Free Mikhail Khodorkovsky

I woke up to the news today that Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

Garry Kasparov wrote this back in March:

The arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky has little in common with the prosecution of corrupt businessmen in the U.S. He is being punished for trying to free himself and his corporation, the Yukos energy company, from state pressure. He wanted to follow the law, not the Kremlin's corrupt edicts, and for this he was arrested. Imagine a Western court hearing a case in which the defendant's lawyer was searched on her way out of visiting her client in prison, with all of her papers seized and admitted as evidence! This is business as usual in Mr. Putin's Russia.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky will probably not get an Amnesty International campaign in his honor. They're too busy condemning America (America, of all places!) for human rights abuses. He will not get the usual attention of leftists who think that criticizing Putin is somehow a reflection on Bush, because he is rich and because his business is energy. But we shouldn't forget him as he is, more than just an unfortunate man caught up in a corrupt system, a symbol of the deep problems Russia has, and will continue to have, until they let go of Communism and live without the totalitarian system to which they've become accustomed.

Today

Ace and I will continue to 'Hoist the Black Flag' (it's from a Mencken quote for those just joining us) today at 4pm EST on Rightalk.com. Our guests today will be my political hero, Herman Cain, and Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs. CALL IN NUMBER- 1-866-884-TALK (8255).

Update: Apparently, Dawn Summers will yet again be live-blogging it here.

The 'non' heard round the world

Julien at The Point explains why he voted 'no' on the French referendum.

Richard North notes the effect of the referendum on internal British politics.

No Pasaran writes that America-hater Dominique de Villepin is now Prime Minister.

Blogroll Update

Sausage&Peppers- I met Matt on the Herman Cain campaign (where I also met bloggers Alex and Mark from 'Save the GOP' and Rachel May). Matt is a Yankee fan from Iowa who lives in Georgia. You don't see those everyday.

The big fight coming up

When Ace and I were gearing up for our first show (it's called 'Hoist the Black Flag', and you can listen every Tuesday from 4-5pm at www.rightalk.com and the show replays all weekend long), I was telling some friends that our first guest would be Michelle Malkin. My friends aren't very political so they asked about her and her major issues. I explained that she was against illegal immigration and that was the focus of a lot of her writing and talks. They asked 'why, is anyone for illegal immigration?' They were surprised that there were people supportive of illegal immigration. The people in my story are immigrants, like me. Their parents waited for years to escape not just poverty but religious and political persecution. They aren't friendly to the idea of someone breaking the law to get here.

I thought about their surprise that anyone can be supportive of illegal immigration when I heard about the protests at the 'Illegal Immigration Summit' in Las Vegas. What are some of the arguments of the pro-illegal immigration side? Here's one by Miguel Barrientos, president of the Las Vegas Mexican-American Political Association: 'They're creating division among Americans. We don't need it.' Is no disagreement allowed on this issue, then? Obviously not, as 'Racists, go home!' is what the protestors shouted at attendees.

What is racist about thinking that illegal immigration is wrong? What is racist about worrying about the security of your nation's borders, at a time when your country is at war with a shadowy enemy who is trying to infiltrate your country to destroy it from within? Minuteman organizer Chris Simcox spoke at the conference and, mentioning recent deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, said 'There is no reason human beings, regardless of where they come from, should die horrible deaths.' What's racist about that?

Quote of the Day

Why is it that liberals insist that things like the inheritance tax are necessary to level the playing field (so that one person doesn't start out with some extaordinary advantage, and someone else starts with nothing), but they never talk about levelling the playing field in other areas? Why shouldn't attractive people be forced to have deforming plastic surgery so that they look like everyone else? What about talents that should be restricted, or perhaps energetic people should be forced to sleep 8 hours a day so they can't work harder and get ahead of their more-rest-needing counterparts?

Why is it just money that we should be redistributing?

-Joseph Weisenthal at Liberteaser

Romney in '08?

I don't think so, and it's not because he's Mormon.

The post-9/11 soldiers

On September 10, 2001, I didn't think once about the Twin Towers. I didn't think about the rotting Middle East and how it affected me. I didn't wonder about our troop levels and whether we have enough military to fight a few different wars at once.

