Among the books "Going Rogue" is outselling: Sen. Ted Kennedy's "True Compass," Mitch Albom's "Have a Little Faith" and Brown's "The Lost Symbol," his first novel since "The Da Vinci Code" and, perhaps until now, the year's most anticipated release.
The Old Secular Cross? High Court to Consider Issue of Church-State Separation
MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. -- It would be easy to miss among the yucca and Joshua trees of this vast place -- a small plywood box, set back from a gentle curve in a lonesome desert road. It looks like nothing so much as a miniature billboard without a message.
But inside the box is a 6 1/2 -foot white cross, built to honor the war dead of World War I. And because its perch on a prominent outcropping of rock is on federal land, it has been judged to be an unconstitutional display of government favoritism of one religion over another.
But wait... what's this?
That looks like on of our esteemed congressman from North Carolina (Walter Jones) visiting a FEDERAL cemetary, where many of our military heroes of the past and present are buried. This isn't an attack on Jones, for the record. I just noticed the image on his federal government website. Which raises another question:
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT CROSS DOING THERE? QUICK! SOMEONE GET THE ACLU ON THE PHONE!!!!! MY RIGHTS ARE BEING TRAMPLED!!!!!!!!
We gotta stop the scourge of religious oppression that is occuring at Arlington National Cemetary, for if we don't, we will all be subject to a restrictive THEOCRACY! OH NOOOOOOOOOEEESSSS!!!!!!
Ahem. Anyway. Good morning, everyone. I hate hippies. That is all.
I'm trying out a suggestion by Erik The Red, and moving the history thread to 5 AM PT/8 AM ET, after fruitcup. To fill this gap, here's another Liberty Pub thread to continue on!
The Hill: Harkin says he has the votes to pass public option bill in the Senate
The American people don't want it? Too. Freaking. Bad. We're ramming it down their throats. It's what we do.
Bonus: Is this picture crying for a caption contest, or what? Harkin: "Back off, Jack! I'm married!"
It's Tuesday. It's morning. It's open. It's a thread. You know what that means? It's a Tuesday Morning Open Thread.
If you guessed correctly, tell yourself how awesome you are. Kind of like Obama does:
Newsweek: The Limits of Charisma - Mr. President, please stay off TV.
The president's problem isn't that he is too visible; it's the lack of content in what he says when he keeps showing up on the tube. Obama can seem a mite too impressed with his own aura, as if his presence on the stage is the Answer. There is, at times, a self-referential (even self-reverential) tone in his big speeches. They are heavily salted with the words "I" and "my." (He used the former 11 times in the first few paragraphs of his address to the U.N. last week.) Obama is a historic figure, but that is the beginning, not the end, of the story.
Iran declared its refusal Tuesday to discuss its nuclear program -- including the disclosure of a second nuclear enrichment plant -- when it sits down at the negotiating table Thursday with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, Reuters reported. A top Iranian official told the news agency that his country will not abandon its nuclear activities, "even for a second."
Iran's nuclear chief also announced Tuesday that his country built its newly revealed uranium enrichment facility inside a mountain and next to a military site to ensure continuity of its nuclear activities in case of an attack. The revelation comes as the Obama administration works up plans to push for new sanctions against the country, targeting its energy, financial and telecommunications sectors if it does not comply with international demands to come clean about its nuclear program, U.S. officials said Monday.
China will not support increased sanctions on Iran as a way to curb its nuclear program, a government spokeswoman said Thursday.I'm sure when the ChiComs veto Obama's proposal, it will be blamed on Bush for alienating the entire world.Although China has generally opposed the use of sanctions, the announcement is sure to complicate President Obama’s efforts to impose tougher penalties on Iran, should international talks over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, scheduled for Oct. 1, fail to make headway.
“We always believe that sanctions and pressure are not the way out,” said Jiang Yu, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, during a news conference. “At present, it is not conducive to diplomatic efforts.”
Takin' it to closing time on the Squatch Municipal Stairway.
We've had a request to create a book forum on the new site, and it sounds like a pretty good idea. Being from Seattle, Bare and I are rather fond of the Cafe Nervosa model - the sort of books and coffee combination (and the occasional Frasier Crane sighting) - and we're searching for something to call this area of the new site. Now, it could be serious or witty (though it will probably be at least a little serious) - we're open to just about anything. The current working title "Pages", but let's see what you've got.
People love Brandy. What can we say? Serious business can wait until tomorrow...there's more drinking to be done!
The bar is full, so we've opened up the back room to accomodate the capacity crowd. Come on in, and have some fun! It's a lazy Saturday, night is about to fall, nothing much is going on, so there's only one thing to do: start drinking! ; ) As always, please be kind to the Bar Wench, and she'll be kind to you.
We've been talking about this off and on (see JCM's excellent document collection on the thread below), but for more, check in with Ed at HotAir:Senator John Ensign (R-NV) wanted to get an answer on the implications of the individual mandate in the ObamaCare bill floated by Max Baucus (D-MT) during the markup session. Ensign asked Thomas Barthold, chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, what would happen if a taxpayer refused to buy health insurance and then refused to pay the subsequent fine, which could run to $1900 for an individual. Barthold replied that one shouldn’t do the crime if one doesn’t want to do the time:
Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it “Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold.”
Good morning! We have been burning the candle at both ends trying to get things in place in the new digs, so please help yourselves to the news this morning and remember, please, to respect our posting policy. JCM's Top Ten Reason to Oppose Health Care Reform.
And why we don't need no stinkin' plan when we say no.
And a shameless blog pimp.
Posted by JCM
UPDATE:
Doubling Down on a Flawed Insurance Model
Obama's plan takes the problems of the current system—mandates, runaway spending and more—and makes them worse.
C2ers and friends:
FIRST. Just kiddin'. ; ) (Let's close it up at 8:00PM PST for our history lesson - and somebody walk Brandy to her car, please!)
When we hit 200 posts, Blogspot starts paging - so here's a fresh thread and a refill for you. Be kind to Brandy!
We think it's going to be a busy night, so there are several bouncers on duty (don't worry - they're all very cool guys who are just here to make sure everyone has a great time and our posting policy remains intact). If you haven't met her yet, Brandy (our Bar Wench) is on duty tonight as well. She's also terrific, and if you need anything, just give her a shout or a pinch and she'll see that it's taken care of. Have fun guys!
Enjoy, guys! Please remember the rules - be gracious, and look ahead. Welcome new C2ers!
Via HotAir: CNN discovers what an unruly protest looks like
