Why the Left Is Different From You And Me

Both from the past week...

Hundreds of immigration policy protesters came to Sen. Norm Coleman's house, hoping he will relate to their pain.

A few hundred protesters crowded together briefly Sunday afternoon on the sidewalk and in the street in front of U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's St. Paul home, shouting for an end to immigration policies and enforcement practices that the demonstrators say unfairly divide families.
////
The rally --....came a day before today's burial of Coleman's father, Norman Coleman Sr., at Arlington National Cemetery. He died Thursday of bladder cancer at 82.
////
Seeing parallels in the grief felt by Sen. Coleman and that of children who have had parents deported, organizers decided to go ahead.

And the next day...

Wonkette:

Chief Justice John Roberts has died in his summer home in Maine. No, not really, but we know you have your fingers crossed.

UPDATE:
...and of course what day would be complete without a dose (so to speak) of Andrew Sullivan...

W]e shouldn’t dismiss the chance he was murdered. Tillman was a star and might have aroused jealousy or resentment. He also opposed the Iraq war and was a proud atheist. In Bush’s increasingly sectarian military, that might have stirred hostility. I don’t know. But I know enough to want a deeper investigation

The Pacific Northwest Does Their Job....

....of supporting the troops. In the usual way.

By The Associated Press

SILVERDALE — A college student was arrested Sunday in the slashing of 42 tires on 13 government vehicles in an Army recruiting office parking lot, saying he was angry about the war in Iraq, authorities said.

Following a number of calls about a man wearing black and slashing tires, two deputies stopped a 19-year-old college student from Colorado as he tried to run from the lot shortly after midnight Sunday, a Kitsap County sheriff's office report said.

At least this time the media can't get around his motivation.

He told deputies he decided to slash the tires of Army recruiting vehicles because he "hated the military and the government and the war we were in."

It seems for the Left the box cutter is mightier than the sword....and certainly the pen.

The New York Mutaween

From LGF...

I’ve received an email from Stanislav Shmulevich, who has been arrested in New York for putting a Koran in a toilet at Pace University. And his case is even more outrageous than we first reported.

First, Shmulevich was arrested and jailed for 24 hours. Second, he’s not facing misdemeanor charges—he’s being charged with two felonies, criminal mischief and aggravated harassment.

Felonies. For putting a book in a toilet.

The arresting officer.......Det. Faisal Khan.
So does New York City have a special Anti-Islamic Crimes Division?
And if so maybe these guys can staff it.

Some "Statements" Get You Paid,And For Some Statements, Apparently You Have To Pay

Or how some religions are more equal than others.


8 years ago from the New York Times...

The Brooklyn Museum of Art announced yesterday that it will stand by its plans to open the exhibition called ''Sensation.'' It also began litigation to prevent Mayor Rudolph Giuliani from fulfilling his threat to withhold financing and possibly take over the museum board. This is unequivocally the right action, one that deserves the support of all of New York's cultural institutions. The Mayor's retaliatory announcement that the city will immediately end its subsidy of the museum is an authoritarian overreaction that deserves a swift hearing and repudiation by the courts.

And of course who can forget this.

Why I Will Not Be Going to The Simspons Movie

While so many of members of the military are in harm's way it galls me to see a movie that treated them like this as recently as November.

From The "Only On The West Coast" Category

Remember "Mac's" job on McMillan and Wife, Police Commissioner of San Francisco? Well if Rock Hudson is your idea of the perfect person for the job just wait till you meet the new President of the San Francisco Police Commission, Theresa Sparks. Theresa is the CEO of Good Vibrations the largest sex toy retailer in the United States.
And did I mention she use to a he.

Not that Ms. Spark isn't used to honors, in 2003 the California Assembly named her.....Woman of the Year.

6 Interesting Facts About The Scott Thomas Beauchamp Controversy

I have refrained from commenting on the entire "Scott Thomas"/Beauchamp/New Republic brouhaha up till now, but now that we know some actual facts about the situation I feel free to ponder in public some of the more interesting facets of what I like to call Winter Soldier Pt. Deux.

1) Scott Thomas aka Scott Beauchamp has been revealed as the husband(or at least fiance) of a New Republic staffer Elspeth Reeve. Which makes one wonder, are Liberals so hard up for supporters that force to rely on family connections. Or maybe Beauchamp was just someone walking by a desk.

2) Beauchamp admits that one of the reasons he joined the Army was to give credibility to his writing career.
Well it worked for Dashiel Hammett.

3) Franklin Foer, editor of The New Republic accuses The Weekly Standard of pressing "an ideological agenda" in their reporting on this controversy.
Imagine that. A magazine with "an ideological agenda."

4) Scott Thomas/Beauchamp has created an interesting little catch-22 for himself. He is either the total jerk who would ridicule a battle scarred female soldier....or he's a liar.

5) As per Point 5 how does the staff of the New Republic feel about the fact that fellow staff member Elspeth Reeve's husband thinks making fun of facially disfigured women is.....hilarious.

6) The New Republic has apparently fired one of its employees for cooperating with the investigation into Beauchamp. You see....leakers in the Army. OK.
Leakers at The New Republic. Bad

Race Hustling Turns Theatrical

ATLANTA: A reenactment of a notorious, decades-old lynching that civil rights activist blamed on a racist speech by Georgia's then-governor is set for Wednesday.

A volunteer playing the late Gov. Eugene Talmadge will deliver a race-baiting campaign speech, much like the one the Democrat is believed to have made in Monroe in 1946, shortly before two black couples were lynched, organizers say.

It is the first time the three-term governor will appear in the ritual marking the anniversary of the murder. The event is entering its third year.

If only the Black,...excuse me African-American community could get itself as worked up over the crimes committed across the color line by its own members...

