'Group Asks IRS To Check Into Focus On The Family'

Story here, via Christdot.

The watchdog group asked the IRS in a Feb. 1 letter to investigate. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Focus on the Family is forbidden to endorse political candidates or parties.

"Our organization believes that this article may have violated federal tax law with its use of code words such as 'pro-life' and with its implied support of President George W. Bush as a candidate for president," wrote Ellie Collinson, executive director for Citizens Project.

As far as I know, churchs fall under the same requirements. Hmm . . . What's good for the goose is good for the gander, innit?

Cubs sign Burnitz

The Cubs have filled their hole in right field. Jeromy Burnitz is certainly not my favorite player, or even close, but the contract is short and pretty cheap at $5 million / 1 year. And there weren't all that many good options out there -- basically, either get Beltran with an albatross of a contract, or hope that Maggs's knee is healthy even though his agent refuses to let any team check it out.

Feel Free To Play Along At Home

Just received this in the inbox from the Illinois Republican Young Professionals:

President George W. Bush will deliver his State of the Union address this evening at 8:00 PM Central. The White House has provided us with message points in advance of this evening's historic speech. They are copied below. Please feel free to share them.

As the President begins his second term and embarks on pursuing his positive agenda, he's going to face a lot of resistance from the Democrats. Litigation, tax and social security reform are some of the Administration's goals for the next four years. The President is going to need all of us to help communicate his message.

If you are unable to hear the President's speech this evening, a transcript will be available on the White House's website (www.whitehouse.gov) later this evening.

REPUBLICAN YOUNG PROFESSIONALS (RYP)
(visit our website at www.ilryp.org)

====================================
====================================

State of the Union Message Points


The Speech
This is a unique year for the State of the Union address because it comes on the heels of the Inaugural address. The two speeches provide an important opportunity for the President to articulate his domestic and foreign policy goals for the next four years to the American people and to the world.

The Inaugural address laid out the ideal toward which America will strive and the governing principles that will guide us. The State of the Union will lay out specific goals, immediate and long-term, for how and where we'll lead America, and will present a blueprint for a second term.

This is an opportunity for the President to not only educate the American people, but also persuade Congress that the country is going in the right direction, but there is more work to be done.

The President will call on Congress to fulfill its obligation and achieve results for the American people rather than passing problems on to future Congresses and future generations.

The first half of the speech will focus on domestic topics; the second half will focus on foreign policy.


Domestic Policy
The President will speak directly to the American people and to Congress about Social Security and offer more details on how to move the debate forward. He will discuss why we need to permanently fix the Social Security system and why it's necessary that we confront this problem today. He will express his willingness to work in a bipartisan manner and talk about why he believes personal retirement accounts are critical to helping future generations realize a secure retirement.

The President will talk about building on the economic momentum of the last few years, noting that 2.3 million jobs have been created in the last year.

The President will also talk about legal reform, tax reform, passing a comprehensive energy policy, and education and job training initiatives to make sure we have a skilled workforce to compete with anybody in the world. And he will discuss fiscal discipline and the fact that he will be putting forward a budget that reflects our times and meets our goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009.


Foreign Policy
This State of the Union comes during a time of war. The President will pay tribute to the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom. He will speak to the importance of working to advance the spread of freedom and democracy. The President will also speak directly to those individuals who are fighting for freedom around the world; those who wear the uniform of the United States military, and the peoples of many countries that are fighting for their own freedom.

The President will speak specifically about the Middle East peace process and the renewed hope around the world for peace in the Middle East.

The President will reflect upon historic progress made in recent weeks, focusing on the elections in Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and Iraq.

The President will talk about our priorities and our plans moving forward, as well as our aims and goals to help the Iraqi people secure their country and continue on the path to democracy.


After The Speech
The President will embark on a five-state tour, beginning Thursday, to take his case for strengthening Social Security to the American people. He will visit Fargo, North Dakota, Great Falls, Montana, Omaha, Nebraska, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Tampa, Florida.

Mrs. Bush, the Vice President, and other members of the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet including Secretary Snow and Director Bolten will travel educating Americans and highlighting initiatives the President will be talking about in the State of the Union.

A Couple Wild Statements

First, Chief News Executive of CNN Eason Jordan makes some scary accusations:

During one of the discussions about the number of journalists killed in the Iraq War, Eason Jordan asserted that he knew of 12 journalists who had not only been killed by US troops in Iraq, but they had in fact been targeted. He repeated the assertion a few times, which seemed to win favor in parts of the audience (the anti-US crowd) and cause great strain on others.

Due to the nature of the forum, I was able to directly challenge Eason, asking if he had any objective and clear evidence to backup these claims, because if what he said was true, it would make Abu Ghraib look like a walk in the park. David Gergen was also clearly disturbed and shocked by the allegation that the U.S. would target journalists, foreign or U.S. He had always seen the U.S. military as the providers of safety and rescue for all reporters.

Eason seemed to backpedal quickly, but his initial statements were backed by other members of the audience (one in particular who represented a worldwide journalist group). The ensuing debate was (for lack of better words) a real "sh--storm". What intensified the problem was the fact that the session was a public forum being taped on camera, in front of an international crowd. The other looming shadow on what was going on was the presence of a U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Senator in the middle of some very serious accusations about the U.S. military.

To be fair (and balanced), Eason did backpedal and make a number of statements claiming that he really did not know if what he said was true, and that he did not himself believe it. But when pressed by others, he seemed to waver back and forth between what might have been his beliefs and the realization that he had created a kind of public mess. His statements, his reaction, and the reaction of all in attendance left me perplexed and confused. Many in the crowd, especially those from Arab nations, applauded what he said and called him a "very brave man" for speaking up against the U.S. in a public way amongst a crowd ready to hear anti-US sentiments. I am quite sure that somewhere in the Middle East, right now, his remarks are being printed up in Arab language newspapers as proof that the U.S. is an evil and corrupt nation. That is a real nightmare, because the Arab world is taking something said by a credible leader of the media (CNN!) as the gospel, or koranic truth. What is worse is that I am not really sure what Eason really meant to communicate to us, but I do know that he was quite passionate about it. Members of the audience took away what they wanted to hear, and now they will use it in every vile and twisted way imaginable.

