Death Penalty Possible for Doctors Performing Illegal Abortions?

New law could mean death penalty for doctors
Legislators say that wasn't their intent with the abortion measure
By KELLEY SHANNON, Associated Press

AUSTIN - Texas doctors who perform abortions without parental approval or after the third trimester could face capital murder charges because of a new law that takes effect this week, a prosecutors group says.

The Texas District and County Attorneys Association has outlined that scenario in its new book updating the Texas penal code and in public presentations around the state. The group says such charges could occur under the new law because of the 2003 fetal protection law.

Key legislators said Monday that wasn't their intent.

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, who pushed the parental consent measure, said in a prepared statement that her legislation was strictly limited to giving parents the right to consent when a minor is considering an abortion and to preventing late-term abortions.

"There were no discussions about the death penalty during our legislative discussions of this issue," Nelson said.

A capital murder conviction can result in the death penalty.

Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, who sponsored the 2003 bill defining an embryo or fetus as an "individual," said the law may need clearing up in a future legislative session.

I'm sorry but I don't see a problem here. Is there a better means of preventing this from happening than the death penalty for the doctor? Taking a life in this manner is pre-meditated murder. It sounds like to me that these "pro-life" legislators are backtracking on their own professed belief. Were they just trying to make a political statment? I don't want to see doctors put to death, but I also don't want to see our unborn children put to death.

Full Story: Death Penalty for Abortionists?

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Ex-CIA Operative Seeks Asylum

Ex-CIA operative denies Castro assassination plot
Tue Aug 30, 2005 11:11 PM ET By Gina Keating

EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - An ex-CIA operative denied that he tried to assassinate Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro as he fought on Tuesday for U.S. asylum and against extradition to Venezuela, where he escaped from jail 20 years ago.

Luis Posada Carriles, a self-described anti-Castro "freedom fighter" accused in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people, surfaced in Miami early this year after a 1985 jail break in Venezuela.

The appearance of the 77-year-old Cuban brought extradition demands from Venezuela, where he was a naturalized citizen, and from his homeland of Cuba.

U.S. government lawyers say a record of violent acts makes him ineligible for asylum.
Posada admitted in testimony to using a Salvadoran passport with a false name to enter Panama in 2000 shortly before he and others were arrested for purportedly plotting to assassinate Castro. But he denied involvement in any plot against Castro

The Bush administration needs to develop a little backbone and grant Carriles asylum. Unless there is sufficient evidence of his terrorist activity. If he is an actual terrorist then that is an entirely different matter.

Full Story: Ex CIA Operative

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Reuters Cameraman Held in Abu Ghraib: Considered a Security Threat

Reuters cameraman ordered held in Abu Ghraib

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A cameraman for Reuters in Iraq has been ordered by a secret tribunal to be held without charge in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison until his case is reviewed within six months, a U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Ali Omar Abrahem al-Mashhadani was arrested by U.S. forces on August 8 after a search of his home in the city of Ramadi. The U.S. military has refused Reuters requests to disclose why he is being held. He has not been charged.

His brother, who was detained with him and then released, said they were arrested after Marines looked at the images on the journalist's cameras.

"The CRRB has determined that Mr. Mashhadani remains a threat to the people of Iraq and they recommended continued internment," Lieutenant Colonel Guy Rudisill said, referring to a hearing of the Iraqi-U.S. Combined Review and Release Board held at a secret location in Baghdad on Monday.

He said Mashhadani would be entitled to a review of his case within 180 days and would be held at Abu Ghraib.

Rudisill said he would not be allowed to see an attorney, his family or anyone else for the first 60 days of his detention, which began in Abu Ghraib last week.

Those evil American troops! Imagine the nerve of them wanting to make sure that this photographer is not part of the terrorist network. The press have really got a distorted view of themselves. This is a press photographer so he should be immune from scrutiny. After all, they're the press, incorruptible, unbiased, altruistic, only interested in the truth (as they see it).

Full Story: Reuters Cameraman

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Hey Houston, Here Comes Cindy! Tell the Ditch Witch Go Home

From Camp Casey, Crawford to Washington DC

From George Bush’s door step to Communities along the way, We Demand That:

1)Elected Representatives Decide Now to Bring the Troops Home
2)We Take Care of Them When They Get Here
3)We Never Again Send Our Loved Ones to War Based on Lies!

We are currently at a significant turning point in how the American public views the war in Iraq. As the death toll in Iraq rises, Cindy Sheehan’s vigil near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, has captured the hearts and minds of thousands of Americans.

On August 31st, the last day of the encampment, the Bring Them Home Now Tour will launch three buses from Crawford, Texas, each carrying military and Gold Star families, veterans of the Iraq War and veterans of previous wars. These buses will travel different routes across the country, converging in Washington, DC on September 21, for the United for Peace and Justice Mobilization September 24th-26th

"Clap hands, here comes Cindy." She's supposed to get here on the 2nd. I can't wait till she gets here, we need to give her a good ole' Texas welcome...right out of the state. This Left-coast interloper doesn't know what she is headed for. This idiot is going to attempt to challenge Tom Delay? I think we need to greet her with signs, flags, and jeers. This Hate America Tour is repugnant at its core. After she gets through here, she going to go to New Orleans to exploit the tragedy there (are you surprised, she has exploited her son's death?).

Full Story: Ditch Witch in Houston

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Harris County D.A. Responds to Criticism of Stand On Revised Travel Law

In response to the Harris County D.A.'s statement on the newly revised Texas statute on gun possession and travel, I wrote him the following letter:

District Attourney Rosenthal,

Your stance on the enforcement of the Texas handgun travel law is unacceptable. The intent of the State Legislature and Governor in passing this law revision was and is very clear. Your declaration of intent to arrest and prosecute drivers without CCL’s found to be carrying firearms in their automobiles is just as clearly an effort to disregard the will of the people of Texas and Harris County as reflected in the State Legislature. In doing so you are in direct violation of your sworn duties. All data show that the restriction of gun possession leads to higher, not lower crime. The Bill of Rights guarantees each American Citizen the individual the right to keep and bear arms. Your decision in this case not only thwarts will of the Texas Legislature, but flies in the face of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Your disrespect for the will of the people is both shameful and arrogant. Your Liberal agenda will not succeed.

Enjoy your brief day in the sun, it will not last. You may rest assured that you will not be re-elected to office. We gun owners will actively campaign against your re-election.

Sincerely,

Will Malven

The Harris County D.A.'s Response:

Well, as it so happens I am in favor of gun ownership. I took an oath to defend and protect the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this state, and I intend to do exactly that. There are a number of instances where the law permits the possession of handguns in cars we recognize those laws, but I believe that they should be sorted out in court, and not on the streets.

Consider this scenario. Police officers stop a car for a traffic violation. While getting ID from the driver, he sees the butt of a handgun protruding from under the driver's seat. Office asks the driver where he is going. Driver answers that he is going to the liquor store 2 miles from his house. Driver meets the other requisites for "traveling". On the way back from the adult beverage store, driver sees someone who he thinks "disrespected" him some time back and shoots his acquaintance. Victim survives, finds out the police knew about the gun, the settled law is that he was not traveling; officer and his municipality are sued by the victim.

Point is that not everyone is as judicious about gun ownership as you and your friends probably are.

If the legislature had really meant to allow anyone who wanted to carry a handgun (note, the law does not apply to shoulder weapons) in their car, why do you suppose they did not repeal the laws with respect concealed carry permits? Presumptions are simply that. For instance all persons charged with crimes are presumed to be innocent, but that doesn't mean that they are in fact innocent.
By the way, I'm up for re-election in '08.

My Response to His Response:

Sir,

With all due respect, I do not believe in running a justice system out of fear of a law suit. I also, if I am reading the new statute correctly have to say that if the officer can see the butt of the hand gun then it is in plain view and in violation of the statute because 1. it can be seen, and 2. because he is clearly not “traveling” by the definition of traveling in the state law. Lastly, I was not aware that it was settled law to arrest someone just because you think they might possibly commit a crime, as per your example. A policeman is not prescient and has no way of knowing that the driver is going to shoot someone who “disrespected” him. In your example, the policeman already knows the driver’s destination so his possession of the firearm is in clear violation of the law.

The presumption of innocence also certainly doesn’t mean they are guilty either. As to the question “why don’t they repeal the laws with respect concealed carry permits?” It is irrelevant, the intent of the law makers is absolutely clear with regard to this revised statute, otherwise there would have been no reason to rewrite the statute to include the “assumption” of travel.

I and my friends are fully aware of the date of your next re-election bid and we will not forget. It is unfortunate that you have taken such a belligerent attitude toward the people in this county who, as law abiding citizens should be some of your strongest supporters.

Sincerely,

Not only was his response rude, it was superficial and insufficient. He published virtually the same explanation in the letters part of the editorial page. Mind you this is the D.A. who doesn't believe that contaminated DNA evidence is sufficient cause to retry cases.

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Texas Gun Law Controversy: Houston D.A. to Disregard Law Revisions

DA opposed to new handgun law
Pistol-toting drivers without a permit will still be prosecuted, Rosenthal warns
By CLAY ROBISON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Motorists arrested for carrying pistols in their cars without a concealed handgun license will continue to be prosecuted in Houston, despite a new law that purports to give them a legal defense, Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said Monday.

Although the sponsor said the law should reduce the number of arrests for unlawful handgun possession, Rosenthal said it won't change enforcement practices in Houston after it goes into effect on Thursday.

"It is still going to be against the law for (unlicensed) persons to carry handguns in autos," the district attorney said, adding that the new legal defense can still be challenged by prosecutors.

The new law, enacted during the regular legislative session last spring, seeks to clarify a longtime law that allowed Texans to carry handguns while traveling, a qualification that was subject to a number of inconsistent court interpretations over the years.

The new statute says a person is "presumed to be traveling" if he or she is in a private vehicle, is not engaged in criminal activity (except for a minor traffic offense), is not prohibited by any other law from possessing a firearm and is not a member of a criminal street gang.

It also requires the handgun to be concealed in the car, although weapons can be discovered by officers during routine traffic stops if a driver gives permission for a car to be searched or opens a glove compartment where a gun is secured to retrieve an insurance card or other documentation.

"The intent of the law is to keep innocent people from going to jail," said the sponsor, Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, a former prosecutor and former Travis County sheriff who now is a candidate for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

The law, House Bill 823, was supported by the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union and opposed by various law-enforcement groups.

More than 237,000 Texans have concealed handgun licenses. But many other law-abiding adults don't have licenses because they are disqualified by exceptions that have nothing to do with public safety, said Alice Tripp, a lobbyist for the Texas State Rifle Association, an NRA affiliate.

Tripp said people who have defaulted on student loans, who owe the state sales tax or franchise tax payments or are behind in child support payments are ineligible to receive a license.

Keel said he hoped the law will prompt police officers to think twice about arresting motorists who meet the new legal presumption and spare them the expense and "indignity" of arrest and prosecution.

Otherwise, he said, "They basically are going to arrest innocent people and make them prove their innocence."

Rosenthal and Rob Kepple, executive director of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, disagreed.

Rosenthal said the new presumption about "traveling" doesn't define what constitutes traveling and can be challenged in court by prosecutors, leaving it to juries to decide verdicts "based upon the facts of the case."

A prosecutor could summon witnesses to successfully argue that a defendant wasn't traveling because he was simply "driving around the corner for a carton of milk," Kepple said.

"I really don't think (the law) should affect how police officers respond in arresting somebody," he added.

Houston Police Department spokeswoman Johanna Abad indicated Houston police were going to take their advice from Rosenthal's office.

This is blatant disregard for the will of the people of Harris County as reflected in the Texas State Legislature.

Full Story: Texas Gun Law Revision

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Texas Congressman Get's It: Go John!

Texas lawmaker proposes volunteer border corps
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 26, 2005

A Texas congressman, concerned about the government's lack of manpower and resources to protect America's borders against criminal aliens and terrorists, wants a "corps of civilian volunteers" appointed to help guard the nation's borders.

Rep. John Culberson, Texas Republican, has introduced legislation to authorize and fund the "Border Protection Corps" for states along the Mexican and Canadian borders, comprising civilians named by the governors to work as sworn law-enforcement officers, alongside state and local authorities and the U.S. Border Patrol.

Known as the Border Protection Corps Act, the bill would fund -- through $6.8 billion in unspent Department of Homeland Security first-responder funds -- the volunteer groups and the federal government's cost of detaining and deporting foreign nationals caught at the border.

Pending consideration before both the House Homeland Security and Armed Services committees, the bill also would prevent the government from releasing detained aliens back into the United States -- requiring them to be deported or prosecuted if found to be a "dangerous criminal, a terrorist or a potential terrorist."

"I am convinced in my heart that the country has reached its tipping point on illegal immigration, fed up with the full-scale invasion now taking place, particularly on our southern border" Mr. Culberson told The Washington Times yesterday.

"This bill is a common-sense, stop-gap solution to our border security problem until the federal government has the manpower and the resources to fill the breach," he added.

Wow! We do have a Congressman with his head on straight on this issue. Representative Culberson is one of the few people in Congress in the forefront on illegal immigration. Thank-you Congressman!

Full Story: Culberson calls for border volunteers

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Straw Grasping Continues to Escalate for Anti-Roberts Cadre

Roberts tied to Bush-Quayle campaign
Supreme Court nominee said he provided opposition research
Tuesday, August 30, 2005

By Michael McGough, Post-Gazette National Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. provided "opposition research" for the Bush-Quayle-election campaign in 1988, according to an application form that Roberts completed when he sought appointment as deputy solicitor general in the first Bush administration the next year.

The form was one of several Roberts-related documents from the first Bush administration released yesterday by the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, and the National Archives.

The collection also included materials related to former President George H.W. Bush's decision in 1992 to nominate Roberts to succeed newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That nomination died in the Senate, but Roberts was nominated to the same appeals court by the current President Bush and was confirmed by the Senate two years ago.

A memo from the file of Lee Liberman, who as an associate White House counsel advised the administration on judicial nominations, describes Roberts as a "superstar non-Hispanic candidate" for the D.C. Circuit. The memo said Bush shouldn't feel obliged to appoint a Hispanic to the D.C. Circuit because "from a political perspective, although a nominee for the D.C. Circuit would get the attention of the national Hispanic organizations, nominees to the 5th and 11th circuits would get much more attention from the populations of the states in those circuits, most notably Texas and Florida."

This just in: Roberts Once Supported Bush/Quail Campaign. Ooh this ought to nail him for sure, Roberts once "stepped on a crack," Roberts once went swimming less than one hour after eating.

Full Story: Roberts Nomination

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Our Borders Are Hemorhaging Aliens

1986 AMNESTY SENT IMMIGRATION NUMBERS SOARING
By Georgie Anne Geyer
Mon Aug 29, 5:41 PM ET

ON THE SAN YSIDRO BORDER CROSSING WITH MEXICO -- Three or four years ago, most of us who were complaining about the lack of border and immigration controls were using the figure of 3 million to 4 million illegal aliens in America. That figure seemed bad enough.

Then the numbers started to boggle the mind. Month after month, in reputable news magazines and from responsible analysts of border affairs, the estimated numbers of aliens in the country kept going up and up and up.

Suddenly, the number was 5 million; then, only a few months later, 8 million. Then some sources started using 12 million as the standard and even, finally, an astonishing 20 million! When the census bureau was to release the 2002 statistics on illegals in America, it had found 10 million more than it had planned for. (In fact, the bureau gave a press conference on a Friday afternoon, when no one would report on it.)

All of this has led to agitation over illegal aliens and an "invasion" that the country has not hitherto experienced. In only the last few weeks, the Democratic governors of both Arizona and New Mexico have declared an "immigration emergency," and Nuevo Laredo on the Mexican side of the border with Texas has had so many murders it is being looked at as the drug/murder capital of the region.

But here on the San Diego end of the border across from Tijuana, for officials who have worked realistically with immigration -- and suffered eternally under the lack of leadership from Washington -- the question of where these estimated numbers of illegals has come from is hardly a mystery.

Pete Nunez, the former U.S. attorney for San Diego and a lifelong fighter for immigration control, told me in a recent talk: "Why are those numbers today so high? Because of the amnesty of 1986! Those 2.7 million illegals amnestied were then able, in the decade of the '90s, to sponsor their family members. That decade turned out to have the highest number of legal immigrants practically in our history, because of the amnesty."

Mr. President and Congress, wake-up! Americans are tired of these continual concessions to Mexico, Corporate Law-breakers, and the Latino voters. It is way past time for these people to be arrested, photo ID'd, and ejected from this nation. Once this has been completely accomplished, we can then give consideration to the issuance of documentation for limited temporary laborers.

Full Story: Alien Invasion

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Al Sharpton, Another Law Abiding Paragon of Liberal Virtue.

Sharpton Evades Police for 9 Miles
Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 8:27 p.m. EDT

A driver for the Rev. Al Sharpton led Ellis County sheriff's deputies on a nine-mile chase at speeds up to 110 mph before state troopers stopped the car, authorities said.

