Lord knows that I am a big advocate for a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment, but I have to support this move by Virginia's governor.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he is considering an executive order to make sure that gun sellers have more information about the mental health of potential buyers, a move that would have kept Seung Hui Cho from purchasing the handguns he used to kill 32 people at Virginia Tech last week.

A court had found Cho to be dangerously mentally ill, but that information was not available in the computer systems used by the outlets that sold Cho the guns. Kaine's proposal would ensure that such mental health information be in the database.

"I think there's a way to tighten this and to get more data onto the system," Kaine (D) said. If that data had been available at the gun stores, Cho, who killed himself after the rampage April 16, would have been barred by federal law from buying the weapons.

Even lawmakers who have traditionally been reluctant to restrict gun ownership said that providing additional information would help keep guns out of the hands of the dangerously mentally ill.

"The murderer down at Virginia Tech never should have been able to purchase a gun," said Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg). "Someone who's declared a threat to themselves or others should not be able to purchase a firearm."

Since Cho was adjudicated an imminent threat to himself or others in 2005, he was ineligible to make that gun purchase under federal law -- but only actual involuntary commitments got entered in the gun database, not cases in which the individual voluntarily went to into a mental health facility. This change corrects bad practice on the part of Virginia -- and I do not know a singe gun owner who would question the propriety of this move by Gov. Kaine.

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Practicing good medicine for chronic pain patients is not a crime!

William E. Hurwitz, the prominent doctor on trial here for drug trafficking, spent more than two days on the witness stand last week telling a jury why he had prescribed painkillers to patients who turned out to be drug dealers and addicts. But the clearest explanation of his actions — and of the problem facing patients who are in pain — came earlier in the trial.

The problem -- too many doctors don't want to give opioids to treat chronic pain, wven though they are often the most effective medications. The result is that patients suffer -- and are often incapacitate -- by pain that can be relieved. Indeed, chronic pain patients are often dismissed and given les effective treatments by doctors adhering to old ways of doing things or covering their butts out of fear of prosecution by over-zealous prosecutors.

Consider this testimony from defense experts (who testified for free, unlike the prosecution experts) about the standard of care given by Dr. Hurwitz.

Prescribing opioids was once taboo because of concerns over patientsÂ’ becoming addicted. But medical opinion gradually shifted over the past two decades as researchers concluded that high doses of opioids could sometimes be safer and more effective than alternatives like surgery or injections.

Two of the leading pain experts, Dr. Russell K. Portenoy of Beth-Israel Medical Center and Dr. James N. Campbell of Johns Hopkins University, testified without pay as experts for the defense. They said Dr. Hurwitz was widely known as a knowledgeable physician and passionate advocate of giving patients full pain relief, unlike many doctors who were reluctant to prescribe opioids because they feared legal repercussions, particularly when dealing with patients who sometimes used illegal drugs.

Such “problem patients” consumed so much time and energy that most doctors refused to treat them “regardless of what the consequences would be for the patient,” Dr. Campbell testified. He said that he had been initially skeptical of some of Dr. Hurwitz’s high-dose treatments, but was then impressed by the results in patients he sent to Dr. Hurwitz.

He said some doctors might argue that Dr. Hurwitz was guilty in some instances of negligence that would make him liable for damages in a civil case. But Dr. Campbell contradicted the prosecution’s experts by testifying that all the prescriptions were clearly within the “bounds of medical practice.”

But sadly, fear of prosecution is a real problem. One physician's office I was in recently had signs posted stating that "This office no longer prescribes Oxy-Contin, Lortab, or Darvocet" -- medications that are among the best out there for dealing with constant, debilitating pain. Good medicine? No -- good legal advice, after a visit from an inspector from medical regulators concerned about the number of his patients on pain medication. Another doctor I know insists upon a monthly visit from her patients seeking refills of pain medication they have been on for chronic conditions, after being asked by an insurance company to justify the number of pain pills she prescribes each month o its patients. And my wife's neurologist has had to document her case (as well as all his other patients) in excruciating detail to justify her level of pain medication -- to satisfy the demands of his lawyer, not best medical practices, so that he stays out of jail.

This prosecution is particularly troubling because Dr. Hurwitz was generally viewed as one of the leaders in his field. If they can go after him over disagreements on how to best manage the symptoms of chronic pain patients, how intimidated should every other doctor in the field feel? And if the level of risk becomes too high, what will be the fate of my wife, and hundreds of thousands of patients like her around the country?

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Hamas just can’t stop attacking Jews – and they don’t care who knows it.

Hamas militants in Gaza fired rockets and mortar shells at Israel for the first time in five months Tuesday, retaliating for deadly Israeli raids in the Palestinian territories and leaving a largely successful Gaza truce in serious doubt.

The barrage, which came on Israel's 59th independence day, did not cause any damage or injury, but it marked the first time Hamas acknowledged firing shells toward Israel since agreeing to the cease-fire. Hamas is tightly organized, and Israel says attacks from Gaza have the tacit approval of the militant group's political leaders.

Hamas gave conflicting predictions about the future of the truce — some officials said it was over, while others said everything depends on Israeli actions.

The cease-fire, announced by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in November, declared an end to Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli attacks, including airstrikes at Gaza militants and punishing invasions of towns in northern Gaza.

Israel stopped most of its military activity but kept Gaza in a stranglehold by closing vital crossings, citing security threats. And while Hamas rocket squads stayed on the sidelines, other groups, like Islamic Jihad, kept up fire of homemade rockets almost daily at Israeli towns and villages just outside Gaza.

“A largely successful truce”? Only if “successful” is defined as Israel being under attack by surrogates for Hamas, and Hamas doing nothing to stop those attacks -- all while Israel receives international condemnation for seeking to root out those who break the cease fire.

It strikes me as long past time for Israel to clean out the rat hole that is Gaza.

