Blame America First? Not Here!

Governor Pataki of New York has kicked the "International Freedom Center" out of the World Trade Center site. The AP's slant is that the governor was "[b]owing to pressure from Sept. 11 families." I think the outrage extended far wider than just the immediate families.

Governor Pataki's own words on the matter, courtesy of Take Back the Memorial:

I view that memorial site as sacred grounds, akin to the beaches of Normandy or Pearl Harbor, and we will not tolerate anything on that site that denigrates America, denigrates New York or freedom, or denigrates the sacrifice or courage that the heroes showed on Sept. 11.

I don't sense a lot of arm twisting behind a statement like that.

Governor Pataki's words are in accord with the majority of Americans and certainly a big majority of New Yorkers. Cox and Forkum had a cartoon that illustrated that position very well. "Come along Sweetie... That's not why we're here."

(See also C&F's June 9th cartoon, which nailed the moral equivalence angle.)

Another Stem Cell Breakthrough

Doug over at Stones Cry Out has brought word of another breakthrough using stem cells:

In an apparent major breakthrough, scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient.

I join Doug in calling out Non Reagan and John "Silky Pony" Edwards to futher publicize this exciting development.

Go read Doug's post here. Then follow the link to the story.

Would-Be Subway Bombers Arrested in... France?

I found this story about would-be Paris Metro boomers over at Power Line. A line at the bottom of the story reads "Early reports indicate that the bombers were motivated by France's support for the U.S. war effort in Iraq."

Was John Hinderaker typing that with his tongue firmly in cheek?

Air America Radio Mimics NPR

And not just in the left to hard-left slant of the topics. No, they're effectively having a fundraising drive.

Thanks to Brian @ Radio Equalizer for bringing this one out for those of us who can't actually hear AAR.

Protesting the Anti-War Protestors

Every Friday Code Pink would show up outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center to jeer wounded soldiers and their families. Then the DC Chapter of Free Republic started showing up on an opposite corner to rally in favor of our troops and their mission. Last night there were far more people rallying in favor of the war than against it.

A gentleman from Chicago traveled to DC to take pictures of pro-War rally that will take place there on Sunday. You can find his pictures (of which the one above is an example) here; they include several of the Walter Reed counter-protest.

(Hat tip: Power Line)
(See also: this post)
(See also: The Carnival of Trackback Love over at MY Right Wing Conspiracy)

More: Protest Warrior was on the scene. Brendan Steinhauser is the Washington leader of Protest Warrior. This is his blog discussing the weekend's festivities. He expresses a bit of frustration with the lack of protest experience on the part of the Right. I guess I don't blame him. I could have come back a day earlier to DC in order to participate on Sunday... but I didn't. Had to pack.

Facts About Maryland: "BLIEVE, HON"

When you walk around Baltimore City ("Bawlmer, hon"), you see it everywhere: BELIEVE. White letters on a black background. "Huh," I thought. But I didn't pay it too much mind until I saw the first parody bumper sticker "Blieve, Hon".

Okay so it is ubiquitous and now people are putting their own spin on it. What is it?

It turns out that it is "an advertising, community-centered campaign aimed at reducing drug trafficking, drug violence, and drug use in the City." Sounds good. It could also have a beneficial effect for the homeless in the city, of which there seem to be hundreds in the Inner Harbor/convention center area alone. Not everyone is convinced it will work. Left-wing nuts over at the Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel blame Bush, naturally. Whatever...

So what about the variants? Besides "BLIEVE, HON" there are also "BEHAVE" and "BEEHIVE", "BE EVIL" (said to be a favorite of John Waters) and "BE VILE".

The same magazine article mentioned green and white "Bertha's Mussel's" stickers, but oddly, I don't recall seeing a single one of those. Maybe next time.

Rita Hits Land

It happened in the middle of the night. Once again it is poor Louisiana that got it first. (New Orleans was already flooded yesterday thanks to a failure of one or another levee.)

If you haven't already today, check out Michelle Malkin, who has links to some photoblogging in Houston, and other storm watcher blogs.

New Additions to the Blog Roll

I've added Beth's "MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" over in the Cotillion Ball area (even if it doesn't work as well as I'd like with Firefox. Perhaps I'll just go there using IE.)

I've also added Hugh Hewitt's new group blog "One True God." Check out this line up of bloggers:
Albert Mohler
John Mark Reynolds
Mark D. Roberts
Amy Welborn
David Allen White

Wowza... The first topic is about demons and there's already more there than I could readily read in one sitting. (ADHD? -- Ed.) I'll be checking back there frequently.

UPDATE: 2005-09-24 1000 CDT: I finished the posts on the topic of demons just in time to catch Hugh's second question regarding suffering.

The Sultan of Umpapa Mau-Mau

LOML thought John O'Hurley's and Charlotte Whatever-her-name-was's waltz was a little flat. Not knowing anything about the waltz myself, I couldn't say as I could say. Looked fine to me, I guess. (I'll get to learn my own this Monday, courtesy of The Wedding Dance Specialists.)

Be that as it may, John and Charlotte have won the Dancing with the Stars Dance-Off. Coming on the heels of the revelation that Tyra Banks's breasts are indeed real, I think the nation can breathe a sigh of relief. (Hat tip: Michael Medved Show, Rantburg)

Well, except for Hurricane Rita about to smash into Texas.

Other than that, though...

Perspective: Deadliest Hurricane Ever

I found this over on Yahoo! news this morning. I doubt it'll be mentioned anywhere in the Big Media, where Hurricane Katrina will continue to be framed as a) the worst ever, and b) All Bush's Fault.

The deadliest hurricane in US history hit Galveston in 1900. The storm surge swamped the entirety of Galveston Island. In the end, there were between 8000 and 12000 people killed.

Erik Larson, author of the recent Devil in the White City (and no relation to yr hmbl srvnt) also wrote a book about it called Isaac's Storm.

Here's more on the Galveston hurricane of 1900. There's a 16 foot high seawall there now as a reminder. To the people who feel they will wait it out "as usual", please reconsider! There is nothing "as usual" about a storm as huge as Rita. If you are anywhere from Galveston to Houston to Corpus Christi, why not head inland for the weekend?

The Latest From Mississippi

The link is to a southern Mississippi television station. It has some news on the progress and the needs for aid there. Harrison County, in particular, needs volunteers to keep the relief effort going (Harrison's county seat is Gulfport). If you are in the area call (228) 832-6653 to volunteer.

Bill Clinton Talks a Big Game

Now that he's out of office, Bill Clinton sure has been talking a big game about what he would have done. Sometimes he even phrases it as if he had actually done it. Such was the case with his recent Sunday Show blitz. (Side note: Did you notice how he has not missed a chance to throw in everyone's face just how rich he is now? He did it again and again on Sunday, talking about cuts to his tax bracket. Note to Bill--and everyone else who feels grossly UNDERtaxed: Leave a tip this year or quit your damned whining about it!)

At any rate, from North of the Border comes Trodwell with a round-up of Bill Clinton's statements from the time he was president. Check out Bill Clinton: Big Mouth, Short Memory. Gotta love the Blogosphere for jogging the ol' memory.

John Hinderaker from Power Line takes a look here.

What's German for 'Florida'?

The guys at Power Line have been watching the polls in Germany. It sounds like at various times either the Social Democrats (Schroeder's party) or the Christian Democrats (Frau Merkel's party) have gained the upper hand. At one point both leaders vowed to build a ruling coalition.

At the time of this post at Davids Medienkritik, it looks like the combination of CDU and CSU votes would be enough to shade the SPD. Barely. But, points out David:

The number of seats for each party is not exactly proportionate to the percentage distribution of votes because of some intricacies of the German election law ("Überhangmandate"). Also, while the SPD is 3 seats short of the CDU/CSU seats (225), there can still be changes due to a by-election to be held in Dresden on October 2, 2005.

Will one or the other throw a Gorian temper tantrum and take it to the courts? Is that even allowed in Germany?

Arrr....

It be getting close to National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

What be a pirate's favorite state?
(Get ye to the comments to see the answer.)

--Black Jack Cash

Larsonian Institution Calls for Immediate Withdrawal

By unanimous vote, the Board of Regents of the Larsonian Institution resolves that

whereas the political system in Chicago is an utter quagmire, and
whereas they have been known to rubber stamp anything that hizzonner da mayor requests, and
whereas they have been known to make really goofy, non-binding resolutions such as making Chicago a Nuclear Free Zone, in the past,

the Chicago City Council shall be dissolved forthwith, that all of its members go home by the most expeditious fashion, and never to be seen in public again.

