When a study released by the Federal Dep't of Education indicated that public school students were doing just as well as private school students, eyebrows were raised.
They should have been. It ain't really so.
Test scores from the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicated that public-school students enjoyed a 4.5% advantage over private school students in 4th-grade math and were competitive with them in 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade math. They were, though, at a decided 7.3% disadvantage in 8th-grade reading.
These results, mixed though they were, prompted Reg Weaver, the head of the nation’s largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association, to boast that “the results were nothing more than we expected” and that public schools were “doing an outstanding job.” The Palm Beach Post weighed in with a mean-spirited editorial titled “Bush-suppressed study dispels voucher myth.”
Weaver may want to re-cork his champagne. In a meticulous 56-page critique, distinguished education expert Paul Peterson of Harvard lambasted the government study for its flawed methodology. The study, he found, fell short of routine academic standards by improperly boosting the performance of public-school students relative to their private-school peers.
The Department of Education researchers “adjusted” the raw NAEP data to account for differences in the socioeconomic status between the two groups. They did this, however, by classifying students according to whether they received federal aid such as subsidized school lunches or Title I assistance, rather than by a more even-handed approach.
Public schools receive federal aid on a “school-wide” basis (that is, the assistance flows to the entire school based on the percentage of poor students enrolled) but reaches private-school students on an individual basis only. Once a public school qualifies, therefore, every student at the school, regardless of poverty level, is technically counted as a recipient of those services.
In other words, the Feds adjusted "the curve" to pump up public schools' grades.
Peterson substituted better criteria, such as the parent’s level of education and whether another language is spoken in the home, and found that “when student characteristics are estimated consistently across school sectors, a private-school advantage relative to public schools is evident at all grade levels in both math and reading in all estimations but one.”
S'pose Folkbum will take back all that stuff he said about P-Mac?
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
DWI: How to Fix It in Wisconsin
Owen points out an article which asks for substantive opinion from the AG candidates.
Attorney general candidates Paul Bucher and Kathleen Falk favor criminalizing first-time drunken-driving offenses in Wisconsin, the last state where such an offense is only an ordinance violation.
The Republican Bucher and the Democrat Falk also favor giving law enforcement the power to conduct roadside sobriety checkpoints. Wisconsin is one of 11 states prohibiting the checkpoints.
It is clear that Wisconsin laws on DWI are simply a laughingstock. However, I cannot support criminalizing the first DWI unless there are extenuating circumstances--for example, a BAT in excess of 1.2, or a serious-injury/fatal accident resulting from the offense.
As to the second DWI--it should be criminal and require 10 years, no parole. Third? 20 years, no parole.
The people who control this are members of the Legislature, and it is well-known that THAT particular club takes care of its own. Read the Madison-insider blogs if you want to know which Legislators will NEVER vote to criminalize DWI...
Moving on: I completely agree with Owen that "dragnet" stop/search activities is not only un-necessary, but offensive. Sorry, Paul, we aren't going to agree on this one.
On the other hand, reasonable suspicion means just that; LEO's should NOT be second-guessed by ditz-bed-wetter Circuit Court judges.
Attorney general candidates Paul Bucher and Kathleen Falk favor criminalizing first-time drunken-driving offenses in Wisconsin, the last state where such an offense is only an ordinance violation.
The Republican Bucher and the Democrat Falk also favor giving law enforcement the power to conduct roadside sobriety checkpoints. Wisconsin is one of 11 states prohibiting the checkpoints.
It is clear that Wisconsin laws on DWI are simply a laughingstock. However, I cannot support criminalizing the first DWI unless there are extenuating circumstances--for example, a BAT in excess of 1.2, or a serious-injury/fatal accident resulting from the offense.
As to the second DWI--it should be criminal and require 10 years, no parole. Third? 20 years, no parole.
The people who control this are members of the Legislature, and it is well-known that THAT particular club takes care of its own. Read the Madison-insider blogs if you want to know which Legislators will NEVER vote to criminalize DWI...
Moving on: I completely agree with Owen that "dragnet" stop/search activities is not only un-necessary, but offensive. Sorry, Paul, we aren't going to agree on this one.
On the other hand, reasonable suspicion means just that; LEO's should NOT be second-guessed by ditz-bed-wetter Circuit Court judges.
News to NAP(A)LM Liturgeists
The kids cannot STAND musical crapola in church...and know where it SHOULD be. Of course, so long as the StLouieJebbieBluesandRockabillyBoys maintain their deathgrip on the "minds" of Liturgeists such as those commonly found at regional meetings of Nat'l Ass'n of Pastoral Liturgical Musicians (more accurately known as NAPALM), the kids will be forced to eat this stuff, regardless...
It interviews Dr. Barbara Resch, who conducted a survey of nearly 500 teenagers from across the United States on the topic of the appropriateness of music for the church.
Across this diverse group of students there was clear agreement about the kind of music that was "right for church": it was choral music, not instrumental sung by a group of singers rather than a soloist characterized by a simple musical texture and understandable text.
Musical examples reminiscent of popular styles (rock, jazz, country) were overwhelmingly rejected as church music. The example rated most appropriate was a male choir singing a four-part version of Psalm 98 (The Lutheran Hymnal 667!).
Church background was an important predictor of the kind of music considered appropriate. The frequency with which a given style was heard also tended to be related.
For example, some settings of traditional choral music were considered appropriate by nearly everyone. Conversely, the examples of Christian rock and jazz were considered inappropriate by the great majority.
But it was also clear that students from nondenominational churches who heard contemporary Christian music in their churches considered that music more appropriate. Likewise, gospel choir music and popular styles were considered more fitting by students who attended Pentecostal churches.
The traditional choral sound was given its highest ratings by the Catholic and Lutheran students in the study.
Several students wrote comments on their survey sheets indicating when and where each excerpt would be appropriate. Although all of the examples played were representative of the range of music heard in American churches today, the contexts with which the students associated various pieces were Sunday brunch, a movie soundtrack, "church services of the 40s," a campground, and an opera.
Nearly 12 percent of the respondents did not belong to or attend church. As might be expected, their responses were very diverse. One surprise was that their responses were not significantly different from the church members in their disapproval of rock music for church.Interestingly, the unchurched students gave their lowest ranking of appropriateness to contemporary Christian music
There is some bad news:
But it was also clear that students from nondenominational churches who heard contemporary Christian music in their churches considered that music more appropriate. Likewise, gospel choir music and popular styles were considered more fitting by students who attended Pentecostal churches.
