January 04, 2007
What makes someone spray a limousine with bullets even though he has no idea who might die? A "gun culture," answers The Denver Post, under the headline "Williams' murder a cowardly gun crime."Suffice it to say that the murder of Darrent Williams would not have occurred, at least in the fashion it did, without a gun. But that fact in itself explains little. What is most horrifying about this crime was the killer's casual targeting of people he hardly knew or didn't know at all over what perhaps was a disagreement or a perceived slight - an example of "disrespect" that had to be avenged.
It may be "culture" at the bottom of this tragedy, all right - gangster culture. Criminal culture. Culture in which lethal violence is considered the accepted if not the anticipated response to, for example, a heated argument.
One need look no further than rap music to find this message reinforced day after day. Too many of my students show up at school in their “Scarface†shirts and claim that the Al Pacino movie exemplifies their philosophy of life. And if I hear one more story of a fight of a student getting into a fight with another kid because “he/she was talking mess about meâ€, I’ll surpass the million mark.
We’ve always had guns in this society, and we always will. What we didn’t have was the message that violence and killing are the first response rather than the last and the mark of manhood. Let’s eradicate that message, not eliminate a tool with many legitimate uses.
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What makes someone spray a limousine with bullets even though he has no idea who might die? A "gun culture," answers The Denver Post, under the headline "Williams' murder a cowardly gun crime."Suffice it to say that the murder of Darrent Williams would not have occurred, at least in the fashion it did, without a gun. But that fact in itself explains little. What is most horrifying about this crime was the killer's casual targeting of people he hardly knew or didn't know at all over what perhaps was a disagreement or a perceived slight - an example of "disrespect" that had to be avenged.
It may be "culture" at the bottom of this tragedy, all right - gangster culture. Criminal culture. Culture in which lethal violence is considered the accepted if not the anticipated response to, for example, a heated argument.
One need look no further than rap music to find this message reinforced day after day. Too many of my students show up at school in their “Scarface” shirts and claim that the Al Pacino movie exemplifies their philosophy of life. And if I hear one more story of a fight of a student getting into a fight with another kid because “he/she was talking mess about me”, I’ll surpass the million mark.
WeÂ’ve always had guns in this society, and we always will. What we didnÂ’t have was the message that violence and killing are the first response rather than the last and the mark of manhood. LetÂ’s eradicate that message, not eliminate a tool with many legitimate uses.
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January 03, 2007
It is sad when those things result in their death.
A 10-year-old boy who apparently was mimicking the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein accidentally hanged himself on New Year's Eve, authorities said.Webster police Lt. Tom Claunch said officers were called to an apartment in the 800 block of NASA Parkway about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and found the boy dead.
Sergio Pelico's mother told police he had watched a report on Saddam's death on a Telemundo news broadcast before he hanged himself, Claunch said.
"It appears to be accidental," he said of the boy's death. "Our gut reaction is that he was experimenting."
My deepest condolences to the Pelico family.
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District Attorney Mike Nifong said after a private swearing-in Tuesday that he intends to help Durham heal the wounds of the Duke University lacrosse case.The prosecutor, who faces ethics charges for his public statements about the sexual assault case against three former lacrosse players, began his four-year term of office in a ceremony closed to avoid reporters.
Nifong answered questions after the ceremony but declined to discuss the lacrosse case or whether he will remain its prosecutor. He said his work as Durham's top law enforcement official will be to help the community recover from the case, which has drawn international attention.
"I don't feel that I'm part of the problem. I feel that I have assisted in revealing the problem," Nifong said. "Durham has some healing to do. And I need to be part of that healing process, and I need to have something to do with how we move forward."
Let's see, mike -- you've taken a case that had potential to inflame racial tensions if mishandled and exploited it to get votes in the black community, while at teh same time engaging in prosecutorial misconduct that appears to violate a number of laws and the civil rights of the defendants. But you are the healer?
No, Mr. Nifong -- you are the carrier of the pathogen.
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Massachusetts legislators approved a measure yesterday that next year could allow voters to overturn a historic same-sex marriage law in the only state in the nation where such unions are legal.A bitterly divided state legislature voted to advance a proposed amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. If the measure survives another legislative vote, it will go on the statewide ballot in 2008, a presidential election year.
And I'll say it quite clearly -- the outcome of that election is less important to me than the issue of allowing the people's voice to be heard. Gay marriage was imposed upon Massachusetts by the courts -- it is hardly unreasonable to let the true source of political power in the state weigh in on the issue.
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January 02, 2007
The swearing-in ceremony for embattled Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong apparently took place inside the Durham County Courthouse this morning while the press and other observers stood outside on the courthouse steps.The ceremony was scheduled for 8 a.m. But the courthouse doesnÂ’t normally open until 8:30 a.m., and a sheriffÂ’s deputy told reporters and others that the doors would remain locked until then.
Nifong, who kept a low profile for the first 27 years of his career as a prosecutor in Durham, is now nationally known for his involvement in the sexual assault case against three former Duke University lacrosse players. The players deny accusations that they assaulted an escort service dancer at a party.
The swearing-in ceremony comes a week after the State Bar accused Nifong of ethics violations for his early public statements about the Duke lacrosse case. The agency regulates and licenses lawyers.
Nifong, appointed Durham District Attorney by Gov. Mike Easley in 2005, was elected to a four-year term in November.
So much for open government -- but then again, Nifong has made the wrong move and set a new low for prosecutorial conduct, so why should we be surprised?
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Dignitaries, Commoners Pay Respects To Ford
Commoners?
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Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, whose sexual relationship with U.S. President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment, has graduated from the London School of Economics, her publicist said on Wednesday.Lewinsky, who was 21 when she became involved with Clinton, is interviewing for jobs in Britain, publicist Barbara Hutson said.
When Lewinsky, 32, received her Masters of Science degree in Social Psychology last Thursday "the audience of students and parents erupted in spontaneous applause. ... It was a very emotional moment for her," Hutson said in a statement.
Hutson said Lewinsky spent the past year studying and "staying away from the London social scene."
She completed a thesis entitled "In Search of the Impartial Juror: An exploration of the third person effect and pre-trial publicity."
My hat is off to Ms. Lewinsky -- well done.
UPDATE 1/2/2007: I agree with Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen about some of the snarky coverage Ms. Lewinsky has received over this very real and very significant accomplishment.
In the various books I've read about the Bill Clinton impeachment scandal -- a scandal because of what was done and a scandal because the president was impeached for it -- the same story is told over and over again. When the prosecutors or lawyers or whoever finally got to meet the storied Monica Lewinsky, they were floored by her. She was smart, personable and -- as the record makes clear -- dignified. This is more than can be said about some of the people who write about her.I will not name names. But in recent days, Lewinsky has been back in the news. In December she graduated with a master's degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics. Her thesis was titled "In Search of the Impartial Juror: An Exploration of the Third Person Effect and Pre-Trial Publicity." Her thesis might well have been called "In Search of the Impartial Journalist," because she was immediately the subject of more poke-in-the-ribs stories about you know what. The Post, a better paper than it was that day, called her "dumb-but-smart." It was more than could be said for that piece.