Secondly, John Kerry now claims that he performed gun-running for the Communist Khmer Rouge:

MR. RUSSERT: And you have a hat that the CIA agent gave you?

SEN. KERRY: I still have the hat that he gave me, and I hope the guy would come out of the woodwork and say, "I'm the guy who went up with John Kerry. We delivered weapons to the Khmer Rouge on the coastline of Cambodia." We went out of Ha Tien, which is right in Vietnam. We went north up into the border. And I have some photographs of that, and that's what we did. So, you know, the two were jumbled together, but we were on the Cambodian border on Christmas Eve, absolutely.

I don't know what to think about either of these. Well, I don't believe Jordan, but I don't know for sure. And can't accept that the best place for this revelation would be on foreign soil at an economic forum.

BTW, Eason's the guy who had this to say a couple years ago regarding keeping quiet about the Hussein regime's evil for fear of reprisal. And again, I'm not in a very opinionated mood, so read and decide for yourself whether CNN's actions were acceptable.

Iraqi Insurgents Capture Toy Soldier?

No, this isn't a joke. An Iraqi militant website posted this picture of their latest hostage:



He looks a little stiff or drugged up or something, doesn't he? And notice how the M-16 pointed at his head isn't being held by the grip? It must be that the insurgent holding it is grabbing it by the end of the stock -- an awkward grip at best.

Well, somebody did some quick investigation, and now Drudge has these pics on his front page:



Hmm . . .

e2 Ministries Update

A forum has been added to the website. Woo-hoo!

Mahna Mahna (Do doo be-do-do)

Dude!

Some of my friends (who happen to be regular readers here) pointed me to this a few weeks ago. I thought it was cool, but SYNCHRONICITY IS COOLER!

Today, I flip on the TV in order to play Halo 2, and there's a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper commercial. With THE MAHNA MAHNA SONG! I think it was just released today, because I haven't found any mention of it on the Net yet. As soon as I see the commercial online, you will be the first to know.

UPDATE 2/15/05: Fresh off the presses! The Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper Mahna Mahna commercial is available at ifilm!

CPAC Blogger List Released

The list is available here. I didn't make it, and looking at the list, it probably would've taken me about 10,000 more hits a day that I get (meaning maybe 10,050 total per day). Oh well. There's always next year.

Likelihood Of Confusion

Ron Coleman just IM'ed to let me know about his new blog, Likelihood of Confusion. Coleman is a Jewish lawyer, and it looks like his blog is going to cover issues related to both of these from a conservative perspective.

Coleman is best known, at least by me, for having witty advertisements on Instapundit's sidebar (Mental Note: Get a screenshot one of these days, so people will know what the heck I'm talking about). And longtime readers may remember that he was quoted in my Most Famous Post Ever.

Welcome, Ron! You should be added to my Blogroll by the time anyone reads this.

UPDATE: Ron has sent me this screenshot from Instapundit's sidebar:

e2 Ministries

Prime Minister of Toast and myself have been working on a new ministry idea for a few months now. It's called e2 Ministries, and you can read about what we're trying to do at the About page here.

Today, we took an important step forward. We are actively soliciting bands to join with us in our mission. A few local bands have already received emails. If you haven't, it's either because I don't have an email address for you, or maybe I just haven't heard of you ;). Anyways, IF you are a Christian band that's located in the Chicagoland area, AND you're willing to join with us in our mission as outlined on the website, then PLEASE contact us at info@e2-music.com.

PS: Venues are the next step. We've already mentioned our idea to one or two, but we haven't canvassed yet. If you represent a venue, though, feel free to contact us!

XBOX LIVE

Yes, I finally have it. My gamertag is jpers36 , since Death Star was taken.

Look for me playing Halo 2!

PERSONS 2008 UPDATE

Hmm. Maybe I won't be facing Jesse Jackson, Jr. in '08 after all. Check out this article -- Jackson is taking Mayor Daley and the Chicago City Council to task for corruption related to a minority set-aside program. Some aldermen are striking back, accusing Jackson of tarnishing the Mayor's reputation in order to set up his own run for mayor in 2007.

Instead of sitting in judgment of the City Council, [Police Committee Chairman Isaac] Carothers advised Jackson to pay attention to the chronic flooding in his own district, including recent problems in Ford Heights.

Asked if he believes Jackson's strident attacks against Daley are a prelude to a 2007 campaign for mayor, Carothers said, "It's a precursor. He wants to be king of the world."

Christian Music Makeover?

This is silly to me. What need is there for a Christian band to get a 'makeover'?

The band will undergo a physical, musical and spiritual makeover, bringing about both personal and professional transformations. The physical makeover will include a MAC Cosmetics session for lead singer Heather King, weight loss programs for two of the band members courtesy of Jenny Craig, and individual fitness training with Natural Physiques personal trainer and author Jeremy Likness.

The musical makeover will include performance coaching with Tom Jackson, and new guitars for the entire band courtesy of Daisy Rock Guitars. Lead singer Heather King will have to learn how to play her guitar (yes, they're providing guitar lessons too), with a goal of playing live at a Daniel’s Window concert by the end of the campaign.

The spiritual makeover includes an interactive online devotional with the band and a pending partnership with a major Bible publisher. Fans will also be invited to participate in a soon-to-be-announced service project coordinated by international relief organization Food For the Hungry.

How are we going to make over this Christian band? By throwing brand names at it! JENNY CRAIG! DAISY ROCK! NATURAL PHYSIQUES!

Jesus Christ? Naw, he's prehistoric.

I'm not criticizing the band so much as the industry and whoever thought up this crazy idea. Sounds like Daniel's Window is getting tons of free merch out of this, and of course a lot of recognition, and although I don't like their choice, it's their decision to make. But what industry exec made this boneheaded decision, and what's it got to do with Jesus?

