Kansas Church Liable In Marine Funeral Protest

Fundamentalists in any religion are nuts. How these people can target dead soldiers who have nothing to do with their issue is beyond me.

Kansas church liable in Marine funeral protest
Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:24pm EDT
Jon Hurdle BALTIMORE, Oct 31 (Reuters) -

A jury on Wednesday ordered an anti-gay Kansas church to pay $10.9 million in damages to relatives of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq after church members cheered his death at his funeral. Church members said Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder's death was God's punishment of America for tolerating homosexuality, and they attended his 2006 funeral in Maryland with signs saying "You're going to hell" and "God hates you.

"The federal jury determined the Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, and three of its principals invaded the privacy of the dead man's family and inflicted emotional distress. Albert Snyder, the Marine's father, testified that his son was not gay, but the church targeted the military as a symbol of America's tolerance of gays. Matthew Snyder died in combat in Iraq in March 2006.

The jury awarded Snyder's family $2.9 million in compensatory damages plus $8 million in punitive damages in the first civil suit against the church, which has demonstrated at some 300 military funerals the past two years.

The lawsuit said church Web sites vilified U.S. soldiers, accusing them of being indoctrinated by "fag propaganda." "I hope it's enough to deter them from doing this to other families. It was not about the money. It was about getting them to stop," said Snyder, of York, Pennsylvania.

The church, which is unaffiliated with any major denomination, is headed by Rev. Fred Phelps, who has led a campaign against homosexuality for years. Most of the estimated 70 members of the church belong to his extended family.

"It will take the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals a few minutes to reverse this silly thing," Phelps said. His daughter and co-defendant, Shirley Phelps-Roper, vowed to continue protesting military funerals and called the court's decision a blow against free speech. Outside court on Wednesday, Phelps and his children waved placards with slogans such as "Pray for more dead kids" and "God hates fag enablers," while passing drivers and pedestrians shouted abuse at them. Defense attorney Jonathan Katz urged jurors not to award punitive damages because the $2.9 million in compensatory damages was already three times the defendants' net worth. "It's enough already to bankrupt them and financially destroy them," Katz said.

Craig Trebilcock, an attorney for Snyder, said jurors should award sufficient punitive damages to deter Westboro from repeating its actions.

Happy Halloween

Ralph Nader sues Democratic Party

Staff AP News Oct 30, 2007 17:40 EDT

Consumer advocate and 2004 independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader sued the Democratic Party on Tuesday, contending officials conspired to keep him from taking votes away from nominee John Kerry.

Nader's lawsuit, filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, also named as co-defendants Kerry's campaign, the Service Employees International Union and several so-called 527 organizations such as America Coming Together, which were created to promote voter turnout on behalf of the Democratic ticket.

The lawsuit also alleges that the Democratic National Committee conspired to force Nader off the ballot in several states.

"The Democratic Party is going after anyone who presents a credible challenge to their monopoly over their perceived voters," Nader said in a statement. "This lawsuit was filed to help advance a free and open electoral process for all candidates and voters. Candidate rights and voter rights nourish each other for more voices, choices, and a more open and competitive democracy."

Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that the DNC tried to bankrupt Nader's campaign by suing to keep him off the ballot in 18 states. It also suggests the DNC sent Kerry supporters to crash a Nader petition drive in Portland, Ore., in June 2004, preventing him from collecting enough signatures to get on the ballot.

The lawsuit seeks "compensatory damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief to enjoin the defendants from ongoing and future violations of the law."

Nader's attorney, Bruce Afran, argued that the DNC would be terrified of having the case come to trial. He said he hoped the committee would choose to settle the case and apologize.
"This is a case designed to make sure other independent and third party candidates will not be subject to the same kind of conspiracy in the future," Afran said.

Nader received 463,653 votes in the election, or 0.38% of total votes cast. DNC spokesman Luis Miranda declined comment on the suit, citing a policy on pending litigation.

Donovan Plans Meditation University

2007-10-29 12:19:59By BEN McCONVILLE Associated Press Writer

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Donovan, famous for '60s pop hits such as "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "Mellow Yellow," has announced plans to open the Invincible Donovan University, where students will adhere to the principles of transcendental meditation.

"I know it sounds like an airy-fairy hippie dream to go on about '60s peace and love," said the 61-year-old singer, who was born Donovan Leitch in the Maryhill area of Glasgow. "But the world is ready for this now, it is clear this is the time."

