Judicious Asininity

This is the Archive Page. Click Here for Main Page

Sat May 31, 2003

Medicare is Killing Us

Better put, Medicare Rewards Bad Hospitals

This is an interesting take on what is a problem in the health care business. Many hospitals are well below what should be an acceptable standard of care and their patients are paying a heavy price.

Every single year, close to 100,000 people die from infections they get in the hospital. Medical errors—giving patients the wrong drug, the wrong dose, the wrong organ transplant, or even operating on the wrong part of the body—take thousands more lives. The monetary cost is also staggering, close to $30 billion a year in medical bills (based on data from a Harvard study). The federal government pays 45 percent of that tab. These infections and errors are largely preventable. What’s standing in the way of solving these costly problems?

Astoundingly, Medicare. It’s the biggest impediment to making hospitals safer.

Medicare pays the same rates to infection-ridden hospitals and hospitals with few infections. It pays top-dollar for dirty care. It also pays hospitals with high medical error rates the same as hospitals with few errors. That indifference to quality is putting patients at risk and pushing up health costs needlessly. A bloodstream infection adds, on average, $35,000 to a hospital bill.

Though it is a bit of a stretch to blame this entire problem on Medicare it is likely that at least some of the factors that fail to persuade poor facilities from improving their level of care involve Medicare. I think it would be a fine idea if hospitals were required to report publicly on the number of deaths and complications arising from care in their facility. In other words, patients should be able to study reliable data that indicates the relative level of care they could expect in hospitals. Then, armed with this information the patient would be able to choose which hospital they wanted to use. This would possibly force underperforming hospitals to improve their service or risk losing patients and the revenue that goes with them. Money talks, and informed patients seeking the best hospitals would provide a good incentive for all facilities to be as effective, safe, and efficient as possible. Then, everyone would win.

Protesters Turn on Their Own Kind

Socialists Attacked for not Being Radical Enough

The thousands of protesters converging on this year's Group of Eight summit are an eclectic bunch with a grab-bag of divergent interests - so much so that some of them clashed on Saturday with Socialists sympathetic to their cause.

A group of about 350 protesters disrupted a meeting of France's Socialist Party, tossing rocks through the windows of a conference center and accusing the party of not being radical enough.

The protesters scuffled with police who fired tear gas, dispersing the crowd.

Economic Impact of Tax Cut

Stimulus anyone?

Here's one version of the effects of the tax cut:

Economists at the Center for Data Analysis (CDA) introduced the tax policy changes contained in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (H.R. 2) into a model of the U.S. economy that is widely used by Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. This model produced the following estimates of how H.R. 2 would likely affect economic performance between 2003 and 2013.

Economy produces more goods and services: In 2004 the CDA analysis shows that the nation’s production of goods and services (Gross Domestic Product after inflation) will likely be $73.4 billion higher than without the tax changes contained in H. R. 2. Indeed, the growth rate of GDP will jump from 3.3 percent to 3.9 percent for 2004. Between 2004 and 2008, the average gain in GDP will be $34.7 billion. During the second five years of the budget period, the average increase in GDP drops to $8.2 billion as the major provisions of H.R.2 expire.
Over 800,000 new jobs in 2004: The pro-growth components of H.R.2 will likely lead private and public sector employers to boost their payrolls significantly. In 2003, the CDA analysis indicates that employment will increase by 383,000 jobs; in 2004 by 850,000 jobs; and in 2005 by 477,000 jobs. The average employment increase over the first five-year period (2004 through 2008) is 412,000. The average over the next five years (2009 through 2013) is expected to be 57,000.
Unemployment rate drops: Unemployed Americans are significant beneficiaries of Congress’s tax legislation. The number of unemployed workers is expected to drop by 737,000 in 2004 and by 416,000 in 2005. Between 2003 and 2005, the CDA analysis indicates that the number of unemployed workers will fall by over 1 million.
Personal savings rate jumps: The CDA estimates that personal savings could increase by $135.2 billion in 2004 (after inflation). That increase means that the personal savings rate would jump from a forecasted 2.9 percent without H.R. 2 to 4.6 percent. The personal savings rate for 2005 also is significantly stronger than it otherwise would be: 2.6 percent rate compared to 1.5 percent without the tax legislation.
Investment increases significantly: The pro-growth elements of the Jobs and Growth Act, particularly the dramatic reduction in the tax rate on dividends and capital gains, leads to a pronounced increase in non-residential investment. In 2004, inflation-adjusted non-residential investment increases by $35.8 billion, followed by an increase in 2005 of $25.5 billion.
Trust fund revenues grow: One beneficiary of H.R. 2 are the federal trust funds, principally the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. Due to the increased number of Americans working and the increase in payroll taxes paid, revenues for the trust funds will increase by $26.2 billion more than had Congress not passed this legislation.

via Heritage

There are probably plenty of other opinions out there that support this view and an equal or greater number that oppose it. Fact is, we will have to wait and see. My bet is that with the estimated 3.9% GDP in '04 people will be agreeing that this tax relief was a good idea on several grounds. The least of these grounds in my opinion is the waste of taxpayer money that takes place in DC. This cut will not affect programs that deserve to be funded but it might help promote some fiscal responsibility among those who spend the tax dollars.

Clinton Caught Cheating on Hillary

Believe it, or not

Considering the source of this info it is reasonable to be sceptical of it's truth. Yet, considering Clinton's alternative at home it would surely be no surprise to hear that once again Slick Willy is dipping into the available pool of sex partners. Either way, rush out to your local market and get the scoop. You can bet your ass that Hillary did.

Bill Clinton has been caught on videotape cheating on Hillary -- and the steamy sex romp could torpedo her political career!

Now foes of Hillary are in an all-out race to obtain the tape and publicize it, an exclusive ENQUIRER investigation has discovered.

The issue that goes on sale Friday reveals how Clinton was taped having sex in a pickup truck with a department store clerk, how Hillary's opponents plan to use the video to sabotage her political plans … and more.

Kucinich Spouts Off

Talking Out His Ass the Candidate Professes Wisdom

From the Portsmouth Herald:

Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich accused the Bush administration Friday of building up the fears of the American public for its own benefit.

"This administration has become more powerful while Americans become more fearful," Kucinich said. "That’s not a democracy."

Over a bowl of oatmeal at Chez Vachon, Kucinich told members of New Hampshire Veterans for Peace that the scandals that took down Enron and other corporations should have been Bush’s downfall, but the president distracted voters by seizing upon their fears of terrorist attacks.

"They should have been driven out for that alone," he said. "But you know what they did? They switched the discussion."

He also pitched his Department of Peace, a cabinet-level agency he proposes to examine how violence can be prevented in homes, schools and around the world.

"We’re trying to make war archaic," he said. "That’s been the dream of humanity, but we’ve let that dream elude us."

Kucinich sounded similar themes earlier at Central High School, where he criticized the Patriot Act for undermining the basic freedoms on which the country was built.

He told students that he doubted many of them would take an exam without opening a book but said that’s what Congress did when it passed the legislation giving the government wide authority in tracking terrorists.

"Most members didn’t even read it," he said. "Congress took a test on the Bill of Rights, and they didn’t even read the book."

He also said if Americans weren’t so afraid, they wouldn’t have supported military action in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Americans should never be fearful. Do we have fears? Yes. But our government shouldn’t be about drumming up those fears," he said.

The Patriot Act also was a concern of those Kucinich met at the New Hampshire Minority Health Coalition, which assembled a group of community leaders representing Manchester’s minorities.

"The problem here is that the president talks favorably about Islam, but the acts of the Justice Department are contrary to that," said Nabil Migalli, chairman of the Arab-American Forum. "As a community, we’re looking for a new kind of leadership."

Ahmed Tahoun, a real estate agent in Bedford, said he liked what he heard from Kucinich but was skeptical about his ability to get elected, or whether he’d be able to enact his sweeping changes as president.

He told Kucinich that he worries about the media spreading stereotypes about the Muslim community and said more must be done to protect Muslims from the insults, threats and violence have faced since the Sept. 11 attacks. He cited the case of a Jordanian woman who was assaulted by her neighbor in Manchester and taunted with comments about the Middle East and anthrax in the weeks after the attack.

"We don’t want that to be repeated again," he said.

I started to give this a good fisking but decided it would be unnecessary. This drivel is so far out there that this candidate doesn't have a chance in hell of winning the Dem nomination much less the presidency. The great "dream of humanity" to make "war archaic" is a prime example of this man's delusional thinking. It's a dream Kucinch, not reality. Get it? Until such time as human nature changes and all humans become peaceniks this dream will remain far from reality. Unfortunately, we must deal with that reality and try to keep the unrealists like yourself from dictating policy that would lead to our own demise. Get real, or get out of the race. That goes for the rest of the field of Dem candidates as well and pretty much sums up the very huge problem all of you have in the coming election. The majority of the American public will not support your archaic dreams that fly in the face of reality.

Fri May 30, 2003

White Woman Sues Over Discrimination

And Wins

In a turn of the tables case a white woman has won a lawsuit against a black supervisor for being fired:

A federal jury has awarded $85,000 to a social worker who claimed she was fired from the Chickasaw County Welfare Department because she is white.

Betha Earnest of Okolona filed a lawsuit against the county when she was fired after 15 years of service by a black supervisor. Earnest's lawsuit claimed that her position was filled with a black employee.

In her testimony, Earnest said all vacancies in the department were filled by black employees after the black regional supervisor was hired.

"This case demonstrates that race discrimination is just as illegal when practiced by black persons as it is when practiced by white persons," said Earnest's attorney, Jim Waide of Tupelo.

It would seem that equal rights laws do sometimes work both ways. 'Bout time.

Baa Baa Streisand Sues Over Pictures

The Image May Not Fit Image

Care to venture a guess as to the real reason Baa Baa may not like having her mansion viewed by Americans?

Here are some thoughts from the photog that may give some clues:

"It is inconceivable to me that someone who proclaims herself an environmentalist would threaten to dismantle one of the greatest high-tech projects to the California coast in all time just because they chose to place their backyard on a coastal bluff," Mark Massara of the Sierra Club's Coastal Program said in a release. "At some point, someone needs to sit her down and tell her the public interest is at stake here.

"Besides," Adelman added, "Didn't she say she'd leave the country if Bush got elected? Well, we're waiting."

The UN and French Team Up

To Take on the Congo

Well, the UN has finally decided to take some action to end the mayhem, or better yet, calm it down a bit:

The U.N. Security Council has authorized a French-led multi-national emergency force for the eastern Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

All 15 council members backed the operation to protect civilians in the town of Bunia, where nearly 400 people have been killed in ethnic violence in recent weeks. Many of the dead were civilians.

The French defense minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, says the force will be made up of 1,400 people, half of them French. She says Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Britain, Canada and South Africa have all said they are willing to participate.

The operation's mandate allows soldiers to use all means, including force, to maintain security and protect the airport at Bunia and refugee camps in the area. The first troops are expected to arrive in Bunia next week. French officials have said the operation will be temporary and have pushed for a new deployment of United Nations soldiers to take over when the French-led force withdraws in September. Ethnic Hema and Lendu militias have been fighting in the Ituri region and Bunia for control of the area's mineral wealth. Seven-hundred U.N. troops are already in Ituri, but do not have the mandate or equipment to quell the violence.

This leads me to wonder what is to happen after the French give up in September. It also leaves some questions as to why it has taken so long to get anything done. Further head scratching occurs when the UN fails to allow it's own troops to "have the mandate or equipment to quell the violence". Which brings up even more questions but I'll settle for one for now. What about Zimbabwe, Liberia, and the rest of the dark continent? Maybe next year, or the one after that.

Slavery in Sudan Ignored by Black Leaders

African Problems May Not Pay Well Enough

In another example of the piss poor state of the African continent documented evidence of modern day slavery is being ignored by black civil rights leaders. At least Sharpton seems to be mentioning it while the rest of the grandstanding "leaders" elect to pursue more lucrative business:

Leaders of the U.S. civil rights movement are being taken to task for failing to make the human rights situation in the African country of Sudan a policy priority.

The Islamic government of Sudan has allegedly facilitated the enslavement of Christians and animists in the southern part of the country for 20 years, long-time observers say, yet most American civil rights leaders have said little or nothing about the issue. Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton is among those criticizing his fellow civil rights leaders in the United States.

"I am outraged that more of us, particularly of the African American leadership, have not talked about the slave trade that I witnessed with my own eyes in the Sudan," Sharpton told CNSNews.com. Sharpton traveled to the Sudan on a fact-finding mission in the spring of 2001.

The Sudanese government denies the slavery allegations despite eyewitness accounts by Sharpton and others, as well as documented evidence.

Slavery, war, torture, rape, murder, mayhem, starvation, and plagues continue to afflict the dark continent while American protestors prefer to attack the U.S. or throw their support to more popular causes. It's a shame that these "great thinkers" can't manage to set some priorities and attack the most serious problems facing the world today. These lands have been in serious trouble for so long that maybe even the Sarandons and Andersons of the world see no reason to even hope to make a difference and instead choose to avoid the most obvious problems.

Thu May 29, 2003

Bear Attacks Nuclear Sub

Biggest Damn Whale He Ever Saw

During training exercises near the North Pole, the submarine USS Connecticut poked its sail and fin through the ice.
An officer turned on the scope's camera and this bizarre image of a bear trying to eat the sub's rear fin was the result.

Pamela Anderson Gets PETA

Urges Human Rights for Animals

While ignoring what many would consider more pressing humanitarian abuses such as Zimbabwe and the Congo, Pamela Anderson throws her ample support to PETA:

Pamela Anderson has written to India's top designers to go completely "leather free" and instead use stylish leather alternatives in their creations.

In a letter, written on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), she said "won't you join me in this campaign to help the most innocent victims of fashion by pledging not to use their skins?"

Anderson has sent each designer in the country a copy of PETA's guide to leather alternatives and a VCD showing the fear and pain animals go through when they are killed for their skins, a release of PETA said in Mumbai on Thursday.

She said around the world, animals are forced to endure the horrors of factory farming, which include severe overcrowding, denial of fresh air and sunshine, forced separation from their mothers and painful mutilations without anaesthetics.

"At slaughter houses, animals are often skinned or dismembered while fully conscious," Anderson, a vegetarian, said.

Perhaps you could find a better cause Pam. Something like a home for wayward has been fake hollywood harlots. Or maybe even something along the lines of HUMAN rights?

Gitmo Death Row

U.S. Has Plans to Execute Terrorists??

A death row in Cuba for mass murdering terrorists?

THE US has floated plans to turn Guantanamo Bay into a death camp, with its own death row and execution chamber. Prisoners would be tried, convicted and executed without leaving its boundaries, without a jury and without right of appeal, The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported yesterday. The plans were revealed by Major-General Geoffrey Miller, who is in charge of 680 suspects from 43 countries, including two Australians. The suspects have been held at Camp Delta on Cuba without charge for 18 months. General Miller said building a death row was one plan. Another was to have a permanent jail, with possibly an execution chamber.
American law professor Jonathan Turley, who has led US civil rights group protests against the military tribunals planned to hear cases at Guantanamo Bay, said: "It is not surprising the authorities are building a death row because they have said they plan to try capital cases before these tribunals. "This camp was created to execute people. The administration has no interest in long-term prison sentences for people it regards as hard-core terrorists."

Sounds like a good deal to me. Kill all the sons of bitches and let it be known that we will continue to kill until the terrorism stops. Once that message sinks in terrorism will lose some of its allure.

Dutch Ban Smoking

Trying to NY Their Economy

It seems the Dutch haven't learned anything from NYC and NY about smoking bans:

The latest news from the mecca of marijuana users is a real mindblower. Under a new ban on smoking in public places, Dutch coffee shops would be allowed to continue selling joints, but customers would have to go outside to smoke them.

To the chagrin of the owners of the country's popular marijuana smoking establishments, broad national health guidelines due to take effect next January seem to have inadvertently struck at the heart of the liberal Dutch drug policy.

The law to ban smoking in public places is targeted at tobacco users, not marijuana smokers, and has met fierce resistance from eating and drinking establishments.

Those businesses argued the tobacco smoking prohibition would result in the loss of 50,000 jobs and $1.5 billion in revenues annually. So the industry -- as well as coffee shops which sell marijuana -- has been granted a one-year extension until January 2005.

Regardless, opponents say the ban will drive smoking customers at regular bars and cafes -- about one in three of the Dutch smoke tobacco -- across the borders to Germany and Belgium where it would still be allowed.

Let me say it again. Keep the government out of private business. It sucks at public business and would be even worse in the private sector.

The Non-Recessionary Recession

Growth is not Depressing

In case anyone missed the GDP report today here it is:

The Commerce Department said Thursday the nation's economy as measured by the gross domestic product expanded at a revised 1.9 percent annual rate during the first three months of year, faster than the 1.6 percent pace previously thought.
The latest report showed the tepid economy hurt corporate profits. After-tax profits rose at a 2.5 percent annual rate during the first quarter after rising at a 4.1 percent clip during the fourth quarter.

Consumer spending, as measured by personal consumption expenditures, rose at a revised 2 percent annual rate in the first quarter after rising 1.7 percent during the final three months of 2002. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy. First-quarter spending, however, was better than the 1.4 percent pace previously estimated.

The report showed spending on durable goods, or items meant to last three years or longer, fell for the second straight quarter, dropping by 1.8 percent after an 8.2 percent drop in the fourth quarter. Spending on non-durable goods rose by 6.4 percent.

Business spending, or nonresidential investment, fell after rising for the first time in two years during the 2002 fourth quarter. Non-residential investment fell by 4.8 percent after a 2.3 percent rise the previous quarter.

Within that category, spending on computers and equipment fell after rising for three straight quarters. Spending on computers and equipment fell by 6.3 percent. But spending on structures rose for the first time in six quarters, rising by 0.4 percent.

The pullback in business spending resulted in slower inventory accumulation during the quarter, though businesses accumulated slightly more than previously estimated.

The report showed businesses added a revised $13.2 billion worth of inventory after adding $25.8 billion in the fourth quarter and knocked off nearly a half percentage point in GDP growth.

First-quarter inventories had previously been estimated at $12.8 billion.

Real final sales, which is GDP less the change in private inventories, rose at a revised 2.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter after rising at a 1.1 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter. Real final sales were previously estimated at a 2.1 percent annual rate.

The report also showed that net exports contributed to first-quarter growth as imports fell faster than exports. Exports fell by 1.4 percent while imports declined by 7.1 percent in the first quarter. This resulted in almost a percentage point of growth being added to first-quarter GDP.

Spending by federal, state and local governments also slowed, rising just 0.3 percent after posting a 4.6 percent rise in the fourth quarter.

Inflation also moved higher during the quarter, although much of that was because of the temporary increase in energy prices in the weeks leading up to the war in Iraq. Inflation has since fallen.

The price index for gross domestic purchases rose to a 3.6 percent rate from the 1.8 percent rate recorded in the fourth quarter.

The price index for personal consumption, a measure watched closely by monetary policymakers at the Fed, rose to a 2.7 percent rate from the previous quarter's 1.8 percent pace. The PCE index during the first quarter was previously estimated at a 2.8 percent annual rate.

P.S. 1.9% growth is not a recession. So the next time you hear a politician or anyone else say that the country is in recession tell them they are full of it. Granted, 1.9% isn't exactly setting the economy on fire but considering what this economy has been through during the Clinton "Boom" and subsequent events such as 9/11 and war it is a tribute to someone that we are not in a depression. We still need to see stronger growth in order to create jobs but that may be coming with some help with the money supply and tax relief. I'm guessing that by Nov '04 things will be moving along at a very nice clip. That's right Dems, just in time for GW's re-election.

Mbeki Defends Mugabe

Says Solutions Must Come From the People

This one leaves me wondering:

South African president Thabo Mbeki today warns against scapegoating Robert Mugabe for the ills of Zimbabwe.

Following growing criticism of Mugabe's leadership, the president warns that a lasting solution to the problems must come from the "people of Zimbabwe themselves".

"In the heated atmosphere that surrounds the issue of Zimbabwe, the tendency to pose as high priests at the inquisition, hungry for the blood of the accused, has taken root - as though to demonise and punish is the way to solve the most difficult problems," he writes in the Guardian.

"In this situation, as in war, the truth soon becomes a casualty."

Mbeki challenges claims that the Zanu-PF led government is solely to blame for the economic chaos now crippling Zimbabwe.

"The economic crisis did not originate from the desperate actions of a reckless political leadership," he writes.

"It arose from a genuine concern to meet the needs of the black poor, without taking into account the harsh economic reality that we must pay for what we consume."

And in a warning to Mugabe's international critics, Mbeki warns that "righteous and self-serving indignation" will not alleviate poverty or end the suffering of his people.

"The longer the problems of Zimbabwe remain unresolved, the more entrenched poverty will become," he states.

"The longer this persists, the greater will be the degree of social instability, as the poor respond to the pains of hunger.

"The more protracted this instability, the greater will be the degree of polarisation and social and political conflict."

South Africa is willing to work with Mugabe and his regime to bring about change, Mbeki makes clear.

"As patriots who occupied the same trench of struggle with Zimbabwe when we, together, battled to end white minority rule in our region, we will do what we can to enable Zimbabweans to enjoy the fruits of their hard-won liberation," he adds.

Is it just coincedence that Zimbabwe's biggest problems began when "the end of white minority rule" occurred? Mr. Mbeki, you would do well to concentrate on South Africa's problem instead of defending a monsterous dictator. Perhaps if you direct your energies inward your country can avoid the same downward spiral that Zimbabwe and other African countries continuously find themselves in. But that would really surprise me and go against history. Good luck.

Blair Speaks in Iraq

Soldiers Initiated Peace

Here's a piece of Tony Blair's speech to the troops in Iraq:

The liberation from Saddam is one huge thing and a momentous and mighty act for the people of Iraq which you did and of which you can be proud.

But something else is happening right throughout this region. This area of the world has been a source of more instability, more terrorism, more difficulty in managing world affairs than any other region in the world.

And it is interesting to me to talk to leaders of the Gulf countries. As recently as last night in Kuwait you see the changes which they can see happening in their country as a result of the removal of Saddam's dictatorship from Iraq.

You can see in relation to countries like Syria and Iran, where there are big issues we need to discuss with them and resolve with them, that we can do that in a completely different atmosphere than was possible a few months ago.

You can see it too in the Middle East peace process in what is happening in Israel and Palestine, where for the first chance now in several years it is just the beginnings of the hope of a different way forward for the future.

All of that has arisen out of this action and what you did. I would like to think that, maybe in a year or two years' time, it will be possible for some of you to come back and see the changes in this country that have arisen from what you have done today.

What you did serves as a model as to how armed forces anywhere in the world should conduct themselves. You fought and won the battle with great courage and valour. But it did not stop there. You went on to try and make something of the country you have liberated.

I think that is a lesson for armed forces everywhere the world over.

For text of the entire speech go here.

Wed May 28, 2003

Saudis Use Unorthodox Interrogatioon Technique

Decide to Try the Truth as a Weapon

This immediately strikes me as a great idea:

Under the watchful eye of FBI agents, the Saudi security authorities are using an unorthodox - but apparently successful - interrogation technique against suspected Al Qaeda militants to extract information on the deadly suicide bombings in Riyadh earlier this month.
Muslim clerics are being employed to "verbally beat" the prisoners, telling them that they have misinterpreted Islam and should confess all they know to win favor once more with God, according to a Western diplomat in Riyadh. It is a technique that diplomats say the Saudis have used before to question suspected Islamic militants.

