Show r4 4 At llZV Ml ' rss te' DnimndDim Friday April 23 2004 A4 The Herald Journa Our view Spiders on the Web w speeds iip to 25 Mi’ll making screaming noises as they run Camel spiders can jump several feet in the air Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels hence the name "camel spider" Camel spiders are venomous and their venom contains a powerful anesthetic that numbs their victims (thus allowing them to gnaw away at living immobilized animals without being noticed) US soldiers were said to have been attacked by camel spiders at night but remained completely unaware of their plight until they awakened in the morning to llnd chunks of their c ic :ill hnmiiir with the phenomenon ni 'inhiin legen'ils" those lall talcs lull lake mi a life ol thcit own am I ollcii prow with the Idling There should he i new phi isc to describe sninlal stones that circulate on tin Internet like wildfire Or Mow about "iliMal in ill' ntavhe "Wpb whtippcis': Al anv rate' here's oik-- that has come lo lliis newspapei's atleiilimi from a mini flesh missing" The website goes on lb say “According lo most spider experts these claims are all false: Camel spi- das (so named because like camels they can be found iii sandy desert regions) grow to be moderately large (about a 5" leg span) but nowhere near as large as dinner plates they can move very quickly in eompari- son lo other arthropods (a top speed of maybe lO mph ) hut nothing close 25 mph: they make no noise: and Although whatever is they capture depicted in the photograph appears to be far uk large for camel spiders the creatures inigljl just look unusually large because they' were held close to the camera creating an iliu? sion of exaggerated size However since we don't know the source of the picture we can't yet rule out the impossibility that some other misdirec- lion was involved (cg digital manipulation a misdescription of wliaf the photograph depicts some soldiers goofing arouiid with plastic ' figures or something else spider- - her of MUirees in the past eon pie weeks and what's propelling isthe it accompany inp plmto shown below According to the Web Mil lers passing ' lie picture auumil the photo shows two Luge "camel spiders" found in soldier in lie sleeping hag ol al-’llicv higT liaq And hoy are Well wv were skeptical and an email to l"Sl' Bee I ’ah biologist Idle Klomps iissuied us that we should he Klonjps lel'ened iNtolhe com which is Web devoted io dehuiikme urban legends Sas siiovs' "Cainel spjders aiVH ' lhesiiheel o a vanciv ol legendary claims in m o iheiu laimliaNo AmeiK ai' y' ’ie spiead h I S crv icemen wlm seived in the Persian m l'JJl" and i i - Gulf-Wa- i the begriming ol the Iraq War in 2K)’v ( amel spiders can grow to hd as lame as dinner phiies- Camel spiders can liiv'ue desert sand ill ' ' shaped ' Spirit of compromise at risk nominees opposed some hard-rigto the federal bench This behavior drives Topmcy and his supporters nuts but Specter doesn't back down He was right oh target when he told the Associated Press “I learned a long time ago that when you want to get something done in Washington you have to By Cokie Roberts and Steven V ht Roberts ' Newspaper Enterprise Association I f you want to know why the legislative process in Washington is practically paralyzed just lxk at what Rep PatToomey is trying to do cross party lines” He was right ' again when he added “It’s very important lo the country there be a here in Penn- - sylvania’The three-ter- ’ m center of the Republican Party” There is nothing wrong with parti- -' sanship of principle they are essen' tial to a healthy Sen Arleii system’ ' But loo often in today's Washington Specter jn a ' is with betrayal compromise equated primary next week on And when political rivalry turns into a jihad — a holy war against unbegrounds that the system breaks down lievers the incumbent lacks pure conservaNewt Gingrich learned this harsh tive credentials lesson when he was Speaker of the “I represent the Republican wing House 10 years ago and tried to work' of the Republican Party’ says favorite a stealing Tooiney campaign with pragmatic Democrats He was line fnim Howard Dean who boast- so undermined by hardliners in his ed that he represented the “Democ- own party that he denounced them as' the ‘‘perfectionist caucus” but in the ratic wing" of his party" Specter adds the challenger represents the end purists of Toomey 's stripe won the battle and helped drive Gingrich "Ted Kennedy wing" of the GOP from office We’ve' known Arlen Specter since Tom DcLay of Texas the Majority he came tothc Senate 24 years ago and he didn't cam Jhe nickname leader and a devout jihadjsl now ruiis the' House of Representatives “Snarlin’ Arlen" by being a warm and fuzzy figure lie can he irascible As a result: the miiod on Capitol Hill is more rancorous and hostile than and egotistical — hardly a drawback we've ever seen it during 40 years of Ibra politician — hut he also repre-- " sents a rare and valuable breed in covering politics One symbol of that rancor: Last Washington these duvs He actually summer Rep Bill Thomas chairman believes that people in the opposing' of the Ways and Means Committee party:somctimes hayc worthwhile to actually sent a detachment" of Capitol things say a police to round-u- p wayWurd Democexample: Specter rats who stormed out of a meeting lo reception on Capitol Hill this week witli Sen: Hillary’Rodham Ginton tactics protest Thomas' The Senate has prcseryed some calling iltcntion to the cause of uni- small measure of bipartisan cooperaversal education He's alsb defied tion thanks to pragmatists like such on incendiary party orthodoxy issues as taxes! and abortion and Specter in both parties:’ Sen" Republican lawmaker is challenging ' two-par- etc)"' ty ' - -XV mi '" high-hand- ed ’ : Your view War protesters 1 - were rjght lo ill i’ll1? ' I i:f wei will ' 11 wi if ill'' ll iHV "' ilUllilli’iT-- ' : illiujifii'if' ' ' ' ' J - j 'I Im’ Ji illll Virliii If V' ’1 I) ' 1 T ' weiy right on ail countsi iii'il iiuisi of the rest did i il Ihe Anijifigcl il riirhl when the rM ol meric’ i was niisleil Because ' iliiw viluvdliiilji iniire than blind c nil'll aul valued justice I" "mtefevt Ilian iiMijV 1 I lMillvd! 