The headline on this post really says it all for me.

Three funeral directors sold hundreds of bodies to a former oral surgeon who allegedly collected the bones, tissue and skin from the corpses to be used in transplants, a grand jury charged Thursday after a 16-month investigation.

The 244 bodies fetched about $1,000 each, the grand jury found, with the body parts being transplanted in unsuspecting medical patients worldwide.

Michael Mastromarino, who operated the now-defunct Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., ran the scheme with help from a team of “cutters” who stole the body parts, authorities said. Mastromarino is already facing charges in New York for allegedly plundering 1,077 bodies, including those from Philadelphia.

“No penalty is too harsh for these guys, for the just unbelievably craven nature of what they did,” Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said at a news conference.

Funeral directors Louis Garzone, 65, of Philadelphia, Gerald Garzone, 47, of North Wales, and James McCafferty, 37, of Philadelphia, were arrested Thursday on thousands of counts, ranging from running a corrupt organization to forgery and theft of body parts.

Indicted on similar counts were Brooklyn residents Mastromarino, who lost his oral surgery license amid unrelated drug charges, and Lee Cruceta, a former nurse who allegedly ran the cutting crew. Mastromarino plans to surrender Tuesday in Philadelphia and will fight the charges, his lawyer said.

When a loved one dies people put their full faith and confidence in the funeral director to treat the remains of their loved ones with reverence and respect.

To hear that a funeral director your family has used is involved in something like this has to be devastating. No punishment is too harsh if these people are found guilty.

In an interesting Washington Times article today, written by Donald Lambro, we have a neat package round-up of what liberal writers are saying about Hillary Clinton’s evasive actions in this election.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been criticized this past week for her evasiveness, dodginess, weasel words and shady connections — not only by her conservative critics but by liberal columnists and reporters.

In pointed political broadsides from some of the major liberal-leaning publications — including the New York Times and The Washington Post — the New York senator has been the target of surprisingly sharp criticism about her refusal to answer policy questions, investigative reporting about her husband’s business dealings and unsavory fundraisers, and even assertions that her candidacy was solely beholden to her husband’s political influence.

When asked by NBC’s Tim Russert in last week’s Democratic presidential debate about whether following in her husband Bill Clinton’s presidential footsteps was creating a dynasty, Mrs. Clinton said, “I’m running on my own. I’m going to the people on my own.”

But that answer didn’t wash with Maureen Dowd, the liberal columnist for the New York Times.

“Without nepotism, Hillary would be running for the president of Vassar,” she said in her column Sunday. “Of course, Hillary is never on her own. From the beginning, her campaign has relied on her husband’s donors, network, strategies and strong-arming.”

Go read the entire article to see what the big shots are writing about her.

On a related note, Bill Clinton has said if Hillary is elected president she will appoint him to restore the image of the USA.

Somehow the image of all their political funny money deals with the Chinese, the missing Rose Law firm records that mysteriously appeared as mysteriously as they vanished (after the statute of limitations had run out) and with Mrs. Clinton’s fingerprints on them, the unsavory characters they keep company with, sleep-overs in the Lincoln bedroom, ash trays and lamps flying in fits of temper, and cooked books are what come to my mind.

I hope they have a better vision than I do when I think of him “restoring” our image.

I pray we never get to find out exactly how either of them would “restore our image” in the world.

Hopefully, when Chris Matthews co-hosts the Republican debate next Tuesday, he will have reigned in his spittle and vein bulging long enough to ask and listen to the answers of fair questions.

Chris Matthews had barely finished praising his colleagues at the 10th anniversary party for his “Hardball” show Thursday night in Washington, D.C. when his remarks turned political and pointed, even suggesting that the Bush administration had “finally been caught in their criminality.”

In front of an audience that included such notables as Alan Greenspan, Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy, Matthews began his remarks by declaring that he wanted to “make some news” and he certainly didn’t disappoint. After praising the drafters of the First Amendment for allowing him to make a living, he outlined what he said was the fundamental difference between the Bush and Clinton administrations.

The Clinton camp, he said, never put pressure on his bosses to silence him.

“Not so this crowd,” he added, explaining that Bush White House officials — especially those from Vice President Cheney’s office — called MSNBC brass to complain about the content of his show and attempted to influence its editorial content. “They will not silence me!” Matthews declared.

“They’ve finally been caught in their criminality,” Matthews continued, although he did not specify the exact criminal behavior to which he referred. He then drew an obvious Bush-Nixon parallel by saying, “Spiro Agnew was not an American hero.”

Matthews left the throng of Washington A-listers with a parting shot at Cheney: “God help us if we had Cheney during the Cuban missile crisis. We’d all be under a parking lot.”

Following his remarks, a few network insiders and party goers wondered what kind of effect Matthews’ sharp criticism of the White House would have on Tuesday’s Republican debate in Dearborn, Michigan, which Matthews co-moderates alongside CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo.

Not that a whole lot of people watch his show anyway, but on Tuesday I would imagine Republicans will watch to try to evaluate the men who want our vote.

I want to hear what the candidates have to say and I want fair questions asked of them. I don’t want softball questions, but I also don’t want the co-host to “make news” with his snarky manner and butt in whenever he feels the urge, the way he does on his regular program as I recall it.

For anyone under forty, there was a time, in the not too distant past, when we could hear a debate on television and not really know the political leanings of the questioners. They surely held their political beliefs, but kept them as much at bay as possible while doing their jobs.

Then came Uncle Walter—the most trusted man in America, and he interjected his personal feelings about the Viet Nam war and all of a sudden, being objective was no longer a requirement to being a journalist.

I admit it, I am a country music junkie. I love absolutely anything by George Jones, and when it comes to gospel music, Vestal Goodman had one of the most beautiful voices I had ever heard. While this video has a few rough patches in the beginning, to me it is well worth sharing.

Have a wonderful friday!

Many Americans, I believe, have had a difficult time adjusting even after all this time to the laid back style of President Bush.

Could it be that Fred Thompson finds himself in that same predicament?

An event on Monday evening at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls promised to be one of the liveliest Thompson rallies yet. Several hundred people packed into a hall, where a local state representative warmed up the crowd by moving himself to tears talking about an injured Iraq war veteran he’d met. Country star John Rich of the duo Big & Rich, and a friend of Thompson’s, had the crowd stomping and singing along with his hit “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,” and some Johnny Cash covers.

Thompson took the stage to wild applause. Within minutes, however, the crowd had quieted considerably and only broke into applause a few times during the 20-minute speech. Afterwards, Kevin Patterson, a 36-year-old stock broker from Waterloo, said he’d made up his mind about who he’d likely vote for: “Mitt Romney.”

“I like everything he said…maybe it’s his presentation. He’s a little laid back for me,” Patterson said. “Maybe he appeals more to older voters.”

Will the former Senator have difficulty drawing the younger crowd, especially the independents who will most assuredly be a deciding factor in 2008? Here is another who feels that Thompson owes the party faithful something more than soundbites.

You, sir, have a serious responsibility to fulfill. When there were a number of other conservatives considering whether they should try to fill the void in the Republican presidential field, you stepped forward and said you were the one. You said you had the fire in the belly. You sucked all the air out of the atmosphere on the right. In doing so, you pledged to run a different kind of campaign.

I have to agree. There was a certain electricity in the air late last Spring when it was rumored that Thompson would enter the race. With each passing month and the leaks (whether intiated by his campaign staff or not) of his entrance date coming furiously, many conservatives were chomping at the bit for him to announce. Did he wait too long? Was the anticipation too much for an impatient GOP faithful?

Now I realize that two references as shown above do not a candidacy make or break, but for quite some time now, these same sentiments have been echoed by the media and on many a blog or news website.

It is early, there is much to be said and done on the campaign trail, but the GOP cannot afford to lag behind. We must find ourselves someone that we trust, believe in and feel will present a platform which will cause us to unite. Is Fred Thompson that man?

Matt Margolis at GOP Bloggers links to this on-line petition the Democrats have put forth in their latest effort to embarrass Rush Limbaugh.

If you believe this is just another attempt by the Democrats with the help of Media Matters and their ilk to silence conservative voices, Representative Cantor is offering an e-petition of his own in support of Rush.

I do not have the opportunity to listen to talk radio in the afternoon, but I do read the transcripts of many of the conservative voices from time to time. Whether I agree or not with their views, this attempt to silence those with opinions just because they are of another political persuasion must be stopped. Please take the time to look over the petition from Representative Cantor and if you are so inclined, add your name to the list.

Just a few stories which might be of interest on this last day of the work week for many:

Check out what’s happening at West Point. Best of luck to all the cadets.

I love animals and I have cat myself, but decorate my house around her, well let’s just say, No!

On a more serious note, check out this post at PrairiePundit.

Federal statistics show that 171 people in the metropolitan area have been indicted on public corruption charges from 2003 through mid-September of this year, said Howard Schwartz, supervisory special agent for public corruption in the FBI’s New Orleans’ office. More than 80% were convicted or pleaded guilty to charges including bribery and fraud.

I’m sure somehow it is President Bush’s fault.

And finally from Winds of Change Armed Liberal links to an article by Jonah Goldberg which critiques today’s American culture, more specifically our views on patriotism.

I’ve come around to the view that the culture war can best be understood as a conflict between two different kinds of patriotism. On the one hand, there are people who believe being an American is all about dissent and change, that the American idea is inseparable from “progress.” America is certainly an idea, but it is not merely an idea. It is also a nation with a culture as real as France’s or Mexico’s. That’s where the other patriots come in; they think patriotism is about preserving Americanness.

If you go directly to Mr. Goldberg’s piece, be sure to go back to Winds of Change for another perspective on this topic.

Hope you find one or more of these stories enjoyable and informative.