This is indeed a novel approach. To carry it a step or two further the Saudis and other ~~assbackwards~~Moslem countries should attempt to encourage the ~~hatemongering instigators~~imams to spread the ~~propaganda~~ word that murder and terrorism are serious sins that will result in eternal damnation instead of a heroic welcome by virgins in heaven. At the least it should be pointed out that terrorist acts will result in pain and suffering for all who remain behind. This in turn could result in those not involved in terror taking a very dim view of those who bring misery down on their own people and the rest of the world.

Jesus Was Gay

So Says Astrologist Anglican Gay Scholar

I never would have figured it:

JESUS was gay and so were at least three of his 12 disciples, according to a Melbourne academic.

Dr Rollan McCleary, a University of Queensland PhD graduate who now lives in Melbourne, will today be awarded his doctorate for a thesis on gay spirituality.

Dr McCleary said Jesus's astrological chart, clues in the scriptures to which the churches had been blind and accurate biblical translations had all played a part in his conclusions.

In a forthcoming book, he attempts to present St John's Gospel in a new light to back up his claims.

An Anglican and a qualified reader of astrological charts, Dr McCleary is open about being gay.

He said the planet Uranus figured prominently in Jesus's astrological chart, as it did with many gays.

At least he got the planet right.

NY Reconsidering Smoking Ban

As Revenues Get Hammered

There is nothing like money to get a politician's attention. It seems as if some folks in NY are beginning to see the error of their ways in the smoking war:

Gov. Pataki yesterday said for the first time that he's open to easing a statewide ban on smoking due to go into effect in late July.
"When I signed the bill, I said we wanted to look at the impact and see if there were some ways to minimize or mitigate the impact - so, yes, it is something I would look at," Pataki said.

Money is one good reason to come to their senses. Another, perhaps better reason, is to keep government out of private business. This is especially evident if one takes a good look at the waste, inefficiencies, and/or piss poor service rendered by most government agencies. Like I said before, let the consumers make the choice. If they want no smoking establishments they will make it known with their wallets and businesses will listen.

Amnesty International Sees Danger

Says World is now More Unsafe than Before War on Terror

It seems that Amnesty has reached some erroneous conclusions:

The US-led "war on terror" has made the world a more insecure place than at any time since the end of the Cold War, Amnesty International said yesterday.

Britain and the United States are both condemned in Amnesty's annual report for 2002 for eroding human rights in their crackdown on terrorism following the September 11 attacks.

"What would have been unacceptable on September 10, 2001, is now becoming almost the norm," said Irene Khan, general secretary of the London-based rights watchdog. "What would have been an outrage in Western countries during the Cold War - torture, detention without trial, truncated justice - is readily accepted in some countries today for some people."

People around the world felt "more insecure today than ever since the end of the Cold War".

First, the world hasn't changed recently. Terrorists were organizing, raising funds, murdering people, and making plans long before the war on terror began. The big difference is that some people have finally decided to fight back. If this makes the world seem more dangerous now it is simply an illusion. What would have made the world more dangerous now would have been inaction that allowed terrorist organizations to continue to spread and strenghten unchallenged. These groups would have then become too strong to defeat. As it is, it still may be too late and most certainly would be too late if the opinions of groups and individuals like Amnesty were heeded. Blissful ignorance may make a person feel more secure but that doesn't change reality. It merely postpones the battle until the enemy chooses to attack.

Did You Notice?

Not many posts lately

I have become so discouraged by the evident lack of interest by the few visitors to this blog that it has become nearly too painful to bear. Nobody leaves any comments and only small numbers of visitors are surfing in. Is it too much to ask that some words of encouragement or constructive criticism be left in the comments? Please visit often, tell your friends to come by, and interact by using the comments.

Actually, something unexpected came up and I have been too busy to post. I'll try to get back in the swing soon. But the above still applies somewhat so Do It. Thanks

Face Covering Muslim Fights System

Not Willing to Abide by Law that Applies to Others

Here's one for you:

Experts in Islamic law are being called to testify in the lawsuit of a Muslim woman fighting a state order to take off her veil for her driver's license photo.

Sultanna Freeman, 35, says Florida's insistence on photographing her face violates her religious rights.

"I don't unveil ... because it would be disobeying my Lord," Freeman testified Tuesday at the start of her non-jury trial.

Freeman, a convert to Islam previously known as Sandra Kellar, wore her veil for the photo on the Florida driver's license she obtained after moving to the state in 2001.

Nine months later, she received a letter from the state warning that it would revoke her license unless she returned for a photo with her face uncovered.

Freeman claims her religious beliefs require her to keep her head and face covered out of modesty and that her faith prohibits her face from being photographed.

Fine cover your face. Just don't expect to drive and be very careful about going into banks with that mask on. Come on. A recent convert to Islam?? From where, prison. Well, it's just too bad, the public good should come before your religion. Simple. Drive or Hide, not both.
UpDate: Here's the mugshot for this lovely lady and another link with more info.

Times MoDo Under the Gun

The Truth is a Mysterious Thing

The NY Daily News has reached this conclusion about the NY Times:
"A newspaper willing to lie so boldly in pursuit of its editorial agenda is a newspaper out of control."

It now seems that the plague of truth has come to visit Maureen Dowd. Most people should be unsurprised by this event but there are probably some who truly believe the hate being spewed by MoDo and the Times in general. One example of MoDo's transgressions is:

Here's what she wrote:

"'Al Qaeda is on the run,' President Bush said last week. 'That group of terrorists who attacked our country is slowly but surely being decimated ... they're not a problem anymore.'"

Here's what Bush actually said:

"Al Qaeda is on the run. That group of terrorists who attacked our country is slowly but surely being decimated. Right now, about half of all the top Al Qaeda operatives are either jailed or dead. In either case, they're not a problem anymore."

There should be plenty more where that came from. Stay tuned.

Mon May 26, 2003

Attitude Important in Black Education

Parents Play Crucial Role

Cynthia Tucker has some good advice for blacks:

But parents, not teachers, play the most important role in children's education. Every black parent ought to insist on academic excellence; they must combat the perverse view among many black kids that serious scholarship is "a white thing." That notion is prevalent even among middle-class black students, according to University of California professor John Ogbu, author of "Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement."