Since 1972, the U.S. Department of Justice has conducted a National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to determine the frequency of certain crimes. One category is interracial crimes. Its most recent publication (1997), "Criminal Victimization in the U.S.," reports on data collected in 1994. In that year, there were about 1,700,000 interracial crimes, of which 1,276,030 involved whites and blacks. In 90 percent of the cases, a white was the victim and a black was the perpetrator, while in 10 percent of the cases it was the reverse.

Another finding of the NCVS report is that of the 2,025,464 violent crimes committed by blacks in 1994, 1,140,670 were against whites - that's slightly over 56 percent. Whites committed 5,114,692 violent crimes; 135,360, or 2.6 percent were against blacks.
Another finding of the NCVS report is that of the 2,025,464 violent crimes committed by blacks in 1994, 1,140,670 were against whites - that's slightly over 56 percent. Whites committed 5,114,692 violent crimes; 135,360, or 2.6 percent were against blacks.

Is there any wonder that the number of Whites charged with Hate Crimes is larger when incidents of Black On White crime like this are treated as run of the mill homicides.
You would think the International Herald Tribune and the press at large might be more interested in a horrific racial slaying that took place this year than one that took place during the Truman Administration.

Maybe in 60 years somebody will reenact it.

Gorbachev Still Trolling For Credit

"The U.S. is always anxious to win. The fact that they suffer from
this disorder, the winner complex, is the main reason why things are so
complicated in the world," Gorbachev said at a press conference at
Interfax on Friday.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. felt like it had
its hands untied, he said.
"They forced the war in Europe. They thought that now they have a
chance and must create a new empire. All intellectual and political
forces were involved. Now everything has calmed down. It was wishful
thinking," Gorbachev said.
////The end of the Cold War is both sides' achievement, he said.
"We all lost in the Cold War, and all benefited from its end.

I think the fact that Gorbachev doesn't understand the desire to win i.e. succeed says whole lot about Russian history.

Cool Fridays

From The Times Online....The 50 Best Movie Robots...

Discuss among yourselves...

Secret Agent Slap Down

From the Guardian...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Matt Damon's amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne shares initials with another notorious screen operative. But other than that, Damon doesn't see any similarities between Bourne and James Bond.

Bond is ``an imperialist and he's a misogynist. He kills people and laughs and sips martinis and wisecracks about it,'' Damon, 36, told The Associated Press in an interview.

Is this surprising coming from Howard Zinn's next door neighbor?

Just listen to the Bourne director, Paul Greengrass....

He's essentially an imperial adventurer of a particularly English sort.

``Personally, I spit on those values. I think we've moved on a little bit from all that, the martini shaken, not stirred.''

You would think they would prefer the Bourne series, after all Jason Bourne spends all his time fighting the US government.

It's Not Fare

During Tuesday night's Democratic Debate Barak Obama was asked "if he was black enough?". His response?...

"You know, when I'm catching a cab in Manhattan ... in the past, I think I've given my credentials," he replied.

Well, that must be a relief to Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice who have been told for years by the Black community that they aren't really Black because of their affiliation with the Republican Party.
Apparently it's all in your cab hailing skills.

Ironic Moment Of The Week

I don't normally do celebrity news but this was too delicious (did I just say delicious?). From the Daily Mail...

Jordan and Peter Andre have named their baby daughter Princess Tiaamii.

Tiaamii - pronounced tee-ah-me - is taken from the names of Andre's mother Thea and Jordan's mother Amy.

Glamour model Jordan - real name Katie Price - explained to OK! magazine: "Her name is Princess Tiaamii. Princess because she is our princess and Tiaamii was Pete's idea because it's taken from our mums' names.

Here's the kicker...

The glamour model turned novelist(!!!) considered calling the baby Tinkerbell, she revealed, but rejected it as too many celebrities have chosen it for their dogs.

So she thought Tinkerbell was inappropriate.....because it was a dog's name.... so she named her........Princess.

Still Waiting....

....on all those hurricanes.
Heck I'm still waiting on all the hurricanes from last year.

You'll notice the article I linked to above doesn't mention how off they were last year....

"For the 2006 north Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA is predicting 13 to 16 named storms, with eight to 10 becoming hurricanes, of which four to six could become 'major' hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher," added retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

While back on Earth we actually had...

10 named storms

5 hurricanes

2 Cat.3 storms

Remember, Don't Question His Patriotism....

A. Whitney Brown (you know the guy who was on Saturday Night Live an eon or so ago) send his love letter to the troops......just the high points...from Daily Kos(of course)....

"Hello, I’m A. Whitney Brown, and I support our brave troops overseas. We all do and we all should. But what about those troops who are not so brave? Perhaps they just signed up hoping for some extra money for college, for the medical insurance, or even some hot gay military sex.
Suddenly they find themselves in Iraq for the fourth or fifth time and they’re not so brave. In fact they're crapping in their pants. Shouldn’t we support them just as much? I think we should. In fact we should support them more, because a brave man does but once, whereas a coward dies a thousand deaths.
//////
Now, I can’t make people say they support our troops. But if I’m the only one who’s willing to stand up and say ‘I support our troops’, then I’ll say it; I support our troops - cowards, queers, and all.
//////
No. I think they’re a bunch of idiots. I also think they’re morally retarded. Because they sign a contract that says they will kill whoever you tell me to kill. And that is morally retarded.
/////
So to sum up, I don’t like our troops, I don’t like what they’re doing, I don’t like their fat, whining families, and yet, I support them. Thank God I live in a free country. Thank You."

Too bad he doesn't actually work anymore....there's no one to boycott.

I will now wait patiently for the rage from the solons at Hardball and Good Morning America.

UPDATE: He maybe, kinda works for Air America Radio.
Is that even still on?

The Affiliation That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's, aides ran a political dirt digging campaign, using the State Police, against his Republican opponent in the state Senate.
And the New York Times can't bring itself to mention that Spitzer is a Democrat.

