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Search through the 1,000-word plus statement issued last Friday by the Middle East Quartet and you might be surprised by what turns up. For instance, the Quartet basically told the Palestinians that a peace deal with Israel would require them to end all other claims - implying abandonment of the "right of return." The Quartet also reiterated that Palestinian unity required Hamas to commit "to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations." It even demanded the immediate release of Gilad Schalit. The settlement of Ofra with the outskirts of Ramallah in the background. Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski...

Early on June 28, members of the Honduran military temporarily arrested President Manuel Zelaya. Within minutes he was on a plane bound for Costa Rica. In San Jose, Zelaya denounced the military's intervention as a "coup d'etat" and a "brutal kidnapping." The military's actions, while swift and arbitrary, came after President Zelaya defied virtually every Honduran political and legal institution and propelled his citizens to the verge of polarizing violence. Zelaya's swift removal from Honduras probably saved many lives. In less than six hours, Honduras's congress removed Zelaya as president for repeated violations of Honduras's laws and constitution, as well...

From "reality show" stars like Jon and Kate, to politicians, to the folks next door - what we thought were the most solid of marriages are falling apart. Viewers tuned in to TLC's "Jon and Kate Plus 8" because it gave them hope that it's still possible to have a big, happy family led by a mom and dad who overcome all odds due to their undying commitment to each other. (Now that Jon and Kate are getting divorced, you would think that they, or TLC, or show executives would pull the plug on the program so the children can...

If you didn't before, you sure do now. That's why he's got that grin on his face. It's not rum in the Captain's barrel, you see. It's your booty. According to Bloomberg.com, Diageo Plc, the maker of Captain Morgan rum, was essentially given... wait for it... $2.7 billion in tax incentives to move its production from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). That's a lot of other people's money to be rearranging like barstools on our Titanic of an economy. WHAT'S A PIRATE'S FAVORITE LAW? TAaaRrrP. The article notes that USVI Governor John deJongh, Jr. had no idea...

Some illegal immigrant high school graduates will be able to attend Wisconsin state universities by paying in-state tuition, under a provision in the two-year budget Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law Monday. Wisconsin now becomes the 11th state to enact such a law. To qualify, students would have to reside in the state for three years, graduate from a Wisconsin high school or earn an equivalency degree here. The students would have to apply through the normal channels. It's estimated from 400 to 650 illegal immigrants annually graduate from state high schools, but they must pay out-of-state tuition if they...

With the growing consensus in the Senate that Health Care Co-ops, which would not be government-run or government funded, are better than the "Public Option," which is the Socialist part, the Liberals are starting to see the writing on the wall. And they are panicking.

Wrote English poet John Keats in On Fame: How fevered is the man who cannot look Upon his mortal days with temperate blood, Who vexes all the leaves of his life's book, And robs his fair name of its maidenhood . . . It's worth rereading as we overindulge in the recent deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Ed McMahon's death the same week received somewhat less coverage because he was neither beautiful, nor weird, though he qualified as a celebrity. At least McMahon served in two wars as a Marine, which was a real accomplishment. What is it...

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2009 Results"Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the "Ellie May," a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests." David McKenzie Federal Way, WA The winner of...

TRAVERSE CITY — Around 50 people, many of them men openly carrying loaded handguns, gathered in a local park over the weekend for a cookout billed as educational outreach on gun owners’ rights. Participants in the “Open Carry Picnic” ate hot dogs and chips while wearing holstered hand guns at Sunset Park off the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay. As children played on the merry-go-round and tourists cruised the lakefront, the gathering was quiet but showed some signs of tension. One group of men sat around a flag hung upside-down and at half mast. The day after Barack Obama...

