Digital Journal: Leading the Web News Pack, in a New Direction

If you’re a blogger, you’ve probably seen the , “get paid to write”, and “freelance journalists wanted” banner ads before, and so had I, and every link I visited was just an ad for a website asking me to send them 39.95, and I would learn the “secret” to making money through the internet. Well thankfully one ad I clicked on allowed me to learn this secret, without breaking out my wallet.

Digital Journal.com may just be the most revolutionary way to not only reward it’s readers and writers with cold hard cash, but has kicked the doors open on a new fast and efficient way for readers, and writers to supply, and be supplied with the latest news, and a huge variety of stories on just one site.

I found this site a few weeks ago, and am positively addicted. I find myself checking it every couple of hours, and it has become my go-to site for up to the minute news. Bloggers, readers, whoever else; you simply need to check this website out. I promise you won’t regret it.

Huskers Squeak By Texas A&M 5-3 In Big 12 Tourney Opening Round

It was hardly the dominating game I was hoping for, but a 5-3 win, is a win, is a win. Tony Watson was hardly overpowering in his 5 and 1/3 innings pitched, allowing 7 hits and walking 4, but he was able to gather himself every time he got into trouble and ended up allowing just 2 runs. Matt Foust relieved Watson in the 6th inning and finished the game, pitching the final 3 and 2/3 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 walks, and 1 earned run. Faust also struck out 4.

Texas A&M starter Clayton Ehlert didn't fare very well in his start, lasting just 2 and 2/3 of an inning, and was pulled by Former Nebraska Pitching Coach Rob Childress when he got into trouble by loading the bases with just one out. Childress's move proved to be the right one, as the Huskers didn't manage another hit that inning.

The oddest scoring play of the game came in the bottom of the 8th inning, after 3rd baseman Craig Corriston singled, and outfielder Andrew Brown walked, both runners advanced a base, then another, including Corriston coming home on back-to-back balk calls.

Balks are certainly more prevalent in the college game than they are in Major league baseball, in fact I don't remember the last time I saw a balk get called in MLB, but back to back balks on any level is almost unheard of, and always unpopular, as it is usually a judgment call entirely based on what the umpire thinks he sees.

The extra run was proved to be not needed as the Foust was able to get through the 9th without allowing a run.

It's certainly a good start for the Huskers; a 0-1 start would almost certainly have put them under the gun. Texas has been rolling along in the Big 12, and if the Huskers want to have any chance to win their pool, they'll need to be undefeated when they meet Texas on Saturday.

The Huskers will next play tomorrow at 7:30 pm against Kansas State (33-22, 10-16 in Big 12) with Johnny Dorn most likely going to the hill.

Bush Misses the Point, Again

In a speech President Bush gave at a Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony, he pointed to declassified intelligence that says Osama Bin Laden thought about sending a top lieutenant to Iraq in 2005. But he's missing the point.

Bush said:

There's a reason bin Laden sent one of his most experienced paramilitary leaders to Iraq. He believes that if al Qaeda can drive us out, they can establish Iraq as a new terrorist sanctuary.

But there are a few things the President fails to realize:

1. While Bin Laden may have discussed sending this lieutenant to Iraq, there is no evidence to support he followed through with that plan. Exactly how many pieces of intelligence information has the United States compiled on people who thought about doing something, but didn't? And what other time in our country has that been held up as rationale for actions?

2. Bush and the media glossed over the fact Bin Laden discussed sending this lieutenant in 2005 -- two years after the U.S. had invaded Iraq. Would this not also be a shining beacon of proof that Bin Laden's organization was not in Iraq before we invaded? Should that not be pointed out early and often?

And finally:

3. Isn't it possible the chaos we created in Iraq would have made the country a more attractive terrorist breeding ground? And using that logic, wouldn't any attack we receive from terrorists stationed in Iraq be our own fault?

The president also made a comparison between Iraq and the Vietnam War, saying, "There are many differences between the two conflicts, but one stands out above all. The enemy in Vietnam had neither the intent nor the capability to strike our homeland. ... The enemy in Iraq does."

No Mr. Bush, as you already admitted, Bin Laden did not send his lieutenant. He's had no success in setting up an operation that could strike the U.S. from inside Iraq.

Although the White House rejected suggestions the revelations were timed for political purposes, Bush's address coincided with a push by Democrats in Congress to force an end to the U.S. military presence in the region.

Throughout May, 81 U.S. military personnel have died in the Iraq war, bringing the total to 3,432.

Who's the Biggest Douchebag in Congress?

If you guessed Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, then you win the prize. Today it came out that Coburn has erected two parliamentary holds on bills intended to honor Rachel Carson on the 100th anniversary of her birth (one bill to name a post office after her in PA, and a resolution honoring her)

Carson is the author of "Silent Spring" a book which illustrated how synthetic chemicals like DDT accumulate in water, soils, fish, and animals, including birds. Coburn is apparently a huge DDT enthusiast, so much so that he believes that Carson's claims lead to deaths of hundreds of young people in developing country's.

Coburn's office makes no attempt to illustrate how that might have happened, or why claiming a proven carcinogen like DDT is harmful qualifies as "junk science"

To make matters worse, Coburn's staff has tried to blame Harry Reid for allowing the parliamentary holds to so far, stay in effect, saying:

"[Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid could easily break this hold with procedural votes. The sponsors should ask Senator Reid why he won’t put it on the floor if this is a vital effort,"

Hart wrote in his e-mailed response to media outlet questions about the holds.

You want more evidence of Tom Coburn's douchebaggery? Special Thanks to Bubba World.com for compiling, and sharing this list

Example #1:

Dr. Coburn proudly proclaims he is 'pro-life' and that 'all life is sacred'. He has also said that the death penalty would be acceptable for those who perform abortion, and the real hook, is that he himself has performed abortions. Does he have a death wish?

Example #2:

While representing Oklahoma's 2nd District in Congress in Coburn protested NBC's airing of the historically significant movie "Schindler's List".

Coburn said in airing the movie NBC had taken television "to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity". He also said the broadcast should outrage parents and decent-minded individuals everywhere.

Conservative super-stars William Bennett and Jack Kemp took Coburn to task for those remarks, with Kemp calling Coburn's remarks "a huge mistake" and Bennett calling them "very unfortunate and foolish".

Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, Republican Senator from New York said of Coburn:

"To equate the nudity of Holocaust victims in the concentration camps with any sexual connotation is outrageous and offensive. I'm particularly embarrassed they were made by a member of my own party."

Example #3:

At the same town hall meeting in Altus, OK Coburn was tape recorded saying:

"All right, listen, I know the tribal issues. I was a congressman where most of the Indians are in this state. The problem is that most of them aren't Indians. The average Cherokee quantum is 1/512. All right, most people in this room have more Cherokee in them than the Cherokee..."

Coburn also went on to say:

"I mean this is a joke. It is one thing for us to keep our obligations to recognize Native Americans, but it’s a totally different thing for us to allow a primitive agreement with the Native Americans to undermine Oklahoma’s future…"

Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, in response to Coburn's views stated:

"I’m a Republican and it is hard to understand why Tom Coburn takes pride in dividing Oklahoma and ridiculing people. If you disagree with him, you are evil. There’s no discussion, no room for understanding.".

Bill Johnson, Tulsa and Washington county representative on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council said:

"I’ve been a Republican all my life and Tom Coburn is an embarrassment to the Republican party. Comments like these are why I keep seeing ‘Republicans for Carson’ signs popping up everywhere.".

In reply to Coburn's claim that the Cherokee Nation had given $150,000 to his opponent's campaign, Cherokee spokespersons stated that the Cherokee Nation had not given a single dollar to Carson's campaign.

So the real question is, how delusional are republicans in Oklahoma that this man was elected? And I thought Nebraska was bad.

Errr, What?

"I stand by Al Gonzales, and I would hope that people would be more sober in how they address these important issues. And they ought to get the job done of passing legislation, as opposed to figuring how to be actors on the political theater stage," Bush said.

Okay, I'm going to ignore the hypocrisy in Bush railing against the political theater thing, except to add this:

But honestly Mr. President, what could be more sober than investigating whether or not the top law enforcement official in the country was intentionally subverting the law? Is this really something you view as a waste of time? Oh don't answer that, I already know you have very little regard for our laws, your wiretapping without warrants proves what an utter disregard you have for the same Constitution you swore to protect.

Secondly, it seems you need to be reminded again that one of the jobs of Congress is to provide oversight on the other branches of government, this means investigating any semblance of wrongdoing by the federal government. I'm curious if you were equally annoyed when Congress was investigating whether or not President Clinton received fellatio from another consenting adult.

And thirdly, you have no one to blame for this "political theater" than yourself, your staff, your Attorney General, and his staff. If the Attorney General, who had over a month to prepare his testimony didn't appear to be suffering from early onset Alzheimer's, if Monica Goodling hadn't threatened to plead the 5th amendment when it was obvious she would be subpoenaed, if your Whitehouse hadn't "lost" over 5 million emails, if several of Al's staff hadn't resigned since this all began, including his chief of staff, and his deputy, and finally if you hadn't claimed you were impressed by Gonzalez's inability to remember anything, this would have most likely gone away quite a bit faster. The media is a fickle group, and the Democrats are a spineless bunch. Had you, and your cronies not thrown gasoline on the fire at every turn, this story would have faded away like all the countless other stories that have surfaced about your administration breaking the law, and getting away with it.

Surprise Leaders Found In Early Primary Polls

If Iowa, and New Hampsire's polls are any indicator, both primaries are going to be even more wild than most people expect.

Winning Iowa, and New Hampshire are not all-important for a candidate when talking about the electoral college exclusively, as neither state is very big, and therefore neither state has many electoral votes to award.

However, when you're talking about the public perception, which can be everything to a candidates fledgling campaign, Iowa and New Hampshire become ultra-important, based on those two states having the first primaries of a long political season. So new polls that have emerged from these two areas have veteran political operatives raising their eyebrows.

Iowa

Possibly the biggest shock from Iowa comes on the Democratic side, where John Edwards has flown into the lead, after being widely ignored by the national media in favor of Hollywood candidates, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. On average, Edwards has a 3 point lead over Clinton, with Obama pulling up 3rd place, 2 and 1/2 points behind the former First Lady, and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson pulling up a distant fourth.

On the Republican side, John McCain is holding the slimmest of margins over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, with Rudy Giuliani coming in 3rd, and former Senator and current 'Law and Order' actor Fred Thompson (who has not announced a run yet) looking very competitive even in the #4 spot.

New Hampshire

For the Democrats, the numbers aren't surprising except for the wide margin Hilary Clinton has over her challengers, on average, Clinton maintains a 12 point lead over both Obama, and Edwards who are in a virtual dead heat. Both primary polls show a stark difference from the national polls that have Hilary Clinton leading by about 15 points, Barack Obama in 2nd, and John Edwards pulling up a distant third.

For Republicans, Mitt Romney has taken the lead with a 2.5 point lead over John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani again falling to 3rd. The two primary polls have got to be deflating to a Giuliani campaign that has been taking water over the side for several weeks now. If Giuliani were to truly finish 3rd in the actual primaries, you'd have to wonder how much longer he could stay relevant. National polls average still shows Giuliani with a comfortable six point lead over McCain, and has as big a lead as 14 points in the USA Today/Gallup poll.

The National polls still show a grim view for whatever Republican wins their primary, as all candidates would lose to whatever Democrat wins on their side.