Blog Heap of Links for the day 5 March 2011

Vinson granted a stay on the condition that the White House file an expedited appeal with either the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court by next Thursday, March 10. In other words, Vinson is allowing the administration to continue implementing the law in the near term in exchange for accelerating the final resolution of the case by the appeals court and eventually the Supreme Court. Vinson's new ruling can justly be described as a smack-down of the administration.

Opponents of Obamacare say that if it's blessed by the courts, there will no longer be any limiting principle on federal regulatory power. If that seems far-fetched, behold the mental activities of one Judge Gladys Kessler.

The presence of the Chinese People's Liberation Army [PLA] in the contested Gilgit-Baltistan region, where a nascent revolt against the Pakistani rule is taking place, constitutes the direct involvement of Beijing in the dispute over Kashmir, making any future understanding between Pakistan and India more difficult, and can only arouse a new and serious rift between New Delhi and Beijing.

A Virginia middle school student has been suspended for . . . opening the door for a woman whose hands were full.... You can't be too careful. Your average middle school, high school, or college can expect to see an on-campus shooting about once every 12,000 years....

The growing controversy over Grandy's departure has resulted in some Grandy supporters charging the station with being "Sharia-compliant," a reference to Islamic law, and with bending under pressure from the Council on American Islamic-Relations (CAIR), a Muslim lobbying organization that combats what it calls "Islamophobia" in the media. Grandy, a former actor and Republican member of Congress, told AIM, "My wife and I have used our program over the last several months to warn about the spread of radical Islam at home and abroad. Last week, Catherine (known on the show as Mrs. Fred) delivered a very tough indictment against stealth jihad, and for her efforts she was told she was off the show. I then told management without Mrs. Fred at the microphone, I could not remain either and have resigned effective this morning." [Via HillBuzz http://hillbuzz.org/2011/03/05/misunderstood-cair-bears-of-islam-threate...

California police said Jessie's stepfather, Mohammad Khan - who is from Pakistan - and her American mother, Melissa, were planning an arranged marriage for the teen

There are so many of these "lone wolves" and "isolated extremists" you may occasionally wonder whether they've all gotten together and joined Local 473 of the Amalgamated Union of Lone Wolves and Isolated Extremists, but don't worry about it: As any Homeland Security official can tell you, "Allahu akbar" is Arabic for "Nothing to see here."

$424 million... "It's more than embarrassing," said Syracuse University public policy professor Henry Lambright. "Something was missed in the first investigation and the work that went on afterward."

Iranian officials, Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists and other Iranian agents have played pivotal roles in the anti-regime movements in Yemen and Bahrain. Their operations are the product of Iran's long-running policy of developing close ties to opposition figures in these countries as well as in Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Morocco. These long-developed ties are reaping great rewards for Iran today. Not only do these connections give the Iranians the ability to influence the policies of post-revolutionary allied regimes. They give the mullahs and their allies the ability to intimidate the likes of the Saudi and Bahraini royals and force them to appease Iran's allies. THIS MEANS that Iran's mullahs win no matter how the revolts pan out.

We shall see that George Soros, as he grew to maturity, would likewise reject the founders' premise. Indeed Soros would harbor great disdain for modern-day American political figures who displayed unshakable confidence in their own culture's nobility, and who embraced the tenets of the Declaration and the U.S. Constitution as timeless, immutable truths. To Soros, "Popper's greatest contribution to philosophy" was his teaching that "the ultimate truth remains permanently beyond our reach." [Well, his, anyway, apparently.]

Police say two of the five kids living in Beauchamp's home were Jermaine McNeil, 10, and Ju'Tyra Allen, 6, likely the biological children of Brown. Their bodies were recovered in the C-15 canal Wednesday by police divers, and their identities have been confirmed in the last two days through dental records. Authorities have not released a cause of death. Brown's relatives say she and her children began living with Beauchamp in 2007, but Brown disappeared last summer. They say Beauchamp was vague on her whereabouts.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., are seeking Pentagon permission for holding ceremonies in the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, where Buckles will be buried. Talks were still going on in the Senate about a resolution, offered by West Virginia's two Democratic senators, to approve use of the Rotunda to honor Buckles, but the indecision was frustrating Buckles' family. "The leadership of Congress is standing in the way" of a Rotunda ceremony, said David DeJonge, Buckles' biographer and the family spokesman. "We want the highest level of respect for all that Frank Buckles stands for," he said. "It's not about Frank, it is about the passing of a generation." Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the author of a House resolution approving a Rotunda ceremony, still would have that as her first choice, said her spokeswoman.

"But we had sex," the woman said. "Can you do that?" That question goes to the heart of a discrimination lawsuit that was recently filed against the Sandy Springs Police Department by the detective involved in the prostitution sting. [Via Weird Universe http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/4734/]

A new study showed that fecal bacteria could be found on a majority of shopping carts. [Courtesy of Brandon Dutcher tweet. Uh.. urk.. thanks...]

Gov. Mary Fallin visited nearby Camp Gruber on Thursday and expressed confidence in the training of Oklahoma Army National Guard troops as they prepared for an upcoming mission to Afghanistan.

Internationally acclaimed Himalayan poet and writer Yuyutsu RD Sharma will offer a reading of some of his work from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at The Center for Inner Peace, 740 W. 15th St. ... Yuyutsu's reading has been arranged by members of Urantia Book Study Groups of Pueblo.

The liberal media have dropped the mask and have gone all in for Romney.The L.A. Times has a major feature up on him and Politico,as per the link above has 4 ! front page articles on his New Hampshire speech today as if it was a descent from Olympus.

Not only was it all Palin's fault, the left declared; she should do the only honorable thing and commit political seppuku. This even after Loughner was revealed to be a heavy-metal, pot-smoking, Satan-worshipping psycho who'd been stalking Giffords since 2007 — long before anyone in the lower 49 had heard of Palin. After a week of nonstop, unrestrained Palin-hatin', Palin had the temerity to release a video statement — America's Enduring Strength — and guess what? The most-maligned woman in America was roundly condemned for "making it all about her." Say what?