Not only isn't he going to be President, come January 2009 he won't even be Congressman.

Paul, a long-time incumbent, was first elected to Congress in 1976. After a detour to run against Phil Gramm for the Senate in 1984 and for president as a libertarian in 1988, the former physician took over the district 14 seat in 1997.

ItÂ’s assumed heÂ’ll seek reelection in the Republican primary next March, at the same time heÂ’s still running for president. ItÂ’s entirely possible that Paul will be wreaking havoc in early-primary states across the country just as his base in Texas implodes. What kind of impact would that have on his presidential candidacy? It would be like a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station hearing that his home back in Texas burned down and firefighters discovered a meth lab in the smoldering embers. The trip home would, at once, be both devastating and embarrassing. Because NASA is based in PaulÂ’s district, the metaphor may fit.

Angst over Paul has been building for years. In 2004, disgruntled Republicans asked me to find encouragement for challengers. We polled his suburban Houston district and found that voters resist his contrarian and stark libertarian perspective that even sells out local interests. When told that “Ron Paul consistently opposes taxpayer funding for NASA and wants to eliminate the agency,” 61 percent of Republican primary voters said this information would make them less likely to vote for Paul’s reelection. Similarly, a 54 percent majority said they’d be less likely to vote for Paul when told he “was one of only four Republicans in Congress to vote against President Bush’s plan to encourage faith-based charities.” The list of negatives was long.

To be fair, the 2004 polling also found that his voters endorsed some of the quirky congressmanÂ’s actions, particularly his refusal to take a congressional pension and his vote to allow airline pilots to carry guns after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. But there was significantly more bad news than good in that poll for Rep. Paul. But detractors were unsuccessful is recruiting a suitable opponent.

Zoom ahead to this election cycle, almost four years later. Recent polling by another Texas Republican pollster confirms that PaulÂ’s electorate doesnÂ’t appreciate the increasingly leftish libertarian bent of PaulÂ’s voting record. In the eyes of voters, Paul is now also wrong to oppose the Patriot Act, off base on energy policy that affects Texas enormously, and to be faulted for knee-jerk opposition to the fight against terror in the Middle East.

The difference this time is that PaulÂ’s critics have a bona fide challenger lined up: Chris Peden, a mainline social conservative who has distinguished himself opposing the tax hijinks of local elected officials. If Paul files to run for both Congress and the presidency by the Jan. 2 deadline, heÂ’ll likely lose to Peden on March 4. ThatÂ’ll be OK, though. Dr. Paul can just move to New Hampshire where the libertarian Free State Project might try and elect him their first governor, leveraging the boost in name ID and image that his presidential bid will have wrought. Good riddance.

I've met Chris Peden a number of times, and he is a good guy -- a real conservative. And I know many folks in Paul's district just itching to get rid of him -- and I'll be glad to make the 5 minute drive into the district to offer my support to Peden.

But I'm shocked at a mistake in the article. NASA is not located in Ron Paul's district, though I believe it was at one time. It has been a part of CD22 for several years, put there to ensure that Tom DeLay would look out for the interests of the space program. Johnson Space Center is currently (mis)represented by Nick Lampson (D-Carpetbag), pending the return of Congresswoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs to office (or the election of one of several other fine GOP candidates) after the 2008 election.

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Why is the party identifier missing in this story about not one, but two, governors involved in a scandal concerning child sexual abuse by one of them?

The Oregon State Bar has asked Gov. Ted Kulongoski to respond to allegations that he lied about his knowledge of former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt's sexual abuse of an underage girl.

The bar, acting on complaints by conservative radio talk show host Lars Larson and Newberg resident James Johnson, has given Kulongoski until Nov. 30 to give his account "concerning his knowledge of former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt's misconduct."
Kulongoski spokeswoman Patty Wentz said Kulongoski "absolutely" will respond to the bar's request by the deadline.

The governor, an "inactive" member of the bar, has hired a private lawyer, Roy Pulvers, of the Portland firm Hinshaw & Culbertson, to represent him. The bar's letter was sent to Pulvers, rather than directly to the governor.

Chris Mullman, the bar's assistant general counsel, is reviewing the complaint to determine whether to reject it or begin a more formal investigation.

The complaint stems from statements by Goldschmidt's former speechwriter Fred Leonhardt that he told Kulongoski details about Goldschmidt's abuse in 1994, while the two were at a party, and that they discussed it on several other occasions. Kulongoski has said on numerous occasions that he never heard allegations or rumors that Goldschmidt had sex with a minor when he was Portland's mayor in the 1970s.

Although Leonhardt's statements were first made public in The Oregonian in 2004, they have resurfaced in recent weeks as the state investigates similar allegations of lying by Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto. Leonhardt says he first heard details of Goldschmidt's misconduct from Giusto, who had been Goldschmidt's driver.

Somehow this critical bit of information was left out of the entire article. Any informed reader would know the answer, though – the child molesting Goldschmidt and the justice obstructing Kulongoski are both proud Democrats. Why aren’t the Democrats at the oh-so-liberal Oregonian willing to claim them as such?

H/T Don Surber

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Odd, isnÂ’t it, that liberals regularly insist that states and cities cannot set their own immigration policies when it comes to enforcing our nationÂ’s immigration laws. Then, suddenly, these same liberals insist it is the right of states and cities to set their own immigration policies flouting our nationÂ’s immigration laws.

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to issue municipal identification cards to city residents - regardless of whether they are in the country legally - and to double the amount of public money available to candidates running for supervisor.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who authored the ID card legislation, said the program is a smart public safety measure because it would make residents living on the social margins of San Francisco more likely to seek the help of police and could give them more access to banking services.

"People are afraid to report crimes," Ammiano said, referring to illegal immigrants who avoid local law enforcement authorities over fear of being arrested or deported by federal immigration officials.

The legislation would require companies holding city contracts to accept the municipal card as a legitimate form of identification - except in cases where other state and federal laws require other forms of proof of age, name and residence.

Under San Francisco's sanctuary ordinance, it is city policy that no municipal government personnel or resources be used to assist federal immigration officials in the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants.

I ask it again – since San Francisco can’t secede from h US, can’t the US secede from San Francisco? That way they can set their own immigration policy and issue whatever identification documents they want. Of course, once San Francisco is no longer a part of the US, we can build a wall and keep the liberal fringe out in the name of national security. After all, they will have no reliable form of identification with which to enter the USA.

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IÂ’ve not written about the issue of planted questions because it didnÂ’t matter. IÂ’ve always assumed that campaigns planted softball questions. But given the denials from the Clinton camp, this strikes me as an actual scandal.

The college student who was told what question to ask at one of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign events said "voters have the right to know what happened" and she wasn't the only one who was planted.

In an exclusive on-camera interview with CNN, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, a 19-year-old sophomore at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, said giving anyone specific questions to ask is "dishonest," and the whole incident has given her a negative outlook on politics.

