Bad Timing, Ese

So tomorrow is the Day Without Illegal Immigrants. They're not going to work, or buy anything. They're just going to hang out in our streets and annoy the hell out of everyone.

It's also our daughter's birthday.

Which means my wife will outdo a normal day of spending by 11 million illegal immigrants by about 2 to 1.

So much for disrupting the economy, vatos.

Gas Price Relief...Now

Watching DNC spokesweasel Dick "Turban" Durbin demagogue on Meet the Press this morning was unpleasant, but brought to mind an immediate action that President Bush could take to ease the pain at the pumps. Of course Durbin can't see any alternatives other than adding corn ethanol to our gasoline, and certainly it has nothing to do with his large number of many corn-growing constituents. Dickie is just opposed on priniciple to nuclear power, or increasing the supply of crude oil by drilling in ANWAR, in the Atlantic, or off the California coast, heavens no, we can't have that.

But there is a way available via Executive Order to immediately effect a significant reduction in the amount of money Americans spend on gasoline, and it was used after Hurricane Katrina put our refinery production in disarray. Stop the nonsense of 48 different designer gasoline blends.

For a variety of reasons, all supposedly tied to environmental concerns, the states individually mandate separate recipes of additives for gasoline sold within their borders. Mandating a national standard would immediately cut the cost of refining fuel, as it did after Katrina, but that's only part of the benefit.

During the period when the Katrina emergency put a temporary halt to designer gasoline, my highway fuel mileage per gallon soared from 27 to 38 - about a hundred extra miles per tankful. I drive a GM car with a 3.1 liter V-6 - a very common engine, and obviously mileage would vary, but that dramatic an increase in mileage was, for me, equal to reducing the price per gallon by nearly 25%.

And, of course, that much extra mileage without the "special blend" brings into question just how much any of the designer gasolines actually benefit the environment.

Sunday Funny

From the Dry Bones Blog.

Cyborg Conversion Phase I - COMPLETE

As some of you know, on Wednesday I had the frail flesh and bone knee with which I was born (and that was destroyed in federal service) replaced with a lovely titanium and plastic model, (featuring an onboard mini-reactor to power the hyper-ass-kicking mode). The 18 metal staples are aesthetically pleasing in a Frankensteinesque sort of way.

Special thanks to Jay at Stop the ACLU, Vinnie at Vince Aut Morire, and Mike at Interested Participant for the spectacular job of keeping The Dread Pundit Bluto active while I was out.

And more thanks to these commenters:

Jan Z. (loved the Whitefeather tribute page, Dutchman)
fluffy
commodore Lowy Knave
JD
Rod Stanton
Oyster
Commodore Clue

And of course, the inimitable Blogfather, Dr. Rusty Shackleford of The Jawa Report. I deeply appreciate everyone's prayers and well-wishes.

Posting will be light during the break-in period.

April Is Jihadi Awareness Month

Or so it seems anyway. Now Zawahiri throws out another softball:

CAIRO, Egypt — Al Qaeda's No. 2 said the terror network's branch in Iraq had "broken the back" of the U.S. military with hundreds of homicide bombings, in a video posted Saturday that was the latest in a string of new messages by al Qaeda's leaders.

Well, forget the "it seems." In the grand tradition of organizations that seem not to realize we're already aware of the causes they ram down our throats in the name of "awareness," I am officially declaring April "Jihadi Awareness Month."

To be followed by "Illegal Immigrant Awareness Day" on May 1st. Which runs concurrent to "Vinnies Daughter Awareness Day." She turns five.

And remember, don't use your curling irons whilst sleeping.

thatisall.

Yahoo Helps Send Chinese Writer to Prison

(Beijing) Following closely on the reported kidnapping of Chinese blogger Hao Wu by state security police is this story.

From Reuters:

Yahoo Inc. has been cited in a Chinese court decision to jail a dissident Internet writer for 10 years for subversion in 2003 -- the fourth such case to surface implicating the U.S. Internet giant.

Wang Xiaoning, born in 1951, was convicted of the charge of "incitement to subvert state power," the New York-based watchdog Human Rights in China (HRIC) said in a statement.

Evidence cited in the verdict included "information provided by Yahoo Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. stating that Wang's "aaabbbccc" Yahoo Group was set up using the mainland China-based email address bxoguh@yahoo.com.cn.," HRIC said.

Yahoo Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. also confirmed that the email address ahgq@yahoo.com.cn, through which Wang sent messages to his Yahoo Group, was a China-based account, it said.

Although it's clear that Yahoo provided specific information regarding Wang's identity, it's not clear whether it was Yahoo Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. or Yahoo China.

Wang's prosecution by the ChiComs was a result of his advocating democratic reform and a multi-party system. Consequently, he was deemed to be a subversive needing ten years in a Chinese prison. Without question, it's heavy punishment and "illustrates the risks Chinese people expose themselves to through no more than the peaceful expression of political views."

I think if I were Chinese, the ChiComs would have already sent me away for a long time.

From Interested-Participant.

Air America Losing New York

According to MediaWeek, Air America will soon lose its flagship station in New York City. The lease with WLIB-AM runs out as of August 31. As a network, Air America will no longer determine programming for the station. Instead, station owners are expected to offer liberal local programs.

A spokesperson for Air America, however, promised that the liberal radio network would "not grow silent on the New York City airwaves." It's not clear what that means. Maybe Air America has found another station that has no interest in accumulating an audience. Given enough seed money to prop it up, Air America will surely find a taker. Then, I think it will only be a matter of time before the backers back out.

Woman Sues Company for Spankings

(Fresno, California) A 53-year-old woman, Janet Orlando, is suing her former employer for office spankings. Orlando seeks more than $1 million in damages because she says she was embarrassed and permanently scarred by a 2003 incident.

Officials for Alarm One, the former employer, stated the "spankings were just part of an exercise to build better work relationships." Oh, I see.

"Come here, honey. Bend over and let me whack your fanny so we'll work better together."

It's a novel approach, for sure. Add to it the fact that the company also made employees wear diapers and eat baby food and you have a case where the company probably doesn't have a prayer of winning in court.


[Update 04/29/06]

A jury found that Janet Orlando had suffered from sexual harassment and sexual battery during the fanny whacking, team-building exercise by her employer, Alarm One. She was awarded $1.7 million. Thus far, Alarm One officials, ostensibly having experienced an alarm no.2 event, have not commented.

In related news, yours truly has sent an email to Alarm One expressing chronic personal naughtiness and willingness to participate in its team-building program.

From Interested-Participant.

ChiComs Kidnap Blogger

It's been two months since Chinese blogger Hao Wu was last heard from.

From IFEX.org:

Reporters Without Borders has said it considered Chinese blogger Hao Wu to be the victim of state abduction as more than two months have gone by since his arrest by the National Security Bureau in Beijing without his family getting any news about him. His lawyer has not been allowed to see him, but has been told his client is under house arrest.

"This case shows the Chinese security services operate without any control by the courts," Reporters Without Borders said. "Hao is the victim of an arbitrary system that interprets the law as it sees fit. We call on European and American diplomats to raise his case at their meetings with the Chinese authorities. We are curious to know how they will justify the National Security Bureau's procedures."

I think it's somewhat naive to expect a communist police state to respect freedom of expression. The Chinese live under a dangerous and repressive political system and Hao was taking big risks by just having a blog. Nevertheless, action should be taken at every opportunity to exert political pressure on the ChiComs for Hao's release.

Hao's blog is Beijing or Bust where he writes under the name Beijing Loafer. He also contributes to Global Voices under the name Tian Yi.

From Interested-Participant.

Jesus with erection' ignites outrage

....but, as Hot Air points out, we aren't rioting and burning down embassies.

