Stage 2 Of Tour Has No Surprises

The Tour's second stage produced no real surprises. There were a couple of wrecks, but no one was seriously hurt and all the riders made it back into the peloton. There was a breakaway of four riders, but the peloton reeled them back in with a few kilometers to go and the finish was the province of the race's sprinters.

Englishman Mark Cavendish (pictured) of USA's team Columbia won the sprint by about 4 yards (that's a lot in a sprint finish). Unless he gets ill or hurt, Cavendish has to be the favorite to win the sprinter's green jersey this year. American Tyler Farrar of USA's team Garmin-Slipstream finished second. Since the peloton finished as a group right behind the sprinters, everyone got the same time and there was no change in the overall standings.

Stage 3 on Monday will probably be much the same as stage 2. There will be at least one breakaway, but the peloton is unlikely to let them stay away. It will probably be another day for the sprinters to shine. The course from Marseille to la Grande-Motte is about 122 miles and has only a couple of catagorey 4 hills.

The first real shake-up in the standings will probably come with the team time trial on Tuesday. Those on strong teams like Astana, Columbia, Garmin, Saxo Bank and Liquigas will have a chance to really move up in the standings, while those on weaker teams could lose a significant amount of time. Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (OVERALL STANDINGS)
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank)
2. Alberto Contador (Astana)..........0.18
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin)..........0.19
4. Andreas Kloden (Astana)..........0.22
5. Cadel Evans (Lotto)..........0.23
6. Levi Leipheimer (Astana)..........0.30
7. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)...........0.32
8. Tony Martin (Columbia)..........0.33
9. Vincenzo Nabili (Liquigas)..........0.37
10. Lance Armstrong (Astana)..........0.40

GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia)..........35 pts
2. Tyler Farrar (Garmin)..........30 pts
3. Romain Felliu (Agritubel)...........26 pts
4. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo)..........24 pts
5. Yukiya Arashiro (Bouyges)..........22 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Jussi Veikkanen (Francaise)..........9 pts
2. Tony Martin (Columbia)..........6 pts
3. Cyril Dessel (AG2R)..........5 pts

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Astana
2. Saxo Bank..........0.31
3. Garmin..........0.44
4. Liquigas..........1.25
5. Columbia..........1.46

Global Hoax

Political Cartoon is by R. J. Matson in The New York Observer.

Truth To Power

Found at the great blog What Would Jack Do ?

U.S. To Change HIV Visa Policy

There are a handful of rather backward thinking countries that discriminate against people with the HIV virus -- countries like China, Yemen, Iraq and Sudan. But among the civilized and industrialized Western nations, there is only one -- the United States. Most of its citizens probably don't know it, but the U.S. still refuses to grant an entrance Visa to anyone known to have the HIV virus.

The reason is that the government still lists having the HIV virus as a "communicable disease of public health significance". That rating means an automatic denial to anyone applying for a Visa. The law was designed to protect the American population from truly communicable diseases that are spread by contact or through the air. But haven't we known for years now that HIV does not have that kind of communicability?

The U.S. policy was highlighted last month, when HIV and TB activist Paul Thorn was refused admission to the United States. Thorn was supposed to speak at a health summit in Seattle. He had entered the U.S. several times before by lying on the Visa application, but said he was tired of lying.

According to Thorn, "The US government gives people who have HIV one of two choices. The first is to actually be dishonest on the visa application or visa-waiver form, commit a felony by lying to US immigration, and become a criminal. The second choice is to be honest, and have a visa rejected because you are considered an undesirable person, and unfit to enter the US. To my mind either being a criminal or an undesirable isn't much of a choice. I don't want to be either."

After being denied entrance to the U.S., Thorn sent a statement which was read to the summit. The statement blasted the United States policy. Evidently, the government was embarrassed by the statement, because Thorn has been notified that the policy will be changed.

I'm glad the U.S. is finally changing this law. But I have to wonder why it was still in effect. Must the United States always be embarrassed before getting rid of ridiculous and outdated laws?

Enough !

Political Cartoon is by David Fitzsimmons in the Arizona Daily Star.

2009 Tour de France Starts

The 2009 Tour de France started on Saturday. The opening leg of the race was held in Monaco this year, and was a time trial. Most time trials are held on a flat course, but this one was a little different. It was a 10 mile course and the first five miles was going uphill. The second half of the race was downhill and contained several very tight turns.

