Pope John Paul II Remembered: First Anniversary of His Death

Catholics and others around the world are remembering the late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, on the first anniversary of his death.

Others can succeed him, but never replace him. His shoes are too big to fill.

Rarely has a single human being touched the lives of so many others. May the example he laid down during his life inspire others to stand up for what is right rather than what is popular. He showed us the way. May God grant us the strength to follow in his footsteps.

South Carolina Plan to Execute 2nd Time Child Molesters Goes Too Far: They Need to Strengthen First-Time Offender Sentences

Bear with me on this one.

I am of the opinion that South Carolina's move to enact legislation providing for a death penalty for 2nd time sex offenses against children is a move in the wrong direction.

There's a very good reason why.

We are all in agreement that child molesterers should be SEVERELY punished the first time around and that there should be no opportunity for convicted sex offenders to do it again.

But, when the legal system is dealing with something like a child's memory to provide crucial evidence against someone who has done a sickening thing to them, traumatized them, done stuff that permanently affects their relationships with others, and possibly turns them into future sex offenders themselves (as studies have shown), the likelihood of the child's recollection being in error may have a major effect on a death-penalty case.

This margin for error is unacceptable.

People convicted of sex crimes against children should never be allowed to walk free again. But the states keep releasing them back into the general population after serving a too-short sentence.

What will happen when a person is executed for a second-time offense, then the child later changes his/her story and it turns out that it was someone else who did the crime?

No, this is a bad idea. They need to strengthen FIRST-TIME offense sentencing and keep a second time from happening. That's a better solution than the idea currently under discussion in South Carolina.

Changing One Person on His Staff Isn't Enough: Bush Must Give Congress a Bloody Nose, Give the GOP a Kick in the Pants & Really Shake Up His Staff

Changing the White House Chief of Staff is one small step in the right direction for President Bush. But it isn't nearly enough for him to recapture any momentum that he had after defeating John Kerry.

President Bush needs to go after Congress now, especially since he's in the process of losing several major battles. There's a weapon in his arsenal that he has yet to use: veto, veto, veto. Bush has to veto everything in sight and make Congress negotiate with him over allowing "friendly" bills to even pass. Let them override him if they can.

Next, he has to heave the GOP through the nearest window to get their attention. Since half of the Republicans in Congress are behaving like liberal Democrats these days, he needs to identify those GOP members who are trying to distance themselves from him and campaign (without their approval) on their behalf in their home districts. If it sinks some of the campaigns, then so be it.

Then he needs to get rid of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Chernoff, Gonzales and Rice. They are responsible for about 75% of Bush's problems, mismanaging the war in Iraq, leading FEMA to it's lowest level of preparedness since it was started, threatening the Constitution with the concept of Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ("In times of war, the law falls silent"), and mismanaging U.S. foreign policy.

A U.S. President must rely on the people around him, and this President's friends have let him down.

Sometimes a President's friends are not the best choice for the positions which have huge impacts on people. Secretary of State, SecDef, Justice, Homeland Security and VP are not just political appointments; they need the right people who will wield their power wisely and have experience in those fields. IF the President's friends have those qualifications, then fine, but if they don't, then they shouldn't hold those offices.

Bush needs to get it in gear before it is too late.

Renegade Cat Attacks Neighbors: A Practical Solution

A cat from hell is making quite a reputation for himself, clawing and biting a half dozen people in recent days in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Here's the solution: shoot the cat.


DUH!!!

Congress Needs to Table Immigration Discussion Until January

Congress needs to table the immigration debate until January.

It's apparent that Congress is making decisions based on what they think will win them the most votes in November and not according to their own values and principles and what's good for the country.

A new session of Congress is the only way out of this immigration mess that is getting worse by the day.

Half the Republicans in Washington sound like liberal Democrats. And they accuse President Bush of being a lame duck President? The lame ducks are in Congress. And President Bush is acting like a liberal himself, even though he isn't running for re-election.

This is disgusting.

We Don't Need New Anti-Illegal Alien Laws; We Need the Government to Enforce Laws Already on the Books

There's been a lot of hooplah in Washington and in major U.S. cities the last couple of weeks over pending legislation that is meant to deal with the illegal alien population that is in the country.

The U.S. doesn't need new laws to deal with the matter; it needs to enforce existing laws. It's a waste of time for Congress to revisit this issue, unless they are amending current laws. They should get with the President, budget the Border Patrol and the INS, and get on with it.

As a talking point, people also shouldn't be objecting to putting up a barricade that covers the entire border with Mexico either; only illegals and troublemakers avoid the established LEGAL border crossing checkpoints. So why shouldn't it be a felony from this day forward to cross the border without going through one of the border crossings? There are plenty to choose from.

Every nation on earth has a right to decline entry of people into it's territory; illegal border crossers deny our nation the right to say "no" or to find out WHO or WHAT is coming in. It's kind of like having a total stranger walk straight into your house without knocking and without giving the homeowner the right to deny entry. A person's house is his/her castle. Our country is the same way and these strangers are coming in without knocking (at best) or breaking in (at worst). Both are crimes.

As far as the illegals who are already here, the laws should be followed. Employers need to fill out the proper paperwork which establish American citizenship. Those arrested for minor crimes need to be turned over to the INS for processing. There are dozens of requirements that are not universally followed and they should be.

There's a ton of things that have to happen. The way things are going right now, they won't and we'll have a bigger mess than we have now.

Afghan Man's Converting to Christianity is NOT an Act of Mental Illness: One Insult After Another Highlights Problems With a 12th Century Society

A Christian man facing the death penalty in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity from Islam will be evaluated for mental illness and will be "treated" instead of being executed by his government.

How long he remains in "treatment" or what it will consist of is unknown, but it is believed that Muslim clerics will have him killed on the streets if he simply walks out of jail. They have already threatened to incite their followers to do precisely that.

Western governments have been consulting with the Afghan government over this situation, but President Karzai and his people have done little, preferring to call call the man "crazy" or "insane" or "mentally ill." It's 12th Century thinking cloaked as 21st Century psychology. And since Afghanistan is under Islamic law, it won't change either.

In actuality, this Afghan Christian is probably saner than the clerics and religious authorities over there are.

His kids should be returned to him and he should be allowed to leave Afghanistan unharmed.

First It Was Lack of Body Armor, Now It's the Weight of It: Soldiers Stow Armor Because It Slows Them Down

Back to the drawing board.

After the outcry over the lack of protective body armor for front-line combat forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, military planners and suppliers began shipping body armor to the war zones in large quantities after ramping up production.

Unfortunately, some of the troops are refusing to wear it as it's heavy, cumbersome and not helpful when soliders have to run, crawl through small openings, or when they have to jump over or climb stuff. Further, commanding officers in the field have made wearing the armor optional.

The challenge now will be for manufacturers to come up with armor plating that is as-strong or stronger than the current body armor, but thinner, lighter and less bulky as well.

It's good that the military is finally taking steps to deal with this situation and that those troops who want it have it.

This is an opportunity to take body armor technology to the next level; the brass should again respond to the needs of those serving on the front lines.

Matt's Safe Schools Law is Long Overdue; This Bill Deserves Unanimous Support from Legislature and Governor

Michigan House Bill 5616 and Senate Bill 1156 are two of several anti-bullying laws that are being considered by the Michigan legislature.

It's about time that this issue was tackled head-on and dealt with.

One of the most frustrating things I've seen as a past substitute teacher is seeing kids bullied by others and being told that "boys will be boys" by administrators in certain school districts when I reported the incidents. In those schools the only way administrators would get involved was if there was an altercation.

Other schools did an admirable job when I reported bullying. The problems were dealt with swiftly and decisively; reports were taken, kids were interviewed, parents were called and disciplinary action taken.

All schools should handle bullies as well as the schools I spoke of in the previous paragraph did. "Boys will be boys" is a lame-brain excuse for someone to duck the responsibility that they have to intervene when a kid is being bullied.

Fourteen-year old Matt Epling was harassed and harassed until he was driven to desperation and then to suicide because too few tood up for him as upperclassmen at his mid-Michigan school smeared raw eggs and syrup on him and laughed. People watching laughed too and thought nothing of it until they heard that Matt had killed himself due to many incidents like this one. I can't imagine the hell that his family has gone through.

The impending Michigan legislation is named for Matt (Matt's Safe Schools Law).

No kid should ever be bullied. No kid should ever feel the need to take revenge on fellow students in the form of a Columbine-like attack or be driven to commit suicide because of a preventable thing like bullying.