World Net Daily broke the news yesterday that a far-left student newspaper at the University of Oregon — called “The Insurgent” appropriately enough — decided to publish 12 deliberately offensive cartoons of Jesus in their March issue. Why? Because the Oregon Commentator, a conservative student newspaper at U of O, recently published the 12 Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Mohammed. The Insurgent wanted Christians to know what it felt like to have their religion insulted.

Because, really, what would Christians know about something like that?

Anti-Idotarian Rottweiller weighs in:

You see, dear editors of The Insurgent: G-d, unlike some moon god that we could mention, isn’t an insecure, thumb-sucking, powerless little brat demanding that we go burn down embassies and murder innocents to defend His honor. And we, unlike some medieval, barbarian “culture” worshipping a giant black block with a vagina, believe in freedom of speech, even when we disagree with it.

In the Bullpen

Actually I didn’t care about the size of Jesus’ manhood, I just didn’t get offended in the least about the cartoons and in fact I think in the art of showing differences these types of cartoons should have been printed. The Insurgent printed these cartoons, I suppose, to try to draw comparisons between the reaction of American Catholics and Muslims who rioted after the Danish cartoons, but they will only find differences. University of Oregon students, or some, are up in arms about the cartoons and doing the dreadful act of writing letters to the editor.

As an American Catholic, I am putting together a mob rally to burn down the _____ (fill in the blank) embassy, threatening to behead those who offend Jesus, call for terrorist attacks against the entire state of Oregon and I officially boycott all Oregon products. Yep, that means I won’t buy anything made from wood unless that wood comes from Canada, Colorado or any other of the several states and nations we get wood from.

Yes, we are offended, and insulted, but your liberal scheme only backfires. We hope you weren't hoping to cause riots. The point is not about being sensitive to other people's religious beliefs, it is how one reacts when they have been offended. Civilly, like writing letters, blogging, debating the topic, or like a barbarian, burning down buildings, and rioting in the streets?

Crossposted from Stop The ACLU

I Bet You Think You're Tough

Yeah, but are you as tough as this chick?

A leading Cuban dissident has said she was badly beaten up by government supporters as she headed for a meeting organised by United States officials.

Not so bad, I guess...

Martha Beatriz Roque said about a dozen people pushed her to the ground in front of her Havana home and one of them punched her in the face.

The 60-year-old economist was jailed in 2003 with 74 other dissidents but was freed a year later on health grounds.

The coop de gracie:

A man then entered the building and hit her in the face after she shouted "Down with Fidel".

A 60 year old woman shouts "down with Fidel" with a fist aimed for her face.

Suddenly, 3 bucks a gallon doesn't seem so important.

I think Castro's grip is slipping, based on this part:

Human rights groups say attacks on dissidents are increasing and are part of organised attempts to intimidate government critics.

To quote Princess Leia to Grand Moff Tarkin:

The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems slip through your fingers

Bluto Knee Surgery Update

Okay, so I lied when I said Bluto was having his third leg replaced with a wooden peg.

He's actually having knee replacement surgery.

Here's Bluto in surgery.


Here's Bluto after the surgery.

Am I evil?

Yes I am.

China Shows Off New Hooters

(Shanghai, China) It comes as no surprise to me that a world-famous Hooters Restaurant franchise opens in China at the same time that it's being reported Chinese women are becoming more bosomy.

From Courier-Mail:

"It's so different from the past when most young women would wear A- or B-cup bras," Triumph brand saleswoman Zhang Jing told the Shanghai Daily from the Landmark Plaza of China's commercial hub.

"You . . . never expect those thin women to have such nice figures if they are not plastic."

The report, seen on the daily's website on today, said that the Hong Kong-based lingerie firm Embry Group no longer produces A-cups for larger chest circumferences and has increased production of C-, D- and E-cup bras to meet pressing demand.

In my estimation, this shouldn't be a big problem to resolve. Furthermore, the 'pressing demand' could likely be a sales opportunity for American manufacturers who have been known (probably NSFW) to market F-, G-, and H-cup sizes. Improved nutrition is considered responsible.

As a logical consequence, young Chinese women at the Shanghai Hooters are dressing in the same tight and scanty shirt and orange shorts as their American counterparts while displaying their enhanced busts.

From MSNBC.com:

Located in an upscale mall in the foreigner-friendly Hongqiao district, the outlet adds to the more than 375 stores now operated by the chain famed for its busty waitresses clad in clingy low-cut tank tops and high-cut shorts -- an image the company describes as "delightfully tacky, yet unrefined."

"The people of Shanghai deserve something fun with good service and we're happy to bring it to them," manager Cameron Jiang said as smiling waitresses whisked plates of chicken wings and glasses of cold lager to guests at a launch party.

Hooters' arrival marks another milestone in Shanghai's rise as China's commercial hub, but also underscores how growth is challenging traditional conservative views on sexuality.

So, in summary, through better nutrition Chinese women are growing larger breasts and at least one establishment has opened to show off the country's achievements.

From Interested-Participant.

Pamela Rogers Busted Again

(McMinnville, Tennessee) Gorgeous Pamela Rogers (pics), the 28-year-old teacher who was convicted of a child sex offense last year and sentenced to nine months in prison, was arrested earlier this month for violating the terms of her probation.

Contrary to the court's order, Rogers had contacted the victim's family via the Internet. At a subsequent hearing two weeks ago, Rogers was allowed to remain free on $10,000 bond until a July 12 hearing.

Well, hush my puppies! It seems Gorgeous Pamela Rogers was arrested again on Monday for contacting and sending sexually explicit videos to the now 14-year-old victim.

From KnoxNews.com:

"These were videos of the defendant involved in sexual activity and she was nude in the pictures," arrest warrant records show. "The defendant requested from the victim he send pictures and videos, and phone records indicate she received the same on her phone."

It's not clear what happens next but letting Rogers out of jail appears to be a mistake. Treating her leniently doesn't seem to work very well. In my opinion, Gorgeous Pamela needs a serious attitude adjustment.

From Interested-Participant.

Tony Is In

Former Rush Limbaugh guest-host Tony Snow is going to be the new White House Press Secretary, according to Fox News.

I firmly believe that all right-wing bloggers should use the phrase "former Rush Limbaugh guest-host" when referring to Tony Snow. That'll drive the Left stark raving mad. Okay, starker, ravinger, madder than they already are.

Yarr

Our fine shipmate Bluto is out having his third leg replaced with a wooden peg.

Just thought you'd like to know.

Zarqawi Appears in Web Video

From MSNBC:

CAIRO, Egypt - In a rare video posted on the Internet, al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi accused the West and the United States of waging a “crusader” war against Islam, but said Muslim holy warriors were standing firm.

He also said the formation of a new government in Iraq was an attempt to help the United States get out of what he called the dilemma it faces in Iraq.

MSNBC analyst Walid Phares said that Zarqawi's ultimate hope is for the Iraqi government to collapse, forcing the Coalition to withdraw and allowing Zarqawi to establish himself in the Sunni triangle in a role similar to Osama bin Laden in Taliban Afghanistan.


The Jawa Report has a translation of the video.

Via Stop the ACLU.

McCarthy Leak Whitewash Continues

McCarthy Leak Defender McGovern Tied to Subversive Left
Here's how Jim Lehrer of PBS described Ray McGovern to his audience last night:

Ray McGovern was an analyst for 27 years. He retired in 1990. He is now a member of the group Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, which has criticized the current administration for politicizing intelligence.

At least Lehrer mentioned VIPS, though he didn't tell us that they are barking mooonbats calling for the President's impeachment. The media meme is that McGovern is a 27-year CIA veteran who admires McCarthy's courage...no reason to dig any deeper, nothing to see here, folks...move along.

And no mainstream journalists are reporting that McGovern was part of a travelling hate-America freakshow featuring accused pedophile Scott Ritter, Iraqi anti-US propagandist Faiza Al-Arji (whose "A Family in Baghdad" blog actually comes from Jordan), and professional America-hater Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange and Code Pink.