Heck... it makes about as much sense as their dopey resolution for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. 29 to 9 that thing passed. Somehow I expect that all 38 of those voting will claim to "support the troops".

Katrina Relief From an Unexpected Place

Near the bottom of this Michelle Malkin post) I found this bit of news on Katrina Relief:

Iraqi soldiers serving at Taji military base collected 1,000,000 Iraqi dinars for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Iraqi Col. Abbas Fadhil, Iraqi base commander, presented the money to U.S. Col. Paul D. Linkenhoker, Taji Coalition base commander, at a Sept. 5 staff meeting.

"We are all brothers. When one suffers tragedy, we all suffer their pain."
Iraqi Col. Abbas Fadhil.

The amount of money is small in American dollars - roughly $680 - but it represents a huge act of compassion from Iraqi soldiers to their American counterparts, said U.S. Army Maj. Michael Goyne.

Thank you.

They should set that aside and see if the new Iraqi dinar doesn't go up in value over the course of the next few years. If COL Fadhil's efforts are any indication, it should go up considerably.

Michelle's not the only one who is left scratching her head about all the "My People" talk, by the way. Check out Ith over at Absinthe and Cookies, too. (via The Cotillion)

Katrina Help WIKI

Hugh Hewitt mentioned it and I'll put it here, too, on the off-hand chance that you read here but not there. (A small population, to be sure--Ed.)

The Katrina Help WIKI.

If you've been seeing 'stories' that seem a little extreme, even to the point of unbelievability, take note and help out Hugh with your examples here.

Meanwhile, in Mississippi...

...the people need help, too.

Here's a link from the Oglethorpe County News, regarding items needed for the relief effort in Pascagoula.

If you would rather give cash, here's the address:
New Town Baptist Church
3969 Paoli Road
Carlton, Ga. 30627

Air America Radio Blog Roundup

Doug from Stones Cry Out makes an interesting comparison between the Salem Radio Network. Salem is the home of Hewitt, Medved, Prager and Bill Bennett:

Bill Bennett's "Morning in America" radio show started at the same time as Franken's did. At the one-year mark, Bennett's show was broadcast in 116 markets (including 18 of the top 20) while Franken was heard in only 50.

Meanwhile, Air America Radio has pushed the money that had been transferred to them from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club into an escrow account: $875,000. (And I didn't think AAR had that kind of scratch.) However, it appears that account is controlled not by the New York City Department of Investigation, but rather by... Air America Radio's parent company. (What are they called this month?--Ed.)

Michelle Malkin's got the story, along with a press release from DOI.

Brian Maloney brings to the table the nature of the account and what New York law says about that kind of account in a piece updated particularly early in the morning.

Tom Blumer examines how AAR can grind through dollars and still survive over at BizzyBlog. Tom points to an article from Professor Bainbridge last month in which a commenter suggests that Multicultural Radio (owner of Air America's FORMER Chicago affiliate) take the owners of Air America Radio into Federal Bankruptcy Court in a petition for Involuntary Bankruptcy.

On Big Media's Wishful Thinking

Hugh Hewitt asked "And why can't American newspapers carry writing like this?" He amends that to note that the ones that carry Mark Steyn do... but the rest generally don't. (I'll put in that Lileks is pretty darned good, too.)

The piece in question really nails the Big Media folks whose sole interest is in trumpeting that "This" will finally be "The Thing" that topples the Bush Administration. It doesn't matter what "This" is. In the last couple of weeks it has been the hurricane that smashed the Gulf Coast. Prior to that it was the mother of slain soldier Casey Sheehan. Prior to that... actually without Google, I don't even remember what the last Great Hope of the Big Media was.

A blog by the name of Slugger O' Toole has gained permission from the columnist to reprint his piece in full. Go there and read "Ill wind may not blow to the Whitehouse" by Newton Emerson. In fact, bookmark it for the occasion of Big Media's next Great Hope.

Beth is Back

Read it at the Cotillion: Beth is back home in Alabama and the power is on.

OK, here’s the deal. We left Sunday and stayed in Birmingham, but since the power’s been out here we stayed longer than I had originally planned. We only came back today to check on the cats and refill the food and water, and we were going to move to Fort Walton Beach for however long it took for the electricity to come back on here (since it’s a lot closer than B’ham).

The rest of her story is here.

Welcome back, Beth.

Survival of New Orleans blog

I got this link via the WWA's Infeed/Outfeed forum.

Thanks, Ned.

U-2 Photographs the Devastated Area

A U-2 surveillance aircraft was dispatched from Beale AFB in California to survey the devastation. "The Optical Bar Camera, or film-based imagery equipment used, is ideal for photographing very large areas with high resolution. In a six-hour mission, a U-2 employing the OBC can collect imagery over 90,000 square nautical miles." (Black Anthem military news)

I don't know if I want to see the photos.

Technorati Tags: Hurricane Katrina

Don't Forget About Mississippi

A word from one of Mississippi's favorite sons, Brett Favre.

Perhaps I'll take a trip up to Madison tomorrow before I hit the road for Washington on Saturday.

Technorati tags: Hurricane Katrina

A Pause in the Blog-a-Thon for a Word from...

Foamy the Squirrel.

WARNING: Not safe for work. Not safe for anyone with a low tolerance for profanity. Not the sort of thing a good Christian should be sharing, but I can't help it, because beneath the profanity, I agree with the message.

Here's the link. Click on the Hurricane Report live from Louisiana.

(hat tip: Rantburg)

Feed the Children

Feed the Children pledges 91 cents of every incoming dollar to services. Two percent goes toward management and supporting services, and 7 percent goes toward fund raising appeals.

(None of those 7 cents are coming my way, I should add. I'm doing this because the group is well positioned to get relief aid down to the hurricane-battered states of the Gulf coast right now.)

You can see Feed the Children's Financial Accountability page here. It includes their form 990, and their fully audited financials as well.

Please give generously. The people of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana will be counting on it during the months ahead.

Technorati tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina

Feed the Children to Help Gulf States Relief

Feed the Children has a page set up regarding relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina. On that page is an audio clip from founder Larry Jones describing the relief effort. The clip is accompanied by pictures.

See it here.

The initial donations will be to help in the logistics, in particular fueling the trucks. More about Feed the Children tomorrow during the Blog-a-Thon.

Glenn Reynolds has got a clearinghouse of bloggers and their recommended charities here.

Here's N. Z. Bear's topic page.

Technorati tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina

Germany to Help in Katrina Relief?

Just heard via Laura Ingraham that Germany will assist in Hurricane Katrina relief. I haven't found a link yet, so this will be updated when I find confirmation.

UPDATE: 2005-8-30 2035 CDT: I haven't seen anything that confirms it. The closest I've seen is this lovely sentiment from one Joern Ehlers of WWF Germany:

[G]lobal warming had increased the intensity of hurricanes such as Katrina, but that it was unclear whether climate change had made them more common.

In general, ``natural catastrophes are more extreme and occur more often'' due to global warming, he said, noting that Germany had been struck with three severe floods in the past six years.

Though no conclusions can be drawn from a single event such as Katrina, that storm ``fits into the picture of modern climate researchers. It's a building block in the global warming theory.''

Aside from its tragic aftermath, Katrina might help people understand the urgency of global warming effects, Ehlers said. But do the Americans, infamous for consuming massive amounts of energy, have themselves to blame?

``I wouldn't go that far,'' Ehlers said. ``But it's a fact that the Americans have a big impact on the greenhouse effect.''

Ah, yes. Blame America First. Thanks a heap, Herr Ehlers. I guess that is the vaunted European Compassion coming to the surface. (The quote is from al-Guardian. See the story for an excerpt from a Jihadist cheering for the destruction.)

UPDATE II: 2005-09-01 1725 CDT: This link from Fox News lists the countries that have apparently offered help. Germany is, indeed, on the list.

UPDATE III: 2005-09-01 1726 CDT: Herr Ehlers is still a wanker and a Political Looter. (Hat tip to a Laura Ingraham caller this morning for the new term.)

Katrina lands

Weather.com reports that Katrina made landfall 2 hours ago south of Buras, Louisiana. Dry air slowed the top winds to 140 mph.

Biloxi, Mississippi appears to be in the crosshairs now.

There's a Hurricane Katrina Blog at USAToday. WDSU has one, too, and they broke the story that there is a tear in the Superdome roof. It's a little weird to look at the weather bug in the corner of WDSU's page and see the current weather is 80 degrees (F) with light rain at New Orleans airport.

