Smithers MINNEAPOLIS

Pat Robertson, at it again:

The Rev. Pat Robertson said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is being punished by God for dividing the Land of Israel…“He was dividing God’s land,” Robertson said. “And I would say, Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America. God says, This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone.”

Vice President Dick Cheney never misses an opportunity to both lie and mention 9/11. From the Washington Post:

Vice President Cheney said yesterday that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks might have been prevented if the Bush administration had had the power to secretly monitor conversations involving two of the hijackers without court orders.

Prior to 9/11 it was consistent with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to wiretap surveillance involving known al Qaeda or affiliates. All they needed to do was get a warrant from the FISA court within 72 hours following the wiretap. Cheney’s attempt at using this bullshit smokescreen argument reeks of desperation.

UPDATE 1/5/05 12:44pm: Of course, Bush ass-kissers like Sean Hannity continue to confuse the American public with flat out lies such as this:

If Osama Bin Laden calls the United States, they’re saying we need to go spend 76 hours and get a court order before we can record that phone conversation-that’s how asinine their logic is.

But propagandists and shills like Hannity have never been bothered to take the time to actually read and understand the law.

OK, I am not trying to cop out on this one, but I really don’t believe in the whole Hate Crime/Hate Speech law.

Hate crimes are criminal acts against a protected group of people within society. Many states have established harsher penalties for hate crimes. I don’t think the determination or the harsher penalties are necessary or appropriate.

An act is either illegal or it is not. The punishment for the act should be clearly defined regardless of who commits the act and who is the victim. By creating a special class of protected citizens it creates a group that has effectively more protection against crime than the rest of the society and I am not for that.

What’s the difference between getting beat up because you are gay or a Jew and getting beat up because you are wearing a Green Bay Packers jacket? In both situations you are being targeted because of your “group”. The punishment should fit the crime, not who the victim happens to be. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for tough punishment for crime, but I am not for effectively weaker punishment for those that prey on victims who are not a protected class.

I was pointed to this article via Tim.

PEZ Cycling News:

He Can’t Climb. That was the book on Lance Armstrong before his first Tour victory in 1999. Except Johan Bruyneel saw it differently. So when Discovery Channel spilled the beans that George Hincapie might start the 2006 Tour as a protected rider the chat boards lit up with speculation. Can Big George actually win this thing or was it just another one of Bruyneel’s crafty ploys to deflect media pressure away from someone else?

Yea but Armstrong had a fight for his life battle with testicular cancer that yielded a different muscle to weight ratio. It was this change in body type that gave Armstrong the ability to climb.

Hincapie?

Hey, 6′ 4″ Eros Poli won a Tour stage to Mount Ventoux in 1994 but no body was ever foolish enough to think he could win the whole thing…