WSJ:
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hinted Friday that his country would accept prisoners released from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, if U.S. President Barack Obama makes good on his promise to shut down the facility by early next year.
The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously decided today that Iowa’s legislatively enacted ban on same sex marriages is unconstitutional under Iowa’s constitution.
There will no doubt now be a drive for a constitutional amendment that will no doubt benefit Republicans at the ballot box in Iowa.
But there shouldn’t have to be a maneuver here or anywhere else. Iowa and the other state courts that have overturned legislatively enacted bans on marriage have done so by substituting the judges’ policy preferences for the legislatures. In doing so, they have then stretched beyond meaning or intention the constitutions of the various states.
The reason is simple: the judges know they are safe. The people will never seek retribution. The people should by impeaching the judges.
From Peshawar, Pakistan, Reuters reports that this Taliban leader wannabe has said that the murderous rampage perpetrated by an unhinged Vietnamese immigrant was done by his “men.” This half-wit terrorist claims that he ordered the “men” to attack the U.S. because of the use of Predator drones that have been so successful in cutting out so many of those nits in their Pakistani strongholds.
But we all know this “acceptance of responsibility” is an outright lie. We may not know why Jiverly Voong went off the deep end, but we know he had zilch to do with Pakistan. So, why did Reuters think it a story worthy of reporting? There can only be one reason.
You see by telling us the lie of Baitubooolah Meshaweazel Muhammad something-or-another who is claiming he was responsible for the rampage Reuters can also promulgate anger toward our Predator drone program that has been so successful in killing these Taliban and al Qaeda scum-bags.
DC mis-named “public” schools spend $25,000 of tax money per student. The average voucher recipient receives about $6,000; NEA-backed Obama wants these students to fail.
The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, the first federal initiative to spend taxpayer dollars on private school tuition, was created by a Republican-led Congress in 2004 to help students from low-income families. Congress has cut off federal funding after the 2009-10 school year unless lawmakers vote to reauthorize it.
Overall, the study found that students who used the vouchers received reading scores that placed them nearly four months ahead of peers who remained in public school. However, as a group, students who had been in the lowest-performing public schools did not show those gains. There was no difference in math performance between the groups.
ad_iconEducation Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement that the Obama administration does not want to pull participating students out of the program but does not support its continuation.
Sebelius, a Democrat, has promised to veto the measure.The vote is significant in that it’s 10 less than the 84 votes needed to override a veto.
Supporters of the project say they’ll use the Legislature’s three week spring break (likely starting tonight) to win over more votes ahead of a veto override attempt.
It appears supporters are actually losing votes, however. When the House originally passed the legislation in February, the vote was 79-44.
Brownback makes the better vote. Club for Growth:
Today, Senator David Vitter offered an amendment to the FY10 budget requiring that TARP be stripped of $272 billion in funding. The proposal failed 28-70. The following Republicans sided with all but two Democrats (Russ Feingold and Ben Nelson) to keep TARP fully funded. [Senate leadership in BOLD]:
Alexander, L. (TN)
Chambliss (GA)
Cochran (MS)
Corker (TN)
Graham (SC)
Gregg (NH)
Hatch (UT)
Isakson (GA)
Kyl (AZ)
Lugar (IN)
Martinez (FL)
McConnell (KY)
Roberts (KS)
Snowe (ME)
Voinovich (OH)
Moran and Tiahrt voted against it. Of course, Moore voted against it.
The House rejected the Republican Study Committee’s alternative budget yesterday, 111-322.
This is an important vote for fiscal conservatives to scrutinize.
The RSC almost always offers an alternative budget each year so that it can propose…well, an alternative…to either a tax-hiking Democratic budget or a big-spending GOP budget, depending on which party is in the majority.
I personally analyze the vote tally with extra care to see where everyone voted. While voting YES on the RSC budget doesn’t necessarily mean a House member is conservative, it does help make the case. And the opposite is true. While voting NO on the RSC budget doesn’t necessarily mean a House member is not conservative, it provides more evidence that that might actually be the case.
