Operation Give: Send Toys and Stuff to Children in Iraq
Operation Gratitude: Send Care Packages and Personalized Letters to US Service Personnel Stationed Overseas

Kerry's Likability Gap

Remember how the Democrats complained in 2000 that Bush was getting better press than Gore because Bush's press crew just plain liked him, while nobody really liked Gore all that much.

History repeats, and Larry Elder eloquently documents multiple examples of Kerry's problem with likability. My favorite:

The people who know Kerry best consider Kerry aloof, imperious and condescending. Even worse, Kerry can't seem to retain their names. At a 1996 Massachusetts political affair, a Democratic Massachusetts State legislator said to his friends, "Watch this."

He walked up to Kerry and said, "Hi, Senator -- Representative Butchy Cataldo." At this, Kerry smiled, slapped his back and exclaimed, "Butchy, so good to see you again!" One problem -- the guy, the state rep -- was not Butchy Cataldo. In fact, Butchy Cataldo ran and lost to this Kerry-greeting legislator whose name is Bill Reinstein, a man bearing no resemblance to the tall, dark-haired Cataldo.

I just gotta get me . . .

. . . one of these here "hidden genius" machines, by golly!

Manufacturing is "Smoking"

Emphasis added because I just can't help myself when I read this:

A U.S. manufacturing index unexpectedly rose last month as production increased and more factories added workers than at any time since Ronald Reagan was president.

"Plain and simple, this report tells us that the manufacturing sector is smoking,'' said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. "The breadth of the expansion as well as its speed is breathtaking.'

Also this:

Tax cuts Bush won last year have helped spur the economy to its fastest growth in 20 years and at least six straight months of job gains.

A Religion of Peace

CAIR condemned the mutilation, but not the murder of civilian contractors:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which describes itself as a Muslim civil rights group, issued a press release on Wednesday, condemning "the mutilation of those killed in Iraq on Wednesday."

However, the press release did not condemn the murders of the four American civilian contractors, who -- as CAIR put it -- "were ambushed in their SUV's, burned, mutilated, dragged through the streets and then hung from a bridge spanning the Euphrates River, according to news reports."

Campus Capers

The 2004 Polly Awards are out (aka Campus Outrage Award), and this year there are doozies. My favorite actually comes in at fourth place:

Robert Brandon, the Chair of the Philosophy Department at Duke University justifies the 17-1 Democrat-Republican ratio among Duke professors by claiming that conservatives are generally not smart enough to teach at Duke. "We try to hire the best, smartest people available. If, as John Stuart Mill said, stupid people are generally conservative, then there are lots of conservatives we will never hire.” It appears that when University President Nan Keohane said, “Diversity is an important value that must be nurtured and used in higher education,” she didn’t mean intellectual diversity.

A Steelier President

The Chicago Tribune relates the reasons why America won't cut and run like we did in Somalia:

It matters that Bush is not a Clintonian president, shaping and reshaping policy according to the public's mood swings. More important, though, we Americans are a different people. We have had the chilling opportunity to think through the years-long series of attacks--foreign and domestic--that are encapsulated by the brief phrase "Sept. 11." We appreciate, in ways we did not in 1993, that this nation and the freedoms it seeks to promulgate elsewhere have enemies. Many of those enemies are desperate enough to kill for their survival--and no doubt frustrated that, particularly in Iraq, Americans are not as feckless, as fickle, as they'd like us to be.

In short, even a day as horrific as Wednesday won't tempt the current president to pull troops out of Iraq. What's more, in survey after survey, solid majorities of Americans have said that they support his decisions and commitment.

Well said. Read it all -- it's short.

What's Right

In the midst of our mourning our losses and disgust at Mogadishu-like behaviors, it's important to remember what has gone right in Iraq. There's a lot, here's my favorite part:

In the 12 months since the American and British troops arrived, not one body has been added to a secret mass grave. Not one woman has been raped on government orders. Not one dissident has been mauled to death by trained killer dogs. Not one Kurdish village has been gassed.

Who Is John Kerry

Hugh Hewitt nails it when he asks, "Doesn't He Remind You Of . . .":

JOHN KERRY reminds you of someone, but you can't put your finger on it, right?

Allow me to help.

Bookish people and television people generally carry different archetypes around in their heads, but neither group seems to able to quite put their finger on Kerry. They have seen this face, this style before. But where?

First, the small box people. John Kerry is M*A*S*H's Major Frank Burns . . .

