Tornado-like plasma twisters dance across the sun in this still from a NASA video recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory during a 30-hour period between Feb. 7 and 8 in 2012.In this still from a NASA video recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory during a 30-hour period between February 7 and 8, 2012, tornado-like formations dance across the sun’s surface. Made of plasma, these phenomena are the size of Earth and are shaped by the sun’s magnetic field.
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“Along the line of the pills creating immorality, I don’t see it that way. I think the immorality creates the problem of wanting to use the pills. So you don’t blame the pills.”
— U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, addressing questions about the morality of contraception at Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate in Arizona.
After the 20th Republican debate (yawn) in Mesa, Arizona Wednesday night, the winner is President Obama!
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This extraordinary editorial by Leonard Pitts who writes for the Miami Herald could just as easily have the word “Indian” in place of “Black.” It’s amazing that – more than a decade into the 21st century and more than fifty years since the start of the modern civil rights movement, with a biracial president in the Oval Office – the issue of race and ethnicity in this country hasn’t waned. When I consider some South Carolinians’ celebration of the sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War in 2010 – insisting the conflict was all about states’ rights – it’s as depressing as it is aggravating. While some White southerners have been fighting the Civil War since 1860 (and still haven’t won!), others continue to believe Christopher Columbus really did discover America. Change may come slowly on the cultural front, but as Jorge Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And, remembering the past means remembering it exactly as it happened; not as people wish or thought it had happened.
By Thomas P. Peschak, “National Geographic,” March 2012, “The Seas of Arabia”
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“You have to ask him. I cannot answer that question for anybody … He has said he’s a Christian, so I just have to assume that he is.”
— Franklin Graham, evangelist and son of Billy Graham, saying in an interview he cannot say for sure that President Obama is a Christian. Later in the same interview Graham said he is certain that Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum is a Christian.
Which is like saying, “I’m not sure if the Earth is round. I think it’s round, but I’m still not sure. I have to go to the edge myself to find out.”
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Doug and Pam Sterner are photographed in their home in Alexandria, Va. Pam is the author of a college paper that led to the drafting of the Stolen Valor Act, aimed at curbing false claims of military valor. Doug exposes phony medal recipients. Carolyn Kaster / The Associated Press
In a unique challenge to the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court will review the Stolen Valor Act, a 2006 federal law aimed at curbing false claims of military valor. The Obama Administration has been particularly strident in pursuing violations of the law, but civil rights advocates say it technically violates free speech rights. Some writers, publishers and media outlets, including the Associated Press, have told the Court they worry the law and Obama’s defense of it could lead to more attempts by the government to regulate speech.
The Court’s ruling will be interesting, especially after last year’s controversial Snyder v. Phelps, in which the justices ruled 8 – 1 that the 1st Amendment covers even hate speech. The Stolen Valor Act attempts to suppress false claims of military service, in part, because of the benefits military veterans receive, such as financial aid and medical care. But, it’s also a response to the increased respect for military personnel and what they endure, especially during times of war. Wearing unearned military medals has been a crime for years, but lying about being decorated for military service was beyond the reach of law enforcement.
The House of Representatives has more than once voted to name a post office after men who claimed awards they never received. The Air Force named an award after a man who falsely claimed to have survived the Bataan Death March and been awarded the Silver Star in World War II. The Boxing Writers of America named its perseverance award after the late Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated because of his made-up tale of surviving a Chinese prisoner of war camp in the Korean War and receiving a Navy Cross.
Pam Sterner, a Colorado woman whose husband, Doug, is a decorated Vietnam veteran, was the genesis for the law when she wrote a paper for her political science course at Colorado State University in Pueblo, CO. The essay had grown out of her husband’s frustration with false claims of heroism. Doug Sterner maintains a database of military citations, including the Medal of Honor, the highest possible award for any military service personnel.
As the son of a Korean War veteran and friend to many other military veterans, I feel the punishment for phony military service claims should be more than public embarrassment. I was upset with the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the Phelps gang. If stalking someone and slandering their name is covered by the 1st Amendment, then why, for example, should death threats against the President of the United States be exempt? Our military personnel give more than enough of their time and energy. They don’t need some fool with delusions of grandeur trying to earn special favors from society.
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This is nature at its best and most extraordinary. In a moment when the sun and earth align perfectly, water falling at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park gives off a reddish glow called Horsetail Falls. It occurs in a fleeting instant at sunset only in mid-February – if the winter weather cooperates. On those days, the setting sun illuminates this lesser-known of the park’s waterfalls so precisely that it resembles molten lava as it flows over the sheer granite face of the imposing El Capitan. Photo courtesy of Yosemite National Park Service, Scott Gediman).
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“Democrats have a file on every gay man in the Republican Party ranks. There are pictures. There’s video. Mostof these guys are being actively blackmailed by the DNC — so that when pushes comes to shove on some important vote, Democrats know they can call up these men and tell them they either vote against their party and constituents, or Democrats will out them in spectacular fashion and cause a big, embarrassing, life-ruining scene.”
— Kevin Dujan, political analyst in response to the outing of Sheriff Paul Babeau
In other words, it’s one big left-wing conspiracy against all those closeted fags!
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Chief Writing Wolf 