Imperial Awards 2006

Here is my yearly roundup of who and what was notable in 2006:

Person of the year:
Neil Entwistle - Nothing particularly remarkable occurred in politics, war, or any other field, so the title of person of the year goes to the defendant in one of the most interesting criminal cases in recent history

Worst people of the year:
Merck - they created Gardasil

Politicians of the year:
Tom Tancredo - said (accurately) that Miami is like a third-world country
James Inhofe - wants English to be our official language

Criminals of the year: Neil Entwistle and Justin Barber

Movies of the year:
Night at the Museum
High School Musical

R.I.P Ford

No bail for Neil

Unsurprisingly, Judge Peter Lauriat has denied Neil Entwistle's request to return to his parents' house in England. He will remain in the Cambridge jail where he currently resides until his trial is over. The next hearing in the case will be in January; I'm not even sure if Neil will attend. I will update as soon as I know!

Neil's latest hearing

And now, here is the most important story of the day: there is big, by now somewhat old news, in the Neil Entwistle case. At a hearing today, Judge Peter Lauriat granted a motion by the defense to postpone the trial from April 23rd to October 1st. Also, the judge agreed to consider Entwistle's request for bail. Most amazinglyof all, Neil spoke for the first time in an American courtroom. All he said was "Not at all," when asked by the judge whether he minded the change in date.

I'm not sure when Neil will next appear in court, but the judge should announce his decision on the bail request sometime soon. Stay tuned till then!

P.S. Check out CBS; they have a good article plus some great videos of the hearing!

P.P.S. Joe Dwinell's blog also has some fascinating details. Take a look at it here: http://blogs.townonline.com/yourTownTonight/

From tragedy to comedy

The rape case against three Duke lacrosse players grows more ridiculous by the day. Not only has DNA from several other men, but no one from the lacross team, been found in the accuser's body and underpants, but the accuser is also nine months pregnant! The "rape" occurred about nine months ago. However, a pregnancy test on the night of the "rape" demonstrated that the stripper was not pregnant. Hmmm. My question is, what kind of person gets raped and shortly afterward decides to have consensual sex? My answer: certainly a very bad one! Or maybe a bad one who didn't even get raped at all.

What's with the Bushes?

Is it just me, or is the Bush family turning into a bunch of liberals? I learned recently that both George W. and Jeb Bush, while serving as governors of Texas and Florida, respectively, have signed bills guaranteeing women the right to breastfeed their babies in public, something I completely oppose.

Now President Bush is saying he's "happy" about Mary Cheney's pregnancy with her lesbian partner, and Jeb is bashing Congressman Tom Tancredo for his brave comments, of which any conservative should be proud. Last month, Tancredo compared Miami to a "third world country" because it is filled with non-English speaking non-whites who refuse to look, speak, act, and think like true Americans. All I can say is that Tancredo is right on! Yet Jeb called him a "nut." What a complete loser! Shame on you, Governor Bush.

Rep. Tancredo, however, seems like a patriotic, intelligent man. Therefore, he is my pick for Person of the Week! Visit his site at http://tancredo.house.gov.

Executions halted

After the botched execution of convicted killer Angel Diaz, governor Jeb Bush of Florida has enacted a moratorium on all executions. It took 34 minutes for Diaz to die, most likely because medical technicians stuck the needle through his vein and into other tissue. During the execution, he appeared to be gasping for breath and even saying a prayer.

Unrelatedly, a federal judge has ruled that lethal injections in California are unconstitutional as well. There has been a moratorium on executions there since February, but I bet California lawmakers will slightly alter the three-injection system currently in use and resume executions some time in the slightly near future. Until then, the 650 or so California death row inmates can breathe a small sigh of relief.

For more, see CNN.

Neil asks for bail

Neil Entwistle wants to go home for the holidays! In a motion dated Nov. 5, his lawyers have asked that he be released on bail so that he can stay with his parents in England until his trial begins in April. This is an unusual request for an accused double murderer, and I doubt it will be granted, but it's worth a try. Neil's lawyer Stephanie Page explained that her client is not a flight risk:

“He never fled. He went home to his parents. Everyone knew where he was. He maintained contact with law enforcement on a daily basis.”

Neil's parents have offered to put their home up as collateral, and his lawyers have suggested that he wear a tracking device if his request is granted. Naturally, his wife's family opposes the motion. For the full story, see the Herald.

The top 100 Americans

The Atlantic Monthly has come up with its list of the 100 most influential Americans, compiled by 10 historians. Some of their selections are just, but most are way off base. Margaret Sanger? Elvis Presley? Jonas Salk? Jackie Robinson? I don't think any of these people were particularly influential. Some on the list, such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Louis Sullivan, James Gordon Bennett, Walter Lippmann, George Eastman, and Stephen Foster, I had never even heard of before I saw the list. Overall the list includes far too many singers, songwriters, authors, architects, inventors, and businessmen, and too few politicians and military leaders. In addition to those already mentioned, John Dewey, Horace Mann, William Faulkner, Samuel Gompers, P.T. Barnum, James Watson, William James, Sam Walton, Cyrus McCormick, Margaret Mead, William Hearst, George Gallup, Benjamin Spock, John Steinbeck, Sam Goldwyn, Booker T. Washington, and Louis Armstrong need to go.

I also think Martin Luther King, Earl Warren, John Marshall, FDR, Alexander Graham Bell, Dwight Eisenhower, and Woodrow Wilson are too high on the list, and Robert E. Lee is way too low. Andrew Jackson is a little too low too. Rockefeller, Carngeie, Morgan, Ford, Bill Gates, and Sam Walton don't all need to be on the list, and none should be in the top 50.

Who should be on the list that isn't? Well, there are only 17 presidents for starters, and there should probably be about 40 on there, putting aside uninfluential ones like Grover Cleveland. James Monroe, JFK, George W. Bush, and James Buchanan (the only bachelor president) are particularly egregious omissions. I also think Timothy McVeigh should be on the list. Being the most murderous American is an important (although not necessarily good!) distinction. Maybe even Scott Peterson should; he's probably the second most famous American murderer. Condi Rice should definitely be on the list, and so should William T. Sherman, Jefferson Davis, and George Patton. If there needs to be an entertainer, it should be Shirley Temple. Also, it's weird that Eleanor Roosevelt is the only first lady on the list. Martha Washington, Mary Lincoln, and Jackie Kennedy are just as important.

The full list of the Atlantic's choices is here.

Benedict kicks butt!

In my opinion, anyone who is protesting Pope Benedict's visit to Turkey ought to knock it off. Numerous people in the mostly Islamic country are calling the pope an enemy of Islam, and maybe he has a reason to be. After all, Muhammad did condemn celibacy, while Jesus was celibate himself, as is Benedict and all of his predecessors. I think Benedict should go to Turkey and kick some Turkish butt!

No thanks for Gardasil

Argh! I saw an advertisement for Gardasil for the first time today! The TV ad, which aired on CBS, featured young women vowing that the HPV vaccine would make them "one less." One less what? One less innocent virgin? Apparently, because no one who intends to remain a virgin would have any reason to receive Gardasil. Another Gardasil ad will appear in TV Guide, if I am not mistaken. Bad job, CBS and TV Guide; you are aiding the sexual supremacist culture in its attempt to eradicate innocence and celibacy from America!

Have a great Thanksgiving, fellow Americans. I hope you have many things to celebrate this Thanksgiving, but Gardasil sure isn't one of them!

Longo's death sentence upheld

The Oregon Superme Court has upheld the death sentence of Christian Longo, a man convicted of killing his wife and three children. Longo fled to Mexico in December 2001 after killing his wife, MaryJane, and three children, ages 2, 3, and 4, and dumping the bodies in two different bays. His defense lawyer argued that he should be spared from death because Mexico usually does not extradite criminals if there is any chance that they'll receive the death penalty. However, Longo agreed voluntarily to return to the U.S., waiving his right to extradition proceedings. Read the full story at Court TV.

