Don't Go There!

REPORT:
A US Congressman has choice words about being in Times Square for New Years Eve.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) offered his regrets yesterday, telling The Post that he'd avoid the Times Square crowd because it's a "tempting target" for terrorists.

"I wouldn't go to Times Square. That is my opinion. It is one based on the reality that the government has declared a Code Orange," said Shays.

Air safety also worries Shays - "I wouldn't be flying from Europe to the U.S. in an airplane," he said.

Shays, who chairs a House subcommittee that deals with terror issues, said officials shouldn't make citizens think that, despite the heightened terror alert, they need not take precautions.

"We need to be straight with people," he said.

He especially ripped Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's suggestion that people go on with their normal lives.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Here’s my favorite line from this report:

Jennifer Falk, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bloomberg, said "it's unfortunate that a U.S. congress- man has so little confidence in the world's greatest Police Department. We look forward to accepting his apology on Jan. 1."

Um, Ms. Falk, where was the ‘world’s greatest police department’ on 9/11/01?

Can they stop jets from slamming into the crowd?

I appreciate the caution from Rep. Shays and don’t appreciate the governmental arrogance from the mayor’s office.

NBC Airs Death Tape

REPORT:
NBC Nightly News aired an interesting video Tuesday night.

Iraqi state television took graphic footage of badly injured prisoners of war Jessica Lynch and Lori Piestewa, who may have died shortly afterward, following the ambush of the soldiers' convoy, NBC reported.

The video, aired Tuesday on "NBC Nightly News," shows the two Army privates - and best friends - at the hospital where they were taken following the March 23 ambush of the 507th Maintenance Co.

The tape was never aired in Iraq, NBC reported.

Piestewa, her face swollen and bruised and her head loosely bandaged, is shown as someone positions her feet, and then her head, for the camera shot. Her lip is shown curling back in an apparent grimace.

Lynch, 20, of Palestine, W.Va., is also shown bandaged, her lip cut.

Neither appears awake or alert.

"We had no idea that anyone had taped her or where this tape came from," Percy Piestewa, Lori's mother, told the Arizona Republic.

Piestewa told the newspaper that the family did not know Lori had been hospitalized with Lynch.

Telephone messages left with two spokespeople for Lynch's family were not immediately returned.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I didn’t see the NBC Nightly News Tuesday night, so I haven’t seen the video in question.

Yet, I’m struggling to understand the news value of airing the tape at all.

I know it is human nature to slow on the highway to look at the horrific human carnage of a bad car crash, but most newsrooms don’t air that footage.

Lynch and Piestewa were both victims of a car crash in a war zone.

You might argue that they have become high profile thus justifying the video broadcast. Princess Di was also high profile in her car crash, but TV stations respectfully chose to not air her mangled body.

NBC’s decision smacks of sensationalism rather than journalism.

UPDATE: NBC has the tape on their website, but at this moment, it doesn't appear to be operational.

UPDATE: While I'm still experiencing difficulty in viewing the MSNBC site, this appears to be the link to access the video.

I did watch the report online and found the video images to be grotesque and completely unnecessary for broadcast.

I'm Eating What?

REPORT:
Many of us are learning new terms in relation to cattle raising thanks to mad-cow disease.

U.S. agriculture officials yesterday banned sick or injured "downer" cattle from being processed for human food, the central piece of an overhaul of federal meat-safety regulations in response to the nation's first case of mad-cow disease.

The new regulation will eliminate as many as 200,000 downer cattle each year from the human food chain. Downers are animals that are unable to walk to slaughter because of disease or broken legs and other injuries.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
All I can think is: shame on me for not knowing more about the food I enjoy.

I hadn’t any idea that some cattle were termed “downers” and hadn’t any idea that cows that nearly died of natural causes were served on my plate.

What upsets me most (other than my ignorance) is that we paid full price for sick beef.

It’s like eating roadkill!

This is also a good lesson on how Uncle Sam is reactive, rather than proactive.

Goodbye Government Arts

REPORT:
States are seeking ways to cut spending and many have focused on the arts.

Cash-strapped state governments have slashed funding for theaters, museums and performance groups by nearly one quarter, while federal spending on the arts has edged up slightly.

Congress increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts to $122.5 million, up from $115.7 million, for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

At the same time, however, state arts spending plummeted from $354.5 million to $272.4 million, a drop of 23 percent.

In some states the decline was even more precipitous: California cut spending by 90 percent and Missouri eliminated appropriations for the arts.

The $122.5 million NEA appropriation is the largest for the agency since 1995, when it came under attack in Congress for supporting what critics said was obscene art. The appropriation was slashed from $162.3 million for 1995 to $99.5 million for 1996.

Contributions from state governments have fallen from a peak of $446.8 million in 2001, according to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

Three states showed the biggest declines, the organization reported. California, normally one of the biggest contributors to the arts, dropped its spending from $20.3 million in 2003 to $1.9 million for 2004. Michigan's arts budget was cut nearly in half, from $22.5 million to $11.8 million. Florida, in 2003 the biggest spender on the arts after New York, went down from $30 million to $6.7 million.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
It is very pleasing to see the states finally get their priorities in order. This is indeed very good news.

Unfortunately, the spend-happy Republican Congress and Republican president aren’t on the same page.

Calling Will Hunting

I can't possible imagine what it means to solve the Poincare Conjecture, but loving challenges, I find it pretty exciting that it may have been done.

Corporal Punishment Charges

REPORT:
A south Florida shop owner is in trouble for spanking a child.

Grigsby [the shop owner] says his troubles with the girl [age 13] began long before his arrest Dec. 12. Grigsby said the teen, who was not identified by police to protect her privacy, had shoplifted items, called him names and disregarded numerous pleas to stop skating inside the market.

But Grigsby, who says he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon in the early '80s, hesitated calling the police for fear of giving the girl the same black mark he has had to deal with for decades.

The breaking point, he said, was when she gave him too much money for a 60-cent bag of chips.

"You can't count?" he recalls asking.

That's when he said the girl began calling him names, spat at him and threw the two nickels he returned to her at his head.

"She wanted to stand in the middle of the store and argue with me like a grownup," Grigsby said. "Somebody's got to step up and say, `You can't act like that in public.'"

Grigsby, who is African-American, says his parents never spared him the belt. And he, in turn, never spared it on any of his eight children, who turned out just fine, he said.

"Nobody's in jail, nobody has a criminal record, nobody got shot. That's good to me," said Grigsby, who argues that children these days don't respect adults because society has become too soft on discipline.

But to Dan Kaufman, an attorney representing the Haitian girl in a pending lawsuit, Grigsby's comments are completely out of line.

"There's not a jury in this country who would support this type of behavior," Kaufman said. "If he wants to practice that on his own children, I pray for them, but he certainly can't do that to a child he doesn't even know."

Grigsby, who is out on $6,500 bail, is charged with misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment, a felony, for allegedly ordering another young customer to lock the shop's door and then beating the girl. He will celebrate his 53rd birthday in court at his arraignment Friday.

While he doesn't deny hitting his teenage customer, Grigsby says the door was never locked -- a distinction that could make a big difference in Grigsby's sentence if he's convicted.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
While I have yet to be presented with a situation where I’d use corporal punishment on my son (who’s now 13 - the same age as the girl in the story - and beyond the age at which I’d feel comfortable doing it at all), I whole heartedly support and advocate disciplined use of spanking to get the attention of out-of-control adolescents.

But, and here’s the key, I support it only when executed methodically by the parents of the child or other authorized discipliner (church or school figure, etc.). I do not support spontaneous corporal punishment by strangers. And a male aggressor and a female teen victim comes disturbingly close to a sexual assault.

If the shop owner felt the situation had gone out of control, he should have contacted the police.

I have no problems with the charges filed against him.

Fit or Fat: Where's my Donut?

REPORT:
How fat are Chicago cops?

The Chicago Police Department has offered a $250 bonus to motivate its officers to stay in shape, but so far the majority of them haven't budged.

For the second year in a row, the department's 13,500 officers were eligible for money if they volunteered for a physical fitness test. About 2,750 officers took the test this year, with 2,541 passing, officials said.

"I think certainly it gives us a more positive image," said Sgt. Jackie Campbell, the program's coordinator. "The pass rate that we've got in front of us shows we're in good shape."

The test itself is not new. In past years, the city has rewarded officers with a pin, an incentive that few found compelling. Only about 350 a year bothered to take the test then.

So last year, the department introduced the $250 bonus to sweeten the deal and saw the number of officers who took the test jump to about 2,600.

To get the money, officers must run 1 1/2 miles, bench press most of their body weight, do sit-ups and demonstrate their flexibility. Performance standards are based on age and gender.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
If there is a concern about Chicago police officers being fat and out of shape, instead of offering them a cash reward for improving, why not offer them a different financial incentive: FIRE THEM!

They shouldn't get extra money for what should already be expected of them. That would be like if you got paid for showing up for work on time - that's already expected.

There are few jobs that necessitate good physical conditioning the way that law enforcement does. Community safety hinges upon the physical shape of its law enforcement officers.

You don’t suppose that they can’t fire them for being fat because of their union contract, do you?

Pic of the Day

Now that's funny!

Public Site Meter?

I see that some blogs offer their Site Meter stats to all visitors while some (like mine) don't.

For me, the default setting is privacy until I hear a good argument for offering them up publicly. The only thing I can think of for offering them publicly is ego.

Am I missing something?

We Report, We Decide, III

REPORT:
This story appears under the headline, “Bush, Hillary are Most Admired.”

President Bush and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are finally on the same ticket — the most admired man and woman in America, according to a poll released yesterday.

The Republican president and the Democratic senator from New York won't be found on the same sides of many political issues, but both are seen in a favorable light by the American public.

When people were asked to name the man they admire the most, Mr. Bush was picked by 29 percent. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Pope John Paul II were named by 4 percent and former President Bill Clinton was named by 3 percent, according to the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

Mrs. Clinton was named by 16 percent, while talk show host Oprah Winfrey was picked by 7 percent, first lady Laura Bush by 6 percent and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice by 4 percent.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
The headline and first two sentences lead the reader to believe that both Bush and Hillary are on equal footing when it comes to admiration.

But, upon closer examination, you can see that those who admire Bush are nearly double of those who admire Sen. Clinton.

Many people only read the headlines and/or the first couple of sentences.

Media bias?

Abortion Parental Notification Shot Down

REPORT:
A victory for the pro-choice crowd?

ONCORD, N.H., Dec. 29 (AP) — A federal judge on Monday declared unconstitutional a state law that required notice to parents before a minor could get an abortion.

The ruling came two days before the law was to take effect.

The law's supporters said they would either appeal or rewrite the law to make it constitutional.

The law required abortion providers to notify a parent at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor. The parent would not have had to approve the abortion.

A girl could instead ask a judge for permission, which would be granted if the girl was mature enough or the abortion was found to be in her best interest.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
It is wholly unconscionable to me that anyone, even those who support so-called abortion rights, could support the idea that a minor child should be able to receive this procedure without the knowledge (not consent, mind you) of a parent. Frankly, I think consent is the more reasonable option of the two, but I guess that’s totally out of the question now.

Incidentally, I am pro-choice.

I have never/would never be a party to an abortion and would encourage anyone with an unwanted pregnancy to consider adoption as a last resort. But, I’m not comfortable with the government making what I consider to be personal medical choices.

Even as a pro-choicer, I’m utterly appalled at the idea that my daughter can have such a devastating (physically and emotionally) procedure without my knowledge. The government is taking away my rights as a parent to be involved in the medical decisions of my minor child.

On that note, Cam Edwards sums it up well:

So let me get this straight: I have to get a phone call from my son's school before they can give him an aspirin, but I'm not allowed to get a phone call from my daughter's doctor before they perform an abortion?

Both pro-choicers and pro-lifers should view this as a defeat. But, many pro-choicers are so radical in their views that any limits on abortion are viewed as bad no matter how reasonable they are.

The Death of Cursive

REPORT:
It seems that cursive is a dying skill.

It's an old-fashioned lesson seen less and less in classrooms across the nation. For today's keyboard-savvy kids, the antiquated art of cursive can seem like a waste of time, and cursive lessons can get pushed to the margins as teachers rush to cram in standardized test skills.

Even the National Cursive Handwriting Contest, a 75-year-old tradition that once drew 18,000 entries, recently was killed because of lack of interest.

The National Cursive Handwriting Contest was canceled in part because of the declining quality of entries.

"We were absolutely appalled at what teachers around the country felt was good handwriting," Trafford said. "We got some stuff in here that could only be described as garbage."

Cursive used to be a big deal for elementary school students.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I admit that this is a trend that I hadn’t given any substantive consideration.

I will tell you that I write extensively, though I rarely touch a pen.

With email and the proliferation of computer work stations, there is now only one occasion in which I am forced to hand write something – occasional bank checks. I say occasional because I use Quicken to pay all my bills and to handle my finances and only have to write checks for random unexpected expenses like pizza delivery, Girl Scout cookies, magazine subscriptions, etc.

While I’m pleased to know that I have the skill of cursive for random and occasional uses, I have to wonder to what extent today’s kids need to learn it. In college we used to learn how to program dot-matrix printers, but doing so now would seem useless. Likewise, what’s the point in emphasizing a skill that is so rarely needed today?

I’m not suggesting taking cursive completely out of the curriculum, but de-emphasizing it does seem reasonable to me.

