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This article was sent in by Paul Stanner an English teacher over in China. Please give his site a visit here. Who Has Queen Isabella's Jewels? By Paul Stanner I have a question for you all to ponder today. First however I will provide a little background information.

Dunce -- I wasn't planning on sending you something tonight. But if you saw what I saw from the Republican convention, you know that it demands a response. I saw John McCain's attack squad of negative, cynical politicians. They lied about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and they attacked you for being a part of this campaign. But worst of all -- and this deserves to be noted -- they insulted the very idea that ordinary people have a role to play in our political process. You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, everyday people...

California's Supreme Court has made its contribution to the ongoing debasement of our law, our language and our culture by legalizing same-sex marriage. California now has law in the tradition of Groucho Marx who said, "Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes." When the court says there is no difference between couples consisting of a man and a woman, a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, and that it's irrelevant that only one combination can produce children, whom are you going to believe? The court or your own eyes? This decision shouldn't...

In general, the Left does not ask the question, "What will happen next?" when formulating social policy. Not thinking through the long-range consequences of their positions is liberalism's tragic flaw. Take almost any position that distinguishes the Left: Will Higher Taxes Help The Economy? The major reason the Left advocates tax increases is not that these tax increases will help the American economy. Higher taxes rarely help the economy, and most liberals don't even make that argument. Their argument is about equality, the Left's paramount value. The animating factor for the Left is narrowing the gap between the rich and...

McLEAN, Va. -- On Nov. 22, U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig was at work in his chambers here when he received a telephone call telling him to switch on the television. There, he saw Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announce that the government would file charges against Jose Padilla in a federal court -- treating the accused terrorist like a normal criminal suspect.

The political landscape may be shifting in ways that would make it easier for Sen. John McCain of Arizona to win the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. He's among several potential candidates courting Southern and Midwest Republicans this weekend in Memphis, Tenn., in the first chance that party insiders have had to look at several would-be nominees in one place. Conventional wisdom — that McCain could win the general election but not the Republican nomination because conservatives oppose him — may be changing. A convergence of three new forces could be reshaping the landscape just as Republicans begin deciding who will...

Everyone at the conference was hanging on the words of Ryan Henry, and it was not difficult to figure out why. Mr. Henry, a top Pentagon planning official, was giving an early glimpse of the Defense Department's priorities over the next four years to an industry gathering in New York of executives of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics and other leading military contractors. For his listeners, there was one question hanging in the air: What will the impact be on me - and on my company? Some of the answers were already clear, even if there were few details. Mr....

Fierce fighting continued in Fallujah over the weekend, with US airpower pounding resistance positions early Saturday morning and Mujahideen mounting a fierce response that left casualties on both sides as the battle for control of the city continues. In a dispatch posted at 10:05pm Saturday Mecca time, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the Mujahideen on Saturday mounted a fierce barrage on the US base in the agricultural area to the northeast of Fallujah. The attack began at 8 o’clock local time and was still continuing when the correspondent filed his report. In addition to the US camp in the agricultural area,...

"Mackris' attorney...did say...that O'Reilly's behavior will be proven in court...She returned to work for O'Reilly at Fox in July of 2004, according to her lawsuit, after winning assurances that O'Reilly would no longer engage in inappropriate conduct."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites)'s call for a simpler tax code could mark the next step in a gradual move toward a system that places more of a tax burden on consumption and less on savings, analysts say, a direction critics think would put a bigger burden on working Americans. In his speech to the Republican convention two weeks ago, Bush said he would launch a bipartisan tax reform effort if he wins a second term but offered little direction to those who may wonder what types of changes he envisions. "The American people deserve --...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Carol Moseley-Braun dropped out of the presidential race in January after her campaign failed to gain any significant traction, but a "post-campaign" release indicates she may be flexing her support from women's groups to get her tapped for vice president. Just before the first Iowa Caucus was held, Moseley-Braun pulled out of the presidential running. "I am here today to thank those Iowans who were prepared to stand for me in Mondays' caucuses, and to ask that you stand instead for Howard Dean," she said at the time endorsing Dean who has since pulled out of...

<p>Fla. -- Democratic presidential candidates flocked to a Walt Disney World resort here yesterday, seeking to tap into the pain of the 2000 election and denounce the administration it installed, enthralling state party convention delegates who seemed happiest when jeering the GOP and President Bush.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO – California adopted the nation's most ambitious renewable-energy goals Thursday, when Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill requiring that 20 percent of utilities' electricity be produced from renewable sources, such as solar, wind and geothermal, by 2017.</p> <p>A measure pending in Congress proposes a national standard of 10 percent. "We're going for twice that," said the author of the California bill, state Sen. Byron Sher. "We think this will be a national model."</p>