On the October 3 broadcast of The War Room, Jim Quinn and Rose Tennent hosted Philip J. Berg to discuss his lawsuit, which baselessly alleges that Sen. Barack Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen. During the interview, Quinn, Tennent, and Berg each repeated the discredited charge that Obama has not released an authentic birth certificate establishing that he was born in the United States, and therefore could be ineligible to run for president.

Quinn introduced the segment by asserting that Berg "wants a copy of Obama's citizenship papers and also his birth certificate -- which is a question that's been floating out there." Later, after Berg claimed that Obama has "not produced that birth certificate," Tennent asked Berg: "[C]an't we, as citizens of this country -- people who are voting for the next president of the United States of America -- can we not expect to have an original or a copy of the original birth certificate of someone who is running for that position?" After the interview ended, Quinn stated, "It looks like [Obama] may not be an American citizen, and it looks like nobody cares."

In fact, in addition to posting a copy of Obama's birth certificate on the campaign website, the Obama campaign reportedly provided the original document to FactCheck.org, whose staff reported in an August 21 article that they "have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate" and wrote that it "meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship." Even the right-wing website WorldNetDaily reported in an August 23 article that a "WND investigation into Obama's birth certificate utilizing forgery experts also found the document to be authentic," as Media Matters for America has documented.

During the interview, Berg also asserted that "evidence" indicates that "Barack Obama, even though he states he was born in Hawaii ... was born in Kenya," and added: "It appears right now he might be an illegal alien, not only not be qualified to be president, but not even qualified to be a United States senator from Illinois." Tennent responded: "Now you said there was also -- I think once you had talked about inconsistencies in terms of the accounts of his birth. There were reports that he was born at two separate hospitals -- one in Honolulu, one in Kenya. I actually did not know that this was a serious accusation, quite frankly. Not on your behalf -- but when I heard this, I would read something on the Internet, or on blogs, and I wasn't really sure that this was serious. So, seriously, you have concerns about there being inconsistent reports of where he was born."

Talkers Magazine lists Quinn & Rose on its "Heavy Hundred" list, which it describes as a list of the "100 most important radio talk show hosts in America." According to the show's website, it airs on 18 radio stations and XM Satellite Radio. Sen. John McCain was a guest on the August 28 edition of the program.

From the October 3 edition of Clear Channel's The War Room with Quinn & Rose:

QUINN: All right, yesterday, with no lack of enthusiasm, I managed to present to you what appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a judgment from the court of the Honorable R. Barclay Surrick on a lawsuit that we told you about a long time ago. Haven't really -- and I said yesterday, I don't put a lot of confidence in this stuff, because this is the kind stuff that we hope would turn out but generally doesn't. But any -- it would appear from this judgment by the -- from this court that the DNC and Barack Hussein Obama had lost -- not an appeal but a motion -- to dismiss the complaint from a Philip J. Berg, Esq., who wants a copy of Obama's citizenship papers and also his birth certificate -- which is a question that's been floating out there. And this was posted along with the actual lawsuit, all 34 pages of it, on a Web page -- I believe it was Juris.org or something. Anyway, it turns out now that this may not, as a matter of fact, I don't think it is true. Phillip Berg is on the phone with us this morning, and let's go to the phone and welcome him to the show. Phillip, good morning.

BERG: Good morning.

QUINN: Welcome to the show.

BERG: Thank you very much. The lawsuit is pending. The order that was circulating yesterday was wrong. We have not received an order yet. We're waiting patiently. There's presently an order to a motion to dismiss, which was followed by a joint motion -- which is interesting -- by Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee, to dismiss the case. You normally get 14 days to respond. We were advised by the judge's chambers that they wanted a response in five days. We complied and filed this past Monday, so we're waiting for a response on the motion.

To back up for your listeners, I sued Barack Obama because he does not meet the qualifications to be president under our U.S. Constitution, and there's nothing more important than enforcing our Constitution, and the people watching the debate last night, they were talking all the time about the Constitution. Well, the Constitution says you must be a natural-born citizen. And it's our evidence that Barack Obama, even though he states he was born in Hawaii, is that he was born in Kenya. But even if he was born in Hawaii, he lost his citizenship thereafter when his mother divorced then remarried a Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia. Indonesia at that time was at war. In his book, Barack Obama says, "My stepfather went back to Indonesia before I did, and when I went there, I immediately went to school."

