May 27, 2006

Secretary Rumsfeld Delivers Memorial Day Message

“On this Memorial Day, we again pause to remember and to honor those who dedicated their lives to the service of others.

“From the first citizen soldiers who stood fast to defend their homes at Lexington and Concord, to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines securing our liberty and our way of life today, our country has been truly blessed by those who stepped forward to say, “send me.”

“Theirs is a noble calling that founded a nation, drove back the forces of Fascism, Communism, and terrorism, and made historic advances in the cause of human freedom.

“Their service strengthens our will to persevere through every challenge. They remind us of what it means to be an American.

“So to all of those serving our country today, know that we are deeply grateful to you and to your families. May God bless you. And May God bless our wonderful country.’
--------------------

What a progressive judge!! Whatever happened if you can't do the time don't do the crime...?
District Judge: Man Is Too Short for Prison

May 25 -SIDNEY, Neb.- A judge said a 5-foot-1 man convicted of sexually assaulting a child was too small to survive in prison, and gave him 10 years of probation instead.

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

"You are a sex offender, and you did it to a child… But that doesn't make you a hunter. You do not fit in that category" the judge said

Thompson will be electronically monitored the first four months of his probation, and he was told to never be alone with someone under age 18 or date or live with a woman whose children were under 18. Cecava also ordered Thompson to get rid of his pornography.

He faces 30 days of jail each year of his probation unless he follows its conditions closely.

"I want control of you until I know you have integrated change into your life," the judge told Thompson. "I truly hope that my bet on you being OK out in society is not misplaced."
(Gambling with other peoples children is like gambling with other peoples money…what have you got to lose?)
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/25/D8HQP7F82.html

Telephone tax to fund Spanish-American War finally repealed 108 years later
5/26/2006- Starting in July, you'll be seeing the cost of your land-line phone service drop a bit... Since 1898, the US government has collected a 3 percent tax on all long distance phone calls. This shows up on your bill as "federal excise tax," and was enacted to fund the Spanish-American War. Although the war itself ended over a century ago, the tax remained. This week, Congress and the Treasury Department finally caved in to years of pressure from consumer advocacy organizations and businesses, and announced that the tax will end on June 30, 2006. A similar tax on local calls will remain in place for now.

Not only will the tax be repealed, but the government's take from it for the last three years will be returned to consumers sometime in early 2007...

...it illustrates the practical difficulty in getting a tax repealed. Once in place, revenue streams are not easily conceded...one has to wonder just how many other obsolete taxes are still on the books...
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060526-6928.html

Schools Hold Separate Graduations for Homosexual Students

May 25, 2006 (AgapePress) - USA Today reports that a growing number of colleges and universities are holding so-called "lavender graduations" to honor their "gay," lesbian, and transgendered graduates...

At the lavender graduations, students are often given awards and typically receive rainbow-colored tassels to put on their mortarboards during their commencement activities.

...while these ceremonies are often touted as celebrations of cultural diversity and equality...Jason Mattera with the Virginia-based Young America's Foundation (YAF) observes, "I thought the homosexual agenda was just 'Leave us alone,' right? That's what they're saying: 'Oh, we don't want the government involved in our lives. We just want to be treated normally.' Well, here is an obvious example where they're looking for special treatment."

But rarely, the YAF spokesman points out, does any group of students get its own graduation ceremonies as a separate class. "Imagine," he says, "if the Christian club at any of the schools mentioned -- let's take the University of North Carolina -- if the Christian club gathered together and said, 'We want a separate ceremony in which we were going to read passages from Leviticus and passages from Rick Santorum's It Takes a Family.'

"Not only would they have been probably flogged by the diversity deans and multicultural deans on the college campus," Mattera asserts, "but they would be [charged with] hate speech incidents..."

...the idea of lavender graduations is not a very inclusive one, since the schools that hold these separate ceremonies are in effect promoting segregation. Nor, he asserts, do such ceremonies truly respect homosexual students by honoring their achievements.

...If these and other colleges and universities are truly interested in equality, Mattera suggests, they could show it by doing away with race-based preferences and special rights for certain classes of students. And instead of trying to ring in a new, so-called "civil rights era" for homosexuals, he says, schools need to stop segregating people on the basis of sexual behavior.

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/252006e.asp

Capitol police reopen Rayburn building
5/26/06- A U.S. House of Representatives office building was closed for five hours on Friday in a security alert, but after a floor-by-floor search police said possible gunshot sounds had apparently turned out to be noise from construction work...

"...there were some workers who were working in the area of the Rayburn garage, in the elevator area. And doing their routine duties, they made some sort of a noise that sounded like shots fired," said police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider.

...One staffer was taken to the hospital after suffering a panic attack…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060526/ts_nm/congress_gunfire_lockdown_dc

Poll: 51 percent of Floridians OK drilling 100 miles from shore
5/25/06- Floridians support lifting a ban on oil drilling 100 miles or more from the state's Gulf Coast beaches by a 51 to 42 percent majority, and many say rising gasoline prices have influenced their approval, a poll released Thursday showed.

Such support stunned environmentalists, who have counted on opposition from Florida and other coastal states to deflect growing sentiment for offshore drilling among inland and oil state politicians... (Why not drill 100 miles off shore? Cuba is going to drill within sight of our coast…)
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/14666771.htm

Sherpas clamber to rescue Australian on Everest
05/26/2006 12-strong team of sherpas clambered up Mount Everest today to rescue a well-known Australian climber given up for dead near the world's highest peak yesterday only to be found clinging to life by another climber.

…Another member of the same team, a visually-impaired German called Thomas Weber, stopped 165ft short of the 29,028-ft summit and also died during the descent yesterday.

Their deaths, and that of another climber from a different team on the same day, brought the number of fatalities on the Himalayan mountain so far this season to 15 - the most ever.

One of the deaths, that of the British mountaineer Dave Sharp, proved especially controversial when it emerged that no less than 40 climbers had passed Mr Sharp as he lay dying. They included Mark Inglis, a double amputee from New Zealand who was rebuked by his countryman, Sir Edmund Hillary, the mountain's original conqueror.

This morning, however, news came that an American climber had found the Australian still alive and given him oxygen and warm tea. Duncan Chessell, another Australian mountaineer, said that Mr Abramov immediately sent off a rescue mission.

"Alex Abramov immediately dispatched a team of 12 sherpas to re-ascend with fresh oxygen and stretcher," said Duncan Chessell, another Australian mountaineer...
Since so many want to get to the top of Everest maybe they should just install a chairlift…
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2198691,00.html

Researcher Gives Google a Thumbs Down on Impartiality
May 25, 2006 (AgapePress) - A public-policy think tank is calling search engine giant Google to task for removing news organizations from "Google News" that have been critical of radical Islam. An official with the organization suggests the popular Internet website is practicing censorship and exercising a double-standard.

Google has removed sites like New Media Journal and the Jawa Report from its Google News service for what it calls "hate speech" against Islam. Sonia Arrison, director of technology at the Pacific Research Institute, points out the move was made at the same time Google was urging Congress to pass Internet neutrality legislation.

"It's somewhat ironic that Google is trying to censor some things from its search engine at the same time as it's making this very public plea for something called net neutrality, where it's trying to use Congress and legislation to regulate the Internet so that censorship doesn't happen," Arrison notes. "So the question is, what's really going on here with Google and net neutrality and censorship?"

She points out that Google is one of several search engines that have agreed to censorship in Communist China. "They recently agreed to censor a bunch of stuff in China, which led to a lot of outrage over here in America -- but nothing changed," says Arrison, adding that Google is not alone in this instance. "Yahoo and Microsoft are also over there censoring things for the Chinese government as well."

According to Arrison, Google has also given large sums of money to Democratic candidates in the U.S., raising concerns that more conservative websites might be removed from the search engine because of their content…
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/252006g.asp

U.N. making homeschooling illegal?
Threat seen from U.S. judges who bow to child-rights treaty
May 27, 2006 - A U.N. treaty conferring rights to children could make homeschooling illegal in the U.S. even though the Senate has not ratified it, a homeschooling association warns.

Michael Farris, chairman and general counsel of the Home School Legal Defense Association, or HSLDA, believes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child could be binding on U.S. citizens because of activist judges, reports LifeSite News.