The driver was rushing Sharpton to the airport after his visit with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Sunday at her camp outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford. The car carrying Sharpton and two other passengers was clocked doing 110 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 35 in Ellis County in North Texas, said Lt. Danny Williams.

The car ignored deputies' attempts to stop it and continued speeding and weaving in and out of traffic before it was stopped, Williams said.

Calls Monday to Sharpton's spokeswoman were not immediately returned. A spokesman for his attorney, Michael Hardy, referred inquiries to the spokeswoman.

Deputies arrested Jarrett Barton Maupin, 43, of Phoenix. Maupin told the officers he was hurrying to get Sharpton to the airport. Deputies impounded the rented 2005 Lincoln.

Williams said his officers offered Sharpton and the other, unidentified passengers a ride to a hotel across the highway, but they declined and walked there instead.

Maupin posted a total of $1,000 in bonds on charges of evading arrest with a vehicle and reckless driving.

What about some justice? How does Reverend Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton explain this one? It's not just the forty mph above the speed limit, it is the reckless driving and failure to stop. This driver ought to be in jail, $1000.00? Next will come the claims of racism.

Original Story: Reprinted from NewsMax.com© 2005 Associated Press.

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The Plot Thickens: Is This THE Clintonistas' Coverup?

BREAKING!!! - Weldon says records were ordered destroyed!! (Able Danger)
Dom Giordano Show - 1210AM Radio "Big Talker" - Philadelphia 29 AUG 05
Posted on 08/29/2005 6:23:38 PM PDT by Lancey Howard

Congressman Curt Weldon (R - Pennsylvania) gave another exclusive interview to Dom Giordano this evening (Monday) and broke the news that he will be giving a speech on September 8th (next Monday) during which he will present yet another 'Able Danger' witness. This new witness will attest (and will swear under oath when called) that he was "ordered to destroy records" relating to the 'Able Danger' program.
This order to destroy the records occurred prior to 9-11-01. Weldon intimated that it happened during the Clinton Administration.

The witness, who Weldon did not name, says that he was ordered to destroy records and was threatened with jail if he failed to comply. Weldon said that he has the names of the people involved, including the person who gave the order, and HE WILL NAME THEM in his speech.

Congressman Weldon also said that his staff has met with Senator Arlen Specter's (R - Pennsylvania) staff regarding the upcoming Judiciary Committee hearings. Weldon wants to be sure that everybody is on the same page. Weldon also said that he will do whatever he has to do to make sure that ALL the facts come out and that the process "is not manipulated".

Curt Weldon is like a pit bull on a steak. He expressed disgust with the "incompetence" of the 9-11 Commission and said that the victims of the 9-11 terror attacks deserve answers. Weldon is determined to see that they get them.
Weldon did express confidence in Tim Roehmer and John Lehman and speculated that perhaps the poor job done by the Commission was the result of an incompetent staff. Weldon sounded amazed and disappointed that so much important information was either glossed over or swept under the rug by the Commission.

Weldon will give his September 8th speech either to the National Press Club or to a "9-11 families" group which has asked him to speak. He apparently hasn't nailed down the exact venue yet. (For those unfamiliar with Dom Giordano, he is a very good conservative local talk show host here in the Philadelphia area, an area which includes Curt Weldon's district. Weldon comes on Dom's show often and, like this evening, sometimes breaks news.)

If this is true, this will be the biggest scandal in recent history. To quote Major Hofstetler from Hogan's Heroes, "Heads vill roll!" I doubt that the MSM will pick this up until they have their noses rubbed in it. This could be the treason charge pressed against Bill "Nero" Clinton (he played with his cigar while America declined.)

Original Post: Weldon Reports

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Houston CSI: Not Coming Soon to Your TV

Many crime labs won't meet state's accreditation rules
Smaller police departments say no one will collect, test their evidence
By PAM EASTON, Associated Press
Aug. 28, 2005, 11:01PM

PASADENA - Many police departments will be left waiting in line for other agencies to analyze evidence so it can be admitted at trial since state records show only one-third of the state's unaccredited crime labs will meet the accreditation standard by Thursday's deadline.

They face a 2003 law that requires labs to achieve standards required for accreditation by Thursday. Without accreditation, the labs are banned from introducing evidence for criminal trials.

That means large police departments will have to forgo some analysis. Officials at smaller departments say they will have no one to collect and test their crime scene evidence and one private lab in business for decades plans to close.

"We still don't know how devastating the impact is going to be, but it is going to be huge," Mansfield Police Chief Steve Noonkester said. "It is going to hurt every small city in the state."

Eighteen labs, 13 operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety, already were accredited. Those labs will now have to analyze the evidence from departments that aren't accredited while trying to deal with a DPS backlog of 1,100 DNA cases, said spokeswoman Tela Mange.

Well, I guess we won't be seeing any CSI programs out of Houston, unless it is "Houston, Keystone CSI" This is an intolerable situation. It is time for taxpayers to take back local goverment and require top quality performance from all of our civil servants. Mayor White may be the best we've had in recent memory, but he can't do his job alone, and even then he needs to be held to high standards.

Full Story: Crime Labs

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ACLU Intent on Destroying America: Opposing Minute Men

Activists say Minutemen causing fear
ACLU offers training in El Paso
Associated Press
Aug. 28, 2005, 11:28PM

Fear of a civilian patrol group is prompting fewer contractors to pick up workers from Houston corners where day laborers congregate, some activists said.

Workers' fear over the Minuteman volunteers probably led to some day laborers also abandoning their usual corners. And the same concerns caused a day labor organizational meeting Saturday to be closed to the media, according to organizers.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union on Saturday began training volunteers in El Paso who plan to monitor the Minuteman volunteers during their planned patrols along the border in October.

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corp. said it plans to patrol Texas' border with Mexico in October, repeating an action it took along Arizona's border in April. The group, which seeks to reduce illegal immigration, also has said it will watch day laborers in Houston and write down the license plate numbers of contractors who pick them up.

--------------------SNIP----------------

In Houston, Maria Jimenez, a leader of the Coalition Against Intolerance and for Respect, said the laborers are very scared.

Houston police stopped photographing day laborers in July after receiving pressure from immigrant rights groups.[My Emphasis]

But some immigrant advocates concede that the Minutemen might be encouraged to hear they're already having an effect.

Can anyone doubt that the ACLU is the most anti-Americans activist group in the Nation? Illegal aliens are lawbreakers. If they don't respect our imigration laws and get away with it, how can you expect them to respect any of our other laws. They routinely drive without licenses or insurance. Wherever they live, the property values decrease, violent crime increases, and they drive our medical and educational costs up. They will eventually destroy our nation unless we do something about the problem.

Full Story: ACLU Interference

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A&M, Wake Up! Diversity is an Artificial Concept

A TURNING POINT: PATH TO DIVERSITY
Deeply rooted in tradition, Texas A&M is investing millions of dollars to win the trust of minority students
By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
Aug. 29, 2005, 5:32AM
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Editor's note: This is the first story in an occasional series looking at Texas A&M University's efforts to recruit and retain minority students. Colleges and universities across the state are grappling with how to enroll 600,000 new students, mostly minorities, by 2015 to mirror the state's changing demographics

COLLEGE STATION - Jacob Tadesse arrived eight days before the start of classes at Texas A&M University and, like many freshmen, soon felt alone. So he left the sterile coolness of his dormitory room that first night without a destination in mind.

Wearing a baggy T-shirt and shorts, with his black hair in braids and beads, Tadesse started walking around campus about 10 p.m., hoping to cross paths with someone like him.

An hour later, he saw a friend from Houston. They slumped into chairs in a dormitory lobby and said, ''Howdy," the university's official greeting, to passers-by. Some stopped, others didn't.

After midnight, Tadesse counted those around him: Three blacks, three Hispanics, two Asian-Americans and seven whites. ''I wasn't expecting that," he said later.

What he expects is to succeed despite his surroundings. Texas A&M is a place where roughly 80 percent of undergraduates are white, where the 2,000 members of the quasi-military Corps of Cadets wear uniforms to class, where tradition is everything.

Tadesse, who graduated third in his class from the nearly all-black Jack Yates High School in Houston, is part of Texas A&M's bold effort to increase its minority enrollment without considering race in admissions. The goal is a student body that reflects the diversity of Texas.

The state's second-largest university has invested millions of dollars to attract students who didn't have the luxury of wealth or the best schools. The campaign reversed a seven-year decline in the number of black and Hispanic freshmen last fall, and the university is projecting big percentage increases again as classes start today

-------------------SNIP-----------------

Assimilation not a goal

The sun was high above a drill field last Tuesday as hundreds of Aggies converged for horseshoes and shaved ice. A country radio station, broadcasting live from the gathering, played Redneck Yacht Club .

Before the party ended, two cadets in overalls summoned the students to practice the traditional yells for football games. In unison, they hunched forward with hands on their knees to project their voices.

Tadesse watched with a dozen black students from beneath an oak tree. One of his new friends wanted to join the yellers, but he did not budge from his spot in the shade. ''It's too hot," he said.

Assimilation is not a goal for Tadesse, who also did not attend Fish Camp, a summer program that indoctrinates freshmen to the university's traditions. Instead, he sees Texas A&M as the means to a lucrative career and maybe the wherewithal to create jobs for people from places like the Third Ward.

These jerks don't want to be a part of A&M, they are just leeches. It is pointless to make special set-asides for minority students, if they don't respect the school. Diversity is an absurd concept. People will naturally associate with those with whom they feel most comfortable. That is fine, if blacks and other minorities don't wish to be apart of the school traditions, the law entitles them to do so, but it is pointless to spend millions to recruit them. There is no discernable benefit in diversifying populations if it is going to lead to the destruction of the traditions of these institutions. Let Tadesse go to TSU and someone who wants to be at A&M go there.

Full Story: Disrespecting A&M

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Is Iraq Finally On Its Way?

Committee signs Iraq's draft constitution
Sunday, August 28, 2005; Posted: 5:46 a.m. EDT (09:46 GMT

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi constitutional committee signed off on a draft of a constitution Sunday after making some minor amendments, a committee spokesman said.

The draft, which was signed by the committee, will now go to the National Assembly. The amendments were made in hopes of appeasing the Sunni Arab minority, although government spokesman Leith Kubba said not all Sunnis agreed.

President Talabani will announce the final draft of the constitution at a 2:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. EDT) press conference, his office announced.

It was hoped that Sunday would usher in the end of Iraq's prolonged constitution-drafting drama, as Shiite Arab negotiators now say they plan to go to voters in October with a new compromised draft even if they cannot reach agreement with their Sunni counterparts.

Sunni Arabs on Saturday pored over and debated a compromise Shiite-Kurdish proposal for the draft constitution, the latest development in the highly-charged political fight over the fine print and major legal thrusts in the country's future basic law.

The changes emerged after a week of painstaking negotiations among lawmakers trying to resolve outstanding differences in their talks, another 11th-hour effort to reach a wide-ranging consensus.

"We should hear any minute it's submitted to the assembly," Kubba told CNN.

Some Sunnis agreed to the amendments, he said, while others did not.

Is this a glimmer of hope? Sunni participation in this process would be wise to be sure. I hope they go ahead and approve it. With luck any inequities can be ameliorated later by the constitutional government.

Full Story: Iraqi Constitution

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Palestinian Suicide Bombers Opting for Palestinian Anihilation?

Palestinian suicide bomber strikes in Israel
Sun Aug 28, 2005 7:32 AM ET
By Dimitry Hodorkovsky

BEERSHEBA, Israel (Reuters) - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up, critically wounding two guards at an Israeli bus station on Sunday in the first such attack since the eviction of Jewish settlers from Gaza and part of the West Bank.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Beersheba, three days after troops killed five Palestinians in a raid on a militant hideout in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, drawing a vow of revenge from the Islamic Jihad group.

A police spokesman said nearly 50 people were treated at hospital, most of them for shock. The two guards, who chased the bomber, were critically hurt, the spokesman said.

The explosion, at the entrance to Beersheba's central bus station, followed a call by President Bush for the Palestinians to respond to last week's pullout from occupied Gaza by showing "they will fight terrorism."

Bush, who hopes the Gaza withdrawal will help revive a U.S.-backed peace "road map" envisaging a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel, stopped short of demanding President Mahmoud Abbas dismantle militant groups.

Abbas condemned the suicide bombing, calling it "a terrorist attack" in a statement issued by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. He described Israel's Tulkarm raid as a "provocation" and urged all sides to show restraint.

Palestinians better get their act together and stop this campaign of death. Israel has made an unprecedented concession by withdrawing from the Gaza settlements. If the Palestinians cannot control this activity, then Israel will be fully justified in wiping them out.

Full Story: Palestinian Bomber

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NAACP Opposes Photo-ID for Voters: Fear It May Prevent Fraudulent Voting

NAACP Prepares To Take Action Against Georgia Voting Law
Justice Dept. Approval of Photo ID Law Called a Step Backward

8/27/2005 6:33:00 PM

To: National Desk
Contact: NAACP Office of Communications, 410-580.5125

BALTIMORE, Md., Aug. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Bruce S. Gordon, president & CEO, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said today that the Justice Department approval of the controversial Georgia law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is "a disappointing decision by an agency that is supposed to protect voters" by enforcing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"By approving Georgia's onerous law requiring voters to present photo identification to vote, the Justice Department weakened one of this nation's most important voting laws," said Gordon. "If left unchallenged, many African Americans and other minorities in Georgia will find it difficult to cast their ballots. I will call on a coalition of civil rights groups to join us in challenging the Georgia law."

Julian Bond, chairman, NAACP National Board of Directors, said: "The 1965 Voting Rights Act required pre-clearance of Georgia's racially motivated voter restrictions, and the Justice Department sadly and wrongly refused to disapprove Georgia's limits on the franchise. Thankfully, the Act allows court challenges and these will surely follow."

Gee, Why should we try to identify who the voters are, lets have everyone vote 2 or three times. NAACP should be ashamed of themselves. Their opposition to photo ID requirements for voters is unconscionable. They know that voter fraud occurrs more on the Democrat side and they don't want a "fair" vote. They have long since ceased to be an advocacy group working for the full integration of blacks into our society, and now spend their time fomenting dissent so that they can maintain their power.

Full Story: NAACP Supports Fraud

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Rap Scene Still Province of Thugs and Criminals

Suge Knight Shot at Miami Beach Party
Aug 28 3:09 AM US/Eastern

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODYAssociated Press Writer
MIAMI BEACH, Fla.
Rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was shot in the leg early Sunday during a party hosted by Grammy-winning hip hop artist Kanye West, police said.

Knight, 40, was hospitalized in good condition, police said. He was shot during a celebrity-studded party at the Shore Club, one of the many celebrations in Miami Beach ahead of the MTV Video Music Awards scheduled Sunday night, said Miami Beach Police Officer Bobby Hernandez.

Sonja Mauro, a guest at the club, said a shot in the party's VIP section rang out shortly before 1 a.m.

"I was in there and I heard a pop and I ran out and got trampled," she said.
People attending the party began screaming and running for the doors, she said.
Knight co-founded the pioneering rap label Death Row Records and hit the charts in the 1990s with West Coast stars including Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.

It is time for our society to shut this crap down. If these thugs can't behave like civilized human beings, we need to treat them like the deserve to be treated. This continued acceptance of people like P. Diddy (a.k.a. Puff Daddy, a.k.a. Diddy) as mainstream artists must stop. They are not nice people, they are not decent people, they are a negative influence on our society and they need to be castigated. I am as against censorship as one can be, but these "artists" are trash and their work is trash and it needs to be thrown out, like trash.

Full Story: Suge Knight Shot

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Liberal Luddites Have Fought Nuclear Power With Considerable Success

Study Reveals Scepticism on Nuclear Power

The public is hostile towards the idea of building more nuclear power stations, a poll revealed this week.

A survey of 1,000 people by Populus found that 59 per cent are opposed to nuclear expansion despite fears that gas may need to be imported to meet future requirements. This antagonism is matched by a belief that renewable sources may be able to fill the energy gap in the next 20 years, the survey shows.

A total of 79 per cent of respondents felt that renewables must to be used as an alternative to imported energy. Most added that they do not trust politicians' views about nuclear power.

The research comes to light as rumours surface that the government wants to expand nuclear facilities to replace old reactors and coal-powered stations.

Copyright Haymarket Business Publications Ltd. Aug 12, 2005

It is really sad, how much ignorance guides public opinion with regards to technology. The Wacko Left fear mongers have done a great job of instilling fear of nuclear energy in the general public. As is usual, they have spun a web of lies and distortions designed to generate fear of a "China Syndrome" in every backyard. They dismiss the fact that with the exception of Chernobyl (which resulted from poor design), there have been no deaths due to nuclear accidents with the clever riposte, of "Yet!" "It only requires one!" A dishonest response to the fact that Western nuclear plants have a perfect safety record. Repeat, perfect record, no deaths, zero, zilch, nada, zippo, nary a one. It's the old "Yeah, but..." argument.