And then nothing was the same again. I wanted to hide under my bed. I didn't want to take the subway because I was scared it would blow up. I didn't want my brother taking the Brooklyn Bridge or the Brooklyn Battery tunnel to commute to school. Both felt like such obvious targets. I didn't want to travel or go out. I just wanted to sit on my friend's couch and ask again and again 'how could this happen?'

There were those who saw the towers fall and reacted very differently.

They joined the military. They knew that war was coming and that it would last for a long while. These aren't people who joined during peacetime to pay for college and these aren't people who were drafted like in previous wars, though I respect all those people just the same. While the rest of us tried to get back to just worrying about our everyday lives, these men went off to fight our battles to allow us to do just that.

We know the names of some of them, like Pat Tillman who left his luxurious life behind and died in Afghanistan. There are so many others who did the same whose names we don't have ready on our tongues. So, today I'm going to remember the men who saw the towers fall, saw the Pentagon get hit, saw that plane crash in Pennsylvania and didn't spend the next few months getting drunk with their friends, trying to forget. They heard the call to war and they became warriors. On this Sunday before Memorial Day, I salute these men.

Update: Michelle Malkin links to some other interesting sites that are doing remembering today.

Quote of the Day

It is depressing to look back at history and see how regularly the same nice-sounding idea--"let's take the land from the rich people who unjustly own it and give it to those who need it"--turns into tragedy for everyone. It's even more depressing to realise that despite the seeming predictibility of the result, lots of people want to do it anyway.

-Jane Galt on the problems of Mugabe's Zimbabwe

Blogroll Update

NYC:

Bronx Pundit

Del Brians

Metropolist

NYC Right

Letters from NYC

Blissful Knowledge

Yet another weird SF fan

Texas:

Robofrost

Tennessee:

Todd A

Email trouble

I have been unable to get into my gmail account for two days. I've emailed them several times but haven't gotten a response. Please use ksheinin at yahoo.com for the next few days.

Fish in barrel

Adam McKay, who generally writes lefty rants over at that Huffington site, has a post where he tries to find common ground for both the left and the right. He notes that he doesn't like large deficits, or tax-breaks for rich people and that he does like the environment. Turns out, he even likes the military and supported the Afghanistan war. Then, he gets into Iraq. He writes:

But for the life of me I don't get the whole Iraq thing and how we've all forgiven the mistakes made by our leaders that led to 100,000 Iraqi deaths and thirty thousand U.S. casualties.

What, now? Iraq Body Count, a site that I believe overexaggerates its stats, has the Iraqi deaths at maximum 24766. As for U.S casualties, 30,000 is so outrageous I think he just randomly chose a number. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count has the number at 1656. That's quite an error.

McKay's next sentence is 'What am I missing?'. Facts, buddy, facts.

What our City Council wasted our money on this week.

From a site called 'Feministing' that I found via Liberteaser:

This week NYC Council unanimously passed Women's Restroom Equity Bill which establishes a 2-to-1 ratio for women's restrooms in new public venues including, bars, restaurants and concert halls. Whoo-hoo!

From Wash Post:

"It's a women's rights accomplishment," said council member Yvette D. Clarke (D), the bill's chief sponsor. "It goes to the quality of life that we are able to enjoy in the city."

So, now it's a 'right' to have extra bathrooms for women. For the record, it isn't feminist to act as if women are too retarded to find themselves a bathroom or be able to wait until they can.

Learning to love Kudzu

I first saw Kudzu in Georgia. Mark Harris told me the story of how Kudzu was imported from Japan to stop erosion but ended up growing over everything and becoming unstoppable. This is Kudzu:

Maybe it's because this is the current view from my window in NYC, but I found Kudzu to be quite nice.

Gary Pettus:

It was brought to the South during the Great Depression to help control soil erosion, but it helped itself to everything else. It covers hills, telephone poles, ravines, abandoned headstones, slow cows.

Unable to kill it, stop it, or even make it chew with its mouth closed, Southerners have tried to pare it back by, among other things, eating it. Before it eats us.

Now, it turns out that Kudzu heightens the buzz from alcohol. I can see the vine suddenly developing legions of fans, can't you?

Quote of the Day

"Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time," Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said.