Gallo-Chasanoff, whose story was first reported in the campus newspaper, said what happened was simple: She said a senior Clinton staffer asked if she'd like to ask the senator a question after an energy speech the Democratic presidential hopeful gave in Newton, Iowa, on November 6.

"I sort of thought about it, and I said 'Yeah, can I ask how her energy plan compares to the other candidates' energy plans?'" Gallo-Chasanoff said Monday night.

According to Gallo-Chasanoff, the staffer said, " 'I don't think that's a good idea, because I don't know how familiar she is with their plans.' "

He then opened a binder to a page that, according to Gallo-Chasanoff, had about eight questions on it.

"The top one was planned specifically for a college student," she added. "It said 'college student' in brackets and then the question."

Topping that sheet of paper was the following: "As a young person, I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?"

And while she said she would have rather used her own question, Gallo-Chasanoff said she didn't have a problem asking the campaign's because she "likes to be agreeable," adding that since she told the staffer she'd ask their pre-typed question she "didn't want to go back on my word."

Now the Clintonoids are going to have to clarify this. Either there are pre-cleared and scripted questions, or there aren’t. Either Hillary is prompted to call on these plants, or she isn’t. And the problem is not one of planting the questions – the problem is one of the apparent dishonesty that followed. Once again we have to ask – can Hillary (and her staff) be trusted.

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This is really a no-brainer for anyone who studies political science.

Democratic voters in Iowa and New Hampshire — the states that begin the presidential nominating battle — say Senator Barack Obama and John Edwards are more likely than Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to say what they believe, rather than what they think voters want to hear, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Polls. But they also view Mrs. Clinton as the best prepared and most electable Democrat in the field, the polls found.

Republican voters in those two states say that Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, shares their values and views on immigration, a red-hot issue for Republicans in Iowa especially. But they are divided over whether Mr. Romney or Rudolph W. Giuliani, who Republican voters say does not share their values, would be the party’s strongest general-election candidate — and electability looms as a crucial factor for Republican voters in those states.

These are some of the findings in twin polls conducted by the New York Times and CBS News in the two states, which will begin the nominating process in less than two months. The polls found that the electorates in the two states had different perceptions of the candidates and concerns about issues, while suggesting that the outcome was far from settled in either place.

Political parties exist for one purpose -- to elect candidates to office in order to implement public policy along a general framework supported by its members. That means, in order to be successful, a party needs to select candidates with the ability to win elections, not the most ideologically pure candidates.

I've endorsed Mitt Romney. I have stayed with Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney offers an agenda I support. That said, I will wholeheartedly embrace Rudy Giuliani, despite my previously expressed doubts, if he is the nominee. After all, I want the process to produce a candidate who can win the Presidency more than I want the perfect candidate.

Indeed, if you want an example of where that difference has been most striking in recent years, look at the Connecticut Senate race in 2006. Yes, Ned Lamont offered a vision closer to that of the majority of primary voters. But when the chips were down, was he electable? No -- as evidenced by the fact he was crushed by Joe Lieberman, who he had defeated in the primary. What did the ideologically pure folks who nominated Lamont gain by their purity?

Posted by: Greg at 11:41 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Never let it be said that the Democrats are prepared to victory on the field of battle ahead of victory at the polls.

Bowing to the most extreme elements of the Democrat coalition, Senate Majority Leader Extremist Follower Harry Reid has announced that he will not allow the Senate to approve any money to ensure victory following our military's recent successes in Iraq.

Instead, he wants a commitment to a surrender date and an immediate move to withdraw troops.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats won't approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President Bush agrees to begin bringing troops home.

By the end of the week, the House and Senate planned to vote on a $50 billion measure for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would require Bush to initiate troop withdrawals immediately with the goal of ending combat by December 2008.

If Bush vetoes the bill, "then the president won't get his $50 billion," Reid, D-Nev., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made a similar statement last week in a closed-door caucus meeting.

The tough rhetoric does not necessarily foretell another veto showdown with Bush on the war. Similar legislation has routinely fallen short of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate. It is possible the upcoming bill will sink, in which case Democrats would probably wait until next year to revisit the issue.

But their remarks reflect an emerging Democratic strategy on the war: Force congressional Republicans and Bush to accept a timetable for troop withdrawals, or turn Pentagon accounting processes into a bureaucratic nightmare.

What this amounts to is a demand by the Democrats for the setting of a timetable for US military defeat despite the steady advances that have occurred over the last year. The Democrats need their terrorist allies to win in Iraq if they are to win in November, 2008 at the polls in America. A military victory by the United States could, and likely would, harm the party's electoral prospects.

When can we begin to call this strategy treason?

Posted by: Greg at 11:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Bowing to near universal opposition, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has decided to not pursue his plan to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens. Those not in the country legally will not be given an official government identification document and permission to drive without fear of being deported as the law requires.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer is abandoning his plan to issue driverÂ’s licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that opposition is just too overwhelming to move forward with such a policy.

The governor, who is to announce the move formally on Wednesday, said in an interview Tuesday night that he did not reach the decision easily. “You have perhaps seen me struggle with it because I thought we had a principled decision, and it’s not necessarily easy to back away from trying to move a debate forward,” he said.

But he came to believe the proposal would ultimately be blocked, he said, either by legal challenges, a vote by the Legislature to deny funding for the Department of Motor Vehicles or a refusal by upstate county clerks to carry it out.

“I am not willing to fight to the bitter end on something that will not ultimately be implemented,” the governor said, “and we also have an enormous agenda on other issues of great importance to New York State that was being stymied by the constant and almost singular focus on this issue.”

In other words, in the face of opposition from the federal government, his fellow state officials, local officials, and the people of New York (and the United States), as well as likely defeat in the courts, Spitzer realized that his plan was doomed. And so the people win.

At least one liberal website is already frothing.

No, leadership is doing what's right. Gov. Spitzer needs to get some spine.

In other words, screw the people -- Spitzer should have gone ahead with the plan despite the disapproval of 3 out of 4 New Yorkers. After all, "leadership" consists in doing what the liberal interest groups demand, even if it is likely illegal and certainly opposed by the folks who are ultimately supposed to be in charge of government, namely the voters.

Just remember that, folks -- voting Democrat in 2008 means 4 years of a government that doesn't care what you think on issues of border security and immigration.

H/T Malkin, Fighting GOP, Old War Dogs, Assorted Babble

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One of the latest cost-cutting measures by my health insurance company is the push for us to begin using an online pharmacy to buy long-term supplies of maintenance medications that we may need. Now I understand this from a purely economic point of view -- why should they pay twenty-five cents a pill for my thirty day supply of a drug that the pharmacy service can ship to me for fifteen cents a pill, including postage? And after all, my medications are pretty tame -- the pills for my diabetes and my blood pressure. While my doctor needs to monitor me and my use of those pills, it is relatively safe to give me a three month supply and send me on my way.