Kate over at Small Dead Animals has a satellite photo putting the size of Katrina in perspective with New Orleans.

UPDATE: (from the above mentioned WDSU blog)

4 p.m.: East New Orleans Underwater
New video from a WDSU crew shows east New Orleans is underwater. Only the very tops of some cars can be seen, and on other streets, the water has risen past the second story of some homes. A man was seen wading through chest-deep water. He told the news crew that he was searching for injured or trapped people. -- WDSU.com Web Staff

I hope the would-be rescuer doesn't become a victim.

Breakthrough! Embryonic Stem Cells from... Skin Cells?

Harvard University researchers have apparently been able to derive embryonic stem cells from skin cells. This article doesn't really go into how. Being the WashingPost it is more interested in the political ramifications. Here's a bit:

The news that Harvard scientists have successfully converted human skin cells into embryonic stem cells -- without using a human egg or new embryo -- is likely to muddle the already complex debate over federal stem cell research policy.

(Hat tip: Laura Ingraham)

Isn't this great news, in general? Sen. Tom Coburn thinks so:

"All this is confirmation we will see breakthroughs without compromising ethical standards," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a physician who has led opposition to embryonic stem cell research. "We're not going to have to go that way if we can just be patient and fund the basic science."

And it wouldn't be a WashingPost story without a snarky quote like this: "[For lawmakers] who want to appear to support embryonic stem cell research without alienating their conservative base, it gives them something they can vote for even if it continues to trade patient interests for political symbolism," said R. Alta Charo, a professor at the University of Wisconsin medical and law schools.

What are the great breakthroughs that have come from fetal stem cell research to date that anyone would be 'trading patient interests'? Did I miss the big breakthrough?

UPDATE: Here's an AP story story that explains a bit of what they did. Essentially fusing an adult skin cell with an existing stem cell--such as from the existing lines which researchers have available--"reprograms" it to its embryonic state. I'm sure that's not a perfect description, but that's what came from the article. Here's the money quote:

"If future experiments indicate that this reprogrammed state is retained after removing the embryonic stem cell DNA — currently a formidable technical hurdle — the hybrid cells could theoretically be used to produce embryonic stem cells lines that are tailored to individual patients without the need to create and destroy human embryos," said a summary of the research reported on the Science site.

Custom cells per patient. How cool would that be?

A succinct policy analysis can be found here courtesy of the Health Law Blog.

UPDATE II (2005-08-29 0800 CDT): Welcome to readers of Wizbang, the Stones Cry Out, Daddy Pundit and Two or Three. If anyone has information on how a stemcell extracted in this way could be engineered such that there is only the genetic information from the skin cell, please post.

Cindy is Ready For Her Close-up, Mr. DeMille

Sadly, Evan Coyne Maloney of Brain Terminal fame doesn't have the bandwidth to shoot video while his current film is in production. Lights Camera Protest has some photos of Cindy Sheehan's circus tent. Note the shot of her being attended by a makeup artist.
(ht: Power Line)

The proprietor of Lights Camera Protest is promising more photos through tonight into tomorrow. Check back frequently.

Code Pink Protesters Outside Walter Reed Army Med Center

Every Friday night, Code Pink war protesters gather outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. They bring, among other things, banners that say "Enlist Here Die for Halliburton" and flag-draped coffins.

You may not be surprised to learn that Code Pink believes they are helping the wounded soldiers. You may be further unsurprised that the wounded soldiers and their families aren't feeling the love.

The article is up on the front page at CNSNews.com, but their server is presently overloaded, courtesy of Laura Ingraham's show where I heard this outrage this morning. There is a video report available here if you can keep your blood pressure down.

The DC Chapter of Free Republic gathers on an opposite corner to counter-protest. Their homepage is here, and their experience from last Friday can be read here.

UPDATE: A question that I asked over at the Cotillion: Can some of the protections that have been applied to abortion providers be applied to Walter Reed? For instance, can the Code Pink for Peace idiotistas be kept a certain distance away?

UPDATE II: Cam Edwards has followed up on his site. Here's a fine post with lots of pix that I found via Gunn Nutt. Here's Gunn Nutt's post. (ht: Michelle Malkin)

Strange Bedfellows in Crawford, TX -- Part II

First David Duke sided with Cindy Sheehan's cause. Now, Neo-Nazis are on their way. Rantburger Atomic Conspiracy pointed out that the author of the announcement is an assistant to David Duke and a member of the organization "Stormfront".

Any takers on whether we'll get to see them on TV? I suspect if we do, the Big Media flak will do his utmost to disavow them. Nonetheless, there they are.

And they all can eat Ben and Jerry's ice cream while they are there, courtesy of founder Ben Cohen who's helping fund the Big Media circus.

(hat tip: Rantburg, LGF)

Ms. Sheehan Claims to Hear Voices Now

This article (ht: Rantburg) suggests that Cindy Sheehan may need some medication.

As Mrs. Davis put it on Rantburg, "She deserves to be ignored and left alone till she recovers."

New Michael Yon Dispatch

If you haven't already, go see Michael Yon's harrowing dispatch "Gates of Fire." Get well soon, LTC Kurilla.

Where Should the UN Go?

Take for a moment the statement "UN out of the US! US out of the UN!"

Where should it go? On Rantburg this morning, a commenter suggested Geneva. That would be far too easy for them, I think.

I vote instead to move them to Darfur. In that way the various UN functionaries can see first hand on the way to and from work just how useful the UN has become.

Scrappleface exclusive!

Normally I don't link to Scrappleface. Everyone already knows about it, and besides Scott's funnier than I am. However today I share with you this Scrappleface Exclusive: a leak of a draft letter from President Bush to Cindy Sheehan.

Good stuff, Scott. And it sounds pretty true to form, too.

Oh and while I'm at it, here's the story on Pat Robertson's fatwa.

Who Would Jesus Assassinate?

That is the question posed by Marvin Olasky at World Magazine. I won't leave you in suspense: the answer is 'no one'. The Bible offers no warrant for political assassination.

Here's a portion:

Mr. Robertson's comments also made the day of some Islamic groups. Under the press release heading "PAT ROBERTSON’S FATWA," the Muslim American Society went on offense, screaming that "someone should remind the darling of the Christian Right about the Ten Commandments. About the one that says 'thou shall not kill.' If that had been a Muslim cleric talking about killing a head of state, you would have never heard the end of it."

Two things:
1) As a person who considers himself part of the Christian Right, I can say that he's no darling of mine.
2) We are not hearing the end of it any time soon because Robertson once ran for President as a Republican. Therefore he is the piñata of the moment for Big Media who like to try to discredit any conservative based on the statements of any one of them.

When will it end? When Judge Roberts's confirmation hearings begin.

From the Comments at Small Dead Animals...

...comes the following:

this is all nice, but the fact remains that there is ample proof that the clinton white house actually issued terror alerts that directly resulted in the alert to the customs folks at port angles that stopped the millenium plot.

No proof was linked. I'm still inclined to believe that a Customs Agent did her job to the utmost when she noticed the twitchy behavior of the would-be bomber. No shame in that. The country could use dozens more just like her. (Perhaps retired police detectives?)

there is also direct proof that the state justice and defense dept people fromn clinton's watch warned the incoming bush team that terror attacks should be one of the main., if not the the main foriegn policy and law enforcement issue in the coming years.

If only there had been the usual, orderly transition from one administration to another in December 2000, rather than Al Gore's temper tantrum over the state of Florida.

Setting that aside, the world is still left to wonder what might have happened if Clinton had just taken custody of bin Laden when he had the chance.

Sorry: chances.

Or if he had responded to the USS Cole. Or the embassy bombings in Africa. Or backed up the military in Mogadishu when their Blackhawk went Down, rather than denying them further support.

We'll never know, but we can surmise that perhaps bin Laden wouldn't have taken the US as a paper tiger come 2001.

instead, even after being warned by the CIA,and several foriegn governments of immenent terror attacks "within the united states" bush stayed in crawford, doing nothing in the waining days of august 2001.

The President of the United States is never on vacation, whether it is GWB on his ranch in Crawford or Bill Clinton on the beach at Martha's Vineyard. I'm still a little puzzled as to what it is that Bush should have dropped everything to do? Brush up on his skills as a fighter pilot so that he, Super Bush, could have shot down all of the incoming aircraft?

as i recall,

Pardon me for standing back as you make the effort

ashkroft's responce to outgoing briefings o n the importance of stopping attacks by that ol meany osama bin laden was to reassign most of the FBI's top islamic terror experts to jobs outside their place of expertise, and put more money and effort into busting new orleans whore houses and bong manufacturers than into stopping 9/11...