"The ‘reality’ phenomenon has taking America by storm, and we figured why leave out the Christian music industry,” says Cross Driven Records president Ryan Howard. “Daniel's Window is a fantastic band and has the real potential to be one the industry's best. Especially with the help of the great sponsors already involved, and the many more to come. Christian music fans - get ready for a transformation!"

AAAAAARGGHH! CCM is becoming my kryptonite. And speaking of CCM, I've bought this, which will be an interesting and hopefully enlightening read.

'Peace' Protestors Attack Protest Warriors

This story is making the rounds of the blogosphere (scroll ahead a few pages and down to the 12:12pm entry):

12:12 p.m. ET
Not So Peaceful Peace Rally
Hundreds of people gathered at both ends of Meridian Hill Park in Northwest Washington for a peace rally sponsored by the D.C Antiwar Network.

But there were interlopers: Thirteen members of ProtestWarror, supporting the Bush administration and its policies in Iraq. When the Bush supporters arrived, about 20 black-clad, self-described anarchists emerged from the crowd, shouting profanity and epithets and demanding that they leave the peace rally.

When the Bush supporters refused to leave, the anarchists tore the signs out of the Bush supporters' hands and stomped on them. When ProtestWarrior leader Gil Kobrin objected, several male anarchists knocked him to the ground, kicking him in the back and punching him. Other anarchists punched and shoved Kobrin's 12 colleagues.

After D.C. Antiwar Network members broke up the fight, the Bush supporters heeded their order to leave the park. Kobrin then called D.C. police, who are now guarding them at the entrance of the park as they hold up their pro-war signs. "We're going to hang tight," Kobrin said. "We're expressing our freedom of speech just as they are expressing theirs." --Robert MacMillan

If I were still stationed in DC, I'd have been with the Protest Warriors, perhaps at this incident . . .

UPDATE: Gil Kobrin has a group blog, We Won't Get Fooled Again. Their post on the attack is here.

UPDATE 2: Gil posts on the ProtestWarrior thread dedicated to this event (edited for profanity):

I haven't read all the posts, but I'll shoot off a quick reply.

First off - I'm ok. We're ok. My back is killing me (they kicked me in the spine and kidneys), but I'll live.

We were not shouting or chanting when the anarchists attack; we weren't even talking with anyone at the time. We were simply holding signs.

As for all you liberal *******s who are calling us Protest******s etc, let me make one thing clear: I gave the order not to punch back. I will not endanger the lives of ProtestWarriors by starting a riot, against anarchists armed with steel pipes and knives. You have a problem with that, than you have a problem with me.

More later.

UPDATE AGAIN: The Washington Post has a story on it here titled "Protesting the Protestors". It raises some interesting questions regarding ProtestWarrior, and I may address them in the near future.

Sites picking up the story:
ProtestWarrior Forums
Instapundit
Kerry Spot
Say Anything
Heroes from the Past ;)
Raje's Rants
GregNews
The Sundries Shack
Red State
NIF
Mark Atwood
This Untamed Fire Of Freedom
USS Neverdock
Destinedfornothing
The Global Awakening
Pass The Ammo
The Lumber Of The World
Blogs for Bush
Double Toothpicks
TBogg
Free Republic
The Center For Advanced Studies In Right Wing Conspiracies
The SHEEP'S CRIB
Top Dead Center
Precinct 333
Flopping Aces
Ninme
View Of The Republic
LGF
The Underscore
RobBernard.com
News O Rama
More Eclipse Ramblings
ipse dixit
Chrenkoff
In The Right
Trials and Tribulations
Semper Cogitans; Numquam Laborans
Caliber50
Citizen Smash

Mortor

Well, speaking of Lord of the Rings parody, check out this really simple, really funny riff on Lord of the Rings.

"That Was Me You Hired"

This is what I do when I'm bored. We'll see whether it becomes a regular thing. If so, LotR will probably be up next.

Jesus is Lord

Read this. Via Thinklings.

New Jersey Slayings Update

Lara, a friend of mine from Valpo who is now in grad school in New Jersey, passes on the local reaction to the slaying of a family of Coptic Christians.

According to Lara, the murders have been the top stories all week for the local New Jersey news outlets. Furthermore, the religious hatred angle has not been supressed, but has been mentioned openly (for example, this story at the Star-Ledger). So she was surprised at my report of the (lack of) play that this story has been getting nationally. Libertarian Girl has further thoughts on this, and points out that this story was promoted to CNN's page during the same news cycle as the Jersey slayings were not.

Lara also send on a couple other interesting links. First, this story at the Star-Ledger's site reports that relatives of the Armanious family believe that the murders should be attributed to American violence in general rather than Islamofascist hatred. I'm not sure about this. The New York Post reports that "[t]he heartless killer not only slit Sylvia's throat, but also sliced a huge gash in her chest and stabbed her in the wrist, where she had a tattoo of a Coptic cross." That's an indicator that the killings were not random, but rather targeted based on the Armanious family's faith.

Secondly, Lara says that this link has video footage of the family funeral, at which a fight broke out. Unfortunately, viewing requires a paid subscription. If I find the video hosted for free elsewhere, I'll post an update.

Coptic Christians Slain In New Jersey

Read this overview of the story. Hossam Armanious was a Coptic Christian and an Egyptian-American who frequented a chatroom at Paltalk, often to argue about Islamic persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt. According to a family friend, he was threatened in the chat room by some Muslims. They had stated that if he continued to speak out, they would kill him.

Hossam, his wife and his two daughters were found brutally murdered on Friday. Most news outlets are either not carrying the story or are omitting the death threat aspect.

