Area417

Worth a Look

 

"In Jewish law there is no notion of differentiating between two identical crimes on the basis of the person's socioeconomic background. There is no accounting of whether or not the person was able to receive appropriate therapy or a surrogate parent to wean them out of their quagmire."  V is for Victim. Yael Mermelstein

 

"Rep. John Campbell, a California Republican, notes that this year the House took many more votes (1,186) than ever but only 146 bills became laws, and most of those named buildings or other things, or extended existing laws. Congress, and especially the Democratic majority, should be congratulated for this because a decrease in the quantity of legislation generally means an increase in the quality of life."  Congress' Vanishing Act. George Will.

 

"Whether you are a social conservative bothered by Mike Huckabee's apparent hypocrisy, or a believer in governmental ethics who thinks that business and government need a greater firewall between them than to have governors sit on corporate boards, or if you're a fiscal conservative who is alarmed that the GOP is on the verge of nominating a presidential candidate who has a direct financial stake in forcing socialized medicine on the rest of us, there is more than enough in Mike Huckabee's record to merit denying him a higher office."  A reason for just about everybody to avoid Huckabee. Bob Krumm. (Hat Tip: Instapundit)

Bits & Pieces

The Huckster: Mike Huckabee supported licenses for illegals so legal immigrants wouldn't be "hassled."  Arkansas Journal has the rest.

Telegraph: British government loses unencrypted financial data of millions of subjects in the mail!

Searches were continuing for two CDs containing the names, addresses and bank details of 9.5million adults and the names, dates of birth and National Insurance numbers of all 15.5million children in the country which went missing after being put in the post by HM Revenue and Customs. 

Boston.com: Boston police are going door-to-door asking parents if they can search their kid's room for guns. (Hat tip Daily Paul)

Digital Journal: Violence down dramatically after withdrawal of British troops from Basra.

Salon.com does a thorough job of showing just how far Fox News is in the tank for Rudy. Like there was any doubt? (Hat tip C2NN)

Great Quote: "Yes, we should be afraid that the American way of life is in jeopardy. But contrary to what the government has convinced the sheep to believe, it's not the terrorists who are the most dangerous threat." Napolitano, J. A. (2007). A Nation of Sheep. Nashville: Thomas Nelson

***

Happy Thanksgiving!

Partial Birth Abortion Ban Upheld--Barely

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the partial-birth abortion ban that was signed into law by President Bush.

Ginsburg the Disgusting responded thusly:

A sharply written dissent by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned that the court's decision "deprives women of the right to make an autonomous choice, even at the expense of their safety." 

Ginsburg, joined by the three other liberal justices, said the court's "hostility" to the abortion right guaranteed by Roe was "not concealed." (Link: ABC News)

This is how a registered nurse, who was pro-choice, describes the procedure murder of a baby via partial-birth abortion:

I stood at the doctor's side and watched him perform a partial-birth abortion on a woman who was six months pregnant. The baby's heartbeat was clearly visible on the ultrasound screen. The doctor delivered the baby's body and arms, everything but his little head. The baby's body was moving. His little fingers were clasping together. He was kicking his feet. The doctor took a pair of scissors and inserted them into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startle reaction, like a baby does when he thinks that he might fall. Then the doctor opened the scissors up. Then he stuck the high-powered suction tube into the hole and sucked the baby's brains out. Now the baby was completely limp. I never went back to the clinic. But I am still haunted by the face of that little boy. It was the most perfect, angelic face I have ever seen."

One has to wonder what age you have to be before that putrid bitch (Ginsburg) thinks it isn't O.K. to have scissors rammed into your head.

More reading: Second Trimester Abortion: From Every Angle; AbortionFacts.com;

Rest in Peace, Liviu Librescu

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 

John 15:13, New American Standard Bible

***

Liviu Librescu is the Israeli engineering/math lecturer who was shot to death protecting his students at Virginia Tech.

 

In a letter addressed to Prof. Librescu's wife Marlena, one student described how he climbed out the window, but paused on the ledge to look back. 

"I saw your husband still standing there. He was holding the door closed and looking over his shoulder to make sure everybody else was safe. It was the bravest thing I have ever seen and I will always remember his courage," the student wrote.

Link: Virginia Tech Shootings, The Globe and Mail

Saturday Shorts

Independent Sources: Many Democrats Received Funds from Law Firm Targeted by Grand Jury

Conservatives Against Romney: Why Conservatives Should Oppose Mitt Romney

Commentary From Bruce Wilson: "Romney arrived at his pro-life decision in such a backwards manner that it’s difficult to take his explanation seriously."

Sunday Shorts

Barak Obama won't take military action against Iran off the table. (Hat Tip: Lew Rockwell)

Homeland Stupidity notes that Cal Poly is destroying thousands of books to make room for a Starbucks, and has silenced a librarian for objecting. My question would be why don't they hold a sale every year to clear out older materials, as libraries across the country do? So typical of the way taxpayers' money is treated by government institutions.

A little pandering from Senator Brownback? LaShawn Barber takes him to task.

News Bites

Seen on little green footballs--Penn & Teller video debunk recycling (Caution, not work-friendly)

The wonders of socialized medicine on A Stitch in Haste

Putting a face on Iran. Mr. Behi worries about a leader out of control (theirs and ours)

Capital Freedom on politicians and lobbyists

Repeat after me. Hamas is not a terrorist organization. (Hat tip Apropos Of Nothing)

A non-PC look at global warming by a former editor of New Scientist

Marauding Drag Queens Trouble New Orleans

A group of thieving drag queens has been plaguing shop owners in New Orleans. 

The transvestites first appeared in March when they raided Magazine Street like a marauding army of kleptomaniacal showgirls, said Davis, using clockwork precision and brute force to satisfy high-end boutique needs.

New Orleans police have been of little help, so the shop keepers have started their own warning system. The first business owner that sees them on the prowl starts a chain of calls that alerts everyone down the street.

A salesman at one of the stores, Eric Ogle, says the transvestites appear to be drug addicts.

The city’s not functioning the way it was and I’m sure a lot of them were getting some kind of government aid, which they probably aren’t getting any more so they’re incredibly desperate,” Ogle said.

Desperate for new pumps? Cry me a river. Some of the shop owners have guns. Use them.

Link: New Orleans City Business

Judiciary Run Amuck

It appears that we now have certain standards that have to be met before sending someone to prison. Woe to you if you're tall and ugly...

First it was the trashy teacher, Debra Lafave. She escaped going to prison (for molesting  a 14-year old boy) because she was just too pretty to go to jail. Her lawyer told the court that it would be "like putting a piece of raw meat in with the lions."

Now it appears that one can also be too short:

A judge said a 5-foot-1 man convicted of sexually assaulting a child was too small to survive in prison, and gave him 10 years of probation instead.

His crimes deserved a long sentence, District Judge Kristine Cecava said, but she worried that Richard W. Thompson, 50, would be especially imperiled by prison dangers.

(Story here.)

Hat Tip to  A Stitch in Haste: Too Short For Prison?)

Holly Ashcraft's Baby Still Not Laid To Rest

The deceased child in the Holly Ashcraft murder case still has not been buried, said Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the coroner's office.

Ashcraft, a third-year USC student, is charged with murder and child abuse after the body of an infant was found next to a dumpster behind the 29th Street Café.

Ashcraft's mother, Marlene Zentz, claimed the child, in lieu of a next-of-kin, Dec. 9 to arrange for burial, but on May 8, after being refrigerated for five months at Hillside Mortuary, the child was returned to the coroner's office, Harvey said.Link: Infant in Ashcraft case returns to L.A. Coroner's Office - News.

The next court date for this case is May 23rd.

Earlier Posts: Holly Ashcraft Strikes Again, Holly Ashcraft Autopsy Results Released,
Holly Ashcraft Gets New Defense, Law & Order Episode Similar To Holly Ashcraft Case, Ashcraft's Dad Shocked, Ashcraft Update, Prof. Questions Abstinence Only Sex Ed In Ashcraft Case, Feb. 10th Update, Speaker Discussed Agandonment at USC.

Investigative Committee SaysChurchill Lied, Stole

Faux Indian, Ward Churchill, has been charged with misconduct in his academic research.

Gov. Bill Owens said that Churchill has tarnished the university's reputation and should resign.

The committee's 125-page report said Churchill falsified, fabricated and plagiarized some of his research, did not always comply with standards for listing other authors' names and failed to follow accepted practice for reporting results.   

Of the five people on the committee, only one recommended that Churchill be fired; the others seemed to think that suspension from his duties as an ethnic studies professor would suffice. (Wrong message to be sending to the students).

f you'll recall, Churchill had this to say concerning the tragic events of September 11th:

Let's get a grip here, shall we?   True   enough,     they   were  civilians of a sort. But innocent? Gimme  a break.   They formed     a technocratic    corps at the very heart of America's   global   financial   empire  – the "mighty    engine of profit" to which  the military   dimension   of U.S.  policy has always    been enslaved – and they did so   both willingly   and knowingly.  Recourse to   "ignorance" – a derivative,   after all, of the  word "ignore"  – counts as less  than an excuse among  this relatively well-educated   elite.  To the extent that any of them were  unaware of the costs and consequences    to others of what they were involved  in – and in many cases excelling at   – it was because    of their absolute  refusal to see. More likely, it was because   they were   too  busy braying,  incessantly and self-importantly, into their   cell phones,  arranging   power  lunches and stock transactions, each of which   translated,  conveniently   out of sight, mind and smelling distance, into   the starved  and rotting  flesh   of infants. If there was a better, more effective,  or in fact any  other way  of visiting some penalty befitting their participation   upon the  little Eichmanns   inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin  towers, I'd  really be interested   in hearing about it. (Link: "Some People Push Back")

Link: FOXNews.com - University: Ward Churchill Committed Research Misconduct - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News.

