Taking from Takings

Good news from Oregon and Measure 37:

The law compels the government to pay cash to longtime property owners when land-use restrictions reduce the value of their property -- or, if the government can't pay, to allow owners to develop their land as they see fit. Because there is virtually no local or state money to pay landowners, Measure 37 is starting to unravel smart-growth laws that have defined living patterns, set land prices and protected open space in this state for more than three decades.

Oh, how California needs this.

It would restore basic liberty here in the People's Republic.

Way to go Ducks!

Lives Worth Living

Who are we to decide?

A race which counts the number of self-inflicted murders by the tens of millions last century alone?

My Faith teaches me to support the least of our Brothers.

Not to support letting the Innocent suffer and die.

La Shawn Barber points out that the best Florida's judicial system can come up with is:

"The court is no longer comfortable granting stays simply upon the filings of new motions,” Greer wrote. “There will always be ‘new’ issues.”

In Florida (and alas, likely many other states) it is harder to execute a serial killer (whatever your thoughts on capital punishment) than an innocent. As mentioned earlier, the University of Florida Student Body knows a judge peddling the Culture of Death when it sees one.

Fortunately, many are spreading the word in an effort to awaken Americans to the choices we have to make. In addition to BlogsforTerri, other worthwhile sites to keep an eye on are Anchor Rising (another reference here), La Shawn Barber and Pro-Life Blogs.

This post was motivated by yet another inexcusably ignorant utterance from an ABC Radio News hourly report which, to paraphrase, suggested living life with tubes for 15 years certainly cannot be worth living (this would be an excellent example of the power of podcasting -- another project in the works).

Set aside the fact that a multi-million dollar corporation such as Disney seemingly cannot afford to hire educated folks in their newsroom who would be able to use that technologically-advanced device (tongue firmly lodged in cheek so as not to bite it off) called Google and type "living with tubes" (with the quotes) and learn.

The brazen nature of this statement sent chills down my spine for two reasons:

First, my niece would be subject to some bureaucrat of the State dictating that which can only be God-given -- Life, and

Second, my mind reflected upon an earlier time when those who are different (as defined by the State) were not deemed to possess lives worth living.

The ignorance of the Media (leaving aside the bias favoring the Culture of Death) in the coverage of Terri Schiavo is stunning.

Simply and revoltingly, Stunning.

Temple Grandin

Roger Simon reminds that she will be making the TV rounds with a Thursday ABC Prime Time appearance, but more importantly, that I have yet to read any of her books.

Her Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior appears to be a must read.

Ordered this and Emergence: Labeled Autistic tonight.

I have a top priority Temple Grandin reading assignment from my wife too: Thinking In Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism.

W Rocks Hollywood

You gotta love these.

Indeed, Thank You Hollywood (and Professor Bainbridge for delicious timing)!

Who Are We As a People?

If we do not protect the weak?

Anchor Rising provides an excellent and detailed review of the many questions that have not been answered regarding Terri Schiavo.

My questions are primarily two:

First, why would a loving husband not want to seek therapy for his wife?

Second, why would a loving husband fight so hard against the family of his wife?

Anchor Rising (as so have many others) has some deeply disturbing clues.

What is stunning to me is that we are fighting to keep an innocent woman from being starved to death, no, killed. Have we really come to that?

As one reader wrote to Hugh Hewitt:

"If I said to someone, 'Man, I would rather die then go through that,' does that mean I need to file legal documents if I ever change my mind or if there is a possibility that I might be misinterpreted?

What if someone just makes up the recollection --am I a dead man if I am ever unconscious?

Do I need to have a tattoo on my forehead, 'Don't kill me?'"

It may be coming to that.

Anchor Rising states it plainly:

The stakes are enormous here and there is no neutral ground. Not to decide is to decide. The fight for Terri’s life is another battle to determine whether we are to live in a culture of life or a culture of death.

I choose Life.

Ward Churchill Advocates Terrorism?

If the University of Colorado cannot fire this guy, then tenure needs to be fired.