Protest Warrior Inauguration Counter-Protest, Chicago, 1/15/05

Update: Captions Added


Inauguration Protestors at Senn High School




Police Officers conversing with PW Chicago leaders



PW Chicago at Senn High School



The Mega-Sign



Police Escort



End All Occupations Sign



Another attempt at getting an image of the End All Occupations Sign



Inauguration Protestors at the local Alderman's office



"Senator Paul Wellstone:Murdered By The Bushmob"



The other side of the Wellstone Sign



Broadway Armory -- Location of the Inauguration Protest Rally



Two Inaugural Protestors, lost, who were willing to talk with PW Chicago



A better picture of the Broadway Armory



The officer on the right, an Iraq veteran, initially thought we were liberal protestors and was confused as to why we would have a flag



The Police Presence. How many Chicago PD vehicles are in this image? Hint: I think there's at least one plainclothes vehicle.



CapnTal espousing the merits of the Socialist Action Network



Jpers36 (UndercoverPunk) advocating rational thought



The American Flag



Two Inauguration Protestors willing to talk rationally with PW Chicago

The Extinction Of Tape?

According to this news report, studio recording tape has gone extinct, at least temporarily. The last manufacturer of reel-to-reel tape, Alabama-based Quantegy Inc., has filed for bankruptcy and closed its plant. Quantegy hopes that restructuring will allow it to open back up, but at the moment there is no manufacturer of what was once a music industry staple.

Many bands and producers which still use reel-to-reel for aeshtetic reasons are hoarding, tracking down used reels, or making plans to resplice. And NASA's bugging out, too --- the space shuttles use Quantegy's tape to record all sorts of data.

The Bulls Are Back

For those who haven't been paying attention, the Chicago Bulls are on a five-game winning streak, after having put together a similar streak a couple weeks ago. Since opening 0-9, the team is 15-9, and their most recent win just put them in playoff contention. I think that the East is weak enough for the team to keep their spot, maybe even improve a spot or two. And again, since the East is weak, who knows what will happen once they get in?

So write this down, or save the text to your hard drive or something: JOSH SAYS THE BULLS ARE MAKING THE PLAYOFFS.

Another Great Essay

Norman Podhoretz has just released another great essay, titled "The War Against World War IV". Its focus is the various reasons for being against the Bush Doctrine and the War on Terrorism (which Podhoretz labels 'World War IV'). The article dismantles each of these reasons as well as their perceived effect on the Bush administration.

And if you haven't yet, also check out Podhoretz's previous essay "World War IV: Why It Started, What It Means and Why We Have To Win". Both of these essays have been published in Commentary Magazine.

Hmm. Maybe I should get myself a subscription.

Did Greedo Shoot First?

Sam Davatchi here finds a short comic that gets to the bottom of the issue.

Topps Profiteering Update

Original post here.

I just got a new email from Topps offering the latest Topps Chronicles card, and there's an important note at the bottom:













See that? "ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS FIRST CARD GO TO RELIEF EFFORTS" -- I wonder if others besides myself have accused Topps of profiteering. This note WAS NOT in the first email I received.

Bloggers Helped Set Up Memogate?

I don't know if anyone else has picked up on this yet, but according to the independent report, the trail from Mapes to Burkett goes through two anti-Bush "bloggers" -- Paul Lukasiak of The AWOL Project and Linda Starr of, well, Linda Starr. I have bloggers in quotes because Lukasiak's site is in reality not at all a blog.

Excerpts from the report:

On Monday, August 23, Mapes learned that Lieutenant Colonel Burkett was rumored to have important documents regarding the President’s TexANG service. Paul Lukasiak, who operates a website on which he posts disparaging analyses of President Bush’s TexANG service, told Mapes that another blogger, Linda Starr, had seen new TexANG documents regarding President Bush. Starr hosts a website that recently contained the slogan, “Bush lied, Americans died,” and is the editor of Online Journal, an online newsletter often critical of President Bush.

Mapes contacted Starr, who responded that she believed that Lieutenant Colonel Burkett had a two-page, classified document regarding President Bush’s TexANG service, and Starr speculated that it might be a disciplinary report. This disciplinary report was thought to relate to an assessment of whether Lieutenant Bush was fit to fly jets armed with nuclear weapons. Starr told Mapes that Lieutenant Colonel Burkett was trying to determine the best way to disseminate the information to journalists "without leaving any fingerprints." (IRP Report, pp. 59-60)

So Mary Mapes got a tip from Lukasiak, an anti-Bush web citizen, stating that Starr, an anti-Bush editor/blogger, might have some documents relating to the AWOL story. And Starr sent Mapes on to Burkett.

Between August 24 and August 31, Mapes and Smith spoke to Lieutenant Colonel Burkett many times. They also spoke to Starr because they believed that Lieutenant Colonel Burkett respected and trusted her, and they thought that an alliance with Starr might help them to convince Lieutenant Colonel Burkett to give them the document(s). (ibid, p. 60)

So, in the interests of gaining this new document, the 60 Minutes news team allied itself with a source that it recognized to be biased to the left. Conflict of interest? Breaking of standards? Unfortunately, I'm not an expert in journalism, but it sounds fishy to me. Is this acceptable?

On Sunday, September 5, Colonel Charles was still involved in attempting to confirm facts related to the Killian documents. Colonel Charles spoke to Lukasiak and asked him for additional samples of Killian’s signatures from public documents. (ibid, p. 83)

Colonel Roger Charles was Mary Mapes's military affairs consultant. He asked Lukasiak to track down examples of Killian's signatures on public record.

Many of the sources of information that were used for the September 8 Segment had an anti-Bush political agenda. First, Lieutenant Colonel Burkett was a visible and outspoken critic of President Bush. Second, Mapes and Smith also relied on Linda Starr to assist in obtaining the documents from him. Her website was and still is filled with anti-Bush statements. Third, it appears that Mapes first came to learn about Linda Starr and her possible link to TexANG records from Paul Lukasiak, another anti-Bush blogger. Fourth, Ben Barnes appeared on the September 8 Segment to claim that he provided assistance to President Bush to gain entry to the TexANG. Barnes was a well-known supporter of, and fundraiser for, Senator Kerry’s presidential campaign.

