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Argentinian actress Josefina Scaglione, now portraying Maria in the Broadway revival of West Side Story (playing through Jan. 17 at the National Theater in DC), was discovered when the director was "mesmerized" after seeing her on YouTube.com."I understand that people have a hard time with the concept that we get to decide what is news and what isn't, and what is fair and what isn't."Which was McCumber's defense of this:
The FBI is asking the public for help in identifying two men who were seen behaving unusually aboard several Washington state ferries.Hey, fuckstick: On Sept. 10, 2001, Mohammed Atta was not "considered a suspect" and hadn't "been charged with a crime," either. If the FBI had issued a BOLO on Atta the day before 9/11, are you saying you wouldn't have run Atta's picture?
About four weeks ago, the FBI fielded several reports from passengers and ferry workers about the men, who seemed "overly interested in the workings and layouts of the ferries," Special Agent Robbie Burroughs said Monday.
The FBI also publicized photos of the men, which were taken by a ferry employee, Burroughs said.
The Seattle P-I is not publishing the photos because neither man is considered a suspect nor has either been charged with a crime.
The newspaper's staff was called into a closed meeting today by Publisher Roger Oglesby. Present at the meeting was Hearst Newspaper President Steve Swartz, who told the newsroom that Hearst Corp. is starting a 60-day process to find a buyer.Welcome to the free market, David McCumber, where the consumer is the ultimate decider. And maybe those consumers figured they had better things to do than to spend money on a newspaper whose managing editor didn't think himself obligated to protect them from a potential terrorism threat.
If a buyer is not found, Swartz said, possible options include creating an all-digital operation with a greatly reduced staff, or closing its operations entirely.
In no case will Hearst continue to publish the P-I in printed form, Swartz said.
Moyers worked in Lyndon Johnson's White House when Johnson escalated the Vietnam War, and was Johnson's Press Secretary for much of that time (from 1965-1967). His views of bombing campaigns of civilian populations are undoubtedly shaped by that experience.Funny you should mention "bombing," Glenn. Moyers was the slimy hatchetman who made the Vietnam disaster possible, with the infamous "Daisy" ad. Documents from the Johnson archives clearly establish Moyers' responsibility for one of the most dishonest libels in the history of American politics, and Moyers pronounced the ad "wonderful."
Anne Hathaway couldn't hold back the rambling and tears as she received the dual honor of Best Actress (along with "Doubt" actress Meryl Streep) for her performance in "Rachel Getting Married" at Thursday night's VH1 Critics Choice Awards. But one lady who looked less-than-impressed was fellow nominee Angelina Jolie.Along with Natalie Portman and Christina Hendricks, Anne Hathaway is sort of a mascot hereabouts. I never much cared for Angelina Jolie.
As Hathaway gushed about how thrilling it was to win something with her "idol" Streep, the cameras caught Jolie (twice) with such a severe scowl it caused quite the gasp backstage.
Let's put it this way: if looks could kill, Hathaway would definitely be dead.
Eric H. Holder Jr. is facing increasing resistance to his bid to become the next attorney general, emerging from President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet nominees as the prime target of Senate Republicans, both because of troubling episodes during his service in the Clinton administration and because of the sensitivity of the post overseeing the Justice Department. . . .(H/T: Hot Air.) I don't know who's calling the plays in the Senate GOP huddle, but having Specter take the ball on this one is very smart. Specter can't be credibly accused of being a right-wing ideologue or a partisan hit man. Now, if the Republicans on the Foreign Relations Committee can find somebody willing to be point-man on Hillary's nomination as Secretary of State, we might be in for a few weeks of real fun.
Specter previewed the main line of attack in a floor speech this week, asserting that, in Holder's years as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, he at times "appeared to be serving the interest of his superiors" rather than heeding recommendations from career Justice Department lawyers. The argument echoed criticism that former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales, who resigned in 2007, had acted to please his friend President Bush rather than to uphold the principles of justice.
