Kansas City Star documents preventive measures.

Districts across the country have facilities like these with plans to build more. And school officials and community leaders can rattle off lengthy laundry lists of what their schools and communities have done to prepare for school violence since an eruption of shootings in the late 1990s.

But as the nation deals with three deadly school shootings in less than a week, some experts say psychological safeguards like recognizing warning signs of violence are just as important as the physical. And that’s what the country must work on.

Kansas City Star reports financial milestone.

The Dow Jones industrial average tiptoed to record heights Tuesday, exhibiting little of the exuberance that had marked the old January 2000 peak.

A 56.99-point gain Tuesday in the Dow pushed it to 11,727.34 at the close, barely higher than its 11,722.98 close on Jan. 14, 2000.

“It does seem like we’ve been here before, though conditions are a lot different,” said Tom Laming, president of TrendStar Advisors LLC in Overland Park. “We got here with much more skepticism this time.”

Kansas City Star relates North Korean announcement.

North Korea triggered global alarm Tuesday by saying it will conduct a nuclear test, an announcement that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called “a very provocative act.”

It was the first time that North Korea had publicly announced its intent to conduct a nuclear test. But the announcement also said North Korea was committed to nuclear disarmament, suggesting a willingness to negotiate.

From the Kansas City Star.

A study released Tuesday in Washington pointed to what researchers called a higher than expected level of political and community engagement among Americans ages 15 to 25...

Every year, newspapers print this story. Meanwhile, volunteer programs struggle and voter participation remains virtually non-existent.

Today’s youth are spoiled. It is unfortunate. However, it is a fact. Stop trying to convince us they are not.

Raymond Smalley

Cardinals defeat San Diego Padres 5-1.

With one swing of Albert Pujols' bat, a St. Louis Cardinals lineup that looked so sickly in September suddenly got a lot better under the California sun.

San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy tempted Pujols with one pitch too many and the slugger, who has a shot at a second straight NL MVP award, responded with a two-run homer that launched the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory in the opening game of the division series on Tuesday.

The US Department of Peace campaign continues to build momentum as over 100 participants gathered the weekend of September 15 through 17, 2006, for the first Conference of The Southeast Regional Alliance for Peace.

This group is dedicated to a campaign to establish a United States Department of Peace and Non-violence.

“The United States remains a global leader in so many areas. It is only fitting we lead the world in the pursuit of real peace, and it is only fitting people in the Atlanta area help lead the Southeast in the movement to create a U.S. Department of Peace,” Dr. Cheryl Tarr, the Executive Director of the Georgia Peace Alliance, said in a press release.

As reported previously in Atlanta Progressive News, there is currently a bill before both Houses of US Congress--HR 3760 and S 1756--to establish such a Cabinet-level Department, complete with a US Secretary of Peace.

The US House version has 75 total co-sponsors, one third of the number of members who would need to support the bill in order for it to pass.

The number of total co-sponsors presently is up from 64 noted by Atlanta Progressive News back in May 2006, after Atlanta City Council passed a resolution endorsing the idea of the US Department of Peace.

The new co-sponsors are US Reps. James Moran (D-VA), John Larson (D-CT), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Al Green (D-TX), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), James Clyburn (D-SC), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), and David Wu (D-OR).

The only two current co-sponsors from Georgia are US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and John Lewis (D-GA).

The US Senate bill, unfortunately, only has two current total co-sponsors, US Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN) and James Jeffords (I-VT) and they are both retiring this year. Jeffords is like to be replaced by US Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who already supports the bill.

This measure is designed to augment our current problem-solving modalities, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

The organization makes it perfectly clear they are not simply a group against war, or specifically the Iraqi situation, but rather to investigate and address violence in our society in all its forms.

Domestically, the US Department of Peace would develop policies and allocate resources to effectively reduce the levels of domestic and gang violence, child abuse, and various other forms of societal discord.

Internationally, the Department would advise the President and Congress on the most sophisticated ideas and techniques regarding peace-creation among nations.

It is possible the US may have never invaded Iraq had we had a US Department of Peace.

Even in such a conflict situation, a Department of Peace would enable us to better understand the various Moslem groups at play, and how best to create a new Iraq, peacefully.

The Conference met at various locations in Decatur.

It was hosted by the Georgia Peace Alliance Chapter, headed by Dr. Cheryl Tarr.

There are about 300 chapters, nationwide, and many countries around the world are working to establish their own variations of a Department of Peace.

Speakers to the conference included Lynn McMullen, National Campaign Manager from The Alliance for Peace; and Dot Maver, of The Peace Alliance Foundation.

They came to dispense information on how to develop a working relationship with your Congressperson; how to fulfill your role in government; how to fund-raise and to use money as a force for good; how to work with the media; and how to do outreach to expand the campaign in your community.

Cynthia Moe and Mark Feinknopf, from The Georgia Network for Nonviolent Communication, showed the 100 or more guests how to use principles of nonviolent communication (NVC) to try to get what you need out of a situation without setting up an adversarial relationship.

Other speakers included Reverend Paul Gonyea from the Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, Lisa McLeod from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett, and Bert Skellie from the Atlanta Friends Service Committee. The Friends House hosted the Conference on Saturday.

The event began Friday night in Decatur Square with musical performances and a drumming session.

Blue Crab Boulevard criticizes Democrats, Cleaver.

I've said all along that a "throw the bums out" strategy was very, very dangerous for the Democrats, since they risked being lumped in with the bums. It boggles the mind that this is the campaign message the Democrats want to send right now.

Emanuel Cleaver said on the House floor: “Because unfortunately, we are not doing much for America.”

Quote Featured in the:
Massachusetts Metro West Daily News

Nashua Telegraph

Joe Mariana reinterprets National Intelligence Estimate.

About five months after it was released, someone leaked a few choice -- but hardly representative -- sentences of the classified NIE to the NY Times and the Washington Post. "Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism Threat," screamed the New York Times, quoting anonymous officials. The Washington Post chimed in with, "Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight." Meanwhile, the main story on CNN's web site was, "Dems: Leaked Iraq report shows need for new direction." As usual, none of the major news agencies or Democratic politicians seemed concerned about the fact that classified information was leaked, as long as the information could be used against the Bush administration.

But that's not what the NIE says at all. In fact, it barely mentions Iraq.

Doug Patton details “Democratic plan”.

In the loony-tunes world of George Soros and Howard Dean, the current financial and ideological powers behind the Democratic Party, this kind of foreign policy is completely unacceptable.

Always willing to do my part to clear up any confusion about liberal motives and intentions, I offer the following four-step plan, based on my keen observation of the political scene, as a guide to the policies Democrats would like to pursue in Iraq...

Chiefs defeat San Francisco 49ers 41-0.

Damon Huard hit 18 of 23 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, missing only two of his first 15 tosses as the Chiefs (1-2) roared to a 24-0 halftime lead en route to their first shutout in almost four years.

Rams defeat Detroit Lions 41-34.

The Rams rallied from behind three times, then benefited from an overturned pass interference penalty in the waning seconds to beat Detroit 41-34 on Sunday.

"Sometimes in a game like this, it's who gets the ball last," Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said.

Kevin Fobbs requests a vote for liberty.

America may not only be losing its identity it may very well be losing its most defining quality, our American liberty, unless pro-American candidates are elected on November 7th. With the mid-term general election season upon us, a crucial question we must ask ourselves as we enter the polling place is whether or not the gubernatorial, congressional, and state senate or representative candidates will be voting for our American liberty or for the liberty of illegal aliens who are carefully disassembling our American culture, our educational and health systems and, quite frankly, our children's future. The mid-term elections could very well determine our nation's future security as well.

From United Press International:

Pro-life groups are lamenting the demise of a piece of legislation they say is supported by 80 percent of Americans -- a bill that would have required a minor girl's parents to be informed before she had an abortion, and that would have punished individuals who transported a minor across state lines for an abortion in order to circumvent parental notification laws in the girl's home state.

Senate Majority Bill Frist did all he could to bring Senate Bill 403 to a vote before that chamber adjourned this session -- but a cloture vote on the Child Custody Protection Act fell three votes short on Friday, falling victim again to Democratic-led efforts to prevent the bill from being sent along to the White House. (See earlier article) Frist had hoped the procedural move would force a vote on a bill that the Senate had passed earlier on a 65-34 vote -- and the House had passed 264-153 -- but his filing of cloture required at least 60 votes. On Friday, he could only muster 57; fifty-one Republicans and six Democrats (see roll call vote).

The bill will now go without a vote in this Congress, much to the dismay of pro-lifers who had praised both the House and Senator Frist for their efforts to get the bill ushered through Congress. "It is remarkable," says Douglas Johnson of National Right to Life, "that only six out of 45 Senate Democrats voted to require a parent to be notified before an abortion is performed on a young daughter in some other state." Some pro-life supporters are suggesting that several of those voted earlier in favor of the bill were strong-armed into the opposing column.

"We commend [Frist] for fighting to the end to free this legislation from the grip of a Senate minority -- a minority that has preserved the ability of profiteering abortionists to keep parents in the dark," Johnson adds.

Concerned Women for America echoes Johnson's comments, calling the bill's death "an enormous loss" for children's safety and parental rights. Lanier Swann, CWA's director of government relations, blames "partisan antics" for the cloture result on Friday.

"The Senate chose to disregard the American public's wish to see this bill implemented," Swann states in a press release. "Apparently they are more dedicated to divisive partisanship than to the American public for whom this issue is overwhelmingly popular."

Swann evidently also sees the vote as a victory for child predators. "There are many ill-intentioned adults who would like to cover up their actions by silencing an impregnated minor," she remarks. "The Child Custody Protection Act would have prevented this heinous crime from happening by requiring parental consent in states that already have laws in the books."

The U.S. House had passed the Senate version earlier last week, calling their measure the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) and adding a provision that would require abortion providers to notify parents of a minor seeking an abortion at least 24 hours before it takes place.

Chiefs oppose San Francisco 49ers.

The Kansas City Chiefs again will be without Trent Green on Sunday when they host the San Francisco 49ers in a matchup of winless teams.

Damon Huard will make his second straight start in place of Green. The six-year veteran completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards in a 9-6 loss at Denver two weeks ago.