SPARKY:
As If You Didn't See This Coming From
The Puppet Boy King's Handlers -

The Pentagon is compiling information about high school students aged 16 to 18 and other military-age
youths in a centralized database to identify potential recruits, a spokeswoman said.(AFP/DOD/File)

16 to 25? Pentagon Has Your Number, and More

By DAMIEN CAVE

The Defense Department and a private contractor have been building an extensive database of 30 million 16-to-25-year-olds, combining names with Social Security numbers, grade-point averages, e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

The department began building the database three years ago, but military officials filed a notice announcing plans for it only last month. That is apparently a violation of the federal Privacy Act, which requires that government agencies accept public comment before new records systems are created.

David S. C. Chu, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, acknowledged yesterday that the database had been in the works since 2002. Pentagon officials said they discovered in May 2004 that no Privacy Act notice had been filed. The filing last month was an effort to correct that, officials said. ...

"There is no buffer zone," said Sandra Lowe of Sonoma, Calif., who is a mother of four, including two teenage boys. "It's a direct shot to someone's child without consent from a parent. If you were to come on campus and wanted to take a picture of a child, you have to get a release - just to take a picture. This is a lot more than that."

Margot Williams contributed reporting from New York for this article, and John Files from Washington. (complete in link in title of article)

The Supreme Court's decision removed a possible obstacle to the District's plans to build a baseball stadium
along the Anacostia River waterfront. Property owners in that area had hoped the ruling would help them
resist the city's exercise of eminent domain, but an attorney for several of them said the decision "is going
to have a major impact." (By Dudley M. Brooks -- The Washington Post)

And then our liberals (folks who are technically the good guys) are up to something on the Supreme Court —

Justices Affirm Property Seizures

5-4 Ruling Backs Forced Sales for Private Development

By Charles Lane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 24, 2005; A01

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the new project's success is not guaranteed.

The 5 to 4 ruling provided the strong affirmation that state and local governments had sought for their increasing use of eminent domain for urban revitalization, especially in the Northeast, where many city centers have decayed and the suburban land supply is dwindling.

Opponents, including property-rights activists and advocates for elderly and low-income urban residents, argued that forcibly shifting land from one private owner to another, even with fair compensation, violates the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the taking of property by government except for "public use."

..."Regrettably, the predictable consequence of the Court's decision will be to exacerbate these effects," he wrote.

The case is Kelo v. City of New London , No. 04-108.

James Staley and DaShawna Jackson settle into the rent-free apartment near the Prince George's school where she teaches.

Staff writer Kirstin Downey contributed to this report.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company (complete in link in title of article)

Meanwhile the stalwart Nancy Pelosi wants cash to prevent the GOP from "buying another election" - when we know the bastards didn't buy any thing. THEY STOLE IT!

They don't really need cash as they need PR; Where's Kerry and his millions? Now's the time to attack Bush. Kerry needs to set up what the British call a "shadow governmen" — but on TV 24/7 highlighting the difference between the GOP and the Democrats ...

Too Hot in the Kitchen:
Abramoff to Sell Signatures
***
Super Lobbyist Jack Abramoff May be
Signing Away his Restaurant, but Only After
he Made his Mark on Republicans in Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After catering to the super-corrupt, Abramoff first closed his lobbying business, and is now shutting down the culinary arm of his influence peddling machine.

Republican lobbyist and restaurateur, Jack Abramoff, known for such high profile friends as Tom DeLay and Bob Ney and high paying clients - the Mississippi Band of the Choctaw Indians - has decided to sell his majority stake in the Washington, D.C. restaurant Signatures. The restaurant he started features high-priced entrees and fancy fare. Signatures has also played home to scores of GOP fundraisers by Speaker Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay.

"Jack Abramoff and his Signatures restaurant are synonymous with Tom DeLay and the ethically challenged Republican leadership," said Bill Burton, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "First Abramoff stopped peddling influence, now he's stopped selling the $12 burger. The sale of this restaurant makes me think of the old saying: 'If you can't stand the heat...'"

Sparky told you about the wacky evangelists at the Air Force Academy:

Intolerance Found at Air Force Academy
Military Report Criticizes Religious Climate but Does Not Cite Overt Bias

Air Force Chief of Staff John Jumper, right, gestures as Air Force Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel,
listens during a press conference discussing Bradys findings on a study of religious intolerance at the Air Force Academy at the Pentagon. The Air Force Academy failed to accommodate the diverse religious needs of cadets and staff, although there has
been no overt discrimination, a military investigative panel concluded on Wednesday. Photo Credit: AP

By Josh White Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2005

A military study of the religious climate at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs found several examples of religious intolerance, insensitivity and inappropriate proselytizing on the part of Air Force officers and cadets, but a report issued yesterday at the Pentagon concluded that the school is not overtly discriminatory and has made improvements in recent months.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Roger A. Brady announced that his 16-member review team found a "perception of religious bias" in more than 300 interviews with cadets representing all faiths and with faculty members and administrators. Brady also found that there was a failure at the academy "to fully accommodate all members' needs and a lack of awareness over where the line is drawn between permissible and impermissible expression of beliefs."

Brady told reporters at an afternoon news conference at the Pentagon that there did not appear to be a systemic problem, but he cited examples in which professors used their lecterns to promote specific religious activities to their cadets, calling the professors "well intended, but wrong." He said some personnel were concerned about the impact of religious affiliation on their careers and some cadets expressed objections to what they perceived to be mandatory prayers at official functions and in locker rooms.

"Additionally, some faculty members and coaches consider it their duty to profess their faith and discuss this issue in their classrooms in furtherance of developing cadets' spirituality," according to the 40-page document.

The report came after allegations that officers at the academy promoted evangelical Christian beliefs and were insensitive to cadets who were of a different religion or chose not to practice a faith. The allegations spurred a heated debate about the separation of church and state at the federally funded military school and caused a backlash among the chaplain community there.

Brady's study found glaring examples of that insensitivity and recommended that seven specific incidents be investigated further. He said his group, which visited the academy over four days in early May, was there to "take the pulse" of the religious climate, not to investigate wrongdoing.

Examples of questionable behavior highlighted in the report included the school's head football coach hanging a "Team Jesus" banner in the locker room in November 2004; the academy's commandant sending out a schoolwide message on the National Day of Prayer and encouraging cadets to use the "J for Jesus" hand signal; and senior school personnel signing on to a Christian advertisement citing scripture in the base newspaper.

Also detailed in the report was an incident in February 2004, when cadets reported their peers had placed fliers on the more than 4,000 place settings at the cadet dining facility and in other common areas promoting the film "The Passion of the Christ."

"Cadets felt they were being proselytized and pressured to see the movie," the report said. "Jewish cadets told the team they encountered anti-Semitic comments that they believe 'The Passion of The Christ' flyer event inspired."

Cadets also reported being harassed for not taking part in voluntary prayer meetings during basic training and being labeled as instead taking part in the "Heathen Flight" back to dorms for time to relax.

The concerns about religious intolerance arose during earlier investigations of complaints that sexual harassment was common on the campus but were ignored by school administrators. The teams studying the academy heard stories of favoritism toward evangelical cadets and faculty members and allegations of discrimination against others.

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who along with 45 other Democrats asked the secretary of the Air Force to become involved in the probe, called the report a step in the right direction but said it identified serious problems at the Air Force Academy that need to be addressed immediately.

"I continue to have serious concerns," Capps said. "The report downplays the full extent of an environment consumed by religious intolerance. . . . I am offended and I am shocked by the proselytizing that has been going on."

Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the report "could have been far more forthright than it is" and urged the academy to take decisive action to remedy the problems. The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, welcomed the report and called it "a significant start to cleaning up a poisoned atmosphere at the Air Force Academy."

Former Virginia governor James S. Gilmore III, chairman of the Air Force Academy's Board of Visitors, said yesterday that the academy has been going through a learning experience and dealing with a complicated challenge, one that is all over society. He said the academy will not tolerate religious abuse or favoritism but will protect the right of religious freedom.

"Some people thought, apparently, that they were doing the right thing by expressing their faith, but they failed to understand the impact it would have on people with other faiths or with no faith," Gilmore said. "They understand that now. I think they recognize that some faculty members probably went over the line."

Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, said yesterday that he believes major strides have been made over the past two years. "When problems like this arise, we are transparent with these problems, and we don't let them roll around," Jumper said. "We take them on, and we work these problems." ...

Religious Insensitivity Cited at Academy (washingtonpost.com)
By ROBERT WELLER, June 22, 2005
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A Pentagon investigation into complaints that evangelical Christians at the Air Force Academy have bullied Jews and......

Religious Insensitivity Cited at Academy (washingtonpost.com)
By JENNIFER TALHELM, June 23, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Air Force investigators merely scratched the surface in their report about alleged religious intolerance at the Air Force Academy,......

Air Force Academy Head to Lead Citadel (The Washington Post)
Page A02, June 21, 2005
DENVER, June 20 -- The superintendent of the Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. John Rosa, who took over the school after a sex assault scandal and......

Air Force Academy Is Off Course (The Washington Post)
Page A20, June 14, 2005
The June 4 editorial " 'Team Jesus Christ' " characterized reports of the religious climate at the Air Force Academy as "unsettling." If the......


Summary Box: Air Force School Report Out (washingtonpost.com)
By The Associated Press, June 22, 2005
-- WHAT HAPPENED: A Pentagon task force said the Air Force Academy has been insensitive toward non-Christian cadets and staff, but found no overt......

Air Force Ends Intolerance Probe at School (washingtonpost.com)
By ROBERT WELLER, June 21, 2005
DENVER -- The Pentagon said Tuesday it had finished its investigation into allegations of religious intolerance at the Air Force Academy _ a......

Airman's Rape Trial Could Be Delayed (washingtonpost.com)
By T.A. BADGER, June 22, 2005
SAN ANTONIO -- The start of an Air Force officer's trial on charges he raped a fellow cadet at the Air Force Academy could be delayed by a legal......

Air Force Officer's Lawyers Seek Records (washingtonpost.com)
By T.A. BADGER, June 23, 2005
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Lawyers for an Air Force officer accused of rape are pressing to have the charges shelved because the defense......

Sparky blames it all on “Team Weak Imaginary Friend”! Be seeing you ...