FBI Imposter kills sex offenders

Is it murder or just taking out the trash?

Two Bellingham men believed to be registered sex offenders were shot to death early Saturday morning and authorities are looking for a suspect who posed as an FBI agent to get into their house, Bellingham police said. The case is being handled as a double homicide, said Bellingham Police Lt. Craige Ambrose.

Actually this is a natural outgrowth of the failure of society to deal appropriately with criminal who prey on children. After the recent highly publicized cases of repeat offenders killing children in Florida, Idaho and other states many people expressed their outrage over the fact that the killers had been caught previously and released.

I understand that the police can't just ignore a double homicide. However, I hope they have higher priorities like issuing speeding tickets.

Mayor Daley apologizes

Chicago Mayor Apologizes for Corruption

Mayor Richard Daley has apologized for the state of scandal-plagued City Hall, saying he should have done more to prevent corruption in his administration.

Federal authorities have spent more than 18 months investigating bribes given in return for jobs in a city trucking program. Earlier this year, that probe was expanded to allegations of fraud in city hiring practices.

I guess it's a start.

Another attempt to turn a personal tragedy into a winning lottery ticket.

Family of slain teen sues college

Better security at Knox College could have saved Andrea Racibozynski’s life, a lawsuit filed by the Naperville teenager’s family claims.

Example number 7,698,682,391 why lawyers are hated. The college didn't kill Andrea, Clyde Best did and he is in jail. Obviously, they can't get any money from him so the bloodsuckers go after the college. If they win, Andrea's parents will get a little cash, the lawyers will get some cash and equally important some added notoriety. The rest of us get to pay for the greed.

Why are the Yankees toast?

From the Boston Globe:

The Red Sox have played the fewest home games of any team in baseball, but are a major league-best 41-19 (.683) at home this season. The Sox lead the majors with an average of 6.5 runs per home game.

Need more reason for the Yankees to move on to next year? How about the fact that their pitching stinks.

Looting

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as with many natural disasters, there have been reports of wide-spread looting. Being in favor of law and order normally I'd condemn such behavior. However, I think in passing judgment we must separate those who are looting for personal gain such as stealing electronics and other household items from people who are only taking items necessary for human existence. This man for example:

Tue Aug 30, 1:23 PM ET

A looter carries a bucket of beer out of a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, as floodwaters continue to rise in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Monday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Cool Standings

Coolstandings.com is a website which computes the odds of winning the division and wild card for every team in baseball.

(h/t to Rob Neyer of ESPN)

US Website outs British spy network?

The Mirror is reporting that a website run by some guy named John Young has published the names of 121 British spies. This is NOT the John Young who walked on the moon in the early 1970's. Doing a little research I find out that this John Young is a retired architect who fancies himself a freedom of information fighter. He encourages people to send him sensitive government documents which he then posts on his website. Some people have been having conniption fits over Bob Novak mentioning that a serial liar was married to a CIA employee who once upon a time was a covert operative. I don't hear the same hue and cry about Young as I've heard about Plame. Why is that?

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)

BizzyBlog reminds us that on 1 September the final requirement of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) goes into effect. This allows individuals to request a free credit report every 12 months. Bizzyblog has links/phone numbers for requesting your report.

All the estimates are too low

Damage estimates for Hurricane Katrina are ranging from 9 billion to 21 billion dollars. I will go out on a limb and state unequivocally the final damage costs will exceed those estimates by a bunch. You are talking about a major city being nearly destroyed. New Orleans is under 25 feet of water right now. Additionally, as the storm turned east it wrecked havoc in Mississippi. Latest casualty figures I've seen are 80 fatalities in Mississippi and 55 fatalities in Louisiana. Those numbers will surely go much higher in the weeks to come.

Michelle Malkin has more info on the devastation and a ton of links.

Are the White Sox unraveling? Or just Mark Buehrle?

At the end of July the White Sox had the best record in either league and a 14 game lead over the Indians. After last nights loss, the White Sox have a losing record (11-14) in August and their lead is down to 7 games. Not exactly the sort of momentum which portends success in the playoffs.

The ace of their pitching staff is unraveling even quicker. After last nights game, Mark Buehrle accused the Texas Rangers of cheating by stealing signs from the catcher to the pitcher and then relaying them to their batters by flashing lights. What's his evidence, you may ask. Well, he has plenty. First off, they pounded him for seven runs last night (never mind the 4 errors his defense made behind him). He also pointed to the Rangers hitting great at home but only so-so on the road. Do the numbers support his contention? Yes, the Rangers batting average at home is a very good .285 while it goes down to .256 on the road. However, further research shows that 18 teams have a better batting average at home than on the road. Three teams have a greater disparity between home and road batting average than Texas. Does Buehrle believe they are all cheating?

This isn't the first time Buehrle has tossed out reckless accusations of cheating. He previous alleged that Greg Maddux throws a spitball.

Tribe looking to pick up another hitter for stretch run?

Rumors out of Chicago have the Indians working on a deal with the Cubs to add Todd Walker to the team. I like this idea. The Indians one major shortcoming this year has been on offense. Last year, second baseman Ronnie Belliard slumped miserably down the stretch. Replacing him for a game or two a week with Walker sounds much better than seeing Ramon Vazquez in the lineup.

Sports shorts

Kyle Orton was the 7th quarterback drafted this past April. Looks like he is the first QB from the 2005 draft to secure a starting job in the NFL.

So Maurice Clarett is getting cut by the Denver Broncos. He has fallen from being a potential first round draft pick if he finished his career in college to now hoping a Canadian Football League team will give him a chance to learn what he should have learned in college. Every college football coach should be using Clarett as a cautionary tale to young players who don't respect the college rules because they think they are ready for the pro's.

The Indians continue to roll. They still trail the Yankees and Angels in the Wild Card chase but the Yankees and Angels don't get to play Kansas City anymore and we do.

Eagles withdraw franchise tag on DT Simon. He could have signed the offer for over 5 million dollars instead he held out for more. The Eagles calledhis bluff and released him. It will be interesting to see if another team pays him what he thinks he is worth. Skipping the sure millions for free agency sure worked out for Ross Verba didn't it? Oops, that's right no one else signed him.

Who Is Hugo Chavez?

Prior to last weeks comments by Pat Robertson calling for the U.S. to take out Hugo Chavez most Americans probably had little or no knowledge of the Castro protege or the South American country he runs. The New York Sun has a short tutorial on Chavez this morning. Here is a taste:

There's Mr. Chavez's extremist stance against America in the war on Islamic extremist terrorism. He opposed not only the Iraq war but even the effort to destroy Al Qaeda in Afghanistan after the attacks on America of September 11, 2001. And then there's Mr. Chavez's treatment of Venezuela's own citizens. The State Department's "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" for 2004 writes that the human rights group Red de Apoyo reported that on January 10, 2004, nine men were rounded up and executed. On March 10, Juan Carlos Zambrano "died after being beaten by soldiers who had detained him." His girlfriend was raped by the same soldiers. "On March 30, eight soldiers were burned in a punishment cell ... two of the soldiers died of their injuries."

Want to know more about Venezuela? Here is the CIA World Factbook page on Venezuela.

Conflicting views on Venezuela

Often you can decide which side of a conflict to take based as much on some of the participants as the particulars of the issue at hand. Two articles I just read regarding Venezuela are an example.First there was this:

A demonstration on the streets of Caracas on Saturday by hundreds of Venezuelans opposed to President Hugo Chavez turned violent as government supporters threw rocks and tear gas canisters at protesters.

Then this:

Jesse Jackson has offered his support to the Venezuelan president after a call by a US TV evangelist for his assassination.

