Pluto's Planetary Status Pink Slipped

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.

it will be reclassified in a new category of "dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed "minor planets." The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun -- "small solar system bodies," a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites. Full Article

Dwarf Planet? I wonder if they'll rename it Dopey, Grumpy, Bashful, or Doc?

Its the End of the World as we Know it?

ABC's blog The Blotter asks if tomorrow is the end of the world:

"While no extra safeguards are in place, U.S. law enforcement are not ignoring the possible significance of tomorrow's date, August 22, a date that marks an important historic event on the Islamic calendar.

Internet websites have been full of speculation that it could be a target date for terrorists in commemoration of the return of the 12th imam, a supposed day of reckoning for Shiites.

August 22 was rumored by intelligence experts to be a possible date that the London plotters would blow-up passenger planes headed towards the United States, though it is not known if the suspects were Shiite extremists.

This year, August 22 marks the holy day on the Islamic calendar that is the day of reckoning for Shiites. Some Shiite sects believe that August 22 could correspond to the end of the world. And just today, after much hype, Iran has announced that it will continue to develop its nuclear program. To followers of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, this is a well-timed affront to Israel, the United States and the world. The United Nations had given Iran until the end of the month to respond, but Ahmadinejad had made it clear to all Iranians and the world that he intended to respond on the eve of August 22."

While I'm not betting on tomorrow being the end of the world, I did postpone my physical until Thursday just in case. After all who wants to hear the dreaded snap of a latex glove on what could be their last day on Earth?

I had previously discussed this matter and while in all honestly I doubt that tomorrow everyone hops off this cosmic bus it is possible that Iran may try to start some major crap tomorrow. One thing I do know is that they aren't planning on giving up their nuclear program tomorrow especially after America lost its proxy war vs Iran. How did we lose? Hezbollah survived and proved on the day before the cease fire that it was just as capable of shooting rockets into Israel then as it was when the Israeli's invaded and Israel never got its two soldiers back. So Israel didn't win and Hezbollah didn't lose. If you successfully fended off a 500 pound gorilla and lived to tell the tale you'd call it a victory now wouldn't you?

Note of Disgust

I absolutely deplore the amount of media coverage the Jon Benet Ramsey case has received. Always have and always will. Understand that I would have at the time (meaning before the birth of my own child) sacrificed myself to prevent her (or any child's) death the simple fact is that had she been ugly or black the media would have totally ignored her death.

Poll: Trading Freedom for Security

(AP) Four in five Americans would give up some freedoms to gain security and four in 10 worry terrorists will harm them or their family, a new Gallup poll shows.

About one-third of those polled favor making it easier for authorities to access private e-mail and telephone conversations. More than 70 percent are in favor of requiring U.S. citizens to carry identification cards with fingerprints, and 77 percent believe all Americans should have smallpox vaccinations.

“It was amazing the percentage of people who are willing to give up freedom to get back some sense of personal security,” said Elaine Christiansen, senior research director for The Gallup Organization. “These aren't people who were necessarily near the twin towers, near the Pentagon, near the Murrah building. These are average people.”

The telephone survey, conducted in March, included 934 people across the country. Researchers also polled about 500 people in each of three cities where terrorist attacks occurred — New York City, Washington, D.C., and Oklahoma City — to compare results with the general population survey.

The poll showed 8 percent of Americans are very worried and 31 percent are somewhat worried that they or someone in their family will become victims of a terrorist attack in the United States. In New York City, the level of worry is higher — 19 percent said they are very worried and 34 percent said they are somewhat worried.

Washington, D.C, and Oklahoma City reported levels of fear close to the national average. more

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Looks like the climate of fear approach to governing is working pretty well doesn't it?

None of the 41 reccomendations of the 9/11 Commission required us to give up any of our freedoms and most of them have yet to be adopted. Are Americans so blind and fearful that rather than protect the freedoms that so many have given their lives to protect that we would instead choose to dishonor their memory by surrendering those hard fought for freedoms for the illusion of security?