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Not that I think it goes quite far enough.

Maybe a congressional race was so nasty that a large number of voters simply didn't want to check the box next to either candidate.

That's what state Sen. Mike Bennett said he believes happened in the now-infamous District 13 congressional race.

Hoping to prevent a repeat, he persuaded the Senate Ethics and Elections committee to approve a bill, SB-494, on Monday that would require ballots to have the additional option of "I choose not to vote."

That option could not win a race, and the actual candidate with the highest number of votes would win the election.

Bennett, R-Bradenton, said the no-choice option would enable uninformed or disgusted voters to opt out in a way that clearly displays their intention to abstain for elections officials.

I’ve got a better idea – one freely stolen from L. Neil Smith’s classic libertarian science fiction novel, The Probability Broach.

Give us the option of “None Of The Above Is Acceptable”. And let that choice be a possible winner. Then either leave the office vacant for the course of the term, or mandate a special election which excludes any of the defeated candidates.

That might raise the caliber of elected official in this country.

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They are your people – you take care of them.

Mexico's new secretary of health visited San Francisco on Monday to learn about the health needs of the millions of Mexican immigrants living in California and to further collaborate with state officials to meet those needs.

"We can build a new model for attention to the health needs of Mexican workers here," said Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos, appointed by Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon.

The former hospital chief and medical school director from the state of Guanajuato said he plans to meet every six months with U.S. health officials and Mexican immigrant communities to create a basic health care plan to cover Mexicans in the United States and eventually extend to them a system of universal health care that is being developed by the Calderon administration.

Cordova, who came here from a meeting on border issues in Tijuana, spoke with reporters at the Mexican consulate and then met with Bay Area groups that provide health care to Mexican immigrants. He planned to end his one-day trip to the Bay Area, his first official visit to this country, by hosting a dinner at Tommy Toy's restaurant with officials of the University of California, the governor's office, and the state and federal health departments.

Now if you would only be as proactive about stopping them from crossing the border illegally as you are about trying to get them medical care in this countryÂ…

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This looks good – and may well lead to a quickening of the pace towards the next generation of spacecraft and exploration vehicles.

The UK and the US have signed a memorandum of understanding that paves the way for closer collaboration on missions to explore our solar system, including robotic exploration of the moon and trials of technology that could one day be sent to Mars.

The deal was reached in Washington last Friday, after a series of meetings between officials.

It will give NASA wider access to the UK's expertise in robotic and small satellite technologies, and could mean UK participation in manned lunar missions.

Science and innovation minister Malcolm Wicks said: "During my recent meeting with Nasa's administrator Dr Michael Griffin, I was keen for the USA and UK to co-operate on exactly this sort of exciting endeavour."

Griffin recently suggested that the "level of participation would go so far as to include astronauts".

This will make for some interesting times down the street at JSC if true.

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You have to love a man who insists that the “beautiful people” live up to the standards they want to see imposed upon the rest of us.

A leading skeptic of global-warming science is challenging celebrity activists such as Al Gore and Sheryl Crow to lower their "carbon footprint" to the same level as the average American by Earth Day in April 2008.

"I simply believe that former Vice President Al Gore and his Hollywood friends who demand we change the way we live to avert this over-hyped 'crisis' not only talk the talk, but walk the walk," said Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican.

"How hard is it for these elitists to become as frugal in their energy consumption as the average American? I think the American public has a right to know they are being had."

* * *

Yesterday, the Web site thesmokinggun.com revealed that Miss Crow's tour caravan includes three tractor-trailer rigs, four buses and six cars.

Come on, Sheryl – if it is really An Inconvenient Truth that global warming is all about Earth In The Balance, then you need to do your part. Even if that means scaling back your tour and entourage.

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Really – I’m serious. Do most of us find the notion that a murderer sentenced to death isn’t just whisked away into a dreamless sleep the least bit disturbing? I know it doesn’t trouble me at all.

The drugs used to execute prisoners in the United States sometimes fail to work as planned, causing slow and painful deaths that probably violate constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment, a new medical review of dozens of executions concludes.

Even when administered properly, the three-drug lethal injection method appears to have caused some inmates to suffocate while they were conscious and unable to move, instead of having their hearts stopped while they were sedated, scientists said in a report published Monday by the online journal PLoS Medicine.

No scientific groups have validated that lethal injection is humane, the authors write. Medical ethics bar doctors and other health professionals from taking part in executions.

The study concluded that the typical "one-size-fits-all" doses of anesthetic do not take into account an inmate's weight and other key factors.

The journal's editors call for abolishing the death penalty.

Personally, I’m all for replicating the sort of horror they perpetrated upon their victims – but if that troubles the squeamish, I’m all for bringing back the firing squad or the guillotine.

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You know, I've started doing my some advertising through PayPerPost.com. There are lots of fine bloggers that are also participating in this program, but I've not looked at many of them. One blogthat I have glanced in at more than once is JustLovingLife.com. What do I like about it? Well, this darling Aussie blogger is a very light-hearted breath of fresh air. Her blog is well-written and humorous -- and hunts out some stories I wouldn't write on but which are fun to read. Seriously -- if you want a little bit of fun, try JustLovingLife.com!

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Do you, as a passenger in a stopped vehicle, have a right to get out and walk away? Or have you been "seized" by police -- therefore bringing into play a number of rights under the Bill of Rights?

Most people sitting in the passenger seat of a car that has been stopped by a police officer do not feel free to open the door and leave. Neither do most members of the Supreme Court, or so the justicesÂ’ comments indicated during an argument Monday on the constitutional rights of passengers in that familiar but uncomfortable situation.

The question of whether a “reasonable” passenger would feel free to leave was significant because that perception is a principal part of the court’s test for whether a “seizure” has taken place within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

If a reasonable person would not feel constrained, then he or she has not been “seized” and has no basis for complaining that the police have violated the Fourth Amendment. The converse is also true: a person who reasonably feels detained by the police is entitled to challenge the validity of the police action and perhaps to keep illegally seized evidence out of court.

