News from Around the World

Did you hear that, beloved? Was that a political endorsement we just heard at a meeting designed for evangelism? But the shocking statement was that Bill Clinton should be an evangelist because ‘he has all the gifts?” What spiritual gifts does a non-believer possess qualifying him to “do the work of an evangelist”, Mr. Graham? This is absolutely preposterous! How dare he slight the work of the ministry (2 Timothy 4:1-5) by showing favor to one that does not know the Lord, has lived unashamedly in gross lasciviousness most of his adult life and presidency, and to this day has never repented of his sins in response to the gospel call? This is inexcusable and could forever taint the BGEA.

I've always been skeptical about the "technological fix" or the claim that technology itself is inherently democratizing (or inherently anything, for that matter). In fact, I found Bill Clinton's "digital divide" stuff to be completely delusional considering the very real problems so much of the world faces. Yet I do find myself drawn to Andrew Rasiej's plan to cover the City with low-cost wireless internet access. Rasiej is running for Public Advocate on a platform centered on building the infrastructure to make New York City a true twenty-first century city wherein internet access is not a tool of the wealthy or powerful.

Is their silence on the real abuse at Gitmo an admission that they really don’t care about our troops? Like Bill Clinton and the real Hillary, liberals in Congress do not support the troops. They do pay lip service and take every opportunity to shake the hand of a veteran for that all powerful "Photo-Op," but where the rubber meets the road, these people are invisible, and they are silent.

The only positive to be taken from the bombings is that, from what I have seen, Iraqis are uniting rather than falling back on sectarian differences. However, unless the US commits to withdrawing its military and stops its gerrymandering with Iraqi politics to create a government that is artificially co-operative with its interests, I can only foresee that it will face an uprising from all sections of the Iraqi population, together with a repeat of all the tragedy of the past year and the problems for regional stability that will ensue.

I swear this is getting out of hand. Can a day go by without this nutcase making news? Tom Cruise has entered Michael Jackson stage of celebrity weirdness. Except in Michael's case he's been "Wacko Jacko" for decades now while Tom Cruise has morphed over night into from of the biggest movie-stars in the world to one of the biggest head-cases.

Europeans are beginning to see what alot of Americans have learned. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice can be very diplomatic and she can also haul over the coals countries such as Iran, Egypt, and Russia. Syria was the subject of her wrath at a news conference in which she stated they are not doing enough to keep terrorists from slipping into Iraq and killing Iraqis and Americans. Her combination of toughness and diplomacy is garnering attention. At this past weeks gathering to discuss Iraq, many now simply call her Condi.Yahoo News

Acne Rosacea A Blush You Can Do WithoutWhat do former presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin have in common A condition called acne rosacea a chronic inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin which causes a ruddy complexion and small acnelike eruptions on the cheeks forehead and nose In men it can […]

Well, the jury has spoken. Somehow, Michael Jackson has been found NOT GUILTY on all 10 counts of child molestation and various other counts. I am not surprised. I can only hope that he leaves the US and goes away forever. Let the weirdos in the other countries overseas have him. They deserve him. He is not welcome here. It’s sad that all of these big-wig celebrities can get away with anything. OJ, Robert Blake, and now this. Next up – Phil Spector. Anyone care to predict how that one will turn out?

I mentioned this earlier, but let’s take a harder look at it. Here’s Bush from last night’s speech:

I firmly believe the three most powerful forces on earth are religion, politics, and the media. Religion, for its ability to make and break conflicts, to affect people the world over for thousands of years, for its endless incarnations and applications, and because it is one of the few ideals for which people are willing to wage war and die. Politics, because it is the greatest game that men play, and its effects are more far-reaching and profound than those players often consider. The media, because it combines the characteristics of the first two, because it can further or inhibit the progress of the first two, because it has the ability to shape the viewpoint of the average person, to make or break people, places, wars, or peace, to raise up governments or tear them down, to highlight or shadow situations and the heroic or shameful actions of men.

Finally, there we were, standing in St. Peters...and there is was...Michaelangelo's Pieta. I cannot not tell you the joy and excitement that poured through me.� It was placed behind glass, as years ago someone tried to hammer a chunck out of it.� But it was there infront of me! Looking around, I realize how huge it really was.� Sadly, the crypt where they buried the popes, (including Pope John Paul) was closed to the public.� But we explored everywhere and soaked in the sights and sounds.� It was awesome!� Thank you Ernst!� You have made a dream come true!� I love you!� So ends the perfect day and a great vacation.�

Why do we need a new flag? Because the only place where Originalists are still alive in National politics is in the Supreme Court. There too, they're simply not enough to turn the tide against the 'progressives'. Clarence Thomas is the last nationally relevant man in power I hold in high regard, with the other 3 (sometimes 4) getting varying amounts of grudging admiration, depending on the issue and where they feel like standing that day.

Edward Klein would tell you his new book The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President does not intimate that Hillary Clinton is a closet lesbian. And he would tell you the book, a much hyped biography that hit store shelves last week, does not engage in the broader sport of gay-baiting.

But in contrast to fellow columnist Dick Foreman, I think the recall effort has given our democratic spirit an important boost. While 50,000 people in District 20 voted for Senator Huppenthal in November, 30,000 didn’t vote for him, evenly divided between those voting for Libertarian party candidate Warren Severin and those skipping the contest altogether. If I asked those 80,000 people who the President of the United States was, even the staunchest John Kerry supporter will begrudgingly admit it’s George W. Bush. But if we query Bush supporters who their State Senator is, if it weren’t for the recall, many who voted for Senator Huppenthal wouldn’t remember his name.

George W. Bush’s speech in condensed form: “September 11 happened, so I had to invade the country that had nothing to do with it and posed no threat to the United States.”

I would argue that it is the internet itself that is the medium - and that the business model of MGM is now the issue - which brings me back to my original point. They need to make way for the augmented public domain which is sucking away at their profits as surely as the hard vacuum of space. They need to let go and change. In the same way the world will have to change to deal with global warming, they will have to change their business models. The internet is here, done, its already over. They didn't move fast enough. They will be punished.

After watching George W. Bush's speech tonight, I desperately needed a good shot of levity.

Today’s .au article was from The World Today and summarized Condoleeza Rice’s speech about the U.S.’s sucky Middle East “policy”. The reporter did a fine job, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah, but my favorite part was this Condy quote:

You go girl!!! Condi's words and President Bush's policies are having a definite impact. Not only is Mubarak permitting open opposition but the opposition is taking advantage of it. I have stated in other posts that the people in the Middle East and around the world hang onto to the words that President Bush and Secretary Condoleeza Rice speak. For too long other presidents have ignored the people living in those oppressive countries in exchange for stability. As Secretary Rice stated it has not created stability nor relieved the longings of people to self-determine their government.

It is 90 years into the future, and familiar landmarks in the New York City skyline like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building are nowhere to be seen. Rather, the city looks like Star War's Coruscant, interrupted by the sudden appearance of a huge pyramid hovering above the city.

Those of us who support embryonic stem cell research often cringe when the claims in favor of that research are embellished. During the Presidential election, of course, that reached its apex with arguments by a number of folks including Sen. Kerry himself to the effect that Christopher Reeve might have been cured has stem cell research been funded sooner. Today, dozens of children and others who argue - like us - for stem cell research are held up as potential recipients of embryonic stem cell-derived therapy, as though the big worry is that they will not receive their embryo pills next year and will suffer as a result. You don’t have to have a long memory to see how dangerous these views can be. Just think back to gene therapy, and the clamor of folks to enroll in early, non-therapeutic trials because of the perceived magic of anything genetic.

Alzheimer's is a terrible illness that robs people of their minds, recognition of their loved ones, and, for now, is 100% fatal. It should give second thoughts to anyone who might oppose stem cell research, which may hold some promise for the disease. One in ten people over the age of 65 will come down with this disease and it knows no international boundaries. I received an e-mail from the playwright Nagle Jackson who tells me that Taking Leave is currently being translated into Cantonese and being produced in Quanzhong, China! So the subject is universal.

ROME, Italy (AP) -- The process to beatify Pope John Paul II officially opens in Italy with a solemn ceremony in which all the clerics involved will take an oath of secrecy -- and promise not to be corrupted by taking any money or gifts that might sway their decisions.

Conservatives believe in lower taxes; liberals believe in higher taxes. We want few regulations; they want more. Conservatives measure the effectiveness of government programs by results; liberals measure the effectiveness of government programs by inputs. We believe in curbing the size of government; they believe in expanding the size of government. Conservatives believe in making America a less litigious society; liberals believe in making America a more litigious society. We believe in accountability and parental choice in education; they don’t. Conservatives believe in advancing what Pope John Paul II called a “culture of life"; liberals believe there is an absolute unlimited right to abortion.

The interesting thing is that with all things the Republicans do (or, I should say, politicians in control of both Congress and the White House do), this seems to be a coordinated event. A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed section opened fire on the same study. Congress also has been working on the energy bill which contains little climate change policy and in general chooses for the U.S. to go it alone. Not surprising considering the administration.

The Washington Times today has a great article about fashion inside the Beltway. We got all nostalgic thinking about Joan Kennedy and her miniskirt and Jane Fonda and her 64 PSI ta-tas. But we much prefer the present times with Condoleeza Rice. Woo woo.