Original Post: Red Nova

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Shiites Prepared to Submit Charter Without Sunni Approval

Iraqi Shiites Vow To Submit Charter
By Jonathan Finer and Omar Fekeiki
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sat Aug 27, 1:00 AM ET

BAGHDAD, Aug. 27 -- As another midnight deadline to complete a draft constitution passed Friday without definitive agreement among Iraq's main factions, ruling Shiite Muslim parties said they would present a final version to the National Assembly this weekend with no further changes, even though it was rejected by several Sunni Arab leaders.

As some lawmakers said negotiations were continuing into the early hours of Saturday and others claimed an accord had been reached that many Sunnis would endorse, government spokesman Laith Kubba told al-Arabiya television that "consensus is almost impossible at this point."

"The draft should be put before the people," he said, referring to the nationwide referendum on the document that must be held by Oct. 15. Many Sunni Arab leaders have urged their followers to vote against the constitution, which can be rejected if two-thirds of the voters in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces oppose it.

The completed document will be presented to the National Assembly on Saturday or Sunday with or without Sunni backing, Humam Hamoudi, a Shiite who is chairman of the constitution-writing committee, told the Associated Press.

I guess we'll see how things are going to break here. Maybe the Sunni people will ignore their leaders and vote for the constitution (well, we conservatives do tend to be optimists).

Full Story: Shiites to Submit Charter

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Hope They Know What They're Doing Over There

U.S. frees 1,000 Iraqis
charter talks go on
By Michael Georgy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Saturday it had freed 1,000 detainees from Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison at the Baghdad government's request, in the largest release to date.

It was not clear if the decision was linked to a demand by Arab Sunnis opposed to a draft constitution that authorities release Sunni prisoners so they can participate in a referendum on the text and elections later this year.

"I know this is a big one, but I can't say if it is related to anything that is going on," said U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan.

Whether or not it was part of negotiations on the charter, the release is likely to ease concerns over the estimated 10,000 Iraqi prisoners held in U.S. detention centres in the country.

"This is a good move that we definitely welcome," said Hussein al-Falluji, one of 15 Sunnis on the panel drafting the constitution.

Parliament Speaker Hajem al-Hassani confirmed that a draft constitution with new proposals on disputed points such as federalism would be reviewed by Arab Sunnis and the chamber would receive a response on Sunday.

Sunnis are fiercely opposed to federalism, fearing it would give Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders dominating the government control over oil resources in northern and southern Iraq.

Hopefully this will help things on the constitution front. I think we need to moderate our reliance on this first "constitutional convention." I fear that Bush has invested too much of our political capital on this first attempt solving our problems in Iraq. This provides too much ammo for his opponents in the Democrat Party to suggest that the Iraq War is misguided.

Full Story: Abu Ghraib Release

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I Would Hate to See A Failure Here, but It May Be Necessary

Sunnis Urge Voters to Reject Constitution
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's head of parliament announced Saturday that Shiites and Kurds had agreed to Sunni Arab proposals for the new constitution and were awaiting a response. But Sunni negotiators said the changes fall short of their demands and urged voters to reject the draft in the Oct. 15 referendum.

Speaker Hajim al-Hassani, himself a Sunni, said the amended text, dealing with issues of federalism and former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, would be submitted Sunday to parliament. The legislature, overwhelmingly Shiite and Kurdish, may vote on it or simply refer it to the voters.

Al-Hassani's comments followed similar statements late Friday by Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers but were significant because he has final say in when the assembly will act.

His remarks indicated that negotiations on the new constitution had run their course. Barring a sudden change of mind by the Sunnis, the charter is likely to go to the voters over Sunni objections, setting the stage for a bitter political battle ahead of the referendum by supporters and opponents of the draft.

If the constitution clears parliament without Sunni blessing, it would be a blow to the Bush administration, which insisted all along that Sunni participation was critical to produce a document which was accepted by all communities.

Sunni Arabs are at the forefront of the insurgency and the Americans hoped the constitution would lure them away from the rebellion. But Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Mutlaq said the final draft fails to meet Sunni aspirations.

"We tell our people that we have fulfilled the duty that you asked us to do," al-Mutlaq told reporters Saturday. "We have sincerely done the job and now the matters are up to you. We want those who did not wake up until now to wake up. We want you to express your point of view but without violence" in the Oct. 15 referendum

The failure of this constitution would be a blow to Bush in the short run, but if it leads to a second election and a better constitution it might be worth it. It would probably be better for the Sunnis to go ahead vote in favor of this constitution for the same reason it would have been better for them to have participated in the first election. The chances are that if this constitution is passed without Sunni concurrence, they will be further alienate themselves.

Full Story: Iraq Constitution

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Iraqi Constitution: Time to Fish or Cut Bait

Iraq constitution talks go on, head for referendum
By Mariam Karouny Thu
Aug 25, 5:42 PM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi negotiators failed to agree a final draft of a constitution on Thursday after the government had insisted that they would and the parliament speaker said discussions could go on for some time yet.

However, if compromises could not be found to overcome the opposition of minority Sunni Arab and other groups, the text so far proposed by the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government would simply be put to the people at a mid-October referendum.

"Negotiations are still going on. Everybody was there," speaker Hajim al-Hassani told Reuters. "This is a good sign and we hope we will reach a result tomorrow night."

Asked at a news conference what would happen if there were no consensus after further negotiations, he said: "If we cannot reach an agreement, God forbid, the constitution will be put to the Iraqi people on October 15."

He made clear, however, that after an often confusing series of midnight deadlines over the past 10 days, he was not setting a particular time limit on those discussions. Nor was any parliamentary vote required to adopt the text put to the nation.

Some representatives of the once dominant Sunni Arab minority said they might challenge the legality of the process, urging a new election for an interim legislature to begin again the process of drafting a constitution from scratch.

But government and parliamentary officials indicated that they believed the requirements had been met of a U.S.-sponsored interim constitution, under which parliament "shall write the draft of the permanent constitution" by mid-August.

It may indeed be time to go ahead an hold another election, allowing the Sunis to vote this time. Yes, it is their fault that they didn't vote the first time but the time for blame is past. Better to move on and accomplish a good constitution with proper representation than try to make a silk purse out of this sow's ear.

Full Story: Iraqi Constitution

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Warner Whines About Base Closures

Warner: Defense Closures 'Rigged'
By Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post Staff Writer
Wed Aug 24, 1:00 AM ET

Virginia Sen. John W. Warner (R) said that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and a senior aide improperly manipulated the national base realignment plan announced earlier this year to compel the movement of more than 20,000 defense jobs away from the Washington area.

Two years before the Pentagon revealed its base closing plan May 13, in a stream of memos and internal records, top department officials were saying that "thinning of headquarters in the National Capital Region remains a[n] objective," according to Warner.

Raymond F. DuBois, Rumsfeld's principal aide for personnel and organizational planning, guided planners in an April 1, 2004, meeting: "The Secretary of Defense wants to reduce footprint and headcount in the [region] . . . -- Moving activities from the [region] is good but moving activities beyond the 100-mile radius of the Pentagon is better," according to minutes of his remarks cited by Warner.

Warner, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Defense Department acted improperly by singling out one area of the country for cutbacks. He added that he did not know the reasoning behind the 100-mile limit.

He said Rumsfeld's team used the base realignment process to achieve other goals, specifically, unrelated real estate management goals. Congress intended the base-closing procedures to focus on one issue: efficiency -- or, in Pentagon jargon, "military value."

"In simple terms, the military value model was rigged," Warner said, citing a final report in which Pentagon planners adopted criteria that prejudged all leased space as less desirable than owned buildings and the concentration of activities near Washington "as a negative."

DuBois said the Pentagon followed proper procedure in determining the Washington area closures. DuBois, now acting undersecretary of the Army, said Warner's arguments are "well-crafted" but leave out key points. "Decisions were made with respect to leased space in Northern Virginia consistent with military value as well as cost savings -- the two most important criteria," he said.

Well Gee-whiz John, how dare they decide that it is better to keep the bases that we own rather than the ones we are leasing. You aren't perchance one of our landlords are you? Oh I know that's a cheap shot, but you might as well be, you certainly are not as concerned about national security as you are pork for your state.

Full Story: Warner Whines

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The Final Frontier: Keeping a Perspective

Thinking Clearly About Space Part II: Everybody Wants Space
By Monte Davis
National Space Society
posted: 24 August 2005

Who can resist the poetry of Humanity’s Timeless Outward Urge? Space is the endless frontier, we say—it’s in our genes. It’s the next inevitable step in evolution. It’s our species-level insurance against global disasters. It’s the spread of life and intelligence from a pale blue dot to the 99.9…% of the cosmos that isn’t Earth. Throw the bone, cue the music, match dissolve to orbit: thank you, Mr. Kubrick.

It’s all profoundly moving. It may even turn out to be true. But it’s an obstacle to progress, if talk of Humanity persuades us that most actual human beings share our enthusiasm. (Or would, if only there were enough Leadership, enough Vision, enough space advocacy conferences). Zoom in from evolutionary time to the United States, 1965-2005. There’s a consistent pattern in polls throughout those years. If people are asked "Should the nation do X in space?" a majority often says yes. But when asked to rank government activities by spending priority, a larger majority puts space way down the list. They did so at the height of Apollo (roughly 4% of federal spending), and they do so today (at the less than 1% typical of the decades since).

A lot of energy goes into lamenting that, and arguing over what went wrong after Apollo. Try Occam’s razor instead: perhaps we enthusiasts are part of a majority in thinking new achievements in space are admirable, but a minority in the priority we put on achieving them with tax money. Try facing facts: the pace from Sputnik through Apollo was an exception, not the norm. It was enabled by military missile technology that had already done the hardest part of the engineering. It was funded in a unique Cold War period when everything the US and USSR did was part of a global contest. And Apollo itself was aimed at a specific "flags and footprints" victory within that contest. It was never meant to be a foundation for sustained expansion into space, no matter how much we wish otherwise.

This is a perspective of acceptance of things the way they actually are. It's hard when someone else tells you what you should already know and be saying. Just because I consider Space Exploration one of the most important endeavors of mankind, doesn't mean everyone else should or does. It doesn't ease my frustration, just keeps it in perspective. More and better science and math education is a must for this society and could help to change this but not necessarily. I guess I'll just have to wait for my next life to play Star Trek...sigh!

Full Story: Space Exploration

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MS-13 Gang Members Crossing Border in Increasing Numbers

Border's eyes focusing on bloody gang
U.S. lawmen say MS-13 members are trying to slip into Valley amid other immigrants

By JAMES PINKERTON
Aug. 26, 2005, 1:04AM
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Rio Grande Valley Bureau

ROMA - It was a crude and savage killing, as five "clients" of an immigrant smuggler allegedly beat the Mexican youth to death in the brushy thickets outside of town.

His clients, authorities say, were members of the infamous Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13, and were apparently angry at the 18-year-old smuggler for leaving behind a fellow gang member who had caused trouble.

The killing was in keeping with the violent reputation of the Central American street gang, whose members are known to be involved in various criminal enterprises.

"He was beaten to death with sticks and stones, and I'm not talking about little stones," said Marco Treviño, an assistant district attorney in Starr County. The prosecutor said two gang members are being held on murder charges related to the Aug. 10 attack and ''two or three" other gang members are being sought.

Across the Rio Grande Valley, local police are on the lookout for other MS-13 members, as Border Patrol agents report catching increasing numbers of gang members as they cross the river with other undocumented immigrants. Many are identified as MS-13 members because of large tattoos featuring gang initials in Gothic letters on their arms, hands, legs, chest and foreheads.

Federal agencies began a nationwide operation to round up MS-13 members and other gangs in March in response to a series of machete attacks in communities around Washington, D.C.

"Whenever we come in contact with illegals, we question them to see if they are gang members," said Sgt. Carlos Zamarron of the La Joya Police Department. He said the long-standing information about MS-13 members slipping across the Texas border with groups of undocumented workers has taken on new importance since the smuggler's death two weeks ago.

"We're very aware, and it's a big concern," Zamarron said.
It's time to drop the hammer on illegal immigration. Zero tolerance is a must. The mayor must change the Houston City's policy of not allowing the Houston Police to arrest or even determine the immigration status of those they encounter in the process of performing their jobs. For an American politician to listen more to illegals than to citizens of the city. Politicians are hired by the people to work for them, not for illegals.

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Pre-Kindergarten for Children: Whatever Happened to Playing?

POPULARITY OF PRE-K
Early education fast becoming the norm
But critics contend that poor children aren't getting enough chance to enroll
By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 26, 2005, 1:27AM

It's the hottest new trend among the 4-and-under set: Though state law does not require any school before the first grade, the number of children attending prekindergarten in Harris County has increased by nearly 50 percent over the past five years.

The numbers reflect a growing national interest in early education as a way to prepare children for the classroom.

"I think in the next few years it's just going to become a societal norm that all children attend pre-K," said Mechiel Rozas, principal at Gabriela Mistral Early Childhood Center, one of two pre-kindergarten schools opened this year by the Houston Independent School District.

Area districts like Cypress-Fairbanks, Pasadena, Spring and Spring Branch have also vastly expanded their pre-K programs in recent years.

Even as more districts create pre-K programs, critics worry that disadvantaged children are not being enrolled. According to the National Institute for Early Education, research has found that children who attend preschool are less likely to be held back or require special education, are more likely to graduate from high school, not become involved in crime or become dependent on welfare.

From that last paragraph, seems there are no negatives to this, but I really have to question these studies. We didn't have anything of the sort in the fifties, except maybe for Vacation Bible School. I wonder how we managed to survive. I have to believe that we have turned a corner which is unalterably leading us to the destruction of the family. If Americans don't turn their backs on crass consumerism and materialism, settle for less in the beginning and raise their kids with a stay at home mom, we are going to destroy our kids. When they are spending more of their waking hours with a stranger than they are with their parents, they will be more insecure, less attached to their families, and have more emotional problems.

Full Story: Pre-K for Kids

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DeLay Campaigning in New Enlarged District

DeLay dances across district to woo voters
Ethics probe, upcoming race keep him close to home over break
By SAMANTHA LEVINE
Aug. 26, 2005, 1:21AM
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Tom DeLay at a senior citizens' sock hop that featured a DJ dressed as Elvis? You betcha.

And he wasn't roped into attending, either.

His office called the Sugar Land Parks & Recreation Department and said the House majority leader wanted to attend the event at the Sugar Land Community Center earlier this month.

"I was a little shocked," said officer Todd Zettlemoyer of the Sugar Land Police Department, which helped organize the dance as part of a neighborhood crime-awareness program.

"This was the first year that we had the congressman there," he said. "He no sooner walked in the door than he had a crowd around him."

That was the whole point.

In recent weeks, DeLay has worked his constituency harder than he has in years. He popped up at more than 20 local gigs, from speeches to the La Marque Rotary Club and the Texas Chiropractic College in Pasadena to high-profile ceremonies at NASA and Ellington Field.

On one day alone, DeLay held an ice cream social in Pearland, a barbecue luncheon in Sugar Land and an hors d'oeuvres hour in Pasadena.

All that pavement-pounding is critical for the Sugar Land Republican: His rock-solid majority has been diluted by the addition of Democratic-leaning areas in Galveston County to his district, his overseas travel may soon be the subject of a House Ethics Committee inquiry, and he faces opposition next year from a well-funded Democrat.

One would think that DeLay was doing something wrong by campaigning. This is a target district for the Democrats because they think that the ethics probe is going to damage him. News for Democrats, you reap what you sow. The Democrats are going to back off of DeLay's ethics probe because more of them have done worse things than he has, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who paid a $10,000 penalty for her violation.

Full Story: DeLay Fund Raising

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In Contrast, These Crosses Are Being Used FOR Political Gain

Families Angered by Crosses at War Protest
by ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Aug 24, 4:16 AM ET

CRAWFORD, Texas - Nearly 600 white wooden crosses in perfectly straight rows stretch down the narrow road leading to President Bush's ranch, a sea of names in the grassy ditch. Lt. Seth Dvorin. Sgt. David W. Johnson. Daniel Torres. Casey Sheehan.

Hundreds of anti-war demonstrators have spent time at the memorial the past two weeks, pausing to wipe away tears or place an American flag by a cross as they walk slowly down the road.

To some relatives of the fallen U.S. soldiers, however, it isn't a tribute to heroes but a political statement by liberal groups with whom they disagree.

Sherry Orlando, a spokeswoman at Fort Campbell, Ky., said she doesn't want her husband, who was killed in Iraq in 2003, to be used "for someone's political agenda."

"Being in the military ... was who he was. It wasn't just a job. He supported what he did and I support that as well," she said.

