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Lefty alternative freebie Kansas City newspaper The Pitch (as opposed to lefty mainstream pay-for-it newspaper The Star) has their Best of Kansas City list out. The list includes "Best Local Blog." (Despite some lingering confusion on the part of The Pitch concerning what year it is, we'll press on, shall we? See, people, drugs are bad, m'kay?)

Hokay, anyway, with some trepidation, we clicked on the link for Death's Door on the Pitch page, and read on.

To our delight (and in keeping with the recent trend of scatalogical language in our posts), we're proud to link to this article on Death's Door, which made us smile exceedingly, and caused us to read the passage out loud (loudly and rapidly, which is how such things are supposed to be read) to Snookums:

But if you took your stupid ass into a country like Lebanon just because you felt like it, then you need to pay for being so *censored*suckin stupid. Cause c’mon, we’re Americans and we know a lot of us can’t think past the noses on our faces. It’s like some folks I knew who found out that mutha*censored*ers were giving tours in Iran and they thought it would be cool to go.

Did you even stop to think that it might not be cool or because you’re American, mutha*censored*ers might not like you? And when I say that by not liking you, I mean we’re number one with a bullet? Or that the state department puts out regular bulletins on places where Americans might not be welcome due to civil war or terrorism, or a general hatred of Americans? And if you think I’m shittin you go click this link and check out some of the warnings.

Interestingly, Rush Limbaugh said much the same thing on the radio today, but not nearly so, um, forcefully. And that's just farking weird.

From the Kansas City Star:

•Dixie Chicks update: Tickets to their KC show in August never went on sale, but presale tickets were sold, says Kemper spokesdude Ryan McCarthy. The Chicks reportedly canceled some U.S. dates due to poor ticket sales in the wake of their anti-war, anti-President Bush statements.

“If you have presale tickets you need to get your refund from Ticketmaster,” McCarthy says. “The service charge you’ll probably lose.”

Emphasis in the original.

You don't really need the Kansas City Star or the National Weather Service to tell you it's hot in Kansas City this week.

But what the heck, here's the Star:

Today likely will be the hottest day of the year thus far, with temperatures topping 100. It’ll feel like 110. It won’t cool down much at night either, with temperatures of about 80 degrees.

And here's the NWS:

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT
THURSDAY...

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT
THURSDAY.

THE EXCESSIVE HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL CONTINUE ALONG AND SOUTH OF A
LINE FROM SAINT JOSEPH TO MACON TODAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE
FROM THE UPPER 90S IN CENTRAL INTO EASTERN MISSOURI...TO AROUND 102
ALONG THE KANSAS-MISSOURI BORDER. AFTERNOON HEAT INDICES ARE
EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 108 TO 113 DEGREES.

THIS WILL MARK THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE DAY WITH DAYTIME HEAT
INDICES AT OR ABOVE 105 DEGREES FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD...AND
NIGHT TIME HEAT INDICES HIGHER THAN 80 DEGREES. THE CUMULATIVE
EFFECTS OF THIS HEAT WAVE MAY BEGIN TO TAKE THEIR TOLL ON THOSE MOST
SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE HEAT...INCLUDING THE ELDERLY...CHILDREN AND THOSE
IN POOR HEALTH. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO
AIR CONDITIONING...CONTACT YOUR LOCAL OFFICIALS TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE
AVAILABILITY OF COOLING CENTERS IN YOUR AREA.

OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES WILL ONCE AGAIN BRING LITTLE RELIEF FROM THE
HEAT AS LOWS ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 75 TO AROUND 80 DEGREES WITH
HEAT INDICES GREATER THAN 80. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ON THURSDAY ARE
EXPECTED TO AGAIN CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 90S TO AROUND 100 DEGREES. AS
THE HIGH HUMIDITY PERSISTS...SO DO THE HIGH HEAT INDICES. AFTERNOON
INDICES FROM 105 TO 113 ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE WARNING AREA ON
THURSDAY.

IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTSIDE...AVOID PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE HEAT AND
ALSO AVOID STRENUOUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. YOUR BODY CAN LOSE UP TO A
GALLON OF WATER AN HOUR THROUGH PERSPIRATION. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
TO AVOID DEHYDRATION. ALCOHOLIC AND CAFFEINATED BEVERAGES CAN
INCREASE THE RATE OF WATER LOSS IN YOUR BODY...INCREASING THE RISK OF
HEAT EXHAUSTION OR STROKE. WEAR LIGHTWEIGHT...LIGHT COLORED AND LOOSE
FITTING CLOTHING. WEAR A HAT TO SHIELD YOURSELF FROM THE SUN.

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association announces the Jackrabbits are #1:

Atlanta, Ga. -- The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its 2005-2006 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and Junior College/Community College. The awards recognize teams throughout the nation that have the highest grade point averages (GPA) for the 2005-2006 season based upon nominations submitted by WBCA-member coaches.

"It is my pleasure to recognize each of these distinguished women's basketball programs that have gone above and beyond excellence on the court, and have extended it to the classroom," said WBCA Chief Executive Officer Beth Bass. "These 117 teams admirably strive to be successful all-around and we commend their efforts. Congratulations!"

Division	Institution	2005-06 Head Coach	GPA	Top 25 Range
NCAA I	South Dakota State University	Aaron Johnston	3.730	3.730-3.298
NCAA II	University of Nebraska - Kearney	Carol Russell	3.663	3.663-3.297
NCAA III	Colorado College	Kelly Mahlum	3.577	3.577-3.331
NAIA	Dana College	Brenda Mechels	3.585	3.585-2.991
JC/CC	Colby Community College	Tom Stephens	3.458	3.458-2.675*
*=top 17 range

Each of the top ranking institutions have appeared on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll as least once in the past six years. The University of Nebraska - Kearney returns to the number one spot for the second time, with the first time in 2003. South Dakota State University finished in a close second last year and has taken the number one seed for the first time. Also finishing at the top spot for the first time are Colorado College, Dana College and Colby Community College. These "classy" teams combine for an average 3.602 GPA for the 2005-2006 season.

GPAs are calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by each student-athlete on an institution's roster in the given academic terms by the total number of hours earned by the team. The GPAs are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point.

NCAA Division I
In his second season at the NCAA Division I level, South Dakota State's Aaron Johnston has already taken over the ranks to top this year's Academic Top 25. After finishing second in 2005, Johnston's team took it one step further to become the number one academic team in the nation not only for NCAA Division I, but they also carried the highest GPA at all levels. The Lady Jacks squad's success in the classroom carried over to the court, as they finished the season with 21 wins and an overall record of 21-7.

"We had a really dedicated team committed to doing both academics and athletics. Being in the top 15 of the WBCA Academic Top 25 is always a goal of ours," Johnston said. "Last year we finished second, so it was a goal to try to improve upon that. The team did a great job!"

The WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for NCAA Division I is as follows:

	School	2005-2006 Head Coach	Team GPA
1.	South Dakota State	Aaron Johnston	3.730
2.	Indiana State University	Jim Wiedie	3.612
3.	Eastern Washington University	Wendy Schuller	3.474
4.	Valparaiso University	Keith Freeman	3.468
5.	Montana State - Bozeman	Tricia Binford	3.459
6.	University of New Mexico	Don Flanagan	3.424
7.	Oakland University	Beckie Francis	3.402
8.	University of Northern Iowa	Tony DiCecco	3.399
9.	Northern Arizona University	Laurie Kelly	3.364
10.	Univ. of Wisconsin - Green Bay	Kevin Borseth	3.362
11.	DePaul University	Doug Bruno	3.361
12.	Canisius College	Terrence Zeh	3.344
13.	University of Denver	Pamela Tanner	3.343
T14.	Lehigh University	Susan Troyan	3.338
T14.	Liberty University	Carey Green	3.338
16.	University of Central Florida	Gail Striegler	3.335
17.	Texas A&M - Corpus Christi	Robert Robinson	3.330
18.	Dartmouth College	Christina Wielgus	3.323
19.	University of Oklahoma	Sherri Coale	3.315
20.	Saint Bonaventure University	Jim Crowley	3.307
21	Long Island University	Stephanie Gaitley	3.301
22.	Villanova University	Harry Perretta	3.300
23.	University of Florida	Carolyn Peck	3.299
T24.	Bradley University	Paula Buscher	3.298
T24.	Fairleigh Dickinson University	Sandy Gordon	3.298

From Yahoo News:

"I think Condi (Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) is going to go (to the Middle East) pretty soon," Bush said.

Blair replied: "Right, that's all that matters, it will take some time to get that together." Rice said on Sunday she was thinking of going to the region if it would help.

Blair added: "See, if she goes out she's got to succeed as it were, where as I can just go out and talk."

Bush replied: "See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over."

1.  Hezbollah militia captures two Israeli solders, after months of sporadic shelling of Israeli cities and towns.
2.  Israel decides it's had enough of Hezbollah and invades Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah.
3.  Hezbollah retreats into Syria and continues its anti-Israel operations.
4.  Israel strikes Hezbollah in Syria.
5.  Syria declares war on Israel. 
6.  Iran joins the fight and starts lobbing missiles over Iraq into Israel.
7.  One of those Iranian missiles contains a nuclear warhead.
8.  Israel responds with a massive nuclear attack on Iran.

This isn't a "cycle of violence" any more, it's a slippery downward slope towards a cliff.

via News24:

"Hezbollah must redeploy north of the Litani River. It must surrender its rocket arsenal to the Lebanese army, which must take up positions along the border with Israel," Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Israeli television.

"If these conditions are met, Israel will agree to a ceasefire," the minister said.

North Korea rejects UN Security Council resolution:

North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon accused the U.N. Security Council of trying to isolate his country, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK.

"The delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea resolutely condemns the attempt of some countries to misuse the Security Council for the despicable political aim to isolate and put pressure on the DPRK and totally rejects the resolution which was adopted at the current meeting of the Security Council," he said.

The Korean People's Army "will go on with missile launch exercises as part of its efforts to bolster deterrent for self-defense in the future, too," he said.

Taking a break from destruction, war, mayhem, and death . . . consider the meerkat.  Not only are they TV stars (with an irritating website) but scientists have discovered that they actively teach their young: Researchers from the University of Cambridge in England observed meerkats gradually introducing cubs to prey, showing them how to handle captured insects and even removing the stingers from scorpions before giving them to youngsters. "Although there are anecdotal reports of teaching in species from chimpanzees to killer whales, until this year solid evidence was really lacking," said Alex Thornton, co-author of the report appearing in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Israel intensifies its attack on Islamic barbarians in southern Lebanon.

India recovers from the train bombings in Mumbai which killed 200. India detains 350 suspected barbarians.

Iran is referred to the (toothless, meaningless) U.N. Security Council.

Sunni barbarians continue to try to ignite sectarian warfare in Iraq.

Barbarians take port city in Somalia.

Update:  Michael Ledeen comments:

Iran has been at war with us all along, because that’s what the world’s leading terror state does. The scariest thing about this moment is that the Iranians have convinced themselves that they are winning, and we are powerless to reverse the tide. As I reported here several months ago, Khamenei told his top people late last year that the Americans and Israelis are both politically paralyzed. Neither can take decisive action against Iran, neither can sustain prolonged conflict and significant casualties. Meanwhile, the Supreme Leader said, the terrorists are all working for Iran, and we will expand the terror war.
. . .
The only way we are going to win this war is to bring down those regimes in Tehran and Damascus, and they are not going to fall as a result of fighting between their terrorist proxies in Gaza and Lebanon on the one hand, and Israel on the other. Only the United States can accomplish it.
. . .
Your options are narrowing. You cannot escape the mullahs. You must either defeat them or submit to their terrible vision. There is no other way.