Farewell, Rummy

Of comparable importance to today's developments in the Entwistle case, most Americans know by now that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has resigned. I wish him well - I think he has done a great job and am sorry to see him go, as he was one of the few remaining members of President Bush's original inner circle. I am aware, however, that most Democrats and even some Republicans disagree with me.

Naturally, I am somewhat disappointed with yesterday's election results, but I still hold out hope that the Democrats won't take control of the Senate. Good luck, Senator Allen; the way the Virginia race seems to be going tells me you're going to need it!

Edit: Alas, the Senate has fallen! :(

Entwistle must take DNA test

Accused murderer Neil Entwistle must submit to a DNA test, ruled judge Peter Lauriat. Within 30 days, authorities will take a DNA sample by swabbing the inside of Entwistle's mouth. Also, Judge Lauriat denied defense lawyer Elliot Weinstein's motion to dismiss the charges against Entwistle. Read the full story at the Herald.

Watch for Neil's next court appearance on December 15.

Election results

As voting draws to a close, it seems the Democrats have gained ground :( They seem to have picked up three seats in the Senate. However, there is a bit of good news: it looks like independent Joe Lieberman has defeated democrat Ned Lamont!

Edit: Terrible news in Pennsylvania: the Democratic challenger has defeated wonderfully right-wing Republican Rick Santorum.

Also, at a rally for Deval Patrick (predictably the governor-elect of Massachusetts), John Kerry has just made a speech in which he comments that Ted Kennedy (who was predictably re-elected), is the greatest senator in the history of the U.S. Senate! Can anyone say hyperbole? So much for Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Stephen Douglas, Jack Kennedy, and the numerous other great senators from history. I guess Kerry has even more of a knack for saying bizarre things than I realized.

Another edit: It looks like the Democrats have taken control of the House :(

For the latest election news, go to http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/.

Saddam sentenced to death

Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death by hanging! Go to CNN for the full story.

Bush bashes gay marriage

Today in a speech in Georgia, President Bush spoke out strongly against gay marriage. The crowd, both children and adults alike, rose to their feet and cheered for 30 seconds! Bush's great remarks come as a pleasant surprise, as gay marriage (an issue I consider extremely important) has been largely ignored in the 2006 election year.

And now Michigan too!

Michigan wants to make the cervical cancer vaccine mandatory too! Look here for proof. I'm not sure of the details, but it seems like Michigan introduced this horrific bill before Massachusetts did, as the web page is dated Sept. 13, 2006. Be sure to vote "NO" in the poll at the link above.

Edit: I just found another article confirming the story. A bipartisan group of female legislators, led by Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom, endorses the bill. Yes, you read that correctly - the word "bipartisan" implies that some Republicans actually support this affront on the Bill of Rights. I am appalled at their trechery, and at the fact that so many women's groups, including NOW, support such an insult to women's dignity and independence. They ought to be ashamed of themselves! Hammerstrom, you are truly un-American.

MA senate files cervical cancer bill

According to CBS4 Boston, the Massachusetts State Senate has filed a bill making it mandatory for girls to receive a cervical cancer vaccine before they can attend sixth grade! To be fair, I must mention that the bill includes an exception for those who object to the vaccine for religious reasons. Nevertheless, the mere availability of such a vaccins, let alone a government policy recommending or requiring it, is demeaning to girls and women, encourages the destruction of innocence, and violates the civil rights of all children. I oppose this bill completely and without hesitation. The link to the news story is below; I have not yet found any others. Once I find out more, I plan to take stronger action against this atrocity.

http://cbs4boston.com/health/local_story_300222339.html

A terrible milestone

Earlier this week, the U.S. death toll in Iraq reached 3,000. With all due respect to our troops, who are true American heroes, a far more horrible milestone was reached today: the U.S. population has reached 300,000,000. I am amazed at the lack of public outcry or even the slightest trace of unhappiness at this news.

Today, only 1 in 6 Americans has blue eyes, down from almost half in 1900. In my opinion, aesthetic principles dictate that at least 40% of any population possess blue eyes, that an equal number have brown eyes, and that the rest be made up of green, gray, and violet eyes.

I understand that America still possesses numerous open spaces, but I, unlike the defenders of population growth, would prefer those spaces to remain open. I believe that every person deserves a house, and since the average house is now shared by families of four, I believe the population needs to shrink by three-fourths.

Furthermore, population growth will decimate the Earth's resources. Mainstream environmentalists have it all wrong when they place an obligation on people to decrease their quality of life to conserve energy. It is young couples with babies, not those who take long showers or watch big-screen TVs, that are destroying the Earth. Reducing energy consumption per person can only go so far; population growth, if most people have their way, will never end. Furthermore, mainstream environmentalists' policies are an unjust attack on people's quality of life - there is a fundamental right to take half-hour showers and watch TV as much as one wants. There is not, however, a fundamental right to create new life. Clearly, the way to save the environment is not by obsessively monitoring each person's carbon footprint, but by making the number of people shrink.

Here are the things that must be done to get America's (and the world's) population under control:

• Determine the amount of energy that can be produced without using fuel up faster than it is being created. Build as many wind farms as can be built without a negative aesthetic impact, and use fossil fuels at the rate of a tiny bit per billion years, since that's how fast they are being formed. Call this answer #1.
• Determine how much energy a person should be allowed to consume. Be generous, as there's a basic right to take a half-hour shower every other day, heat one's house as high as one wants all year round, and watch TV as much as one wants. Call this answer #2.
• Divide answer #1 by answer #2. This is how many people there are allowed to be.
• Everyone must be celibate.
• The government must be responsible for reproduction. Babies will be created through cloning, in test tubes. The government should devote as many resources as possible to perfecting the technology of cloning. In the meanting, the population will start to decline, which is a good start!
• The government must ensure that the people are aesthetically diverse. 50% females, 50% males. 30% blond, 30% brown-haired, 30% black-haired, and 10% red haired. 40% blue-eyed, 40% brown-eyed, 10% green-eyed, 9% gray-eyed, and 1% with purple eyes or eyes two different colors. Etc.

Having read over the above list, I realize it sounds almost like satire. However, I am completely serious. Mindlessly accepting population growth will result in all of America becoming homogenized and suburban, will strip the American people of physical diversity, and will force people to live without privacy and without amenities such as television, heat, electricity, and showers. Americans must take a stand against this slow, mundane destruction and ensure that people will always be able to enjoy the fundamental rights to space, resources, and privacy.

Introducing Ununoctium!

Great news for science geeks: Russian scientists have discovered chemical element #118, temporarily known as Ununoctium! This name, from the Latin for 118, will be replaced once the world's leading scientists decide on a permanent name. Ununoctium is a member of the noble gases (my favorite family) and most likely will share many properties with Radon, the next largest noble gas. Go to Wikipedia for more info.

Happy Columbus Day

CA upholds gay marriage ban

An appeals court in California has upheld the state's ban on gay marriage! "We conclude California's historical definition of marriage does not deprive individuals of a vested fundamental right," the justices said. This ruling reversed an earlier ruling by a San Francisco judge, who decided to allow gay couples to marry in that city. Although the law still leaves opportunities for gay-marriage supporters to appeal, it is a significant victory for gay-marriage opponents such as yours truly.

