posted by Anne at 7/16/2008 09:22:00 PM
posted by Anne at 7/16/2008 09:14:00 PM
"It would be huge, I think, to win," said Kerry Wood, the All-Star closer who sat out the game to let a blister heal. "We're playing really, really well at home and not so good on the road. It would be huge for us if we got to the World Series."...sorry Cubs fans:)
He's right. The team with home-field advantage has won 18 of the last 22 World Series, including the White Sox's sweep of Houston in 2005.
"The significance of this game is huge," White Sox third baseman Joe Crede said. "It's big to get home-field advantage, get the first two games at home. This is obviously a big game."
posted by Anne at 7/16/2008 09:26:00 AM
In 2002, Omar was captured in the firefight and asked to be killed. And there was more to come. In 2003, a Pakistani army unit attacked a house with suspected al Qaeda members inside. They showed off the bodies of men they had killed. One of them turned out to be Omar’s father.Have the trial. But this tape is just part of the story. That medic died.
Omar's younger brother, Abdul Karim Khadr, 14 years old, had been in the house with his father. He was shot in the back and paralyzed.
In 2004, the remnants of the Khadr family moved back to Toronto, where George Crile interviewed Abdul Karim and his mother, Maha Khadr.
"Were you in some way sorry that you did not die that day?" Crile asked Abdul Karim.
"Yeah," he replied.
Sorry, he said, because he was denied the opportunity of getting to paradise, where 72 stunning virgins would await him. "Somebody would look at them like for 40 years and he would stay looking and looking," Abdul Karim said.
"Because they’re so beautiful?" Crile asked.
"Yeah," the teen replied. "And one piece of her perfume would come it would, you wouldn't smell anything but that."
"Mrs. Khadr, can you explain the concept of the virgins for the brothers?" Crile asked Maha Khadr.
"Yes. They talk about it day and night. And sometimes, some wives would get so, you know, kind of annoyed or they say, 'Well is this all you’re fighting for?' You know? Because they really just go in too much details about the description," she replied.
Abdul Karim said he even offered to become a suicide bomber. "I told my father, 'Just give me a belt and I’ll blow myself up. I'll go and just do anything,'" he said.
As for his brother Omar, Abdul Karim believed he'd get out of Guantanamo and get even. "When he’s all right again he’ll find them again … and take his revenge," he said.
That was in 2004. Today, the Khadrs have changed their tune. In their small apartment in Toronto, they no longer speak about Omar taking revenge.
posted by Anne at 7/16/2008 09:20:00 AM
Amanda Carpenter, Townhall, brings us this: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle, complained the government’s $600 economic stimulus check was only enough to buy “a pair of earrings” while stumping for her husband.Do you think maybe Michelle's out of touch, hmm?
“You're getting $600 - what can you do with that?” Mrs. Obama said in Pontiac, Michigan last week. “Not to be ungrateful or anything, but maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn't pay down every bill every month. The short-term quick fix kinda stuff sounds good, and it may even feel good that first month when you get that check, and then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings."
She made these remarks at a “working women’s roundtable discussion.”
posted by Anne at 7/16/2008 08:08:00 AM
posted by Anne at 7/16/2008 07:09:00 AM
There is nothing enlightened about abortion. And now that cameras can see into the womb, life is undeniable. Now that preemies survive life outside the womb at a younger age than many of those aborted, the barbarism of this practice is clear to those who have eyes to see.One of the greatest ways women have devalued children is by accepting abortion. A respected feminist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, once said “"When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."Overseas, abortion is associated with sex selection, which more than likely leads to the abortion of girls. During this election process, talk of the hanger coming back is fear-mongering. While abortions are in decline in the US, abortion pills have made the process easier, the internet as well. Of course, all this has unintended consequences--the ease and social complicity in sexualizing younger and younger girls, their being abused by older men, or in some cases coerced by members of their own family to have abortions or take abortion pills--a significant number with life-threatening or even fatal consequences--I guess I should say not just fatal for the baby.
