The Bully Pulpit

2006-04-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Too Close To Call

2006-04-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

For many weeks the polls and the pundits have been saying that the Italian elections were more or less a formality. Incumbent Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of the center-right government was said to be doomed to challenger Romano Prodi.

As soon as the voting closed earlier today, the pundits were out again, declaring that they had been right all along, Prodi was in by a landslide.

Well maybe not.

Pollster Nexus said with 95 percent of the vote in the Senate counted, Berlusconi was projected to take 158 seats to the centre-left's 151. The margin of error for the sample was between 1 and 3 percentage points.

The current count in the Chamber of Deputies is also too close to call. But current projections based on 44 percent of the vote gave Berlusconi's centre-right alliance a wafer-thin 49.9 percent to 49.6 percent edge over challenger Romano Prodi in the lower house.

Prodi postponed a news conference after the latest projections were released.

The Senate and lower chamber of parliament have equal powers, and any coalition would have to control both in order to form a government. Berlusconi and Prodi have said new elections should be called if neither side controls both houses.

Immigration

2006-04-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Looking at the news today it seems the latest compromise on immigration reform has failed.

In looking at possible solutions I must admit to having mixed views as the legalist in me fights with the pragmatist in me.

I am a firm supporter of legal immigration. Our nation was built on the concept that the peoples of the world should come here and build a better life. But part of the deal is that you obey the law. Those who come here in violation of the law demean those who went through the proper process. That's what the process is there for.

So my basic instict is to say if you came here illegally you should be made to leave and go through the proper channels.

However it is here that the pragmatist in me takes over.

Right now the estimate is there are 10 to 15 million illegals in this country out of 300 million people. They are spread out across the country and have spent years learning how to hide.

So as a practical matter how do we find these 10 or 15 million people and how do we go about getting them out of the country ?

It would take a massive program that would cost billions of dollars to accomplish this and it could take decades.

While they did break the law, many of these illegals have become, to one degree or another, productive members of society.

Therefore I do think we need to take a pragmatic approach to this problem. Work with those who want to become part of the system and work out a program of amnesty. Not an out and out free pass, but a program where they pay penalties and work through the citizenship process.

For those who do not choose to participate, we can and should deport them.

Cynthia McKinney Is An Idiot

2006-04-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

Capitol Police on Monday sent the results of their investigation of Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia to a federal prosecutor, who will decide, possibly this week, whether to press assault charges against her for striking a police officer.

The police filing left open the question of whether McKinney should be charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, or assault on a police officer, a felony, police and legal authorities said.

Meanwhile, African-American clergy and elected officials rallied to support the six-term congresswoman at an Atlanta church Monday, and in an appearance on CNN with her lawyers, McKinney again contended that she was the victim of a white police officer's racial bias.

McKinney was stopped by a Capitol policeman while she was going around a security checkpoint in a House office building last Wednesday. Members of Congress are allowed to skirt those checkpoints, but the officer, not recognizing McKinney, tried to stop her. A scuffle ensued.

If the office of U.S. Attorney Ken Wainstein decides not to pursue charges, the police investigation would simply end. If the prosecutor decides to pursue charges, police would need a judge to approve the arrest warrant. The prosecutor has a third option of presenting the police findings to a grand jury, which legal authorities said could add weeks to the process.

The police officer who stopped McKinney touched her shoulder or arm, witnesses have said. That prompted McKinney to spin around and strike the officer, though there are conflicting reports as to whether she slapped him, punched him in the chest or struck him with a cell phone.

McKinney was not wearing a special lapel pin given to members of Congress to make them easier to identify. She also has changed her hairstyle since posing for her official House portrait, the picture police would check to identify her.

It does not show her encounter with the police officer, according to officials familiar with it.

While authorities in Washington were inching closer toward a decision on whether to charge McKinney, about two dozen lawmakers, community activists and clergy stood in support of the DeKalb County Democrat at Community Church of God in southwest Atlanta.

"It's really not about Cynthia McKinney. It's about African-Americans in America who are victims of racial profiling every day," said Tyrone Brooks, a state lawmaker and president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials.

Alabama Idiocy

2006-03-24T21:01:00.000-08:00

Possibly the stupidest law in the world.

Car Seats

Charlie Sheen is Nuts

2006-03-24T20:58:00.000-08:00

Charlie Sheen is now officialy nuttier than his Dad.

He has decided that 9/11 was a giant government conspiracy.

The towers were not his by 2 planes, only one and it was not airliner.

The Pentagon was not hit by a plane at all.

The towers were brought down by explosives.

Charlie Sheen

Iowa Woman Fakes Death

2006-03-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

In the beyond stupid category....

An Iowa woman allegedly faked her death to avoid paying parking tickets.

Police say 36-year-old Kimberly Du was caught after she got another ticket a month after her 'death', reports said.Investigators said Du faked her own obituary and forged an afidavit telling a judge she had died in a car accident.

In her letter she allegedly included a phony obituary, made to look like a page from The Des Moines Register's website.

The case began to unravel when investigators said Du was stopped for another traffic ticket - a month after the obituary was dated.

If convicted she'll face up to five years in prison for fraud - instead of the $500 fine she might have been expected to pay for failing to pay her parking tickets. Ananova.com

"The state still has to convince a jury of 12, but faking your own death is not a good idea," said Bob Rigg, of the Drake Law Clinic.

Enigma Cracked By Computers

2006-03-08T21:03:00.000-08:00

Sixty years after the end of World War II, a network of several thousand PCs has cracked a message enciphered with the famous Enigma machine.

The M4 Message Breaking Project, started by Stefan Krah, a German amateur cryptographer took on three messages intercepted by British code-breakers during WWII, but never cracked by Bletchley Park.

The code breakers at Bletchley included computing pioneer Alan Turing and used a combination of human intelligence, guesswork, and elementary computing, called "bombs" to decipher messages."

At various times, Bletchley Park could read virtually all Enigma-ciphered messages to and from U-boats at sea, which was instrumental in locating and sinking the submarines, or steering convoys away from U-boat wolfpacks.

The three messages were enciphered using the vaunted Enigma, a machine that relied on a series of user-set rotors and an accompanying plugboard to encrypt text messages before they were radioed from U-boats in the North Atlantic to the German navy's headquarters ashore.

In January, Krah's Web site posted Unix and Windows versions of an open-source client that runs in the background on each machine. As in other distributed-computing projects -- such as the one recently started by the BBC to help model climate change -- the message-breaking chore was broken into small pieces, then parceled out to individual machines that had installed the software.

On Feb. 20, Krah announced that the first message had been broken.

The Enigma-enciphered message, which looked like this:

NCZWV USXPN YMINH ZXMQX SFWXW LKJAH SHNMC
OCCAK UQPMK CSMHK SEINJ USBLK IOSXC KUBHM
LLXCS JUSRR DVKOH ULXWC CBGVL IYXEO AHXRH
KKFVD REWEZ LXOBA FGYUJ QUKGR TVUKA MEURB
VEKSU HHVOY HABCJ WMAKL FKLMY FVNRI ZRVVR
TKOFD ANJMO LBGFF LEOPR GTFLV RHOWO PBEKV
WMUQF MPWPA RMFHA GKXII BG

Actually read, said Krah:

"F T 1132/19 Inhalt:
Bei Angriff unter Wasser gedrückt.
Wabos. Letzter Gegnerstand 0830 Uh
r AJ 9863, 220 Grad, 8 sm. Stosse nach.
14 mb. fällt, NNO 4, Sicht 10.
Looks"

And was translated into English to:
"F T 1132/19 contents:
Forced to submerge during attack.
Depth charges. Last enemy position 0830h
AJ 9863, [course] 220 degrees, [speed] 8 knots.
[I am] following [the enemy].
[barometer] falls 14 mb, [wind] nor-nor-east,
[force] 4, visibility 10 [nautical miles].
Looks"

Hartwig Looks, the captain of the U-264, was among the 52 survivors of a depth charge attack by two British sloops, the HMS Woodpecker and HMS Starling, on Feb. 19, 1944.

So far, several runs have been completed against one of the other messages, but with no success. "This does not mean that this particular message can't be broken with this method,"

Krah wrote on the project's blog. "Some messages require many more walks through the search space before a break occurs."

Currently, about 5,000 computers are participating in the project. Users who want to install the distributed-computing client can find it on the M4 Web site.

Busy Week

2006-02-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

Between work and some family stuff it's shaping up to be a pretty busy week.

I promise more posting next week

Don Knotts Dies

2006-02-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

Very sad news out of Hollywood....

Don Knotts aka Barney Fife has died at the age of 81.

Don was a comic genius whose basic decency was, by all accounts, just as sincere and real for him as it was for his characters.

He will be missed.

Update: Also lost tonight was Darin McGavin, who played the dad in A Christmas story, he was 83.

Bruce Hart Dies

2006-02-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

Writer Bruce Hart has died at the age of 68.

Although his name is not well known, at least one of his works is.

For anyone under the age of 40, these words are part of your childhood...

Sunny Day, sweepin' the clouds away, on my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get.....how to get to Sesame Street.

Hate Crimes Study

2006-02-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

Don’t expect to see this reported in the mainstream media but the US Justice Department has come out with a study on hate crimes. This study is based on statistics gathered between July of 2000 and December of 2003 examining more than 200,000 annually reported hate crimes.

Amazingly this report was issued in November of 2005, but is just now starting to poke out into some media outlets.

Now I am not a big fan of the concept of hate crimes. To me the idea that one kind of assault is a hate crime while another is not seems ridiculous. All crimes are hate crimes.

However the study makes some interesting observations.

The conclusion is that the most likely victim of a hate crime in the U.S. is a poor, young, white, single urban dweller. While race is far the No. 1 factor cited as the reason for hate crimes, blacks are slightly less likely to be victims and far more likely to be perpetrators.

The report defined a hate crime as when offenders choose a victim because of some factor (race, religion, ethnicity, religion, etc) and showed some evidence that they committed the crime for that reason.

About 56 percent of hate crimes were motivated in some way by race and most were accompanied by violence. Interestingly, while nine in 10,000 whites and nine in 10,000 Hispanics are victimized by hate crimes, only seven in 10,000 blacks are targets.

Now to be fair this is basically a statistical wash, but it does belie the common view that all hate crimes are against minorities at the hands of whites.

The report finds that there does not seem to be any particular factor that makes one more likely to be a victim of a hate crime, although age, marital status and economic standing did show some increases.

In fact, those between the ages of 17 and 20 were far more likely to be victims than in any other age group – with 16 incidents per 10,000 people.

People who never married saw 16 incidents per 10,000, and those separated or divorced, experienced 26 incidents per 10,000. Those with incomes less than $25,000 faced worse odds of victimization, 13 per 10,000, as well as those in urban areas, also 13 per 10,000.

Again, these numbers are more or less a wash, 7 out of 10,000 versus 26 out of 10,000 is a very small variance and it could be argued that other factors play a role in these numbers (IE urban areas have more crime, divorce often leads to violence, etc)

The report says 38 percent of all those reporting hate crimes said the attacker was black, and in 90 percent of those cases, the victim believed the offender's motive was racial.

In incidents involving white attackers, only 30 percent attribute the hate crime to race, while 20 percent attributed it to ethnicity.

The report says 40 percent of white hate crime victims were attacked by blacks, adding, "The small number of black hate crime victims precludes analysis of the race of persons who victimized them."

So it seems that the reality of 'hate crimes' is different that the common wisdom holds.

Bush is Wrong

2006-02-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

President Bush today said he would veto any attempt to block the sale of companies controlling US ports to a company from the United Arab Emirates.

While I am a fan of the President, on this one he is dead wrong.

I don't want our ports controlled by ANY foreign power, let alone one from one of the most unstable regions of the world.

Bryant Gumbel Double Standard

2006-02-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

On HBO, Bryant Gumbel has made comments that are at best unwise and really amount to being racist.

