November 2004 Archives

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

A hospital in the Netherlands — the first nation to permit euthanasia — recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives.

The announcement by the Groningen Academic Hospital came amid a growing discussion in Holland on whether to legalize euthanasia on people incapable of deciding for themselves whether they want to end their lives ...

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Reuters:x-men legends cd crack

Republicans who want to slow immigration to the United States and crack down on illegal immigrants believe they are gaining political strength and public backing, which may pose a problem next year for President Bush.

Bush has already signaled his intention to push a major proposal to allow some of the estimated 8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants in the country to gain legal work visas for up to six years as part of a "guest worker" program.

But he may face growing anti-immigrant sentiment, not only his own party but in the country at large, several opponents claimed.

Mr. Bush is wrong to support de facto amnesty for illegals, which is not only bad public policy but also bad politics for the GOP. Happily, he's about to get called out on it.x-men legends cd crack

Democrats are having a hard time accepting it.x-men legends cd crack

If a lender fails to make full disclosure to a consumer who secures a loan with an automobile or other personal property, federal law permits the recovery of no more than $1,000 in damages, the U.S. Supreme Court said today.x-men legends cd crack

But that's not what I found interesting about the opinion in Koons Buick Pontiac v. Nigh. What's interesting is the extensive discussion of methods of statutory construction. Specifically, what should the courts do when, as here, Congress is apparently guilty of a so-called "scrivener's error," i.e. a technical mistake in writing that, if taken literally, produces an unintended or even absurd result?x-men legends cd crack

The vote in this case was 8-1, with Justice Antonin Scalia the lone dissenter. Justice Scalia is often thought of as a strict constructionist, and he is. But that label is also a little misleading. For Justice Scalia is a particular type of strict constructionist; he's a textualist. He believes we are governed not by what Congress intended to say but by what it actually said. To him, the presumed intent of the law is neither here nor there; the exact language of the law is what matters.x-men legends cd crack

In his dissent, Justice Scalia explains why the courts ought to rely on the text of the law as written and not on indices of congressional intent (e.g., legislative history) when construing a statute:x-men legends cd crack

I have often criticized the Court’s use of legislative history because it lends itself to a kind of ventriloquism. The Congressional Record or committee reports are used to make words appear to come from Congress’s mouth which were spoken or written by others (individual Members of Congress, congressional aides, or even enterprising lobbyists). The Canon of Canine Silence that the Court invokes today introduces a reverse -- and at least equally dangerous -- phenomenon, under which courts may refuse to believe Congress’s own words unless they can see the lips of others moving in unison.

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The Court should not fight the current structure of the statute merely to vindicate the suspicion that Congress actually made -- but neglected to explain clearly -- a different policy decision. As the Court noted earlier this year: “If Congress enacted into law something different from what it intended, then it should amend the statute to conform it to its intent. It is beyond our province to rescue Congress from its drafting errors, and to provide for what we might think is the preferred result.”

Even when you disagree with him -- I think the Court's correction of a scrivener's error is harmless enough -- he still gives you something to think about.x-men legends cd crack

Fueled by consumer spending, the economy grew last quarter at an annual rate of almost 4%.x-men legends cd crack

The Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the measure of all goods and services produced within U.S. borders, grew at a 3.9 percent annual pace in the July-September quarter, up from 3.7 percent estimated a month ago.

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The gain marked the sixth successive quarter GDP has expanded at a rate exceeding 3 percent, implying healthy and sustainable growth.

The Solomon Amendment, 10 U.S.C. § 983, requires the U.S. Department of Defense to withhold funds from colleges and universities that deny military recruiters access to their campuses.x-men legends cd crack

But today, having concluded that the "Solomon Amendment requires law schools to express a message that is incompatible with their educational objectives," the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit reversed the ruling of a lower court judge and ordered him to enter a preliminary injunction against the law's enforcement.x-men legends cd crack

A group of law schools that bar military recruiters from campus to protest the Government's exclusion of open homosexuals from the armed forces (see 10 U.S.C. § 654) brought suit in federal district court seeking relief from enforcement of the Solomon Amendment. The district judge had denied the request for injunction.x-men legends cd crack

The opinion of a divided panel of the 3rd Circuit is here.x-men legends cd crack

From the New York Times:x-men legends cd crack

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, found that educational institutions have a First Amendment right to keep military recruiters off their campuses to protest the Defense Department policy of excluding gays from military service.

The 2-to-1 decision relied in large part on a decision in 2000 by the United States Supreme Court to allow the Boy Scouts to exclude gay scoutmasters. Just as the Scouts have a First Amendment right to bar gays, the appeals court said, law schools may prohibit groups that they consider discriminatory.

The court's opinion, including the dissent, is 102 pages in length and I have not yet read it all. But at first blush, I believe its decision is in error. The withholding of funds cannot constitute an infrigement of the First Amendment unless the Amendment is read to require the funding of speech, something it has never been understood to mandate. x-men legends cd crack

Moreover, this case is not analogous to the Boy Scouts' case. In Boy Scouts v. Dale (2000), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a New Jersey public accomodation law requiring the Scouts to accept a gay scoutmaster was violative of the right to expressive association as protected by the First Amendment. In other words, the Scouts could not be told with whom they must associate. x-men legends cd crack

But the Solomon Amendment doesn't prohibit the law schools from barring military recruiters; the schools remain at liberty to exercise their associational freedom. Rather, the law merely stipulates a condition of federal funding.x-men legends cd crack

I'll read the rest of the court's opinion, but I'm pretty sure it's wrong and should be reversed if the Supreme Court accepts the case on appeal.x-men legends cd crack

"More and more people are coming forward and saying, 'I'm sick of this.' They don't want this anymore."

A Democrat in New York gets it. And he's not alone. Alas, the president doesn't get it, and Republicans should worry.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to Michelle Malkin.)x-men legends cd crack

The redoubtable George F. Will makes the case for allowing Senate Democrats to obstruct confirmation of Mr. Bush's judicial nominees. In arguing against a change to the Senate rules to prevent the filibustering of judicial appointments -- the so-called "nuclear option" -- Mr. Will writes:x-men legends cd crack

"And someone should puncture Republicans' current triumphalism by reminding them that someday they will again be in the minority."

True, of course, but not convincing. When next a Democrat sits in the White House and his party holds a majority of the seats in the U.S. Senate, shouldn't he too get an up or down vote on his nominees?x-men legends cd crack

We are, still and yet, a democracy where elections have consequences. The obstructionism, from both sides of the aisle, should end.x-men legends cd crack

The U.S. Supreme Court, with Chief Justice William Rehnquist again absent, today heard oral argument in Ashcroft v. Raich. The case presents the question whether Congress has the power under the Commerce Clause to prohibit the state-authorized possession of homegrown marijuana for medicinal use.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

California's law allows people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation. Besides California, other states with such laws are: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

Whatever the Court decides, the law in these eleven states will still be valid. But a victory by the Government would put citizens who grow or possess medical marijuana at risk of federal prosecution or of having their marijuana seized by federal authorities.x-men legends cd crack

Larry Solum of Legal Theory Blog was in court today for oral argument and posts this detailed and informative entry.x-men legends cd crack

They haven't written anything yet, but Gary Becker and Richard Posner are going to blog.x-men legends cd crack

Who, you may ask, are Gary Becker and Richard Posner?

Dr. Becker is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and the winner of a Nobel Prize in economic sciences.

Richard Posner is senior lecturer in law at the University of Chicago's school of law and a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. x-men legends cd crack

Now some might say I'm overstating it. But to me the forthcoming launch of their joint blog is to the blogosphere what the launch of Halo 2 was to video gaming. It's a Big Deal.x-men legends cd crack

The discerning reader will bookmark the page.x-men legends cd crack

Los Angeles Times:x-men legends cd crack

It is not weapons of mass destruction per se that threaten the U.S., but the nature of the societies or groups that seek such weapons. Britain has nuclear weapons and no one is concerned. But fundamentalist societies and groups that reject Western freedom pose a threat that, although not specific and imminent — like the Cold War threat — is global and immanent.

That, in a nutshell, is the neo-conservative strategic rationale for U.S. intervention in Iraq. For more, and for a discussion of the foreign policy differences among conservatives, see Henry R. Naus' informative essay.x-men legends cd crack

(By the way, count me among the internationalists.)x-men legends cd crack

Washington Post:x-men legends cd crack

By any measure, President Bush and his fellow Republicans had a good night on Nov. 2. The question now is whether the election results set the GOP up for a good decade -- or more.

As some partisan operatives and political scientists see it, Bush's reelection victory and simultaneous Republican gains in the House and Senate suggest that an era of divided government and approximate parity between the major parties is giving way to an era of GOP dominance. By this light, the Republican advantage on the most important issues of the day -- the fight against terrorism, most of all -- and the party's uncontested control of the federal government leave it in a position to win long-term loyalty among key voter blocs and craft an enduring majority.

As much as I'd like for it to be true, I doubt the GOP's victory this year heralds a "realignment" -- at least not if realignment means what the Post suggests: a readily reproducible coalition capable of winning future presidential elections.x-men legends cd crack

This year's election was notable for three facts: x-men legends cd crack

• historic turnout
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• the weakness of the Democratic nominee
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• and an aggressive, well-organized drive to get Republicans to the polls.

Yet Mr. Bush captured only 51% of the vote. I don't read that as an indication of realignment; I read it as an indication of maximum GOP voting strength. If so, it's worrisome.x-men legends cd crack

For one thing, emerging changes in voter demographics do not bode well for Republicans. The U.S. Hispanic population is growing explosively, and I don't see how we can take that as anything but good news for Democrats. While more Hispanics than blacks vote Republican, Hispanics are still an overwhelmingly Democratic constituency; the notion that Mr. Bush won 44% of the Hispanic vote is just nonsense. (Incidentially, if the exit polls were wrong about Mr. Kerry winning the election, why are they right about the president's share of the Hispanic vote?)x-men legends cd crack

Secondly, while the Republican coalition is stable for now, with the Nation on the field in Iraq and on alert at home, that's no guarantee of future stability. Even this year, the orgy of federal spending very nearly put many conservatives into open revolt; and the president's insistence on de facto amnesty for illegal aliens may push his party into civil war. In a quest for tighter immigration controls, rebellious House Republicans have already "stiffed" the president by derailing the intelligence reform bill. (Illegal immigration is to Republicans what same-sex marriage was to Democrats: a "category five hurricane" that they didn't see coming.)x-men legends cd crack

The truth is that this year Mr. Bush got a pass. If you're a conventional Republican, you know he got a pass. You gave him one. So did I. On spending, immigration and federalism, among other things, key Republican constituencies let this president walk; we're a Nation at war, and if there's one issue on which virtually all Republicans are united, it's national security.x-men legends cd crack

But this election is over and there's no heir apparent for 2008. Meanwhile, turning their attention from from power to principle, many in the party are asking: what does it mean to be a Republican? x-men legends cd crack

The intraparty fighting begins shortly. There will be casualties. At 51%, we can't afford many.x-men legends cd crack

The debate over the origins of homosexuality seemingly never ends. But whether we're "pro" gay or "anti," few of us are truly interested in the answer. Homosexuality -- or, more precisely, homosexual conduct -- ignites our moral passions, not our scientific curiosity. Even if science answered definitively the question of homosexuality's origins, would that change anybody's view, pro or con, on the morality of homosexual behavior? I doubt it.x-men legends cd crack

What's instructive is not that the police can organize raids to shut them down, albeit only temporarily; what's instructive is that dealers prefer profit over risk in operating open-air drug markets.x-men legends cd crack

We are losing the "war" on drugs. That's just a fact. One day, maybe we'll accept it.x-men legends cd crack

In a piece that's not only informative, but also surprisingly fair and balanced, the New York Times (D-N.Y.) examines the fiscal implications of Mr. Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security.x-men legends cd crack

The particulars of Social Security reform admittedly make for dry reading, which might explain the blogosphere's silence on the subject. (I searched in vain today for comment from a big blogger on the Times' article.) But the president will reportedly make Social Security reform the top item on his domestic agenda, and it's hard to imagine another issue with more import for the future of America's younger workers. The U.S. Social Security system is the largest government-run social program in the world; reforming it is a Big Deal. x-men legends cd crack

On the path to change, the crux of the how and why:x-men legends cd crack

The White House and Republicans in Congress are all but certain to embrace large-scale government borrowing to help finance President Bush's plan to create personal investment accounts in Social Security, according to administration officials, members of Congress and independent analysts.

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Borrowing by the government could be necessary to establish the personal accounts because of the way Social Security pays for benefits. Under the current system, the payroll tax levied on workers goes to benefits for people who are already retired. Personal accounts would be paid for out of the same pool of money; they would allow workers to divert a portion of their payroll taxes into accounts invested in mutual funds or other investments.

