The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are On the Possibility of an Embargo of Iranian Oil by American Future, and “Because the Language They Use Is Killing” by INDC Journal.  Here is a link to the full results of the vote. 

Here are the full tallies of all votes cast:

Posted by: Greg at 11:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I find her positions wrong-headed and hateful, and her prose lacking in elegance. I don't even like her accent. But I would hate to see her voiced silenced at what is a relatively young age.

Sadly, Molly Ivins is back in the hospital, fighting the cancer she has battled on and off for the last eight years.

Nationally syndicated columnist Molly Ivins has been hospitalized in her recurring battle with breast cancer.

"I think she's tough as a metal boot," her brother, Andy Ivins, said Friday after a visit with her at Seton Medical Center in Austin.

Andy Ivins said his sister was admitted to Seton on Thursday. She spent Friday morning with longtime colleagues and friends, and was "sleeping peacefully" when he arrived later in the day.

A self-described leftist agitator, Ivins, 62, completed a round of radiation treatment in August, but the cancer "came back with a vengeance," and has spread through her body, Andy Ivins said.

My prayers are with Molly Ivins and her family at this time. As I so often say, some things are just too important to let politics get in the way. And when it comes to matters like this, I just can't bring myself to feel any animosity -- just compassion for my fellow human being.

Get well, Molly -- I don't agree with you, but I don't want to lose you.

Posted by: Greg at 06:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It is rather sad that when a clear violation of international law provokes not a peep of outrage from those who claim to support those standards.

I guess the reason is, of course, that those who have waxed eloquent or raved vehement about the rights of captured terrorists only believe the US needs to abide by the Geneva Conventions -- the jihadi pigs who executed two prisoners in cold blood won't have a single voice raised against them by opponents of the war in Iraq. And they certainly won't be accused of crimes against humanity or violations of international law.

Those who insist so loudly on following Geneva Conventions rules regarding captured terrorists need to take a long, hard look at the latest atrocity in Iraq, news of which broke yesterday.

Four U.S. soldiers, one of them a New Yorker, were captured - and promptly murdered - last Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles from Baghdad, officials confirmed.

Two of the slain soldiers were found handcuffed together in the back of a vehicle.

Soldiers die in combat, of course.

But the murder of disarmed and helpless troops - killing POWs, in effect - is what's at issue here.

The killers traveled in vehicles used by U.S. government convoys, wore U.S. combat fatigues, had American weapons and spoke English. That got them past an army checkpoint and into a U.S. compound - where they opened fire with grenades and rifles.

Among those killed was Pfc. Shawn Falter, 25, of Homer in northern Westchester. Officials confirmed that he was killed last Saturday after being ambushed in Karbala, but didn't name the two victims of the atrocity.

The murder of helpless captives is a stark reminder of the barbaric nature of the enemy that American-led forces face in Iraq.

Indeed, it puts into perspective the complaints about U.S. "atrocities" committed against prisoners at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

Frankly, complaints about degrading photos and alleged desecration of the Koran can't hold a candle to the savage abduction and execution-style murders of brave soldiers.

Those who have led the outcry over what they hysterically decry as U.S. "war crimes" in Iraq have a particular obligation to speak out against genuine atrocities of the kind committed by these terrorist insurgents.

Their failure to do so will only serve to confirm their actual motive: not to hold America to the highest moral standard, but to undermine the U.S. effort and ensure a Vietnam-style defeat in Iraq.

But then again, that this has been their desired outcome from the very beginning has long been evident to anyone who has listened to their rhetoric.

UPDATE: Bill Roggio raises this possibility.

The Iranians may be responsible the conducting the attack that resulted in the murder of five American soldiers in Karbala

Well, that would explain the why our troops need the authorization to kill Iranian operatives in Iraq.

Posted by: Greg at 11:55 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Does this mean that Hillary can't count on the Muslim vote in 2008?

Islam bars women from becoming head of state, Egypt's top Muslim cleric or mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa, ruled in an official fatwa or religious edict published.

"Under Islamic sharia (religious law), a woman cannot be head of state because it is one of the duties of the position to lead Muslims in prayer and that role can only be carried out by men," said the fatwa carried by leading state daily Al-Ahram.

Gee -- does this mean a vote for the Hildebeast is a vote against dhimmitude?

Posted by: Greg at 11:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, John has always been a part of the "US military out of Iraq" crowd. Now he seems to have joined the "US military out of Houston" crowd.

Ellington AFB, home of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Fighter Wing, will soon be home to a $6 million Predator Operations Complex. The Predator, an unmanned surveillance plane would begin arriving in 2011. The complex will be used as a training ground for operations of the Predator and mostly for the surveillance of the border.

Local media as well as our politicians have put a positive spin on the loss of the 147th Fighter Wing as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, but few have questioned the safety of an unmanned 10,000 lbs aircraft flying over a densely populated area surround Ellington. The safe operations of these unmanned vehicles should be questioned as well as it's mission.

* * *

There has not been a public hearing for the communities that will be under the flight path of the Predators being flown by student pilots, but there should be. The loss of the 147th will be a large economical impact to the community, and the Predator has been offered as a way to offset this loss.

The Clear Lake community over the last 10 years have fought a number of issues such as a sludge farm, a train carrying toxic chemicals and a huge port. The community should be assured that an unmanned drone will not drop out of the sky like one did in Arizona.

John, of course, conveniently overlooks the fact that the F16s at Ellington, the trainer jets flown by astronauts, and the many commercial and private aircraft that fly over the area daily can "drop out of the sky" creating "a disaster for the community [which] should be of great concern." I don't see him proposing hearings on all aircraft, or the complete shutdown of all flight operations over populated areas of Houston (or even the Clear Lake area, where we both live). So I really don't believe this is about public safety.

No, I believe this is all about partisan politics. Congressman Tom DeLay and Congresswoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs were both supporters of keeping the 147th Fighter Wing at Ellington. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has been very active in getting the Predators to Houston, along with other mission changes that revitalize Ellington Field as a military base. I suspect that John, who suffers from Bush Derangement Syndrome has had his condition metastasize into Republican Derangement Syndrome, and is therefore willing to see CD22 and the Houston area suffer in an attempt to guarantee the reelection of his close buddy, Congressman Nick Lampson.