The crosses were erected two weeks ago by Veterans for Peace as part of the war protest that began Aug. 6 outside Bush's ranch by grieving mother and peace activist Cindy Sheehan. She vows to continue the vigil until Bush talks to her or his monthlong vacation ends

There is reason to take offense at these crosses which do dishonor the soldiers they purportedly represent. Talk about a political agenda.

Full Story: Crawford Crosses

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Headstones "Offend" Relatives of Iraq War Casualties

Troops' Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans
By DAVID PACE
Associated Press Writer

ARLINGTON, Va. - Unlike earlier wars, nearly all Arlington National Cemetery gravestones for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are inscribed with the slogan-like operation names the Pentagon selected to promote public support for the conflicts.

Families of fallen soldiers and Marines are being told they have the option to have the government-furnished headstones engraved with "Operation Enduring Freedom" or "Operation Iraqi Freedom" at no extra charge, whether they are buried in Arlington or elsewhere. A mock-up shown to many families includes the operation names.

The vast majority of military gravestones from other eras are inscribed with just the basic, required information: name, rank, military branch, date of death and, if applicable, the war and foreign country in which the person served.

Families are supposed to have final approval over what goes on the tombstones. That hasn't always happened.

Nadia and Robert McCaffrey, whose son Patrick was killed in Iraq in June 2004, said "Operation Iraqi Freedom" ended up on his government-supplied headstone in Oceanside, Calif., without family approval.

"I was a little taken aback," Robert McCaffrey said, describing his reaction when he first saw the operation name on Patrick's tombstone. "They certainly didn't ask my wife; they didn't ask me." He said Patrick's widow told him she had not been asked either.

"In one way, I feel it's taking advantage to a small degree," McCaffrey said. "Patrick did not want to be there, that is a definite fact."

The owner of the company that has been making gravestones for Arlington and other national cemeteries for nearly two decades is uncomfortable, too.

"It just seems a little brazen that that's put on stones," said Jeff Martell, owner of Granite Industries of Vermont. "It seems like it might be connected to politics."

Can you say, "Give me a break!" There is no stone that Liberals will leave unturned in an effort to find offense. Those evil Pentagon people are putting the names of the campaigns in which these heroes were killed; a tribute to their service.

Full Story: Gravestone Slogans

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Cindy Sheehan, You Do Not Speak for Most Americans

Bush supporters clash with anti-war activists
Pro-Bush activists rally in Calif. hometown of mother who began Texas vigil
Updated: 7:12 a.m. ET Aug. 23, 2005

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Supporters of President Bush clashed with anti-war activists as they wound their way through California after rallying in the hometown of Cindy Sheehan, the mother who started a protest camp outside Bush’s Texas ranch.

Conservative activists and military families embarked on the tour Monday, calling it “You don’t speak for me, Cindy!” A verbal confrontation erupted when the caravan arrived in Sacramento and was met by anti-war protesters chanting for Bush to bring home the troops.

Sheehan supporter Dan Elliott, 71, confronted caravan members by waving a sign reading “Death is not support” and heckling one of the tour’s organizers as she addressed the crowd.

...The worm is turning. We who support the President are beginning to respond to this continual anti-America drone from the un-Patriotic Left. You cannot "support the troops but not the mission." The two are irreconcilable. Every protest against the war is a voice in support of our enemies. If you undermine our mission, you undermine the morale of the troops.

Full Story: Counter Protests Begin

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Bush Mildly Chastises the Sheehan Movement, He's Just too Much of a Nice Guy

Bush: Sheehan strategy would weaken U.S.
Activist ‘doesn’t represent the view of a lot of families,’ he says
Updated: 8:27 p.m. ET Aug. 23, 2005

DONNELLY, Idaho - President Bush charged Tuesday that anti-war protesters like Cindy Sheehan who want troops brought home immediately do not represent the views of most U.S. military families and are “advocating a policy that would weaken the United States.”

In remarks outside the resort where he is vacationing, Bush gave no indication that he would change his mind and meet with Sheehan after he returns to his Texas ranch Wednesday evening. Sheehan lost a son in Iraq and has emerged as a harsh critic of the war.

Sheehan began a vigil outside Bush’s ranch, a demonstration that has been joined by more and more other anti-war protesters.

Bush said that two high-ranking members of his staff already met with her earlier this month and that he met with her last year.

“I’ve met with a lot of families,” Bush said. “She doesn’t represent the view of a lot of families I have met with.”

The president said he strongly supports Sheehan's right to protest. “She expressed her opinion. I disagree with it,” Bush said.

“I think immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake,” he said. “I think those who advocate immediate withdrawal from not only Iraq but the Middle East are advocating a policy that would weaken the United States.”

The President is too nice to blast those on the Left in the manner they deserve. What the Left is advocating is the defeat of America. Pure and simple, what they are preaching is treason. I'm not sure that President Bush will ever go after the Liberals in the manner they deserve. I guess I can live with that because President Bush is firm in his resolve to pursue this war to victory. But I can always wish...

Full Story: President Responds

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Bush Administration Moving in the Right Direction, but Not Enough

Homeland Security Chief Tells of Plan to Stabilize Border
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: August 24, 2005

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 -Acknowledging public frustration over illegal immigrants, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday that the federal government's border control efforts must be significantly strengthened.

"We have decided to stand back and take a look at how we address the problem and solve it once and for all," Mr. Chertoff said at a breakfast meeting with reporters. "The American public is rightly distressed about a situation in which they feel we do not have the proper control over our borders."

The unusually blunt assessment by the nation's top immigration official follows border-related emergency declarations by the governors of New Mexico and Arizona, who cited a surge in smuggling and violence associated with a steady flow of illegal immigrants.

The strategy that Mr. Chertoff said his department was preparing goes far beyond hiring more Border Patrol agents and installing more surveillance cameras, infrared and motion detectors, and fences, initiatives that are already planned or under way.

A small step forward. but clearly not nearly enough. I'm still not sure that they fully understand how unhappy we are out here. President Bush and the Republicans need to understand that we are really POed about this and we don't care if the Republicans lose the Hispanic vote. We care about our security and the integrity of our national borders. That's it, no more, no less.

Full Story: Chertoff on Illegals

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On the Otherhand...No Confidence Builder Here...

Big Dig closures hit drivers at night
Early shutdowns disrupt motorists, jam streets
By Connie Paige and Sean P. Murphy
Globe Correspondent and Globe Staff
August 21, 2005

Portions of the Big Dig regularly shut down to nighttime traffic earlier than the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority advertises, confusing some motorists and lengthening the traffic jams that now frequently tie up the city late at night, a Boston Globe review has found.

During a four-week period in July and August, a Globe correspondent drove the length of the Big Dig tunnels and nearby detours at night, monitoring closing times of some of the key ramps to and from Interstate 93 and the Mass. Pike in the downtown area. The reporter found that of 137 scheduled ramp closures, 51 of the shutdowns occurred earlier than scheduled.

On average, those early shutdowns occurred 33 minutes before the scheduled time, but some were longer. On July 19, access from Atlantic Avenue in downtown Boston to Interstate 93 northbound was closed off at least an hour and a half earlier than scheduled.

Several of the observed entrances to the Big Dig adhered closely to the advertised schedule, the Globe review found. They include onramps at Congress Street and at Essex Street to southbound I-93. Both consistently closed at or about the advertised time. The Haymarket onramp, near Faneuil Hall, regularly closed later than the posted time.

Still, commuters say the early shutdowns of the key entrance points to I-93 and Interstate 90 -- the major thoroughfares in and out of Boston -- complicate and extend their trips.

Big Dig was begun in 1983 with an estimated cost of $2.2 Billion to be completed in 1995. Currently, the cost is estimated at $14.6 Billion and projected to be finished this year. It runs 7.5 miles, half of what is being proposed in Houston. Is anyone out there as concerned about this as I am? Does this sound insane?

Full Story: Boston's Big Dig

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Can You Say "Big Dig?" Boston's Was a Nightmare

Engineer still wants an I-45 tunnel
Citizens group says plan addresses issues of flooding and air quality
By PATRICK KURP
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 21, 2005, 10:22PM

Gonzalo Camacho remains convinced that running 14.5 miles of Interstate 45 under the ground would cost less, be built faster, displace fewer people and businesses, and create less air pollution than any conventional, above-ground road design.

"It's a no-brainer. It would be a large error that would be with us for a long time if the elected officials didn't get behind the tunnel idea," said Camacho, a transportation engineer and the most public proponent of making Houston home to the longest tunnel in the United States.

Camacho raised the idea in a public meeting in April and since has met with Texas Department of Transportation officials, the city's planning commission and community groups.

'Improved mobility' is goal

TxDOT has neither endorsed nor rejected consideration of a tunnel. Its recently completed I-45 study phase addressed only general topics, said spokeswoman Janelle Gbur. The preliminary conclusions called for adding four lanes to the stretch of I-45 between Sam Houston Tollway and downtown, though it did not specify truck lanes, toll lanes or additional HOV lanes.

I don't know enough about this proposal to comment intelligently except to say that Boston's "Big Dig" project was a nightmare with huge cost overruns over budget and late is not a big recommendation for me. I guess more will be revealed.

Full Story: Houston Tunnel?

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Once Again Proving the Lie of Those Who Would Destroy Life to Save It

Embryonic stem cells created from skin
Breakthrough could reshape ethical, religious debate on issue
By RICK WEISS, Washington Post
Aug. 22, 2005, 1:47AM

WASHINGTON - Scientists for the first time have turned ordinary skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells — without having to use human eggs or make new human embryos in the process, as has always been required in the past, a Harvard research team announced Sunday.

The technique uses laboratory-grown human embryonic stem cells — such as the ones that President Bush has already approved for use by federally funded researchers — to "reprogram" the genes in a person's skin cell, turning that skin cell into an embryonic stem cell itself.

The approach, which is to be published this week in the journal Science but was made public on its Web site, is still in an early stage of development. But if further studies confirm its usefulness, it could offer an end run around the heated social and religious debate that has for years overshadowed the field of human embryonic stem-cell research.

Should this prove out, it would completely eliminate the need for the destruction of embryos. I have always said that it is wrong to destroy life to preserve it. This once again proves that fact. The Leftists at NARAL and Planned Parenthood must really hate this developement as it prevents the destruction of an embryo.

Full Story: Embryonic-clone Stem-cells

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New Einstein Manuscript Found

Original Einstein Manuscript Discovered

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The original manuscript of a paper Albert Einstein published in 1925 has been found in the archives of Leiden University's Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, scholars said Saturday.

The German-language manuscript is titled "Quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas," and is dated December 1924. Considered one of Einstein's last great breakthroughs, it was published in the proceedings of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in January, 1925.

High-resolution photographs of the 16-page manuscript and an account of its discovery were posted on the institute's Web site.

"It was quite exciting" when a student working on his master's thesis uncovered the delicate manuscript written in Einstein's distinctive scrawl, said professor Carlo Beenakker. "You can even see Einstein's fingerprints in some places, and it's full of notes and markups from his editor."

"We're going to keep it as a reminder of his visits here, which is quite a fond memory for us."

Some of these archives must still have a bunch of forgotten or missing manuscripts.

Full Story: Einstein Manuscript

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Iran Whines About Scutiny of Nuclear Plans

Ahmadinejad Criticizes European Nations
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
Sun Aug 21, 6:29 AM ET

TEHRAN, Iran Iran's hard-line president on Sunday criticized nations that have economic ties with Tehran but oppose its nuclear program, in an apparent reference to European countries pressuring Iran to freeze parts of its atomic program.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments, made in Iran's parliament, came before lawmakers began a debate expected to last until Thursday on the new president's nominees to fill his first Cabinet.

The nominees include avid proponents of broadening Iran's nuclear program — a step bound to ensure continued friction with the United States. Iran's parliament is dominated by Ahmadinejad's supporters and is expected to approve his candidates.

Ahmadinejad didn't name the trade partners opposing Iran's nuclear program, but was apparently referring Britain, France and Germany, which referred Tehran to the United Nations' nuclear watchdog after it resumed various uranium processing activities last week.

The three countries are Iran's main European trading partners and have been leading U.S.-backed European Union efforts to persuade Iran to permanently freeze parts of its nuclear program, including uranium enrichment.

"They expect to intervene in Iran's domestic affairs and make Iran silent about important regional and international issues," the Iranian president said in a speech broadcast live on state-run TV. "They want Iran to follow international order and norm while they accuse Iran in international bodies."

"What kind of balance is this? This is cruel and unfair. Our nation will not tolerate such behavior on the international scene," he added.

Those poor, misunderstood, people. All they want is their fair share of nuclear weapons. It's hard to understand why anyone would be against Iran having nuclear weapons, I mean afterall, they are such a peaceful non-interventionist nation. Sheesh! It needs to be perfectly clear to them that we will not tolerate a nuclear Iran under any circumstances.

Full Story: Iran Squeaks in Protest

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Finally President Bush is Responding to the Lies.

Bush invokes Sept 11 to defend Iraq war
By Tabassum Zakaria Sat Aug 20, 4:10 PM ET
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters)

President George W. Bush launched a counter-offensive against growing public discontent over Iraq on Saturday, when he defended the war as a way of protecting Americans from another September 11 attack, a message he will reinforce when he takes to the road next week.

"Our troops know that they're fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans from a savage enemy," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

"They know that if we do not confront these evil men abroad, we will have to face them one day in our own cities and streets, and they know that the safety and security of every American is at stake in this war," he said.

Bush next week will speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Utah, and meet with members of the Idaho National Guard and the Mountain Home Air Force Base, which played a leading role in the air bombing campaign in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.

The public is showing more discontent with Bush's handling of Iraq, with high-profile protests during his ranch vacation and new poll results showing nearly six in 10 Americans are worrying about the outcome of the war.

"They're trying to get the public's attention again and remind them of the arguments that once worked with the public," Larry Sabato, director of the center for politics at the University of Virginia, said.

Asked whether the United States was meeting its objectives in Iraq, 56 percent of those polled said it was not and 39 percent said it was. The poll is to be published in next month's issue of Foreign Affairs, the journal of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, became a symbol for anti-war protesters after camping near Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch, while he is on vacation, urging the president to bring U.S. troops home.

Shame on you George Bush for attempting to break through the clamour of the Main Stream Media to tell the truth about the Iraq War. How dare you contradict the constant blather coming from the "loyal and patriotic" MSM puppets of the Democrat party. I am tired of the Republicans remaining quiet in the face of this contiuous drone of defeatism and failure coming from the Liberals. I hope that the President is really going on the offensive about this stuff.

Full Story: Bush Speaks Out

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The Reality of War Finally Being Discussed

Army Planning for Four More Years in Iraq
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - The Army is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq — well over 100,000 — for four more years, the Army's top general said Saturday.

In an Associated Press interview, Gen. Peter Schoomaker said the Army is prepared for the "worst case" in terms of the required level of troops in Iraq. He said the number could be adjusted lower if called for by slowing the force rotation or by shortening tours for soldiers.

Schoomaker said commanders in Iraq and others who are in the chain of command will decide how many troops will be needed next year and beyond. His responsibility is to provide them, trained and equipped.

About 138,000 U.S. troops, including about 25,000 Marines, are now in Iraq.

"We are now into '07-'09 in our planning," Schoomaker said, having completed work on the set of combat and support units that will be rotated into Iraq over the coming year for 12-month tours of duty.

Schoomaker's comments come amid indications from Bush administration officials and commanders in Iraq that the size of the U.S. force may be scaled back next year if certain conditions are achieved.

Among those conditions: an Iraqi constitution must be drafted in coming days; it must be approved in a national referendum; and elections must be held for a new government under that charter.

When all of this started those of us who were paying attention knew this was more than a little probable. I never saw this war as a two year outing, and neither did President Bush. He made it clear from the beginning that this would be a long campaign. It's time to face the liklihood that we will be in Iraq for the foreseable future.

Full Story: Troops to Stay?

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Did Yahoo News Jump the Gun a Little Bit On This?

Sen. Reid Biography
By The Associated Press
Fri Aug 19, 8:19 PM ET

NAME — Harry Reid.

AGE-BIRTH DATE — 65; Dec. 2, 1939.

EDUCATION — B.A., Utah State University, 1961; J.D., George Washington University, 1964.

EXPERIENCE — Lieutenant governor of Nevada, 1971-1975; chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, 1977-1981; congressman from Nevada, 1983-87; senator from Nevada, 1987-present; Senate Democratic whip, 1999-2004; Senate Democratic leader, 2005-present.

FAMILY — Wife, Landra Joy Gould; five children, 15 grandchildren.

QUOTE — "My senators who support me know who I am. No one has to guess where I stand on issues."

Looks like a whoops to me. They normally don't run these biography bits unless someone dies. I think Yahoo might have been a little early with this.

Original Article: Whoops!

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Leftist Bias in the Press Alive and Well: Ohio's Bob Taft Convicted of [GASP!] Golfing

Ohio GOP Reeling With Governor Conviction
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Writer
Fri Aug 19,10:58 PM ET

GROVE CITY, Ohio - In November, Ohio was at the center of the national political stage, delivering the White House to President Bush.

