Thursday, August 2, 2007

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Blogging the Qur’an: Sura 3, “The Family of Imran,” verses 1-32

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Blogging the Qur’an: Sura 3, “The Family of Imran,” verses 1-32:

"Verses 28-32 is mainly concerned with warnings of Allah’s judgment, but v. 28
warns believers not to take unbelievers as “friends or helpers” (َأَوْلِيَا — a
word that means more than casual friendship, but something like alliance),
“unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them.” This is a foundation
of the idea that believers may legitimately deceive unbelievers when under
pressure. The word used for “guard” in the Arabic is tuqātan (تُقَاةً), the
verbal noun from taqiyyatan — hence the increasingly familiar term taqiyya. Ibn
Kathir says that the phrase Pickthall renders as “unless (it be) that ye but
guard yourselves against them” means that “believers who in some areas or times
fear for their safety from the disbelievers” may “show friendship to the
disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly. For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded
that Abu Ad-Darda’ said, ‘We smile in the face of some people although our
hearts curse them.’ Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, ‘The Tuqyah [taqiyya] is
allowed until the Day of Resurrection.” While many Muslim spokesmen today
maintain that taqiyya is solely a Shi’ite doctrine, shunned by Sunnis, the great
Islamic scholar Ignaz Goldziher points out that while it was formulated by
Shi’ites, “it is accepted as legitimate by other Muslims as well, on the
authority of Qur’an 3:28.” The Sunnis of Al-Qaeda practice it today."


I don't know of any religion that condones lying to others, just because they are not of the same faith as you. I don't know of any other religion that advocates lying in wait, pretending to be friends with someone until you have a chance to over come them. The more I read about Islam the more I find that it is a religion that is focused on conquest at any cost.

When Animals Attack Our Morals

The Word

Wrist Watch

Who Is... 2008 Democratic presidential candidates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2008 Democratic presidential candidates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joe Biden, born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. Senator from Delaware and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, although he ceased active campaigning in 1987, before the first primaries. Biden first hinted that he might run in 2008 in a December 8, 2004, radio interview with host Don Imus, saying: "I'm going to proceed as if I'm going to run." Biden has repeatedly stated his intention to run, and did so as early as 21 March 2006. Biden's Federal Leadership PAC is "Unite Our States", which tracks Biden's public appearances and policy positions. On 7 January 2007, when asked by Tim Russert on Meet the Press "Are you running for President?" he responded, "I am running for President." He also said he plans to create an exploratory committee by the end of the month.[1][2][3] On January 31, 2007, he officially signed the papers with the FEC to run for president.

U.S. Senator from Delaware: 1973–Present

Rummy comes back

SubPrime Loans

Quotes

8-2

Charles M. Schulz

"I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building."


Marie Curie

"I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale."


Robert Bloch

"I have the heart of a child. I keep it in a jar on my shelf."


George Bernard Shaw

"My way of joking is to tell the truth. It is the funniest joke in the world."


Mark Twain

"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."


Henry Kissinger

"The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously."


Stephen Colbert

"Equations are the devil's sentences."


Edward Gibbon

"History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind."


Laurence J. Peter

"Humility is the embarrassment you feel when you tell people how wonderful you are"


Herbert Agar

"The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear."


Live From Congress: Rep. Hardy Calls For A Ladies' Night Out


Live From Congress: Rep. Hardy Calls For A Ladies' Night Out

Political Lunch

Mike Gravel

The Daily Left

FOXNews.com - Phil Spector's Daughter Testifies as Defense Nears End - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

FOXNews.com - Phil Spector's Daughter Testifies as Defense Nears End - Celebrity Gossip Entertainment News Arts And Entertainment:

"LOS ANGELES — Phil Spector's 24-year-old daughter briefly took the witness
stand Wednesday as the defense case wound down in his murder trial, but the
judge only allowed her to testify that he is right-handed and stopped
questioning that suggested he was an attentive father."