Stupid people, by their very nature, create dangerous situations. Consider my previous post about risk management. Stupid people don’t look when they change lanes. Stupid people bring more than 20 items in the express lane. Stupid people elected Bill Clinton. I could go on, but after my last point, I’m sure you can begin to see the danger of The Stupid.

I agree with you 100%. Whether is was meant as a joke or not, suggesting that Bill Clinton become an evangelist and letting Hillary run our country constitute TWO blasphemies in one sentence! I had already lost respect for Billy Graham after his coddling Muslims and other religions, saying that some would make it into Heaven. Well, only if they confess their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Graham has become quite the universalist lately.

Friday the GAO released a new report titled, “Actions Needed to Better Protect National Icons and Federal Office Buildings from Terrorism,” which addressed the task of the Department of Interior in faces places like Mt. Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty. It also evaluated the Government Services Administration efforts of securing the many leased and federally owned office buildings occupied by Government agencies across the country.

It was Reagan who began the realignment of American politics, making the Republicans into internationalist Jeffersonians with his speech in London at the Palace of Westminster in 1982, which led to the creation of the National Endowment for Democracy and the emergence of democracy promotion as a central goal of United States foreign policy. At the time, many conservative realists argued for detente, risk avoidance and placation of the Soviet bear. Faced with the Republican embrace of Jeffersonian ambitions for America abroad, liberals chose retreat or scorn. Bill Clinton -- who took reluctant risks to defend freedom in Bosnia and Kosovo -- partly arrested this retreat, yet since his administration, the withdrawal of American liberalism from the defense and promotion of freedom overseas has been startling. The Michael Moore-style left conquered the Democratic Party's heart; now the view was that America's only guiding interest overseas was furthering the interests of Halliburton and Exxon. The relentless emphasis on the hidden role of oil makes the promotion of democracy seem like a devious cover or lame excuse. The unseen cost of this pseudo-Marxist realism is that it disconnected the Democratic Party from the patriotic idealism of the very electorate it sought to persuade.

There’s an offical prayer published by the diocese of Rome to ask for intercession from Pope John Paul the Great. Hopefully God will shower us with miracles that will confirm his sainthood.

Now that Katherine Harris has announced that she's running for Bill Nelson's (D-FL) Senate seat, it sounds like Republicans are starting to have second thoughts about her candidacy. At least one Republican, Mark Foley (R-Jupiter), is still mulling a bid. The article explains:

Confession: I've long been reluctant to defend Hillary Clinton. I don't like her hawkishness, dread the possibility of reliving eight years of Clinton for the next four years if she runs for President and quite frankly don't think she can beat any reasonable Republican.

Who better than Liberals themselves to demonstrate their manic obsession with criticism? It's only when these jocks realize they now have to fill 3 hours on the air with their own ideas instead of simply shouting down Conservatives' plans that you begin to feel sorry for them...and bored too. Predictably, expect insults leveled at the usual suspects: President Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Halliburton, Karl Rove, Don Rumsfeld, and Christians as a whole. YAWNNN...

Mr. Bush would also not be taking the head-in-sand positions he has in opposition to stem cell research, climate change, population control and evolution - positions from which centrist Republicans are now distancing themselves. Just last week, the Senate's top Republican energy-bill negotiator, Senator Pete Domenici, split from Mr. Bush and indicated that he believes the science is clear - climate change is occurring - and we need to do something about it.

2000, Michael Jackson is slapped with a lawsuit by German promotor Marcel Avram … the suit alleges that Jackson refused to perform two scheduled events … it is a small problem for Jackson compared with future trials he will face…

3. George Pataki could give a rip over what Hillary Clinton thinks about a few things.

Michael Jackson's mom had such problems. MJ: You know I would never do it with LaToya or Janet or Tito...

So now that you know my irrelevant opinion, lets look at someone in the public forum. How about Hillary Clinton, since she has been all but coronated as the 2008 DNC Presidential nominee. In an article in today's USA Today, Andrea Stone points out that in her 2000 Senate race, Hillary made it clear she opposed any such measure. But in her new campaign to appear more "moderate" for the 2008 coronation, she said Wednesday she still opposed a flag amendment, but supported legislation to ban desecration of the flag.

He was a real tough guy when he thought he was cool bashing the troops and their Commander in Chief. Then when the public started to lash out he began the dance. So here was Dick on the floor of the Senate with tears in his eyes, voice cracking telling everyone he now realizes he might have used the wrong words. He did not say he did anything wrong, just that others might have been offended by what he said. He has seen the error of his ways. Or has he? See, I have been in the South and all the talk shows are creaming this guy. They are recommending that people call his office. Evidently they have been and many are reporting that the folks answering the phones are getting a might bit testy. There are many people who are calling for censure and I think they should start turning up the fire some more. Durbin is trying to get out of a jam by faking an apology. Bill Clinton did that with the Lewinsky affair and people bought the act. He, like Durbin, was not sincere. Unfortunately, there are those, like McCain, who will buy it.

"One of the by-products of Dissociative Identity Disorder is a photographic memory and so they can recall their programmed messages much like an audio tape. They are also used to carry drugs for world leaders like George Bush and Bill Clinton who are heavily involved in the trafficking of drugs.

I have written numerous times about how much I hate the media, and the whole incident with the Koran and Newsweek has only made me more pissed off. Newsweek decided to run an article about soldiers flushing a Koran down a toilet, without so much as checking if it was true my belief that liberals hate America could not be anymore confirmed. When a Democrat was in office, Newsweek wouldn’t put an article about an incident involving him an intern without checking every source in the world, letting other outlets get to the story first, in order to make sure they weren’t the ones slandering the great and almighty Bill Clinton. Of course this article also included the more “politically correct spelling of “Quoran”, because we couldn’t possibly offend these poor Islamic terrorists who were being held for actions leading to deaths of Americans.

1) English is his second language? You’re saying someone who was born in America but was raised to speak Spanish cannot be President? Who is being prejudice now? Obviously you really meant it as a joke, but if we can all see brains doesn’t make a good president (see Jimmy Carter) 2. Talks the talk, but can’t walk the walk? He says he will root out evil wherever it may be, and has done that, said he will cut taxes and has. Seems like unlike some previous presidents he has actually stuck to his promises. “Our commander in thief”? So clever, yet somehow your reference to him being in national guard rather then going to join the armed forces makes him a bad commander in chief? How conveniently we forget the Bill Clinton ADMITTED to dodging the draft. At least Bush signed up, and a deserter? It’s nice to see that you don’t read the papers because they have debunked that false rumor3. “He is an unrepentant liar”? How so? WMD? Can’t we ever give our President the benefit of the doubt maybe HE was the one lied to? 4. Pretends he can speak “Mexican”? He was showing his support for the Spanish speaking members of our country. And I’m sure “Ich Bein Ien Berliner” (I am a jelly donut) doesn’t rink as one of the most prominent things JFK ever said.

Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, erred catastrophically in fishing for young converts with the net of pop culture (i.e. World Youth Day and other such events). Notwithstanding his personal charisma, John Paul II's reign was marred by a plummeting of morals among the faithful and a proliferation of rebellion against Church teachings. The permissive message of rock music from the beginning has been, "If it feels good, do it". It should be no surprise, then, that in the "mainstream" Church where Life Teen "rock masses" are becoming more common, that some 98% of Catholics dissent from Church teaching on contraception, and in Canadian polls over 50% support homerast "marriage". Interestingly, trying to attract youth to Christ with pop culture doesn't work because the two are incompatible. There are more young adults at the tiny S.S.P.X chapel I attend than at the majority of the "mainstream" parishes which are many times the size of ours throughout Winnipeg.

However, in the last chapter of "The Long Emergency" and in interviews you imply that the crash will come fast and hard. Specifically, in an interview you stated that George W. Bush will be impeached before the end of his term due to anger over peak oil consequences. How do you resolve this apparent contradiction? Do you foresee a hard crash or soft landing from the cheap oil fiesta?

I want to say something favorable about Bush again. It is this: He seems to me to have completely transcended the biases of gender and race in his appointments. Oh, he has his prejudices: He wants his appointees to be a certain sort of conservative. But no one can deny that he has broken the glass ceiling for women and blacks and Latinos in the executive and judicial branches. This is an embarrassment for Democrats who, like their present chairman, still attribute bigotry wholesale to Republicans. Well, Bush is a Republican who isn't bigoted: He has put his foreign policy in the hands and head of a female African American. This is not without some risk. Imagine the inner challenge to Saudis and other Arabs who encounter Condoleezza Rice as the plenipotentiary of the most powerful country on earth. You get an inkling of what that might feel like from the Arab saying that "a black face begins a black day." And just look at the proliferation of minorities among generals. These aren't presidential appointees, of course. Many of these decencies are the work of the hated Donald Rumsfeld. Bill Clinton was the first black president, or so Toni Morrison ruled. He even put his post-presidential office in Harlem. But he did not appoint one African American to a truly significant office in the executive branch. Of course, Jesse Jackson did a lot of hustling around the Clinton administration, having been named "Special Envoy of the President and Secretary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in Africa." Clinton did appoint a woman to the big post of secretary of state, and Madeleine Albright did literally chase breathlessly after Yasir Arafat at Camp David, begging him to return to the conference table. Well, dignity she did not have. Let's call her excitability diligence.

