arrested and sentenced for treason?"
Get that, folks – dissent is now domestic terrorism and treason. Seeking to undermine the unwise and irresponsible policies of a president with a D after his name makes one worse than Osama bin Laden. And to think that for the last eight years I heard that speaking ill of our nation’s leaders and trying to thwart their policies – up to and including publishing classified information that materially aided the enemy in the field – was more patriotic than giving support to the nation in time of war.
So get ready, folks. The day is coming when the First Amendment will be excised from the Bill of Rights as incompatible with Obamism – and speaking words which oppose the plans of the libtelligentsia for the United States will constitute “levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” Odd, isn’t it, that this is directly contrary to the views of the men who wrote Article III, Section 3 in such a manner as to preclude making the holding and expression of dissenting opinions on policy matters the cause of a prosecution for treason.
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Sketching the international profile of the attackersÂ’ communications, he said cellphone SIM cards were bought in Austria while voice calls over the Internet, using a server in Houston, Texas, were paid for in Barcelona, Spain.
Anyone else curious which Houston-based ISP is enabling terrorists?
Over at Jawa Report, Rusty and company have been documenting some of the uses of US ISPs by terrorists and terrorist fronts. Is there anything we can do about it – especially if the Obama Maladministration is determined to stop monitoring the communications of non-Americans from outside the US? Or will we miss out on the next terrorist attack on US soil because folks on the Left are bound and determined to apply the search-and-seizure restrictions the Bill of Rights places upon US government operations within the US to the monitoring of such communications by non-citizens outside the US?
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A day after his Interior secretary signaled plans for a cautious approach to oil and natural gas exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he's "holding out for a more comprehensive strategy" for U.S. energy development before approving offshore drilling along the East Coast.In a meeting with reporters for The Virginian-Pilot and 15 other newspapers, Obama touched on a wide range of topics, from drilling to military strategy and efforts to revive the economy.
On drilling, he said it would be short-sighted to rely on offshore oil and gas development to solve the nation's energy problems or stimulate the flagging U.S. economy. Offshore resources are "not going to come online quickly enough," he asserted.
I know no one who argues that the only thing to do is drill offshore – or that we should rely on drilling for oil alone. But there is no legitimate reason for not tapping those reserves if we are to end the dependence on foreign oil that has caused such problems. Unless, of course, one is sold out to the far left of the Democrat Party.
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Miley Cyrus has said she meant no offense by a gesture that some have construed as insensitive to Asians — but one woman isn't buying the pop star's story, and she thinks Cyrus should pay.TMZ reports that the Los Angeles woman, Lucie J. Kim, has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all Asian Pacific Islanders living in Los Angeles County. And she's seeking quite a payout: $4 billion.
In the controversial photo, Cyrus, 16, is shown sitting on her boyfriend Justin GastonÂ’s lap surrounded by a group of friends all making a stereotypical gesture by pulling their eyes into a slanted position. The gesture is commonly thought to be offensive to Asian Pacific Americans.
Now here’s the problem with this lawsuit – there is absolutely no actionable harm alleged in this suit. Being offended is not an actionable in civil court. Neither is the expression of an (arguably) racist sentiment. This suit ought to be thrown out with extreme prejudice – and Ms. Kim and her legal team ought to be subjected to serious legal sanctions for filing this frivolous suit.
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February 11, 2009
Nicely done, Messrs. Hannity, Goldberg, Limbaugh, Savage and O'Reilly -- and all your lesser brethren who keep the hate speech spewing 24/7/365 across every field and into every shop in the country. There is no more debate to be had, no more doubt about it: What you did in the name of "entertainment," and for the sake of the almighty ratings, raised and animated a monster like Jim Adkisson, gave him a list of targets ("the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg's book"), and was directly responsible for the deaths of two brave and decent people. Adkisson was clearly angry and crazy -- but his "manifesto" draws the clearest, brightest line possible between the media he consumed and his actions that terrible Sunday morning.Progressives should take three lessons away from Knoxville:
One: we are no longer safe, not even in our own houses of worship. It's ironic that progressives -- the subgroup of Americans who were most determined not to abandon reason and succumb to overblown fears of Islamic terrorism in the wake of 9/11 -- now have good, serious reasons to fear real domestic terrorism against themselves.