Below: McGovern speaking at the "Emergency Truth Convergence" in 2005 and Camp Casey last year.


Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Stop the ACLU, and Vince Aut Morire.

Houston Hospital Seeks to Euthanize Woman

From John Hawkins at Right Wing News comes this horror story about a hospital's decision to discontinue treatment and allow a woman to die. The following message was posted at the Democratic Underground. We won't worry about the politics of the woman making the plea for her sister's life:

Th1onein: KILLING MY SISTER - WE ARE PROTESTING - HELP US

Mods, please don't move this post. I know it's not in the activist section, but there's so little time left now, we need it to reach as many people as possible. We desperately need help.

Fellow DUers:

My sister, Andrea Clarke, is at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, TX. St. Luke's is located at:

6720 Bertner Avenue, Houston, TX. Their phone number is: 832-***-****.

The hospital ethics committee met the day before yesterday and concluded that Andrea's treatment (respirator and dialysis) should be discontinued. We have ten days to move her from that hospital or they will "pull the plug" and let Andrea die. Andrea, until a few days ago, when the physicians decided to increase her pain medication and anesthetize her into unconsciousness, was fully able to make her own medical decisions and had decided that she wanted life saving treatment until she dies naturally. We have learned that this is part of the process, when hospitals decided to declare the "medical futility" of continueing treatment for a patient. But, this is not a Terry Schiavo case; not anything like it. Andrea, when she is not medicated into unconsciousness (and even when she is, and the medication has worn off to some degree) is aware and cognizant. She has suffered no brain damage to the parts of her brain responsible for thought and reason, or speech. She has only suffered loss of some motor control. The reason that the physician gave to medicate her so much is that she is suffering from intractable pain in the sacral region (in other words, she has a bedsore that causes her pain). This is not reason enough, in our books, and we are trying, as we speak, to get Andrea's medication lowered so that she can speak to us.

There is also some disagreement as to whether Andrea is really in that much pain, as well. When she is not medicated to this degree, and she sees her son, Charles, she smiles. She also mouths words (Andrea is very vocal, normally, even with a trach, and asks for food, etc., when she is not medicated to the gills). Once again, this is not like the Shiavo case, where there was brain death. Andrea has voiced her wishes, over and over again, and if she were not on so much pain medication, she would voice them again.

Houston hospitals have a policy in that once the medical treatment of a patient has been deemed "medically futile" no other hospital in the area will accept transfer of that patient to their facility. This means that the patient, who is usually in a very delicate condition anyway, has to be transported over a long distance, in order to receive care.

We received notice of the ethics committee decision the day before yesterday and we are organizing a protest to take place tomorrow, at 2-2:30pm outside St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. Our family members number four and we will all be there, but we need more people. Please help us.

This protest is very likely to be filmed and get news coverage.

For those of you who will reply to this post with more questions, please see my other posts on this topic. I have done my best to answer all of your questions, but as you can imagine, my mind is not working as efficiently as it should, because I am upset. I assure you this is real; this is happening, and in Texas, medical professionals have the right, under the Futile Care Law, to discontinue life saving treatment, under these circumstances, even while the patient and the family is protesting that action. If you need more information, please see my other posts on this topic. For now, we need help, not questions or suggestions as to further courses of action. We are fighting on all fronts, ie., lawyers, news media, churches, internet, etc. We have left no stone unturned in this battle.

Many, many people, even some medical professionals in Texas, and other areas, don't know about this law. They have no idea that this can be done, and it is is being done every day in Texas hospitals, but is not covered by the news media. This needs to become common knowledge and this law needs to be overturned, of course, but we are fighting for the life of our sister. We are fighting to see that her wishes about how she lives, and how she dies, are honored. Perhaps these kinds of battles are fought in just this way, one by one, out of love, and this is how the war is won, in the end.

Please help us. Please lend your presence to our fight at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas, located at 6720 Bertner Ave. at 2-2:30pm CST tomorrow (Saturday). If you would like to bring a sign, please do so, because we only have a limited amount. If you don't, then please just bring yourself.

My name is Melanie Childers and my cell phone number is: 832-221-****. My sister (not the one in the hospital, but the one handling the protest) is Lanore Dixon and her numbers are: (cell) 214-577-**** and 254-874-****. Please do not call us unless you are calling to request some information that I have not posted here. We have our phones glued to our heads, trying to find a hospital that will take Andrea, before her ten days are up at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. I am posting these numbers only to show you that this is not some kind of scam, or a joke or something even more idiotic.

Please help us.

Via Stop the ACLU.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

McKinney's Mouth Makes News Again

From Reuters:

ATLANTA - Rep. Cynthia McKinney was caught on tape by a television station bad-mouthing a senior staffer after ending an interview with a reporter.

McKinney, who had a run-in with a Capitol-Hill police officer earlier this month, was asked repeated questions about the scuffle. After the interview ended with a WGCL-TV, CBS 46 reporter, a microphone McKinney was wearing picked up comments about her communications director Coz Carson.

“Oh crap now you know what. ...,” said an irritated McKinney, D-Ga., “they lied to Coz and Coz is a fool.”

The story isn't really that McKinney is stupid enough to make these comments while wearing a microphone. Nor is it that McKinney was stupid enough to think that the station wouldn't air them, even though McKinney said they were "off the record". The story is that this reinforces perceptions of McKinney as an arrogant, self-important jackass.

Exactly the sort of person who would think she could get away with punching a cop.

More on McKinney here, playing the race card, official incident report.

And I quote...

...Winston Churchill, Rochester, New York, 1941:

The destiny of mankind is not decided by material computation. When great causes are on the move, we learn that we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.

Osama: Kill the Blasphemers!

From Reuters:

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has called for people who ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad to be killed, weighing into the furor that erupted after a Danish newspaper ran cartoons lampooning Islam's holy messenger.

"Heretics and atheists, who denigrate religion and transgress against God and His Prophet, will not stop their enmity toward Islam except by being killed," the Saudi-born militant said.

Osama is correct on this point: the only way to guarantee that people's freedom of speech will not be exercised is to kill them. Unless they're mainstream American journalists. Then threats of violence will suffice to get them to censor themselves.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report.

Yale Looking For Face-Saving Way to Oust Talibani Student

Evidently Yale doesn't like the negative publicity it's received since welcoming Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, the unreconstructed Taliban knuckle-dragger admitted under their non-traditional student program. Writing in the WSJ Opinion Journal, John Fund reports that Yale plans to toughen up admission standards for non-traditional degree students, which currently accept three quarters of applicants (compared to the 10% of applying high school students).

This will allow Yale to reject Hashemi's application to a degree program without admitting that they were utterly stupid and morally bankrupt for admitting him in the first place. Or maybe they're just afraid they'll be beheaded.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Stop the ACLU, and Vince Aut Morire.

New Bin Laden Audiotape Whines About 'Crusader War'

Al-Jazeera, the terrorists' voice of choice, has broadcast a new audiotape, purportedly from Osama bin Laden, in which the Saudi terrorist complains about the West's treatment of Palestinian terrorist government Hamas:

In the recording, aired on Sunday, the al-Qaeda leader said the isolation and cutting off of aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government reaffirmed that the West was at war with the Islamic nation.

"The blockade which the West is imposing on the government of Hamas proves that there is a Zionist crusaders war on Islam," he said.

This is the sort of twisted logic that appeals to the average ignorant Muslim on the street and in the terrorist-breeding madrassas, aided and abetted by "media outlets" like al-Jazeera. After whining about aid being cut off to the Hamas government, bin Laden then whines piteously about Western people supporting the War on Terror:

"They send their sons to armies to fight us and they continue their financial and moral support while our countries are burned and our houses are bombed and our people are killed."