"I've only ever done it with a couple of people. People make up stories, but mostly I just kiss," Hilton recently told Glamour Magazine. "I think it's important to play hard to get. Nobody wants the fake Prada bag -- they want the brand new bag that no one can get and is the most expensive. If you give it up to a guy he won’t respect you. He’ll want you much more if he can’t have you."See? And who says abstinence education doesn't work!
So even though the 28-year-old has been romantically linked to anyone and everyone from Benji Madden to Brandon Davis to Nick Carter to Leonardo DiCaprio to Jared Leto to Stavros Niarchos to Rick Salomon, we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. Back in 2006 Hilton pretty much said the same thing to British GQ magazine, claiming that she had only ever slept with two men in her whole life and even made a one-year chastity pledge.
Eighty five year old Carl Djerassi the Austrian chemist who helped invent the contraceptive pill now says that his co-creation has led to a "demographic catastrophe."And the United States might be following Europe into the demographic ash-heap of history, were it not for teenage motherhood.
In an article published by the Vatican this week, the head of the world's Catholic doctors broadened the attack on the pill, claiming it had also brought "devastating ecological effects" by releasing into the environment "tonnes of hormones" that had impaired male fertility, The Taiwan Times says.
The assault began with a personal commentary in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard by Carl Djerassi. The Austrian chemist was one of three whose formulation of the synthetic progestogen Norethisterone marked a key step toward the earliest oral contraceptive pill.
Djerassi outlined the "horror scenario" that occurred because of the population imbalance, for which his invention was partly to blame. He said that in most of Europe there was now "no connection at all between sexuality and reproduction." He said: "This divide in Catholic Austria, a country which has on average 1.4 children per family, is now complete." . . .
Young Austrians, he said, were committing national suicide if they failed to procreate. . . .
The head of Austria's Catholics, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, told an interviewer that the Vatican had forecast 40 years ago that the pill would lead to a dramatic fall in the birth rate in the west.
"Somebody above suspicion like Carl Djerassi ... is saying that each family has to produce three children to maintain population levels, but we're far away from that," he said.
Via Memeorandum, the political blog aggregator.
The Endocrine Society has published guidelines advising that children as young as 12 be offered puberty blocking drugs to 'buy time' for a gender change. (Emphasis added.)Can you say "unintended consequences"? The potential for disastrous outcomes from such a Dr. Frankenstein approach to sexuality ought to cause sensible people to shout, "Hey, wait a minute!"
The only thing more disgraceful than the liberal treatment of Palin was the treatment she got from some so called conservatives. And it should be pointed out that this site was very negative towards Palin. This post set the tone for what followed.The link is to Allah's first foray into Palin pessmism on Aug. 29 -- the day Palin was announced. But that's just Allah being the Eeyore of the conservative blogosphere. You can't hate him for that, folks. Depression is a disease, and there's no point arguing with Allah when he is mired in darkness.
The effect of liberty to individuals is that they may do what they please: we ought to see what it will please them to do, before we risk congratulations.If Bush had minded that single maxim of Burke's -- and this is just one of many conservative truths that have been ignored for eight years -- he might not have done a lot of the things that have since led to disaster. Which brings us back around to Sarah Palin.
She certainly could have been a fine vice president if McCain hadn't "suspended his campaign", permanently, in retrospect, in late September. But does that make Palin the next Gipper?Does she have to be, Ed? What Would Reagan Do? Well, I think the first thing is, he'd tell us, "Stop looking for the next Ronald Reagan, you morons!" Why not just do the best we can with what we've got? Whatever Sarah Palin's faults and shortcomings, she's still got more natural political talent than any Republican candidate whose name is currently being floated for 2012. Don't overthink it.
The tactic of blaming Palin for "racist anger" toward Obama developed as a theme during the fall campaign, evidently based on post hoc ergo propter hoc thinking within Team Obama. Threats against Obama increased as the campaign heated up after Labor Day, and since this followed the Aug. 29 announcement of the Alaska governor as Republican running mate, Palin herself was scapegoated.And for an Obama supporter to be flinging around Triumph of the Will comparisons -- oh, that's rich.
