Academia Alert

"Honoris Causa" Doctorates may have been inappropriate.

DUUUUUUHHHHHH!!!! Ya think?

Zimbabwe ruler Robert Mugabe may be vilified by the civilized world as a result of his campaign to demolish the homes of hundreds of thousands of his country's poorest residents, but he is beloved among certain segments of American academia.

The brutal dictator has received honorary degrees from the University of Massachusetts and from Michigan State University, where a campaign is underway to strip him of the doctorate of law degrees the institution awarded him in 1990. [Not UMass, yet...]

The campaigners say that at the time "Mugabe was known for killing his opposition on a small scale, but since then his terror has gone to the next level."

"Minority black tribes, white farmers, democracy activists, newspaper publishers – anybody who doesn't fit into Mugabe's plan for Zimbabwe – are being killed or persecuted," the campaign's website notes.

"And MSU gave him an honorary degree to recognize his great contribution to the legal field. Just what kind of laws is Mugabe known for?" Amnesty International says Zimbabwe "is still using repressive legislation to restrict the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly of all Zimbabweans, in particular political opponents, independent media workers and human rights activists."

As WorldNetDaily reported, when Mugabe systematically burned out white farmers and murdered them for their valuable land in the name of "wealth redistribution," the international community paid little notice.

Now Mugabe has turned his deadly attention to the poor – driving hundreds of thousands from their homes in what he euphemistically calls an "urban renewal" program – or "Operation Drive Out Trash."

At news conferences in Africa and at the United Nations, more than 200 international human rights and civic groups said the campaign was "a grave violation of international human rights law and a disturbing affront to human dignity."

International rights groups said at least 300,000 people have lost their homes by conservative estimates. The United Nations puts the figure as high as 1.5 million, though Zimbabwe police only acknowledge about 120,000.

More than 42,000 people have also been arrested, fined or had their goods confiscated.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44978

Xoff Missing In Action

Still waiting for Xoff to MENTION the Kelo decision--much less take a position.

Is Christofferson a Statist or a crypto-Statist?

You decide: http://www.wisopinion.com/blogs/xofffiles.html

Don't Scorn the Women!

Warning to all you incipient cads out there:

Furious that her geriatric romance was ending, a 78-year-old woman clad in a hairnet, stockings, bathrobe and slippers fatally shot her 85-year-old ex-beau as he read the newspaper in a senior's citizen's home, police said.

Justice Kennedy Demands Obeisance

Lawyers should speak up and explain the judicial process when judges come under attack, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy told members of the Florida Bar on Friday.

"When judges are attacked unfairly, it's proper for the bar over the course of time, in a professional and elegant way, to explain to the public the meaning of the rule of the law," Kennedy told several hundred lawyers attending the Florida Bar's annual meeting.

In the past year, the judiciary has come under attack from U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who openly criticized the federal courts when they refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Delay pointed to Kennedy as an example of Republican members of the Supreme Court who were activist and isolated.

The fact that the Justice spoke in Florida is ironic in the extreme; Florida's judiciary is the Poster Child for every known legal disease.

Kennedy, as you recall, wrote the Casey opinion which may stand as the greatest example of Judicial Conceit since Marbury. Likely he also read the polls which reflect that 94% of the public thinks Kelo is utterly wrong.

Justice Kennedy wants lawyers to 'professionally and elegantly' explain that Statism is a good thing.

My suspicion is that there are damn few lawyers out there who will "elegantly" explain Kelo. They can't. The Supremes attempted to repeal the English language with their asinine blather. While some are attempting to "cover up" this kitty scat with the scented clay of "State's Rights," others know better.

"State's rights" is a transparent curtain showing the King's New Clothes: pure, raw, unmitigated Statism.

Respect, hell!

Late Afternoon Silliness

Yesterday afternoon a radio host took on the Unocal/Red China question.

During the segment, he made a statement to the effect that '[Red] China is a vast market, which will be buying American-made goods, thus the US will be enriched by encouraging the Chinese...'

Really? The jingoistic conceits buried under the Pollyanna frosting in that thesis are striking.

The first presumption is that the Chinese will buy 'American-style' goods because, after all, everything in the USA is superior to anything in any other society.

Another presumption: that the Chinese will reverse their track record and stop stealing designs and manufacturing techniques from the US and the West in general.

A third presumption: that the Chinese dictators will allow the import of US goods in favor of home-grown goods.

The radio host's thesis is seriously flawed; we were reminded of that by another newsletter which arrived this morning. While the newsletter made the point that the British Empire was different from the Roman Empire in a lot of ways, even the newsletter missed the larger point.

China's foundational culture is, simply, totally different from that of the US, or England, or the Hapsburgs, or the Spaniards. The West is Judaeo-Christian. China is not.

The gross, egregious, and fatal conceit is that 'China wants to be like the US.' Why would they?

It so happens that my #3 offspring was on the phone with the PM host when this host's fatuous point was made--or I might not have paid attention. (For you longsuffering parents--my kid was on the RIGHT side...they do 'get it' after a while.)

NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY (for you Lefties)

Shamelessly Stolen from www.ThoseShirts.com:

10 Top Gun Safety Tips, slightly edited:

8. No matter how responsible he seems, never give your gun to a monkey.

6. When unholstering your weapon, it's customary to say "Excuse me while I whip this out!"

4. If your weapon misfires, don't look down the barrel to see what went wrong. Have someone else do that for you.

3. NEVER use your handgun to pistol-whip someone. That could mar the finish.

1. And the MOST important rule of gun safety: Don't piss me off.

Supreme Rumor

Kristol reports:

1) Sandra Day O'Connor resigns next week.
2) Bush appoints Gonzales
3) Genuine conservatives scream that Gonzales is not conservative
4) Rove retorts that "He's a little more conservative than O'Connor, quitcha b$^%&-a."
5) Conservatives finally understand that GWB is a poseur.

Fraud on the Court

NOT on the Milwaukee JS' front page:

The women behind the Supreme Court cases that led to legalized abortion told a Senate panel Thursday they never intended to help the abortion rights movement and claimed they were duped by lawyers representing them more than three decades ago.

The anti-abortion views of Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano, the anonymous plaintiffs in Roe v. Wade and its companion case, Doe v. Bolton, are well-known, but it is the first time both have testified together in Congress.

Both women have tried unsuccessfully to overturn the cases that have spawned years of bitter debate over the question of abortion. They were called, along with legal and medical experts, to testify on the consequences of the 1973 decisions that found a Constitutional right to abortion.
The hearing before a packed Senate conference room was convened by Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, an ardent abortion opponent who is eyeing a run for president. He called it "the first in a series to highlight the effect certain Supreme Court decisions have had on American life."

Brownback, chairman of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, already has held hearings this year on the need for a constitutional amendment to protect marriage and the need for more federal obscenity prosecutions.

Cano, 57, told the panel she was uneducated, poor and pregnant with her fourth child when lawyers recruited her to challenge Georgia's anti-abortion statute. She claims she never authorized lawyers to say she wanted an abortion.

"I feel like my name, life and identity have been stolen and put on this case without my knowledge and against my wishes," Cano said.

McCorvey, 58, called herself "a pawn of the legal system" and recounted her decision to join the anti-abortion movement 10 years ago after she spent time working in an abortion clinic.
Neither Cano nor McCorvey ever had the abortions at issue in their cases.

Among those testifying in favor of Roe v. Wade was Kenneth Edelin, associate dean of Boston University School of Medicine. Edelin recounted his experience as a young doctor in 1966 trying to save the life of woman who had a botched illegal abortion and urged lawmakers not to "turn back the clock" on abortion rights. (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/11969357.htm)

From other sources:

The choice of panelists was made equally by Brownback and Feingold. The constitutional law attorneys arguing that Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton were constitutionally unsound decisions were Teresa Collett, Esq., Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas Law School, Minneapolis, MN and M. Edward Whelan, Esq., President, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, DC.

Those arguing that they were "sound law" were R. Alta Charo, Esq., Professor of Law and Bioethics, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, WI, and Karen O'Connor, Esq., Professor of Government, American University, Washington, DC.

[Sen. Jeff Sessions commented]: "I've heard these ladies before, known about their wanting to change what was done in their names and without their permission, but to have them here before us, is remarkable. It sounds like fraud was done on the [Supreme] Court. We need to look into this." (http://anniebanno.blogspot.com/2005/06/sounds-like-fraud-upon-court-pls.html)

The hearing was sponsored by Sen. Brownback. Sen. Feingold was present throughout and did not comment extensively.

Security? WHAT Security?

