Our system is based on checks and balances between three branches plus a watchful eye from a not-too-friendly press. Republicans control the House and Senate and the White House. Republicans have appointed most of the judges. Republicans decry the ‘liberal media.’ Now they work steadily to destroy the Constitutional balance of power. mjh

Damn the Constitution The Daily Camera: Editorials
Reps. flout the values they claim to defend

In Congress this week, issues as deep and wide as the very future of the republic should be the subject of debate. The weighty concerns, which are numerous, are being neglected partly because our representatives insist on focusing on trivia — and in flouting the Constitution.

Last week, the House Judiciary Committee approved the so-called Pledge Protection Act, which would forbid any court from ruling on the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. The bill is expected to hit the House floor this week. …

The Constitution grants Congress the power to make laws, and the judiciary has the obligation to interpret them. This safeguard is one of those “checks” that helps balance the government’s power. Without this protection, Congress could infringe upon free speech, due process, the right to be confronted by one’s accusers ? you name it. Any such legislative transgression would only need the no-court-review clause.

The possibilities are staggering. But the bill’s proponents seem oblivious to this. …

To [the Pledge Protection Act’s primary sponsor, Missouri Republican Congressman Todd] Akin, stripping the courts of their jurisdiction is a necessary response to “activist judges” who have ruled in favor of gay marriage and against the religious invocation in the Pledge. …

Earlier this year, the House passed a bill that would prevent federal courts from reviewing the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Akin and his misguided colleagues are clearly striving to defend their faith and to assert their particular vision of America. But by attempting an end-run around the Constitution, their latest tactic is nothing short of un-American.

Pledge Protection Act on Tap by Keith Peters
Family.org (A Web site of Focus on the Family)

The legislation, the Pledge Protection Act, was authored by Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo. It says no federal court — including the Supreme Court — can hear any claim that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Akin said the intent of H.R. 2028 is to rein in judicial tyrants who legislate from the bench — as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did in declaring “under God” unconstitutional in the Michael Newdow case.

“They are saying that children cannot say the Pledge of Allegiance,” Akins explained. “That’s a form of censorship of speech, and it’s restricting free speech.”

Congress has a right and an obligation, he added, to make sure that the branches of government do not overstep their authority as outlined in the Constitution.

Be very clear about the following study. We are talking about Genetically Modified grass for golf courses! Yes, let’s risk everything to save some work for people who cater to people who play golf. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? Or does it show we can’t trust any business to choose between profit and world destruction — they will choose badly every time. Once may be all it takes. mjh

Wind carries GM pollen record distances newscientist.com

Creeping bentgrass is a favourite of golf course managers, who say it provides a uniquely smooth surface for putting greens. But weeds can interrupt the smoothness, so course managers want a grass that is resistant to the herbicides that kill the weeds. …

Scientists from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focused on fields that have been growing GM varieties of creeping bentgrass near Madras in central Oregon, US, for two years. The experimental grasses are genetically modified to resist popular herbicides, such as Roundup.

Lidia Watrud and colleagues from the EPA?s National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, collected seeds from wild grasses growing tens of kilometres around the experimental plots. …

Watrud?s team found extensive gene contamination within 2 km downwind of the experimental plots. But some pollen went much further. Contaminated grass seeds turned up across 310 square km, with the most distant find 21 km from the source.

Only a handful of studies have ever investigated gene flow from crops – GM or otherwise – at distances greater than a few hundred metres. Studies have found radish and sunflower genes travelling 1 km, marrow (or squash) genes travelling 1.3 km and oil-seed rape (or canola) genes travelling up to 3 km.

But the suspicion is that pollen from many crops could travel hundreds of kilometres on the winds.

?To my knowledge, this is the longest distance reported for GM pollen dispersal,? says David Quist, whose research into the genetic spread of GM maize in Mexico caused a row after its publication in Nature in June 2002.

“you keep mentioning republicans—-i don’t care what party they are in.” — Joe Monahan

OK, Joe, I re-read your entries to see that you in fact didn’t ID the judges’ parties; my mistake, brought on in part by the fact that this is, to some, a highly partisan issue.

Cops enforce the law; judges interpret it. And yet, as humans, we all make mistakes. As part of the rapidly escalating intolerance in society, we will not tolerate mistakes.

But the judicial system is a process; if this judge is wrong, the next judge can say so. I’m angry at people who are saying the system stinks with corruption, undermining any faith in this vital process. You may have a perfect ethical compass, but many in this fight are just making noise because they lost a round; ethics don’t really matter to them.