Democrats Come Out In Favor Of Drafting Your Daughters

"Posing a question that few, if any, of the candidates had fielded before, one voter asked whether young women should register with the Selective Service, as do young men in case the draft is reinstated. Clinton, Obama and Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut said yes."

Dog Da.....I Mean The Kill Point

It seems Spike is confused by how they should deal with the protagonists in their new "mini-series" The Kill Point. Are the bank robbers crazed former vets ala Rambo embarking on a life of crime once they get home? Or are they vets foully abused by the Iraq War and the Bush administration and fighting back against the "system"?

Hey, maybe they can have it both ways....

Waiting On The Generals

In turkey.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party won a resounding election victory on Sunday, giving the pro-business, Islamist-rooted party a mandate for reform but potentially setting the stage for renewed tensions with the secular elite.
The result is a moral triumph for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who called early parliamentary polls after losing a battle with the establishment, which includes army generals, who did not want his ex-Islamist ally as head of state.

The clock is running...the army has already made its position perfectly clear....

The problem that emerged in the presidential election process is focused on arguments over secularism. Turkish Armed Forces are concerned about the recent situation. It should not be forgotten that the Turkish Armed Forces are a party in those arguments, and absolute defender of secularism. Also, the Turkish Armed Forces is definitely opposed to those arguments and negative comments. It will display its attitude and action openly and clearly whenever it is necessary.

Those who are opposed to Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's understanding 'How happy is the one who says I am a Turk' are enemies of the Republic of Turkey and will remain so. The Turkish Armed Forces maintain their sound determination to carry out their duties stemming from laws to protect the unchangeable characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. Their loyalty to this determination is absolute.

... As They Say, "As West Hollywood Goes... So Goes The Nation"

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 22 (UPI) -- A nationwide call for the impeachment of U.S. President George Bush was bolstered last week when officials in West Hollywood, Calif., joined the fray.

.......but what does Tarzana think?

Another Reason Why Burning Your Crops To Fuel Your Cars I s Probably A Bad Idea

..... noticed milk prices lately?.......

Think gas is expensive. Try buying milk in the city, where prices for a gallon are hovering above $4.

And grocers say a gallon could cost $5 by the fall.

The price pop is being fueled by ethanol, the much-ballyhooed biofuel produced from corn.

Economists say the price of milk in the United States has surged to a near-record - rising 55 percent over the past year in some states - in part because of the increasing costs of feeding a dairy herd.

The price of corn feed for cattle has almost doubled in a year as demand has grown for the grain to produce ethanol. Store owners said those costs have been passed on to them, and they have been forced to pass them on to consumers.

More of the joyous repercussions of the fad that is ethanol

Design For New Michael Vick Shoe

"In April 2007, PEACE, PHILLIPS and VICK executed approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in 'testing' sessions by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

Trolling For Votes In Alexandria

Why did "hoping to be a Senator", Rep. Tom Davis, vote to continue federal funding of Planned Parenthood?

I Knew It, I Knew It, Al Gore Can Make You Sick

While scientists like Colborn are making environmentally sound lifestyle choices based on their research results, a growing number of people have literally worried themselves sick over various environmental doomsday scenarios.

Their worry even has a name: eco-anxiety.

Melissa Pickett, an eco-therapist with a practice in Santa Fe, N.M., sees anywhere from 40 to 80 eco-anxious patients a month. They complain of panic attacks, loss of appetite, irritability and unexplained bouts of weakness, sleeplessness and “buzzing,” which they describe as the eerie feeling that their cells are twitching. Pickett’s remedies include telling patients to carry natural objects, like certain minerals, with them for a period of weeks.

You know what she suffering from don't you?

Al Gorephobia.

You Can Take The Boy Out Of The Ghetto,...

....but you.....well you get the picture...

Falcon's contract ---$13o million

Signing bonus------$37 million

Ripping dogs to pieces for money---priceless

But when you make thugs into heroes you get what you pay for.

When Did This Happen....

....not the crash, I mean the name change ?...

LONGMONT — A vintage airplane crashed and caught fire today outside Longmont, and two men on board were taken to a hospital, officials said.

Boulder County sheriff’s Cmdr. Joseph Gang said both men were conscious when they were pulled from the wreckage.

The plane was a Beechcraft C-45H, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

Gang said the twin-engine aircraft appeared to be have engine trouble, clipped some trees and snagged power lines.

An FAA database said the plane was built in 1951 and was owned by the Commemorative Air Force’s American Airpower Flying Museum in Midland, Texas.

Commemorative Air force ? If that name doesn't ring a bell it's because up until 2oo2 it was the Confederate Air force.

Wow, These Guys Are Obsessed By The Climate

A huge underground lake has been found in Sudan's Darfur region, scientists say, which they believe could help end the conflict in the arid region.

Some 1,000 wells will be drilled in the region, with the agreement of Sudan's government, the Boston University researchers say.

Analysts say competition for resources between Darfur's Arab nomads and black African farmers is behind the conflict.

Oh do they now. According to Dr. Walid Phares...

since the modern state of Sudan was established by the British in the 1950s, the northern Arab-Islamic elite attempted to dominate two ethno religious African communities. The southern Black Christians and Animists and the Nubian Black Muslims.

Since the 1989 coup that brought the National Islamic Front NIF to power with General Omar Bashir and Hassan Turabi, the "Jihadists"in Khartoum focused on the ethnic cleansing of the southern "Christians," on the base of religious ideology. They tried to rally the Black Muslims against the Black Christians. But as of the end of the 1990s, and especially since 2001, the Blacks understood that they were under two Jihads. One is religious against the Christians, and the other is racial against the Blacks, and they were being played against each other.

Hence, the Nuba mountain Black Muslims started to oppose the Arab-led militias. Furthermore, a growing number of anti-Islamists Arabs, criticized Khartoum's regime for its racial and extremist attitude.