To be in school in Indonesia, you had to have been either adopted by his stepfather, or he had to be acknowledged by his stepfather. And if he was, he became a citizen of Indonesia, and then after that he would have had to go through immigration to come back into our country, which it appears he did not. It appears right now he might be an illegal alien, not only not be qualified to be president, but not even qualified to be a United States senator from Illinois.

TENNENT: Now you said there was also -- I think once you had talked about inconsistencies in terms of the accounts of his birth. There were reports that he was born at two separate hospitals -- one in Honolulu, one in Kenya. I actually did not know that this was a serious accusation, quite frankly. Not on your behalf -- but when I heard this, I would read something on the Internet, or on blogs, and I wasn't really sure that this was serious. So, seriously, you have concerns about there being inconsistent reports of where he was born.

BERG: Absolutely. Actually, there's three different hospitals. His paternal grandmother -- his father's mother -- who's still living in Kenya, is going around telling everyone, "I can't wait to have my son -- I mean my grandson -- who I witnessed being born here in a hospital in Kenya, become president of the United States." In an interview two years ago, Barack Obama's half-sister, Maya, M-A-Y-A, stated he was born at one hospital in Honolulu, and at the same time Barack Obama said, "No, I was born at another hospital in Honolulu." The problem is, when you lie, you have stories all over the place. When you tell the truth, you're very consistent. And this has been on the Internet for a good year.

And what's very important to know is June of 2008 -- several months ago - the Barack Obama campaign put up on their campaign website a certification of live birth -- not a birth certificate - a certification of live birth indicating that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Our experts have determined that that document has been altered -- it's a forgery. And recently, I think, they even took it off of their website, since my lawsuit's pending. The thing is, if I was Barack Obama, and this was false, about five weeks ago, when I filed the suit on August 21, Barack Obama or a spokesperson should of came out and said -- they didn't have to acknowledge me -- should have said, "Some lawyer filed a lawsuit -- he's got 24 hours to take down this lawsuit, or we're gonna sue him for millions of dollars for defamation. And, by the way, here's our birth - here's Barack Obama's birth certificate. They have not produced that birth certificate, and I believe they cannot produce it. So, we're waiting patiently now --

ROSE: And they haven't sued you, either.

[...]

QUINN: Now, you're a Hillary supporter, and you're a Democrat. So that just so everybody knows, this is not some right-wing wacko like me.

BERG: Yeah, just for everyone, I was a committee person 31 years, chairman of the Democratic Party of Montgomery County, member Democratic state committee for eight years, and I ran on the Democratic ticket for governor and U.S. Senate. And, you know, I just - and also, some people come back and say I'm a racist. I happen to be Jewish, but I happen to also be a paid-up life member of the NAACP.

TENNENT: Well, they always do that.

QUINN: Yeah, well, don't even listen to that stuff.

TENNENT: Mr. Berg, though, can you really expect - I mean, can't we, as citizens of this country -- people who are voting for the next president of the United States of America -- can we not expect to have an original or a copy of the original birth certificate of someone who is running for that position?

BERG: Absolutely. And I think that should be -- the law should be amended to make sure. Well, first off, the candidate says he duly qualified. Therefore, you know, I think Barack Obama is in danger here of -- on many, many criminal charges. But I think it's mandatory that we find this out before the election on all candidates in the future. But, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to run for president but he says --

TENNENT: He can't.

BERG: -- but he says, "Amend the Constitution." Barack Obama says, "Well, I'm running anyhow, I don't care about the law." Well if you don't care about our Constitution, I'm concerned what you would be cared about. Our website, if I can mention it, is Obamacrimes.com. And believe it or not, now, in five -- less than, well, today would be five weeks -- we have 19 -- over 19 million hits on our website.

[...]

TENNENT: But what can we expect? What do you expect from the courts right now? What are you - what, realistically, are you expecting?

BERG: Well, realistically, I'm hoping that the court says, "Phil Berg has standing, and therefore Barack Obama must produce these documents." Because, if not, we're heading towards a constitutional crisis. Let's say he gets elected, then we find out - the case moves along - then we find out, and he takes office, and he'll say, "Too bad, I'm not getting out." You'd have to impeach him. Well, you'd never impeach him with a Democratic Congress, and this country would be in turmoil. I mean, I think it's incumbent upon the national media - any of your callers who knows anyone; the national media's probably listening to your show right now -- to ask him the question, "Produce your birth certificate."

