Thursday, Thursday, Thursday...

...are busy days, all three.

My paying job is being awfully needy the next four business days or so...gearing up for a vacation and trying to beat end of year deadlines. So...no thoughtful post today, and some reduced headlines!

Now for Some News...

Mitchell Report on baseball doping to be released 2pm today. Judging from what I heard on the radio, no one is expecting this to hurt the game any...at least not financially.

New EU treaty is signed, designed to radically alter how the EU operates. It looks like the treaty is going to make it more like a nation state instead of a loose conglomeration...creating a Union president, a ruling council, and eliminating veto power in many cases...could get interesting.

Liberty Township starts an interchange project that will connect it to I-75. As if there's not enough development going on out there anyway (I used to live in West Chester), the locally funded project aims to open up huge tracts of land for commericial development by extending Cox Road to the highway in the 1st phase, widening Hamilton-Mason Road in the 2nd, and adding an interchange at Hamilton-Mason Rd in the final phase.

Now I'm just grumpy. I kinda liked how there wasn't much of anything out there...pretty soon I AM going to have to live in Montana.

Wednesday

I actually slept this morning, and the BBC wasn't airing on WVXU last night for some reason. After Echoes went off the air, it was just...silence. Very odd. I'm willing to bet it's tied into a plea for money, but that's the risk you take with not-for-profit news.

I'll send them money as long as they don't behave like Fox News. It's a good trade.

Yesterday's post came up this morning because...I had it sort of in my head to write it all up, then edit and revise the next day. Sort of like a newspaper. But then it dawned on me last night I don't operate on anywhere near the same schedule as a newspaper...and all holding back the publishing of my posts would do is date my material.

So forget that. Besides, why should I behave less like a blogger and more like a respectable person?

Pretty soon, I'm gonna post about the primary system...but I need to research a little bit first. I'm not 100% sure I get it myself, which is frustrating when people ask me about it.

Now For Some News...

Huckabee Ahead Before GOP Debate. This disturbs me because while I don't really believe in the LDS' teachings, I care even less for Baptist teachings. The same conservative Christians who think the nation should be run according to the Bible support Huckabee, and I am NOT comfortable with that.

What's wrong with a nation run by the Bible? Take a hard look at Iran and then you can tell me.

DNA Ethics Debate. When you leave DNA behind (think spit in a coffee cup, or hair, or dandruff), it's been traditionally fair game. The courts have said little so far, and NPR is investigating into this legal gray zone.

The Arctic ice caps could be totally ice free during the summer by 2013. Does that make anyone else a little sad, and a lot frightened? When exactly do we as a nation pull our heads out of the sand and start running damage control on the environment?

True to their word at Annapolis, Israel and Palestine have started peace talks for the first time in seven years. The same old routine, Palestinians demanded a halt to all settlement growth, and the Israelis declared not enough was being done to crack down on militants. They did, however, agree to meet again and that's very nice.

Cincinnati could start using red light cameras, just like Columbus and Dayton. The city almost started using this technology in 2005, but Charlie Luken vetoed the plan. Mark Mallory, current mayor, is trying to postpone the debate on this issue until the formal, two year budget is discussed next year. Also mentioned by council members was the use of cameras to catch speeders.

So It's Tuesday

I've spent the last couple mornings listening to Morning Edition from NPR. Driving home from Sarah's on Monday was pretty nice, I got to fill up on the usual NPR plus the news from two ends of the state. Then this morning, I got up at 6am with the sole purpose of listening to the radio and waking up slowly...which kinda backfired, but hey. It's all good.



The issue tho, is it's almost depressing to get to hear all that news. Not in the usual, "Oh the world's going to hell" sort of way, but in the "Man, I wish I had time to lookup the Cincinnati budget" or "I wish I had the time to go to the County Comissioner's meeting and see if they say anything else about the zoo levy." I wish I had the time to just...spend, doing this blog, for one thing. As it is, I've had to cut back drastically because once I start blogging in the morning, it's VERY difficult to stop...and that's just bad for business.



So I'll be trying to figure out how best to work around this time management crisis. Stay tuned, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.



Now for Some News...



The CIA interrogation tape scandal is just gearing up. NPR had a chat with a former Senate Intelligence Comittee Chairman Bob Graham. It was a little chilling to hear how difficult oversight can actually be when it comes to things like this, and how much like a rogue operation the CIA can still be.