Eight months later, the state's Republican Party is reeling: its leader convicted of ethics violations; a narrow win in a gimmie congressional district; an investment scandal that won't go away.

The troubles play out as the casualty rate climbs from the war in Iraq and the state economy remains stuck in a slump. The war could hurt Bush's standing in Ohio, mirroring a decline in his popularity nationally. His overall job approval was at 42 percent in a recent poll, with just 38 percent approving of his handling of Iraq.

Diane McCune, who lives in this solidly GOP Columbus suburb, bucked her Democratic roots twice and voted for President Bush, but now she's having second thoughts.

"I'm not feeling so good," McCune said. "I think we maybe made a mistake putting him in there."

As for Ohio's Gov. Bob Taft, convicted Thursday for not reporting that he was treated to dozens of golf outings, the 50-year-old teacher's aide shook her head. "Taft, I feel, has kind of made a joke out of all of us."

Off with his head! What heinous behavior, golfing for free. There is no room on this planet for a man who has the audacity to accept free golfing outings. The real joke Diane is that your reacting to this like he committed murder. Okay, I see the ethics violations and he needs to pay the piper, but reading this article is like a step into the twilight zone. I'm afraid that I detect a little bit of bias in this report...imagine that, a reporter biased against the Republicans...who'd of thunk it?

Full Story: Evil Golfer

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Judge Roberts: The More I know of Him the More I Like Him

Roberts Scoffed at O'Connor Promotion
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 20,10:05 AM ET

WASHINGTON - As a lawyer in the Reagan White House, John Roberts scoffed at the notion of elevating Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to chief justice as a way to close a political gender gap, calling it a "crass political consideration."

On another topic, Roberts, who was nominated as a justice by President Bush last month, advised the White House to strike language from a description of a housing bill that referred to the "fundamental right to be free from discrimination." He said that "there of course is no such right."

More than 38,000 pages of documents released this week by the National Archives offer new details that portray Roberts as embracing the conservative philosophy of the Reagan administration.

Some Democrats and liberal interest groups called anew on Friday for the release of more documents that might shed light on Roberts' views. His confirmation hearings are to begin Sept. 6.

"Many of the documents made it clear that as a junior official in the Reagan administration, he was part of an intense effort to impede progress on numerous key issues, such as progress on equal rights for women," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a member of the Judiciary Committee that will consider Roberts' nomination.

Added Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.: "The question before the Senate is whether this is the person who should replace the first female justice of the Supreme Court."

Looks like to me that he was just telling the truth. O'Connor wasn't the best for the job and she proved that innumerable times in her decisions. She was about as activist a judge as there was on the Court. I always believed that the O'Connor appointment was a crass political move, and a bad one. I like the honesty Roberts demonstrated here.

Full Story: Robert/O'Connor

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Reid Has TIA: Maybe If He Wasn't So Hateful This Wouldn't Happen

Senate Democratic leader Reid has mild stroke
Saturday, August 20, 2005;
Posted: 7:09 p.m. EDT (23:09 GMT)
(CNN) -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid suffered a mild stroke earlier this week and underwent tests, but he was not hospitalized and "feels fine," his office said Friday.

The Nevada Democrat experienced lightheadedness Tuesday evening and was diagnosed with having a transient ischemic attack after seeking medical attention, his office said in a statement.

Reid, 65, was in Searchlight, Nevada. his hometown, when the episode occurred, The Associated Press reported.

"Senator Reid feels fine. There are no complications or any restrictions on this activities," the statement said. "His doctors have recommended that he take advantage of the summer congressional recess for some down time."

As a Christian, I must and will pray for a speedy recovery. As one of those who supports and voted for the "loser" President George Bush, I can honestly state that I do not believe that Harry Reid is either a nice or good man. I believe him to be a hateful liar who is bent on regaining control of the Congress at any cost and by any means, fair or foul. He should have been censured at a minimum for waving the confidential FBI file of Judge Henry Saad. That was the lowest form of character assassination.

Full Story: Harry Reid

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An Wild Encounter, No Thanks

Boy Survives Bump From Killer Whale
Thu Aug 18, 7:14 PM ET

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP)- Whale researchers say it was highly unusual for a killer whale to bump a 12-year-old boy splashing in shallow water near Ketchikan.

Ellis Miller found himself face-to-face with an orca charging at him in 4 feet of water Saturday in Helm Bay. The animal, estimated to be more than 25 feet long, bumped but did not bite him.

"I looked underwater and there was this huge head right in front of me," Ellis told the Ketchikan Daily News.

Biologists said whale may have been curious or it may have aborted an attack.

"If it had wanted to take him, it would have," said Gary Freitag, volunteer coordinator with the National Marine Fisheries Service's Marine Mammal Stranded Network.

This is an amazing tale, a must read! What more can I say?

Full Story: Killer Whale Attack?

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Is This Possible? A Court Adhering to the Law?

Armed Forces Medical Plan Limits Abortions

By DAVID KRAVETS, AP Legal Affairs Writer
Fri Aug 19, 2:01 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that U.S. armed forces medical benefits should cover abortion costs only when a mother's life is at risk, a decision that the judges acknowledged was "callous and unfeeling."

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came in the case of a Navy sailor's wife whose fetus had a fatal birth defect. She had an abortion five months into her pregnancy, but coverage for the procedure was denied.

She filed a lawsuit claiming an armed forces health plan owed her $3,000 for the procedure. The government argued that refusing to cover such services "furthers the government's interest in protecting human life in general and promoting respect for life."

In Thursday's 3-0 ruling, judges said they were not judging the "wisdom, fairness or logic" of congressional legislation that limited abortions under military medical plans.

I didn't think the 9th Circuit believed in the law at all. I thought that any ruling that would be considered "callous and unfeeling" would result in law by judicial fiat. Have aliens taken over the 9th Circuit?

Full Story: 9th Circuit on Abortion

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What, We Are Supposed to Keep Quiet About These Killings

U.S. envoy, high-society pal of Bush, riles Mexico

Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:34 PM ET
By Alistair Bell

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - He married Mexico's richest woman, is an old pal of President Bush and now Washington's envoy south of the Rio Grande is stirring up controversy in a dispute over crime and immigration on the U.S.-Mexican border.

U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza upset Mexico this week by boasting he had shut a consular office in a border city to "punish" the country for failing to halt a drug war there.

It was the latest in a series of run-ins with Mexico's government that have earned Garza a reputation as a bully who, despite his Hispanic roots, largely disregards Mexican sensibilities about its powerful northern neighbor.

A senior Mexican Foreign Ministry official rebuked Garza's comments as "frankly, unfortunate," but the State Department in Washington defended him on Thursday.

"Secretary (Condoleezza) Rice thinks that Ambassador Garza is a fine ambassador and the right person for the job," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a briefing.

-----------------------SNIP-----------------

Garza said in a speech in Denver on Tuesday that his decision to close the U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo for a week was punishment for Mexico's failure to halt the drug war.

"Some have said that I ordered the shutdown to punish the Mexican government for its failure to control violence in the region. And in a sense that's true," he said.

The comment was seen as a deliberate effort to rile Mexico, which still smarts from the loss of half its territory to the United States in a 19th century war.

It is far past time for us to hold the Mexican government responsible for the corruption and mayhem taking place on the border. They are worse than negligent on these issues, just as they are worse than negligent on illegal immigration. I recall that they had their troops on the border telling the illegals where to cross the border to avoid the "Minute Man" volunteers.

Full Story: Garza Riles Mexico

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Well, There's Hope for Him Yet

Roberts ripped anti-sex discrimination efforts
Supreme Court nominee made comments while working for Reagan in ’83

Updated: 7:14 p.m. ET Aug. 18, 2005
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts disparaged state efforts to combat discrimination against women in Reagan-era documents made public Thursday, and wondered whether “encouraging homemakers to become lawyers contributes to the common good.”

A young White House lawyer at the time, Roberts also criticized a crime-fighting proposal by Sen. Arlen Specter as “the epitome of the ‘throw money at the problem”’ approach.

Specter, R-Pa., then a first-term senator, is now chairman of the Judiciary Committee and will preside at Roberts’ confirmation hearings, scheduled to begin Sept. 6.

--------------------------SNIP--------------------------

‘Anti-capitalist notion’
He referred to a “staggeringly pernicious law codifying the anti-capitalist notion of ‘comparable worth,’ (as opposed to market value) pay scales.”

Advocates of comparable worth argued that women were victims of discrimination because they were paid less than men working in other jobs that the state had decided were worth the same.

In yet a third case, Roberts said a Florida section “cites a (presumably unconstitutional) proposal to charge women less tuition at state schools, because they have less earning potential...”

Now if he would go after all of those Title Nine decisions which are destroying the less popular sports. Too many schools have been forced to drop programs for sports like wrestling and fencing because of the excessively broad interpretation of Title Nine by federal regulators.

Full Story: Roberts

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And Another Mom Speaks Out...Are You Listening Cindy?

Mother of fallen SEAL says she still supports the war
By SCOTT BROOKS
Union Leader Staff

Natalie Healy made a decision this summer after losing her son in war-torn Afghanistan.

"I can't go to those mountains and climb them and I can't shoot a gun," she said. "But I can do everything I can to make sure we stay the course, and if that means speaking out, then that's what I want to do."

Less than two months after the death of her son, Navy SEAL Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Healy, the Exeter mother and small business owner is following through on her word.

Healy is making her feelings known in response to the nation's interest in a California mother who has camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch to protest the war in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan's 24-year-old son was killed in Iraq last year.

I guess maybe Cindy Sheehan is isolating herself from other mothers who are proud of their sons and daughters in service. Once again, she is just a hater and deserves no sympathy.

Full Story: Another Mom Speaks

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Texas Lawmakers Bilking Taxpayers of Millions in Unattended Session

THE LEGISLATURE
Lawmakers are scarce as session limps to end
By JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Lawmakers are few and far between in the waning days of this summer's second special session on school finance. Some have gone to a national legislative conference in Seattle and others have just gone.

At the Capitol or not, they can keep collecting $128 per day.
Meanwhile the speaker and lieutenant governor go through the motions of gaveling in each day's session and then quickly adjourning to answer questions from a pack of reporters who mainly want to know "Why are we still here?"

House Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, both deflected inquiries Wednesday about why they don't just call for final adjournment instead of waiting around for the session's official end Friday.

"I was the one who thought we ought to adjourn earlier and no one else wanted to do that so we'll just stay for the 30-day period," said Craddick, who said two weeks ago that lawmakers were wasting their time trying to work out deep differences between the two chambers on how Texas should pay for its public schools.

This is inexcusable. Why are we still apying these people when they are not performing their jobs? We ought to vote the entire bunch out of office for this, or perhaps even better, start a grass roots movement to cut their pay. Any takers out there?

Full Story: Bilking Texans

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Not Very Reassuring: ABA Gives Roberts "Well Qualified"

U.S. lawyers group gives Roberts highest rating
Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:11 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The American Bar Association on Wednesday gave U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts its highest rating when it unanimously labeled him "well qualified" for the job.

The 15-member ABA committee that evaluated Roberts suitability for a seat on the highest court came as some Senate Democrats stepped up their criticisms of President George W. Bush's choice to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it was "regrettable" the ABA did not review Roberts' documents that have been provided to the Senate.

Leahy on Tuesday said that documents detailing the judge's past work "paint a picture of John Roberts as an eager and aggressive advocate of policies that are deeply tinged with the ideology of the far right wing of his party then and now."

The Liberals have now abandoned any pretense of reviewing judicial temperment or qualifications in favor of an ideological witch-hunt. I blame Republicans for allowing nomination hearings to deteriorate to this degree beginning with the Bork hearings. Of course with all of the RINOs (Specter, Chafee, Snowe, Collins, McCain, and their ilk), the job of conservative Republicans is immeasurably more difficult.

Full Story: Roberts Nomination

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Another Voice Against Cindy's Campaign of Hate

‘Honor me in this way’
Marine’s mother tells mourners he would want the war in Iraq supported
Updated: 11:46 p.m. ET Aug. 17, 2005

WEST CHESTER, Ohio - The mother of a Marine killed in Iraq urged mourners Wednesday not to let their anger and sadness turn them against the U.S. fight in Iraq.

“Honor me in this way,” Kathy Dyer said during a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale.

At the funeral at Tri-County Baptist Church, Kathy Dyer delivered what she believed would have been her son’s own message: “It has been with the greatest pride I have served ... fighting to preserve freedom.”

She said he would want mourners to continue supporting the troops in the war against terrorism.

Dyer and eight other Marines from Columbus-based Lima Company were among 14 killed Aug. 3 in the deadliest roadside bombing of U.S. troops in Iraq. The company is part of the Cleveland-based 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, which has been hit hard by attacks that have killed 16 members in recent weeks.

A completely different take on the war in Iraq from the mother of a slain Marine. Stand down Cindy Sheehan, you do not represent all mothers of the heroes in Iraq. Here's a mother who is proud of her son's service. God bless you kathy Dyer.

Full Story: Support Troops

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9-11 Commission Was a Clinton Failures Cover-up

Officer: 9/11 panel didn’t pursue Atta claim
Commission didn't receive many ‘Able Danger’ documents, he says

Updated: 5:54 p.m. ET Aug. 17, 2005
WASHINGTON - An Army intelligence officer said Wednesday he told staff members from the Sept. 11 commission that a secret military unit had identified two of the three cells involved in the 2001 terrorist strikes more than a year before the attacks.

Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, who said he was associated with the “Able Danger” unit, said that during a 2003 meeting in Afghanistan, he mentioned that the unit had identified Sept. 11 ringleader Mohamed Atta along with three other hijackers as terrorist suspects.
The commission has denied that Atta’s name or the name of any future hijackers were mentioned during the meeting.

Three months later, in January 2004, Shaffer said he was back in the United States and offered to follow up with the commission, but his offer was declined.
“I just walked away shocked that they would kind of change their mind, but I figured someone with equal or better knowledge ... probably came and talked to them, so they must’ve taken care of it,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer said he was told the commission obtained only two briefcase-size loads of documents from at least 15-plus boxes of information on Able Danger.

Now we are beginning to get the true story of the gross negligence that occurred during the Clinton Administration. We know that each party was allowed to choose their members of the Committee and it is becomming clear that the Democrat choices of Gorelick (author of the wall between domestic and foreign intelligence), Benveniste, and Hamilton were specifically chosen to hide the facts about the Clintons' negligence.

Full Story: Clinton Cover-up

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A Soldier Responds to Cindy Sheehan

An Open Letter to FR from Iraq
91b ^ August 18, 2005 91b
Posted on 08/17/2005 11:39:47 PM PDT by 91B

I am writing this in response to all the attention that Cindy Sheehan and her protests are getting. I am a deployed soldier with 2nd Squadron, 278th RCT at FOB Bernstein near Tuz Khurmatu, Iraq.

This is my second deployment. The first was from April 2003 to April 2004 and it was spent mostly in Qatar, but I also spent some time at Camp Cedar II just outside An Nasiriyah, Iraq. I volunteered to return with the 278th and I do not regret my decision at all.

Obviously, I believe in and support the war for a variety of reasons. I think that the invasion and liberation of Iraq demonstrated to those regimes that might be inclined to support terrorism that we were serious about our commitment to taking the fight to our enemies. I also believe that a democratic Iraq will serve as a positive influence over the rest of the region. At the same time, having a force in Iraq allows to us put direct pressure on Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia-all supporters of terrorism in one way or another-and draws prospective jihadis into this country where they can be dealt with militarily.

That is why I am so angry about Ms. Sheehan's media circus. I do not question her grief and anger over the death of her son and I do not begrudge her the right to protest. However, I do not see where her actions serve any useful purpose other than to embolden our enemies and weaken the resolve that is necessary to carry forward the fight to a victorious conclusion.
I admit that there are some soldiers here who have mixed feelings about the war and whether or not we are successful. They wonder how we will be able to define victory and what American soldiers are being sacrificed for. I try to answer that we should not expect the defeat of tyranny and fanaticism to be easy. That victory may not come for years and that we may not know it for years after that. I try to point out that we did not defeat Communist totalitarianism except after a long struggle, and that we were not able to carry the fight directly to its' most important strongholds even then. I also reply that those nations that we have helped to become democratic-South Korea, Japan, Germany-did not become so overnight.

I know that modern Americans are perhaps impatient and that they are perhaps not willing to bear sacrifice for long without some clear indication of success. However, I do not hear any alternative strategy put forth other than capitulation and that is not acceptable. Freepers, and other conservatives, will have to carry forward an important part of the fight. You will have to stand resolute in the face of the attempted emotional manipulation by the media of the Cindy Sheehan's of the world.

This will be difficult as the opposition will claim the high ground, but you must constantly remind the public of the price of defeat. A world in which our enemies can prey on our weakness will never be safe from bombings, hijackings or decapitation. The publicity battle is an important front in this struggle and Freepers have an important role to play.

