It’s Official

Russell Shaw has retreated into the space that Oscar Wilde described: "Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow". Mr. Shaw has amply - very amply indeed - proved how very, very shallow he is.

It strikes me as more than a little ironic that some self-regarded patriotic conservatives would somehow interpret my analytical, "what woud (sic) happen if" I Hope And Pray We Don't Get Hit Again BUT…post as a call for the enemies of America who hit us on 9/11/01 and cost the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people to hit us again.

Not only because I wish for the death of no one, but because many of these same people are among the first to agree with Ann Coulter that for speaking out against the way the war on terror has been conducted since they lost their husbands, some of the 9/11 widows are "harpies."

By the way, see my post about that whole sorry escapade here.

I also find it ironic that these are many of the same readers who would question judging the morality of the political consequences of the losses of more Americans when they are among the first to rationalize the loss of more than 2,000 troops in a war waged predominantly against a nation who, unlike Bin Laden's hosts in Afghanistan, had nothing to do with 9/11. Then again, I guess some of those readers are among those who still think Saddam was involved in 9/11.

But on the broader scale, some critics may fail to realize that for millions of Americans, terrorism is a frequent presence. Not the terrorism of a shoe-bomber, or of trumped up orange alerts based on intercepts of guys shouting "Jihad" in an Internet chat room, but the real psychological and economic terrorism often visited on Americans in the guise of:

Oh, do please go on and read Mr. Shaw's bathos-filled explanation of what real terrorism is to him. The insincerity of his sincerity will overcome you. He's obviously trying to sell a city or two.  As to his "defense" of his previous garbage:

1) I don't agree with Ann Coulter and have criticized her.

2) I don't rationalize the war in Iraq as he describes it. I simply think it needed to be done.

His rationalization of what constitutes terrorism cheapens any real debate about any of the subjects he raises. His "calculus" is morally reprehensible and his "justification" makes him look like what he is: very serious, and very, very shallow.

Very shallow.

Some History

When I was ever so much younger than I am today, I used to spend time in the summer in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. My grandmother made her home there for many years and between visits to her and being sent to summer camp there (not because my family had money, but for exactly the opposite reason), I spent quite a lot of time there as I was growing up.

One thing I remember seeing, over and over, in many places were trees knocked down. Sometimes vast stretches of trees, in fact. Whole valleys in fact. But these were not newly fallen trees. These had been down for many years. But they were everywhere, in ones and twos or by the thousands. I asked why and was told they were the trees that had been knocked down in the big hurricane. The one back in 1938.

The center of the hurricane had not even passed over the area I spent summers in, the central Adirondacks, but had actually passed slightly to the East. Yet many years later, the fallen trees bore silent witness to the sheer power that had laid them low. I guess nobody ever did anything with all the fallen timber because the whole region was a park and was protected even back in those days. So the trees remained for a visiting boy to wonder over all those years later.

The hurricane of 1938 hit New England with virtually no warning. People in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island bore the brunt of the storm. Almost 700 people died. Billions of dollars in damage resulted. Whole villages that had been there before the storm, simply were not afterward. The devastation was enormous. At the time, the population of the United States was around 130 million. 

Thirty or so years later, the damage was still evident to a visitor in an area well away from the coast and well away from the worst of the damage.

So is it really surprising that one year on New Orleans is not rebuilt entirely? Or are scoring political points more important than the reality of how the world works?

Terror Bombings In Turkey

Four bombs have exploded in Turkey, three in a popular tourist destination and the other in Istanbul itself. The media reporting on it engages in speculation with no proof whatsoever.

Anatolian news agency said three blasts occurred around the Mediterranean resort of Marmaris early on Monday, including in the city center, and another in Istanbul's Bagcilar district late on Sunday, injuring 22 people.

The British Foreign Office said 10 British tourists were among the injured and were in hospital, three in intensive care. There were no immediate claims of responsibility and Turkish authorities were not immediately available for comment.

The Britons were in a minibus on one of Marmaris' main streets, packed with bars and restaurants, when the blast occurred.

"I can confirm that there were three explosions but the (British) injuries all came from the first explosion," said a British embassy spokeswoman in Ankara. "All the British injuries were on the minibus."