Either way, check out the vote tally for yourself and see where everybody stands.
Club for Growth:
The tax-hiking, big-spending Democratic budget passed both chambers last night without a single Republican vote. There were even 20 Democrats in the House and 2 Dems in the Senate who voted against it. Here’s the House vote and the Senate vote.
NRO:
Asked specifically about the president’s Monday announcement that federal tax dollars would guarantee the warranties of all new Chrysler and GM cars during the period they are undergoing restructuring, Frank said, “Do the words ‘I’m not very well informed on it’ have any meaning to you? Am I speaking a language you don’t understand?”
Given that GM received billions in TARP funds and that as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee he oversees TARP funds, Frank should probably be much better informed about what’s going on.
Bishop Thomas G. Doran of the Rockford, Ill. Diocese:
The bishop suggested that if Fr. Jenkins fails to rescind “this unfortunate decision” he should have the “decency” to change the university name to something like, “The Fighting Irish College” or “Northwestern Indiana Humanist University.”
“On behalf of our more than 20,000 members and the nearly one quarter of a million signers of the petition opposing Notre Dame’s actions, I want to thank Bishop Doran for his strong public witness and letter encouraging Fr. Jenkins to rescind the commencement invite to President Obama,” said CNS President Patrick Reilly.
SAN YSIDRO - A 16-year-old girl posing as a construction worker was arrested Thursday morning after Border Patrol agents discovered 13 illegal immigrants crammed into the pickup she was driving, authorities said.
The truck was disguised as a vehicle from Kiewit Corp., a large construction and mining company based in Omaha, Neb., that is building a secondary border fence west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the Border Patrol said.
Agents spotted the pickup about 6 a.m. near Smuggler’s Gulch as they saw four people running toward Mexico. The driver sped away as officers approached, but later stopped near Monument Road and Hollister Street.
The girl, a U.S. citizen, and a male passenger were both wearing yellow hard hats and reflective safety vests, officials said.
Columnist Charles Krauthammer responds to President Obama’s comment that America is arrogant.
HT RCP
RCP:
Mr. Obama appears to shake the King’s hand and then bow from the waist while French President Nicholas Sarkozy looks on.
Leading conservative blogger Michelle Malkin and Dakota Voice both wrote of their outrage at the President’s deference to a foreign monarch.
“The whole thing is embarrassing. Its like the ‘American Hillbillies go to Europe’,” Malkin wrote.
Sydney Morning Herald: Obama and the King: a right royal bow row
Michelle Malkin: Obama’s deep bow to the Saudi king
HT RCP:
University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos at The Daily Beast:
Again, this kind of judicial policymaking lacks any kind of genuine legal content. The question the court is answering is a legal one only in the trivial sense that it’s a subject of legislation. Whether gay marriage ought to be legal is a political question, regarding which lawyers in general and judges in particular have no special insight.
All of this should be blatantly obvious. If the justices of the Iowa Supreme Court actually understood what they were doing, and then chose to be candid about it, the court’s opinion would have read something like this:
“We are wise people, who are better educated and less prone to prejudice than most of our fellow citizens. Therefore, it’s a good thing that certain very important questions should be decided by us rather than by the voting public. This is one of those questions. So we’re going to decide it.”
PRAGUE - Just hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket, President Barack Obama called for “a world without nuclear weapons” and said the United States has a “moral responsibility ” to lead the way, as the only nation ever to use them.
Obama’s speech was long planned as the centerpiece of his first presidential trip overseas, but it gained new urgency after North Korea sent a multi-part rocket soaring over the Sea of Japan early Sunday morning.
North Korea insisted the launch was meant to put a satellite into space but the U.S. and other nations believe Pyongyang is trying to develop the capability to launch a nuclear warhead.
When Steven Kurtz awoke one morning in his Buffalo home to find his wife, Hope, unresponsive, he rushed to dial 911 and summon paramedics. It was May 11, 2004. He had no reason to expect that his wife’s fatal heart attack and his call to the authorities would mark the beginning of a four-year odyssey to the belly of the criminal-justice system.