The surprisingly vexing question of the rights of passengers was brought to the Supreme Court by a California man who was a passenger in a car that a police officer stopped, ostensibly to investigate a possibly expired registration. The stop was later found to be improper because, earlier in the day, when the car was parked, the same officer had checked and learned that it was properly registered.

Given that the first thing police officers do when you try to open that door is order you to close it and remain in the vehicle -- at times with weapons drawn -- I don't think that there can be any other conclusion than to decide in favor of the fellow who was arrested and charged in this case -- though there might well be other bbases for upholding his conviction.

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About a decade ago, I was doing my last big job hunt, trying to find a teaching job I could be happy with. I ended up in Houston, but would have been really happy to end up in the very hospitable community of Scottsdale, where I interviewed for a position that almost sounded too good to be true. I liked what I saw, and looked at Scottsdale Homes for sale to find a good house. it would have been a great place to live.

Heck, let's be honest --I can't imagine many places in the county better that Scottsdale to try to sell houses. I bet they just sell themselves, given the natural beauty and vibrant growth in the area.

Paid Endorsement.

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Isn't the best regulation of television the regulation of the marketplace -- exercised by remote controls and consumer preference? Do we really need more government control over our entertainment choices?

Federal regulators, concerned about the effect of television violence on children, will recommend that Congress enact legislation to give the government unprecedented powers to curb violence in entertainment programming, according to government and TV industry sources.

The Federal Communications Commission has concluded that regulating TV violence is in the public interest, particularly during times when children are likely to be viewers -- typically between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., FCC sources say.

The agency's recommendations -- which will be released in a report to Congress within the next week, agency officials say -- could set up a legal battle between Washington and the television industry.

For decades, the FCC has penalized over-the-air broadcasters for airing sexually suggestive, or "indecent," speech and images, but it has never had the authority to fine TV stations and networks for violent programming.

The report -- commissioned by members of Congress in 2004 and based on hundreds of comments from parents, industry officials, academic experts and others -- concludes that Congress has the authority to regulate "excessive violence" and to extend its reach for the first time into basic-cable TV channels that consumers pay to receive.

First Amendment experts and television industry executives, however, say that any attempt to regulate TV violence faces high constitutional hurdles -- particularly regarding cable, because consumers choose to buy its programming.

I'm particularly disturbed by the attempt to grap power over cable television -- after all, the "broadcast spectrum as public resource" argument doesn't work nearly as well there. In addition, it sets a precedent that would allow the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" to be extended to cable news channels if the Democrats ever seek to reimpose government control of news reporting -- creating a Brave New World of regulated media and strangled voices.

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One a statesman, one a journalist.

First the statesman -- Boris Yeltsin.

Boris N. Yeltsin, the burly provincial politician who became a Soviet-era reformer and later a towering figure of his time as the first freely elected leader of Russia, presiding over the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the demise of the Communist Party, died yesterday in Moscow. He was 76.

His death, at a hospital, came at 3:45 p.m., the Kremlin said, making the announcement without ceremony, a reflection of the contradictory legacy of Mr. YeltsinÂ’s presidency in the view of many Russians, including his successor, the current leader, President Vladimir V. Putin.

Medical officials told Russian news agencies that Mr. Yeltsin had died of heart failure after being admitted to the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow. He had suffered heart problems for years, undergoing surgery shortly after his disputed re-election as Russian president in 1996.

Yeltsin's resignation eight years ago took him out of the political spotlight -- so much so that many had forgotten he was still alive. It also brought Valdimir Putin to power -- a move that has had dire consequences for Russian democracy.

And then there is the journalist, David Halberstam.

avid Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and tireless author of books on topics as varied as AmericaÂ’s military failings in Vietnam, the deaths of firefighters at the World Trade Center and the high-pressure world of professional basketball, was killed yesterday in a car crash south of San Francisco. He was 73, and lived in Manhattan.

Mr. Halberstam was a passenger in a car making a turn in Menlo Park, Calif., when it was hit broadside by another car and knocked into a third vehicle, said the San Mateo County coroner. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man who was driving Mr. Halberstam, a journalism student at the University of California at Berkeley, was injured, as were the drivers of the other two vehicles. None of those injuries were called serious.

Mr. Halberstam was killed doing what he had done his entire adult life: reporting. He was on his way to interview Y. A. Tittle, the former New York Giants quarterback, for a book about the 1958 championship game between the Giants and the Baltimore Colts, considered by many to be the greatest football game ever played.

You didn't have to agree with Halberstam to respect his writing -- and personally, I feel a sense of loss that the book in progress may never be finished, because the topic intrigues me.

Two lives -- ended on one day. Two important figures gone from the world stage. Two of the many who died yesterday -- but two whose lives had impact far beyond their own circle of family and friends.

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A headline from today's Houston Chronicle.

Arson Hits Needville high School; TAKS Tests Destroyed

Excuse me? The first concern is the destruction of the testing material from last week? What about the impact on hundreds of students and the community as a whole.

Oh, maybe this explains the focus of the headline.

[School Board President Jim] Kocian said TAKS tests were in the building, but he did not think the destruction of the tests was the reason behind the fire. "Even if the TAKS tests are destroyed, they have to retake them. So they don't accomplish anything by that," he said.

Yeah, neve mind those science labs and administrative offices -- the kids need to retake those tests so that they can be "assessed". Never mind that there might be things that need a little bit of a higher priority right now.

Then again, is there a glimmer of hope for common sense here?.

No decision has been made about the TAKS tests taken last week by high school students. The answer sheets were still in the office, waiting to be sent Monday to TEA offices in Austin for scoring. Passage of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge Skills test is required for graduation.