Yeah, and um, my high school's "Time Out" room was Auschwitz.

-Joe Grossberg

Islamofascism v. Segregationist South

Cathy Seipp:

Liberals then did not tsk-tsk about the observation that the segregated south was a toxic, racist culture that had to change -- nor did they explain to blacks impatient about "colored" water fountains etc. that really, this is a different culture after all, and we need to be delicate and understanding.

Certainly I realize that there are differences between the pre-Civil War south and Islamists today. The animosity of segregationists was focused on blacks; Islamists especially hate Jews, but also aren't generally fond of Americans, Christians, women, homosexuals, Buddhist statues or the entire western way of life. And even at its worst, the segregated south wasn't expansionist, at least not in the 20th-Century. When George Wallace stood in that schoolhouse door, he didn't mean that schools across the entire planet should conform to his notions of separate but equal -- or watch out for the suicide bombers.

Question for all the lawyers in the house

If a drink cost $10 and tax is 8.625%, is an establishment allowed to 'round-up'?

All weekend long

You can listen to a replay of 'Hoist the Black Flag', hosted by Ace and myself, by clicking the above logo. Our guests were Scott Johnson of Powerline and Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum. The replay will happen as follows:

[Sat 4:00 PM Stream#2]
[Sat 9:00 PM Stream#2]
[Sun 2:00 AM Stream#2]
[Sun 7:00 AM Stream#2]
[Sun 12:00 AM Stream#2]
[Sun 5:00 PM Stream#2]
[Sun 10:00 PM Stream#2]
[Mon 3:00 AM Stream#2]
[Mon 8:00 AM Stream#2]
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Be sure to listen live this Tuesday at 4pm when our guests will be Herman Cain and Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs.

First they came for the guns, but I wasn't a gun-owner so I did nothing...

....then they came for the pointy knives.....

Fortunately, this lunacy is not happening in America, it's happening in Britain where they will not rest until law-abiding people are completely defenseless against criminals who will disregard these weapon laws as they disregard the rest.

In the United States, where people are more likely to debate gun control than knife control, partisans on both sides sounded amused. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, asked, "Are they going to have everybody using plastic knives and forks and spoons in their own homes, like they do in airlines?"

When Ms. Summers and I have argued over gun-control and I'd say 'what about baseball bats, should we ban those since they can be used as weapons?' she'd roll her eyes and tell me baseball bats had uses other than harming people. What say you, Dawn, about this?

Actual caption: Manufacturers are urged to redesign kitchen knives with rounded tips.

The truth about the ACLU

When I am sent a forwarded email, I read it, run it by Snopes.com and then, if it's found to be fake as nearly all of them are, I 'reply all' with a link to the Snopes page.

Recently, someone sent me a forward about the ACLU wanting to ban crosses on graves which are on public property. False, said Snopes.

The implication in the message quoted above — that the ACLU's opposition to religious displays on state property extends to their advocating the removal of headstones and burial markers from federal cemeteries in the U.S. (even though the message is usually accompanied by a photograph of a European cemetery where American World War II servicemen are interred) — is another example of one group's exaggerating their opponent's position in order to mobilize support through political outrage.

Except now it turns out that it's not so false. From Opinion Journal's Taste Page:

In 1934, a gritty prospector named J. Riley Bembry gathered a couple of his fellow World War I veterans at Sunrise Rock. Together they erected the cross, in honor of their fallen comrades. The memorial has been privately maintained ever since, with small groups still occasionally meeting to remember the nation's veterans.

A wrinkle developed in 1994, when the federal government declared the surrounding area a national preserve. With the cross now located on newly public land, the memorial soon caught the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union. Working with Frank Buono, a retired park ranger turned professional activist, the ACLU demanded that the National Park Service tear down the cross.

The worst part? We're paying for it:

The ACLU, however, has made out quite nicely. Not only has it prevailed in the courts to date, but it has managed to pocket $63,000. Owing to a quirk in civil-rights law, the taxpayer once again ended up paying the ACLU for pressing a highly controversial church-state lawsuit.

The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 specifies that anyone bringing an even partly successful civil-rights suit may have the plaintiff pay all legal fees for both parties, a discretionary award that is routinely granted.

Great.

