To Arms! To Arms! The Dems Are Coming!

ALL NEW POSTS WILL APPEAR BELOW THIS ONE,.....

Now is the time to counter the Democratic machine with a few grassroots of our own!

Serious conservative bloggers can contact me at DAFOSSIL-AT-HOTMAIL-DOT-COM for more details on how to join the Red November Initiative!

A REAL Shrillary Campaign Poster

Sorry for the delay,...

Anyway, a huge HT to JK at Three Sources for this gem:

It's My Blogo-versary!

OK,...a few days late, but,....

On October 28th, 2004, the TrekMedic started out to just shoot his mouth off about a variety of things that piss me off.

Now, three years and nearly 20,000 hits later, the TrekMedic is here to stay because someone has to counter the bull from the MSMSNBC, CeeNoNews, SeeBS and such.

Thank you for your support!

The TrekMedic Goes Global Tonight

Yes, fans, the TrekMedic will be interviewed by Doug Gibbs of Political Pistachio.

We will be discussing the Red November Initiative and the 2008 presidential campaign!

You can listen by tuning in here!

E-A-G-L-E-S (A Nordic Victory)

Fly! Eagles! Fly!
On the Road to Vic-tor-y!
Cry, Vikings, Cry
You Got Beat on Fox TV!
We Scored High,...
Yes, More Than Threes!
But McNabb,...
Still Has Bad Knees!
So,...
Fly, Eagles, Fly!
On The Road to Vic! Tor! Y!

E-A-G-L-E-S

EAGLES!

Hello, Pot? This is The Kettle Calling,....(Again)

Clinton Calls Clinton Best Successor

By LARRY McSHANE, AP
8 hours ago

NEW YORK —

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was hailed by her husband Saturday as the best Democratic choice for the White House at a rally just uptown from his Harlem office where they were greeted by the sweet sounds of the Abyssinian Baptist Church choir and the handclaps of its congregation.

"I would be campaigning for Hillary even if I was not married to her," former President Clinton said from the altar of the historic church on West 138th Street. "I believe she is the best qualified, best suited non-incumbent ever."

The Clintons appeared before the near-capacity crowd with the senator walking out first, followed by her husband. The church echoed with cheers as Bill Clinton saluted the crowd, which responded with chants of "Hillary! Hillary!"

The choir sang "Victory Is Mine" as the couple clapped along with their supporters.

After she was introduced by her husband, Sen. Clinton told the crowd it was time to return America "on the path to goodness and greatness again." She attacked the Bush administration for marginalizing the middle class, children and other groups.

"We're going to make it clear there are no invisible people in America," the senator said.

The rally in the city's most famous black neighborhood was another indication of the battle between Clinton and Barack Obama for the black vote in the Democratic primary. Last month in California, Clinton appeared in Watts and at a Beverly Hill fundraiser with hoops star Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

Obama's name received a loud cheer from the audience when he was mentioned by Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion. The latest AP-Ipsos poll shows Clinton leading Obama, her closest rival, 46 percent to 25 percent.

As evidenced at the Harlem rally, Sen. Clinton benefits from the strong relationship her husband has enjoyed for years with black voters. Bill Clinton was cheered for mentioning that the couple had just celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary, and he joined them in singing "Happy Birthday" to his wife, who just turned 60.

Clinton supporters lined up in a driving rain to get inside the church, where they were joined by virtually all the city's top Democrats, from Congressional delegation dean Rep. Charles Rangel to City Council speaker Christine Quinn.

Rangel was credited by Sen. Clinton as the first person to encourage her run for the Senate, and by Bill Clinton for lining up his office space on 125th Street. He told the crowd they had a chance to change America by putting New York's junior senator in the White House.

"I want the old people like me to remember, and the young people to say, 'I think I was there,'" Rangel said. "We are making history."

We Always Thought Slick Willy Was the Dodger,....

Barack Obama Accuses Hillary Clinton of Dodging Tough Questions About Social Security

Saturday, October 27, 2007

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Saturday lashed out at rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, accusing her of dodging tough questions about Social Security.

Obama, campaigning at a senior center in Des Moines, said all the presidential candidates need to talk honestly about Social Security instead of sidestepping the issue, but he singled out Clinton — the front-runner for the nomination — for special criticism.

Obama's criticism of Clinton comes as she has been increasing her lead in national polls, leaving him and other Democratic candidates lagging far behind.

Obama's campaign arranged for him to be introduced at the event by Tod Bowman, a Democrat and a teacher from Maquoketa, Iowa, who tried to pin down Clinton during a debate in Iowa earlier this month on whether the government should tax workers' earnings above the present cap of $97,500 to help pay for Social Security benefits.

Clinton sidestepped the question in public, but told Bowman privately afterward that she didn't want to put an additional tax burden on the middle class but would consider a "gap," with no Social Security taxes on income from $97,500 to around $200,000. Anything above that could be taxed. Her answer was overhead an Associated Press reporter.

"A candidate for president owes it to the American people to tell us where they stand," Obama said. "... because you're not ready to lead if you can't tell us where you're going."

"She's not alone in avoiding answering this question directly — she's not alone in ducking the issue," Obama said. "Because conventional thinking in Washington says that Social Security is the third rail of American politics. It says you should hedge, and dodge, and spin, but at all costs, don't answer."

Bowman said he "got the feeling (Clinton) really didn't want to answer my question."

"After the forum ended, she came up and spoke to me, it was nice of her to do that, and I appreciated her taking the time to do that. But, when I asked my question again, hoping she would answer it, this time she gave me a conflicting response," he said. "It left me feeling disappointed, because I just didn't understand why she wouldn't tell me where she stood on an issue this important."

Bowman added: "It made me wonder, if a candidate won't answer a question on the campaign trail, how can we be sure she'll be honest with the American people when they're president?"

Obama spoke about his solutions for Social Security, and said President Bush's argument that the system is broken and needs and overhaul is an exaggeration.

"The underlying system is sound. The actual problem is a projected cash shortfall that can be readily solved. But the longer we wait to solve the problem, the bigger it grows," Obama said.

He said his plan for Social Security would strengthen the system by requiring the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share. He would also keep Congress from borrowing from the Social Security trust fund, and oppose efforts to privatize the system, cut benefits or raise the retirement age, he said.

"There are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that don't involve forcing seniors to bear a heavier burden," he said.


The TrekMedic adds:

DD2 has a scathing article on Shrillary here.

And he's also posted this terrific cartoon:

Time to Do Our Heroes a Solid! Help This Marine's Family

Father of Marine Killed in Iraq Sues Church for Cheering Death, Appeals to Public Online for Help

The family of a Marine killed in Iraq has sued a Baptist church for picketing their son's funeral and is turning to the Internet to drum up support.

Albert Snyder, the father of fallen Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, took the stand this week in the Baltimore trial against the Westboro Baptist Church and testified that protesters waving signs at Matthew's burial made him nauseous. He'd wanted a private service for his son.

"They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family," Snyder said on the stand Wednesday. "They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."

The Snyder family's suit against the church — whose members have picketed the funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claiming the deaths are punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality — could cost close to $100,000, the law firm representing them said. That's why Albert Snyder is asking for the community's help on the Web site www.matthewsnyder.org.