It is rather pathetic, really -- using scare tactics to frighten local residents and undermine national and homeland security for partisan advantage. But then again, why should we be surprised? He's a Democrat!

Then again, maybe he is just afraid that the Predators have monitoring devices that can pierce his Official Daily Kos/Democratic Underground Tinfoil Hat.

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Posted by: Greg at 06:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've not followed American Idol this season, and have had only mixed interest over the last couple of years. However, I think I've found the person I want to see win -- Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Jarrod Fowler of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)

A Sailor assigned to USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) has become a celebrity almost overnight as millions of Americans watched him advance to the next round of the "American Idol" competition on national television Jan. 16.

Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Jarrod Fowler said he has received numerous telephone calls, e-mails and even a few requests for his autograph after his audition for FOX's hit series "American Idol" competition aired earlier this week.
Fowler, who has spent much of his time over the past two days giving telephone interviews to local radio and television stations, says he was totally caught off guard by all of the attention.

"It's not just being on national television," said Fowler, "it's the chance to represent the entire crew of USS Ronald Reagan. I really want to say thanks to everyone who helped get me here."

The audition, which was taped back in September, took place in Minneapolis while Fowler was on leave. Fowler said he wore his uniform to the audition in order to represent both the Navy and the crew of Ronald Reagan.

* * *

Ronald Reagan is the Navy's newest Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and completed its maiden combat deployment in support of the global war on terrorism in 2006.

Let's hope Jarrod Fowler can win one for the Gipper -- and for every man and women in our nation's uniform at a time when too many Americans are ready to betray them and their mission in Iraq and the war on Islamofascist terrorism.

Posted by: Greg at 05:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It is long-standing precedent, dating back over a century-and-a-half.

"The city is the creature of the state."
East Hartford v. Hartford Bridge Co.
10 How. 511, 533, 534, 13 L. ed. 518, 528

Indeed, counties, school districts, and other local govrnment entities are similarly creations of the state, subject to being regulated by, or even abolished by, the state within which they exist. For the state to limit their powers, including their taxing and spending authority, is therefore beyond question and perfectly appropriate -- especially when that change is coming at the institgation of We, the People.

The Houston Chronicle, on the other hand, doesn't think the state should call these "creatures of the state" to heel.

A commission appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to reform the property appraisal system has come out with a raft of proposals that provide little in the way of reform.

Instead, the panel chaired by Dallas businessman Tom Pauken is calling for mandatory rollback elections for any local government, excluding school districts, that spends more than 5 percent beyond what it spent the previous year.

For Texas communities struggling to pay for police, fire, public hospitals and other essential services that the state does not fund, this one-size-fits-all approach would undermine their autonomy to set budget priorities. It also would impose a burdensome rollback election system that would make it very difficult to get approval for necessary spending increases.

If the Houston Chronicle had ever been an honest broker in the debate on property tax relief, I might take the analysis that follows at face value. however, the editorial board has never met a tax increase they haven't liked, nor have they ever met a real tax relief proposal (especially for property taxes) that they have seriously supported. I don't know if they really believe that the government has first claim to the money in our paychecks, but it sure seems that way.

The reality in Texas is that under current law the assessed value of one's home can double every 7-8 years -- and with it, one's tax bill. Indeed, we have seen parts of the city of Houston and other local communities in which homeowners have been driven out of their homes by rising property tax assessments. It is a pattern seen around the state, and the taxpayers have demanded action. The currnt proposals are that action.

Now the Chronicle offers this conclusion.

The Texas Legislature has already addressed the issue of burdensome school property taxes, enacting new business taxes to pay for a one-third reduction in local school property taxes. It should now concern itself with state spending issues and leave local decisions to the elected officials best qualified to make them.

What the editorial fails to take into consideration is that the taxing and spending decisions of local governments are, in reality, state decisions due to the status of these local government entities as "creatures of the state".

That being the case, I've got a better idea -- the state legislature should set these limits upon local governments, which are, after all, creations of the state. Any local government entity finding itself unable to fund essential operations with the revenue available under the proposed 5% rate of growth should be abolished in the next legislative biennium.

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Posted by: Greg at 03:43 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Over at Blogs for Bush, Mark Noonan offers this for our consideration.

For your consideration and debate:

US Civil War: first time there is a Republican President - very large, Democratic anti-war movement.

Spanish/American War: Republican President - very large, Democratic anti-war movement.

World War One: Democratic President - no anti-war movement.

World War Two: Democratic President - no anti-war movement.

Korean War: Democratic President - no anti-war movement.

Vietnam War: As soon as a Republican took over the botched war from the Democrats - very large, Democraitc anti-war movement.

Last Ten Years of the Cold War: Republican Preisdent - very large, Democratic anti-war movement.

Gulf War: Republican President - very large, Democratic anti-war movement.

Kosovo War: Democratic President - no anti-war movement.

War on Terrorism: Republican President - very large, Democratic anti-war movement.

Discuss: what are we to make of this clear pattern of Democrats opposing any war they are not in charge of?

My personal thought on the matter -- Democrats consider the votes of their fellow citizens to be more dangerous than the bullets and bombs of enemies of America who seek to defeat and destroy our country. It is therefore more important that the elected representatives of the American people be defeated, rather than the enemy in the field.

Posted by: Greg at 03:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Posted by: Greg at 06:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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What sort of person does this to a puppy?

Two teenagers accused of duct-taping a puppy's snout and paws and cooking the animal alive in an oven pleaded guilty Friday to animal cruelty and other offenses.

Prosecutors said Joshua Moulder, 17, and his brother, Justin, 19, broke into a newly refurbished community center, where they tortured and killed the 3-month-old puppy, damaged computers, broke glass and splattered paint on the walls.

The brothers then brought neighborhood children to see the dead puppy and threatened to kill them if they reported it, prosecutors said.

They will be sentenced next month.

Give them the max -- to be served consecutively.

Then publish the date, time, and location of their release on the internet.

And to all folks with an ounce of decency and even a sliver of a soul, never forget those names -- Joshua Moulder and Justin Moulder. May they be shunned from human society in perpetuity.

UPDATE: I received the following email tonight, with information related to this crime.

