Author: John Schultz

Judge says pledge is out of bounds
Thanks to Michael Newdow, a misguided activist intent on spoiling something that millions of people have no problem with, we have this:

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton said the pledge’s reference to one nation “under God” violates students’ constitutional right to be “free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.”

The ruling is sure to be struck down by a higher court, and Newdow will be forced to sit at home scratching “In God We Trust” off his nickels and muttering, “One nation… indivisible…” but not until after California school districts spend millions on legal fees.

Go to the Google Blog Search with the term “Catholic” (it’s already in the link above.) See what comes up at the top of the page under “Related Blogs”

“In this corner, weighing in at 214 pounds, the defending World Boxing Federation Champion.
In the opposite corner, tonight’s challenger, a dill pickle.”

That’s what the Victor Davis Hanson vs. Arianna Huffington debate is going to be like. It’s an 8pm webcast (pacific time I believe). If you get to watch, please make a few comments. I’ll be at choir rehearsal tonight, then retiring for the evening with Hanson’s book Carnage and Culture

…that Ted Rall is a thoroughly contemptible, detestable person. That’s the definition I got when I typed the word I was thinking into dictionary.com.
CHARITIES ARE FOR SUCKERS
It’s a classic liberal rant about how the U.S. government should care for, feed, educate, house, provide medicine, retirement benefits, etc. to everyone who inhabits the United States.
Does he really think that private charities are for suckers? That the Red Cross is less efficient and effective at helping the displaced than FEMA, Gov. Blanco and her state resources, of Mayor Ray Nagin and the public work force of New Orleans? Of course he does! But he argues that because of those nasty republicans, the govt is under funded, under staffed and in some cases, literally, underwater.
Bottom line for the lefties in the Ted Rall Club: If it’s not paid for with tax dollars and executed by a bumbling bureacracy, it’s not done right.
Thanks for another classic, Ted. You can think of all the great things that happen with your federal, state and local taxes. And maybe you can feel a little guilt when you claim more than one tax deduction – “Am I doing enough to help??? The government can do so much with what comes out of my paycheck!”
I can think about the wonderful things that charities do with great people, great resources, and the generosity of people who actually care. And we aren’t suckers.

Chinese City Bans Foreign-Sounding Names

SHANGHAI, China (AP) Farewell, “Aladdin Gardens.” “White House Mini District” — you’re history.
The southwestern Chinese city of Kunming is forcing developers to change the names of those properties and others deemed too foreign sounding, saying they debase traditional culture, officials said Tuesday.
At least nine developments in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, have changed their names since officials began implementing new guidelines last month. “Paris of the East Plaza,” “French Gardens,” and “Ginza Office Tower,” were among others making the change.

“It’s not proper to name those communities with so many weird foreign titles,” said an official with the Kunming Urban Planning Bureau, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would only be identified by his surname, Xiao.