Warren Strobel of Knight-Ridder Newspapers has an interesting take on the U.S. to push "to spread democracy to the Middle East."

The winners, according to Strobel, are the Islamic parties who have "trounced secular opponents in recent elections in Iraq and Egypt."

"In Lebanon, the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah is part of the government for the first time."

As Strobel puts it, "Call it a case of why you should be careful what you wish for." The article is entitled "Islamists gain ground from American push for Mideast democracy." Strobel’s piece is well worth reading. To read it, click here.

DallasBlog ran an article last week about how suspected terrorists may be trying to buy large quantities of prepaid cellphones which are more difficult for authorities to trace. Click here for that story.

Now, the Wall Street Journal has run a story about how stock scam artists are using "prepaid cellphones that function as ‘virtual boiler rooms’". The phones are used to sucker investors by touting and manipulating small cap stocks for the benefit of the stock promoters and to the detriment of the investors. By using "a network of prepaid cellphones", the crooks make it more difficult for the government to catch them "because of the absence of physical records."

As if that is not enough, folks who use regular cell phones are discovering that web sites are selling their cellphone records for around $100. One of the latest victims is General Wesley Clark, former Democratic candidate for President, whose November cell phone calls were made public.

For the full story, click here.

Detail is always appreciated in a biography. Mao: The Unknown Story  by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday (Alfred A. Knopf, $35) certainly delivers on detail but more importantly also delivers perspective.

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The Associated Press reports that independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Republican Gov. Rick Perry raised $2.4 million and $4.6 million, respectively, in the last half of 2005. Humorist Kinky Friedman, the other independent candidate for governor, raised between $969,000 and $1.26 million during the six-month period. The two Democrats, Chris Bell and Bob Gammage, have not reported their fundraising figures yet.

Veteran politican analysts say this means voters can expect a slate of ads that aren't nearly as entertaining as those Vonage commericals.

Let’s put aside the fact that, as Jerry Jones tells us, 25% of all calls reversed are reversed incorrectly. When you commit to a system, you commit to all of if including major warts like this. But why in the name of heavens is a call of pass interference not reviewable? ISN’T THIS SYSTEM SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT GETTING IT RIGHT?

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I look at the sad story of the brutal beatings of several homeless men and consequent death of one at the hands of two bat-weilding teens two ways. Firstly, the loss of life in such a horrible fashion. Secondly, the loss of opportunity of what might have been.

Sad fact of life is that many young people don't understand or weren't brought up to understand the concept of compassion or helping the less fortunate. They live in a world where the homeless and downtrodden are reviled and made fun of. How many times do we see these beggars on our street corners and wish they'd just disappear. Before I come off as too much of a bleeding heart, I frequently put myself in this last category.

However, after watching the video of Thomas Daugherty brutally attacking a helpless sleeping man with a baseball bat, I couldn't help but wonder what would bring any human being to stoop this low. Attacks on the homeless is not groundbreaking news as I'm quite sure these people are frequent, if not constant, victims of violent crimes. I'm guessing, though, that most of them don't end in murder at the hands of teenage thrill seekers.

Many schools have student programs in place to provide community service with outreach to the poor. The kids help out as volunteers in shelters, hospitals, soup kitchens and lunch lines, and in the bargain, they're getting the education of a lifetime in performing meager tasks of compassion. I'm also fairly certain that courts pass out hundreds of hours of community service as punishment for crimes against the disenfranchised and poor.

Only when you see it from the other side can you truely appreciate the fact that no matter how hard we try to make this problem disappear, the poor and homeless will always be with us. We can either be part of the problem or part of the solution. It's a shame that Thomas Daugherty and Brian Hooks may never get the chance to experience the cathartic healing of helping the less fortunate, As murderers they're not likely to get the opportunity...Sad.

CBS 11 notes that the Fort Worth ISD is considering adopting a district-wide school uniform policy. Supporters cite security and practicality. Critics note that it adds uniformity of look to conformity of thought.