Hindsight is always 20/20. If 'ashkroft' had marched into the flight schools and hauled the little jihadis out by their ears because he said he had evidence that these guys were plotting to destroy both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and the Capitol dome... what would you have said? Honestly... what would you have said? Probably that he'd been smoking something, or was some kind of jackbooted thug, assaulting the civil rights of Arabs wanting to learn not how to take off or land a commercial airliner, but only how to--you know--steer it.

but you little folks just keep yer little fantasies alive and never mind anything resembling fact...or adult perpective. sarge alsmosty thinks you kanukistani deserve yer own bush, but then i remeber theres all of like 12 of you morons, and the rest of yer people are quite smart and decent enough folks.

Is that what they call damning with faint praise when one considers the source?

(Source: Small Dead Animals "Humpty Gorelick Sat On A Wall")

Malkin and Maloney In Print

Michelle Malkin and Brian Maloney have an OpEd in the New York Post this morning.

It is largely a recounting of the story as we know it so far: the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club debacle; the lawsuit from Multicultural Radio against AAR's current ownership, Piquant LLC; the lawsuit of a former staffer and on-air talent for backpay. The latest episode centers around Air America founders Sheldon and Anita Drobny as they start yet another corporate entity called "Nova M".

Not much new to blog readers, but for the universe of people out there who don't read the blogs but do check in with the New York Post either in print or online, it will serve as a nice primer on the news that the NYT has not seen fit to print.

What if Air America Had Folded?

What if the Air America Radio network had folded immediately after the 2004 election? Would that have made it nothing but an in-kind donation to the Kerry campaign?

If They Must Sticker It...

--public school biology texts in Kansas, that is--here's an example I'd like to suggest that might hopefully keep everyone's respective undergarments from bunching:

"Evolution is not a comprehensive answer to the question of how life began. Indeed that is a separate subject. It is a description of how life diversified."

(adapted from the comments section below, since that post is about to slip off the front page.)

Things I Never Thought I'd Write

If I were of a more cynical bent, I might have titled this post "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

But here it goes: Maxine Waters is dead-bang right.

What is she right about? The impact of the Supremes' Kelo decision. Here's the quote
(column by Matt Welch in the LATimes, via RedState):

"It's like undermining motherhood and apple pie," Waters told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I mean, people's homes and their land — it's very important, and it should be protected by government, not taken for somebody else's private use."

In case you're worried about the end of the world being that much nigher, here's Nancy Pelosi and the NYT editorial board (ibid):

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) opposed Waters' amendment, arguing that the Supreme Court decision "is almost as if God has spoken." The New York Times editorial page, virtually alone among the country's newspapers, hailed the decision as "a welcome vindication of cities' ability to act in the public interest" and "a setback to the 'property rights' movement, which is trying to block government from imposing reasonable zoning and environmental regulations."

I shudder to think what sort of regulation it would take for the NYT to find it unreasonable in their eyes. And what gives with the scare quotes around property rights? Perhaps the NYT Editorial staff is entirely made up of renters?

You Can NEVER Have Too Much Cowbell

Today's Day-by-Day...

Another Thread in the AAR Tapestry

The Gloria Wise organization of The Bronx, New York, is not alone in wanting money back from owners of the Air America Radio network. Multicultural Radio--they owned the Chicago station, among others, and was the first big market to yank the welcome mat out from under AAR--also is seeking funds.

Michelle Malkin has the complaint and goes over its points here.

Brian Maloney will be following up over at his place today, too.

Stereotype: Men Are Bad at Remembering Dates

Yes... I passed my first blogoversary on Saturday while driving from Chicago to DC. It is hard to believe that an entire year has passed. (And so many fatuous and/or jejune things to say--Ed.)

AP Editors Meet: Better War Coverage?

Jack Kelly has posted a story about an editors' meeting at AP, written up at the New York Times. Jack mentions servicemen's group life insurance as one way to get more reporters over there.

An interim step would be for the AP to pick up the dispatches of Michael Yon. He's already there and writing rings around the Green Zone-bound journos. How about Arthur Chrenkoff? He's got a link for just that kind of purpose (click here, editors) (I asked him if he would do it if asked by one of the big wire services; I hope he gets a chance to read his comments section). Arthur also nominates Michael Yon, incidentally. Chester would be another good pick.

The point is there are people already there and doing a great job, and with the monetary backing of an organization like AP, guys like Michael Yon wouldn't have to rely on the kindness of strangers hitting his Paypal link in order to buy film and other supplies.

Able Danger - Part I: What's Data Mining?

Hiawatha Bray's got an article up at the Boston Globe about what Data Mining is. If you use one of those grocery store discount cards--"Fresh Values", "Giant Values"--to get a few dollars off the grocery store bill every week, your data is being mined in a similar way, if for a different purpose.

The "Total Information Awareness", later termed "Terrorism Information Awareness" program was championed by Admiral John Poindexter. Given his Iran-Contra involvement (his felony conviction was overturned, but the damage to his reputation can never be overturned), it was no surprise that his program was shut down.

Could it have rolled up all the hijackers? Poindexter doesn't think so. Like pretty much any problem, the information necessary to solve it only seems obvious after the fact.

(via Irish Pennants)

Strange Bedfellows in Crawford, TX

I haven't written much about Cindy Sheehan, the Vacaville, CA mom who lost her son last year in Iraq. People deal with loss in different ways, and in her case, she has immersed herself in the far left causes that she held even before the war began.

Today, though, I found an article on Rantburg describing as strange a political ally for Ms. Sheehan as can be in David Duke. From the second line of Mr. Duke's article comes this, er, nugget: "Courageously she has gone to Texas near the ranch of President Bush and braved the elements and a hostile Jewish supremacist media..."

I wonder how many of the assorted throng -- assorted in that they are tending to tout their own causes for the gathered media -- share the same anti-Jewish sentiments. I doubt we'll get a show of hands on the nightly news.

In the meantime, Sheehan's protest has apparently strained her 28 year marriage to the breaking point. The Smoking Gun has the August 12th filing. (They've been separated since June 1, actually.) I had wondered for the last week if there was a Mr. Sheehan. He has refused to comment publicly about his wife's actions, which explains why there haven't been many mentions of him.
(also via Rantburg)

UPDATE 2005-08-16 0900 EDT: Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. So wrote Ms. Sheehan to the editors of ABC's Nightline back on March 15. David Duke and Cindy Sheehan: Birds of a Feather? I'm not saying, I'm just saying...

(Christopher Hitchens wonders aloud about it, too. I know I'm going to read and learn.)

UPDATE to the UPDATE: LyfLines takes a look at what AP has chosen to run regarding Ms. Sheehan, and what portions of the public record they haven't mentioned. Interesting stuff.

Also "Open War" has been declared on Michelle Malkin. I'm not sure what they called the previous hate they spewed on her.

UPDATE to the updated UPDATE: James Tarranto has more information on Ms. Sheehan. Did you know that she has two other children, alive and well in California?

Able Danger - prelude

I mentioned a little while ago that Gorelick should have been testifying before the 9-11 Commission, not sitting on it.

Now there is tangible proof that the wall between Intelligence and Law Enforcement prevented the identification of 9-11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and his cell to the FBI a YEAR before the hijackings took place.

Gorelick may not have built the wall, but she sure put the razor wire on top to ensure that if someone tried to circumvent it, they'd be toast.

More to come... but in the meantime, Ed Morrissey's got a pretty good set of articles, indexed here.

Click4Cathy: Success

Day-by-Day reports that Operation Click4Cathy is a success.

NYT's Most Recent Mention of Gloria Wise

Here is, as of 1750 CDT, the most recent mention in the New York Times of the Gloria Wise organization.

For those who don't want to register to see the archive, it is dated June 8, 2003. Here's the portion that it hit on:

One memorable incident involved Molotov cocktails. Soon after Charles Rosen, the director of the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, a Coop City organization, spoke vehemently against several candidates, someone threw two Molotov cocktails at the building that houses the club, causing slight damage. Although some people involved in the elections denied that the episode had anything to do with the contest, many others disagreed.

The story is about elections to the Co-Op City Board of Directors.

If you are registered with the NYT, here's a link you can use to check on it from time to time.

To recap, Rosen resigned last week. And now his replacement has set an end-date, too. (Registration required... et tu, NYPost?)

A tip of the White Sox cap to BizzyBlog for the idea on hitting the NYT archives search. He's got some others, too. Check out that post here.

(Another tip of the cap to Brian Maloney for pointing out the fun stuff at BizzyBlog today.)

UPDATE 2005-08-11-2010 CDT: NYT publishes the story! (reg. req'd) (eagle-eyed Michelle Malkin spotted it in the NY/Region section.) It isn't much. Let's see if they follow up.

UPDATE to the UPDATE: No sign of this story in their search yet. Maybe because it is dated 8/12. I'll try it again tomorrow... and it is there now (2005-08-12 0830 CDT).

UPDATE to the updated UPDATE 2005-08-12 1030 CDT: The part about Michelle Malkin was dropped between last night and today. Red State Rant has a bit and link that does the comparison.

CJR Wonders Why No Coverage of AAR's Woes

The Columbia Journalism Review is covering the lack of coverage of the Air America Radio/Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club imbroglio. It does seem to have all the elements for a good Big Media story. (via Michelle Malkin and Brian Maloney)

In Brian's roundup of the AAR stories, the AAR anonymous apologists have been coming out of the wood work to try to change the subject. The comments thread includes (so far) a basic misunderstanding of the actual Enron scandal, some bashing of Michelle Malkin and that old lefy bugaboo... the meaning of the word "is". As in "Air America is paying the loan."

Not yet they haven't. Based on their missed payroll problem it is rather in doubt that they will be able to. And if the Boys and Girls club drops the Gloria Wise Community Center, will AAR see a need to pay back the money at all?

The Jet Set Chick Explores: Bad Album Art

Kory found a roundup of excruciatingly bad album covers. Then she found another. Some of them are funny, others disturbing... and one of them I've seen before. (Though not in MY album collection, thankfully. The story is in her comments section.)

Check it out here!

Highly Recommended: Peter Wood on Evolution

Peter Wood's article in NRO is one of the most balanced and articulate summaries on Evolution, evolution and Creationism I've ever read. Especially interesting to me is the admission that portions of big-E Evolution are just as speculative, ultimately unprovable and doctrinaire as any part of Creationism.

For the record, I believe that the portion of Genesis wherein it is written that God molded Adam from clay is metaphor--indicating, perhaps that He imbued a creature made of meat with a spirit after his image. I believe in dinosaurs, even if they weren't mentioned in the Bible. I certainly believe without a doubt that finch's beaks change from age to age--small-e evolution in action.

What I do not believe is that a finch ever becomes anything other than a little-bit-different looking finch, and not say, a raptor when times are really tough, and there just aren't any seeds to crack with the old beak style, and a softer, meatier source of food just becomes too tempting to ignore.

Bully for you if you believe that--or something very like it--but take a read of Peter Wood's article and see if you can't admit that it is indeed just a belief.

UPDATE: I picked up at least one reader from another site linking this one. The article states that Wood's concept of big-E Evolution is a strawman constructed by Wood. I'm not so sure about that. While I'll certainly agree that biological scientists may not hold a view like "Big-E" Evolution, it is widely held in America. Indeed it is the orthodox "scientific!" view. Any heretic that would contradict that view is held up for ridicule (see: Kansas Board of Education, labeling textbooks).

How's your clicking finger?

In pretty good shape? Good. Head over to Chris Muir's Day-by-Day and read the 8/10 strip. It explains what the Click4Cathy banner ad is about. Then click it. It doesn't take much, but it's all they need right now.

Heck, if I can vote a few dozen times for Scott Podsednik to go to the All-Star Game, I can surely do the same for a vastly better cause.

UPDATE 2005-08-11-1030 CDT: Chris has the before and after of the Cancer Ablation center's site counter. After one day it has gone up more than 101,000.

What's Love Got to Do With It...

... was going to be the title of a post I've been kicking around for the better part of a year on the topic of same-sex marriage.

Note that I say "same-sex marriage" rather than "Gay marriage" which strongly implies sexual orientation. The upshot is that the law wouldn't explicitly mention that two people need to love each other in a sexual way, and therefore wouldn't stop any two arbitrary individuals from wedding for the purpose of garnering some form of benefits.

Well... I was too late, so I can't say "I told you so". Two fellas up in Canada are planning to do it. And Kate from The Road Kill Diaries has an article on the story now.

I tried posting a comment, but the server's busy. I'll post it here:
Will the happy couple be registering at Canadian Tire?
and
Does the new Canadian Law have same-sex divorce worked out?

Day 11 and the New York Times Still Has Nothing to Say

Macho Nachos (did I mention I love that name?) points out what the New York Times has to say while they say nothing about Air America Radio and the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club.

Could it be because the New York Times is all about Manhattan and the Hamptons in the summertime and doesn't know or care about the plight of poor kids in The Bronx?

If it had been shown that an oil company--or better yet, a tobacco company--had dipped into the till of a charity you can bet the Times would have been all over it, followed closely by the West Coast Wannabes.

Air America Begs for Bumper Sticker Ideas

Given their cash flow problems, AAR must have fired its own marketing staff. If you'd like to donate your expertise, here's the link to the Al Franken Show blog entry.

Comment number 1 is a beauty:

I have a few:
DRINK LIBERALLY (Get the government to pay for everybody's beer, and if a bartender cuts you off, whine that your civil rights are being violated.)

AIR AMERICA RADIO (Formerly proudly funded by the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs of New York!)

AAR: (Ask me about our creative funding opportunities!)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (Radio for those who don't have time to think.)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (Our bumperstickers will be around, even if we're not!)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (Evan Cohen, please give us a call--Evan? Hello?)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (Liberalism at it's Finest!) (Mocking you-don't get too excited)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (We didn't INTEND to be a non-profit organization; do we qualify for OUR OWN government funding yet? Those Boys and Girls Clubs can't be trusted longterm to meet our needs.)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (Al Franken's {HEART'S} Rush Limbaugh!)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (Our staff will soon BE on Welfare!)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (Evan-PLEASE call! It's Really Really Important!)

AIR AMERICA RADIO! (I guess Bill O'Reilly was right about us, after all!)

How long will that comment last? Maybe a long while. They don't appear to pay much mind to the comments.

(A tip of the hat to Brian Maloney for finding the comment thread.)

East Westbound and Down

On the road again today.

Brian Maloney's got the latest outrage in the ongoing saga of Air America's seeming inability to pay the agreed upon sum back to the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx. (This chapter involves Elliot Spitzer.)

(Hat tip for the title: Smokey and Bandit)

UPDATE: (2005-08-08-1102 CDT) Brian Maloney has a leaked memo from AAR stating that pay roll deposits weren't going to be made on Friday as expected, but rather on Monday. That's bad for morale, but now it is a little more clear on why the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club hasn't gotten its money yet. I'm not sure why AAR thinks September is going to be any better from a cash flow standpoint.

Gloria Wise to Air America Radio: Where's Our Money?

Over on the Radio Equalizer, Brian Maloney reports that the Air America accounts payable to the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club is near $900,000, and the Club is ready to receive their money back any time now (see also: New York Post article, though registration is required).

"Air America reached a legal agreement to have that loan repaid in full," beginning this summer, said Martta Rose, a spokeswoman for the Bronx-based Boys & Girls Club, which is the subject of a probe by the city Department of Investigation.

At the same time, AAR is holding its collective wallet closed, stating that they're waiting for 'direction' from New York's Department of Investigation.

Rose says that the Gloria Wise organization is cooperating fully with the investigation. That doesn't exactly answer AAR's need for 'direction', but it is good to hear that the nonprofit organization has nothing to hide.

This entry from Macho Nachos may explain the nature of the aforementioned legal agreement to repay the loan. I say "may" because it asks further questions which are still open.

UPDATE: (1630 EDT) It centers on what what was sold. Piquant LLC didn't buy Progress Media, they bought its assets.
"Did Progress Media pay off its creditors with the proceeds of the sale?"
and
"Did Progress Media get a fair market price for the sale?"
are the two questions.

And one of my own: Where is Evan Cohen?

UPDATE: (2005-08-05-0917 EDT): Macho Nachos (love that name! Makes me wish I had thought of it) reports that New York's Department of Investigation

"...has done nothing and given no instruction preventing payment of money owed to Gloria Wise [Boys & Girls Club]. Any statements to the contrary are inaccurate," said DOI spokesman Keith Schwam.

Now all that remains is for Piquant LLC to find its wallet and follow through.

