A German Angel and One Tough Man

Meet Matt Braddock and take some time to read his story. Willie the German volunteer is a godsend to our boys and girls. This is a must read.

Fox Continues to Roll

CNN under Joe Klein was supposed to gain back audience share and catch Fox News. That doesn't appear to be happening:

Total day, total viewers: FNC: 845,000 / CNN: 372,000 / MSNBC: 175,000

Total day, 25-54: FNC: 291,000 / CNN: 93,000 / MSNBC: 52,000

Primetime, total viewers: FNC: 1,851,000 / CNN: 780,000 / MSNBC: 307,000

Primetime, 25-54: FNC: 481,000 / CNN: 172,000 / MSNBC: 90,000

It still appears to be an ass-kicking by Fox. Mickey Kaus has more on this and Star Trek fan rates of pedophilia (no, that was not a misprint) in Toronto.

Just Plain Creepy

Via non-Blogger Matt Drudge, this story about some weird goings on in Reno, NV:

On a farm about six miles outside this gambling town, Jason Chamberlain looks over a flock of about 50 smelly sheep, many of them possessing partially human livers, hearts, brains and other organs.

The University of Nevada-Reno researcher talks matter-of-factly about his plans to euthanize one of the pregnant sheep in a nearby lab. He can't wait to examine the effects of the human cells he had injected into the fetus' brain about two months ago.

"It's mice on a large scale," Chamberlain says with a shrug.

As strange as his work may sound, it falls firmly within the new ethics guidelines the influential National Academies issued this past week for stem cell research.

In fact, the Academies' report endorses research that co-mingles human and animal tissue as vital to ensuring that experimental drugs and new tissue replacement therapies are safe for people.

Doctors have transplanted pig valves into human hearts for years, and scientists have injected human cells into lab animals for even longer.

I'm all for GM foods as I've said recently, however this goes into a whole different realm.

Google News Double Standard

I Googled the word "Osama" on Google news to see what's being reported about his rumored death. Interestingly, the hits that came up were for a Powerline post and this abortion of a site:

Am talking about the point that a lousy island with a lousy weather batb one 'ruled' the world as we know it.....an Empire folks, an Empire! So one day the Empire folded up and the conquerersof the world withdrew albiet begrudgingly to that spit of land withan aw so awfoul weather... That, is where the problem began....for up till today wherever the British set foot there seems to be no peace. That may sound unfair, but instruments and machinations set in place by the colonialists to subdue peoples were insidiously left on auto ..remote controland which are the seeds of malcontent and brewing instability.

How about I insert one big (sic) instead of inserting it after every other word. It's interesting that Google refers to this as a news source, yet won't link to LGF as the same.

Update: A much more graphic example has surfaced.

Short Takes

I guess it's a weapon after it's eaten.

Katinula has some thoughts on T.O. and his cry for a new contract.

More sports. Scott has thoughts on his beloved Cubbies.

No support for a fat, sweating singers bad album.

A Christian responds to the crazy left charges.

Update: I forgot to link to this item at Indymedia Watch.

Revisionist History

This is one of the more appalling Vietnam remembrances I've read:

What I did find is that around 1980, scores of Vietnam-generation men were saying they were greeted by spitters when they came home from Vietnam. There is an element of urban legend in the stories in that their point of origin in time and place is obscure, and, yet, they have very similar details. The story told by the man who spat on Jane Fonda at a book signing in Kansas City recently is typical. Michael Smith said he came back through Los Angeles airport where ''people were lined up to spit on us."

Like many stories of the spat-upon veteran genre, Smith's lacks credulity. GIs landed at military airbases, not civilian airports, and protesters could not have gotten onto the bases and anywhere near deplaning troops. There may have been exceptions, of course, but in those cases how would protesters have known in advance that a plane was being diverted to a civilian site? And even then, returnees would have been immediately bused to nearby military installations and processed for reassignment or discharge.

...Many tellers of the spitting tales identify the culprits as girls, a curious quality to the stories that gives away their gendered subtext. Moreover, the spitting images that emerged a decade after the troops had come home from Vietnam are similar enough to the legends of defeated German soldiers defiled by women upon their return from World War I, and the rejection from women felt by French soldiers when they returned from their lost war in Indochina, to suggest something universal and troubling at work in their making. One can reject the presence of a collective subconscious in the projection of those anxieties, as many scholars would, but there is little comfort in the prospect that memories of group spit-ins, like Smith has, are just fantasies conjured in the imaginations of aging veterans.

...Remembering the war in Vietnam through the images of betrayal is dangerous because it rekindles the hope that wars like it, in countries where we are not welcomed, can be won. It disparages the reputation of those who opposed that war and intimidates a new generation of activists now finding the courage to resist Vietnam-type ventures in the 21st century.

American lefties are gleefully trying to rekindle that old anti-Vietnam war spirit and this anniversary gives people like Mr. Lembcke the opportunity to figuratively spit on vets again.

Not at Albright

Madeline Albright addressed some students in the Peoples Republic of Massachussetts:

SPRINGFIELD - Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright openly criticized President George W. Bush's administration yesterday before an audience of 900 women, saying work was left undone in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq was unnecessary.

Albright, 67, who spoke at Bay Path College's 10th Annual Women's Professional Development conference at the Sheraton Springfield, was asked by an audience member about the war in Iraq. "I thought we had Saddam Hussein in a box, and that it was not necessary to invade," Albright said. "I think it was a war of choice, not of necessity."

Of course Ms. Albright does not not add that the reason we had to make the choice was because she failed miserably at her job when a true leader was needed. Saddam was in a box, a box lined with silk and fur courtesy of the corrupt UN and France. That box also had plenty of space for rape rooms and mass graves.

But Ms. Aldull can't stop there:

Albright told conference attendees that she doesn't know how the U.S. is faring in Iraq, and it is hard to tell on a given day whether the insurgency is "going up or down." She said that the job of the U.S. in Afghanistan is not complete, and President Hamid Karzai doesn't have full control of Afghanistan.

At a press conference, Albright said the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and the fact that U.S. intelligence was wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, have badly damaged the country's reputation abroad. "The United States ... I've never seen it in worse shape internationally," she said.

So what? Why are liberals always concerned with what other people or countries think? We couldn't have had a great reputation internationally at the end of Albright's term as soon after we were attacked at home. Perhaps she should have cared more about clamping down on Islamofascism and less about wine parties in Paris or Brussels.

Albright, in her formal remarks, talked about working with female foreign ministers against trafficking in humans and to stop the spread of AIDS. She said women are still undervalued in many nations, and in some cases are subject to appalling abuses, such as forced abortion or sterilization. Albright said such practices can't be excused as cultural. "I say it's criminal and we each have an obligation to stop it," she said.

What of the abuses upon women perpetrated by the Taliban and Uday Hussein? Raping and murdering young girls would would fit into Ms. Albright's definition of appalling I would suspect. As for stopping the spread of AIDS, President Bush has done more on that front in his first four years as her old boss did in eight.

Well, all told it seems that Ms. (not at) Albright had a successful evening spreading the usual rhetoric and accomplishing nothing. Kind of like her tenure at Foggy Bottom.

The Worst Editorial I've Read Lately

Richard Dortch, a self-described 'independent producer and audio engineer', actually wrote this piece and got it published:

When I began writing for The Clarion-Ledger in 2001, George Bush had just taken office. I predicted in my debut column that Bush would go down in history as a less-talented version of Ronald Reagan.

I was mistaken. It appears now that Bush's legacy may be that of a less-talented version of Richard Nixon.

Nixon had just settled in for the beginning of his second term when the Watergate scandal overtook him. With his criminal conduct in evidence and the Senate prepared to impeach, Nixon was left with little choice but to resign the presidency in disgrace.

Okay, I'll play. Wouldn't Clinton have been a more apt example? No, that would be wrong, Clinton had scandals through both terms.

There is an avalanche of litigation coming down the pike toward the Bush administration. Just as in Nixon's time, it will be arriving on the White House doorstep in the first half of Bush's second term. The grievances are diverse, the investigations both civil and criminal, and the allegations far more serious than Watergate.

This is the extreme in wishful thinking. Let's see what this guy thinks will force Bush to resign in disgrace:

Let's begin with the firstborn of Bush administration scandals: Dick Cheney's secret energy task force. Pursued through the courts by both liberal and conservative public justice groups, Mr. Cheney seems willing to go to any lengths to hide his secret guest list from the American people.

It's a little game I like to call "Hide-the-Saudis."

This of course is an old topic that is only alive over at Moveon.org and the Democratic Underground. Perhaps Mr. Dortch would like to move forward to the year 2005 and leave 2001. Let's continue on with this drivel.

It's a little game I like to call " spot the moronic sentences". It should be real easy with this guy:

Next we have the classic bait-and-switch with the Republican albatross health care bill. Proponents of the bill floated a cost of $400 billion during the national debate. Shortly after the bill passed, the Bush administration casually announced that the real cost was $534 billion. A government whistle-blower has confessed that he was ordered to withhold the honest numbers from Congress until after the bill passed.

Imagine that, a government program that actually cost more than it initially was expected to. By that criteria we should have impeached every Democrat president starting with FDR. That'll really get the nation to rise up against the evil Bushitler.

Dick Cheney's Halliburton is at the center of a veritable lotus flower of civil and criminal investigations. Halliburton has cost American taxpayers through its no-bid contracts, overcharging the Pentagon for everything from gasoline to mashed potatoes. The company just paid a $7.5 million settlement over Enron-style accounting practices during Cheney's tenure as CEO, and more lawsuits are on the way.

The donkeys have been beating this story to death and it still hasn't worked. Cheney is in bed with every corporation and Haliburton is the antichrist, whatever.

Investigations are also pending into the gaming of intelligence to justify the Iraq war.

Every single legislator and head of state throughout the last ten years is on record claiming that Saddam had WMD and to be honest with you, after the purple finger was given to the Baathists, Islamofascists and American Liberals, it's no longer an issue.

Next up is Plame-gate: the betrayal of undercover CIA analyst Valerie Plame. The premeditated exposure of an active intelligence operative is a felony crime against the United States of America. Someone in the Bush administration committed this act of treason.

We are going to find out who, and they are going to prison.

Does this guy even read anything but the Nation for chrissakes? The Plame issue is not one.

These and countless other legal, ethical and criminal investigations await the Bush-Cheney team in its lame duck term. These politicians are not above the law, despite their arrogant assertion to the contrary. When the law finally catches up with them, George Bush and Dick Cheney may well go down in public disgrace — much like Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew before them.

Can you say "President Dennis Hastert?" I didn't think so.

Can you believe that an editor that is not working at Indymedia or Arab News actually let this be printed?

News and Notes

Biden busted by Bloggers.

NAACP FUBAR.

Sean Penn, Johnathan Alter and David Brooks are all irritating.

Chaos reigns in San Diego.

A government in Iraq.

Insurgent bloopers. Via Mudville Gazette.

Remembering Vietnam

I neglected to post anything commemorating the 30-year remembrance of Vietnam. Go here to find great links to anything about the war. By the way, welcome home men and ladies and as one vet to another, thank you for your service.

Another Benefit of GM Food

Environmentalists are unanimous in their dislike of genetically modified foods. Not only will GM food save thousands of starving people, it may well keep the growers from being harmed:

Chinese farmers growing genetically modified rice produced larger crops, saved money on pesticides and were less likely to get sick from exposure to poison intended for insects.

An analysis of dozens of farmers growing two strains of rice modified to resist insects showed they used much less pesticide than those using conventional rice. None of the farmers using only the genetically modified (GM) crop was sickened by exposure to pesticides.

In contrast, 8.3 percent of farmers in the study growing only conventional rice reported pesticide-related illness in 2002, while 3.0 percent of them did so in 2003, researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

"Small and poor farm households benefit from adopting GM rice by both higher crop yields and reduced use of pesticides, which also contributes to the improved health of farmers," said Carl Pray, an agriculture, food and resource economics professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

I have no problems with GM food as long as it is labeled as such and people are given a choice as to whether they wish to eat it or not. I know the use of pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers are having a much greater effect on environmental quality than GM foods are on people and they should be greatly encouraged.

The Changing Demography

James Taranto has an excellent post on the future of politics with regard to increasing populations in key states.

One thing he doesn't add about the black population is that the affluence they attain, the higher the potential is for changing their voting habits. As things now stand, Blacks tend to vote Democrat in overwhelming numbers. That may be beginning to change as cultural issues such as gay marriage and school vouchers become more important issues.

Welcome Back, Amigo

Scott at POV has decided to finally make an appearance. I had sent out a search party but they ended up at Wrigley Field and drank entirely too much $7.00 a cup beer. Last I heard they bought a few tickets to the White Sox (since they are the only team currently winning in Chicago) and have not been heard from.

I guess it was a bad idea to give them the corporate credit card.

Anyway, welcome back buddy. BTW, the White Sox pick is looking good, huh?

Ten Bucks Says She Chooses Jail

This from Wisconsin:

OSHKOSH, Wis. - It's a choice that could give pause to some Green Bay Packers fans. A judge ordered a woman convicted of theft to decide whether to spend 90 days in jail or donate her family's Packers tickets next season to charity.

Sharon E. Rosenthal, 59, took more than $3,000 from labor union accounts before she left the organization, according to a criminal complaint. She was sentenced Friday in Winnebago County Circuit Court on one felony count of theft.
Judge Scott Woldt offered her the decision to either serve the jail time or donate her family's four seats in the Packers' three-game season package to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The jail time or the ticket donation will occur as part of Rosenthal's overall two-year period of probation.

Ninety days would leave plenty of time for the first game including preseason.

The British Election

Steyn in the Telegraph:

John Kerry's problem last November was that he wasn't Tony Blair. Had the Democrats managed to find a candidate who was fierce and clear-sighted on the war but a big nanny-state control-freak on health, education and all the other pantywaist stuff, they might well have pulled it off. Iraq wasn't going so well, if only in media terms; Mr Bush was a controversial figure; and, for all the weary repetition of the allegedly inviolable rule that "Americans don't switch commanders-in-chief in the middle of a war", recent history suggests that wartime presidencies usually cease well before the hostilities do (Johnson and Truman).

Conversely, Michael Howard's problem is that he isn't George W Bush. I don't mean that he needs to be the swaggering Texan cowboy of Guardian cartoons, but that he should have run as Governor Bush did in 2000, back when he was a "compassionate conservative". Many of us uncompassionate conservatives felt rather queasy whenever young Dubya used the phrase, but he made it sound like a bold principled position, usually adding, "and on this ground I will make my stand!" Listening to him, you couldn't help noticing the ground seemed pretty soft and that, after just a couple of minutes alongside him in his bog of clichés, your boots were beginning to squelch.

What happened to the Tory Party? Is no one electable in Britain even remotely conservative?

A Good Question

Jonah Goldberg asks:

What would be the constitutional history of the last couple decades if Robert Bork had been confirmed? That would mean Kennedy wasn't. It also might mean Souter wasn't -- since the need for stealth nominees might not have materialized.

Great question.

Putin the Enigma

Vladimir Putin believes the collapse of the Soviet Union was "...the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,". He also talked of attracting foreign investment:

But Putin emphasized Monday that Russia needs foreign investment, and the "rules of the game" must be clear to attract it.

Ways must be found to collect taxes that "ensure the rights of state and don't destroy the economy or drive business into a dead end," Putin said.
He also said rules on defining strategic sectors where foreign investment would be restricted should be established.

Last month, Putin tried to reassure business leaders that a spate of back-tax investigations, apparently spurred by the politically charged probe against the Yukos oil company, would be brought under control.

Any reassurance was largely dispelled, however, when Anglo-Russian oil company TNK-BP was slapped with a $1 billion back-tax bill weeks later and antitrust authorities blocked a planned investment by Germany's Siemens AG.

Analysts said the question was whether Putin would follow through on his words. That was reflected in the fact that Russia's benchmark RTS index remained flat following the speech.

