It's the economy stupid!

Gross domestic product, which had grown at a sickly 1.4-percent pace in the first quarter, appeared to be responding to a double dose of tax cuts and 45-year record low interest rates.


Businesses, long cowed by the Iraq war uncertainties, lifted non-residential fixed investment by 6.9 percent, with spending on structures such as factories up by a 43-year high of 4.8 percent and equipment/software expenditure up 7.5 percent.


"The economy truly does look to be on the mend," said Naroff Economic Advisors president Joel Naroff, noting that investment in buildings had climbed for the first time since 2001.

Economic growth jumped almost a full point higher than predicted, unemployment claims less than expected. Take it off the board as a Democrat issue.

Mark Steyn has some really good reasons for not intervening in Liberia. Here's a sample:

I know how most Americans would answer that. But the Bush administration thinks more about the Dark Continent than its predecessor did. Disease in Africa, for example, has been identified as a potential national security threat. An American diplomat recently described to me the war on terror as a Saudi civil war that the Saudis had successfully exported to the rest of the world. What would it take to export West Africa’s troubles to the world? For some no-account nickel’n’dime operator, Charles Taylor has done a grand job of destabilising a region. Where’s next? Benin? Togo? If you don’t think West Africa can be contained, it’ll have to be cured, and that’s a 30-year project. Otherwise, George F. Kennan’s argument against intervention in Somalia holds for the west of the continent, too: ‘This dreadful situation cannot possibly be put to rights other than by the establishment of a governing power for the entire territory, and a very ruthless, determined one at that. It would not be a democratic one, because the very prerequisites for a democratic political system do not exist among the people in question.’

Read the whole thing.

Let's see how my baseball predictions are holding up.

The Phillies are currently leading the wildcard by 1 game. They were beat up in Florida over the weekend and came back to the pack. I concede that they can't catch the Braves.

The Reds are horrific. They fired my man Bob Boone. They are out. The entire division at this point wouldn't win the wildcard.

The Dodgers have the pitching but no hitting, or at least run scoring abilities. I will not yet concede anything here.

The American League is different. It seems that I was right concerning the Yanks and Sox but who knows. The Sox are hanging tough.

The other Sox, the white ones, are still in it. They've made a few deals and it's a possibility.

The Angels are definitely a disappointment. Last year was magical for them. The Mariners are the class of the entire AL.

I predict the Mariners and my Phillies in the series. Hey, it's possible.

The Canadians keeping stepping in it:

Saskatchewan's plan to petition the United States to reopen borders to Canadian beef stumbled out of the gate Wednesday when an internal government document flippantly referred to U.S. President George W. Bush as "Shrub."

"Re: Petition to President Shrub," is the title of the memo, dated Tuesday, and sent to NDP legislature members and candidates by party researcher Ted Bowen.

The memo was sent to media outlets by mistake.

How stupid do you have to be to release it to the media?

Ranchers across Canada have been struggling since major exports markets were closed to Canadian beef after one case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, was discovered in Alberta May 20.

The memo is the latest high level Canadian insult to Bush and Americans that cattle industry representatives say are not helping their cause.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien's former press secretary, Francoise Ducros, was forced to resign last November after being overheard calling Bush a "moron."

Earlier this year, Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish was overheard saying, "Damn Americans, I hate those bastards."

Sounds like the Liberal Party in Canada has been stricken with Mad Cow Disease. It does make the brain a useless sponge.

The Brits don't like to waste time:

The research found 80% of British men didn't even know what foreplay was, mistaking it for a sport, a computer game or an item of clothing.

There's nothing wrong with getting right down to business.

Why is tourism in France down 80%. Maybe this is the reason:

LILLE, France (AP) -

Vandals knocked over 45 headstones at a military cemetery for British soldiers, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said Tuesday.

Two of the markers were destroyed at the Saint Aubert Cemetery, which is near the northern city of Cambrai and is the burial site of 435 soldiers killed in World War I, most of them British.

The headstones were believed to have been toppled Sunday evening, but police were still investigating, Peter Francis, spokesman for the War Graves Commission, said.

In April, graffiti denouncing the U.S.-led war in Iraq was scrawled on monuments at a World War I cemetery in Etaples, near Calais. This time, however, no political, racial or religious inscriptions were left, the commission said.

I'm use to them doing this to Jewish cemetaries, but to do this to the graves of men who died defending your country is beyond repulsive.

I don't know what the hell Britney is wearing, and what the hell is a bash for Carson Daly?

I hope Saddam is in the midst of making one of his tapes when we break the friggin door down:


The tape — the third attributed to Saddam this month — begins with a verse from the Quran. The speaker says Odai and Qusai, killed in a gunfight with U.S. forces, would be martyrs in heaven.


"Even if Saddam Hussein has 100 children other than Odai and Qusai, Saddam Hussein would offer them the same path," the voice on the nine-minute tape said.


"Thank God for what he destined for us, and honored us with their martyrdom for his sake," the speaker said in the broadcast, which was monitored in Cairo.

I'm reasonably sure that Allah would not be so welcoming of you though Saddam. I hope that the Shiites you summarily executed are with him though.

Lileks has the line of the day:

At the mall Saturday afternoon we passed a big sign in the Express window; it advertised “Recklessly Sexy Jeans.” Sounds to me like “jeans that make you sleep with anyone after a couple of shots of Captain Morgan.” Might as well infuse the pants with clamydia; saves time.

At the risk of sounding prudish, young girls are dressing more provocatively at younger ages than I've seen before. And this from someone who lived in southern California and, God help me has a daughter.

This is quite interesting:

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister will meet President Bush (news - web sites) on Tuesday and was likely to ask that portions of a Sept. 11 report related to Saudi Arabia be declassified, U.S. officials and diplomatic sources said.



Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal requested a meeting with Bush and it was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, officials said.


A section of the congressional report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on whether there was any Saudi support for the hijackers was classified except for one page.


Saudi Arabia would like to be able to respond to the section.


"Saudi Arabia has nothing to hide. We can deal with questions in public, but we cannot respond to blank pages," Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan said last week.

As several people have written recently, major things are happening in the Mid-east. Perhaps the Saudi's are realizing that they have credibility issues in the US that can't be solved by a few weak commercials. They will answer to the American people or suffer economically.

It's going to take awhile, but here is how we stop the guerilla tactics, one raid at a time:

U.S. soldiers discovered a huge cache of weapons in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit (search) on Monday -- enough weapons for a month of attacks on U.S. troops, the military said.

The soldiers uncovered 40 anti-tank mines, dozens of mortar rounds and hundreds of pounds of gunpowder buried in the city.

Elsewhere in Iraq, a U.S. soldier was killed in an attack in Baghdad (search), another soldier was killed in a vehicular crash and guerrillas blew up a major civilian bridge in the capital in an attempt to disrupt the U.S. occupation.

I feel for the families of every soldier who is wounded or dies, my prayers are with them. However, we can't back down, as we did in Beirut and Somalia. The fact is that, unlike Vietnam, these soldiers are volunteers. Every person who joins the military knows that for a pittance they may have to give all. It is excepted in the services.

Liberals can be such pussies:

Eleven of 12 Democratic state senators abruptly left the state Capitol this afternoon and headed for Albuquerque after learning that Gov. Rick Perry was about to call a second special session on congressional redistricting.

The second special session officially began at 3:15 p.m. with congressional redistricting as the only issue in the governor's proclamation. Neither the House nor the Senate had a quorum.

One Democratic senator who asked not to be named told the Chronicle that 11 Democrats were flying this afternoon to Albuquerque, N.M.

The Senate requires two-thirds, or 21 senators, to be present to conduct business, meaning the absence of 11 senators breaks a quorum. The senator said the action was precipitated by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's decision to bypass a traditional Senate rule that requires a two-thirds vote to debate any bill.

If you can't win the battle, turn tail and run. I hope the good people of Texas vote these a-holes out of office at the first opportunity.

An interesting day for our education system. First:

Last month, Penn State University officials learned something about professor Paul Krueger that wasn't on his resume he is on parole for a triple murder committed in Texas nearly 40 years ago.

The university knew nothing about Krueger's conviction until late last month, when the Pennsylvania Bureau of Probation and Parole contacted the university, spokesman Bill Mahon said Friday.

''We're in shock to find out some of the details, and we're still looking into it,'' Mahon said. ''We've never had a situation like this before.''

Mahon said the university doesn't require prospective faculty members to report their criminal backgrounds.

But it may soon be a moot point. A spokesman for National University in California confirmed that Krueger had accepted a teaching job there, and Texas parole officials said they already were working on that move.

I have no problem with someone who served their time becoming a productive citizen again. I do have a problem with a man who killed three fathers for no reason being paroled less than twenty years after receiving a life sentence.

Next:

The city is opening a full-fledged high school for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students - the first of its kind in the nation, The Post has learned.
Operating for two decades as a small alternative program with just two classrooms, the new Harvey Milk HS officially opens as a stand-alone public school with 100 students in September.

The school, located at 2 Astor Place, is undergoing a $3.2 million in city-funded renovations approved by the old Board of Education in June of last year. It will eventually take in 170 students by September 2004, more than tripling last year's enrollment.

Isn't this segregation? What's next, all black or hispanic schools? I'm not a big slippery-slope kinda guy but jeez, this is ridiculous and on the tax-payers dime.

And my personal favorite:
A group of parents is upset over a possible scheduling move that could result in a white teacher leading classes in black history.

The parents have raised a touchy racial issue that has bedeviled educators for years: Should only black teachers teach black history?

Using a white teacher at Oberlin High School would send the wrong message to black students, said A.G. Miller, an associate professor of American and African religious history at Oberlin College.

"The message is that we are not concerned about the importance of your historical background ... that that is less important than a schedule conflict," said Miller, whose three children graduated from Oberlin High School...

Michael Williams, interim director of Cleveland State University's black studies program, said schools should choose a black teacher if that person is most qualified, not just because the teacher happens to be black.

If two teachers are equally qualified, Williams gives the edge to the black teacher.

"That person still has the advantage of the culture," said Williams, who is black. "They understand the nuances of the culture."

Phyllis Yarber Hogan, a member of the Oberlin Black Alliance for Progress, said a white teacher wouldn't be well-suited to teaching students about subjects like slavery.

"When you talk about slavery, students need to understand it is not our fault," she said. "Our ancestors did nothing wrong to be enslaved.

"How do you work through that when the person teaching it is the same type of person who did the enslaving?"

What the hell does that mean? The "same type of person", is that code for white? I am white and sure wouldn't think of enslaving anyone. I think by saying type she really means that all whites (irish, italian, german, polish, and lithuanian) would be slave-holders of blacks given the opportunity.

The Dems are getting some traction from the "Bush lied" non-issue. This might be their only glimmer of hope, since domestically, they may not have the economy as an issue:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is showing fresh signs of snapping out of its funk: Orders to factories for big-ticket goods registered the biggest increase since the beginning of the year and new-home sales climbed to the highest level on record.

The latest batch of economic news Friday reinforced hopes that a much anticipated revival will take hold in the second half of this year.

"It really is beginning to look as if the train has finally left the station,'' said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "The news was very good and adds to the belief the economy is on the mend.''

Durable goods are up, companies are reporting nice profits, or at least meeting expectations, and the housing market-as has been the case during the entire downturn-is thriving.

Christopher Hitchens reports about what he saw in Iraq as opposed to what most people are reading:

Well, these [remaining Saddam loyalists] are the frightened gangsters who until recently were doing the torture chambers, and digging the mass graves and running the execution centers. These are people with nothing to lose, they are the absolute scum of the earth and they're paid from the stolen money from the central bank of Baghdad. You know, $8 million was dug up in the garden of one of the people who was brought in to identify the gruesome twosome, yesterday. Eight million bucks and a lot of jewelry and gold. They pay unemployed kids and imported holy warriors $1,000 in cash if they will just take a pot shot with a throwaway gun or roll a grenade from behind. It's much more like Mafia meets Jihad than any kind of a resistance.

Hitch is by far more trustworthy a source than a Reuters reporter. He has the uncanny ability to illiterate what is actually happening in a human way. (Via Instapundit)

The Clinton EPA, under Carol Browner, was just as crooked as the Justice Dept:

A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt Thursday for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation’s legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of former chief Carol Browner.

Lamberth had issued a protective order on Jan. 19, 2001, the day before the Clinton administration ended, instructing the EPA to preserve all documents that might be relevant to a Freedom of Information Act request by Landmark for documents about the agency’s contacts with outside groups.


Browner had testified she asked a technician to delete her computer files the same day Lamberth ordered them preserved.
The former EPA administrator said she usually didn’t use her computer for work or e-mail, hadn’t been notified about the court order, and had just wanted to remove some computer games her son had installed on her work computer. Browner’s attorney, Robert Trout, said his client had wanted to ensure her work computer was appropriately formatted for her successor in the Bush administration

That was very nice of Browner. Why the stooges leaving the Whitehouse were destroying computers and phones, Ms. Browner wanted to ensure that Christie Whitman had a perfectly formatted PC. Bullshit. The Clinton Administration, in the last days, pushed through numerous environmental and OSHA EO's. Most would never have made it through any scrutiny.

Is it any wonder that the US released photos of Udai and Qusay? I've heard several idiots whining that we should've taken them alive. Why risk our boys lives anymore than need be. Not for these devil-spawn:

As soon as they arrived the students were dragged to a cage containing the lions and forced inside. “I saw the head of the first student literally come off his body with the first bite,” he said. He then had to stand and watch the animals devour the two young men: “By the time they were finished there was little left but for the bones and bits and pieces of unwanted flesh.”

He was told later that the two young men “had competed with Uday where some young ladies were concerned”.

The 36-year-old executioner, who used the pseudonym of Abu Ahmad, also took part in mass beheadings on the orders of the sadistic Uday. In a single afternoon he supervised the decapitation of 36 people, including a pregnant woman.

Any person forced to live under that brutal regime would want proof that the demon seed were dead.

Yesterday I had the chance to tour the new Eagles stadium, Lincoln Financial Field. Awesome! The site lines are excellent, plenty of bathrooms, and concessions are everywhere. I know some people have serious issues with government subsidizing arenas and stadia, but I believe that stadium is a great income earner for any city. Close to a million people will see events in the Linc this year, with Manchester United playing Barcelona and Springsteen playing there.

LGF has this nice picture of terrorists from "Palestine" who are striving to make peace with Israel. Oh Yeah, can't forget this cute kid.

LGF is also taking a bit of a beating at the Alexa site. Go say some kind words. Two stars out of four? These are the type of people who gave Michael Moore (food) an Oscar.

The only thing that could've made this better was if it was six-days earlier for my birthday:

California voters will get an unprecedented chance to oust a sitting governor in a recall vote against Governor Gray Davis on Oct. 7, the state's lieutenant governor said on Thursday.
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante announced the date at a news conference in the state capital Sacramento. Oct. 7 is the last possible date allowed under California law, which requires the vote to be held on a Tuesday from 60 to 80 days after certification of the recall petition.

I predict that Riordan drops a good ole fasioned ass kicking on Gray.

Lileks kills me:

The screech was just as bad as it had been yesterday, which of course is no surprise; it’s not like I expected the Car Elves to repair it while I slept. That would have been nice, but they’re all booked up. Years in advance. And they drink your booze, I hear. You’re all “oh, my single malts” and they’re like “we reconfigured your onboard computer and recalibrated your emision sensors for free, so shut your piehole, ya tosser.” And then you realize you’ve pretty much ruined it with the Car Elves from here on. Idiot.

He is day in and day out the best writer out there. Maybe the NY Times should have considered him.

Kofi Annan says we must get out of Iraq quickly:

Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, has called for a rapid end to the military occupation of Iraq, DPA reports.

At the beginning of a debate initiated on July 22 in the UN Security Council, Annan stated that the right of the Iraqi people to decide their own future must be respected.

For its part, France supported the rapid reestablishment of Iraqi sovereignty and affirmed that it is incumbent on the international community to help the Iraqis to once more become the owners of their destiny and resources, PL cites.

Kofi, I think your concern should be Liberia at this point. And of course, Jesse says our policy toward a war we have no stake in is US racism.

Jesse Jackson said Wednesday the Bush administration's reluctance to deploy troops to strife-torn Liberia proves that race remains "a significant factor" in the way America relates to the world.

"We are turning our backs on Liberia," the civil rights leader said in an interview, noting that hundreds have died there in the last few days.

Jesse is about as much of a civil rights leader as I am. Hey Rev. go shake down some loser company and stay out of it.

The whole Kobe Bryant deal is going to end up being good for none of the people involved. The girl who is the accuser (no I won't link to her name or picture) has a life that is destroyed either way. If she is telling the truth, she will be forever known as the woman raped by Kobe, or worse, as the girl who was responsible for putting Kobe in jail and ending his career. Trust me, just like OJ, there will always be people who trust Bryant was innocent or guilty no matter what verdict is turned in.

Kobe, even if he didn't commit the crime, is the owner of a shattered career. He is an adulterer, not the fresh-faced kid who is squeaky clean. Granted, that is definitely not looked upon as poorly as it used to be, but I truly believe that most people strive to be monogamous. Kobe buddy, you should've kept it in your pants. This isn't going to help your case with the public.

The media is going to really look bad in this. They are reporting rumor and innuendo as fact now, it'll only get worse. Ditto the District Attorney's office and the defense team.

Do married people who stray ever think about the consequences? A simple rule to live by is keep it in your fuckin' pants. You can avoid hurt and embarrassment for your spouse and your children.

ABC is reporting that Odai may have offed himself. Either way is cool with me, as long as we release pictures to the Iraqi public so they know that these murderers won't return. I still feel it's imperative to get Saddam alive if possible. I don't want to see Soldiers lives risked to do it, but if possible, alive is best.

(Cue Roger Waters) Is there anybody out there? Twelve days since I blogged. Work, travel, kids, fishing, etc. Alot of things happening. I'll catch up slowly. In the mean time, Blair, Green, and Reynolds have been keeping up.

Pat Tillman is a Man:

Pat and Kevin Tillman have returned to the United States after serving in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom and both have been selected by the Army to participate in a three-month-long elite Ranger training regimen, the Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.

"The boys have been back for a couple of weeks now, and now they are stationed in the Tacoma, Washington, area," their father, Patrick Tillman Sr., said to the Republic Monday. "They are both healthy and fine, and we, of course, we are very relieved and very happy."

Since joining the Army following the 2001 World Trade Center disaster, the Tillmans have refused all media interviews -- a policy they still enforce. They will, however, be recognized in absentia on ESPN's 2003 ESPY Awards on July 19, when they will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Their younger brother, Richard, will accept on their behalf, according to their father.

"To tell you the truth, the boys are not too pleased about the ESPY thing," said the elder Tillman. "But I am. I'm very happy about it. I'm proud."

The senior Tillman did not elaborate when asked if his two sons saw much combat overseas, but said to the Republic, "they are still pleased with the decision that they made."

Pat Tillman turned down a three-year, $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Kevin gave up a minor league baseball career to join Pat.