The time trial was won by Fabian Cancellara (pictured) of Saxo Bank. He has an 18 second lead. It looks like the strongest team this year will be Astana. They placed 4 riders in the top ten for the time trial -- Alberto Contador, Andreas Kloden, Levi Leipheimer (USA) and Lance Armstrong (USA). All four of these Astana riders are capable of winning the Tour, but the favorite has to be Contador (who won in 2007).

Other favorites include Cancellara, Cadel Evans of Lotto and Carlos Sastre of Cervelo (last year's winner). Right now, I'd put my money on Contador. Here are the standings after the first day:

YELLOW JERSEY (OVERALL LEADERS)
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank)
2. Alberto Contador (Astana)..........0.18
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin)..........0.19
4. Andreas Kloden (Astana)..........0.22
5. Cadel Evans (Lotto)..........0.23
6. Levi Leipheimer (Astana)..........0.30
7. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)...........0.32
8. Tony Martin (Columbia)..........0.33
9. Vincenzo Nabili (Liquigas)..........0.37
10. Lance Armstrong (Astana)..........0.40

GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank)..........15 pts.
2. Alberto Contador (Astana)..........12 pts.
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin)..........10 pts.

POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Alberto Contador (Astana)..........3 pts.
2. Tony Martin (Columbia)..........2 pts.
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin)..........1 pt.

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Astana
2. Saxo Bank..........0.31
3. Garmin..........0.44
4. Liquigas..........1.25
5. Columbia..........1.46

Sunday's stage will be a 160 race from Monaco to Brignoles in France. It is neither flat nor mountainous. It has several catagorey 4 and 5 hills that will encourage some breakaways, but I figure the peloton will probably control any breakaways and it'll be a day for the sprinters to shine at the finish.

News ?

Political Cartoon is by Daryl Cagle at msnbc.com.

David Van Os on July 4th

Today is July 4, 2009. It is the 233rd marking of one of the most remarkable events in the history of humanity. It is our national birthday. It is our Independence Day. It is a day for celebrating both the past and the future.

It is the anniversary of the day when the people's representatives of 13 ex-British colonies on the North American continent proclaimed their freedom and independence. On that hot summer day, July 4, 1776, the subjects of an empire became the self-governing citizens of a republic. The owned became the owners. Monarchy dissolved and democracy arose.

In the hearts of royal despots everywhere a tremble of fear arose. In the hearts of their millions of victims a beacon of hope was lit. For not only did our national forebears announce a new nation, they altered the very definition of nationhood.

The people's representatives assembled in Philadelphia who took this bold step on behalf of their fellow citizens were normal flesh and blood human beings. Just like all of us, they were full of the countless flaws and infirmities of the human condition. But also just like each of us, they were also vessels for the most remarkable potentials of the human race. They were petty and political. They were also brilliant, enlightened, visionary, and courageous. Just like each of us, they had the innate human capacity to rise to their best when their time on earth required it.

These representatives of the people of the 13 ex-British colonies decided to do something that proved extremely important. It turned out to be one of the most important things ever done in the history of humanity. They decided to write down their reasons for declaring revolt against the British Empire.

Their reasons for risking their lives as traitors to the British Crown are why our national Independence Day is so valued by us and why it is honored around the world today. For they took such a dangerous step not only to be separated politically from Great Britain, but also to establish an entirely new vision of how human society should be ordered and governed. They put it down in writing for the posterity of their nation and the world.

In one remarkable passage they gave to their fellow citizens, to their descendants, and to all of future world history their new blueprint for human society:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among there are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --"

If you have not lately paused to read these words slowly and to contemplate their meaning, there is no better time than today, the anniversary of their first public utterance. Read the words slowly. Absorb their meaning.

You will then understand that the incredibly courageous and visionary founders of America redefined the very meaning of government and nationhood. In their vision, government existed not as the tool of a ruler or ruling class, but only as the extension of the self-governing people themselves, and only for the purpose of securing the human rights of the people. They created a country for the purpose of carrying out this vision. This is why America exists. This is why we have a national identity as Americans. This is what our country is here for. It is the new definition of nationhood that our national forebears birthed.

It is not only for the past that we pause to honor the birth of the vision 233 years ago. Equally, or perhaps even more importantly, we honor it for the future. The words of the Declaration of Independence are not just a history lesson. The vision of which they speak is not just a quaint artifact of the past

The Declaration of Independence announces a mission. It is our responsibility as legatees of the American Revolution to understand that the vision is not a static object that lies frozen in time behind us, but a vibrant goal for us to commit ourselves to reaching.

It is a mission that has never been fully realized. Most of the authors of the Declaration were male supremacists and many were slaveholders. Many were moneyed elite who preferred to preserve voting rights solely for their social class. They were far from perfect examples of the vision they articulated.

But they nevertheless envisioned what was possible for humanity, and they sacrificed everything they had to make sure their great experiment had a chance to take root. We honor them for that, but at the same time we look forward in the recognition that each generation of Americans is responsible for advancing further toward realization of the Declaration's vision as our goal. We accept that responsibility for our time, and we look to the future in the determination to deliver the vision to our descendants closer to fulfillment than it was left to us.

So on this day, July 4, 2009, for the sake of those who came before us and for the sake of those who will come after us, we rededicate ourselves to the task of fulfilling the magnificent vision of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. For the 233rd time, we declare it anew.

David Van Os

July 4, 2009

If Liberty Fail

Political Cartoon is by John Cole in The Times (Scranton).

Happy Birthday America !

The document pictured above is the Declaration of Independence. It is one of the two most revered and politically sacred documents in the United States. While the Constitution established our political system and is the basis for our laws, the Declaration of Independence justifies the very existence of our country -- the United States of America.

The document was ratified on July 4, 1776. Even today, we regard that date to be the birth of our country, and we celebrate that birth with a holiday on each July 4th. It is our most important political holiday, and probably always will be.

In addition to justifying the separation from Britain and establishment of our independent country, the founding fathers included some rather famous words in the document. These words established the American dream of freedom. They are:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness ."

Now, most of the founding fathers didn't really mean "everyone" was created equal and deserved these inalienable rights. They thought it went without saying that these rights were reserved for White Male Property-Owners. They had no intention of giving rights to women, Native Americans, African slaves, etc.

But regardless of what they intended, they wrote and agreed to those words. And following generations of Americans have taken those words to heart and tried to make them a reality. After more than 230 years, we are much closer to making "all" truly mean every single American citizen.

We are not there yet, but if we keep the faith and keep fighting for it, we will be someday. We will make real the dream that our forefathers created. In honor of that, I say with pride:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA !

Let Freedom Ring

Political Cartoon is by John Cole in The Times (Scranton).

Sarah Palin Quits

I must admit that I was rather shocked to hear this news. In fact, I had to check out a couple of different news sources just to make sure someone wasn't trying to pull off a sick joke. But it's real -- Sarah Palin is resigning her governorship effective July 26th. Lt. Governor Sean Parnell will be sworn in as governor on that day.

In trying to explain why she is quitting, Palin gave a rambling and rather unintelligible statement saying, "Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional 'Lame Duck' status in this particular climate would just be another dose of 'politics as usual,' something I campaigned against and will always oppose. It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success."

I not real sure what that means, but she seems to be saying Alaska will be better off without her. I really can't argue with that. I don't know anything about Parnell, but he can't be any worse than Palin.

Palin didn't say specifically what her future plans were. She did say, "I look forward to helping others -- to fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops and energy independence."

Is she giving up on politics, or preparing herself to run for president? I'm not sure which I would prefer. There's something to be said for not having Palin around anymore, but I suspect she's just clearing the way for a run at the Republican presidential nomination. I think all Democrats would love to see that.

Palin is clueless when it comes to national and international issues, and seems to think that the ability to mouth right-wing platitudes is all she needs to do. In reality, the longer she continues to be a national leader of the Republican Party, the more it makes it look like the party is devoid of any real leadership or fresh ideas.

I would love to see Palin on the Republican ticket again in 2012.

UPDATE- The Brad Blog is now reporting that Palin resigned because of impending federal indictments for embezzlement regarding the Wasilla Sports Complex.

The Field Clears

Political Cartoon is by Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Norway

Found at the wonderful web site Atheist Comics.