I run a blog on the case about the Atlanta "baked puppy" case that you posted about yesterday. I was wondering if you would consider putting up the address of the District Attorney so that people can mail letters supporting the maximum sentence for these criminals. Letters will go the judge (they should be addressed to Judge Thelma Wyatt Moore) but should be sent to:

Assistant DA Laura Janssen
Office of the Fulton County DA
136 Pryor Street, SW--Third Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303

We're just desperate to have people write letters as soon as possible because the sentencing is scheduled for February 9th--not a lot of time. Also, we have composed a form letter so people don't even need to write their own. It can be downloaded here: http://media6.filewind.com/g.php?filepath=5526.

I urge folks to act appropriately. To learn more about the case, you can visit the blog referenced above.

Posted by: Greg at 02:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This is the guy who oversaw the destruction of an ancient Afghan cultural treasure, a part of the world heritage of all humanity. I hope Satan had a warm spot reserved for him.

A FORMER Taleban official who oversaw the destruction of the 1,500-year-old Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 was assassinated in Afghanistan yesterday.

Maulavi Mohammed Islam Mohammadi, who was the Taleban's governor of Bamiyan province when the giant fifth-century statues were blown up in March 2001, was killed on his way to Friday prayers in the capital, Kabul.

Frankly, he was one of those I would have liked to see receive justice before an international court -- but I'll concede this is an acceptable substitute.

Posted by: Greg at 02:48 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Come on -- do you mean the editor didn't consider this opening paragraph just a little bit over the top?

WELLINGTON, N.Z. (AP) - New Zealanders' love affair with sheep gained official recognition Friday when the agriculture minister declared Feb. 15 "National Lamb Day."

The date selected marks the 125th anniversary of the first shipment of frozen meat from New Zealand to London.

Posted by: Greg at 01:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The NFL promotes tailgate parties at every stadium in the league. Indeed, it is one of the attractions of the gameday experience.

But at the Super Bowl this year, tailgating is banned – even at venues not part of the stadium complex, including private property.

Die-hard football fans attending the Super Bowl game at Dolphin Stadium are getting a rude awakening after finding out that no tailgating of any type will be allowed on game day within one mile of the stadium.

"There is no tailgating allowed in the Dolphin Stadium parking lots," Sue Jaquez, a member of the Super Bowl XLI Host Committee, confirmed on Tuesday. "And there is no tailgating anywhere within a one-mile radius of the stadium." "And there are no RVs allowed."

* * *

Detective Nelda Fonticella of the Miami-Dade Police confirmed the Super Bowl rules.

If caught grilling or consuming alcohol within that one-mile radius of Dolphins Stadium, fans initially "will be warned and asked to pick up their things and leave," Fonticella said. "We're trying to make this a pleasant experience for everyone, and there will be plenty to do in the week leading up to the game."

I can understand the on-site issues – but banning tailgating at off-site venues seems to be a bit of a draconian approach.

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Posted by: Greg at 10:22 AM | Comments (22) | Add Comment
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My first thought was to check the whereabouts of my Aggie friends at the time of the crime.

Suspects questioned in Bevo rape and beating

No, Longhorn fans, your mascot is safe – I forgot that in St. Louis “Bevo” is one of the neighborhoods.

And on a serious note, let’s all hope that the police nail the perps in this horrific crime.

Posted by: Greg at 10:20 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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My first thought was to check the whereabouts of my Aggie friends at the time of the crime.

Suspects questioned in Bevo rape and beating

No, Longhorn fans, your mascot is safe – I forgot that in St. Louis “Bevo” is one of the neighborhoods.

And on a serious note, letÂ’s all hope that the police nail the perps in this horrific crime.

Posted by: Greg at 10:20 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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After all, it isn’t that liberal talk radio is suppressed – it is that it isn’t commercially viable.

Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Sam Seeder — articulate liberal pundits — don't sell well, even in Santa Cruz.

The trio are part of the nationally syndicated Air America, which was dropped from Santa Cruz radio station KOMY 1340 AM on Thursday and replaced with music from the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

The left-leaning radio network, aimed at taking on Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk shows, debuted on Central Coast airwaves in July 2005, but local advertisers never bought in, station owner Michael Zwerling said.

"We didn't sell a single ad in a year and a half," Zwerling said Thursday. "I thought liberal radio would work as a viable advertising business in the most liberal town in America. I was wrong"

Santa Cruz isn't the only place Air America has problems. The network is struggling nationwide and filed for bankruptcy four months ago.

Zwerling put Air America on the air as an alternative to the Limbaugh program, which plays on KOMY's sister station KSCO 1080 AM every morning.

Limbaugh is a major moneymaker for the station, Zwerling said, and his show pulls the highest ratings of any program on KSCO or KOMY.

So let’s look at this. You’ve got a station owner offering both points of view, using different stations to do so. One format flops, while the other is hugely successful. Does it make any sort of sense to require that the station owner continue to broadcast what no one wants to listen to? And notice, please, that this is a very blue part of a blue state where liberal talk has failed – if they can’t make it there, can they make it anywhere?

What this shows is that the reason for the lack of diversity on talk radio is not that stations won’t book the format for political reasons – it is because they cannot find an audience for the format. Any attempt to require that viewpoint be aired is nothing short of suppression of the speech that people want to hear in favor of that they reject. How is that in the public interest?

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Posted by: Greg at 10:18 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After all, it isn’t that liberal talk radio is suppressed – it is that it isn’t commercially viable.

Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Sam Seeder — articulate liberal pundits — don't sell well, even in Santa Cruz.

The trio are part of the nationally syndicated Air America, which was dropped from Santa Cruz radio station KOMY 1340 AM on Thursday and replaced with music from the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

The left-leaning radio network, aimed at taking on Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk shows, debuted on Central Coast airwaves in July 2005, but local advertisers never bought in, station owner Michael Zwerling said.

"We didn't sell a single ad in a year and a half," Zwerling said Thursday. "I thought liberal radio would work as a viable advertising business in the most liberal town in America. I was wrong"

Santa Cruz isn't the only place Air America has problems. The network is struggling nationwide and filed for bankruptcy four months ago.