Commenting on the Olympics he said that he didn't want to watch the Olympics because none of the people there were real athletes and that this was largely because there were few blacks there.

Now imagine if a white commentator had said he won't watch NBA basketball because there aren't very many white players.

Yet HBO is doing little or nothing to Gumbel...

FEMA Aid Ends for Katrina

2006-02-16T21:31:00.000-08:00

This week it was confirmed that FEMA aid to provide free housing for survivors of Katrnia will end.

This of course led to protests that this is cruel and evil to abandon these poor people.

Now maybe I am using a different calendar than everyone else but it seems to have been 5 months since the storm. I certainly can understand that the shock of the storm plus the time of moving around would probably kill a couple months.

But that gives you 3 months to get a job and find a place to live, it's not that hard. Certainly you might not get the best job or the best place and if you need a little additional help there are programs out there.

But from the stories, most of these people have made NO steps towards even thinking about finding work.

Which is a sad comment on the fact that there are people out there who look to the government as the only sources of income or support.

Far Left Showing True Colors.... Again

2006-02-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

Once again the far left blogs are showing their complete lack of taste and compassion.

The tragic accident this weekend involving VP Cheney should be treated as just that, a tragic accident. Although the victim did seemingly violate the basic rules of quail hunting (IE you are supposed to identify your movements), Cheney also holds blame for turning and firing without checking himself.

But ultimately it is an accident, a sad accident.

Our focus should be to 1) accept this as an accident and 2) hope for a quick recovery.

But of course the far left blogs are again using this to attack Cheney, Bush and so on.

These people, like those on the far right, have absolutely no class or tact. Their hate is such that they tolerate nobody but themselves.

Letters From Iraq

2006-02-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

Want to know what the people of Iraq think of our troops ?

I found this while surfing the net... a letter from the mayor.

In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful

To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life.

To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months.

To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to the city after hopelessness darkened our days, and stole our confidence in our ability to reestablish our city.

Our city was the main base of operations for Abu Mousab Al Zarqawi. The city was completely held hostage in the hands of his henchmen. Our schools, governmental services, businesses and offices were closed. Our streets were silent, and no one dared to walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorists occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city.

Their savagery reached such a level that they stuffed the corpses of children with explosives and tossed them into the streets in order to kill grieving parents attempting to retrieve the bodies of their young.

This was the situation of our city until God prepared and delivered unto them the courageous soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who liberated this city, ridding it of Zarqawi’s followers after harsh fighting, killing many terrorists, and forcing the remaining butchers to flee the city like rats to the surrounding areas, where the bravery of other 3d ACR soldiers in Sinjar, Rabiah, Zumar and Avgani finally destroyed them.

I have met many soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment; they are not only courageous men and women, but avenging angels sent by The God Himself to fight the evil of terrorism.

The leaders of this Regiment; COL McMaster, COL Armstrong, LTC Hickey, LTC Gibson, and LTC Reilly embody courage, strength, vision and wisdom. Officers and soldiers alike bristle with the confidence and character of knights in a bygone era.

The mission they have accomplished, by means of a unique military operation, stands among the finest military feats to date in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and truly deserves to be studied in military science.

This military operation was clean, with little collateral damage, despite the ferocity of the enemy. With the skill and precision of surgeons they dealt with the terrorist cancers in the city without causing unnecessary damage.

God bless this brave Regiment; God bless the families who dedicated these brave men and women. From the bottom of our hearts we thank the families. They have given us something we will never forget.

To the families of those who have given their holy blood for our land, we all bow to you in reverence and to the souls of your loved ones. Their sacrifice was not in vain. They are not dead, but alive, and their souls hovering around us every second of every minute.

They will never be forgotten for giving their precious lives. They have sacrificed that which is most valuable. We see them in the smile of every child, and in every flower growing in this land. Let America, their families, and the world be proud of their sacrifice for humanity and life.

Finally, no matter how much I write or speak about this brave Regiment, I haven’t the words to describe the courage of its officers and soldiers. I pray to God to grant happiness and health to these legendary heroes and their brave families.

NAJIM ABDULLAH ABID AL-JIBOURI
Mayor of Tall ‘Afar, Ninewa, Iraq

Sharon Deathbed ??

2006-02-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

Although we are getting contradictory reports things do not sound good for Israeli Prime Minister Sharon.

The fact that he has remained in coma for the last 6 weeks is already a bad sign.

Now he is seeming to have organ failure, or at least the failure of his digestive system which has led to infections.

I admire and respect Mr. Sharon but it seems to me that this is time to let go.

I hope he goes peacefully and calmly to a better place.

Moving On Up......

2006-02-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

Franklin Cover, the actor best known for playing George Jefferson's neighbor Tom Willis has died at the age of 77.

Cover had a succesful Hollywood career, appearing in both film and television. He was married to his wife Mary for over 40 years.

But today, he's moved on up to his deluxe apartment in the sky.

Trouble in UN Security Council ?

2006-02-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

As most of you have probably heard, the UN is currently trying to deal with both the Iranian nuclear weapons program crisis and an investigation into Syria's role in the assasination of the Prime Minister of Lebanon.

Both subjects are due to come before the Security Council of the UN in the coming weeks. The problems are being worsened by the recent riots over the cartoons published in a Danish newspaper that many found offensive to Islam.

So guess who is due to assume the rotating chair of the Security Council ??

Yep.... Denmark.

This should prove interesting, to say the least.

Fun Web Site

2006-02-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

We all love dumb crook stories, so it only makes sense someone would make a web site for it.

Lots of great stories

Dumb Crooks

Multi Lingual Ballots

2006-02-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

Fifty-six members of the U.S. House on Friday urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), to fight the renewal of a provision in the Voting Rights Act that mandates multilingual ballots.

"We believe these ballot provisions encourage the linguistic division of our nation and contradict the 'Melting Pot' ideal that has made us the most successful multi-ethnic nation on earth," the 56 House members wrote.

The letter refers to special provisions added to the Voting Rights Act in 1975 that are set to expire in 2007. The multilingual ballot provision requires local jurisdictions to provide multi-language ballots when more than 5 percent of the voting-age population belongs to a language minority.

The representatives wrote that "federal law protects the right of all citizens to bring an interpreter into the voting booth with them if they have difficulty understanding a ballot written in English."

Now I am sure the usual suspects will be pouring out to call this racist and evil, a way to be evil and brutal to the poor minorities.

But to me it makes perfect sense. My only issue is we would still help them with translators.

In order to vote you need to be a citizen. This is true in any country. Indeed in many countries you have to be a citizen to own land, get govenment benefits, etc.

In most countries, in order to become a citizen you must speak the language of that country (in many countries the legally official language).

In theory that is also the case here. In order to be a citizen of this country you should speak English. This doesn't mean you cannot come here to live on a visa, or even to live long term without speaking English (although in order to operate effectively it helps)

But if you want to be a citizen and have all the associated rights (including voting) you should be able to speak English.

Al "Grandpa" Lewis Dies at 95

2006-02-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

Al Lewis, best known as Grandpa on the Munsters TV show has died at the age of 95.

Lewis

Majority Leader John Boehner

2006-02-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio was elected House majority leader.

Boehner defeated fellow Roy Blunt of Missouri, 122-109, after lagging behind his rival in a first, inconclusive ballot.

Boehner was the reform candidate, so this is good news.

GOP Leader Vote Today

2006-02-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

Voting today for the new House majority leader between Roy Blunt, John Boehner and John Shadegg.

Blunt of Missouri led with 110 votes, Boehner of Ohio had 79 and Shadegg of Arizona had 40, according to congressional officials.

Rep. Jim Ryun of Kansas received two votes, although he was not an announced candidate

Both Shadegg and Ryun have withdrawn from consideration.

Blunt would seem to have an edge, being just 7 votes short of a majority, but if Boehner gets most of the Shadegg votes he could pull it out.

Regardless, it should be decided on the 2nd ballot.

State of The Union Ejections

2006-02-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

As most of you have probably read, there was some minor controversy at the State of The Union speech this week.

Cindy Sheehan, who was invited to the speech by a member of Congress, was ejected from the House chamber for wearing an anti-war t-shirt. Needless to say, the left has labeled this as being a big conspiracy by Bush and the GOP to silence dissent.

Except for a couple problems.

First off, the wife of a Republican congressman was also tossed for wearing a pro-troops t-shirt. Furthermore, this has been a policy for many years, and according to media reports, they usually toss one or two people every year.

People were ejected during the Clinton and Carter years.

Having said that, what do I think about the policy.

As to a policy which bans dissent or political opinions from the House chamber, I think it is a wrong policy, no matter who does it. It is likely that Sheehan would have disrupted the event, but that would just make her look stupid and small.

On the other hand, I do think a dress code is not only acceptable, but a good idea.

You wouldn't go to a wedding or funeral in a t-shirt and shorts. It is perfectly acceptable for fine restaurants to have a dress code. In this era of extra informality I think it is fine to have standards.

And when the leaders of our country gather for what is the closest thing we have to a state occassion, I think it is proper to require formal dress.

RIP Coretta Scott King

2006-01-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

The widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King has died at the age of 78.

Justice Alito

2006-01-31T07:58:00.000-08:00

It is now official

Total Yes: 58 (CONFIRMED)

Total No: 42

Dems voting Yes (4)

Robert Byrd of West Virginia
Kent Conrad of North Dakota
Ben Nelson of Nebraska
Tim Johnson of South Dakota

Republicans voting Yes (54)

Lamar Alexander of Tennesee
Wayne Allard of Colorado
George Allen of Virginia
Robert Bennett of Utah
Christopher Bond of Missouri
Jim Bunning of Kentucky
Sam Brownback of Kansas
Conrad Burns of Montana
Richard Burr of North Carolina
Saxby Chambliss of Georgia
Thad Cochran of Mississippi
Norm Coleman of Minnesota
Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
John Cornyn of of Texas
Larry Craig of Idaho
Mike Crapo of Idaho
Susan Collins of Maine
James DeMint of South Carolina
Mike Dewine of Ohio
Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina
Pete Domenici of New Mexico
John Ensign of Nevada
Mike Enzi of Wyoming
Bill Frist of Tennessee
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Charles Grassley of Iowa
Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
Chuck Hagel of Nebraska
Orrin Hatch of Utah
Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas
James Inhofe of Oklahoma
Johnny Isakson of Georgia
Trent Lott of Mississippi
Richard Lugar of Indiana
John Kyl of Arizona
Mel Martinez of Florida
John McCain of Arizona
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Pat Roberts of Kansas
Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania
Jeff Sessions of Alabama
Richard Shelby of Alabama
Gordon Smith of Oregon
Olympia Snowe
Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania
Ted Stevens of Alaska
John Sununu of New Hampshire
John Talent of Missouri
Craig Thomas of Wyoming
John Thune of South Dakota
David Vitter of Louisiana
George Voinovich of Ohio
John Warner of Virginia

Republicans voting No (1)

Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island

Dems voting No (40)

Daniel Akaka of Hawaii
Max Baucus of Montana
Evan Bayh of Indiana
Joe Biden of Delaware
Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico
Barbara Boxer of California
Maria Cantwell of Washington
Thomas Carper of Delaware
Hillary Clinton of New York
Mark Dayton of Minnesota
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut
Byron Dorgan of North Dakota
Richard Durbin of Illinois
Russ Feingold of Wisconsin
Dianne Feinstein of California
Tom Harkin of Iowa
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii
Jim Jeffords of Vermont
Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts
John Kerry of Massachusetts
Herbert Kohl of Wisconsin
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Carl Levin of Michigan
Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut
Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas
Robert Menendez of New Jersey
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
Patty Murray of Washington
Bill Nelson of Florida
Barak Obama of Illinois
Mark Pryor of Arkansas
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Harry Reid of Nevada
Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia
Ken Salazar of Colorado
Paul Sarbanes of Maryland
Charles Schumer of New York
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
Ron Wyden of Oregon

Alito Confirmation Assured

2006-01-30T18:10:00.000-08:00

Cloture has passed with all 55 Republicans and 17 of 45 Democrats.