If my child came to me and gave me the “I’ll never need this in real life” complaint, I’d have a hard time challenging that statement.

(Via Joanne Jacobs)

2003 WOW Stories

REPORT:
The end of the year always presents a flurry of ‘top 10 lists.’ CBS News has presented their Top 10 “WOW” Stories of the Year

A "Wow!" story is different from an "Important-But-Dull" or an "Isn't-That-Interesting?" story. When you read a "Wow!" story, it either shocks, amazes or makes you mad -- but you're engaged. Sure sign of a "Wow!" story: You want to tell somebody what you've just seen or read. And you want to know more.

Here’s the list:

10. Shuttle Columbia explosion
9. Hiker amputates arm
8. Hillary
7. France
6. Bush
5. Jessica Lynch
4. Laci Peterson
3. The War
2. Windshield Murderess Chante Mallard
1. Elizabeth Smart

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Based upon CBS’s definition for this list, I’d have to agree with the Space Shuttle, hiker arm amputee, Jessica Lynch, Windshield murderess, and Elizabeth Smart.

But, nothing Bush, Hillary, Laci, or France did made me want to pick up the phone and call someone with the news.

Missing from the list: Arnold (Cali Recall election), Rush’s drugs case, Roy Horn v. tiger, the NE blackout, the CA wildfires, and most importantly, the capture of Saddam Hussein (which was only mentioned off handed in “The War” entry).

News - Out of Season

One of the well-known phenomena of the News/Talk radio industry in which I work is that news is seasonal.

There is a typical news slowdown Christmas week and standstill the week between Christmas and New Years. There is a similar slowdown during much of the summer months.

I’ve always been hard pressed to explain the slowdown, but it surely does exist. I just can’t understand how news takes holidays – people still murder, rape, steal, cheat, fight, politic, debate, argue, burn and otherwise cause problems.

So, what gives with the seasonality of news?

Not only has my radio show been less-than-exciting lately, so has this blog. I see that many other blogs are suffering from the same problem.

Pray for interesting news.

LOTR: Not Ready for a Closeup

I was one of the millions of Americans who took in the Lord of the Rings sequel over the weekend.

I found the experience to be disappointing and I can’t quite determine what I thought about the movie itself.

My 13-year-old son is a big fan of the franchise and has read all the books. While I am not, I thought I’d be a good dad and take him to the 3 hour and 21 minute movie. I told him to invite one of his friends and I’d treat them to the movies.

As it turns out, the boy he invited is as big a fan of the LOTR franchise as he is. My son then tells me that the other boy’s dad will also be joining us. While I was looking forward to being the only hero dad, my thought was it might be a fun father-son double date.

Except, the other father was also a huge fan of LOTR who’d read all the books numerous times. I quickly realized I was odd-man-out when an in-depth discussion on the characters and story line broke out.

Even though we got to the theater 30-minutes early, we were only able to find four seats together in the third row. So, I spent nearly four hours (commercials, previews, movie, credits) looking straight up at a screen trying desperately to see all the action taking place while panning right and left to view it all.

You know, the theaters should charge a sliding scale for reserved seats that sets higher prices for middle seats at the center of the theater and less for the far back and front and sides. You can’t convince me that my seat was worth the same $9 that the guy sitting in the middle center paid.

While my experience was not what I had envisioned, it's always enjoyable to spend time with my son and his friends.

I'm just further reminded of why I so rarely go to the theater.

It's DVD or nothing for me!

Curious Names for 500, Please

Am I reading this right?

Is this reporter's name Jennifer 8. Lee?

8?

Blogrolling

Thank you to Andrew Dodge for adding TSOA to your Blogroll.

Andrew's been on mine for some time now.

Browsers

I've been using Microsoft IE 5.5 for a couple of years now. I've obviously experimented with Netscape Navigator, but have rarely ventured out into the lesser-known browsers.

Until now.

With a few days away from work, I've finally had some spare time to check out a couple of other browsers.

Mozilla Firebird seems rather stripped down to me and doesn't seem to offer much that I can't configure my IE to do.

Opera is very pleasing to the eye and is much more configurable than anything I've worked with in the past. I'm very pleased with my ability to better organize my bookmarks and, since I print much of what I read on the Internet, I'm quite pleased with the 'print preview' button.

Avant Browser uses the same Favorites that IE does. That's intolerable to me. When I use IE, I attach the Yahoo Companion toolbar to better organize my Favorites. Plus, that way I can take my Favorites with me to work and while traveling.

The downside to any browser but IE is that it can't use the Yahoo Companion toolbar.

At this moment, though, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make and I've certainly moved away from IE to Opera.

One thing is for sure, with the Yahoo Companion toolbar and the Google toolbar for IE and with the other great browsers on the market, there is never a reason again to be bothered by a pop-up ad.

Holiday COTV

Winds of Change is hosting the Carnival of the Vanities for Christmas.

But, you get the presents!

Follow this link and go enjoy the reading.

Ho Ho NO!

REPORT:
Another so-called Church V. State problem, this time in Illinois.

Firefighters in Glenview have been told to take down their indoor Christmas decorations after some residents complained that they were offended.

The decorations -- which included lights, a Christmas tree and a Santa Claus -- were inside Glenview's Station No. 7, at 3507 Glenview Rd., in the firefighters' main living area. Although the decorations were all inside, they were visible from the street if someone driving down Glenview Road peered into the windows.

"We need to serve all our residents and customers, and we had been receiving calls from citizens who were not happy seeing what they perceived to be Christmas or Christian decorations on a particular firehouse," said Janet Spector Bishop, a spokeswoman for the village.

The firefighters had decorated the outside of the station earlier in the season, but a resident complained to village officials that the decorations violated the separation of church and state doctrine. They were told they could leave the decorations up inside, but the village attorney said that would still be a violation of village policy.

"We don't want to be seen as favoring one religious group over another," Bishop said.

Because they don't want to upset anyone, Glenview's Village Hall is devoid of any holiday decorations. The lampposts along Glenview's downtown streets, however, are all wrapped in garland, with a "Seasons Greetings" sign and red ribbon on each.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I am a huge advocate of avoiding any appearances of government endorsing any type of religion, but even this has me sickened.

Those who would complain after peering into the windows of the firehouse residence surely must be inflamed about the Christmas trees and decorations visible at the White House.

The White House and the residence of the firehouse are both residences and government places of business.

These firefighters LIVE in that government building for days on end. They clearly have those decorations inside the building residence for THEIR benefit, not for religious advocacy to passersby.

There is (check that, there ‘should be’) nothing wrong with government employees privately expressing their faith (“the free expression thereof”) without it implying government endorsement.

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore placing a 2-ton granite monument in the most public part of the court house is a far cry different than if Judge Moore had placed a commemorative inscription on his desk in his chambers.

A government employee privately expressing his or her religious views in private workspace (or living space) of public buildings should be embraced rather than blocked.

I feel sorry for these firefighters who will be forced to live in a sterile workplace during these holidays devoid of any visible celebratory reminders. Of course, they will gladly put out the fires of Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists alike.

Merry Christmas to All!

I only blog when I work and I'm off until Monday to enjoy the Christmas holidays with my wife, son and daughter ... and my mother-in-law will be there, too.

I don't mean that the way it sounds...

I hope you have a great holiday and will come back for a visit on Monday, December 29th.

Goofnuts, California

I had a caller to my radio show today who claimed to be calling from "Nimrod, Texas."

My sarcastic response: Sure you are...

I stand corrected.

Hockey Gladiators

REPORT:
A new sport in the making?

WINNIPEG - Two men from Winnipeg want to make hockey fights the main event by staging "Hockey Gladiators" next fall.

Organizers Mike Davidson and Darryl Wolski say 60 hockey players will pay an entry fee to drop their gloves and duke it out for prize money.

Davidson says there is a lot of interest in hockey fighting and that their event, which will feature mostly minor-league players, has tremendous revenue potential.

The promoters are looking at holding "Hockey Gladiators" in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

It won't be held in Manitoba because the people who sanction such events here say they won't allow it.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
This ‘hockey meets Ultimate Fighting Champion’ will surely draw a few blood thirsty fans, but it won’t have the appeal of hockey.

Yes, it’s true that many of us look forward to fights at hockey games and crashes at NASCAR races, but it’s the suspense that makes those events even more appealing – there is no guarantee of a fight or crash or the magnitude of each.

Fisherman With A Sense of Humor

I love an original practical joke. This one is original and quite amusing.

I have to wonder how long until the PETA crowd complains. But, once you consider the alternative for the animal in question, PETA should be thankful, I suppose.

Death to Bambi

REPORT:
Animal rights activists are peeved at Connecticut deer hunters.

STAMFORD -- The poor on Connecticut's Gold Coast are caught in the crossfire of an unusual controversy that has left them with competing offers of exotic food.

The choice: Deer meat courtesy of conservationists, or vegetarian fare donated by animal rights activists opposed to the deer hunt.

Some advocates are not amused that the homeless have been brought into a dispute over deer hunting.

"To use the most disenfranchised population as pawns is upsetting," said Kate Lombardo, executive director of the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County.

The dispute began when Audubon Connecticut decided last month to allow bow hunting of deer on its 285-acre sanctuary in wealthy Greenwich.

Audubon officials said the deer population of about 60 had grown so large that it was damaging the ecosystem by ravaging wildflowers, shrubs and wildlife species. Ten staff members had contracted Lyme disease, they said.

The conservation group is donating about 500 pounds of deer meat from the hunt to homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the area.

"Venison is delicious," said Tom Baptist, vice president and executive director of Audubon Connecticut. "It's the most sensible thing to do with the deer."

But Friends of Animals in Darien objected and countered with an offer of an equal amount of such vegetarian fare as tempeh London broil or spinach lasagna.

"We're willing to cook them meals and also have them catered to replace, pound-for-pound, deer flesh with other foods that aren't produced from acts of cruelty," said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. "Now call off the hunt."

The offer did not go over well.

"They offered some kind of lentil casseroles. Can you see giving a child lentil casserole?" Lombardo said.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
The first thing that jumped out at me about this story is the irony of the animal rights advocate with a surname of “Feral.”

Beyond that, it is important to understand that deer are the number one animal killer of humans in America. They destroy billions of dollars of foliage annually and billions of dollars in auto and truck collisions.

With the dwindling population of natural predators (wolfs, et al) and the dwindling population of hunters, deer populations have grown uninhibited for generations to the extent that they’ve become a nuisance.

The bottom line is that deer are vermin in many areas in this country and must be treated as such.

As long as they’re being killed, it serves everyone best if the meat can be served to those who could use it.

If You Build It ... Will They Come?

REPORT:
A final plan appears to be in place to replace the WTC.

Many New Yorkers have opposed such a tower at the World Trade Center site for fear that the world's tallest building would be a terrorist target. But even terrorists might have trouble figuring out which ranks as the "world's tallest."

Plans were unveiled Friday for a building that Mayor Michael Bloomberg said will "dramatically reclaim" the Manhattan skyline on the plot where the twin towers stood until Sept. 11, 2001. The drawings show a distinctive tower, scheduled for completion in 2009, that would be the world's tallest building.

That title generally belongs now to the twin Petronas Towers in Malaysia, each 1,483 feet tall.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
There are two schools of thought on building the world’s tallest tower on the WTC site:

Hell yeah we’re building the world’s tallest! We’re America and we’re going to show those terrorists that you don’t screw with us. We’ll survive and prosper better than ever!

Or…

Why would we create another massive target for future terrorists? It is precisely this type of arrogance that makes them hate us in the first place.

Which school of thought do I subscribe to?

Neither, really.

I feel that if the developer can get businesses to commit to move in, so be it.

But, if I was a business owner in need of space, I would never move into this tower. For the sake of my bottom line, my life and my employee’s life and health, I would not move into such a high-profile (in both senses of the word) building.

Big Brother Riding Shotgun

REPORT:
The police in the U.K. are seeking more power.

Police are urging Ministers to give them the power to stop vehicles by remote control.

Cars could be stopped by the gradual reduction of engine power so it slowly comes to a stop, or by making sure when drivers come to a halt they can not move again.

Stopping cars remotely sounds futuristic, but the basic technology is already available and used in lorries to limit the top speed to 56mph and in new systems to immobilise stolen cars.

The key is the electronics box in most new cars which, when the driver presses the accelerator or brake, sends a message to the engine to speed up or slow down. It can be programmed to limit the speed generally or according to the position of the car, established via a GPS satellite. For remote operation, a modem, which works like a mobile phone, can be used tell the car to slow down or stop.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
This concept is already being debated in California for big rigs, so it’s only a matter of time before some state legislators take the next step and suggest implementation here in cars.

And who could argue against it?

You already know what the supporting arguments will be:

If you’re not breaking the laws, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

It will save lives. "If we can save just one life it will be worth it."

The police have dangerous enough jobs as it is without have to involve themselves in high-speed pursuits.

Why would anyone be against this?

Well, I guess I can think of a few reasons.

For one thing, if humans created the system, other humans can crack into it. How long will it be before high tech criminals hack the system and start shutting down high price cars with high price cargo? If I were a criminal, I’d be looking for the hottest Mercedes with the hottest woman driving it and stop them in some isolated highway and have my way with both. Women who are concerned with “saving lives” should consider this possibility.

Also, I wonder how many murderous criminals, who’d ordinarily lead police in a high speed pursuit, would instead fight violently against the police. Fight or flight? If you take away one, they’ll do the other.