The gunman in Colorado was an interesting story, considering I lived in Colorado Springs for a while and think I know where the New Life church is. It's a sad story, with the guy apparantly wanting revenge...but he seemed more than a little unsettled upstairs. I think the only lucky thing about this is only 4 people were killed. While it had appeared the security guard killed the criminal, it turns out he had killed himself.



Algeria had a couple of bombings...no one claiming responsibility, no apparant cause. The MO is apparantly consistent with the local branch of al-Qaeda, and the explosions took place near the Supreme Court and UN offices, respectively. 13 UN workers missing, 62 counted dead so far on the whole.



Cincinnati Schools approved 2 levies that could be placed on the March ballot. They had to approve them now to keep their options open, and so could still decide to put both or none on the ballot. One is an operating levy worth nearly $8 million, and the other a permanent improvement levy worth $3 million. The district needs money, badly, and after the last levy was shot down so thoroughly...I worry. If the citizens aren't willing to pay for education, where is the future going to come from?



Police Chief Streicher and the City Manager say they will follow the council's directive to spend $1.5 million on overtime for extra, high visibility police patrols. Streicher maintains he was able to provide the patrols last year without using overtime, and complained about not being able to stay flexible enough to react to trends.



The public hearing on the City's budget for the upcoming year took place Monday night. 80 citizens spoke their mind on a variety of issues, from desiring the city to keep funding humanitarian projects to asking the city to help fund sheriff patrols in OTR. Another large issue was the proposal to eliminate the building and inspections department, splitting up its duties among other departments. Council is expected to finalize a budget by December 19th.

The Day That Will Live on in Infamy...

Um...no. Actually, no. Good political line...but...not so much. Sorry Frank.

I just ran a little experiment, shooting a text message to everyone I knew wishing them a "happy day that will live on in infamy." The more intelligent among my friends and family assumed I had just finished my classes for the quarter. Ah well. Hopefully we can accelerate this process with 9/11...but wait, I'm not allowed to say that, since it's a fresh wound.

2333 killed and 1139 wounded and all those beautiful battleships destroyed is a deep enough wound for me to keep Pearl Harbor in mind every year. Maybe it's the Navy man I was in a past life...

Now for Some News...

It fits that the CIA would make tapes of questionable interrogation tactics, destroy those tapes, and then the public find out about it. It's a little bizarre to me, the whole thing...but another sign of one seriously dysfunctional executive branch. I do not envy the next President.

Developers want to put a huge casino resort in Wilmington, OH. The veritable middle of nowhere, and I'm torn on whether or not it'd be a good thing to have something between Columbus and Cincinnati. Either way, the state government is not making it easy for the developers to get approval from the voters.

Say what you want about nuclear power, but a large chunk of the medical field is in a panic about one of the Canadian reactors being shut down. It stops the flow of radioactive isotopes that are needed for a variety of tests and treatments, possibly dealing a catastrophic blow to the health industry.

Tuesday

ok...so I missed one. It happens, and till I start getting paid for this gig I don't owe anyone apologies.

I'm a little themeless this week...wrapping up school, work is crunching, and I'm sick. And things were going so well...

So let's just get on with it.

And Now for Some News...

Mayors Confer on Foreclosures, from NPR
Really Neat Interview with Steve Martin, from NPR
Annapolis Conference Opens with an Anticlimatic Air, from BBC
More Riots in France, from BBC
More Over-the-Rhine Condos, from WCPO
What a Landlord, from WCPO

Day Before Thanksgiving

So here's another one...I'm thankful that there's finally some oversight happening in Washington. That's about all that's happening, since the Democratic Party has just as much trouble compromising as the GOP. But still, it's good that people are asking questions again instead of blindly submitting to the White House. I'd much prefer to have nothing happening in Washington than to have everything Bush wants happening. Eventually it'll break and compromise will HAVE to happen.

Now for Some News...

French Railway Sabotaged, Strike Talks Start, from BBC
Putin Calls Opponents "Jackals," from BBC
Bush blocked from Recess Appointments, from NPR
White House to Convene Mideast Talks in Annapolis, from NPR
Free Store Distribution Goes on Amid Power Outage, from WVXU
Metro Wants Fare Increase, from WVXU

Tuesday Stuff!

I'm thankful today for the fact my sisters made it out this week...so just a quick one today.

Now for Some News...

New Stem Cell Research Could End Ethical Worries, from NPR
Rare National Buzz Help Obama Decide to Run, from NPR
Teachers and Civil Servants Join Transport Strikers, from BBC
Pulitzer Winning Photographer Accused of Terror, from BBC
U.C. Won't Get to Host Presidential Debate, from WVXU
County Workers May Not Get Raises, from WVXU

Monday Monday Monday

So...it's a holiday week...so I plan to do a brief lil "Thankful" theme this week.

So...I'm thankful for...hrm...having real checks and balances in my government. As much as President Bush insists that he knows whats best for us, and that his administration is the only thing that will keep us safe from the terrorists, you don't see him contemplating a run for the Senate in order to hold onto power. No matter how much Bush wants to ignore the Constitutional rights of our citizens in the name of security and tap all their communications because there may be probable cause, you don't seem him simply suspending it and firing the Supreme Court.

I'm thankful the democratic process in the United States has enough juice left to keep the government from completely becoming one man's puppet.

And now for some news...

Musharraf Cleared for New Term, from NPR (With a stacked court, who's surprized?)
Bangladesh Cyclone Toll Hits 3100, from AP via NPR.org
Homeland Security Adviser Resigns, from AP via NPR.org
Fountain Square Busy, but Exact Number is Unknown, from WVXU
Millions Cut from Budget in City Manager's Recommendation, from WVXU
Israel to Release 450 Prisoners, from BBC
Kosovo Warned by EU on Independence, from BBC

Find Your Elected Folks, Part 4!

Here we're gonna go after the county people. They're a little harder to come by...I had to resort to a Google search for "Hamilton County Ohio" before I found the webpage.



From there, it took a bit of digging. I ended up going to the top right corner and clicking "Departments." That gave me a list of all the departments in Hamilton County. Since I'm concerned with finding out who my county commissioners are, I clicked the "Commissioners" link.



From there, you get the contact info and links to their home pages.



Back track to the Hamilton County page again, and you'll see a box on the right hand side that asks you to input your address called the Local Government Connection, to find your local municipal government. That's pretty cool, let's try it.



Oh yes, it's pretty cool. It would figure something like this would happen on the last day of the "Find the Elected Officials" week. Go take a look and see what I'm talking about!

Now For Some News...

Clinton Improves Debate Performance, from NPR
Barry Bonds Indicted for Perjury, from NPR
Dinosaur "Cow" Found in Sahara, from NPR
Hundreds Dead in Cyclone, from BBC
Victim Given 200 Lashes in Saudi Rape Case, from BBC
Russian Election Will Not be Overseen by International Watchdog, from BBC
Joe Nuxhall Dies at Age 79, from WVXU
Hill Climb Race to Determine Cincinnati Masochist, from WVXU
Contractors to Register in Cincinnati (as if taxes and red tape weren't enough there), from WVXU

Find Your Elected Folks, Part 3!

So...thus far, we've found the President, my Congresswoman, my Senators, and the Governor of Ohio. What's next, you ask? Isn't that all?



Excuse me while I laugh. Because we're just getting started.



After this week tho, I plan on shaking it up a bit, don't worry. But for this fine Thursday morning, more elected reps!



Let's look at my State Senator. Or Senators? How does that work, exactly? I dunno...but I know where to start.

1. Go to the Ohio homepage.


2. On the right hand side of the page, you should see a blue box with the Governor's photo on it. Above him, there are some tabs...one of them says "Legislative." Click it.


3. We've got some options. We've got 5 links, one each for the Senate, the House, and the General Assembly, plus one each for Find Your Senator and Find Your Representative. (I'm glad we did this, 'cause I had no idea these legislative webpages were here).


4. I'm going to search for my Senator. Punch in my Zip Code, and I get the scoop on Robert Schuler (this is a neat service!)


5. Just for kicks, let's do my Representative too. Again w/ my Zip, I meet Michelle Schneider.

Go try it...it's fun!

Now for Some News...

• House Approves Spending Bill Tied to Troop Withdrawal (Too bad the Senate will never go for it), from NPR
• Mitt Romney Has Trouble Ahead Because of Mormon Faith, from NPR
• Airport Security Not Very Secure, from NPR
• Bishops Issue Voting Guidelines, from NPR
• Good News, Bad News About Iran, from BBC
• Musharraf Names Interim Prime Minister, from BBC

How to Contact the Governor

Just a quickie today...but I thought we should touch on what might be an obvious character, the state Governor.



http://www.governor.ohio.gov/ is the webpage for Ted Strickland. Once you're there, you can check out all kinds of nifty stuff, not unlike the White House website. In order to contact Governor Strickland, click on the "Constituent Affairs" link towards the bottom of the page. This will get you a web contact form, which even lets you flag your message as needing a reply.



