Welcome to the 127th Carnival of the Vanities!

First things first. I’d like to thank Silflay Hraka for creating this weekly event. Take some time to look around his site and if you’d like to host a future carnival, be sure to let him know. To join the weekly carnival announcement list, send an email to cotvanities-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

I’d also like to thank all of the bloggers who freely promote the Carnival of the Vanities each week. You know who you are. THANKS!

If this is your first visit to PunditGuy, I hope you like what you read here and decide to come back often!

Next week, the 128th Carnival of the Vanities will ride into town over at Believe Seeking Understanding. Submission guidelines are here.

Here’s the hosting schedule through April 13th, 2005.

March 2nd – Belief Seeking Understanding
March 9th – Solomonia
March 16th – Bird’s Eye View
March 23rd – CodeBlueBlog
March 30th – Eric Berlin
April 6th – Incite
April 13th – Yea, Whatever

Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!

Soccer Dad writes about the coming of the taxman, and warns those to beware of "mileage taxes".

Alarming News says New Yorkers are used to judicial activism, but it’s a bad idea for courts to decide the issue of Gay Marriage.

Is "religious fundamentalism" the real danger that western civilization faces today? That’s the question posed at Dean’s World.

Fresh Politics highlights the current fallacy in the approach to improving our dismal educational system.

RightWingSparkle is thinking about Thanksgiving in this true story about a special man who made a choice we could all learn from.

In "Letting Go of the Tree", Elisson ponders a risky career decision.

Peers & Peerless shares his experience on being in a local show the night playwright Arthur Miller died.

According to Spin Cycle, professional cycling teams are jonesin on the speculation over who will be invited to participate in the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia. All bets are closed on Lance Armstrong – he’s announced that he’ll show up.

Mister Snitch writes about Dr. Bruce Banner suing a blogger.

God is God, and The Zero Boss is not. "J" confesses that he doesn’t really understand Christianity, and especially the Grace that comes with forgiveness.

Don’t just be a mentor to your kids while they live at home. Even after they leave, Pratie Place suggests you can continue to mentor through the Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate Program.

AmbivaBlog exclaims, "Our new Secretary of State is a GIRL!"

Did you know that in late January, two news conferences were held by a couple of coalitions of lefties to announce their "plans" for protesting President Bush’s inauguration? According to The Drunkablog, the blogosphere was silent on the story at the time, and still hasn’t commented on the covert strategy.

Seebach Exhibit 7: "McDonald’s nutrition chart? Don’t trust it!"

There’s a battle over evolution and intelligent design currently raging in Kansas, and Red State Rabble roasts it.

Mmmm…Savvy women who have heads filled with fashion and are programmed to use it. These cosmetologists aren’t the ‘couldn’t hurt a fly’ little things they appear to be. HerWryness says they are really teeny tiny terrorists.

Oddybobo highlights the most salient points of the Prez’s plan for social security.

Notes and Meditation’s verdict on Debbie Gibson posing in Playboy: Just another display of muddle-headed desperation.

At Hill Country Views, someones playing hockey with global warming!

Karin Kydland has a thing or two to say about courage.

Emily at After Abortion wonders why abortion providers aren’t learning how to screen for unwanted abortions. Do women get adequate pre-abortion counseling in abortion clinics? The unanimous opinion of people who work in post-abortion support is "no".

Chronicles of a Medical Mad House shares about a young doctor’s inability to adapt in the face of "challenges".

Baggage… and Blathering asks, "What makes a supermom tick? What drives the desire to be a perfect mom and build a perfect child? And just how crazy is that, anyway?"

Locusts and Honey does not think that Leftists are inherently anti-Semitic, they’re simply anti-Israel.

Today’s lesson from "Taken in Hand": In relationships in which there is an element of control, it’s vital for the person in control to listen to the concerns, opinions and fears of the other. Being taken in hand doesn’t mean being silenced!

Quoting the infamous Eagles song, Catscape reports: "David Wolkins discovers that Americans for Tax Reform is just like The Hotel California. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave."

Dave at AZ Perspective and Junk watched and reviewed the recent Charlie Rose Show that showcased four stars of the blogosphere.

Kevin, M.D. – Medical Weblog discusses alternate therapies one should consider in light of the threat that all COX-2 inhibitors could be pulled from the market.

There’s an analysis of the top 10 Superbowl ads over at The Raw Prawn.

The city of Houston is contemplating enacting a ban on smoking in restaurants that make less than 50% of their revenue from alcohol sales. The People’s Republic of Seabrook thinks this is a good thing, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough.

Farmhunk at The View from the Bunker wants Frank J. to hear him out.

The Idiom has an analysis of the role bloggers played in the resignation of Eason Jordan from CNN, and explains why David Gergen’s call for bloggers to adopt journalistic standards in the wake of this resignation is misguided.

The World According to Pete recalls good times with the good doctor, Hunter S. Thompson, before the Big Darkness came…

The Cliffs of Insanity has more on the death of Hunter S. Thompson, discussing the mistake of  confusing fame, talent, or eccentricity with wisdom

This week the Opinionated Bastard uses the environment to illustrate how good science can be bad policy.

There’s nothing good about paying big bucks to see a 55 minute concert. The Key Monk criticizes a short performance by the band "3 Doors Down".

