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Iran's mixed signals on British hostages might reflect internal divisions. The British response is becoming weaker, not stronger, empowering Iran. EU discussion. Tactical situation. The British need to take the lead. EU claims it will "do everything possible." That's bull. Iranian dissidents claim kidnapping was ordered in advance. British captives may be tried. British attempt to find way for Iran to save face. Save face? It's called appeasement.

400 dead in 3 days in Iraq. Al Qaeda is working overtime to reignite sectarian violence because the Mahdi army has stopped fighting. Gen. Petraeus has to stamp out Al Qaeda in Diyala province too. Ex-Iraqi PM Allawi claims that current PM Maliki's government is too sectarian to succeed, and he's trying to build a secular, moderate coalition to challenge Maliki.

US places tariff on one Chinese import, could apply to more. This policy is backwards. China was subsidizing a product for sale in America. That means that Chinese taxpayers were paying part of the cost of a product so that Americans wouldn't have to pay as much. This is a great deal for Americans. Placing a tariff on the product means Americans have to pay more for it. How is that good for us?

The way to deal with the Chinese trade imbalance is to adopt the FairTax, which will allow American made products to compete on a level playing field with imports in America and with all other goods on the world market.

How US funds Hamas university.

Zimbabwe opposition members once again captured and beaten.

More casualties in Somalia.

Bush calls Democrats record tax increase and spending programs irresponsible. He's right, but after 6 years of record, irresponsible Republican spending, who would listen to Bush?

Bush attacks pork in Iraq spending bill.

What federal control of our schools has wrought - 5th graders have sex in classroom while teacher discusses the stabbing death of one student by another. We have to abolish the Department of Education and get the federal government out of our schools so our kids can have a chance to get an education.

Because of outsourcing, the US government is loosing leading edge expertise. I don't see why this is a problem. Government is supposed to govern, not be a high-tech company, and contracting to bring in the best and brightest free market operators to meet specific demands is more efficient and cheaper than trying to keep top people in all fields in the government at all times. More government means even more cost overruns and failed projects. If the government is too incompetent to administer a contractor, it can't possibly hope to do the project itself.

Democrats claim Rove Power Point project targeting Democrats made with taxpayer money. This is a new high in hypocrisy for Democrats. Bill Clinton illegally sold access at his morning coffees and the Lincoln bedroom, raising millions of dollars for the Democratic party, but Democrats complain about a Power Point presentation.

48% of Americans don't accept evolution. Yikes!

Why globalization is good.

Technology is making it possible to tell when we will die. Instead of working on that technology, researchers should work on technology to stop us from dying.

The wave of future - Spiderman 3 opens in China before it opens in the US.

Indictment of Bernard Kerik could hurt Giuliani campaign.

Scientists uncover more evidence for my theory that our brains and minds are layered based on evolution - reptile, mammal, primate, and human layers, which are often in conflict.

Cheerleaders suffer more injuries than athletes in all other sports combined.

Operation Praying Mantis - US ships destroyed a significant part of the Iranian navy. How prescient is this analysis just after Iran released British hostages in 2004?

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Iran airs "confession" of British hostage. Britain talks. Britain wonders were Ahmadinejad is. UN expresses "grave concern." I bet that'll help. We can only hope that while all this talk is going on, rescue and assault plans are being finalized.

Israeli PM Olmert praises Arab peace plan. Israel confident it can shoot down ballistic missiles.

Japan deploys Patriot anti-missile missile batteries.

Bangladesh executes Islamic militants.

Democrats plan to pass the largest tax increase in history.

Combat readiness is strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - the 82 airborne has surrendered it's first responder status.

No matter what Bush does with Guantanamo, he can't win with liberals. First they want us to release all those terrorists. Then, when we release some, liberals complain their home countries tortured them. Liberals want us to rule the world, but they want us to be impotent too. But no matter what they want, the reality is somewhere in the middle.

The war on drugs has made the drug trade so lucrative, and drugs so ubiquitous, that people grow pot in suburban homes.

San Diego prosecutor was fired for failing to prosecute smugglers of illegal immigrants.

Bill Richardson, probably the best Democrat in the presidential race (that's why nobody's talking about him), says the US needs to lead an effort to secure nuclear material world-wide.

Charles Krauthammer points out that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. Everybody knows that, including the Democrats who are trying to defeat us in Iraq anyway. They just lie about it because they want to defeat Bush more than defeat terrorists, but they don't want to be held responsible.

Bringing health care into the information age. Government interference is what allowed the health care industry to get so far behind.

Virginia won't celebrate founding of Jamestown.

Boortz explains that Democrats are hiding their pork expenditures.

Victor Davis Hanson says the war in Iraq is not the cause of terrorism. Once again, everybody knows this, but liberals lie about it so they can defeat Bush.

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Great Britain looks impotent dealing with Iran. Maybe because they are. Iran is playing Britain, and through them the US, for fools. Ahmadinejad won't be satisfied until we send him to his grave. The sooner the better. The longer we sit idly by, the more likely we lose the moral high ground.

Myths about Congress' timetables on Iraq. This article intends to expose Republican spin doctors, but all it does is expose Democrat hypocrisy. If "not one more drop" of American blood should be shed in Iraq, how come the Democrats won't pull all troops out now? Their rhetoric is almost as destructive as their plan.

Helicopters bomb Mogadishu in attempt to root out insurgents.

Secretary of Defense Gates urges Guantanamo closure.

Reason describes our new UN ambassador.

Gonzales' aid contradicts him, but we already had documents that contradicted him. Even if Gonzales' cover story, that he wasn't aware of the firings, was true, then the department would be out of his control. Any way you cut it, out of control, lying, and/or incompetent, take your pick, Gonzales should be fired.

Government, via the Supreme Court, uses the iron fist to hurt the free market.

Students sue anti-plagiarism website for copy-write infringement.

GSK, a European drug company, plans to sell African vaccine and make no money on it. We'll see if the good PR is worth it.

I have spoken out against the school bully more than anybody I know. The epidemic of school violence is due to the lack of discipline in schools that leaves victims with no choice but to defend themselves. But blaming cyber-bullies for making school-girls strip online is ridiculous. The girls are at home. They can bring their parents into the room to expose the bullies and get help. These girls have to take responsibility for their own decisions.

Bush makes fun of himself, and is pretty funny.

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Satellite data shows British sailors and marines were in Iraqi waters when captured by Iran. Iran to parade hostages on TV. Russian's claim US military buildup on Iranian border. We should be overflying their ships if we're not already. Iran says it will release female soldier. Why is she special? This is exactly why women should not be in dangerous roles. When it's safe, everybody wants women to be treated just like men. When they're in danger, all the sudden the women have to be treated differently. That's hardwired into our genes, and therefore unnecessarily complicates dangerous missions.

Austin Bay also thinks the Iranian action is an act of desperation. We're seeing the death throws, either from internal strife or allied attack, of the Iranian Revolution.

Dick Morris identifies pending legislation to deal with Iran. I figured that we were already doing all this stuff, but of course we're not. This is an eye-opener.

Bush steps up rhetoric over Iraq pullout bills.

EU and Turkey to resume negotiations.

Zimbabwe opposition leader, recently captured and beaten by police, is arrested again.

Uranium supply problems could cripple nuclear plant development.

Filters and good parenting are far better than laws at protecting children from porn.

New Democrat Sen. Webb's aid caught with gun. Webb doesn't want to explain where he got it, but it seems like it was from Webb's car. I bet he votes for gun control anyway.

Ban Alert: San Fransisco to ban plastic grocery bags.

Harold Meyerson says the Bush administration is acting like Republicans still controlled Congress, and that's why they keep stepping in these [so-called] scandals. No doubt it's incompetence. The administration has never bothered to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's, and they're paying for it now.

Dinesh D'Souza debunks the liberal myths about why radical Islam is attacking us.

Did we need John Stossel to tell us that the media blows the threat of children being kidnapped way out of proportion?

Elizabeth Edwards is a class act.

Falling space junk narrowly misses airliner.

The Pope has to claim hell and damnation are real, or else heaven couldn't be real either, and he'd be just a guy in a funny hat.

Hexagon feature at Saturn's north pole.

Bush should go on the offensive and take back Washington

This is the moment Bush should take back Washington, using Monica Goodling as the catalyst. Fitzgerald's manufactured crime against Libby, embraced by Democrats, has made it inadvisable for anybody in the Bush administration to testify under oath because, having learned the technique from Fitzgerald, Democrats are threatening to criminalize the testimony of political adversaries because of the natural, inevitable contradictions between the recollections of different people. They're criminalizing human nature for political gain, that has to be stopped.

Bush can take the initiative on this by using his bully pulpit and Presidential powers. Bush should come out in a prime time TV address and explain and denounce Fitzgerald's manufactured crime against Libby, say he demands higher ethics from his prosecutors, fire Fitzgerald for his witch-hunt, and pardon Libby.

At the same time he should explain to the American people how Democrats are trying to criminalize oversight using Fitzgerald's same underhanded technique, and warn that until Democrats return to civility, he will recommend every executive branch employee take the 5th if put under oath.

At the same time Bush should acknowledge that Gonzales screwed up, lied to Congress, and fire him.

Bush can claim the moral high ground and stand up for principle with Libby and Fitzgerald, take all the heat off of his people, put the Democrats on the defensive, and show that he's willing to clean his own house. Democrats will scream bloody murder because Bush stole their thunder, called them out, and put them on the defensive, but they won't be able to continue to threaten criminal charges to intimidate political rivals.

ETA: Now that Democrats have passed pork laden bills that bought enough votes to undermine our troops in Iraq, Bush is more empowered than ever to take on the Democrats. He should arrange a prime time address to beat the Democrats up for their retreat and defeat stance, their attempt to undermine the troops and increase casualties, and include all the above.

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Emergency Senate bill for war funding includes $2 billion in pork, $100 million for both party's conventions. Democrat wants to force troop withdrawal, but keep date secret between the President, Congress, and the Iraqi government. I can't make this stuff up. Senate passes bill.

Reason points out the two parties are almost exactly alike. We already knew that. Democrats hate Bush because he stole their big-government, big-spending, boondoggle agenda. He also stole the Democrats' policy for regime change in Iraq. Democrats don't own anything anymore except defeat in Iraq, socialized medicine, and putting people out of work by raising the minimum wage.

Reason thinks the bigger story about the Justice Dept. is Bush's priorities and secrecy. Slate discusses the competing interests of Congress and the executive branch concerning Presidential privilege.

UK is negotiating with Iran. The reason Iran kidnapped the British is they knew there would be no repercussions, just negotiation. That has to change.

Arab leaders meet in Saudi summit to reinvigorate Middle East peace plan.

Because of Baghdad crackdown, Iraqi bombers target new regions in Iraq.

Russia still does not like nations being able to defend against their nuclear missiles. Too bad.

Obama makes clear stance for socialism. 50% of Americans would not vote for Hillary. I bet it's more. She's so hated, people who have never considered voting in their entire lives would come out of the woodwork to vote against Hillary. Or course, she'll get the 43% koolaid vote, but I doubt she'll get any more. The real danger with Hillary running is that the Republican will win in a landslide and claim a mandate.

Devin the Dude.

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Russian and China call on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. More evidence that Bush's plan of constantly ratcheting up the pressure is working. Iran further restricts IAEA in response to sanctions. There had to be a reason Russia and China turned on their proxy, and here it is: US banking policy has cut off funds to Tehran.

It turns out that Iran did indeed kidnap the British sailors and marines in retaliation for defections. They'll probably kidnap 100 next time. 1000 after that. We'll do nothing.


Oil price nears $67 a barrel.

Christopher Hitchens discusses a plan for protecting Kurds in Iraq.

Survey estimates 655,000 Iraqis killed since invasion.

North Ireland government formed.

Palestinian President Abbas calls for US to pressure Israel back to peace talks. This is backwards. Hamas just released a video glorifying a mother who was a suicide bomber, and her young daughter who is proud of her. That sickness has to be stopped before there can be any peace.

