The alleged conspiracy by six Muslim extremists to attack Fort Dix, N.J., was thwarted, as this article notes, not by tanks and combat but by a citizen tip and old-fashioned police work and intelligence. That’s been the case in almost every major anti-terrorist success since Sept. 11.
The Fort Dix case is a reminder of how irrelevant our war in Iraq is to preventing domestic and worldwide terrorist plots against the United States.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
"Supporters of unequal justice continue to push for assigning value to victims’ lives, as if some are worth more to society," columnist J.R. Labbe wrote on today’s Opinion pages about a House vote last week to expand hate-crime laws. Labbe asks: "Would my son be any less dead if he were shot during a robbery than your son, who was shot because he’s black, gay, Jewish or disabled?" It’s not a crime to hate; the crime is the action. "In a just society," Labbe wrote, "punishment is exacted for aberrant behavior, not for the idea that motivated it."
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Rudy Giuliani is going to stop muddying his stand on abortion, the New York Times reported. That’s probably smart. The GOP presidential candidate isn’t winning over many in the pro-life community by emphasizing his personal opposition to abortion and his preference for “strict constructionist” judges. Meanwhile, he is losing respect among those who valued Giuliani’s decisive, independent leadership but now see him as pandering to pro-lifers. But Giuliani’s move will be an interesting test of how well a pro-choice presidential candidate can do in the GOP primaries.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Oregon has joined about half a dozen other states in recognizing civil unions among gays — only it isn’t calling them civil unions. Oregon state lawmakers determined that “union” sounded too much like a marriage term for Oregon voters who have opposed gay marriages. Citizens were more comfortable with “domestic partnerships” — even though they grant the same legal rights as civil unions.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Some of you may remember my past post involving an eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina; I wouldn’t have done too well on it.
Recently, a reader pointed out the math portion of a high school diploma equivalency test from Scotland. The standards expected on this test put to shame our American public school standards, especially our GED test.
Want to see if you’re up to Scotland’s high school alumnus’ math level?
Posted by Ross Stewart
