Florida eyes allowing residents to open fire whenever they see threat

MIAMI (AFP) - Florida's legislature has approved a bill that would give residents the right to open fire against anyone they perceive as a threat in public, instead of having to try to avoid a conflict as under prevailing law...read on

So much for the culture of life. Of course the bill was supported by the NRA. They have more guns to sell. Do you think Jeb Bush is a fan of Deadwood?

via America Blog: From AP via Raw Story:

A one-page unsigned memo that became part of the debate preceding Congress' vote ordering a federal court review of the Terri Schiavo case originated in Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez' office, Martinez said Wednesday. Martinez told the AP's Matt Yancey and other news organizations in a written statement "he discovered Wednesday that the memo had been written by an aide in his office."

All that work Powerline did on that memo.: Answer Yes. I mean when you have this as a defense: "All 55 Republican senators say they have never seen the Terri Schiavo political talking-points memo that Democrats say was circulated among Republicans during the floor debate over whether the federal government should intervene to prolong her life. " Who wouldn't doubt the memo as a fake? I'm sure Hindrocket willl blame Daily Kos and Atrios for being evil and somehow infecting his brain. Hugh Hewitt will write another book about "Blogging, Honesty, and the RIGHT." Michelle Malkin will deny that Martinez ever admitted anything. "Let's look at the source," she'll say. It's the AP.

(Update): John has all the Wingnuts and their quotes about the GOP Talking points memo.

ABC has put up the transcript. Some of the more interesting quotes:

Powerbozos

via Digby: You know, I'm a big fan of blogging. I dabble in it myself. But, this absurd notion on the part of some bloggers that they are taking down the big time media brick by brick is just absurd. And by "some bloggers" I'm referring to those schmucks over at Jesus, has there ever been a bigger bunch of vainglorious nobodies in the history of the world? Apparently they have never heard of a telephoto lens. For all the technical reason why these guys are morons, click here to Dead Parrot's Society's embarrassing debunking. read on

The thing to remember about the Powerline boyz is that they aren't just some louts who started a blog and say a bunch of dumb stuff. These guys are Claremont Fellows who have been writing for National Review and Weakly Standard for years. They are among those guys who David Brooks was patting on the back yesterday for their deep philosophical understanding of the underpinnings of our democracy.

Digby again takes the thoughtless to task.

via ctx3

ABCnews reports that physicians all over America are being awarded the distinction of "Physician of the Year". Seems strange that so many people can get such an award in any given year. There is one stipulation that you make a $1,250 contribution to the National Republican Congressional Committee. The reward is the opportunity to travel to Washington for the scheduled events March 14-15, which included a tax-reform workshop as well as appearances by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and President Bush.

Seems like an ethical no-no, but Delay is involved so it must be legit. But it gets more suspicious, "The Republicans, under the direction of DeLay, came up with the idea for the awards five years ago as a means of helping to raise funds for the congressional campaign efforts for their party. ... In fact, signs reading "A Celebration of the House Republican Majority" and "Moving America's Agenda" decorated the hotel ballroom where last month's events were held."

This last statement sums it up, "A Republican spokesman said there were thousands of doctors around the country content with their Physicians of the Year awards, and that there was nothing about the program to apologize for."

That's right and if I see one of these awards in physician's waiting room I will promtly use my free will and leave. Perhaps to find one of the other Physicians of the Year.

I've done my own review of the AP pictures that were taken: These are my first impressions. I'm no critic. Please take a look for yourself:

1)-shows the brutality of the insurgents for killing civilians. 2)-shows the care and bravery of our troops in trying to save a fallen brother.3)-shows the deep commitment and respect our soldiers have for each other. 4)-shows the innocent that are taken in war. 5)-a mother loses her son to a suicide bomber. Heartbreaking. 6)-interesting still of a dove on an insurgents shoulder. Oddity of war 7)-great shot of a soldier using ingenuity in the line of fire. 8)-An Iraqi woman's desperation as she awaits the release of a family member. Powerful. 9)-Iraqi's rescue a man after another car bombing. Horror's of war. 10)-Iraqi men mourn the loss of life from another car bombing. Pain and suffering is captured in vivd colors. 11)-US Marines pray for a fallen brother. A powerful shot that shows the bond these men have. 12)-Soldier with good luck mascot in his backpack. Shows the human side of our troops. 13)-Intense faces of Iraqi children. The eyes lead to the soul. 14)-US soldiers taking cover. Depicts how hard our boys are fighting. 15)-Insurgents fire mortar shells. Black ski masks hide their faces. Determined foe, but must remain hidden. 16)-Soldier arrests insurgent. Shows strength and determination. 17)-Caged prisoner/A look at Abu Ghraib from the outside amidst sand and desolation. 18)-bomb blasts- Intense picture of destruction and self preservation. 19)-Crazed insurgent standing on a Humvee-incredible shot/ shows visciousness of insurgents. 20)-Execution of Iraqi election worker. Savage.

All in all these are incredible pictures. The right wing bloggers wants to control the pictures that are shown. They see bias in everything. I wonder when the guys at Powerline by an ice cream cone, are they thinking "How can I make this into a liberal cone?" These pictures do not put a happy face on the insurgents, but rather show how brutal they are towards their own people. They also portray the realities of war. The picture of our troops praying is extraordinary. The wingnuts don't understand the role of a free press. Their role is to question everything. They seem to believe in a politburo style press. The AP isn't an extension of our military.

via Eschaton and Attywood

The AP's crime? In so many words, they are guilty of showing the conflict in Iraq the way that it is, and not the way that the conservative blogosphere wishes that it were. The right wants those pictures of rose pedals and liberation parades that Dick Cheney promised them three years ago, and now they're mad they didn't get them.

Slate.com has a good round-up (third item -- scroll down) of the conservative complainers. The usual suspects include our favorite Daily News op-ed contributor, Michelle Malkin, and the good people at Powerline, which calls it "The Pulitzer Prize for Felony Murder."...read on

THE NEW CONGRESSIONAL ASSAULT ON THE RIGHT TO DIE

via Direland

...This bill -- H.R. 1151, the so-called “Incapacitated Person’s Legal Protection Act”-- requires federal courts to intervene at the request of any family member or loved one if a state court “authorizes or directs” the withholding of food or life support when there is an alleged dispute over the patient’s wishes. (Florida Christian primitive Mel Martinez, Bush’s former Housing Secretary, has introduced the same bill in the Senate).

If this bill becomes law, the federal courts would be clogged with thousands of Schiavo cases, in which parents or relatives who are religious extremists could obstruct an individual’s wish to die without suffering, through litigation that could drag on for years....read on

A frail and somber Peter Jennings talked candidly about his heal problem with grace and dignity.

Video-WMP-seems to be downloading slowly. QT is working faster

Video-QT

Our thoughts are with you. All the fools that criticized him for not going to Italy should take a look at a man with character.

via The Carpetbagger Report

A day after suggesting judges who are the victim of violence may have somehow brought their fate upon themselves, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) followed up yesterday with remarks that were intended to clarify his meaning. It wasn’t particularly helpful.

“My point was, and is, simply this: We should all be concerned that the judiciary is losing respect that it needs to serve the interests of the American people well. We should all want judges who interpret the law fairly — not impose their own personal views on the Nation. We should all want to fix our broken judicial confirmation process. And we should all be disturbed by overheated rhetoric about the judiciary from both sides of the aisle. I regret that my remarks have been taken out of context to create a wrong impression about my position, and possibly be construed to contribute to the problem rather than to a solution.

“Our judiciary must not be politicized. Rhetoric about the judiciary and about judicial nominees must be toned down. Our broken judicial confirmation process must be fixed once and for all.”

There’s a lot of nonsense here, but the bottom line is that Cornyn hasn’t apologized for offering a rationalization for anti-judge violence. Instead, he’s standing by his controversial remarks and accusing his critics of taking his remarks out of context....read on

Of course as we predicted that the usual "taken out of context" statement would be made. I shouldn't call it a prediction really. What else was he going to say. Oh...there's this " “judicial confirmation process must be fixed once and for all.” Something is rotten in la-la land when Dick Cheney responds "There's a reason why judges get lifetime appointments." Of course nothing from the major right wing bloggers. They are too busy worrying about those damn pulitzer prize winning AP photographs to care about judges.

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