The only people indiscriminately burning mosques and murdering civilians are his own supporters, but many, if not most, Muslims are either deliberately misinformed by Arab media or too intellectually dishonest to admit the truth.

The rationalizations in Osama's comments may be a signal that a new terrorist attack is planned, which he is trying to justify in advance.

Bin Laden also railed about the Danish Mohammed cartoons and urged Islamist terrorists to help out their buddies in Sudan.

Al-Jazeera, of course, is careful not to mention the words "terrorist" or "terrorism", referring to the world's most notorious terrorist as "the al Qaeda leader".

Via the Stop the ACLU.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report.

This One's For Michelle

If anyone had any doubts about the feelings of those serving in the War on Terror regarding the Left's vicious attacks on Michelle Malkin, this email I received should explain things:

In defense of Malkin vs. UC Santa Cruz
Before I manned the jet and flew yet another mission over Afghanistan (20.7hrs) I was able to write a few names on one of the 12 2000# face melting JDAM's we carry. I'm sending this your way from a real e-mail address before I send it "their" way from a fake one. Something tells me they won't like the picture.

Rocco--Thanks for the e-mail, the "tards" in UCSC are going to love this one.

Regards/
--

C.L. Lucas

*Major, USAF*

Any of you verminous peacenik pukes got a question for the Major?

ABC's Contribution to McCarthy Whitewash

As Kim Priestap, writing for Wizbang! notes, the American mainstream media are regaining their footing and circling the wagons to rally to the defense of Mary McCarthy, the CIA analyst fired for leaking information to the press.

ABC News is answering the partisan call. In a Saturday story on their website ABC manages to put together a remarkably dishonest piece of "journalism" predicting the fall of the Republic if leaking classified information remains a crime.

Not only did ABC fail to mention McCarthy's political leanings (she contributed $2000 to John Kerry's unsuccessful 2004 bid for the Presidency), there is also this:

"This a matter of principle," said Ray McGovern, a former fellow CIA analyst, "where she said my oath, my promise not to reveal secrets is superceded by my oath to defend the constitution of the U.S."

ABC leaves out the inconvenient, but telling, fact that Ray McGovern is one of the lunatic fringe who now makes his living calling for the impeachment of President Bush.

Prepare for much more dishonesty from the media, especially now that European investigators have found no trace of the CIA renditions that McCarthy whispered of to Dana Priest at the Washington Post.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Stop the ACLU, and Vince Aut Morire.

Sunday Funny

From the Dry Bones Blog.

WaPo Editor Offers Idiotic Defense For Treason

While Dana Priest, the Washington Post post reporter at the center of the Mary O. McCarthy CIA leak scandal refused to comment to her own newspaper about the story, one of the Post's executive editors offered this remarkably obtuse excuse for McCarthy's partisan:

Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. said people who provide citizens the information they need to hold their government accountable should not "come to harm for that."

Now, think about that. Downie is actually advocating trying to run a government in which not a single bit of data can reasonably be expected to remain confidential. Downie doesn't explain what disclosures match his criteria for "holding their government accountable". Evidently, those determinations are up to any of the hundreds of thousands of government employees who are privy to classified information.

Presumably, based on the WaPo's history, any revelation that can be used to damage a Republican administration is "sharing information" and holding the government accountable. Revelations that damage Democratic politicians or support Republicans are "leaks" that are betrayals of public trust.

Are you a CIA officer pissed off because the candidate you donated $2000 to lost the Presidential election? Disregard your oath, your secrecy agreement, and the law, and hold the government accountable by leaking classified information! Leonard Downie Jr. has given his okay.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Vince Aut Morire, and Stop the ACLU.

CIA Officer Fired For Leaking to Media (Updated)

A CIA officer, not assigned to public relations, has admitted to passing classified, operational information to the media, specifically, the Washington Post. From Fox News:

WASHINGTON — A CIA officer has been relieved of his duty after being caught leaking classified information to the media.

One official called this a "damaging leak" that deals with operational information and said the fired officer "knowingly and willfully" leaked the information to the media and "was caught."

A second law enforcement official confirmed said the CIA officer had provided information that contributed to a Washington Post story last year saying there were secret U.S. prisons in Eastern Europe.

The CIA is expected to prosecute. Expect Leftist traitors all over the country to spring to this weasel's defense.

Via the Drudge Report.

Update: NBC News has identified Mary O. McCarthy as the CIA officer fired. Interestingly, Fundrace.org identifies a Mary O. McCarthy, with occupation listed as "Analyst" for the U.S. Government as having donated $2000 to John Kerry's 2004 Presidential campaign.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report.

America's Sons Come Home After 62 Years

From a Department of Defense press release:

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO)
announced today that the remains of eleven U.S. airmen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Capt. Thomas C. Paschal, El Monte, Calif.; 1st Lt. Frank P. Giugliano, New York, N.Y.; 1st Lt. James P. Gullion, Paris, Texas; 2nd Lt. Leland A. Rehmet, San Antonio, Texas; 2nd Lt. John A. Widsteen, Palo Alto, Calif., Staff Sgt. Richard F. King, Moultrie, Ga.; Staff Sgt. William Lowery, Republic, Pa..; Staff Sgt. Elgin J. Luckenbach, Luckenbach, Texas.; Staff Sgt. Marion B. May, Amarillo, Texas.; Sgt. Marshall P. Borofsky, Chicago, Ill.; Sgt. Walter G. Harm, Philadelphia, Penn.; all U.S. Army Air Forces.

On April 16, 1944, Paschal and Widsteen were piloting a B-24J Liberator with the other nine men aboard. The aircraft was returning to Nadzab, New Guinea after bombing enemy targets near Hollandia. The plane was last seen off the coast of the island flying into poor weather.

Most of the men will be buried today in Arlington National Cemetery. The families of three of the men have decided to bury them in their hometowns.


Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, and Vince Aut Morire, and Stop the ACLU.

Hamas Appointment Reaffirms Terrorist Roots

Hopes held by some that Hamas' new responsibilities as the elected government of the Palestinian Authority would civilize the terrorist organization fade a little more each day.

From Reuters:

GAZA (Reuters) - A militant leader appointed to a senior security position in the Hamas-led Palestinian government said on Friday he would not abandon the fight against Israel which has long sought to kill him.

Jamal Abu Samhadana, high on Israel's most wanted list as leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), was appointed on Thursday to supervise the Interior Ministry and set up a new police force from militants to crack down on anarchy and chaos.

"Factions and security services should unite in one trench against the daily Israeli aggression against our people," Abu Samhadana told Reuters in an interview.

In case there was any hope that high office and its responsibilities would mellow Samhadana:

"I will continue to hold the rifle and will pull the trigger whenever required to defend my people," he said.

As has become apparent from recent events, "defending" the Palestinian people still means killing Israelis in falafel houses.

Cross-posted at Stop the ACLU, The Jawa Report, and Vince Aut Morire.

I'm Your Puppet

Is LA Times columnist and blogger Michael Hiltzik using a sock puppet to bash critics and praise himself? Patterico's Pontifications makes a strong case that Hiltzik and "Mikekoshi" are one and the same.

Hugh Hewitt wonders what LAT's policy is on this sort of deception.

Iran Doesn't Think We're Serious

From Reuters:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran scoffed on Thursday at the idea of U.S. military action to halt its nuclear program and gave no hint of compromise before a visit by U.N. inspectors to assess Iranian compliance with Security Council demands.

Iran is correct to scoff at us. Partisan political opportunists, subversive organizations, and outright traitors on the Left and in the Press have given the Iranians every reason to think that the United States is a paper tiger.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report and Stop the ACLU.

Syracuse University: Duke Lacrosse Players Not Welcome

Syracuse University Athletic Director Daryl Gross told the Syracuse Post-Standard today that he would not allow any Duke Blue Devils lacrosse players to transfer to the Syracuse lacrosse program.