This is a major problem that is finally being given the attention that it is due. This should have been done soon after the disaster at Columbine High School and not six years on. That's too long.

After the bills are consolidated, this law will require school districts to train staff and students and provide age-appropriate punishments for bullies. These policies will be up to each school district; most of the individual schools I've substituted at are up to the task, but there are a couple where a change in leadership will be needed before there is progress. The problem IS that bad.

Some in the Michigan legislature think the local schools can handle the problem all by themselves and don't need the state to get involved. They're dead wrong. Their ignorance is regrettable.

This requirement will save lives. How can they be opposed to that?

Criminal Lafave Complains About Being Ostracized for Molesting Her 14-Year Old Student

Debra Lefave, the former teacher who caused a huge scandal for her molestation of one of her students, went on Fox News and complained about people not being very nice to her after the inept district attorney in Ocala, Florida, dropped all charges on her because her victim didn't want to testify.

That's too friggin' bad. She should have thought about the consequences of her actions before she engaged in criminal behavior with a minor. She should be in jail for what she did, and I have no sympathy for what she's going through.

She ought to quit her crying about her situation and stay OFF the news if she doesn't want her face IN the news. She's NO victim.

Election-Year Politics Displayed By Congress During Ports Brewhaha Needs to Be Considered

There's some unsettled issues on the recently scuttled Dubai Worldports deal that need to be examined a little closer.

The United Arab Emerates is considered to be a friendly Arab nation. They were a voice of moderation in oil production and often responded positively to U.S. requests to not follow OPEC's decisions to cut production.

For their opening their port up to American warships, providing fuel and portside services, and being a good friend to the U.S. military, Congress effectively told them to "go to hell" because two of the ninteen 9/11 hijackers were from the UAE.

If we were to follow the same line of thinking that Congress did in deciding to kill the deal, then the following nations would be unacceptable as well because their citizens have participated in terrorist acts against us: Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Spain, Sweden, France, Denmark, Australia, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Bangladesh, Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria, Kenya, Qatar, Yemen, Mauritania, Chechnya, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Egypt. Let's not forget the United States itself either.

Many of those other nations (including our allies in Europe) have more than two al-Qaeda or Taliban recruits as well. We do too.

The election year politics involved in this controversy makes me wonder exactly how many members of Congress know what the difference between a "terminal" and a "port" is (see my earlier post in this very subject). Clearly many of them didn't know the difference, didn't bother to look them up, or didn't care.

There's a world of difference between the two words; and Congress kept referring to the "ports" being under the control of the UAE company, when it was actually the "terminals" that were clearly mentioned in the deal.

When Republicans and Democrats jump onto the same bandwagon (based on a distortion) in an election year, it does nothing for their credibility, which is already stretched beyond belief.

During the upcoming debates between the various candidates, they and their opponents should be asked (in a surprise question) to define a "port" and a "terminal" and the incumbent should be asked first. Some will definitely have egg in their faces when they stand there with a blank expression on their faces.

I would laugh my head off.

Afghan Man Faces Death for Converting to Christianity: Despite Advances, Afghanistan is Still a 12th Century Nation

A man living in Kabul is on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity and faces the death penalty if he is convicted.

Because Afghanistan is under Islamic law, it is considered to be a capital crime to reject Islam. The presiding judge called the man's "crime" an "attack on Islam," but he's gravely mistaken.

It is not an attack on Islam; it is an attack on Christianity. Here's why:

If they execute this man, it is not a matter of Muslims killing a Muslim; it is a matter of Muslims killing a Christian. It's against a man who did nothing but find a faith that sustained him more than the religion that he was born into.

Afghanistan's deputy Human Rights Commissioner is no help either, saying if the man was acquitted, it would be a victory for the Taliban. What a bunch of hooey!

The Taliban's version of Islam would support the execution of this Afghan Christian simply because he was a Christian; where does the Commissioner get off saying that the Taliban would gain a victory out of this? I don't see which version of Islam is any better if the defendant, Abdul Rahman, is executed for accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

It's apparent that radical Islamics are once again running Afghanistan. They're no better than the Taliban if this travesty goes any further.

Having a Pre-Emptive Strike Option Available is a Good National Security Policy: Problem Arises When Deciding if Pre-Emption is Necessary

The President's decision to keep a pre-emptive strike option as part of America's foreign and national security policies has raised the hackles of the left and of the anti-war movement, but only a total fool would take it off the table as some have demanded.

The policy itself isn't the issue; it's deciding under what conditions the policy of pre-emptive strikes or war would be justified.

Situation 1: If North Korea launched a conventional missile attack on Japan and North Korean generals were heard arguing on the radio whether or not to launch their nuclear missiles against Tokyo and at U.S. military bases in Japan and South Korea, would the policy be justified?

Situation 2: If China used nuclear weapons on Taiwanese military bases as it invaded the island, and attacked U.S. Navy ships on the high seas, would the policy be justified if U.S. spy satellites spotted the Chinese fueling and preparing their ICBMs for launch?

Situation 3: If Iran was be seven years away from developing a nuclear bomb, would the policy be justified today?

Situation 4: If another 9/11-style attack occurred, and 300,000 Americans die in the attack, should we attack Syria and Iran and North Korea because they might try to take advantage of the situation?

Going to war over possible threats vs. actual threats are at the heart of the matter. Where is the line drawn?

Situation #1 & 2 would have been provocation enough to turn parts of both North Korea and China into parking lots immediately. The Iranian nuclear program is still a ways off, so immediate military action without significant Iranian provocation would not be justified.

We enter an area which contains lots of gray areas with the "act of terrorism" situation outlined above. In that case, the Axis would have to make threatening moves first; the policy of pre-emption would not be justified unless they threatened U.S. interests following a massive terrorist attack and/or there was solid proof that they were involved in the terrorist action. If they were shown to be involved, it would be an act of war, which puts it into a different category completely. Article 51 of the U.N. Charter would apply there.

This policy must be used in the future with overwhelming evidence to back it up that establishes that the U.S. is in actual mortal peril and facing imminent attack.

If this policy is kept in future Administrations, the U.S. President will have a very unenviable task in deciding these issues, should they arise. May he/she choose wisely.

What's Worse? A Government that Withholds Information to Protect Security, or a News Media That Manipulates News For It's Own Secretive Purposes?

This is the stark choice that Americans seem to be facing these days.

We have an Administrative that is very secretive about just about everything, which leads many to complain that there should be more transparency in government.

We have a news media that distorts major news stories so that they fit the media's unknown agenda, and has the ability to repeat incorrect information over and over until it is believed to be general knowledge.

Which is more dangerous to the truth?

ABC News recently covered a story about a treasure trove of documents that were released by our government that were seized from Saddam Hussein's government, which show strong evidence of Saddam's intelligence network working together with bin-Laden and other hot topics. Nine documents were released; after the news network wrote up the gist of the documents, they added an editor's note to each one, discounting the documents. The reason: questionable sources.

It's pretty bad when several major news networks no longer follow their own rules on getting at least three sources to corroborate their OWN stories, but are quick to discount official U.S. and Iraqi government sources on evidence that disagrees with the media's viewpoints on controversial topics, such as WMDs in Iraq.

The government can release accurate information to a huge audience ONLY with the cooperation of the major news media. The ABC news story only confirms that the media doesn't feel beholden to the U.S. public to report the news as it is and let people decide themselves. They would rather write the news for their own political purposes.

And they accuse Fox News and the alternative media of manipulating the news? WHAT A JOKE!!

U.N. Security Council Must Share Burden of Responsibility for Iraq War: Their Resolutions Lead to War As Much as Faulty U.S. Intel Did

Some on the United Nations Security Council are pretty smug these days, telling the media and the U.S. "see, we told you so" as it relates to Iraq.

If memory serves, it was not the U.S. government who ordered Iraq to allow U.N. inspectors in to inspect Iraq's nuclear programs in the form of seventeen resolutions, it was the U.N. Security Council and the Secretary General who did.

It was those resolutions that declared that Iraq would suffer the consequences if it didn't allow the inspections to occur. "Unfettered access" were the popular buzzwords being thrown around the Security Council.

Further, members of the U.N. said during the lead-up to war that under the U.N. charter, only the U.N. could authorize war between two member nations; otherwise any war would be considered illegal. This lead President Bush to declare that he wouldn't wait for a permission slip from the U.N. to defend America.

