Rapper T.I. arrested by the Feds

Crime: Damn, What did T.I get himself into that all these agencies had to come out.

Rapper T.I., whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr., was arrested this afternoon in Atlanta. The ATF executed a search warrant at his home, and according to Atlanta's FOX 5 News, T.I., remains in custody. The agencies at the scene of the federal search warrant include: The ATF, U.S. Marshalls: Fugitive Task Force, Fulton County SWAT, Fulton County PD, Dekalb County PD, and the ATF/Atlanta PD Violent Crime Impact Team. The U.S. Attorney's office will neither confirm nor deny anything about the investigation. T.I. currently has a number of projects, including a movie with Denzel Washington set for November release, and he was slated to perform at tonight's BET Hip-Hop Awards, scheduled to air October 17. The rapper has nine nominations, more than any other artist at the event. TMZ contacted T.I.'s rep, who has no statement at this time. Story developing ...

Atlanta Journal has incoming updates.

TMZ has the Department of Justice press release.

Update#2: T.I looking at 10 years in jail.

Washington Post sob story on illegals lawsuit.

Immigration: Speaking of gaming the system, this cutesy "Immigrant" suit by rights groups against a resolution passed by Prince William County is laughable by painting every immigrant has caught the vapors on this crackdown on illegals.

The federal lawsuit filed this past week against Prince William County paints a broad picture of those who believe they will be affected by the crackdown on illegal immigration. The 22 plaintiffs are a mix of identified and unidentified men, women and children who live or work in the county. Their legal status runs the spectrum. "They all have a different set of circumstances, different situations, and I think it speaks to what is so complicated about this issue," said Cesar Perales, president of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. "I don't think the American public understands that so many of the undocumented are members of what I would call mixed families in that many of them might have U.S.-born children, many of them are married to U.S. citizens. Others are married to permanent residents. You may have brothers and sisters with different immigration status."

American people understand and get angrier when trying to mix legal immigrants with those who are illegal. Some of these stories are a slap in the face.

One woman, a 26-year-old who works in real estate and volunteers for a nonprofit organization, has lived in the county since she was 9. She is undocumented(you mean ILLEGAL?). Since the resolution passed, the suit says, "she no longer enjoys traveling through the county, visiting the area shopping mall, or shopping at the grocery store because she is afraid that she and her family will be targeted by the police or by anti-immigrant members of the community." She and her husband, who is also undocumented, have a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old who are U.S. citizens, ages 5 and 9. The children live in "constant fear of sudden or forced separation from their parents," the suit says. Rubin Ochoa Contreras is among several plaintiffs who are identified. A native of Venezuela, he received his permanent residency in February after living in the United States for eight years. He attends English classes at night but fears that because his English is not proficient, he may "not be able to effectively communicate with officers or other county employees and, accordingly, may be needlessly, unlawfully detained or denied benefits or services to which he is entitled." Tulio Diaz was born in Puerto Rico and has lived in the county for 35 years. As a U.S. citizen, he is not required to carry proof of his legal status, but the suit says that because of the resolution, he now fears he will be asked to show proof "due to his race, color and ethnicity." Plaintiff Yolanda Lemus of El Salvador, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has the same fears, according the suit. So does Lisandro Vigil of El Salvador, who was granted temporary protected status by the federal government. Hugo Giron, who was also granted temporary permanent status and authorization to work, has a young son who is a U.S. citizen. Since the resolution passed, Giron has lost immigrant clients at his landscaping business and immigrant tenants from properties he owns in the county, the suits says. "Plaintiff Giron's quality of life has deteriorated since the passage of the resolution," the suit says. "Plaintiff Giron feels that residents of Prince William County have grown antagonistic and unwelcoming toward him and his son."

Hugo Giron story along should be enough to throw out this ridiculous lawsuit. It is trying to game the system and allowing the line with the help of the Washington Post writers who are clearly cheerleaders for illegals to be blurred enough to cause confusion. The tactic of calling people racists and xenophobes has failed so time to try another angle.

