The only columnist in the publication worth reading on a regular basis has been fired in a cost cutting move.

The troubled Village Voice laid off three employees Tuesday, including Nat Hentoff, the prominent columnist who has worked for the paper since 1958, contributing opinionated columns about jazz, civil liberties and politics.

* * *

“Nat Hentoff wrote liner notes for every great musician that I’ve ever loved, from Billie Holiday to Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin, and that’s not even what he’s been writing about for the last 30 years,” said Tom Robbins, a Voice staff writer.

More importantly, Hentoff has been one of the great voices on issues of freedom of speech and freedom of the press over the last couple of decades. I was first introduced to him in graduate school, when one of our ancillary readings was his classic book, The First Freedom. Even though I depart with him on the Crusade Against Jihadi Terrorism, I have never doubted that his views are worthy of respectful consideration. Indeed, he is one of only two syndicated columnists whose work I insist upon reading as soon as it comes out. To see the Village Voice dump him is a shock.

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Best wishes to new parents Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin on the birth of their son.

Bristol Palin, the 18-year-old daughter of former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, gave birth on Sunday to a healthy 7 lb., 4 oz., baby boy in Palmer, Alaska.

"We think it's wonderful," said Colleen Jones, the sister of Bristol's grandmother Sally Heath, who confirmed the news. "The baby is fine and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited."

The baby's name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, according to Jones.

Baby Tripp takes his surname from his dad, Levi Johnston, an apprentice electrician and former Wasilla High School hockey player who has been dating Bristol for three years.

Bristol Palin is currently residing in Wasilla and completing her high-school diploma through correspondence courses.

Baby Tripp's parents are planning a 2009 wedding.

And to those on the Left who want to accuse me of hypocrisy for not condemning the new parents, please realize that my attitude is not yours. Every birth is a moment of beauty and wonder -- a miracle of new opportunities contained in new life. I therefore rejoice, even if I view the choices made by the child's parents to be less than ideal.

Oh, and by the way -- will this finally lay to rest the absurd conspiracy theories regarding young Tripp's mother, grandmother, and uncle perpetuated by folks who now ought to publicly admit that they were not just wrong, but also malicious.

H/T Hot Air

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Sink the blockade runners -- and rid the world of this anti-Semitic publicity hound.

Free Gaza Group spokeswoman Caoimhe Butterly said their 20-meter yacht Dignity would leave Larnaca port around 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Monday with 3.5 tons of donated supplies.

She said the yacht would carry 16 passengers, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney, Cypriot lawmaker and doctor Eleni Theocharous and activists from Britain, Australia, Ireland and Tunisia.

Remember, this is the same Cynthia McKinney who is noted for her history of anti-Semitism. She is going to help those who are actively involved in trying to kill Jews, and demanding that Israel stop defending its citizens from those who have engaged in repeated terror attacks on Israeli. As such, she and her fellow-travelers are entering a war zone with contraband -- and are legitimate military targets.

H/T LGF, Malkin

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No, not for his part in the Blagojevich scandal. That could come later.

I mean for the illegal dumping of human remains.

Secret Service security keeps a close watch as Obama, oldest daughter Malia and sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, among others, make their way down to the rocky shoreline. Together, they spread the ashes of Madelyn Dunham. It's the same spot Obama paid tribute to his mother last August. She died in 1995.

However, consider what the law is on the matter. In Hawaii, it is required that the dumping of human remains take place at least three nautical miles from shore. Federal regulations impose a similar requirement. And while I am not necessarily an expert on such matters, I feel that I am competent to state that this is not taking place three nautical miles from shore..

That's right -- President-elect Obama is demonstrably breaking federal and state environmental laws by dumping the dearly departed less than three feet from shore.

As the folks at NewsBusters point out, our nation's lapdog media has not been willing to cover this mini-scandal -- just as they are willing to accept his self-absolution in the Blagojevich scandal.

But my question is one even more basic -- will the authorities apply the law regarding the illegal dumping of human remains in this case against Barack Obama? Or will he be given a pass on his public lawbreaking?

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Though with a headline like this, it ought to be.

Oldest bat in captivity to mark birthday today at Cranbrook Institute

Here's a little more information.

Tanner, the oldest bat in captivity in the world, turns 23 today at the Cranbrook Institute of Science.

But don't expect loud horns or funny hats at this birthday party.

And instead of cake, he'll get a luscious cup of papaya, mango and melon at noon.

Tanner is a golden bat, a rare species found in nature only on a 13-square-mile island in the Indian Ocean, about 1,300 miles off the shores of Madagascar. The species is critically endangered, with only 1,000 in captivity.