* * * It would be nice, too, and fair, also, if Lewinsky were treated by the media as it would treat a man. What's astounding is the level of sexism applied to her, as if the wave of the women's movement broke over a new generation of journalists and not a drop fell on any of them. Where, pray tell, is the man who is remembered just for sex? Where is the guy who is the constant joke for something he did in his sexually wanton youth? Maybe here and there some preacher, but in those cases the real subject matter is not sex but hypocrisy. Other than those, no names come to mind.
Which is not to say that there will not always be an element of bawdy humor that is associated with the name "Monica Lewinsky". She is, however, a young woman who has made a new start and has worked hard to better herself. So while she will always be associated with Bill Clinton (who too many admire for his sexual prowess), let's always remember that there is something more to her -- and that there is a human being behind the name who deserves to be treated seriously and with respect.
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)))December 31, 2006
Here are the things I see in the coming year -- let's see if I do better than I did for the year just passed, or can beat my 2005 predictions.
1) Good news -- Fidel Castro finally dies. Bad news -- Kim Jong-Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad don't.
2) Pelosi only seeks to remove GOP alligators from her ethical swamp -- and seeks a special investigation of the DOJ when John Murtha is indicted over his recently disclosed connections with a non-profit group.
3) Tom DeLay finally gets a trial after the Court of Criminal Appeals tosses the Ronnie Earle's attempt to create an ex post facto application of campaign finance law. DeLay will be found not guilty.
4) There will be a troop surge in Iraq beginning in March, with numbers being decreased in July. Next December will see fewer US troops in Iraq than are there as 2006 ends. Presidential poll numbers will rise as the troop surge stabilizes Iraq.
5) We will see a July resignation from the Supreme Court -- and there will be a serious fight over the confirmation of the president's choice of replacement.
6) Congressman Nick Lampson finds it necessary to strike a balance between his overwhelmingly conservative district and his overwhelmingly liberal Democrat supporters. He will have thoroughly alienated one or the other by this time next year, and polls will show him quite vulnerable to either a primary or general election challenge in 2008 (depending on which group he angers).
7) The Texas Legislature will screw up property tax reduction again -- and do nothing significant about teacher salaries and insurance. Congress screws up immigration reform, doing nothing to fix the leaking border while granting amnesty.
Royal weddings: Prince William and Kate Middleton, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky.
9) The Houston Texans make David Carr actually compete for the starting quarterback position after drafting University of Houston QB Kevin Kolb in the third round. Carr remains starter, but has to keep an eye over his shoulder while leading the team to its first playoff appearance in franchise history (as a wild card team) -- but Kolb is clearly the future in Houston.
10) Muslims riot yet again over a perceived slight to Muhammad.
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, 
DD,
THE cover story on abortion in El Salvador in The New York Times Magazine on April 9 contained prominent references to an attention-grabbing fact. “A few” women, the first paragraph indicated, were serving 30-year jail terms for having had abortions. That reference included a young woman named Carmen Climaco. The article concluded with a dramatic account of how Ms. Climaco received the sentence after her pregnancy had been aborted after 18 weeks.It turns out, however, that trial testimony convinced a court in 2002 that Ms. Climaco’s pregnancy had resulted in a full-term live birth, and that she had strangled the “recently born.” A three-judge panel found her guilty of “aggravated homicide,” a fact the article noted. But without bothering to check the court document containing the panel’s findings and ruling, the article’s author, Jack Hitt, a freelancer, suggested that the “truth” was different.
The issues surrounding the article raise two points worth noting, both beyond another reminder to double-check information that seems especially striking. Articles on topics as sensitive as abortion need an extra level of diligence and scrutiny — “bulletproofing,” in newsroom jargon. And this case illustrates how important it is for top editors to carefully assess the complaints they receive. A response drafted by top editors for the use of the office of the publisher in replying to complaints about the Hitt story asserted that there was “no reason to doubt the accuracy of the facts as reported.”
Indeed -- despite the evidence of the official record of the court proceedings, including the scientific evidence, the official line of the New York Times is that hte article was fair, accurate, and truthful. Even though the information in it was false and the reporter never bothered to look at the official court transcripts in the case.
Yeah, you read that right.
Mr. Hitt said Ms. Climaco had been brought to his attention by the magistrate who decided four years ago that the case warranted a trial, so he had asked the magistrate for the court record. “When she told me that the case had been archived, I accepted that to mean that I would have to rely upon the judge who had been directly involved in the case and who heard the evidence” in the trial stage of the judicial process, Mr. Hitt wrote in an e-mail to me. So he didn’t pursue the document.But obtaining the public document isn’t difficult. At my request, a stringer for The Times in El Salvador walked into the court building without making any prior arrangements a few days ago, and minutes later had an official copy of the court ruling. It proved to be the same document as the one disseminated by LifeSiteNews.com, which had been translated into English in early December by a translator retained by The Times Magazine’s editors. I’ve since had the stringer review the translation of key paragraphs for me.
The magistrate, Mr. Hitt noted, “had been helpful in other areas of the story and quite open.” So when she recalled one doctor’s estimate that Ms. Climaco’s pregnancy had been aborted at 18 weeks, he used that in the article. (The only 18-week estimate mentioned in the court ruling came from a doctor who hadn’t seen any fetus and whose deductions from the size of the uterus 17 hours after the birth were found by the three judges to be flawed.)
Mr. Hitt concluded the article with this summation of the Climaco case: “The truth was certainly — well, not in the ’middle’ so much as somewhere else entirely. Somewhere like this: She’d had a clandestine abortion at 18 weeks, not all that different from D.C.’s [another woman cited earlier in the story], something defined as absolutely legal in the United States. It’s just that she’d had an abortion in El Salvador.”
So the story was run based upon the word of the magistrate, and there was no attempt made to get a copy of the record -- a pretty shoddy piece of work. And what did the record show when the transcript was acquired, months after the piece ran in the NY Times magazine?
When Times Magazine editors provided me with an English-language version of the court findings on Dec. 8, just after the translation had been completed, there was little ambiguity in the court’s findings. “We have an already-formed and independent life here,” the court said. “Therefore we are not dealing with an abortion here, as the defense has attempted to claim in the present case.”The physician who had performed the autopsy on the “recently born” testified that it represented a “full-term” birth, which he defined as a pregnancy with a duration of “between 38 and 42 weeks,” the ruling noted. In adopting those conclusions, the court said of another autopsy finding: “Given that the lungs floated when submerged in water, also indicating that the recently-born was breathing at birth, this confirms that we are dealing with an independent life.”
Yep -- a full-term pregnancy, a breathing child, and a murder. No abortion.
But how has the official NY Times responded to the situation? By defending the article, and refusing to acknowledge that its contents are false, all without allowing the facts to finally be checked.
The magazine’s failure to check the court ruling was then compounded for me by the handling of reader complaints about the issue. The initial complaints triggered a public defense of the article by two assistant managing editors before the court ruling had even been translated into English or Mr. Hitt had finished checking various sources in El Salvador. After being queried by the office of the publisher about a possible error, Craig Whitney, who is also the paper’s standards editor, drafted a response that was approved by Gerald Marzorati, who is also the editor of the magazine. It was forwarded on Dec. 1 to the office of the publisher, which began sending it to complaining readers.The response said that while the “fair and dispassionate” story noted Ms. Climaco’s conviction of aggravated homicide, the article “concluded that it was more likely that she had had an illegal abortion.” The response ended by stating, “We have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the facts as reported in our article, which was not part of any campaign to promote abortion.”