I’m sure the state legislators would also be interested in shutting down cars of dead beat dads, parole violators and those who’ve failed to make their car payments. Except, there’s no guarantee that the violator will be the one driving the car at the time of the stop.

It sure will be easier to racially profile if police can stop the car of certain races.

What about older model cars with no electronics on them? Will they be grandfathered or outlawed?

What will the penalty be for a driver that disables the remote shutdown system?

Motorcycles?

I also have to wonder why every car buying American will have to pay for this system when only a very small percentage will ever be used.

Yet, in spite of all the reasons to oppose this advancement in police ability, I suspect that few will.

Most people rightly suspect that it will never happen to them. But, that’s a lousy reason to support it.

Slavery would have never happened to me either, but I’d still oppose it on principle.

The Truth Sends Its Regards

REPORT:
What really happened when Saddam crawled out of his hole?

Saddam Hussein spat at American soldiers moments after his capture and was promptly punched by one of them, according to US government sources.

Time magazine, citing officials familiar with confidential accounts of Saddam's capture, cast doubt yesterday on the Pentagon version, that a defiant Saddam offered to negotiate, only to be told by one GI: "Regards from President Bush."

That exchange is "apocryphal", an intelligence official told Time. The true version involved Saddam spitting on his captors as they dragged him from his "spider-hole" hiding place.

"A soldier promptly slugged the old tyrant," Time reported. Coalition military spokesmen in Baghdad claimed no knowledge of the fateful punch.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
By the way, in case you were wondering (as I was) -

Apocryphal - Of questionable authorship or authenticity.

When I first heard that quote, “President Bush sends his regards,” I thought to myself, “Hmm… I doubt that was ever voiced…” I was certain that we’d learn in the future that that comment was never expressed.

I don’t mean to sound like a Cassandra, but imagine yourself in the soldier’s position of finding the most highly sought after man in Iraq. Many of these soldiers are in their teens and twenties and have been searching for eight months to no avail.

They were probably far too stunned at their discovery of Saddam Hussein in an unprotected, unassuming hole in the ground to rattle off some cool Hollywood movie line like “President Bush sends his regards.” The more likely reaction was, “Holy Sh*t!!! That’s freakin’ Saddam Hussein!!”

I remember during the Bush V. Gore election that Gore routinely proved to be a pathological liar. He would lie even when the truth would serve him better.

I think this is one of those cases. I doubt that the line in question came from Bush, but it does lend to the Angry Left’s version of this being a ‘fictitious war by a fictitious president.’

I couldn’t be happier to see that Saddam has been captured, but please spare me the glib Bruce Willis yippee kai yay movie lines.

Reciprocals

Peppermint Patty and My Word have recently added The Sake of Argument to their Blogrolls.

Right back 'atcha!

Both have been added to my Blogroll on the left side of the page.

Thank you!

Teen Thief is a Victim

REPORT:
There’s an interesting story in the Detroit Free Press under the headline, “Teen takes nuggets, gets a suspension.”

Here are the first five paragraphs of the report:

An Anchor Bay High School student won't be back in school until January thanks to a 5-day suspension.

His infraction: swiping chicken nuggets from the school lunch line.

The student's mother, Hope Sauer of Casco Township, said her son didn't know the chicken was not included in the free lunch he receives each day.

School officials say it was the second offense for Robert Struck, a 15-year-old freshman.

"He was trying to steal the chicken to impress his friends," said Paul Rogers, director of human resources for the Anchor Bay School District.

And here are the last four paragraphs:

Sauer said she wouldn't condone stealing. But she said she thinks a 5-day suspension for some chicken is too severe.

"He didn't have a weapon," Sauer said. "He didn't do anything major, other than take something he didn't know he couldn't have."

But Anchor Bay officials maintain more than chicken is at stake.

"Schools teach all kinds of lessons," Rogers said. "One of the things we don't want to teach is that a child can go around the rules of society if they have a mom that supports them, a good lawyer and they can sell their case to the newspaper."

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
It’s the middle 16 paragraphs that strike me as odd. An excerpt:

The case brings up an issue faced in high school cafeterias across the country: Those who can pay can get pizza, chicken nuggets and fries. Those who cannot pay get designated balanced, but often bland, meals.

Schools receive federal money to help pay for free or reduced-price lunches for low-income students. Struck qualifies because his mother was in a disabling accident in 2000.

The federal government requires free lunches to be nutritious. But high schools across the country have been jazzing up lunchroom menus with offerings that could be questionably nutritious, such as pizza, chicken nuggets, fries and other teen-friendly food.

Occasionally, pizza or french fries are on the main menu available to those getting the subsidized lunches. But more often, the pizza and fries must be purchased separately.

I’m amused how reporters Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki and Teresa Mask took a standard school crime report, headlined it with “Teen takes nuggets, gets a suspension,” and wrote the majority of the story (16 out of 25 paragraphs) about how unfair it is for children getting free food to not be able to choose which free good they get.

A two-time offender teen steals that which does not belong to him and the bleeding-heart reporters brand him a victim because the elitist taxpayers provide the food he needs rather than the food he wants.

We should all feel horrible that we’ve put this boy in such a painful position.

Try That With Your DI

REPORT:
Hold the snot, please!

CLARION, Pa. - A former fast food chef will spend 90 days in jail for fixing a state trooper's hamburger with one too many ingredients — spittle.

Joshua Arbuckle, 18, of Hawthorn, admitted fouling a burger ordered by Trooper Robert Manno, when Arbuckle worked at the Burger King in Clarion in February.

The trooper discovered that Arbuckle had spit on the burger when Manno tried to remove the pickles from the sandwich.

A sample of the saliva from the burger was then tested against a sample taken from Arbuckle, who pleaded guilty to service of adulterated food and retaliation for past official action. Arbuckle got jail time for the food charge and two years' probation for the retaliation charge, which police say stemmed from Arbuckle's past run-ins with police.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I find this sentence to be the most interesting from the report:

Arbuckle's probation, imposed Wednesday, might be cut short if he's accepted into the military.

Uh, what?

Someone who has a problem with authority figures can avoid punishment by joining an organization known for authority figures?

Doesn’t seem like a good match to me.

Politics: The Blame Game, II

REPORT:
Political damage control is in full swing in investigating the 9/11 attacks.

The chairman of a federal commission looking into the Sept. 11 attacks said Thursday that mistakes over many years left the United States vulnerable to such an attack, but he resisted pinning blame on either of the last two presidential teams.

"We have no evidence that anybody high in the Clinton administration or the Bush administration did anything wrong," chairman Thomas Kean said in an interview with ABC's "Nightline" taped for airing Thursday night.

Kean said the 10-member National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States has not decided whether to ask former President Clinton or President Bush to testify. He also said that any conclusions about the performance of high-level officials "will be reached when we are finished with our job, not now."

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
This is a very misleading comment from Thomas Kean.

Just because there is no specific evidence that Bush or Clinton “did anything wrong” doesn’t mean that they did everything right.

The Clinton and Bush Justice Departments did nothing to force the INS to enforce their own laws regarding student visas. Al Qaeda wouldn’t have had the manpower to commit the attacks on 9/11 if we’d bounced out student visa violators. The Justice Department’s OSI spends millions of dollars a year and commits extensive resources to hunting down Nazis from several wars ago (who are American immigration scofflaws), but we’re asleep at the wheel in tracking down our current enemy.

As supreme defenders of our Constitution, of course Bush and Clinton are to blame. As Bush had eight months and Clinton had eight years to defend us from this attack, I’ll surly acknowledge that there are varying degrees of blame to be split between the two. The attacks were being planned for some six years.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he reviewed the CBS report and did not believe Kean leveled accusations against the Bush administration.

"There is nothing that we have seen that leads us to believe that Sept. 11 could have been prevented," McClellan said.

Lovely, the buck stops nowhere.

Seeking Justice for Our Enemies

REPORT:
A judicial blow to the Bush Administration was dealt Thursday.

In a 65-page decision, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 that the U.S. government must release Jose Padilla from military custody within 30 days.

If appropriate, Padilla also can be held as a material witness in connection with grand jury proceedings, the court said.

"The government can transfer Padilla to appropriate civilian authorities who can bring criminal charges against him," the order said.

Padilla has been held in a South Carolina naval brig for the past year and a half.

Padilla, 33, accused of being an al Qaeda operative, has been in federal custody since he arrived in Chicago, Illinois, in May 2002 on a flight from Pakistan. He was initially arrested as a material witness for the grand jury probe into the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A former gang member, Padilla is accused of plotting to detonate a "dirty bomb," which uses conventional explosives to disperse radioactive materials. The government said he had proposed the bomb plot to Abu Zubaydah, then al Qaeda's top terrorism coordinator. Zubaydah was arrested in Pakistan in March 2002.

The government maintains Padilla received explosives training in al Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan and plotted with the group to bomb hotels and gas stations, and to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" -- a conventional explosive laced with radioactive material -- inside the United States.

The government never levied criminal charges against Padilla before President Bush declared in June 2002 that he represented a "grave danger to the national security" of the nation, reclassifying him as an enemy combatant, and transferring him to military custody, where he has remained incommunicado.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Let me see if I understand this right – an American citizen caught on a foreign battlefield taking up arms against U.S. soldiers is granted due process and sentenced to 20 years in prison and another, also an American citizen, captured at an American airport is denied his due process?

Both are alleged to have been fighting for the same cause – Al Qaeda – and both have ignited visceral fury from flag-waving Americans who can’t understand why they would allegedly turn against this nation.

Yet, one, John Walker Lindh, was given his due process and the other, Jose Padilla, has not.

I shudder at the thought that any president has the authority to point his finger at any American citizen walking down the block and say, “That one. He’s bad. Throw him in jail and deny him due process!”

I don’t argue this in defense of Jose Padilla personally, but for his rights as an American citizen.

Like you, I’m not privy to the evidence against Padilla, so I can’t judge his guilt. For what it’s worth, Padilla is also not privy to the evidence against him.

I can only assume that the Bush Administration has something to fear in bringing charges against Padilla. Otherwise, they’d have done so by now.

But, if they have solid evidence against Padilla, they shouldn’t fear taking him to court and seeking a conviction.

The Constitution was designed to limit the powers of government and to protect citizens from overreaching government agents.

Thursday was a good day for our Constitution.

There is nothing wrong with seeking The American Way for people we fear and hate.

Non-Pledge Drive

I think Spoons has a pretty good point that most of us bloggers can relate to.

PETA Outrageous

REPORT:
PETA is in the news again.

Animal rights advocates will single out small children at performances of ``The Nutcracker'' in the next few weeks by handing out fliers saying ``Your Mommy Kills Animals'' to youngsters whose mothers are wearing fur.

``Children can't look up to a mom in a battered-raccoon hat or a crushed coyote collar,'' said Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. ``Maybe when they're confronted by their own children's hurt looks, fur-wearers' cold hearts will melt.''

The fliers include a color drawing of a woman plunging a large bloody knife into the belly of a terrified rabbit. The fliers urge kids to ``ask your mommy how many dead animals she killed to make her fur clothes.

``And the sooner she stops wearing fur, the sooner the animals will be safe. Until then, keep your doggie or kitty friends away from mommy - she's an animal killer.''

You can see the banner here.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
There is nothing more viscerally repugnant than an individual or organization that would attempt to turn an innocent child against her mother.

PETA is shameless in its attempt to always one-up themselves as media whores.

It’s a real shame because I am very sympathetic to animal needs, but I wouldn’t associate with PETA ever because of their radical agenda.

Politics: The Blame Game

REPORT:
Breaking news from CBS:

For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.

"This is a very, very important part of history and we've got to tell it right," said Thomas Kean.

"As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," he said. "This was not something that had to happen."

Appointed by the Bush administration, Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, is now pointing fingers inside the administration and laying blame.

"There are people that, if I was doing the job, would certainly not be in the position they were in at that time because they failed. They simply failed," Kean said.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Blogger Oliver Willis sees a media conspiracy:

THINKING: This story broke about 4.5 hours ago and CBS is still the only one with it? Odd.

Odd?

Perhaps, Oliver, other media outlets recognize that this is not news.

Was it news that the Hindenburg explosion was preventable?

Pearl Harbor?

The Titanic?

James Dean dying in a car crash?

All preventable.

Of course 9/11 was preventable!

Of course 9/11 was a human failure!

Neither of which is news.

Now, the bigger question that the Angry Left has is whether Bush is the person who should have prevented 9/11 from happening.

I’m here to tell you right now that George W. Bush is absolutely responsible for failing to prevent 9/11 from happening. In spite of the fact that he was only in office for eight months at the time of the attack, as our president, he had a duty to provide for our common defense. Surely there was something he could have done to prevent the attack from happening.

Likewise, I place blame and accountability on Presidents Clinton, Bush (the other one) and Reagan. There were numerous Islamist terror attacks that happened under their watches that should have launched a movement to fight terrorists; Clinton particularly, since the planning took place during his administration.

Also to blame: the airline industry, airport security industry, the FBI, NORAD, the Pentagon, INS, the Border Patrol, and the passengers on three of the flights who stood by and did nothing to defend themselves or others.

There is not one single person or event that could have changed that would have prevented this attack from happening. Multiple people and agencies failed the American people on, and leading up to, 9/11/01.