As a business owner, there is no way in hell I'd invest anything in Russia until Putin gives absolute, no bullshit examples as to what he plans in the future.

Briefs

New Posts Below.

Great pictures of the Tennessee National Guard patrolling near the Iranian border.

The Drudge Report is ten-years old today. LaShawn Barber has some thoughts.

Isn't the term "ethical guidelines of the BBC" an oxymoron like jumbo shrimp or Army intelligence?

Howie Dean: The gift that keeps on giving. Update: Cap'n Ed has some thoughts as well.

A must read.

The Day by Day cartoon is always good.

A Tale of Two Rachels

When Rachel Corrie died accidentally while assisting Palestinian, the left was outraged and has gone so far as starting an unsuccessful boycott of Caterpillar. Rachel Thaler dies and the world acts as if she deserved it:

My Name Is Rachel Thaler is not the title of a play likely to be produced anytime soon in London. Thaler, aged 16, was blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall. She died after an 11-day struggle for life following the February 16, 2002 attack when a suicide bomber approached a crowd of teenagers and blew himself up.

She was a British citizen, born in London, where her grandparents still live. Yet I doubt that anyone at London's Royal Court Theatre, or most people in the British media, have heard of her. "Not a single British journalist has ever interviewed me or mentioned her death," her mother, Ginette, told me last week.

Thaler's parents donated her organs for transplant (helping to save the life of a young Russian man), and grieved quietly. After the accidental killing of Rachel Corrie, by contrast, her parents embarked on a major publicity campaign. They traveled to Ramallah to accept a plaque from Yasser Arafat on behalf of their daughter. They circulated her emails and diary entries to a world media eager to publicize them.

Charles has more thoughts.

A Teen With an Opinion

Sir Bob Geldof's daughter has some things to say:

But she reserves her harshest judgement for Michael Moore, the documentary-maker behind the anti-George Bush film Fahrenheit 9/11. "I watched that film and I felt disgusted the way he was so biased. He completely ridiculed him [Bush] and it's just like when you're in a playground and you're bullying a little kid.

"I was for the Iraq war. I supported Bush completely, which was quite, like my friends, like, hated me for that. Of course, it's terrible that millions of people have died, but if you think of Saddam Hussein and all the terrible things he's done, I mean something doesn't come from nothing. Everyone at school, like, a lot of people knew nothing about the war and were wearing T-shirts saying 'F--- Bush' and saying 'Bush sucks'.

"I think people should be more informed before hating a person for something."

Read the whole thing of course. What do you expect from the daughter of a guy who had the line of the century.

The Next installment of GNFI

Arthur Chrenkoff has posted his latest version of Good News From Iraq. You won't read this stuff anywhere else. You can read it at Arthur's site, the WSJ or WOC.

Among the good news, a BBC (yes, the BBC) report on what people are thinking:

Here's Saad, 32, sound engineer from Basra: "Iraqis are feeling better. They are breathing the air of freedom. They read, watch and say what they want. They travel, work and receive a living wage. They use mobile phones, satellite dishes and the internet, which they did not even know before... As for terrorism, we are now beginning to unite against it and to defeat it."

Noura, 32, computer engineer from Baghdad and a Christian: "While we lost security after Saddam's fall, we gained our freedom and a chance to build a new society."

Nada, 32, government worker from Mosul: "We never imagined that the Turkmen community would have a political party representing them in Iraq, but this is happening now."

Kaban, 31, electrical engineer from Baghdad: "There have been many changes since the fall of Saddam's regime, but the most important change was that we feel free... However, those who say that security was better in the past are completely wrong. It is true we did not have suicide car bombings in Saddam's era, but our homes did not feel safe from the intrusion of Saddam's security men, who came in the middle of the night to kidnap, kill or rape."

Waala, 25, schoolteacher from Baghdad: "The Sunnis in Iraq do not live in isolation from the political and social circles of life, as many people outside Iraq seem to believe. Nothing has affected our relationships with each other - we face the same problems. This applies to Sunnis or Shia, Christians or Muslims, Arabs or Kurds. Unfortunately, the refusal by some Sunnis to participate in the elections was the cause of some political isolation."

Again, I can only say that if a reporter based in Iraq would leave the hotel bar and do a little research, they may be able to report on half of what Chrenkoff uncovers in Australia.

Hopefully He Never Sees 52

It's a beautiful Spring Sunday in April, where would you expect to see traitor and convicted terrorist enabler Lynne Stewart? At a Mumia Abu Jamal birthday rally, of course.

You gotta love it, look at the list of those appearing; the NAACP, members of the National Lawyers Guild and a rep from the Frisco Board of Supervisors.

To find out what really happened the night Mumia murdered Officer Daniel Faulkner, click here.

Mumia is guilty and his conviction has been upheld numerous times. Please read the story that I've linked to and learn the true facts of the case. A young officer was murdered in cold blood and left to die in the middle of the street.

Major thanks to the Watcher for dredging the sewers that are Indy Media and forwarding this on to me. His site is a daily read and it should be for you also.

If you wish to show your disdain for these pieces of shit, you can send your thoughts to the organizer of this collection of scumbags: jmackler@locrian.com

You can also see the dregs of the left here.

The First (but not last) Genocide of the 20th Century

In the early 1900's, Turkish Muslims attempted to extinguish Armenians through an ethnic cleansing purge that killed hundreds of thousands if not millions.

Here are *graphic* pictures of the atrocities committed.

Here is a site commemorating the 90th anniversary that is noted today.

Coaching Time

More posts later. Now I have a soccer team to coach. So far we are 4-0 in the top division and have played really well. I am constantly amazed by the intensity that 9-year olds can muster to put their team over the top.

News and Other links

Lots of new posts below.

Thanks to my Dad-in-Law, this informative link about speed traps and how to avoid them.

Exploding toads in Germany. Yes, I said exploding toads.

Pulse of Freedom is a new Lebanese blogger project.

Support the Society for the Advancement of Plants. Plants are people too.

Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand redux.

More on the Zionist-9/11 conspiracy.

Bolton's Confirmation

John Bolton has stirred up the pro-UN types as no one has since Jeanne Kirkpatrick. More info here, here and here.

It seems all they've got on the guy is that he's not nice to employees. If thst's the criteria, Hillary Clinton shouldn't ever be allowed to hold a job again.

Oil For Food Scandal Update

Roger L. Simon has shown in the last week what blogging truly can become. He is reporting what is happening and not linking to MSM reports. He has some new information:

Meanwhile, Adrian Gonzalez has informed me that he was misquoted to some degree by the Telegraph. Gonzalez, the attorney for former Kojo Annan business partner Pierre Mousselli, says he has not spoken directly with Parton in some days and that Telegraph has exaggerated their report to some degree. Parton, Gonzalez believes, would not be so explicit in his criticisms. The reference to the "de facto coverup" were Gonzalez's words, not Parton's, although they may reflect the resigned investigator's feelings. In fact, in the end they don't seem so it odds with what what the investigator already told the Associated Press. He resigned "on principle."

However you parse this, the Volcker Committee is a now an unmitigated disaster. Just as it is ludicrous to think that Kofi Annan is the one to reform the United Nations, it is ludicrous to think this committee (has) the means to investigate the scandal.

How Annan has survived to this point is amazing and clearly shows that the almost daily happenings at the UN are a glaring example of just how rotten things are under Annan's leadership.

Shia's Sell Out

In Iraq:

Iraqi Shias have admitted taking part in brutal attacks on members of their own religious community after being recruited as paid hitmen for the Sunni terrorist leader, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.

The confessions to their involvement in murders, kidnappings and car bombings have shocked fellow Shias, who until now have maintained that most of the attacks against them have been carried out by Sunni insurgents intent on starting civil war.

According to statements given to the Iraqi police, gangs of Shia men have admitted taking $1,500 a month - about 10 times the average wage - from Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad movement, the al-Qa'eda offshoot widely held as the most ruthless insurgent group in Iraq.

