musing minds

This story was out last year (the Hindustan Times had a story on March 30, 2005) and I wrote about it here.

Today (via Stop The ACLU) we learn more.

Leaders of the former Soviet Union were behind the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in 1981, an Italian parliamentary investigative commission said in a report.

A final draft of the report, which is due to be presented to parliament later this month, was made available to Reuters on Thursday by the commission president, Senator Paolo Guzzanti.

Hostettler asks Legion to help confront ACLU

Courier Press

Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., called veterans who belong to the American Legion to fight again, “to defend our sacred liberties.”

“This battle will be fought with letters, e-mails, phone calls and personal visits,” he said.

The enemy? The American Civil Liberties Union.

Hostettler was speaking Tuesday to 700 members of the American Legion who are in Washington for an annual convention. Tuesday afternoon, many of them went to lobby their representatives, and Hostettler’s bill, the Public Expression of Religion Act, was on their list of requests.

Hostettler told the crowd that Gibson County’s Ten Commandments display challenge began because “a local strip club owner said he was offended. If he meant it troubled his conscience, the monument is a benefit to the community.”

Chuckles rippled throughout the hotel ballroom, and then applause.

Ultimately, the display was held to be constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But often it goes the other way. Hostettler said, “The more cases they win, the more this false right is reinforced.”

Hostettler told the group he has failed to get the bill made into law in four consecutive congressional sessions, and this is the fifth time he’s tried.

“We need to pass PERA, and we need to pass PERA now,” he said. He urged American Legion members to spread the word to their friends that they oppose “the ACLU and their minions who would enrich themselves at the expense of our Constitution.”

Hostettler closed the speech by saying although the ACLU wouldn’t like him saying so, “May He (God) continue to bless the United States of America.”

This is important legislation that needs to be passed. YOU need to contact YOUR Representative and tell them to support this. You can read about PERA here. Now, seriously, contact your representative. You can find their contact info here.

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Over at Real Clear Politics I clicked on a link to an LA Times editorial that really blew my mind…

The editorial is titled “Why pick on Wal-Mart?”

The editorial talks about recent legislative actions to force Wal-Mart to spend a specific amount of money to offer health coverage to their employees. The editorial calls this bullying and intimidation. The editorial also states

This kind of legislative intimidation is bad for a couple of reasons. First, it’s arbitrary and unfair. Why not go after companies with 5,000 employees? Or 50? Or ones with employees who wear funny hats and ask, “You want fries with that?”

I’ve wondered that too. Why only Wal-Mart and not all the stores in the mall? Why not all the fast food outlets? Why not pick on all retail outlets? Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the U.S., but there are plenty of other large retailers as well…

About dot com has a list of things you can do with your kids to celebrate National Pig Day.

Send an e-card.

Today is Ash Wednesday. Forty days before Easter. The date of Ash Wednesday in any year is found by subtracting 40 days from Easter, which is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

The Anchoress has quite a few lenten links, I’ll send you to the first one, she has further links from there.

Her first post is So, What are you Reading for Lent?

Update: The American Princess links to an excellent post Explaining Lent.

Today is Paczki (poonch-key) Day!

A Paczki is like a jelly doughnut, but a bit different. It’s a piece of fried dough that has been sliced and filled will various fruit fillings (prune is a popular one) and dusted with powdered sugar.

They were originally made to use up the sugar, lard and fruit in the house before Lent.

I just like them. I’m buying my King Cake today too.

Paczki	King Cake

The American Princess has her own Paczki picture and a slightly different pronunciation.

Found via Leslie’s Omnibus:

Bill would allow only ‘fire-safe’ cigarettes

February 27, 2006

BY TRACY SWARTZ Sun-Times Springfield Bureau

SPRINGFIELD — As if being a smoker in Chicago wasn’t enough of a drag. Now some state lawmakers are pushing to restrict cigarette sales to brands that meet fire safety standards.

Only self-extinguishing cigarettes would be sold in Illinois under a plan intended to reduce the number of fire-related deaths. If such a bill passes, Illinois would join three other states in forcing tobacco companies to make cigarettes the companies say aren’t really “fire safe.”

read the rest…

Then we’ll need fire safe candles too, and gas that doesn’t ignite, how about water you can’t drown in? And knives that don’t cut!

Much as some people would lilke it to be so, it isn’t government’s job to save us from ourselves.

And what about all the potential lawsuits! “I bought fire-safe cigarettes and my house still burned down! Now I have no place to live! I must sue the tobacco companies for millions and millions of dollars so I can get a really, really big house!”

We were down for some time this morning but we are back up now. I’m not sure what the problem was but it has been fixed.

We have a back up site at musingminds.wordpress.com if you can’t find us here, we’ll be there…

Via GOP Bloggers.

Our governor, Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), was on the Daily Show a couple of weeks ago and didn’t know that it was a comedy show. AP reported on the story and CNN picked it up. The stories are identical except for one word. Democratic.

The first paragraph of the AP story:

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn’t in on the joke. Blagojevich says he didn’t realize “The Daily Show” was a comedy spoof of the news when he sat down for an interview that ended up poking fun at the sometimes-puzzled Democratic governor.

The first paragraph of the CNN story:

Blagojevich says he didn’t realize “The Daily Show” was a comedy spoof of the news when he sat down for an interview that ended up poking fun at the sometimes-puzzled governor.

Now CNN may have just assumed that “everyone knows” that Rod Blagojevich is a Democrat, but they did deliberately remove the word from the story. There is the “labels apply to conservatives, not liberals rule” to consider as well. You know, liberal expert A is just listed as “Expert A from Organization X”, but the conservative expert is listed as “Expert B from Conservative Think-Tank Y.”

I think Matt’s right, media bias all the way…

I’ve been tagged by The Lady Jane over at A Lady’s Ruminations

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to. Just link here and trackback when you make your list, and tell the folks you tag to do the same so you can enjoy their posts.

These are the songs I’ve been listening to lately:

Victor Vito and Freddy Vasco by Laurie Berkner (This is on Noggin a lot and we have the CD) “They ate their rice, they ate their beans, they ate their rutabega and they ate their collard greens!”

You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban

To Where You Are – Josh Groban

Angels Blush – Basia

Time and Tide – Basia

We Will Rock You – Queen (Mommy, play the We will Rock Song again!)

We Are The Champions – Queen (follows We Will Rock You on the CD)

Another One Bites The Dust – Queen (play the Dust song!)

I’m not going to tag anyone with this, feel free to Follow That Meme! if you want to…

bonus song my 5-year-old sings:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Once I caught a fish alive.
6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Then I threw him back again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little finger on the right.