His brother is also manly. I would've joined the Navy with my brother, but a month before I met my (now) Wife. I did go in 2-years later.

Andrew Sullivan has links to gruesome pictures of the activist student leaders in Iran. The Ayatollah does not like any type of uprising and is going to extremes to quash it. The fact that these pictures are on the net today says to me that the revolution will occur soon.

I don't comment on the Second Amendment or guns in general. I leave that to the professionals. I did find this interesting though:

From 1999 to 2002 the number of robberies involving firearms in Sydney's most populated areas rose by 34 per cent, while handgun homicide has grown from 13 to 50 per cent since Martin Bryant killed 35 people at the Port Arthur tourist site in Tasmania in April 1996.

(via Tim Blair)

This brightens my day:

The attempted robbery suspect was already subdued when Metro police arrived on the scene; he also was naked and bound with duct tape.

The treatment was courtesy of two men, a store employee and a truck driver making a delivery, who overpowered the would-be robber yesterday at the Dollar General store at 3852 Dickerson Pike, police said.

Damn, that must have really hurt when they pulled that tape off.

It's been a banner day for Jesse Jackson. He gets re-skewered in the Post and NASCAR was shaken down by him.

First the Post:

As President Clinton's special envoy for Democracy and Human rights in Africa, starting in October 1997, Jackson became the administration's point man for Africa.

It was Jackson who legitimized both Liberian strongman Charles Taylor and his protégé, the machete-wielding militia leader in neighboring Sierra Leone, Cpl. Foday Sankoh. The two hacked to death several hundred thousand citizens of their respective countries.

Jackson's involvement in the diamond wars of Liberia and Sierra Leone arguably caused tens of thousands of African children to be murdered, because his political support for ruthless killers masquerading as political leaders encouraged them to continue their mayhem.

Nice. I seem to recall that he was also Clinton's "spiritual advisor" after the Lewinski mess came out.

Now the NASCAR story:

Conservatives are calling for NASCAR to end its relationship with its most unlikely of partners: the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. It's a difficult spot for NASCAR, which is trying to diversify its fan base but also doesn't want to alienate its traditional fans, who also tend to be politically conservative.

Headed by the France family that's been a big Republican supporter, NASCAR also has given $250,000 to the Citizenship Education Fund, an arm of Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. The group says it has used the money to boost minority participation within motor sports.

But critics - including a network of black conservatives - accuse Jackson of intimidating NASCAR into giving him money to keep him from making a public fuss about the lack of minorities in motor sports

Jackson shakes down whoever he can. The businesses that he attempts to extort must take a stand and call him on it.

Which brings me to another topic. I heard Malik Zulu Shabazz on the radio. This guy is a virulent anti-semite and a racist. He is a leader of the New Black Panthers who make the old Black Panthers look like a church glee club. This guy freely says that he hates whites and backed Amiri Baraka's discredited theory about Israel and 9/11.

Why do Blacks in America follow leaders such as this? Of the African-Americans I've discussed this topic with, I can't seem to get an answer. Mention Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, or Condi Rice and the response is usually that they are a sell-out or an Uncle Tom.

Why?

Is it selling out your race to go to college and earn advanced degrees, or to become the top of your chosen field? The Jackson, Farrakhan, and Shabazz type leaders are doing more to segregate the races than anything seen in 25 years.

I have no idea how these idiots got my e-mail address, but this is the message they sent me.

Volenteer's needed to help set up the stage on Friday the 11th, at 6:00 pm
and tear down Sunday at 9:00 pm

Bob Dylan =Jayson

Lileks remembers.

Iran is on the way to revolution:

Hundreds of Iranian hardline Islamic vigilantes, police and pro-democracy youths fought three-sided running street battles near Tehran University on Wednesday on the anniversary of 1999 student unrest.

A witness said police had fired tear gas at groups of youths near the campus and also fought fist fights with plainclothes Islamic militiamen to prevent them from engaging in further running battles with youths.

