From the land of fact based non-emotional journalism we get...

A childs plea: 'Please close Guantanamo jail so I can see my daddy and give him a hug'

Yes, that is the headline. A shining example of journalistic objectivity.

Well, sounds a lil one-sided:

Johaina Aamer recalls very little of the final precious moments she spent with her father before the bombs started falling in Afghanistan.

She remembers him pretending to be a lion and chasing her and her two brothers around the garden and then running for cover as the explosions crept closer. After that, her mind is blank.

But in paintings and pictures the nine-year-old has unlocked her subconscious to tell a horrifying story of the American invasion, her father's capture and his 2,000 days spent as a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay.

Her art reveals the anguish of an ordinary south London family who have been enduring their own private Guantanamo hell, not knowing why father and husband, Shaker Aamer, was taken from them. Two years ago, Johaina wrote a letter to Tony Blair saying that when she saw him on television with George Bush she switched channels.

How adoring.

John McCain - the political pendulum

The Senate's greatest champion of free speech (so long as said speech is not in the form of an issue advertisement and does not come within 30 days of a primary or caucus or 60 days of a general election... and is a valid corporation under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 527)...) John McCain, got one right by proposing legislation to prohibit reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine.

Fences mended?

No.

Wounds healed?

No.

Bygones again bein bygones?

No.

Drop the silly 'I wanna be Prez' thing. Buy a ranch in Arizona. Retire with dignity.

How to measure the speed of light in your kitchen

If you are so inclined.

Alterman Universe/Alternate Universe

From the land of make believe, we get Eric Alterman's brilliant new missive about how the media, including Maureen Dowd, simply loathes Al Gore. All hail the Goracle!!!!

And we know Alterman is right because he is obviously the bestest. His bio says so:

Termed "the most honest and incisive media critic writing today" in the National Catholic Reporter, and author of "the smartest and funniest political journal out there," in the San Francisco Chronicle,

If you opposed the immigration bill...

you are racist. I feel terrible that I value border security before valuing the needs of those who have snuck across the border. Maybe the undistinguished Senator should care more about legal citizens. I guess that is racist.

Aussie Muslim polygamist sucks off the welfare state

Interesting expose from Aussie TV. The subject is an equitable polygamist, spending his time equally amongst his wives suckling off of the teet of the welfare state.

The best part of the vid comes around 2:02 minutes in. In a very menacing manner he goes after the reporters. Physically, he is a big feller who intimidates those he approaches, but around 2:14 he looks at a cameraman, close to his size, that doesnt back down. He cowers. The cameraman doesn't even blink. More power to him. Priceless.

What's the hardest part about being you?

Moustache.

When stupidity invites tragedy

I am not a 'prayers sent' kind of person. Posters on internet forums undertand what that means. I certainly don't begrudge those who are. But sometimes a story affects you a little more than most. Prayers sent to Roosevelt Sims:

Just before ten p.m. last Sunday night, a diabetic man in insulin shock was booted off an Amtrak train in the middle of a national forest.

According to Phoenix CBS Channel 5, 65-year-old Roosevelt Sims was headed to Los Angeles when Amtrak personnel, having assessed him as drunk and unruly, left him at an isolated railroad crossing in what a police officer described to the Phoenix media as "800,000 acres of beautiful pine trees." Sims' family had tried to call him on his cell phone that same night, but he was incoherent and, they report, in insulin shock.

When officers arrived at the crossing, Sims ran into the woods without his luggage or medication. The crossing is two miles from the nearest road and five miles from the nearest town. The altitude is 8000 feet. Sims' whereabouts is still unknown.

And a vicious fuck you to Amtrak.

UPDATE: SIMS FOUND

NY's Biggest Media Whore

No, he is not a Senator from New York. Nor is he NYC's illustrious mayor. Meet Greg Packer.

You know that guy who's first in line at the 5th Ave Apple Store? Greg Packer? Turns out he's no Apple fanboy. No, he's an obsessive linesitter. He was the first person to see Ground Zero when the viewing platform opened, the first to sign the condolence book at the British consulate when Princess Diana died, and the first in line to greet President George W. Bush after his inauguration. Hell, the guy waited in line for eight hours to meet Brandy. Brandy!

What in the hell? Waiting in line overnight sucks, but this guy has made it his personal mission to be the first to do whatever crap there is that people are willing to wait for. Will he even get an iPhone? Does he care about the iPhone at all? Does he know what an iPhone is? It seems like he just likes the attention and seeing his name quoted in papers who don't realize that he isn't a genuine fan of whatever event is being covered. The dude has his own Wikipedia entry for crissakes, and it's huge.

