Memorial Day Tribute – May 26th 2008

Mark Alexander, Patriot Post writes in his Memorial Day special article …

Memorial Day is reserved by American Patriots as a day to honor the service and sacrifice of fallen men and women who donned our Armed Forces uniforms with honor. We at The Patriot pay our humble respects to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice as members of the United States Armed Forces. We will remember you always. Accordingly, this tribute is in honor of our fallen American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen. Please join Patriots honoring Memorial Day across our great nation on Monday by observing a moment of silence at 1500 local time for remembrance and prayer. Flags should be flown at half-staff until noon, local time. …

Myth Blaster – Revealing the Truth About the Internment of Aleutian Alaskans During World War II

Myth Blaster reveals a story about Alaskan natives who were forced to live in an internment camp like the Japanese-Americans on mainland USA.

On June 12^th, 1942 a Japanese plane was spotted over Atka, Alaska and it became obvious to US Army personnel that an invasion was eminent. For their own safety, villagers of the Aleutian Islands were told to go to their fishing camps. Later the villagers would be taken to a place called Dutch Island where they would remain until the end of World War II. The following is the story behind this little known occurrence and demonstrates that the Japanese-Americans were not the only people forced to live in internment camps during that war.

Columbia’s Farc Leader Dies – New Leader Named

According to the BBC News, Columbia rebels have lost its leader and morale is low within leftist rebel group, the Farc, has confirmed that their commander, Manuel Marulanda, died of a heart attack on March 26^th according to a Columbian media broadcast. His age was estimated at 78 and the rebel leader was thought to have been suffering from prostrate cancer. Marulanda’s real name was Pedro Antonio Mario and will be replaced by Alfonso Cano (real name: Guillermo Leon Saenz).

Phoenix Lander Arrives at Objective – Mars

The Phoenix has reached its destination 422 million miles away on a planet we call Mars. The goal of the mission of NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in California is to determine if Mars ever supported life or life still exists on the red planet.

Phoenix survived the 12,700 mph descent to the icy north pole of Mars. The landing zone was chosen in a small rocky area on the north pole that interested scientists. The Phoenix Lander, looking like a droid from a Star Wars film stage, was launched in August of 2007 and has traveled 422 million miles in nine months to get to Mars. It takes fifteen minutes to get a signal from Phoenix – even at the speed of light. The robotic spacecraft cost $457 million and is equipped with a backhoe, cameras and a compact chemistry laboratory in order to attempt to find out if Mars was ever warm enough to support some sort of life.

Myth Blaster – Five Myths About Lobbyists – Megan Carpentier

Megan Carpentier writes an article entitled 5 Myths About Lobbyists, Washington Post, May 24^th 2008 …

The presidential race turned into a game of hot potato this week, as Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama tried to bat away accusations of ties to lobbyists. In this game, the candidates are reflecting the views of (or, depending on your point of view, pandering to) the public. Polls consistently find that a majority of Americans hold lobbyists in low regard, and in one recent survey more than 70 percent of respondents favored reducing the influence of lobbyists and special interest groups in Washington. I can’t argue with the numbers. But as a former lobbyist myself, I can say that McCain and Obama are perpetuating some misunderstandings and myths about lobbyists. Sure, there are people like Jack Abramoff who have made millions gaming the system and partnering with corrupt politicians. But there are also plenty of decent, hard-working people who don’t bribe Congress and have never had three martinis for lunch. These, as Dick Wolf would say, are their stories.

Libertarian Party Chooses Presidential Candidate and Cat Turns into Woman After Accident

• Former Georgia representative Bob Barr, once a member of the Republican Party was picked as the presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party on Sunday. [Newsvine, May 25^th 2008] …

Mr. Barr left the GOP in 2006 because of the Republican Party members overspending practices and their intrusion of civil liberties by the Bush administration. [See Bob Barr, On the Issues] …

Barr said he expects the party to be on the ballot in at least 48 states and perhaps all 50 if the party can qualify in West Virginia and Oklahoma. Barr said he also expects to be invited to the national political debates by qualifying with poll support of 15 percent or more of registered voters.

• Sunday also marked the end of the political career of Mike Gravel, a former senator from Alaska who dropped out of the Democratic presidential race. –

“I just ended my political career,” he said. “From 15 years old to now, my political career is over, and it’s no big deal. I’m a writer, I’m a lecturer, I’m going to push the issues of freedom and liberty. I’m going to push those issues until the day I die.” Gravel left the Democratic Party after he was excluded from some Democratic debates because he failed to meet fundraising or polling thresholds. He said the Democratic Party no longer represented his values because it continues to sustain Iraq war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism.