COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a conservative group against an organization that promotes voter participation through registration drives.
Magistrate Judge Timothy Black in Cincinnati released the opinion Wednesday in the suit brought by the Buckeye Institute against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN.
The lawsuit alleged that ACORN's voter registration drives amounted to organized crime because the group turned in a pattern of fraudulent forms.
A district court judge must sign off on the recommendation for the suit to be thrown out. The Buckeye Institute will have a chance to object.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Michele Bachmann wants the Treaty of Tripoli abrogated with the Barbary States
World News - In an address to Congress the other day, Bachmann spent five minutes whining about how Barack Obama asked for religious symbols to be covered when he spoke about the economy at Georgetown because the US is a secular nation.
She also indicated Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were God fearing presidents unlike Obama. Of course, Lincoln is one of Obama's favorite presidents, too. Bachman also wondered what the United States would be without Jesus.
Would anyone be surprised to learn that Obama did not demand the religious symbols be covered up for his Georgetown speech ? He just asked to have a simple backdrop that covered everything behind him. Amazingly, the story was reported in the Washington Times. Bachmann said "It was reported, so it must be true." .
Well, it was reported. but wasn't true.
Wirehead (WH) asked Michele Bachman (MB) about her recent comments in an interview.
WH: You have said the US is a Christian nation. Why do you believe that?
MB: All of the Funding Fathers were Christian and liked their churches. They said nice things about Christians.
WH: Have you seen Bill Maher's movie, Religulous?
MB; Oh, Good Lord, no! That is a secular movie that was directed by a Godless atheist.
WH: Did you know that John Adams said, "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."
MB: Oh, that must be taken out of context.
WH: Franklin also said, "Lighthouses are more useful than churches."
MB: Well, Franklin was a scientist and very secular.
WH: Thomas Jefferson said, "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man."
MB: Well, he was a liberal, wasn't he. He even committed heresy and, even worse, wrote his own Bible.
WH: Yes. he Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, was Thomas Jefferson's effort to extract the doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects and misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Four Evangelists.
MB: I am an evangelical so Jefferson had to be wrong.
WH: You think a Founding Father was wrong?
MB: He had to be.
WH: In your biography, you attempted to make children learn the 12 principles of Christianity in a charter school in Minnesota. These principles were a lot like the 10 Commandments.
MB: What is wrong with that?
WH: Are you aware of the First Amendment and the legal doctrine that has arisen form it?
MB: What are you talking about? The US is Christian nation.
WH: Actually, there is a legal doctrine on the Separation of Church and State. It is based on nearly 50 district and Supreme Court cases.
MB: What is this, gotcha journalism?
WH: This is what Jefferson about the clergy. ."The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and ingrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man."
MB: That is why the US is a Christian nation.
WH: Well, Jefferson believed this is why a firewall was needed between church and state. This is why there are no "official religions" in the US.
MB: Well, you'll have to prove that to me (laughing)!
WH: Have you heard about the Treaty or Tripoli?
MB: Is that the treaty Obama wants with Moammar Qaddafi?
WH: No, it was signed in 1797 by John Adams and approved by the everyone in the US Senate.
MB: So what?
WH: Article 11 of the treaty of Tripoli states: As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
MB: Oh my God! I will have to talk to my colleagues in the Senate to get this treaty abrogated.
WH: The Barbary States were made up of parts of Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and no longer are countries. Tripoltania is now the Western part of Libya.
MB: We still need to get this treaty off of the books. Now you know why Republican hate treaties.
Michele Bachmann stood up and ran out the room. It looked like her hair was on fire.
She also indicated Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were God fearing presidents unlike Obama. Of course, Lincoln is one of Obama's favorite presidents, too. Bachman also wondered what the United States would be without Jesus.
Would anyone be surprised to learn that Obama did not demand the religious symbols be covered up for his Georgetown speech ? He just asked to have a simple backdrop that covered everything behind him. Amazingly, the story was reported in the Washington Times. Bachmann said "It was reported, so it must be true." .
Well, it was reported. but wasn't true.
Wirehead (WH) asked Michele Bachman (MB) about her recent comments in an interview.
WH: You have said the US is a Christian nation. Why do you believe that?
MB: All of the Funding Fathers were Christian and liked their churches. They said nice things about Christians.
WH: Have you seen Bill Maher's movie, Religulous?
MB; Oh, Good Lord, no! That is a secular movie that was directed by a Godless atheist.
WH: Did you know that John Adams said, "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."
MB: Oh, that must be taken out of context.
WH: Franklin also said, "Lighthouses are more useful than churches."
MB: Well, Franklin was a scientist and very secular.
WH: Thomas Jefferson said, "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man."
MB: Well, he was a liberal, wasn't he. He even committed heresy and, even worse, wrote his own Bible.
WH: Yes. he Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, was Thomas Jefferson's effort to extract the doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects and misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Four Evangelists.
MB: I am an evangelical so Jefferson had to be wrong.
WH: You think a Founding Father was wrong?
MB: He had to be.