So the only issue is the final vote

We now have just 2 unannounced members

Snowe of Maine (R)

Landrieu of Louisiana (D)

Snowe is up for re-election this year in a blue state but she is fairly secure.

Landrieu is up in a red state, and could be in trouble.

I would guess Snowe Yes and Landreiu slightly leaning No.

Canada Goes Conservative, Sort Of

2006-01-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

With polls closed in our neighbor to the North it looks like the Conservatives are back in power, albiet with a minority government.

Given that they were once down to just 2 out of 300 seats, this is a pretty decent comeback.

Now let us see how well they govern, and if they can last in a 4 party system.

The Military

2006-01-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy.

Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student,pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.

He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155 mm howitzer.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.

He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark.

He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.

He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.

He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other.

He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle.

He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food.

He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.

He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.

He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all.

He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime.

He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them.

He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat
and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him
who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.

In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy.

He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.

He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition
of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.

As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot..

A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

Please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan, sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those in Iraq.

Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine
or Airman, prayer is the very best one

24

2006-01-16T22:19:00.000-08:00

So far it looks like a really good season of 24, I only hope that they keep it up.

Ford In Hospital

2006-01-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Ford

Although it sounds like he's doing alright he is in his 90's and pneumonia is never a minor thing at that age.

Delay But No Filibuster

2006-01-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

It now looks like the Democrats will drag out the vote on Alito but will not filibuster. With Alito likely to get over 60 votes, the Dems couldn't block him but they will drag things out to satisfy the hard liner interest groups.

It will be interesting to see how the votes pan out.

Judiciary Vote Prospects

2006-01-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

With the hearings all but over we now look to a vote in the Judiciary committee on January 17th. The question arises of how the members will vote.

Based upon comments by Specter and Brownback it seems likely that all 10 Republican members of the committee will vote for Alito.

Also based upon their comments, it's clear than Kennedy, Schumer and Durbin would vote against their own mother if she were nominated by Bush.

So that gives us a 10-3 vote with 5 Dems unsure.

Of those five Leahy, Kohl and Feingold all voted for Roberts while Feinstein and Biden voted no.

So initially you'd have to put the 2 no on Roberts votes as leaning no on Alito.

Given the liberalism of Vermont, and the abortion mantra, I'd make Leahy leaning no, but still in play.

Since Feingold wants to run for President, I think he leans no to balance out Roberts vote with the Democrat base.

Kohl I might make leaning yes, he seemed firm but impressed with Alito's testimony.

So while Roberts got a 13-5 vote out of committe, so far I see only one Dem leaning yes, the others solid or leaning no. That would make vote 11-7.

But any comments made by members tomorrow could change things...

Democrats Won't Give Up On Alito

2006-01-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

The Democrats just won't give up on Alito.

He has clearly shown himself to be very qualified, well reasoned and has answered their questions.

Having failed to 'Bork him' in the 2 normal rounds of questioning, they are now pushing for 3rd and possibly 4th rounds of questioning.

I will post a more detailed review of his performance later.

Did Anyone Proofread It ?

2006-01-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

Senator Ted Kennedy has announced the publication of a childrens book that he wrote. The book focused on his pet dog as he follows the path of a bill through Congress.

I have no problem with this, it seems like a good idea to give children a view of how our government works.

But the dog is named.... Splash.

Given Senator Kennedy's background, you would think someone could have suggested a different name ?

Economy and Media

2006-01-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

The year is only 9 days old but we've already gotten several bits of good economic news.

1. Unemployment continues to fall, now down to just 4.9%. When you consider that the Clinton low was 4.1% and that most experts think 3% is the lowest possible, you get an idea of how good it is.

By comparison, most European nations are at or in double digits.

Figures for 2005 show a gain of 2 MILLION jobs.

2. Economic growth continues, with a rate of 3-5% predicted for 2006 and a net growth near 5% for 2005.

3. Today the stock market closed over 11,000 for the first time since 9/11. Experts predict a growth rate of 6-8% for 2006 which would result in the highest market ever.

Yet the media acts as if none of this is really happening. In reporting the jobs numbers, they call them 'weak' because it wasn't as big an increase in jobs as some thought would happen (but they ignore the much higher growth in October and November).

The economic growth numbers are reported as 'weak' in the 3-5% range. Again, the Clinton numbers were similar.

The stock market gains are given short reporting, if any at all.

Now before my economist readers chime in, I will agree that this is not everything. The deficit is too high and there are other figures to worry about. I have no problem with the media reporting this.

But the above figures ARE good news and should be reported as such.

Let's imagine if Kerry had won in 2004. And we had the exact same economy right now.

How do we think the NY Times, Washington Post and CNN would report his economy ?

Denzel Washington, A Great Man

2006-01-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

Got this in an e-mail and wanted to post it for all to read

Denzel Washington and his family recently visited the troops at Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio,Texas (BAMC) the other day. This is where soldiers who have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized in the United States, especially burn victims.

There are some buildings there called Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a Hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the Hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base, but as you can imagine, they are almost filled most of the time.

While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC, they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses. He asked how much one of them would cost to build.

He took his checkbook out and wrote a check for the full amount right there on the spot.

The soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.

I don't recall any of the liberals in Hollywood doing something like this for the troops 'they support'.

A true American and friend to all in uniform!

This needs as wide a distribution

as we can create.

GOD BLESS YOU DENZEL

FOR YOUR PATRIOTISM

Robertson Contracts Athletes Tongue

2006-01-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

Pat Robertson has put his foot in his mouth again. He does it so often these days that he's gotten a bad case of athletes tongue.

He has previously declared 9/11 to be the result of Americas sinful nature, the hurricanes in Florida to be a response to Disney giving health benefits to gays and the tsunami in Asia was punishment against Muslims.

His latest winner is to declare that God got vengeance on Ariel Sharon by giving him a stroke. This is because he is negotiating with the Palestinians and that is against God's will (as seen by Robertson).

Now I am not a Biblical scholar and perhaps (big perhaps) there is some valid basis for what Robertson said. I doubt it, but you can interpret things a lot of different ways, so I give him the benefit of the doubt.

But that does not justify going on television and announcing this 'wrath' while a man fights for his life in the hospital. It's not like we've got Osama out there dying, by all accounts Sharon is a basically good person.

So speaking as an Christian I would be very happy if Mr. Robertson would consider taking a vow of silence.

Sharon Critical

2006-01-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Latest news reports do not sound encouraging for Israeli PM Sharon. Even if he lives, it seems doubtful he will be able to stay in office.

How this will affect the peace process largely depends on his eventual successor.

Bias in Abramoff Reporting ?

2006-01-04T16:53:00.000-08:00

As has been well reported, DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff has pled guilty to charges of conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges in a federal court in Washington.

The media is happy to report the many ties he has to top Republicans, but they seem to be ignoring a few parts of the truth.

Like most lobbyists, he has close ties to members of both parties. Although he is a big GOP lobbyist, he has given plenty to Democrats as well.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, hardly a GOP cheerleader, during the period last four election cycles (2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006) he has given a total of 4.4 million in campaign donations.

Of that amount 2.8 million went to Republicans and 1.6 million to Democrats. So almost 40% of his donations were to Democrats, including top leaders like Daschle and Pelosi. Yet to hear the press reports, you'd think he gave 50 million and all of it to one or two Republicans.

Do you think that if the scandal tipped the other way that the press would ignore the real numbers ??

It's also worth noting that this big GOP donor is being prosecuted by a Republican Justice Department. Those who point to alleged corruption seem to forget who is doing the prosecuting.

Again, do you think the Clinton adminstration would have gone after a top Democrat ?

Sorry

2006-01-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the slowness in posts this week but the weather out here denied me power for a couple days and then Blogger site wouldn't open for me until today.

I will post today or tomorrow though.

Weekend Facts

2005-12-30T20:09:00.000-08:00

A Bit of Interesting Info for the New Year

In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb."

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden" - and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska.

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400.

The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades - King David;
Hearts - Charlemagne; Clubs -Alexander, the Great; and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321.

Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace.

If you were to spell out numbers the letter "A" is not found until "One thousand."

Bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers were all invented by women.

Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase: "goodnight, sleep tight."

The Christmas Star

2005-12-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of the Christmas story is the star that guided the wise men to the birth of Jesus.

But what exactly was that star ?

Obviously we can never know for sure, but we can make an educated guess.

There are 3 possible answers: 1. It could have been a special star, just for the occassion; 2. It could have been some natural event like a supernova or comet or 3. It could have been something else.

Looking to the Bible we have a few clues about the star. We know it appeared twice, we know that it was something new, we know that Herod and his advisors did not see it or at least they did not understand it, and we know it is refered to as a single object.

So were there any special events that might fit ?

Although we mark our calendars as In The Year of Our Lord, the fact is that we do not know for absolutely sure when he was born, we do know that it was sometime around the year 2 or 3 BC.

This range is based on when various other events mentioned in the Bible occurred (such as when a census took place, when certain leaders were in power, etc).

Looking to the records of the time around Christ's birth, we know that there are no references to any special event either among the astronomers of the Holy Land or anywhere else for that matter.

These facts would seem to eliminate the options 1 and 2. In the time of Christ the world was governed by the skies. Astronomers and astrologers (largely the same thing at that time) were employed by kings to advise them of what the skies were saying.

Since Herod's advisors saw nothing and since the Bible says nothing about blinding them from seeing the star, it seems very unlikely that it could have been either a natural event or an actual new star in the sky. People would have seen it if it was.

So what does that leave us ?

Well if we consider who God was trying to send a message to, that might answer our question. The Magi were Babylonian astrologers, some of the best in the world. If they looked to the skies and saw a message, it would have been in the form of an astrological event, most likely a conjunction of stars and planets.

In fact it probably would have been several events. Travel in that era was far more complex than it is today. For the Magi to have set out on a journey would have taken time to prepare and them more time to travel. It would have taken monts after the first event to get to Bethlehem.

So with that in mind, we look to events in the skies around the year zero and find something very interesting.

On August 12 in the year 3 BC there was a conjunction between the planets of Venus and Jupiter near the star Regulus in the constellation of Leo.

To the Magi, Leo was the constellation of Judah, of the symbol of the Jews. Jupiter was the star of Kings, Regulus was a royal star and Venus was the star of fertility. Such a conjunction would certainly have been a signal that a royal birth was coming to the Jews.

So let us assume that this event set the Magi out to prepare for a journey. Did something else happen ?

Well on September 14th Jupiter came into conjunction with Regulus, so we now have two royal stars meeting. Just to make sure the message got through, Jupiter seemed to them to back up, and meet Regulus again on Feb 17th of 2BC, then move forward to meet a third time on May 8th.

So we have had one event suggesting a royal birth, then THREE events suggesting a King.

Finally, on June 17th of 2 BC, Jupiter, Venus and Regulus merged to become a single star.

So in a space of a year, we have not one, not two but FIVE specific conjunctions all proclaiming a King was to be born to the Jews.

And it just happens to occur at just the right time to match all of the other events mentioned in the Bible.

Not only that but these conjunctions are relatively rare, and to have them all occur in close proximity is even rarer. Some astronomers estimate that such a pattern happens only once every 10,000 years.

Of course there is no assurance that this was the event that became the Christmas star, but it certainly is compelling.

Silent Night

2005-12-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

As part of my semi-series on Christmas stuff is a familiar story, the origins of Silent Night.

Interestingly there is something of a controversy about the exact background of the hymn, although the story is still wonderful.

According to some versions of the story the song was written because the church organ was broken (for a variety of reason) while others say that it was common for new songs to be written for special occasions.