The problem comes when they want other medications purchased that way. My wife, for example, has some additional medications for her conditions that she may need to take for a long period of time, but which need closer monitoring. After all, in light of the way pain management doctors have been prosecuted in recent years, asking a patient to buy Tramadol or some other pain medication in a three month dosage is fruitless -- doctors are hesitant to prescribe for any longer period of time than from one visit to the next, even if that means you end up having to pay a co-pay twice a month instead of just once. In such cases, it simply is not possible to follow the wishes of the company.

Posted by: Greg at 11:11 PM | Comments (283) | Add Comment
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David Broder notes that the election of future president Bobby Jindal as governor of the state of Louisiana is part of a trend in statehouses across the South.

With Jindal's impressive victory, Republicans have established a phalanx of successful conservative governors across the Southeast who share a pragmatic streak that voters seem to like. They are the mirror image of the band of pragmatic liberal governors the Democrats have elected in states ranging from New Hampshire to Arizona, but concentrated in the Midwest — Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Next door to Louisiana in Mississippi, Haley Barbour, a former Washington lobbyist and chairman of the Republican National Committee, is about to win easy re-election to a second term.

In Alabama and Georgia, two more Republicans, Bob Riley and Sonny Perdue, both former businessmen, are in their second terms as governor. And in Florida, Charlie Crist, another Republican, has proved to be even more popular in his first year in office than Jeb Bush.

As a Republican, this gives me reason for optimism.

This trend means that there is a new generation of leadership developing -- these governors and their staffers -- who will be in a position to win election to Senate seats and appear on national tickets for a generation. And if the sort of trends demonstrated in Jindal's election are, in fact, a long-term trend, it means that the GOP message still resonates. It will be the new faces -- young faces like Jindal, in particular -- who will continue to spread the Republican message to an ever more receptive electorate. So while the GOP may have stumbled recently, and may even lose in 2008, the future is bright.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, third world county, The Random Yak, Right Truth, The Populist, Shadowscope, The Pet Haven Blog, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Big Dog's Weblog, The Bullwinkle Blog, Wake Up America, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 11:10 PM | Comments (192) | Add Comment
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Why do folks seek Laser Hair Removal? Well, lots of reasons. It may be that someone has unsightly hair growth, especially on the face. Or some women prefer to remove hair from under the arm or around the bikini region for aesthetic purposes. There are, of course, other reasons for this procedure, which is primarily cosmetic in nature. And as the laser technology has advanced, individuals of different complexions and hair colors have become more likely candidates for the procedure.

But how do you find out how much laser hair removal costs, and where to find a qualified professional who will safely and effectively remove that unwanted hair? You can try word of moth, or searching via search engines, but your best bet might be to check out websites that specialize in providing information on the procedure. After all, such sites would be quite likely to have feedback and information from both hair removal professionals and those who have had the procedure done.

HairRemovalForum.com is a resource for people who are ready to find a provider to remove unwanted hair. It is part of the SignatureForum network of professional websites, which is noted for allowing only the best of the best to join the network. Not only that, but these providers have to meet the minimum criteria of service and quality to maintain their membership. These specialists are also rated by their clients, so the issue of client satisfaction is an important one. Any individual can sign on to the forums and read reviews by written by previous users and clients, or ask questions to receive feedback. This guarantees that providers are careful to meet the expectations of their clients and do their very best to maintain the trust of this community that includes anyone who has ever come in contact with these professionals.

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And in doing so is forced to admit that cooperation with Chinese authorities to crush political dissent is wrong.

Yahoo Inc., reeling from a growing backlash over human rights and its China operations, settled a lawsuit Tuesday that accused it of illegally helping the Chinese government jail and torture two journalists.

Neither side disclosed details other than to agree Yahoo would pay the attorneys fees of Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning and the family member who sued on their behalf. Yahoo also said it would "provide financial, humanitarian and legal support to these families."

The settlement has reopened debate over Internet companies cooperating with governments that deny freedom of speech and crack down on journalists.

It marked a dramatic change of heart for Yahoo, which had steadfastly maintained it had to comply with a request from Chinese authorities to share information about the online activities of the two Chinese nationals.

Personally, I believe Yahoo's actions that led to this settlement are the equivalent of revealing the names and whereabouts of Jews to the Nazi regime in 1938. As such, I'm unhappy with the settlement. After all, a more just outcome would have involved Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning becoming the new owners of Yahoo. However, if the outcome is a refusal of American companies to stop becoming agents of oppression, I think millions of people living in repressive regimes around the world can live with the outcome.

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So, are you like the rest of us -- using one cell phone but having several old ones sitting around the house, collecting dust, because you upgraded? Well, you can actually make some money if you recycle cell phones with CellForCash.com! It may be a few bucks, or it may be a couple hundred, but they will pay you to recycle that old phone, keeping it out of the landfills. So what have you got to lose -- other than those extra phones?

Check out the details below. more...

Posted by: Greg at 10:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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That's what it looks like, if NewsCorp's current plans are carried out.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of the News Corporation, said today that he intended to make access to The Wall Street JournalÂ’s Web site free, trading subscription fees for anticipated ad revenue.

“We are studying it and we expect to make that free, and instead of having one million, having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth,” Mr. Murdoch said, referring to The Journal’s online readership.

The News Corporation has signed an agreement to acquire Dow Jones & Company, and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. A special shareholders meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13 in New York.

Mr. Murdoch said he believed that a free model, with increased readership for wsj.com, will attract “large numbers” of big-spending advertisers.

What this means is that one of the better sources of news and business information will be available to the common man.

What this means for me is that I will be able to access some of the better pieces of news and commentary that get overlooked by the mainstream media.

And for NewsCorp? Well that is easy -- a 10-15-fold increase in readership online will more than offset the loss of subscriber revenue.

In the end, everyone wins -- with the possible exception of the competitors of the WSJ, who will all face increased competition.

Posted by: Greg at 10:51 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Keeping your data safe is important. Whether you have pictures, documents, or other sorts of data to preserve, you need it to be secure and available to you. You cannot afford to have it lost.

For great online backup of your data, consider Anytime @ Anywhere Offsite Backup. Their plans are reasonably priced, and you can retrieve your data anytime, anywhere, whenever and where ever you need it. What more can you ask?

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Are the Democrats really on the side of the American people? This tax bill makes it clear that the answer is "NO!"

House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is planning for a trillion-dollar tax hike in 2009.

The non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation took a look at Rangel's soak-the-rich tax increase and discovered that as early as 2011, 94 million families earning as little as $20,000 a year will see a tax increase.

Only 800,000 will see a tax reduction.

By my calculation, that means that nearly 120 families will see a tax increase for every family that sees a tax decrease. And the bill is hardly “revenue neutral”, given that it claims to reduce tax receipts by $50.6 billion while increasing taxes by $78.3 billion. That is an extra $27.3 billion cash grab by Rangel and the Democrats – unless, of course, they are admitting that the tax increase will slow the economy and reduce tax receipts by more than the $50.3 billion, essentially validating the supply-side model that has been demonstrated time and again by the economic growth spurred by tax cuts.