The paramedics and police detectives who arrived at Kurtz’s home that morning to tend to his wife found more than they expected. Off the upstairs bedroom was a small table on which was arranged a home laboratory containing Petri dishes and various items of lab equipment. The detectives spent hours– nearly the entire day–interrogating Kurtz about the equipment and his relationship with his wife and then called in local health department officials, who ran tests on the cultures in the Petri dishes. They were harmless.
Unsatisfied with Kurtz’s answers, however, and still suspicious of the lab, the police decided to call in federal authorities. The next day, three or four vehicles came screeching up to Kurtz as he walked across a funeral home’s parking lot, intending to make arrangements for his wife’s cremation. It was the FBI. Kurtz was detained on suspicion of bioterrorism and held for 22 hours.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Democrats agree with Oabama’s decision to shut the Guantanamo prison camp, while 68% of Republicans - and 54% of voters not affiliated with either party - are opposed to it.
But 64% of Democrats agree with 88% of Republicans and 76% of unaffiliateds that Guantanamo inmates should not be released in the United States.
Similarly, 83% of Republicans, 66% of Democrats and 79% of unaffiliated voters say safety is more important than fairness in determining where the terrorist suspects are released.
Seventy-six percent (76%) of all voters say they have followed recent news stories about the closing of the Guantanamo prison camp at least somewhat closely.
1) CNN: 52
2) The Huffington Post: 393
3) Time: 553
4) NPR: 1,524
5) Slate: 1,569
6) Newsweek: 1,690
7) U.S. News & World Report: 2,408
Politico: 2,470
9) Salon: 2,455
10) Indy Media: 3,53411) The Democratic Underground: 6,992
12) The Atlantic: 8,538
13) The Village Voice: 8,922
14) Daily Kos: 10,385
15) Eschaton: 10,496
16) New Yorker: 12,429
17) The Daily Beast: 12,512
18) Alternet: 15,763
19) Common Dreams: 18,144
20) Crooks and Liars: 19,337
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 36% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty percent (30%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +6. The President’s Approval Index ratings have generally been in the +4 to + 8 range for most of the past month (see trends).
In a world growing more dangerous by the week in this dark spring of 2009, Washington may be the most dangerous city in the world. The city is safe enough for its residents; it is the rest of the country and world that is endangered by what Washington is capable of doing. On a bipartisan, bicameral and bi-governmental (executive and legislative branches) basis, rarely has so much policymaking and world-economy-transforming power been in harness to such unsteady political and policy instincts.
New data from a large federal study have reignited a debate over the effectiveness of long-term drug treatment of children with hyperactivity or attention-deficit disorder, and have drawn accusations that some members of the research team have sought to play down evidence that medications do little good beyond 24 months.
The study also indicated that long-term use of the drugs can stunt children’s growth.
The latest data paint a very different picture than the study’s positive initial results, reported in 1999.
KMBC:
A Dallas police officer who detained an NFL player in a hospital parking lot despite his pleas that his mother-in-law was dying inside has been placed on administrative leave. Police Chief David Kunkle said Thursday that Officer Robert Powell will be placed on leave with pay pending an internal investigation over the March 18 incident with Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats.
But like your car, your guts and the economy, computers are more complicated than they seem. And so are our feelings about them.
As the tech community gears up to celebrate Unix’s 40th birthday this summer, one thing is clear: People do love operating systems. They rely on them, get exasperated by them and live with their little foibles. If that’s not the basis of a lasting love, I don’t know what is.
So now that we’re more than 30 years into the era of the personal computer, Computerworld writers and editors, like all technology aficionados, find ourselves with lots of memories and reactions to the operating systems of yesteryear. We have said goodbye to some of them with regret. (So long, AmigaOS!) Some of them we tossed carelessly aside. (Adios, Windows Me!) Some, we threw out with great force. (Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, MS-DOS 4.0!)
Gov. Perry Deserves Credit Not Criticism
Washington - Texas Governor Rick Perry deserves credit for rejecting part of the stimulus package, not the criticism we heard from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson today.
For a long time, Senator Hutchinson has been more than happy to put taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in government spending. She has a long record of supporting wasteful earmark projects and voted for the $700 billion TARP Program. Texas taxpayers are lucky they have an advocate in Gov. Perry who is willing to make the tough decisions to protect their hard-earned money.
“Gov. Perry has rightly pointed out that the federal stimulus money comes with expensive strings attached that Texas taxpayers will have to assume responsibility for in the long run,” said Club for Growth Executive Director David Keating. “With President Obama and the Democrats in Washington foisting an ever larger pile of debt on taxpayers’ shoulders, it is comforting to know that Gov. Perry refuses to shackle Texas taxpayers with even more state debt.”
America’s porous southern border is an entry point for more than Mexican cartels and their illegal drugs - the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah has been smuggling drugs and people into the U.S. as well.
Hezbollah has long been involved in narcotics and human trafficking in South America, and is now using the same routes into the U.S. that the Mexican cartels use for smuggling, according to an exclusive report in The Washington Times.
The group relies on “the same criminal weapons smugglers, document traffickers, and transportation experts as the drug cartels,” said Michael Braun, who recently retired as assistant administrator and chief of operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“They work together. They rely on the same shadow facilitators. One way or another, they are all connected,” he said.
Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, funds its operations in part from a large Lebanese Muslim diaspora, and some of that funding comes from criminal enterprises.
HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - An American woman handcuffed herself to her sleeping husband in an apparent attempt to resolve an argument, but police ended up breaking into their home and charging her with assault and other crimes, authorities said on Tuesday.
Helen Sun, 37, handcuffed herself to Robert Drawbough as he slept in their Fairfield, Connecticut, home on Monday in an effort to reconcile their differences, police said.
But when Drawbough called police with his cell phone, Sun responded by biting him on the arms and torso, police said.
MIAMI (Reuters) - Two disgraced Roman Catholic priests have been sentenced to prison in a case involving the misappropriation of more than $8 million from their church, a theft one judge called “greed unmasked.”
John Skehan and Francis Guinan were accused in 2006 of skimming money from collection plates and bequests at their church in Delray Beach, Florida, and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on real estate, travel, rare coins and girlfriends.
Skehan, 81, was sentenced Tuesday to 14 months in prison and seven years probation after pleading guilty in January to a charge of grand theft of over $100,000.
JCCC:
JCCC scholar sees food as root of sustainability
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.- Stu Shafer, professor, sociology, Johnson County Community College, knows a lot about sustainable agriculture. He researches it, teaches it and has followed its principles as a market farmer for more than 30 years.
Shafer is the fourth and last scholar for the 2008-2009 JCCC College Scholars program. As a scholar he will give two public lectures: (more…)
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 marked a major departure from common law principles, which were modified but not rejected with the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. Since that time, the legal regime governing labor relations has been relatively stable. Today, the looming presence of the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 (EFCA) threatens to alter that balance radically. The EFCA seeks in a few short paragraphs to erect a labor regime whose untested provisions and coercive power will add countless business casualties to our already suffering economy.
PARIS - The European Union’s crisis of leadership during the economic downturn was thrown into sharp relief on Wednesday, as the current president of the 27-nation bloc labeled President Obama’s emergency stimulus package “a way to hell” that will “undermine the stability of the global financial market.”
The blunt comments by the Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the union, came just a week before a crucial meeting of the Group of 20 that was called to show global solidarity in fighting the recession. The comments were greeted with embarrassment by many Europeans who believe that the Czech leader does not represent a European consensus.
What made the situation even more trying for those who hope that the European Union might find a common voice in this crisis was that Mr. Topolanek’s own governing coalition collapsed on Tuesday. The Czech opposition party, which favors bigger increases in domestic spending during the slump, won a no-confidence vote on his leadership.