Besides, world events, and the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq convinced the Khartoum regime to act against the weakest link first, that is, the Black Muslims in Darfour. Hence, the Jamjawed, Arab militias armed by the regime, unleashed a clear anti-African genocide. So, to summarize, the Jihadists in Khartoum are both religious extremists and racists. In addition, they are also fascists as they have suppressed the moderate Arab Muslim voices.

Presenting The Elders Of The Universe, er, or...

...the Guardians of the Earth, or maybe the Masters of their Domains, or......

Branson is wondering, in other words, whether an entrepreneur could not sort out the world's problems better than politicians.
Last month on his Necker island he hosted a conference on this theme. His idea is to create a world council of 'Elders' — a kind of United Nations of the great, the good and the rich — to tackle issues such as conflict and global warming. He says he has the backing of Kofi Annan and Nelson Mandela. It is either the kind of leap of imagination that singles out great entrepreneurs or an act of childish hubris.

but...

Branson is not interested in seeking political office — 'too like school' — nor does he have much to do with politicians.

Too cool for school more like it.
And after lunch he will solve the worlds educational problems,...........sort of...

Meanwhile, Branson is setting up his own university, which will teach students about the causes of world conflict and social issues and which will move like a traveling circus around the world's trouble spots.

Kind of like own Green Lantern Corps...

He says that initially he will admit 600 students and they will get first-class tuition from his 'Elders'. Neatly, they, in turn, will be unpaid researchers for the Elders.

...or not...

The campuses will be 'tented structures', pitched in different countries, already being designed by the Virgin events manager, and students will pay to be admitted, making the venture self-financing.

Because, of course, where else would the financing come from.....hmmm...

Buy A Gov...

Shortly after endorsing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack received nearly $90,000 in donations to his defunct presidential campaign from some of Clinton's major backers, campaign finance reports show.

The donations, disclosed in Federal Election Commission filings over the weekend, came from Clinton fundraising bastions of New York, California, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

None came from Iowa, where Vilsack served two terms as governor.

Why doesn't Edwards just put aside some of his haircut money and pay Hillary to drop out of the race ?

Waiting patiently for Hillary and Vil Sack to appear on Olbermann's Worse Person in the World List.

"On the Somme...

...the flower of British youth was sent to death or mutilation. At Passchendaele, the survivors were tipped into the slough of despond."

A grim anniversary is remembered 90 years on.

The image above is of the Menin Gate where the names of 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers are inscribed.

Sex In The City

Headscarf ? Check.

Bangle ? Check.

Tiny silver ring ? Not on your life.
So says a British high court in the controversy over the Silver Ring Thing...

Lydia Playfoot, a 16-year old pupil, today lost her high court challenge over a ban preventing her from wearing a Christian "purity ring".

Her rights to education and to express her religion had not been violated, said deputy high court judge Michael Supperstone QC, who ordered her father Philip to pay £12,000 towards the school's costs.
///////
the judge ruled that the act of wearing a ring was not "intimately linked" to the belief in chastity before marriage. He said: "The claimant was under no obligation, by reason of her belief, to wear the ring, nor does she suggest that she was so obliged."

The judge said the school had permitted a Muslim girl to wear a headscarf where it was considered by her to be a requirement of her faith, two Sikh girls have been allowed to wear a Kara bangle on a similar basis, and a pupil was allowed to wear a headscarf as it was believed that it was required as part of her faith as a member of the Plymouth Brethren.

The Silver Ring Thing is apparently having a tough go of it in the UK where UNICEF has...

...put Britain last in a table of 21 countries for children's well-being and found that more British children had sex by the age of 15 than in any other country.

Going to Hell In A Federal Express Package

A good piece from the Indian paper Tehelka on Musharraf's newfound agressiveness in dealing with the Islamists and the shade of Indira Ghandi. They make the comaparison between the Lal Masjid operation and Operation Bluestar, and ask the question can Musharraf keep all the balls in the air better than Indira Ghandi. Even now tensions are increasing in the Talibanised districts that Pakistani allowed to be formed in the Tribal Areas. Will the forces there spread out now and launch a campaign of terror against Musharraf's government? Can the Pakistani army clean out the terror nests before things get out of control? Have they waited too long? What about the secular opposition to Musharraf's regime that has been so active lately; will this strengthen or weaken their hand?
What about the south? Baluchistan continues to fester politically and many areas are in chaos after the devastating cyclone that struck earlier in the month. How will the government's typically poor handling of this disaster affect the national mood?

Sneaky Limey

Those crafty Brits.
First badgers, now......squirrels....obviously Brian Jacques is now heading MI6

Police in Iran are reported to have taken 14 squirrels into custody - because they are suspected of spying.
////
The rodents were found near the Iranian border allegedly equipped with eavesdropping devices.

Of course nothing beats the headline...

Brits deny releasing 'giant man-eating' badgers that target Iraqis

I Confess, I Confess...

...I confess my thought crimes, says this hapless writer from the Christian Science Monitor...

I do not doubt that old-school racism remains a defining characteristic of American life, but I believe the kind of soft racism of which I'm guilty is part of the problem. So sure that my very whiteness puts me on a wrong foot, I won't admit our differences. So afraid of looking the fool, I learn nothing.

I hope that when my children read this 20 years from now, they'll marvel at my backwardness. That their experience in a truly integrated school system in which cultural diversity is a value both taught and lived will mean that my mental walls don't survive to their generation.

Just Not Getting It.

An 847 word piece from Joe Gandelman on the implosion of John McCain's candidacy and he uses the word "immigration" exactly once.

Latest Ecumencial Frenzy...

...more on the "Hey you're not really a church" dust up at Canada's Western Standard...

The evangelical Christian founder of "World Net Daily" cheekily posed his own question and possible responses as a poll for readers -- a cheekiness that seemed almost entirely lost on the usually quick-witted Kathy Shaidle of "Relapsed Catholic." The World Alliance of Reformed Churches responded, here. The Italian branch of the World Evangelical Alliance had held a public meeting in Rome asserting religious liberty, but the WEA to date has not responded -- as far as I could find.

