More things to look out for in the November Election in California

The Wall Street Journal (Subscription required so can't link to the page) has a story about a new proposition that is likely to be on the California November ballot.

It is a bond issue that will raise $3 billion for stem cell research over 10 years. It will give $295 million per year to researchers who are working on stem cell research out side the federal regulations.

Currently, any University, company or person who is receiving federal funds for stem cell research is limited to the 60 strains or so that existed at the time President Bush made the rule in Summer 2001 (I think this is when it was).

Universities and companies are free to use their own money to acquire additional stem cell strains but they cannot use any federal money for work on those non-approved strains.

Per the article:
"Robert Klein, the Palo Alto real-estate developer leading the ballot drive, says extensive polling indicates the initiative can win the simple majority needed to pass. A key factor: Nearly 85% of Californians have a family member or close acquaintance with one of five conditions -- Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's or spinal-cord injury -- that potentially could be treated with stem cells."

The backers of the bond measure are fairly confident the measure will pass if they market it as working to cure these diseases. Of course the fact that all are only in every early stages of research will not be mentioned.

I have two problems with this type of initiative, well ok three, but the last is not a major concern.
1. I do not like the idea of creating embryos just to harvest their stem cells and destroy them. That is wrong.
2. This will divert money away from other promising research such as using adult stem cells which from the few articles I've seen appear to be very promising.
3. Even if this bond initiative was a good idea (and I don't think it is), at this time, California can't afford it anyway.

Hopefully other papers will either reprint the story or do follow up stories and we will be able to link to them.

On a final note, this is an important story in California, it was the WSJ, a New York paper that reported it, why aren't the California papers at least looking at things going on in this state?

Sgt Hook

is on the ground in Afghanistan. God Speed, sarge!

For what it's worth, a friend of Andrew and mine at church has been deployed to Afghanistan as well. He's a civil engineer in one of the armed services (let's just leave it at that for now), but a father of one as well as one on the way. I haven't had time to really organize my thoughts about this, but they amount to something along the lines of our nation is at war, a war that will involve and touch more people around us than we have seen since Vietnam. With the recent call ups of various National Guard units to serve in Iraq, I ask, "Is America prepared for mobilization?"

SAVE Michael Eisner?

Apparently, there is a counter movement afoot to save Eisner's job. Over at Mouseplanet, Lani Teshima interviews Gary Nowak as he responds to Roy Disney and Stanley Gold's efforts to oust the embattled CEO (emphasis eds.):

Too many Disney news and fan sites were becoming excessive in mirroring the SaveDisney.com mean-spirited attack on Michael Eisner. Having an opinion is fine but if a Web site is claiming to be a Disney news provider, there should be an obligation to report objectively. I also believe someone needed to point out the worst consequence of forcing Michael Eisner to step down prematurely: a looming Comcast takeover.

Is the end of the secret ballot at hand?

Hat tip Albert Kao via Josie Kao

Wired News has a LONG story about how E-voting is a threat to democracy. The threat is because of computer problems or because of hackers could mean people who vote for person A have their votes deleted or changed to person B.

The story is not only critical of the new touch screen voting machines but also the optical sheets that have been around for a long time and all students know and love as Scantrons.

The story and Bev Harris, the person who the story is about, spends a lot of time saying the companies that make the voting machine's are linked to mostly Republican candidates and because the owners have political views and express them, there is a likely chance they will rig the vote to their party's favor.

While the threat is not remote, after all the 2002 election showed there were glitches with the E-voting machines, this also is not a new threat.

There is a story that one governor of Louisiana won election after election. After he retired the voting machines were sold to a country in Africa that was having its first election. The candidates were put into the machine and the votes tallied and the former governor of Louisiana won again. The machines had been rigged all the time he was in office. The story suppositively takes place in the 1950's so we are not talking about touch screen voting machines.

There are several problems with any voting system:
1. The people who are voting will not bother to follow directions (such as make sure chads are off and the card is seated correctly so the correct person is voted for).
2. Voting systems can be rigged and tampered with. Even if the touch screen machines prints a paper record, who is to say the paper record will be the same as the machine tallies. If the voter gets a paper receipt saying they voted for candidate A but the machine has been set to change the vote to candidate B and the internal paper record is also set to record a vote to candidate B how will anyone find out?
3. Voters who are too lazy or afraid to ask for help and muck up their ballots are the first to complain their votes were not counted. Voting is not that hard and if people can't understand how the voting machinery works and will not ask the poll workers for help, why is that anyone's problem but their own and their own fault.

So any secret ballot is open to abuse, I don't care what type of machinery is used. The only way to insure the vote is not tampered with is to have an open vote, you have to register your name and who you voted for. Of course that is also subject to abuse as family or bosses or neighbors can find out who you voted for and if you didn't vote the correct way can take revenge. That happened in the US in the 19th century and was one of the reasons given for the secret ballot.

I think we ought to go back to paper ballots, we take a piece of paper and mark on it who we want to vote for an the votes are counted by hand. There is still room for cheating, ballots can be lost or stolen or not counted but we won't have to worry about the machines stealing the election.

Christianity Today picks the Jays!

My first post in a long time and of course, it's to show that one of the most respected publications has picked your Toronto Blue Jays to win the American League pennant.

Words cannot describe my joy. To think this is what I get for renewing my subscription. Resume serious discussion.

Good news for Disney??

From The Austrailian:

"A JUDGE today dismissed a lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company over royalties for Winnie The Pooh characters, saying the plaintiffs' use of "ill-gotten" documents made it impossible to allow the case to go forward."

With this 13 year old case finally be ended? The Judge dismissed the suite with prejudice so the plaintiffs have to appeal and can't just re-file the case. Basically this means the Judge not only doesn't believe there is a case but the case is almost frivolous so the plaintiffs now have the burden to prove the case is worth of the Court's time.

Now for something completely different

Is the next Dial or Ivory in the make? Bangor Daily News has a story on a local family who is making soap from goats milk. They don't do any advertising and only sell over the web. Its a hobby that is growing into a small business.

One of the things that makes the US a great place is people who look at their situation and say "how can I make money off this" and then go ahead and do it. They may make money or lose money, but they have the freedom to try and to fail.

American-Canadian Girl Stands Tall

From the Ottawa Citizen:

'I said, 'Hi, my name is Laura,' and when people were booing, I was talking over them (into the microphone), and I said, 'and I'm very, very proud to be holding the United States of America flag,' ' she said

(hat tip to Drudge)

Postcard from the Left

"Hi from San Francisco! Weather is great, got my Hawaiian shirt on, wish you were here. Glad the WTC isn't."

