Lt Watada claims he has a constitutional right to be a deserter coward traitor oathbreaker protester. 

Ok, that's not what he said, but it comes close enough.

I admit my bias here and now.  The guy makes me want to hurl.  He is an embarrassment to the uniform he wears.

I feel better now.

Judge hears motions during officer's pretrial hearing

An Army lieutenant who called the Iraq war illegal and refused to deploy with his Stryker Brigade has a constitutional right to debate such political issues, his lawyer told a pretrial hearing Thursday.

Seeking to reduce the charges against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, his attorney, Eric Seitz of Honolulu, said the soldier should not be penalized for statements he made explaining why he refused to go to Iraq and why he was challenging the Bush administration's reasons for going to war.

Courtesy Pajamas Media :

A source close to Pajamas Media has learned that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has apparently succumbed to the cancer that hospitalized him last month, as exclusively reported by Pajamas Media, at age 67. He has been Iran’s most powerful figure since replacing Ayatollah Khomeini in the role of Supreme Leader in 1989.

While I have no particular heartburn with this godfather of fanatics speedily meeting Lucifer in person for some well deserved torture in whatever the Muslims call Hell, I am concerned that the potential would now exist for an even more radical, younger, and more vigorous fanatic to take his place, and work with President Ahmedine-whackjob on hastening the return of the 12th Imam, and the accompanying Armageddon. 

Originally posted at AndrewsDad on Oct. 24th 2006 

The Seattle P.I. had an article about Washington Ceasefire planting bulbs at Greenlake to commemorate the 600 victims of gun violence in Washington State this year.  It seems odd to me that a group can just go plant bulbs at a city park and I have a question into the Seattle Parks department asking about that but that is a post for another day.  What Washington Cease Fire does not say and what the "reporter", Neil Modie, does not seem interested in knowing is the fact that about 400 of those 600 deaths were suicides.

Now Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, whose department issued handgun was stolen out of his car earlier this year was in attendance.

In 2005, two violent gun crimes were reported for every 1,000 people nationwide, compared with 1.4 in 2004, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Writing in the News Tribune , editor David Seago recently endorsed an editorial from Joseph Rago of the Wall Street Journal , concerning Blogs vs. Newspapers (of course, Mr. Seago didn't Link to the original, even in the online version of his piece):

Blogs aren’t the cure for what ails newspapers or society these days. Done properly, they’re an important way for newspapers to adapt to the digital age. And many, if not most, independent blogs are stimulating and useful. But remember: On a good newspaper, nobody is a loose cannon – not even columnists and sportswriters and certainly not editorial writers.

If a newspaper pays your salary, somebody higher up on the food chain makes sure you stay within the bounds of propriety, fairness and accuracy – even in the realm of opinion. You can’t make up stuff and get away with it.