Middle America's Worldview

My wife informed me, I am posting too much boring political stuff. So here is a bit of an personal update.

Our Sunday School class took on the 'Love Dare' challenge between spouses. I totally loved the move FIREPROOF and thought this was actually a good idea.

I knew it would be difficult, but after day 5 it's a bit harder than I even knew it would be. The Love Dare puts a light (sometimes an uncomfortable one) on your own flaws. As I read this daily, aspects really stand out and personally hits me.

Here are some random snippets that stood out to me.

Day 1 "Love is built on two pillars that best define what it is. Those pillars are patience and kindness."

Day 2 "A kind husband ends thousands of potential arguments by his willingness to listen first rather than demand his way."

Day 3 "Why do we have such low standards for ourselves but high expectations for our mate? The answer is a painful pill to swallow. We are selfish."

Day 4 "Men for example, tend to think in headlines adn say exactly what they mean. Not much is needed to understand the message. His words are more literal and shouldn't be over analyzed. But women think and speak between the lines. They tend to hint. A man often has to listen for what is implied if he wants to get the full meaning."

Day 5 "There are two main reasons why people are rude: ignorance and selfishness.

So I am up to day 5 today and have already learned alot. Even though I have only begun reading this, I do recommened it to all couples, especially those married.

You can check out Fire Proof my Marriage for additional information.

There is also a free online 40 day Love Dare for those wishing to take the dare!

Have we finally entered the Twilight Zone? Yesterday I heard the prior Soviet Union leader told USA new Administration, 'what your attempting does not work' (paraphrase). This modified communist approach is the same reason the Soviet Union failed.

This new United States administration is making radical changes. So much so, the freaking stock market/dow is dropping faster than the biggest loser weight.

Check out the new press release yesterday(below).

"One idea Waxman's committee staff is looking at is a congressionally mandated policy that would require all TV and radio stations to have in place 'advisory boards' that would act as watchdogs to ensure 'community needs and opinions' are given fair treatment. ... Waxman and the FCC staff are also said to be looking at ways to ease the 'consumer complaint' process, which could also be used along with the advisory boards."

-The American Spectator

Just in case you were thinking that attempts by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi to institute the so-called Fairness Doctrine were simply about shutting-down Rush Limbaugh and conservative talk-radio... THINK AGAIN.

It's actually much worse than we initially thought!

Now, according to the above report by The American Spectator, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, under the leadership of far-left Congressman Henry Waxman is talking about Congressional mandated advisory boards of community watchdogs for conservative talk-radio!

Sound familiar?

It should. The Soviet Union used to call them commissars... political officers... politruk!

To put it another way, can you actually envision ACORN-like "advisory boards" acting as "community watchdogs" over Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham... telling them, through the station owners that carry their shows, what they can or cannot say?

And just in case you're thinking that such a scenario sounds a little far-fetched, remember that our present economic crisis can be directly traced back to liberals in Congress giving the green light to so-called community-based organizations like ACORN - that utilized draconian and potentially fraudulent strong-arm tactics - to force banks into giving out tons of bad loans!

And for those of us with short memories, let us not forget that liberals tried to pull Rush from Armed Forces Radio two years ago.

Now with Obama in the White House, why stop with Armed Forces Radio? The sky is the limit!

Does that upset you?

If so, TOUGH!

To quote The American Spectator again:

"Waxman and the FCC staff are also said to be looking at ways to ease the 'consumer complaint' process, which could also be used along with the advisory boards."

So if you don't like the new regime of talk-radio... SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!

Has anyone else heard this one?

1/6/2009--Introduced. Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.

Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.

Prohibits:
1. Transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions;
2. Licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act;
3. Failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours;
4. Failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days;
5. Keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.
Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act. Directs the Attorney General to:
1. Establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse;
2. Conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and
3. Collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer. Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.

Like all other threats against our freedoms, we must rise and defeat this bill, slap it down hard.

From:
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

12500 NE Tenth Place
Dept Code 2110
Bellevue, Washington 98004

Is California really becoming the un-hinged?

An Oakland, California, pastor could face jail time for expressing his pro-life views.



Pastor Walter Hoye ran into trouble with an abortion clinic while doing an informational picket. Dennis Howard, leader of The Movement for a Better America, believes Hoye is innocent.