Zarqawi, believed to have been responsible for the beheading of the British hostage, Ken Bigley, last year, makes no secret of his hatred for Shias, whose religious creed is seen as a form of apostasy by followers of his extremist Sunni creed. Over the past year his group has killed hundreds in kidnappings, car bombings and beheadings.

This should loosen some lips as to the whereabouts of Zarqawi. The Shia are establishing themselves as a viable plitical force yet seem to have not taken the revenge rout that many had feared. Being oppressed by the Baathists and Sunni's for 50 years would've definitely built up huge amounts of resentment. The Sunni (and Kurdish) elements do not seem to have acted on that resentment.

Screwed Up Priorities

In Niagara, things are a bit up side down:

A student-created memorial honoring Niagara Falls High School sophomore Anthony “Tony” Sheard is causing some stir in the community.

Sheard was shot and killed Wednesday night while allegedly trying to rob a pizza delivery man in the 1300 block of Pierce Ave. While police have linked him to gang activity in the past, friends, family and school officials remember a different side of Sheard.

Flowers litter the floor around Sheard’s locker located on the fourth floor of Niagara Falls High School. The locker is covered with photographs of Sheard, letters and posters. Messages include “Rest In Peace” and “We Love You.”

The majority of high-schoolers now listen to rap, which glorifies the "thug life". It is not surprising that the students would honor a punk who was shot while committing a crime. This is what bothers me even more:

Others criticized the district for flying the American flag at half-staff, even though they haven’t done so to honor any of the soldiers who have died in Iraq.

Nice of the district; honor an a kid who died while attempting to rob a working guy and not honor the good men who serve and have died in our military.

Defending Sullivan and Smearing Catholics

Minipundit, probably the most misguided blogger I've read, defends Andrew Sullivan:

The only thing more disgusting about the papal election than the resulting pope himself is the vile, hateful, and frankly homophobic drivel that is spewing from the mouths of conservatives regarding Andrew Sullivan's response to Ratzinger's "election" (I refuse to equate the grossly undemocratic selection of the bigot with a democratic process). While there is plenty of it, Steven Bainbridge's is the most despicable. In his diplomatically titled "Andrew Sullivan is an Ass", Bainbridge writes,

Why is Sullivan so worked up? Here's his real gripe in his own words:
... the impermissibility of any sexual act that does not involve the depositing of semen in a fertile uterus ....It's always about sex with Andrew, isn't it?

Isn't it? And Martin Luther King, why was he so worked up about race? And what is with Susan B. Anthony and gender? Why can't they just give it a rest? While I certainly (sic) outraged beyond belief at Bainbridge and co., I have to say that I pity him even more than I despise him. You have to wonder about the self-worth of a guy who is willing to blindly accept the opinions of a single man and build his life around them.

This idiot is actually equating Andrew Sullivan with MLK and Susan B. Anthony. What about Ghandi and Mandela. Onward Andrew Sullivan! As for "accepting the opinions of a single man", I'm not quite sure which single man this moron is referring to; Jesus Christ or the Pope.

Outside of the Inquisition-like persecution of Sullivan, I can't believe that Ratzinger's perpetuation of the Stone Ages is being defended as a fight against "relativism".

If liberals had their way, the College of Cardinals would've chosen a guy who is against all the traditions of the Catholic church. BTW, with Sullivan it is always about sex. Andrew is gay, so what? I'm not, so what? Sullivans entire personnae is the fighter for gay rights and any person who says anything remotely against what he espouses is homophobic.

Here's another question, prior to this month, what did Minipundit know of Ratzinger? How can he call the man a bigot when all we've learned of the man is that he deserted the Nazi army and was a close confidante of Pope John Paul II. Another question would be this; the catholic church is not a nation-state, the Catholic church is a sect of the Christian religion that people choose to follow or not. If Sullivan is so disgusted with the selection of Pope Benedict XVI, he has the option of leaving the church and attending the more liberal Episcopal church.

But of course, Minipundit couldn't stop the drivel there:

Systematically raping and abusing thousands children and teenagers is not loving your neighbor. These are the actions of the Roman Catholic Church, and are bound to get worse under Ratzinger. And yet Bainbridge and his fellow lemmings are willing to rid themselves of their consciences and free thought and prostitute their opinions to a radical bigot.

They would do well to remember that one of Jesus Christ's greatest achievements was coaxing millions of believers to stand up to an immensely powerful, and horribly depraved, institution. In his time, that institution was the Roman Empire. In our time, it is the Roman Catholic Church.

I'm not even Catholic and am appalled by these two paragraphs. Systematically raping is something that Saddam and his vile offspring did, not something that was part of church doctrine.

This has to be the most hate-filled post I've linked to with the exception of the derelicts over at Markos' site.

I have to say that I pity him even more than I despise him. You have to wonder about the self-worth of a guy who is willing to hate a man he has never met and has no insight into whatsoever so much that he would spew forth the filth you've just read.

There was once a time that bashing the Christian religion and Catholicism in particular was done in hushed tones, that time is over. The leftists in this country have decided that they can't beat Bush & Co. so they are on their own personnel jihad to smear any organized religion that does not include Allah, Buddha, witches or worshipping a tree.

Update: Minipundit wants me to stop picking on him. I will as it's just too damn easy. His link remains in my sidebar so you can feel free to let him know what you think.

Celebrities Care

Cameron Diaz--a very stupid person from every interview I've seen with her--is out to save the world and slam Americans at the same time:

The 32-year-old Diaz, who earns a reported $20-million a movie, boasted that the cow-dung slathered walls of a Nepalese village hut were "beautiful" and "inspiring," and she called the primitive practice of "pounding mud" with sticks to construct a building foundation "the coolest thing."

Diaz also criticized the lifestyles of many Americans after visiting an indigenous village in Chile. "It's kinda gotten out of hand how much convenience we think we need," she said.

Despite the celebrities' praise for the primitive life, "Trippin'" shows them flying on multiple airplanes and chartering at least two helicopters and one boat to reach remote locations over the course of the first four episodes.

The series also showed the celebrities being chauffeured to the airport in a full-size Chevy SUV -- despite several on-screen, anti-SUV factoids noting how environmentally unfriendly SUVs are.

If it's so cool to live in squallid, third-world conditions, why doesn't Ms. Diaz stay there for awhile. Hat tip: V & S

Update: I've found someone even more stupid than Cameron:

"I think what's good about the movie is that it deals with 9/11 in such a subtle, open, open way that I think it allows it to be more complicated than just 'Oh, look at these poor New Yorkers and how hard it was for them,' because I think America has done reprehensible things and is responsible in some way and so I think the delicacy with which it's dealt with allows that to sort of creep in," said Gyllenhaal.

Emphasis mine. I'm sure that most NY'ers should enjoy this no-names beautiful words...or not.

A Marine's Phone Call Home

This will definitely give you goosebumps.

Dowd Gives Fonda a Pass

The always irritating MoDo gives Hanoi Jane a pass on what many Vietnam vets consider traitorous activities:

He tutored her on the Pentagon Papers and persuaded her to visit Hanoi, but did not go with the well-meaning but naïve actress to save her from the gaffe that would haunt her forever -- sitting on a North Vietnamese antiaircraft gun site.

This is from a four page review of Fonda's new book and Dowd gives one paragraph of space to what is the true legacy of Jane Fonda. That legacy is not her having a threesome with her husband and a call girl or her marriage to dirtbag Ted Turner, her legacy will be this.

Happy Passover

Via LGF, a new JibJab production: Matzah. Gather the family around and pour a glass of wine for Elijah.

Other Blogs

I'm too friggin' tired to post anything of quality so I will link to others who are not as exhausted. New posts below, though.

Krauthammer takes down wayward Republican senators.

Richard Myers takes the media to task.

Do you really have to handcuff a five-year-old girl?

Nomar Garciaparra is out for at least two months. Sucks for you, Scott.

World votes to condemn Castro (again), but just barely.

Update: Finally a Jacko I can respect. Good dog!