He said the university will be located in either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Donovan discovered transcendental meditation while visiting India and guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968.

"The Maharishi told me during that 1968 visit that I should build a university in Edinburgh. I went to my room and drew a beautiful dome-shaped place of learning," he said Friday.
"I didn't know what to do because I couldn't do this on my own. But then I met David Lynch, who told me about the positive effects of TM in education. Although it's taken me 35 years, I will do what the Maharishi told me to do."

Donovan and Lynch, Oscar-nominated director of "Blue Velvet," "Mullholland Dr." and "The Elephant Man," are part of a tour to promote transcendental meditation as a means of reducing violence, crime and stress in schools and colleges.

The David Lynch Foundation has introduced TM to schools in the U.S., where the 61-year-old filmmaker claims it has transformed results and behavior.

"We have gone into some of the most deprived areas and turned around kids with violent emotional and behavioral problems," he said.

The duo said they will now contact Scottish authorities to have the institution accredited.
"For a country the size of Scotland it would take only 250 students meditating to protect Scotland from its enemies and to bring peace, to stop violence and drug abuse," Lynch said. "That is just a byproduct of the students meditating together."

The Eagles once had an album called "Hell Freezes Over", well it certainly has. The biggest rock group of the 70's has decided to sell their new album ONLY at Wal-Mart. I have nothing against Wal-Mart but this is a closing of the door for a group that set the precedant for musical independance. I realizes this album was made for the money, I realize it's a business but to freeze out the struggling independant record dealers is a tragedy. I will always love their music, I hope to see them in concert one day, but I will never look at them the same again.

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- One of the most awaited albums this year will hit shelves tomorrow at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Walmart.com as the Eagles release their 20 song, two-disc album "Long Road Out of Eden." On sale Oct. 30th in Wal-Mart retail stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico at 12:01 AM, the album is the first new music from this Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band since 1980.

"Long Road Out of Eden" reflects the band and Wal-Mart's shared commitment to environmental sustainability. The album packaging features Domtar EarthChoice(R) papers. To ensure paper is sourced from well-managed forests, EarthChoice papers are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), publicly endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance and supported by World Wildlife Fund and Forest Ethics. This unique CD package contains 30 percent post-consumer recycled fiber, and virgin fiber from FSC Certified forests or other controlled sources.
"We're pleased that with 'Long Road out of Eden' we are able to present new music to our fans in a package that incorporates recycled fibers and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council," said Eagles band member Don Henley. "Using recycled materials and paper products from well-managed forests has a great global impact in conserving biodiversity."

"At Wal-Mart, we're passionate about bringing customers a great value, unique music packages and products that promote sustainability; 'Long Road Out of Eden' has it all," said Gary Severson, Wal-Mart's senior vice president, entertainment. "There are many exciting aspects to this new album -- most of all, this is simply great music and we're excited to offer it on-line and through our stores to their millions of fans."

"Long Road Out of Eden" will retail at $11.88 in U.S. and Canadian stores and is also available for MP3-format download online at Walmart.com for $10.88.

The Eagles -- Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe, Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit -- have sold more than 120 million albums worldwide and have won four Grammy Awards. Their "Greatest Hits 1971-1975" is the best-selling album of all time, exceeding sales of 29 million units. The band's "Hotel California" and "Their Greatest Hits Volume 2" have sold more than 16 and 11 million albums, respectively. Eagles were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Gap Vows Action After Child Labor Report

I understand what Gap say's their position is, and I undersand how they say they inspect but it does not change the fact that a newspaper uncovered this atrocity.

Clothing retailer Gap Inc. said Sunday that it will convene all of its Indian suppliers to "forcefully reiterate" its prohibition on child labor after a British newspaper found children as young as 10 making Gap clothes at a sweatshop in New Delhi. The Observer newspaper quoted the children as saying they had been sold to the sweatshop by their families in Indian states such as Bihar and West Bengal and would not be allowed to leave until they had repaid that fee. Some, working as long as 16 hours a day to hand-sew clothing, said they were not being paid because their employer said they were still trainees.