Farris said that according to a new interpretation of "customary international law," some U.S. judges have ruled the convention applies to American parents.

"In the 2002 case of Beharry v. Reno, one federal court said that even though the convention was never ratified, it still has an impact on American law," Farris explained, according to LifeSiteNews. "The fact that virtually every other nation in the world has adopted it has made it part of customary international law, and it means that it should be considered part of American jurisprudence."

The convention places severe limitations on a parent's right to direct and train their children, Farris contends.

The HSLDA produced a report in 1993 showing that under Article 13, parents could be subject to prosecution for any attempt to prevent their children from interacting with material they deem unacceptable.

Under Article 14, children are guaranteed "freedom of thought, conscience and religion," which suggests they have a legal right to object to all religious training. Further, under Article 15, the child has a right to "freedom of association."

"If this measure were to be taken seriously, parents could be prevented from forbidding their child to associate with people deemed to be objectionable companions," the HSLDA report explained.

Farris pointed out that in 1995 the United Kingdom was deemed out of compliance with the convention "because it allowed parents to remove their children from public school sex-education classes without consulting the child."

Farris argues, according to LifeSiteNews, that "by the same reasoning, parents would be denied the ability to homeschool their children unless the government first talked with their children and the government decided what was best. This committee would even have the right to determine what religious teaching, if any, served the child's best interest."

Offering solutions, Farris suggests Congress use its power to define customary law and modify the jurisdiction of federal courts.

"Congress needs to address this issue of judicial tyranny by enacting legislation that limits the definition of customary international law to include only provisions of treaties that Congress has ratified," he said.

Farris also suggested Congress could pass a constitutional amendment stating explicitly that no provision of any international agreement can supersede the constitutional rights of an American citizen.

He pointed out two such amendments have been proposed in Congress.
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50395

U.S. economy soars during the 1st quarter
May 26, 2006- The economy sprinted during the opening quarter of 2006 but may slow to a more leisurely jog through the rest of the year.

Economic activity zipped ahead at a 5.3% pace in the January-March period, even speedier than initially thought. But a less energetic housing market and high energy prices are taking out some of the oomph.

"I think we sort of had the last hurrah for the economy for a while," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at Global Insight. "We aren't going to see this kind of growth for a bit. We will see softening in the economy, but there's no reason to be pessimistic."

The figure released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed gross domestic product during the January-March quarter surpassing the 4.8% annual rate estimated a month ago. It marked the strongest growth spurt in 2 1/2 years. The upgrade mostly reflected stronger U.S. exports and better inventory building by businesses.

...Economists predict economic growth in the April-June quarter probably will slow to a pace of 3% to 3.5%, which would still be decent. The performance of the housing market and energy prices will play key roles in shaping the ultimate outcome.

In the final quarter of 2005, the economy grew at a feeble 1.7% pace. Fallout from the gulf coast hurricanes, including high energy prices, prompted people and companies to tighten their belts.

Consumers and businesses regained their appetite for spending and investing in the first quarter, a major factor underpinning the brisk pace of growth logged by the economy.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060526/BUSINESS07/605260331

David Bennett <><

http://www.freewill-predestination.com/

http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove

May 26, 2006

Mayor Nagin should be happy…
Chocolate may boost brain power
May 24- Chocolate lovers rejoice. A new study hints that eating milk chocolate may boost brain function.

"Chocolate contains many substances that act as stimulants, such as theobromine, phenethylamine, and caffeine," Dr. Bryan Raudenbush from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia noted in comments to Reuters Health.

"These substances by themselves have previously been found to increase alertness and attention and what we have found is that by consuming chocolate you can get the stimulating effects, which then lead to increased mental performance."

To study the effects of various chocolate types on brain power, Raudenbush and colleagues had a group of volunteers consume, on four separate occasions, 85 grams of milk chocolate; 85 grams of dark chocolate; 85 grams of carob; and nothing (the control condition).

After a 15-minute digestive period, participants completed a variety of computer-based neuropsychological tests designed to assess cognitive performance including memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem solving.

"Composite scores for verbal and visual memory were significantly higher for milk chocolate than the other conditions," Raudenbush told Reuters Health. And consumption of milk and dark chocolate was associated with improved impulse control and reaction time.

Previous research has shown that some nutrients in food aid in glucose release and increased blood flow, which may augment cognitive performance. The current findings, said Raudenbush, "provide support for nutrient release via chocolate consumption to enhance cognitive performance."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060524/hl_nm/health_chocolate_dc

Q1 GDP growth fastest in 2-1/2 years

May 25, 2006 - The U.S. economy shot forward at an upwardly revised 5.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the fastest growth in 2-1/2 years, as companies built up inventories and exports strengthened, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed.

First-quarter growth in gross domestic product was more than triple the 1.7 percent annual rate recorded in last year's fourth quarter...

...The first-quarter surge in GDP - the largest since a 7.2 percent jump in the third quarter of 2003 - was partly fueled by rebuilding in the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast region. Growth is widely forecast to level off in coming quarters to a range of between 3 percent and 4 percent.

A sharper buildup in inventories than previously thought during the first three months of 2006 accounted for much of the upward revision in growth.

Companies built up inventories at a $32.3-billion annual rate instead of the $21.9 billion rate reported last month, moderately less than the $37.9-billion rate posted in the fourth quarter.

In addition, exports were stronger than originally reported, rising at a 14.7 percent annual rate rather than 12.1 percent.

...Somewhat surprisingly, spending on housing was moderately stronger than had been initially thought, growing at a revised 3.1 percent rate instead of 2.6 percent estimated a month ago...

...Personal consumption spending, which fuels two-thirds of national economic activity, grew at a 5.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter...Consumer spending was one of the primary reasons overall GDP performance accelerated to such a brisk pace in the period.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-05-25T123411Z_01_N25191702_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECONOMY-GDP.xml&src=rss&rpc=23

Oil Prices Help Louisiana.

May 25 -After hurricanes Katrina and Rita shut down businesses and added thousands to the unemployment rolls, state economists predicted a nearly $1 billion hit to Louisiana's tax income. They were off the mark entirely.

The hurricanes instead spurred a new wave of tax income, thanks to residents buying replacement cars, refrigerators, furniture and other household goods.

Growth in gambling and sales taxes, along with higher oil taxes in the petroleum-rich state, has put the general state income an estimated $213 million ahead of Louisiana officials' pre-hurricane expectations for the fiscal year ending June 30.

That means the state's predictions of a budget-busting year were off by a whopping $1.2 billion.

...While lawmakers approved an $18.7 billion budget for the current year, it has grown to $20 billion because of federal hurricane aid that poured in to plump up the budget.

...lawmakers have begun adding pet projects into next year's spending bill. A state House committee voted to add $17 million for local community organizations, senior centers, town museums, recreational lighting in the hometown of House Speaker Joe Salter, a Christmas festival in central Louisiana, arts projects and other items...

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/25/D8HR039O0.html

Silenced Christian wins free-speech battleState university barred him from speaking to students about faith
May 25, 2006- A man barred from speaking about his Christian faith on a New York state college campus won a civil-rights lawsuit yesterday in federal court claiming violation of his free-speech rights.

Officials at Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge, N.Y., told Greg Davis of Indian Lake, N.Y., he needed to file a facilities-use permit application to speak about his faith with students in a public, grassy area on campus in October 2003.

But when he did so, his application was denied because the school claimed his desired religious expression does not constitute a "cultural, educational, social or recreational" activity.
"Christian speech should not be treated as second-class speech," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Nate Kellum…Kellum argued the U.S. Constitution "does not say that speech is only free if it falls under certain arbitrary categories developed and defined by public officials."

Yesterday's ruling was the sixth victory for Kellum in federal appellate courts in the last three years.

At first, Davis said, he was told by a school official he could speak about his faith on campus. But later the same day he was told he would need to submit a facilities use permit application even though he did not intend to make use of any school buildings.

Eventually, Davis left campus when another school official informed him his religious expression was prohibited altogether.

Davis then filed the permit application that later was denied. http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50365

Report Says School Bus Exhaust Harms Kids

An Associated Press report, citing an environmental advocacy group, says, "Most states aren't doing enough to protect children from the diesel exhaust many of them inhale while riding or waiting for school buses." (Probably much ado about nothing...but then wasn't it the government that decided to bus kids that didn't really need to be bused...?)http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/thrive/2006/may/24/052401823.html

Hillary Clinton Proposes Funding for Illegal Immigrants

May 24, 2006- 2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has proposed amending the Senate's immigration reform legislation to provide federal funding for the education and health care of illegal immigrants.