And now that the facts are clear in the case, what is the response? To continue to defend the article as true, to reject the findings of the trial court as untrustworthy and possibly politicized, and to refuse to present a retraction or correction -- or even notify those who received the earlier response that new evidence was out there casting doubt on whether or not the article was fair or accurate.
The article was “as accurate as it could have been at the time it was written,” Mr. Marzorati wrote to me. “I also think that if the author and we editors knew of the contents of that third ruling, we would have qualified what we said about Ms. Climaco. Which is NOT to say that I simply accept the third ruling as ‘true’; El Salvador’s judicial system is terribly politicized.”I asked Mr. Whitney if he intended to suggest that the office of the publisher bring the court’s findings to the attention of those readers who received the “no reason to doubt” response, or that a correction be published. The latest word from the standards editor: “No, I’m not ready to do that, nor to order up a correction or Editors’ Note at this point.”
In other words, what are the standards at the NY Times? No standards -- not when it might present the paper in a bad light, and so the Times stands by the article that is factually untrue. So much for the "paper of record".
UPDATE: 1/2/2007: Well, looks like some others are picking up on the story -- including Michelle Malkin, The Saloon, Elmer's Brother, The Coffeespy, Blake's Blog, Hot Air, Roger L. Simon, Custos Fidei
UPDATE 1/3/2007" Could it be that the only staff member to lose his position over this scandal (at least in part) will be public editor Barney Calame -- because he has once agaain taken a position critical of, rather than endorsing, outrageous actions by the Time editorial staff?
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December 16, 2006
Former President Carter has decided not to visit Brandeis University to talk about his new book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" because he does not want to debate Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz as the university had requested."I don't want to have a conversation even indirectly with Dershowitz," Carter told The Boston Globe. "There is no need ... for me to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine."
The debate request is proof that many in the United States are unwilling to hear an alternative view on the nation's most taboo foreign policy issue, Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, Carter said.
No, Mr. Carter -- the debate request is proof that Americans want honest discussion. You claim that you want to promote dialogue -- but when offered a chance for discussion and debate, you refuse to participate. I guess it is question of what the meaning of "dialogue" is -- and in your vocabulary, it means "shut up and listen to what I have to say."
I guess it is simply the case that Jimmy Carter doesn't want to share the stage with a Jew as an equal -- instead he would rather visit a Jewish university and tell the Jewish students what is wrong with the Jews.
For shame, Mr. Carter -- you truly are the Worst President Ever -- and now have become the Worst Ex-President Ever.
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December 14, 2006
A laboratory hired by the prosecution in the Duke lacrosse case found DNA from unidentified men in the accuser's body and underwear but none from the defendants, according to a defense motion filed Wednesday.DNA Security of Burlington in May produced a report to Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong that made no mention of finding the genetic material.
Wednesday's motion raised questions about whether Nifong and DNA Security withheld evidence favorable to the defense. It also cast further doubt on accounts given by the accuser, who told nurses and police that her attackers ejaculated and did not use condoms. The tests revealed no DNA evidence from any of 46 lacrosse players then suspected in the case.
"This is strong evidence of innocence," said the motion, which was signed by attorneys for all three defendants. "There is not a single mention of this obviously exculpatory evidence in the final DNA Security report."
Defense lawyers for months pressed Nifong in court to release all test documents from DNA Security. The evidence in Wednesday's motion was contained in thousands of DNA Security papers that a judge in October ordered Nifong to give to the defense.
Defense lawyers, citing the state's open file discovery law and the U.S. Supreme Court requirement that prosecutors surrender all helpful evidence, asked for more lab records, including analyses, notes, e-mail and logs of phone calls. They also asked that Brian Meehan, director of DNA Security, be questioned under oath. A hearing is scheduled for Friday in the case.
And it would appear we need to shut down the lab, too, for ginning up a report tailored to the prosecutionÂ’s wants and needs instead of bringing the facts to light.
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People who melt pennies or nickels to profit from the jump in metals prices could face jail time and pay thousands of dollars in fines, according to new rules out Thursday.Soaring metals prices mean that the value of the metal in pennies and nickels exceeds the face value of the coins. Based on current metals prices, the value of the metal in a nickel is now 6.99 cents, while the penny's metal is worth 1.12 cents, according to the U.S. Mint.
That has piqued concern among government officials that people will melt the coins to sell the metal, leading to potential shortages of pennies and nickels.
"The nation needs its coinage for commerce," U.S. Mint director Ed Moy said in a statement. "We don't want to see our pennies and nickels melted down so a few individuals can take advantage of the American taxpayer. Replacing these coins would be an enormous cost to taxpayers."
There have been no specific reports of people melting coins for the metal, Mint spokeswoman Becky Bailey says. But the agency has received a number of questions in recent months from the public about the legality of melting the coins, and officials have heard some anecdotal reports of companies considering selling the metal from pennies and nickels, she says.
Under the new rules, it is illegal to melt pennies and nickels. It is also illegal to export the coins for melting. Travelers may legally carry up to $5 in 1- and 5-cent coins out of the USA or ship $100 of the coins abroad "for legitimate coinage and numismatic purposes."
Violators could spend up to five years in prison and pay as much as $10,000 in fines. Plus, the government will confiscate any coins or metal used in melting schemes.
The rules are similar to those enacted in the 1960s and 1970s, when metals prices also rose, the Mint said. Ongoing regulations make it illegal to alter coins with an intent to commit fraud. Before today's new regulations, it was not illegal to melt coins.
Now hold on – is the money MY money, or the government’s money? Do the coins belong to me, or to the government? What about the metal the coins are composed of – my property or the government’s? And if the answer to these question is that it is my property, where does the government get off penalizing my decision on how to dispose of the coins and their metal content?
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December 13, 2006
A violent solar explosion sent a dangerous wave of radiation through space late Tuesday, prompting NASA to order the crews of Discovery and the International Space Station to take shelter overnight, according to Local 6 News partner Florida Today.The solar flare erupted around 9:40 p.m., unleashing enough radiation to disrupt radio communications on Earth and in orbit while endangering astronauts circling 220 miles above the planet.
NASA flight surgeons and agency radiation experts determined that the burst of highly energetic particles approached a limit that made preventative action prudent, Florida Today reported.
Station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and shuttle skipper Mark Polansky were told to move their crews to the most shielded areas in either spacecraft.
They include the middeck of the shuttle's crew compartment and temporary sleeping quarters in the station's U.S. Destiny science laboratory.
The back ends of the American lab and a Russian command control center at the outpost also were options, the report said.
That is one of the more unusual hazards of space travel.
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December 12, 2006
A teenager responsible for a crime spree that sent police into a frenzy said he has no regrets in an interview about what led him to kill.
Lavender Howse, 16, murdered one man, and shot a child and a woman within a matter of hours in June, 2005."This ain't no place to be, especially for no 16-year-old," he said.
Howse was convicted of shooting a security guard in cold blood, then minutes later shooting a nine year old in the face and another innocent woman walking her dog.
"In a blink of a moment it can happen," he said. "That's how it happened to me, I wasn't even thinking. It just happened."
Now in prison, he won't even have a chance of freedom till he's 81 years old. His home is a prison cell after a life on the streets of East Nashville.
In other words, taxpayers will be supporting him for 65 years – at a minimum. And he feels not a lick of remorse.