Is it still a meme if it's unsolicited?

Mr. Wheaton links Lileks' column about bad summer jobs and then lists his own which include department store salesman and pool boy (that last one actually explains a lot), which got me thinking about my own crazy jobs. All of these were during college:

1. Hostess at Ground Round, Prudential Mall, Boston- without a doubt, the worst job I ever had. Rude people both worked and ate there. The waitstaff would get mad if I sat black people at their table (and that included the black waitstaff) but as that was 75% of our customer base, there wasn't a lot I could do about it. Nightmare.

2. Cashier at Store 24, Boston- I was always falling for guys who lived in other countries. There was something about guys in my dorm, on my block, hell, in my state, that was always unappealing. So, I fell for the German guy, the Scottish guy, the Greek guy. Basically, I got this job to pay my phone bills. Internet wasn't that widespread then and if I wasn't on the phone with the foreign guy, I'd probably have to talk to people that I'd have to see all the time. Sure, Store 24 mostly employed ex-crackheads but Boston was cold and the store was right around the corner from my apartment. I was there for awhile but it all ended when a 6'3", 350lb guy I worked with ordered me to do something (despite not being my superior at all) and I refused. He smashed the cash register with his fist in front of customers in anger. I said 'ok, then', walked out of the place and never came back.

3. Bartender at a really cheesy nightclub, Scotland- This lasted all of two weeks. When you hear that they don't tip in Europe, it's true, they really don't tip. Most of the people would have the exact change, to the pence, ready for me. I could've lived with the low pay but it was torturous watching people have fun when I couldn't. Previous jobs in nightclubs in NY had me promoting the club and therefore basically just socializing, not having drink orders barked at me by a frantic, untipping mob.

4. Credit Card Sales, Boston- You know those people on college campuses that offer you free t-shirts in exchange for signing up for a credit card? That was me. This is not as bad a job as it sounds. I got to approach people that looked interesting and it paid pretty well. It's the devil's work, though. I wonder how many of those people are in debt now.

5. Surveyor for a baby stroller company, Boston- This seemed like it was the dream job. They sent me 20 surveys and were paying me $10 each. What I hadn't counted on was that I needed to approach people with baby strollers, and therefore babies, who are the least likely people alive to complete a 5 page survey on a street corner. It took forever and was not worth the $200.

If you feel like sharing your worst jobs, leave 'em in the comment section or trackback from your blog.

What's going on in Europe?

--The EU constitution will probably not be approved by referendum in France. Writes Pejmanesque:

One thing I still await is an explanation as to why EU integration is a good thing. What has changed on the continent that further integration is now suddenly seen as a necessity? It cannot be just the need to balance against American power, is it? If it were, EU integration would have been more of a cause during the Cold War since it would have allowed the EU to balance against both American and Soviet power.

--Meanwhile, in Italy, Oriana Fallaci is on trial for insulting Islam. This isn't the first time Fallaci, who smartly lives in New York, has been tried in Europe for daring to speak her mind. 'Miss Fallaci was sued in 2002 over "The Rage and the Pride" in a French court and accused of violating anti-racist laws. The case was dismissed on a technicality.' Paul J. Cella, writing on Red Hot:

Please, Conservatives, I beg of you: Do not simply file this away under the "Europe is dying, and we don't care" file. Doing so amounts to laughing at a neighbor as his house burns down and the fire spreads to threaten your own.

I'm not laughing.

--Liverpool won the European Cup yesterday. There were lots of drunk fans of the team, wearing red, out in NY last night.

--Europe has also gotten Iran to promise to 'continue its freeze on nuclear activities'. This is a situation where I wish Europe luck, but c'mon, are we really just accepting Iran's word here?

--Gerard Schröder is having a hard time in Germany. 'Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's re-election hopes were dealt a fresh blow on Tuesday after a charismatic political rival said he would join leftwing groupings to run against the German leader.' Writes the Kirk:

Schroder's popularity has fallen from a stagnant economy, rising unemployment, and poor economic reforms.

I'm sure Schröder can whip up some anti-Americanism to get his poll numbers up. It worked so well for him the last time around.

