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Selected News For Week Aug 30 - Sep 5

This thread is for the busy bees of S&L to post news items themselves.

In order to make the articles as readable as possible, please try to stick to the format described in the first of these weekly editions here.

Of course articles that fit under the topic of a recent thread should be posted there. As always, remember to excerpt heavily and to provide a link to the original source.

Related Articles:

This article was posted by Steve Gilbert on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 at 12:00 am. You can leave a response.

40 Responses to “Selected News For Week Aug 30 - Sep 5”

BillK
August 30th, 2008 at 2:15 am
From the AP:

John Edwards to emerge from seclusion for speech

By Mike Baker

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In a return to the public stage, John Edwards has confirmed plans to talk politics a month after admitting to an extramarital affair. But his wife won’t be at his side.

A representative for the former Democratic presidential candidate confirmed Friday that he would speak alone at Hofstra University in New York on Sept. 8, school spokesman Stuart Vincent said. It was initially billed as a joint appearance to talk about the 2008 election, but Vincent said Elizabeth Edwards would not attend.

Dennis Goldford, a professor of politics at Drake University, said the rapid return to the stump could make it difficult for Edwards to overcome the anger of his former supporters. Edwards went into seclusion last month after spending the better part of the past six years on the trail - running for president twice, serving on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2004 and pushing to shrink the gap between rich and poor.

“I don’t think the dust has settled sufficiently,” Goldford said. “You’re going to see a lot of people who are extremely skeptical. It would seem that you would need a little more time.”

A spokeswoman and an agent for John and Elizabeth Edwards did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Edwards hasn’t spoken publicly since his Aug. 8 admission to the affair, and no other speaking engagements before the Hofstra speech have been announced. In a statement issued the day of the interview, Edwards said he had made a “a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs.”

Edwards added that he did not plan to speak about the affair again. Both he and Elizabeth have since declined requests for an interview, and neither appeared this week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

David “Mudcat” Saunders, a friend and former adviser to Edwards, said the decision to return is one that should be left up to Edwards.

“He knows what’s best for himself right now,” Saunders said. “Nobody else knows.” …

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/s.....RDS_AFFAIR

I love the quote:

Edwards added that he did not plan to speak about the affair again.

Somehow, I’m sure he doesn’t. :-)
BillK
August 30th, 2008 at 2:26 am
From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Bernie Ward gets 7-plus years for child porn

By Bob Egelko

A federal judge decreed a prison term of more than seven years Thursday for Bernie Ward, whose 15-year career as a leading liberal voice on Bay Area talk radio disintegrated when he admitted downloading graphic images of child sex and distributing them on the Internet.

Ward’s case is a “personal tragedy,” and a prison term may not be the best way to help him or the children exploited by pornography, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said as he imposed the sentence in a San Francisco courtroom. But he noted that federal law requires at least a five-year sentence, and said some aspects of the case were disturbing.

Walker said Ward, a former Roman Catholic priest whose KGO broadcasts included the Sunday morning “God Talk” program, “had an opportunity to think long, hard and deeply about the problems of child abuse” in the Catholic Church. Why, the judge asked, “when he encountered his own predilection (for child pornography), didn’t he seek treatment, seek help?”

Ward pleaded guilty in May to distributing child pornography and admitted sending between 15 and 150 pornographic images by e-mail, which he said were part of research for a book. At Thursday’s hearing, attended by his wife and four children, he spoke briefly, telling the judge, “I regret my actions, the harm they caused my family, my friends and this community.” He said he takes full responsibility for his conduct.

Walker said he would go along with a defense request that Ward serve his sentence - seven years and three months - in the minimum-security prison in Lompoc (Santa Barbara County). Prosecutors did not object. The judge gave Ward until noon today to turn himself in to federal marshals.

Ward’s sentence could be reduced by about a year for good behavior in prison. After his release, he will be required for the rest of his life to register with police as a sex offender.

Ward holds a master’s degree in theology and spent two years in the priesthood before leaving to get married. He worked for three years as a legislative assistant for then-Rep. Barbara Boxer before joining KGO in San Francisco as a reporter in 1985. He became a talk-show host in 1992 and held forth on news and politics for three hours every weeknight, while discussing religious issues on Sunday mornings.

The station, which nicknamed him the “lion of the left” for his outspoken manner and liberal views, fired him in December after his federal grand jury indictment was unsealed. …

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....12JO5B.DTL

Of course his politics have nothing to do with his reprehensible behavior, but were he a Republican that would be the centerpiece of the story.
BillK
August 30th, 2008 at 6:24 am
16 year-old gymnasts can be political, too!

From Canada.com:

Hanging with Jennifer Hudson and Shawn Johnson in Denver

So we’re here at Invesco Field getting ready for Barack Obama’s big speech, laptop placed – as you might expect – in my lap as Democrats do a dry run for the spectacle the worlds is about to see tonight on the High Plains of Colorado.

We’ve got a decent view of stage, notwithstanding the CNN platform directly in front of the press stands for print reporters. The stage, which straddles the 50-yard line, does look a little bit like the Coliseum in Rome, with big Roman columns meant to signify, what exactly, we’re not sure. The Democrats say the stage is meant to invoke federal buildings. But from where we’re sitting, it looks more like a stage designed for a Roman or Greek emperor. Maybe Obama will appear tonight wearing wrapped in a toga, with a wreath on his head.