WH: In your biography, you attempted to make children learn the 12 principles of Christianity in a charter school in Minnesota. These principles were a lot like the 10 Commandments.
MB: What is wrong with that?
WH: Are you aware of the First Amendment and the legal doctrine that has arisen form it?
MB: What are you talking about? The US is Christian nation.
WH: Actually, there is a legal doctrine on the Separation of Church and State. It is based on nearly 50 district and Supreme Court cases.
MB: What is this, gotcha journalism?
WH: This is what Jefferson about the clergy. ."The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and ingrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man."
MB: That is why the US is a Christian nation.
WH: Well, Jefferson believed this is why a firewall was needed between church and state. This is why there are no "official religions" in the US.
MB: Well, you'll have to prove that to me (laughing)!
WH: Have you heard about the Treaty or Tripoli?
MB: Is that the treaty Obama wants with Moammar Qaddafi?
WH: No, it was signed in 1797 by John Adams and approved by the everyone in the US Senate.
MB: So what?
WH: Article 11 of the treaty of Tripoli states: As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
MB: Oh my God! I will have to talk to my colleagues in the Senate to get this treaty abrogated.
WH: The Barbary States were made up of parts of Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and no longer are countries. Tripoltania is now the Western part of Libya.
MB: We still need to get this treaty off of the books. Now you know why Republican hate treaties.
Michele Bachmann stood up and ran out the room. It looked like her hair was on fire.
Former President George W. Bush Accepts Employment Opportunity
US Headlines - George W. Bush announced from his Crawford ranch today that he has accepted gainful employment to help pay for the cost of his Secret Service Detail. He did such as he did not want to be a burden on the tax payers. The former President of the United States has now been out of office for just over 100 days, but will still receive a Secret Service detail as long as he lives.
Bush will begin work Monday at the Crawford McDonalds and will wear the Ronald McDonald costume.
When asked why he accepted the position, he was positive and thrilled in his answers:
"Because I get to be the one to blow up the balloons and I can breathe the helium and talk in a squeaky voice. I love to do the Munchkin song when I do that. We represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild....you know, that one!"
"Also, I get free Cokes and french fries and they've got a playground with slides and a ball pit."
"I buried myself in the ball pit the other day after my interview and the Secret Service guys almost went nutso trying to find me. They were climbing through the little tunnels in their suits and didn't even take off their shoes first. They had the french fry guy up against the shake machine with his legs spread and everything!"
"I also get to stand by the freezer and watch the girls come out. The manager wore a white shirt and it was pretty obvious that she was braless because those headlights were really burning bright! I wouldn't print that if I were you, because Mommy might not like it that I looked at a girl's boobies."
"All Dick Cheney is doin' is goin' around and speechifying. I get to wear a red wig and funny shoes, so we all know who's got it best!"
At minimum wage for 40 hours a week, the former President will pay off less than 1% of his Secret Service Detail's expenses.
Bush will begin work Monday at the Crawford McDonalds and will wear the Ronald McDonald costume.
When asked why he accepted the position, he was positive and thrilled in his answers:
"Because I get to be the one to blow up the balloons and I can breathe the helium and talk in a squeaky voice. I love to do the Munchkin song when I do that. We represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild....you know, that one!"
"Also, I get free Cokes and french fries and they've got a playground with slides and a ball pit."
"I buried myself in the ball pit the other day after my interview and the Secret Service guys almost went nutso trying to find me. They were climbing through the little tunnels in their suits and didn't even take off their shoes first. They had the french fry guy up against the shake machine with his legs spread and everything!"
"I also get to stand by the freezer and watch the girls come out. The manager wore a white shirt and it was pretty obvious that she was braless because those headlights were really burning bright! I wouldn't print that if I were you, because Mommy might not like it that I looked at a girl's boobies."
"All Dick Cheney is doin' is goin' around and speechifying. I get to wear a red wig and funny shoes, so we all know who's got it best!"
At minimum wage for 40 hours a week, the former President will pay off less than 1% of his Secret Service Detail's expenses.
Vatican paper: 'Angels & Demons' film is harmless
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Reviewers at the Vatican's newspaper have passed judgment on "Angels & Demons," finding the religious thriller commercial and inaccurate, but concluding it is "harmless" entertainment and not a danger to the church.
L'Osservatore Romano ran a review and an editorial in Wednesday's edition, critiquing the movie based on the Dan Brown best-selling novel of the same name.
"Angels & Demons" had its world premiere Monday in Rome, after director Ron Howard charged that the Vatican interfered with getting film permits to shoot scenes in the city - a contention the Vatican said was a publicity stunt.
The newspaper wrote that the movie was "a gigantic and smart commercial operation" filled with "stereotyped characters." The paper suggested moviegoers could make a game out of finding the many historical inaccuracies in the plot.
However, L'Osservatore praised Howard's "dynamic direction" and the "magnificent" reconstruction of locations like St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Much of the film was shot on sets that painstakingly recreated church landmarks.