Party cancelled for 'light-skinned' blacks.

Culture: Well yeah this was dumb especially in Detroit.

DETROIT -- A local DJ and party promoter retreated Thursday from a plan to sponsor a bash that would let "light-skinned" black women into a downtown club for free. But the "Light Skin Libra Birthday Bash" at Club APT on Woodward Avenue turned out to be a bashing -- of promoter Ulysses "DJ Lish" Barnes after word of the unusual party spread on the Internet. "I made a mistake," Barnes said. "I didn't think there would be a backlash." Barnes is African-American and describes himself as "dark skinned." The issue of skin color is an often painful and emotional among African-Americans. The history of slavery and the resulting legacy of intra-racial segregation have sometimes pitted darker-skinned and lighter-skinned blacks against one another. A noted Los Angeles-based activist who goes by the name of Pearl Jr. was among the chorus of voices complaining about the party. "I had a good conversion with him and he understood," said Pearl Jr., founder of the Black Women's Movement in Los Angeles and the author of the book "Black Women Need Love, Too." "Ignorance can't always be an excuse," she said. "Colorism is real in the black community. It's especially very degrading to dark-skinned black women."

Victor Wii!!!!!!

Gaming: As an aside, I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Wii system after desperate attempts of running all over the county trying to get my hands on one. Thanks Best Buy. I can see why people are addicted to the system, all I have is the wii sports that comes with the game and played for a couple of hours hitting the baseball and tennis. Now I have to get a Wi Fi thing going in my house to get internet connection.

Woman seeks rich man, rich man says crap deal.

Culture: Whoever this mystery banker is one thing is certain. You sir are man of the year.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Deal or no deal? An online exchange between a woman looking for a husband who earns more than $500,000 a year and a mystery Wall Street banker, who assessed her potential for romance as a business deal, has cause quite an Internet stir. The anonymous 25-year-old woman recently posted an ad on the free online New York community Web site Craigslist, http://newyork.craigslist.org/, appealing for advice on how to find a wealthy husband. "I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think I'm overreaching at all," the woman, who described herself as "spectacularly beautiful" and "superficial," wrote. "I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. $250,000 won't get me to Central Park West," she said, asking questions like "where do rich single men hang out?" The mystery banker, who said he fit the bill, offered the woman an analysis of her predicament, describing it as "plain and simple a crappy business deal." "Your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity ... in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any more beautiful!" the banker wrote. "So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset," he said. "Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!" "It doesn't make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease," he said.

Breaking: 'Jena Six' Mychal Bell back in jail.

Nation: Via AP.

JENA, La. (AP) - A teenager at the center of a civil rights controversy is back in jail after a judge revoked his probation because of an old drug charge that had never been tried, his father said Thursday. Mychal Bell, who along with five other black teenagers had been accused of beating a white classmate, had gone to juvenile court expecting another routine hearing, Marcus Jones said. ``He's locked up again,'' Jones said. ``No bail has been set or nothing. He's a young man who's been thrown in jail again and again, and he just has to take it.'' Bell was originally charged with attempted murder, but the charges were reduced and he was convicted of battery. A court threw that conviction out, saying Bell should not have been tried as an adult on that charge. More than 20,000 demonstrators gathered recently in Jena to protest what they perceive as differences in how black and white suspects are treated. The case has drawn the attention of civil rights activists including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

For the love of God, Please stop Stuart Scott.

Sports: He is one of the main culprits of dragging sportscenter and ESPN into the ridiculous format where he and the other anchors become the show instead of being part of the show. This sportscenter poetry jam is the zenith of the wretched stupidity that is flowing around that station.

I put a better ending to it(warning rough language)

Dig up 350,000 bodies for Muslim burial site

UK: This is what happens when do-gooding officials fly off the handle smearing one group in the process. This will not do well for community relations.