Flint Hills Center:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Dave Trabert
MARCH 24, 2009 (316) 634-0218
New Study Refutes Government Challenge of Proposition K (WICHITA) - Proposition K, the current initiative to revise the Kansas system for assessing property taxes, is constitutionally legitimate, according to “Constitutional Issues Impacting Property Tax Reform in Kansas“ written by Caleb Stegall and published by Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. Stegall is a private constitutional attorney in Perry, Kansas and the 2nd Judicial District Attorney for Jefferson County. He has litigated numerous constitutional claims in both state and federal courts. The Kansas Department of Revenue has claimed that the proposed change is unconstitutional, but according to Stegall, their arguments “…are untenable, fail to take into account the proper legal protection analysis and fail to address the key legal questions raised by such property tax reform efforts.” The Department of Revenue argues that Prop K violates Article 11of the Kansas Constitution by failing to provide for a “uniform and equal basis of valuation and rate of taxation.” The Department arrives at this conclusion by applying an “effective tax rate” test to Prop K. However, Stegall points out that “there is absolutely no requirement in law or in mathematical logic that the value variable must be determined by the specific method advanced by the Department, i.e., fair market value. In fact, Prop K easily passes the effective tax rate test when that test is applied in a valuation method neutral fashion. In other words, the only thing Prop K changes is the valuation method, not the effective tax rate on property in Kansas.” The entirety of Stegall’s report is available online at www.flinthills.org and www.PropositionK.org. Meanwhile, Proposition K, introduced into the Tax Committee as HB 2150 this session by Rep. Steve Brunk (R-Bel Aire) is being studied in subcommittee, which is expected to recommend the bill for further study by in interim committee over the summer. Proposition K has gained endorsements from numerous groups, most recently the Wichita Area Builders Association (WABA) and the Kansas chapter of Certified Commercial Investment Members (CCIM). Proposition K offers a system to stabilize property taxes in Kansas and make local government budgeting more transparent for taxpayers. Yet Proposition K places no limits on the ability of elected officials to raise revenue or balance budgets. Dave Trabert, president of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, notes that “citizens are extremely unhappy with the present taxation system, and Prop K offers some very practical solutions to a broken and unfair system.” Over the last 10 years (1997 to 2007), property taxes statewide have increased 83%. Residential property taxes are even worse, with a 119% increase in total collections. There simply is no good reason for these outrageous increases. It’s not driven by a need to serve more people; Kansas’ population has only grown 7% over that same period. It’s not inflation; the Consumer Price Index increased about 2.5% per year. It’s the appraisal process.
The statewide average mill rate has increased 10% over the last ten years, but appraised values (on all property) have jumped 66%. These two moving parts of the current system have generated an 83% tax increase. Proposition K offers a viable alternative to the appraisal process that drives unpredictable property taxes. It’s a simple plan that will apply to all classes of real estate except agricultural land, which has its own set of rules under the Kansas Constitution. “Proposition K: A Better Property Tax System for Kansans” is the subject of a study conducted by Dr. Art Hall, Executive Director of the Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas and is published by the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy at www.flinthills.org. Proposition K is supported by the Kansas Building Industry Association, Kansas CCIM (commercial realtors), Wichita Area Builders Association, and Americans for Prosperity; several other organizations are expected to join the coalition in the near future.
Proposition K uses 3 key elements to replace the tax-related appraisal system on real estate:
- On a specific date (January 1, 2010 in the legislation) current property values become fixed as the so-called “baseline value.” (Property owners will always have the ability to appeal.)
- Each property’s baseline value increases by 2% each year. Properties never revalue for tax purposes unless substantially improved or altered. Upon sale, the new owner inherits the annually-adjusted baseline value of the property.
- To preserve fairness and promote simplicity, the plan applies to new construction, substantial alterations to existing structural improvements and re-classified land the average per-square-foot annually-adjusted baseline values of nearby properties.