In other words, RangelÂ’s bill is bad for Americans and bad for America. It must be defeated.

Posted by: Greg at 12:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Some folks are going to scream about this being an over this case, and argue that this was an overreaction. IÂ’ll have to disagree. It looks like the cops behaved reasonably here.

Officers received the 911 call from the teen's mother around 7 p.m. Monday, police spokesman Paul Browne said. The 911 operator could hear the teen yelling in the background, claiming he had a gun, Browne said.

When officers arrived at the Brooklyn apartment building, they could see the 18-year-old, Khiel Coppin, pacing inside the first-floor apartment. His mother was outside.

The teen's mother had attempted to have him hospitalized earlier in the day, Browne said. He said the teen had a history of mental illness.

The teen began screaming from a window at his mother and officers before climbing out of the window and heading toward the officers holding a black object in his hand, police said.

The officers ordered him to stop, Browne said. When the teen refused and kept approaching them, they opened fire, he said.

Police said it was not immediately known how many of the 20 bullets struck Coppin, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.

So what have you got?

A young man carrying on, claiming to have a gun and making threats.

Cops trying to safeguard the public, ordering him to drop his weapon and quit advancing on them.

When he refused, they engaged in the reasonable defensive action of firing their guns.

Only later is the object identified as not being harmful.

But for those of you wanting to hang the cops out to dry, let me ask – how many officers needed to be shot (or stabbed) before firing on this threatening individual? How many widows and orphans needed to be made before you would accept that their actions were reasonable? It is really easy to say they were wrong now, in the clear light of day, after it has been discovered that there was no gun. Unfortunately, those officers didn’t have that luxury – all they had was their knowledge of the situation and their training, which it appears they followed appropriately.

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A request for polite behavior has prompted VenezuelaÂ’s dictator to compare himself to the Son of God.

Likening himself to Jesus Christ, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says that if he stops talking -- as suggested at the weekend by an irate Spanish monarch -- "the stones of Latin America will cry out."

Chavez was speaking on his return from an Ibero-American summit in Chile, which took a sour turn when the outspoken Venezuelan leader repeatedly called conservative former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist," prompting Spain's King Juan Carlos to tell Chavez to "shut up."

"When the king explodes because of the statements of an Indian, it is the explosion of 500 years of imperial arrogance, 500 years of royalism, of outrages, 500 years of feelings of superiority," Chavez said, in reference to Spain's colonial legacy in Latin America.

"If I stopped talking, the stones of Latin America would cry out, because the people are willing to be free of any kind of colonialism after 500 years," he added.

In case the allusion to Jesus was missed, the office of the presidency issued a statement giving the biblical reference (Luke 19:38-40).

This thug seems to view himself as Christ-like. IÂ’ll half agree. After all, he is on my personal list of candidates for the anti-Christ.

Posted by: Greg at 12:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Maybe she can get them into the same ritzy rehab that she and her Hollywood pals spend time in.

Paris Hilton is being praised by conservationists for highlighting the problem of binge-drinking elephants in northeastern India.

Activists said a celebrity endorsement such as Hilton's was sure to raise awareness of the plight of the pachyderms that get drunk on farmers' homemade rice beer and then go on a rampage.

"The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them," the 26- year-old socialite said in a report posted on World Entertainment News Network's Web site. Her comments were picked up by other Web sites and newspapers around the globe.

Last month, six wild elephants that broke into a farm in the state of Meghalaya were electrocuted after drinking the potent brew and then uprooting an electricity pole.

"There would have been more casualties if the villagers hadn't chased them away. And four elephants died in a similar way three years ago. It is just so sad," Hilton was quoted as saying in Tokyo last week. She was in Tokyo to judge a beauty contest.

Gee, if only she could, like help some, you know, people. Instead she appears to want AA for elephants.

Posted by: Greg at 12:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Knock yourself out, folks. WeÂ’ve seen how (little) youÂ’re colleagues have been missed in the entertainment end of the business.

CBS News writers could be joining their enter tainment colleagues on the picket lines.

The writers, members of the Writers Guild of America, East, are expected to vote unanimously Thursday to authorize a strike on both the national and local levels.

They've been working without a contract since April 2005.

There are writers for the news shows. Gee – I thought that it was all done by reporters. Maybe they will have to start doing the actual job of reporting themselves.

But we do have to ask -- is Katie Couric really just a talking head, and an empty one at that?

Posted by: Greg at 12:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Why on earth is Howard Dean commenting on this issue this way?

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean came out for inclusive team prayers in public schools while speaking Sunday to a gathering of thousands of Jewish leaders, according to a leading Jewish news agency.

In another statement likely to stir debate among the evangelical Christians his party is urgently trying to court, Dean also asserted “there are no bars to heaven for anybody,” according to the report by JTA, a 90-year-old non-profit organization which calls itself “the global news service of the Jewish people.”

So, is Howard Dean attempting to impose a theological litmus test on Americans? And if he is, will he seek to impose it on his party first, where anti-Semitism among Democrat activists like those on Daily Kos and Democratic Underground has repeatedly flaired over teh last few years.

Unfortunately, portions of Dean's remarks were so blatantly partisan that his claims to oppose "theocracy" (read that "Christians publicly expressing their faith") amounts to intolerant bigotry on his part.

"This country is not a theocracy," Dean said, according to JTA. "There are fundamental differences between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party believes that everybody in this room ought to be comfortable being an American Jew, not just an American; that there are no bars to heaven for anybody; that we are not a one-religion nation; and that no child or member of a football team ought to be able to cringe at the last line of a prayer before going onto the field."

Now let's look at this.

1) This country is not a theocracy. I don't know of a single Republican who argues that it is. I do know many Republicans who support full participation by all Americans, including religious believers, in the public policy process -- which includes the right of religious believers to see their policy preferences enacted on the same basis as everybody else's.

2) There are fundamental differences between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Yes, Howard, there are. The GOP is inclusive, and the Democrats are exclusive, of people of all faiths and ethnic groups. The GOP believes in the advancement of the individual, while the Democrats believe int eh advancement of the group. The GOP believes that America is fundamentally good, and the Democrats don't.

3) The Democratic Party believes that everybody in this room ought to be comfortable being an American Jew, not just an American; Gee, so does the GOP, Howard.

4) that there are no bars to heaven for anybody; Sounds rather theocratic and exclusive to me, Howard -- the declaration of an official party theology. Does that mean that anyone who deviates from your theology is not welcome in the Democrat Party? And I'm curious -- does that "open heaven" include Islamist suicide bombers and the guys who crashed four planes on 9/11?