If I had to point my finger at one person or agency, it would be George Tenet at the CIA. Tenet was confirmed as the CIA Director in July of 1997 – a Clinton appointee. Bush did not replace him when he took office because intelligence is not supposed to be a partisan issue – there is no Democrat or Republican intelligence.

All of DC made a wholesale change in January of 2001, except the CIA. The CIA can also be fingered for presenting dubious intelligence about the level of threat that Saddam Hussein posed.

Yet, I stand by my assertion that not one person or agency is to blame for the 9/11 attacks.

I do find interesting that many of the Angry Left are assailing Bush for his so-called preemptive attack against Iraq. Can you imagine if he’d done the same to Afghanistan in early 2001 without provocation? He would have been pilloried endlessly, yet could have prevented 9/11.

Bush, meet Catch 22.

Those that would attack Bush today for not doing enough to stop 9/11/01 are failing to recognize that he quite likely is in the process of preventing the next attack.

(Hat tip: Talk Left)

Clark Baiting Bush

REPORT:
Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark has an interesting suggestion for President Bush.

BOSTON — Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark said Tuesday that it is time to end the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and use the intelligence agents and U.S. troops there to find Usama bin Laden instead.

President Bush cited Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons stockpile as a reason for going to war in Iraq, but none have been found.

Clark … has argued that bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, posed a bigger threat to the United States than the former Iraqi leader.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
President Bush is too smart to be goaded into taking this bait from Clark.

If Bush just threw in the towel on the WMD search, Clark & Co would endlessly slather GWB with the ‘miserable failure’ slogan for failing to find the justification for the Iraqi invasion.

That would amount to political suicide for Bush on the WMD issue.

Yet, all good things must come to an end and, eventually, so will our WMD search.

But, when?

Seeing that it took us 8 months to find Saddam Hussein - a live, easily identifiable person - I don’t think the time has come to ditch the WMD search. If the WMDs are in Iraq, they too are buried deep in a spider hole somewhere in the desert.

I would say at least twice the time it took us to find Saddam will be needed to conclude the WMD search.

Osama as Political Weapon

REPORT:
Just kidding, says Madeleine Albright.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright insisted Wednesday that she was just kidding when she wondered aloud whether the Bush administration is holding Usama bin Laden captive, waiting to break him out at the best political moment.

It was a "tongue-in-cheek comment and was not intended in any other way," Albright told Fox News.

But witnesses to Albright's comment said the ambassador did not appear to be joking Tuesday when she suggested President Bush may reveal bin Laden's capture as an "October surprise" before next November's presidential election.

Albright was in the Fox News studio's green room waiting to appear on an evening program when she made the remark.

"She said, 'Do you suppose that the Bush administration has Usama bin Laden hidden away somewhere and will bring him out before the election?'" said Fox News analyst and Roll Call executive editor Mort Kondracke. "She was not smiling."

Two makeup artists who prep the guests before their appearances also reported that Albright did not ask her question in a joking manner.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
If, in fact, is was just a joke, as Albright claims, it seems to me to be indicative of her all-consuming hatred for George Bush that she would offer this opinion totally unsolicited. It was clearly a thought that was top-of-mind for Albright.

This is also a tactic (whether conscious or otherwise) of many political partisans to float a theory in hopes that gains traction and sinks into the public’s consciousness.

Adolf Hitler's minister of propaganda, Josef Goebbles, said that if you can repeat a lie often enough, it will soon appear as the truth.

Albright and Rep. Jim McDermott (D – WA) have both floated similar outlandish theories of political deception perpetrated by the Bush Administration in hopes that their lies would be accepted as the truth.

That having been said, the possibility does exist that Bush had captured Saddam Hussein weeks ago and has Osama in custody and has not yet announced his capture.

But, not for the political gain that Albright and McDermott assert.

Mark Bowden, The Atlantic Monthly (via Taranto):

It is likely that some captured terrorists' names and arrests have not yet been revealed; people may be held for months before their "arrests" are staged. Once a top-level suspect is publicly known to be in custody, his intelligence value falls. His organization scatters, altering its plans, disguises, cover stories, codes, tactics, and communication methods. The maximum opportunity for intelligence gathering comes in the first hours after an arrest, before others in a group can possibly know that their walls have been breached. Keeping an arrest quiet for days or weeks prolongs this opportunity.

With that in mind, Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark might be well advised to temper his rabid Bush-Osama attacks.

”If I'd been president, I would have had Osama bin Laden by this time," Clark said at a news conference in Concord, New Hampshire, where he was campaigning for votes in the nation's first primary, January 27.

If Madeleine Albright truly believed in an upcoming “October Surprise” instead of joking as she claims, she should have stood by her words and intelligently defended her comments, alluding to the logic behind doing so.

I am not bothered in the least at the thought that the Bush Administration may be aware of the covert captivity (or death) of Osama bin Laden. Though, I would be rubbed the wrong way if Bush did wait for no other reason than politics to announce his incarceration in the months or weeks prior to the November election.

But, if Bush’s political opponents (Clark, Kerry, et al) use Osama as an unseemly political weapon against Bush (which they have), then I’ll grant Bush much more latitude to whip out Osama at his leisure once he’s exhausted him of useful information.

Checkout Rage?

REPORT:
Not road rage, but checkout rage in PA:

ENOLA, Pa. (AP) - Authorities said a woman was buying groceries at the Giant Food Store in Pennsboro Commons on Dec. 9 when a problem with some coupons she was trying to use caused a delay. A woman behind her, apparently concerned that she would be late for an appointment, asked how long the transaction would take, police said.

The first woman, police said, got angry and cursed at the woman behind her, then finished her transaction and left.

The second woman also finished her transaction, left the store and was walking toward her car when she was allegedly confronted by the first shopper's husband, who had driven into a handicapped parking space to wait for her, police said.

Arrest documents allege that he got out of the vehicle, grabbed the woman and shoved her, and also knocked over her shopping cart, spilling her groceries onto the parking lot.

The woman sustained bruised legs and a swollen wrist. The man faces charges of simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct, police said.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
This poor guy…

You know his wife came back to the car and screamed at her husband to ‘defend her honor.’

From his point of view, he knew he could either drive away and listen to his wife nag and harangue him endlessly or he could go assault the other woman and make peace with his wife and be her hero.

Assault, disorderly conduct and harassment versus having your wife infuriated at you?

I’m sure he’s pleased with his decision.

65th CoTV

Drumwaster's Rants is hosting the 65th Carnival of the Vanities.

Go there now.

Don't Shoot the Moon

REPORT:
President Bush will appear in North Carolina Wednesday to mark the 100th anniversary of flight.

Expect no new initiatives to be announced.

President Bush will visit Kill Devil Hills, N.C., Wednesday to help celebrate the centennial of the first flight. But he won't announce plans to resume manned flights to the moon.

"I do not expect him to announce any new initiatives," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I argued staying away from the moon previously.

Putting humans in outer space for simple bragging rights worked well during the battle against the Commies during the 60s, but with ever-escalating progressive tax burdens and our massive national debt, pride has become a pathetic reason to put meaningless propaganda projects in outer space.

This is very promising news from this spend-crazy administration.

Funding the Flu

REPORT:
Congress wants to fix the current flu ‘crisis.’

(CNN) -- Federal health officials will seek $150 million from Congress over the next two years to encourage flu vaccine makers to adopt new manufacturing processes that could speed up production to respond to outbreaks, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Tuesday.

Thompson also said officials are hopeful that this year's flu outbreak has peaked, though it remains unclear if it will move from hard-hit western states into the East.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
That’s so typical of our federal government – they seek to solve a so-called problem that they don’t yet fully understand.

Experts don’t yet know if this season will be any more deadly than any other flu season. Yet, because of all the media hype surrounding it, lawmakers are only too eager to be heroic and trot in on their white horse to save the day.

Lee at Right-Thinking has a firm grasp on the flu hysteria:

So, why is there a shortage of flu vaccinations? It's simple economics. When you have an artificially high demand you will have a shortage. Because of the hysteria over the flu, we have people waiting in line for hours to get vaccinated, which is creating a much higher demand than normal. With the higher demand, and a price that is undoubtedly controlled by the government, we now have a shortage. Just you wait, this shortage is going to be used by one of the Democratic presidential candidates as proof that health care needs to be under the purview of the federal government and not left to the pesky free market.

Remember a few years ago when there was that whole outbreak of shark attacks on the east coast? Someone analyuzed the data and it turned out that there was no more shark attacks that year than there had been any other year. The only difference was that, for some reason, the media decided to focus on shark attacks, thus giving the impression of a bigger problem than actually existed.

Throwing more of my money at a situation that is not fully understood is wholly unacceptable to me.

But it’s SOP in DC.

Easy, Quick Holiday Dessert

I don't typically offer recipes on this blog (in fact, I've never done it before), but I was at a Christmas party on my block earlier this week and a neighbor made an out-of-this world dessert that I thought you might enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith apples
1 roll of Pillsbury crescent dough (8-count)
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 12oz can Mountain Dew

Peel both apples. Cut each apple into 4 slices and core. Place in microwave for 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, melt the butter. Pour in sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well and set aside. In baking dish, roll each slice of apple inside of a crescent roll dough. Spoon butter and sugar mixture over each crescent. Then pour the can of Mountain Dew over the top of the crescents. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Best if served a la mode.

Catholic Pity for Saddam

REPORT:
The Catholic Church feels sorry for Saddam Hussein, it seems.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A top Vatican official says he feels pity and compassion for Saddam Hussein and criticises the U.S. military for showing video footage of him being treated "like a cow".

Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's Justice and Peace department and a former papal envoy to the United Nations, told a news conference on Tuesday it would be "illusory" to think the arrest of the former Iraqi president would heal all the damage caused by a war which the Holy See opposed.

"I felt pity to see this man destroyed, (the military) looking at his teeth as if he were a cow. They could have spared us these pictures," he said.

"Seeing him like this, a man in his tragedy, despite all the heavy blame he bears, I had a sense of compassion for him," he said in answer to questions about Saddam's arrest.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I grew up in the Catholic Church. As I matured and started questioning things around me, I found myself having disagreements with the Church. While remaining Christian, I have not considered myself a Catholic in over 20 years.

This report of the comments from Cardinal Martino makes me all that much more certain that I made the correct choice.

Cardinal Martino has failed to keep Saddam Hussein in perspective with the actions he’s committed over the past couple of decades.

While he may have looked feeble and confused in the video broadcast on the TV news, he is not an innocent victim. If he is a victim at all, it is of his own evil.

I was sad when I saw that video, but not for the same reason as Cardinal Martino.

I was sad when realizing just how horrendous my fellow humans can be sometimes. That Saddam could rape, kill and torture so many innocent citizens for so long and order his troops to fight to their death, yet cowardly crawl out of a hole in the ground seeking to surrender is, to me, sad. It’s sad from Saddam’s point of view that he didn’t have the conviction of purpose to lead by example.

If the American military that produced the video of Saddam being examined committed a ‘crime,’ it pales in comparison to the crimes that Saddam committed.

That is the perspective that Cardinal Martino avoids.

Shame, again, on the Catholic Church.

UPDATE: Peppermint Patty has an amusing line:

Now, this may sound slightly blasphemous, but knowing that Cardinal Martino will never produce offspring allows me to sleep better at night.

Proud Dad Sharing Baby Pix

This is my 3.5 month old daughter getting excited about her introduction to Santa.

As you can imagine, I've grown quite fond of her.

Keiko The Land Whale

REPORT:
It’s over for Keiko.

OSLO, Norway (AP) --Keiko, the killer whale star of the "Free Willy" movies, was buried Monday in a snow-bound pasture during the deep darkness of Nordic winter in a ceremony kept secret from the public.

"We wanted to let him be at peace," said Dane Richards, one of his caretakers. "He's free now and in the wild."

The roughly six-ton whale died Friday in a Norwegian bay where his team was trying to reintroduce him to the wild. His trainers said the likely cause of death was pneumonia.

Richards said the burial in a pasture just yards from where Keiko, about 26, died was done in secret to avoid a media circus.

Despite the whale's size, the burial went smoothly, Richards said. Machines dug a hole near the waterline, under cover of darkness, and then slid Keiko slowly a few yards across the snow into his grave, he said.

"It was beautiful. He went to the grave quietly, quickly and peacefully, just like he died," said Richards. Only seven people -- including his team and the machine operator -- were present.

Normally, Norwegian fisheries authorities would order the remains of a large sea mammal towed to sea and sunk in deep water. However, they acted quickly during the weekend to give Keiko's backers, which included the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation and the Human Society of the United States, permission to bury the celebrity on land.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
What an outrageous and amusing load of rubbish!

This is really a case of self-loathing tree huggers who couldn’t stand the thought of having the image of their prized killer whale being broadcast or photographed dead.

Keiko’s bloated body being dragged by his tail by a backhoe across rocks and land would be an embarrassing picture of failure for the do-gooders who spent $20 million trying to teach the whale that the only proper lifestyle is one of hating humans.

They buried him in secret because they were mortified at their own personal failure, not out of some sort of attempt at whale dignity.

What a curious tribute to the ocean ecosystem that they’ve professed their love and admiration for by burying him on land. In doing so, they’ve denied fish and marine life (both large and small) food that would continue to provide a fertile habitat that would give life to other wild Orcas.

Classic hypocrisy.

Rep: Ban Eight Curse Words

REPORT:
One lawmaker thinks it’s time to clean up our TV airwaves.

