The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 02/06/2005 - 02/13/2005

Saturday, February 12, 2005

9-11 professor trained terrorists

Radical group Weathermen assisted by Ward Churchill

Posted: February 11, 2005
1:41 p.m. Eastern
� 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
The University of Colorado professor under fire for calling victims of the 9-11 attacks "Little Eichmans," reportedly trained a domestic terror group.

Ward Churchill taught the revolutionary group the Weathermen how to make bombs and fire weapons, according to a Fox News report citing the Jan. 18, 1987 issue of the Denver Post.

The revelation is among many reported since Churchill prompted a national furor with publicity of an essay he wrote titled "Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens."

Written shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, it describes the thousands of American victims who died in the World Trade Center inferno as "little Eichmanns" -- a reference to notorious Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann -- who were perpetuating America's "mighty engine of profit." They were destroyed, he added, thanks to the "gallant sacrifices" of "combat teams" that successfully targeted the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.


Churchill resigned his position as head of the Colorado University ethnic studies program but kept his $96,000 per year teaching post. He has steadfastly refused to apologize for his comments.

Meanwhile, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater said it will allow Churchill to speak next month, a decision that sparked outrage among state lawmakers, the Associated Press reported.

Chancellor Jack Miller said in a statement he finds the professor's views repugnant but believes it's necessary to permit him to speak under First Amendment principles.

A former student of Churchill's says she heard him justify the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing during a class lecture.

Kimberly Hickel said the professor "actually stood in front of our class and said how the FBI got what they deserved. It was awful."

In an interview last April with the left-leaning Brooklyn-based magazine Satya, Churchill was quoted saying the United States should "cease to exist" and that "more 9-11s may be necessary."

Israel downed 2 Syrian MiGs Over Sea !

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, February 11, 2005
Diplomatic sources said Israel Air Force F-16 multi-role fighters intercepted and downed two Syrian MiG-29 fighter-jets last year. The sources said the dogfight took place in September 2004 over the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

This was the first engagement between Israeli and Syrian fighter-jets since the 1980s. The sources said the air battle took place when Israel Air Force fighter-jets buzzed the Syrian city of Latakia, a port used by Iran for the shipment of weapons to Hizbullah.

The Washington-based Reform Party of Syria first provided details of the Israeli-Syrian dogfight. RPS said the air battle took place on Sept. 14, 2004, adding that both downed pilots were rescued by Syrian military helicopters, Middle East Newsline reported.

RPS, quoting a European source, said the Israeli fighter-jets used an Israeli-origin Python-4 air-to-air missile to down one of the MiG-29s. The other Syrian MiG-29 was shot down by a U.S.-origin AIM-9M Sidewinder.

The pilots of the MiG-29s were identified by RPS as Maj. Arshad Midhat Mubarak and Capt. Ahmad Al Khatib.

Diplomatic sources said the Syrian losses led President Bashar Assad to accelerate efforts to procure advanced anti-aircraft systems from Russia.

Syria has requested a range of anti-aircraft systems, including the SA-18, TOR-M1, S-300PMU2 and the S-400 systems.

The most likely Russian sale to Damascus is that of the SA-18, the sources said. They said Russia would supply the first SA-18 short-range systems � either directly or through a third country � within several months.

In January, Russia and Syria � overriding objections from Israel and the United States � agreed on the sale of the SA-18 to Damascus. Russian officials said the sale of the SA-18 would not violate any international arms agreement.

"Russia has cooperated with Syria for decades, and my country is convinced that Syria has a strong right to get defensive weapons," Russian ambassador in Tunisia Aleksei Tserub said.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Applause in the Airport? Beyond the Beer Commercial ...

It Happens ... It Really Happens
By Matt Friedeman, PhD
February 10, 2005

(AgapePress) - Rick from Winona, Mississippi, called my state-wide talk radio program this week. Sometimes, you get a phone call that ought to be read in the broader market.

On the program that day we were discussing the report that some Europeans were disgusted with the Super Bowl commercial of American soldiers getting applause in an airport. The critics thought it too extreme in its patriotism and a possible incitement to further war.

At any rate, Rick (he asked us not to use his full name) called to talk about his experience coming back recently from the fields of war. His words (and they are worth your time reading, only lightly edited):

"I heard you talking about the Super Bowl commercial. I'm a Marine, a re-con Marine. I just got back from overseas, the second week of December, actually. I was injured overseas, so that's why I'm home now.