China and Russia tighten their alliance in the new Cold War of Terror. China's government is walking a tightrope with internal policy. Human rights abuses are increasing in old Soviet states, including Russia. Maybe that's because they're returning to Cold War era totalitarianism because of the failure of both Clinton and Bush.

Spurned Turkey looks east.

Smugglers drown Ethiopian and Somali migrants in rough seas.

Boortz discusses who pays what and receives what from government.

US loses track of 600,000 fugitive aliens.

No criminal charges in Pat Tillman's friendly fire death.

Gonzales has blown his credibility with Republicans too. It seems everybody has decided the Bush administration is incompetent- Robert Novak says Bush is more isolated than even Nixon. I can't believe it took 6 years. The sad part is that Democrats are even worse, and that's why Bush won 2 elections.

Newspaper revenue drops sharply in February.

Sheep has human organs. This is just the first step for genetic manipulation.

Christopher Tolkien finishes father's book from notes.

Man kills himself on live web-cam for chat-room crowd.

Woman crossing border into Gaza has crocodiles strapped to body.

Clip of UN director denouncing the UN human rights group, and the response.

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Terror watch-list has quadrupled in 4 years. We'll all be on it soon.

Iran claims it will try British soldiers for spying. Iran offers prisoner swap for Iranian spys captured in Iraq. It was just days ago that Iran threatened to kidnap American soldiers. I wonder if this is the implementation of that threat. Ahmadinejad wants us to attack him. He's tried so hard, threatening to destroy Israel, Great Britain, and the US, and he's frustrated we haven't fulfilled his martyr complex yet.

Ahmaninejad is unhappy about new sanctions, threatens world again.

Gaza rally for kidnapped BBC reporter.

Putin acknowledges the 50 year anniversary of the EU.

Brain Doherty thinks libertarian ideals are gaining in the US. There's optimism, then there's delusion. We've won a few battles, but we're losing the war. Maybe he hasn't noticed the explosive growth in the size and scope of government, and the rejection of libertarian principles by conservatives.

How the left savaged Reagan much like they savage Bush today, but now they consider Reagan a great President. And for all Bush's mistakes and hubris, his legacy will be defined by Iraq. If Iraq turns out a failure, Bush will be considered one of the worst Presidents in history. If Iraq turns out a success, Bush will end up better than average. If Iraq turns out a tremendous success that turns the tide in the War on Terror, Bush will considered a great President. That's why the left is so determined to defeat America.

Mark Steyn says Pakistani President Musharraf is in a pickle, and so is Great Britain.

We're seeing the opening skirmishes between the American way of life and Sharia law, but WSJ has it exactly wrong on the taxi drivers. This is America, and if a taxi driver doesn't want to take a certain fare for any reason, that's his business. As for the 6 imams, who obviously went out of their way to make a threatening spectacle of themselves, they should lose in the courts every time. A more subtle issue is the issue of prayer itself. Anybody can pray without making a spectacle of themselves. Praying is just fine. Doing it loudly and obnoxiously is making a spectacle, and that has to be stopped.

Caldwell Banker to sell housing tracks in Second Life.

Why the GOP plan on health care is still wrong

The GOP has a health care plan, but it shows GOP statism. Because it enables free market forces to lower health insurance costs, it's an improvement on what we have today (which is superior to the Democrats' socialized medicine schemes).

But this GOP plan illustrates what's so wrong with Republicans and government. First off, the plan depends on the manipulation of the tax code. Our income tax is a terrible burden in itself, so any plan that depends on it accepts the statist position that the income tax is acceptable. Worse, our income tax code is outrageously convoluted, and it's the game board for all the corporate lobbying that goes on in Washington. Another modification just makes it worse. Any plan that relies on the income tax by necessity further embeds the income tax in government and strengthens all the corruption of politics that goes with it.

I have a far simpler solution.

Part 1: adopt the FairTax. This will get rid of one of the main drivers of health care costs - the health care exemption for businesses who supply health plans to employees. It's this third party health care that creates an overabundance of demand, driving up prices. When citizens get to keep their own paychecks and become direct health care costumers, competition thrives, and prices drop.

Part 2: remove every government restriction and mandate on health care. As I've pointed out elsewhere, every time the government interferes in the free market, it hurts competition. Health care restrictions and mandates work for the big providers, hurt the small providers who have smaller incomes to use to comply, and raises the barrier to entry for new competition. The result is that both workers and consumers suffer from the restricted competition.

This is a simple, one-two punch that will knock out health care costs by truly empowering the free market. This is far superior to some government controlled attempt to direct the free market by manipulating the income tax.

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During the 20th century, often called the American century, mankind experienced unprecedented growth in health, wealth, and freedom worldwide. That's what American leadership and the American values of family, personal freedom, personal responsibility, and severely restricted government have done for the world. Now we want to throw it all away for socialism and government control of our lives. Europe has prospered in the American century.

The roots of modern libertarianism from Cato and Brian Doherty.

Iran claims British sailors confessed to being in Iranian waters. They're supposed to say whatever their captors want.

UN confirms new sanctions against Iran.

Iraqi vice-President warns against premature withdrawal of US troops. Terrorist bombs kill Iraqis. There sure are a lot fewer reports like this lately.

Bloateded on pork, House Democrats try to force timetable for Iraq withdrawal on Bush. Bush vows to veto. This is a huge mistake by Democrats. They've been exposed for egregious vote-buying through pork projects, and they've unequivocally assumed the mantle of undermining the troops, giving Bush the high ground to use from his bully pulpit. And Bush won't hesitate, like he normally does, to use his bully pulpit on this issue.

Illegal immigrants allowed at least 5 strikes before prosecution. You have got to be kidding me. Boortz says we treat Mexican immigrants differently.

How hypocritical eco-conmen kill people and restrict developing nations.

Harry Reid threatens Gonzales and calls Rove untrustworthy. Speaking of untrustworthy, I wonder how many more shady land deals Reid is pursuing. New Attorneys hired to pursue the President's agenda on voter fraud more aggressively. Records show Gonzales knew about firings, but he had claimed otherwise. What an idiot. Bush should dump him for incompetence. He never should have hired him. Charles Krauthammer agrees.