[ … ]

We don’t know much about the content of Obama’s speech just yet. But we do know this – the Democrats will have their own Beijing Olympics moment. Gymnast Shawn Johnson, the pixie-cute 16-year-old gold medalist just did a run through of the Pledge of Allegiance. Why Johnson, who won gold on the balance beam, and not all-round gold medalist Nastia Liukin. Maybe this is the cynical take, but maybe it’s because Johnson is from West Des Moines, Iowa, and Obama thinks Iowa’s turning Democratic blue this November.

http://communities.canada.com/.....enver.aspx

Too bad, I liked her. :(

(This isn’t like meeting the President; this was an appearance at a purely political event, which means she’s consumed the Obama Kool-Aid.)
BillK
September 1st, 2008 at 5:46 am
From Fox News:

Afghan Commission Claims U.S. and Coalition Troops Fired on First in Village Shootout

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan army commander said that U.S. and Afghan troops were fired on first from a village where a government investigative commission says scores of civilians were killed, according to a report released Sunday.

The chief of staff for the army’s Herat corps told the head of the government’s investigative commission that shots were fired early Aug. 22 from Azizabad at U.S. and Afghan troops. The troops had gone to the village on a raid.

But the report, released by the office of President Hamid Karzai, did not specify who fired the shots.

“When the ANA (Afghan army) and coalition troops got close to the village, firing started after the ANA unit stopped, and the coalition forces conducted the operation in the village,” the report said.

There were no “foreign or internal Taliban” among the victims, the report said.

The commission found that 15 men, 15 women and 60 children were killed. That finding was backed by a preliminary U.N. report. The commission said eight houses were destroyed and seven damaged.

The U.S.-led coalition maintains that 25 militants and five civilians died. The U.S. says it is investigating.

The top NATO spokesman in Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the U.S.-led coalition, Afghan government and U.N. would launch a probe into the raid.

A U.N. spokesman, Dan McNorton, said details of the investigation were still to be worked out.

The statement from Karzai’s office on Sunday did not mention any joint investigation, and no Afghan government officials have confirmed that the government would participate. …

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,414170,00.html

Wonder who was firing first. Couldn’t have possibly been any of those who died, Afghanistan says so!

Hey, US troops will be returning home from Iraq soon, and we’ve got to start the PR mill now if we want Americans to spit on them when returning as baby killers as they did post-Vietnam.

This “honor the troops” thing has to stop.

One wonders if Karzai’s opinions will change once Obama sends the troops in further, given Afghanistan is supposed to be the “real” war against terrorism if you believe the chosen one and the MSM…
BillK
September 1st, 2008 at 5:54 am
Ah, more unbiased reporting, from the New York Daily News:

Sarah Palin’s mother-in-law uncertain about how she’ll vote

By Nancy Dillon

WASILLA, Alaska - Sarah Palin’s hometown rallied around her as mayor - now Republicans wonder if the rest of America will warm up to the surprise pick from cold country.

Though her mother-in-law has doubts.

Faye Palin admitted she enjoys hearing Barack Obama speak, and still hasn’t decided which way she’ll vote.

“We don’t agree on everything. But I respect her passion,” she said. “Being pro-life is who Sarah is.”

Faye Palin said the governor never considered ending her recent pregnancy when genetic testing showed her son Trig, born in April, would have Down syndrome.

“There was no question,” she said. “She was going to have that baby.” …

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....about.html

See, she’s just an extremist religious wacko who couldn’t be dissuaded from terminating her pregnancy, no matter what the tests showed. She doesn’t care about anything but being pro-life..

The story continues:

Faye Palin said the entire family was shocked by the news on Friday.

“I’m not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she’s a woman and a conservative. Well, she’s a better speaker than McCain,” Faye Palin said with a laugh. “People will say she hasn’t been on the national scene long enough. But I believe she’s a quick study.”

Also:

“I’m still leaning toward Obama. I think Sarah has been really good for our state, and it would be wonderful to see her in the White House, but she’s on the ticket with McCain, and I can’t vote for McCain,” said Eileen Moe, 33, a second grade teacher at Iditarod Elementary, which Palin’s kids attended.

“If it was her running for president, there’d be no question in my mind,” Moe said. “The Republicans right now are about big business and big oil.I don’t see Sarah as a staunch Republican in that way.”

Not everyone is convinced her experience as mayor and governor are enough for a vice president who would be next in line to the presidency.

“I wouldn’t say she’s qualified,” said Bill Gleason, 60, a contractor from nearby Big Lake. “I want someone with a little more experience. “

Like whom, “never ran anything, not even a city, let alone a state or a country” Barack Obama?

Meanwhile, Us Magazine’s summary of the story tracks down Cindy McCain’s half sister:

Meanwhile, Cindy McCain’s half sister is planning on voting for Obama.

“I’m not voting for McCain,” Kathleen Hensley Portalski told Us recently. “I have a different political standpoint.”

Portalski’s son Nathan, a 45-year-old aerospace machinist, is also backing Obama.

“I wouldn’t vote for John McCain if he was a Democrat,” he tells Us. “I would not vote at all before I’d vote for him.”

“I question whether Cindy is someone I’d want to see in the White House as first lady,” he added.

See, if anyone in their extended family won’t vote for them…

When are we seeing that interview with Obama’s brother again?
BillK
September 1st, 2008 at 5:57 am
From the New York Daily News:

Sarah Palin’s hot, I’m not, says Biden

By Michael McAuliff

TOLEDO, Ohio - Barack Obama running mate Joe Biden spotted a new distinction Sunday between himself and Republican counterpart Sarah Palin: She’s hot, he’s not.

“There’s a gigantic difference between John McCain and Barack Obama, and between me and, I suspect, my vice presidential opponent,” Biden said. “And that is that …,” he continued, as the audience started laughing.