That claim was distilled in a November article in the London Daily Telegraph with the misleading headline, "Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama."
The Secret Service never said any such thing and the Telegraph's story didn't actually say that they had said it. Rather, Telegraph reporter Tim Shipman was paraphrasing a Newsweek account of the campaign that quoted Obama adviser Gregory Craig in mid-October expressing concern about "the frenzied atmosphere at the Palin rallies." The same paragraph of the Newsweek story asserted (without attribution) that the Obama campaign had been "provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and very disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October."
It was the Obama campaign, not the Secret Service, which suggested a connection between the "frenzied atmosphere" around Palin and the threats. Obama himself appeared to believe there was such a connection, raising it in his final debate with John McCain.
That accusation evidently stemmed from an Oct. 14 newspaper report that an audience member at a Palin rally in Scranton, Pa., shouted "kill him" when Obama's name was mentioned. The Secret Service investigated but was unable to corroborate that account, as Newsweek subsequently reported, and yet the alleged threat has entered the colloquial what-everybody-knows version of the campaign.
"Women tend to like smart men because they're usually more successful and better providers. But here's another reason: Their sperm is better, a new study says. . . ."Larger package." Heh. And proving the obverse:
"The smarter the men were, the more sperm they produced and the better their wee ones swam . . .
"The researchers instead speculate that intelligence might be passed down as part of a larger package of good attributes."
"By the way, I have no children. And I’m not in MENSA, either."-- Alan Colmes
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
In the chapter, "Victim of a Crime? Thank a Single Mother," Coulter writes, "The most worshipped figure in modern America is the 'single mother.' Politicians tout their programs by explaining how they will help single mothers." . . .So, while I await delivery of my own copy, you should order now and look me up in the index.
The Left has elevated single motherhood as a coveted, noble distinction despite the problems it causes for the true victims -- their children. Coulter writes, "Here is the lottery ticket that single mothers are handing their innocent children by choosing to raise them without fathers: Controlling for socioeconomic status, race, and place of residence, the strongest predictor of whether a person will end up in prison is that he was raised by a single parent."
The notion of Clinton-era hack Leon Panetta as a James Bond super-spy is enough to inspire laughter, but Philip Klein reports that Obama's choice is causing serious worry at the CIA:"Everybody is shocked and concerned about his lack of any intelligence experience," a former senior officer at the CIA told [The American Spectator], asking that his name be withheld because he still does some work with the agency. "What kind of signal is this sending?" . . .Read the whole thing.
"People think the left-wing bloggers are running the asylum now," the ex-CIA official lamented. "They want to completely neuter the agency."
[Obama] "calls Panetta "one of the finest public servants of our time." And in response to some questions about Panetta's experience, Obama says "he has handled intelligence daily at the highest levels."As any student of the Clinton administration knows, they completely botched the effort against al-Qaeda, so citing Panetta's experience in the Clinton White House is not an argument in his favor.
At first glance, the town of Edwardsville, Ala., with a population of 194 people, might raise a few eyebrows with its bid to receive $375 million from the economic stimulus package being assembled by Barack Obama and lawmakers in Congress.(H/T: Michelle Malkin.) Folks, that part of Alabama is my old stomping grounds. I used to go via Heflin up through Whites Gap on my way to Jacksonville State University. And although I am familiar with such speed-trap towns as Fruithurst and Muscadine along U.S. 78, I never even heard of Edwardsville before. It ain't even a wide spot in the road.
The tiny town . . . added 33 proposals—about two thirds of them related to "green" energy—to the list of "ready- to- go" projects assembled by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Total sum: $375,076,200.