posted by Anne at 7/16/2008 06:55:00 AM
Squirreling up voters for the fall election, "community organizing", Obama's old boss ACORN gets around. In case you missed the NY Times article, there's trouble in the socialist non-profit paradise--sounds familiar--your money is my money.) Embezzlement bigtime (emphasis mine):Gee, guess a million here or there to ACORN is just peanuts. In contrast, the other organization dealt with their scandal in a month. The culprit--a brother of ACORN's founder. ACORN 's execs did nothing at the time, not even informing all of their board--describing it as a judgment call. And the guy has been on the payroll all this time, dumped only a month ago!!! And this is Barack Obama's pet group, you might say they gave him his start in politics, and he wants to return the favor.Two prominent national nonprofit groups are reeling from public disclosures that large sums of money were misappropriated in unrelated incidents by an employee and a former employee.
The groups, Acorn, one of the country’s largest community organizing groups, and the Points of Light Institute, which works to encourage civic activism and volunteering, have dealt with the problems in very different ways.
Acorn chose to treat the embezzlement of nearly $1 million eight years ago as an internal matter and did not even notify its board.
And they are using our money.Wade Rathke said the organization had signed a restitution agreement with his brother in which his family agreed to repay the amount embezzled in exchange for confidentiality.
Wade Rathke stepped down as Acorn’s chief organizer on June 2, the same day his brother left, but he remains chief organizer for Acorn International L.L.C.
He said the decision to keep the matter secret was not made to protect his brother but because word of the embezzlement would have put a “weapon” into the hands of enemies of Acorn, a liberal group that is a frequent target of conservatives who object to its often strident advocacy on behalf of low- and moderate-income families and workers.
ACORN has been implicated in similar schemes in 14 other states - including Ohio, where a worker traded crack cocaine for fraudulent registration.The Orlando Sentinal:
County elections supervisors said the spike in Democratic registration was partly because of earlier-than-usual registration drives by third-party groups such as the League of Women Voters and ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which targets black and Hispanic voters. The groups were trying to get ahead of a 2007 law that dramatically increases fines on third-party groups that don't turn in registration applications within 10 days.Indiana. (Remember Lake County?) Fannie Mae pays off ACORN?! Heritage:
The law has yet to take effect because the League and two labor unions filed suit to block it, arguing it discriminates against minorities who rely more heavily than whites on third-party organizations to register to vote. A ruling is expected soon.
For years, conservatives have been critical of how Fannie, and Freddie Mac, have leveraged their government-sponsored advantages (including exemptions from state and federal taxes, lower capital requirements, and the ability to borrow at rates well below those paid by private companies), to create a co-monopoly in the housing finance sector. When Fannie’s accounting scandal came to light in 2004, conservatives pushed hard for reforms to phase out Fannie and Freddie.
Led by former Walter Mondale and Barack Obama campaign adviser James Johnson, Fannie and Freddie pushed back hard, raising millions of dollars for members of the relevant oversight committees and opening up “Partnership Offices” that funneled money into various housing projects in districts of key members of Congress.John Fund, "Obama's Liberal Shock Troops", ACORN among them:
Fannie also bought off activist groups such as the corrupt Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which has been indicted, multiple times across the country, for vote fraud (Obama worked closely with ACORN as a street organizer in Chicago). Fannie’s lobbying efforts paid off as liberal politicians such as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. William Clay (D-Mo.) worked to kill any real reform of Freddie and Fannie.
Acorn's political arm has endorsed Mr. Obama while its "voter education" arm has pledged to spend $35 million to register people this fall -- despite a history of vote fraud scandals that have led to guilty pleas by many Acorn employees.How about suing ACORN, states, hmm? I feel the itch to be litigious. For a change.
posted by Anne at 7/15/2008 02:22:00 PM
"Sen. Obama is departing soon on a trip abroad that will include a fact-finding mission to Iraq and Afghanistan. And I note that he is speaking today about his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan before he has even left, before he has talked to Gen. [David] Petraeus, before he has seen the progress in Iraq, and before he has set foot in Afghanistan for the first time," McCain said.