LGF has the goods of the heartfelt left.

Be ready to see history repeat itself . . . . . again for the third time in the US

Ok, try 2. The first try was a very long history piece, I'll spare you the novel.

Hawaii is unhappy that gas prices are higher there then the rest of the US, and with oil prices increasing, the cost of gasoline is going up as well.

So their solution would be to put a price cap on the cost of pretax gasoline sold at the wholesale level. They forget they have to import 100% of their oil and gasoline.

If the price cap is implemented, and the oil companies can't make enough money to justify their operations there, why will they keep selling oil in Hawaii? If the gas stations (which are mostly owned by local people) can't make a profit, they will close down, which will end up with fewer gas stations serving more people and therefore longer lines.

Even the original backers of the price caps are doing some re-thinking on the rules. Originally the price cap was to be based on West Coast gas price, however at this time, Hawaii has lower gas prices then much of the West Cost.

I wish people would think before saying price caps are wonderful. In the old Soviet Union and Eastern Europe before 1989, there were lots of price caps. There are price caps in Cuba today. Of course there isn't anything to buy because people will not make things they can't sell at a profit. Which is why the black market was often the only way to get the goods one needed at much higher prices then the official price.

Short Take

Dwight Howard, Naismith and McDonald's national high school player of the year wants:

to be able to speak to non-Christians so that I can get them saved or change their lives around," Howard said before Wednesday's Roundball Classic in Chicago. He then flaunted his God-given skill, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the first of a series of all-star games that the nation's top high school players use to showcase their court skills.

Howard wants to be as big as LaBron James, and he has a good shot at being a high draft pick. More interestingly:

Unlike James, who drives a luxury SUV, Howard is intent on keeping his 1984 Crown Victoria his father bought him for $900. Howard's favorite movie? "Finding Nemo." And he freely quotes lines from his favorite characters, Marlin and Dori.

Squeeky clean. Can the NBA and the fans take it?

Bob Kerrey is mad at Fox news for telling the truth

The New York Post is commenting on Kerrey's anger at Fox News for broadcasting the background briefing Richard Clarke gave in 2002 which is completely different from what he said in his book and testified at the 9-11 Commission.

Background briefings are giving by government officials to the media where the people providing the information are not identified. Many times the "unnamed sources" that the media quotes are not people leaking documents etc. behind the government's back, but rather were given to the media with the full knowledge of the Executive Branch.

In the Fox News case, the White House Oked the release of the tape so Fox News played it. Fox News did not violate any trust as Kerrey claims because nothing was revealed that the Government wanted to keep confidential. Remember, Clarke was working for Bush when the interview was given, and the interview was given with Bush's approval and knowledge (or at least Bush's people). So the White House is the correct organization to tell Fox News to go ahead and show the tape.

That the tape basically destroys Clarke credibility as a witness (either he lied in 2002 and waited 2 years to set the record straight or he is lying now, either way he is a liar and cannot be trusted) which is not what some people wanted the commission to find.

Now if a background briefing existed by someone else that put Bush in a bad light, don't you think it would be leaked (like Deep Throat back in the Watergate years) to the media? Then Kerrey would be praising the integrity of the honest journalist for exposing the lies of the Administration. Kerrey is playing politics as usual, its sad to see, but not unexpected.

The US will not guarantee Arafat's safety

Maariv International (Israeli paper) is posting a story that Arafat and his people are worried that Israel may target him for assassination because he has been a willing sponsor of the suicide bombers in Israel. Arafat's people have approached the US and requested they tell Israel to not target Arafat.

The irony here is incredible. Those who are calling for martyrs to attack Israel and blow up civilians are afraid to join them in the paradise they promise the bombers. Maybe they don't believe their own propaganda??? After all, if they die a martyrs death, they will be rewarded, so they should welcome being successfully targeted by Israel.

Instead of doing the one thing that would preserve Arafat's life, make peace and stop the terror, Arafat's people run to the US and ask them to guarantee his safety. The US response (IMHO) should be why would it be in our interest, but we will promise to send flowers when Israel decides to settle with him. Terror begets terror, what Arafat sows so shall he reap.

How long before the condemnations start

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, made a strong speech in which he criticized Muslims for their lack of contributions to the world over the last few centuries. While he acknowledged the contribution made by Muslim scholars in the far past, the last few hundred years were not productive.

How soon till the story is pulled, the UK Telegraph is forced to issue an apology for running the story and Carey will claim he was misquoted.

But the question remains, is he correct?

Look at any other people group and when you ask what have they done in the last few hundred years for society, the ones that have contributed scientific, economic, political, medical etc. work to the world at large seem to be more developed, have more stable governments and more willing to adapt to the changes in the world. Since the 1500's, what are the major accomplishments from scholars, scientists, that have come from the Islamic world? Please let me know as I can't think of any at this time.

Apologies, but Carpetbloggers is loading slowly today (and did so yesterday) because blogrolling.com has been having technical problems. blogrolling is the Carpetbloggers blog roll provider of choice (being free) for the punditry section of our "blogs of note". Perhaps we should revert to manual blog rolls. . .

Boutique Taxes

Reading through the Sac Bee article that Andy pointed me to today a singular thought crossed my mind: An immoral taxation without representation.

These are ballot measures that are voted on by the public, so how can it be without representation (much less immoral)? I find the proposed 1% tax on million dollar earners to fund mental health initiatives to be terrible and reprehensible. The article confirms my initial suspicions: there are only about 25,000 people who earn a million dollars a year and they will be taxed $10,000 to fund mental health initiatives that the rest of the 30 million Californians will benefit from. 25,000 people out of 35 million are being asked to pony up a minimum of $250,000,000 for the rest of us.

Clearly because these wage earners are in the minority, it is very likely that they will lose the vote at the ballot box. Regardless of the ability of these people to pay up, this sort of taxation is immoral. It is taking advantage of our perceptions that rich people are villians and worthy of being taxed rather than the "average Joe". I would be more likely vote for a tax initiative that tiered the tax, the burden may be greater for the top of the pyramid, but the base of the pyramid must also shoulder their load--it's the democratic way.

You also have to ask yourself, are we on a slippery slope? When will they start to propose a tax on people in my zip code to fund police departments in another county? When will they start to propose a tax on people of MY RACE to fund cultural initiatives?

It is a form of Robin Hood banditary that, although performed anonymously and through the electorial system, is no less wrong--no matter the cause that it supports.

More taxes coming to California?