5) that we are not a one-religion nation; Funny, i don't know of anyone in the GOP who thinks that this country ought to be a one religion nation -- at least not by force or government edict. On the other hand, I do know plenty of folks -- members of many different religions -- who believe that it would be great for God to act in the hearts of every American (and every person on earth) and bring them to follow the tenets of one particular faith.

6) and that no child or member of a football team ought to be able to cringe at the last line of a prayer before going onto the field. I'm going to assume that Dean misspoke here, and that he isn't imposing a rule that forbids cringing during prayer. Rather, I assume what he is wanting to do is impose a rule that forbids Christians from praying publicly in a Christian fashion -- and that he is stating this in his capacity as the head of the supposedly inclusive Democrat Party. Funny, isn't it, that his version of "inclusion" involves restricting the religious practices and language of the majority? And funny, isn't it, that Howard Dean fails to recognize the right of every American to NOT participate in prayer -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. -- that is offensive to them.

Once again, folks, Howard Dean and the Democrats practice he "politics of inclusion" by demonizing and excluding Christians who hold to the historical Christian faith and who don't follow the latest liberal theological (and political) trends. Too bad that in claiming to oppose "theocracy" Howard Dean seeks to impose a theological orthodoxy on America.

Posted by: Greg at 12:37 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Fortunately his choice of tools didn't make him an award winner -- the guy who used a shotgun to loosen a lug nut is going to survive.

A man trying to loosen a stubborn lug nut blasted the wheel with a 12-gauge shotgun, injuring himself badly in both legs, sheriff's deputies said.

The 66-year-old man had been repairing a Lincoln Continental for two weeks at his home northwest of Southworth, about 10 miles southwest of Seattle, and had gotten all but one of the lug nuts off the right rear wheel by Saturday afternoon, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said.

"He's bound and determined to get that lug nut off," Wilson said.

From about arm's length, the man fired the shotgun at the wheel and was "peppered" in both legs with buckshot and debris, with some injuries as high as his chin, according to a sheriff's office report.

"Nobody else was there and he wasn't intoxicated," Wilson said.

I don't know about you, but that last line concerns me deeply. After all, I could understand the decision if he was drunk. Doing it stone cold sober is a whole lot harder to justify.

Posted by: Greg at 11:17 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Now I’m something of a contrarian in the field of education today. I firmly believe that we send too many kids on to college, and that we really need to be encouraging some students to consider a trade which suits their aptitude and interests and which will equip them for success in their lives. I’m not talking digging ditches – I mean skilled trades like plumbing, where there is good money to be made.

Well, over the last 3 years, Avand.co.uk has been helping folks find just such vocational training in the field of plumbing. They act as a clearinghouse for plumbing courses. Now they have branched out into the field of sales. They are preparing to connect interested people with sales training programs, which can teach folks how to succeed in a field in which there is good money to be made if you are willing to do what it takes to learn the skill. After all, there is nothing wrong with doing honest work, whether in blue collar manual trade like plumbing or a white collar one like sales. The key is to love what you do and do it well. So for Sales Training UK, visit Avand.co.uk!

Posted by: Greg at 11:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You know, given Cruise's frequent box office failures.

Tom Cruise’s new film “Lions for Lambs” didn’t even crack the top three at the box office, and “Tom is not happy,” says a source close to the actor. “Lions,” Cruise’s first release since “Mission Impossible: III,” is also the first film to come from Cruise and Paula Wagner’s United Artists studio.

“Tom wanted to really hit a home run with his first United Artists movie,” says another source. “It was more about how the industry was going to view him than the moviegoing public that Tom was worried about.”

Oh, I see. it isn't how the little people who buy tickets to the movies view him. Rather, it is how the insiders in the motion picture industry view him that matters.

Could that be why he stars in movies that are critical and commercial failures as often as he stars in hits?

And could that attitude explain why Hollywood really doesn't attract viewers like it used to? After all, when the consumer doesn't matter to the producers, the result is lower sales.

Posted by: Greg at 11:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You know, I'm a native Californian, and I wouldn't mind going back there one day. One of the really great places to live is in La Jolla. There has been a great deal of development in the area over the last 10-20 years, and so there are lots of great luxury homes, condominiums and apartments available for interested buyers. After all, there are lots of great La Jolla Homes for Sale. And having lived there as a kid and having made many trips back over the years to visit family members still in the area, I can tell you that the entire San Diego area is a wonderful one in which to live, given the wide variety of activities available for all interests, and the booming economy.

Now who do you want to do business with if you are in the market La Jolla Real Estate? Well, Prudential Realty has the Mills Team working out in that part of California, and from looking at their website they seem to be doing a booming business. And what's more, they give you access to listings in the area 24 hours a day -- and will even update you when as there are developments with the sorts of properties you are interested in. So whether you are interested in La Jolla Condos for Sale or other sorts of properties in the area, check out RuthMillsTeam.com!

Posted by: Greg at 11:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Seems to me that the Pakistani leader is out to delegitimize himself even further. He has again ordered the most popular opposition leader placed under house arrest to prevent her from leading public demonstrations in opposition to his suspension of the Constitution.

Hundreds of riot policemen today blocked the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and her supporters from making a planned long march from this eastern city 160 miles through Punjab Province to the capital, Islamabad.

Police officers surrounded the house where Ms. Bhutto was staying here and arrested party workers who tried to cross police lines to reach her. Riot policemen using barbed wire and dump trucks loaded with sand blocked off the neighborhood.

“We will definitely try to come out,” said Farzana Raja, a party spokesman, referring to street protests. “She will definitely try to come out.”

Minutes later, the police arrested Ms. Raja and several dozen other party workers. With the police deployed across the city, it appeared that Ms. BhuttoÂ’s supporters would again be blocked from demonstrating.

The question is, will Bhutto and others again seek to take to the streets? Will they be stopped? And how much force is Musharraf prepared to use in the process? Given the recent example in Burma, I don't see how he believes that he can avoid international condemnation and ostracism if he continues down this path.

Has the time come for the US to send a plane to take him out of the country into a well-deserved exile? Or should Pervez Musharraf be left behind, to suffer the fate of Mussolini?

Posted by: Greg at 11:05 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Vein removal is a procedure that addresses unwanted spider veins and varicose veins. In some cases, the removal of varicose veins is necessary for medical reasons, becaue severe cases can become quite painful and cause a great deal of discomfort. Most vein removal procedures are done for cosmetic reasons, with patients wishing to rid themselves of unsightly spider veins and varicose veins on their legs and face. Doing so does not pose a significant health risk, as most of these veins are not critical to maintaining circulation and the circulatory system can compensate for their removal.

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Posted by: Greg at 06:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Is there nothing that Leonardo could not do?

It's a new Da Vinci code, but this time it could be for real. An Italian musician and computer technician claims to have uncovered musical notes encoded in Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper," raising the possibility that the Renaissance genius might have left behind a somber composition to accompany the scene depicted in the 15th-century wall painting.
"It sounds like a requiem," Giovanni Maria Pala said. "It's like a soundtrack that emphasizes the passion of Jesus."