Here's the disgusting quote:

Question from audience: You mentioned a little bit ago, ‘Why did it take a bunch of Arabs to do what you all should have done a long time ago,’ that’s my question.

. . . why shouldn’t we do something and how could we move so they don’t see us coming?

Churchill: I’m gonna repeat that, tell me if I got that right: Why shouldn’t we do something and how do you you move so they don’t see you coming.

. . . the simple answer, is: You carry the weapon. That’s how they don’t see it coming. . . .

You don’t send the Black Liberation Army into Wall Street to conduct an action.
You don’t send the American Indian Movement into downtown Seattle to conduct an action. Who do you send? You. Your beard shaved, your hair cut close, and wearing a banker’s suit.

There’s probably a whole lot more to it, you know that. But there’s where you start.

Colorado taxpayers' dollars at work advocating terrorism.

We do live on the Orwellian edge.

Vaccine Villians?

I can only be confused (OK, not really) by the Media's pit bull instincts against the evil pharmaceutical industry while continuously promoting vaccines.

Michelle Malkin suggests these "pushers" may be mindless as well.

This item caught my eye from my birth state of Ohio:

Medpundit calls the chickenpox vaccine, now mandatory for Ohio schoolchildren, "[t]he product that makes its own market."

This is interesting:

At first, it was a hard sell. For ages doctors have told parents not to even bother bringing a child into the office with chickenpox. It wasn't dangerous and bringing the child in would only expose others to the virus. . . .

As more and more children received vaccines, it became harder for an unvaccinated child to contract a natural case of chickenpox. (Before the vaccine, virtually everyone acquired immunity by the time they reached adulthood.) Chickenpox in adulthood is much more serious than it is in childhood. It is extremely debilitating in the adult. In a pregnant woman, it can be life-threatening for both her and her child. Now we have a situation in which it's much more likely that an unvaccinated child will grow to adulthood without ever having had the disease, and thus be at higher risk of death and debility. The solution? Vaccinate them. A solution that wouldn't have been necessary if the vaccine had never been widely adopted.

It's win-win for Merck. The product that makes its own market.

More evidence that Ohio Governor Taft is not that sharp.

AARP Off the Cliff

Charles points out the AARP has proven their radical leftist bona fides by giving Daily Kos top billing on their Social Security Blog.

My post to the comments section simply asks:

It is not obvious to me why AARP supports Daily Kos with their link on the AARP Social Security Blog.

It is not obvious why the AARP would want to associate itself with someone who wrote a post titled "Every death should be on the front page":

"Let the people see what war is like. This isn't an Xbox game. There are real repercussions to Bush's folly.

That said, I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Scr*w them.

by kos on Thu Apr 1st, 2004 at 12:08:56 PST."

Read this and weep.

The "merceneries" were American citizens.

Way to go AARP.

It will be interesting to learn why AARP would link to someone calling Americans giving their lives in Iraq "merceneries" and someone who doesn't care about their deaths.

Real sweethearts all around.

I certainly will not join the AARP when the letter in the mail comes someday, unless, perhaps, new leadership drains the fever swamps of The Left which currently infest this organization.

I'm sure we'll be hearing a great deal about W putting old folks on the streets in the coming months.

It will be such edifying and informed debate coming from people who support someone, when confronted with the deaths of American citizens in Iraq, says "Screw them" (or "Screw them But").

UPDATE:

More fun.

Ward Churchill Busted

You remember him -- the guy who said the victims of 9/11 were "little Eichmanns"?

Well, he should soon be dusting off his CV looking for work now.

No free speech that.

UPDATE:

As Instapundit would say, Heh.

Condi on The March

Methinks the Lady is running for President.

What a shot.

Remember When. . .

Teachers wore ties (or at least business casual clothing) and looked like professionals?

Michelle Malkin comments on yet another teacher engaging in sexual acts with students.

Only, you won't believe the twist to this story.

Terri Schiavo Updates

Here is a Plea to call President Bush.

University of Florida students, speaking as a Student Body, have wisdom beyond their years.

Testimonies from those formerly in a Persistent Vegetative State here and here.