"But the whole time I was [there, in recovery] we watched the news to see what's going on. And we saw the protests, and we saw what the media was saying about what's going on, and we were worried about what we were actually going to face when we came home. We didn't know what to expect, to be honest with you. From the news media we were seeing, the whole country was basically telling us we're a bunch of jerks.

"I thank God that the troops that are there don't see the news coverage. I thank God every day, because there'd be ten times the number getting killed, just because it would so un-motivate [sic] them.

"Back to the story: there were seven other soldiers that came home with me that day. We flew into JFK, and we were talking on the way back: What's going to happen? What will we be facing? Is it going to be like the Vietnam era, are there going to be people spitting at us?

"We didn't know. We had that much trepidation about it.

"We get into JFK, we step out of the breezeway into the main terminal, and directly in front of us was an elderly gentleman carrying a bag. And he immediately stopped, set his bag down, and the first thing we all thought was, 'Oh, Lord, here we go already.' He just stopped and looked at us for a second, and then tears came to his eyes and he saluted us.

"And -- I'm breaking up now [editor's note: with tears] -- every one of us just started crying like babies. Everybody in the terminal -- I kid you not, at least two to three hundred people -- just started clapping, spontaneously. To me, it was so much worth what we were doing, to realize that people over here actually get what we were doing. We weren't over there because it's fun. We're over there doing a job.

"When I saw the Super Bowl commercial, I just started bawling like a baby again because that was something totally unexpected. We had no idea that people actually appreciated what we're doing, from what we see on the news. We thought we were going to come back and get eggs thrown at us. It was so refreshing to know that what we were seeing on the news is just a bunch of garbage that's being concocted by the media, that 99.9 percent of the country doesn't believe that way.

"I have a couple of more months of recovery. I got hit with a concussion and have some internal damage, but I'm feeling up, doing well, and hopefully I can get back over there with my boys."

It caused some tears in this talk show host's eyes to know there were tears in his. Appreciation, smiles, handclaps -- they can go a long way when a nation is at war, regardless of what the media and some Europeans might think.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Democrat Leadership Threatening 'Retribution' for Dems Who Cooperate with White House

by Allan H. Ryskind
Posted Feb 10, 2005

Rep. Paul Ryan (R.-Wis.) was asked at a CATO conference in Washington yesterday whether he had persuaded any Democrats to back his plan to rescue Social Security from its financial troubles. Under his legislation (HR 4851), no new taxes would be needed to pay for "transition costs," participation in the new system would be voluntary and individuals would be allowed to divert a portion of their payroll tax into a mutual fund.

A questioner from the audience, stressing his own Democratic credentials, said he believed Ryan's plan should attract members of his own party and wondered whether the Wisconsin lawmaker had secured any Democratic sponsors. Ryan said he had been working with friends on the "other side of the aisle" who were favorable toward his solution, but he faced an enormous problem: intense pressure on his colleagues from the minority leadership.

"We were in planning stages [with friendly Democrats]," said Ryan. But each essentially told him: "I like what you're doing. I like this bill. I think it's the right way to go. But my party leadership will break my back. The retribution that they are promising us is as great as I have ever seen. We can't do it."

Ryan said he believed the only thing that can assure passage is an outpouring from America's grassroots.

Poll: Hillary Clear 2008 Favorite

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 8:40 a.m. EST
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton would easily win the Democratic nomination, a USA Today poll released Thursday finds.

The Poll found 40% of Democrats backing Hillary; only 25% want John Kerry and 17%, John Edwards. The margin of error for the poll is +/�5 percentage points.


The paper noted the significance of the poll: "Her poll status also represents a historic breakthrough: No other female candidate has had such a serious chance of winning a major party's nomination for the presidency."

The poll also found that among Republicans former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani got 34%; Arizona Sen. John McCain, 29%; Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 12%; and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, 6%.

FAA Warned of bin Laden Hijacking in 1998

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 12:42 p.m. EST
The press is ballyhooing a report in today's New York Times that suggests that the Federal Aviation Administration received its first clear set of warnings of a 9/11-style attack during the early months of the Bush administration.

But in fact, intelligence naming Osama bin Laden - and even identifying the airports he might use to hijack airliners - was passed on to the FAA as early as 1998 - where the information languished during the final two years of President Clinton's second term. Sourcing a newly declassified section of the 9/11 Commission report, the Times said Thursday:

"Leaders of the FAA received 52 intelligence reports from their security branch that mentioned Mr. Bin Laden or Al Qaida from April to Sept. 2001. That represented half of all the intelligence summaries in that time."

The paper continued: "Five of the intelligence reports specifically mentioned Al Qaeda's training or capability to conduct hijackings, the report said. Two mentioned suicide operations, although not connected to aviation."

"Aviation officials amassed so much information about the growing threat posed by terrorists that they conducted classified briefings in mid-2001 for security officials at 19 of the nation's busiest airports to warn of the threat posed in particular by Mr. bin Laden."

Repeatedly referencing President Bush's first year in office, the Times even noted that the White House had fought to keep the FAA warnings classified, leaving readers to surmise that the Bush administration was trying to cover up its failure to act.

Nowhere in the Times report, however, was the Clinton-era intelligence even hinted at, though it was first reported three years ago by the Times' sister publication, the Boston Globe:

"The Federal Aviation Administration warned the nation's airports and airlines in late 1998 about a possible terrorist hijacking 'at a metropolitan airport in the Eastern United States' and urged a 'high degree of vigilance' against threats to US civil aviation from Osama bin Laden's terrorist network," the Globe revealed in May 2002.

New documents, the paper said, "appear to show that US intelligence agencies communicated to the FAA specific concerns about threats, including hijackings, to domestic airliners dating back to the Clinton administration."

One FAA official cited by the Globe acknowledged privately that a warning involving a "metropolitan airport" in the Eastern United States effectively applied to fewer than 20 airfields.

Two out of three of the 1998 FAA circulars obtained by the Globe specifically warned about hijacking plans by Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

In an Oct. 8, 1998 advisory, airports and airlines were instructed to maintain a "high degree of alertness" based on statements made by bin Laden and other Islamic leaders. It also cited intelligence gathered in the wake of President Clinton's cruise missile attacks against suspected al-Qaida bases in Afghanistan and Sudan.

Bin Laden, the circular states, had praised Ramzi Yousef, who was arrested in a failed 1995 plot to blow up airliners over the Pacific, which later became the blueprint for the 9/11 attacks.

The Clinton-era circular warned that "militants had been mobilized to strike a significant US or Israeli target, to include bringing down or hijacking aircraft."

The document also noted that "one of the incarcerated suspects in the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi that he received aircraft hijack training. ... The arrest and pending extradition of [the] bin Laden cadre raises the possibility of a US airliner being hijacked in an effort to demand the release of incarcerated members."

An advisory issued two months later was equally specific, warning, "The FAA has received information that unidentified individuals, who are associated with a terrorist organization, may be planning a hijacking at a metropolitan airport in the Eastern United States."

The third FAA advisory obtained by the Globe, issued Dec. 29, 1998, warned airline and airport security officials to "remain vigilant," based on statements made by bin Laden following the August 1998 cruise missile attacks.

9/11 Panel: FAA Got 52 Warnings in 6 Mos.

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005
NEW YORK -- Federal Aviation Administration officials received 52 warnings prior to Sept. 11, 2001, from their own security experts about potential al-Qaida attacks, including some that mentioned airline hijackings or suicide attacks, The New York Times reported.

The Times said in Thursday editions that a previously undisclosed report by the 9/11 commission that investigated the suicide airliner attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon detailed warnings given to FAA leaders from April to Sept. 10, 2001, about the radical Islamic terrorist group and its leader, Osama bin Laden. The commission report, written last August, said five security warnings mentioned al-Qaida's training for hijackings and two reports concerned suicide operations not connected to aviation.
The Times said that a classified version and a partially declassified version of the 120-page report were given to the National Archives two weeks ago. The Times story cited the declassified version of the document.

Al Felzenberg, former spokesman for the 9/11 commission, which went out of business last summer, said the government had not completed review of the report for declassification purposes until recently. He said the Justice Department delivered the two versions of the document to the Archives.

An Archives spokeswoman said the unclassified version of the document was not yet available Wednesday night.

The Times gave these highlights from the commission report:

Aviation officials were "lulled into a false sense of security" and "intelligence that indicated a real and growing threat leading up to 9/ll did not stimulate significant increases in security procedures."

It takes the FAA to task for not expanding the use of in-flight air marshals or tightening airport screening for weapons. It said FAA officials were more concerned with reducing airline congestion, lessening delays and easing air carriers' financial problems than thwarting a terrorist attack.