**********DISTURBING IMAGE WARNING************

Here is his wikipedia entry. He's got a blog, and a fan club (well, sort of).

PRESIDENTIAL QUIRKS

Some unusual facts about a few of our presidents:

-Warren G. Harding was an avid gambler and once bet all the White House china on a hand of cards – and lost.

-Harding and Grover Cleveland each had an illegitimate child, but both were born before their fathers served as president.

-William Howard Taft was known as “Big Bill” because he was 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed more than 330 pounds.

-During warm weather, John Quincy Adams had a custom of skinny dipping before dawn in the Potomac River.

-John Tyler, president from 1841 to 1845, later joined the Confederacy and was elected to its house of representatives.

-Benjamin Harrison, president from 1889 to 1893, was not a fan of the new electricity in the White House and often had his staff turn the lights on and off for him.

And a newbie:

-George W. Bush, renowned for his loyalty, abandoned his principles, party and avid supporters in pursuit of a 'legacy. He failed.

WSJ'S Effete Editorialists

I had been wondering if the Wall Street Journal could be any more out of touch with rank and file Republicans than they have been over the current amnesty bill. No sense in wondering. The answer is clear. No:

That's true most immediately for Presidential hopefuls like Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, who continue to assail the bill as "amnesty." No doubt this gets applause in some Republican precincts. But in the near term, meaning through 2008, Republicans would be far better off helping President Bush and John McCain pass something that takes immigration off the table. If the issue remains central to the 2008 debate, it will divide the GOP and the media will play up the split. Given the passions that immigration evokes on the right in particular, the issue could easily drown out other domestic policy messages the candidates would prefer to run on.

*********

Notwithstanding the small but loud segment of the GOP base preoccupied with the issue, hostility to immigration has never been a political winner. Like trade protection, people protectionism always polls better in telephone surveys than on Election Day. For a Presidential candidate especially, it sends a negative message rather than one of optimistic leadership. If GOP candidates can't support Mr. Bush and Senator Jon Kyl on immigration, they should at least avoid the kind of demagoguery that will hurt their party for years to come.

Their editorial is entitled Immigration and the GOP - How to make Republicans a minority party once again. Allow me to retort.

Question: How to make Republicans a minority party once again?
Answer: The President and the Kennedy Republicans just did.

Mark Levin won't let them off the hook:

What drives the editorial writers at the Journal is their insatiable demand, on behalf of their advertisers, for sweat-shop conditions and slave wages. For they know that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, and the INS before them, are incapable of enforcing the vast array of new provisions in the proposed comprehensive amnesty bill. Indeed, they’re counting on it. Since 1965, the government has promised the public border security in exchange for amnesty.

Today’s Journal writers aren’t as honest as their predecessors. They deny this bill provides for amnesty. In the past, they would have proudly proclaimed it. Today’s Journal writers take refuge in the anonymity of the editorial page as they assassinate the character of those with whom they disagree. Apparently, those who insist on enforcing the law are racists. Those who insist that the government fulfill its obligation to secure the border and punish businesses that hire illegal aliens are anti-Hispanic.

What causes a usually intelligent collection of writers to become so emotionally untethered? They refuse to debate National Review editors. They reject the late Dr. Milton Friedman’s opposition to open-borders in an entitlement society. Friedman was our nation’s foremost libertarian economist. They denigrate the positions held by William F. Buckley, a founder of modern conservatism, and Ed Meese, one of conservatism’s leading constitutional scholars and originalists. They distort statistics in a vain attempt to counter the Heritage Foundation’s research — the premiere conservative think tank.

DNC/AP - Peas in a pod

Target Rich Environment provides us with an excellent side by side comparison between the DNC talking points on Fred Thompson and the recent AP article by our favorite media Revolutionary, Travis Loller.


1. DNC talking point: “In his most recent stint in Washington, Thompson worked for a London company lobbying Congress to limit liability claims for asbestos-related illnesses. Over the past three years he’s made $760,000 fighting for the interests of his corporate clients.

“AP/CNN talking point: ”More recently, while Frist led the Senate, Thompson earned more than $750,000 lobbying for a British reinsurance company that wanted to limit its liability from asbestos lawsuits.

2. DNC Talking Point: “And just this month, as part of his role as the ultimate Washington insider, Thompson offered to host yet another fundraising event for Scooter Libby’s legal defense fund. Thompson has been vocal in his support of Libby, saying that he would “absolutely” pardon him.”
AP/CNN Talking Point: “Thompson also helped run the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Fund Trust, an organization that set out to raise more than $5 million to help finance the legal defense of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, who was convicted in March of lying and obstructing Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the leak of a CIA operative’s identity.”