It is a peaceful resting place for 350,000 souls - an historic graveyard which now serves as a nature reserve. But plans are afoot to dig up the ancient graves at Tower Hamlets Cemetery - and reopen it as a 21st century burial site. Officially it would be known as a "multi-faith" cemetery but it is likely that it would principally answer calls for a Muslim graveyard in the largely-Asian East London borough. The local newspaper has been bombarded with letters from historians and nature lovers declaring: "There is no way we'll allow them to dig up our ancestors." But the Labour-controlled council's environment spokesman Abdal Ullah appeared to be in no doubt about the feasibility of the plan when he said: "To preserve the respect and dignity for everyone, I think most of the graves would have to be cleared out and we'd start afresh." He said a corner of the cemetery would be reserved for Muslims who are buried in shrouds at a depth of 6ft and on their side facing Mecca. By law, any graves more than 75 years old can be removed.

Muslim Brotherhood: GTFO women and Christians.

Middle East: Man, did the people backing this group pick the wrong way.

The Muslim Brotherhood has laid down its first detailed political platform, which would bar women and Christians from becoming president and establish a board of Muslim clerics to oversee the government, reminiscent of Iran's Islamic state. The platform has dismayed secular reform activists who have cautiously hoped the Brotherhood was becoming more moderate and who supported the movement in the face of an unprecedentedly tough government crackdown against it. The document also complicates the debate in Egypt over how to deal with the Brotherhood, which proved its widespread popularity in 2005 parliament elections. The Brotherhood in recent years has increasingly touted itself as a pro-reform movement, insisting it wants a democratic playing field and an end to the autocratic rule of President Hosni Mubarak's regime. Some secular reformers increasingly have said that, given the Brotherhood's popularity, there can't be real democracy in Egypt unless the group has a seat at the political table. But the platform illustrated the dominance of a more hard-line trend in the Brotherhood, known as the "Daawi" — Arabic for "preaching" — over a minority of moderates who seek to reform the group and call for a civic government that respects Islamic principles. "Conservatives are the majority inside the group in general," said Abdel Moneim Mohammed, a young Brotherhood activist who has criticized the controversial aspects of the platform on his blog.

Jason Whitlock interview at Big Lead.

Media: One year anni of Whitlock going off at ESPN and Scoop Jackson which got him fired but gave him room to make a bigger name for himself. Scoop getting gangsta over voicemail is highly amusing.

Q: We have to ask - after you put Scoop and Lupica on blast, did you hear from them? See them at any sporting events? And was there any fallout when you called out Wilbon on the Ball State mess? I saw Lupica at the Final Four, but we didn’t speak. Scoop called my voicemail at the Kansas City Star and told me to keep his name out of my mouth, and I waved to him at the NBA Finals. As for Wilbon, we’re cool. We disagreed about an institution I love, Ball State, and people he’s had a long, respectful relationship with, the Thompson family. Mike Wilbon is one of the great sports columnists of this era. Period.

Groups sue Prince William county over immigration crackdown.

Immigration: The whole idea across the country is to tie up everything in the courts, get some liberal judges like the San Fran one below and just wait till Amnesty is declared.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, asks a judge to declare unconstitutional a controversial resolution that Prince William supervisors passed in July. Before the largest crowd to attend a board meeting in two decades, supervisors heightened immigration enforcement by local police and attempted to curb public services for illegal immigrants. Although the resolution has not taken effect and supervisors have thus far declined to fund it, plaintiffs said today that it is having a dramatic effect throughout the county. The lawsuit was filed by a Washington law firm and two civil rights organizations on behalf of 22 plaintiffs. It names the county, along with the Prince William police chief, county executive and the board chairman. "This is instilling fear, it's causing racial divisions and it's making our community a place that is uninhabitable for people of color,'' said Nancy Lyall, a spokesman for the Woodbridge Workers Committee, one of the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs and their lawyers said the resolution has increased discrimination against Hispanics and other immigrants. Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, said the resolution was "crafted very carefully, and we are confident it will withstand this and any other legal challenge.'' He accused the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, of threatening county officials with a legal challenge before the resolution was passed. "They are trying to intimidate the county from upholding the law, and I am not going to back down from those threats,'' Stewart (R-At Large) said. "No one is going to threaten Prince William County and get us to back down from doing the right thing.'' Prince William Police Chief Charlie T. Deane and county executive Craig S. Gerhart, who were also named in the lawsuit, declined to comment. Cesar Perales, president of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, said he was simply alerting Stewart that a lawsuit was coming. "It was not a threat,'' he said. "He is not upholding the law. The fact is, he is being lawless.''