There's another for the "literary minded". Hilarious!

Infinite number of monkeys . . .

I get spam. No really, I mean I really get spam. Every day, all day, all night.

I check my email the last thing before I leave work to clear it out and by the next morning there are hundreds more messages telling me how to improve my life. Every day, and throughout the day, I scan down the subject lines just to make certain I'm not deleting something important.

It's beginning to have a effect. I mean, how many times can you read that you've got "a small dickee" before you start to believe it? No one ever told me that before, but what if "Size really does matter!"? Perhaps I should get some of that herbal Zoloft or Prozac to make my life all better. Why not both?

But what I really love are the spammers that generate random words in the subject in the hope that they will fool the spam filters. Usually it's garbage, but sometimes there are some good ones.

Today's random spam message is scrotum farsighted.

That just kills me!

Warrior or Wimp? The choice is yours.

Remember John Kerry's assertion that the Bush administration had "exaggerated" the threat posed by terrorism? It happened on January 29 during the televised debates.

I wonder, he has changed his mind? A review of current news reveals:

• Eight suspects and a half ton of ammonium nitrate were siezed in Britain. Two and a half tons of ammonium nitrate were used in the Oklahoma City bombing and the terrorists of Jemaah Islamiyah are thought to have bought 20 tons of ammonium nitrate in 2002.
• The number of Islamic fundamentalists and neo-Nazis in Germany grew last year, including members of al Qaeda, Algeria's GIA, Egypt's Al-Jihad Al-Islami, punks and anarchists. While the rise was slight, it was a rise -- and it happened in the middle of the Global War on Terror that should be reducing these numbers.
• A man with dynamite strapped to his chest blew himself up inside Bolivia's congress.
• Terror attacks are sweeping across Uzbekistan, leaving 42 dead so far.
• Saudi authorities engage in a shoot out with a top al Qaeda figure. In the last year the Saudis have seized more than 20 tons of explosive materials, surface to air missiles, rocket propelled grenades, and hundreds of explosive belts.
• Hundreds of tons of military-grade plastic explosives were siezed in the Czech Republic; it had been imported from Sweden.
• Police recently discovered 1.5 tons of ammonium nitrate which were apparently to be used as explosive materials in Kaung island, Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara.
• Canadian officials arrested a man for terrorist charges leveraged in the UK.
• Masked men thought to be Islamic militants stole 1.4 tonnes of explosive in Thailand.
• Manila successfully foiled a major terror attack, arresting four Abu Sayyaf militants and seized 36 kilograms (80 pounds) of TNT.
• Spain has identified the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group as the perpetrators of the horrendous bombing in Madrid.

Hey Johnny! This is called a Global War on Terror for a reason!

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Tuesday that she is concerned President Bush is fueling the hate of terrorist organizations.

Hey Maddie! At least we are no longer fueling the contempt of every Islamist with a chip on his shoulder by being a paper tiger, never retaliating for bombings on the World Trade Center, our foreign embassies, our navel vessels, and thereby setting us up for more of the same. To date, the 9/11 commission has shown that the number one error committed by the previous administration was the unwillingness to use force to retaliate against terrorism or pre-empt attacks.

On the Senate floor this week, Democrat Zell Miller succintly defined the current political climate:

"It's obvious to me that this country is rapidly dividing itself into two camps - the wimps and the warriors. The ones who want to argue and assess and appease, and the ones who want to carry this fight to our enemies and kill them before they kill us."

If you want to help a Warrior win, please volunteer your time or donate money to the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign:

Gay Network

Viacom is in preliminary discussions to launch a gay cable network in the United States, the media giant's chairman and chief executive said Tuesday.

I thought there already was a gay cable channel. It's called Sundance.

Heinz Seeks to Disavow Kerry Connection

The Heinz company is trying to disassociate itself from the presidential campaign:

The company has sent nearly 50 letters to radio and television talk shows nationwide to tamp down chatter on the airwaves and Internet suggesting revenue from ketchup sales will benefit the campaign of pending Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry

Never mind. Ever since I found out about Teresa Heinz Kerry's support of far-left, ultra-wacko eco groups I've switched to Hunts.

Public Trusts Bush

A new Pew poll is out, with a few surprising results.

A week's worth of criticism of his pre-Sept. 11 record on terrorism has had little impact on President Bush's support among voters.

Hmmm, seems the public can identify a liar who wants to sell a book. Must be all that previous experience from the Klintonistas.

