McCain says US should drill offshore
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Sen. John McCain said Monday the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling should be lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts.

Poll: Americans want to drill for oil here, now!
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The survey found 67 percent of voters support drilling for oil off American coasts, and 64 percent believe it at least somewhat likely drilling will lead to lower prices at the pump.

Democrats call for Nationalized Oil!
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Democrats called for the government to own refineries so it could better control the flow of the oil supply. We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market,” said a ranking Democrat. Communist Hugo Chavez, dictator of Venezuela would be proud!

Speeders pay for “Fuel Surcharge” on Tickets
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The surging price of gasoline has come to this: a "fuel surcharge" on your next speeding ticket. Drivers caught speeding in this north Atlanta suburb soon will have to pay an extra $12 — to cover $4-a-gallon gas costs for the police officers who stop them. The City Council passed the fee hike, effective July 1, to offset fuel prices that have eaten up nearly 60% of the police department's 2008 fuel budget, Police Chief Ken Ball says.

McCain calls for building 45 new nuclear reactors
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Sen. John McCain is calling for construction of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 and pledging $2 billion a year in federal funds to make clean coal a reality. He says the measures will reduce American dependence on foreign oil.

Hypocrisy: Gore’s personal electricity consumption up 10%
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In the year since Al Gore took steps to make his home more energy-efficient, the former Vice President’s home energy use surged more than 10%, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “A man’s commitment to his beliefs is best measured by what he does behind the closed doors of his own home,” said Drew Johnson, President of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “Al Gore is a hypocrite and a fraud when it comes to his commitment to the environment, judging by his home energy consumption.”

The Tax Relief Program Worked: Make the Tax Cuts Permanent
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Tax relief worked. It put the federal tax burden on track toward its historic norm. Combined with an aggressive monetary policy, tax relief helped to restore robust economic growth following the Clinton reces­sion and subsequent shocks early in the decade. It pro­duced a more growth-oriented tax policy for the long term, helping the economy to weather current storms arising in the housing and capital markets. And it made important strides toward fundamental tax reform.

Haditha counts against Marine officer dismissed
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Liberal Congressman Jack Murtha-inspired allegations over Iraqi firefight dropped. A judge in the U.S. military court system today tossed out the charges against a Marine officer whose soldiers were caught in a bloody firefight with insurgents in 2005 in Haditha, Iraq. The Haditha incident was used as political fonder by the Democrats in the 2006 election.

Marine prepares to sue Murtha
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With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq, incident now exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by declaring the men cold-blooded killers. The lead attorney for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani said he and his client will look into suing Murtha and the Time magazine reporter, Tim McGuirk, who first published the accusations by Iraqi insurgents.

Toughest sheriff in US vows no let up in immigration fight
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-styled "toughest sheriff in America" has ruled his fifedom in Arizona's Maricopa County with a steely, zero-tolerance that has enraged human rights activists but delighted headline-writers the world over. The opprobrium heaped in Arpaio's direction is water off a duck's back: after 16 years in office, the veteran lawman is showing no signs of mellowing. "It just makes me more vigilant and go out more," Arpaio told AFP in an interview. "They ought to shut their mouth, let the system take its course, and if they don't like the laws, go out and get them changed. "But don't try to intimidate me to stop enforcing the laws. It will never happen ... That's how I take care of business."

Oklahoma to feds: Don't tread on me
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Steamed over a perceived increase in federal usurping of states' rights, Oklahoma's House of Representatives told Washington, D.C., to back off. Joint House Resolution 1089, passed by an overwhelming 92-3 margin, reasserts Oklahoma's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and, according to the resolution's own language, is "serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates." The Tenth Amendment states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." The Sooner State became a hotbed of federal vs. state authority clashes earlier this month when a federal judge blocked a portion of Oklahoma's tough immigration laws, ruling that plaintiffs would likely establish that the state mandates preempted federal immigration laws.

Louisiana Allows for Creationism in Public Schools
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A bill to overhaul the way evolution is taught in Louisiana public schools easily cleared its final legislative hurdle Monday despite threats of a lawsuit. The Senate voted 36-0 without debate to go along with the same version of the proposal that the House passed last week 94-3. The measure, Senate Bill 733, now goes to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has pledge to sign it. Backers said the bill is needed to give science teachers more freedom to hold discussions that challenge traditional theories, including Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Smugglers Had Design For Advanced Warhead
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An international smuggling ring that sold bomb-related parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea also managed to acquire blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon, according to a draft report by a former top U.N. arms inspector that suggests the plans could have been shared secretly with any number of countries or rogue groups.

Pope says Church role in politics "for good of all"
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The Catholic Church has a vital role to play in shaping social policies but does not seek to usurp secular authorities, Pope Benedict said on Saturday. In a homily to pilgrims in southern Italy, the Pope said the Church's role in politics -- where it often speaks out against abortion, gay marriage and embryo research -- was not intended to take the place of western secular ways of government.

Lieberman irks Democrats by criticizing Obama
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Joe Lieberman is fast becoming the Democrats' public enemy No. 1. The four-term Connecticut senator, who came tantalizingly close to being Al Gore's vice president in 2000, not only has been campaigning for his pal, presumed Republican nominee John McCain, now he's publicly criticizing the Democrats' standard-bearer, Barack Hussein Obama.

Vatican to Hanks: “You can’t film here”
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The Vatican has banned the makers of Angels & Demons, the latest Dan Brown thriller to be filmed, from shooting scenes not only in the Vatican but in any church in Rome on the ground that it is "an offence against God" and "wounds common religious feelings". Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, head of the Vatican's Prefecture for Economic Affairs, said that the author had "turned the Gospels upside down to poison the faith. It would be unacceptable to transform churches into film sets so that his blasphemous novels can be made into mendacious films in the name of business."

France – America’s New Best Friend
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President Bush heralded a “new era of transatlantic unity” when he arrived in France yesterday, with the location of his speech as significant as its content. By choosing Paris for what White House officials described as “the centerpiece” of his week-long farewell trip to Europe, Mr. Bush sought to put the seal on a dramatic transformation in relations with France since President Sarkozy was elected last year.

Huge Terrorist Jail Break
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Afghan and international troops yesterday launched a desperate hunt for more than 1,100 prisoners who escaped a jail in Afghanistan when Taliban rebels blasted it open. The Taliban said 400 of its own fighters escaped when the rebels attacked the facility in the southern city of Kandahar late on Friday, blasting it open with suicide bombs before shooting the guards.

McCain Meets Privately with Fr. Pavone - Says Constitutional Right to Life Applies to Unborn
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Sen. John McCain reached out to Catholic voters yesterday in Philadelphia at a gathering of Catholic lay leaders and clergy. The meeting, held at the venerable Union League on South Broad St., is one in an ongoing series being held nationwide by McCain and his Catholic surrogates - Sen. Sam Brownback, Gov. Frank Keating, and former Vatican ambassador Jim Nicholson.

Heroic Polish athlete dies to save life of unborn child
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Thousands of Poles lined up to say their final goodbyes to Agata Mroz, a young volleyball star who died on June 4 after postponing a bone marrow transplant in order to allow her daughter to be born.

Pro-Life Pharmacies opening around US
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A pro-life pharmacy which will not stock contraceptives will open this August in Chantilly, Virginia, is joining several pharmacies around the country that accommodate workers with objections to distributing contraceptives. "We're trying not to leave our faith at the door," said John Bruchalski, who chairs the group's board of directors. "We're trying to create an environment where belief and professionalism come together."

Liberal Congress establishes LGBT Equality Caucus
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In a Capitol Hill press conference last week, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) announced the formation of the House of Representatives LGBT Equality Caucus. Baldwin introduced the bipartisan caucus and its founding members saying that they all shared "a common mission: to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality."

Transgender Rights on the Rise
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Last month, the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) announced it would include a $75,000 lifetime benefit for transgender healthcare in its graduate student health insurance plan. This is a huge benefit for transsexuals, as health procedures – for example, hormone treatments, plastic surgery, hair removal, hysterectomies, artificial genital construction, vocal cord surgery and breast removal – are frequently sought by transgender individuals hoping to alter their appearance, but are often not covered under insurance plans. This week, the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association passed a resolution to "support public and private heath insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder," a move that will likely encourage more insurance plans, like that at UCSB, to cover transgender procedures. In Massachusetts last month, the legislature approved an $850,000 budget item for transgender programs in the public schools, and later this month, Scott's organization will team with a Boston-area group to put on an already sold-out Transgender Youth Summit, where Katherine Patrick, lesbian daughter of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, will be a featured speaker.

Levees Break in Iowa
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A levee holding back rising floodwaters broke and swamped Iowa's capital on Saturday as officials across the Midwest reinforced levees, helped displaced residents and cleaned up the mess left by the region's worst flooding in 15 years.

Police arrest lesbians for 'torturing' little boy
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A 5-year-old Los Angeles boy is fighting for his life after police say he was severely tortured with burns and food deprivation by his lesbian mother and her live-in girlfriend.

Federal Crimes Increasing
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The growth of federal crimes continues unabated. The increase of 452 over the eight-year period between 2000 and 2007 averages 56.5 crimes per year—roughly the same rate at which Congress cre­ated new crimes in the 1980s and 1990s. So for the past twenty-five years, a period over which the growth of the federal criminal law has come under increasing scrutiny, Congress has been creating over 500 new crimes per decade.

Liberal County Exec becomes Public Enemy #1 because of Drink Tax
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A stiff drink comes with a stiff tax in Pittsburgh and surrounding towns these days, and that has made the county executive public enemy No. 1 in some quarters, reviled by name in song and on bar bills. The 10 percent drink tax, in effect since January, was pushed along by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato to subsidize public transit. The two-term Democrat says he had no choice; swallow that, he said, or property taxes would have to be hiked.

Obama Camp Tells Muslim Supporters to Remove Headscarves
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Two Muslim women at Barack Hussein Obama’s rally in Detroit were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteers seeking to prevent the women’s headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate.

Dad grounds daughter, Court says no
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A father in Canada had grounded his daughter from going on a school trip because she disobeyed his orders to stay off the Internet. But a court has now overturned the punishment. The father had ordered the daughter to remain off the Internet. She didn't, chatting on websites her father had tried to block and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's Internet portal. As punishment, the father refused to let her go on a scheduled school trip, so the 12-year-old went to Canada's judicial system to get her way. The court reversed the father’s decision.