Zwerling put Air America on the air as an alternative to the Limbaugh program, which plays on KOMY's sister station KSCO 1080 AM every morning.

Limbaugh is a major moneymaker for the station, Zwerling said, and his show pulls the highest ratings of any program on KSCO or KOMY.

So let’s look at this. You’ve got a station owner offering both points of view, using different stations to do so. One format flops, while the other is hugely successful. Does it make any sort of sense to require that the station owner continue to broadcast what no one wants to listen to? And notice, please, that this is a very blue part of a blue state where liberal talk has failed – if they can’t make it there, can they make it anywhere?

What this shows is that the reason for the lack of diversity on talk radio is not that stations won’t book the format for political reasons – it is because they cannot find an audience for the format. Any attempt to require that viewpoint be aired is nothing short of suppression of the speech that people want to hear in favor of that they reject. How is that in the public interest?

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Posted by: Greg at 10:18 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My only reaction to this headline is “No shit!”

Teens shouldn't text and drive, study warns

And neither should anyone else. Duh!

And to think that someone paid good money to find out what anyone with a lick of common sense could have told them.

Posted by: Greg at 10:15 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I've written more than once about the pathetic excuse for an educational institution that is Texas Southern University. It isn't that there are not good people there -- I acknowledge that there are -- but rather that the powers that be have run the place without any regard to principles of sound management or ethics. That is how the school finds itself in constant financial difficulty.

But for some reason -- I suspect a desire not to give offense to the African-American community by closing the historically black institution (it began some six decades ago as the Texas State University for Negroes, in an attempt to stave off desegregation at UT & Texas A&M) -- Gov. Rick Perry has ordered the Regents (who have shown themselves incompetent to oversee the operation of the school) to develop a plan to get the school on sound financial footing.

Startled by the depth of Texas Southern University's multimillion-dollar financial woes, Gov. Rick Perry has ordered its board of regents to start making "tough decisions" to fix the problems or resign.

"It can't be a Mickey Mouse deal," Perry spokesman Robert Black told the Houston Chronicle on Thursday. "It can't be a Band-Aid."

In private meetings last week, Perry demanded that TSU's regents come up with a concrete plan within 30-45 days to start fixing problems plaguing the university's finances this year.

Next week, the terms of three of TSU's nine regents expire, giving Perry the opportunity to name new members.

Perry also plans to announce a blue-ribbon panel that will develop a long-term plan for TSU, including defining its academic mission.

One fear, which the governor's office said it hopes to avoid, is that TSU would be merged into another university.

Houston Democrats Sen. Rodney Ellis and Rep. Garnet Coleman underscored the importance of protecting the historically black university and keeping it independent. They noted its long history in shaping Houston's black middle class.

"TSU is in the neighborhood where I grew up. It isn't just an institution I represent," Coleman said. "It's more than that. TSU represents some of the best of black Texas and black Houston."

Ellis said he is a graduate of the university, along with political notables including the late U.S. Reps. Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland and lawyer and former U.S. Congressman Craig Washington.

I know it would be nice to keep the school open, but we can do better by the students of this institution. It is walking distance to the University of Houston, and so I again suggest that the time has come to merge the two schools and place TSU in the University of Houston system. Just as Prairie View was merged into the Texas A&M system and saw great strides made in the years that followed, the same would be true of TSU -- and wasted duplication of services and positions could be eliminated, as I noted a few days ago.

The time has come to deal with the myriad problems at TSU by recognizing that this relic of the Jim Crow era is no longer viable. End it, don't mend it.

UPDATE: Tom Kirkendall over at Houston's Clear Thinkers offers a deeper analysis, reaching the same conclusion.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:38 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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The next generation of manned space vehicle continues to be developed on schedule.

The new rocket that will replace the space shuttle for carrying crews to the International Space Station is on schedule and within weight guidelines, NASA officials said Thursday.

The National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationÂ’s associate administrator for exploration, Scott Horowitz, said that the design of the rocket, the Ares I, was progressing well and that the rocket should be ready for its first test flight on schedule in 2009.

This tracks with what I've been hearing from some of the local guys involved in this project and those on related components of the future of space exploration.

Posted by: Greg at 11:22 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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I wonder -- will the Israelis act to make sure that this potential Islamo-Spy Satellite never makes it off the launch pad?

RAN is on the verge of launching a satellite into space that could herald a new dimension in Tehran's strategic capabilities, Aviation Week and Space Technology says on its website.

The recently assembled, 30-tonne ballistic missile-turned space launcher could also be used for testing longer-range missile strike technologies, the magazine said in a report for its January 29 issue.

The Iranian space launcher "will lift off soon'' with an Iranian satellite, said Alaoddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, according to the weekly.

It is decidedly not in the interest of either Israel of the United States to have "Big Mullah" watching over us. And since the test could also be a pretext for testing long-range ballistic missiles, it seems to me that it would be best if it suffered a horrible accident, courtesy of the IAF.

Posted by: Greg at 01:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Forgive me if I don't give a rat's hindquarters about the worry, concern, and anxiety caused to illegal immigrants by the fact that ICE is starting to take its mandate to handle immigration matters seriously.

Cook Rosa Maria Salazar's eyes dart anxiously to the door as customers file into the Salvadoran cafe in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles.

"We're terrified. The police could come for us at any time and deport us," she said in Spanish earlier this week as diners fingered maize tortillas stuffed with beans and pork scratchings and chatted softly.

The 55-year-old undocumented worker from Guatemala is among many Hispanics deeply shaken by recent immigration raids at the heart of Latino communities in southern California.

The-seven day Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweep, dubbed "Operation Return to Sender," targeted jails across five counties in the Los Angeles area, where police took 423 of what they called "criminal aliens" into federal custody for deportation, after being held on charges unrelated to their immigration status.

Federal agents from seven teams also fanned out in local communities, where they nabbed 338 undocumented immigrants, more than 150 of whom were classed as "immigration fugitives" -- foreign nationals who ignored final deportation orders.

The raid was the latest in a series of get-tough enforcement measures by ICE in the United States, but the largest action of its kind in California, where more than a third of the population is Hispanic.