2 Significant Events in the War on Terror

Two important things happened in the war againt Islamofascism. First, a player in the 9/11 attacks confessed in spite of his lawyers advice:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring with the Sept. 11 attackers and declared he was chosen by Osama bin Laden to fly an airliner into the White House in a separate assault.

Over the objection of his lawyers, Moussaoui calmly admitted his guilt in a courtroom a few miles from where one of the hijacked planes crashed into the Pentagon in 2001, setting up a showdown with prosecutors who quickly reaffirmed they will seek Moussaoui's execution.

"I will fight every inch against the death penalty," Moussaoui told U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema as he became the only person convicted in a U.S. court in connection with the Sept. 11 plot that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The unshackled Moussaoui, wearing a beard and green prison jumpsuit, told the judge he had not been promised a lighter sentence for his guilty pleas. Then he added, "I don't expect any leniency from the Americans."

And I pray you get none, scumbag. Next we have this:

LONDON - A British judge sentenced a Muslim scholar to 13 years in prison Friday after he admitted conspiring with shoebomber Richard Reid to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner in 2001.

Judge Adrian Fulford said he believed that Saajid Badat backed out of an alleged plot with Reid, who was subdued by passengers when he attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22, 2001, with 197 people on board.

Prosecutors said Badat, 25, of Gloucester, England, conspired to detonate a bomb in a shoe on a different flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to the United States in a plan coordinated with Reid. But he had second thoughts and never bought a ticket for the flight.

Thank goodness he was too much of a pussy to complete his mission. Have a good time in jail, Saajid.

Canada's Woes

Canada, the land of hockey and Mounties seems to have shorted people who were in great need:

Even as the association of Canadian Maurice Strong with "Koreagate Man" Tungsun Park was coming under world limelight, Sri Lankans were starting to demand answers about where the $425 million promised by Canada to tsunami victims is.

Four months after the tsunami hit, Sri Lankans still don’t have their money. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin rushed to the scene for a weeklong photo op. Generous Canadians donated record amounts of money on line.

The Canadian government promised to match dollar for dollar, donations from the public.
But the promised mega millions never arrived.

According to veteran newsman Garth Pritchard, in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of last December’s tsunami, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is allegedly holding the $425-million.

Kofi Annan’s special envoy to Korea Maurice Strong, also a senior advisor to Prime Minister Paul Martin, was the founding president of CIDA.

I'm shocked that an associate of Kofi Annan is involved. I wonder if the French money ever made it there.

Snippets

New posts below.

The Nazi's are back and have power!

Mohammed and Omar have some excellent posts.

So does Ali.

Cap'n Ed on the new Pope.

A BLEAT IS AVAILABLE!

Update: Some interesting goings on at Rutgers.

Smart Move

Congress today voted not to scrap any carriers, the backbone of the US Navy fleet:

Lawmakers say the USS John F. Kennedy, based in Florida and commissioned in 1968, is the candidate to be retired because of its age and the fact that it is only one of two conventionally operated carriers left in a fleet of mostly nuclear-powered vessels. The plan to shut down a carrier was included in the president's proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1.

The carrier plan has become a high-stakes, highly political fight on Capitol Hill.

While the press play it as a political fight, from what I've read it was more of a preparedness for battle fight. This Navy vet is happy they've decided to keep the carrier fleet intact for the time being as nothing will make a dictator sit up and take notice like a carrier with eighty jets sitting off his coastline.

Jeffords Retiring

Jim Jeffords is on his way out:

"There have been questions about my health, and that is a factor as well," said the senator, who will turn 71 on May 11. "I am feeling the aches and pains that come when you reach 70. My memory fails me on occasion, but Liz would probably argue this has been going on for the last 50 years."

CNN reported this afternoon that an apparently confused Mr. Jeffords had recently appeared in the House of Representatives, where he served earlier, and been told that he was in the wrong chamber.

That's no surprise, he was in the wrong party for years. This will have no major repercussions as Vermont will elect another loon in the vein of Jeffords or more likely akin to the best gift the Dems ever gave the Republicans; Howie Dean. Via James Taranto.

Why the Libs Will Never Get It #234,984

Katinula responded to this post with the following comment:

Republicans vote on a package of issues? C'mon, the whole religious right votes on nothing to do with defense or lower taxes. And most fiscal conservative think this President is out of his mind when it comes to fiscal sanity--they just haven't been pushed far enough yet.There are as many people who vote Republican because Republicans are seen as pro-life as people who vote Democrat because Democrats are seens (sic) as either pro-choice or pro-middle class.

I agree with the comment about the fiscal conservatism displayed by this administration, however Democrats are seen as pro-abortion but not pro-middle class. The results of the last election show clearly how the middle class of the US support Republicans in greater numbers than the donkeys. The majority of middle class folks who vote Democrat do so only because they are pushed by their respective unions, not out of any agreement with abortion, quotas or environmental concerns.

K also takes me to task with another post. My response is in the comments section. BTW, note she didn't comment on the despicable stench arising from her alma mater.

The Single Best post About the New Pope

Lorraine has an excellent post about the historic election today:

I was born in 1987. I rarely have experienced any sort of history that I remember. This one, I have to take time out of my religion class to write down the entire experience.

A New Awakening for the Catholic Church

We heard the announcement at about 12:10 EST. "Turn on the televisions in your classroom to Channel 25, CNN," said our principal.

Instantly I started to worry. What was it? A terrorist attack? One of us on television? Another 9/11?

The minute we pressed the "ON" button and we saw the crowds, I knew. I didn't even have to read the words across the bottom of the screen: "New Pope Elected."

Immediately an electric current ran through the Physics class. This was a lot more important than we had expected it to be. Some of us were purely excited for the break from Physics, but the fact that we were all sitting there breathless had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Read the whole thing.

Osama's Niece is Hot!

Wafa'a is not exactly a poppish name like Christina or Britney, especially if your last name is bin-Laden.

Rabbi Brawls With Nazi

Charles has this report:

The incident occurred about 5:40 p.m. in Terminal C when Fine encountered Boswell, who was wearing a red shirt with a swastika logo and a necklace with a swastika on it, according to airport police reports.

“I told him that he should be ashamed himself for wearing those symbols in public,” Fine said Monday from New York.

...Boswell had driven one of the convention speakers to the airport to catch a plane, said Jeff Schoep, commander of the National Socialist Movement, the group that sponsored the gathering.

The speaker whom Boswell took to the airport was Jacques Pluss, a former adjunct history professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. The university dismissed Pluss last month for missing too many days of class, but Pluss — a member of the National Socialist Movement — said he was let go because university officials thought he was too politically incorrect.

Emphasis mine. Another black mark on a university in my state. Most people on the left tend to forget that Nazi's were National Socialists.

OK City-10 Years After

Ten years ago today, America was shook by the second terrorist incident in two years on our own soil. Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols and perhaps other unnamed assailants cowardly ignited a bomb made from ammonium nitrate fertilizer and diesel fuel that killed 170 people including many children.

The Cassandra Page has some thoughts here.

This is a good time to revisit the detailed work completed by reporter Jayna Davis.

My prayers go out to the still grieving families whose live changed forever that day.

Update: Chris Greenfeather posts a picture we should never forget.

The Death of Air America

Air America was an ill-conceived project that should have been killed before it even had the chance to begin (kind of like a radio abortion, a subject most liberals can understand). Brian Anderson sums up the reasons the poor libs just can't find success in the radio realm:

So why do liberals fare so poorly on air? Some on the left say it's because liberals are, well, smarter and can't convey their sophisticated ideas to the rubes who listen to talk radio. Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, whose own stint as a talk-show host was a ratings disaster, gave canonical expression to this self-serving view. Conservatives "write their messages with crayons," he maintained. "We use fine-point quills."

Saying something that most people don't believe will not make them believe it whether it's written in crayon, quill or blood. The point is that most people really don't like what liberals have to say. Either that or us great unwashed are just too stupid to figure out what the sophisticated, nuanced leftist elite are saying. Anderson continues:

• Entertainment value. The top conservative hosts put on snazzy, frequently humorous shows. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, observes: "The parody, the asides, the self-effacing humor, the bluster are all part of the packaging that makes the political message palatable." Besides, the triumph of political correctness on the left makes it hard for on-air liberals to lighten things up without offending anyone.