Arguing that the federal government should pick up the tab for social services provided to illegals, Mrs. Clinton told the Senate:

"My amendment addresses one of the clearest examples of this neglect because our failed national immigration policy has left our state and local governments to bear the brunt of the costs of immigration. Our schools, our hospitals, our other state and local services are being strained."

The former first lady said her plan would direct funds to state criminal alien assistance programs to offset the costs of illegal aliens who continue to break the law after they enter the U.S. - and establish a program that provides financial assistance to state and local governments for the cost of health and educational services related to immigration...

...The top Democrat promised that her program would "not appropriate any new funds or impose any new fees on [illegal] immigrants."

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/5/24/122951.shtml

Al Gore Not "CARBON NEUTRAL"

CANNES, France - ...A representative affiliated with "An Inconvenient Truth", a film about global warming involving former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, has stressed that the movie and Gore's tour to promote it are "carbon neutral".

Last week, Gore and his team were seen driving the 500 metres or so from a hotel to the Cannes festival headquarters in several cars. The representative said that arriving at events like photocalls and news conferences in cars was normal practice in Cannes. (so for Al it's "business as usual"?) ...Gore walked the shorter distance from another hotel to the festival for the movie's screening.

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2006-05-22T232359Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-250545-1.xml

"Al Gore: An Inconvenient Story"

What's on your CO2 Meter Al? See short video at: http://interface.audiovideoweb.com/lnk/ny60win16080/eresources/cei/GorevideoWMV-high.wmv/play.asx

As former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary on global warming fears debuts today, a new video from the Competitive Enterprise Institute tracks Gore’s own “carbon footprint.” CEI’s 70-second video points out that Gore himself is a big user of the hydrocarbon fuels that produce carbon dioxide when combusted.

Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” asks, "Are you willing to change the way you live?" The Gore documentary and new book of the same name go on to suggest ways that people can reduce their carbon footprint, yet Mr. Gore has clearly not taken his own message to heart. He even says in the documentary that he has given his global warming Power Point slide show more than 1,000 times all around the world.

The CEI video, which may be viewed at: http://streams.cei.org/, includes footage of Gore and his constant air travel with two CO2 meters running at the bottom of the page that compare Gore’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with those of an average person.

"All the evidence suggests that Mr. Gore is an elitist who passionately believes that the people of the world must drastically reduce their energy use but that it doesn't apply to him,” said Myron Ebell, CEI's director of energy and global warming policy and the creator of the video.

http://drudgereport.com/flash3.htm

David <><
http://freewill-predestination.com/
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove/

May 24, 2006

Workplace hazards
True story: My boss just came back from the supply room with a spray bottle of generic window cleaner. He told me that he had to sign a release for it because it contains isopropyl alcohol, which is flammable and therefore it was being treated as a hazardous item...I understand that it can be flammable and toxic... but give me a break... I think pointy pencils are much more of a hazard/risk therefore we need a release for them... now that I think about it, paper clips are a choking hazard... D.B.

Panel: Legislators Shouldn't Work Drunk

May 22 - Oregon legislators and staff members should not be drunk while performing their official duties, a citizen panel says.

The Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature adopted that recommendation Monday, although the panel decided to leave it to House and Senate leaders to draft rules against intoxication and possible penalties.

...The new policy was suggested by Steve Doell, president of Crime Victims United, who said he and another member of the group noticed alcohol on the breath of at least one legislator at the end of the 2005 session while they were advocating tougher drunken-driving penalties. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/22/D8HP52V00.html

ACLU Wants Gag Rule for Board Members
May 24, 2006 - The American Civil Liberties Union, which prides itself on its defense of free speech, is considering new standards that would discourage its board members from publicly criticizing the organization.

"Where an individual director disagrees with a board position on matters of civil liberties policy, the director should refrain from publicly highlighting the fact of such disagreement," the committee that compiled the standards wrote in its proposals. The reason?

"Directors should remember that there is always a material prospect that public airing of the disagreement will affect the ACLU adversely in terms of public support and fund-raising," the proposals state.

Nat Hentoff, a writer and former ACLU board member, declared: "For the national board to consider promulgating a gag order on its members — I can't think of anything more contrary to the reason the ACLU exists.”
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/5/24/160224.shtml?s=ic

Co-op Brings New Hope to Iraqi Farmers
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika: 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/may2006/a052406ms1.html

Housing sector shows resilience in April
5/24/2006 Sales of new homes rose unexpectedly in April to the fastest pace this year as the housing sector showed resilience in the face of rising mortgage rates... The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes increased by 4.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.198 million units, the highest rate since last December.

The pace of activity caught economists by surprise. They had been expecting a decline in sales, reflecting the fact that mortgage rates have been climbing in recent weeks and now stand at the highest level in nearly four years.

...The median price of a new home sold in April rose to $238,500, a gain of 2.8 percent from the March level...

...For April, home sales were strong in all parts of the country except the Midwest, where sales fell by 1.1 percent, the second straight monthly declines. Sales were up 8.2 percent in the Northeast, reflecting a rebound after a drop of 7.6 percent in March. Sales were up 7.8 percent in the South and 2 percent in the West.

...U.S. manufacturing companies, the hardest hit sector in the 2001 recession (which started under Clinton's presidency), are expected to continue posting sizable gains this year, driven by efforts to rebuild lean inventories and continued strong business investment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060524/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

Barry Bonds has not been Barry, Barry good to baseball: The Babe vs. the Baby
http://spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9861

Liberal Clergy's Opposition to Marriage Amendment No Surprise, Say Conservatives
May 23, 2006 (AgapePress) - Clergy opposed to a constitutional ban on same-sex "marriage" say religious conservatives who support the proposed federal marriage amendment are bigots. But those conservatives don't appear to be overly concerned about the left-leaning clergy's lobbying efforts to derail the proposed constitutional amendment.

Several dozen Christian and Jewish leaders held a news conference on Capitol Hill, where they are lobbying senators to reject the amendment when it comes up for a vote about two weeks from now. Involved in that coalition were United Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, United Church of Christ, Reformed Jews, and others.

... the president of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty says churches and Christian schools that oppose same-sex marriage will face government pressure if it is legalized. Anthony Picarello says they could be barred from firing employees with same-sex spouses, forced to give them marital benefits, or lose charitable and property tax exemptions if they refuse....

...Maggie Gallagher, a columnist who heads the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, offered grim predictions about people and churches who oppose same-sex unions, should they be legalized.

"Once a court goes to rule gay marriage is a civil right, people who have a vision of marriage as inherently the union of husband and wife are going to be treated like racists in the public square," she offered.

And as for churches that believe homosexual marriage is immoral? "The temptation will be ... [to] simply mute your marriage theology," said Gallagher, opining that many people will find it hard to resist that temptation. "If you are just quieter about it ... as long as you're not too loud about this and keep your nose clean, you'll stay out of trouble."

She believes recent events have shown why a federal marriage amendment is needed. "Leaving it to the states right now is leaving it to state judges, not to the people in states," she noted. "We've already had judges in two states overturn state marriage amendments that were passed by more than 70 percent of the people."

In essence, said Gallagher, unless the U.S. Constitution is amended to protect traditional marriage, judges will probably force states to legalize homosexual marriage....

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/232006a.asp

IOWA PAPER: Hillary Clinton Flip-Flopped On Ethanol...

May 23, 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Hillary Clinton, who once opposed requiring motorists to use corn-based ethanol in their cars, proposed Tuesday to dramatically boost use of the alcohol fuel.

...Clinton...was one of 26 senators who opposed the energy bill passed by Congress last year mandating the use of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol by 2012. Clinton opposed both the ethanol mandate and lawsuit protections for ethanol.

...Many farm-state lawmakers have proposed increasing the ethanol mandate to as much as 15 billion gallons by 2012 and for extending the 51-cent-gallon ethanol tax subsidy that is scheduled to expire in 2010. Clinton did not mention either issue.