Nobody has claimed responsibility. But the friendly folks at Reuters are happy to give you plenty of suspicion:

Kurdish separatists, leftists and Islamic militants have carried out bomb attacks in Turkey in the past. The tourist industry is a powerful motor of the Turkish economy, hoping to reach $20 billion in revenues and 26 million visitors this year.

The blasts came only two days after two bombs exploded in the southern Turkish city of Adana, injuring four people.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which launched a separatist campaign in 1984, and other militant groups have been blamed or claimed responsibility for similar blasts in the past.

Turkey, like the United States and European Union, considers the PKK a terrorist organization and blames it for the deaths of more than 30,000 people.

Ankara has recently increased its troop presence in the mainly Kurdish southeast, where security forces are battling PKK guerrillas.

Many groups have engaged in terror bombs. Who does Reuters concentrate on? You be the judge. With exactly as much evidence as Reuters, I highly suspect Iran's hand is in this one. Ahmadinejad is pushing for a war, not the West, not America. Iran.

Prelude

Dan Gordon, who has been mentioned in Michael Totten's reports from the front in Israel, writes a piece for The American Thinker that really is a must read. He explains why the press has it exactly wrong on the war in Lebanon. He makes a convincing case, because the only victory Hezbollah had was in the Western press. There, Hezbollah won big. Everywhere else, they lost.

Hezb’allah is not your father’s terrorist organization. This is not a group of loosely affiliated cells of would-be hijackers or suicide bombers. Hezb’allah is a terrorist army, trained like an army, organized like an army, funded and equipped like an army, with one glaring difference.  The main use of its arsenal was terror aimed at Israel’s civilian population while hiding behind Lebanon’s civilian population. Its intent was to cause maximum civilian casualties amongst both.  This was not by accident. This was by design.

This was Hezb’allah’s war, planned and prepared for six years, funded by close to a billion dollars by Iran, aided by Syria. One of the great benefits to the West to come out of this war (if they choose not to turn a blind eye to it) is the certain knowledge that Hezb’allah is Iran’s terrorist operational arm. It is the terrorist extension of Iran’s expressed foreign policy. 

It is not a coincidence that Hezb’allah launched its totally unprovoked attack across Israel’s internationally recognized border, killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers and dragging Lebanon and Israel into a war which neither one wanted at exactly the moment when the international community had issued its ultimatum to Iran. That ultimatum was: “Cease your efforts to develop nuclear weapons or face the sanctions of the International Community.” Iran’s response was Hezb’allah’s war.

….

There was one other indispensable element to their war plan; the centering of their offensive capability against Israel’s civilian population within Lebanon’s civilian population.  Much has been made in the Western press of Hezb’allah’s benign social services function in Lebanon, of the hospitals and schools it has built. 

The Press as Hezb’allah’s Tool

Almost no notice, however, has been paid to the large numbers of these hospitals and schools which were built over its military bunkers and rocket launching sites.  This was perhaps both the most cynical and barbaric disregard for innocent civilian lives of all of Hezb’allah’s and Iran’s strategic choices.  It was also the most successful. 

The decision was predicated not on its knowledge of its enemy (Israel) but its true genius lay in its knowledge of the press.  The calculus was simple: launch a rocket from within a civilian population; if you kill Jews that’s a victory. If the Jews hit back and in so doing kill Lebanese civilians, that’s a victory. If they don’t hit back because they’re afraid to hit civilians, that’s a victory. Now repeat the process until you kill so many Jews they have to hit back and in so doing kill more Lebanese civilians.  That’s the ultimate victory, because they know that in striking just those chords exactly what music the press will play. 

The awful truth, which the Western Press was manipulated to ignore or downplay, was that Iran, through its terrorist operational arm Hezb’allah, had invaded Lebanon from within.  Hezb’allah did not protect Lebanon, they occupied it and they used those Hezb’allah-occupied territories to launch Iran’s offensive in response to the West’s ultimatum to cease development of nuclear weapons.

Nasrallah admitted today that he had badly misjudged the whole war. Actually, Iran acting as puppetmaster, is the one who misjudged. But the West is running out of time to deal with Iran.

Funny thing is, my left-leaning commenters seem to think I want a war. They are unable to understand that I do not want a war. I also see that their actions and antics are making that war inevitable. They will not see that until it is too late.

Read the whole thing, it is long, but worth taking the time.

Just A Gigolo

Just a gigolo, everywhere I go
People know the part I'm playing
Paid for every dance
Selling each romance
Every night some heart betraying
There will come a day
Youth will pass away
Then what will they say about me
When the end comes I know
They'll say just a gigolo
As life goes on without me
(Leonello Casucci/Irving Caesar, Just a Gigolo)

A job opportunity for Malaysian men has turned out to be a scam. Men have gone into debt to local loan sharks to pay a deposit for an opportunity to become a gigolo. Only, when they go to meet their client, the women they approach try to slap them.

The New Straits Times said men had gone into debt with loan sharks in order to pay deposits to a recruitment agent who promised them a lucrative job as a male escort.

"He told me I could earn up to 10,000 dollars a month," said one man taken in by the scam who identified himself only as "Alan".

Alan paid the agent 1,000 ringgit (270 dollars) and shortly after was told to meet a client at a city hotel. He waited for hours until he spotted a Western women who seemed to be searching for someone.

"I thought she was my client so I approached her and introduced myself. To my surprise, instead of receiving words of welcome, I got cursed and insulted," he told the daily.

"After being humiliated in front of others, I just walked away and realised that this was not the sort of experience I was looking forward to," said Alan who reported the scam to the Malaysian Chinese Association's complaints bureau.

"I want people out there to know that there is no such thing as male escort services and to stay out of such a con."

Another victim, "Martin", said he had also waited for hours to see a nonexistent client in a hotel room, had to go into hiding after borrowing his 1,000 ringgit deposit from loan sharks who he was unable to repay.

"I worked out in a gym to make sure I looked good, and was strong for my clients. I even drank lots of essence of chicken," lamented Martin.

"I actually walked up to several foreigners and asked them if they were my clients. I was nearly slapped by two women."

How humiliating can you get? Here they thought they'd hit the veritable jackpot. Perhaps if they had watched this movie, they would have been a little more careful. As the tagline goes: "He's not very good looking. But when the lights go out…he's still not very good looking. "

Ahem, but Blue Crab Boulevard is proud to announce that for a small fee we can hook would be gigolos up with the Magic 8-Ball Employment Agency and Fish Tank Cleaning Service, Inc. Cash only, please.

Mexico Descending

Leftist loser Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is now threatening to form a parallel leftist government to rule the left half of Mexico, apparently. The balkanization of Mexico? A megalomaniac who cannot put the good of his country above his own egotistical need to be president? Just a sore loser? Maybe all of those. The election court is expected to release results of the limited recount tomorrow, and may actually rule on the election then as well. AMLO has promised not to accept the legal ruling of the court, however.

The electoral court is widely expected to reject Lopez Obrador's demand for a full recount and most analysts expect it eventually will confirm pro-business former energy minister Calderon as president-elect.

But Lopez Obrador, a former Indian-rights activist who wants to overhaul Mexico's political and economic systems to favor the poor, has vowed to prevent Calderon from taking office on December 1.

He says that if Calderon is named president without a full recount, he will continue street protests, which have caused traffic mayhem in Mexico City, and disrupt President Vicente Fox's Sept 1. state of the nation address to Congress.

On Sunday, he told supporters to prepare for a debate at a party convention next month on where to take their fight next.

He said leftists, who will convene in Mexico City from September 16, could vote for him to head a civil resistance movement in opposition, or elect him leader of a leftist government in parallel.

"They are going to mock us, laugh at us and say we are crazy to convoke the national convention," Lopez Obrador told supporters in the city's central Zocalo square.

"We are going to create our own institutions. … Sovereignty lives in the people, the people rule," he said.

Lopez Obrador led opinion polls at the start of the campaign but slipped behind after Calderon called him a danger to the country and likened him to fiery Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

I still want to see where the money is coming from for all of AMLO's antics. Want to bet they come with a Venezuelan postmark?

Mark In Mexico has a lot more on how things are unraveling down there in Qaxaca. We'd best be building that fence, folks.

The Mouth That Roared

I have mentioned how little I like Jimmy Carter before. I have also mentioned that I could not remember any other former president who made a whole career after getting his butt thrown out of office by criticizing other presidents. If former presidents have made any comment whatsoever about successors, it has been so infrequent and so rare that the commentary is memorable.

