4/23/2005

Hillary's Under-Reported Fiasco: $800,000 An "Oversight"??

Dick Morris is urging former Hillary Clinton finance chairman David Rosen to save himself...telling him not to count on the Clintons' loyalty to save him from jail...

In his open letter Morris headlines Rosen his fate: "She Won't Even Visit You in Jail."

"The damning new evidence of David Rosen's deliberate under-reporting of the cost of the Hollywood-Peter Paul fundraiser makes the likelihood of his conviction ever greater. His trial will begin on May 3.

"The question now squarely confronting Rosen is: Should he tell the truth and implicate Hillary or should he continue to take the rap himself?

"It is inconceivable to me that Hillary would not know of the under-reporting.

"Rosen's actions saved her campaign upwards of $500,000 in hard money, which it could spend on her Senate campaign. This windfall came at a time when Rick Lazio, Hillary's opponent, had gotten her to swear off the use of soft money in her campaign.

"Hillary was desperate for hard money in September of 2000 and it was in this context that Rosen under-reported the expenses of the event, saying that it cost $400,000 when it really cost $1.2 million.

"So, will Rosen follow the footsteps of Web Hubbell and Susan McDougal and go to jail for Hillary?

"Not if he has half a brain he won't.

"The Clintons will wash their hands of Rosen once he is convicted and blame him for their deliberate falsification of federal records. And they won't look back. Ask Web Hubbell, who didn't even rate a pardon from the former president.

"David: She won't even visit you in jail."

History DOES repeat itself...David Rosen had better be making plans to protect himself...because we all know the Clinton's are out for one thing...and one thing only...THEMSELVES...

It's all about Bill...and it's all about Hillary...and if anyone dares get in their way...oh baby...watch out!

DR

4/22/2005

Minuteman Project: Border Patrol Agents Appreciate Support of Volunteers

It's a sad state of affairs when the mainstream news media feel compelled to ignore an important and revealing news story: The US Border Patrol agents support the work being done by members of The Minuteman Project....

So reports Jim Kouri, CPP,fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police...

I could analyze this story for readers, but I'll allow Local 2544 of the US Border Patrol Agents organization to speak for its membership:"

MINUTEMAN PROJECT: We want to make it clear because we've had a lot of questions about this.....we have not had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this Sector about the Minutemen. (my emphasis) Every report we've received indicates these people are very supportive of the rank-and-file agents, they're courteous, many of them are retired firefighters, cops, and other professionals, and they're not causing us any problems whatsoever.

"Reports of them causing "ground sensors" to go off are exaggerated because most of those are being set off by the ACLU sneaking around trying to find the Minutemen doing something wrong. The Minutemen have succeeded in shifting the bulk of the illegal alien traffic out of the Naco corridor. If only President Bush were so supportive of the rank-and-file agents." "While President Bush hangs out thousands of miles away in the White House, these people are willing to give up their time and energy to actually do something.

While President Bush entices millions of illegal aliens to keep coming with his amnesty proposals and his demoralizing statements that he doesn't want Border Patrol agents chasing "good-hearted people just coming here to take jobs Americans won't do" the Minutemen are trying to get our laws enforced. The Minutemen have made it very clear that they fully support rank-and-file Border Patrol agents. If only we had such support from the politicians we have to work for (aren't we really supposed to be working for the citizens of this country anyway?)!"It seems the American(?) Civil Liberties Unions is creating more problems at the US-Mexican border than anyone from the Minuteman Project. But don't expect to read about it in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, or other major purveyors of news and information. Don't expect to see it on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN or other television news organizations....

You all know that I am a Bush supporter...but when it comes to border issues and illegal alien issues, we apparently go our separate ways...

...but back to the issue at hand...

...it has been reported by many here in Arizona that have witnessed it first-hand...the border patrol agents were HAPPY to see the Minutemen...

...'cuz think about it...any time you get reinforcement to the job you are doing...any time you get support...you have got to feel grateful...

