The Positivity of Absolute Value

Iraq the Model is now tentatively supporting Jawad al-Maliki for Prime Minister of Iraq, after being quite skeptical upon his nomination.

This could be a very good thing.
I believe Iraq the Model is a valuable authority on the daily happenings in Iraq.
This opinion coupled with the fact that al-Maliki is the man the United States is supporting could ultimately prove to be an accurate prediction.

Let's hope, and let's hope for them as well.
We all need it.

Sean Aqui at Donklephant has more on why the Democratic party is so insipid and scattered.

He also thinks that the answer to the problem lies in not only educating citizens to vote (which I completely agree with) but also to make it easier on them.
They need to know where to go and what to do when they get there.
And they should have some idea of what's going on in the political world so they can make an informed decision on a candidate and not have to straight party vote.

Laid out are some pretty practical options on making these things happen.
I kind of laughed a little at the ice cream social idea on voting day, but then realized where I work and really had no room for criticism.

But he's right, all politics are local;
and the only way any of this is going to happen is if we all get involved and make our voices heard.
Even though we are socially led to believe differently, we can make a difference.
By law, they have to listen to our voices.
We still live in a democracy, for the time being;
but we have to speak.

And the high-hats in Washington have their panties in a righteous bunch.

Read the post here first.

Now I will say, I kind of agree with Vicente Fox.
And ultimately with Denis Leary, though not on the same level as the President of Mexico.
Not less drugs, more drugs (Leary says give them to the right f-in people), which is a comedic statement that leads into a very funny bit.

Seriously though, on a Fox level...
Fox wants to decriminalize small amounts of heroine, cocaine, etc.
Why not?
He is right, Mexico's main problem is big drugs, not small ones.

Take the drinking issue in this country for example.
We are one of the very few countries (perhaps the only country, I can't think of any others right now, but wish to give the benefit of the doubt) who have set the legal drinking age to 21. I know for a fact that this is a nation wide problem, but I will speak from Tucson, because she is who I know best.
I live close to the University.
There is a crackdown on alcohol around these parts the likes of which I have never seen anywhere else. There are orange stickers on every other house and I am to afraid even walk to the bars close to my home in fear of being arrested for public drunkenness; even though I am walking to ensure I will not drive drunk.
Underage drinking is a serious problem in this country and our alcoholism rate is through the roof.
Why?
Scotland doesn't have this problem. Neither does Germany or France. You can begin drinking at 18 there, and believe me they do.
But the alcoholism rate isn't a fraction of ours.
And the kids, with built in pubs in the dorms and all, seem to be able to get their school work done and also manage to receive better educations than we do.

Remember when you were a kid and your mom said "no, you can't go over there," or "no, you can't eat that?"
What was the first thing you wanted to do.
It was to go there, or to eat that.
Do you think that changes?
Do you think that our ability to rebel forgets about us sometime shortly after puberty?
It doesn't, we always have it.
Europe does better with alcohol because it doesn't make it a taboo subject. It makes it readily available, and sequentially people want it less and less, and certainly become less and less dependent upon it, because they are not drinking it to stick it to the man. And if you don't have a reason to drink, it gets old real fast, as any alcohol drinker will be quick to tell you.

Not less drugs, more drugs translates into:
stop trying to be our mothers and let us decide for ourselves, and we may prove to you that we actually have brains. We can actually think.
More power to you Fox.

Justin Gardner over at Donklephant gives us this on the latest Rumsfeld unraveling.

And believing that Mr. Rumsfeld has committed a criminal offense, opts again for the ousting of the Secretary of Defense.

There is more and more negativity piling up daily.
As anything else, I'm sure some of it is true and some of it is fabrication,
but regardless, it's there.
So it would seem likely that it would be only a matter of time.
But I guess the same could have/should have been said about Bush.
We'll see if Rumsfeld has the political constitution that Mr. Bush seems to have.

