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judges in Ricci adopted something resembling the position she took when the case was before her. It's comforting that liberals now understand that there are worse things than having a divided Supreme Court disagree with your position. During the Bush years, when a divided Supreme Court would strike down this or that Bush anti-terrorism measure, some liberals were quick to declare the president "lawless." They did so despite the fact that there was little precedent on the subject, and such precedent as there was often supported the Bush administration's position. Fortunately, liberal commentators seems to be "growing in office."

Maitland 12-year-old Austin Grady jammed his foot beneath a boulder while sliding down a mountain stream and couldn't pull free. His father plunged into the river and planted himself beside the boy. For 30 minutes, Michael Grady kept his son alive, holding the child's head above the rushing white water. Volunteer firefighters pulled the boy to safety. They could not save the father. In saving his son, Grady had gotten his own foot trapped in the rocks. Exhausted from the rescue — fighting water that was pummeling him and suffering from hypothermia — he died in the stream. Grady, 52,...

Bloomberg: Schools Won't Close For Muslim Holidays ALBANY (CBS) ― Mayor Michael Bloomberg says New York City's schools can't close for Muslim holidays. The City Council is considering a nonbinding resolution on Tuesday asking the Education Department to observe Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The city has the nation's largest school system. A 2008 study by Columbia University's Teachers College estimates at least 10 percent of its 1.1 million students are Muslim. Eid, which means "festivity", al-Fitr, "to break fast," marks the end of Ramadan. Eid al-Adha celebrates the willingness of Ibrahim -- known as Abraham to Christians and Jews...

On June 24, Sen. Charles Schumer gave a remarkable speech on immigration. Preparing the way for the Obama administration's expected push for comprehensive reform, Schumer seemed to adopt a newer, tougher-sounding tone as he promised that a bill would be passed during "this Congress."

WASHINGTON -- Gov. Sarah Palin's supporters got yet another request to donate money this week, this time to her political action campaign. Seeking a bump in the committee's fundraising numbers by the June 30 deadline, SarahPAC sent out an e-mail soliciting as many contributions as possible by day's end today. "Please give before June 30th. Your help is critical," wrote SarahPAC spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton in an e-mail sent Monday from the political action committee. Stapleton was referencing the deadline for reporting donations to the PAC from the first half of the year. The report is due to the Federal Election...

For seven months, The New York Times managed to keep out of the news the fact that one of its reporters, David Rohde, had been kidnapped by the Taliban. But that was pretty straightforward compared with keeping it off Wikipedia.

The Israeli press was abuzz on Tuesday after a Monday night TV report stating that, in their meeting in Paris last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had told Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to “get rid of” Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Although the French leader’s faux pas stunned Israel, it wasn’t his first aimed at leaders of democracies. Sarkozy has unleashed a mass of insults towards Western leaders that are way outside normal diplomatic protocol, while at the same time showing high regard and cutting sweet deals with some of the Middle East’s cruelest dictators. In this latest contretemps,...

A “Shower Nazi” may be coming your way courtesy of Waxman-Markey. Section 217 of the bill provides for a “water efficient product incentive program” that would provide rebates, vouchers, direct installs and other forms of financial assistance for the installation of water-saving products. During my radio interview last Friday with Bob Jamison (Kern Valley News, KNCQ 102.5 FM / Bakersfield, CA), Jamison, a motel owner, told me that he had been solicited by the seller of the ”Shower Manager,” a water-saving device. Curious, I went to the Shower manager web site. Here’s how the Shower Manager works: The Shower Manager...

Customers Pay More as Institutions Seek Ways to Cope With Revenue Squeeze Your bank wants more of your money, and it's found a way to get it:by jacking up the fees on your account. Customers are paying more to maintain a checking account and withdraw cash from an out-of-system ATM,and when they bounce a check.To make up for declining revenue, many banks are boosting fees and are requiring higher minimum balances for many accounts. The institutions also have made it easier for customers to spend more than is in their accounts -- and then hit them with substantial fees, a...

June 30, 2009 BREAKING: Minnesota's highest court rules for Al Franken Posted: 02:25 PM ET (CNN) — Minnesota's Supreme Court has dismissed former Sen. Norm Coleman's challenge to the state's November election results and declared Democratic challenger Al Franken the winner. The unanimous opinion ruled that Franken "received the highest number of votes legally cast" and is entitled "to receive the certificate of election as United States senator from the state of Minnesota." The former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer had declared victory in the disputed race after a recount ended in January, but Coleman — a Republican who...

The constitution of Honduras does not allow for a presidential re-election. No problem, said Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez to his protégée, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. Chavez easily convinced Zelaya he should promote a referendum on this topic and went on to help him prepare the logistics fo the event. After all, Chavez told Zelaya, this had worked extremely well for him in Venezuela a few months ago while the governments of the hemisphere kept respectfully silent. But the constitution of Honduras is explicit. It defines as a crime any attempt at changing its stipulation on no re-election. Therefore, when Zelaya...

Obama: We have turned over control to Iraq @ 2:34 pm by Jeremy P. Jacobs President Obama on Tuesday formally announced that U.S. troops have turned over control of Iraq to the country's own government and security forces. Speaking at the White House, Obama said the U.S. met today's deadline, which is part of his plan to remove all troops from Iraq by 2011. Obama noted that Iraqis are "rightly treating this day as a cause for celebration," but he also noted that challenges still lie ahead. "With this progress comes responsibility," he said. "Iraq's future is in the hands...

The Associated Press is reporting that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said he has "crossed lines" with women other than his mistress. During an interview with the news agency, the Republican governor admitted to meeting his Argentine mistress on more occasions than he admitted last week....

One picture says it all: http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=623861 "Video Game Idea of the Century!" http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3143589&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366448 "This is the greatest videogame patent I've ever read #1 " http://www.google.com/patents?id=aAuzAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=exalted&as_psra=1&as_psra=1

EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media. ___ Iran's ruling clerics closed ranks around President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday, hailing him as a "champion" amid signs that he may have begun purging his government of anyone perceived as an opposition sympathizer. A sense of resignation mingled with indignation settled over supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iran's embattled opposition leader, whose insistence that massive fraud...

The United States Supreme Court on Monday overturned the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the Ricci v. DeStefano case raising further concerns over Judge Sonya Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination. Many have raised serious concerns over the way she handled the case, including fellow 2nd Circuit Court Judge Jose Cabranes, a Clinton appointee and the Obama Justice Department which filed a brief arguing that Sotomayor’s panel had incorrectly dismissed the case. In the Ricci case, Sotomayor held that a group of white firefighters had not been subjected to discrimination when they were not promoted even though they had the...

Alan Carlin, the senior EPA research analyst who authored a study critical of global warming that was suppressed by agency officials, has broken his silence and spoken on Fox News about his situation. Carlin told "Fox & Friends" Steve Ducy and Gretchen Carlson that his most important conclusion in the study was that the U.S. should not rely upon recommendations of the UN in making policy decisions regarding global warming. "The most important conclusion, in my view, was that EPA needed to look at the science behind global warming and not depend upon reports issued by the United Nations, which...

‘Meet John Doe’ and the Old Fakearoo Posted By Michael McGruther On June 30, 2009 @ 11:10 am In Classic Hollywood | No Comments Dear Reader, Do you have a little time to sit back and examine a classic movie that will absolutely shock you when seen through the prism of now? This is not my typical short article or essay. This is my own argument that what occurs in the 1941 picture “Meet John Doe” is exactly what has come to pass in America today with the Democratic Congress and their Presidential puppet. All the players and plays...

The word is out that the Obamas will be spending part of their summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard. "Many blacks from Oak Bluffs are elated that the Only One-in-Chief may be joining them. "People are going to lose their minds!" Tonya Lewis Lee says. At the same time, there's also a bit of wariness among the wealthiest ones, an uncertainty whether Obama will affirm them. "Obama is more a man of the people," says a Vineyarder who's part of black high society. "He doesn't seem to identify with affluent black people. His wife definitely doesn't; she is basically a ghetto...

The Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group, is considering running ads in the Republican Party's Senate primary race against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for supporting higher state taxes and President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus spending package.