Gap said it first learned of the child labor allegations last week and discovered the sweatshop was being run by a subcontractor that a vendor had hired in violation of Gap's policies. The product made there will be destroyed so it cannot be sold in Gap stores, company spokesman Bill Chandler said. "We appreciate that the media identified this subcontractor, and we acted swiftly in this situation," Chandler told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Under no circumstances is it acceptable for children to produce or work on garments." The Observer quoted one boy identified only as Jivaj as saying that child employees who cried or did not work hard enough were hit with a rubber pipe or had oily cloths stuffed into their mouths. The paper said the sweatshop, or "derelict industrial unit," that it found during its investigation in New Delhi was "smeared in filth, the corridors flowing with excrement from a flooded toilet. "The Observer printed a photograph of one of the child workers, and British Broadcasting Corp. television broadcast what it said was footage of the youngsters taken at the sweatshop by an unidentified German TV crew. Gap did not immediately cut ties with the supplier it accused of improper subcontracting, but Chandler said the company was taking the breach of its child labor policies "extremely seriously." "We're willing to end relationships with vendors when they don't meet our standards," he said. The company requires its suppliers to guarantee that they will not use child labor to produce garments, Chandler said, and Gap stopped working with 23 factories last year over violations uncovered by its inspectors. The San Francisco-based company has 90 full-time inspectors who make unannounced visits around the world to ensure vendors are abiding by Gap's guidelines, he said. Gap has about 2,000 suppliers worldwide, including about 200 in India, Chandler said. The company plans to convene all of its suppliers in the India region at a summit in the coming weeks to "forcefully reiterate the prohibition on any child labor," he said. Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, said its prohibition of child labor is non-negotiable. "While violations of our strict prohibition on child labor in factories that produce product for the company are extremely rare, we have called an urgent meeting with our suppliers in the region to reinforce our policies," Hansen said in a statement. "Gap Inc. has one of the industry's most comprehensive programs in place to fight for workers' rights overseas. Besides its chain of Gap stores, the company also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic and operates more than 3,100 stores in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Ireland and Japan

Porter Wagoner

Porter Wayne Wagoner (born August 12, 1927, in West Plains, Missouri, in the Ozark Mountains, died October 28, 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee) was an American country music singer. Famous for his flashy Nudie suits and blond pompadour, Wagoner introduced a young Dolly Parton to his long-running television show. Together, "Porter and Dolly" were a well-known duet team for many years. After they split, Parton wrote the song "I Will Always Love You" about him.

His first band, The Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM from a butcher shop in West Plains, Missouri where Wagoner cut meat. Wagoner's big break came in 1951, when he was hired as a performer by station KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. This led to a contract with RCA Records. With lagging sales, Wagoner and his trio played schoolhouses for the gate proceeds.

In 1953, his song entitled "Trademark" became a hit for Carl Smith, followed by a few hits of his own on RCA. He was a featured performer on ABC's Ozark Mountain Jubilee and moved to Nashville and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1957.

Porter Wagoner, the rhinestone-clad Grand Ole Opry star who helped launch the career of Dolly Parton by hiring her as his duet partner, died Sunday. He was 80.Wagoner, who had survived an abdominal aneurysm in 2006, was hospitalized again this month and his publicist disclosed he had lung cancer. He died at 8:25 p.m. CDT in a Nashville hospice, a spokeswoman for the Grand Ole Opry said."The Grand Ole Opry family is deeply saddened by the news of the passing of our dear friend, Porter Wagoner," said Pete Fisher, vice president and general manager of the Opry. "His passion for the Opry and all of country music was truly immeasurable. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this difficult time."

Woodstock Museum Will Open Despite Cuts

BETHEL, N.Y. (AP) — A museum dedicated to Woodstock will rock on even though the federal government pulled $1 million in funding for the memorial to the famous hippie fest.

Officially, the Woodstock museum is known as the Museum at Bethel Woods, and is due to open next year. Bethel is the upstate New York town where organizers eventually put on the three-day Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969.

"Our plans haven't changed," said Ellyn Solis, spokeswoman for the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which is developing the museum as the newest part of its 2,000-acre performing arts venue.

Last week, in a mostly party-line 52-42 vote, lawmakers voted to strip the $1 million earmark sought by New York Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, both Democrats. Bethel Woods has received $15 million in state funding.