I witnessed it...but it was not just my very small part that I played or the actions I witnessed...there are many, many people from all parts of this country that witnessed the good that the Minuteman project did...

...and the MSM refuses...REFUSES...to report on it...

DR

4/21/2005

Finally Back in the Valley...

...I will be back on the job tomorrow...

A lot to report that I witnessed during my absence from the blog-o-sphere...

...a lot of "in"-activity at the Arizona/Mexico border...but the Minuteman project - I feel - was a success...even if they only brought focus and attention to the problem...

Dudes...I am TIRED...tired, happy to be home again...happy that tonight I will be able to lay down in my own bed...

...after all...wasn't it Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz who kept saying "...there's no place like home...there's no place like home..."

Right now, I couldn't agree more...

DR

4/13/2005

I Think I am Suffering From Writer's Block...Or Something...

...so meanwhile, as I attempt to recover, here are a few things that I was able to gather for your reading pleasure...

The Continuing Crisis...

Women's groups in Mexico City, working from a building donated by the municipal government, are preparing a retirement home for at least 65 elderly prostitutes, according to a March Reuters dispatch. Among the candidates that Reuters interviewed was Gloria Maria, who says she is 74 years old and "can't charge what the young ones do" but still has "two or three clients a day."...

...okay, don't show me pictures...I MEAN IT....

Compelling Explanations

A female Zimbabwean athlete who had won several track and field events at meets in Botswana and Mauritius was arrested in Harare in February after authorities discovered she actually had a small penis. Samulkeliso Sithole, 17, said she was born a hermaphrodite but that her parents had paid a traditional healer to make her totally female, and, "because" her parents failed to pay the healer's full fee, the penis had begun to grow....

...'nuff said about *that* one...

'Honey, I'm Running Over to the Mall for Some...'

...batteries...cigarettes...hairspray...

...you get to fill in the blanks...

And finally...

Star Wars fans wait at wrong theater:

A group of Star War fans have been told they have spent the last seven weeks waiting outside the wrong theater. The fans had been camping outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and were told that Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of Sith will open at a cinema that is a mile away. The fans have refused to move because they believe the reports are false....

Seven weeks? WTF??

And just exactly what were YOU doing these last seven weeks???

I know what I was doing:

February 23, 2005 Child Protective Services in Arizona appears to only protect the rights of the criminals...

March 2, 2005 Lying...Wanna-be Indian....Plagiarist...Ward Churchill...need I say more?...

March 9, 2005 Lebanon...Syria...Hezbollah...

March 16, 2005 Hollywood elitists defend...group-hug...encourage-the-world-to-embrace...Castro...

March 23, 2005 Eight days before her eventual murder, Terri Schiavo's husband and his bought-and-paid-for-judge order her cremation...

March 30, 2005 The nation...the WORLD...stood by and allowed Michael Schiavo to murder his helpless wife...

April 6, 2005 Jimmah Carter loses his seat and doesn't even get a bag of peanuts...

...**ALL OF THAT***??? and those a**holes were standing on line for tickets to see Star Wars???

WTF???

I mean, I love the Star Wars series and all that...but...c'mon...

...get a life!...

DR

4/12/2005

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE!? John Kerry Outs CIA Agent

Oh the smarmy-ness of it all....

When he was running for president, John Kerry was all over the place trying to smear the president for not going after the person that 'outed' Joe Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame...the same Joe Wilson that wrote a book with his wife's name and picture on it...the same Joe Wilson that appears with his wife in Vanity Fair...pictures and all...

Now yesterday, in the liberal's trashing of John Bolton, the man that has been nominated by President Bush for US ambassador to the UN, John Kerry reads transcripts and really outs a REAL CIA agent...and what do we hear???

NOTHING!!!!

The phony-ness of the left is outrageous - but perhaps even more outrageous is the non-reaction by Republicans...and the main stream media is completely ignoring it...

WAKE UP, REPUBLICANS!!!

John Kerry, perhaps the most incompetent of US Senators, has stepped in it...and perhaps has really jeopardized the safety of a CIA agent...

Where is the outrage??? Where is the MSM on this????

DR

’Let us work together. . .'

oh ya, like we believe it when liberals fall back on that phony line...

Problem is, they know they have been obstructionists...they know they have been holding up progress in Congress...they KNOW what they have been doing with the filibustering is wrong, wrong, wrong...

Now that they are FINALLY seeing some action from the Republicans...I mean, c'mon guys! You are in the majority for goodness sake!...but, now that the libs are seeing that the republicans are finally willing to do something about their stalling and blocking...the libs are crying 'foul'...

Funny, when the republicans tried to do the same thing when the libs had control of Congress...they cried 'foul' then, too...so which is it?

I say, Republicans - do what you have to do so that you can get on with the business of the electorate...do it...NOW!

DR

4/11/2005

The Fall-out From Terri Schiavo Begins...

...many of you have been following the case of Mae Magouirk, an 81 year old widow that was put in hospice and, at the request of her niece, denied food and water...

Luckily for her, her nephew was able to step in and intervene...I have been following the progress of this one, too...

...but the tone has been set...the precedent has been set...this is only the first of many, many cases where people will see an opportunity to get rid of others that are 'no longer living useful or fulfilling lives'...according to their standards...according to their rules...

Doesn't matter what the reason...the fact remains that some in our society are moving towards the euthanasia concept without really thinking the consequences through...or maybe they have...maybe all it really boils down to is one thing: "ME"

In other words...get rid of someone because:

- they are in MYway
- it is inconvenient for ME to take care of them
- this isn't fun anymore for ME
- I don't have time for this!
- *I* wouldn't want to live like that
- can't they hurry up and die (I need their money)

Because, after all, it really is all about you - isn't it?

DR

4/10/2005

How the MSM is Misleading You on the Minuteman Project

I have been reading stories about how a minuteman was "dismissed" ... "axed" ... after "forcing" a Mexican illegal alien to pose for a mocking photograph...

Give me a break!

Here is what REALLY happened:

Militia volunteers patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border were accused of holding a Mexican immigrant against his will and making him pose with a joke T-shirt, but law enforcement officials ruled Thursday no crime had been committed.

The man filed a legal complaint charging that he was held and forced to display a T-shirt, distributed by "Minuteman" volunteer Bryan Barton, 24, of San Diego, that said: "Bryan Barton caught me crossing the border and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

The sheriff of Cochise County met with a county attorney, a Mexican consular official and U.S. Border Patrol officials, and they determined there was no case to answer.

The 26-year-old Mexican, who was picked up Wednesday, was being held in federal custody.

Those minutemen gave the illegal food, water and $20. They filmed him holding up a t-shirt...

omigod...those torturers!

Volunteer Bryan Barton has left voluntarily because he recognized his mistake and didn't want to bring any disgract to the project...

He wasn't "dismissed" "axed" "fired"...He left for the good of the cause...

The MSM is so distraught because there is nothing to report...no gunshots...no violations of anyone's civil rights...these are just plain, old, good Americans helping the border patrol do their job by being extra eyes and ears...

I have heard from very reliable sources that are participating in the project that - unlike the spin that the border patrol big-wigs are doing - the border patrol officers are shaking hands...thanking the minutemen...giving them thumbs-up...

But...you won't hear THAT from the MSM...

DR

New Pope to be Liberal?



If the media circus had their way he would...

...dream on...

DR

4/09/2005

And Speaking of C-Span...

...has anyone noticed how C-Span and C-Span2 have become so extremely liberal lately?

...I mean...these are publicly funded organizations...paid with MY tax dollars...YOUR tax dollars.....

WASSUP WITH THAT??

WHERE'S THE REPRESENTATION FOR THE RED STATES, C-SPAN??