What THAT means is that Catholic children who have been deprived of their rightful heritage by the poofter-wonk-LitNiks over the last 20+ years are not likely to correctly identify 'church' music.
HT: Christus Vincit
It interviews Dr. Barbara Resch, who conducted a survey of nearly 500 teenagers from across the United States on the topic of the appropriateness of music for the church.
Across this diverse group of students there was clear agreement about the kind of music that was "right for church": it was choral music, not instrumental sung by a group of singers rather than a soloist characterized by a simple musical texture and understandable text.
Musical examples reminiscent of popular styles (rock, jazz, country) were overwhelmingly rejected as church music. The example rated most appropriate was a male choir singing a four-part version of Psalm 98 (The Lutheran Hymnal 667!).
Church background was an important predictor of the kind of music considered appropriate. The frequency with which a given style was heard also tended to be related.
For example, some settings of traditional choral music were considered appropriate by nearly everyone. Conversely, the examples of Christian rock and jazz were considered inappropriate by the great majority.
But it was also clear that students from nondenominational churches who heard contemporary Christian music in their churches considered that music more appropriate. Likewise, gospel choir music and popular styles were considered more fitting by students who attended Pentecostal churches.
The traditional choral sound was given its highest ratings by the Catholic and Lutheran students in the study.
Several students wrote comments on their survey sheets indicating when and where each excerpt would be appropriate. Although all of the examples played were representative of the range of music heard in American churches today, the contexts with which the students associated various pieces were Sunday brunch, a movie soundtrack, "church services of the 40s," a campground, and an opera.
Nearly 12 percent of the respondents did not belong to or attend church. As might be expected, their responses were very diverse. One surprise was that their responses were not significantly different from the church members in their disapproval of rock music for church.Interestingly, the unchurched students gave their lowest ranking of appropriateness to contemporary Christian music
There is some bad news:
But it was also clear that students from nondenominational churches who heard contemporary Christian music in their churches considered that music more appropriate. Likewise, gospel choir music and popular styles were considered more fitting by students who attended Pentecostal churches.
What THAT means is that Catholic children who have been deprived of their rightful heritage by the poofter-wonk-LitNiks over the last 20+ years are not likely to correctly identify 'church' music.
HT: Christus Vincit
The Rio Grande's Secret Passage
HT to No Runny:
The chief law enforcement officers of several Texas counties along the southern U.S. border warn that Arabic-speaking individuals are learning Spanish and integrating into Mexican culture before paying smugglers to sneak them into the United States. The Texas Sheriffs' Border Coalition believes those individuals are likely terrorists and that drug cartels and some members of the Mexican military are helping them get across the border.
Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez of Zapata County, Texas told Cybercast News Service that Iranian currency, military badges in Arabic, jackets and other clothing are among the items that have been discovered along the banks of the Rio Grande River. The sheriff also said there are a substantial number of individuals crossing the southern border into the U.S. who are not Mexican. He described the individuals in question as well-funded and able to pay so-called "coyotes" - human smugglers - large sums of money for help gaining illegal entry into the U.S.
Although many of the non-Mexican illegal aliens are fluent in Spanish, Gonzalez said they speak with an accent that is not native.
"It's clear these people are coming in for reasons other than employment," Gonzalez said.
This is not the first time that Other Than Mexican (OTM) border incursions have been mentioned.
It WOULD be the last, if GWB would get serious about that silly little Oath--you know, "protect and defend the US against all its enemies..."
But he's preoccupied, I suppose.
The chief law enforcement officers of several Texas counties along the southern U.S. border warn that Arabic-speaking individuals are learning Spanish and integrating into Mexican culture before paying smugglers to sneak them into the United States. The Texas Sheriffs' Border Coalition believes those individuals are likely terrorists and that drug cartels and some members of the Mexican military are helping them get across the border.
Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez of Zapata County, Texas told Cybercast News Service that Iranian currency, military badges in Arabic, jackets and other clothing are among the items that have been discovered along the banks of the Rio Grande River. The sheriff also said there are a substantial number of individuals crossing the southern border into the U.S. who are not Mexican. He described the individuals in question as well-funded and able to pay so-called "coyotes" - human smugglers - large sums of money for help gaining illegal entry into the U.S.
Although many of the non-Mexican illegal aliens are fluent in Spanish, Gonzalez said they speak with an accent that is not native.
"It's clear these people are coming in for reasons other than employment," Gonzalez said.
This is not the first time that Other Than Mexican (OTM) border incursions have been mentioned.
It WOULD be the last, if GWB would get serious about that silly little Oath--you know, "protect and defend the US against all its enemies..."
But he's preoccupied, I suppose.
Lazy, Hazy, Crazy...
Took the annual 2 days' vacation.
Went to Sheboygan. No, that's not a joke. Forced the chilluns to learn some things about the history of that area, all the way back to the Ice Age.
Factoids of no particular significance:
1) Savage (560 AM, Chicago) comes in fine all the way to Sheboygan. No need to listen to the local yokel after 4:00 PM on weekdays.
2) Sheboygan area was so blessed with German-speaking immigrants that anyone who wanted to do business up there in the Old Days had to learn German. (The Germans were LEGAL immigrants and did not fly the German flag.)
3) Global cooling can be extremely serious. Ask any wooly mammoth or giant beaver (which evidently were as large as black bears.)
4) You can purchase an excellent dinner for 5 for less than $90.00 at a REAL restaurant in Sheboygan.
5) The Sheboygan PD has the State champion pistol marksman on its payroll.
6) There is NO GOOD REASON WHATSOEVER to widen Hy. 164 north of Richfield. None. Zero. Zip. Except if one is owned by the Highway Pavers Consortium and/or has a large tract of land or three bordering the right-of-way.
7) Ever notice the similarity between "getting the railroad here" and "getting 4-lanes, divided here" discussions? Notice that it has a lot to do with more money more money more money?
8) You waste your time looking for better scenery that that which is available within 100 miles of Milwaukee, unless: A) it is the Rockies; or B) you are thinking of feminine pulchritude.
Went to Sheboygan. No, that's not a joke. Forced the chilluns to learn some things about the history of that area, all the way back to the Ice Age.