That's the more likely reason. Liberals can't make fun of anyone except for Republicans and conservatives. Most importantly, liberals can't laugh at themselves. Listen to Garofalo or Rhoads (sp?), they are mean spirited, not cutting edge. The reason Rush does so well is he can laugh at himself as well as have a daily buffet of comments from Democrat leaders such as Ted Kennedy and former KKKer Robert Byrd, not to mention Howie Dean and the shrill Hillary Clinton.

Libs will never get it; they are a party of coalitions that include unions, minorities and feminists. These groups vote on single issues such as quotas and abortion while conservatives, neocons and Republicans tend to vote on the entire package of strong defense, lower taxes and basic human morality.

Domestic Terrorist Gets Major Jail Term

Eco-Terrorist William Cotrell is heading to a grown-up prison for eight years:

Cottrell, 24, was convicted in November of conspiracy to commit arson and seven counts of arson for an August 2003 vandalism spree that damaged and destroyed about 125 SUVs at dealerships and homes in the San Gabriel Val (search)ley east of Los Angeles.

Cottrell was acquitted of using a destructive device — Molotov cocktails (search) — in a crime of violence. That was the most serious charge he faced and it carried a sentence of at least 30 years in prison.

At his trial, the prosecution had accused Cottrell of "arrogance" and a "towering superiority" toward people who did not share his environmental views. Cottrell had testified that SUV dealers were evil.

The judge said he felt sorry for Cottrell, a doctoral candidate in the physics department at the California Institute of Technology (search) in Pasadena, but he had only himself to blame.

Your "arrogance" and "towering superiority" should serve you well with the prison gangs, Green Boy. maybe they have an ELF gang that can protect you from the Latin Kings and others. You should have used your brain and avoided getting involved with the terror cult that is environmental extremism.

Other Than That It Was Factual

Check out this major screw-up at the sorry LA Times:

• The story also reported that the victim was alone at the time of his death. The D.A. reported that this was not the case.

• The article attributed to "medical examiners" the idea that the victim may have experienced a moment of euphoria shortly before his death. That belief has been expressed by the victim's father, who told the Chico Enterprise Record that he based it on his own research. Butte County's district attorney said it does not appear in any medical reports related to the current case.

• The article said that the parents of Adrian Heideman, a hazing victim who died in 2000, showed their son's day planner to hazing expert Hank Nuwer. Nuwer informed The Times' readers' representative that he was not shown Heideman's day planner by his parents; he heard it described by Heideman's father over the phone.

Separate from the March 29 article, a review of an earlier story on the same subject revealed another error. On March 5, The Times reported that eight fraternity members had been charged with involuntary manslaughter. In fact, eight were charged with hazing, and four of them were also charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Don't these people have editors? Of course they fired the reporter and probably let the editor(s) who reviewed the work prior to going to press slide.

Sister of Mean to Intrude On Private Business

The newest liberal heroine--Barbara Boxer--is trying to push through legislation that will force private businesses to sell items they find morally reprehensible:

Washington -- Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, citing reports that pharmacists have turned away women seeking birth control pills, has introduced legislation that she says would protect American women's access to contraception.

Boxer's proposal would require all pharmacies to fill all prescriptions or refer customers to someone who will, despite pharmacists' religious or ethical objections to the nature of the prescription.

The legislation, similar to a proposal in California that two state Senate committees will consider next week, came in response to reports from a dozen states that women have been turned away by pharmacists who wouldn't fill doctors' prescriptions for birth control pills or for "morning-after pills,'' which are known as emergency contraceptives. In some cases, women say they were also lectured by pharmacists.

Doesn't Boxer get it? Sorry, stupid question. The right to sell whatever you wish, if legal, is as old as America itself. Capitalism dictates that if a pharmacist chooses not to sell the "morning after" pill, they should not be forced by the government to do so and they will suffer by lower revenue. Boxer knows full well that a handful of pharmacies that don't sell this particular drug does not mean limited access.

What would Senator Boxer say if a pharmacist refused to sell cigarettes or other tobacco products? Would she enact legislation forcing the pharmacy to ensure access to that particular product?

Romania Sticks Up For Itself

Romania tells France to "shut the f**k up!

Romania's president has warned France to stop lecturing his country over its close links with London and Washington as he prepares to sign the treaty to join the European Union.

Traian Basescu (pictured) says he wants to form a “special relationship” with the US and Britain to improve security in the Black Sea region, and he also aligns himself with London's liberal economic policies.

Mr Basescu's stance has infuriated France, Romania's biggest supporter in the EU, and could exacerbate fears in France that it is losing its grip on an expanding EU.

Next Monday Romania and Bulgaria will sign the accession treaty paving the way for them to join the EU on January 1 2007, bringing the union's membership to 27.

Note to France: You are losing your grip. Romania knows what all of "new Europe" knows; the US and Britain are great allies and France and Germany are not. Sounds pretty damn simple to me.

Update: Headline corrected.

Blurbs

An interesting piece on the communist influence in Hollywood during the thirties and forties and the "Hollywood Ten". Via Roger L. Simon.

Arthur Chrenkoff has a great post on Japan and China.

Over at Indymedia Watch, the idiotarian watch continues and there's no shortage of examples.

Where is Scott? Well, James is back.

Islam and Nazism...Perfect together.

Coulter on Cover of Time Mag

Ann Coulter--the single most useful weapon when trying to get under a lefties skin--will grace the cover of Time Magazine:

Now she is far more powerful: she helps set the nation’s tone. TIME’s Cloud had unprecedented access to Coulter.

He goes more than 6,000 words.

And he appears to come away liking her.

"On TV or in person, you can trust that Coulter will speak from her heart. The officialdom of punditry, so full of phonies and dullards, would suffer without her humor and fire. Which is not to say you don't want to shut her up occasionally," Cloud notes.

Liberals absolutely hate Ann Coulter. I don't mean like hating lima beans, I mean hate from the deepest parts of their soul. This ought to set them alight and cause more subscription cancellations then the SI swimsuit edition. I imagine it really bothers them that she is usually right in her opinions.

Baseball Week 2

We saw some great things and some not so great things on the diamond this week. We saw the Mets rattle off six straight and the Phillies look anemic until their stopper hurled a gem yesterday. We saw Gary Sheffield get in a Bosox fans mug and John Smoltz look human.

• The Mets are playing outstanding baseball. Good pitching, timely hitting and smart baserunning are the keys in baseball and the Mets are executing as well right now as anyone. Their team batting is astounding over the last week and they have Glavine going today in an attempt to sweep a good Marlins team.
• The Phils had a rough week and needed John Lieber to be their stopper. He was. He threw an amazing 75 pitches in eight innings yesterday and Chase Utley stabbed a screamer to secure a shaky save for Billy Wagner. In perhaps the best compliment a catcher can give a pitcher, Todd Pratt summed up the performance thusly: "He was dirty, he throws strikes, he doesn't throw it down the middle, and his pace is unbelievable." High praise indeed.
• The Nationals now sit atop the NL East and are playing good ball against good teams. Vinnie Castillo is playing like he was still back in the hitters paradise of Colorado with a BA of .452 and an OBP of .514. Very lofty numbers. He has three jacks and 11 RBI.
• John Smoltz is now 0-3 and the Bravos look human. Jimmy Rollins touched up Smoltzy for a dinger in yesterday's game for the eventual winning run. Granted, the Braves are averaging less than a run a game for him but he does look hittable.
• In other news, I previously commented on the Sheffield incident here.

Lastly, for more in depth coverage of baseball, go to this round-up of baseball blogs.

News and More News

Tim Blair responds to some guy who was a comic in the 90's or 80's.

Mark Steyn on John Bolton and the Democrat girlie men.

More crushing of dissent.

Howard Dean: The gift that keeps on giving.

The dying gasps of an insurgency?