The lyrics were written by Joseph Mohr, an assistant pastor at the church. Again, there is debate as to when he wrote them. It is known that he frequently took walks in the evenings and that he was inspired to write a poem.

Some say that the writing took place on December 24, 1818 while others say he wrote the poem 1 or 2 years before then.

But it is known that he took the poem to Franz Gruber, a musician and choir director of the church. He wrote the music for two solo voices and guitar.

It is known is that the song was first performed in a small church in Oberndorf, Austria on Christmas Eve of 1818. And from most reports, that seemed to be it. The church members appreciated the effort but nobody thought the song would be used again.

But some time later (again there is some debate as to whether it was a few weeks or as long as a couple of years) the song came back. A man named Karl Mauracher came to work on the church organ and he learned of the song.

Karl was captivated with the melody and asked permission to share it with others. He took it home to the Ziller Valley east of Innsbruk, where he shared it with two local families of travelling folk singers, the Rainers and the Strassers. Noth groups were captivated and made it part of their regular performances.

In 1834 the Strasser Family Singers sang "Silent Night" for King Frederick William IV of Prussia. He was so taken with what the Strassers called their "Song of Heaven," that he commanded it to be sung by his cathedral choir every Christmas Eve.

From there the song spread across Germany and then across the world.

Over the years there have been many touching stories associated with the hymn, but I found two worth sharing.

The first took place during World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever.

All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then, they began to sing Silent Night.

Across the way, in the "no man's land" between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a "Christmas" truce.

The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. In a few places, allied troops fired at the Germans as they climbed out of their trenches.

A spontaneous truce resulted. Soldiers left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands, exchange gifts, play games and generally forget the war.

It didn't last forever but for a few days peace came to a very violent place.

The second story took place during World War 2, in a POW camp in Germany.

US Air Force Pilot Clair Cline, along with his co-pilot, navigator and bombardier, arrived at Stalag Luft I, a prison camp in northern Germany in February 1944.

Snow still lay on the ground, and during those late-winter nights, the crew, along with 12 other men in Room 6, Barrack 6, huddled in their bunks, freezing without adequate heat or blankets and almost no food.

As spring arrived and the weather warmed, however, the worst problem for these men became boredom. They waited for news of the war, searching for ways to keep their minds off worries about loved ones.

Cline turned to his childhood hobby of model-building to pass the time. One day as he strolled along the barbed-wire fence, he recalled how he'd once taken his wife Anne to a concert by violinist Isaac Stern and Cline hit on a project that might distract him from the miseries of prison camp.

In his mind the project seemed a perfectly natural thing to do. Watching his father repair items on their farm had taught him ingenuity and patience. Cline had inherited a love of music from his mother, who played the accordion and told stories of her grandfather, a violinist in Denmark.

One day as a child, he spied a dusty violin case at his uncle's house, and soon he was playing it regularly

Now, in this prison camp, he would make his own. After hunting through the barracks, Cline settled on a pair of beech bed slats for the back of the violin and two pine slats for the front.

From late summer into the fall, he sat outside for hours, whittling the boards to length. His friends helped to obtain the other parts needed for the project.

By late November it was done. I have music again, he thought. For a time, everything he practiced was out of tune. He adjusted the placement of his fingers until he could summon a melody. Meanwhile, the men in Room 6 decided to hold a Christmas celebration, and so Cline brushed up on some carols.

On Christmas Eve, Cline pitched in wherever he was needed, wondering what Anne was doing to celebrate the holiday. When everything was ready, the men filled their plates and ate.

At dusk, the guards locked the prisoners in. Soon the lights were turned out. The men lit homemade candles. Cline reached under his bunk and pulled out the violin. Softly he began to play a carol. A few men hummed along, then started singing.

Cline imagined he could hear Anne's melodic voice over the motley chorus. He closed his eyes at the thought, finishing the tune by feel and letting the final note linger. Outside, the dogs patrolling the compound barked, and a guard uttered a sharp command. The room grew quiet.

On this night that symbolized everything that war was not, Cline once again placed his bow on the strings. Tenderly, with a slight vibration of the wrist, he drew forth the opening notes of "Silent Night." In resonant tones belying its humble origins, the violin spirited the men home to the peace and love they hoped would soon be theirs.

The men extinguished the candles and lay in their bunks, thinking their own thoughts. Cline stared at the bunk slats above him. Such simple wood had made an unforgettable Christmas. He fell asleep and dreamed of home.

On April 30, 1945, the Germans fled Stalag Luft I, leaving the Allied prisoners free to go. Nearly two months later Cline stepped off a train and saw Anne coming through the crowd toward him.

After they hugged each other, Anne noticed the strange case made of aluminum coffee cans that he was carrying and wondered what it was. Today, over 50 years later, the violin sits in a display case on the Clines' living-room wall in Tacoma.

Thanks to http://www.new-life.net/favrt018.htm for this story

Story Behind The Story

2005-12-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

As we enjoy the Christmas Season I thought I would bring you a few of the stories behind some of our holiday traditions.

Today's posting involves a composer who found himself near the end of his rope.

He was in despair and things did not look to improve any time soon.

Struggling to earn a living in London, he knew days when he could not afford to buy meals.

One evening, depressed and defeated, he wandered the lonely streets and it was almost dawn when he returned to his shabby room.

On a table was a thick envelope. It was from a man named Charles Jennens and it was a libretto for a proposed composition.

Examining the pages, he found them covered with Scripture texts.

Wearily, and perhaps not feeling very spiritual given his bad situation., he tossed the pages aside and crawled into bed.

But he could not sleep. The words he had read returned to him:

Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God ... The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light ... For unto us a Child is born ... Glory to God in the highest ... Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Too stirred to sleep, he got up and went to his piano. The music flowed from his heart-rich, majestic, triumphant. He began to write. Night and day for three weeks, he wrote feverishly. He forgot sleep, food, rest. He refused to see anyone. At last, on the day the work was finished, one friend managed to gain entrance.

The composer was at his piano, sheets of music strewn around him, tears streaming down his face.

"I do believe I have seen all of Heaven before me, and the great God Himself,"

Millions of people have been able to believe that. The first audience to hear the composition -- in Dublin in 1742 --gave it the greatest ovation in the city's history. Weeks later, London heard it for the first time, and again it was a triumph.

A triumph for George Fredrick Handel.......

The King was so impressed during the Hallelujah Chorus that he rose to his feet -- a custom that still prevails.

This Christmas, in churches and concert halls around the world, millions of people will once again find hope and faith in the message what has become the most beloved composition of all times....

Handel's Messiah.

Special Merry Christmas Orders

2005-12-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

Army Christmas Operations Order 00-5689: Subject: Christmas

1. An official visit by MG Santa (NMI) Claus is expected at this headquarters 25 December 2003. The following instructions will be in effect and govern the activities of all personnel during the visit.

a. Not a creature will stir without official permission. This will include indigenous mice. Special stirring permits for necessary administrative actions will be obtained through the C1. Mice stirring permits will be processed through the C2 for proper clearances and obtained through Veterinary Services, ARCENT-KU.

b. Personnel will settle their brains for a long winter nap prior to 2200 hours, 24 December 2003. See MAJ Dickinson for pre-napping medical requirements. See MAJ Adams for napping demonstration.

Uniform for the nap will be: Pajamas, cotton, light, drowsing, with kerchief, general purpose, camouflage; and Cap, camouflage w/ear flaps.

Equipment should have been drawn from home station CIF prior to deployment.

c. Personnel will utilize standard issue sugar plums for visions to dance through their heads. Artificially sweetened plums are authorized for those in the unit weight control program. Specifications for this item will be provided by the servicing dining facility.

d. Stockings, wool, cushion sole, will be hung by the chimney with care.

Necessary safety precautions will be taken to avoid fire hazards caused by carelessly hung stockings. ARCENT-KU safety officer will submit stocking hanging plans to this headquarters prior to 0800 hours, 24 December 2003, ATTN: MAJ Salada, for approval.

e. At the first sign of clatter from the lawn, all troops will spring from their beds to evaluate noise and cause. Immediate action will be taken to tear open the shutters and throw open the window sashes.

PMO Plan (Saint Nick), Reference LO No. 3, paragraph 6c, this headquarters, 2 February 2002, will be in effect to facilitate shutter tearing and sash throwing.

Section OICs will familiarize all personnel with procedures and are responsible for ensuring that no shutters are torn open nor window sashes thrown open prior to start of official clatter. See CPT Donley for hardcopy.

f. Prior to 2400, 24 December 2003, all personnel will be assigned "Wondering Eye" stations. After shutters are thrown open and sashes are torn, these stations will be manned.

g. SSG Bekono will assign one each Sleigh, miniature, M-66, and eight (8) deer, reined, tiny, for use of MG Claus' driver who, in accordance with current directives and other applicable regulations, must have a valid SF56 properly annotated by Driver Testing; be authorized rooftop parking and be able to shout "On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen, up Comet, up Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen".

2. MG Claus will enter quarters through standard chimneys.

All units without chimneys will draw Chimney Simulator, M-6, for use during ceremonies. Chimney simulator units will be requested through SPC Oswalt on Job Order Request Form submitted to the Furniture Warehouse prior to 19 December 2003, and issued on DA Form 3161, Request for Issue or Turn-in.

3. Personnel will be rehearsed on shouting "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night." See LTC Pride for demonstration. This shout will be given on termination of General Claus' visit. Uniformity of shouting is the responsibility of section NCOICs.

4. Threat to environment and personnel, very minor, other than to have fun.

/s/
CHRISTOPHER K. KRINGLE
Colonel, USA
OIC, Special Services

Distribution:
Everybody Who Still Believes :)

Twelve Days of Christmas

2005-12-20T17:04:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered how much stuff you would have to give and how much it would cost if you wanted to give your true love the 12 Days of Christmas ?

Well every year there are financial places that add up the cost for you to do the whole 12 days.

Well first off you need to figure out how much stuff there is, you would need:

1. Twelve Partridges Pear trees (one per day for 12 days: Cost $ 500

2. Twenty two Turtle Doves (two per day for 11 days: Cost $ 330

3. Thirty French Hens (three a day for 10 days): Cost $ 300

4. Thirty Six Calling Birds (four a day for 9 days): Cost $ $ 27,000

5. Forty Golden Rings (Five a day for 8 days: Cost $ 16,000

6. Forty Two Geese (Six a day for 7 days: Cost $ 1,000

7. Forty Two Swans (Seven a day for 6 days): Cost $ 30,000

8. Forty Milk Maids (Eight a day hired for 5 days): Cost $ 4,800

9. Forty Milk Cows (Eight a day for 5 days): Cost $ 20,000

10. Thirty Six Dancing Ladies (9 a day hired for 4 days): Cost $ 1,500

11. Thirty Leaping Lords (10 a day for 3 days): Cost $ 3,000

12. Twenty Two Pipers (11 a day for 2 days): Cost $ 8,800

13. Twelve Drummers (12 a day for a day): Cost $ 1,000

Total cost for all Twelve Days is roughly $ 115,000

So you can buy your love the days or you can put a down payment on a nice house.

For the record that's 138 people, 224 animals and 52 objects.

Christmas Carol

2005-12-19T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today's post discusses the background of one of the most told of all Christmas stories, the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol.

While we all have enjoyed seeing the redemption of Scrooge, few realize that the real redemption of the book was for Dickens.

During his time it was quite common for one successful person to not only support their own families but the familes of siblings, aunts, uncles and so on. Often one man would be supporting dozens of people.

This was true of Dickens, he supported a number of people and despite his literary success was often deep in debt.

His financial problems also stemmed from the fact that he insisted on the best quality in his books. The best paper, binding, cover, ink, etc were used to give his readers the best possible experience.

The cost of this quality cut into his own profits.

