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They may not have the gravitas of bald eagles or the mysterious allure of condors, but North America's ducks -- a classic harbinger every year of the changing seasons -- have done something remarkable. Scientists say the number of mallards, teals, canvasbacks and other ducks this year has reached the highest level ever recorded, with a total estimate of 48.6 million breeding ducks in Canada and the United States. The number is 7 percent higher than last year, according to a survey released this week from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and 43 percent higher than the historic average...

A war against ducks is under way in South Florida where residents of Oakland Park are battling an exploding population, officials said. Gangs of Muscovy ducks have taken over porches and yards and caused traffic to come to a halt while they waddle across town streets, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday. Resident Peter Cramer said he jumped into his swimming pool recently to rescue three baby ducklings that got trapped. "The mother duckling was trying to attack me for saving her stupid little chicks," Cramer told the Sun-Sentinel. The ducks are considered non-natives to Florida and invasive, so moving...

Listening to the mainstream media, cable news shows, Democrats and the Left all practice “racial profiling” and “identity politics” to the highest degree in their debate over who should replace Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court – while conveniently avoiding that pesky term “qualifications” – I am convinced that President Obama’s choice is obvious. “Daffy Duck” should replace Justice Souter. Here are seven (7) reasons why: We have never had a duck sit on the Supreme Court. I am sure that our nation has a history of insensitivity toward “duck rights.” Daffy is a black duck. Therefore, Daffy’s...

Is Daffy Duck “really” Black? Is he “authentically” Black? Or is he the creation of “The Man?” Is he down for the struggle? Has Daffy earned his “street cred?” Let’s check: 5 point- Born black - check 5 point- Born in a single parent home - no parent, most likely. Ever seen his Momma? 10 points- Born poor - check 50 points- Sold 'Hard' drugs.. crack, cocaine, Heroin – a black in Hollywood? What do you think? 65 points- Been shot and survived – yes! 75 points- Been shot multiple times and survived – YES! 70 points- Gang member of...

Can we ignore Sen. Obama's silence about Muammar Kaddafi? We know that Louis Farrakhan has said positive things about Barack Obama. And he's not the only one. This is the same Louis Farrakhan who has travelled to Libya to meet with and say positive things about Kaddafi, who has long-standing ties to terrorism. And that's not all. The former pastor at Obama's church, Jeremiah Wright, has not only said positive things about Farrakhan. In the 1980s, he went on a trip with Farrakhan to ... you guessed it, Libya, to meet with Kaddafi. With all of Obama's ties to Kaddafi...

Scientists have uncovered remarkably preserved fossils – including feathers and webbed feet – of the oldest known relatives of modern birds, which also shores up the theory that birds evolved from aquatic environments. Little is known about birds from the age of dinosaurs, since fossils that date back to the early Cretaceous Period – some 105 to 115 million years ago – are have rarely been found, the discovery reported in Friday's issue of the journal Science is particularly exciting for those trying to fill gaps in the avian family tree. “I was totally blown away. I was stunned,” said...

Five fossil specimens of a near-modern bird found in the Gansu Province of northwestern China show that early birds likely evolved in an aquatic environment, according to a study reported today in the journal Science. Their findings suggest that these early modern birds were much like the ducks or loons found today. Gansus yumenesis, which lived some 105 to 115 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, took modern birds through a watery path out of the dinosaur lineage. The report was co-authored by Peter Dodson of the University of Pennsylvania and his former students Hai-lu You of the...

CAMPBELL, Calif. (AP) - Seven weeks after a motorist intentionally killed a gaggle of ducks at a car wash, police say the case is going cold."We're reaching a dead end in the investigation," Campbell police Capt. Russ Patterson said Saturday An Aug. 5 surveillance videotape showed a man driving up and intentionally heading for the ducks, crushing several with his car. The driver mows down several more ducks before jumping out of his car and killing some with his hands. The attack went on for 16 minutes. Ten ducks were killed. Police received 50 to 75 calls a day in...

Here are some excerpts from a report by the official news agency in Libya on Muammar al-Qathafi's statements: The Leader underscored the need to launch full freedom in Libya, the Jamahiri state " the state of men and women, a country which is all civilian society and is self- run." He called for lifting all restrictions that stand in the face of this, so that Libyans be fully free in selecting economic activities, including founding companies on partnership bases, or on the bases of wages " work with fees". The leader also underscored the freedom of faith, worship, and religion,...

LONDON — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said today that the United Nations should scrap the Security Council and give its powers to the General Assembly if it ever hopes to become a truly democratic organization. In a full-page advertisement in the Guardian newspaper, Gadhafi called the UN Security Council "an ugly, forceful, and horrible instrument of dictatorship — an executioner's whip with no appeal against its judgment, even if its judgment is unfair, biased and harmful." The Security Council's five permanent members — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China — each have the power to veto resolutions by...

LONDON, England (AP) - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was quoted as saying yesterday that the United Nations must scrap the Security Council and give its powers to the General Assembly, if it ever hopes to become a truly democratic organisation. In a full-page advertisement in The Guardian newspaper, Gadhafi called the UN Security Council "an ugly, forceful, and horrible instrument of dictatorship - an executioner's whip with no appeal against its judgment, even if its judgment is unfair, biased and harmful." The Security Council's five permanent members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - have veto...

A Glimpse Ahead Timothy Snodgrass The Impossible Will Come Alive In 2005 01/28/05 In January of 2004, as we began to intercede for the New Year the Holy Spirit gave us the prophetic slogan, "The Seas will Roar in 2004". This year we were given a new slogan, "The Impossible will come Alive in 2005". As the veil of darkness begins to come down over nations and regions, along with great shakings will come great breakthroughs; signs, wonders, healings and a spectacular release of miracles in impossible circumstances. This year, although we are ultimately poised to gain much ground, there...

Putin: Ally or Terrorist? by William F. Jasper Counting Vladimir Putin as an ally against terrorism ignores his career in the murderous KGB/FSB and his ongoing support for terrorist regimes and organizations. ‘‘Lena Goncharuk, aged 38, said that she was the only one to survive out of a group of six who were ordered out of the cellar where they had been hiding and shot at point blank range. Resting in her hospital bed, her voice barely rising above a whisper, she said she had survived only by pretending to be dead." So reported Paul Wood from the Chechen border...

WASHINGTON - Teresa Heinz Kerry says anger, not ideology, prompted her to become a Democrat. The wife of Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, says her emotion stemmed from the way the Republican Party, to which she had pledged allegiance, treated Democratic Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia in 2002. Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm as an Army captain during the Vietnam War, lost his re-election bid in a bitter campaign against then-Rep. Saxby Chambliss. The GOP had raised questions about Cleland's patriotism because of his position on legislation to create the...

In tribute to Dizzy Dean and brother Daffy Dean, two of the best (Dizzy anyway) and most colorful (both) pitchers of the 1930s, I hereby commence a new feature of this blog. We'll keep track of appearances of Howard "Daffy" Dean (when the candidate articulates ideas that are simply dumb) and Howard "Dizzy" Dean (when the candidate says things that are simply wrong). Let me say, right off the bat, that we should be much more concerned about the Daffy Howard Dean than the Dizzy version. Daffy Howard Dean is the one who was full of conviction that capturing Saddam...