...[Clinton] focused on speeding development of cellulosic ethanol and making it easier for motorists to buy fuel that is 85 percent ethanol, a product known as E85. Ethanol is primarily used as a 10-percent additive to conventional gasoline.

...Clinton proposed increasing the tax credit for E85 pumps to 50 percent and called for requiring oil companies to install the E85 pumps at the filling stations they own... http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060523/NEWS/60523014/1001/NEWS

'Hillary for president' rally draws 20 instead of hoped-for 200

05/24/06 -A Hillary Clinton rally drew critics of President Bush, nonpartisan voters looking for a strong leader, and people who want to elect a female president.

...Organizers hoped to have 200 people at the event in Nashville, a city selected to show that Democrats can win in Southern states.

...Miami Beach-based activist Bob Kunst, the founder of Hillarynow.com, said Clinton needs the help of energized grass-roots supporters, not the Beltway consultants who tripped up the campaigns of John Kerry and Al Gore...http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060524&Category=NEWS0206&ArtNo=605240377&SectionCat=&Template=printart

Another fake soldier tale debunked
May 24, 2006
http://townhall.com/opinion/columns/michellemalkin/2006/05/24/198572.html

US economy firing on all cylinders: data
May 4, 2006 - Activity in both the vast US services sector and at factories accelerated more than expected, according to data that pointed to fresh economic vigour and the risk of more interest rate hikes.

Most economists are expecting economic growth to slow from a torrid first-quarter pace of 4.8 per cent, yet the latest figures showed no hints of slowing...

The Institute for Supply Management's services index rose to 63.0 in April from 60.5 in March, with new orders hitting a two-year high, confounding Wall Street estimates for a slowdown to 59.2.

In addition, the government reported new factory orders rose a stronger-than-expected 4.2 per cent in March, beating estimates for a 3.5 per cent gain, as demand for transportation equipment, computers and electronics proved robust.

Treasury debt prices fell and the dollar firmed against the euro after the data.

"It does suggest that the overall economy is improving and for the market it is part of the recent theme - all the numbers are coming in on the stronger side of expectations," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates in St Petersburg, Florida.

...Separate government data showed March's gain in factory orders was caused in part to a 14.7 per cent jump in new orders for transportation equipment, while civilian aircraft and parts orders soared 71.3 per cent.

Orders for non defence capital goods climbed 12.9 per cent, the strongest increase since November. Stripped of aircraft, orders for non defence capital goods - a proxy for business spending - advanced a still-strong 3.9 per cent.

Orders for durable goods, expensive items meant to last three years or longer, advanced an even stronger 6.5 per cent in March, revised up from a 6.1 per cent gain reported last week.

The report also contained information on factory inventories that implied a small upward revision to first quarter GDP of around 0.2 percentage point, economists said, which combined with other revisions point to a pace above five per cent.

...ADP Employer Services, a private firm, estimated the 178,000 private jobs were added in April, based on a survey sample of 14 million workers. It also estimated 22,000 government jobs were added, which would bring the month's total payrolls increase to 200,000, in line with current Wall Street consensus...
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Business/US-economy-firing-on-all-cylinders-data/2006/05/04/1146335833470.html

Marriage amendment struck down in Georgia
Judicial activism struck Georgia in a big way with a judge’s recent scrapping of a constitutional amendment preserving marriage as being between one man and one woman on the grounds that it was "presented incorrectly to voters." The amendment was on the ballot in November 2004, and the wording of the question--"Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that this state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman?"--was apparently so confusing that almost 76 percent f Georgians were "fooled" into voting for it.

Instead of directly addressing the issue of gay marriage itself in her ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance Russell decided to throw out the amendment on the perceived technicality that its ballot presentation violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule ("When more than one amendment is submitted at the same time, they shall be so submitted as to enable the electors to vote on each amendment separately") because it required voters to decide on marriage and civil unions in a single amendment.

In digging up and dusting off the "single-subject" guideline, Russell ruled that Georgia’s voters must decide whether same-sex relationships should have any legal status before they can decide whether gay marriage should be banned. "People who believe marriages between men and women should have a unique and privileged place in our society may also believe that same-sex relationships should have some place — although not marriage," she wrote.

Apparently of the opinion that banning both gay marriage and civil unions in one fell swoop is lumping together two completely unrelated subjects, Russell wrote that "the single-subject rule protects the right of those people to hold both views and reflect both judgments by their vote." This ruling, which was incomprehensibly called "a victory for voters" (apparently referring to the 24 percent who voted against it) by an attorney for gay rights organization Lambda Legal...

Georgia currently recognizes marriage as being only between one man and one woman, as provisioned in a state law passed by the legislature in 1996. Ironically, the 2004 amendment, which was worded almost identically to the existing law, was created in large part due to the unfortunate knowledge that an activist judge would one day find that law "unconstitutional."

...Without a permanent amendment to the state’s constitution, the assault on traditional marriage will continue...

This incident is only the latest entry in the state's (and the nation's) ever-lengthening list of judicially activist judgments. Judges who legislate from the bench, and who violate their sacred oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States (and their own state), must be checked. Fortunately for Georgians, Judge Russell is an elected official, and can be voted out of office at the end of her four-year term.

In many other cases, though, activist judges have lifetime appointments. This has apparently caused many of them to believe that they are so far above the law and the citizenry that they no longer even have to pay lip service to either. These people must be held accountable by allowable legal process, and new, non-activist (constructionist) judges must be appointed at as quick a rate as possible to fill the vacancies on benches across America.

Amending the constitution is the only sure way to avoid often-abused judicial review; therefore, judges in the state of Georgia (and elsewhere) must at the very least be rendered less easily able to declare unconstitutional amendments to the constitution itself, as this ability gives them all but uncheckable power...
http://townhall.com/opinion/columns/JeffEmanuel/2006/05/24/198356.html

David Bennett <><
http://www.freewill-predestination.com
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove

May 23, 2006

This next guy gives new meaning to "I'd give my right arm to do that..." Like Bugs Bunny said, "What a maroon..."
first double amputee to reach the top of Everest loses more appendages...23rd May 2006- ...Mr Inglis, who last week became the first double amputee to reach the top of Everest...is due to fly home to New Zealand later this week and is due to receive medical treatment for his damaged stumps and frost-bitten fingertips, which have to be removed.

...His legs were amputated below the knees after he suffered frostbite during an expedition in 1982...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=387396&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490

Everest climber left to die alone
5/23/06- KATMANDU, Nepal --Mark Inglis, an amputee who conquered Mount Everest on artificial legs last week, yesterday defended his party's decision to carry on to the summit despite coming across a dying climber. As his team climbed through the "death zone," the area above 26,000 feet where the body begins to shut down, they passed David Sharp, 34, a stricken British climber who later died. His body remained on the mountain.

Mr. Inglis said: "At 28,000 feet it's hard to stay alive yourself. He was in a very poor condition, near death. We talked about [what to do for him] for quite a lot at the time and it was a very hard decision. "About 40 people passed him that day, and no one else helped him apart from our expedition. Our Sherpas (guides) gave him oxygen. He wasn't a member of our expedition, he was a member of another, far less professional one." Mr. Sharp was among eight persons who have died on Everest this year, including another member of his group, a Brazilian. Dewa Sherpa, a manager at Asian Trekking, the Katmandu company that outfitted Mr. Sharp before his climb, said he had not taken enough oxygen and had no Sherpa guide.
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060522-110420-9433r.htm

The Parable of the Good Samaritan- Luke 10:29-38
...so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho , when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

3 Climbers Die While Descending Everest
BEIJING - Three climbers from Brazil , Russia and France died while descending Mount Everest on separate expeditions in the past week, a Chinese official said Tuesday.

The climbers, whose names weren't released, reached the summit of Everest and died of exhaustion on the way down, said Zhang Mingxing, secretary-general of Tibet Mountaineering Association.

...Since Everest was first conquered by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953, more than 1,400 climbers have scaled the peak, and some 180 people have died trying.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060523/ap_on_re_as/everest_deaths\

Oldest Man Ever Reportedly Scales Everest - 70 years, 7 months and 13 days
5/17/06 TOKYO - A mountaineering company claimed that a 70-year-old Japanese man on one of its expeditions Wednesday became the oldest person to scale Mount Everest , edging the record-holder by three days…

Takao Arayama, aged 70 years, 7 months and 13 days, scaled the 29,035-foot peak, according to Toshinori Koya, who heads Tokyo-based company Adventure Guides, which planned the climb.