San Francisco judge bars firing illegal workers.

Immigration: Immigration laws are so passe, why bother trying to enforce laws on the books.

A federal judge barred the Bush administration today from launching a planned crackdown on U.S. firms that hire illegal immigrants, warning of the plan's potentially "staggering" impact on law-abiding workers and companies. Issuing a firm rebuke of the White House, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction against the government's plan to pressure employers to fire up to 8.7 million workers with suspect Social Security numbers starting this fall.

The View ratings up year to year

Entertainment: This is going to set off Rosie again.

"The View’s" ratings are smokin’ with the additions of moderator Whoopi Goldberg and comedian-actress Sherri Shepherd to veterans Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. "The View" was second only to CBS’ "The Young & the Restless" in 18- to 49-year-old viewers—its best competitive ranking ever—mdash;according to Nielsen data for the week of Sept. 24. "The View" posted its best scores since Rosie O’Don­nell’s final week in May in total viewers (3.68 million), women 18-34 (397,000) and women 18-49 (1.03 million). Year-to-year, last week it was up 14 percent in total viewers, 8 percent in women 18-34 and 1 percent in women 18-49.

More fallout of the S-CHIP, Frost family.

Politics: Pretty much predictable results from bloggers questioning the absolute moral card of the family. Pelosi and the Democrats whine how mean people are to question the family.

Pelosi was clearly prepared for a question about Graeme Frost, a 12-year-old boy who has spoken out in favor of expanding SCHIP on behalf of the Democrats. Conservative bloggers have questioned whether Frost actually belongs to the sort of economically struggling family SCHIP is designed to help. “I think that the attack on this family is just breaking new ground and stooping to new lows in terms of what happens in Washington, D.C.,” Pelosi said. “I think it’s a sad statement about how bankrupt some of these people are in their arguments against SCHIP that they attack a 12-year-old.”

Republicans running for the hills like the scared cowards that they are when push comes to shove.

Republicans on Capitol Hill, who were gearing up to use Graeme as evidence that Democrats have overexpanded the health program to include families wealthy enough to afford private insurance, have backed off. An aide to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, expressed relief that his office had not issued a press release criticizing the Frosts.

Plus the various whiny columnists and leftist blogs decrying this sort of politics. All of this does not change the fact the reason Dems used the kid was for political cover on a welfare program they want to expand that shouldn't be if you are worrying about the poorest of the poor. If you want to put socialist healthcare and drive up taxes, be a bit more open about it. As for the family, once you step into the political arena you are not immune to scrutiny.

Round up by Malkin.

Chinese gamers rush Taiwan gamers over flag in Seattle.

World: I would hope some official got the Chinese delegation together and said to them this sort of garbage doesn't fly in America. I doubt it.