For Howse, emotion is rare and remorse is unseen.
"I finally got over it, you gotta let it go, can't keep thinking about it," he said.
Even the nine year old gets little sympathy. He said he'd like to say sorry maybe, but for Howse it was just a mistake.
No remorse, no empathy.
But he claims to have found God – sort of.
Care to guess which religion this unrepentant murderer has picked?
He has found God in prison, and has converted to Islam while in the Metro jail.
Anybody surprised?
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Some of the scientists who first advanced the controversial "nuclear winter" theory more than two decades ago have come up with another bleak forecast: Even a regional nuclear war would devastate the environment.Using modern climate and population models, researchers estimated that a small-scale nuclear conflict between two warring nations would cause 3 million to 17 million immediate casualties and lead to a marked cooldown of the planet that could lead to crop failures and further misery.
* * * The new studies looked at the consequences if two nations dropped 50 Hiroshima-size bombs on each other's big cities. By analyzing population data and distance from blast, scientists predicted a regional nuclear war would kill 3 million people in Israel and up to 17 million in China. The U.S. would see 4 million blast deaths.
But the researchers say black soot from the fires would linger in the atmosphere, blocking the sun's rays and causing average global surface temperatures to drop about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the first three years. Although the planet would see a gradual warming within a decade, it would still be colder than it was before the war, the scientists said.
The cooldown would shorten the growing season by about a month in parts of North America, Europe and Asia. Normal rainfall patterns such as summer monsoons in Africa and Southeast Asia would be disrupted, possibly causing huge crop failures.
But as I understand matters, this would cut back on the warming trend that we are told threatens to bring about “the end of the world as we know it†– and the population reduction would slow the rate of growth and temperature increase. I would therefore think that liberals would advocate popping off several nukes ever couple of decades, because of we have Earth in the balance – or is such thinking merely an inconvenient truth?
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Some of the scientists who first advanced the controversial "nuclear winter" theory more than two decades ago have come up with another bleak forecast: Even a regional nuclear war would devastate the environment.Using modern climate and population models, researchers estimated that a small-scale nuclear conflict between two warring nations would cause 3 million to 17 million immediate casualties and lead to a marked cooldown of the planet that could lead to crop failures and further misery.
* * * The new studies looked at the consequences if two nations dropped 50 Hiroshima-size bombs on each other's big cities. By analyzing population data and distance from blast, scientists predicted a regional nuclear war would kill 3 million people in Israel and up to 17 million in China. The U.S. would see 4 million blast deaths.
But the researchers say black soot from the fires would linger in the atmosphere, blocking the sun's rays and causing average global surface temperatures to drop about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the first three years. Although the planet would see a gradual warming within a decade, it would still be colder than it was before the war, the scientists said.
The cooldown would shorten the growing season by about a month in parts of North America, Europe and Asia. Normal rainfall patterns such as summer monsoons in Africa and Southeast Asia would be disrupted, possibly causing huge crop failures.
But as I understand matters, this would cut back on the warming trend that we are told threatens to bring about “the end of the world as we know it” – and the population reduction would slow the rate of growth and temperature increase. I would therefore think that liberals would advocate popping off several nukes ever couple of decades, because of we have Earth in the balance – or is such thinking merely an inconvenient truth?
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December 11, 2006
The holiday trees that went away in the middle of the night are back.Tonight, Port of Seattle staff began putting up the trees they had taken down Friday night after a local rabbi requested that a Hanukkah menorah also be displayed. Port officials said the rabbi's lawyer had threatened to imminently file a lawsuit, leaving them with insufficient time to consider all the issues.
A nationwide furor erupted over the weekend as news of the trees' removal spread, with a flood of calls to Port officials and harshly worded e-mails to Jewish organizations. Today, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky said he would not file a lawsuit and the Port, in response, said it would put the trees back up.
"This has been an unfortunate situation for all of us in Seattle," Port of Seattle Commission President Pat Davis said in a statement. "The rabbi never asked us to remove the trees; it was the Port's decision based on what we knew at the time. We very much appreciate the rabbi's willingness to work with us as we move forward."
And I hope the menorah the rabi wants is put up -- and that a Nativity scene is added. After all, the rabbi has demanded the introduction of religious symbols to the airport's holiday display, which had been secular up to this point.
And by the way -- I'd like to heartily condemn those who have threatened the rabbi for his actions. Even though he was dead wrong, such threats of violence are never appropriate -- and especially not in the name of a holiday honoring the Prince of peace.
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December 10, 2006
After a humiliating plagiarism scandal that rocked the New York Times [NYT], Jayson Blair is quietly resurrecting his journalism career by writing about the very subject he says brought him down: Bipolar disorder.Blair, 30, has been lending his expertise to 3-year-old bp (bipolar) magazine. He wrote a first-person piece about bipolar disorder and the role it played in his downfall that bp magazine ran last year.
“It went through a very rigorous editing process,” said Editor Nancy Tobin. “We just have a very rigorous editing process and a great deal of fact checking.” Tobin admits she was skeptical of Blair at first. “When I first got a call from Jayson Blair I was very surpised,” said Tobin, who didn’t know he’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Before he wrote for them, Tobin said she “made very careful verfications that he was who he said he was” and had him fax her his diagnosis from his psychiatrist’s office.
But can you trust a thing he says?
H/T Malkin
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December 08, 2006
Te 2007 Atlantic hurricane season should have above-average activity, a top hurricane researcher said Friday.Colorado State forecaster William Gray predicted 14 named storms next year, including three major hurricanes and four other hurricanes.
Gray and fellow researcher Philip Klotzbach said fewer hurricanes are likely to make landfall compared to last year, which had the busiest and most destructive hurricane season on record.
It had 28 named storms, including 15 hurricanes, four of which hit the U.S. The worst of those was Katrina, which leveled parts of the Gulf Coast.
This year's season had nine named storms and five hurricanes, two of them major. That was considered a "near normal" season but fell short of predictions by Gray and government scientists.
No hurricanes hit the U.S. Atlantic coast in 2006 - only the 11th time that has occurred since 1945.
Gray's team said a late-developing El Nino contributed to the calmer 2006 season but that those conditions are likely to dissipate before the next June-to-November season.
"Despite a fairly inactive 2006 hurricane season, we believe that the Atlantic basin is in an active hurricane cycle," Gray said. The active cycle is expected to continue for another decade or two, he said.
In other words, despite not knowing what they were talking about last year, they are confident that they know what they are talking about this year.
So, will this heavy season be the fault of George W. Bush – or of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the Democrats, given that they are now in charge and setting the tone in Washington?
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If reports are true that Chelsea Clinton and her boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky are considering marriage, the father of the groom won't be able to attend the wedding until he is released from prison in November 2008.Ed Mezvinsky, a former Iowa Congressman, is serving a seven-year sentence for fraud after getting caught up in a series of Nigerian e-mail scams.
Initially, Mezvinsky became the victim of "just about every different kind of African-based scam we've ever seen," federal prosecutor Bob Zauzmer told 20/20 for a report to be broadcast this evening.
But then, says Zauzmer, Mezvinsky began to steal from clients and even his own mother-in-law to raise the money to try yet another scheme.
* * * After leaving Congress, Mezvinsky moved to Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs with his wife Marjorie Margolies, a former television reporter, who won a seat in Congress herself.
"They were seen as people of means; they were a legitimate power couple," said Gar Joseph, a political columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News.
The Mezvinkskys were also close to Bill and Hillary Clinton and were frequent guests at White House state dinners.
Prosecutors say Mezvinsky used his connections to the Clintons and his son's social relationship with Chelsea to persuade people to give him money to participate in the scams.
Stupid and corrupt – seems to me to be a step down for Chelsea, whose parents are at least intelligent and corrupt.
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Indian men's penises do not match international sizes and most condoms on sale in the country are too big, according to a medical study.The Indian Council of Medical Research, the country's top health research institute, found 60 percent of men in Mumbai had penises at least 2.4 centimeters (one inch) shorter than international condom sizes, The Times of India newspaper said Friday.
For 30 percent, the gap was five centimeters (two inches), said a researcher quoted in the article headlined "Indian men don't measure up".
The institute surveyed 1,400 men visiting family planning clinics across the country to conduct the "Study on proper length and breadth specification for condoms".
The study was carried out in a bid to improve the sizing of condoms, which have a failure rate of up to 20 percent in India.
"While improper usage is one of the reasons, there is also condom slippage or tear, which is associated with the size of the condom in relation to an erect penis," said Dr Chander Puri, director of the councils National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health.
[INSERT YOUR PUNCHLINE HERE]
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Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, an unabashed apostle of Reagan era conservatism and the first woman U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has died.The death of the 80-year-old Kirkpatrick, who began her public life as a Hubert Humphrey Democrat, was announced Friday at the senior staff meeting of the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
Spokesman Richard Grenell said that Ambassador John Bolton asked for a moment of silence. An announcement of her death also was posted on the Web site of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-oriented think tank here where she was a senior fellow.
Kirkpatrick's assistant, Andrea Harrington, said that she died in her sleep at home in Bethesda, Md. late Thursday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Kirkpatrick's health had been in decline recently, Harrington said, adding that she was "basically confined to her house," going to work about once a week "and then less and less."
One of my favorite commentators, Bill Bennett, offers this eulogy for the former UN Ambassador.
Bill Bennett, a former secretary of education under Reagan, the nation's drug czar under the first President Bush and a leading conservative opinion-maker, called her "very forceful, very strong, a daughter of Oklahoma, great sense of humor. She held her own."Bennett said the Iraq Study Group so prominently in the news "would have been better with Jeane Kirkpatrick on it ... She had no patience with tyrannies, said they had to be confronted, you couldn't deal with tyrannies, that there were some people you could work with - these people you couldn't."
In other words, Ambassador Kirkpatrick was a true realist, unlike those currently accorded the title.
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December 07, 2006
President Bush vowed yesterday to come up with "a new strategy" in Iraq but expressed little enthusiasm for the central ideas of a bipartisan commission that advised him to ratchet back the U.S. military commitment in Iraq and launch an aggressive new diplomatic effort in the region.On the day after the congressionally chartered Iraq Study Group released its widely anticipated report, much of Washington maneuvered to pick out the parts they like and pick apart those they do not. The report's authors were greeted with skepticism on Capitol Hill, and Democratic leaders used the occasion to press Bush to change course without embracing the commission's particular recipe themselves.
The group's 96-page report roiled some in the Middle East, particularly Israel, which rejected proposals for concessions to Syria. And it drew fire from current and former U.S. officials who called its diplomacy ideas unrealistic, unattainable and even misguided. The U.S. ground commander in Iraq, while welcoming the report's broad principles, warned that meeting its goal of withdrawing combat units by early 2008 could prove to "be very problematic."
So let's get this straight -- the White house sees problems with it, the Democrats aren't embracing it, our allies are opposed to the ideas included, and the military finds its suggestions unworkable. Would somebody explain why the authors are being called "realists"?
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December 06, 2006
Mary Cheney, the vice president's openly gay daughter, is pregnant. She and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, said a source close to the couple.It's a baby boom for grandparents Dick and Lynne Cheney: Their older daughter, Elizabeth, went on leave as deputy assistant secretary of state before having her fifth child in July. "The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild," spokesman Lea Anne McBride said last night.
Cheney, 37, was a key aide to her father during the 2004 reelection campaign and now is vice president for consumer advocacy at AOL. Poe, 45, a former park ranger, is renovating their Great Falls home.
News of the pregnancy will undoubtedly reignite the debate about gay marriage. During the campaign, Mary Cheney was criticized by gay activists for not being more publicly supportive of same-sex marriage. Her father said people "ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to" but deferred to the president's policy supporting a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. Cheney herself called the proposed amendment "a gross affront to gays and lesbians everywhere" in her book, "Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life," which was published in May.
Cheney has described her relationship with Poe -- whom she took to last year's White House dinner honoring Prince Charles and Camilla-- as a marriage. The two met in 1988 while playing ice hockey and began dating four years later. They moved from Colorado to Virginia a year ago to be closer to Cheney's family. In an interview with the Post six months ago, when asked if she and Poe wanted children, Cheney said that was a "conversation I think I should have with Heather first."
Even if my belief is that a mixed-sex, two-parent family is the best family structure, I will not condemn or cast aspersions upon those who act differently.
And sadly, I suspect that the timing of this event was based upon politics. No, not the politics of her father and the Bush Administration, but the politics of personal destruction the Left has engaged in regarding homosexual Republicans and or homosexual family members of Republicans.
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December 04, 2006
More than 15 months after Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin on Monday tapped a leading regional planner and disaster recovery expert to head a new city recovery office.Edward J. Blakely, who helped coordinate recovery planning in California after two natural disasters and in New York City after Sept. 11, has been chosen to lead what is expected to be a five-person office and to serve as the leader for marshaling a recovery process that critics have derided as too slow.
``We think he's the best in the world to help us through this recovery,'' Nagin said at a news conference.
Well, now we know why New Orleans is still a ruin -- Ray Nagin was trying to find someone with a clue to help him rebuild.
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2) Will the Saudi Peace Initiative of 2002 finally bear fruit? Perhaps, if Israeli PM Olmert agrees to the framework This could lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, as well as peace between Israel and seven Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, the Emirates, Morocco and Tunisia. Are the Arabs willing to guarantee Israeli security against the various terrorist groups they have encouraged in the region over the last several decades?
3) When even the incoming head of the Congregation for the Clergy says that the abolition of mandatory celibacy should be considered, can the elimination of the practice be that far away?
4) Fresh from his reelection as dictator, Hugo Chavez now plans on throttling the free press of Venezuela with a new censorship law aimed at those who criticize his government.
5) Here we have it – Steven Breyer is unfit to serve on the Supreme Court, as evidenced by his own words. If it is his intent to look beyond the Constitution to determine the validity of American law, he is in violation of his oath of office.
6) The New York Times is lamenting the possibility that the Supreme Court might interfere with local control of school districts that want to use race in assigning students to schools based upon race and ethnicity. Have the editors really moved so far from the principles of Brown v. Board of Education? And here is an early report on oral arguments on the topic before the Court today. And SCOTUS Blog offers a great analysis of why the race-based programs will likely fall.
7) More troops in Iraq, not fewer? That is the call of military leaders, not politicians – you know, the folks who are experts about the situation on the ground and what is needed to win. Sounds like a great idea to me.
8) Terrorists promote ignorance to get a grip on Iraq. I guess that means that only stupid people can support sharia law and jihadi murder.
9) Even though Prager was dead wrong in his column, I don’t believe he should lose his position on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council – an especially not at the urging of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization associate with groups out to finish what Hitler started.
10) John Bolton to leave the UN due to Democrat intransigence on his confirmation, despite doing an excellent job as UN Ambassador.
11) Another one bites the dust. The IDF does good work to eliminate terrorist scum.
12) NASA has interesting new plans for a permanent presence on the moon.
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2) Will the Saudi Peace Initiative of 2002 finally bear fruit? Perhaps, if Israeli PM Olmert agrees to the framework This could lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, as well as peace between Israel and seven Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, the Emirates, Morocco and Tunisia. Are the Arabs willing to guarantee Israeli security against the various terrorist groups they have encouraged in the region over the last several decades?
3) When even the incoming head of the Congregation for the Clergy says that the abolition of mandatory celibacy should be considered, can the elimination of the practice be that far away?
4) Fresh from his reelection as dictator, Hugo Chavez now plans on throttling the free press of Venezuela with a new censorship law aimed at those who criticize his government.
5) Here we have it – Steven Breyer is unfit to serve on the Supreme Court, as evidenced by his own words. If it is his intent to look beyond the Constitution to determine the validity of American law, he is in violation of his oath of office.
6) The New York Times is lamenting the possibility that the Supreme Court might interfere with local control of school districts that want to use race in assigning students to schools based upon race and ethnicity. Have the editors really moved so far from the principles of Brown v. Board of Education? And here is an early report on oral arguments on the topic before the Court today. And SCOTUS Blog offers a great analysis of why the race-based programs will likely fall.
7) More troops in Iraq, not fewer? That is the call of military leaders, not politicians – you know, the folks who are experts about the situation on the ground and what is needed to win. Sounds like a great idea to me.
Terrorists promote ignorance to get a grip on Iraq. I guess that means that only stupid people can support sharia law and jihadi murder.
9) Even though Prager was dead wrong in his column, I don’t believe he should lose his position on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council – an especially not at the urging of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization associate with groups out to finish what Hitler started.
10) John Bolton to leave the UN due to Democrat intransigence on his confirmation, despite doing an excellent job as UN Ambassador.
11) Another one bites the dust. The IDF does good work to eliminate terrorist scum.
12) NASA has interesting new plans for a permanent presence on the moon.
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December 03, 2006
Now that may sound weird, but around here it isn't -- it is a sign that a launch is imminent, and that everything is going according to plan. After all, the guys who will miss the Christmas party are part of the team that will be guiding this little project once it gets of the ground on Thursday night.
They wield no scalpels, but seven U.S. and European shuttle astronauts will be prepared to carry out electronic bypass surgery when they lift off this week to overhaul an outdated power system aboard the international space station.Many involved in Discovery's upcoming 12-day flight consider it among the most challenging of the 33 space station construction missions that will be flown by NASA shuttle crews.
"This is a major milestone in space station assembly," said NASA's John Curry, the mission's lead space station flight director. "I will be pleasantly surprised if everything works without a hitch."
Curry's planning team has spent more than four years preparing a timeline of critical procedures that must be carried out by the astronauts, in concert with activities in Mission Control.
If successful, the shuttle crew will replace the station's 6-year-old temporary power system with a permanent electrical grid.
The overhaul will provide electricity to power European and Japanese science modules when they are added to the station in late 2007 and 2008. The work also will enable the 220-mile-high orbital outpost to house six full-time astronauts in three years, twice the current population.
Mission Control will interrupt the flow of electricity to half of the space station during two of the shuttle crew's three spacewalks. The interruptions will enable the spacewalkers to make more than 150 changes to external power lines.
"It's just like it was in your own home when your mother told you to turn off the lamp before you unplugged it," said astronaut Robert Curbeam, who will lead each of the near seven-hour outings.
Equally as worrisome, one of two 120-foot-long solar panels that have supplied electrical power to the station for the past six years must be retracted. The never-before-attempted retraction is necessary to provide clearance for a pair of similar panels on the solar power module installed on the station by the Atlantis astronauts in September.
Stretching 240 feet, the panels on the new power module are designed to rotate like a slow-turning aircraft propeller to collect sunlight that can be converted into electricity.
To establish the new electrical grid, the shuttle crew and flight controllers also must activate four external power distribution boxes and a pair of coolant pumps that have been dormant since they were installed four years ago.
The challenge for the shuttle crew and ground controllers will be to activate the pumps as quickly as possible after the distribution boxes are switched on during the second and third spacewalks. The cooling fluid circulated by the pumps prevents the boxes from overheating.
Discovery's launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for Thursday at 8:36 p.m. CST.
The liftoff will be the first at night in four years. According to shuttle managers, NASA must resume nighttime launches if the agency is to finish assembling the half-built station. The project must be finished by 2010, the White House-imposed retirement date for the space shuttles.
"At this stage, every mission is critical. Every mission depends upon the success of its predecessor," said Mark Polansky, Discovery's commander. "Every mission that follows is concerned with how we finish."
Discovery's mission was once scheduled to lift off in July 2003, six months after the shuttle Columbia's in-flight destruction. In September, the Atlantis astronauts carried out the first of 15 flights needed to finish the space station.
After the cause of Columbia's breakup was traced to damage from foam insulation loss during liftoff, NASA used daytime launches for the best use of cameras that would track any loss of foam from the shuttle's external fuel tank. With no debris causing serious damage, NASA is more confident about night launches.
Discovery's crew will deliver an 11-foot-long addition to the station's solar power network.
Once the astronauts reach the orbital base, they plan to hoist the 4,100-pound aluminum truss segment from the shuttle's cargo bay with a robotic arm.
During the mission's first spacewalk, Curbeam and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang plan to bolt the $11 million extension to the station. If the older solar panel refuses to retract, Curbeam and Fuglesang would be directed to use battery-operated ratchets to reel in the panel.
The spacewalkers could also face problems as Mission Control attempts to activate the dormant power distribution boxes and coolant pumps on the second and third outings.
Managers could add a fourth spacewalk. Replacement boxes and pumps are already positioned aboard the station.
"You are basically re-wiring your house while you live in it," said Kirk Shireman, who chairs NASA's space station mission management team. "So, we have spent a lot of time over the years developing procedures to back out of our procedures, another reason why this fight is so complicated."
So guys, we'll all be thinking about you when the gift exchange is going on -- because we know that you have something much more important to do. Good luck and Godspeed to all involved in the Discovery launch and mission.
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November 29, 2006
Finally, it's time to bring out the blankets.>And with temperatures today and this weekend expected to dip into near freezing numbers, talk turns to protecting the plants, pipes and, of course, people.
At the city of Houston Parks and Recreation Department, horticulturist Dee Howell and her staff spent much of Wednesday covering delicate potted plants outside the department's greenhouse.
"I would be worried if I had a lot of tropical plants," she said.
The cold front likely will reach Houston by noon, said Paul Lewis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in League City.
Expect temperatures to drop from a high of 71 to a low of 33 tonight, along with a 70 percent chance of rain. Lewis said the storm will move very quickly, with 15 mph to 20 mph northwest winds. Winds may reach 30 mph in nearby coastal areas. Temperatures could dip to freezing about dawn Friday.
But balmier temperatures should be back in a few days.
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A journalistÂ’s ability to protect the identity of confidential sources has been further eroded by the Supreme CourtÂ’s refusal this week to stop a prosecutor from reviewing the telephone records of two New York Times reporters. This is the latest legal blow to the diminishing right of journalists to shield informants who often provide information of great interest and importance but who might be punished if their identities were known.
Yeah, that’s right – folks who engage in criminal leaking of juicy information that the NY Times wants to publish on Page One because it helps the enemies of America. That’s right – the NY Times argues that journalists ought to have the right to obstruct justice.
The case arose from a Chicago grand jury investigation into who told the two reporters, Judith Miller and Philip Shenon, about actions the government planned to take against two Islamic charities in late 2001. The government contends that the reporters, in performing the normal journalistic practice of calling the charities for comment, effectively tipped them off to impending raids and asset seizures, undermining the effort.
Yes, it is true that the reporters may not have done anything criminal, but it would certainly appear that their sources did. That is why the information on the sources is necessary – it is essential to punishing criminal wrong-doing by the sources.
Rather than drag the reporters into court, where they could have protected their sources by refusing to testify, the prosecutor subpoenaed their phone records for 11 days in 2001. A trial court prohibited the government from obtaining the records from the phone companies, but a divided appeals court reversed that decision. Now the Supreme Court, in refusing to intervene, has effectively allowed the prosecutor to search through the records in hopes he can pinpoint the source of the leak.
Indeed, precisely because the reporters would have obstructed justice and jailed for contempt it is necessary for the prosecutors to obtain the phone records. If the reporters would recognize that they are subject to precisely the same laws that apply to the rest of Americans, such a subpoena would not be necessary. Bu reporters seem to believe that they are different, endowed by rights above those of ordinary Americans, and so the subpoena is the only way to get the records. The entire thing could be settled by an offer to reveal the sources to the investigators in the case – but the NY Times views itself and its employees as more important than the criminal justice system.
This is a bad outcome for the press and for the public. The phone records reveal the identities of lots of sources having nothing to do with the leaks. The appeals courtÂ’s disingenuous suggestion that The Times might redact irrelevant records would simply have helped point to possible leakers.
Again, that is the choice of the New York Times and its employees – revealing the sources directly would avoid this undesirable outcome, and sustain the rule of law over the rule of the media.
The public will be ill served if this case reduces the willingness of officials to reveal important but sensitive information. The privilege granted to journalists to protect their sources needs to be bolstered with a strong federal shield law that would preserve the public interest in newsgathering and dissemination of information.
Actually, the public will be well-served if the case reduces the willingness of unscrupulous officials to reveal important sensitive information that undermine the Crusade Against Jihadi Terrorism and other national security matters. There should be no special privileges granted journalists, no shield laws and no right to obstruct justice. AmericaÂ’s security depends upon it.
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November 28, 2006
The City Council here voted late Tuesday to ban certain giant retail stores, dealing a blow to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s potential to expand in the nation's eighth-largest city.The measure, approved on a 5-3 vote, prohibits stores of more than 90,000 square feet that use 10 percent of space to sell groceries and other merchandise that is not subject to sales tax. It takes aim at Wal-Mart Supercenter stores, which average 185,000 square feet and sell groceries.
Mayor Jerry Sanders will veto the ban if the Council reaffirms it on a second vote, which will likely happen in January, said mayoral spokesman Fred Sainz. The Council can override his veto with five votes.
"What the Council did tonight was social engineering, not good public policy," Sainz said.
Supporters of the ban argued that Wal-Mart puts smaller competitors out of business, pays workers poorly, and contributes to traffic congestion and pollution. Opponents said the mega-retailer provides jobs and low prices and that a ban would limit consumer choice.
Wal-Mart will likely challenge this in court, but i don't think they should. Rather, the retailer should announce that it will no longer hire employees who live in zip codes within the city limits of San Diego -- and any other community that passes such an ordinance. After all, if San Diego doesn't want Wal-Mart, why should Walmart pump money into the city's economy?
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November 21, 2006
The folks from PowerLine tell all about their poll -- and list this reason for the Chronicle's nomination.
The Houston Chronicle: A reader who worked for the Chronicle for “quite a while”: “Its main problem is not even its liberalism, which it suffers from, but its vapidity. On top of that, the editor from Hearst Corp. is trying to teach Houstonians how to be proper liberals. The fact that no one ever hears about the newspaper at America’s fourth largest city should tell you a lot.”
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November 18, 2006
A SPICY sausage known as the Welsh Dragon will have to be renamed after trading standardsÂ’ officers warned the manufacturers that they could face prosecution because it does not contain dragon.The sausages will now have to be labelled Welsh Dragon Pork Sausages to avoid any confusion among customers.
Jon Carthew, 45, who makes the sausages, said yesterday that he had not received any complaints about the absence of real dragon meat. He said: “I don’t think any of our customers believe that we use dragon meat in our sausages. We use the word because the dragon is synonymous with Wales.”
His company, the Black Mountains Smokery at Crickhowell, in Powys, turns out 200,000 sausages a year, including the Welsh Dragon, which is made with chili, leak and pork. A Powys County Council spokesman said: “The product was not sufficiently precise to inform a purchaser of the true nature of the food.”
In-frickin'-credible! Consumers might not realize they were not eating actual dragon meat? I don't know how any other government agency in any part of the world could possibly top this one.
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November 10, 2006
2) Of course, it could be worse – at least they are not reenacting Kristallnacht style destruction of Jewish institutions, like they are in France.
3) And speaking of Kristallnacht, will the world ever learn the lesson of that evil night? Or will we continue to allow Jew-hatred to be taught unchallenged by Muslim governments and schools around the world – and by “anti-Zionist†professors in the rest of the world.
4) Which leads us, of course, to the issue of terrorism. In the UK, they are tracking two hundred plots and hundreds of plotters. Care to guess the religion of the overwhelming majority of the terrorists?
5) Illegals can get away with murder in this country – if they are taken into custody by immigration authorities, they may be deported without ever facing charges for the death they cause. If they are not taken into custody by immigration authorities, they often get bail and skip town. We need a new solution – no bail for illegals, and all costs of imprisonment should be reimbursed to the state or federal government from their homeland’s foreign aid allotment.
6) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has the genes for this comment about the election results – “I'm Dan Rostenkowski." If he carries his father’s genes for dishonesty and corruption, he might just live up to down to the level set by the original Rosty.
7) To all those who voted Democrat this week – did you feel a draft in the polling place? If so, it was just John Murtha and Charles Rangel killing the all-volunteer military and taking you or your children into military service against their will. Did you know that’s what you would get? If it passes, I hope the president lets it become law without his signature – just so the American people recognize how the Democrats are all about taking away freedom of choice.
8) Speaking of Democrats, Evan Bayh recognizes that his party has no mandate for a liberal agenda.
9) Here’s a congresswoman I think the world of – and hope there is a place for her in the leadership of the GOP. After all, anyone who stands up to the terrorist apologists of CAIR clearly has her head screwed on right.
10) Here’s an interesting First Amendment conundrum – can a school ban on drug paraphernalia and images trump the right of students to wear shirts promoting a ballot initiative favoring medical marijuana?
11) Look at who sees the Democrat victory as a sign America is in retreat – al-Qaeda. Rumsfeld is “fleeing the battlefield†and they plan on blowing up the White House.
