PoliPundit.com » “Gonzales: US eyeing gun flow into Mexico”

PoliPundit.com » “Gonzales: US eyeing gun flow into Mexico”:

"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Friday that Washington is taking
steps to address Mexican concerns the U.S. is not doing enough to stop illegal
weapons from being smuggled across the border and into the hands of brutal drug
gangs."

The connection seems so clear, the guns go down to serve criminal gangs that are sending the immigrants up. Stop the guns, stop the immigration - stop the immigration, stop the guns. This is an area that seems to be of concern for both countries. Why is there not more communication, and why has the Mexican government taken steps to assist immigrants crossing into the states.

The Strata-Sphere » Blog Archive » Democrats Make Sense On Immigration

The Strata-Sphere » Blog Archive » Democrats Make Sense On Immigration:

"No one favors illegal immigration. But there are upwards of 12 million people
illegally in this country — people who work, who have settled their families and
who have raised their children here. For 20 years our country has done basically
nothing to enforce the 1986 legislation against either the employers who hired
illegal immigrants or those who crossed our borders illegally to work for them.
Accordingly, our current system is, effectively, silent amnesty."

I think this is very true. I would add that often the worst thing that can happen is not a law being strictly and consistently enforced, but a law that is sporadically and inconsistently enforced. Right now we are doing much more inconsistent and sporadic enforcement than not it seems.

Top British Scientist Says Biofuels Are A Scam, Rainforests at Risk | NewsBusters.org

Top British Scientist Says Biofuels Are A Scam, Rainforests at Risk NewsBusters.org:

"when the full “life cycle” of agro-fuels is considered — from land clearing to
automotive consumption — the moderate emission savings are undone by far greater
emissions from deforestation, burning, peat drainage, cultivation and soil
carbon losses. Every ton of palm oil produced results in 33 tons of carbon
dioxide emissions — 10 times more than petroleum. Clearing tropical forests for
sugarcane ethanol emits 50 percent more greenhouse gases than the production and
use of the same amount of gasoline.
There are other environmental problems
as well. Industrial agro-fuels require large applications of petroleum-based
fertilizers, whose global use has more than doubled the biologically available
nitrogen in the world, contributing heavily to the emission of nitrous oxide, a
greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. To produce a liter of
ethanol takes three to five liters of irrigation water and produces up to 13
liters of waste water. It takes the energy equivalent of 113 liters of natural
gas to treat this waste, increasing the likelihood that it will simply be
released into the environment. Intensive cultivation of fuel crops also leads to
high rates of erosion."

I don't trust the impulse towards ethanol. There are implications that are not being fully discussed.

"DEADLY LESSONS- 24 HOURS IN CHICAGO"

Dan Rather on Anderson Cooper 360

The Gipper At His Best

Huckabee on Big Story Weekend

Fatwa forbids PA Muslims to emigrate | Jerusalem Post

Fatwa forbids PA Muslims to emigrate Jerusalem Post:

"Entitled 'No Permission to Emigrate from Palestine,' the fatwa reads:
'There has been much talk in Palestine about emigration, especially among the
young people, due to the difficult security and economic situation. This is
being done in search of a better life abroad. Many are continuing to rush to the
gates of the embassies and consulates of the Western nations with requests for
visas in order to reside permanently in those countries.
'We hereby declare
that emigration from the blessed lands is not permitted according to religious
law. The people living in these areas must remain in their homes and must not
leave them to conquerors. Those who abide by this ruling will perform an
honorable deed and will support the Aksa Mosque.' "

I got an idea, stop wasting money with corruption, stop spending money on arms to attack Israel, a war you will not win. Stop blaming the rest of the world for the problems of your people. Stop waging this pointless civil war between the factions.

Start creating a place that people do not have to flee from to survive. Start working for peace with Israel, so that economic development can take place. Start acting in the interests of your own people who are dying in large part due to the action and inaction of their government.

Media Matters - Cavuto falsely claimed Edwards "used" Hilton sentence to make "class argument"

Media Matters - Cavuto falsely claimed Edwards "used" Hilton sentence to make "class argument"

Reporter: Senator, you speak all the time about two Americas, can you just tell
us briefly, you know, what you think the message sends that Paris Hilton got out
of jail after three days, when she was originally supposed to spend 45 days in
jail?
Mr. Edwards: Um, I'm gonna stay out of the Paris Hilton story. Although
I saw it seems to be completely dominating the news, I had the television on
just before I came down. Uh, I still do believe, without regard to Paris Hilton,
that, uh, we have two Americas and I think what's important is, it's obvious
that the problem exists.