UPDATE: (2005-08-05-1530 EDT): Rantburg has an article up from CNS that summarizes the situation. I should add that there's been no change to AAR's statement about how appalled they are, as of this update.

License Received

It being 96 degrees and a similar percentage of humidity, I figured today was as good a day as any to walk from the Chinatown Metro stop over to the Superior Court of DC on Indiana Avenue to pick up our marriage license.

And so... it is now in our apartment, good indefinitely. (I think I sweated off a couple pounds for it, which can't be too bad a thing.)

Last night we met with a wedding coordinator from the church at the Galleria at Tyson's Corner (big, indoor mall with a lot of high-line department stores). She said it sounded like our ideas for the ceremony were pretty straight forward.

Prior to all that we stopped at Tiffany & Co. to pick up the wedding bands.

Nine weeks to go.

Another Great Piece From Trodwell

Trodwell further unpacks his reasons for why he enjoys listening to GWB speak. He contrasts him with Reagan and then goes into a history of US political discourse. Very interesting reading.

He even captures the (Bill) Clinton experience very eloquently here:

And there have been some, e.g. Clinton, who have spoken well to explain pedestrian ideas, or to attempt to excuse their errors and misdeeds.

Read it all here, and not just because he sez I'm right. (And I'm happy to help. Keep up the good work.)

Indians Passed the Twins?

When did that happen? Granted, being a White Sox fan, it doesn't really matter to me which team is more than a dozen games behind, but I was a little surprised to see the Twins fade to third. (Sorry guys. Congratulations, Hugh.)

That'll probably be my last baseball entry for awhile.

New York Times Hits All-Time Low

From Drudge: The New York Times is going to pry into the adoption papers of Judge John Roberts's children. Limbaugh mentioned it as well.

I can't imagine what the drool-cases in the New York Times newsroom are hoping to find in these records. What could they possibly find that would be germane to Judge Roberts's confirmation hearing? I hope they are shut down, and shut down hard for it.

Do you get the New York Times? Are you disgusted yet? You can contact them here.

UPDATE (2005-08-05-0945 EDT): From Power Line:

Sources familiar with the matter told FOX News that at least one lawyer turned the Times down flat, saying that any effort to pry into adoption case records, which are always sealed, would be reprehensible.

The New York Times is now forced to fumble through a dictionary to look up the meaning of "reprehensible".

Michael Barone Enters the Blogosphere

As Hugh Hewitt pointed out, when a talent the likes of Michael Barone comes to the ballfield, how can it be anything but a good thing?

Michael Barone wrote on the 3rd about the GOP turn out in Ohio and how it should be a cause for worry among Republican leadership. I don't know about "worry" but there is something they can do, namely stop nominating so-called "moderates". Conservatives win.

A Canadian's View of GWB

Trodwell has penned an essay on Bush, on the occasion of his recess appointment of John Bolton as UN Ambassador. It's a good article and my only quibble was with "Bush is the first WYSIWYG President – what you see is truly what you get." Actually I believe George W. Bush to be the second in my lifetime, the first being Ronald Reagan. They didn't call him the Great Communicator for nothing.

Read it all here.

UPDATE: (2005-08-05-0913 EDT) Greets to all ye readers of Right Thinking People.

LOML: science geek

And I say that, of course, in a loving way. (Who are you to talk?--Ed.) Today she discovered a site selling microbes. No, not actual microbes... stuffed, plush toy microbes, millions of times actual size.

Yes, you too can be the owner of a giant giardia, or a yeast spore, or something nastier like one of these:


Note the little knife and fork on the flesh-eating streptococcus. I wasn't able to find a gonnorrhea to see if it, in fact, has little clapping hands. Click the pic for a bigger view and if you should want to catch an Ebola without fear.

Meanwhile...

Michael Yon and Jack Kelly report the death of a fellow journalist in Iraq.

...in Ohio a Republican remains in the seat vacated by Rob Portman. The Democrat candidate made a strong showing, however, losing by only 4 points. People will be looking at that for a week or so, and I'm sure the DNC will be claiming a moral victory and momentum for 2006 and 2008. It's nonsense, considering the fundamental dishonesty of the Democrat's campaign ads. That a man who called GWB an SOB would open his advertisement with the words of GWB and then the candidate saying that he agrees is a bit disingenuous. Oh... and the ads didn't even mention that he was a Democrat. So if the Ansar al-Donkey wants to claim that as a bellweather, they will be running ashamed of their party affiliation in 2006 and 2008 and narrowly losing.

...Air America Radio is still going with their statement that they love the Boys and Girls Clubs and that the decision has been made 'months ago' to reimburse the Gloria Wise club for the transaction. (Even if '[t]he current owners of Air America Radio [Piquant LLC] have no obligation to Progress Media's business activities.') Touching. Just send the check. Or do it in installments. Just give those kids the activities they need.
(As I've written elsewhere, I fully admit to schadenfreud as I watch a bunch of Lefties fend off a "You want to put poor kids out on the street!" type of attack... the very sort of attack they've leveled at Republicans for decades.)

Air America Radio and the Agreement "Months Ago"

If Air America Radio had agreed to return the ~$480,000 of tax payers' money intended for a Bronx Boys and Girls Club, as has been stated by them, when do they actually plan to... you know... follow through and return the money?

In a comment by erp over at Brian Maloney's Radio Equalizer it was asked whether the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club had gone under. It being Sunday morning I'm not going to blow a call in, but their website is still up and running here.

If you wish to donate to help make up that $480,000.00 used to help Air America Radio instead, click here and tell 'em the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy sent ya.

UPDATE: Greetings, Radio Equalizer readers. See anything you disagree with? Feel free to comment. I want the record straight, even as the statements from Air America Radio tend to shift.

UPDATE II: August 1 - They do answer the phone as the "Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club". I'm left to wonder about AAR's statement "A link on our web site sent those interested in contributing to the camp to the Gloria Wise web site. Regrettably, the camp did not survive the closure of the Gloria Wise organization." [source] Indeed, as pointed out in the Newsmax article, the Camp Air America Experience is still there on the GloriaWise.org site. And Gloria Wise.org is soliciting donations for it by phone, mail, or most prominently, PayPal. Here's the menu:

* $35 – Sponsor a morning hike in the camp’s 5000 acre park that helps 15 kids learn more about the world around them
* $75 – Sponsor an afternoon of fun-filled activities at camp that help 30 kids discover new skills and interest[sic]
* $150 – Sponsor a lifeguard for a day of waterfront activities for 50 kids, including swimming and canoeing
* $350 – Sponsor a life week at camp that builds self-esteem and self-confidence for one child
* $750 - Sponsor a life changing week at camp for two children of the same family

Why doesn't Air America Radio just cut them a check for the $480,000.00 as they agreed 'months ago'? That would sponsor

* 640 pairs of kids for 2 weeks at a time
* 'life weeks' for more than 1300 kids
* A lifeguard for 50 kids for 3200 days
* 6400 afternoons of fun for 30 kids per session
* More than 13,000 morning hikes for groups of 15 kids at a time
(but see below...)

Then again, maybe they just see the "Air America" name being worth that much. Ask 30 kids if they've heard of it; with their ratings, I can't imagine you'll get much reaction.

UPDATE III - Is it possible that Air America Radio's holding company doesn't have the cash to make the payment? That would be the simplest answer.

UPDATE IV - The New York Sun has found that, in fact, AAR has promised over $800,000.00 to the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club. Multiply all of the above activities by 1 and 2/3. C'mon Air America Radio! Make the kids' day! (via Michelle Malkin)

Over There

No, not the TV show. The real deal. Check out Michael Yon, who I had been remiss in adding to the blogroll until today. (I should probably take my whole Bookmarks folder over to Blogrolling and be done with it, eh?) Michael is embedded with the US Army's 1-24th Infantry Regiment, otherwise known as "Deuce-Four".

While some decry the "Law Enforcement Model" as a throwback to Clintonian weakness, there is an element of law enforcement investigation in the way our troops are operating. Michael's most recent dispatch describes the chain-reaction of events from bust to bust: Foreign jihadist gets caught --> Foreign jihadist blabs to everyone who will listen --> some kernel of information leads to the next series of busts. The fan out is what is keeping the increasingly effective Iraqi police ahead of the terrorists, insurgents and assorted criminal element at work in the new Iraq.

Read Empty Jars and then hit his PayPal tip jar.

Air America Gets Funds - Women and Children Hardest Hit

Funds came into Progress Media from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club. The funds should have been used for activities for kids. Instead they went to fund a superfluous radio network.