The Panel recognizes the appearance problems involved in receiving information from partisan individuals. It is not at all unusual or inappropriate, however, for news organizations to obtain information from a political, business or other opponent of the subject of an investigation, given that supporters are manifestly less likely to provide critical or damaging information. It only becomes problematic if the political bias of the source is allowed by the reporter to affect the fairness of the story.

The Panel does not believe that evidence exists to demonstrate that the political leanings of any source influenced the production of the September 8 Segment. Doubtless, however, these sources to some degree sought to use 60 Minutes Wednesday to further their own political agendas, as they likely viewed a TexANG story on President Bush’s service as potentially helpful to efforts to defeat President Bush in his reelection campaign. It goes without saying that CBS News must guard against being used by people pursuing particular agendas and must have careful and balanced reporting and vetting. As noted below, management of 60 Minutes Wednesday and CBS News recognized the political significance and sensitivity of the story and made a number of edits to the September 8 Segment script to make it more balanced. (ibid, pp. 213-214)

So I guess the Panel sees no problem with the alliance between 60 Minutes and Linda Starr.

In order to emphasize what 60 Minutes allied itself with, here's an excerpt from Starr's blog, from a post regarding the Swift Boat Vets dated August 27, 2004:

These guys are goons and have been proven to be liars repeatedly. I don't like to make such a denigrating personal comment, but gee, Steve Gardner looks like a reject out of a "Planet of the Apes" movie. I have yet to see another human look so much like an ape in a suit. Gardner also comes across as a liar to me. In my opinion, he is just a loser who hates Kerry because Kerry is everything he could never be - articulate, refined, educated, sophisticated and cool under pressure . Gardner did everything but come out and directly threaten Kerry's life. I hope the Secret Service checks out the transcript. At one point, Gardner was hollering over Ian that Kerry can't be commander in chief! At least Larry Thurlow didn't totally embarrass himself.

It's obvious that the Swfit Boat LIARS are pure partisans, eaten up with jealousy over Kerry's many wonderful accomplishments. Kerry is a gentleman, who protested the war courageously, but only after he served in it heroically. John Kerry did positive things with his life. The disparity between Gardner and Kerry is nearly as big as the disparity between GWB and Kerry.

GWB isn't even in the same class with John Kerry. There simply are no fair and balanced comparisons, because comparing GWB to Kerry is like comparing Dom Perignon, to near beer.

Emphasis in preceding quotes mine.

CBS Releases Report And Four Employees

The Independent Panel Report can be found here, and CBS's article detailing the fallout is here.

Asked to resign were Senior Vice President Betsy West, who supervised CBS News primetime programs; 60 Minutes Wednesday Executive Producer Josh Howard; and Howard’s deputy, Senior Broadcast Producer Mary Murphy. The producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, was terminated.

The correspondent on the story, CBS News anchor Dan Rather, is stepping down as anchor of CBS Evening News.

The report is very long, so the blogosphere's reactions may be delayed a ltitle bit. Ra^thergate has set itself the task of reading through it. I don't know whether I'll get the chance -- I'll probably skim through, do a search on some keywords that might get interesting results.

RAMS WIN

First 8-8 team ever to win a playoff game.

BOO-YAH, SEAHAWKS!

Next up? Maybe Atlanta, but my pick is Green Bay over Minnesota, which would put us up against Philadelphia. Watch out IGGLES!

IRP Open State Party Chair Selection Process!

Well, sounds like it's not open in the sense that just anyone can become chair, but rather in the sense that anyone can show up and make their voices heard. I really want to go to this, but I also really want to go to the Protest Warrior event in Chicago on the same day. Hmmm . . .

On Saturday, January 15th, 2005, the Illinois Republican Party will host an open meeting in Springfield to select the new State Party Chairman to fill the remainder of Judy Baar Topinka's term.

This is truly a historic event for Republicans in Illinois. To our knowledge, this is the first time in our State Party's history, that rank-and-file Republicans will have the opportunity to be involved in the process of selecting a Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party.

Every Republican has an interest in seeing our State Party put on track. The State Party is an important organization because it has special responsibilities under Illinois law - such as picking replacement candidates when a nominee drops out. We obviously saw that in 2004.

The State Party is also the conduit for National Party funds, and is in a unique position to establish a culture for the Party where people want to get involved. Republicans can't win statewide unless the State Party does its job. So we all have a stake in this process of choosing a new Chairman of the organization.

At the meeting we will hear from the six candidates for the position - John Cox, Jim Nalepa, Jim Oberweis, Andy McKenna, Gary Skoien and Steve McGlynn. After their presentations, you will have an opportunity to speak with your State Central Committeeman - and others - to voice your opinion regarding who you think the Central Committee should choose.

Don't worry if you no idea who your State Central Committeeman is. This meeting will be the perfect opportunity to find out. He or she is YOUR representative at the State Party. You should get to know him or her.

Open Meeting of the Illinois Republican Party
When: Saturday, January 15, 2005
Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Renaissance Hotel
701 E. Adams Street
Springfield

All Republicans are welcome to attend!
No need to RSVP - just show up!
There has been a lot of criticism of the Illinois Republican Party over the past few years, but now you have a chance to do something to help change the direction of our Party. If you aren't happy about Illinois being such a Kerry-Blue State, you should be at this meeting.
We encourage every Republican to take the time to attend on the 15th. And please help spread the word!

REPUBLICAN YOUNG PROFESSIONALS (RYP)
www.ilryp.org
ryp-il@prodigy.net
312/648-0061

I also need to check out this RYP group.

Ralph Nader vs The Puppets Of DOOOOOOM

Is Ralph Nader insane?

No, that is not fake. It is completely real, produced by the Nader campaign, and available for purchase from the website here.

Hat tip Redstate.

Anyone Interested In ProtestWarrior?

Hey guys, anyone interested in going to a Protest Warrior counterprotest again? Next week Saturday (January 15). I'm considering going. It'll probably be cold, though. Let me know what you think.