This week, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tried to capitalize on the brouhaha over the earmark, running a TV ad that mocks fellow presidential candidate Clinton for the spending proposal. The ads juxtapose psychedelic images with those of McCain strapped to a bed as a POW in Vietnam. McCain, a Navy pilot, was shot down in 1967 and spent 5 1/2 years in a North Vietnamese prison.

The Woodstock festival was billed as "three days of peace and love," and drew about 500,000 people to the natural amphitheater on Max Yasgur's farm. Aside from the drugs, mud and rain, there were career-defining performances by Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and Janice Joplin and myriad others.

The museum is being built on top of the hill near where the stage was located. Thousands of people visit the site each year, where a stone monument is currently the only marker.

I Know It Is Mean To Say But ...

When a hurricane came up the Mississippi river and flooded a city that was below sea level costing numerous lives and when a fire in a desert burns thousands of home and water is scare I have only one question to ask ...

What Did You Think Would Happen When You Decided To Live There?

Calif. Wildfire Evacuees Face Hardships2007-10-27 04:04:07By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press Writer

RAMONA, Calif. (AP) — With some of the worst wildfires dying down, many Southern Californians lucky enough to find their homes still standing could nevertheless face hardships for weeks to come, including polluted air, no electricity and no drinking water.
Power lines are down in many burned-over areas, and the smoke and ash could irritate people's lungs for as long as the blazes keep burning.
Randy and Aimee Powers returned to this mountain community in San Diego County on Friday to find their home without electricity or water, after fire trucks drained the town's reservoir.
"It's better to be at home. We're going to stick it out and do whatever we have to do up here to survive. We'll make it through," said Randy Powers, who joined a half-mile-long car caravan on Ramona's Aqua Lane.
Residents of 10,000 Ramona homes who called the water department when they found their water turned off were greeted by a recorded phone message that said: "We are in extreme water crisis situation. No water use is allowed."

Perspective

Solders killed in Iraq (4 yrs): 3,478 (2,814 in combat)

Soldiers killed in Vietnam War (64-73): 58,200

Soldiers killed in Persian Gulf War (90-91): 382

Americans killed on 9/11/01: 2,986

Americans murdered in U.S. (1 yr) (2005): 16,692

*

46 Americans Murdered Today

Taxes

The wealthiest 1%, in 2003, earned 14% of the income and

paid 35% of all individual income taxes.

By comparison, the bottom 60% of all taxpayers earn 28% of all income and

pay just 1% of all individual income taxes.

Lott Waits for Clinton's Apology and Gets One

By Mary Ann Akers And Paul KaneThursday, October 25, 2007 - Washington Post

It's a good thing she apologized, because Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) was fixin' to give Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) a piece of his mind. Lott was on the cusp of issuing a serious condemnation of the Democratic presidential front-runner for insulting the Magnolia State this week when his phone rang.

"To her credit, she called me [Tuesday] and apologized," Lott told On the Hill. Clinton chose wisely to make the quick apology after insulting Mississippians with a comment she made in an interview with Iowa's most important political reporter, the Des Moines Register's David Yepsen. Clinton was quoted expressing complete "shock" at learning that Iowa and Mississippi were the only states that have never elected a female governor or a female member of either chamber of Congress.

"How can Iowa be ranked with Mississippi?" she asked, implying the Hawkeye State is above such distinction. "That's not the quality. That's not the communitarianism, that's not the openness I see in Iowa."

Lott was furious when aides notified him of the put-down. He said he wanted to sound off right away but instead paused and waited to read the entire context of her remarks, something he said he has learned to do the hard way because of his own various guffaw-inducing statements over the years. (Those include not just his praise of the 1948 Dixiecrat presidential candidate Strom Thurmond, but also his comments after Clinton won her Senate race in 2000 that "maybe lightning will strike" her and she would die before getting sworn into the chamber.) "I understand that we sometimes say what we don't always mean to say," Lott said.
Still, he is a little disturbed that Clinton views Mississippi as politically sexist. He noted that the last two lieutenant governors have been women and that the first female jurist was recently appointed to the state's U.S. District Court.

Plus, Lott added, who is Clinton to talk? "Having lived in Arkansas, which is something of a whipping boy, too, she knows better than that," Lott said.