The money going into the accounts would therefore no longer be available to pay benefits to current retirees. The shortfall would have to be made up somehow to preserve benefits for people who are already retired during the transition from one system to the other, and by nearly all estimates there is no way to make it up without relying at least in part on government borrowing.

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A reasonable amount of borrowing now, the proponents say, would avert a much bigger financial obligation decades later. They say personal accounts would yield higher returns for individuals than the current system and could be a catalyst to broader changes that would bring the benefits promised by Social Security into line with what the system, which is also about to come under intense financial strain from the aging of the baby boom generation and the increase in life expectancies, can afford to pay.

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The main Republican players in Congress on the issue say they expect to endorse an increase in borrowing to finance the transition to a new system. But they remain split over whether to back plans that would include larger investment accounts and few painful trade-offs like benefit cuts and tax increases - and therefore require more borrowing - or to limit borrowing and include more steps that would be politically unpopular.

During the election campaign, Democrats noted that the president never said how he would pay the transition costs, perhaps as high as $2 trillion, of moving from a fully government-run system to a partially privatized one. We still don't know the exact mix of tax increases, benefit cuts and borrowing upon which Mr. Bush will rely. But we do know that borrowing will figure prominently. Meanwhile, the Democrats have themselves not said how they'll pay the cost of doing nothing, the approach Mr. Kerry advocated. In a little more than a decade, Social Security will face unfunded liabilities of $26 trillion as measured in 2004 dollars. How do Democrats plan to pay that?x-men legends cd crack

We should have started this debate years ago. But in typical American fashion, we've waited until the last minute and now the clock is against us. If Mr. Bush can pull off meaningful Social Security reform, it will be the most important domestic legacy of his presidency.x-men legends cd crack

When the U.S. Supreme Court sits Monday to hear oral argument, Chief Justice William Rehnquist will again not be there, marking the sixth week of his absence. x-men legends cd crack

How long now until he resigns? Weeks? Days? The answer lies somewhere between soon and very soon.x-men legends cd crack

When it comes to anything having to do with religion, especially Christianity, it's stunning how intolerant the tolerance-promoting left can be. But tax credits for donations to faith-based charities seem to me a reasonable balance between government promotion of religion and government tolerance of it:x-men legends cd crack

With Minority Leader Tom Daschle leaving the Senate and Republican gains in both chambers of Congress, supporters of President Bush's faith-based initiative hope to quickly pass into law next year legislation providing tax incentives for donations to faith-based and other charities.

In addition to permiting taxpayers to deduct their faith-based contributions even if they don't itemize, religious conservatives in Congress, led by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., have in mind these other harrowing ideas:x-men legends cd crack

The measures also would provide incentives for farmers, restaurants and businesses to donate food for the hungry; allow tax-free donations from individual retirement accounts to charities; and expand government-matched savings accounts for low-income workers.

Ummm, hmmm. Food for the hungry. These Jesus freaks are out of control, aren't they?x-men legends cd crack

Congress is bearing down on countries that would subject U.S. citizens to the risk of prosecution by international moonbats:x-men legends cd crack

The Republican-controlled Congress has stepped up its campaign to curtail the power of the International Criminal Court, threatening to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in economic aid to governments that refuse to sign immunity accords shielding U.S. personnel from being surrendered to the tribunal.

The move marks an escalation in U.S. efforts to ensure that the first world criminal court can never judge American citizens for crimes committed overseas. More than two years ago, Congress passed the American Servicemembers' Protection Act, which cut millions of dollars in military assistance to many countries that would not sign the Article 98 agreements, as they are known, that vow not to transfer to the court U.S. nationals accused of committing war crimes abroad.

By providing an incentive to settle even frivolous lawsuits, Florida may have found the best way yet of encouraging doctors to leave in large numbers.x-men legends cd crack

At 10 p.m. EST tonight, ABC's "20/20" will air a report that considers whether the murder of Matthew Shepard was motivated by robbery and drugs, and not by hate.x-men legends cd crack

Rig for impact. Reaction from the gay left will be vitriolic; already we're apprised that there is no way to "de-gay" the crime.x-men legends cd crack

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times carries a thoughtful commentary on the intellectual sophistry of "hates crimes" law and the underreported legal machinations behind the prosecution of Matthew's killers.x-men legends cd crack

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Ashcroft v. Raich, a case to which I commended your attention here and here. The Associated Press provides this background on the woman for whom the case is named:x-men legends cd crack

Traditional drugs have done little to help 39-year-old Angel Raich.

Beset by a nightmarish list of ailments that includes tumors in her brain and uterus, seizures, spasms and nausea, she has been able to find comfort only in the marijuana that is recommended by her doctor.

It eases her pain, allows her to rise out of a wheelchair and promotes an appetite that prevents her from wasting away.

Her Berkeley physician, Frank Lucido, said marijuana “is the only drug of almost three dozen we have tried that works.”

Although Ms. Raich strikes me as a sympathetic figure, the legal import of her case has almost nothing to do with her or with the merits, if any, of medical marijuana. The issue here is federalism, which posits that Congress should refrain from exercising powers not specifically delegated to it by the Constitution and avoid meddling in the states' policy decisions.x-men legends cd crack

Conservatives, favoring decentralized power and faith in the polity, have long championed federalism. We have done so out of principle, and not out of the self-serving belief that the people of every state would always make decisions with which we agree. But now the Bush administration, roiled by the knowledge that a blue state does not prefer conservative policy, is resisting the preference of California voters, who approved medical marijuana in 1996.x-men legends cd crack

In an unprincipled display for a conservative Government, the Justice Department will rely Monday on an activist interpretation of the Commerce Clause to argue that the will of California's electorate must yield to the will of Congress. If the conservatives in the administration aren't embarrassed by this rank hypocrisy, let's hope the conservatives on the Court are.x-men legends cd crack

In brief, it isn't about medical marijuana. It's about the right of a state to make decisions in an area where Congress ought to have no say.x-men legends cd crack

On Election Day, voters in Madison County, Ohio rejected a 1% school income tax. The vote was 3,170 in favor of the proposed tax to 3,171 against it. As a margin of victory (or, as in this case, defeat), it can't get any closer than that.x-men legends cd crack

Normally, most of us would agree that unless a voter chooses to disclose the information, how he voted, even on a school tax referendum decided by a single vote, is none of anybody else's business. But what if the voter admitted to voting twice?x-men legends cd crack

From the Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

COLUMBUS - A couple in a neighboring county who admitted to voting twice on Election Day could be forced to reveal how they cast their ballots in the disputed, single-vote defeat of a proposed school income tax, the school district's attorney said.

The county prosecutor says he has no plans to force the couple, who voted absentee and then again on Election Day, to testify about how they voted. Still, their behavior raises the question: are there no limits to ballot secrecy? If the board of elections has to hold another election, it could cost thousands. Should taxpayers just eat that? (I assume here that the couple are turnips from whom blood cannot be squeezed.)x-men legends cd crack

I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and I'll "see" you again Friday afternoon. Until then, blogging off.x-men legends cd crack

Relying on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, a new study says that immigration enforcement has become more lax, not less, since 9/11, and that contrary to the assertions of some, the level of immigration is unaffected by downturns in the Nation's economy.x-men legends cd crack

[Steven] Camarota [the study's author] said the countries primarily represented among the nation's immigrant population are much poorer than the primary sending countries in the past. The United States' much higher standard of living, he said, exists even during recessions, noting that people come to the United States to join family, to avoid social or legal obligations, to take advantage of the United States' social services, and to enjoy greater personal and political freedom.

Immigrants, legal and otherwise, now make up 12% of the U.S. population; of the more than 34 million immigrants living here, roughly 30% are illegals. Mr. Bush has promised them de facto amnesty.x-men legends cd crack

New York Times:x-men legends cd crack

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit yesterday against a Missouri high school that twice admonished a gay student for wearing T-shirts bearing gay pride messages. The suit charges that the school violated the youth's constitutional right to free expression.

By the account of the civil liberties union, the student, Brad Mathewson, a 16-year-old junior, was sent to the principal's office at Webb City High School on Oct. 20 for wearing a T-shirt that he said came from the Gay-Straight Alliance at a school he previously attended, in Fayetteville, Ark. The shirt bore a pink triangle and the words "Make a Difference!"

Mr. Mathewson, the A.C.L.U. said, was told to turn the shirt inside out or go home and change. Instead he traded shirts with a friend, who wore the gay pride shirt the rest of the day without incident.

A week later, Mr. Mathewson was again admonished for wearing a gay pride T-shirt, this one featuring a rainbow and the inscription "I'm gay and I'm proud." Told once more to turn the shirt instead out or leave, he chose to go home and was eventually ordered not to return to school wearing clothing supporting gay rights.

The school's principal declined comment.x-men legends cd crack

It's unclear from the Times' account whether the school has a uniform, content-neutral policy prohibiting any expressive t-shirts. If so, that would make a difference in what I thought of the school's policy. But I'm not sure it would make a difference to the federal courts.x-men legends cd crack

In 2001, a federal judge told a high school in Minnesota that in the absence of an actual disruption, it could not prohibit a student from wearing a t-shirt with the phrase "Straight Pride." In 2002, two students in Kentucky settled out of court with a school that had told them not to wear t-shirts bearing the Confederate flag.x-men legends cd crack

Liberal animosity for anything having to do with God or Christianity is reaching new -- and appalling -- heights:x-men legends cd crack

A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God -- including the Declaration of Independence.

Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Cupertino, sued for discrimination on Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship by principal Patricia Vidmar because he is a Christian.

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Williams asserts in the lawsuit that since May he has been required to submit all of his lesson plans and supplemental handouts to Vidmar for approval, and that the principal will not permit him to use any that contain references to God or Christianity.

I've been using Firefox for about two weeks now and I love it! I bet you will, too, especially if you blog. (In case you don't know, Firefox is a free Internet browser with a heavenly tab feature.) And be sure to look over the 73 extensions, many of which are exceptionally useful. You'll want to install a few.x-men legends cd crack

"Enhanced ballots," "accidentally overlooked ballots," ballots that the "election worker fixes" and runs back through the machine, plus the prospect of a re-recount, are all features of the still undecided Washington gubernatorial race.x-men legends cd crack

More than 20 Republican moderates in Congress, some of whom won close re-election contests by convincing voters of their ability to bring home the pork, have learned that the pig is dead.x-men legends cd crack

The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va. has dropped the column of conservative book author and blogger Michelle Malkin. The reason? She's "too stridently anti-liberal."x-men legends cd crack

No word yet on how Michelle will thank the paper for its compliment.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to Coldhearted Truth.)x-men legends cd crack

Pete Guither at Drug War Rant has put together an excellent guide to Ashcroft v. Raich, the case about which I blogged below.x-men legends cd crack

The case is only superficially about medical marijuana; the principle of federalism and the limits of Congress' power under the Commerce Clause are at issue here. For those reasons, Raich will be among the most important cases the Court decides this term. x-men legends cd crack

Whatever your political leanings, if you believe that the people of a state ought generally to be free to decide public policy for themselves, you'll want to follow Ashcroft v. Raich.x-men legends cd crack

Faced with relentlessly rising costs, the LA County Board of Supervisors does what it must and votes to ration health care. The biggest losers? Gang members.x-men legends cd crack

Whatever else it may mean to have a Republican majority in Congress, it does not mean an end to pork-barrel spending.x-men legends cd crack

Will Democrats or Republicans control the Montana House of Representatives? The answer to that hinges on a recount in a single legislative district where the winner has a 2-vote lead.x-men legends cd crack

Post 9/11, most Americans agree that heightened security measures are appropriate. But that doesn't mean anything goes. Airport screenings in particular have become especially intrusive; in fact, some women say they're downright degrading:x-men legends cd crack

Nancy Davis Kho, a financial data developer from Oakland, Calif., said, "They're totally overlooking the need to preserve a person's dignity." Ms. Kho said she was mortified at La Guardia Airport in New York on Sept. 28, when a female screener patted her down, "running her hands under bra straps and just about everywhere else," while other passengers gawked.

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Ms. Maurer, the executive from Washington, reluctantly agreed to a search by a male security officer when a woman was not available. After he gave her a full body pat-down, she said, "he lifted my shirt and looked down the back of my pants."

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At the Fort Lauderdale airport on Nov. 5, Ms. LuPone says she removed her shirt after vehemently protesting, revealing the thin, see-through camisole that she was wearing. Next, she was given a pat-down by a screener who, she said, "was all over me with her hands," including touching her groin area and breasts.

Referring to a terrorist attack in which 90 people died and two planes were destroyed by Chechen women who may have boarded with nonmetallic explosives, a security worker reportedly told a passenger: "We don't want another Russia to happen."x-men legends cd crack

That's true, of course -- in more ways than one. Surely there's a balance between protecting people's lives and protecting their dignity. It doesn't sound like the Government has found it just yet.x-men legends cd crack

Saddam Hussein will reportedly stand trial for crimes against humanity by year's end.x-men legends cd crack

New York Post:x-men legends cd crack

A lawyer burst into a Manhattan courtroom and began yelling and cursing without provocation yesterday — then was arrested after allegedly rushing toward the bench.

Court officers subdued Jemal Deshong, 28, and took him to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric observation, said John McKillop, of the New York State Supreme Court Officers Association.

Deshong burst into Justice Bonnie Wittner's courtroom in state Supreme Court around 10:30 a.m., McKillop said. Court officers ordered the Bronx lawyer to sit down, but he began yelling profanities and then rushed toward Wittner.

As he was handcuffed, Deshong yelled, "You'd better be careful. I'm a lawyer, you know," McKillop said.

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On Monday, November 29, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Ashcroft v. Raich, on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.x-men legends cd crack

The case presents the question whether the Controlled Substances Act (see 21 U.S.C. § 801) exceeds Congress' power under the Commerce Clause when applied to the intrastate possession of marijuana as prescribed by a physician in accordance with California law (see Health & Safety Code § 11362.5)x-men legends cd crack

The 9th Circuit's opinion, from which the U.S. Government appeals, is here; the Government's Supreme Court brief is here; the brief for the respondents is here. Lastly, the Cato Institute's amicus brief on behalf of the respondents is here.x-men legends cd crack

Law professor Randy Barnett, who blogs at The Volokh Conspiracy, will argue the case for respondents Angel Raich and Diane Monson, two California patients who use marijuana to treat their conditions. They sued seeking injunctive relief from enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act after agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized and destroyed their cannabis plants.x-men legends cd crack

In ruling for the two California women, the appeals court quoted Justice Louis Brandeis:x-men legends cd crack

It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.

There's a name for the principle to which Justice Brandeis referred: federalism. Here's hoping the Supreme Court affirms it.x-men legends cd crack

Of the many divisions among Republican constituencies, few are more important, I think, than the one between the party's corporate interests and everybody else. x-men legends cd crack

For the record, most Republicans are not anti-immigrant. America renews herself, in part, through her immigrants, and most conservatives are happy to welcome them. But we are opposed to uncontrolled, illegal immigration and to the social pathology and financial burdens that come with it. This is a critical distinction and one that, for wholly commerical reasons, the GOP's corporate element seeks to elide.x-men legends cd crack

The media may love him, but conservatives can't abide him. I rate his chances as zero.x-men legends cd crack

Richmond Times-Dispatch:x-men legends cd crack

In 2001, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, David H. Souter and Clarence Thomas withdrew from considering a high-profile death-penalty case.

The extraordinary recusal of one-third of the high court's justices wasn't because of the killer, Napoleon Beazley. It was because of their ties to the son of the man Beazley murdered.

Beazley shot John Luttig to death during a carjacking in Tyler, Texas, in 1994. His son is Judge J. Michael Luttig of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Luttig is thought to be on the Bush administration's short-list of potential Supreme Court nominees.x-men legends cd crack

Denver Post:x-men legends cd crack

Emboldened by the results of the month's elections, the nation's largest gun lobby will push again for a federal law shielding gunmakers and sellers from lawsuits.

When the new Congress convenes in January, the National Rifle Association says, it will have four more pro-gun senators. The trade group hopes that will help make the difference in passing a bill that died in the Senate in March.

This will disappoint advocates of gun control, who had hoped to use private litigation to write public policy and sue the Nation's gunmakers into financial ruin.x-men legends cd crack

The pseudonymous Jack Dunphy, an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, writing in National Review Online on the young Marine who shot a wounded and apparently unarmed insurgent in Fallujah:x-men legends cd crack

But for one moment try as best you can to put yourself in that Marine's boots. He had been under fire for a week as his unit battled a maniacal enemy through the streets of Fallujah. He had seen a friend and comrade killed by a booby-trapped corpse. He had been shot in the face himself the previous day but chose to remain in the fight with his brother Marines. And now, as the camera rolled, he came upon several terrorists who appeared to be dead or wounded. What was it about that one man that presented a threat? Perhaps one day we will learn what was in that Marine's mind when he pulled the trigger, but it seems safe to speculate he was thinking about his dead friend, a young man like himself, but one who did not see the danger until it was too late.

That young and still unidentified Marine sits alone somewhere waiting for others in the calm and comfort of their offices to pass judgment on a decision he had to make in the fog of war.x-men legends cd crack

Please, don't let that young man hang out to dry. Do what you can. Sign the petition.x-men legends cd crack

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In an otherwise abysmal election for Democrats, there was one bright spot: Colorado, a Republican-leaning state where Democrats cleaned the GOP's clock.x-men legends cd crack

Smart Democratic operatives are busy studying the lessons of Colorado; smart Republican operatives should do likewise.x-men legends cd crack

ADDED: Further evidence that Democrats can be competitive in red states.x-men legends cd crack

U.S. News & World Report:x-men legends cd crack

The 2000 exit poll showed an electorate that was 39 percent Democratic and 35 percent Republican. The 2004 exit poll, which was tilted toward Democrats, found a dead heat: 37 percent to 37 percent. That means that Republican turnout was up 19 percent and Democratic turnout up only 7 percent. This is the most Republican electorate America has had since random-sample polling was invented.

The credit for that, says political maven Michael Barone, belongs to Ken Mehlman, whom Mr. Bush named Tuesday as chairman of the Republican National Committee.x-men legends cd crack

With the depature of William Rehnquist from the U.S. Supreme Court now imminent, J. Harvie Wilkinson III is reportedly on the short-list of potential nominees to the vacancy.x-men legends cd crack

Judge Wilkinson is a jurist on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which sits in Richmond, Virginia. The Richmond Times-Dispatch carries this profile.x-men legends cd crack

Meanwhile, Justice Clarence Thomas is reportedly unwilling to undergo the confirmation fight that would follow his nomination as chief justice.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to How Appealing.)x-men legends cd crack

Some conservatives are urging a renewed focus -- one that goes beyond banning same-sex nuptials -- on protecting and strengthening traditional marriage. But here's the kicker:x-men legends cd crack

... Americans face a choice of whether to view marriage as primarily an act of individual satisfaction or as an institution serving the communal good.

The push for gay marriage finds its genesis, I think, in the widespread acceptance of no-fault divorce, which says, in effect, that marriage is about the happiness of the couple and not about some purpose larger than the couple.x-men legends cd crack

Prior to the promulgation in the 1970s of no-fault divorce, marriage had a social purpose, one not especially contingent on the personal satisfaction of husband and wife: the raising of children under an optimal family structure. If, as most Americans believe and as a mountain of social evidence confirms, that structure consists of one mom and one dad, then it's self-evident that a marriage must be limited to the union of a man and a woman. "Discrimination" against other arrangements is rational; other arrangements are inconsistent with the purpose of marriage. Under this view, the vocabulary of civil rights is inapposite; a would-be applicant has no civil right to admission to an institution for which he's unqualified. And he's unqualified if he's unable to effect the institution's purpose. Should the Secret Service, for example, accept for training as an agent a 300-pound blind man?x-men legends cd crack

No-fault divorce, by placing primacy on the married couple's happiness, or lack thereof, changed the purpose of marriage. No longer is the institution concerned chiefly with the well-being of children; now the overriding concern is for the (often fleeting) bliss and convenience of grown-ups. But if marriage serves mostly to unite two adults only for as long as they're happy with each other, why should gay adults be excluded?x-men legends cd crack

Unless the Nation's religious and political leaders end their silence and reverse fields on no-fault divorce, we are, I believe, not more than a generation away from the widespread legalization of same-sex marriage, the just-passed referenda to the contrary notwithstanding. America's children are being taught by example that marriage serves no purpose other than to unite two happy adults. More tolerant of homosexuality than their parents, they will as voters rectify the incoherence of our marriage law.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's health is shrouded in mystery, the extent of his thyroid cancer a closely guarded secret. Several coming events could give the public an idea about the seriousness of his condition.

Since announcing his illness in a statement on Oct. 25, the 80-year-old Rehnquist has run the nation's highest court from his home in suburban Virginia.

He rules on cases by reviewing transcripts of arguments and passing along his votes to justices. Opinions are largely researched and drafted by law clerks. Administrative tasks fall to a top aide.

Even when justices are healthy, their "opinions are largely researched and drafted by law clerks." For more, see the chief justice's book The Supreme Court.x-men legends cd crack

Several court watchers and former clerks say that Rehnquist is not one to stick it out any longer than he feels able. They noted that he was a witness to Justice William O. Douglas' steady decline after a stroke in December 1974.

Douglas' refusal to step down despite obvious mental confusion led Rehnquist and the other justices to secretly stop counting his vote in some cases. Douglas eventually stepped aside in 1975.

The Supreme Court next sits to hear oral argument on November 29; the chief justice has missed oral argument for the last month.x-men legends cd crack

Wizbang is hosting the 2004 Weblog Awards. You can learn more and enter your nominations here.x-men legends cd crack

Reuters:x-men legends cd crack

President Bush on Saturday reached into a throng of squabbling bodyguards and pulled a Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officers after they stopped the U.S. agent from accompanying the president at a dinner.

Chilean security stopped several members of the president's Secret Service detail and a pushing and shoving match ensued.

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Bush was posing for pictures on the red carpet ... when the president noticed the confrontation unfolding behind him.

He stepped away ... and reached into the quarreling crowd and hauled the lead Secret Service agent from Chilean security agents.

UPDATE: The Daily Recycler has the video. (Thanks, Alan.)x-men legends cd crack

I'm all for free enterprise. But I still recognize cheesy business practices when I see them.x-men legends cd crack

In the New Year, two facts, discussed here by Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post, will come to dominate the news and rivet our attention:x-men legends cd crack

• Iran will proceed with its nuclear weapons program;


• Israel will not accept a nuclear-armed Iran.

The Associated Press reports on the trouble Democrats are having adjusting to their role as opposition party.x-men legends cd crack

"U.N. Again Warns Violence, Atrocities Must End in Darfur Now" -- headline, Washington File, a State Department publicationx-men legends cd crack

At that same session in Nairobi, Kenya, the Security Council passed its fourth U.N. resolution on Sudan in 2004.

We're here! We're moonbats! Get used to it!x-men legends cd crack

"We want Bush to know that he is not welcome here," said Monica Cerón, a college student, who was wearing a "Bush Stinks" t-shirt and a red headband emblazoned with "Down with Bush" and a hammer and sickle.

New York Times:x-men legends cd crack

House and Senate negotiators have tucked a potentially far-reaching anti-abortion provision into a $388 billion must-pass spending bill ...

The abortion language would bar federal, state and local agencies from withholding taxpayer money from health care providers that refuse to provide or pay for abortions or refuse to offer abortion counseling or referrals. Current federal law, aimed at protecting Roman Catholic doctors, provides such "conscience protection" to doctors who do not want to undergo abortion training. The new language would expand that protection to all health care providers, including hospitals, doctors, clinics and insurers.

Left-wing bloggers -- here, here and here -- are upset. I don't know why exactly; none of them say. I guess they just assume that not only do women have a right to an abortion, they also have a right to coerce others into performing them. x-men legends cd crack

Although I think that as a matter of constitutional law Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, I nevertheless share the view held by most Americans that abortion should be legal in the first trimester. But I see nothing wrong with public policy that discourages abortions by protecting the rights of health care providers who, for moral or religious reasons, do not wish to perform them.x-men legends cd crack

For even if we assume, arguendo, that the Constitution guarantees a woman the right to an abortion, that only obliges the Government to not interfere with the exercise of the right. It doesn't guarantee third party payment or the collaboration of her fellow citizens. x-men legends cd crack

I have a First Amendment right to read books by conservative authors. But it doesn't follow that the Government must supply my books or that I can compel you to read them.x-men legends cd crack

MSNBC:x-men legends cd crack

With the number of people sentenced to death row nationally reaching a 30-year low in 2003, according to a Justice Department study, all eyes are on Texas — the one state that executes far more convicted murderers than any other state.

Last year, 144 inmates in 25 states were given the death penalty, 24 fewer than in 2002 and less than half the average of 297 between 1994 and 2000, according to the Justice Department.

But the drop in numbers doesn't apply to Texas. In fact, there are more men on death row in Texas from Harris County, the area around Houston, than from most other states.

As a resident of Harris County, that doesn't surprise me. The county, of which Houston is the seat, is solid red. The judges here are elected, and everyone of them -- including the women and minorities -- is a Republican. In this neck of the woods, attitudes toward violent crime are cross-cultural and harsh. x-men legends cd crack

I've lived in Harris County all of my life; save for the traffic and heat, I think it's a wonderful place to earn a living, buy a home and spend your days. But it is true that the locals don't cotton to violent criminals, and the courts and juries here don't hesitate to jack 'em up. For men with evil in their hearts, this is a dangerous place, and it's not going to get safer anytime soon.x-men legends cd crack

Even if it means Senate Republicans have to go "nuclear," the Democratic filibustering of the president's judicial appointments is coming to an end.x-men legends cd crack

"The bottom line is, you win the election, you get your nominees."

Washington Times:x-men legends cd crack

In the space between the fog of war (lethal confusion, peril and instant reflexes) and the edited news break (carefully scripted and produced filler between Viagra commercials) a young Marine hangs out to dry.

Folks, we have to stand up for this Marine. Sign the petition, call your members of Congress and call the White House.x-men legends cd crack

Here's the original Associated Press report from Tuesday, which includes this:x-men legends cd crack

... a Marine in the same unit had been killed just a day earlier when he tended to the booby-trapped dead body of an insurgent.

NBC reported that the Marine seen shooting the wounded Iraqi had himself been shot in the face the day before, but quickly returned to duty.

The worse that can be said from reading the full report is that the circumstances of the shooting are ambiguous. (At best, the shooting was clear-cut self-defense.) But ambiguity in a war zone ought to be resolved in favor of our troops. We have no business second-guessing life-or-death decisions by U.S. soldiers in combat.x-men legends cd crack

Our boys have to react under conditions that most of us can only try to imagine. But our expectations of them should be clear: if forced to wonder whether they survive or the enemy survives, our soliders should never have to doubt the choice we want them make. What if this Marine was your son or brother or husband or partner? What would you have wanted him to do? Risk getting shot for the second day in a row? If we don't back this boy up, we send the message to every other soldier in the field: hesitate. In combat, that's a deadly message.x-men legends cd crack

This as-yet unidentified Marine had to make a judgment call and act on the information available to him at the time. Even if a slow, methodological investigation and the benefit of hindsight prove his judgment in error, I'm still not going to second-guess him. A potentially dead American kid or a dead terrorist insurgent? Didn't we just vote for the latter? I know I did. Now let's follow thru.x-men legends cd crack

This Marine, who's been taken off the battlefield pending an investigation, should either be returned to his unit, if that's his wish, or else honorably discharged and sent home to his parents for the holidays.x-men legends cd crack

Now please, pick up the phone.x-men legends cd crack

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(Thanks to Cox & Forkum.)x-men legends cd crack

A California judge is in hot water with that state's judicial conduct commission for, among other things, holding court in a strip club and adjudicating a dispute over a wet t-shirt competition.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to The Southern California Law Blog.)x-men legends cd crack

Does liberal white guilt explain this year's inaccurate exit polling?x-men legends cd crack

"Feinstein Warns Goss Against CIA Reforms" -- headline, Associated Pressx-men legends cd crack

"Goss Isn't Done With Housecleaning at CIA" -- headline, Los Angeles Timesx-men legends cd crack

Meanwhile, from USA Today:x-men legends cd crack

CIA Director Porter Goss told his new chief of spy operations this week to launch a much more aggressive espionage campaign that would use undercover officers to penetrate terrorist groups and hostile governments such as North Korea and Iran, according to a senior U.S. official with direct knowledge of Goss' plans.

The risky new strategy would be a sharp departure from the CIA's traditional style of human intelligence, in which field officers under flimsy cover as diplomats in U.S. embassies try to recruit foreign spies and gather tips from allied intelligence services. Those methods don't work with terror groups or in countries where the United States has no embassies, such as prewar Iraq or present-day North Korea and Iran.

Given what we've learned about the consequences of a poorly informed CIA, it's heartening to see the agency finally under adult supervision.x-men legends cd crack

James Driscoll, formerly a policy adviser to Log Cabin Republicans and Bush appointee to the Presidential Council on HIV/AIDS, in the Washington Times:x-men legends cd crack

We must stop blaming religion and learn to use it to help secure our rights. Mankind's great religions deserve our respect; gay people need religion and are religious as often as straights. "All men are created equal" and the 14th Amendment are political manifestations of the teachings of Jesus and Hillel. The rights we have and will gain, we owe and will owe in large part to the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Instead of demonizing conservative politicians, we should work with them so that they know and better understand gay people, and, equally important, so that we understand them. Mr. Bush and Sen. Rick Santorum, Republican from Pennsylvania, play as legitimate a role in representing voters as Sens. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy.

(Link may require registration.)x-men legends cd crack

Reuters:x-men legends cd crack

In a victory for the gun industry, the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed two suits against firearms makers, distributors and dealers which had sought damages for gun-related deaths and injuries.

The suits had been brought by the city of Chicago, which was seeking more than $400 million, and by a group of survivors of people killed in gun-related crimes.

In both cases the state high court found that those who sued failed to prove that guns were a "public nuisance." It said the industry is already highly regulated and there were no allegations that it had done anything illegal.

The Illinois Supreme Court's opinion in Chicago v. Beretta is here.x-men legends cd crack

This is bogus on its face:x-men legends cd crack

When Gov. Ernie Fletcher signed a death warrant for a convicted killer this month, he may have done more than start the clock ticking on an execution. Some say Fletcher, a doctor, may have put his medical license at risk.

American Medical Association guidelines bar doctors from taking part, directly or indirectly, in executions. And Kentucky requires doctors to follow AMA ethical guidelines.

A group of doctors is seeking an opinion from the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure on whether Fletcher can sign death warrants without running the risk of having his medical license revoked.

Here, from AMA's code of ethics, a description of the prohibited conduct:x-men legends cd crack

Physician participation in an execution includes, but is not limited to, the following actions: prescribing or administering tranquilizers and other psychotropic agents and medications that are part of the execution procedure; monitoring vital signs on site or remotely (including monitoring electrocardiograms); attending or observing an execution as a physician; and rendering of technical advice regarding execution.

In the case where the method of execution is lethal injection, the following actions by the physician would also constitute physician participation in execution: selecting injection sites; starting intravenous lines as a port for a lethal injection device; prescribing, preparing, administering, or supervising injection drugs or their doses or types; inspecting, testing, or maintaining lethal injection devices; and consulting with or supervising lethal injection personnel.

Clearly, these guidelines describe limitations on professional practice, which is all the AMA is competent to regulate. But a governor who happens to be a physician is not acting in his professional medical capacity when he signs a death warrant.x-men legends cd crack

The authorizing of an execution is a legal decision, not a medical one. The AMA's guidelines for the ethical practice of medicine cannot be construed to apply to the signing of a death warrant for the same reason that they cannot be construed to apply to the designing of a house or to the building of a bridge: the act does not fall within the practice of medicine.x-men legends cd crack

Of course, professional bodies do prohibit certain kinds of extra-professional, personal conduct. But the conduct at issue is invariably criminal or immoral (or both) and of a nature that tends to bring discredit to the profession. But we have no reason to believe the public will think less of the medical profession because a governor, acting in his official capacity, does what the law empowers him to do and what his constituents expect of him.x-men legends cd crack

Does the public today think less of doctors as a whole because Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a physician, voted for the death penalty in 1996? Come on, now.x-men legends cd crack

He's in. And it's probably all right. x-men legends cd crack

A president is constitutionally entitled to nominate whom he will to the Nation's courts. Of course, the Senate provides advice and consent; but that means an up-or-down vote, and not bottling up a nomination in committee or filibustering it on the floor. I think Mr. Specter has got that message.x-men legends cd crack

Although an automatic recounting is coming, it appears -- more than two weeks after the election -- that Washington state finally has a new governor: Republican Dino Rossi.x-men legends cd crack

With all votes counted, Mr. Rossi held a 261-vote lead over his Democratic opponent, Christine Gregoire; approximately 2.8 million ballots were cast.x-men legends cd crack

Meanwhile, with all counties reporting, President Bush held a 6,047-vote lead over John Kerry in New Mexico.x-men legends cd crack

Republicans in Congress are on the move:x-men legends cd crack

Lawmakers revived a long-stalled effort Wednesday to block state and local governments from taxing Internet connections, in a last-minute agreement to ban the taxes until 2007.

House and Senate negotiators expect to pass a bill this week and reinstate a temporary ban that lapsed more than a year ago while lawmakers argued over its extension.

"Today, we have made sure that the avaricious tax commissars from every county, city and state in America cannot continue conniving new ways to tax the Internet and the people who use it," said Sen. George Allen, R-Va.

Have you ever wondered what happens when you combine modern technology with red state culture? x-men legends cd crack

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Since May 17, when the imperial order of the Massachusetts Supreme Court took effect, that state has recorded 2,980 marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Of those, 1,985 were to female couples and 995 were to male couples. Massachusettes may have issued as many as 4,266 same-sex marriage licenses, but not all of them have been recorded.x-men legends cd crack

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts has a population of 6,433,422. Of those, 23.6% are under 18. So the state has an adult population of 4,914,598. If we take the conservative assumption that only 2% of adults are homosexual, then the state has a gay population of 98,292. And of those, 6-8% are now married. (If we take the higher, liberal assumption that 10% of adults are homosexual, the percentage of gays in Massachusetts who are married falls accordingly.)x-men legends cd crack

I would think that any pent up demand among same-sex couples for marriage licenses would have been expressed most strongly in the first months following their availability. If so, the figures from Massachusetts are surprisingly small. What's more, we have no reason to believe that lesbians outnumber gay males by a ratio of almost 2:1; so the interest in a marriage license shown to date by Massachusetts' gay male couples is very slight indeed.x-men legends cd crack

Human Events:x-men legends cd crack

Mary Frances Berry, the combative chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, won't step down when her term expires in December, vowing instead to stay on the job six weeks longer at the government's expense.

Ummm, hmmm.x-men legends cd crack

Take it from here, guys.x-men legends cd crack

It's bad enough that the Intellectual Property Protection Act would dismantle the fair use doctrine. But the bill also heavily favors the commercial interests of Hollywood elites, which means Republicans should oppose it out of political spite.x-men legends cd crack

Call your senators.x-men legends cd crack

Alpha Patriot wonders whether it's time to invade Canada.x-men legends cd crack

United Press International:x-men legends cd crack

Lawmakers returned to session Tuesday attempting to come to terms with the need to raise the federal debt ceiling by at least $690 billion by the end of the week or face a federal government default on its debts and unable to borrow more money.

Although an increase is expected to be approved in time, the issue highlights the deep divisions both between Democrats and Republicans on fiscal matters and within the GOP over the massive levels of federal debt accumulated over the past four years.

On the significance of federal deficits, there are two schools of thought. Here's the one that holds sway at the White House:x-men legends cd crack

There are those within the party that argue that the need to increase the debt ceiling is not a big deal, embracing the view ... that federal deficits don't matter.

This is the prevailing economic view from the Bush administration that has been embraced by the House and Senate GOP leadership and reflected in Bush's tax cuts.

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So while Bush has promised to halve the federal deficit over the next four years ... Bush helped push through tax policies based on the idea that income from savings and wealth was taxed too highly.

The idea ... was that the loss of tax revenue would be made up by the economic gains such tax cuts would ultimately bring.

The other school of thought, advanced by critics, not all of them Democrats, of the Administration's fiscal policies:x-men legends cd crack

Since the federal government is the largest player in the credit markets, when its debt increases to a certain difficult-to-sustain level, it can have a dilatory effect by limiting the amount of credit available on the open market.

If it becomes too big a drain, this can lead to interest-rate hikes that slow down the economy by making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow money.

Economists generally do not believe that we have reached that point, as inflation appears under control, but like many things in the dismal science, accuracy on such predictions is a matter of timing.

For now at least, the Government is operating on roughly the same level of taxes it generated in 1999, but it's spending 34% more.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

A record 157,000 illegal immigrants were removed during the past year as U.S. authorities stepped up efforts to track down those who may pose security risks, the government said Tuesday.

Half of those booted had a criminal record. x-men legends cd crack

While the number of deporations may now be at an all-time high, it's a drop the bucket. As many as 10 million illegal aliens live in the United States, and by some estimates another 3 million, encouraged by the president's talk of de facto amnesty, may arrive in the next 12 months.x-men legends cd crack

Reuters:x-men legends cd crack

Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican defender of abortion rights, made progress on Tuesday in his embattled bid to head the committee that reviews judicial nominations, party aides said.

Specter emerged from a closed-door meeting with Senate Republican leaders with a smile but no prediction on whether he will become Judiciary Committee chairman -- though a handful of Republican lawmakers have publicly voiced support in recent days and have said they expect him to get it.

Although it looked for a time that Mr. Specter might be prevented by angry pro-life conservatives from ascending to the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, it's not surprising that he now seems likely to get it. Institutional tradition strongly favors him and the senator himself appears chastened.x-men legends cd crack

Although Mr. Bush reportedly took only 11% of the black vote nationally, up slightly from the 8% he won in 2000, he did significantly better among African Americans in rural communities. In areas of north Florida, for example, exit polling showed the president garnered almost 30% of the black vote.x-men legends cd crack

The reason? Same-sex marriage.x-men legends cd crack

Is Rumsfeld next? Bush will be first to know -- headline, Chicago Sun-Timesx-men legends cd crack

Can Republicans truly get this lucky?x-men legends cd crack

Houston Voice:x-men legends cd crack

The 23 percent of gay voters who backed the president translate into more than one million gay male, lesbian, or bisexual voters, according to the exit poll, a figure that stunned and baffled many gay activists.

The percentage was nearly identical to the level of gay support for Bush four years ago, and for Republican nominee Bob Dole in 1996.

What motivated the gays and lesbians who voted for Mr. Bush, in defiance of the community's political hierarchy? Short answer: national security.x-men legends cd crack

But I think that answer, while accurate, misses the bigger picture. Support for robust national security, a vigorous fight against terrorism or a well-funded military are not only reasons to support a presidential candidate, they're also the sort of things you'd expect to hear from Republicans.x-men legends cd crack

For three consecutive elections now, two of them pre-9/11, roughly 1 in 4 gay voters has cast a ballot for the GOP nominee. Does anyone else see a pattern here?x-men legends cd crack

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in an address to the Federalist Society:x-men legends cd crack

One shudders to think what sort of political turmoil will greet the next nomination to the Supreme Court. The lesson is, in a truly democratic society - or at least the one in America - one way or another the people will have their say on significant social policy. If judges are routinely providing the society's definitive answers to moral questions on which there is ample room for debate ... then judges will be made politically accountable.

Incidentially, the Federalist Society now has up a white paper by John Eastman, professor of law at Chapman University, in which he argues that, post 9/11, "mere birth to foreign nationals who happen to be visiting the United States at the time, as with the case of Hamdi the Taliban, should not result in citizenship."x-men legends cd crack

U.S. armed forces have control over 100% of Falluja. But our success there has not come without solemn sacrifice. Thirty-eight of our soldiers have been killed and another 320 wounded. x-men legends cd crack

More than 1,000 insurgents are dead.x-men legends cd crack

NPR reports on the robust agenda of "jovial" congressional Republicans; meanwhile, " ... there's also a lot of soul-searching going on among chastened Democrats."x-men legends cd crack

Backgroundx-men legends cd crack

In 1991, in the course of robbing a Taco Bell, LaRoyce Lathair Smith brutally murdered Jennifer Soto, 19, whom he pistol-whipped, shot and stabbed with a butcher knife. A jury in Dallas County, Texas convicted Mr. Smith of capital murder and sentenced him to death.x-men legends cd crack

The issue on appealx-men legends cd crack

From the Supreme Court's per curiam opinion:x-men legends cd crack

At the punishment phase, the jury was instructed on two special issues: first, whether the killing was deliberate; and second, whether the defendant posed a continuing danger to others. Approximately two years prior to the trial, we had held that presenting only these two special issues, without additional instructions regarding the jury’s duty to consider mitigation evidence, violated the Eighth Amendment.

According to the Court, the jury was not given an "adequate vehicle" for considering Mr. Smith's learning disability, his low IQ or his troubled home life, all of which might have mitigated against a sentence of death. The Texas appeals court, in refusing to set aside Mr. Smith's death sentence, had said there was no link between these things and the murder.x-men legends cd crack

Dispositionx-men legends cd crack

The judgment of the Texas Court of Appeals was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court's opinion. The vote was 7-2. Justices Scalia and Thomas dissented.x-men legends cd crack

The Associated Press has more here.x-men legends cd crack

The installation of MovableType 3.121, completed more than a week ago, is working very well. And while I grieve for the loss of my archives, which didn't make it through the upgrade, I'm happy to be rid of the spam bots.x-men legends cd crack

Now, I look forward to the launch of this site's redesign sometime later this week. The designer, Stacy at Sekimori, is responsible for the look of some blogs you're probably familiar with. You can see more of her work here.x-men legends cd crack

George Neumayr in the American Spectator:x-men legends cd crack

Perhaps herein lies a new strategy for the Democrats: What if they treated Christians as respectfully as they treated Yasser Arafat? What if they extended to Christianity the tolerant understanding they extend to Islam? Maybe from time to time the Democrats could refer to Christianity as a religion of peace.

One would think a party that can canonize a de facto terrorist and jihadist like Arafat could tolerate a Southern preacher or two. Jerry Falwell has never blown up an airplane like Arafat, but Democrats wouldn't be caught dead in his company.

(Thanks to Dissecting Leftism.)x-men legends cd crack

[Text corrected where shown, to reflect that I can add and substract -- Ed.]x-men legends cd crack

In just over under two weeks from now, on November 25, listen carefully to the news for whether the European Union scores a deal with Iran to end its nuclear ambitions. If not, you'll know the likely target of the next U.S. military strike in the war on terrorism.x-men legends cd crack

Mr. Bush has described a nuclear-armed Iran as "intolerable." But the government there may not be listening. From U.S. News & World Report:x-men legends cd crack

"Even the most dovish Middle East watcher in this government is pretty realistic about Iran's intentions," says one U.S. official. "Iran is not going to fulfill any agreement with the EU."

If the EU fails, U.S. military action may be averted by one other option: Israeli military action.x-men legends cd crack

The Pentagon ... is revising contingency plans that originated with the Clinton administration for attacking Iran's nuclear plants. Officials describe the planning as routine for a global trouble spot and say that Bush continues to look for a diplomatic solution. Since late summer, they have also studied options in case Israel, as it has hinted, decides to hit Iran's nuclear sites in raids reminiscent of its 1981 attack on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor. The Bush administration recently agreed to sell Israel 500 bunker-busting smart bombs of a sort that could be used in such an operation.

In a letter to the editor of the Seattle Times, Ryan Flynn writes of Mr. Bush:x-men legends cd crack

Why couldn't a man who leads the most powerful, divided nation in the world simply say this: "Yes, we won, but 55 million Americans voted against my ideals and direction. We've got a great deal of work to do to pull this ship together, get as many people on the same page as possible."

Mr. Flynn, that's exactly what you would have written had Mr. Kerry won, right? Ummm, hmmm.x-men legends cd crack

Incidentially, the president did get as many people as possible "on the same page." In an election notable for historic turnout, Mr. Bush got 60,480,957 Americans, including several million Christian evangelicals and 1.1 million homosexuals, on his page; that's an impressive display of coalition building, don't you think? But more importantly, our man got 3,357,919 more votes than your man got, which means we govern and the liberals suck it up.x-men legends cd crack

I can understand demands for consideration from minority elements of the president's constituency. But from the hate-filled, lie-spewing opposition? Please, Mary. I say loot and pillage the Democrats' political ranch, sacrifice the animals, have our way with the hands and burn the house to ground. Were the tables turned, they'd do the same for us.x-men legends cd crack

From the heartland, a glimmer of hope.x-men legends cd crack

Los Angeles Times:x-men legends cd crack

Although his films have been popular in Mexico, Schwarzenegger's political views have been derided there. For a year, Mexican media have hammered the governor for opposing driver's licenses for illegal immigrants in California, and the issue has reverberated throughout the country.

Well then, it's a good thing Mr. Schwarzenegger isn't a governor in Mexico, isn't it? x-men legends cd crack

Meanwhile, Mexican President Vicente Fox has canceled a trip to California; he had planned to meet with the governor and press for driver licenses for illegals. But aides to the governor warned Mr. Fox that he'd be told to stick it in his ear. Rather than leave and return empty-handed, he's decided to stay home. Perhaps some of his law-breaking countrymen will follow the example.x-men legends cd crack

He's fine.x-men legends cd crack

The Washington Post makes a Virginia firearms advocate look like a nut. The guy supports "open carry" and his tactics are brash, confrontational and, I think, ultimately counterproductive. x-men legends cd crack

I carry a gun everyday. I've stood in line at Starbucks with a cop in front of me and a larger caliber weapon on my hip than the one he had on his. But unlike the cop's gun, my gun was concealed. Americans are comfortable seeing a police officer with a weapon. But they aren't comfortable seeing a private citizen with one. Maybe they should be, but they aren't. And this explains why most states that allow civilians to carry a firearm -- which, by the way, is 38 states -- require them to keep their weapons under wrap. (Incidentially, the requirement to conceal the weapon provides a tactical advantage to the gun-toter. A thug who picks on the unarmed citizen gets his way; a thug who picks on the armed one gets a surprise.)x-men legends cd crack

There are good reasons to have a firearm on you. But seeing how much you can upset people by showing it off isn't one of them. I hope the guy in Virginia learns that before he does his fellow gun owners a lot of harm.x-men legends cd crack

The good news: advocates for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, meeting in Missouri, appear to have received the message sent by voters and are now willing to try their hand at persuasion instead of litigation.x-men legends cd crack

The bad news: the "we're-going-to-shove-it-down-your-throat-via-the-courts" strategy has already produced fierce counteraction and set them back 10 years.x-men legends cd crack

(Report from NPR; requires a media player.)x-men legends cd crack

Election 2004 still isn't over. Two seats in Congress remain up for grabs in Louisiana, and New Mexico has yet to certify a winner in the presidential race.x-men legends cd crack

Would you believe there are two Right Side of the Rainbow blogs? And like this one, the other is also authored by a gay Republican. x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to, uh, Right Side of the Rainbow.)x-men legends cd crack

People do whatever they jolly well want to do. x-men legends cd crack

Relatedly, Power and Control has a fine post, titled Coalition Warfare, in which he writes:x-men legends cd crack

... I have yet to get an answer from any of my "we need a law" anti-abortion friends on why a black market in abortion services and abortion drugs would be a good thing.

All I hear is "if there was a law there would be no abortion". Sure. Well I suppose it is nice to have faith.

So what happens to policing and criminal justice when 300,000 miscarriages a year are each turned into a murder investigations?

His point, of course, is that whatever they law may say, a woman who wants an abortion will still have it. I think this assertion is exactly right; in fact, I think it's indisputable, even obvious. In my 40 years, I've observed that people do as they wish, even if their doings are bad for themselves or for others and even if the law makes their doings criminal. The human wish is a stubborn force. Only in totalitarian states where governments employs draconian measures are human wishes suppressed, and even then not fully. x-men legends cd crack

This is why I put no stock in the proscriptive effect of criminal law. In evaluating a criminal statute, whether extant or proposed, the correct question is not, "What conduct does this law prevent?" I think we already know the answer to that; it prevents nothing. x-men legends cd crack

"Is the prohibited conduct something we want to punish after the fact?" That is the correct question. If we assume, as safely we can, that people are going to do as they please, then we can ask ourselves which of their doings we want to sanction after they've already done them. x-men legends cd crack

Asking the right question is important. If I thought the law actually shaped human conduct, I might support things like mandatory seatbelt laws and the prohibition on controlled substances. (Is there really a case to be made against wearing a seatbelt or for the use of crack cocaine? Come on, now.) But the law doesn't decide behavior. Our busy courtrooms and crowded prisons prove it. If the law determined conduct, I'd have the addict do the sensible thing and put the crack pipe down. But after he's already smoked the crack, what's the point in sending him to the penitentiary? (Incidentially, he will still indulge his habit even there.)x-men legends cd crack

Whether it's liberals on gun control or conservatives on abortion control or both on drug control, they see the law as an expression of their aspirations. They want a society free of abortions, or guns or drugs, and they support laws that vent their wanting. But the law cannot translate one person's wants into another person's actions. People have their own wishes, and they prioritize them over my wishes or yours.x-men legends cd crack

Every law reflects a moral choice. This is true even if we understand the law as a means to punish and not as a means to prevent. After all, we must choose whether to punish this conduct or that, and our values will inform our choosing. We're left, then, with a lot of room for disagreement over the kind conduct that should get people sent to jail. For example, some Americans will in fact want to pay the taxes necessary to pack our prisons with all the women who have early term abortions. But I'm guessing those Americans are in the minority.x-men legends cd crack

For most of us, thinking about the law in terms of what it can actually do -- provide notice of punishable conduct -- rather than just what it can express -- an inexhaustible list of our unrealistic wants -- will temper our legislative ambitions. x-men legends cd crack

In a nutshell, put it to yourself: "My own preferences notwithstanding, my neighbor is going to do (fill in the blank). Is this something I want him in jail for after he does it?"x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to Instapundit.)x-men legends cd crack

The housing market is booming.x-men legends cd crack

CBS News fires a producer for rushing to air with an unsurprising but factually accurate report. This is the same outfit that has so far left in place an anchorman who took more than a year to prepare a report based on fraud.x-men legends cd crack

See it for yourself.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to Prestopundit.)x-men legends cd crack

Belmont Club has a truly engaging post on the moral vision, if any, served by democracy:x-men legends cd crack

When the Founding Fathers created the framework for procedural democracy it was unnecessary to spell out its ends because those were largely provided by the moral, ethical and religious consensus of the underlying society. When that underlying civilizational consensus has been destroyed or diluted, as is the case in Western Europe and to a lesser extent the United States, what intrinsic ends does a value-neutral democratic mechanism serve?

Freedom and democracy are not synonyms, which is why I cringe when Mr. Bush talks of bringing freedom to the Iraqis. For while we are bringing democracy to the Iraqis, it doesn't follow that they'll necessarily have freedom -- or at least not anything you and I would understand as freedom. What if the democratic majority in Iraq imposes Islamic law? Would Americans call that freedom? x-men legends cd crack

The conflation of democracy and liberty arises, I think, because America, the world's most eminent democracy, strives for both. Americans have a democratically elected government and a constitution that puts a few personal freedoms beyond the majority's reach. But democracy itself is merely a procedural mechanism -- the best of many alternatives -- for organizing a government. It doesn't guarantee liberty; in fact, it doesn't guarantee anything, except that the majority will pick the lawgivers.x-men legends cd crack

In his own entry on the drug-sniffing dog case about which I blogged here and that is now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Drug War Rant writes:x-men legends cd crack

Thanks, Lisa. So you wouldn't mind, then, if I brought my dog up to you and had it sniff your crotch in public? After all, it's not a search, so why should anyone mind?

Graphic, but thought-provoking, no?x-men legends cd crack

Meanwhile, the liberal Daily Kos posts this informative e-mail from a reader:x-men legends cd crack

I work the prosecution side as a lawyer, and I have a case on appeal in state court that's all but identical to Caballes. The issue as I see it is not so much the use of the dog to sniff for drugs as whether the officer deliberately extended a traffic stop legitimate at its inception into a detention for the sole purpose of having the dog sniff for drugs. There's case law saying that once the purpose of the stop has been fulfilled (e.g., issuing a traffic ticket), the officer has to allow the driver to continue on his or her way unless there's reasonable suspicion to detain the driver for some other criminal or traffic violation. In Caballes (as in my case), the resolution of the legal issue -- whether dog sniff occurred during a legitimate traffic stop or whether the traffic officer improperly extended the stop to provide the K9 officer time to arrive and let the dog sniff the car -- should turn on a careful assessment of the chronology of the stop. If the Court concludes that the officer extended the stop without any reason yet still allows the use of the evidence, I think that will amount to a significant change in the law and that there will be reason to worry that typical traffic stops will turn into selective sniffs for contraband ...

There are two types of questions at issue here, one of public policy and the other of constitutional law.x-men legends cd crack

Regular readers know that I do not support the "war" on drugs. To be clear, I don't support any of it. Were I king for a day, I would legalize all controlled substances and abolish the (often militaristic) drug control enforcement bureaucracy. (I would also put the Government in the black with the new drug taxes I would levy, but that's incidental.) Under my view, the public policy question -- should we employ dogs to sniff a motorist's vehicle for the presence of contraband? -- would be rendered moot.x-men legends cd crack

But the Supreme Court, if it confines itself to its proper role, is confronted not with a question of public policy, but with a question of constitutional law. Does the Fourth Amendment prohibit the police from using drug-sniffing dogs during routine traffic stops when officers do not suspect motorists of possessing contraband? Or, to put it another way, may the police use a traffic stop as an occasion to prosecute the "war" on drugs, without running afoul of the constitution's injunction against unreasonable searches?x-men legends cd crack

Alas, even though it produces a result inconsistent with my personal views, the answer to that question is, "Yes, the police may use the dogs." Assuming the officer had a lawful reason to stop the motorist in the first place, there's nothing constitutionally unreasonable about having a dog sniff around the car. Judging from media accounts of oral argument, I bet that's what the justices say, too.x-men legends cd crack

(Editorial cartoon courtesy of Cox & Forkum.)x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

This presidential election has been described by many as one in which morality mattered most to voters. But that perception may be driven at least partially by how pollsters asked voters about their priority issues.

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When "moral values" was included in poll questions, it was named more often than any other issue. But when voters were just asked to name the issue most important in their vote for president -- without being given a list of answers -- moral values trailed the war in Iraq and the economy, according to the Pew survey.

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"It's a big mistake to say it's all a function of religious conservatives being motivated," said Mann, of the Brookings Institution. But, he added, "To say it wasn't a factor is just as foolish."

Whatever the exact number, I have no doubt that many religiously conservative Republicans voted on moral values. But I also have no doubt that those of us in the South Park wing of the party, who make up between a fourth and a third of the GOP base, were voting for tax cuts and dead terrorists.x-men legends cd crack

Washington Times:x-men legends cd crack

In all likelihood, Army Staff Sgt. Eugene Simpson won't ever walk again. In April, the 28-year-old tank commander and Dale City native suffered multiple injuries when a bomb exploded five feet from where he stood in Tikrit, Iraq, on patrol in a residential neighborhood. He had been out to fetch his men dinner. He nearly ended up dead. Shrapnel tore into his legs and back, severing his spinal cord above the waist. But for a comrade who pulled him back into his Humvee, Sgt. Simpson recounts, he might not have made it at all.

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Words can hardly describe the great sacrifice Eugene Simpson and others like him made for the cause of freedom, but on Veterans Day, we at least owe it to them to try.

By now, you've probably heard the plethora of conspiracy theories, advanced assiduously by the inhabitants of Moonbat Prime, of how Mr. Bush and the Republicans stole this election. Many of the theories are centered on voting irregularities in Ohio, including Cuyahoga County.x-men legends cd crack

From the Washington Post:x-men legends cd crack

The Ohio vote-fraud theory appears to stem from the curious ways of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. During even-numbered years the county's canvassing board posts vote totals that include the results from outside the county from congressional districts that spill over Cuyahoga's borders. The quirk made it look as if the county had 90,000 more votes than voters.

The disparities were spotted, and urgent mass mailings began: "Ohio precincts report up to 1,586% turnout . . . 30 Precincts in Ohio's Cuyahoga County report 'over' 100% turnout!" Later, the county added a disclaimer to its Web site in an attempt to explain the numbers.

"It takes me about three times to explain" why the fraud allegation is untrue, said Kimberly Bartlett, community outreach specialist for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. "You have to ask them why no top Democrat is making these charges."

You might also ask them why a county that is heavily Democratic and that voted 2 to 1 for Mr. Kerry is evidence of Republican vote fraud.x-men legends cd crack

By the way, if you know of anyone who's organizing a drunken dance in celebration of this, please let me know. I'll fly anywhere.x-men legends cd crack

UPDATE: Appropriate commentary here.x-men legends cd crack

Inspired by the example of Arizona's Proposition 200, groups in other states are looking at ballot measures to keep illegal immigrants off the dole.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

Marine Cpl. David Antonio Garcia stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier Thursday and was sworn in as an American citizen — after already serving under the U.S. flag in Iraq.

The native of Mexico was among 80 sailors and Marines from 25 countries — from Canada to Syria — who became citizens in a Veterans Day ceremony aboard the USS Midway, a reward for putting their lives on the line for their adopted country.

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At the ceremony aboard the USS Midway, U.S. District Judge William Hayes administered the oath of citizenship, noting that many of the troops were from countries that deny individual liberties and had left behind families who "cannot know what joy you are experiencing today."

More than 31,000 legal resident aliens now serve in the U.S. armed forces. Under an executive order signed by Mr. Bush, all are eligible to become citizens. x-men legends cd crack

To the 80 soldiers who became citizens today, congratulations. What so many take for granted as their birthright, you've earned. From one American to another, a very heartfelt thank you.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

U.S. troops, on the verge of gaining control of the city, fought pockets of resistance in this former militant stronghold Wednesday and uncovered what the Iraqi commander said were "hostage slaughterhouses" in which foreign captives had been killed.

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Throughout the day, Americans hit the militants with artillery and mortars, and warplanes fired on the city's main street and market as well as Jolan, one of several neighborhoods where troops were skirmishing with militants.

In what could be a sign of progress, the Marines began turning over Jolan to Iraqi forces, signaling that Marines consider the area relatively secure. Jolan was considered one of the strongest positions held by militants inside Fallujah.

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The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, told President Bush on Wednesday that his troops were "making very good progress" securing Iraq.

"He said that things are going well in Fallujah," Bush said, adding that his Iraq commanders had not asked for more troops. The U.S. military has sent up to 15,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops into the battle, backed by tanks, artillery and attack aircraft.

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Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, is the centerpiece of the Sunni Muslim insurgency that has stymied U.S. efforts to secure Iraq and prepare for national elections that are scheduled for January.

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Most of Fallujah's 200,000 to 300,000 residents are believed to have fled the city before the U.S. assault. Civilian casualties in the attack are not known, though U.S. commanders say they believe the numbers are low.

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Iraqi forces joined U.S. troops in seizing Fallujah's city hall compound before dawn after a gunbattle with insurgents who hit U.S. tanks with anti-armor rockets. Iraqi soldiers swept into a police station in the compound and raised an Iraqi flag above it.

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The U.S. advance in Fallujah was more rapid than an offensive in April, when insurgents fought a force of fewer than 2,000 Marines to a standstill in a three-week siege. It ended with the Americans handing over the city to a local force, which lost control to Islamic militants.

Via Healing Iraq, a map of Fallujah.x-men legends cd crack

Reforming the Social Security system is one of the most important -- and ambitious -- items on the Bush II agenda. Accordingly, it deserves a close following, especially from younger workers. Some particulars:x-men legends cd crack

Bush envisions a framework that would partially privatize Social Security with personal investment accounts, similar to 401(k) plans, that would be voluntary for younger workers.

A starting point is a plan proposed by a presidential commission in 2001 to divert 2 percent of workers' payroll taxes into private accounts. The remaining 4.2 percent — and the payroll taxes employers pay — would go into the system, helping fund benefits for current retirees. That leaves an estimated shortfall of about $2 trillion to continue funding benefits for current retirees.

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For future retirees, base benefits would be cut by tying them to inflation instead of wage growth, with stock market gains assumed to make up any shortfall. The concept gained support in the stock market boom of the late 1990s.

Bush has not said how the $2 trillion transition costs would be funded, nor did his commission.

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Republicans say doing nothing is worse. "There are a lot of things you could do, but none of them are without some sacrifice," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

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Supporters of accounts say Democrats can no longer criticize partial privatization without offering their own plan to deal with Social Security's $3.7 trillion, 75-year shortfall. As more baby boomers retire, the system will start paying out in benefits more than it collects in taxes in 2018.

Long known as the third rail of American politics, Social Security is often thought of as immune to reform. Mr. Bush seems intent on proving that assumption wrong. I wish him success.x-men legends cd crack

I've long been fascinated by how inventive people can be when committing fraud. In addition to the 5 to 15 years he now faces for grand larceny, this guy deserves an award for originality:x-men legends cd crack

In 1985, Brian Calen claimed he was blinded in the right eye in a cruise ship accident. Seven years later, he said a ship's telescope blinded him again. Then, he said, he was blinded on two more trips — by a champagne bottle and a flying disc.

All in the same eye.

He collected more than a $1 million in travelers' insurance money. Read the particulars; they're entertaining.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

Driving 6 mph over the speed limit got Roy Caballes pulled over. But what happened next landed him at the Supreme Court, which considered Wednesday when police can use drug-sniffing dogs.

Caballes was wearing a suit and driving a new Mercury when he was stopped on an Illinois freeway in November 1998. It looked like he would get off with a warning until Krott the drug dog showed up and sniffed out $250,000 worth of marijuana in Caballes' trunk.

Caballes' conviction eventually was overturned on grounds police had no reason to search his car.

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Justices will decide whether people who have given police no reason to suspect illegal activity have a constitutional protection against dog searches.

The case, Illinois v. Caballes, is on appeal from the Illinois Supreme Court, which held that the Fourth Amendment prohibits the sort of dog sniffing to which Mr. Caballes was subjected. That court's opinion is here.x-men legends cd crack

The Christian Science Monitor has more here; SCOTUSBlog has an entry here.x-men legends cd crack

The Hill:x-men legends cd crack

Conservative opposition to Sen. Arlen Specter’s (R-Pa.) becoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee has mushroomed, to the dismay of Senate leaders who hoped it would fade, The Hill has learned.

As late as Tuesday, I thought Sen. Specter was well-positioned to survive this controversy. Indeed, I still think he'll end up as chair of the Judiciary Committee; institutional tradition favors him and prominent conservatives have come to his defense. But I'm no longer as sure of this as I was even 48 hours ago. Pro-life activists are putting on a full-court press to stop him.x-men legends cd crack

Many conservatives were outraged by Specter’s comments after being reelected to a fifth term last week, when he said it is unlikely that the Senate would confirm judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

No, that's not quite right. Conservatives were not outraged by Sen. Specter's observation that it would be difficult to confirm judges openly committed to overturning Roe. That's a statement of political reality. Rather, they were outraged because they read the senator's remarks -- correctly, I believe -- as evidence that he would not support judges committed to overturning Roe, and might use his position as committee chair to block their confirmation.x-men legends cd crack

Conservatives aren't up in arms because they think Sen. Specter is a political realist; they're up in arms because they think he can't be trusted. And they may be right. At best, the senator's record on abortion is mixed.x-men legends cd crack

Washington Post:x-men legends cd crack

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell gave Mexican officials a sober report Tuesday on the prospects of winning congressional approval to grant legal status to millions of undocumented aliens in the United States. He said President Bush would place a "high priority" on pushing his stalled plan through Congress, but he said he did not want to "overpromise" success.

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Many Mexicans remain skeptical that the United States is serious about immigration reform, particularly after strong Republican gains in Congress in last week's elections. Republican lawmakers have been among the biggest skeptics of Bush's plan.

"Fox is absolutely crazy to think anything will happen on migration," said Jorge Montaño, a former Mexican ambassador to the United States. "I thought we had learned that lesson, but I guess we did not. He's trying to sell the same thing he was trying to sell four years ago, and I don't think it's something that people will swallow in the United States."

I can see why Mr. Montano was named ambassador to the United States. He quite obviously knows the American people.x-men legends cd crack

On this issue, the president is wrong. Let's hope the opposition in Congress in robust.x-men legends cd crack

Gay lobby groups say they have no intention of ceding the battleground on same-sex marriage and intend to pursue their fight for licenses through the courts.

Well, if the courts in question are federal, can anyone think of a better way to guarantee passage of a Federal Marriage Amendment? x-men legends cd crack

Even now, in the new, more heavily Republican Congress, passage of the FMA seems unlikely. Democrats and socially liberal Republicans insist it isn't necessary. But some seem intent on proving them wrong.x-men legends cd crack

He's not my kind of Republican, but I'm glad he feels the party has room for him.x-men legends cd crack

Mr. President, what's wrong with leaving this issue to the states?x-men legends cd crack

In a comment to this post, Roger, one of my regular liberal readers, writes:x-men legends cd crack

What's the difference between the Republican party largely backed by extremely conservative Christians legislating moral values for me (passing 13 different measures in 13 different states this year preventing gay couples from marrying) and the Taliban? Both the Republican party and the Taliban have oppressed and denied equal rights to minority groups simply because they could in the name of their so called religions.

It is a symptom of the pathology with which the modern left is afflicted that Roger sees no distinction between the Taliban in Afghanistan and Christian conservatives in America.x-men legends cd crack

But that isn't what interested me about Roger's comment. I'm interested by the oft-repeated suggestion, implicit in Roger's comment, that Americans -- perhaps expecially Christian Americans -- ought not to translate their moral views into law. I think that's intellectual silliness.x-men legends cd crack

There isn't a law on the books that doesn't reflect somebody's moral understanding. It cannot be otherwise; we cannot not legislate morality. Take, for example, the prohibiton on murder. Does that not reflect a moral choice? Or the injunction against robbery; or the ban on insider trading; or the requirement to wear a seatbelt. Whatever the different purposes of the law -- to protect innocent life and property; to promote fairness in the markets; to prevent unnecessary and costly injuries -- they all share one thing in common: they codify private morality into public law.x-men legends cd crack

Who says life and property are worth protecting? That markets ought to be fair? That injuries should be prevented? We do. And in each case, our pronouncements are rooted in our understanding of the moral and the immoral, the right and the wrong.x-men legends cd crack

For the Christian evangelical, the will of God, as revealed by Scripture, is the source of moral understanding. For the secularist, moral understanding might be drawn from literature, philosophy or even personal reflection. But whatever its origins, we rely upon our moral understanding when we make law. We cannot do otherwise. Even an effort to have the law reflect no moral choice -- as, for example, when the Texas Legislature repealed the requirement that adults wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle -- is itself a moral choice. Even in our silence, our moral choices can be heard.x-men legends cd crack

What Roger and others like him fear, I think, is not the writing of private morality into public statute. After all, Roger wants the law to provide equality to gay and lesbian couples, which is a reflection of his own morals. In Roger's understanding, equality is more important than tradition or guarding against unintended consequences wrought by rearranging social institutions. Other gays and lesbians want the law to punish so-called hate crimes with extra severity; this, too, is a moral choice, reflecting as it does the belief that crime motivated by certain thoughts is more offensive than other crime.x-men legends cd crack

No, what Roger fears is that his own moral understanding is not shared by the majority; this is, of course, programmatically worrisome if you live in a democracy. At best, it means you have the often formidable burden of persuading your fellow citizens to change their minds. At worse, it means you lose. But in either case, it's disingenuous to pretend that we don't all want to write our own morals into law. The law is nothing but the codification of moral choice.x-men legends cd crack

Washington Times:x-men legends cd crack

The Internet has exploded with talk of a blue-state confederacy, including one screed circulating by e-mail that features a map of a new country called "American Coastopia" and proposes lopping off the Northeast, the West Coast and the upper Midwest to form a new country, away from the "rednecks in Oklahoma" and the "homophobic knuckle-draggers in Wyoming."

"We were all going to move to various other countries, but then we thought — why should WE move?" the anonymous message asks. "We hold our noses as we fly over you. We are sickened by the way you treat people that are different from you. The rest of the world despises America, and we don't want to be lumped in with you anymore." [italics added]

When it comes to how we should treat people who differ from ourselves, thank goodness the blue state left is setting such a fine example.x-men legends cd crack

George F. Will, smart as always, on the lessons of Election 2004:x-men legends cd crack

In 2000, Americans were reminded that electoral votes select presidents. In 2004, Democrats were reminded that Bruce Springsteen does not.

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On election night, news organizations were very hesitant to call a winner in Ohio, where Bush led all night and won by 136,483 votes. They were less hesitant about calling Pennsylvania, where Kerry led all night and won by only 127,927 votes.

Enjoy it all.x-men legends cd crack

The much-heralded youth vote did not turnout as expected; but if these young adults are representative of their peers, we can all be grateful. Writes one who didn't vote:x-men legends cd crack

"People do not have enough information to form a valid decision ... I watched the debates. They were pretty confusing and difficult to understand. A lot of things they talked about I had no clue what they were referring to."

It seems unlikely, but perhaps this young non-voter never heard of the Internets, which were teeming with information. In any event, democracy assumes an informed electorate and anyone with "no clue" has no business voting.x-men legends cd crack

"Despite Drop in Crime, an Increase in Inmates" -- headline, New York Timesx-men legends cd crack

It evidently does not occur to the Times that crime might be dropping because there's an increase in inmates. Or, as this blogger put it: x-men legends cd crack

This is like saying "Joe Blow has been continuing to exercise despite the fact that he has been getting in much better shape."

Palestinian terrorist Yasser Arafat, whose corpse may now be liquefying in a French military hospital, has reportedly squirreled away anywhere from $4.2 billion to $6.5 billion.x-men legends cd crack

But it became apparent today that Arafat's wife, Suha, who hadn't seen her husband in the 3 years before his arrival in France on October 29, still doesn't know the bank account numbers. Perhaps understandably, that's making it hard for her to let go.x-men legends cd crack

Larry Kudlow, guest blogging at The Club for Growth, on why the Democratic appeal to class warfare doesn't work:x-men legends cd crack

The political moral of this story should be clear by now, but in all likelihood Dems will be right back with this nonsense in 2008. But the economic principle is even more important: you can’t have capitalism without capital. You can’t have jobs without businesses. You can’t have businesses without investment funding. Therefore, connecting the dots, investment capital from rich people creates the wherewithal for middle income consumption.

Folks in America who work, pay taxes, and vote know this full well. For them, the challenge is to climb the ladder of economic mobility, not destroy the upper rungs of the ladder itself.

Read the rest.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

"May they go to hell!" the soldiers shouted, and Allawi replied: "To hell they will go."

The latest on the joint U.S./Iraqi offensive against insurgents holed up in Fallujah.x-men legends cd crack

Washington Post:x-men legends cd crack

Several influential conservative Republicans indicated yesterday that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who is in line to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee next year, has not succeeded in tamping down the furor he created last week when he appeared to warn President Bush not to select Supreme Court nominees who oppose abortion rights.

The Pennsylvania senator is in line to become chairman of the Judiciary Committee for two reasons. First, term limits, imposed by the Senate Republican Conference, are forcing out Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the committee's current chairman and a conservative favorite. Second, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the next most senior Republican on Judiciary, doesn't want the job. The rules allow a senator to chair only one committee at a time, and Sen. Grassley wants to keep his post atop the powerful Finance Committee.x-men legends cd crack

One possible solution: the Republican Conference could grant Sen. Hatch a waiver to the term limits.x-men legends cd crack

More here.x-men legends cd crack

Business Week:x-men legends cd crack

Business groups waging war against the powerful trial lawyers' lobby found little satisfaction during President Bush's first term. Distracted by the war on terror and Iraq, Bush put tort reform on the back burner. But with his Nov. 2 victory, Corporate America has reason to believe that Bush II will make the issue a priority. On the campaign trail, tort reform was a frequent -- and surefire -- crowd-pleaser; Bush routinely insisted that frivolous lawsuits were hiking the cost of health care and killing jobs.

Now Corporate America is gearing up to win three big prizes: caps on medical malpractice damages, which business believes will lower health-care costs; a move to make class actions less expensive to defend; and a business-funded global settlement to compensate workers and others harmed by asbestos.

For more on tort reform, click here.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to How Appealing.)x-men legends cd crack

Reuters:x-men legends cd crack

Peace and tolerance have long been the words to live by in San Francisco, known for its large gay community, broad ethnic mix and frequent anti-war protests. But days after the election, many residents said they were so worried about an erosion of civil rights, environmental standards and the escalating violence in the Middle East, that they did not know how they could tolerate the Bush administration, or Americans who voted to re-elect him.

What happened to all the liberal talk of "diversity" and "cross-cultural understanding?" Evidently, it doesn't extend to Republicans, not even when they're family:x-men legends cd crack

"I have family in Idaho, but I told my wife we're not going to visit them now. It's all Republicans there," said Ron Schmidt, a public relations executive. "We have family in Indiana and I don't want to go there either."

But while his opinion of his fellow Americans is in tatters, Mr. Schmidt's opinion of himself is still high:x-men legends cd crack

Schmidt said: "The ideologies of the two parties are too different. I don't see how healing can take place. I feel like the disenfranchised minority now, and that's a funny thing for a tall, good-looking white guy like me to say."

Reuters:x-men legends cd crack

President Bush will renew a quest in his second term for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage as essential to a "hopeful and decent" society, his top political aide said on Sunday.

Bush's call for a constitutional ban on gay marriages failed last year in Congress, but his position was seen as a key factor motivating Christian conservatives concerned about "moral values" to turn out in large numbers and help supply Bush with a winning margin in last week's election.

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Bush said last month that he disagreed with a Republican Party platform provision that would also ban civil unions of same-sex couples, and he said states should be able to allow such legal arrangements if they wish.

Rove elaborated on this on Sunday.

"He (Bush) believes that there are ways that states can deal with some of the issues that have been raised, for example, visitation rights in hospitals, or the right to inherit, or benefit rights, property rights, but these can all be dealt with at the state level, without overturning the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman."

That view is, I think, shared by most voters. They support -- or at least do not strongly oppose -- providing some legal protections to same-sex couples. But they are adamant that the historic meaning of marriage not be changed, especially by an elitist judiciary.x-men legends cd crack

Most of the legal protections gay couples seek must come from the state governments. Others must come from the federal government (e.g., changes in federal tax policy). Unfortunately, there is now no major gay rights organization with political influence in either the White House or among Republican congressional leaders. Of the major gay groups, Log Cabin was in the best position to help concretize the president's view, cast it as an element of tolerant traditionalism and translate it into law. x-men legends cd crack

But earlier this year, Log Cabin performed political hara-kiri. Kowtowing to gay intellectuals -- see, among others, Andrew Sullivan -- and forgetting its base, the organization made a fateful decision. This was an epic election, and Log Cabin put itself on the losing side when its board of directors declined to endorse the president; worse yet, the group's political prowess is fatally undermined by exit polls showing Mr. Bush with roughly the same share of the gay vote this election as last, the non-endorsement notwithstanding. Log Cabin, in other words, proved itself not only wrong, but also impotent. In the corridors of the Nation's power, that is not a winning combination. x-men legends cd crack

Fortunately, in the absence of an unexpected decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Federal Marriage Amendment is unlikely to pass, even in the new, more heavily Republican Congress. But Log Cabin has squandered the opportunity to influence Republican governance -- and hence the law -- in modest, gay-friendly ways.x-men legends cd crack

Washington Times:x-men legends cd crack

... since 1968, the Democrats have lost seven out of the last 10 presidential elections, but their steep decline from a majority to a minority party has occurred more recently and more rapidly. After the 1990 election, the Democrats had a 56-seat majority in the Senate, a 267-seat majority in the House and held 27 of the governorships. All of those majorities vanished during the Clinton presidency and were further weakened in Tuesday's elections.

When the new Congress meets in January, the GOP will hold at least 231 seats in the House (two races are not yet decided) and 55 seats in the Senate. Republicans will also makeup a majority of the Nation's governors, including those in California, Texas, New York and Florida.x-men legends cd crack

Roger Hickey of the liberal Campaign for America's Future explains, in part, what went wrong this year for the Democrats:x-men legends cd crack

"The other big problem was that Kerry was never quite clear on where he stood on the war in Iraq, which was confusing to voters and easily parodied by the Bush team."

Gee, ya think?x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to Prestopundit.)x-men legends cd crack

From the post-election issue of Newsweek, a look at the character and temperament of the man who wanted to be president:x-men legends cd crack

The morning after the Feb. 3 primaries, which vaulted Kerry into a virtually insurmountable lead, the candidate was fuming over his missing hairbrush. He and his aides were riding in a van on the way to a Time magazine cover-photo shoot. Nicholson had left the hairbrush behind. "Sir, I don't have it," he said, after rummaging in the bags. "Marvin, f---!" Kerry said. The press secretary, David Wade, offered his brush. "I'm not using Wade's brush," the long-faced senator pouted. "Marvin, f---, it's my Time photo shoot."

Nicholson was having a bad day. Breakfast had been late and rushed and not quite right for the senator. In the van, Kerry was working his cell phone and heard the beep signaling that the phone was running out of juice. "Marvin, charger," he said without turning around. "Sorry, I don't have it," said Nicholson, who was sitting in the rear of the van. Now Kerry turned around. "I'm running this campaign myself," he said, looking at Nicholson and the other aides. "I get myself breakfast. I get myself hairbrushes. I get myself my cell-phone charger. It's pretty amazing."

Amazing indeed, senator. x-men legends cd crack

The piece describes Mr. Kerry as cranky, petulant and whiny.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to Peeve Farm.)x-men legends cd crack

The installation of MT 3.121 is complete, but we are as yet unsuccessful in getting the archives from the old version migrated to the new. My partner, Michael, has spent hours and hours working on it. I feel terribly grateful to him, but also a little guilty. Michael is a school teacher with papers to grade and I'm thinking of just accepting the loss of the archives and moving on.x-men legends cd crack

If you wish to comment here, you'll now need a Typekey registration. (You'll be prompted to register when you attempt to comment for the first time.) You have to register only once, and your registration will be good on any MT blog. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but the comment spam had become insufferable. The spam bots had taken up residence here. I'm a big fan of business and free markets and don't really care if an outfit makes its money selling Viagra or online poker, but I don't want its bots poaching my site. x-men legends cd crack

Finally, you can expect further changes to the color scheme and layout here. I'm waiting on a quote from a professional for a design layout and hope to have the site looking snazzy soon.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

"How Republican is the state of Texas? How many calories are there in a Krispy Kreme doughnut? The number is big," said Chuck McDonald, a political analyst and consultant who once worked for former Democratic Gov. Ann Richards.

Under a redistricting plan adopted by the Republican-controlled legislature, the GOP now holds a 21-11 advantage over Democrats in the state's congressional delegation. Before Tuesday, the delegation was split 16-16. Mr. Bush carried Texas, where Republicans hold every statewide office, with 61% of the vote.x-men legends cd crack

Democrats — once the dominant party in Texas — may not be truly competitive in state elections again until 2010, McDonald predicted.

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

When Alan and Linda Townsend were unhappy with the sprayed-on siding applied to their house, the frustrated couple launched a Web site to complain and to give other unsatisfied customers a forum.

Visitor postings to the Web site said the product, Spray on Siding, cracked, bubbled and buckled. For their efforts, the Townsends got slapped with a lawsuit by the product’s maker.

The federal case may help shape the boundaries of online speech.

David Brooks, in the New York Times, writing on the liberal notion that values-voting yahoos swung the election to Mr. Bush:x-men legends cd crack

The fact is that if you think we are safer now, you probably voted for Bush. If you think we are less safe, you probably voted for Kerry. That's policy, not fundamentalism. The upsurge in voters was an upsurge of people with conservative policy views, whether they are religious or not.

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What we are seeing is a diverse but stable Republican coalition gradually eclipsing a diverse and stable Democratic coalition. Social issues are important, but they don't come close to telling the whole story. Some of the liberal reaction reminds me of a phrase I came across recently: The rage of the drowning man.

In this election, Mr. Bush got 1,040,000 gay votes, up slightly from the 1 million he won 4 years ago; that translates into 23% of the national gay electorate and a third of the Southern gay electorate.x-men legends cd crack

Did those voters see their ballots as an endorsement of a fundamentalist social agenda? Probably not. In fact, since Mr. Bush backed civil unions for gays while rejecting same-sex marriage -- a position indistinguisable from one of Mr. Kerry's -- Republican-voting homosexuals might well have seen their votes as gay-neutral, but war on terror-affirmative.x-men legends cd crack

Houston Chronicle:x-men legends cd crack

White House counsel Alberto Gonzales is developing a list of possible Supreme Court nominees in case vacancies occur during President Bush's second term, but Gonzales wouldn't say Friday whether he's on the list.

Gonzales, who was on the Texas Supreme Court before Bush tapped him for the administration job, often is mentioned as a high-court prospect.

He also is considered a possible successor to Attorney General John Ashcroft if Ashcroft doesn't stay for Bush's second term.

Gonzales would be the first Hispanic in either job.

Meanwhile, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports:x-men legends cd crack

White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, a Texan and confidant of President Bush, is suddenly the focus of intense speculation that he will be Bush's choice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy when it arises.

Mr. Bush has repeatedly advanced Judge Gonzales's career, first appointing him as Texas secretary of state, then to a seat on the Texas Supreme Court and from there to the position he now holds as White House counsel. That history, combined with the probability that Judge Gonzales is immune to a successful Democratic filibuster, leads me to believe the president will in fact appoint him to the first vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.x-men legends cd crack

You can read more about Judge Gonzales here.x-men legends cd crack

(Thanks to How Appealing.)x-men legends cd crack

Despite a strick ban on the private possession of handguns, the British still can't get pistols, some of which have fallen into the hands of violent criminals, off the streets:x-men legends cd crack

Police have arrested 41 people in a series of raids across London after an investigation revealed hundreds of firearms and rounds of ammunition being purchased illegally over the internet.

A doctor, police officer, two suspected armourers and career criminals are among those who are being questioned while the seized weapons will be tested to ascertain whether they are linked to unsolved crimes.

Detectives believe some of the weapons had been used to kill and maim and they will now be tested at forensic laboratories.

The four day series of raids which began on Tuesday resulted in the seizure of 108 pistols, components for more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition as well as four machine gun-type weapons and 13 stunguns in what police have called the climax of a long-term investigation.

Eventually more than 700 addresses were raided nationally. Those charged will face a minimum five-year jail terms for possession of a firearm.

So even when the law prohibits it and the penalty is stiff, criminals continue to acquire firearms. Who knew?x-men legends cd crack

This, from the Los Angeles Times, on Arizona's Proposition 200, which denies some public services to illegal immigrants:x-men legends cd crack

Support for the initiative was strongest among white voters, but 47% of Latinos in Arizona supported the measure, according to some exit polls. In recent years, partly because of tighter security along the California-Mexico border, Arizona has emerged as the biggest illegal immigrant corridor in the U.S.

Forty-seven percent is slightly higher than the 44% of the Hispanic vote Mr. Bush won in Tuesday's election.x-men legends cd crack

Note to Republican politicians: take care in how you frame the issue. But don't back away from confronting illegal immigration for fear of losing Hispanic political support; that won't happen.x-men legends cd crack

Reuters:x-men legends cd crack

Democrats vowed on Saturday to protect the Social Security retirement program from "privatization" by President Bush and his Republican allies, who expanded their congressional majorities in elections this week.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, House of Representatives minority leader, said Democratic lawmakers would work with Bush where they could during his second term, but Social Security was an issue on which they differed with the president.

"The president has proposed privatizing Social Security, which would cut the benefits that provide financial security for millions of seniors and the disabled," Pelosi said.

On Social Security, he wants to give younger workers the ability to put some of their income in a personal account that could be invested in bonds and stocks. The cost of shifting to private accounts is estimated at between $1 trillion and $2 trillion, and Bush has yet to say how he would pay for it.

In only 13 years from now, Social Security will start to spend more each year than it generates in revenue.x-men legends cd crack

The president should indeed tell us how he plans to pay the cost -- which might be as high as $2 trillion, or as low as $500 billion -- of transitioning to a partially privatized Social Security system. But Democrats should tell us how they plan to pay the cost of doing nothing, estimated at $27 trillion.x-men legends cd crack

We're running out of time to avoid fiscal calamity.x-men legends cd crack

From Andrew Samwick, professor of economics at Dartmouth College:x-men legends cd crack

Each year that elapses without reform causes the burden of financing the unfunded obligations to be shifted away from one more birth cohort that crosses the threshold of being "at or near retirement." The more we wait, the larger the burden on future generations …

For more on the problems facing Social Security, as well as ideas for fixing them, click here.x-men legends cd crack

Associated Press:x-men legends cd crack

Latino leaders offered assurances Friday to immigrant parents who have been flooding Hispanic community leaders with calls, wondering if an Arizona ballot issue approved by voters Tuesday means they should keep their children in school or avoid going out.

Proposition 200 requires proof of citizenship when seeking public benefits or when registering to vote. Government employees are required to report suspected undocumented immigrants seeking public benefits.

Martin Delgado, a legal resident, said he fears for his wife who is here illegally. She is among the estimated 300,000 to 350,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona.

"She fears even to go out to walk because anyone can ask her for legal papers," said Delgado, 33. "She doesn't have any type of identification, and now it will be harder to go around."

He “fears for his wife” but he’s talking to the press. Does that sound like the conduct of a man spooked by the immigration authorities? Then again, why should he be?x-men legends cd crack

Meanwhile, according to a report prepared by the Federation for American Immigration Reform:x-men legends cd crack

... Arizona’s illegal immigrant population is costing the state’s taxpayers about $1.3 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. Even if the estimated tax contributions of illegal immigrant workers are subtracted, net outlays still amount to about $1.3 billion per year. The annual fiscal burden borne by Arizonans amounts to more than $700 per household headed by a native-born resident.

The total costs of illegal immigration to the state’s taxpayers would be considerably higher if other costs such as special English instruction, school nutrition programs, or welfare benefits for American workers displaced by illegal alien workers were added into the equation.

MSNBC:x-men legends cd crack

But some conservative legal experts say Roe has been on the books so long — more than three decades — that it's settled law, unlikely to be overturned.

Charles Fried, who as solicitor general during the Reagan administration twice tried to get Roe overruled, told a legal forum just last year that it's here to stay.

"I think the issue is off the table and it's irresponsible to try and put it back on," said Fried.

If you’ve never read Roe – a decision then-Justice Byron White described in dissent as an “exercise of raw judicial power” – you’ll find it here.x-men legends cd crack

As you can see, the installation of MT 3.121 is complete. (For your patience and technical help, thank you Sarah and Michael! Thank you both so much!) x-men legends cd crack

I'll have the archives, blogroll and calendar, among other things, fixed by tomorrow, and we'll resume commentary from the gay precincts of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy.™x-men legends cd crack