PUBLIC MARKS from jasontromm with tag back

A federal judge turned back pro-abortion objections against the Choose Life license plates in Illinois saying motorists have the free speech rights to purchase them and place them on their automobiles. U.S. District Judge David Coar said protests from abortion advocates don't trump the First Amendment. Coar also said the state must issue the specialty license plates as long as the sponsors of it meet normal requirements on the design and number of motorists wanting one. Tom Brejcha, an attorney with the pro-life Thomas More Society law firm that represented the sponsor, hailed the ruling.

Two years ago, Muslim groups protested when the plot of the hit Fox drama '24' cast Islamic terrorists as the villains who launched a stolen nuclear missile in an attack on America. Being portrayed again as the heartless wrongdoers has drawn renewed protests from Muslim groups, including one that had a meeting with Fox executives two years ago over the issue. "24 is a heightened drama about anti-terrorism," the statement read. "After five seasons, the audience clearly understands this, and realizes that any individual, family, or group (ethnic or otherwise) that engages in violence is not meant to be typical. ()() I think CAIR knows this show hits a little too close to home. How many sleeper cells are actually in this country right now? Nobody knows because the ACLU won't let us monitor their phone calls.

Last week it occurred to me that Tigger does more parenting before 9 a.m. than some parents do their entire lives. Tigger? Yes, Tigger -- the happy-go-lucky tiger from the Winnie the Pooh cartoons and lovable costumed character that wanders Disney theme parks. But there's also a darker side to Tigger. You see, Tigger is a rogue thug who sucker punches innocent children. At least, that was the accusation made after a teen, who was posing for a picture with Tigger, yanked on the back of the costume, and Tigger reacted by swinging his left arm across his body, which brushed the kid in the face. This isn't just about the rope-a-dope incident at the Magic Kingdom. It's about a parent who's teaching a child the worst lesson of all: If anything bad happens, even if you precipitated it, lie, say it was unprovoked, and it isn't your fault and the other party should pay. This brand of parenting is raising a generation of sniveling, lying, bullying disrespectful brats simply because a parent or parents wanted to make a few bucks.

The debut of a video on the Internet this week is causing more headaches for potential Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor and recent pro-life convert was forced to defend his newfound beliefs after a 1994 video surfaced showing him defending legalized abortion. Responding to the video, Romney appeared on a radio talk show and said, "I was wrong on some issues back then." "If you want to know where I stand by the way, you don't just have to listen to my words, you can go to look at my record as governor," Romney said during an appearance on the "Glenn and Helen Show," a radio program.

In January Speaker-Elect Pelosi will remind Heath Shuler that while he could throw a somewhat average NFL pass back in the day, that on her team - she's the coordinator of offense and he'll only be throwing on her direction. One of my listeners described this situation perfectly this week calling the freshman class - the Crash Dummies. They will have no clout, no position, and will be in immediate and desperate need of support and organization.

State revenues will grow by more than $387 million during the next two years, and Gov. Mark Sanford thinks some of that money should go back to taxpayers. Sanford fought with legislators to have extra revenue returned to taxpayers last session, but mostly lost the battle. Instead, lawmakers chose to restore money slashed from state programs during recent lean budget years as well as spending for projects back in their districts.

I'm starting to think that if Jesus Himself came back to earth, there'd be no shortage of people around who would criticize his every move. I guess that's just the way we've become. When I managed to convince the hateful, horrible members of the Westboro Baptist Church to call off their planned "protests" outside the funerals of the little Amish girls in Pennsylvania, I didn't expect to get a ticker tape parade or anything. In fact, I wasn't looking to do anything at all except figure out how to use my radio show to thwart these people from hurting the Amish mourners any further.

The cringe factor is back in American politics. It suddenly doesn't seem all that long ago we were wincing over the significance of a stained blue dress; now, one finds oneself looking back on Mr. Clinton's proclivity for porcine young women with a certain nostalgia. Hummers, interns, cigars and ''I did not have sex with that woman'' suddenly seem almost respectable, even statesmanlike, compared with underage pages, Internet chats and ''do I make you a little horny?''

An American football team from the bible belt has been prevented from spreading the word of God during a game on Friday. The Birmingham Steeldogs, based in Alabama, had been planning to carry biblical texts on the back of their jerseys for their home game against Louisville Fire, a first in US sports history.

Is the national ID card the next step toward the imposition of the biblical "mark of the beast" Christians believe will be required to buy and sell during the Last Days? That's the contention of a growing group of believers who are working to turn back the approval of the Real ID Act by Congress last year. Public Law 109-13 requires the national ID portion of the plan go into effect by May 2008. ()() It's probably not "the mark," but it's a step toward it.

With the federal government having a perceived do-nothing attitude to stop the ongoing invasion of illegal aliens into the U.S., fed-up Americans are logging on to the Internet to fight their own battle. A number of websites have popped up in recent days to not only help authorities identify and locate the unlawful workers, but also expose the employers who provide them jobs and help consumers patronize businesses that hire only legal citizens.

A 14-year-old is being credited with fighting off her attacker. Brittney Richardson says she was grabbed by a man last Friday night on 93rd Avenue in Westminster, after walking home from the grocery store. But her attacker quickly learned that Brittney isn't your typical teenager. She has a brown belt in Karate, and she used the skills she's learned during two years of classes.