Giuliani: Illegal Immigration is Not a Crime - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime

Giuliani: Illegal Immigration is Not a Crime - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime:

"Rudy's right, it's a civil offense, not a criminal violation, to be in this
country without proper documentation. Many of the persons the right blasts as
being illegal entered this country legally and then overstayed their visas.
Their initial entry was lawful. Staying past the expiration date on their visa
is not a crime."

He may or may not be correct, and it is true that a lot of undocumented migrants are here with expired documents. Building a fence isn't going to help solve that problem. This is not going to help Rudy with voters on the right, that don't seem to thrilled by him as it is.

For the 2008 RNC, riots in Minneapolis? | Redstate

For the 2008 RNC, riots in Minneapolis? Redstate:

"Get ready for the riots! When the GOP convenes in Minneapolis-St. Paul next
summer, the lefties promise to be there. Katherine Kersten of the Minneapolis
Star Tribune has a look at the situation over at RealClearPolitics, and it is a
cross between 'it isn't pretty' and 'it's pretty pathetic.'"

Why are they having the Republican Convention in such a solidly blue state, I guess the same thing was asked about the convention being held in New York in 2004. It was clear that was done because of Sept. 11th though.

Right Wing Watch: Anyone? Anyone? Hitler?

Right Wing Watch: Anyone? Anyone? Hitler?:

"Ben Stein, the Nixon speechwriter immortalized by his acting role as a boring
schoolteacher in the 1986 movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” is returning to
movie academia in a documentary about “Intelligent Design” creationism.
“Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” sets out to expose what Stein calls
“widespread suppression and entrenched discrimination that is spreading in our
institutions, laboratories and most importantly, in our classrooms” in the form
of the general rejection of ID—an outgrowth of creation science based on the
premise that life is so complex it must have been created by God directly rather
than through an evolutionary process—as a valid scientific theory. "

Science is build on a foundation of scepticism. You don't test to show that something is right, you test to show that something is wrong. If you fail to show that it is wrong, you don't say it is right, you say that it has not been show to be false. Over time a theory develops when all experiments fail to show that what has been tested is not false. Science has been wrong in the past, and it has changed its views because of further testing that was done on previously accepted theories.

Faith on the other hand is something that you accept without proof. You don't look for reasons not to believe in your faith, you look for reasons that you should. Faith is something that is based on a concepts for which there is no evidence. Science does not always have the evidence for its claims, but it is always searching for evidence. Faith tells you not to question, not to see evidence of god and god's works.

Gates of Vienna: Muslims Are Pleased With Sweden

Gates of Vienna: Muslims Are Pleased With Sweden:

"“We have had a very good dialogue,” said Reinfeldt, who has been reaching
out to Muslim groups in Sweden and abroad to avoid a repeat of last year’s mass
protests in Muslim countries over Danish newspaper cartoons of the prophet. He
noted that there was a mutual understanding of the need to “dampen” reactions to
the cartoon. Reinfeldt also said he had explained to the ambassadors that in
Sweden a prime minister cannot punish a newspaper for what it decides to publish
— whether he agrees with it or not."

Could this be the beginning of actual understanding between the east and west. Free speech is something that we have held in the west for such a long time that we take it for granted. We forget that it isn't all that easy for people from other places to understand the concept. If this creates and understanding of among Muslim leaders, it could be the beginning of diaologue.

Daily Kos: Justice Department Argues for Internet Discrimination

Daily Kos: Justice Department Argues for Internet Discrimination:

"Given the politicization of every other division in the Justice
Department, it's hard to imagine that the anti-trust group hasn't also been
turned over to Gonzo's crowd of Bush lackeys, in which case they are probably
looking at Net Neutrality with a highly political and jaundiced eye. Tin-foil
hats aside, this is an ominous development in the debate, and should raise alarm
bells for all of us who use the Internet for political purposes. While our
presidential candidates are considering issuing strong statements in opposition
to any more funding for Bush's war without deadlines, they might also think
about making a statement in support of Net Neutrality."

This is one of those issues that doesn't sound nearly as interesting as it could be. On the other hand it could turn out to be a mute point. At the center of the debate is internet traffic and the way that people use the internet. Both sides of the argument assume that sites that load faster will receive more traffic, because internet consumers will visit sites that load faster. If content is the key to what people view on the internet, than the argument falls apart for both sides. Those against it claim that networks like ATT and Verizon will act in a role of censoring information by making sites that they don't want people to view load slower. Those that support allowing charging a fee for some traffic, suggest that it is simply a way for them to raise money, and that they have no plans to block traffic. If you picture a freeway, the networks want to create a carpool lane, that it can charge sites to use so that its traffic moves faster than the flow of traffic on the rest of the highway.

My hope is that soon enough we will catch up with Japan and Europe in terms of internet speed, and this will become less of an issue.

Countdown: Worst Person Sept. 7, 2007

Neil Cavuto Can't Decide What to do With Osama Bin Laden

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HARDBALL DEBATE: WHO LOST OSAMA BIN LADEN?

Hannity Compares Democrats To Osama Bin Laden

Crooks and Liars » Audio of Craig’s phone message. Is he finally out?

Crooks and Liars » Audio of Craig’s phone message. Is he finally out?:

"The Republican senators expressed relief Thursday that embattled Sen. Larry
Craig has signaled he is highly likely to surrender his seat within a few weeks
rather than fight to complete his term. Craig’s departure, perhaps as early as
Oct. 1, would enable Republicans to sidestep one of the several ethics dilemmas
they face, and avoid the embarrassment of dealing with a colleague who had been
stripped of his committee leadership posts and urged to resign by party
leaders."

So he is leaving?