Men who do not find the shape of the curvier woman most attractive could be more likely to father children with autism, according to a study. . . .My completely unscientific hunch is that they're barking up the wrong tree. But how can we know unless we test the hypothesis? (BTW, none of my children are autistic.) (Via Hot Air Headlines.)
The new research from the University of Bath suggests that fathers of autistic children do not share the preference of men across the world for the curvier woman. . . .
Dr Brosnan said he hopes the research will increase understanding of the causes of the condition.
'Autism is widely regarded to have genetic origins which may combine with hormonal influences', he said.
'We wanted to investigate the mechanisms by which these genes come together in a parental pairing, whether it is by chance or if it could be due to different preferences in choosing a mate - so-called assortative mating.
'This study raises some interesting questions about how the person we are attracted to could impact on our offspring.'
A majority of educated voters agreed with Jon Stewart that elitism in government leaders is good, and understood when he said, "not only do I want an elite president, but I want someone who is embarrassingly superior to me."While you're breaking your arms patting yourselves on your backs, my "progressive" friends, I will remind you that Obama got 63% of the vote among high-school dropouts -- his best performance among any educational demographic.
The Cook Political Report has found that education has become the most significant predictor of party identity. . . .
t should come as no surprise that most educated voters have moved towards the Democratic Party considering the increasing anti-intellectualism in the GOP. As Republicans lost the battle of ideas, they lost the support of educated voters.
The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon George Bush's doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say.To begin with, it appears to me that the editors at the Guardian have pushed their lede beyond anything substantiated by the story below it. They're hyping it in classic Fleet Street fashion, in other words. Assuming that Obama denies it (and he will), then it would be wrong to excoriate Obama for a fundamentally bogus story by the Guardian. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt, and don't indict him for irrresponsible chatter by "sources close to the transition team."
The move to open contacts with Hamas, which could be initiated through the US intelligence services, would represent a definitive break with the Bush presidency's ostracising of the group. The state department has designated Hamas a terrorist organisation, and in 2006 Congress passed a law banning US financial aid to the group.
[W]ith the election over, Obama no longer needs Hamas as a fig leaf for his policy of dialogue with Iran. , , , The three reasons he gave in April for not chatting with them -- terrorism, rejectionism, and dealbreaking -- apply equally well to Iran, but meeting with Iran is the cornerstone of the foreign policy Change he promised. How then to prove his Zionist credentials to pro-Israel voters? Simple -- draw a meaningless artificial distinction between Iran and Hamas based on the fact that one's a sovereign state and the other isn't. He’ll talk to terrorist states threatening Israel with nuclear weapons, but terrorist groups threatening them with Qassam rockets? Why, he's far too much of a Likudnik for that. Except of course he's not, which is why that meaningless artificial distinction is now reportedly -- and quietly -- being discarded.This attributes to Obama a degree of cynical arrogance that, if true, could prove his undoing. In the famous words of Marty Peretz: "Don't fuck with the Jews." Obama was elected with 78% support among Jewish voters, and if they should ever come to believe that they've been bamboozled, and Israel betrayed, by Obama, there will be holy unshirted hell to pay.
This is the first time I've ever praised Gerson's writing, and it might be the last, so please read the whole thing. And please, if you can, do something to help the Angels of East Africa missionary orphanage.There is a natural and appropriate hesitance to wish death for any man. "Many that live deserve death," warned J.R.R. Tolkien. "And some die that deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice." It is a wise saying -- with some notable exceptions. And one of those exceptions is Joseph Kony, who has dealt out death to so many.
Even as President-elect Barack Obama was giving a major address on his economic stimulus plan, it was running into trouble with key members of his own party on Capitol Hill.The story goes on to quote John Kerry, Kent Conrad and Ron Wyden as opposing the Obama plan. When I said, "It won't work," little did I suspect that those guys were paying attention.
Several Senate Democrats emerged from a closed-door meeting of the Senate Finance Committee saying they oppose central tax provisions of the proposal.
In particular, members said they did not think the idea of giving employers a $3,000 tax credit for each employee they hire would work.
He began political life as a liberal. An associate of Martin Luther King Jr., he backed Eugene McCarthy for president at the 1968 Democratic convention and led, along with actor Paul Newman, a tumultuous Chicago press conference backing the minority plank against the Vietnam War.Dead of cancer at 72.
But starting with the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that declared abortion a constitutional right and running through President Jimmy Carter's 1979 White House Conference on the Family, Father Neuhaus began moving to the right, becoming a supporter of Ronald Reagan.
Protesters angry over a deadly New Year’s Day shooting of a young black man by a transit police officer erupted into violence in downtown Oakland on Wednesday night while investigators struggled to determine what prompted the officer to fire his gun into the unarmed man’s back.Exactly what political message is sent by smashing storefront windows? What does that have to do with the transit police? And, while we're at it, is it the policy of the transit police to gun down innocent civilians? Or do the rioters suppose that this shooting would be swept under the rug unless they smashed windows and burned cars?
After an afternoon of peaceful demonstrations and a memorial service, protests turned chaotic after dark as a small clutch of protesters set trash cans and cars afire and busted windows on police cruisers and storefronts. Police in riot gear responded with tear gas and billy clubs and at least 14 arrests were made, according to local television reports.
The mob smashed the windows at Creative African Braids on 14th Street, and a woman walked out of the shop holding a baby in her arms.
"This is our business," shouted Leemu Topka, the black owner of the salon she started four years ago. "This is our shop. This is what you call a protest?"
As family and friends of Oscar Grant III pleaded for peace Thursday afternoon, broken glass was being cleaned up from the previous night's disturbances in downtown Oakland, burned cars were towed away, and some business owners — fearing a repeat of the violence — made plans for nightfall, closing early and sending employees home.It is being reported (see the SF Chronicle story linked earlier) that the vandalism was instigated by people affiliated with the Revolutionary Communist Party. Which would not be remotely surprising, if you know anything about Bob Avakian and the RCP, considered vile scum even by their fellow Commies.
"I am begging the citizens to not use violent tactics anymore," said Grant's mother, an emotional Wanda Johnson, who appeared with about 30 of Grant's relatives and friends at a news conference called by attorney John Burris at his East Oakland office building. . . .
Police estimate at least $150,000 in damage resulted from the scattered violence that broke out late Wednesday night after an originally peaceful protest about Grant's killing moved from the Fruitvale BART station to the downtown area. Splinter groups — many not related to the original protest — fanned out, breaking store windows, setting fire to at least five cars including an Oakland police patrol car and smashing windshields of parked cars.
They wouldn't identify themselves, but those instigators wore bandanas on their faces and seemed more intent on provoking confrontations and throwing stuff at police than truly having their voices heard.Yeah, this sounds a lot like RCP.
"This is what the victory of Barack Obama means for women: We are all fair game":
As bizarre as the "Burn It Down" video may be, its ideology is really no more extreme than the Women's Caucus at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where one speaker -- actress Rosario Dawson -- earnestly assured her fellow delegates: "One-in-three women in this country will be affected by rape, abuse or be killed."
There it is again -- "one-in-three women," the statistical assurance that any woman who hasn't yet been victimized still has a chance to claim her prize in the victimhood lottery. You're "fair game," Obama is to blame, and don't let anyone tell you different, sister.
UPDATE: A 130+ comment thread at AOSHQ.
[Sam] is right in the heart of the LRA conflict. They are still abducting children, and killing the villagers. Since Christmas the LRA has killed more than 600 people. Sam is with 16 soldiers, a photographer from Australia, and a journalist from the New York Times. They will be visiting a nearby hospital to interview the victims and get photographs of the damage these evil men do to his victims. Sam was given a report of a village where small children are living by themselves because of the killing the LRA had done there. Sam will go and assess the area and rescue as many as possible should there be any children orphaned there. He has the food truck and two other vehicles with him so he will be able to bring some of the children with him back to the orphanage.Previous posts on this subject.