Carter, on the other hand will not shut his pie hole. He criticizes incessantly to the point where it isn't even newsworthy.

Whereupon he does the absolutely unheard of act of criticizing the head of state of an allied nation. The man is simply too irresponsible to be let loose without a muzzle.

"I have been surprised and extremely disappointed by Tony Blair's behaviour," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

"I think that more than any other person in the world the Prime Minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington - and he has not. I really thought that Tony Blair, who I know personally to some degree, would be a constraint on President Bush's policies towards Iraq."

In an exclusive interview, President Carter made it plain that he sees Mr Blair's lack of leadership as being a key factor in the present crisis in Iraq, which followed the 2003 invasion - a pre-emptive move he said he would never have considered himself as president.

Mr Carter also said that the Iraq invasion had subverted the fight against terrorism and instead strengthened al-Qaeda and the recruitment of terrorists.

"In many countries where I meet with leaders and private citizens there is an equating of American policy with Great Britain - with Great Britain obviously playing the lesser role.

"We now have a situation where America is so unpopular overseas that even in countries like Egypt and Jordan our approval ratings are less than five per cent. It's a shameful and pitiful state of affairs and I hold your British Prime Minister to be substantially responsible for being so compliant and subservient."

The outspoken attack by the former Democratic president shows the extent of the alienation between the Labour Party and its traditional Democrat allies in America.

It will embarrass the Prime Minister on his return from his summer family holiday in Barbados and comes as Mr Blair prepares to make a defiant speech warning his party that it risks losing the next election if it does not unite behind him.

Not content to make an ass of himself at home, he has to go a step further and make his obnoxiousness clear to the rest of the world. It is time to censure Carter for his antics, his complete lack of judgment and his outright derangement at this point. You were a poor excuse for a president, Jimmy. You've gotten even worse in the intervening years. I recently called Carter an empty pot. I guess I was incorrect. He's shown he's quite full of it.

UPDATE: Sister Toldjah - that will leave a mark.

Nasrallah Admits That He Is Stupid

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah admitted in a televised interview that he had no clue whatsoever what he was about to unleash on Lebanon and his organization when he ordered the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. He has also admitted that had he realized what would happen he never would have given the order.

Hezbollah guerrillas killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two more in a cross-border raid July 12, which sparked 34 days of fighting that ended Aug. 14. Five other Israeli soldiers were killed as they pursued the militants back into Lebanon.

"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 … that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he said in an interview with Lebanon's New TV station.

Nasrallah also said the United Nations and Italy already had initiated "contacts" about beginning negotiations on a prisoner swap.

Israeli officials have been refusing to comment on the record about the prospects of a prisoner exchange, citing the extreme sensitivity of the issue.

But military officials said earlier this month that Israel is holding 13 Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of dozens of guerrillas that it could swap for the two captive soldiers, but would not include any Palestinian prisoners in such a deal.

"The Israelis have acknowledged that this (issue) is headed for negotiations and a (prisoners) exchange," he said. "Contacts recently began for negotiations."

That he had no clue is obvious. I suspect that the fact that he even admitted this in public is because Hezbollah was hurt a lot more that he is letting on. I would also guess that there is more than a little contention in the organization because of Nasrallah's screwup and he is trying to defuse it. Later in the interview he as much as admits that Hezbollah isn't ready for another fight anytime soon.

Big Brother Is Watching

So be very careful what you throw away. Because your garbage can may be bugged. Trashcans in England have been fitted with electronic devices that record the garbage habits of their owners.

Some 500,000 "wheelie bins" have been secretly fitted with tiny electronic devices, each with a unique serial number, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported.

The little gizmos are scanned as a bin is emptied when the garbage truck comes around — enabling local authorities back at their offices to track the garbage habits of each household.

"A crucial element is the ability to identify specific bins and record when they are emptied," said a spokesman for Deister, a German company that is marketing the technology.

"That information can be applied in many different ways."

In related news, your blender is recording every word you say. Every. Single. One.

Iran Refuses To Stop Enrichment - Again

Once again, the Iranian regime is making sure the world knows that it has no intention of giving up its quest for nuclear weapons. They have no desire to negotiate in good faith and never have.

And in a fresh show of its military might, Iran test-fired a long range radar-evading sea-to-air missile during war games it says aim to demonstrate its readiness for "any threat."

But the Islamic regime Sunday said it remained keen to hold talks on Western concerns about its nuclear programme and revealed that UN chief Kofi Annan was due in Tehran on Saturday, two days after the deadline.

"Production of nuclear fuel is one of Iran's strategic objectives," lead negotiator Ali Larijani told state radio. "Any action to limit or deprive Iran could not force Iran to give up this goal."

The Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities by August 31 amid US-led concerns that its nuclear programme is cover for an attempt to produce an atomic bomb.

A package of incentives backed by the six major powers is dependent on the regime first agreeing to suspend enrichment.

But Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Reza Bagheri insisted during a visit to key regional ally Syria that a formal moratorium on enrichment was out of the question.

"While cooperating with international institutions, we consider the suspension of enrichment as our red line," Bagheri was quoted as saying in Damascus by Iran's official news agency IRNA.

"We insist on our right because we want to utilize nuclear technology for peaceful ends," he added.

That would be the peace of the grave for those of you who aren't still clear on this.

Texas Goes To Sea

No, not the state, the latest US Navy vessel to bear the name of the state. The Texas is the latest US fast attack submarine, the second in the Virginia class. It is purpose-built to handle covert operations as well as the more traditional roles of the fast attack boats.

The Texas, which will officially earn a "USS" designator in a commissioning ceremony in two weeks, weighs 7,800 tons, measures 377 feet long and can remain submerged on covert surveillance up to three months. It travels faster than 25 knots underwater and dives farther than 800 feet.

"It's much more effective than any ship I've been on before," said Capt. John Litherland, who has been on more than 50. "It's not the fastest, but the difference is that it's quiet even at its top speed."

Perhaps the biggest improvement is the ability to travel with a small special forces submarine, nine commandos and their gear. Previous subs would have carried only three Navy SEALS.

That kind of space is premium on a vessel designed to hide and spend most of its life underwater. Its maximum time submerged is limited only by the amount of food it can carry, because the boat generates its own power and oxygen.

Sailors sleep twelve to a room, on 6 1/2-foot beds with about 3 feet of top-to-bottom sleeping space, the 4-inch deep compartment under it the only place to stow belongings.

That's why they spent four weeks in basic training learning how to fold, crew members joke. And they've grown to carry less stuff, after training to spend up to six months at a time in the middle of the ocean.

More than 130 sailors will staff the sub when it begins serving missions, which after further trials might not be until 2008.

The boat carries sea-to-shore Tomahawk missiles, advanced capability Mark 48 torpedoes and mobile land mines. But one of its most critical missions is covert intelligence and surveillance.

Here's a link to a website that tells of the last ship to bear the name, the battleship USS Texas (BB-35). Still afloat as a museum, it served in both World War One and World War Two. (Wikipedia says the new Texas is the third vessel to bear the name, not the fourth.)

Juke Box Hero

He heard one guitar, just blew him away
He saw stars in his eyes, and the very next day
Bought a beat up six string in a secondhand store
Didnt know how to play it, but he knew for sure

That one guitar, felt good in his hands
Didnt take long, to understand
Just one guitar, slung way down low
Was one way ticket, only one way to go

So he started rockin
Aint never gonna stop
Gotta keep on rockin
Someday hes gonna make it to the top

And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
Hes a juke box hero
He took one guitar, juke box hero, stars in his eyes
Juke box hero, hell come alive tonight
(Foreigner, Juke Box Hero)

How to become famous, virally. Perform a masterful guitar solo with a rock version of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D. Make a low definition video of same with hat to obscure your face. Post on YouTube under a fake moniker. Then wait for the New York Times to write a story about you! It worked for Jeong-Hyun Lim.

The piece that funtwo played with mounting dexterity was an exceedingly difficult rock arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon, the composition from the turn of the 18th century known for its solemn chord progressions and its overexposure at weddings. But this arrangement, attributed on another title card to JerryC, was anything but plodding: it required high-level mastery of a singularly demanding maneuver called sweep-picking.

Over and over the guitarist’s left hand articulated strings with barely perceptible movements, sounding and muting notes almost simultaneously, and playing complete arpeggios through a single stroke with his right hand. Funtwo’s accuracy and velocity seemed record-breaking, but his mouth and jawline — to the extent that they were visible — looked impassive, with none of the exaggerated grimaces of heavy metal guitar heroes. The contrast between the soaring bravado of the undertaking and the reticence of the guitarist gave the 5-minute, 20-second video a gorgeous solemnity.

Like a celebrity sex tape or a Virgin Mary sighting, the video drew hordes of seekers with diverse interests and attitudes. Guitar sites, MySpace pages and a Polish video site called Smog linked to it, and viewers thundered to YouTube to watch it. If individual viewings were shipped records, “guitar” would have gone gold almost instantly. Now, with nearly 7.35 million views — and a spot in the site’s 10 most-viewed videos of all time — funtwo’s performance would be platinum many times over. From the perch it’s occupied for months on YouTube’s “most discussed” list, it generates a seemingly endless stream of praise (riveting, sick, better than Hendrix), exegesis, criticism, footnotes, skepticism, anger and awe.

If you have not seen this video, click the link and invest five or so minutes of your life. It's well worth it. Read the whole article, too. It's kind of fun. It tells how the arrangement came about, how the recording came to be made and the way the real artist was discovered despite others coming forward to claim credit. (Backup link to video here.)

Troop Morale

The New York Times has a story about a group of dancers called the Purrfect Angelz who are currently touring Iraq giving shows for the troops. (The dancers do have a website, but it appears to be stressed out right now and won't load properly).

For the Purrfect Angelz, it was a stop on a tour that also took them to bases like Al Qaim and Taji. The dancers, former cheerleaders, calendar models and aspiring actresses, have an active schedule in the United States, much of which consists of events for motorcycle riders. By design, the routines at Haditha are a bit tamer than the biker fare.

“We want to make it more about talent than being risqué,” Tanea Brooks said. “We are not going to boost every part of the morale.” Her credits include a three-year stint as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, a role in a country music video, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” by Trace Adkins, and a turn as quarterback for the New York Euphoria, one of the teams that established the Lingerie Football League, in which models played football dressed in underwear.

But for marines who deploy for seven months at a stretch, are forbidden to consume alcohol, have no real opportunities for social interaction with the Iraqi population and routinely travel down roads seeded by roadside bombs, the performance was exciting enough. “Servicemen are our best audience,” said Ms. Brooks, who gave her age as “21 forever.” “They are so appreciative. We love touring for them. They always get excited.”

[David Chavez, the president of Pro Sports MVP, which organized the tour, said that it was paid for by the military and that the expenses consisted of travel costs and small stipends. A Pentagon spokesman said he had no immediate information on what the tour cost or the financial arrangements.]

I'm missing Bob Hope right now. He used to bring stars out to the troops and the troops were very thankful. The USO is struggling a bit since so many high profile entertainers are not participating in USO tours. There are exceptions, however. One person who, believe it or not, deserves respect about that is Al Franken. He has toured Iraq several times and is scheduled to return later this year. His politics may be different than mine, but his heart is in the right place when it comes to the troops.

Indiana School Suspends 128

A high school principle in Hammond, Indiana suspended 128 students on the first day of classes for wearing inappropriate clothing. Some were also cited for using cell phones, apparently.

Fed up with inappropriate outfits, the principal suspended the students for one day Wednesday, minutes after doors opened at the school. Those suspended represent more than 10 percent of the 1,200 total students.

The offending attire — including baggy pants, low-cut shirts, tank tops and graphic T-shirts — are banned from classrooms. Students were also cited for cell phone use.

"This was the worst year I've seen in a long time," said Principal Theresa Mayerik. "It's gotten out of control, and we needed to send a message that we're not messing around."

The Hammond school usually has 20 dress code violations a day.

Mayerik said the infraction would be removed from students' records in 12 weeks if they had no other in-school violations.

The school board supports the principle's actions. I have five bucks that says we will hear from the ACLU on this one yet. Any takers?

Commuter Jet Crashes

A CJR-100 regional jet operated by Comair has crashed shortly after takeoff from the Lexington, Kentucky airport. The were 50 people on the flight. Emergency crews are responding.

UPDATE: There is reportedly one survivor at this time, in critical condition at a local hospital. The hospital says that no other victims have been brought in.

UPDATE: 49 reported killed. The plane may have been on the wrong runway, one that was too short.

UPDATE: CBS News is reporting it was the wrong runway and that the plane may never have actually become airborne at all.