TENNENT: They won't do it. It's not gonna happen

QUINN: Phillip, hold on. I've got more questions about this. We're gonna take a break. We'll be right back, OK?

BERG: Sure.

QUINN: All right, Phillip Berg. We'll be right back. Quinn and Rose - America's morning show.

[...]

QUINN: I know I sound like one of these people that call the Bush presidency the "Bush regime," but I'm looking at this and I'm thinking, "This is the Students for a Democratic Society, this is the Weathermen. They've been here all along. And they finally found their conveyor belt, and they brought him to the fore." And it looks like he may not be an American citizen, and it looks like nobody cares -- which is even more exciting.

TENNENT: More amazing. You know -- and that really just goes to the mainstream media. I mean, talking to Phillip Berg even off the air, he is just so furious with media right now - completely furious -- and he has every right to be, and so do we as citizens.

QUINN: They've done nothing.

TENNENT: They have done nothing. And even if Sarah Palin were suspect -- if this was a possibility in her background, they would have been all over it.

Le jeu de baston tiré de la licence Castlevania vient nous donner quelques nouvelles par le biais de cette nouvelle poignée d'images.

On the October 2 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, co-host Sean Hannity repeatedly praised Gov. Sarah Palin for citing during the vice-presidential debate Sen. Barack Obama's August 13, 2007, remark that "[w]e've got to get the job done there [in Afghanistan] and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there." However, Hannity -- who has repeatedly criticized Obama's remark, including during an October 1 interview with Palin -- did not note that Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently apologized for deaths resulting from coalition airstrikes, saying in a September 17 statement: "I offer all Afghans my sincere condolences and personal regrets for the recent loss of innocent life as a result of coalition airstrikes. While no military has ever done more to prevent civilian casualties, it is clear that we have to work even harder. I have asked for a detailed briefing this afternoon about our close air support as well as our intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations." Gates' comments were noted in an Associated Press report published, among other places, on FoxNews.com.

Further, Hannity again did not note that U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan and accounts of resulting civilian casualties have been widely reported in the media and have reportedly provoked criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a British commander stationed there. Additionally, the Associated Press reported in a "Fact Check" the day after Obama's remark: "Western forces have been killing [Afghan] civilians at a faster rate than the insurgents."

Moreover, during the show, Hannity mischaracterized Obama's remark, falsely claiming that Obama "said he would air-raid villages and kill civilians." Hannity said to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani: "I think there were devastating moments in this debate for Joe Biden. The white flag of surrender. 'You said, Senator, that Barack Obama voting against the troops would cost lives. You even wanted to run with him.' Barack Obama said he'd air-raid villages and kill civilians. She was on message every point." As Media Matters for America has documented, Hannity has previously falsely suggested that Obama "attack[ed] our troops as murderers," claimed that Obama's comments were "not true," and otherwise repeatedly attacked Obama's remark (here, here, here, and here) without noting the widely reported U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan.

During the October 2 debate, Palin said: "Now, Barack Obama had said that all we're doing in Afghanistan is air-raiding villages and killing civilians. And such a reckless, reckless comment and untrue comment, again, hurts our cause."

On the October 1 broadcast of his radio show, Hannity said to Palin:

HANNITY: Let me ask you this: And I, when we spoke in our interview on Fox News Channel, we were talking about your relationship, and your son, he was going to fight in Iraq. Everybody knows that Senator McCain knows the reality of war first hand, and his son also has fought in Iraq. One of the issues that has come up is now the issue of national security, and I am sure its going to be a big part of the debate tomorrow night. How do you respond to Senator Obama, who has said that he would "cut tens of billions of dollars in defense spending," that Iran is a tiny country and not a serious threat, and Senator Obama, who once accused our troops of air raiding villages and killing civilians?

Palin began her response to Hannity by saying: "Well, it's beyond naïve, it's downright dangerous to consider that those have been Obama's positions and that now that the defense of those positions of course he attempts to spin out of those statements that he's already made."

On the October 2 Hannity & Colmes, Hannity also said to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL): "Do you think that's fair to say that about our brave men and women while they're fighting a war, that they're air raiding villages and killing civilians?" In a later segment during the post-debate show, Hannity said to Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO): "I also thought, 'Finally someone brought up' -- I have been saying this for, finally she brought it up tonight, what he said about our troops, which is unforgivable, that they're air-raiding villages and killing civilians. I just got into this with the Congresswoman. That is unforgivable, Senator Obama. And he ought to apologize. And he ought to be called by the media to apologize for that."