Entwistle fights DNA test

Today at 2:00 alleged murderer Neil Entwistle appeared at Middlesex Superior Court (just downstairs from his jail cell) to find out whether or not he would have to give a DNA sample to the prosecution. At the hearing, Entwistle's lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, argued that the case should be thrown out. The judge, however, has not yet made a decision on Weinstein's motion or on a motion filed by the DA's office on September 27 to take a DNA sample from Entwistle's mouth. Prosecutor Michael Fabbri says he needs the sample in order to be completely sure that the DNA found on the murder weapon, a .22 caliber handgun, belongs to Entwistle. So far, the prosecution has only used DNA found on a water bottle in Entwistle's car, and they feel they need more reliable evidence before the trial starts in April. Entwistle looked much the same at today's hearing as he did in his last court appearance, wearing his customary dark gray suit and light pink shirt and tie, but with slightly shorter hair. He will appear in court again on December 15.

Innocent until proven guilty

The blogosphere has erupted into a brouhaha over accusations that Congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla) has sent inappropriate instant messages to two teenage boys. If the accusations are true, Foley made a huge mistake and should be punished for it. However, I am not yet completely convinced of the accusations' veracity. Many of Foley's friends believe he is innocent, and overall he seems like an honorable man. It is possible that someone else sent the instant messages using Foley's username. In short, there's a chance the accusations are true, and there's a chance they're false. Naturally, Nancy Pelosi has jumped all over the scandal, and people are even calling for Dennis Hastert's resignation. I believe these people are way out of line. People are making too big a deal over this, and I am going to consider Foley innocent until evidence emerges that proves him guilty.

PS: Another interesting fact: the controversy has emerged about five weeks before congressional elections. Hmmm.....I wonder why the Democrats chose this time to bring it up?

Benedict's smart move

I figured I'd weigh in on Pope Benedict's comments about Islam. I don't think there's anything wrong with his decision to quote a Byzantine emperor who said, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." Although it was qiute classy of the pope to show his sadness that Muslims are angry at his remarks, it's great that Benedict did not apologize, as he has no need to. No disrespect intended to Muslims, but I find it impossible to sympathize with the teachings of a religion that condemns celibacy. Additionally, both Benedict and the Byzantine emperor were right on when they said that Muslims have attempted to spread their faith through violence. If conquering Spain, Portugal, and almost France and then turning them into Muslim countries isn't spreading one's religion through violence, I don't know what is. Good job Benedict!

Never forget

Thanks to Tom Harpel for WTC photo; image can be distributed under these terms.

Happy birthday, Napoleon

August 15 is the birthday of one of the greatest leaders in history -- Napoleon! This awesome emperor was born in 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and ended up ruling France and most of Europe. Happy birthday, Napoleon!

Go Lieberman!

Alas, as the polls predicted, Senator Joe Lieberman lost in his bid for re-election to liberal fellow Democrat Ned Lamont. In my opinion, Lieberman is a far better candidate than Lamont. However, it's almost better now that he'll be running as an Independent. Lieberman never really fit in with the Democratic Party and all their gay-marriage-supporting, left-wing craziness. I admire Lieberman for supporting the war without regard to his opinion's effect on his popularity. It takes a lot of courage to be yourself instead of blindly following the majority. If I lived in Connecticut, I'd vote for Lieberman!

Nancy Grace alert

Just a heads up to anyone who is interested in the Scott Peterson trial: Scott will be the topic of Nancy Grace's show tonight. The show will air on CNN Headline News at 8:00 and 10:00 Eastern Time; go to her website for more info. It should be interesting; Scott's always been one of Nancy's favorite people to pick on :)

By the way, the trial transcript has recently been approved, which means that Scott's appeals can begin! And, interestingly, Scott's former house is on the market again, after the guy who bought it was fired from three jobs and is no longer able to afford it. It seems the house was bad luck!

Coincidentally, Neil Entwistle's old house went on the market at around the same time! It was the front page story in Wednesday's Boston Herald; I found the cover amusing. The Herald is almost like a tabloid -- it sensationalizes everything so much!

Why, Dakota, why?

It seems like at least part of the general public is as enraged about this next story as I am! For those who haven't yet heard, 12-year old formerly cute and awesome actress Dakota Fanning will appear topless and will do a rape scene in the movie Hounddog. This totally disgusts me! Why the heck would anyone want to see pedophilia in a movie? I mean, it's gross and happens all the time in real life, and the whole point of movies is to create an imaginary world that is cooler and more fun than the real world! Emphasizing the dark aspects of life totally defeats the purpose of movies.

Some people claim that it's important to educate the public about child abuse. Well, I think most people already know that rape is bad! It's not as if they need to be taught that. And it's not as if pedophilia doesn't get enough media coverage! The media gives a lot of attention to child abuse; just take the case of Jessica Lunsford, or Shasta Groene, or Carlie Brucia, or the hullabaloo over the Catholic priests for example! The last thing the media needs to do is focus on child abuse some more!!

Others defend Dakota's role by saying that she must have consented to it, and that her parents would not have had her do it if she weren't comfortable. Well, the fact that she was willing to do something so gross is certainly not something I hold in her favor!

Finally, to those who claim that rape and nudity are art, you are utterly wrong! Art is beautiful and uplifting. Nakedness and sex are aesthetically hideous. Take, for example, The Polar Expresss, The Chronicles of Narnia, Because of Winn-Dixie, or Disney's High School Musical. Now those movies are art! Fun, imagination, and fantasy make a good movie, not dark, depressing subjects like pedophilia!

This despicable story is becoming high-profile -- my favorite news source, CNN, has a video about it on its home page. I cannot find a text article there, but until I do here's this.

For more go to Google News. Or, to see some interesting debate, check out the IMDB message board. You might even see a post or two by yours truly. Just beware that you need to sign up for a free account, and there are some extremely obnoxious people on those forums!

Happy birthday, Julius!

Happy birthday to a brave warrior, mighty dictator, and all-around genius, Julius Caesar! Although it was too long ago for anyone to be certain, Julius is believed to have been born on this date in 100 BC. That makes him 2106 years old!

Bush's b'day and gay marriage defeats

Happy birthday, George W. Bush! The president turned 60 today and announced at a press conference that "It's not as old as you think."

Also today, gay marriage was dealt a blow in two states! A court in New York decided that gay marriage is not legal under the state's present constitution, and the top court of Georgia reaffirmed its belief in a gay marriage ban, which had been enthusiastically approved by voters in 2004. Good job, courts!

For all the details, see http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/06/gay.marriage.ap/index.html.

Planned Parenthood's treachery

Yesterday, the evil vaccine Gardasil was approved for routine use on eleven- and twelve-year-old girls and even for use on girls as young as nine. In case you haven't read my previous posts, Gardasil prevents cervical cancer, a disease that only people who have sex can get. Adding to this assault on innocence and virginity is the fact that Planned Parenthood, an organization that I thought was pro-choice, has announced its belief that all girls should be forced to receive the vaccine in order to attend public schools. Additionally, Merck, the evil manufacturer of Gardasil, is planning to see if the vaccine can be given to boys. The actions of Merck and Planned Parenthood are based on an assumption that all people will have sex and therefore are an affront to all bachelors and maidens of the world. I stand for childhood and celibacy, I oppose Gardasil with all my heart, and I will not give a single inch! Merck, Planned Parenthood, and other anti-celibate organizations must be defeated. For a start, here are a couple of addresses that you can write to:

Planned Parenthood:
communications@ppfa.org
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
434 West 33rd St.
New York, NY 10001

Merck:
Merck & Co., Inc.
One Merck Drive
P.O. Box 100
Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889-0100 USA

Harry Potter news

J.K. Rowling recently gave some interesting, but still mysterious, clues about Book 7. On a British talk show, she disclosed that the final chapter in the series, which she wrote in 1990, has undergone some minor changes. One character whom Rowling planned to kill off has gotten a reprieve, at least partly because Rowling's husband objected to having the character die. To make up for this, two characters will die who were not originally planned to. Rowling hinted that the characters who die are major characters; she also made some controversial comments that some have interpreted as pointing to the fact that Harry will die.