Taipei - Chinese players at an international cybergame competition in Seattle yelled insults and made threatening gestures when an award-winning Taiwan rival waved his island's flag, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday. More than 10 Chinese gamers and Chinese media employees scrambled toward an awards stage at the World Cyber Games to challenge the flag displayed by a Taiwan player who took third place, local media and a Taiwan foreign ministry spokesperson said. "The result was a provocation to the Chinese players, who picked a fight," the Liberty Times said. China often tries to block any displays of separate Taiwan identity at international sports and cultural events. Beijing has claimed self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and pledged to bring the democratic island's 23 million people back under its rule, by force if necessary. Gamers from more than 70 participating countries and regions joined the annual event in Seattle. As Taiwan players were leaving the area, Chinese gamers yelled insults, saying the Taiwan side was "given birth by dogs," the paper said. Two Chinese gamers dogged the retreating Taiwan competitors until police and event organisers quickly separated them, a Taiwan foreign ministry spokesperson said. The ministry also asked staff at a hotel where both sides are staying to be on guard, she said.

Rally at UNM over flag tearing incident.

Nation: Peter Lynch is still in the news as veterans hold a rally to support him and Mexican student groups want to make him an example of hate crime.

More than 100 people rallied at The Pit on Sunday to celebrate patriotism and the American flag. The event was held after a student was accused of committing a hate crime for taking down a Mexican flag last month from outside Scholes Hall and tearing it up, said Paul Caputo, who organized the rally. "This is to show Americans we will stand together," said Caputo, a former marine. "It isn't about anything else but Americans." The rally's participants, who were mostly veterans, rode in a motorcycle concession ending at The Pit, where Caputo presented UNM President David Schmidly with an American flag. On Sept. 14, El Centro de la Raza raised a Mexican flag in honor of Mexican Independence Day. Due to miscommunication, it was left up for three days without an American flag beside it, a violation of flag protocol. Student Peter Lynch, an Air Force veteran, said he took down the flag and tore it after waiting three hours for University administration to take it down. He was charged with criminal damage to property. El Centro de la Raza has asked that Lynch be charged with a hate crime for the vandalism. The New Mexico League of United Latin American Citizens has asked state and federal officials to investigate the incident as a hate crime. Lynch said it was a mistake to tear the flag, but his actions weren't racially motivated. Caputo also said Lynch's action was not a hate crime. "He would have torn down any country's flag if it was being flown in this manner," he said. "This was not a hate crime. This was not a political crime." Mabel González, president of the Mexican Student Association, has said the destruction of the flag is a hate crime, and should be treated as such. "When we found out about the incident, we felt very insulted," she said.

Just want to point out that would mean the groups want special status for the Mexican flag that is not given to the American flag. Just pointing that out.

Islamists Now Pretending to be Moderate

Terrorism: Dutch secret service calls this the third phrase and calls out the government for not being smart about it.

.....However, since mid-2005, a third phase has emerged in the Netherlands, led by Muslims of the second generation in the West. "They have become conscious that the growth and reputation of Islam was being damaged by the low organisation level of radical Islam in Europe, the unclear ideological message and the flirtation with violence" of the second phase. "The radical Dawa preachers of the third phase who are active in the Netherlands take categorical positions against the use of violence in the West. These new preachers specifically seek target groups that they are able to reach by means of a specific message." The AIVD warns that the "Islamic neo-radicalism", as it calls the third phase, is effective. "The other (and earlier) forms of Muslim radicalism had limited success, partly due to their often open sympathy for the violent Jihad. With Islamic neo-radicalism, it is different. Precisely because of the rejection of violence and the specific nature of the message, it reaches a much bigger target group and can even grow into a mass movement. Whether this will actually happen depends to an important degree on the resistance that the democratic rule of law poses here against it." The government, suggests the AIVD, does not appear to realise that "the present generation of Muslim radicals, (...) despite their claim to be broadly representative, in reality form a minority movement within European Islam. (...) Moderate Muslims do not sufficiently dare, due to the intimidating approach (of leaders of the third phase), to take a position against the views and activities of Muslim radicals. As a result, they are in a poor position to limit the force of attraction of the radical Dawa among parts of their youthful generation."

Kansas City Star jihad against Frances Semler continues.

Immigration: In an editorial that shows how fanatical their support for La Raza and its little lapdog the NAACP in trying to get this poor woman to quit her post.

We urge her to opt off the volunteer Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. That would allow any one of dozens of qualified Kansas Citians to fill her seat without alienating major portions of our community or threatening this area’s chances to host large, well-respected conventions. To recap: Parks commissioners hold prestigious public posts that protect and enhance our proud heritage of fine public parks and boulevards. The board oversees a major part of what makes this city shine as a place to live and raise families. A board member should not create unnecessary angst, threats to cancel conventions or an unwelcome affiliation with a group that takes the law into its own hands. While Chris Simcox, self-appointed leader of the Minutemen, attempts to compare his followers to “neighborhood watch groups,” we find that a gross stretch of rhetorical deception. Local neighborhood groups don’t arm themselves, as Simcox does on his border patrols. During a meeting Monday with The Star’s Editorial Board, Simcox couldn’t delineate what he supports for immigration reform other than securing the borders “by any means necessary.” He castigated Kansas City as a “de facto sanctuary city,” slammed the nationally respected Southern Poverty Law Center as “less than credible” and suggested the federal government could be on the verge of “diluting our citizenship.” “Your community has a problem,” Simcox said. Yes, the problem is Kansas City’s good image is tainted by appearances here of the freelance Minutemen, all due to Semler’s prominent appointment. Mayor Mark Funkhouser ought to be thinking hard about how much damage he wishes to inflict on this city’s reputation by sticking with his appointee, one he admits that he didn’t properly vet. Funkhouser’s latest excuse, that he’s supporting diversity of views by retaining Semler, doesn’t wash. No single appointee should threaten this area’s chances to host conventions of the National Council of La Raza, the NAACP and possibly more.

One woman is not threatening Kansas City. It is La Raza and the naacp who are trying to dictate with the KC Star as the sycophant messenger boy how the people of the city should run their internal affairs according to their wishes.

NABJ demands Don Imus banned from airwaves.

Media: The National Association of Black Journalists can kiss my black ass for this unwarranted display of censorship, thuggery and intimidation.

UK: anti-gay comments could lead to jail.

UK: Seven years to be exact, another one of these special interest laws about stirring up hatred against groups or religions. I hate these type of laws overall because it leads to abuse especially when someone wants to shut down a debate. See Canada.

Stirring up hatred against homosexuals is to become a serious crime punishable with a seven-year jail sentence under a law announced last night. The legislation - similar to laws already in force outlawing persecution on religious or racial grounds - will make criminals of those who express their views in ways that could lead to the bullying or harassment of gays. The maximum sentence is longer than the average of around five years handed to rapists.

Who will make the decision and what are the standards?

The new law aims to catch those who do not explicitly call for attacks or discrimination against homosexuals, as this is covered by existing incitement laws. Instead, police will be allowed to pursue those who create an "atmosphere or climate" in which hatred or bullying can be fostered. Officials said it would not prohibit criticism of gay, lesbian and bisexual people or joke-telling. The final decision over who has "crossed the line" will rest with the police. Criminal legislation on gay harassment follows the recent Sexual Orientation Regulations which make discrimination against gays an offence against civil law. Last night a CofE spokesman said: "We will be scrutinising any legislation to ensure that it safeguards the safety and rights of minorities without jeopardising wider concerns for freedom of expression, including the expression of religious faith." But Stonewall chief Ben Summerskill said: "We are crystal clear that this is not about constraining anyone from expressing their religious views in a temperate way. "It is about preventing people from inciting hatred, whether through the lyrics of rap musicians or Muslim organisations which hand out leaflets saying that all homosexuals are paedophiles."

Oh something has got to give, it is a stupid law that will cause more problems than solve if this is the type of thing that police will be asked to worry about if the law passes.

"Not So Poor" 12 Year Old Who Rebutted Bush on SCHIP

Politics: This is making the blog rounds just in time for the new week. Newsbusters with the recap.