What we learned from this is that he is right handed, a right handed attentive father who was a nut job and loved guns. Ok, well maybe we didn't learn that he was an attentive father, just that his daughter would like the court to think that he is.

I will update you when this case breaks. I am hoping that they charge him with it.

FOXNews.com - Russia Places Flag on Seabed at North Pole - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

FOXNews.com - Russia Places Flag on Seabed at North Pole - International News News of the World Middle East News Europe News:

"MOSCOW — Two deep-diving Russian mini-submarines descended more than 2 1/2
miles under North Pole ice to stake a flag on the ocean floor Thursday, part of
a quest to bolster Russian claims to much of the Arctic's oil-and-mineral
wealth."


Canada has it's own interests in claiming the north pole region as it's own. As doubtful as it is, it would be best I think if the whole polar region could be set aside.

Why the fight for such a cold place you ask? Well if global warming turns out to be true, and it is looking more and more like it is - then it won't always be so cold.

FOXNews.com - Telemundo Suspends TV Reporter Mirthala Salinas After Probing Her Affair With L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

FOXNews.com - Telemundo Suspends TV Reporter Mirthala Salinas After Probing Her Affair With L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - Politics Republican Party Democratic Party Political Spectrum:

"LOS ANGELES — A Spanish-language newscaster who had an affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has received a two-month suspension for violating conflict-of-interest policies, her network said Thursday.
Mirthala Salinas was having the relationship with Villaraigosa when she announced the news of his separation from his wife of 20 years on local Telemundo station KVEA, Channel 52."


Suspended? What is she going to go and work at CNBC now with Maria?

On Location with Mike Huckabee

lgf: Minneapolis Bridge Collapse


lgf: Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Update 1:


"This image from Google Earth shows the section of I-35 in Minneapolis that
collapsed, with the approximate area highlighted in red."

Dennis Kucinich Urges Conversation about Impeachment

Media Matters - Reporting on Giuliani health care plan, NY Times ignored obvious question: How much?

Media Matters - Reporting on Giuliani health care plan, NY Times ignored obvious question: How much?:

"Rudolph W. Giuliani on Tuesday called for transforming the way health care
coverage is provided in the United States, advocating a voluntary move from the
current employer-based system to one that would grant substantial tax benefits
to people who buy their own insurance.Rudolph W. Giuliani on Tuesday called for
transforming the way health care coverage is provided in the United States,
advocating a voluntary move from the current employer-based system to one that
would grant substantial tax benefits to people who buy their own
insurance.Rudolph W. Giuliani on Tuesday called for transforming the way health
care coverage is provided in the United States, advocating a voluntary move from
the current employer-based system to one that would grant substantial tax
benefits to people who buy their own insurance."


While there are problems with this plan it makes it easier for those who have a hard time paying for health insurance to be able to afford it. At the same time it not only allows choices of insurance, but it also allows that not everyone feels like they want to have insurance.

Wait did I just agree with something that was put forward by Giuliani?

Media Matters - Weekly Standard used alleged former male escort Matt Sanchez as source to attack credibility of a TNR "Baghdad Diarist"

Media Matters - Weekly Standard used alleged former male escort Matt Sanchez as source to attack credibility of a TNR "Baghdad Diarist":

"In an effort to undermine a New Republic article by Army Pvt. Scott Thomas
Beauchamp about alleged inappropriate conduct by U.S. troops in Iraq, an article
by Weekly Standard reporter Matthew Goldfarb relied on Marine Cpl. Matt Sanchez
as the only military source identified by name but did not reveal facts that
weigh on the credibility of Sanchez's attacks on The New Republic article: that
Sanchez, whose website describes him as a "Marine Reservist" who is "[p]resently
in Iraq interviewing the troops," has reportedly been under investigation by the
Marines over allegations that he bilked private donors out of $12,000 for a
deployment to Iraq he never made and that he apparently once worked as a male
escort. He has also admitted to having been in gay porn films, a fact he has
acknowledged "leaving ... off my curriculum vitae.""


Stop the personal attacks!

