Disaster at Sea: Two Boys Drown in Gulf of Mexico

An adventure with a group of young people ended in disaster as two fourteen-year olds perished in their overturned kayaks in the Gulf of Mexico.

The two became separated from their group, which came from Darlington High School in Rome, Georgia, and drowned. The entire group became disoriented and had to be rescued by the United States Coast Guard after the seas became too much to handle.

Had a very strong reaction to this story as everyone was hoping that the kids would be found alive and well. Hope was lost this afternoon with the announcement that the boys had been found dead. 4½ miles into open water is a long ways for a group of young teenagers.

Two of the leading causes of drowning in aquatics (in general) are boating mishaps and exceeding physical limitations and disabilities. Key questions that need to be asked: did the trip exceed the physical limitations of the group, given their ages? Did the kids have enough experience to be kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico? Was the supervision qualified to lead a foray like this? Did they do training beforehand and know how to handle themselves adequately to go onto a large body of water? Was the buddy system used properly? It doesn’t help the group if the two strongest kayakers or the two weakest kayakers were teamed up.

The author of this piece, a fifteen-year veteran lifeguard, took his first kayaking trip last year and found that he was not equal to the task as it was the first time he was in a kayak; nearly all of his boating experiences centered around canoes, rowboats, whitewater, motorboats and a limited amount of sailing time. Had he chosen any other form of watercraft (probably not sailing either), he would have been fine, but he didn’t properly train and was badly unprepared for what awaited him on a mere river. He had to pull out of the trip midway through because he tried to ignore the severe pain that he was in that had developed from being in such an uncomfortable position. He failed. He won’t make that mistake again.

The thought of going into the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic or Pacific without any type of training in an unfamiliar class of watercraft is unthinkable. Whatever happened in the waters off of Florida, it must be investigated fully; and it will.

May God bless the families of the lost, the members of the group who lived, and the school and community from where they came. May they be comforted by His healing hands.

Lebanese Government Collapses: Fallout from Assassination Continues

In continuing fall-out from the assassination of a former Lebanese Prime Minister two weeks ago, the Lebanese government resigned, bowing to internal and international pressure.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens protesting outside and watching the debate on TV let out a roar that reverberated throughout Lebanon, and indeed, throughout the region as the Prime Minster announced the resignations. The Lebanese people want their freedom restored, they want the Syrian occupation forces removed from their soil, and they want a government that is free from Syrian influence and a political system that is not influenced by Syrian military intelligence forces.

The changes taking place over there are astonishing; a few short years ago, such happenings would have been put down harshly by the Syrians, but the West has taken a strong interest in investigating the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed by a massive car bomb. That bombing has led to Syria being put under tremendous pressure to get their military out of Lebanon and to come clean on their activities with regards to terrorism in the region.

Syria handed over Saddam Hussein’s half brother Sab'awi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti, who was #36 on the U.S. military’s list of most wanted men for his human-rights violations while Saddam was in power and for his role in leading the insurgency in Iraq. This is an attempt to get some of the pressure off, but it won’t work.

Lebanon appears headed for independence from Syria and all Syria can do is moan about how they’re being treated by the international community. Get over it, Damascus, and be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

Putin Getting Terrible Advice From His Advisors: Accuses Bush of Firing CBS Staffers

According to Newsweek magazine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush that Russia didn’t criticize Bush for firing the staffers at CBS after they aired false National Guard documents that led to a scandal at CBS. This comment came at their meeting in Slovakia last week at the end of Bush’s fence-mending trip to Europe.

Bush was criticizing the Russian crackdown on the free press in Russia, and Putin made the comment in responding to Bush’s concerns. Putin actually believes that President Bush personally fired the CBS people for criticizing him in the weeks leading up to the election. Bush explained that he has no power to fire people like that and that it was a CBS company decision, but Putin didn’t believe him.

Putin’s advisors are giving him very bad advice about U.S. politics and Putin is buying into it hook, line and sinker. It also explains Russia’s about-face in selling nuclear fuel to Iran after it said in a joint statement with the U.S. that Iran must not possess a nuclear weapon. Does he really think Russia will get back all of the spent nuclear power rods that could be used to build an Iranian nuclear weapon?

Will Russian soldiers enforce that part of their agreement? Will the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) be able to observe what goes on there?

It’s scary to think that someone who misunderstands the U.S. so badly is in charge of one of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals and is a dictator at heart. Putin comes across as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, so the U.S. should keep a close eye on Russia until it embraces democracy more fully, and not just in name only.

