I can’t believe this is actually happening in the state where I was born and raised.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health center after the local school board approved the proposal Wednesday evening.

The plan, offered by city health officials, makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

I have a sixth-grade granddaughter, and I can tell you (if you don’t already know) she is by no means capable of understanding what sex is all about and is nowhere near ready for sex.

A supporter, Richard Verrier, said it’s not enough to depend on parents to protect their children because there may be students who can’t discuss things with their parents.

Condoms have been available since 2002 to King students who have parental permission to be treated at its student health center.

About one-fourth of student health centers that serve at least one grade of adolescents 11 and older dispense some form of contraception, said Mohan, whose Washington-based organization represents more than 1,700 school-based centers nationwide.

At King Middle School, birth control prescriptions will be given after a student undergoes a physical exam by a physician or nurse practitioner, said Lisa Belanger, who oversees Portland’s student health centers.

Students treated at the centers must first get written parental permission, but under state law such treatment is confidential, and students decide for themselves whether to tell their parents about the services they receive.

I’m sure because if they told their parents they wouldn’t get the pill.

Then again Maine has become a liberal bastion and is not the same state it was when I was a child and young adult.

I blame a lot of this on the people from surrounding states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut who have moved to Maine and taken over the politics there.

At least I hope there are still some native Mainers with common sense. I’m not so sure anymore.

They keep electing a democrat governor and legislature that is taxing them out of their homes practically, so what do I know?

I do know this is wrong and is something the parents should handle at home.

In our continuing effort to inform our readers of the positions of the various GOP candidates we present this video with Mike Huckabee:

Realizing referring to killings of Armenians by Turkish people almost 100 years ago is only aggravating the situation with Turkey and hurting our military effort in Iraq some House members from both parties are turning away from their initial support of it.

Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have begun to withdraw their support from a resolution supported by the Democratic leadership that would condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago.

Almost a dozen lawmakers had shifted against the measure over the last 24 hours, accelerating a sudden exodus that has cast deep doubt over the measure’s prospects. Some representatives made clear that they were heeding warnings from the White House, which has called the measure dangerously provocative, and from the Turkish government, which has said House passage would prompt Turkey to reconsider its ties to the United States, including logistical support for the Iraq war.

Until today, the resolution appeared to be on a path to House passage, with strong support from the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California. It was approved last week by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But this evening, a group of group of senior House Democrats had made it known they were planning to ask the leadership to drop plans for a vote on the measure.

“Turkey obviously feels they are getting poked in the eye over something that happened a century ago, and maybe this isn’t a good time to be doing that,” said Representative Allen Boyd, a Florida Democrat who dropped his sponsorship of the resolution Monday night. .

Others who took the same action said that while they deplored the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, beginning in 1915, the modern-day consequences in the Middle East could not be overlooked.

“We simply cannot allow the grievances of the past — as real as they may be — to in any way derail our efforts to prevent further atrocities for future history books,” said Representative Wally Herger, Republican of California.

It’s good to see some are changing their minds and actually looking out for the good of our own country.

Yes, genocide took place, but is now the time to force a resolution that would have made us have circuitous routes into Iraq for our military?

Well, the founding fathers did intend for the Senate to be the saucer to cool the hot coffee from the House, so it makes sense the Senate is the one barrier to complete dictatorial powers by any one party.

Nancy Pelosi is openly critical of the Senate now.

Frustrated by lack of legislative progress in the Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is increasingly touting Democratic achievements in the House.

Her statements represent a significant shift from the stance she took six months ago. In March, the Speaker celebrated the first 100 days of the congressional majority by stating, “Democrats have brought the winds of change to the Capitol.”

These days, she’s confined to claiming those winds are blowing on her side of the building. In the minds of her caucus members, the Senate is in the doldrums and House members are paying the price for Senate inaction on Democratic priorities.

When pressed on the slow progress of spending bills during ABC’s Sunday morning talk show “This Week,” Pelosi passed the buck to the Senate, saying, “In the House we’ve passed every one of our bills.”

The change in talking points at the top reflects a deepening frustration among House Democrats, who are irritated with lack of progress in the Senate and are starting to publicly press their Senate counterparts to stop letting Republicans use procedural tactics and instead force Republicans to carry out a filibuster, if that’s what it takes.

Pelosi’s shift in rhetoric is also strategic. There are 61 House Democrats serving in districts that President Bush carried in 2004, and many will face challenging reelection races. Senate Democrats have less to worry about as only a couple of them are considered serious targets this cycle.

“I think it would be important for the American people to get a more concrete understanding of the lengths Republicans will go to in order to hold these things up,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

I’d say it’s the same lengths the Democrats went to in the last Congress.

I’d also give a piece of advice to the Democrats in the Senate, just as I said about the Republicans under Frist. Get a new leader and see if he can work out compromises so you can pass your bills. Without compromise nothing will pass.

Air America host Randi Rhodes was out walking her dog in NYC.

That much is certain. What follows is what her on-air compadre Jon Elliott had to say about the incident on the radio:

Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.

“Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?” he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. “Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?”

Yup, the old right wing conspiracy. It’s true only if her dog is a right winger.

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan’s 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.

Rhodes’ lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she’s not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a “hate crime.”…

…The network released a statement that said Rhodes “experienced an unfortunate incident.”

“The reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded,” the statement read by a receptionist at the network’s New York offices said. “Ms. Rhodes is looking forward to being back on the air on Thursday.”

Still, the tale lived on in the blogosphere.

“What the %$#$ is WRONG with you people?? Are you that SICK in the head that just because you don’t agree with someone’s political views you believe that they deserve to be mugged? Are you on the right that DEMENTED??,” a blogger called neddlenosehanty posted on watchingthewatchers.org.

Newsday gives a little more information:

“She hit her head on the street and was disoriented,” Gaulin said. “She’s not sure what happened. She didn’t see anything.” He added that she never reported the incident to police.

Air America released a statement saying that “the reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded.” Elliott followed that up with a retraction.

“I shouldn’t have speculated based on hearsay that Randi Rhodes had been mugged and that it may have been an attack from a right wing hate machine. I apologize for jumping to conclusions based on an emotional reaction,” he said in a written statement.

No, he shouldn’t have presumed anything, but to presume a right winger did this to her is crossing the line.

How much damage did his statement do? Once the report was out there people tend to believe it if they’re conspiracy nuts.

Of course, the radio station doesn’t have a big audience, but it did make the newspapers.

That must have been some fall if she knocked out several teeth.

Best wishes to her from this right winger for a speedy and uneventful recovery.

Nothing would please me more than to see the hearings to confirm Michael Mukasey as the new Attorney General be conducted in a civil manner.

If Senator Leahy’s remarks to the press hold true, maybe the AG position will be vacant for only a bit longer.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said on Tuesday he expects retired judge Michael Mukasey to be confirmed as U.S. attorney general, succeeding Alberto Gonzales who resigned under pressure.

On the eve of the Mukasey’s confirmation hearing before Chairman Patrick Leahy’s panel, the senator also said he believes Mukasey, unlike Gonzales, would be independent of the White House.

It remains to be seen if the Judiciary Committee has the ability to put the interest of our country above that of their political careers but there is always hope.

“I don’t see a bombshell,” Leahy said. “Right now from what I have seen, I would expect him to be confirmed.”

Quickly, Senators, quickly.

Every once in a while you find one of those stories that make you shake your head and say, huh?

This was one of those:

A man who was out on bail following a drunken driving arrest is back behind bars after he was caught drinking a 12-pack of beer on the Douglas County Courthouse lawn. Martin Ruiz asked the judge to release him on his own recognizance, promising not to drink another beer or drive

The judge had a different idea:

But Judge Michael Gibbons set his bail at $100,000 on Monday, saying he was surprised Ruiz was released on recognizance the first time.

Some good old fashioned common sense on the part of Judge Gibbons, don’t you think?

There have been two posts recently at Suitably Flip which detail the Clinton campaign’s attempt to refund monies garnered through Norman Hsu.

Not only does it appear that the campaign may have understated the amount taken in by the disgraced bundler, it seems as though there are donors who have received little or no refund to date.

If you have followed this story, (Clinton and Hsu) the above blog is the place to be. It has been nothing short of tremendous both in following the story and presenting facts.

Part One: “Hillary’s 3rd Quarter Refunds: Large but Lacking”may be found here.

“Hillary’s 3Q Refunds Part II: Return to Sender” here.