Terri Schiavo Update

Fox News reports that Judge Greer's stay has been extended until 5 pm eastern, Friday, February 25th so that he can have more time to review the case. They also report that the Florida Department of Children and Families is asking to become involved. Michael's attorney is calling it an affront to the court and that it's injecting politics into the court system. Read it all here. Update: The family's website is currently down because of unusually high traffic. They have posted the following there.

The Schindler family are encouraged at the outcome of today's hearing before Judge Greer and are overwhelmed at the public outpouring of care and concern being shown to them and their daughter, Terri Schiavo.

The Schindler family also welcomes the involvement of Florida's Department of Children and Families (the state's health and human services agency) in their investigation into serious and detailed allegations of abuse and to ensure that appropriate care and treatment of Terri and patients like her is being delivered.

We ask that you please continue to think and pray for them and for Judge Greer as he takes this matter under advisement. Terri's life and the lives of many disabled, elderly and vulnerable people in Florida hang in the balance.

Welcome PoliPundit, La Shawn Barber, Pajama Hadin, House of the Dog Readers. Hat-Tip to La Shawn for this link to Matt Margolis' post on Living Wills. Hat-Tip to Michelle Malkin for this link to ProlifeBlogs Terri Aggregator.

Terri Schiavo

Please pray for Terri and her family as they come to a crux in the legal situation. Her husband has been fighting to end her life for the past eight years stating her wish not to continue living in these circumstances. He will not divorce her. He lives with another woman and their children. Terri's parents are willing and able to care for her. They do not believe her husband's claim that she said she would rather not go on. Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation Update: Fox News reports that the appeals court has cleared the way for Michael Schiavo to get his way... Please pray for Terri. The Miami-Herald has the story here. The judge issued an emergency stay until 5 pm tomorrow to allow a scheduled hearing to be held. Update 2: Fox News just reported that the stay has been extended until 5 pm Friday, February 25th. Keep praying. Remember, make your wishes (for end of life and organ donation) known in writing and verbally to as many family members as you can. On my father's death, the only organs that were suitable for donation were his corneas. Two people can see because of him. Welcome La Shawn Barber and Anchoress readers! - Please look around and Jeff has posted on this too - just above, please click on home. hat tip: Musing Minds reader Jeanette

Karl Rove - Evil Mastermind

LGF broke the story of Congressman Maurice Hinchey's (D-NY) remarks in Ithaca, NY on the Future of Social Security. Apparently, in Congressman Hinchey's opinion, Karl Rove was behind the forged documents leading to Ra^thergate. From the LGF transcript:

Congressman Hinchey: "And I said that. In the very beginning. I said 'It's my belief that those papers, and that setup, originated with Karl Rove and the White House.'" Audience Member: "Don't you think it's irresponsible to make charges like that?" Congressman Hinchey: "No, I don't. I think it's very important to make charges like that. I think it's very important to combat this kind of activity in every way that you can. And I'm willing - and most people are not - to step forward in situations like this and take risks."

Even when he doesn't have any kind of proof. Round up of other's musings on this: The Anchoress, Roger L Simon, Powerline, VRWC#1 Member, Polipundit, Betsy's Page, RightWingNews, INDC Journal, Myopic Zeal Update: Brit Hume just mentioned this story in his "Grapevine" segment on Special Report. Update 2: more from GOP and the City: Conspiracy Theory: Rove Planted CBS Docs Update 3: Welcome Confederate Yankee readers (please look around): "A Host of Political Dirty Tricks"

Welcome Mover Mike Readers

Mover Mike, based in Portland, OR has linked to, and quoted from, one of our posts. He's also added us to his blogroll.

Welcome Anchoress Readers

The playhouse post is just a few posts down. Here's a link to go directly there. Be sure to click the link to Edward's SafeBuilding article.

KidSafe Playhouses - Safety First.

Edward, a friend who builds Kidsafe Playhouses for Children, had this to say about his playhouses (scroll down for pictures): Children need a place for imaginative play. It develops creativity, socialization and encourages exploration of ideas. If that place is unsafe and a child gets hurt they will not want to use it (and thus money wasted). Furthermore, play is most developmental if it is interactive with other children. A safe playhouse means a child can invite friends over and all parents can rest easy. Developing friendships and interaction involved is a major stepping stone in the development of the child. My playhouses also encourage parents and grandparents to participate in the play since all are built with an adult door. It is hard to come for “tea” if the only entrance is 4ft tall and only 18 inches wide. Properly constructed playhouses can be used for many, many years. With the adult door it can be used for winter storage. As the child grows it can be a quiet place for a teen to study. When the child finally out grows it, as a young adult, it can become a potting shed, a sewing room or even just a place to display a collection. In fact the dressing up of the playhouse can occur though out its use by children. Imagine a spooky haunted house, or place to hold a child’s thanksgiving feast suitably decorated with corn stalks, Indian Corn, Squash and anything else the parent and child can think of. Maybe Santa’s workshop for a Christmas theme, at 8 x 10 feet (and low to the ground) two strings of holiday lights will do all of the roof edges, windows doors and maybe more. Valentines Day, St Patties and Easter are also possible with in the attention span of child given the small size of the playhouse. However none of this means anything if the playhouse is not designed for children or worse yet not safe for them. Click here for an article Edward wrote for the July 24, 2004 issue of Construction Guide (reprinted here with the Author's permission). If you are interested in the KidSafe Playhouses, leave an email address in the comments and Edward will get back to you. Welcome G as in Good H as in Happy Readers. Belated welcome Anchoress readers. Playhouse Safe Corner Detail Loft Detail 8/18/05 - new pictures here

60th Anniversary

Via Real Clear Politics: From Opinion Journal Iwo Jima: The famous battle offers lessons for us 60 years later. BY ARTHUR HERMAN

From WWII Magazine Iwo Jima: Its Heroes and Flag : A young naval officer and the flag he rescued from obscurity made history. By R.C. House

Blogswarming SS Reform

Conservative in Texas had some thoughts about grassroots support for SS reform after hearing the results of a poll on the radio that indicated popular support is declining. He emailed David Limbaugh with his idea and David has some thoughts on this as well. David says:

It seems to me that bloggers, by definition, are a grassroots phenomenon. But they are like grassroots on stilts because their work is immediately published and potentially explosive in terms of its ability to reverberate to the corners of the earth instantly and efficiently. Some might argue that the very notion of a concerted blogging effort is counterintuitive, since one of the best attributes of bloggers is their independence. But they don't have to sacrifice their independence to become part of an organized effort with whose goals they happen to agree.

Link to the White House's page on SS Reform here. Link to the WSJ article here. (Subscription required. I don't have one so I don't know exactly what it says). Update: link to USANext , Building a Legacy of Freedom for Families

President Bush Signs Class-Action Fairness Law

In the first bill signing of 2005, President Bush signed Class-Action Fairness into law. Full text of the remarks are here.

Overall, junk lawsuits have driven the total cost of America's tort system to more than $240 billion a year, greater than any other major industrialized nation. It creates a needless disadvantage for America's workers and businesses in a global economy, imposes unfair costs on job creators, and raises prices to consumers.

We have a responsibility to confront frivolous litigation head on. I will continue working with Congress to pass meaningful legal reforms, starting with reform in our asbestos and medical liability systems.

Iowa Supremes get it right

Via Fox News: The Iowa Supreme Court decided today that Illegal Aliens do not have the right to get driver's licenses in the State of Iowa.

Mark Hunacek, an assistant attorney general, said federal courts have concluded there is no constitutional right for illegal aliens to have a driver's license.

"We conclude the state's licensing scheme is rationally related to the legitimate state interest of 'not allowing its governmental machinery to be a facilitator for the concealment of illegal aliens,' " the court said.

Blog Name Change

Since Jeff has joined me, this isn't just Kim's Thoughts and Observations anymore... Now it's Musing Minds. URL is the same...

And the Patriot Act is too invasive???

Hybird cars are a bad thing ... at least for state gas tax revenues. Apparently those cars that use less gas and are better for the environment are not so good for revenue... Now they want to install GPS in your car to track how many miles you've driven and tax you some more... GOP Bloggers brings our attention to a story on CBS News from Monday regarding a per mile driven tax that is being tested in Oregon and considered in California.

States Mull Taxing Drivers By Mile "Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that," says engineer David Kim. Kim and fellow researcher David Porter at Oregon State University equipped a test car with a global positioning device to keep track of its mileage. Eventually, every car would need one.

Having the state government know where I am at any time? Uploading that information through the gas pump every time I fill up? Getting penalized for travelling during rush hour?? Perhaps this would slide down the slippery slope to penalize me for driving on city roads, for short trips (such as taking my child to pre-school - 2 miles one way)?

More On the First Amendment

Sneaking Suspicions has a story on the two Baltimore Sun journalists who were frozen out by Maryland Governor Erlich. They have sued because Governor Erlich issued a memo telling staffers not to speak to them. Under the First Amendment they do have the right to ask me questions. Under the First Amendment I do have the right to not answer their questions. It seems to me that many journalists feel that the First Amendment means that I have to answer their questions... These two found out otherwise... Go read it. Hat tip: Instapundit

MSM - No special rights to not testify

Beldar has a most excellent analysis of the DC Circuit's decision in the Judith Miller contempt case. Beldar's scorecard on the DC Circuit's Plame decision today: Prosecution 34, Journalists 0: Go read it all. Beldar also mentions Orin Kerr's post on The Volokh Conspiracy: DC Circuit on Blogging and the Reporter's Privilege.

Judge Sentelle pointed out some of the difficulties of applying such a privilege in light of the blogosphere:

Perhaps more to the point today, does the privilege also protect the proprietor of a web log: the stereotypical "blogger" sitting in his pajamas at his personal computer posting on the World Wide Web his best product to inform whoever happens to browse his way? If not, why not? How could one draw a distinction consistent with the court's vision of a broadly granted personal right? If so, then would it not be possible for a government official wishing to engage in the sort of unlawful leaking under investigation in the present controversy to call a trusted friend or a political ally, advise him to set up a web log (which I understand takes about three minutes) and then leak to him under a promise of confidentiality the information which the law forbids the official to disclose?

Go read the rest.

Reese Schonfeld CNN Co-Founder

Reese Schonfeld, CNN Co-founder just said on Neil Cavuto that CNN caved to pressure and "fired another one, like Arnett, without the goods." I don't know if there's going to be a transcript at Fox News. He also said that Eason Jordan said what he said "to protect journalists". JohnnyDollar'sPlace has a transcript from an interview with Reese Schonfeld earlier today on Fox & Friends. Here's a piece from the earlier interview:

DOOCY: Right. So here's a guy who had made those comments in the op-ed piece a couple of years ago, and really stirred up a hornet's nest. And now he says this. Did he really have much of a job over there? I mean, was he a guy who was a marginal character and they said, it's not worth the heat? SCHONFELD: I thought they had marginalized him after that. I'm surprised that he got to speak at Davos. I mean, they should have learned enough not to send him out and let him open his mouth anywhere. You know, CNN, the Confused News Network.

Bold mine.

It just gets sicker

I always thought the Mary Kay Letoureau/Vili Fualauu story was sickening - but this just takes the cake. Fox News reports that they have set a wedding date.

"It's been long overdue," said Noel Soriano, a longtime friend of the family who confirmed Sunday that they will marry this spring. "It's going to be fabulous, seeing them get hitched finally."

No. It's just sick.

McAuliffe's Sad Farewell

PoliPundit links to Byron York's description of Terry McAuliffe's "Farewell Tribute" last Thursday night. Byron says, "How do you pay tribute to a man whose main legacy was losing elections?" It reads like a parody but it's true. Almost, almost feel sorry for the man. Can't wait to see what the new guy will do.

Like the Terrorists Using Civilian Shields

From Guest Blogger Jeff: (cross posted at PoliPundit) Last night I watched CNN’s Aaron Brown do a very solemn piece about Lynne Stewart, the lawyer who was convicted of assisting her client conduct terrorist activities. The solemnity did not appear to be based on the alarming fact that a US attorney would threaten her fellow citizens this way, but on the punishment that Stewart faced for her crimes. CNN’s piece made particular mention of the fact that she faced many years in prison and further noted that Stewart had children. It is completely revolting (though not surprising) that CNN would focus on her loss, given the hundreds of children in recent years who have learned of their parents’ death at the hands of terrorists, perhaps the very terrorists Stewart assisted. What was further revolting was the “thought provoking” discussion CNN attempted to raise about how Stewart was prosecuted using video taped evidence of her meetings with her client. CNN showed Stewart, apparently a victim herself, giving a tearful and impassioned speech to the press about the evils of government denying its citizens the right to counsel, without in any way scrutinizing what Stewart was saying. The problem is there is no thought provoking issue here. Solicitor and client privilege does not extend to communications in the furtherance of a criminal activity. This isn’t cutting edge, ground breaking jurisprudence either, but a longstanding rule of law. The foundations of this rule are not simply based on the policy that a lawyer must not be shielded from his or her own criminal activity, but are based on protecting the sanctity of the solicitor and client privilege itself. If the privilege is allowed to become a tool for committing wrongs its very existence is threatened. Lawyers who abuse the privilege do so with the knowledge that they are jeopardizing others’ right to effective legal assistance in the future. That Lynne Stewart would continue to tearfully proclaim the sanctity of the very privilege she was threatening, like the terrorist hiding behind civilians in the battlefield, shows just how much she has become like her clients. That CNN would, to any degree, portray her as a victim of the justice system shows just how far CNN’s leanings have become like those of Stewart and her clients.

North Korea - Has Nukes, No Talks

Fox News reports that North Korea is now claiming that they have nuclear weapons and will not return to six party talks anytime soon. The North Korean Government claim that they need them for self defense against " what it considers an increasingly hostile United States." There has been no independent verification of North Korea's claims. hat tip: Command Post

Prince Charles to Marry

Prince Charles is going to marry Camilla-Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle on April 8th. The Fox News story points out that:

Last year, a poll indicated that more Britons support Prince Charles marrying Parker Bowles than oppose it. Thirty-two percent of respondents to the Populus poll said they would support Charles if he remarried, while 29 percent were opposed. Thirty-eight percent said they didn't care and 2 percent had no opinion.

Four Year Olds

President Bush was just on Fox News. I asked my four year old who that was on TV. He said, "That's George Bush". I asked him what was George Bush's job. He answered, "Guarding the country!". That's pretty good for a four year old! I wasn't quite sure if he said "guarding" or "guiding". Each is correct. I'm just not sure if he knows what guiding means.

Recipricocity

Conservative in Texas left me a comment and mentioned that he'd blogrolled me. I've blogrolled him. Nice site. Stop by and look around.

Prickly City

Yesterday the Chicago Tribune didn't print the Prickly City comic. This is a comic with a conservative viewpoint. The paper published Bizzaro in its place with the following notice:

• “Today’s Prickly City does not meet the Chicago Tribune’s standards of fairness. Please enjoy this substitute.”

The Prickly City comic from yesterday can be viewed here. You decide. Update: The Chicago Tribune prints Doonesbury every day. (I meant to put this in when I first posted this)

The Budget & the VA

Being a service-connected disable veteran I am very interested in the VA portion of the budget. The Washington Times yesterday had an article on the budget. I excerpt the VA portion here:

VETERANS AFFAIRS Spending: $33.4 billion, up 2.7 percent The president's plan would raise medical care spending from $21.6 billion to $22.4 billion, as well as upping funding by $240 million on inpatient care for veterans with problems related to mental illness, including alcohol and drug use. After four years of increases in the agency's budget, Mr. Bush wants veterans to start picking up more of the tab. He asks veterans who have the highest incomes among those seeking VA health care and who do not have service-connected illnesses or injuries to pay a $250 annual fee. Mr. Bush also wants to increase prescription drug co-payments for such veterans from $7 to $15 for a 30-day drug supply. More than 2 million veterans could be affected. The fees make up much of the increase in medical care spending. Mr. Bush has made similar requests in previous budgets, only to be soundly rejected by members of Congress. But the environment is different this year with new House and Senate veterans affairs committee chairmen, at least one of whom has been supportive of the president's efforts to focus resources on certain veterans.

This seems very reasonable to me. Of course, as a service-connected disabled veteran, I wouldn't have to pay the $250 annual fee. I don't have co-pays for meds relating to my disability, but I do have the copay for meds that aren't related such as Flonase. The above points out that more than 2 million veterans could be affected. That's could be affected. I would believe that most of the wealthier vets, or those without a service-connected illness or disability don't use the VA system for health care anyway. Captain Ed has more on this here.

The Diplomad is leaving...

It is with heavy heart that I remove Diplomad from my blogroll. They are leaving... (via Powerline). Powerline says:

The Diplomad debuted in August 2004 and made an immediate impact. It sounded too good to be true: "A Blog by career US Foreign Service officers. They are Republican (most of the time) in an institution (State Department) in which being a Republican can be bad for your career -- even with a Republican President." Republicans in the State Department? I would have thought that it was easier to find a unicorn. Yet in post after post, The Diplomad provided a proudly pro-American insider's perspective on breaking events around the world.

The Diplomad says:

The Chief Diplomad urges all of you to read the very well written brother sites at Daily Demarche and New Sisyphus (maybe they'll let us put up an occasional posting.) We've heard that our Republican cousins over at USAID might be starting a blog, too, so keep an out eye for it. The Diplomad says good bye and thanks.

Goodbye and God Bless you Diplomad, we'll miss you...

Groundhog Day

It’s February 2^nd again. It’s a lovely, sunny day here just like in Punxsutawney, PA where Punxsutawney Phil has run back into his house signaling six more weeks of winter. Let’s look at this:

• The first day of spring this year is on March 20^th. Palm Sunday.
• There are 26 days left in February.
• There are 7 days in a week.
• 20 + 26 = 46
• 46 / 7 = 6.57

hmmm... Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter… there are 6.57 more weeks of winter… Who’da thunk it???

More Hostages

Apparently the terrorists in Iraq have kidnapped an action figure named Cody and they have the picture to prove it. (Via Polipundit). I have found four more pictures of hostages... Elmo, Blue, and Barney Troll Boots and Dora (actually Dora looks to be having a Barbara Boxer hair day) American Contractor: Bob Builder

Safety First With Children

By Guest Blogger Edward A couple were looking over a playhouse I'd just built for their daughter and both used the term "sweet". She was charmed by the Victorian aesthetics, while he had just noticed some construction detail. Even though I have been doing this awhile (20 years) both usages are still music to my ears. Neither noticed "safe". Mostly because safety comes from what is not there; no sharp corners, no splinters, non-toxic finishes, sturdy ladders. I am proud of my designs and I keep costs down by using materials efficiently, but I am truly most concerned about safety. Since they are for children, child safety is paramount. Unfortunately, there are no state or federal safety standards for playhouses. What we have here is a compilation of many sources, plus the aforementioned 20 years covering the things they missed. A comment about these sources. Two of the more useful sources have been the United States Army Corps of Engineers play area inspection and maintenance program for base child development centers and the Canadian Esbensen Playground Safety Checklist. Building for the present and the future - "Adorable", "delightful", "enchanting" and even "cute" are all terms I hear from clients when asked what they want in a playhouse. The little secret is that the play houses are built for kids, including the kid in all adults. This is not a bad thing because kids grow and their needs change, and eventually move out on their own. A properly designed playhouse can accommodate all of these needs if some time is taken early in the design process. If you think about a "detached studio" with some fantasy architecture you've got the idea. Think in terms of a place for an adolescent to read or a teen to study or a grandmother's very own studio for crafts, writing or even a garden shed. While there are lots of options; think about a dream house that is too much (cost and effort) in full size, but lots of fun in miniature. Or a "vanity" playhouse, one designed to mimic the main house. Thinking about the future makes sense. Roofs - If the roof edge is less than 7' (seven feet) corners should be rounded. Don't even think about metal drip edges. The corners made by metal drip edges can make an absolutely nasty cut in the scalp of a child running around the playhouse. Radius the corner and use vinyl drip edge. When notched with a series of v shaped cuts, vinyl will bend around the corner. The roof sheathing should be half inch or thicker. This is not for strength, but to prevent nails from penetrating the sheathing and protruding into the interior. Using three-quarter inch roofing nails will also help. This is especially important for playhouses with lofts. Safety tip for the roof installer. The short roofing nails will cause bashed thumbs if you try an hold them between your thumb and index finger. This might be how you hold other nails and a purple thumb might be a badge of honor, but there is a better way. Hold the nail between the index and middle fingers with the head on the pads of the fingers. Lay the back of your hand flat on the roof and drive the nail. It won't hurt (as much) if you miss and the nail will go in straight with less chance of misses. While we are talking about roofs, I only use full soffits. Yes it is slightly more expensive, but the playhouse looks better, it is easier to paint and reduces the places for wasps to nest. Air flow - playhouses need adequate ventilation to prevent heat built up, even if insulated, the small space can heat quickly. Soffit and roof vents make sure that there is always some air movement. If the playhouse is later insulated they are already in place. Windows - The windows are second only to doors in difficulties. The wrong size is visually problematic. The wrong materials can make them hard to open, reducing ventilation or dangerous in some cases. Most of my playhouses are eventually insulated, so I use commercial vinyl windows with insulated glass. They are visually clean, have screens and about the same price as making a small custom window. The smallest stock single hung windows are about 24" wide by 30" tall. This is a little over-sized, but unless it is a vanity playhouse where the proportions would be ruined, over-sized windows make a playhouse light and airy, literally. They let in more natural light and the larger openings let in more air. I avoid barn sash, although they are awfully cute, the glass is only single strength and there are complications to the installation. Likewise, I avoid casement windows for two reasons. First, they are hard for children to operate. Second, they open outward, right into the path of a running child. If budget or proportions dictate building windows, the glass should be tempered safety glass or Plexiglas. Homemade (shopmade) windows should be hinged to open inward and mounted to lay flat against the wall. Screen can be stapled over the opening before the exterior trim is screwed on. A hinged window is better in this case because it is hard to build windows that open upward easily, but come down slowly. A window that drops down is a breakage and pinching hazard. Hardware - Hardware such as window latches , drawer pulls, door knobs, etc. need to be selected carefully. Make sure that metal edges are aren't too sharp and hinges and latches operate smoothly. A door latch that has to be slammed to close is an accident waiting to happen. Doors - the best playhouses have two doors. The prominent one for child play on the front. A second adult access door can be built unobtrusively in the back or side. This lets you supervise and play with your children. It also permits future or winter use for storage (bikes do well to winter in a playhouse). The adult door can be constructed of the siding material or a real pre-hung exterior door. The child door should be proportioned to the playhouse. A Dutch door is often a good choice. It added ventilation when the top is opened and can be fun. The exterior latch should be attached to the lower portion and the top hooked from the inside to the bottom. This way the top can opened and latch operated if needed. While you're considering doors, think about an entry landing of some sort. It could be a full porch or deck. It could be as little as patio pavers or even just an area of pea gravel. It should be something to catch the mud of little shoes. It will also keep the front of playhouse from becoming a mud pit. Foundation - Keep the playhouse close enough to the ground to discourage weeds and children crawling under it. It should be high enough to permit drainage and to keep the floor from rotting. While you're at it geofabric (weed-stop) and gravel should extend two feet in each direction beyond the footprint of the play house. While not strictly a safety issue it keeps rain dripping off the roof from turning the perimeter in to mud channels. Ladder and Lofts - Lofts should have safety railing. The railing can be solid or with spindles. Spindles should be spaced no more than 4" apart to keep heads from being trapped. Ladders or stairs should be well constructed and sufficient for adults. Angled ladders are easier to climb. If using a ladder for loft access, opt for a removable one with hooks that anchor it when in place. This way, it can be stored until the children are old enough to climb safely. The loft should be equipped with some sort of handholds to ease the transition from the ladder to the loft (or more importantly the transition from the loft to the ladder). If the floor is of plywood an excellent handhold is a hand-sized oval (4" wide by 1") cut right in the floor and sanded smooth. Most of my loft floors are made of 1x6 pine, varnished with the edges rounded over. With proper spacing the gaps become the hand holds. Also, any dirt tends to fall to the first floor, where it is easier to sweep up. Stairs should be equipped with a hand rail and no steeper than 45˚. Stairs with a landing can make use of the space by making a "cubby" under the landing. Pad any openings shorter than your child is tall with carpet scraps. Splinter hazards - wood is one of the best materials with which to build. However wood has splinters and while they can not be avoided altogether there are some things that can be done to minimize the risks. Exposed wood should be sanded, sealed or painted. Check that nail and screw holes are filled. Screws are especially notorious for raising splinters around the head of the screw when it is driven too deeply. Power drivers make it easy to over drive screws. Run your hand over any screw just driven. If you can feel the wood forced up, knock down the splinters with some sand paper. Interior wood can be painted or for the luxury playhouses dry wall can be installed and finished. Materials, Paints and Finishes - Different materials have different toxicities. Some panel sheets are manufactured with urea formaldehyde glue. The smaller the wood fibers, the more glue used in manufacture. Newly manufactured panels can be stacked to let air circulate for a few days and let most of the fumes evaporate. Exposed surfaces should be painted. Hint, paint the panel BEFORE you use them and it will make the interior easy to paint. Also, it will let paint fumes escape (just TRY to keep kids out their THEIR new play house while you're painting the inside). Use a low-odor paint if possible to finish the interior (you've already painted the panels, right). Siting (playhouse placement) - Depending on your child's age you may want to consider building in a spot that is within sight and hearing range of the main house. If there is to be some distance consider an intercom. In any case, shading from the afternoon sun will make it the most useful by keeping it from over heating. The shading can be from the shadow of the main house or a convenient tree, but in neither case close enough that one could access the roof. While this article has not addressed how to build a playhouse, it should help guide you. Two rules of thumb, can what I am building support me and is there any way a child could get hurt building it this way. Any no's to the first question and it is not strong enough, any yes'es to the second and I have to figure out a safe way to build it. Remember, if it is not safe, there is no point in building it.

Election Reform

In order to have real election reform I suggest we take the following steps:

• Purge all voter rolls everywhere, requiring everyone who is eligible to re-register.
• Require immediate verification when a motor/voter registration is received by the county (or whatever governmental entity is responsible for registrations).
• eliminate same day registrations. Local and Primary Election days are scheduled. Federal elections are always on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
• Require that "snowbirds" be registered at the address the IRS uses for taxes. If they are at their other residence at the time, they can vote absentee.
• Eliminate "provisional" ballots. Every voter registration card should have the registered voter's name, polling place with address, and all relevant "districts" printed on it. You then have your card that tells you exactly where you need to go to vote.
• Require photo ID. It's not really that difficult. Most DMV's will issue a "state photo ID". And don't you need one to cash a check anywhere anymore?
• All polling places should be prepared for 100% turnout to minimize the "lengthy line" problem.
• Mail out a sample ballot ahead of the election. Some newspapers print them, but they can be hard to find or incomplete. Also, an undeliverable sample ballot will indicate a problem.

Any more ideas?

Kerry was Consistent!

He voted against Condi before he voted against her. Here's the complete list... Akaka (HI) · Bayh (IN) · Boxer (CA) · Byrd (WV) · Dayton (MN) · Durbin (IL) · Harkin (IA) · Jeffords (VT) · Kennedy (MA) · Kerry (MA) · Lautenberg (NJ) · Levin (MI) · Reed (RI)

Passion gets 3 Oscar nods

The Passion of the Christ was nominated for three Oscars: Cinematography, Makeup, and Original Score. Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11 was Shut Out!

NRO changes URL for Geraghty's TKS

The URL has changed for Jim Geraghty's TKS (formerly The Kerry Spot): TKS http://www.nationalreview.com/tks/tks.asp

Some thoughts...

Newdow: One of his reasons for continuing with his suit against prayer at the inauguration is that listening to a prayer will "force him to accept unwanted religious beliefs." How exactly does hearing a prayer force anyone to accept anything? I have been to a bar mitzvah, spent the entire time in a synagogue, listening to prayers. I wasn't converted to Judaism, nor forced to accept anything. Boxer & Botox: They voted against Condi. Botox said he was making a statement, he had to "vote his gut". It's amazing how Boxer so conveniently forgot that the resolution contained at least seven reasons to go to Iraq.

BOXER: Well, you should you read what we voted on when we voted to support the war, which I did not, but most of my colleagues did. It was WMD, period. That was the reason and the causation for that particular vote.

Joint Resolution here. Biden: He insulted Condi by suggesting that she would hold a grudge against him in the future if he didn't vote for her now.

If they taught math...

Kellipundit reports that 6th grade math scores are steadily declining in Newton, Mass. It seems that the school district is teaching anti-racist multicultural math.

In 2001 Mr. Young, Mrs. Wyatt and an assortment of other well-paid school administrators, defined the new number-one priority for teaching mathematics, as documented in the curriculum benchmarks, "Respect for Human Differences - students will live out the system wide core of 'Respect for Human Differences' by demonstrating anti-racist/anti-bias behaviors." It continues, "Students will: Consistently analyze their experiences and the curriculum for bias and discrimination; Take effective anti-bias action when bias or discrimination is identified; Work with people of different backgrounds and tell how the experience affected them; Demonstrate how their membership in different groups has advantages and disadvantages that affect how they see the world and the way they are perceived by others..." It goes on and on.(/snip)

Gee, and I thought math was 1 + 1 = 2 and 2 x 4 = 8...

Golden Globes - Ann watched so we don't have to

Ann Althouse watched so we don't have to. Ann Althouse Live-blogged the Golden Globes last night. I'm glad I didn't watch.

"Life and Death of Peter Sellers" wins. Actually, it did have the best clip. Three boring producer guys make their way to the stage while we hear the record "What's New Pussycat?" Speech: booooorrrrrinnnnngggggggg.

Condolences

The Anchoress' brother, "S", passed away this morning. She and her family have my condolences and prayers.

Cat Blogging

Dodger's sleeping but Bitsy looks interested... (not photoshopped - my Mother bought me the book [review {BlogFlog} to follow])

Suffering through living

Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost is posting on the Dutch Euthanasia decision by the Royal Dutch Medical Association that doctors ought to be able to help those "suffering through living" to have doctor assisted suicide. There will always be utterly selfish people who think that suicide is the way out of any trouble they're in. They don't think through to all the trouble that they leave behind. This seems to give those who would commit suicide some kind of validation of their selfish determination to end their life. "Oh, you lost your job and can't pay your bills? I diagnose suffering through living. Here's a presciption for something that will end your suffering by ending your life." Depending on your particular views of an afterlife this might end your suffering, or it might be only the beginning... Drew at Darn Floor wrote on this a while ago and I linked to his post in this post of mine. One of the commenters (Mark O) on Joe's post reminds us of Romans 5:3-5

³Not only so, but we^[a] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Teddy on Barak

As seen on Special Report with Brit Hume yesterday (paraphrased, but accurate): Teddy Kennedy - the new senator from Illinois - Osama bin Ladin I mean Osama Obama, Oh, Obama.

Change of Template

I have heard from a couple of people that they couldn't read my blog in Firefox (everything was squeezed down the left side) so I changed the template. I have also downloaded and used Firefox to check that it is now readable. You can download Firefox for free here.

2004 deduction for Tsunami Donations by end of month

Direct Link to The Captain's campaign. As of 7:30 am CST 1/13/05 the total is $34,223.16! From the News & Observer in NC (last three paragraphs of story):

Taxpayers may be able to deduct donations to victims of the South Asian tsunami if contributions are made to tax-exempt U.S. charities. But these organizations must have "full control and discretion over the use of such funds," according to the IRS. Donations to individual victims or foreign charities that do not qualify as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code cannot be claimed. Taxpayers making donations through Jan. 31, 2005, to aid tsunami victims will be able to claim deductions on their 2004 tax returns under legislation the House and Senate cleared Thursday for President Bush's signature. Otherwise taxpayers would have to wait until 2006 to claim a tax deduction for tsunami contributions made this month.

So donations made to help The Captain with World Relief Day can be deducted on your 2004 taxes. Keep those donations coming... Other stories on this site related to Tsunami aid: US aid $350 million and counting - Updated Another way to help with Tsunami Aid Watch out for Tsunami Aid Fraud

Rather's rather lame response

The Anchoress has Dan Ra^ther's ra^ther lame response to the "Report" (via TKS [formerly known as The Kerry Spot]). I agree that it's lame, about as lame as his "apology".

Lest anyone have any doubt, I have read the report, I take it seriously, and I shall keep its lessons well in mind. Dan Rather

Of course the Report didn't find any evidence of political bias, and that's what he's really interested in.

Side by Side Analysis of Swift Boats-Rathergate

Lorie over at Polipundit has an excellent post on the massive differences between how the MSM covered Ra^thergate and the Swift Boat Veterans. Click here for More Thoughts on Ra^thergate. In an earlier post (Nov 22) here I noted: Newsweek's Periscope on Unfit for Command In Newsweek's Persicope section, page 9 there is a short article by Susannah Meadows about the all the political books that used to be on the front tables at the bookstores. In this article she says: "Even the conservative imprint Regenery isn't giving up yet on O'Neill's book [Unfit for Command], the now largely discredited attack on Kerry's military service. The publisher is planning to market its remaining copies as the book that brought the candidate down." (emphasis mine). Is it largely discredited because the liberals say it is? I still haven't seen any proof of its being discredited. Haven't seen Kerry's records (still hasn't signed the Form 180) proving that what John O'Neill says isn't true. The MSM has always just dismissed the Swift Boat Veterans out of hand, yet even after 5 years of "investigation" Mary Mapes could never come up with anything valid about her accusations about President Bush. Yesterday on Fox News they had a regular DNC hack, Jenny. She keeps drinking that kool-aid. She repeated the line that Bush has never come out and said he wasn’t awol and he’s never said he didn’t get special treatment and the questions raised about his service are still valid... She never mentions that Kerry never signed the 180, that he hasn't answered any of the questions that still hang over his head...

Death by Committee - Redux

Drew at Darn Floor has a new post about the Dutch and physician assisted death. I wrote about the Groningen Protocol and my disabled daughter here. Drew has written about an English assisted suicide law and now the Dutch are considering assisted suicide for "people who may not be ill, but consider themselves as 'suffering through living.'" Drew's last paragraph:

When someone feels his life is not worth living, it falls to us -- fellow members of the human race -- to show him that his life has value. It is abhorrent and repulsive that anyone -- but especially doctors -- would inform someone in despair that, no, his life is not worth living and he ought to just kill himself.

Mapes Fired

CBS has finally released their report on Ra^thergate. Three executives and Mary Mapes have been fired. CBS version of the story here. Andrew Heyward and Dan Ra^ther have escaped further action. The Anchoress has the text of Les Moonves' memo to CBS employees Michelle Malkin has a post on the connections between Mary Mapes, Col. David Hackworth, Ra^thergate and Abu Ghraib

(CBS) Four CBS News employees, including three executives, have been ousted for their role in preparing and reporting a disputed story about President Bush’s National Guard service. The action was prompted by the report of an independent panel that concluded that CBS News failed to follow basic journalistic principles in the preparation and reporting of the piece. The panel also said CBS News had compounded that failure with “rigid and blind” defense of the 60 Minutes Wednesday report. Asked to resign were Senior Vice President Betsy West, who supervised CBS News primetime programs; 60 Minutes Wednesday Executive Producer Josh Howard; and Howard’s deputy, Senior Broadcast Producer Betsy West. The producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, was terminated. The correspondent on the story, CBS News anchor Dan Ra^ther, is stepping down as anchor of CBS Evening News. “We deeply regret the disservice this flawed 60 MinutesWednesday report did to the American public, which has a right to count on CBS News for fairness and accuracy,” said CBS President Les Moonves. The panel said a "myopic zeal" to be the first news organization to broadcast a groundbreaking story about Mr. Bush’s National Guard service was a key factor in explaining why CBS News had produced a story that was neither fair nor accurate and did not meet the organization’s internal standards. The report said at least four factors that some observers described as a journalistic “Perfect Storm” had contributed to the decision to broadcast a piece that was seriously flawed. "The combination of a new 60 Minutes Wednesday management team, great deference given to a highly respected producer and the network’s news anchor, competitive pressures, and a zealous belief in the truth of the segment seem to have led many to disregard some fundamental journalistic principles," the report said.

On Fox News this morning Jim Pinkerton highlighted the phrase: "great deference given to a highly respected producer and the network's news anchor" indicating that this means Ra^ther really, really wanted this to be true and to go forward with it. The CBS report also states that “the Panel cannot conclude that a political agenda at 60 Minutes Wednesday drove either the timing of the airing of the segment or its content.” Mary Mapes was also faulted for a clear conflict of interest by coordinating with Joe Lockhart of the Kerry campaign. They have decided that further action against Ra^ther is unnecessary because he has already stepped down and will no longer be the news anchor come March. Fox News has a report as well here. pdf of the 234 page report is here.

Amber Frey - Cashing In

Amber seems to be cashing in on the tragedy of Laci and Connor. This is sickening. Now she's "written" a book and is making the rounds to promote it. Got to extend those 15 minutes of fame (infamy) as long as you can.

M-Law's 8th Annual Wacky Warning Label Contest

And the Winner is... A disposable toilet brush that states: "Do not use for personal hygiene." Read the rest. (Via Overlawyered)

La Shawn asks: Social Security Reform As Reparations?

From La Shawn's Blog: Social Security Reform as Reparations?

“Would liberals support Social Security reform if they thought of it as reparations for blacks?” Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, asks a question I’d never thought of asking white liberals. Yet it seems so obvious. Liberals support “reparations” and any other idiotic idea complaining blacks come up with. I’ve always argued that blacks are receiving reparations: welfare, entitlements and all manner of skin color preferences.

She concludes with:

I want the power to use my own initiative, motivation and creativity in choosing how, when and where to invest the money I earn. But we live in an era where the government knows what’s best for us, right? Attention Washington: Keep the criminals out of my neighborhood and away from me and family, protect us from terrorists and illegal aliens bankrupting the system, and I’ll be just fine. Jack part of my salary for various state duties, if you must, but let me and my brain come up with our retirement plan. Get off my back and out of my pocket.

Ditto.

Save The Portraits!

What is it with dicators and their portraits? Are they so narcissistic that they must see themselves everywhere? Captain Ed points us to a story about civil defense orders signed by Kim Jong Il himself directing the movement of his many portraits and busts to secure areas in underground bunkers if the U.S. attacks.

Watch out for Tsunami Aid Fraud

Michelle Malkin has a copy of a spam letter that looks as if it were copied from the infamous Niger letter.

My name is Marco Nula; I am a victim of the recent Earthquake followed by the Tsunami that wrecked our whole society of Banda Aceh Province in Indonesia resulting in painful death of my Parents. My Late Father Mr. Alfredo Nula is from Paramaribo in Suriname (South America) and my Mother from Banda of Aceh Province in Indonesia, they got married in Suriname because Indonesia like Suriname was a colony of The Netherlands, but they moved to settle in Indonesia when my Sister and I were born and because Indonesia has better economy than Suriname, but my Sister and I was away in School in the Capital Jakarta when this sorrowful incidence happened to my late parents and all other Families affected by the Quake and the Tsunamis all around Sumatra and Aceh Province. ...

Read the rest. Updated: From two previous posts: Captain Ed at Captain's Quarters has designated January 12th World Relief Day (direct link to the Captain's Campaign. As of 7:30 am CST on 1/13/05 it's at $34,223.16! ) and Donald Sensing at One Hand Clapping forwards a request from Chief Wiggles for Relief Kits that are easy to assemble and FedEx will pick up for free.

Saudi Cleric Blames Christmas for Tsunami

Saudi Cleric Muhammed Al-Munajjid in an interview blamed the tsunami on Christmas. Memri has an excerpt of an interview with him (with video clip #452 [no permalink to video]):

Al-Munajjid: The problem is that the (Christian) holidays are accompanied by forbidden things, by immorality, abomination, adultery, alcohol, drunken dancing, and… and revelry. A belly dancer costs 2500 pounds a minute and a singer costs 50,000 pounds an hour, and they hop from one hotel to another from night to dawn. Then he spends the entire night defying Allah. Haven't they learned the lesson from what Allah wreaked upon the coast of Asia, during the celebration of these forbidden? At the height of immorality, Allah took vengeance on these criminals. Those celebrating spent what they call "New Year's Eve" in vacation resorts, pubs, and hotels. Allah struck them with an earthquake. He finished off the Richter scale. All nine levels gone. Tens of thousands dead. It was said that they were tourists on New Year's vacation who went to the crowded coral islands for the holiday period, and then they were struck by this earthquake, caused by the Almighty Lord of the worlds. He showed them His wrath and His strength. He showed them His vengeance. Is there anyone learning the lesson? Is it impossible that we will be struck like them? Why do we go their way? Why do we want to be like them, with their holidays, their forbidden things, and their heresy?

Why would this "punishment" be given to all the children who lost parents and all the parents who lost children? The people who lost everything they owned? The people who have to worry that they might starve or be stricken by disease after surviving the tsunami? All those who aren't Christian (many more than are in that part of the world)? Why indeed would God "punish" those celebrating the birth of His Son? And if the tourists were celebrating New Year's Eve why "strike" on Christmas - 6 days before? Update: Welcome Daou Report readers! Update 2: Welcome Friends of The Anchoress!

Previously Linked Posts - Bumped

My post linked by Lorie at Polipundit and Byrd Droppings is here if anyone's looking. Darn Floor has a related post here. Hugh Hewitt linked to this post which is linked to this one. Happy New Year!

Another way to help with Tsunami Aid

Donald Sensing at One Hand Clapping points us to another way to help with tsunami aid. Relief Kits "Recipes" for the "Fill A Plane" Campaign

However, cash donations remain "most effective" way to contribute Chief Wiggles (aka Army Chief Warrant Officer Paul Horton), who founded Operation Give while serving in Iraq, just announced he has arranged for free FedEx relief flights to aid tsunami victims.

Cash donations are still the best bet and The Captain has designated January 12th World Relief Day.

Happy New Year

Wishing you a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

DJ's Year in Review

DJ Drummond over at Polipundit has come up with an excellent Year in Review Post.

US aid $350 million and counting - Updated

Direct Link to the Captain's Campaign. As of 7:30 am CST on 1/13/05 it's at $34,223.16! Update: Captain's Quarters has set January 12th as World Relief Day:

At Captain's Quarters, we're declaring January 12th World Relief Day. I ask that CQ readers donate their take-home pay for January 12th to the tsunami relief effort at World Vision. Obviously, we cannot hope to match the funds raised by governments -- but we can show what a handful of determined private individuals can do to help. If you can't afford to donate all of your take-home pay for that day, please donate what you can.

Spread the word. CBS Marketwatch: U.S. boosts aid to tsunami victims President Bush commits $350 million, with more to come "Our contributions will continue to be revised as the full effects of this terrible tragedy become clearer," the president said in a statement issued Friday as Americans celebrated the New Year's Holiday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this epic disaster." I guess France isn't leading anymore...

France Leads Tsunami Aid Says Self

France is claiming to lead in tsunami aid. Link. I am reproducing the story in its entirety here.

PARIS France says it's the top donor for the tsunami disaster relief effort in Asia. The prime minister's boast that France is vaulting to "the head of all the contributors" follows barbs from the U-S about the extent of French generosity. In an interview this week on Fox News, the chief of the agency that distributes American aid said France tends not to be a world leader in foreign aid -- and often packages its help as loans. France's Foreign Ministry has rejected those allegations. Since Sunday's earthquake that triggered the tsunamis, the U-S has announced an initial aid package of 35 (m) million dollars, while also facing accusations from some that it had been stingy. France has pledged to provide 57 (m) million dollars.

Search strings

I've had a few hits from search results lately: On Google someone searched for: baen free library instapundit My post mentioning the Baen Free Library is here. On Yahoo someone searched for: jerry orbach religion I posted on Jerry Orbach's death yesterday and I have mentioned religion in a few posts. Google Ads points to religious ads a lot. I've also had several searches for assam american video because I posted that Fox News had the video.

Wish List for 2005

Here, in no particular order, are my wishes for 2005 including, but are not limited to (as I shall surely think of more), the following:

• The Iraqi election on January 30th goes off, if not without a hitch, at least with minimal problems.
• The Palestinian election is free, fair and valid.
• Annan and the rest of upper management at the U.N. realize that they have no credibility and resign.
• The clean up from the Tsunami is completed as quickly as possible to reduce the inevitable further losses due to disease.
• After the successful Iraqi election, Osama turns himself in.
• I find a job (preferably one I can do from home), or get myself some clients.
• Get a nice, new, highly powered laptop with lots of RAM, a big hard drive, a DVD/CD burner and loaded with software.
• Moonbats from both sides wake up and move a little more to center.

Add your own to the comments.

Iowahawk Exclusive

Iowahawk has found the first draft of Nick Coleman's diatribe against Powerline in a dumpster at the Mall of America. It begins:

NICK COLEMAN: THE FIRST DRAFT [ed. note: found in a dumpster outside the Mall of America -- the first draft of Nick Coleman's latest cry for help in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune] OOOH, TIME MAGAZINE BLOG OF THE YEAR! I AM SO FREAKING IMPRESSED... NOT By Nick Coleman Star-Tribune The end of the year is a time to bury the hatchet, so congratulations to Powerline, the Twin Cities blog that last week was named Time magazine's "Blog of the Year!" Now let me get a new hatchet. That's a veiled warning, readers, because Sensei Nick is about to unleash a flurry of professional journalism hatchet-fu on the so-called "Blog of the Year," which will soon be begging for mercy from my metaphors of fury. Trust me. It won't be pretty.

Read the rest.

Blogs, Bloggers and the Blogosphere

Wretchard has a well written essay that you should go read in its entirety: "Fortress Unvanquishable Save for Sacnoth"

Jerry Orbach Dead

Jerry Orbach is dead (last night) of prostate cancer at 69. He will be greatly missed. Lumiere the candelabra from Beauty and the Beast Lenny Briscoe of all the Law and Orders. And much, much more. IMDb Jerry Orbach page. God Bless Jerry and his family.

Blogosphere Wish List for 2005

La Shawn Barber has a Wish List for 2005.

Tsunami

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those lost in the tsunami and those who will be lost due to the aftermath. Command Post has a long list of charities that are helping.

Osama-Sunni Boycott

I was reading Captain Ed's post Osama Demands Boycott, Sunnis Respond. Coincidence? The Captain has a quote from the Washington Post stating (emphasis mine):

The largest political party representing Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority announced Monday that it would drop out of the Jan. 30 election, dealing a fresh blow to the vote's credibility on the same day the top Shiite Muslim candidate survived a car bombing.

If the Sunnis actually do boycott the elections and pull any of their candidates, they only disenfranchise themselves and can blame no one but themselves when they don't have a voice in the new government. They are not dealing a blow to the vote's credibility, they are dealing a blow to their own credibility. The MSM is at it again. Instead of criticizing the Sunnis (and Osama) for calling for a delay and/or boycott of the election, they are criticizing the Iraqis for wanting the election to go on as planned and calling those results into question a month before the election even happens. They seem to think that turnout will determine the credibility of the election. It won't. If only 20 percent of the people come out to vote, those 20 percent will determine the winners for the whole country. I am under the impression that if the Sunnis refuse to participate, after the election is over, they will insist on the new government giving them a voice, the voice that they deliberately gave up by not participating. The Captain ends his post with this graf, and I agree:

To get there, we have to have elections, and we have to make Iraqis confident in their existence. Delaying elections only feeds the conspiracy theorists and fatalists who refuse to believe in democracy and the rule of law. Regardless of Sunni participation, the elections must proceed.

Allah's Moving Back to Blogspot

Link to blogspot site where there is a new post waiting. The Allahpundit.com site is going dark January 1.

Christmas Morning

Well it's Christmas Morning. The few presents under the tree this year were opened. Children's faces were lit with Joy. "It's just what I always wanted", said the four year old of his Buzz Lightyear spaceship, Buzz, Woody, Alien and Zorg. "My very own Chess set, I really wanted one!", said the ten year old. The fourteen year old with a developmental delay was very happy that her new dolly had a bottle, so she could feed her. The snow is gently falling, large, dry flakes, to finally cover the grass. Today is the birthday of the Christ Child. First and foremost this is what we celebrate this day. Merry Christmas one and all!

Merry Christmas

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord - Luke 2:11

Update on Uncle David

Uncle David's surgery has been rescheduled to January 4th. He will be coming home today to spend Christmas and New Year's with the family.

Prayers for my Uncle David

Prayers would be appreciated for my Uncle David. He's been at Mayo for the past two weeks and they have found some cancer on his pancreas. He has been previously diagnosed with pancreatitis, which was why he is there. They plan to do surgery on Thursday. Thank you.

Faith in Faith - Updated

I wonder if the people that have such a problem with religion in the public square just don't have enough faith in their own faith or non-faith. Are they afraid that a creche will suddenly convert them? That a wish of "Merry Christmas" will turn them into a Christian against their will? That a wish of "Happy Channukah" will convert them to Judaism? I have enough faith in my faith that I am not offended by any other expression of any other faith. As a child, we all sang Christmas songs and Channukah songs in the weeks before Christmas Break. Update: It seems Charles Krauthammer feels the same way.

Some Americans get angry at parents who want to ban carols because they tremble that their kids might feel "different" and "uncomfortable" should they, God forbid, hear Christian music sung at their school. I feel pity. What kind of fragile religious identity have they bequeathed their children that it should be threatened by exposure to carols? I'm struck by the fact that you almost never find Orthodox Jews complaining about a Christmas creche in the public square. That is because their children, steeped in the richness of their own religious tradition, know who they are and are not threatened by Christians celebrating their religion in public. They are enlarged by it. It is the more deracinated members of religious minorities, brought up largely ignorant of their own traditions, whose religious identity is so tenuous that they feel the need to be constantly on guard against displays of other religions -- and who think the solution to their predicament is to prevent the other guy from displaying his religion, rather than learning a bit about their own.

4-year-olds

My four year old noticed the Nativity set tonight. He went over to it and said, "Mommy, who are these people?" Right at that point he had his finger on the Baby Jesus figure. I said, "That's the Baby Jesus." He said, very seriously, "He's the Son of God." He is learning.

This is this year's gift - a pin. 

Favorite Hymn - O Holy Night

This is my absolute favorite Christmas Hymn O Holy Night O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth! Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine! Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here came the wise men from Orient land. The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our Friend! He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger. Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His Gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His Name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy Name! Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

I try to make a ornament or pin every year as a gift for my children's teachers and for relatives. This is last year's ornament.  

Rathergate Report delayed until January

Just heard on Fox News - The Ra^thergate report will now be issued sometime in January. USA Today story here. Media Research Center has a prediction about the bias at CBS

Kerik's pseudo-nannygate

LaShawn Barber is guestblogging over at Blogs for Bush. In her post Leftist Media (And Bloggers) Still Campaigning for Kerry she notes that the liberal media are trying to make a scandal out of this. My own thoughts mirror LaShawn's.

Kerik Withdraws

Bernard Kerik has withdrawn his name from consideration for the post of Secretary of Homeland Security. Reuters story has the following:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush's pick to become homeland security secretary, former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, abruptly withdrew his nomination for the job on Friday night. The move came after news organizations raised some potential problems about Kerik, including his profitable membership on the board of Taser International, the stun-gun maker.

Read the rest.

Geneaology Blog

Joe Edmon at Geneaology Blog has linked to my photo below. He's called it Winter Wonderland. Snow's all gone now, it's been in the 40's here for a week. We had a beautifully white Thanksgiving, then it melted, then it snowed again and melted again. I hope we can have a white Christmas. Go check out their site, it looks as though they have a lot of news, information and resources available for investigating your own family tree.

The Anti-Immigration Wing of the Republican Party - updated

Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) said on O'Reilly tonight (I had to watch the repeat to make sure I had heard correctly the first time) that the people having trouble with drivers licenses are the "Anti-Immigration Wing of the Republican Party." Did you get the memo? I sure didn't. I am not against immigration - I have friends who are immigrants. People who followed the rules, learned the language, took the test and took the oath. Illegal Aliens don't belong here. Period. Go back to your home country and if you want to come back here, do it right. Any amnesty would be allowing them to "cut in line". If you want to become an American - you are quite welcome here. Just do it legally. Terrorists come here illegally to use our own system against us. When 19 terrorists can have 63 drivers licenses between them, there is a problem. When I moved from Vermont to back to Illinois and got my Illinois drivers license I had to surrender my Vermont drivers license. Of course, the terrorists didn't tell the DMV that they had valid licenses from other states and/or lied and said they physically lost it or something. If there were a national database of drivers licenses, DMV's would be able to check for unexpired licenses from other states, and, if they issue a new one, have the previous unexpired license(s) declared void. Update: Prestopundit has more on the Driver's License issue from an article in the LA Times.

Reciprocating

Drew at Darn Floor linked to my Reformation post below and put me on his blogroll. I have reciprocated.

Daou Report

Via Prestopundit:

A NEW BLOG AGGREGATOR -- left, right and center-- THE DAOU REPORT.

Cool site.

Protestant Reformation = Bloggers vs MSM??

I saw Luther when it came out on DVD last week and when I read Bill Bennett's commentary at RCP I was struck by the similarities between the two. In Bill Bennett's commentary there is the following quote:

Empowered, the people are changing talk radio. Speaking as a host of a three-hour talk show, it is evident that the public, which is checking assertions of fact as they are being made, is not sitting back and merely absorbing pontification. On talk radio, the lecture is fading, and it is being replaced by the interactive national seminar, where callers inform the host and audience as much as the host is informing listeners.

This is the paragraph that brought to mind the story of Martin Luther. He felt that the Church was interpreting the Word of God for the masses, not as written, but how they felt it should be. The Church was getting rich selling indulgences, time off from Purgatory and Martin couldn't find anyplace in Scripture that said there even was such a thing. He translated the Bible from Latin to German so the masses could read the Word of God for themselves, making their decisions from that Word, and not just the Church's interpretation of it. It seems to me that there is a parallel between Luther and the Church and the MSM and bloggers. The MSM tries to sell us their interpretation, expecting us to sit back and absorb their pontification. The bloggers and talk radio are providing the translation so we can make up our own minds. Update: Welcome Polipundit readers! Thanks Lorie. Update 2: Some commenters over at the Polipundit post that directs visitors here are positing that bloggers are equivalent to the printing press, rather than Luther. I still think that the bloggers are equivalent to Luther and the internet itself is equivalent to Gutenberg's printing press. Luther did the translation and the printing press was what allowed the translation to be widely disseminated. Think back to Ra^thergate - The attitude was "This is the truth because I/we say it's so." The bloggers took that "truth", dissected it, translated it and using their printing press (the internet) broadcast their translation to everyone.

Never Forget

Today is the 63rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor. 2,388 Americans lost their lives that day. Michelle Malkin has a great post with links.

The tree in my front yard the other night. The moon is just peeking over the top. Now it's 45 and there's no more snow. 

Allah's back ...

... and trolling for votes for Michele. Nice to see you back.

Becker-Posner Blog up and running

Gary Becker and Richard Posner have started their blog Becker-Posner Blog. They should provide some very interesting reading.

We have decided to start a blog that will explore current issues of economics, law, and policy in a dialogic format. Initially we will be posting just once a week, on Mondays. In time we may post more frequently. The first postings will be tomorrow, December 6. Becker is a Nobel-prize-winning economist who in addition to scholarly publications on a wide range of economic issues including education, discrimination, labor, the family, crime, addiction, and immigration, for many years wrote a monthly column for Business Week. Posner is a federal circuit judge and also a writer of books and articles in a variety of fields, including antitrust, intellectual property, and other fields in which economics is applied to law, but also topical fields such as impeachment, contested elections, and national-security issues. (The rules of judicial ethics preclude Posner from commenting publicly on pending or impending litigation or participating in politics, as by endorsing candidates.)

The Groningen Protocol

Hugh has several posts (here, here, here and Hugh's Weekly Standard column) on the Groningen Protocol linking to several other posts on the subject. He was looking for more MSM and blogger coverage of the story. I sent a copy of the Washington Times AP story to Fox to see if they were aware of it. Currently they have one story dated Tuesday, November 30 with two different links and headlines: Dutch Hospital Euthanizing Gravely Ill Babies and Netherlands Hospital Permits Euthanasia for Terminal Newborns. Hugh's Weekly Standard column contains the following:

This is either a low point, or a point of no return. The establishment of "independent committees" to dispatch non-consenting humans is nothing but a death penalty committee for innocents. Once begun, it is impossible--simply impossible--to limit the concept with any bright line. Abortion, of course, has always been limited by the physical act of birth, and once out of the womb, only the most extreme "reproductive rights" advocates have argued that the baby's natural right to live can be compromised by the mother. But now the Netherlands has gone farther--much, much farther. If the "severely retarded" may be killed upon appropriate motion, second, debate, and majority vote, why not the moderately retarded? Why not the mildly retarded? Why not, in fact, anyone the "independent committee" deems as usefully dispatched.

This is what really concerns me. My daughter has a developmental delay, epilepsy and moderate hearing and vision impairments. She weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces at birth, which is small, but her APGAR scores were 9 and 10. She has two genetic anomalies: She has an "extra" gene on one of her 10th chromosome pair and her 19th chromosome has a "ring" in a mosaic pattern. The chromosomes usually look like an eleven (11) two straight lines. On Katie's 19th chromosome, every other pair looks like a ten (10) instead. One of the pair is a circle instead of a straight line. She is 14 years old now. She doesn't speak well and uses some sign language to help her "get her message across.” Her 4-year-old brother is leaps and bounds ahead of her in speaking and development. Her 10-year-old brother also passed her up a long, long time ago. She may have Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. It is a severe form of epilepsy that usually develops in children between 1 and 8 years old (I took her to a neurologist at 18 months old). Most children with Lennox-Gastaut experience some degree of impaired intellectual functioning or information processing. It may be caused by brain injury, severe brain infections, genetic brain diseases, or developmental malformations of the brain. In some cases, no cause has been found. Prognosis varies, there is no cure. Complete recovery including freedom from seizures and normal development is very unusual. She can dress herself, feed herself, use the bathroom herself, and watch Barney and Shrek all day long. She likes to color and can copy some letters down. She can sight read some words. When her littlest brother was five weeks old and she was 10 years and 5 weeks old (her littlest brother was born the day before her 10th birthday) she had surgery for a vagus nerve implant. We were hoping that it could help "reprogram" her brain not to seize so often. She's been on many different medications over the last twelve years. Currently we have her on only one that seems to be working better. Her seizures are not as frequent, or as long. We are lucky that she doesn't have grand mal seizures. She'll just suddenly stop and jerk a few times. She can do this while walking and not fall down (atypical absence and myoclonic seizures). She needs to have weekly occupational, physical and speech therapy. Insurance companies don't want to cover this though, because the therapies will need to long term. The insurance companies seem to only want to cover, say, physical therapy after a broken bone. Something that won't take too long to show progress and finally be done. I've seen some that limit all three therapies to 30-60 visits total. This would allow her 10-20 weeks of all three therapies. I was first worried that Hugh was sliding down a slippery slope, but I don't think he is. Eventually they could do this to children and people older than 12. Katie is a beautiful, loving child and she will be a beautiful, loving adult. However, she probably won't be a "productive" adult. She probably won't be a "normal" woman who has a job, or gets married and has children. She won't go to college. She will need care for the rest of her life, either with me or with a group home of some kind. I also have to think about her care after I am gone. Death by committee could decide that she's "useless" and terminate her. That's what's really scary.

Kerik tapped to head Homeland Security - Updated

A senior administration official said that Bernie Kerik will be tapped to fill the Homeland Security Secretary position left open after Tom Ridge's resignation. Forbes story. I personally think that Bernie Kerik was a very good choice. Update: 12/10/04: Kerik withdraws name from consideration.