A break-in cover-up equals impeachment for Richard Nixon, telling a lie about sex with an intern provides Bill Clinton the chance of impeachment. What does knowingly creating instability in the world through war do for Mr. Bush? What is the definition of a war criminal? Are those at the top war criminals?

Previously, we saw the level of anti-terrorism efforts that our nation was going through while Bill Clinton was president. Even though it was clear to those in power at the time that terrorists posed a significant threat, the average American only had a dim understanding that there were fanatics out there who wanted to kill us for reasons we didn't really know about. However, there was a decent amount of success in dealing with al Qaeda and other terrorist groups even though the vast majority of the nation was either indifferent or opposed to the effort. A bipartisan committee had set a good plan on the table, the Clinton administration had set up a plan for dealing with terrorism as well, and once Bush was in office, former Clinton officials were going to hand all of this over to Bush. That's where things broke down.

Elcar’s television career spanned 50 years. He played in other drama series, including “Baretta” opposite Robert Blake and the Robert Conrad series “Black Sheep Squadron.”

Of course, you don’t hear about this in the Arab media, nor will you hear any Muslim cleric asking the Palestinians to apologize for their actions. It is the same old story: I would like to hear the outcry of those who protested after the news reports of mishandling Quran in Gitmo, or when the Palestinian prisoners claimed that the Israeli guards were the ones who mishandled it. Al-Azhar, the most important Islamic entity in Egypt, was offended when Condoleeza Rice refused to meet Azhar religious officials to “apologize” for news reports about mishandling Quran in Gitmo, but apparently those Azhar sheikhs were drunk when the news came out about Palestinians mishandling their Quran, their own holly book, so they said nothing about the crime this time!

Then on to The Battery where you can buy a ticket for a boat ride out to Liberty and Ellis Islands. You pass thru security screeners and get on board a ferry that takes you past Ellis Island and around to the back side of Liberty Island, passing directly in front of the statue of Liberty. This offered a great view of the statue for photos. We didn’t get off the ferry but remained on till we got to Ellis Island. About 15 yrs ago they turned this deserted island into a National Monument and restored it into the way it used to look but turned it into a museum that is fascinating. It covers the history and story of the immigrants who came to this country and faced careful scrutiny before entrance into the US. They were tested for physical and mental health, criminal record, financial capability, and other criteria. Those rejected were deported back to their homeland, causing severe hardship for many of them who had just spent their life savings getting there. If you go to NYC and have even a slight interest in history, GO to Ellis Island!

There are hundreds, thousands, of arguments over things in our world. A combination of modern and old-time beliefs, no matter who’s ultimately “right,” tends to put people of opposing opinions at each other’s throats. In any given day, you’ll hear an argument about stem cell research, abortion, religion in general, Christianity, atheism, Islam, birth control, separation of church and state, cloning, war, censorship, gay rights and marriage, and much, much more.

The first phone call came as I was waiting in line, a number I didn’t recognize. I didn’t answer; they left no voicemail After my sandwich, I did decide to return to my room and change into pants, since some clouds had rolled in and the city had cooled down a bit. I was only there for 15min before I decided that, since today was really my only “free” day, I’d better take full advantage of it. I made up my mind and decided to make for Battery Park and the statue of liberty. As I took the elevator to the lobby, I found myself hoping that I didn’t bump into any of my colleagues on the way out. I walked through the lobby, and paused at the escalators that would put me back on the conference floor. “I should just run down for a few minutes,” I thought, “Make and effort, make a show of being there, maybe help someone out…” I hesitated, and then turned and strolled out towards the subway.

What sort of allegiance can one really feel for the likes of Robert Blake and OJ Simpson anyway? I mean, it isn’t like this is Bill Cosby or some other celebrity that is actually looked up to and admired on the stand. It’s Robert F’n Blake. I just don’t get it…

1. First off, I decree that Michael Jackson shall formally change his name to Jacko. I know people call him this already, but it should be legal.

When she was hired as an MSNBC only employee I wondered how NBC and certain shows and those shows’ hosts would react to MSNBC getting exclusives first. Well today we sort of learn the answer to that question as NBC issued a release yesterday about Rita Cosby getting an exclusive interview with Michael Jackson’s mother that will appear today on the Today Show and not MSNBC first.

With the Downing Street Minutes that unmask his lies, with his wars in Afghanistan and Iraq lost, with his poll numbers tumbling, with Republicans jumping ship, with the economy tanking and with parents shielding their children from his military recruiters, why is George W. Bush still smiling, swaggering and acting like the dictator he hopes to become?

That statement was made in a meeting between Ricketts and Condoleeza Rice in early 2002 — 2 years before the American 9/11 commission came to the same conclusion, yet the Establishment Media is still ignoring or downplaying the Downing Street Memos. Help change that by checking here every weekday in June.

Mario Cuomo had a guest op-ed in the New York Times on Sunday discussing President Bush’s policy on halting federal grant money for embryonic stem cell research. The debate comes down to should we base federal policy on science or the religious beliefs of the President.

According to scientists, stem cell research shows great promise in the treatment of a host of diseases and conditions. Among the most promising are Alzheimer s disease and diabetes.

or whatever the lyrics are. but this isn’t a post about michael jackson, but an article about men who thrill seek and why. i don’t exactly know where i fall in the spectrum. i’ve not really done “extreme” things, more for lack of funds than lack of desire. i enjoy things that are “thrilling,” but on the other hand almost completely refuse to do things where i’m not at least reasonably certain of the outcome. so i either tend to live in the middle or on the extremes.

This is the bombshell issue John Kerry said he would "raise," but never did.

It was mainly on blogs that readers first encountered speculation that U.S. President George W. Bush wore a listening device during his first debate against Democrat John Kerry. The White House, forced to respond, called it a laughable, left-wing conspiracy theory.

The interesting thing about him deciding to make a run again is the timing of it. No, I am not talking about the timing of him jumping in to this race, but rather the timing of choosing this race rather than others. The conventional wisdom is that Hillary Clinton will waltz to the Democratic nomination. Yet Biden is showing that he thinks she can be beaten and beaten by him. He did not think the same about Al Gore. He did not think the same about the 2004 field (Kerry, Dean, Edwards, Lieberman, etc.).

Extraordinary efforts by the White House to scupper Britain’s attempts to tackle global warming have been revealed in leaked US government documents obtained by The Observer.

Have you heard this one? Philip Cooney, an ex-lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, recently fudged scientific reports to make global warming seem less serious . . . to characterize global warming as a sweet fairy tale . . . to counter with ’science’ the request of a visiting Tony Blair that more be done. (No, Mr. Blair, you and the British are only appreciated when you make war with us.) And this Cooney fuck, who resigned nice and quickly last week after his actions were exposed in the New York Times, was unbelievably enough the CHAIR of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality! It would be funny if it didn’t make me gag and spit.

Extraordinary efforts by the White House to scupper Britain’s attempts to tackle global warming have been revealed in leaked US government documents obtained by The Observer.

If there is a charitable way to look at George W. Bush's second term personnel changes, it is this: perhaps the White House is scanning the available job postings for a set of dignified drawers they can shove the more prominent neocons into where they won't feel like they're being punished for statements like these, these and these, but where they can do less damage -- namely, positions where they're not in a position to propose any more wars against Muslim countries.

However, in the last chapter of "The Long Emergency" and in interviews you imply that the crash will come fast and hard. Specifically, in an interview you stated that George W. Bush will be impeached before the end of his term due to anger over peak oil consequences. How do you resolve this apparent contradiction? Do you foresee a hard crash or soft landing from the cheap oil fiesta?

… was a long day. We visited the Statue of Liberty, the Columbia University in NYC (an ivy league member) and afterwards went to a Jazz Club, the Blue Note. It is called (within the guide and our humble brains in several TV shows) the best Jazz club in the Jazz capitol of the World, NYC. It was a great show. Unfortunately we had no seats so we have to stand two hours after a long day on our feets.

I have a number of questions for you. The first is in regards to my job. I am a telephone agent for an American company and I get calls in all day long from Americans or people living in America and I solve problems. Today I got an interesting call. I said my opening dialogue and got no response and so I repeated my opening dialogue. Half-way through the second blurb I was cut-off by a voice recording that said something like "You have been randomly choosen to partake in a survey on stem cell research issues currently being debated in Congress. To take the survey please press one. To not take the survey please press two."

One wonders: was the intelligence “fixed” the way you fix your dog, or was it more like “the fix is in” at the race track? How many other times have the facts been “fixed” to accommodate Mr. Bush’s plans? The anti-science bias against stem cell research and global warming, for example?

Sinead O’Connor is famous for ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II, effectively ending her career which gives you an idea how intelligent she is. It is exactly this kind of thinking that prevents celebrities from succeeding. Like it or not, politicians make the laws and trashing people for dealing with them exposes the painful imbecility of the left and its celebrity supporters.

So what I thought I'd do is to blog about of some of the manifestations, effects, and contours of globalization: how it has made itself felt in various areas such as in politics, economics, culture, and ethics. In a series of blogs, I will provide examples of instances for each of these manifestations as I present them. And then, I will identify what the Church's response to these effects has been and to the whole reality of globalization. The late Pope John Paul II as well as theologians and Church commentators have had a few things to say about this reality which, as the years and decades roll by, will continue to have an effect in the world.

