Video of Jack Murtha on CNN about the cover-up in Haditha.

The Chief Source's own Senior Editor Bob Hewitt was quoted last Thursday in the Columbia University Journalism review for his recent piece on Lou Dobbs.

But it was the Chief Source's Robert Hewitt who summed it up best.

"I have a confession to make," Hewitt wrote, acknowledging he has "a sweet spot" for Dobbs. Sure, they have their differences -- "He is such a hard-liner that he often stops just short of calling for the composting of illegal immigrants" -- and yet, said Hewitt, "sometimes he still woos me."

"Lou," Hewitt concluded, "you had me at 'hell.'"

Kudos to Bob for his quality work on this site.

There is no more clear delineation between the haves and the have nots in Akron than the short drive down Memorial Parkway. On the top of the hill is Portage Country Club and the beautiful homes of Merriman Road. As you turn onto Memorial Parkway and begin the descent into the valley, the metro park creates a border and when you cross it you feel like you are in another city. However, before you climb out of that valley you will drive through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and some new housing that is looking to promote living on the Towpath trail. They had an open house this past weekend and Terra, her husband Greg, and I went to check out the new development "Hickory." Click each picture for a larger view:




The homes are starting at around $250,000. The complex will have 70 homes when completed. We saw "The Portage" and the "The Mustill" model homes. They had large front porches, beautiful bathrooms, cool paint colors, and bungalow style architecture. The interesting thing about this development is a large section of low income housing is just up the hill. It will be interesting to see the effect the "Hickory" has on the lower income housing close by. The good news is that our city is growing.

The Beacon has an editorial this morning cataloging other investment in Akron:

Republican/Exxon Hack: "Al Gore believes in global warming almost as much as Hitler believed there was something wrong with the Jews." Nice. Gore is like Hitler because he is concerned about the future of our planet. Greedy scumbags like this prove how low Republicans will go.

The Hypocrisy of Alberto Gonzalez: He basically admits his grandparents were illegal immigrants. Interestingly, Bush and fellow Republicans say Gonzalez's life journey is part of the American Dream. Interesting. On one hand, illegals are ruining the country.....but if your buddy is a product of illegal immigration, it's all good in Republican land.

FDA Approves Medical Marijuana: Don't get too excited, though. A synthetic version (a pill) of the active ingredient in marijuana is going back on sale as a prescription treatment for the vomiting and nausea. Of course, a FDA report has definitively established that marijuana has no medical use. Hence, pot grown by foreign farmers is bad and doesn't work. But pot engineered by big corporations, that bring a nice profit to rich stockholders, is just fine.


Bonus Trivia: Which country (besides Iraq) was busy rioting chanting "death to America" this weekend?

Answer in the comments....

The number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay has grown from 3 to 75. They are protesting the fact that they have been there for 4 1/2 years with no charges brought against them. The strike began in August and grew to 131 by September, but it dwindled down to 3 earlier this year, and is now back up to 75.

Navy Commander Durand said, "The hunger strike technique is consistent with al-Qaida practice and reflects detainee attempts to elicit media attention to bring international pressure on the United States to release them back to the battlefield."

According to Wikipedia, 'a hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest or to achieve a goal such as a policy change.'

Gandhi held a hunger strike and boycotts in the 1920's to call attention to the undemocratic policies of Britain, who claimed to be a democracy. The Irish held hunger strikes in the 1980's to demand prisoner of war status.

No, Mr. Durand, this is not a technique consistent with al-Qaida. It is a technique used by people who feel powerless by their captors to demand what they see as justice. Many of the men were swooped up in Afghanistan by local people who were paid a bounty by our military. These men aren't demanding release. They are demanding to be charged with a crime, tried, and released if found innocent. If guilty, then we would have reason and a right to hold them prisoner.

Those of us who are going to Memorial Day picnics will inevitably end up discussing the war in Iraq with some prick who says all is well. Here are some facts, figures, and recent news.

Reuters - "Developments in Iraq on May 28, 2006 - NEAR BAQUBA - Gunmen hurled three severed heads out of their car when they were driving through a village 20 km (12 miles) north of Baquba, a senior police source said, giving no further details. Baquba is 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad."

--->Troops - Around 133,000 troops serving in Iraq.
--->Casualities - There have been 2,464 troop deaths confirmed by the Department of Defense.
--->Cost - $284 BILLION to date and estimated to hit $1 trillion

Share your Iraq facts in the comments.

By Guest Columnist Dorothy Carter

Dorothy Carter is a reader who contacted us by email about sharing her environmental views. She was a resident of Alaska for 25 years and describes herself as still an Alaskan at heart.

"This is in reference to Democrats crying fowl, corruption in the GOP and Lobbyists. The Environmental Lobbyists who line the pockets of Democratic Politicians have been successful for halting drilling in ANWR for 3 decades.. (which is a joke....... The caribou love the pipeline because it's warm. They migrate up and dow it... the plant life below and around the pipeline thrives more there than away from the warmth of the pipeline.) At what point in time do Americans demand that we are allowed to drill in American vs. import oil from Middle East Countries who support terrorist... the very people who want to kill us. (Make no mistake they do want to kill infidels who will not convert to Muslim.) The environmental movement has it's place, but it's as extreme as the terrorists in hijacking this country's energy policy. "

"The question for you libs is how much do you have to pay at the gasoline pump before you decide to contact your Democratic politicians and say enough. Responsible drilling is ok in this country. We can conserve and need to. This economy is a carbon based economy and always will be. You can't run your A/C and heater in your home and office building with solar panels or windmills in all 50 states. At some point in time we need to realize that if Castro and China can drill for oil within 40 miles of Florida and Mexico drills in Gulf of Mexico? We Americans need to take our power back and demand that we drill here in America vs support terrorist states. The conservation movement has done more to harm the well being of this country than save it especially in national security. If you want to do something positive contact American Auto makers and demand they pick up production of Flex-Fuel cars. Contact gasoline station owners and demand that flex fuel pumps be put in local stations as soon as these cars are made available. Stop blaming Pres. Bush for high prices at the pump when clearly it is false. Put the blame where it belongs. Educate yourselves and realize that the earth is a living entity that the sun is more responsible for heating it and volcanoes above ground and in ocean floors are responsible for giving off more CO2 than we evil humans. Get a life. "

"I was just listening to Rush [Limbaugh]... his fill is talking about this issue. A caller just called in saying that water vapor is largest creater of C02. It is obvious this is more about politics than reality. When we started the industrial age there was no pick up in C02. I do believe the scientists go on these rants when they need funding for their research grants. Also, last year a German scientist came out with findings that the dark green leaves on trees hold the heat from the sun longer and do add to the increasing global warming. This is further proof it's political. Why are the Kennedys and Walter Cronkite against the windmill farm in their waters near their beloved homes?" - Dorothy Carter

I'm sure many of you have seen the news story about the personal information of 26.5 million veterans being stolen via an employee laptop. So who is in charge? Jim Nicholson is Secretary of Veterans Affairs. His resume shows he served honorably in the military and has impressive private sector experience. The question is why did he get this job? Veterans affairs is a huge agency. Did he have any public sector management experience? No, but "in 1993 Nicholson was elected vice-chairman of the Republican National Committee, and in January 1997, he was elected chairman of the RNC, where he served for four years, through the elections of 2000."

Traffic Update: Yesterday The Chief Source had over 965 visitors and over 1,600 page views. Check it out.

Tonight is the finale of American Idol. Personally, I have never watched an episode and tonight will be no exception. However, I do know one man that will be watching: Republican Senator Trent Lott. Lott is a self-proclaimed American Idol junkie. He even votes more then once, per episode.

The Senate passed a resolution, by unanimous consent (meaning there is no vote because no Senator objected) saying the National Anthem should be sung in English. Democrats were opposed to this, but I guess they withdrew their objections for political reasons. That is crap. It is this type of junk that gives me no hope for Democrats.

Speaking of the Anthem, the very a--holes that passed this resolution cannot even sing the Anthem. Check out this video clip from ABC's Nightline. Almost none of the Congressmen knew the Star-Spangled Banner. It seemed like Republicans struggled more. And it is clear that Republicans were more upset about this ABC profile - things got so bad for the Republicans they sent out a Blackberry emergency message to avoid reporters outside the Capitol.

A really bad story is developing. According to Congressman John Murtha (D-PA), about 20 Iraqi civilians were killed by American troops in "cold blood." Murtha tries to justify this conduct by saying, "our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them." If this isn't a repeat of Vietnam, then what is?

As most of you probably know, Republican Pat Robertson is at the heart of the Conservative movement in this country. His power with Republicans exists despite his constant outlandish claims. When he is not talking crazy or redirecting the paths of hurricanes through prayer, Robertson sells a protein shake (all part of God's plan for him).

Well, Robertson has made possibly his most absurd claim, yet, regarding his protein shakes. According to Robertson, his shake helps him leg press 2000 pounds! Shockingly, this means the 76-year old Robertson can leg press more then twice the World Record. Why has he not signed up for the Olympics?

As Tony Kornheiser said, Robertson's claim is absurd as Kim Jong-Il's claim that he has hit 3 or 4 hole-in-one's and was 38 under par during his first ever round of golf. Yes, Robertson's claim is that ridiculous.....only problem is that a lot of the country (mostly the crazy one's that still support Bush) actually turn to Robertson for guidance.


Unrelated: This fall Arizona will be facing an incredibly unique ballot initiative. In an effort to increase voter turnout, the proposed law will award one random voter with $1 million. I am not sure what to think about this. On one hand you get more people to vote - a good thing. On the other, you get people that are only voting because of the money, so they probably won't make informed decisions - a bad thing. I am curious what other people think.

Former United States Senator, Treasury Secretary, and Democratic Nominee for Vice President in 1988 Lloyd Bentsen has died. He beat George H.W. Bush in 1970 to become a Senator for the State of Texas. One of his best moments was from the 1988 Vice Presidential Debate against Republican Nominee Dan Quayle:

QUAYLE: "I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of vice president of this country. I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the Bush administration, if that unfortunate event would ever occur."

JUDY WOODRUFF: "Senator Bentsen."

BENTSEN: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy. (Prolonged shouts and applause) What has to be done in a situation like that is to call in the-"

John McCain gave a graduation speech at the New School in New York. Before McCain spoke, a student speaker had some harsh criticism of McCain's political policies and his support for a bogus preemptive war. She explained her decision to speak out against McCain's policies: "Senator McCain will tell us today that dissent and disagreement are our civic and moral obligation in times of crisis, and I agree," she said. "I consider this a time of crisis, and I feel obligated to speak."

McCain followed the student. He was heckled quite a bit by some students. A few students got out of line, but not really a big deal. And McCain did get through his whole planned speech. Specifically, McCain stressed the importance of civil discourse when talking about the war.

That's nice of McCain - he believes in civil discourse about the war. Only one problem: after the event McCain's staff released a statement calling the student "an idiot" and went on to thoroughly destroy that girl's character. That's what McCain calls "discourse" - someone questions your pro-war stance.....you then just respond by calling that person and idiot and a loser.


Unrelated: Al Gore was on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. Here is the video. Its funny (but sort of depressing when you look back at what could/should have been).