Amazon.com: DVD: The High and the Mighty (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Amazon.com: DVD: The High and the Mighty (Two-Disc Collector's Edition): "There is a lot to be said about calm in the face of the storm, even if no one is saying it any more. "

Amazon.com: DVD: The High and the Mighty (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Amazon.com: DVD: The High and the Mighty (Two-Disc Collector's Edition): "No wonder it hasn't been on TV for 20 years. It took that long to re-wind the tape! "

This guy thinks it is a tedious movie - and way too long.

Pope Laments 'Dying' Churches in West - Yahoo! News

Pope Laments 'Dying' Churches in West - Yahoo! News: "Benedict also touched on another his favorite themes: the state of the church in Europe. He said in contrast to the developing world, where there is a 'springtime of faith,' the West was 'a world that is tired of its own culture, a world that has arrived at a time in which there's no more evidence of the need for God, much less Christ, and in which it seems that man alone can make himself."

As Debt Collectors Multiply, So Do Consumer Complaints

As Debt Collectors Multiply, So Do Consumer Complaints: "The rise of the debt-buying industry has also led to an increase in complaints about attempts to collect what plaintiff attorneys often call 'zombie debt,' those unpaid bills that are so old the statute of limitations in which a creditor can sue to recover the debt has expired.
It's not illegal to try to collect this debt -- and collection industry officials say there are a lot of consumers who want to pay, even if they are no longer legally obligated to. However, federal rules make it illegal to sue or even threaten to sue to collect it.
That's one of the chief reasons the Federal Trade Commission sued CAMCO. In its court filing, the agency, which had received more than 2,000 consumer complaints about CAMCO, called the Rockford, Ill., firm 'a debt collection company gone wild.'
It alleged that CAMCO harassed thousands of consumers to pay old, unenforceable debts or even debts they didn't owe. CAMCO sometimes tried to find people with the same name in the same geographic area and tried to collect the debt from them, the agency alleged. Even if the consumer was not the actual debtor, CAMCO threatened jail, seizure of property or garnishment of wages unless they paid, the FTC said. CAMCO collected millions every year 'and perhaps as much as 80 percent of the money' came from consumers who never owed the original debt, the agency said in its complaint.
CAMCO closed last December after the FTC filed suit. Its $1.75 billion portfolio of consumer receivables was auctioned off for $6.8 million -- to another debt buyer."

Welcome to AnnCoulter.com

Welcome to AnnCoulter.com: "'This guy is a complete S.O.B. of a conservative and you can't prove it.' � P.J. O'Rourke "

Sen. Clinton Calls for Party Truce, United Front

Sen. Clinton Calls for Party Truce, United Front: "In her speech, Clinton accused Republicans of reversing the course established by Democrats in the 1990s. 'They turned our bridge to the 21st century into a tunnel back to the 19th century,' she said. Then, with a time-machine metaphor, she offered an idealized vision of America in 2020 after other, presumably Democratic, policies had been put in place.
That America included a more protected homeland, a better-equipped and trained military, and diplomatic reengagement abroad as well as refocused attention on domestic problems such as health care, the budget deficit and strains on families."

Maureen Dowd - A Woman Who Found a Way to Write - New York Times

Maureen Dowd - A Woman Who Found a Way to Write - New York Times: "Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of The New Republic, eulogized her last week: 'She was venerable without any of the fuss of venerability; worldly, but thoroughly incorruptible; hilarious, but ruthlessly in earnest; unexpected, but magnificently consistent; wicked, but good. She could be skeptical and sentimental in the very same moment. She set things right just by being in the midst of them.'"

USATODAY.com

USATODAY.com: "Favorable ratings of the Republican party fell to 46%, the lowest since Bush was elected president; 52% had a favorable view of the Democratic Party. "

AARP Bulletin: Anxiety Zone

AARP Bulletin: Anxiety Zone: "To Kathy Shaw, any change in employer health benefits is a betrayal. 'This was the retirees' reward for many years of hard work and loyalty to their employers,' she wrote to President Bush and several senators in 2003. 'It was not a gift or an entitlement. It was an earned benefit! It was pay! These benefits should be sacrosanct!' "

Kathy, you got that exactly right. It was pay. And if they don't fork it over, they will indeed pay.