It is always best to hold off bragging until after the game

Last night I attended my nephews high school football game. Their field goal kicker just happens to be a female. Well, the other team (North College Hill) had some players running their mouth with various silly comments about a girl being on the team. At the end of the game that girl had kicked three extra points in a game Reading won 23 to 6. The kicker for the other team missed his only extra point chance. Lesson learned? Don't mock your opponent while they are kicking your butt.

Keeping the pressure on Taft

Governor Bob Taft who was convicted of four misdemeanor ethics violations charges has steadfastly refused to consider resigning. A website has been created to encourage his ouster. MoveonTaft.org has additional information as well as phone numbers & email addresses of your state representatives who you can contact to voice your opinion.

Saturday's various links and comments

Rep. Charlie Rangel (Moonbat-Harlem) has always been over the top with his partisan rhetoric. However, he has gone completely around the bend with his latest comments about Vice President Cheney's health.

Rep. Charles Rangel, dean of the city's congressional delegation, blasted Vice President Cheney yesterday as a "sick man" who "grunts a lot." "Sometimes I don't even think Cheney is awake enough to know what's going on," Rangel (M-Harlem) said during an interview on New York 1 last night.

The Cleveland Indians won their game last night staying in a three way tie in the Wild Card race. Afterwards all the talk was about Grady Sizemore's dramatic steal of home in the first inning. Speed can rattle pitchers and force bad throws from infielders. Sizemore hustles out every grounder and has reached a few times on throwing errors as fielders reacted to his speed down the first base line.

Jim Ingraham of the Morning Journal examines some of the positives of the 2005 Indians.

Here is a weird story of a Hollywood producer who took off from his wife while she was in a grocery store restroom. Story went from weird to tragic as he suffered a fatal heart attack in the back of their SUV and somehow fell on his sleeping daughter suffocating her.

A historical review of failure. The Top Ten Dot-Com flops. Looking over the list you have to wonder what were they thinking with some of these ideas.

Iowa Man Walks Off Without Paying for Leg

A man test-fitting a $17,000 artificial leg ran off without paying the bill. Police said the crime happened after the man came in on Aug. 19 to be fitted for the prosthetic.

He "was allowed to take it for a couple hours to ensure that the fit was proper."
Sgt. David Murillo said the man didn't come back.

I suppose the ACLU would cry about profiling if the police concentrated on people with one leg as they investigate this crime.

Catch and release should be for fish not terrorists

Michael Yon is a reporter in Iraq who also writes a blog. In an entry titled, Gates of Fire, Yon tells of the heroism of Lieutenant Colonel Erik Kurilla. His entry is worth reading just for people to get an understanding of men such as LTC Kurilla.

However, the story was also very troubling because it revealed a disturbing trend in Iraq. LTC Kurilla was shot by a terrorist who had been apprehended after the mess tent bombing last year. How could that be if the guy had already been apprehended? Here's how:

The doctors rolled LTC Kurilla and the terrorist into OR and our surgeons operated on both at the same time. The terrorist turned out to be one Khalid Jasim Nohe, who had first been captured by US forces on 21 December, the same day a large bomb exploded in the dining facility on this base and killed 22 people.

That December day, Khalid Jasim Nohe and two compatriots tried to evade US soldiers, but the soldiers managed to stop the fleeing car. Then one of the suspects tried to wrestle a weapon from a soldier before all three were detained. They were armed with a sniper rifle, an AK, pistols, a silencer, explosives and other weapons, and had in their possession photographs of US bases, including a map of this base.

That was in December.

About two weeks ago, word came that Nohe's case had been dismissed by a judge on 7 August. The Coalition was livid. According to American officers, solid cases are continually dismissed without apparent cause. Whatever the reason, the result was that less than two weeks after his release from Abu Ghraib, Nohe was back in Mosul shooting at American soldiers.

LTC Kurilla repeatedly told me of terrorists who get released only to cause more trouble. Kurilla talked about it almost daily. Apparently, the vigor of his protests had made him an opponent of some in the Army's Detention Facilities chain of command, but had otherwise not changed the policy. And now Kurilla lay shot and in surgery in the same operating room with one of the catch-and-release-terrorists he and other soldiers had been warning everyone about.

When Kurilla woke in recovery a few hours after surgery, he called CSM Prosser and asked for a Bible and the book: Gates of Fire. Kurilla gives a copy of Gates of Fire to every new officer and orders them to read it. He had given me a copy and told me to read it.

A future Jeffrey Dahmer?

When I heard about Neil Goodwin and his aberrant behavior I instantly made the connection to Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer was the nut from Milwaukee who killed a bunch of people and kept parts of his victims in his refrigerator for snacking later. Information came out in his trial that he had started messing with small animals as a kid. None of these scumbags start out with their worst behavior. They build up to the acts for which they gain notoriety. So, what did Neil Goodwin do?

He has been charged with desecrating a Civil War-era tomb, pulling apart the skeleton, and posing for pictures with the skull and other bones.

I suppose our real concern should be what will he do next?

Another out of work veteran

Now that is funny.

Stolen from Curmudgeonly & Skeptical

Presidential response to Sheehan protest

Scott Ott of ScrappleFace.com is often sarcastic and usually is humorous enough that you can easily tell that it is fake news. However, today he issued a missive titled Leak: Draft of Bush Answer to Cindy Sheehan which was so dead on that I'd recommend that the President just sign it and send it out to her with a copy to the media hovering over her. Go read it.

Baby found in Peru wreckage

WOW! This is amazing.

LIMA: A baby boy was found alive in the arms of his dead mother in the wreckage of a Boeing 737 that crashed in the Peruvian jungle on Wednesday. Juan Carlos Rengifo suffered only cuts and bruises when the TANS Airways plane came down in a swamp 800km north of the capital, Lima.

U.S. Army Col. James H. Coffman Jr. - Hero

Why is it that our true heroes are usually pretty humble?

Coffman doesn't see himself as a big hero, just a Soldier who did what he had to do to keep himself and his men alive. He believes there are plenty of heroic deeds going on in Iraq -- particularly in the military and special police training teams -- that go unrecognized.

"There are equal acts out there. This one just got written up," Coffman said. "I would like to see more people get written up."

Read the rest. This is a man we can all be proud of.

Do people really care about Bob Huggins being forced out at UC?

If one were wondering if people actually cared about Bob Huggins being forced out as Head Coach of the University of Cincinnati basketball team, consider this, the Cincinnati Enquirer has an open comments thread on the subject which has already reached 79 pages. Sadly, I must disagree with most of the sentiments expressed.

I am a sports fan. However, what a lot of people forget is in the term "student-athlete" the word student comes first for a reason. While I enjoy watching college sports I don't think anyone should be on a team if they would not be welcome at the school if they weren't a superior athlete. During the NFL draft the goofs at ESPN were lauding Frank Gore of UM for graduating even though he had a severe learning disability and couldn't read when he showed up in college. Not to be heartless but college is for higher education not for helping someone with a single digit IQ maintain eligibility in order to keep him carrying a football. If UC cleans up their act but has a losing basketball team they will be far better off than if they continue recruiting thugs, morons, and criminals who happen to be superior athletes.

Iraqi Parliament Gets Draft of Constitution

UPDATE and BUMP UP: Hugh Hewitt interviewed John Eastman a Professor at Chapman University Law School, and a scholar on the American founding. Professor Eastman took a much more in depth look at the problems of our fledgling democracy. It is definitely worth reading.