"This would be a significant financial drain on them," George Werner, a spokesman for the Barley and Snyder law firm (no relation to Matthew Snyder's family), told FOXNews.com. "They're looking for support both emotionally and financially to fund the case against the church. The family concluded that reaching out to the public would help in both ways and be very beneficial."

Werner said it isn't known how much the litigation will cost but estimated it will be somewhere under $100,000. If the trial drags on or there are appeals, it could be more.

"Any excess money will go to benefit veterans returning from the war in the form of a scholarship. No donations will be paid to me," Albert Snyder writes on the Web site. "Your money will be put to good use."

The result to date has been good, said Werner — in part thanks to the Web campaign — though he couldn't provide specific numbers in terms of donations and traffic to the site.

"It's another way of getting their message out," he said. "From a very broad perspective, (the response) has been very, very encouraging."

Albert Snyder, of York, Md., is seeking unspecified monetary damages for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress as a result of the Topeka, Kan., church's protest at his son's funeral in Westminster in March 2006.

The church's protests have inspired several state laws and a federal law about funeral protests, but the Maryland suit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

Matthew died March 3, 2006, at age 20 from a non-combat-related vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq. His father said in press interviews at the time that his son was killed when the Humvee he was traveling in rolled over. He'd served with the 1st Marine Logistics Group in the Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Asked Wednesday about a sign that read "Thank God for dead soldiers," Albert Snyder said he thinks about it daily.

"I see that sign when I lay in bed," Snyder said.

Asked about statements issued by the group that his son was raised to support the "Roman Catholic monstrosity" and then sent to fight for the "United States of Sodomy," Snyder said "they have no right to do this to people they didn't know."

During cross-examination, defense attorney Jonathan Katz focused on obituaries and death notices and questioned Snyder on whether they said the funeral services were private. Snyder replied that the notices said friends and family were welcome, but admitted that he did not know all of the 500 or so people who attended.

The case tests the limits of the First Amendment right to free speech.

U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett instructed jurors at the start of testimony Tuesday that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements.

Bennett said the jurors must decide "whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection."

Church members said they are motivated by the fear of God and their need to warn America about its moral decay, rather than a desire to hurt anyone.

Katz told jurors Tuesday the protests took place 1,000 feet away from St. John Catholic Church, where the funeral was held, down a hill and out of sight and hearing from participants.

Snyder said American military personnel are in Iraq fighting for freedom of speech; "they're not fighting for hate speech." One photo showing a child holding a sign at the funeral protest was particularly disturbing, the father said.

"I pray for their children. Their children need help. To be brought up with that kind of hatred," Snyder said.

"My God is a loving God," Snyder said, adding later, "I don't look for hatred in the Bible."

The church's founder and pastor, Fred Phelps, took the stand after Snyder and prompted a strong admonition from Bennett when the pastor said he had not considered whether children would see a sign carried by protesters with the words "Semper Fi Fags" and two stick figures that appear to be engaged in sodomy.

"No, it's an irrelevancy," Phelps said.

Bennett then interjected sharply.

"Just answer the question, sir. Don't determine what's relevant or not relevant. You just answer the question," Bennett said.

Phelps said he chose to use the term "fag" in the group's signs because it comes from scripture, but could also have used Sodomite or dog. When asked by Katz why the group made a "Semper Fi Fags" sign, Phelps said it was in response to the need for a warning to the country "that your wicked ways are going to be your doom shortly."

FOX News' Catherine Donaldson-Evans and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

You Mean,...it WASN'T All Bush's Fault???

California Officials Offer $150,000 Reward to Find Arson Suspects in Deadly Wildfire

California officials raised a bounty Thursday in an effort to find suspects behind the biggest in a string of deadly wildfires still burning out of control that are responsible for at least 10 deaths, more than 1,500 destroyed homes and nearly half a million scorched acres.

“We desperately want to catch the people or person who did this,” said Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather at a news conference.

The $150,000 reward came as President Bush toured some of the hardest-hit areas in San Diego and promised federal aid for thousands of victims.

"It's important for me to come out here and see firsthand the situation," Bush said at a press conference with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, telling victims that "today your life may look dismal, but tomorrow life is going to be better."

Also on Thursday, four charred bodies were found in an apparent migrant camp burned by one of the wildfires raging east of San Diego, authorities said.

The bodies were found in a wooded area near Barrett Junction, just east of San Diego and along the Mexican border, said Paul Parker, a spokesman for the San Diego County medical examiner's office.

Authorities said they discovered the bodies Thursday afternoon but did not know how long ago the victims died.

Is the Inky Finally Getting on the RIGHT Track?

Former Sen. Rick Santorum to write column for Philadelphia paper

DEBORAH YAO

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican known for his conservative positions, will begin writing a column for The Philadelphia Inquirer starting in early November.

Called the "The Elephant in the Room," the column will be featured in the Inquirer's opinion pages on alternating Thursdays.

Santorum, who lost to Democrat Bob Casey in last year's election, will write about a variety of topics ranging from America's culture wars to its struggles around the globe. Only occasionally will Santorum write about politics.

"This is not a punditry column," he said Wednesday. "This is an opportunity to start talking about bigger things than what Hillary said this week or what Obama said last week or what Rudy did last week."

Santorum, who often complained about how he was treated in the press, also quipped: "If you can't beat them, join them."

Santorum is a senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington and a consultant to a Pittsburgh law firm.

The Inquirer also gave a column to George Curry, the colorful, left-leaning former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine. Curry, who already writes a syndicated column that reaches 200 African-American newspapers, will also write on alternating Thursdays.

"The purpose of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable," Curry said. "That's exactly what I plan to do."


The TrekMedic adds:

WOW!

While we're at it, Tony Phyrillas notes that ANOTHER Conservative paper is joining the ranks in PA. You can read about it here.

Local Boys Make Good

Scouts carry injured hiker 3 miles to safety

The Associated Press

READING, Pa. - A Boy Scout troop came to the rescue of a hiker who had fallen and hit her head along the Appalachian Trail over the weekend.

Jane B. Scholl, 41, of Mohnton, was hiking on Blue Mountain in northern Berks County with a friend Saturday. The two reached the Pinnacle, a popular overlook, and Scholl was looking for a good spot to take pictures when she fell at about 1 p.m.

"I landed right on my eye," she said Sunday. "I was cut and bleeding and felt really woozy."

The two started down the mountain, but Scholl began to feel worse. That's when they met Boy Scout Troop 226 from Rockledge, Montgomery County.

"I had seen her up at the Pinnacle and she was having trouble walking," scoutmaster Christopher J. Gallagher said. "As we were hiking back down we caught up to her, and that's when we saw that she was bleeding."

The eight Scouts built a stretcher from tree branches and their sweat shirts.

"We took sticks, shoved them into each sleeve and made it long enough for her body to fit on. We carried her three miles," Eagle Scout Andrew Swartz Jr. said.

"All the kids knew what to do," Scholl said.

Gallagher had called for help on his cell phone, and the troop was met by medics who began treatment. She was then taken to a helicopter waiting to fly her to Reading Hospital, where she was treated for a concussion and cuts and bruises and released Sunday.

"I feel like I was hit by a truck, but I just fell down a mountain," she joked.

