Court Upholds President Bush's First Amendment Rights

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia threw out a lawsuit that an atheist had brought against the government that challenged the use of an invocation and a benediction at the Presidential Inauguration.

The court decided it did not have the power to order a President-elect to remain silent at his own inauguration and that banning the prayers would amount to the same thing. This is a victory for the First Amendment against a frivolous lawsuit.

The plaintiff first came into the public eye when he challenged the government in court over the same issue four years ago when George W. Bush took office. Since then he's filed a lawsuit against the Pledge of Allegiance, claiming that the words "under God" violates the left-loved "separation of church and state" clause that the courts created and have upheld ever since.

That first case was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court because he did not have custody of his daughter, whom he claimed was victimized by the recital of the Pledge, and did not have the support of the mother (who has custody of their daughter and opposed the case.)

He recently re-filed the case without using his daughter as his pawn and with eight other families who support his cause.

That entire case with the Pledge came across as a man using his daughter to gain social brownie points for himself with his legal attack on the Pledge. That's very sad.

Israeli Prime Minister Sharon Breaks Off Talking to Palestinian President Abbas: Dumb Move

Israel cut communications with newly elected Palestinian President Abbas a day after militants broke with Abbas and bombed a Gaza Strip crossing, killing six Israelis.

What is Israel doing?

They should be helping Abbas deal with the terrorists, not cutting ties with him and telling him to get a handle on the Palestinian territories as a precondition of resuming relations with him.

Has Israel forgotten that Arafat isn’t around anymore and that Abbas is the democratically elected leader of the Palestinian people? They should treat him as the leader of a nation and not like Arafat. Isolating Abbas will only insure his downfall and failure; it will not motivate him.

Abbas represents the best chance that the Israelis have in making peace in the occupied territories so they should work with him instead of against him.

Israel needs to confront its own behavior in dealing with the Palestinian leadership and begin to realize that Abbas cannot control all of the terrorist groups. Some of those groups are dedicated to destroying Israel and do not care about what Abbas says.

Get with the program, Sharon.

Court Decision on Prayer at Inauguration Expected Today

The atheist who has legally attacked the Pledge of Allegiance in California has now attacked President Bush's personal First Amendment rights as well. In a court case sure to make waves, he has continued his attempts to ban displays of religion in public because he is offended by them. This time he's making an issue in Washington, DC.

He is challenging the practice of having an opening prayer at the inauguration of the President. If his challenge is upheld, it will ban the practice which began with George Washington's inauguration. A ruling is expected today.

Shouldn't it be the right of the President to choose whether or not to have prayers at his/her inauguration? Does the court have the right to choose the religious rights of one person over another person? That's what this is about.

If the man who is challenging the practice doesn't like prayers at someone else's inauguration, then he should change the channel or get out of town.

Here's the background.

Nazi Stunt Lands Prince Harry in Hot Water

What on earth was Prince Harry of Great Britain thinking when he showed up to a party wearing Nazi regalia and wearing a swastika armband? This is no laughing matter.

For a British royal to do something like this defies belief. People in the UK are now asking that the Prince apologize in person and on international TV and to visit a Nazi death camp (Auschwitz) with the British delegation that will be going there later this year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Allied troops.

A photo appeared on the cover of the British tabloid “The Sun” under the headline “Harry the Nazi.” The photo will not be posted here.

For someone who vowed to lift his mother’s torch and carry on her mission in her stead, he’s not doing a very good job of presenting himself in the best traditions of humbleness, strength and humanity.

The prince has offended so many people this time that he will be making up for it for a very long time to come. The criticism coming from Britain itself is scathing and the international reaction is coming in hot and heavy as people wake up to this scandal coming from the royal palace.

What did he think the reaction would be?

Disgraceful!

Michael Jackson Trial....Re-Enacted??!

Oh, no…

E! Entertainment and British Sky Broadcasting (BskyB) are planning on taking daily transcripts of the upcoming Michael Jackson molestation trial and dramatically re-enacting the court proceedings since cameras are banned from the courtroom.

This is just great. More quality television on the way.

The Jackson trial is going to be a bigger circus than the O.J. Simpson trial and the Scott Peterson murder case combined.

They’ll probably make a TV movie about the odd happenings at the Neverland Ranch based on the testimony at the trial too. It will be decidedly...disgusting.

Carry that thought forward. If he's convicted the other prisoners in the system will decide to beat the stuffing out of Jackson right in front of a camera to make themselves famous. Then some diabolical genius will probably put the footage on pay-per-view and make millions!

Sick and wrong!