So now there is a draft Iraqi Constitution. What next? Well, predictably by the end of the week those opposed to success in the War on Terror will be deriding the various short comings of this first effort and announcing that the Bush administration didn't ensure the Iraqi Constitution was to their liking. Never mind the fact that the same pundits would have criticized the administration for being too heavy handed if we pushed every little detail in the process. Those of us who are optimistic about the potential for Democracy in the Middle East will point out how our own country took quite a while to get it right.
For those with short memories here are a few dates to consider:
4 July 1776: Independence Declared - Turned out to be a bit premature
15 November 1777: The Articles of Confederation enacted
1 March 1781: The Articles of Confederation ratified by the last state Maryland
19 October 1781: General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown
3 September 1783: The Treaty of Paris was signed effectively ending the American Revolution and demonstrating British acceptance of our independence.
25 May 1787: In recognition of the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution Convention was convened.
1 January 1863: President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves only in the states controlled by the Confederacy.
18 December 1865: Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution ratified prohibiting slavery. So, our country existed about 80 years before we figured out that it was wrong to own people as property.
27 February 1922: Nineteenth Amendment enacted granted woman's suffrage.

So before we start passing judgment on the effort to bring various factions together in Iraq we need to bear in mind the failings of our own fore-fathers. If giants like Madison, Jefferson, Franklin, Mason, Adams, etc. couldn't achieve perfect right away, how do we dare demand that from people in a region with no experience in self-rule.

Jesse Jackson right about something

Just like a broken clock being right twice a day, every so often, notorious race hustler Jesse Jackson is right about something.

Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., condemned calls by conservative Christian Coalition leader Pat Robertson’s to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. “These comments are morally reprehensible and dangerously suggestive. The international community repudiates Robertson’s remarks, and calls upon him to retract his remarks,” . . . . “Calling for the assassination of world leaders is inciteful and wildly provocative. It is just the latest of Robertson’s outrageous and intemperate declarations; President Bush and Secretary of State Rice should immediately rebuke and disassociate the administration from Robertson’s comments,” Jackson continued.

Don't move to California

If anyone needs another reason not to live in California here it is:

In a new study of 2004 crimes, Modesto, Calif., keeps its crown as the auto-theft capital of the country. In fact, California cities claimed seven of the 10 worst spots in the ranking of 336 metro areas by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). Of the worst 20 cities for theft, 11 are in California.

Click this link to see how your city ranks.

Hey, if your car hasn't been stolen yet you might need to put gas in it every so often. If so, here is a link to a website which tracks gas prices in major cities.

You can say a lot with a cartoon

Well, I think we all know what choice they would make.

This doesn't sound very nice

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a "terrific danger" to the United States.

Even if his suggestion would be a good idea, it is idiotic to make a public statement calling for the assassination of a foreign leader. However, more important than that is the fact that this goof (Robertson) is considered by some to be a Christian leader. It just doesn't sound like a very Christ-like thing to do to call for someone's murder. I would expect a religious leader to call for others to unite in prayer to change the hearts and minds of those we disagree with on issues. We rightly believe we have the moral high ground compared to the teachings of Islam which often leads to violence. We forfeit that moral high ground if we fail to repudiate such stupid comments. Pat Robertson needs to stay out of foreign affairs.

Draft pick mania

The Browns traded former second round draft pick Andre Davis to the Patriots yesterday for an undisclosed draft pick (rumored to be a 5th round pick). In my eyes that was just the latest in a long line of drafts picks not turning out.

The Browns returned from hiatus in 1999. Since then there have been 7 NFL drafts held to distribute amateur players. So how have the Browns done with their first and second round picks? Not too good. Not one Pro Bowl selection among the bunch.

1999 1-1. Couch, T (QB) - Released (McNabb went 4 picks later)
1999 2a. Johnson, K (WR) Released
1999 2b. Abdullah, R (LB) Released
2000 1-1. Brown, C (DE) - Released
2000 2. Northcutt, D (WR)
2001 1-3. Warren, G. (DL) Traded for 4th round pick (Tomlinson went 3 picks later)
2001 2. Morgan, Q (WR) Traded for Bryant (WR)
2002 1-16. Green, W. (RB) Has had more games either injured or on the suspended list than effective
2002 2. Davis, A (WR) - Traded for a 5th round draft pick
2003 1. Faine, J (C) - Has missed nearly a full season with injuries
2003 2. Thompson, C (LB) - A project drafted too early who has been used mainly on special teams.
2004 1. Winslow, K (TE) - Broke leg in second game. Missed remainder of 1st season. Injured performing motorcycle stunts between 1st and 2nd season. Will miss entire sophomore season.
2004 2. Jones, S (S) - Suffered knee injury in pre-season. Missed entire season.
2005 1. Edwards, B (WR)
2005 2. Pool, Brodney (CB) - Suffered concussion on opening kickoff of first pre-season game.

The Browns may not draft very well, but they sure can maintain a web site. Davis was traded yesterday and he is already off the depth chart on the team website.

Comeback Player of the Year

Major League Baseball and Viagra, the presenting sponsor, have announced the nominees for the 2005 Comeback Player of the Year Award, and balloting is now under way. Your vote will automatically enter you into a sweepstakes for a chance to win great prizes -- like game-used bases from the All-Star Game or the honor of throwing the ceremonial first pitch at a World Series game this fall.

In the American League, the candidates are Jason Giambi of the Yankees, Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays, Bob Wickman of the Indians, Jay Gibbons of the Orioles, Richie Sexson of the Mariners and Barry Zito of the A's.

In the National League, the choices are Cliff Floyd of the Mets, Brian Fuentes of the Rockies, Troy Glaus of the Diamondbacks, Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds, Todd Jones of the Marlins and Andy Pettitte of the Astros.

Go here to vote on the award.

I'd recommend Bob Wickman in the American League and Ken Griffey Jr. in the National League. With a 12 and 4 record, Roy Halladay would likely be a better choice than Wickman had he not suffered a broken leg in mid-July.

What is Arlen Specter doing in Cuba?

During congressional recesses, many senators and representatives go back to their home state to get feedback from their constituents on the issues of the day. Not Arlen Specter. Specter headed to Cuba to attempt to get an audience Fidel Castro. While in Cuba, Specter did manage to finagle a meeting with Venezuala's President Hugo Chavez. Go figure?

Questions, questions, questions

Tom Blumer of BizzyBlog.com has three questions for a Saturday morning:

QUESTION 1: Is there anyone who still supports the long-discredited idea of “comparable worth” compensation schemes?

QUESTION 2: When will Cuba’s backers acknowledge its abject failure?

and

QUESTION 3: How much pressure can California homeowners take?

Go read the entire post and see his responses to these questions. The first question is particularly relevant as it is being used by the media wing of the Democrat party to attempt to erode support for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

Nixon's biggest screw-up

The title of this post is not referring to the Watergate scandal but rather the appointment of Harry Blackmun to the U.S. Supreme Court. Thomas Roeser has an article today, Blackmun's slide into the liberal cauldron which examines how Blackmun changed from a fairly reliable conservative vote on the court to authoring the worst piece of legislating from the bench (Roe v.Wade). While the article has some discussion of the court case which defined Blackmun's despicable legacy the more interesting part is examination of his relationship with Chief Justice Warren Burger. I previously knew that Burger had recommended Blackmun to Nixon and vouched for his conservatism. However, I had no idea how close they had been growing up. They met in kindergarden and Blackmun was the best man at Burger's wedding. However, their time on the court together strained the relationship to the point that Blackmun didn't even attend Burger's funeral.

