"Our government, big business, media and academia have clearly deserted us. It is now up to us, everyday Americans to win back the futures of our people and economic health of our nation."

-- Neal Asbury

Iran's Exaggerated Claims

You have to take the military and terrorist threats of Iran seriously; but you cannot help but smile at the rhetoric and seemingly exaggerated claims coming from Tehran. One should be mindful of all the hyberole from the likes of Saddam, and the embellished threats that come from various factions in the Middle East with language like "like your streets will flow with blood", yada, yada, yada, when listening to the announcements coming out of Iran.

On April 7, the air force chief of Pasdaran, Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Hossein Salami, announced the successful firing of a "stealth missile" that he claimed was impossible to detect by radar. The missile was the Fajr (Dawn) 3 and was acclaimed as a "remarkable" achievement.

Well, it turns out it was a crude Shahab-2 copy of a less-than sophisticated Russian Scud-C, which is a one stage, short-range (311 mile) missile with limited accuracy.

Two days later, the deputy naval commander of Pasdaran, Gen. Ali Fadavi announced the launching of "the world's fastest underwater missile." The torpedo, he claimed, was so fast, it was "undetectable."

Again, apparent wild exaggerations. As it turns out, it's a poor copy of a Soviet-era rocket-powered torpedo, named the Shkval. It's range is less than four miles; it has no target designation devices; and it is not self-homing. What's more, it's huge wake makes it easy to spot and destroy.

While we keep our eyes focused on them, they can provide us with some comedy relief as they have done here.

US Is Watching China's Latin American Moves
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
... The discussions reflect China's growing influence as a global power and world-class consumer of oil and other resources, he added. ...

"The era of the state church has been replaced by an age in which the state itself is the church. European progressives still don't get this: they think the idea of a religion telling you how to live your life is primitive, but the government regulating every aspect of it is somehow advanced and enlightened."

-Mark Steyn

Hat tip: Eckernet

Unfortunate But True

On spending:
"The Republican Party is now principally moderate, if not liberal."
—Senator Arlen Specter

Probably so.....

"Republicans are split between amnesty for illegal aliens and a border wall while Democrats are split between anti-immigration unions and pro-immigration unions. By the time the bill gets through Congress, it'll be a dam in West Virginia."

—Argus Hamilton

"Here's my immigration 'compromise': We need to regularize the situation of the 298 million non-undocumented residents of the United States. Right now, we get a lousy deal compared with the 15 million fine upstanding members of the Undocumented American community. I think the 298 million of us in the overdocumented segment of the population should get the chance to be undocumented. You know when President Bush talks about all those undocumented people 'living in the shadows'? Doesn't that sound kinda nice? Living in the shadows, no government agencies harassing you for taxes and numbers and paperwork."

—Mark Steyn

Tehran mocks U.S. ability to win military action
Iran boasted yesterday it could defeat any American military action over its nuclear drive, in one of the Islamic regime's boldest challenges yet to the United States.

Unions worked up over illegals
Labor unions, which are among the Democratic Party's most loyal supporters, are deeply at odds with the party's push for a guest-worker program, and many Capitol Hill aides say erosion of labor's support undermined the Senate immigration-reform bill last....

Generals defend Rumsfeld

Several retired generals who worked with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, including a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, yesterday decried calls for the secretary's resignation from other retired officers.

"I think what we see happening with retired general officers is bad for the military, bad for civil-military relations and bad for the country," retired Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs under Mr. Bush, said in an interview with The Washington Times. He said he would elaborate his views in an op-ed essay.

"I'm hurt," said retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael P. DeLong, who was deputy commander of U.S. Central Command during the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and briefed Mr. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

"When we have an administration that is currently at war, with a secretary of defense that has the confidence of the president and basically has done well -- no matter what grade you put on there, he has done well -- to call for his resignation right now is not good for the country," he said.

Six former generals have, one at a time, called on Mr. Rumsfeld to resign.

"The fact that two or three or four retired people have different views, I respect their views," he said, "but obviously out of thousands and thousands of admirals and generals, if every time two or three people disagreed, we changed the secretary of defense of the United States, it would be like a merry-go-round around here."

"I believe we need a fresh start in the Pentagon," retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, told CNN cable network. "We need a leader who understands teamwork, a leader who knows how to build teams, a leader that does it without intimidation. You know, it speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out."

What speaks volumes Major General is your quote and what it says about you. It is clear that you suffer from the William Jefferson Clinton syndrome. It's about you. It's always about you.

Your feelings must have been hurt. Did Mr. Rumsfield listen to your suggestions, but chose suggestions made by others instead? This must have hurt you terribly so. What right does Mr. Rumsfield have to listen, but ignore your ideas? You not only have a right to be heard, but you have the right to call the shots because, after all, your are Maj. Gen. John Batiste.

Sir, I salute you and your service to our country. I thank you. To John Batiste, the major general, I take off my hat. To civilian John Batiste, the retired major general who is undermining this administration and our efforts and playing into the hands of the left and the anti-Bush, the hate-Bush crowd and undermining the teamwork you espouse, I put my hat back on.

McCain-Pawlenty Web Domain Purchased

Republican state representative who worked for Tim Pawlenty's 2002 gubernatorial campaign has purchased the online domain name "mccain-pawlenty.com," with his eyes trained not on Pawlenty's re-election bid this year but on 2008.

Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, said he plunked down the $12 on his own, to foil Internet "squatters" who buy up domain names that may be valuable in the future. "I wasn't asked to do it, I wasn't told to do it," he said Friday.

But it comes in a week where Pawlenty and Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who's a leading 2008 presidential contender, made several joint appearances in Minnesota and stoked speculation of a possible 2008 partnership.

Garofalo, who was elected to the state House in 2004, is a young computer engineer who volunteered as a technology adviser in Pawlenty's 2002 run. More....