Primers on Terri's history here and here.

Blogs for Terri Schiavo

This is a very helpful way to stay on top of this fast-moving story.

Michelle Malkin also points out two other useful blogs at Pro-Life Blogs and BlogsforTerri.

I Want One!

Want to know what the dolls inside the dolls look like!

National Review Online Syndicates!

Yeah!

Right-To-Live

Isn't this headline a bit backwards:

Fla. Right-To-Die Case Goes Back to Court

Why, AP, do you insist on this?

Isn't this really, after all, a Right-To-Live case?

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Terry Schiavo's parents and husband square off in court today over whether he is fit to be her guardian.

Of course not.

More disgustingly:

Doctors have ruled that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery, and would live no more than a week or two without getting food and water through the tube inserted into her abdomen.

Neither would many who live by TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) and other extraordinary means (for more on TPN visit Nutrishare).

This is a heart-sickening case.

Picture News

Check this out.

Here is more on site creator Jonathan Harris.

W, Read My Lips

The Good Professor Bainbridge spotlights a Wall Street Journal editorial that states what many Californians already know:

An income of $90,000 -- even $150,000 -- is hardly rich if you're trying to raise a family in many areas of this country. Lifting the cap amounts to a whopping 12.4-percentage-point marginal tax rate increase on middle-class households, as well as on small-business owners who don't even get to enjoy the fiction that their employer is paying half. These are some of America's most productive people, and, by the way, they tend to vote Republican.

As April 15 approacheth, W had better keep in mind what he says, rightly, so often: "Americans pay enough taxes."

And we get little for them (especially social engineering projects akin to moving piles of sand from A to B and back again).

And, we certainly get very little from payroll taxes.

Is it a broken system that requires workers to pay retirees? Of course.

Does increasing that redistribution fix the problem? Speaking from admitted ignorance, I cannot see how. It should be noted that others far less ignorant on this topic than I are also deeply concerned by W's loose lips:

Removing the cap completely would push marginal tax rates to their highest levels since the Reagan tax cuts of the 1980s, calculated Mr. Wesbury, a former chief economist for the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. The top marginal tax rate would reach 53%, he said.

The tax increase would “undermine the very program he is trying to create” by hurting equity markets and reducing returns in the proposed private accounts, Mr. Wesbury said.

Time wasted and better spent addressing serious issues effecting the new Investor Class (from which a portion of Republican Party growth flows). Examples include reduction or elimination of both Capital Gains and Alternative Minimum Taxes.

Alas, I'm a Conservative who votes Republican, but, I don't have to.

UPDATE:

Tom Maguire offers some help to W on this point. Intriguing, but I keep coming back to my simpleton question: Will I ever see that money again if W lifts the cap and takes it from me and my family?

Supreme Court Term Limits?

I too am ambivalent on this topic.

Randy Barnett provides a useful link to an interesting debate on judicial term limits.

Our Constitution is a good thing. No, not perfect, but I support caution regarding such a far-reaching change. FDR's tenure and resulting appointments have always been one of the best arguments used to justify judicial term limits, but the power of that argument has been substantially diminished with the Twenty-Second Amendment.

I prefer means of reigning in judicial power already present in our Constitution, e.g. Congress exercising its separation of power role as defined in Article III, Section 2, Clause 2:

. . . In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

More interesting arguments that Congress is not powerless:

I believe that, at least as a constitutional matter, the issue of congressional power to control federal jurisdiction is far simpler than many other scholars think.  The text and internal logic of Article III of the Constitution make clear that congressional power to control the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts and the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is extremely broad.  There is nothing in the provision’s text that in any way confines congressional authority in either area.  It is highly likely, however, that the federal courts would construe congressionally imposed, substantively based restrictions on their jurisdiction in a highly grudging manner.  Thus, if Congress wishes to exercise its vast authority, it would be advised to state its intent explicitly in the text of the relevant statutes.

The Good News

Please do thoroughly enjoy this read.