Hardball Dollars

Like it or not, financial flexibility has a lot to do with whether your favorite baseball team will be an active player in the post-season free agency period. There is a new website which tracks baseball payrolls for every team. Hardball Dollars shows payroll obligations for future years and calculates whether a team is going to be subject to the luxury tax. The New York Yankees have about 140 million dollars obligated next year to fill just 11 roster spots. Since that is 60+ million less than this years payroll I would expect them to be aggressive in the free agent market.

Unusual Recruits

The general perception is that the all-volunteer military only gets the dregs of society to join.

When shortfalls made news earlier this year, comedian Bill Maher used the occasion to reinforce the stereotype that America scrapes its military from the bottom of the population barrel. Quota-missing Army recruiters had, Mr. Maher quipped, "done picked all the low-lying Lyndie England fruit. And now we need warm bodies."

However, the truth is, the high-tech nature of a lot of today's military job fields belies that generalization. Here is an article which highlights some of the best and the brightest who are answering the call to military service.

As you're reading this, National Honor Society member Caity Swanson, 18, of Audubon, N.J., is likely cranking out one . . . more . . . pushup . . . under the stern eye of an Army drill sergeant at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. Princeton University senior Ross Williams, 21, is finalizing his plans to check out of the Ivy League and into the Marine Corps. And Congressional Award winner Asher Strassner, 18, just shipped out from his home in Houston to Navy boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill.

Does Randy Moss smoking pot even qualify as news.

Moss admits smoking marijuana since entering NFL

ESPN and sports talk on the radio has been all over this story acting as if it is a big deal. Maybe it's just me, but is it even surprising to find out Moss gets high from time to time? I'd be more surprised to find out he wasn't high most of the time. Check out this picture and decide for yourself.

Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea

Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea. It's an old saying and it is definitely true today when on an overseas deployment.

Missile Fired at U.S. Navy Ship in Jordan

My initial reaction was relief when I read the missile missed. After thinking about it, I was angry that we even had a ship in a Jordanian port. In recent years, we have made less port visits than previously and incidents like this are a prime reason. Ships in port are sitting ducks. I can't speak about the geo-political situation on the ground in Jordan. However, the entire region is sufficiently hostile to the United States that I wouldn't recommend a port visit to any predominantly Muslim country no matter how much good will the State Department believes the visit would generate. Remember the Cole didn't need to go to the port of Aden for oil they were sent there to help improve relations.

The story of the (almost) guilty governor

Nolo contendere was the plea entered today by Ohio Governor Bob Taft. Nolo contendere is Latin for I do not wish to contend but really means I did it but guilty sounds real bad. Taft is the first Ohio governor to be charged and convicted of a crime. Now, he needs to be the seventh Ohio governor to resign the office. The previous six to resign did so to take other jobs. Four became U.S. Senators (Tiffen, Brown, Lausche and Voinovich). One (Meigs) was named U.S. Postmaster General and another (Wood) was appointed to the U.S. Consulate in Chile. I don't think the future is quite so bright for Taft.

I have a feeling a lawsuit is soon to follow

Anyone who has had cable television has also had reason to complain at some time or another. After one lady complained this is how COMCAST responded:

But when she got her August bill from Comcast she had no trouble understanding she'd made somebody mad. It was addressed to "Bitch Dog."

Oops, sorry.

Sleeper Candidate

In Sleeper Candidate, Bill Whalen examines potential 2008 presidential candidate Joe Biden.

IMAGINE THAT RIP VAN WINKLE was a Democrat--one waking up from an 18-year slumber.

As Rip nodded off in the summer of 1987, his party was mobilizing to take down a conservative Supreme Court nominee. Rip's fellow Dems needed the win: They'd lost two national elections during the decade to a president they were convinced was a lunkhead; opinions differed over whether the party needed to chart a more moderate course. But Rip remembered that help was on the way in the form of New York's most glamorous Democrat (Mario Cuomo), who was the odds-on-favorite to be the next president. Not much has changed. And there's been one other constant in Rip's life: Joe Biden, now as then, running for president.

Whalen also reminds us why Biden's 1988 campaign failed.

EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO, Biden's campaign unraveled only three-and-a-months after he first announced when it was revealed--by a rival operative, who leaked incriminated videotapes to the press--that the Delaware senator has been plagiarizing other politicians' material, including words from a television ad by former British Labor leader Neil Kinnock and speeches by Robert F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey.

Read the article and see how closely he copied off the people he was plagarizing.

Gives new meaning to phrase "Women and children first"

Niger's women and children starve as men hoard food

Why would anyone attack a 90 year old person?

Beloved Christian Leader Slain in France

TAIZE, France — Brother Roger, the 90-year-old founder of an ecumenical religious community dedicated to peace and reconciliation, was knifed to death by a woman at an evening prayer service attended by 2,500 people, authorities said.

Can't New York do better than Pirro or Clinton?

My 2004 Almanac lists the population for the state of New York as 19,157,532. Five years ago, despite having over nineteen million people to choose from, New Yorkers chose a native of Illinois (Hillary Clinton) to represent them in the U.S. Senate. Now, they have a chance to do better and what are their choices? They can reelect Clinton or they can go with the Republican challenger, Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro. One of the areas where Sen. Clinton is most vulnerable is her involvement in ignoring/covering up her husband's various malfeasance. So the New York Republicans are considering a candidate whose husband Albert (a convicted tax cheat and a deadbeat dad) makes Bill Clinton almost seem honorable. They can do better than nominating "Hillary-light." How about one of these two?

Pirro's rivals for the Republican Senate nomination, including former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer and corporate lawyer Ed Cox - President Richard Nixon's son-in-law - are ready to argue these and other conservative points. They might not have Pirro's charisma, good looks and natural appeal for women, but at least they would have something to talk about on the campaign trail.

If not one of them, there are 19 million other people to consider. Also, it appears that Pirro's main argument against reelecting Clinton is that she may run for president. Does she really think New Yorkers would be upset to see their senator move on to the White House?

UPDATE: Larry Kudlow, CNBC's smartest economist and political commentator, agrees with me on Pirro not being the best New York could do.

No Walmart! Is that right?

ESPN is doing a state by state daily visit to each of the 50 states. During the segment on Vermont they just said that Vermont is the only state without a Walmart. Who'd a thunk it?

A sad commentary about the state of sports in Vermont is the fact that ESPN spent the majority of the segment discussing the mascot of the local minor league baseball team.

One bad decision lead to another which resulted in a tragedy

Even good kids can make really bad decisions when scared.

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (AP) - A high school honor student and track standout drowned when she jumped into a canal while running away from police following a hit-and-run accident. Police spokesman Angelo Bitsis said Hooppaw was spotted causing the hit-and-run and fled from her Toyota SUV when police approached. She had been driving to a hospital with a companion who police said shot himself in the leg, apparently by accident.

Hooppaw ran between some houses before jumping into a 12-foot-deep canal, Bitsis said. Officers repeatedly ordered Hooppaw out of the canal, but she swam away. She went under water and did not resurface.

I'm sure there is more to the story but at this point it just doesn't matter.

More government failure to use common sense

Try to understand the bureaucratic stupidity displayed in this story.

Should the biological father of a soldier killed in the line of duty receive death benefits even though he never met his daughter?

Sgt. Jessica Housby of Rock Island was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in February. The unmarried 23 year old was raised by her mother and stepfather.

But the state contacted her biological father Tony Holbrook in his prison cell in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and informed him that as the biological father of Jessica, he was entitled to survivor's benefits, and is in line to receive more than $137,000 in the coming weeks.