Please keep Sam and the team in your prayers. Financial support is needed to help with the rescuing of the children, and food and other supplies. If you would like to help please go to our web sites and make a donation http://www.boyerspond.com/ or http://www.angelsofeastafrica.org/. your support will help with the lives of many children. Tell your friends and families to get the word out. These children and Sam need your help. I want to thank all of you for your support and prayers.
LRA depredations in Congo led to several hundred civilians being kidnapped, and up to 500 more killed. Thousands of civilians fled their homes to escape the LRA rebels, who continue to move towards the Central African Republic (CAR). . . .Which is to say, Sam and his escort of 16 soldiers could find themselves suddenly confronted with one of those LRA fragments numbering scores or hundreds of gunmen. Prayers.
Both UN and Congolese sources report that the LRA's retreat towards the Central African Republic (CAR) continues. The Congo and various NGOs operating in northeastern Congo estimate that the LRA cadres retreating toward the CAR killed around 430 people in attacks on December 25 and 26. The UN and Ugandan military estimate that Kony still has 650 fighters. Since the "joint attack" began on December 14, 2008, the LRA forces have broken down into very small groups.
Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen birth rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, a new federal report says. . . .Indeed, and if you take a little time to examine the actual CDC report, what you find is that the birth rate (births per 1,000) for females 15-19 breaks down like this:
The three states have large proportions of black and Hispanic teenagers — groups that traditionally have higher birth rates, experts noted.
White.........26.6Ergo, states where blacks and Hispanics constitute a large proportion of the 15-19 population will tend to have high rates of teen pregnancy. Furthermore, the category "Hispanic" encompasses many nationalities, with varying rates of teen pregnancy, so that for instance, those of Mexican origin have a teen birth rate of 92.9, while Puerto Ricans have a teen birth rate of 69.3.
Black..........63.7
Hispanic....83.0
While the new report does not explain why [Mississippi's] teen pregnancy rate is increasing, one reason may be the poor quality of its sex ed programs. As the Sexuality Information and Education Center explains, Mississippi focuses heavily on abstinence education and teachers are prohibited from demonstrating how to use contraceptives . . .Right. So what about Gov. Bill Richardson's progressive paradise New Mexico, huh? The teen birth rate there is 64 per 1,000, compared to Mississippi's 68 per 1,000. Why aren't liberals excoriating New Mexico? (Crickets chirping.)
If we’d seen more of this Palin on the campaign trail … well, we still would have lost, in all likelihood, as VP candidates simply can’t rescue running mates. However, Palin seems determined not to let 2008 be the last word for her on the national stage.I've been saying since Labor Day that Team Maverick mishandled Palin's media. If they'd have done an impromptu press conference on the day she was announced -- before the reporters had time to research their "gotcha" questions -- it would have made all the difference in the world. Palin certainly represents herself better than Tucker Bounds ever represented her. Don't hide your light under a bushel.
Caroline at Harvard was a resume enhancement. For Harvard. Caroline would have been accepted at any school she applied at. And the tenure of any professor be in question if she failed a class. So it's no surprise she graduated near the top of her class.You know, I never thought of that, you know.
If I cross post something from your site, do I need your permission? or at least a good link or two to the work in question as well as a hat tip.The etiquette of linking, quoting and hat-tipping has been explained by several people, including Ace of Spades:
Basically, I think that when you link someone else's find or analysis, you're permitted to excerpt a taste of what they're quoting or saying, but it's always important to leave something fairly important behind to click on. After all, if you just quote all the good parts, you've left your audience with no reason to click on the link-- the blog that tipped you gets the link, for what that's worth, but very little traffic at all.Ace points out that one of the reasons Instapundit drives so much traffic is that his links are often opaque -- the word "Heh" being the extreme example -- and he very seldom quotes more than a sentence or two of another blogger's work. The link-to-text ratio is high.
A Queens state senator who denies beating his girlfriend was caught on security cameras dragging the scared, bleeding woman from his apartment, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.Better put some ice on that, honey.
Newly elected Sen. Hiram Monserrate "will be convicted by the security video" taken in the hallway and outside his Jackson Heights apartment after he allegedly slashed Karla Giraldo in a jealous rage, sources said. . . .
The video shows Giraldo grabbing the apartment's front door as Monserrate tried to drag her out of the building, sources said.
Other video clips show Giraldo clutching a towel to her injured left eye and banging on the door of a neighbor's apartment for help, sources said. . . .
Emergency room doctor Dawne Kort told Queens prosecutors on Tuesday that Giraldo accused Monserrate of bashing her in the face, sources said.
The Pentagon has decided that it will not award the Purple Heart, the hallowed medal given to those wounded or killed by enemy action, to war veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because it is not a physical wound.My God, why would anyone ever think they deserved a Purple Heart for a psychological problem? Look: Ten GIs go into combat, one gets killed, two get wounded, and seven survive unwounded. Now, two of those seven subsequently are diagnosed with PTSD. What about the five guys who don't get PTSD? Why are they, who survived the same fight as the two PTSD sufferers, less deserving of the Purple Heart?
There were more caves in Washington yesterday than in the mountains of Afghanistan. . . .Considering which party it is and who the leaders are, this doesn't mean Rod Blagojevich is Machiavelli's Prince, but it's good of him to help Harry Reid look like a fool. Not that Harry needs much help to do that.
Score one for the Illinois governor, who, on his way to likely impeachment and possibly the slammer, managed to outwit the leadership of his party.
I remain one of The Washington Times 's biggest fans and wish you and [executive editor] John [Solomon] all the best in an extremely difficult business environment. Let me suggest, however, that you build on the newspaper's proud accomplishments rather than belittle them, and let history be the judge of the work we did. I look forward to celebrating yours in 20 years.BTW, Birnbaum makes claims about Web traffic trends that aren't borne out by Alexa.com statistics:
In slightly related news, media gossip columnist Patrick Gavin is leaving the Washington Examiner and FishbowlDC to join the Politico.
UPDATE: Linked at Fishbowl DC, which also has John Solomon's memo about the latest reassignments at The Washington Times.
My boss tells me that our need to commute to the office trumps the protesters' right to free speech, and claims to think that a totalitarian state would work out just fine, provided he was "part of the totality."LMA also has a nice post about Internet writing:
We are looking down on the two groups of protesters from the 14th Floor of the Petersen Building; it is really the 13th Floor, but isn't called that because of superstition and/or the presence of a couple of firearms in our gun safe.
"Why do they let them do that?" he keeps asking. "Don't they have any firehoses?" And he almost means it.
It’s not just a matter of bloggers having utter license in what subject matter they cover, though that, too: it's also the fact that no one is bound by column length; no one is writing copy to fit into a certain amount of space, and no copy-fitting need be done. . . .She's obviously off her meds again. Her writing is so much more colorful when she's off her meds. As long as you can avoid become an ax-murderer in an unmedicated state, that's always better as a writer.
To write on the web is to write prose that is, like Abraham Lincoln's legs, exactly the right length to reach the ground.
What one sees in the letters between the two great icons of 20th-century American conservatism is a conversation between equals. Buckley was not the Machiavellian manipulator liberals might have believed Reagan "the amiable dunce" needed. Instead, he was an ideological soulmate, a debate partner, and occasionally an opponent. These were two men working to the same end, but never shy to differ or to try to convince the other of their own position.I've read the book, and it is absolutely charming. You will enjoy the inside jokes between Reagan and Buckley, who keeps promising to run away to Casablanca with Nancy, and refers to himself as Reagan's ambassador to Kabul. You should definitely buy the book.