Libby's Lawyers Continue Fight for Access to More Evidence
Lawyers for former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby continue to ask for more access to evidence in the case over the leaking of a CIA operative's identity. Read on...

President W.J. Clinton Tooting His Own Horn

Clinton Tells Germans: 'I Tried to Represent a Better America'
Der Spiegel, Germany

'People of Peace' Should Jointly 'Attack U.S. Imperialists'
Korean News, North Korea

“If they dare provoke it, the army and people of North Korea will mercilessly wipe out the American imperialist aggressors.”

'What We [Mexicans] Can Do to Help the Migrants'
“Resistance in the United States has been constant ever since half of our territory was stolen by the U.S. government.”

Pravda Predicts: The United States will attack Iran in 2006

Reasons given:

• The master plan of the United States is to control the oil in the Middle East.
  

• Iraq war becoming a political disaster for Republicans. Republicans face losing control of Congress, but with President Bush'’s approval ratings in the toilet, Republicans may well lose the White House too. The lesson of the staged 9/11 and the ensuing war in Iraq is clear: Americans will rally around the president and his party during distressing times. What could be more opportune for this president and his party than another staged 9/11-like event, followed by another war of retaliation, this time against Iran ? (Later author states, "I don'’t believe another fake 9/11 is actually necessary" and "Another fake 9/11 attack is not necessary, though it may occur anyway in order to further the totalitarian ambitions of the government.

• Can't leave Iraq, it would be an admission of defeat. Too much invested in Iraq to build permanent military bases there and therefore will not leave for at least a few decades, but yet maintaining status quo in Iraq is untenable as the voices calling for withdrawal intensify each passing day. That leaves one course of action for the Bush administration: escalation.

• Another good reason for a war against Iran is to divert attention from the economy. It'’s obvious now that the U.S. housing bubble is deflating.
  

The article then speculates the U. S. will do airstrikes, eventually followed by some tactical nuke bunker-buster bombs. The world will be angry, but the U. S. will successfully "spin" this for a couple of months, and then..... without warning .... "the U.S. will drop a couple of nuclear bombs on a couple of medium sized cities in Iran, just like it did in Japan sixty years ago. The justifications will be the same as before: to bring a speedy end to the war. Of course, the world will be outraged, but its reaction will be muted because the U.S. will have already broken the nuclear taboo when it used the "“bunker busters",” and besides, what can the world really do about it? Iran will surrender, and the U.S. will be fully in control of the Middle East and two of its most important sources of oil: Iraq and Iran .

The U.S. can then withdraw its soldiers in Iraq into its new massive, city-sized military bases and wait out the civil war, while keeping a close eye on the oil. The U.S. will be a pariah nation, but so what. It will control the bulk of the world'’s oil."

And that my dear readers, pretty much describes, I think, the left and the color of their world.

Pakistani Security Forces Kill U.S. Embassy Bomber

Sources say that they think Abu Mohsin Musa, also known as Abdul Rahman, died in an overnight raid by Pakistani military forces in northern Pakistan.

Does the ACLU support terrorism?

Did Clinton Give Nuke Plans To Iran?

Where is our common sense?

I swear to the Almighty, I sometimes think we haven't any left.

A student visa for Yale's Talibani, but not for thee.

Tyranny at Ohio State University? Is Stalinism a Matter of Policy?

OSU librarian slapped with “sexual harassment” charge for recommending conservative books for freshmen

Ohio State University will press forward with frivolous investigation despite Alliance Defense Fund letter

ADF Media Relations

Comments

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Officials at the Ohio State University are investigating an OSU Mansfield librarian for “sexual harassment” after he recommended four conservative books for a freshman reading program. ADF has demanded that OSU cease its frivolous investigation, yet the university is pressing forward, claiming that it takes the charges “seriously.”

“Universities are one of the most hostile places for Christians and conservatives in America,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David French, who heads ADF’s Center for Academic Freedom. “It is shameful that OSU would investigate a Christian librarian for simply recommending books that are at odds with the prevailing politics of the university.”

Scott Savage, who serves as a reference librarian for the university, suggested four best-selling conservative books for freshman reading in his role as a member of OSU Mansfield’s First Year Reading Experience Committee. The four books he suggested were The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian, The Professors by David Horowitz, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Bat Ye’or, and It Takes a Family by Senator Rick Santorum. Savage made the recommendations after other committee members had suggested a series of books with a left-wing perspective, by authors such as Jimmy Carter and Maria Shriver.

Savage was put under “investigation” by OSU’s Office of Human Resources after three professors filed a complaint of discrimination and harassment against him, saying that the book suggestions made them feel “unsafe.” The complaint came after the OSU Mansfield faculty voted without dissent to file charges against Savage. The faculty later voted to allow the individual professors to file charges.

On March 28, ADF sent OSU officials a letter informing them of Savage’s constitutional rights. A copy of the letter can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/OSUMansfieldletter.pdf. The university so far has declined to stop the investigation, saying in its response that it takes “any allegation of sexual harassment seriously.”

“The OSU Mansfield faculty is attempting to label a librarian as a ‘sexual harasser’ because they disagree with his book suggestions,” said French. “It is astonishing that an entire faculty would vote to launch a sexual harassment investigation because a librarian offered book suggestions in a committee whose purpose was to solicit such suggestions.”

THE POWER OF ONE

From Lost Budgie.
Amazon.Com Caves To Single Pro-Abortion E-Mail

From AP via The Christian Post, we see that one email caused Amazon.com to remove the word "adoption" from search results for "abortion"...

Amazon.com Inc. said Monday it had modified the way its search engine handles queries for the term "abortion" after receiving an e-mail complaint that the results appeared biased.