Here's the story.

Israel Over-Reacting Again; Threatens to Suspend Peace with Palestinians Over Latest Terror Bombing

Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is at it again. After the latest terror bombing (which he blamed on Syria), he has threatened to suspend the fragile cease-fire that was signed a mere three weeks ago with Palestine.

If the truce is going to hold and peace is to be achieved, Israel should be helping the Palestinians instead of blaming them for every terrorist attack that is launched by terror groups that may not even be operating out of Palestinian territory.

Israel needs to take a more even-handed approach to the Palestinians and quit weakening their new democratic leader. That just plays into the hands of Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad and about twenty other groups that don’t like Israel and are beyond the reach of Palestinian security forces.

Pope Hospitalized Again: Resignation Talk in Media Rekindled

Pope John Paul II was rushed back to a hospital in Rome this morning where he spent ten days earlier this month; almost as quickly, the media vultures quickly returned and set up the media circus again. And again, they began talking up a possible papal retirement.

Do they not get it? This pope will die in office, so they should leave him alone. The Catholic Church has gone months and even years without a pope in centuries past, and the church survived then. It will survive through whatever happens to John Paul II, whether he dies in the hospital or at the Vatican, or he is left speechless for the remainder of his days.

If they want to report on the pope’s condition, fine, but they should stop fueling this dead-end story. If this Polish man decides to fight to the bitter end, he will. And it looks like he has, based on his public statements of thanks for prayers for around the world, and for his asking for strength to continue his ministry.

Those are not the words of someone who is planning on retiring or "resigning" as the world media brazenly puts it.

Kid Suspended for Tossing Rubber Band at Teacher

In a case of “zero-tolerance” having zero common sense, a 13 year-old kid was suspended from his southern Florida school for ten days after tossing a rubber band onto the desk of his teacher.

This happened after the boy picked up the rubber band and put it on his wrist. The teacher asked for the rubber band so the boy took it off and tossed the 1/10th ounce rubber band onto his teacher’s desk. As a result, the band was labeled a weapon, and the boy was suspended for ten days with an expulsion hearing scheduled for “threatening a teacher with a weapon.”

??!

In the Orange County School District, they have different levels of punishments, with Level 4 punishments for such things as: arson, assault and battery, bomb threats and explosives offenses.

This kid is being handed a Level 4 punishment.

Did the ¼ ounce rubber band explode on impact? Did it burn a hole in the desk? Did the rubber band blow out the windows in the room? Did it give the teacher a bruise? Did the rubber band sever the arm of the teacher? Did the 1/10th ounce rubber band threaten the life of the teacher? Of the students? Did the student try to kill the teacher with the rubber band? Did the student try to kill himself with the rubber band?

Some weapon. Yep. Uh-huh.

Call to Action: Free Imprisoned Bloggers

The Committee to Protect Bloggers has declared Tuesday, February 22nd as "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day" to draw worldwide attention to two Iranian bloggers who are being held by the Iranian government for posting thoughts on their blogs that the Iranian government disagrees with.

Click on the link above to learn more.

Bloggers are an endangered species in countries like Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and other countries where repressive governments exist. Bloggers in those and similar countries risk their lives to express their views and face the death penalty or lengthy prison terms if they are caught and convicted. Mr. Mojtaba and Mr. Arash are two of many bloggers who have been arrested by their own governments for revealing things their governments have done, or what they think their government(s) should be doing.

Repressive governments responded harshly because various bloggers (and journalists from the print and media world) called worldwide attention to injustices that their repressive governments are totally and completely responsible for, don't want to admit to, and are terrified that news about what they have done is now in full view of the entire world, thanks to their own people who disagree with their brutal reigns of terror. Further, the fact that there are people within their countries with opinions different from the "official" position of the government scares those in power. As it should.

All nations on earth should respect not only Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but the entire document as well. The stories of many imprisoned journalists and bloggers are at the link above.

The committee's web site at the link above has contact information for the Iranian embassy in the United States, suggestions on what to include in any letters, and general pointers. Human rights are not just for some, but for all, and we need to let those governments know that their dissidents are not alone, and that the truth will come out one day, no matter what they do to bury the knowledge of what they've done.

Media is Afraid of Bloggers: They Don't Have To Be If They Do Their Jobs

It’s been suggested that media outlets may become afraid of reporting negative stories on the administration because bloggers will poke holes in their stories.