If so then maybe Benjamin Franklin was right and we deserve neither safety or liberty.

Iranian Leader 60 Minutes Interview

Mike Wallace recently interviewed Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I'd post the interview but its 6 pages long and just just highlighting a few answers doesn't really do it justice as too much is contained in what is not said and how questions are dodged. Its an interesting and worthwhile read and is located here

What I took away from reading is:

1. The main isn't stupid by a long shot.
2. He could give lessons in how to answer a question without actually answering it.
3. His first language is a dialect of "Inference"
4. He'd be a really good poker player.
5. I wouldn't trust him any further than I can kick him.

Isreal/Hezbollah Cease Fire Begins

Israel Accepts U.N. Deal

Both Sides Warn Of More Fighting

By Molly Moore and Edward Cody

Washington Post Foreign Service

Jerusalem, Aug. 13 -- The Israeli cabinet voted Sunday to accept a U.N.-declared cease-fire, even as Israeli military forces and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon launched some of their most intense barrages of the war in anticipation of the Monday morning deadline. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah agreed to the cease-fire Saturday.

Prospects for an immediate halt in the fighting appeared unlikely as Hezbollah's leader said his militia would keep fighting Israeli troops as long as they remained in southern Lebanon, and Israeli officials insisted they would not withdraw their soldiers until an international force and the Lebanese army took control of the border area. It is expected to take at least two or three weeks to assemble an international military force in Lebanon. more

If I had any less confidence in the effectiveness of this ceasefire I'd start a pool on how many hours it will take for it to be violated.

U.N.: Darfur Is Becoming 'Catastrophic'

By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER

The Associated Press
Thursday, August 10, 2006; 9:12 AM

GENEVA -- The United Nations' top humanitarian official warned Thursday that the situation in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region was becoming dramatically more dangerous, as rapes and attacks by militias and rebel factions continue despite a 3-month-old peace deal.

The U.N. said a day earlier that the May 5 peace deal, signed between Sudan's government and Darfur's main rebel group, was "doomed to failure" unless the government provided more support

"It's going from real bad to catastrophic in Darfur," Jan Egeland told reporters at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva.

Fighting has actually increased since the peace deal, "and it has been particularly terrible among (rebel) factions fighting each other," Egeland said. "That's led to tens of thousands of people being displaced, and sexual abuse and many other types of violations." More

To stay current on the crisis in Darfur please visit The Coaltion for Darfur.

What's Shaking With Chavez?

It's once again time to see what everyone's favorite hyperactive paranoid leftist kook, Hugo Chavez, has been up to.
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After receiving a medal from Iran's president, he continued to fortify Venezuala, condemned America and Israel, then withdrew his country's ambassador from Israel, while his domestic political opponents united against him.
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He's about as busy as a cat on a hot tin roof isn't he?

What's the Plan Iran?

Prof. Bernard Lewis has an intriguing article on Iran in the WSJ. Below is an excerpt from it:

“In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time--Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as "by the end of August," but Mr. Ahmadinejad's statement was more precise.

What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.

A passage from the Ayatollah Khomeini, quoted in an 11th-grade Iranian schoolbook, is revealing. "I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another's hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours."

In this context, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning. At the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the dead--hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers. For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement.

How then can one confront such an enemy, with such a view of life and death? Some immediate precautions are obviously possible and necessary. In the long term, it would seem that the best, perhaps the only hope is to appeal to those Muslims, Iranians, Arabs and others who do not share these apocalyptic perceptions and aspirations, and feel as much threatened, indeed even more threatened, than we are. There must be many such, probably even a majority in the lands of Islam. Now is the time for them to save their countries, their societies and their religion from the madness of MAD.” full article

There has been a great deal of talk about the religious right's apocryphal wishes influencing U.S. agenda over the past few years. So its no stretch of the imagination to see where a country run by religious extremists might try to manufacture an apocalypse ie the ultimate jihad.