Painted from 1494 to 1498 in Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the "Last Supper" vividly depicts a key moment in the Gospel narrative: Jesus' last meal with the 12 Apostles before his arrest and crucifixion, and the shock of Christ's followers as they learn that one of them is about to betray him.

The case made is interesting – and the illustration does show what could be interpreted as the notation for Gregorian Chant. This could certainly make for an interesting topic for scholarly debate for years.

Posted by: Greg at 12:17 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Benedict XVI will be visiting New York City – with a stop at Ground Zero – this spring. He will also visit Washington, DC.

Pope Benedict XVI will make his first visit to the United States as pontiff in April. He plans to visit ground zero, address the United Nations and celebrate two public Masses during the six days of his visit, The Associated Press reported this morning, citing a Vatican official.

The popeÂ’s visit would be only the fourth in New York CityÂ’s history. Pope Paul VI visited in October 1965, during the first papal visit to the United States. Pope John Paul II visited New York in October 1979 and October 1995.

I canÂ’t help but regret that the Holy Father will not be visiting other parts of the US as well.

Posted by: Greg at 12:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Imagine the uproar if the Archdiocese of St. Louis were to host a Seder featuring ham sandwiches and pork rinds and an introductory reading fromMein Kampf. There would be, rightly, outrage and accusations of anti-Semitism. Jewish organizations would certainly choose to break ties with the Catholic organizations, and it would rightly be seen as a setback in the relationship between the two religious groups.

So where is the condemnation of the synagogue hosting this grave insult to Catholicism?

To the Roman Catholic Church, the ceremony was not an ordination. In fact, it wasn't even Roman Catholic. But to two women and the approximately 600 people who came to cheer them on, history was made Sunday in St. Louis as the two became the first women ever in the city to be ordained as Catholic priests.

And the first ever, perhaps in the world, to be ordained in a synagogue.

Rose Marie Hudson, 67, of Festus, and Elsie Hainz McGrath, 69, of St. Louis, were ordained as priests by an organization called Roman Catholic Womenpriests, which defines itself "as an international initiative within the Roman Catholic Church."

Not only is the Archdiocese of St. Louis upset about the women participating in an ordination ceremony, but the church and others in the interfaith community were upset that the Central Reform Congregation, in the Central West End, hosted the event.

"The event of today is really very sad because the name Roman Catholic has been misused and misapplied," said Dr. Lawrence J. Welch, a Kenrick-Glennon Seminary theology professor. "There's been no ordination of Roman Catholic priests. In fact, there has been a profaning of something Roman Catholics believe is very sacred."

To members of the diverse crowd — the dozen ministers in robes and stoles of different colors, those wearing yarmulke, and some wearing buttons saying "God loves us, just ask her" — the ceremony showed unity and understanding.

"What a day, what an occasion, what a case, what a rabbi," said Patricia Fresen, the ordaining bishop with Roman Catholic Womenpriests, referring to the synagogue's rabbi, Susan Talve. The room boomed with applause.

Shame on Rabbi Talve and her congregation for hosting this event. Shame on those who assisted in this profaning of a Catholic sacrament. And shame on Fresen, Hudson, and McGrath for not having the honesty and the courage to proclaim themselves what they truly are – Protestants who have broken with Rome and placed themselves outside of the Catholic Church.

Posted by: Greg at 12:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You know, for those of you who were taught that Joe McCarthy made such things up, and that there were not penetrations of sensitive programs and agencies by ideologues working for Moscow.

He had all-American cover: born in Iowa, college in Manhattan, Army buddies with whom he played baseball.

George Koval also had a secret. During World War II, he was a top Soviet spy, code named Delmar and trained by StalinÂ’s ruthless bureau of military intelligence.

Atomic spies are old stuff. But historians say Dr. Koval, who died in his 90s last year in Moscow and whose name is just coming to light publicly, was probably one of the most important spies of the 20th century.

On Nov. 2, the Kremlin startled Western scholars by announcing that President Vladimir V. Putin had posthumously given the highest Russian award to a Soviet agent who penetrated the Manhattan Project to build the atom bomb.

The announcement hailed Dr. Koval as “the only Soviet intelligence officer” to infiltrate the project’s secret plants, saying his work “helped speed up considerably the time it took for the Soviet Union to develop an atomic bomb of its own.”

Of course, we've known for years that stuff like this went on, but a loud chorus of denial cried out from the Left. Even now, when mounds of evidence has shown there were communists in the Departments of State and Defense and that the Rosenbergs and Alger Hiss were guilty as sin, those who espouse such positions are called Red-baiters. Will one more candid admission by the heirs of the Kremlin do anything to lay to rest the canard that there was no Red Menace? I'd like to hope that it would, but I fear that ideology will continue to trump truth on this matter.

Posted by: Greg at 11:33 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I’ll be honest – I am comfortable enough with my body and appearance that I don’t think I would ever seriously consider Plastic Surgery. Maybe it is a guy thing, or maybe it is just that I am comfortable in my skin and don’t feel a need to meet some other standard of beauty beyond that. Not, of course, that I am judging others who look at the matter differently. After all, plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures are an intimate and personal choice.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Senator Obama thinks he doesn't pay enough taxes.

"I think the best way to approach this is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like myself are paying a little bit more and people who are in need are protected," the Illinois senator said.

Well, Senator, put your money where your mouth is. Cut the check for what you think you should be paying right now.

Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 6D17
Hyattsville, MD 20782

This way you can not only pay that "little bit more" that you believe you should be paying, but you can show us exactly what that "little bit more" will be. After all, if you are under-taxed now, you ought to do the moral and ethical thing and pay those taxes TODAY, even if it is not legally required.

The same goes for every other under-taxed liberal -- prove your point by paying up now.

Posted by: Greg at 11:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Electronics are a part of everyday life in a way that they weren't when I was a kid -- that was a topic we talked about at length in one of my classes today as we studied the Scientific Revolution.

But as electronic consumer items have become ubiquitous, the need for more information on them is critical -- whether that information is in the form of research about, shopping for, or repairing electronic products. That is where Retrevo.com comes in handy.

Retrevo picks the best consumer electronic products and reviews. They also help hook you up with repair facilities to fix proken products. So whether we are talking about digital cameras, camcorders, cell phones, GPS units, or laptops, Retrevo.com has scoped out the market for you so that you can make an informed pick much quicker than if you started from scratch. So before you buy this holiday season, check out Retrevo.com to know that you are giving the best.

Posted by: Greg at 07:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From the UK comes this example, one which I think sums up the problems with the notion that some crimes should be treated more harshly than others because of the "hateful" motive of the perpetrator.

There are of course violent offenders who specifically select gay men as targets: but are they any worse than those who pick on women, or homeless people? To create politically-approved hierarchies of culpability on such matters is to make a kind of nonsense of the law.