Patriot Act Misused to Charge Man With Pointing Laser at Aircraft

A man who was accused of pointing a laser beam at a landing chartered jet’s cockpit area and a helicopter in New Jersey has been arrested and charged with a violation of the Patriot Act.

THE PATRIOT ACT??!

The FBI has admitted that this incident had nothing to do with terrorism, but charged him under the auspices of the Patriot Act of 2001, saying the man was “foolhardy and negligent.”

Why does the government do stuff like this?

Are they so desperate to give the Patriot Act good press that they are stooping to this level?

He is being charged with interfering with the operator of a mass-transit vehicle and for lying to the FBI after he accused his daughter of doing it.

The charge was only leveled against the shining of the airliner and not the helicopter. The reason for this is that a helicopter is not recognized as a mass-transit vehicle under the Patriot Act.

If the Patriot Act were not being used, this man would be facing at least seven federal charges. But he’s facing two under an Act that is being reviewed by a federal court on whether it’s constitutional or not. This sounds like a case that’s going to slip through the government’s fingers.

Here's the story.

Star Wars Defense Shield Revisited--Part II

Going on with the Star Wars anti-missile system, the topic of rogue nations is frequently mentioned by the proponents of the shield.

It is feared that the U.S. will one day be threatened or attacked by a rogue nation and that’s the primary basis for the anti-ICBM system.

Would such a system work? The test results thus far have not been encouraging. It also doesn’t take “local” threats into consideration either. What if an enemy launched a SCUD with a nuclear warhead from a freighter off the coast of New York instead of firing it from four thousand miles away? The system doesn’t account for that. What about a sub-launched missile from off the coast? Would there be time to redeploy anti-missile assets to deal with a missile impact that would occur three minutes later?

Theatre defense will address these areas that are being ignored in favor of a bigger picture. Continuing to develop missile defense systems that protect smaller areas of territory is definitely worth the cost.

Star Wars Defense Shield Revisited--Part I

There are some who are not entirely convinced that a missile defense shield will be necessary in the war against terror.

It is highly unlikely that al-Qaeda will launch an ICBM at the United States. It's more likely that they will try to smuggle a warhead into the U.S. and then detonate it when it is precisely where they want it to be. So why do we need a missile shield if the enemy pre-positions WMDs on our soil?

As far as protecting American territory from terrorists, more money should be spent on border interdiction to stop WMDs from being smuggled in by al-Qaeda and other similar groups.

CBS News Wraps Up Internal Investigation on MemoGate

Does anyone remember MemoGate?

CBS finally issued their final MemoGate report today on the falsified National Guard documents that CBS News used in their September 8th, 2004, edition of 60 Minutes. Those falsified documents accused President Bush of lying about his National Guard service during the Vietnam era. It appears that the investigation was very thorough.

However, some of their conclusions are wrong. There was indeed an axe to grind and party stalwarts at CBS attempted to carve a piece out of George W. Bush's hide to help Senator Kerry on Election Day.

It was a character assassination attempt that went seriously wrong and CBS got caught on it. Their like-minded competitors criticized CBS for its actions on one hand, but then justified the reporting as being perfectly legitimate because the feeling behind it was "right on." Bull!

This entire story was not about Bush and Kerry, but about CBS News making the news instead of reporting it. It was wrong during the campaign, and it is wrong today.

Stunts like this have made it possible for right-wing news organizations to attract a huge number of viewers. Why? Because they tell the other side of the story. Who likes to hear one side of an argument before taking a side? Most informed people want to know the issues before deciding on where they stand and are tired of news organizations who use an emotional appeal to tell only one side of a much larger story.

The right-wing media has nothing to crow about either. They've done their fair share of rubbish reporting too. All news organizations should pay attention to what's happened to CBS because the same thing could happen to them if they take short-cuts and try to make the news instead of reporting it.

A personal suggestion to the CBS people who lost their jobs today over this scandal: you ought to consider running for office. If you feel that strongly about your politics, then do something about it. But don't pretend to be objective journalists, because you clearly are not. Your own falsified report proves it.

Earth Still Vibrating From 9.0 Earthquake

The earth is still feeling the aftereffects of the 9.0 earthquake that loosed tsunamis on a dozen nations and sent smaller waves all the way around the world.

Some thirty-two hours after the earthquake, thirteen-inch waves hit the coast of central Florida. They were not noticed by humans, but the tsunami warning systems that are active on the U.S. coast clearly noticed them as they approached the coastline. Similar waves registered on tidal gauges off of Russia’s Pacific coastline.

According to scientists, they can still hear the earth reverberating. They have a baseline to compare today’s data to and the sound the earth is making is still well above normal. This oscillation is likely to continue for several weeks.