Democracy Now Headlines- Aug. 02, 2007

Q: How Weak Is The 2008 Republican Field? [Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite To Stupid]

Q: How Weak Is The 2008 Republican Field? [Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite To Stupid]:

"A: So weak that not even close to longshot candidate Dennis Kucinich only loses
by 14% and 9% to Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson, the Republican frontrunners."


This is bad news for the Republicans.

They'll Have the Questions in Advance

Hugh Hewitt: They'll Have the Questions in Advance

"Some of the questions Democrats were asked were not anything a consultant could
expect, and that leads to danger. If you want your candidate to stay on message,
why would you allow them to face questions the likes of which you are unable to
predict?"


While it isn't true that the questions will be asked without the candidate knowing what they are going to be before hand, since they are posted online, there is good reason to accept an open debate of this nature. I think that Americans know polished questions and polished answers when they hear them. What Americans want from a leader and what they will connect with more than anything else is a person who doesn't speak in policy points. I think that the nature of the questions make it feel more like a discussion, makes it feel open. In doing that it brings more people to the table and that makes everyone a winner.

Cato-at-liberty » Life without Farm Subsidies

Cato-at-liberty » Life without Farm Subsidies:

"When the House passed a massive farm bill last month, supporters justified
ongoing subsidies as a “safety net” for family farmers. But a story in the New
York Times this morning on the New Zealand dairy industry shows that farmers can
survive and thrive in a free market without subsidies."


Subsidies should end, they are a distortion of the market that harm third world countries ability to sell their crops in the US. It also means higher taxes to cover the subsidies that go to the farmers, or taking funding from where it could be better spent. They were started for a breed of farmers that primarily does not exist anymore, the family farm is dead. Corporate farmers should not need this money, what they need is competition, which the subsidies limit.

Charges dropped against Dog the Bounty Hunter - TV Squad

Charges dropped against Dog the Bounty Hunter - TV Squad:

"This week, the First Criminal Court in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico dismissed
charges against Duane 'Dog' Chapman, who was arrested in 2003 on charges of
illegal detention after capturing Max Factor heir Andrew Luster. The arrest
eventually led to the A&E series Dog the Bounty Hunter."

This is good news, it seemed silly to be prosecuting him for arresting a rapist.

Jon Voight On The View. Aug 1,07

Thursday on Ellen - Al Gore

Thursday on Ellen - Al Gore:

"I like Al Gore. There, I’ve said it. His movie, An Inconvenient Truth, changed
my life and how dedicated I am to being kind to the earth. I always tried to be
conscious of my environmental habits but now my whole family is eco-friendly"


Ellen has been getting some good guests lately.

Che Guevara, Fashion Icon of Soapnet? | NewsBusters.org


Che Guevara, Fashion Icon of Soapnet? NewsBusters.org:


"“The Fashionista Dairies” have been plastering their logo all over the
internet. TV Guide.com is using the ad campaign as today’s background as well as
Perez Hilton.com, whose site gets over 8 million hits a day. This new show is
one more example of the entertainment industry’s fascination with Communism
chic."


First of all let me say that from what I have seen of the show, it looks like it rocks.I wish I had a TV and I could watch it.

Now let me get on to a point. It is true that it is using the image of a communist leader, but it is using it to promote probably the most capitalistic part of our culture. The whole clothing industry is set on meeting the demands of customers, rich people demand rich clothes and the fashion industry supplies that. The fashion industry feeds into the magazine media industry not only through the ads that appear in Fashion magazines, but the stories and the photos of the stars that are shot for those magazines. The image is being used in such a way that it should not anger supporters of capitalism, it should anger supporters of communism.

Professional Protester, Jihadi-style · snapped shot


Professional Protester, Jihadi-style · snapped shot:


"Guess what? Islamic Rage Boy has been sighted again on Friday the 22nd of
June--The Worldwide DAY OF RAGE (Salman Rushdie Edition). Be sure to check the
latest sighting out!"


I have known many people who love to protest, but have very little understanding of what they are against and even less of an idea of what they are for.