"His approach was simply to carry a sign that said 'Jesus Loves You. Can We Help?' and offering those who wanted it some information about alternatives to abortion," Howard explains.

A complaint was filed and Hoye was found guilty in spite of proof to the contrary. "There was a video taken of him doing this, and it shows that he was not harassing anybody," Howard points out. "In fact, he was being harassed by escorts from the abortion clinic."

Pastor Hoye faces up to two years in jail and a $4,000 fine. Howard is calling Christians into action. "We feel that pro-life organizations around the country ought to take up this man's cause and pray and fast between now and February 19," he concludes.

That is when Hoye is due to be sentenced.

The American Family Association (AFA), a pro-family group based in Mississippi, has encountered resistance in its attempts to air a television special called Speechless: Silencing the Christians.


According to the website SilencingChristians.com, the majority of Americans get their information about the homosexual movement from Hollywood and the secular news media -- outlets that deliver what AFA says is a message "tainted by pro-homosexual propaganda." That is why the pro-family group produced the 14-episode Speechless series that initially aired on the INSP Network, and then put together a one-hour special based on the series.

AFA is now buying prime-time slots on the nation's television stations to present that special to provide factual, Christian-based information on the topic. But the pro-family group reports it has run up against blatant "silencing" of that message. "There's a real threat to our First Amendment and free-speech rights because Christians are being shut down and shut out and shut up by the very people who say they champion freedom of speech," asserts AFA president Tim Wildmon.

For example, WSXY in Columbus, Ohio, has refused the air the program. WSPA in Greenville, South Carolina, aired it, but then ran an apology from the station manager. And in Grand Rapids, Michigan, WOOD-TV agreed initially to air the show Monday evening, then bumped it to Wednesday, then proposed to run it on Saturday afternoon -- and now has cancelled it entirely.

WOOD-TV general manager Diane Kniowski told The Grand Rapids Press that the station made a "fair offer" to AFA, but received no response regarding the Saturday airing.

"Our station is being bombarded with calls and messages, and we find ourselves in the middle of someone else's fight," Kniowski stated. "Ours was a fair offer and we are removing ourselves from this matter."


Wildmon sees outright irony in what is happening. "It's ironic that the very issue we're bringing up -- that Christians are being rendered speechless when they talk about this issue -- is actually happening to us when it comes to the program itself," he observes.

Why are stations responding that way? According to Wildmon, they are reacting to complaints from homosexual activists about airing Speechless. "[The stations are] just giving us the runaround," he says. "They've heard from a few of the homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered supporters out there -- and so they haven't heard massively from our folks yet."

But the AFA president predicts they will. He argues that the TV special simply tells the truth -- and he urges people to visit SilencingChristians.com, where segments of the show can be viewed. Wildmon also encourages people in cities where the show is scheduled to contact their local TV station and voice their support for airing it.

You can quickly go to the TV schedule here.

Interesting. I would think they could at least narrow down subjects due to their geographical activity.

Cybercriminals Try Phishing With Fliers
By Thomas Claburn
Read the Original Article at InformationWeek

The link advertised leads to malicious hacking script that attempts to establish a connection to a Web site that Symantec said has been associated with malware.
As part of their ongoing effort to convince people to visit malicious Web sites, cybercriminals are experimenting with a new medium: phony advertisement fliers.

In a post on the SANS Internet Storm Center blog, security consultant Lenny Zeltser describes a scheme to drive traffic to a malicious Web site using pamphlets left on cars.

A few days ago, yellow fliers appeared on cars in Grand Forks, N.D., Zeltser reports. They purported to be parking violation notices and advised recipients to go to a specific Web site "to view pictures with information about your parking preferences." (If you've never heard of parking preferences, you're not alone.)

At the specified Web site, visitors found snapshots of cars at area parking lots, along with the instructions, "To view pictures of your vehicle from Grand Forks, North Dakota download here," followed by a link to a file called PictureSearchToolbar.exe.

Once installed, that program downloaded a malicious DLL and attempted to establish a connection to a Web site that Symantec said has been associated with malware.