Factoids of no particular significance:
1) Savage (560 AM, Chicago) comes in fine all the way to Sheboygan. No need to listen to the local yokel after 4:00 PM on weekdays.
2) Sheboygan area was so blessed with German-speaking immigrants that anyone who wanted to do business up there in the Old Days had to learn German. (The Germans were LEGAL immigrants and did not fly the German flag.)
3) Global cooling can be extremely serious. Ask any wooly mammoth or giant beaver (which evidently were as large as black bears.)
4) You can purchase an excellent dinner for 5 for less than $90.00 at a REAL restaurant in Sheboygan.
5) The Sheboygan PD has the State champion pistol marksman on its payroll.
6) There is NO GOOD REASON WHATSOEVER to widen Hy. 164 north of Richfield. None. Zero. Zip. Except if one is owned by the Highway Pavers Consortium and/or has a large tract of land or three bordering the right-of-way.
7) Ever notice the similarity between "getting the railroad here" and "getting 4-lanes, divided here" discussions? Notice that it has a lot to do with more money more money more money?
8) You waste your time looking for better scenery that that which is available within 100 miles of Milwaukee, unless: A) it is the Rockies; or B) you are thinking of feminine pulchritude.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Nexus: Cdl. Bernardin
Exceptionally hot chapter excerpts from a forthcoming book.
We don't have to make the case that ordaining homosexuals is a bad idea. The Vatican already did, at least twice.
But since the instruction of the early 1960's was ignored, the Vatican put out a new one.
It remains to be seen whether the seminaries will actually obey.
We don't have to make the case that ordaining homosexuals is a bad idea. The Vatican already did, at least twice.
But since the instruction of the early 1960's was ignored, the Vatican put out a new one.
It remains to be seen whether the seminaries will actually obey.
Wailing and Ululation from the Left: No Hispanic Voters Here!
Poooooooor ol' Watchdog.
Recent US census figures suggest that hispanics number nearly 100,000 in Milwaukee County but does this translate into real political influence?
If historical trends hold true, the answer is no.
Demographically speaking, hispanics areas of town show a more abysmal lack of interest in our political process than any other group.
...until I found out that less than 3000 bother to vote in any given Supervisory race and that's from a district that used to have nearly 40,000 constituents
It's entirely possible that the Hispanics in question fear showing up at any place where they might have to prove, ah, citizenship...which is NOT a requirement for marching up and down 6th Street.
Recent US census figures suggest that hispanics number nearly 100,000 in Milwaukee County but does this translate into real political influence?
If historical trends hold true, the answer is no.
Demographically speaking, hispanics areas of town show a more abysmal lack of interest in our political process than any other group.
...until I found out that less than 3000 bother to vote in any given Supervisory race and that's from a district that used to have nearly 40,000 constituents
It's entirely possible that the Hispanics in question fear showing up at any place where they might have to prove, ah, citizenship...which is NOT a requirement for marching up and down 6th Street.
"Family" Violence in Australia: Feminism's Arguments Destroyed
Well, there's no comparable US study that we know of...
But the numbers are interesting, especially given the post/comments below. Perhaps (underline perhaps) the figures are comparable to those in the USA.
But the numbers are interesting, especially given the post/comments below. Perhaps (underline perhaps) the figures are comparable to those in the USA.
- Men are more than twice as likely as women to be the victims of violence and are being physically or sexually assaulted or threatened at the rate of up to 2 incidents per second
- Women are not the victims of family (domestic) violence as often as the quoted 1 in 4, nor even 1 in 8, nor even 1 in 10, but actually 1 in 100
- Women are not being raped every 26 seconds, nor even every 90 seconds, as feminists frequently claim, but are in fact experiencing sexual assault - not necessarily rape - including both reported and all unreported incidents, at a rate of less than 1 per 5 minutes. This is a rate 91% less than that which feminists have previously claimed
- The ratio of female to male family (domestic) violence victims in a home is not 99:1, nor 9:1, nor even 5:1, but is actually closer to 2:1
Next time you read all about "victims," bear in mind that some of the numbers may just be exaggerated...
Lefty Lexicon from Jolly Olde England
A chap named Inigo Wilson got fired from the cellphone company "Orange" after publishing this item on his blog. It's likely an opportunity for him, as he is a gifted social satirist.
A few examples of "Lefty Lexicon", his creation:
Best practice - normally 'established' when a Lefty wants to saddle a process with more complexity. Replaces 'working it out yourself'.
Child-centred - education: "we can't be bothered to teach them… perhaps they’ll do it themselves".
Class - grouping people by the contents of their wallet rather than, say, how they think, feel or behave as individuals.
Consultation - a formal system for ignoring public views while patronising them at the same time. London's Congestion Charge for instance.
Diversity - creating a workforce based on how people look rather than on their skills or aptitude
‘Green’ issues - “if we can’t control the means of production then we’ll close it down”. NB. the US is the ‘biggest polluter in the world’ which is wholly unrelated to the fact it’s the world’s most productive economy.
Human rights - using the legal system to pursue political ends.
Intolerance - Intolerance can only [be] committed against certain defined groups of people. These do not include, Americans, the middle class, white manual workers, rural people, business and Christians obviously.
Islamophobic - anyone who objects to having their transport blown up on the way to work
Multi-cultural - All culture is valid - unless Western in some way. Usually to be 'celebrated' and always found to be 'vibrant'. See 'diversity'.
Nazi - informal: describes non-Lefty views and useful to link with people Lefties don’t like. Thus Germany’s Nazi period is the only noteworthy formative experience of Pope Benedict.
Racist - means "shut up!" - and is much, much worse than being violent, thoughtless or unkind. In fact, easily the worst crime ever conceived of.
Religion -
Christianity: irrational, dangerous belief that material things may not be the principal motive behind human behaviour.
Judaism: most Israelis are Jewish, so probably 'intolerant'.
Islam: always needs to be 'understood'.
Subsidised art - art no one would buy.
The meaning of language has certainly advanced since 'enry 'iggins, eh wot?
HT: Moonbattery
A few examples of "Lefty Lexicon", his creation:
Best practice - normally 'established' when a Lefty wants to saddle a process with more complexity. Replaces 'working it out yourself'.
Child-centred - education: "we can't be bothered to teach them… perhaps they’ll do it themselves".
Class - grouping people by the contents of their wallet rather than, say, how they think, feel or behave as individuals.