3. DNC Talking Point: “For years, acting wasn’t the Law & Order star’s profession — it was a hobby. In the real world, Thompson has made a fortune in a decades-long career as a Washington lobbyist.”
AP/CNN Talking Point: “Republican Fred Thompson, who likes to cast himself in the role of Washington outsider, has a long history as a political insider who earned more than $1 million lobbying the federal government.”

4. DNC Talking Point: “Although the folksy-sounding Tennessean recently told USA TODAY that he would run an outsider, just as he did while campaigning as a “country lawyer” in a red pickup during his 1994 U.S. Senate race, his résumé is that of a longtime Washington operative who has crossed ideological lines to represent corporate and foreign clients.”
AP/CNN Talking Point: “That history as a Washington insider is at odds with the image Thompson has sought to convey to voters. When he first ran for the Senate in 1993, Thompson cast himself in the part of the gruff, plainspoken everyman, leased a red pickup truck and drove around Tennessee in his shirt sleeves.”

Dems spooked at New Reagan? The Fred in action

The Democratic party is so alarmed by the prospect of competing against Fred Thompson, a Republican who portrays himself as a successor to Ronald Reagan, that it is advising campaigners how to attack the former actor and Tennessee senator.

The line of attack? = He made a MILLION DOLLARS lobbying over a period of 20 years. That is 50 k a year. Is this the dirt they have? Dig deeper!!!! What does $1mi over a period of 20 yrs, mean to J Heinz Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Kohl, Pelosi et al. Selective indignation.

Marine Vet, 72, Bslaps punk robber

Always a feel good story.

Time to make a change

This lifelong Republican is gonna pull a Bloomberg. A party more concerned with pandering to the Hispanic vote than to securing the nation's borders is not a party I can be comfortable in. Here is a link to the New York State Board of Elections in case anyone else is interested in changing their party affiliation.

Grey Lady Down

Typical editorial from every litterbox's paper of record. Boil it down to bones - 'Bong hits 4 Jesus' banner by a high school student during class hours demands 1st Amendment protection, but an ad from a private group that asks Senators to vote on judicial nominees needs to be censored by the Federal Gubmint.

Wow, and the 'smart guys' read this fodder.

Mike Freeman is an Asshole

With a capital A. He compiles a list of the 'Top 50 Sports Jerks' and includes Uga V, Georgia's mascot from 1990-1999, (who incidently was named the nation's number one mascot by Sports Illustrated in 1999). Uga V is apparently worse than Bill Romanowski, the Broncos linebacker who spit in the face of an opposing player, but not quite as bad as Don King, the blowhard who singlehandedly destroyed heavyweight boxing. What journalistic prowess. Jerk.

Revolutionary AP writer slams the Fred

I was a little miffed at the cynical tone in this piece from the AP. The piece was decidedly hostile so I did a little hunting and pecking on the internetzz about the blog's author, Travis Loller. Her AP bio says she covers 'Hispanic issues'. I guess she does that when she isn't fomenting revolution:

Three American citizens, along with nine other foreigners, were deported from Mexico on April 12, 1998 for alleged collusion with the Zapatista rebels (EZLN). The woman, Travis Loller, 26, and two men, Michael Sabato, 30, and Jeffrey Conant, 30, are part of an American relief group called Intercambio de Tecnologia Apropiada (ITA) or, in English, Appropriate Technology Exchange. The Mexican government accused the three of agitating for the rebel army that's been struggling in the southeastern state of Chiapas for over four years in an effort to win basic civil rights and gain land reform for the indigenous Indians in the region.

*********
The three Americans have extensive activist histories, having worked for reproductive rights, the homeless and protests against the Gulf War, the Rodney King verdict and Propositions 187 and 209. Ironically, their time in Mexico was spent not on direct politic organizing but on community improvement projects in the poverty stricken villages of Chiapas, including building potable water systems, latrines, composting, and soil improvement. They even had plans to help construct micro-hydroelectric plants. Sabato and Conant have been working on and off in Chiapas since August of '95, Loller since January of '98. They are among the thousands of non-Mexicans to visit Chiapas who've found the Zapatistas' non-hierarchical, consensus-based, experience-driven revolution to be a refreshing, inspiring change from the traditional Marxist-Leninist rebel movements. Loller tells an amusing story about a group of Spanish anarchists who came to Chiapas bearing books by Kropotkin, Bakunin, Marx, Lenin and other lefty theoreticians in order to indoctrinate the locals. When the Indians expressed profound disinterest in how some dead Europeans thought a revolutionary society ought to be created, the academes left in a huff, proclaiming that the Zapatistas "weren't true revolutionaries".