--In Scotland, the Conservative party is deciding if it 'should sever ties from its Westminster base'. It's an interesting idea, partly because it really can't get much worse for Conservatives in Scotland. Before this last election, the Conservative party had one seat in all of Scotland, now it has three. Raising money will get more difficult but perhaps selling their message will be easier if they can disassociate themselves from the unpopular party.

Blogroll Update

In NY:

Two cool sites to check out from members of Communists for Kerry:

The People's Cube

Che-mart

Charges against Lieutenant Ilario Pantano dropped

New York Magazine featured a story on Pantano recently and while they tried to make him seem like a nut (writing that when Pantano saw the towers fall in NY it was 'as if he were a sleeper cell remotely activated' as he rejoined the military), he came off looking like a good man who had been wrongfully accused by a weak member of his unit who held a grudge against him.

Michelle Malkin has been all over this story so be sure to check out her links.

Happy days are here again

My trackbacks are now working so link and trackback away!

We are so loaded

Andrew Roth has an amazing list comparing the GDP of individual US states to countries around the world. Really mind-blowing.

Via Red State.

New

Red State has a cool new feature called 'Red Hot', kind of a 'Corner' type of thing where Red State contributors make pithy comments on that moment's news. My first post is up now.

Reminder

Peter and Mike's Archives Listening Project is tonight and they're playing the Grey Album, a mix of Jay-Z's Black Album with the Beatles' White Album.

Long live the blogosphere

Perseus Co., a maker of Web-surveying software says the typical blogger continues to be a teenage girl who uses the medium primarily to communicate with five to 10 friends.

Last post for today via Media Bistro, promise.

Just. A. Thought.

Also via Media Bistro, Sheelah Kolhatkar, in the NY Observer, continues the discussion about the lack of female journalists in top spots at major papers. She quotes Debra Dickerson, who apparently appears on many of those all-female wishlists:

"I’m amazed at the way people list me—‘Why don’t they talk to Debra Dickerson?’ Well, they did! Everybody’s offered me a job," said Ms. Dickerson, who has written freelance opinion pieces for The Washington Post and The New York Times. "But I was sort of hiding my light under a bushel basket, waiting for my husband to catch up. But I think nowadays, if you’ve got the stuff, you can write your own ticket."

Huh? Let's repeat that: "But I was sort of hiding my light under a bushel basket, waiting for my husband to catch up. But I think nowadays, if you’ve got the stuff, you can write your own ticket."

Does anyone have a clue as to what she is saying? Maybe the women writers on those lists don't have top jobs at top papers because they....don't deserve them.

And the proof that we traded donor lists with the Democratic party doesn't mean we're not!

PBS President: WE'RE INDEPENDENT

"PBS is not the property of any single political party or activist group or foundation or funder with an agenda of any kind," PBS President Pat Mitchell said in a speech at the National Press Club.

Via Media Bistro.

It wasn't clever the first time

Nightline to read the names of the war dead, again.

Carnival of the Vanities #140

Hello and welcome to the Carnival of the Vanities #140. My name is Karol, you can read more about me here. Two plugs I have to make while I have your attention:

The last time I hosted the Carnival, #88 exactly one year ago today by some odd coincidence, there were only 37 entries. Today there are 71. Enjoy!

Joe Gandleman has a roundup containing quotes and links from blogs from ALL viewpoints on the filibuster deal.

Dawn Summers at Clarified doesn't do relationship advice but she does vengeance planning like a pro.

Feminists Unite notes that a Japanese company, Panchira, is selling underwear to jealous angry men that watch women through GPS (monitors their location 24 hours a day).

Classical Values notes that if censorship in China is bad, censorship in the United States via McCain-Feingold is worse.

Electric Commentary reports on a subway series that happened in Chicago last weekend.

Half Sigma looks at the plusses and minuses of your blog to a potential employer.

Is Britain afraid of liberty? That's the question at Liberty Cadre.

Techno-gypsy looks at those selling out the U.S for fun or profit.

Common Folk Common Sense writes that with all the talk over whether Republicans or Democrats won the battle of the filibuster, the Constitution may be the greatest loser.

Multiple Mentality writes that the female orgasm is just for fun but there's nothing wrong with that.

Ivan Lenin looks at the role of blogging in his life.