As long as they remain dismissive of serious academic achievement, black students will consign themselves to mediocrity at best, or failure at worst. And no amount of affirmative action will change that.

This same advice could be applied to every single group of students in the nation. Unless parents take an active interest in their child's education the chances that their child will excel and escape mediocrity are slim.

Sun May 25, 2003

Kofi Wants Coalition of the Willing

UN Fails to Take Action.........Again

As the UN fiddles the Congo continues to burn. Even after years of war that has killed millions of civilians the UN is unable to take any substantial action to help:

Dead bodies litter Bunia's empty streets. From some the blood still drips from machete slashes, spear thrusts and bullet wounds. Others are two weeks old and stinking, half-eaten by the packs of dogs flopping lazily about the once-prosperous north-eastern capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
There are women's bodies scattered in Bunia's main mar ket place; a baby's body on its main road; two priests' bodies inside one church. Last week, a burning corpse was tossed on to the main UN compound's lawn, to show 700 Uruguayan peacekeepers what they were missing while they cowered under fire behind its razor-wire perimeter, unauthorised to intervene in the latest massacre of Congolese civilians.

As the two-week fight for Bunia between rival ethnic militias cooled this week, Albert Asumani slipped back to the ransacked suburb of Nyambe where he lives.

"Why? Why are we killing our brothers? When will it end?" he said, stripping off a pair of yellow rubber gloves he had donned to toss two dead neighbours into a pit-latrine.

This week, for perhaps the first time, western countries appear to be asking the same question about Congo's four-and-a-half-year war, which at one time involved nine na tional armies and a confusion of local militias, and which has already claimed an estimated 4.7 million lives.

On Tuesday France sent military observers to Bunia; it is now considering sending troops with orders to shoot to kill. Britain may send a small force in support. This flicker of attention to the world's biggest war comes after the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, called for a "coalition of the willing" to police Bunia and the surrounding hills of Ituri province.

Kofi calls for a lot of things. Problem is, as they say, talk is cheap. Maybe some help will arrive in the Congo from some where. In the meantime, more die.

Ku Ku Byrd Speaks

From the Senate Floor on May 21st

If you have the stomach for it here is the complete text of Byrd's remarks. If you can't stomach it all or don't know for sure try this first:

But I contend that through it all, the people know. The American people unfortunately are used to political shading, spin and the usual chicanery they hear from public officials. They patiently tolerate it up to a point. But there is a line. It may seem to be drawn in invisible ink for a time, but eventually it will appear in dark colors, tinged with anger. When it comes to shedding American blood--when it comes to wreaking havoc on civilians, on innocent men, women and children, callous dissembling is not acceptable. Nothing is worth that kind of lie--not oil, not revenge, not re-election, not somebody's grand pipe dream of a democratic domino theory. And mark my words, the calculated intimidation that we see so often of late by the "powers that be" will only keep the loyal opposition quiet for just so long. Because eventually, like it always does, the truth will emerge. And when it does, this house of cards, built of deceit, will fall.

You know what Byrd? I don't think you would know the truth if it jumped up your old, senile ass and blew what may have once been brains out the top of your porcine head.

HorseFeathers To Sullivan

Forget Normal

Stephen Rittenberg of HorseFeathers begs to differ with Andrew Sullivan's new essay:

Ordinarily I find Andrew Sullivan’s writing admirable, his take on the world of politics is serious and sound, and even some of his views on homosexuality are reasonable. But occasionally his gay ideology runs off with his common sense, and then watch out. His major new essay in a recent issue of The New Republic entitled “We Are All Sodomites Now” is a case in point.

This disagreement reaches some conclusions that are at the heart of the issue of homosexuality:

The essay is another interesting example of Sullivan’s preoccupying life theme: the normalization of homosexuality.

The thing that seems to distress him most about those he calls conservatives is that somewhere deep down they disapprove of homosexuality. They may not want to prohibit the sin (as the so-called Prohibitionists do) or punish the sinner, but he senses their deep displeasure over it and somehow wants to change that. Either getting us straights to love gays and/or by denying the differences between them. But the first may not be possible, and the second is not true. Perhaps the best solution is a compromise—we need not all love each other or pretend we are all the same but we can tolerate each other. It’s called civilization.

That's pretty much the bottom line in life. Live and Let Live. Do Unto Others as You would have Others Do Unto You. After all, normal is pretty rare in this day and age and if it is found it may turn out to be something undesirable anyway.

Russia Wants to Help

Offers Support and Intelligence Services

Russian Defence Minister Sergi Ivanov said Russia wants to assist NATO in Afghanistan as it is to assume the command of international peacekeeping force there this year.

He said Russia would not send its troops to Afghanistan and would assist NATO only in intelligence and support services. Russian forces and guards deployed at the Tajik border can conduct search and rescue operation in northern Afghanistan if need be, he added.

Possibly even more important:

Russia wants to build anti-drug belt around Afghanistan

Russia showing its willingness to take a keen interest and play a major role in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan stated that it wants to build an anti-drug belt around all neighbouring countries of Afghanistan. This was said by the Russian Foreign Minister in his address to the Paris Conference in which he claimed that Afghanistan became the largest drug producing country in 2002.

Tax Cut Calculator

Figure it for Yourself

The Heritage Foundation has a tax calculator that shows the difference in taxes between the old and new tax law. For example, a married couple with 2 children making 40000/yr will save 96% or $1133 under the Bush plan.

Total Income $40,000
Total Dividends $0*
Dependents 17 + =0
Personal Exemption $12,200
Dependents under 17= 2

Tax
Current Law New Bush Law
Standard Deduction:
$7,950 $9,500
Taxable Income:
$19,850 $18,300
Child Tax Credit:
$1,200 $2,000
Total Taxes:
$1,178 $45

Your Tax Cut Under Bush Law: $1,133

Percentage Cut in Taxes $1,133 Is To Your Total Tax: 96.18%

Percentage Increase $1,133 Is To Your Family Income: 2.83%

Sounds pretty good to me and note that this family is not one of the rich few who some claim will be the only one's to benefit. Go take a look and figure it for yourself.

Sat May 24, 2003

In Support of Activist Judges

Or Looking for Judges Who Uphold the Law and Constitution?

The following is an editorial that appeared in the Mobile Register May 21st on a New York Times editorial against the nomination of Atty. General Bill Pryor for judgeship:

A New York Times editorial this week against the nomination of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor for a federal appeals judgeship provides a textbook example of what's wrong with the way the political left sees the courts.
The editorial contends that a brief Mr. Pryor filed in defense of Texas' anti-sodomy statute makes him unfit for the judgeship because it shows the AG is against gay rights.
Nowhere in the editorial, however, is there any reference to the Constitution or to Supreme Court precedent. Instead, there is a clear assumption that laws against homosexual acts are unfair — and that, therefore, they ought to be struck down by the courts.
The problem is that judges are not supposed to decide on their own whether a law is fair — that's a job for legislators — but only whether it is forbidden by the Constitution or by a superseding statute. ...
But the Times seems less concerned with what's in the Constitution or in court precedent than it is intent on determining its own sense of what is or isn't fair, and then turning its opinion into a constitutional right — by judicial fiat, without any democratic processes intervening. Down that road lie not more rights, but tyranny.

via Yahoo

This illustrates a tactic whereby the left can circumvent the majority by installing judges who will disregard the Constitution, legal precedent, and law and institute their own version of rule for Americans. Judicial activism has been around for some time now and it allows the left to institute their own rules against the majority of the citizens. It's wrong, it's unconstitutional, and like the editorial says: Down that road lie not more rights, but tyranny.

Cardinal of Cluelessness

Chiraq Attempts to OutDumb Himself......Again

The Emperor Misha has some kind words for Jock Chirac who seems to have plans to embarrass the President at the upcoming G8 summit in France by laying out an agenda heavy on environmental, development and economic issues and light on the fight against terrorism.

Brilliant strategery, you Cardinal of Cluelessness, let's go over those points one at a time, shall we?

1. Environment.

While you're trying to "embarrass" the President with your oral flatulence on that subject, DO remember to highlight the water quality in the Seine or, even better, the Rhine. Last we heard, the water in the the last one was so putrid that even a frenchman would smell worse after a bath in it. And while we're on the subject, why don't we talk about who implemented unleaded gas? Or how about per capita forest acreage?

You're so incredibly, massively dim that it's not even fun to make fun of you anymore, and this is coming from someone who likes to kick the crutches out from under cripples for shits and giggles, mind you.

2. Development.

Oh yes, here's something that will really embarrass the fuck out of the President of the most powerful and rich nation on the face of the planet, the same nation that produces more than 25% of all of the world's goods while you, in that stinking hellhole you have the audacity to call a "country" produce nothing of note except for but curdled, mildewed milk.

3. Economy.

See above, you Gallic Goblin. How the fuck dare you even MENTION the word "economy" when the last time you actually saw one in that mismanaged socialist spitbucket was sometime during the Franco-Prussian war (that you lost as well, by the way)? Perhaps you want to debate it because you'd like some pointers on how to create one? Well, in that case, here's a piece of free advice for you, you obtuse otterfart: Just Say NO to Socialism. It's that simple. Now go somewhere and try to grok that concept while the rest of us get on with our lives. Not to mention our big houses, well-paying jobs, huge cars and outstanding healthcare.

Back of the class, you Marxist Muttfucker.

Oh, you can bet your ass, there's more.

Iraq News Bits and Pieces

Some Good, Some Bad, Some In Between

Iraqi Oil Exports Picking up steam:

Iraq expects to resume oil exports in a matter of weeks although satisfying local demand was the priority, a senior Iraqi oil official said on Saturday.

"We are having some obstacles, mainly in telecommunications. By two to three weeks Iraq will be back in the market," Thamir Ghadhban, Director of the oil ministry, told a news conference at a U.S. military headquarters.

"It will take a few weeks but we should be producing 1.3 to 1.5 million barrels per day by the middle of next month," he said, adding that production ran at 700,000 bpd at present.

State Workers Begin To Get Paid

Iraq's US administrators yesterday began paying wages
to state employees for the first time since the fall of Baghdad, as a contested election in the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk put in place a city council.

U.S. Funds Iraqi Museums

Saddam's killing fields give up their gruesome secrets

Koizumi, Mubarak agree on joint Iraq medical support

Neocons vs. Neoleftists

The Left Has A New Agenda: Contain America

Neocons say America should always be free to act alone. Neoleftists say it should never be free to act alone. So says Jonathan Rauch in the National Journal. According to Mr. Rauch the neoleftists agenda is one of "confronting not imperialism or corporate capitalism or human-rights abusers, but the United States."

Why is the Left suddenly unable to support or celebrate the downfall of a fascist tyrant? Because, just as neocons regard projecting American power as essential for making the world safer, neoleftists regard containing American power as essential for making the world safer. If containing America means tolerating or even supporting tyranny or terror in particular places -- well, that is a price that must sometimes be paid.

That statement pretty much sums up the left. America is their enemy and they will use all means possible to hinder this country's ability to look out for its own best interests. The left feels that they are a potential competitor to the American superpower by mobilizing various fringe elements into world protest groups similiar to what was seen prior to the Iraq war. As of yet these groups are not a serious second superpower but that is not for lack of trying. More importantly these neoleftists seek a world ruled by the UN and while they protest the use of American force they feel that UN force may be justified in some instances.

In no circumstance would the United States or any other nation have the right to mount a military invasion to overthrow another government for the ostensible purpose of achieving disarmament

So once again it boils down to the dream of one world living in peace happily ever after versus the cold, hard, facts of the real world. It pits dicisive action versus the UN's record of inaction. It puts the future of the world in the hands of the mob of tyrants, dictators, and various dying forms of government. In other words, it's a dream that is so far from present reality that it would be laughable were it not so deadly serious and wrong.