Two: A significant part of this country's media infrastructure is thoroughly devoted to inciting people to commit horrific acts of violence against us -- and now, we know for a fact that people are acting on those incitements. It's time to start taking this far more seriously. What goes out across our airwaves these days isn't all that different from what went out over Radio Rwanda a decade ago, spurring that country to genocide. At this point, it's only a difference of degree.
Three: The right wing has, as usual, grossly underestimated our courage and our commitment. The members of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist quickly and effectively disarmed and captured this man within seconds after he opened fire. Adkisson expected fear; what we got was determined resistance. It's why he's still alive today, and why more UUs aren't dead by his hand. The TVUUA congregation should be our enduring example of liberal grace under fire.
One whacko shoots up a church and claims inspiration by conservative talkers and writers (who universally condemned his evil deeds) and the Left insists that it is proof of the corruption of the ideology and the medium and proof of the need for media censorship. On the other hand, massive acts of organized terrorism over a period of decades explicitly linked to Islam by its perpetrators (and cheered by much of the rest of the Muslim world) are insufficient to provoke such condemnations of Islam by these same Leftists – who often make common cause with the terrorists and argue that America and Israel truly deserve to be the victims of the terrorists.
I’m not sure which amuses me more – that a regressive like Sara Robinson (and given her implicit call for censorship, she clearly seeks to regress to a time when Americans had less liberty than they do today) is provoked to such hysteria by a lone mentally ill slimeball like James Adkisson, or that she at the same time she so completely abandons all sense of reason and proportion Robinson insists that she and her fellow regressives were “the subgroup of Americans who were most determined not to abandon reason and succumb to overblown fears of Islamic terrorism in the wake of 9/11” and “now have good, serious reasons to fear real domestic terrorism against themselves.”
I wonder if Robinson thinks that conservative Christians – whose sanctuaries have been the targets of violence in a number of incidents in recent years, including vandalism, arson, “white powder” attacks and shootings – have just as much right to fear real domestic terrorism? I wonder if she thinks that Mormons, who have been a specific target of threats and attacks by anti-Prop 8 activists, have the right to fear real domestic terrorism? Or does she, good regressive that she is, think that these groups need to instead meditate upon their own faults that provoke such attacks upon themselves and change, just as so many on the Left argued the US needed to do after 9/11?
By the way, Sara -- you claim that conservatives are going to celebrate Adkisson's statement. Would you care to actually provide evidence that this is the case, perhaps a link to some mainstream conservative site that actually does so (not some isolated whacko pounding keys in a corner)?
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A Saudi judge has ordered a woman should be jailed for a year and receive 100 lashes after she was gang-raped, it was claimed last night.The 23-year-old woman, who became pregnant after her ordeal, was reportedly assaulted after accepting a lift from a man.
He took her to a house to the east of the city of Jeddah where she was attacked by him and four of his friends throughout the night.
Of course, this will not make the American media, which is much too cowardly to result on the sort of stuff that constitutes Islamic “civilization”. After all, learning about this atrocity might cause some folks to have lower respect for Islam, and that just won’t do.
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Inconclusive election results sent Israel into political limbo Wednesday with both Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and hard-line leader Benjamin Netanyahu claiming victory and leaving the kingmaker role to a rising political hawk with an anti-Arab platform.Livni's Kadima Party won 28 seats, just one more than Netanyahu's Likud, in Tuesday's election for the 120-member parliament, according to nearly complete results. With neither party winning a clear majority, neither can govern alone. Gains by right-wing parties give Netanyahu a better chance of forming a coalition with his natural allies.
"Political Tangle," read the headline on the front page of the daily Yediot Ahronot, alongside photos of the two smiling candidates.
The results set the stage for what could be weeks of coalition negotiations, with Israeli media reporting the first meetings already scheduled for Wednesday.
Given that the third place Yisrael Beiteinu party, which took 15 seats, has indicated it will not form a coalition with Kadima but would with Likud, that effectively gives Netanyahu 42 seats to Livni’s 28 (41, if one presumes that Labor would only join with Kadima) That puts Netanyahu in the lead – and with a host of other right-wing and religious parties holding an additional 23 seats, it would appear that the next Prime Minister of Israel is more likely to be Netanyahu. That is especially true in light of the fact that any Kadima-led coalition would have to include Arab parties that would be rejected as partners by conservative and religious parties.
My speculation on the matter is that we are likely to see whatever government emerges here serve for only a short time, with elections coming whenever the first serious crisis confronts the government. It could be Passover before the government is formed – and I don’t know that it will live to see next Passover.
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