So, before the Security Council gets too carried away again and starts passing resolutions on Iran's nuclear program, the Council needs to recognize that their resolutions on Iraq did great harm and helped to lead to the current state of affairs between the U.N., the U.S. and it's coalition partners, and Iraq. With Iran on the Security Council's agenda, they need to be reminded that their resolutions helped pave the way for war, and that they should proceed with great care.

Those members of the Security Council who are smug about what's happening in Iraq should also be ashamed of themselves. If they vote for such language in a resolution, then they should be prepared to contribute troops to the mess that follows.

"Brokeback Mountain" Author Slams Oscar Award Loss; Angry Rant in British Newspaper: So What?

The author of "Brokeback Mountain" slammed the Academy Awards for choosing "Crash" over the movie version of her book, saying that voters were "out of touch not only with the shifting larger culture and the yeasty ferment that is America these days but also out of touch with their own segregated city."

Which city? Which culture is she referring to? The one she doesn't even live in? Ms. Wyoming herself?

Her rant was published in the British Guardian newspaper. She went after Hollywood, the Academy Awards, Lionsgate Films (the company that released "Crash", which she labeled "Trash"), and everyone who thought that "Crash" was a superior movie. She also insulted the audience inside of Kodak Theater, LA itself, and everyone she could think of.

Here's what her 1,000+ word rant was trying to say: WAAAAAAAAH!!

She forgot to mention that the Academy Awards wasn't voting on her short story. They voted on the MOVIE, which she had nothing to do with. Here's how the author (Annie Proulx) responded to an Associated Press telephone interview on the movie:

AP: How did you feel about seeing it on the big screen?

Proulx: It was really quite a shock because I had had nothing to do with the film. So for 18 months, I had no idea what was happening. I had no idea if it was going to be good or frightful or scary, if it was going to be terribly lost or sentimentalized or what. When I saw it in September, I was astonished. The thing that happened while I was writing the story eight years ago is that from thinking so much about the characters and putting so much time into them, they became embedded in my consciousness. They became as real to me as real, walk-around, breathe-oxygen people. It took a long time to get these characters out of my head so I could get on with work. Then when I saw the film, they came rushing back. It was extraordinary—just wham—they were with me again.

So she ought to quit her crying. It was her story, but definitely not her movie.

I didn't see either film, but I'm enjoying watching Hollywood and the media squirm over the repercussions of the Academy DARING to vote for "Crash."

Security Council Deadlocks on Iran: So What Else is New?

Are we really surprised that the U.N. Security Council deadlocked on what to do about Iran?

Of course not.

Russia and China are trying to get Iran off the agenda and back into the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fold. The U.S., Great Britain and France are trying to get the council to take action.

It is my opinion that council action is not going to happen because Russia and China both want a nuclear-armed Iran to confront the U.S. and keep it occupied while they go after their own military goals.

Russia wants a weaker U.S. so it backs off of future Russian aggression against the Ukraine, Georgia and Chechnya, and China wants to go after Taiwan with a full-scale invasion.

Both probably wouldn't mind seeing the U.S. mixing it up with North Korea either; it would work to their advantage as well, in spite of what both are saying about North Korea's nuclear program.

So the U.S. should conclude it's business in Iraq soon and not get into shooting wars with Iran or with anyone else until our military is replenished and retooled.

Threats of U.S. military force are heeded only if the nation being threatened believes that the U.S. has the strength to back up it's threats with overwhelming force. And the general view is that we do not have enough front-line forces in reserve to deal with other international emergencies should they arise.

We have to define what victory is in Iraq and move toward it; when the stated goal is achieved, we withdraw from Iraq.

Politicians have to learn that military strength is a valuable commodity and not a personal plaything to be discarded when it's mission is either accomplished or cancelled.

Milosevic Dies in the Hague: Embarassing Performance for the International Tribune

Ex-Yugoslavian dictator Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his prison cell at the Hague this morning.

The inept ICC was no match for the former ruler of Yugoslavia as he turned his war crimes trial into a farce, and now they've lost their best chance to establish a bonafide record against an established war criminal and murderer.

They wasted years on this trial and have nothing to show for it but egg in their faces. 200,000 lie dead because of this man and he slipped through their fingers because they were not in charge of their own courtroom. Why? They successfully produced verdicts against fifty-six others accused of lesser war crimes during the Balkans wars.

They need to do some serious revisions to their court procedures to prevent something like this from happening again.

Even the trials at Neuremburg of Nazi war criminals didn't last as long as Milosevic's did, and there was no end in sight at the time of his death.

A historic opportunity has been lost.

No Doubt About It: Roe v. Wade Must Go, But What Happens Then?

South Dakota fired a massive broadside at the foundation of abortion rights (namely, the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision) in the form of a ban on most abortions. Mississippi and Tennessee appeared poised to follow suit. Good for them.

It should be noted that should South Dakota achieve victory and Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court, abortion will not end.

Rather, it would go back to the state level and each state would decide what it's laws on abortion would be, which is the way it should be. The federal government should stay out of this. If a state wishes to ban abortion, that's it's business.

Now, some are questioning whether the Religious Right would maintain it's strength and cohesion should their primary goal be achieved: the overturn of Roe v. Wade, or if it's strength as a national force would disappear as it focused on individual state campaigns to ban abortion.

They shouldn't be.

While it's very likely that the anti-abortion crowd will focus on banning abortions in as many states as possible, the Religious Right as a national movement isn't going anywhere.

The last time I checked, stem cell research, displaying the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes on public property, preserving "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegience and "In God We Trust" on our currency, intelligent design, prayer in schools and creationism vs. evolution are a very long way away from being decided. Plus there's a war on.

Just because abortion would disappear from the national stage should Roe be overturned, that is no reason to believe that the Religious Right would go away, as some commentators have said they think would happen.

There will be lengthy court battles in many states which will end up in state Supreme Courts. Then there will be appeals in federal courts. Two questions: will the Supreme Court accept another abortion case based on those lawsuits, and what role will activist judges play in legislating from the bench? The courts will be tied up for years deciding all of these issues.

Roe's days are numbered, God be Praised, but the fight will really intensify when it does finally fall. The end of Roe will be the beginning of a messy new fight. Red and blue state maps will not apply as some states will quickly go one direction on legislating abortion, others will go the opposite direction, while others will duke it out in their state legislatures, in the offices of the various governors, in the courts, and out in the streets.

It'll be a huge mess.

Neo-Nazis Unwanted in Lansing: Take Your Signs and Stick 'Em Where the Sun Don't Shine

The neo-Nazis are in town, setting up signs which are publicizing their rally that will take place on the steps of the state capitol.

The collective IQ of the area is rapidly diminishing with the arrival of the skinheads.

They should crawl back under the rock that they came from and take their hate with them.

We don't need the domestic disturbances that will accompany their hate rally; Lansing and other surrounding communities have enough to deal with without the skinheads and anti-skinhead protestors trying to tear one another apart.

Breach vs. Overrun: Terminology Errors Didn't Help Clarify Situation in New Orleans

There has been (and continues to be) a great deal of confusion over who knew what and when as New Orleans was flooding.

Here's the latest picture:

The government says it was worried about the ocean overrunning the levee system surrounding New Orleans. They did not anticipate a breach, or outright break, in the walls.

According to dictionary.com, here are a couple of definitions:





breach: An opening, a tear, or a rupture. A gap or rift, especially in or as if in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.









overrun: To overflow.







The results would be radically different: with an overrun, water would have come over the walls then stopped after the storm surge receded, while with the breach, the water would keep coming in until a levee was fixed or, in New Orleans' case, if Lake Pontchartrain emptied to a point just below the level of the breach. They fixed the levees before the lake emptied, but the damage had already been done.

So when President Bush said "No one could have anticipated that the levees would breach," he was being honest. They were worried about an overrun of the levees.

It doesn't excuse what happened, but it does clarify some points.

"Crash" Beats Out "Brokeback Mountain" At the Academy Awards: Why Were the "Experts" Shocked?

Many people were surprised that "Crash" beat out "Brokeback Mountain" for Best Motion Picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

I wasn't.

Racism issues resonate with a more of the general population than gay issues do, and the Acadamy voters are a reflection of the general population.

That's simply the way it is.

Uniform Chain of Command Recommendation from 9/11 Report and Katrina Report NOT Implemented by Feds Yet

The 9/11 Commission report and the Hurricane Katrina Federal Response report both have one recommendation in common that should have been dealt with LONG before now: a unified chain of command for all agencies responding to a disaster.