Information in this report was available to members of the 9/11 commission when they issued their public report last summer. That report itself contained criticisms of FAA operations.

Message Board Member Admits to Hoax of US Soldier's Capture

By SITE Institute

February 4, 2005

A message is currently in circulation on Jihadist message boards in
which an Iraqi by the nickname of "al-Iraqi4" admits to being behind
the hoax of the US soldier's capture by the Mujahideen [using a toy
soldier that he named John Adam]. While some message board members
prayed for the hoaxter's guidance toward righteousness and resorted
to God for judgment, others were furious at him for "demoralizing"
the members.

Following is the translation of the hoaxter's apology message,
written on February 2, 2005:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate,

Soldier John Adam is [only] a toy.

I am a 20-year old Iraqi young man. I am unarmed, independent and do
not belong to any party or group. I apologize to all the parties and
everyone, for I meant nothing by that [no harm].

The picture was a scheme that I made up with a toy that I bought with $5.

Today I am announcing that this news was made up, and that the
picture was of a toy that I worked on with the help of some children.

I cannot provide any information about me because, as I mentioned
earlier, I am unarmed, and any information about me might jeopardize
my life and the lives of my family [members].

My apologies to everyone.

North Korea Says It Has Nuclear Weapons

AP PhotoNorth Korea Says It Has Nuclear Weapons
Two South Korean soldiers patrol at the Imjingak Pavilion near the demilitarized zone of Panmunjom in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005. North Korean Foreign Ministry announced Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, for the first time that it has nuclear weapons and rejected moves to restart disarmament talks any time soon, saying it needs the armaments as protection against an increasingly hostile United States. The statement was North Korea's first public acknowledgement that it has nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Soldier's Uniform Hangs From Noose In Front Of Home...

Nestled in a quiet Sacramento neighborhood is a very loud political statement that is testing the very foundation of the right to free speech.

Hanging from a house in Land Park, a soldier's uniform in a noose dangles from a rooftop. The words "your tax dollars at work" are scrolled across the chest.

In a community full of patriotism, this view of the war in Iraq has not gone unnoticed.

"I think it's the ultimate sign of disrespect. We have troops dying for us," Land Park resident Mark Cohen said.

"(I'm) annoyed and disgusted. I think if this is the way someone feels they can find a better way to vent their opinions," Land Park resident Pete Miles said.

The homeowners behind the controversy are Steve and Virginia Pearcy. They released a statement saying, "There will always be people who are offended by political speech, and the most important forum of all ... is one's own residence. The First Amendment is meaningless unless dissent is allowed."
"Even if you don't agree with it, he has the right to state his opinion. I don't find it offensive at all," Land Park resident Cece Williams said.

The tension in the neighborhood has escalated into more than just a political feud.

The matter has been reported to the police department and to the city attorney. The city council has even heard about it, but says they can't solve the problem.

"Unfortunately or fortunately this is protected speech by the First Amendment ... so there is nothing we can do about it," Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong said.

KCRA 3 received a call late Wednesday morning from the homeowner saying that a group of people had torn down the display. He said that what he did was not illegal, but what was done by the people who removed the display was.
 

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

The Good Guys Use Video To Terrorize The Terrorists

Cold-blooded kidnappers in Iraq have been using the video taped messages of condemned hostages to strike fear in the hearts of Iraqi citizens. Well, according to an article in this morning�s New York Times, Iraqi police are now turning the tables, using video taped messages to terrorize the kidnappers.

In one scene, the videotape shows three kidnappers with guns and a knife, preparing to behead a helpless man who is gagged and kneeling at their feet.

In the next, it is one of the kidnappers who is in detention, his eyes wide with fear, his lips trembling, as he speaks to his interrogators.

�How do I say this?� says the kidnapper, identified as an Egyptian named Abdel-Qadir Mahmoud, holding back tears. �I am sorry for everything I have done.�

Now, this is reality TV at it�s finest!

(This is a GREAT article ! Click on the title link above for more...)

Israel, Palestinians to Declare Truce


Feb 7, 12:31 PM (ET)

JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli and Palestinian leaders will declare a formal end to more than four years of fighting at Tuesday's Mideast summit, both sides said Monday. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators finalized the agreement during last-minute preparations Monday.

"The most important thing at the summit will be a mutual declaration of cessation of violence against each other," said Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian negotiator.

Erekat said the agreement also includes the establishment of joint committees to determine criteria for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, and to oversee the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian cities on the West Bank.

An Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the cease-fire agreement, adding that the deal would also include an end to Palestinian incitement.





Bush shows highest ratings in a year

By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON � Americans give President Bush his highest job-approval rating in more than a year and show cautious optimism about Iraq in a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken shortly after historic Iraqi elections.

According to the poll, health care, education and the economy were the top domestic items considered 'extremely important' for Americans.
Win McNamee, Getty Images

In reversals from a month ago, majorities now say that going to war in Iraq was not a mistake, that things are going well there and that it's likely democracy will be established in Iraq. (Related item: Poll results)

Bush's approval rating of 57% is his highest since he reached 59% in January 2004, shortly after U.S. troops captured Saddam Hussein.

The public remains skeptical about Bush's plans to alter Social Security. Forty-four percent say they approve of his approach, compared with 50% who say they disapprove.
And Bush's domestic agenda continues to diverge from the priorities cited in the poll. Respondents consider health care costs, education and the economy higher priorities for Bush and Congress than issues on Bush's front burner: Social Security, taxes, same-sex marriage and limits on lawsuits.

The poll of 1,010 adults was conducted Friday through Sunday � after the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq and Bush's State of the Union address Wednesday, which highlighted the Iraq vote. Its margin of error was +/-3 percentage points.

The poll shows increased optimism about Iraq on many fronts. Six in 10 people say the elections there went better than they expected.

Other findings:

55% say the United States did not make a mistake sending troops to Iraq, up from 47% last month.

53% say things are going very or moderately well in Iraq, compared with 40% last month.

64% say it is very or somewhat likely a democratic form of government will be established in Iraq, up from 47% last month.

10% say more U.S. troops are needed in Iraq, down from 24% who felt that way before the elections.

50% say they approve of how Bush is handling Iraq, up from 42% last month; 48% say they disapprove, down from 56% last month.

The poll suggests a broadly positive environment for Bush's party. Republicans receive a 56% favorable rating, compared with 46% for Democrats � a 10-point advantage, up from 6 points in September. And 55% say Bush's policies will move the country in the right direction � up from 51% last month.


U.S. Forces Storm House, Free 4 Egyptians in Iraq

Feb 7, 3:43 PM (ET)

CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. forces stormed a house to free four Egyptian telecommunications engineers kidnapped in Iraq, the head of their Egyptian parent company told Egyptian television on Monday.

Naguib Sawiris, chairman of Orascom Telecom, said the four Egyptians were safe and the company had contacted their families to inform them that they were free. He was speaking from Algeria to an Egyptian state television program.

A U.S. military spokesman said he was unable immediately to confirm the report, but the military had heard media reports and were making checks.

The men were employed by a unit of the Egyptian telecoms firm Orascom, which has several contracts in Iraq, including running the Iraqna mobile phone service in Baghdad. They were working on a contract to install transmission towers around Baghdad, a company official said.

Scores of foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq over the past year. Some have been released -- often after payment of ransoms -- but several have been killed by militant groups. Many more Iraqis have been kidnapped, usually for ransom.



Sunday, February 06, 2005

Iraqis Strike Back

I love to see this; it's from Ali at Free Iraqi:

From Radio Sawa:
Citizens of Al Mudiryiah were subjected to an attack by several militants today who were trying to punish the residents of this small town for voting in the election last Sunday. The citizens responded and managed to stop the attack, kill 5 of the attackers, wounded 8 and burned their cars. 3 citizens were injured during the fire exchange. The Shiekh of the tribe to whom the 3 wounded citizens belong demanded more efforts from the government to stop who he described as "Salafis".

Well, it doesn't seem that they needed much protection! This is such a good news and I never heard anything like it before. I consider it good even if the government forces were not there at the time to do something about it, because it shows that Iraqis are no longer paralyzed by fear from the terrorists and are able to organize themselves and defend their town when it's necessary. I believe that this is one of the good outcome of the revolution that took place in the great Sunday. Iraqis realized at that day that they're much stronger than this bunch of psychopaths that are standing in our way to democracy in freedom.


There have been other stories like this--a crowd in Baghdad beat a bomber to death; another terrorist was caught by a Baghdad crowd in the act of planting a bomb under a car, and pleaded for mercy as he was hauled off to the police--but this is the most large-scale act of self-defense by Iraqi civilians I've heard of. It's clear to everyone, now, whose side the terrorists are on, and whose side the overwhelming majority of Iraqis are on. The spirit of self-defense is one of the key factors that will defeat the terrorists. Maybe the NRA could send some folks over to conduct some training...