“Well, there’s an obvious difference: She’s good-lookin’!” said the Delaware senator.

A woman in the crowd Sunday then shouted out to Biden, “You are gorgeous!”

The 66-year-old grandfather with hair plugs was mighty pleased, tracking the woman down so she could repeat it, and making sure his wife, Jill, heard about it.

Responding for the McCain campaign, spokesman Tucker Bounds said looks wasn’t the first thing to leap to their minds about the Alaska governor, “but Joe Biden rarely lets decorum or the facts get in his way.” …

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....biden.html

Think we’ll see complaints from NOW or other feminist groups complaining about Biden’s focus on Palin’s looks?

Can you imagine the uproar if a Republican commented on the attractiveness of a female Democratic candidate?

But it’s OK, it’s just ol’ Biden being himself…
BillK
September 1st, 2008 at 6:03 am
From the New York Daily News:

Sarah Palin excites, insults swing-state Republican voters

By Michael McAuliff and Celeste Katz

Norm Shinkle is a Michigan Republican delegate who placed his bets on Mitt Romney for the No. 2 spot.

But Shinkle’s also a deer hunter, and when he heard vice presidential pick Sarah Palin has gutted her own moose, he thought: “This woman’s for me.”

Surprise at John McCain’s running mate has turned into excitement, with swing-state delegates saying it will help the GOP ticket back home.

With Palin’s five kids, blue-collar husband and anti-corruption record, Pennsylvania delegate Joyce Haas called the pick “brilliant.”

“Putting a woman on the ticket is exciting, but not just a woman - such a talented, experienced, versatile woman,” Haas said. “When I saw the announcement on TV, I think I was almost giddy,” she said. “My phone then just rang and rang off the hook [with people] who would say, ‘Okay, where is the McCain center? I’d like to come in to volunteer.’” …

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....ate_r.html

But the “insulted” spoken of in the headline must also speak:

But Palin didn’t impress voters who spoke to the Daily News at a Barack Obama rally in Ohio, perhaps the most critical swing state of all. “I think McCain is using it as a ploy to sway Hillary voters, but Palin is entirely against everything Hillary stands for, and I think women will find it offensive,” said Emily Miller, 25, of Toledo. “It will backfire.”

Debra Esthmeyer, 28, of New Knoxville, Ohio, said, “I’m insulted, as a woman. If Sarah Palin were a man with her same credentials, there is no way John McCain would have picked her.” Palin’s “no Condoleezza Rice. She’s no Hillary Clinton,” Esthmeyer said. “She’s no Michelle Obama, either.“

It’s truly amazing how self-hating liberal women are.

Not embracing feminist group think is offensive?

A woman who has been elected to run first a town, then a state doesn’t have the experience of Obama’s wife?

Well, that’s true.

Unlike Michelle or Barack, Palin has a relevant career.

Meanwhile, the kind, loving comments from Daily News readers pour in:

2nd rate beooty queen Miss Mooseburger (age 44) was chosen solely because grampa mc-same needed the ‘youth’ vote and a token v*gina for the ticket. How’s her grandson, by the way? How many nannies will she require, or is she going to prop the kid up on the oval office desk while she cleans mc-same’s dentures?

and

she is a CHICKEN HAWK. she shoots moose only because they don’t shoot back! she could have volunteered to fight Evildoer Saddam Hussein in 1988, but she chickened out. can you say “Ann Colter”? buck buck BUCK
BillK
September 1st, 2008 at 6:12 am
How can you take a VP candidate seriously that not only was once a beauty queen but also a TV sports reporter?!?!

From Us Magazine:

VIDEO: Sarah Palin: Former TV Sports Reporter

In 1988, John McCain’s Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin was a sports reporter for KTUU-TV in Anchorage, Alaska.

Sporting serious ’80s hair, the 24-year-old, Alaskan native - then Sarah Heath - rattled off Knicks highlights, reported on the Iditarod, and declared that the Dodgers baseball manager Tommy Lasorda needed to learn how to relax. (Watch.)

In her high school yearbook, Palin said she wanted to sit in a broadcast booth with Howard Cosell broadcasting basketball games played by her then boyfriend, Todd Palin, the Globe and Mail reported.

Palin was the star player on her high school basketball team in 1982, earning her the nickname “Sarah Barracuda” for her defensive skills on the court.

Palin is also a former beauty queen.

Twenty-four years before making history as the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket, Alaska Governor Palin came in second place at the Miss Alaska pageant in 1984 and was voted “Miss Congeniality” by other contestants.

Since then, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council before becoming mayor of the town — the state’s fastest-growing with a population of 6,715 — in 1996.

Palin won the governorship in 2006. She is the state’s youngest and first female governor.

http://www.usmagazine.com/sara.....s-reporter

Now, do you really want a beauty queen sports reporter in the White House?

Didn’t think so.
texaspsue
September 1st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
From Aswat Aliraq:

Anbar’s security handed over to Iraqi forces

Anbar - Voices of Iraq

ANBAR, Sept. 1, (VOI) – Iraqi forces on Monday received the security responsibilities of Anbar province from the Multi-National Force (MNF) amidst tight security measures.

The handover ceremony was attended by the national security advisor, Muwaffaq al-Rubaie; the governor of Anbar, Ma’moun al-Alwani; the head of the Anbar Sahwa Council, Sheikh Abdelsattar Abu Risha; and the head of its provincial council, Abdelsalam al-Aani.

Anbar is the 11th Iraqi province where security responsibilities are passed on to the Iraqi authorities.
The security transfer should have taken place at the end of last June, but was delayed by the U.S. army due to “bad weather conditions.”