Snark Patrol provides musings on Marines and scientists, two groups not usually associated with each other.

Angelweave has a word of warning: Frito-Lay is aggressively marketing the 0 Grams Trans Fat push. Trouble is, zero grams doesn’t mean the products are necessarily Trans Fat free. Some are; some are not.

Josh Cohen reflects upon the summer camp tradition of "Color War", and how it’s teaching our kids more than just how to win sporting events and cheer for their team — it’s changing the way kids think of conflict and war.

Critical Mastiff uses the Harry Potter series as a yardstick for public attitudes, and predicts that the political party best able to match the "Harry Potter Narrative" will come out ahead.

The Watcher of Wheels opines about a weird story featuring a man from Texas who was arrested while going on his own personal mission to collect the bounty on Bin Laden’s head.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of All Ages…let me direct your attention to "THE GEORGE AND JACQUES SHOW", by Rightwing Nuthouse.

Brian J. Noggle has a few predictions on the outcome of Milwaukee’s common council committee’s decision to raise the minimum wage in that city.

Bill Adams: "What’s the one question that 9/11 conspiracy theorists never ask?

OK, here’s a poem by Mad Kane about Brit Hume, FDR, and Social Security, introduced by a rant about bloggers’ short scandal attention span.

Be on the lookout! Revealed Truth unveils the fifteen signs you might be a "CINO".

Grab Bag of the Day: John Ray has a post with links to stories about killing babies, the gay gene, greenie faith-healing, Jews, the immortal soul and much more. Enjoy!

Wicked Thoughts has Jewish personal advertisements.

Libertarian Leanings discovers a curious change in attitude on the part of the press, now that the outing of Valerie Plame threatens jail time for a couple of reporters, rather than political death for the Bush administration.

The Conservative Cat discusses the open letter from NARAL Pro-Choice to the Pro-Life community and provide a little bit of the mathematics of birth control.

Matt at Overtaken by Events provides a brief recap of his wife’s recent trip to the tsunami devastated areas in Southern India, and a discussion about the difference between American poverty and real poverty. Plus, he throws in a couple of barbs directed at UNICEF and the Red Cross.

Conservative Dialysis claims that some Blacks hate Black History Month, and a growing number do not want to participate in related celebrations.

The Walloper writes of a pseudonymous UNC student who exposes an open secret in Hill Hall, home of the music department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Respectful Insolence posts about a doctor describing a pet peeve regarding how we refer to patients.

Who knew there were so many choices? Legacy Matters highlights the wonderful variety of options boomers can choose from as they make their
plans for their last goodbye.

Harvey at Bad Example provides some tips and tricks for making the writing in your blog posts sound more
friendly and conversational. A must-read for the beginning blogger, and
even established players will find it worth a look.

Two, Two, Two Posts in One! (OK, Part One and Part Two) Peaktalk, commenting on Bush’s recent Euro Tour says, "Despite the niceties and the optimism, Europe and America are fundamentally
divided."

The TOMO REPORT wonders, "Is RFID the Mark of the Beast?"

Coyote Blog on "SIN" Taxes: Government often puts taxes in place to discourage certain behaviors.  However,
when people respond and taxed behaviors start going away, the government
sometimes finds itself encouraging these same behaviors it once tried to
curtail, all in the name of increasing tax revenue.

Eric at Classical Values comes calling to say, "Taking private land for PRIVATE use is a bad idea."

This one is begging to be made into a movie. RoguePundit reports that the FDA has approved adding military troops to an ongoing test that uses ecstasy to help treat people with post traumatic stress disorder.

Interested Participant shares an amazing Bay Area statistic. A census of the homeless population in San Francisco found that 6,248
people were on the streets, in jails, in shelters, and in rehab and emergency centers. The total homeless was 28% less than the number
compiled during a prior census (8,640) in October 2002.

Bloginators contributor Eric Cowperthwait argues that the focus of school reform in California should be on bringing the benefits of education to the disenfranchised, rather than the equalization of funding.

More Eason commentary: Jay Dean at The Radical Centrist wonders if the phrase "off the record" has
come to mean, "not to be believed".

Check out Ogre’s Morals and Laws.

The Penitent Blogger with one woman’s journey to work on tsunami relief in Southern India.

The Smallest Minority highlights a piece on the Supreme Court’s current hearings on the Kelo vs. City of New London Fifth Amendment eminent domain case.  It appears that the Supreme Court is going to whack off another big chunk of individual rights – in this case, the right to your own property.

Wordlab introduces me to Drinkable Yogurt Commercials and says, "At first, you can’t take your eyes off the video, and then, you can’t get the friggin’ song out of your head." (Good Lord, he’s right! -ed.)

Did the U.S. not take the required precautions to ensure that Mamdouh Habib would not be tortured after being transfered to Egypt from Pakistan? PoliSciFi Blog investigates.

And, last but not at all least…

Pissing in Flander’s Fields – A bit of doggerel from Tex the Pontificator responding to the Belgian distribution of urinal stickers with Bush’s face and the American flag.

Phew – that’s one big ‘ol honkin link fest if I do say so myself. If you submitted a post and it isn’t here, please let me know. I tried to catch everything before the SPAM monster did.

Hope you enjoyed this weeks Carnival of the Vanities. Have a great day!