Chew on These: Volume 5
You know the drill -- please follow all hyperlinks to the full articles. Worthwhile reads to the last.
1. "The UN is not a good body to run the Internet," said Jeanette Hofmann, a German academic representing the Internet Governance Caucus, a nongovernmental group. "We don't want nondemocratic countries to have influence over a system that is so important to the freedom of expression." Excerpt from "Internet users say debate over control misses point", International Herald Tribune
2. "The Texas district attorney (Ronnie Earle) who brought the criminal case against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay gave a movie crew behind-the-scenes access during the investigation — proof, DeLay's defenders say, that the D.A. is trying to make headlines for himself." Excerpt from "D.A. in DeLay Case Courted Film Crew", Associated Press
3. "Rather than investigate and report, they (the liberal media outlets) create news from unsubstantiated second, third and fourth hand reports or worse.... if it suits their prejudice. They also see poor blacks like those in New Orleans as hopeless deviants who need the Democratic party to give them their daily bread, while in reality it is the Democratic party that continues to suppress the ability of poor minority populations to succeed outside of the "compassionate liberalism" party." Excerpt from "The Truth About New Orleans & Katrina", Amy Proctor
4. "With the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Ginsburg is the only woman on the high court. She has said she has a list of qualified women, but hasn't been asked for it by the Bush administration." Excerpt from "Justice Ginsburg says she'd prefer another woman on court", The Dispatch
5. "The World Health Organization moved Friday to dampen fears over alarming predictions quoted by one of its own officials that a pandemic stemming from the bird flu virus ravaging parts of Asia could kill as many as 150 million people." Excerpt from "WHO Tries to Calm Bird Flu Fears", ABC News
6. "Things like race, sexuality, and gender are not ideologies. They are characteristics. Sexual orientations do not take positions (ahem). Homosexuality is not liberal. Nor is it conservative or libertarian. It simply is what it is." Excerpt from "Hungry, Hungry Pinkists", Prism Warden
7. "The appointment of Gonzales would mean that the President has moved the Court exactly nowhere. And that, I’m afraid, would be his conservative legacy. It will also, I’m quite certain, erode his support from many non-social conservatives who would rather take our chances with a Constitutionalist than with someone who will act like a judicial activist on key “conservative” social issues (porn, abortion, drugs)." Excerpt from "Judging Alberto", Protein Wisdom
8. "Here’s the deal: regardless of your opinion of the President’s fiscal policies, or whether the current crop of Republicans in the House and Senate are making with the bacon, right now there are people that are calling for changes. One of them is this Pence guy from Indiana. Now, I’m not saying one way or the other about the Republicans right now. What I’m trying to point out is that right now is a good time for us to look at what’s going on with our fiscal policies and maybe correct what the Democrats have done from 50 years past." Excerpt from "Mmm . . . Elephant, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
9. "The United States and its allies must act to stop Iran's nuclear programs -- by force if necessary -- because conventional diplomacy will not work, three senior Israeli lawmakers from across the political spectrum warned yesterday. As a last resort, they said, Israel itself would act unilaterally to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear arms." Excerpt from "Israelis urge U.S. to stop Iran's nuke goals", The Washington Times
10. "In short, despite the angry rhetoric of Democrats in Sacramento, a number of left-wing interest groups and public employee unions, my man Ahnuld has accomplished a good deal in his short term in office — and continues to put forward reforms to fix California’s dysfunctional political system. He has shown a great command of the issues and an understanding of the problems facing our state." Excerpt from "Why I luv my Guv (Ahnuld, that is)", Gay Patriot