I heard this comment before and while there seems to be some question about if he is or is not talking about the young Miss Hilton, I think he is. This sounds to me like one of those no-comment, comments, that you say because you don't want someone to hold you to the message you are delivering. If someone had come out and praised him for talking about Paris Hilton, I am sure he would have accepted that praise.

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Blogging the Qur’an: Sura 2, “The Cow,” verses 1-39

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Blogging the Qur’an: Sura 2, “The Cow,” verses 1-39:

"The verse immediately following those letters contains a key Islamic
doctrine: “This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt.” The Qur’an is not
to be questioned or judged by any standard outside itself; rather, it is the
standard by which all other things are to be judged. That, of course, is not
significantly different from the way many other religions regard their Holy
Writ. But there has been no development in Islam of the historical and textual
criticism that have transformed the ways Jews and Christians understand their
scriptures today. The Qur’an is a book never to be doubted, never to be
questioned: when one Islamic scholar, Suliman Bashear, taught his students at
An-Najah National University in Nablus that the Qur’an and Islam were the
products of historical development rather than being delivered in perfect form
to Muhammad, his students threw him out of the window of his classroom. "

I think this is a clear and important difference between the west, and the religions of Christianity and Judaism and Islam. In the west we have developed an attitude of accepting those that hold views that are different than our own, even on things as important as god. The eastern world has not gotten to that point it appears.

Daily Kos: Warrantless Searches, Not Just for Bush Anymore

Daily Kos: Warrantless Searches, Not Just for Bush Anymore:

"DEA agents, seeking to convict a drug trafficker, staged a car accident, then
staged a carjacking, and finally lied to a judge, all in an effort to get a
suspected dealer out of his vehicle long enough for them to conduct a
surreptitious search. "

If this story turns out to be true, this is scary abuse of power.

Crooks and Liars » Colin Powell: Get rid of Gitmo and restore Habeas Corpus

Crooks and Liars » Colin Powell: Get rid of Gitmo and restore Habeas Corpus:

" I watched the disgraced Colin Powell tell Russert that he thinks the US has
lost the moral high ground in dealing with terrorists and we should close
Guantanamo Bay and restore Habeas corpus. "

I think that this is an important point that is over looked in the debate. I think that often our actions, when looked at in the war against terror, help the enemy. While there is cause for some individuals to be held for the long term to assure that they do not continue to attack America, taking the path that the Bush Administration has taken is the path away from our core values. If we are to defend America against people who hate our values, then sacrificing those values is a losing move. As the strongest power in the world right now, we have the obligation to be a leader in our actions, and to set the example for other countries. The torture of prisoners, the secrets around our holding of prisoners in secret jails and the suspension of our values hurt our image globally. The war on terror, is a war of image more than any war that our country has faced, when we lose the trust of the world, it is easier for terrorists to sell their message.

As America what we have to offer the world is the ideas of freedom, and justice. The war on terror isn't going to be fought by setting those aside. We will win the war on terror only if we can be an example for these values that the world can follow.

Lieberman calls for US to attack Iran - AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

Lieberman calls for US to attack Iran - AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth:

"All you moderate Republicans, you still think Lieberman is such a nice
'moderate' guy? He wants to get us into a third war. I'm increasingly wondering
if Lieberman is looking out for Israel's interests rather than America's. And I
say that as someone who has been criticized for being too pro-Israel. And I am
pro-Israel. But I'm pro-America first and foremost."

I think this is scary because if a war with Iran is ever going to be sold to the American people, the White House knows that they can't have Bush or Cheney sell it. In fact there are few on the republican side that can sell it without sounding like a war monger, and those few are likely unwilling. On the other hand no one on the Democratic side of the isle is going to support a war with Iran. The only person the leaves is a person standing in the political gap, Joe Lieberman. His support of the Iraq war gets him backing from right and his history with the Democratic party gives him some backing from the left.

Are we Rome

Better Know a District

Democracy Now Headlines- Friday, June 8, 2007

Lieberman: We may have to bomb Iran

Photos of The Day - 6-9-07