We’re just now beginning to grasp what effect this earthquake had on the entire planet. It just goes to show that while humans are the dominant life-form on the planet, when the planet lets loose with a catastrophic display of raw power, all we can do is run for our lives and try to get out of the way.

If you are of the mind that humanity will destroy itself in the end, the question becomes: will we destroy the planet, or will it destroy us?

Post-Arafat Democracy Arrives in Palestine

The Palestinian people are to be congratulated on having a successful election, which saw Mahmoud Abbas elevated to the top spot in the Palestinian Authority. Hopefully, as Palestinian President, he will be able to broker peace with Israel and establish a Palestinian state which will live side-by-side with Israel in relative harmony.

“Relative” being the key operational phrase. It is doubtful that the terror groups will stop their attacks on Israeli territory, but hopefully the Israelis and Palestinians will stop shooting at one another long enough to work together to combat terrorism. Abbas needs to distance himself from some of his comments during the campaign and Israel needs to keep more of an open mind. It will be up to Abbas, the Israeli leadership, the U.S. and other intermediaries to keep the momentum going.

The chance for an enduring peace has improved; the arrival of democracy in Palestine is historic and Abbas has a mandate from the Palestinian people to move forward with peace efforts. After all the suffering and bloodshed, any good news is welcome.

"Under God" Under Attack Again

The atheist who originally filed a lawsuit to ban the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance is at it again.

He won the case in a federal appeals court but was shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court because he did not have custody of his daughter and because her mother objected to the lawsuit.

He’s re-filed the lawsuit with a group of parents (and without his daughter) in California. This time when it reaches the Supreme Court, the Court will either have to rule on it, or allow whatever decision the appeals court reaches to stand.

One fails to understand why he filed the original lawsuit in the first place; he did not have custody of his daughter and so could not (and cannot) make decisions for her without the approval of his ex-wife. It sounds like he tried to use his daughter to score political points and got slapped down the last time.

This time he’s recruited a small group to give his cause more legitimacy.

Barring unforeseen legal turns, there will be a decision this time and no postponements.

If the high court rules in favor of keeping “under God” in the Pledge, then this issue will finally be laid to rest and the vast majority of Americans will be satisfied with the outcome. Polls are overwhelmingly in favor of this result.

One would hope that IF the Court rules that “under God” is unconstitutional that the majority of people continue to use “under God” in the Pledge when they say it to show their disapproval of the court decision and to make the minority squirm with the knowledge that the First Amendment trumps their court-imposed God-ban.

United Nations Must Not Fail Tsunami Survivors

Now that the United Nations has control of relief efforts in South Asia to aid tsunami and earthquake victims, they had better not drop the ball.

Early reports say that after the change-over in command, there was a breakdown in communication between aid groups, the various militaries that are assisting in moving supplies around and the various U.N. agencies.

This is not good. Hopefully the problems have been rectified and the movement of aid continues unhindered to those who need it the most.

VIP's Get in the Way of Relief Efforts

It's being reported that so many VIPs are flying in and out of Banda Aceh's (Sumatra Island) small airport that the flow of supplies and critically needed materials are being disrupted.

Enough, already! The area's destroyed! What else do these people need to know?

With Colin Powell's visit, his plane took off immediately after dropping him off to avoid taking up room; American congressmen arrived from the USS Abraham Lincoln via helicopter for the same reason. Others international dignitaries have not been so courteous.

Sounds like someone needs to get a handle on things over there.

U.S. Accepts U.N. Leadership in Asian Tsunami Relief Efforts

The United States has made a good decision in turning over command and control of the disaster relief efforts to the United Nations and the World Bank.

Those agencies are more appropriate for handling the humanitarian relief efforts as they represent the entire family of nations. The U.S. coalition that was organized will be dissolved and their considerable power and influence will be thrown behind the U.N. effort, which is very good news.

The ultimate goal is to get aid to people who need it, not to grandstand in the face of such devastation.

Attorney General Confirmation Hearings: Independence of the AG in Question?

Sean Hannity said on his radio show yesterday that Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales is exactly what the country needs to prosecute the war on terror. The “exactly” part is the issue that scares people.

The Attorney General must be loyal, yet independent from the President. This, by definition, means that the AG should not be a close personal friend of the President, which Gonzales is. His work records indicate he would probably be a very good Attorney General, but his independence would be highly questionable.