Texas: Vicious Attack On Hispanic Teen

Things are clearly getting out of control...

Two white teens, ages 17 and 18, brutalized a 16-year-old Hispanic boy over their belief that he had tried to kiss a 12-year-old (white) girl at a party in Texas.

The attackers forced the boy out of the Saturday night house party, beat him and sodomized him with a metal pipe, shouting epithets "associated with being Hispanic," said Lt. John Martin with the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

They then poured bleach over the boy, apparently to destroy DNA evidence and left him for dead, authorities said. He wasn't discovered until Sunday, 12 hours after the attack.

The victim, who was not identified, suffered severe internal injuries and remained in critical condition Thursday.

The Harris County prosecutor does not believe the victim will live. If he does die, then the older attacker, who is 18, could face the death penalty.

God help us all.

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Link: BREITBART.COM - 2 Teens Charged in Attack at Texas Party.

Duke Lacrosse Player Authors Demented Email

Ryan McFadyn, one of the Duke lacrosse players under investigation for rape (see earlier post), has been suspended for sending an email to friends that is just over-the-top psycho, proving that you don't  have to be all that bright to get into Duke University.

“I plan on killing the bitches as soon as the(y) walk in and proceding [sic] to cut their skin off,” wrote McFadyen, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound Atlantic Coast Conference honor roll player who was one of five Duke players from the exclusive Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., adding in vulgar terms that he would find the act sexually satisfying. The e-mail was signed with McFadyen’s jersey number, 41.

According to the woman pressing charges, McFadyn is not the name of any of her three attackers.

Assuming the allegations are true, if he isn't one of the attackers, he's still one of 44 others who stood around and watched it happen.

Link: MSNBC

Duke Lacrosse Team Update

Although members of Duke University's lacrosse team are the subjects of a rape investigation (earlier post here) it would appear that they aren't too concerned.

Last weekend, days after 46 of 47 players provided DNA samples to investigators, recent Duke graduate Jill Hopman saw about 20 players in a Durham bar downing shot after shot, she wrote in the Duke Chronicle newspaper. Some slammed glasses on tables, "cheering `Duke Lacrosse!' " she wrote.

It upset her: "It was hard to stomach how their actions conveyed a sense that the severity of the situation is lost on them."

Either these guys are confident of their innocence, or they have no consciences.

The Durham D. A. does not expect the DNA test results before April 10th.

Link: Charlotte Observer

Duke Lacrosse Team Members Investigated For Rape

Duke University has suspended future lacrosse games over the alleged rape of an exotic dancer.

A stripper who was paid $400 to perform that night has alleged that she was gang-raped, sodomized and choked by three lacrosse players at the party. The district attorney said the incident is being investigated by officials as first-degree forcible rape, common law robbery, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault and felonious strangulation. A conviction on those charges could result in a minimum prison sentence of 16 to 20 years.

Charges are pending results of DNA tests. It's my understanding that the players  are not cooperating with the investigation.

That the stripper making the allegations is black while 46 of the lacrosse team's members are white has exacerbated what already was a volatile situation. The intersection of so many hot-button issues -- race, class, gender, alleged sexual abuse -- has ignited the passions of many typically disenfranchised groups.

The victim is a student at North Carolina Central University.

The News & Observer reports that a neighbor heard one man (apparently a Duke student) shout at the woman as she drove away, saying  "Thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt."

Link: USATODAY.com - Duke suspends lacrosse team from play amid rape allegations.

Russian Informants Tipped-Off Saddam Hussein

New disclosures gleaned from a (U.S.) Forces Command report show that Russian spies (and Russia's ambassador to Iraq) were relaying information to Saddam's regime prior to the U.S. invasion.

Moscow had informants inside U.S. Central Command whose information on the March 2003 invasion of Iraq was relayed to dictator Saddam Hussein days before American troops ousted him from power, according to a Defense Department history released yesterday.

Fortunately, it seems that that at least some of the information passed on was just plain false:

• U.S. command was "convinced" that the occupation of Iraqi cities was impossible. (Originally, U.S. forces did blow by some cities as they stormed on to  to Baghdad)
• That the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division was docked in Jordan and that the U.S. would not enter Baghdad until the 4th arrived

While the Washington Times article says that the report "offered no information on whether Central Command ever identified and purged the spies," it sounds to me like Central Command was employing a disinformation campaign.

Also reported was that Saddam planed on restarting WMD production and that his scientists were being hidden from U.N. inspectors "right up to the time U.N. inspectors left and the war began."

...Saddam continued to tell his commanders he still had such weapons. "For him, there were real dividends to be gained by letting his enemies believe he possessed WMD, whether it was true or not," the report said.

...Saddam's misguided belief that he would stay in power in 2003 was fed by the support he got from France and Russia, his top aide, Tariq Aziz, told U.S. investigators.

NY Times: Fool Me Once...

It looks like the New York Times has been duped again.

For the second time in less than a week, The New York Times today admitted to a serious error in a story. On Saturday it said it had misidentified a man featured in the iconic "hooded inmate" photograph from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Today it discloses that a woman it profiled on March 8 is not, in fact, a victim of Hurricane Katrina--and was arrested for fraud and grand larceny yesterday.

Link: Another Bad Slip for 'NY Times': Katrina Victim Unmasked.

Cuban Journalist On Hunger Strike

Guillermo Fariñas Hernádez wants freedom of the press for Cuban journalists and unfettered access to the internet for all of his countrymen.

In order to drive his point home, Hernádez started a hunger strike (refusing water also) on January 31st.

The journalist was hospitalized on February 8.

Fariñas recovered consciousness at 3 p.m. and, despite the gravity of his condition, found the strength to rip out the drip. He previously announced that he could continue his hunger strike until the end unless the authorities allow all Cubans unrestricted access to the Internet and let independent journalists work freely.  Link: Reporters sans fronti�res - Cuba.   

Hernádez gave into pressure from his family and accepted the drip, but resumed his hunger strike on February 16th.

My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy has more on this story and a link to the petition to help save the life of Guillermo.

As Babalu Blog states it:

...while you and I are ranting and raving about Mohammed cartoons and Ted Kennedy swimming in a pool of scotch and Hillary Clinton's fat ankles and journalists with big egos and whether glasses are sexy or not and Danish food and the free press and Howard Dean's screams and how incredibly and unbelievably cool blogs are, this guy in the picture below, he's STARVING himself just to be allowed in on our net conversations.

Is this a preview of how things would be were the U.S. to give up control of the internet?

Supreme Court Mandates Campus Access For Recruiters

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that colleges that accept federal money must allow military recruiters on campus, despite university objections to the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays.

The newest justice, Samuel Alito, was not on the bench when the case was argued.

Link: Top court backs campus recruitment - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com.

South Dakota Gov. Signs Bill Banning Most Abortions

Governor Mike Rounds today signed legislation that would make it illegal to perform an abortion except to save the life of the mother. Link: Gov. Rounds Signs Bill Banning Most Abortions

Planned Parenthood reacts:

The pro-choice community is on high alert. The South Dakota governor has just signed into law a ban that criminalizes abortion in the state of South Dakota, and the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear Gonzales v. Carhart, challenging the federal abortion ban that has been struck down previously by every court that has examined it because, among other things, the ban does not protect women's health. The Planned Parenthood community is deeply concerned and outraged.

Seems to me that abortion reflects a colossal lack of planning.

Yoko Ono & The Olympics

Fellow Missouri blogger, The Truckin' Blog, reports that
Yoko Ono read bad poetry as part of the opening ceremonies at the Olympics.

At least she didn't sing.

Hat Tip: basils blog

Stupid In America

I hope everyone got a chance to watch John Stossel's 20/20 segment, Stupid In America. Here's a quote:

The longer kids stay in American schools, the worse they do in international competition. They do worse than kids from countries that spend much less money on education.

This should come as no surprise once you remember that public education in the USA is a government monopoly. Don't like your public school? Tough. The school is terrible? Tough. Your taxes fund that school regardless of whether it's good or bad. That's why government monopolies routinely fail their customers. Union-dominated monopolies are even worse.

Something to keep in mind the next time the schools come whining for more tax dollars--which, if I'm not mistaken, Springfield schools are getting ready to do.

You can see how your state's education system ranks here.

White Trash Charged With Raping Boy

I'm a little too late for White Trash Wednesday on this one, but here it goes. This one's from Bentonville, Arkansas.

Uber trashy Donna Sue Mars (it's always three names) stands accused of rape and exposing another person (in this case, a 13-year-old boy) to HIV.

Her arrest came after Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies Andrew Oliver and Eric Jones responded to a domestic disturbance call at 2 a.m. Dec. 18 near Avoca. Two men were standing over Mars, who was lying on the kitchen floor. One of the men was yelling, "She raped my 13-year-old son," according to an affidavit of probable cause in the case.

The boy told Jones he was sitting in the kitchen and Mars started rubbing his thigh. He asked her to stop, but she did not. 

The boy claimed he asked her to stop again, but she began performing oral sex on him, then one of the men walked into the kitchen and pulled Mars away from the boy, the affidavit states.

Link: NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source.

Bird Flu In Turkey

Eighteen people have now tested positive for bird flu in Turkey.

It is reported  that samples taken from the Turkish victims show that the virus has mutated to a small degree.

The mutation is one that would be expected in a highly changeable virus, the experts said, and is one that would be predicted to eventually allow it to cause a pandemic.