Roberts v. Snowe

The Senate has taken to reviewing any past writings of potential nominees in recent decades. I believe the first high profile example was when William Rehnquist was nominated in 1972. Opposition to his nomination went so far as to review briefing notes he wrote as a law clerk for Associate Justice Robert Jackson in the early 1950's. Since then this practice has continued whenever a potentially conservative nominee is submitted to go through the senate's advise and consent process. In digging through memos written by current nominee John Roberts a real gem was found. He made rather snide remarks about a very stupid proposal by three female congresswomen, one of whom is now a senator (Olympia Snowe, RINO-ME). He basically slammed their idea as being out of the Communist Manifesto.

"I honestly find it troubling that three Republican representatives are so quick to embrace such a radical redistributive concept," Judge Roberts wrote to Mr. Fielding a few weeks later, on February 20. Judge Roberts, who was 29 at the time, even suggested the congresswomen, Ms. Snowe, Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, and Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, might be Marxists. "Their slogan may as well be 'From each according to his ability, to each according to her gender,'" Judge Roberts quipped.

More bad news for Mexican President Fox

As if President Fox of Mexico didn't get enough flak for his comments that illegal immigrants were only taking jobs that (in his words) "even American black wouldn't take," now he has to deal with this.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan said Mexican President Vicente Fox was right to say that Mexican immigrants take jobs "that not even blacks want."

There are certain people that if they agree with me on a subject it causes me to reassess my original position. Farrakhan is one of those people.

Apology not accepted or needed

This headline would have been appropriate in the 1940's maybe even in the 1950's.

Japan PM Apologizes for World War II

Yes, the Japanese actions in the late 1930's and 1940's were reprehensible, especially the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. However, an apology from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who was born 32 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor means nothing coming 60 years after the end of that war.

It makes as much sense as if I (who have never owned slaves) went up and apologized for the sins of slavery to a random black man (who likely never was a slave).

Who is telling the truth?

One of the claims made by Cindy Sheehan is that when President Bush met with her family and others who had lost a loved one in the War on Terror he seem jovial. Besides the fact that such behavior would be contradictory to her account immediately following the meeting it would also be completely out of character for President Bush. Betsy Newmark has links to a Newsweek story today which recounts several family's meetings with President Bush.

Privately, Bush has met with about 900 family members of some 270 soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The conversations are closed to the press, and Bush does not like to talk about what goes on in these grieving sessions, though there have been hints. An hour after he met with the families at Fort Bragg in June, he gave a hard-line speech on national TV. When he mentioned the sacrifice of military families, his lips visibly quivered.

Some Dems and their assistants in the media have suggested that President Bush should go talk to Ms. Sheehan. He rightfully is ignoring these recommendations. He has met with her. Meeting with her now in the circus environment outside his ranch would just be a spectacle used to embarrass him.

Cindy Sheehan

For the last week or so the media has been lapping up every word uttered by Cindy Sheehan. As you're probably aware, Ms. Sheehan, who is the mother of Casey Sheehan an Army soldier and hero who was killed in combat, has been camped outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas making innane speeches about the War on Terrorism. Most people, even those who disagree with her views on the war, have treaded lightly in refuting her figuring she is just having difficulty handling her grief. Personally, I haven't mentioned her at all before this entry. However, her lunacy has gone a little too far to simply ignore. Today she has been quoted as saying the following:

"You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," Sheehan declares. Sheehan, who is asking for a second meeting with President Bush, says defiantly: "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial."

Okay, I get it, she isn't anti-Semetic but it's all the fault of the Jews. I had seen that some of the left wing groups supporting her were anti-Semetic but didn't hold that against her. However, if you are going to hang out with Michael Moore I guess you start smelling like him after a while. My guess is the media, which has been using her to attack the president, will not even notice her Arafat-like call for Israel to cease to exist.

I wish only the best for the rest of Casey Sheehan's family but his mother is beneath contempt. She dishonors her son's memory and should be ashamed but won't be.

UPDATE: Apparently, some people disagree with me. David Duke (formerly of the KKK) is in complete agreement with Ms. Sheehan. What was that about "Birds of a feather. . . . ?"(H/T Confessions of a Political Junkie)

Some Sunday stuff

In Why God hates terrorists more than gamblers, Dennis Prager explains that while two different acts may both be sins that doesn't mean the acts are equal in God's eyes.

Looks like some pilots may be looking for work soon.

FBI investigates whether pilots mailed feces to ABX executives

This is kind of funny. Fire Joe Morgan A site devoted to picking apart the ridiculous stuff Joe Morgan says.

This is a little surprising. White House Hires First Female Head Chef I would have thought that over the years there would have been a female chef before now.

I have a feeling this offer of help is going to be ignored.

Rush Limbaugh wants to help Donovan McNabb, not criticize him. Limbaugh, who once said the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed, wants to help McNabb and wide receiver Terrell Owens settle their differences on his radio show. "I am here to offer and to assist. I can," Limbaugh said on his radio show Friday, "I could bring these two guys together. I've been there, folks, and I could do this, and I'm serious in my desire to do it."

Sounds like it's time to move.

Man Shot Twice in Same Spot on Same Night

It actually isn't as innocent as the headline makes it sound. This goof got shot by the police as he tried to hit them with his car. Then he came back later that night and got shot in the same shoulder. He had gotten away but was dumb enough to come back for more.

Preseason games don't matter!

Say it three times slowly - Preseason games don't matter!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, the BROWNS won 17 to 14 last night.

The score is the extent of the good news. Here is the rest of the story:

Second round draft pick, Brodney Pool suffered a concussion in the opening minutes of the game. Hopefully, it was a minor concussion and he will be alright.

Our first string was pushed around by the Giants first string. Winning in preseason doesn't matter if it is done by players who will be unemployed in four weeks.

So many penalties that the refs had to send out for new whistles at half time. I will attribute some of the problems of the offensive line to the fact that this group had never played together before. Next week might be a better indicator of whether the O-line can block without committing penalties.

All in all, it was a sloppy game which matched the rainy field conditions. Next weekend the Browns have a road game against the Lions where we will see if any of these problems are fixed.

This can't be true

Someone needs a better lawyer.

Russell Crowe is preparing to pay $14 million to the New York hotel clerk whom he is accused of assaulting, a British newspaper has reported.

Christopher Walkin for President in 2008?

Not sure what to make of this:

Christopher Walken 2008

The "Nanny State" BS continues

In Bloombergistan (formerly known as New York City), the government efforts to protect people from themselves has gone from anti-smoking to the kitchen.

The New York City health department urged all city restaurants yesterday to stop serving food containing trans fats, chemically modified ingredients that health officials say significantly increase the risk of heart disease and should not be part of any healthy diet. The request, the first of its kind by any large American city, is the latest salvo in the battle against trans fats, components of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which three decades ago were promoted as a healthy alternative to saturated fats like butter.

I don't know if trans fats are good or bad for individuals and don't care. I do know excessive government control is bad. These same fools could probably cite studies showing caffiene is bad for me. With apologies to Charlton Heston and the NRA, they can pry my coffee cup out of my cold, dead hands.

Why does a woman fall for a crook in prison?

A side issue to the recent story of the former prison nurse helping her prisoner husband escape from jail is why did she fall for some loser in jail in the first place. After seeing her picture

I just assumed she had no other prospects. However, that answer wasn't enough for some folks. Here is an article which examines the issue from a psychological viewpoint. The article also recounts other cases of prison staffers falling for prisoners.

Separately, the father of the girl who killed a guard during the escape warned authorities in Utah about the possibility of an escape attempt. They never called Tennessee with the warning. Oops, sorry.

Boxer Watch

This is pretty funny. Someone has started a blog just to track the lunacy which is Babs Boxer, the junior (in intellect, decency and senority) senator from California. Following her mistakes could be a full time job.

Oliver Stone fined 5 cents

Actually, the loony conspiracy-theory movie director was fined one hundred dollars for marijuana possession. Why bother with the fine if the fine isn't more than he spent on the pot? He probably tips more than that after a really good meal. The intention of a court imposed fine should be to change behavior. Since this is his second offense of this type (he had pot with him when he had his DUI a couple years ago)it's obvious that a one hundred dollars fine isn't going to change his behavior .

Terrell Owen performs a good deed

Despite the noise coming out of Philadelphia condemning Terrell Owens (TO) it should be noted that he performed a valuable public service this week. His actions have made Rickie Williams seem like a good teammate. And that's not easy.

TO and Randy Moss are arguably two of the top five receivers in the NFL. However, both of them can be self-destructive jerks. Minnesota decided during the off season to rid themselves of their extremely talented but uncontrollable star. They traded him to the Oakland Raiders for a player and a first round draft pick. As a result the Vikings may actually be a better team despite the loss of a great player. Philadelphia is in the position where they may be taking a major step back because they didn't take earlier action with their nutty wide receiver.

Welcome home

Hey Sailor, welcome back. Looks like you need a little body work on your car.

A man annoyed by a noisy car alarm fired at least three bullets into a Toyota Camry, silencing the alarm and bringing out police who hauled him away in handcuffs, authorities said.

David Owen Rye, 48, was arrested for reckless discharge of a firearm and felony vandalism, Sgt. John Adamczyk said. Rye allegedly told officers he grabbed his handgun and went out to put a stop to the car alarm.

The owner of the Camry, a sailor whose ship the USS Theodore Roosevelt just returned from an eight-month cruise, was visiting a friend when he heard the gunfire at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, KCAL-TV reported.

"I mean, that's not a safe guy. I mean, you get upset over an alarm, over a noise like that, (then) there's some little kids making too much noise and he decides to do something awful," sailor Nicholas Moreno, 25, said.

Who's your daddy

This is a sad commentary on modern society.

One in 25 fathers could unknowingly be raising another man's child, British scientists said on Thursday. Researchers examined the findings of dozens of studies, published over the past 54 years, on cases of paternal discrepancy -- where a man is proved not to be the biological father of his child. The studies, most of them peer reviewed, came from countries as varied as the United States, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa and Mexico. The findings of the studies varied dramatically -- some concluded that only one man in 100 is not the father of his child while others put the figure as high as 30 percent.

As Ricky said, "Lucy, you got some splain'n to do."

We can't forget about our internal idiots

While we are rightfully monitoring suspicious foreigners, we can't forget about our local idiots. Which leads to this story:

An Oklahoma man was taken into custody after he tried to carry a bomb on board an airplane on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, an FBI spokesman said.

As Paul Harvey would say

"And now you know the rest of the story" Remember the four-star general who got canned? Well, apparently

The investigation that cost the commanding general of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command his job centered on an extramarital affair, his attorney said. Lt. Col. David H. Robertson, a military defense attorney, said Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, who was relieved of command Monday, has been separated from his wife since May 2004.

Then again this is a statement from his attorney so who knows if this is the real reason or if this is the least embarrassing reason. If he has been separated over a year from his wife I can't see how dating would be a cause for relieving him of his command. My guess is a disgruntled subordinate called the IG hotline and the investigation turned up more than just the girlfriend.

Take care of your teeth!

I was golfing Sunday and on the first hole I felt a chunk of something in my mouth. I spit it out only to realize it was half of a tooth. Well, I went to our dentist yesterday and he checked it out and took some x-rays. I also told him that I had another tooth on the opposite side which was painful from time to time. Turns out the painful one was cracked and was more urgent than the one I came in for. I spent a few hours in a dental chair today with fingers and toys in my mouth. He started "excavating" the cracked tooth and quickly determined that it couldn't be saved. So, I'm sitting here with a vicadin buzz and have one less tooth tonight than last night. According to the dentist the problems were due to old deteriorated fillings from the late 70's.

I brush regularly, probably don't floss enough and avoid doctors & dentists like the plague. Word to the wise if it hurts get it checked out.

How does ESPN make decisions?

The Cleveland Indians entered the ninth inning trailing 7 runs to 2 and amazingly came back to win 13 to 7. ESPN's evening show Baseball Tonight supposedly about baseball glosses over the game in less than 5 seconds. If a New York team had comeback like that it would have become a mini-series.

Don't see this very often

General at Fort Monroe relieved of command for ''personal conduct''

Bet there's a whole lot more to this story.

Jeb Bush in 2008?

Brendan Miniter has written a column for the Wall Street Journal saying that maybe we shouldn't write off President Bush's younger brother as a candidate in 2008.

Perhaps the most compelling reason why Jeb Bush shouldn't be written off just yet came Friday with the Labor Department's latest jobs numbers. With some 200,000 net new jobs created in July and some 3.5 million new jobs over the past two years, it's getting harder to deny we are now in the midst of a Bush boom. . . . . If we get three more years of solid economic expansion, voters may decide that keeping a Bush in the White House is good for their wallets. After all, the Bush tax cuts are now set to expire in the middle of the next president's first term.

He makes a decent argument, but I'm not buying Jeb Bush as a candidate for a few reasons.
1. He has emphatically declared that he would not run.
2. His wife has stated she doesn't care for the loss of privacy as a governor's wife.
3. His daughter has had well documented problems with substance abuse. Does anyone think the left wouldn't stoop low enough to exploit his daughters problems?

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree

The 19-year-old son of former baseball star Dwight Gooden was arrested for violating probation and faced additional charges of having marijuana and bullets in his car, police said.

Baseball Hall of Fame

Among serious baseball fans, inclusion or exclusion of particular players in the Hall of Fame is sure to spark a debate. Players gain admittance to the HoF via voting by the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). A player is first eligible for election 5 years after they last played in a major league game and needs be listed on 75% or higher of the ballots that are returned. Additionally, a player needs to be listed on 5% of the returned ballots in order to remain on the ballot in subsequent years. The voters have done a couple things which could seriously undermine the system. First, there have been a few voters who feel there is a difference between a Hall of Famer and a first ballot selectee to the Hall of Fame. Secondly, there are some voters who will give a friendship vote to an otherwise undeserving player. We can call that the Jim Deshaies effect. Usually it means one vote to a good but not great player who that particular voter remembers fondly.

There are two players who could upset the whole apple cart; Rafael Palmeiro and Sean Casey. Palmeiro, with over 500 homers and 3,000 hits, would normally be a shoe in to the Hall of Fame. Casey who has a decent batting average but little power would seem likely to fall far short of induction. That's where things get funny. Based on his recent failed drug test there could be such a backlash to ensure he isn't a first ballot HoF selection that he could fall short of the necessary 5 percent to remain on the ballot. By contrast, Sean Casey is such a popular guy that he could end up accidentally receiving more than 75% of the votes just in friendship votes.

Sunday sports stuff

Hal McCoy's weekly Baseball Insider from the Dayton Daily News includes discussion of the Cy Young award race between Roger Clemens and Chris Carpenter. He also get several quotes regarding Palmiero being the first big name player caught by MLB's drug testing. Here are a couple:

• Said Kansas City first baseman/DH Mike Sweeney, "Whether or not you've done anything in the past, you would think that this year you'd take extra precautions to make sure you didn't do anything. You wouldn't even want to pull into a GNC parking lot."

• Said Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker, "Every man rakes his own leaves."

Someone else needs to explain Baker's comment, I can't do it.

Sheffield says writer `made up' inflammatory comments in article. Yeah, right. Maybe if Sheffield hadn't been a jerk off and on throughout his career it might be easier to believe him.

