Ramblings' Journal

ABC yanks controversial reality show before it airs

Welcome To The Neighborhood, a 6-part series set to start July 10, was being touted on ABC as the "next big reality show."

That's not going to happen now. ABC abruptly decided not to air the show, and has pulled all references to it from their web site.

The premise, as with most reality shows, was basic. Seven diverse families with equally diverse backgrounds, vie for a 3300 square-foot house in suburban Austin, TX.

The catch? The neighbors get to pick which family will actually get the house. The three families are all white, conservative Christian families.

Since the candidates were all ethnic minorities, gays, or tattoo fanatics, while the residents were conservative and Christian, the show's political agenda was clear: make the right look like bigots.

According to material now removed from the ABC web site, one of the conservative families included "a staunch Republican and would challenge any potential neighbors with politically different views."

So, the bottom line, was that ABC was looking to go after conservatives and skewer them with this show.

According to a Washington Post piece yesterday, conservative groups as well as gay rights groups expressed reservations over the airing of the program. This is despite claims by the producers that the show "was intended to promote a healthy and open debate about prejudice and people's fear of differences."

No word today as to what ultimately led to ABC's decision to pull the series.

Mexico issues offensive stereotypes on stamps

Weeks after Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton played patty-cake with Mexican President Vicente Fox over insults directed toward black Americans, the Mexican government strikes again, thumbing their collective noses at Jackson and Sharpton.

A series of five postage stamps was released yesterday in Mexico featuring a stereotypically offensive black cariacture from a 1940s comic. The character, Memin Pinguin, is still published in Mexico today.

Rev. Jesse Jackson said President Bush should pressure Mexico to withdraw the stamps from the market, saying they "insult people around the world."

"The impact of this is worse than what the president said," Jackson noted, referring to Fox's May 13 comment that Mexican migrants take jobs in the United States that "not even blacks" want. Fox later met with Jackson and expressed regret but insisted his comments had been misinterpreted.

The character on the stamp, hapless but lovable, is drawn with exaggerated features, thick lips and wide-open eyes. His appearance, speech and mannerisms are the subject of kidding by white characters in the comic book.

Mexico, predictably, defended the stamps and the images, comparing them to the Warner Brothers cartoon character Speedy Gonzales, a hyper-speed mouse which debuted in 1953.

Mexican authorities said that more than 750,000 of the stamps, in a 6.50 peso (60 cents) demonination will be issued. The 6.50 peso stamps are mostly used domestically, though some could be sent abroad.

New Freedom Tower design unveiled.

After being sent hastily back to the drawing board, the building that will rise at Ground Zero to replace the World Trade Center was unveiled today.

The redrawn tower will be set further back from one of Manhattan's main thoroughfares and atop a 200-foot concrete and metal pedestal designed to repel explosions, city and state officials said.

The tower will lose the twisting, asymmetrical design meant to recall the outstretched arm of the Statute of Liberty. Instead, it will resemble a faceted version of one of the twin towers, sitting atop an identical footprint and reaching an identical 1,362 feet into the sky.

A spire and antenna atop the building will stretch upward to a height of 1776 feet.

Because there will no longer be a frame of latticework above the usable space, the observation deck will now be hundreds of feet higher than the previous design. Instead of 1,100 feet (335 m), the new deck will allow views from 1,362 feet (415 m), the ceiling height of the previous Tower Two. This will be higher than the destroyed Twin Towers observation deck, and also slightly higher than the observation Skydeck of the Sears Tower in Chicago.

The building will have extra wide staircases, and "safe areas" on each floor.

The Freedom Tower is expected to be completed in 2007.

The new design certainly looks a far sight better than the original one.

I think we're gonna need a bigger pot of oil...

This 646 pound Mekong giant catfish, the largest fresh water fish every recorded, was snagged in Thailand by researchers looking to protect various species of fish.

Apparently, the Mekong catfish was caught and eaten in a remote village along the Mekong River, home to more "giant" species of fish -- including the giant freshwater stingray, the dog-eating catfish, the dinosaur-like arapaima, and the Chinese paddlefish -- than anywhere in the world.

Anybody got a fifty-pound bag of corn meal?

Putin pockets Pats' pretty ring

New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, while visiting Russia with a delegation of American business leaders, showed Russian President Vladimir Putin a diamond encrusted ring -- his new Super Bowl ring. Putin smiled appreciatively and put it on his finger. He then said "how nice."

Putin then put the ring in his pocket and left.

Following a meeting of American business executives and Putin at Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg on Saturday, Kraft showed the ring to Putin — who tried it on, put it in his pocket and left, said Russian news reports.

It isn't clear yet if Kraft, whose business interests also include paper and packaging companies and venture capital investments, intended that Putin keep the ring.

However, a Kremlin official who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of compromising his position said the ring was a present. "Such a present was made," the official said.

He said Putin had given the ring to the Kremlin library where other foreign gifts are kept.

The ring, with it's 124 diamonds, is certainly worth more than the $15,000 value previously reported.

No word from Kraft, who is traveling overseas right now, and not due back until sometime next week according to Patriots' spokesperson Stacey James.

Geek-Post: iTunes 4.9 with podcast support now out; ours'll be up soon

I'm in mega-geek mode this week.

In addition to writing new stuff for Project 21, writing new stuff of my own, and working on several other more mundane projects, Apple has released iTunes version 4.9. This version includes on-board support for podcasting; which excites me for several reasons - one of which is work on piecing together my own podcast.

In any event, head on over to Apple.com/itunes, and get your updated copy for Mac or Windows. The new iTunes includes a detailed podcast directory, where you can find all sorts of programming. There is, at least for now, a paucity of conservative programming, when you look at the political side - ironically enough since most of Air America's programming, and plenty of other opinionated folk from the left are up and running on this revolution.

Not to matter - there's tons of fantastic programming out there to listen to -- fantastic music from Brian Ibbot's Coverville, plenty of sci-fi geekishness from Mike & Evo's Dragon Page & Slice of SciFi, wonderful food from Anne Bramley's Eat Feed, along with detailed information on podcasting and the podcasting revolution from the "podfather" himself, Adam Curry, on the Daily Source Code.

And that doesn't even scratch the surface.

I'll be putting a "favorite podcast" section on the left rail soon, so that you can get to some of the podcasts that I enjoy tremendously. Eventually, I'll have my own out there, and link it from right here. So you don't have to go anywhere. Mine will include plenty of the same sort of information that you get right here in print, plus a bit more irreverance and stuff to boot.

I don't have a start date just yet, but give me a little while, and I'll be there.

