To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Anything Interesting in the News?
Eh... not overly exciting, but... here are a few tidbits:
- Pat Robertson thinks we should take Chavez out of the picture... permanently.
Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has called for the United States to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him "a terrific danger" bent on exporting Communism and Islamic extremism across the Americas.
Uh... um... besides the fact that is against stated US policy to off heads of State, it's probably bad form to actually announce to the world that you'd really like to send Mr. Chavez to his Just Rewards. (It's not like a whole bunch of people are thinking it... it's just not a real good idea to mention it... and, besides... you're giving the rest of us on the Religious Right a bad rep... )
"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson told viewers on his "The 700 Club" show Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war." - Evidently, there's love in the air in Ohio.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich has married a British woman, shedding the bachelor status that made headlines during his long-shot presidential campaign in 2004.
No comment was made on the style of tinfoil beanie worn by the bride and groom for the event. Seriously, I wish the Kuciniches all the best.
Kucinich and Elizabeth Harper, who works for a monetary-policy think tank in Chicago, married on Sunday before about 250 guests outside City Hall, where he once served as mayor. - Pennsylvania Republicans are getting upset with a group of Young Republicans because these young folks did the unthinkable... they dared to publicize the fact that the Legislature voted themselves a raise and other perks last month.
Pennsylvania Republicans are threatening the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania (YCOP) for sponsoring a public information campaign exposing a hefty pay raise passed for lawmakers, judges and top executive-branch officials. On July 7 at 2 a.m., state legislators voted to give themselves a pay increase of more than 30% without debate. YCOP is demanding repeal.
Well, boys and girls, when you portray yourselves as "smaller government" Republicans, voting yourself a raise... in the middle of the night without debate... is going to get you some bad press with your constituency. Something to think about next time, eh? - California Senator Diane Feinstein is going to "grill" Judge John Roberts about abortion during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing next month. Nah... that's not really news... this is what is news.
Feinstein, a moderate Democrat, has emerged as a pivotal figure. (emphasis mine)
On what planet is DiFei considered a moderate Democrat? Wherever that is, I do NOT want to go there. - Barbara Streisand is releasing a new cd... complete with an anti-war song. She joins the Stones and Green Day in the latest wave of "Let's slam Bush."
Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones and Green Day rarely hit the same note, but all of them are turning heads with new songs or videos about life in wartime.
You know, I really don't have a problem with people opposing the war (if they've actually bothered to rub two brain cells together and come up with logical arguments and not just another verse of "Bush Lied, People Died", etc.) My problem is with people who oppose the war simply because of who is in the White House. That's pointless and demoralizing. - Speaking of opposing the war... Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D TX) visited the protesters at "Camp Casey" (what do you want to bet that he would NOT have been happy about that camp being named after him?).
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee visited the anti-war inspired "Camp Casey" near President Bush's ranch on Monday, lending support and words of encouragement to several families whose loved ones died in Iraq.
That's the plan, Ms. Lee... once we're finished with the job. Not before.
"It is time to bring our troops home," Lee said at the demonstration started by Cindy Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., on Aug. 6. - So... the plan is that Israel pulls its settlers out of Gaza and the West Bank, and then there will be peace between them and the "Palistineans"... right? Looks like someone didn't get the memo...
In a news conference in Damascus, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad today boasted all Palestinian groups remain united in the goal of annihilating the Jewish state of Israel.
Go read the whole article, and then explain to me why President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon think, for an instant, that these people can be trusted.
With Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia looking on, Ramazan Abdullah, secretary general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said the Palestinian Authority and all Palestinian movements have reached agreement on a joint strategy after Israel's evacuation of the Gaza Strip.
"This war would continue till full liberation of Palestine, restoration of the denied rights of the whole Palestinian nation and briefly speaking uprooting of the usurper Israeli regime," he said, according to a translation by the official Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency.
There would be no disputes between the groups, he asserted because "all Palestinian groups share the mutual concern of securing Palestinians national solidarity, favor restoration of social order and full establishment of Palestinian government organizations, they have all agreed on the need to move toward those objectives solidly and harmoniously." - An October concert series in Arizona will try to raise money and push for amnesty for illegal aliens.
In the tradition of aid concerts that have raised money for everything from poverty in Africa to hurting farmers, a pro-immigrant activist in Arizona has planned a series of concerts intended to push federal amnesty for illegal aliens currently in the U.S. ...
You know, he's right. Congress needs to do something to stop all of these border deaths. A twelve foot razor wire fence would be a good start...
"It's not about making money or just listening to music," he is quoted as saying. "It's about sending a message to Congress about the need to stop border deaths." - Speaking of illegal immigrants and their impact on American society...
An illegal alien, Jose Ramirez, 28, has been arrested and charged with the brutal beating of a 15-year-old girl who allegedly ignored his whistles at a construction site in Spotsylvania County.
The good news is that this animal will be prosecuted. (This is strictly conjecture, but... if this guy reacted like that because a teenage girl didn't respond to him, then... maybe they should check DNA evidence and cross-check on other assaults... that just doesn't sound like one-time behavior to me.) I just want someone to tell me that the construction company that hired him will be fined for hiring an illegal alien. That's going to be a big part of stopping the flow of illegals into this country- cut off the supply of jobs, and they won't cross the border anymore.
Police say the 15 year old girl suffered a broken nose, bone fracture to the right side of her face and received approximately 30 stitches to her face and back of her head.
Police say the 15 year old girl was walking by on a road, when Ramirez, who was working on a construction project at a nearby townhouse, whistled at her. - Dolce & Gabbana have unveiled a new clothes line and a new ad campaign... and a lot of people think it's just a little... skimpy...
Fashion designers and advertisers continue to push the twin envelopes of skin and taste as a European firm features an ad for ultra-low men's pants that clearly shows the model's pubic hair.
uh... here's the "censored" version of the photo. (If you want to see the unaltered version, go here. I'm not going to post it on here. It's just... not attractive.)
The fall 2005 men's wear line of Dolce & Gabbana includes jeans that plunge so low they've been dubbed "pubic pants," the Houston Chronicle reported.
Though runway models debuting the jeans in January removed any visible hair, the print ad models haven't gone to such trouble.
I don't get it. Those can't be comfortable. They're not even all that attractive. Memo to designers- metrosexual is out... geek and thug are in (uh... not at the same time, though... that would be bad). You know that there are guys out there that will buy these things. And there are about 10 guys on this planet who could make those pants not look completely disgusting... if you have to ask, you aren't one of them.
