*War in Iraq * How Low Can Hillary Clinton Go ? * An Unusual SpringThe good news, if any, is that on this Memorial Day weekend we can be thankful that number of U.S. casualties in Iraq has dropped. On the flip side, one of the reasons is said to be more use of air power -- bombs, rockets -- which means higher civilian casualties. Civilian casualties in Iraq, and Afghanistan, however, have never had much of an impact here in America. Strange, as if the innocent civilians are not part of the human race.Hillary Clinton Down and Dirty Freudian slip.....assassination dreaming! Her comment about late Senator Robert Kennedy's assassination in June 1968 as being one of the reasons for her to stay in the race caused a firestorm. After trying to put a spin on it, Mrs. Clinton issued an apology....sort of. The NY Times editorial board has this to say:Instead, she issued one of those tedious non-apology apologies in which it sounds like the person who is being offended is somehow at fault: “I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation, and particularly for the Kennedy family was in any way offensive.”If?The Seasons: A Wintry SpringLess than a month left before the summer solstice and we continue to have days that feel wintry. In mid-May we had a few days when the temp. reached 100 °F but usually a gusty wind blows through the Peninsula every day and going out in the evening calls for jackets or sweaters.Bush Lupine, Water Dog Lake© MusafirBlue-eyed Grass and Miniature Lupine, Edgewood Park© MusafirWhite Fairy Lantern, Edgewood Park© MusafirMorning Glory, Edgewood Park© MusafirYellow Vetch, Edgewood ParkWhite Thistle, Edgewood Park© MusafirIndian Paint Brush, Russian Ridge© MusafirChecker Mallow, Russian Ridge© MusafirHawk's Beard, Long Ridge© MusafirA runner heading north on Long Ridge Trail© MusafirPink Trillium, Big Basin State Park© MusafirWhite Trillium, Big Basin State Park© MusafirSilver Falls, Big Basin State Park© MusafirWatsonia, Indrani C's Garden, San Mateo, CA© MusafirMatilja Poppy, Indrani C's Garden, San Mateo, CA© Musafir

*The Sky is Falling.....for SomeFor some, California State Supreme Court's ruling on May 15, 2008, about same-sex marriage means the end of the world as they know it. Many of them believe in Armageddon and ought not to feel unhappy about the end of the world since they are assured of ascending to heaven when the day arrives. Apparently, that is not good enough; they want punishment, while they are still on earth, for those who just want to live their lives without encroaching their values, hopes, and principles on others. So they are gearing up for battle to deny civil rights and happiness to gays and lesbians in the name of god. How god feels about all this is not known. If he is up there the chances are that he does not give a hoot about who is marrying whom.© Mel Calman *"It's certainly a temporary victory for those who favor same-sex marriage," Ron Prentice, steering committee chairman of ProtectMarriage.com, said of the decision invalidating a state law defining marriage exclusively as the union of a man and a woman. Prentice's coalition is seeking to overturn that ruling.The Dormouse: You've got no right to grow here.Alice: Don't talk nonsense. You know you're growing too.The Dormouse: Yes, but I grow at a reasonable pace, not in that ridiculous fashion.--Alice In Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1832-1898)

*Barack Obama Caved In * Cherie Blair and Foreplay in a No.74 BusObama went down a notch in my books by appearing with a flag pin on his lapel. His previous position on wearing of flag pins was not an important factor in my decision to support him, but it made me respect him all the more.In his own words:“This is an issue that is a phony issue because I was never opposed to wearing flag pins.”He said giving up the flag pin in the first place was a commentary on hypocritical lawmakers. (Reuters Blogs)Perhaps the number of voters to whom the wearing of flag pins is important is large enough for Barack Obama to adopt the prop. It is nothing but a prop. Perhaps he did it just as a mark of respect for the veteran who handed him the pin. His action makes it clear that Obama,too, stands ready to make compromises. It is a sad reflection on Obama and the voters.Think of politicians who almost religiously wear flag pins, and their records. Not all of them are Republicans but Republicans have a habit of grandstanding about trivial issues. Remember former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and his cronies strutting out of the Capitol building in March 2003 to declare before TV cameras that french fries in the House cafetaria would be listed as "Freedom Fries". Why? Because France declined to join the coalition in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hastert is gone and so are freedom fries; they are now listed as french fries. Bunch of oafs. * Cherie Blair - Anything for MoneyCherie Blair, wife of the former British prime minister, recently got a lot of publicity about her tell all book, Speaking for Myself, which includes details of a ride on the top deck of a bus that made some critics talk about the book as a 'bodice ripper'. No airhead, this woman. A barrister, QC, no less. One wonders what made her write such a tawdry book. Money? Tony Blair now being on the lecture circuit that ought to provide good income for the Blairs. Perhaps they want to outdo the Clintons.In view of his all-out support for Bush's war -- "Bush's poodle" was the unflattering term used for Blair -- it is interesting to read what Cherie Blair wrote about prime minister Blair's reaction to the news about Bush's victory in 2000. ...