From the London "Sun":

CROOKED call centre workers in India are flogging details of Britons’ bank accounts, a Sun probe has found.

Our undercover reporter Oliver Harvey was sold the top secret information on a thousand accounts, and numbers of passports and credit cards.

And today City of London police launched an investigation after receiving a dossier of information from The Sun giving details of the banks whose security may have been compromised.

A number of high street banks including Barclays, the Woolwich, HSBC and Lloyds TSB, said they were working with police.Harvey, who paid a total of 5,000 US dollars (£2,750) for the information and was asked for another £275 to be sent later, was told details usually cost £4.25 but he was getting a special deal.

Kkaran Bahree, who said he got the details from a network of call centre workers in Delhi, also boasted that he could get up to 2,000 account details a month.

The information received included account holders’ addresses, secretpasswords, credit card details, passports and driving licence information.

In some cases there were also the issue and expiry dates of bank cards, as well as the three digit security number from the back of the card.

A spokeswoman for the City of London Police said: "All the financialinstitutions identified have been fully informed of the situation."An investigation is now under way. Therefore it would be inappropriate for us to provide further details at this stage." (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005280724,,00.html)

ID's--98% or Less?

From Bruce Murphy's column:

But will such legislation requiring all voters to have a photo ID disenfranchise some people? The ETI research shows an incredible 30 percent of residents in Milwaukee County lack a valid driver’s license, including 47 percent of African-American males. Statewide, 23 percent of senior citizens, or more than 177,000 people, lack a valid driver’s license or photo ID. That’s an awful lot of people who won’t be allowed to vote, unless they chose to stand in the endless lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles office for their free ID. (http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/murphyslaw/)

BUT:

According to DOT, about 98 percent of Wisconsin's adult population have driver's licenses or a picture identification card issued by DOT. (http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=43749&ntpid=2)

Frank Busalacchi, Call Your Office!!

The Insurance Will Pay

Jensen, Gielow, Gard, Stone, Vrakas, Underheim, Sinicki.

Republicans.

Voted for 'one of the worst bills' (Sykes) in Wisconsin legislative history.

A reminder: Scott Jensen also believes that our elected officials need NOT vote on certain tax increases--like the gas tax. Last thing we want to do is make our position clear on tax increases, right?

Bush Policy on Dual-Use to the ChiComs (Headache)

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The razor-thin sheets of film looked as benign as tin foil. But they were intercepted on their way to the Great Wall Industry Corp., a Chinese aerospace company, and in their neat brown cardboard package they illustrate the conundrum China presents for U.S. military planners.

The foil actually was Kapton, a substance used as a thermal insulator for satellites and rockets. Kapton is a "dual-use" item, one that can be used both for civilian and military purposes, such as in ballistic missiles. Permission to export it is required by the U.S. government.
The exporting company, Valtex International Corp. of Palo Alto, Calif., tried to skirt the law three years ago by mismarking a shipping label after the government denied its exports on two attempts.

The Valtex case is one of a growing number of export-enforcement actions involving Chinese companies and agents intent on acquiring U.S. military technology. (Valtex and its president pleaded guilty in February, and last month they were given probation, ordered to pay $427,000 and banned from making exports for three years).

Such incidents underscore the inherent tension within current U.S. China policy, one that keenly promotes robust trade in hopes that it will lead to democratic reforms while trying to keep China's growing military might - and regional ambitions - in check. The Bush administration recently has raised new concerns about China's military ambitions, with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld early this month questioning China's "continuing large and expanding arms purchases," and has exhorted European nations and Israel not to sell arms to China.
But some China analysts say much more attention should be paid to the U.S. dual-use technology that might go to China for civilian use but find its way into military manufacturing. The list of those items is long and difficult to police, from computer components to manufacturing equipment to the aerospace components like the space-age metal that Valtex tried to supply.

"Almost nothing is denied to the Chinese at this point," said Peter Leitner, a senior analyst at the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Administration. "The administration overall leans in terms of balance-of-trade concerns, rather than restricting the sale of potential military goods to China."

Commerce Department officials dispute that claim. They said concerns over China's military expansion have heightened enforcement actions and led to increased scrutiny, including a recently launched review of what can be exported without licenses. "What we're doing now is looking at items that don't currently require licenses when they're shipped to China," said Peter Lichtenbaum, the acting undersecretary of commerce. "We don't want any items going to the military."

U.S. manufacturers have long argued that export restrictions often are meaningless because similar goods can be purchased from foreign sources. Still, China is the leading destination for dual-use items, according to government figures. From 2000 to 2002, according to a government audit, U.S. exporters received 2,644 licenses from the Commerce Department to ship dual-use goods to China - more than a third of the licenses granted during that period.

In 2004 and so far this year, U.S. companies have shipped China more than $2 billion in products used in the aerospace industry, another $2 billion in electronics and $81 million in advanced materials, according to figures compiled by the University of Georgia's Center for International Trade and Security.

Concerns over China, a key campaign issue for President Bush in 2000, have been overshadowed by continuing combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But recently administration officials and members of Congress have begun to speak openly about China's military expansion and what it may mean for security in Asia, and beyond.

In the House, members of both parties recently formed a China caucus and plan to hear from experts on everything from the theft of intellectual property to the range of the latest Chinese missiles. Dual-use exports from the United States are a primary concern, according to the caucus chairman, Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va.

"One of my big concerns is twofold," Forbes said. "What we're selling to China in a dual-use way and what they can turn back on us. And ... the number of companies forming to come to the United States to get intelligence information from our defense industry."

In January 2004, the General Accounting Office (now known as the Government Accountability Office), Congress' investigative arm, reported that the Commerce Department checked just 6 percent of 7,680 dual-use exports to "countries of concern" to ensure that recipients were using the products for civilian, not military, purposes.

China, the GAO noted in particular, "limits the number of checks each year." The Commerce Department's Lichtenbaum said the United States and China have struck a new agreement that allows inspections and that department investigators have worked through the backlog of inspections. But a congressional aide who tracks the process and requested anonymity said it still is "too early to tell if the process is working or not."

Recent cases also suggest that plenty of Chinese and American businesses are willing to ignore the law altogether.

Three Chinese nationals were charged in April in a federal court in New Jersey with fraud, with prosecutors alleging they bilked their U.S. company out of $1 million while arranging the sale of devices used to control radio signals.

In another recent case, Laurel Industrial Inc. of San Jose, Calif., was charged with violating U.S. export policy in its sale of underwater acoustic detection equipment to a Chinese customer. The company had failed to receive a license and agreed to pay a $44,000 fine.

During a recent defense ministers' conference in Singapore, Rumsfeld said the Pentagon's report on the Chinese military would show that it now has the world's third-largest military budget, after the United States and Russia. A Rand Corp. study issued in May found that China was spending as much as $78 billion annually on defense, or about 2.8 percent of its gross domestic product.

The United States spent $430 billion last year on defense, nearly 4 percent of GDP.
But analysts also cited positive developments in the U.S.-Chinese military relationship, such as exchanges among groups of officers that started in the late 1990s to thaw the diplomatic chill that followed the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
One group of Chinese generals and admirals visited National Defense University in recent weeks, said Bud Cole, an NDU professor who recently wrote a book on the Chinese navy. Cole and others who have taken part in the exchanges said they have offered U.S. officers unusual insight into the Chinese military and its capabilities.

"We learn a lot more about them than they learn about us in the military exchange programs," said Cole, who was given entree to Chinese Navy ships and facilities while researching his book. "They're such a closed society, one of our military attaches in China would have to scramble to find out things. But we're such an open society, they probably ship stuff they get from open sources back in footlockers."

Most of us are well aware of X42's "What, ME Worry?" attitude to arming Red China. I had kinda hoped that GWB would have put the clamps down.

http://americaneconomicalert.org/news_item.asp?NID=1592175

Genesis of the Abrogation of the 5th Amendment

There seems to be a bit of surprise at the Supremes' Statist Ruling.

The surprise is unjustified.

Any "Court" which can issue Roe and Casey certainly has the authority to create a State's right to bulldoze a few old houses and steal from grandma.

Copy to Charlie

This is a copy of the email I just sent to Charlie Sykes--who gets a large bunch of well-deserved props from me (and others.) But he does have a couple of blind spots.

So this morning he becomes a little concerned when he learns that some Communist Chinese front company wants to buy Unocal lock, stock, and barrel(s.)

How can the John Galt eonomics-types argue about this? We all know that:

"1) Under Capitalist 101, the highest bidder gets the prize. Now we have a problem, eh?