The Guinness World Records Web site says the record has been held by Yuichiro Miura, also of Japan , who reached the summit at the age of 70 years, 7 months and 10 days, on May 22, 2003.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060517/ap_on_re_as/japan_everest

Scientists: Mt. Everest Only 29,017 Feet
10/9/05- The world's highest mountain, Mount Everest , is 12 feet shorter than previously thought, Chinese scientists who measured the peak earlier this year said Sunday.

Their survey determined that the mountain was 29,017 feet, or 12 feet smaller than it was measured to be 30 years ago, said Chen Bangzhu, a spokesman with the Chinese State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20051009/ap_on_sc/china_measuring_everest_2

Worker confidence up as hiring rises

5/23/2006 -Employees are feeling more confident about the labor market and their own job security as hiring picks up in a number of industries.

...Workers reported high confidence in their job security...

• Pay. Wages are up in many industries. The hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory workers, which is most of the private sector, grew 3.8% in the past year, the fastest in nearly five years. That follows a period when wages lagged inflation for several years.

• Jobs. With the unemployment rate at a low 4.7% in April, some employers note that hiring is becoming more of a challenge.

• Perks. Signing bonuses, which waned in popularity as the economy faltered, are back in vogue in several industries. Sixty-five percent of employers in 2005-06 are offering signing bonuses for technology-related positions, according to a poll by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

In many industries, hiring is looking up. Construction hiring has been setting a fast pace, and manufacturing added 19,000 jobs in April, with factory employment rising by 50,000 jobs since October.

"What we're seeing is major. Competition is really heating up," says Marlon Doles, senior manager, staffing and diversity, with Campbell Soup in Camden , N.J. "It hasn't been like this in a number of years."

Brian Callaghan, CEO of Apex Systems, a Richmond, Va.-based provider of temporary information technology staffing, says the shift in demand means candidates can be choosier about job assignments.

"Good (candidates) will have several opportunities," Callaghan says.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2006-05-23-jobs-usat_x.htm

With few jobless, employers labor to fill positions
May 20, 2006 Marc Mirabella can't wait to fill the empty cubicles in the Jupiter office of his technology-recruiting firm, but an ever-shrinking jobless rate isn't helping his cause.

There's plenty of business out there for his company, Oxford International, he said, but not enough workers.

"We need people — bad," said Mirabella, who runs the 50-person Florida office of Massachusetts-based Oxford .

Like many employers in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast , Mirabella struggles to fill empty desks as jobless figures keep setting records.

The unemployment rates in Palm Beach and Martin counties fell to 30-year lows in April, state officials said Friday.

...Employers of every ilk — from hotels to call centers to high-paying engineering firms — who had become used to having their pick of a growing labor force are forced to look at alternatives, including expanding to where the workers are — outside a state where the jobless rate fell to 3.0 percent in April, well below the national rate of 4.7 percent.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2006/05/20/m1a_jobless_0520.html

RV Ownership at Record High
...Nearly 8 million households owned at least one RV in 2005, according to a study by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center. That's a 58 percent increase from 1980. About 384,400 RV's were sold in 2005, according to the RV Association.

More often than not, today's RV'ers are not the type who prefer sipping beer in front of the campfire, roughing it in communal showers in lieu of a nine to five job. Now it's all about luxury, said Bob Livingston, editor for Trailer Life Magazine....

...The typical RV owner is 35 to 54 years-old, owns a home, has an annual income of $68,000 and travels an average 4,500 miles a year, according to the study.

...Although experts say Boomers are largely responsible for the sales spike, there is also a surprising number of young families buying RVs in hopes of squeezing in more quality time with the kids...

...Mark, a 41-year-old Web site designer, and Crickett, a 32-year-old mortgage broker, sold their Orlando home last year and incorporate trips to historic sites, museums and state capitols while they homeschool or "roadschool" their sons, Adam, 11, and Lucas, 8...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20060523/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_rv_boom

Dear Yahoo!: Can you really count the seconds between lightning and thunder to figure how far away a storm is? N. Lighten Mee

Dear N. Lighten Mee: Thunder is the sound of rapidly heated air expanding and vibrating, and shock waves. Light travels faster than sound, so we see the lightning before we hear the resulting thunder... you can approximate the storm's distance in miles by counting the seconds between the lightning and thunder and dividing by five. It takes about five seconds for the sonic boom to travel one mile, so if you see the sky illuminated by a streak of lightning and count 10 seconds until you hear the low rumble of the thunder, the storm is about two miles away... http://ask.yahoo.com/20060522.html

Egypt to excavate Roman city submerged in sea
CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian authorities have given the go ahead for the underwater exploration of what appears to be a Roman city submerged in the Mediterranean, Egypt's top archaeologist said on Monday.

Zahi Hawass said in a statement that an excavation team had found the ruins of the Roman city 35 km (20 miles) east of the Suez Canal on Egypt 's north coast.

Archaeologists had found buildings, bathrooms, ruins of a Roman fortress, ancient coins, bronze vases and pieces of pottery that all date back to the Roman era, the statement said. Egypt 's Roman era lasted from 30 BC to 337 AD.

The excavation team also found four bridges that belonged to a submerged castle, part of which had been discovered on the Mediterranean coastline in 1910.

The statement said evidence indicated that part of the site was on the coast and part of it submerged in the sea. The area marked Egypt 's eastern border during the Roman era.http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-05-22T153024Z_01_L22614130_RTRUKOC_0_US-EGYPT-EXCAVATION.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Two Saudi men arrested after boarding Tampa school bus
05/22/06 TAMPA - Two Saudi men are being held without bond after they were arrested for boarding a school bus full of children in Tampa .

Mana Saleh Almanajam and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran are charged with misdemeanor trespassing and are being held at Orient Road Jail. The judge says she wants more background information on them.

The two men arrived in the country six months ago on student visas and are enrolled at the English Language Institute at the University of South Florida .
(one of the men was wearing a trench coat over his shorts)(Maybe it was a test run?)http://www.tampabaylive.com/stories/2006/05/060522bus.shtml

N.Y. HEZBOLLAH HUNTThe Hezbollah terror group - one of the most dangerous in the world - may be planning to activate sleeper cells in New York and other big cities to stage an attack as the nuclear showdown with Iran heats up, sources told The Post.

The FBI and Justice Department have launched urgent new probes in New York and other cities targeting members of the Lebanese terror group.

Law-enforcement and intelligence officials told The Post that about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York area…

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/64107.htm

Personal data stolen on 26.5 million vets

Agency employee took home disks with names, social security numbers
Disks with the personal data of 26.5 million U.S. veterans were stolen from the home of a Veterans Affairs employee, the department announced today.

The data included names, dates of birth and social security numbers of all living veterans who have been discharged since 1976.

The employee, a data analyst, did not have authorization to take home the data, which was stolen this month.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said the agency has no evidence the burglars have used the data or even know they have it…http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50328

Earth-solar cycle spurs greenhouse gases -studies

Mon May 22, 2006
Greenhouse gases are known to spur global warming, but scientists said on Monday that global warming in turn spurs greenhouse gas emissions...

Two scientific teams, one in Europe and another in California , reached the same basic conclusion: when Earth has warmed up in the past, due to the sun's natural cycles, more greenhouse gases have been spewed into the atmosphere.

As greenhouse gas levels rose, so did Earth's temperature, the scientists reported.

Earth has not endlessly warmed up, though, because these natural solar cycles ended, letting the planet cool down and prompting a corresponding drop in greenhouse gas emissions, the scientists reported.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-05-22T221742Z_01_N22203855_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENVIRONMENT-WARMING.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Google dumps news sites that criticize radical Islam

May 23, 2006 Search engine giant Google has cut off its news relationship with a number of online news publications that include frank discussions of radical Islam – the New Media Journal becoming the latest termination, as its owner just discovered.

Frank Salvato, who began the agreement with Google News last September, said he received a reply from the company's help desk Friday indicating there had been complaints of "hate speech" on his site, as first reported by media watchdog Newsbusters.org.