I admit I'm of two minds when it comes to ballot box budgeting. On one hand it does tie the legislators hands and prevents them from governing efficiently, especially when economic times are tough. On the other hand, our (California) legislators have shown themselves to be so irresponsible with our money, they cannot be trusted to act in the best interest of us and therefore do not warrant the freedom of action. They are now guilty of being poor stewards until they can show otherwise.

That being said, there are now THREE ballot measures that appear to be heading towards the November ballot, each one would raise a specific tax and spend the money in a specific way. I would be more willing to approve them if they took existing money and said these programs would be funded. Take away the discretion of the legislators and governor until they can show they are responsible.

Rebuilding Iraq

It's still tough going in the rebuilding of Iraq's economy, but there is light. Tim at Cpt Patti has the goods:

Though still very low, Iraqi living standards are higher than at any time since the 1990 Gulf War, economists say, despite the ongoing bombings and killings. Oil revenues, which fund the government and its social safety net, are near prewar levels. The World Bank estimates that the economy will grow by 30 percent this year, after shrinking last year.

QoDs

Quotes of the day from an op-ed piece by Dick Morris:

"Having defeated the three candidates of his party who might have beaten Bush - Wesley Clark, Joe Lieberman and John Edwards - Kerry is finding out that America is a centrist nation. "

...

"...the latest New York Times/CBS survey indicates that 60 percent of the voters feel Kerry is telling them what they want to hear, not what he really believes. Bush is opening a credibility gap which is only widened by Kerry's ridiculous statement that he voted for the $87 billion appropriation for the war effort before he voted against it."

Liberal Media Watch

I'm not sure how I stand on Israel's stance of killing off the Hamas leadership, simply because killing a human being is not and should not be an easy thing to contemplate or perform. I think, however, that it is easy to see the reasons why such actions are undertaken. Stefan Sharkansky links us to That Liberal Media, where it would seem that the killing of Hamas leadership might be reducing violence in Israel:

Yes, but there's nothing new about these "threats of unprecedented revenge". Every time Israel takes a shot at a Hamas leader, the media reports on Hamas's threats of "unprecedented revenge", even though there is no evidence for the bizarre implication that the liquidation of terrorists should lead to an increase in terrorism.

In fact, a numerical analysis shows that the frequency of Hamas terror fatalities has actually declined since Israel started liquidating Hamas leaders. Nevertheless, the media prefers to amplify Hamas' ineffectual threats and also accuse Israel of "fueling a cycle of violence".

Extra-Judicial Killing

Jack Straw condemns Israel for its "extra-judicial" killing of Yassin:

Mr Straw said Israel was not entitled to carry out "this kind of unlawful killing", which in any case was "very unlikely to achieve its objectives".

Hmmm. It would seem to me that Al Q's recent "extra-judicial" killing of hundreds of Spanish citizens achieved its objectives. It would also seem to me that Mr. Yassin himself preached a course of extra-judicial killing to achieve HIS objectives:

"Palestinian land is Arab Muslim land," Yassin wrote. "It was occupied by the force of weapons by the Zionist Jew and will only be returned with the force of weapons."

Terror begets terror: Hamas simply brought down violence on itself.

(hat tips to Indepundit and Allah for story linkage)

Why Sharon Did it

The New York Post has an opinion column by Amir Taheri with that heading and goes on to explain his reason why Sharon OK'd the killing of Ahmed Yassin, the former head of Hamas.

Taheri's view comes to this, if Sharon does plan to pull out of Gaza like he has said he will do, he needs to insure Israel is seen to withdraw because it chooses to and not because Hamas and the other terrorist groups forced it to.

This appears to be a reasonable view and if true, then we can expect to see more attacks on Hamas' leadership. Yahoo news is carrying an article today saying Israel is now threatening to kill the entire Hamas leadership and will be willing to expand it to other terrorist groups and PLO factions that attack Israel or Israelis.

If Israel does eliminate the entire Hamas leadership, it would effectively make the organization a non entity. Since there isn't a training system available anymore to train up replacement leaders (can't go to Afghanistan, paid for by Saddam to learn how to be a terrorist), the remaining members may be motivated, but untrained on how to keep the organization going and it will become more like a gang which can be handled in a law enforcement manner.

With the new Hamas leader, a Pediatrician, vowing new and larger attacks, expect Israel to strike sooner the later if it wants to eliminate the Hamas leadership.

California's Problem is the Free Spending Government

I wonder if the Measure B money ended up funding the emergency rooms, but the funds designated for them before Measure B were redirected by Los Angeles? It always happens. Government budgets hate to have unspent cash.

That was one argument against the Lotto originally: that the government sees Lotto proceedes as excess and sloughs off money originally earmarked for education. In my humble opinion, Lotto is simply another tax. Looking at the news reports in the neighborhoods when the jackpot is huge, sometimes I wonder if Lotto is another tax on the poor.

I'm with you, Andy, California spends like a drunken sailor: foolishly and in large amounts.

The spending measures, however, are only a symptom of a greater underlying problem: rampant health care costs. Interesting quote from the article Andy cited:

Late last year, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas stopped taking low-income patients who use government insurance unless they are in emergency situations. Other local hospitals said they are having trouble keeping their emergency rooms staffed with enough nurses to meet strict new staffing laws.

The health care system needs revamping, and I'm not talking about the socialization of medicine. One thing I have seen before is the suggestion is that more costs should be shifted to the consumer; that the consumer must bear more of the burden of paying. The thought is that this will actually decrease costs overall. I think I can go for this. I wonder how many people are going to the emergency rooms for things that could be handled by routine doctor visits, or they are going to emergency rooms because they don't have health insurance? There are also probably more doctor office visits where self treatment could have been applied. Dude, how many times do you need to have a doctor diagnose a cold or flu?

Shifting more of the burden of health costs onto me will make me think twice about going to the doctor, perhaps shaving off uneccesary visits. You only need to have 10% of unnecessary costs shaved to have a dramitic impact. Costs should also be shifted in proportion to your usage: there are some people who use the doctor much more than others, but I have to pay for their increased usage without gaining any benefit for myself.

California we have a problem

In the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, voters passed Measure B back in 2002. This measure raised property taxes under the claim the LA County Supervisors would close Harbor/UCLA Medical Center due to funding shortages. It was also promised that this extra tax would be the only thing needed to keep the system afloat.

Of course we were lied to by the County, what else is new.

Now "The Coalition to Preserve Emergency Care" says it has gathered enough signatures to qualify a ballot measure for the November election. It would raise the taxes on residential phone lines by $1.50 each month and there is NO LIMIT to the amount the fee can be assessed business lines and CELL PHONES. So people who have given up land lines or live and die by their cell phones could likely see even higher costs.

The money will go to fund the emergency room health care system in the State.