An example of what passes for "quick-witted" ...

Sad, isn't it? While crazy fundies spend their time prooftexting hate speech, we Catholics are making brilliant films, creating great literature and art -- not to mention getting drunk and pigging out!

How true, Kathy. So too be fair why don't we "crazy fundies" get to keep the English speaking Protestant poltical-cultural tradition and you get to keep all that "brillant" stuff from the rest of the Catholic Americas.

Cheap Labor Vs. Children's Lives

We know what El Presidente thinks.
Yet, another Death......through this country's disgraceful non-enforcement of its immigration laws.

A suspect in the case of a missing 12-year-old Tacoma girl directed police to her body today, ending a week-long search after her July 4 abduction that drew national attention.
/////
Ramsdell said information provided by the suspect led police and FBI investigators to the girl's body. Court records name the man as 42-year-old Terapon Dang Adhahn, a convicted sex offender who has been in custody on an unrelated immigration matter since Monday. He had not been charged in Zina's abduction or death as of Thursday night.
/////
The investigation led officers to Adhahn, who drove a gray van with recently-changed license plates registered to another car. State Department of Corrections records say Adhahn is an Asian-Pacific Islander.

In 1990, he was charged with violently raping a 16-year-old relative, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree incest in exchange for completing 60 months of sexual-deviancy counseling.

Adhahn was arrested Monday on an unrelated immigration matter, and was charged Monday with failing to register as a sex offender.

Seen him in the voting booth lately??

Adhahn is registered to vote in Pierce County.!!!!

Winston Who??

Britain's World War II prime minister Winston Churchill has been cut from a list of key historical figures recommended for teaching in English secondary schools, a government agency says.
////////
But although Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, Joseph Stalin and Martin Luther King have also been dropped from the detailed guidance accompanying the curriculum, Sir Winston's exclusion is likely to leave traditionalists aghast.

What actually is in the syllabus?

Secondary school pupils will be taught in lessons lasting just five minutes under a radical shake-up of the curriculum that introduces a raft of subjects including Mandarin Chinese and lessons on debt management, it was announced yesterday.

Schools are being encouraged to tear up their timetables and introduce new ways of teaching such as quick bursts of mental arithmetic or spelling and topic-based teaching lasting up to a week. There will be an emphasis on British identity, citizenship and challenges facing the world, such as global warming.

And this...

The curriculum has been extended beyond traditional subjects, with a new emphasis on “economic well-being” that will see students taught financial life skills, although this will not be in the compulsory part of the curriculum.

Issues such as obesity will also be tackled through the curriculum, with 11- to 14- year-olds receiving lessons in making healthy meals from basic ingredients.

Oh, and all the right people like it...

Business groups welcomed the emphasis on preparing young people for the workplace, although John Cridland, deputy director general of the CBI, warned that the education system, particularly in science teaching, must “get the support it needs in terms of specialist teachers and facilities”
//////
The plans were welcomed by unions, although the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said they should have scrapped the subject-based curriculum entirely.

Apparently it's the syllabus for the MTV generation.

Wait I'm the MTV generation.
Make that the XBox Generation.

Brillant !!

A few hours after Bush's remarks, Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1, 2008. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and fight al-Qaida and other terrorists.

Ah yes,not enough troops to be effective but more than enough for casualties.

Speaking Of Idols

The Pope explains how the Protestant churches ,oops I mean "ecclesial Communities" , are not only not "The Church", but are not even churches.

FIFTH QUESTION

Why do the texts of the Council and those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the title of “Church” with regard to those Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century?

RESPONSE

According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery[19] cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense[20].

I wonder if the "Holy Father" will backtrack as much after this as after his earlier outreach to the Muslims.
It is rather amusing though; the use of the word genuine within the context of what catholics consider the Eucharistic Mystery.
And I didn't know "sacramental" was Latin for gay.



To think people wonder why I don't find Romney's Mormonism a big deal.

Harry Reid Brings In Idol Worshipper to Give Senate Prayer

To put it bluntly.

Washington (CNSNews.com) -- Three Christian protestors were removed from the U.S. Senate chamber's observation gallery Thursday when they disrupted the morning prayer -- being delivered for the first time in history by a Hindu chaplain.

The three unidentified protestors began praying loudly when Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain from Nevada, started praying. The demonstrators prayed for forgiveness from Jesus Christ for "betraying" the Christian tradition.

Hey, isn't Harry Reid a Mormon.

After the prayer, Reid took to the floor to thank Zed for opening the Senate. He spoke of a statue of Gandhi he keeps in his office, and encouraged his colleagues to "think of Gandhi."

But as I've said before that little elephant head guy is kind of cute.

I don't much like the Smurf looking fellow though.

The Sochi Scheme

Some more back up for my basic thesis that Sochi is the lamest Olympic venue eveeer...

But, of course, the IOC ignored the realities of Sochi's total lack of fitness for the games (you can't fly directly to Sochi from the West; traveling to Sochi from Moscow is a nightmare of slow, fetid train compartments or rickety, terrifying Russian domestic airplaines). It ignored the proximity of Sochi to Chechnya and the obvious security risks that presents (Beslan and Dubrovka were apparently not events the IOC is aware of). It ignored the fact that Sochi is a beach resort, incapable of providing a classic winter village ambiance to the games such as they usually have. It ignored Russia's pandemic corruption, authoritarianism, crime (Russia has the 5th highest murder rate in the entire world) and poverty.

Basically it has all the advantages you would expect from Russia, except, you know, the cold weather.

How Do You Say No Remorse In Arabic?

Metallica singer James Hetfield was investigated by UK airport officials who believed he was a terrorist this week, it has been claimed. The star was barred entry to Luton airport on Thursday and questioned by staff who were concerned about his appearance. Fears that Hetfield might be involved in terrorism were apparently founded on his "Taliban-like beard", according to The Times.

