Karma's justice without the satisfaction. I don't believe in justice.

Movie of the day:
Opening scene from 'Way of the Gun'. Great opener...


The history of today:
1914 : Archduke Ferdinand assassinated
1972 : Nixon announces draftees will not go to Vietnam

Quotes:
A zebra does not change its spots.
- Al Gore 1991 (and again in 1992)
So many of the people in the arenas here were under-prividged anyway. This is working very well for them.
- Barabra Bush (September 2005, during the Katrina disaster)












Senate Drives Stake Through Immigration - President Bush's immigration plan to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants while fortifying the border collapsed in the Senate on Thursday, crushing both parties' hopes of addressing the volatile issue before the 2008 elections. The Senate vote that drove a stake through the delicate compromise was a stinging setback for Bush, who had made reshaping immigration laws a central element of his domestic agenda. It could carry heavy political consequences for Republicans and Democrats, many of whom were eager to show they could act on a complex issue of great interest to the public. "Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people and Congress' failure to act on it is a disappointment," a grim-faced president said after an appearance in Newport, R.I. "A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find common ground. It didn't work."

Rep. Pelosi reminds the left that she’s on its side - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is working hard to make sure that the fiery liberal wing of the Democratic Party remembers that she is one of them. She is also going out of her way to reassure opponents of the war that she is on their side. Her efforts are taking place in speeches and interviews off Capitol Hill and away from the constraints and compromises inherent in running the House. Liberal lawmakers and activists accuse Pelosi of being too cautious. Now, with Congress’s approval rating plummeting following its passage of an Iraq war-spending bill without a troop-withdrawal timeline, the Speaker is signaling that Democrats will be more forceful in challenging the president.

Racial Issues Top Dem Debate Agenda - The struggles of the nation's blacks - a loyal Democratic voting bloc - topped the agenda Thursday as the party's eight presidential candidates gathered for their third primary debate. The debate at Howard University was scheduled to begin just hours after the Supreme Court ruled against public school programs aimed at achieving racial diversity, a certain topic for the event. The Democrats decried the ruling, saying it turned back the promise of integrated schools that the court laid out 53 years ago in its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said as president, she would "fight to restore Brown's promise." Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said it was "wrong-headed." Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd said the decision "will add to the resegregation that is already occurring in our nation's schools."

Supreme Court rejects school race plans - The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected diversity plans in two major school districts that take race into account in assigning students but left the door open for using race in limited circumstances. The decision in cases affecting schools in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle could imperil similar plans in hundreds of districts nationwide, and it further restricts how public school systems may attain racial diversity. The court split, 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts announcing the court's judgment. The court's four liberal justices dissented. The districts "failed to show that they considered methods other than explicit racial classifications to achieve their stated goals," Roberts said.

Russia lays claim to the North Pole - and all its gas, oil, and diamonds - Russian President Vladimir Putin is making an astonishing bid to grab a vast chunk of the Arctic - so he can tap its vast potential oil, gas and mineral wealth. His scientists claim an underwater ridge near the North Pole is really part of Russia's continental shelf. One newspaper printed a map of the "new addition", a triangle five times the size of Britain with twice as much oil as Saudi Arabia. The dramatic move provoked an international outcry. The U.S. and Canada expressed shock and environment campaigners said it would be a disaster. Observers say the move is typical of Putin's muscle-flexing as he tries to increase Russian power. Under current international law, the countries ringing the Arctic - -Russia, Canada, the U.S., Norway, and Denmark (which owns Greenland) - are limited to a 200-mile economic zone around their coasts.

Drug Agents Raid Offices of Pro Wrestler Chris Benoit's Personal Physician - State and federal drug agents staged a late-night raid of the offices of pro wrestler Chris Benoit's personal physician and met with the district attorney investigating the Benoit murder-suicide on Thursday morning to see if any charges should be filed. The offices of Dr. Phil Astin were raided just before midnight Wednesday, officials said. Astin was at his office at the time of the raid. Officials said the raid stemmed from the investigation into drugs found in the Benoit home after the bodies of the pro wrestler and his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, were found Monday afternoon, Capt. Mike Pruitt said.

How Farm Odors Contribute to Global Warming - You can definitely smell it, but you can't see it. The United States Department of Agriculture has released reports stating that when you smell cow manure, you're also smelling greenhouse gas emissions. That will be the focus of new research that might happen right here in the Southern Tier. Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Mark Rey, was in Corning Wednesday morning at the Big Flats Plant Materials Center to annouce the award of nearly $20 million in Conservation Innovation Grants to fund 51 research projects across the country designed to refine new technologies helping dairy and other agricultural producers cut back on their greenhouse emissions and cash in on governmental incentives for the research.

The First Private Expedition to the Moon - You don't have to pack your bags quite yet, but passenger travel to the Moon is on the flight manifest of a space tourist company. The price per seat will slap your wallet or purse for a swift $100 million - but you'll have to get in line as the first voyage is already booked. Space Adventures, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, is in negotiations with the customers who will fly the first private expedition to circumnavigate the Moon.

California Debates Pet-Sterilization Law - A bill that would require most dogs and cats in California to be spayed or neutered has brought howls of protest from breeders and threats from the American Kennel Club to pull the nation's second-largest dog show from the state. The measure - which would be the most sweeping statewide pet-sterilization law in the country - passed the Assembly by a single vote earlier this month and goes next to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain despite the support of animal-loving celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Lionel Richie and retired "Price Is Right" host Bob Barker. Professional breeders complain that the measure would do little to curb "backyard breeders," that it would drive up their costs and entangle them in bureaucracy, and that it would amount to social engineering for animals. "I think what's happening in California is socialism in its prime," said Janet Wahl, who lives near Sacramento and breeds Havanese and Yorkshire terriers. She said she fears the government will put itself in the position of deciding which dog breeds can reproduce and which cannot.