Read this, as it is the basis of this question.
Then ask yourself:

Is he the bumbling, less intellectually fortunate ignorant moron of our time?

Or is he the new voice of America; a candid expression of vehement righteous self-propagation?

I have made up my mind.
Have you?

I had to give you this because it is ridiculous.
I laughed heartily.

(Pulled from Instapundit).

Israel is showing the world, Iran in particular, that they are not only willing, but able to stand up for themselves.

I think it gets lost in the clamor sometimes that Israel is no shabby country.
And though they get most of their everything from us, they will be the first to say hey, we can take care of ourselves if need be.

This could be very good news for a country already wrapped up in a war that turned out to be a little more than they bargained for. I fear we may need all the help we can get with the likes of Ahmadinejad and Co.

And allies are good on all fronts, that is a gimme,
but the best ally is a strong one.

Here is some new information on the Valerie Plame leak case involving Scooter Libby; and a little less prominently, Karl Rove.

This article reads like a somewhat dull John Grisham novel, depending on who you are.
Maybe if you are like me it reads like an incredible suspense thriller that you can't put down.
But I shouldn't assume that everyone is a hopeless geek.

Still, it is always interesting to follow the trail of Mr. Rove. With such a brilliant, if not totally maniacal mind, how could you not want to know what the man is up to. He is the type who has the power to affect more of you than anyone else in that House, only he can make you think he doesn't exist.

What a guy.

Women's roller derby is making a comeback, and I don't know about you, but I'm stoked.

Glenn has this over at Instapundit.

And I think this is a very good thing.
Yeah some GOP's are going to be upset about it, but that's only because it's mid-term elections year. I agree with Glenn in thinking this kind of thing is above partisanship, and if the Republican candidate has something to worry about, then as a populace, we don't want him there anyway. But the same can be said for the Democrats.

I am happy that there is another large, technologically and financially powerful organization willing to heighten awareness and get us this information.

Here is the Zarquawi video, where in a rare public appearance he apparently continues to propagate his war on the west, which is not really his war but Bin Laden's.

What is most disturbing about this video is the annoying Washington Post reporter talking, if that's what you want to call it, through the entire video.
What is that?
I can read the Washington Post as often as I like, and I do. Why do I need to hear one of their reporters speaking nonsense over what is a very crucial video of a man, a terrorist, that may never be seen or heard in this same format again?

Why couldn't they have the decency to bring in a translator and simply walk us through exactly what Zarquawi was saying. As far as we know right now, according to the Washington Post, Zarquawi was talking about bamboo sticks and pixie dust.
I want to know what he is saying.
And as a reputable news source, you should not only be able, but willing to give that to me.
Shame.

Maury Povich in legal trouble for sexual harassment?
Say it ain't so.
How could this have happened?

In the infamous words of Glenn Reynolds:

Heh.

And they continue to just laugh in our faces, as they have from day one.

And apparently we have to like it, because there is nothing we can really do.
Military action is not a realistic or practical option, and we seem to have a tougher time with the diplomatic approach.
I think that maybe words mean more here than they are being given credit for, and it might be a decent idea to stop hurling them about with no regard for who they may hit.

After all one kind word deserves another...
only, the inverse of that.

Joe Gandelman has a Rumsfeld shakedown over at the moderate voice.

It will be interesting to see what the private meeting between Rumsfeld and Senate Republican leaders turns up today.

Whatever happens from now to the next retired General to speak out, which is sure to happen, I think Rumsfeld will be in for as long a haul as he can muster.

Which may not be very long at all.

Justin Gardner has this over at The Moderate Voice.

Not only is this a monumental waste of time, it also helps to coagulate the complete lack of credibility that the southern fundamental Christians may have ever held in the rational human beings eyes.

At first glance it may appear that prudishness is taking over the country;
but I think that ultimately logic will win.
It must, it is the superior of the two.
And I refuse to believe that we are doomed to wallow in the vestiges of some broken morality that couldn't stand up to not only scientific trial and error, but also to basic human desires.

What are we?
Animals.
We would like to think that perhaps we are animals with a little more sophistication, but read my last post.
There is no reason to deny what we feel. It is as simple as saying "I'm hungry. I would like to eat a Baby Ruth right now. Instead I will settle for a carrot and a slice of fat free turkey ham."

Whether we wish to imbibe the candy bar first and end up with the turkey, or the other way around, there is no way anyone faced with that decision feels as though they need to make it based on whether they will be received into Heaven or not.
You make the decision because you are hungry. Or because you think you are hungry and you know what it is you think you want.
Simply stated it is one of your daily decisions and it holds no significance whatsoever, nor should it. Nor should your sexual preferences or your particular preference for a God.
He is all the same.
A cover up for what you want but feel like you shouldn't ask for in this politically correct society. God is nothing more than a free pass to acceptance.
Well, I'm sorry, acceptance doesn't mean that much to me.
I would rather seek the truth. There may be far too many people who don't want to hear it, but as the true essence of life, it is what I will continue to seek.

Saw this coming.

Though I am sure it is not the first case, and also sure that it won't be the last.
But what can you do?
Everybody hates someone for something.

I thought I was kidding before about anticipating a movie about Flight 93;
but then I read this and it turns out I wasn't.

I don't know if I am happy about this or not.
I'll have to see the movie to find out.

Condoleeza Rice is praising the newest nomination for Iraqi President, Jawad al-Maliki, who claims that he can unite the three major religious factions in the country: the Shi'ites, Sunni and Kurds.

Maybe he can and maybe he can't. Maliki has a month to pull together a cabinet and then the people vote.

Time will tell what that means for us.

Interesting article over at the Associated Press on where exactly democrats stand on presenting a clear message to America in 2008. What theme, what unifying ideal is going to rally the lefties?
I don't know, but it doesn't seem promising.

As is widely accepted at the moment, this article simply articulates the lack of leadership and organization polarizing the democratic party.
As can be seen in the article the answers that were given when those being interviewed were asked what the message was, if there were any at all, were sometimes groping in the dark and frequently inconsistent. With some claiming to not need a succinct message, and others claiming that putting ones political stance into a single idea is simply impossible.

They will have to think of something.
Because I fear enough people will vote democrat simply because it's not republican, without even knowing what any of their votes mean, just to change regimes.
And if the democrats haven't gotten it figured out by then, we are in real trouble.
The only thing worse than bad direction, is no direction.

Search warrants have been issued, and there all here.
I'll try and keep everyone posted as this thing unfolds.

Ambivablog has this.
It is an Ideal utopian paradise of an idea for the political moderates out there who usually speak without megaphones.
It is a wonderful idea for a new party with a new candidate for the 2008 Presidential run.
This is what all of us think, and have thought for a long time.
This is precisely the situation we have all dreamed of and hoped for, for so long now.
Whether we should call it the Purple Party, I don't know. I fear that our mascot would be the ghost of Barney.
But the open party, that's pretty good.
If you read the post, and read the articles, and you are as tickled with the idea as I am;
then start thinking up some names.
Who knows, maybe you will be the one who named the party that could.

Apparently President Bush and President Jintao never came to any real meaningful conclusions today as China's leader graced the White House.
But at least he found time to make the appointment right?
I mean after all, I'm sure that everyone had a bit too much cognac at Billy Microsoft's house and I'm sure that what happens with billionaires, stays with billionaires.
I would have had a hard time waking up in time to think about W. and his presidential affairs.
Seriously though, have I mentioned that Mr. Jintao kind of scares me?
Not in an Ahmadinejad sort of way, or a Hitler sort of way;
but more in a Green Jello fashion.
Kind of like there is nothing really wrong with it, and it can actually be pretty good, depending on the day, but there is just something maniacally creepy about it. Like you know you should have chosen a different flavor, but now it's too late.
Sorry for all of that.
But whatever.

This is a trifle more frightening than most of us may realize upon first glance.
It may be an issue that merits a little more meditation than I fear the American people are currently giving.

They are laughing at us.
Very near all of them.

And I fear we may not understand how to diplomatically quell the situation.
I was listening to Harold Ford Jr. speak the other day. He said some things that I could comfortably climb on board with, and he said some things that made me immediately want to jump ship and swim.

One of the things he said however, struck a cord. He said that you can always go to war; that military action is always an option. Effective speech, on the other hand, is quite a different matter. A much more difficult matter.
I then recalled the words of Benjamin Disreali, "How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct."
How much easier it is to criticize than to talk.
How much easier it is to talk than to listen.
How much easier it is to listen than to wonder.

I wonder, what exactly might happen if we asked ourselves, cui prodest?
Because at the moment it is certainly not us.
So what other way do we have?
Why don't we ask and find out?

Professor Bainbridge gives us an idea of what an effective Democratic run for the Presidency may look like in 2008.

Whether this is true or not will remain up to the times in which we live, and whether the people will be able to act accordingly, depending on the overall correctness of the good Professor's foresight.

(Pulled from Instapundit)

Here are the indictments issued by a North Carolina Grand Jury against the two Duke Lacrosse players who were accused of kidnapping and raping a dancer hired by the team.

There is more news on the issue here and here.

Bush is not ruling anything out when it comes to dealing with Iran.
Ahmadinejad will hold back nothing in order to protect his country, and his ability to peacefully enrich uranium.
We may or may not have transitioning military leadership as this goes down;
and if we choose military action, we will most certainly be doing so without the assistance of one of our strongest allies.
The more we threaten, the more we pay per gallon for gasoline. Something to keep in mind for those who may think we are in the middleast for oil.

That is one full plate. I hope our senior leadership know what they are doing, because I am not so sure the American people are prepared to endorse, or even accept another military campaign.
We'll see.

Tom at BlogSpectrum gives us this post on gay marriage.
I must admit, I chuckled through the entire thing.
I have posted it here with all the comments because they are clearly the best part.
Enjoy this little taste of ignorance along with a barrage of refute.

This is why I love technology.

You bet your behind I'll be getting a couple of those bad boys.

Update: Just reiterating my point.

Well here it is.
The Inspector General's official 218 page report on FEMA's response to hurricane Katrina.
While I have obviously not read the entire thing, what I have browsed has been interesting. It seems as though the report is quite critical of FEMA and discusses what needs to happen in order to make it much more effective than what it was.

I wasn't going to post on this, but I have come across it in a couple of different posts and it is nagging at me now.

Justin Gardner has this to say, and it is interesting and well thought as always.

And Michelle over at the Daily Dish has this.

I agree with Justin, and Michelle's father. Nuclear energy is a very good thing. It doesn't cost much and despite the evil connotations the name brings, the material itself is quite benign.
I hope to see future generations relying on it as heavily as our generation relied on oil.
It is after all much more efficient and safe, and I would like to hope that is the direction technology is leading the youngsters these days.

On a lighter side though, there is a shirt I must purchase.
It says "Okay, I give up. It's Nucular"

Anyway, have a 3 mile island for me tonight and get some sleep, you need it.

Man do I hope AmbivaBlog's optimism plays out into the future.
Here is the post.

It is a sad state of affairs indeed, people's perception of Islam.
I was just having this conversation the other day with a couple of friends. Both of whom are pretty intelligent, so the talk was calm and encouraging.
Islam is just like any other group of people who have a title:
Christians
Buddhists
Democrats
Republicans
Nascar Fans.

The list goes on and on. The important moral to always remember is the squeaky wheel makes the noise. I know that's not how the saying technically goes, I modified it a little to fit the part.
Basically, the radicals are the ones with the media coverage. The people waging wars and committing acts of terror upon other people; there the ones that the NYT and the Post just eat up. And yes to a certain extent, the blogosphere is guilty as well.

Fact is, among all of these groups the vast majority, and I mean the vast majority are quite moderate and level headed.
And yes, much to the chagrin of those said radical Americans in particular, this same goes for the vast majority of Islam. They are peaceful, loving, welcoming and genuine people. I know, I am friends with a few of them.

Sure there are some people killing in the name of something. If it is physical murder, then no religion is innocent. Particularly Christianity.(emphasis added)
If it is a murder of ideas, or egos, or any other abstract phenomenon than there is no person on the planet innocent.
I think it should always be in the back of our minds, that disgusting things happen all of the time to all of the various types of people on this planet, but so do wonderful things.
Try and see past the 1% percent of social and cultural exposure the mainstream media offers. Go out and meet some of these people.
Try and decide for yourself.
That is the true challenge I don't deny it.
But it is also true love.
Give it a shot.

I just read this over at AlwaysQuestion, and laughed heartily for a while.
Because it's funny.

Seriously though, if you begin to walk into the intersection after the red hand of death has started blinking, as the police are suggesting and I am inclined to believe (as the woman is eighty two years old), then you are coming real close and soon will be breaking the law.
And will probably get yourself killed in the process.

Hooray for the police officer who did his job well.
And shame on the proponents of jaywalking.
It's just dangerous man.

On one hand, I am surprised at myself for actually reading this entire article.
On the other hand I actually have a few things to say about it.

What of those of us who aren't actors, have never been and will never be actors, who happen to want to name their children creatively and freely.

For instance, I wish to name my first child Atticus Malachai. The next one is Micah Christian.
I should point out here that I am not a Christian. I just like the names.
There are more but you get the idea.

Does this mean that there is some underlying subconscious Christian Meme secretly residing in my brain, keeping the true non-atheist me safe and sound through the word of God when I have my guard down? Or that I couldn't possibly deny this innate "faith" when faced with real volatile emotional and spiritual situations?

No.
It means I like the names.
It also means that this whole business of naming children is nothing more than creative and fun. Why shouldn't rational human beings want to name their child something that enables them to stick out in a crowd. It gives the child a head start on a not so normal life, and that is certainly what I want for my kid.

But most importantly, I would like to reiterate that I can't believe I read this article all the way through.
These child naming shenanigans are irrelevant and mildly insulting.
Forgive me for socially caving for like five minutes. I will try and keep that to a minimum.

It's a bit like doing the hokey-pokey...
That's what it's all about.

Justin Gardner has this much more elegant and lengthy post of the state of affairs with Donald Rumsfeld.

It is also a lot more fun to read.
Enjoy.

(Pulled from The Moderate Voice).

I just read this post by Strategy page at Instapundit, and am interested. Interested because I just had a conversation with a friend today, who is a pilot fresh out of flight school, and is on his way to Texas for the training camp that prepares you for The middle east. I think he is deploying to Afghanistan, but I am not 100% positive.
I find this interesting because he didn't have all positive things to say about the camp or the General running it.
He told me that they burn them out before they even ship them off.
Then he joked that Pilots were the last people you should have running on burnout.
I would agree.
But I wonder if what he is saying is generally true for everyone, or only for a select few.
It's always interesting to know soldiers though. Much like befriending cops, you get the inside scoop.

And though his first stop is in Washington, It's not the District of Colombia.
He will be entertained by Mr. Gates and Washington governor Christine Gregoire.
Among the guests will also be my boss, Howard Schultz.

Should make for an interesting evening.
I wonder if Georgy is jealous he didn't get invited.

I was hanging out over at The New Editor, and I would just like to say how much I like these guys, when I read an interesting post.

This may help you come to a conclusion on the question I asked in a recent post as to whether Zacarias Moussaoui should face the death penalty or not.

What to do?

Think progress has this on current state of affairs with Donald Rumsfeld.

Thus far we have at least 5 retired generals, arguably six, who have called for the resignation of Mr. Rumsfeld.

After listening to Ms. Rice say that there were thousands of tactical errors made by the defense, and Mr. Powell say that there were critical errors made by the defense, I am getting there. I was never a huge fan of Mr. Rumsfeld to begin with, but is now reaching a point of action.

Mr. Bush needs to accept Mr. Rumsfeld's resignation.

John McCain publicly disagrees with Senator Steve Chabot, who would like to see illegal immigration bumped up to felony status.

While McCain is in no way a proponent of amnesty, I think he is coming close to what the south of the borderees are realistically hoping for. I think they probably understand they are never going to be given a free ride, so some sort of humane middle ground is preferred.
As a probable 08 Republican candidate, McCain may have something going for himself here, because let's face it, as of right now the only real competition he is going to have will be coming out of his own party.

The disorganized dems in all of their leaderlesness are going to have to muster something, and soon.

David Schraub at The Moderate Voice has given us a little survey to see if we are bluenecks, the essential antonym to rednecks.

And even though I myself am a sunbelt kid, I answered yes to a surprising amount of the criteria.

Take the blueneck challenge today.

Jim Lindgren at The Volokh Conspiracy has this.
He presents a very insightful approach to the debate and gives genuine reason to actually think about this issue and not just dismiss it as a no brainer "duh, of course minimum wage should be raised."

Well worth a read.

If any of you are following the Zacarias Moussaoui trial, you will be interested in this. It's a transcript from a voice recorder that was in the cockpit of flight 93 on September 11th, 2001.
It's a little disturbing.

Also, here is a chronological rundown of the trial.
Should Moussaoui face the death penalty?
Research the trial and see what you think.

Update: The Washington Post fills in the blanks. Next from Hollywood, "Flight 93: The Myth That Became Reality."

Here is a little article that is worth a quick read.
And while I am here I should take the time to plug Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near," and Glenn Reynold's book "An Army of Davids."

Kurzweil's is Transhumanism in full effect and though I am not through it, so far it is quite insightful and persuading.
While Glenn's book is more on the media side of things, it touches on the power and inevitability of Transhumanism.

Both great reads.

Immigrants aren't too happy with the Republican party.
The Christian Science Monitor has this.

In an extremely heated debate the GOP appears to be attempting to save face after trying to pass legislation making it a felony to reside in the US illegally.

"When we reflected on it, we decided that a felony was too harsh," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin.

That kind of rhetoric may be too little too late for the red, as the number of protesters grows and the number of registered voters who are either former illegal immigrants themselves, or are sympathetic to the cause, are preparing to hit the booths for the not so distant November elections.

Race has forever played a crucial role in deciding which party will be elected. The Democrats have the African Americans and the Jewish Americans;
The Republicans have the White population and some of the Asian population.

But one of the major groups that both parties have been lacking full support of are those of the Latin Americans. They have yet to cohesively organize and push, for something.
I knew from the beginning of this immigration issue that has recently come to a head, that the smarter party would be the one to appease the interests of this massive group of people.

And thus far it appears to be the Democrats.
Not so good news for an already dissenting and volatile GOP.

Senator Arlen Specter, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has expressed his frustrations with the Pres and Vice Pres and their affinity for authorizing the leak of classified information.

Justin Gardner at Donklephant has this.

The Washington Post has this latest ABC poll showing that 38% of us actually think W's doing a decent job.

That leaves a hefty percent of people who may be starting to look on the blue side of things.
Problem is, when you look on that side you find a monumental lack of leadership, direction and organization.

Be an interesting vote.

Well Ann Coulter has written a new book.
Donklephant has this to say about it and it's funny.

Take a gander and enjoy.

The Boston Globe has this to say on the issue.
There seems to be a lot of debate as to whether things really are that bad.

The war is ruining our country/everything is fine and we'll be out soon.

We will choke and die without the oil we are alienating/there are plenty of alternatives being thought of each day, we'll only have to choose.

Terrorism is rampant and we have more to fear now than ever before/Terrorism comes closer to under control all of the time and soon it will be a murder free world.

These just to name a few of the major ones.
But I think that a change of tide may be coming in November.
That is not an official prediction and it isn't a preferential statement either. I have simply heard the words of the people that I have talked to.
I realized that there may be a change when I realized that at least half of the people that I talk to on a daily basis about the administration express enough discontent and unhappiness that they would be willing to vote the other way. No matter which way that was. (emphasis added)

November will be an interesting month, but despite the great minds of this country trying to sway opinion polls in their direction, I thing the major issue will be missed.

We simply need to sway people to vote. To be active in their local politics.
I don't even care how people vote, I just want to see them get involved.
That is my goal these elections and I will fight that good fight while I watch my comrades fight the partisan fight. They are better at it anyway.

Here is a tasty little morsel I pulled from the Volokh Conspiracy on the the latest media coverage of the "Gospel of Judas."

Dave is apparently none too happy with the showing.
Can't say I blame him.

For those out there who have asked me how can we have evolved from sea creatures?
Here is just a little more evidence.
Enjoy.

Here is a recap from The Week Magazine covering the GOPs 50/50 differences on the issue.

And here is Senator John McCains thoughts.

Do we build a 700 foot wall as is proposed by Congress, and say that the illegal immigrants are just that; illegal?
Wouldn't we then need to ask ourselves about the 140,000 uninvited illegal immigrants currently martially occupying Iraq at the moment? I don't mean to pick a scab, but that's what they are.

Or do we have profusely bleeding hearts and grant amnesty and continue to give up lands and jobs to foreigners? If we are doing that anyway.

I again don't know. What do you think?

Secretary of State Rice and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw take a much more aggressive stance on the diplomatic deadlock Iraq currently finds itself in.

I don't know if this parental tough love approach will help the political and religious dissension, or further polarize the two factions making it virtually impossible to decide on a prime minister.

Either way, they have made it clear that the time for patience and nurturing is coming to an end. It appears that we are all beginning to grow weary of this discomfort.

We will see what kind of retaliatory ignition is to be sparked, as there almost always is when the person in power flexes their muscles.

I knew the Dixie Chicks missed the boat.
I just watched this over at Instapundit, and it is hysterical.
I have to say though, I am really glad that The Right Brothers told me, otherwise I probably would have never known.

This story is all over the place, so I would feel left out if I didn't mention it.

Delay feels that this is what's best for his district, and he's probably right. So we'll see what happens.
And apparently now he can "pursue an aggressive speaking and organizing campaign aimed at promoting foster care, Republican candidates and closer connection between religion and government" (Time April 3 2006).

Good luck Mr. Delay.
I think you may need it.
(Pulled from Instapundit).

And Glenn has another great post on some of the former majority leaders antics here.

First read this.

It is very interesting and exemplifies the continuous attempts to discover the most effective and efficient methods of procuring stem cells.
As in the case of the Scots splicing human stem cells with those of Rabbits, trying to recreate the cells they need in a very reproductive matter (I have posted on this before).

And as the article so poignantly points out;
yes this research will surely come under swift and most likely unjustified scrutiny.

Regardless, unlike the Woo-suk Hwang fiasco, this research is being submitted to peer review immediately and will soon be either refuted or confirmed.
Yes we are all a little more skeptical after Hwang's false hope, but I should think that as reinforced skeptics we will be taking all of the necessary steps to not repeat the same mistakes.

And the press could do well to limit the South Korean references, lest they wish to see the science of the future leave them behind.
What's done is done.
We understand the magnitude of what happened and now hope to move on with renewed fervor and above all...Caution.

Tony Rudy, another of Delay's aides and a former deputy chief of staff, has pleaded guilty to fraud and could face up to 5 years in prison, depending on his cooperative he decides to be.

Hmm.