That isn’t true.

What the media outlets should be afraid of is what will happen if they do anything except report the facts. CBS got into trouble because they wanted to get an untrue story about President Bush out on the airwaves before their competitors did first. As a result of that haste, they used falsified documents and were greatly embarrassed when it was proven that the documents on President Bush’s tour of duty in the National Guard were frauds.

It’s true that bloggers were the first to raise questions of the authenticity of the National Guard documents; there’s a prevailing snide attitude at the networks that bloggers are guys who sit in their living rooms wearing pajamas (that’s what former CBS executive VP Jonathan Kline said in a debate with Steven Hayes, writer for the Weekly Standard) when compared to the “checks and balances” system at CBS (and other networks) that Mr. Kline was extolling (and which failed miserably on the CBS story).

There are all kinds of bloggers; they come from different walks of life, and often have more depth than the talent at the networks. The bloggers that raised the authenticity issue were attorneys, analysts, average janes and joes, and so forth. The Internet community outmaneuvered CBS and the network had to hire people (who had similar training to some of the bloggers, mind you) to do an in-depth analysis of the documents to find out that the documents WERE false.

So, the media shouldn’t be afraid of doing their jobs, but they should fear the repercussions of deceiving the American public and making news instead of reporting it.

Israeli Civil War on the Horizon: Settlers Vow to Resist Forced Relocation

Israel’s cabinet voted to expel Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and from parts of the West Bank, which led militant settlers to vow to fight the relocation. Some Israeli Army units have promised to disobey orders to forcibly remove the settlers from their homes, which heightens the possibility of fighting between the government and the settlers.

Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is hoping to prevent an Israeli civil war and to move the peace process forward. It looks like Sharon has the support of the general Israeli public, though he has made enemies of many settlers, who are heavily armed.

Former Prime Minister and current Finance Secretary Benjamin Netanyahu voted no on the resolution and has indicated he will run against Sharon in their party elections to fight the peace agreement.

Until Yitzak Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli militant in November 1995, it was generally thought that Israelis did not kill Israelis, but Rabin’s murder threw that notion out the window. Hopefully Sharon won’t be targeted in the same way by a vocal minority who don’t want to leave their homes. An Israeli civil war won’t further the peace process, which many settlers oppose. It’s too bad that it has to be this way.

What Kind of Scam is Blockbuster Video Running?

Blockbuster Video is being sued by the Attorney General of New Jersey for deceptive advertising following complaints that Blockbuster didn’t inform clients that their new rental policy includes hidden charges that are de-facto late fees.

After so many days, the client’s debit/credit card is charged for replacing the video that the client believes he/she can hold onto for an extended period of time; when the video is returned, the fee is returned but $1.50 is kept for a restocking fee.

That, my friends, is a late fee.

The end of late fees, eh? Here’s the story.

China Upset With U.S. Assessment of Chinese Military Strength in Taiwan Strait

China is upset that the United States constantly gauges Chinese military strength that is arrayed against Taiwan and wants it to stop.

Fat chance.

The U.S. is required by law to supply Taiwan with weapons and intelligence on Chinese military units that are deployed to attack Taiwan and to assess threats to the island. China decries this as “severe internal interference in China’s affairs” and claims the island is a part of China, while totally ignoring the fact that a democratic nation that is not part of communist China exists there and IS (for all intents and purposes) independent of China.

Here's the story.

China has repeatedly threatened to attack Taiwan if it were to move for “full” independence, and to seek a seat in the United Nations, which it may well do in the future.

China ought to leave Taiwan alone, AND withdraw its troops from Tibet, which it illegally occupied decades ago, and allow the Dali Lama to return to his homeland. It would be great if China sponsored Taiwan's bid for a seat in the U.N. but they are intent on conquering the island so that probably won't happen either.

Terrorists Target Shiite Mosques Across Iraq During Sacred Shiite Holiday

Baghdad was again rocked by terrorist bombs going off in front of Shiite mosques as Shiites prepared to observe the Ashoura holiday, which is the holiest day of the year in the Shiite calendar. It is widely believed that Sunni extremists are responsible and are trying to trigger an Iraqi religious war to destabilize the newly elected government there.

To their credit, the Shiites have not taken the bait as they want the new government to succeed. Their religious leaders have been encouraging their people to support their new government and have encouraged Sunni Muslims to participate in the government, which is very encouraging news.

