It seems odd to me, that since the war in Iraq is going so well, that in order for the President to visit Iraq, a country we control, the visit has to be a surprise and that the leaders of the country he is visiting, did not know about it until her was in their airspace. IG

Well, it seems that LW’s article has given people cause to pause and reflect and confess the problems of their childhood. So it seems to be my turn, to confess. Unfortunately I have nothing to confess. My life for the past 40 years has been normal, as generally defined. I have never tried drugs, became intoxicated, been abused in any form by parents or siblings, been arrested. My life, while not idyllic consisted of bike rides, four squares, game night, family vacations. I am, basicall...

So, South Dakota has a law outlawing abortions. Good. But did they think it through? My question is did they think about the details? I mean the main issue is nice and all, certain to appeal to the Republican Base, but did they consider that technology has changed since 1973? The law says that life begins at conception and that the termination of the life of an unborn human being." Section 5 defines "unborn human being" as "the unborn child from fertilization to full gestation." Is pro...

There is a current proposal by the Senate to ban torture. Most people agree that torturing someone is a bad thing. Now, we are not talking about the police interrogation techniques that have passed legal muster, what I am talking about its torture. Let’s say. For example, taking a hammer and whacking the boys a few times. In general most people don’t like torture, so the Republican controlled Senate says, “OK, we’ll pass a law. No torture.” And Bush just said recently that “We do not...

The President has nominated Ms. Meirs as a candidate for the Supreme Court, and already we have the blogs polarized. Well I have a few concerns with the nominee. The first is she has never been a judge. Now I know that does not exclude her and that there have probably been members of the court that were not judges. My concern is that she has never had to be impartial. She has always been a lawyer, an advocate for a particular viewpoint. She has never had to balance two valid, legal opposin...

Here's a link: Link She is taking her case to the Supreme Court! And the Court is listening to it! Can Pamela Anderson get a cabinet post? IG

I have read a few online articles about this and I wanted to know if anyone else saw this. Apparently, if you receive federal money you have to abide by federal anti-discriminatory guidelines, i.e. you cannot discriminate against a persons race, or religion, etc. A rider was attached to a bill for the “reauthorization” of the Head Start program with removes that condition and the program can exclude people with certain beliefs when they are hiring. Did anyone else see this? IG ...

America is that odd uncle of the family that lives in that house in the country, that the family does not talk about too much. He has a collection of porno magazines and a bible, normally on the same table, and has a firm belief in both. He believes that the Jews run everything, but that Isaac Goldberg, who he works with down at the plant, is a “good guy”. He may not have much to do with the rest of the family, but when the tree hit his brother Louis’ house, there he was with his hal...

President Bush said yesterday: “Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government.” “And to the extent that the federal government didn’t fully do it’s job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong.” Thank you Mr. President. It's what we needed to hear. Now if only the state and local ummm, leaders, would follow suit. IG

OK, we almost lost Texas today. Not the state, the person, and I are very angry! Now, there is a great deal of arguments on JU. There are three general ideologies at play, but it seems that the possible departure was not caused by the actual argument. It was no caused by a person stating a position that was completely disgusting to Texas, no; I saw the post and comment thread. There was an ideological disagreement to be sure and it was slowly entering a stalemate, but it also devolved into...

With the water being removed, alone with the inhabitants, New Orleans will very soon be evacuated. Now, let’s assume that the levees will be reinforced so that this can never happen again. With 80% of the city flooded with what is now a lethal liquid, most of the structures will have to be removed, destroyed. Let us also assume that the desire and the means are there to rebuild the city. We have an unprecedented question/situation. The actual rebuilding of a destroyed city. But… ...

So I sat down to watch the concert with my wife. The first act was a Dixieland Jazz group. Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis and others. I thought, YES! Nothing tells of the spirit of New Orleans than Dixieland. It’s a part of the city and state. Perfect! This could be a good. Tim McGraw singing country. Faith Hill singing Gospel, We’re doing fine. Neville’s unique voice. Great. Gov. Pataki giving a donation, mentioning Louisiana’s assistance during 9/11. And interspersed, was descr...

Perhaps it’s me. Maybe I expect too much. So I would like to bring this to your attention. Earlier this morning, at a altitude of over 200 mines above the Earth’s surface, a man in a space suit left the confines of his spaceship and did repairs to the outside of its hull. But here is the part I find fascinating. NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT !!!!! I mean dear God. This man is operating in a place where if you look over your shoulder you can see the Earth in it full form! When I was g...

Alright, LW has said in a recent post that there is a lack of actual debate in this JU site, especially with regards to the liberal side. I will give a topic, and state a reason in support and opposition to the topic. I ask that there is no mention of leaders in either political party, in fact it would be helpful if the parties were not mentioned at all. This will hopefully be a debate on philosophy and ideology. Topic: The president has put the name of Judge John Roberts from th...

From the AP: Rumsled in visitng Iraq: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, on another quick visit to Iraq, pressed the country's new leaders Tuesday to avoid delays in developing a constitutional government and defeating the insurgency. "Anything that would delay that or disrupt that as a result of turbulence or incompetence or corruption in government would be unfortunate," Rumsfeld said before he began a round of talks with Iraqi leaders. Unfortunate? Maybe it's more Nathan...