President Bush's farsighted strategy of overcoming islamic fascism with democracy has scored yet another success: Toppling the Syrian proxy government in Lebanon.

Michael Moore, George Soros, and John Kerry (and their obtuse ilk) to the contrary, what you are seeing here is the early stages of another eastern europe.

What an audacious, brilliant, visionary man is this President. Faced with a worldwide nazi-like islamic extremist movement, rather than simply hurling bombs and troops at it (though that he has done too, and well), Mr. Bush has struck at its roots by driving the stake of representative democracy into its very heart.

This is a "bomb" that once armed cannot help but reach critical mass -- and blow islamofacism to shreds.

As Mr. Bush told the troops at Wiesbaden the other day, "The only force powerful enough to stop the rise of tyranny and terror, and replace hatred with hope, is the force of human freedom."

Steve Fossett, the rich fellow who never seems to tire of circling the globe, is getting ready to try it again -- this time in a specially made jet.

You may remember Mr. Fossett from his seemingly constant steam of balloon crashes in obscure locations throughout the 90's. He finally got round the world via lighter-than-air device in 2002.

This time, he's launching from beutiful Salinas, Kansas.

~~~~~~~
UPDATE: He made it.

Florida Judge George Greer will do no more to prevent Terry Schiavo's murder by starvation because he says he's feeling uncomfortable.

"The court is no longer comfortable granting stays simply upon the filings of new motions. There will always be 'new' issues," Judge Greer pontificated from his comfortable chambers.

One must question whether the Judge's discomfort is as great as Ms. Schiavo's will be as she is slowly starved to death by her compassionate husband.

President Bush's get together with Mr. Putin went so swimmingly yesterday that some europeans are begrudgingly waking up to the possibility that there might just be something to his methods.

To help our european friends, here is the secret formula: Standing Up for What's Right for a Change + Friendly Engagement = A Successful Alliance.

Almost 60% of Mr. bin Laden's murder victims in the World Trade Center attack have been identified. This is almost 3 times better than usual in difficult cases like this.

But it also means that 1100 human beings were vaporized without a trace. And their relatives will never have a body to bury.

Canada, our Friendly Neighbor to the North (or FNN, for short) says, no, thanks, they won't be participating in the ballistic missile shield.

Evidently, it was a difficult decision to reach.

"And Bush's relationship to Jesus and so forth -- this is something that gives [German Chancellor] Schröder the willies."

~ Joerg Lau
Editor, Die Zeit German newspaper
Quoted in US News & World Report
February 28, 2005, pg. 30

Frankly, we suspect that's where a lot of the disdain for Mr. Bush comes from.

In the latest move of a cynical power struggle between Florida's renegade courts and the other branches of government, a Pinellas County Circuit Judge is about to decide if coma victim Terry Schiavo can be killed by her husband over her parent's objections.

That's a fairly bald statement, and deserves some elaboration. Gnomon recognizes that this is not a simple issue, that it is not an easy thing to decide between a woman's right to live and her right not to suffer. Frankly, we can see the weight of both sides.

But the salient fact here is that she is living on her own. No tubes or respirators are keeping her alive, there is no machine to "unplug."

For her to die, she must be killed.

Is it ever right for an innocent to be killed? Particularly if there is no expressed desire for this fate on record? If, in fact, her Roman Catholic religious beliefs argue against there being any such desire?

Can it be considered right to actually starve such a person to death?

The answer is, "No."

Hunter S. Thompson, the archtype "gonzo" journalist (and prototype for "Duke" in Doonsbury), has killed himself a la Hemingway.

Frankly, no surprise there.

But he was an excellent writer, and if you're interested in what it's like to careen nauseously through a manic, drugged out existence, he was definitely your guy.

He was also your guy if you hated Mr. Bush -- but then those are a dime a dozen these days, are they not? But Thompson on his worst day was better than Michael Moore on his best.

Gnomon wishes everyone a most inspiring and enjoyable President's Day. We're celebrating with this view of some of our favorite Presidents!

Archaeologists believe they have found the tomb of St. Paul, the man who turned the world upside down.

Elsewhere in the Eternal City, other archaeologists discovered ruins supporting the ancient story of Romulus and Remus, founders of the world Paul upturned.