"In my experience, fact-finding missions usually work best the other way around: first you assess the facts on the ground, then you present a new strategy."
Obama says Iraq is not the central front in the war on terror, but al Qaeda thinks it is--and who would know better? John Hinderaker, Powerline:
As to al Qaeda--the elephant in the room--Obama simply dissimulates:
Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been.That's not what Osama bin Laden (Iraq is where the "Third World War is raging”) or Ayman al-Zawahiri (Iraq is "the place for the greatest battle of Islam in this era”) say. Al Qaeda summoned jihadists from around the Muslim world to go to Iraq to fight American troops, declaring that this effort is the central front in their war against civilization. Those jihadists have been devastated by American armed forces, who have thereby scored what may, with hindsight, turn out to have been the decisive victory in the war against Muslim extremism. Obama denies all of this in a single sentence, without citing any evidence whatsoever.
As Hinderaker points out, Obama never supported our being in Afghanistan either. (If he had maybe he would have encouraged our kids to learn Pashto. Didn't you ever read Michener, Barack?) And Christopher Hitchens on the war between the wars:
If there is one element of moral and political certainty that cements the liberal consensus more than any other, it is the complacent view that while Iraq is "a war of choice," it is really and only Afghanistan that is a war of necessity. The ritualistic solidity of this view is impressive. It survives all arguments and all evidence.Hitchens enumerates, including this:
Many of the al-Qaida forces—most notably the horrific but now deceased Abu Musab al-Zarqawi—made their way to Iraq in the first place only after being forcibly evicted from Afghanistan. Thus, if one did not want to be confronting Bin Laden fans in Mesopotamia, it was surely a mistake to invade Afghanistan rather than Iraq.
To quote George Orwell, " To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle. "
P.S. Yellowcake. See that yellowcake.
--crossposted at UNCoRRELATED
posted by Anne at 7/15/2008 01:55:00 PM
The trial of Chris Kelly, another ex-aide and ex-fund-raiser to Gov. Blagojevich, has been postponed from November to Jan. 20. Kelly faces charges he cheated on his taxes by allegedly lying about gambling proceeds. U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo moved the trial at the request of Kelly's lawyer, Michael Monico. Monico cited a timing conflict as he also is representing former Ald. Edward R. Vrdolyak this September. Vrdolyak faces charges he took part in a kickback scheme involving the sale of a Gold Coast property with Stuart Levine. That means the Vrdolyak trial will see the same character who played a huge role in Tony Rezko's trial. Levine spent 15 days on the stand in Rezko's two-month trial.A spotlight on Chicago in September. (I think my friend John Ruberry has a great idea too.) And David Brooks can do a reprise of his Fast Eddie column. See you in September.
posted by Anne at 7/15/2008 10:26:00 AM
First a cougar, now a gator. Are suburbanites fair game for the wildlife? Sun Times:Forest preserve volunteer Rita Renwick first saw the alligator resting on a log near a group of black crowned night herons.
"I thought, am I seeing things? What could that be besides an alligator?" said Renwick, who has led interpretive nature walks at the rookery for 18 years. "I've never seen anything like this."
Do people not realize these "pets" grow up and get big? Some other worries. Nature, untamed. I imagine the nature walks may be sparsely attended for a while, more's the pity. Love the picture, though. So artistic.
posted by Anne at 7/15/2008 09:51:00 AM
The private sector scores again, sharing their success. Crain's: A University of Chicago alumnus who founded two futures trading firms has donated $20 million to his alma mater to beef up its physical sciences division.William Eckhardt earned his master’s degree in mathematics from U of C in 1970 and later founded two Chicago-based trading firms. He is currently president and CEO of Eckhardt Trading Co., which he founded in 1991.