A California lawmaker, upset that rock star Bono used vulgarity on live TV and regulators have done nothing about it, wants to ban certain swear words from the airwaves.

Republican Rep. Doug Ose said he was amazed when the Federal Communications Commission refused to take action against television stations that showed the U2 frontman using an expletive at the Golden Globe Awards last January.

The FCC's enforcement bureau said in October that Bono's comment was an adjective or expletive that did not meet its definition of indecency or obscenity because it did not describe a sexual function.

"C'mon, give me a break," said Ose. "I don't think there's a parent in the country who wants to hear this stuff come out of their TV."

He introduced a bill last week that would punish television and radio broadcasters if they aired any of eight specific words and phrases. The language of the bill, the Clean Airwaves Act, is far saltier than Bono's comment.

The five FCC commissioners, responding to an appeal by the Parents Television Council, a Los Angeles-based watchdog group, are reviewing the October decision regarding Bono's comment.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
If you’d like to see specifically which words (and phrases) Ose wishes to ban, click this link and enter “H.R. 3687” into the search window. Of course, consider yourself warned that the language is objectionable.

You may have thought that such a banned list already exists, but you’d be wrong. More likely, you’ve confused it with an old George Carlin comedy routine called the “Seven Dirty Words.”

You can view Carlin’s list here.

You’ll note that there is only a slight difference between Carlin’s list and Ose’s list.

I commented on the current level of vulgarities on TV just last week when Nicole Richie dropped the “F” and “S” bombs live on Fox TV during the Billboard Music Awards. While deploring the use of vulgarities, I advocated a free market approach, free of government regulation and control.

Commenter Cinomed expressed it more explicitly:

I would go as far as to say, allow ANYTHING on any TV station.

Then we would have some stations that would be honor bound by their own word, "We are a family channel, and before Midnight you will have no cursing or nudity"

You would know what channels and or shows you could or could not allow children to watch.

I agree wholeheartedly.

The market has ways of naturally finding the direction needed to super serve the marketplace.

There is a huge market for wholesome TV programming (as there is for the opposite), and I’ve no doubt that numerous companies would serve that market well.

Reward the Troops?

REPORT:
There was a $25 million bounty on capturing Saddam Hussein. Who gets it?

There's no clear word yet on who, if anyone, will get the $25-million bounty promised for information leading to Saddam Hussein's capture. But U.S. officials indicated that someone close to the deposed dictator's family might be in the money.

Sunday's Sunday Times of London said one of the few people in regular contact with Hussein was his second wife, Samira Shahbandar, who had been living in Lebanon with the former leader's only surviving son, Ali, 21.

Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division that captured Saddam, said that during the past week-and-a-half, U.S. soldiers questioned "five to 10 members" of families "close to Saddam." he added, "Finally we got the ultimate information from one of these individuals."

If Hussein's family profits from his fall, it wouldn't be the first time. In a statement issued in July, Secretary of State Colin Powell drew attention to the $30 million paid out to "one individual who provided the critical piece of information that led to the location of Uday and Qusay Hussein." Several reports said a Hussein cousin got that reward.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Some callers to my radio show have suggested that the U.S. troops that found him should divvy up the $25 mil.

They’re already underpaid and under appreciated and most deserve the money since they’re the ones that actually found him and hauled him in, they argue.

I can assure you, though, that these courageous troops will never (and should never) be paid any type of reward money for capturing Saddam Hussein.

Can you imagine the infighting, backbiting unit incoherence that would exist if the troops were chasing the reward money across Iraq?

Instead of professional troops, our troops would become soldiers of fortune and bounty hunters.

Two movies come to mind: Three Kings and Kelly’s Heroes.

Both movies, I think, illustrate quite well the consequences of rewarding our troops with large cash booty.

Drudge: Russert the Seer

REPORT:
Internet columnist Matt Drudge has made a big deal about the report that NBC’s Meet The Press anchor Tim Russert had a ‘dream’ that Saddam was captured.

At a party Saturday night in Washington, NBC Meet the Press host Tim Russert bumped into an unusually upbeat George Tenet.

He told the CIA director that he had dreamt that Saddam Hussein had been captured.

"Have a nice holiday," Tenet said, knowing then what the country would learn in nine hours: The Iraqi dictator had been caught.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Now, I didn’t observe Russert talking about his so-called dream, so I don’t know exactly how he presented it on the air.

But, based upon USA Today’s account of the story, it seems to me that Drudge is taking this story too literally.

On his Sunday night radio show, Drudge spoke of people lining up to get psychic readings from Russert.

If you ask me, though, Russert was simply on a fishing expedition with the CIA director.

By Saturday night in DC, Russert had likely already been tipped off about the capture of Saddam Hussein.

And who better to ask about it than the CIA director?

Russert surely knew that Tenet knew, and he surely knew Tenet wouldn’t tell him he knew, but he was seeking a reaction from Tenet.

He got one.

Russert clairvoyant?

No.

Tenacious reporter?

More likely.

What's Next?

After seeing the rat hole that Saddam has called home for the last 8 months, one could easily surmise that he didn't quite have the control and power that some had suspected.

That thought has led others to claim that capturing Saddam will do little to stem the tide of armed insurgency since he wasn't likely controlling it anyway.

Even is Saddam had no control over the armed insurgents, his capture will surely have wide-reaching effects.

With Saddam in custody, Iraqis will finally feel safe to reveal information to the American and coalition troops about the whereabouts of WMDs and other crimes.

Some of the armed insurgents, while possibly not controlled by Saddam, where surely motivated by him and the hopes of his return to power.

Much like the rescue of Jessica Lynch was a psychological turning point for American troops, media and citizens during the hight of combat operations, the capture of Saddam Hussein will be a major psychological turning point in post-war Iraq.

President Saddam?

NZ Bear asks a poignant question about the future status of Saddam Hussein, now that he's been captured.

During the buildup to the war, and since, many who opposed the war declared it an "illegal" action and a violation of international law.

Now that he has been found to be alive, I'd ask this to those who considered this an illegitimate war: will you now stand up and demand that Hussein be placed back in power? He was, after all, the "legal" ruler of Iraq.

And if not, why not?

(Via Spoons)

PETA: Losing It

REPORT:
PETA is in the news again.

Germany's self-confessed cannibal killer Armin Meiwes has been sent a vegetarian cookbook and a Christmas hamper full of veggie burgers and tofu.

Animals rights group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is behind the stunt and says it would be a major coup if it could convert Meiwes to vegetarianism.

Meiwes is on trial for killing, dismembering and eating the flesh of another man.

He has admitted killing and eating his victim, but denies it was murder. Peta is hoping the mouth-watering recipes in the book and the hamper of vegetarian foods will persuade him to mend his ways.

The vegetarian starter kit was sent to Meiwes' prison cell in the town of Kassel, where the trial is taking place.

Peta spokesman Juergen Faulmann said: "What this man did to a German computer expert is done to other creatures every day.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Uh, no Juergen, what this man did is not done to other creatures every day.

By all accounts, Meiwes’ victim volunteered.

How often do you see a cow place a shotgun barrel in his mouth and beg you to pull the trigger?

Educational Ranking

REPORT:
Good news for Western states?

Mostly rural states in the West and Midwest have the highest percentage of residents with high school diplomas, according to Census Bureau figures released Thursday.

Wyoming leads the nation with 90.2 percent of residents 25 and older having graduated from high school, followed by Utah at 90.1 percent, according to a 2002 survey. Minnesota, Alaska and Nebraska were next, each with rates of at least 89 percent.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Meaningless.

Simply having a high school diploma is no measure of an individual’s level of education or potential for success.

Liberal Radio Failure, II

Twice in one week, liberal radio sputters.

I can't say I didn't warn them.

Hillary Renounces Free Choice

REPORT:
A national seatbelt law?

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has joined Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) in sponsoring a bill that would establish a national seatbelt law.

According to the highway safety advocates, about 79 percent of Americans buckle up on a regular basis - not good enough, they say.

The Senate bill co-sponsored by Sens. Clinton and Warner would give the states three years to enact a primary seatbelt law - or achieve a seat belt usage rate of at least 90 percent.

States that do not meet either goal would have a small percentage of their Highway Trust Fund monies withheld. This is the same approach Congress used to pressure the states to beef up their drunken driving laws.

Highway and auto safety advocates who are pressing for the national seatbelt law cite the cost associated with non-usage as a motivating factor.

"When people don't buckle up, all of society pays," said Phil Haseltine, president of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS). "An estimated $26 billion is spent annually on medical and emergency response care, lost productivity and other injury related costs," he said in a press release announcing the introduction of the Senate bill.

Emphasis added.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
It’s really a misnomer to refer to this as a “national seatbelt law.” If you break this law, you won’t end up in federal court.

Instead, this is a federal spending extortion scheme.

If the states don’t comply, they’ll be denied their share of federal dollars. So, they’ll surely comply.

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reads as follows:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Hillary and Warner can easily skirt this Amendment by not making this a federal law, but a spending regulation.

Herein lies part of the problem with our over-dependence on socialized health care (and a harbinger for expanding it) – lawmakers will impose laws like this in the name of saving taxpayers money.

Yet, driving is just another of the many activities that we partake in that involves varying degrees of danger. If the state will further regulate driving in the name of saving money and lives, why stop there?

Skydiving, scuba, karate, motorcross, skateboarding, extreme sports, rock climbing, mountain climbing, using a circular saw, installing my own Christmas lights, and trimming my own tree comes to mind as just a few things with elevated levels of risk for injury or death – just like driving without a seatbelt.

I’m also particularly amused with Hillary suggesting that seatbelt use is a choice we’re not qualified to make. Yet, she supports the freedom to choose killing your unborn child.

Her cherished choice will absolutely kill someone, while choosing to not wear a seatbelt only elevates the risk of injury or death.

Discoveries

My 3-month-old daughter was swinging in her baby swing yesterday and another instrumental tune played on the speakers.

I started singing, "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H ..."

My wife laughed at me.

"What?" I said.

"You're singing the wrong tune."

"What do you mean?"

"That's not the ABCs. It's Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

Within a couple of moments we came to the realization that we're both right. It seems both songs use the same tune.

It's amazing the things you learn with a new baby.

I'm told that "Baa Baa Black Sheep" uses the same tune, too.

I don't know the words to that one ... yet.

"F" the FCC and the Networks

REPORT:
Fox TV broadcast the 2003 Billboard Music Awards live from Las Vegas Wednesday night.

Artist of the year: 50 Cent
New female artist of the year: Beyoncé
Duo/group of the year: 3 Doors Down
New group artist of the year: Evanescence

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I was only able to tune in for about half of the broadcast before I left for work. During that time, I was struck at the amount of debauchery, sexuality and profanity that was broadcast.

Taking the cake were Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, who proved to be a challenge for apathetic censors. The F-word uttered by Hilton managed to get bleeped, but the S-word (excrement) and the F-word were both broadcast live emanating from Richie’s mouth.

Don’t expect the FCC to drop the hammer on Fox or Richie. They ruled in January that rocker Bono did not violate the commission's obscenity standards when he said the F-word during the Golden Globe Awards.

The distinction, as the FCC sees it, is that Bono wasn’t referring to intercourse when he said it.

Neither was Nicole Richie.

She’s clear.

Comedy Central also recently aired the South Park movie completely unedited with extensive obscenities.

Surly, anyone with even a passing interest in TV programming can see the pattern towards the low road – Ozzy and Harriet to Ozzy Osbourne sums it up.

The BBC routinely broadcasts material that we’re currently unaccustomed to seeing here in the States – nudity, obscenities. It will surly continue to leap the pond and infect our TV programming here.

In spite of my apparent objection to the further degradation of our TV programming, I don’t propose any FCC or other federal agency involvement.

Let the market be the guide. If we’re really offended, we have options.

As a lowly individual, I still have the power to defeat the multi-billion dollar television industry.

The OFF button.

I win.

Bush Lets US Down Again

REPORT:
A big decision from the Supreme Court was handed down Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court upheld the broadest restrictions on campaign donations in nearly 30 years Wednesday, ruling the nation is better off with limits on the financial influence of deep-pocket donors even if money never can be divorced from politics.

Rooting out corruption, or even the appearance of it, justifies limitations on the free speech and free spending of contributors, candidates and political parties, the court said in a 5-4 decision.

"We are under no illusion that [the law] will be the last congressional statement on the matter," Justices John Paul Stevens and Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the majority. "Money, like water, will always find an outlet. What problems will arise, and how Congress will respond, are concerns for another day."

Dissenting were Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Unlike some pundits who are shooting arrows at SCOTUS right now because of this dreadful decision, I realize that this law should have been stopped long before it was placed at the courthouse steps.

The SCOTUS is a divided body, where we should anticipate conflicted decisions.

Instead, I fault the one single man who shouldn’t be philosophically conflicted, and who had an obligation to kill this bill the moment it hit his desk.

The President of the United States of America – George W. Bush.

Bush signed the Campaign Finance Reform Act (CFRA) on March 27, 2002.

Here are some of the excerpts from his speech at the signing ceremony:

Today I have signed into law H.R. 2356, the "Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002." I believe that this legislation, although far from perfect, will improve the current financing system for Federal campaigns.

[…]

However, the bill does have flaws. Certain provisions present serious constitutional concerns. In particular, H.R. 2356 goes farther than I originally proposed by preventing all individuals, not just unions and corporations, from making donations to political parties in connection with Federal elections.