When Troop 226 returned Sunday, members were met by a crowd of cheering members of the community and a band featuring drummers and bagpipes.

"I feel really good. It's nice to know I helped someone out in their time of need," scout Bill Bowman said.


The TrekMedic adds:

Its a shame! All these good deeds and the City of Philadelphia has the gall to screw them like this:

City hikes Boy Scouts’ rent by $199,999 over gay ban

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The Boy Scouts of America's refusal to bend its rules to permit gay scouts will cost the organization's local chapter $200,000 a year if it wishes to keep its headquarters in a city-owned building on Logan Square.

Representatives of the Boy Scouts of America's Cradle of Liberty Council were notified that to remain in their 79-year-old landmark headquarters, they needed to pay the city a "fair market" rent, Fairmount Park Commission president Robert N.C. Nix said Wednesday. Currently, the rent is $1 a year.

The city decided on the rent proposal after it was unable to reach a compromise with the local scout council in talks that have gone on since May.

"Once we know what the Cradle of Liberty Boy Scouts want to do, we'll probably want to weigh in with the city about how to proceed," Nix told the park commission.

Barring a resolution, the Cradle of Liberty Council - about 64,000 scouts in Philadelphia and parts of Delaware and Montgomery Counties - must vacate the property at 22d and Winter Streets after May 31.

"It's disappointing, and it's certainly a threat," said Jeff Jubelirer, a spokesman for Cradle of Liberty Council, referring to the rent's impact on the scouts' chances of staying on the site.

Jubelirer said that $200,000 a year in rent "would have to come from programs. That's 30 new Cub Scout packs, or 800 needy kids going to our summer camp."

Nevertheless, Jubelirer said, scouting officials will ask City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. for details on the real estate appraisals that yielded the $200,000 rent figure.

Cradle of Liberty officials have said they could not renounce the scouts' long-established policy of not opening membership to atheists or openly gay people without running afoul of their charter with the scouts' National Council.

City officials have said they could not legally rent taxpayer-owned property for a dollar a year to a private organization that discriminates.

The land belongs to the City of Philadelphia but has been leased since 1928 for that token sum to the scouts, who built the landmark Beaux Arts building.

That lease came into question only after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2000 in a New Jersey case involving an openly gay scout who was barred from serving as troop leader.

The high court in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale ruled, 5-4, that the scouts, as a private organization, have a right of "expressive association" under the First Amendment to set their own membership rules.

The scouts have long required members to swear an oath of duty to God, and their rules prohibit membership by anyone who is openly homosexual. For that reason, scouting officials initially greeted the Supreme Court's ruling as a victory.

That mood quickly evaporated, however, as local government officials around the nation began reexamining long-standing preferential relationships with scouts.

Unlike the scouts, public officials are also bound by a line of Supreme Court opinions barring taxpayer support of any group that discriminates.

In Philadelphia, officials wrestled for months for a way to let the scouts remain at their longtime headquarters.

At one point in 2005, the city and scouts seemed poised to agree on a policy statement adopted by New York scouts. That statement, while not renouncing the bars against atheist or gay members, affirmed that "prejudice, intolerance and unlawful discrimination in any form are unacceptable."

But last year, Diaz wrote Cradle of Liberty Council officials to say the suggested policy statement could not be reconciled with the city's own anti-discriminatory fair-practices ordinance.

Again, both sides began trading proposals. That ended May 31, when City Council voted 16-1 to authorize ending the lease with Cradle of Liberty Council.

The resolution was introduced unexpectedly by Councilman Darrell L. Clarke and passed, 16-1, with no debate.

Both Clarke, a Center City Democrat whose district includes the scouts building, and Diaz, a prominent member of the city's gay community, said they hoped the resolution would spur talks to resolve the dispute.

Nix said Wednesday that those talks had apparently failed, leading to the lease proposal.

Bumper Schtickers,...

So today, the TrekMedic saw this sticker on some loser's auto:




And you know what?

The Dumb-o-crats are RIGHT!

In 2008, we'll see an end to the biggest error in recent political history: Giving Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid control of our legislature!

Maybe in 2008, we'll elect Senators and Congressmen who actually SUPPORT our troops for a change!

E-A-G-L-E-S ( An Un-BEAR-able Loss)

Cry, Eagles, Cry!
Threw Away a Vic-tor-y!
Why? Eagles? Why?
Another Game
No Victory?
Near the Red Zone,...
Dry as a Bone
You Drafted Kolb,...
Give Him the Job!
So,...
Cry, Eagles, Cry!
Try for another Victory!

E-A-G-L-E-S!

Yeah,..whatever,....

Mission Accomplished - For Real!

Medal of Honor for Penn State grad who died in Afghanistan

by Devlin Barrett
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - Shot in the back, making a desperate call for help for his men trapped on the side of an Afghanistan cliff, Lt. Michael Murphy heard that help was on the way, and said simply: "Roger that, sir. Thank you."

The 29-year-old Navy SEAL from Patchogue, N.Y., who graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1998 , gave his life in order to make that call, putting himself in a position exposed to enemy fire but the only one in which he could get a signal.

That selfless act was honored Monday by President Bush at the White House, where he presented Murphy's parents with the Medal of Honor - the nation's highest military award for valor, and the first given for combat in Afghanistan.

Moments before the emotional ceremony, Murphy's parents gave Bush a gold dog tag with their son's name and image on it.

"What we were most touched by was that the president immediately put that on underneath his shirt, and when he made the presentation of the Medal of Honor, he wore that against his chest," said the father.

After the ceremony, Dan Murphy said, Bush told the family, "I was inspired by having Michael next to my chest."

The father, who fought back tears during the ceremony, said they were "deeply moved" by Bush's gesture.

"It was very emotional on everybody's part," said Maureen Murphy.

Bush praised their son's battlefield decision as typical of someone who, even as a boy, was devoted to others.

"While their missions were often carried out in secrecy, their love of country and devotion to each other was always clear," Bush said. "On June 28, 2005, Michael would give his life for these ideals."

Murphy's parents cried at points in the ceremony as they stood next to the president and listened to their son's heroism recounted. Vice President Dick Cheney also attended, as did a handful of past Medal of Honor recipients.

"There's a lot of awards in the military, but when you see a Medal of Honor, you know whatever they went through is pretty horrible. You don't congratulate anyone when you see it," said Marcus Luttrell, the lone member of Murphy's team to survive the firefight with the Taliban.

Murphy, Luttrell and two other SEALs were searching for a terrorist when their mission was compromised after they were spotted by locals, who presumably alerted the Taliban to their presence.

An intense gun battle ensued, with more than 50 anti-coalition fighters swarming around the outnumbered SEALs.

Although wounded, Murphy is credited with risking his own life by moving into the open for a better position to transmit a call for help.

Still under fire, Murphy provided his unit's location and the size of the enemy force. At one point he was shot in the back, causing him to drop the mobile phone. Murphy picked it back up and completed the call.

He then returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle. A U.S. helicopter sent to rescue the men was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing all 16 aboard. It was the worst single-day death toll for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

By the end of the two-hour gunfight, Murphy and two of his comrades were also dead. An estimated 35 Taliban were also killed. Luttrell was blown over a ridge and knocked unconscious. He escaped, and was protected by local villagers for several days before he was rescued.

Murphy is the fourth Navy SEAL to earn the award and the first since the Vietnam War. Two Medals of Honor have been awarded posthumously in the Iraq war: to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, who was killed in 2004 after covering a grenade with his helmet, and to Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, who was killed in 2003 after holding off Iraqi forces with a machine gun before he was killed at the Baghdad airport.

Murphy's heroics have been widely recognized on Long Island, where he graduated in 1994 from Patchogue-Medford High School.

To his fellow SEALs, he was known as "Murph," but as a child, his parents nicknamed him "the Protector," because of his strong moral compass. After the 2001 terror attacks, that compass eventually led him to Afghanistan, where he wore a patch of the New York City Fire Department on his uniform.

"He took his deployment personally. He was going after, and his team was going after, the men who planned, plotted against and attacked not only the United States, but the city he loved, New York," said his father. "He knew what he was fighting for."


FOX News also has a story here.

Local Talk radio Host and Columnist Michael Smerconish does Lt. Murphy's Honor here.


The TrekMedic simply adds:

Rest easy, brother. Your job is done.

Bitch, Slapped (Cat Fight!)

Report: Dumped Cat Could Come Back to Haunt Hillary Clinton Campaign

Sunday, October 21, 2007

As the “first pet” of the Clinton era, Socks, the White House cat, allowed “chilly” Hillary Clinton to show a caring, maternal side as well as bringing joy to her daughter Chelsea. So where is Socks today?

Once the presidency was over, there was no room for Socks anymore. After years of loyal service at the White House, the black and white cat was dumped on Betty Currie, Bill Clinton’s personal secretary, who also had an embarrassing clean-up role in the saga of his relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.



Some believe the abandoned pet could now come between Hillary Clinton and her ambition to return to the White House as America’s first female president.

Clinton has been boosting her prospects in the past week with some homespun references to her gender as part of a series of events with the theme Women Changing America, during which she chatted girlfriend-to-girlfriend and mom-to-mom with female voters.

The softening of Clinton’s image seems to be working. Her chief strategist, Mark Penn, predicts that up to a quarter of Republican women will vote for her. She leads Democratic rivals in the polls by 26 points and is scooping up more donations to her war chest from Wall Street and defense contractors than any candidate from either party – an unmistakable indicator of who they think will win in 2008.

Clinton’s treatment of Socks cuts to the heart of the questions about her candidacy. Is she too cold and calculating to win the presidency? Or does it signify political invincibility by showing she is willing to deploy every weapon to get what she wants?

“In the annals of human evil, off-loading a pet is nowhere near the top of the list,” writes Caitlin Flanagan in the current issue of The Atlantic magazine. “But neither is it dead last, and it is especially galling when said pet has been deployed for years as an all-purpose character reference.”

Flanagan’s article, titled "No Girlfriend of Mine," points out that Clinton wrote a crowd-pleasing book "Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters to the First Pets," in which she claimed that only with the arrival of Socks and his “toy mouse” did the White House “become a home.”

Being Clinton, she also lectured readers that pets are an “adoption instead of an acquisition” and warned them to look out for their safety. (Buddy, the chocolate labrador in the Reagan White House, bounded into a road soon after leaving the White House and was promptly run over.)

Despite these misadventures, Peggy Noonan, President Ronald Reagan’s former speechwriter, believes Clinton is doing a good job of humanizing herself. “I am not saying she has learned to be herself,” she observed. “I think after a year on the trail she has learned how not to be herself, how to comfortably adopt a skin and play a part.”

Clinton has been coming up with some teasing one-liners, telling trade unionists “I’m your girl” and laughing on daytime television about the differences between her and her male rivals: “Well, look how much longer it takes me to get ready.”

At another event, she joked about how the other candidates were focusing on her. “I didn’t know what to make of it, and then a friend of mine said, ‘You know when you get to be our age, having that much attention from all these men ...”



It is a disarming tactic, which her rivals are finding difficult to counter without appearing unchivalrous. But the outline of a “stop Hillary” campaign is taking shape, with critics accusing her of being an inexperienced, flip-flopping opportunist who owes her success purely to dynasty.

Rudy Giuliani, the Republican frontrunner, has sharpened his attacks on Clinton for lacking experience. “She’s never run a city, she’s never run a state, she’s never run a business, she has never met a payroll,” the former New York mayor said. “She has never been responsible for the safety ... of millions of people.”

He has gone after Clinton’s tax-and-spend policies, including an uncosted suggestion that every newborn child should receive a $5,000 “baby bond” that would grow over time and help pay for college. The last Democratic candidate to propose a similar scheme, George McGovern, lost 49 out of 50 states in the 1972 election.

Soon after Giuliani went on the warpath, Clinton discovered she had other priorities and shelved the idea.

Barack Obama, Clinton’s closest Democratic rival, has begun to criticize her more directly, claiming last week: “We’ve had enough of ... triangulation and poll-driven politics.” In one such example, Clinton backed a Senate resolution calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, earning rebukes from Obama and John Edwards, the third-placed candidate. She then co-sponsored another resolution that would prohibit an attack on Iran without authorization from Congress.

The financial sleaze that dominated the final Clinton years is also making a comeback. After Norman Hsu, one of Clinton’s biggest campaign “bundlers”, was exposed as a fraud, it emerged last week that waiters, dishwashers and street peddlers in New York’s Chinatown have been handing over $1,000 and $2,000 sums to her campaign – some with genuine pride, others because they were ordered to do so by neighborhood bosses.

Clinton said last week that her frontrunner status made her uncomfortable. “It makes me nervous and we will still work to earn every vote,” she said.

But the advantage she enjoys with women is considerable. Penn believes the “emotional element” of being the first woman presidential nominee in history will “throw the Republicans for a loop.” So far every attack has bounced off her.

Perhaps the cautionary tale of Socks the cat will make a difference. “Hillary’s insistence that we follow her example in pet ownership, when she really should be on Cat Fancy’s Most Wanted List, makes her a tiresome bore,” Flanagan writes.



“But exploiting the emotions of good-natured people – well, that’s just another example of her three-decade-long drift from the girl she once was to the woman that circumstance and ambition have made her.”

Hot Air From Algore?

Junk Science: Hey Al Gore, We Want a Refund!

Friday, October 19, 2007
By Steven Milloy

A British judge ruled on the eve of Al Gore co-winning the Nobel Peace Prize that students forced to watch "An Inconvenient Truth" must be warned of the film’s factual errors. But would there be any science at all left in Gore’s "truth" if these errors and their progeny were excised?

Minutes of non-science filler dominate the opening sequence — images of the Gore farm, Earth from space, Gore giving his slideshow and the 2000 election controversy. Gore then links Hurricane Katrina with global warming. But the judge ruled that was erroneous, so the Katrina scenes would wind up on the cutting-room floor.

Another 12 minutes of filler go by — images of Gore in his limo, more Earth photos, a Mark Twain quote, and Gore memories — until about the 16:30 minute mark, when, according to the judge, Al Gore erroneously links receding glaciers — specifically Mt. Kilimanjaro — with global warming.

The Mt. Kilimanjaro error commences an almost 10-minute stretch of problematic footage, the bulk of which contains Gore’s presentation of the crucial issue in the global warming controversy — whether increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide drive global temperatures higher. As the judge ruled that the Antarctic ice core data presented in the film "do not establish what Mr. Gore asserts," this inconvenient untruth also needs to go. [Note to readers: A video debate between Al Gore and climatologists on this point produced by me can be viewed by clicking here.]

After still more filler footage about Winston Churchill, the 2000 election, and rising insurance claims from natural disasters, Gore spends about 35 seconds on how the drying of Lake Chad is due to global warming. The judge ruled that this claim wasn’t supported by the scientific evidence.

More filler leads to a 30-second clip about how global warming is causing polar bears to drown because they have to swim greater distances to find sea ice on which to rest. The judge ruled however, that the polar bears in question had actually drowned because of a particularly violent storm.

On the heels of that error, Gore launches into a 3-minute "explanation" of how global warming will shut down the Gulf Stream and send Europe into an ice age. The judge ruled that this was an impossibility.

Two minutes of ominous footage — casting Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) in a creepy light and expressing Gore’s frustration with getting his alarmist message out — precede a more-than-9-minute stretch that would need to be cut.

In this lengthy footage, Gore again tries to link global warming with discrete events including coral reef bleaching, the melting of Greenland, catastrophic sea level rise, Antarctic melting and more. But like Hurricane Katrina, these events also shouldn’t be linked with global warming.

Based on the judge’s ruling, the footage that ought to be excised adds up to about 25 minutes or so out of the 98-minute film. What’s left is largely Gore personal drama and cinematic fluff that has nothing to do with the science of climate change.

It should also be pointed out that Gore makes other notable factual misstatements in the film that don’t help his or his film’s credibility.

He says in the film that polio has been "cured," implying that we can cure "global warming." While a preventative polio vaccine does exist, there is no "cure" for polio.

Gore attempts to smear his critics by likening them to the tobacco industry. In spotlighting a magazine advertisement proclaiming that "more doctors smoke Camel than any other brand," he states that the ad was published after the Surgeon General’s 1964 report on smoking and lung cancer. But the ad is actually from 1947 — 17 years before the report.

Gore also says in the film that 2005 is the hottest year on record. But NASA data actually show that 1934 was the hottest year on record in the U.S. — 2005 is not even in the top 10.

Perhaps worse than the film’s errors is their origin. The BBC reported that Gore knew the film presented incorrect information but took no corrective steps because he didn’t want to spotlight any uncertainties in the scientific data that may fuel opponents of global warming alarmism.

"An Inconvenient Truth" grossed about $50 million at the box office and millions more in DVD and book sales. Gore charges as much as $175,000 for an in-person presentation of his slide show that forms the basis for the film.

Considering that a key 25 percent of "An Inconvenient Truth" is not true — and perhaps intentionally so — it seems only fair that Gore offer a refund to moviegoers, DVD/book purchasers and speaking sponsors. Where are the class action lawyers when you need them?

Steven Milloy publishes JunkScience.com and DemandDebate.com. He is a junk science expert and advocate of free enterprise and an adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Why Not the "NY Nazis" While You're At It?

So,..last night, the Philadelphia Kixx of the MISL indoor soccer league started season play. The TrekMedic isn't all that interested in soccer. But, what caught the eye of the TrekMedic was this little ditty of an expansion team out of Monterrey, Mexico:



Yes, folks, the Monterrey LaRaza!

Why does that bother the TrekMedic?

The term La Raza has been used extensively in the past few years in conjunction with groups like Aztlan, the Brown Berets (More here, with an interesting link to Code Pink), MS-13 and the burgeoning illegal issue in the US!


But,...nothing to see here. Move along! Imagine the hue and cry in this country if a German team came into one of our league bearing the swastika and wearing brown shirts as their uniforms,.....interesting, huh?

Don't Panic! The Sky ISN'T Falling!

Schools' alarm outpaces infection

Bacteria that killed Virginia teen found in other schools

Experts: Drug-resistant staph deaths may surpass AIDS toll

The world is coming to an end,...right??

The TrekMedic says (vehemently) WRONG!!!

What we are seeing here, gentle readers, is yet another round of feces stirring by the MSM.

Let's look at a few things first:

• The Presidential campaign is grinding along at a snail's pace, and the blogging media of right-minded citizens is outmaneuvering George Soros' socialist machine . No suspense there for a 24-hour news service. (Yawn)
• There's plenty of 2008 flu vaccine around, and public and private health outlets are mobilizing early to get everyone vaccinated early. Plus, no reports of the H5N1 "avian flu" virus involved this year. (Yawn)
• There's no major outbreak of West Nile-Barking Spider-Monkey SARS floating around the planet! (Yawn)

So,...how do you get the attention of 300 million cable viewers who aren't addicted to reality TV, soap operas, and the Sci-Fi Channel??

Start a new PANIC! Pick up randomly-occurring, rare occurances, broadcast them ad nauseum, bring in pseudo-experts and make it sound like MRSA suddenly has the country in a Vulcan Death Grip!

Now, as many people know, the TrekMedic is,...well, a paramedic and firefighter. Has been for 26 years. MRSA has been around for a long, long time. So has VRE (Vancomycin-resistant enterococci). The TrekMedic has dealt with patients having one or the other infection for years. It wasn't created in 2001 in the basement of some psychotic Islamofascist. It didn't suddenly appear from the firmament. AND IT ISN'T GOING TO OVERWHELM THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES BY CHRISTMAS, OK!

Just do some simple things that you would do to stop spreading a common cold:

• Wash your hands frequently. And f**k those anti-bacterial soaps, they just make MRSA more resistant. Good ol' Dove will work just fine.
• Wear clean clothes.
• Don't swap spit with a stranger
• Cover cuts and rashes

Nuff said.

**THAT'S MY OPINION AND YOU'RE ENTITLED TO IT!"**

Another Portent of the Coming Apocolypse?

Radio Disney: Remove God From 'Ten Commandments' Movie Ad

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

It's a movie about the Bible, but family-friendly Disney Co. is moving heaven and earth to make sure the word "God" is stricken from some advertisements promoting an upcoming animated film on Moses and the Ten Commandments.

Radio Disney was to broadcast a radio spot for Promenade Pictures, makers of the film "The Ten Commandments," but the company sent an e-mail earlier this month instructing that the phrase "chosen by God" be stripped from the script"Our BS&P [Broadcast Standards and Procedures] said Both scripts need to include the studio mention and omit the following line: CHOSEN BY GOD.... Please let me know if you have any questions," reads the e-mail, sent Oct. 2 to Promenade media buyer Casey Baker by Radio Disney Network sales associate Jason Atkinson.

Click here to see the e-mail.

Calls to Atkinson and other Disney representatives were not returned.

"In connection with the Ten Commandments, I did find it offensive," said Promenade president and Chief Operating Officer Cindy Bond. "God in our movie is the main character. You rip the whole guts out of the piece."

Bond said that because Disney has just the target audience the film seeks — children and 'tweens — she complied with Disney's request and had the ad redone without mention of God.

"To walk away from a place that has our exact core audience ... I ordered the spot to be recut and re-edited," Bond said. "If you get them into the theater, they'll hear plenty about God."

The voices for the animated characters in "The Ten Commandments" are done by actors Elliott Gould (God), Christian Slater (Moses), Sir Ben Kingsley (narrator) and Alfred Molina (Ramses).

The script for the original 30-second radio spot reads:

Narrator: One of the greatest stories of all time is now an animated movie event for the entire family ... "The Ten Commandments."

God: Moses, give them my message and they will follow you out of Egypt.

Narrator: An ordinary man, an extraordinary calling.

Moses: Let my people go!

Narrator: With Ben Kingsley, Christian Slater, Alfred Molina and Elliott Gould. ... chosen by God.

Moses: On to the promised land!

Narrator: 'The Ten Commandments,' Rated G. Now in theaters. Check your local listings.

The edited version replaces "chosen by God" with "from Promenade Pictures."

Click here and here to listen to the two versions of the ad.

Other radio stations and shows — some Christian and some not, including Ryan Seacrest's and Dr. Laura's programs, agreed to air the commercial as is, according to Bond.

Radio Disney has said in other media reports that it made the request because its policies require mention of the studio in its commercials and it decided to replace the "chosen by God" phrase with "from Promenade Pictures" because the original script made it sound as though the actors were chosen by God, not Moses, as was the intended meaning.

Mention of God isn't prohibited in the company's standards and procedures, according to Radio Disney.

Liberty Counsel, a religious issues litigation and Christian advocacy group, has petitioned Radio Disney to reconsider its requirement that "God" be chucked from the spots for the movie.

"It's highly offensive that the family-friendly company Disney portrays itself to be would actually eliminate God from an ad about 'The Ten Commandments,'" said Liberty Counsel's founder and chairman Mathew D. Staver. "How ridiculous can you be? I'm asking Radio Disney to use some common sense and stop censoring this ad."

Promenade Pictures was established by former Paramount Pictures head and legendary Hollywood producer Frank Yablans, who co-founded Buena Vista Pictures with self-proclaimed Baptist Walt Disney in the '50s.

Promenade, as Bond describes it, is a film studio "built on family values" — a sort of "modern-day Buena Vista within a Judeo-Christian point of view."

"If Walt Disney would be aware of something like this happening, he'd be rolling in his grave," she said.

The production company has two other animated movies coming out based on biblical parables: "Noah's Ark: The New Beginning," due out in 2008, and "Gideon's Gift."

Promenade says it wants to expose audiences to the stories and characters in the Christian and Jewish scriptures.

"The goal of the movie and the goal of the whole series is to interest people in the greatest stories ever told and what we feel were the greatest superheroes that ever existed," Bond said.

And though Promenade Pictures doesn't pit itself as an anti-Hollywood movie studio, according to Bond, she does encounter discrimination against Christian themes.

"We're not an organization saying, 'Oh, Hollywood, you're bad,'" she insisted. "But there's definitely a prejudice when you get into the God of the Bible."


The TrekMedic appends:

Charlie on the Turnpike adds this funny to the debate:



Thanks Charlie!

Are You S**ting Me????

Maybe those Aztlan freaks are right,....you can have California!

HT to PowerBlog! for this gem:

WND Exclusive BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS
California 'Mom,' 'Dad' ban garners international scorn
World Congress of Families condemns promotion of 'polymorphous perversion'

By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

An international organization promoting families says California families have no choice but to abandon the public school system after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new "anti-discrimination" bill into law, effectively making terms like "mom" and dad" obsolete.

As WND has reported, some family advocates in California already had come to the same conclusion as that reached now by the World Congress of Families.

World Congress of Families Global Coordinator Allan Carlson said the measure, SB 777, is "a blatant attack on the natural family orchestrated by the alternative-lifestyles lobby."

The exodus call had been issued just one day earlier by Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families. "We're calling upon every California parent to pull their child out of California's public school system," he told WND.

"The so-called 'public schools' are no longer a safe emotional environment for children. Under the new law, schoolchildren as young as kindergarten will be sexually indoctrinated and introduced to homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality, over the protests of parents, teachers and even school districts," he said.

The law at issue went through the California legislature as SB 777, and now bans in school texts and activities any discriminatory bias against those who have chosen alternative sexual lifestyles, Meredith Turney, legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute, said.

The World Congress noted the law prohibits "instruction" or "activity" that is perceived to "promote a discriminatory bias" against "gender," including cross-dressing and sex-change operations as well as "so-called sexual orientation."

Bitch, Slapped (More!) (More!)(Cat Fight!)

Judith Giuliani Sets Record Straight on Attending Cabinet Meetings

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Judith Giuliani set the record straight about attending Cabinet meetings if her husband is elected in an interview with FOX News' Sean Hannity on Tuesday. The last time Judith joined her husband, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, for a television interview, the couple raised eyebrows by suggesting that she may attend Cabinet meetings if he's elected.

"I'm not a political person. And I have no desire to sit in on Cabinet meetings. And I promise you, I'm not going to morph into a politician," Judith Giuliani said on FOX News Channel as she sat alongside the former New York mayor.

She demurred when asked whether she would take on an attack-dog role, taking on her husband's rivals by name and on specific issues. "I'm not political, and so no. I know that I would never do that sort of thing," she reiterated.

In a March interview with Barbara Walters, Mrs. Giuliani, who was a nurse, said she would sit in on Cabinet meetings "if he asks me to. Yes. And certainly in the areas of health care."

Later, Giuliani clarified his remarks, saying his wife will not be a member of his Cabinet or attend most high-level meetings.

"Obviously, she will not be a Cabinet member or attend most Cabinet meetings — if any," Giuliani said in a statement.

During his interview with Sean Hannity Tuesday Rudy Giuliani went after Hillary Clinton, saying, "Honestly, in most respects, I don't know Hillary's experience. She's never run a city, she's never run a state. She's never run a business. She has never met a payroll. She has never been responsible for the safety and security of millions of people, much less even hundreds of people."




Photo credit: Rich Talbert

The Hawk Will Never Die!

Archbishop Foley named cardinal by Pope

By David O’Reilly

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Pope Benedict XVI announced today that he will create 23 new cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church next month, including Archbishop John P. Foley, a former priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Foley, who served 23 years as head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, was named in June as grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a papal knighthood of 18,000 members.

All the order's previous grand masters have been cardinals, and Foley's elevation to cardinal was widely predicted.

He will join one other American, Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, at the elevation ceremony November 24 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, this morning hailed the appointment of the archdiocese's "native son," saying that he holds Foley in "high esteem" and that the appointment "unites the people of this Archdiocese more closely" with Pope Benedict.

Foley, who turns 72 next month, was born in Darby and grew up in Holy Spirit parish in Sharon Hill. He graduated from Saint Joseph's Preparatory School and was summa cum laude at Saint Joseph's College, where he was president of the student body.

Madeline Conti of Newtown, who was secretary to the then-dean of the college, the Rev. Matthew Sullivan, said she remembered the day in 1957 when Foley came to tell them he planned to enter the priesthood.

"And after John left, Father Sullivan turned to me and said, 'That young man will be a cardinal some day,' " said Conti, who said she was "thrilled" at his appointment.

Foley was ordained a priest of the archdiocese in 1962 and was soon posted to Rome, where he reported on the Second Vatican Council for the Catholic Standard & Times. Then-Cardinal John Krol later sent him to Columbia University's School of Journalism, where he earned a master's degree.

From 1970 to 1984 he served as editor of the archdiocesan newspaper, the Catholic Standard& Times, and taught at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, before Krol recommended him to Pope John Paul II as head of the new Council for Social Communications at the Vatican.

He was consecrated an archbishop shortly after taking the new post, and at 48 was the youngest head of a papal office at the Vatican. When he stepped down from Social Communications in June, he was the longest-serving head of a papal office.

Eighteen of the 23 new cardinals will be under age 80 and eligible to vote for a new pope. Their elevations will bring to 120 the number of papal electors in the College of Cardinals, considered the standard number of electors.

Wow! I'm Glad He Got Their Permission,...

Now, do Jesse and Al have to sign off on the deal, too?

Rutgers Women's Basketball Team OK With Imus' Return to Radio

Don Imus can do whatever he likes, including return to the radio airwaves.

That’s the feeling of the Rutgers women’s basketball players, whom Imus branded with a racial comment last winter.

The team and their coach, C. Vivian Stringer, received a standing ovation Monday night at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City from Billie Jean’s Women’s Sports Foundation. They also were presented with the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award for getting through the Imus episode with grace and dignity.

But when I asked player Essence Carson, who speaks for the team, if she minded Imus’ return, the tall beauty responded with aplomb.

"We never asked for his resignation in the first place," she said. "He can do whatever he wants to."

Would she consider being a guest on Imus’ new show, set for Citadel Broadcasting’s WABC in New York? Carson, no fool, just shook her head. She had more important things to think about.

Later I asked Stringer the same questions, but the famed coach just sort of whisked the air with her hand. A man she identified as director of sports for Rutgers said, "It’s all in the past."

So that’s it: Imus can return without fear of reprisal from the Rutgers women. But maybe their lack of protest just shows how classy they are. They certainly all looked good last night as ESPN produced the three-hour show at the Waldorf. Now if only the sports net would broadcast the show on its network or on Lifetime.

Good Noose, Perhaps?

Iraqi Judge: Execution Set for Chemical Ali

Monday, October 15, 2007

BAGHDAD — Ali Hassan Majeed, known as "Chemical Ali," is set to be executed on Tuesday for his role in the deaths of up to 180,000 Kurds, an Iraqi judge said Monday.

Munir Hadad, a senior judge of the Supreme Criminal Court, said the execution could take place anytime after 5:00 a.m. local time.

Majeed and two other lieutenants of Saddam Hussein were convicted in June of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in the brutal crackdown known as Operation Anfal, in which as many as 180,000 Kurdish civilians and guerrillas were killed two decades ago.

Majeed, a cousin of Saddam who was once among the most powerful and feared men in Iraq, ordered the use of mustard gas and nerve agents against the Kurds, who had allegedly collaborated with during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

In September the Iraqi High Tribunal upheld his death sentence in a majority decision, as well as those of former Defense Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Hussein Rasheed Mohammed, former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces.

Under Iraqi law, a deadline to execute Majeed passed last week, but the government delayed the execution because of the Ramadan holiday.

The Book Jesse and Al Fear the Most?

Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors (Hardcover)
by Bill Cosby (Author), Alvin F. Poussaint (Author)

Book Description
Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint have a powerful message for families and communities as they lay out their visions for strengthening America, or for that matter the world. They address the crises of people who are stuck because of feelings of low self-esteem, abandonment, anger, fearfulness, sadness, and feelings of being used, undefended and unprotected. These feelings often impede their ability to move forward. The authors aim to help empower people make the daunting transition from victims to victors. Come On, People! is always engaging, and loaded with heart-piercing stories of the problems facing many communities.

The TrekMedic opines:

1 - Read the reader's reviews as well.

2 - Imagine,...a book that tells blacks to stop accepting failure as a way of life, debunks much of the endemic racism blamed for much of black society's problems, encourages blacks to become two-parent households, educate and watch over their children, and make their way in society without the government's help? Why,...why,..this'll put Jesse and Al's "Blame Game" out of business!

3 - Tim Russert's Meet the Press interview is available here.

E-A-G-L-E-S (The Blue Period Part Deux!)

Fly! Eagles! Fly!
On The Road to Vic-tor-y!
Boo! New York! Hoo!
Our Team Looks Better in Blue!
McNabb is Slow,...
Our Scores are Low,..
You Drafted Kolb,..
Give Him the Job,..
so,....
Fly! Eagles! Fly!
On the Road to Vic! Tor! Y!

E-A-G-L-E-S

EAGLES!!!

Somewhere, Star TrekFans are Rejoicing,....

Sex and marriage with robots? It could happen
Robots soon will become more human-like in appearance, researcher says

By Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience

Updated: 6:05 p.m. ET Oct 12, 2007
Humans could marry robots within the century. And consummate those vows.

"My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalize marriages with robots," artificial intelligence researcher David Levy at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands told LiveScience. Levy recently completed his Ph.D. work on the subject of human-robot relationships, covering many of the privileges and practices that generally come with marriage as well as outside of it.

At first, sex with robots might be considered geeky, "but once you have a story like 'I had sex with a robot, and it was great!' appear someplace like Cosmo magazine, I'd expect many people to jump on the bandwagon," Levy said.

The idea of romance between humanity and our artistic and/or mechanical creations dates back to ancient times, with the Greek myth of the sculptor Pygmalion falling in love with the ivory statue he made named Galatea, to which the goddess Venus eventually granted life.

This notion persists in modern times. Not only has science fiction explored this idea, but 40 years ago, scientists noticed that students at times became unusually attracted to ELIZA, a computer program designed to ask questions and mimic a psychotherapist.

A Few More Wise Words

Courtesy of Red November member Robert at Conservative Commentary


"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, not longer susceptible of any definition."

-- Thomas Jefferson (Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 15 February 1791)

Only an Idiot Argues With a Fool,...

Columnist Ann Coulter Shocks Cable TV Show, Declaring 'Jews Need to Be Perfected by Becoming Christians'

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Slash-and-burn columnist Ann Coulter shocked a cable TV talk-show audience Monday when she declared that Jews need to be "perfected" by becoming Christians, and that America would be better off if everyone were Christian.

Coulter made the remarkable statements during an often heated appearance to promote her new book on advertising guru Donny Deutsch's CNBC show "The Big Idea."

In response to a question from Deutsch asking Coulter if "it would be better if we were all Christian," the controversial columnist responded: "Yes."

"We should all be Christian?" Deutsch repeated.

"Yes," Coulter responded, asking Deutsch, who is Jewish, if he would like to "come to church with me."

Deutsch, pressing Coulter further, asked, "We should just throw Judaism away and we should all be Christians?" She responded: "Yeah."

Coulter deflected Deutsch's assertion that her comments were anti-Semitic, matter-of-factly telling the show's obviously upset host, "That is what Christians consider themselves: perfected Jews."


The TrekMedic muses:

Ok,..for the record, let's put a few parts of this in perspective:

• Donny Deutsch is an ass. That's OK,...its his schtick, just as much as Howard Stern and Bill Maher rub people the wrong way and make them say things they'll regret later. For the record, Donny, if you don't like the answer, don't ask the question! However,...
  