Calibretto's Dead, But Still Releasing Material

I just got this email from Calibretto:

Well, well, well. You thought you had heard the last from us, did
you? Well, you were wrong. Dead wrong. No, we're not done with
you yet; not by a long shot.

So what could we possibly have to say now that we are dead and long
gone? Well, perhaps you remember talk of some sort of surprise that
we had in store for you. Or perhaps you don't, and that's fine,
too. But the surprise is ready for you. And you can find it at
http://www.calibretto.com . And lemme tell you what: it's huge.

"So, what is it?" you're probably saying to your computer screen
right now. Well, although your screen will remain mute, I will
not. Let me first give you a bit of background on this whole thing:

In Christopher's bedroom closet, on the shelf next to his enormous
collection of CDs, there is a small stack of CDs and cassettes. On
these CDs and cassettes are recordings of Calibretto, Calibretto 13,
and the infamous "BLACKSHEEP". (Not coincidentally, there are also
recordings of Harley Poe.) Amongst these recordings are many songs
and versions of songs that you have never heard. In fact, many of
these are songs that even the members of the band have only heard a
handful of times. In the past, we have always maintained that these
recordings were best kept in the closet and out of earshot of anyone
who might ridicule us for our past... indiscretions.

But now Calibretto is dead. The band and the hysteria that
accompanied it is long gone and exists only as an open wound in the
memory of those who found themselves caught in the fad that the
media quickly labeled "Calibretto fever." These poor souls, the
individuals at the heart of the pro-Calibretto movement, now cannot
help but think of this brief, fanatical period in their lives in the
same painful way that people will soon look back on their Good
Charlotte CDs and polo shirts with popped collars.

In the wake of all this, there has been a release. A letting go.
In the words of perhaps the greatest poet of our time, a Mister
Marshall Mathers: "I'm sorry, Mama. I never meant to hurt you. I
never meant to make you cry, but tonight I'm cleanin' out my closet."

Indeed, Mama, Calibretto is cleaning out its closet and putting the
contents on display for your consideration. At
http://www.calibretto.com you will find 50 mp3s to download and
enjoy, from our very first demo recordings up to our very last.
Unofficial releases, outtakes, live recordings, scraps and pieces,
it's all there. Go over and take a look. The collection is immense.

Take care, young ones, and don't forget that the Calibretto message
board lives on. Enjoy life enough for Calibretto, because
Calibretto cannot.

Love and tearful kisses,
Christopher, Joseph, Chad, and Aaron

I haven't listened to any of the mp3's yet since I'm on dialup, but I will download many of them as soon as I get a chance. Go check it out, if you dare, and let me know what you think.

Topps Capitalizing On Tsunami?

What do you guys think of this?

SANDBERG = HALL OF FAME

Finally, on his third try, Ryne Sandberg has been voted into the Hall of Fame. The induction will be on July 31, in Cooperstown.

Dissension In The Seattle Ranks

I'm a fan of the St Louis Rams, who just barely made it into the playoffs and will be facing their division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, during Wild Card Week. So I'm happy to see this story.

Shaun Alexander, grow up. No wait, don't -- please. Just let the Rams walk all over you this Saturday.

Another MLB City Change

With all of the focus on the Washington Nationals, this story has been flying under the radar. The Anaheim Angels have been trying to get their name changed to the Los Angeles Angels in order to potentially tap a larger fan base. The problem is, the team has a leasing agreement with the city of Anaheim, attached to their use of stadium, that the team will remain the Anaheim Angels for thiry-three years.

The team thinks it's come up with a solution: they have changed their name to the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim", which is completely silly. The city of Anaheim, which is neither fooled nor impressed, is filing a lawsuit to prevent the name change.

Building a Better Pizza

For lack of anything more interesting to report, here is a random patent.

AP: Associated Alternate Press

Growing tired of covering the real world, the AP is making moves to become the leader in alternate history reporting. While many have pointed out unofficial attempts to make the jump in the past, I believe that this is the first officially-recognized article in the press agency's 2005 agenda, tentatively titled the Alternative Timelines Initiative:

NEW YORK - Just think: Instead of exposing Janet Jackson's breast at the Super Bowl last Feb. 1, what if Justin Timberlake reached across her chest, fumbled with Jackson's top and .... The stitching holds! There is no malfunction!

That means no national discussion of showbiz morals, no drastic tightening of FCC restrictions — but the fallout is just as serious.

It goes on from there. Read it all, and just try to tell me that the AP is not insane.

Cheap Way To Burn CDs and DVDs

Check out 8-bit Joystick's method of burning copy-protected CDs and DVDs right here. Much cheaper than buying a DVD-RW drive!

Hallelujah!

The LA Times reports here that the Democrats may be in the first stages of softening the number one reason I am not a Democrat: their support of abortion.

WASHINGTON — After long defining itself as an undisputed defender of abortion rights, the Democratic Party is suddenly locked in an internal struggle over whether to redefine its position to appeal to a broader array of voters.

The fight is a central theme of the contest to head the Democratic National Committee, particularly between two leading candidates: former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who supports abortion rights, and former Indiana Rep. Tim Roemer, an abortion foe who argues that the party cannot rebound from its losses in the November election unless it shows more tolerance on one of society's most emotional conflicts.

Roemer is running with the encouragement of the party's two highest-ranking members of Congress, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and incoming Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Dean, a former presidential candidate, is popular with the party's liberal wing.

If Roemer were to succeed Terry McAuliffe as Democratic chairman in the Feb. 10 vote, the party long viewed as the guardian of abortion rights would suddenly have two antiabortion advocates at its helm. Reid, too, opposes abortion and once voted for a nonbinding resolution opposing Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

I can't believe it. Of course, it's nowhere close to definite, since Dean is a formidable opponent. But it sounds like there is a growing moevement in the Democratic party toward Democrats who are pro-life, or at least not rabidly pro-choice.

Of course, this isn't going to make me a Democrat overnight. There are still the issues of the war on terror, secularism, the economy, and general sanity :P. But if abortion gets taken off of that list, it definitely opens me up a little more to vote for Dems every once in a while, of course depending on the candidate.

So I suddenly have a dog in the DNC Chair fight. GO ROEMER!

L?!

Memo to New York State: It's F, not L.

Don't worry, the typo is being rectified as I write, and John Forbes Kerry will be receiving New York's electoral votes.

One Lawsuit That Seems Destined To Lose

So many great news stories today! Here's another one, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.

Gordon Maag is a former trial lawyer and appellate court judge who ran for an Illinois Supreme Court seat downstate, I assume in this past November election. He lost. Now he's accusing critics of maliciously painting him as a supporter of frivolous lawsuits. His response? He sues the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and other groups. For $110 million.

Right now my frivolous-lawsuit-meter is blinking red. If he's right that he was falsely smeared, $110 million is still way way overboard. So he's filing a frivolous lawsuit against those who portrayed him as supporting frivolous lawsuits, indicating that the accusations against him were likely correct.

I don't think I've ever seen a self-defeating lawsuit before.

Amy Grant Update

Read about Grant and Gill's Christmas Concert here.

Given Grant's earlier reign as the queen of contemporary Christian music, it was surprising that there was no hint of the religious dimension of Christmas until the end of the first set. The early selection reinforced the secular spirit of the season, with "Sleigh Bells" (featuring an onstage cameo by their 3-year-old daughter, Corrina), "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Winter Wonderland" setting the tone.

I've said this a million times, but I'll say it once more because I love repetition: I don't like Amy Grant.

Hat tip About Christian Music.

The Graphing Calculator Story

This is a really cool story about how a programmer (and eventually, a whole team) developed a piece of software clandestinely in the offices of a major American computer manufacturer. These are true hackers, even taking into consideration that all this was done for Apple.

Cornerstone Band List Up

Well, it's started, at least. Nine bands are listed here at the moment. I think the plan is to add a bunch each day for the next few days, in order to drum up more interest or something.

The current band list:

Switchfoot
Skillet
Day of Fire
Aracely
FBS
Joy Electric
Seventh Star
the Crossing
Once Dead

Conspiracy Theory of the Day

For some reason, this is getting some play in the blogosphere. I think the focus is mainly as an object of ridicule. Go check it out and decide for yourself. Excerpt:

Paul Wofowitz will authorise the detonation of a nuclear payload in the Houston area on December 27, 2004. The Hidden Hand network (Mossad/al-Qaeda/SAS) of which he is the nominal controller has verified in advance every aspect of operational integrity - a failsafe job with zero chance of discovery.

Houston has been primed for months via deliberate mismanagement, incompetence, corruption and embezzlement at its FEMA-independent Emergency Center. The police and fire services have been deliberately and systematically sabotaged and thrown into administrative chaos so as to ensure maximum fatalities in the aftermath of the detonation. However, the existence of the center will provide the Bush administration with a "we did everything we could" excuse.

Rev. Schuller's Orchestral Conductor Commits Suicide

Story here. Please pray for the church, family, and all the viewers who may be affected by this.

The timing is weird, because I was just checking out this site, which criticizes Schuller, among other big-name evangelists. I might put up a post in the next few weeks relating this criticism to a couple highly-respected Christian musicians. . .

Credentialed Journalist?

I'm probably not going to get it, but I've applied for this. The Conservative Political Action Conference is having its annual gathering in February of next year, and is actively courting bloggers to attend and act as fully credentialed members of the press. It could be a step forward both in my evil plan to save the world and in my 2008 candidacy.

Remember Those Magnetic Alphabet Sets?

Well, you can find everything online nowadays.

People In Glass Houses . . .

Would you take web design tips from this website? Well, that's what the article is meant to cover: how to reduce webpage clutter.

Let's Go See The Orchestra

Just found out about this.

Nick, can you add it to the concert schedule I sent you? I think it fits under option (3) we talked about yesterday.

Starships Online

Check out this site to see some great starship models.

World Almanac Dismisses Last 2.5 Months Of The Year

This is absolutely silly. ABC 7 Chicago is passing on The World Almanac's Top Ten Stories of the Year. I thought it was a little wierd at first that the Almanac would pass such judgment with more than three weeks still remaining on the calendar, but check this out: the list was obviously compiled in mid-October. Qualifiers on the Top Ten list make this clear.

For example, "Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remained at large as of Oct"; "As of Oct. 15, coalition troop deaths since the start of the invasion totaled over 1,227"; "By mid-Oct. an estimated 70,000 people had been killed [in Sudan] and 1.4 million displaced." The Almanac is dismissing two and a half whole months of 2005! And the most glaring example:

2. Polls showed Pres. George W. Bush (R) locked in a tight race for reelection against Sen. John Kerry (D, MA). Kerry had pulled ahead of the Democratic pack and effectively secured nomination Mar. 2 by nearly sweeping "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses. On July 6 he tapped as his running mate Sen. John Edwards (D, NC), his last serious rival in the primaries. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, an early front-runner, had failed to win any primaries. The Bush administration's war on terrorism-as waged in Iraq and elsewhere-and the economy were key issues in the Nov. 2 election, in which control of Congress was also at stake.

The list has been compiled before the elections, so the Almanac can't point to the election itself as one of the top ten stories of the year. Instead, it claims that the "tight race for reelection" is a major story, and talks about the election in past-tense, but doesn't mention who won. It's like one of those comedy bits where someone can't remember a name, and tries to hide the fact by mumbling and passing his face over his mouth.

"Who won the election, Almanac?"
"Well, it was krbsh."

Yeah, Almanac. We really trust you for our facts and history. One of the most important elections in the history of the United States, and you can't be bothered to wait it out before you complete your Top Ten list for the year?

THEM

I saw The Forgotten yesterday, and then today I randomly landed on this. Coincidence? I think not. Just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

Ted Rall, Uber-Isolationist

If you participate in a war of retribution, are you "fighting for your country"? There have only been four attacks on American soil by a foreign power. All were carried out by Japan during World War II: Pearl Harbor, the now-forgotten submarine strafing of a California oil refinery, balloon-borne bombs dropped without casualties on Oregon and Washington state, and an air raid on Dutch Harbor, a remote U.S. outpost on Alaska's Aleutian Islands, in which 43 residents died. Japan and Germany's declarations of war intuitively appear to justify the sacrifice of 291,557 American soldiers in World War II, but were those deaths necessary to defend us? There is no evidence that the Axis intended to invade the U.S., nor did it possess the logistical capability to occupy it. The defeat of Nazism liberated millions from tyranny, but that was a happy byproduct of a war we fought to expand our military and economic influence. Right or wrong, World War II was a war of choice against Germany and one of retribution against Japan.

Read the whole article here. Surprisingly, though, I can't post this on You've Lost, because although I think Rall's statements are wildly off the mark, his rhetoric is toned down quite a bit. There's a lot of conspiracy theorizing and idealistic isolationist speak, but very little out-and-out flaming. Good for you for once, Ted.

Which means I may have to do some actual debunking, rather than pointing and smirking. Okay, how about a Chamberlain comparison. Here's the British Prime Minister in 1939:

How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing. It seems still more impossible that a quarrel which has already been settled in principle should be the subject of war.

I can well understand the reasons why the Czech Government have felt unable to accept the terms which have been put before them in the German memorandum. Yet I believe after my talks with Herr Hitler that, if only time were allowed, it ought to be possible for the arrangements for transferring the territory that the Czech Government has agreed to give to Germany to be settled by agreement under conditions which would assure fair treatment to the population concerned. . . .

However much we may sympathize with a small nation confronted by a big and powerful neighbor, we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole British Empire in war simply on her account. If we have to fight it must be on larger issues than that. I am myself a man of peace to the depths of my soul. Armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me; but if I were convinced that any nation had made up its mind to dominate the world by fear of its force, I should feel that it must be resisted. Under such a domination life for people who believe in liberty would not be worth living; but war is a fearful thing, and we must be very clear, before we embark upon it, that it is really the great issues that are at stake, and that the call to risk everything in their defense, when all the consequences are weighed, is irresistible.

And:

Since I first went to Berchtesgaden more than 20,0000 letters and telegrams have come to No. 10, Downing Street. Of course, I have been able to look at a tiny fraction of them, but I have seen enough to know that the people who wrote did not feel that they had such a cause for which to fight, if they were asked to go to war in order that the Sudeten Germans might not join the Reich. That is how they are feeling. That is my answer to those who say that we should have told Germany weeks ago that, if her army crossed the border of Czechoslovakia, we should be at war with her. We had no treaty obligations and no legal obligations to Czechoslovakia and if we had said that, we feel that we should have received no support from the people of this country. . . .

When we were convinced, as we became convinced, that nothing any longer would keep the Sudetenland within the Czechoslovakian State, we urged the Czech Government as strongly as we could to agree to the cession of territory, and to agree promptly. The Czech Government, through the wisdom and courage of President Benes, accepted the advice of the French Government and ourselves. It was a hard decision for anyone who loved his country to take, but to accuse us of having by that advice betrayed the Czechoslovakian State is simply preposterous. What we did was to save her from annihilation and give her a chance of new life as a new State, which involves the loss of territory and fortifications, but may perhaps enable her to enjoy in the future and develop a national existence under a neutrality and security comparable to that which we see in Switzerland to-day. Therefore, I think the Government deserve the approval of this House for their conduct of affairs in this recent crisis which has saved Czechoslovakia from destruction and Europe from Armageddon.

Does the experience of the Great War and the years that followed it give us reasonable hope that, if some new war started, that would end war any more than the last one did?

One good thing, at any rate, has come out of this emergency through which we have passed. It has thrown a vivid light upon our preparations for defense, on their strength and on their weakness. I should not think we were doing our duty if we had not already ordered that a prompt and thorough inquiry should be made to cover the whole of our preparations, military and civil, in order to see, in the light of what has happened during these hectic days, what further steps may be necessary to make good our deficiencies in the shortest possible time.

One can only wonder at the evil which could have been avoided if Chamberlain had taken a firm stance against Hitler's first act of aggression. Instead, he asked the same questions that Rall now asks -- why should we sacrifice in order to defend another country? The answer is obvious, at least to me: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. If we sit back and decide to wait for evil to come to us before we oppose it, rather than destroy evil when it appears, we are doomed as a civilization and we deserve to be doomed.

Wish

TRACK: Wish
ARTIST: Much The Same
ALBUM: Quitters Never Win

Well You're in control and I know it 'cause I'm miserable again
I don't understand how any of this makes me a better man
You know I always run to You for some help with my life
You know I always come to You for a little wise advice
And all I get is pain
Okay, so I'm exaggerating,
I'm just saying that's how it seems to me

If all good things come to an end, then what about the bad?
Am I cursed to never see the fruits of the life I wish I had?
And can I try, one more time, to be pleasing to You?
My futile efforts never seem to make my wish come true
What can I do?

GO

I'll follow through with all these claims I never cease to make
A promise to myself is one I promise to break
But when I have You by my side then I can do what's right
I'll become the co-pilot and You control this flight
Then everything will be alright

If all good things come to an end, then what about the bad?
Am I cursed to never see the fruits of the life I wish I had?
And can I try, one more time, to be pleasing to You?
My futile efforts never seem to make my wish come true
What can I do?

WHAT CAN I DO?

How far are we going to take this, Da?

The question is not how far.
The question is,
do you possess the constitution,
the depth of faith,
to go as far as is needed?

This song's for me
A reminder of how I intend my life to be
Every word I sing
Is an anthem against my own hypocrisy
Let me be free
Let me be free

He's Back

Chris Muir is back from his hiatus. Go check out Day by Day. September 11 of this year is his last comic before the hiatus, btw, if you're interested in reading the archive.