I believe individual freedom to participate in elections should be expanded, not diminished; and when individual freedoms are restricted, questions arise under the First Amendment.

I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising, which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import in the months closest to an election. I expect that the courts will resolve these legitimate legal questions as appropriate under the law.

The SCOTUS is not the only body that is responsible for protecting our Constitution.

Bush clearly felt that the CFRA that he was about to sign was in violation of the Constitution. Yet, he signed it anyway.

I wonder if President Bush remembers this oath that he recited on January 20, 2001 on the steps of the U.S. Capitol:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

President Bush didn’t have the political nerve to veto this bill; instead relying upon SCOTUS to do his dirty work.

His plan failed.

Yet another disappointment for conservative voters.

Bring back gridlock in Washington D.C.

Vote Howard Dean in 2004.

The Spoils of War

REPORT:
The Pentagon doesn’t look too favorably on nations that didn’t support the Iraqi war.

The Pentagon will bar companies from France, Germany, Russia and other countries that opposed the war in Iraq from bidding on $18.6 billion in prime contracts for reconstruction of the country, according to a memo released yesterday.

The memo, signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, says that "for the protection of the essential security interests of the United States," only companies from the U.S., Iraq and 61 countries that joined the coalition against Saddam Hussein will be allowed to bid on the 26 contracts to be announced soon.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I was going to write something brilliant and thoughtful on this issue (no doubt), but Owen at Boots and Sabers beat me to it.

There is a legitimate security concern with letting countries that not only opposed the war, but actively sought to undermine American efforts to conduct the war, to help with the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. They have a built in interest to sabotage the reconstruction in an attempt to justify their position on the war.

The second point is the unstated point of punishment. These countries, like France, Germany, Canada, etc. who fought us every step of the way, should be punished for their actions. These contracts constitute the financial “spoils of war.” It is only fair that the countries that supported the war – not even just the ones that sent troops or money but merely voiced their support – should get the chance to make a little money in the rebuilding of Iraq.

Indeed.

Most Fascinating People

REPORT:
Barbara Walters has prepared her list of “10 Most Fascinating People of 2003.”

On the list are:

Beyonce Knowles
Siegfried and Roy
Hillary Clinton
The Fab Five from Queer Eye
Nicole Kidman
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Martha Stewart
LeBron James
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, or Bennifer

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Walters won’t reveal the number one most fascinating until her TV special airs.

In the meantime, let’s speculate, shall we?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines “fascinating” as “to hold an intense interest or attraction for.”

For most of us, that means that the honoree doesn’t necessarily have to be someone we like or admire; though I’m sure Walters adores this group.

With that in mind, here are my possibilities (serious, and otherwise) for the most fascinating people of 2003:

George Bush, Paris Hilton, Howard Dean, Michael Jackson, John Ashcroft, Scott Peterson, and Rush Limbaugh.

I can’t quite bring myself to think like Barbara Walters, so I truly have no idea who she would pick for number one.

What are your picks and who do you think Barbara chose?

Kerry: Bad For Ye, Not for Me

REPORT:
John F. Kerry wants to be president and he doesn’t want the NRA to get in his way.

Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry doesn't want to tune in to a National Rifle Association channel anytime soon.

The Massachusetts senator sent Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub a letter Tuesday asking the commission to block any attempt by the NRA to get a media exemption to campaign finance rules.

The gun-rights lobby is considering acquiring a television or radio outlet and seeking the same exemption from campaign finance rules that news organizations have. If the group won a media exemption, it would be free to say whatever it wanted about candidates at any time and spend unlimited amounts doing so.

"We urge you to prevent the NRA from hijacking America's airwaves with the gun lobby's money," Kerry's letter said. "If the NRA has something to say, it can play by the rules, just like the millions of people in America who do every day."

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Funny that John Kerry didn’t voice the same concern about the Democrats buying radio stations.

In my house, we call that a hypocrite.

Liberal Radio Failure

I predicted this here.

Award Winning Canine

REPORT:
A British dog is being honored.

Buster, a 6-year-old Springer spaniel, earned more than a pat on the head Tuesday when he was awarded Britain's highest animal bravery medal for his role in breaking a resistance cell in Iraq.

The British army canine received the Dickin Medal at a ceremony at London's Imperial Museum for discovering a cache of weapons and explosives in Safwan, southern Iraq, in March.

Buster's handler, Sgt. Danny Morgan, said the building was thought to be the headquarters of extremists responsible for attacks on British forces, but that soldiers searching it had found nothing.

He said Buster, however, persisted, eventually stopping and staring at a wardrobe. When the wardrobe was moved a piece of tin fell from the back, revealing a cavity.

Inside were Russian AK47 assault rifles, a pistol, six grenades, ammunition, 4.4 pounds of cocaine and propaganda material.

The medal was presented by Princess Alexandra, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and patron of the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. The charity's founder, Maria Dickin, created the medal in 1943 to honor animals that served with distinction with British forces during World War II.

Buster is the 60th recipient of the award, which has been given to 32 World War II carrier pigeons, 23 dogs, three horses and a ship's cat.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I have documented my love and respect for the animal kingdom previously, but this is just nutty.

I’m always been amused when I read news reports of police and military dogs who are given awards or are eulogized at their death. Equally amusing is when other police dogs attend the services, as if they have the ability to comprehend that the dog pictured is dead or being honored.

Instead, the other dogs in attendance are likely thinking, “Mmm, asses!”

This dog, Buster, has done nothing worthy of receiving an award. He was simply doing what he was trained to do.

And if he had done something worthy of an award, a simple rub on the belly or throwing of the tennis ball or pig’s ear would suffice.

But, being presented an award to some princess?

The same goes for the 32 World War II carrier pigeons, 23 dogs, three horses and a ship's cat.

A ship’s cat?

Giving honors to animals is certainly among my top pet peeves … so to speak.

Help the Idiot, Please

I've reformatted my Dell desktop running Windows ME (quite possibly the worst OS ever).

Just loading some typical programs, I've suddenly approached my disk capacity. Stunned, I've realized that my 30 gig hard drive indicates in the properties window that I only have a 2 gig hard drive.

Where the hell did my other 28 gig of hard drive space go?

I'm begging you for help!

I Hate Bill Gates

Yesterday was the first non-holiday weekday that I’ve not posted any arguments here since launching this site in May.

My wife was having trouble with her Dell desktop, so I offered to reformat the hard drive for her on Sunday. I’m only moderately computer ignorant, so I figured that I could accomplish this task with relative ease – particularly since I’ve done it before. Or, so I thought…

I struggled greatly with reconfiguring the network card and Internet connection. I spoke with Dell tech support (in India) and my ISPs tech support (in Alberta, Canada) several times before I resolved the issue.

I finally got her ‘puter up and working by Monday morning. Since I work graveyard and day sleep, I told my wife that I’d finish loading her programs when I woke up Monday afternoon. By that time, though, she’d loaded several and, again, mucked up her computer.

That put me back at square one.

Fear not, I thought – I’ll utilized the ‘restore’ function on her Windows ME operating system and simply restore her computer back to when I went to bed and I’ll load the programs more carefully.

But, the restore function didn’t work.

Hmm, I thought, I’ll go to the Microsoft Windows Update page to see if there is any kind of a fix or patch dealing with the restore function. Sure enough, there was.

I downloaded the patch and attempted again to restore a previous point on her computer. But, dammit, the download deleted my previously saved restore points. So my restore is now irretrievable.

I hate Bill Gates. You never hear of these types of problems with Apple. Microsoft puts out crap products.

Incidentally, while I consider myself a relatively even-keeled person, I tend to rage when frustrated with my computer. My rage is, of course, predicated on my own ignorance. I’m not mad at my wife or my computer, I’m mad at myself that I’m not educated enough on this issue to solve it in a timely manner.

I suck, but I still hate Bill Gates.

Oh, when I got to work, I found that there was no Internet connection at my work computer and because I work graveyard, the IT guy wouldn’t come in to fix it until regular business hours.

Hence, no blogging yesterday.

I hate Bill Gates…

The "Glofish" Controversy

REPORT:
Surely you’ve heard of the glofish by now, right?

A fish that is most likely banned in California is coming to Texas. It is a called a "glofish" and is a genetically engineered zebrafish.

Originally developed in Singapore to detect water pollution, an Austin company is bringing them to fish hobbyists.

…"Scientists take a fluorescence gene, in this case from a sea coral, and add it to the egg before the fish hatches," says Blake, "Once the fish hatches it carries this fluorescent color through its entire life, and can even pass it along to its offspring."

The technology has been widely used for over a decade by scientists studying everything from cellular development to genetics and has been incredibly valuable in fighting all sorts of diseases. Years of testing show the genetically-modified fish are safe for the environment.

… And more colors are on the way, with green and yellow glofish available next year. On Wednesday, California regulators placed themselves at the forefront of the "glowing" controversy. By a vote of 3-to-1 the state's fish and game commission blocked the impending sale of a new genetically-altered family pet.

In other words, come January 5th, when the new $5.00 glow-in-the-dark zebrafish goes on sale nationwide, California will be the only state banning it inside its borders. The fear: If this genetically modified fish ever escaped captivity it could contaminate the gene pool of native California fish--like salmon.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I lived in Las Vegas for seven years. During that time, I had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time backstage at several of the Las Vegas Strip production shows. I was very disappointed to see how poorly some of the majestic stage animals were treated backstage. Behind the scenes at a circus in Vegas, I was further revolted at the handling of these animals.

At that time, I vowed that I would not participate in the use of animals for human entertainment.

I know that may sound rather radical to some, but it suits me just fine.

I’m far from being a vegetarian, but I think all living beings should be treated with a similar respect. I don’t think animals have rights over and above humans, and I’m a huge advocate of our ranking firmly atop the food chain. But, when I say grace before eating, I’m giving thanks, in part, to the animals that gave their lives so that I could feed my family. And no meat goes wasted.

Umm, what was my point?

Oh, yeah …

I’m opposed to the fish.

My opposition, incidentally, shouldn’t be interpreted as support for legislation.

I’m just personally opposed to them … or any tank fish for that matter.

Average Joe

I can't believe Melana chose Jason over Adam.

I can't believe I care ...

Taking a Stab at Understanding

REPORT:
Here’s a curious report:

NEW YORK -- A man slashed his wife to death with a sword in their apartment and charged police screaming "I'm God! Kill me!" when they came to investigate, officials said.

Ivor Forbes, 32, was naked and covered in blood when he rushed through his apartment door early Sunday, police said. One officer fired 14 shots that left both Forbes and another officer wounded.

Forbes' wife, 24-year-old Kisha Denton, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Forbes had severed her left hand and repeatedly slashed her head, police said.

Forbes, who was shot in both legs, was in stable condition Sunday night at a different hospital. The wounded officer, whose name was not released, was hit in his knee and chest but was wearing a protective vest, officials said. He was in stable condition.

Investigators found two swords inside the apartment, but it was unclear whether Forbes used one or both in the attack, said Officer Louis Camacho, a police spokesman.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Here are my curious questions about this report:

”One officer fired 14 shots…” – does that mean the other officer fired none? I’ll assume it does.

If the suspect was shot in both legs and the other officer was shot in the knee and chest, does that mean only four shots (out of 14) hit someone or did those two people get shot multiple times in the same places?

It seems that this article is rather low key on the emphasis that an officer was shot by another.

It is also curious to me that one officer felt so threatened that he fired 14 shots while the other officer fired none. Did the other officer not see the same threat as the shooting officer?

With two big ‘sword’ movies in the box office lately (The Last Samurai and Kill Bill), are movies going to be blamed for this murder like The Matrix has been blamed for Columbine and the Beltway Snipers?

Why don’t the murderer and his dead wife have the same surname?

If the murderer truly thought he was God, couldn’t it be argued that he was suffering from mental illness like Andrea Yates when she drowned her kids? Do you think Katie Couric will promote a defense fund to help this guy like she did with Yates?

Maybe I ask too many questions…

Kicking the Protesters to the Curb

REPORT:
CBS News has a report on Bush protesters being whisked away from Bush’s view.

… An American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit charges the president's "free speech zones" are so far out of sight they don't control protests. Instead, they make them disappear.

"There's nothing more fundamentally un-American than punishing people for the content of their speech," says Chris Hansen, of the ACLU.

The suit cites more than a dozen instances all across the country where peaceful demonstrators were segregated from the rest of the public.

When Mr. Bush's motorcade came through Neville Island, Pa, last year, pro-Bush citizens could line the curb to wave and cheer.

But anti-Bush protesters like retiree Bill Neel were ordered behind a fence, out of sight of the president and the press.

"My moment to speak out was taken away from me," says Neel.

The Secret Service declined to discuss any specific case or to comment on camera, but told CBS News: "Decisions made in the formulation of a security plan are based on security considerations, not political considerations."

But Bursey says he wasn't disrupting traffic or the event and adds that he wasn't a security risk.

For now, the ACLU is hoping a judge will grant an injunction against the protest zones before the presidential campaign gets into full swing.

Without it, some fear, those hoping to voice their displeasure with the president in person may truly be just voices in the wilderness.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I’ve previously opined on the lunacy of moving protesters further away in the name of security – if someone was intent on harming the president, they’d simply pose as a supporter to gain closer proximity.

As far as the complaint that these protesters are not permitted closer contact to the president, I’m not so sure it really matters to anything other than ego.