From the October 2 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

HANNITY: I think there were devastating moments in this debate for Joe Biden. The white flag of surrender. "You said, Senator, that Barack Obama voting against the troops would cost lives. You even wanted to run with him." Barack Obama said he'd air-raid villages and kill civilians. She was on message every point. It was --

GIULIANI: One of the very best debate performances I've ever seen by anyone. And only the liberal media could deny her this victory.

[...]

HANNITY: But let me ask you this. Let me tell you -- the most effective moments were on foreign policy when Joe Biden himself had said that the Presidency doesn't lend itself to on the job training, Governor Palin brought that up. "You said that if you voted against funding the troops," Joe Biden said about Barack Obama, "it would cost lives." Barack Obama said about our troops in Afghanistan, "They're air raiding villages and killing civilians," and Governor Palin brought that up tonight. Do you think that's fair to say that about our brave men and women while they're fighting a war, that they're air-raiding villages and killing civilians?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: We're talking about someone who has been to Canada and Mexico, and has never met a world leader before. But --

HANNITY: I'm going to ask you again, do you think that's right for your candidate to accuse the American troops of air-raiding villages and killing civilians.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I think what Joe Biden talked about tonight was the fact that we really need to be investing --

HANNITY: You can't answer a question; you're just like Joe Biden.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: No. I will answer the questions that are relevant to this Presidential campaign.

HANNITY: He wants to be the commander-in-chief.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: We need to make sure that we move our troops, not from Iraq, but that we move them into Afghanistan where the war on terror really exists.

HANNITY: You don't think it's relavant that you're commander-in-chief is accusing our troops of air-raiding villages and killing civilians.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I don't think that's --

HANNITY: You don't think that's relevant?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I don't think he's done that.

HANNITY: I'll give you ten thousand dollars if he didn't for your campaign.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: OK. I'll take your ten thousand dollars.

HANNITY: And you give me a thousand dollars if I don't.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: And I'll make sure that we have Joe Biden and Barack Obama leading this country --

HANNITY: Barack Obama said our troops were air raiding villages and killing civilians.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: -- move the troops to Afghanistan where the war on terror exists today. That's what Joe Biden was making the case for.

[...]

HANNITY: Good to see you. The white flag of surrender, Obama air raiding villages and killing civilians, that in spite of what you said would turn unflinchingly and look right at him, and say, "In spite of your warning to him, he still voted to cut off funding for the troops." I thought it was a masterful performance.

LIEBERMAN: She was brilliant tonight -- all the more impressive because there were so many people, who either had doubts about her, or were trying to create doubts. I mean, she hit it out of the ballpark.

[...]

HANNITY: She even said at one time, talking about meeting with preconditions with rogue dictators, "It's beyond naïve. It's beyond judgment. It's outright dangerous." And when she brought up the line about air-raiding villages and killing civilians and using Senator Obama in his own words, and even saying, "Senator Biden, even you said this about Senator Obama." Did you think that was an effective technique?

WOLFSON: Well, Sean, my attitude is if I'm willing to come on this show and sit down with you without preconditions, the Government of the United States should be able to engage our adversaries diplomatically, as well.

[...]

HANNITY: I also thought, "Finally someone brought up" -- I have been saying this for, finally she brought it up tonight, what he said about our troops, which is unforgivable, that they're air-raiding villages and killing civilians. I just got into this with the Congresswoman. That is unforgivable, Senator Obama. And he ought to apologize. And he ought to be called by the media to apologize for that.

Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Out of options, DISH finally pays TiVo $104 million judgment  —  DISH Network parent EchoStar has announced that it plans to pay $104 million to TiVo as part of a long-running legal dispute.  DISH and EchoStar have reassured customers, however, that their DVRs will continue to function normally …

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

Fed up with all of the cars parked along the street in her quiet neighborhood, an 89-year-old grandmother in Germany started slashing their tires. Altogether some 50 tires were vandalized before a neighbor spotted and reported the nefarious nana. The granny, Heidi Kohl, eventually confessed and was fined, but the story doesn't end there. When she told authorities she wouldn't be able to pay, they decided to have her work off her debt. They instead sentenced her to hard time knitting sweaters for her victims. We don't know how sweaters work for traction, but if the German officials are satisfied who are we to question their judgment? Prosecutors added that they don't fear any further actions by the sassy senior, pointing out that she has since moved to a retirement home.