People accuse the republicans of letting their religion get in the way of their politics. What they don’t seem to grasp is that their religion is money.

We all know that politics is a dirty game, with international politics probably being the dirtiest and sleeziest part of it…. for it is in the international political arena that innocent people in far off lands like Iraq, Rwanda, Haiti, Dufar, and now Uzbekistan, are sacrificed on the alter of national self interest. The latest example of this is the Government of the United States helping to block NATO from calling for an international probe into the killings in Uzbekistan because

Written in Bush's own hand and inked with the blood of a murdered Abu Ghraib detainee, the Downing Street Memo is a Stunning Revelation that the Shrub's reckless, ill-planned Rush to War with Iraq was carefully planned months in advance, perhaps as far back as his childhood. Of all the Stunning Revelation memos that keep surfacing, this is the one Stunning Revelation that can bring Bush down and finally free the International Community from his arrogant Swagger of Terror. But no matter how often I bring it up in normal conversation, or sneak up behind people and scream "DOWNING STREET MEMO! DOWNING STREET MEMO!" in a high-pitched feminine screech, no one wants to talk about it. They'd rather flap their sheeple gums over the Michael Jackson witch trial - and I hold the media responsible for allowing Hollywood sensationalism to briefly distract them from their job of compulsively badmouthing the peeResident.

Apparently, Dana Milbank, working as a “journalist” for a corporate newspaper (owned by the late Philip Graham) that figures large in the CIA’s Operation Mockingbird (Graham: “you could get a journalist cheaper than a good call girl, for a couple of hundred dollars a month”), and is coincidentally a member of Skull and Bones should not come as a surprise. It should also not come as a surprise the CIA and the intelligence community boast a long list of bonesmen, including Bush Senior and John Kerry (see the Millegan article, linked above).

But McCain made a crucial decision to alter the relationship in 2004. Courted hard by John Kerry as a potential running mate, McCain said no. He decided he wanted to be president and that it was unlikely he would ever get a Democratic nomination — and implausible that he could win as an independent. His one shot was as a Republican.

Now that the world knows that John Kerry and George Bush had almost similar grades in college, I say it isn't really that bad. Overall, both men averaged a C during their whole college careers. Both men received a few D's in some of their classes--with Kerry getting more D's than Bush which was surprising to me. They both struggled as freshmen and that's understandable. I remember that I too had a difficult time focusing on studies during my freshman year. The transition from high school was one factor, plus there were all those distractions that were just plain distracting for any red-blooded young man. But then Bush and Kerry pulled their grades up, as I did, as the years went along. Yes, theirs weren't good grades, but I still say it's not bad compared to the grade inflation rampant in many colleges these days. Yes, even in seminary there are profs who are known for grade inflation.

The other Rasmussen poll released this morning shows that Mark Warner would defeat George Allen in Virginia by 5 points, 46%-41%, if the 2008 Presidential election were held today. The same survey shows Hillary Clinton losing to Allen by 50%-41% in Virginia. Clearly, at least in this poll, Mark Warner would be the stronger nominee for Democrats in Virginia in 2008.

* Allowing global warming, which will cause massive environmental damage

over fourty percent of the earth's land mass is currently desert and that number is growing. these areas are home to two billion people or one third of our population. what's happening is that global warming is throwing everything out of control already. droughts and heat waves are increasing everywhere but are concentrated in these arid areas. which brings the term desertification. the deserts are slowly growing because plant life can't sustain itself in unnatural ecosystems.

When you’re told that Global Warming is a scientifically proven fact, that is to be the end of the discussion. The debate is over. Tim Blair links to a German Spiegel Online - English Site piece which begins: “The Alpine glaciers are shrinking, that much we know.”

Paulo Rodrigues, who manages the family sugar plantation for his father, acknowledges that “sugar has had a bad reputation.” But, he said, sugar cane requires fewer chemicals than any crop except pasture. His farm uses wasps to fight insects, reducing the need for chemical pesticides. The crop’s dense leaves absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, making it a good recycler of the greenhouse gas implicated in global warming.

There’s also a BIG difference between this and OJ, and Robert Blake. That’s the fact that there is major evidence in those two cases. I saw Craig Ferguson last night, and he was joking that Robert Blake’s alibi included the word “gun” and he was still acquitted! Every juror in the jury for OJ, KNEW that leather shrinks when wet! The other BIG difference is the fact that there were dead bodies.

I've read that the most referenced source for Pope Benedict has been his predecessor, Pope John Paul. Compared Pope Benedict's excerpt above with the one below from PJP in Memory and Identity (page 47-8):

The exorcism ritual is actually practiced mostly by Pentecostal groups in the US. Exorcism is a ritual associated with ultraconservative theology. The Vatican tried to discourage reports, apparently well-founded, that the late Pope John Paul II participated in exorcisms in his pre-papal career in Poland. Not only does this ritual encourage a superstitious credulity. It also encourages a dogmatic good-vs.-evil view of life that can lead to more harm than good in many circumstances.

Your politics suck, your nation sucks, the EU sucks, We had to pull your fat out of the frier in the 40's. We had to keep you from being swallowed up by the Soviet Union. Our politics is our business. So bugger off.

The Pope has criticized aspects of Swiss politics. Although he doesn't specifically mention this month's country-wide referendum giving gay couples increased rights, there is little doubt he had it in mind when penning this (emphasis supplied):

I wasn’t going to go into the politics of PBS shows but after I watched God in Goverment I couldn’t resist. The show spent a majority of its hour bashing Bush’s ‘Faith Based Initiative’ saying it favored Christian organizations and hurt non-Christian groups. It also, throughout the show, compared the Bush administration to Iran’s government by the Mullahs. Good to know there’s no bias on PBS.

I have five days until the Catholic Church hires Michael Jackson’s defense team in the office pool.

The Democrats are truly hypocritical on this issue. The following is a list of prominent Democrats that claimed Iraq had WMD capability: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Tom Harkin, Tom Daschle, Dian Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Robert Bird, Wesley Clark, Jaques Chirac, William Cohen, John Edwards, Dick Gephardt, Ted Kennedy, Jim Jeffords, Nancy Peloci, Henry Waxman, etc. Don't believe me? Rightwingnews.com has compiled the pertinent quotes.

South Carolina Democrats just held a “straw poll” for the party’s 2008 nominee. Hillary Clinton was first, John Edwards second, and Mark Warner third.

It's amazing what you can discover when you read foreign newspapers. Of course the resignation of Phillip Cooney was reported in the American press, but with it a quote from the White House that said his abrupt resignation had nothing to do with the doctoring of official US policy papers on global warming. The nasty stuff just gets deeper and deeper. Not only did Phillip Cooney (not a scientist, by the way, he was a lawyer for the American Petroleum Institute, a lobbying group for oil firms) resign, but just one week later, it turns out that he took a job with...can you guess?come on I'll give you a hint...if you said Exxon Mobile, you would be correct!

New Zealand taxpayers will be $1 billion worse off under revised costs of the Kyoto treaty to combat global warming. We are likely to exceed our Kyoto target of greenhouse gas emissions by 36 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

LONDON, England (Reuters) — British Prime Minister Tony Blair is trapped in a dilemma of his own creation over saving the planet from global warming, analysts say.

Wisconsin Democrats are calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The big purpose of the book is to explain why our nation’s entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security are doomed to bankruptcy, and why neither Republicans nor Democrats are likely to do anything about it. Sounds pretty non-partisan, no? Of course, Peterson—a life-long Republican—has many a nasty thing to say about the Democrats and their policies, but he does turn on George W. Bush as well. The only problem is, you’d have to be an arch-conservative to understand why Bush fils isn’t conservative enough.

In other news, Aljazeera.net says that several wooden statues of Mubarak were very recently removed from the streets of Cairo. These statues showed Mubarak waving with his hand, and smiling. Under the statues it said "70 million Egyptian say yes to Mubarak" (Note: the population of Egypt is about 70 million). Aljazeera notes that the statues disappeared about a week before Condoleeza Rice's visit to Egypt, on June 20th. The article included 2 other examples of signs that were posted by Mubarak supporters: "Even the fetus inside its mother's belly says yes to Mubarak". Another one was "Yes to Mubarak, to his son, and to the son of his son", in a bold and presumptuous support to Gamal Mubarak succession of his father, and possibly to Gamal's son as well, many years from now.

By ignoring his personal invitation, as did Condoleeza Rice, Bush has "snubbed" the United Nations. This type of action, coming at a time when America is no longer trusted in the world is devastating to our power as a nation.

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) announced today that it is halfway toward realizing the first phase of a multi-year campaign to build upon the university's groundbreaking stem cell research and lead the effort to fully realize the therapeutic potential of stem cells... click link for more info.

The ultimate goal of stem cell research is to harness their tissue-making abilities to grow replacement parts for patients. Doctors could treat patients with juvenile diabetes, for example, by growing new islet cells capable of making insulin.