Also, the first promotional picture from the 5th Harry Potter movie is out, and Harry seems to have much shorter hair than he did in the 4th movie! I am pleased with this. Although I don't like Harry's new hair as much as his hair in the first two movies, I hated his hair (and Ron's too) in the 4th movie and am glad it doesn't look like that again! Also in the hair department, Mugglenet has a clip of a skit that Potter actors Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson filmed for Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday. In the skit, Ron, as well as Harry, seems to have shorter hair. Although Hermione's hair looks the same in the skit, I saw a few pictures of her at the Queen's birthday (after the skit was filmed), and she has bangs! I'm not going to get my hopes up, because this seems too good to believe, but there might be a possibility she has bangs in the 5th movie. This would be awesome, as I liked her hairdo with bangs in the first two movies much better than the hairdo in the later films.

In case you aren't following what I'm saying, which is quite possible since I seem to be rambling on, or if you want to see the information and pictures for yourself, which is also highly likely, go to http://mugglenet.com

Bad Rush Limbaugh!

I was appalled to read this morning that Rush Limbaugh was detained at an airport for having Viagra with a prescription in someone else's name! The problem isn't the dubious prescription (I don't believe in requiring prescriptions for any medications), but the Viagra itself! Viagra is completely immoral and should be outlawed! I have no idea why anyone would ever want to use it. Think about what it does! For the life of me, I don't understand why anyone would want a medication that does that. If there was a pill that did the opposite, then that would be useful! I can't believe that a conservative icon like Limbaugh would ever use Viagra.

To Limbaugh's credit, however, I must point out that the radio commentator made a great joke about the incident on his radio show. He said that he got the Viagra from the Clinton Presidential Library, having been told that it was blue M&Ms!

As always, go to CNN for the full story.

P.S. I apologize for not posting for so long. There has not been much in the news lately, with the exception of the Justin Barber trial, which I have been watching on Court TV for the past two weeks or so. On Monday a jury recommended that Barber receive the death penalty for killing his wife. Although the trial is mostly over, it is still ascinating to read about, so check out the following links:

http://www.courttv.com/trials/barber
http://www.news4jax.com/news/9404235/detail.html
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=59565
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=2101466&page=1
http://www.staugustine.com/news/barber/

Down with Gardasil!

There has been a victory in the war on terror: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, known as the "Prince of Al Qaeda" was killed by the Air Force in Iraq. He was considered the 2nd most important member of Al Qaeda, after Osama bin Laden, of course.

In other news, the FDA has made a decision that threatens to destroy innocence and personal freedom everywhere. A vaccine called Gardasil was approved for use today. This vaccine, made by Merck, is an abomination. It prevents women from getting the HPV virus, which can only be transmitted sexually. In other words, only immoral people are in danger of getting the virus, and they don't deserve to be protected from it. But, because the vast majority of people are ageist and unindividualistic, girls as young as nine, who might end up being celibate, will be forced by their parents into getting the shots.

Now, I already knew all of this, but here's something I had never heard before: the states will eventually be able to decide whether or not to make HPV vaccines mandatory in order to attend public schools!!!!! That's right, if a state votes in favor of this, everyone in the state will be forced to receive painful, dread-inducing shots for a sexually transmitted disease, even though there's a chance some of the people will remain virgins for their entire lives.

This issue infuriates me more than any current event I can remember. At least with gay marriage, which I consider despicable, the gay people are just being despicable with each other and not bothering anyone else. States' plans for Gardasil, however, smash the rights of celibates and are more oppressive than any idea Adolf Hitler ever conceived. Gardasil is an affront to logic, childhood, dignity, innocence, independence, individualism, freedom, and the Constitution of the United States of America!

Making Gardasil mandatory is, quite possibly, the worst idea I have ever heard. It is a Communist policy that reflects the evil philosophy of collectivism and has absolutely no place in America. George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Adams, and all other great Americans from history are most certainly rolling in their graves at the knowledge of this terrible monstrosity. Anyone who supports making Gardasil mandatory ought to be shot.

I vow that I will never in my life receive an HPV vaccine, and may God strike me down if I ever break my vow. If Gardasil is ever made mandatory in my home state of Massachusetts, which is frighteningly likely knowing how disgustingly liberal my state tends to be, I will fight against the vaccine with all the strength I possess. In fact, I will dedicate time and resources to combatting this abomination wherever it reigns, and all true Americans will, at least in spirit, join me.

In conclusion, I say down with Gardasil! Down with Merck! Down with the FDA! And down with anyone who supports making Gardasil mandatory, as anyone who supports that also supports the destruction of innocence, logic, and freedom everywhere!!!

Gay marriage ban defeated

Not surprisingly, the Senate failed to approve a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Here's what the text of the amendment would have been:

"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."

I support such an amendment for the most part, but here are the pros and cons:

Reasons to oppose an anti-gay-marriage amendmentt:

• The amendment is known as the "Marriage Protection Amendment" -- I have no desire to protect marriage, as it is an immoral institution that ought to be abolished
• Supporters of the amendment (including President Bush and Speaker Bill Frist) have made gross comments about how marriage helps to create a moral society and is "the most fundamental institution of civilization"

Reasons to support an anti-gay-marriage amendment:

• Opponents of the amendment have made statements just as gross as those of its supporters. For example, according to Ted Kennedy, "The Republican leadership is asking us to spend time writing bigotry into the Constitution. A vote for it is a vote against civil unions, against domestic partnership, against all other efforts for states to treat gays and lesbians fairly under the law." Jack would be rolling in his grave! I can't believe the Kennedys call themselves Catholic.
• The U.S.A. needs to have an official policy on marriage. Marriage is an issue of morality, and therefore it should be handled not by the states, but by the federal government.
• The amendment restricts marriage, and I support allowing as few people as possible to marry. The less marriage, the better! It even seems to ban civil unions too. (Note the phrase, "the legal incidents thereof"!)

So, although I can sort of understand some reasons why people oppose the amendment, I think the Senate made a bad decision. The American people must unite to ban gay marriage once and for all!

200 wins for Schilling

Congrats to Curt Schilling, who just won the 200th game of his career! The Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6 to 4 at Fenway Park. Schilling pitched seven innings and allowed four runs and eight hits. He is the 104th pitcher in Major League Baseball to win 200 games. Incidentally, Curt's son, Gehrig, celebrated his 11th birthday today. The Schilling family and all of Red Sox natoin certainly have a lot to celebrate!

Peterson's pen pal

Scott Peterson has a pen pal of whom, until now, the world was not aware. Richelle Nice, one of the jurors who sentenced Peterson to death, has been corresponsing with him since August 2005 and has written about 25 letters to him. Nice wrote her first letter to Peterson upon the advice of her psychiatrist and at first did not intend to sent it. Peterson wrote back, which is surprising because I've heard that he hasn't been replying to many letters since his move to San Quentin in March 2005. Nice says that Peterson is extremely polite in his letters and gives Nice many compliments. He also denies killing his wife. Although she corresponds with Peterson, Nice doesn't seem to like him much (not surprisingly since she thinks he deserves the death penalty!). This is what she says about Peterson: "When life begins to get a little uncomfortable for you, what do you do? You commit murder?' What a sorry cop-out." For the full story, see Court TV.

Also related to Peterson is the fact that the 12 jurors in his trial have signed a book deal. This news came out about a week ago, but, to my knowledge, has not appeared on the major news networks. A couple of stories about the book deal can be found at http://petersontrial.info.

Congrats Taylor!