House Moonbats looking at Bush impeachment strategy

Moonbats in the US House who are married to the Downing Street memos are strategizing with a singular goal in mind: impeaching George W. Bush on charges of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

"If you read the record of the writing of the Constitution, ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ had a very particular meaning at the time of the drafting of the Constitution," Rep. Zoe Lofgren said at a forum held by Rep. John Conyers earlier this month.

"It certainly didn’t mean lying about sex," she complained, in quotes picked up by the Hill newspaper. "But it might well mean lying to the Congress about a large public purpose such as Iraq."

"We would like to see a member of Congress look into whether or not the president committed impeachable offenses," said John Bonifaz, a constitutional lawyer who co-founded the group AfterDowningStreet.org. "We’ve been having that discussion with a number of [congressional] offices," he explained.

Those who are on the impeachment bandwagon either blow past or ignore the fact that the Downing Street memos were for the most part (and by his own admission) "recreated" by the London newspaper reporter who made them public. The larger question that everyone seems to continue to igore: do the memos truly exist in full, or are they the embellished rantings of an anti-Bush/anti-Blair writer who's looking for attention?

Moonbat Congresscritter Ford calls Kelo V. New London decision a "positive"

US Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (Moonbat-TN) is supporting the idiotic Supreme Court eminent domain case from last week.

"I've always believed individual rights are a big thing..... but, I find value in the court's decision. As long as people are compensated fairly, I can appreciate the decision. Certain areas in our state are crying for development, if this decision helps - it's a positive."

Ford is running for Bill Frist's US Senate seat. Now you know how he feels about your personal property rights. I trust that you folk reading this in Tennessee will keep that in mind when you get to the ballot box.

Bill Hobbs has audio clips of Ford in all his moonbattery.

Star Wars XLII: Rove vs. Durbin

Old Southern saying: "A Hit Dog Will Holler"

Democrats -- moonbats all -- who tried to downplay, ignore and pooh-pooh the comments of Senator "Dick Dastardly" Durbin (Disingenuous-IL) last week are now up in arms over comments made by White House Advisor Karl Rove this week. The Dems are demanding that Rove apologize for his comments or resign.

Rove's comments, which came at a Wednesday night gathering of the New York Conservative Party, included charges that liberals are soft on terrorism.

Rove, the architect behind President Bush's election victories, on Wednesday night told a gathering of the New York Conservative Party that "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Conservatives, he said, "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

He added that groups linked to the Democratic Party made the mistake of calling for "moderation and restraint" after the terrorist attacks.

Liberal groups like MoveOn.org have gone up in smoke, as Rove's charges hit them square on.

Eli Pariser, executive director of the MoveOn political action committee, said the online group didn't oppose U.S. military action in Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"Karl Rove is trying to change the subject on the president's failed Iraq policy," Pariser said in a statement. "Recent polls show growing majorities want an exit strategy. Lying about MoveOn won't solve Rove's problem."

Democratic leaders in both house of Congress are also calling for Rove's head on a silver platter. I'm guessing that since they see Rove as the so-called puppetmaster pulling President Bush's strings, that if they can get rid him, they have a better shot at going after Bush and the GOP.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, in a letter to Rove co-signed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Democratic senators from Connecticut and New Jersey, called the presidential adviser's speech "a slap in the face to the unity that America achieved after Sept. 11, 2001."

For Rove "to try to exploit 9/11 for political purposes once again just shows you how desperate they are," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, who in recent days has been the target of Republican attacks for saying that the Iraq war was a "grotesque mistake."

But as I said, this is the height of hypocracy for the Democratic Party, as they minimized Durbin's comments, refusing to denounce him or those comments, even in light of Durbin's snide pseudo-apology earlier this week.

Perhaps the Dems should look in their own mirror before throwing stones or protesting too loudly.

SCOTUS says cities can take your home -- and you can't do a bloody thing about it

The US Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision announced today that cities can seize property from private citizens and give it to private industry.

The decision was tied to a New London, CT case where the city wanted to seize an entire neighborhood of homes under eminent domain provisions, and hand that property over to a developer who would build an office, residential and retail complex supporting a new $300 million research facility of Pfizer Pharmaceutical. In their defense, the city claimed that the eminent domain clause of the 5th Amendment to the Constitution would apply here, as the project would increase tax revenues, create jobs and improve the local economy.

As for the people that lived there, in some cases for generations? The city said the heck with 'em. And five Supreme Court justices agreed with that.

Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said the case turned on the question of whether New London's development plan served a "public purpose." He added, "Without exception, our cases have defined that concept broadly, reflecting our longstanding policy of deference to legislative judgments in this field."

New London officials "were not confronted with the need to remove blight in the Fort Trumbull area, but their determination that the area was sufficiently distressed to justify a program of economic rejuvenation is entitled to our deference," Stevens wrote. "The City has carefully formulated an economic development plan that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including--but by no means limited to--new jobs and increased tax revenue."

Stevens added that "because that plan unquestionably serves a public purpose, the takings challenged here satisfy the public use requirement of the Fifth Amendment."

The larger ramifications of this were pointed out by minority opinions, filed by both Clarence Thomas and Sandra Day O'Connor.

"Today the Court abandons this long-held, basic limitation on government power," O'Connor wrote. "Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner, so long as it might be upgraded -- i.e., given to an owner who will use it in a way that the legislature deems more beneficial to the public -- in the process."

The effect of the decision, O'Connor said, "is to wash out any distinction between private and public use of property -- and thereby effectively to delete the words "for public use" from the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment."

Bottom line? If you own any property, and the local municipality decides that someone else "deserves" or "needs" your property more than you do (i.e., the "other guy" can increase the tax base or provide jobs), then you're S.O.L. They get to take your land. And you don't have a damn thing to say about it.

So much for the concept of personal property rights. Thanks to this decision, you can just kiss that right -- which was one of those guaranteed by the Constitution itself, mind you -- away.

Reparations: There still ain't no such thing as a free lunch

Three years ago, I wrote Slavery Reparations Aren't a "Free Lunch" for Project 21, where I point out that efforts by black intelligensia geared toward encouraging reparations be paid for slavery are simply not a matter of a "free lunch."

The only thing that's changed today are the names and the faces. The issue is still the same.

In March, Chicago Alderman Dorothy Tillman introduced a measure to the City Council that asked that today's black Americans be compensated by the federal government for the four hundred years that blacks historically were slaves in the New World.

Dorothy "The Hat" does not say, in her bill, how this would be accomplished, where this compensation would come from or exactly who would be paid.

Tillman has already been able to strong-arm a bill through the City Councl that demands that any firm that does business with the City be forced to disclose (and attone for) any connections to slavery in their past.