While Bush held a slight advantage over Al Gore on many personal traits through most of the 2000 election cycle, voters are even more favorably predisposed to Bush in terms of leadership, forcefulness, and effectiveness than was the case four years ago.

In 2000, we just thought he was a strong and effective leader. Now we've actually seen it for ourselves.

By a wide margin (53% to 29%), more voters say Bush is the candidate who can best defend the country from future terrorist attacks. Bush also holds a sizable edge over his Democratic opponent in terms of making wise decisions about what to do in Iraq (49% to 37% for Kerry), and foreign policy decision-making in general (44% to 38%).

But the Dems keep hammering the president on his leadership in the War on Terror. If they keep it up I'll have to start calling them the "Dims".

Earlier this month, voters trusted Kerry more than Bush to improve the job situation and health care systems by margins of roughly two-to-one. Today, these margins are much tighter, as the percent expressing confidence in Kerry has declined.

Hmmm, losing on foreign policy, losing on domestic agenda . . . What ever can this mean?

Jews Finally Get a Clue

The Dems are reaping what they sow, and it isn't much. They are "irked" at Jewish defections from the Democrat ranks -- and donor files.

Although Jews make up slightly more than 2 percent of all Americans, they have played a wider political role for both demographic and financial reasons.

Jews are concentrated in such battleground states as Florida and Ohio. In the era of soft money, an estimated 50 to 70 percent of large contributions to the Democratic Party and allied political units came from Jewish donors.

While President Bush won only 19 percent of the Jewish vote in 2000, Republican candidates garnered 35 percent of the Jewish vote in 2002, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

While Bush has defended Israel on the international stage, Dems have continued to kowtow to terrorists like Arafat (remember the Clinton Kiss?).

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, hasn’t helped his party on that front by recently issuing statements that were widely interpreted as waffling on the controversial security fence the Israeli government is building at the edge of the West Bank.

The Dems are frantically trying to do some damage control. Why?

Jack Rosen, a frequent past contributor to the Democratic Party, and president of the liberal-leaning American Jewish Congress, has given $100,000 to Republicans since Bush took office.

And California businessman Ronald Arnall and wife Dawn, who in the past have given close to $1.5 million to Democratic candidates and party committees since 2000, raised $1 million for Bush at a fundraiser last August. In addition, Dawn Arnall gave $1 million at the end of 2002 to the Republican National Committee.

But it's not about that. The President is right to defend Israel for building the security fence. It is stopping the killing by keeping terrorists out. And the bottom line is that Republicans are more pro-Israel than Dems, and Jews are finally starting to realize it.

NATO Expansion

President Bush hosted the leaders of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia today, welcoming them into NATO as "full and equal partners".

Fifty-five years after NATO's birth, Bush recalled that the seven new members were "captives to an empire'' when the alliance was formed.

"They endured bitter tyranny. They struggled for independence. They earned their freedom through courage and perseverance and today they stand with us as full and equal partners in this great alliance,'' he said.

These men represent those who indeed endured bitter tyranny. All these eastern bloc countries were under Soviet influence and three of them, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, were Soviet republics with Red Army troops stationed there.

The reason that these men were at the White House is because of two great leaders. The first was Ronald Regan, who stood up to the red menace and defeated it, freeing millions of people. The second is George W. Bush, who is standing up to global terrorism and defeating it, freeing millions and giving rights to women in the midst of oppressive cultures.

The picture at the right is of a man with a successful foreign policy. Just in case it isn't clear, here's another, and another, and another.

Meanwhile, Kerry keeps looking for those foreign leaders he said that he met with and supported him:

Not Quite as Good as Two Heads

A kitten with four ears was born in Germany six months ago, and now has a new home:

Aren't You Proud of What You Do?

Don't you want people to see the fruits of your labors?

If you have a blog and want a little publicity, click over to the Watcher's site to see how to get some free linkage and readership.

The Watcher extends a most kind offer to the blogosphere, easily taken advantage of and not even limited to intelligent people right thinking citizens conservative bloggers.

Same Sex Marriage in Tennessee

The Tennessee legislature is taking up the thorny issues surrounding formal homosexual relationships:

A constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman passed out of the House Children and Family Affairs Committee this week. The measure by Representative Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) would insert current state law into the Tennessee Constitution. . . .

