Photos relating to the discovery of King Herod's tomb can be found at National Geographic.

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AUSTIN – Relief from soaring summer gas prices may soon be on the way.

The Texas House tentatively adopted a measure Tuesday that would suspend the state's 20-cent gas tax through the summer months.

That would mean an immediate 20-cent drop in the price per gallon.

Right - until the oil companies jack up the price by 20 cents so that no one notices the difference. The tax itself may be a bad idea, but removing it now won't save the average Joe a penny in the long run.

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Governor Rick Perry signed an executive order in February requiring the immunization of 6th grade girls against an STD which could lead to cancer. One imagines he was concerned about saving young women's lives. Now that the state legislature has passed a bill to override his order, he won't veto it since the veto will be overriden anyway.

I guess it's OK for people to die then - that, or he never believed in it in the first place. At least take a stand, Governor.

(I admittedly got the idea for this post from a local talk radio show).

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Cate Blanchett looking creepily thin.

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Saw this bumper sticker on a car the other day. Have to admit it's funny.


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Missed this story about a month ago - Large, drunken man falls on woman at Shea Stadium, breaking her back. Woman is a lawyer, sues everyone who ever wore a Mets hat. No one has seen the drunken jerk who actually caused the problem since, everyone else is screwed. REVENGE! REVENGE!

Gothamist covered it back then, including a picture of the victim, enjoying the game before the incident.

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An archaeologist who has spent 35 years looking for Herod's tomb has found it, according to Hebrew University which was planning a press conference tomorrow before the story broke in Ha'aretz.

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Beth Sholom, a soaring glass-and-concrete temple just outside Philadelphia designed by U.S. architect Frank Lloyd Wright, has been designated a National Historic Site.

The Democratic Governer of Kansas, Kathleen Sibelius, worries about the toll that Iraq has taken on the Kansas National Guard's ability to respond to the recent disaster in Greensburg. "About 50 percent of our trucks are gone...and we can't borrow them from other states because their equipment is gone".

There are some at Little Green Footballs who were quick to jump on the Governor's words as being affected by Bush Derangement Syndrome. The fact is that she didn't say Bush caused the tornado, just that the response would be slower, which is actually quite logical. We conservatives have to suck it up and admit that a decent chunk of our National Guard is serving in Iraq, Kosovo, on the Mexican border etc., and their bodies and equipment are not replaced in-state on a one-to-one basis.

That being said, here's some interesting information released today, several days after the tornado, from the Department of Defense.

Currently, the Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available, 60 percent of its Army Guard dual-use equipment on hand, and more than 85 percent of its Air Guard equipment on hand, said Randal Noller, public affairs officer for the National Guard Bureau. Under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during governor or federally declared emergencies, Kansas has more than 400,000 Guardsmen available to it, he pointed out. However, Kansas has not yet requested assistance from other states.

The Bush administration's argument that there's plenty enough from other states to move around in cases of emergency is no doubt true. Let's face it - Greensburg isn't New Orleans, nor is it an area the size of England which was the actually size of the zone afffected by Katrina. It should not be unmanageable.

Well, at least they can't say there's any lack of help because Bush hates white people.

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The New York Times brings us the plight of a former Palestinian "militant" and wants us to feel sorry for what his poor descisions have done to his family. Unfortunately for them, the aren't refugees under Israeli authority, where at least they'd have some rights. They are currently non-persons in Lebanon.

Of course if Israel would just let every Palestinian return (including the militants of course) everything would be solved, so it's really their fault anyway.
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Apparently, 3-D printing has been a reality for some time, and in a few years may become a consumer technology. No mention of porn though, which is the motherf***er of all invention.

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The Earthquake That Rocked Yellowstone - August 17, 1959

I was thinking of writing something along these lines, but the guys at Powerline beat me to it.

The U.S. has now seen the leadership of both France and Germany pass to figures who believe, as a general matter, that American power is a force for good in the world, and not something that needs persistently to be constrained. Let's hope that in 2009 the U.S. still has a leader who concurs.

Granted, I'm sure it was economic malaise more than American policy that turned the tide, but I'll take the support however it comes.

Meanwhile at home, the ecomomy is humming along pretty peacefully, yet President Bush has Jimmy Carter level ratings. There is very little chance that this decade will be written as anything other than one of steady growth, historically low interest rates, low inflation and low unemployment (with a blip around 9/11). It just goes to show how Bush's Iraq policy is the be all and end all of his legacy. This decade may be remembered as one where the people and the press followed Bush's lead for a time and then revolted, but Bush will never be accused of pandering to polls as did his predecessor, the "Pander Bear".

I'm a big Shmuley fan. "Spread Jewish Radiance" talks about the success of his Shalom in the Home series in getting non-Jews more interested in the Jewish faith.

Whether or not non-Jews decide to actively embrace the faith is entirely up to them. Even if they do not, they can still extract elements of the religion which they find healing and uplifting.

That is a great attitude to have. How much easier would all Jews' lives be if there was just a little more understanding of all those things that the observant among us do that seem so non-sensical to others, but in fact are due to thousands of years of study and debate.

I wonder how many Jews there are like myself who would love to be more observant but are afraid of the reaction that otheres might have. I can pretend to be a confident extrovert when the need arises, but if I forget to take off my yarmulke after services and I waltz into the local Kroger, I need another trip to the therapist.

I would fly to Toronto just to see this. The Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour. I hope one of their performances comes out on video.

