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" The head of the Herndon Minutemen , part of a national organization devoted to repelling illegal migrants at the U.S. - Mexico border and at labor sites across the country , Taplin is regarded in his town as everything from patriot to pariah . There 's more to this town than just Democrats and Republicans , though they 'd never know it , never even fathom it , what with their chronic obsession with each other.But as the new Alfalfa Party nominee said last night in accepting the nomination during the Alfalfa Club 's annual dinner , " Quitus whinus over spiltus milkus . Well , if you've never heard of the Alfalfa Party and its nominee for president of the United States , you do n't really know what makes this town tick . He was charged under the Texas law that bans the sale of an " obscene device " designed primarily " for the stimulation of human genital organs . One of his many volunteer activities around town involves teaching a religion class to children at his Catholic church , and he says a fellow teacher approached him to say his Minutemen activities were " un-Christian and hypocritical . Of the various indigenous religions , Chondogyo ( a native mixture of Buddhism , Confucianism , and Taoism ) is the most influential . He was named secretary of the Communist party in 1997 and consolidated his power with the title of National Defense Commission chairman in 1998 . You think you know power ? Louisville Mayor Jerry E. Abramson is not sure whether it qualifies as irony or not.For 25 years , his home town was under federal court order to integrate its public schools . Or that the federal government , usually the most persuasive in convincing the court that an issue is ripe for review , is losing less often at the lower levels and not appealing as many cases.Some blame the so-called " cert pool , " the practice by which eight justices - - Stevens is the exception - - combine their clerks to review the thousands of petitions . Instead , Wittes explains that " the rise of Senate fights over nominees " should be seen as " an institutional reaction on the part of the legislative branch to the growth of judicial power in the years since the Supreme Court handed down Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 . With Chinese and Soviet aid , railroads , industrial plants , and power facilities were rebuilt . " With new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( Calif. ) sitting behind him in a vivid sign of the power shift on Capitol Hill , Bush congratulated Democrats on their victory in the November elections and paid tribute to the first woman to serve in the nation 's third-highest office .