Joe Torre

I have a long strange relationship with Joe Torre, for years I despised him, not because he was a bad guy or did anything wrong it was because he managed the Atlanta Braves. Being a life long San Francisco Giant fan I could not embrace anyone who managed the Braves, so blinded by a dislike for the team, I disliked Torre. Only once he got to the Yankees did I really take a look at him as a team leader. I learned a deep respect for him, the way he represented his team, the way he protected his players, the way he loved his city and the people of it. Torre was and still is one of the best minds in baseball, he knows how to get the most out of his team and players. Yes, Yankee ownership has the highest payroll in baseball but that doesn't mean they had the best roster. As individuals they were loaded, but a roomful of great individuals do not always make the best team. Some Yankee fans say that with the money they spend their is no excuse for not winning every year. Torre did that, he made the playoffs every year he managed, he won more than his share of A.L.C.S. and World Series rings. The performance of the Yankees under Torre was extremely hard to do and will be extremely hard to duplicate. I am not knocking the Yankees for wanting to make a change, as business owners that is a fair decision that ownership has to make and take the responsibility for. I do have an issue with the way they did it. $5 million dollars is a lot of money, but it is a significant decrease when you were making $9 million. Is a baseball manager or player for that matter worth that kind of money, not in my book, but that is what the Yankees payed. What did the Yankee's owe Torre? Not money for sure but respect. If they didn't want him to manage or they felt they needed new blood they should have been stand up guys and said so. I believe he would have respected that and I know the fan's may not have agreed but they would have appreciated the honesty. Instead they made him an offer they knew would embaress him, they were going to put him in his place. This is not how you reward twelve years of service. Forget how large the quantity of money is, what would you do if your boss came to you and said we want you to stay but we are going to reduce your pay by 45% and then let's everyone you work with know about it. Anyone with any pride would move on, just as Torre did. Was this George's fault? Was it his son's? Doesn't matter, it is a black mark on Yankee ownership and Yankee's history. Some Yankee fan's are used to this kind of chaos and it is a hallmark of Steinbrenner's ownership. His hiring and firing and public fighting with Billy Martin and other managers in the past was usually the result of a couple of hot heads going at each other. Torre though was cut from a different cloth, he is quiet, respectful and patient man and as great as the history of the Yankees is this episode is a black mark on an otherwise storied franchise.

Which Candidate Matches You Best

Answer the questions to find the 2008 presidential candidate that best aligns with your beliefs. More than 1 million people have already filled it out. Give it a try!

http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

Greens To Go

This is great stuff, if you haven't tried it you should.

"a starting point… is the regular consumption of foods that are naturally high in antioxidants and other phytochemicals (fruits, vegetables…). These foods contain hundreds of biologically active constituents not present in dietary supplements…”

Nature's Antioxidant Blend:
Free radicals are believed to play a role in almost all the common diseases of aging. Consuming a wide variety of natural, plant derived antioxidants (phytonutrients) from dark greens, fruits, vegetables, bran, and teas, often called nature's "superfoods", may be the best way to provide the body with the most complete protection against free radical damage. These extracts from fruits and vegetables of all the colors are "super concentrated" to provide the highest antioxidant and broad spectrum activity possible!

Nature's Greens Blend:
The USDA says the average American needs to eat three times more greens. The chlorophyll in greens is one of nature’s great healing,alkalizing and detoxifying foods. Please note that we do not use just grass, but organic green barley juice powder, a much more nutrient dense, purer concentrate.

Nature's Garden Blend:
These blend contains a colorful variety of freeze dried, whole food organic juice powders that provide a broad base of all natural vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients not found in most antioxidant pills.

Nature's Super Fruit Blend:
This blend of 5 fruit concentrated extracts includes three "newly discovered" super fruits like mangosteen, pomegranate and acai, super rich in antioxidant benefits, plus certified organic apple and acerola cherries, rich in natural vitamin C.

Nature's Fiber Blend:
This organic blend features gluten free rice bran plus patented oat fiber, Oat Beta Glucan, which lowers cholesterol when consuming 3 gm a day.

Nature's Sea Vegetables Blend:
These provide lots of pre-vitamin A as beta-carotene and alkalizing essential trace minerals.

Nature's Super Tea Blend:

We include both green and white tea high antioxidant extracts. Few know that white tea is more powerful than green tea! And both also are rich in a special antioxidant EGCG which has been studied for its potential to promote natural weight loss without stimulants.