In related news, the House Domestic Affairs Subcommittee voted down a bill preventing so-called “civil unions” in Tennessee. Like many states, Tennessee is faced with recognizing the same sex civil unions being performed elsewhere in the country as a form of gay marriage. The bill's sponsor, Representative Chris Clem (R-Lookout Mountain), brought the bill because of these concerns.

Rep. Clem's bill would specify that same-sex civil unions validated in another state would have no legal standing in Tennessee. Many believe the bill has enough votes to pass on the House floor but it failed on a mostly partisan vote, with only one Democrat voting for the measure. The committee was able to defeat the measure only by using a House rule that allows non-subcommittee members to vote if they are officers of the full committee or occupy the office of Speaker and Speaker Pro-Tempore.

You may want to write or call your rep if you care about this issue.

Protecting the Jewel

Israel, a single bright shining light of democracy and freedom that is surrounded by despotic, tyrannical regimes. A gemstone found in a cesspool.

Israel deserves our protection for many reasons, but that is the most compelling motivator for me.

For a powerful visual of what Israel faces, watch the intro to Middle East Info.org. Nice!

There Can Be Only One

Today's absolute must read is Mordor by Belmont Club:

The possible electoral defeat of President Bush by John Kerry raises the question of whether the Global War on Terror ultimately requires a war on the Left. That is to say whether a political defeat of the Left is a prerequisite for stamping out worldwide terrorism. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many in the Left, at least, believes that the GWOT is a war on them. America, not Osama Bin Laden is the putative enemy, and their fire is directed accordingly. Conversely, many conservatives are conditioned by the sight of a de facto alliance between the Left and Islamism to think that both parties are on the same side of the fence. But must it necessarily be so?

Read it all!

Hat tip to Le blog de Polyscopique

Bandwidth Problems

Donald Sensing had to switch ISPs because of the amount of bandwidth his site is consuming. That's the price you have to pay when you put all those advertisements on your site. (heh) Good Golly man! 19 advertisements and you're still on Blogger?

Just kidding -- if anyone deserves success it's the Rocky Top Reverend.

Perhaps President Bush's call for "universal and affordable access to broadband Internet service by 2007" will help some of us out (although my Libertarian leanings wonder why the free market can't handle this if it's needed).

Open Government Comes to Tennessee

Most votes that our elected reps make aren't on the congressional floor; they are made in resolutions brought before the myriad of committee and sub-committees that a bill must navigate through before it makes it to the floor. And in the Tennessee House, these votes are not recorded.

That's right -- you have no way of knowing what your elected servant is doing except on the few floor votes that get press.

But that's about to change.

House Republicans have finally been successful [second item] (after years of effort in the Democrat dominated House) to require that votes are recorded for every vote:

In a huge victory for supporters of open government, the House of Representatives changed its rules this week to begin recording all subcommittee and committee votes. House rules have for years allowed legislators to cast unrecorded votes in committee on issues important to all Tennesseans.

On Monday, the House implemented a temporary rule brought by House Republicans to substitute roll call votes for the voice vote procedure normally used to conduct House business. During Wednesday’s session, House leadership announced a permanent rule change requiring all votes be recorded in lieu of taking roll call votes. The new process will, for the first time, hold legislators accountable to each and every vote.

Members of the House Republican Caucus, including Leader Tre Hargett (R-Bartlett) and Representative David Davis (R-Johnson City), have sought this change for many years. It is part of a larger push by the House GOP to increase public access to government records, including putting campaign financial disclosures online and eliminating the requirement that citizens identify themselves when requesting the disclosures.

I don't know what the procedure in the Senate is, but this is a huge victory for Tre (who will be the majority leader of the House as soon as Republicans become the majority this fall and who will one day be Governor -- mark my words).

EU Hates American Business

Robert Levy gives a short history on the litigation attacks on Microsoft (some deserved, IMHO) and then turns his attention to the latest EU ruling:

Far from promoting consumer interests, the latest EU order transforms antitrust regulation into a corporate welfare programme for market losers. The implications will not be confined to the Microsoft case. Without some semblance of regulatory consistency, companies competing globally will not be able to satisfy the dictates of divergent legal regimes. That means special interests pursuing their favourite antitrust forum in an effort to exercise the most political clout. The real costs: fewer jobs, less innovation, inferior products and higher prices.

Dominoes in the 21st Century

First, the Taliban was driven from power and a country was freed.

Second, even though he has millions of dollars at his fingertips, Usama is reduced to living in caves and moving at night in order to live another day.