It was originally recommended by the 9/11 report. Confusion reigned during and after the terror attacks happened; emergency response teams were on different radio frequencies, rescues efforts were duplicated while others who actually needed help didn't get it until it was too late, no one knew who was in charge, and the situation worsened after the World Trade Center towers collapsed into the streets below.

After the commission issued it's report, it was assumed that the government was addressing this issue and had fixed the problem.

Ninteen months later, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, leaving an area the size of Great Britain in ruins. And the same problems surfaced during and after the storm roared ashore.

And the official report from the White House recommended a unified chain of command.

Question: what the hell have the people in charge been doing for the last ninteen months? And what are they doing right now to fix the problem?

They need to quit screwing around, cut any red tape that it's in the way, fire some people and put people in who will carry out the reforms. And then all departments need to follow the plan.

Enough, already!

Gone Too Soon: Christopher Reeve's Widow Dies of Lung Cancer

Dana Reeve, the widow of the late Christopher Reeve, died Monday of lung cancer at the age of 44.

She won worldwide respect for her strength in caring for her actor-activist husband after his spinal cord injury eleven years ago. He died in 2004 and she had carried on his crusade to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

She leaves behind a teenaged son and two stepchildren.

May she rest in peace.

What Are We Not Being Told About Dubai Port Deal?

It's fair to say that everyone's gotten a large amount of political BS from Congress and the White House with regards to the Dubai Ports World acquisition of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company in the last few days.

The political toilet surrounding this deal overflowed into the Oval Office and into the media as Democrats and Republicans attacked the White House position of supporting the purchase and transfer between two private firms.

Now, the question is this: what is REALLY going on?

Are we talking about TERMINALS, which is defined as "a facility where cargo containers are loaded or unloaded from ships to land vehicles, for further transport" or a PORT which is defined as "a natural or artificial harbor and its terminal facilities for the transfer of goods and passengers to or from waterborne means of transport?"

My understanding is that this deal is for the loading and unloading of cargo onto or off of ships at the terminals of six American seaports. The ports themselves remain under U.S. government/law enforcement control, while the terminals are administered by the Dubai company, which is controlled by the UAE government. The port security is handled by American security, while the security IN and AROUND the terminal itself are handled by Dubai Ports World.

The government must do a MUCH better job in explaining who would be in charge of what.

In addition, if only 5% of incoming containers are inspected by port authorities before they are handed off to the terminals for transport to their final destinations, then whose responsibility is it to get it up to 100%? The SAME government that is bellyaching about this terminal deal.

The government needs to quit screwing with itself and fix the problem NOW. They can start by passing legislation which prohibits foreign companies from controlling terminals that ship cargo across state lines. They can do that, you know. Then they should appropriate money in the budget to bring the inspection process up to scratch and keep it that way.

National security is not a political hot potato and it's quite disappointing to see the politicians wasting time arguing about this. They are behind schedule on meeting their obligations as it is. And if they don't do their jobs, let's FIRE 'EM ALL in November!

School Wrong to Suspend Students for Viewing Web Site on Their Own Time

Here's another strange one.

A school out in California suspended twenty middle school students for viewing a web site that contained "graphic threats" from one student at the school to another.

The student making the threat is under threat of expulsion for doing it. The incident happened on the popular MySpace.com site that many students use to post stuff on. The police are also trying to use anti-hate laws against the student as it contained several slurs. These investigations are entirely appropriate.

Here's the problem: the other students did not view the web site at school, nor during school hours. They viewed it from their own homes on their own time with their own family or personal computer.

Does the school have a right to do what it has done to the students? There was no criminal wrongdoing on the part of those students who simply viewed the post and then moved on to other sites on their own time, on their own computers outside of school.

It seems to me that the school already has their suspect in hand; the others shouldn't be punished, unless they made similar kinds of threats on the web too. Student safety is a valid school concern, but the information being presented suggests that there was no further threat to student safety once the original transgressor was caught.

This will probably end up in court.

Sticker on Bike Causes Terror Alarm: DUH

Four Ohio University buildings were evacuated when a bicycle was mistaken for a bomb.

The problem began when the bike was parked on the campus; it happened to have a sticker on it that said "this bike is a pipe bomb." People panicked, the buildings were emptied and the bomb squad was called in from 65 miles away before the administration at Ohio State realized it was the name of a band from Florida.

Come on, people.

THE SKY IS FALLING!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!

Some Common Sense IS Out There: States Moving to Limit Eminent Domain

Following the horrific Supreme Court decision which greatly increased the power of governments to seize private homes in favor of development and higher tax revenues, many states are limiting the scope of eminent domain seizures.

No government has the right to take away a person's home in favor of ripping it down and putting a shopping center or other development without the consent of the person that they are trying to remove.

The negotiations should be between the landowners and the developers; government shouldn't be involved. They should be protecting the rights of homeowners who decide to say 'no' to any offer that a developer gives them and punish developers who harass those landowners who decline the developer's offer.

The only way that the government should be involved is if it seizes a property for non-payment of property taxes.

It is unbelievable that the Supreme Court ruled to open Pandora's Box the way it did. And it's a relief that the states are applying a generous amount of common sense (that the Supreme Court was missing in their decision) to deal with the injustice being dealt to landowners.

Patriot Act Misapplied Again: Man Charged With Shining Laser into Jet Cockpit

Here they go again with misapplying the Patriot Act.

A court in New Jersey applied the Patriot Act against a man who was charged with firing a laser into a jet cockpit and a police helicopter and sentenced him to two months probation.

TWO MONTHS PROBATION??!

Existing statutes should have been applied; he would have gotten significant jail time AND probation. Instead this man is getting two months probation for endangering a commercial jetliner on landing approach and a police helicopter some time later.

They need to either upgrade the Patriot Act sentencing guidelines or stop applying it and let more stringent federal laws punish the transgressor.

Bird Flu Could Enter U.S. Through New Mexico or Louisiana: States Allow Cockfighting and Transportation of Fighting Birds

The U.S. has gaping holes in its efforts to keep avian bird flu out of the country.

It stems from the fact that New Mexico and Louisiana allow cockfighting (rooster fights) and the fact that the Animal Welfare Act allows for combat roosters to be transported over state and national lines to those states where the bloodsport is legal.

The concern comes from overseas, as some people have gotten bird flu from their contaminated combat roosters, mainly in Thailand.

The current conventional wisdom is that each time the bird flu jumps from an animal to a human, it increases the possibility of the bird flu mutating into a monster epidemic/pandemic that goes airborne, easily infects humans, and is resistant to antibiotics. This must not be allowed to happen.

The U.S. government should ban the import and/or transport of combat roosters to any U.S. territory, whether cockfighting is legal in the states or not.

Efforts to amend the Animal Welfare Act have failed thus far; cosponsors in the House and Senate tried to attach an amendment to a Department of Defense Bill, which they shouldn't have done. It should have been a stand-alone bill: the Senate unanimously passed the amendment, and the House amendment had two hundred cosponsors. But the amendment was killed in committee.

Hopefully the state governments of Louisiana and New Mexico do the right thing and ban both the import of foreign birds and criminalize cockfighting, since it has been shown to be an avenue for avian bird flu to contaminate humans.

But the U.S. government should get with the program and pass the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act regardless of what Louisiana and New Mexico choose to do.

Press Criticizes Decision to Delay News of Cheney Hunting Accident: So?

The press is complaining about not being notified that the Vice President was involved in a hunting accident immediately after it happened.

Too bad.

Perhaps they could point to the part of the Constitution or the law that requires the White House to inform the press IMMEDIATELY that the Vice President was involved in a hunting accident?

Maybe they would have dropped their cameras and rushed to the scene to render first aid? NOT!!

The press didn't NEED to be informed ASAP. They would have swarmed the scene and interfered with a rescue situation to get the story out.

Granted, this is a very interesting story; but the press can go jump in a lake with their demands. They're not next of kin.

Thousands of Displaced Katrina Victims Facing Eviction: This Isn't Right

Monday will be a national disgrace.

It's when thousands of Katrina families will be turned out into the streets to fend for themselves, in spite of the fact that the government hasn't done what it promised to help them. Many are still waiting for FEMA trailers that are currently sitting unoccupied at an airport in rural Arkansas.

What the hell are we paying taxes for?

Our government would rather spend money to rebuild Iraq (that will never be a true democracy), but not on fellow Americans who got ran out of their own homes because the government-built levees surrounding New Orleans failed. This isn't right.