How often has this president, or any other, changed his views or policies based upon some disgruntled citizen holding a sign that reads, “No Blood for Oil?”

It seems to me that those who are willing to stand in searing heat or freezing cold for 5 hours to get a forty-five second exposure to the president are more closely aligned with the lunatic fringe than the mainstream. As such, I’m sure this president, and others, are not particularly interested in what this segment of the electorate thinks.

Plus, if they want to get a message to the president, isn’t there a better way than screaming and frothing at the mouth holding a poster of Bush with a Hitler mustache?

These protesters can’t complain that they’re being denied their opportunity to get their message to the president when anyone can send a letter, fax, email or even place a phone call.

And, you can’t argue that Bush’s stifling their ability to get press since so much of what we see on TV and in the papers is interviews with people who are critical of Mr. Bush.

All of that having been said, it is foolish and unnecessary for Bush to shove protesters off the streets and out of sight, if that is what he’s doing. He’s a grown man, an elected official, a public figure and the leader of the free world.

He surely shouldn’t get his feeling hurt if exposed to opposing views.

Star Wars!

REPORT:
A return to the moon in store for the US?

President George W. Bush will reportedly announce a big new space mission, returning Americans to the moon.

The National Review reported Wednesday the announcement is expected Dec. 17, the 100th anniversary of the first manned flight by the Wright brothers.

The magazine said the content of the president's speech does not appear to be in doubt; the only question is timing.

It has been 31 years since an American last set foot on the moon and 14 years since the president's father, President George H. W. Bush, proposed a new American manned mission to Mars.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I can think of few things as important as testing the limits of our human boundaries.

I always have been and always will be a supporter of space exploration.

But, if this proposed Moon station resembles the International Space Station in any manner, I stand firmly opposed to it.

There have been numerous scientific research studies which conclude that no important science or experiments are being conducted on the ISS.

There are two astronauts (actually, one astronaut and one cosmonaut) on the ISS right now and they’re essentially high-tech babysitters. The ISS was put into space to justify the colossal size and expense of the Space Shuttle program. One cannot exist without the other.

There can only be two reasons to have a permanent space outpost:

As a stop-over point for further space exploration deeper into our universe

And, as a space-based laboratory for conducing hardcore research solely designed to get humans further into previously unexplored space

Putting humans in outer space for simple bragging rights worked well during the battle against the Commies during the 60s, but with ever-escalating progressive tax burdens and our massive national debt, pride has become a pathetic reason to put meaningless propaganda projects in outer space.

Blogroll Addition

I'm trying out the Croooow Blog on my "Must Reads" blogroll in the left column.

As with most good blogs I find, I accidentally stumbled onto this one.

It's lacking some in the design, but it seems to makes up for it with the content.

This Just In: Actress Lays Rocker

REPORT:
A famous Hollywood actress is pregnant.

A publicist says actress Gwyneth Paltrow, 31, is expecting her first child.

A statement says Paltrow and boyfriend Chris Martin, 26, are "pleased," but it didn't mention any wedding plans. Martin is frontman for the British band Coldplay. The two have been dating for the past year.

In a recent BBC interview, Paltrow said she hopes to marry — but wouldn't reveal if that meant Martin.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Surely you’ve seen this report on every newscast and in every newspaper and news Website.

But, where is the news here, really?

Is it news that some famous Hollywood actress has had sex with some dude she’s not married to?

And that having sex can lead to pregnancy?

News reports like this make me miss Dan Quayle.

Boy Scout Solicitations Offend Man

REPORT:
The Boy Scouts are under fire again in Portland, Maine.

After his 6-year-old son started attending school in Portland this fall, David Hilton discovered that being a parent these days means sorting through all the papers that get stuffed into children's backpacks at school.

For Hilton, though, the problem is not the quantity but the content. Some of the papers come from the Boy Scouts of America, a group that prohibits openly gay men from participating.

Hilton said the practice gives the impression that the school department endorses a discriminatory organization, and he is lobbying the School Committee to stop it. The committee will take up the issue tonight.

School Committee Chairman Jonathan Radtke said the fliers pose a dilemma. If school officials ban Boy Scout notices, he said, they will be legally required to ban notices from all other groups. That means Girl Scouts, Little League, soccer clubs, 4-H clubs, hockey clubs, Boys and Girls Clubs. All of those groups would lose a cheap and easy way to communicate with the city's children and their parents, he said.

"We have to have a policy that says everything goes out or nothing goes out," he said.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I’m a big fan of the Boy Scouts. I’m an Eagle Scout from years gone by and my 13-year-old son is off this weekend for a camping trip with his BSA troop.

Yet, I’ve never liked the idea of public schools being funnels for local community and sporting groups.

I’m bothered to see this come to a head over the horrendous smearing of the Boy Scouts over this gay issue, but I haven’t any problem with the schools dumping all of these groups.

Just like I don’t want the schools soliciting my kids for PFLAG or NAMBLA, some parents may not wish to see 4-H or Boy Scouts.

Soliciting kids for participation in outside groups should not be the business of government run schools.

Reuters: Bush is Stupid

REPORT:
The following Reuters report (from the CNN website) falls under the headline, “Seven-year-old boy corrects Bush”:

Young Terrance Martin could not let President George W. Bush get away with mistakenly saying he was just 6 years old when he was really 7.

It happened in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Tuesday when Bush signed the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003, which renews tax credits for adoptions and encourages families to find homes for more than 500,000 children in foster care.

Before signing the legislation Bush talked about the need for more adoptions as he stood with Christopher and Diana Martin and their seven children, four of them adopted.

Terrance interrupted the president in mid-speech under the glaring television lights to point out he was not 6.

"How old are you?" Bush asked.

"Seven," said Terrance.

"OK, seven," said Bush, as the crowd chuckled. "I'll take it up with the fact-checker."

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Is it paranoia to look at this report from Reuters and CNN and wonder about the leftist agenda of the media?

A headline that glares, “Seven-year-old boy corrects Bush” gives the impression that a 7-year-old child is smarter than President Bush.

The reality is that the boy is not smarter, but rather had access to information (age) that Bush didn’t.

Sure, it’s an amusing, light-hearted little press report involving a cute little kid.

But, for those who don’t read past the headline, it sends the message that Bush = Stupid.

"Bush Lied," Said the Angry Left

REPORT:
Bush lied?

In the most widely published image from his Thanksgiving day trip to Baghdad, the beaming president is wearing an Army workout jacket and surrounded by soldiers as he cradles a huge platter laden with a golden-brown turkey.

The bird is so perfect it looks as if it came from a food magazine, with bunches of grapes and other trimmings completing a Norman Rockwell image that evokes bounty and security in one of the most dangerous parts of the world.

But as a small sign of the many ways the White House maximized the impact of the 21/2-hour stop at the Baghdad airport, administration officials said yesterday that Bush picked up a decoration, not a serving plate.

Officials said they did not know the turkey would be there or that Bush would pick it up. A contractor had roasted and primped the turkey to adorn the buffet line, while the 600 soldiers were served from cafeteria-style steam trays, the officials said. They said the bird was not placed there in anticipation of Bush's stealthy visit, and military sources said a trophy turkey is a standard feature of holiday chow lines.

The scene, which lasted just a few seconds, was not visible to a reporter who was there but was recorded by a pool photographer and described by officials yesterday in response to questions raised in Washington.

[…]Nevertheless, the foray has opened new credibility questions for a White House that has dealt with issues as small as who placed the "Mission Accomplished" banner aboard the aircraft carrier Bush used to proclaim the end of major combat operations in Iraq, and as major as assertions about Saddam Hussein's arsenal of unconventional weapons and his ability to threaten the United States.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
This surely must be the best news the Bush Administration has heard in months. If this is what is boiling the blood of the Angry Left, than it should be smooth sailing for another four years for Bush.

Let’s recount the facts as explained by WaPo reporter Mike Allen:

It was a real turkey made by a real chef.

The real chef who made it didn’t make it for Bush to use as a prop but as a table centerpiece used typically in formal dinners such as this.

No one knew that Bush would pick it up and display it.

Yet, the WaPo is still able to conclude:

Nevertheless, the foray has opened new credibility questions for a White House…

Credibility questions?

That’s code for “Bush lied,” which is the mantra of the Angry Left (of which the WaPo is a founding member).

Clearly the Angry Left is seeking their pound of flesh from the impeachment of Bill Clinton. The lasting legacy of Bill Clinton, in spite of Clinton’s efforts to change it, will be that he was a notorious liar. He was impeached for it.

The Left now seeks to paint George Bush with that same brush and get payback for Bill Clinton.

When you add payback to an angry reporter who wasn’t invited to make the trip to Iraq, you get satire journalism such as the one featured here.

Thanks for the laugh WaPo.

UPDATE: Henry Hanks (via Dean's World) has an eerily similar post to this one here. Coincidentally, his post and mine about the 7-year-old correcting Bush were both posted at 1:23am.

Parallel development.

Except, Hanks adds some rather compelling pictures to the turkey debate.

Correction: Mike Allen was amongst the pool reporters who joined Bush in Iraq. The rest of my argument remains.

Quote of the Day

"If there is concern in Cincinnati that police are targeting blacks, there must also be concern when blacks make targets of themselves. And anyone on PCP is a walking bull's-eye."

- Courtland Milloy, black Washington Post columnist commenting on the death of a black man in Cincinnati who assaulted two white police officers.

Carnival of the Vanities #63

Begging to Differ hosts the Carnival of the Vanities this week.

It's up and available for your viewing right now right here.

Paris Hilton Pollution

REPORT:
The reviews are in on The Simple Life, the new Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie reality TV show.

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie carry a lot of baggage in "The Simple Life," and we're not just talking Louis Vuitton.

There's Hilton's reputation as a party girl and her starring role in a sex tape that went from intimate to Internet. Richie, daughter of pop star Lionel Richie, had a legal run-in involving drugs.

"The Simple Life" itself sounds like a bit of mischief. The Fox reality series, debuting 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, Dec. 2, drops longtime pals Hilton and Richie into the lap of a Southern farm family.

But the series, unlike its stars, need not worry about its reputation: It's nothing but delicious fun.

What could have been a mean-spirited attack on homespun values turns out to be a lighthearted mockery of the rich. What red-blooded, average American with a mortgage could complain about that?

Watch Nicole and Paris jet to Altus, Ark., after a last-ditch shopping spree that includes a $1,500 designer dog carrier. Watch their faces fall as they realize they're staying in a modest country home that doesn't have room service or private bath. And that's no chocolate mint on the bed — it's a tick! (Cue horrified looks from Paris and Nicole.)

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I am a vehement opponent of reality TV. I find it to generally be an abomination and the antithesis of reality, not a portrayal of it.

Yet, there’s something about this train wreck that draws me like a moth to a flame.

After watching Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie for 30-minutes, I’ve never been more embarrassed for a fellow human being. They have redefined the term ‘white trash.’

I hope their parents are as humiliated in them as I was.

In the tease for next week, it shows the remarkably slutty Paris Hilton making out with one of the local boys – though I couldn’t tell if it was one of the boys from the family she’s staying with.

Thanks to the class warriors in America, there is already is distaste for the wealthy and successful. While I don’t share that distaste, I realize that the proportion of bad wealthy apples is probably similar to that of the middle and low class ones. But this show is a serious setback to the image of all wealthy and prosperous Americans.

The wide publicity of the Nicole Richie drug problem and Paris Hilton porn video tape contribute to the overall smearing of the rich.

Lynch the Godmother

REPORT:
Yet another honor for Jessica Lynch.

Former Army private Jessica Lynch will fulfill the role of godmother to Carnival Cruise Lines' newest cruise ship, Carnival Miracle, at the official naming ceremony in Jacksonville, slated for Feb. 27, 2004. The occasion marks the first time a brand-new cruise ship will be introduced at the nation's newest cruise homeport.

"We are privileged that Miss Lynch, who represents the thousands of courageous American men and women serving in our armed forces, has accepted our invitation to be godmother of our newest ship," said Carnival President & CEO Bob Dickinson. "And Jacksonville, with its long military and maritime history, is a perfect venue for this ceremony."

The retired Army private will break the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow of the newest Carnival "Fun Ship" at ceremonies immediately preceding Carnival Miracle's special three-day inaugural cruise from the Port of Jacksonville.

"In appreciation for Miss Lynch serving as godmother of the Carnival Miracle, Carnival is pleased to make a significant contribution to the Jessica Lynch Foundation," Dickinson said.

Jessica Lynch established the foundation to assist children of soldiers that have either served in the military or were killed while on duty. She also plans to use the foundation to benefit the Wirt County, West Virginia community where she lives.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
That’s quite an honor for the world’s most famous car crash victim, I’d say.

That's So Gay!

REPORT:
Another school controversy revolving around use of the word “gay.”

LAFAYETTE, La. -- A 7-year-old boy was scolded and forced to write "I will never use the word `gay' in school again" after he told a classmate about his lesbian mother, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday.

Second-grader Marcus McLaurin was waiting for recess Nov. 11 at Ernest Gaullet Elementary School when a classmate asked about Marcus' mother and father, the ACLU said in a complaint.

Marcus responded he had two mothers because his mother is gay. When the other child asked for explanation, Marcus told him: "Gay is when a girl likes another girl," according to the complaint.

A teacher who heard the remark scolded Marcus, telling him "gay" was a "bad word" and sending him to the principal's office. The following week, Marcus had to come to school early and repeatedly write: "I will never use the word `gay' in school again."