The film offers "more than two hours of harmless entertainment, which hardly affects the genius and mystery of Christianity," L'Osservatore's reviewer wrote. It's "a videogame that first of all sparks curiosity and is also, maybe, a bit of fun."
"Angels & Demons" features Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon of "The Da Vinci Code" fame, played by Tom Hanks. In the film, the Vatican turns to Langdon after an ancient secret brotherhood called the Illuminati kidnap four cardinals considered front-runners to be the next pope, and threaten to kill one an hour and then explode a bomb at the Vatican.
On Sunday, Howard said the Vatican had interfered with his efforts to get permits to shoot some scenes. A Vatican spokesman said the statement was designed purely to drum up publicity for the film.
Top church officials strongly objected to "The Da Vinci Code" because it was based on the idea that Jesus married and fathered children and depicted the conservative Catholic movement, Opus Dei, as a murderous cult.
L'Osservatore Romano ran a review and an editorial in Wednesday's edition, critiquing the movie based on the Dan Brown best-selling novel of the same name.
"Angels & Demons" had its world premiere Monday in Rome, after director Ron Howard charged that the Vatican interfered with getting film permits to shoot scenes in the city - a contention the Vatican said was a publicity stunt.
The newspaper wrote that the movie was "a gigantic and smart commercial operation" filled with "stereotyped characters." The paper suggested moviegoers could make a game out of finding the many historical inaccuracies in the plot.
However, L'Osservatore praised Howard's "dynamic direction" and the "magnificent" reconstruction of locations like St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Much of the film was shot on sets that painstakingly recreated church landmarks.
The film offers "more than two hours of harmless entertainment, which hardly affects the genius and mystery of Christianity," L'Osservatore's reviewer wrote. It's "a videogame that first of all sparks curiosity and is also, maybe, a bit of fun."
"Angels & Demons" features Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon of "The Da Vinci Code" fame, played by Tom Hanks. In the film, the Vatican turns to Langdon after an ancient secret brotherhood called the Illuminati kidnap four cardinals considered front-runners to be the next pope, and threaten to kill one an hour and then explode a bomb at the Vatican.
On Sunday, Howard said the Vatican had interfered with his efforts to get permits to shoot some scenes. A Vatican spokesman said the statement was designed purely to drum up publicity for the film.
Top church officials strongly objected to "The Da Vinci Code" because it was based on the idea that Jesus married and fathered children and depicted the conservative Catholic movement, Opus Dei, as a murderous cult.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Former Iraqi allies turn against US
The Australian
IRAQ is threatened by a new wave of sectarian violence as members of the "Sons of Iraq" - the Sunni Awakening militias that were paid by the US to fight al-Qa'ida - begin to rejoin the insurgency.
If the spike in violence continues, it could affect US President Barack Obama's pledge to withdraw all combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June. All US troops are due to leave the country by 2012.
A leading member of the Political Council of Iraqi Resistance, which represents six Sunni militant groups, said: "The resistance has now returned to the field and is intensifying its attacks against the enemy. The number of coalition forces killed is on the rise."
...
The US had been paying nearly 100,000 Sons of Iraq to participate in its security "surge", but handed over responsibility for their welfare to the Iraqi Government last month.
Their pay has since dried up. Only 5000 members of the Awakening have been employed by the Iraqi security forces. Ginger Cruz, the US's deputy inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, said disillusioned Sunnis could join forces with al-Qa'ida as well as resistance groups......
IRAQ is threatened by a new wave of sectarian violence as members of the "Sons of Iraq" - the Sunni Awakening militias that were paid by the US to fight al-Qa'ida - begin to rejoin the insurgency.
If the spike in violence continues, it could affect US President Barack Obama's pledge to withdraw all combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June. All US troops are due to leave the country by 2012.
A leading member of the Political Council of Iraqi Resistance, which represents six Sunni militant groups, said: "The resistance has now returned to the field and is intensifying its attacks against the enemy. The number of coalition forces killed is on the rise."
...
The US had been paying nearly 100,000 Sons of Iraq to participate in its security "surge", but handed over responsibility for their welfare to the Iraqi Government last month.
Their pay has since dried up. Only 5000 members of the Awakening have been employed by the Iraqi security forces. Ginger Cruz, the US's deputy inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, said disillusioned Sunnis could join forces with al-Qa'ida as well as resistance groups......
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Africans must travel to the moon: Uganda president
ENTEBBE, Uganda (AFP) - Africans must travel to the moon to investigate what developed nations have been doing in outer space, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Saturday.
"The Americans have gone to the moon. And the Russians. The Chinese and Indians will go there soon. Africans are the only ones who are stuck here," Museveni said, addressing a meeting of the Uganda Law Society in Entebbe.
"We must also go there and say: 'What are you people doing up here?'."
"The Americans have gone to the moon. And the Russians. The Chinese and Indians will go there soon. Africans are the only ones who are stuck here," Museveni said, addressing a meeting of the Uganda Law Society in Entebbe.
"We must also go there and say: 'What are you people doing up here?'."
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