Congratulations to Taylor Hicks, our new American Idol! Taylor deserved to win; I think Katharine picked bad songs and chose not to sing the melody. Instead, she tried to show off her voice by singing strange harmonies which often sounded more like screaming than singing. My favorite parts of the show were Taylor's performance of his new single at the end and the "Brokenote Cowboys!" I always liked Garet (I hope I spelled his name right) and was disappointed when the judges sent the three cowboys home. They sang really well tonight, and, in my opinion, sounded better than many of the final 12. It was also great seeing Bucky and Kellie! And, I almost forgot about the Clay Aiken impersonator. The moment when he was singing and saw Clay walk onto the stage was priceless! Overall, tonight's show was excellent, and so were the results. This time, I agree with America's musical taste!

Nagin wins (boo!)

Unfortunately, Mitch Landrieu, Ray Nagin's challenger, just conceded the New Orleans mayoral election. The black supremacist Nagin will remain the mayor of New Orleans and will continue his quest to make the city have a black majority. I hope he fails!

Get well, Barbaro

My prayers go out to Barbaro, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, who fractured his leg in today's Preakness Stakes. The injury is considered life-threatening and will definitely end Barbaro's spectacular racing career (he was undefeated before the Preakness). The winner of the Preakness was Bernardini., and Sweetnorthernsaint came in second.

Another unfortunate event is that, so far, Ray Nagin, who once said that he wanted New Orleans to be a "chocolate city," is leading in the city's mayoral election. The voting took place today, but the votes have not all been counted yet.

Sen. Inhofe is a hero

Senator James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, has one of the best ideas I have heard in a long time. He sponsors an amendment, approved by the Senate today, that would make English the official language of the United States of America! If this amendment passes, it would be one of the best things that has happened in America in years. Unfortunately, President Bush has been waffling about whether or not he supports making English the official language. For his true patriotism and refusal to submit to social pressure to be politically correct, Senator Inhofe is the Imperial Bulletin's hero of the week.

Another great thing that happened in the Senate today was a decision to multiply indecency fees by ten. Broadcasting inappropriate, perverse material on television and the radio is a serious offense that ought to be punished severely - the sick individuals who choose to create and broadcase such material are lucky to face only fines. In my opinion, they should be jailed, and, in many cases, worse than that!

Shame on you, FDA

Members of the FDA have, indeed, recommended that the evil cervical cancer vaccine be approved. Shame on them!

Additionally, Reade Seligmann, one of the Duke lacross players who is falsely accused of rape, appeared in court today, and some jerks yelled threats at him. Most of the threats were too profane for Fox News to say, and therefore too profane for me to put on this blog, but the threats included comments that Seligmann is a rapist, a "snake," and a "dead man walking."

An attack on innocence

Good job, Senator Arlen Specter! Although unfortunately he says that he is "totally opposed" to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, he does believe that the amendment deserves to be debated in the Senate. Today, ater Specter, a Republican, had a shouting match with Democrat Russ Feingold, a Senate committee approved the amendment, sending it to the Senate for debate. At one point, Specter told Feingold, "I don't need to be lectured by you." Later, Specter bade Feingold "good riddance" as the latter stormed out.

Another event in the news that is just as despicable as gay marriage is the development of a vaccine for cervical cancer. The FDA will probably approve this abomination, and debate is raging on whether or not to have all young girls receive this injection!!

I object to the vaccine on two levels:

• First, it violates the rights of children. Parents will be the ones to decide whether or not the children receive the injections. This is completely irrational, as the children, not the parents, will receive the shots, and therefore should be the ones to decide whether or not the shots are given. Vaccines are slightly physically painful, but their true pain is a result of the dread that victims experience, a dread that overshadows the life of any rational person for the entire time the person knows that they will be given a shot in the future. It is said that shots only hurt for a second, but this is a blatant fallacy: shots inflict psychological pain for a lifetime. If advocates of the evil plan to vaccinate 9- and 11-year old girls succeed, the shots will hurt these girls for at least 9 or 11 years (and probably more because the vaccine only lasts for 4 years and therefore will be re-administered)!
• Second, I object to the vaccine because its implementation carries the assumption that all females will become sexually active. Cervical cancer is a sexually transmitted disease, and some people want children to be vaccinated for it! This assumption is extraordinarily offensive to celibate individuals like myself. Obviously, there is at least one girl in the world (myself) who will be celibate forever, and the existence of just one celibate individual is enough to completely invalidate the presumption upon which the cervical canver vaccination plan is based. It is irrelevant how many sexual women the vaccine benefits; the vaccine violates the rights of all celibates and asexuals of the world by invalidating their existence, and therefore is immoral and unjustified. The idea of thinking of beautiful, innocent little girls as people who will become sexual is twisted. I will never willingly receive a cervical cancer vaccine, and if the members of the FDA have any brains at all, they will vote this vaccine down!

In older news, the Senate did a good job by approving the construction of a heavy-duty fence along the Mexican border, but did a bad job by approving a plan for U.S. citizenship for some illegal immigrants. The U.S. needs to decrease its population, and deporting people who can't speak English and have no loyalty to America is one of the best, easiest ways to accomplish this goal.

Finally, some entertainment commentary: Congratulations to Aras for winning "Survivor" on Sunday - I liked him better than Danielle or Terry. Monday's finale of "Prison Break" was excellent - one of my favorite parts was Haywire's escape on the bike. Abruzzi was especially nasty, and I almost felt bad for T-Bag. And, last but not least, I predict that Taylor will win "American Idol."

Check back for more rants; I am in a ranty mood, as some of my favorite issues, such as immigration and gay marriage, have been in the news a lot lately!

Moussaoui, Duke case, and "Idol" picks

Sorry for not posting for a while. Here's a rundown of some recent, monumental events in the news:

Like many people, I was shocked by Chirs Daughtry's eviction from "American Idol." Now that he's gone, I predict that Taylor Hicks will take the top prize. Taylor, with his gray hair and jerky dance moves, has been my favorite since Kellie left. I'm going to guess that Elliott Yamin will be the next to go, and Katharine MacPhee will finish as runner-up.

In other news, a second round of DNA tests in the Duke rape case have shown no match with any of the players on the Duke lacrosse team. This news supports my theory that the accuser was simply making her story up.

Finally, Zacharias Moussaoui, who was recently sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, was transported to the federal supermax prison on Florence, Colorado today. He will spend 23 hours each day in a soundproof cell, with one hour of exercise each day. Moussaoui is hardly the first notorious criminal to reside in the supermax: the prison is home to shoe bomber Richard Reid, unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef, American terrorist Eric Rudolph, and notorious gang leader Luis Felipe. The supermax was also home to Timothy McVeigh, who became friends with Kaczynski, Yousef, and Felipe while the four of them lived in a especially high-security part of the prison known as "bombers' row."

To learn some fascinating facts about life in the supermax, go to Court TV.

Derby Day

Congratulations to Barbaro, who won the 132nd Kentucky Derby today! My pick was AP Warrior, a son of AP Indy and a grandson of Seattle Slew on his father's side and a cousin of Real Quiet on his mother's side. My choice for second place was Steppenwolfer, a beautiful gray colt who is also related to Seattle Slew. Even though my favorites didn't win, it was still a great race, as it is every year. For more great info, go to http://kentuckyderby.com.

A sad farewell to Kellie

Unfortunately, Kellie Pickler was just voted off "American Idol." Kellie was my favorite contestant (possibly tied with Taylor Hicks), and it is completely unjust that she went home this week. Kellie's performance of "Unchained Melody" yesterday was not my favorite of hers, but it was the second best performance of the night, after Taylor's. In my opinion, it is almost always better to sing a good song badly than to sing a bad song well, unless the singing on the good song is really, really bad. Kellie's singing was not really bad, just fair, and she picked by far the best song of any of the contestants. Taylor picked a decent, but not great, song and sang it well. Paris picked a song with good lyrics, but an extremely boring melody, and Elliott picked a very boring song and sang it boringly. Katharine picked a boring song and sang it boringly also; I have never really liked her, and I especially disliked her dress yesterday. Finally, Chris sang well but picked a terrible song that I really, reallly hate.