"2) Under Capitalist 101, the lowest priced comparable good should be preferred, right? But this is NOT a problem, regardless of what factors enter into the pricing (slave labor, no labor/enviro/safety/tax concerns…just for example…)

Somewhere along the line, Galt’s Capitalism 101 should be recognized for what it is: a false god.

Personally, I like ‘national interest’ interventions. Now if we could only find a Congress which understands THAT term."

Immigration of Computer Whizzes

Steve Forbes attempts to make the case that the US economy is going to suffer because Immigration policy now restricts foreign students from coming here, earning a degree, and then applying their IT skills.

Really, Steve?

Some would simply take Forbes' input (a re-puking of ITAA propaganda combined with certain collegiate-professor Interest Group propaganda) as the ultimate word on the situation. After all, if it "hurts American Business" it simply must be reversed or derogated.

Some facts that Forbes failed to mention are found here: http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/MichJLawReform.pdf; you can download either the Index or the whole shootin' match...

Norm Matloff is a professor at a UC campus. He's well aware of the politics and the interest groups. He also presents info which simply debunks Forbes' alarmism.

In a nutshell: The US does not lack for talented IT people. The "reformers" simply want CHEAPER IT people. Indentured servitude of the Green Card variety assures that end; dealing with US citizens is more challenging.

UPDATE: Career experts say the decline of traditional tech jobs for U.S. workers isn't likely to reverse anytime soon.

The U.S. software industry lost 16 percent of its jobs from March 2001 to March 2004, the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute found. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that information technology industries laid off more than 7,000 American workers in the first quarter of 2005.

"Obviously the past four or five years have been really rough for tech job seekers, and that's not going to change - there are absolutely no signs that there's a huge boom about to happen where techies will get big salary hikes or there will be lots of new positions opening for them," said Allan Hoffman, the tech job expert at career site Monster.com.

(http://americaneconomicalert.org/news_item.asp?NID=1586482)

Maybe Steve Forbes didn't read this article, eh?

Statism Rules the Supremes

The ruling allowing a developer to bulldoze family homes in Connecticut was 5-4; Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, O'Connor opposed.

That means that the Statists are the "liberals," (although Kennedy was appointed by a Pubbie Pres.) However, Kennedy's wacked-out opinion in Casey is ample proof that given a choice, he's a Statist.

Bad Moon Rising....

"Because That's Where the Money Is..."

Update on Jesse James, from the Washington Post

The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 34,750 while the amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by as much as 100 percent. Only a few other businesses have enjoyed greater prosperity in an otherwise fitful economy.

The lobbying boom has been caused by three factors, experts say: rapid growth in government, Republican control of both the White House and Congress, and wide acceptance among corporations that they need to hire professional lobbyists to secure their share of federal benefits.

(snip)

"People in industry are willing to invest money because they see opportunities here," said Patrick J. Griffin, who was President Bill Clinton's top lobbyist and is now in private practice. "They see that they can win things, that there's something to be gained. Washington has become a profit center."

Take the example of Hewlett-Packard Co. The California computer maker nearly doubled its budget for contract lobbyists to $734,000 last year and added the elite lobbying firm of Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC. Its goal was to pass Republican-backed legislation that would allow the company to bring back to the United States at a dramatically lowered tax rate as much as $14.5 billion in profit from foreign subsidiaries.

The extra lobbying paid off. The legislation was approved and Hewlett-Packard will save millions of dollars in taxes.

The Republicans in charge aren't just pro-business, they are also pro-government. Federal outlays increased nearly 30 percent from 2000 to 2004, to $2.29 trillion. And despite the budget deficit, federal spending is set to increase again this year, especially in programs that are prime lobbying targets such as defense, homeland security and medical coverage.

1) Just change a few names, amounts, and locations, and each State fits this picture.
2) Of course, all the results are in "the National Interest," right?

Only ten years ago, those who spoke of "the Party of Government" were dismissed as alarmists. "Prophets" might have been better--or simply "clear-sighted."

More Bad News

From the Washington Times today:

China has successfully flight-tested a submarine-launched missile that U.S. officials say marks a major advance in Beijing's long-range nuclear program.

"This is a significant milestone in their effort to develop strategic weapons," said a U.S. official familiar with reports of the test.

U.S. intelligence agencies monitored the flight test of a JL-2 missile about 10 days ago, officials said.

The missile was launched from a Chinese submarine near the port of Qingdao and was tracked to a desert impact point in western China several thousand miles away, the officials said.

The Air Force's National Air Intelligence Center reported that the JL-2 "will, for the first time, allow Chinese [missile submarines] to target portions of the United States from operating areas located near the Chinese coast."

The JL-2 is estimated to have a range of up to 6,000 miles, enough to hit targets in the United States.

A defense official said the missile test was a major step forward in China's strategic nuclear missile program and shows an improved capability to produce and launch submarine-launched missiles. "It was a successful test," this official said.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050621-102521-5027r.htm

Thanks, X42. The guidance systems YOU helped them get accelerated the program nicely.

Republican Whores

Coincidence Department:*

1) Assembly leadership (that's John Gard) has paved the way for a bill which would steal several hundred million dollars from an insurance company to assist Fort Howard Paper (and G-P, its parent). The insurance company would be forced to pay for the cleanup of the Fox River, which was not part of its insurance policy.

2) Assembly leadership (that's John Gard) is running for Congress from a paper-producing District in Wisconsin.

*"There is NO SUCH THING as co-incidence." --Jack Ryan, speaking for Tom Clancy.

Channel 4 Gets It Right

Heard with my own ears, last night on Channel 4's 10PM news---

Mike Gousha's story on the Budget Battle began with the words "The Republican budget increases school spending by $400 million dollars, but the Democrats wish to spend $438 million [more than that]..."

Can't ask for a better take on the story.

Gard's On Guard. SHUT UP!

From Xoff of Christofferson, (the wrong stuff, but interesting): this excerpt of a floor speech by a somewhat disaffected Pubbie. What's interesting is the reference to Grothmann.

“Some might wonder why I’m bringing up these things that were said in (secret) caucus. While these things were being said in caucus, when I put my name on the list to respond to them, I was told, 'We didn’t have enough time, we had to talk about the budget now.' I've been here two and a half years, I’ve never gotten up to speak on a bill…I passed bills and I never felt the need to get up and give rhetoric on other bills knowing full well it wasn’t going to change the vote. But on this one, I feel like I was silenced in caucus.

“And not just me, but this has happened in the past. Last year, now-Sen. (Glenn) Grothman was silenced by our leadership in caucus. I stood up to defend him. This year, another member of (Republican leadership) tried to silence (Republican Rep. Scott Suder of Abbotsford). And I stood up to defend him.

“What happened today, I wasn't just silenced. The 50,000 people that I represent were told we didn't have enough time to hear what I had to say. After all the speeches I’ve listened to on this floor…I’ve spent what seems like half my life listening to (Democratic Rep. Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids) telling me how evil I am, I just think that was way out of line....

Gard, and some others in the Assembly, have had NO real jobs outside of politics--and they would have us believe that this makes them "qualified" for higher office.

Maybe.

The Madison Dance

Lassee's take on the 'conservative' Republican budget for Wisconsin:

MADISON – The budget bill coming up for a vote in the Assembly Tuesday spends too much, borrows too much, and relies on too many accounting gimmicks. Yet, said Rep. Frank Lasee (R-Bellevue), Republican leadership is trying to sell it as a conservative budget because it is “better than Governor Doyle’s.”

“Our Republican leadership is relying completely on the argument that their budget is better than the Doyle budget,” Lasee said. “It borrows less than his does. My thought is: so what? That doesn’t make it a fiscally responsible budget. It still spends and borrows more than we can afford.”

“It’s like saying that smoking three packs a day is unhealthy, but you’re all right because you only smoke two packs a day,” Lasee said. “Comparatively, it’s better, but it’s still bad. This budget is a bad budget. Leadership is just trying to make it look better by comparison to Doyle’s.”

Lasee noted that under the JFC budget, general fund spending will grow by 10%, and general obligation bonding – bonds paid for with tax money – will grow by 55%.

Other dissenters include Nass of Whitewater, and some Fox River Valley stable-boy who is a professional pain in the nose.

Roman Restoration

From UPI today, repeating a few "hot" rumors:

Pope Benedict XVI wants to restore the traditional ceremonial Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, with Latin instead of the vernacular and Gregorian chants.

Vatican expert Sandro Magister reported in his weekly newsletter Saturday that the pope is expected to replace Archbishop Pietro Marini, his predecessor Pope John Paul II's master of liturgical ceremonies.

Whoever follows Marini will have orders to restore the traditional style and choreography of papal ceremonies in St. Peter's.

Out will go the international Masses so dear to Pope John Paul II's heart, with such innovations as Latin American and African rhythms and even dancing, multi-lingual readings and children in national costumes bringing gifts to the altar.

Pope Benedict wants to return to the Sistine Chapel choirs singing Gregorian chant and the church music of such composers as Claudio Monteverdi from the 17th century. He also wants to revive the Latin Mass.

Archbishop Marini always planned the ceremonies with television in mind, Magister said, and that emphasis will remain. A decade ago the Vatican set up a system for transmitting papal ceremonies world wide via multiple satellites.

(UPI) http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=89706&cat=World

For those who have ears to hear...the straws are in the wind.

Which Church?

Found on FreeRepublic, in a discussion of a recent conversion to Roman Catholicism by a bright young musician:

The lyrics to the "hymns" were put up on the wall with an overhead projector, and were some of the most banal and repetitive dreck I've ever heard. The simple melodies were as dull as dishwater. Even so, barely one in ten people was really singing whole-heartedly. These are not churches for people who wish to contemplate the Infinite in music. Frankly, their entertainment was a good deal shakier than their doctrine.

Ummmnnnn, nope. NOT the St. Louis Jesuits. Sorry, Zero!

Oscar Mayer, Where Are You?

Kraft, the owner of Oscar Mayer, has decided to be a sponsor of the "Gay Games" in Chicago this summer.

There are just too many possiblities, beginning with "Oh, I Will NOT Be an Oscar Mayer Wiener..." and going south from there...

Fisking The Coroner of Pinellas

Here's a take on Thogmorton which is born of Right Thinking from Troy Newman:

Schiavo Autopsy an Orwellian Masterpiece

George Orwell once wrote "If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought." The recent release of the Pinellas County autopsy of Terri Schiavo is a clear and convincing example of Orwell's assertion. The national thought and language has been overtaken by a Big Brother of sorts, the mainstream media who is now "thinking our thoughts" and compelling us into their world of "doublethink."

Written using technical medical terminology, which is lost on most, the 39-page tome announced that the certified manner of death is "undetermined," and the cause of Terri's untimely departure from this earthly life was "Complications of Anoxic Encephalopathy," or, in layman's terms, a brain injury from lack of oxygen. The report continues to explain that because no one really knows what caused the episode fifteen years ago that resulted in Terri's injury, her manner of death remains uncertain.

It is now official. Nobody really knows why Terri died.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember the ebb and flow Terri's riveting end-of-life struggle being reported internationally for weeks. There were highly published efforts by her family to prevent her court-ordered death by dehydration that involved the United States Congress, the President, the Florida Legislature, the Florida Governor, and an unprecedented number of courts. Even her final moments on this mortal coil were callously reported live as if it was the last two minutes of the Super Bowl. Billions of people all over the globe were morbidly transfixed to their television sets watching and waiting for Terri to slowly die after being deprived of nourishment and hydration.

Now the Chief Medical Examiner of Pasco and Pinellas Counties, Dr. Jon R. Thogmartin, claims we really can't know how she died.

While Terri lay disabled and unable to speak, her caregivers were verbally spinning the account of her tortured, lingering death in to a compassionate healthcare fairy-tale. Terri's estranged husband, Michael, repeatedly told us that his wife "had died fifteen years earlier." How many times did we hear the medical "experts" tell us that her cerebral cortex had "liquefied" or that Terri was in a PVS, Persistent Vegetative State?

Now the autopsy was meant to confirm everything the death-peddling pundits have told us, and with such great authenticity and certainty that no one would dare question their findings. But it hasn't worked out that way.

The questions raised by the absurd declaration that the manner of death cannot be determined makes me wonder if Dr. Thogmartin is a student of the famous science fiction author George Orwell.

In Orwell's masterpiece work 1984, he describes a society manipulated through the use of a deceptive propaganda tool known as New Speak. This tool, where the language was perverted to mean whatever the authorities wanted it to mean, produced "doublethink" in a malleable society. Doublethink is "the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them."

It is evident that a form of New Speak has been employed the case of Terri Schiavo. We have been told that we must accept the "fact" that Terri actually died during her 1991 "accident" and that she was being "artificially kept alive" in spite of the fact that her body was "shutting down." But, in a momentary lapse in Schiavo New Speak, Dr. Thogmartin states that Terri was "a relatively health woman who could have easily survived another 10 or 15 years." Are both true? It seems as though Dr. Thogmartin and his cohort medical examiners are creating a third class of human – the living dead. There are those of us who are alive, those who are dead, and now thanks to the Orwellian Thought Police, we have those, like Terri, who were somewhere in between life and death, hovering in a zombie-like existence.

We have been force-fed the concept that it was benevolent to deprive Terri of basic sustenance, yet our minds tell us it was sadistic. We are being trained to think, in classic Orwellian fashion, that bad is good in a diabolical attempt to justify the killing of the infirmed, disabled, or otherwise imperfect people among us. Today, because of the pro-death spin doctors corrupting our concepts of truth and morality, our society consented to the murder of Terri Schiavo.

Tomorrow? Well, that is a future that even Orwell would not want to consider.
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6355

Big Brother, See my ISP Activity??

Here we go. This one is "for the children," allegedly to catch the 'child porn' types.

The U.S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customers' online activities.
Data retention rules could permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity months after Internet providers ordinarily would have deleted the logs--that is, if logs were ever kept in the first place. No U.S. law currently mandates that such logs be kept.

In theory, at least, data retention could permit successful criminal and terrorism prosecutions that otherwise would have failed because of insufficient evidence. But privacy worries and questions about the practicality of assembling massive databases of customer behavior have caused a similar proposal to stall in Europe and could engender stiff opposition domestically.

(snip)

McClure said that while the Justice Department representatives argued that Internet service providers should cooperate voluntarily, they also raised the "possibility that we should create by law a standard period of data retention." McClure added that "my sense was that this is something that they've been working on for a long time."

This represents an abrupt shift in the Justice Department's long-held position that data retention is unnecessary and imposes an unacceptable burden on Internet providers. In 2001, the Bush administration expressed "serious reservations about broad mandatory data retention regimes." (http://news.com.com/Your+ISP+as+Net+watchdog/2100-1028_3-5748649.html?tag=nefd.lede)

And a hat tip to Random 10 and MyCatharsis, bloggers.

Education Is The Answer (Really??)

One of the interesting newsletters NOT cited by the MSM (and also NOT cited by the National Ass'n of Manufacturers, or the Globaloney Crowd) is from ZaZona (www.zazona.com) out of Arizona.

The newsletter deals principally with immigration work permits flagrantly abused by Fortune 100-type companies to import (inter alia) "highly trained/skilled" professionals.

Inevitably, the Fortune 100 flaks tell us that the US simply does not produce enough Engineers, Mathematicians, (you name it, whatever) and thus, these firms are forced to go to the Far Corners of the Earth (and Galaxy) to recruit the talent necessary, yada, yada, yada. You know the line: it's repeated enough so that it became The Truth, per the prediction of Herr Goebbels.

It's also a crock.

ZaZona was kind enough to send the general outline (and several particulars) of Honeywell/Arizona's new Engineeering Cost-Reduction plan. ZaZona has made it clear that NONE of this information was verified by Honeywell management (duhhh!) but that it came from "reliable sources" (presumably internal Honeywell folks.)

"Honeywell executives have decided that revenue spent for engineering must go below 15% of their total expenditures. In order to cut costs they will "globalize" their engineering departments.

This globalization process will focus on cutting the cost of labor by using the following methods: * Replacing current Honeywell workers with L-1 visa holders. These L-1 visa holders will come mostly from Russia, Czech Republic, and India.

* Whenever possible all positions in engineering and its support functions will be outsourced to overseas locations.

* All new IT jobs will be required to be outsourced offshore.

* No external hiring will be allowed, and transfers of employees within Honeywell will be discouraged until the job terminations are complete.

* Open job positions will be "backfilled with globalized engineers at a lower cost." Managers that refuse to go along with this process will be replaced with more cooperative ones.

* American subcontractors are currently being eliminated and replaced with foreign companies.

The following factoids pertain specifically about Honeywell's Component Engineering in their Commercial Electronic Systems (CES) on Deer Valley Road in Phoenix, Arizona and Aerospace (AES). Similar tactics will be used at other Honeywell locations.