*Shadow of the War * Richard Yates * Gettysburg Address *Music of BachApril was unseasonably cool. May feels the same way; some days are almost wintry. This morning does not look encouraging for those planning an outdoor celebration for Mothers' Day. Might change later; hope it does.Reading Richard Yates' short story about a soldier in another war in another time it struck me how some things have not changed during the intervening years since Vietnam. Soldiers still catch flights to leave for the war zone; the lucky ones receive tight hugs before walking through the gate. But it took a long time for the people to wake up to the truth about Vietnam. Despite President Bush's repeated attempts to justify the war in Iraq, few people believe him. Among presidential candidates, John McCain is gung ho about the war. Hillary Clinton, who had voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, is facing dwindling chances of sleeping next to the 'red phone'. *From "The Right Thing", Richard Yates (1926-1992)The Esquire Fiction Reader Vol.I edited by Rust Hills and Tom Jenks© 1985 by Rust Hills"When it was time to say goodbye at the gate to Terry's flight, Michael shook hands with him in a little excess of old soldier's heartiness: 'Well, stay loose, Terry. And keep a tight asshole.'"Then Sarah opened her arms for him. She was taller than he was, but that didn't make it an awkward embrace. She held him, however briefly, in the way a man ought to be held before going to a war that nobody would ever understand."Bush and Gettysburg Address"When Bush tries to articulate a vision," Davis said, pausing to choose his words carefully, "he will butcher the Gettysburg Address. Obama, he will make an A&P grocery list sing."Who said that ? Tom Davis "who chaired the NRCC for four years". Ah, the travails of the Republicans.The sound of Bach is good for taking the mind off war, politicians and other unpleasant subjects. Helmuth Rilling on organ.Track 3, Passacaglia and Fugue, for organ in C minor, BWV 582Toccata and Fugue: A Bach Organ Work SelectionDenon Records, April 1995

*And Poems by Robert HassWe have a "war president" (his own words) in the White House. The last thing we need is another president who will use threat of terrorism to continue the abuse of power that we have experienced since 9/11. McCain has made no secret of his support for the Bush administration's policies and the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton, in her attempt to appear macho, talked about 'obliterating' Iran. Perhaps it won her some much-needed votes in Indiana.The candidates are doing what politicians always do -- play up to the fears and prejudices. And they promise us the moon.The economy has replaced Iraq as the Number 1 issue for voters. Rightly so. With soaring costs of gas, food, health care, and education, Americans are hurting. Iraq, however, must not be forgotten. Part of the sorry state of economy is tied to the war in Iraq and the billions of dollars being spent to continue the unjustified war. Then there is the human cost. 4073 American soldiers have lost their lives as of May 6, 2008, including 8 this month. Number of injured soldiers is nearing 30,000.Robert HaasIt was a pleasure to read that "Time and Materials" by my favorite poet, Robert Haas, is the joint winner (with "Failure" by Philip Schultz) of this year's Pulitzer Prize.Excerpt from "A Poem" by Robert Haas"More Iraqi civilians have now been incidental casualties of the conduct of war in Iraq than were killed by Arab terrorists in the destruction of the World Trade Center.In the first twenty years of the twentieth century 90 percent of war deaths were the deaths of combatants. In the last twenty years of the twentieth century 90 percent of war deaths were deaths of civilians.There are imaginable responses to these facts. The nations of the world could stop setting an example for suicide bombers. They could abolish the use of land mines. They could abolish the use of aerial bombardment in warfare. You would think that men would relent." * Bush's War I typed the brief phrase, "Bush's War,"At the top of a sheet of white paper,Having some dim intuition of a poemMade luminous by reason that would,Though I did not have them at hand,Set the facts out in an orderly way.Berlin is a northerly city. In MayAt the end of the