Dave at Orac Knows catches a doctor 'on the throne' discussing patient matters. Should he flush?

The Glittering Eye has a great post about the Intellectual Property's role in our trade deficit.

John Tabin points out that the NY Times columnists can be read for free in other papers after the Times institutes its fees.

Mister Snith offers this: 'a successful Star Wars film requires both Han Solo and Darth Vader. All else is window dressing.' for why some Star Wars films don't work.

Soccer Dad writes that Israel correspondent, Molly Moore, of the Washington Post finds lots to admire about Hamas

Jay Allen writes that the Vader suit looks dated.

Doctor Andy looks at race and medicine.

Adam Gurri at Sophistpundit believes better arguments can be made on both sides of the issue of gay marriage.

Idler Yet asks was an article on high-tech exam cheating copied from someone else's paper?

Critical Mastiff has a suggestion to reduce the chronic distrust of government's intentions while going to war, by having declarations of war impose limits on government action.

Brian J. Noggle sees an inadvertent argument in favor of ending Amtrak subsidies

Tinkery Tonk compares the MSM to blogging.

Mark Daniels looks at the Newsweek story from 5 different perspectives.

Richard Lawrence Cohen writes about a critically praised book, in Britain, of stories about Anglo-Pakistani women and Anglo men was angrily withdrawn by its publisher when it turned out the author's Pakistani name was a pen name and not actually Pakistani.

Nikita Demosthenes discovers why so many of the Star Wars flicks blow.

Newt Gingrich has some excellent qualities, but he still shouldn't run for president writes Rick Moran at Rightwing Nuthouse.

Ferdinand T. Cat at Conservative Cat presents Arianna Huffington and the Dean Position

The Other Bloke's Blog notes that while keyword searches are important, domain names are mostly for human beings to remember.

A doctor contemplates the alarming rise in seemingly schizophrenic people seen wandering the city streets, his office, and even his own home over at The Examining Room of Dr. Charles.

Mad Kane has a political song parody about the judicial filibuster deal made by the "moderates."

Rick Moran at Rightwing Nuthouse presents In Defense of Cats

Interested Participant notes that Koalas are being sterilized.

Robin at the Bailwick explains why she's never read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Steve Pavlina's teaches his readers to overcome the fear of Public Speaking

DeeMarie at Taken in Hand asks: Are you the Conan the Barbarian type? If you're a woman looking for a dominant, Conan the Barbarian type man, the requirement that consent be explicit is a real drag.

John at Locusts & Honey presents Koran-Flushing Riots: A Tipping Point?

Blog Business World writes that value is added to blogs when they follow-up on old posts.

Warren Meyer at Coyote Blog presents Mistrust of Individual Decision-Making

The People's Republic of Seabrook has decided George Galloway is their hero. No, really.

Bethlam Chronicles thinks there should be more interaction and dialogue between liberals and conservatives.

Ironman at Political Calculations looks at recent research that suggests a new approach to how a market index weights its component stocks can make a huge difference in the value of your long term investment portfolio.

The World According to Nick has a post on filibusters and notes 'There is no constitutional provision for one party to be a check on another party. That's the business of the voters when they go to the polls.'

Kid Various at The Idiom showcases ugly anti-Americanism.

Tex the Pontificator walks through the bullet points on a water pollution "action alert" that recently came in his email and explains why he thinks it is malarkey.

Point Five presents "Tallscreen" Format to Replace "Widescreen"

Two Dogs at Mean Ol' Meany writes that Embryonic Stem Cell Research is not the cure for everything.

Chronicles of a Medical Mad House has a comical look into the reporting of adverse events in hospitals and the real health risk to patients.

The Unalienable Right writes on the proper scope of “Advice and Consent”

Logical Meme presents Trends in the Liberal Gay Subculture

Zendo Deb at TFS Magnum presents Newsweek: What happens now?

WILLisms.com presents Week 16 of an ongoing series looking at Social Security reform.

Buckley F. Williams at The Nose On Your Face presents ACLU Files Bear Class Action Lawsuit

Vik at the Big Pic Weblog wants the twin towers rebuilt.

Chad Hamilton at PlaidBerry presents Who is the Religious Right Anyway?

The Opinionated Bastard goes to his local health food store and finds intolerance.