Texas Education Commissioner Shirley J. Neeley, who was traveling Monday, will talk with Rhodes by telephone and probably decide today what to do about the TAKS test, said agency spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson.

Culbertson said experts at the state agency don't recall a whole district's test papers being lost in a fire before. "We have had boxes of tests come up missing, and there was one time when a box fell off an airplane," she said.

Here's hoping that Neeley exercises a little prudence and common sense and simply waives the requirement this year -- if she is able to do so under state law.

Because state testing should be the lowest priority for Needville ISD right about now.

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I've got to tell you -- we've certainly had a lot of banks opening around the Houston area over the last few months. It seems like all the major national banking players have moved into the area. You name it, they have a presence in this market today. Add to that a number of upstart banks and a whole crop of credit unions, and it is clearly a customer's market.

Of course,all these banks now have an online presence. Now if you are looking for the best Current Accounts and Savings Accounts, you might want to drop by and look at The Thrifty Scot. Heck, they even are able to give you advice on how to challenge some of those ugly bank fees and Claim Bank Charges that some banks try to stick you with. So take a look!

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In fact, I think I've completely lost my appetite.

A man chopped off his penis with a knife in front of horrified diners at a busy restaurant.

Police were called to Zizzi, in The Strand, London, at 9pm on Sunday after reports of a man in possession of a knife.

Sales rep Stuart McMahon, who was eating at the restaurant with his girlfriend, told the SUN:

"This guy came running in then charged into the kitchen, got a massive knife and started waving it about.

"Everyone was screaming and running out as he jumped on a table, dropped his trousers and popped his penis out.

"Then he cut it off. I couldn't believe it."

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said a man aged between 30-40 was the only person injured and that his injuries were self-inflicted.

She said he was taken to a south London hospital where his condition was today described as stable.

Next time I may just order out for Chinese food.

MORE HERE

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I just wish it hadn't taken so long.

The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on goverment-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.

A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.

Eleven families nationwide are waiting for grave markers with the pentacle, said Selena Fox, a Wiccan high priestess with Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wis., a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The settlement calls for the pentacle, whose five points represent earth, air, fire, water and spirit, to be placed on grave markers within 14 days for those who have pending requests with the VA.

Speaking as a Christian who loves my country and its Constitution, my only question is "What took so long?" This should have been settled as soon as the issue was raised.

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And yet this same imam no doubt demands the full protection of the First Amendment for his loathsome belief system. However, he insists that author and human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali must die for rejecting such barbarism.

Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of the Johnstown Islamic Center, was among those who objected to Hirsi AliÂ’s appearance.

“She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death,” said ElBayly, who came to the U.S. from Egypt in 1976.

* * *

Although ElBayly believes a death sentence is warranted for Hirsi Ali, he stressed that America is not the jurisdiction where such a crime should be punished. Instead, Hirsi Ali should be judged in a Muslim country after being given a trial, he added.

“If it is found that a person is mentally unstable, or a child or disabled, there should be no punishment,” he said. “It’s a very merciful religion if you try to understand it.”

Yeah, merciful if you are willing to submit to the barbarism of sharia and not use your head on pain of having it separated from your shoulders for daring to reject its false teachings.

Not content to seek this heroic woman's death, though, ElBayly and other Islamic leaders also sought to ban her speech at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Fortunately, university officials let the lecture go on, but the mere fact that they were even willing to hear and consider their anti-freedom point of view is distressing. They should have been told to pound sand, and given precisely the amount of consideration that the KKK or American Nazi Party would be given if they came around demanding a speech be canceled.

ElBayly's statements leave me wondering if there is any possibility of his being deported back to Egypt. Regardless, his Islamist mosque must be put under intense surveillance and scrutiny, just like any Christian Identity pukes receive.

And I wonder -- where are the denunciations of such hate by so-called mainstream Muslims? Or are they silent because ElBayly accurately reflects the true nature of Islam?

MORE AT Jawa Report, LGF, Riehl World View , Ace of Spades HQ, Hot Air, PAWaterCooler.com, Right Voices, Blue Crab Boulevard, Freedom Zone, Sister Toldjah, Blog-o-Fascists, Atlas Shrugs

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Deepest condolences to her loved ones.

Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, a seven-term congresswoman from southern California, died early Sunday of cancer. She was 68.

Millender-McDonald died at her home in Carson, said her chief of staff, Bandele McQueen.

The congresswoman had asked for a four- to six-week leave of absence from the House last week to deal with her illness. McQueen couldn't immediately provide details on what form of cancer Millender-McDonald had, but said she had been receiving hospice care.

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Columnist Vin Suprynowicz points out that some folks who want more anti-gun legislation following the Hokie Horror are asking the wrong question.

America's hoplophobe press will follow Mr. Horwitz's lead and concentrate on "where he got his guns" -- which makes about as much sense as investigating the latest Baghdad truck bombing by asking, "Where on earth did that suicidal militant get his Toyota?"

Why don't they explain to us, just this once, why these chemically warped fruitcakes never attack police stations or Army bases? Could it be because, even in their madness, they know the armed people there might shoot back?

Bravo, Vin.

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Not long ago I told you about actor Eric Schiffer, who appears to be a real Renaissance man. Well, I've got some more news about the guy, just for you.

You may recall me mentioning a possible upcoming movie role for Eric Schiffer in a "buddy flick". Well, there is more news on that front. I can tell you that discussion continues on that front, but we now know that one of the other actors to be featured in the film is none other than TK Carter, who you may remember from Dr. Detroit, Domino, and Showtime's "The Corner". There is also an A-list star set to come on board the project, but that name has yet to be released for public consumption.

And that remake of the old Charles Bronson vehicle, currently tagged with the working title of Death Wish Returns, is a definite go, with shooting scheduled to begin in December 2007 in Glasgow, and a tentative release date at the height of the summer movie season in 2008.