"We hadn't seen anything like this here before, and it came as a shock," said Antonio Bernabe, a community worker who runs a day labor program at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

"The police didn't just take people with deportation orders, they took anybody ... guys who were just hanging out in the street and even from a Jack in the Box restaurant ... and now people are afraid to go out," he added.

Fear is precisely what these folks ought to be feeling following the latest round of immigration raids. Indeed, every single border-jumping immigration criminal ought to live in constant terror of deportation. That isn't hatred or bigotry talking -- that is respect for the rule of law.

Indeed, my only objection is that there are at least 12 million more of these folks at large, violating American law with every breath they take on our nation's soil -- and that they are not yet frightened enough to get the hell out of the US in order to re-enter in a legal manner, at which point I will gladly welcome them with open arms.

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Normally with a headline like that I'd be making a couple of Aggie jokes at the expense of my buddies who went to school in College Station. But believe it or not, there is a controversy raging over certain experiments being conducted in Oregon and elsewhere to determine the differences between gay and straight sheep, and seeking to discover what stimuli might trigger one set of sexual behavior or the other.

SCIENTISTS are conducting experiments to change the sexuality of “gay” sheep in a programme that critics fear could pave the way for breeding out homosexuality in humans.

The technique being developed by American researchers adjusts the hormonal balance in the brains of homosexual rams so that they are more inclined to mate with ewes.

It raises the prospect that pregnant women could one day be offered a treatment to reduce or eliminate the chance that their offspring will be homosexual. Experts say that, in theory, the “straightening” procedure on humans could be as simple as a hormone supplement for mothers-to-be, worn on the skin like an anti-smoking nicotine patch.

The research, at Oregon State University in the city of Corvallis and at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, has caused an outcry. Martina Navratilova, the lesbian tennis player who won Wimbledon nine times, and scientists and gay rights campaigners in Britain have called for the project to be abandoned.

Now this research does raise all sorts of questions. First, it could very well help determine the source of homosexuality -- nature, nurture, or choice -- and place it squarely in the "nature" column. But it also raises the possibility of being able to "correct" whatever causes homosexuals to deviate from the biological norm. If such "treatment" becomes available, should it be permitted? Should it be required? And should parents be permitted to make that determination for their unborn or minor offspring -- or should the choice be reserved to individuals who have reached some arbitrarily determined age of reason/consent?

How close are we to reaching the point where such issues need to be considered? Possibly closer than one might imagine.

Approximately one ram in 10 prefers to mount other rams rather than mate with ewes, reducing its value to a farmer. Initially, the publicly funded project aimed to improve the productivity of herds.

The scientists have been able to pinpoint the mechanisms influencing the desires of “male-oriented” rams by studying their brains. The animals’ skulls are cut open and electronic sensors are attached to their brains.

By varying the hormone levels, mainly by injecting hormones into the brain, they have had “considerable success” in altering the rams’ sexuality, with some previously gay animals becoming attracted to ewes.

* * *

Potentially, the techniques could one day be adapted for human use, with doctors perhaps being able to offer parents pre-natal tests to determine the likely sexuality of offspring or a hormonal treatment to change the orientation of a child.

Now I'll be the first to concede that I haven't the foggiest notion of how long it might take to translate such work from sheep to human. It seems, though, that we might be talking a matter of a decade or so, given these results. So we need to start giving the matter serious consideration. Should there be research that could lead to a "cure" for homosexuality -- or is it a condition that needs to be cured? Where are the ethical lines here? Are they the same as the political ones?

And I'll be honest here -- I don't have any answers that I am comfortable with.

What do you think?

UPDATE -- 1/25/2006: Since I posted this on December 30, 2006, there have been some more developments. The NY Times offers this new article on the controversy.

Ms. Navratilova, who also received a response from the university, said she remained unconvinced.

“The more we play God or try to improve on Mother Nature, the more damage we are doing with all kinds of experiments that either have already turned or will turn into nightmares,” she wrote in an e-mail reply to a reporter’s query. “How in the world could straight or gay sheep help humanity?”

Now I realize that Ms. Navratilova's long career in professional tennis makes her a leading expert in the field of bioethics, so I'll ask her and other opponents of this research one simple question -- where do you stand on fetal stem-cell research?

Posted by: Greg at 12:29 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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This coming Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the Year of the Pig – but you won’t see any porkers on Chinese television, due to sensitivity to China’s small Muslim population.

Companies looking to reach China's consumer market with pig images during Year of the Pig celebrations next month will have to adjust after a national television network adopted a policy to be sensitive to the country's small Muslim population, according to published reports.

China Central Television said it would ban all verbal and visual pork references from advertisements during Lunar New Year celebrations next month, the Wall Street Journal reported. This week, the network banned a TV ad from Nestle SA featuring a smiling cartoon pig and the message, "Happy new pig year."

CCTV's ad department said the regulations are intended to avoid offending Muslims, who consider pigs unclean animals. China's 20 million Muslims comprise less than 2 percent of the population, the Journal reported.

"China is a multiethnic country," the network said in a notice. "To show respect for Islam, and upon guidance from higher levels of the government, CCTV will keep any pig images off the screen."

Let’s see – 20 million Muslims, out of a population of 1.3 billion, are sufficient to suppress the culture of the overwhelming (98%) majority. I don’t know about you, but I find crap like that to be at least as offensive as a pig is to Muslims.

Posted by: Greg at 11:12 AM | Comments (56) | Add Comment
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The stats are clear – fewer Americans are members of labor unions.

The number of wage and salary workers who were union members dropped to 12 percent of the work force last year, the lowest percentage since the government started tracking that number over two decades ago.

The number of workers in a union was 20.1 percent in 1983, when Bureau of Labor Statistics first provided such comparable numbers, and that number has been declining steadily. More than a third of American workers, about 35 percent, were union members in the mid-1950s.

The question, of course, is what this means. Is it a question of the growth of the workforce in areas of the country with right to work laws? Is it related to the increase in professional, white collar jobs over the more commonly unionized blue collar fields? Or is it a question of unions having ceased to meet the needs of workers as perceived by workers?

Unions, of course, are using this statistic to bolster the case for legislation that they claim would make it easier to for workers to unionize.

The continuing decline in union membership, documented in the BLS report released Thursday, comes as organized labor is pushing for legislation in the Democratic-controlled Congress making it easier for workers to form unions.