Here is an account from the leftist Mother Jones.

UPDATE: Did Ms. Loller author the DNC talking points? Allahpundit is curious.

Fred Thompson's Bimbo Eruptions

Every candidate's worst nightmare. The bimbo. The ex wife. The ex gf. The axes grindin. The things they could say.

And then, the Fred:

Lorrie Morgan, ex gf:

"I couldn’t think of a bad word to say about Fred if somebody put a gun to my head."

"Fred is a perfect example of chivalry. He’s the kind of man little girls dream about marrying, who opens doors for you, lights your cigarettes, helps you on with your coat, buys wonderful gifts. It’s every woman’s fantasy.”

“I think he has a great chance of capturing the women’s vote. He’s majestic. He’s a soft, safe place to be and that could be Fred’s ticket. Women love a soft place to lay and a strong pair of hands to hold us,”

Georgette Mosbacher, a leading Republican fundraiser who dated Thompson after Morgan and remains a good friend, said he would defeat Clinton because of his appeal to “traditional women who will like the Southern gentleman in him”.

He is just as able to charm professional women, she added: “Another thing that is extremely attractive about Fred is that he is a really good listener. As a woman you can talk to Fred about any subject and know that you’re getting someone who respects your opinion and isn’t just being polite.”

“It says a lot about his character that his ex-wife and ex-girlfriends think he is fabulous,” said Mosbacher. “Character is important in a president.”

One of her rivals for his affection was Margaret Carlson, now a columnist for Bloomberg News, but she has also joined in the praise for Thompson. “He’s handsome, he’s charming, he sounds like a president,” Carlson gushed recently. “He’s smart, he’s articulate, he knows his line, he can hit his mark.”

What pol wouldnt PAY for bimbo eruptions like that?

Two Views of the Immigration Debate

Ace of Spades does a much better job than myself. His post is friggin hilarious. But I think more people need to see the bias of the New York Times. Check out this pic from a NYT article about ILLEGAL immigration. These are the border bustin folks, just looking for a break. Looks like they are witnessing the Second Coming, or are, in the least, extras in the latest Spieberg crapfest. Here is the immigrant hating feller in the NYT's other article pic. The sparsely-toothed feller must be afflicted with Redneckism. Do you see? He does post a smallish American flag. As we all know, that is a very distinct sign of racist xenophobism. While some might see him as a walking hate crime, I am more sympathetic. With an intervention, a couple of years of counseling, Spanish language lessons, a few pesos in his pocket, he should be able to reenter the Mexico-Americo population.

Change of Heart

I have voiced some very strong opinions about Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing tax, er, uhh, plan. After much deliberation, and an epic battle with my conscience, I am ashamed to admit that I am beginning to warm up to the idea. It very well could be a workable way of keeping our fair city greener and add to the city’s always needy coffers.

With that having been said, I think I’d like to tweak the Bloomberg plan a little bit to make it a bit more equitable. Instead of taxing poorer people traveling to affluent areas to work, why don’t we tax affluent people traveling to play. Leaving Manhattan last night around 10 p.m., I got stuck in nightmarish traffic on the Long Island Expressway. Why so much traffic, so late? Predominantly Manhattanites off to eastern Long Island, getting an early start for their long comfortable weekends at their beach homes in places like the Hamptons, Aquebogue and Shinnecock Hills.

Just a thought, Mr. Mayor. Waddya think?

Dayum Nazi Thug

Freedom hating, brownshirt trampling on the rights of the American people. Fascist Attorney General who pisses on the Constitution. Here ya go with a nice kick in the family jewels:

In 1963, the CIA wiretapped two columnists -- Robert Allen and Paul Scott -- following a column in a newspaper in which they disclosed certain national security information. CIA records indicate that the wiretapping was approved by McCone after "discussions" with then Attorney General Robert Kennedy and then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The wiretaps, which continued from March 12 to June 15, 1963, were described as "very productive" -- among those overheard calling Allen and Scott were twelve Senators, six Congressmen, and so forth. Apparently, the tap did not disclose the source of the security information published in the Allen-Scott column.

Dayum racist, facist, civil rights hatin Attorney General:

In October 1963, Robert Kennedy had authorized a wiretap on King's home phone. It was barely six weeks after King had held the crowd on the Washington mall spellbound with his history-making speech.

That power to sway a crowd and make them follow him into a future full of uncertainty is what made King a "dangerous" man. Celebrating King's birthday this weekend reminds us that because of him, ordinary Americans willingly risked everything to end oppressive segregation policies.