>> Honeywell CEO, Dave Cote, has ordered Roman Jamragowiecz, VP of Engineering, to globalize 25% of AES engineering. It is generally understood that Roman will lose his job if he doesn't meet this goal.

>> Honeywell understands that workers will be extremely angry when they see their jobs being filled by foreign workers. There is a fear that some employees may go postal when they are forced to train their replacements. On June 9th at the Deer Valley and Bell Road plant, managers were given training on workplace violence. Managers were counseled that they had to report all threats or "going postal" type comments. Extra security will be hired during the mass terminations.

>> Whenever possible work will be "co-sourced" to Indian companies such as Wipro, Keane, (sic) Caritor.

>> No Indians are to lose their jobs during the job cuts in the U.S.

>> Engineering layoffs will begin on July 1st and will be far more than 17% across the board cuts that were announced to the press. The undercount occurs because Honeywell isn't eliminating their globalized labor force - ONLY U.S. JOBS ARE AFFECTED, BUT ALL HONEYWELL WORKERS ARE COUNTED!

>> The 17% reduction is actually an undercount because each department must count its globalized staff in their headcount - the 17% number does not apply to the globalized staff, only U.S. staff! As an example: If a department is composed of a total of 100 persons, with 60 in the United States and 40 in Bangalore, the total number of job losses in the U.S. is 17, not the 10 that would be calculated by the U.S. headcount (100*.17 = 17). None of workers in Bangalore will lose their jobs so the 17 will come out of the 60 U.S. employees. American contractors have already been eliminated so only the employees left standing will be counted for the job cuts. Without counting the contractors this department in this example will axe 28% of its employees - almost twice as much as Honeywell admits through their press releases.

>> Layoffs will continue until engineering is less than 15% of the budget.

>> Honeywell at Deer Valley will be replacing American workers with Indian and Czechs. The foreign workers will be marched into the buildings on July 28th and 29th at the rate of 250-300 per day.

>> All U.S. citizens or Green card holders that quit will not be counted in the layoff statistics even though many of them will be forced to retire. There will also be an additional 2000 layoffs in aerospace that will not be counted in the total job loss statistics that will be released to the press.

>> Honeywell doesn't seem very concerned with diversity. They have already terminated employment of several African American women senior engineers. The Indians L-1s being brought in are 99% male and almost all of them are very young.

>> All employees that question the hiring of Indian L-1s are subject to bad performance reviews, and of course any black mark on their records could be used as a reason for dismissal.

>> There are approximately 31 Component Engineers in CES. The number will come down and will be backfilled with globalized engineers at a lower cost.

>> The Redmond, Washington location is considered short-handed. Despite the need for more engineers at Redmond, no engineers from other locations will be allowed to relocate to Redmond even if they are facing job termination.

If you are wondering why more US students don't study Engineering and Computer Sciences, this little item may help you understand.

Note, too, that all this is done to achieve "Cost Reduction," but NOT "headcount" reduction. There will be just as many engineers at Honeywell. They just won't speak fluent English.

Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Members

John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO has seen "downsizing." But in his case, it means that unions are leaving the AFL-CIO. Most recent was the departure of the SEIU. More significant was the departure of the Carpenters' Union.

In reading the press reports over the departures, it seemed that both groups were unhappy with Sweeney's fixation with raising and spending money to support candidates for political office. The ex-affiliate Unions would prefer to concentrate on increasing membership.

Then again, maybe there's more to the story. Maybe Sweeney's ideology is simply too radioactive for the rank-and-file Carpenters and waitresses:

"The AFL-CIO Executive Committee's March 3 resolution, which labor officials unanimously adopted, opposes federal and state constitutional amendments to define marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman.

"The resolution reiterates the AFL-CIO's "longstanding support for the full inclusion and equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the workplace and society."
The Executive Committee says a federal Marriage Protection Amendment and its state counterparts "threaten the rights of working people by creating an environment across the nation that is hostile to the rights of domestic partners, regardless of their sexual orientation."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44853

Do I hear the Teamsters snickering?

Big Brother: Milwaukee Child Welfare Dept

The parents of two students at a private Christian school in Milwaukee, Wis., have sued government officials after a social worker allegedly body searched and interrogated the children without permission.

Seeking declaratory and injunctive relief as well as monetary damages, the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy and attorney Michael D. Dean filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of the parents Wednesday, citing multiple violations of constitutional rights, according to a statement from the lawyers.

The suit alleges social worker Dana Gresbach illegally entered the private school, Good Hope Christian Academy, by wrongly informing the principal that the law required she be allowed access to the children and ordering the principal not to contact the parents.

The attorneys point out, however, that in a recent federal lawsuit against the same government agency, the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that it is "patently unconstitutional" for government officials to seize a child on private school premises without a warrant or an emergency. (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44825)

We shall see.

Lying With Numbers (Doyle's Game)

OK, which is it?

"Doyle's spokeswoman, Melanie Fonder, said Monday that
the study was evidence the proposal unfairly targets bastions of Democratic
voters. Among black males between ages 18 and 24, 78% lacked a driver's license,
the largest percentage of any demographic in the study. Other groups in which a
majority lacked a driver's license were black males of any age (55% lack a
license); Hispanic women of any age (59%); and black women, Hispanic men and
Hispanic women between ages 18 and 24 (all between 57% and 66%). "Those groups
typically have strong Democratic turnout," Fonder said, "and that's who the
Republicans have targeted with that proposal." By contrast, only 17% of white
men and white women of voting age in Wisconsin lack a driver's license."

Or do you prefer to believe DOT?

State law requires that courts use random lists provided by DOT to find jurors. According to DOT, about 98 percent of Wisconsin's adult population have driver's licenses or a picture identification card issued by DOT.

(Hat Tip to RichocheT of FreeRepublic)

Marquette High in the Wilderness

Earlier (see the archives) I had opined that Marquette High School has wandered from the course of Catholicism. I had reached that conclusion by a simple expedient; I made it a point to inquire about the high-school's Masses, and was reliably informed that they deviated from the norms laid out in the Instructio Generalis--the 'roadmap' of how to celebrate Mass.

It is becoming a Truism that if the priest does not (or WILL not) celebrate the Mass according to the norms of the Church, that one will find all sorts of OTHER problems in the [parish] or, in this case, the High School. My earlier blog entry referred to the current controversy--some students wish to have a "Gay Pride" homeroom.

So I was not real surprised to read the following:

[Daniel] DeVougas [a Protestant and recent graduate] said he does not take communion or participate in other rites of the Catholic Church. But he has given readings from the Bible during liturgies and participated in annual Catholic retreats. Muslim students also have read from the Qur'an at Marquette High liturgies. ... (http://my.execpc.com/~fedsoc/2005/06/big-c-or-little-c-catholic.html)

Frankly, I don't care under what pretext the Jesuits hold that 'reading from the [Koran]' is licit during Mass. It ain't. Period. No way, no how.

(Hat Tip to Terry of the Federalists)

What Would Miss Manners Say?

From the Washington Post (6/14) we learn:

Sexual assault on school buses is one of the fastest-growing categories of
school violence. Not only is the frequency of attacks on the
rise, but the perpetrators are getting younger.

Inanity With a Master's Degree

Found in a local Parish bulletin:

I Is For Me Or We?…

About ten years ago, I recall having a number of rather heated discussions
with people in Catholic music ministry regarding the use of the pronoun, “I” in
liturgical music. Every workshop that I attended sneered at the use of this
pronoun for it did not correctly reflect the nature of our liturgy, which is
communal prayer. “But,” I argued, “how can one enter into communal worship if
there is no personal relationship with the Lord?”

This was really a very good question, and I continue to ask it, however, my
context is different. My experience has shown me that I need to heed the call of
St. Paul to “pray without ceasing”, and this prayer is both private and communal
in nature. We are also encouraged into our “prayer closets” and to seek time
away with the Lord, just as Jesus often did. These are ongoing acts of prayer
and worship that can be as natural to the rhythm ofour day as breathing, thus,
prayer without ceasing.

But when we gather on the weekend, our Sabbath, that is the time for the
prayer of the community. We are called together to hear the stories of our God’s
love for us; we are challenged to reach out in the name of Jesus; we are fed and
nourished in the Eucharist; and we are sent forth to love and serve the Lord. It
makes sense in that context, to sing “psalms and hymns and inspired songs”(St.
Paul again!) that reflect the Body of Christ.

This is where things get a bit messy from the language viewpoint. If we
were gathering 2000 years ago, the use of the word“I” in our music would simply
reflect the entire community. This is the manner in which it is used in psalmody
and in music of the African American community.