That proposal, called the Employee Free Choice Act, would let workers form unions more readily by simply signing a card or petition, impose stronger penalties on employers who violate labor laws, and allow for arbitration to settle first contract disputes.

Advocates of the legislation say they doubt that it will get signed into law by President Bush, but that they think passage in Congress would make eventual signing of the law more likely.

Supporters say the law is more fair to workers because employers can't mount a campaign to prevent formation of a union. Opponents say it deprives workers of the right to vote privately on their union preferences, and can lead to union intimidation of workers.

The union membership rate for government workers, 36.2 percent, was substantially higher than for private industry workers, 7.4 percent.

The problem with this legislation should be obvious. Given the history of thuggish union tactics to coerce membership, the “card check” method opens workers up to harassment and coercion that a secret ballot does not. And as recent Supreme Court arguments show, unions are all about coercing workers – even those who act affirmatively to opt out of membership – into supporting political activity and paying for services that they do not want to be involved in.

Quite bluntly, this country does, in fact, need an Employee Free Choice Act. But rather than the current legislation that seeks to deny workers choices, such legislation should start with the presumption that workers do not want to be members of a union, and which abolishes both the compulsory union shop and the agency fee for non-members. Let workers have a truly free choice on whether or not they join a union – and recognize that over 90% of private sector workers have chosen not to join. I suspect that the membership figure would be far lower in the public sector were it not for the compulsory union membership required by many school districts and other government entities. Indeed, the free choice most needed is for workers to be permitted to say "no" to having their paychecks pilfered by corrupt union bosses.

UPDATE: Want a good reason for ending the constitutional abomination of forced unionism, especially in the public sector? Look at this case from Ohio, involving the Ohio Education Association.

Told by a union official to pay forced dues or "change religions," a teacher in southern Ohio is challenging a state law that allows only those public employees who belong to certain denominations the right to claim religious objection to paying union dues.

Carol Katter, a mathematics and language arts instructor in the St. Marys district, filed a federal complaint in the U.S. District Court in Columbus this week over an Ohio law that prevents the lifelong Catholic from diverting her dues from a union she refuses to fund because it supports abortion on demand.

Katter filed the complaint against top officials of the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) for religious discrimination in enforcing Ohio Revised Code section 4117.09(C), which states:

"Any public employee who is a member of and adheres to established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization and which is exempt from taxation under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be required to join or financially support any employee organization as a condition of employment." (emphasis added)

In other words, the law in Ohio is that a public employee is required to fund religiously repugnant speech unless their church also opposes union membership in all instances. I guess they haven't heard of the First Amendment up there, or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They also are ignoring a federal court ruling from last year in a nearly identical case which held that public employees with religious objections to union affiliation could not be forced to pay union dues.

But as far as I am concerned, there is an even more basic issue -- upon what legitimate grounds can government require payments to a private organization as a requirement for holding a public-sector, taxpayer funded job? What next -- a return to the days when government employees were expected to make contributions to the "correct" political candidates as a condition of keeping their jobs? That practice is no more repugnant to the First Amendment than the situation found in Ms. Katter's case.

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White students hold a party with a theme that offends minority students. Minority students complain. School launches an investigation. Why?

Authorities at Tarleton State University said they plan to investigate a Martin Luther King Jr. Day party that mocked black stereotypes by featuring fried chicken, malt liquor and faux gang apparel.

"I feel like there is no excuse for this type of ignorance," said Donald Ray Elder, president of the Stephenville school's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Photographs posted on social networking Web site Facebook.com showed partygoers wearing Afro wigs and fake gold and silver teeth. One photo showed students "mocking how African-Americans do step shows," Elder said. In another picture, a student is dressed as Aunt Jemima and carries a gun.

"That upsets me," Elder said. "That's someone who knows nothing about Dr. King, because Dr. King was totally about nonviolence."

Wanda Mercer, the school's vice president of student life, said an investigation was planned into the Jan. 15 party.

I guess I don’t see the need to investigate. The First Amendment guarantees a right to freedom of speech and freedom of association – even speech and association that are offensive and repulsive, such as this event appears to be. But obnoxious activity is not the basis for a government entity to investigate or (one would presume this is where the investigation is headed) impose sanctions. Stupidity is not a crime.

Posted by: Greg at 11:10 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 246 words, total size 2 kb.

White students hold a party with a theme that offends minority students. Minority students complain. School launches an investigation. Why?

Authorities at Tarleton State University said they plan to investigate a Martin Luther King Jr. Day party that mocked black stereotypes by featuring fried chicken, malt liquor and faux gang apparel.

"I feel like there is no excuse for this type of ignorance," said Donald Ray Elder, president of the Stephenville school's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Photographs posted on social networking Web site Facebook.com showed partygoers wearing Afro wigs and fake gold and silver teeth. One photo showed students "mocking how African-Americans do step shows," Elder said. In another picture, a student is dressed as Aunt Jemima and carries a gun.

"That upsets me," Elder said. "That's someone who knows nothing about Dr. King, because Dr. King was totally about nonviolence."

Wanda Mercer, the school's vice president of student life, said an investigation was planned into the Jan. 15 party.

I guess I don’t see the need to investigate. The First Amendment guarantees a right to freedom of speech and freedom of association – even speech and association that are offensive and repulsive, such as this event appears to be. But obnoxious activity is not the basis for a government entity to investigate or (one would presume this is where the investigation is headed) impose sanctions. Stupidity is not a crime.

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Are we seeing opposition to homosexuality finally classified as a mental illness? Has the Soviet model finally taken root here at home, with dissent from left-wing ideology declared to be a grounds for psychological intervention?

Isaiah Washington, who does the healing as a doctor on "Grey's Anatomy," is the patient now.

He's in therapy for his use of an anti-gay slur against a castmate.

"With the support of my family and friends, I have begun counseling. I regard this as a necessary step toward understanding why I did what I did and making sure it never happens again," Washington said in a statement Wednesday. "I appreciate the fact that I have been given this opportunity and I remain committed to transforming my negative actions into positive results, personally and professionally."

Good griuef – sounds like the sort of self-criticism that went on at Maoist forced labor camps. What next – medication and shock treatment like at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow?

