Gitmo Detainee Recants Koranflush Story

The folks at Media Slander have reported the Gitmo detainee at the heart of Newsweek's Koran Flush Story has recanted.

I echo the comments from that thread. Good to see them on the job.

New Blog added to the Blogroll

Jack Kelly has a blog called Irish Pennants. I've got it on my daily read list. Check it out.

Priscilla Owen has been confirmed as a Circuit Court Judge

Congratulations to Priscilla Owen on become our nation's latest Circuit Court of Appeals Judge. It has been a long time coming. Thank you for hanging in there.

The vote was 56-43. Two Democrats (Landrieu of Louisiana and *gasp* Byrd of West Virginia) voted for her. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) voted against her. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii didn't vote.

That leaves two more judges on the "Memorandum of Understanding": Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor. Brown was initially supposed to go next, but a vote on UN Ambassador nominee John Bolton has been pushed to the foreground.

Cap'n Ed says that's a big mistake. We'll see.

Frist doesn't seem particularly adroit when it comes to political momentum.

A question

If there was a button you could push that would make your previously incurable affliction go away, while at the same time killing one person--not a family member or anything... in fact, no one you know personally-- would you press it?

The GOP Attention Whore Caucus

Here are the "GOP" Senators who signed off on a deal to block a vote to kill filibusters against judicial nominees, and for that matter, to keep any future filibuster going on future, "uncommitted" nominees:

John McCain (AZ)
John Warner (VA)
Mike DeWine (OH)
Susan Collins (ME)
Olympia Snowe (ME)
Lindsey Graham (SC)
Lincoln Chafee (RI)

Enjoy your cocktail parties, ladies and gentlemen. Perhaps the New York Times will fund your future campaigns. I won't.

If you didn't read the text of the deal, here are the two nominees these Attention Whores threw under the bus: William Myers (9th Circuit) and Henry Saad (6th Circuit). No reasons are given, but Minority Leader Reid has alluded to Judge Saad's FBI file... something he should not have seen himself, since he is not a member of the judiciary committee. No member of that committee is supposed to make a peep about those files, either. (This is per point #5 of Rule 29... one of the hallowed Rules of the Senate these bozos hold dear.)

Don't get me wrong. I'm not holding my breath waiting for a motion to throw Uriah Reid out of the Senate. It's just ironic is all.

Mae Magouirk passed away

Mae Magouirk, a person who was recently saved from being dehydrated to death, a la Terri Schiavo passed away of natural causes. She died surrounded by family and thankfully not by lawyers and police.

Senate committees blocked by Democrats

Democrats are now obstructing all work of the Senate. That's going to play well next year. :)

The Weekly Standard on... Whole Foods?

I'm not an avid reader of the Weekly Standard. I usually just go there to read Hugh Hewitt's columns, or as with today, one by John Hinderaker. I stayed to browse around and found this piece on Whole Foods. It seems that Peter Singer--utilitarian bioethicist and Princeton professor--has given his grade A stamp of approval to Whole Foods.

(If you haven't previously seen Singer's views on sex-with-animals and the killing of infants, here's a Wikipedia article which outlines them. Mind your gag reflex.)

I'm sure Whole Foods has put this letter up for the same feel-good reasons as every other piece of socially conscious, touchy-feely claptrap they put up in their stores, that being "Look at us! We're socially conscious progressives who love animals!" And I'm holding out hope that Whole Foods may love animals, but they don't love animals.

Here's the link to the Standard piece, Brainwashing, Aisle 3, which includes the whole text of the letter in question.

Mid East Protest over Newsweek

Newsweek screwed the pooch. They lied and this time at least 15 people have died, to paraphrase the LLL bumper sticker.

Here's a photo via AP from a protest in Pakistan:


Newsweek should be banned! Why? Presumably for publishing a story without checking it out. Bush should apologize! Why? Because Newsweek had this incredible story about how....

Well anyway, hopefully the two gents won't come to blows.

CBS does it again

As reported on the Corner (hat tips to Rush Limbaugh and Steve over at Rantburg), CBS has carved up some interview tape of Judge Ken Starr and misrepresented the judge's opinion.

I posted a request to cbsnews.com's feedback form (head to cbsnews.com, go to the bottom and click on "Contact Us" for the popup form.)

"Please release the complete transcript of the interview with Ken Starr that was the basis for Gloria Borger's report. I take Judge Starr at his word when he says his opinion was misrepresented by your report. Let the viewers see his words and the context in which they were spoken. In short, let us decide for ourselves."