I do not write this in search of praise and I am uncomfortable when people "thank me for my service" (I believe in duty). So I ask that responses to this open letter omit any such reply. I will be on and off the computer for the next few days. I apologize in advance for not being able to respond.

I also hate that the preview function for a post does not include spellcheck.

Hear his voice all of you who support Cindy Sheehan's campaign. Of course I know that you won't because you don't care about the troops in Iraq. You only care about your perverted anti-American protest movement. This young man is a hero, not Cindy and her supporters playing hippie over there in Crawford. Thank God our President is not a spineless Liberal like Gore, who would have caved in to the Islamo-terrorists. America, back your troops!!

Original Posting: Voice from Iraq

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Cindy: Still Very Much In Mourning

This is a woman in mourning? This is the "grieving mother?" Poor thing, so busy protesting in her grief that she hardly has time to get her hair done. Is that a bottle of fake tears I see beside her? "Add a few more lines on her forehead she looks too comfortable. How about a little more artificial grime over there?"

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CBO: Even When They're Wrong, They're Wrong.

Federal deficit expected to drop to $331 billion
White House and Congress credit a sharp rise in the economy
Aug. 15, 2005, 10:22PM
By JESSICA HOLZER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Despite a sizable drop for this year, the federal budget deficit will remain more than $300 billion a year through 2010, Congress' financial forecasters said Monday.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office pegged the deficit at $331 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, virtually matching the Bush administration's $333 billion projection last month.

That's down from last year's record-high of a $412 billion gap between government spending and government revenues.

But the five-year projection by the CBO, which assumes that war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan will remain at current levels, are far gloomier than the administration's predictions.

Do tell, "gloomier than the administration's predictions." When have they ever been accurate. They have been wrong twice this year, at each quarter's prediction. I have to say this certainly calls into question their "non-partisan" claim. They are seemingly incapable of understanding the philosophy behind tax cuts.

Full Story: Deficit

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Hornet's Nest in Coastal Bend Base?

South Texas leaders set to push for Ingleside
If base receives mission, it could mean 8,000 jobsAssociated Press
Aug. 15, 2005, 11:16PM
Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO - South Texas leaders are gearing up to try to convince three base closure commissioners visiting the Coastal Bend this week that Naval Station Ingleside should take over a Navy pilot training mission.

Moving the mission from Master Jet Training Base Oceana in Virginia could mean 8,000 jobs for the Texas Gulf Coast and the survival of Ingleside.

"The stakes are very high," said Gary Bushell, a consultant to a group trying to save Ingleside. "This would ensure a major Navy operational presence, and not just a training presence but an operational presence in Texas for as far as the eye can see."

This would be great for Texas and the Coastal Bend area. Besides, F-18's have a real high "Cool Factor"

Full Story: Navy Training

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Is DEA Narcotics Monitoring Really This Lax?

'Syrup' abuse rising in Houston
Pharmacists' trial spotlights illicit use of the cough medicine
By HARVEY RICE Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 16, 2005, 7:04AM

The abuse of a codeine-fortified cough syrup is so widespread among youths here that Houston has become nationally known in the rap culture as "the City of Syrup," a local researcher says.

Prosecutors will focus on the illegal distribution of the medication in the trial of six pharmacists, beginning today in a Houston federal court.

The pharmacists are the first to be prosecuted here on accusations of illegally dispensing the highly addictive prescription cough syrup codeine with promethazine.

----------------------SNIP----------------------

The six are accused in a 170-count indictment of illegally dispensing thousands of gallons of the cough syrup and thousands of tablets of hydrocodone, a synthetic narcotic used as a painkiller. They also are charged with conspiracy and money laundering.

Hydrocodone, more often known by the brand name Vicodin, is a widely abused prescription drug that is always in demand on the illicit market, Peters said.

----------------------SNIP-----------------------

Peters said screwed music and the abuse of the cough syrup has spread nationwide and into Canada. The popularity has given Houston nicknames such as "City of Syrup and City of Lean," he said.

"Now, Houston is setting the trend for the drug culture and it is being spread through rap," he said. "This is something that is a major problem throughout the United States."

"Thousands of gallons? How can a pharmacy or group of pharmacies go through thousands of gallons of narcotic cough syrup without drawing the attention of the DEA? What is city Law enforcment doing? I have heard more than once that our police department is corrupted by the drug trade and that they routinely ignore known "crack houses" and other obvious drug activities. Time for the Mayor and the City Council to step up to the plate.

Full Story: Cough Syrup

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Continued Efforts By Pro-Illegal Groups to Counter "Minute Men"

War of words heats up at Minuteman session
LULAC leader confronts a corps member over the plans to videotape day-labor workers
Aug. 15, 2005, 2:40PM
By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

A four-day training session for members of the controversial Minuteman Civil Defense Corps turned heated Sunday when a LULAC leader confronted one of the group's members.

Rick Dovalina, past national president and current district director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, got into a verbal scuffle with Minuteman member Bill Braux, who became incensed after Dovalina took down his license plate number.

You would think that legal hispanic residents would be in favor of what the Minute Men are doing. I sometimes think that this kind of opposition is just reflexive with them, but they have been fighting against controlled immigration for decades. It is past time for Americans to stand up and force the Government to do its number one job, securing our nation from enemies foreign and domestic.

Full Story: Lulac

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This Is A Patriot?

Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville - whose son Casey Sheehan, an Army specialist, was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004 - gives a thumbs up to a motorist who honked during Thursday's vigil on First Street in Benicia. Photo: David Pacheco/Times-Herald

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is Cindy wearing a disrespectful desecrated flag. She sure seems to be happy for someone who is supposed to be so devastated by her loss. Tell me again that she is not a publicity seeker.

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Dean: Just Another Clueless Democrat

Inside Politics
By Greg Pierce

Dean's latest
Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman who was the hero of his party's anti-war wing before his gaffe-prone 2004 presidential candidacy crashed and burned in Iowa, still doesn't think the Iraqis are better off with dictator Saddam Hussein out of power and in prison.
Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation" yesterday, the fiery former Vermont governor said, "It looks like today, and this could change, as of today it looks like women will be worse off in Iraq than they were when Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq."
Mr. Dean was the guy who said right after Saddam was found hiding in a "spider hole" that his capture by U.S. troops "has not made America safer," a statement ridiculed and condemned by most of his Democratic rivals at the time.
In a brief statement yesterday, the Republican National Committee said, "Dean's wild assertion that Iraqi women would be better off living under Saddam Hussein than democracy is not only counterproductive to meaningful debate, it demeans the hard work of American servicemen and women serving in Iraq."

These Liberals see nothing but evil in Americans and our nation. In Dean's eyes, we are the bad guys and the "insurgents" are the good guys. What a warped mentality.

Full Story: Washington Times

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On the Otherhand...

SOME RUSSIAN MUSLIMS DEMUR

The Chechen Muslim clerics' declaration of an anti-Wahhabi jihad was by no means welcomed unanimously by their fellow Russian Muslim leaders. Gazeta on August 5 quoted Shaykh Nafigulla Ashirov, supreme mufti of the Asian part of Russia, as saying that given the lack of a legal definition of Wahhabism in current Russian legislation, the jihad calls cannot have a legislative effect. "Wahhabism says nothing about a call for terror," he said. "It is a trend in Islamic thinking, not a tactic for waging a struggle. There are no bans on thought in contemporary legislation." Ismagil Shangareyev, mufti of Orenburg Oblast and director of the Islamic Human Rights Center, told Ekho Moskvy radio that the anti-Wahhabi jihad was a "provocation" and that it was utterly impermissible to make such high-profile statements: "It is fraught, because anyone could be accused of this virtual Wahhabism," he said. "It is reminiscent of 1937, when people were branded Trotskyites who didn't even know who Trotsky was or what the concept of ‘Trotskyism' was…Wahhabism, according to the reference books, is the ideology that rules in Saudi Arabia. So are they going to declare a jihad against the inhabitants of Saudi Arabia?"

Never count on the Russians. Muslims dissembling once again.

Full Story: Russians Demur

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This Could Be Interesting...

CHECHEN CLERICS DECLARE JIHAD AGAINST "WAHHABIS"

The Council of Muftis of the Chechen Republic on August 4 officially declared a jihad against "Wahhabism." Interfax quoted Chechen Mufti Sultan Mirzaev as telling journalists that the decision had been announced during a meeting between representatives of the clergy and law-enforcement agencies in the village of Tsentoroi, which is the home village of the Kadyrov clan. Mirzaev said it was the largest such meeting since the death of Akhmad Kadyrov in May 2004. "Wahhabism is the plague of the 20th and the 21st centuries," he said. "All Arabic scholars have come to be unanimous that those fighting against Wahhabism are on the path of jihad, following the way of Allah." Wahhabis and terrorists, he said, "are bringing evil into the world and the entire world must oppose them. We adopted an official fatwa (a religious ruling in Islam – Interfax), so that those fighting terrorism and Wahhabism have no doubt that their cause is just. We have declared war on these phenomena. Those killing innocent people must be either stopped or put behind bars or exterminated. This has to be done by whatever method. Our fatwa is that those who have shed blood, those who do not want to stop must be killed by any method." Mirzaev said rebels had killed sixteen district imams in Chechnya and that he himself had been "seriously wounded" in a rebel attack. "Should I remain silent about this?" he said. "If it becomes necessary, I will take up arms and I am ready to fight against them."

Its a good sign if anything comes of this. I might be forced to reconsider my opinion of Islam. Finally Islamists are speaking out with intent.

Full Story: Chechnyan Jihad

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Looks Like the Rest of the World Is Finally Waking Up

Italy ready to expel 'extremists'
By David Willey
BBC News, Rome

Italy is preparing to expel six alleged Islamic extremists under new laws aimed at curbing international terrorism.

Italian news reports say at least one is an imam. Names have not yet been released, but the BBC has learnt they are from Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.

The expulsion orders will be carried out in northern Italian cities.

Five have been under investigation by anti-terrorism police after telephone intercepts or alleged declarations of support for extremist Islamic groups.

So we are finally seeing some real action being taken by the European nations. Looks like the bombings in Britain have served a greater purpose. Italians have been better than most, but they have still been a little hesitant to take strong actions.

Full Story: Italians Expell Terrorists

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This Deserves Close Scrutiny

Uganda's radio closure condemned

The closure of a Ugandan radio station has been condemned by opposition politicians and media groups.

Politician James Otieno told the BBC the move was "unacceptable", while the Uganda Journalist Association said the government had exceeded its powers.

KFM was closed after it aired a heated debate on the possible causes of the helicopter crash which killed Sudanese Vice-President John Garang.

Uganda's president had warned the media not to report speculation on the crash.

Mr Garang was travelling in the Ugandan helicopter when it crashed taking him back to Sudan after meeting Mr Museveni.

The Ugandan crew were also killed.

I don't know what to think of this, at first blush, I am tempted to say this is just African "democracy" as usual, but I'm not so sure. We enjoy a freedom that is unrivaled in the world, sometimes I am dubious of the extent to which we grant our press the right to write whatever they choose. Does all of the speculation which has occurred within the conspiracy community that President Bush planned 9/11 serves any useful purpose. I think perhaps President Museveni has a point that for a young democracy too much speculation might be disruptive of domestic security. Certainly complete freedom should be restored as soon as possible, but perhaps this is justified. I'm not comfortable with it, and it needs to be watched carefully.

Full Story: Ugandan Censorship

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Bush Refuses to Rule Out Use of Force On Iran

Bush warns Iran on nuclear plans

US President George W Bush says he still has not ruled out the option of using force against Iran, after it resumed work on its nuclear programme.
He said he was working on a diplomatic solution, but was sceptical that one could be found.

The UN's atomic watchdog has called on Iran to halt nuclear fuel development.

Iran, which denies it is secretly trying to develop nuclear arms, restarted work at its uranium conversion plant at Isfahan on Monday.

"All options are on the table," said Mr Bush, when asked about the possible use of force during an interview for Israeli TV.

"The use of force is the last option for any president. You know we have used force in the recent past to secure our country," he said.

There is no way we can afford to allow Iran to develope Nuclear capability. I would let them know in no uncertain terms that we will destroy any facility we feel jeopardizes Middle East peace. In fact, I'm not sure that a pre-emptive unannounced attack would be inappropriate.

Full Story: Bush Warns Iran

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President Gives Cindy the Attention She Deserves

Bush gets first look at anti-war protest near ranch
Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:51 PM ET
By Patricia Wilson

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush got his first look at an anti-war vigil near his ranch on Friday as his motorcade took him by the protest site lined with small white crosses representing fallen American soldiers in Iraq.

When Bush's black sport utility vehicle carried him past the site to a Republican fund-raiser, the protest leader, Cindy Sheehan, whose son was one of the nearly 1,850 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, held up a sign that said: "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?"

Other signs said: "Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam," "Bring Them Home Now" and "Meet With Cindy."

The protest vigil began last Saturday and is being led by Sheehan, who has been demanding a meeting with Bush to discuss her opposition to the Iraq war.

The President did exactly what he should have done. This woman is nothing but a publicity seeking Liberal Democrat activist whose agenda includes the impeachment of the President. She is not interested in meeting with President Bush for the reasons she has stated, she is not in Crawford because she wants to meet with President Bush at all, she is there as a publicity stunt, probably orchestrated by Michael Moore (it reeks of his kind of cheap theatrics), to embarass the President and garner publicity for herself and her cause.

Full Story: President Ignores Cindy

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Democrat Senators Continue Mining Robert's Past for Dirt

Democrats keep up pressure for Roberts papers
Committee members seek reversal on high court nominee’s documents

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats on Friday renewed their push for documents from John Roberts’ service as deputy solicitor general, saying the material is critical to gauge the Supreme Court nominee’s position on civil rights.

In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the eight Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked him to reconsider last week’s Justice Department refusal to release material on 16 cases Roberts handled from 1989 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush.

The Democrats said the documents should not be protected under attorney-client privilege because they were prepared by the U.S. office of the solicitor general (OSG), which was “acting for the American people.” They offered to meet with Gonzales to try to reach an agreement.

The Democrats continue to pursue their despicable path of trying to find dirt on Judge Roberts any way they can. They are not interested in his qualifications, they are only interested in damaging him in any way they can. They will continue to do so with every nominee President Bush makes until the Republicans develope sufficient backbone to slap them down without hesitation or mercy.

Full Story: Roberts' PapersRoberts' Papers

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Now Tell Me How Israel Is Responsible for the Violence

Hamas Vows to Continue Fight After Pullout

By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - For the first time in a decade, the founders and top political leaders of Hamas gathered on the same stage Saturday, vowing to go on fighting Israel and claiming victory for its impending withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

In a direct challenge to the Palestinian Authority, the militant groups' top brass said it rejects the idea of a sole decision-making body for the area and insists it has the right to possess weapons.

Tensions between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have heated up in the days before Israel begins its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements, with each trying to claim victory for the pullout.

On Saturday, Hamas leaders positioned themselves in front of the group's logo and a green Islamic flag to send a message that they have the right to possess weapons and to claim responsibility for pushing Israel out of the Gaza Strip.

Over and over again, I have heard the anti-Israel Left state that it was Israel's fault that the Palestinian's were killing Israelis with suicide bombings. Yet again we have proof that it is the Muslims, the Palestinians and their supporters (remember, both Iran and Syria support Hamas) who are instigating these attacks, even when Israel is attempting to disengage from their lands. These people are crazy and will never stop killing as long as they are allowed to exist.

Full Story: Hamas

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Alright Folks, She's Had Her 15 Minutes of Fame Time to Quit Paying Attention to Her

Bush to mother who lost son in Iraq: 'I grieve'
Fri Aug 12, 2005 4:19 AM ET

By Steve Holland
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Thursday he sympathized with a mother who lost a son in Iraq and has been leading a protest vigil near his ranch, but that he would not pull U.S. troops from Iraq now as she has demanded.

"I grieve for every death," Bush said as Cindy Sheehan remained camped out about five miles away. For six days she has been demanding Bush meet with her about her son, Casey Austin Sheehan, an Army specialist killed in combat in Baghdad in April 2004.

"It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel about the death that takes place," Bush said.

But, he added, "pulling the troops out would send a terrible signal to the enemy."

Truly, this woman has achieved fame beyond her deserts, simply because she is spouting the same propaganda that the anti-Bush press have been spouting. The MSM have been against this war from the start and are doing everything they can to undermine President Bush's efforts and those of our troops. If the American people continue to back away from this war and force us to pull out prior to when it is time to do so, then this nation will gradually destroy itself with the help of terrorist from inside and out.


Full Story: Bush Speaks

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This Is Interesting: Maybe Not Earth Shattering, but Interesting

Experts 'decipher' Inca strings

The strings have baffled experts for centuries Researchers in the US believe they have come closer to solving a centuries-old mystery - by deciphering knotted string used by the ancient Incas.