Mind you, I’m not defending Washington’s boorish actions – I’m just questioning the basis for this “therapy”.

Posted by: Greg at 11:08 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A football player promises a fan during an interview that if his team makes the Superbowl, he will take the fan along. The team makes the SuperBowl. What should happen?

That is a controversy raging in the Chicago area, after Bears safety Chris Harris made such a promise to Bryan Lange during a 40-second interview for a public-access television show.

Months before the Chicago Bears clinched their first trip to the Super Bowl in 21 years, safety Chris Harris stared into a video camera and promised to take fan Bryan Lange with him to Miami if the team made it to the big game.

The apparent promise -- made during a 40-second interview with a public access television show last June -- might have seemed like a longshot at the time.
But now that the Bears are in, thanks in part to Harris' big plays last Sunday, Lange is trying to hold Harris to his words.

Lange, a construction worker from Crystal Lake and a Bears season ticket holder, has set up camp on the road to Halas Hall this week with a sign saying, "Chris Harris You Promised.''

He also posted a clip of the interview he filmed at a charity event at www.psychobabble tv.com/chrisharrispromised.

In it, Harris tells Lange -- who goes by the name Chong on a show called Psycho Babble -- that his goal is to make it to the Super Bowl.

Says Lange: "If you guys make it to the Super Bowl, I'll sell my Harley to go.''

Harris replies, "You won't have to sell it. I will give you tickets.''

Lange replies, "I'm going to hold you to it. I've got you on tape.''

Harris, looking at the camera, then agrees: "It's on tape. If we win, he's going.''
Lange concludes the interview by saying, "Chong is going to the Super Bowl with the Bears on Chris Harris' dollar.''

HarrisÂ’ agent calls LangeÂ’s demand unreasonable, based upon the fact that Harris only can purchase 15 tickets and has about 40 family members who want to attend the game. Lange and his supporters think Harris ought to take him along. Personally, I think someone in the Bears organization ought to scrounge up a ticket to keep a fan happy and get some good publicity out of the deal.

Posted by: Greg at 11:07 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Or is this one more illusion of progress?

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have pledged to forge a peace between their countries, calling the vision of two states, side by side, the only path.

With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas watching, Livni told the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum that a Palestinian state is "not an illusion. It's there, it's achievable".

Livni urged the international community to support moderates in the Middle East.

She told Abbas that "compromising with extremists will not promote anything" - a clear reference to Hamas and other militant groups.

Abbas listened intently, nodding his head, and afterwards greeted her warmly with a long handshake.

He reiterated that if he cannot form a unity government with Hamas officials, he will move to call early elections, but gave no specific timetable.

Abbas was addressing a large crowd of political leaders, corporate bosses and others at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.

He said that such an agreement would help strengthen the hands of moderates in the region and fight extremism of all types.

But will Hamas, Hezbollah, and the other extremists in the region allow such a deal to happen. After all, the entire origin of the conflict was the refusal of Arabs to live with a two-state solution that Israel embraced from its inception. Can the Palestinians quit murdering Jews long enough to achieve what could have been theirs six decades ago?

Posted by: Greg at 11:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Or will they just be well rested for the big game?

Bears finally asleep as cold wave hits Russia

Oh -- wrong bears!

Posted by: Greg at 11:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Or will they just be well rested for the big game?

Bears finally asleep as cold wave hits Russia

Oh -- wrong bears!

Posted by: Greg at 11:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Could it be that it is uncomfortably close to the truth?

Study: Americans spend more time with computer than spouse

Well, IÂ’ll know for sure if the divorce papers include Intel, Microsoft, and my ISP as responding parties.

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This is a move which should have been made long ago.

White House hopeful Tom Tancredo said Thursday the existence of the Congressional Black Caucus and other race-based groups of lawmakers amount to segregation and should be abolished.

"It is utterly hypocritical for Congress to extol the virtues of a colorblind society while officially sanctioning caucuses that are based solely on race," said the Colorado Republican, who is most widely known as a vocal critic of illegal immigration.

"If we are serious about achieving the goal of a colorblind society, Congress should lead by example and end these divisive, race-based caucuses," said Tancredo, who is scheduled to pitch his long-shot presidential bid this weekend in New Hampshire.

Tancredo's request, relayed in a letter to Administration Committee Chairwoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Calif., revived his effort to change House rules to abolish the groups. Besides the Congressional Black Caucus, Democrats also have a Hispanic caucus with 21 members, and Republicans have a comparable Hispanic conference with five full members and 11 "associate" members who are not Hispanic.

The request comes in the wake of reports that freshman Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tenn., was refused admission to the Congressional Black Caucus because he is white. All 43 members of the caucus are black.

However, given the tendency of Congress to exempt itself from so many laws, I don’t believe that our elected leaders would ever have the integrity to hold themselves to the same standard that they expect of “We, the People.”

Posted by: Greg at 10:55 AM | Comments (31) | Add Comment
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If certain senators want to pass resolutions undercutting the war effort in Iraq, then it is only appropriate that those of us who believe that effort has the effect of aiding the enemy have an obligation to speak out. A coalition of bloggers, spearheaded by Hugh Hewitt and NZ Bear have put together a coalition of bloggers to speak out on the matter.

Hewitt explains the effort this way.

Yesterday General Petraeus testified that the Biden/Warner resolutions and those like them encourage the enemy.

What does it mean, "to encourage the enemy?"

It means that the enemy gathers will and strength from the prospect of a collapsing political will to seek victory in Iraq and stability in the region.

With that additional strength and will the enemy redoubles and retriples efforts to kill American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

In short, it means that more Americans will die.

If there is ever an issue for which a filibuster is obviously called, it is such a resolution, especially in the aftermath of such testimony.

Either the Republicans believe General Petraeus, or they don't. These are not a "non-binding" resolutions in the sense that they have no consequences. Either of them will have terrible consequences.

Don't believe me. Believe General Petraeus.

And act accordingly. next week should mark an epic and important debate in the United States Senate. I hope that 39 Republicans will join at least Senator Joseph Lieberman is standing by the troops and their commander in iraq, as well as the president.

In my lifetime America has walked away from one set of allies, to its eternal disgrace. We must not do so again, lest we repeat April, 1975 all over again.