"The initial program installed itself as a browser helper object for Internet Explorer that downloaded a component from childhe.com and attempted to trick the victim into installing a fake anti-virus scanner from bestantispyware securityscan.com and protectionsoft warecheck.com," Zeltser explains in his post. "Attackers continue to come up with creative ways of tricking potential victims into installing malicious software. Merging physical and virtual worlds via objects that point to Web sites is one way to do this. I imagine we'll be seeing such approaches more often."

Don't worry too much, though. The sentence construction in the fake Windows security alert rather ruins the scam. The alert reads like a transcription of the Russian-inflected English uttered by Chekov on the original Star Trek series: "Your system requires immediate anti viruses check!"

An interesting article on the fallacy of RFID security for our passports, and building access. Rather than the RFID company suing Chris, they should hire him as a consultant to beef up their holes in security.

But that would make too much sense.

Hacker clones passports in drive-by RFID heist

White hat demonstrates security vulnerabilities in radio technology

A British hacker has shown how easy it is to clone US passport cards that use Radio Frequency ID chips by conducting a drive-by test on the streets of San Francisco.

Chris Paget, director of research and development at Seattle-based IOActive, used a $250 Motorola RFID reader and an antenna mounted in a car's side window and drove for 20 minutes around San Francisco, with a colleague videoing the demonstration.

Paget picked up the details of two US passport cards, which are fitted with RFID chips and can be used instead of traditional passports for travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

"I believe that RFID is very unsuitable for tagging people," he said. "I do not believe we should have any kind of identity document with RFID tags in them. My ultimate goal would be to see the entire Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative scrapped."

Paget claimed that it would be relatively simple to make cloned passport cards from the information he had gathered.

Genuine passport cards support a 'kill code' which can wipe the card's data, and a 'lock code' that prevents the tag's data being changed. But Paget believes that these protections are not being used and that, even if they were, the radio interrogation is done in plain text so is relatively easy for a hacker to collect and analyse.

The ease with which the passport cards were picked up is even more worrying considering that fewer than a million have been issued to date.

Paget is a renowned 'white hat' ethical hacker, and has made the study of the security failings of RFID something of a speciality.

In 2007 he was due to present a paper on the subject at the Black Hat security conference in Washington, but was forced to abandon the plans after an RFID company threatened him with legal action.

Paget points out that RFID tags are increasingly being used in physical security systems such as building access cards, and that the technology needs significant extra security before it can be considered safe for commercial use.

2008 Voting Stats - Scary


Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul ,
Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning the
Presidential election:


Number of States won by: Democrats: 19
Republicans: 29

Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000
Republicans:
2,427,000

Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127
million Republicans: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won
by: Democrats: 13.2 Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory
Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of
the country.
Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in
government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government
welfare..."



Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the
"complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of
democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already
having reached the "governmental dependency"
phase.



If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal
invaders called illegals and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the
USA in fewer than five years. If you are in favor of this, then by all
means, delete this message.



If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how
much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our
freedom.

I ran across this and thought it was interesting. If it holds true, then we should see policy change to effect radio talk shows. I know they tried in the past to stimy conservative talk shows. Recall The Fairness Doctrine?

The Fairness Doctrine was anything but fair.

Now that Obama is writing executive orders left and right, we will probably see something similar hit our radio hosts.

Rush Limbaugh may command a large following, but his caustic comments Monday about the GOP’s congressional leadership have at least one Republican House member defending his colleagues and offering an unusually candid critique of the talk radio powerhouse and his fellow commentators.

Responding to President Obama’s recommendation to Republican congressional leaders last week that they not follow Limbaugh’s lead, the conservative talkmeister said on his show that Obama is “obviously more frightened of me than he is Mitch McConnell. He's more frightened of me, than he is of, say, John Boehner, which doesn't say much about our party."

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., did not take kindly to this assessment in an interview with Politico Tuesday.

“I think that our leadership, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, are taking the right approach,” Gingrey said. “I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party. You know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of that thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."
See Also

* Saltsman pins 'Magic Negro' on media
* GOP weapon: Obama earmarks pledge
* Republicans chew on DeMint


Asked to respond to Gingrey, Limbaugh, in an email to Politico, wrote: “I'm sure he is doing his best but it does not appear to be good enough. He may not have noticed that the number of Republican colleagues he has in the House has dwindled. And they will dwindle more if he and his friends don't show more leadership and effectiveness in battling the most left-wing agenda in modern history. And they won't continue to lose because of me, but because of their relationship with the grassroots, which is hurting. Conservatives want leadership from those who claim to represent them. And we'll know it when we see it.”