At least one Duke University lacrosse player has indicated an interest in transferring from the troubled program. But Syracuse University athletic director Daryl Gross said Tuesday he will not sanction the transfer of any former Blue Devil to Syracuse.

"I think it would be inappropriate," Gross said.

SU coach John Desko said he's received written notification from Duke that sophomore attackman Zack Greer is seeking his release from the school. Athletes intent upon transferring from one program to another ask their athletic departments to issue releases to schools the athlete is interested in attending.

The Duke lacrosse program is under a cloud following allegations by a woman hired to perform at a party at the house of three Duke lacrosse captains that she was beaten and raped. Two Duke players have been charged in the incident, which carries racial baggage. Zach Greer has not been implicated.

The players are white and the woman, hired as an exotic dancer, is black. Michael Nifong, the white Durham County, North Carolina District Attorney, is running for reelection in a largely black district. The case has outraged many black residents who fear that rich, white college students will be given special consideration against a black accuser.

The SU booster blog Orange::44 notes that at least one black athlete who was the subject of criminal allegations is attending the school on a scholarship. This seems to indicate a double standard.

SU Athletic Director Daryl Gross is black.

Could this be a job for the American Civil Liberties Union?

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Vince Aut Morire, and Stop the ACLU.

The True Voice of the Left

What appears below is not the usual fare for this website. It is a reprint of the bile and abuse that conservative blogger Michelle Malkin has received following her reposting of a Students Against War press release that contained contact information for SAW head conspirators. SAW is the group that rioted against military recruiters at UC Santa Cruz.

Now the SAW fools are claiming that Michelle's repost of their press release is resulting in death threats. Of course, since they themselves first posted this information it's hard to see their complaint.

This is how the Left reacts when they become too unhinged to maintain the veneer of civilization. If you're easily offended by gutter language, don't read any further:

From: Joe Smith joejoe90211@yahoo.com
Date: Apr 17, 2006 7:48 PM
Subject: You belong in prison.You are a disgusting waste of oxygen.

You WILL burn in hell you disgusting cunt.

***

From: NorthCentralGuy@aol.com NorthCentralGuy@aol.com
Mailed-By: aol.com
Date: Apr 17, 2006 7:47 PM
Subject: TIP

Someone ought to sew your cunt up with barbed wire. Not that it gets any use, you facist, hate spewing, disgraceful piece of shit.

***

Michael McPherson michaelmc123@comcast.net
6:42 pm (1 hour ago)

You are a fucking slanty-eyed cunt.

Have a nice day

***

From: outorsafe@adelphia.net outorsafe@adelphia.net
Mailed-By: adelphia.net
Date: Apr 17, 2006 6:31

you miserable cunt... too bad your parents were not killed in a war...

***

From: James Ventura jvent68@yahoo.com
Date: Apr 17, 2006 3:45 PM
Subject: you are a CUNT

***


From: Steve McQueen michellemalkintraitorous@hotmail.com
Mailed-By: hotmail.com
Date: Apr 17, 2006 7:24 PM
Subject: You are a traitor

Ms. Malkin,

Your decision to release the contact information of people who disagree with
you is reprehensible, irresponsible and ignorant. If you had a conscious I
would expect you to be ashamed of yourself, but I know you do not.

To leave it on your site after they have requested it be taken down AND
after your supporters have made death threats against them is disgusting.

Grow up, you fucking princess.

***

From: JBD jaked1963@yahoo.com
Date: Apr 17, 2006 8:17 PM
Subject: I guess it's time...

To post not only YOUR personal information on the web, but that of your family as well...After all, Michelle, it's only fair. Hmmm...who should we start with and where shall we post it? You are a reprehensible excuse of a human being.

Jake Daab
Chicago, IL

***

Craig Mayor trilevel@shaw.ca
Date: Apr 17, 2006 7:24 PM
Subject: chink scum

listen chink

leave the students alone

lets call YOUR friends and family

***
From: J. Beeson emg@cox.net
Mailed-By: cox.net
Date: Apr 17, 2006 8:44 PM
Subject: UCSC Death Threats

Fuck you for printing those SAW numbers, you bitch. Hope you get harassed and your numbers printed. Did I say "fuck you"....Oh yeah...I guess I did. Bitch.

Purdue Student Ordered Held Without Bond

Indian national made internet death threats against President
Vikram Buddhi, the Indian national studying in the US on a student visa, who made online threats to murder the President, Vice President, First Lady, and Secretary of Defense, is now being held without bail pending his next court appearance on April 26. From the (West Lafayette, IN) Journal and Courier:

A Federal district magistrate in Hammond has ordered Vikram Buddhi, a Purdue University graduate student accused of writing Internet threats against President Bush, be held without bond, saying he is a flight risk, Buddhi's attorney said this morning.

Buddhi's attorney, John Martin is trying the boys-will-be-boys-it-doesn't-count-in-cyberspace argument, and if that doesn't work, is asserting a First Amendment right to threaten assassination, murder, bombing, and rape.

Can the American Civil Liberties Union be far behind?

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Vince Aut Morire, and Stop the ACLU.

McKinney Report: 'Assault on a Police Officer'

A little person would already have their trial date set, but when you're Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), accused of assaulting a Capitol Police officer, and willing to shamelessly play the race card, things go a bit slower.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has published details from the official report of the incident:

The DeKalb County congresswoman struck the officer "in his chest with [a] closed fist."

The "event report" — obtained Tuesday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — describes the altercation as an assault on a police officer.

There had previously been reports that McKinney "stabbed" the officer with a cellphone or that she slapped McKenna with an open hand.

McKinney said she was the victim of racial profiling and that the officer had touched her inappropriately when he tried to stop her.

The Fraternal Order of Police wants the officer, identified in the report as Paul McKenna, to sue McKinney. It may be the only way for justice to be served in this case.

Via the Drudge Report.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Vince Aut Morire and Stop the ACLU.

Syracuse U. Professor Resigns Over Allegations of Abuse

Dr. Steven Chamberlain, a tenured professor of bioengineering at Syracuse University, reportedly resigned on March 14. Students were told that the resignation was due to health reasons. WSYR TV reports that Chamberlain was first suspended, then resigned following complaints from faculty members of inappropriate behavior with students, including physical and emotional abuse. The results of the University's inquiry have been turned over to the Onondaga County District Attorney's office for further investigation.

From 9WSYR.com:

In a statement, the university says it suspended Dr. Steven Chamberlain on March 9th, citing misconduct, conduct unbecoming a tenured professor, and conduct in violation of faculty professional ethics. The university says the suspension came after the university’s Senate Committee on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Professional Ethics received complaints from faculty members that Chamberlain was acting inappropriately with students.

The university will not say what Chamberlain allegedly did, but it says the school found that Chamberlain physically and emotionally abused several individuals.

Patriot's Day

Fluffy of Pigs de Resistance resists the temptation to relax and pig out on this holiday celebrated only in Massachusetts, Maine, and Wisconsin, and acknowledges a debt to the real Minutemen, by way of an historical road trip:

Several British companies were in the town of Concord burning stores of gunpowder while three companies held this bridge.

After getting pushed back over the bridge, the British were shadowed all the way back to Charlestown, suffering casualties along the route.

Fluffy has pictures.

Student's First Amendment Rights Violated

John Martin, Vikram Buddhi's lawyer is appalled at the blatant trampling of his client's First Amendment right to free speech. Buddhi is a graduate student and teaching assistant at Purdue University who has been here for the past ten years on a student visa. Martin hopes that everything can be cleared up by Wednesday so that Vikram can get back to his studies:

“What was allegedly said certainly is derogatory and may be inflammatory,” Martin said. “But there’s no real serious threat more than it was chat on the Web.”