Is Iran planning something? Or are they waiting to see if the world ends in 13 days? I certainly don't know. But one way or the other we'll be finding out soon enough.

I hope they are just waiting to see because a full blown war with Iran will be unlike any war the U.S. has ever fought before. Check around the net and you'll discover that during the Iran-Iraq war Iran frequently sent unarmed martyrs-to-be into battle before their troops as cannon fodder. By the time the actual armies engaged the Iraqi's were often out of ammo. Iran sacrificed four hundred thousand lives using that strategy. Its also very possible that the Iranian government would rather irradiate the country than lose the war.

So please join me in wishing the world a boring August 22nd.

Lieberman to Run as an Independent

Three-Term Senator Plans to Run in General Election as an Independent

By Dan Balz and William Branigin

Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 8, 2006; 11:30 PM

HARTFORD, Conn., Aug . 8 -- In a stunning repudiation, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) lost the Democratic Senate primary here Tuesday night, falling to antiwar candidate Ned Lamont in a campaign that became a referendum on the incumbent's support for the Iraq war and what opponents charged was his failure to challenge President Bush's war policies.

Lieberman conceded the race to Lamont late Tuesday, but vowed to run in the general election in November as an independent. more

What KoS is calling a major earthquake seems to be but a hiccup to me. A 3% primary win won't be enough of a margin once the independents and Republicans start casting their votes for Lieberman.

Lieberman Conceding ?

The Washington Post is reporting on its front page that Lieberman is conceding the race although the article linked to never mentions that.

10:00 PM CST Lieberman vs Lamont Gap Narrows

Daily KoS is reporting that the gap has narrowed to a mere 3.3%

Tue Aug 08, 2006 at 07:40:18 PM PDT

Man, this thing won't end! I don't know if my nerves can handle this much longer...

Precincts Reporting: 93.85%

# votes %
Lieberman 126,330 48.35
Lamont 134,942 51.65

9:35 PM CST Lieberman Down By Less than 4%

U.S. Senate Dem - Primary
625 of 748 precincts - 84 percent
Ned Lamont 120,616 - 52 percent
Joe Lieberman (i) 111,887 - 48 percent

From the WaPo:

Polls Close in Conn. Primary

Antiwar challenger Ned Lamont took a narrow early lead tonight over Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman in Connecticut's Democratic primary, a contest that has attracted national attention as a potential bellwether of opposition to the war in Iraq among Democratic voters.

With more than 80 percent of precincts reporting in the closely watched primary, Lamont was leading with nearly 52 percent of the vote. Lieberman trailed with slightly more than 48 percent. more

8:38 CST Lamont Leads Lieberman

U.S. Senate Dem - Primary
From the Conn Post: ........................................................................................................
287 of 748 precincts - 38 percent ........................................................................................................
Ned Lamont 61,449 - 54 percent ........................................................................................................
Joe Lieberman (i) 53,159 - 46 percent .......................................................................................................

From the WaPo: ........................................................................................................

Lieberman Trailing in Democratic Primary
By ROBERT TANNER ........................................................................................................

The Associated Press ........................................................................................................
Tuesday, August 8, 2006; 9:33 PM ........................................................................................................

-- Sen. Joe Lieberman struggled in his bid for a fourth term Tuesday, battling to overcome a tough primary challenge and escape payback from his own party for supporting the Iraq war.

Six years after Democrats backed him for vice president, Lieberman lagged with 47 percent, or 56,891 votes, to political novice Ned Lamont's 53 percent, or 64,383 votes, with 44 percent of precincts reporting. more

Lieberman and Lamont Primary Over

And so the counting begins.

One of the most covered, debated, anticipated, and blogged about primary races ever has just ended. What's at stake? The heart and soul of the Deomcratic party. If Lieberman loses the party pulls to the left. If Lamont loses centrist Democrats have nothing to fear in the upcoming '06 and '08 elections (other than voter disenfranchisement).

I'll post the polling results around midnight. This may actually be a close enough race that a recount may be needed as the spread between the two Dem candidates is within the margin of error.

Delay to Step Aside for Write In Candidate

DeLay to Make Way for Write-In Candidate
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By SUZANNE GAMBOA
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 8, 2006; 2:25 PM
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WASHINGTON -- Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay intends to withdraw as a candidate for Congress, a Republican strategist said Tuesday, a step that would allow the party to field a write-in candidate in hopes of holding his seat.
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The development came one day after Texas Republicans lost a court battle in their bid to replace DeLay on the November ballot.
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There will be no Republican candidate to face Democrat Nick Lampson, a former House member.
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Texas Republicans on Monday abandoned their court fight to replace DeLay on the November ballot after being turned back at the Supreme Court.
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The decision came after Justice Antonin Scalia rejected Texas Republicans' request to block an appeals court ruling saying DeLay's name should remain on the ballot.

More
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While this will result in a victory for the Dems, it will also be a loss for Delay's former constituents who will be left without a viable Republican candidate. In a state where straight party ticket voting is the norm the odds of a write in candidate ever winning are extremely small. And while I believe that America would be better off without Delay in office I also believe that democracy would have been better served had the twenty second district been allowed a real choice of candidates.

15 States Expand Right to Shoot in Self-Defense

In the last year, 15 states have enacted laws that expand the right of self-defense, allowing crime victims to use deadly force in situations that might formerly have subjected them to prosecution for murder.

Supporters call them “stand your ground” laws. Opponents call them “shoot first” laws.

The Florida law, which served as a model for the others, gives people the right to use deadly force against intruders entering their homes. They no longer need to prove that they feared for their safety, only that the person they killed had intruded unlawfully and forcefully. The law also extends this principle to vehicles.

In addition, the law does away with an earlier requirement that a person attacked in a public place must retreat if possible. Now, that same person, in the law’s words, “has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force.” The law also forbids the arrest, detention or prosecution of the people covered by the law, and it prohibits civil suits against them.

The central innovation in the Florida law, said Anthony J. Sebok, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, is not its elimination of the duty to retreat, which has been eroding nationally through judicial decisions, but in expanding the right to shoot intruders who pose no threat to the occupant’s safety.

“In effect,” Professor Sebok said, “the law allows citizens to kill other citizens in defense of property.” More

Texas will probably join this list of states shortly. I'm of the opinion that the overall value of this law is questionable. I've always been of the opinion that one should be able to defend ones home from intruders regardless of whether or not you're positive they are armed.

Criminal defense attorneys are going to have a field day in court with this law. Any shooting that takes place on the shooter's property will have reasonable doubt automatically built in. Odds are after 5 or so years you'll see the language of this law greatly redefined.

Who Wants to Be a Superhero?

Ok, I know that this greatly deviates from the normal content of this blog however having said that allow me to explain:

There is a really annoying trend of shows that I like getting cancelled early. The last show that really kept my interest was Firefly which lasted for a whole season. Having realized that blogland is often used to gauge public opinion I am posting about in the hopes that doing so will help insure that there will be a second season. I do not normally watch reality shows. Having said that allow me to explain why I bother watching this one:

1. The rules are the opposite of most reality shows meaning that speaking ill of, making fun of, or plotting agaist other players will get you kicked off the show.
2. Missions are not always what they appear to be for example the stated first mission in episode was to change from ones civies into their costume without being seen and race to a predetermined point. The actual mission was to change into your costume and help a little girl who had "lost her mom" who was on the path to the predertermined point. 3/4 of the players ignored her.
3. The point of the show is to test who has the charachter and virutes needed to be a superhero.
4. Comic Book Legend Stan Lee is the host and judge of the players.
5. Very few on the show themselves very seriously. Hence it tends to be funny in a campy way.
6. Its the only reality show I've ever considered actually being on. (Keep in mind that this is coming from a person who has stopped at every car accident that an ambulance wasn't at that he ran across, ran up the stairs at a hotel when the fire alarm went off, pulled over repeatedy to change ladies flat tires, and has rescued more stray cats and dogs than he would care to admit.)