Until the government fulfills it's pledge to rebuild the Gulf Coast, it shouldn't be putting ANYONE onto the streets just yet. They have a LONG ways to go before this should be even considered.

Yahoo Should Be Punished for Helping Chinese Government Jail Chinese Pro-Democracy Writers

Yahoo screwed up. Again.

The Internet company aided Chinese authorities in their persecution of Chinese dissidents by providing evidence that led to Chinese dissident Li Zhi being sent to prison for eight years for writing in favor of democracy and trying to join a pro-democracy group.

This is the second time that Yahoo has helped the Chinese communists put pro-democracy writers into jail. The first dissident was sentenced to ten years in prison for writing about what kind of effect that communist rule was having on average Chinese citizens and about protest movements that the Chinese government put down with extreme levels of violence. Yahoo helped lock him up too.

Yahoo needs to STOP assisting the Chinese communists in their oppression of people with different views than the official Chinese Communist Party line.

Yahoo is guilty of conspiring with the Chinese government and should be punished! And so should any Internet company that puts pro-democracy supporters under threat from their oppressive governments by giving assistance in convicting them of POLITICAL crimes.

If China becomes a democracy one day, hopefully the Chinese people will remember which companies were willing to sacrifice their freedom for the sake of profit.

Yahoo should be ashamed of what they have done for their bottom line.

Iranian Newspaper Plans on Holding Holocaust Cartoon Contest

Iran's Hamshahri newspaper announced an international contest for Holocaust cartoons to see if the same papers who printed the Mohammed cartoons would also print the Holocaust ones.

One clear result will come out of this for the entire world to see:

Jewish reaction to it will be much more mature than militant Islamic reactions to the prophet cartoons has been. Don't expect to see Jewish demonstrators burning down Iranian embassies, burning Muslim flags or parading children through the streets chanting anti-Iranian or anti-Muslim slogans as the militant Muslims have done in recent days. Nor will they attack the embassies of Western nations who do run the cartoons.

The international reaction will probably be very muted in contrast to the juvenile-like violence taking place in the Islamic world.

It should be noted that the hostage-taking Iranian President's friends control this newspaper, and that this also is not about freedom of speech, but keeping the hatred of Israel and Jews alive in the Muslim world.

Since Iran and most of the Muslim world have no free speech or free press, they have little credibility in making critical observations about the free press in other nations and have no right to ask Western media outlets to spread their anti-Jewish venom to make a point.

Freedom of speech is no more a weapon for Islamic nations to use against their enemies than it is for a Western newspaper to use as a shield to hide behind instead of admitting to a major screw-up.

So if this Iranian terrorist paper wants to publish their hatred and demand that Western newspapers republish them, they should probably print them into toilet paper form so that they'll have a practical use afterwards.

These Holocaust cartoons will probably be much worse than the prophet cartoons as the Holocaust cartoons will be based on revenge-style hatred and will be propaganda, not free speech.

Ricky Holland's Parents Charged with Murdering Him

The developing Ricky Holland story out of Williamston took another turn today when the prosecutor charged both parents with murdering Ricky. If convicted, they face life in prison.

Tests to determine how the boy died are continuing.

These people (the boy's foster-parents) have some nerve, watching as hundreds of volunteers from around the region turned out to search for the boy after the foster-parents reported him missing on July 2nd of last year and KNOWING full well that the boy was already dead.

Innocent until proven guilty, I know, but they told the cops precisely where to find the body and swore that the other had killed him. That's incriminating enough as it is. If there was an accident, why didn't they call the police straightaway, instead of inventing a bunch of HOOEY about what happened to this child?

Here's the LSJ collection of stories on this case.

European and American Use of "Freedom of Speech" in Real-World Situations are Clearly Not the Same

The ongoing cartoon row between the Islamic world and the West has illustrated major differences in how freedom of speech is applied in real-world situations.

One European newspaper after another ran the Mohammed cartoons simply because they could. After it blew up in their faces, they took the HOW DARE ANYONE ATTACK OUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH!! defense. This militant approach isn't helping Europe's cause.

In contrast, American newspapers didn't run the cartoons simply because they could; a few outlets did run them, but, according to some of these newspapers, they ran them deep inside their papers with various explanations of why they did so, and to let readers decide for themselves if the cartoons were offensive or not.

For the most part, most American papers and broadcast outlets refused to air the photos as they subscribe to the notion that fighting words (or pictures) are not protected speech. Yelling FIRE in a packed room which leads to a stampede is not protected speech either. These cartoons have the same effect as fighting words. They shouldn't have, but they did.

The failure that happened was when the Western newspapers ignored what was already happening in the Islamic world and ran the cartoons. They did so regardless of the serious consequences that were playing out on the news right in front of their faces. If one is trying to extinguish a fire, does one throw gasoline on the fire to put it out? DUH!!!

This is not about a threat to freedom of speech. This is about newspapers realizing that they've made a catastrophic mistake but choosing to hide behind the freedom of speech instead of admitting their mistake and getting it right.

This also shows that in spite of what happened to it on 9/11, America is a more tolerant society than the Europeans give it credit for. The fact that most American news sources refused to show the photos out of respect for the various Islamic faiths is proof of it for one thing; American news media is also more open to admitting when they make a mistake.

Remember Memogate on CBS's 60 Minutes program during the 2004 U.S. Presidential election campaign? Remember the outrage following incorrect reports that the Quran was flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay? Both news agencies involved apologized there.

Europe needs to get their act together and get this right.

Using freedom of speech as an excuse to cover up deeply irresponsibile behavior should not be tolerated by any free society; especially if people are dying because of what the newspapers did. This is a sickening situation.

Conflict Over Anti-Islamic Cartoons: Newspapers Are Fueling the Fire

A major culture clash is taking place between Europe and the Islamic world.

It stems from European newspapers depicting caricatures of the Islamic prophet Mohammed, which are viewed as highly insulting to the Muslim world. A newspaper in Denmark ran the cartoons first, and other European newspapers in Germany, France and Norway ran them as well.

A rage far worse than what was seen during the Abu Gharib prison photo scandal has enveloped much of the Muslim world; militants are threatening to kill Westerners in reprisal in Palestine and other countries.

The outrage stems from Islamic law that strictly prohibits Mohammed from being portrayed visually.

The original idea was to see if cartoonists drawing the original cartoons would change their work in the face of "offending Muslim sensibilities" or if they would go all-out and do what they wanted. Most went all-out; the cartoons were printed and protests around the world began.

Then more newspapers printed the cartoons.

Consider: after the severe political backlash against Denmark, why did other newpapers in other nations run the cartoons as well, knowing that it would enrage the Muslim world even more and reinforce a Muslim-held belief that Europe was Islam-hostile? And that it would give Muslim extremists another excuse to kill Westerners?

The real problem is that the cartoons don't just insult Islamic extremists; it offends every Muslim, including moderate and neutral Muslims. The ban on Mohammed drawings and pictures is observed by the Shiite and Sunni sects of Islam.

I am sensitive to free-speech issues, but when free speech causes innocent people to die, then there's a problem, and the less said the better. For that reason, I will not post the photos here and contribute to an innocent person or persons being beheaded by sword-waving extremist idiots.

This should never have made it into print in the first place. The more the photos are reproduced, the worse this will get, and the deeper the divisions between Islam and the West will become.

Communities Devastated by the Loss of Ricky Holland; Parents Stand Accused

The nightmare surrounding the disappearance of seven-year-old Ricky Holland has turned a corner.

The boy's body was found six months after he disappeared; both foster parents are accusing the other of killing Ricky.

Things came to a head earlier this week when the mom tried to kill the dad; both spoke to the police, and after detailed conversations, police pinpointed the boy's exact resting spot, twenty miles from his adopted home. Both parents are under arrest; the mom is charged with assault with a deadly weapon for trying to kill her husband; both are charged with obstruction of justice with more charges to follow.

Many CERT team members, neighbors, friends, family members, law enforcement officials, community members and people from all over the area converged on Williamston to hunt for the boy when a massive search was initiated on July 2nd. A vigil was held Sunday night in Ricky's memory; his brothers and sisters are being cared for by other relatives.

Like many in our community, I was deeply saddened to learn of Ricky's fate. Many were holding out hope that the boy would reappear as mysteriously as he disappeared, but that hope was dashed when the Williamston police announced that Ricky was gone and that his foster parents were accusing the other of complicity in Ricky's death.