Third, Saddam tyrannic regime is obliterated, his sons are killed and put on display, and he is dragged from a rat-infested hole in the ground to be checked for lice on televisions throughout the Middle East.

Forth, Libya folds like a Chinese umbrella on a gusty day.

Now Syria is exploring ways to become the United States partner in the War on Terror:

Syria has asked close U.S. ally Australia for help in repairing its relations with Washington, according to a report Saturday.

Sen. Sandy Macdonald, who last November led a parliamentary delegation to Syria, told The Weekend Australian newspaper Damascus wants Australian help in altering its image from a state that assists terrorists to a willing partner in the war on terror. . . .

Syria plans to open an embassy in the Australian capital, Canberra, in coming weeks while Australia is considering reopening its diplomatic post in Damascus.

Australia is willing to help Syria - in the same way it helped promote a thawing of relations between the West and Libya - but first wants Damascus to show its commitment to peace.

Anyone see a pattern here? Anyone else think the cowboy approach to diplomacy might be a little better than French appeasement?

Kerry's Sinking Economic Policies

Perhaps there was a reason why Kerry didn't major in Economics:

Even some economists friendly to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry say his proposal to end tax breaks on multinational corporations' overseas' profits won't necessarily stop the flow of jobs overseas.

Eurozone Won't Unseat US

This should come as no surprise:

European Union leaders admitted yesterday that their grand plan to unseat the US as the world's leading economic power by 2010 had lost its credibility.

It seems that because a "blizzard of regulations" actually stifles the economy rather than stimulating it, the member states are pretty much giving up hope.

Imagine that.

Random Thought

Thomas Sowell notes:

The old adage about giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish has been updated by a reader: Give a man a fish and he will ask for tartar sauce and French fries! Moreover, some politician who wants his vote will declare all these things to be among his "basic rights."

History Author Tells Story of Women and Guns

And this guy's even a California Democrat:

The San Francisco author and firearms expert is out with what he says is the first book to tell the whole truth about females' natural, historical, existentially joyful affinity for firearms. In "Silk and Steel: Women at Arms, " Wilson has collected thousands of bits of documentary evidence from his 35 years in the field to prove that women and weapons have been inseparable since the invention of gunpowder. For example, he asserts that:

Women shoot eagerly -- for necessity, for sport and for fun.

Women are good shots. They are as good as -- some say better than -- men.

Women love guns for their power and for their beauty. Same as men.

"This book must have 900 to 1,000 pictures of women with animals they shot," Wilson said. "They're happy as clams."

Today's Must Reads

The SmarterCop has 20 Questions I'd Like to Ask John F*** Kerry, and they are 20 very good questions. Good enough to win this week's Watcher's Council.

Citizen Smash - The Indepundit follows up with Down the Rabbit Hole, in which he relates his experience of attending an anti-war protest. The good Citizen wins this week's Watcher's vote in the non-Council member category.

As always, the Watcher lists all entries that received votes on his site.

GDP grows at fastest 6-month rate since '84

2003 finished with a bang:

The U.S. economy expanded at a 4.1-percent annual rate in the final three months of 2003 and corporate profits surged, suggesting growth and hiring may accelerate this year.

The increase in gross domestic product followed a gain of 8.2 percent in the third quarter, resulting in the fastest six-month growth in almost 20 years, the Commerce Department reported in Washington. Profits rose for a third consecutive quarter in the October-December period and were up 31 percent from the same quarter in 2002, the department said.

The GDP figure for the quarter, unchanged from the government's preliminary estimate, included revisions showing that consumer spending grew more than previously projected while inventories were smaller. Factories will have to turn out more goods and add workers at a faster pace to meet demand and replenish stockpiles, an economist said.

Meanwhile in 2004, personal spending continues to rise along with consumer confidence:

Americans' spending last month increased for a fifth straight month after a 0.5 percent gain in January that was larger than first estimated, the Commerce Department reported in Washington. Incomes climbed 0.4 percent, the most since November, and the University of Michigan said its March sentiment index rose from a preliminary reading two weeks ago.

The reason for increased spending? Why, increased income of course:

Americans' incomes, meanwhile, rose by a solid 0.4 percent in February, following a 0.3 percent increase the month before. Income growth — an important factor in peoples' ability to spend in the months ahead — was slightly better in February than the 0.3 percent increase that economists had been predicting.