Pat Buchanan says Congress' subpoenas are an attack on the office of the Presidency that Bush must fight.

Russian police beat protesters. It's just another day in totalitarian Russia.

Pope says that Europe is disappearing from history, and it is, by its own choice. But it's not individualism that's killing it - it's the welfare mentality.

School orders students to take down MySpace accounts. How do they think they're going to get away with that?

Pentagon accuses officers of covering up Pat Tillman's friendly fire death.

Marine group expelled from Afghanistan because of response to ambush.

Reason breaks down the cost of gasoline and shows that the government is to blame, not the oil companies.

It's just unbelievable to me that people still claim that Plame was a covert agent. It doesn't matter what Plame said, even if she said she was a covert angel of God. It doesn't matter what Waxman said. No amount of wishing, lying, repeating and trying to take advantage of the situation will make it so.

Texas Youth Commission official arrested for lying to police about sexual abuse.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana won't run for a second term. Maybe in Louisiana they know how badly she screwed up during Katrina. You won't hear about it anywhere else because that would mute the blame Bush agenda.

Deadly pet food was tainted by rat poison.

French UFO website crashed by load.

County commissioners ignore results of referendum. Something tells me those commissioners won't have their jobs after the next election.

Oil from oil shale is closer to reality.

Fred Thompson's resume from an obvious admirer.

Canadian socialized medicine tragedy.

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Iranian navy kidnaps 15 British sailors carrying out inspections in Iraqi waters. I guess Ahmadinejad is upset that we haven't attacked and killed him yet, so he's declaring war.

Security Council agrees on new sanctions for Iran - vote Saturday.

There's a shortage of medical personnel in Iraq because they've been targeted by terrorists.

Truce in Somalia.

Turks demand US stop Kurdish terrorists.

China tries to tighten ties with Russia, guarantee fuel.

Nancy Pelosi still hasn't bought enough votes to pass her Iraq deadline bill, but she's close. As much as Americans distrust Bush, they won't accept defeat in Iraq. Pelosi got the bill passed.

Reason decries Iraq war spending.

More evidence Bush was out of touch on Attorney firings may impact claims of executive privilege. David Iglesias did not leave the Justice Dept. quietly.

All charges against the Duke lacrosse players will be dropped. Nifong needs to pay a steep price for his abuse of power. And prosecutors all over the country need to be scrutinized just as closely to stop an epidemic of abuse of power.

Tourism drives global warming. If true, it would be a serious blow to multi-culturalism if nobody could travel. But the elite on their private planes, of course. Or could it be the sun? Reason injected into the global warming debate.

Australia considers allowing new uranium mines. Demand for nuclear fuel is exploding.

Gates supported closing Guantanamo.

Army revises up number of desertions.

Privacy of female soldiers.

European minister informs that political correctness is killing freedom. If only everybody saw that.

Millionaire allows homeless to live in his mansions rent free.

France opens its UFO files for the public. Maybe they can explain Chirac.

How western civilization is killing itself by the death of 1000 cuts.

Oversight is great - but Democratic partisanship is not oversight.

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Ron Paul hopes to reinstate the Constitution. It's about time we heard from him again. When is the last time you heard a candidate talk about restoring the country to constitutional government?

Reason highlights 4 Congressmen in the battle between reformers and statists in the Republican party.

Obama linked to anti-Clinton ad. So what? It wasn't an attack ad. It didn't drag her through the mud. This is another media created issue. The creator was fired anyway.

Anti-free speech champion John McCain hypocritically warns against socialism as if he supports freedom.

John Edward's wife still has cancer, but Edwards will continue his run for President.

Bill offers temporary legal status to illegal aliens, but they would have to leave the country and come back to get permanent legal status. Why would they leave?

Democrats divided three ways over Iraq war plan. That's why the bill is stuffed full of pork to buy votes.

Report criticizes US efforts at reconstruction of Iraq.

Gore performs well in Washington show hearings.

New Hampshire passes $250 fine for balloon releases.

Iraqi PM Maliki reaches out to Mahdi Army leader in attempt to quell violence.

6 party talks with North Korea break down over frozen money.

Pakistani violence may insure that President Musharraf is a lame duck.

Rebuttal witness in Plame's show hearing threatened with perjury charge. Fitzgerald taught the Democrats a new trick. Democrats invent an issue out of thin air; the mainstream media trumpets it far and wide even though it's really a non-issue; the Democrats get Republicans under oath and beat them up until the inevitable contradiction appears; then they charge them with perjury. Now they want to do the same to Rove and Miers over the Attorneys. President Bush and Republicans have to fight back.

Senate authorizes subpoenas for Bush aids as the battle escalates.

Creature survives 100 million years without sex. Why would it want to?

Astronomers observe "impossible" events on the sun. You would think that scientists, having been wrong since the dawn of time, would figure out they're always wrong and forget this "impossible" stuff. They may be getting closer to right, but they're certainly not there.

Observations from Thomas Sowell. Did you know that the government makes more money on a gallon of gas than Big Oil?

George Will opines about Western states becoming Big Government. This essay about interior designers needing certification may seem silly, but it's a perfect example of how government interference in the free market stifles competition and hurts workers and consumers.

Mark Davis says Democrats are trying to kill Bush with 1000 cuts, and he tells us why it's so dangerous:

Along the way, someone may issue a criticism of Mr. Bush on an issue that will have potential merit and deserve rational consideration. Good luck. The ascendancy of the Democratic majority has sent its warriors into the streets with torches and pitchforks. Measured discourse is rare when there is a castle to storm.

"Bush Lied" is the Big Lie. Bush didn't lie at all, but Democrats have screamed it so much it's become so-called common knowledge.

Bush's optimism each anniversary of the Iraq war has been unwarranted, and unsupported by honest reports from Iraq. Despite what this essay proclaims, this year is different because the evidence of our eyes is different.

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House Democrats to boost spending. It'll never be enough. Unless we stop them, the government will take everything from us.

Bush and Congress stand firm in battle over aids testifying under oath. Bush doesn't want to allow Congress to go on a witch-hunt and use inevitable contradictory testimony to charge perjury like Fitzgerald did to Libby. Congress wants to do just that. Democrats are going to push this non-issue into a constitutional crisis. The only reason they're doing it is Bush is so unpopular, that they can. But Democrats have repeatedly overreached when dealing with Bush, and he has thumped them every time, but this time Bush is more unpopular than ever. House panel authorizes subpoenas.

David Iglesias, a recently fired U.S. Attorney, was fired for dragging his heals on prosecuting voter fraud. Even he knows it. Of course he's upset - he just got fired, so he's blaming politics as if it was a bad thing. But aggressively pursuing voter fraud is a crime fighting priority for Bush's Department of Justice, and Bush wanted another Attorney to pick up the investigation. It is politics because the President, a political figure, sets the agenda. That's how it's supposed to work. Maybe it will turn out that Iglesias was right about the evidence. That's fine. Maybe he was doing a good job, but Bush wanted another Attorney to take over, and that's his prerogative. Unfortunately, Bush and Gonzales are incompetent, and failed to accurately address the issue. That's what cronyism gets you.

Dick Morris says Bush should turn the tables using his bully pulpit to make voter fraud the issue. No kidding. The power of C0ngress to subpoena and hold in contempt.

White House threatens veto over allowing D.C. a vote in Congress. There's a reason D.C. isn't a state and doesn't get a vote. By it's very nature, it's too tied in the federal government. Democrats don't care about what's good for the country, they just know that D.C. is a Democrats stronghold, so they're playing politics. I'm sure if D.C. was a Republican stronghold, the Republicans would be pushing for allowing them a vote, and Democrats would be resisting. But this issue should never be about politics. We need to oust both parties now. The 2 century long wait bias is nonsense. Everybody who choses to live in D.C. understands they don't get a voting representative in Congress, which is how it should be. If they want a voting Representative, they can move to a state.

Attacks on freedom on speech in the name of the War on Drugs. "Just say no" to the War on Drugs.

Gore given special treatment by Congress so his testimony couldn't be analyzed by news channels as usual. Inhofe/Gore exchange should make great theater.

Taliban and al Qaeda still killing each other in Pakistan. It's funny how today's article declines to mention those names, unlike yesterday's.

Heavy fighting in Mogadishu.

Indonesian Muslims jailed for beheading Christian girls. 20 and 14 years. That hardly seems long enough.

Ban Alert: Bangor Maine has outlawed smoking in a car with a person under the age of 18 inside. It's official - you can't even smoke in your own car.

Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha's anti-war buddies vandalized Congressman's office sign about supporting the troops and burned a soldier in effigy. This is how liberals support the troops.

Muslim group has volunteered to defend for free the citizens who reported the 6 imams. That's excellent news.

Demonizing Hillary. Give me a break. Hillary demonized herself decades ago, and we all saw it during her first Clinton co-Presidency. It's downright scary that a bunch of Democrats want to reelect the most corrupt administration in history.

Gingrich, who's private life has always been his political problem, says private lives should not be an issue. Wishful thinking. I'm sure Giulianni, Hillary, and McCain all hope the same.

John Stossel says consumer reporters are fear-mongers.

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1/3 of citizens of Washington D.C. are illiterate. 1/5 nationwide. We've tried more government. We've tried more spending. We've tried feel good measures. We've tried every liberal tactic in the book. It's time to take back control of our schools from the failing federal government. Abolish the Department of Education, so our children can get a good education.

If we give the federal government more control over health care, they'll destroy our health just as fast. We'll be reading that 1/3 of D.C. residents are too unhealthy to work, 1/5 nationwide.

Drugs could remove painful memories. Wow.

Democrats are loading pork barrel projects into emergency spending bill for Iraq. The only way to end the pork is by kicking out all the incumbents, something we've needed to do every election for a very long time.

Libertarians, greens, livestock producers and hippies team up to fight ethanol subsidies.

White House threatens to veto bill requiring troops to pull out of Iraq.

Russia threatens to withhold nuclear fuel from Iran unless it suspends uranium enrichment. Looks like an ugly divorce, and it's all about the money now. Russia denies ultimatum.

Al Qaeda and Taliban fighting each other in north-west Pakistan. Why don't we kill both?

Iraqi terrorists are using children in car bombs. Interview with Gen. Petraeus, who is cautiously optimistic, and for good reason.

Petraeus has his troops applying a similar formula in Baghdad's Sadr City: "We're clearing it neighborhood by neighborhood." Troops move in - mainly U.S. soldiers and Marines supported by Iraqi forces, although that ratio is reversed in some areas - and stay. They are not transiting back to large, remote bases but are now living with the people they have come to protect. The results, Petraeus says, have been "dramatic."

Are the policies paying off? "King David" as Petraeus is known from his previous tour of duty up near the Syrian border, is cautiously optimistic. "Less than half the al Qaeda leaders who were in Baghdad when this [surge] campaign began are still in the city," he said. "They have fled or are being killed or captured. We are attriting them at a fearsome rate."

US diplomat meets with Palestinian minister.

Anne Applebaum thinks 9/11 mastermind's confession was muted because of extra-legal conditions. She's wrong. Guantanamo is a prisoner of war camp. Information gathered there is like information gathered from Germans, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese in those prisoner of war camps - valid and hopefully timely. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's confession was muted because we've known he was the mastermind for years.

Comparing the war in Iraq to taking the Philippines in 1899.

Scientist who claims Bush muzzled him over global warming in fact did 1,400 on the job interviews. That's some muzzling. The truth about the climate con-men is getting out. Scientists claim the global temperature measurement itself has no meaning. That explains why it's not as hot now as it was in the 30s, despite these so-called record global temperatures.