NATOX: Nature’s Antioxidants
ORAC stands for “Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity” and is the industry standard for evaluating the antioxidant potency of any food or supplement. Antioxidants disarm free radicals. These free radicals harm healthy cells, accelerating the aging process. The higher the ORAC value, per serving, the greater the antioxidant power benefits.

Just one travel packet serving is proven to supply the all natural antioxidant power of up to 7 servings of fruits and vegetables!*

"If these findings are borne out in further research, young and middle-aged people may be able to reduce risk of diseases of aging--including senility--simply by adding high-ORAC foods to their diets,"

Colbert Announces Presidential Pursuit

10/17/2007, 8:43 a.m. EDT - By JAKE COYLE The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Colbert has announced his candidacy for president on "The Colbert Report," tossing his satirical hat into the ring of an already crowded race.
"I shall seek the office of the president of the United States," Colbert said Tuesday on his Comedy Central show as red, white and blue balloons fell around him.
Colbert, 43, had recently satirized the coyness of would-be presidential candidates by refusing to disclose whether he would seek the country's highest office — a refusal that often came without any prompting.

Shortly before making the announcement, Colbert appeared on "The Daily Show" (the show that spawned Colbert's spin-off) and played cagey, claiming he was only ready to consider a White House bid. He entered the studio set pulled by a bicycle pedaled by Uncle Sam and quickly pulled out a bale of hay and a bottle of beer to show that he was "an Average Joe."
Colbert said his final decision would be announced on a "more prestigious show," which turned out to be his own.

"After nearly 15 minutes of soul-searching, I have heard the call," said Colbert. His recent best-seller, "I Am America (And So Can You!)," allowed him to mock the now-standard approach to a White House run, complete with a high-profile book tour. Colbert said he planned to run in South Carolina, "and South Carolina alone." The state, one of the key early primaries, is also Colbert's native state. Earlier this week, South Carolina public television station ETV invited Colbert to announce his candidacy on its air.

Exactly how far the mock conservative pundit planned to stretch his impression of a presidential candidate wasn't clear. Colbert rarely breaks character on camera, including at his memorable speech at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner last year.

The Comedy Central host has often mobilized his fans ("Colbert Nation"), encouraging them to vote to have a Hungarian bridge named after him, for example, or to vandalize Web site Wikipedia.com with his version of "truthiness" and "wikiality."

Colbert said he would run as both a Democrat and Republican. He earlier explained the strategy: "I can lose twice." He claimed three running mate possibilities: Colbert-Huckabee, Colbert-Putin or Colbert-Colbert.

Minutes after announcing his presidential pursuit, Colbert welcomed CBS political analyst Jeff Greenfield to ask how he had changed the race.

"This is going to be one for the books," said Greenfield.

A spokesman for Colbert said he would be unavailable for further comment Tuesday evening.

In a guest column for Maureen Dowd in Sunday's New York Times, Colbert wrote: "I am not ready to announce yet — even though it's clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male, middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative."

Good Job Garth

Garth Brooks has made a commitment to join in the promise to end breast cancer forever. For every "Pink Edition" of The Ultimate Hits album sold, $10 will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Each CD is packaged with important information to help you protect your breast health, and the health of people you love. We all have a women we love, our Mothers, our Sisters, our Daughters and our Wives. Even if you have these songs buy this CD. $10 per CD is an awesome amount. If a million sell it is worth $10 M dollars.

http://ww5.komen.org/garth/

China Warns U.S. on Dalai Lama Trip

By JOSEPH KAHN - Published: October 16, 2007 - http://www.nytimes.com/

BEIJING, Oct. 16 — Chinese officials warned the United States today not to honor the Dalai Lama, saying a planned award ceremony in Washington for the Tibetan spiritual leader would have “an extremely serious impact” on relations between the countries.

Speaking at a Foreign Ministry briefing and on the sidelines of the Communist Party’s ongoing 17th National Congress, the officials condemned the Dalai Lama as a resolute separatist and said foreign leaders must stop encouraging his “splittist” mission.

“Such a person who basely splits his motherland and doesn’t even love his motherland has been welcomed by some countries and has even been receiving this or that award,” Tibet’s Communist Party boss, Zhang Qingli, told reporters during the congress.

“We are furious,” Mr. Zhang said. “If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world.”

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel laureate, has lived in exile since the Chinese army crushed an uprising in his homeland in 1959 and is revered as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists. He is scheduled to receive the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday after President Bush receives him at the White House today.