Until the recent change, a user who visited the Seattle Internet retailer and typed in the word "abortion" received a prompt asking, "Did you mean adoption?" followed by search results for "abortion."

Spokeswoman Patty Smith said the automated prompt was purely based on technology, and that no human had made the decision to show the question.

"Adoption and abortion are the same except for two keystrokes," Smith said. "They also, in this case, happen to be somewhat related terms."

Still, Smith said she and other company officials decided to remove the question after receiving an e-mail complaint and deciding that it raised a valid concern.

Can you say "linguini-spined"?

Iran's Mad Nutter

Iran Leader: Israel Will Be Annihilated

"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a 'permanent threat' to the Middle East that will 'soon' be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.

'Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation,' Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. 'The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm.' "

[snip]

"The land of Palestine, he said, referring to the British mandated territory that includes all of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, 'will be freed soon.' "

[snip]

"The existence of this (Israeli) regime is a permanent threat" to the Middle East, he added. "Its existence has harmed the dignity of Islamic nations."

Fatrick Putzgerald

Don Surber posts:

Indict Fitzgerald, Count II

Patrick Fitzgerald has more chutzpah than a pork rind salesman in Tel Aviv. In order to indict Scooter Libby about lying to the FBI Fitzgerald lied to a judge.

Now the judge has ordered Fitzgerald to quit leaking about this case, which ironically was supposed to be about leaking.

Fitgerald should be indicted and disbarment procedures begun.

Display on abortion destroyed

400 crosses removed; Northern Kentucky University prof investigated

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS - Sally Jacobsen, a longtime (tenured) professor in NKU's literature and language department admitted she had invited students to tear down an anti-abortion display on campus.
400 crosses were pulled out the ground near University Center, destroyed, and thrown in trash cans. The crosses had been put up by a student group, the Right to Life, with permission from NKU, symbolizing a cemetery for aborted fetuses.

Because they are a type of symbolic speech that has been protected by the U.S. Supreme Court, public universities are not allowed to ban these kinds of displays. Campus police are investigating.

Some key (and very interesting) quotes from Professor Johnson:

• "I did, outside of class during the break, invite students to express their freedom-of-speech rights to destroy the display if they wished to.
  

• "Any violence perpetrated against that silly display was minor compared to how I felt when I saw it."
  

(Emphasis mine - ed.)

Without directly quoting her, the story reported, "Pulling up the crosses was similar to citizens taking down Nazi displays on Fountain Square, she said."

Amazing isn't it?

"Ambiguous scientific statements about climate are hyped by those with a vested interest in alarm, thus raising the political stakes for policy makers who provide funds for more science research to feed more alarm to increase the political stakes. After all, who puts money into science--whether for AIDS, or space, or climate--where there is nothing really alarming? Indeed, the success of climate alarmism can be counted in the increased federal spending on climate research from a few hundred million dollars pre-1990 to $1.7 billion today. It can also be seen in heightened spending on solar, wind, hydrogen, ethanol and clean coal technologies, as well as on other energy-investment decisions.

But there is a more sinister side to this feeding frenzy. Scientists who dissent from the alarmism have seen their grant funds disappear, their work derided, and themselves libeled as industry stooges, scientific hacks or worse. Consequently, lies about climate change gain credence even when they fly in the face of the science that supposedly is their basis."

--Richard Lindzen (Mr. Lindzen is the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science of Atmospheric Science at MIT)

COMMENTARY:

What's wrong with RomneyCare.
BY BRENDAN MINITER

On the Editorial Page
Opinion Journal
It would be irresponsible not to have military plans for handling Iran.

Spain seeks justice for Madrid bombings

TWENTY-NINE people were charged by a Spanish judge yesterday for their roles in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, paving the way for one of Europe's biggest terrorism trials.

Immigration vs. Gate-Crashing
By Walter E. Williams

Being a relatively land-rich and labor-scarce nation, immigration has always been good for our country. For most of our history, there was a guarantee that immigrants would come here to work. The alternative was starvation. With today’s welfare state, there’s no such guarantee. People can come here, not work and not starve because the welfare state guarantees that they can live off the rest of us…

Reform at United Nations Is Top U.S. Priority, State Official Says

Washington – Management reform at the United Nations is at the top of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s agenda, says Kristen Silverberg, assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs.

The United States needs “to see some serious, tangible progress in the short term, and long-term commitment” to reform, Silverberg said in an April 13 panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Joining Silverberg was Robert Orr, assistant U.N. secretary-general for policy coordination and strategic planning, who said that a “quiet but rather important wave of reform taking place at the U.N. today,” is perhaps the most important institutional restructuring in the world body since its creation. Read on...

"Seventy-three percent of Americans say that immigration is a serious problem. The other 27 percent said, 'No habla Ingles'." —Conan O'Brien

"You know we've come a long way when our idea of racism has moved from fire hoses and segregation to a black congresswoman's outrage at not being recognized by a Capitol Hill policeman." —Star Parker

"Whatever is said or done in the immigration debate, no one should insult the American people's intelligence by talking or acting as if this is a question about the movement of abstract people across an abstract line." —Thomas Sowell

"It is ironic that some women, in the name of feminism, are attempting to emasculate the God of Western religious morality. For if their goal is achieved, it is women who will suffer most from lawless males. We have too many absent fathers on earth to begin to even entertain the thought of having no Father in heaven." —Dennis Prager

"What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin." —Mark Twain

"The power to tax involves the power to destroy." —Justice John Marshall

"Every time we talk about these taxes we get around to the idea of 'from each according to his capacity and to each according to his needs'. That's socialism. It's written into the Communist Manifesto. Maybe we ought to see that every person who gets a tax return receives a copy of the Communist Manifesto with it so he can see what's happening to him." —T. Coleman Andrews

"If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds." —Alexander Hamilton

What Illegal Immigrants?