Email shows US attorney removed for failing to meet deadlines and follow national policy set by the President. For some reason Democrats and the press want us to think firing on those grounds is a bad thing. It's not. It looks like the Department of Justice uploaded 3000 emails on the Attorney firings to the internet. This is a huge mistake by the administration. That gives the Democrats 3000 bullets to fire at the administration in their political game to make something out of nothing. The Daily Kos knows this, and calls the emails "pure gold." It shows fantastic incompetence that Bush has allowed Democrats to take a perfectly normal and legitimate act by the White House and turn it against them, and the Bush administration just keeps making it worse.

Taking a play from Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald's playbook, Charles Schumer wants administration officials to testify under oath so that they can use the inevitable contradictions as evidence of perjury, further trying to criminalize politics. Bush just got burned by this game, and won't allow his staff to testify under oath.

Senate votes to remove power of President, granted by the Patriot Act, to appoint US Attorneys unilaterally. This is an excellent move despite the absurdity of the situation. Congress should also remove the unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act right away.

Reason remembers Newt. Newt still has the best ideas of any conservative out there.

Obama is the most liberal (read socialist) member of Congress running for President. He's just the same as the rest, we just haven't heard about his socialist policies for decades like the rest.

McCain claims to reconsider his position on immigration after visiting Iowa. He's sticking his finger in the wind. McCain's from Arizona. If he doesn't know how bad the immigration problem is already, he's a complete idiot. I think it's more likely he doesn't give a damn about immigration, just getting elected.

Scientists create a tougher mosquito, but it doesn't carry malaria. The law of unintended consequences is going to rear it's ugly head.

The Toyota Prius takes more resources to produce than the Hummer.

Thomas Sowell explains why talk shows are boring - except for Boortz and Cunningham.

David Limbaugh complains that Republicans never fight back against the Big Lies of the Democrat smear machine.

Rich Lowry points out that just as Bush was wrong to hold on the mantra that all was well in Iraq, Democrats are wrong to hold onto the mantra that we've already lost. Both ignored the very real evidence.

Speech that puts the War on Terror in the context of 1400 years of Christian/Muslim conflict.

Free kibbles

Coalition forces are defeating al Qaeda in Ramadi. Condoleezza Rice says Bush Administration erred on the number of troops to send to Iraq. Did she just figure that out? Good news on Iraq.

Survey shows Iraqis are unhappy. With terrorists lurking around every corner, it's no wonder. Too bad we waited 4 years to get serious about security. The results of this poll will be very different in 6 months. I just hope the press reports it. Forget 6 months, another survey claims that Iraqis say life is getting better. Why should we trust polls again?

Survey shows Europeans are unhappy as well, since the EU was formed. I wonder if Bush will be blamed.

UK allows schools to ban full face veils.

Norway ends boycott of Palestinian government.

Iran claims US is kidnapping Revolutionary Guard officers in Europe - that they aren't defecting. Iran says it will retaliate. That won't go over well. Are these guys defecting, or are we kidnapping them? Even if they are defecting, the Iranians would never believe it.

US says it has resolved financial dispute with North Korea.

Hysteric predicts "billions will die." Scientists blame Hollywood for Global Warming hysteria. Gore's toxic mining operation. Gore challenged to an international, televised debate on climate change.

Monckton, a former policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher during her years
as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said, "A careful study of the
substantial corpus of peer-reviewed science reveals that Mr. Gore's film,
An Inconvenient Truth, is a foofaraw of pseudo-science, exaggerations, and
errors, now being peddled to innocent schoolchildren worldwide."

I can't get over the extreme double standard we allow in Washington. Gonzales may be fired over some emails, but Janet Reno had 82 Branch Davidians killed in Waco, and she never lost her job. It's very good to be a Democrat in Washington.

The White House halts publication of earmarks. Congress continues the practice unabated.

The military is unprepared for other conflicts. That's because Bill Clinton cut the size of the army nearly in half. You can cut the army in half in a year, but it takes many years and political will to rebuild it.

Guantanamo prisoner confesses to attacking the USS Cole.

Other ways the FBI abuses the unconstitutional, bipartisan Patriot Act.

Survey of voter ID requirements and effects in 2006 election.

Supreme Court takes up "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case.

Politicians in Tennessee don't have to pay their electric bill.

Canned and foil packed pet food recalled including brands Iams and Eukenuba.

Menu Foods posted a full list of brand names and lot numbers covered by the recall on its Web site. Consumers with questions can call (866) 463-6738.

Obama ad based on old Apple ad. It's cool, but the gushing is unwarranted. It has no substance. There are no ideas.

Lesbian couple kicked out of IHOP for kiss on the cheek.

Christopher Hitchens says that even in hindsight, invading Iraq was the right decision.

Senator claims Plame's testimony before the House contradicts her secret testimony in front of the Senate.

Better late than never, the press is finally catching on to Gore's hypocrisy and hysteria.

Dinesh D'Souza explains why the left hates Bush more than bin Laden.

Free kibbles

Terrorists in Iraq attack with chlorine bombs. Democrats want us to retreat and hand Iraq over to these terrorists.

Palestinians create unity cabinet. Israel continues boycott since Hamas refuses to recognize Israel.

North Korea nuclear deal hits snag over frozen funds.

White House has hazy memories on who suggested firing attorneys. CBS predicts Bush will fire Gonzales. Fired attorneys "chaffed" at administration's crime fighting priorities. That sounds like a good reason to fire them to me.

NASA outlines asteroid deflection plan.

Japanese company admits nuclear power plant mistakes.

Witness claims the White House failed to investigate the Plame leak.

Massachusetts health care update.

FBI document links Bobby Kennedy to Marilyn Monroe's death. Wow.

Duke accuser not cooperative with special prosecutors.

Free kibbles

Plame cashes in for magazine article. CIA desk jockey Valerie Plame claims to have been a covert agent. Like all good lies, this one is based on a grain of truth. Plame had been a covert agent in the past, but she had been riding a desk for 5 years, long past the time requirement for a covert agent as defined by the law that would have made outing her illegal. Plame shoved herself into the spotlight by using her husband, and she's milking her 15 minutes of fame for all it's worth - and it's worth a lot to Democrats. Plame will end up rich as well as famous for playing the victim card.

Rove and Gonzales discussed firings. Why Bush wants to crack down on voter fraud.

China passes property law. This is a big win for freedom in China and a significant step to the end of tyranny there. Too bad we're going the opposite direction on property rights in America.

We recently heard about a high-level Iranian defector. Reason wonders if Iran isn't hemorrhaging defectors.

Pakistani police clash with protesting lawyers. Unrest grows.

Palestinian gunmen fire on UN aid convoy. They must not want any aid.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's confession. After all the crimes this mass murderer has confessed to, US Senators are more concerned about attacking the CIA than al Qaeda.

South Florida imposes water restrictions.

The Clinton's are on the defensive: Bill rips the NYT, Book claims Clinton had more affairs (do we need a book to figure that out?), Hillary not VP candidate in '04 because she was too polarizing.

Bush pledges to rebuild Republican party for '08 victory. Are you kidding me? Bush's leadership has ruined the Republican party. With a leader like Bush, Republicans can be beat by even the more horrible Democrats. Republicans need to get away from Bush's big-government incompetence.

Dick Morris says that Newt and Romney are in the way of more viable conservatives.

Voters think the news is biased. Of course it is - that's human nature.

Bizarre castration ritual in sex slave ring - victims don't want to prosecute.

Enormous amounts of water ice found on Mars.

In a bizarre fit of self-censorship, a school in England changed the story of "The Three Little Pigs" to "The Three Little Puppies."

Kent Hate University? Along with the jihadist professor on their payroll, Kent State has a professor who is a member of the KKK.

Send a Fax to your representatives supporting the FairTax!

Free kibbles

Emails may contradict testimony on attorney firings. Emails. The Justice Dept. will always be political. Bush may be turning on Gonzales. Gonzales' Chief of Staff resigns. Ties to White House. Rove involved.

Kalidh Sheikh Mohammad admits to planning 9/11 attacks and others.

Senate shoots down Democrats' attempts to retreat from Iraq.

UN powers agree to new sanctions on Iran.

Reporter attacks Drudge Report for using Kuwaiti source on US casualty rates in Iraq. These guys are desperate that good news from Iraq never be heard. It's bad enough they won't report the news themselves, but they're attacking those who do.

US changes status on Macau bank. China claims this endangers the 6 party deal with North Korea.

Chaquita funded Columbian death squad.

Senate budget plan includes funds for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and extends Bush tax cuts. It's one thing to demagogue Bush's policies before an election, but it's another to govern.

The UN knows its human caused global warming propaganda is a fraud, but it's too invested to right that wrong. In order to keep the propaganda alive through our improving climate, it's telling us that it will get nicer before it gets bad. Our current climate is nowhere near as warm even as the medieval warming period, which was a period of tremendous growth in Europe.

Hillary Clinton actually says something that makes sense and isn't a lie! She says that if elected, she will keep troops in Iraq. The left will not like that at all, but any President will have to do the same.

Time's version of how the right went wrong. It was overconfidence and incompetence. They turned into the fat-cat Democrats they decried so long. Power corrupts, and now both parties are thoroughly corrupt.

Newt blasts the ridiculously long Presidential campaign.

Howard Dean expects to win in '08. At least he's optimistic, but as bad as Republicans have become, and they're horrible, the country will not elect an outright socialist, and that's all Democrats are.

Web censorship is spreading around the world.

Boortz says that Mexico runs our border, and not just because of the Mexican drug gangs we fund thanks to the misnamed War on Drugs.

Victor Davis Hanson describes Gen. Petraeus' daunting task, but identifies many generals who turned around campaigns in recent history.

George Will points out that with so many states moving their primaries to Feb. 5, earlier votes in Iowa and New Hampshire will gain in importance, not less, since no candidate can campaign in all those states at once.

John Stossel says that, because of the law of unintended consequences, freedom-stealing safety regulations kill more people than they save. As if we need another reason to reduce government.

Thomas Sowell reviews Britain's recent global warming debunking documentary: The Great Global Warming Swindle.

Ann Coulter says it's not the Generals' fault that Walter Reed was neglected - it's the because government employees can't be fired, so they have no incentive to perform. This is Ann Coulter at her best. I hope she got a serious wake-up call after her indefensible comment about John Edwards.

Clinton, Reno, and Hubble fired all 93 US attorneys. The media ignored Clinton's firings. Media puff piece on the AG who fired attorneys and killed the Branch Davidians. Ken Starr's convictions.

Update on activity of the Yellowstone caldera.

Free kibbles

Kuwaiti news is reporting that the Baghdad security plan has significantly reduced the rate of US casualties. Why did it take 4 years to do? It's funny Drudge had to go to Kuwait to get this report. It's not in the US press. Still, good news about Bush's new strategy is getting out [ETA: Financial Times reports on the success], unlike in Vietnam, and Democrats and the US press will have a harder time hiding the successes and therefore will have a harder time defeating their own country again. But they'll keep trying. Senate takes up the debate to defeat America.

Liberals think that Bush is going to fire Gonzales. I said Bush would handle this all wrong, and he certainly has. The WSJ explains that Billary knows all about firing attorneys.

Reporter claims scientists say that civilization is over because of global warming. This propaganda would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous. Homeowners in UK face penalties if they don't make houses more "green." This is the just the tip of the tyrannical iceberg if the global warming con-men succeed.

I just saw a commercial for nuclear energy. I don't think I've seen one since the 70s. The environmental con-men don't want nuclear energy any more than they want any other kind of energy. More cheap, clean energy ruins their con.

UN claims to have reached breakthrough on sanctions for Iran.

US sets record trade deficit again in 2006, despite strong 4rth quarter (due to falling dollar).

US economic fears, especially housing market fears, make world stocks tumble.

Europe's Galileo sat-nav system in jeopardy because it's a government enterprise.

Democrats suggest monthly oversight hearing for FCC. As bad as the FCC is, this would be worse. It would make the FCC a political arm of the Democrats. Just sell off the spectrum and abolish the FCC already.

Reason discusses the Federal appeals court's overturning of Washington's handgun ban.

Jack Shafer doesn't think that Fitzgerald savaged the First Amendment in his prosecution of Scooter Libby. That remains to be seen, but we know for a fact he savaged Libby and Judith Miller.

Hillary has invoked the "vast right-wing conspiracy" to attempt to garner sympathy again. It'll work again. Playing the victim card always works for liberals. The more liberal, the better it works.

Cassini discovers seas on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Free kibbles

Mexico complains because border patrol agents put out fire a few steps on Mexican side of the border. They send a million illegal aliens across our border every year, with the help of the Mexican military and government, and they complain when we put out a fire. The futile job of the Border Patrol.

Iran furious at Russia for delaying on nuclear plant. Russia takes a hard line. Bush's strategy of isolation and pressure is working.

Turmoil around Pakistani Chief Justice continues.

Hillary Clinton calls on Bush to explain the firing of 8 Justice Dept. attorneys. Talk about audacity. Or maybe she just knows the fix is in. Her husband, Bill Clinton fired all 93 Justice Dept. attorneys when he took office. Nary a peep from anybody, even though Clinton fired them because he and Hillary we're being investigated by the Arkansas Justice Dept. attorney for their Whitewater scams. The Clinton were the most corrupt administration in history, yet they get away with all this crap because of the liberal media.

[Reno] was not in charge from the beginning. Upon taking office, in an unexplained departure from the practice of recent Administrations, Miss Reno suddenly fired all 93 U.S. attorneys. She said the decision had been made in conjunction with the White House. Translation: The President ordered it. Just as the best place to hide a body is on a battlefield, the best way to be rid of one potentially troublesome attorney is to fire all of them. The U.S. attorney in Little Rock was replaced by a Clinton protege.

Australian and Japan sign security pact.

Zimbabwe opposition leaders in intensive care after being beaten by police.

6 Imams who caused problems before being removed from flight will sue.

Government will spend $1 billion on analog to digital boxes for TVs.

Earthquake in Cleveland.

Thomas Sowell says Newsweek is not honoring our soldiers, but using them as victims to promote a political agenda.

We Endanger Liberty

We Endanger Liberty

by Mark Luedtke

Democracy is no friend to liberty. Despite the way we throw around the word 'democracy' today, a true democracy is arguably the most dangerous form of government ever devised. America's Founding Fathers knew the dangers of democracy well; the tyranny of the majority is backed by the inherent power of the people and under the guise of populism, it can steal economic and political freedom from the minority. We're each a minority of one, and every individual in a democracy is subject to the tyranny of the rest.

But despite the Framers' efforts, creating a Constitutional Republic with restricted powers for government, the majority in America can still force tyranny on minorities, especially at the local level. The only thing protecting freedom from us is our self-control, but our self-control is failing.

For example, Yellow Springs is considering annexing a contiguous section of land called Fogg Farm to enable growth. In traditional American fashion, citizens of Yellow Springs and their Village Council debated the issue. The people expressed a variety of opinions. The council listened and presented data to the people for further discussion. This is the great American political process in action, and it should result in Village Council making a decision in the best interests of the community at large.

But activists are already calling for a referendum. It's hard to argue with the idea that the people should vote on major decisions affecting the community, and that's why a tyranny of the majority is so dangerous. The individuals who make up the majority always have personal reasons for their positions, more-so than the elected council entrusted with the good of the community.

Real estate in Yellow Springs is unusually high priced for this area. The Yellow Springs newspaper and website claim that's because there's high demand to move to Yellow Springs, but demand is always relative to supply, and that claim hides the real story. Real estate is high because the the community hasn't allowed any new development in decades. Real estate prices have been made artificially high because the people of Yellow Springs have unnaturally restricted the supply of housing by deliberately stunting the community's growth.

Years of policy stunting growth artificially inflated property values. Worse, if the old adage that a community that isn't growing is dying is true, then Yellow Springs is committing suicide. Village Council doesn't want that beautiful, unique downtown strangled by its own people. But any new development would undermine the artificially inflated property values that decades of no growth policy created. It's hard to imagine anybody would buy one of the tiny, old existing homes in Yellow Springs if they could buy a nicer, new home at Fogg Farm, cheaper.

Worse for Yellow Springs, the Fogg Farm developer can still develop the property even if Yellow Springs votes not to annex it. It's possible that Yellow Springs will have no say in the development and be stuck picking up part of the tab for services for the development even if they don't annex it. But the developer's options are limited if Yellow Springs doesn't annex, so annexing is a win-win for both the developer and the community. Yellow Springs would thrive as a result of the new development, and property values would return over time. But a tyranny of the majority could derail the plans.

Annexing Fogg Farm is a no-brainer, but it's hard to imagine Yellow Springs home owners voting to undermine their property values, so Village Council will likely end up at odds with home owners. The result of a referendum will be no growth because of restricted economic freedom and continuing slow suicide for the community.

A tyranny of the majority against Jessica Minesinger of Troy turned ugly. Years ago, the Troy city council approved her Summerfield development, but Troy activists managed to get the zoning issue for Summerfield on the ballot in a referendum. Troy voters voted down the zoning for her development. This ever more acrimonious battle has been going on for years, with Troy's city council approving the zoning change, activists putting it on the ballot, and the majority of Troy voters stopping the development.

This battle expanded into the courts, with each side suing the other. The activists paid fines instead of answering the subpoenas, but Jessica Minesinger is still unable to develop the property, even though she did the hard work to get City Council approval.

Thanks to the growing nanny society and the subsequent change in attitude from self-reliance and self-determination to government domination of our lives, voters have increasingly forgone self-control to force their will on minorities. Both parties are destroying liberty in America, blessed by our votes. We've lost our regard for freedom and desire to exercise vigilance in support of liberty.

The new smoking ban in Ohio, forced on private business owners by a meddling majority of Ohio voters, is an egregious attack on freedom. The self-righteous majority that passed the Constitutional amendment granting government the power to direct private businesses owners in their operations opened the door to a new extreme of government control over private property rights. It turns out that we and our neighbors, wielding democracy like a blunt instrument, are more dangerous enemies of liberty than any overt enemy.