AAR sez that Progress Media was defunct as of 2004 and that the head of that organization, Evan Cohen hasn't had any contact with Air America (shouldn't it be Air Amerikkka using wacky lefty spelling?) since May 2004. So don't blame the current managers of the network, 'kay?

Brian Maloney's got a great fisking of Air America Radio's latest statement on this over at Radio Equalizer.


(Hat tips: Michelle Malkin and Power Line)

Incidentally Air Amerikkka Radio is back on the air in Chicago. Sort of. They have a 2500 Watt transmitter in Crystal Lake. Not sure too many people in Chicago can actually hear that. But I can when I'm home and the sun is up. They go to bed at sundown. (source) I really thought they'd fold after November 2004.

New location, look at the Cotillion

The Cotillion is over at MuNu now (see the updated link to your right). It also has a hot new look courtesy of a logo by Shano.

This week, I especially dig their tribute to Sweet's Ballroom Blitz here. Oh yeah!

License Applied For

Around Illinois--and probably a lot of other states, too--you often see new cars rolling down the highway without plates, but with a "License Applied For" sticker in the back window.

Well, yesterday LOML and I went down to the DC courthouse and put in for a marriage license. After a 5 Day Waiting Period, we'll have the license in hand.

They didn't give us one of those stickers, though.

Van Gogh Killer Wants Death, 'Martyrdom'

Picked this tidbit up at the Potbelly Stove.

[Theo Van Gogh's killer] has two weeks to lodge an appeal but has said he hoped to receive the maximum punishment, preferably death, in his quest for martyrdom.

To which, hbl asks "Martyrdom. And for what? Who is deceiving these people?"

Well, there are a lot of factors, but I'm convinved it comes out of the madrassa system, particularly the ones funded by Saudi Arabia. Imams urging the faithful to take the jihad concept and apply it to literal war. What's waiting at the other end for the shaheed? 72 virgins.

For a culture that is sexually repressed beyond belief, that has to be a pretty potent enticement.

She "Regretted" the Anti-Aircraft Photo...

...but did Jane Fonda learn anything?

Now she's on about the Iraq theater of the War on Islamofascism. She'll be traveling around on a bus in opposition to the war. And she'll just happen to be hawking her book.

No word if she and her famous votin' vagina will be accompanied by a husband or male relative during the trip. After all if the Islamist's were to get their way, her life would depend on it.

(Hat tip: La Shawn Barber, who's collecting a lot of other bloggers' takes on it)

Never Too Early to Think 2008

Patrick Ruffini's got a straw poll of his own right now. There are 5 candidates listed. The commentary is interesting as well, as various people wonder about various candidates not on the list, such as Tancredo and Newt.

Here's the link (via Hugh Hewitt. Hugh's got a nice new look, too.)

Booga-dog online

There's a pic of Booga-dog (aka Wendy) over at the Potbelly Stove. Thanks to them for watching her while I'm in Maryland.

Australian PM John Howard's Remarks from London

Hugh Hewitt has posted John Howard's remarks.

Here are some choice bits:

Can I remind you that the murder of 88 Australians in Bali took place before the operation in Iraq? And can I remind you that the 11th of September occured before the operation in Iraq? Can I also remind you that the very first occasion that bin Laden specifically referred to Australia was in the context of Australia's involvement in liberating the people of East Timor? Are people by implication suggesting that we shouldn't have done that? When a group claimed responsibility on the website for the attacks on the 7th of July, they talked about British policy not just in Iraq but in Afghanistan. Are people suggesting we shouldn't be in Afghanistan? When Sergio DeMillo was murdered in Iraq, a brave man, a distinguished international diplmat, immensely respected for his work in the United Nations, when al Qaeda gloated about that, they referred specifically to the role that DeMillo had carried out in East Timor because he was the United Nations adminsitrator in East Timor.

His delivery was measured and calm. I don't know how he does it, but then that's why I'm an engineer and not an elected official, I guess.

Here's the rest of it.

Carol Platt Liebau Invites Ann Coulter to Knock it Off

"Moreover, as a strategic matter, it's a real mistake to attack Roberts from the right. What's the point -- to force the Administration to hand out conservative red meat, which may satisfy Ann Coulter, but at the same time hands Kennedy/Leahy/Durbin more targets to hone in on?"

So writes Carol Platt Liebau. It's a good point among others. Read it here.

John Roberts

By now everyone in America, as well as anyone else who reads American blogs, knows that GWB has tapped John Roberts to be his nominee to the Supreme Court. Judge Roberts, 50, currently sits on the DC Court of Appeals. Prior to that he was one of the most successful litigators in front of the Supreme Court. The majority agreed with him quite often, and Sandra Day O'Connor was part of that majority more often than not. That will make it difficult to argue that he is out of step with the court and with Justice O'Connor's positions. He's also said to be a great guy with a disarming personality, but that won't stop the Democrats from trying to slime him as the very death of Western civilization.

If you are going to be living on the edge of your seat for the next few months, worrying about the fate of Roe v. Wade, ask yourself these questions: Why are you worried? Do you have a sense of the Constitutional basis on which it should be overturned?

Even if Roe were overturned, abortion clinics nationwide wouldn't be bulldozed overnight. It would become a matter for the states to decide. If you would rather live in a state that allows it, get up and move! A good 80% of life's barriers are self-imposed.

See also: Hugh's writeup following his 6-hour show yesterday. Hugh worked with John Roberts back in the Reagan administration.

Also Beldar's blog, and Power Line.

Facts About Maryland: What the heck is King's Contrivance?

So I'm moving to Maryland. Part of that process has been looking for a new job, and one possibility is located in the city of Columbia, which is not too far from BWI.

While going to the airport one night to pick up a friend of ours, LOML spotted a sign for "King's Contrivance". I didn't have time to stop in and find out just what that was, and for awhile I forgot about it.

(It turned out, too, that the job opportunity I was looking at in Columbia fell through due to a casualty of some government agency's budget priorities. Oh well.)

For whatever reason, though, I happened to think of it and this is what I found:

King's Contrivance takes its name from the restaurant of that name opened in 1962 in the converted boyhood home of Judge James Macgill, descendant of Reverend James Macgill, the first reverend of Christ Church.

The 370-acre farm on which King's Contrivance is located was granted by one of the Lords Baltimore in 1730 to the Reverend James Macgill who was among the first Episcopal ministers appointed to the Province of Maryland. It remained in the Macgill family until 1961, a total of 230 years.

So there ya go. It's a village in or near Columbia in Howard County, Maryland. And it's named for a restaurant.

SCOTUS Derby

Here's a name I don't remember reading before. And I thought I was paying attention...

From a ConfirmThem story on Priscilla Owen:

"...Joy Clement remains VERY much in the running, or at least was in the running still late last week. The president personally has asked top Louisiana politicians about Clement, supposedly, and his college roommate is a big booster of hers, supposedly."

Louisiana, eh? Perhaps they'd be looking at way to ensure that Mary Landrieu of 'Gang of 14' fame votes for cloture against a filibuster.

She's from the 5th Circuit, where Priscilla Owen is on the bench now, and to which Charles Pickering had also been nominated. She was confirmed in November 2001 in a 99-0 vote of the Senate whereas the other two had been blocked. (source: Left-wing 'Independant Judiciary')

Her specialty appears to be maritime law, as is cited all over the place. I don't see the Dems getting too worked up over that, at least not without great effort.

She'd be about as moderate a pick as we're likely to see GWB make. I'm hoping, though, that whatever his decision is, he won't have made it based on a race- or sex-based calculus.

The Low Road to the Senate: Pennsylvania Style

Remember when that stiff, John Kerry, gratuitously mentioned that Dick Cheney's daughter is a lesbian during the debates? It was widely believed that it was an attempt--and an exceedingly lame attempt, at that--to drive a wedge between the Bush-Cheney ticket and religious conservatives.

It didn't work then, and it shouldn't work in Pennsylvania, either, where the Philadelphia Inquirer has announced that one of Rick Santorum's top aides has been outed on a gay website. (Hat tip: K-Lo at the Corner)

Considering the heat Santorum has taken in the past over his personal beliefs about gay sex, I suppose the Inquirer felt they could get that fire ignited once more. I'm guessing that sites that are left-wing and gay (as opposed to, say, GayPatriot.org, who is not Left wing) are going to be left scratching their heads over this one. (Andrew Sullivan is mum as of this writing.)

