Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People:Reelection Rates of House Incumbents: 1790 - 1994

I'm confident that this report has crossed Orrin Hatch's desk since this is the group that reports to Congress. I'm sure this applies to the Senate as well. This statistical analysis from March, 1995 shows the historic trend; the incumbent almost always wins. Is this why Hatch has been so cool when faced with solid challenges from the left and right? The only exception to the rule has been that the death of the incumbent, almost always, results in his losing his seat.

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People:Reelection Rates of House Incumbents: 1790 - 1994

Salt Lake Tribune - Business:Washington has a firm grip on Utah's rural development, executive says

According to this article, 68 percent of land in Utah is managed by the Federal government. Senators in other States have shown no compunction about seizing more. Is the cause of protecting the environment used as an excuse by those outside our state to strip us of sovereignty and power? What percentage of other States lands are held by the Federal Government?

Salt Lake Tribune - Business:Washington has a firm grip on Utah's rural development, executive says

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People:Congressional Access to Executive Branch Information: Legislative Tools

CRS has released a report given to Congress educating them on tactics that can be used to extract information from the Administrative Branch. With John Roberts confirmation up in the air, and the Democrats demanding records from his time as Solicitor General, this report is a "how-to", on requesting/demanding his records be made available.

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People:Congressional Access to Executive Branch Information: Legislative Tools

Google Maps: Hybrid

Google Maps have made a new hybrid option available that mingles maps with photo views. It is very similar to the Transparencies hack that I talked about earlier.

PATRIOT: Table of Contents

In reviewing what I've covered on PATRIOT, it seems to be quite a lot when compared to other topics. So, I'm making this post into a 'Table of Contents' for all my posts on the topic of PATRIOT. This is my only resurfacing post. You'll see this whenever I post on the PATRIOT Act.

• Libraries and PATRIOT
• House votes to extend PATRIOT
• The Debates-Not a blog
• Extending the PATRIOT Act
• CDT: Open CRS
• Hatch: Second Letter
• ex-government pitch PATRIOT
• House votes to repeal part of PATRIOT
• Hearing on PATRIOT ends in angry uproar
• Google search on Diane Feinstein
• Andrew McCarthy on PATRIOT Act
• Bush to Congress: Renew PATRIOT Act
• Hatch's response
• CATO Daily dispatch
• Secret Senate meeting
• Letter to Hatch
• New PATRIOT Act obliges Bush
• Primary Purpose Paper
• Material Support Provision
• Congress to review PATRIOT
• Secret searches used 108 times
• Next Chapter in PATRIOT

The State of the Beehive:Urquhart Articles

Charley Foster has done a lot of footwork on the upcoming Senate Race. For those who are interested, as I am, in seeing Orrin Hatch unseated, Steve Urquhart says he's the one to do it.

The State of the Beehive

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People:Libraries and the USA PATRIOT Act

"The USA PATRIOT Act, P.L. 107-56, enacted to help track down and punish terrorists and to prevent further terrorism, contains no provisions specifically directed at libraries or their patrons. It has several provisions, however, that might apply in a library context."

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People

CNN.com - House votes to extend Patriot Act - Jul 21, 2005

The House approved the PATRIOT Act by 257-171 yesterday. The legislation would need to be revisited in ten years.

CNN.com - House votes to extend Patriot Act - Jul 21, 2005

John Roberts:How the Left may attack

In 2003 when John Roberts was in process to be confirmed to the D.C. Circuit Court, The Alliance for Justice came out in opposition to his appointment. Here is the introduction to the letter. The opposition ultimately proved to be ineffectual.

"Report of the Alliance for Justice:Opposition to the Confirmation of John G. Roberts to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Introduction

John G. Roberts, nominated by President Bush to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, has a record of hostility to the rights of women and minorities. He has also taken controversial positions in favor of weakening the separation of church and state and limiting the role of federal courts in protecting the environment. The Alliance for Justice opposes his nomination to the D.C. Circuit. Although Mr. Roberts is indisputably a very capable lawyer, that alone does not qualify him for such a prestigious and critical post. As a group of over 300 law professors stated in a 2001 letter to the Senate, a lifetime appointment to the federal bench is a privilege that comes with great responsibility and requires much more. Every nominee bears the burden of showing that he or she respects and pledges to protect the progress made in the areas of civil rights and liberties, the environment, and Congress'’ constitutional role in protecting the health and safety of all Americans. Mr. Roberts' record, particularly his record as a political appointee, argues strongly that he would not do so. While working under Presidents Reagan and Bush, Mr. Roberts supported a hard-line, anti-civil rights policy that opposed affirmative action, would have made it nearly impossible for minorities to prove a violation of the Voting Rights Act and would have resegregated” America's public schools. He also took strongly anti-choice positions in two Supreme Court cases, one that severely restricted the ability of poor women to gain information about abortion services, and another that took away a key means for women and clinics to combat anti-abortion zealots. Finally, Mr. Roberts is being considered for lifetime tenure on a court that is only one step below the U.S. Supreme Court and is acknowledged to be the second most important court in the country. His nomination must be considered in light of the special significance of that court. Moreover, Judiciary Committee Chairman Hatch'’s insistence on scheduling three controversial Circuit Court nominees, including Mr. Roberts, for confirmation hearings on a single day ensured that senators had no meaningful opportunity to question Mr. Roberts about his views on a number of critical issues. The Alliance for Justice urges the Senate to reject his confirmation..."

Here is the Google Cached version in it's entirety.

Google Moon - Lunar Landing Sites

Why do I love google? Because they send me to the moon!

Google Moon - Lunar Landing Sites

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People:Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment

Ever wonder what are considered the exceptions to the First Amendment? Take particular note of the 'time, place, and manner' restrictions. Also, the government can tie conditions to federal funds. Therefore, a university that does not allow the military to recruit on campus would forfeit their monies.

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People:Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment(PDF)

- The Debates:Not a blog

Apparently, the "sourceblog" for the PATRIOT Debate is not a blog after all. I will, therefore, move it over to my links section. It is still a good resource, however infrequently it may be updated.
- The Debates: Not a blog

Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com

Sharp has announced that it is developing a new technology allowing for a dual-view LCD screen. Depending upon the angle at which the screen is viewed the display would be different. My wife could watch her Soap Opera's, sitting on one end of the couch, and I could secretly watch her Soap Opera on the other end (I'm kidding). Yet another way to promote family togetherness without the added burden of family communication. :)

Seriously, there are useful applications to this technology. In car navigation could display on one side and a movie on the other. ATM's, Cell phones, and PDA's could be equipped with these screens.

"The panel could be used to display two different advertisements on one screen at the same time. Placed next to an escalator, for example, passersby would see one advertisement on the way up and another on the way down."


Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com

Extending the PATRIOT Act

Sensenbrenner just introduced a new bill that would make all 16 provisions of PATRIOT permanent and not expand the subpoena power. It should be on the House floor next week.

The Debates

HR3199(PDF)

Debunking 8 Anti-War Myths About The Conflict In Iraq - Right Wing News (Conservative News and Views)

Here are eight myths about Iraq that are busted by John Hawkins . Follow the link for a full explanation. Busted:

1) George Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
2) A study released in March of 2003 by a British medical journal, the Lancet, showed that 100,000 civilians had been killed as a result of the US invasion.
3) The Bush Administration claimed Iraq was responsible for 9/11.
4) The war in Iraq was actually planned by people like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz back in 1998 at a think tank called the Project for the New American Century.
5) The war on terror has nothing to do with Iraq.
6) Saddam Hussein had no ties to terrorism.
7) Saddam Hussein had no ties to Al-Qaeda.
8) The Downing Street Memo proves Bush lied to the American people about the war.

Debunking 8 Anti-War Myths About The Conflict In Iraq - Right Wing News (Conservative News
and Views)

Google Maps Mania

An unofficial Google Maps blog tracking the websites, ideas and tools being influenced by Google Maps.

Google Maps Mania

A Dictionary of Scientific Quotations

A Dictionary of Scientific Quotations

Frobba.com thr33:Track Hurricane on Google Maps

Now Google Maps is being used to pinpoint the location of hurricane Dennis.

Frobba.com thr33

Wired News: GPS Monopoly: Collect Over $200

Here is the game currently being played in London. Users can 'buy' real properties located in London. The cost of rent on these properties is determined by how often 18 cabs, equiped with GPS devices, frequent that area. One player, taking into account the Wimbledon tennis tournament, has purchase property at that location. Sounds like fun.

Wired News: GPS Monopoly: Collect Over $200

Hudson Institute :Their Will Be Done

Robert Bork, the one-time Supreme Court nominee, has written a thought-provoking piece on the drift away from the Constitution that has been orchestrated by the Courts and those who influence them.

"Once the justices depart, as most of them have, from the original understanding of the principles of the Constitution, they lack any guidance other than their own attempts at moral philosophy, a task for which they have not even minimal skills. Yet when it rules in the name of the Constitution, whether it rules truly or not, the Court is the most powerful branch of government in domestic policy. The combination of absolute power, disdain for the historic Constitution, and philosophical incompetence is lethal."

He says that a minimum of three nominations will be required in order to restore the courts integrity.

Hudson Institute: Their Will Be Done

Near friction free lube discovered

From time to time I come across stories that sound so 'adult' that I hesitate to post them. I fear who may venture upon this post, but it begs to be told, nonetheless. Japanese scientists have created a lubricant that allows for almost zero friction. Nuff said-now the link.

Near friction free lube discovered

Google Maps Transparencies/Google Pedometer

Overlay Google maps with a satellite image of the area or vice-versa.

Google Maps Transparencies

Plot your walks/marathons.

Gmaps Pedometer

PREVIEW: The Bork Precedent

It is clear those who would filibuster a nominee would make themselves unpopular-perhaps enough for the nominee to go through. In the case of John Bolton, though, a filibuster has not been used. The threat of a filibuster, in his case, has led us down an entirely different path of delay and appeasement. Another tactic that has also succeeded in preventing Boltons confirmation has been the endless requests for more information. The Whitehouse has refused to give in to most of these requests and so we wait. When a nomination for the Supreme Court happens the Whitehouse had better be ready for a similar tactics to be employed. What countermeasures will they use?

PREVIEW: The Bork Precedent