Just the sort of everyday stuff that the Left puts out. Like detailed threats to kill President Bush, Laura Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. Oh, and a plea for anyone reading the messages to bomb the United States, rape and mutilate British and American women, and kill all Republicans.

Maybe when Vikrim gets out somebody could set him up with Maryscott O'Connor.

Via the Drudge Report.

Cross-posted at The Jawa Report, Vince Aut Morire, and Stop the ACLU.

Sami Al-Arian Pleads Guilty

University of South Florida professor Sami al-Arian, who became a cause célèbre to the ACLU crowd, has admitted to being involved with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (the group responsible for this outrage), and, as a bonus, turned snitch on his co-defendants.

From Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON, April 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Former University of South Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a specially designated terrorist organization, in violation of U.S. law, the Department of Justice announced today.

In the plea agreement, Al-Arian admits that he was associated with several organizations, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. He also admits that co-defendants Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, Bashir Musa Mohammed Nafi and Mazen Al-Najjar were associated with PIJ.

Al-Arian's agreement with the government calls for a recommended prison sentence of 46 to 57 months in prison, based on a five-year maximum statutory sentence. Al-Arian, 48, who has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 20, 2003, has agreed to stipulate to deportation to another country by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement once his prison sentence has ended. Al- Arian has lived in this country for approximately 30 years.

This bastard should be deported to Hell.

Via Stop the ACLU.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

And the Award For Treason Goes to...

...the New York Times and writers James Risen and Eric Lichtblau for their efforts to cripple national security and get more Americans killed. Risen and Lichtblau are the pair who exposed the classified NSA program of intercepting emails and international calls between known and suspected terrorists and people in the United States. And, of course, Risen just happened to be having a book come out on...well, three guesses, and the first two don't count.

It seems that the Pulitzer Committee decided to add a category for treason this year.

Others:

The Jawa Report
Powerline.

ACLU Still Trying to Gut Patriot Act

The Cape Cod Times reports that the American Civil Liberites Union is holding an "emergency town meeting" in Woods Hole, on Cape Cod. The featured guests will be William Delahunt, who is exactly as liberal as one could expect from a Cape Cod congressman - he made a private deal with lunatic Hugo Chavez for example; and Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman who is conservative on every issue except actually preventing terrorist attacks on the United States via the Patriot Act.

This is part of the ACLU's grassroots campaign to overturn the Patriot Act. ACLU lawyers have complained that they fear their calls to international terrorist organizations are being monitored.

Also posted at Stop the ACLU.

Generals Vs. Generals

CNN cites a Wall Street Journal editorial by four retired US generals that has unkind things to say about the cabal of generals attacking Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld:

"Many senior officers and bureaucrats did not support his transformation goals -- preferring conventional weapons of the past ... which prove practically useless against lawless and uncivilized enemies engaged in asymmetric warfare," the writers continued.

"It unfortunately appears that two of the retired generals (Messrs. Zinni and Newbold) do not understand the true nature of this radical ideology, Islamic extremism, and why we fight in Iraq. We suggest they listen to the tapes of United 93."

This will undoubtedly add to the acrimony, as generals Zinni and Newbold will feel obliged to fire back.

The op-ed piece was written by retired Lt. Gen. John Crosby, former deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command; retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, former assistant vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force; retired Maj. Gen. Buron Moore, U.S. Air Force, who was director of Central Command during Operation Desert Storm; and retired Maj. Gen Paul Vallely, former deputy commander of the U.S.. Army, Pacific.

Rumsfeld's non-military defenders have been circumspect about questioning the anti-Rumsfeld generals' credentials. Let's see how long it takes for the Left to start flinging feces at the pro-Rumsfeld group.

It's becoming apparent that the original attack by the anti-Rumsfeld generals is less about tactics and strategy and more about personalities.

More General Mayhem at Vince Aut Morire.

Hamas Officially Endorses Suicide Attack

A Palestinian suicide bomber murdered 8 people outside a falafel house in Tel Aviv today, the carnage limited because a security guard prevented the teenager from entering the restaurant.

From the New York Times:

A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri called the attack "a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes against our people," adding that Palestinians were "in a state of self-defense and they have every right to use all means to defend themselves," according to Reuters.

So here we have the raionale used by brave jihadi babyhunters everywhere: self-defense - a view endorsed by a majority of the Palestinian people.

All those Jews armed with falafels; who knows what they might be capable of?

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Court Finds Constitutional Right to Sleep on Sidewalks

From the LA Times:

Los Angeles' policy of arresting homeless people for sitting, lying or sleeping on public sidewalks as "an unavoidable consequence of being human and homeless without shelter" violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and [unusual] punishment, a federal appeals court ruled today.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, decided in favor of six homeless persons, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. The suit challenged the city's practice of arresting persons for violating a municipal ordinance, which states that "no person shall sit, lie or sleep in or upon any street, sidewalk or public way."

Of course, now the Ninth Circus Court of Fools has opened a real can of worms. This ruling, depending as it does, upon the "unavoidable consequence of being human" means that laws against public urination and defecation are also cruel and unusual punishment, if the urine and feces are being produced by homeless people. And, since the sex drive is an "unavoidable consequence of being human", it means that laws against public fornication will also not apply to the homeless.

Excellent, now, along with its other tourist attractions, LA can boast the country's first officially sanctioned publicly urinating, defecating, and fornicating hobos. I'm going to book a flight right away.

Via Stop the ACLU

More at The Jawa Report.

The Doubting Thomas

Tired of scientific extremists and religious purists who refuse to find common ground for science and spirituality - or even deny that any reconciliation between the two is possible? Pay a visit to new blog The Doubting Thomas "A Journey in Scientific Spirituality".

The Doubting Thomas is a personal friend and colleague of mine, a person who offers the unusual combination of formal scientific training (he's a retired biology teacher) and deep spirituality. TDT doesn't believe that the quests for Knowledge and Spiritual Enlightenment are mutually exclusive enterprises.

Arrest Made in Holloway Disappearance

From the Associated Press via the Drudge Report:

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) -- Authorities have made an arrest in the case of a young Alabama woman who disappeared while vacationing in Aruba, an Aruban official said Saturday.

Mariaine Croes, a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office, said Aruban authorities were not prepared to disclose why the person was arrested. Croes also would not say how the arrest was linked to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway nearly a year ago, on the final night of her high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island.

Happy Easter

And for anyone who needs a little help with some basic Easter fare, head on over to Cookie's to get his recipe for Baked Ham and Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Sunday Funny

From the Dry Bones Blog.

In the Shadow of MacArthur

General Douglas MacArthur, a man used to winning wars, was deeply dissatisfied with the limited Allied goals in Korea. He bitterly resented sending men to die for such goals, and, while still Supreme Allied Commander, spoke out publicly about his frustration with the way Harry Truman was conducting the war.

Truman's response:

With deep regret I have concluded that General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the United States Government and of the United Nations in matters pertaining to his official duties.

The President's hand was forced. Regardless of the relative merits of Truman's strategy versus what MacArthur believed was right, the American military must submit to civilian authority. We are not, after all, the Soviet Union. General MacArthur knew this, and spoke out anyway, knowing that it would lead to his relief from command, and the end of his long and distinguished service. Perhaps he considered the lives of the men he led more important than his career.

What then, to make of the six American generals who have publicly demanded the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld? Their statements about the conduct of the Iraqi theater of the War on Terror would suggest that things are quite dire indeed. Men are dying needlessly, they say.

Why then, did not one of these generals feel that these men were more important than his own career?

Shameless Pandering in the Senate

Drew McKissick at Conservative Outpost takes aim at the arrogance, hyocrisy, and doubletalk coming out of the US Senate on the illegal immigration issue:

It is axiomatic that, if you want more of something, you subsidize it. If you want less of something, you tax or it. The same principle applies here. If we want to see the number of illegals increase, then give the ones that are here now amnesty and a green light towards citizenship. If we want less, then secure the border and begin penalizing the businesses that knowingly hire them. Period.

Direct hit.

Iran Warns US Against Military Action

From Agence France Presse:

Iran said it could defeat any American military action over its controversial nuclear drive, in one of the Islamic regime's boldest challenges yet to the United States.

"You can start a war but it won't be you who finishes it," said General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards and among the regime's most powerful figures.

"The Americans know better than anyone that their troops in the region and in Iraq are vulnerable. I would advise them not to commit such a strategic error," he told reporters on the sidelines of a pro-Palestinian conference in Tehran.

It's tempting to shrug this off as more raving, but it's actually a canny assessment of the situation.

"I would advise them to first get out of their quagmire in Iraq before getting into an even bigger one," General Safavi said with a grin.

Safavi's sly choice of words is proof that America's enemies listen carefully to what the American Left is saying.

Partisan bickering in the United States has gone far beyond the "loyal opposition" stage and has created the perception in much of the world that we don't have the will to continue our fight against terrorism. That perception may be correct.

As a result, the only answer to Iran's challenge may be tactical nuclear weapons.

Zarqawi, AQ, Defeated in Iraq?

From The Washington Times:

Al Qaeda in Iraq and its presumed leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, have conceded strategic defeat and are on their way out of the country, a top U.S. military official contended yesterday.
The group's failure to disrupt national elections and a constitutional referendum last year "was a tactical admission by Zarqawi that their strategy had failed," said Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the XVIII Airborne Corps.

This sounds too good to be true.

Via Stop the ACLU.

This One is Truly Unhinged

The Washington Post profiles one of the folks who bring us those shrieking lefty emo blogs:

She smokes a cigarette. Should it be about Bush, whom she considers "malevolent," a "sociopath" and "the Antichrist"? She smokes another cigarette. Should it be about Vice President Cheney, whom she thinks of as "Satan," or about Karl Rove, "the devil"? Should it be about the "evil" Republican Party, or the "weaselly, capitulating, self-aggrandizing, self-serving" Democrats, or the Catholic Church, for which she says "I have a special place in my heart . . . a burning, sizzling, putrescent place where the guilty suffer the tortures of the damned"?

Unfortunately for America, the Democratic party is pandering to loons just like Maryscott O'Connor, who writes for DailyKos (of course) and her own blog, My Left Wing.


Also unfortunately, writer David Finkel can't resist shading the truth (this is, after all, the Washington Post):

Not that long ago, it was the right that was angry and the left that was, at least comparatively, polite. But after years of being the targets of inflammatory rhetoric, not only from fringe groups but also from such mainstream conservative politicians as Newt Gingrich, the left has gone on the attack.

Translation: now that the liberal mainstream media deathgrip on "the truth" has been loosened by talk radio, Fox News, and the right lobe of the blogosphere, liberals find that they can't handle the truth.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Free Speech Okay If She Agrees With Speakers

From The Enquirer:

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS - A professor at Northern Kentucky University said she invited students in one of her classes to destroy an anti-abortion display on campus Wednesday evening.

NKU police are investigating the incident, in which 400 crosses were removed from the ground near University Center and thrown in trash cans. The crosses, meant to represent a cemetery for aborted fetuses, had been temporarily erected last weekend by a student Right to Life group with permission from NKU officials.

Public universities cannot ban such displays because they are a type of symbolic speech that has been protected by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sally Jacobsen, a longtime professor in NKU's literature and language department, said the display was dismantled by about nine students in one of her graduate-level classes.

"I did, outside of class during the break, invite students to express their freedom-of-speech rights to destroy the display if they wished to," Jacobsen said.

Jacobsen went on to compare the crosses to Nazi swastikas, an odd twist of reasoning to say the least.

The Northern Kentucky University administration seems to be taking the incident seriously. President James Votruba said that if Jacobsen participated, even if only as an instigator (which she appears to have already admitted), that it could have consequences for her employment, beyond possible vandalism charges.

The vandalism was against the Bill of Rights. An appropriate punishment would be for Jacobsen and her brown shirts to replace the display, under the supervision of the group that originally conceived and created it.

Clinton Scheme Gave Flawed Nuke Plans to Iranians

From The National Ledger:

Last night, radio talk show host and former US Justice Department official Mark Levin shocked many listeners when he reported that President Bill Clinton gave nuclear technology to the Iranians in a harebrained scheme.

He said that the transfer of classified data to Iran was personally approved by then-President Clinton and that the CIA deliberately gave Iranian physicists blueprints for part of a nuclear bomb that likely helped Tehran advance its nuclear weapons development program.

The CIA, using a double-agent Russian scientist, handed a blueprint for a nuclear bomb to Iran, according to a new book "State of War" by James Risen, the New York Times reporter, who exposed the Bush administration's controversial NSA spying operation, claims the plans contained fatal flaws designed to derail Tehran's nuclear drive.

But the deliberate errors were so rudimentary they would have been easily fixed by sophisticated Russian nuclear scientists, the book said.

So far, Risen's employer, the New York Times, has not reported on the alleged Clinton connection to Iran's nuclear program.

More as this develops.

Via AJ Strata and Stop the ACLU

MSM's South Park Hypocrisy

The story of the censored South Park episode has hit the mainstream media, after, of course, being exposed on blogs first. Wednesday's episode was supposed to contain a scene of the Muslim prophet Mohammed, in reference to the famous Danish Mohammed cartoons that caused Islamic zealots to indulge in rioting, arson, and murder throughout the Islamic world.

From ABC News:

By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer
NEW YORK Apr 13, 2006 (AP)— Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of "South Park" skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon's most recent episode.

The comedy in an episode aired during Holy Week for Christians instead featured an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.

In an elaborately constructed two-part episode of their Peabody Award-winning cartoon, "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper's publishing of caricatures of Muhammad. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous.

The mainstream could hardly ignore the South Park scandal after creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone went public to confirm that they were, indeed, censored by Comedy Central. But the Associated Press account published by ABC goes on to say this:

When the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers worldwide in January and February, it sparked a wave of protests primarily in Islamic countries.

Now I'm calling shenanigans. It's inaccurate to say that the Mohammed cartoons were published "worldwide", unless "worldwide" has been redefined to exclude the United States. Even a French magazine ran them (though the editor was later fired by the mag's Egyptian owner). So the American mainstream press is more cowardly than the French. Now there's an accomplishment.

And it's hard to blame Comedy Central for refusing to run the Mohammed scenes when virtually every mainstream media outlet in America has been too gutless to show the Danish cartoons. Now it's come down to two goofy cartoonists defending the US Constitution from the barbarians while the Fourth Estate quivers in fear. I'm sure Edward R. Murrow is pleased.



Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Burn US Flag, Si; Mexican Flag, Non

The ACLU has championed the right of Americans to burn the American flag as a form of "speech". Let's see if they come to the aid of this man, arrested for burning a Mexican flag in a counter-illegal immigration protest.

From the Arizona Daily Star:

A Tucson man was arrested Tuesday for his role in the burning of a Mexican flag as part of a counterprotest at a pro-immigration rally.
At about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Tucson police cited Roy Warden, 58, on suspicion of assault, criminal damage and reckless burning, and then released him, according to Sgt. Decio Hopffer.
Video footage shot Monday by police and the media showed Warden assaulting a TV cameraman and a photographer, Hopffer said. Because only one of the men pressed charges, there is only one assault charge.
Warden faces the criminal-damage charge for harm done to the concrete shuffleboard court where Warden's group was burning the Mexican flag, Hopffer said.

I don't advocate burning national flags as a form of protest.

But fair is fair, if people insist that burning the US flag is "political speech", then so is the burning any other national flag.

Via Stop the ACLU.