Take for example the case of the late David Morley, a gay bar manager who had survived the Admiral Duncan Soho pub bombing in 1999, which killed three people. That bombing was carried out by David Copeland, a 23-year-old engineer and Nazi sympathiser who had deliberately sought to murder gay men.

Five years later, Mr Morley and a friend were walking home near Waterloo in the small hours, when they encountered a four-strong group of teenage thugs who were "out to beat up tramps, druggies or just people on the street" and film the attacks on their phones. Mr Morley was a person on the street, and they beat him to death for it. There was no suggestion at the trial that they attacked him because he was gay.

What I find extraordinary, however, is any suggestion that Mr Morley's vicious killers are somehow less culpable because they didn't attack him for his sexual orientation. Yet that is the skewed logic of the "hate crime" legislation.

I know nothing of Mr. Morley beyond what was written in this article. But I also know that his death was no less a tragedy when he was murdered by a band of street thugs than it would have been if he had died in that 1999 anti-gay bombing. In each case, the motive can only be defined as contempt for one's fellow man -- and the basis for that contempt is strikingly irrelevant. Indeed, I'd argue that the sort of random street crime that took Morley's life is in some ways even more shocking to the conscience than the murderous attack on the bar he managed five years previously.

Why should his murder by rampaging hooligans bent on random mayhem be seen as less corrosive to society than an attack on a gay bar?

Why should his death at the hands of criminals with no regard for human life be seen as less worthy of harsh treatment it would have been if it had happened at the hands of a criminal with no regard for homosexuals?

So as I've said before, while I applaud those who want to end hatred for their efforts, I can't help but find their methods wrong-headed. After all, Morley isn't dead because his assailants loved him. And Morley's death was no less a offensive and worthy of punishment due to the fact that he was murdered because he was convenient rather than because of his sexual preference.

Posted by: Greg at 06:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In 2005, 1.5 million cases of diabetes were diagnosed in adults. One of them was my wife. A similar number were diagnosed in 2006. I was one of those.

Needless to say, these diagnoses have resulted in great changes in our lives -- including me getting to know my blood glucose meter much more intimately than I would like. I've also come to know a lot about diabetic test strips, too, including how expensive they would be if I didn't have prescription insurance that covered them. For example, my wife’s Freestyle Diabetic Strips would cost nearly $100 a month if we didn’t have coverage through our insurance – and that is with only the minimum amount of testing recommended by our doctor. Some folks need to test even more often, with a resulting increase in costs.

That is where AmericanDiabetesWholesale.com can be a be of assistance for diabetics without insurance. They can lower the cost of test strips anywhere from 30-60%, and provide similar discounts for other diabetic supplies. I would encourage those of my fellow diabetics who must pay for their supplies without insurance to check them out. It might make it easier for you to manage your diabetes more effectively at a lower cost, and thereby improve your quality of life.

Posted by: Greg at 06:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The actions of US District Court Judge Samuel Kent towards a female court employee are, to say the least, outrageous. I'd go so far as to say they are criminal. is it grounds for impeachment?

The federal court employee at the center of a sexual misconduct complaint against U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent first went to her boss about the judge allegedly touching her inappropriately in 2003 — four years before the March incident that led to his reprimand by the 5th Circuit judicial council.

In mid-2003, case manager Cathy McBroom told her supervisor that the judge lured her into an office used as an exercise room and groped her, according to interviews with McBroom's friends, her mother and other sources.

But her female supervisor advised that McBroom could lose her job if she made a formal complaint, and no further action apparently was taken.

The alleged assault in March prompted McBroom to request an immediate transfer and file a judicial misconduct complaint. It resulted in a rare reprimand of the judge for sexual harassment and "inappropriate behavior" toward other employees.

* * *

This is McBroom's account of what happened in March as told to friends and her mother in conversation and in written notes:

McBroom was summoned to the judge's chambers on Friday, March 23, at about 3 p.m.

Her hands were full of legal papers when the judge — a former high school athlete who is more than 6 inches taller and at least 100 pounds heavier — asked for a hug.

She told him she didn't think that was appropriate, but reluctantly approached.

The judge grabbed McBroom, pulled up her blouse and her bra and put his mouth on her breast. Then, Kent forced her head down toward his crotch.

As McBroom struggled, Kent kept telling the married mother of three what he wanted to do to her in words too graphic to publish. The papers fell to the floor. The pet bulldog Kent kept in his chambers began to bark.

The incident was interrupted by the sound of footsteps from another staff member in the corridor, and the judge loosened his grip. As she left, the judge said McBroom was a good case manager and then made suggestions about engaging in a sexual act.

McBroom ran out crying.

Terrible stuff. As one local columnist writes, this is not sexual harassment -- it is sexual assault.

Some folks are calling for impeachment.

I regret that I cannot, despite my disgust with the conduct in question.

After all, precedent indicates that the conduct alleged to have been committed is not an offense for which an individual should be removed by impeachment.

You disagree? Let me toss out some names.

Paula Jones.

Juanita Broderick.

Kathleen Willey.

Monica Lewinski.

The accusations related to these women included sex with a subordinate, unwanted sexual conduct, unwanted sexual suggestions, and sexual assault. Impeachment proceedings were brought against the perpetrator of those acts. The US Senate determined that the offenses, which were clearly proven, did not merit removal from office as high crimes or misdemeanors. And thus Bill Clinton was permitted to remain in office, on the basis that the charges were just about sex.

So tell me, how does the case of Judge Kent really differ in substance? It doesn't. To remove him from office would be to commit a grave injustice against him, by applying a different standard to him than is applied to officers of the executive branch.

Either that, or it would require the United States Senate to admit that it was wrong when it refused to remove Bill Clinton from the presidency less than a decade ago.

Although on the other hand, from a purely partisan perspective it could be quite fun to watch this impeachment proceeding play out in the US Senate. After all, it would require several Democrats currently seeking the White House to take a stand on whether the sexual abuse of subordinates is morally and legally wrong, and merits removal from office. Having defended her husband to the hilt, wouldn't you love to see how Senator Hillary Clinton handled a Kent impeachment trial, and how she would vote?

Democrats set the standard for impeachment on sexual misconduct. Now they need to live with it -- or concede that they were wrong to put politics before principle in 1999, and that they are therefore unfit to govern America.

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Posted by: Greg at 07:27 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Between their lead editorial and Frank Rich's commentary, it is clear that their Bush Derangement Syndrome has metastasized. It's a pity that there is no option for euthanizing the once-great Grey Lady. I mean, they shoot horses, don't they?

Let's start with the editorial.

It is extraordinary how President Bush has streamlined the Senate confirmation process. As we have seen most recently with the vote to confirm Michael Mukasey as attorney general, about all that is left of “advice and consent” is the “consent” part.

Once upon a time, the confirmation of major presidential appointments played out on several levels — starting, of course, with politics. It was assumed that a president would choose like-minded people as cabinet members and for other jobs requiring Senate approval. There was a presumption that he should be allowed his choices, all other things being equal.