Janet Reno turned her Justice Department into a shield for the scandal-ridden Clinton Administration, blocking probes of wrongdoing by Clinton’s people, and the President himself. She shortcut the law when she illegally seized Elian Gonzales without a sanction from the court. The Ruby Ridge and Waco standoffs were disasters; a boy was fatally shot by federal agents at Ruby Ridge, and the Branch Davidians burned inside their compound after tear gas was pumped into the main building. That has not been fully explained yet either.

John Ashcroft had this annoying habit of ignoring parts of the Constitution in Bush’s first term in office as Attorney General during his prosecution of the war on terror. The Attorney General swears to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution of the United States, which is the supreme law of the land; the actions of the Ashcroft Justice Department tried to navigate around them. Consider: citizens held without trial for over three years; questionable interrogation tactics; illegal detainment issues; end result: denial of justice. Ashcroft showed remarkably little faith in the criminal justice system that he was supposed to be supporting.

I hope when Gonzales is confirmed (he will be), he does the job right.

Marine Accused of Desertion...Disappears

The Marine who was thought to have been kidnapped in Iraq by terror groups but unexpectedly showed up at the U.S. Embassy in his native Lebanon, has "disappeared" once again. This time, he's gone missing...not in the sands of Iraq, but from an airport in Utah.

Given the highly dubious story that his captors transported him to Lebanon and dropped him off to see his family, that's not entirely unexpected.

Key questions: why did the military let a soldier accused of a crime go on leave? His family could have come to him. And what is going through this man's mind right now? And if he didn't want to play Marine in a war zone, why on earth did he volunteer to join them? It's still an all-volunteer military so he wasn't drafted. He could have joined another service that could have kept him out of the infantry.

When he's caught in Lebanon, he'll probably say he was trying to return to his unit in Iraq. Pathetic.

Mixed Messages From Bush Administration on Human Rights

The Bush Administration took a major step forward in advancing human rights and then took two steps backwards with a plan to hold onto detained people for the rest of their natural lives without having to charge them with a crime.

Human Rights advocates were cheering early last week but were crying the blues by the end of the week, so it was a mixed message that the Administration sent out.

It started with an announcement that the Bush Administration was enlarging their definition of what “torture” constituted, which now includes some of the things that the military, CIA and FBI have done in Cuba, Afghanistan and Iraq. This was cause for celebration in some quarters.

Then a few days later, unnamed sources claimed that the Bush Administration was preparing legal briefs to hold some prisoners for the rest of their lives without so much as charging them with a crime. Thank you very much.

Sometimes Administrations leak information to the media to get a reaction from the general public to see if it would enjoy support on one issue or another, and this appears to have been the case for the “life sentences without a trial” situation.

This needs to be resisted.

Lieberman to Propose Global Tsunami Warning System

Senator Joe Lieberman intends to propose building a worldwide tsunami warning network to give people time to move away from the coastlines when giant tidal waves are detected heading in their direction.

This is long overdue. With the utter devastation that we have seen on our television screens since the day after Christmas from South Asia, what more proof do we need?

Millions spent on such a system will not stop the waves from smashing everything in reach, but if we could save hundreds of thousands or millions of lives in the process, that’s well worth it.

Now that global attention is on how deadly tsunamis can be, it is the perfect time for nations to participate in setting up a global warning system.

U.N. Needs Top Role in Asian Disaster Relief

The Bush Administration has started to do things that are hampering worldwide relief efforts to Asian nations that were devastated last week.

It has been five days since a massive earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale struck off Indonesia's coast and created monster tidal waves that killed hundreds of thousands of people in a dozen Asian and African nations. In response to the disaster the United States formed a coalition of nations that included the U.S., India, Japan and Australia. The U.S. has insisted that those nations will lead the world response to the disaster.

Time out, time out, time out!

These nations need to take a back-seat to the United Nations in this instance. India's west coast lies in ruins and they're saying 'no thank you' to international aid. And why the U.S. insisting on supplanting the United Nations relief efforts? Since so many nations were devastated, only the U.N. has the mandate to act on behalf of its member states.

It should be noted that Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Maldives, Seychelles, Tanzania, Kenya and Somalia all have two things in common: they are not U.S. territories; they ARE members of the United Nations. So who should have more say-so? Figure it out. If this tidal wave had hit the United States, then the U.S. would have the ultimate say-so. But it didn't.

For the U.S. government to take hasty action now (and trumpet about it loudly) to deflect criticism that they were slow in responding to the international disaster is in very poor taste.

Now, on a related topic, the French are in a contest with the U.S. over who is giving more aid. Both governments need to grow up and donate because it's going to help people, not to one-up the other. Here's that story. Absolutely childish! I've never heard of such rubbish in the face of such widespread destruction. Get on with it, already!