Ricky can be lain to rest now; he's in God's loving care.

The truth will soon be known as to exactly what happened to him, and the guilty will be punished for this act of unspeakable evil.

The complete story can be found at the Lansing State Journal.

Hamas Says No to Peace with Israel: Won't Renounce Violence

Hamas has said 'no' to peace with Israel and 'no' to renouncing their goal of destroying Israel.

Their stance has guaranteed that the bloodshed will continue.

Except now, the Palestinians are moving toward a civil war, so Palestinians will be killing each other in addition to the Israelis, who will continue striking back wherever and whenever they can.

The Palestinians fell victim to groupthink; the ruling Fatah party was widely seen as being corrupt, and the Palestinians voted for Hamas's platform of clean government, even though they didn't support the rest of Hamas's stated goals and ambitions.

Voting for a candidate on a single issue is extremely unwise; this is true anywhere in the world, including here. Here's an example of this kind of groupthink:

A candidate's stated goal is to change the U.S. flag, but is also a crime lord who has murdered politicians, judges and ordinary people for supporting strong laws against crime and against changing the Pledge of Allegience and the U.S. flag.

Johnny Voter and many like him decide to vote for the crime lord candidate because they don't like the current U.S. flag either. They ignore the crime lord's stand on abortion, gun control, the death penalty, taxes, and everything else because of the U.S. flag issue. This is in spite of the fact that they totally disagree with the candidate on his views of the issues mentioned above.

That's exactly what the Palestinian voters did. And now the entire peace process is in chaos because of their shortsightedness.

Mexico Must Stop Violating U.S. Territory and Close the Border to Illegal Border Crossings

Mexico shouldn't be providing maps of the southwestern U.S. to illegals preparing to go over the border into the United States.

Nor should the U.S. hesitate in arresting or firing on uniformed Mexicans OR Americans who appear to be protecting border crossers or drug dealers on our side of the border. Mexico has said that these men are imposters and that they are actually Mexican gangs who have access to military uniforms and weapons.

Mexican gangs are not welcome here; nor is Mexican government interference in the protection of our border. It could be argued that Mexico is helping al-Qaeda and other extremist groups around U.S. security measures, thereby weakening our civil liberties by forcing the government to tighten up security measures. It isn't right.

More to follow on this.

Scope of Hamas Victory Widens Overnight: Big Trouble in the Works

It appears that Hamas has captured 70-75 seats of the 132-seat Palestinian parliament, which means they will be running Palestine.

Last night, exit pollers were predicting that Hamas would capture 40% of the seats, but now it looks like Hamas got 57% of the seats.

The consequences are already beginning: the Palestinian cabinet has already resigned as Fatah does not wish to participate in a coalition government with Hamas. The peace process is definitely on hold as Israel and the U.S. have said that they will not deal with Hamas until it gets rid of it's platform of calling for Israel's destruction. Should that happen, however, both governments have signalled a willingness to deal with Hamas.

Any hope of a bi-lateral peace now rests with Hamas and their attitude toward Israel.

The sad part about this is that Fatah and Israel failed to work together to bring peace to the Holy Lands. They blew it.

Now they have radicals in charge of the Palestinian territories who have no interest in recognizing Israel or working toward peace. Additionally, Fatah's corruption problems and Israel's hard-line stance brought this about. So they shouldn't blame the Palestinian people too much for what has happened. Their own stubborn attitudes are more responsible than the Palestinians voting in free and fair elections for the government of their choice.

Hamas Victory in Palestinian Elections Should Cause U.S. to Reconsider Diplomatic Relations with Palestine

"The United States does not negotiate with terrorists."

That mantra has been the bedrock of U.S. conduct toward hostage takers, terrorists, and other scum who use terrorism to get the U.S. government to do their will for decades.

The huge question now is: what will the U.S. do now that the terrorist group Hamas is a legitimately elected force in the Palestinian territories?

If they capture control of the Palestinian government, we ought to be looking at breaking off relations with the Palestinians.

Hamas is still dedicated to destroying Israel; there can be no peace as long as Hamas is dedicated to this goal. If they change their tune and work WITH Israel to establish a viable Palestinian state that will be at peace with Israel, then the U.S. should do all it can to support peace in the Middle East.

But Hamas is at war with Israel; until that is resolved, peace will not be coming to the Middle East anytime soon. It leads one to wonder how many Palestinians and Israelis will end up dying because the Palestinians chose Hamas's message of hatred instead of electing those who are continuing to work for peace.

It's a sad state of affairs in the Middle East.

Utter Chaos: Saddam Trial Nearing Collapse as 2nd Chief Judge Steps Down

As was widely feared, the trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has turned into an utter farce.

The trial has been delayed again with the removal of another chief judge after it was discovered he had close ties with Saddam's regime and was under investigation. The first judge in the trial stepped down due to political pressure being brought on the court by the new Iraqi government.

The new judge is a Kurd whose hometown (near Halabja, Iraq) was attacked with chemical weapons, leaving nearly 5,000 dead. The new judge has said that this will not affect his judgment. Maybe, maybe not, but the mere possibility cannot be tolerated. That leaves two judges left on the five-judge panel. And neither of those judges were properly vetted by Iraqi authorities either.

It's high time to end this fiasco, declare a mistrial and either wait until the judiciary is up and running properly, or send him to the Hague. Either choice is better than allowing him to get off for what he has done to his people.

Does the Iraqi government want the world to think that kangaroo court convicted him? That's how it looks right now. They've got to step in and get control of the proceedings before the court loses any more credibility in the eyes of the Iraqi people and the international community.

This man cannot be allowed to escape justice, and that's what is happening. More attention is being paid to the court itself instead of the trial and the testimony of the witnesses.

Iranian and Syrian Belligerence Will Lead to War

How far will this go?

Iran clearly intends to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency in developing nuclear weapons. There can be no other conclusion.

On Friday it was learned that Iran began transferring $50 billion out of European banks to protect it's foreign assets from possible (likely) U.N. sanctions.

In addition, the terrorist President of Iran met with Hamas and Islamic Jihad while visiting with the Syrians. You can bet that they were not swapping recipes for cajun gumbo; they were talking about destroying Israel. The meeting took place one day after a bombing killed 20 people in Israel; that attack was claimed by Islamic Jihad.

Fact: Iran doesn't need nuclear power to generate electricity. They want the weapons, pure and simple, and are telling the world to go screw itself. Their vast oil reserves are more than sufficient to meet their immediate needs; they have no need for nuclear power in the timetable that they're talking about. In fact, they have surplus energy already.

Israel is now hinting at military options to deal with the Iranians. And they won't be bluffing either.

Syria is also misbehaving, refusing to cooperate in the investigation that has implicated the top Syrian leadership in the killing of a former Lebanese prime minister. They've also publicly allied themselves to the Iranians, and have allowed Hamas and Islamic Jihad to operate out of their territory for years.

If these two countries are not careful, they may become the latest target for "regime change" and it won't just be the U.S. and Britain coming after them either.

This is going to get worse before it gets better.

Castro Says U.S. is Afraid to Play Cuba in Baseball

Cuban President Fidel Castro accused the U.S. government of being afraid to let the Cuban national baseball team play at the World Baseball Classic, which is to be held in Puerto Rico and then in the U.S. itself.

Castro should be thanking the American government for considering not letting the Cuban team play: by the time the tournament is underway, the entire Cuban team will have defected to this country, as so many other Cuban baseball players have.

It would be so sad if the Cubans were to forfeit due to their entire team showing up in the Cuban exile communities in Florida en masse. . and they had signed major league baseball contracts in hand. The Cuban coach and Castro would have so much egg in their faces!

So it's only out of a sense of sportsmanship that the U.S. government may not want the Cuban team to show up, Mr. Castro. They want the Cubans to field a team elsewhere so that the U.S. team won't have to accept a forfeit from the Cubans due to lack of an entire team!

(I know, it's the embargo, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up!)

Clinton Unashamedly Uses MLK Day to Score Political Points

Senator Clinton used a speech at a MLK Day observance to call the GOP-dominated government 'one of the most corrupt in U.S. history' and said that the House and Senate were run like a 'plantation' where 'voices of dissent were quashed'.

It's simply amazing that Senator Clinton would toot her own horn on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and to launch an attack on her rivals by means of one the most mean-spirited and culturally insensitive ways imaginable. She also showed a unique misunderstanding of what plantations were and what was done to slaves there. Coming from a white southern woman, it was an incredibly dumb thing to say.

I don't see any Democrats in Congress being whipped, being forced to work out in the cotton fields, being shot, being raped by their overseers, being severely beaten, having parts of their feet being cut off to keep them from escaping, being starved (plenty of overweight Senators and Congressmen to go around), and other unspeakable terrors inflicted on African American slaves in the South.

Senator Clinton's side can't get their legislation through Congress, nor can they stop GOP legislation due to their lack of numbers. And they're whining about it. Consider this: if they had the same amount of control over both houses that the GOP has, they would be really sticking it to the GOP in the SAME way that the GOP is sticking it to them right now.

The Democrats ought to get over it, and campaign for what they believe in, not for what they think people want to hear. Honesty and establishing where they stand on specific issues will gain them more points than Senator Clinton's misinformed and insensitive comments will.

Next U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Should be Christened USS America

Construction is set to begin next year on the U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carrier (CVN-78).

The new vessel should be named to honor the ship that was sacrificed to improve the safety of the next generation of aircraft carriers, the Kitty Hawk-class carrier USS America, and to honor the veterans of today's wars.

Many do not realize this, but the Navy used the retired carrier for target practice last year, and then scuttled the ship in 6,000 feet of water, much to the resignation of veterans who served aboard her.

The ex-America is the largest warship to have been sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic ever.

Explosions above and below the waterline were carried out on the carrier, via explosives planted inside the ship, as well as from gunfire, missile and torpedo attacks from U.S. Navy warships, to determine how much punishment a supercarrier could take and what the effect of anti-ship missiles would have on such a huge ship. Detailed sensors relayed data to nearby Navy vessels for analysis.

After three weeks of tests, the sea chocks were opened and the USS America (CV-66) was sent to the bottom. The picture to the left was taken moments after the carrier sank on May 14, 2005.

The next Nimitz-class carrier that will come out of the shipbuilding yard at Newport News, VA, is to be the massive USS George HW Bush (CVN-77), named for the last war veteran President.

After that, CVN-78 is to be laid down.

It appears that CVN-78 will be a new class of carrier that will have incorporated the lessons learned from the USS America's final mission. Even in death, the ship served the Navy that had built her, so it seems appropriate that the next carrier be named to honor both yesterday's and today's veterans, as well as honoring the decommissioned USS America.

Hopefully the Navy does the USS America veterans justice and honors their sacrifice with the naming of an entire class of carriers after their famed ship.

Why Does Iran Need Nuclear Power at All?

With 125.8 billion barrels of oil in proven oil reserves, what does Iran need nuclear power for? It's not to generate electricity cheaply--they can already do that.

Iran's threat to shut off their oil taps to the West is another illustration as to why we should be developing native alternative fuels, so we can tell them to go screw themselves and their oil. Do we REALLY want to be held hostage (economically) by a terrorist leader of an oil-producing nation if we don't allow him to have nuclear weapons?

Silence of the House Ethics Committee is Deafening: Where Did They Go?

The swirling scandal about Jack Abramoff is causing some members of Congress to run and hide.

Most notably, the House Ethics Committee appears to be missing in action. This is the group of Congresspeople who should be working their butts off, crafting fixes to the problem that have been revealed in the wake of the Abramoff deal. Instead, they are silent. They're so paralyzed by infighting that a deal had to be reached to restore civility in the committee--at the cost of being able to do their work.

This committee needs to do a major revamp of the rules and get rid of gray areas to restore black and white in campaign finance and lobbying. Most of today's problems with ethics occur in the gray areas, as well as the arguments. And the rules should be applied to ALL, not just some.

An action is either right or wrong. There is no in-between, and that should be reflected in their rules.

This panel needs to quit hiding and set a speed record in getting stuff done and restoring public confidence in a flawed system if they wish to keep their jobs.

Does the phrase "We'll remember in November" ring a bell?

Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings Last Week Were Useless

Did anyone catch the fact that the Democratic Senators had thirty minutes to ask Samuel Alito questions about his judicial philosophy and spent at least twenty minutes reading prepared statements, while spending a fraction of the time actually quizzing the Supreme Court nominee?

Was he really that unstoppable? Or was it because the Democrats fumbled the ball over and over, and asked all the wrong questions?

Or was it because they had already made up their minds, despite repeated statements that they had open minds?

In spite of Senator Biden's windbag routine during his time, he did say something afterwards that I generally agree with: do away with the hearings and have the nomination go straight to the Senate floor for debate.

While it's probably unwise to completely get rid of the hearings, they can probably be streamlined so that time isn't wasted on Senatorial windbag routines like what we saw last week.

But everyone knows that will NEVER happen; who has ever heard of a Senator or Congressperson who doesn't like to hear themselves talk? For them to lose the golden opportunity to get their names in the press...it would be like a preacher trying to impart a lesson from the Bible without using the Bible or any quotations or reasoning from it to a non-religious person. It will never happen.

Translation of What Iraqi Politician (Should Have) Said

Iraqi politician Harith al-Ubaidi recently made a grand statement about how the violence in Iraq was the fault of the Americans and that if "the occupier would leave, Iraqis would live as brothers."

In my humble opinion, what he meant to say was that if "the occupier would leave, Iraqis would turn their guns on their brothers."

This is because his political party, the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), is a front for Sunni insurgent groups who are targeting everyone in sight, including the international forces, ordinary Iraqis of every religious affiliation, non-combatants of every nationality and their enemies abroad.

The IAF is like Hamas in Palestine: a terrorist organization first, then a political party.

He denounced the bombing of a Shiite mosque by terrorists on one hand, while trying to shift the blame away from his allies who had carried out the bombing and focus it on the U.S. military in the other.

What a vicious circle. And the Shiites and the Kurds have to deal with the IAF in order to form the new government.

Postal Service Budget Shortfall is Artificial: Congress Needs to Correct Legislation to Get It Right

Most of the American public is now aware that the cost of sending a first-class letter jumped up two cents to 39 cents. Other rates were also changed, too, but for our purposes here, the rate increase affecting the most people will be the first-class rate hike.

According to the USPS, there will also be another rate hike in 2006.

Why? The Post Office is already a huge moneymaker for the government.

A few years ago, Congress had concerns that the USPS coudn't handle it's own money, and the post office had already made record profits (to the tune of $70 billion) that particular year. Congress passed a law that required extra moneys made to be put into an escrow account. So the postal system starting making regular deposits in this account.

That particular legislation expired in 2004, but still remains in effect until new legislation is passed. The problem is that the payments are now cutting into the profits that the postal system makes and has caused the Postal Service to go into negative territory, necessitating the need for rate hikes that are being paid for by the American public.

So with this hike and the next one, rates will have gone up by (up to) 15% in two years.

Two bills that fix the problem are in Congress, but they are stalled.

They ought to consider getting rid of the escrow, and LOWERING the rates for the American public. But there's no way that that will happen as the government likes the escrow as it is recorded as income for them. Yet the postal service belongs to them, so their profits end up with the government regardless. So what is the problem?

Health care? That can be paid for out of the huge surplus that they will be making. They will still have a huge surplus after health care costs are deducted too.

The feds created this problem; they should now fix it and quit screwing the American public.

Microsoft is No Friend of Free Speech: Company Shuts Down Blog of Chinese Blogger Deemed as an Enemy of the Chinese Government

Microsoft Corp. has shut down the blog of a Chinese journalist who expressed his opposition to Communist China's policies. Microsoft did so at the request of the Chinese government after the Chinese blogger supported the Beijing News staff who staged a one-day strike to protest the removal of an outspoken news editor who wouldn't keep quiet either.

The blogger also commented on China's planned war of aggression against Taiwan, which "offended Chinese sensibilities." China's policy toward Taiwan has been ANYTHING but sensible.

To hell with the Chinese government. Any government that fears the exchange of ideas between its citizens doesn't deserve to exist.

Microsoft and other companies shouldn't support immoral laws that stifle free speech and the exchange of ideas through cyberspace.

Washington Needs a Good Scandal to Expose the Corruption

The Abramoff scandal in Washington has many politicians shaking in fear as to what's going to happen to them for their participation in the graft.

GOOD!

Lobbyists already have too much power in Washington and many Representatives and Senators and other officials are much too cozy with them for comfort.

There's no doubt that both political parties have their fingerprints all over dirty money, so one party has no leverage over the other. Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi shouldn't be crowing too loudly; read here and here as to why.

So let the chips fall where they may; those who have done wrong should be shown the door. This is what happens when people stay in office too long.