I'm sure glad those "Cool" Brits aren't all hysterical about terrorism.

And they do realize that tattoos are forbidden to Moslems. Right?

The Enemy Who Must Not Be Named.

I just came back from "Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix" and noticed the strange similarity between the Ministry of Magic and the haplessly politically correct British government.
And I'm not the only one...

...Brown's strong desire not to call Islamic terrorism by name echoes the insistence of the head of the Wizard government, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge — to refer to their mortal enemy, Voldemort, as "he who must not be named."

OK, if you follow the link he talks about Book Seven when he means Book Five but that aside after seeing the movie I thought the similarity uncanny what with witches who are so terrified of changing their view of the world that they are even unwilling to defend themselves against or even recognize a mortal threat.


Will J.K. Rowling next wind up writing for the National Review?



.... actually I guess she would write for the Spectator.

Wow, Those Mormons Are Strict

A widow and grandma spent the morning in jail, arrested for refusing to give a policeman her name when he tried writing her a ticket for failing to water her yard. The woman hasn't watered her lawn in more than a year, and the condition of her yard violates an Orem zoning ordinance.

Tonight, the woman says she is traumatized and shocked that she was hauled to jail, just because she says she can't afford to water her lawn.

I have a feeling that soon she'll be able to afford to water her lawn.

Hmm.....Now That We Have Them All Together In the Same Spot

First Muslim Episcopalians, now do we have Muslim Atheists ?

Atheists applaud Ellison's views on Cheney, Libby, 9/11

Freshman Congressman Keith Ellison was among friends Sunday -- in this case, a gathering of atheists -- so his support for a fistful of hot-button opinions, including the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, brought enthusiastic nods of approval and standing ovations.

On comparing Sept. 11 to the burning of the Reichstag building in Nazi Germany: "It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted. The fact is that I'm not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like that because, you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box -- dismiss you."

So basically he's admitting he's a liar. Can you read it any other way?

The World Of (Kind Of) Weird Weather

Officials at Live Earth Johannesburg* have blamed the effects of climate change for poor audience attendance at Saturday's (07Jul07) South African event. Organiser John Langford believes extremely cold weather in the region - it snowed last week (ends06Jul07) for the first time in a quarter of a century - kept people away from the concert, which starred Joss Stone, UB40, Angelique Kidjo and Baaba Maal.

OK, so snow is rare in Johannesburg. But shouldn't we all keep in mind that it is winter in the Southern Atmosphere. Isn't this akin to all the blather lately about the heat wave in Las Vegas. I mean record breaking heat in the desert. In southern Nevada. In July. Who'd a' thunk it.


*Remember, when ever I say Johannesburg imagine I'm talking just like that bad guy from Lethal Weapon II.

It's A Wenner-ful Life

When you're driving that Prius at 11 miles hour or sweltering while your thermostats set a 78 remember (and I want even mention toilet paper squares) that's just for you common folk. There are some people whose role in society is just so important that we must make allowances for them. Like magazine publishers.

The rumor around Rolling Stone's offices has the boss, who's known for taking long holidays, only spending two weeks on the job between now and Labor Day. Having returned from an idyll in Greece for his son's wedding , the wee mogul is off to Sun Valley, Idaho, for a spell, presumably in the company of his boyfriend, Matt Nye, and their one-year-old son.( and he doesn't like people interfering with nature) Assuming he only makes one round trip in each direction, that's a total distance of around 14,000 miles.

In his private jet.

But wait, there's more...

And Wenner isn't much better when he's in town, where he has a chauffeured Mercedes to shuttle him the 15 blocks or so between his apartment and his office. Even more wasteful is his lunch routine: a private chef prepares his meal at home, then staffers drive it down to the office, don black-and-white uniforms, and serve it to him on his personal china.

Ha.Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. !!

The former Imam of Bilal Abdullah speaks...

Sejad Mekic, the imam at the Cambridge mosque which Abdullah also attended, gave a sermon on Friday condemning all acts of terror.

However, he later said he had doubts that the incident at Glasgow airport was a terrorist attack, saying it could have been a car accident.

"I still haven't made my conclusion," he said.

When it was pointed out that containers of petrol were reportedly found in the car, he said: "Maybe they used to sell petrol."

Hat tip to Halls of Macademia...

Yeah, Genocide Is Bad...But You Know It Could Be Worse...

Could someone parse this for me...

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

… Iraq, and the region around it, could be even bloodier and more chaotic after Americans leave. There could be reprisals against those who worked with American forces, further ethnic cleansing, even genocide. Potentially destabilizing refugee flows could hit Jordan and Syria. Iran and Turkey could be tempted to make power grabs. Perhaps most important, the invasion has created a new stronghold from which terrorist activity could proliferate.

Now read the next paragraph...

The administration, the Democratic-controlled Congress, the United Nations and America’s allies must try to mitigate those outcomes — and they may fail. But Americans must be equally honest about the fact that keeping troops in Iraq will only make things worse.

Now read the previous paragraph again.

Now do this over and over and over again.

Not So Live Blog Of Live Earth

Hey.
Know what's hard?
Watching a bunch of concerts and typing about them at the same time. Apparently multi-tasking ain't my thing; Lester Bangs at least got to leave the stadium before he had to start pounding away.
Well, here goes...

Keith Urban- Introduced by Al Gore as his "good friend" Keith Urban, "friend" Urban slashed into a guitar driven "Gimme Shelter". I was immediately transported back to 1969.
Not. Which I guess was a good thing for all the gun-wielding, lime-green suit wearing Black guys in the audience.
Urban then introduced the most commonly seen musical side effect of the evening. No, not the wah wah pedal. I'm talking about the black, female singer who suddenly appears on stage and tries to convince the audience that you aren't such a mediocre sounding white guy.
Of course the original "Gimme Shelter" had that too. In this case it was Alicia Keys turn.