MotherJones.com | MoJoBlog - Social Issues and Political Commentary: Chiquita Secrets Unpeeled

MotherJones.com MoJoBlog - Social Issues and Political Commentary: Chiquita Secrets Unpeeled:

"Chiquita, Hills said, would have to pull out of the country if it could not
continue to pay the violent right-wing group to secure its Colombian banana
plantations. Chertoff, then assistant attorney general and now secretary of
homeland security, affirmed that the payments were illegal but said to wait for
more feedback, according to five sources familiar with the meeting...
Sources close to Chiquita say that Chertoff never did get back to the
company or its lawyers. Neither did Larry D. Thompson, the deputy attorney
general, whom Chiquita officials sought out after Chertoff left his job for a
federal judgeship in June 2003. And Chiquita kept making payments for nearly
another year."


This is an interesting issue, what it appears to show is that for the United Fruit Company, oops sorry they changed their name, Chiquita, money is more important than not supporting terrorists. It goes on to talk about how the company knew that money that was being given to the group by Chiquita was being used to target peasants in villages and labor unions. The simple truth of the matter is that this is about bananas, but it raises the question of how many other deals like this are being done by other companies selling other goods. It is not a stretch to wonder if oil companies that serve in dangerous parts of the world are using money paid to terrorists as a form of security.

Celebrity News & Gossip Video "The Connection" Yuddy.com

Democracy Now Headlines- Wed. Aug. 1, 2007

Sweet irony - Freepers mad at O'Reilly, he calls them "sick" - AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

Sweet irony - Freepers mad at O'Reilly, he calls them "sick" - AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth:

"I'm not going to call Bill O'Reilly a liar... yet, but... on his TV show today, he read off a laundry list of ridiculous 'hate' statements like 'I hate blacks,' 'Hillary should be assassinated' and 'homosexuals are dogs' that he said he personally found on Free Republic and claims that they were posted here today. I do not believe that. I doubt that he personally logged on to FR and I doubt he found any such thing posted here today.

Who knows what we may have missed and is buried deep in our archives of millions of posts, but our readers do a pretty good job of alerting us to anything out of bounds that is
posted and we pull it."


What seems to be over looked in this whole growing mess is that there is no way to know who made those comments. There is nothing that keeps someone who hates Bill O'Reilly from going on to his site, and posting hateful things about Democrats - just to make Bill look bad. There is nothing that would prevent someone to do it just because they were bored or because it was a joke.

The easy solution to all of this, make it so comments must be approved before they are posted.

PoliPundit.com » Mexico Tries New Approach to Halt Building of the Fence

PoliPundit.com » Mexico Tries New Approach to Halt Building of the Fence:

"Mexico has urged the US to alter its plans for expanded fences along their shared border, saying they would damage the environment and harm wildlife. The fences threaten unique ecosystems, Mexican environment officials warned. Mexico was ready to file a complaint with the International Court of Justice over the matter if the US did not respond, the environment minister said. The planned barriers aim to curb illegal immigration, a highly divisive and controversial issue in the US.
The fences, planned along a possible 700 miles (1,125km) of the border, are to be equipped with hi-tech surveillance equipment, including sensors and strong lights."


You can call it a fence, you can call it a wall, whatever you want to call it, it isn't going to work. Go ahead and build a wall/fence from the Pacific Ocean, to the Gulf of Mexico. This is not going to stop the tide of people who are coming to this country because they are looking for work. It has been famously said that the solution to an expensive fence for an immigrant, is a cheap latter. Second only to that is the tunnel, dig under the wall.

We cannot attempt to wall ourselves in, if we want to make sure that people are coming to the country legally we have to make it easier for them to do that.

Harry Reid's Ethics Bill Eviscerates Earmark Reform | Redstate


Harry Reid's Ethics Bill Eviscerates Earmark Reform Redstate:



"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has rewritten his signature ethics reform bill to strip it of meaningful earmark reform, a remarkable development for a Democrat who promised to clean up Washington. Text of the bill was released this morning and is available at the Porkbusters website. Senators Tom Coburn (R.-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R.-S.C.) have promised a fight."