The security situation has improved in the province since late 2006 following the establishment of the first Sahwa council in Anbar in September of that year.

The Sahwa councils are anti-Qaeda fighters working in coordination with the MNF and the Iraqi government. These councils were set up in a number of Iraqi provinces such as Anbar, Diala, Ninewa, and Salah al-Din with the aim of bolstering political and local tribal powers to fight armed groups, particularly al-Qaeda network, in those areas. These councils are usually led by tribal chiefs or notables in the provinces.

Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, lies 110 km west of Baghdad.

Anbar is the largest province in Iraq geographically. Encompassing much of the country’s western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Anbar is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Arab.

http://www.aswataliraq.info/lo.....rSection=1

I’m sure this news will be all over the MSM along with the info of how the surge is working. (sarc.)
BillK
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:45 am
They may as well give up now; there’s no way to win against the Greens.

From a sneering AP:

Southern California Farmers Fight Against Green Energy Plan That Would Seize Their Land

LOS ANGELES — Growers and ranchers in the southern reaches of California are posing the latest obstacle to the state’s push for green power.

Facing the possibility of losing land to power transmission lines, they have urged state commissioners to avoid their property when selecting a route for a project linking consumers on the coast to renewable energy operations in the Southern California desert.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. contends that stringing high-voltage lines over agricultural land in San Diego and Imperial counties as part of its $1.5-billion Sunrise Powerlink project is the most secure and economic way to deliver wind, solar and geothermal energy.

Farmers counter that utility profits from the project would come at their expense.

“They’re going to come in and pay a few thousand dollars for the land they’re taking and that’s all you get. You lose the revenue from that land forever,” said Katie Moretti, whose family has raised cattle for more than a century in San Diego County. …

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,414381,00.html

How dare these farmers with methane-producing cattle stand in the way of green power?
BillK
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:50 am
From the AP, who act as if this is a bad thing:

Illegal Immigrant Jailed, Deported for Applying for Cafeteria Job

CARROLLTON, Texas — Maria Martinez’ attempt to land a cafeteria job at a suburban Dallas hospital got her arrested, jailed and deported.

Martinez used a counterfeit social security on her application to Trinity Medical Center, but her relatives and supporters wonder whether the hospital overreacted by calling the police.

During yet another year marked by several high-profile immigration raids targeting both undocumented workers and the companies who hire them, the Martinez case raises questions about what employers can or should do if they discover an applicant is not authorized to work legally in the U.S.

A spokeswoman for the medical center contends the hospital was simply following policy and has a responsibility to report criminal activity, including possible identity theft.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,414383,00.html

Let’s see, she broke the law by coming to the U.S.

She broke the law by using a stolen Social Security number to apply for a job.

How many criminal counts are required before it’s appropriate to notify law enforcement officials? Five? Ten? Twenty?
BillK
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 am
From Fox News:

Oil Retreats As Gustav Weakens

By Ken Sweet

Crude oil fell significantly on Monday amid relief that the hurricane barreling over Louisiana was not as strong as feared.

Oil was down more than $4 in the electronic markets to $111 a barrel after having been up much as $117 a barrel earlier this morning. Natural gas slumped more than 6% in light trading.

The New York Mercantile Exchange was closed for trading for the Labor Day holiday, so volume was low and volatility high in the markets on Monday.

As Gustav approached the Gulf Coast over the weekend, there was fear that the hurricane could be a devastating human and economic sequel to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. However, the National Weather Service said Gustav had weakened overnight. It made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane and was quickly downgraded to a Category 1 by Monday afternoon. Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in 2005.

“Gustav was just not as bad as everyone as expecting,” said Phil Flynn, senior oil market analyst with Alaron Trading and a FOX Business contributor. “Also, everyone was better prepared for this storm compared to Hurricane Katrina.”

On a technical basis, oil fell below $111.40 a barrel, below its 200-day moving average. Traders including Flynn said the decline below that critical point could be an indication that oil has much further to go. …

http://www.foxbusiness.com/sto.....v-weakens/

Good news, but you know the left is depressed about it.
DW
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
From the “you can’t help but laugh” files of the AP:

Australian government defends troops who kept Taliban suspects in dog pen

By Kristen Gelineau, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SYDNEY, Australia - Australia’s defence minister has rejected criticism of his country’s special forces troops for briefly detaining suspected Taliban captives in a dog pen.

Dogs are considered impure by observant Muslims and the report has outraged the head of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon confirmed Tuesday that four suspected insurgents arrested by special forces soldiers last April had been held for 24 hours in a compound occasionally used to house dogs.

But Fitzgibbon defended the soldiers’ actions, saying the soldiers were far from their base and that detainees were held in the most secure place available.

He also said it was misleading to characterize the holding facility as a dog pen.

He says he has been told that it was a walled compound that has been used for a variety of purposes, including to hold dogs from time to time.

The revelation about the dog pen follows complaints by an Afghan soldier about mistreatment of the detainees, who were held in southern Uruzgan province following a battle with Taliban fighters.

An Australian defence inquiry last week found that medical evidence and witness statements did not support allegations of abuse.

Full story:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Wa.....66-ap.html

Australians…
Sharps Rifle
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Something the LSM won’t tell you…

http://www.foundingbloggers.co.....el-center/

Anarchists trying to KILL RNC delegates. I guess ABCBSNBCNNMSNBC thinks that violence against Republicans is nothing any of us need to know about…

If I have any say in the matter, this will be well known by 2 this afternoon!
Helena
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
DW - From further down in the article:

“Bob Brown, leader of the minor opposition Greens party, described the incident as a big mistake. For Australia to find itself keeping prisoners in dog kennels, dog pens - even overnight - is a big mistake,” he told reporters in Canberra.”

It seems Greens Party leaders are the same idiots the world over.
DW
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Remembering the fallen

Here’s a 6 minute video I think most will find interesting (also a borderline tear-jerker). It’s about an artist in Utah and how she pays homage to our war dead.
Worth a look.

http://www.militarytimes.com/hancock

*******************************************************************

Helena:
It seems Greens Party leaders are the same idiots the world over.

Oh I do hear you. If nothing else, they’re showing admirable uniformity (we should point that out to them :-)
sheehanjihad
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Sharps! While I will posture the disclaimer that “being just like them” “lowers me to their level”…..and I understand that mind set…..what I would like is to gather a group of like minded individuals who would drive humvees at high speed into groups of leftists blocking intersections, or pick off people on overpasses seen throwing objects onto the vehicles below at long range.

Yeah, I know, I know, but it would give even the most ardent protester pause knowing that his or her actions might result in their being severely injured or at least badly hurt. Once the mob notices some of their companions dropping to the pavement writhing in pain, or not moving at all, the fun of destroying other people’s property would lose it’s luster mighty quick.

It’s knowing they wont be punished, or stopped, or anything that gives them the ability to run rampant through the streets like muslims screeching about a muhammed cartoon. They dont have any political agenda, they just enjoy ruining lives and property and getting away with it. They are children. Without an upbringing. They are selfish, mindless snobs with a superiority complex to take the place of their pathetically unimportant lives.

Use the same random pattern they have, seek them out, and punish them for what they are doing. There is no place in our society for vermin like them, and I dont have any problem eliminating pests and germs wherever they exist. That’s just a hypothetical thought…..but since the authorities are unable to stop them legally, I suggest they be stopped illegally, and permantly. Again, yes! I know!
texaspsue
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 am
DW, thanks for posting the video. Sorry, but it wasn’t borderline but, full-fledged tear jearker. :-)

What a beautiful person the artist is. She represents real America and understands the importance of freedom. I loved it when she said: “I don’t know how political I am, I don’t get into all that crap, I just enjoy freedom. Okay?”
BillK
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 am
I have no idea why his campaign was so poorly run and do know that it floundered in large part because of his refusal to attack McCain, but it doesn’t take much beyond Fred Thompson’s speech to the RNC tonight about McCain to see that it’s more a case of “what could have been”…

Tonight our thoughts are still with our friends and fellow citizens in the Gulf Coast area, and our thanks go to those who have worked so hard to keep them safe. There can be no more important work than this.

But what we are doing at this convention is also important to our country.

We are going to nominate the next President and Vice President of the United States of America.

We do so while taking a different view of our country than that of the other party.

Listening to them you’d think that we were in the middle of a great depression; that we are down, disrespected and incapable of prevailing against challenges facing us.

We know that we have challenges … always have, always will.

But we also know that we live in the freest, strongest, most generous and prosperous nation in the history of the world and we are thankful.

Speaking of the vice presidential nominee, what a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is.

She is from a small town, with small town values, but that’s not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family.

Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan Governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the Union — and won — over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week.

Let’s be clear … the selection of Governor Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a courageous, successful, reformer, who is not afraid to take on the establishment.

Sound like anyone else we know?

She has run a municipality and she has run a state.

And I can say without fear of contradiction that she is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose … with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt.

She and John McCain are not going to care how much the alligators get irritated when they get to Washington, they’re going to drain that swamp.

But tonight, I’d like to talk to you about the remarkable story of John McCain.

It’s a story about character.

John McCain’s character has been tested like no other presidential candidate in the history of this nation.

He comes from a military family whose service to our country goes back to the Revolutionary War.

The tradition continues.

As I speak, John and Cindy McCain have one son who’s just finished his first tour in Iraq.

Another son is putting “Country First” and is attending the Naval Academy. We have a number of McCains in the audience tonight.

Also here tonight is John’s 96-year-old mother, Roberta. All I’ve got to say is that if Roberta McCain had been the McCain captured by the North Vietnamese, they would have surrendered.

Now, John’s father was a bit of a rebel, too.

In his first two semesters at the Naval Academy, he managed to earn 333 demerits.

Unfortunately, John later saw that as a record to be beaten.

A rebellious mother and a rebellious father - I guess you can see where this is going.

In high school and the Naval Academy, he earned a reputation as a troublemaker.

But as John points out, he wasn’t just a troublemaker. He was the leader of the troublemakers. …

http://cbs4denver.com/national.....08815.html

If only it were Thompson/Palin 2008…

To deal with these challenges the Democrats present a history making nominee for president.

History making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for President. Apparently they believe that he would match up well with the history making, Democrat controlled Congress. History making because it’s the least accomplished and most unpopular Congress in our nation’s history.

Together, they would take on these urgent challenges with protectionism, higher taxes and an even bigger bureaucracy.

And a Supreme Court that could be lost to liberalism for a generation.

This is not reform.

And it’s certainly not change.

It is basically the same old stuff they’ve been peddling for years. America needs a President who understands the nature of the world we live in.

A President who feels no need to apologize for the United States of America.

We need a President who understands that you don’t make citizens prosperous by making Washington richer, and you don’t lift an economic downturn by imposing one of the largest tax increases in American history.

Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases.

They tell you they are not going to tax your family.

No, they’re just going to tax “businesses”! So unless you buy something from a “business”, like groceries or clothes or gasoline … or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small “business”, don’t worry … it’s not going to affect you.

They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the “other” side of the bucket! That’s their idea of tax reform.

My friends, we need a leader who stands on principle.

We need a President, and Vice President, who will take the federal bureaucracy by the scruff of the neck and give it a good shaking.

And we need a President who doesn’t think that the protection of the unborn or a newly born baby is above his pay grade.

The man who will be that President is John McCain.

I love his speech, but simply can’t agree with that last statement.

Watching Fred speak is pure disgust at what could have been had Fred’s campaign staff had the merest clue and frankly, had Thompson himself known how to run a campaign anywhere but rural Tennessee.

It’s a bit like watching Reagan stump for George H.W. Bush.
artboyusa
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:32 am
“The man who will be that President is…Barack Hussein Obama” - how do you feel about that statement, Bill? That’s the alternative. Its one or the other, that’s the choice. We’ve had a rough ride with Bush and we’ll have a rough ride with McCain too but, sorry, I’m not prepared to just hand the country over to the Brown Eagle and his idolators, so its gotta be McCain.

And besides, Michael Stipe from way-past-it rockers R.E.M.has promised to leave the country if McCain wins - so that’s something else to energize the base. Just as long as he doesn’t move over here…
BillK
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:27 am
artboy, I don’t mean to say that the President shouldn’t be McCain, but I don’t think McCain is worthy of some of the things being said about him. Yes, he “stands on principle” much more than Obama does, but he’s been shown willing to sell out his own party before for the sake of political expediency. I won’t even go into the fact that he’s on speaking terms at all with the New York TImes.

It also doesn’t mean that many of us would much, much rather be voting for a President Thompson.
artboyusa
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:37 am
Fair enough, Bill. I like Fred too but I never thought he had enough staying power to make a real run at the nomination and it turned out he didn’t.The party loyalty issue probably means less to me than it does to some people since I’m not a Republican and since I consider that in the last few years the GOP has shown itself to be so lazy, greedy and intellectually bankrupt that it doesn’t deserve support anyway.

Anytime they want to be a real conservative party, with a real conservative program and a real commitment to conservative ideas, hey, I’ll sign up but that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon…meantime, McCain’s a hard-chargin’, cranky guy who scares our enemies, so he’ll have to do.
BannedbytheTaliban
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
From the AP via Marinecorpstimes:

Counter-recruiting battle may head to court

By Mitch Weiss - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 8:33:45 EDT

WILKESBORO, N.C. — Sally Ferrell bounded from the truck and grabbed a posterboard sign that read: “War is not the Answer.”

Over the years, she’s organized dozens of peace vigils like this one being set up in a parking lot. Find common ground, she has always preached, and any conflict can be resolved.

But she’s now engaged in a conflict of her own — a dispute over military recruiting in high schools that has polarized rural Wilkes County.

Ferrell is a Quaker, a faith known know for opposition to war. For three years, she has asked permission to distribute pamphlets that warn students to think twice before joining the military. But the school superintendent has stopped her, calling her activities unpatriotic. The American Civil Liberties Union, seeing this as an issue of freedom of speech, has threatened to sue.

“The students need to know there are alternatives to the military,” Ferrell said. “But they’re not getting the other side.”

Recruiters have turned to high schools to help fill the ranks of the military. And they need volunteers more than ever. After five years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and longer deployments, the military has been hard pressed to meet recruitment demands. They say U.S. casualties — more than 4,600 troops killed and 64,000 wounded in both wars — have dampened recruiting.

In recent years, thousands of people like Ferrell have joined dozens of counter-recruiting groups. They say some recruiters give misleading information about military service and often target high schools in poor, rural areas where options for graduating students are limited; the activists want students to know they have prospects other than joining the services.

Most schools have allowed counter-recruiters inside. Wilkes County’s opposition could trigger a legal battle.

“Are we going to pursue litigation? I think it’s pretty clear that the school board isn’t giving us any choice to do anything else,” said Katherine Parker, legal director of the ACLU’s North Carolina chapter.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.co.....er_090308/

“Find common ground, she has always preached, and any conflict can be resolved” if she really believes this she needs to be institutionalized because her view of the way the world works is so far from reality it is insane. Of course the ACLU shares her view, but to a much more nefarious goal.
BannedbytheTaliban
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Also from the AP via the times:

Woman charged with tearing banner to troops

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 12:27:15 EDT

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — A Bridgeville woman is facing criminal charges after she was allegedly seen in Rehoboth Beach tearing a banner honoring military personnel from Delaware killed in Iraq and Vietnam…

http://www.marinecorpstimes.co.....er_090208/

These people really are un-hinged.

[Moved to its own thread.]
DW
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:09 pm
From RIA Novosti (Russian News and Information Agency):

U.S. warship leaves Sevastopol after protests

SEVASTOPOL, September 2 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas left Sevastopol Tuesday morning after anti-NATO protests in Ukraine’s Crimean port. (U.S. Coastguard cutter Dallas enters Sevastopol Harbor - video)

The Dallas, which recently delivered humanitarian aid to Georgia’s Black Sea port of Batumi, docked on Monday at the Crimean port, where Russia has a naval base, at the invitation of Kiev.

The ship’s arrival was met by thousands of anti-NATO protesters chanting “Yankees go home!” and waving banners with the slogan “NATO Stop!” Police cordoned off the area around the ship.

Ukrainian customs officers who boarded the ship and met the commander said they had been prepared to lay on buses for the U.S. crew to give them a tour of the city, but apart from a few officers, no one left the vessel. …

Full atricle:
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080902/116477984.html

I’m not familiar with this news agency and a brief (one page) Google check of the USCGC Dallas shows nothing except for the fact that she is in Georgia right now.
Still, not good if this is true. Those are (presumably) Ukranians doing the protesting.
texaspsue
September 4th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Oops! Peggy Noonan steps in it again. The WSJ:

Open Mic Night at MSNBC

By Peggy Noonan

Well, I just got mugged by the nature of modern media, and I wish it weren’t my fault, but it is. Readers deserve an explanation, so I’m putting a new top on today’s column and, with the forbearance of the Journal, here it is.

Wednesday afternoon, in a live MSNBC television panel hosted by NBC’s political analyst Chuck Todd, and along with Republican strategist Mike Murphy, we discussed Sarah Palin’s speech this evening to the Republican National Convention. I said she has to tell us in her speech who she is, what she believes, and why she’s here. We spoke of Republican charges that the media has been unfair to Mrs. Palin, and I defended the view that while the media should investigate every quote and vote she’s made, and look deeply into her career, it has been unjust in its treatment of her family circumstances, and deserved criticism for this.

When the segment was over and MSNBC was in commercial, Todd, Murphy and I continued our conversation, talking about the Palin choice overall. We were speaking informally, with some passion — and into live mics. An audio tape of that conversation was sent, how or by whom I don’t know, onto the internet. And within three hours I was receiving it from friends far and wide, asking me why I thought the McCain campaign is “over”, as it says in the transcript of the conversation. Here I must plead some confusion. In our off-air conversation, I got on the subject of the leaders of the Republican party assuming, now, that whatever the base of the Republican party thinks is what America thinks. I made the case that this is no longer true, that party leaders seem to me stuck in the assumptions of 1988 and 1994, the assumptions that reigned when they were young and coming up. “The first lesson they learned is the one they remember,” I said to Todd — and I’m pretty certain that is a direct quote. But, I argued, that’s over, those assumptions are yesterday, the party can no longer assume that its base is utterly in line with the thinking of the American people. And when I said, “It’s over!” — and I said it more than once — that is what I was referring to. I am pretty certain that is exactly what Todd and Murphy understood I was referring to. In the truncated version of the conversation, on the Web, it appears I am saying the McCain campaign is over. I did not say it, and do not think it. In fact, at an on-the-record press symposium on the campaign on Monday, when all of those on the panel were pressed to predict who would win, I said that I didn’t know, but that we just might find “This IS a country for old men.” That is, McCain may well win. I do not think the campaign is over, I do not think this is settled, and did not suggest, back to the Todd-Murphy conversation, that “It’s over.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....columnists

Not again? Has she switched Parties? Oh well, I’m going to give her a pass on this. It’s not really her fault, there must be something in the water at the Beltway. :-)
Warmonger Infidel
September 4th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Watching Fred speak is pure disgust at what could have been had Fred’s campaign staff had the merest clue and frankly, had Thompson himself known how to run a campaign anywhere but rural Tennessee.

BillK
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 am

Curious BillK as to how you can make that statement, that he and the people he hired aren’t capable of running a campaign other than in rural Tennessee, but you think he’s capable of running the country? That’s a contradiction in terms.

As artboyusa stated, the choice is very clear here. Obama who as president would be a threat to our very way of life, or McCain who as president would, if nothing else, protect us from those who want to destroy us. He may be a cranky old guy, but he’s our cranky old guy. It’s time to put the bickering of the past behind and support a McCain/Palin ticket. And to do so without all the caveats such as “I’ll hold my nose as I vote for him”. If you have to hold your nose to vote for America, you have a big problem.
Liberals Make Great Speedbumps
September 4th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Well WI I don’t want to re-hash the past either. I just want to say welcome back, it’s good to have you here.
artboyusa
September 4th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Hey - WI! Good to hear from you! Welcome back.
BillK
September 4th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
WI - it’s based on the fact that he has good values and great ideas but didn’t run the best campaign in the world.

Personally, I’d rather my elected officials didn’t know the first thing about running a campaign or hiring people to do so - it’s like hiring someone who is really, really good at job interviews rather than someone with the skills and experience required to do the job.

Recall in the past day, Obama has stated his “experience” (since he has none, and Palin has run a city and a state) is in running his campaign.

Sorry, to me that merely means you are well-versed in whom to suck up to and when.

I believe Thompson believed the groundswell would carry him, but the Huckabee voters and the Democrats crossing over to vote for McCain put a spin on things I don’t think a straightforward primary would have.

That and I also think Thompson bailed out way too early.
DEZ
September 4th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Now won’t this frost some ba…..

A hotel that refused an injured soldier a room, forcing him to spend the night in his car, was backed into issuing a grovelling apology yesterday after receiving a barrage of abusive phone calls.

The Metro Hotel, in Woking, Surrey, called the police as its phone lines were flooded with angry and threatening calls from the public.

The attack on the switchboards came after it emerged that Corporal Tomos Stringer, 24, had been told that it was company policy not to accept members of the Armed Forces.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t.....674411.ece

Somebody needs a good tatering!

Hey WI, damn good to hear from ya!
Liberals Make Great Speedbumps
September 5th, 2008 at 5:22 am
“After a resolute silence, the hotel, owned by a company called American Amusements, finally issued a statement: “The Metro Hotel, Woking, sincerely regrets any upset caused towards Corporal Stringer and his family.”

Hey Dez,

Do you know anything about this company American Amusements? I think they deserve to be berated some more regarding this incident.
artboyusa
September 5th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Re the above item:
Tommy
by Rudyard Kipling (1865– 1936)
I went into a public-’ouse to get a pint o’beer,
The publican ‘e up an’ sez, “We serve no red-coats here.”
The girls be’ind the bar they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an’ to myself sez I:

O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, go away”;
But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins,” when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it’s “Thank you, Mr. Atkins,” when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but ‘adn’t none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-’alls,
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they’ll shove me in the stalls!

For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, wait outside”;
But it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide,
The troopship’s on the tide, my boys, the troopship’s on the tide,
O it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide.

Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.

Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy how’s yer soul?”
But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll.

We aren’t no thin red ‘eroes, nor we aren’t no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An’ if sometimes our conduck isn’t all your fancy paints:
Why, single men in barricks don’t grow into plaster saints;

While it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, fall be’ind,”
But it’s “Please to walk in front, sir,” when there’s trouble in the wind,
There’s trouble in the wind, my boys, there’s trouble in the wind,
O it’s “Please to walk in front, sir,” when there’s trouble in the wind.

You talk o’ better food for us, an’ schools, an’ fires an’ all:
We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace.

For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country,” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
But Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool - you bet that Tommy sees!
Diane
September 5th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I keep being told by liberals, both on and offline, what a terrible choice Sarah Palin was. She’s angered all but the most extreme right-wing conservatives and most women, and her nomination has effectively given the election to BO. I didn’t believe it, but if you hear something often enough, you start to wonder. Then I found this link on Ann Coulter’s website:

http://www.usmagazine.com/

A little over halfway down the page is a poll: “After watching her speech, do you think Sarah Palin would make a good vice president?” So I voted, the looked at the results. With some 400,000 votes, “yes” is leading by about 80% to 20%. Somehow, I don’t think the readers of US magazine qualify as “extreme right-wing”, and I suspect more than half of them are women.

So much for liberal wisdom…
David
September 5th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I did the same for the US mag poll just now on who gave the better speech, McCain or Obama. Similar results ~84% McCain to ~16% Obama.
texaspsue
September 5th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
“It’s time to put the bickering of the past behind and support a McCain/Palin ticket.”

Hi WI! Exactly, a lot is at stake here. It’s the difference between Freedom and Socialism. With Palin on the ticket, though, we have a future hope for Conservatism!

I am now humbled because I didn’t see the big picture, we don’t have to tell you that you were right all along, too, do we? ;-)
texaspsue
September 5th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
DEZ…The hotel deserves all of the harassment that they get. What losers.

Appropriate prose Artboy, it really applies in this case doesn’t it?

Diane, I have noticed that a lot of facts in the liberal articles lately aren’t supported by the polls taken on the same page.
Drudge has a link to a Oprah VS Palin interview dilemma. No one’s buying Oprah’s excuse and the poll on the same page shows Oprah as biased. LOL Looks as thought the MSM isn’t fooling ANYONE anymore.

http://www.tmz.com/2008/09/05/.....-in-later/
wardmama4
September 5th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
This is a very good read and in the article it links to an earlier article (Feb 26) that he wrote on Obama and the women in his life. They are long but well worth the read - possibly the most scholarly articles I’ve read on Obama since reading Shelby Steele’s book A Bound Man -

How Obama lost the election
By Spengler

DENVER - Senator Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last week seemed vastly different from the stands of this city’s Invesco Stadium than it did to the 40 million who saw it on television. Melancholy hung like thick smog over the reserved seats where I sat with Democratic Party staffers. The crowd, of course, cheered mechanically at the tag lines, flourished placards, and even rose for the obligatory wave around the stadium. But its mood was sour. The air carried the acrid smell of defeat, and the crowd took shallow breaths. Even the appearance of R&B great Stevie Wonder failed to get the blood pumping.

The speech itself dragged on for three-quarters of an hour. As David S Broder wrote in the Washington Post: “[Obama's] recital of a long list of domestic promises could have been delivered by any Democratic nominee from Walter Mondale to John Kerry.

http://tinyurl.com/5fhrak

Here is the link to the second article:

http://tinyurl.com/2l7b7n
Rmy-mac-was-here
September 5th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Things I’ve noticed as a Kansahoman (even though I’ve been stuck in the Sandbox, yes, we do get internet out here in Iraquistan) and we even get CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and the Alphabet networks.
Democrats? Is this truly the party you want to vote for?
Sen Boxer D-CA is using her authority as Chairman on the Senate Ethics Committee to try and pressure Sen (Doctor) Coburn R-OK to stop providing free services to people back in his home state of Oklahoma (delivering Babies).
BTW: Sen Coburn is also the same Senator who has halted over 10 Billion (that with a “b” people, not a typo) Dollars worth of earmarks (pork) in numerous bills from getting passed.
http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....th_do.html
It sounds like someone is trying to shut him up.

The party that refused a woman as a Vice Presidential Candidate (who would have Solidified their base, and practically ensured a Democratic win) is attacking the Republican party for the Oh My God sin of putting a Woman as the Vice Presidential Candidate. Sad part is: she is the most qualified to be an executive out of the four listed for both party tickets; because SHE IS ALREADY the Chief Executive of her State’s Govt.
Don’t get me wrong: I am not a big fan of McBrain but Pinky has definitely scored my families vote this year.

What irritates me is that the O’OneA is going to use the Kansas Governor D-Kathleen Sebelious to try and hammer back at Gov Palin as political counter of a woman governator versus a woman governator.
http://cjonline.com/stories/09.....lius.shtml
We shall see how Pinky and McBrain handle themselves against all the slings and arrows that the Liberals and Media (usually another word for Democrat) can launch at them.
DEZ
September 5th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
“Hey Dez,

Do you know anything about this company American Amusements? I think they deserve to be berated some more regarding this incident.”

No, not yet.
But if I do you will see it at S&L, its gonna take a bit of sifting.

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