The solution to the conundrum is simple: Santorum may not endorse gay sex--may in fact find it "icky"--but that doesn't mean he has to have a problem with gay people.

I wonder if anyone will get that... at least on the Left.

CBS Announces... a Website!

CBS has announced the launch of a 24-hour focused web presence called CBSNews.com.

It is going to feature all the great digital gewgaws you would expect like news clips on demand and even a blog. From Adrants.com: "a blog to be called "Public Eye" designed to provide greater openness and transparency into the newsgathering process."

This has been my favorite quote so far (from USA Today):

"We're talking about having the A-team produce for the Web," says CBS Digital Media president Larry Kramer.

Does this mean that it will be something like The Corner, but with Mr. T, George Peppard, Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz instead? "I pity, K-Lo!"

Scorched

Went to the ballgame yesterday with my coworkers. It was a day game and thanks to our position in the right field bleachers, I managed to bring home a nasty sunburn. This is the worst I've had since Brazil in 1997 when the tops of my ears got all blistery.

Thankfully there's nothing like that this time.

Anyone got a good home remedy?

Plame Name Blame Game... part 341,503

The hope is palpable. The hope, that is, that Democrats can pin something actionable on Karl "The Architect" Rove. (Sidebar: did you notice he resembles Rush Limbaugh?)

Will it work? Nope, but the Dems are going to huff, and puff and look generally silly in the process. Jack Kelly has a good round up of the coverage and also coverage of the coverage. Today he follows up with an invaluable timeline of events.

Newsmax is reporting that Karl Rove is NOT the target of Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation. (Hat tip: Rantburg)

Interesting. Now given that Karl Rove is legally free to discuss his actions, including his own GJ testimony, he's not talking. The stated reason being that Fitzgerald specifically asked him not to. Could be part of a massive "Rope-A-Dope" as Rush likes to say.

So who is Fitzgerald looking for? Obviously the prosecutor isn't saying, so we are left to opine. According to John Podhoretz writing yesterday on the Corner, it could be none other than Judith Miller of the New York Times. Yes, the Judith Miller who is in jail right now for not giving up her source.

And to top it off, Powerline has a piece on a NYT editorial on the affair called "Is Hypocrisy Still Considered A Vice?" In it they note a pretty huge "outing" of CIA operatives... committed by the NYT itself.

The BBC and 'scare quotes'

The BBC has a way with words. Not so much using the words themselves, but by setting them apart with single quote marks. Like 'this'. As if the thing called within the quotes is something they would never deign to say. Only a fool would call it that.

I was browsing Rantburg this morning and came upon the headline "'Bomb' found in Dutch boy's room"

Here's what I wrote as a comment:

Love Auntie Beeb's scare quotes: 'Bomb'

The office said in a statement that the device consisted of a tube filled with gun powder, small bullets and a detonation mechanism.

Okay, I give up. What is that? What would be a better, BBC-approved word for that? 'Amusement'? If it had been found outside of the Beeb's bureau, something tells me they would recognize it as a device intended to destroy their property and kill as many people standing nearby as possible.

But I'm still having a hard time coming up with the right word for that. Any help?

The comments are trickling in after. I especially like dot-com's answer to my query.

Divisive Elections Defined

Aaron over at Lifelike Pundits has a nice post up describing Chuck Schumer's column for the NY Daily News. From Schumer's bleating, he has inferred that a divisive election is... any election where the Democrat loses. Even Reagan's 1980 triumph.

Take a look at Aaron's post here. Good stuff.

(Hat tip: Confirm Them)

Dr. Demarche Writes to the G8 Reps

Dr. Demarche over at the Daily Demarche has written a letter to the G-8 reps. In it he calls for the kind of help the nations of Africa really needs:

The first step will be the hardest- the establishment of rule of law and the basic infrastructure of a stable, self-perpetuating economy. Micro loans, trade partnerships and co-ops allow local populations to have some say in their own economic recovery.

It doesn't go as far as Hernando De Soto's suggestions, but I guess it is a start. Read the whole letter here.

See also: this post from April 26, especially including the link to Ronald Bailey's article at Reason.

Ruffini to GOP: Quit Yer Whining and Fight!

Patrick Ruffini outlines a campaign-style communications strategy for the President's nominees. He notes that since fully 86% of people polled believe that Democrats will oppose the President's nominees for reasons previously considered taboo, there is no sense continuing as we have been:

Complaining about ideological opposition to a nominee is about as effective as whining about your opponent running a negative campaign.

He goes on to outline how the GOP should communicate in kind, exposing the Left-wing social agenda that drives the Senate Democrats and contrasting that with an "anti-agenda".

Well worth reading the whole thing.

(via Confirm Them)

London

The best comment I've read so far with respect to this morning's attack on London has been on Rantburg:

What makes al Q think they can achieve with a handful of suicidal primitives what the combined strength of the Luftwaffe failed to do sixty five years ago? Morons.

You said it, Bulldog.

Michelle Malkin's got a number of posts up already.

The "Nuke Mecca Now" crowd is warming up, too. That's an option I think needs to be saved for later. Air strikes on Damascus... that has some appeal.

UPDATE: The Corner passes on an email from another Londoner sitting in his office: "Is this the best they can do?"

UPDATE II: Hugh Hewitt has posted a series of links with chronology, as well as an excerpt from Belmont Club.

UPDATE III: Does this make Chuck Schumer's comment about "going to war" over a Supreme Court nomination sound... small?

UPDATE IV: Irish Pennants weighs in with a brief tribute to England.

UPDATE V: CAIR has come up with a statement.

UPDATE VI:

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...

-- Winston Churchill (Hear it at the BBC History Site -- requires Real Player)

That's the spirit of Britain that we all hope comes to fore now that violent jihad has come to the heart of London. God save the Queen.

Update VII: (via Hugh) Mark Steyn's piece on the choice before the UK, as it was before Spain.

Blogosphere Synthesis - July 6

Before logging into work, I decided to tool around the blogosphere.

Michelle wonders about O'Connor's replacement overturning Roe v. Wade here.

Over at Right Thinking People, Trodwell notes that PMPM appears set to

speak "forcefully" to Bush at the G8 to convince him of the scientific evidence that the world is getting warmer and that manmade sources are the cause.

"Obviously, accepting the validity of the science is the first step toward dealing with the issue," he said Tuesday during a visit to Ireland.

"I intend to make the point and I'll make the point very forcefully in terms of the science."

Ah... a man of science, that Paul Martin. He ignores the body of evidence--all equally scientific, if you will--that suggests that even if the world's climate is changing, there is nothing we could do about it.

Which brings us to Roe v. Wade. Robert P. George argues from a scientific basis that a new, genetically distinct life is created at conception. That this aligns with a religious position is well and good, but not necessary to the argument.

However in Roe v. Wade, the majority (7) held that

[The State] has legitimate interests in protecting both the pregnant woman's health and the potentiality of human life, each of which interests grows and reaches a "compelling" point at various stages of the woman's approach to term.

(quotes are indeed in the decision)

No science involved there. They postulated some sort of arbitrary changes in the nature of the developing baby (the "potentiality of human life" in their terms), but didn't specify really what they were.

From this I gather that the liberal view is that science is a wonderful thing when it supports your position--and especially great when it allows for a little bashing of the United States--but it can be safely disregarded when it is inconvenient to your position.

Plame Name Blame Game... part 341,502

A surprising entrant in the "Who outed Valerie Plame?" game: Vanity Fair.

One could argue that the horse was already out of the barn, but here's a post (via Michelle) with a picture of the elusive, exceedingly private, and socially low-key Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame.

Nice looking woman. He certainly married up. (Then again, don't we all?)

I wonder if they got to meet Sean Combs in person at the event? I mean, that would have to be a major thrill for a couple of privacy-loving, socially low-key people like them, yeah?

(See also: Irish Pennants for a recap of the Plame Name Blame Game, particularly the wishful thinking that somehow Karl Rove is responsible.)

(Now continued above and also here.

A Very Good Reason to Not Choose Alberto Gonzales to SCOTUS

Bench Memos picks up on a WashingPost article describing 3 high profile cases that would obligate would-be justice Alberto Gonzales should they come before a court that has him as a member. They involve doctor-assisted suicide, parental notification of an abortion and the military's ability to recruit on public university campuses.

Should GWB go with Gonzales as his pick, I'd really have to wonder where his head is on those three issues.

I'm pretty sure he's not going to go with conventional wisdom... at least that 'wisdom' touted in Big Media.

(WashingPost article)
(Hat tip: Bench Memos)