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2) Of course, it could be worse – at least they are not reenacting Kristallnacht style destruction of Jewish institutions, like they are in France.
3) And speaking of Kristallnacht, will the world ever learn the lesson of that evil night? Or will we continue to allow Jew-hatred to be taught unchallenged by Muslim governments and schools around the world – and by “anti-Zionist” professors in the rest of the world.
4) Which leads us, of course, to the issue of terrorism. In the UK, they are tracking two hundred plots and hundreds of plotters. Care to guess the religion of the overwhelming majority of the terrorists?
5) Illegals can get away with murder in this country – if they are taken into custody by immigration authorities, they may be deported without ever facing charges for the death they cause. If they are not taken into custody by immigration authorities, they often get bail and skip town. We need a new solution – no bail for illegals, and all costs of imprisonment should be reimbursed to the state or federal government from their homeland’s foreign aid allotment.
6) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has the genes for this comment about the election results – “I'm Dan Rostenkowski." If he carries his father’s genes for dishonesty and corruption, he might just live up to down to the level set by the original Rosty.
7) To all those who voted Democrat this week – did you feel a draft in the polling place? If so, it was just John Murtha and Charles Rangel killing the all-volunteer military and taking you or your children into military service against their will. Did you know that’s what you would get? If it passes, I hope the president lets it become law without his signature – just so the American people recognize how the Democrats are all about taking away freedom of choice.
Speaking of Democrats, Evan Bayh recognizes that his party has no mandate for a liberal agenda.
9) Here’s a congresswoman I think the world of – and hope there is a place for her in the leadership of the GOP. After all, anyone who stands up to the terrorist apologists of CAIR clearly has her head screwed on right.
10) Here’s an interesting First Amendment conundrum – can a school ban on drug paraphernalia and images trump the right of students to wear shirts promoting a ballot initiative favoring medical marijuana?
11) Look at who sees the Democrat victory as a sign America is in retreat – al-Qaeda. Rumsfeld is “fleeing the battlefield” and they plan on blowing up the White House.
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November 09, 2006
2) Democrats back-stabbed Joe Lieberman – but he remains loyal to them. Proof positive that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
3) A controversial speaker is invited to campus. The administration condemns the invitation. Students attempt to assault the speaker to prevent the speech. Welcome to the wonderful world of left-wing collegiate academia at Ball State University – where everyone is encouraged to be diverse in precisely the same way.
4) How did the Democrats do it? By running to the right, and winning with conservative candidates. Meet the Blue Dogs.
5) Even Bill Clinton agrees – this election does not represent a fundamental shift to the Left in American politics.
6) Given that observation, who will control the agenda – the far-left bomb-throwers, or the more conservative candidates who made the victory possible? We will find out once the Democrats outline their policy proposals.
7) Maybe the outcome of this leadership election will be the sign. Hoyer or Murtha – moderate or liberal?
8) They shipped their Jew to Hitler, so why should we be surprised that the French are itching to fire on the Israelis? The “peacekeepers†have let the terrorists rearm, so maybe the time has come for Israel to recognize that the UN forces are not a neutral broker – and to treat those forces accordingly.
9) Speaking of which, the UN is seriously concerned about the death of Palestinian civilians as Israel tries to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, they are not at all concerned about the Qassam rockets that Hamas has been launching from civilian neighborhoods into various areas of Israel. After all – dead Jews don’t matter to the international community today, any more than they did in the 1930s and 1940s.
10) Sad news at CBS – Ed Bradley, long a mainstay of 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News, has died at age 65 of leukemia. Rest in peace, Ed – and may your name be found written in the Book of Life.
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2) Democrats back-stabbed Joe Lieberman – but he remains loyal to them. Proof positive that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
3) A controversial speaker is invited to campus. The administration condemns the invitation. Students attempt to assault the speaker to prevent the speech. Welcome to the wonderful world of left-wing collegiate academia at Ball State University – where everyone is encouraged to be diverse in precisely the same way.
4) How did the Democrats do it? By running to the right, and winning with conservative candidates. Meet the Blue Dogs.
5) Even Bill Clinton agrees – this election does not represent a fundamental shift to the Left in American politics.
6) Given that observation, who will control the agenda – the far-left bomb-throwers, or the more conservative candidates who made the victory possible? We will find out once the Democrats outline their policy proposals.
7) Maybe the outcome of this leadership election will be the sign. Hoyer or Murtha – moderate or liberal?
They shipped their Jew to Hitler, so why should we be surprised that the French are itching to fire on the Israelis? The “peacekeepers” have let the terrorists rearm, so maybe the time has come for Israel to recognize that the UN forces are not a neutral broker – and to treat those forces accordingly.
9) Speaking of which, the UN is seriously concerned about the death of Palestinian civilians as Israel tries to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, they are not at all concerned about the Qassam rockets that Hamas has been launching from civilian neighborhoods into various areas of Israel. After all – dead Jews don’t matter to the international community today, any more than they did in the 1930s and 1940s.
10) Sad news at CBS – Ed Bradley, long a mainstay of 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News, has died at age 65 of leukemia. Rest in peace, Ed – and may your name be found written in the Book of Life.
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November 06, 2006
2) It seems that American isn’t the only country where the Left would rather ignore Islamic extremism rather than risk someone thinking an un-PC thought about Islam.
3) How much voter fraud will there be in St. Louis this year?
4) This is unprofessional, and the principal in question should be fired. No educator should be trying to use his or her job to influence the political views and voting patterns of students or their parents. That is why I have fought so hard to keep this blog anonymous – I view it as a professional responsibility.
5) Looks like the people of West Virginia will send a Klansman back to the US Senate – Democrat Senator Robert Byrd.
6) British doctors proclaim that Hitler was right – Disabled children should be killed.
7) The poll margins are closing, favoring the GOP – turnout tomorrow will be the key. We can win if we show up and vote GOP.
8) In another oppressive move, Iran’s president has closed down newspapers and broadcast outlets critical of the government and its policies. So much for human rights.
9) If you want to talk about absolute moral authority on the war in Iraq, maybe it is best found among the men and women serving our country over there – and they say “Fight on!†So shut up, John Murtha, John Kerry, and Cindy Sheehan!
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2) It seems that American isnÂ’t the only country where the Left would rather ignore Islamic extremism rather than risk someone thinking an un-PC thought about Islam.
3) How much voter fraud will there be in St. Louis this year?
4) This is unprofessional, and the principal in question should be fired. No educator should be trying to use his or her job to influence the political views and voting patterns of students or their parents. That is why I have fought so hard to keep this blog anonymous – I view it as a professional responsibility.
5) Looks like the people of West Virginia will send a Klansman back to the US Senate – Democrat Senator Robert Byrd.
6) British doctors proclaim that Hitler was right – Disabled children should be killed.
7) The poll margins are closing, favoring the GOP – turnout tomorrow will be the key. We can win if we show up and vote GOP.
In another oppressive move, IranÂ’s president has closed down newspapers and broadcast outlets critical of the government and its policies. So much for human rights.
9) If you want to talk about absolute moral authority on the war in Iraq, maybe it is best found among the men and women serving our country over there – and they say “Fight on!” So shut up, John Murtha, John Kerry, and Cindy Sheehan!
Posted by: Greg at
01:20 PM
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Post contains 272 words, total size 2 kb.
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