“My contribution to the University of Chicago is an investment in science, in the future, in the understanding of our world,” Mr. Eckhardt said in a statement.
More from the U of C:
University of Chicago scholars have traditionally taken pride in breaking through academic boundaries to get at the solutions to challenging problems. That approach paid off for Chicago futures trader William Eckhardt, SM ’70, who studied mathematics and philosophy as a graduate student at the University.
“That helped in my business because I found myself in a position where I had to invent a theory of trade. This really hadn’t happened before,” says Eckhardt, who received his master’s degree in mathematics from the University in 1970.
U of C professor Roger Myerson recently won a Nobel prize in economics for his work on efficient markets. Maybe Durbin and the clueless Dems should take a class or two. That includes you Barack.
In other U of C news, their highly regarded medical school is pairing up with Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, which is a boon for the North Shore.
posted by Anne at 7/15/2008 09:08:00 AM
The president has acted to rescind the executive order from the early 90's prohibiting offshore drilling. Now it is up to the Congress to do the same. Powerline:Get with the program, Dems! Get serious.The President of the Institute for Energy Research, Thomas Pyle, issued this statement in response to the President's action this morning:
The federal government has made it illegal to produce taxpayer-owned energy from taxpayer-owned lands for nearly three decades. That’s a fact consumers need to understand as they cope with skyrocketing prices for everything from groceries to gasoline. Most Americans understand the law of supply and demand, but they may not know that America is the only developed nation in the world that restricts access to its own offshore energy resources, or that an annual vote in Congress is require to continue that policy. That time of the year has come, and the next 78 days will be a critical period for America’s energy security.
posted by Anne at 7/15/2008 12:01:00 AM
Actually, guys, I have the gin before my husband leaves for work.I do kinda like Michelle’s combat boots though.
You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you? A few crocodile tears and some poutrage from Ann over the idea that wingnuts would ever suggest that Michelle was a terrorist and then, next thing you know, out plops from her mouth what she swore up and down she’d never say. After that, Ann giggles, burps, and blames that little outburst on that second tot of gin she had right after her husband left for work.
This kind of gross stereotypic thinking seems to be a pattern on the left.But, of course, saying that something is a “pattern on the left” isn’t a stereotype. That is because each conservative has a unique individual voice that springs from the depths of his or her finely-tuned conscience, whereas all liberals are merely automatons parroting the ideas implanted in their brains by the evil liberal press, which, in turn, simply says what George Soros wants it to say.
Or maybe the press, and you guys, say what Barack Obama wants you to say. Protesting too much by far. You're all such victims. And who's smearing whom?
posted by Anne at 7/14/2008 05:50:00 PM
In retrospect, I think he saw the positions he held as stepping stones to other things and therefore approached his public life differently than other people might have.”On issue after issue, Preckwinkle presented Obama as someone who thrived in the world of Chicago politics. She suggested that Obama joined Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ for political reasons. “It’s a church that would provide you with lots of social connections and prominent parishioners,” she said. “It’s a good place for a politician to be a member.” Preckwinkle was unsparing on the subject of the Chicago real-estate developer Antoin (Tony) Rezko, a friend of Obama’s and one of his top fund-raisers, who was recently convicted of fraud, bribery, and money laundering: “Who you take money from is a reflection of your knowledge at the time and your principles.” As we talked, it became increasingly clear that loyalty was the issue that drove Preckwinkle’s current view of her onetime protégé. “I don’t think you should forget who your friends are,” she said. [snip]
I asked her if what she considered slights or betrayals were simply the necessary accommodations and maneuvering of a politician making a lightning transition from Hyde Park legislator to Presidential nominee. “Can you get where he is and maintain your personal integrity?” she said. “Is that the question?” She stared at me and grimaced. “I’m going to pass on that.”
Not exactly a ringing testimonial from the old neighborhood.
More: I think this image is more apropos. CityJournal, Obama as shaman in the age of Oprah.