I question the ability of any law to separate power from money and money from power.

The New Republic meets Dan Rather (and finds that they have a surprising amount in common) | Redstate

The New Republic meets Dan Rather (and finds that they have a surprising amount in common) Redstate:

"The New Republic today published an editorial on the Scott Thomas Beauchamp situation and on their attempts to 're-report' his anecdotes with further investigation (always a
great idea for a 'journalistic' outlet that wishes to be respected).
What did they have to say? In a nutshell: Beauchamp was discovered by 'Elspeth Reeve, a TNR reporter-researcher, whom he later married.' What he had to say was believable because he was a soldier in Iraq and because 'conservatives and liberals alike praised' his first essay. "


It clearly seems to be the case now that at least the stories are questionable. What think is the bigger problem here is how much both sides are using everything to make points. It feels like we have entered a period of scorched earth debate tactics, where you cannot allow any point for those who oppose you and must do what ever it takes to score your own points.

When the stories first came out, there were people on the left who used it as a way of attacking the war. Here they said is one more reason that we should get out of Iraq. Even if the stories were true, which I doubt, I don't think that is what must be read from them. The simplest and easiest thing to read from it is that soldiers in a war environment react to stress in ways that are not always appropriate. Some soldiers need to be disciplined for actions. To take take step and say that the war is wrong just because of the actions some soldiers have taken is a logical leap with no foundation.

Now with the story falling apart, the right is using the stories as a way of attacking the left, claiming it will stop at nothing to get us out of the war. The implication being that this was a set up, that groups on the left either knew it wasn't true or perhaps set up the lies themselves. This is another logical leap that lacks foundation. Just because they supported the story when they heard it does not mean they knew it was a lie or created the lie. What it means is that a soldier in Iraq, perhaps wanted to garner some fame or attention for himself, started a narrative that could achieve that for him. While it is true he had been publishing them without his name, he was married to a staff of the magazine, I would be willing to bet that he would have proudly come out in the future.

On a side note I think this also applies to Tillman's death. It was tragic, and the facts suggest it was a cover up. I don't think it is fair to use that as a foundation for attacking Bush, who simply told the American people what he had been told. There is no reason to believe that Bush or others in the administration would have known.

Right Wing Watch: Gingrich Not Ready to Cede Spoiler Spot

Right Wing Watch: Gingrich Not Ready to Cede Spoiler Spot:

"Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose background makes him unlikely to gain
widespread support, has spent months hinting that he may enter the race if no suitable candidates emerge, all the while attempting to build a kind of grassroots structure. He recently called the GOP’s crop of candidates a “pathetic” bunch of “pygmies.”
But the likelihood of a run by “Law & Order” star Fred Thompson, who also plans a late entry, has stolen much of Gingrich’s thunder. Thompson’s rising star 'would appear to shade some of the sunlight' from Gingrich, as Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform put it. "


Here is my prediction, I don't think either one of them is going to actually join the race, what they are doing is using the potential of joining the race as a way of keeping their faces and names in the news. At the same time they are using it as a way of injecting their own ideas into the race, the other candidates have to address the issues that they are bringing up or risk losing support. It is a great idea really, you can't lose.

Obesity, self-discipline, and stigma. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine

Obesity, self-discipline, and stigma. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine:

"The topic was a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It
documented weight trends in a social network originating in Framingham, Mass.
What the study illustrated, according to its authors, was 'psychosocial mechanisms of the spread of obesity' through 'a change in [one's] perception of the social norms regarding the acceptability of obesity.' As your friends get fat, you start to think their degree of fatness is OK for you, too. That's the important point. Now let's talk about what it means—and doesn't."



I think what this means is that maybe you could take some self motivation and by getting in better shape yourself, you could help motivate your friends to do the same. Secondly if you are having a hard time finding the motivation to do that, think about spending more time with people who are active.