Earlier witnesses said armed Iranian Islamic vigilantes seized three student leaders as they left a news conference where they announced they had cancelled protests to mark the anniversary of 1999 university unrest.

Authorities have banned off-campus rallies, closed campus dormitories, postponed summer exams and vowed to deal strictly with any unrest after arresting 4,000 people during 10 nights of sometimes violent protests across the country in June.

There once was a time they celebrated the taking of the US embassy and the return of Ayatollah Khomeini. Now they mark the anniversary of student uprisings. Things are changing in the Gulf region.

Could Bush lead the way for both the Middle East and Africa? Glenn Reynolds has some insight.

Another embarrassment for my state:


The nation's third college - and the first on the East Coast - to harbor a national anti-Israel hate-fest, featuring tips for destroying the Jewish state and speeches from notable anti-Semites, will not be Columbia or NYU.

A student group at Rutgers University, no slouch in the destroy-Israel department, has snagged the third annual National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement, to be held Oct. 10-12.

First a bigoted, anti-semitic Poet Laureate who we can't get rid of, now this. What's next, are the Mets going to move here?

If you ask any person older than 55 why they aren't gung-ho about Israel, 9 times out of ten it's because of the bombing of the Liberty. Turns out it didn't quite happen as it appeared:

A National Security Agency summary of the incident says the Israelis were confused over the stricken ship's identity more than an hour after the attack.

Cristol provided the summary and full transcripts of the pilot and tower recordings to The Associated Press.

Israel has long maintained the attack was the result of a tragic mistake during the heat of battle. Israel was at war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan at the time.

An Israeli commission of inquiry concluded the Israeli air force believed the targeted ship was an Egyptian cargo vessel ferrying supplies to Egyptian troops fighting Israeli forces.

However, some of the Liberty's survivors and some officials in the U.S. defense establishment have rejected this view, contending Israel deliberately targeted the ship to keep the United States from learning that Israel was planning to attack Syria as part of its strategy during the war.

The Israelis have vehemently denied the events were planned, though every documentary I've yet to see has left Israel in a bad light. I hope this may clear it up.

The worst case of blatant safety violations is ending with a plea:

Motiva Enterprises pleaded no contest Tuesday to a felony charge of criminally negligent homicide and six misdemeanor assault charges in the July 17, 2001, fatal explosion and fire at its refinery near Delaware City. A Pennsylvania man working at the plant was killed.

A prosecutor said a two-year investigation led the state Attorney General's Office to conclude that Motiva's performance was "abhorrent."

A Superior Court judge ordered the company to pay $296,000 in penalties, settling the criminal case brought last month by Delaware Attorney General M. Jane Brady. Prosecutors said Motiva admitted no guilt in its plea.

That's shameful. They never recovered one of the worker's bodies, only his boots.

The Hulk is a real man:

SHOCKED six-year-old Leah Lowland checked out a mystery bulge on her Incredible Hulk doll — and uncovered a giant green WILLY.

Curious Leah noticed a lump after winning the monster, catchphrase “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry,” at a seaside fair.

And when she peeled off the green comic-book character’s ripped purple shorts, she found the two-inch manhood beneath them.

Horrified Leah immediately ran to mum Kim and reported the find. And last night Kim called for a ban on the saucy toy. She said: “A hulk with a bulk like this just shouldn’t be allowed.

“Considering the doll is only 12-inches tall it’s amazing how big his willy is.

“And it’s definitely not an extra piece of material left on by mistake.”

The picture of that little girl is priceless.

Breaking News! Britney Spears isn't a virgin:

Pop princess Britney Spears has admitted that she had sex with former boyfriend Justin Timberlake despite once vowing to remain a virgin until she wed.
In the upcoming issue of W magazine, Spears details her relationship with Timberlake, the most-watched music industry romance since Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain

Shocking! By the way, nice comparison. We all remember how Cobain offed himself rather than live with that skank.