Demonstrating once again, as if any futher demonstration was needed, that there is no more honor in the land, a long time friend of the President's released parts of secret tapes he made of their private conversations.

One snippet, which could be understood several different ways, was naturally understood by the ladies and gentlemen of the press as negatively as possible. For the record, what Mr. Bush said, in the context of discussing then-Vice-President Gore's marijuana use, was:

"Do you want your little kid to say: 'Hey daddy, President Bush tried marijuana,I think I will?' That’s the message we’ve been sending out. I wouldn’t answer the marijuana question... I don’t want any kid doing what I tried to do 30 years ago. And I mean that. It doesn’t matter if it’s LSD, cocaine, pot, any of those things, because if I answer one, then there will be another one. And I just am not going to answer those questions. And it may cost me the election."

These things do cut both ways, of course. We do not hear him agonizing about how marijuana use might affect his "political viability;" in fact, he's reconcilled to the fact that it might. Instead, he's worried -- candidly and in private -- about how his example as President would affect children.

Just as revealing of the man is this quote: "I can't kick gays, because I'm a sinner. How can I differentiate sin?"

Pity some journalists can't grasp that perspective.

Are tiny martians lurking in the caves of Mars, hiding from our Rovers but betrayed by their "methane signatures?" Two NASA scientists think so.

Or do they? NASA says the whole story is malarky.

Our point: It's always methane. Have you noticed that? Evidently, the fundamental sign you're alive is flatulence.

The only possible computer-based global warming explanation that matches the data is that it's caused by human greenhouse emissions, says a new study from a Scripps Institute scientist.

"The models got it right. If a politician stands up and says the uncertainty is too great to believe these models, that is no longer tenable," proclaims Dr. Tim Barnett.

Which makes it sound like he has an axe to grind rather than impartial information to impart. But, scientists are human too.

As the study has not been peer-reviewed yet, Gnomon prefers to reserve judgement regarding the cause of global warming till then.

If it holds up, we would also like someone to explain how much is caused by human action and how much by natural climate change (which is plainly happening). Because Dr. Barnett's study really only tells us that naturally-caused global warming models do not match the facts as well, not that they don't match at all.

In other words, would the Earth have heated up anyway, but we just made it worse?

Proving once again that pundits are always wrong about him, President Bush nominated John Negroponte to be the new Intelligence Czar.

Mr. Negroponte, whose nomination as UN Ambassador was stonewalled by Congress until 9/11 happened, will get expedited consideration this time around.

Why a career diplomat for the top spy post? Probably, because of the negotiating skills it will take to coordinate all the nation's spook agencies. If he needs any help on the spying side of things, Mr. Negroponte will have the able asssistance of Lt. General Michael Hayden, current head of the NSA.

Hysterical cult-liberals are shrieking as usual.

It turns out Gnomon's been practicing a rigorous health regime for decades without even knowing it. Maybe you have too. According to a huge Japanese study, drinking coffee every day cuts the risk of liver cancer in half.

Next Iraqi Prime Minister: Apparently the current interim Vice-President Ibrahim Jafari. Democracy marches on, gainsayers disregarded.

Ah... if only all news stories could be this sweet. "Frank" the deadly tumor that infested 9 year-old David Dingman-Grover's brain is dead -- victim of the love and contributions of thousands of EBay users around the world who bought those "Frank Must Die" stickers by the truckload.

David's reaction: "Really? Great! Cool! Did you ever think it wouldn’t be gone?"

Way to go, David.

Good job, world.

Another test of the Missile Defense System did not go off as planned -- apparently because the launch error monitoring software is a bit too finicky.

Critic scoff.

As we said last time: Folks, it's a test. That's what tests are for. We have successful tests too, but strangely, they never find their way into the paper.

Must be a printing error.

Following up on previous summits and semi-summits, as summits tend to do, the World Earth Summit in Brussels, Belgium is working out the mechanics of a globe-girdling weather observation system.

When it's ready 10 years from now, the network will be called the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, have sensors everywhere, and monitor every natural event on the planet -- a kind of Carnivore or Echelon for meteorologists.

The Sumatran Tsunami is being used as a major selling point, of course, but the real driving force behind the information grid is (you guessed it, didn't you?)... Global Warming.

"Concerns about climate change driven by global warming are fueling proponents of such a system, [NOAA head Conrad] Lautenbacher says. The Kyoto Protocol, which commits 55 nations to limiting emissions of so-called greenhouse gases, also kicks off Wednesday in Brussels," duly reports USA Today.

Democrats chose Dr. Howard Dean as Party Chairman over the weekend. We think they've got the right idea but the wrong man.

The Democrat Party is stale; they need a true believer to reinvigorate them, and Mr. Dean is certainly that. But as the last few elections demonstrate, democrats simply turn the average American off. The reason for that is simple: they've been skewed and contorted by the crazed radicalism of the late 1960's, and don't know how to escape it.

Dr. Dean is just more of that, in high gear.

Gnomon believes strongly that America needs a liberal party -- all nations do. It's historical. But until Democrats can pull themselves free from the gooey, perverse, rabid, cynical, negative, cultish abberation of 60's radicalism and reclaim classical liberalism, they will not be it.

In point of fact, Republicans are having to try and fill both the classical liberal and conservative shoes at this time, and it's not a pretty sight.

Through the wonders of genetic engineering, scientists can now restore the hearing of deaf guinea pigs. This was done using a specially modified adenovirus -- no embryonic stem cells required (although other scientists insist stem cells from embryos would work better).

The trick is to get tiny sound-receiving hairs in the deep inner guinea pig ear to grow back. Someday, they may be able to get yours to grow back, too.

A pre-9/11 FAA report that the 9/11 Commission studied stated it was possible terrorists might hijack planes and martyr themselves in fiery crashes.

It took 5 months to declassify and release this bit of information, which was done yesterday. Mainly the delay was so that current security measures could be excised. The report made no mention of using planes as weapons, and...

No wait! That's not the story -- Actually, Evil President Bush (or EPB, for short) and his demonic cohorts malevolently supressed the report because it shows he purposely let bin Laden blow up the Trade Center so he could use it as a pretext to take out Saddam and steal all the oil!

It's in Nostradamus, people!!!

The nation most in need of a good crop-dusting with anti-psychotic medication, North Korea, is engaging once again in what they imagine is cagey diplomatic manouvering.

Step 1: Suddenly declare you have something very nasty -- in this case, nuclear weapons.

Step 2: Angrily pull out of something diplomatic -- in this case, the 6-nation talks, in which all the other nations, including your allies Russia and China, have told you to dump the nuclear weaponry plans.

Step 3: Demand bilateral talks with the US to show you're the big dog you incessently fantasize that you are -- in this case, something you have no hope of obtaining.

Step 4: Cave in, and go back to the bargaining table when the next wave of lucidity hits.

Plain spoken as usual, and with the force of his example in Afghanistan and Iraq (not to mention the overarching global Terrorism War) lending ethos to his words, President Bush warned Iran yesterday:

"The free world is working together to send a very clear message: 'Don't develop a nuclear weapon.'"

Likeminded Secretary of State Rice has said much the same thing, couched in slightly more diplomatic language.

Meanwhile, swinging blindly at the forces of history, the facist mullahs of that benighted land proclaim that interlopers will face the cliched "burning hell" of boilerplate moslem extremist rhetoric.

Could it possibly be? George Bush, 41st President of the United States, Ronald Reagan's Vice-President, former Head of the CIA, and of course, father of the current President -- could he be the Watergate Scandal's fabled "Deep Throat??"

That's what writer Adrian Havill proposes. The "Long Resume President," Mr. Bush was Nixon's ambassador to the UN at the time and went on to head up the GOP before becoming CIA chief. Could he have known enough of Nixon White House inner workings to tip off Woodward and Bernstein??

Well, who knows. We doubt it, but what an intriguing idea: The self-effacing, future 41st President driven by a sense of duty to surreptitiously bring down the brusque, semi-paranoid 37th Chief Executive -- and never breathing a word to anyone. And being ironically rewarded by Mr. Nixon himself with the Republican Party Chairmanship!

Who knows what other covert adventures this humble public servant may have engaged in. A series of spy novels may be in order: George H. W. Bush: The Secret Adventures.

But we do know that notes from the legendary Washington Post reporters that broke the story wide open are now on public display for the first time. Both men have sworn not to reveal the porn movie-monikered source's true identity until after he's dead.

John Dean, Nixon's Counsel turned informer, and now famous Deep Throat hunter, says he's heard that could be soon.

Keep your gums healthy, and you may avoid atherosclerosis says a new study from Columbia University Medical Center and the American Heart Association. Yes, we've known this for awhile, but the new study adds weight to that research.

Here are some handy gum/heart care tips from the American Dental Association.

As a rule, conservatives are pretty sold on President Bush. But one nagging problem they've had with him has been his huge budgets.

Well, now they're starting to get their wish. The 2006 Bush budget decreases certain social programs, subsidies, and entitlements while boosting defense spending. The much-maligned deficit will be cut in half, by the administration's figures, by 2009.

Mr. Bush even had the political gonads to virtually eliminate that perennial budget leech, Amtrak.

Gnomon is disappointed, though, that the Hubble Space Telescope was cut. Until we get something better up, we feel it more than justifies its existence by the constant stream of discoveries it beams down.

Still, it is a much leaner budget, and a step in the right direction. Why, if we didn't know better, we might almost think it was written by... Ronald Reagan.

What is it with these space heaters?! First one of them kills the Prime Minister of Georgia, now 18 young Spaniards at a birthday party.

The Pope is steadily improving after his bout with the flu, but some clowns would like to visit and help him along.

Elsewhere in Rome, the oldest Cardinal has died at 101.

According to an Australian scientist, laughter helps you see things differently. Literally. The way your brain scans an image is altered.

The Prime Minister of Georgia has died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a malfunctioning space heater -- the sort of fate that is ordinarily more common among poverty-stricken day laborers living in a rundown tenement.

This seems unlikely to some.

Fully into his role as Apostle of Freedom and the Ownership Society, President Bush laid out his agressive agenda to change the world and fix some pressing domestic problems in his State of the Union last night.

Reaction was generally good, despite the gritty Democrat determination to disagree with whatever he said.

We thought it was brilliant, naturally enough.

Chickenpox, apparently more virulent than we ever imagined, is killing many less people than it used to, thanks to the vaccine that appeared ten years ago.

It may give you shingles later on, though. And some people, as with virtually every medical treatment in existence, just don't like it at all.

Now that we finally have a President that's willing to do something about it, suddenly there's no Social Security problem anymore. How very odd!

Incidentally, though Democrats are united in refusing to think about them, private investment accounts have been incorporated into the Social Security systems of several other countries. And they work well.

If you ever did a little modeling work somewhere in your past, maybe you should run down to your local grocery and check out all the labels. You know, just to be on the safe side.

An Antioch, California kindergarten teacher did, and picked up $15.6 million dollars from Taster's Choice instant coffee for work he did back in 1986.

He never noticed his face before this because he doesn't drink instant.

Carter-appointed Senior federal judge Joyce Hens Green has decided that foreign terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay have American-style rights to trial in our civillian courts.

She seems like a nice lady in this interview, but appears to have had a "senior moment" on this one. It seems an odd legal theory to us that foreign armies implacably at war with us should be in any way equated with the citizens whose throats they wish to cut.

In a much less publicized ruling earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon agreed.

Human rights, yes. International law and the Geneva Conventions as they apply, certainly. Gnomon does not hold that terrorists are animals -- just incredibly stupid and evil humans. But they do not merit access to our civillian legal system.

They are not American citizens; they are not therefore subjects of our Constitution.

Military tribunals are the proper forum for them to seek justice.