Tony Blair Set To Win Again

It appears as though another world leader who supported ousting Saddam will receive a mandate to continue the War on terror:

But the projected margin of Tony Blair's victory varied as pollsters put his lead over the Tories at anywhere between one and 10%.

According to a YouGov poll for The Sunday Times, Michael Howard has narrowed the gap to just a single point, with Labour on 36%, the Tories on 35% and the Liberal Democrats on 23%.
If repeated on May 5, this would give Tony Blair a majority of nearly 60 seats.

An ICM poll for The Sunday Telegraph found Mr Blair was heading for another landslide victory and a majority of 158. That survey puts Labour on 40%, the Conservatives on 30% and the Lib Dems on 22%.

The Inquirer, however can't bring themselves to admit this glaring fact: The Iraqi War is supported by voters of the nations that may suffer the worst if it is not won. Here's their headline:

Blair Bashed Over Iraq

Indeed, Tony Blair may be bashed; bashed by a loud minority that the press trip over themselves trying portray them as a majority. The facts in the US, Australia and Britain don't seem to bear that out.

Blurbs

New posts below.

Lileks has finished his new book and will recommence The Bleat on Monday.

Rottie, B.C. has some thoughts on Chirac and the EU Constitution.

The line of the day:
Without extreme Laura Ingraham is simply my Aunt Suzy after too many beers. Aunt Suzy’s not that entertaining…on beer…give her tequilla and she makes Paula Abdul look sober…and she dances better too.

The California budget and elevator operators.

Roger L. Simon on the "Sisters of Mean".

Ron Mexico jerseys banned by NFL.

The Army is having some difficulty meeting recruiting goals.

Boy Assad and his Struggle

Bashar Assad is very scared; scared that his retreat from Lebanon will be seen as a show of weakness in the eyes of Syrian citizens and other Arabs throughout the mideast. He also fears that the Baath party that is populated by the Alawite clan may be revealed as a house of cards that could topple with one push, such as that of Saddam's ill-fated thugocracy.

The Lebanon Daily Star has an excellent report:

As the leftovers of Syria's order in Lebanon struggle to salvage some power by manipulating and delaying an election that, if it were fair, would surely obliterate most of them, one wonders whether their sponsors in Damascus are long for this world. More importantly, how is Syria's fate perceived in Washington, where it may well be written in the coming months?

The mood in the Bush administration is that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is not viable, perhaps even in the medium term, and that talk of gradual "reform" along the lines of what Assad and his acolytes have been trying to peddle abroad in the past four years is ridiculous in the current context. Worse for Assad, there seems little American fear that once he leaves or is made to leave office, Syria would be dominated by Islamists.

The Syrian regime has tried to heighten that fear, but has also helped undermine the effort by making conciliatory gestures toward the Muslim Brotherhood of late, including returning property confiscated from its members in the area of Hama in the early 1980s (during a massacre perpetrated by his father-ed.), at the height of the anti-Baathist insurgency. That has smacked of weakness, both with the Brotherhood and in the United States, as did the release two weeks ago of 312 Kurdish prisoners. Everywhere, it seems, Assad is throwing off ballast, but he may soon get rid of too much, including vital pillars of his power.

Of all the post Iraqi election democratic happenings, the sustained quest for freedom in Lebanon is the most fascinating.

The Indepundits

Smash has a Google map of San Diego and waxes about growing up there. I too lived there for almost 10 years and feel homesick. He has a ton of stuff to read and so does the recovering Mrs. Smash. Go check them out.

I Love Yankee-Red Sox Games

A Boston fan decided to take a whack (video) at Gary Sheffield while Sheff was retrieving a ball ripped down the right field line. Sheff being Sheff took a swipe at the fan and a brouhaha was narrowly averted.

I have several thoughts:

I think Sheffield should have approcahed the fan as buying a ticket does not give you permission to be an asshole. The only problem I had was that Sheff took a poke at the fan before he got the ball in to the cut-off man. You have to make the play and then take care of business, Dude.

Second, the security guard who came flying over and got himself between Sheffield and the fan did an excellent job and deserves a fat raise for keeping the kerfuffle from exploding into a brawl. The Yanks bullpen emptied and the chance for a riot was definitely there.

Update: ASV has more and provides this eyewitness bloggers link.

The Power of Powerline

Powerline is an excellent blog that is a daily read. I tried to key in on one single post today and couldn't decide on which one, so go over and keep scrolling. The guys at Powerline are a better read than most subscription daily newspapaers and it's free.

I know most of you probably read the site already, but for those who don't, I highly recommend you check it out.

Around the Blogosphere

Numerous new posts below.

Jeff Goldstein has thoughts on the report concerning the US military's role in the Sgrena fiasco.

Vowel-challenged Kyrgyzstan want the US to stay. Captain Ed is on the case.

The Commissar rebuts Kevin Drum.

Cox and Forkum have some thoughts on Sharons visit to W's ranch.

The effect of the Chinese stock market and Kim Jung Il's workers paradise from Dave Justus.

Update: Patrick has commented on this site several times and that's much appreciated. Although we disagree on some issues, he must get back to political blogging and intersperse that with his tech blogging. The blogosphere needs more ideas from sensible debaters.

Abortion and the Dropping Crime Rate

Economist Steven Levitt finds an interesting correlation between the legalization of abortion and the plummeting crime rate:

Back in 1999, Mr. Levitt was trying to figure out why crime rates had fallen so dramatically in the previous decade. He was struck by the fact that crime began falling nationwide just 18 years after the Supreme Court effectively legalized abortion. He was struck harder by the fact that in five states crime began falling three years earlier than it did everywhere else. These were exactly the five states that had legalized abortion three years before Roe v. Wade.

Did crime fall because hundreds of thousands of prospective criminals had been aborted? Once again, the pattern by itself is not conclusive, but once again Mr. Levitt piles pattern on pattern until the evidence overwhelms you. The bottom line? Legalized abortion was the single biggest factor in bringing the crime wave of the 1980s to a screeching halt.

That's a great idea for a slogan for the pro-abortion fanatics like NOW; "Thanks to us, the crime rate is down". It's kind of a bastardized Darwinism.

More great news about abortion can be found at James Taranto's site.

Denmark Gets It

Queen Margrethe of Denmark says that Muslims must integrate themselves into Danish society. This is the direct opposite tack than that of France, germany and other European nations:

Queen Margrethe of Denmark has spoken out against radical Islam and called on Muslim immigrants in the country to improve their Danish language skills.

The queen, quoted in a new authorised biography, said people had to take the "challenge" of Islam seriously.

"We have let this issue float around for too long, because we are tolerant and rather lazy," she said.

The queen said Muslims should learn Danish properly, so they would not feel excluded from society.

...Calling for opposition to radical Islam, she said: "We have to run the risk of being labelled in an unflattering way, because there are some things for which we should display no tolerance."

I'm sure they won't renew her taxpayer-funded European Elite Monarchy Club card during the next pledge period.

Kofi Shifts the Blame

Kofi Annan--the honorable Secretary General of the vaunted UN--says the US and UK are responsible for the scam perpetrated by his shady son:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday the United States and Britain bore part of the blame in the Iraq oil-for-food debacle by allowing unsupervised oil exports that Saddam Hussein exploited.

Annan, addressing a seminar on the United Nations and the media, said most of the money Saddam earned was by oil sold to Jordan and Turkey outside of the $67 billion U.N. program.

Only countries like the United States and Britain had interdiction forces that could have stopped it. But he said they "decided to close their eyes to Turkey and Jordan because they are allies."

Emphasis mine. I am sure that Kofi would have allowed the US and Britain to use our "interdiction forces" to cut off the money pipeline flowing into his son's pocket. I have no doubts whatsoever.

We Must Take Action

One of the problems I have with the liberal mindset is their insistence on "doing something" when an issue that they support is discussed. A major example of this is global warming; the left carps that we must "do something" to reduce greenhouse gases or the world will end tomorrow. This is a deeply held conviction by libs in spite of the fact that science has many differing opinions on the subject. As a side note, liberals knock Christians for believing in an entity based on blind faith yet believe that global warming is gospel. Go figure.