The media piled on when President Bush used his veto pen on this children's health insurance bill. They tried to drop the absolute moral authority bomb on it big time and paint him as not caring about children. Now it looks like a little backfire is on the horizon. On September 29th, 12 year old Graeme Frost of Maryland got to do the Democrats’ radio address, in which he told his story of how he and his sister were seriously injured in a car accident, and if it hadn’t been for SCHIP, they wouldn’t be here today. The Baltimore Sun did a story on the family, in which it stated the family couldn’t get health insurance through their work. "Bonnie Frost works for a medical publishing firm; her husband, Halsey, is a woodworker. They are raising their four children on combined income of about $45,000 a year. Neither gets health insurance through work." There were many others in the media that swallowed the story whole with its hook. All of them were missing greatly in one major thing, facts. Freerepublic's icwhatudo, managed to find plenty of missing facts using google: "First, Mr. Halsey Frost, Graeme’s father, owns his own woodworking design studio, Frostworks, so his claim that he can’t get health insurance through work is shockingly deceptive. He chooses not to get health care for his family. Second, Graeme and his sister Gemma attend the very exclusive Park School, which has a tuition of $20,000 a year, per child. Third, they live in a 3,000+ square foot home in a neighborhood with smaller homes that are selling for at least $400,000. " Dan Collins concludes: "I’m glad little Graham and his family were able to get help, and I hope he reaches full rehabilitation. But perhaps the Democrats ought to take more care in the spokespeople they choose, if they wish to tug at our heartstrings." Then again, as Mark Steyn says: "But who needs facts when you've got the human-interest angle sewn up?" Roundup of blogosphere reactions at Stop The ACLU

The Park School site has proudly put up his speech on the front page.

Middle School Student Graeme Frost Delivers Democratic Radio Address Read his address, which supports the continuation of the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The price to go to this school?

Tuition for 2007-2008 Lower School $19,530 Middle School $19,530 Upper School $21,080

Look, I may not like this welfare program, but if it has to go to the poorest of children, fine. But when the Dems put up this kid and the Baltimore Sun engage is the worst sort of fluff piece journalism by Matthew Hay Brown. I get a bit upset. This was not the kind of spokesperson the Dems should have used to tug at people'e heartstrings to continue this welfare program.

The backlash should be interesting.

White farmers in court for growing crops

Africa: Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mugabe logic.

Ten white farmers appeared in court in Zimbabwe yesterday accused of growing crops on their land — in a country where millions of people will need food aid within the next few months. The case in Chegutu district, 70 miles southwest of Harare, exposes the perversity of President Robert Mugabe's policies. Commerical agriculture was the mainstay of the economy in the days when Zimbabwe was a food exporter. ....Didymus Mutasa, the lands minister, has said that the few hundred remaining white farmers will be forced out, one way or another. "The position is that food shortages or no food shortages, we are going ahead to remove the remaining whites," he said recently. "Too many blacks are still clamouring for land and we will resettle them on the remaining farms." In fact many farms were given to members of the government and their cronies, and one minister has admitted that the new farmers have failed in their cultivation efforts.

Anytime now South Africa you can step in and act like the leading Sub-Sahara country that you are to stop this madness.

Five reasons MBA's not worth going after anymore?

Edumacation: I'm boned.

The difference between the value of a top-tier MBA and all the others is very big. In fact, if you don't get into a top-tier program, the value of your MBA is so compromised that it's not worth it to stop working in order to get the degree. Go to night school instead. A lot of people already know this, which has made the competition to get into a top-tier b-school fierce. So much so that you probably need a consultant to help you get in. Wondering how effective those consultants are at gaming the system? So effective that schools are publicly saying they're trying to change the application process in order to undermine the effectiveness of application coaches.

Only female rulers for Muslim kingdom in Nigeria.

Africa: Not that I don't find this interesting given the cultural dynamics, but anyone ever do a poison test or something on the male wannabe rulers. Just throwing that out there.