How do you believe Sarah Palin performed as a candidate for vice president? Palin did great. It wasn't her fault that McCain wasn't a strong leader of the ticket. She did OK. She certainly wasn't the reason why McCain lost. She did poorly. McCain might have won if he made a smarter VP pick http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/06/29/2009-06-29_sarah_palin_trashed_by_mccain_staff_members.html

Caroline Glick: Obama's pursuit of good ties with America's adversaries at expense of allies has failed Our World: Ideologue-in-chief Caroline Glick , THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 29, 2009 www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246296529986&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull For a brief moment it seemed that US President Barack Obama was moved by the recent events in Iran. On Friday, he issued his harshest statement yet on the mullocracy's barbaric clampdown against its brave citizens who dared to demand freedom in the aftermath of June 12's stolen presidential elections. Speaking of the protesters Obama said, "Their bravery in the face of brutality is a testament to their enduring pursuit of...

Dozens of relatives of a Pakistani teenager who eloped against her parents' wishes shot her dead on Monday in a raid on her new home which also left her husband and in-laws dead, police said. Relatives dressed in police uniforms stormed the bridegroom's house in the district of Charsadda, in North West Frontier Province. "The assailants took the bridegroom out while some of the attackers climbed the wall and entered the house. They killed the bride, the mother and sister of the bridegroom," said Saleem Jan, a police official for the Charsadda district. "They beat them first and then shot...

Word For The Day, Tuesday, June 30, 2009 In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". salient [sey-lee-uhnt, seyl-yuhnt] -adj 1. prominent or conspicuous 2. projecting or pointing outward 3. leaping or jumping 4. Heraldry. (of a beast) represented as leaping -n 5. a salient angle or part, as the central outward-projecting angle of a bastion or an outward projection in a battle line 6. Physical Geography. a landform that extends out beyond its surroundings, as a spur projecting from the side...

Carl Swensson, the man who’s trying to get legally dubious “Citizen Grand Juries” to indict President Obama for … something (Swensson doesn’t even think there’s legal evidence that Obama was ever a senator), is in Washington today trying to get his indictments into official hands

Bidding up to US $145,200.00 Appears to be a bidding war between three primary parties. These guys ahould be covering this, even as a crazy novelty--it should put attention on this. SEAN HANNITY CONTACT INFO: hannity@foxnews.com or e-mail through the website contact form http://www.hannity.com/contactus.asp Here is the message board at Hannity’s facebook page, where you can make this issue clear for all to see: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=69813760388&topic=7641 RADIO CALL-IN: 1-800-941-7326 O’REILLY CONTACT INFO: oreilly@foxnews.com The number is 1-888-369-4762. (This invitation to call comes from his website, so don’t be shy - they asked for it. ) RUSH LIMBAUGH CONTACT INFO: 1-800-282-2822 elrushbo@eibnet.com...

With so much coverage of the current debate on Barack Obama’s attempt to impose nationalized healthcare on America, it may seem that little else can be said on the subject. Yet it needs to be discussed, and its manifold dangers explained to the American people. It is impossible to overstate the significance of this battle. If successful in establishing this pinnacle of his socialist agenda, Obama will unleash a “change” on the country from which it may never recover. Clearly, he is aware of the governmental power he has the potential to accrue with the passage of this single atrocious...

Don't we want to prevent global warming? First of all, this is not about pollution – unless you believe you are creating air pollution when you boil a kettle of tea or brew a pot of coffee. The overwhelming amount of so-called "greenhouse gas," as defined by this legislation, is water vapor – about 75 percent, in fact. The other major gas reined in by cap and trade is carbon dioxide – also not a pollutant but a naturally occurring gas vital to life on the planet. Every time you exhale, you release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than...

The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence sharply criticized the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) and Illinois Carry for holding a public rally Friday calling for ending Chicago’s 27-year-old handgun ban only days after the tragic shooting of 9-year-old Chastity Turner who was gunned down while bathing her dog in front of her own home. Thirty-six Chicago Public School students were also killed during the ’09 school year in a continuing rash of gun violence. Most troubling is the language, tone and materials that pro-gun groups are using to promote their rally in downtown Chicago. Ralph Connor, an African-American conservative who...