twentieth centuryIn the leafy precincts of Dahlem Dorf,South of the Grunewald, near Krumme Lanke,Spring is northerly; it begins before dawnIn a racket of bird song. The amselsShiver the sun up as if they were shakingA liquid tangle of golden wire. There are two kindsOf flowering chestnuts, red and white,And the wet pavements are speckledWith petals from the incandescent spikesOf their flowers and shoes at U-bahn stopsAre flecked with them. Green of holm oaks,Birch tassels, the soft green of maples,And the odor of lilacs is everywhere.At Oscar Helene Heim station a farmerSells white asparagus from a heaped table.In a month he'll be selling chanterelles;In the month after that, strawberriesAnd small, rosy crawfish from the Spree.The piles of stalks of the asparagusAre startlingly phallic, phallic and tenderAnd deathly pale. Their seasonal appearanceMust be the remnant of some fertility ritualOf the German tribes. Steamed, they are the colorOf old ivory. In May, in restaurantsThey are served on heaped white plattersWith boiled potatoes and parsley butter,Or shavings of Parma ham and lemon juiceOr sorrel and smoked salmon. And,Walking home in the slant, widening,Brilliant northern light that fallsOn the new-leaved birches and the elms,Nightingales singing at the first, subtlest,Darkening of dusk, it is a trick of the mindThat the past seems just ahead of us,As if we were being shunted thereIn the surge of a rattling funicular.Flash forward: the firebombing of Hamburg,Fifty thousand dead in a single night,"The children's bodies the next daySet in the street in rows like a marketIn charred chicken." Flash forward:Firebombing of Tokyo, a hundred thousandIn a night. Flash forward: forty-fiveThousand Polish officers slaughteredBy the Russian Army in the Katyn Woods,The work of half a day. Flash forward:Two million Russian prisoners of warMurdered by the German army all acrossThe eastern front, supplies low,Winter of 1943. Flash: Hiroshima.And then Nagasaki, as if the sentenceLife is fire and flesh is ash neededTo be spoken twice. Flash: Auschwitz,Dachau, Therienstadt, the train lurching,The stomach woozy, past displays of fallsOf hair, piles of valises, spectaclesWith frames designed to curl delicatelyAround a human ear. Flash:The gulags, seven million in ByelorussiaAnd Ukraine. In innocent Europe on a nightIn spring, among the light-struck birches,Students holding hands. One of themIs carrying a novel, the German translationOf a slim book by Marguerite DurasAbout a love affair in old Saigon. (Flash:Two million Vietnamese, fifty five thousandOf the American young, whole racesOf tropical birds extinct from saturation bombing)The kind of book the young loveTo love, about love in time of war.Forty five million, all told, in World War II.In Berlin, pretty Berlin, in the spring time,You are never not wondering howIt happened, and the people around youIn the station with chestnut petals on their shoes,Children then, or unborn, never notWondering. Is it that we like the kissingAnd bombing together, in prospectAt least, girls in their flowery dresses?Someone will always want to mobilizeDeath on a massive scale for economicDomination or revenge. And the task, takenAs a task, appeals to the imagination.The military is an engineering profession.Look at boys playing: they loveTo figure out the ways to blow things up.But the rest of us have to go along.Why do we do it? Certainly there's a rageTo injure what's injured us. WarsAre always pitched to us that way.The well-paid news readers read the reasonsOn the air. And we who are injured,Or have been convinced that we are injured,Are always identified with virtue. It's that--The rage to hurt mixed with self-righteousnessAnd fear--that's murderous.The young Arab depilated himselfAs an act of purification before he droveThe plane into the office building. It's notJust violence, it's a taste for powerThat amounts to loathing for the body.Perhaps it's this that permits people to believeThat the dead women in the rubble of BaghdadWho did not cast a vote for their deathsOr the glimpse afforded them before they diedOf the raw white of the splintered bonesIn the bodies of their men or their childrenAre being given the gift of freedomWhich is the virtue of their injured killers.It's hard to say which is worse about this,The moral sloth of it or the intellectual disgrace.And what good are our judgments to the dead?And death the cleanser, Walt Whitman'sSweet death, the scourer, the tenderLover, shutter of eyelids, turnsThe heaped bodies into summer fruit,Magpies eating dark berries in the duskAnd birch pollen staining sidewalksTo the faintest gold. Bald nur--Goethe--no,Warte nur, bald ruhest du auch. Just wait.You will be quiet soon enough. In Dahlem,Under the chestnuts, in the leafy spring.--Robert HaasThe quotations are from "Time and Materials, Harper Collins Publishers © 2007 Robert Haas