So when it came time to write another Christmas story (he wrote several others prior to and after Carol), he was not in an especially festive mood. Indeed he was in what his family called his dark mood.

But as he wrote the story the redemption that saved Scrooge began to overtake the author. By the time he was midway through the story he was laughing and smiling with the characters and by the end he was as exuberant as Scrooge himself.

Over the last 150 plus years, the story has brought joy to millions, if not billions of people. But the first soul it saved was that of it's own author.

RIP John Spencer

2005-12-16T20:30:00.000-08:00

Although I sometimes have issues with the liberal plot line I am a fan of the Left Wing (aka West Wing).

I am therefore deeply saddened to report that John Spencer aka Leo, died today of a heart attack at the way too young age of 58.

It will be interesting to see how the affects the plot.

Iraq Success Celebrated By All But The Left

2005-12-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

As the news stories are now showing, the elections in Iraq have been a smashing success. Almost no violence, huge participation by every segment of Iraqi society.

On US and Iraqi television are images of whole families coming out to vote. The children being brought to see what real freedom is.

As they leave the voting booth, many are literally dancing with joy.

To be fair, it is just one more step on the road to freedom and they have a long way to go, but it's a pretty big step and one that is a cause of national celebration for all Iraqis.

So you would think that even those who opposed the war would be happy.

Well, guess again.

A survey of the left leaning web sites reveals one of three strategies.

1. They ignore the election, unable to comment on something if they can't bash Bush.

2. They give it cursory coverage but then move on to say that the elections don't matter.

3. They claim that the elections were actually a disaster but our 'state run media' is lying for 'dictator Bush'.

For a time, these kind of attitudes and reactions made me angry, but now they just make me sad. The idea that people are so filled with vile and hate that they can't even enjoy a happy moment.

But as long as the people of Iraq can celebrate, that is good enough for me.

Forbes Fictional Fifteen

2005-12-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

Just for fun, Forbes has come out with their 15 richest fictional characters list.

Click here to check it out Forbes

Narnia.... BRILLIANT

2005-12-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

Ok gang, I just got back from a preview of Narnia sponsored by local churches.

So there are my before it comes out comments.

First off, out of respect to the fact that most of you have not seen it I won't comment on plot details and since it's been a long time since I read books I can't comment on closeness to original book.

Having said that, this is an absolutely brilliant film. While there is a very very very clear Christian theme to the film, that is icing on the cake for those of us who share in Christ.

Looking at it from a purely film aspect, it is very enjoyable, as demonstrated by the fact that my Mom, who dislikes LOTR and similar films found this one wonderful.

It is visually stunning, not simply from the special effects (which are great) but from the sweeping vistas. Whoever did cinemotography deserves a serious look at an Oscar.

The script is pretty tight. There are some points where the story drags a little, but that is partly attributable to this being the first in a series. As a result they need to spend time setting up the backstory before they can start.

The score is a good compliment to the film, sweeping and uplifting where needed but nicely understated for the rest of the time. It's one of those scores that you don't notice right off but the film would suffer without it.

The acting is top notch for the most part. The Queen was a little less imposing than I might have liked, but she's pretty good. The children were good overall, and I am sure that they will grow into the roles just as the Harry Potter kids have.

One cavet, there are a number of dark scenes, loud battles, etc and I would not suggest taking any young kids. Save them for DVD rental when you can pause the action to soothe upset nerves.

I will be posting both this and a more detailed commentary to my blog, but this will do it for now.

So in case I have not been clear.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE

Air Marshal Shoots Man at Miami Airport

2005-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Reports just coming in that a deranged man has been shot by an Air Marshal.

Shooting

Now we all know that the left will start second guessing this case

Which is ridiculous

The man said he had a bomb, he ran onto a jetway.

He was told by the air marshal to come back and stay away from his luggage.

The man reached into his luggage and ignored orders to stop, so the officer had no choice but to fire.

It does now seem that the man was mentally unbalanced and may not have had a bomb.

But the officer had no way to know that.

Mentos and Soda

2005-12-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

In the purely fun and interesting category..

If you add a roll of Mentos candies to a 2 liter bottle of soda, you get an amazing reaction which results in a giant fountain of soda.

It has to do with a chemical reaction between the soda and the coating on the candy.

There are lots of examples out there but this one sort of explains the process

Mentos

Defense Secretary Lieberman

2005-12-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

Defense Secretary Lieberman ?

According to recent reports, it could happen by mid 2006

Lieberman

Card Walker Dies

2005-12-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

It may not be a name that many of you know, but for anyone who is a fan of the Disney theme parks, it should be one you remember.

The Walt Disney parks, indeed the Walt Disney Company itself exist in large part because of the efforts of Card Walker.

Walker was the first non Disney to head the company. He ran the show course between 1971 (When Roy O. Disney passed away) and 1984 (When Eisner took over)

Some of his critics point out that he was not particularly creative. For example he was the one who ultimately rejected the plans to build a city on the WDW property as Walt Disney had hoped.

Others point out that Walker took Disney through some very tough times and made choices that helped keep the company going. I tend to agree with this side of the argument

Remember that he took over in the early 70s when the US, much of Western Europe were swept into the first big energy crisis.

As gas prices soared, attendance at theme parks plunged, and earnings went with them.

Walker therefore took a very cautious road when making decisions. Building Walt's dream city might have been a wonderful vision, but it would have cost tens of billions of dollars and offered limited income back to the company.

So Walker made the proper choice and switched to the Epcot concept, building the 2nd theme park on the property.

Card's background explains some of his caution. He started with the company in the late 1930's as a runner, then worked his way up through the ranks to become Walt Disneys top man.

Now to be fair, Walker did probably obsess a little to much on the 'what would Walt do' theme, and this did lead to some indecision and drift at the company during the late 70's and early 80's.

But again, remember the times. This was the era of Star Wars for kids and the rapid rise of PG and R rated films for adults. It was hard to keep going with the old Disney style during these years.

Walker tried to merge the old style with the new era of film by producing projects like Black Hole and Black Cauldron, but it wasn't until technology caught up to his ideas in the 80's that this concept could work with Mermaid and Beauty.

Card did on the other hand make some pretty bold choices.

He was the one who authorized Tokyo Disneyland, the first overseas theme park for Disney. And he supported the idea of a European park as well.

In addition, unlike modern Disney execs, when he did build a park, like Epcot, he kept to the Walt vision of making it all top quality.

He was known in the industry for demanding the best, which is why there were dozens of applicants for each job at a Disney park, but only the best got the nod.

For Card, the key was to always make the image of Disney the best, even if it meant sacrificing potential profits. When WDW was completed in 1971, there was plenty of room for more hotels, but Card refused to build.

He said that he felt they did fine with the properties they had and wanted to give the local economy a chance to earn some money too.

Imagine a company today taking a stance like that.

Card may not have been perfect, but he carried Disney through a major transitional period and he allowed it to survive through an economy that nearly killed many others.

Walt would have been proud

Stan Berenstain Dead at 82

2005-11-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

A sad note for children and children at heart.

Stan Berenstain, creator of Berenstain Bears series of books has died at the age of 82.

The first book, "The Big Honey Hunt" was published in 1962.

Over the last 43 years more than 200 Bear books were published to help youngsters learn to read.

Mr. Berenstain and his family managed the entire enterprise by themselves until 1997, when they hired an employee to run the computer.

While the books introduced vocabulary words and gentle moral lessons to their young readers they also took on social issues and had pretty detailed characters and plots.

Mr. Berenstain and his wife often produced 10 or more 32-page books a year and did have their critics. Some objected to the traditional, old-fashioned family structure, with a bumbling woodworker father and a stay-at-home mom while others saw hidden political agendas.

Personally I have always found them highly entertaining and think the critics need to get a life.

Happily, the family plans to continue their fathers legacy.

Republicans Win ?? Attorney General Race in Virginia

2005-11-28T16:16:00.000-08:00

The closest statewide election of 2005 and one of the closest in Virginia history is headed for a recount Monday after Republican Bob McDonnell was certified as the winner of the attorney general's race by 323 votes out of more than 1.9 million cast.

Democrat State Senator Creigh Deeds is asking for a recount,which is expected to take at least until mid-December.

Deeds had 970,563 votes to 970,886 for McDonnell in the Nov. 8 balloting, according to the State Board of Elections.

Enough mistakes were found during a canvass of results by local electoral boards to shrink McDonnell's lead from about 3,000 votes on election night to his current razor-thin margin.

I have to agree with some of McDonnell's supporters in wondering why ALL of the mistakes corrected seemed to have been in Deeds favor. You would think that odds would have favored a more even outcome.

But even this small margin may hold up. The only recent statewide recount in modern shaved only 113 votes from the winners lead.

Dems Gearing Up For Filibuster ?

2005-11-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

There have been increasing reports in the media that Democrats may be getting ready for a filibuster on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

Whether this is wise or not remains to be seen. Looking at the Gang of 14, it seems likely that enough of them would oppose a filibuster to make the process difficult.

At least 2 Republicans have indicated that they would support the 'Constitutional Option' if they were forced, and that gives us enough votes to pass it

In additional a couple of the Democrats, including influential Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) have said Alito deserves an up or down vote, so we very well could have the 60 votes needed to block the filibuster outright.

But assuming they try this, the big question is what issue they might hang their hat on.

The early line seemed to be that they would base it on abortion after it was revealed that in a 1985 memo to then Attorney General Ed Meese, Alito spoke proudly of his work in supporting the Reagan administrations opposition to abortion.

“It has been an honor and source of personal satisfaction for me to serve in the office of the Solicitor General during President Reagan’s administration and to help to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly,” he wrote.

“I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.”

When this memo first came to light there was a chorus of protest from the pro-abortion lobby and from the usual Senators (Boxer et al).

But then the furor seemed to fade somewhat when Alito pointed out that his memo was part of his effort to gain a political appointment, rather than a judicial one. Pointing to 15 years on the federal bench he said that he had not used politics on the bench.

This fact seems to be supported by his voting to strike down a law restricting partial birth abortion because it did not have adequate safeguards for when a mother's life was in danger.

So now they seem to be fishing for a new reason.

Senator Kennedy tried to attack his views on civil rights. To support his argument Kennedy (I kid you not) cited the fact that 41 years ago, Alito supported the Presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater.

This argument ran into a small problem when some reminded Kennedy that another Goldwater supporter in 1964 was non other than Hillary Clinton.

So during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Senator Joseph Biden said that the chances of an Alito filibuster have gone up, due to Alito’s remarks in 1985 criticizing the Warren Court’s reapportionment decisions.

Once again they are heading back 40 plus years to try and find something, and once again they aren't finding much.

In 1962 the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case of Baker vs Carr, which set down the principle of "one man one vote". What the case dealt with was the fact that in many states they had not redrawn Congressional districts in decades.

As a result, the districts were out of proportion, with sparcely populated rural districts holding much more power than crowded urban ones. The court ruled that this was unconstitutional.

On the surface, you'd think Biden had something if Alito opposed the idea of equal representation.

The problem is that he doesn't. Alito, like everyone else, supports the idea of equal representation. His issue was with the fact that the ruling went on to require that states follow a specified procedure to get that equality.

He instead supports the idea that each state should be free to figure out how to draw equality themselves, rather than following a process that has led to the mess we have today in our reapportionment process.

Another Supreme Court ruling dealt with the way state legislatures were drawn. Many states followed what is called the Federal model. With house districts based on population and senate districts based on county lines.

Many reasonable people think that the federal system is an acceptable model for the states. The Supreme Court disagreed.

I'm not sure where Alito falls on this issue, but even if he does think the federal model should be an option for the states, it is hardly enough to call him against democracy.

I suspect that in the coming days and weeks we will see more attempts by the Democrats to find a reason to filibuster Alito.

A Great Web Site

2005-11-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

Since we are headed into the holiday season I thought I'd post this for all of you.

It's a web site dedicated to sending thank you letters to our troops.