The back and forth comes as some on the right speak more openly about what they perceive as the lack of leadership in the Republican Party. Unapologetic conservatives, like Limbaugh would prefer to see elected Republicans confront the new president. But many GOP officials, daunted by the new president’s approval rating and what they believe is fatigue on the part of voters over partisan fighting, are loath to openly criticize Obama.

An author and critic of Islam says the recent decision by a Dutch court to prosecute a Dutch lawmaker for comparing the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf does not bode well for the future of free speech rights in the United States.



Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made headlines around the world in March of 2008 with his film Fitna, which juxtaposed Koran verses against a background of violent film clips and images of terrorism by Islamic radicals.

The Islamic world complained, but last year prosecutors decided against launching a case against Wilders, saying his strident anti-Islamic statements were "hurtful to Muslims, but not criminal."

But now the Amsterdam Appeals Court has ruled that prosecutors will launch a hate-speech case against Wilders. Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch, a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He says this case is part of a larger effort to criminalize any discussion of Islam to which jihadists object.

"The Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is 57 Muslim governments around the world, is making a concerted effort at the United Nations to criminalize any discussion of the elements of Islam that jihadists use to make recruits and justify their actions," he contends.

Spencer says the Wilders prosecution shows that Europe is falling in line with the Islamic initiative to prosecute anyone who engages in what the Islamists say is hate speech. He adds that could affect the free speech rights of Americans as well.

"Especially at a time when the Obama administration has announced its intention to bring the United States into line with European sensibilities about this and closer to the U.N.," he points out. "And with both Europe and the U.N giving way on free speech at a rapid clip, that bodes ill for our freedoms in the United States."

Geez, we are nearing a depression and President Obama throws out $441 million dollars? I guess it's a small drop.

President Obama’s executive order will increase the number of unborn children killed overseas by abortion as federal grants totaling $441 million start flowing to groups like the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

President Obama’s order rescinds the “Mexico City” policy, first established by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The policy, in effect during both Bush administrations but revoked under President Clinton, limited federal “population assistance” program dollars to groups that agreed not to "perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning."

As a candidate, Obama said he was interested in seeking “common ground” on the abortion issue and finding ways to “reduce the number of abortions.” His executive order does the opposite and is only the first in a series of attacks on the unborn child.

The President wants to force taxpayers to pay for abortions by repealing the “Hyde Amendment,” a measure in force since 1976. The National Right to Life Committee estimates that more than one million Americans have been spared from abortion as a result of this law, which is now targeted for repeal.

The president also wants to mandate abortion as one of the “services” required to be insured under a new federal standard of health care. And he has loudly announced his support for the Freedom of Choice Act, legislation that will invalidate all state and federal limitations on abortion. FOCA will increase the number of children who die from abortion annually by about 125,000, according to one estimate.

You can respectfully tell the President what you think about his executive order and his pro-abortion agenda with a letter, email, or phone call. For contact information, please click here.

I watched a funny video over the weekend called "An American Carol". I normally don't like slapstick, but there were some funny parts in this video.

Netflix users can link it here.

David Zucker directs a star-studded cast in this comedy about Michael Malone, a sarcastic, unpatriotic documentary filmmaker who wants to abolish the Fourth of July holiday -- at least until he is visited by three ghosts who want him to reconsider. But can the spirits of America's past, present and future spark a genuine change of heart? Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper and Kevin P. Farley star in this modern-day, Dickens-inspired fable.

The film is definitely politically incorrect. I was surprised to see how many stars are actually in this film. My favorite scene is where Bill Orielly (played by Bill Orielly), was interviewing Michael Malone and Rosie O'connel.

Been another busy week, and yes, one to follow.

Today will get crazy with running. Here is a snapshot of the expected day.

9:00 to 12:00 Church
2:00 to 3:00 Basketball practice
2:50 to 4:00 Wife has Girl scout meeting
5:00 to 6:00 Church

This is with on-call looming over me all day. Who knows if/when I will get called.

That gives us approximately 3 hrs today to eat/run.

As for the coming week, the evenings looks like this.

Mon- Boyscout meeting
Tue- ?
Wed- School Board meeting
Thur- We leave for Texas.

We will be in Texas over the weekend for a wedding. That might be a retreat.

Another daunting hit, as Obama swings into action for (Ahem) civil liberties.

Stop the ACLU has a snapshot of Obama's first action items he hit, once in office. The article ACLU Hero Obama Hits Civil Liberties Trifecta; America Can Be Proud Again! shows the media adoration of their new king. The ACLU is basically frothing with excitement.

“These executive orders represent a giant step forward. Putting an end to Guantanamo, torture and secret prisons is a civil liberties trifecta, and President Obama should be highly commended for this bold and decisive action so early in his administration on an issue so critical to restoring an America we can be proud of again.

Well, personally I don't see how it will be done. I am thinking Obama is doing so, because he told his followers he would. He essentially now has provided his end of the deal.

However, questions of 'who will take these prisoners?', 'how will they be parsed out, via trial or awarded money for their inhumane treatment?'.

It will be interesting to see.

Not really surprised by this. Thanks to Fred Jackson for this informative article.

The Barack Obama administration has wasted no time in announcing what his pro-homosexual agenda will include.

Just hours after becoming president, the Whitehouse.gov website has laid out Barack Obama's agenda. Under a section of that agenda titled Civil Rights is a very detailed outline of what Obama plans to do for the homosexual community.

First on the list is the expansion of "hate crimes" statutes to include extra punishment for crimes committed because of sexual orientation and gender identity. Highlighted is the president's political history of support for hate crimes legislation.

Obama also supports full civil unions and federal rights for homosexual couples, and calls for repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). According to the agenda explanation, the president also is opposed to a constitutional amendment to protect marriage as only between a man and a woman.

As expected, the Obama agenda calls for the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy to allow open homosexuals to serve. "The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals," says the website.

Obama also wants to expand adoption rights for homosexuals. The 44th president, states the website, "thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not."

Elsewhere on the Whitehouse.gov Agenda section (The Agenda - Women) is a statement noting Obama's longstanding support for abortion rights. On that issue, the "consistent champion of reproductive choice" -- as Obama is described on the website -- promises to stand against any effort to overturn Roe v. Wade, increase funding for "family planning and comprehensive sex education," and remove any insurance restrictions against contraception.

Anyone else wondering why all these "Clinton" nominees are in the Obama camp now? I thought we were going to have change, not a regurgitation of Clinton era.

The Washington Times is reporting that president-elect Obama's climate czar has ties to an international organization that promotes "global governance."





According to the report, as recently as last week Carol M. Browner was listed as one of "14 leaders of a socialist group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society." The group, one of many under the umbrella group Socialist International, calls for rich countries to shrink their economies in order to combat climate change.

Browner's name and biography has since been removed from the Socialist International's web page.



Ms. Browner's appointment as Obama's climate czar does not need Senate confirmation. She served previously as head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bill Clinton.

Here's the problem. One group want's something, another group has it. The first group is fighting hard for it. The second group puts it to all for a vote in who should have possession of it. The vote goes to the second group.

Now the first group is oppressing the second group, because they still do not have it.

Sounds like a mini-war going on to me. Not only does this group fight, but harass and whine when they lose. Sigh.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Supporters of the ballot measure that banned same-sex "marriage" in California have filed a lawsuit seeking to block their campaign finance records from public view, saying the reports have led to the harassment of donors.

"No one should have to worry about getting a death threat because of the way he or she votes," said James Bopp, Jr., an attorney representing two groups that supported Proposition 8, Protect Marriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage California. "This lawsuit will protect the right of all people to help support causes they agree with, without having to worry about harassment or threats."

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Sacramento, asks the court to order the secretary of state's office to remove all donations for the proposition from its website. It also asks the court to relieve the two groups and "all similarly situated persons" from having to meet the state's campaign disclosure requirements. That would include having to file a final report on Proposition 8 contributions at the end of January, as well as reports for any future campaigns the groups undertake.



Proposition 8, approved by 52.3 percent of California voters on Nov. 4, reversed a state Supreme Court decision allowing homosexual marriage. The measure's opponents have asked the Supreme Court to overturn it.



The lawsuit filed Wednesday cites a series of incidents in which those who gave money to support Proposition 8 received threatening phone calls, e-mails and postcards. One woman claims she was told: "If I had a gun, I would have gunned you down along with each and every other supporter." Another donor reported a broken window, one said a fliyer calling him a bigot was distributed around his hometown and others received envelopes containing suspicious white power, according to the lawsuit.

Businesses employing people who contributed to the Proposition 8 campaign have been threatened with boycotts, the suit said.

Supporters of the homosexual marriage ban fear the donor backlash will hurt their efforts to raise money in the future, perhaps to fight an initiative seeking to overturn the ban.



"Several donors have indicated that they will not contribute to committee plaintiffs or similar organizations in the future because of the threats and harassment directed at them as a result of their contributions...and the public disclosure of that fact," the lawsuit said.



The suit said courts have held that laws requiring disclosure of campaign contributions can be overturned or restricted if a group can make "an uncontroverted showing" that identifying its members can result in economic reprisals or threats of physical coercion. California's Political Reform Act, which voters approved in 1974, established disclosure requirements for candidates and campaign committees.


The secretary of state's office and another defendant, the state's Fair Political Practices Commission, declined to comment Thursday on the lawsuit. But Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, the homosexual-rights group that led the campaign against Proposition 8, called it hypocritical for supporters of the measure to try to overturn voter-approved campaign finance laws.



He said Proposition 8 supporters used campaign finance records during the campaign to threaten homosexual-rights supporters. "They've used these records to attack corporations, to attack individuals," Kors said.



Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, which supports public access to government records and meetings, said the lawsuit is likely to be unsuccessful. But he also said the plaintiffs' arguments are not trivial. "The problem with their argument, of course, is that campaign finance laws, both at the state and federal level, have been litigated endlessly now since Watergate and the argument has, in one form or another, been rejected," Scheer said.



He said courts have consistently failed to agree that contributors have a right to donate directly and anonymously to a candidate or campaign. He said some states have less restrictive reporting requirements, but they always include disclosure of donors.

Check this out. I posted an article of muslim cabbies in Minneapolis, now it appears Minneapolis Airport is also jumping in with the muslims. Check out this article regarding public dollars being used for foot baths for muslims.

Why oh why can public dollars go to one religion but ACLU makes a stink over a penny going to another?

Tucked away in a corner of an out-of-the-way bathroom on the vast grounds of Indianapolis’ new airport, back where the cab drivers play gin rummy while they wait for fares, is evidence of the city’s growing diversity.

It’s a trough, about 2 feet by 6 feet, marked off by a cement wall about six inches high. Two faucets empty into the trough.

It’s a foot bath, and it’s not for travelers. Rather, it’s for the Muslims cabbies who observe the purification ritual of “wudu.”

“It’s very nice, much better than the old airport,” said Farh Nasir, a Muslim from Somalia who washes his feet in the bath several times a day.

There was no foot bath at the old airport.

Nasir used to sit down outdoors and pour water over his feet from a bottle. Others used bathroom sinks.

The custom in Islam is to pray five times a day. Cleanliness is a prerequisite to prayer.

As the number of Muslim cab drivers in the U.S. has grown, other airports, such as those in Phoenix and Kansas City, have accommodated them with foot baths.

There have been mild protests. Last year, when the foot baths were in the planning stages here, members of an Indianapolis Baptist church staged a rally to oppose the baths as a dangerous caving-in to Islam.

Today there are two foot baths, one in the cabbies’ men’s room, the other in the women’s. The women’s doesn’t get used, cabbies say, because there are no female Muslim cab drivers.

source

Came across this interesting video showing Tokyo's new "Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display" technology. Essentially the ultrasound provides a 3d feel. Looks impressive. They are saying this would be a great means for future gameplay and design applications.

I was pondering the game risk, then a thought on applying the strategies with life.

It would be interesting to do a pet project by applying the same skills to a possible corporation takedown.

I was listening to a CD referring Christian Financial Practices and my mind wandered on applying Risk.

The project would be simple enough. Take a company or cooperation. You would have to first identify the key players (CIO, Board, ect.). Map out the primary base and divisions, creating a heirarchy. Then you would find their main funds, expenses, ect.

Once you identify the landscape, you would then strategize the means of cutting off the funds, creating chaos, ect.

The question would be which company or cooperation would be a good target?