A phone message left for Lafayette Parish schools superintendent James Easton was not immediately returned.

The ACLU is demanding the case be removed from Marcus' file and that the school apologize to the boy and his mother, Sharon Huff.

"I was concerned when the assistant principal called and told me my son had said a word so bad that he didn't want to repeat it over the phone," Huff said. "But that was nothing compared to the shock I felt when my little boy came home and told me that his teacher had told him his family is a dirty word."

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I have, on a couple of occasions, caught my 13-year-old son using the word “gay” to mean stupid or bad. He certainly means nothing homophobic by using it and I’m not particularly troubled by its use.

But, being cognizant of the PC environment of our schools today, I emphasize to him that that word should not be used in school. Similarly, I don’t mind him carrying a pocketknife, but emphasize that he’s not to take it to school.

What I find particularly amusing about this story is that the school, no doubt, implemented their no “gay” policy in deference to homosexuals.

Followed to the letter, the rule designed to protect gays has now offended them.

Be careful what you ask for.

Fine with Tardiness

REPORT:
A Whittier (CA) high school is cracking down on tardy students.

Students at Whittier High School who arrive on campus after the 8 a.m. bell more than twice will be fined $165 by the Whittier Police Department, Principal Loring Davies said.

Davies said the policy was enforced due to the large numbers of students arriving late for class. Last school year, the number of students being tardy averaged 200-300 students daily. The policy was first enforced last year.

The tickets are issued under the city's Daytime Curfew-Truancy Law, which says all students who attend a comprehensive high school must be in class between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. during school days.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I refuse to accept the concept that any public school should be compulsory.

All homeowners are required to pay the school taxes whether we have kids or not. Since we are the clients per se, shouldn’t we be able to decide whether or not we want to participate?

The argument in favor or compulsory school is that our community is buoyed by an educated populace. While that may be true, there are now and will always be a place in our society for low-educated laborers. Plus, there are many technical jobs that are taught on the job or offer technical school.

To be clear, I think dropping out is a horrendously bad idea and I think any parent who allows this to happen is justifiably subject to ridicule.

But, in a free country, we should be free to take advantage of public education if we choose to do so.

Or not.

Opening A Window Into Our Home

My wife and I had a troubling development in our house Monday night.

Our 3-month-old daughter has graduated from her bassinette to a crib. Prior to her birth, we installed an over-the-counter video camera baby monitor aimed at her crib. As my wife and I were setting up the camera and testing the signal and angle, she called me into the kitchen were the monitor was set up.

Looking at the TV monitor, she said to me, “Look at that… Do you notice anything weird about that?”

”Not particularly,” I replied.

”Look closely,” she said.

The image on the TV monitor was a baby crib with a mattress with polka-dotted bed coverings and a toy of some sort hanging over the rail.

The image was black-and-white and was filled with a little static.

”Nope,” I said. “I got nothing.”

”That’s not our crib,” she said.

What?!

Now that she pointed it out, I guess our bed coverings aren’t polka-dotted and we don’t have the same toy hanging over the railing.

Well, if that’s not our crib, then whose is it?

Clearly, we’re picking up the same frequency as the TV baby monitor from one of our neighbors – many of whom have infant children. Our baby monitor has an A-B switch and our other channel broadcasts our baby just fine. So I have my baby on channel B and someone else’s baby on channel A.

I think there’s a little bit of voyeur in each of us and for a couple of minutes, I was intrigued by looking into the privacy of someone else’s house. But that intrigue came to a screeching halt for me about 90-seconds later when I realized that if I can see into their nursery then they can likely see into ours by flipping their A-B switch.

I was well aware that the audio only baby monitors were notorious for bleed though with neighbors, but hadn’t considered the possibility that the TV monitors would do the same.

We were struck with two dilemmas:

Having narrowed down the foreign crib to two possible neighbors, do we inform them of our intrusion?

Do we rid ourselves of the TV monitor for fear of safety and privacy invasion?

The conclusions I’ve come to are: Yes and yes.

Hell Yeah It's Racist!

REPORT:
A Rodney King redux in Cincinnati?

A 350-pound black man died after being clubbed repeatedly by officers in a videotaped beating that raised new allegations of police brutality against blacks in Cincinnati nearly three years after the city was rocked by riots.

The mayor said Monday that the videotape showed that the nightstick-wielding officers were defending themselves.

The cause of Nathaniel Jones' death on Sunday was under investigation. But preliminary autopsy results showed that the 41-year-old man had an enlarged heart, and his blood contained cocaine and PCP, or "angel dust," both of which can cause bizarre or aggressive behavior, Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott said.

Two black community activists said Jones' death was another example of brutality by Cincinnati police. The fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white officer in April 2001 set off three nights of rioting, but the streets were quiet Monday in the area where those riots were centered.

"How many of our people have to die before the city decides to do something about it?" said Nathaniel Livingston Jr. of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati.

The videotape from a police cruiser's camera showed two white police officers landing at least a dozen blows with their nightsticks on Jones and tackling him, while shouting at him to put his hands behind his back. But the tape also showed Jones lunging at one of the officers.

The officers who were at the scene -- five whites and one black -- were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

After seeing the video, Mayor Charlie Luken rejected activists' demand that he force Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. to resign.

"What I saw was a 400-pound man violently attacking a police officer in a manner that put the lives of police officers at risk," Luken said. "While the investigations will continue, there is nothing on those tapes to suggest that the police did anything wrong."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson issued a statement Monday saying he wants state and federal authorities to investigate.

"Police officers have options available to immobilize citizens short of death," Jackson said.

Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez said Monday night: "We're in the process of gathering information and evidence to determine whether any federal action is warranted."

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
I am not one who routinely knee-jerk reacts in favor of police.

But I am quite fearful that these Cincinnati police officers are going to get inappropriately railroaded in the name of political correctness.

What I’ve yet to hear any pundit or reporter address is that the suspect clearly said the words “redneck” and “white boys” in addressing the two white police officers.

Yet, it will be (or is) the police officers who will be charged with racism.

I heard no audio whatsoever of the officers using any racial terms.

In fact, unlike the Rodney King tape which had no audio, in this tape you can clearly hear the two police officers giving quite clear and repeated instructions to “put your hands behind your back.”

It is also quite clear that the suspect took the first aggressive stance towards the officers by getting in their face. The officers repeatedly told the suspect to “back up.” And then the suspect took the first swing at one of the police officers and knocked him to the ground.

I can honestly say I’ve rarely been so fearful watching TV news than when I watched this clip for the first time. I was truly scared for these two officers at the massive size and strength and erratic behavior of the suspect.

If I was scared just watching the video, I can only imagine how fearful for their lives these two police officers were.

Jesse Jackson, no doubt salivating at the desire for a controversy in which to insert himself, claimed, “Police officers have options available to immobilize citizens short of death.”

It’s typical of Jesse the Race Baiter to side with a cocaine and PCP using racist ex-con over upstanding law enforcement officials struggling to defend themselves. In Jesse’s warped world of reaping racial profits the police are always evil racists (aka “THE MAN”) and all blacks are victims of THE MAN. I’m sure the dead suspect’s drug addiction and incarceration is all due to a racist society … in Jesse’s world.

While acknowledging that racism is now, and always will play a part in our society, I think even most level-headed blacks will analytically look at this situation and come to the opposite conclusion from Jackson – this is a case of a drug abusing, racist ex-con who was a victim only of his own bad decisions.

Jesse Jackson is the Chicken Little of the civil rights movement.

But, the sky is not falling and not every black citizen is worthy of a spirited public relations defense.

The best thing that Jackson could do to improve his standing with both black and white Americans is to acknowledge that fact.

Liberal Radio Network

REPORT:
The Democrats are coming closer to launching their Liberal Radio Network.

A Democratic investment group planning to start a liberal radio network to counterbalance conservative radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh says it is close to buying radio stations in five major cities.

The acquisitions would represent a major move toward making the network real. After its conception was announced in February, many radio analysts and even some Democratic activists predicted that the network would face too many challenges to get off the ground, including finding stations to run its programming and bucking a historical record replete with failed liberal radio attempts.

But executives with the newly formed company, Progress Media, said late last week that if all went as planned they would have the network running by early spring, in time to be part of the public dialogue during the presidential campaign season.

The executives said the stations they were acquiring reached all radios in 5 of the 10 largest media markets: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston. They said they would buy stations in other markets in the near future.

The group is planning to present a daily schedule filled with liberal personalities as hosts of a range of programs, including news analysis segments, talk shows and entertainment programs in the spirit of "The Daily Show," the spoof news program on cable television's Comedy Central that skewers Washington.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
This will truly be a fascinating experiment for the Democrats.

What I think they’re missing is the realization that the trend of conservative talk radio hosts on radio was not something implemented by the GOP, but by natural market forces. Ratings have dictated success and longevity.

But even the most ardent of conservative talk radio hosts, Rush Limbaugh, has taken great strides lately to criticize the GOP – most recently for their spending spree.

Would a talk radio host employed by liberals for the sole purpose of disseminating liberal propaganda be able to deviate from the company line?

What kind of chill wind would blow through the hallways at the liberal radio network about expressing honest views even when they contrast with the DNC?

A liberal radio network would function to sell propaganda, not advertising like other commercial radio stations.

It’s an infomercial.

I’ve been in radio for over 20 years. But only in talk radio for the last seven. When I left mindless Top 40 radio for talk (as Rush did), I was rather politically ignorant. I would have been hard pressed to explain the differences between a liberal and a conservative. As I found my ‘voice,’ I quickly learned that the liberal view was very difficult to argue on live radio. In most cases, common sense and logic simply sided with conservatism.

Liberalism is well suited for print (op/eds) and TV news where arguments can be formulated with great premeditation and without immediate feedback.

Liberalism is poorly suited for talk radio where most arguments are presented without a script and with immediate and fervent feedback.

The bottom line is that if Al Franken and Janeane Garafolo, two celebs being prepped for liberal hosting duties, were able to offer a quality product, they could do so in an open market on independently owned radio stations. Instead, the liberals are buying their own stations to put out their own message.

Sad.

At the same time, the Fox News Channel has just launched their syndication of 24-hours of radio programming and they’ve not bought a single radio station.

Democrats stack the deck, while others use market forces.

Good luck with the infomercial, liberals.

The Godless Democrats

REPORT:
What’s the best way to determine whether someone’s a Republican or Democrat?

Want to know how Americans will vote next Election Day? Watch what they do the weekend before.

If they attend religious services regularly, they probably will vote Republican by a 2-1 ratio. If they never go, they likely will vote Democratic 2-1.

A new poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People and the Press indicates that the gap remains: Voters who frequently attend religious services tilt 63-37 percent to George W. Bush and those who never attend lean 62-38 percent toward Democrats.

Voters weren't split by the frequency of their visits to religious services until recently. The gap started growing in the 1990s and became clear in the 2000 election. Voters who attended religious services more than once a week went for Bush by a ratio of nearly 2-1. Those who never went to services went for Democrat Al Gore by the same margin.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
Isn’t it interesting that we saw video of Bill Clinton every single Sunday walking into and out of church with his Bible tucked under his arm and I’ve never, ever seen video of George Bush going to church?

Yet, which one is really committed to his faith?

I don’t think these poll results come as a big surprise to anyone.

When we hear about the so-called Religious Right, I think it really should be phrased as “Religious, right?”

So the Godless Left promotes progressive taxation, abolition of rights of inheritance (death tax), and government control of education.

Karl Marx would be proud of today’s Democrats.

Troops Google and Comment

Do you remember the case of Sgt. Sean Blackwell?

He is the Florida National Guardsman who, along with his buddy Cpl. Brett Dagen, defied orders and married an Iraqi woman - two women that is.

Sgt. Blackwell, it seems, has Googled himself and found this post from The Sake of Argument.

He posted his response.

In spite of the many disapproving comments, Sgt. Blackwell gave a very calm and reasoned argument.

I have a much higher opinion of Sgt. Blackwell than I do of Sgt. Floyd Gaines, who also Googled himself to this post. Sgt. Gaines comments were considerably less calm and reasoned. Hot-headed and ill-tempered is more like it.

Worst Movie Ever

Wow, I saw the worst movie ever on Sunday.

My wife and I subscribe to Netflix, which allows us to avoid going to Blockbuster to rent DVDs. With a monthly subscription, they send us DVDs to keep as long as we want, with no late fees ever. Since we pay a monthly fee rather than a per movie fee, we sometimes put movies on our rental list that we’re not really passionate about seeing.

Such was the case Sunday when we watched the Charlie’s Angels sequel. Even my 13-year-old son, who absolutely does not discriminate against any movie no matter how bad, thought it blew.

If I never see Cameron Diaz shake her moneymaker at the camera again it will be too soon. And breaking out in song and dance?

But the worst was the special effects. I’m afraid The Matrix has ruined a great number of action films with their special effects. The Matrix introduced the concept of gravity defying stunts and special effects. But, in The Matrix it was reasonable since The Matrix revolves around a computer world where the rules of gravity can be defied. Such is not the case in Charlie’s Angels.

My wife complained about the James Bond movies showing over the weekend on Spike TV. She said the fight sequences were too hokey. Yes, but I think they were much more preferable to the over-CGI, BS stunts in today’s movies.

Bring back the stunt man! No wires, no cables, and have discipline when resorting to CGI.