Poll: Among Dems, Obama's Negatives Nearly Double Hillary's | TPMCafe

Poll: Among Dems, Obama's Negatives Nearly Double Hillary's TPMCafe:

"Which Democratic presidential candidates is viewed unfavorably by more Dem
voters, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? If you answered Hillary ... you'd be
wrong, at least according to the latest Rasmussen poll:"


I don't know if this poll was taken after the comment about invading Pakistan, but the more statements that he makes like this more unpopular I think he is going to become. I also think that he answer in the debate about talking to Iran and Syria was the wrong answer and I think that even though Democrats want more diplomacy, they understand that there has to be conditions for that diplomacy.

The Tonight Show: Jay Leno interviews Dick Cheney

The Strata-Sphere » Blog Archive » The Essence Of al-Qaeda: Mass Graves

The Strata-Sphere » Blog Archive » The Essence Of al-Qaeda: Mass Graves:

"Iraqi and US forces have uncovered a mass grave in the province of Diyala where
the corpses of women and children were buried after killings.

Locals told Iraqi and American forces that last week “terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda in
Iraq” killed 17 people, including women, children and the elderly, the US
military said"


I don't understand how anyone can call this a war of occupation. It is not us, but the terrorists who are set on destroying the peace and the stability of Iraq. It is not us, but the terrorists who are set on using terror to control Iraq.

Murdoch Bags Dow Jones - The Ag - News Summary - News in Brief - TIME

Murdoch Bags Dow Jones - The Ag - News Summary - News in Brief - TIME:

"The wooing game is over and Rupert Murdoch has won (as he has made a habit of
doing during his career). The New York Times reports that Murdoch now has
'enough support from the deeply divided Bancroft family to buy Dow Jones &
Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and one of the world’s most
respected news sources, for $5 billion'. His News Corp. empire is both vast and
eclectic notes the Washington Post and includes 'the Times of London, 'American
Idol,' 'The Simpsons Movie,' Fox News Channel, MySpace, National Geographic
television and a British tabloid that prints photos of topless women'. We assume
the new Journal's Page 3 pics will be illustrated, keeping with tradition at
least."


This is a great win for Murdoch. He is going to use this to launch his own business channel that he is planning to compete against CNBC.

Senator Dodd versus Bill O'Reilly

Tom DeLay.com - Home - Democrats Assail Medicare

Tom DeLay.com - Home - Democrats Assail Medicare:

"“Republicans support renewing SCHIP to provide health care to children in
low-income families, but we oppose the Democrats’ poorly-crafted, partisan
proposal that works against the interests of seniors, working families, and
taxpayers. This bill cuts some $193 billion in Medicare benefits for American
seniors. In my congressional district alone, 14,267 seniors currently benefit
from Medicare Advantage and 73 percent of them will lose their benefits if the
Medicare cuts in the House bill become law. Moreover, this bill raises taxes on
low-income families, opens the door to using taxpayer funds to benefit illegal
immigrants, and imposes government-dictated ‘Hillary-care’ when we should be
focusing on free market solutions that provide every American with access to
better health care."


The left has been screaming for days about how the republicans are against giving health care to children. The insistence of puting in terms of the big bad repulicans versus the poor children, when it isn't that simple of an issue makes me feel like they are attempting to manipulate public opinion. I think this is an issue that should be debated and understood fully, not just packaged into a sound bite.

One of the ways that they are planing on raising the funds to pay for more healthcare for children is to raise taxes on cigarettes. Which I am for, I support anything that it going to make it so people smokeless, and encourages steps to improve their health. Does the increase of taxes mean that people will quit smoking, I think that you get a mixed result on this, yes and no. There are a number of people who will quit smoking because of the cost, then there are others that will continue regardless. Either they have enough money that they can afford to pay the higher tax, or they just decide that smoking is important enough to them that they will spend less on other things to be able to afford it. (This doesn't raise the issue of the increase in illegal cigarette trafficing).