In both these instances, the pronoun, “I” is communal and speaks the soul
of the community. We, however,live in a society that is very much driven by the
philosophy of the individual over the community. Contemporary songs that use
this pronoun outside of the reference to scripture or ethnic music tend to speak
to the “prayer closet” experience, or the “you and I, Jesus” understanding of
relationship. This is not bad or wrong, but it does not do much justice to the
understanding of the liturgical act as communal. Thus, you may find that we use
relatively little music that has “I” language, unless it is scriptural, when we
gather for our liturgical celebrations

The author of this piece, a woman "Director of Liturgy" was awarded an M.A. in Liturgy by the Milwaukee Seminary this past Spring. Evidently she was not graded on composition, nor on grammar..

Beyond that, the author evinces a shocking ignorance of the Psalms. The 'use of the [pronoun] "I" in psalmody of 2000 years ago' meant EXACTLY what it does now. It's first person, singular. So testified Rabbi David Fohrman, anyway, after I emailed him to determine if he was aware of any justification for this "Liturgy Director"'s assertion. Her similar remark about "the African-American community" is suspect, as well.

Beyond all of that, the argument she encountered with principled and thinking Church musicians had nothing at all to do with the "I/We" strawman she uses. In fact, the controversy over using such text has to do with a few ditties ('hymns' would accord them a dignity which is undeserved) that directly quote God. "I Am the Bread of Life" comes to mind immediately. This is a direct quotation of Christ--it is CERTAINLY not appropriate for the congregation to assume the 'voice of Christ' while singing 'psalms, hymns, and inspired songs.'

Please--go back to your closet. Examine and understand history. And continue to avoid "I" until the accurate translation of the Latin Credo becomes required in the United States.

Sen. Grassley v. the Hospitals

The American Spectator reports that Senator Chuck Grassley (R, Iowa) has "requested" a good deal of information from non-profit hospitals around the country, which came as a complete surprise to the hospitals, which had been negotiating with Grassley's committee.

Perhaps it's only a co-incidence (yeah, right...) that Senator Lott's brother-in-law, Dickie Scruggs, has begun a national campaign of class-action lawsuits against non-profit hospitals. At least some of the information "requested" by Grassley will be useful to Scruggs.

Of course, should Scruggs & Co. (locally, Techmeier) WIN their lawsuit(s), the non-profits will not only have paid their own attorneys to defend the suits--they will also pay Dickie Scruggs a bunch of money, too.

Suppose hospital rates will rise to accomodate the additional costs??

What's Wrong with This Picture?

From the JSOnline of 6/14:

"According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Blundell was convicted in 1987 in Milwaukee County on a charge of second-degree sexual assault of an adult. In 1997, he registered with the state's sex offender registry.

"...Blundell's sexual assault conviction does not appear under his name on the criminal courts database, but it does show up under his name on the state's online sex offender log."

What am I missing? The guy has a sex assault conviction--but it does not show up on CCAP?

HELLO!!?!?!!

Dead-On--And Not Even On-Topic

Here's an interesting quotation:

Clinton's preoccupation with how historians would regard him was, ironically, part of the self-obsession that kept him from attempting great acts. Political leadership requires taking risks and decisive actions, which, in turn, requires a commitment to convictions and principles that trump short-term considerations and make the risks worthwhile. Because Clinton's presidency was about him, he couldn't transcend the day-to-day, or put himself or his presidency on the line for any larger purpose. Because, in short, he was self-involved enough to talk constantly about his legacy, he was never capable of forging a positive one. (Rich Lowry's Legacy: Paying The Price For The Clinton Years:) via Tom McMahon's blog.

Anyone familiar with Cdl Ratzinger's works on the liturgy recalls his succint and devastating attacks on "horizontal liturgy."

Think Rich Lowry reads Ratzinger??

More Clinton-Whitewashing

Joe Farah points out that the Fine Report, indicting the FBI for "missing" opportunities to apprehend the 9/11 criminals before they worked their plot, is not quite complete. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44742

Recall that one of Clinton's appointees, Ms. Jamie Gorelick, was a high-level member of the Attorney General's staff, and had written a memo re-inforcing a firewall between the CIA and the FBI, thus preventing an information exchange which could have been helpful.

Fine, the author of the report released last week to some fanfare, is also a Clinton appointee (held over) and none other than Jamie Gorelick was a member of the Commission overseeing the production of the Fine Report.

At some point in time the Billary Administration will be recognized as the single most useful Administration in the history of America--useful, that is, to every single foreign enemy of this country. Leading that parade of vermin is Red China, which (thanks to inexplicably moronic decisions of Clinton's DofEnergy was able to penetrate Los Alamos.)

But assorted terrorists and other lowlife scumbags were accorded similar privileges by the Clintons.

Perhaps the most curious element of the story is the continuing slavish, toe-licking (skirt-kissing?) cooperation of the MSM.

Patriot Games, Round II

David Keene, Bob Barr, Larry Craig--all well-known conservatives--have joined to promote legislation (submitted by Craig) to amend certain Patriot Act proposals made by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Specifically, the modifications would be to: 1) shorten the notification timeline for subjects of "sneak-and-peek" searches; 2) continue judicial approval of "administrative" decisions to sneak/peek; and 3) modify certain provisions of the "roving wiretap" proposal.

Note that the Senate Intel Committee's proposals are NEW--not part of the original PATRIOT Act.

Keene, the head of the ACU, observed that it is a [bad] habit of Governments to infringe on personal rights during time of war...one recalls with distaste Abraham Lincoln's and FDR's egregious violations of the Constitution as examples.

Thinking conservatives must always recall that rights conceded to the Government during unusual times are often conceded forever. This means that the next Administration and its political appointees will enjoy the same powers as does the current Administration.

It's worth a call to your Congressman.

FINAL Cultural Alert!

Today at 2:30 the Milwaukee Symphony, its Chorus, and the Milwaukee Children's Chorus, three soloists, and a gaggle of extra brass, percussion, and organist(s!!!) will perform the last of the War Requiem concerts.

Trust me--Delfs has this thing figured out VERY well. Last night's show was masterful.

Get there an hour early to hear some insights in the Anello Atrium which may be helpful.

NOT a Retailer's Dream Convention

From today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Pastoral musicians group to convene June 27 to July 1 in Milwaukee:

Nearly 4,000 people from across the nation are expected to gather in Milwaukee to sing, pray, and network during the 28th annual Convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians from June 27 to July 1 at the Midwest Airlines Center. The association's mission statement says it is "primarily composed of musicians, musician-liturgists, clergy, and other leaders of prayer devoted to serving the life and mission of the Church through fostering the art of musical liturgy in Catholic worshipping communities." The convention will be preceded by the National Catholic Children's Choir Festival, the National Catholic Handbell Festival, Music Education Days and Hispanic Ministry Days.

In about 1967, at approximately the zenith of the 'sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll' fetish/subculture, the National Ass'n for Pastoral Musicians succumbed to the Zeitgeist and was taken over by the usual suspects (although some of them continued wearing Roman collars whenever they were attacking the Roman Catholic Church--an affectation continued to this very day by Richard McBrien of Notre Dame.)

In any case, NAPM was quietly and justifiably derided by Catholic musicians still capable of rational thought--by a slight adjustment to the pronunciation of the acronym "NAPM." We referred to it as "NAPALM."

The Nietschze-ian ("transvaluation of all values") hegemony of NAPALM's leadership held sway until approximately 5-6 years ago, when it became painfully obvious that Art had left the NAPALM-infested shores and took refuge someplace else--as it turned out, in a Spanish monestary which made a small fortune by recording and SELLING!!! a CD of (gasp!) Gregorian Chant!!!

Early reports from our sources who have been treated to "Hispanic Ministry" brainwashing "workshops" are extremely pessimistic. It is reliably reported that one of the speakers at the Milwaukee "Hispanic Ministry" conference told the gathering that "....we're always late for [Mass]....don't worry, it's part of our culture to be late..." With that as prelude, one can hardly wait for the NAPM-sponsored HM revelations at the Convention.

The "Music Education Days" portion promises to be interesting. We'll take bets on whether the NAPM speakers mention such concepts as the definition of Musica Sacra and how it should 'glorify God' and 'lift the minds and hearts of the Faithful to God' --that "minds" part has been particularly troublesome for the past, oh, 40 years--or whether there will be a discussion of the iron-quadrangle nexus necessary for worship: 1) sacred space; 2) sacred time; 3) sacred language; and 4) sacred ritual, accompanied by music comporting with the definition above.

There are quite a few educators who firmly believe that such concepts can be grasped by children, especially children between the ages of 12 and 18. By no co-incidence, these are children who have grown out of the Fred Rogers/Sesame Street phase. Unfortunately, NAPM's endorsements and thrust has been oriented towards exactly the Sesame Street musical standards for many, many years. The cynic might conclude that NAPM leadership's grasp of the Art of music is firmest at that level--not beyond.

This should be interesting.

Capitalizing China, Part Two

A bit more insight on the CAFTA/NAFTA/WTO/MFN situation from an ex-Congressional staffer (Republican), now engaged in the fight to save small manufacturing through US Business and Industry Council:

The Pentagon’s annual report on China’s military modernization (largely financed by its trade surplus and the transfer of technology from America and Europe) was supposed to be released in March, but has been delayed as the State Department and other agencies try to water it down. The U.S. Treasury refuses to officially declare that Beijing is manipulating its currency, as that would mandate serious negotiations. The Commerce Department opposes challenging China at the World Trade Organization. On May 27, the U.S. Trade Representative rejected a petition by 12 Senators and 18 House members to launch a formal trade investigation into the impact of Chinese currency practices.

President Bush came into office correctly calling China a “strategic competitor.” But then President Clinton had also come into office concerned about China, but changed his tune under corporate pressure. As former Clinton Commerce official Jeffrey Garten wrote of this transformation [The Big Ten: The Big Emerging Markets, 1997], “I saw no issue which raised more concern and emotion in the business community....not only were business leaders totally united, with no nuanced differences that I could see, but they were passionate in arguing that the United States was heading down a dangerous road in confronting China.”

Their motive was not really what was best for the country, however, but only what was dangerous for their business interests. As Garten noted, “Many of the Fortune 100 had placed large bets on China.” In the real world of geopolitics, betting on China means betting against the United States. Not only have factories and jobs been outsourced to China in recent years, public policy making has also been outsourced to private interests who think they can profit from building Chinese power, without regard for the larger consequences to American security. This is an outrage that should shock every American who trusts that government officials will uphold their oaths, do their jobs, and put their country first. Until the White House regains control and recasts priorities in their proper order, its arguments on trade policy are not going to be credible. One of the main reasons that CAFTA is in legislative trouble is that so many members of Congress are tired of a decade of rosy scenarios about “free trade” and globalization that have turned into a black hole of rising deficits, closing factories, and declining job opportunities.

http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/view_art.asp?Prod_ID=1966

Say "Cheese" and Die, Bug!!

Ah, those Brits--they've got something here:

A FUNGUS similar to cheese mould could become a valuable weapon in the fight against malaria, scientists report today.

British research has revealed that a common fungus can reduce malarial transmission by 98 per cent in the laboratory, by killing the mosquitoes that pass the parasite on.

The findings, from a team at the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College, London, suggest that spraying living quarters with the fungus, which is harmless to humans, could help to prevent infection with a disease that kills up to 2.7 million people a year.
A second study, in Tanzania, has indicated that the fungus is likely to be a practical method of malaria control in the field. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2-1647983%2C00.html)

DDT, of course, kills the pests BEFORE they bite. But no amount of scientific evidence shall interfere with the ban on DDT.

Can China Be "Capitalized?"

While the People's Republic of China, by its own design, has become a hotbed of manufacturing, exporting a wide range of goods, it has also been actively building an armory which is impressive--if not for its numerical size, at least for its wide range.

Suzanne Fields is certainly not the first person to write about this phenomenon, but she has clearly distilled some of the discussion here: http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20050608-093559-7151r.htm

Some excerpts:

...We've been lulled into thinking the Chinese brand of "free markets" will move that country toward democracy. Maybe someday, eventually, it will. But free markets must be accompanied by personal freedoms and representative government, and that isn't happening. In fact, there are disturbing signs of a military build-up and deception about it at the highest levels of the Chinese government today. ...

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld went to Singapore...and noted that China's military budget ranks behind only that of the United States and Russia. "Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder," he said. "Why these continuing large and expanding arms purchases?"

This was new from an administration that until now criticized, mildly, China's human-rights violations... But it's the Chinese armory that concerns the defense secretary. "I just look at the significant rollout of ballistic missiles opposite Taiwan, and I have to ask the question: 'If everyone agrees the question of Taiwan is going to be settled in a peaceful way, why this increase in ballistic missiles opposite Taiwan?' " Newly purchased submarines, fighter jets, assault ships and missiles not only pose a threat to Taiwan, but to the United States if we honor our treaty commitments to go to the aid of our old friends there.

Friends, China is paying for these dangerous toys with US dollars.

There are quite a few heated discussions on the Internet regarding trade policies. The ones that I find persuasive are those which link China's willingness to use its vast population as an economic weapon--I repeat, weapon--in tandem with China's willingness to purchase (and/or steal) sophisticated military weapons.

China has never derogated its policy-position naming the United States as its "main enemy."

Finally, someone in Washington is paying attention.

Fun With Statistics

The US Department of Labor has a cute little "Inflation Calculator" which allows entry of a wage (or price) from a historic year; hit the "calculate" button and you have the 2005 inflation-adjusted equivalent. It's available in the upper-left-hand section of this page: http://stats.bls.gov/

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards publishes a historical table of total-compensation for teachers (unweighted statewide) going back to the 1984/5 school year. Convenient, eh?

So take the 1984/5 total average compensation for teachers in 1984/5 and divide it by 2,080 to come up with an hourly wage. Enter the hourly wage in the calculator, and (presto!) hit 'calculate.'

You don't need me to tell you that Wisconsin teachers have done VERY well during the last 20 years. But I will, anyway: the inflation calculator tells us that the current number should be $51,022.

WEAC has managed to surpass that goal, with the current payout at $67,231. That's 31.7% AHEAD of inflation during the 20-year period.

Insight of the Quarter

Sykes, writing in the Isthmus:

For too many legislators, politics is no longer about principle. Rather, it’s become a naked competition for clout among interests seeking to use the power of government to their advantage.

Were this trek into the Servile State limited only to Madistan, we'd be grateful. But Eisenhower mentioned the "military-industrial complex" a few years ago, and there's good reason to believe that our Wisconsin legis-wonks are merely a shadow of the Washington "Me-First" game-players.

Moonbat First-Class w/Batwing Medallion

With this move, Robson and Shilling get promotions to First-Class with Batwing Medallions. Evidently dementia-ship by Sinicki has been effective. Sinicki is also awarded Vampire stripes for her continuing assistance to Planned Barrenhood.

The group plans to announce legislation today that would require pharmacists to fill any FDA-approved birth- control medications prescribed by a doctor. The measure also would clarify the definition of abortion in state statutes to exclude birth-control pills and devices.

"I don't expect that it's going to go anywhere without a battle," one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Christine Sinicki, D- Milwaukee, said of the measure's chances in the Republican-controlled Legislature. "But if we don't keep trying, the people who want to take these rights away from women are going to keep walking all over us."

The bill is the mirror opposite of a Republican bill known as the "pharmacists' conscience clause," which would exempt pharmacists from having to dispense a drug or device if they believe it would be used to cause an abortion.

Sinicki, Senate Minority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, and Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, announced the bill to coincide with today's 40th anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, the landmark Supreme Court case that found couples could legally be counseled in the use of contraceptives. A later case applied the right to unmarried people.

Moonbat Alert

Here's a Moonbat (third-class) remark culled from the WisPolitics BudgetBlog:

"People ask me, 'What is the committee going to do next, buy some mercury and order it dumped in the lakes?' I tell them no, I don't see that motion coming," said Rep. Mark Pocan, lamenting some of the votes the committee has taken that he feels will hurt the environment.

Who asked you that, Mark? People in your district? Got any names?

We also have Moonbat (first-class, with bat-wing medallion) stuff, coming a little later.

Where Does ALL That Money Go?

Here's an answer: http://www.wasb.org/employee/0405totalteachcomp.pdf

That's the Wisconsin Ass'n of School Boards, showing average total teacher compensation by district in Wisconsin, last year and this year.

Not bad at all, unless you pay the taxes.

Gasoline Inflation

Gasoline costs a lot these days--and more in Wisconsin than in other States (try Indiana for contrast.)

Back in April, the Wisconsin gasoline tax increased, again. That increase was accomplished automatically--not ONE of our legislators voted to increase the tax (nor decrease it, for that matter.) I choose to view this as a flat-out evasion of responsiblity by the Legislature. There is NO other explanation.

After a bit of email correspondence, I found that my State Senator (Kanavas) is working on legislation which would force our representatives to actually VOTE on tax matters. My State Representative, on the other hand, believes that the current system is just fine.

We'll keep you posted on the progress of Kanavas' proposal. If he succeeds there, perhaps MMSD's taxation-without-representation scheme will be next on the radar screen.

"Anarchic" Family Destruction

This guy really gets it:

Pope Benedict, in his first clear pronouncement on gay marriages since his election, on Monday condemned same-sex unions as fake and expressions of "anarchic freedom" that threatened the future of the family.

The Pope, who was elected in April, also condemned divorce, artificial birth control, trial marriages and free-style unions, saying all of these practices were dangerous for the family.
"Today's various forms of dissolution of marriage, free unions, trial marriages as well as the pseudo-matrimonies between people of the same sex are instead expressions of anarchic freedom which falsely tries to pass itself off as the true liberation of man," he said.

(http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=824513)

Won't be long before HIS honeymoon is over.

When "Shortage" Means "So What?"

Over the last several years, Milwaukee-area Catholics have heard noises about a "priest shortage" and about "priestless Sundays," and have been treated to scenarios such as driving 30 miles one-way (uphill, through 6 feet of snow, in gale winds) just to get to a church with a Mass because there will NOT be enough priests, yada yada yada.

Much of that background noise diminished or disappeared when Abp. Weakland 'retired;' either his successor either does not choose to talk about it, or there really is NOT a 'priest shortage,' now or in the near future. In addition, we all knew that Abp. Weakland had an agenda, and many of us discounted the projected disasters heavily.

Given that, we are aware that it's difficult (if not impossible) for priests who are in Milwaukee for one reason or the other to find assignments in priestly ministry--the Chancery simply tells them that 'there are no available positions' for priests. So what's the real story?

Should we conclude that there is no shortage? That the shrinking or non-existent 'confessional hours' are just fine, (as there are no sinners anyway)? That parishioners should be perfectly happy with only 4 (or two) Sunday Masses? That there will be ZERO daily Masses offered in parishes when "Father's day off" comes around?

Should parents who send their children to Catholic schools really be satisfied with the fact that their children attend a school Mass only once or twice a week? This is the one which is most difficult to understand for me...

Those who don't get it will tell us that daily Masses are poorly attended, so "why bother?" Same-o for confessions. So I suppose the lengthy shriving-line at Gesu every weekday is just a chimera, right? That the noon Mass a the same place really doesn't have 50-100 attendees, no matter what one seems to see.

Hmmmmm.

Fun With Speculations

How about the rumor that HRC's gang had Howie Dean elected Chair, DNC, so HRC could look really, really, really 'moderate' in comparison?

School Budget Savings Here!!

Seems that "Grief Counselors" are a waste of time and money: http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/04/ngrief04.xml

Want to set an over/under on how long it takes our school systems to act on the findings?

JFC's Fitzgerald Stiffs Wisconsin Right-to-Life

WisPoliticsBudgetBlog (http://blogs.wispolitics.com/budget.html) reports that Chairman Fitzgerald will not allow an amendment which would prohibit fetal stem-cell research. He even wrote a communique to explain his recalcitrance.

The communique is poorly written and smells bad, to boot. http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=38098

We all know that there are some heavy-money Republicans out there who want FS-CR very badly, regardless of its utility (very questionable) or the utility of the alternatives (placenta or ADULT stem-cells, both proven to be very viable and effective.)

Fitzgerald's yappaflappa about "not the appropriate place" is just that--yesterday JFC inserted language into the Corrections budget which actually micromanages Corrections' hiring in the next biennium.

More to follow.

State Department "Men"....

"Real Men Moisturize." So begins an article on "Sharp Dressed Men" that appeared in a State Department funded magazine aimed at youth in the Arab world. The magazine, called "Hi" is published in Arabic and English. A State Department website explains that Hi is published "with the hope of building bridges of greater understanding among our cultures."

Thus begins an article by Mona Charen http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6035

I changed her title to the one used on this blog for the obvious reason. That may be the way our "men" in State prepare themselves for another day at the office, or evening prowling Georgetown bars, but it ain't Milwaukee, or Omaha, or Peoria.

Wonder how much one could cut from State's budget...

To Conceal, or...

A few years ago when the Wisconsin Supremes handed down their decision allowing concealed carry in cases where there was 'a security interest,' and in which decision the Supremes severly castigated the Legislature and Governor for failing to make Wisconsin statutes conform with the Wisconsin Constitution (the amendment which states that one may carry a weapon 'for any lawful purpose..') the fun began.

Since Wisconsin's particulary obnoxious, obtuse, and doctrinaire Governor, Three-Card-Monte Doyle, vetoed an all-too-reasonable Concealed Carry law, we have predicted that there will be difficulty among LEO's, DA's and Courts about how to charge and/or prosecute cases of concealed carry.

Sho' nuff...here comes the Judge(s), again: http://www.madison.com/tct/home/topstories/index.php?ntid=42226&ntpid=0

Three-Card-Monte is forcing the Courts to decide the liceity of concealed carry ONE CASE AT A TIME--which allows for the possibility that concealed will be allowed: 1) without any licensing or qualification at all; and 2) in far more places and circumstances than last year's CCW legislation would have permitted.

That's fine with me--and our mulish Three-Card-Monte has apparently given us a gift.

One more thing: this is precisely the scenario that I presented to a number of friends after the decision was handed down and the Gov vetoed the CCW legislation. (A-Hem, Cough Cough.)

Comparative Morality

So "Deep Throat" did what apparently was illegal--spilling the results of FBI investigations--but was it moral?

And Arthur Anderson--destroying workpapers--did what was legal, too, right?

But was it moral? See Bainbridge for an brief discussion: http://www.professorbainbridge.com/2005/05/arthur_anderson.html

There are a lot of "legal" activities in the USA--among them, partial-birth abortion.

They ALL Steal...

Wisconsin's Joint Finance decided to steal $20 million from the a utilities fund and move it to General Purpose Revenue.

In other words, the shell game is in play. Simply look at your electric, gas, or phone bill as another way by which the State of Wisconsin will take your money.

This is not a new dishonesty; after all, Three-Card-Monte Doyle made this proposal. But Monte only proposed $18 million. The BozoPubbies ADDED $2 million to Doyle's ripoff, for crying out loud. ALL 12 Republicans, including one "conservative," voted for it.

Names: Olsen, Meyer, Rhoades, Leibham, Cowles, Darling, Stone, Jensen, Ward, Lazich, Kaufert, and Fitzgerald.

Kaufert: "...we're in tough times..."

Really, Dean-o? HOW ABOUT CUTTING THE SPENDING, DEAN-O???

No--wait--there must be about 200 square feet of Wisconsin that has not yet been paved over, someplace. So I guess it's alright.

Wasted Time

“This is a theft of my time.” -- A lobbyist expressing frustration at consistently late JFC starts.

“Maybe they're not aware, but there's a blood drive going on downstairs. They could go down and donate blood. It would be the first and only contribution they've made to the budget process so far.”-- A Republican staffer's retort to complaining lobbyists.

(Source: http://blogs.wispolitics.com/budget.html)

Ummmnnnhhh--the Republican staffer doesn't understand. Lobbyists SUCK blood--they don't GIVE blood.

And at the rate lobbyists are paid ($150.00/hour and up), I find it hard to be sympathetic to complaints of earning money by standing around waiting.

..and, by the way, YOU'RE FINED!!

Channel 4 ran a story the other night about the Department of Homeland Security's latest trick. (More and more DHS resembles an amorphous anthill of wackos. What color is Today's Alert Level?)

Seems some Milwaukee-area traveler had the unmitigated gall to bring a jacknife into the airport, where he was going to board a plane. After the usual alarm bells sounded, the man was deprived of his jacknife.

Well, he wasn't thinking. (The size of the blade was not revealed during the story--it could have been a Dangerous Two-Inch Blade of the sort that the Milwaukee County Sheriff fears.)

A few weeks after the incident, DHS's moronic administration sent the Milwaukee traveler a letter informing him that he is being assesssed a fine of $250.00 for his error. A DHS spokeswoman justified this on the basis that "We take these things VERY seriously, and want to make it clear to everybody..."

DHS's fabled repertoire of Stupid Bureaucratic Tricks includes a list of "no-fly" names which absolutely nobody can review and from which damn near nobody can be exculpted. The list recently triggered the capture of Senator Ted Kennedy.

Could it get even sillier? Probably. A bureaucracy built on paranoia and unchecked by rational thought (e.g., driven by Political Correctness) can't help but become worse.

The question is: how long will people stand for this?