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Newsweek has a long excerpt about President Truman and his friend Eddie Jacobson's role in the founding of the State of Israel. I was familiar with the story in general, but the details are fascinating. The excerpt comes from the book, "Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789-1989". It's very interesting trying to sort out Truman's love/hate relationship with Jews and Zionists.

Wow.

Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure.

No wonder he didn't jump up with surprise at that Florida elementary school!

That means in essence that a solid majority of Democrats can't say with certainty that the President of the United States did nothing to prevent an attack that was designed to kill tens of thousands of Americans, cripple the military and destroy the U.S. Capitol. Do you think he told Giuliani too?

Whether they're right or not, I don't think I want to live in their cynical world. I'm thinking of building a "separation wall" around my nice Republican town.

An aerial video of the terrible damage done by the tornado that destroyed Greensburg Kansas can be seen here. Day after reporting here. It is being reported that the tornado was at least a mile wide. The videos really do look like the old photos you've seen of Hiroshima after an atomic bomb blast. It's a miracle that fewer than a dozen people have been reported killed. The town of 1,500 suffered "100 percent damage" in the words of the city administrator.

If people want to help with recovery, the Red Cross is encouraging donations, or volunteers can check in at 114 N Main Street in Pratt. They will likely be assigned to the shelter areas. To donate, call 800-REDCROSS.

The Salvation Army will also have pastors on hand to provide spiritual comfort. Anyone wishing to donate to The Salvation Army's emergency disaster relief efforts may do so by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

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In related news, a man has reconstructed Noah's Ark in the Netherlands.

Needless to say polls taken on blogs are incredibly unscientific. However, I found it intriguing that after almost 6,000 votes (as of 10:19AM ET) readers of Little Green Footballs are almost equally divided regarding Rudy Giuliani's declared position on abortion. I voted in favor.

Paris Hilton sentenced to 45 days in jail.



Does this mean she can't ever be President now? Oh, the humanity! Her mom is upset of course...at the judge. What can Paris expect behind bars?

You know I just have to write it because I think it's one of the great word inventions of the 21st century.....what a celebutard.

Interesting......

Treasury Dept policy states that "while pennies are legal tender as payment for a contractual debt or payment to a government organization, private merchants are free to determine whatever legal tender they do and do not want to accept."

Hat tip to Gothamist which posts about the brou-ha-ha about a Chinese restaurant in NY which reportedly refused to accept pennies (and not as payment for the whole bill - just as part of the change).

Plan for Arabic School in Brooklyn Spurs Protests

The Khalil Gibran International Academy was conceived as a public embrace of New York City’s growing Arab population and of internationalism, the first public school dedicated to the study of the Arabic language and culture and open to students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

But nearly three months after plans for the middle school were first announced, a beleaguered Department of Education is fending off attacks from two angry camps: parents from Public School 282, the elementary school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that was assigned to share building space with the Khalil Gibran school, and a handful of columnists who have called the proposed academy a madrassa, which teaches the Koran.

Daniel Pipes, the famous (or infamous) anti-Islamist has multiple concerns. Normally, I tend to agree with him on various issues, but here he seems a little paranoid, especially given that the proposed school is seeking to be part of the NYC education system, not apart from it. I would be much more concerned with real-life madrassas that might be open privately.

I found this post 9/11 article written by the proposed principal, Yemini-American Debbie Almontaser. I can't believe that this woman would run anything but a school that was for the benefit of every American.

By the way, Khalil Gibran was a Lebanese Christian poet who came to America at the age of 12 over a hundred years ago.

A sample of his writings can be found here.

THE WISE DOG

One day there passed by a company of cats a wise dog.

And as he came near and saw that they were very intent and heeded him not, he stopped.

Then there arose in the midst of the company a large, grave cat and looked upon them and said, “Brethren, pray ye; and when ye have prayed again and yet again, nothing doubting, verily then it shall rain mice.”

And when the dog heard this he laughed in his heart and turned from them saying, “O blind and foolish cats, has it not been written and have I not known and my fathers before me, that that which raineth for prayer and faith and supplication is not mice but bones.”

Three of the Republican candidates for President apparently do not believe in evolution. Most of the country does not believe in Republicans - so there you go.

Each of the last three weeks, we've had some pretty powerful storms move through the Dallas area. The latest was Wednesday evening at about 7PM. This video was taken from someone's home in Arlington. Although I live a good 30 miles away, the worst of what you see is exactly how we experienced the storm for a solid 15-20 minutes. It was like a hurricane.

This picture was taken by a Dallas Morning News reader within walking distance of our house. Luckily we just had a small branch come off one of our trees. My parents had a few tiles blown off their roof on the other side of town.

For a great insight into the Jewish community in Buenos Aires, check out Nathan Englander's "cover" story over at Nextbook - "This Country of Mothers". A related podcast can be found here. Englander is the author of "The Ministry of Special Cases" which deals with both Argentina's Dirty War and the dark legacy of Jewish whores and pimps who plied their trade as newly arrived immigrants a generation earlier.

Another book that is receiving quite a bit of attention is "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon - a "what if" story about a post-World War II enclave created in Alaska for two million displaced Jews.

Best response to a debate moderator's question ever....

Williams: Senator Biden, words have, in the past, gotten you in trouble, words that were borrowed and words that some found hateful.

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times said, "In addition to his uncontrolled verbosity, Biden is a gaff machine."

Can you reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage, Senator?

Biden: Yes.