Experts say one bunch of knots appears to identify a city, marking the first intelligible word from the extinct South American civilisation.

The coloured, knotted pieces of string, known as khipu, are believed to have been used for accounting information.

The researchers say the finding could unlock the meaning of other khipu.

I have always been fascinated with anthropology. Sorry for indulging in my interest.

Full Story: Inca Strings

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Do You Truly Believe That Allowing Your Kids To Study Islam Is Harmless?

Australians 'turned to al-Qaeda'

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has warned that "a small number" of Australians have joined al-Qaeda.

He was speaking about a videotaped message broadcast this week in which a man with an Australian accent threatened attacks against the West.

Australian papers have identified the man, who was dressed in combat gear, as former soldier Matthew Stewart.

"We have reason to believe he is one of a number of Australians who have turned to al-Qaeda," Mr Downer said.

The video, first broadcast by Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television, shows a man wearing combat gear and a balaclava, and carrying a rifle.

"As you kill us, you'll be killed. As you bomb us, you will be bombed," the man warned, without saying who he represented.

I used to defend Islam as a legitimate religion, inoffensive and peaceful in intent, but the more I pay attention to events surrounding the War in Iraq and the War on Terrorism, the more I here and see what is going on within the Muslim community, the more I begin to doubt that. It is beginning to resemble a virus which needs to be eliminated, than a Religion worthy of accepting or embracing. These people are very scary. The very structured nature of Islam is attractive to many because it makes them feel like their sacrificing something, and therefore are being pious. We must be very vigilant on this or we could very well lose our kids to this religion.

Full Story: Australian Al-Qaeda

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French Lead the Way: Vote Democrat and Join Them

French economy grinds to a halt
French economic growth weakened in the three months to June, mirroring a slowdown across the 12-nation eurozone.

France's economy grew by 0.1% in the second quarter, compared to 0.4% in the first three months of the year, according to government figures.

Figures released on Thursday showed that overall eurozone growth slowed to 0.3% in the second quarter, from 0.5%.

Forecast cut

The latest quarterly French gross domestic product data was the worst since the third quarter of 2004.

France's finance minister, Thierry Breton, has already been forced to cut his forecast for annual growth to a maximum of 2%, from 2.5%.

However, analysts think even this figure is optimistic.

Yes I know, I bash France a lot, but only because I enjoy it. They are the target because they were our biggest opponent on the war, and they are our most vocal critic. Besides, they are a perfect example of where Democrat economic and social policy will take us. Unions with more power than the government, low productivity partially due to a 35 hour work week, universal healthcare (everybody gets it but it's sub par), and a weak and ineffectual foreign policy.

Full Story: French Economy Tanks

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Liberals: Tell Me More How Wrong Bush Was To Cut Taxes

July's federal deficit falls to $52.8B
U.S. revenues up 13.7% so far in 2005; outlays up 6.1%

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:12 PM ET Aug. 10, 2005

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. budget deficit shrank to $52.8 billion in July from $69 billion a year ago, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

The federal deficit was about $5 billion less than the $58 billion estimated by the Congressional Budget Office a week ago. Receipts came in $1 billion more than expected, while outlays were $4 billion less than CBO projected....

Now how are Bush's tax cuts bad? You Liberals will have to remind me I forget sometimes. You know we Bush-bots are kind of slow witted bumpkins. Let's see, 5% unemployment, GDP growing at 3.4%, no inflation, no recession, increased tax revenue. My, my what a terrible economy.


Full Story [pay link] Deficit

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I Rest My Case!

Sheehan Family Statement (as mentioned this morning on KSFO)

Our family has been so distressed by the recent activities of Cindy we are breaking our silence and we have collectively written a statement for release. Feel free to distribute it as you wish. Thanks – Cherie

In response to questions regarding the Cindy Sheehan/Crawford Texas issue:
Sheehan Family Statement:

The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.

Sincerely,

Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.

They seem to be saying what I've been saying all along on my editorial page at The Tin Ear

Reference Link: Cindy's Family

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Early Pullout Unlikely...DUH! We Are Still in Germany

Early Pullout Unlikely In Iraq
Military Official Says Withdrawal At Least a Year Off

By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 11, 2005; Page A01

BAGHDAD, Aug. 10 -- Iraq's leaders and military will be unable to lead the fight against insurgents until next summer at the earliest, a top U.S. military official said Wednesday, trying to temper any hopes that a full-scale American troop withdrawal was imminent as Iraq moves toward elections scheduled for December.

Both Americans and Iraqis need "to start thinking about and talking about what it's really going to be like in Iraq after elections," said the military official, who spoke in an interview on the condition he not be named. "I think the important point is there's not going to be a fundamental change."

Did anyone truly believe that we were going to get out of Iraq in the near future? President Bush made it clear that we were going to be in Iraq for a long time. I think it's foolishness for any Republican to be discussing withdrawal. I swear these Rebublican LOSERS in Congress who are pushing for a quick end to the war need to develope a spine and quit listening to the Liberals. Wake Up! Liberals don't like you now, they never have liked you, and they never will. No matter how wobbly you get, no matter what you do, the MSM and the members of their party are not going to like you and will never support you. Get over it!

Full Story: Early Pullout

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RINOs Lead Charge to Surrender to Greens

GOP Members Oppose Arctic Oil in Budget

By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 10,11:06 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Two dozen House Republicans, including three committee chairmen, have asked Speaker
Dennis Hastert not to use a congressional budget procedure to clear the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

They said in a letter to Hastert, R-Ill., that the budget process "is an inappropriate venue to be debating this important environmental issue" and warned that it would further complicate already difficult budget issues.
"We believe the debate on opening this unique land to oil and gas exploration should be done outside the budget process," said the group led by Rep. Jeb Bradley R-N.H., in an Aug. 4 letter made public Wednesday.

Man I wish these so called Republicans would develope a spine. There appears to be no no obstacle they can overcome. They still haven't figured out that it is the unapologetic Conservatives that are winning the vote, not the wishy-washy Moderates.

Full Story:
GOP Members

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Insurrection or Invasion?

Rumsfeld: Iraqi guns from Iran
09/08/2005 20:27 - (SA) NEWS24.com

Washington - Some weapons entering Iraq are coming from Iran, US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday, though he indicated it was unclear whether they were coming from elements of the Iranian government or from other parties.

"Weapons clearly, unambiguously from Iran have been found in Iraq," he told a Pentagon briefing. "It's a big border. It's notably unhelpful for the Iranians to allow weapons of those types to cross the border."

At the briefing, the defence department also announced that Iraqi and US forces had arrested suspects in the deaths of 20 marines in two incidents in Haditha.

Evidence

Air force Gen. Richard Myers, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed to the arrests as evidence that Iraqi civilians supported the US-led coalition trying to pacify the country.

"The public came forward and said these are the folks," Myers said. He did not say how many people had been detained or identify them but said those detained were being interrogated to determine their involvement.

Six marine snipers were killed by small-arms fire on August 1. Last Wednesday, a Marine armoured personnel carrier rolled over some land mines, which exploded and killed 14 marines and a civilian translator.

Myers said the explosives that destroyed the carrier were in three stacked anti-tank mines buried just below the road surface.

[Full Post]

It's time to take Iran to task and make them toe the line. It's time (I can't believe I'm saying this) for the UN and specifically the Security Council to step up and put a lid on the Iranians on this and on their nuclear programs. If Russia interferes, we need to take embargo actions on them too. I am tired of Iran and Syria getting away with murder, literally.

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Cindy Sheehan Meltdown: Liberals Have Really Done a Job on Her

War Protester Cindy Sheehan Says She Won't Pay 2004 Taxes, Dares Government to Go After Her
Monday, August 8, 2005 Kristinn

Cindy Sheehan, who is protesting the Iraq war by staging a vigil in Crawford, Texas demanding to have a meeting with President Bush to have him explain why her son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in the war last year is reported to have made recent pronouncements that she is refusing to pay her taxes because of her son's death in the war.
In a Providence Journal article about an appearance by Sheehan at a Rhode Island church published July 27, 2005, reporter Elizabeth Gudrais wrote:

For one thing, Sheehan said, she has stopped paying her taxes. "I didn't pay my taxes for 2004," she said. When a letter arrives declaring her payment delinquent, she said, "I'll say no -- I don't owe you a penny. We'll see what they do to me."

The Freepers are a great asset to our cause, ever vigilant and thorough about finding the truth. This is more evidence that Cindy Sheehan is in a full blown meltdown because those around her are not letting her heal. She has already destroyed her family, and now she is destroying her own life. The Liberals would like nothing better. If she completely destroys herself or, God forbid, dies in this effort then they will declare her a martyr and celebrate her demise either literal or figurative. The Left is unconscionable in their actions.

Full Story: Cindy Meltdown

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Everybody Hates the French...

Poll: Westerners considering separation
canoe network...cnews
CALGARY (CP) - More than one-third of western Canadians surveyed this summer thought it was time to consider separation from Canada, a poll suggests.

In the survey, 35.6 per cent of respondents from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia agreed with the statement: Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country.

Albertans, at 42 per cent, were most apt to consider independence, followed by Saskatchewan at 31.9 per cent. Residents of B.C. and Manitoba were the least likely to consider separation, at 30.8 and 27.5 per cent respectively

Can't say that I blame them, If I was subject to French Canadian rule I'd want out too.

Full Story: Splitting Canada

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I Guess the Democrats Are Right About How Bad the Economy Is...NOT

Fed ups rate 10th time in 14 months
Board shows no sign of stopping
BY BRIAN MONROE
FLORIDA TODAY

The Federal Reserve hit the double-digit milestone Tuesday, after ratcheting up a key interest rate, called the federal funds rate, for the 10th time in 14 months.

And it doesn't show any sign of stopping, hinting that more upward adjustments are likely.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues said while spending isn't waning in the face of record-high oil prices and "core inflation has been relatively low in recent months," rates will continue to tick up "at a pace that is likely to be measured."

So what they say here is, the GDP is clicking along at 3.4% in the second quarter. The prime rate has gone from 1% to 3.5% since 2004. This has driven short term rates to 6.5% and 30 year mortgages up to 5.48%, still not high enough to slow the housing boom. Unemployment is hovering at 5%. It looks like a pretty healthy economy to me. Looks like Bush was right and the Dims were wrong...any surprise?


Full Story: Fed Boosts Rate

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The Full Story of Casey Sheehan and His Fellow Soldiers

"Black Sunday" in Sadr City, April 4, 2004

By Ed Marek, editor Talking Proud! a weekly magazine about Service and Sacrifice.

April 4, 2004 was a bloody day for American forces in Sadr City, Iraq. Some of the troops call it "Black Sunday," sad, because it was Palm Sunday. What began as a routine patrol escorting sewage trucks, known as the "honey wagons," ended up in surprise ambushes that left eight US Army soldiers killed in action that day. We think about 50 were wounded, many of whom had to be taken back to the US. "Black Sunday" seems to have occurred at the confluence of various events. The city was and remains shamefully poor, but had been peaceful. Some political events were already in train that caused tensions between the city's independent-minded residents and American forces who were trying to improve the city's condition but were nonetheless increasingly seen as occupiers. Then some new political events emerged that made confrontation inevitable, all at a time when the US was finishing up a major troop rotation. At the end of the day, a routine patrol and patrols that would try to rescue it took the brunt of these and other converging events. As you will see, little in life is simple, little can be taken for granted, and one is always best advised to keep his or her guard up. Furthermore, every one of these kinds of fights has consequences, in Iraq, here, and around the world.

I've little to add here beyond a very strong request that you read this full article by following the link below. I just felt that, at this time when Casey Sheehan's name is being dropped around the internet by so many, some of you might want to take a minute and understand who and what this young hero truly was. He deserves to be honored and admired. He died trying to make sure that others would live. His mother, Cindy, is wrong. He did not die for nothing. He died for the most noble of causes.

"Greater Love hath no man than he should lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13

Full Story: Talking Proud![link]

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Jeanine Pirro: This Sure Sounds Familiar!!??

JEANINE PIRRO: Evil manipulative lying scheming dangerous witch who must be stopped

Posted on 08/08/2005 10:19:33 PM PDT by doug from upland

When I heard that Jeanine Pirro was going to run for the senate in New York, I was in disbelief. She should not be running for office -- she should be in jail. New Yorkers, it is your state, but please consider the following:

1 - Pirro took campaign funds from Ngo Lap Seng, international murder for hire thug and exploiter of young women and girls for prostitution. He made 12 visits to her, gave money to her, had dinner with her, and posed for pictures with her and her husband.

2 - Pirro's husband has sexually assaulted a string of women, and Pirro worked behind the scenes to destroy the women and save her stinking career.

3 - Pirro had 900 private files and kept information on potential enemies.

4 - Pirro hired private investigators to threaten women and other witnesses who could harm her political career.

5 - Pirro used an epithet and slur against a Jewish campaign manager several years ago, then denied that she did it. The person who accused her passed a lie detector test and had two witnesses. A law enforcement official who had worked closely with her acknowledged that the lying witch did use such slurs.

6 - When called before a grand jury, the brilliant Pirro had a memory lapse and had to answer variations of "I don't recall" 50 times.

7 - Pirro had friends at the IRS investigate potential political enemies.

8 - Pirro's lover killed himself in front of her office, and she arranged to have his body dumped in a park.

9 - Pirro failed to declare $1.9 million of in-kind contributions in her last campaign and so far has gotten away with it.

10 - Pirro did an insider trading deal and turned $1000 into almost $100,000.

11 - Pirro does not allow underlings to look her in the eye.

12 - Pirro ran over a policeman who had to get treatment at a hospital. She didn't stop and never apologized.

13 - Pirro, without cause, fired seven employees, sent them away in a cargo van, and tried to set up one for a prison sentence.

14 - Pirro hid records of her legal activity that were under subpoena and pretended that they were magically found a few days after the statute of limitations had run.

15 - During her last campaign, thugs from her campaign spit on an honor guard at the convention. She never commented or apologized.

16 - Pirro illegally took money from Chinese donors.

Let's hope New York voters are not fooled by this dangerous, disingenuous woman who uses women and children as props. All she cares about is her own power.

Man with this resume this woman should run for President. Ain't life fun? Laughter really is good for the soul.

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I Have Said That They Are Traitors and I Stick By It!

Losing the Iraq War
Can the left really want us to?
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, at 8:36 AM PT

Another request in my in-box, asking if I'll be interviewed about Iraq for a piece "dealing with how writers and intellectuals are dealing with the state of the war, whether it's causing depression of any sort, if people are rethinking their positions or if they simply aren't talking about it." I suppose that I'll keep on being asked this until I give the right answer, which I suspect is "Uncle."

--------------SNIP------------------

How can so many people watch this as if they were spectators, handicapping and rating the successes and failures from some imagined position of neutrality? Do they suppose that a defeat in Iraq would be a defeat only for the Bush administration? The United States is awash in human rights groups, feminist organizations, ecological foundations, and committees for the rights of minorities. How come there is not a huge voluntary effort to help and to publicize the efforts to find the hundreds of thousands of "missing" Iraqis, to support Iraqi women's battle against fundamentalists, to assist in the recuperation of the marsh Arab wetlands, and to underwrite the struggle of the Kurds, the largest stateless people in the Middle East? Is Abu Ghraib really the only subject that interests our humanitarians?

The only goal the Left is capable of seeing is the destruction of the Bush administration no matter what the cost. They don't care about America, they don't care about Iraqis (even though they whine about "tens of thousands of civilian casualties")they just want to be in power. That is sick and evil.

Full Story: Christopher Hitchens

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My Disgust With Bush On This Knows No Bounds

Bush Mulling Immigration Plan Despite Lots Of GOP Opposition
BY BRIAN MITCHELL

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Chastened by his lack of traction on Social Security, but emboldened by his hard-won victory on free trade, President Bush is preparing another push on a party-splitting issue — immigration.

The White House is said to be preparing its own plan for immigration reform to give immigration backers a clearer cause to unite behind.

Nailing down the details will be difficult, but the plan is sure to combine tough new border controls and some sort of guest worker plan.

Well, of the plans that are out there, I strongly favor the one by John Cornyn and Jon Kyl. Get the SOB's out and make them register before they get their temporary passes. No Amnesty whatsoever!

Full Story: Illegal Aliens

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Bloggers Rule...or almost

Journalism's fear and loathing of blogs
By Dante Chinni
WASHINGTON - Mainstream journalism is running scared. It's watching its audience numbers decline and its public trust numbers drop. Newspapers, magazines, and network television news have been shaken by major scandals. The media have seen the future and it is blogging.

Or at least that's the story this year. "Mainstream journalism," however you want to define it, has been under siege so long it's hard to keep track of all the people, things, and outlets that were or are still going to destroy it.

Yes! We shall overcome the MSM. We've had enough of their lies, distortion, and biased reporting. Power to the blogger! Power to the People!