Aid and Comfort from the Dead: Miners Leave Notes of Comfort to Families

There is word that some of the trapped West Virginia miners left behind messages to loved ones and to family members of other miners who had already perished.

Most of the notes describe the men as simply falling asleep, which will be a tremendous help to families who are struggling with visions of their loved ones suffering before they passed away.

They knew that they weren't going to make it, and instead of sucumbing to despair, they reached out to their loved ones with their final thoughts and actions.

That is a precious gift that will aid the families in their time of grief.

Mining Company Releases More Information on West Virginia Mining Disaster

Company officials at the Sago Mine in West Virginia continued to release information as to what went wrong with the disasterous communications failure that added to the pain and anguish of the families.

Rescuers did their jobs and located the place where the survivors had gathered before they all died. We have no idea what they had to go through to find them, but it must have been extremely difficult.

The company says that because the rescue team had to keep their oxygen masks on in order to breathe, they had no choice but to communicate on their radios with the masks on. As a result, the communication was not clear, someone misunderstood the message and the families were notified with all the wrong information.

The company also added other reasons why things happened the way they did, but the above explanation makes the most sense.

Having worn a similar type of oxygen mask and having tried to communicate with others wearing similar types of masks, I can tell you that it isn't easy. One's voice is muffled quite badly. The experience was like being in a room with ten other people who all spoke different languages with only a few common words. I couldn't imagine trying to talk on a radio under those conditions.

Under those circumstances, why use code? Plain language would have been better in this instance. True, someone could have monitored the communication and reported it to the families themselves, taking that job out of the hands of the company, BUT the information would have been accurate and this screw-up could have been avoided.

Hopefully other mines are taking notes on all of this and upgrading their disaster plans.

Major Screw-Up in Communications at Scene of West Virginia Coal Mine Disaster: Cruel "Miscommunication" Dashes Hopes of Elated Relatives

Of all the incredibly STUPID blunders!

People all around the world rejoiced in the discovery that twelve miners were discovered alive in a West Virginia coal mine some 40+ hours after a major explosion rocked the mine and caused the ceiling to cave in. For some three hours, relatives of the trapped miners rejoiced in the knowledge that their loved ones would be returning to them in one piece.

But it was not to be. It never was.

A coal mine official came out at three o'clock in the morning and announced that the miners were all dead, save one who was barely alive. Fury, shock and grief overcame the jubilation that the mining company allowed to continue for three frigging hours. They blew it. It was a cruel and devastating turn of events.

The heart and soul of the mining community was torn to pieces. It should never have happened this way; it's bad enough that the miners didn't make it, but for their families and their community to suffer like this is utterly heartbreaking.

It is unknown who spread the story that the miners were alive, but the apalling damage they inflicted on the community is almost beyond belief.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and to this devastated community who have endured so much, had three hours of happiness and then lost all their hope. We also pray for the recovery of the miner who survived.

Conspiracy Theorists Point to Existing Executive Orders as a Way for a Future President to Establish a Dictatorship

Wandering around the Internet, I came across several web sites that were devoted to FEMA as being the instrument that would be used to establish a dictatorship in the United States of America.

Before exploring the subject in a future post, one has to know which Executive Orders have the conspiracy theorists so upset. All of these orders were prepared by the Kennedy Administration during and after the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.

The theorists are wrong in their arguments. They forget that the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land, not FEMA, and not the President.

These particular Executive Orders were prepared for use if the United States fell victim to a massive nuclear attack from the Soviet Union and large parts of the country were destroyed in the resulting nuclear holocaust. Control would have to fall to the government to get the country back on it's feet.

So read the orders below with a grain of salt and understand that Executive Orders have no legal standing to supplant the Constitution. Executive Orders that attempt to make law are illegal as the Constitution trumps that notion. Also, Congress can override an Executive Order by passing a bill that directly opposes it and then is able to override a Presidential veto with a 2/3 majority.

Here are the Executive Orders in question:

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 allows the government to seize and control the communication media.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 allows the government to take over all food resources and farms.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare functions.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for populations.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11051 specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11310 grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11049 assigns emergency preparedness function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issued over a fifteen year period.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11921 allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months.

Take these orders as you will.

British Nutter Marries....Dolphin??!

A crazy British woman decided to marry a dolphin recently.

And it's amazing that the media coverage of this...story...is somewhat serious. This story is an example of what happens when environmentalism combines with mental illness.

It's gotta be a slow news week around the world for so many international media outlets to cover this.

And what kind of guy's name is Cindy??!

1992 Execution in Virginia May Have Been Wrong: DNA Tests Will Settle Issue Once and For All

Virginia is considering doing DNA testing to see if it executed an innocent man in 1992.

The case and execution stems from a brutal rape and murder of the executed man's sister-in-law. Police arrested him and charged him with raping and murdering her. A court convicted him and sentenced him to death. The sentence was carried out on May 20th, 1992.

DNA has apparently been preserved in a freezer and death penalty opponents want the DNA to be tested to determine whether the man they executed was the right man. The state justice system is opposing this action as it could (would) undermine faith in Virginia's criminal justice system IF the DNA pointed to another man.

It appears from the mountain of evidence against him that Virginia did have the right man and so would be vindicated...to a degree. The death penalty is an example of fighting evil with evil and should be outlawed.

If it's scientifically proven that the death penalty was misapplied in this case, it will energize the movement to ban the death penalty and begin to sway some hearts that are, thus far, in favor of the ultimate sanction.

If Virgina did it's job in convicting this man, then it shouldn't be afraid of what the tests will show. Should it?

Family Undergoes Terrible Experience and Reaches Out to Irresponsible (Unknown) Driver via Local Newspaper

I'm going to post a letter that was sent to my hometown newspaper from a family that has undergone a catastrophe due to the careless actions of someone who left the scene of an accident like a coward and left his victim to die.

This is the most powerful letter that I have ever read, and I hope the person responsible owns up to what he/she has done.

To the editor:

This is addressed to the person that drove into the back of Don Morlan's car around 10:30 p.m., Dec. 1. After ramming his car and forcing him to go directly into the path of the oncoming snowplow, you just sped away.

Did you even look back at the devastation you caused?

Have you been enjoying your holiday? Don has been lying in the ICU at Marquette General Hospital in traction, on a ventilator, fighting for his life. He sustained 39 broken bones.

Both of his arms and legs were broken in many places, including both femurs. He had compound fractures, a broken hip, pelvis, both elbows (one was also dislocated), and his sternum was split open. The doctor said that he never saw anyone with that many broken bones who was still alive.

Don has already had four long surgeries to try and put him back together and has more to look forward to. He will have a long, hard road of therapy ahead of him to try to get back the use of his arms and legs. It is very doubtful that he will ever fully recover.

Don is a father and grandfather. He will spend his 40th birthday next month still in the hospital. He has always worked very hard and was going to his job at the Goodwill Farm when you changed his life forever. Don often has nightmares of the accident. Everyday he relives seeing himself being pushed into the plow and feeling his bones being broken and crushed. He never lost consciousness, so he was awake the whole time they were cutting the roof off of his demolished car and pulling him out.

He was awake and screaming in pain on the ride to Keweenaw Memorial and the trip to Marquette in the ambulance when the muscle spasms set in. It was the first thing his mother, daughter and other family members heard when we walked in the emergency room.

Maybe you can live with yourself and what you have done. Maybe it doesn't bother you that you left him to die in a ditch on that cold, dark night. We want to make sure that you at least know how badly you have hurt a good and decent man. Our family would like to thank the driver of the snowplow who called for help and stayed with Don until they arrived. We would also like to thank everyone else who helped. We encourage anyone who saw anything or knows anything to contact the police, if they have not already done so.

Thank you.

KM Family

Hancock

Iran's Terrorist President Continues Verbal Assault on Israel; Says European Nations Created Jewish State to Finish the Holocaust

He's at it again.

Now instead of denying the Holocaust, Iran's hostage-taking President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that European nations created Israel to rid the continent of Jews and that their intent was to have the Muslims in neighboring lands around Jerusalem finish the job.

He's been on the outs with the international community since he called Israel a "blot on the map" and said that Israel should be wiped off that map. Last month he called the Holocaust a myth; after the world protested he said that Europe should give up land to establish a Jewish state there and remove it from where it currently is.

This man is an idiot who doesn't know when to shut up. He's definitely the rudest leader on the planet with no concern about what he says and when he says it. And this man thinks the world will trust him with nuclear arms?