Here is the context:

On the program that day we were discussing the report that some Europeans were disgusted with the Super Bowl commercial of American soldiers getting applause in an airport. The critics thought it too extreme in its patriotism and a possible incitement to further war.

At any rate, Rick . . . called to talk about his experience coming back recently from the fields of war.

Be prepared to have tissue within reach.

And, for those who missed Applause, the Budweiser commercial so despised by confused Europeans, choose your bandwidth and watch here.

Hat Tip: Dad and Donna.

Why History is Important

Non-Politically-Corrected history, that is.

La Shawn Barber discusses a review of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves by Thomas Sowell.

Hochschild's book traces 18th Century Abolitionist history in England.

Some Sowell nuggets of observation:

To me the most staggering thing about the long history of slavery — which encompassed the entire world and every race in it — is that nowhere before the 18th century was there any serious question raised about whether slavery was right or wrong. In the late 18th century, that question arose in Western civilization, but nowhere else.

And:

The anti-slavery movement was spearheaded by people who would today be called “the religious right” and its organization was created by conservative businessmen. Moreover, what destroyed slavery in the non-Western world was Western imperialism.

Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today’s intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders and Western imperialists who together destroyed slavery around the world. And if it doesn’t fit their vision, it is the same to them as if it never happened.

With La Shawn's zinger:

The idea that blacks don’t need skin color preferences and have succeeded without liberals and government handouts doesn’t fit their vision, either. It’s as though black advancement absent entitlements and special treatment never happened.

If you haven't visited La Shawn's site, please do.

I think you'll find it fun -- her optimism is infectious.

iPod Satellite?

Not yet.

Real Journalist Murders

Not the imagined variety of CNN's Eason Jordan.

The Captain highlights the irony:

Gunmen killed an Iraqi journalist working for a U.S.-funded television station and his son as they left their home Wednesday in the southern city of Basra, an Iraqi official said.

You might expect Jordan and Cramer to jump all over this story, especially given both executives' connections to reporter-safety forums. However, even after three hours, the best that CNN can do is to take the AP's report and republish it on their site -- and they don't even give it unique coverage. They stack the report onto a much longer and almost completely unrelated article on the debate over "insurgency" strength levels in Iraq.

So much for Jordan's emotional concern over the well-being of reporters in Iraq. The only lesson that can be drawn from this coverage is that only reporters who work for organizations (or executives) that express hostility towards the West get any concern from Jordan, Cramer, and Co.

Malkin Junks Jordan

Michelle has been all over EasonGate.

Her column is, as she describes it, a "very basic [EasonGate] primer for a non-blog audience."

According to several eyewitnesses, Jordan asserted on Jan. 27 that American military personnel had deliberately targeted and killed journalists in Iraq. (Jordan has since disputed the characterization of his remarks.)

Why wasn't this headline news?

Forum organizers have stonewalled citizen attempts to gain access to a videotape or transcript of the Davos meeting. But American businessman Rony Abovitz, who attended the panel Jordan participated in, reported immediately after the forum that "Jordan asserted that he knew of 12 journalists who had not only been killed by U.S. troops in Iraq, but they had in fact been targeted. He repeated the assertion a few times, which seemed to win favor in parts of the audience (the anti-U.S. crowd) and cause great strain on others."

Another panel attendee, historian Justin Vaisse, wrote on his blog that Jordan "didn't mince words in declaring that the intentions of journalists in Iraq were never perceived as neutral and were made deliberate targets by 'both sides.'"

On Monday, journalist and presidential adviser David Gergen, who moderated the panel, told me that Jordan indeed asserted that journalists in Iraq had been targeted by military "on both sides." Gergen said Jordan tried to backtrack, but then went on to speculate about a few incidents involving journalists killed in the Middle East -- a discussion Gergen cut off because "the military and the government weren't there to defend themselves."

Panel member Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., also told me that Jordan asserted that there was deliberate targeting of journalists by the U.S. military and that Jordan "left open the question" of whether there were individual cases in which American troops targeted journalists.