DR

One More Example of How Liberals Are Undermining the Future of Our Nation...

I just caught a portion of a program on C-Span2 with Bill Press and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore...

...you remember Judge Moore and the 10 Commandments...

...and I KNOW you know who Bill Press is...

I tell you, it looked like Press was getting very excited (and I DO mean in that way) as he thought he was cornering Judge Moore on the issue of prayer in school...etc...etc...

These liberals are soooooo moronic...they are sooooooo short-sighted...and they are sooooo STUPID...!

Let me tell you...liberals...the ACLU...the athiests...all are playing directly into the hands of the enemies of this country...

I never did nor will I ever understand what makes these loonies tick...

At the very same time they are working sooooo hard to de-Christian-ize us...our enemies are infiltrating...

...these non-Christians are working with the same ACLU to get THEIR rights... to stop work several times in the middle of the day...to turn...get on their knees...and bow and pray to Mecca...and these moonbats are fighting tooth and nail for THIER RIGHTS...

So, I ask you...how is that different from a child - or ANYONE for that matter - saying "...one nation under God"??

DR

4/08/2005

President Bush Observes Protocol...Clinton Rushes to Every Interview...

Former President Clinton, once again, proved what a media whore he is...and at the funeral of the Holy Father at that...he is a disgrace...

President Bush, determined not to upstage the funeral of Pope John Paul II, kept an unusually low profile in Rome yesterday, although former President Bill Clinton gave a television interview watched by millions.

"He recognizes the significance of the moment," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said of Mr. Bush. "And the focus rightly should be on the Holy Father."

Mr. Bush became the first president in years to conduct a full day's schedule on foreign soil without allowing a single press question, photograph or even fleeting image on videotape. His father, the first President Bush, also refrained from interviews....

Not to mention Clinton's other comment that was heard around the world...

"But President Clinton gave an interview to Brian Williams," said Mr. McClellan, referring to the "NBC Nightly News" anchorman.

It was the second day in a row that Mr. Clinton made headlines as he accompanied the Bushes on a three-day visit to Rome for the pope's funeral.

On Wednesday, Mr. Clinton angered some conservatives by remarking aboard Air Force One that the pope "may have a mixed legacy."

The unmitigated gall of this low-grade trailer-trash former president...

Maybe he thinks that just because he had Monica on her knees....

Oh forget it...he has proven, over and over again, that he is nothing more than an attention-seeking-sycophant who thinks "It's all about ME"...

DR

4/07/2005

Arizona Governor Napolitano to the People of Arizona: Screw You!

oh ya, I am hot...

Janet Napolitano will be remembered in the history books as the veto-happy governor...

Only this time, she really stepped in it...

In a communication from the AZ Republican Party:

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has thrown another roadblock in the path of attempts to implement Proposition 200 provisions, which were approved by voters last November. (my emphasis) She vetoed a bill Friday that would have implemented the election requirements of the law....

The governor based the decision on her opinion (my emphasis) that the requirement to present identification in order to get a ballot would be a violation of the federal Help America Vote Act because it could hinder the ability of people to get provisional ballots. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard also raised issues about the provisional ballots and identification, delaying efforts to use the identification procedures in local elections in March.

Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer, who requested the implementation law, disagrees with the governor, saying the issue of provisional ballots is separate from the voter-mandated identification requirement, which she says meets federal muster because it applies to everyone who seeks to vote.

She contends that the provisional ballot issue would only come up after the identification is provided and the person is determined to be who they say they are. It is only after that identification point that questions might arise about whether the person is properly registered to vote or at the correct poll. In those cases, a provisional ballot, for which there are already steps available, would be provided. Those ballots are not counted until the person is determined to be an eligible voter.

Brewer's position makes sense. It also would seem to be supported by the U.S. Justice Department, which oversees voting requirements, and has already reviewed and given its approval to the Proposition 200 identification rules.