Illini ... football

Yes, they do still play football at the University of Illinois. I was glancing at Mel Kiper, Jr.'s look at NEXT YEAR'S draft. (reg. required) As I expected there wasn't a single Illini mentioned.

No wait! There one is, down toward the bottom of the screen: Steve Weatherford, best punter in the nation.

If that doesn't sum up recent Illini Football history, I don't know what does.

Right Thinking People take on... Vampires

A review of the finest portrayals of vampires on screen is underway at Right Thinking People.

I find it hard to disagree with Trodwell's favorite.

The miracle of ... poverty?

I was reminded by a recent post over at the Potbelly Stove of an article I encountered via the Chicago Sun-Times. I found it so intuitive that I clipped it out and slapped it on my refrigerator.

As it happens, it was originally published in Reason magazine, and last night I found it online, for those times when I'm not at home and need a refresher on dictatorial skills. Here it is, then: Poor Planning: How to achieve the miracle of poverty by Ronald Bailey.

My letter to Senator Bill Frist, M.D.

I sent this letter to Senate Majority Leader Frist today.
--
Senator Frist,

I have received a few fund raising letters from VOLPAC. Thank you for those; I will keep them under advisement as I continue to watch the continuing saga of highly qualified judicial candidates be held up by the minority party. In your letter you talked about holding the Senate open for 48 straight hours. That was a start, but it was hardly "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" territory. If the Democrats want to filibuster, by God, make them filibuster! Make them answer questions as to why they are reading from the Verizon directory instead of voting on, say, Janice Rodgers Brown!

Bill, I'm one of the grass-roots donors that helped dump Minority Leader Daschle in 2004. We made thousands of small contributions to bring in new Republican senators like John Thune, Saxby Chambliss, Jim Talent, John Cornyn, John Sununu, Norm Coleman, Lindsey Graham, Jim DeMint, Mel Martinez, Richard Burr, David Vitter, and Tom Coburn. I'm trying to decide where to send my campaign contributions in this election cycle, and I know I'm not alone.

Make the choice easy for me. Get the ball rolling today on President Bush's nominees. Call the vote to change the Senate rule to eliminate the filibuster of judicial nominees.

If you are more concerned about what the Washington Post or the New York Times says about you, see how many dollars they will contribute to your campaign.

If you are worried about what will happen to the Republicans when you are back in the minority, you will end up there quicker than a hiccup.

Don't be fearful! The Republicans have won election after election! But it won't last forever if you can't get anything done while you are in the majority. Be not afraid, Senator.

Go win!

Mae Magouirk has left the building

The Birmingham News has a brief story that states Ora Mae Magouirk is currently at the UAB medical center. On the order of the judge, 3 doctors--including one from the renowned UAB medical center--examined her and determined that her condition was treatable.

Heard it on the Glenn Beck show yesterday, but couldn't blog it since I was in the car. All day.

NoiSING - DIY get-together in Singapore

Enjoy the Music has a nice pictorial of an audio DIY gathering in Singapore. Check out the Zen Lite on page 2. Why is it in the vacuum tube room? Maybe the light bulbs as MOSFET drain loads were sufficient for entry?

Comfy about the Schiavo case?

A woman who was perfectly lucid is now being starved to death in a Georgia hospice in direct contravention of her living will.

Read the whole thing.

No one is safe anymore. Best not to become... inconvenient.

(World Net Daily via Rantburg)

Harr... what be yer pirate name?

http://www.fidius.org/quiz/pirate/ has a quiz whereby you can be dubbed with a suitable pirate name.

My pirate name is:

Black Jack Cash

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

InDC Journal on the WashingPost

Bill from InDC touts his new advertiser thusly:

often one of the least biased MSM outlets (comparatively)

Is being the least biased MSM outlet like being the tallest midget?

If it is only OFTEN the least biased, does this taller-than-average midget occasionally stand on its toes to become tallest?

Tsunami Hope Chest revealed

And it is indeed a stunner! If you've been following the progress, hold onto yer hat when you see what was under the black circle:

http://www.woodworking.org/Exchange/Forum2/HTML/020646.html

My only regret is that I won't be able to summon enough cash to win the auction. That being said, some lucky family is going to have one gorgeous piece of art for generations to come.

A standing ovation for Mr. Dave Shaw!