So if this sounds at all interesting to you please check your local listings and tune in on the SciFi network, Bravo, or USA.

Estate Tax Cut Blocked

GOP Bid On Wages, Estate Tax Is Blocked
Democrats Prevent Vote on Senate Bill

By Charles Babington

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 4, 2006; Page A01

Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bid to combine a tax cut for the wealthy with a wage increase for the working poor last night, adding a volatile economic issue to this fall's congressional campaigns.

GOP leaders fell three votes short of the 60 needed to cut off debate and bring the package to the Senate floor, where it was considered certain to pass on a simple-majority vote. Republicans said Democrats will pay a price in November, contending that most Americans support the bill's call for an increase in the minimum wage and deep cuts in the estate tax.

But Democrats said rich Americans have received enough breaks from the Bush administration and the GOP-led Congress. Voters, they said, will see the Republican-backed bill as a ploy to further enrich upper-income families while trying to usurp the Democrats' role as champions of the working poor.

Under the bill, "8,100 of the wealthy and well-off hit the jackpot, while millions of working families get $800 billion in [federal] debt," said Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who led the opposition to the measure. more

I don't have a problem with the estate tax being cut. I do however have a problem with the estate tax being cut in a time of record deficits. By doing so now will only further increase the deficit. Once the deficit is gone, we have surpluses (Remember surpluses?), and social security is fixed then we can talk about cutting the estate tax.

E.J. Dionne Jr. surmises in the WaPo that this marks The End of the Right and Midtopia has a great post regarding his article.

The First Sign of the Apocalypse Has Arrived

Pat Robertson and I agree on something.

Heat makes Pat Robertson a global warming "convert"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson said on Thursday the wave of scorching temperatures across the United States has converted him into a believer in global warming.

"We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels," Robertson said on his "700 Club" broadcast. "It is getting hotter, and the icecaps are melting and there is a buildup of carbon dioxide in the air."

This week the heat index, the perceived temperature based on both air temperatures and humidity, reached 115 Fahrenheit in some regions of the U.S. East Coast. The 76-year-old Robertson told viewers that was "the most convincing evidence I've seen on global warming in a long time."

Last year, Robertson said natural disasters affecting the globe, including hurricanes Katrina and Rita that wrecked the U.S. Gulf Coast, might be signs that the biblical apocalypse was nearing. More

9/11 Panel Suspected Deception by Pentagon

9/11 Panel Suspected Deception by Pentagon

Allegations Brought to Inspectors General

Some staff members and commissioners of the Sept. 11 panel concluded that the Pentagon's initial story of how it reacted to the 2001 terrorist attacks may have been part of a deliberate effort to mislead the commission and the public rather than a reflection of the fog of events on that day, according to sources involved in the debate.

Suspicion of wrongdoing ran so deep that the 10-member commission, in a secret meeting at the end of its tenure in summer 2004, debated referring the matter to the Justice Department for criminal investigation, according to several commission sources. Staff members and some commissioners thought that e-mails and other evidence provided enough probable cause to believe that military and aviation officials violated the law by making false statements to Congress and to the commission, hoping to hide the bungled response to the hijackings, these sources said.

"We to this day don't know why NORAD [the North American Aerospace Command] told us what they told us," said Thomas H. Kean, the former New Jersey Republican governor who led the commission. "It was just so far from the truth. . . . It's one of those loose ends that never got tied."

Full Article

I have a possible idea as to why:

If YOU were in charge of defending your country and you failed to stop the worst attack on American soil since the Civil War could you give testimony that started with,”We didn't know where the planes were.” followed by “We only had 4 fighter jets available.” and ended in what would sound like you trying to pass the blame off on the FAA, several airlines, and the Navy?

Under those circumstances I might get a little creative with the truth too.