Tanner is only 23. Helen Thomas is 88.

Which do you find more creepy and frightening?

Seems to me she has the battle won hands down.

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Prepare for another move towards successful private space travel -- the carrier for SpaceShip Two has made its first flight.

A carrier aircraft designed to be the first stage of a commercial spaceline system made its maiden test flight Sunday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

Designed by Scaled Composites, the huge and unique White Knight Two mothership rolled down the runway and muscled itself into the air using four Pratt and Whitney PW308A turbofan engines. The White Knight Two flew for about an hour, departing the runway at roughly 8:17 a.m. PT, safely touching down at the Mojave airport at approximately 9:17 a.m. PT.

"It's a big day," said Stuart Witt, general manager of Mojave Air and Space Port. "I think it's a real reflective time. When everybody's looking for a bailout, there are still people that are doing something for a much larger reason," he told Space.com.

SpaceShip Two will be the second step towards Virgin Galactic's suborbital space service. And once it succeeds, who knows what the future will hold for us. My question -- will Sir Richard Branson's venture beat NASA's next generation spacecraft into earth orbit.

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That's what the statistics show.

This holiday season is a time to examine whoÂ’s been naughty and whoÂ’s been nice, but IÂ’m unhappy with my findings. The problem is this: We liberals are personally stingy.

Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet when it comes to individual contributions to charitable causes, liberals are cheapskates.

Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals.

Other research has reached similar conclusions. The “generosity index” from the Catalogue for Philanthropy typically finds that red states are the most likely to give to nonprofits, while Northeastern states are least likely to do so.

The upshot is that Democrats, who speak passionately about the hungry and homeless, personally fork over less money to charity than Republicans — the ones who try to cut health insurance for children.

What is pretty clear here is that while we on the right may question the propriety and effectiveness of government programs, we do more to actually help the poor than liberals do. Support for high taxes and yet another government give-away leads liberals to absolve themselves of the need to actually do something personally for the poor -- while conservatives at all financial levels give more to charitable causes than do liberals at the same income level. And when you include volunteer time, you see the disparity grow. Only if you exclude giving to religious organizations (which would include not just churches, but religious hospitals, religious schools, and other religious charities that engage in their work for religious reasons) does the gap close. But such an exclusion, besides being intellectually dishonest, is also an example of the essential religious bigotry that permeates much of contemporary secular liberalism.

That isn't to say that liberals are bad people -- most of them are not. But when they call for sacrificial giving, they are unwilling to engage in it themselves unless they are forced to do so by the government -- and everyone else is forced to do so with them.

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While our government is trying to save the banking and auto industries, Italy has its own economic crisis to be overcome by government intervention.

The Italian government says it's shoring up the parmigiana market by buying 100,000 wheels of the famed cheese to give to charity.

Despite a strong demand for the cheese in Italy and abroad, parmigiana producers are struggling to make money, which puts parmigiana's future at risk, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The government is buying the chunks of cheese, which weigh about 77 pounds each, with money from a special European Fund meant to feed poor people, the Journal reported.

And in all seriousness, makers of mozzarella producers are upset, arguing that they need a bailout as well.

Well, at least the Italian government is getting something tangible for its money -- is the US government getting anything similar for all the billions in taxpayer cash being tossed around in bailout plans?

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Just like the dinosaurs, a big old asteroid is coming to wipe us out.

A blue-ribbon panel of scientists is trying to determine the best way to detect and ward off any wandering space rocks that might be on a collision course with Earth.

"We're looking for the killer asteroid,'' James Heasley, of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, last week told the committee that the National Academy of Sciences created at Congress' request.

Congress asked the academy to conduct the study after astronomers were unable to eliminate an extremely slight chance that an asteroid called Apophis will slam into Earth with devastating effect in 2036.

Apophis was discovered in 2004 about 17 million miles from Earth on a course that would overlap our planet's orbit in 2029 and return seven years later.

Observers said that the asteroid — a massive boulder left over from the birth of the solar system — is about 1,000 feet wide and weighs at least 50 million tons.
After further observations, astronomers reported that the asteroid would skim by Earth harmlessly in 2029, but it has a one in 44,000 probability of slamming into our planet on Easter Sunday, April 13, 2036.

Hmmmm. . . one-in-44,000. I don’t know that I like those odds. So the article posits an Armageddon-like project to decrease the possibility of an impact. Of course, it may be the end of the world as we know it – but I feel fine.

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A pocket of magma beneath the earth’s crust in Hawaii – the first we can actually study.

A geothermal power company drilling a mile and a half deep on one of the Hawaiian Islands has for the first time encountered an undisturbed chamber of magma, or molten rock, scientists reported this week.

Before the discovery, which was made in 2005, the only access to magma had been on Earth's surface -- in the form of lava from volcanoes.

The 2,000-degree Fahrenheit material in the chamber is undergoing a complicated transformation that may give geologists the first real-time look at how the silicate-rich rock of continents is formed.

"This is Jurassic Park. This is first contact. Here we see this [continental] stuff being produced in its natural habitat," said Bruce D. Marsh, a geologist at Johns Hopkins University. He described the findings at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

Imagine the possibilities.

Increased scientific knowledge.

Near limitless geothermal energy.

An ideal spot to house Gitmo detainees, given that it closely approximates the corner of Hell to which they will be consigned.

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I grew up in a military household – and I spent several years studying for the priesthood. Those experiences taught me the value of patriotism, and the beauty of religious faith. But the reality is that it is not always easy to love one’s country – or to hold on to the hope that is part of faith – when times are bad.

This is a remarkable case of how one man has expressed both of these in the midst of terrible tragedy that took away his entire family in an instant.

One day after an F/A-18D Hornet fighter jet fell from the sky and crashed into his two-story house in San Diego's University City neighborhood, Dong Yun Yoon returned to a home and life in ruins.

Rescue workers sifting through the debris on Cather Avenue had found the bodies of his wife, two baby daughters and mother-in-law.

* * *

"I believe my wife and two babies and mother-in-law are in heaven with God," Yoon said at a news conference afterward. "Nobody expected such a horrible thing to happen, especially right here, our house."

Yoon said he bore no ill will toward the Marine Corps pilot who ejected safely before the jet plunged into the neighborhood two miles west of the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. "I pray for him not to suffer for this action," Yoon said. "I know he's one of our treasures for our country."

First, let me offer my deepest condolences to Mr. Yoon on this grievous loss. To lose one’s entire family in an accident that appears to caused by mechanical failure would seem to be enough to rock his love of country and faith in God – but it has not.

The unswerving faith that there is a life beyond this one, and that hs family has been brought into the presence of the divine is an inspiration.

The words of love and concern for a pilot who managed to escape his crashing plane exemplify the concern that each of us is called to show at all times – but that many of us fail to show under much less severe stress.

And the patriotic sentiment – that our servicemen and women are, indeed, our nation’s treasurs – is one which he could have overlooked in his hour of mourning without a word of reproach from anyone. And yet he stopped to include this acknowledgement, even though it was the crash of a military jet that tore his loved ones away from him. It takes a special sort of patriot to do something like that – one who loves his country when it is hard, not merely when it is easy.

And so I salute Dong Yun Yoon – a man whose example as a patriot and a man of faith we should all strive to follow.

Malkin provides contact information for those wishing to offer their sympathies to Dong Yun Yoon.

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I’d have to argue that this is a leading candidate for “heist of the century”.

Armed robbers pulled off one of the world's biggest jewellery heists at a famed Paris store, making off with 80 million euros (102 million dollars) in diamonds and valuables, investigators said Friday.

A gang of four thieves -- two of them disguised as women -- on Thursday stole nearly all the jewels on display at the Harry Winston boutique just off the Champs-Elysees avenue, which attracts a wealthy international clientele.

The heist was well-planned, a source from the investigating team told AFP. The men knew the names of some of the shop's employees and the location of some hidden storage cases for jewellery.

Given the knowledge this gang had, you have to wonder if it is an inside job? Disgruntled employees, current or former? A mole at Harry Winston? Or just plain a good intelligence operation?

The even bigger question is what one does with $102 million in diamonds and other jewels. Where do you fence the stuff? And to whom do the proceeds eventually accrue?

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After all, a drop in oil prices like the one predicted by Gulf OilÂ’s CEO would surely be merely a temporary thing, as the law of supply and demand would soon lead the former to drop, causing the latter to rise.

Gulf Oil CEO Joe Petrowski said on Wednesday that the price of oil could sink to $20 per barrel, and there is a chance gasoline prices could drop as low as $1 per gallon by early next year.

Speaking at a South Shore Chamber of Commerce breakfast at LombardoÂ’s in Randolph, the Brockton native said that after speculators drove oil prices up, there is a chance that the market will overshoot on the way back down, resulting in much lower prices at the pump.

We still need to develop solar, wind, and other alternate energy sources. We still need to build nuclear plants. We still need to expand the use of clean coal technology. And we still need to heed the wisdom of those chanting “Drill here, drill now” in an effort to end our dependency on foreign energy suppliers.

UPDATE: Looks like Petrowski is not alone in his analysis.

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