Nevertheless, the governor's veto could end up preventing use of the new requirements in the upcoming September elections unless a new bill that is acceptable to her can be passed by the Legislature before it adjourns, which is targeted for April 15.

We are disappointed in the apparent efforts of the attorney general and the governor to thwart the will of the people. Proposition 200 has withstood every legal challenge to this point and been given the go-ahead by the Justice Department.

At this time, the correct place to decide any issues about the constitutionality of the voting provisions is not in the governor's office, but rather in the court system. The governor and the legislature should implement the provisions of the law unless the courts or the Justice Department say otherwise.

It makes no sense to continue to stall this process. The voters have spoken. Gov. Napolitano should be listening to them.

I am more than disappointed...I am pissed off!

This governor has just flipped off the voters of Arizona...this proposition passed OVERWHELMINGLY - passed by a majority of voters from both parties!

Governor Napolitano your days are numbered...

And your favorite "yes-man" Terry Goddard...you are out, too...

For you to use the power of your office to veto something that the people have said WE WANT - apparently you really don't understand the process...

We vote...you enact what we vote...plain and simple...

And, by the way, do you remember how you got to that place on the 9th floor in the first place?

ya...with votes, baby...VOTES...

DR

4/06/2005

Back of the Plane Is Not Good Enough for Condi Rice - Liberals Want Her OFF!

In a complete turn about, the MSM - liberal press are reporting an incident with such a slant the only way you can react is to shake your head in amazement and wonder how far down...how big a hole are these idiots going to dig?

The New York Post is reporting "CARTER ODD MAN OUT ON TRIP "...but NBC Today Show host Katie Couric along with Andrea Mitchell tore into President Bush and Condi Rice over the 'snub'.

Not content to snipe at W, Today also managed to get in a shot at Condi. Asked Katie "under the circumstances, wouldn't the right thing have been for Condi Rice to step aside and give Carter her place?"

Mitchell acknowledged that, after all, the Vatican is a state, and as the chief diplomatic official it was logical for Condi to attend. Nevertheless, Andrea opined that Rice should have ceded her seat to Mr. Peanut...

Give me a break! Jimmy Carter is a former president, but he is also...a self-appointed 'good will ambassador'...that is critical of the U.S....that cast doubts on our electoral process...that has broken ranks and has been a very vocal critic of our president...why should he be given special consideration?

The Vatican has limited the entourage to five people, not President Bush...the two most recent former presidents are going...this isn't a circus...and I doubt if there will be peanuts, Jimmah...

And you can mark my words...if it was Madeline Forthright that was the Secretary of State going...you wouldn't hear such disgusting comments from disgusting Katie Couric and her equally disgusting cohort Andrea Mitchell...

DISGUSTING MSM IN ACTION AGAIN

DR

HT: Laura Ingraham

*Update - just heard on Rush's show - a caller reminded everyone that Jimmah had an opportunity to attend two prior Pope's funerals...Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I...and...Jimmah chose NOT to attend...he sent others on his behalf....

....oh Jimmah...your attention craving weakness is showing...

4/05/2005

Not So Fast CBS…New Zogby Poll Shows Americans Were NOT in Favor of Starving Terri Schiavo

We heard, in the days leading up to Terri Schiavo's murder by starvation, that "...some new CBS polls suggest that [American's] feelings are mostly on one side of the debate...66% of those that responded said the feeding tube should not be reinserted..."

From LifeNews we now hear this:

Polls leading up to the death of Terri Schiavo made it appear Americans had formed a consensus in favor of ending her life. However, a new Zogby poll with fairer questions shows the nation clearly supporting Terri and her parents and wanting to protect the lives of other disabled patients. (my emphasis)

The Zogby poll found that, if a person becomes incapacitated and has not expressed their preference for medical treatment, as in Terri's case, 43 percent say "the law presume that the person wants to live, even if the person is receiving food and water through a tube" while just 30 percent disagree.

Another Zogby question his directly on Terri's circumstances.

"If a disabled person is not terminally ill, not in a coma, and not being kept alive on life support, and they have no written directive, should or should they not be denied food and water," the poll asked.

A whopping 79 percent said the patient should not have food and water taken away while just 9 percent said yes.

So what does that tell you AGAIN about the Main Stream Media?

The MSM has an agenda...and they will throw out "poll" results to prove to you that they are right...that you should not question what they are telling you...that - IF you disagree- you are on the wrong side of an issue because the "majority" feel otherwise...

The MSM did one hellava job representing Michael Schiavo and his right-to-murder lawyer, George Felos...the MSM really did NOT tell both sides of Terri Schiavo's story...if people were curious enough to try to find out the REAL details of the case they were left to do the detective work by themselves...

But, as I stated last week...this isn't over...and the Zogby poll proves what we have been saying all along...Americans - when properly questioned - will err on the side of life...

DR

HT: Desert Cat, Michelle Malkin

Murder Accomplished...Michael Schiavo Cremated Terri and Will Bury Her Ashes in an Undisclosed Location

Don't even bring up the fact that Michael Schiavo 'agreed to an autopsy'...that is a farce and was all along...

The Medical Examiner's release explained that a cause of death must be ascertained regardless of whether a family requests one or not. Michael Schiavo and his attorney George Felos had claimed that the autopsy was being conducted at their request. The autopsy findings will include a neuropathologist's examination and x-ray results....

Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were denied their request that an independent coroner and noted forensic pathologist be present at the autopsy of their daughter, Terri Schiavo. The results of the autopsy - carried out by Medical Examiner Dr. Jon Thogmartin - will not be available for several weeks. Terri's body was cremated Monday....

Why the rush, Michael??

The decision to prohibit Allegheny County, Pa, coroner and pathologist Dr. Cyril H. Wecht from observing the autopsy was released by Dr. Thogmartin's office. The release of autopsy results is being coordinated by former Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice. Michael Schiavo is a jail nurse employed by the sheriff's department, according to an Empire Journal report....

Hmmm...this case just gets curiouser and curiouser...

DR

4/04/2005

Pat Tillman center dedicated at Bagram - Arizona Cardinals safety left NFL, joined Rangers in wake of 9/11attacks






The Pat Tillman USO Center is named for the former Arizona Cardinals safety who put his NFL career on hold to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 while serving with the Army Rangers. After his death, Tillman was promoted to corporal.

HT: HundredPercenter

DR

4/01/2005

Michael Schiavo Plans to Cremate Terri Schiavo and Bury Her Ashes Without Telling Her Parents When or Where

You think I am kidding????

As if it wasn't enough to press on for years until he found a "judge" that would condone his murder plan...as if it wasn't enough keep Terri's family from being with her when she finally passed...

Now Michael Schiavo is going to cremate Terri's remains and bury them...who knows where.........

This man is definitely a psychopath....the fact that he is a murderer has already been established as far as I am concerned....

Since when, just because you happen to be married to someone, does it give you the right to look the family...the parents...of your spouse directly in the eye and say F*&K YOU...???

If that truly is the way the laws are on the books...I'm telling you...it is time for a CHANGE...

DR

Why Don't We Pull Ward Churchill's Feeding Tube?

Don't think for a minute that all of the attention that has been paid to the Terri Schiavo murder has dampened my interest in what is going on with Ward Churchill...

...if those professors that are supposed to be doing an "investigation" don't have the stomach for it, turn it over to me!...

....or, at the very least, someone that has the best interest of the students at heart...and are not simply out to protect 'the brethren'...

We witnessed these last days the worst scenario of 'protecting a brother' in the judiciary...both at the state level and at the federal level....

Somehow I get the sense that the same thing is going on in Colorado...

YOU know what I mean...

....placate the public until SOMETHING ELSE comes along that will grab their "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" attention and they will be consumed with the next Lorraine Bobbett sensation...

Ward Churchill is a cancer within the putrid universe of academia...

IN OTHER WORDS........

Ward Churchill's feeding tube must be pulled!!!!!!

Get rid of him......

It has already been proven that the guy is a phony...he is a plagiarist...he has been feeding at the trough of public funding - via government grants in government funded schools...and, finally, he is NOT AN INDIAN...he is - if you really want to know......

....a.....BODY SNATCHER.........

Not in the Hollywood sense...but in the sense that whatever mask he decides is necessary to 1) maintain his lifestyle; 2) sell his next book; 3) keep him on the front page of the newspaper.....
THAT is the mask he will wear.....

WARD CHURCHILL MUST GO.......

DR

Key Former Taliban Commander Surrenders

A former Taliban commander has surrendered to the Afghan government, one of most high-profile figures to do so since the regime was toppled more than three years ago, officials said on Friday....

Commander Abdul Waheed handed himself over to the authorities in the south-eastern Helmand province to take advantage of a planned amnesty announced by Kabul early this year, provincial intelligence chief Dad Mohammad Khan said.

American-backed President Hamid Karzai's administration has been in talks with a number of former Taliban leaders in recent months but has not announced the final details of the amnesty scheme.

Waheed has now moved to the Afghan capital Kabul where he is expected to meet Karzai....

In other news: On Thursday two suspected insurgents were killed by a mine they were planting on a road to target a local government official in Helmand's Nawzad district, Khan said....

...not wanting to be disrespectful about the deceased and all...but, still...shee-it....

...makes you wonder what they were thinking...

DR

American-Jordanian Turns Out to be Captured Senior Operative of Militant Leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Defense officials...believe the captured American helped coordinate the movement of insurgents and money into Iraq...

...officials said the man holds joint U.S.-Jordanian citizenship but declined to provide his hometown or otherwise identify him....

DR

Biography of Pope John Paul II

I had the distinct honor to see Pope John Paul II when he visited Phoenix. Here is a biography from WTOL in Toledo:

Here's a biography of Pope John Paul II and some background information on his life and his work:

QUICK FACTS

Pope John Paul is 84 years old.
He was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920.
He has been pope for 26 years.
That makes him the third longest-serving in history, after St. Peter and Pope Pius IX.
John Paul II is the 263rd pope.
He is fluent in Polish, Italian and Latin. He also speaks conversational English, French, German and Spanish.
He is the first non-Italian pope since 1522.
He is the first Slavic pope in history.

HEALTH
The pope suffers from Parkinson's Disease.
That's a degenerative nerve disease that makes it hard to control muscles and causes tremors.
Recent timeline:
March 30: Feeding tube inserted in John Paul's nose.
March 13: Pope was released from hospital, after throat surgery.
February 24: surgery places temporary tube in pope's throat to help with breathing.
February 1-10: the pope was at Gemelli hospital for problems related to the flu.
Oct. 3, 2003: the Vienna archbishop said the pope was nearing the last months of his life.
September 24, 2003: pope skips weekly audience due to intestinal problems.
September 11, 2003: the pope faltered while speaking in Slovakia.

THE POPE'S JOB
He is the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
He is also the Bishop of Rome.
In addition, he is the head of state of Vatican City.

RECORDS AND MILESTONES
Pope John Paul II has traveled to 170 countries, more than any of his predecessors.
Some call him the "Pilgrim Pope."
He has set the record for the largest Mass ever, with 1.2 million people in Dublin, Ireland on September 30, 1979.
He has encountered more people than any pope in history. More than 17.6 million people have attended his general audiences alone.
He's had 737 meetings with heads of state.
Pope John Paul II has named 482 saints.
He has created 232 cardinals.