But the Left will pay a crippling price. If its new rallying cry is going to be "Contain America first!" the Left had better pack its bags for a long, long stay in the political wilderness, at least in America; and if it is going to make excuses for Saddam as it once made excuses for Stalin, it can kiss its moral relevance goodbye. One only wonders whether the Left still has time to back away from the cliff.

We can hope and pray that the left comes to its senses. Until then, they must not be allowed to force their agenda on the rational world.

Iran Holds Terrorists

al Qaeda Operatives in Custody

Iranian officials Thursday told a U.N. representative that Iran has several unnamed al Qaeda operatives in custody, CNN has learned.

The acknowledgment comes as Washington has intensified its accusations that al Qaeda terrorists are inside Iran -- something Tehran had previously denied.

U.S. officials said the key question is whether the al Qaeda operatives in custody are allowed to communicate and receive visitors.

One Bush administration official told CNN that Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. special representative for Afghanistan, met Thursday in Geneva with Iranian officials. It was during that meeting that Iran said it had several al Qaeda operatives in custody, the official said.

Fri May 23, 2003

Religion To Return to Schools

No Child Left Behind Includes Free Speech Rights for Students

As the result of a provision in No Child Left Behind Act schools seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place regarding religion:

If schools allow any religious speech at the graduation ceremony, most are aware that they could face a lawsuit. But now, if they don't - according to the dictates of NCLB - they could risk losing federal funds.

"School districts are in a very, very difficult position," Czajowski says.

The decades-old struggle over the place of religion in American public schools may be about to flare up yet again. A provision in NCLB mandates that if a school has any policy in place that curtails a student's right to "religious expression" as spelled out in recent government guidelines, it could lose its federal funding.

For groups that advocate greater freedom of religion in public schools, the guidelines mailed out to all districts Feb. 7 from the US Department of Education are cause for rejoicing.

The threat to cut off funding "gives [these guidelines] teeth," says Anthony Picarello, vice president and general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington. For too long, he says, school administrators frightened of lawsuits have squashed legitimate religious discourse on school grounds. From now on, Mr. Picarello adds, "the safest course will no longer be to break all ties with religion."

But for groups that promote the separation of church and state, the guidelines spell danger.

"The 800-pound gorilla of these regulations is the threat of cutting off financial aid," says Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in Washington.

Especially with graduation season approaching, Mr. Lynn worries that "the [Education Department] guidelines are so heavily weighted toward supporting alleged student-speech rights that schools will ignore legitimate concerns that a captive audience at graduation will be subjected to evangelism."

Cracker's Bake Sale Raises Ruckus

Another Double Standard

A recent event intended to promote debate regarding affirmative action ended badly when one student used physical violence to voice his opinion:

Several Bruin Republicans parodied affirmative action by selling Oreos, Twinkies and crackers for race-based prices on Bruin Walk on Wednesday, but they never meant it to end in chaos.

The "Affirmative Action Bake Sale, Reloaded," was a follow-up to a February sale put on by the same students, this time with emphasis on offensive stereotypes applied to minorities who oppose affirmative action.

The debate grew heated as Bruin Walk filled at lunchtime, and ended abruptly as an angry student grabbed boxes of Oreos and crackers, spilled them on the ground, and tore down the banner cursing what he called "white privilege."

"The debate turned into a debacle," said David Witzling, a third-year political science student who was at the sale.

The event was meant to be a parody that would incite discussion, but it was not meant to be offensive, said Jonathan Cayton, one of the Bruin Republicans who organized the sale.

But many people were offended.

Nashaua Neao, a third-year political science and African American studies student, found the affirmative action bake sale "blatantly offensive and ignorant" and said the comparison of people to Oreos and Twinkies perpetuates racism.

It would seem that some blacks feel that crackers should not be allowed to infringe upon their "rights" to use certain words to describe other blacks such as oreos and twinkies. As such what is "blantantly offensive and ignorant" are the blacks who expect immunity as they use derogatory terms to describe other blacks as well as whites and any other racial group whose path may cross the double talkers. To these blacks who expect a double standard that exempts their own racism from criticism I offer the following advice. That game is old, tired, and used up. Learn to do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

A similiar message is being sent by Michael Reagan in Front Page magazine:

All across the nation the story is the same. So-called black leaders ignore the plight of young blacks while they climb over each other to pose in the publicity spotlight. They’re worried about slavery, they’re worried about reparations, about making Martin Luther King Day a paid holiday, all this meaningless symbolism, and in the meantime their own people are dying because they refuse to talk about substance.

And the Emperor Misha has an excellent post as well along the same line.

Possible Pope Successor Creates Flap

Remarks Upset Many

The possible successor to Pope John Paul has started a controversy with his remarks during a speech at Georgetown University's commencement. At the least Cardinal Francis Arinze's speech was seen as inappropriate for the event due to its theme of family values. At the worst it is seen as derogatory to homosexuals in particular and other groups in general:

"In many parts of the world, the family is under siege," Cardinal Arinze said. "It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. It is scorned and banalised by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce."

It would seem that speakers are required to speak what the audience wants to hear. The Church's position on these matters is quite clear and this Cardinal is completely inline with that position. Why would this surprise anyone? Still, the forum where the remarks were made was a poor choice for such a statement.

Smoking Debate

Priorities out of Whack

Pretty much everyone can agree that smoking is bad for one's health but there seems to be a few more deserving targets of a world-wide war on health problems. An editorial in Arab News finishes with a few words in this regard:

In pursuit of this risk-averse, death-dodging world, its proponents are prepared to override individual rights and browbeat governments and international bodies into creating the world’s first public health measure. The pity is that the WHO’s action was about smoking and not AIDS or the nutritional value of food, because when you are facing a lingering death from AIDS or starvation, the odd deadly cigarette might well provide some passing comfort.

Yes, smoking is bad. But there are much worse problems that deserve priority listing by such o

Judicious Search

Asinine Stats

Most Popular Entries

Archives

Syndicate RSS

News Links

Contact Form

Your Email

Subject

Message