It's depressing that my two favorite candidates have been voted off, but from now on, until further notice, I will be rooting for Taylor.

An anti-marriage rant

Today is a sad day in history: on this date in 2000, Governor Howard Dean of Vermont signed a bill legalizing civil unions for gay couples. Vermont gets the disgraceful distinction of being the first state in the U.S.A. to institute legal recognition of gay couples. I oppose gay marriage and civil unions (which are the same thing as marriage) because it is far more honorable to live one's life independently and celibately than to devote one's life to someone else and lose one's innocence. Marriage is an immoral institution that should be abolished. The fewer marriages allowed, the closer marriage is to being abolished!

On a somewhat similar topic, Robert Travaglini, the president of the Massachusetts State Senate, has proposed that, instead of cutting the income tax to 5% for everyone in the state, only people who care for children or elderly relatives should get a tax break! This is a terrible, unjust idea. Having a baby is immoral, and, no offense to the people who are taking care of elderly relatives, it makes no sense to reward the most immoral people in the state with tax breaks while punishing maidens and bachelors who might actually be living morally.

New Orleans election

After yesterday's mayoral election in New Orleans, the two top vote-getters were Ray Nagin, who is the incumbent mayor, and Mitch Landrieu, the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. There will be a runoff election between these two candidates on May 20. I support Landrieu for the position of mayor of New Orleans. Although both candidates are Democrats, I don't know much about Landrieu, while I dislike Nagin because of his comments that New Orleans should remain a "chocolate city." I hate reverse racism -- this is America, not Africa!

As an aside, happy birthday (or not so happy, depending on your opinion of these individuals) to Timothy McVeigh, Michael Moore, James Buchanan, and William Shakespeare, all four of whom were born on this date.

Ace and Adolf

As most of America knows, Ace Young was voted off "American Idol" last night. Although I wasn't extremely disappointed, I think that Elliott, Paris, and Katharine should have gone home before Ace. At this point, Taylor might be my favorite, with Kellie a close second. In my opinion, Wednesday's show was pretty dull, partly because Bucky wasn't there and partly because I didn't like the genre of songs. Taylor's performance was the only one that I actually liked.

On a completely different topic, today is a momentous day in history, as it is Adolf Hitler's birthday. Although extremely unpopular, Hitler is undoubtedly one of the most important people who ever lived. He is either number one or number two on my list of the most important people of all time, with Jesus possibly beating him. A remarkable (although not necessarily good) fact that I calculated is that Hitler killed over one percent of Earth's population at the time! It is astounding that one individual could be responsible for as much death and destruction as Hitler was, and quite amazing that in an age when most people wanted to outlaw war and work for world peace, Hitler was able to create a Reich larger than any other empire in history besides that of Genghis Khan.

Also today in history was the Columbine High School massacre, in which students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed twelve fellow students, a teacher, and themselves. Klebold and Harris, who were fascinated by Hitler, were originally planning to carry out their attack yesterday on the anniversary of the Oklahoma bombing and the battles of Lexington and Concord, but they changed their minds and decided to stage the massacre on Hitler's birthday instead.

Following are some fascinating links related to Hitler and Columbine:
http://www.columbine.free2host.net -- a thorough Columbine site
http://www.therebeldomain.com -- this site presents unusual opinions about Columbine, which most people do not agree with!
http://thirdreichpages.com -- an informative, interesting site about Hitler, his henchmen, and his empire
http://hitler.org -- the web site of a museum about Hitler
http://www.adolfhitler.ws -- the most thorough Hitler site I've seen
http://historyplace.com -- scroll down to the bottom for excellent Hitler and World War II information

Busy day in history

I have nothing to rant about today, just an update on the historical significance of April 19th. Today and tomorrow are extremely eventful days in history, especially when it comes to infamous events. On this date in 1995, Timothy McVeigh exploded a truck bomb near the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds of others. In 1993 on the same date, federal agents killed 74 Branch Davidians in a standoff at Waco, Texas. It is likely that McVeigh , who was infuriated at the federal government's actions in the Waco standoff, chose April 19th because it was the anniversary of Waco. He may also have liked this date because it's the day before the birthday of Adolf Hitler, whom McVeigh admired to some extent.

Arguably the most important historical events that occurred toady were the battles of Lexington and Concord, which marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. At dawn on April 19, 1776, having heard from Paul Revere and William Dawes that the British were planning to seize their weapons and ammunition, 70 minutemen gathered on Lexington Green exchanged fire with the redcoats. Eight colonists were killed, and the British decided to head to Concord to seize the weapons depot there. Along the way, colonists fired on the redcoats at the North Bridge in Concord, forcing them to retreat to Boston. Now that I think of it, Lexington and Concord probably contributed to McVeigh's decision to choose April 19th, since he wanted to start a revolution against the U.S. government, which he considered oppressive, just like the rebellious colonists viewed King George III.

For more information on the Revolutionary War, go to one of these sites:
The History Place -- one of the best web sites of all time.
http://www.americanrevolution.com -- a great site all about our war for independence
Or for more about McVeigh and the Oklahoma Bombing, go to Court TV or CNN.

Farewell Bucky and Abe

This post is somewhat late, but I would like to mourn the departure of Bucky Covington, my favorite contestant on "American Idol." Bucky defnitely didn't deserve to go; his performance, in my opinion, was one of the best. I like Bucky because of his country singing and because he has kept his own unique style each week. Now that Bucky is gone, my favorite contestants are Kellie, Taylor, and Chris.

On an entirely different topic, today is the 140th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's death. President Lincoln died early on the morning of April 15, 1865 after being shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater. Hopefully today all Americans will think for a moment about the glorious 16th president.

Neil is arraigned again

Fear not, I had no intention to neglect what I consider to be today's most important news story: that of Neil Entwistle, who was arraigned today in Middlesex Superior Court at 9:00 A.M. Of course, this is his second arraignment, moving his case from district court to superior court. Entwistle wore a dark gray suit and a pink tie and had longer, neatly combed hair. Although it is typical for defendants to enter their own pleas in superior court, Neil had his lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, enter a not guilty plea for him. Neil seems to be a shy, quiet individual, as he has not yet spoken in public. His calm demeanor, punctuated by occasional smirks and sneers, reminds me of Scott Peterson.

My theory on the Entwistle case is that Neil hated being married, hated his wife and baby, and panicked because of his desperate financial situation and the social pressure to seem like a successful family man. These factors, in addition to his homesickness for England, caused him to plan and carry out the murders. I think that Neil was so depressed that he intended to commit suicide, a theory that explains that somewhat sloppy cover-up of the killings. I will post again if my theory changes.

Watch for the next court hearing on May 23. Also, if all goes according to plan, the trial will begin in April of 2007.

Links:

http://news.bostonherald.com/entwistleMurders/ -- the Herald's archive of Entwistle stories

http://www.townonline.com/blogs/yourTownTonight/ -- Joe Dwinell's Entwistle blog

Lies at Duke

The episode of "Larry King Live" that is airing at this moment has prompted me to write this brief editorial. Mark Geragos, who is, in my opinion, probably the best lawyer in the world, is on the show to discuss the allegations of rape against members of the Duke lacrosse team. I fully agree with Mark's point, namely that the accusations are false. No DNA evidence linked any members of the team to the woman in question, who happens to be a stripper. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I think this woman's occupation probably says a great deal about her moral caliber. I will post again on this topic if I change my opinion; I have another important topic that I have not yet reported on.

Edit: I just heard on the show that the accuser is a mother of two. Considering the woman's likely young age and the fact that no husband has been mentioned, this revelation says even more about her moral caliber.