If you're looking for a phone number or mailing address, go to the sidebar on the left-hand side. Find the link that says Contact Us. There you are!



Now for Some News...

I think Wednesday's I'll try and focus on environment/sustainability news. Which makes most of Marketplace's show yesterday (this whole week, really) pretty applicable.

Effects of a Consumer Culture on Bhutan
A small Indiana Town Shoots for Energy Independance
Discussion: Public Solutions or Private Enterprise?

All three of the above from Marketplace, an American Public Media operation.

Headlines...

FBI Finds Blackwater Shootings Unjustified, from NPR
Congress to Vote on Another Iraq Spending Bill with Troop Drawdown Attached, from NPR

French Strike Brings Travel Chaos, from BBC
Another Pakistani Opposition Leader Arrested, from BBC

Reds Lose Chief Operating Officer and Executive VP, from WVXU
Ohio Prison Population Hits 50,000, from WCPO. (I heard on the radio version on WVXU they blame the short term, 1 year or less drug convictions for most of the over crowding. Also, the prisons are projected to be at 52000 by this time next year).

Tune in next time, when we'll take a look at the Ohio State Legislature!

Get to Know Your Elected Folks 2

So now we've found US Senators...US Representatives...and now comes time for the other elected branch of the Federal Government, the President.



*Editorial Note* While the evidence IS to the countrary, remember the President does work for YOU. This means it's just as acceptable to drop the Executive a line telling them how you think the country should be run. Whether or not the President understands what it means to serve the constituency is a topic for someone else to debate. *End Note*

1. Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/


2. Scroll all the way to the bottom. You'll see a set of links such as "President," "Vice President," etc. Among them is a link "Contact." Click that.


3. You'll get the mailing address, comment e-mails, phone numbers, and some other stuff like the Vice President's e-mail.

My goal is to limit how much my personal politics color this blog...but it's safe to say we won't be revisiting the White House webpage while this Administration is in office. Why, might you ask? I don't trust them. Plain and simple. Feel free to poke around on your own, but my time is more valuable than all of that.

Now Some News...

Inquiry Into San Fransisco Oil Spill, from NPR

Lawmakers and the Nation Try to Cope with High Oil Costs, from NPR

Bhutto Under House Arrest, Now Calls on Musharraf to Quit, from BBC

Bird Flu in England, from BBC

Tractor Trailer Closes 71s to 471 Ramp, from WCPO.

Get to Know Your Elected Folks!

Or mine, anyway.


And a side note for anyone who may have been looking for post action this weekend...I don't do that. I've spent just about all my working life to date working weekends, and...I don't anymore. Sorry.

So this week, we're gonna track down and add to the sidebar my elected officials. Because...I'm curious, for one. And it'll make it easier to find and decide on news. Since we've already found the United States Senators from Ohio, now we'll find my Congressman.

1. Go to http://www.house.gov/. That's the House of Representatives home page. It's got cool stuf, which we'll check out later.


2. This one is so easy. Look at the upper left hand corner...there's a place that advises you to find your rep by punching in your zip code.


3. In my case, this brings me to a page where Jean Schmidt (did not get my vote in '06) is shown, as well as the Ohio 2nd District. Jean's name is linked...let's click it!


4. Now we see her official webpage, with all kindsa neat goodies on it. Including possibly the most important, her contact info. This is important because we'll be discussing how to inform your elected reps when their views are either (a) appropriately reflecting your own or (b) decidedly offensive.

So to my neat lil side bar of knowledge, I'll add a neat lil section for Jean Schmidt.

Tune in tomorrow, when we tackle possibly the most obvious of all, the White House!

Now Some News...

• Bhutto Vows to Defy Protest Ban, from NPR.
• Iraq Vet Can't Find Work, from NPR.
• Hamas Kills 5 at Arafat Rally, from BBC.
• Cincinnati Library Celebrates Childrens Book Week, from WVXU.

How to Find Your Senators

I know I mentioned something about reading ballots, but that'd require finding case studies, analysis, etc...and I don't have time for that. I've only got a few minutes this morning, so...here's how to find your United States Senators.

Unlike Congressmen or state legislatures, BOTH Senators from your state are YOUR senators. So when you've got something to say about how the Senate behaves (more on that later), this is how you get in touch and yell at both of them.

First, go to the Senate webpage. There's a lotta cool stuff I plan on posting about on this homepage, but for now just find the "Senators" tab in red at the top of the page. The list is naturally in alphabetical order with all 100 of them, but you can use the drop down menues to filter as you like, by "state" for instance. If I do that and choose "Ohio," I see both of my Senators (Brown and Voinovich) listed, with address, phone numbers, and a link to a webmail submission form.

That's it! It works for any state, obviously, so if you don't happen to live in Ohio...go make the necessary changes in those steps and have fun!

***

Edit: I feel like a bit of a moron...but if you go to the Senate home page, and look at the top right hand corner you'll see a drop down menu that will let you search by state and skip a bunch of what I previously told you to do. Don't say I've never stood corrected!

2007 General Election Results

I know anyone who cares has already found these results, but there they are (and a couple editorial comments) anyway.

Municipal Court District 1 Judge:

1. Dwane K Mallory, 50.25% ; John H Burlew. 49.75%. 11199 Votes Cast.
2. Fanon A Rucker, 100% (unopposed) 6278 Votes Cast

MCD 2:

1. Nadine Allen, 76.53% ; Rosalind C Florez 23.47%. 21269 VC

MCD 3:

1. Ted Berry, 71.76% ; Kendal M Coes, 28.24%. 24245 VC

MCD 4:

1. Julie Stautberg, 100% (unopposed) 19441 VC

MCD 5:

1. Heather Russel, 66.02% ; Greg Cohen, 33.98% 27807 VC

MCD 5 (Unexpired Term):

1. Brad Greenberg, 100% (unopposed). 22056 VC

MCD 6:

1. Richard Bernat, 68.35% ; Lawrence Lindgren 31.65%. 29819 VC

MCD 6 (Unexpired Term):

1. Bernie Bouchard, 66.97% ; Norma J Davis 33.03%. 30552 VC

MCD 7:

Melissa Powers, 100% (unopposed). 16076 VC

Villiage of Marriemont:

1. Mayor: Dan Policastro, 100% (unopposed). 930 VC
2. Clerk-Treasurer: Paul J Tontillo, 100% (unopposed) 938 VC
3. Council (Vote 2): Kimberly Sullivan, 37.70% ; Dennis Wolter, 31.51% ; James H Ferguson, 30.79%. 2085 VC
4. School Board (Vote 2): Marie C Huenefeld, 51.62% ; Denise Walter, 48.38%. 3557 VC

Tax Issues:

1. Mariemont Operating Levy Renewal: For, 72.88% ; Against, 27.12%. 1239 VC
2. Cincinnati School Levy: Against, 58.11% ; For, 41.89%. 66393 VC
3. Mariemont School Levy: For, 56.21% ; Against, 43.79%. 2907 VC
4. Issue 27 (Referendum on Public Safety Resolution): Against, 56.05% ; For, 43.95%. 191391 VC
5. Issue 28 (Mental Health Levy): For, 55.13% ; Against, 44.87%. VC 190304 VC
6. Issue 29 (Senior Services Levy): For, 69.45% ; Against, 30.55%. VC 190783 VC

All taken from the Hamilton County Board of Election's results page. Don't see your election? Probably because I didn't vote in it. Look here.

As for comments...I'm amazingly, incredibly disappointed the public safety levy didn't pass. Voting against that levy was essentially voting against law enforcement and for criminals. The day after it was shot down, the county is already talking about cutting sheriff patrols in Over the Rhine. That's exactly where we need to pulls cops from. I'm predicting some serious crime upswings and further migration out of the heart of Hamilton County.

I'm similarly disgusted by the short term view taken by voters on the Cincinnati school issue. Yes, the district has it's problems. But it's also falling apart, understaffed, and under funded. While we'd love to be able to give money to only good school districts, witholding it from a bad school does immeasurable damage. Watch the size of the city continue to shrink, because the children who go to the public schools are deprived of an education. When you link the effects of an unsupported school district and an unsupported law enforcement community, you get a slum.

That's all I have...except for we had 34% turnout this time around. I think that number speaks for itself.

How to Become a Registered Voter

So yesterday was all about moving Sarah, NOT telling you how to register to vote. My bad. Count this as Wednesday's issue, and I'll talk about the election for today.

It also gave me time to think...with fifty states, and dozens of counties per state, it'd be kinda asinine of me to issue a guide to all of them. More importantly, it's not really within my realm of influence or personal concern if everyone in Idaho is registered. SO I've decided the focus needs to be toned down to my county in all things political, starting with how to register to vote.

This blog is such a work in progress...so bear with me and feel free to offer suggestions.

How to Become a Registered Voter:

• http://www.ohio.gov has a link right on the homepage, which sends you to the Secretary of State website. There you can download the registration form, find all the eligibility questions you could ever have, and get a list of places you can register to vote.
• Contact the Hamilton County Board of Elections. They also have some interesting information, such as your local ballot and results.

If you're out for a walk and the urge to register your disenfranchised self to vote, drop in at any of the following locations (taken from the Ohio Secretary of State website):

• Public libraries.
• Public high schools or vocational schools.
• The office of any deputy registrar of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (where you get your license and registration).

When I came back to Ohio from Colorado, I registered to vote by just walking into the library down the street, filling out the form with my name, address, driver's license # or last 4 of my SSN, then signed it. I gave it back to the librarian, and a week or so later I got a confirmation postcard telling me my polling station.

ALSO on that postcard was a simple change of address form. When I moved from Cincinnati to Marriemont this summer, I wrote my new address on the form and dropped it in the mail. My voter registration was changed even before I'd given back the keys to my apartment. Hang onto that card, it'll simplify your life when move time comes.

That's all folks.

Election Day

No, no national offices or issues are up for decision today. In fact, in Ohio there aren't even any state issues. But these are the elections when levies are passed or shot down, usually because no one but the advocates come out to vote.

So go vote.

In Ohio, don't forget your driver's license. Yes, you can still vote without it...but provisional ballots only get counted if the normal ballots are too close to call. So make sure you get in the first round fo decision making.

Smart Voter is a wonderful resource if you live in California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, or New York. If you don't live in any of those, Smart Voter will send you to where you can get the info you need (such as voting stations and the ballot, so you know what you'll be voting on). You can also Google "Franklin County Board of Elections" (substituting your county, of course) and you should get what you need. If Google doesn't seem to do it, your state's website should have the election information posted that will direct you to the local organization.

This is the day people don't vote, and then ask later, "When the hell did they raise sales tax?? WHY??" Don't be like that, please. Take your duty as a citizen seriously.

Tomorrow, we'll cover how you can register to vote (in most cases). This week, we'll also go over how to READ a ballot, since I'm pretty sure they try to be difficult. In keeping with the election craze, I'll also update everyone on the results (at least in Hamilton County, OH).

Something to look forward too, eh?

With Allies Like This...

Faced with the possibility of the Supreme Court telling him he could not legally hold power, Musharraf did the only thing a democratic leader could do: He declared martial law.

Musharraf came to power in 1999 in a coup. He's maintained his position as the head of the Pakistan Army while President, a point of constant legal controversy. He swore that if reelected this time around, he would finally resign his army position.

That wasn't quite enough for the opposition, and a challenge was brought to the Supreme Court. Was it constitutionally legal for Musharraf to be elected while serving as the head of the army? The answer was widely seen as "no," but with Musharraf's history of not respecting the judicial branch no one hurried to say so.

At first the court pushed off the decision, but then back pedalled and were about to make the call, when Musharraf cut them off, suspending constitutional rule and removing Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry from his post as Chief Justice for a second time. Lawyers across the country were successful in staging protests last time, but Musharraf has been arresting and beating them by the hundreds.

One government official told the press 1500 to 1800 people have been detained nationwide. Supreme Court justices who would not swear allegience to Musharraf's new court are under house arrest and other "pressure," according to one justice who refused to join the new court. Prominent critics of Musharraf are also under house arrest, from Islamist groups to the chairman of the Human Rights Commision of Pakistan.

The Netherlands were the first to suspend aid to Pakistan in light of new events. The British are examining their aid package, but the United States has done little more than voice concern. Aid from the leader of the Free World will continue to flow to the new police state without a hiccup, so the anti-terror operations can continue uninterrupted.

NPR
BBC

***

Personally, I don't see the benefit in being safe from the terrorists if we have to allow the world's nations to be ruled by dictators. The wrongs we are tolerating from our "allies" in the "war on terror" are shameful, and so much worse than any bomb, or multiple bombs, that could ever land on our shores.

The rule of law. Civil liberties. Freedom to criticize the government. Separation of powers. Transparency. A nation based on a constitution, not a man's whim. These are the things that make a nation worth living in, worth dying for. These are what constitute a free state.

The United States of America is yet again supporting a dictator who abuses his people, and calls on Abraham Lincoln for justification. The United States of America is placing a greater value on fighting terror than on the principles of our nation. The United States of America is taking its eye off the ball because of fear, and the United States of America should be ashamed of itself.

Excuse me while I drop my Congressman and Senators a line.