Dayum political icon, luminary, champion of the downtrodden and oppressed hero of the Left, inheritor of divine lineage:

He saw wrong and tried to right it. He saw suffering and tried to heal it. He saw war and tried to stop it.

What you can expect from a Bloomberg Presidency

Goodfellas News Item of the Day

Irish criminal found 'Frankie Carbone style':

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Pathologists inspected the thawed remains Wednesday of a missing Dublin criminal whose body was found, frozen rock solid, in the Mermaid Fish Shop.

The owner of the shop in Galway, western Ireland, last week found the body of Patrick McCormack, 52, concealed inside a plastic container. He appeared to have been badly beaten and his hands were tied behind his back.

An examination of the body has been repeatedly delayed at Dublin City Morgue because it had not defrosted. But the work began Wednesday under the supervision of Ireland's assistant state pathologist, Dr. Michael Curtis.

When Nuns Attack. No Really.

I used to hear nightmarish stories from Catholic school friends about nuns with yardsticks. But I could never quite picture ole Sister Agnes wielding a switchblade in a turf war with the Sharks:

Nuns and priests attack each other in convent

by Nassos Stylianou

Scuffles lead to two arrests

TWO PEOPLE were injured and another two were arrested after scuffles broke out between two rival factions of nuns residing in an Old Calendarist convent in Avdellero late last night.

Nuns and priests from both sides confronted each other after unrest broke out at around 10pm.

The church was covered with blood as nuns and priests from both sides attacked each other using sharp objects.

Police confirmed that they would be looking into the incident, which is believed to be part of a long-running dispute between the two groups of nuns. It has been reported that the convent is segregated, with Archimandrite Sevastianos’ followers occupying certain buildings and the resident nuns staying in others. At nightfall, Sevastianos and his nuns barricade themselves inside the chapel, as a precaution, with friends and relatives of the two groups taking turns at patrolling the premises.

Go to linkski for the full story

Rather Sexist

IYAM.

Bullshit article of the day.....

NYC Bloomberg's arrogance:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Traffic congestion and devastating pollution are among the "inconvenient truths" of our age and could be eased by imposing pay-to-drive fees on Manhattan motorists, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a legislative panel Friday.

Bloomberg, who normally takes the subway to work, told the lawmakers he got stuck in traffic three times on his way to the special hearing.

His remarks were greeted by a roaring ovation from supporters who included environmentalists in bright green T-shirts handing out fresh green apples before the hearing.

"The threats to our city, and our planet, are inconvenient truths that we can no longer avoid facing, and that we can no longer wait for Washington to confront," Bloomberg said, referring to the title of Al Gore's Oscar-winning global warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."

Under Bloomberg's proposal, cars entering Manhattan south of 86th Street would be charged $8 per day, and trucks $21. Under a three-year pilot program, the fees would be collected only during the worst traffic hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two major roadways flanking the east and west sides of Manhattan, FDR Drive and the West Side Highway, would be exempt.

Tax the people that can't afford to live in Manhattan. Tax the small business owners that can't afford to live in Manhattan who:

-replace and install building windows

-clean building windows

-moldings

-electric links

-wallpaper

-cabinetry

-create computer networks and resolve network issues

....and on and on and on.......

-run EVERY business that is not cost-effective to run outside of Manhattan

-etc. etc. etc.

Most businesses can't afford to be centered in Manhattan. Its way too expensive. Bloomie wants to tax these business owners, mosty of whom are NYC residents, as interlopers. Fuck him.

Bloomberg seems to be offended that the paupers from the outer boroughs seem to invade his little paradise. In his lil niche, the average price of an apartment is over $1 mil. Bloomie's answer to maintain their standard of living? Tax the people delivering their needs.

Wesley Snipes goes racial

I didn't pay my taxes for 6 years but you are prosecuting me because I am black.

Disney fosters ageism?

Ever think that wackademics have too much time on their hands?

LONDON — Even the Seven Dwarfs are guilty. Well, two of them anyway. Grumpy and Dopey are no longer just the loyal friends of Snow White but must now line up with the likes of the Wicked Queen and Cruella de Vil to be accused of fostering negative images of elderly people.

According to academics, Walt Disney's seemingly ageist cartoon depiction of older people as evil or incompetent risks adversely influencing children.

***

Their study concludes: "Why the portrayals of older people seem more negative when the consumers are children is uncertain.

"Disney films may not be the primary source of children's negative perceptions of older people. However, there is evidence that the media do influence children's perceptions."

Thoughts on the immigration bill votes

As per the precedents to the most pivotal immigration votes of our generation:

McCain doesnt vote on the first. Brownback doesnt vote on the second. Accordingly, neither is worthy of the Presidency.

From his comments, Fred! would have voted Nayyyyy. Long live Fred!.

*****

I watched some of the debate. Sen. Sessions is a hero. To see him be attacked by the Kennedy's, Feinstein's of the Senate was disgusting. And the other Repubs - McConnell, Graham, - etc., wtf are you thinking? The Republican party is now too fractured to survive. The White House supported the original bill but have been quiet ever since.

If this bill eventually passes, with the support of stray Repubs and the White House. the party will be doomed to minority status for a good 20 years.

The immigration bill could have been a nice opportunity for Repubs to pick up the blue collar Reagan dems. But that opportunity has been shelved.

Fuck the stuttering President and his inept handlers.

It takes a Clinton...

TO BORE A CHILD

(photo via Lucianne)

Morning Moonbattery

Another gem from Google Streetviewer. UC Berkeley of course. Sign says "We can have old trees and new gyms". Its a protest against a proposed new athletic center which would require the removal of, can you guess it? Old trees. More here.

Stupid Crime Stories

Few have more respect for law enforcement than myself. But when the police and justice system sacrifice common sense for zero tolerance and the like. Some examples:

Woman arrested for staring at dog.

Woman convicted of felony because porn popups on her computer seen by members of her class.

11 year old arrested for toy rubber band gun.

Lil Lindsey throws hissy

I guess I would get a little surly if I sacrificed my entire political future on a bill that won't pass. Honestly though I am disgusted by fellow Repubs that impugn the motives and motivations of those on the right who object to this bill. They should pat themselves on the back for their arrogance and petulance. Oh, and further congrats for dooming the Party to minority status for the next generation.

See Michelle Malkin liveblogging the immigration debate.

The New york Times grows the balls to ask the question

Lets see if Pelosi's 'most ethical Congress abides':

Editorial
Out From the Ethical Deep Freeze

Just as House Democrats’ fervid promises of ethics reform are running out of steam comes the bribery indictment of one of their own, William Jefferson, the Louisiana representative accused of stashing $90,000 in marked bills in his home freezer. Surely the image of Mr. Jefferson allegedly using the Congressional dining room to transact quid-pro-quo corruption schemes is the strongest possible wake-up call for foot-dragging members to face up to the need for aggressive ethics enforcement. The existing ethics committee produced cobwebs, not early-warning alerts, as recent scandals were launching several lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists on prison careers.

The timing could not be better for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to offer Congress and its doubting constituents the strongest possible proposal for the creation of an independent office to oversee ethics enforcement. A bipartisan task force has been studying this campaign promise, and the speaker is reportedly ready to sign off on some sort of an oversight panel of respected outsiders. Details are thus far scarce. But if Congress wants to repair its tattered reputation, it is crucial to resist cosmetic change. For any independent panel to be convincing it must be given the power to investigate corruption allegations and make recommendations to the ethics committee for forceful action.

Talk is cheap. Dems are cheaper.

Home Depot Fires Men Who Stopped Thieves

I have never been a fan of Home Depot. I generally find their 'associates' to be lazy, unmotivated or stupid, or any combination of the three. Little did I know they are not only taught to be simps by the suits, but they are taught to be poor citizens as well.

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. -- A former Home Depot employee said the company fired him and three other workers because they helped police catch several suspected shoplifters in May.

Midwest City Police said the men helped officers catch suspected shoplifters as they tried to run from a store with lawn equipment.

An internal memo from Home Depot outlines that associates cannot accuse, detain, chase or call the police on any customer for shoplifting. However, one of the fired employees said the company is selective in enforcing that policy.

"The loss-prevention guy at our Shields (Boulevard) store turned around and told me all we need to do is tell the shoplifter to have a good day as they leave the store. I said that just doesn't make sense," former employee Bob Stewart said.

Stewart said what really doesn't make sense is a termination letter Home Depot gave him and three other employees after they helped police catch the shoplifters.

"We saw them with the merchandise. We saw them run out of the store. I never kept my eyes off of them," Stewart said. "Then when we asked them for a receipt, and that's when they dropped the merchandise and they kept running. One guy still had a chainsaw while he was running, and that's when the cops tackled him."

The letter said Stewart and the others were fired because they "pursued and assisted in the apprehension of suspected shoplifters."

I am no authority on Oklahoma law but its hard to fathom that it isn't illegal to fire an employee for reporting a felony. Fuck you Home Depot.

Google Streetview Captures Moonbat Joo Hater

I don't know how many are familiar with the new Google toy, Streetview. Actually, as I think about it since Drudge linked to snapshots from it over the last couple of days, there probably isn't a soul out there who doesn't know about it.