Between the Shiites and the Kurds, they control the majority of the seats in the legislature, with Sunnis in the minority, which reflects the religious makeup of the population of Iraq.

It is expected that the new Prime Minster of Iraq will be a Shiite, while the President of Iraq may be a Kurd. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

Rumors of a Resurrected NHL Season Abound: It's Not Going to Happen and Here's Why

Hopeful rumors of a save of the 2004-05 NHL hockey season began almost immediately after NHL Commissioner Bettman got on stage and announced the termination of the season following failed negotiations between the players and the league. It won't happen. The league cannot afford it.

More information has come out about why the lock-out happened and how badly the NHL has done in the last ten years, going $1.8 billion into the red. It's astounding that the NHL hasn't folded after running deficits of at least $200 million per season.

The Edmonton Oilers were said to be on the verge of requesting that the NHL suspend its franchise or move the team as it was on the verge of a financial meltdown. In fact, every Canadian NHL team (except Toronto) is in major financial trouble, as are the American NHL teams in Atlanta, Anaheim, Nashville, and to a lesser extent in nine other American cities. Several teams have declared bankruptcy in recent years, including Buffalo, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Those teams were all acquired by people who kept the clubs running and reorganized them, but now those turnarounds are all imperiled.

The simple fact is that the NHL is too fat; salary caps won't save the league or the teams that are in trouble. It needs to lose about a dozen teams, which is very unfortunate, but it's the only way the entire thing can be salvaged. They need to do business a lot smarter, stop expanding into markets that won't support a NHL team, and make nice with the fans that are supporting their teams. One sports writer suggested that the NHL itself should file for bankruptcy, reorganize, and start anew. That might be a very good start.

So don't hold your breath waiting for the NHL to call another press conference and announce that an abbreviated season will be played following a breakthrough in negotiations. It would be irresponsible for the league to do so until it fixes the major financial problems that it has.

Strike the Colors: NHL Scraps Season

NHL Commissioner Bettman called a news conference today and cancelled the rest of the 2004-2005 National Hockey League season, despite the ongoing negotiations.

Too bad.

Partners in Crime: Iran and Syria Issue Joint Communiqué Against U.S.

Terrorist sponsors Iran and Syria have vowed to stand together in their terror wars against the West in general, and the U.S. in particular.

Syria doesn’t want to withdraw its troops from Lebanon or stop terrorists from crossing their border into Iraq, and Iran doesn’t want to drop its nuclear weapons ambitions.

Both do not like the fact that the U.S. is putting pressure on them to get out of the terrorism business and are being closely watched by Washington, other western nations, and the United Nations. They are letting their hostility toward Washington become known by publicly stating that they will stand together. Here's that part of the story.

Syria’s already interfering in Iraq by allowing terrorists to use its territory to stage bombings inside Iraq. Terrorists are entering from Iran as well, so their talk of not wanting to become enemies of the United States is misleading. Their terrorists are already at war with the U.S. military, so Syria and Iran should, at the very least, close their borders, man the border crossings and arrest terrorists as they encounter them and not just wave them through.

It's time for Iran and Syria to put up or shut up and prove their peaceful intentions.

Political Tire Slashing Trial Underway

The Milwaukee-area Election Day tire slashing defendents went on trial today, accused of slashing the tires of twenty-five vehicles being rented by the Wisconsin Republican Party to get out the vote. The crime carries a penalty of $10,000 per defendant and 3 1/2 years in jail.

Hooliganism has no place in American elections. Hopefully the courts will agree and make an example out of these five activists for damaging the property of others. It's too bad that they couldn't express their political views without destroying stuff.

Political violence should be a thing of the past, but it reared its ugly head in 2004. How many political election offices were damaged across the country? How many were burned? Shot at? Ransacked? It seemed like many areas reported problems.

How many houses and private vehicles were damaged because Bush's or Kerry's name were on the yard signs in front of those houses or on the bumpers of those vehicles? For that matter, how many yard signs were stolen?

Stupid people do stupid things, and using violence to convince someone that that the aggressor is right is a sign of serious immaturity. It's too bad we can't put people like that into an incubator for a few years and then take them out when they're done growing up mentally. They ought to learn to use that space between their ears for rational thought and communicating political discourse instead of acting like idiots.

Violence does nothing to further the democratic process.

U.S. Withdraws Ambassador to Syria; Damascus in the Crosshairs

A huge explosion in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, killed a former Prime Minister of Lebanon and sent shockwaves through the diplomatic community.

The attack killed Rafik al-Hariri, a Lebanese businessman who is credited with ending the civil war that decimated his country from 1976-1990. Syria subsequently occupied Lebanon and has been known to execute Lebanese citizens who protest the occupation of their country by Syria’s armed forces.

U.S. diplomats have accused Syria of not controlling the flow of Arab terrorists into Iraq from the Syrian side of the border. Also unanswered are questions of whether Saddam Hussein transferred his much-sought-after weapons of mass destruction program to Syria before the United States invaded Iraq.

Syria is still sponsoring terrorism despite their pledges of support to combat groups like al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.

Whether or not Syria had anything with the Beirut bombing remains to be seen, but it would be in Syria’s best interests to come completely clean on what it’s been up to.

Possible Last-Minute Save of NHL Season?

There was some movement overnight in the NHL contract discussions. Some are speculating that there may be a last-minute save of the 2004-05 pro hockey season.

Reportedly, the players union agreed to a salary cap but the teams and union disagreed on how big or small the cap should be. The union wants caps of $52 million per team, the NHL wants it restricted to $40 million per team. Negotiations broke down again shortly afterwards.

Since the union is now talking about salary caps, the NHL has dropped a demand that was labeled by union as “unacceptable” which featured a “revenue to player” link. Sounds pretty complex, but the NHL decided to move forward. The salary cap will probably happen and it will be somewhere between $40 million and $52 million per team.

A whole host of minor issues remains, but while the two sides were not budging on the salary caps, all of those smaller issues were set aside until the big issues were settled.

NHL Commissioner Bettman has rescheduled his news conference to Wednesday. It was originally scheduled for today, in which he would have cancelled the rest of the season, but since the two sides are finally making some headway, that announcement has been postponed by the NHL management.

It remains to be seen if the season can be salvaged.

2004-2005 National Hockey League Season Appears Doomed

Greed appears ready to sink the National Hockey League this season. Players, owners and the league have been unable to come to terms on the salary cap and some of the other issues that were dogging their progress, and after months of inactivity, they finally sat their a$$es down and talked about their issues. Sort of.

The result: no progress. As a result, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is calling a press conference on Tuesday to announce the cancellation of the rest of the season.

It is very likely that there will be no Stanley Cup awarded this year. This has not happened since the worldwide flu pandemic of 1919.

Shame on the NHL and the players union for not budging on the salary cap and allowing it to come to this! It doesn’t matter who is more at fault in causing the cancellation of the season, they are equally as stubborn. They’re going to have to crawl on their hands and knees and beg the fans to come back once this sorry state of affairs is settled. It took them years to get over the last major strike; this time it may take even longer.

"Baby 81" Identified and Reunited with Parents

Word came out of devastated Sri Lanka that DNA tests have conclusively settled the “Baby 81” situation that has been playing out for the last two weeks. Against all odds, a baby was pulled from tsunami debris days after a monster earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated the coastlines of a dozen south Asian and African countries; nine Sri Lankan couples claimed the child and the legal battle was on.

DNA testing was done and the rightful parents were identified.

The baby was ripped from his mother’s arms as she struggled against the tide to hold onto the child and keep from drowning with hundreds of thousands of others around the region who were swept away.

As of 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today, the death toll from the tsunami stands at 287,534 and that number keeps rising as searchers sift through ruined towns and villages. Faced with those staggering numbers, the fact that this baby survived the tsunami after being ripped from his mom’s arms by the waves, and was eventually reunited with his mom and dad (who both survived as well) is nothing short of miraculous.

New AIDS Strain: Highly Aggressive Strain Finally Gets Media Attention

The news that hit last week about a new AIDS strain that is, actually, not new.

There was a story last year about someone who was HIV positive, was taking experimental drugs to combat it, had unprotected relations with someone who had a different strain of HIV, and ended up with two different strains of HIV that turned into full-blown AIDS at a vastly accelerated rate.

Blood tests showed antibodies for both strains in the person that was being monitored as he was a test subject for the anti-AIDS drug.

Little attention was paid to the news then, but last week, a “new” strain of HIV emerged, which allows HIV to develop to full-blown AIDS within three months.

It’s the same story, but now people are paying a little closer attention. People having multiple partners who have other HIV strains, using unsafe methods and not caring enough to get tested or changing their behavior after learning they are HIV-positive has led to this aggressive strain emerging over the last couple of years.

When will people learn?

No Shuttle Repair Kit As Yet for May 2005 Shuttle Launch

It has been two years since the space shuttle Columbia erupted in fire and disintegrated 207,000 feet above the earth as it was making its way home from a space mission and shuttle debris began raining on Texas.

All seven astronauts perished and the investigation focused on the left wing of the Columbia, which was hit by debris during liftoff. Upon re-entry, plasma entered the left wing and caused the inside of the shuttle to burn. System after system failed until the integrity of the craft failed and the shuttle broke apart.

Following an investigation, recommendations were made, like the ones that were made after the Challenger exploded. One of them was to provide a kit that would repair holes in the shuttle if it was breached. Now, with three months to go before NASA launches the space shuttle Discovery into space, the kit and training haven’t happened.

The ideas that have been tried haven’t been too successful and NASA has struggled to come up with a good solution.

Oh, here comes that sinking feeling.

And here’s the story.

North Korea Declares Itself a Nuclear Power; Yet Says It Is Committed to Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula

In the latest series of contradictions coming from North Korea’s propaganda machine, North Korea publicly declared itself a nuclear power, yet says that Pyongyang is committed to a nuclear-weapons free Korean peninsula.

It should be pointed out that North Korea can do that immediately by unilaterally disarming. If it has atomic or nuclear weapons, it can turn them over to IAEA control or sell them to Russia or China, which already possess nuclear weapons and the means to dispose of them.

It is doubtful that the U.S. will attack North Korea unless it is provoked, or North Korea starts a conflict, which it has done in the past. If a war starts between North Korea and the United States, it will be because North Korea attacks South Korea or Japan, thereby ensuring the destruction of the North Korean regime. North Korean possession of atomic arms makes an American attack MORE likely rather than deterring it.

Pyongyang should get with the program, disarm, get rid of the communists, hold free elections and then open talks with the south to move toward reunification and make Korea one free and independent nation.

The North Korean leadership doesn’t care about the people of North Korea; they just want to stay in power and are willing to use the nuclear gambit to get their way with their neighbors and with America. In the wake of losing millions of people to starvation over the last few years, they have chosen to focus the anger of the North Korean people on the U.S. and South Korea to stay in power, instead of taking responsibility and feeding their people. That is what’s really going on here.

Words in Molestation Cases: Insult to Injury

“Affair.” “Relationship.” “Love.” “Consensual.”

These are words that are commonly used in news stories where adults commit sexual acts on little kids.

The word “relationship” is too civilized a word to be attached to describing a sex crime perpetrated on a child by an adult. Yet that word is plastered all over news stories (especially recently) when stories hit page one about eleven-year-olds having “consensual” sex with the adult.

How can it be consensual? Pre-teens (and many teens too) don’t always have the judgment to analyze the long-term consequences of their actions. A child may be tricked by an adult that they trust into allowing “bad touch” sorts of things, but that is NOT consent. It’s manipulation by the adult to get the child to stop resisting what they wouldn’t normally do. And it's a crime.

These crimes are sickening, heartbreaking and a sign that we need to be doing more to protect children from predators. These children will have to live with what was done to them by an adult who was pretending to be their friend and was inflicting long-term permanent damage on the child's emotional/psychological growth and development.

"Consensual" my afterburner.

Social Security Double Standard: Is There or Isn’t There a Problem?

It’s interesting to note how the roles have been reversed in Congress with regards to the Social Security problem.

When President Clinton was talking about saving Social Security in the 1990s, the Democrats were agreed to the last member that Social Security was in “crisis” while the Republicans denied that.

Now, with a Republican president saying that Social Security is in crisis, the Democrats are in denial, and the Republicans are saying that Social Security is in crisis.

This just screams "Congress doesn't REALLY want to change Social Security!!" and "These people are the ones who are going to save Social Security??!"

Yeah, right.

Pope Resignation Talk: Leave Him Alone

There has been a media circus around Pope John Paul II since he came down with the flu and with his subsequent breathing difficulties and hospitalization.

It’s been suggested by some that the pope should retire, or “resign.”

Not.

There have been popes who have retired in ages past, but one of the last ones to do so was back in 1294. Pope Celestine V retired after only six months as pope; as he was a monk, he wanted to live a solitary life and so gave up being the pontiff in favor of returning to his roots. There were other papal resignations when there was more than one Pope running around, too (1415).