Duran Duran- Aging 80's dinosaurs who actually put on a pretty good set, no doubt because they have a lot of stadium experience. Was struck by how relevant "Girls On Film" was to the whole Climate Change debate.

Genesis- Aging 80's dinosaurs who actually put on a pretty good set, no doubt because they have a lot of stadium experience. Hey, didn't I just write that ?!
When did Genesis replace Phil Collins with Locke from Lost? While he was up there he could have at least explained that polar bear thing.

Beatsie Boys- The Wembley audience looked very confused. I thought you Londoners were supposed to be so hip?

Metallica- Remember when they actually played fast? I do. I had hoped they would do something from their first album, like "Jump In the Fire" or "No Remorse". They didn't. They did do "Violating Copyright Laws And You Die".

Macy Gray- mmhhIs mmhhreal mmmhhhard mmhhto mmhhunderstand.

Joss Stone- In Johannesburg for some reason. Suddenly she's a ringer for Nicole Kidman (don't tell Urban) and makes Alicia Keys sound like she should be performing in the subway.

Bon Jovi- Why does he insist on buying his shirts in the little boys section?

The Smashing Pumpkins- Question? Back when Billy Corgan had hair, could he sing?

The Police- That is the reformed band , not the local gendarme. They suddenly realized how badly their repetoire had aged and stuck to songs from their decent first album. Sting showed his innovation by bringing on a Black, male singer. In this case Kanye West who rapped about how he wished he could vote for Al Gore in the middle of "Message In A Bottle".
No, really.
(Note to Sting: the yoga isn't doing anything for the voice.)

Elton John- Finally Elton John came out and performed "Candle In The Wind" except with all the lyrics changed so that every time he used to say Marilyn he now said "our great big, blue marble."
Actually I just made that up. I have no idea where Elton was. Probably off buying flowers.

Madonna- That whole Weimar Berlin shtick was better when Liza Minnelli did it.

I kept having the feeling that I was watching on of those Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland movies from the 30's. You remember the ones. Some disaster impends and so Rooney goes "Hey everybody let's put on a show." It's just now instead of old Mr. Jenkins barn they get to use Wembley Stadium.

All in all an interesting experience. At least in the anthropological sense.

Journalists Giving More Than Money To Democrats

I always knew the MSM was in bed with the Democratic Party but this is taking it all too literal...

When the glamorous newsreader broke the story of the mayor’s extra-marital affair she kept the juiciest detail to herself — she was his lover.

Now Mirthala Salinas has been placed “on leave” while her television company investigates whether her relationship with Antonio Villaraigosa, the Mayor of Los Angeles, breached journalistic ethics.

But don't worry "dynamic and media-genic Latino" Villaraigosa it's not your fault.... it's the......Blogs

Clearly, the mayor would not be in the fix he's in — and it's quite a fix — without the emergence of a vigorous online media that is reshaping the city's political landscape. Los Angeles mayors Sam Yorty and Tom Bradley were married men who had affairs, which never got into the papers because, even if City Hall reporters had been inclined to pursue the story, it would have been virtually impossible to make it conform to the standards their editors enforced. When James K. Hahn's marriage broke up in the middle of his term, there hardly was a ripple in the local press.

No more.

Ah, to she a tear for the good ol' days.
But remember...

Villaraigosa's personal connection with Salinas is a private issue that legitimately concerns only the two of them and their families. No one else has a moral or rhetorical right to an opinion on that aspect of their conduct.

Yes you heard that right people.
The Press is telling you what you have a "right to an opinion on" and what you don't.

I See Somebody...

...finally agrees with me about Heinlein.

Slate V Answers The Palestinian Ski Mask Question

Everything you need to know when you're painting up those 20mm Palestinian "militants."

Saturday Follow Up: The Saga Of The Muslim Episcopal Priest

Remember the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding...

....a local Episcopal priest who announced she is both Muslim and Christian, will not be able to serve as a priest for a year, according to her bishop.

During that year, Redding is expected to "reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and what I see as the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam," the Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island, wrote in an e-mail to Episcopal Church leaders.

If I Live Blog.....

...while I watch Al Gore's Climate Concert...... does that mean I'm doubling my carbon footprint ?

Discuss among yourselves.

Heinlein July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988

I'm rather confused by some of the Conservative hyper-ventilating over Robert Heinlein. OK, I liked Starship Troopers and it was an influential Sci-Fi piece, but for all of his Anti-Communism he was still a former member of EPIC who wrote books extolling Free Love, cultural relativism, and an entire satirical novel built around the take over of the United States by Evangelicals.

Let's face it if he were alive today he'd be supporting Ron Paul.

Before You Recharge Your IPhone

By 2020, entertainment and computer technology in the home will account for an extraordinary 45 per cent of all electricity used in UK households, according to the study from the Energy Saving Trust (EST).

This is equivalent to the output from 14 power stations, the report says, and undermines the battle to reduce C02 emissions - as well as costing the owners of the gadgetry £5bn a year.

The report, The Ampere Strikes Back, explains why computers and consumer electronics are becoming such a drain on energy supplies. "New, more sophisticated and 'higher spec' versions of electronic gadgets tend to consume more electricity than the products they replace, unlike fridges and washing machines that are usually more efficient as they develop and evolve," the study says.

Furthermore, it is much too easy, according to the report, to leave electrical products switched on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with standby functions tending to be used more frequently than the "off" button.

Killing Them Through Kindness.

Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in ­connection with the ­terrorism crisis.

The Prime Minister has also instructed his team – including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – that the phrase “war on ­terror” is to be dropped.

The shake-up is part of a fresh attempt to improve community relations and avoid offending Muslims, adopting a more “consensual” tone than existed under Tony Blair.

It's good that we're getting back to the Leftist policies that we've all grown to know and love.

Sochi ??