H5N1 avian influenza has caused a burst of human infections in Turkey and has been found in flocks of poultry across the country. It has killed three children in Turkey and infected a total of 18 people, according to Turkish authorities.

Globally it has infected just 147 people and killed 78 of them, according to the tally from the World Health Organization, which only includes four of the Turkish cases.

The World Health Organization says that the tthreat of a pandemic is growing daily:

"If we can achieve this rapid response, we may have a good chance of halting the spread of the virus before the situation becomes uncontrollable, or at least of slowing it down. But if we fail, the consequences for societies, economies and global public health could be immeasurable," Omi added.

Tulsa Pastor Arrested on Lewdness Charge

Lonnie Latham, senior pastor at South Tulsa Baptist Church, was arrested last week for propositioning a plainclothes policeman outside of an Oklahoma City hotel.

Latham said "I was set up. I was in the area pastoring to police."

It seems that Latham decided the best place to minister to cops was outside the Habana Inn, which calls itself  "the Southwest's Largest Gay Resort Hotel...located in the heart of Oklahoma City's gay district."

Link: ChannelOklahoma.com - Local News - Tulsa Pastor Arrested In OKC On Lewdness Charge.

HT Boortz

The Abominable Judge Edward Cashman

Mark Hulett (Williston, VT) admits to repeatedly raping a little girl. He started when she was 6 -years-old.

Enter Judge Edward Cashman. When The Corrections Department refused to offer treatment to Hulett in jail, Cashman "set the jail term at a minimum of 60 days--with a clear emphasis on the shorter sentence and conditions that included treatment for his deviancy." (Link:Burlington Free Press)

H/T Boortz

Man Who Shot Pope to Be Freed

Mehmet Ali Agca, in prison for 20 years for the shooting of Pope John Paul II in 1981, will soon be released from prison.

Link: Report: Man Who Shot Pope to Be Freed - Yahoo! News.

Surviving Minor's Condition Improving

Doctors say that the sole survivor of the West Virginia coal mine explosion shows "substantial improvement."

When doctors ease up on the medically induced coma in which McCloy is being kept to allow his brain to heal, he "does move spontaneously, he does flicker his eyelashes," Shannon said. "All his brain stem functions appear to be intact."

Along with that test, CAT scans Saturday morning at Allegheny General showed that small areas of bleeding and swelling in McCloy's brain were being reduced, he said.

"Many of the organ systems that we were attempting to support appear to be responding to therapy, and Mr. McCloy had a very restful and, I think, very productive evening and early morning," Shannon told reporters.

"So I have to say, in the three days that we've been working with Mr. McCloy I'm really pleased to report that we've seen substantial improvements."

Link: MD: Mine Survivor Dramatically Improved - Yahoo! News.

Temporary Workers Charged In Katrina Aid Scam

Almost fifty employees of Spherion, an agency that provides temporary workers, have been indicted in a scam that diverted funds meant for Katrina victims into their own hands and into the hands of family and friends.

The scam came to light when Red Cross officials noticed that a suspiciously high number of people were picking up Red Cross money at Western Union outlets near the Bakersfield center, even though few evacuees were in the area.

Read the rest of the article in the Washington Post.

H/T Drudge

Hillary Clinton (Thinks) She Has The Middle-Ground

Camp Katrina notes that Senator Hillary Klingon Clinton is "taking the centrist bull by the horns with her recent support of legislation to crack down on the sale of explicit video games to children..."

While Hillary can't (or is calculating that you can't) abide the thought of youngsters playing gory video games, Spc. Phil notes that she is "staying mum on allowing 13-year-olds to get abortions without parental consent."

In a nutshell, Hillary thinks children need parental control/consent with regard to violence against a digitized character, but should have no say if your daughter intends violence against a real, unborn child.

Link: Camp Katrina: Hillary Clinton: Abortions, But No Video Games.

Powell Supports Domestic Spying, But Under What Conditions?

If Former Secretary of State Colin Powell were my dance partner for an evening, I'd never be able to keep up with the fancy foot-work.

Powell was a guest on ABC's "This Week" (transcript here) and part of the discussion was domestic spying.

When asked by George Stephanopoulos about the president's authorization of NSA domestic spying (sans warrant) Powell's answers were a little confusing.

On the one hand, Powell said that "...in the aftermath of 9/11, the American people had one concern, and that was to protect us. And so, I see absolutely nothing wrong with the president authorizing these kinds of actions."

He then acknowledged the debate over whether the president's actions were legal or not (without ever taking a stand on that issue.) He went on to say:

My own judgment is that it didn't seem to me, anyway, that it would have been that hard to go get the warrants. And even in the case of an emergency, you go and do it. The law provides for that. And then, three days later, you let the court know what you have done and deal with it that way.

But Powell, seemingly without regard to the legality, said that he thinks the surveillance operations should continue.

H/T Tammy Bruce
Link: Powell Supports Government Eavesdropping.

78 People Gassed at Russian Store

Competition is rough in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A gas attack in a home-supply store on one of the busiest shopping days of the year sickened scores of people Monday in an incident that police called likely motivated by a commercial dispute or blackmail attempt.

The attack came as employees were getting ready to open the store.

Employees at the branch where people were sickened told officials they heard a sharp noise, like a clap or pop, before people inside smelled a garlicky odor and began to feel ill. Police and security officers called to the scene found a mechanism with a timer attached to shattered ampules, Stepchenko said.

The gas is believed to have been methyl mercaptan, which can be manufactured, but also occurs in nature (a by-product of decay) and is always present in the human body.

The store, Maksidom, had received threats that their business would be the target of some type of disruption during the holidays.

Boxes containing vials rigged with timers were found in other stores owned by the chain, but were removed by police.

Link: Gas Attack at Russia Store Sickens Dozens - Yahoo! News.

Justice Derailed: The Case of Cory Maye

Update: Here is the contact information for Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. You can send an email from this link, but it may be more effective to call his office or send a fax. Tell him to set Cory Maye free!

I emailed the Governor this evening and will either call or fax his offices tomorrow--maybe both!

 

Contact Information

Web Site: www.governorbarbour.com PO Box 139 Jackson, MS 39205 Phone: (601) 359-3150 Fax: (601) 359-3741

For all those who were ringing their hands over Tookie Williams, perhaps you could spare some time for Cory Maye, who is on death row in Mississippi.

Here is the gist of his story:

It was late at night and Cory Maye was asleep; his 18-month-old daughter asleep in another room.

Suddenly, someone breaks his door in and bursts into his bedroom. Cory Maye shoots the intruder.  Another person starts shouting "police!" Cory Maye drops his gun. Cory, who is black, had just shot the (white) police chief's son. The policeman later died from the gunshot wound.

Now, the police did have warrants for the drug bust they were engaged in that night, but Cory Maye was not named on the warrant. Mr. Maye, in fact, had a clean record and only one joint was found in his house (even that is suspicious, as the police originally reported that no drugs were found in Mayes' home.)

While it is a tragedy that the officer was killed, justice will not be served by executing Cory. His only "crime" is that he defended his daughter and home from unknown intruders in the middle of the night. Cory should immediately be set free.

H/T swmo libertarian

For more on the Mayes case, try these links: Battlepanda: Outrage; CBS News, Hammer of Truth, Hugh Hewitt, Instapundit, The Agitator

Politics

Code Pink targets Hillary Clinton (Michelle Malkin has more on Code Pink here.)

Arizona Senator John McCain is gunning for former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

For Whom the Bell Tolls: It Tolls For Tookie

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to stay the execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, co-founder of the Crips gang. Williams was on death row for the cold-blooded murder of four people.

When asked about his feelings concerning Tookie's impending execution, one young Californian said "They think they're killing an ex-gang member, but they are killing someone who can help the environment." (Someone please get this guy out of the sun.)

California blogger Independent Sources has lots more. (Warning: There is a rather graphic picture of one of Tookie's victims.)
 

Links: Californians Sound Off on Williams' Impending Execution, Get Out the Riot Gear, California!,

MoveOn.org: Just Stupid or Do They Think YOU Are?

MoveOn.org  has a new TV ad. The problem is, that while they are crying alligator tears over "our" soldiers, the men they show in the pictures are Brits. One Army Captain is not amused:

These are not your normal everyday U.S. soldiers though. If you look at the frame they are actually British soldiers. One is in shorts (we don't have shorts as a normal combat uniform) and the others are all clearly wearing British pattern fatigues. So, my point is that these [turkeys] pretend to argue on my behalf and bash the president in the name of my crying wife, and they don't even know what an American soldier looks like! Anyway, it really [ticked] me off.

The only thing that would have made this more galling is if the ad had mentioned   that the liberation of Iraq was "unilateral." (Emphasis added)

Link: OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today.

'Tis The Season...

To savage thy fellow man in search of good deals.

Link: Six Meat Buffet � Why I Didn’t Go Shopping Today.

Senator Clinton Shopping For Votes

Hillary Clinton has sponsored a bill (there are no cosponsors) that would give child-credit refunds to Puerto Rico--people in Puerto Rico don't pay federal income taxes, so this is a freebie.

Political insiders say Clinton’s motive is obvious, the New York Post reports: "Puerto Rican support is crucial to her re-election – and a potential White House run in 2008. Puerto Ricans are born American citizens, ready-made voters when they move to the United States.”

Link: Sen. Hillary Clinton's Bill Would 'Buy' Puerto Rican Votes with Tax Refunds.

Greene County Libertarians Back Petition to Audit City of Springfield

I'll be signing that petition myself...

...Illustrating concerns for fiscal responsibility by city leaders, Burlison questions how contracts have been awarded and how public funds have been spent. In addition, Burlison says that during his recent city council campaign, "all incumbents refused to sign the petition... The opposition by the powers that be has been unexpected, and some city employees that have anonymously expressed interest have also alleged that the job security of any potential supporters has been threatened by their superiors, and had their identities been known, they probably would have been looking for a job the next day." (Emphasis added)

Personally, I'm not at all surprised that they oppose the audit. You can find where to sign the petition at the Greene County Libertarian Party.

Views on the GOP

I'm not the only blogger who is fed up with the Republicans (see Flee The Republicrats).

A few others who are voicing their disgust with the GOP:

• Six Meat Buffet
• Tom Rants
• Sharp as a Marble
• Michelle Malkin
• Neal Boortz

Flee The Republicrats

They've had a majority in the house and senate, but have accomplished very little. They've wimped out on real tax reform; they've done nothing concerning social security reform; they've backed-off from drilling in ANWR. Now this...

House Republican leaders were forced to abruptly pull their $54 billion budget-cutting bill off the House floor yesterday, amid growing dissension in Republican ranks over spending priorities, taxes, oil exploration and the reach of government. (Snipped)

Add to that House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-IL) grandstanding concerning oil company profits.

So what are conservatives to do in the coming election season? Dump the pretenders. Send them a message. VOTE LIBERTARIAN. 

While you may disagree with the stance some Libertarians take on social issues (and they don't all agree on social issues, anymore than Republicans do,) at least you can absolutely count on fiscal conservatism. You can count on them to work for smaller government. You can count on them to do the things that Republicans give lip service to.

Don't think that you'll be throwing your vote away. If we vote Libertarian in significant numbers, it will be noticed and it will bring about change. In fact, any significant rise in that direction will get attention.

Link: House Budget Measure Is Pulled.

Now That's a Charity Function

Leave it to Independent Sources to find this one.

What do you get when you toss together models wearing next to nothing and homeless, glue-sniffing boys? Why, a charity event, Columbian style!

Link: Independent Sources � Blog Archive � Caring Charity Gives Street Youths Much Needed T & A.

Virginia & New Jersey Election Results

I haven't really paid attention to the results of other elections today--I was much too busy being smug about our victory  over the nanny state.

Others, however, have been paying attention. This from Camp Katrina:

In the midst of the MSM's chorus about how two gubernatorial races portend some sort of an upcoming "disaster" for Republicans, the RCP Blog has some interesting statistics for us:

2001 Virginia: Warner (D) 52%, Earley (R) 47%
2005 Virginia: Kaine (D) 52%, Kilgore (R) 46%

2001 New Jersey: McGreevey (D) 56%, Schundler (R) 42%
2005 New Jersey: Corzine (D) 53%, Forrester (R) 44%

Democrat governors were elected in Virginia and New Jersey by the same percentage of the vote in 2001 and 2005. Bush's approval rating in 2001 was 85 percent. Bush's approval rating today is 38 percent. He couldn't win those races for Republicans in 2001, and wasn't the reason they lost them yesterday. (Emphasis added)

Link: Camp Katrina: "Disaster" for Republicans? Uh, Not Really..

School Shooting in Tennessee

A 14-year-old freshman apparently walked into Campbell County High School today (Tennessee) and shot the principal, the assistant principal and another school administrator.

The assistant principal died; the other two victims are seriously wounded.

Link: One Dead, 2 Hurt in Tenn. School Shooting - Yahoo! News.

Cindy Sheehan's Anti-War Marine Lying

This is the face of a liar. This is former Marine Sgt. Jimmy Massey.

He, as a part of the Cindy Sheehan traveling circus, has been going about the country (and even France) telling people of the atrocities that our marines have been committing.

The jig is up. Gateway Pundit has more.

Looks Like We Need To Catch Up With The French

Interns are striking in France. Independent Sources observes that "...since internships are all about learning about what real jobs are like, striking makes perfect sense since that is what French workers do so well."

Link: Independent Sources � Blog Archive � Unpaid interns go on strike? Only in France.

Seizure Of Farms In Zimbabwe A Mistake

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Sylvester Nguni, admited that Zimbabwe's food shortages are a direct result of seizing land from white farmers and giving it to inexperienced blacks.

The problem is we gave land to people lacking the passion for farming and this is why every year production has been declining.

About 4,000 white farmers were violently evicted from their land after a new party, the Movement for Democratic Change, came within a whisker of defeating Mr Mugabe in the 2000 election.

Zimbabwe, which used to export food, now imports 80% of its cereal grains and it is estimated that 44% of the once-productive land now lies unused.

Link: Telegraph | News | Mugabe's man admits error of farm seizures.

The Internet: Kofi Says Government Knows Best

In a letter to the Washington Post, Kofi Annan wants to convince  U.S. citizens that U.N. doesn't want to take over control of Internet.

One mistaken notion is that the United Nations wants to "take over," police or otherwise control the Internet. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The United Nations wants only to ensure the Internet's global reach, and that effort is at the heart of this summit. (Snipped)

I guess he hasn't noticed that the Internet already has a global reach.

He goes on:

The United States, which has exercised its oversight responsibilities fairly and honorably, recognizes that other governments have legitimate public policy and sovereignty concerns, and that efforts to make the governance arrangements more international should continue. (Snipped)

I certainly hope our government doesn't feel that way.

Everyone acknowledges the need for more international participation in discussions of Internet governance. The disagreement is over how to achieve it. So let's set aside fears of U.N. "designs" on the Internet. Much as some would like to open up another front of attack on the United Nations, this dog of an argument won't bark. I urge all stakeholders to come to Tunis ready to bridge the digital divide and ready to build an open, inclusive information society that enriches and empowers all people.

So Mr. Annan would have us believe that China, Syria, Iran and friends want their captives citizens to have an open net.  Sorry Kofi, but that one's a real howler. 

The Radical Republican: Judging Miers

The burden is now on Harriet Miers the individual, not on Harriet Miers the female Christian from Dallas, to prove that she is qualified to serve on the Supreme Court and that she can be trusted to “strictly interpret our Constitution and our laws” and not to “legislate from the bench.”

Good post. You can read rest at The Radical Republican.

I might add that the administration has really stepped in it on this one. How can they, in the future, return to their prior assertion that the nominee should be judged strictly on his qualifications, without regard to personal beliefs and associations?

Missouri-Based Wackos

What were these (mostly) Mississippi politicos doing talking to these foks? Good grief, their headquarters are in my state:(

Libertarian Runs for State Senate

Robert E. (Bob) Hempker, 57,  is presently a featured performer in the Country Tonite Show in Branson.  He previously performed in Roy Clark's band in Branson, after having spent over 20 years traveling as a member of Loretta Lynn's band, the "Coalminers." He appeared in the 1980 film "Coalminer's Daughter" as a member of the band.

Hempker says he is running for the 29th District seat in order to represent the people, not development interests. He is particularly concerned with the abuses of eminent domain.

Link: Bob Hempker, Branson Musician, Runs for State Senate.

Time for a new Tea Party?

Tom Hanna and Eric's Grumbles are floating ideas for a new Boston Tea Party.
If you are fed up with what's been going on in Washington and have a bone to pick with your state representatives, try this:

Write your Senators and Representatives a letter, with details of where you take issue with their actions. A physical letter, not an email. Then tuck a tea bag into the letter. Send it to the local office, not the DC office. If you send it to DC, they will probably never receive the tea bag due to the postal security around Congress. In the next day or two I'm going to have put together a way for everyone doing it to let me know who they've sent tea bags to, and why. (Emphasis added)

Tom plans on doing this with donation envelopes. Sounds like a great idea to me!

Linked to Basil's Blog

Ann Coulter

Baldilocks on Ann Coulter's comments concerning Miers:

I used to think that Ms. Coulter used her legendary vitriol as a tool to get out the conservative message; something that I thought she believed in. Now I suspect that her vitriol is merely a character flaw, wielded against anyone who doesn’t toe her mark in the manner that she sees fit.

I've assumed that Coulter's rants were just marketing. Perhaps she's just a vile person.

Read the rest of Baldilocks post Miers: View From the Cheap Seats. Good stuff.

Clinton Adviser to Democrats: Don't Look to Liberalism

Clinton's former adviser on Domestic Policy, William Galston, warns the DNC that the  majority of Americans are in the center or center-right of the policital spectrum.

"Liberals espouse views (on social issues) diverging not only from those of other Democrats, but from Americans as a whole," Galston writes. "To the extent that liberals constitute both the largest bloc within the Democratic coalition and the public face of the party, Democratic candidates for national office will be running uphill."

You can read the rest of the article here.

Insider Presidential Poll

"Seems the American public knows the difference between a media darling, a socialist and a real leader."  Link: Dr. Helen

Bennett's remarks on abortion

People on both sides of the fence are reacting in horror over Bill Bennett saying "you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down." He followed that with the comment that it would be "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do," but people have a difficult time getting past the first statement.

Let's face it. There are a higher percentage of blacks in the prison population. Is that because  they're black? Of course not.

The number of black children living with their single-mothers  has risen sharply since the 60s. (It has risen even faster in the white population, but the overall percentage is still much lower.)

I see the problem on a daily basis here in Springfield, in the white population. Three generations of families whose head of house was a single female. In some instances, they are  working on the fourth generation. Not incidentally, they are also working on the fourth generation of Welfare recipients, whose common "disability" is addiction to drugs and/or alcohol (usually both.)

We are now reaping the rewards of the free-love sixties, radical feminism, and the Welfare state. It is wreaking havoc on blacks, so too on whites. It's just taking a little longer.

Link: Bennett Defends Radio Remarks.

Linked to Basil's Blog & Stop the ACLU