Rita Update:
Rita, as a Category 3 hurricane (120 mph) made landfall at 2:30 a.m. CDT today in extreme southwest Louisiana between Sabine Pass and Johnson’s Bayou, La. Port Arthur, Texas, clocked maximum wind gusts of 116 mph, while Beaumont, Texas, measured 105 mph. Cameron, La., reported a gust to 112 mph before the anemometer failed. Storm surge flooding of up to 15 feet probably occured just east of where the eye thundered ashore.
An Email to/from Cathy (my mom) who lives in Houston, in response to the coming hurricane everyone is freaking out about (because of the recent Katrina problems in New Orleans).
From Alan
dear houston clan:
After calling mom 6+ times, and never getting through, anita suggested I email her… and due to the subject matter, I decided to email all of you.
come to columbus if you want to escape the hurricane.
Challenged by Creationists, Museums Answer Back
(sorry, the link requires login)
Apparently, after a few rather agressive (not phiscally) confrontations with creationists, in science museums – docents and volunteers are flocking to training on how to best respond to such challenges.
“The goal is to understand the controversies, so that people are better able to handle them as they come up,” she said. “Museums, as a field, have recognized we need to take a more proactive role in evolution education.
Clinton launches withering attack on Bush on Iraq, Katrina, budget
Breaking with tradition under which US presidents mute criticisms of their successors, Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq “virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction.”
…
“What Americans need to understand is that … every single day of the year, our government goes into the market and borrows money from other countries to finance Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, and our tax cuts,” he said.
September 9th, it was ruled that Jose Padilla was still not to be given fair trial, in fact not to be charged with a crime nor to be given legal council. It’s the first time this has ever happened in the US court system (to my knowledge)… Even actual “enemy combatants” in our previous wars, captured on the battlefield all got lawyers and full legal procedings. Our courts were used, to verify and justify and validate.