We Watch the Watchers

Writing in Reason, Matt Welch bewails what he perceives to be the lack of "critical thinking" and "...collegial yet brutal peer review," in the world of blogs today (I really hate the neologism "blogosphere"). Evidently, Welch expected the internet to open the doors to a golden age of unbiased citizen journalists, fearlessly breaking stories and offering criticism from a non-partisan viewpoint. Welch's plaint is reminiscent of the Communist Manifesto in its complete lack of insight into human nature.

I used to think blogs would transform ideologues into nonpartisan truth-seekers. Man, was I wrong. - Matt Welch

Yes, you were. - The Dread Pundit Bluto

It's unrealistic to expect bloggers to do something that's never been done. The mainstream media have already shown everybody that unbiased journalism simply doesn't exist - they just won't admit it yet. So it was natural for bloggers to shake out into warring camps along political lines. After all, the role of pretending to be unbiased was already being filled by traditional journalists. But the job of media watchdog was open (at least on the Right, the Lefty blogs serve more as traditional media cheerleaders).

Welch's claim of a lack of critical thinking and brutal peer review is ridiculous, but certainly most popular blogs have no lack of partisan and ideological views. So Welch believes that blogs and bloggers have failed to live up to their initial promise. That was, however, a promise that existed only in his own mind. It was like hoping that a rottweiler puppy would grow up to be a toy poodle.

But blogs and bloggers have certainly lived up to their role as media watchdogs. Look at how the mighty in the traditional media have been forced to confront their own false promise of even-handedness.

Just ask Dan Rather or Eason Jordan.

You might ask Welch himself in a few weeks; he's taken a job at the Los Angeles Times. I'll be keeping my eyes on you, Matt.

Via The QandO Blog.

AQ Bombmaker Killed by Pakistanis

From MSNBC:

MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan - A high-ranking member of the al-Qaida terrorist network was killed in a Pakistani army helicopter gunship attack on a remote village in western Pakistan, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News on Thursday.

Mohsin Musa Matawalli Atwah was among as many as 14 suspected militants who were killed in the attack in the North Waziristan tribal region village of Anghar Kalai, near the Afghan border, the officials told NBC News.

Count on local Islamists re-staging the scene and claiming that everybody killed was an innocent attending a peaceful prayer meeting by the time the Press or their stringers get there.

You're Out of Order, Sergeant

It's not often that I find anything to praise in the Washington Post, but today I give them kudos for running this piece by the executive director of Vets for Freedom.

Democratic representatives Jim Moran of Virginia and John Murtha from Pennsylvania organized a purported "townhall meeting", which was in reality a cheerleading session for anti-war activists, including Code Pink and MoveOn.org, who helped organize the event.

During the question and answer session a wounded veteran got up and violated the agenda:

"If I didn't have a herniated disc, I would volunteer to go to Iraq in a second with my troops," said Mark Seavey, a former Army sergeant who had recently returned from Afghanistan. "I know you keep saying how you have talked to the troops and the troops are demoralized, and I really resent that characterization. The morale of the troops I talk to is phenomenal, which is why my troops are volunteering to go back despite the hardships. . . ."

"And, Congressman Moran, 200 of your constituents just arrived back from Afghanistan -- we never got a letter, we never got a visit from you, you didn't come to our homecoming. The only thing we got was a letter from the governor of this state thanking us for our service in Iraq, when we were in Afghanistan. That's reprehensible. I don't know who you two are talking to, but the morale of the troops is very high."

Representative Moran, apparently channeling Alex Trebeck told him that his statement wasn't in the form of a question.

Read the whole thing here.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Michelle Malkin: AP Stringer Captured With Weapons Cache

Go to Michelle's site and read the whole thing. Associated Press stringer Bilal Hussein, who has been suspected of overly cozy ties with Iraq's terrorist insurgency because of the ease and apparent impunity with which he moves among and photographs terrorists in Iraq, has reportedly been detained by US forces. Malkin's military source says that Hussein was taken in a Ramadi building with a cache of weapons. AP confirmed to Malkin in an email that they believed Hussein was in the hands of the American military.

This is significant because some of us have been questioning the heavy reliance on locals by Western media outlets, and its effect on the overwhelmingly pessimistic and anti-American reporting that has resulted.

Police Detective's Death Attributed to 9/11 Dust Cloud

From the Associated Press:

A coroner's report released Tuesday found James Zadroga's death after developing respiratory disease was "directly related" to the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Zadroga, of Little Egg Harbor, N.J., died Jan. 5.

Researchers say it will take decades to determine which illnesses and deaths among ground zero workers were caused by their exposure to the asbestos-laden dust cloud.

Unfortunately, a few politicians took the opportunity of Zadroga's autopsy results to posture and shill for votes:

Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-Manhattan, Vito Fossella, R-Staten Island, and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., say the report should prompt more action from the federal government in screening and treating sick ground zero workers.

"It is truly sad," Maloney said in a statement, "that four and a half years after 9/11 the federal government still does not have a comprehensive plan to treat those who are suffering."

Detective Zadroga retired on disability in late 2004; the progression of his pulmonary problems was evidently swift and brutal. I'm not sure what federal involvement could have done to prevent his death, but I wouldn't wish having to deal with the Department of Labor on anybody.

The AP story says that a class action lawsuit has been filed, but doesn't mention the cause of action, or who the defendants are. One hopes that they have Saudi Arabia addresses.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Speaking Of Passover

Maybe now is a good time to remind everyone that they're not the 10 Suggestions.


The Ten Commandments

20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

3 “You shall have no other gods before me."

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."

13 “You shall not murder."

14 “You shall not commit adultery."

15 “You shall not steal."

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off

Gorgeous Pamela Rogers Violates Probation

(McMinnville, Tennessee) In February, Pamela Rogers (Turner) was released on probation from jail after serving nine months of an eight-year sentence for a conviction of sex with a 13-year-old student. Yesterday, Pamela Rogers (pic) was arrested for violating the terms of her probation.

From WBIR.com:

Authorities say Pamela Rogers Turner may have committed as many as seven violations of terms of her probation. She had served six months in jail and was released February 26th. But terms of her conviction included an eight-year sentence and the prosecutor says his office might ask that Turner be sent to prison for the balance of it.

Terms include registering as a sex offender, performing community service, having no contact with the boy's family and not using the Internet.

Contrary to the court's orders, 28-year-old Rogers has been using the Internet to communicate with her victim's sister. In my opinion, Pamela needs a leash. She currently resides in the Warren County Jail.

From Interested-Participant. Also posted at The Jawa Report.

Are You Inadvertently Offensive?

Tiger used the "S" Word
No, not that one, though golfing phenom Tiger Woods has managed to get some ripe language on the air following wayward shots, this time Tiger offended through insensitivity.

Tiger called himself a "spaz" for his poor putting at the Masters Tournament. Damon Rose of the BBC (via the Drudge Report) discusses Tiger's offense against the sensibilities of sensitive people who are constantly offended.

Tiger has made his bed, and now must lie in it, but what can we do, as sensitive, thoughtful people, to be sure that we don't offend other sensitive, thoughtful people, even inadvertently?

Well for a start, I've prepared a guide explaining why some words are inherently offensive:

"some" - this word is offensive to pacifists because of its colloquial use by military personnel as a belligerent invitation to their enemies to be killed - "Get some".

"words" - the root of the problem. It's offensive to sensitive people to invoke the hurtful feelings that "words" can cause.

"are" - the present participle of the verb "to be" is deeply offensive to advocates of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Shakespeare started it with his infamous "to be or not to be" slur.

"inherently" - this word is a tool of elitists and oligarchs everywhere. It boldly states that some characteristics are fixed at birth, implying that right-thinking, sensitive individuals cannot rise above their "station" or "class".

"offensive" - calling someone or something "offensive" is an open attack, and hideously offensive to sensitive individuals.

Also posted at The Jawa Report.