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During the October 6 edition of MSNBC Live, anchor Tamron Hall asserted that Sen. John McCain "was accused of corruption, although he was later cleared by a Senate committee" following a Senate investigation into allegations that McCain -- along with four Democratic senators, together called the Keating Five -- had exerted improper influence when they met with federal bank regulators on behalf of financier Charles H. Keating Jr, a major McCain donor and fundraiser. But Hall did not note that the Senate Select Committee on Ethics concluded that McCain's conduct "reflected poor judgment."

As The New York Times reported, Keating "gave Mr. McCain free rides on his private jet, a violation of Congressional ethics rules (he later said it was an oversight and paid for the trips). They vacationed together in the Bahamas. And in 1986, the year Mr. McCain was elected to the Senate, his wife joined Mr. Keating in investing in an Arizona shopping mall."

McCain himself admitted to "errors of judgment" in his interactions with Keating. From his memoir, Worth the Fighting For:

I began a few days later, in Phoenix, where I held an exhaustive press conference with any and all reporters interested in talking to me about the subject. As it turned out, quite a few were interested. Three days earlier, the government watchdog group Common Cause formally filed a complaint with the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee, urging an investigation of the legality of Charlie Keating's campaign contributions to the Keating Five. It was, as far as I can determine, Common Cause that first labeled us the Keating Five, but the term was quickly picked up by virtually anyone who had something to say about the controversy, complicating my efforts to ensure that the actions of each of us were judged individually. We were now a two-word shorthand for the entire savings and loan debacle and the rotten way American political campaigns are financed.

The press conference lasted nearly two hours. In my opening statement, I admitted to paying insufficient attention to the appearance of my actions, to the late reimbursement to ACC, and to various other errors of judgment. But I steadfastly maintained that I had not abused my office "to aid any individual improperly." That was the truth, and I laid out the facts of the case to support it. The questions were various, some hostile, others not, but eventually all questions that could be conceived to explore the depth of my involvement were asked and honestly answered. It was the first step toward my political recovery. There was still a long, difficult, depressing road ahead of me before I could begin to imagine that I might someday be known as something other than a member of the Keating Five. But my candor with the press immediately began to help. [Pages 192-193]

Additionally, a March 1, 2007, Arizona Republic article quoted McCain saying of the Senate investigation, "I was judged eventually, after three years, of using, quote, poor judgment, and I agree with that assessment."

From the 11 a.m. ET hour of the October 6 edition of MSNBC Live:

HALL: And on a day when the Dow tumbles, once again, political headlines are full of references to decades-old stories like Bill Ayers and the Keating Five, and this comes after John McCain's campaign signaled it wanted to turn the page on the economic crisis and focus instead on Barack Obama's character. Earlier today, Governor [Sarah] Palin once again tried to push a personal connection between Obama and '60s radical Bill Ayers.

PALIN [video clip]: I'm afraid this is someone who sees American as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country.

HALL: The Associated Press says her charge is a stretch, and the Obama campaign is accusing Republicans of using smears to try and distract voters from the real issues, but they've also chosen to fight fire with fire, pointing supporters to a new Web documentary outlining McCain's role in the Keating Five scandal. At the time, McCain was accused of corruption, although he was later cleared by a Senate committee.

[video clip from Obama Web documentary]

SEN. HOWELL HEFLIN (D-AL, former chairman of Senate ethics committee): Many of our fellow citizens apparently believe that your services were bought by Charles Keating.

WILLIAM K. BLACK (former senior federal savings and loan regulator): The Keating Five involved all the things that have brought the modern crisis.

[end video clip]

HALL: All of this coming just a day before McCain and Obama will take to the stage in Tennessee for the second presidential debate.

During an NPR news brief on the October 6 edition of Morning Edition, newscaster Jean Cochran reported Gov. Sarah Palin's recent comment that Sen. Barack Obama "pals around with terrorists, a reference to his acquaintance with radical Bill Ayers." Similarly, in an October 6 Reuters article, reporter Mark Egan asserted that "Palin accused Obama of 'palling around with terrorists' in reference to his acquaintance with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Vietnam War-era militant Weather Underground." While Egan reported in the Reuters article that "Obama has said he knows Ayers, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, only slightly and has denounced his actions with the Weather Underground," neither Cochran nor Egan noted that The New York Times, in the article Palin cited for her claim, reported: "[T]he two men do not appear to have been close."