Bank of America was forced to attone for the connections of one of more than four hundred banks acquired by the Bank and it's subsidiaries over the years. In this case, Providence Bank, which was subsequently acquired by the ancestor firms making up FleetBoston, which in turn was snapped up by Bank of America in 2004.

The Chicago legislation has not been used to demand monies from those firms, but many believe that the demands are only a matter of time.

These issues are far more complex than many would have you believe. As for the "how" and the "where" of the beneficiary parties, you have to keep in mind that the federal government would have to raise taxes dramatically to cover the literally trillions of dollars that would have to be produced to satisfy most of the scenarios presented.

Which brings us back to the "who."

On the surface, many people who are married to the notion of reparations insist that all blacks should be paid. But if you look beyond the surface, you are looking at a number of intangibles. First off, there are blacks who cannot trace their ancestry to slavery in this nation for any number of reasons: their ancestors came to the United States after the abolition of slavery; they could be descended from free blacks who lived in the north or elsewhere; they could even be descended from blacks who themselves owned slaves -- and before you get up in arms, yes there were black slave owners in a number of states.

It would be difficult, at best, to determine exactly who would be entitled using that criteria.

What many don't realize is that some reparations proponents are pushing for monies to be paid to "foundations" and "organizations" devoted to the "advancement" of the black community in America. Like the NAACP or Operation PUSH.

Or in other words, to line the pockets of those self-same reparations proponents, everyone else be damned.

The proponents are looking at this as their own personal "free lunch" in the form of a glorified Ponzi scheme.

But one thing is still clear today, just as I said in my piece three years ago: TANSTAAFL -- "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch."

Rehnquist retirement to be announced Monday?

According to syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist will announce his retirement from the bench this coming Monday (6/27). Hewitt also says that President Bush will announce his Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday.

"Dick Dastardly" Durbin apologizes

Late this afternoon, US Senator Dick Durbin (Holier Than Thou-IL), with tears in his eyes, finally apologized for his comments a week ago on the floor of the Senate which equated American troops in Iraq with Nazi stormtroopers and those from other evil regimes across the globe.

"Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line," the Illinois Democrat said. "To them I extend my heartfelt apologies."

His voice quaking and tears welling in his eyes, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate also apologized to any soldiers who felt insulted by his remarks.

"They're the best. I never, ever intended any disrespect for them," he said.

Durbin took a lot of heat from many on both sides of the political aisle, but until now, refused to apologize for his comments. When questioned in a number of forums, Durbin indicated that he stood behind what he said.

As recently as yesterday, spokespersons for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Galactic Empire-NV) snubbed a letter from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist demanding an apology from Durbin. No comment from Reid's office so far on the Durbin apology.

Schumer goes after ultra-violent video game

A new, extremely violent video game release from Eidos Interactive, creators of the blockbuster "Lara Croft" game series, is catching the ire of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

25 to Life is being called 'far worse than Grand Theft Auto' by a number of critics, including Michael Medved on his nationally syndicated radio show today.

The New York Democrat says the objective of the game called "25 to life" is to shoot police officers, and use civilians as human shields.

He says the game is so gruesome that it lowers common decency.

Schumer is asking stores not to stock the game and for PlayStation manufacturer Sony and X-Box maker Microsoft to cancel their licensing agreements with the British company that makes it.

The game's expletive-laden soundtrack is drawing fire also.

Despite the attacks on the game, teens on internet message boards say they are looking forward to the game.

After two major delays so far, 25 to Life is slated to be released for PS2, Xbox and PCs in September.

Interestingly, there is silence from the Jackson-Sharpton cabal on the negative images of blacks portrayed in this game. Does this mean that it is OK, in their minds, for this kind of image to be presented?

Bill Press has a radio show?

Former Crossfire panelist Bill Press is trying to get his syndicated radio show off of the ground, but he's having some problems.

Why is Bill Press facing so much resistance?

So far, only one station, in Akron, Ohio, is carrying "The Bill Press Show". Soon, SIRIUS will be picking it up for their left-wing talk channel (which will help only slightly), but otherwise, there are no takers.

According to reports, Press actually uses local identifiers such as station call letters, in a frank admission it's only heard there. From where is he broadcasting, though? Washington, Los Angeles, or did he relocate to Akron (which seems highly unlikely)?

With Air America faltering in the ratings nationally (don't believe me? Check Radio & Records), you'd think Press would have done a better job at his homework before taking to the air. Then again, dollar signs have made many a man do potentially foolish things.

Senator Robert "KKK" Byrd's origins still haunt him

People keep telling me that they can't believe that ol' Robert Byrd (KKK-WV) was truly a member fo the Klan.

In the early 1940s, a politically ambitious butcher from West Virginia named Bob Byrd recruited 150 of his friends and associates to form a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. After Byrd had collected the $10 joining fee and $3 charge for a robe and hood from every applicant, the "Grand Dragon" for the mid-Atlantic states came down to tiny Crab Orchard, W.Va., to officially organize the chapter.

As Byrd recalls now, the Klan official, Joel L. Baskin of Arlington, Va., was so impressed with the young Byrd's organizational skills that he urged him to go into politics. "The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation," Baskin said.

Today's Washington Post piece goes on to talk about how his "association" with the Klan still dogs him.

Y'ask me, I think he's still got those "tendencies" floating 'round his head...

Joint-flavored candy!?

Manufacturers call them a "harmless novelty," anti-drug advocates and lawmakers call them an insidious means to encourage youngsters to smoke marijuana.

Several confectionary manufacturers are now marketing candies flavored with hemp oil -- which gives the sweet treats an added flavor that at least simulates the flavor of marijuana.

"This kind of thing is reprehensible," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta lawmaker who has organized demonstrations against the candy. "It's nothing but dope candy, and that's nothing we need to be training our children to do."

While the candies have caught the attention of government and law enforcement officials across the country, there's nothing even questionable about their legality. Hemp oil is used in products ranging from health food to beauty supplies.

And all the companies contend their candies are geared toward adults and that they advise retailers to sell the candy only to people 18 and older.

Critics don't buy that argument, citing the kind of marketing on Chronic Candy's Web site, which shows video of people apparently smoking marijuana and a warehouse with hundreds of marijuana plants.

"It's pretty clear to see what they're trying to appeal to," said Pat Shea, of Cary, N.C., Southeast program director for the anti-drug DARE program. "They want to appeal to the wannabes. We always say that the wannabes are going-to-bes."

Mind you, these companies can't see the harm and potential harm that products like this can do to youngsters.

And before you point to pedestrian liquor-oriented products like rum raisin ice cream and whisky-soaked fruitcake (gak!), none of those products are marketed toward a drug-glorifying or booze-glorifying lifestyle.

Just damn.

US Rep. John Conyers admits to being a moonbat

US Rep John Conyers (Haterade drinker-MI) has admitted to being a true-blue moonbat on his own blog.

A commenter in an earlier thread pointed out that I had been remiss in thanking the activists at Democratic Underground for a while. I have corrected that oversight. From Ohio to Downing Street, they have always been there when it mattered.

By extension, Conyers has shown that his only desire is to get Bush and the GOP, the rest of the American public be damned.

I bet Nazis didn't feed their prisoners decent food...

Dick Durbin continues to justify his name

US Senator Dick Durbin (Insulting-IL), the Senate's Minority Whip, remained unapologetc as the uproar over his insulting comments toward the US military on the floor of the Senate entered a third day.

The Chicago Tribune suggested ignoring Durbin, while other newspapers demanded his censure or ouster from the Senate.

We know what Durbin thinks about the treatment of Guantanamo prisoners. So what's the proper treatment of our coverage-hungry senior senator when he displaces the ever-present microphone long enough to insert his foot in his mouth? Ignore him. That would be torture.

We can't ignore comments like his; especially when they come from the well of the Senate -- where ostensibly you'd expect (no matter which political party the speaker hails from) the unequivical support of American troops in harm's way.

Not so from "Dick Dastardly." Durbin complained about prisoners being kept in alternating hot and cold conditions, chained hand and foot to the floor in a fetal position, and subjected to rap music.

Let's see -- while we're interrogating a prisoner, I suppose Durbin thinks we ought to serve fresh coffee and creme brulee.

I apologize to those of you reading from the great state of Illinois. Growing up in the Chicagoland area, I have a great affinity for folks there. Hopefully, you won't be duped into voting for such an idiot next time around -- even though Dickie's next election isn't until 2008.

I guess Dickie figures that he has to live down to the Howard "YAARGH!" Dean standard of statesman-like speech.

Dean is at least half-way entertaining. Durbin is just a half-ass.

"Dick Dastardly" Durbin insults US troops; nation's intelligence

I've called Senator Dick Durbin "Dick Dastardly" in the past, but he really lived down to that nickname yesterday.

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime--Pol Pot or others--that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.

Hey Dickie! Pol Pot's regime murdered thousands of folks for simply complaining about the conditions they lived under. Untold numbers were tortured and murdered by the Soviets in their gulags during the Cold War years. The Nazis murdered literally millions during World War II at the hands of Adolf Hitler.

And you have the unmitigated gall to stand there and compare our troops to those butchers?

I don't see any dead prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. I don't see any tortured prisoners in Gitmo.

Hell, we're giving them the time they want so they can pray. We're feeding them pretty damn good food. They've got air conditioning during the day, heat at night.

But because you are so wrapped up in your visceral hatred of the Republican party in general and George W. Bush in particular, you're actually willing to vilify our troops -- endangering them even more.

Because of you and your Democratic cohorts, when the US is attacked again by terrorists, the rest of the world will say that we deserved it. That however many thousands of lives that are lost will be deserved.

Well, Dick Dastardly, those deaths, and the ones of the troops lost due to your personal vendetta are your fault. Yours and your friends. No one elses.

And as far as I'm concerned, you really should resign.

Matter of fact, I'm calling on the Republican leadership to have you censured. You, Senator, have violated your oath. By abusing your power as an elected leader in the Senate, you have violated the trust of our fighing men and women in harm's way across the globe, the trust of the citizens of the great state of Illinois, and the trust of the citizens of this entire nation.

Dickie, you're sullied yourself and what little reputation you had. Do the right thing now and resign before you embarras yourself and this nation further.

Oh. Mind you, Dickie, the longer you put off apologizing, the worse you make it for all you idiots on the left.

Whack-job Texas A&M prof (& former Bush Admin official) claims WTC was blown up by Feds

I've heard some wild conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11 disaster, and most of those spewing them have been ignored like the whack-jobs they are.

But now comes Morgan Reynolds, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University, and former chief economist for the Department of Labor during President Bush's first term. Reynolds claims that the Twin Towers, along with 7WTC, which fell late in the afternoon of 9/11, were demolished deliberately by the US government.

"If demolition destroyed three steel skyscrapers at the World Trade Center on 9/11, then the case for an 'inside job' and a government attack on America would be compelling." Reynolds commented from his Texas A&M office, "It is hard to exaggerate the importance of a scientific debate over the cause of the collapse of the twin towers and building 7. If the official wisdom on the collapses is wrong, as I believe it is, then policy based on such erroneous engineering analysis is not likely to be correct either. The government's collapse theory is highly vulnerable on its own terms. Only professional demolition appears to account for the full range of facts associated with the collapse of the three buildings."

I didn't know that a job as an economist qualifies someone as a structural engineer.

But what gets me more is that there are people who are actually paying attention to this conspiracy nut.

Schiavo autopsy: She was a vegetable then, she's an ex-vegetable now

I was on the outs with many of my conservative cohorts on the Schiavo mess, and I don't expect that to change now.

I felt that both the medical evidence, as well as case law, sided with her husband. She was a vegetable, and barely alive in any sense of the word. We, as a society, did not have the right, legally or morally, to preserve her "life" to assuage our collective sense of piety.

I got called all kinds of names, up to and including "Nazi" over my stance in this case, by all sorts of people, including some who I had the greatest bit of respect for. I felt the US Congress had no business getting involved, and after Terri Schiavo died, I insisted (as I do today) that no one "won" in this sad, sordid matter.

The autopsy results were released today, and they confirmed what I had been saying, and had believed then.

An autopsy on Terri Schiavo backed her husband's contention that she was in a persistent vegetative state, finding that she had massive and irreversible brain damage and was blind, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday. It also found no evidence that she was strangled or otherwise abused.

Unfortunately, this won't stop the conspiracy-driven among us from claiming that Terri Schiavo was murdered by her husband, and at the hands of a "complicit" Judge Greer and officials both in Florida and across the nation.

The case -- which was more about spousal rights than anything else, contrary to anything the screaming "Terri-bots" (to coin one phrase used for her supporters) will tell you in print, on the air or online.

The case is over, and Terri, thankfully, is no longer lingering, but the verbal attacks and abuse live on.

Senate apologizes for decades of lynchings in US

The US Senate on Monday formally apologized for decades of inaction on legislation that would have outlawed lynching against blacks and others years sooner. The practice was used in this country well into the 20th Century, while lawmakers - both Republican and Democrat - across the nation turned a blind eye.

Nearly 200 descendants of lynching victims, as well as 91-year-old James Cameron, Marion, Ind., who is thought to be the only living survivor of a lynching attempt, listened from the visitors' gallery to speeches about what Sen. George Allen, R-Va., described as "the failure of the Senate to take action when action was most needed."

"I came here to bear witness on behalf of my cousin Jimmy," said Janet Langhart Cohen, wife of former Defense Secretary William Cohen and a member of the group that has pushed for the apology.

Her third cousin, 17-year-old Jimmy Gillenwaters, was killed in 1912 by a lynch mob near Bowling Green, Ky.

He was one of 4,743 people killed by mob violence from 1882 to 1968, according to Tuskegee University records. Of those, nearly three-fourths, 3,446, were blacks.

According to university records, lynchings reached a peak of 230 in 1892, but they were prevalent well into the 1930s. Twenty lynchings were reported in 1935. During that time, nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress, and three passed the House. Seven presidents from 1890 to 1952 petitioned Congress to pass a federal law.

While I'm very happy that this took place, the little cynical voice inside my head wonders quietly whether the Reparations lobby (i.e., the "instant payday" crowd) will use this to help their attempts to punch that instant federal cash register button.

Not for the weak of stomach: KC doctor accused of eating aborted fetuses

Today's "too sick for belief" moment comes to us from Kansas City.

A Kansas City abortionist is out of business after investigators discovered a grisly house of horrors at his clinic – with fetuses kept in Styrofoam cups in his refrigerator and one employee accusing him of microwaving one and stirring it into his lunch.

The unsanitary conditions in Krishna Rajanna's clinic prompted legislative approval of new abortion regulations in Kansas, a bill that was vetoed by the governor. Rajanna's activities have reportedly been the subject of law-enforcement investigations for nearly two years.

WTF!? Simply disgusting.

Bush declares open season on Dems

At Tuesday evening's Congressional Gala at the Washington Convention Center, President George W. Bush unloaded both barrels into the leadership of the Democratic Party, who has been on the warpath lately, thanks to the constant off the wall rantings of DNC Chair Howard "YAAARRGGHH!" Dean.

The president drew standing ovations from GOP faithful as he hammered Democrats for offering no solutions to the nation's most pressing problems. "If leaders of the other party have innovative ideas, let's hear them. But if they have no ideas or policies except obstruction, they should step aside and let others lead," Mr. Bush said to thunderous applause from more than 5,000 supporters.

The president, who has spent the last several months seeking consensus on his Social Security reform package and reaching out to Democrats with non-confrontational rhetoric, said opposition party leaders are pursuing "the philosophy of the stop sign, the agenda of the road block, and our country and our children deserve better."

"Political parties that choose the path of obstruction will not gain the trust of the American people," he said at the event dubbed "The 2005 President's Dinner."

Mr. Bush said political parties can take one of two approaches: "One approach is to lead, to focus on the people's business, to take on the tough problems, and that is exactly what our party is doing."

"The other approach is to simply do nothing, to delay solutions, obstruct progress, refuse to take responsibility. Members of the other party have worked with us to achieve important reforms on some issues, yet, too often, their leadership prefers to block the ideas of others."

Anybody want to take bets on how soon the Dems will start whining about "unfair partisan attacks" by the President?

Just damn, indeed.

Denzel supports the troops in his own way

Just got something in the mail that simply warms my heart:

Don't know whether you heard about this but Denzel Washington and his family visited the troups at Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio,Texas (BAMC) the other day. This is where soldiers that have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized in the States, especially burn victims. They have buildings there called Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base but as you can imagine, they are almost completely filled most of the time.

While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC, they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses. He asked how much one of them would cost to build. He took his check book out and wrote a check for the full amount right there on the spot. The soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.

The question I have is why does Alec Baldwin, Modonna, Sean Penn and other Hollywood types make front page news with their anti-everything America crap and this doesn't even make page 3 in the Metro section of any newspaper except the base newspaper in San Antonio

Now that's what you call supporting the troops.

MJ: Not guilty on all 10 charges

Michael Jackson has been found Not Guilty on all ten counts in his child molestation trial.

In the eyes of most, this is a complete vindication for pop star Michael Jackson, though in the eyes of some, Jackson's musical career -- at least in America -- may never be able to recover.

Personally, I was surprised - I anticipated a split verdict, but not a full acquittal.

The breakdown of the charges and verdict: Count 1 - Conspiracy, not guilty. Counts 2-6 - Molestation, not guilty. Counts 7-10 - Giving alcohol to a minor in order to commit a felony, not guilty.

MJ: Verdict reached; announcement within one hour

A verdict has been reached in the Michael Jackson child molestation case.

According to the Associated Press, we should see a verdict around 5P ET.

Live radio coverage via WSB Radio Atlanta (WMP).

Howard "YAAAARGH" Dean quote of the day

DNC Chairman Howard Dean continued his foot-in-mouth commentary yesterday in Chicago.

"My view is FOX News is a propaganda outlet for the Republican Party and I don't comment on FOX News," Dean said. That was in response to vice president Dick Cheney calling Howard Dean "over the top" on Fox News on Sunday.

Then again, he most likely won't comment on issues raised by Fox News because FNC's Brian Wilson embarrassed the hell out of him last week.

Most liberals won't view this Deansim as part of the over-the-top rhetoric that Dean has engaged in over the past few weeks, as many of them truly believe that Fox News is a "propaganda outlet."

But one question begs answering: if Cheney said this on another network's Sunday morning talking head show, would Dean have attacked that networks as a Republican propaganda outlet?

If convicted, MJ's next door neighbor could be Charles Manson

California's Corcoran State Prison is the most likely destination for Michael Jackson if he is convicted in his child molestation trial, which is now before the jury.

But Jackson would hardly be the only high-profile inmate there.

Occupants of its 8-by-12-foot cells include Charles Manson and Juan Corona, who killed 25 migrant farmworkers in the 1970s. The unit housed Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, until he was moved to a harsher lockdown in 2003.

Each cell has a concrete bed, sink, desk and toilet.

Televisions and radios are allowed, if the inmate can afford them. Night lights also are allowed.

Inmates wear denim jeans, blue shirts and brown boots, and are issued white T-shirts, white boxer shorts and a denim jacket.

Staff members, not inmates, prepare and serve food.

Inmates can use the day room to read, play chess or watch television. The exercise yard is available for about 5 1/2 hours a day. There's a basketball court and a bar for chin-ups, but no free weights.

Residents can shower daily. They have access to a law library and may receive weekend visitors for as long as five hours a day. They share one telephone and make calls during certain hours.

By 8:45 p.m., they must be back in their cells, but there's no official "lights out" time.

Manson's got a guitar. Could you imagine Manson and MJ comparing notes on music, and collaborating?

I can see it now: "Michael Jackson's new CD, 'Live From Jail with Charles Manson!'"

TS Arlene strengthening; Hurricane Watches up on Gulf Coast

At the 11A ET update, Arlene's sustained winds are up to 60 MPH, from 45 at the 5A and 8A update. This may portend Arlene strengthening into a Cat-1 Hurricane before landfall sometime tomorrow.

Hurricane Watches and Tropical Storm Warnings are now up along the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and western Florida panhandle coasts.

Heavy rains will extend well inland -- mind you, I've got to drive down to Georgia Southern to drop my daughter off Sunday, so I guess I've got to fight the rains while I go.

"Eeeevil" Fox News reporter dares to question Howard "YAAARGH!" Dean's motives

Fox News Channel reporter Brian Wilson opened his mouth and boomed out a question to DNC Chair (and shoe leather taster) Howard Dean during a press conference with he and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid yesterday that has the Washington press corps all in a huff.

Amid all the other questions, Wilson had the "audacity" to bellow out a question asking Dean to expound on his "white, Christian party" remark of the other day, and linking it with Dean's well-known "hatred" of Republicans.

Let's join the presser in progress.

"You know," Dean interjected, "I think a lot of this is exactly what Republicans want, and that's a diversion." He bemoaned the "media circus" of the last two weeks and said that he and Reid were not concerning themselves with that -- only with vital things like Social Security, national defense and jobs.

"And all this other stuff is all fine and good, and we understand how exciting it all is to you," Dean said, shaking his head.

The press chorus then devolved into a cacophony of competing screams. (And Dean knows screams!) After several seconds, a booming voice cut through the noise. It belonged to Brian Wilson, a Fox News correspondent who was standing in the middle of the crowd. He asked Dean "if people are focused on the other things that you've said about hating Republicans, about Republicans being dishonest and then this latest comment about the Republican Party is full of white Christians. You say you hate Republicans -- does that mean you also'' hate white Christians?

Dean didn't respond and Reid talked about having a "positive agenda." Wilson was so insistent that at one point, Durbin asked, "Does he run the press conference?" After Reid took the one question of the morning that was not about Dean (it was about Iraq) there were a host of disjointed and semi-decipherable follow-ups (none of which was about Iraq).

Someone asked whether Dean would "change his ways," or if he planned to be "less confrontational in the future" or whether he "regrets" anything he has said. An aide to Reid announced that the photo op was over.

"We'll decide when we're ready," Wilson said. Later, Durbin would recount the scene with some exasperation. He chided the media for avoiding important issues in favor of trivial matters. "Please, for a minute, get to the substance," he said to a group of reporters. "You guys should be ashamed of yourselves."

Awwww.

Hey Howard! If it'll make you feel better, I can send you a fruit basket! I'll even include a pair of Odor Eaters to make that shoe leather at least smell a bit more palatable!

Maybe that's Dean's problem...

Blogs noted as top source on Holloway-Aruba story

Natalee Holloway, the Alabama high school student missing in Aruba, is generating plenty of press, but the lead on the story -- at least according to news sources in Aruba -- is Scared Monkeys.

Move over, CNN and company, the new media continues to roll on.

CourtTV's Dimond gets restraining order against crazy MJ fan

 

CourtTV reporter Diane Dimond, along with the CourtTV network, have obtained a court injunction against a crazed Michael Jackson fan (What you bet he still lives in his mother's basement?) who has been threatening the reporter while she reports on the Jackson trial.

The 20-year old male from Knoxville, Tennessee has been yelling and allegedly "threatening" Dimond for weeks.

"It's turned ugly," a media source explains.

He was served with papers today on the Santa Maria court campus.

The fan has been chanting "bitch, bitch, bitch" as Dimond works and files her reports.

Jackson supporters believe Dimond has been operating as the prosecutor's unofficial advocate and mouthpiece.

In the meantime, CourtTV's hired private bodyguards for Dimond.

TD-One has become TS Arlene

TD-One has strengthened into Tropical Storm Arlene, with sustained winds of 40 MPH in the western Caribbean.

It's anticipated to pass very near the western edge of Cuba and enter the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center expects Arlene to hit the Gulf Coast between Biloxi and Pensacola this weekend.

Stay tuned.

TD-One forms in western Caribbean; Takes aim at Gulf Coast

Tropical Depression One has organized in the western Caribbean.

Current projections have TD-One becoming Tropical Storm Arlene by sometime on Thursday.

National Hurricane Center forecasters are presently projecting landfall on Saturday on the Gulf Coast somewhere between New Orleans and Mobile.

Of course, this is all subject to change -- as is anything relating to tropical systems, so stay tuned.

The image above (from WWL-TV/DT New Orleans) updates every 30 minutes or so.

Moonbat puts F DUBYA license plate up for sale on eBay

Remember the story about the moonbat with the F DUBYA California plate last fall?

Well there's another one. This time in Washington state.

This time, the moonbat in question drove around for four months until a bureaucrat forced him to get a different plate.

He's decided to put it up for sale on eBay.

This is an original license plate accidentally issued by the State of Washington.

I had this plate on my car for 4 months before receiving a letter from the DOL informing me that they determined my plate to be "Offensive to good taste and decency."

This is a used plate but in excellent condition. No scratches or dents. It is a one of a kind. Well, actually 2 of a kind. I'm keeping the other one. You can have either the front one pictured, or the rear plate with the actual tabs so you have proof that it is an authentic, state issued plate.

As I type this, 70 bidders have pushed the bidding price to $1275, and there's nearly four days left in the auction.

Bid early and bid often...

Rogers Brown finally confirmed

In a 56-43, primarily party-line vote, the US Senate finally confirmed the nomination of California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the federal appeals court, ending more than two years of partisan wrangling, back-biting and finger-pointing by Democrats who felt she was an "activist jurist."

Rogers Brown was called all sorts of names, including some racially-tinged ones, by Democrats who felt that she had some sort of an obligation as a black woman to be more in line with their politics.

Senators quickly followed by ending another long-term filibuster, clearing the way for a vote Thursday on former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor as outlined in an agreement last month that averted a showdown that could have brought Senate action to a halt.

The Senate voted 56-43 to confirm Brown to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and 67-32 to end the filibuster of Pryor's nomination to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- the last of the three nominees Democrats agreed to clear in exchange for Republicans not banning judicial filibusters.

But behind all of this, at least one Supreme Court nomination is waiting in the wings. I'm all but certain that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will announce his retirement later this month.

If that happens, all this posturing will seem like child's play. And the "gentlemen's agreement" brokered by the "Gang of 14" will go up like so much charcoal in a barbeque pit.