By JB Williams

As you watch ILLEGAL immigrants, our uninvited house guests, march in the streets demanding their rights to FREE health care, FREE schooling and FREE admission to the greatest lifestyle on earth, take special note of why our borders are wide open today, who is behind it, and for what purpose.

Before you jump on the “evil corporation” seeking “cheap labor” train, do a little real homework of your own for a change. People in desperate need of votes are far more interested in these ILLEGALS than all of corporate America combined, I assure you. The most powerful socialist politician in America provides a much needed dose of reality on the matter. Read more...

"The very idea of freedom presupposes some objective moral law which overarches rulers and ruled alike. Subjectivism about values is eternally incompatible with democracy. We and our rulers are of one kind only so long as we are subject to one law. But if there is no Law of Nature, the ethos of any society is the creation of its rulers, educators and conditioners; and every creator stands above and outside his own creation." —C.S. Lewis

House Democrats Accused of Corruption, Too

A liberal-leaning group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, on Wednesday urged the House ethics committee to investigate Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) for his alleged role in a conspiracy and bribery scheme and for misusing federal resources in the wake of hurricane Katrina. And Jefferson isn’t the only Democrat operating under a cloud...

MTV Pokes Fun at Jesus’ Crucifixion

As Christians around the world prepare for Easter, magazine readers in Germany were confronted this week by full-page advertisements depicting Jesus, wearing a crown of thorns but descended from the cross, enjoying a television program. “Laughing rather than hanging around,” says the ad for an MTV cartoon program lampooning the pope and Vatican hierarchy...

Harvard study tells parties to court 'religious centrists'

College students are becoming more religious, and it's affecting their political views, according to a new Harvard University survey of this potentially influential voting bloc. "Religious centrists" rule, according to the university.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ?

And many toss his name about as a potential Republican presidential candidate; tell me why we would want him in this position? Surely, he would be for national health care, wouldn't he? Is this what we want?

Universal health care law enacted in Massachusetts
Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday signed a sweeping health care bill that will require every Massachusetts resident to be insured, a move that has divided conservative policy strategists.

Russia, China slam Iran's nuke plans
The world's leading powers, including Russia and China, joined the United States in expressing heightened concern yesterday over Iran's advancing its nuclear program in defiance of the United Nations.

"Immigrants in past centuries came here to become Americans, not to remain foreigners, much less to proclaim the rights of their homelands to reclaim American soil, as some of the Mexican activist groups have done. ... Today, immigrant spokesmen promote grievances, not gratitude, much less patriotism ... ." --- Thomas Sowell

"Many immigrants would eagerly assimilate. It's often Hispanic parents who fight hardest against bilingual education for their own kids, for instance, because they see how destructive it is for their children who ultimately don't learn enough English through such programs. Too often, however, their "leadership" quite literally won't allow assimilation.

It was such leadership that carefully orchestrated the recent demonstrations.

Unfortunately, immigrants, legal and illegal, instead of being turned into Americans, are being turned into another "victim" class demanding entitlements by a leadership seeking its own political advancement without regard for immigrants or other Americans." --- Betsy Hart, author of "It Takes a Parent: How the Culture of Pushover Parenting is Hurting Our Kids - and What to Do About It."

Trouble in Marxist Paradise: Protesters Take to Streets in Venezuela

Protesters in Venezuela are taking to the streets in the thousands in anger over the recovery of the bodies of three boys kidnapped on their way to school. However, don't expect to read or hear about it in the US news media. There's trouble in President Hugo Chavez's Marxist utopia and it's not a pretty sight for his leftist cheerleaders in the US and Europe.

Police wearing riot gear fired tear gas at demonstrators blocking a road as thousands of marchers brought Caracas traffic to a standstill while demanding justice, according to video from the BBC.

After the protests, the capital's mayor said he was replacing the chief of police with an army brigadier general, which probably means the government will use more force when dealing with demonstrators, reports the BBC.

According to several English-speaking correspondents, there is frustration over the "perceived rise in crime." Perceived nothing. Caracas is turning into the crime capital of Latin America -- and it's President Chavez's fault. Most of the violence is targeting Venezuela's upper-middle class and wealthy, something he's encouraged in his vitriolic speeches. More...

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Churchill

Easy Access: Russian and Chinese Spies Saturate US, UK

By Jim Kouri, CPP

The practically legendary MI5 British counterintelligence service is said to be deeply concerned over an increase in spying by Russian and Chinese operatives in the United Kingdom. The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation has similar concerns with Russian and Chinese agents infiltrating the US military-industrial complex, sometimes in violation of US immigration laws.

Although intelligence experts aren't certain how widespread the problem is, they believe the espionage is rampant and a serious consequence of the global economy.

MI5 suspects upwards of 15 foreign intelligence services are working within the UK and are a threat to the United Kingdom's interests, and the primary focus of their counterespionage efforts are the Chinese and Russians.

Using many of the same methods the Japanese used in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, the Chinese are interested in any and all information that may give them a leg up in the competitive global economy.

[snip]

The FBI are suspicious of Russia, Iran, and North Korea but have focused mostly on the Chinese. The feds estimate that the are over 2,600 Chinese front companies in the US.

Read more...

THE MISREPRESENTATION OF STEM CELL RESEARCH

Embryonic Stem Cell Hucksters Exploit Paralysis
By Michael Fumento

"Embryonic stem cells are virtually the only kind you read or hear about, yet they have never treated a single human. We're told they may be the answer to all diseases and disorders including paralysis. Adult stem cells, by contrast, have been treating and curing human disease since the 1950s and now do so with over 80 disorders. But you won't hear any of this from a media who will exploit any opportunity to excuse abortion - in this case for it's claimed (but never proven) potential benefit to others."

(Ed. note - all emphasis mine)

Just as in global warming, the media is all so willing to shill for those pushing their agenda, and in this case (stem cell research) to deceive us with purposeful misleading reporting.

Fumento notes, "As I write this, German researchers have just announced that they’ve isolated adult stem cells from mice testes; these cells appear to have tremendous potential to become all cells of the body. The Washington Post headline: “Embryonic Stem Cell Success.”

To read the entire piece, go here.

A Great Piece on Global Warming Hysteria

Opinion Journal Extra: Global-warming alarmists intimidate dissenting scientists into silence.
BY RICHARD LINDZEN
M. Lindzen is Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT.

"A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate."

-- Thomas Jefferson

Immigrants' firing leads to protest

15 women lose jobs after attending rally; manager says they were warned

A manager at a Detroit meatpacking plant said Monday that 15 immigrant women were fired last month after attending a protest for immigrant rights. He said they had been told that they would be terminated if they missed work on the day of the protest.

But the workers and an activist working on their behalf said the women were given no such assurances. If the workers knew they would have been fired for attending the March 27 rally in Detroit, they never would have skipped the morning shift, said Elena Herrada, a Detroit activist who is trying to help the women get their jobs back. More...

Individual Mandates for Health Insurance: Slippery Slope to National Health Care

By Michael D. Tanner
Cato Institute

Proposals for achieving universal health insurance coverage are once again receiving serious attention. Among the ideas attracting bipartisan support is an individual health insurance mandate, a legal requirement that every American obtain adequate private health insurance coverage. People who don't receive such coverage through their employer or some other group would be required to purchase their own individual coverage. Those who failed to do so would be subject to fines or other penalties.

Proposals for an individual mandate respond to a legitimate concern about "free riders," the uninsured who nonetheless receive treatment and pass the costs on to taxpayers or individuals with insurance. In practice, however, an individual mandate is likely to be unenforceable because it would involve a costly and complex bureaucratic system of tracking, penalties, and subsidies.

More important, an individual mandate crosses an important line: accepting the principle that it is the government's responsibility to ensure that every American has health insurance. In doing so, it opens the door to widespread regulation of the health care industry and political interference in personal health care decisions. The result will be a slow but steady spiral downward toward a government-run national health care system.

Full article (in PDF format)

A Word from Our Founding Fathers – Taxes

Americans are overtaxed and under-informed.

By Herman Cain
National Chairman, Free Market Project


We must never forget what drove our nation’s founders toward fighting for independence. The men who declared, fought for and secured our freedoms were responding to horrible abuses of power from a distant capital. Textbooks brim with stories of the many colonial complaints, but much of what Americans were upset about can be summed up in one word.

Taxes.

Continue.

Media Myth: Taxation with Misrepresentation

Networks call administration actions ‘taxpayer-funded’
while liberal priorities often treated as ‘government-funded’

“When it’s taxpayer money, the taxpayers must ultimately decide if it’s worth it.”
– Brian Williams, “NBC Nightly News,” March 7, 2006

“Taxpayers are obviously very concerned about where their money’s going.”
– Tim Russert, NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Feb. 19, 2006

By Amy Menefee
Free Market Project

When is a dollar a taxpayer dollar?

A. When it’s paying for stem cell research.
B. When it’s going to the military in Iraq.
C. When it’s supporting public education.
D. When it’s aiding sick and hungry Africans.
E. All of the above.

The correct answer, of course, is E. but that wasn’t how broadcast journalists answered in the last year. They treated taxpayer dollars unequally – claiming many were “government funding” or “federal funding.”

Viewers’ ears are likely to perk up when their tax dollars are mentioned, especially when they’re told those dollars are going to waste. On the other hand, the government’s funding yet another study isn’t exactly the most exciting of reports. The difference between the two is all in how journalists frame the story. Read more....

Events in Troubled Nepal Are Following Maoist ‘Script’
The U.S. government is urging Nepal’s King Gyanendra to restore democracy, amid continuing concerns that the repression is advancing the agenda of rebel Maoists bent on seizing control of the Himalayan nation by force...

‘Not A Civil Rights Movement,’ Conservative Says
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.), who co-sponsored the Senate bill that would allow illegal immigrants to “earn” U.S. citizenship, compared Monday’s immigration rallies to the civil rights movement. But a conservative black minister challenged the comparison...

Council on Foreign Relations told of U.S. plans for Iran strike
FROM WORLD TRIBUNE

LONDON — Western defense sources and analysts told a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations that Britain and the United States are preparing for the prospect of air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities in late 2006 if diplomatic efforts at the United Nations Security Council are not succesful. More...

EU moves closer to Iran sanctions
Unison.ie - Bray,Ireland
EUROPE yesterday moved closer to trade sanctions and visa bans against Iran, but EU foreign ministers rejected any idea of military force against Tehran for ...

UN official says nations still not preventing genocide
KOLD-TV - Tucson,AZ,USA
UNITED NATIONS Governments have frequently said "never again" since the Holocaust. But genocide remains a reality. A top United ...

Security experts: Iran to be bombed in 2007
Ynetnews - Israel
If Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons, a military operation against it is inevitable and will take place in 2007, senior US and Israeli specialists say ...

Iran-make weapons cache discovered in Iraq
Iran Focus - Iran
... The United States and Iraqi officials have accused Iran's radical Islamic government of sending agents and arms into Iraq to assist the insurgency.

EDITORIAL

The shocking demands of illegal immigrants
Euphemisms mask scorn for American law, sovereignty

Across the country Monday, illegal immigration supporters brought the first signs of sophistication to their massive demonstrations. Their "National Day of Action" featured marchers in white T-shirts waving American flags. The Mexican flags and cries of "Viva Mexico!" that dominated previous rallies -- and infuriated American citizens who want immediate border enforcement -- were much less common. Signs were written in English, the language of the majority. More...

China gives seal of approval to Buddhism
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
BEIJING, China (UPI) -- Buddhism can undoubtedly contribute to building harmony in China as well as world peace, a Chinese government official dealing with ...

China-US economic, trade relations maintain fast growth momentum
Xinhua - China
BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The China-US economic and trade relations have maintained fast development momentum since the two countries established ...

Time to Move on Judges

By Terry Eastland
Beyond The News

Republicans hold the Senate. So they are responsible for the confirmation of judges. But the process is going slow--much too slow.

Yes, during his tenure, President Bush has appointed 182 district judges and 42 circuit judges, in addition to his two Supreme Court justices. But there are 32 nominations now pending in the Senate--and 11 for the critical circuit courts.

They deserve an up-or-down vote--except in the case of a nominee who has no chance of winning a majority's approval. But there is no nominee facing that prospect. Instead, there are nominees opposed by a few to a few dozen senators.

Republicans should move the languishing nominations to a floor vote while they still have a majority of 55. What is needed here is firm resolve and indeed action on the part of the Senate Republican leadership--and of course the Majority Leader, Bill Frist.

"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American.....There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
--- Theodore Roosevelt

MR. PRESIDENT, I'M HEADED TO MEXICO

Dear President Bush:

I'm about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and I would like to ask you to assist me. I'm going to walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements. I know you can help with this. I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here.

So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I'm on my way over? Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. All government forms need to be printed in English.
4. I want my kids to be taught by English-speaking teachers.
5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.
7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won't make any effort to learn local traffic laws. 10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from Pres. Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police officers speak English.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, and don?t enforce any labor laws or tax laws.
13. Please tell all the people in the country to be extremely nice and never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on the economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that Pres. Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail hunting with your V.P.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Europeans 'see need' for power to snoop
In Europe, Big Brother is listening -- and being allowed to hear more and more.

Protests provide boost to Democrats
Democrats on Capitol Hill favoring citizenship for illegal aliens say they have been buoyed by the massive rallies across the country, but opponents of amnesty warn that they will ultimately backfire.

Let's send them some Florida representatives

Whatever we can do to help them out with any voting problems.

Italian vote on a knife-edge

ITALY'S general election was in turmoil last night after projections showed the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi apparently heading for victory despite early polls suggesting he had been defeated.

THE NIGHTMARE OF CONDI

Dr. Jack Wheeler

Please sit down. Pour yourself a stiff drink. You're going to need it.

Something is being whispered on Capitol Hill that is so radioactive sweat breaks out on staffers' brows at its slightest mention. Here's the context.

For a long time now, we've been telling you in To The Point that Dick Cheney will step down, Bush will appoint and the Senate will confirm Condi Rice as Vice President, that this will catapult her into being the Republican presidential nominee, and that she will be elect ed President of the United States in November 2008.

A Rice Presidency will destroy the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party depends on blacks living on the Victim Plantation. A Rice Presidency obliterates the myth of Racist America, and it is upon this myth the modern Democrat Party is built.

Democrats cannot get elected without 90% of the black vote. Rice would deny them this 90% and more. At most they would get 50-60% if that. Any and all chance of Democrats regaining substantial political power in America would be over. The entire power structure of the Democrat Party would be in ruins.

Any chance of the Clintons being back in the White House would be over. A Condi vs. Hillary presidential race in 2008 is a fantasy. Hillary, the most hated woman in America, wouldn't stand a chance against Condimania. If Rice runs, Hillary won't.

[snip]

If you think the Democrats have become unhinged with their hatred of George Bush, wait until you see them go absolutely berserk with panic and rage over the Nightmare of Condi. Panic and rage can drive people to do dangerous and desperate things.

To read the rest you need to be a paid subscriber.

The old media double standard

A Congressman is alleged to have committed 250 ethics violations. Big news? Only if he is a Republican. Have you seen the following in the New York Times? Read on...

France surrenders - to French students
At least some French can claim a victory in this battle. The government, well practiced in the art of surrender, is scrapping the law allowing two whole years in which...Read on...

U.S. tells Venezuela: No more thuggish activity

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration may severely restrict the movements of Venezuela's ambassador if pro-government activists in Venezuela engage in any more “thuggish” activities against U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield, a spokesman said Monday.

There have been four incidents of harassment directed at Brownfield in recent weeks, including one last Friday when his convoy was pelted with eggs, tomatoes and other food. The convoy was also pummeled by motorcyclists during a miles-long chase through Caracas.

“If we see an incident like this again, I think that there are going to be serious diplomatic consequences between our two countries. And I think that the Venezuelan ambassador might find his ability to move around the United States severely restricted,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. More...

Related:
Venezuela Threatens to Expel US Envoy
The Venezuelan government cited the US ambassador's charity visits to poor neighborhoods as a sign that he is meddling in the country's internal affairs, and said Monday ...

France's problem with capitalism

....... Perhaps he had had a sneak preview of a recent survey, in which various countries were asked how they rated capitalism.

Three quarters of the Chinese said it was the best economic system for the future. But in France only a third of people agreed.

Caroline Wyatt outlines France's reluctance to move away from its socialist traditions.
Read on...

EU bans visas for Belarus leaders

European foreign ministers impose a visa ban on Belarus officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko. Read on...

Election Cliffhanger Grips Italy

Italy's election is now a very tight race, with signs that Silvio Berlusconi might retain control of parliament. Read on...

"People who urge us to rely on the United Nations, instead of acting 'unilaterally,' or who urge us to follow other countries in creating a government-run medical care system, often show not the slightest interest in getting facts about the actual track record of either the UN or government-run medical systems. Those who believe in affirmative action likewise usually see no reason to find out what actually happens under such policies, as distinguished from what they wish, hope, or imagine happens. They crusade for 'a living wage' that will enable a worker to support a family proceeds without the slightest interest in finding out whether most people who are making low wages actually have any family to support—much less seeking out the facts about what actually happens after the government sets wages. People who have made up their minds and don't want to be confused by the facts are a danger to the whole society. Since the votes of such people count just as much as the votes of people who know what they are talking about, politicians have every incentive to pass laws and create policies that pander to ignorant notions, if those notions are widespread."

—Thomas Sowell

"The war, this clash of civilizations, is a war that will last for generations. Your grandkids will have to deal with it. It isn't going to go away. All the solutions to it are long-term solutions. All the solutions are painful and will require incredible perseverance... We Christians can understand that, because we can take a longer view of history. But today's instant-gratification culture doesn't get it [and] doesn't want to get it..." —Chuck Colson

THE VALUE OF FAMILY

"While it's easy to understand a woman's desire to have a child, it is less easy to understand how it was decided that fathers are nonessential. I find little comfort in the fact that some sperm donors agree to meet their 'offspring' when the child reaches age 18. Ego gratification on one end balanced against narcissistic self-fulfillment on the other offers little to soothe the restless soul. Or the child, who might like to have a real daddy tuck him in at night... [This is] a diseased culture in which human relationships have no moral content and children are treated as accessories to adult lives. Yet, these trends are portrayed as the latest gosh-gee fashions. A society in which women are alone, men are lonely, and children don't have fathers is nothing to celebrate. And a future world filled with fatherless children—bereft of half their identity and robbed of a father's love, discipline and authority—won't likely be a pleasant place to live."

—Kathleen Parker

An Immigrant Writes

Keep the doors of this country open.
BY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

I urge [Congress] to agree on legislation based on a simple philosophy: control of the border . . . and compassion for the immigrant. These are the twin pillars around which we must construct a new immigration policy. They are both essential elements in our overall immigration strategy. Without both, our strategy is destined to collapse.

To pursue a policy of stronger borders, Congress must get serious about our security. Before 9/11, we gambled that everyone entering our country had good intentions. After 9/11, we cannot afford to take that chance again. A stronger border means more border patrol agents, better equipment and greater resources. We cannot ask state and local officials to bear the cost and responsibility of enforcing federal immigration laws. They are not trained or equipped to do it. The presence of the citizens' groups along our border is a reminder of the federal government's failure to do its job. Government officials, not private citizens, are responsible for our borders. They need to do it right--and to do it right now. Read on...

Illegal immigrants use fake papers, low wages to survive
Miami Herald - FL,USA
... Only after US borders are secure can we decide on what to do with 11 million illegal immigrants. We need to go after employers who ...

Imams vow to preach values of Islam, West
European imams have pledged to work harder to prove that Islam is compatible with democracy and that the majority of Muslims living in the West support human rights, free speech and pluralism.

Expert says bird flu risk to humans 'very low'
THE likelihood of the bird flu virus mutating into a form that could be transferred between humans is "very low", the government's top scientific adviser has said.

"EU dismisses military option against Iran"
IranMania News - Iran
LONDON, April 10 (IranMania) - The European Union could consider slapping sanctions on Iran, including a visa ban, if current UN-centred diplomatic efforts fail ...

COMMENTARY

Homeland Security? You’re Kidding, Right?
By Alan Caruba
I have been trying to figure out why we haven’t had a second terror attack since Sept. 11, 2001. Are we just lucky? Are we more secure? For a long time now I have been thinking about how utterly defenseless this nation is in real terms…

Army surpassing year's retention goal by 15%

Service says 2006 numbers show Iraq war ‘not causing people to leave'

WASHINGTON — Two of every three eligible soldiers continue to re-enlist, putting the Army, which has endured most of the fighting in Iraq, ahead of its annual goal.

The Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668 for the first six months of fiscal year 2006, which ended March 31. More than 39,900 soldiers had re-enlisted, according to figures scheduled to be released today by the Army. Read on...

Lawyer: No DNA Match in Duke Gang Rape Case

DURHAM, N.C. — There is no DNA match between members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team and an exotic dancer who told police she was raped at a team party, attorneys for the team said Monday. Fox News.

House Dem Committed 250 Ethics Violations, Group Says
U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) has committed over 250 violations of House ethics rules, according to a conservative legal watchdog group, which has filed a complaint alleging that Mollohan grossly underreported his assets, loans and interests in certain companies...

Democracy, Islamic Law Don’t Mix, Iraqi Official Says
Despite President Bush’s insistence that the Iraqi “people want there to be a democracy,” a pro-American member of Iraq’s new parliament claims there is “no relationship between Islam and democracy.”

US, China to Discuss Competing Interests in Latin America
Ahead of Hu Jintao’s first visit to the U.S. as Chinese president, a senior State Department official is due to hold talks in Beijing about Latin America – a region that is of increasing interest to China...

‘Mad as Hell’ Coalition Tells US, ‘Do What Mexico Does’
A conservative advocacy group is speaking for Americans who think illegal immigration is out of control and ought to be stopped. The Freedom Alliance, founded by Lt.-Col. Oliver North, is asking Americans to call, email and fax congressional offices with objections to amnesty for people who come here illegally...

Tit for tat: A Pakistan-China nuclear deal?
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai,India
ISLAMABAD: A civil nuclear technology deal between Pakistan and China may be signed during President Pervez Musharraf's visit to Beijing in June to counter ...

China Facing Economic, Social Unrest
ABC News - USA
When a group of senior Chinese economists, officials and scholars gathered in early March to discuss the current situation in China, they exchanged ...

Oil back up at $68 on worries about Iran, Nigeria supply risks
Business Day - Johannesburg,South Africa
LONDON - Oil climbed back up above $68 a barrel today on rising tension over oil-rich Iran's nuclear programme and continuing supply disruptions in Nigeria ...

'China wants Sudan's oil'
News24 - South Africa
Athens - Anti-poverty campaigner and Live 8 organiser Sir Bob Geldof has accused China of responsibility for the continuing civil war in Sudan's Darfur region. ...

The Dems must figure this is the only way they can win elections.

From the Conservative Voice:
Illegal Immigrants Will Vote in November Elections

Reporting from an illegal aliens’ demonstration in Phoenix, AZ, US Army veteran and activist Michelle Dellacroce told Fox News that, although the illegal aliens are carrying US flags on Monday, their message is the same. Dellacroce said that the illegals’ organizers are speaking to the crowds in Spanish and telling them that they will “take back the US for Aztlan”.

Dellacroce said that the protest organizers have been registering illegals en masse, including their children, to vote for Democrats in the upcoming November elections.

Headlines from the year 2029

A look into the future reveals these top headlines from the year 2029.

1. Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formally known as California.
2. Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.
3. Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.
4. France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica.
5. Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.
6. George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.
7. Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.
8. 85-year, $75.8 billion study: Diet and Exercise is the key to weight loss.
9. Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.
10. Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed, they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.
11. Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.
12. Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.
13. Average height of NBA players now nine feet, seven inches.
14. New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2036.
15. Congress authorizes direct deposit of formerly illegal political contributions to campaign accounts.
16. IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.
17. Florida voters still having trouble with voting machines.

John Kerry Opposes Iran Nuke Strike, Backs Censure

2008 presidential hopeful John Kerry said Sunday that he opposes a U.S. strike against Iran's nuclear facilities that would involve nuclear bunker-busting bombs - and announced his support for Sen. Russ Feingold proposal to censure President Bush. More....

UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES $426 MILLION DROUGHT APPEAL FOR HORN OF ...
PressZoom (press release) - Amsterdam,Netherlands
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, will today launch an appeal for $426 million ...

Rebels murder, shoot officials in Iran: Report

From IranMania News
Iran - Armed rebels have killed two army officers, and shot a top cleric in troubled Sistan-Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran, a press ... More

Iran shoots down surveillance drone: report

From IranMania - Tehran has shot down an unmanned surveillance plane in the south amid reports that the United States is planning military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a press report said.

"This plane had taken off from Iraq and was filming border areas," a report in the hardline Jumhuri Eslami newspaper said. More...

Illegal Immigrants March to Take Back Southwest

The Conservative Voice posts this story:

US Air Force Veteran and activist Michelle Dellacroce says that most Hispanic newspapers in Arizona are telling illegal immigrants that their protest marches are to “take back the American Southwest for Aztlan”. Aztlan is a mythical Mexican kingdom.

Speaking with FNC’s Trace Gallagher, on Sunday, Dellacroce said that the mainstream media is not reporting what is written in Spanish language newspapers. From Phoenix, AZ, Dellacroce said that death threats to the Minutemen are also published in some of these newspapers.

And this story:

On Sunday, a large illegal immigrant march is underway in downtown Dallas. FNC reports that one of the protest organizers is a former Dallas city councilman. March organizers say they expect 150,000 demonstrators.

The demonstrators are marching for "illegal aliens’ rights", which they are demanding the US Congress implement. They are also protesting against the implementation of any tough US border security measures. Organizers of the Dallas march say that they told the protestors to leave their Mexican flags at home.

Approximately 60 nationwide illegal alien protests are scheduled for next week.

Iran accuses US of "psychological war"
Reuters.uk - UKTEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on Sunday brushed aside what it called a US "psychological war" against its nuclear programme after a published report described ...

Iran says UNSC making 'big mistake'
Jerusalem Post - IsraelIran said Sunday it was a "big mistake" for the US and its allies to think the UN Security Council will be able to force Teheran to give up uranium enrichment ...

Report: Israel pressuring US over Iran attack
Ynetnews - Israel... According to the paper, Israeli officials who visited Washington recently gave the Americans an urgent message regarding Iran: The Islamic Republic was closer ...

Italian voters turn on 'great communicator'

Battle-hardened: controversial Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi prepares himself before the second of two angry televised debates he has had with opposition leader Romano Prodi.

Photograph: Andreas Solero/ AFP/ Getty Images

HE HAS lost his voice and for once the "great communicator" was almost silent. If ever there was a sign from above that the creaking, leaking Silvio Berlusconi boat was sinking without trace, then yesterday was probably it.

Millions of Italian voters will go to the ballot boxes today and tomorrow to decide who leads the next Italian government. Berlusconi trails his rival, the grey bureaucrat Romano Prodi, in the opinion polls, and despite a bravura performance over the last few days, 'Il Cavaliere' - the knight, as the former media tycoon is known - will now, barring a dramatic reversal of fortunes, have to face up to defeat.

If it is the end of one of Europe's most colourful political episodes of the last decade, then at least the 69-year-old billionaire is going down fighting. Read on.

Democrats demand Congressional inquiry into Europes illegal wiretapping program

Well, okay, not really, but while referring to this article, "Wiretapping on the Increase in Europe" that stated:

Since the Sept. 11 attacks and the terrorist bombings that followed in Madrid and London, authorities across the continent are getting more powers to electronically eavesdrop, and meeting less apparent opposition than President Bush did over his post-9/11 wiretapping program.

PoliPundit comments:

"Here’s a question for all the young liberal college students who read this blog:

Since your hero Michael Moore wants America to be “more like Europe,” and since the EUropeans are wiretapping their citizens like J. Edgar Hoover on steroids, you want Bush not only to keep his warrantless wiretapping program intact but to *expand* it, don’t you?"