Indeed, as Washington Post staff writer Michael Abramowitz noted in an October 5 article, Palin's comments are a "distortion of what the Times story concluded."

Additionally, during the NPR segment, Cochran went on to assert that Ayers "founded the Weather Underground group in the 1960s, and decades later he worked on the same charity board as Obama. Ayers also hosted a small 'meet the candidate' coffee for Obama in 1995." She did not mention that the Times article also noted that Obama has never "expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called 'somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.' "

Media Matters for America documented that an October 4 Associated Press article and an October 6 New York Times article also quoted Palin's comment and did not note the Times' October 4 reporting.

From the October 6 edition of NPR's Morning Edition:

COCHRAN: Republican running mate Sarah Palin made claims over the weekend that Barack Obama pals around with terrorists, a reference to his acquaintance with radical Bill Ayers. He founded the Weather Underground group in the 1960s, and decades later he worked on the same charity board as Obama. Ayers also hosted a small "meet the candidate" coffee for Obama in 1995. In response, Obama is bringing up John McCain's role in the Keating Five scandal of some 20 years ago. McCain took part in meetings with bank regulators on behalf of contributor Charles Keating, and that earned him a rebuke from the Senate ethics committee.

From the October 6 Reuters article:

With McCain losing ground in opinion polls, a campaign strategist was quoted as saying the Republican presidential candidate needed to "turn the page" on the economic issue and make the election about Obama's experience and character.

That effort started on Saturday when Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists" in reference to his acquaintance with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Vietnam War-era militant Weather Underground.

"Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance," Obama responded at a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, a swing state where he was preparing for his second debate with McCain on Tuesday.

[...]

But McCain's supporters and his campaign did not back down. They pushed the issue of Obama's character on the Sunday television talk shows and defended linking Obama with Ayers.

"The last four weeks of this election will be about whether the American people are willing to turn our economy and national security over to Barack Obama, a man with little record, questionable judgment, and ties to radical figures like unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

Ayers was one of the leaders of the Weather Underground when it was involved in a series of bombings in the 1960s, when Obama was 8 years old. Obama met him in the 1990s when first starting his political career in Chicago and the two served on a board together.

Obama has said he knows Ayers, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, only slightly and has denounced his actions with the Weather Underground.

I just finished a fantastic read by Peter Jones. Entitled The God of Sex, the subtitle explains his theme further -- "How Spirituality Defines Your Sexuality." Really good stuff and highly recommended. I believe that Canon Press will be offering it sometime soon.

And this leads to some additional observations on this general subject. I have in recent posts been describing abortion as the bloody sacrament of the secularists. And I do believe that the innocents in that particular carnage are the sacrifice made to the deified god of orgasm. Put another way, sexual pleasure, detached from the fruitfulness of marriage, is one of the greater gods in their particular pantheon. At one end autonomous sexual pleasure is demanded, and at the other end we see that the demand was made in earnest. 40 million abortions means that there had to have been at least forty million orgasms, and our cultural leaders still think the trade-off well worth it.

This is no incidental matter. I have been making a big deal out of the pomosexual revolution. Does this mean that I am obsessed with sex, and that I think that sexual sin has to be epicenter in the earthquake of all sinning? No, not at all, but to explain this I have to make a distinction I have made before. There is a difference between Scripture's treatment of refugees from the world and its treatment of apostles from the world. When it comes to refugees, whores are closer to the kingdom of God than are respected theologians are (Matt. 21:31). In this set up, theology is worse than adultery. But there are other set ups. Sometimes adultery is far worse than theology (Prov. 30:20; Luke 2:46).

So here is the bottom line:

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8).

Notice three great things required here -- justice, mercy, and walking humbly with God. This appears to be the basis for the Lord's teaching on the weightier matters of the law, with Him varying the language of the third "weightier matter." In Matthew, He describes it as faith or faithfulness, and in Luke it appears to be "the love of God."

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matt. 23:23).

"But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Luke 11:42).