Before George W. BushÂ’s presidency, those other things actually counted. Was the nominee truly qualified, with a professional background worthy of the job? Would he discharge his duties fairly and honorably, upholding his oath to protect the Constitution? Even though she answers to the president, would the nominee represent all Americans? Would he or she respect the power of Congress to supervise the executive branch, and the power of the courts to enforce the rule of law?

In less than seven years, Mr. Bush has managed to boil that list down to its least common denominator: the president should get his choices. At first, Mr. Bush was abetted by a slavish Republican majority that balked at only one major appointment — Harriet Miers for Supreme Court justice, and then only because of doubts that she was far enough to the right.

* * *

We are not suggesting the Democrats reject every presidential appointee, or that the presidentÂ’s preferences not be taken into account. But Democrats have done precious little to avoid the kind of spectacle the world saw last week: the Senate giving the job of attorney general, chief law enforcement officer in the worldÂ’s oldest democracy, to a man who does not even have the integrity to take a stand against torture.

Which, of course, all comes down to a single question -- is waterboarding torture? The New York Times has decreed ex cathedra that it is. The Bush administration disagrees. Refusal to subscribe to the position taken by the Times is considered to be heresy, and indication of unfitness for office, according to the editors of the NY Times, and therefore a nominee that they supported initially ought to be rejected. Frightening, isn't it, that the President might have nominated an attorney general who agrees with him, isn't it?

And then there is Frank Rich. Scary as it may seem, he makes the editorial look moderate and rational!

AS Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrested judges, lawyers and human-rights activists in Pakistan last week, our Senate was busy demonstrating its own civic mettle. Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, liberal Democrats from AmericaÂ’s two most highly populated blue states, gave the thumbs up to Michael B. Mukasey, ensuring his confirmation as attorney general.

So what if AmericaÂ’s chief law enforcement official wonÂ’t say that waterboarding is illegal? A state of emergency is a state of emergency. YouÂ’re either willing to sacrifice principles to head off the next ticking bomb, or youÂ’re with the terrorists. Constitutional corners were cut in Washington in impressive synchronicity with General MusharrafÂ’s crackdown in Islamabad.

* * *

To believe that this corruption will simply evaporate when the Bush presidency is done is to underestimate the permanent erosion inflicted over the past six years. What was once shocking and unacceptable in America has now been internalized as the new normal.

This is most apparent in the Republican presidential race, where most of the candidates seem to be running for dictator and make no apologies for it. TheyÂ’re falling over each other to expand Gitmo, see who can promise the most torture and abridge the largest number of constitutional rights. The front-runner, Rudy Giuliani, boasts a proven record in extralegal executive power grabs, Musharraf-style: After 9/11 he tried to mount a coup, floating the idea that he stay on as mayor in defiance of New YorkÂ’s term-limits law.

What makes the DemocratsÂ’ Mukasey cave-in so depressing is that it shows how far even exemplary sticklers for the law like Senators Feinstein and Schumer have lowered democracyÂ’s bar. When they argued that Mr. Mukasey should be confirmed because heÂ’s not as horrifying as Mr. Gonzales or as the acting attorney general who might get the job otherwise, they sounded whipped. After all these years of Bush-Cheney torture, theyÂ’ll say things they know are false just to move on.

So got that -- George W. Bush = General Musharraf. Deviation from that point of view is to demolish the Constitution and support dictatorship. To the barricades, comrades, to overthrow the fascist oppressor!

See what happens when you let the theater critic pretend to know something about politics and world affairs? Drama queen commentary!

Earlier I asked about euthanizing the New York Times. I was not, of course, serious. After all, the continued publication of this subversive rag is the surest proof that our constitutionally protected liberties are secure.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, Stop the ACLU, Perri Nelson's Website, Rosemary's Thoughts, Stix Blog, Right Truth, The Populist, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, The Uncooperative Radio Show!, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, CommonSenseAmerica, Right Voices, Church and State, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, A Blog For All, 123beta, Adam's Blog, Grizzly Groundswell, The Bullwinkle Blog, Big Dog's Weblog, Cao's Blog, , Nuke's, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Faultline USA, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Walls of the City, Blue Star Chronicles, Wolf Pangloss, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 06:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Courts v. Terrorism = Wile E. Coyote v. Road Runner by Big Lizards, and A Great Shifting of the Winds by Eternity Road.  Here is a link to the full results of the vote:

Posted by: Greg at 03:06 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm not at all shocked by this outcome.

Race, many sociologists and anthropologists have argued for decades, is a social invention historically used to justify prejudice and persecution. But when Samuel M. Richards gave his students at Pennsylvania State University genetic ancestry tests to establish the imprecision of socially constructed racial categories, he found the exercise reinforced them instead.

One white-skinned student, told she was 9 percent West African, went to a Kwanzaa celebration, for instance, but would not dream of going to an Asian cultural event because her DNA did not match, Dr. Richards said. Preconceived notions of race seemed all the more authentic when quantified by DNA.

“Before, it was, ‘I’m white because I have white skin and grew up in white culture,’ ” Dr. Richards said. “Now it’s, ‘I really know I’m white, so white is this big neon sign hanging over my head.’ It’s like, oh, no, come on. That wasn’t the point.”

But what Richards fails to consider is that for the last few decades we have been awarding benefits and burdens based upon race and ethnicity. We've been setting up special scholarships, cultural centers, and other programs to help folks understand what it means to be authentically [FILL IN THE BLANK]. having now been sorted into ethnic group X, why would these students seek out some other culture? Isn't that defined as "selling out" to the evils of "assimilation"? Unless, of course, you are white, in which case you are expected to embrace every culture except your own evilracistsexisthomophobicfascist culture in the name of diversity, multiculturalism, and political correctness. We've sowed balkinization for decades -- why wouldn't these results lead to further balkinization?

Posted by: Greg at 02:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Growing up Catholic, the lighting of candles as a part of the ritual or prayer was a given. Whether votive candles in a rack at church, or the many candles on the altar, the flickering of the flame was a part of the ritual of prayer. Later, in the seminary, I set up my own little prayer space in my dorm room , complete with a couple of votive lights to help set off the time and space as something sacred.

The problem with candles, of course, is the whole issue of fire. Open flames can be dangerous. And so I'm particularly struck by the availability of flameless candles, ones that make use of LED lights instead of open flames to simulate the burning of the candles. This is especially important in the holiday season, because many folks like to put candles in the window. I think it is fair to say that putting a flameless window candle near the curtains is quite a bit safer than having an open flame licking at the fabric of the drapes. You should really check out the products at FlamelessCandles.net.

Personally, I like the flameless votive candles. These sot of hearken back o my younger days, and that spiritual practice I mentioned above. The 3 inch wax votives (made from real wax) would be perfect in the sort of in the sort of personal sanctuary I mentioned above, as would the flameless votive set with wooden base.

Posted by: Greg at 01:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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