What else? Oh, I got my panties all in a bunch over these people who are saying that those of us who believe Michael Jackson should have been found guilty believe that only because he’s “different” from the norm or because we’re blindly listening to the media. Um. Again. No. Look, I believe that OJ killed Nicole and Ron, and I believe that Robert Blake probably killed his wife, but in both of those cases, I agreed with the verdict. In those particular cases, the evidence was not there. In this case? It was. And all these interviews that the jurors are giving and the things they’re saying…my god, but what a miscarriage of justice this was. They didn’t convict because they didn’t find the mother believable, because “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” The victim’s background wasn’t lily white. Guess what? Predators pick the weakest victims. Child molesters don’t chose children from strong families - they choose children from clearly dysfunctional families! And regardless, I don’t understand how not liking the mother should have had anything to do with whether this child was molested or not. Whether you believe that the “prior bad acts” should have been brought in or not, the fact is that this is law in California. I believe in the law because sex crimes such as these do follow a pattern and rarely have witnesses. So. Given the fact that the jury was presented with the facts of the two payoffs, given the fact that one of those victims got up and gave a clearly upsetting account of what happened to him, given the pattern of behavior — of all of the alleged victims looking alike, coming from similar backgrounds, each describing damn near exact circumstances and offenses — given the fact that these boys could describe Mr. Jackson’s genitals in detail…given all of that, how could anyone stand up and say that there was any doubt that something untoward was going on at Neverland? In fact, that’s not what the jurors are saying. Some have come right out and said that they thought he probably was a child molester, but that mother made them doubt the entire case.

I AM A PROMINENT CARDINAL IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. RECENTLY, OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE, POPE JOHN PAUL II, PASSED AWAY AFTER AN ILLNESS. YOU CAN READ ABOUT IT HERE AT WWW.CNN.COM/2005/WORLD/EUROPE/04/02/POPE.DIES. AT THE TIME, I WAS IN CHARGE OF FUNDRAISING ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT, AND I WAS IN POSSESSION OF A FUND CONTAINING $19.1 USD INTENDED FOR THE PURCHASE OF BINGO CARDS.

Pope John Paul II is being reborn in a Colombian comic book as a superhero battling evil with an anti-Devil cape and special chastity pants.

Who the hell did they poll? Members of the Michael Jackson Fan Club? They certainly didn’t poll normal people. I’m curious now about the people responsible for this poll.

And of course, if they can snark about the Bush brothers or any GOP politico in the meantime, they won’t mind doing that. Democrats sympathetic to Terri’s case will not be mentioned or bothered for statements, and the world’s foremost Democrat, Hillary Clinton, who was never asked her opinion of the matter while the story burned its hottest, and who managed to lie very low and stay away from the whole issue, will not be asked anything, either.

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members . . . It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

It has come to my attention that a number of people are thinking the sub-title for my blog,"It would be highly illogical for Hillary Clinton to run against me in 2008, but I will revel in the token challenge", is an actual quote. No!

Sadly, the negative opinion of Dr. Rice by black Americans, who are also very religious, stems from the demonization of all black Republicans by black Democrats who dominate the media targeted at the black community. Most liberal white women give Dr. Rice a negative rating because of Dr. Rice's position on abortion which is the same as that of President George W. Bush.

“Bush’s war” – If you’re against the war, fine. I’ve never attacked those who were against the war, as longtime readers can attest. That said, if you’re going to spout off about WMDs, memos, “imminent” or whatnot, I’m going to kindly ask where in the hell your opposition was back in December of 1998 when one Bill Clinton was bombing the dogsnot out of Iraq for one reason only: intel pertaining to WMDs that were in breach of UN resolutions. You know, it is so interesting to read or hear those who thought it was fine and dandy to take military action against Saddam when Clinton was the one calling the shots and who couldn’t wait to campaign for his Veep, who also supported the measures (as did I) but who somehow suddenly decided that Iraq was a sovereign entity that had done us no harm and any action would be illegal when someone with an ”(R)” next to their names were in the oval office. Gee, I wonder what made them act so duplicitous?

I think of these baby boomers - in truth I am one of them, on the tail end: The children of The Greatest Generation – the children of their sacrifice, as Bill Clinton said. A generation so in love with itself that it was able to turn to the generation before, the one that saved the world from Fascism and Communism and sneer at them, rejecting their traditions as vapid, their faith as naïve and their sense of honor and duty as mere mechanisms triggered by guilt.

Now, if liberals like Froomkin throw fits when the president isn’t pummeled enough, how do they feel about ex-presidents? Because on the two nights preceding Cavuto’s interview, FOX’s Greta Van Susteren interviewed Bill Clinton with a series of softballs that made no news whatsoever.

I was listening to NPR the other day, when they reported that “more than 1,000 lakes in the arctic region of Siberia have disappeared or shrunk dramatically over the past 30 years.” As temperatures rise, permafrost is melting, and the fresh water just seeps into the ground and disappears. I call this Global Meltdown; something the House energy bill ignores.

An Italian referendum that would have repealed some aspects of a law that bans human embryonic stem cell research and restricts access to assisted reproductive technology failed on Monday because only 25... click link for more info.

Fear seems to have ruled this election on all fronts, especially since Homeland Security and the War on Iraq seemed to be forefront in the minds of most. On the local level there is fear of what is other or different, fear of the unknown, and fear of economic demise with issues such as gay marriage, stem cell research, and the environment.

In an effort to create more unwanted children, Maryland anti-abortion activist and attorney H. Martin Palmer, filed suit on behalf of the 400,000 fertilized embryos now frozen in fertility clinics across America. Palmer compared stem cell research to slavery…

Finally, the conclusion one may draw is this: It is OK to kill someone (OJ, Robert Blake) or molest children (Jacko) in California if you are famous. I laugh sarcastically when I hear lawyers argue that the system is NOT tilted to favor the famous. Justice can indeed be purchased.

The Revolution of the Saints: A Study of the Origins of Radical Politics: Michael Walzer (Walzer is a good political ethicist to read.)

Pope John Paul II gets to heaven. St. Peter says, “Frankly, you’re lucky to be here.”

The complaint comes from Adel Smith, president of the Muslim Union of Italy, who was never charged with defaming Christianity after he referred to a crucifix as a “miniature cadaver” during his 2003 efforts to have depictions of Christ on the Cross removed from Italian schools. He has amassed a reputation as something of a crank after demanding that Christians deny aspects of their faith that offended his Islamic sensibilities: he has called for the destruction of Giovanni da Modena’s fresco The Last Judgment in the 14th-century cathedral of San Petronio in Bologna, Italy, because that priceless expression of Medieval Christianity depicts the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in hell. And in the mother of all frivolous lawsuits, Smith in February 2004 he brought suit against Pope John Paul II and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, for offending Islam by expressing in various writings their opinion, utterly unremarkable from two Christian leaders, that Christianity is unique and superior to other religions, including Islam.

This is precisely why the Church has always rejected Marxism, Socialism, and Communism. Pope Pius XI succinctly sums up the Catholic view of socialism in his well known statement: “...no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist.” (Encyclical Letter Quadragesimo Anno n. 120) These philosophies, because they are Atheistic in nature, deny that the human person is made in the image and likeness of the Infinite Creator, which as a result, distrusts man’s own free initiative and creative ability. In fact, when anyone asserts the natural God-given rights of the individual, which calls forth this free initiative and creativity, he is treated as a criminal in a socialist system. This view reduces man to mere economic commodity to be bought, sold, and used as a cog in the machinery of totalitarianism as opposed to a person freely placing his talent and ambition at the service of the common good. Pope John Paul II affirms this when he says: “Socialism considers the individual person simply as an element, a molecule within the social organism, so that the good of the individual is completely subordinated to the functioning of the socio-economic mechanism.” (Centesimus Annus n. 13)

Aside from that, this is a reminder that on Wednesday (June 15) we'll start discussing Pope John Paul II's last book, Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium. For this to work, as many people as possible need to participate, so I encourage everyone to jump into the discussion. I'll post my first thoughts on the book Wednesday late afternoon sometime and I encourage anyone with possible discussion threads to e-mail me at catholicgirltalk@gmail.com and I'll post them. Also remember that our book for July is The Dark Knight Returns and our book for August is In the Beginning, by then Cardinal Ratzinger.

Michael Jackson’s website is equating his court victory to that of Nelson Mandela’s release and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Maloney said support for the ALPhA is picking up steam in Congress — the House version has 78 co-sponsors and several Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., have signed onto the Senate’s version.

George W. Bush is also a supply-sider, but unlike Reagan, he has not learned from his mistakes. Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said he tried to warn Vice President Dick Cheney that growing budget deficits-expected to top $500 billion in fiscal year 2002 alone-posed a threat to the economy. Cheney cut him off. "You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don't matter," he said. This explosion of ignorance is typical of the Bush administration’s ideology-before-reality mindset.

Congressional Republicans are trying to repeal the 22nd Amendment, so that George W. Bush can become President * again and again and again... ad infinitum. House Joint Resolution number 24. I'm not making this up, though I sincerely wish that I were. Sigh... Here's one of several relevant links:

O.K., I know it's just the Northern Party, one of 6.2 million political parties in Italy. but Minister of Welfare Roberto Calderoli has been saying things that others have been afraid to say for years. AND it seems like Italian voters tend to agree with him. The squirming sounds you hear are coming from Berlin, Paris and Brussels. The European Socialist Union barely has time these days to criticize George W. Bush.