What would justice, mercy and faith say about devouring a widow's house for the sake of putting a highway through there? And how would that compare to a teenage boy looking lustfully at a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue? Do justice, mercy and faith have any sense of proportion? Of course they do. The former is a gross violation of the weightier matters of the law and the latter is not. But what would they say about a man ditching his wife and five kids to chase after some pomohomo action? What would they say about millions of men arranging to have their own children chopped up into little pieces so that they can be fathers of many orgasms instead of fathers of children?

Sex is at the center of our identity. God made us as sexual beings, male and female He created us. That means that when we are serving Him, sex and sexual identity are right at the center of our obedience. And when we are in rebellion against Him, rebelling against justice, mercy, and love, sex has to be right at the center of that also. Milton follows the Scriptures well when he shows that the first sin was the eating of the forbidden fruit, and not anything related to sex. But he also shows great wisdom when he has our fallen parents falling into a deranged copulation immediately.

And this is why sexual rebellion is high defiance against the weightier matters of the law, and cannot be taken lightly. Not all sexual sin is sexual rebellion.

DISH Network and EchoStar will finally pay TiVo $104 million over a patent infringement case that was decided in 2006. DISH says that the decision won't affect the company's current DVRs, though, and customers can continue using their devices as usual.

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DISH Network and EchoStar will finally pay TiVo $104 million over a patent infringement case that was decided in 2006. DISH says that the decision won't affect the company's current DVRs, though, and customers can continue using their devices as usual.

Read More...

DISH Network and EchoStar will finally pay TiVo $104 million over a patent infringement case that was decided in 2006. DISH says that the decision won't affect the company's current DVRs, though, and customers can continue using their devices as usual.

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Supreme Court Stays Out of TiVo vs. Dish; high court won’t consider an appeal of the $74 million judgment against the satellite company over a patent dispute with the DVR maker. (The Associated Press)

Time Warner Reacts to LIN Dispute By Urging People Online; after the two companies didn’t reach an agreement, Time Warner displays a URL on channels formerly occupied by LIN that hosts a video on how to watch TV programs online. (The New York Times)

Blinkx Drops Bid to Buy Miva; video search company will not be acquiring the pay-per-click ad network. (paidContent)

Comcast to Hike Rates; third price increase since January 2007, cable co. blames the economy (convenient!). (RedOrbit)

Video Advertisers Looking to Display Ads; companies like Apple are inserting video into banners and moving beyond the in-stream slots. (AdWeek)

Conde Naste Using Mobile Vid-Casting for Bridal Fashion Shows; company using Flixwagon to live-stream footage that will be featured on Bride.com’s Wedded Bits blog. (MediaWeek)

Access Hollywood Partnering with iVillage; fluffy entertainment news magazine will have a module on the women’s site that will include video. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Iron Man’s Popularity Brings Down Servers; number of people trying to access the BD-Live content brought down Paramount’s tech. (CrunchGear)

Drew Barrymore tells Harper's Bazaar that she was moved by Obama's position on same-sex partner benefits:

"It's the first time I've really admitted I'm a Democrat. [Barack Obama]'s values are my values. For example, when I heard him speak about a gay person never having to sit outside the hospital room with their loved one sick inside, I burst into tears because so many people I care about are homosexual and it was profound to have someone be sensitive to that. That's the kind of world I want to live in, where we're not holding our own principles in judgment above someone or against someone."

"...[John McCain] is a good person and he does care, but he has voted against things that are shocking as far as people's liberties and economic choices. I study everyone's voting record because they say one thing and do another."

Red, White and Drew [harper's bazaar]

The Supreme Court refused Monday to disturb a $74 million judgment against Dish Network Corp. for violating a patent held by TiVo Inc. involving digital video recorders.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Rea...suit/1223302919

"On RealDVD's product site, a message now reads: "Due to recent legal action taken by the Hollywood Movie studios against us, RealDVD is temporarily unavailable. Rest assured, we will continue to work diligently to provide you with software that allows you to make a legal copy of DVDs for your own use." Last week, Real filed for a declaratory judgment on its RealDVD product in anticipation of a suit that was filed later that same day by the MPAA. The filmmaking group charged Real with willful violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in making a product that illegally bypasses copyright protection."

When lawsuits start flying back and forth, it's not uncommon to see products get temporarily pulled until the dust settles, and that's exactly what's happened here. I guess I should have picked up a copy while I could - the concept definitely interested me, even with all of my DVD ripping tools. The question is, will we see this product offered again?

Los Angeles Times: