Steel column installed for WTC tower

From AP/Yahoo:

NEW YORK - The first 25-ton steel column for the new Freedom Tower was installed Tuesday at ground zero, another milestone in prolonged efforts to build a new office tower to replace the World Trade Center.

The 31-foot high white steel column, painted with an American flag and the words "Freedom Tower," was picked up by a crane and set into place on the southern edge of the planned 1,776-foot building. Politicians and workers at the site cheered as the column was installed shortly after 11:30 a.m.

It's ridiculous that the politicians would even consider doing anything but putting the Towers back, IMHO.

Soldier who died smothering enemy grenade to be recommended for Medal of Honor

From Stars and Stripes:

A Schweinfurt, Germany-based infantryman who jumped on a grenade to save other troops is being recommended for the Medal of Honor.

The 1st Infantry Division soldier, Spc. Ross Andrew McGinnis, 19, was killed Dec. 4 while on a combat patrol in Baghdad.

Soldiers in his unit said he used his body to cover a grenade that had been thrown into his Humvee by an enemy fighter on a nearby rooftop.

Four people owe their lives to this guy. There is no way this kind of bravery and selflessness could ever be taught.

9/11 conspiracy retard gets on Danny Bonaduce's last nerve

I don't know what this moron thought he was accomplishing by interrupting an eating celebrity, but he certainly received the treatment he deserved.

Should I keep mocking them?

I've frequently mocked DUmmies and other moonbats on this blog, but I almost feel guilty after seeing this blog by blogger "spooked". Spook cuts at a steel cage, and when it doesn't do what the twin towers did on 9/11, that somehow proves that the "official" story was a lie. In case you're wondering, this isn't the first time spooked has attempted a debunking of 9/11 that ended up making him look like a huge ass. As spooked911 on Democratic Underground, he "disproved" 9/11 with kerosene and a rabbit hutch.

So, my question is should I keep mocking spooked, or should we all hope that he seeks the professional attention that he so desperately needs?

Longtime Aide to Jimmy Carter Resigns, Claims Carter's New Book Is Filled With Factual Errors

From Fox News:

ATLANTA — A longtime aide to Jimmy Carter has resigned from the Carter Center think tank, calling the former president's new book on Israel and the Arabs one-sided and filled with errors.

Kenneth Stein, the Carter Center's first executive director and founder of its Middle East program, sent a letter that bluntly criticized the book to Carter and others.

Stein wrote that the book, "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid," was replete with factual errors, material copied from other sources and "simply invented segments," according to an excerpt of the letter published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

This should get interesting...

Gates says U.S. is not winning Iraq war

From AP/Yahoo:

WASHINGTON - Robert Gates, the White House choice to be the next defense secretary, conceded Tuesday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and warned that if that country is not stabilized in the next year or two it could lead to a "regional conflagration."

At the outset of his Senate confirmation hearing, Gates said he is open to new ideas about correcting the U.S. course in Iraq, which he said would be his highest priority if confirmed as expected.

Of course there needs to be new ideas about what to do in Iraq, but that does not mean we should give the withdraw at any cost idiots the time of day, and I think Gates agrees:

Asked later whether announcing a specific troop withdrawal timetable would send a signal of U.S. weakness, Gates said it "would essentially tell (the insurgents) how long they have to wait until we're gone."

IED Hunter

You must see this video. Absolutely hilarious.

Say it ain't so! Democrats break campaign promise!

One of the big issues the Democrats brought up during the campaign is that Pres. Bush didn't implement all of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission (from now on affectionately known as the Gorelick Gang). They said they'd implement every last suggestion within 100 hours of taking office. Now they're backing away from one of the key recommendations:

It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement all of the recommendations of the bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But with control of Congress now secured, Democratic leaders have decided for now against implementing the one measure that would affect them most directly: a wholesale reorganization of Congress to improve oversight and funding of the nation's intelligence agencies. Instead, Democratic leaders may create a panel to look at the issue and produce recommendations, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.

Because plans for implementing the commission's recommendations are still fluid, Democratic officials would not speak for the record. But aides on the House and Senate appropriations, armed services and intelligence committees confirmed this week that a reorganization of Congress would not be part of the package of homeland-security changes up for passage in the "first 100 hours" of the Democratic Congress.

I'm shocked. I tell you! Shocked!

Sniffer bees set to snare suicide bombers

From The Daily Mail:

An extraordinary invention by a small British company is being praised by American scientists who have been testing it.

Researchers at Inscentinel Ltd, which has just three employees at its Harpenden, Herts, HQ, have developed an amazing "sniffer box" to harness the bees' incredible sense of smell.

Now Inscentinel is set to cash in when its box full of computer technology that turns honeybees into bomb detectors goes into mass production.

Bee sniffer squads could be on duty at airports, train stations and other terror targets within a year, say the scientists. Los Alamos sniffer squad trainer Tim Haartman, an entomologist - insect specialist - at the lab, said: "The technology is there. It's just a case of putting it into production."

A honeybee finds explosives by doing what comes naturally. He pokes out his proboscis - the trunk-like feeding organ with which he sucks in food - when he smells something he likes.

Wow. It's an inventive idea, to say the least. I wonder how many lives this will save.

HawHaw errr, RawStory: Court orders FBI to disclose involvment in fictitious conspiracy story

RawStory (which has a real track record of accuracy /sarcasm)is reporting that some court somewhere has ordered the FBI to disclose its involvement in the flight of the bin Ladens during the days after September 11, a story that has been debunked. No link from RawStory yet.

Rosie: Don't fear the terrorists. They're mothers and fathers

Hat tip, Newsbusters.

Well, isn't that special?