A nifty new site, Streetviewr, is hosting links to interesting images spotted by readers on the new Google tool. The site links to this silly Bat on a soapbox, in front of a painted American flag dedicated to 9/11 survivors. Her first sign is headlined Israel = Terrorist #1. The sign is at the juncture of two separate pictures so it is difficult to make out the full text, but you see the standard "Jew God = Satan", 'Israel attacked the USS liberty', etc. The sign at the Batfoot is a similar rant about Bush and Blair. The surrounding crowd seems thoroughly engaged by her antics.

Did I scoop Zombie?

Jonah Goldberg on Right Said Fred

Nice piece.

There's no denying that Fred Thompson has one of the most profound personality cults we've seen in politics for a long time. While traveling the country, I've been amazed at how many rank-and-file Republicans see Thompson as a secular savior, as if Thompson were designed by GOP-friendly alien scientists as some sort of Super Candidate.

He goes on to debunk the "FT is the Wes Clark of 2008" meme the punditry has recently embraced.

The profundity of Margery Eagan

Im on yer candidate wiives, chekkin thar bewbs.

hat tip: Allah

RoP - Religion of Plots

Credit where credit is due:

December 2001: Richard Reid, a British citizen and self-described follower of Osama bin Laden, foiled an attempt to blow up a Paris-to-Miami flight with explosives hidden in his shoes. He pleaded guilty in 2002.

May 2002: Jose Padilla is arrested in Chicago on a return trip from Pakistan. Initially held as an enemy combatant and accused of planning to build a “dirty bomb,” he was formally charged with aiding foreign jihadists in a Miami court in 2005. His trial began May 14.

September 2002: The “Lackawanna Six,” American citizens of Yemeni descent living near Buffalo, N.Y., are arrested for allegedly having attended an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan in the months before the Sept. 11 attacks. The six pleaded guilty in 2003 to providing material support to a terrorist organization.

May 2003: Iyman Faris of Columbus, Ohio, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Kashmir, pleads guilty to supporting al-Qaida. He was accused of planning to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge. He is sentenced to 20 years.

June 2003: In Virginia, the FBI charges a group of men with being part of a conspiracy to support holy war overseas. In all, 11 men eventually were convicted in what the government described as a “Virginia jihad network” that used paintball games as a form of training.

August 2004: U.S. authorities issue alert, announce evidence of a years-long plot to attack the New York Stock Exchange and other financial institutions in New York, Washington and Newark, N.J. They later accuse plotters of also planning attacks in England. Eventually, five men pleaded guilty in London, where alleged ringleader Dhiren Barot was convicted. At least one other man is awaiting trial.

August 2004: Two men are arrested on the eve of the Republican Convention in New York for allegedly plotting to blow up a busy subway station. James Elshafay, a U.S. citizen, eventually pleaded guilty and testified against the other man, Shahawar Matin Siraj, a Pakistani. Siraj was sentenced to 30 years in prison; Elshavy to five.

August 2004: Authorities arrest two leaders of a mosque in Albany, N.Y., and charge them with aiding in a purported plot to buy a shoulder-fired grenade launcher to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat. The former imam of the Masjid As-Salam mosque, Kurdish refugee Yassin Aref, and Mohammed Hossain, a mosque founder, were later found guilty to counts relating to money laundering and conspiracy.

June 2005: A Pakistani immigrant and his American-born son in Lodi, Calif., are arrested for allegedly lying to the FBI about the younger man’s training at a jihadist camp in Pakistan. Hamid Hayat, the son, was found guilty of supporting terrorism and lying to the FBI. He is seeking a new trial. The case against Umer Hayat, the father, ended in a mistrial; he later pleaded guilty to lying to a customs agent about trying to carry $28,000 into Pakistan.

August 2005: Four California men, one the founder of a radical Islamic prison group, are indicted for allegedly conspiring to attack Los Angeles-area military bases, synagogues and other targets. The men have pleaded not guilty and await trial.

February 2006: Three men are arrested in Toledo, Ohio, for allegedly providing material support to terrorists. One of the men is accused of downloading videos on the use of suicide-bomb vests.

April 2006: Two Georgia men are charged with material support of terrorism after allegedly videotaping buildings in the Washington area, including the Capitol and the World Bank, and sending the video to a London extremist active on jihadist Web sites.

June 2006: The FBI announces the arrests of seven men in Miami and Atlanta in what officials called the early stages of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago, and destroy FBI offices and other buildings. All pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

July 2006: U.S. authorities announce the arrest of Assem Hammoud, a Lebanese man they claim was plotting to bomb New York City train tunnels to flood the financial district.