John Paul II can decide on his own what the fate of his papacy will be. If he decides that it's time to retire, then it's time for him to retire. If he chooses to remain, then let him remain. BUT, they need to come up with a plan of succession in the event that the Pope becomes incapacitated and can no longer communicate.

Catholic Canon law does not provide for what happens in the event of a papal incapacitation, but it is clear that Canon law calls for a Pope to guide the church and never intended for a rudderless Church to come into being. So hopefully JPII and the leaders of the church can come up with a plan of action before it's too late.

Even if the plan is to turn over the governing of the day-to-day operations of the Vatican to the Vatican Secretary of State until the Pope recovers, or dies and a new one is elected, that's better than what they have right now, which is nothing.

Target: Venezuela

Has anyone been following the news coming out of Venezuela?

President Hugo Chavez has imperiled his country’s fifty-year history of democracy by restricting free speech, replacing military officers with his own supporters, arresting Supreme Court Justices and replacing them with his own judges, and using violence against those who disagree with his one-man rule.

Neighboring countries are accusing the revolutionary leader of supporting Marxist rebellions in their own countries, and he has begun taking land away from Venezuelan landowners.

This two-bit thug has become a destabilizing force in South America, and more attention should be paid to containing the terrorists coming out of Venezuela in addition to monitoring those terrorists who directly threaten the United States. Latin America needs international attention too.

Emerging democracies must be protected against totalitarianism. Chavez has no right to attack his democratic neighbors by arming terrorists and allowing them to use his territory to launch attacks on them, nor does he have the right to arbitrarily throw democracy out the window without the consent of the governed.

Here's the story.

First Iraq War Medal of Honor to Be Awarded

After a year of waiting, twelve separate reviews on various levels that went through the division, through the Pentagon and all the way to the White House, a soldier is being awarded the first Medal of Honor of the Iraq War.

Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith of the 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, was leading a group of sixteen men when they were ambushed by a battalion of Iraqi soldiers. Smith manned a 50 caliber machine gun and covered the withdrawal of his men and was fatally wounded by Iraqi return fire after going through four boxes of ammunition. He was the only American to die in the engagement.

Smith, of Tampa, Florida, joins a small group of soldiers who have been awarded the Medal of Honor since the Civil War. 3,439 men and one woman have received the Medal since 1863. Only 129 men who were awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam remain alive today. Through the ages, 19 men have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice.

Sgt. Smith gave the last full measure of devotion to save the lives of his fellow Army soldiers. Many of his fellows are alive today because of his sacrifice. A web site has been made to honor his memory and to tell his story.

The awarding of the Medal of Honor to our brave soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan is overdue. Sgt. Smith will be honored next month at the White House; his family will accept the award in his stead. Here's the story. That medal is also symbolic of the brave sacrifices that so many have made in Iraq and Afghanistan. May their memories never fade.

Bye Bye Attorney General Ashcroft

If memory serves, outgoing Attorney General Ashcroft was supposed to restore honor and integrity to the Justice Department following the disastrous reign of Janet Reno at the helm of the Clinton Justice Department.

This did not happen.

Instead, Ashcroft supervised a coordinated assault on the Constitution in a way that hasn't been seen since the early days of World War II and the Red Scare.

Holding someone for three years (with an option of keeping them locked up for the rest of their natural life) because they MIGHT be a terrorist goes against everything that the founders of the country stood for. No trial for the accused? Re-read the Declaration of Independence and focus on the reasons why they were declaring independence from the King of England if a refresher is needed.

Yes, our enemy is deadly and is not bound by civilized rules of conduct or decency, but if we don't live by rules that keep the government in check, then we may one day wake up and find ourselves in a country that tolerates no dissent and locks up people who disagree with the government.

The government needs to stop the terrorists, but that can be done without shredding the Constitution or the 5th Amendment. Old-fashioned law enforcement, investigations, stings, take-downs and, if necessary, military action will help the government combat terrorism. Ashcroft's Patriot Act is a direct challenge to the supreme law of the land, the United States Constitution.

Bush is not out to start a dictatorship, but we can't predict what a leader will do fifteen years down the road. By weakening the Constitution today, we may be propping up someone who craves power more than observing the rule of law down the road. We are just asking for trouble.

Laws that are made in the heat of the moment are bad news; the wild emotion that make the passing of such laws possible eventually fades, and then we are left with the bad laws. So it is with parts of the Patriot Act. And that is why it must be corrected and revised.