See Also:

NORAD 9/11Audio Released

NORAD 9/11Audio Released (Rated MA)

Vanity Fair has released part of the NORAD 9/11 tapes along with a transcript. If you can bear it I advise you to read the transcript first and then listen to the audio. The audio loads quickly even on dial up. It is an incredible read involving ghost planes, 30 minute long FAA information lags, airlines not confirming missing planes, the FAA ordering scrambled jet fighters out of NYC and more. It was in the truest sense of the word a clusterfuck.
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What really stands out on the audio is exactly how collected Major Kevin Nasypany, the facility's mission-crew commander, stayed throughout the 100 minutes of the 9/11 attacks. His performance that day was truly commendable. And what becomes apparent is that NORAD did the best they could given the circumstances that day.
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Vanity Fair 9/11 Live: The NORAD Tapes

Blogger Jailed After Defying Court Orders

Blogger Jailed After Defying Court Orders

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1 — A freelance journalist and blogger was jailed on Tuesday after refusing to turn over video he took at an anticapitalist protest here last summer and after refusing to testify before a grand jury looking into accusations that crimes were committed at the protest.

The freelancer, Josh Wolf, 24, was taken into custody just before noon after a hearing in front of Judge William Alsup of Federal District Court. Found in contempt, Mr. Wolf was later moved to a federal prison in Dublin, Calif., and could be imprisoned until next summer, when the grand jury term expires, said his lawyer, Jose Luis Fuentes.

Earlier this year, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Mr. Wolf to testify before a grand jury and turn over video from the demonstration, held in the Mission District on July 8, 2005. The protest, tied to a Group of 8 meeting of world economic leaders in Scotland, ended in a clash between demonstrators and the San Francisco police, with one officer sustaining a fractured skull.

A smoke bomb or a firework was also put under a police car, and investigators are looking into whether arson was attempted on a government-financed vehicle.

Mr. Wolf, who posted some of the edited video on his Web site, www.joshwolf.net, and sold some of it to local television stations, met with investigators, who wanted to see the raw video. But Mr. Wolf refused to hand over the tapes, arguing that he had the right as a journalist to shield his sources. more

Thats a setback for bloggers. However in order to ensure legal protection its important to contact any venue your covering and get press credentials and as a backup you may have to join a news service which isn't exactly cheap in the event you just happen upon a story or are doing investigative blogging. If you read the article you'll discover that it won't protect you on the Federal level but may cover you on the State and local level.

GOP Funds Green Party Candidate

GOP aids Green candidate Carl Romanelli

By Peter Jackson, Associated Press WriterTue Aug 1, 1:48 AM ET

Thanks to the generosity of GOP donors, a Green Party candidate is expected to make it onto the ballot in Pennsylvania's Senate race and siphon votes from Democratic front-runner Bob Casey in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record).

While Santorum said Monday that he would welcome another candidate on the ballot, Casey's campaign accused Republicans of "trying to steal the election."

Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli, making his first bid for statewide elective office, acknowledged Monday that Republican contributors probably supplied most of the $100,000 that he said he spent gathering signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot.

Romanelli said he expects to turn in far more than the required 67,070 signatures by Tuesday's deadline.

"I have friends in all political parties. It's just that my Republican friends are more confident about standing with me than my Democratic friends. And as a group, my Republican friends are a little better off," he said in a telephone interview.

Romanelli, of Wilkes-Barre, supports abortion rights, while both Santorum and Casey oppose them. Political observers say Romanelli's candidacy would likely draw votes from Casey, the state treasurer, who has held a double-digit lead over Santorum for months.

Records on file with the Federal Election Commission show the Luzerne County Green Party received $66,000 in June from 20 contributors who gave between $1,000 and $5,000 apiece. more

What amuses me about this is that I had previously suggested that had the Dems financiers given the Constitution Party similar help in Ohio in '04 Kerry might have won. The Constitution Party candidate pulled off one percent of the vote in that race with very little finacial support. You could start seeing this tactic more in close races and in swing states. If that happens we might actually start having viable a few viable third parties. And that would make politics very interesting indeed.

Until then there's still Unity 08