Petroleum is another and this Rolling Stone piece in particular seems to have the Green's all jacked up.

Explain this to me; why do the lefties get so worked up about issues that may or may not occur such as the examples above and not get excited about an issue that is known to be a looming crisis.

I'm talking about social security reform. We know for a fact that the SS trust fund will be running a deficit in the next decade and will run out in approximately thirty years. Everyone who has any say in the matter knows that we must act soon to amend the way SS is run or we risk some serious economic consequences.

We have no definitive proof that global warming exists and if it did, when the effects will become irreversible and disastrous. The same with oil, we just do not know if the worlds oil supply is even near being tapped. New deposits are discovered almost daily.

It's a malady of the liberal mind that they can't focus on the really important known issues like terrorism and HIV throughout the world (both issues that Bush has put front and center and backed with might or money), but constantly harp on the unknowns that may never be.

What the Hell Can We Talk About?

Due to my penchant for getting--let's say--a little excitable when talking politics; my wife has pretty much banned me from discussing it with most people generally and Democrats in particular. That is the main reason I started this blog, so that I can vent without creating any hostility. I still don't agree with her as I'm always right on any given subject and Democrats are always wrong. It's that simple. Russ Smith has found another topic that my wife may have to ban me from discussing:

Say, that was one heck of a thunderstorm the other night, eh?

It's come to a point in what some call the "national conversation" that the only safe topic to discuss is the weather. I've learned to keep my trap shut about politics with casual acquaintances, since even the most benign comment praising George W. Bush can unleash a tiring tirade about the Republican Party representing fascism, racism, McCarthyism, Nazism, imbecility, obesity and God (oops, sorry about that) knows what else.

...I suggested, in what seemed like small talk as the first strong sun of the spring burned my face, that Barry Bonds, despite his creepy media image, wasn't in the same league as Michael Jackson, Elliot Spitzer, O.J. Simpson or Sirhan Sirhan. My companion, while polite, gave an impromptu lecture on the sanctity of baseball statistics and that Bonds not only ought to be banned from the game, but his entire record of on-field accomplishments must, for the sake of the children, be erased. And don't even mention the Hall of Fame. Oddly enough, when the inferior Mark McGwire's name was brought up, he said that was a "sad" moment.

I guess we have to add the Terri Schiavo case to the list as well.

Bloggers and Taxes

The Inquirer has a report on the money accumulated through PayPal and the question of whether or not it's taxable:

So it was probably inevitable that it would migrate to cyberspace, where virtual tip jars have been sparking debates about greed, overreaching and taxes.

With the tax deadline tomorrow, there has been chatter about whether cybertips are income, an issue the IRS has yet to address.

But for bloggers with high traffic, devoted followings, or persuasive begging skills, tip jars can mean big bucks, with some A-list bloggers pulling in thousands of dollars a year.
Susie Madrak's tip jar yielded a car.

"My readers sent me $1,500 when my car died," said Madrak, of Bensalem, whose feisty Suburban Guerrilla is at www.suburbanguerrilla.blogspot.com.

Madrak, a fraud investigator and former newspaper journalist, is tooling around in a used Infiniti after sharing her car woes. She begged, hectored, and put up a photo of a cat, warning: "Hit the PayPal or I kill the kitten."

Iowahawk, Instapundit and a slam at Andrew Sullivan are all included.

Snippets

Tim Blair has an updated version of some venerable Springsteen lyrics.

Two takes on pie-throwing Liberals.

A creepy story that just gets creepier.

Domestic terrorists--PETA-- get outfoxed by a KFC owner.

Mark Steyn abuses the AP and Barbra Steisand in the same article. It's a truly good day.

Lebanon to be completely rid of memorials to scumbag dictator. Maybe they can crush them into sidewalk material so the Lebanese can walk over his likeness on a daily basis.

Corzine Croney Reports to Jail

Charles Kushner--a major money man for NJ Democrats--reported to jail in Alabama today:

NEWARK, N.J. -- Real estate magnate Charles B. Kushner is in a federal prison in Alabama after reporting early to begin serving a two-year term for retaliating against a witness -- his sister -- by having her husband seduced by a prostitute.

The scheme mischaracterized $10 million worth of charitable and political contributions, other items and gift and entertainment charges as business expenses from 1997 to 2002, creating millions of dollars worth of deductible expenses for the partnerships and partners, the indictment said. Partnerships can deduct office expenses from profits, but not charity and other items.

The NJ Republicans are using Corzine's relationship with Kushner as a hammer on radio and TV.

Religion of Peace

Tim Blair has an example of the worlds most peaceful religion:

Her “crime” was that she was seen in public with her fiance.

Hamas’s “morality” patrolmen first spotted the young couple strolling along the beach in Gaza City, together with Azzami’s younger sister. After enjoying the spectacular sunset over the sea, they got into the future husband’s car and started driving towards Azzami’s home.

According to eyewitness accounts, five masked gunmen who were in another car gave chase, opening fire at Azzami, who was sitting in the front seat next to her fiance. She died instantly.

The fiance and sister were later brutally beaten and moderately injured by the attackers.

The incident took place at a busy intersection in Gaza City.

What happened immediately afterwards left many passersby traumatized.
The assailants dragged the young woman’s body out of the car, pouncing upon it mercilessly with clubs and iron bars.

Emphasis mine. Very Taliban-like if you ask me. Where is the outrage by the feminists on the left?

The 100 MPH Fastball

A great article about pitchers and their inability to throw faster than their predecessors. If you like baseball, it's an interesting read. If you don't, it's still not a bad read.

Preferential Treatment at its Worst

Suppose you copped a plea to sexual assault, what do suppose the sentence would be? 5 to 10 years? More? Not if you are a tenured Ivy League professor:

Would you believe 111/2 to 23 months of "house arrest" in that same comfortable home with his wife and two daughters? Criminals get harsher sentences for shoplifting candy bars.

There was no question of McIntosh's guilt. In December, facing damning evidence and with a dozen other women lined up to testify about their own oily run-ins with him, he pleaded no contest to sexual assault.

...Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines called for a minimum sentence of 51/2 years behind bars. But Common Pleas Judge Rayford A. Means seemed impressed with McIntosh's credentials and the work he has done for brain-injury and stroke victims.

District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, who is appealing the sentence as "inordinately lenient," said house arrest followed by 12 years of probation for a calculated sexual assault did not even rise to the level of a wrist slap. Carol Tracy, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Women's Law Project, noted the sentence was "barely a sentence" at all.

The victim's relatives expressed outrage. None of it mattered.

Lynne Abraham is a woman of deep character in a city that is sorely lacking that particular trait. This is a travesty that hopefully won't stand.

Two Years In Iraq

Ali at Free Iraqi has changed his URL and posted an almost poem:

I see with my own eyes this other "they"And I call them simply, Americans.
What are they paying me?
Oh, you couldn't afford that!
Saddam couldn't afford it.
Sadr cannot afford it.
"They" think any of these can?
Could their "they" even try!?
Two years and some are still
Trapped in the past
And some cannot withstand the moment
And want to arrive without struggle to a better future
While others just enjoy what is already better now
And work to meet the future, bettered with them.
Two years and they ask Should I be grateful?
Am I?
Do I even need to answer that!?
YES, and to the last breath!

Read the entire post.

How did the Inquirer mark the second anniversary of the liberation of Iraq? With a hit piece on the Bush administration of course.

Rebuilding the Towers

Over at Korlapundit:

But now it's time to cut the crap and rebuild the World Trade Center.

Most New Yorkers want them back. Most Americans want them back. What we don't want back are the ugly, impractical eyesores that those in power seem determined to force upon us.

The arguments against rebuilding are generally arguments for appeasement ("You'll just make them mad at us!"), fear ("Well I would never want to work up that high!"), guilt ("The twin towers were a symbol of hubris that invited destruction!"), or simply hatred ("Litttle Eichmanns!") of the things that make this country and this city great.

Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, and the muckity-mucks at the Port Authority need to show some backbone and some vision, and give back to New York what Osama and his fanatics took away.

'Nough said.