The Russian Black Sea town of Sochi has been awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics. And it's all because of Vladimer Putin. And his charm.

"If Putin is not here, I think it would be different results," said IOC Executive Board member Sergei Bubka. "I think this final touch made the difference."

French IOC member Jean-Claude Killy said: "Putin charisma can explain four votes."

He must have been very charming because Sochi in Krasnodar Krai is one odd choice for the Winter Olympics. This is from its Wikipedia entry...

The resort has a warm climate, averaging +7 °C (44.6 °F) in January and February, and boasts many sanatoria and mineral baths. There are also tea plantations, the most northerly in Europe.
...winter temperatures rarely fall much below freezing.

To give yous some perspective the mean temperature in Richmond, Virginia is 39.5 Fahrenheit while in Sochi it is 44.
I know they can all always build facilities up in the mountains, but with Sochi some 255 miles from the Chechan border and only 17 miles from the border with the troubled sometime Georgian province of Abkhazia.
Of course terrorism may not be a problem in 2014.
Yeah.


Sochi also comes highly recommended by this Russian leader who really knew the Caucasus.

In Kansas They Call This Wednesday

I'm No Fan Of Al Gore....

....but isn't this headline rubbing it in?

Al Gore's son busted for drugs in hybrid car

This Is The Albino Hedgehog; The Albino Hedgehog Means No Blogging Today

Coming To A Court Near You

Human greed takes lion's share of solar energy

Venus to sue.

Doing My Best to Expand The Borders Of Medical Science

After reading Bill Moyers meltdown the other day I came to the realization that we had crossed an epidemiological threshold, a threshold that threatens the good mental hygiene of the nation. RDS, or as it is better known Rupert Derangement Syndrome, an affliction that leads to an aversion to Rupert Murdoch and all things associated with Rupert MurdochR is spreading through the corridors of power of our nation at an alarming rate. Now not that a billionaire publisher needs my help, but in the interests of public health I feel I should do my part in confronting this insidious, mind warping disease. While it has become most manifest in some of the nation's better known commentators such as the above mentioned Moyers and the previously quoted Columbia Journalism Review it is not just among the well known that the disease has appeared.
I first became acquainted with it while watching the Bravo show Tabloid Wars where I saw a most strange street corner encounter. A tabloid reporter, who I can't even remember if he worked for the New York Post was accosted by a passerby who apparently thought he did and was immediately set upon. The passerby started to berate Rupert Murdoch saying, "May Rupert Murdoch drop dead and die!" He then went on to change his mind saying instead that he hoped Murdoch's children would die; die like all the children who's death Murdoch was responsible for, which is where the nexus appears between Bush Derangement Syndrome and RDS.

Disenfranchised Neurologists Of The World Unite....

...you have nothing to lose but your.....well.....whatever medical thingies you use.

An Iraqi junior doctor and a brilliant neurologist working for the NHS are among the suspects being quizzed over the series of bomb attacks across Britain, it emerged today.

Details of the suspects were revealed as police staged a controlled explosion at a hospital near Glasgow today.

The junior doctor has been named as Bilal Abdulla, who is said to have completed his medical training in Baghdad.

The suspected ringleader of the Al Qaeda car bombers is a brilliant neurologist working for the NHS.

....but wait according to the New York Times....

bringing home to Britain fears of homegrown terrorist attacks among its disenfranchised South Asian population. Witnesses said the two men in the Glasgow attack were South Asian.

How To Tell If You're Old

The Universal Music Group of Vivendi, the world’s biggest music corporation, last week notified Apple that it will not renew its annual contract to sell music through iTunes, according to executives briefed on the issue who asked for anonymity because negotiations between the companies are confidential.

Instead, Universal said that it would market music to Apple at will, a move that could allow Universal to remove its songs from the iTunes service on short notice if the two sides do not agree on pricing or other terms in the future, these executives said.

Universal’s roster of artists includes stars like U2, Akon and Amy Winehouse.

Amy Winewho ??

Episcopal Jihad Strikes Again

Well, it could be.

The Right of Return...

...to New Orleans?!

From the Howard University Democratic Debate as filtered through Michelle Malkin...

10:07pm Eastern update. Weird. Journalist panelist Michel Martin asks the candidates if they would support a federal law guaranteeing the right to return to New Orleans, based on international human rights law on “displaced persons.”
Bill Richardson would support it. John Edwards doesn’t answer the question, but promises to appoint a special New Orleans adviser to report every day on what’s happening in New Orleans.

It seems its an idea that's starting to get floated out there in la-la land; look at counterpunch...

Though the hapless Nagin was excoriated for his "chocolate city" remark he was absolutely dead-on. New Orleans is most definitely a chocolate city, and all the better for it. Or was. With over half the city's black population missing, the character, the vitality, the matrix that created and nurtured this marvelous culture, is gone. Human beings make a culture, not restaurants, music festivals or second line photo-ops for tourists. I used to love spending a day in the French Quarter. This time it turned my stomach. It was too clean, and of course jammed to the gills with gawking, clueless people who can't be blamed.

Somehow He Seems To Have Lost Something In The Last Forty Years

Ted Sorenson now...

Fourth, I shall fly to New York City to pledge in person to the United Nations, in the September 2009 General Assembly, that the United States is returning to its role as a leader in international law, as a supporter of international tribunals, and as a full-fledged member of the United Nations which will pay its dues in full, on time, and without conditions, renouncing any American empire; that we shall work more intensively with other countries to eliminate global scourges, including AIDS, malaria, and other contagious diseases, massive refugee flows, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and that we will support the early dispatch of United Nations peacekeepers to halt the atrocities in Darfur. I shall make it clear that we do not covet the land of other countries for our military bases or the control of their natural resources for our factories. I shall make it clear that our country is not bound by any policies or pronouncements of my predecessor that violate international law or threaten international peace.

Ted Sorenson in 1961...

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.