• Ann Coulter needs to stop living in a dream world where she can say what she wants, then hike up her skirt another inch, show her legs, get the press coverage but become immune to the reaction. For the record, Ann Coulter is no more an anti-Semite than Don Imus is a racist.

From the TrekMedic's perspective, I was the product of 12 years of post-Vatican Council II Catholicism. This is what I took from it:

• God first spoke to the Jews. The Ten Commandments were given to the Jews as His rules for His chosen people
• Jesus was a Jew. Mary and Joseph were also Jews and raised Jesus in a traditional Jewish manner.
• Jesus basically preached Judaism 2.0. We call it "Christianity."
  
• Without Judaism, Christianity would not exist!

'Nuff said. Let's put this to bed already!

A Thought for Today,...

You know how they say "those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it?"

Well,...in this day and age where the media twists the news to fit its own set of values, JK from Three Sources posts this chestnut:


"It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers. In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late. Accordingly, I am readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I will, in turn, do my best for the Cause by writing editorials - after the fact."

~Robert E. Lee, 1863

Define "Official," Hillary!

GOP Lawmakers Blast Hillary Clinton for Taking Advice From Sandy Berger

Monday, October 08, 2007

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton claims Sandy Berger has "no official role" in her campaign after Republican lawmakers blasted her Monday upon learning that Clinton's campaign is taking advice from the former top aide to President Bill Clinton who admitted stealing classified documents and disposing them.

"I think it’s a bad move," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaking with FOX News. "He stole documents, classified documents, from the National Archives, destroyed them, lied about what he did (and) is not the kind of adviser that you would want surrounding a candidate for president of the United States. I think it’s a bad decision."

"I think anyone who would surround themselves with advisers like that is demonstrating bad judgment, and I think Sen. Clinton should reconsider," he added.

And Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., said: "I am not surprised but I think it's a very inappropriate choice."

Hoekstra said Clinton's campaign "should clearly distance themselves from Sandy Berger. This person should not be a key adviser to one of the leading presidential candidates in 2007."

And Republican National Committee spokesman Danny Diaz added this shot: "It is beyond belief that Hillary Clinton would have someone advising her campaign who has pled guilty to stealing and destroying national security documents. Sen. Clinton tries to sound tough on national security issues, but it seems that repaying old friends like MoveOn.org and Sandy Berger is her real priority."

Berger was Clinton's national security adviser from 1997 until 2001. In 2003, while preparing for the 9/11 commission hearings, he took copies of secret documents from the National Archives and later destroyed them. He was caught a few days after absconding with papers from the archive's College Park, Md., facility, and lied to investigators.

The New York Democrat's campaign downplayed the fact, saying Monday that Berger is an informal, unpaid adviser to the campaign, something ascribed to many people associated with the campaign. Berger has been a longtime friend of both Clintons.

"He has no official role in the campaign," spokesman Blake Zeff said.

Aides to the New York Democrat were unapologetic about Berger's advisory role, noting he is not a central figure but has valuable and welcome input that he is providing voluntarily.

But Hoekstra took issue with the idea of letting someone convicted in connection with that sort of crime even voluntarily advise the campaign.

"Sandy Berger had a high position within our national security apparatus once before. He abused that position. He took top secret materials. He took them home, and we still have not really discovered or know what was in the documents or why they were so important for him to take them," Hoekstra said.

"It's clearly an indication that Sandy Berger is on the way back. That even though he abused the office that he held before and the privilege that he had before that there's a way for him to get back in and become a part of the national policy-making within the United States of America," he added.

Hoekstra also said there is an apparent imbalance in the way I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's case was handled and that of Berger's. Hoekstra said Libby — who was convicted of perjury after he lied about the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity — was treated much more harshly than Berger.

The (Washington, D.C.) Examiner first reported the connection between Berger and Clinton Monday.

Click here to read the report in The Examiner.

The Examiner reported the arrangement with Berger is similar to one with Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, for which Berger provided foreign policy advice. Kerry, however, severed the relationship with Berger once charges that he stole the classified material became public.

In 2003, Berger took sensitive national security documents from the National Archives facility, at times stuffing them into his socks. At the time, Justice Department officials said none of the documents were originals.

A separate investigation by the National Archives' inspector general last year found Berger also one time hid papers under a construction trailer near the archives building in downtown Washington.

Berger, who at first denied any wrong-doing, entered his guilty plea in April 2005 to a single charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material. He later was fined $50,000 and sentenced to two years probation and 100 hours of community service. He also lost his security clearance for three years.

FOX News' Mike Majchrowitz and Carl Cameron contributed to this report.


The TrekMedic opines:

Does it surprise you that a Democrat who, if elected plans to pull every dollar bill out of your wallet to fund her socialist agenda, is taking advice from a convicted crook???

Liar! Liar!

Mayor's absence in Atlantic City troubles Corzine
He said the state was weighing legal options for replacing Bob Levy, who has been missing for more than a week.

By Jacqueline L. Urgo

Inquirer Staff Writer

ATLANTIC CITY - Gov. Corzine said yesterday that state officials were looking into legal options for replacing Mayor Bob Levy, who was last seen in public more than a week ago.

"It seems to me that the situation today can't go on for an extended period of time," Corzine said, calling Levy's drop from public life "dysfunctional and chaotic behavior."

Corzine, who appeared at a news conference on the Boardwalk with Assemblyman Jim Whelan, said he was awaiting a determination from the state attorney general about the city's leadership problem.

Also, City Councilman Bruce Ward said he filed a motion yesterday morning in Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that the office of mayor has been abandoned. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Levy, a Democrat, left City Hall in his city-issued Dodge Durango on Sept. 26. Two days later, a spokesman issued a 36-word statement saying Levy was on indefinite medical leave from his $100,000-a-year job. His office would only say he was hospitalized, but would not say where or for what.

Levy apparently left town without officially handing over the reigns of power to a replacement, as required by state law. City Council members have expressed displeasure with Business Administrator Domenic Cappella's announcement that Levy's absence left him in charge.

The drama about where Levy is and how long he will be gone continues to swirl amid reports of a federal investigation into whether Levy embellished his military-service record by saying he was a member of the elite Green Berets unit, in order to collect a higher pension. Levy served two tours of duty in Vietnam and was twice decorated for bravery.

This week, Whelan, a former mayor and a Democratic candidate for state Senate in a contentious race against Sen. James "Sonny" McCullough (R., Atlantic), came under fire from his opponent after he said that Levy, a longtime friend, should either publicly explain his absence or resign.

The TrekMedic notes:

Captain America over at First In! adds a few very pointed words as well:


Now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch Bob Levy WAS a soldier and was HONORABLY DISCHARGED having served two tours in VIETNAM. He was awarded medals for Meritorious Service and bravery. What he wasn't is a Green Beret Commando. Why is it that Democrats constantly have to lie about all issues military including the nature of their service?

So this week the Mayor of Atlantic City disappears without telling anyone. He's officially A.W.O.L. It seems he's the subject of an investigation or two. But Bob Levy is a Democrat in a town full of Democrats and the problem is he falsely claimed to be a Green Beret. When he ran for office the Democrats were only too happy to point this claim out even printing it on campaign literature.


Well done, Captain!