Besides just being a thinly vailed attempt to attack a government that they don’t like it has never been explained what “governing democratically” means. Today, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to a stab at it. Lets look at what she said and how it applies to Venezuela:

I read an interesting interview in Discover magazine with Doug Melton regarding stem cell research and ethics.

There’s just one catch on those “life-changing innovations": no emerging tech money can go towards embryonic stem cell research.

And of course we’re going to be doing all stuff everybody does; Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, get mugged, etc. I’m pretty excited. I’ll have sketches to post when I get back.

After we’d eaten we headed down to the Statten Island ferry to meet up with Amelie and Olly. Was really great to see them again… after seeing them a few weeks ago in Auckland. We all headed on the ferry over to Statten Island and back in order to get a good view of the Statue of Liberty. After we’d done that we headed to see Ground Zero… not a nice experience but certainly one worth seeing. I was totally amazed by the shear size of it. In the early afternoon after having lunch at Wendys we headed to the UN building for a tour around there. Very interesting and adding a bit of education to the day ;-) We are now all going to head out for our tea before heading up the Empire State building for a view of the city from up there! The weather here has been so hot all day that it was quite refreshing to come out of our UN tour to a little bit of rain. That quickly turned into a thunder and lightening show so we’ve taken shelter in here…. its now finished so we can go and eat ;-)

NEW YORK - Joel Casamayor didn't want to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building or the World Trade Center on his first trip to New York shortly after defecting to the United States from Cuba in 1996. … he told his new promoters - Team Freedom's Leon Margules, Roger Haber, and …

Well, the worst has happened and a verifiable sexual predator has been turned loose on the streets of the world with what amounts to permission to keep doing what he’s been doing. I can’t believe these people actually couldn’t see him for the pervert he is, but it’s been done and we all have to live with it now. And don’t for a minute think he won’t go right back to doing what he’s always done, here or in Europe, or wherever he moves his family to. Once a molester, always a molester, unless they get treatment, and even then it’s not certain they won’t be back at it sooner or later. Here is a man with the money and prestige to do anything he wants to do, and anyone who calls him on it is painted as a liar, a money-grubber, or someone who has a vendetta against him for some reason. Never a hint of remorse, oh no. Not for this animal who can pay off anyone at any time, and has made a habit of doing so. Ask yourself about the witnesses who testified for him. Who were they? People who have a vested interest in keeping him out of prison so their money-train can keep on chugging along, and his ex-wife who won’t do anything to risk her ability to see and be with her children. No, there’s not a one I would trust for any reason. And what about all the damaging testimony supposedly coming from Jay Leno, Chris Tucker, and others? They all said the kid never asked for money, totally against what the Defense claimed they would say, yet their word was taken as truth. The jury said they considered Jose Salas’ testimony to be totally truthful, yet they totally disregarded the part about him and the kid being drunk four out of five days. One has to ask why. What about all those who testified about having seen and experienced things of a sexual nature against boys? Were they all lying, and if so, why? What did they have to gain? Nothing. Yet, their tesimony was totally ignored. I really don’t get it. What is it with these famous guys? OJ had mountains of evidence against him, and more that his Defense managed to have barred, but he was set free. Now, at least he probably won’t be going around killing women all the time, but still, he should have paid for what he did. Robert Blake - did her or did he not kill his wife? I don’t know about his story, since there seem to be two credible sides to what happened. His story about leaving his gun on the table of the restaurant does sound strange, yet when a policeman who’s been on the job for years talks about how distraught her was, how he kept throwing up and all, how can you not feel this is a man who just walked up on a scene he had never experienced before and was having an awful lot of trouble handling? That one confuses me, but he did get off, whether rightly or not. And now Michael Jackson. As I said in my original posting, if anyone else had all the boy traps Jackson has at their house there would be no doubt of what they were there for. Ok, so the amusement park could be just for having fun, and if all he did was have kids over for fun at times, there would be no problem, but no grown man has sleepovers for boys of a certain age, actually sleeping in the bed with them, for innocent reasons. I’ve lived a lot of years and known more people than I can even remember now, and not once in all those years have any of those people done anything like that. Oh, there was one old man who lived near my grandparents who took a shine to my brother when we were little and invited him over to his barn one day to choose a toy from his “stash”. I tagged along, much to his displeasure, and when we got there he had a huge chest full of toys of all kinds and told Jack to help himself. He wasn’t quite as giving with me, handing me a bow and arrow set when Jack asked if I could have something, too, and while we didn’t think much of it at the time, I look back on that and wonder what might have happened to my brother if I hadn’t tagged along with them. He is the only man I have ever seen who had a “boy trap”. Now, he didn’t have the money Mr. Jackson does, and he certainly wasn’t as beloved as Michael is all over the world, but he did have his trap, ready and waiting, and I see no difference between the two men whatsoever. They are examples of perverts who have all the trappings to make any little boy happy and more willing to “pay for” their largesse any way they want them to. You would think more young boys would talk about it, wouldn’t you. At least until you see what’s been done to the boys who’ve dared to speak up against Michael. It’s kind of like what women who’ve been raped go through, or at least they used to, by being called everything but a decent woman, with witnesses paid to line up and claim they’ve “had her before, willingly” all around the block. And of course, as we all know, if a woman says yes to one guy, she must say yes to them all, right? I feel sorry for this boy, and the others, and any of the ones who will follow, because now he has the law on his side, and when he tells the world what whores these boys and their families are people are more likely to believe them. After all, he was found innocent this time, wasn’t he?

And for those of you living under a rock, Michael Jackson was aquitted of all 10 counts of child molestation. Dude did it, but used his celebrity status to prove yet again what a mockery the United States judiciary system is. O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, and Michael Jackson need to be in jail, but they’re free men.

Well, it's time to pack up our marbles and our Kew-ran desecration kits and hit the road. Jimmy Carter, whom you will recall was last seen not going to Pope John Paul II's funeral, and before that was last seen not going as an election observer to Iraq, says that Guantanamo should be closed to demonstrate America's commitment to human rights.

As a Cardinal under Pope John Paul II, the then Joseph Ratzinger presided over the church's International Theological Commission. This stated that "since it has been demonstrated that all living organisms on earth are genetically related, it is virtually certain that all living organisms have descended from this first organism."

Some background before you click on the link: The FEC (federal elections committee) is thinking about expanding the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA, a.k.a McCain-Feingold) to regulate political speech even more - and this has got some people really scared. The reason they are scared is because many bloggers would fall under the proposed legislation - basically, it would suddenly make it a lot harder to talk about or engage in politics on the Internet.

In an interview with CNN’s Larry King, former President Bill Clinton warns conservatives and liberals alike on the the hazards of using God in politics.

In either case, there may be times when I post later in the day, or even in the evenings, since other things will be taking priority to blogging. I'll still be posting about politics, Iowa events, conservativism, being a Republican, etc. I'll just be throwing in a post or two a week about my studies, too.

Well, as we all should know by now, Michael Jackson has been found innocent, regardless of all the kiddie porn and damning evidence that was found in Neverland Ranch (It goes to show that if youre rich and famous you can get away with anything). Now my gripe is not with Michael Jackson, I am certain that the man is guilty, but it is better left for karma to sort him out. My beef is with Mechelle Corby.

I don’t know who this Ed Klein guy is, but his book coming out about Hillary Clinton is certainly going to make some headlines.

Let me make myself personally clear. I am no fan of Hillary Clinton. I personally think she’s a megalomaniacal, power-hungry, socialist nanny-stater, who thinks she’s superior to the rest of us. Further, I think she’s an incredibly smart and scheming woman, who has been setting her entire personal persona up for the last 10 years or so to make her own run at the White House. Of course, it’s obvious from her stated politics that the last thing I ever want to see is her become President. She tried when Bill was in office to get socialized health care through the works, and I think that would be a disaster.

Virginia’s favorite tax-hiking governor is preparing to take on a national role, says the Washington Post. Limited to a single term in office by the state constitution, Democratic governor Mark Warner is looking forward to bigger and better things. Though the Post article focuses mostly on the 2008 presidential race, more likely first up is a run next year against the Republican former governor and incumbent Senator George Allen, who is also on many people’s 2008 presidential short list. Warner’s national profile is virtually nonexistent at the moment, except for his passage last year of a two-year, $1.5 billion tax hike through the Republican-dominated state legislature.* Still his centrist reputation might make him a more palatable option than Hillary Clinton for some Democrats. I think realistically he needs to beat Allen to be considered a serious contender. The fact that he is on many Democrats’ minds now shows how short their bench really is.

A Recent poll indicates that fewer folks are of the opinion that Hillary Clinton is a liberal.

The hatred of Hillary Clinton really baffles me, but the latest attacks involving a new book by Edward Klein and its overhyping by NewsMax.com is truly sickening. As if the involvement of NewsMax wasn’t bad enough, you have the canoodling of Ed Klein and Le Boot, who is co-founder of the proposed “Counter Clinton Library". It really does make you want to throw up. My only comfort is that David Brock and MediaMatters.org are all over this one.

Matt Drudge has done it again — he’s got incredible filth on the Clintons. And Hillary Clinton doesn’t like his source:

It appears that scientists are making a new push to get legislation passed on global warming reforms. According to this article from CNN, the science academies for Britain, France, Russia, Germany, the U.S., Japan, Italy,Canada, Brazil, China and India have all signed a joint statement calling for the immediate reduction of greenhouse gases and "recognize that delayed action will increase the risk of adverse environmental effects and will likely incur a greater cost." Despite this overwhelming statement of support from the world leaders in science, I'm sure the Bush administration will just dismiss this as more scientific hocus pocus.

Male government workers and politicians who stoically cling to their dark suits and ties as summer temperatures climb are being encouraged to leave off their jackets and ties between June 1 and September 30 so air conditioner thermostats can be set higher, helping to save energy and fight global warming.

Now these are the kind of girls I am looking for. You know?!? The one’s where we can all sit down sip’n on our 40’s discussing world politics, global warming, how Frank Loyd Wright should have designed mobile homes, or should the current interest rates stay at the current rate.

WASHINGTON -- With concern over global warming mounting in the United States and abroad, three bipartisan groups of lawmakers plan this week to press the Senate to adopt beefed-up emissions controls, despite staunch White House resistance to them.

George W. Bush is___________________________________________________

"F___ Saddam. we're taking him out." Those were the words of President George W. Bush, who had poked his head into the office of Condoleezza Rice. It was March 2002, and Rice was meeting with three U.S. Senators, discussing how to deal with Iraq through the United Nations, or perhaps in a coalition with America's Middle East allies. Bush wasn't interested. He waved his hand dismissively, recalls a participant, and neatly summed up his Iraq policy in that short phrase. The Senators laughed uncomfortably; Rice flashed a knowing smile.

Richard Nixon was impeached for a cover-up of a two-bit break-in. William Cohen, a young Maine Republican, played an important role for the prosecution in those proceedings. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex with an intern. Now we have the irrefutable evidence that George W. Bush lied about the reasons for taking the United States to war. The intelligence wasn’t flawed. The weapons weren’t hidden. Our elected leaders were lying.

Despite all the time, energy, and rhetoric Democrats spend trying to curry favor with "middle class" voters, their efforts are falling flat. With a couple of exceptions, instead of mining a Democratic electoral mother-lode, these voters delivered landslide margins to President Bush and congressional Republicans. For example, the report concludes that "George W. Bush defeated John Kerry by 22-points among middle class whites with incomes between $30,000 and $75,000." House Republicans won the same income group by 19 points.

“I’m going back to my cottage to rape my wife,” Klein quotes Bill Clinton as saying during a Bermuda getaway in 1979.

The US Secret Service were alerted when former President BILL CLINTON received a crank call.

According to Drudge, Edward Klein’s new book The Truth About Hillary makes the claim via an anonymous source that former President Bill Clinton made the incredible claim, "I'm going back to my cottage to rape my wife,” while on a Bermuda vacation in 1979.

Saying that 9/11 was the fault of gays — that would be hate speech. Saying that the gay-oriented Metropolitan Community Church is filled with “brute beasts” and is “a vile and Satanic system” that will “one day be utterly annihilated and there will be a celebration in heaven” — that too would be hate speech. Calling People for the American Way and NOW “Christ-Haters” isn’t what I’d call “love speech.” Claiming that Bill Clinton was a “bad” President who made the country “turn our backs on the Lord” seems pretty hateful as well.

Lake Worth, Florida (AHN) – In late May, Jason Martin stumbled across a misplaced cell phone at the back of the restaurant he worked at. Upon scanning the phone book, he was surprised to see a list of names including, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George Clooney, Harrison Ford, and Bill Gates.

According to Kommersant’s information, another important task for Lavrov during his European tour (after Rome, Lavrov will visit Cyprus and Poland) will be to advance Russia’s interpretation of the recent events in Uzbekistan, i.e., that outside forces, including Afghan Taliban, incited the armed uprising, whose suppression was the exercise of the right of a sovereign state to self-defense. Apparently, Russian diplomats have recently been trying not only to justify Islam Karimov’s use of armed force, but also to prepare the world community for the fact that, from now on, similar tactics would be used to put down street anarchy throughout the CIS. Just recently, Lavrov spoke of this theory in a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. This elicited an angry reaction from her, since this theory would call into question the effectiveness of the United States’ actions in Afghanistan. Rice replied bluntly that she saw no evidence of Afghan involvement in the events in Andijan, and that in searching for the causes, one should look more closely at the situation in Uzbekistan itself.

We know that around the same time in 2002 that Bolton was eliminating the troublesome UN official, president Bush was poking his head into a meeting between three senators and then-national security advisor Condoleeza Rice to say, “Fuck Saddam; we’re taking him out.”

(9) This section really irritates me. What Butler is explicitly saying is that clarity can be used by liars, which is a true but fairly trivial statement. Implicitly, however, there is a subtext arising from the dragging in of Nixon. If you are an American in 1999, then Nixon is surely not the most obvious candidate to use as an example of lying presidents. But Bill Clinton wouldn’t have the same impact, because what Butler wants to imply is that if you are in favour of clear speech you are siding with right-wing republicans like Richard Nixon. Put as bluntly as that, it’s a stupid statement and one that many left-wing academics would disagree with, so Butler wraps this up to so as to give a vague feeling to the reader that she’s reactionary if she disagrees.

MILLIONS of Americans despise Bill Clinton. They have done so since he became a presence in national politics in the early 1990’s, and they continue to do so today, more than four years after his retirement from public office.

Bush, and President Bill Clinton before him, were right to reject participation in the Kyoto Treaty to curb greenhouse gases. Its stringent protocols, from which China and India, the world’s two largest nations, are exempted, would have put a disproportionate and painful chill on the U.S. economy.

Michael Jackson's request to serve his sentence in juvenile prison was declined.

In the decade since Michael Jackson was first accused of child molestation, his record sales have plummeted, his concert dates have been few and far between — and his income has dwindled as well.

It’s common practice for celebrities to start “feuds” to get themselves mentioned in the gossip columns. But how far will they go? Getting arrested for throwing a tantrum at a fancy hotel can only be good for a tough-guy like Russell Crowe. Did he do it on purpose? Certainly it’s possible to take things too far… I’m thinking about Michael Jackson.

“This turned out to be a story that didn’t even have enough traction to compete with the runaway bride, which blew Michael Jackson off the screen for a week and a half,” said Thompson, head of Syracuse University’s Center for the Study of Popular Television.

Just hours before jurors were to begin deliberations for a fifth day, Michael Jackson made his third trip to the hospital in a week. The singer returned to the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital on Wednesday night for previously scheduled "routine treatment" of back spasms that have bothered him throughout the trial, sending him to the emergency room two times.

Mary Ellen Schoonmaker of NorthJersey.com says the press has become more timid since Watergate, shellshocked by plagiarism scandals, right-wing ideologues and the hunt for the almighty dollar, "more enamored of big celebrity stories, more willing to cover the runaway bride and Michael Jackson, more self-absorbed with worries about losing readers and becoming obsolete in a cable and Internet world."

As jurors in Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial deliberated a second full day Tuesday, jailers prepared to house the pop music star in protective isolation if he's convicted and ordered into custody.

If convicted, this will be Michael Jackson's new home. Celebrities really do get all the breaks.

The Bay State's junior senator, who missed becoming president by just one state, has been tabbed a 9-to-1 underdog by online casino SportsInteraction.com, behind favorite Hillary Clinton, and Kerry's vice-presidential running mate John Edwards.

Yet Conyers' biggest priority is not the war, but some kind of universal health insurance. He would love to see full coverage for everyone, as they have in Canada. "But that's in a perfect world, and I have to work with the one we've got," he says with a faint grin. If you think U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton must be helping him push health care, you're wrong.

We get a lot of leftwing people saying that our image abroad is in the dumpster due to our actions in the War on Terrorism...to the left, or mid-wifing of democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan is a blot upon our nation's honor which only the election of Hillary Clinton as President can expunge. Yeah, whatever...the government of Haiti, however, understands that having a US military force can come in handy when you're trying to create the conditions for a free and fair election:

A veteran of the Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry will soon be gunning for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), having signed on yesterday as counsel to Republican Ed Cox's Senate bid.

In the book Klein makes the same argument that Hillary "lacks the character" to be president as the Swift Boat Vets for Truth did to Kerry in 2004. group that defamed Kerry has now decided to get an early start on 2008 by discrediting Hillary Clinton. They are attempting to make the same "lack of character" claim against Hillary that they did to Kerry in 2004.

Most politicians are terrible strategists. The only politician who seldom makes a misstep is Hillary Clinton. She is working steadily toward 2008, positioning herself to be the obvious choice for the Democratic Party nomination and to give herself a decent chance to be elected. She understands a number of things that most politicians miss.

I am already busy collecting materials about Hillary Clinton. I having special fun collecting stories and anecdotes which illustrate the absolute burning disdain that Hillary feels for the common American -- those of a lower political and social class than she.

Oh no! You mean like, if Hillary Clinton goes to the National Organization of Women and gives a speech on reproductive rights, and how women could lose them if she isn't reelected, and so all those women march out and support her agenda, and write their checks to Hillary's reelection campaign, or to reproductive rights PACS, who then contribute to Hillary's campaign?

"Politicians from Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Howard Dean have recently contended that abortions have increased since George W. Bush took office in 2001.

Hillary Clinton addressed a crowd of about 900 supporters Monday night. Raising cash for her reelection bid she said that there has never been an administration in our history, more intent on consolidating and abusing power to further their own agenda. She added

However, there is one reasonable scenario in which Dean might survive. That is if Hillary Clinton comes to the conclusion that the contrast between herself and the increasingly laughable Howard Dean is such that it makes her look centered and reasonable. If Hillary and Bill come to that conclusion than that just might save Howard Dean. Remember, Hillary/Bill have never given a damn about the fortunes of their party. They care about their own interests and advancement. The fortunes of the Democratic Party have always been incidental to them....

But a CNN transcript from July 7, 1999, shows that Moynihan in fact said both "Mrs. Clinton" and "Hillary Clinton" in making his endorsement...

Stanford students are big on word compression - reducing words to their first syllable. So Memorial Church becomes MemChu, Memorial Auditorium becomes MemAud, and Hoover Tower becomes HooTow. I think we can use this to predict politics. For instance, George Bush would become GeBu but John Kerry would become JoKe. Hillary Clinton would become HillClin, but Howard Dean would become HowDe (with Doody invariably added). Okay, maybe the analysis is not up to the standards of a MicBar, but fun for me anyway.

Reflecting a consensus between the company and the US administration on the need for more global warming science and the unacceptable costs of Kyoto, the papers state that Exxon believes that joining the treaty "would be unjustifiably drastic and premature", the Guardian reported.

A White House official, who previously worked for the American Petroleum Institute, has repeatedly edited government climate reports in a way that downplays links between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

President’s George Bush’s decision not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto global warming treaty was partly a result of pressure from ExxonMobil, the world’s most powerful oil company, and other industries, according to US State Department papers seen by the Guardian.

I'm not the world's biggest environmentalist--I have yet to be convinced that I should buy into the global warming hysteria right now, I like Aqua Net hairspray just fine, I see no problem with cutting down thousands of acres of trees to make newspapers if that's what you planted the trees for in the first place, I drive an SUV, I don't support Greenpeace (not "I don't care", Greenpeace is specifically on my shit list), and I think that, for the most part, recycling is a wast of time money and resources. Do you get the point? Given that, I think...

When you use GWB's own logic we have to understand that global warming can never happen, since Bush denies based on current evidence, then he will extend his "I'm never wrong" into the future (what else can he do?), so any future effects will be something like "God's intervention". Why won't his God tell him the truth now? ;)

President’s George Bush’s decision not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto global warming treaty was partly a result of pressure from ExxonMobil, the world’s most powerful oil companyand other industries, according to US State Department papers seen by the Guardian.

We like to take an optimistic view, so we'd like to be able to predict the administration will learn to stop spinning science. But the Bush team will always prefer "let's pretend" to science about global warming and, probably, other vital subjects where the world's gains in knowledge are outstripping U.S. progress.

That very issue is what Jim Wallis wishes he could sit and talk about with George W. Bush. That's impossible now, he says. He is no longer invited to the White House.

Misstating The State Of The Union: Right-wing Media Distortions During The Presidencies Of Bill Clinton And George W. Bush

During last year's presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences.

During last year's presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences.

[Not policy makers? Now it's become aides. So the head of British intelligence has supposedly gone to Washington, gotten the wrong story by asking some underlings, and reported it to the British Prime Minister, and it is sheer coincidence that this story fits with the stories coming out of the White House through people like Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neil, Time Magazine, etc., etc. Many believe that the people met with were, in fact George Tenet and Condoleeza Rice.]

Despite Condoleeza Rice's promise last month to leave no stone unturned in investigating the matter (because, according to her, the U.S. is so fervent in their respect for religious diversity), I haven't yet heard anything about punishing the responsible parties.

This wasn’t just a case of him running off at the mouth, either, I don’t believe. Note the qualifier “pretty much” before that “white Christian party". That’s a defense qualifier so that when Republicans rightly point out people like Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Michael Steele, and J.C watts he can say, “Well, sure. Those are the exceptions. Remember, I did say ‘pretty much’". It’s a phrase that lets him smear the Republicans yet defend it semantically.

The WaPo today tells us that Bill Clinton would like to be Secretary-General of the UN.

What the poster is not is partisan. The campaign is over. Bush won. He’s the only president we’ve got. If you’ve got another incumbent president out there to make light of, I’d sure like to know about it. And the day that Americans can’t make fun of their president is the day that Rush Limbaugh sobs apologies to Bill Clinton, splits his millions between PETA and the Hillary ‘08 campaign and slinks back to Sacramento to take over the “Garden Show” on KFBK.

Congress fared no better. The proportion of the public disapproving of the legislative body was at its highest since late 1998, during President Bill Clinton's impeachment. More people said they would look at a candidate other than their sitting representative than at any point in nearly eight years. For the first time since April 2001, Democrats (46 percent) were trusted more than Republicans (41 percent) to cope with the nation's problems. But at the same time, favorability ratings for the Democratic Party, at 51 percent, tied their all-time low.

Congress fared no better. The proportion of the public disapproving of the legislative body was at its highest since late 1998, during President Bill Clinton's impeachment. More people said they would look at a candidate other than their sitting representative than at any point in nearly eight years. For the first time since April 2001, Democrats (46 percent) were trusted more than Republicans (41 percent) to cope with the nation's problems. But at the same time, favorability ratings for the Democratic Party, at 51 percent, tied their all-time low.

Dubya's approval rating has fallen to 46%. That's 27 points lower than Bill Clinton's approval rating right after his impeachment.

Of course a Democrat wants a kid to vote. It's easy to sway them on superficial emotional issues. Bill Clinton showed how easy it is to play the sax on MTV and get the country's youth to think you are really cool.

I believe that Bill Clinton is a man of high intelligence, quick wit, able to capture imaginations and hearts - and not an extreme liberal, either.

As James Taranto points out, this is rather odd considering that Howard Dean is 1) white and 2) describes himself as being Christian. Same with other leading Democrats of the present and recent past. Ted Kennedy, anyone? How about Al Gore? Oh, and Bill Clinton? And, yes, Hillary is also "white" and (on paper, it appears) "Christian". And as far I know, they are all heterosexual. Such diversity!

I put it in the same category as many scandals; I don't really want to know. OJ Simpson, Bill Clinton, Barry Bonds, and so many others, I just want to speculate what the truth is. Can you think of others? Leave a comment of the best mystery you can think of you either don't want to know the answer to, or wish you didn't know.

Stem Cells - Bush is stuck in a hard place on this one. He’s been fairly regimented in his approach on this subject, and any move toward more approval of stem cell research will have his conservative wing (i.e. religious wing) howling on this subject. So it’s going to be difficult seeing him budge on the subject. However, that’s also a big negative for the president, because a solid majority of Americans are behind increased stem cell research. Do we really want Asia to pull ahead of the US in potentially lucrative and life...

George Bush's opposition to stem cell research is intellectually and morally incoherent. Here's why.

Salon.com has a pretty good, comprehensive, (long) article on stem cell research. If you don't quite know what stem cells are all about. Why we need them. Why politicians stand where they do. What is and is not legal etc. This should give you a lot of answers. It's also kind of funny. And who doesn't like a little funny with thier information?

The first line is at a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty. It's from the a poem called “The New Colossus” written by Emma Lazarus.

Moral to the story: Support stem cell research unless you're ready to bow to the Germans and North Koreans!

A state Senate committee voted against banning embryonic cloning for stem cell research in Louisiana, but backers of the bill could try to persuade the full Senate to override the committee’s action.

Robert D. Wells, Ph.D., director of the Center for Genome Research at the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, is taking a leading role in a gathering of national and international specialists that will discuss stem cell research.

what the jury is going to come back with. I assume that it will be not guilty.. just proving my point that if you are a "Star" you can gte away with anything. I think OJ and Robert Blake proved that cause I do believe that both of the where guilty as ever. I guess only time will tell.

I am reminded of Thomas Kuhn's arguments in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions these days as I watch the dance of politics and economics, particularly the view that such transitions, from paradigm to paradigm, are not graceful. I am also reminded of the waning stages of any great ethical faith and Capitalism, like representative government, was, in my view, such a faith. In the early stages only a few believe but their belief is strong and pure. Then the faith is diluted but spread to many. In the later stages the faith is assumed, by which...

HERE’S ED KILGORE, making an important point about politics as it’s played in the real world.

PoliticsOnline is the premier global company providing news, tools and strategies for using the Internet in politics and public affairs. The company was founded in 1996 and is now . . .

Simmons is an interesting figure--his most visible political work, from what I've seen, has been his PETA animal rights ads. I don't think Simmons' word is God on this--but he's obviously an influential figure, and I think he's playing smart politics, trying to pressure Dean to meet with him and other black leaders.

In the June 2005 issue of “O” (thank you Jo!), Oprah interviews Jon Stewart. They are discussing The Daily Show’s move into politics and Jon says something that’s been digging at me for days.

Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal examines the destructive impact of politics on theater and offers hope that art is winning. Too good to exerpt. Read the whole thing.

One of the most insightful and knowledgeable observers of RI politics, Tom Coyne of RI Policy Analysis, has provided further information for us about that Dan Yorke show in a June 5 posting, which is recreated here: