Pigs DO fly.

From Fox News:

While calling her too liberal for the district, McSweeney also suggested she is disingenuous, having lost credibility with labor unions who supported her two years ago.

"She ran in '04 and had heavy union support" before voting for CAFTA, he said. "Effectively, she lied to the people who put her in office and sold out to big business."

A multi-millionaire , energy investor, Republican candidate who's claiming that a centrist Democrat has sold out to big business. Look out above!

...listen for a minute.

Bruche Schneier says it perfectly:

"I'd like everyone to take a deep breath and listen for a minute.

The point of terrorism is to cause terror, sometimes to further a political goal and sometimes out of sheer hatred. The people terrorists kill are not the targets; they are collateral damage. And blowing up planes, trains, markets or buses is not the goal; those are just tactics. The real targets of terrorism are the rest of us: the billions of us who are not killed but are terrorized because of the killing. The real point of terrorism is not the act itself, but our reaction to the act.

And we're doing exactly what the terrorists want. [...]

Imagine for a moment that the British government arrested the 23 suspects without fanfare. Imagine that the TSA and its European counterparts didn't engage in pointless airline-security measures like banning liquids. And imagine that the press didn't write about it endlessly, and that the politicians didn't use the event to remind us all how scared we should be. If we'd reacted that way, then the terrorists would have truly failed.

It's time we calm down and fight terror with antiterror. This does not mean that we simply roll over and accept terrorism. There are things our government can and should do to fight terrorism, most of them involving intelligence and investigation---and not focusing on specific plots. [...]

The surest defense against terrorism is to refuse to be terrorized. Our job is to recognize that terrorism is just one of the risks we face, and not a particularly common one at that. And our job is to fight those politicians who use fear as an excuse to take away our liberties and promote "security theater" that wastes money and doesn't make us any safer."

Racial Epithets

White people may sometimes use the word in joking but this is article on racism in Russia points out the obvious.

What many Russians do not understand is that once they use the hate vocabulary of "churki" and "blacks," they feed the specter of fascism even if they do not fully support it.

Even not being racist and using racist words is a tacit support of racists.

Reporters' stupid questions.

After the alleged killer of JonBenet Ramsey was arrested in Thailand:

Asked about the worst part of the whole ordeal, John Ramsey said, "The hardest part was losing a child, by far."

That's a question that needs to be asked?!

Liberal mission statement?

By Michael Schwalbe, a professor of sociology at North Carolina State University.

"...there are...honest and genuine ways to uphold human freedom.

To work for social justice is to expand people's freedom to develop their potentials.

To expose the lies of the powerful is to expand people's freedom to make informed choices. To promote democracy is to expand people's freedom to participate in shaping society.

To work for a clean environment or universal health care is to promote the freedom to live without being the victim of corporate profit-seeking.

To oppose gratuitous war is to help create the peace upon which these other freedoms depend, at home and around the world."

Misplaced semantics

The "war on terror" is akin to a "war on murder." Doesn't solve the freakin' problem.

Myopic sports world analogy.

Michael Wilbon writes for the Washington Post regarding Maurice Clarett's recent run-in with the law. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest and had a "small cache" of firearms next to him while near the home of a witness that will testify against him in his robbery arrest last year. Wilbon goes on about how he didn't have a chance, blah, blah, blah.

The most telling quote:

"[Clarett] was left with nothing, really. No money, no education, no real NFL skills."

I think this is reflective of most inner-city kids. A more accurate phrase:

"he was left with nothing, really. No money, no education, no real...skills."

Oh, back in the day...

From the the Illinois State Senate Journal Resolution No. 102:

WHEREAS, the price of gasoline has reached an average $1.70 per gallon nationwide; and

WHEREAS, the price of gasoline continues to climb, to the extent that some experts have predicted
prices of $2.50 per gallon in the near future; therefore be it

RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we call upon the United States Congress to investigate and determine why
the cost of motor fuel is so high and climbing.

The resolution was dated on March 27, 2003.

Wide open BCS race.

Tennessee is ranked 23rd in the Coaches poll.

From CNNSI.com:

"Based on recent history, it's entirely possible that this year's national champion will not be one of the teams ranked in the preseason Top 10. Maybe it's not even in the Top 20."

Split Ticket Voters

FoxNews.com points out that Tennessee is:

"considered a Republican red state on the modern political map despite the fact five of the 11 congressional delegation are Democrats as is the governor.

Lamont vs. Lieberman

Single issue candidates tend to be weak. However, Ned Lamont has a fighting chance in his bid to unseat Sen. Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Democratic primary. I had read with mixed opinions the whole affair until today. While campaigning in a Spanish-speaking church, Lieberman said:

"You and I know each other. We are like familia," said Lieberman, drawing chuckles from the crowd for using the Spanish word.

Very endearing. However, the phrase "we know each other", or nos conocemos, is very familiar. Indeed, it was used by President Bush in Spanish-language advertisements during the 2004 election. In consideration of accusations that Lieberman is too close to the Republicans, this use of message stands out. His media consultants must have thought "well it worked for them" and stuck it in his remarks for the church. Nonetheless, the phrase solidifies arguments by Democrats of Lieberman's acquiescence with Republicans.