A White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, emphasized that the meeting was “with a spiritual leader,” not a political official, and he said it was thus appropriate that it be held in the president’s residence, not the Oval Office.

Speaking to reporters this morning, Mr. Fratto provided few details of the meeting, was vague on its timing and expected duration, and in other ways appeared to down play its significance.
"This is a meeting with a spiritual leader," he said. "This is not a meeting with a — for example, a head of state, where we might have it open and know the time. It’s just a meeting at the residence."

He said that no photos of the meeting were to be released, which is a departure from the three times the two men have met in the past.

The visit comes as the United States has been either seeking or relying on Chinese cooperation on an array of difficult issues: the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs, the mass killings in Darfur and the recent crackdown on protesters in Myanmar. China has pressed the United States to cancel the award event for months. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao said today that Beijing was “strong dissatisfied” and warned of an “extremely serious impact” if the events are held as scheduled. But he did not say what steps China planned to take.
This week, Beijing pulled out of a meeting at which leading world powers are to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. Chinese officials cited “technical reasons” for not participating, but they left the clear impression that they might downgrade support for international efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program if foreign powers interfere in China’s internal affairs.

China also recently canceled its annual human rights dialogue with Germany to protest Chancellor Angela Merkel’s September meeting with the Dalai Lama.

But Beijing often uses strong language when warning other countries about interfering in its internal affairs without taking strong action. Giving an award to the Dalai Lama is highly unlikely to seriously disrupt relations with the United States, which has often sought to protect Chinese dissidents and has maintained close ties to Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. Both Washington and Beijing say relations between the countries have been warm, especially after they worked together to bring about an agreement to end North Korea’s nuclear program. In recent months, China has stepped up its attacks on the Dalai Lama even though Chinese officials and envoys from the Tibetan leader have engaged in a on-and-off dialogue over terms of reconciliation.

While Beijing says it is willing to allow the Dalai Lama to return to China if he promises to respect Chinese sovereignty over Tibet, they have dismissed his efforts to work for a “middle way” that gives Tibet a higher measure of autonomy under continued Chinese rule.
Tibet’s governor, Qiangba Puncog, said at the party congress that the dialogue had gone poorly.
“He should resolutely abandon his Tibetan independence stance and activities,” Mr. Qiangba Puncog said. “But in my opinion, some of those activities are actually escalating and setting a lot of obstacles for further progress.”

Ethnic tensions have risen in Tibet in recent months, prompting tough police action.
Rights groups said a group of Tibetan boys were detained in the northwestern province of Gansu last month after they were accused of scribbling slogans on walls calling for the Dalai Lama’s return. Four of the boys, all 15 years old, were still in detention. Police officers had used electric prods on them and were demanding payment for their release, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say

Mitchell Report - Steroids In Baseball

Most of the world will be shocked when their hero's are on the list. The problem with condemning anyone is that abuse of steroids was prevalent in the major leagues.

NEW YORK – Baseball investigator George Mitchell has received an extensive paper trail documenting performance-enhancing drugs sent to players by former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, a person familiar with the probe said Monday. Among the documents Mitchell and his staff have obtained are invoices detailing the substances sent to players, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Mitchell hasn't authorized details to be made public.

Mitchell likely will issue his report on steroids in baseball by the end of the year, lawyer Thomas Carlucci said during a conference call with club officials Friday. Carlucci told them they should assume the report will name names.

Radomski pleaded guilty in April to distributing steroids to major league players from 1995-2005 and laundering money, and he was required as part of a plea agreement to cooperate with Mitchell, a former Senate Majority Leader who is a director of the Boston Red Sox.

An affidavit signed by IRS special agent Jeff Novitzky in December 2005 contains the names of players Radomski dealt with, but the names were blacked out when a copy of the affidavit was unsealed in April. Scott Schools, the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco, said then that Radomski admitted providing steroids, human growth hormone, amphetamines and other substances to “dozens of current and former Major League Baseball players, and associates.”

A federal judge rejected a request by Hearst Corp. to unseal the affidavit, and the company has asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the case.

Mitchell declined comment on Radomski, who is to be sentenced Nov. 9. Radomski met with Mitchell this year and revealed the names of players who bought steroids from him, SI.com reported in August. Radomski's lawyer did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said Monday it was possible Congress will