Roberts listed in Federalist Society directory - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

Roberts listed in Federalist Society directory - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com: "WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has said that he has no memory of belonging to the Federalist Society, but his name appears in the influential, conservative legal organization's 1997-1998 leadership directory."

There is very little chance of stopping him. Roe will likely fall under his pen.

Supreme Court captured by American Bishops

American Catholic Bishops threatened John Kerry with losing his ability to receive "communion" from the church. They will also threaten to deny "communion" to Judge John G. Roberts whenever he does not support the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

The left is trapped if they cannot find a way to expose this fact without alienating catholics.

Polanski Wins Vanity Fair Libel Suit - New York Times

Polanski Wins Vanity Fair Libel Suit - New York Times: "Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter said he found it ''outrageous that this story is considered defamatory, given the fact that Mr. Polanski cannot be here because he slept with a 13-year-old girl a quarter of a century ago.''"

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret: "The paragraph identifying her as the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was clearly marked to show that it contained classified material at the 'secret' level, two sources said. The CIA classifies as 'secret' the names of officers whose identities are covert, according to former senior agency officials."

FOXNews.com - Views - To the Victor Goes the Court

FOXNews.com - Views - To the Victor Goes the Court: "This brings us to the 2000 election. Some liberals opposed Al Gore and voted for Ralph Nader as a protest. Nader pulled in enough votes in key states like Florida to hand the election to George W. Bush. Once again, elections have consequences, and President Bush will have the opportunity to name Supreme Court justices who oppose all that many of those Naderites hold dear."

GOP tries to dissuade Harris�-�Nation/Politics�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

GOP tries to dissuade Harris�-�Nation/Politics�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "Polls show Mrs. Harris, who is popular with the state's conservatives, would be the clear front-runner in a party primary contest, but they also show she runs particularly poorly among independents and draws virtually no support among Democrats. A Quinnipiac University poll last month showed Mr. Nelson leading her in a head-to-head matchup 50 percent to 38 percent. "

USATODAY.com

USATODAY.com: "�We continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled.�
� John Roberts in a Supreme Court brief he co-wrote in 1991 for the first Bush administration, while he was principal deputy solicitor general
�The statement in the brief was my position as an advocate for a client.�
� Roberts, explaining the brief during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to a federal appeals court in 2003
�Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land. It's a little more than settled. It was reaffirmed in the face of a challenge that it should be overruled. � There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent.�
� Roberts, during the Senate confirmation hearing, when asked for his own views on Roe v. Wade
�I don't think it's appropriate for me to criticize it as judicial activism. � My definition of judicial activism is when the court departs from applying the rule of law and undertakes legislative or executive decisions.�
� Roberts, during the confirmation hearing, on whether Roe v. Wade was judicial activism"

Coulter Cuts Another One

SOUTER IN ROBERTS CLOTHING by Ann Coulter
July 20, 2005

After pretending to consider various women and minorities for the Supreme Court these past few weeks, President Bush decided to disappoint all the groups he had just ginned up and nominate a white male.

So all we know about him for sure is that he can't dance and he probably doesn't know who Jay-Z is. Other than that, he is a blank slate. Tabula rasa. Big zippo. Nada. Oh, yeah...we also know he's argued cases before the supreme court. big deal; so has Larry Flynt's attorney.

But unfortunately, other than that that, we don’t know much about John Roberts. Stealth nominees have never turned out to be a pleasant surprise for conservatives. Never. Not ever.

Since the announcement, court-watchers have been like the old Kremlinologists from Soviet days looking for clues as to what kind of justice Roberts will be. Will he let us vote?

Does he live in a small, rough-hewn cabin in the woods of New Hampshire and avoid "women folk"?

Does he trust democracy? Or will he make all the important decisions for us and call them “constitutional rights.”

It means absolutely nothing that NARAL and Planned Parenthood attack him: They also attacked Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Hackett Souter.

The only way a supreme court nominee could win the approval of NARAL and Planned Parenthood would be to actually perform an abortion during his confirmation hearing, live, on camera, and preferably a partial birth one.

It means nothing that Roberts wrote briefs arguing for the repeal of Roe v. Wade when he worked for Republican administrations. He was arguing on behalf of his client, the United States of America. Roberts has specifically disassociated himself from those cases, dropping a footnote to a 1994 law review article that said:

“In the interest of full disclosure, the author would like to point out that as Deputy Solicitor General for a portion of the 1992-93 Term, he was involved in many of the cases discussed below. In the interest of even fuller disclosure, he would also like to point out that his views as a commentator on those cases do not necessarily reflect his views as an advocate for his former client, the United States.”

This would have been the legal equivalent, after O.J.'s acquittal, of Johnnie Cochran saying, "hey, I never said the guy was innocent. I was just doing my job."

And it makes no difference that conservatives in the White House are assuring us Roberts can be trusted. We got the exact same assurances from officials working for the last president Bush about David Hackett Souter.

I believe their exact words were, "Read our lips; Souter's a reliable conservative."

From the theater of the absurd category, the Republican National Committee’s “talking points” on Roberts provide this little tidbit:

“In the 1995 case of Barry v. Little, Judge Roberts argued—free of charge—before the D.C. Court of Appeals on behalf of a class of the neediest welfare recipients, challenging a termination of benefits under the District’s Public Assistance Act of 1982.”

I'm glad to hear the man has a steady work record, but how did this make it to the top of his resume?

Bill Clinton goes around bragging that he passed welfare reform, which was, admittedly, the one public policy success of his entire administration (passed by the Republican Congress). But now apparently Republicans want to pretend the Party of welfare queens! Soon the RNC will be boasting that Republicans want to raise your taxes and surrender in the war on terrorism too.

Finally, lets ponder the fact that Roberts has gone through 50 years on this planet without ever saying anything controversial. That’s just unnatural.

By contrast, I held out for three months, tops, before dropping my first rhetorical bombshell, which I think was about Goldwater.

It’s especially unnatural for someone who is smart and there’s no question but that Roberts is smart.

If a smart and accomplished person goes this long without expressing an opinion, they'd better be pursuing the Miss America title.

Apparently, Roberts decided early on that he wanted to be on the Supreme Court and that the way to do that was not to express a personal opinion on anything to anybody ever. It’s as if he is from some space alien sleeper cell. Maybe the space aliens are trying to help us, but I wish we knew that.

If the Senate were in Democrat hands, Roberts would be perfect. But why on earth would Bush waste a nomination on a person who is a complete blank slate when we have a majority in the Senate!

We also have a majority in the House, state legislatures, state governorships, and have won five of the last seven presidential elections — seven of the last ten!

We're the Harlem Globetrotters now - why do we have to play the Washington Generals every week?

Conservatism is sweeping the nation, we have a fully functioning alternative media, we’re ticked off and ready to avenge Robert Bork . . . and Bush nominates a Rorschach blot.

Even as they are losing voters, Democrats don’t hesitate to nominate reliable left-wing lunatics like Ruth Bader Ginsberg to lifetime sinecures on the High Court. And the vast majority of Americans loathe her views.

As I’ve said before, if a majority of Americans agreed with liberals on abortion, gay marriage, pornography, criminals’ rights, and property rights –liberals wouldn’t need the Supreme Court to give them everything they want through invented “constitutional” rights invisible to everyone but People For the American Way. It’s always good to remind voters that Democrats are the party of abortion, sodomy, and atheism and nothing presents an opportunity to do so like a Supreme Court nomination.

During the “filibuster” fracas, one lonely voice in the woods admonished Republicans: “Of your six minutes on TV, use 30 seconds to point out the Democrats are abusing the filibuster and the other 5 1/2 minutes to ask liberals to explain why they think Bush's judicial nominees are ‘extreme.’" Republicans ignored this advice, spent the next several weeks arguing about the history of the filibuster, and lost the fight.

Now we come to find out from last Sunday’s New York Times — the enemy’s own playbook! — that the Democrats actually took polls and determined that they could not defeat Bush’s conservative judicial nominees on ideological grounds. They could win majority support only if they argued turgid procedural points.

That’s why the entire nation had to be bored to death with arguments about the filibuster earlier this year.

The Democrats’ own polls showed voters are no longer fooled by claims that the Democrats are trying to block “judges who would roll back civil rights.” Borking is over.

And Bush responds by nominating a candidate who will allow Democrats to avoid fighting on their weakest ground – substance. He has given us a Supreme Court nomination that will placate no liberals and should please no conservatives.

Maybe Roberts will contravene the sordid history of “stealth nominees” and be the Scalia or Thomas Bush promised us when he was asking for our votes. Or maybe he won’t. The Supreme Court shouldn't be a game of Russian roulette.

News

News: "'You've just had 80 years of Western intervention into predominantly Arab lands because of a Western need for oil. We've propped up unsavoury governments, we've overthrown ones that we didn't consider sympathetic,' Livingstone said.


'I think the particular problem we have at the moment is that in the 1980s ... the Americans recruited and trained Osama bin Laden, taught him how to kill, to make bombs, and set him off to kill the Russians to drive them out of Afghanistan.


'They didn't give any thought to the fact that once he'd done that, he might turn on his creators,' he told BBC radio. "

GOP Senator in Democrats' Cross Hairs - Yahoo! News

GOP Senator in Democrats' Cross Hairs - Yahoo! News: "Santorum finds fault with two-income families, cohabitation before marriage and working women, who have chosen not to stay home with their children, he contends, 'because of the influence of radical feminism, one of the core philosophies of the village elders.' "

GOP Senator in Democrats' Cross Hairs - Yahoo! News

GOP Senator in Democrats' Cross Hairs - Yahoo! News: "After losing the fight this year to prevent the withdrawal of nutrition and hydration from Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman who doctors said was in a persistent vegetative state, Santorum concluded that she had been 'executed' when she died March 31. "

WORLD VIEWS: London bombing fallout: is Blair to blame?; don't blame all Muslims; how is a British Muslim extremist made?; and more

WORLD VIEWS: London bombing fallout: is Blair to blame?; don't blame all Muslims; how is a British Muslim extremist made?; and more: "Azzam Tamimi, a representative of the Muslim Association of Britain, told listeners 'that the Muslim community would not suffer in silence for the crimes of the suicide bombers.' He said, 'We will continue to talk ... and we will continue to challenge the government. I say to Muslims, do not bow to pressure to keep accepting those pointing fingers at you.'
Tamimi mixed advice to fellow U.K. Muslims with an admonishment of Blair's government. He told the crowd: 'Say, 'No, I'm not responsible for what happened on July 7. My heart bleeds, I condemn it, yes, but I did not make those boys angry. I did not send those bombs to Iraq. I do not keep people locked in Guant�namo Bay and I do not have anything to do with Abu Ghraib, except to denounce it.' Politicians, see what you have done to this world?'"

Rove at War - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com

Rove at War - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com: "Rove did his share�stealing campaign stationery and inviting the world to a Democratic beer bash was one�but the CRs were important to him for other reasons. They gave him a sense of order and belonging, which he may well have needed. His dad walked out in 1969; in 1970, he learned that he and a brother had been fathered by someone other than the man he had called Dad. (Eleven years later, his mother committed suicide.)"

How much does Google know about you? - Consumer Security - MSNBC.com

How much does Google know about you? - Consumer Security - MSNBC.com: "�Google is becoming one of the largest privacy risks on the Internet.�"

Bush says he will fire anyone who breaks law - Politics - MSNBC.com

Bush says he will fire anyone who breaks law - Politics - MSNBC.com: "Bush said in June 2004 that he would fire anyone in his administration shown to have leaked information that exposed the identity of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. On Monday, however, he added the qualifier that it would have to be shown that a crime was committed. "

Unborn babies carry pollutants, study finds - Yahoo! News

Unborn babies carry pollutants, study finds - Yahoo! News: "The report by the Environmental Working Group is based on tests of 10 samples of umbilical-cord blood taken by the American Red Cross. They found an average of 287 contaminants in the blood, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and the Teflon chemical PFOA.
'These 10 newborn babies ... were born polluted,' said New York Rep. Louise Slaughter, who spoke a news conference about the findings on Thursday."

Gov. to Be Paid $8 Million by Fitness Magazines - Yahoo! News

Gov. to Be Paid $8 Million by Fitness Magazines - Yahoo! News: "The governor used his regular column in the June issue of Muscle & Fitness to defend the supplement industry. He vowed to oppose any effort to restrict sales of the products in California, writing that he is 'so energized to fight any attempt to limit the availability of nutritional supplements.' "

JAY SEVERIN: "KILL [U.S. MUSLIMS]" | The Al Franken Show | Air America Radio

JAY SEVERIN: "KILL [U.S. MUSLIMS]" | The Al Franken Show | Air America Radio: "I believe that Muslims in this country are a fifth column. . . . The vast majority of Muslims in this country are very obviously loyal, not to the United States, but to their religion. And I'm worried that when the time comes for them to stand up and be counted, the reason they are here is to take over our culture and eventually take over our country.'
My suspicion is that the majority of Muslims in the United States, who regard themselves as Muslims first and not as Americans really at all, see an American map one day where this is the United States of Islam, not the United States of America. I think it pays to harbor those suspicions.'"

This pud also believes that having a woman as a shuttle commander is bogus. He says that the commander should be the very best possible commander in the country, not just a seat that is assigned to the special interest political darlin' of the moment - like women. So, let's all give a big boy-howdy to Jay and gather 'round the tree and ring that little bell so he can get his wings.

Psychedelic San Francisco of the Late Sixties

San Francisco: "This was the edge of the world, and we were waiting for nothing and toking heartily, the dope box handy and bowls of golden green passing before us like collection plates sent up from an earthly Church of the Holy Shit. "

Newsday.com: A formula for unchecked power

Newsday.com: A formula for unchecked power: "The government is bigger and stronger than ever. The media are fragmented. It's a perfect formula for the government's divide-and-conquer strategy. So the state can curl its fist anytime it wishes, confident it can smash any single one of us, one by one by one."

Kennedy Rebukes Santorum for Comments

Kennedy Rebukes Santorum for Comments: "Based on statistics publicly reported by many of the country's 195 dioceses, the Boston-based lay activist group BishopAccountability.org has calculated that the highest percentage of abusive priests from 1950 to 2003 was in the diocese of Covington, Ky. Boston was among the 10 worst dioceses, but several other cities commonly regarded as liberal culturally and politically had relatively low rates of abuse. Just 1.6 percent of San Francisco's priests have been accused of abuse, for example, compared to more than 4 percent nationwide."

USATODAY.com

USATODAY.com: "But the 1973 decision consistently has been backed by about six in 10 Americans since Gallup began asking a question about it 16 years ago. While most Americans endorse such restrictions as requiring parental consent for minors, support for the decision is now at the highest level ever.
General attitudes toward abortion rights measured by Gallup are about the same now as they were 30 years ago. In 1975, 21% said abortion should always be legal; 54% said it should be legal under certain circumstances; 22% said it should always be illegal. Last month, the responses were 24%, 55% and 20%."

USATODAY.com

USATODAY.com: "The latest USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll, taken July 7-10, showed overwhelming support for putting another woman on the court. Three of four favored appointing a woman to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the high court.
Two-thirds of those surveyed liked the idea of naming the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court, too.
And an equal number didn't want Roe v. Wade, the decision legalizing abortion nationwide, overturned by the court."

FOXNews.com - Views - CATO - The Era of Jackbooted Nags

FOXNews.com - Views - CATO - The Era of Jackbooted Nags: "In a 2003 sting operation, Fairfax, Va., police officers entered 20 bars, administered breathalyzer tests, and arrested nine patrons for intoxication. Fairfax police Chief J. Thomas Manger declaimed: 'Public intoxication is against the law. You can't be drunk in a bar.'"

George Bush Nancy Reagan Alexander Haig Kitty Kelly Spy Magazine Silent Coup Ronald Reagan adultery drunk driving

George Bush Nancy Reagan Alexander Haig Kitty Kelly Spy Magazine Silent Coup Ronald Reagan adultery drunk driving: "'To certain friends, Nancy had peddled the story of 'George and his girlfriend' that had been told to her about the evening of March 18, 1981, when some of 'the group' were having dinner at Lion d'Or in Washington, D.C. 'Suddenly there was a great commotion,' recalled one of the five dinner guests, 'as the security men accompanying the Secretary of State [Alexander Haig] and the Attorney General [Willian French Smith] converged on our table. They started jabbering into their walkie-talkies, and then whispered to Haig and Smith, who both jumped up and left the restaurant. The two men returned about forty-five minutes later, laughing their heads off. They said they had had to bail out George Bush, who'd been in a traffic accident with his girlfriend. Bush had not wanted the incident to appear on the police blotter, so he had his security men contact Haig and Smith. They took care of things for him, and then came back to dinner.'"

ABC News: Ohio Paper Holding 2 Investigative Stories

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Out of Practice, Senate Crams for Battle Over Court Nominee - New York Times

Out of Practice, Senate Crams for Battle Over Court Nominee - New York Times: "'Not on our watch,' Mr. Jensen declared, vowing to prevent leaks of the sort that doomed the Supreme Court confirmation of Douglas H. Ginsburg, who withdrew from consideration in 1987 when it was revealed that he had smoked marijuana"

If you see my wife, please tell her she's wrong

If you see my wife, please tell her she's wrong: "If you see my wife, please tell her she's wrong "

RE: * * * * * * * * * F U C K * F E M I N I S M * * * * * * * * * *

RE: * * * * * * * * * F U C K * F E M I N I S M * * * * * * * * * *: " would like to propose some more options before another woman racks up thousands of dollars of school loans that she'll never be able to pay off:

Option Number One: Abolish all single-sex education. Colleges used to be for guys only, and boy did that change. The rest of the women have to learn to compete.

Option Number Two: Or, offer a women's college with no programs whatsoever in psychology, sociology, or women's studies.

Option Number Three: Require courses in How To Get Over Yourself, or maybe in business. That way, once a woman years later decides to perhaps open her own record label, someone will have warned her about how the world works, and then she won't have to write more songs about it.

Option Number Four: for all other schools: More sex education. Students are happier when they are getting laid and not getting diseases or pregnant. "

Hume's "first thought" on hearing of London att ... [Media Matters for America]

Hume's "first thought" on hearing of London att ... [Media Matters for America]: "I mean, my first thought when I heard -- just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, 'Hmmm, time to buy.' " - Brit Hume

Geez, what a moral leper.

CNN.com - The 50-year-old song that started it all - Jul 7, 2005

CNN.com - The 50-year-old song that started it all - Jul 7, 2005: "Elvis was handsome. Elvis was charismatic. Elvis was dangerous. Elvis could sing 'all kinds,' as he himself once said. And, as he also said, 'I don't sound like nobody.' When a major, RCA, bought him from the independent Sun for $35,000, all bets were off.
'I think the miracle of Elvis wasn't just that he was telegenic,' says Phinney. 'It's that all of the music melted together in his mind. He was a man able to articulate what people wanted and reached for. ... It was all about tension and release.'"

N.Y. Times Reporter Jailed Over Source

N.Y. Times Reporter Jailed Over Source: "'I do not view myself as above the law,' Miller told Hogan. 'You are right to send me to prison.'
But she said she had an obligation to protect a confidential source: 'I do not make confidentiality pledges lightly, but when I do I must honor them.'"

Welcome to AnnCoulter.com

Welcome to AnnCoulter.com: "For all the blather about O'Connor's moderation and pragmatism and motherly instincts, Mommie Dearest signed on to the most monstrous opinion in the history of the court, Stenberg v. Carhart, which proclaimed a heretofore unnoticed constitutional right to puncture the skull of a half-delivered baby and suction its brains out � just as the framers so clearly intended.

In her 2003 memoir, Miss Pragmatic-Consensus wrote, 'Humility is the most difficult virtue,' which perhaps explains why she never attempted it. "

New York's Freedom Tower fails to live up to its lofty name

New York's Freedom Tower fails to live up to its lofty name: "'Never in my most pessimistic imaginings could I have anticipated what we are now being shown: a beautiful tower rising above a solid concrete base with no windows,' wrote Jeff Speck, design director at the National Endowment for the Arts, in an open letter that he stresses is not an official position of the agency.
Bemoaning 'how far from reason the security mandate has taken us,' Speck asked 'what it says about our nation to produce a 'Freedom Tower' hiding behind 20 stories of solid concrete. Better to build nothing than such an alienating monument to surrender.' "

New York Times Reporter Is Jailed for Keeping Source Secret - New York Times

New York Times Reporter Is Jailed for Keeping Source Secret - New York Times: "'If journalists cannot be trusted to guarantee confidentiality, then journalists cannot function and there cannot be a free press,' she read from a statement as she stood before Judge Hogan. 'The right of civil disobedience is based on personal conscience, it is fundamental to our system and it is honored throughout our history,' she said before court officers led her away, looking shaken."

She is absolutely correct and I am in awe of her courage. She is a hero and her Judge and prosecutor are very small men indeed.

AmIAnnoying.com

AmIAnnoying.com: "'I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.'"

Hunter Thompson read the manual, then re-wrote it.

AmIAnnoying.com

AmIAnnoying.com: "John Lennon said of him: 'If you were going to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.'"

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Missionary man

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Missionary man: "'I am aware that a small cadre of anti-religious extremists are trying to generate hostility against Scientology by disseminating lies about it,' Parkin wrote in response to questions about the OT teachings and church policy. 'This little group of insignificant people are the only ones in the world who are obsessed with extracting and altering out of context bits of esoteric data about Scientology and using it to create prejudice against Scientology through reporters such as yourself who buy into their agenda.' "

hmmm... sounds real familiar to me. Sounds like the Mel Lyman cult all over again, complete with Kim Kweskin and some brown-shirt toughies:

"Gude (with mock toughness): Yeah, we're going to tie you up in the chair and beat you till you understand. We might dangle you out the window by one leg. Perhaps knuckle you around the room a little bit. (Everyone laughs.)
Kweskin: Are you scared of us?
Reporter: No.
Kweskin: In any way whatsoever?
Reporter: No.
Kweskin: Why not?
Reporter: (aside to Gude who now stands directly behind the Reporter, gloating down on him): I've heard some stories about you.
Gude: I have quick hands. (More laughter.)
Kweskin: Why not?
Reporter: I believe you respect the truth. Don't you?
Kweskin: I'm not sure you can tell the truth."

HoustonChronicle.com - Houston swimmer's rescuer ends up in jail

HoustonChronicle.com - Houston swimmer's rescuer ends up in jail: "SAN MARCOS - A San Marcos man was arrested after rescuing a swimmer from the swirling waters near a restaurant on the San Marcos River over the weekend."

Just another reminder of the greatness of Texas.

Bush Cool to Blair on Climate

Bush Cool to Blair on Climate: "'You know, look, there was a debate of Kyoto, and I made the decision � as did a lot of other people in this country, by the way � that the Kyoto treaty didn't suit our needs. In other words, the Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt.'

Bush denied, though, that he was putting U.S. economic interests above the interests of the planet."

Pity this blushing bride-to-be

Pity this blushing bride-to-be: "Yes, according to Scientology doctrine, a galactic ruler named Xenu brought billions of people to Earth 75 million years ago, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together and stuck to the bodies of the living.
If I were Mrs. Holmes, I would also be pained by the fact that Cruise has hired a full-time Scientology assistant to go everywhere with Holmes, even sitting in on her interviews. It's no surprise that someone came up with a 'Free Katie' Web site and line of merchandise (freekatie.net). I would be its biggest salesperson.
And as far as the wedding goes? A Scientology wedding is like no other. The New York Post managed to unearth some language that will probably be used: 'Rejoice you line of struggling life from eons gone, for here again, your track is sped and winged into a future fate by this, the union of a man and woman, crossing this bridge, whose child shall pace a future span.' "

Operation Clambake present: What judges say about Scientology

Operation Clambake present: What judges say about Scientology: "Justice Latey, ruling in the High Court of London:
'Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious...It is corrupt sinister and dangerous. It is corrupt because it is based on lies and deceit and has its real objective money and power for Mr. Hubbard... It is sinister because it indulges in infamous practices both to its adherents who do not toe the line unquestionably and to those who criticize it or oppose it. It is dangerous because it is out to capture people and to indoctrinate and brainwash them so they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living, and relationships with others.' "

Yeah, but it beats trying to think for yourself!

The Huffington Post | The Blog

The Huffington Post | The Blog: "Lawrence O'Donnell
Rove Blew CIA Agent's Cover
I revealed in yesterday's taping of the McLaughlin Group that Time magazine's emails will reveal that Karl Rove was Matt Cooper's source. I have known this for months but didn't want to say it at a time that would risk me getting dragged into the grand jury.
McLaughlin is seen in some markets on Friday night, so some websites have picked it up, including Drudge, but I don't expect it to have much impact because McLaughlin is not considered a news show and it will be pre-empted in the big markets on Sunday because of tennis.
Since I revealed the big scoop, I have had it reconfirmed by yet another highly authoritative source. Too many people know this. It should break wide open this week. I know Newsweek is working on an 'It's Rove!' story and will probably break it tomorrow."

Ebbers Set to Shed His Assets - New York Times

Ebbers Set to Shed His Assets - New York Times: "Mr. Ebbers is not the first former telecommunications chief to dig into his own pocket to cover investors' losses. Gary Winnick, the founder of Global Crossing, paid $30 million of his own money to settle with investors and former workers who lost money and their pensions when that company collapsed in 2002. But that $30 million was a fraction of the $734 million that Mr. Winnick reaped by selling shares in Global Crossing before it failed. "

How awful is that? The man has fucked the system and left semen all over the truth. Shame on the law that lets that happen.

Schizophrenia Daily News Blog: Tom Cruise and Psychiatry

Schizophrenia Daily News Blog: Tom Cruise and Psychiatry: "Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), a psychologist and...co-chair of the caucus, took issue with Cruise�s apparent belief that attitude adjustment alone can overcome mental illness.�If this was the case, mental illnesses would have been cured during the time of the Salem witch trials,� Murphy remarked."

Excellent and appropraite comment.

Top Editor at Time Inc. Made a Difficult Decision His Own - New York Times

Top Editor at Time Inc. Made a Difficult Decision His Own - New York Times: "'The journalist and the lawyer were fighting in my head,' he said. 'But if presidents are not above the law, how is it that journalists are?'"