A Million Thanks

Birthday Calculator

2005-11-18T21:15:00.000-08:00

A fun site that tells you stuff about your birthday

Birthday

Some Progress

2005-11-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

Mandatory funding for two controversial bridge projects in Alaska -- including the ridiculed "bridge to nowhere" -- has been stripped from a federal spending bill, a congressional committee said on Wednesday.

In an unusual move to change "pork" spending, House-Senate negotiators removed the $432 million in required spending during final talks on a yearly bill to fund programs for the Transportation and Treasury departments, the House Appropriations Committee said.

As a compromise, Alaska will still receive the money that had been set aside for the bridges to spend as it likes on transportation needs.

Congressional negotiators were under pressure from lawmakers and fiscal watchdogs to address concerns about mandatory spending on pet projects. The bridges had become symbols of egregious spending during an era of record budget deficits.

The quarter-mile $223 million "bridge to nowhere" span got its nickname because it connects the port town of Ketchikan to neighboring Gravina Island, population 50. That and the other $209 million bridge - dubbed "Don Young Way" in Anchorage - could still be built but now must compete with other transportation funding priorities in the state.

Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the House Transportation Committee chairman, shepherded both projects through Congress within the highway bill over the summer. Thousands of member pet projects were stuffed into the six-year road building measure. Projects included in the long-term blueprint are funded by annual appropriations bills.

Outrage in Seattle

2005-11-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

This is beyond ridiculous.....

A citizen-appeals board upheld a misconduct finding against a Seattle police officer who met an intoxicated woman during a late-night call, then immediately took vacation to have sex with her.

But the city Public Safety Civil Service Commission reduced a 30-day suspension to a five-day suspension without pay, saying the original discipline was too harsh.

In a 10-page report released Tuesday, the commission gave this account:

Officer Basney responded to a possible assault June 21, 2004, a caller said he had seen a man hit a woman and knock her to the ground.

He arrived about 10:30 p.m. with another officer. They were told of an argument between two patrons but couldn't find witnesses.

The alleged victim — an intoxicated woman — told Basney she had not been struck. She said a man with her had gotten into a conflict with another man, but both had left. That investigation was ended.

During their questioning, the woman propositioned both officers, suggesting three-way sex, the officers told the commission during an appeal hearing in September.

The one officer declined. But Basney contacted his sergeant and got permission to take vacation for the second half of his shift, citing personal reasons. Seattle police are allowed to take emergency vacation in the middle of shifts, if approved.

Basney drove the woman in his patrol car to the North Precinct but didn't notify dispatchers she was in the car. The woman waited outside the precinct while Basney changed clothes.

He drove her in his personal car to his home and had sex with her. About 2 a.m., he dropped her off near the home of the man she had been with at the restaurant.

That man, who turned out to be the womans fiancee filed a complaint which triggered an internal investigation. Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske suspended Basney for 30 days.

Commission Chairman Joel Nark and Commissioners Herb Johnson and David Bown agreed Basney had engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer. But Nark wrote that Basney should be suspended fewer than five days.

At the September hearing, Basney testified he was embarrassed by his actions but said he shouldn't have been disciplined.

"I was off-duty and on my own," he told the commission.

Remember The Sacrifice !!

2005-11-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

SLEEP LAST NIGHT?

Bed a little lumpy...

Toss and turn any...

Wish the heat was higher...

Maybe the a/c wasn't on...

Had to go to the john...

Need a drink of water...

Well.....

Yes... It is like that!

Weather in Baghdad (Weather)

Count your blessings, pray for them,

Talk to your Creator and the next time when...

the other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes,

or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be,

or you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant,

or you're sitting and cursing the traffic in front of you,

or the shower runs out of hot water,

Think of them...

Protecting your freedom!

The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute To our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is By taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel.

Election Update

2005-11-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Looks like races are going the way we expected.

Kaine wins in Virginia, Corzine wins in New Jersey, Bloomberg in New York.

Election Day

2005-11-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

Today is election day in many parts of the country. There are 3 major types or races on the ballot. Mayoral races, gubernatorial races and ballot propositions.

To the degree I know what I'm talking about, here is what should happen.

Mayoral Races

Pretty much all of the contests are in heavily Democratic big cities. Not surprisingly the Democrats are going to win most of these races.

The one big exception to this will be in New York City where Republican mayor Bloomberg is not only going to win, he is going to win big. Some polls have him as high as 70%. That is amazing considering the city is about 80% Democrat.

Governors Races

There are two of them on the ballot, one in New Jersey and one in Virgnia. Both states currently have Democratic governors.

In New Jersey the race looks pretty routine. The state has become a pretty blue state, giving double digit margins to Gore and Kerry.

The Democratic nominee is Senator John Corzine. Five years ago he spent something in the range of $ 70 million to get elected to his senate seat. This year he is spending about $ 40 million to become Governor.

By contrast his opponent for Governor, Doug Forrester has spent around $ 20 million.

So you have the better known candidate outspending the less known one by 2-1. Even in a marginal state that would be enough to tilt the race.

On the other hand, Corzine barely won in 2000 when he outspent by about 5-1.

But the blueness of New Jersey helps, Corzine wins by about 5-7 points.

In Virginia we have Democrat Lt. Gov Kaine vs former AG Kilgore.

On the surface Virginia is a red leaning state, although not as partisan of a state as New Jersey.

It's closer to Minnesota, a state that votes solidly one way in Presidential races, leans that way in others, but still elects members of both parties to statewide office.

There is also an interesting couple of historical trends. Since elections became competetive in Virginia there have been 9 races for Governor. 7 of those went against the party in the White House.

The last time the President's party won a governors race was 1973.

In addition, the Governor's party has won at least one re-election in all 9 races.

These factors taken together would probably result in a pretty even playing field in terms of starting out. The slightly red nature of the state vs the historical shifts against the party in the White House.

Not surprisingly we have just that, a toss up. Most polls give Kaine a slight lead but most are also within the margin of error. There was some reaction against some very strong anti-Death penalty ads run by Kilgore which have added to this trend (he seemed to call Kaine pro-Hitler in the ads).

Interestingly, Kaine is running a campaign that would be Republican in most states. Other than opposing the death penalty he has run a very conservative campaign in which he touts his religious faith more that most candidates of either party would outside the South.

The GOP does have an edge in voter turnout most of the time but this could be offset by anti-Bush sentiment among the Democrats.

A very close race but I think Kaine wins by a point or two.

But the GOP will win the races for Lt. Governor and Attorney General.

Propositions

There are a number of ballot propositions up for voting in California, as well as several other states.

In California the proposals include a series of reforms by Governor Arnold. These reforms would 1) require teens to inform parents if they want an abortion 2) make it harder for teachers to get tenure 3) allow public employee union members to decide if union dues should be used for political purposes, 4) reform the budget process to cut the massive debts we have been running and 5) take the redistricting process
away from the politicians.

These proposals all seem to be to be common sense, so they are all probably going to lose.

The unions have spend upwards of $ 150 million to fight these proposals while the supporters of them have spent little and run few ads. Needless to say the anti-ads have been pretty much lies, but that's politics in the USA.

Three other proposals are also on the ballot. Two would provide some sort of prescription drug benefits while the third would regulate energy companies.

I actually think all of these could lose too, making it a rare 'all lose' election.

In Ohio there is another ballot proposal to reform redistricting, but again it looks like the power structure (in this case GOP instead of Democrat) will defeat it.

In Texas there is a ballot proposal to ban gay marriage, which I suspect might edge by with maybe 60-70% of the vote.

New York hasa couple budget reform proposals, one would give the legislature power to override the governors in a budget fight. This one is going to be close.

I will post updates as the results come in.

Weekend Humor

2005-11-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

Just some fun for the weekend.

Jesus and the Democrat.

A Republican in a wheelchair entered a restaurant one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee.

The Republican looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus sitting over there?" The waitress nodded "yes," so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee on him.

The next patron to come in was a Libertarian with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea.

He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus over there?" The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, "My treat."

The third patron to come into the restaurant was a Democrat on crutches.

He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and hollered, "Hey there, honey! How's about gettin' me a cold glass of Miller Light!"

He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that God's boy over there?" The waitress once more nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold glass of beer. "On my bill," he said.

As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him and said,

"For your kindness, you are healed."

The Republican felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.

Jesus also passed by the Libertarian, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed."

The Libertarian felt his back straightening up, and he raised his hands, praised the Lord and did a series of back flips out the door.

Then Jesus walked towards the Democrat.

The Democrat jumped up and yelled, "Don't touch me. I'm collecting disability."

Ronald Reagan Plus 25

2005-11-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

It was twenty five years ago today, November 4th 1980, that the American people elected Ronald Wilson Reagan to be the 40th President of the United States.

I was but a child at the time but even I remember the excitement of the moment.

We sometimes forget just how bad things were when he came in and just how good they were when he left.

People a hundred years from now will get down on their knees and thank God that Ronald Wilson Reagan was President of The United States in that cruical time

Alito Delayed to January

2005-11-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Looks like Alito hearings won't happen until next year.

Alito Vote Count

2005-10-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

Since it seemed reasonably popular with the Roberts vote I will again be posting a running track of the Alito vote.

Of course no votes have been announced yet but I am guessing the following.

Committee more or less party line vote, maybe one Dem in favor.

Floor vote in low to mid 60's, depending on how well he performs in committee.

Feel free to post your own guesses, although I suspect most will go over to Hedgehog once he starts his contest

Justice Alito, A Good Pick

2005-10-31T14:25:00.000-08:00

President Bush has today nominated Judge Alito to the US Supreme Court.

Judge Alito looks to be a very good choice.

His qualifications are enough to make most of us feel lazy by comparison. In fact he seems to be even more qualified than John Roberts was.

He is a solid conservative but not an extremist or a judicial activist.

I am sure the Democrats will put up a fight but given how well qualified he is, and if he can perform well in the confirmation hearings, I suspect they won't take the filibuster route.

Some details on his qualifications and background can be found here

Signs Of The Times

2005-10-30T19:38:00.000-08:00

*YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005 when...*

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't
have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

16. And now you're laughing at yourself.

Oil Profits Beyond The Pale

2005-10-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

I am a moderate to conservative Republican, I am pro-market and a firm supporter of the capitalist system.

But there are times where even I find things have gone too far.

While telling us that they are only raising prices to match increased costs, oil companies are posting record profits, again.

Exxon Mobil reported a TEN BILLION dollar profit for the 3rd quarter alone, which works out to FORTY BILLION a year. That is an increase of 75%

Shell wasn't as lucky, making only NINE BILLION, or a 68% jump

Now maybe I am missing something but if you increase prices to match costs then your profits should remain stable, not increase by 2/3.

If these companies don't tone things down then I think it's time for the government to step in and set some reasonable limits.

Go Ahead Ted, Resign

2005-10-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

I know this story broke last week but I've been swamped at work so I am just getting to it.

The Senate has been debating the new Highway Bill, which as usual is filled with pork spending.

Two of the more egregious items involved spending $ 453 million (aka half a BILLION dollars) to build 2 bridges in Alaska.

One would connect the town of Ketchikan, Alaska to an offshore island where only 50 people live. That bridge will cost about $ 225 million dollars. This is despite the fact that the 50 residents of the island already have a perfectly adequate ferry system.

Indeed its is hard to find anyone in the town who really cares about the bridge.

The second bridge, costing another $ 225 million plus, will be built near Anchorage. Again, there is no sign that this bridge is greatly needed.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) introduced an amendment which would have diverted these funds to help repair bridges in Louisiana that were destroyed or badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

His basic points were that 1) The bridges in Alaska were not vital and 2) The repairs in Louisiana were.

Seems to me like a very sensible idea.

But Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) threatened to resign if the proposal passed. The Senate bowed to his threat and rejected the proposal.