*Indiana, North Carolina * Prayers at PumpsAccording to pundits, if Obama wins both states then Hillary Clinton would face the inevitable and pull out of the campaign. On the morning of May 6th that scenario is not a given. The polls and projections give Obama the lead in North Carolina, and a victory for Clinton in Indiana. If that becomes reality then Clinton would continue in the race for the White House despite Obama's lead among superdelegates. Republicans would like to see that happen; it would be good for John McCain.Indications are that Obama's delayed recognition of the true nature of Reverend Wright has not damaged him as much as some in the media thought it would. It, however, remains an issue that the Republicans are certain to revive if Obama wins the nomination. And the media would play it up.In the meantime, the more I read about Hillary Clinton and her shameless pandering -- the gas tax holiday, downing shots in local bars, and statements about "obliterating" Iran -- the less I think of her. Her attempts to prove that she has cojones are distasteful.The Lapel Pin Smear In the infamous televised debate on April 16th, before Pennsylvania election, when moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC tried their best to do a hatchet job on Obama, Gibson asked him why he didn't wear a lapel pin.Obama's answer:"Well, look, I revere the American flag," he said. "And I would not be running for president if I did not revere this country. I would not be standing here if it wasn't for this country. And I've said this -- again, there's no other country in which my story is even possible."Richard Cohen, in his column, Pins and Panders. in the Post today wrote:Many people will read a lot of meaning into Obama's refusal to wear the pin. Some will see it as a lack of patriotism, an emotional distance from the country that has served him so well. Others, such as I, will see it as an expression of cool, the statement of a candidate who wants to be president but not at the cost of his intellectual integrity. And still others (me again) will see it as Obama's push-back, his reluctance to do something simply because it is demanded of him.An allergy to cant can be an admirable quality in a politician, although not necessarily a politically smart one. Obama, for example, is right to label Hillary Clinton's proposal to have the government lift the gas tax this summer as "a classic Washington gimmick." Still, gimmicks like this win votes.The Price of Gas and Jesus FreaksA news story, dalelined May 5th, filed by AFP (Agence France Presses) caught my attention. Does Jesus care what you are paying for gas? Some "activists", crazies would be a more appropriate term, held a prayer meeting for lower prices at a gas pump in Washington.Excerpts"Lord, come down in a mighty way and strengthen us so that we can bring down these high gas prices," Twyman said to a chorus of "amens"."Prayer is the answer to every problem in life... We call on God to intervene in the lives of the selfish, greedy people who are keeping these prices high," Twyman said on the gas station forecourt in a neighborhood of Washington that, like many of its residents, has seen better days."Lord, the prices at this pump have gone up since last week. We know that you are able, that you have all the power in the world," he prayed, before former beauty queen Rashida Jolley led the group in a modified version of the spiritual, "We Shall Overcome"."We'll have lower gas prices, we'll have lower gas prices..." they sang."These prices will come down, just like the walls of Jericho came down in the Bible," he said, as another chorus of amens punctuated the sound of cash flowing out of the gas pumps. * Apparently, the prayers have not reached the almighty's ears or he has more important things to deal with. Oil prices climbed further this morning, reaching a record of $122.00 per barrel. Comments Unknown — 2014-04-24 This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

*Something in Common"This is an impressive crowd. The haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base." (G.W. Bush,Al Smith Dinner, Waldorf Astoria 10/19/2000).No surprise; it was to be expected from Bush. And his base did send him to the White House....twice. The surprise was reading about Hillary Clinton's appearance on the O'Reilly Factor.The Huffington Post April 30, 2008Hillary Clinton made her first ever appearance on the O'Reilly Factor on Wednesday, a confrontational but mostly friendly exchange that was -- kudos to Bill -- the most issue-oriented (if right-leaning) major interview with a presidential candidate in recent memory.One of the more heated policy discussions came over taxes. O'Reilly demanded to know how much Clinton was going to "take out of my wallet," and when she listed a series of proposals to aid middle class families, O'Reilly interjected. "I'm not middle class, I'm a rich guy." Clinton responded (in an awkward moment), "Rich people, God bless us. We deserve all the opportunities to make sure our country and our blessings continue until the next generation."The War Goes On Haven't come across any statement by Hillary Clinton about the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. She was a supporter of the war and would like that record to disappear. Dana Milbank in the Post has a report about Bush's avoidance of the anniversary. Like Hillary Clinton's vote for the war, images of the large banner, "Mission Accomplished", cannot be buried and forgotten.Now, after half a trillion dollars and the deaths of 4,000 troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis, the president's spin doctors have waved the white flag of surrender over the USS Abraham Lincoln episode. "President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific, and said mission accomplished for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission," White House press secretary Dana Perino told reporters this week.That excuse didn't pass the laugh test yesterday morning, when a CNN reporter asked Murtha about it. Murtha shook his head and gave a disgusted sigh as audience members chuckled. "It's almost beyond my belief that they would think anybody would believe that," he finally said. "I'm sure the White House didn't tell [her] to say that," he added, charitably. "I'm sure that was offhand."Even John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, piled on. "I thought it was wrong at the time," he said -- an effective tactic until the Democrats dug up footage of him from 2003 supporting the Mission Accomplished message.*The Dead of AprilTravis L. Griffin, 27, Air Force Staff Sergeant, Apr 03, 2008 Dover, DelawareJeremiah E. McNeal, 23, Air National Guard Staff Sergeant, Apr 06, 2008 Norfolk, VirginiaUlises Burgos-Cruz, 29, Army Captain, Apr 06, 2008 Not reported yet, Puerto RicoMatthew T. Morris, 23, Army Specialist, Apr 06, 2008 Cedar Park, TexasShane D. Penley, 19, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 06, 2008 Sauk Village, IllinoisStephen K. Scott, 54, Army Colonel, Apr 06, 2008 New Market, AlabamaStuart A. Wolfer, 36, Army Major, Apr 06, 2008 Coral Springs, FloridaEmanuel Pickett, 34, Army National Guard Staff Sergeant, Apr 06, 2008 Teachey, North CarolinaJason C. Kazarick, 30, Army Specialist, Apr 07, 2008 Oakmont, PennsylvaniaMichael T. Lilly, 23, Army Sergeant, Apr 07, 2008 Boise, IdahoTimothy M. Smith, 25, Army Sergeant, Apr 07, 2008 South Lake Tahoe, CaliforniaRichard A. Vaughn, 22, Army Sergeant, Apr 07, 2008 San Diego, CaliforniaJeffery L. Hartley, 25, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 08, 2008 Hempstead, TexasMark E. Rosenberg, 32, Army Major, Apr 08, 2008 Miami Lakes, FloridaAnthony L. Capra, 31, Air Force Technical Sergeant, Apr 09, 2008 Hanford, CaliforniaJesse A. Ault, 28, Army Sergeant, Apr 09, 2008 Dublin, VirginiaJacob J. Fairbanks, 22, Army Specialist, Apr 09, 2008 Saint Paul, MinnesotaJeremiah C. Hughes, 26, Army Specialist, Apr 09, 2008 Jacksonville, FloridaShaun P. Tousha, 30, Army Sergeant, Apr 09, 2008 Hull, TexasMerlin German, 22, Marine Sergeant, Apr 11, 2008 Manhattan, New YorkWilliam E. Allmon, 25, Army Specialist, Apr 12, 2008 Ardmore, OklahomaArturo Huerta-Cruz, 23, Army Specialist, Apr 14, 2008 Clearwater, FloridaJoseph A. Richard III, 27, Army Sergeant, Apr 14, 2008 Lafayette, LouisianaRichard J. Nelson, 23, Marine Reserve Corporal, Apr 14, 2008 Racine, WisconsinDean D. Opicka, 29, Marine Reserve Lance Corporal, Apr 14, 2008 Waukesha, WisconsinJason L. Brown, 29, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 17, 2008 Magnolia, TexasBenjamin K. Brosh, 22, Army Specialist, Apr 18, 2008 Colorado Springs, ColoradoLance O. Eakes, 25, Army Specialist, Apr 18, 2008 Apex, North CarolinaCherie L. Morton, 40, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class, Apr 20, 2008 Bakersfield, CaliforniaSteven J. Christofferson, 20, Army Specialist, Apr 21, 2008 Cudahy, WisconsinAdam J. Kohlhaas, 26, Army Sergeant, Apr 21, 2008 Perryville, MissouriMatthew R. Vandergrift, 28, Marine 1st Lieutenant, Apr 21, 2008 Littleton, ColoradoAdrian M. Campos, 22, Navy Airman Apprentice, Apr 21, 2008 El Paso, TexasRonald R. Harrison, 25, Army Private, Apr 22, 2008 Morris Plains, New JerseyJordan C. Haerter, 19, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 22, 2008 Sag Harbor, New YorkJonathan T. Yale, 21, Marine Corporal, Apr 22, 2008 Burkeville, VirginiaJohn T. Bishop, 22, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 23, 2008 Gaylord, MichiganRonald C. Blystone, 34, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 23, 2008 Springfield, MissouriTimothy W. Cunningham, 26, Army 1st Lieutenant, Apr 23, 2008 College Station, TexasGuadalupe Cervantes Ramirez, 26, Army Sergeant, Apr 23, 2008 Mohave Valley, ArizonaShaun J. Whitehead, 24, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 24, 2008 Commerce, GeorgiaWilliam T. Dix, 32, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 27, 2008 Culver City, CaliforniaAdam L. Marion, 26, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 28, 2008 Mount Airy, North CarolinaMarcus C. Mathes, 26, Army Sergeant, Apr 28, 2008 Zephyrhills, FloridaDavid P. McCormick, 26, Army Specialist, Apr 28, 2008 Fresno, TexasMark A. Stone, 22, Army Sergeant, Apr 28, 2008 Buchanan Dam,, TexasBryan E. Bolander, 26, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 29, 2008 Bakersfield, CaliforniaClay A. Craig, 22, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 29, 2008 Mesquite, TexasAndrew. R. Pearson, 32, Army Captain, Apr 30, 2008 Billings, MontanaRonald J. Tucker, 21, Army Specialist, Apr 30, 2008 Fountain, ColoradoSource: iCasualties.org

*Egomaniacs Come In All ColorsWho would have thought a few months ago that Barack Obama's downfall would result from his failure to foresee the dangers of close association with an egotistic black pastor. His allegiance to the pastor of his church, perhaps his inherent decency, prevented Obama from putting distance between himself and his pastor even after publication of Reverend Wright's sermons made many of his supporters wince. The reverend has strong views, some are questionable. Watching video clips of his appearance before the National Press Club on April 28th and at other venues one thing that sticks out is that the reverend loves to hear himself talk. There was no stopping him. The impact of his statements on Senator Obama's campaign was the last thing on Jeremiah Wright's mind. He was No.1. He was center stage. He gloated; he lapped it up. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia speech helped Obama salvage some damage, but not enough. The reverend wanted to continue to bask in the limelight and took a page from the playbook of another reverend who bloviates, Pat Robertson. Pat Robertson's lunatic statements earned him a lot of media coverage at one time. Reverend Wright got attention too....in spades. A quiet retirement? Not for them. At long last Obama spoke out on Tuesday (April 29th) and left no doubt about the parting of company with Reverend Wright. However, the reverend has caused tremendous harm. The pendulum has swung. Of course, things can happen between now and the convention to change the picture especially if voters decide that issues, not personalities, matter most. It is Hillary Clinton whose numbers show impressive gains in recent days. In her case, it was Bill Clinton who needed muzzling. Unless she fumbles she could end up winning the prize.

*'Slightly Pregnant', Perhaps * India's ShameReading about President Bush's support of 'abstinence only' (from sex) policy can make one chuckle but the consequences are far from funny. Accounts of his somwhat wild youth leave little doubt that he didn't -- abstain. But that is normal practice. Politicians exhort people to do what they say, not what they did. So, one ought not to hold that against the president. One day he found the lord and went on a straight and narrow path. Stranger things have happened.But when the 'abstinence only' hypocrites talk about 'secondary virginity' that is a bit too much. What a phrase! Trust the gang that gave us "extraordinary rendition" and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to promote it.Has U.S. Abstinence Policy Failed ? (BBC News)US lawmakers are investigating whether to cut government funding for health education programmes that promote sexual abstinence until marriage.The move follows a report earlier this year from America's leading health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which revealed one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease.ExcerptsOpponents of abstinence education say the approach ignores the fact that teenagers are sexually active and fails to give them accurate medical information or advice on safer sex."We get sex-ed classes in school and that should be where teens get the right information - but that isn't happening," says 15-year-old Mildred, from Arizona, who volunteers as a peer educator with the pro-choice organisation Planned Parenthood."They don't touch on subjects like sexuality, STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), birth control - it's not allowed because of abstinence-only education. It leaves you on a cliff-hanger - and a lot of teenagers become sexually active in their middle school years."Planned ParenthoodPlanned Parenthood estimates that two thirds of teenagers will have experienced sexual intercourse by the time they leave school.And with some 750,000 teenage pregnancies a year, America has one of the highest teen birth rates in the developed world."This national programme which has wasted $1.5bn (£750m) of tax money is a failure and our teens are paying the price," says Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood."We've been wasting money on programmes that don't work and we're seeing the consequences every single day."State governments receive federal money they must match to fund abstinence programmes.At least 17 states have opted out of the system and others have suspended funding while Congress investigates whether such programmes work.Critics say there is no evidence that they delay sexual activity and teenagers who have taken a vow of virginity are less likely to use protection if they break their promise.Religious rightRoger Norman, a Texas lawyer, describes himself as being part of the religious right.He runs an organization called Wonderful Days which does not receive government funding but teaches abstinence as part of the health curriculum in some local schools."I am convinced that abstinence is the only way for kids," he says. "You begin by teaching the consequences of bad behaviour and the benefits of proper behaviour and you do that in a way that a child can grasp."Secondary virgins"Teenagers who do have sex before marriage are given another chance by becoming "secondary virgins"."Of course, if you view virginity as number one, and you've slept with someone, of course it's going to be different and you can never go back - but that doesn't mean there's no tomorrow," explains Ashley."Every day is a new decision and abstinence is not one you make once. You're going to have to make this decision over and over again. So if you fail once, you get back up and you try again." *(Before sex)"Dennis: Look, even if you did get pregnant, I'd marry you.Odette: Do you believe in centralized government or states' rights ?Dennis: What?Odette: I just want to know the kind of guy I'm marrying.Dennis: I'm starting to get the distinct impression you don't want to do this anymore."From Sarah Kernochan's 1998 film "Strike"(also released as "All I Wanna Do")*Female Foeticide Continues in IndiaNew Delhi — The Indian prime minister described the growing practice of aborting female fetuses as a “national shame” on Monday, and called for stricter enforcement of laws designed to prevent doctors from helping parents to get rid of unwanted unborn daughters. (NY Times April 29, 2008)At the same time, cheerleading teams are being imported from the west to entertain cricket fans in India!

The U.S. and Talibs *"Bigotry is the sacred disease."--HeraclitusThe law suit filed by Specialist Jeremy Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation against the U.S. Army for violation of his First Amendment rights might not succeed in winning recognition of the rights of atheists in the U.S. Army but it would once more expose the abuses they are subject to.NY Times 4-26-08Specialist Hall’s lawsuit is the latest incident to raise questions about the military’s religion guidelines. In 2005, the Air Force issued new regulations in response to complaints from cadets at the Air Force Academy that evangelical Christian officers used their positions to proselytize. In general, the armed forces have regulations, Ms. Lainez said, that respect “the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs.”One gets the distinct impression that the "evangelical Christian officers" are not too far apart from the Talibs in Afghanistan when it comes to God. Is it fear of God that makes them coerce others to follow their faith ? It cannot be love of God.