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Karol Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, Poland.
Both parents were strict Catholics.
His mother, Emilia, was of Lithuanian descent.
His father, Karol Wojtyla, Sr., was an army sergeant.
Karol was the third of three children.
His sister, Olga, died as a baby before Karol was born.
He experienced significant loss as a child. His mother died when he was 9.
His older brother, Edmund, died when Karol was about 13 years old. Edmund was a doctor.
Karol's father died when he was about 21 years old.

EDUCATION
The young Karol excelled at sports, theater and in his studies.
In 1938, he enrolled at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland to study literature.
WORLD WAR TWO
To keep from being deported to Germany, he worked as manual laborer in a quarry 1940-44.
In the last months of German occupation, he worked in a chemical factory.
In 1942, Karol secretly began studying to be a priest.

EARLY PRIESTHOOD
Karol was ordained in Krakow in 1946.
He was first assigned to work in France with young people and Polish refugees.
Karol then studied at Pontifical Angelicum University in Rome.
After that he returned to Poland, teaching ethics at the Catholic University of Lublin.

RISE THROUGH THE CHURCH
In 1958, he was made an auxiliary bishop of Krakow. He was about 38 years old.
In 1962, Bishop Wojtyla was put in charge of the archdiocese. In 1964, he was officially appointed as archbishop of Krakow.
He gained attention after addressing the pivotal Vatican Council II several times.
He became a cardinal in 1967, appointed by Pope Paul VI.

BECOMING POPE
Pope Paul VI died August 6, 1978.
The College of Cardinals then appointed Pope John Paul I. But he died September 28, 1978.
October 16, 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla was elected pope.
He accepted the position with tears in his eyes.
At his first public appearance as pope, he said, "I was afraid to receive this nomination, but I did it in the spirit of obedience to Our Lord and in the total confidence in his mother, the most holy Madonna."
He refused a large-scale coronation.
On October 22,1978, he was installed as pope in a simple mass in Saint Peter's Square.

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
On May 13, 1981 (at 5:19 pm) the pope was shot in St. Peter's Square.
He was severely wounded and doctors operated on him for six hours at Gemelli Hospital.
The would-be assassin was a young Turk named Mehmet Ali Agca.
On May 17, the pope prayed "for the brother who shot me, whom I have sincerely forgiven".
The pope credited Mary with interceding to save his life.
He was shot on the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima.
On May 13, 1982, the pope made a pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal and recited a prayer consecrating and entrusting to world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In December, 1983, Pope John Paul visited Ali Agca in prison and prayed with him.

IMAGE AND VIEWS
Pope John Paul II is credited with revolutionizing the papacy, especially by reaching out across the world.
He ardently opposes communism and some call him pivotal in the break-up of the Soviet Union.
While he has had a modern image, he is also known for conservative values.
He strongly opposes contraception and abortion.
Pope John Paul II firmly believes priests should remain celibate and should only be men.
He is a vocal advocate of human rights around the world.
He's been especially strong in calling on rich nations to share their wealth with the poor.
The pope openly opposed the U-S invasion of Iraq.
He has called for an independent Palestinian state.
In the sexual abuse scandal, he released a statement calling the abuse a "crime," but the 2002 message fell short of saying which priests should be removed.
In March 2000, the pope visited Israel and said the Catholic Church was to blame for fostering anti-Semitism leading up to the Holocaust.

NOTABLE AWARDS
The pope was named Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1994.
In 2004, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush. It's the highest civilian honor in the United States.

WRITING
He has written five books:
"Crossing the Threshold of Hope" (October 1994)
"Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination" (November 1996)
"Roman Triptych - Meditations", a book of poems (March 2003)
"Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way" (May 2004)
"Memory and Identity" (2005)
He's also written 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 44 apostolic letters

A Change of Heart?

I have been doing a lot of soul searching since last night and have come to the conclusion that perhaps the liberals are right when they say:

- that Michael Schiavo is a good guy...

- that attorney George Felos is doing the right thing (well maybe not "right" but the correct thing)...

- that Judge George Greer was just doing his job...

- that President Bush and Congress got it all wrong...

just some thoughts...

DR