The e-mail, which cited three articles that dealt with radical Islam and its relationship to terrorism, read:

Hi Frank,
Thanks for writing. We received numerous reports about hate content on your site, and after reviewing these reports, decided to remove your site from Google News. We do not allow articles and sources expressly promoting hate speech viewpoints in Google News (although referencing hate speech for commentary and analysis is acceptable).

For example, a number of the complaints we looked at on your site were found to be hate content:

http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/peck/05102006.htm
http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/stock/05082006.htm
http://www.newmediajournal.us/guest/imani/04222006.htm

We hope this helps you understand our position.

Regards,
The Google Team

Newsbusters says it has observed a pattern of intolerance toward conservative sites that deal with radical Islam and terrorism.

see rest of article at http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50323

David<><
http://freewill-predestination.com/
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove/

May 22, 2006

Sorta long, but I got a lot of chuckles.
Dance Fever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&eurl

Mexico Works to Bar Non-Natives From Jobs
5/21/06 MEXICO CITY - If Arnold Schwarzenegger had migrated to Mexico instead of the United States, he couldn't be a governor. If Argentina native Sergio Villanueva, firefighter hero of the Sept. 11 attacks, had moved to Tecate instead of New York, he wouldn't have been allowed on the force.

Even as Mexico presses the United States to grant unrestricted citizenship to millions of undocumented Mexican migrants, its officials at times calling U.S. policies "xenophobic," Mexico places daunting limitations on anyone born outside its territory.

In the United States, only two posts — the presidency and vice presidency — are reserved for the native born.

In Mexico, non-natives are banned from those and thousands of other jobs, even if they are legal, naturalized citizens.

Foreign-born Mexicans can't hold seats in either house of the congress. They're also banned from state legislatures, the Supreme Court and all governorships. Many states ban foreign-born Mexicans from spots on town councils. And Mexico's Constitution reserves almost all federal posts, and any position in the military and merchant marine, for "native-born Mexicans."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060521/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_limiting_immigrants

John Kerry Supports, Opposes Border Fence
May 21, 2006-Sen. John Kerry joined most of his Democratic colleagues last week in voting to build a wall along 370 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border.

But he now says that after the wall is built it should be taken down as soon as possible.

…in quotes picked up by the Boston Herald, the Massachusetts Democrat added: "If I were making the long-term decision, I’d announce, you know, hopefully it’s a temporary measure, and we can take it down as soon as we have enough people" to guard the border….
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/5/21/104203.shtml?s=ic
…they called him Flipper…Flipper… Kind of like saying you oppose the idea that we need the police but will fund them until the criminals disappear… a no loose position…

Jefferson's crisis
May 17, 2006 by William J. Bennett
Excellent article about Jefferson taking on the Muslims when no one else would…
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/WilliamBennett/2006/05/17/197603.html

The survey says what?
Sexual-orientation questions cause stir at Port high school
May 15, 2006- Port Washington - Parents are angry and school leaders are promising action in response to a "Heterosexual Questionnaire," approved by two teachers, that asked students questions such as: "If you have never slept with someone of your same gender, then how do you know you wouldn't prefer it?"

Hundreds of Port Washington High School students were told to submit written answers and discuss the survey.

The questionnaire was distributed by a student organization, which then led a full class-period discussion. Two teachers approved distribution of the survey. The principal did not.

...[Principal] Woelfel estimated that the survey was given to about 400 of the school's 930 students on April 25, the day before the national Day of Silence, an annual event co-sponsored by the New York City-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.

According to the Day of Silence Web site, the event is a "student-led day of action" that attempts to eliminate harassment of non-heterosexual students.

Woelfel said that, in connection with the Day of Silence, the school's Students for Unity spent the day visiting classrooms. They distributed the surveys and led discussions, he said.

....Woelfel said he is still investigating the incident but would decide soon, along with the superintendent's office, whether the two teachers will be disciplined...
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=424003

Iran: Jews, Christians Must Wear Badges
In a move reminiscent of the Nazis forcing Jews to wear a Star of David insignia, Iran’s parliament has reportedly passed a law requiring Jews, Christians and other religious minorities to wear color-coded badges to identify them as non-Muslims…
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/5/19/155943.shtml?s=ic

Pat "Leaky" Leahy Aided NSA Phone Taps
May 19, 2006 - In 1994 Sen. Pat "Leaky" Leahy co-wrote a law that forced telecommunications carriers to build convenient wiretap features into their networks enabling the kind of telephone records collection now at the heart of the controversy over the National Security Agency's terrorist surveillance operation.

In recent days Leahy has called the NSA's actions troubling and potentially illegal - saying they show that the Bush administration is treating Americans like terrorists.

… according to the Rutland Herald, Leahy was singing a different tune 12 years ago, when he was pushing the Senate to pass his bill, the Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act [CALEA].

"I suggest to senators if anybody does want to hold [CALEA] up, I hope that at this time next year, neither they nor their constituents, nor anybody they know, is a kidnap victim or victim of a terrorist, and have somebody ask why nothing can be done, and be told because a law that had probably 99 percent support in the House and the Senate did not pass."

Contacted by the Herald earlier this week, Leahy said there was an important difference between what his law authorized and the actions taken by the Bush administration.

"That law talks of the technology of the interception and what technology can be used to intercept and it assumes very clearly that it can only be done with a warrant," the Vermont Democrat insisted.

Some legal experts say, however, said that assumption is not as clear as Leahy claims. Analyzing CALEA in 2003, the Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal explained:

"CALEA requires a telecommunications provider to make 'its equipment, facilities, or services ... capable of ... enabling the government ... [without a warrant] to intercept ... all wire and electronic communications carried by the carrier.'"
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/5/19/125324.shtml?s=ic

"Carbon dioxide... we call it life," TV ads say
WASHINGTON - A little girl blows away dandelion fluff as an announcer says, "Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution; we call it life," in an advertisement targeting global warming "alarmists," especially Al Gore.

The television ads, screened for the press on Wednesday and set to air in 14 U.S. cities starting on Thursday, are part of a campaign by the Competitive Enterprise Institute to counter a media spotlight on threats posed by worldwide climate change….

...The other ad questions media reports of the threat of climate change, especially a Time magazine issue devoted to the topic, and shows film of a glacier melting and then runs in reverse to show the glacier reconstituting itself...
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-05-17T232855Z_01_N17320353_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENVIRONMENT-ADS.xml&archived=False&src=051706_1948_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reuters

Hobbit was one of us with a diseased brain, say scientists
May 19, 2006 - THE origins of the diminutive ancient human cousin nicknamed the “hobbit” are again in question after scientists in the United States challenged the claim that it constitutes a completely new species.

The discovery on an Indonesian island of bones of an 18,000-year-old creature just over 3ft (1m) tall was hailed in 2004 as one of the most significant fossil finds for 150 years. Analysis of Homo floresiensis’s skeleton, and a reconstruction of the brain, suggested that it represented a new branch of humanity’s family tree, a dwarf that had evolved from our ancestor Homo erectus.

…Research led by Robert Martin, curator of biological anthropology at the Field Museum in Chicago, has now added weight to this rival hypothesis. In a study published today in the journal Science, Dr Martin casts doubt on the reconstruction of LB1’s brain and argues that details of its anatomy are consistent only with a microcephalic Homo sapiens. The stone tools found are too sophisticated to have been made by anything other than modern humans, he also writes.

The study suggests that while dwarfing sometimes occurs among mammals confined to small islands, it does so in proportions that do not fit the hobbit. The brain is too small for this to have happened: for LB1 to be a dwarfed form of Homo erectus, it would have to have been no more than 1ft.

…He added that the reconstruction of LB1’s brain done last year by Dean Falk, of Florida State University, was based on a poor cast of the skull, and had been compared with a microcephalic ten-year-old instead of with an adult. “This defective plaster copy of a microcephalic skull used in the study by Falk et al is inappropriate for any scientific study, especially one dealing with a topic as demanding and high-profile as this,” he said.

“There has been too much media hype and too little critical scientific evaluation, and it is unacceptable that papers should be published without providing proper details of the specimens examined. The principle of replicability is fundamental to good science.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C3-2187447%2C00.html

Bin Laden Sought 'Joint Operations' With Saddam
March 20, 2006- An Iraqi intelligence document released last week indicates that Osama bin Laden sought to conduct "joint operations" with Saddam Hussein's regime six years before the 9/11 attacks - and was given the green light by the Iraqi dictator.

The document, detailed in the March 27 issue of the Weekly Standard, describes a Feb. 1995 meeting between bin Laden and Iraqi intelligence that was personally approved by "the Honorable Presidency" - an apparent reference to Saddam…

...The 1997 Iraqi intelligence document goes on to report: "Currently we are working to invigorate this relationship through a new channel in light of his present location [Afghanistan]."

The reference by Iraqi intelligence to "joint operations" with bin Laden apparently contradicts one of the 9/11 Commission's most important findings that Saddam had no "operational relationship" with al Qaeda...
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/20/02025.shtml?s=ic

My Da Vinci Code notes. Nothing new, just on-line:
http://www.freewill-predestination.com/davinci.html

David Bennett <><
http://www.freewill-predestination.com
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove

May 14, 2006

Let's see… you can't use schools rooms after hours, dorm rooms and libraries to hold church services because they are public property. You can't hold Bible studies in meeting rooms at some apartment complexes because someone might complain. You can't have Bible studies in your own home in some places because the neighbors might complain about the traffic or it might violate some home owner’s association agreement. I know… lets have church on a farm!!!!

Bureaucrats target 'Cowboy Church' held in a barn on a 900-acre farm
Farmer opens barn for services, county slaps him with violation notice
May 11, 2006- A county in Virginia has cited a farmer there because he hosts Thursday night worship services in his barn on a 900-acre farm.

...Garland Simmons recently received a Notice of Violation from Bedford County stating that his barn cannot be used for religious services. Simmons' 900-acre piece of property apparently isn't zoned for such meetings.

"Barns in Bedford County can apparently be used for dancing to the tunes of Toby Keith or Reba, but a church service reciting the Psalms of David or praise and worship with Casting Crowns are not allowed," said Liberty Counsel's Mathew Staver...
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50145

New Offshore Drilling = More Oil and Fish
May 03, 2006- Want more fish and coral reefs? Build oil rig/platforms (by the way the oil comes in handy too) Excellent article, read the whole thing: http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?print=yes&id=14450

May 15 Da Vinci Debate
Chosen People Ministries, a mission to the Jewish people for more than a century, is planning an event corresponding with the May 19th release of The Da Vinci Code movie.

A debate will be held between Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, New Testament scholar Dr. Darrell Bock, and Jewish believer Dr. Michael Brown on Monday, May 15, at 7:00 p.m. They will be addressing the claims of the book and movie. Watch the LIVE video: http://www.davincidebateny.com/

Katrina, Rita floods killed Louisiana's fire ants
Apr 30, 2006- Finally, a silver lining in all of that salt water that flooded parts of Louisiana during hurricanes Katrina and Rita: A lot of pesky fire ants died.

The invasive little bugs, which bite with a real sting and often push “good” ants out of an area, apparently don’t mix well with salt water, according to findings by LSU Agriculture Center entomologist and Professor Linda Hooper-Bui and her researchers.

...Fire ants are normally very adaptive to the environment. When it floods in their native ranges in South America, they will create a floating “ball” in hopes some will survive, Hooper-Bui said. Essentially, some sacrifice their lives so their fellow ants can float on top of their carcasses.

...Some experimentation found the “ball” survival reaction to flooding doesn’t seem to work when the water is salty…
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2718511.html

Report: Don't blame storms on global warming
U.Va. researcher says temperature isn't only factor for hurricanes
May 10, 2006 - Global warming by itself cannot be blamed for the increase in severe Atlantic hurricanes, University of Virginia climate researchers report.

... hurricanes' ultimate strength is not directly linked to the underlying water temperatures, the Virginia scientists said.

"There are more severe hurricanes appearing than are explainable by the rise in sea-surface temperatures since the 1990s," said Michaels, a professor of environmental sciences and director of the Virginia Climatology Office.

Michaels is a leading skeptic of global warming's potential harm.

...Michaels believes the increase in hurricane activity beginning in the 1990s is related mainly to variation in the North Atlantic's temperature patterns, not temperature change itself.

"The pattern can appear whether it's cool or whether it's warm," he said.

"In the future we may expect to see more major hurricanes," Michaels said, "but we don't expect the ones that do form to be any stronger than the ones that we have seen in the past."

The Virginia study looked at the water temperatures along the paths of the 205 Atlantic tropical cyclones since 1982, providing a more precise picture of the tropical environment involved in each hurricane's development...
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835975697&path=!news&s=1045855934842

What You Need To Know
By Ben Stein 5/10/2006
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9800

Panel Says BBC Should be More Accurate in Mideast Coverage
May 04, 2006 -London - An independent panel in Britain concluded this week that the BBC needs to be more accurate, fair and thorough when covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

...In its final report, the commission concluded this week that the broadcaster's reporting from the region was generally of high quality and that there was no "systematic bias" shown towards either side.

However, it also found "gaps in coverage, analysis, context and perspective" - particularly when it came to giving listeners and viewers historical perspective on the conflict.

In particular, chairman Quentin Thomas said, reporters should not be afraid of labeling as "terrorism" acts such as suicide bombings of civilians, something the BBC has avoided in the past as being too "emotive."

"We say that the BBC should get the language right," Thomas wrote in the foreword to the report. "We think they should call terrorist acts 'terrorism' because that term is clear and well understood."

...Viewers were often presented with the occupation of Palestinian territory as an established fact, without reference to the Six-Day War in 1967 or the events before and after, he said.

Palestinians were most often portrayed on the BBC as destitute victims, seldom as members of a middle or upper class, he said...
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200605/FOR20060504c.html

Al Qaeda's branch in Iraq is worried that its cells in the Baghdad area are ineffective, according to two documents released by the U.S. military.
"the United States military released documents that it seized during an April 16th raid in an area 12 miles south of Baghdad. Significant and revealing find. The Al-Qaeda author is unknown, but officials believe him to be of significance within the terrorist organization. If you read the document, it's helpful to bear in mind the author often refers to the elected government of Iraq as 'Shi'ites.' Al-Qaeda's own self-assessment finds that, A, it is disorganized and lacks a comprehensive strategery, that B, the Mujahideen are not considered more than a daily annoyance to the Iraqi government.

"The terrorists lack the proper equipment. They have very small numbers compared to American and Iraqi military personnel. American and Iraqi troops are strong and resilient. American outreach to Sunni leaders is harmful to the terrorist cause, and finally, 'The policy followed by the brothers in Baghdad is a media oriented policy.'" This is an Al-Qaeda document, written by an unknown writer, but it clearly indicates that these people think they are losing, and losing big time...
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_051006/content/america_s_anchorman.guest.html
David Bennett <><
http://www.freewill-predestination.com
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove

The Da Vinci (I mean) Norman Rockwell Code

A famous museum... a shocking murder... a distinguished symbologist... an alluring cryptologist... secrets written in code.

No, it's not that "other" story.

When the curator of The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is murdered, the police desperately need help with the investigation. Langford Fife, Professor of Symbology at Stockbridge Community College and the son of a certain Deputy Sheriff from Mayberry, North Carolina, is called to the scene. He may have received his degree in symbology through a correspondence course but he's "just as competent as those high-falutin' professors from Harvard with their fancy sheepskins from accredited schools."

With cryptologist Sopha Poisson of the Quebec Secret Service, Langford sets out to uncover the clues hidden in the paintings of Norman Rockwell... clues which will lead them to a secret society, a legendary bloodline and a battle with sinister forces. http://www.thenormanrockwellcode.com/

The Norman Rockwell Code Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BffPAw4HMME#GU5U2spHI_4
Previewhttp://www.thenormanrockwellcode.com/preview.htm

http://www.freewill-predestination.com/davinci.html

May 11, 2006

Classic Car Show
http://www.wtv-zone.com/cal731/SH/c1/frames.html

You’re In America Now
Two al-Qaeda spies met in a busy restaurant after they had successfully slipped into the U.S. The first spy starts speaking in Arabic. The second spy shushes him quickly and whispers: "Don't blow our cover. You're in America now. Speak Spanish."

The news is reporting that the Pope has contracted the bird flu
He got it from one of his Cardinals...

This pertains to the video I sent the other day on HHO and water run engines (cold flame), at least the Army is looking into it. TACOM manages all the tanks ad other vehicles for the Army.
http://contracting.tacom.army.mil/events/13LogSymposium/D04%20Turning%20Water%20to%20Fire.ppt

Clear Your Cache http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/customizing/clearcache.mspx

English errors (lay vs. lie and stuff like that)
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors

I wonder if this is legit...
Colliding Plasma Toroid Clean-Energy Breakthrough
http://pesn.com/2006/03/08/9600242_Spheromak_Plasma_Toroid/

excellent article
Late Word From the Oil Patch
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=/Commentary/archive/200605/COM20060508c.html

what a bunch of boobs...
3,738 Mothers Set Breast-Feeding Record May 6 -MANILA, Philippines - Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, whose city is one of the event's organizers, said 3,738 mothers simultaneously breast-fed their babies for at least one minute, breaking the Guinness World Record...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060506/ap_on_fe_st/mass_breast_feeding

Sliding down the slippery slope...
Toddler ’tude: Pimpfants pushes tyke-trash style
May 3, 2006 -I can’t believe I’m saying this, but bring back the ‘‘My grandma went to Florida and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” kidswear. Anything’s better than the latest attempt to fashion victimize children: Pimpfants wear. As in ‘‘pimp” plus ‘‘infant.” ...there’s a double-wide load of styles to choose from. There’s the winsome ‘‘Baby Beater” tank tops, the mini basketball uniform with ‘‘Jr. Pimp Squad” across the jersey or the T-shirts that read ‘‘My Mom Is a MILF.” (Mother (or Mom) I'd Like to….)

... I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the kids aren’t begging for the stuff. ‘‘But mom, all the other toddlers have ‘Pimpfant’ onesies.”

...‘‘We are getting a lot of positive feedback,” he said. And those who are horrified at the thought of a child wearing a shirt that says ‘‘pimp”? It’s simply a matter of understanding the new lingo. ‘‘A lot of people have trouble thinking of the word ‘pimp’ without associating it with someone on the street.” (if that isn't what it's refereing to then why bother with it in the first place?)http://theedge.bostonherald.com/lifeNews/view.bg?articleid=137636&format=text

ABC ISSUES APOLOGY FOLLOWING COMMANDER IN CHIEF EPISODE
ABC has apologized to the citizens of Hyattsville, MD... for Thursday night's episode of Commander in Chief in which the town was depicted as violent and crime-ridden...a character said that 11 homicides had occurred in Hyattsville over the past six months.

"We haven't had 11 homicides in Hyattsville in the past 10 years," Jim Keary, a spokesman for the County Executive Jack. B. Johnson, told the Associated Press.

ABC apologized for any offense, saying that it had embellished crime statistics to enhance its story. In a statement, the network added, "Our goal is not to document actual events, but to create characters and compelling stories for our viewers." (and yet most of the episodes on these types of TV shows purport to be based on actual events...)http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/abc%20issues%20apology%20following%20commander%20in%20chief%20episode_02_05_06

Fear the phone, not the doorknob, germ expert says
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-05-02T120634Z_01_N01451015_RTRUKOC_0_US-GERMS.xml&rpc=22

Hyping High Gas Prices, Hiding Good News
During the Clinton years, network journalists argued (correctly) that strong economic growth, a rising stock market, low unemployment and low inflation were the benchmark indicators of a good economy. Today, economic growth is a phenomenal 4.8 percent, the stock market has been climbing for three straight years, and inflation and unemployment are both low.

But instead of trumpeting the amazing “Bush economy,” TV news has downplayed this recent good news while hyping the bad news of rising fuel costs. Indeed, a new Media Research Center study suggests the broadcast networks are not just noting the discontent about prices but actively stoking public outrage.

To measure the media hype, MRC analysts reviewed ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news shows from April 12 through May 2. During those 21 days, the networks collectively aired 183 stories about rising oil and gas prices — 125 full reports or interview segments, plus another 58 brief anchor-read items...

...In contrast, only four network stories during this period mentioned the low unemployment rate, 4.7 percent. And after the government reported strong economic growth on April 28, ABC and NBC each aired one story, while the CBS Evening News has yet to mention that good news. (more at...)
http://www.mrc.org/realitycheck/2006/fax20060504.asp

The Minuteman Project
http://minutemanproject.com/default.asp?contentID=23

U.S. tipping Mexico to Minuteman patrols
While Minuteman civilian patrols are keeping an eye out for illegal border crossers, the U.S. Border Patrol is keeping an eye out for Minutemen -- and telling the Mexican government where they are.

According to three documents on the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site, the U.S. Border Patrol is to notify the Mexican government as to the location of Minutemen and other civilian border patrol groups when they participate in apprehending illegal immigrants -- and if and when violence is used against border crossers.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman confirmed the notification process, describing it as a standard procedure meant to reassure the Mexican government that migrants' rights are being observed. (Oh, they cross the boarder illegally and need their rights protected...)
"It's not a secret where the Minuteman volunteers are going to be," Mario Martinez said Monday. (complete article at:)
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3799653

Spurned Massachusetts Parents File Suit Against Local School System
April 28, 2006 (AgapePress) - Parents in Lexington, Massachusetts, have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the town and school officials over their refusal to notify parents before classroom discussions with students regarding homosexuality. The two families bringing the suit claim school officials' actions violated the state's Parental Notification law.

The suit was filed yesterday (April 27) by parents David and Tonia Parker and Rob and Robin Wirthlin accuses school officials of violating their federal and Massachusetts civil rights in addition to the charge concerning the state Parental Notification law. Last year David Parker was arrested and spent the night in jail for refusing to leave Estabrook Elementary School until officials acknowledged his right to be notified when his six-year-old son is subjected to discussions about same-sex relationships.

Parker says school teachers and administrators have no right to interfere with his children's moral or religious upbringing. He believes that when parents of young elementary-age children request information from schools having to do with human sexuality or, as he describes it, "socially charged issues like different marriage constructs," those parents have a right to see that information and to "be notified when they're bringing this up to very small children."...
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/4/282006b.asp

New Findings Support Promise of Using (adult) Stem Cells to Treat Neurodegenerative
DiseasesGenetic Engineering News
The results of a study published in the April 2006 issue of Stem Cells and Development suggest that human stem cells derived from bone marrow are predisposed to develop into a variety of nerve cell types, supporting the promise of developing stem cell-based therapies to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Stem Cells and Development is a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com ). The paper, entitled "Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Express Neural Genes, Suggesting a Neural Predisposition," is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/scd. These surprising results lend a new perspective to stem cell differentiation and suggest that multipotential stem cells may express a wide variety of genes at low levels and that stem cells achieve their remarkable plasticity by downregulating the expression of many of these background genes.

In an accompanying editorial, journal Editor-in-Chief, Denis English, Ph.D., Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Cell Biology at the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair Research at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, writes, "The theory invokes the term 'stem state' to indicate this property, which is characterized by a 'neural predisposition' of stem cells. This contrasts with the conventional view that MSCs exclusively express mesenchymal genes and only express genes of advanced structures in response to differentiation signals." He proposes that "contrary to our current thinking, stem cells are in no sense primitive cells. In fact, stem cells may well be the most advanced cells the organism produces." The authors of the report, Netta Blondheim, Yossef Levy, Tali Ben-Zur, Alex Burshtein, Tirza Cherlow, et al., from the Felsenstein Medical Research Center and Department of Neurology at Rabin Medical Center, the Sackler School of Medicine of Tel Aviv University, and Laniado Hospital in Israel, propose this new view of adult stem cell plasticity based on their findings that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells grown in the laboratory express an extensive assortment of neural genes, genes linked to the neuro-dopaminergic system, and transcription factors that control genes having neural significance.

They conclude that these MSCs are predisposed to differentiate into neuronal cells given the proper conditions. When transplanted into the central nervous system, they will develop into a variety of functional neural cell types, making them a potent resource for cell-based therapy. Stem Cells and Development is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal is dedicated to communication and objective analysis of developments in the biology, characteristics, and therapeutic utility of stem cells, especially those of the hematopoietic system. A complete table of contents and free sample issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/scd. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cloning and Stem Cells, Human Gene Therapy, and Tissue Engineering. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at http://www.liebertpub.com/. CONTACT: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., New Rochelle Vicki Cohn, 914-740-2100, ext. 2156 vcohn@liebertpub.comhttp://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=993540

David Bennett <>< http://www.freewill-predestination.com/
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove