THEY TOLD ME THAT IF GEORGE W. BUSH WERE RE-ELECTED, we’d see schoolboys punished for refusing to kneel and pray in class. And they were right!

Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and ‘pray to Allah’ during a religious education lesson.

Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting to take part in the practical demonstration of how Allah is worshipped.

They said forcing their children to take part in the exercise at Alsager High School, near Stoke-on-Trent - which included wearing Muslim headgear - was a breach of their human rights.

You can’t make this stuff up. And, sadly, you don’t have to.

THE LONDON TIMES: Barack Obama’s policy switches are giving the Left whiplash. “Change, it turns out, wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. Having campaigned for the past year as the agent of transformation, the man who would lead an historic shift in America’s political direction, Barack Obama is discovering that there is quite a lot he likes about the way things are. . . . If next week he named Dick Cheney as his running-mate and revealed that he spends his spare time drilling for oil in wildlife habitats, the only surprise would be that it took him so long.”

This is not the Barack Obama that I knew.

A LOOK AT race, politics, and the American labor movement.

IN THE MAIL: Christopher Jones’ The Intelligent Portfolio: Practical Wisdom on Personal Investing from Financial Engines.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION UPDATE:

She may have defaulted on mortgages and lost a home in foreclosure, but that hasn’t stopped Long Beach Rep. Laura Richardson from driving in style and at great expense, courtesy of the taxpayer. The lease on Richardson’s 2007 Lincoln Town Car costs about $1,300 a month — the most expensive lease of any member of the House of Representatives, reports the Daily Breeze. Richardson’s monthly lease, paid by the federal government, is much larger than the $400 to $800 a month that other House members pay, according to a taxpayer group.

While Richardson has leased the vehicle only since last fall, it already been involved in one traffic accident while being driven by a staff member. In addition, Long Beach police ticketed the car in January for illegal parking, a ticket that has gone unpaid.

But that’s not all. Read the whole thing. And try

…

A public hearing on a proposed charter school for Elmira drew about 20 people to the Elmira Free Academy community room Tuesday night with only a handful speaking about the proposal.

Because, lets face it people, if Afr wants this charter school shoved through, a couple of his lapdogs on the City Council will start shoving.

Who wants to be that the schools books will be closed to taxpayer oversight?

But no real worries folks, Afr will do fine and turn a tidy profit, you and I, not so much.

High energy prices are likely to be the hottest issue in the upcoming 29th District congressional race.

Kuhls plan is to drill now, drill often and to sell oil cheap.

Massa, sue the oil companies, tax the oil companies and maybe offer free cake to you (so you can eat cake).

Which plan do you like better?

Elmira police want to remind everyone that a free garbage pickup program on the city’s Westside is over.

Consider yourself warned!

A new school board president and vice president have been appointed.

Appointed was a good word to use, as they were not elected. They were selected. Hand picked by Bryant, weeks ago. Sniff…snifff…whats that smell? Fraud?

WASHINGTON POST: Obama Got Discount on Home Loan.

“The real question is: Were congressmen getting unique treatment that others weren’t getting?” associate law professor Adam J. Levitin, a credit specialist at Georgetown University Law Center, said about the Countrywide loans. “Do they do business like that for people who are not congressmen? If they don’t, that’s a problem.”

Yes, that’s the question.

UPDATE: Bob Owens: “Obama had no prior relationship with the lender, was taking out a $1.32 million loan below market rates, without paying the customary fees. So what? . . . Barack Obama did precisely what every other politician does, and nothing more. The only reason this story merits any attention is that Obama’s campaign has created a mythology around him that casts him as a reformer.”

Yeah, “Barack Obama: More of the Same” wouldn’t have been much of a slogan.