Young Republican National Conference
by karma432“Crooks and Liars” attempted to place this ad in the Young Republican National Conference official program:
They were turned down. Too negative.
The Young Republican convention is apparently going to be the source for much fun and mischief, courtesy of Operation Yellow Elephant.
But then, the YRs may not get to see much of it from their window-tinted, chauffer driven limos.
WOO! HOO! The Detoit Pistons Basketball team is still alive!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062200029.html
Mich. American Indian Carvings in Danger
by Angry White LiberalI posted this because I’m a native Michigander….
–Nathan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/21/AR2005062100084.html
washingtonpost.com
Mich. American Indian Carvings in Danger
By BREE FOWLER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 21, 2005; 9:02 PM
GREENLEAF TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Sanilac Petroglyphs have drawn generations of visitors to a wooded area in rural Michigan, but the rare American Indian carvings are in danger of being lost forever unless something is done to preserve them.
The petroglyphs, the only known such carvings in Michigan and some of only a few in the Great Lakes region, were created anywhere from 400 to 1,000 years ago when Indians carved figures into a 25-by-40 square-foot piece of soft sandstone.
Farmers discovered them just before the turn of the 20th century, after massive fires of 1871 and 1881 cleared much of the heavy forests in Michigan’s Thumb area and burned away topsoil. Since then, the petroglyphs have suffered the wear and tear of harsh winters and the hundreds of visitors, who at times even carved their own initials in the stone.
Although the specific meaning of the swirls, lines, handprints, flying birds and bow-wielding men depicted in the carvings remains the subject of debate, experts say the petroglyphs, and their location, were significant to the Indians that traveled to the spot.
“These are very important figures religiously and mythologically. It’s not just random scratching or doodling. There was a purpose to going there,” said John Halsey, the state’s archaeologist.
Halsey explained that no one knows which Indian tribe created the petroglyphs or exactly when they did it, because a number of tribes moved through the area during that time, and artifacts that could be carbon-dated haven’t been found near the work.
“What I think it is, is a place where shamans or hunters went on vision quests and recorded what they saw,” Halsey said. “A lot of (the carvings) aren’t particularly representational of animals. There are some bird tracks, and some appear to be the great underwater panther, thunderbirds, things common to a great many native people across the Midwest.”
Now, after decades of seeing the carvings slowly disappear, local and state officials, along with one of Michigan’s most prominent Indian tribes, are forming a joint steering committee to find new ways to preserve the petroglyphs for future generations.
“It connects us back to the earth,” said Bonnie Ekdahl, director of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe’s Ziibiwing Center in Mount Pleasant. “It connects us back to the ancestors. We’re descended from those people. I mean where did we come from? We’ve always been here.”
The petroglyphs are located about 100 miles north of Detroit.
Petroglyphs aren’t uncommon in North America, but many are concentrated in the Southwest, where there is an abundance of the exposed rock that is rare in Michigan, Halsey said.
Other Great Lakes petroglyphs are less susceptible to environmental damage because they were carved in much harder materials. For example, the Jeffers Petroglyphs in Minnesota, which were carved in quartzite bedrock, are thought to be thousands of years older than the Sanilac Petroglyphs.
In addition to the effects of nature, the petroglyphs have been hurt by state budget cuts. Two years ago, Michigan officials cut the funding needed to keep the site open to the public, but a grant saved the area from being shuttered in 2004 and 2005. State officials are looking for funding to keep them open beyond this year.
Phillip Kwiatkowski, director of the Michigan Historical Museum System, said that preserving the stone, which is the only Indian site included in the state museum system, is a concern for state officials. He said the museum has been in discussions with the administrators of other petroglyphs in hopes of finding ways to preserve the carvings.
But others like Halsey are not as optimistic.
“It’s not going to disappear in 10 years, but do you know of anything that’s eternal?” Halsey asked. “What’s the annual swing of temperature there? One hundred degrees? The best way from a strictly archaeological standpoint is to document them and to otherwise minimize contact with the rock. And that’s very difficult to do.”
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On the Net:
More: http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/ParksandTrailsInfo.aspx?id490
© 2005 The Associated Press
ACLU States That Bush II Is Classifying Science
by Angry White LiberalI would like to point out that this is not the first time that the Bush II Administration has been accused of excessive secrecy. This may be as bad as the Nixon Administration….
–Nathan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/21/AR2005062100756_pf.html
washingtonpost.com
ACLU Says Bush Is Restricting Science
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 21, 2005; 9:06 PM
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union charged Tuesday that the Bush administration is placing science under siege by overzealously tightening restrictions on information, individuals and technology in the name of homeland security.
The administration “has sought to impose growing restrictions on the free flow of scientific information, unreasonable barriers on the use of scientific materials and increased monitoring of and restrictions on foreign university students,” the ACLU said.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks the government has actively increased the use of classifying information to keep it secret, including the use of the category “unclassified but sensitive” and extending classification authority to more departments, the ACLU said.
Robert Hopkins of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy criticized the ACLU for seeking to politicize the issue.
“The report chooses to criticize actions taken to address security concerns in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack,” Hopkins said. “The administration has worked in good faith with serious members of the science community, including the National Academies, to determine the best way to enable the conduct of science without providing terrorists with a road map for pursuing their aims.”
Indeed, the National Academy of Sciences delayed publication of an article at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services over concerns the paper could provide terrorists information on poisoning the milk supply. Negotiations over the report are continuing.
But the ACLU contends that the administration has been overzealous, reversing past government openness by creating a presumption of secrecy and lengthening classification periods.
The report lists other science restrictions, including limiting the access of foreign scholars to information, restricting their participation in some areas of research and tightening visa rules with the result of blocking or delaying visits to this country by foreign students and teachers.
And the ACLU charged the administration with trying to suppress information on such topics as global warming, mercury emissions and emergency contraception.
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On the Net:
American Civil Liberties Union: http://www.aclu.org
Office of Science and Technology Policy: http://www.ostp.gov
© 2005 The Associated Press