Full Story: Journalism's Fear

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Sad, but I Can't Say That I Blame Him. Libs Really Can Be Trying

Man Kills Another in Dispute Over War -- Press Calls It a First

By E&P Staff

Published: August 06, 2005 6:30 PM ET

NEW YORK It was bound to happen sooner or later, and in what newspapers in Kentucky are calling a first, one American has killed another in a dispute over the Iraq war.

It happened at Floyd County flea market on Thursday, when two friends, who were firearms vendors there, drew guns after quarreling about the war. Douglas Moore, 65, of Martin, who backs the war, shot and killed Harold Wayne Smith, 56, of Manchester, who opposed it, according to investigators.

I swear I know exactly how this guy felt. I've fantasized about this myself on occasion, especially when the Liberal resorts, as they invariably do, to name calling. This is hysterical in a sad sort of way.

Full Story: Serious Debate

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Unbelievable Hubris By Massachusetts Schoolboard and Principal

Report: Christian Parent Arrested After Being Denied Say-So in Son's Education

By Jody Brown
April 28, 2005

(AgapePress) - A Massachusetts group battling judicial activism and the advancing homosexual agenda in their state is reporting that the father of a kindergarten student was arrested on Wednesday during a scheduled meeting with the principal of his son's school. Since January, the father of the six-year-old had been attempting to get his son opted-out from discussions portraying homosexuality as acceptable.

--------------SNIP-----------------
"You are not permitted to infringe upon our religious beliefs and parental rights or obviate our freedom of choice, to exclude our son from material that would expose him to beliefs contrary to the Word of God in our Christian faith," the Parkers wrote in a March 4 e-mail to Jay.

After attending an "anti-bias meeting" in early April, David Parker again requested a meeting with Jay, which occurred yesterday (Wednesday, April 27). Article 8 Alliance reports that during that meeting, Mr. Parker reiterated his demands: that the school inform him when the topic of homosexuality was to be discussed with his son, and that the school permit his son not be included in those discussions. Parker's requests were reportedly denied by the principal, the director of education, and the superintendent.

Hard to believe the lengths that Liberals will go to promote their agenda. This is totally unacceptable. Parents, not administrators should be the final arbitors of what is taught in school. This Principal should be fired (actually I would have very little objection to her being shot for this). "The school never described to the parents what "ToBGLAD Day"[Transgender, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Day] (as it is called) really is. Only obscure mailings were sent out. Neither the schedule nor anything like it was sent to anyone. The event does not appear at all on the big official glossy school calendar mailed to parents at the beginning of the year."



Full Story:Parent Arrested

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More Concerns About Patriot Act

Parts of Patriot Act are offensive-lawyers group
Mon Aug 8, 2005 4:42 PM ET

By Andrew Stern

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The president-elect of the nation's largest lawyers group on Monday said some of the federal government's investigative powers included in the anti-terrorism Patriot Act are a threat to constitutional rights.

Michael Greco criticized aspects of the act, passed to bolster security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, at the American Bar Association convention, where U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged the U.S. Congress to renew it.

"We support the (Bush) administration in its efforts to secure the nation but we have taken policy positions, four or five of them, where we think due process has not been followed," Greco said in an interview with Reuters.

He criticized exceptions the law makes to the constitution's privacy protections that give law enforcement the power to search a home without the homeowner's knowledge and without a judge-approved search warrant.

"The ABA position is that some of these provisions are so invasive of individual liberties that there has to be a sunset provision. They're offensive, I think, to democracy," Greco said.

Well, I don't normally like the ABA, but I have to say, that this exception to judicial review and warrant disturbs me quite a bit. At the very least, we need these provisions to remain under a "sunset provision."

Full Story: Patriot Act

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Tweedle-Dum[b] Speaks: Doesn't He Ever Get Tired of Himself?

US cannot isolate itself to fight terror -Clinton
Tue Aug 9, 2005 5:57 AM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Tuesday the United States needed to build alliances rather than pursuing policies that might foster terrorism.

"We cannot isolate ourselves from the world behind walls. We cannot kill all our enemies," he said in an interview with France's Le Monde newspaper.

"We need a strategy which will create more partners and fewer terrorists. Americans' destiny is closely tied to that of other people."

----------------SNIP---------------

"It is difficult to overcome the reflexes of national identity. But you will get there."

Most Conservatives knew, but if you ever had any doubt as to his belief in a one world government and the ultimate supremacy of the UN, just reread that last sentence. You can bet, if Hillary gets elected as President, he will be the ambassador to the UN, with sights on the General Secretariat. God forbid that this should happen. Remember, we already have a majority of the Supreme Court who believe that they should take their lead from international law.

Full Story:Clinton Speaks

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Minions of the Left Have Helped Cindy Sheehan Destroy Her Marriage and Family

"UTI Exclusive: Interview With Cindy Sheehan
Submitted by DarkSyde on August 1, 2005 - 1:44 AM War On Terror

Cindy Sheehan is founder and President of Gold Star Families for Peace whose son was killed in Iraq. Before the death of her son, Cindy describes herself as "an average American mom. I have 3 other children: Carly, 24; Andy, 21; and Janey, 19. Since he was killed, I have become a tireless advocate for peace, to expose the lies of our administration, to wake the American people up before it happens to them, and to bring our troops home from the nightmare in Iraq. I was a Catholic youth minister for 8 years. Now being a peace activist is my full-time job."

DarkSyde (DS): Your son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was deployed to Iraq in the spring of 2004. When and why did Casey join the military? What did you think about his decision?

Cindy Sheehan (CS): Casey joined the Army in May of 2000. I was devastated. He was 21, he didn't discuss it with us.

DS: Devastated? Why?

CS: Because he would be leaving home ... we are not a military family and we really didn't understand his enlistment."

------------SNIP------------

"DS: Have you lost any friends or family over this? OR, how do your husband and neighbors feel about your sudden rise to prominence in the media and the role you've accepted in those venues?

CS: I have lost almost every friend that I had before Casey died. My husband and I are separated, because he doesn't support my activities, although he knows the war is a lie."

This article reveals just how obsessive one can get if they don't allow the grieving process to occurr. The anti-Bush extremists are destroying this woman by feeding her anger. This is an example of how morally bankrupt the Left is. The should be ashamed of themselves but they won't be.
Full article: UTI Interview

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And the Democrats Wanted Us to Trust SCOFLA?

Florida Supreme Court Helped to Fund ACLU
Thursday, July 07, 2005

By Sam Kastensmidt

The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ has uncovered documents revealing that the Florida Supreme Court is responsible for helping to fund the ACLU of Florida — using interest from legal trust funds generated by unsuspecting home buyers, heirs, and legal awards and settlements. Between 1990 and 1997, the Florida Bar Foundation (FBF), a creation of the Florida Supreme Court, provided more than $600,000 to help pay the salary of the ACLU of Florida’s legal director.

Incredibly, the Florida Supreme Court approved these appropriations, despite the fact that the Court often issues rulings in cases argued by the ACLU’s legal director. One would assume that such funding would create a conflict of interest — but not in the eyes of the Court. In a letter faxed to the Center, the FBF admitted that every instance in which it offered funding to the ACLU of Florida, it was “specifically approved from time to time by the Supreme Court of Florida.”

This is a good article with considerable detail, highly recommended. The ACLU is the most anti-American organization I can think of short of the Socialist Worker's Party. We could certaily stand to see them go down in flames.

Read More SCOFLA

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Is Nothing Sacred?

The Merchant moves from Venice to Vegas
By Chris Hastings, Arts Correspondent
(Filed: 07/08/2005)

Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, two of Britain's greatest Shakespearean actors, are to star in a film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice set in modern-day Las Vegas.

The new £20 million movie will shift the action of the Bard's 1596 play from medieval Italy to the flamboyant Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino in the heart of the Nevada desert.

The new version will keep Shakespeare's dialogue but will unashamedly set the action on the resort's versions of the Rialto Bridge, St Marks Square and the Grand Canal. No attempt will be made to pass off the replica settings as the real Venice.

Don't think I'll be investing in this bomb. What is it about Hollywood and egos? These idiots somehow actually believe that they are better writers than the authors were. It's like The Lord of the Rings, they rewrite the story to be better. What unbelievable hubris!

Full Story: Merchant

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Sub Crew Rescued! YES!

Crew safe after mini-sub rescue
Sunday, August 7, 2005; Posted: 12:20 p.m. EDT (16:20 GMT)

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The seven-man crew of a trapped Russian mini-submarine are back in port after a three-day ordeal at the bottom of the Pacific with dwindling oxygen.

Six of the seamen were taken to hospital for observation in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the eastern coast of the Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka after arriving on board a rescue ship.

The other man remained on board but it was not immediately clear why, the Associated Press reported.

Full STory: Sub Rescue

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Hope She Fries in the Texas Heat!

Soldier's mom digs in near Bush ranch
Senator sees 'echoes of Vietnam' in vigil to meet president

Sunday, August 7, 2005; Posted: 5:31 p.m. EDT (21:31 GMT)

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- A mother whose son was killed in Iraq says she is prepared to continue her protest outside President Bush's ranch through August until she is granted an opportunity to speak with him.

Later, in a TV interview, a Democratic senator from California said the episode evokes images that were commonplace during the Vietnam War.

Cindy Sheehan's 24-year-old son -- Army Spc. Casey Sheehan of Vacaville, California -- was killed in Baghdad's Sadr City on April 4, 2004. The Humvee mechanic was one of eight U.S. soldiers killed there that day by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire

-----------------snip-------------

I want to ask the president, why did he kill my son?" Sheehan told reporters. "He said my son died in a noble cause, and I want to ask him what that noble cause is."

You know, I want to have compassion for this woman, but statements like that and her actions and comments over the past year make it very difficult. I know she is being used by the Bush-Haters, but she must bear some of the responsibility for her actions. See my full editorial of June 17th at the Tin Ear Times.

Full Story Soldier's Mom

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This Idiot Needs to Retire, What a Waste of Oxygen

Justice: 'Serious flaws' in death penalty
Stevens changes subject in debate over O'Connor's replacement

Sunday, August 7, 2005; Posted: 9:14 p.m. EDT (01:14 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens steered the debate over President Bush's nominee to a new subject -- capital punishment -- sharply condemning the country's death penalty system.

The court has been closely divided in death row cases, with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor often in the middle.

------------------snip--------------

Other Supreme Court justices, including O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, have also spoken out about concerns that defendants in murder cases are not adequately represented at trial.

But Stevens told the ABA that the problems were more dramatic.

He said the jury selection process and the fact that many trial judges are elected work against accused murderers. He also said that jurors might be improperly swayed by victim-impact statements.

Yes, we obviously need to be more concerned with the criminal's rights than the victim's. Afterall what do victims know about suffering? We need to get rid of this loser and Ginsberg. Then America might have a chance of returning to its former glory.

Full Story: Stevens

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Well I Never Liked Him, But God Bless Him and His Family

ABC News anchor Peter Jennings dies of cancer
Mon Aug 8, 2005 5:34 AM ET

By Cal Mankowski

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Peter Jennings, prime-time anchorman for ABC News whose career spanned five decades from the Cold War to the war on terrorism, has died of lung cancer, the network said. He was 67.

The Canadian-born Jennings, host of ABC's "World News Tonight" since 1983, died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan. The newsman announced in April he had lung cancer and was beginning chemotherapy.

"Peter died with his family around him, without pain and in peace. He knew he'd lived a good life," his family said in a statement.

Jennings was the last of a generation of long-serving lead anchors for major U.S. broadcasters.

"He was a superb writer," colleague Barbara Walters said in a special broadcast on ABC. She also recalled that "no one could ad-lib like Peter."

Jennings had a 41-year career with ABC, having joined the network in 1964. He soon went head-to-head with the toughest competition in the business, anchoring the prime-time news from 1965 to 1967 at a time when Walter Cronkite on CBS and the team of David Brinkley and Chet Huntley on NBC were dominant.

Jennings established the first American television news bureau in the Arab world in 1968, serving as ABC News' bureau chief for Beirut for seven years. He had a major role in the network's coverage of the Summer Olympics in Munich, when Israeli athletes were taken hostage.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Jennings anchored ABC broadcasts for more than 60 hours. The coverage garnered awards and critical acclaim. TV Guide called him "the center of gravity."

"For four decades, Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him," ABC News President David Westin wrote in announcing Jennings' death to colleagues.

CANCER DIAGNOSIS

The Toronto-born newsman and high school dropout, who smoked when he was younger, stunned colleagues when he informed them of his illness in an e-mail on April 5. He said he would begin a program of chemotherapy the following week.

"There will be good days and bad, which means that some days I may be cranky and some days really cranky," he wrote.

ABC noted in its special broadcast that Jennings regularly called into the program during his illness, offering suggestions, comments and criticisms.

He had hoped to return to his anchor duties, but never did.

Ted Koppel, anchor of ABC's "Nightline" program, recalled the anchor's dashing good looks, and noted a resemblance to the actor Roger Moore in some of the James Bond movies.

"He and I joked the last time I went up to visit just a few days ago that between the two of us we'd put in 83 years at ABC News." Koppel said. "He was a warm and loving and surprisingly sentimental man."

Jennings was named anchor and senior editor of "World News Tonight" in 1983. He won numerous awards and honors in his more than 20 years in the position.

"It's impossible to believe that he is not going to be with us," Walters said.

Jennings, the son of a noted Canadian broadcaster, Charles Jennings, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2003 and held dual citizenship.

The passing of Jennings was the final chapter as an era of broadcast anchors with a commanding on-air presence came to an end.

NBC's Tom Brokaw stepped down in December after 21 years as anchor of "NBC Nightly News" and Dan Rather ended his 24-year career as CBS lead anchor last month, after a discredited report on President Bush's military service.

Jennings is survived by his wife Kayce Freed, and his two children Elizabeth, 25 and Christopher, 23.

ABC Television is part of the Walt Disney Co. (Additional reporting by Joanne Allen and Doina Chiacu in Washington)

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Dream on Boys

80 liberals each pledge $1 million for alliance
Donors hope to copy success of think tanks run by conservatives
By THOMAS B. EDSALL
Washington Post

WASHINGTON - At least 80 wealthy liberals have pledged to contribute at least $1 million each to fund a network of think tanks and advocacy groups, to compete with the potent conservative infrastructure built up during the last three decades.

The money will be channeled through a new partnership called the Democracy Alliance, founded last spring in a series of liberal initiatives as the Democratic Party and its allies struggle with the loss of power in Congress and the White House. Many influential Democratic contributors were left angry and despairing about the party's poor showing in last year's elections, and are looking for more effective ways to invest their support.

Financial commitments totaling at least $80 million in the next five years at a time when some other liberal groups, such as the George Soros-backed America Coming Together, are floundering — suggest the Democracy Alliance is becoming a player in the long-term effort to reinvigorate the left. The group has a goal of raising $200 million, a sum that would inevitably come partly at the expense of more traditional Democratic groups.

Their desperation is really getting to them. I thought Soros had billions to throw away but this says that ACT is floundering. This is just another whistle in the dark. They won't be successful until they change their song. Don't hold your breath.

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Death Penalty for Child Molesters. It's Time to Stop Them!

Wal-Mart Employee Accused Of Molesting Child In Store
Houston Police Believe There May Be More Victims

POSTED: 11:44 am CDT August 5, 2005
UPDATED: 11:46 am CDT August 5, 2005

HOUSTON -- A man was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a child at the Wal-Mart where he worked, Local 2 reported Friday.

Investigators said Amilcar Dagobert Henriguez, 59, was working at Wal-Mart, 150 El Dorado Blvd., Thursday when he molested a 13-year-old boy in the store's restroom.

Henriguez grabbed the child while he was in the bathroom and forced him into a stall, where he was sexually assaulted, police said.

The boy told his mother immediately, who alerted authorities.

Officers identified the suspect through the store's surveillance video.

I am tired of reading about these guys, if they are convicted of molesting children I believe that the death penalty is appropriate. I particularly believe anyone guilty of more than one offense should be killed. There is no cure for this perversion.


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Derelict Boats a Problem on Coast

Reclaiming a coastal graveyard
Aug. 5, 2005, 5:16PM
An effort to clear junked vessels from area bays and bayous begins
By DINA CAPPIELLO
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

SAN LEON - On the marshy fringes of Dickinson Bayou, the skeletons of dozens of boats pierce the water's surface.

Rusty masts jut skyward like spines, and the ruins of hulls lie on the floor of the waterway like drowned rib cages.

Farther downstream, decomposing barges, discarded by their owners, sit side-by-side like tombs.

This graveyard, or boneyard, as locals call it, is an extreme example of a problem that has plagued the Texas coast for decades - junked vessels.

The Texas General Land Office, charged with protecting the coasts, estimates that 393 abandoned shrimp boats, pleasure vessels and barges clutter the bayous, bays and shores of the Gulf. More than half of those are in Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties.

What is wrong with this picture? Why isn't this a felony? Who is lobbying our state legislature to prevent this from being so? Why does our state legislature insist on passing half measures? It's time to get tough.


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