Personally, I am ashamed that Senator Stevens is a member of the GOP caucus in the Senate. I am equally ashamed of the 80 plus members who voted to keep these idiotic spending proposals in the budget.

So speaking for myself.. RESIGN TED RESIGN.

We'd be better off without you.

Rosa Parks Dies

2005-10-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

One of the icons of the civil rights movement has died at the age of 92.

My sympathies to her family and friends.

Parks

Is Fly Over Territory Also Pull Over Territory ??

2005-10-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

I was in the SF Bay Area recently on business and noticed what I think may be another symbol of big town/little town or blue/red territory.

I was driving down the street when a fire truck came up behind me, sirens blaring, weaving through traffic. I pulled over to let him pass. This is what I've always done and as long as I can remember it's what everyone does when a fire truck/ambulance/police car comes up with sirens on.

But nobody else did what I did, they kept on driving down the street, and the fire truck had to work his way through the mess.

I've noticed this seems to happen in big towns, but never in small ones.

I wonder if this is another sign of big city attitudes ??

Woman Arrested Over Taxes

2005-10-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Now don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in pursuing people who evade taxes.

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said:

"Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society"

However sometimes the pursuit of justice can be taken a little far.

In the city of Loveland Ohio, Deborah Combs was driving along the road when she was pulled over by police.

At this point, Combs believes that the officers were over the top in their actions.

“One sheriff approached my car with his hand on his gun. Another from the other side of the car leaned in and said, ‘Are you Deborah Combs? We have a warrant for your arrest.’ I was absolutely shocked."

So how much money did she owe ?

Well the original bill was... ONE DOLLAR and SIXTEEN CENTS.

That's right $ 1.16, less that the cost of a cup of coffee.

When you take into account the various fines and penalties over the last 5 years (the $ 1.16 was owed in 2000), her bill rises to around $ 200.

City manager Fred Enderle says the amount that Combs owes is not the real issue. “Whether it’s $1 they owe us or $1,000, it’s not fair to the rest of the public to not pursue that person,” Enderle said.

Combs admits that she didn't pay the tax but since she has been out of work since 2000 she assumed she didn't have to file, since she had no income.

Medical Humor

2005-10-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

For the weekend, some medical humor from across the USA....

A man comes into the ER and yells, "My wife's going to have her baby in the cab!" I grabbed my stuff, rushed out to the cab, lifted the lady's dress, and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed that there were several cabs - and I was in the wrong one.

Dr. Mark MacDonald, San Antonio, TX

At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and slightly deaf female patient's anterior chest wall. "Big breaths," I instructed. "Yes, they used to be," remorsed the patient.

Dr. Richard Byrnes, Seattle, WA

One day I had to be the bearer of bad news when I told a wife that her husband had died of a massive myocardial infarct. Not more than five minutes later, I heard her reporting to the rest of the family that he had died of a "massive internal fart."

Dr. Susan Steinberg, Manitoba, Canada

I was performing a complete physical, including the visual acuity test. I placed the patient twenty feet from the chart and began, "Cover your right eye with your hand." He read the 20/20 line perfectly. "Now your left." Again, a flawless read. "Now both," I requested. There was silence. He couldn't even read the large E on the top line. I turned and discovered that he had done exactly what I had asked; he was standing there with both his eyes covered. I was laughing too hard to finish the exam.

Dr. Matthew Theodropolous, Worcester, MA

During a patient's two week follow-up appointment with his cardiologist, he informed me, his doctor, that he was having trouble with one of his medications. "Which one?" I asked. "The patch. The nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and now I'm running out of places to put it!" I had him quickly undress and discovered what I hoped I wouldn't see . Yes, the man had over fifty patches on his body! Now, the instructions include removal of the old patch before applying a new one.

Dr. Rebecca St. Clair, Norfolk, VA

While acquainting myself with a new elderly patient, I asked, "How long have you been bedridden?" After a look of complete confusion she answered... "Why, not for about twenty years - when my husband was alive."

Dr. Steven Swanson, Corvallis, OR

I was caring for a woman and asked, "So how's your breakfast this morning?" "It's very good, except for the Kentucky Jelly. I can't seem to get used to the taste" the patient replied. I then asked to see the jelly and the woman produced a foil packet labeled "KY Jelly."

Dr. Leonard Kransdorf, Detroit, MI

A nurse was on duty in the Emergency Room, when a young woman with purple hair styled into a punk rocker Mohawk, sporting a variety of tattoos, and wearing strange clothing, entered. It was quickly determined that the patient had acute appendicitis, so she was scheduled for immediate surgery. When she was completely disrobed on the operating table, the staff noticed that her pubic hair had been dyed green, and above it there was a tattoo that read, "Keep off the grass." Once the surgery was completed, the surgeon wrote a short note on the patient's dressing, which said, "Sorry, had to mow the lawn."

and finally...

A new, young MD doing his residency in OB was quite embarrassed performing female pelvic exams. To cover his embarrassment he had unconsciously formed a habit of whistling softly. The middle-aged lady upon whom he was performing this exam suddenly burst out laughing and further embarrassed him. He looked up from his work and sheepishly said, "I'm sorry. Was I tickling you?" She replied, "No doctor, but the song you were whistling was, "I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener".

Dr. wouldn't admit his name

New James Bond

2005-10-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

For those who missed the announcment, we now have a new James Bond.

James Bond

From what I've seen of his work, Craig could be an interesting choice

Unemployment

2005-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Lost in the shuffle of news has been the fact that our economy remains surprisingly strong.

When Katrina and Rita slammed the gulf coast, most economists expected massive job losses and a big ding to our economy.

The latest numbers show that there was a net job loss of 35,000 for the month of September.

But those same reports show that Katrina and Rita cost upwards of 400,000 jobs all by themselves.

Which means that the economy had to gain over 300,000 jobs elsewhere in order to balance out.

That works out to 3-4 million jobs a year

Pretty good news if you ask me.

No To Amendments

2005-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

Once again there is movement in Congress to pass an amendments to the Constitution. One to ban Flag burning and another to ban Gay Marriage.

It's not often I take what is considered the liberal stance but I do so in this case.

Don't misunderstand what I am saying, I find it very offensive when people burn the American flag. The people who do so are frequently those who spit on the very country that gives them every right to be free.

Similarly, as a Christian I do believe that God intended marriage to be between a Man and Woman.

But that is my personal belief, and it should not be the role of Government to act based on religious belief. Furthermore, as a states rights advocate I do not think it should be the role of the federal government to act in areas like marriage, which are properly the role of the states.

Too often we have seen societies where they started out by stopping unpopular opinion only to see that line slide further and further. Of course I am not suggesting that this would happen in this country.

We have endured for longer than any other free society.

But in times like that I think of Voltaire, who said:

"I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

This statement is part of the core of the American dream that our founding fathers fought for 200 years ago. A society where people were free to say what they wanted without the government stopping them.

It is not the role of our Constitution to protect popular opinion, but rather to protect the unpopular. To do otherwise would be an insult to all those who have fought and died to protect it.

Furthermore, the Constitution is a sacred document in our national government and should only be amended for issues of vital national importance, not for getting votes

So I say NO to any amendment to efforts to use the Constitution as a political weapon.

PC Runs Wild Again

2005-10-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Once again the forces of political correctness have taken a leap off the tower of logic.

In Mason, Ohio there is a tavern called the Pleasure Inn.

In the window of the bar is a sign that reads simply: "For Service, Speak English".

The bar owner says that the sign is largely tounge in cheek.

Personally, I think its perfectly reasonable to expect that if you are in an English speaking country and you want a beer, you are asked to order a beer, not to demand that you be served in another language.

But the forces of PC, represented by the Ohio Human Rights Commission have declared this to be discrimination and are threatening to impose fines and force the owner to hold anti-discrimination classes for his employees.

Now how ridiculous is that.

Mind you, he doesn't care who comes in his bar and indeed according to news reports he has a lot of Hispanic customers.

There is no record of any complaints about discrimination of any kind.

The complaint made to the HRC was not made by any customer, but by a liberal interest group.

All he cares is that you do the common sense thing of learning to speak the language of the country you want to live in.

Progress

2005-10-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

To listen to many media pundits you would think the world was going to fall apart any day now, that things are worse than they have ever been. This is especially true with regard to the 'lack of freedom' in the world.

Well let's take a look at history.

200 years ago, around the turn of the 19th Century, there were really no major democracies or republics in the world. The US was starting out but we were hardly a major power and democracy was largely limited to white men.

France was flirting with democracy but wasn't doing very well.

The UK had a pseudo form of Constitutional Monarchy but the King could still do quite a bit and again, voting was limited to white men.

There were a handful of other smaller nations working at it, but with limited success.

The rest of the world is under various authoritarian regimes.

Fast forward 100 yrs and we are at the turn of the 20th century.

Some progress has been made. The USA is a more powerful nation. France is doing pretty well with democracy and the major nations of the British Commonwealth (UK, Canada and Australia) have some freedoms.

But again, voting and freedom is largely limited to white men.

And the rest of the world is either under an authoritarian regime or is a colony with few freedoms.

Now fast forward to today.

Certainly things are not perfect. China and much of Asia remains a problem, Africa and South America have mixed results.

Our efforts in the Middle East are in the very early stages and will require more years to develop. But voting is happening where it has never happened before.

Even in the democratic nations there are issues of inequality.

But all things considered, we've made a lot of progress.

And it's about time people were happy about it.

Miers Meltdown

2005-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

I must admit to be taken aback at the reaction from the hard left and hard right. While I want to research a bit more into the details of her background and judicial views, I am fairly satisfied she is a good nominee.<.

What bothers me is the knee jerk reaction from the right wing nuts is as bad as the reaction from the left wing nuts.

For the left she is evil and should be rejected because she doesn't hate Bush.

For the right she is evil and should be rejected because in 1988 she gave money to Al Gore. No remember in 1988 most people in Texas were still conservative Democrats and amazingly enough so was Gore.

I am not ready to completely endorse her, but I am not going to reject her just because she doesn't wear a 'Death to Roe' t-shirt to work.

Bush Pick #2

2005-10-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

President Bush on Monday chose White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.

I am not completely sure how to react to this nomination, although she was on the list of possibles she does not have much of a public record yet.

Some Democratic senators reportedly suggested her, which could be a bad sign from a conservative point of view. But Bush has been careful to try and avoid the mistakes of his dad, so I suspect he is pretty sure that she is conservative.

One note, some of the Democrats that are complaining that she has no record as a judge are ones who pushed for a non judicial nominee.

Final Roberts Vote

2005-09-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

Final vote came in at 78-22

All 55 Republicans voted Yes.

23 Democrats (a majority) voted Yes while 22 voted No.

Dems voting Yes

Max Baucus of Montana
Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico
Robert Byrd of West Virginia
Tom Carper of Delaware
Kent Conrad of North Dakota
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut
Byron Dorgan of North Dakota
Russ Feingold of Wisconsin
James Jeffords of Vermont
Tim Johnson of South Dakota
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Carl Levin of Michigan
Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut
Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas
Patty Murray of Washington
Ben Nelson of Nebraska
Bill Nelson of Florida
Mark Pryor of Arkansas
Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia
Ken Salazar of Colorado
Ron Wyden of Oregon

Dems voting No.

Daniel Akaka of Hawaii
Evan Bayh of Indiana
Joseph Biden of Delaware
Barbara Boxer of California
Maria Cantwell of Washington
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
Jon Corzine of New Jersey
Mark Dayton of Minnesota
Dick Durbin of Illinois
Dianne Feinstein of California
Tom Harkin of Iowa
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii
Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts
John Kerry of Massachusetts
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
Barack Obama of Illinois
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Harry Reid of Nevada
Paul Sarbanes of Maryland
Charles Schumer of New York
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Things About Liberals I Don't Understand

2005-09-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, I can hear the wisecracks already. There are literally thousands of things that are confusing about liberals. But in all seriousness, there does seem to be a very strange attitude among some on the left.