Regardless of party, there is a faction at work in our country that says: the media is liberal and cannot be trusted, the teachers are incompetent and cannot be trusted, the judges are activists and cannot be trusted, the federal government is an invasive beast that must be starved, taxes are theft, regulation is tyranny, and on and on. These people are destroying our confidence in every single aspect of the system. Whether they see or speak the truth or not, they poison the well for all of us. They are far more dangerous than foreign terrorists. mjh

Well, if the horse ignores your rein and drags you into a raging torrent that is well over his head, maybe you should. mjh

I have a confession to make. On 9/11/01, after hearing the news and seeing some video, I did nothing. Worse, I actually went to a meeting, where we discussed the disaster and went on to conduct some business.

More shocking to some, since 9/11, I have made almost no changes to my lifestyle in response to the terrorist threat. I avoid a few places because I can’t stand seeing a police force that is indistinguishable from an occupying army, but otherwise, my life went on after 9/11 very much as it goes on after California earthquakes and Florida hurricanes.

I don’t mean to be insensitive or stupid. I know something terrible happened and many people died and many more people suffered very directly in ways that they may never recover from. Nevertheless, just two dozen people killed 3,000 people brutally and dramatically — but that’s it. It pains me, I sympathize, I go on living. I will not turn my life upside-down; I will not destroy anything over this.

There must have been a way to respond to 9/11 that would not have enflamed so much rage and vengence. There must have been a way to express our grief and horror while seeking justice (and punishment) without fueling even more violence. Something great might have come out of tragedy; an endless War on Terror is nothing great.

Since 9/11/01, how many women have been raped, beaten and murdered by their ”loved ones?” Could it be more than 3000 victims of more than two dozen husbands, lovers, boyfriends, fathers, brothers?

Since 9/11, how many children have been beaten, abused and tormented by their parents, guardians, siblings or classmates? How many of those children will manage to survive only to grow up to be violent abusers of others?

It seems that everything did not change after 9/11. Many things are exactly as they have been throughout human history. We are doing nothing to stop the violence that is everywhere in our world. Instead, we are pouring all of our resources into more violence all around the world. Blessed are the peacemakers — if only there were some. mjh

There may be voter

fraud in New Mexico. There certainly is a lot of talk about it, all of it originating with Republicans. Recently, a Republican who claims

‘someone’ registered his 13-year-old brought suit to require ALL newly registered voters to show ID (the true goal is to require ALL

voters — period — to show ID).

There doesn’t seem to be any curiousity, even in our faithful Media, about who registered

little Robbie Republican. Doesn’t that person have some culpability?

Now our Republican US Attorney, David Iglesias, has stepped in

by starting the first-ever fraud watch. Something is wrong, he intones, consistent with the party line.

Why are Republicans so

worried? Well, how many unregistered conservatives do you think there are in New Mexico in comparison to unregistered traitorous commies?

Therefore, every new registration would seem to have better than even odds to belong to a liberal satanist. So, first, let’s scare some

folks (I recommend white hoods). Next, let’s denegrate the process so thoroughly as to discourage some folks. Finally, let’s make sure

we’re on record as denouncing the process so when we lose, we can claim it is only through fraud. These guys invented destroying the

village to save it.

But why do Democrats resist IDs? Well, Republicans imply it’s because they’re cheaters. But imagine a Democrat

and a Republican head for the polls. One passively hands over his ever-present ID to the authorities. The other forgot/lost his. Which

one is a Democrat? One has driver’s license, work ID, NRA card, dozens of credit cards, IDs up the wazoo. The other has nothing. Which

one is a Republican?

Quick: how many of the 2 million Americans in prison today are Republicans? Maybe that explains Republican

support for long sentences AND opposition to restoring voting rights to those who serve their time.

Finally, the judge who said it’s

too late to change the process is also a Republican — and clearly not an activist. Seems like an all-Republican show — everywhere.

Register. Vote. Change things. mjh

Capitol Hill Blue: Dems: Bush Bounce Will Fade

Bush told a

rally in Parkersburg, W.Va., “This Labor Day weekend, it is important for American workers to know that my opponent wants to tax your

jobs.”

Kerry has said he would restore taxes to pre-Bush levels only for people earning more than $200,000, and would cut them for

middle- and low-income earners.

Note that Duhbya is warning ALL workers, not just those over $200K. He was simply LYING TO

WIN.

As a little sidenote, searching news.google.com reveals many copies of this AP article all across the country. The vast majority

have as a headline: “Democrats claim Bush’s bounce will fade.” Our compulsively fair abqjournal says “Campaigns Have Work To Do This

Labor Day.” No arguing with that. mjh

Here’s an article that hasn’t made it to abqjournal so far: ‘Taxes are going up next year no matter who wins’