UPDATE: Another excerpt from the New Yorker article:
E. J. Dionne, Jr., of the Washington Post, wrote about this transition in a 1999 column after Daley was reëlected. Dionne wrote about a young Barack Obama, who artfully explained how the new pinstripe patronage worked: a politician rewards the law firms, developers, and brokerage houses with contracts, and in return they pay for the new ad campaigns necessary for reëlection. “They do well, and you get a $5 million to $10 million war chest,” Obama told Dionne. It was a classic Obamaism: superficially critical of some unseemly aspect of the political process without necessarily forswearing the practice itself. Obama was learning that one of the greatest skills a politician can possess is candor about the dirty work it takes to get and stay elected.
At the time, Obama was growing closer to Tony Rezko, who eventually turned pinstripe patronage into an extremely lucrative way of life. Rezko’s rise in Illinois was intertwined with Obama’s.
posted by Anne at 7/14/2008 07:55:00 AM
Dear Evanston Republicans and Friends:
Events are moving at the speed of pollitics--Sunday, at Noon, Tony Peraica will hold a press conference in Evanston outside of Cook County Commissioner's Larry Suffredin's office at 820 Davis Street, Evanston, IL.The purpose is garner support & publicity for the motion Peraica wants to introduce at the next Cook County Commissioner's meeting on July 23rd to repeal the sales tax increase that went into effect July 1.You will recall that it was Suffredin's change of vote that allowed the measure to pass.Peraica is seeking business owners to speak out on the impact of the sales tax increase that raised this county to the highest rate in the nation.Please call me right away if you can attend, and if you are willing to speak.Linda LaFianza
Evanston GOP Committeeman
linda@evanstonrepublicans.org
www.evanstongop.com
847-971-8796-cell
posted by Anne at 7/12/2008 02:56:00 PM
"See, Barack's been talking down to black people on this faith-based—," Jackson says during a break in taping. "I want to cut his nuts out."Of course Jesse talks down to blacks all the time, as do all the liberal peddlers of dependence on Big Government--it's their ticket to power. Kass' theory is that it may help Obama with white voters. Well maybe. But it may just reinforce Obama's phoniness, ambivalence and underlying anger--that he hung out with these guys and Rezko, Ayers and the Rev. Wright (who is in swing state Virginia by the way) to make his way up the Chicago way, while they all pay lip-service to cherishing historic moments.
The national media was stunned, as if they'd just found out Obama is a Chicago politician rather than a mythic hero of Kennedyesque proportions, who drew the great sword Axelrod from the cornerstone of Chicago's City Hall.
So stunned, they missed the truly freaky part, Jackson twisting his right wrist, as if he held a curved blade, giving a little pull, grunting for emphasis, like a butcher of the old school, if you will.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Chicago Sun Times front page, story here. Local viewers of CBS2 comments here.Jesse stands in a very long line of shameless self-promoters that mistakenly believe an apology will erase the glimpse his crude and irrelevent remarks reveal about his true character as a charlatan. One should note his apology did not occur immediately after his blunder, but 3 days later when he knew it would be broadcast for all to hear. If that is truly how he feels, he should not have to apologize. His apology has no meaning and shame on Obama for blindly and unconditionally accepting it. Give us a break Obama, the public is not at all naive concerning the motives behind your apology acceptance. Forgiveness should be reserved for those that truly mean it and not just to serve Obama's agenda to preserve Jesse's support (for what little it is actually worth if more people would wake up) and to soothe Jesse's transient guilty conscience. In the end both men have substantially diminished their stature by cloaking their true thoughts with the convenience of insincerity and dishonesty.And this one: "How can you threaten castration then say I'm sorry?" --Mike
posted by Anne at 7/10/2008 10:27:00 AM
This is one of my favorite H&G shows when I occasionally tune in. The most gruesome part is when a realtor comes in to preview and critique someone's home before they spruce it up for a successful sale. Designed to Sell came to Wilmette in this episode. Wilmette Life.
posted by Anne at 7/10/2008 08:15:00 AM
The latest disease we thought we'd stamped out around here is back. Reuters:
No deaths have been reported in the current outbreak.
States with cases, the CDC said, include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington state, as well as Washington, D.C.
Travelers got measles in Switzerland, Israel, Belgium, Italy, India, Germany, China, Pakistan, Russia and the Philippines, the CDC said.
Measles remains a leading cause of death among children in poor countries, killing about 250,000 people a year globally.
Personal philosophy has led many parents to opt out of vaccinating their children, leading to these kinds of outbreaks, even in upscale areas with good health care.
posted by Anne at 7/10/2008 08:10:00 AM
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 10:00:00 PM
Recent opinion polls have indicated strong public support for more domestic exploration. A Rasmussen Reports survey in June showed 67% of Americans support deepwater energy exploration -- with 64% expecting it will lower gas prices -- while a CNN poll published last week showed 73% of Americans favor more exploration of deep ocean energy resources far off U.S. shores.Conservation alone will never be enough, unless you and Barack and Al want us all to live in shacks like Al's protégé the Unabomber. (Are you delusional too Dick?) Go ahead, Dick, make my day. Show some leadership, show some statesmanship. Get your fellow Dems in Congress to approve US drilling. And we don't want overtime on this--we want sudden death. We want your political games over. It's judgment day.
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 09:15:00 PM
Sen. John McCain is hosting a woman-only town hall meeting this coming Friday in Hudson, WI, not far from the Twin Cities where the GOP will hold its convention this September. Tribune: McCain's town hall, to include his wife, Cindy McCain, will focus on the economic challenges faced by women in business. It is at J&L Steel Erectors in Hudson, just across the St. Croix River from Minneapolis-St. Paul. [snip]Obama may lead among women over all, but married women are key for McCain, and some Hillary voters may stay home or are looking for a home.
Women are the most important block of swing voters in the nation and have more political power in this election than ever before, McCain spokeswoman Leah Yoon said. Women support McCain because of his economic plan, which will provide immediate relief to families with lower gas and food prices, she said.
Women can especially relate to that because they frequently are the ones managing budgets for the home and businesses, Yoon said.
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 04:10:00 PM
Wilmette police are asking residents to lock their vehicles and garages after more than 20 burglaries were committed in the north suburb in the last three weeks.The last time we had a crime spree in one area the police told us it was not anything more than usual. This must be beyond that.
Most of the burglaries have been reported in the 200 and 300 blocks of Lawndale Avenue, the 300 to 500 blocks of Washington Avenue, the 600 to 1200 blocks of Gregory Avenue and the 1500 block of Highland Avenue, police said.
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 03:42:00 PM
You gotta love this. Chicago's nanny state culture is drawing national attention due in part to the Obama nanny state in store for us, but some have had second thoughts. Tribune. Sun Times, Alderman Brendan Reilly:Reilly said he would introduce the amendment at Wednesday's City Council meeting and push for speedy passage to allow the Chicago production of "Jersey Boys" to put cigarettes back into the hands of actors playing Frankie Valli and the boys.
"While I fully support the smoking ban and using it as a means to protect public health, I don't think it was ever intended to limit artistic expression. It would be wise for us to ... allow theater productions to obtain a special waiver when smoking is a critical component of their performance," said Reilly, a smoker.
Hey, we are all artists now. Liberals don't have a monopoly on artistic expression. Or at least we could be artists for a day...every day, why not?
The foie-gras ban was overturned because Chicago was a laughingstock, so maybe this will fall by the wayside as well. We live in hOpe.
P.S. Last word from the mayor:
Despite his efforts to promote Chicago's downtown theater district, Daley appeared to be somewhat ambivalent about the smoldering controversy.
"I think we should use common sense. Maybe they could do phony [herbal] cigarettes. I don't know," the mayor said.
But, Daley quickly added, "That is not a big issue."
Umm. What do liberal artists smoke?
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 12:11:00 PM
The Obama advertisement, his first negative one of the general campaign, calls Mr. McCain “part of the problem” of high gasoline prices. It likens the energy policies of Mr. McCain to those of President Bush, noting that both support easing restrictions on offshore oil drilling and linking the two to support for tax breaks for oil companies.Umm, Barack, those measures would increase supply which should lower prices over time. Geraghty with more. More confusion on his familial promotion from the great one (Obama family values--exploit your own kids for political gain.): HT Michelle Malkin
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 11:20:00 AM
Doug Ross lays out the relationship in big pictures so liberals can understand. I give you one picture, more here. HT Conservatism Today.
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 08:49:00 AM
Help young people in Iraq reclaim their future, send them books and open up a new world. I remember when we liberated Iraq, children were in jail and schools were stockpiled with weapons. Learning was scarce and books even more scarce. Girls especially, as in Afghanistan, were discouraged from going to school. Much has changed for the better since then. Nathan Musselman
The American University of Iraq—Sulaimani
Building No. 7, Street 10
Quarter 410
Ablakh Area
Sulaimani, Iraq
(+964) (0)770-461-5099
It's important to include the number at the end.
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 08:21:00 AM
Kitchen table issues like jobs, health care, gas and food prices are on voters' minds this year, but after the Supreme Court decision overturning the DC handgun ban, the 2nd amendment is on the table as well. This hits home for me as my suburb in Chicago instituted a handgun ban some years ago, along with the City of Chicago, similar to DC's. My town has suspended the law and I welcome the change. Why? The handgun ban was a welcome mat to criminals seeking an easy target for robbery. Our community will be safer now that they can't be sure what awaits them when they break into someone's home.The March 7 slaying-suicide and the wrenching ordeal that led to it illustrate the harsh realities of domestic violence and the limitations of the system designed to address it.The Tribune later editorialized for repeal (a kind of let them eat shotguns approach), but the Second Amendment Sisters want to be able to defend themselves. Then there are the honor killings, overseas and now here.
A woman’s risk of being seriously injured or killed by an intimate partner increases when she breaks off the relationship. In certain cases, a protective court order is not enough and the only viable option is for a woman to either enter a shelter or relocate, experts say.
The District would like to restrict women's choice of firearm to those it gauges most appropriate rather than to allow rational women the ability to decide whether a handgun is more suited to their needs. Petitioner's Brief cites two articles from firearms magazines in which a shotgun is mentioned as appropriate for home defense. Pet. Br. at 54-55. An assembled shotgun is certainly better than nothing and could provide deterrence benefits provided it is accessible to a woman. However, most women are best served by a handgun, lighter in weight, lighter in recoil, far less unwieldy for women with shorter arm spans, and far more easily carried around the home than a shotgun or rifle. Moreover, women who are holding a handgun are able to phone for assistance, while any type of long gun requires two hands to keep the firearm pointed at an assailant...Allison Kasic, Independent Women's Forum notes that gun bans do not reduce violent crime, in fact the reverse is true, in DC and elsewhere. Kasic also counts the benefit to the community, with the story of a brave grannie who stopped a serial rapist in his tracks.
--crossposted at BlogHerThe Framers of the Second Amendment did not say, "The people shall have the right to keep and bear arms." They wrote, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
posted by Anne at 7/09/2008 12:01:00 AM
posted by Anne at 7/08/2008 10:47:00 PM
posted by Anne at 7/08/2008 08:24:00 PM
The demagogues in Congress, mostly Dems, are poised to string up eeevil speculators for high gas prices, rather than approve drilling where the oil is in America. WSJ:
Congress always needs a political villain, but few are more undeserving. Futures trading merely allows market participants to determine the best estimate – based on available information like supply and demand and the rate of inflation – of what the real price of oil will be on the delivery date of the contracts. Such a basic price discovery mechanism lets major energy consumer