You've been giving a lot of love to Christina Hendricks (which is QUITE understandable), but let's not forget another good reason to watch Mad Men.He then links to a Vanity Fair feature on co-star January Jones:
I don't know. The thing with Christina Hendricks is that she's such a rara avis. Skinny blondes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but you just don't see so many bombshell redheads. But I'm a free-market blogger, so if there is more demand for January Jones, I'll try to provide the supply.
Former GOP vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp, 73, has been diagnosed with cancer. According to a statement from his consulting firm, Kemp Partners, doctors are still testing Kemp before determining a course of treatment.Kemp is one of the great free-market, supply-side champions of the Republican Party.
"Mr. Kemp and his family are grateful for the thoughts and prayers of friends and appreciate respect for their privacy at this time," read a statement from his spokeswoman Bona Park.
(Via Hot Air.) This is the woman that the media wants you to believe is an unqualified moron who is hated by the majority of American voters. Do you believe that?
UPDATE: Welcome, Team Sarah members! You might want to read some of my American Spectator columns about Sarah Palin:Roland Burris, the man appointed to Barack Obama's Senate seat by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will be allowed to take the seat, according to the Associated Press. Spokespersons for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin are denying the report.Some people haven't gotten the memo, it seems. The Obama transition keeps "chugging down the tracks to Smoothville," as MK Ham said.
Burris showed up in Washington for yesterday's Senate swearing-in session, but was turned down by Senate Democrats who had previously vowed not to seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich. The governor has been charged with effectively trying to sell the seat and hearings are being held in Illinois over impeaching him. Now, however, the Senate Democrats "plan to embrace Roland Burris for President-elect Barack Obama's vacant seat," the AP reports.
I met Justyna while studying abroad in London in 2005. She is Polish by birth but had been living, working, and attending school in the United Kingdom for over two years at the time. With only an easily obtained student visa, I enjoyed the same privileges, including England’s national health care system -- a resource that proved especially useful when Justyna became pregnant in the spring of 2006."Degrading" being the key word here. The necessary corollary to boundless tolerance of illegal immigration seems to be a process for legal immigrants that is humiliating and expensive. Ask any Canadian or Brit who's tried it.
We decided that I would return to America and finish my degree while she would go home to Poland to have the baby near her family. With the intention of bringing my wife to America after the birth of our child, I filed an I-129f Petition for Fiance(e) visa in October 2006. Thus began our protracted and degrading experience with the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS.
President-elect Obama said today that we should expect trillion dollar budget deficits for the next few years. But do we really need this unbelievable increase in the size and scope of government? Art Laffer is very gloomy about big-government spending and borrowing. He believes deficits of this magnitude and a large increase in the government share of GDP are liens on future tax hikes that will slow the economy's potential to grow.I think Kudlow is too optimistic about the prospects of a recovery in the short term, but I agree that Obama's mega-stimulus talk is the wrong way to go. It won't work.
It was Milton Friedman years ago who taught us that the real tax burden on the economy is best measured as the government spending share of GDP. That measure has been falling for over 20 years, until President Bush’s second term. Now Obama’s plan will ratchet this tax burden much higher.
My point? We don't need all this. Lower tax rates for large and small businesses along with easier money and lower gasoline prices will get us on the right track to increase the economy’s potential to prosper.
This morning, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush released the following statement on the 2010 United States Senate race in Florida for Senator Mel Martinez's Senate seat:Blah, blah, blah. K-Lo, Allah and Ace are all depressed by the news, but the only thing I find depressing is that Jeb Bush still wants to be involved with the Republican Party -- meaning he might still seek the presidency at some future point. Is there some way we could get the Bushes to switch to the Democrats?
"After thoughtful consideration, I have decided not to run for the United States Senate in 2010.
"While the opportunity to serve my state and country during these turbulent and dynamic times is compelling, now is not the right time to return to elected office.
"In the coming months and years, I hope to play a constructive role in the future of the Republican Party . . ."
"Not only is she the most amazing actress in the entire world, she's nude in a lot of her films which shows she’s just fearless."Via WeSmirch.