So all phone users will have to pay more for the privilege to use the phone to fund emergency rooms.

If this passes, expect phone and any other utility to have new fees and taxes put on to fund other worthy goals. Los Angeles residence will also be asked to hike our sales tax by another quarter percent to pay for law enforcement.

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE STATE AND COUNTY IS DOING WITH ALL THE MONEY WE ARE ALREADY SENDING THEM???

If the legislature and the County Supervisors cannot be trusted to spend the discretionary money they receive from our taxes on the most important things (schools, emergency rooms, public safety) and then only if there is money left over on other things, why are we paying them?

Hamas

Yesterday we all heard the news that Israel was successful in terminating Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of that peace loving organization called Hamas. The papers and lots of political folks in Europe and the US have said that killing Yassin was bad news and would only inflame the hatred of the Palestinian people against Israel.

Bret Stephens at OpionionJournal.com has a different take on the issue. He is of the opinion that Israel is enhancing its security by targeting the leaders of the terrorist organizations. Without the leadership, the foot soldiers are not effective. Stephens also points out that the Palestinians who are sent to be suicide bombers are not the elite of society, but rather the cast offs. For example, you don't see the children of the Hamas or other terrorist organizations volunteering for these missions. Arafat has children but he has not offered them to the cause either.

My personal opinion is Israel should print up and distribute a list of every person in leadership of the terrorist organizations and the Palestinian Authority. The next suicide bomber that is launched (whether they are successful or not) will mean the first person on the list will terminated. The next bomber will mean the second person on the list is now subject to termination (read that as they will be killed as soon as possible) and so on and so on. The leaders in the PA and the terrorist organizations are responsible for the attacks so they are legitimate targets for retaliation. If the leaders then hide behind women and children to protect themselves, Israel should go after their families, after what type of man would hide behind women and children and let his family pay for his crimes? A coward, that is who.

The terrorists think blowing up civilians is legitimate because all Israeli men and most if not all women must serve in the army so they are potential soldiers. Israel can use the same logic and that it has not done so only shows the restraint Israel has shown over the years. Just think if the US was facing such attacks on a daily basis. Would the US be willing to fight as hard as possible? Waco and Ruby Ridge would seem to indicate yes our government would.

Life on Mars????

At Space.com, they have updates on what is going on, on Mars.

No, they didn't find any fossils, but apparently the area the rover Opportunity landed was once the edge of a salty sea. This seems to indicate Mars at one time may have been warmer and wetter.

While I don't think they will find any life or evidence life ever existed on Mars, it is still interesting to see how a planet can change over many years.

Blacks Comment on Gay Marriage

Interesting. A group of black pastors are taking a stand against gay marriage and comment on the attempts to equate gay marriage rights with the civil rights movement:

'To equate a lifestyle choice to racism demeans the work of the entire civil rights movement,' the statement said. 'People are free in our nation to pursue relationships as they choose. To redefine marriage, however, to suit the preference of those choosing alternative lifestyles is wrong.'

Trackback

Haloscan has instituted Trackback! Woot! Gotta love Haloscan, drop some love on them if you get the chance, they've done us right.

Sex and Racism Sells

Good ol' Abercrombie & Fitch, at it again. Not only have they sold racist t-shirts, now they're sterotyping others with a T-Shirt that reads, "It's All Relative in West Virginia".

What I really wonder is if they have their collective marketing heads up their collective @$$es.

I'm not terribly up in arms about the West Virginia t-shirt, then again I'm not from West Virginia. More personally, I was pretty pissed at their asian t-shirts. I never shopped at A&F before, but I sure as heck am not going to now.

Rikke got married!!!

So why is this worth an entry in a "serious" political blog?

Well, Rikke is one of our co-writers to this journal as she's been kind of busy the last few weeks. Yesterday, she told me she might not be able to post for a little while. Now how many people on their WEDDING day are even concerned about posting on a blog??? And just to set the record straight, she told me, I didn't ask her.

So yesterday, in Palo Alto at the Crown Plaza hotel, Rikke and Bryan got married. We had perfect weather and a lot of fun seeing folks who I don't always get to see. We drove up on Saturday and came back last night (I'm surprised Coca-Cola stock is down today, we or rather I, consumed a lot of DC this weekend) and back to work today.

Its always great to see islands of peace, love, joy and happiness in this world.

Blessings to both of you Rikke and Bryan.

Higher Edukation

Perusing an article on the "lucky losers" of reality TV (SHE BANGS!), you can run across this little gem:

"The losers are so much more interesting than the winners are," said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television. "You don’t have to win to become the star of a hit television show."

Maybe never more true words could be spoken by Mr. Thompson, But what gets me is that Mr. Thompson directs Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television. The center is the home of a "rare and complete set of scripts and videotapes of all six seasons" of St. Elsewhere as well as a book series, two volumes of which are entitled, "Deny All Knowledge: Reading the X Files" and "Gen X TV: 'The Brady Bunch' to 'Melrose Place'"

I'm wondering if they do most of their research in the dorms.

Why Am I Not Surprised?

With a siege going on this long, I wasn't terribly sure that a positive resolution would arise. Now we have some of the first rumblings of disappointment:

Top Al Qaeda terrorists may have escaped a siege by thousands of Pakistani soldiers through several secret tunnels leading from mud fortresses to a dry mountain stream near the border with Afghanistan, a security chief said Monday.

Monday Thoughts

The words of a daughter, eulogizing her father who died in Afghanistan in December, 2001:

On December 5th my father, Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, died in Afghanistan along with 2 other men, Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Henry Petithory, 32, of Massachusetts, and Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, 28, of California. He died doing something he was proud of and loved doing. While all of his men were together a 2,000-pound satellite-guided bomb from a U.S. B-52 missed its target north of Kandahar, killing 3 men and wounded 20 other U.S. soldiers. My father was a great man, and I love and am proud of what he did. He died defending the U.S. He died defending YOU. I went to school one morning with a mother, father, and a brother, but when I came home, I didn't have a father. There are NO words to express how I feel right now. Sadness and anger mostly fill my mind but I am also the proudest daughter in the world…God could have never given me a better father. When you read this go to your mom and dad…give them a hug…tell them you love them because you don't know the next time you will see them. I just want everyone to know how proud of my dad I am.

Two observations.

First, this is what a warrior means, it means leaving those you love behind because you believe in something greater.

Second, being an engineer, it freaks me out that three men died from friendly fire--a satellite guided bomb missed. Presumably, it was a JDAM. Now I don't know the circumstances of the incident, perhaps it was operator error and the bomb wasn't laid in correctly, perhaps the men weren't where they said they would be. What frightens me is the possibility that the bomb made a mistake; somebody screwed up the software. That mistake led to three deaths and 20 injuries.

Sgt Hook Out

The intimatible Sgt. Hook deploys to Afghanistan where things are looking hotter by the day.

Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his mates who put it on the line to do what needs to be done. A big thanks from this citizen to the sarge!

Martyrs

Two missionaries, William and Donna Pett, are killed in Uganda for unknown reasons. The pair, a couple from Wisconsin, taught agriculture at the Esther Evangelistical School of Technology and were shot by unknown, but uniformed, forces.

'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of your into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.' -- The Lamb to the church in Smyrna (The Book of Revelations 2:10-11)

USA Today's "Blair" Nightmare

The ghost of Jayson Blair raises its ugly head at USA Today as Jack Kelley is under examination for fabrication of various stories. Sadly enough, he seems to be a professing Catholic.

Kelley was a well regarded reporter, garnering five Pullitzer nominations. Now I don't know if Kelley lied in writing his stories, but it's bad that he is even suspected of such.

If Christians cannot tell the truth, how can the world believe the Truth?

(hat tip to Drudge for both links)

More to do this weekend

Another site like Fundrace 2004 is opensecrets.org. Apparently they have more up to date information.

Something to do this weekend

Want to find out how your neighbors feel towards the candidates?

Want to see how people are contributing towards the political process?

Go to Fundrace 2004 (www.fundrace.org) and you can type in your street address and zip code and click on the search button and it will tell you all the donations to the presidential candidates starting with those closes to the address you entered.

You can also search by name if you want to see if someone in particular has donated money to a presidential campaign.

The information comes from the FEC. The candidates are required to provide the name, address and amount of each donation over $200 (although many feel it is easier to just turn over all the data). Fundrace 2004 takes the data and makes it easier to find and do searches on.

It works and is illuminating. Would it not be better to just have full disclosure and let people donate as much money as they want to? That way everyone will know who is donating money to which candidate and therefore know who the candidate is more likely to favor. It would put a lot of lawyers out of business though because it is simple but would probably be more effective.

SF Gate had the story that pointed me to the site.

Problems in Taiwan

The President and Vice President of Taiwan were wounded today when an assassination attempt was made on the President during a campaign stop. President Chen Shui-bian was shot in the stomach but apparently is in good condition and gave a short message on TV later in the night.

Per the story, the attack is not likely to affect the outcome of the election, but who knows.

Can you imagine what would happen if this happened in the US in Early November? I'm sure the Secret Service has nightmares about this type of scenario (or someone attacking anyone they are protecting).

Other then a short announcement, China (PRC) has nothing to say about the incident. This is not surprising as they probably know as much or as little as anyone else. It would not be in their interest to have anything to do with something this crazy.

Waziristan Rundown

Dan Darling over at Regnum Crucis has an excellent summary of the Pakistani siege of some "high value target".

This high value target must be a Big Fish for Musharraf to move so aggressively into western Pakistan. It would seem to me that the Pakistanis are close, but no cigar. The longer the situation rages, the more opportunity that the fish has to wiggle out of the net. Certainly you want whomever it is alive, the intel benefits might be worthwhile.

With Allies Like These. . .

France cozies up to China:

China and France began five days of joint exercises off the northern Chinese coast Tuesday, prompting Taiwan to claim it was a threatening show of force.

...

France is also lobbying EU countries to drop the 15-year-old embargo on arms sales to China, imposed after the brutal 1989 suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators, the Financial Times said.

Of course France wants to sell arms to China, because it can't sell arms to Iraq now that Saddam is out of business.

Kerry Goes to Ketchum

Postcards from Idaho, the Kerrys on vacation:

On his next trip down, a reporter and a camera crew were allowed to follow along on skis — just in time to see Mr. Kerry taken out by one of the Secret Service men, who had inadvertently moved into his path, sending him into the snow.

When asked about the mishap a moment later, he said sharply, "I don't fall down," then used an expletive to describe the agent who "knocked me over."
...
Ms. Heinz Kerry, for her part, stuck to a pair of skis and was taking her time down the slope, accompanied by two old friends, one a former Olympian, the other a ski school instructor.

"I'm going tentatively, but prettily," she said, wearing tight black pants and a flaming red jacket.
...

Still, Mr. Kerry could not entirely escape the hazards of the arena he had left behind. He had just sat down for a bite to eat on the crowded patio near the lift line when a waiting skier, John Norris, shouted: "Hey, John! What foreign leaders talked to you?"

Anti-Semite Endorses Kerry

And he's the former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir. Check it out.

"I think Kerry would be much more willing to listen to the voices of people and of the rest of the world," Mahathir, who retired in October after 22 years in power, told The Associated Press in an interview.

"But in the U.S., the Jewish lobby is very strong, and any American who wants to become president cannot change the policy toward Palestine radically," he said.

In other words, Kerry would be willing to buckle to international pressure and abandon strategic aims, but wouldn't abandon Israel. It's an endorsement, but a limited one.

If you recall, Mahathir made headlines with his anti-Semitic remarks in an address to the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Operational Tempo

Amide the Madrid and Bagdhad bombings and the coming anniversary of the Iraqi liberation comes a report that a "high value target" is being protected by Al Qaeda militants.

Who knows what this means, plenty of high value targets have been surrounded before. One can hope, but what good is that? War is not a spectator sport, it is survival.

It looks like the operational tempo of the war on terror has increased. The terrorists are by no means taking this lying down, they have lashed out in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Spain. Is is my opinion that it is a question of "where" and not "if" the next terrorism will occur. Will we end up catching Osama? Maybe, but that will not be the end of it. Osama represents the head of the snake, but this is a snake where the body can live on and grow another head.

Kerry's Krummy Komment

Tim, husband of the Iraq deployed CPT Patti, has a good run down on John Kerry's recent comment:

"I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

- John F. Kerry, March 16, 2004. defending his vote against the Iraq supplemental funding bill, a bill to ensure the Soldiers had the tools they need to do the job we gave them.

What the heck? Talk about your typical political double speak. No, I take that back, that's not double speak, that was pretty much the plain truth. Tim quotes a letter to Jonah Goldberg in the NRO:

[Kerry's] stance is that he voted for an amendment that would have approved the $87 billion if the tax cuts were rolled back. Without that in the bill he voted against it.

This should be spun, "Kerry valued raising taxes more than he valued giving our troops the support they needed."

We have him taking both sides. We have a tax increase. We have a vote against the troops. All in one baker's dozen of words.

What About the Book Report?

A first grader brings home a book in which:

. . .the leading character, Prince Bertie, waves off a bevy of eligible princes before falling for Prince Lee.

The book ends with the princes marrying and sharing a kiss.

The elementary school's principal comments:

"We have a lot of diversity in our schools," said Elizabeth Miars, Freeman's principal. "What might be inappropriate for one family, in another family is a totally acceptable thing."

Guh.

I'll say it again, guh. Does a book on homosexual relationships belong in an elementary school library? No. Is this isolated? I hope so, but I seriously doubt that. Apparently, the book may have been on a selection guide. A selection guide? That probably means that materials that are deemed appropriate for school children are chosen at the whims of the school librarian in conjunction with whomever puts together these selection guides.

(ed: Maybe our own R.G. has some thoughts on this)

There is no doubt that the worldviews of the aforementioned librarian and selection committees are going to be expressed in their opinions of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. It is their choice of materials that will influence the worldviews of the children who learn from them. This also applies to the faculty and administration as well.

My wife and I want to send our kids to public school, we think that it is important that they are exposed to the world and understand how their faith might interact with that world. Part of that decision also means that we have little control over what they will be learning. I really have to wonder at the kind of discussions we're going to have when they get home. Maybe we're going to have to preface many of those discussions with Paul's remarks in Romans:

"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." (1:21-23)

"And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper." (1:28)

www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish

Monty Python does Spain, courtesy of the Daily Dish:

A DITTY FOR ZAPATERO:
MINSTREL: [singing]
Brave Zapatero ran away,
Bravely ran away, away.
When danger reared its ugly head,
he bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Zapatero turned about
And gallantly, he chickened out.
Bravely taking to his feet,
He beat a very brave retreat,
Bravest of the brave, Zapatero.

With apologies to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Where are the coconuts?

Kurd Uprising in Syria?

An uprising of Kurds in northern Syria. The freearabforum blog is some sort of running newsfeed and commentary:

Popular unrest is a necessary component for democratic reform and the overthrow of the Baath-terror regime, but it is by no means suffecient for the desired change. It is not that difficult to slip into northern Syria from either Iraq or Turkey, so why in God's name are none of the cable news networks sending a camera crew or at least a reporter with a satellite video phone into the hotbed of unrest that is brewing in Syria right now? -- Oubai

(hat tip to Sullivan, of course)

Why Spain was attacked

The Conventional Wisdom says Spain was attacked by Al-Qaeda because of it's troops in Iraq and it's strong support of the US war on terror.

However, Scott Norvell says there was another reason for the attack, one that is over 500 years old.

Back in the 1400's, the Spanish crown won the final victory against the Muslims in Southern Spain and thus making Spain an officially Catholic country. Prior to that, Spain was part of the Islamic Empire and the terrorists think that once a land was Muslim, it must always be Muslim and wants their territory back.

It will be very interesting to see how the terrorists act now, will they continue to attack Spain because they think Spain belongs to Islam or will they move on to Italy, Poland, the UK for supporting the US war. Or will the terrorist attack France because of its ban on Muslim girls and women from wearing head scarves?

Interesting question for Kerry

Orrin Judd has an interesting article about Kerry.

Will John Kerry resign from the Senate while he is running for President?

If he does and looses, he will be unemployed. If he doesn't, he is open to the charge he isn't all that sure he can win (keeping a safety net) and/or that he will be short changing his constituents in Massachusetts by missing votes.

When Bob Dole locked up the Republican Presidential nomination in 1996, he resigned from the Senate, a move that surprised everybody and basically said either he was going to get promoted (from Senator to President) or retire. He retired.

Of course, the current Governor of Massachusetts is a Republican and would appoint a Republican to replace Kerry, which would not make the Democrats happy. But also, the Senate leadership will try to have votes on hot button issues (same sex marriage, Social Security etc.) which would cause Kerry trouble. So he is in a catch 22, stay in the Senate and be open to a lot of criticism or resign to concentrate on the campaign and give the Republicans a bigger majority in the Senate.

This is crazy

No, this has nothing to do with Iraq, Bush, Kerry or anything political.

I'm talking HOUSING PRICES.

The Real Estate Journal (part of the Wall Street Journal) has a story about home prices and if folks thought 2004 would be a slower year, homes not selling as fast and the price not rising as quickly as 2003, well think again.

In Orange County, CA (and South Bay in Los Angeles County), home prices are expected to rise over 15% this year and there is NO inventory available. Ok, ok, there is some but its estimated to be a weeks worth. The number of homes sold in an average week is the total number of homes on the market at this time.

Now with "starter" or "mid priced" homes going for $500K or more, who can afford them? Even if people put 20% down in cash (a dream in this day of credit card debt and no savings) and carry a mortgage of $420K, how can two working adults afford this mortgage pymt unless they are each earning $100K a year plus?

Even with an adjustable mortgage loan, how can they afford it? What happens when interest rates rise? And don't forget about property taxes (another 5K a year minimum) and insurance, and, and, and.

I didn't know there were that many jobs in LA and OC county paying over 100K a year.

When interest rates go up, what will happen to all those adjustable mortgages and the homes they are tied too? If people are able to afford their homes now because the interest rate is only 2% on their ARM, what happens when the rate goes to 4% or 6%?

Are we looking at 1989 again?

Iraq and the use of Snipers

A military web site (CJTF7) that provides some details on how the military is using snipers in Iraq along with a lot of other information on what is going on there.

The sniper information is very interesting, at least to this non military person on how they are employed and their objectives.

Perfect Plan

Well, I'd say that Al Qaeda was not only successful, but efficient:

'We think the Spanish government will not stand more than two blows, or three at the most, before it will be forced to withdraw because of the public pressure on it,' [an] al Qaeda document says.
'If its forces remain after these blows, the victory of the Socialist Party will be almost guaranteed -- and the withdrawal of Spanish forces will be on its campaign manifesto.'

Who's next? Poland? Britain?

Hearts and Minds at Home

Adrian Warnock has a thoughtful evangelical response to the Spanish massacre:

Jesus told us to 'GO into all the world'. These days most western Chrsitians do not have to even get on a plane to meet people from very different religious and national identies. It is incumbent on us, and indeed a crucial aspect of the war on terror for us to reach out to win hearts and minds of our potential enemies.

Good thoughts, Adrian, it is something I can agree with. In the comments section Alison waxes cynical on American Christondom and its ability to carry such deeds:

you will have a hard time finding American Christians who are willing to inconvenience themselves for each other. There is no feeling of being unison -- no mandate to take care of each other or support each other. Every now and then there is a cause or a bandwagon that people get on, and it's in the news for awhile, but the average Christian in America really doesn't care if their neighbor has enough to eat or stays warm at night. This is a complete turn-around from the way it was 10 to 20 years ago, and it might be traceable to the advent of the "mega-church." Now the average church is looking for people from the upper-middle to upper class to fill up their empty pews and are competing with each other to see who can bring in the most superstars to perform on Sunday morning. To see the "must read" movies or see the "must read" books or go to the "must attend" conference or ingest the "God-ordained" vitamin supplement you have to have big dollars.

Kerry KNEW!

Tongue in cheek, of course.

From an editoral piece by Paul Sperry in the New York Post:

Former FAA security officials say the Massachusetts senator had the power to prevent at least the Boston hijackings and save the World Trade Center and thousands of lives, yet he failed to take effective action after they gave him a prophetic warning that his state's main airport was vulnerable to multiple hijackings.

"He just did the Pontius Pilate thing and passed the buck" on back through the federal bureaucracy, said Brian Sullivan, a retired FAA special agent from the Boston area who in May 2001 personally warned Kerry that Logan was ripe for a "jihad" suicide operation possibly involving "a coordinated attack."

(hat tip to Cpt Patti)

Interesting take on blogging

Edward B. Driscoll at TCS has an interesting take on blogging and the effect it is having on the media and public.

While he may be too optimistic, its worth a read. Largely because if only 5 people read this blog and they link or comment about it on their blog, suddenly it can be a national story. The Life Magazine from January 1946 first reported at Jessica's Well is a great example. So while it would be nice to have the hits that Sullivan or Lileks has, its not necessary to have an effect.

Site of the Moment: .Zero Intelligence

Zero Intelligence: "Fighting School Board Inanity since 2004"

Sullivan's Spin on Spain

From today's Daily Dish:

And in yesterday's election victory for the socialists, al Qaeda got even more than it could have dreamed of. It has removed a government intent on fighting terrorism and installed another intent on appeasing it. For good measure, they murdered a couple of hundred infidels. But the truly scary thought is the signal that this will send to other European governments. Britain is obviously next. The appeasement temptation has never been greater; and it looks more likely now that Europe - as so very often in the past - will take the path of least resistance - with far greater bloodshed as a result. I'd also say that it increases the likelihood of a major bloodbath in this country before the November elections. If it worked in Spain, al Qaeda might surmise, why not try it in the U.S.?

Hang On

Spain has just made it more dangerous to be a western country, make no doubt about that. Simply by the act of reacting (or appearing to have reacted) to the train bombings in Spain, the new Spanish government has now raised the hope of every terrorist that seeks to further their cause with violence.

The new Spanish government has effectively signal that nations can be forced, beaten, cowed into submission. That will result in nothing more than more terrorism. Mark my words, I have a strong fear that there will be another large scale attack in the United States, most likely towards the fall--the Presidential elections. Driven by a desire by terrorists to push Bush out of office, foreign elements will attempt to destabilize the United States with violence. Will Americans, too, lose the stomach to fight? Will we seek temporary peace by running from the fight? Sadly, I do not know the answer.

Zapatero says

'My most immediate priority will be to fight terrorism,' he said. The Spanish Socialist Workers Party ruled from 1982 to 1996 but ran afoul of corruption scandals and was voted out in 1996, when Aznar took power.

Frankly, actions speak louder than words.

As I was drifting off to sleep, I reflected that our unstable times merely illustrate that our trust cannot be in our present safety, our fiscal security, our country's protection or the hope that strangers mean us no harm--foreign and domestic. God shows us who, really is the One to trust. True security comes not in this age, but in the next.

Terrorism Wins

Now that the Spanish people have reacted in fear, terrorism will now become a major force in shaping national policy. Yahoo Spanish Socialists Oust Party of U.S. War Ally.

'The terrorists have killed 200 people and defeated the government -- they have achieved all their objectives,' said Gustavo de Arustegui, a Popular Party member of parliament and foreign policy spokesman for the government. 'I think the terrorist attacks were politically planned. We have transformed terrorists into political actors with this.'

Only in America

Only in America do we need to pass a law that 89% of the people believe is common sense.

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to shield restaurants from lawsuit's for obesity. Basically, if one eats junk food or fast food all the time, they can't sue the restaurants saying the restaurant is at fault.

The reason we need this law is simple, lawyers will continue to bring suits against McDonald's and others until they find one judge and one jury who agree with them.

And what is surprising is this is from the San Francisco Chronicle. I'm posting links to the LA Times and the SF Chronicle, will wonders never cease???

Whack-a-Spammer

An owner of an anti-spam software company pretty much sums up the problem with the anti-spam lawsuits:

"Suing the bastards won't work because it's pretty much like Whack-a-Mole, they just stick up their ugly heads somewhere else," said Stu Sjouwerman, COO of Sunbelt Software.

Well, yah, it may not work, but maybe it'll be a deterrent. It's better than nothing, which is what we had until now.

Shazam!

Much hilarity from the Patriette. Apparently Kerry's long lost twin is found.



(image courtesy of Patriette)

Hypocrisy and European Terror

Isreally cool runs through the hypocrisy that centers around the labelling of the ETA as terrorists and European attitudes that stray away from labelling the PLO similarly.

But despite the similarities, world leaders unanimously view the ETA as a terrorist group, condemning today's attack in no uncertain terms. On the other hand, world leaders are, at best, equivocal in their condemnation of the PLO Arab terrorist groups.

Interesting take. To take Isreally

(hat tip to Winds of Change)

"Our September 11"

A Madrid hospital said on Friday afternoon that a six-and-a-half-month-old baby was among the dead in what Spanish papers dubbed "Our September 11."

Via Reuters News.

Al Qaeda claims responsibility

From Fox News, Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack in Madrid.

Unfortunately, a free society like Spain must be lucky every time to prevent a terrorist attack, the bad guys only have to be lucky once.

We, the West are in a war, we just need to decide how we want to fight. I think Madrid was attacked for two reasons:

1. Spain is an active ally with the US in the War against terror.
2. Al Qaeda wasn't able to launch an attack in the US at this time.

Even though Spain has elections coming up, Al Qaeda would have to be stupid to think attacking now would make people more likely to elect those who will abandon the war on terror. If they believe this, they haven't bothered to look at Spanish history or history in general. Only those who think defeat is inevitable and think they can only hope the attackers will be merciful will cut and run. Most people will instead get angry and demand the government take the war to the enemy and give them no rest.

This attack may also have an effect on Old Europe (France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg), if the terrorists are attacking Spain, how long before they attack these other countries. Remember France has just banned the head scarf from school and the Muslim community is not happy about it. Germany and Netherlands are also looking at similar laws.

I can't say what Al Qaeda hoped to accomplish by this attack, but think like 9-11, it will come back to hurt them. Well I sure hope so anyway.

Another Saddam Spy

And she's an American. Looks like an information for money scam:

She worked for Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. in 1993 and then Rep. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in 1994 before joining the office of former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun as press secretary in 1996. From March to May 2002, she worked for Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

(snip)

Braun's current spokesperson, Loretta Kane, said the former senator does not remember Lindauer.

NOW THAT'S HUMOR! Braun can't remember her press secretary?

There's a copy of the indictment over at The Smoking Gun.

Whizbang has a rundown.

(hat tip to Smash)

Basque? Muslim?

Of course, you should have heard about the bombings in Madrid that has claimed 190 lives (so far) and injured hundreds more. Is it Muslim militants? Basque seperatists? Or both?

Spanish officials called it the deadliest attack ever by ETA, but Arnold Otegi, leader of Batasuna, an outlawed Basque party linked to the armed separatist group, denied it was behind the blasts and suggested "Arab resistance" elements were responsible.

(snip)

But previous arrests may point to ETA's connection in Thursday's bombing.

On Feb. 29, for the second time in two months, police intercepted a Madrid-bound van packed with more than 1,100 pounds of explosives, and blamed ETA. Two alleged ETA members were arrested, but their identities were withheld.

Being a father of three and with a newborn in the house, this quote from the Reuters report gets to me:

Passenger Ana Maria Mayor's voice cracked as she told reporters: "I saw a baby torn to bits."

Damnit, it's a war.

This is looking good . . .

If the license agreement comes to more then a nice press release.

From the NY Times in the IHT

Ford will purchase the Toyota hybrid technology and use it in their own cars. If Ford is serious about this and Toyota won't charge too much for the royalties, then this will help get more hybrid cars and SUV and trucks on the road, which will help reduce the amount of oil we have to import.

So hopefully Detroit will not be left behind again and will hopefully compete with the other automakers.

Yo, Simon, You Can't Pick Talent

Clearly. My proof? William Hung gets his own recording contract.

DUDE. POWER TO THE ENGINEERS!

Kerry Gets it from a Black Civil Rights Group

From a black civil rights group in response to his comment, "President Clinton was often known as the first black president. I wouldn't be upset if I could earn the right to be the second."

"John Kerry is not a black man — he is a privileged white man who has no idea what it is in this country to be a poor white in this country, let alone a black man," said Paula Diane Harris, founder of the Andrew Young National Center for Social Change.

Loser

Miami: Mother ties up daughter to go dancing.

California: Land of Fruits and Nuts

A Californian politician (where else) wants to give 14 and 16 year olds a vote, well 1/4 and 1/2 of a vote, respectively.

A Republican politician says,

Said Assemblyman Ray Haynes: "There's a reason why 14-year-olds and 16-year-olds don't vote. They are not adults. They are not mature enough. They are easily deceived by political charlatans."

A high school student says,

"If we could vote, politicians would see us as votes, not just kids, and they would take our issues seriously," said Robert Reynolds, a student at Berkeley High School.

No, what would happen is that we would end up dumbing down our political dialog even further than it already has. Imagine the shennanigans of your typical 45 to 55 year old assemblyman attempting to win the teen vote.

New Blog site to look at

Oh That Liberal Media is another blog site that wants to hold the media accountable for presenting viewpoints as facts and opinions as objective accounts.

The primary difference between this blog and many of the other blogs that do the same thing, is this blog is looking at the regional papers and local media instead of network (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN) or national papers (NY Times, Washington Post, WSJ).

Maybe the boss should put this in the BLOG list on the right side for future reference. (hint, hint).

Hat tip http Jessica's Well

This from the LA Times?????

I can't believe it, I agree with an LA Times editorial. They think the folks at Disney were foolish to slow the spinning of the tea cups and are bemoaning the fear of lawyers that encouraged the change.

Read it here.

Mouse Chess

Kevin Yee over at Miceage.com summarizes Eisner's precarious position:

Where is this heading? Well, we have a few more answers than we did last week. The split from CEO and Chairman is unlikely to placate everyone, and Eisner’s nightmare is unlikely to end any time soon. But I’ve been predicting since the Comcast offer first appeared that we’re in the midst of a chain of events that will eventually lead to Eisner’s complete ouster, and I stand by that. Comcast might press ahead, renew its bid, sweeten its offer, or even withdraw. Shareholders might continue to howl for Eisner’s head, or be placated for the time being. But the endgame is a replacement for Eisner – it’s all but certain. It’s even possible that Mitchell was promoted just to buy some time while the Board searches for a replacement for Eisner.

I agree with Yee, Eisner is toast.

Koreans for Kerry

Unfortunately, it's a North Korean, courtesy of Shark Blog:

North Korea has never had a real election, doesn't believe in democracy and wouldn't dream of putting the political fate of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il in the hands of ballot-wielding commoners. But it does have an election strategy — as far as the United States is concerned.

The regime in Pyongyang, analysts say, is rooting for virtually anyone other than George W. Bush to be the next U.S. president.That's why many observers are expecting little progress at the six-party talks aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear program that started yesterday in Beijing.

I would daresay that terrorists are also on the "anybody but Bush" bandwagon. All the more reason we should stay with our horse.

(Devotional tip: However it turns out, I am constantly reminding myself that God isn't a Democrat or a Republican. Therefore, although the elections are fairly important in a worldly sense (and I encourage all to vote), God works through and despite our faulty world governments.)

Swen Song

Correction: Swen Nater doesn't run Coscto, but is a 'Director of Community Outreach' as evidenced by this webpage.

I was wondering why I didn't see his name in the annual reports. . .

Good 'ol Bill Walton, always willing to hyperventilate at a moment's notice.

HOLY COW

Another stunning vote from Super Tuesday and it doesn't involve Kerry: Eisner is opposed by 40% of shareholders. Roy Disney and Stanley Gold were hoping for 20%.

YOWZA.

Einser you ARE the weakest link!

Say It Ain't So!

Like we should be surprised that Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi are reported to have received steroids from their personal trainer. No mention as to wether the men actually jacked up on it.

Don't play the Vietnam card with me, John Kerry

LAURA BARTHOLOMEW ARMSTRONG at OpinionJournal.com uses the above line as the sub-title to her article on John Kerry. The daughter of a Marine who did not come back from Vietnam, a US Marine Widow and who has family in the military services offers her views on Kerry and his constant reminder he served in Vietnam.

This is a good article and well worth reading.