Big news day

What a big day it's been in the news! I have neglected to update my blog for over a week, and today's events especially merit an update.

First of all, the Red Sox won their home opener 5 to 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Although I miss Arroyo, Damon, Bellhorn, Millar, Mueller, and the rest, I must admit the team seems great, especially Papelbon and Schilling! With today's win the Sox have improved their record to 6 out of 7.

In (sort of) more serious news, shoe bomber Richard Reid will be testifying in the penalty phase of Zacharias Moussaoui's trial. I don't know if he'll be testifying for or against Moussaoui, but I'm guessing against. Wouldn't it be funny if he testified in Moussaoui's favor about how good a friend and fellow terrorist Moussaoui was?

Another monumental event of today was Iran's announcement that it has produced uranium of high enough quality to make nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that he will only use the uranium for peaceful means, but I don't think I believe him!

Finally, I realize that I failed to comment on last week's "American Idol" results. I was not extremely disappointed with Mandisa's ouster. I didn't consider her one of the best or one of the worst, but my respect for her increased when I learned that, being a woman of strong religious convictions, she would be unwilling to perform at any event that benefited gay rights. I just finished watching tonight's "Idol," and I think I liked Kellie's performance the best. However, Bucky, Ace, and Taylor were close behind.

"Idol" and gay marriage

Thursday's "American Idol" results, although not the best that could be hoped for, were fairly just. There are some contestants worse than Lisa, but there are also some who are better. Bucky is still my favorite, and needless to say I was extremely happy that he was not in the bottom three.

On another topic that I enjoy, there is glorious news, which most of you probably found out yesterday. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has decided that gay couples from other states can't marry in Massachusetts! Hooray! Technically, the ruling bans all marriages between out-of-state couples that would be banned in the couple's home state. The ruling is fine with me - the more marriages banned, the better! It was enough for the SJC to destroy the cuture of Massachusetts, let alone ruin the culture of all of America. By allowing gay couples from all over to America to marry, the SJC violated the rights of the other 49 states (or 47 not counting Connecticut and Vermont) to regulate their own morals, effectivaly making gay marriage legal all over America. Well, now the immoral insitution of gay marraige is limited to one state (or three, depending on how you count civil unions). Congratulations SJC - you actually made a good ruling for once!

Out with the illegal immigrants!

Now for the immigration rant that I promised:

As many of you know, thanks to large-scale protests, the government is now considering allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens after living in the US for six years. I disagree with this proposed law. In my opinion, illegal immigrants should be immediately kicked out of America and should never be allowed to come back! Our country is overpopluated (I bet mostly because of illegal immigrants who always seem to be having babies at a young age), and the last thing it needs is more people in it! Especially people who are likely to have babies when they are teenagers and therefore grow in numbers more quickly, on average, than native-born Americans!

I know that many people will interpret this as racist, but I will say it anyway: Not counting the time when Indians inhabited America, this country has historically been predominantly white, and it ought to remain so. There is nothing wrong with having a few blacks, Asians, and Latinos (maybe up to 10% of our population), but it is not good when non-whites comprise over 50% of the population in some parts of America. I believe that it is important for 30% of America's population to have blond hair, 30% to have brown hair, 30% to have black hair, and the remaining 10% to have red hair, or at least as close to that ratio as possible. Also, there should be roughly the same number of people with brown eyes as blue. In my opinion, these are the ideal ratios for a diverse, aesthetically pleasing population. Because non-whites almost always have dark hair and brown eyes, the large numbers of them are fouling up America's physical diversity ratios. Asia, a huge continent, is predominantly Asian, South America is predominantly Latino, and Africa is primarily black, and that's fine. The US is not part of Asia, South America, or Africa, so it ought to be predominantly white. Not to mention that fact that America has traditionally been, and ought to remain, an English-speaking country!

In conclusion, illegal immigrants are ruining America's culture and must be stopped.

Clinton's evil plan

Yes, I said I was going to write about immigration, but I just saw this story on the CNN site and it infuriates me! Former President Clinton believes that in some developing countries, all people should be forcibly tested for AIDS! Yes, I know that this policy would help to save lives, but that does not prevent it from being morally repugnant. The consequences of a policy do not impace how moral the policy is. All that matters is that the policy Clinton supports involves forcing innocent people to submit to medical procedures that involve needles piercing their skin! As a belomophobe (someone with an extreme, uncontrollable fear of needles) I understand that for some people, blood tests are unbearably agonizing, both physically and psychologically, and it is impossible to enjoy life knowing that a doctor will inevitably pierce your skin with a needle at some point in the future. No matter how many lives the forced testing saves, it will completely ruin the lives of countries' entire populations.

Not to mention the fact that AIDS is spread through sexual contact, and there is the possibility (actually the certainty) that some people in the developing countries are celibate and intend to remain so! Clinton's despicable proposition implies that everyone will be having sex, which is ludicrous. I believe that sexuality itself is immoral, but even if I did not, it would still be obvious to me that people have an inalienable right to be celibate and therefore not to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. If even one person who does not have AIDS or who wants to be celibate is tested (which is certain to happen, since only about 5% of the population in these countries have AIDS), the entire policy will be proven useless. The policy that Clinton supports will not just violate, but utterly smash the civil rights of all the citizens of the countries he targets. By dismissing our existence, Clinton has affronted all individuals who believe in celibacy. His proposal reflects a spirit of collectivism and a disregard for individual rights. Clinton's view makes him, in my opinion, one of the worst presidents in history.

Weinberger, Entwistle, Moussaoui, and Card

Wow, today has been a busy news day! First of all, former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger died today of pneumonia. He served under Nixon and Reagan and seems like he was a great man. Rest in peace, Secretary Weinberger!

Another notable event today was Neil Entwistle's indictment. A grand jury in Middlesex county, Massachusetts, charged the Englishman with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and baby, as well as with one count each of illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition. Neil did not appear in court, but he will be arraigned some time in the next few weeks. Of course, he was arraigned in Framingham District Court on February 15, but now that he has been indicted his case will be tried at the Middlesex Superior Court and he will need to be indicted again in the new venue. Three prosecutors have been assigned to Neil's case, and his defense team consists of veteran attorney Elliot Weinstein, private eye Richard Hamilton, and another lawyer named Stephanie Page, who I have never heard of before. I look forward to watching this case unfold; Neil seems to be getting as much media attention as Scott Peterson did when his case was in the news!

Also, another high-profile accused criminal, Zacharias Moussaoui, was in the news today. As most of you know, he proclaimed yesterday that he and shoe-bomber Richard Reid were set to hijack a fifth plane and fly it into the White House on September 11! The trial, which is almost as crazy as Saddam's, continued today (I believe the closing arguments took place) and the jury will begin deliberating tomorrow about whether or not Moussaoui will be sentenced to death.

Last but not least, President Bush's Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, announced his resignation today. This sad news may have been the result of liberals' cries for a shake-up in the Bush administration, which they think will help the president's approval ratings. I dislike the changes in Bush's cabinet and advisors. Loyal conservatives are probably disappointed that many of the old Republican leaders, such as Card, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, and former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, have left Bush's administration, and liberals will hate Bush no matter what he does, so there's no point in trying to please them! I miss the days in 2001 when Ashcroft was Attorney General, American flags flew from most houses, and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" played on pop music radio stations!

As is customary, I will post my "American Idol" recap after tomorrow's results show. Before then, you can look forward to a short opinion piece about the immigration controversy!

Two more sad departures

Right after Bronson Arroyo's sad departure from the Red Sox, New England lost another illustrious sports hero: Patriots kicker Adam Vinateri. A clutch player who was largely responsible for at least one of the Patriots' Super Bowl wins, Vinateri will be sorely missed.

Another individual who I will miss is Kevin Covais of "American Idol"! Kevin, who was unjustly voted off this week, had a unique persona. His appearance, which Ryan Seacrest said resembles that of Chicken Little, is far from typical for a pop star, but his voice is surprisingly good. In my opinion, Kevin's talent is above the average of this year's top 11. Now that he's been voted out, my favorite contestant is Bucky. Needless to say, I was horrified that Bucky was in the bottom two. In addition to Bucky, I also like Chris, Taylor, and Kellie.

Bronson, we'll miss you

To my great disappointment, the Red Sox have traded glorious pitcher Bronson Arroyo to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. Although I've heard Pena has a lot of promise, I'm not extremely impressed with his batting average. No matter how good of a player Pena proves himself to be, I highly doubt his personality will ever match Arroyo's. Bronson was one of the most charismatic members of the Red Sox. In addition to being a talented (albeit somewhat inconsistent) pitcher, he was also an excellent musician. With his blond cornrows, Bronson was a unique personality who brought individuality to his team. I will always remember Bronson's role in the 2004 ALCS, during which A-Rod rudely slapped the ball out of his glove and was then punched in the face by Varitek. Another of my favorite memories was a particularly nasty game between the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Bronson hit (probably intentionally) one of the Devil Rays in order to avenge David Ortiz, who had nearly been hit on the head by an intentionally lobbed ball from the Devil Rays's pitcher.

I believe professional baseball should be reformed. Players should be forced to stay on the same time for their entire baseball career. The constant trading and free-agency are destroying players' and fans' sense of loyalty to their teams. It is becoming increasingly difficult to feel enthusiastic about a team that is constantly changing. The Red Sox had less charisma in 2005 than they did in 2004, and it seems they will have even less charisma in 2006. Without Johnny Damon, Mark Bellhorn, or Bronson Arroyo, the team simply does not have the glory it did in the past.

Farewell, Bronson. You will be sorely missed.

Miscellaneous commentary

Hopefully everyone had a good Ides of March, unlike Julius Caesar did in 44 B.C.!

Today there is an interesting new development in the Neil Entwistle murder case: the night before he shot his wife and baby, Entwistle bought $88 worth of candles at a Yankee Candle store in Marlboro, Mass. Some news analysts, including the Boston Herald's Joe Dwinell, think he wanted to use the candles to hide the smell of gunpowder. I believe this theory makes sense and is probably true. For the full story, see the Herald. At the moment, the Entwistle story is the biggest headline on the Herald's home page!

Also in the news today is Operation Swarmer, the largest U.S. air assault in Iraq since we first invaded the county three years ago. Good luck to the U.S. troops in their mission to defeat the insurgents!

Continuing on the topic of Iraq, Saddam Hussein acted up at his trial yesterday, as many people are aware. He called on Iraqis to stop fighting each other and to concentrate instead on fighting the U.S., and also described the trial as a "comedy"! After 40 minutes of ranting, Saddam was halted by the judge, who decided to crack down on the former dictator's antics.

In other news, yesterday's "American Idol" verdict was just. Melissa deserved to go. My favorite performances of the night were Kellie's and Taylor's.

Finally, today is a fairly busy day in history. One year ago, murderer Scott Peterson was formally sentenced to death by Judge Alfred Delucci, who had presided over Peterson's trial. Also, on this date in 1935, Adolf Hitler scrapped the oppressive Treaty of Versailles. Last, but not least, happy birthday to James Madison, our fourth president (shown above), who was born on this date in 1751!

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day, everyone! Today is March 14, which corresponds to the first three digits of pi: 3.14! The most revered time on Pi Day is 1:59, because pi approximately equals 3.14159! In honor of Pi Day, here are some interesting pi links:

http://www.joyofpi.com
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.pi.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/pi/

Also, a brief Entwistle update: Neil's next court appearance, which was scheduled for tomorrow, has now been pushed back to April 18 because prosecutor Michael Fabbri needs more time to present his case before the grand jury. Entwistle will probably be indicted then at Framingham District Court, and later he will be arraigned for a second time, this time at Middlesex Superior Court. He will be able to enter a new plea and request bail if he wishes. The Middlesex Court, which is in the same building as the prison where Neil resides, is where his trial will take place.

For a plethora of Entwistle stories, go to the Boston Herald.

One of the most fascinating stories is this article about the Middlesex Jail.

R.I.P. Milosevic

Former Yugoslavian dictator Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell this morning. Apparently, he died of natural causes. Milosevic was ousted from power a few years ago and was being tried for war crimes by a United Nations tribunal in the Hague, the Netherlands. He was 64 years old. Tomorrow, Dutch doctors will conduct an autopsy.

Matt Dubay, a glorious hero

Matt Dubay is a glorious Imperial hero! This Michigan man believes that men should not have to pay child support if they did not want a baby. He is the first person I have ever heard of, besides myself, who believes this. The woman that took advantage of Dubay in order to get herself pregnant insisted on keeping her baby, even though he wanted it to be given up for adoption. The law required Dubay to pay money to this woman and to the baby merely because it shares his DNA. The concept of child support is ludicrous. It is analogous to forcing a person in Massachusetts to pay for an iPod that a random, unrelated person in California decides to buy. There is absolutely no moral connection between Dubay and the baby. Because he did not choose to have it, he is completely unrelated to it. In this case, the woman is solely responsible for producing the baby, and therefore for dealing with the baby, because she is the one that wanted it. Dubay has initiated a motion to overturn unjust child support laws in his state, and I support it with all my heart. This man is a hero for opposing injustice and state-sponsored theft.

What was America thinking?

The 12 "American Idol" finalists have been selected, and I do not agree with America's choices. Although the ejections of Gedeon and Kinnick were just, I really liked Will and thought he deserved to stay. The worst choice by far, however, was to vote out Ayla in favor of Melissa. Ayla could sing better than Melissa, dressed better, and had a far better overall image than Melissa. I really enjoyed Ayla's performance of "Unwritten" on Tuesday, as well as all of her other performances to date. Melissa's most recent performance was her best, but I did not like any of her previous performances, and I bet her good performance was just a fluke.

Well, at least Bucky is still in the competition. I thought he was going to be voted off when it came down to him and Gedeon. I was also surprised, but delighted, that Kevin got a spot in the top 12. I like him because he is unique and appealingly funny-looking, but did not expect most people to agree with my opinion. At this point, my favorites among the boys are, from best to worst, Bucky, Chris, Taylor, and Kevin. My favorite girl is Kellie. None of the other girls have proven themselves particularly noteworthy yet.

Another complaint I have is about the "Idol" voting system. Last night my family repeatedly tried to call in our votes, but were unable to get a single vote in. I fail to see the point of a voting system in which not everyone who wants to vote gets to. It's like having a presidential election and making a rule that only the first 100 people to arrive at the polling station get to vote. Prospective voters would be running like lunatics, pushing and shoving each other, and only the strongest and most vicious would get to vote! Systems in which not everyone can vote are unjust and produce results that do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the people.

Oscars and South Dakota

Last night's Academy Awards were actually more just than I anticipated! Of course, the nominations were way off base, since, among numerous other atrocities, neither "The Chronicles of Narnia" nor "Because of Winn-Dixie" was nominated for best picture. However, "Narnia" won an award in the Best Makeup category, one of three categories in which it was nominated! Congratulations to the makers of this outstanding movie. What's more, "Brokeback Mountain" lost in the Best Picture category! For the full list of Oscar winners, go to Oscar.com.

In other news, Governor Mike Rounds of South Dakota signed that state's anti-abortion bill into law today. Although Rounds is a Republican, I strongly disagree with him on this issue! The bill bans all abortions, except for those that are necessary to save the woman's life. This law is a violation of what is believe to be the inalienable right not to have a baby. It is an oppressive bill and should be abolished! I look forward to a Supreme Court showdown sometime in the future.