Consultation - a formal system for ignoring public views while patronising them at the same time. London's Congestion Charge for instance.
Diversity - creating a workforce based on how people look rather than on their skills or aptitude
‘Green’ issues - “if we can’t control the means of production then we’ll close it down”. NB. the US is the ‘biggest polluter in the world’ which is wholly unrelated to the fact it’s the world’s most productive economy.
Human rights - using the legal system to pursue political ends.
Intolerance - Intolerance can only [be] committed against certain defined groups of people. These do not include, Americans, the middle class, white manual workers, rural people, business and Christians obviously.
Islamophobic - anyone who objects to having their transport blown up on the way to work
Multi-cultural - All culture is valid - unless Western in some way. Usually to be 'celebrated' and always found to be 'vibrant'. See 'diversity'.
Nazi - informal: describes non-Lefty views and useful to link with people Lefties don’t like. Thus Germany’s Nazi period is the only noteworthy formative experience of Pope Benedict.
Racist - means "shut up!" - and is much, much worse than being violent, thoughtless or unkind. In fact, easily the worst crime ever conceived of.
Religion -
Christianity: irrational, dangerous belief that material things may not be the principal motive behind human behaviour.
Judaism: most Israelis are Jewish, so probably 'intolerant'.
Islam: always needs to be 'understood'.
Subsidised art - art no one would buy.
The meaning of language has certainly advanced since 'enry 'iggins, eh wot?
HT: Moonbattery
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Non-Predatory Mortgages for Illegals
Both Guaranty Bank and Mitchell Bank now offer State of Wisconsin-backed mortgages for illegals.
So what's this from Jessica's mailbox?
We have advocated against predatory lending to come up with a bank funded criteria ($750 Billion commitment) of No Money Down, No Closing Cost or Fees (absorbed by the bank), No Perfect Credit Required and a One Percent (1%) Below Market Interest Rate (today's rate 5.625% for 30yr fixed with no PMI). We are the only non-profit housing services agency that does ITIN lending for immigrants without social security numbers. We have been in the City of Milwaukee, WI for three years and looking for an opportunity to spread the word about the most affordable mortgage in America
Mitchell Bank, Predator? Guaranty Bank, Predator? State of Wisconsin, Predator?
So what's this from Jessica's mailbox?
We have advocated against predatory lending to come up with a bank funded criteria ($750 Billion commitment) of No Money Down, No Closing Cost or Fees (absorbed by the bank), No Perfect Credit Required and a One Percent (1%) Below Market Interest Rate (today's rate 5.625% for 30yr fixed with no PMI). We are the only non-profit housing services agency that does ITIN lending for immigrants without social security numbers. We have been in the City of Milwaukee, WI for three years and looking for an opportunity to spread the word about the most affordable mortgage in America
Mitchell Bank, Predator? Guaranty Bank, Predator? State of Wisconsin, Predator?
GWB's "Democracy" in Iraq
Perhaps these are not exactly the results GWB wants advertised:
But even in Iraq there was an early, concrete sign (February 2004) of things going awry: the refusal of the interim Iraqi government to allow its ancient, historically oppressed (often brutally so) Jews to return in the wake of the 2003 liberation. Singling them out was agreed upon absent any objection, except for the dissent of one lone Assyrian Christian representative in the interim government, who knew well what such bigotry foreshadowed: the oppression and resultant exodus of the Assyrian community, which is now transpiring. And last spring came this harrowing story about Shari’a and Sistani-supporting women in the Iraqi Parliament: (Iraq’s women of power who tolerate wife-beating and promote polygamy):
As a devout Shia Muslim and one of eighty-nine women sitting in the new parliament, she knows what her first priority there is: to implement Islamic law. When Dr Ubaedey took her seat at last week’s assembly opening, she found herself among an increasingly powerful group of religious women politicians who are seeking to repeal old laws giving women some of the same rights as men and replace them with Sharia, Islam’s divine law.
Clearly, the Bush Boyzzz don't understand that perpetuating Mohammedan principles and rule in the Middle East is directly inimical to the interests of the USA and the West in general.
No wonder Lowry and Dreher are beginning to worry.
HT: Dhimmi Watch
But even in Iraq there was an early, concrete sign (February 2004) of things going awry: the refusal of the interim Iraqi government to allow its ancient, historically oppressed (often brutally so) Jews to return in the wake of the 2003 liberation. Singling them out was agreed upon absent any objection, except for the dissent of one lone Assyrian Christian representative in the interim government, who knew well what such bigotry foreshadowed: the oppression and resultant exodus of the Assyrian community, which is now transpiring. And last spring came this harrowing story about Shari’a and Sistani-supporting women in the Iraqi Parliament: (Iraq’s women of power who tolerate wife-beating and promote polygamy):
As a devout Shia Muslim and one of eighty-nine women sitting in the new parliament, she knows what her first priority there is: to implement Islamic law. When Dr Ubaedey took her seat at last week’s assembly opening, she found herself among an increasingly powerful group of religious women politicians who are seeking to repeal old laws giving women some of the same rights as men and replace them with Sharia, Islam’s divine law.
Clearly, the Bush Boyzzz don't understand that perpetuating Mohammedan principles and rule in the Middle East is directly inimical to the interests of the USA and the West in general.
No wonder Lowry and Dreher are beginning to worry.
HT: Dhimmi Watch
The Bill of Goods Wasn't Exactly True
Yah.
So far this year, Miller Park sales tax revenue has fallen $1.67 million below projections, according to new figures.
That represents a 0.11% decrease compared with the same time period last year.
Since the tax first went into effect in 1996, a total of $228.89 million has been collected in the five-county region.
Based on forecasts, the district board hopes to end the tax in 2014. However, the district's board has watched with alarm as sales tax collections have not kept up with projections, raising fears that the tax may have to be extended beyond 2014.
"We remain frustrated and concerned with the sales tax collection rates for the district," said Mike Duckett, the district's executive director. "We are very concerned about the sales tax revenue's impact on our projected sunset date of 2014 for the tax."
Of course, the Stadium Board doesn't question the validity of their projections--they question the integrity of the State's reporting and collections efforts.
It never occurred to such luminaries as Tommy Thompson that sales-tax revenues could ever go down between 1997 and 2014. Nope. Never.
"Stick it to 'em!!" Tommy.
So far this year, Miller Park sales tax revenue has fallen $1.67 million below projections, according to new figures.
That represents a 0.11% decrease compared with the same time period last year.
Since the tax first went into effect in 1996, a total of $228.89 million has been collected in the five-county region.
Based on forecasts, the district board hopes to end the tax in 2014. However, the district's board has watched with alarm as sales tax collections have not kept up with projections, raising fears that the tax may have to be extended beyond 2014.
"We remain frustrated and concerned with the sales tax collection rates for the district," said Mike Duckett, the district's executive director. "We are very concerned about the sales tax revenue's impact on our projected sunset date of 2014 for the tax."
Of course, the Stadium Board doesn't question the validity of their projections--they question the integrity of the State's reporting and collections efforts.
It never occurred to such luminaries as Tommy Thompson that sales-tax revenues could ever go down between 1997 and 2014. Nope. Never.
"Stick it to 'em!!" Tommy.
Salvatorian Fr. Bergner's Stupid Suggestion
Fr. David Bergner, new Provincial Superior of the Salvatorians, has a problem. He didn't think too carefully before making an astounding statement:
...Bergner said in an interview that he had great empathy for victims of clergy sexual abuse and would support legislative efforts in Wisconsin to permit victims to sue dioceses and other religious organizations no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. That position surprised SNAP leaders.
Bergner should have been concentrating on keeping one of his priests, Fr. Jos. Henn, in sight, instead of allowing him to be cavorting around in Rome:
The whereabouts of a priest who once served at a Wauwatosa parish remained unknown Friday, more than a month after he apparently fled house arrest in Rome as Italian authorities were preparing to extradite him to the United States to face sexual molestation charges in Arizona.
Interpol issued a warrant for the arrest of Father Joseph Henn and is actively searching for him in Europe, said Father Dave Bergner, the provincial superior, or head, of Salvatorian priests and brothers in the U.S. The order, of which Henn is a member, will tell authorities if it learns where he is, Bergner added.
We have ZERO sympathy for perps-in-collars; the history of this blog is clear.
On the other hand, we have some vestigial interest in justice for defendants, as well as for victims. Defending against allegations of 20-, 30-, or 50-year old abuse is virtually impossible.
Even Bergner understands that:
Bergner, however, resisted a call by the victims group for the religious order to reveal the names and addresses of all of its priests who have had a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor made against them. He said that such allegations go back decades, that those priests have been removed from ministry and are aged or dead, and that it would be harmful to their family members to make that information public now.
You can't have it both ways, Father.
...Bergner said in an interview that he had great empathy for victims of clergy sexual abuse and would support legislative efforts in Wisconsin to permit victims to sue dioceses and other religious organizations no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. That position surprised SNAP leaders.
Bergner should have been concentrating on keeping one of his priests, Fr. Jos. Henn, in sight, instead of allowing him to be cavorting around in Rome:
The whereabouts of a priest who once served at a Wauwatosa parish remained unknown Friday, more than a month after he apparently fled house arrest in Rome as Italian authorities were preparing to extradite him to the United States to face sexual molestation charges in Arizona.
Interpol issued a warrant for the arrest of Father Joseph Henn and is actively searching for him in Europe, said Father Dave Bergner, the provincial superior, or head, of Salvatorian priests and brothers in the U.S. The order, of which Henn is a member, will tell authorities if it learns where he is, Bergner added.
We have ZERO sympathy for perps-in-collars; the history of this blog is clear.
On the other hand, we have some vestigial interest in justice for defendants, as well as for victims. Defending against allegations of 20-, 30-, or 50-year old abuse is virtually impossible.
Even Bergner understands that:
Bergner, however, resisted a call by the victims group for the religious order to reveal the names and addresses of all of its priests who have had a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor made against them. He said that such allegations go back decades, that those priests have been removed from ministry and are aged or dead, and that it would be harmful to their family members to make that information public now.
You can't have it both ways, Father.
$5 Million to Fix the Crime Lab Backlog?
Norm Gahn is a highly-experienced and eminently sensible fellow who works as a lead prosecutor in the Milwaukee DA's office. Norm is also a leader in the utilization of technology in criminal prosecutions, particularly sex crimes.
Here's an interesting quote from Norm about the current DNA brouhaha:
"If you wanted to solve this problem, everybody in the state of Wisconsin should petition the state Legislature this afternoon and ask them to allocate $3 million in emergency funds directed at outsourcing our backlog at the crime lab," Gahn said. "and allocate another $2 million in January to take care of all the cases that would come in until then and seriously take a look at expansion of our crime lab. . . .
"But unfortunately, I think the people in the state of Wisconsin are asking for something that they'll be unwilling to pay for."
$5 MILLION??? That's all??? Do you mean to tell me that Peg 'The Keg' couldn't re-direct $5 million to this??
I think Norm is wrong about the mood of Wisconsin citizens. But that's easy to remedy.
What's also easy will be to remedy the Doyle/Lautenschlaeger mismanagement of the State Crime Lab.
It's called The Election.
Here's an interesting quote from Norm about the current DNA brouhaha:
"If you wanted to solve this problem, everybody in the state of Wisconsin should petition the state Legislature this afternoon and ask them to allocate $3 million in emergency funds directed at outsourcing our backlog at the crime lab," Gahn said. "and allocate another $2 million in January to take care of all the cases that would come in until then and seriously take a look at expansion of our crime lab. . . .
"But unfortunately, I think the people in the state of Wisconsin are asking for something that they'll be unwilling to pay for."
$5 MILLION??? That's all??? Do you mean to tell me that Peg 'The Keg' couldn't re-direct $5 million to this??
I think Norm is wrong about the mood of Wisconsin citizens. But that's easy to remedy.
What's also easy will be to remedy the Doyle/Lautenschlaeger mismanagement of the State Crime Lab.
It's called The Election.
CLOSED: More Abortion Mills (Florida & Alabama)
A few children will be safe:
Half a dozen abortion clinics in Florida and Alabama have had their doors locked after state health boards became concerned by alleged rule and drug violations, including claims of an illegal late-term procedure in Florida.
The Florida Department of Health issued a notice confirming that there was an emergency suspension of the license for James Scott Pendergraft, who runs clinics in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, for allegedly doing an abortion in the third trimester.
And in Alabama, the state Board of Health suspended the license for Reproductive Health Services of Montgomery because the business lacked a physician with admitting privileges at a local acute care hospital.
It's been a difficult August for the abortion industry, with an investigation into what appears to have been a homicide at an abortion clinic in Hialeah, Fla., going on, and the pro-life group Operation Rescue taking possession of a Wichita, Kan., building that for decades was used as an abortion business.
Gratias Deo!!
Half a dozen abortion clinics in Florida and Alabama have had their doors locked after state health boards became concerned by alleged rule and drug violations, including claims of an illegal late-term procedure in Florida.
The Florida Department of Health issued a notice confirming that there was an emergency suspension of the license for James Scott Pendergraft, who runs clinics in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, for allegedly doing an abortion in the third trimester.
And in Alabama, the state Board of Health suspended the license for Reproductive Health Services of Montgomery because the business lacked a physician with admitting privileges at a local acute care hospital.
It's been a difficult August for the abortion industry, with an investigation into what appears to have been a homicide at an abortion clinic in Hialeah, Fla., going on, and the pro-life group Operation Rescue taking possession of a Wichita, Kan., building that for decades was used as an abortion business.
Gratias Deo!!
Friday, August 18, 2006
IslamoFascism and Abortionists: A Commonality
Heh.
But another angle has presented itself in a stark way: the way that children pay the price for their mother’s mistakes. Obviously, we’ve seen over the last thirty years a lot of confusion over abortion—and defenders claim that it’s an essential choice which must be available for women who are faced with children they cannot raise. Or children who are ... inconvenient. Or who must be sacrificed for a Higher Cause.
Interestingly, this idea of sacrificing children to a noble cause is not only on the side of the “pro choice” movement in the West, but it’s to be found in the Islamic world as well. Many have seen the pictures of children dressed as suicide bombers, just as western children would dress as Woody or Spiderman. Trading cards with “martyr-heroes” are offered to children, and their neighbours who die in such circumstances are praised as virtuous.
And certain folks (employed by Planned Parenthood) ridiculed John Paul II for his use of the phrase "Culture of Death."
HT: Dom Bet, quoting Genevieve Kinecke
But another angle has presented itself in a stark way: the way that children pay the price for their mother’s mistakes. Obviously, we’ve seen over the last thirty years a lot of confusion over abortion—and defenders claim that it’s an essential choice which must be available for women who are faced with children they cannot raise. Or children who are ... inconvenient. Or who must be sacrificed for a Higher Cause.
Interestingly, this idea of sacrificing children to a noble cause is not only on the side of the “pro choice” movement in the West, but it’s to be found in the Islamic world as well. Many have seen the pictures of children dressed as suicide bombers, just as western children would dress as Woody or Spiderman. Trading cards with “martyr-heroes” are offered to children, and their neighbours who die in such circumstances are praised as virtuous.
And certain folks (employed by Planned Parenthood) ridiculed John Paul II for his use of the phrase "Culture of Death."
HT: Dom Bet, quoting Genevieve Kinecke
Stupid Defendant Tricks
The LawDog tells another fabulous tale of Texas defendants and jurisprudence.
You have the right to SHUT UP! No, you cannot waive any rights! I will not allow you to waive any rights! I require you to assert your rights! I order you to flaunt your rights with your head held high! Now plead and get out of my courtroom!"
"Umm."
The rest of it is even better...
You have the right to SHUT UP! No, you cannot waive any rights! I will not allow you to waive any rights! I require you to assert your rights! I order you to flaunt your rights with your head held high! Now plead and get out of my courtroom!"
"Umm."
The rest of it is even better...
Cheech and Chong: (D) Candidates for AG
Peg "the Keg" Lautenschlaeger may be the one of the worst AG's in Wisconsin history, but her competitor, Kate-the-Doyenne-of-Dane is a threat to her standing:
A Kathleen Falk for Attorney General mailer arrives today and the following sentence is worth noting. “There is no office more important when it comes to protecting our environment, our rights, our communities, our families and our future.”
Anyone who writes understands that priorities are expressed by 'ordering' within a sentence or paragraph. In this case, Kate 'orders' the functions of AG as "environment" followed by "rights." Insofar as it is a campaign mailer, it can't be a thoughtless error as one might make in response to a reporter's question.
Moreover, it shows a philosophical vacuity, or worse. Most thinking people understand that their 'rights' INCLUDE a reasonably clean 'environment.' This flows from a proper understanding of the order of Nature, evidently not present in the mind of Kate.
The analysis of Random10 is dead-on.
A Kathleen Falk for Attorney General mailer arrives today and the following sentence is worth noting. “There is no office more important when it comes to protecting our environment, our rights, our communities, our families and our future.”
Anyone who writes understands that priorities are expressed by 'ordering' within a sentence or paragraph. In this case, Kate 'orders' the functions of AG as "environment" followed by "rights." Insofar as it is a campaign mailer, it can't be a thoughtless error as one might make in response to a reporter's question.
Moreover, it shows a philosophical vacuity, or worse. Most thinking people understand that their 'rights' INCLUDE a reasonably clean 'environment.' This flows from a proper understanding of the order of Nature, evidently not present in the mind of Kate.
The analysis of Random10 is dead-on.
LAPD Moron-Members
Some are concerned about gun owners.
They SHOULD be worried about morons with guns (that's a subset, for the mentally handicapped), many of whom are employed as LEO's by the City of the Angels:
LAPD appears to be having some problems with unintentional firearm discharges.
"Officers over those years shot themselves or one another nearly as often as they were shot by suspects.
Since 1985, there have been more than 350 accidental discharges by LAPD officers. There also have been more than a dozen so-called friendly fire incidents....
One off-duty officer shot himself in a leg as he sat behind his desk and, according to department records, contemplated "a complex mathematical problem." [Using his trigger finger to count?]Another officer inadvertently pulled the trigger when his African gray parrot flew into his face. [An Attack-Parrot]
One officer accidentally shot his girlfriend in a leg while trying to retrieve a cartridge from his handgun as a "memento" of their date. [I'm sure she felt honored.] Yet another officer admitted that he accidentally fired his gun because he was startled by a woman holding a teddy bear. Two officers accidentally discharged their weapons as they handled them at home while watching themselves in mirrors." [How would Wyatt Earp draw?]
HT: Of Arms and the Law
They SHOULD be worried about morons with guns (that's a subset, for the mentally handicapped), many of whom are employed as LEO's by the City of the Angels:
LAPD appears to be having some problems with unintentional firearm discharges.
"Officers over those years shot themselves or one another nearly as often as they were shot by suspects.
Since 1985, there have been more than 350 accidental discharges by LAPD officers. There also have been more than a dozen so-called friendly fire incidents....
One off-duty officer shot himself in a leg as he sat behind his desk and, according to department records, contemplated "a complex mathematical problem." [Using his trigger finger to count?]Another officer inadvertently pulled the trigger when his African gray parrot flew into his face. [An Attack-Parrot]
One officer accidentally shot his girlfriend in a leg while trying to retrieve a cartridge from his handgun as a "memento" of their date. [I'm sure she felt honored.] Yet another officer admitted that he accidentally fired his gun because he was startled by a woman holding a teddy bear. Two officers accidentally discharged their weapons as they handled them at home while watching themselves in mirrors." [How would Wyatt Earp draw?]
HT: Of Arms and the Law
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Dreher's Warning
Rod Dreher is not a "pacifist" in the WOT. But he has an understanding which eludes the Bush Boyzzz.
What is starting to unnerve me is the sense that the wheels are coming off, and nobody knows how to put them back on. This confidence game the Republicans are playing is an insult. No, it's far worse than that: it's dangerous, because they seem to believe that all they have to do is keep banging away on the public's fear that the Democrats would be worse, and all will be well for them. It reminds me of Rep. Mike Pence's moronic quote from earlier this year: "The best thing we have going for us is the Democrats. We may be the party of Big Government, but they are the party of Really Big Government."
Well, that's strong talk from a columnist. What's the origin of his angst?
National Review editor Rich Lowry whispers sotto voce that Bush might have led us all into another Vietnam. This is not, of course, a fresh observation. What's new -- and significant -- is who's saying it.
Yah, well, Rich Lowry...what does HE know?
Maybe it's related to this:
Over on The Corner, Andy McCarthy and my friend John Podhoretz have been fighting over democracy, terrorism and Islam. I really do think Andy slam-dunks it in this posting, in which he says those (like President Bush) who insist that the problem in the Arab Muslim world is a lack of democracy are dangerously fooling themselves. They can't wrap their mind around the idea that millions of people would voluntarily choose to live as they believe God commands them.
Over lunch with a business-friend, this was broached. While it is clear that ALL people can understand and live within a functioning democracy-based political system, it is NOT clear that all people are religiously conditioned to do so. In the West, Aristotlean concepts of government were effectively blessed by a religion (Roman Catholic) which values each individual person's rights in the very broad sense. This allowed the Magna Carta and its 500-year-later offspring, the US Constitution to actually work. (Let's not quibble about smaller issues, please.)
But the Mohammedans do not "need" nor necessarily "want" democracy--rights of individuals under the Shari'a do not occupy the same space as they do under Christianity, broadly speaking.
More from McCarthy:
What is variously called "radical Islam," "militant Islam," "political Islam," "fundamentalist Islam," "Islamo-fascism," etc., is not a fringe cult. It is a highly developed system the history of which traces back centuries and which counts among its adherents many highly educated, highly intelligent people. It rejects fundamental premises of Western democracy — indeed, it blames Western democracy for the ills of the world.
Now, here's what you don't seem to get: it's not just terrorists who believe this. The terrorists are the ones willing to fight over it, but there are tens of millions who agree with their beliefs and aims even if they are not willing to kill to see them actualized. That is why terrorism is not irreconcilable with democracy, but Islam may well be. [Read that line again...]
You can keep pretending, if you'd like, that the problem here is "tyranny" and "terrorism" and that things would turn around if only we injected a little freedom into the equation. But that is not going to deal with the "root cause," and it is not going to make Muslims like you better (as we are seeing in Iraq on a daily basis).
You insult these millions of Muslims profoundly because the logic of your argument is that no one who was truly free would choose the life they sincerely believe God has commanded. You are stuck in a pre-1979 mindset which refuses to acknowledge that a religion-based revolution is possible, and that the millions of people are freely choosing a belief system that opposes Western democracy.
I'm not going along. I've spent lots of time with our enemies and I respect them. That's why I know they have to be defeated, not courted.
This IS the problem with the "One World" Globaloney crowd whose most vigorous proponents happen to be members of the Bush family (but they are hardly alone...) They don't GET it.
Just as a reminder:
Over the past few decades, studies have shown again and again that Americans tend to have a poor grasp of history. In fact, the scholar Christopher Lasch once wrote that Americans love nostalgia, because we see it as a form of entertainment. But we dislike real history, because real historical facts are inconvenient. ...
Catholics who do know history may remember the following: Islam has embraced armed military expansion for religious purposes since its earliest decades. In contrast, Christianity struggled in its divided attitudes toward military force and state power for its first 300 years. No “theology of Crusade” existed in Western Christian thought until the 11th century. In fact, the Christian Byzantine Empire had already been resisting Muslim expansion in the East for 400 years before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade — as a defensive response to generations of armed jihad.
Much of the modern Middle East was once heavily Christian. Muslim armies changed that by imposing Islamic rule. Surviving Christian communities have endured centuries of marginalization, discrimination, violence, slavery and outright persecution — not always and not everywhere; but as a constant, recurring and central theme of Muslim domination.
That same Christian suffering continues down to the present. In the early years of the 20th century, the Muslim Ottoman Empire murdered more than 1 million Armenian Christians for ethnic, economic, but also religious reasons. Many Turks and other Muslims continue to deny that massive crime even today. Coptic Christians in Egypt — who, even after 13 centuries of Muslim prejudice and harassment, cling to the faith — continue to experience systematic discrimination and violence at the hands of Islamic militants.
Harassment and violence against Christians continue in many places throughout the Islamic world, from Bangladesh, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan and Iraq, to Nigeria, Indonesia and even Muslim-dominated areas of the heavily Catholic Philippines. In Saudi Arabia, all public expressions of Christian faith are forbidden. The on-going Christian flight from Lebanon has helped to transform it, in just half a century, from a majority Christian Arab nation to a majority Muslim population.These are facts. The Muslim-Christian conflict is a very long one, rooted in deep religious differences, and Muslims have their own long list of real and perceived grievances. But especially in an era of religiously inspired terrorism and war in the Middle East, peace is not served by ignoring, subverting or rewriting history, but rather by facing it humbly as it really happened and healing its wounds. (Abp Chas. Chaput of Denver) HT: Bonfire of the Vanities
"Education in History" in all the admirable colleges tends to characterize the Crusades as some sort of "Catholic jihad," and as a result, many students dissociate these wars from their real roots: they are religious wars and result from a religious weltanschauung.
The Bush Administration's insistence on 'democracy' is a fool's errand.
Ironically, GWB retracted his spot-on definition--Islamic Fascism. Let's hope that he regains that understanding and then re-formulates his raison d'etre for having the troops in Iraq.
What is starting to unnerve me is the sense that the wheels are coming off, and nobody knows how to put them back on. This confidence game the Republicans are playing is an insult. No, it's far worse than that: it's dangerous, because they seem to believe that all they have to do is keep banging away on the public's fear that the Democrats would be worse, and all will be well for them. It reminds me of Rep. Mike Pence's moronic quote from earlier this year: "The best thing we have going for us is the Democrats. We may be the party of Big Government, but they are the party of Really Big Government."
Well, that's strong talk from a columnist. What's the origin of his angst?
National Review editor Rich Lowry whispers sotto voce that Bush might have led us all into another Vietnam. This is not, of course, a fresh observation. What's new -- and significant -- is who's saying it.
Yah, well, Rich Lowry...what does HE know?
Maybe it's related to this:
Over on The Corner, Andy McCarthy and my friend John Podhoretz have been fighting over democracy, terrorism and Islam. I really do think Andy slam-dunks it in this posting, in which he says those (like President Bush) who insist that the problem in the Arab Muslim world is a lack of democracy are dangerously fooling themselves. They can't wrap their mind around the idea that millions of people would voluntarily choose to live as they believe God commands them.
Over lunch with a business-friend, this was broached. While it is clear that ALL people can understand and live within a functioning democracy-based political system, it is NOT clear that all people are religiously conditioned to do so. In the West, Aristotlean concepts of government were effectively blessed by a religion (Roman Catholic) which values each individual person's rights in the very broad sense. This allowed the Magna Carta and its 500-year-later offspring, the US Constitution to actually work. (Let's not quibble about smaller issues, please.)
But the Mohammedans do not "need" nor necessarily "want" democracy--rights of individuals under the Shari'a do not occupy the same space as they do under Christianity, broadly speaking.
More from McCarthy:
What is variously called "radical Islam," "militant Islam," "political Islam," "fundamentalist Islam," "Islamo-fascism," etc., is not a fringe cult. It is a highly developed system the history of which traces back centuries and which counts among its adherents many highly educated, highly intelligent people. It rejects fundamental premises of Western democracy — indeed, it blames Western democracy for the ills of the world.
Now, here's what you don't seem to get: it's not just terrorists who believe this. The terrorists are the ones willing to fight over it, but there are tens of millions who agree with their beliefs and aims even if they are not willing to kill to see them actualized. That is why terrorism is not irreconcilable with democracy, but Islam may well be. [Read that line again...]
You can keep pretending, if you'd like, that the problem here is "tyranny" and "terrorism" and that things would turn around if only we injected a little freedom into the equation. But that is not going to deal with the "root cause," and it is not going to make Muslims like you better (as we are seeing in Iraq on a daily basis).
You insult these millions of Muslims profoundly because the logic of your argument is that no one who was truly free would choose the life they sincerely believe God has commanded. You are stuck in a pre-1979 mindset which refuses to acknowledge that a religion-based revolution is possible, and that the millions of people are freely choosing a belief system that opposes Western democracy.
I'm not going along. I've spent lots of time with our enemies and I respect them. That's why I know they have to be defeated, not courted.
This IS the problem with the "One World" Globaloney crowd whose most vigorous proponents happen to be members of the Bush family (but they are hardly alone...) They don't GET it.
Just as a reminder:
Over the past few decades, studies have shown again and again that Americans tend to have a poor grasp of history. In fact, the scholar Christopher Lasch once wrote that Americans love nostalgia, because we see it as a form of entertainment. But we dislike real history, because real historical facts are inconvenient. ...
Catholics who do know history may remember the following: Islam has embraced armed military expansion for religious purposes since its earliest decades. In contrast, Christianity struggled in its divided attitudes toward military force and state power for its first 300 years. No “theology of Crusade” existed in Western Christian thought until the 11th century. In fact, the Christian Byzantine Empire had already been resisting Muslim expansion in the East for 400 years before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade — as a defensive response to generations of armed jihad.
Much of the modern Middle East was once heavily Christian. Muslim armies changed that by imposing Islamic rule. Surviving Christian communities have endured centuries of marginalization, discrimination, violence, slavery and outright persecution — not always and not everywhere; but as a constant, recurring and central theme of Muslim domination.
That same Christian suffering continues down to the present. In the early years of the 20th century, the Muslim Ottoman Empire murdered more than 1 million Armenian Christians for ethnic, economic, but also religious reasons. Many Turks and other Muslims continue to deny that massive crime even today. Coptic Christians in Egypt — who, even after 13 centuries of Muslim prejudice and harassment, cling to the faith — continue to experience systematic discrimination and violence at the hands of Islamic militants.
Harassment and violence against Christians continue in many places throughout the Islamic world, from Bangladesh, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan and Iraq, to Nigeria, Indonesia and even Muslim-dominated areas of the heavily Catholic Philippines. In Saudi Arabia, all public expressions of Christian faith are forbidden. The on-going Christian flight from Lebanon has helped to transform it, in just half a century, from a majority Christian Arab nation to a majority Muslim population.These are facts. The Muslim-Christian conflict is a very long one, rooted in deep religious differences, and Muslims have their own long list of real and perceived grievances. But especially in an era of religiously inspired terrorism and war in the Middle East, peace is not served by ignoring, subverting or rewriting history, but rather by facing it humbly as it really happened and healing its wounds. (Abp Chas. Chaput of Denver) HT: Bonfire of the Vanities
"Education in History" in all the admirable colleges tends to characterize the Crusades as some sort of "Catholic jihad," and as a result, many students dissociate these wars from their real roots: they are religious wars and result from a religious weltanschauung.
The Bush Administration's insistence on 'democracy' is a fool's errand.
Ironically, GWB retracted his spot-on definition--Islamic Fascism. Let's hope that he regains that understanding and then re-formulates his raison d'etre for having the troops in Iraq.
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