Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

Like so many politicos nowadays, Schweitzer is pretending to do something that he is not. The 535 members of Congress have perfected that maneuver to an art form.

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The governor's attitude toward repetitious, costly inspections could engender a tit-for-tat attitude up north, exacerbating the irritations of agri-businessmen on both sides of the border.

The next time the governor is in Billings he should bring his cowboy hat. Ritch Rand, who has built custom 5X beavers for Hollywood heroes and bronc-busting champions for years, has agreed to steam and stretch it for an expanded fit. If that doesn't work, Rand would be glad to custom-build a new Montana crease.

But Schweitzer needs to be careful he doesn't get carried away with his rhetoric. He'll end up like the former governor of Texas: All hat, no cattle.

Charkhi, 36, is a journalist based in the capital, Kabul, who is campaigning for a seat in Afghanistan's new parliament. But in this mud-walled village in Logar, the home province she hopes to represent, Charkhi's candidacy is such a challenge to tradition that she and her relatives, including her cousin Shah, have faced repeated threats.

"I'm not going to quit, because I want to show people that a woman should be able to do these things. But definitely I fear for my life. . . . The people who did this already have blood on their hands," Charkhi said during a visit to Shah's home, 50 miles south of Kabul. "I'm even more afraid that they will smear my reputation," she added. "That would be worse than death."

Charkhi's situation underscores both the difficulties facing female candidates running for office in the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections and the determination many have expressed as they embark on an unprecedented bid for political power.

A 22-year-old man faces criminal charges in Nebraska for having sex with an underage 13-year-old girl, although he legally married her in Kansas after she became pregnant.
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After the girl became pregnant, her mother gave permission in May for Koso to take the young woman to Kansas, which allows minors to get married with parental consent. The girl is now 14 and seven months pregnant.

A mother frogmarched her two adult sons to a police station after recognising them on a television news video of an attempted robbery.

Millie Ferryman was so determined to end their crime spree that she took them to four police stations before finding one that was open.

I came out of the Red Robin at noon on July 15, to see a burgundy Saab left running out front. From the open rear window came the sound of a crying baby, strapped into a car seat. I was shocked to see that someone would consider her takeout to be more important than her child's safety.

It was interesting how the officer who came to take my "complaint," after informing me that this was the third of "these calls" that he'd been out on this morning, acted as if this was just one of those unfortunate things, especially since the car was left running and the driver was thoughtful enough to have strapped the baby in a car seat. This, besides the fact that the driver didn't appear to have any records in his system. To placate me, he said he'd stop on by the house and visit with her.

I would like to let the owner of the vehicle with the plate 3-A39176 know that it is not OK to leave babies in the car! It would take a sick person a matter of about 30 seconds to drive away with your baby in the comfort of your air-conditioned car. If you don't feel like going to the effort to park, consider taking the time to remove your baby from his seat and take him in with you. Or, better yet, take advantage of a local delivery service.

Animal rights extremists gathered secretly in a Kent field yesterday to hear an American activist declare: "We will break the law and destroy property until we win."

Dr Steven Best, a philosophy professor and exponent of the Animal Liberation Front, told about 200 activists at the International Animal Rights Gathering 2005: "Now communism is dead, we are the new spectre in the world. We are named as the number one terrorist threat in the US and UK. Can you believe it?"

He added: "We are not terrorists, but we are a threat. We are a threat both economically and philosophically. Our power is not in the right to vote but the power to stop production. We will break the law and destroy property until we win."