Judge Rules Embryos Human Beings

February 5, 2005

Parents can sue for wrongful-death of frozen embryo

A frozen embryo destroyed in a Chicago fertility clinic was a human being
whose parents are entitled to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, a Cook County
judge ruled Friday.

Attorneys on both sides of the abortion issue said it was the first such
ruling they had heard of as the country debates whether stem cells derived
from embryos can be used in research and medicine.

Alison Miller and Todd Parrish hoped to conceive a child with help from the
Center for Human Reproduction, but the one fertilized egg the couple created
was thrown out "in error" by a clinic worker.

Friday, Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II said "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' ...
whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb" and the couple is
entitled to seek the same compensation awarded to other parents whose
children are killed.

"Philosophers and theologians may debate," he wrote, "but there is no doubt
in the mind of the Illinois Legislature when life begins. It begins at
conception."

James Kopriva, attorney for the fertility clinic, declined to comment,
saying they were weighing their options.

Colleen Connell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in
Chicago, said she expected the ruling would be overturned on appeal.

"It may be groundbreaking, but it's the wrong decision," Connell said,
predicting the ruling could chill doctors' interest in reproductive
medicine. "No appellate court has ever declared a fertilized egg a human
being in a wrongful-death suit."

Northwestern University law professor Victor Rosenblum, an abortion
opponent, said he admired the judge's ruling but expected that the appellate
and state Supreme Court would want to weigh in. "This is the first case I've
heard of like this."

Pro-Life Action League director Joe Scheidler praised the ruling. "That's
scientifically correct: Life begins at fertilization, not implantation."

Northwestern University law professor Dorothy Roberts said the ruling has
"dangerous" and "scary" implications for the law.

Courts have upheld statutes that allow homicide charges when fetuses are
killed along with their mothers but have not extended the same legal status
to unimplanted embryos, the experts said.

James Costello, who represented the couple with Paul McMahon, said the
clinic worker's negligence is now at issue, given the ruling.

"This couple was trying to have children," he said. "They had nine
blastocysts, the doctor said one looked great. So it was frozen and they
came back later to have it unfrozen, when they were told, 'Whoops -- we made
a clerical mistake and threw it in the garbage.'"

The embryo "had a unique set of DNA" not unlike a child "and was just thrown
out like a piece of garbage," he said.

The couple had sought fertility help in 2000. Parts of their case were
thrown out last year, but the courts allowed them to request a new hearing
on the issue of a wrongful-death case.

While the state's definitions of when life begins provided the basis for
their case, they also relied on a pair of memos from clinic chairman Dr.
Norbert Gleicher.

Gleicher says he was "extremely sorry" for "this very obvious error" caused
by a "communication mix-up," finishing with an "offer of a free [in vitro
fertilization] cycle as a gesture of goodwill on our part."

He said those responsible no longer work for the clinic: One left to work
for a different Chicago fertility clinic, and another left to spend more
time with her children.

Connell and Roberts said the couple should be able to sue for their loss,
but under a tort or breach-of-contract claim, not a wrongful-death action.

Here's One Democrat Who Supports Private Accounts: FDR

From The Wall Street Journal's Political Diary

February 4, 2005

Bush Steals His Best Idea from a Democrat

Republican members of Congress have a ready response for Democrats crying foul over President Bush's constant references to Franklin Roosevelt and other icons of liberalism to bolster his call for Social Security reform.

They note that in an address to Congress on January 17, 1935, President Roosevelt foresaw the need to move beyond the pay-as-you-go financing of the current Social Security system. "For perhaps 30 years to come funds will have to be provided by the States and the Federal Government to meet these pensions," the president allowed. But after that, he explained, it would be necessary to move to what he called "voluntary contributory annuities by which individual initiative can increase the annual amounts received in old age." In other words, his call for the establishment of Social Security directly anticipated today's reform agenda: "It is proposed that the Federal Government assume one-half of the cost of the old-age pension plan, which ought ultimately to be supplanted by self-supporting annuity plans," FDR explained.

"What Roosevelt was talking about is the need to update Social Security sometime around 1965 with what today we would call personal accounts," says one top GOP member of the Ways and Means Committee. "By my reckoning we are only about 40 years late in addressing his concerns on how make Social Security solvent."