Chainsawing killer gets into US; Homeland security at work

Goggle-eyed 22 year-old Gregory Allan Despres showed up at the border crossing at Calais, ME on April 25 trying to enter the US. Despres was wearing a bulletproof vest and had a virtual arsenal of bladed weapons on him, including a homemade sword, knives, a hatchet and a chainsaw with blood on it. Oh, and his clothes were covered in blood, too.

What did the authorities at the border do? They confiscated his arsenal and let him go.

The next day, RCMP Mounties found the bodies of 74 year-old Frederick Fulton and his wife, 70 year-old Veronica Decarie in the mining town of Minto, NB. They had been hacked and stabbed to death, and just happened to live next door to Despres.

Police found the body of Mr. Fulton, a country singer, on the kitchen floor, just a few feet from his head, which had been stuffed in a pillow case and shoved under the breakfast table.

According to a U.S Attorney's complaint, filed by the U.S. Attorney's office as part of the extradition case and obtained by the Citizen, after he was stopped at the border Canadian and American authorities consented to his release into the United States.

At the time he crossed the border he was free on bail. That morning -- April 25 -- he was to have been sentenced for threatening to kill his neighbour's son-in-law. Mr. Fulton and Ms. Decarie had just been slain.

Eddie Young, a 38-year-old fish-plant worker, sat next to Mr. Despres in the customs office at Calais, Maine, while the agents processed them. Mr. Young was on his way to catch a flight to Mexico with friends, but was detained when the officers noticed on his file a 20-year-old drug conviction in Ottawa.

"When he come in, they opened his bag up and they took out," Mr. Young said in an interview. "It looked like large bayonets to me, but they could have been a little bit longer for swords, and then two pairs of brass knuckles fastened to his bag, a chainsaw and what looked like a flak jacket."

Despres was picked up two days later, walking along a road in Framingham, MA.

When asked about detaining him when he showed up at the border in the first place, a US Customs spokesperson showed just how little regard the Feds have for border security.

"Nobody asked us to detain him," said Bill Anthony, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"Being bizarre is not a reason to keep somebody out of this country or lock them up. We're governed by laws and regulations, and he did not violate any regulations," Mr. Anthony told the Associated Press.

None of Mr. Despres' weapons are prohibited by law in the United States. The customs spokesman conceded it "sounds stupid" that a man carrying a bloody chainsaw couldn't be detained. "Our people don't have a crime lab up there. They can't look at a chainsaw and decide if it's blood or rust or red paint," he said.

No, they can't. But if TSA can detain 80 year-old grandparents and turn planes away, they can certainly detain a wild-eyed chainsaw-wielding guy who shows up at the border in bloody clothes, a flak jacket and a veritible arsenal in his bag for a few hours until they can figure out what he's doing.

And to think: these are your tax dollars at work.

Herman Munster versus Beaver Cleaver

I missed the battle of the college photos yesterday...

 

But given the choice, I'll go with the Beav over Herman any day.

CB(D)C members plan march into Senate to protest Rogers Brown

Members of the Congressional Black (Democratic) Caucus (all House members except IL Senator Barak Obama) are planning on marching into the Senate chamber to protest the judicial nomination and (hopefully) eventual passage of CA Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown.

A report in Wednesday's Washington Post says some liberals are "questioning the wisdom" of the deal that allowed a confirmation vote on Brown and two other controversial nominees - in exchange for Republicans agreeing not to invoke the "nuclear option."

"Our problem with the compromise is the price that was paid," the Post quoted Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) as saying on Tuesday.

Liberals accuse Brown of being "hostile" to civil rights and many other elements of the liberal agenda.

Rogers Brown is expected to be confirmed today by the Senate after two years of Democratic filibustering and stonewalling her vote.

MSNBC's "White Ho"

Just damn.

Dean-plosion continues: says GOP is white, Christian & unfriendly

The Democratic party continued to suffer from collective indigestion, brought on by DNC Chairman Howard "YARRRGH!" Dean's foot-in-mouth disease this week.

Dean, at an appearance in San Francisco, called the GOP a white, Christian and unfriendly party.

(Dean) said in San Francisco this week that Republicans are "a pretty monolithic party. They all behave the same. They all look the same. It's pretty much a white Christian party."

"The Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people," Dean said Monday, responding to a question about diversity during a forum with minority leaders and journalists. "We're more welcoming to different folks, because that's the type of people we are. But that's not enough. We do have to deliver on things: jobs and housing and business opportunities."

I'm happy to be a Christian, but last time I checked the mirror, I was as far from being white as one could get.

Someone needs to pull Dean's coattails and remind him that insulting potential new voters is not the way to win friends and influence people. Then again, maybe they shouldn't. That way I can pop some popcorn and continue to watch Dean's meltdown, taking the Democratic party along with him.

Fraud wins in Washington state

Though evidence has surfaced pointing toward a fradulent result in the Washington state gubernatorial race from last fall, a judge upheld the original election result, ensuring that Democrat Christine Gregoire holds the office.

Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges denied Republican claims that election errors, illegal voters and fraud stole the election from GOP candidate Dino Rossi. He announced his decision in court, saying the state's election process was flawed but that he was not the proper person to remedy those flaws.

"This court is not in the position to fix the deficiencies in the election process," Bridges said. "However, the voters are in a position to demand of their legislative and executive bodies that remedial measures be taken immediately."

Republicans were seeking a new election in November. They have said they plan to appeal Bridges' decision to the state Supreme Court.

Even as state Republicans plan to appeal, Gregoire's challenger, Dino Rossi, shortly after the decision, announced that he would not participate in the appeal. Rossi said, "With today's decision, and because of the political makeup of the Washington State Supreme Court, which makes it almost impossible to overturn this ruling, I am ending the election contest."

So the moonbats win one.

No matter. They've shown their collective hands, and those hands are not clean.

Al Jazeera won't show PETA ads

Al Jazeera, famous for showing beheadings of Westerners on behalf of Al Qaeda, has announced that they won't show a new PETA ad because of the ad's depicted scenes of animal cruelty.

Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based Arab television network famous for airing images of beheadings and mutilated bodies, rejected a 30-second commercial from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals showing abuse of Australian sheep.

The sheep, raised for wool, are later shipped alive to the Middle East for slaughter. The footage shows lambs partially skinned alive during a procedure called "mulesing." Sheep are repeatedly kicked as they are loaded onto what PETA calls "death ships." Other sheep are are shown being dragged and kicked in the head as their throats are slit while other sheep watch.

PETA urged Al-Jazeera to reconsider accepting the ad, which is part of PETA's international campaign calling for a boycott of Australian wool until mulesing and live exports are stopped.

Am I the only one that finds this a bit on the hypocritical side?

Amnesty Intl. moonbat describes US prisons as "gulags"

Amnesty International executive director William Schultz described the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as part of an "archipelago" of facilities, implying an old style Russian gulag -- not unlike the series of facilities run by the Soviets in Russia prior to the fall of the old Soviet Union. Those sorts of facilities were described in detail in Nobel Prize-winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn's award winning book, "The Gulag Archipelago."

Once the cat was out of the bag, the Amnesty moonbat tried to clean up his mess.

Schulz was pressed to substantiate Amnesty's claim in a May 25 report that the US prison camp at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba naval base -- where hundreds of foreign terror suspects are being held indefinitely -- represents the "gulag of our times."

The gulag claim, referring to the notorious prison camp system of the Soviet Union, has drawn withering criticism from the US president, who called it "absurd." Vice President Richard Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have also slammed the rights group's claim.

Russian 1970 Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described the Soviet prison camp system in his best-selling book "The Gulag Archipelago."

Schulz said the gulag reference was not "an exact or a literal analogy."

"But there are some similarities. The United States is maintaining an archipelago of prisons around the world, many of them secret prisons into which people are being literally disappeared -- held in indefinite incommunicado detention without access to lawyers," Schulz told Fox News Sunday.

Asked how AI could compare the detentions of millions of Soviet citizens in the gulag system to purported anti-US combatants captured on the battlefield, Schulz said some of those held in Guantanamo "happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We do know that at least some of the 200 some prisoners who have been released from Guantanamo Bay have made pretty persuasive cases that they were imprisoned there, not because they were involved in military conflict but simply because they were enemies of the Northern Alliance," he said.

This, of course, continues to paint the war on terror as an infringement upon the rights of the "downtrodden," even if said "downtrodden" are terrorists, hell-bent on killing as many Westerners as possible.

Howard "YARRGH!" Dean claims many Republicans don't make "honest living"

DNC Chairman Howard Dean stuck his Johnston & Murphy's into his mouth yet again yesterday when during an appearance the Campaign for America's Future annual gathering, he suggested that many Republicans "have never made an honest living in their lives."

Dean asserted in his 25-minute speech to the Campaign for America's Future annual gathering that some Florida voters stood in line for eight hours in November, Dean said that was a hardship for people who "work all day and then pick up their kids at child care."

But, he said, Republicans could stand in eight-hour lines "because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."

Dean was supposed to be using his position as "Head Moonbat In Charge" to woo potential new voters from across the nation.

Guess what, Howard -- insulting potential voters is not the way to win friends and influence people.

Sounds like Dean enjoys the taste of shoe leather.

So now I'm guilty of killing people (a little piece at a time), eh?

TheFacebook.com lets users create groups for "like-minded" individuals.

One of the user-created groups has the "original" name of "Every Time I See a Black Republican, a Piece of Me Dies a Little." The group's description reads "You know it's just wrong."

Just damn.

Wachovia Bank forced to apologize for historical ties to slavery

Wachovia Bank, the nation's fourth-largest bank, issued a formal apology to black Americans for historical ties to slavery held by two of more than four hundred predecessor banks of the present day Wachovia.

While Wachovia itself did not have direct links to slavery, two banks it purchased through previous mergers and acquisitions were found to have ties.

The former Georgia Railroad and Banking Co. of Augusta had at least 162 slaves who were used to construct a railroad line.

The former Bank of Charleston accepted at least 529 slaves as collateral on mortgaged properties or loans and took possession of an unknown number of them when customers defaulted.

"We are deeply saddened by these findings," Thompson said in a statement. "We apologize to all Americans, and especially to African-Americans and people of African descent."

The apology was forced upon Wachovia by a city of Chicago ordinance that demands that companies doing business with the city disclose any ties to slavery in it's past.

I wouldn't be surprised if this did not satisfy the pro-reparations lobby. I'm certain they'll demand fiscal renumeration from Wachovia and other banks who end up yielding to this sort of strong-arm tactic.

"And now, introducing your San Francisco 69ers!"

San Francisco 49ers public relations director Kirk Reynolds is looking for a new job, now that a "training" video that would have been more at home being shown late nights in a frat house has surfaced.

The video includes off-color racial jokes, lesbian porn and plenty of profanity. It features Reynolds as the "mayor" of San Francisco (including a segment taped in real SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's office), discussing how to deal with the press and comport one's self as a player for the 49ers -- and in one scene, cavorting with several topless women.

The 15-minute video (see it here), some of which was filmed in the City Hall office of Mayor Gavin Newsom — who comes in for a few unsubtle swipes — was intended as a primer on how players should handle the media in diverse San Francisco.

Instead, it's turned into a team embarrassment — with PR man Reynolds looking for another job.

The video, said team lawyer Ed Goines, "is absolutely contradictory to the ideals and values of the San Francisco 49ers."

"I thought it was one of the funniest things I ever saw," cornerback Mike Rumph said. "The locker room is like a fraternity. The outside world can't really judge that."

Just who knew about the video outside the locker room, and when they learned of it, is a bit murky.

Then-General Manager Terry Donahue showed a racy, 30-second snippet of the video to team owner John York in January, just one day before he was fired.

In March, Donahue sent a version of the tape to York at the request of his ex-boss. Apparently it sat unopened on someone's desk until about three weeks ago, when it was brought to Goines' attention.

A call to York's office was returned by Goines, who says he has been investigating the tape matter.

Reynolds believes that former 49ers GM Terry Donahue sent the video to team owner John York as retaliation.

Donahue believes Reynolds helped push him out the door during York's team house cleaning. Some people close to the team think he showed the tape to York to discredit Reynolds, and now the PR man is convinced Donahue is the one leaking the tape to the media.

"Absolutely'' he's behind it, Reynolds said Tuesday. "He made that clear to a couple of people close to me and a couple members of the media that he was going to do everything he could to take me out with him.''

Reynolds says Donahue didn't see the tape in advance but was well aware of the contents, having been told "the general premise'' ahead of time.

Reynolds points out that Donahue's roommate at the time appears in two scenes of the film — including one as a gay partner.

For his part, Donahue said, "I have never, nor would I ever, have been involved in any way with any kind of tape like this."

No word from the NFL on how the League views this yet, but I'm sure that e-mails and phone calls are sailing back and forth between the 49ers and League officials.

Reynolds says that he regrets some of the content of the video, but not the intent.

Wanna see the video? Take a look (Video contents NSFW).

The Politics of Star Wars

Wizbang has an excellent piece that compares and contrasts the Machiavellian politics of the Star Wars saga.

The sheer evil genius of Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious was simply ingenious!