1 w 'vj'i-iiMil ‘j1 1' il ic w tiii-ilisn- IV (' II"! li ’ TV r ! vf !l: ’ ' i I ' Yinl liiev llUi'i il il: Chilficothe (Ohio) Gazette -- Mil1 irv i '’ll ’i1 i I - 1 MicImv’I "P Siiwder ' Presfim ’ i ' ' ' " I the American public is to lake Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia at hj s' word he's appalled by the actions of a federal marshal diir-ing an Ap'rif 7 speech ’at a Mississippi ' high school While the justicespoke that lay the marshal approached two '' reporters and instructed them to turn over recordings of Scalia s speech' I' ''j? Editorial policy j ' - Thie Opinion page is intended to acquaint readers witti'a variety of viewpoints on1 matters of public importance Bnd provide members of ' ''C yV" : I ' tNNN&e 4 I v'i $' mtw'Lw r 'Ait'i J-- ' ' DARRELL EHLICKtoty editor CINDY YUPTfWeatures edifor BRUQE SMiTHpuMsher CHARLES McCOLLUMmanaging editor’ J jr yn1 Ukcli'iouOU'ri-dou- -- ! Ihe community with a forum tor their views Personal columns cartoons and letters from readers reflect the opinions of their writers and creators Editonals under the heading Our View' represent the views of the Heraid Journal editorial board Members of the editorial board " l " '' " ’A-" - n ‘Scalia Broadcast media w ill also send reporters to cover speeches by the justice- and they deserve as much access to his speeches - up to and ' ': them — as the including videotaping ' print media ' Sealia's'change of heart be it ever so slight is laudatory: but differing standards for differing mediums violates the spirit of the very document he has been appointed to protect — ' ' ihe US Constitution - -r- Herald Journal EiasEEm V --fv-f- “I abhor as much as any American of a laty enforcement officer's seizing a reporter's "notes 'or recordings” he (Scalia) wrote in a jfclter to one of the reporters ’The marshals were doing: what they believed to he thdir job and the fault w as mine in not assuring that ihe ' ground rultjs had been clarified Indeed in the future I will make clear lliaUecording Tor use of the print niedia is no problem at all' That doesn't get it done Justice the prospect Non Sequityr f ' aweil-finance- Justice Scalia still on shaky ground "' 1 - 'iiiilliJ lliil " !' '' i'll :h : llliMr 0 V niii-- S 'fl !: riiVi ' Ill llll’-- l i'- '" I I''u : 'tailkahsin i liu we we re’ iionl mi: Iraq and nut other countries w i'll human iclilv crises iNiirili Kin ea Liberia Haiti Sudan i beem e ol oil lial Jhe- Busliaiilmmistration's (Itch me was deeepliU' and mislead- - That’s exactly what Toomey sup--" porters are hoping for The Club for d and rigidly Growth conservative group has spent about $1 million backing Toomey and its president Stephen Moore says other moderates should learn a lesson from Specter's ‘‘near death” experience: if you're not pure we’ll come after you too This is dangerous business The ' Congress js coming to resemble a European parliament with liberal and conservative parties divided along ideological lines and separated by a gulf of bad blood As Specter points out when he "came to Congress the centrist wing of the Republican Party included such notable figures as Lowell Weiekcr of Connecticut Mark Hatfield of Oregon and JdhnDanforth of Missouri! Moderates on the Democratic side included Sam Nunn of Georgia Bennett Johnston of Louisiana and David Pryor of Arkansas These were the workhorses of Capitol Hill — the legislative craftsmen who understood the art of All have left and many blame the loss of civility and cooperation for their retirement The center of the Congress has been hoi- lowed out The perfectionists are in control And that’s why the nation’s legislature is in such temble shape National view 'iiiiuv iei'tori'jlN :ind iliuvaM1 Islamist' i '! K'JI Ji" 'r' - dc-dei- j'j Fill'! Il M I I p'lli’: ' !' : ifiii--- " liiiiiidiiilj1Ai'w‘iilil aeate Kennedy for instance worked closely with President Bush on an education bill But if the purge of Specter succeeds the Senate could come to resemble the House and compromise will become even more difficult Even if Specter survives — and the prills" give him a solid but narrowing lead — centrists in the future could be intimidated by bis primary chal- lengc t cj a miltifudi - wtiijupian IhroigHanyfind oyautftoritatiik kiution’:- - - TheHetAkl Journal welcomes letters to the ettaor Potentially libelous or offensive letters " wdlriof be published however and the editor reserves the right to edit al letters fp conform to the length and style requirements of the newspaper1'-''-- ' Letters should be: Typewnhen aiddciibfespaced Mp more than 450 words in liength ' Addressed and include daytime phone number for purposes of verification v Signed by the author Individuals are limited to one published let- ter within any 30-dperiod Address letters to hjtetterehjnews com Guest commentaries are also welcome and are run at ' ' edrtor's' discretion ' ' Judge Lamed tfand American jurist — ‘W |