Football is coming! Here is an article that covers various items from NFL camps including Cleveland's plan to conduct some training camp in Columbus in future years to expand their fan base. Having been raised in the Cleveland area and now living in Cincinnati, I've found it interesting how the state is divided between Reds and Indians fans and Browns and Bengals fans. It always seemed Reds country went further north and Browns fandom stretched further south.

Here are the current Wild Card standings. Currently there are 6 teams realistically still in contention. By the beginning of September I think only three teams will still be fighting for the Wild Card.

Lastly, today belongs to Dan Marino, Steve Young, Benny Friedman, and Fritz Pollard as they are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Congratulations all.

Russian mini-submarine surfaces; crew rescued

We start today with the good news of the crew of the trapped Russian mini-submarine being rescued. This story brings a couple things to mind.
1. What an amazing change in US-Russo relations. When I first joined the Navy in the 1970's, we spent our time at sea looking for Warsaw Pact ships and submarines and reporting their location. Often Warsaw Pact vessels and NATO ships would have tense standoffs. Even in more recent years, when the Russians lost the submarine Kursk in August 2000 the Russians actually rejected the U.S. offer of help. In today's rescue, the 7 sailors were saved by a joint effort coordinated between British, US, Russian and Japanese teams.
2. We can't pay submarine sailors enough. On boring mid-watches, sailors will talk about any subject to pass the time and every so often someone would complain about how much sub sailors get as compared to surface sailors. My response was always two fold, first if you think their pay is so great go volunteer for sub duty. We only pay as much as is necessary to convince someone to do something. Secondly, after all the training we do geared towards keeping the ship afloat, you couldn't pay me enough to go on a ship designed to sink. Even in peace time they don't all come back up (remember the USS THRESHER (SSN 593) or the USS SCORPION (SSN 589)?)

What Are We Going To Do With Dad?

Jerald Winakur is a physician who wrote an article for the Washington Post about an issue which is a growing concern, the affect of aging. His story is centered on his family's struggles as his father's health has begun to fail. However, it really is a concern that many of us share.

In the United States today there are 35 million geriatric patients -- defined as over the age of 65. Of these, 4.5 million are older than 85, now characterized as the "old old." Yet the American Medical Directors Association, which credentials physicians in long-term care, has certified only 1,900 such doctors in the entire country; only 2 percent of physicians in training say they want to go into geriatric care.

The bottom line to the situation is summed up in the sub-headline: No Pat Answers For the 'Old Old'"

The reason behind Rove criticisms

The mainstream media has been selling repeatedly a who cares story and screaming for Karl Roves head on a platter for supposedly outing a CIA agent even though everyone in DC apparently knew she was with the CIA. Here is an article noting several examples of security breaches and outings of agents the media was unconcerned about. What do they have in common? Oh yeah, they were all committed by Democrats.

Read all about it! Ballplayers do a good deed!

It is easy to be critical of major league baseball players. They are paid huge amounts of money and when they fail it is front of tens of thousands of witnesses. Occasionally, they lose their self control in the face of abusive fan behavior.

I bring this up as a lead in to applaud the Red players for their actions Wednesday night. A grandfather and his grandson were attending the game when the grandfather collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital where he later died. The players temporarily "adopted" the 6 year old boy a kept him in the dugout for the rest of the game making sure the child wasn't too scared while waiting for his parents to arrive.

"We play a game," Griffey told the Enquirer. "What he was going through doesn't compare. It was important that the little guy not be by himself."

Courtney Brown injured again

Somethings are too predictable.

Brown, the first pick of the 2000 draft, has played only one full season since he entered the league. Last year, he missed 14 games with an injured foot. Other injuries have been to his elbow, biceps, neck, knee and ankle. Since playing all 16 games his rookie year, he has missed 33 of 64 games.

Shame we had to let him go as every coach has lauded his attitude and work habits. However, none of that matters if you can't stay on the field.

Another reason people can't stand lawyers and the legal system

You might remember John Couey. He was the scumbag who kidnapped, raped and murdered a 9 year old girl in Florida earlier this year. Now today we have this news:

INVERNESS, Fla. — Attorneys for a sex offender accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford say they are being rushed to trial and are seeking to have the judge removed from the case. Assistant Public Defender Daniel Lewan said in a motion this week that Circuit Judge Richard Howard (search) is not giving the defense enough time to prepare for a case that could have more than 300 witnesses.

So let me get this straight, this loser lawyer wants to waste millions of taxpayer dollars calling as many as 300 witnesses and he is upset that the trial judge wants the case to move along?!?! If the liberal courts had not bastardized our justice system over the last hundred years his client would have already been buried and the liar (oops, lawyer) is upset that the trial is being scheduled for next February. Amazing! Our system was set up to ensure a fair trial but has been so abused through BS motions and a ridiculously drawn out appeals process that the term speedy trial is laughable anymore. Doesn't the victim's family have the same right to a speedy trial?

A politician lied. Say it ain't so.

Not all of Corzine's assets are in blind trust as promised

When multi-millionaire U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine ran for his seat six years ago, he promised voters he would place his assets in a blind trust.

The move was to counter critics who charged that his portfolio, especially in a global investment banking and securities firm, could pose a conflict of interest.

But a review of his financial disclosure forms shows that Corzine, a Democrat seeking to become governor, has not put all of his assets in a blind trust. Moreover, the U.S. Senate ethics committee has not approved the trust that he has set up.

And Corzine's blind trust may not be that blind: The Newark mailing address for the trust is the same as his U.S. Senate campaign committee.

Quoting that noted philosopher, Gomer Pyle: "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"

A mystery solved

Some people wonder why Muslims are so quick to commit suicide.

Let's see now: No Jesus, No Wal-Mart, No Television, No Cheerleaders, No
baseball, No Football, No Basketball, No Hockey, No Golf, No Tailgate
Parties, No Home Depot, No Pork BBQ, No Hot Dogs, No Burgers, No Lobster, No Shellfish, or even frozen fish sticks, No Gumbo, No Jambalaya.
More than one wife.
Rags for clothes and towels for hats.
Constant wailing from the guy next door because he's sick and there are no
doctors.
Constant wailing from the guy up in the tower.
No chocolate cookies. No Christmas.
You can't shave. Your wives can't shave.
You can't shower to wash off the smell of donkey being cooked over burning
camel dung.
The women have to wear baggy dresses and veils at all times.
Your bride is picked by someone else. She smells just like your donkey, but
your donkey has a better disposition.
Then they tell you that when you die it all gets better!!!
I mean, really, IS THERE A MYSTERY HERE?

Soldier accused of being AWOL for 7 years caught at border

A U.S. Army solder suspected of going absent without leave seven years ago remained in custody Wednesday after he was caught trying to cross the border from Mexico.

What an idiot. No matter how bad he thought things were, his enlistment would have ended a long time ago.

This is just WRONG!

The remains of an Army veteran convicted of stabbing an elderly couple to death were interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

How does the military explain this to the family of his victims? In recent years, I've heard it was nearly impossible to get a plot at Arlington. If that is the case how does this criminal get to the top of the list?

Here is a link to Arlington National Cemetery's website explanation of eligibility.

Profiting from criminal negligence

LOS ANGELES - Two jurors who acquitted Michael Jackson of child molestation charges now say they think the pop star was guilty - and they are penning tell-all books about the jury's deliberations, the Daily News has learned.

How will these clowns feel when (not if, but when) Jackson abuses another child? No criminal act has a higher rate of recidivism as sexual deviancy. Oh well, at least they will find solace in the money some publisher will give them.

Can you judge a man by his enemies?

If you can judge a man by his enemies, John Bolton is definitely the right man for the job. Here is an article discussing (Joe Biden's favorite dictator) Fidel Castro's take on Bolton.

Fidel Castro has good reason to fear and loath John Bolton. The entire brouhaha in the media and Congress over Bolton's "bullying" of intelligence officials stems from his concern that some of Clinton's Intelligence appointees (still in positions of influence), namely Fulton Armstrong and Christian Westermann, were heavily influenced by a Castro spy and were parroting "intelligence estimates" authored by this spy and planted by Castro. (It does not take bribes, or even coaching, from a Castro spy for a Clinton appointee to parrot Castroite propaganda. These people parrot the mass-murderer's propaganda out of pure leftist conviction, and absolutely free of charge.)

NBC needs help

Don Surber got the word that NBC was looking for new sitcom idea's. Being the helpful sort he came up with several. Here's one:

“I Love Lucy” stars retired CBS anchorboy Dan Rather on his weekly quest to find Lucille Rodriguez to prove the TANG papers were no forgery. Kenny Rodgers sings the theme song, “You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me, Lucille.”

Click the link to see the rest or to provide your own ideas in his comments section.

Coup in Mauritania

Mauritania has been an ally in the war on terror. No, they are not a key contributor, but an ally nonetheless. Well, this week, while President Maouya Sidi Ahmed Taya was attending the funeral of Saudi Arabian King Fahd, a military coup was staged. Hard to get too worked up for President Taya as he came to power by the same method in 1984. The concern now becomes his as yet unnamed successor. Whatever his internal issues, President Taya had taken a strong stance against radical islamists (is there another kind?) and we have no way of knowing whether that will continue or if Mauritania will become more of a haven for al-Qaeda.

I have no way of knowing what the United States reaction will be but my recommendation would be to quietly offer assistance in establishing a constitutional government. The leaders of the coup say they intend to hold power only as long as necessary to set up a democratic form of government. Take them at their word but don't provide any financial assistance until they take steps towards a normalized government. We don't want the new guy (whoever it is) to get too comfortable being in charge. A lot of these temporary leaders after coups end up being leader for life (Fidel anyone?).

Indians beat Yankees!

Since 1994 with the creation of the Central Division in the American League, the Indians and Yankees are no longer in the same division. Doesn't matter. Wins over New York will always mean more emotionally than beating the Royals or other teams in our new division. Last night, the Indians jumped out to a 6 to 1 lead and held on to win 6 to 5. What really stands out when I look at the Yankees is how bad their pitching is. They have enough offense to stay in the pennant race. However, if they continue to rely on washed up pitchers thrown away by other organizations (Al Leiter, Hideo Nomo, etc) they aren't going to see the playoffs. The Yankees current roster has about 8 potential Hall of Famers and people would laugh if I suggested any current Indian will see the inside of Cooperstown without a ticket. However, pitching is what wins and I would give the Indians (and obviously the A's) the edge in the Wild Card race because of much better pitching.

Helen Thomas is upset

A week ago I posted about Helen Thomas promising to kill herself in Dick Cheney decides to run for office. Since then, Thomas has complained that it was a private conversation and not intended to be reported. I wonder in her decades as an extreme partisan hack disguised as a reporter if she ever was worried whether a politician intended something they said to be reported. Anyway, the reporter who first published her comments has an article today telling how it transpired. In attempting to explain it he included this nugget:

Little did I know, being a creature of the typewriter/telegraph era of journalism, that cybergossip Matt Drudge would pounce on the item and transmit it to the farthest regions of the Internet universe, along with an unflattering photograph of Ms. Thomas.

"an unflattering photograph of Ms. Thomas" if that doesn't leave me giggling most of the day nothing will. A photograph of Thomas is by its very nature unflattering. As they say, you can't look at her without imagining her saying "Who's that clip, clopping over my bridge?!?!" My apologies to the Brothers Grimm for maligning their troll by comparison.

I considered including a picture but figured most readers would never click on this site again if I did that.

Schmidt ekes out a win

In my Sunday post, I predicted that the race for Ohio's 2nd Congressional seat would be closer than it should be in a supposedly "safe" Republican area. My reasons were two fold. First off Schmidt came out of a bruising and negative primary while Hackett won his primary easily. Secondly, I believe Schmidt assumed she had it in the bag as soon as the primary was over. Nobody told Hackett that he was supposed to lose big. Hackett ran a lot of advertising emphasizing his military service in Iraq and that plays well in this area which gave 66% of their votes to President Bush in the last election. Hackett also wisely ensured none of his advertisements or signs identified him as a Democrat.

Yesterday, Schmidt did win but it was the smallest margin of victory in this district since 1974. As I went to sleep I was thinking about doing a long post analyzing this race and what could be learned from the near upset. Well, Bizzyblog has beat me to it and done it a lot better than I was planning. In the middle of his list of reasons that the race was close, he addressed the sorry state of the Republican leadership in Columbus.

The sorry state of Ohio:
5. Ohio'’s governor has a 17% popularity rating.
6. Most of the Republican Party leadership in Columbus is scandal-plagued, corrupt, and a disgrace.
7. Ohio's Republican Party is fiscally governing the state like the Democratic party would.
8. Ohio'’s economy therefore significantly lags that of the rest of the nation, with higher taxes, higher unemployment, and slower growth.

While if Hackett had won Democrats would have crowed that it was a referendum on President Bush, Republican problems in Ohio start in Columbus not D.C.

Random Thoughts from Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell's columns are always worth reading but my favorites are his Random Thoughts columns. Here is todays. Read the rest but here is one line to give you a taste.

Horses are supposed to be dumb animals. But they are smart enough not to bet on people.

Palmiero busted for steroids

It's a damn shame.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who testified before Congress on March 17 that he'd never used steroids, was suspended by Commissioner Bud Selig on Monday for 10 games for violating baseball's steroids policy

Always thought he was a good guy and I hate to see his reputation take a big hit like this.

(H/T to Pearly Gates for the link)

Bolton to UN despite Senate inactivity

President Bush made a recess appointment of John Bolton to be our ambassador to the United Nations. This move was necessitated by the Senate's refusal to perform their Constitutional duties of advise and consent. The protracted filibuster to avoid voting on Bolton's nomination amounts to a failure to do their job.

In related news . . .

Senator Norm Coleman continues crusade to reform U.N.

But if one aspect of Coleman's crusade remains unique, it's his continued insistence that, for true reform to happen at the U.N., Annan must resign. More than half a year after first calling for the world leader's head, Coleman remains adamant on the matter, and compares Annan to the CEO of a company that has been convicted of financial wrongdoing.

Critics say such a comparison is not fitting and shows a lack of understanding of the U.N. as an institution. But Coleman defends his call for Annan's resignation.

``I think it's impossible after (the scandal) for this administration -- not just Kofi, but Kofi's administration -- to be able to implement reform,'' he said. ``Nobody would think Ken Lay would be able to reform Enron. He had to go.''

When you're part of the problem it is unlikely that you'll whole-heartedly embrace reform. Kofi has to go!

They didn't know the significance of the U.S. Flag

A week ago I posted the story of someone setting fire to U.S. Flags which lined the yard of a family who had just lost a son serving in Iraq. Now, we hear that the vandals were caught. What really caught my attention was this one sentence:

The boys apparently did not know the significance of the flags they took from the yard and set afire under a car belonging to the soldier's sister-in-law.

Two teenagers and they don't know the significance of the American Flag? But I bet their school taught them all sorts of other crap. I don't know what you do with these punks but horse whipping is a good start.