A new web site at www.PropositionK.org explains the plan, provides downloads of Dr. Hall’s study and other information, offers a forum for citizen comments and includes a means for individuals to indicate whether Proposition K should be adopted. Click here to link to news release.
WSJ:
If anyone were still in doubt as to the importance of a Senate filibuster, we’d point them to Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter’s announcement yesterday that he will not support “card check.” Maybe Big Labor won’t be able to up-end the economy, after all.
Mr. Specter’s decision means Republicans now have 41 votes against “card check” — legislation that would do away with secret ballots in union organization elections. The Pennsylvanian was the only Senate Republican to have previously voted in favor of a debate on the bill, and as such had been the target of a furious lobbying fight by unions and the business community. Yet to be seen is whether Mr. Specter’s decision will inspire any number of swing state Democrats to follow his lead, and thereby neutralize an issue for which they are getting pilloried by their home-state business communities.
DETROIT | With the feud between Jayhawks and Roy Williams squarely in the rearview mirror, I’ll offer no apology for throwing my full support behind Williams and his North Carolina Tar Heels this weekend.
Roy needs another title. And Bill Self’s reputation is no longer connected to Williams’ success or failure. In fact, I’d argue that if the Tar Heels leave Ford Field and the Final Four without a championship, Self’s rep will be in far better shape than his Kansas predecessor’s.
In 2005, in Hinrichs v. Bosma, federal district judge (and now Seventh Circuit nominee) David Hamilton enjoined the Speaker of Indiana’s House of Representatives from permitting “sectarian” prayers to be offered as part of that body’s official proceedings. In so doing, Hamilton adopted one reasonable construction-though not the only one available-of the Supreme Court’s messy Establishment Clause rulings. (In denying a stay of Hamilton’s order pending appeal, the majority on a divided Seventh Circuit panel indicated that its “initial reading of the case law” strongly inclined it to Hamilton’s reading, but the Seventh Circuit ultimately reversed Hamilton on standing grounds.)
One peculiar aspect of Hamilton’s ruling is how he drew the line between “sectarian” and “non-sectarian” prayers. On the one hand, Hamilton made clear that prayers that “use Christ’s name or title” are sectarian. On the other hand, he ruled (on a post-judgment motion) that it is presumptively not sectarian for a Muslim imam to offer a prayer to “Allah”:
The Speaker has also asked whether, for example, a Muslim imam may offer a prayer addressed to “Allah.” The Arabic word “Allah” is used for “God” in Arabic translations of Jewish and Christian scriptures. If those offering prayers in the Indiana House of Representatives choose to use the Arabic Allah, the Spanish Dios, the German Gott, the French Dieu, the Swedish Gud, the Greek Theos, the Hebrew Elohim, the Italian Dio, or any other language’s terms in addressing the God who is the focus of the non-sectarian prayers contemplated in Marsh v. Chambers, the court sees little risk that the choice of language would advance a particular religion or disparage others. If and when the prayer practices in the Indiana House of Representatives ever seem to be advancing Islam, an appropriate party can bring the problem to the attention of this or another court.
RCP: “Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it is the wrong time to make changes to the policy on gays in the military.”
I find it hard to believe that there are still fools out there who don’t think you can make money, serious as heart attack money, with Linux and open source. Let Red Hat spell it out for you.
Red Hat reported its 4th quarter results last night, March 25th. I quote: “Total revenue for the quarter was $166.2 million, an increase of 18% from the year ago quarter and 1% from the prior quarter. Subscription revenue for the quarter was $139.4 million, up 14% year-over-year and 3% from the prior quarter. For the full year, total revenue was $652.6 million, an increase of 25% over the prior year, and subscription revenue was $541.2 million, up 20% year-over-year.”
Anyone want to bet Red Hat’s total revenue will top a billion in 2011?
How is Red Hat doing it? They’re doing it the old-fashioned way: they’re earning it. RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) is a great server Linux. While all Linux distributions are closely related, how many others have clones, such as Oracle Unbreakable Linux and CentOS, where their main selling point is that they’re cut-rate versions of RHEL?