The resolution that this coalition proposes can be found over at Truth Laid Bear.

If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.

I believe this is key -- there is no room for those in the GOP who would abandon the troops in the field in this manner, and we must say so clearly. I therefore urge you to sign the pledge, refer like-minded friends to the pledge, and contact your Senators and the Senate leadership to insist that they oppose any resolution that undercuts the war effort.

This is a defining issue of our time -- we must not fail in this effort, or history will judge this nation harshly. Assuming, of course, that failure does not leave our enemies writing that history.

The following are also blogging on the issue.

KickingOverMyTraces
Reverse Spin
The Wide Awake Cafe
Say Anything.
Bear To The Right
ThreeSources
MangledCat
Captain's Quarters

UPDATE: Hewitt wrote his column today about the Pledge.

Posted by: Greg at 11:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Buh-bye, John. Not that you ever stood a chance in 2008.

Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who narrowly lost the presidency to George Bush in 2004, announced today that he would not proceed with a second bid for the White House because he preferred to use his position in the new Senate majority to press for an end to American involvement in Iraq.

“We came close, certainly close enough to be tempted to try again, there are powerful reasons to want to follow that fight now,” Mr. Kerry said, invoking his 2004 race, at the conclusion of a 30-minute speech attacking Mr. Bush’s Iraq policy on the floor of the United States Senate. “I’ve concluded that this isn’t the time for me to mount a presidential campaign. It is the time to put my energy to work as part of the majority of he Senate and do all I can to end the war.”

Mr. KerryÂ’s announcement of his political plans, if unveiled in an unorthodox place, was not a surprise, notwithstanding his early statements that he would run again for the White House. He was in effect bowing to a Democratic Party that was clearly unreceptive and that had turned its attention to new candidates, in particular Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who got into the race over the past week. Many Democrats had said they expected Mr. Kerry would ultimately decide not to run after assessing how much strength he had in his party; as it is, most of his aides from the 2004 campaign have moved on.

So Kerry will forgo another run for Commander-in-Chief so he can stay in the Senate and undercut the troops and the war effort from there. Looks like he wants to be at the very heart of the effort to lose a war for the second time -- and he knows from experience that he can help do so much more effectively with irresponsible words in the Senate.

Posted by: Greg at 11:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But the Dems like Harry Reid and Jim Webb insist that George Bush isnÂ’t allowed to do anything but make nice with the mad mullahs and the Holocaust-denying/desiring leader of Iran. Will it take a nuclear holocaust on American soil to get the Blame-America-First Party to come around on the issue, or will continued rhetoric like this be sufficient?

Israel and the United States will soon be destroyed, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday during a meeting with Syria's foreign minister, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said in a report.

"Iranian President Mahmoud AhmadinejadÂ… assured that the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel will soon come to the end of their lives," the Iranian president was quoted as saying.

"Sparking discord among Muslims, especially between the Shiites and Sunnis, is a plot hatched by the Zionists and the US for dominating regional nations and looting their resources," Ahmadinejad added, according to the report.

Is it time to start the bombing yet, Democrats be damned? Or do we let this genocidal maniac get nukes and carry out his plan to make Israel Juden frei -- and radioactive for at least the next 25,000 years?

Posted by: Greg at 12:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Looks like the NC Bar is charging Mike Nifong with even more – and even more serious – professional misconduct.

The state bar has added ethics charges to a complaint filed against the prosecutor who brought sexual assault charges against three Duke lacrosse players, accusing him of withholding DNA evidence and misleading the court.

The new charges by the North Carolina State Bar against Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong were announced Wednesday and could lead to his removal from the state bar, according to a copy of the updated complaint.

Looks like Nifong is going down. These charges, if upheld, will virtually require that the disgraced prosecutor be disbarred.

At what point will his misconduct be seen to have so poisoned this case as to make any charges unsustainable?

Posted by: Greg at 12:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Congress, not cities, regulates interstate commerce. This law, while intended for a noble purpose, must therefore be struck down.

The fate of a District law banning rail shipments of hazardous materials was back before a federal judge yesterday, nearly two years after the prohibition was enacted by the D.C. Council.

The law, which was prompted by fears that the Capitol and other landmarks are vulnerable to a terrorist attack on rail lines that skirt downtown, was quickly challenged in 2005 by CSX Transportation Inc., which controls the key freight routes through the District. The law has never taken effect. Yesterday, a judge heard arguments to determine whether it ever will.

If this law is permitted to stand, it would be the first of many such regulations that would have the effect of rendering entire segments of track unusable by railroads, or forcing the massive rerouting of shipments to meet with each little town’s ordinances. Sorry – that goes against the fundamental constitutional order of things, assuming the courts properly construe the Constitution.

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From Jimmy CarterÂ’s speech at Brandeis University.

"This is the first time that I've ever been called a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and a plagiarist." Carter paused and squinted at the audience. "This has hurt me."

Experts have demonstrated that your assertions are wrong. Participants in events have noted how you misrepresent them. Materials from another book have been used without attribution. And your claims of a Jewish conspiracy clearly echo the anti-Semitic canards of earlier generations and hate-filled ideologies.

But I will give you credit for stepping back from the most dangerous thing you wrote in your false, disgusting, and despicable book.

In particular, some students challenged Carter on a sentence that has brought him much grief. On Page 213 of his book, Carter wrote: "It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are accepted by Israel."

This sentence, the students noted, suggests that suicide bombings are a tactic of war, to be suspended only when peace is achieved. Carter agreed -- and apologized -- and said this sentence was a great mistake on his part.

"The sentence was worded in an absolutely improper and stupid way," Carter said. "I apologize to you and to everyone here . . . it was a mistake on my part."
He added that Palestinians who embrace terrorism draw no support from him.
Calls for the destruction of Israel, he said, "are completely obnoxious to me. I would have no brief for them and no sympathy for them."

But you still stand against the security fence, which has been the most successful means of preventing terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Maybe you donÂ’t mean to support terrorism, Jimmy, but your advocacy for tearing down that anti-terrorist barrier does provide the terrorists with aid and comfort.

And you are still a disgrace to this country, Jimmy – as well as “a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and a plagiarist."

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