Education desparation on gay marriage

Just to share a personal experience, my brother called me last Sunday to share about what he described as a "disgusting and devistating" church service. He attends Shepherd of the Hills in Porter Ranch, Calif. with his fiance, and apparently, the pastor invited a guest to speak on an ongoing lawsuit in Orange County. The guest was an attorney working a property rights case defending a client who wants to keep a cross on his property. The neighbors have obviously complained. According to my brother, the attorney spoke on this issue for no more than five minutes before launching into a political speech in support of Proposition 22.

California Prop. 22 was placed on the ballot in 2000 as an anti-gay marriage ammendment. It was not passed, but has lingered in Courts since that time. This attorney and people of his mind-set have seen to it that the Christian right continually expresses its condemnation of same-sex marriage through the touting of this already-defeated proposition.

"He went off about how homosexuality is a sin and how gay marriage is an abomination undermining the fundamentals of the institution of marriage," my brother said. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing."

Thouroughly bemused, my brother and his fiance made a poignant exit down the center isle of the church and proceeded to call as many people as they could reach denouncing what took place in the service.

Personally, I was more amazed that people like my brother and his fiance were so undereducated on the issue. How is it that this issue has been circulating the political arena for eight-plus years, and strong supporters of equality are still unaware of the threat that exists in gay marriage bans? How is it that so many are left scratching their heads when they are confronted with the reality of rights and privileges denied gays because of their sexual orientation?

In related news, today, the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee passed a proposed amendment to the state constitutiohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifn Tuesday that would ban both same-sex marriage and civil unions.

The measure was approved on a 10-4 vote. It still needs approval in the full Senate and in the House. It would then need to be approved again by both houses in the next session of the legislature before being put to voters.

Pennsylvania already has a law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Supporters of the amendment say they fear it could be overturned by a judge. (Read more!)

Educate and legislate. For more information on this issue, check out Human Right Campaign at

Why I can believe we may see an invasion on Iran

Chuck O'Connell, a sociology professor of mine during my days at Pierce College and a frequent contributor to CounterPunch, once warned in a class that we needed to be aware of heightened "war rhetoric" as it pertains to specific nations. Heeding his advice, I have had a keen eye on the build-up against Iran.

It began with the pervasive accusations that Iran was the home of the terrorists who were behind the 9/11 attacks. Then there was President Bush's inclusion of Iran in the new "Axis of Evil" during his State of the Union address. Since that time, we have seen a ramp up in negative reporting about Iran in the American media and an increase in the reported animosity coming out of Iran from the Iranian people. President Mahmoud Amhedinejad, a powerless figurehead, has become the characture of the Iranian people and propagandized throughout the Western world as an evil dictator, when in reality he is a mouth-piece for a very small section of the Iranian populace. Nuclear power plants and nuclear technology funded and provided to Iran in the 1970's under the Shah has become suspect and a "threat" under the rhetoric of the Bush administration. In sum, the war rhetoric has been increasing over the past five years.

A lack of manpower has held us out of Iraq. But, with the reported decrease in violence following January's military surge, many of the troops pulled out of reserves are now in active duty and will be recalled back stateside in the early summer according to the administrations plan, still having six to twelve months left on their active status. Suddenly a surplus of manpower has been created. Even though upwards of 200 people are still dying each week as a result of the untamed violence in Iraq, we are beginning to exit. How does this make sense?

Well, manpower is needed for an invasion of Iran. Here is an article in the Washington Post by dan Froomkin outlining the same concerns. Are we looking at a third front to add to this war? Froomkin seems to think so, and I can't see why not.

Beating the Bitch with John McCain

For comedic value.

Expert tactical youth appeal

This is by far the most creative advertisement I have seen in years. The appeal to young voters is apparent, almost transparent in all honesty, but it is working. Barack Obama and his team have tapped the pulse of a younger generation and I am incredibally impressed with their creativity in mobilizing the forces of change.

Have a Happy VD

In honor of Valentine's Day, allow me to be the first to wish everyone a happy, happy VD. Spread the love.

(Other meanings)

Ten Favorite Drinking Holes

I had a disconcerting exchange with a dear friend from back east today, and in all honesty, I was so proud of the breakdown that I thought I'd go public. The following is an email polling a large group of twentysomethings:

Hello friends,
You're getting this email for one of two reasons. Either you are one of my favorite drinking buddies or I want you to be one of my favorite drinking buddies. What this means is that I trust your judgement. Philly Weekly is doing a cover story on the top 50 bars in the city and I've got to compile the list.

So, tell me, where do you like to get f!@#ed up in Philly?

xoxo,
E.

I responded with charm, charisma and very little humility:

You know I have a bias towards the bars between Broad and 11th, Walnut and South, but I will exercise a touch of diversity in my selections. Still, there are a few haunts in that beloved section of the city that deserve some love for their amazing drink specials.

1. 12th Air Command Thursdays. $5 pitchers and 9-midnight, $1 shelf, $.50 well drinks or $1 pints, $.50 12 oz. beers. They have pool tables too. Not bad for a quest to numb the senses without emptying the wallet - so long as you can tolerate the bad, gay thumpa-thumpa music.

2. Raven Lounge. My number one hide away. They even have games on the tables like "Jenga", "Connect 4", and "You Think You're Smarter Than A 5th Grader". Good times. Great people. Tell 'em Cheryl sent you and Jonathan will take care of you.

3 - 7. Eulogy, Nodding Head, Ten Stone, Good Dog and Jose Pistolas for the beer selection. Bear in mind that I am a self-proclaimed beer snob, so my stamp of approval comes wih great scrutiny.

8. Black Sheep for the food.
9. Knock for the ambiance.
10. Tavern on Camac for the people.

And honorable mention must be given to $2 Miller High Life Thursdays at Irish Pub 22nd St. considering the amount of time the Metro staff spends in that joint. But I must say that their restrooms are deterrent. They are literaly a pain in the neck. At 5-foot 3-inches, there is no excuse for my head hitting the ceiling in your converted, basement janitor's-closet of a bathroom.

Compiling this list has made me homesick. Does that qualify as an alcoholic tendency?

Keeping the light on: Jolie visits Baghdad to address refugee crisis

So the risk of Angelina's visit to the well-guarded Green Zone of Baghdad may have been a little over-hyped, but put it into perspective: Angelina is on the ground, where many a journalist, myself included, are dying to be. UNHCR cannot reach Baghdad for security reason, so their notorious celeb ambassador is doing some leg work.

While in Baghdad, Jolie gave an exclusinve to CNN in which she discussed her mission with CNN's Arwa damon. Although the interview was lacking in substance a bit, Jolie managed to hit all of the talking points: The potential instability created by the refugee crisis, the need of the global community to respond on a human-to-human basis, the need for internal security to provide an envirnoment in which reconstruction can begin without continues conflict, the devestation facing refugees, 4.2 million globally displaced and the undue burden being placed on neighboring contires such as Jordan and Syria, and the immigration debate in the United States (the US State Department has agreed to admitt 1,200 Iraqis refugee status in the United States this year. Last year, a similar promise only saw the admission of a handful of Iraqis).

It is essential that attention continues to be paid to this issue for, as Jolie said, the return of the Iraqi people is what will instill stability in the entire Middle East and the world at-large.

Props to the sexy star for getting her hands dirty and getting in the faces of the many officials who are trying desperately to depersonalize the war in Iraq.

One problem with the timing of her her mission was the lack of insight into internal politics. Just this week, there have been cries heard 'round the world that the Iraqi ministries are ill-fit to serve their purposes. Positions previously held by Baathists have been filled with incompetitent leaders who are unable to handle the level of beauracracy associated with their positions. This should make it interesting to see how well her message is recieved.

Name one accomplishment by Obama

This is from a segment on FNC in which Frank Lutz, a renowned pollster, conducted focus groups with undecided Republicans and Democrats. In the Democratic focus group, the majority of the discussion surorunded the positive and negative attributes of each candidate, but did not include any discussion of credibility, experience or substance. So, Sean Hannity posed this question to the group, and the response was funny, but not shocking.

It's wonderful to make promises of change, but tell me how you intend to accomplish it. Otherwise, you're blowing smoke in places where the sun don't shine.

Back to Back Supers - That's, well, Super

First it was the Super Bowl. A game which somehow managed to rise from the ashes at the end of the third quarter and redeem itself going from one of the poorest played Super Bowls in history, to the most exciting in recent memory. Allow me to say that I was the opposite of impressed by the lack of passion or desire to win on both sides of the ball, until suddenly, with 15 minutes left on the clock, both teams showed up and decided they were ready to play football. And the Giants final drive... there are no words for the miracle that emerged there: Eli Manning suddenly became a walking advertisment for "I Can't Believe It's Not [Covered In] Butter" and as I said at the moment that Plaxico Burress caught that pass with his head, he now has footage to post on a 42" plasma playing in loop in the entry way of his home.

With such a surprise finish in the first Super of the Week, I assumed that Super Tuesday would be anti-climactic at best. Refreshingly, it was not. I was not only ecstatic to see that the media covered it with thorough analysis and discussion rather than the typical horse-race style coverage that has become synonamous with Election Night, but the results were intriguing.

Hillary proved her abality to lock in middle-aged, white and Latino women, both groups which vote heavily. This victory in this market succeeded in making her a significant threat - more so than anyone had really thought previously.

Obama picked up the Southern, white male vote, particularly in Georgia. Wow. I won't elaborate for fear of being labled a racist (thank you Enterprise).

McCain was able to secure significant victories in extremely conservative states. Most important to mention was a solid victory in Oklahoma. Reports were that OK is the most conservative state not holding a large Mormon population - Bush won every single county in this state in 2004. Also interesting though was his narrow victory in Arizona. It should be interesting to see if this is more a result of an alienated conservative base, as many Republicans are saying, or if it was his flip-flop in the last week on immigration: Suddenly there are no more promises of amnesty coming from his camp... hmmm.

Romney was surprising for his lack of influence. Many thought that he had protential to carry more weight in conservative states considering his highly conservative platform. The lack of support given to him at the polls maybe a tell-tale sign of a shift in the Republican powerbase. But equally important, and perhaps even more surprising was the turn-out in favor of Huckabee. He was not expected to win anything, let alone five states. All five were conservative Southern states, which was more damaging to Romney than to McCain, but it does leave us asking, where do those votes really go in the event of a two-man race?

Most surprising to me, above all of the other rhetoric, was the voter turn-out ratios. Democrats came out with more than twice the strength of Republicans in every state except Montana which only saw roughly 1,500 voters yesterday. This is a sign that, not only are the Democratic candidates more charasmatic, they are generating more interest and excitement. They were able to lock in the so-called "youth vote", which was stunning. Young people represent a demographic that has a lot of opinions which rarely translate into votes since they have a tendency to stay home, not show up at the polls. Yesterday, they showed up. This leaves for some interesting questions: Do Republicans have the strength to compete? And, can they win over any young supporters?

You want to know about me?

The following is an adaptation from a Web site which defines people by their astrological sign. Though I put very little stock in astrology on the norm, I found this to be a surprisingly apt description of me:

Leo is a semitic word, derived from the Hebrew labi. Leo is known as the "royal sign," symbolic of exuberance and leadership, and individuals who fall within its jurisdiction place courage and honesty above all else.

I have been described as having a radiant warmth and a personality that touches the hearts of others. This has been known to open many doors in my life. I welcome assignments of both authority and responsibility, but others often fail to fulfill the my expectations and thus, my life is often rife with disappointment. Though I maintain a cool, calm exterior on the norm, I am prone to a fiery temperament, so those who have suffered the wrath of my anger and disappointment are generally well aware.

People say I am a likable individual, being frank, open, honest and endearing, but above all, I believe it is my determination and dedication to idealism that makes me an entertaining acquaintance.

With all of that said, I do have a tendency to drown in egocentricity on occasion. And though I try my hardest to convince myself otherwise, I lack both the desire and the capacity for spiritual development. Still, I have a deep interest in the spirituality in the physical sense and am intrigued by the appeal it has for others.

I'm a natural extrovert which makes me impulsive, buoyant, communicative and sociable. I crave excitement... all of the time. This is a positive and a negative; while it keeps life interesting, it does get me in trouble - often. I'm a night owl as well, so that is a troublesome combination.

I am constantly challenged by two guiding principles: to create and to find joy in living.

Essentially, I deal in fun, games, gambling in ever sense of the word, writing, playing, acting and the use or misuse of creative energy. I constantly battle an innate desire to play ... all the time. Where there is fun to be had, I am there, whether the work is done or not. If I can't leave the work behind, I make it fun or I get extremely frustrated. Coupling that with my enthusiasm, creativity, motivation, frequent love affairs (both legal and illicit) and I guess you can say that I am pretty childlike. I live with a sense of excitement and a craving for pleasure.

Considering my desire for pleasure and my creative sense, you would think that I would find pleasure in my writing. But to be honest, I see very little of myself in what I personally create, whether it's a smile from a friend or an article. In fact, I am never really satisfied with what I create. But this constant criticism of my creations drives me continuously to better myself and to pursue perfection.

Positive Traits: generous, honest, warm-hearted, magnanimous, broad-minded, expansive, loving, proud, enthusiastic and creative with a flair for showmanship and drama

Negative Traits: pompous, patronising, bossy, interferring, dogmatic, intolerant, bullying, conceited, snobbish and power-thirsty

Likes: speculative ventures, lavish living, rich food, children, pageantry and grandeur

Dislikes: doing anything safely, day-to-day living, small-minded people, penny-pinching and mean spiritedness

This is the stuff armed conflict is made of

In the American Civil War, it was John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry.
In World War I, it was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
In Vietnam it was the bombing of the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy.

Where there is conflict, there is alway a build up of aggressive rhetoric and then a seemingly miniscule event that triggers war. This week, when five Iranian boats rushed toward three US Navy ships in the Homuz Canal, the markets shook because this is the way wars begin.

I have to say I am proud of the United States today that they stood down, didn't fire on the boats and have talked down this conflict over the course of the past 47 hours. But seeing oil prices jump up to $97 a barrel in panic speaks volumes to me. The money holders in this country are prepared for an armed conflict with Iran. The people need to be prepared as well. And if we go to war with Iran, we are going to war with the entire Middle East. This could almost be considered the modern day Cuban Missle crisis.

Thank God the American people are too preoccupied with trying to predict who the next president will be to notice. And perhaps, for once, we should be grateful for the troop surge in Iraq, because our military is equally preoccupied.

A micro-insurgency grows in Iraq prisons

More than 30,000 Iraqi's have been detained over the last year by American military personnel, and many are still awaiting release. The Christian Science Monitor recently released an article including a statement from General Doug Stone which expressed fears that the majority of detainees, who are primarily motivated by money not by a desire to incite violence, may be reeducated by more radical detainees who are actually in bed with the insurgency.

At the moment, there are three primary detention facilities in Iraq: The famed Abu Ghraib, Camp Bucca near Basra and Camp Cropper in Baghdad. All of these facilities have become overpopulated in recent months since US-led forces ramped up their efforts since the troop surge in January of 2007 and implemented the Baghdad Security Plan.

General Petraeus and the Pentagon hold that the release of even the most moderate detainees needs to be a slow process to secure a tight net and guard against the accidental release of violent insurgents. But many are calling for an immediate release of suspected nonviolent prisoners to ease the overburdened prison system in Iraq and warn that unjust detention will have a severe backlash effect if the US-led forces aren't careful.

"If you roll up 150 guys in a village and you don't have probable cause you've just created 150 terrorists," Marine Commandant General James Conway said after he visited Bucca in November.

Read more.

Iowa means nothing in the grand scheme

Sick of hearing about the Iowa caucus yet? Well, don't feel bad, the Iowans are too. In fact, polls have shown that the majority of crowd fillers we are seeing on CNN's endless coverage of the developing story are actually from other states. But that's okay, because the network has succeeded in at least one thing: disenfranchising the rest of the country.

With the overwhelming media coverage of Iowa this week, many people in the nation have begun to feel as if their vote is unnecessary. I mean, if Iowa is going to decide it all, why vote in your home states primary. Right? Here's the irony though: The majority of the country doesn't even understand what a caucus is, let alone why it is so important to our nation, and let's face it, they don't have to. 

Caucuses are an antiquated process that have become a bad joke to our society. They are a meeting of party members from a given state (Iowa in this case) at the precinct level at which citizens express their candidate interests - in other words, it's like your typical primary but with a drawn out discussion and a verbal tally. Sounds rather dull and uninteresting to me. And regardless of the image portrayed via HD satellite CNN coverage, the reality is that Iowans aren't really interested either. Columnist Dana Milbank wrote the most insightful piece of political coverage I have read this season and ran it in Tuesday's Washington Post called "Iowa's show goes on - Without Iowans." He nails it. In 2004, only six percent of eligible voters actually turned out in Iowa. How sad is that?

BBC did a piece today too - got to love the outside perspective - on the significant primaries in the states.  It named 12 of 50 states as being important in the nomination process. (Pennsylvania was not one of them.) In reality, the figures in the states mentioned will reflect a majority of the nation, but the problem with relying on these numbers only and disregarding the other 38 states is the geographical differences. Come Convention, believe me, your vote will matter because the delegates will be arguing over which candidate is  THE MOST ELECTABLE, not the most popular. They will be using the numbers from the primaries to compile the most electable ticket as well. 

So even though Obama might win the blue states, he won't get the nomination. Iowa is a good pace-setter, but it is not a tell-all.

Vote people. Vote.

The American Soldier: Oli North's Person of the Year

Props to Oliver North for seeing through the "progress" made by Time magazines Person of the Year Vladmir Putin. North basically congratulated the past-Russian president of the oil and natural gas rich country on bringing financial success to the nation, especially considering how difficult it must be in the present market. Oil is so cheap right now, it's amazing anyone can be turning a profit. Really.

[Oli's] “Persons of the Year” are men and women who voluntarily took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies.” Though less than three percent of their countrymen know a single one of their names, they continue to make extraordinary sacrifices while wittingly and willingly going into harms’ way on our behalf. They are, on average, just 20 years old — yet they are brighter and better educated than their peers in the same age bracket. All of them have been entrusted with the awesome responsibility for the lives and safety of others, and all of them are held accountable for what they do or fail to do in carrying out those responsibilities.

And bear in mind that less than half of the men and women in ou armed services agree with this war on ideological grounds. They are in the sandbox fighting because it is their job and to ensure that the image of American military strength is preserved. In this way, they are also indirectly protecting the rights of people like me to spout off at the mouth. Way to go Oli. Tell it.

Dickey Chapelle: An Unsung Hero

Dickey Chapelle is by no means a household name, but it is certainly should be. A heroic character from birth, "Dickey", or Georgette Meyer as she was named at birth, earned a full scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study aeronautical design at age 16. She graduated at the top of her class. 

Upon graduation, she returned to her hometown of Shorewood, Wisc. and decided that she had more interest in piloting planes than in designing them, so she learned to fly. In hanging around with fly boys, she soon engaged in an affair with one, which undoubtedly enraged her mother. She was sent as punishment to Florida to live with her aunt.

Dickey floated around for a while before landing a job with TWA in New York. There she would meet her future husband, Tony Chapelle, a publicity photographer for the company. It was through Tony that Dickey gained a passion for photography and soon began working as a TWA photog herself. After 15 years of marriage, she divorced Tony and officially changed her name to Dickey.

Lacking experience and credentials, Dickey managed to convince someone at National Geographic to hire her during World War II, and she became a war correspondent posted with the Marines. Over the years, she went on to cover the Korean War and Vietnam. She even took up parachuting at the age of 40 and began making jumps into hostile territory over Vietnam as the first female to jump with the troops. In 1965, Dickey was killed when she stepped on a land mine in Vietnam and became the first female reporter to die in combat.

Read more about Dickey and check out images here. 

The Sandbox

For those of you who don't know, I met someone special a few weeks ago, an MP who returned to Iraq on Christmas Eve. I decided that I would attempt to put together a collection of military-related comic strips to send over to the war-zone, and hopefully elicit a smile or two. In the data mine, I came across a gem.

Doonesbury, the classic Gary Trudeau creation, has served as a conscience to both the government and the people since the '50s, ever-reminding us that the military serves a purpose that violent beyond imagination, painful and heartbreaking - but he serves the reminder with a dash of humor. This one in particular caught my attention:

In October, Tradeau launched The Sandbox, a milblog on GWOT-lit.

As Americans who try our best to not take what we have for granted, I am encouraging everyone to check this out. It will break your heart, and maybe give you some perspective.  

Playing into my '08 predictions: Edwards a threat

Hillary's camp came out today: They admitted their fear of John Edwards.

Washington Post reports that Edward's and Clinton having been mincing words in Iowa as the caucus nears, but Clinton is not making the best case for herself. In a discussion about Edwards signature issue of poverty, Clinton began citing the success of her husband's administration in the are of economics to bolster her rep.

"People talk about poverty in this campaign," Clinton said during a crowded event [in Independence, Iowa], noting her husband's ... was an era of great progress on the issue. "Well, we lifted more people out of poverty during the 1990s than at any time in our history. We had policies that actually helped to create 22.7 million new jobs..."

Let's pick this apart for a second.

Edwards claims that no one is talking poverty, so instead of citing her own record, Hillary jumps on the I-Used-To-Run-The-White-House train. Then, she claims that more people were "lifted out of poverty" than "any other time in our history." Huh?

 

Can you say Reconstruction Era? Can you say New Deal? 

Emerging from the Great Depression the US did a 180 degree economic turn-around, and I'm sorry Hil, but you can't match the level of disparity that was reached in those days. Roosevelt raised GDP 128 percent in 1944 when the US joined World War II. In the '30s, unemployment fell 20 percent due to New Deal policies. Large families who were in poverty in 1930 rose to the top of the middle-class bracket because they had four or five workers in the labor force, all of whom were working overtime by the beginning of World War II. So, Hil, take a look at your history... you may have outnumbered the New Deal, but you - oh, I mean, your husband certainly didn't out percentage the era.

And what's with taking credit for Bill's record anyway? This is exactly what is going to kill Hillary come DNC time. She has no record of her own to call upon. Yes, she has international notoriety. Yes, she can pull on her husband for pointers. Yes, she has had White House experience. But she was the First Lady, not a politician or a bureaucrat.  

In the end, when all polls have been taken and all the primaries are down, when the chips are laid down and nomination time rolls around, the Democrats will not nominate Hillary for one simple reason: she's not electable. No more than Barack Obama or me.

The DNC will see the nomination of John Edwards for Democratic Presidential Candidate. He is the only candidate with enough national name recognition, charm, whiteness, Protestant-ness, maleness and money to get the job done in November. 

Following his nomination (and this is just a hunch) Hillary's feelings will be really hurt and 

Barack's war chest will seem a waste, so they will run independent - separately of course - massacring the Democratic vote by splintering it into three, and another Republican will become president. God willing it will not be another neo-con, but maybe someone with a little more heart and a little less passion for oil money. 

But don't practice santeria; I ain't got no crystal ball; and if I had a million dollars, well, I wouldn't bet on this outcome. It's just a hunch. 

Nominee for King of England: JoePa

Happy 81st to the King of Happy Valley, Joe Paterno, and to  the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II.

Today, both monarchs reached a landmark - Queen Elizabeth is officially the oldest ruler in the history of England, and JoePa became the first Pennsylvania native to ever be linked directly with her for any significant historical reason. So, to commemorate this day, we are launching a new Campaign in 2008: JoePa for King of England.

It may not be an elected position, but Joe would certainly make it an interesting one.

(oh, and as a side note, while we are on birthday's, Samuel L. Jackson turned 52 today, but I don't think he's the Queen's type is you know what I mean.) 

2007 Congressional session a bust

Washington Post ran the following as "Hill Highlights" for 2007:

Raising the minimum wage to $5.85 an hour.

Increasing fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles.

Overhauling ethics and lobbying rules.

Instituting most homeland security recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

Tightening mental-health background checks for gun buyers.

I can't believe they call this progress.

• Unless you are 16 years old, work 65 hours per week or you live in shack in Centreville, Ky. $5.85 is nowhere near a living wage. 
  

• The fuel efficiency laws will not be entirely in effect for another 15 years. 
  

• There are no ethics in American politics, just look at the scandal record of the past - think Alan Mollohan, former House ethics committee chairman, who stepped down under the heat of an investigation into realty investments. He was later subject to an investigation into earmarks appropriated to a nonprofit run by one of his former aides, and cited for using public money to pay $220,000 to a Washington law firm to clear the whole thing up. Just a small example of business as usual in Washington - Ethics - Gawfah!
  

• Most Homeland Security recommendations of the 9/11 Commission... and we are giving these guys accolades? For what? They're speedy reaction to a nation crisis that occurred six years ago? Or, wait, no... It must be their ability to steal our civil liberties without anyone taking notice. Yea Free Press!!

• Tightening mental health checks for gun buyers. Now that is an important one. Just ask Michele Cossey, 46, of Plymouth Township, Pa. She bought a weapons stash for her 16 year-old son who then proceeded to plan a Columbine-style attack on a local high school. Fortunately he was found out and convicted prior to launching his plan, but I bet he sure is proud that his mom was able to pass the mental health checks. And, can you say "Black market?"
  

Let's get honest. Congress sucks, and they were especially bad in 2007.

Calif. emissions law slapped down

The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency denied the state of California's petition to enact stricter emissions regulations within its boarders today. The reason: The EPA wants to see a unilateral federal program rather than a "piecemeal" state-by-state regulation scale.

Sure, this will make things easier to regulate from a national level. Sure, it will make it easier for automakers to comply. But in reality, it is only stalling the process.

Washington Post reports: The decision set in motion a legal battle that EPA's lawyers expect to lose and demonstrated the Bush administration's determination to oppose any mandatory measures specifically targeted at curbing global warming pollution. A total of 18 states, representing 45 percent of the nation's auto market, have either adopted or pledged to implement California's proposed tailpipe emissions rules, which seek to cut vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016.

In a telephone news conference last night, [EPA Administrator Stephen L.] Johnson said he thinks that the higher fuel-economy standards and increased renewable-fuel requirements in the energy bill President Bush signed into law yesterday will do more to address global warming than imposing tailpipe rules in individual states.

"The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution, not a confusing patchwork of state rules, to reduce America's climate footprint from vehicles," Johnson said. "President Bush and Congress have set the bar high, and, when fully implemented, our federal fuel-economy standard will achieve significant benefits by applying to all 50 states."

Congress passed an emissions regulation Tuesday aimed at reducing gasoline consumption (read about it... it's a good article), but California's rules would target total greenhouse gas emissions, including auto air conditioning units and the so-called "carbon-footprint" of cars.

California standards are seeking a miles-per-gallon average of 33.8 by 2016 in every vehicle operating within the state. The federal energy law is slightly more lax, requiring an average fuel economy of 35 mpg by 2020.

You can anticipate a battle like many California laws that have come before (cough, cough: legal marijuana) over states rights.