Finally, panel attendee Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., issued a statement in response to my inquiry that he "was outraged by the comments. Senator Dodd is tremendously proud of the sacrifice and service of our American military personnel."

Jordan's defenders say he was "misunderstood" and deserves the "benefit of the doubt." But the man's record is one of incurable anti-American pandering.

Jordan's the man who admitted last spring that CNN withheld news out of Baghdad to maintain access to Saddam Hussein's regime. He was quoted last fall telling a Portuguese forum that he believed journalists had been arrested and tortured by American forces (a charge he maintains today). In the fall of 2002, he reportedly accused the Israeli military of deliberately targeting CNN personnel "on numerous occasions." He was in the middle of the infamous Tailwind scandal, in which CNN was forced to retract a Peter Arnett report that the American military used sarin gas against its own troops in Laos. And in 1999, Jordan declared: "We are a global network, and we take global interest[s] first, not U.S. interests first."

Check out her great coverage here and preceding posts.

But, we'll be talking about more important things now, i.e. the Charles-Bowles marriage.

Much more important than a leading American (sorry, Eason, you'd prefer "global") news executive slandering American troops dying around the world.

Did the war stop when I was out at lunch?

Definitely the Best Blog Line of the Mattis Tempest in a Teapot.

Semper Fi!

Goldberg Crushes Cole

But, Jonah would be the first to admit it wasn't that hard.

Karnak-Cole

[Cole] did, however, read my mind. He writes:

The reason Mr. Goldberg is alarmed that I pointed this obvious fact out is that he wants to kill thousands of Iranians and thousands of US troops in a war of aggression on Iran. If the American public knows that there is a lively struggle between hardliners and conservatives in Iran, and that an American intervention there would be a huge disaster and would forestall the natural evolution of Iran away from Khomeinism, then they might not support Mr. Goldberg's monstrous warmongering.

That is why he attacked me.

Uh...help me out here. I attacked Cole to keep him from tipping off the American people about the struggle between "hardliners and conservatives" in Iran? (Did he really mean to say "hardliners and conservatives" — that sounds like a super-lively debate.) I want to kill thousands of Americans and Iranians in an aggressive war? Someone draw me a diagram. Where does Cole get this stuff? Does he just make it up? This is the only column I've written specifically on Iran. Could someone show me the part where I lay out my monstrous warmongering agenda?

Last time I checked, scholars looked for this thing called "evidence."

It is heartening to see smart people calling out nutcases who purport to be college professors (just how do such specimens of lunacy get tenure?).

Latest absurdity funded by Colorado (and American) taxpayers:

"I don't answer to Bill Owens. I do not answer to the Board of Regents in the way they think I do. The regents should do their job and let me do mine," Churchill said to thunderous clapping. "I'm not backing up an inch. I owe no one an apology."

In an essay, Churchill wrote that workers in the World Trade Center were the equivalent of "little Eichmanns," a reference to Adolf Eichmann, who ensured the smooth running of the Nazi system. Churchill also spoke of the "gallant sacrifices" of the "combat teams" that struck America.

Repulsive.

I like Governor Owens (he would be my second favorite in '08 behind Condi), and I hope he goes after Ward Churchill for the right reasons, i.e. his fraud, not his speech.

Ward Churchill has been masquerading as an Indian for years behind his dark glasses and beaded headband. He waves around an honorary membership card that at one time was issued to anyone by the Keetoowah Tribe of Oklahoma. Former President Bill Clinton and many others received these cards, but these cards do not qualify the holder a member of any tribe. He has deceitfully and treacherously fooled innocent and naïve Indian community members in Denver, Colorado, as well as many other people worldwide. Churchill does not represent, nor does he speak on behalf of the American Indian Movement.

It sure would be encouraging to explore the fraud narrative in the Legacy Media, but that would require some work -- once again, the heavy factual lifting will be left to Bloggers (and the Legacy Media wonder why they are losing audiences in record numbers).

Instead, we get this lame AP piece parroted by CNN.

A longtime American Indian Movement activist. . . .

The AP clearly has yet to hear about Google (which is all I did to find the AIM fraud link above) -- talk about culturally illiterate.

And CNN and others pay the AP for news?

What a racket -- and an even larger fraud on the American public.

Another example of Blogs disproving the old adage, "You get what you pay for."

Blogs are free and fact-filled and very often extremely well researched -- much more so than AP pieces that many pay dollars for.

Condi '08!

Now this would cripple the Democrats for years to come.

Those of us who think a strong two-party system is good for our country might lament the meltdown of the Democrats, but regarding Condi, as JFK (the French-looking one) said, "Bring It On!"

Iranian Bloggers Beware

Interesting article from an Iranian woman arrested for blogging.

(Requires annoying registration to read anything from the LA Times, but don't forget to use BugMeNot which enables you to get a donated username/password.)

"Do you accept the charges?" the interrogator asked.

"What charges?"

"That you have written things in your Web log that go against the Islamic system and that encourage people to topple the system," he said. "You are inviting corrupt American liberalism to rule Iran."

"I've tried to write my ideas and opinions in my Web log and to communicate with others in Farsi all over the world," I said.

He was displeased.

"These answers will lead us nowhere, and you will stay here for years. Tell us the truth. How much have you received to write these offenses against the Islamic state? How are you and your fellow Web loggers organized?"

How should I respond? I knew my mother must be terribly worried about me. What could I say to make sure I got out?

"We are not organized against the state," I said. "I write because I want to criticize the system. There are some things in our state that should be corrected." "Why don't you write an e-mail directly to the supreme leader's office?" he asked. "The supreme leader considers all criticisms and takes corrective actions."

"I hadn't thought about that," I said. This was nonsense, of course, but I saw an opening. "From now on, I will write directly to the supreme leader and stop writing in my Web log."

"It is too late for that," he said.

Thanks to Virginia Postrel for highlighting this article.

Fight Fire with FIRE

Great new blog from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)

Excellent sample regarding Ward Churchill:

At FIRE, we have long argued that viewpoint discrimination has negative real-world consequences (and make no mistake, you do not achieve 32-to-1 ideological imbalances without years of viewpoint discrimination in hiring, promotion, and retention). For those of you who continue to doubt this truth—for those who believe that such viewpoint discrimination is an essentially harmless application of departmental academic freedom—I present to you Mr. Ward Churchill, Exhibit A for the consequences of substituting ideology for competence.

Thanks Michelle.

Autism in California

Very interesting article highlighting the ever increasing number of autism diagnoses in California.

California's mysterious explosion of autism cases worsened in 2004, disappointing researchers who had hoped the number of new diagnoses would level off as they searched for an explanation for the neurological disorder.

The number of people treated for autism at regional centers operated by the state Department of Developmental Services increased 13 percent last year from 2003, according to agency figures.

The cause is still a mystery.

Robert Byrd, a pediatric epidemiologist at UC Davis who was the lead investigator in a study of a 10-year increase in autism cases in California through 1998, said researchers have looked into several theories to explain the increase. They include the possibility that the rising autism numbers were caused by improved and earlier diagnoses, or by childhood vaccines or other environmental causes.

Most researchers believe genetics play a role, but they aren't sure what spurs the disorder. None of the other theories has been proved or ruled out.

"There is no one answer that says we can explain what we're seeing," Byrd said. "We're still looking at these numbers with lots of questions."

If vaccines played a role, said Byrd, scientists would have seen a decline or leveling off in cases after a suspect preservative containing mercury was removed from childhood immunizations. No such decrease was noted.

The state has used new, stricter criteria since 2003 for diagnosing autism, but that also has not made a difference. The number of new cases of mental retardation and cerebral palsy -- which also are diagnosed using new criteria -- fell since 2003.

Byrd and others say a greater awareness of autism may account for some of the increase. Parents, pediatricians and schools now recognize the symptoms earlier and refer children for treatment. But that doesn't completely explain the increase, they believe.

Asthma Good News

This story highlights possible good news in dealing with asthma.

"There is increasing evidence that children respond differently to the various treatment options for asthma," James Kiley, director of the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, said in a prepared statement. . . .

Based on their findings, the researchers recommend daily treatment with inhaled corticosteroids for children with low lung function and/or elevated signs of allergic inflammation. In children who have no elevated signs of allergic inflammation, a therapeutic trial of either inhaled corticosteroids or leukotriene receptor antagonists like montelukast should be conducted, to determine which treatment is most effective.

Picture Worth a Thousand Words

And tears.

If you didn't see the State of the Union Wednesday night, this photo shows the mother of a fallen Marine hugging an Iraqi woman as First Lady Laura Bush looks on in tears.

Medal of Honor

This is an inspiring and humbling story.

Our first Operation Iraqi Freedom Medal of Honor recipient -- above and beyond the call of duty:

What Paul Smith did on April 4, 2003, was climb aboard an armored vehicle and, manning a heavy machine gun, take it upon himself to cover the withdrawal of his men from a suddenly vulnerable position. Smith was fatally wounded by Iraqi fire, the only American to die in the engagement.

"I'm in bittersweet tears," said Smith's mother, Janice Pvirre. "The medal isn't going to bring him back. ... It makes me sad that all these other soldiers have died. They are all heroes."

With the medal, Smith joins a most hallowed society.

Since the Civil War, just 3,439 men (and one woman) have received the Medal of Honor. It recognizes only the most extreme examples of bravery - those "above and beyond the call of duty."

That oft-heard phrase has a specific meaning: The medal cannot be given to those who act under orders, no matter how heroic their actions. Indeed, according to Library of Congress defense expert David F. Burrelli, it must be "the type of deed which, if he had not done it, would not subject him to any justified criticism."

From World War II on, most of the men who received the medal died in the action that led to their nomination. There are but 129 living recipients.

We do have heros.

And they don't live in Hollywood.

iPod Invades Redmond

One can only chuckle at this.

Apple's iPod is infecting every corner of the world including, to Microsoft's dismay, its own corporate campus.

"About 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a portable music player have an iPod," one high-level manager who asked to remain anonymous told Wired "It's pretty staggering."

That translates into about 16,000 iPods on Microsoft's Redmond, WA campus that's home to 25,000 employees. In an after to curtail the white headphone trend, Microsoft executives have taken to sending out memos frowning on iPod use. After hearing the nearby Apple retail store was selling out of hundreds of iPods regularly, Dave Fester, general manager of the Windows Digital Media division, sent a note to the group saying "I sure hope Microsoft employees are not buying iPods. We have great alternatives. . . ."

Uh huh.

Calling the FBI. . . .

The Bureau had better be all over this.

A radical Islamic Web site systematically tracks Christians on PalTalk.com, an Internet chat service on which a New Jersey man received a death threat two months before he and his family were murdered.  The password protected Arabic Web site, at the address www.barsomyat.com, features pictures and information about Christians who have been particularly active in debating Muslims on PalTalk.

One page from barsomyat.com features a group of photographs of a Syrian Christian, "Joseph," who now lives in Canada.  Barsomyat.com's users have posted personal information about Joseph, including his brother's parole status, and make clear that they are actively trying to track down his current address.

Subscribers also post explicit warnings to Joseph.  One comment states, "Know, oh Christian, that you are not far from us and you are under our watchful eyes!"  Another user remarks, "Laugh, oh Chrisitan, and soon you will see a big hit."

Yes, Virgina, we are at War.

And, the FBI knows about this.

This is an excellent example of how anyone can help in the Global War on Terror.

Thanks Charles for spreading the word.

UPDATE:

Media coverup of the Armanious murders?

Sickness of the Soul

You probably have heard by now that the terrorists in Iraq reportedly used a Down's Syndrome child as a suicide bomber on election day.

[P]olice at the scene of one the Baghdad blasts said the bomber appeared to have Down's Syndrome.

As Charles at LGF notes:

It’s a disgusting story, but if true it strongly suggests that the mujahideen are running out of willing suicide killers.

And, to call these murderers insurgents causes the mind to reel with revulsion.