So anyway, it appears that there is a lot on Eric Schiffer's plate in the near to middle term. If I hear more, I'll be sure to let you know.

Sponsored by Hollywood News Entertainment.

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Some folks -- especially academics -- just have to be the center of attention.

Sheriff's investigators arrested and charged a Calhoun Community College instructor with making a terrorist threat against herself following the Virginia Tech massacre.

Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely said Penelope Blankenship, 43, of Decatur was arrested Friday on the felony charge and released on $5,000 bond.

Calhoun officials said Blankenship, a criminal justice and psychology instructor, has been placed on administrative leave.

She's accused of leaving threatening voice mail messages against herself. The messages made reference to Monday's Virginia Tech massacre, saying "you next," according to a campus police report.

Campus police also received a threatening phone call in connection with the same incident.

The caller was initially identified as a former student of Blankenship's, but further investigation indicated that the calls came from Blankenship herself, through Calhoun's switchboard to campus security and to her own voice mail, investigators said.

How can a woman who would appear to be so smart be so dumb?

H/T Michelle Malkin

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Credit cards. Can't live with them; can't live without them. The reality is that you really can't operate in today's world without one of those pieces of plastic in you wallet -- if not several. Some are general cards that you can use anywhere, others are store specific. Indeed, the average American has something like six credit cards, if I remember the figure from a study some time back correctly.

But how do you know if you have the right credit card? How can you tell if that piece of plastic in your pocket is the one that is best for you? Where can you find out if there is a better deal for you? Where do you need to look to locate the Best Credit Cards? Why, to CreditCardSearchEngine.com, of course!

At CreditCardSearchEngine.com, they have access to them all. Low interest rates. Zero-interest balance transfers. Rewards points and cash back. Cards for those with bad credit who are seeking to rebuild their credit history. If you want it, CreditCardSearchEngine.com probably has it waiting for you to find. All you have to do is drop by and make use of their site!

And look at some of the things you can find at CreditCardSearchEngine.com. You can search by card features, card issuers and brand name of the card. You can get a copy of your credit report, and learn how to dispute inaccuracies. You can even apply for your desired credit cards right from CreditCardSearchEngine.com. Really, it couldn't be easier!

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If the New York Times is encouraged, then I'm discouraged.

The good news is that in this yearÂ’s debate, triggers and touchback have become potential areas of compromise. It remains true that maliciously devised triggers can be too onerous, but as The Wall Street Journal reported, Democrats are now saying that they are open to well-written trigger provisions, since that could give a bill broader support among Republicans. Reassuring Americans that border security is improving is reasonable, as long as achieving the benchmarks is not the sole and ultimate aim. Republican leaders, to their credit, have backed away from the narrow, enforcement-only approach that disgraced their efforts last year.

Triggers and touchback have already been conceded by the supporters of comprehensive reform; a bill in the House, the Strive Act, sponsored by Representatives Jeff Flake and Luis Gutierrez, would require immigrants to leave the country and return within a six-year span. ItÂ’s not ideal, but if a touchback provision is manageable and reassures people that illegal immigrants are indeed going to the back of the line, then it will be defensible.

The possible breaking of the stalemate was only part of the good news in recent days. The other part came in the form of research showing Americans way ahead of the hard right on immigration reform. The USA Today/Gallup poll found that 78 percent favored earned citizenship.

The problem is, though, that the triggers teh Times supports are too easy to meet -- and the touchback provision too soft. And there still remains no real enforcement provision. And of course 78% of Americans -- including me -- support the notion of earned citizenship. The thing is that a great many of us reject the notion that we should be regarding those who have already shown a propensity to violate our nation's law with a preferential spot in the line, which any "comprehensive" immigration bill will do.

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So, let's go back to an earlier topic -- Jean-Claude, the backgammon king of the feline world! This wild and crazy guy is at it again in the second episode of his adventures over at BackgammonMasters.com -- which is well on its way to becoming the world's number one online backgammon site!

Now as you may remember from my earlier discussion, Jean-Claude is a backgammon playing fool. Well, maybe fool isn't the right word, because he is really a backgammon king -- and with apologies to his cousin Leo, might I suggest he is the backgammon king of the jungle?

Anyway, this master predator is a real strategist, as well as a student of history. In his latest lesson for we would-be online backgammon legends, Jean-Claude turns military historian on us, pointing us back to World War II and the famous Operation Barbarossa -- when Hitler attacked Russia and Stalin's forces drew the Nazi Wehrmacht into a battle against superior numbers and the weather in Russia's heartland (similar to what happened to napoleon some thirteen decades earlier.

Well as I was saying, Jean-Claude humorously draws comparisons between the game of backgammon and the strategy of both sides during this critical phase of the Eastern Front of the Second World War in Europe. In doing so, he shows how backgammon is a game of strategy -- a game of war -- and that the lessons of combat are applicable to the smaller sphere of gaming. An important lesson to learn if you are to be a backgammon champion -- success is based upon long-term thinking and not over-extending one's resources.

And to use an old advertising slogan -- put a tiger in your tank. And in Jean-Claude's case, make it a Panzer tank.

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As a Navy brat, I grew up worshiping the Blue Angels. Indeed, my brother and I both had fantasies of flying those planes. There even are a couple of pictures of us boys actually standing next to one of the planes with its pilot -- being an officer's kid has some advantages.

And so stories like this one leave me with a heavy heart.

A Navy Blue Angel fighter jet crashed during an air show Saturday, plunging into a neighborhood of small homes and trailers and killing the pilot, the county coroner said.

It was the first death of a Blue Angel pilot since 1999.

Witnesses said the Navy aerial-demonstration team, made up of six planes, was flying in formation at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort when one jet dropped below the tree line and crashed, sending up clouds of smoke.

It was not immediately known whether anyone on the ground was injured.

* * *

The Blue Angels were formed in 1946 to promote public interest in naval aviation. Flying F/A-18s painted navy blue, the team performs nationally at air shows, spring through fall, executing highly synchronized aerial acrobatics that bring the fighters within feet of each other at high speed.

Twenty-four Blue Angel pilots have died in accidents, including the one killed Saturday. In 1999, two were killed when an F/A-18 crashed into a stand of pine trees in Georgia as the team practiced for a show.

May the family and colleagues of the pilot who died yesterday -- whose name has yet to be released -- be comforted in this time of sorrow.

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What can I say about the home buying experience. I've been through it twice -- once when we withdrew from the deal because of our dissatisfaction with the builder, and once where the sale was consummated.

The first purchase was one that we tried to make on our own. We went to a builder in a subdivision in our area -- one that made his position clear that he did not want to deal with a real estate agent. indeed, he informed us that the price of the house would be 7% higher if we went through an agent, because he would not surrender one cent of profit. That should have been the signal to run -- but it was later, after having the wrong brick put on our house, the wrong tub installed in our master bath, carpet laid down over a soup-bowl size hole in the concrete and another problem too gross to mention, we refused to go through with the deal. I suspect an agent could have gotten us out sooner -- or solved the problems for us.

Our second go at buying a house came a few years later. We found an agent with a local big name company. She found houses for us quickly, made arrangements for us to see them, and helped us put in offers for three of them. One sold for more than we offered (and more than the house was listed for), one went to an identical offer, and the third became our home. On this house she negotiated her way through the obstacles placed by the seller's agent -- who wanted closing in 72 hours so it would count as an April sale -- to get us a house that we really do love.

I'd have to say that going with a reputable agent was the best decision we could have made the second time around. I'd urge you to do the same. And if you are in the market for Atlanta Area Real Estate, check out Mark Teytel and Lena Zaretsky at Realty1st.

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From the minute that the Texas State University for Negroes was established as a Jim Crow institution to prevent the desegregation of the state's white colleges and universities, it has been a failure. It took only a few years for the United States Supreme Court to declare it was a sub-standard institution that was unequal by any measure. Through decades of scandal and mismanagement at Texas Southern University, however, the black community has embraced this remnant of Jim Crow, a shining example of the inherent inequality of "separate but equal", which is little more than a four year community college with a graduate program and a law school.

The governor and legislature are looking for a fix for the school -- something I believe to be impossible, given the track record of "fixes" over the last decade. TSU is simply unable to stand as an independent institution.

But that does not keep certain black leaders from insisting that it must.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee vowed Saturday to stop Gov. Rick Perry's attempt to place Texas Southern University under conservatorship in the wake of the latest financial problems at the 11,000-student institution.

Jackson Lee said she wants the U.S. Department of Education to intervene, alleging that conservatorship would be a strict violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, imposing "undue burdens on black students."

The governor announced plans April 13 to appoint a conservator to control spending.

The individual selected would also have the ability to fire and hire any employee, and to change the administrative structure at the nation's second-largest historically black university.

Conservatorship has never occurred at any Texas university or college.

Sylvia Brooks, president of the Houston Area Urban League, said state funding to compensate for the university's "decades of neglect" and a "great board" would be able to solve the current financial problems.

But the problem is that TSU has had a "great board" in the past, made up of respected alumni and state African-American leaders. The last time a great president was brought in to make sure that the university was well-managed, she ripped off TSU so bad that she and a number of aides were indicted for their actions.

And then there is this propaganda piece.

Texas Southern continues its proud tradition of welcoming students the Texas public schools have failed. And while these nontraditional students tend not to graduate within the traditional four or even six years, there is a strong indication they eventually do graduate, have increased earning capacity and contribute largely to the Texas economy.

Texas Southern University is often compared with Prairie View A&M. Both are historically black universities. Prairie View's success is often attributed to being part of the Texas A&M system. Largely overlooked, Prairie View is not an open admissions university; it has specific academic criteria for the admission of students that closes its doors to the Cliffords and Thomases and Bettys.

TSU has always been here for Texas. We must ensure that it remains a viable institution so that it will continue to be.

And therein lies the biggest problem with TSU -- it has NO STANDARDS for admission! And while that may have been a great thing in the days before the state of Texas had a large system of community colleges, it does not make sense today and cannot be defended. the former president of TSU and local community leader who wrote this piece cannot even be troubled to cite statistics on graduation rates becauee they know TSU is a failure in that regard, too.

Community pride and an indefensible mission are not reason to keep the school open as an independent institution. And the difficulties TSU has had for decades places "undue burdens on black students" every bit as much as the conservatorship plan does.

There exist three options for dealing with TSU if conservatorship is not an option.

1) Close TSU. It is a failed experiment in racial segregation and standardless academics that wastes the money of the people of Texas. Or in the alternative, divest the state of TSU and let it become a private school that supports itself without the flood of public money that is going down a rathole.

2) Do nothing. Just continue to send the money down the rathole.

3) Merge TSU into the University of Houston system. Given that TSU is only a few blocks away from the main campus of the University of Houston, it seems to me that this is a viable Now this could take two forms -- either full incorporation of TSU into UH, or maintaining TSU as a separate institution that continues to operate with its own lax academic standards. While I view the latter possibility as less desirable, it at least has the advantage of providing much stronger oversight for the school, providing it the strength of leadership the school so desperately needs.

TSU is a mess. Will black leaders actually lead in fixing the problem, or will they obstruct any possible solution because the school is a "black thing" -- despite the fact that its budget comes out of the pockets of every taxpayer in the state of Texas. Will they allow TSU to become the sort of institution it ought to be in the twenty-first century -- or insist that it remain what it has been, a sub-standard Jim Crow institution?

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Romance seems to have gone out of our society today. I think it is tragic.. All too often, the dating scene is about "hooking up" and getting physical. That strikes me as a tragedy -- for individuals and for society as a whole.

I look at my students, tenth graders on the cusp of adulthood.When i mention romance, they don't understand the concept. Perhaps the closest I can get some of the boys is when I suggest to them that the girl they are with is much too good for them, and they need to start treating them that way. Some of them get the point -- and the girls who hear me say that buy into that concept, because they really do want to be treated like a lady, not just a one night stand.

Of course, it usually isn't until later in life that one comes to realize that the dating scene is supposed to be about finding Mr. or Ms. Right, not Mr. or Ms. Right Now. And even once you find that perfect mate, a relationship must be nurtured with a dash of romance every now and then.

Me, I like to leave little love notes for my wife. Some days the screensaver will be a romantic message. Other days she will find a note in the fridge or freezer, or even hidden in a pill bottle when I know her back is particularly bothering her. Perhaps the hardest to pull off was the note left taped around the dog's collar.

One of my ways of keeping romance alive involves a little bit of physical labor on my part, just so she knows I care. Even though my wife's wheel chair has an electric motor, when we go out together I usually don't install the batteries. If I cannot walk through the store holding her hand or go into a restaurant with her on my arm, at least I can provide that loving touch and support by being her source of horsepower. You see, anything can be romantic if you desire to make it so -- because there is Romance for Everyone if you wish to create it.

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The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Fighting Back Was Not an Option, Part 2 by Big Lizards, and The Laughter in the Dark by The Belmont Club.  Here's a link to the full results of the vote).

Here are the full tallies of all votes cast:

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Hey, dudes, it is that time of year again -- a whole new crop of television infomercials and "this product only available on TV" ads will be making their way to your television screen in the weeks to come!

There are bunches of great ones out there. You can get a Fake Security Camera or Pasta Pronta or one of any number of gadgets, gizmos or whatever -- available on your TV for a limited time only!

Paid Endorsement.

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If you are going to permit students to express themselves about sexuality in schools, can you punish a kid for "coming out" as being the wrong one?

Oakridge High School in Muskegon, Michigan, is one of many schools across the U.S. that took part in Wednesday's "National Day of Silence" -- an event promoted heavily by homosexual activist groups, which view it as a day to protest alleged discrimination faced by students who identify as "gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT)." At Oakridge High, duct tape was passed out for students to wear over their lips as a way to show solidarity with homosexual students who are purportedly suffering in silence.

John Gardner is pastor of Holton Family Life Worship Center in Holton, a community of approximately 2,500 about 17 miles northeast of Muskegon. Pastor Gardner says his 15-year-old son David, a student at Oakridge High, was suspended for a day by the school because he wrote with a black marker "I'm straight" on a piece of duct tape and attached it to his shirt. He explains that David donned the message to voice his objection to the school's participation in the Day of Silence.

"They asked him, at that point, to take it off," Gardner says, "and David [asked] why do the rest of the kids in the class get to wear theirs and I can't wear something about what I believe?" According to the pastor, the teacher then instructed David to remove the message or he would be "kicked out" of class. "And he said, 'Well then, you'll have to kick me out' -- and that's what they did," says David's father.

There is absolutely no way that any school official could possibly argue that the sticker in question created a material disruption or the threat of one. There was no denigration of anyone -- merely the assertion of the student's sexual orientation as a heterosexual. Given that the school was sponsoring speech about sexuality that day, there can be no denying that the school had opened up itself up as a forum for the topic -- and I somehow doubt that a kid who had written "I'm Gay" on the duct tape and worn it would have bee silenced and suspended.

Don't these people know about Tinker v. Des Moines?

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NOTE TO LEFTISTS AND OTHER INTELLECTUALLY DEFICIENT FOLKS: SATIRE

Of course, some things never change.

* "I believe . . . that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week."--Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, April 19, 2007

* "Resolved, that this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under the pretence of military necessity, or war power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of the States or other peaceable means, to the end that at the earliest practicable moment peace may be restored on the basis of the federal Union of the States."--1864 Democratic platform

H/T Lundesigns & Michelle Malkin

UPDATE: Even Harry Reid's hometown paper thinks he is out of line.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson's Website, The Pet Haven Blog, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, Pet's Garden Blog, Rightlinx, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, , stikNstein... has no mercy, Pirate's Cove, The Right Nation, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Right Pundits, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, 123beta, Maggie's Notebook, Adam's Blog, basil's blog, MONICA, Cao's Blog, Phastidio.net, The Bullwinkle Blog, , Jo's Cafe, Conservative Cat, Conservative Thoughts, Sujet- Celebrities, Allie Is Wired, stikNstein... has no mercy, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, CORSARI D'ITALIA, The Yankee Sailor, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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At the Battle of San Jacinto.

The attack on Mexican troops at the Battle of San Jacinto came at just the right time and place 171 years ago today, leading to a Texian victory that secured independence from Mexico.

* * *

Texian troops were defeated by Mexican troops at the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

Another major blow came on March 27, when more than 350 Texian soldiers at Goliad who had surrendered were massacred.

Then came the Battle of San Jacinto.

* * *

"The battle only took 18 minutes so you can literally take an 18-minute walk and feel the battle," he said. "The Alamo takes a lot of attention, but this is where we won it."

And the world -- in particular the destiny of the United States and Mexico -- was forever changed in those 18 minutes.

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Well, not really. A big part of her effort will come in the form of participation in the carbon-offset scam.

To observe Earth Day on Sunday, Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign said it would become "carbon neutral" to help fight global warming.

"We all must act — and that includes our campaign," the Democratic front-runner said in a statement Friday.

The campaign said it would take several steps to conserve energy, such as buying 100 percent recycled paper products, installing motion-controlled lights and purchasing carbon offsets through Native Energy, a Vermont-based company that produces renewable energy.

I'll be much more impressed when Hillary gives up her private airplane and flies commercial. Or better yet, when she stops breathing and speaking -- thereby ending her personal expulsion of so-called greenhouse gases into the environment.

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Anyone who knows me for any length of time knows that I love my dog -- who is sitting next to me now, muzzle on my knee, begging for her ears to be scratched. that's why I love the book that this blog entry about dog lover gift ideas reviews -- The Pawprints of History: Dogs and the Course of Human Events by Stanley Cohen.

Which of our great figures of history were dog people -- and how did their affinity for their canine companions impact their world-view and actions. It is an interesting question, and Cohen tries to answer it. frankly, this is a book I want, both as a dog lover and a historian.

And I'll share it with my tail-wagging girl.

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Proving, of course, that the calls for more gun control in the wake of the Hokie Horror are as doomed to failure as the laws currently on the books.

Under federal law, the Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho should have been prohibited from buying a gun after a Virginia court declared him to be a danger to himself in late 2005 and sent him for psychiatric treatment, a state official and several legal experts said Friday.

Federal law prohibits anyone who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective,” as well as those who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, from buying a gun.

The special justiceÂ’s order in late 2005 that directed Mr. Cho to seek outpatient treatment and declared him to be mentally ill and an imminent danger to himself fits the federal criteria and should have immediately disqualified him, said Richard J. Bonnie, chairman of the Supreme Court of VirginiaÂ’s Commission on Mental Health Law Reform.

A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said that if Mr. Cho had been found mentally defective by a court, he should have been denied the right to purchase a gun.

The federal law defines adjudication as a mental defective to include “determination by a court, board, commission or other lawful authority” that as a result of mental illness, the person is a “danger to himself or others.”

Mr. ChoÂ’s ability to buy two guns despite his history has brought new attention to the adequacy of background checks that scrutinize potential gun buyers. And since federal gun laws depend on states for enforcement, the failure of Virginia to flag Mr. Cho highlights the often incomplete information provided by states to federal authorities.

So the problem is not a lack of laws, it is the inadequacy of the enforcement of those laws (sounds rather like our border situation, doesn't it?). So our choice is to more stringently enforce the laws on the book -- or to round up the 250,000,000 to 300,000,000 guns that are in private hands in this country. The latter is a virtually impossible job -- if we cannot find and expel 12 million illegal aliens, how could we possibly round up and destroy 20-25 times as many guns -- as well as a betrayal of our constitutional heritage. So enforcement it must be, unless America is willing to wake up and see that fewer gun laws, rather than more limitations on a constitutional right, may just be the proper solution.

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Looking for a great vacation get-away? Well, imagine a place overlooking the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, sucking up the Sonoran sun. You can find just such a place at Oceano-Rentals.com, where you can book your very own Rocky Point vacation with luxury beach-front accommodations.

Think about it -- a beautiful Santa Fe style house with all the amenities. You can find it. Or maybe a townhome close to the beach. They've got it. Or perhaps a condo with an ocean view. It is available for you.

best of all, you are dealing with a US based company when you make arrangements. Oceano-Rentals.com has American offices and conducts all transactions in American funds. What is also nice is that you can pick up your keys and continue your drive south into Mexico -- it is right on the way through Arizona, only an hour from the border.

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After all, Johnson Space Center is 10 minutes from my home -- and that is if I miss all the traffic lights. We spent a tense afternoon/evening here, waiting to see if any of our friends/neighbors were among those involved in this ugly situation.

A NASA contract worker barricaded himself inside a Johnson Space Center building Friday and killed one of two hostages before committing suicide.

William A. Phillips, a 60-year-old engineer, fatally shot co-worker David Beverly in the chest with a snub-nosed revolver at about 1:40 p.m., authorities said.

More than three hours later, with Houston police and JSC security officers inside the three-story Building 44, Phillips shot himself in the head. In the same room, police found a second hostage, Francelia Crenshaw, also a contract worker, bound to a chair with duct tape.

She was taken to Christus St. John Hospital near the center and later released.

It was not clear why Phillips — described as a model employee for 13 years by Mike Coats, JSC's director — went on the rampage. Police were unable to communicate with him during the standoff.

Now folks will want to know why security didn't stop this, because after all, JSC is supposed to be a secure facility. The reality is that it is -- or at least as secure as a military base, where one needs to have a sticker on the car and an ID to access certain areas of the facility. But short of every searching car and putting metal detectors in every building, there is no stopping someone from bringing a gun to this gun-free installation.

Indeed, as with the Virginia Tech case, the problem comes down to the fact that the gun-free policy worked almost perfectly. Nearly 100% of the employees in Building 44 were gun-free -- which is why the one who was not gun-free had such an easy time of it when he decided to act violently against close acquaintances/co-workers. In that respect, what happened yesterday is no different from what happens from time to time in workplaces and at schools around the country -- except that the location simply has a much more storied history than is usually the case.

And lest you start to wonder what the deal is with NASA (after all, we are not far from another unpleasant incident involving NASA personnel), please consider that your average NASA employee or contractor is, when it comes right down to it, an ordinary human being. I live around them and go to church with a number of them -- including folks who are honest-to-God rocket scientists. They have spouses, kids, hobbies, and everything else that ordinary people have. Some also have problems that lurk beneath the surface, or odd aspects to their lives. let's not forget -- Rusty Yates was (and I believe still is) employed at NASA, some six years after his strange family life came to light following the murder of his children by his wife, Andrea Yates.

Oh, and speaking of murders with a tie to NASA, I've got one more for you. Remember the Clara Harris case -- the one involving the dentists who ran over her cheating husband with an SUV in the parking lot of a hotel? That happened at the Hilton right across the street from Johnson Space Center, under a mile from the site of yesterday's incident -- at the corner of NASA Parkway and Space Center Boulevard.

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