In six generations no man has ever spent more than a week as ruler of Kumbwada, a kingdom in Muslim northern Nigeria. All have died mysteriously just after ascending to the thone. The father of Hadiza Ahmed, the current female monarch, was no exception. "My father decided to see if he could break the spell but he failed. In his first week on the throne he became so sick that he had to abdicate and was rushed out of the village. He died three weeks later," recounted Hadiza. That was nine years ago and Hadiza, 55, has ruled this community of half a million people ever since, despite being part of a culture where leaders are normally men. According to Hadiza, the curse of Kumbwada kingdom started over two centuries ago when the warrior princess Magajiya Maimuna led her cavalry from Zaria, a town to the north and conquered the kingdom. "After the conquest Maimuna decided to leave her brother here as ruler but he fell sick and died within a week. The same thing happened with her second brother and in the end she decided to stay herself and she ruled for 83 years," Hadiza said, adjusting the white veil covering her head and shoulders. Despite the widely-held view in the conservative Muslim north that it is an abomination for a woman to lead traditional and religious institutions, Hadiza looks very much in charge of her domain. "I don't face any resistance from my subjects, they obey my commands as they obey their God because I'm a fair ruler who ensures justice in my kingdom," she said as the muezzin cried out an invitation to noon prayers.

Couple of blood tests that is all I am saying.

Ohio Democrat refuses to talk about her pet pork.

Politics: Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio and Sherman Williams paint have some explaining to do about a couple of million dollars.

Leftwing radicals riot in Switzerland over rightwing rally.

EU: This plays right into the rightist party's hand.

The Swiss capital of Berne was turned into a battle zone at the weekend when leftwing radicals seized control of the main square outside parliament, routing the main far-right political party two weeks before a general election and catching the Swiss police off guard. Dozens of protesters were arrested and around two dozen people injured, mostly police officers, as police deployed tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets to try to regain control from gangs of highly organised, masked people who turned the small and normally sleepy capital of Switzerland into a scene of devastation. The clashes on Saturday and the revulsion triggered among mainstream Swiss by the unusual street violence are likely to play into the hands of Christoph Blocher, the tough-talking populist and millionaire industrialist who leads the Swiss People's Party (SVP), the far-right movement tipped to win the elections later this month following a campaign denounced as overtly racist by a United Nations watchdog.

Gordon Brown accused of political cowardice

Politics: Brown decides not to call for an election this November and everyone is jumping on him. Views of Cameron rising in stature because of it. I am sure he will screw up this opportunity in a couple of weeks.

Gordon Brown will today begin rebuilding his reputation by admitting responsibility for a political blunder which has shattered Labour morale and left the Tories jubilant. His decision to duck an autumn election handed an unexpected coup to David Cameron and triggered a bitter blame-game at the heart of his own party. Deputy Leader Harriet Harman added to a sense of crisis by suggesting the episode could have caused long-term damage to Mr Brown.

Some Muslim medical students refusing to learn.

UK: This is the logical and predictable result of creating an atmosphere of political correctness. Now you have an imposition of religious belief beyond just refusing pills or alcohol. You have students who think they shouldn't learn important parts of medical lessons that are vital if you are to become a doctor. The UK has become a great place to see the results of the religion of multicult at work.

Some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases because they claim it offends their religious beliefs. Some trainee doctors say learning to treat the diseases conflicts with their faith, which states that Muslims should not drink alcohol and rejects sexual promiscuity. A small number of Muslim medical students have even refused to treat patients of the opposite sex. One male student was prepared to fail his final exams rather than carry out a basic examination of a female patient. The religious objections by students have been confirmed by the British Medical Association (BMA) and General Medical Council (GMC), which both stressed that they did not approve of such actions.

New York clerks group opposes Spitzer license program.

Immigration: Nice little rebellion brewing in of all places New York.

The state association of county clerks voted on Thursday to condemn Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s executive order allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, and at least a dozen said they would not follow the new policy despite state laws obligating them to do so.