March 2007: A Pentagon transcript is released indicating that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to that attack and a string of other terror plots, including that of Reid, during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

May 2007: Six men were arrested in an alleged plot to unleash a bloody rampage on Fort Dix in New Jersey. Five are charged with conspiring to kill military personnel and could face life in prison if convicted. The sixth faces up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted of weapons charges.

June 2007: Four Muslim men planned to destroy John F. Kennedy International Airport, kill thousands of people and trigger an economic catastrophe by blowing up a jet fuel artery that runs through residential neighborhoods. Three men were arrested and one was being sought in Trinidad.

Too bad, NYC's mayor finds talk of terror so banal:

"There are lots of threats to you in the world. There's the threat of a heart attack for genetic reasons. You can't sit there and worry about everything. Get a life," he said.

That "What, me worry?" attitude pretty much sums up Bloomberg's advice to New Yorkers on the terror plot. As far as he was concerned, the professionals were on it, so New Yorkers shouldn't let it tax their brains.

"You have a much greater danger of being hit by lightning than being struck by a terrorist," he added.

Excuse me for not checking the morgue, but I can't recall reading about 2,750 lightning related deaths in this city. So the asshole that is worried about the trans-fat in my cannoli is telling me to 'get a life' for being concerned about a foiled terrorist attack which could have blown up my office building.

The hippies are mad

How dare you act like....... hippies.

A Blogger that matters..

Background: Ace of Spades' original post

Ace of Spades was on top of the search. From a tip from a commenter, he contiually posted a picture of one of the suspects arrested in the planned terror bombing of the pipeline to the JFK Airport.

I visit Ace's site often, it is superior in snark and offbeaten humor, but now it seems weird to see a person whose face I have seen so often in a blog sidebar now in reports of a terrorist plot.

Ace seems remiss in having taken the alleged perp off of his sidebar. I say, thanks Ace, for having put him there. Ace has reminded us of the importance of vigilance, and how close the threat may be. Ace was more vigilant than most all of us, and that includes our intelligence agencies.

In my opinion, people should go and thank him.

Ace's post

One cent John

One of the Snarking Dawg's crack staff of anonymous investigators dishes out a heapload of crow on Pam Spaulding at Pandagon. Here is anon's original comment:

Anonymous said...
When you get back, this might be worth a SNARK:

I found this interesting article posted at "Pandagon.net"http://pandagon.net/2007/05/13/bargain-basement-prices-on-mary-cheneys-tome/#comments. Seems like a "progressive" site attacking a lesbian, but that is a side issue.

What I really found intriguing was this:http://www.amazon.com/Call-Service-Vision-Better-America/dp/0143034987/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-8971809-9111104?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179166084&sr=1-2. Pandagon is getting all snarky about Mary

Cheney's book selling used for $0.07 (seven cents) while ignoring that John Kerry's book is selling for just a penny at the same site. I tried to post this at Pandagon, but they censored me (as they usually do).

Just thought you would get a kick out of it. Might be worth a snark of your own!

LMAO. It all checks out. That is quite a discount, but I still wouldn't waste the penny.

Quicklinks:

Pandagon post

Amazon - Mary Cheney's book

Amazon - John Kerry's book

The obligatory transexual illegal immigrant post

Yawn. I know we are tired of them.

Klaus Meine couldn't have crooned it better - he's a woman/she's a man, and they are both illegal immigrants.

BASSETT -- To friends and fellow church members, Jaclyn Vivian Meridth is a 38-year-old former furniture-factory worker who paints her nails red and chaperones youth events for her church.

But to local, state and federal law enforcement officers, Jackie is actually Roberto Rebollera Neria -- aka Jaclyn Meridth, aka Ilma Martinez -- a document forger and suspected illegal immigrant, possibly from Mexico.
*****

She's really a he -- and they have proof, they say, based on "intense scrutiny" performed by deputies at the Martinsville City Jail as they booked him on dozens of felony charges earlier this year.

Constitutional Ban on Giuliani Presidency?

Well, maybe.

Rudolph William Giuliani (KBE) II

That KBE is a "title of nobility" given to Giuliani in 2002 by the Queen of England when she made him Honorary Knight. This was for his leadership after 9/11. It stands for "Knight of the British Empire."

Sounds like a wonderful story, doesn't it?

Well, Houston, we have a problem:

According to Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, Rudy may not be able to legally hold any office of the U.S.

"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

Wouldn't shock me if the Dems didn't have an October surprise planted in their back pocket.