I Should Have Been a Nurse

Heavens to murgatroid, this is certainly depressing:

City & Guilds’ Happiness Index - Happiest Workers
Position	Profession	Vocational/Academic	% Very Happy
1	Care Assistants	Vocational	40%
2	Hairdressers	Vocational	32%
3	Plumbers	Vocational	32%
4	Chefs	Vocational	30%
5	Florists	Vocational	20%
6	Chartered Engineers	Professional	18%
7	Lawyers	Professional	16%
8	Mechanics	Vocational	14%
9	IT Specialists	Professional	14%
10	Scientists/R&D	Professional	14%
11	Secretaries/receptionists	Vocational	13%
12	Butchers	Vocational	12%
13	Builders	Vocational	10%
14	Teachers	Professional	8%
15	Architects	Professional	8%
16	Electricians	Vocational	6%
17	Accountants	Professional	4%
18	Pharmacists	Professional	4%
19	Media	Professional	4%
20	Estate agents	Professional	4%

I wonder where postal workers rate?

Patriotic Screen Saver

Microsoft has a fairly cool 3-D American Flag screen saver available for download.

Hat tip to ToneTheMan.

Pew Poll Findings

The latest Pew Poll shows an unusual political awareness in the American psyche:

More than six-in-ten Americans (63%) think it really matters more who wins the 2004 presidential election this year, compared with 45% who expressed that view in June 2000.

More people think that politics matters -- a lot.

An electorate that is paying attention is a more informed electorate, so it is no wonder that Americans are increasingly seeing Kerry as a far-left liberal while fewer are seeing Bush as a far-right conservative:

As Kerry has emerged as the Democratic nominee, an increasing percentage of the public, especially Republicans, have come to view him as ideologically liberal. On an ideological scale from 1 to 6 (where 1 is the most conservative and 6 is the most liberal), 40% of those able to rate Kerry give him a relatively liberal "5" or "6", up from just 28% in January. By comparison, impressions of Bush have moderated slightly over the past two months. Half rate Bush a "1" or "2" on the conservative end of the six-point scale, down from 56% in January.

I expect these numbers to become more realistic as the Republicans begin to defend themselves against the Democrat attack machine that has been raging unchecked during the Dem primaries.

One more interesting item from the poll: Republicans are willing to stay the course while Democrats are fickle. The proof is in the numbers:

Since the end of the war almost a year ago, Republicans have been steady in their support of the president's decision to use military force in Iraq, while opinion has fluctuated among Democrats. In the month following the fall of Baghdad, and again after the capture of Saddam Hussein in December, most Democrats approved of the president's decision. But in the summer and fall of 2003, and again over the past few months, the predominant view among Democrats has been that military action in Iraq was a mistake. The current divide between Republicans and Democrats over this question is as large as it has ever been, as Democratic support for the war has fallen 26 points since December (from 56% to 30%).

Circumcise Your Kids

Aids risk 'cut by circumcision' (no pun intended):

Men who have been circumcised may be six times less likely to contract the HIV virus than uncircumcised men, research carried out in India suggests. . . .

A number of studies have shown that circumcision appears to lower the chances of contracting HIV.

In the Heart of Enemy Territory

President Bush held a $2,000-per-person fundraiser in Taxachusetts, less than a mile from Kerry's home mansion, with about a thousand supporters in attendance:

"Some people might think we would not have a lot of support here. They're wrong," Bush told the crowd of about 1,000 supporters who filled the hotel's ballroom. "Nobody should take any state for granted in 2004."

Citizen Facing Charges

Where else but New York:

An attempted robbery at a Queens bodega led to gunplay last night when an armed clerk shot the bandit in the head, police said. . . .

But [the bandit] was foiled by Edwin Marte, 35, who shot Keitt once in the head with an unlicensed gun, police sources said. . . .

Police sources said Marte is facing a weapons charge and Keitt is facing attempted robbery and weapons charges.

Sure, disarm the good guy and make him a victim, and then make him a criminal when he refuses to comply with your stupid victimization scheme.

Our Canadian Friends

A U.S.-born teenager carrying an American flag in a multiculturalism parade was booed off stage and reduced to tears by fellow students in an apparent protest against the Iraq war. A parade of flags representing every nationality at the school is an annual event at Wagar High School.

Soros Barks

Uh-oh. I just found out that I must be an extremist because I support Bush:

Billionaire market player George Soros has claimed that the US Government is currently in the hands of extremists.

In lecture delivered in Dublin last night, he claimed that they were now pursuing a policy of American supremacy.