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A dear friend of mine was musing over breakfast and penned this personal outlook on things.....Enjoy. Friends, Yesterday was a big day for the media as two noted celebrities died. One was expected and the other took everyone by surprise. Farrah Fawcett, the very accomplished actress, and Michael Jackson the accomplished pedophile and singer. I was not surprised to see the media almost break itself covering the death of Jackson as I am sure he was one of their own. From my chair, Jackson spent his whole life trying desperately to appear as a white straight person which he failed...

As Commissar Lynch primly notes in her report, America’s First Amendment absolutism on free speech is out of step with the “growing global consensus”—that would be the “growing global consensus” represented by the CHRC and its “distinguished guests.”

First broken a few hours ago by WaPo, now confirmed by the AP, a little Friday evening care package from The One while the media’s busy obsessing over Jacko and cap ‘n trade. Do bear in mind that, contrary to leftist talking points, it’s not just the fact that some of the evidence against these turds was obtained through “torture” that makes them untriable in regular courts. Other evidence is either classified or was obtained from foreign intel — points that WaPo, to its credit, acknowledges but which our nutroots superiors tend to gloss over. "Such an order would embrace...

OTTAWA - A young Jehovah's Witness who says a forced blood transfusion violated her Charter rights learns Friday whether the courts can veto the wishes of "mature minors" when their health is at risk. The Supreme Court of Canada will rule in the case of A.C., now 18, in a judgment that could clarify how such dilemmas should be handled across Canada. Several similar refusals of medical treatment by Jehovah's Witnesses have made headlines in recent years. But it's the first time the top court has weighed in. A.C. can't be identified because of the prior involvement of child welfare...

6/26/2009 - CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) -- It took the tenacity of a daughter, the insistence of a politician and the presence of 27th Special Operations Wing members here June 21 to properly recognize a World War II Soldier who sacrificed his leg in combat. In a Father's Day ceremony in Portales, N.M., Col. Stephen Clark, the 27th SOW commander, presented Herman Wallace a Bronze Star in recognition of his service during World War II. Col. Mark LaRose, the 27th Special Operations Maintenance Group commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Hector Baez, the 27th Special Operations Mission Support Group...

The leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church today backed off on a much-anticipated announcement about the Ark of the Covenant -- the ancient container holding the Ten Commandment -- which he claims to have seen. But no other evidence or, indeed, even any announcement, was made public today when word had been expected.

<p>ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Michigan has snatched back a few of its fast-disappearing auto jobs, winning a high-stakes competition with two other states to build General Motors Corp.'s next-generation subcompact car.</p> <p>The news is a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy Michigan economy that has seen unemployment hit a nation-leading 14.1 percent, lots of housing foreclosures, unpaid furlough days for state workers and uncertainty for thousands of others worried about whether they'll still be getting a paycheck in the months ahead.</p>

Another month, another tax lien for Duane “Dog” Chapman. The Honolulu-based TV bounty hunter and his wife Alice E. Smith, known as Beth Chapman, owe $1.8 million to the Internal Revenue Service on 2006 and 2007 income, according to a federal tax lien recorded May 19 by the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances. The liens come five months after liens totalling more than $2 million were filed in Hawaii against the Chapmans for unpaid taxes from 2002 through 2005. The Chapmans’ Los Angeles-based accountant, Dennis Duban, told PBN in February that some of the federal tax bills had already been paid...

26JUN09 035 Sarah Palin talks to Camp Bondsteel soldiers 26JUN09

LANDSTUHL, Germany, June 26, 2009 – The boxes arrive daily from the United States, 15 to 20 each day, along with $8,000 to $12,000 in cash every week from Americans and U.S. nonprofit groups. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael D. Dubie, the adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard, stands in the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center -- nicknamed the "Chaplains' Closet" -- at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, June 17, 2009, during a visit to wounded warriors. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The boxes and the money are meant for the...

Contrarian guru Marc Faber predicts we'll soon see inflation of 10 to 20 percent. The numbers will rise so fast because the government "massively" understates the country's inflation rate, Faber said. To get a true reading he advises ditching core inflation numbers, including the Consumer Price Index. "It's a lie what they publish," Faber told CNBC. "If you underweigh education costs, and if you underweigh health care costs, then you come to a totally different result," he said. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1913, the dollar has lost 95 percent of its purchasing power, Faber said....

"A Himalayan Mountain of contradictory evidence" CAMDEN, N.J. – Despite Attorney Mario Apuzzo’s objection to additional time being granted for defendants to respond to the complaint filed on behalf of Charles F. Kerchner questioning President Barack Hussein Obama’s eligibility, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider, for the District of New Jersey, granted an extension until no later than June 29. However, while Schneider noted the defendants’ failure to respond in a timely manner was not caused by neglect, he also stated, “Plaintiffs’ complaint raises significant issues necessitating that the named defendants engage competent counsel to represent their interests. Given the...

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2009 – The new Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell being stood up at the Pentagon is working to ensure expertise developed during deployments to Afghanistan gets channeled directly back into supporting warfighters on the ground. About 30 officers who recently returned from deployments in Afghanistan make up the core of the cell, which is expected to grow to 50 or 60 members in the coming months. Their sole focus will be on issues related to Afghanistan and Pakistan, a senior military official told reporters earlier this week. The staff was selected based on members’ expertise in areas ranging...

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the Obama government not to repeat the “failed policies” of former president George W. Bush. “The government of the United States should know that these positions are not the language of dialogue. (It) should not repeat the experience of the failed policies of Mr. Bush,” he said..... The president emphasized that the Iranian nation will not allow any external power to interfere in its internal matters. “I advise the United States and a number of European states to reform their behavior because 70 million people are united in Iran and (ready) to confront bullying powers,” he...

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday spent considerable time deliberating the impact of less than normal monsoon and its possible effects on the economy and the food situation in the country. Despite the IMD predicting that July and August would see a recovery in the monsoon, fears were expressed that a repeat of last year — a dip in July rains — coming on the back of very weak June monsoon could be dangerous for the economy.

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2009 – Afghan and coalition forces detained several suspected Taliban militants overnight during an operation designed to disrupt Taliban bombing and rocket attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. In the province’s Nad Ali district, a combined force patrolled near the village of Marjeh, to compounds where intelligence sources reported a known Taliban commander was located. While clearing the compounds, the force encountered a threat. Officials did not provide details of the threat, but said it was “eliminated” after several escalation-of-force measures. The force completed the search without further incident, detained a handful of...

The InsideCatholic Summer Reading List 2009 Summer is in full wilt, and that means it's time for the InsideCatholic Summer Reading List. We've asked bloggers, staff, and writers to suggest a few titles they've recently enjoyed. They've obliged. Have a look at the list -- you'll find something for every interest -- and then add your own recommendations in the Comments section below.

For years, supermarkets, drugstores and discount retailers packed their shelves with an ever-expanding array of products in different brands, sizes, colors, flavors, fragrances and prices. Now, though, they believe less is more. Pharmacy chain Walgreen Co. is cutting the types of superglues it carries to 11 from 25. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has decided that 24 different tape measures is 20 too many. Kroger Co. has tested stripping out about 30% of its cereal varieties. In the next year or so, these and a few of the other largest retailers are expected to slice the assortment of products in their stores...

Moment of passage of Cap and Trade....Thanks to all those people who put Democrats in power....

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, June 26, 2009 – Insurgents operating in eastern Afghanistan increasingly are focusing their attacks away from coalition forces and on local residents, military officials here said. Two members of Afghanistan National Security Forces wait for a towing crew June 10, 2009, after an improvised explosive device destroyed a civilian vehicle near Yahya Kheyl in Paktika province, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Andrya Hill  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The rate of civilians killed by improvised explosive devices in eastern Afghanistan has risen 117 percent in the last year, while coalition forces deaths from...