What I do question is the logic in taking funds from cigarette taxes and spending it on childrens health. Why not take that money and use it to research cancer health, which is the result of smoking. Make them pay for their own future health care in taxes. How would I pay for childrens health, lets look at what are the things that challenge childrens health the most. Fast food and junk foods are things that challenge all of our healths, but it seems to effect children the most. Why not place a tax on food items that are unhealthy like candy bars and soda, and use that money to provide children with health care. Since it will discourage the consumption of these products, it should improve the health of children. Also since it is a broader tax, a smaller tax could raise more money (unless it is just popular to target smokers for taxes). The last thing that I would add to this idea, if you are going to tax soda, give companies that produce healthy drinks and snacks a tax break, which would make their products cheaper in relation to the unhealthy products.

Watching Those We Chose: Mike McConnell to Arlen Specter, Gonzales Was Talking About Something Far Worse Than TSP

Watching Those We Chose: Mike McConnell to Arlen Specter, Gonzales Was Talking About Something Far Worse Than TSP:

"I am going to ask a question I haven't seen in the news media. Assume McConnell
is telling the truth, how odious are those other secret programs if at least one
of them was considered more controversial by loyal Bushies than the Terrorist
Surveillance Program? Here is a follow up question you won't see asked by the
MSM. Can either a free society or the Constitution survive as long as such
programs exist unsupervised? After all the U.S. Patriot act has already repealed
Habeas Corpus. What's next? Argentina style disappearances? Star Chamber Courts?
The disbanding of Congress?"


Why is that no debate can take place without the extremes and their slippery slope arguments taking over with their shouting. No one is talking about disbanding congress, no one is talking about ending the freedoms of Americans. What is being talked about is the best way to protect American interests at home and abroad. We face new threats, and we face new enemies and if we are going to take on those new threats and new enemies we have to think in new ways. While I understand the need and the concern about oversight, it needs to be limited in scope to prevent leaks of information to the press. The administration has found one program after another leaked to the media and broadcast to the world. If we are going to protect ourselves from those who would harm us, we cannot broadcast the details of how we plan to do that to the world.

Fred Thompson on Global Warming on National Review Online

Fred Thompson on Global Warming on National Review Online:

"NASA says the Martian South Pole’s “ice cap” has been shrinking for three
summers in a row. Maybe Mars got its fever from earth. If so, I guess Jupiter’s
caught the same cold, because it’s warming up too, like Pluto.

This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non
signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air-conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle. "


Looks like Fred Thompson is placing himself among the few that think that global warming is not a problem, and that it is not caused by humyns.

Daily Kos: Dodd Stands Up To O'Reilly

Daily Kos: Dodd Stands Up To O'Reilly:

"I hope that our discussion today reminds Bill that a free press is at the very heart of this nation's values. The blogosphere is enormous - and to exploit such a tiny fraction of it in such a way is ludicrous, especially considering that Bill himself has said some things in the past that he may not want distorted... Democrats aren't going to be lectured to about the crudeness of language or civility of discourse by Bill O'Reilly. "


Dodd has a solid point here, O'Reilly himself has made his fair share of comments that could be viewed as being hateful. In an earlier post I mentioned that this war turning into a battle against free speech, and the implication was that it was parties on the left that was waging that battle. I want to be clear that the situation right now is that free speech is the innocent hostage in the middle of a war between parties on the right and parties on the left. Both sides seem determined to control the speech of those that disagree with them, and that is not right.

Does BMW agree that Islam is a cult? - AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth


Does BMW agree that Islam is a cult? - AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth:


"BillOReilly.com says Islam is a cult. Does BMW agree with the hate that BMW is
sponsoring? Ask them. Then ask them why Lowes and Home Depot dumped this hate, but BMW hasn't."

Am I the only one that understands how badly this could end for everyone, even those not directly involved? This is getting to the point that it is not only personal, but it is becoming an attack on free speech.

Security Camera Footage Catches Bridge Collapse

Caught on Cam: Woman’s Olive Oil Scam Fall Backfires

Massive bridge collapse into Mississippi River during rush hour traffic...






Facebook

Dante Rose Pleiades's Facebook profile