To illustrate lets look at a couple of the more divisive issues of the day, Iraq and Social Security Reform.

Now let me make it clear that I completely understand and even respect that there are those who oppose the President on these issues.

When it comes to Iraq for example, I understand that there are people who think the policies are wrong and most are sincere in those views. Certainly there are a small number of people who either support our enemies outright or oppose simply because they hate Bush.

But I do accept that most of those opposed to Iraq do so for honest reasons. Some think its just the wrong policy, some are pure pacifist, some are pure internationalists.

I think they are wrong, but I accept the sincerity of their views.

The same is true on the issue of Social Security. Again, there are a few who are simply knee jerk opponents to anything Bush does. But most are sincere in their views. Some think that this is just the wrong solution, some are honestly dedicated to big government or don't like or trust the capitalist system.

So even if I think they are ill advised, I understand how they could arrive at a different view than my own.

But what I don't understand is what they do next, which is to remain so completely focused on opposing Bush or attacking policies that they can't provide alternatives or to accept the good that has come from these programs.

For example, even if you hated every step of the Iraq war, how can you not see free elections as good ?

Or even if you think the current proposals are wrong, how can you deny that there IS a problem depending in Social Security ?

These aren't abstract theories, these are facts. There WERE free elections in a country where people used to be shot for not saluting fast enough.

As to Social Security, it's just pure math. There are simply fewer people now supporting retired persons and there will be even fewer in the future.

When you go from 6 people supporting each check to 2 people supporting each check, you're gonna have a problem. Period.

Although as a conservative I'm happy to see the left spin off into insanity it seems to me they would do a lot better to acknowledge when things go well or to offer alternatives rather than simply oppose.

Then again maybe 'Senator' Daschle and 'President' Kerry are right ?

Faith and Atheism Part Two

2005-09-27T18:45:00.001-07:00

In Part I we discussed how the Universe came to be according to both religious and non religious viewpoints. We saw how it requires much more faith to be non religious than to be religious.

So now we ask where did the Earth and humanity come from ?

Again, as a Christian, the answer is easy.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis Chapter 1).

Other faiths have different language, but the premise is the same, creation by a Supreme Being.

Now lets look at the atheist/agnostic view.

First we need to have the Earth. This requires that the expanding matter of the exploded blob (see Part I) somehow slows down enough to form into a solar system.

This is the accretion disk theory, which holds that a solar system is formed when a chunk of matter starts spinning and condensing into stars and planets. But there is a little problem with the theory leading to life.

According to astronomers, most of the early stars were very unstable, and many exploded, destroying the budding solar system and sending deadly radiation for light years around.

Since Earth and our solar system is supposed to be billions of years old, we would have needed stability from a fairly early point in the formation of the universe. We needed not just stability in our own system, but also in surrounding ones.

If a nearby star explodes, we are just as dead as we are if our own does. Radiation would kill life and could destabilize our own Sun.

So in a universe of instability we needed superb stability.

Then we needed just the right solar system to form. One that had outer planets large enough to protect the inner ones from outside intruders (comets, meteors, etc) yet not so large that a binary star system formed.

Then we needed a planet to develop at just the right distance from the sun. Close enough so that water would form yet far enough away to be cool enough for life to form. If the planet moves a degree of distance either way and all bets are off.

Then we needed the planet to have the right amount of water and gases to allow for the proper chemicals to form to create the first life.
Then we needed that basic life to evolve into the massively complex thing that is the human body.

And we needed this human evolution to happen in a period equal to less than 1% of the life of the universe. The most complex development all happening in the smallest period of time.

I'm not even going to try to count how many leaps of faith that requires.

Faith And Atheism Part One

2005-09-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

It is my position that a lack of religious belief requires more faith than being religious. Let's start with one of the basic questions of life, where did we come from ? How did we come to be here and where did the Universe come from.

As a Christian, I look no further than Genesis for my basic answer. An omnipotent and omniscient Supreme Being, also known as God, created the entire universe and everything in it.

To quote:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis Chapter 1)

So basically in the space of a couple pages, I have my answer.

The same holds true for those of other religions. Judaism and Islam basically adopt the same Genesis story. There are of course some minor differences during the creation and some big ones afterwards, but we are all on the same page in terms of Divine Creation.

The Eastern religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Shinto, etc) are a little more ethereal on the creation story but all follow some basic creation by a God or Gods.

Thus for a religious person the only leap of faith required is to accept that there is a Supreme Being that created the Universe and everything in it. He is responsible for all of the complexities of the physical universe and the amazing thing that is life.

It should be noted that despite what some would contend, being religious does not require one to ignore all scientific theories about the universe. We are perfectly content to accept that once the Universe was set into motion that certain rules were established to govern what happens next.

But we hold to the simple leap of faith that the start of the whole thing was Divine in nature.

So what about agnostics or atheists ?

The most commonly accepted theory is the Big Bang Theory. So we start out with a very, very small blob of matter, inside of which is everything that makes up the entire universe.

But this theory leaves a couple of big questions from the very start. First off, where did this matter come from, and secondly what is outside it if everything in the universe is inside it.

Where it came from is a pretty big question to answer. If we go by strictly scientific answers for the creation and evolution of the universe, then that creation and evolution must be governed by the laws of science.

One of the biggest rules is the First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. So where did the matter contained in this blob come from ??Some scientists have tried to get around this by using the expanding/collapsing universe theory.

This holds that the universe is constantly in flux, something like a rubber band. It expands for billions of years until it reaches a maximum point and then it collapses back until it is the little blob again.

But this does not explain where the "first" universe came from. For purposes of this discussion we will assume that we are talking about the first universe. In that case there is no clear scientific explanation of where "Universe Prime" came from.

But to be fair, as Christians we make a leap of faith in accepting the existence of God, so those who follow a scientific theory can make a leap of faith that we just don't understand yet where this first universe came from.

This leads us to the second question, if the entire universe is contained inside this little blob of matter, then what is outside that blob ??Since science holds that the universe is going to expand into the area outside this blob then we need to have something for it to expand into.

Indeed, if the 'recycling universe' theory is true then we have already had several universes expand and contract, so there has to be something out there.So far the only explanation that has been offered is that there is no matter outside the universe and we are too meager of mind to comprehend what is really out there (if in fact there is anything out there to comprehend).

Again, religion makes a leap of faith, so we can allow science to do so as well. So that makes two leaps of faith, one for where the universe first came from and a second for what is outside the universe.If we bend over to be fair we could argue that this makes it a tie so far since as Christians we make a leap of faith that God exists and also a leap for where he came from.

But back to the science theory of the universe. We have this blob of matter sitting there, with nothing around it and of course no beings to interfere with it. According to the Big Bang Theory the universal blob sat at rest for a period of time and they it suddenly exploded into expansion.

This runs into a problem with another law of science, this time it is Newtons First Law of Motion which holds that a body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion remains in its current motion so long as it is not acted upon by an outside force.So we have a universal blob at rest, no external force acts on it and yet somehow it suddenly explodes into expansion.

Again, while the expanding/contracting universe rule would provide energy for expansion in later universes, it does not explain how the first universe expanded.So we now have a third leap of faith, that somehow the universe violated yet another basic rule of the universe without any external factor at play.

In Part II we will look at the development of the Earth and life on this planet.

Would You Believe......

2005-09-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

Don Adams aka Maxwell Smart is dead at the age of 82...

Katrina Relief Thoughts

2005-09-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Needless to say for now we need to focus our efforts on recovery from Katrina and preparation for Rita, but regarding the attacks on Bush.

Just a few thoughts, thanks to some intrepid reporting from people in the storm region.

On Friday night before the storm hit Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Nagin and Blanco personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of New Orleans and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was destroyed.

President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act).

Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up. He was told that they didn't think it
necessary for the federal government to be involved yet.

After the President's final call to the governor she held meetings with her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds would not be invited in.

Saturday before the storm hit the President again called Blanco and Nagin requesting they please sign the papers requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency area, and begin mandatory evacuation.

After a personal plea from the President, Nagin agreed to order an evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing federal action. In frustration the President declared the area a national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some advanced preparations.

Now, I am not suggesting that Bush or FEMA were perfect, far from it and there should be a major investigation of what went wrong.

But while we are at it, let's look at some other areas too.

Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to New Orleans for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to fund a marina and support the gambling ships.

Toss in the investigation that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the federal government for funding and published on the city's website was never implemented...

In fact may have been bogus for the purpose of gaining additional federal funding as we now learn that the organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or coordinated into any planning - though the document implies that they were.

The suffering people of New Orleans need to be asking some hard questions as do we all, but they better start with why Blanco refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents until Wednesday which further delayed the legal deployment of National Guard from adjoining states.

Or maybe ask why Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered 500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses - but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them.

This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of thousands more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local corruption and incompetence.

Katrina Polls

2005-09-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

Interesting results coming in on the approval ratings of Governors in the gulf region.

Governors Perry (Texas), Babour (Mississippi), Riley (Alabama) and Bush (Florida) have all seen major spikes in their approval rating. More than 20 point hikes.

Governor Blanco of Louisiana has seen her rating plunge by 20 points.

Constitution Day

2005-09-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Constitution Day, a celebration of the longest enduring Constitutional government ever.

So take a moment to reflect on how lucky we are to live in this great nation.

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Left Hate Sites Do It Again

2005-09-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

The left wing hate sites are at it again.

For days they have been screaming for Bush to accept responsibility for the federal response to Katrina.

Now that he has, they are calling for him to resign, rather than praising him for stepping up to the plate.

President Bush had the courage to accept responsibility for the failure of the federal reponse. No such response has come from either Governor Blanco or Mayor Nagin.

Radical Leftists Go Too Far

2005-09-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

For some time now I have been concerned about the rantings on many of the leftist web sites. Not the mainstream ones, but the more radical ones.

These are people who hate anyone who dares to disagree with them, and I have been trying to find a way to really describe how they think.

Today, I found it, ironically enough on one of the sites.

The following statement was made, and widely agreed with.....

"Democrats would've taken care of Katrina victims from the get go. That would've been our first impulse, our first instinct. Republicans had to be shamed into helping people."

(www.dailykos.com)

Now most people on either side of the spectrum would dismiss this as patently ridiculous, just as we would dismiss the reverse.

We as a whole recognize that while we disagree with those on the other side of the debate, we accept that they are on the whole good and decent people who care just as much as we do.

As I've said, I do not equate mainstream liberals with these views. I strongly disagree with people like Kerry or Clinton, but I don't think they are evil.

But for the ultra-radical left, nobody who disagrees with them can be good. Only they hold virtue, only their view is acceptable.

September 11, Never Forget

2005-09-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Let us never forget the sacrifice many of our fellow citizens made that day.

Let us never lose our resolve that it shall not happen again.

Illegals Get Licenses in California ??

2005-09-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

The California legislature has once again passed a bill to give illegals drivers licenses.

Luckily Governor Arnold will veto it.

When will they figure it out ?

Liberal vs Conservative Fundraising

2005-09-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Over the past week I have been greatly angered by those on the left chosing to make the Katrina disaster another reason to bash Bush, Republicans, conservatives, business, etc.

I have refrained from making many comments because I didn't want to fall into their trap, nor did I want to give any publicity to them. I will be doing a more general overview of liberals and conservatives and their attitudes, but for now I will settle for this.

Over the past week or so, both liberal and conservative blogs have done fundraising drives. These donations are, of course, in addition to any other donations to Red Cross or other charities.

And what are the numbers ??

Liberal blogs: around 150,000 dollars raised at last tally.

Conservative blogs: Almost 1,500,000 dollars raised.

Now I am not going to say that this makes liberals more or less generous than conservatives because they very well may be donating elsewhere.

But it does raise an eyebrow or two about liberal compassion.