Lance at Ragged Edges writes that this past 10 days or so have been a microcosm of what is wrong with the Media and those who share in its worldview.

The Palmetto Pundit presents Mainstream Media RIP?

The World According to Pete has some random notes and observations.

Incite tries to get to the bottom of what exactly happened at Newsweek, why, and what the underlying motivations were.

James at Eleventh Day Empire lists some things he hates.

Et Tu Bloge looks at competition among tech giants.

Politechnical calls for a boycott of Newsweek.

The Smallest Minority writes on the importance of the Second Amendment as it relates to the legal interpretation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Conservative Edge writes on the unfair coverage by the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Lousiville Courier-Journal over the Kentucky Democratic AG's investigation into the Kentucky Republican Governor's hiring practices.

Andy Clarkson at The Charlotte Capitalist presents "Vigorously Scratching Itches"

Loonatic Left asks if liberals are the new fundamentalists.

Smartercop highlights a public appearance by lovable Howard Dean and notes they are always a bountiful harvest, ripe for the picking-on!

Conservative Dialysis presents (YAWN) Mexico Protests Immigration Reforms

Elisson reminisces about his Scholarly Adventures with a Popular Chemical.

Rhymes with Right has another take on the Newsweek debacle.

NEXT CARNIVAL STOPS:

June 1st - Blog Business World

June 8th - The Conservative Edge

June 15th - Mister Snitch

June 22nd - This Blog Is Full Of Crap

June 29th - SophistPundit

4pm today

Click the logo above to listen on Rightalk.com.

Guests will be Scott Johnson from Powerline and Daniel Pipes.

If you've got questions for either, please leave them in the comment section. We'll also be taking calls during Scott's segment so be sure to call in: 1-866-884-TALK (8255).

Update: As in week 1 and week 2, Dawn Summers will be live-blogging it over on her site.

The pain of love (or, dog-blogging on a Tuesday)

I'm allergic to animals. This often upsets pet-owners, as if I have some kind of control. I had a cat most of my life and then developed allergies at about age 19. It thoroughly sucks. I often want to touch my friends' pets and must always resist lest I want to spend the next few days looking like I'd just smoked a bag of skunk weed and then rubbed my eyes vigorously for 15 minutes. No good. I've considered getting the program of shots to cure me but always thought of it as just too big a hassle. Well, I've fallen in love and there's nothing that's too big a hassle when love is involved.

Meet Puba:

Have you ever seen anything so adorable in all your life? He has the bluest eyes and the softest hair and ears ever. I literally can't stop touching and playing with him, damn the pain. And there is pain. I took allergy medicine before seeing him yesterday but that only controlled the runny nose and eyes and helped with the itchy throat. I still was itchy and my face had red marks on it and still I could not keep away from Puba.

Here's Puba with his proud papa, Mr. White:

So, I think I'm going to do it, get the shots I need to be able to play with Puba whenever I want. Yes, the things we do for love.

Don't do it, Rudy

John Podhoretz recommends Giuliani have a change of heart on abortion, and quick:

The record is plain. A pro-choice candidate can win in the GOP provided he has a change of heart and goes pro-life. The change of heart does not even need to be all that believable. It just needs to be.

Such a shift in position needs to be handled adroitly, but it has been done, it can be done and it must be done if Rudy Giuliani actually wants to be president.

No one need question my Rudy love, but I don't think this is going to work. Rudy isn't like the other shifters-on-abortion mentioned in the article, like Steve Forbes or Bush I. For one thing, a change in position from completely pro-choice, including late-term abortions and including government funding for abortions, to anything the pro-life side would accept is just too big a leap to make, especially in such a short time. And secondly, have we forgotten Rudy Giuliani's character? He was an amazing leader but he was that because he was not a waverer. He didn't bend to public opinion, he said what he believed and he stuck to it. I have friends that think Republican is a bad word but love (and voted for) Rudy because they find him trustworthy. If he makes that kind of huge ideological shift for political gain, if he becomes like the mealymouthed politicians that are a dime a dozen, he'll lose his biggest asset: the fact that people trust him.

Nobody happy

Filibuster 'compromise' reactions

Right
Jeff Goldstein:

The deal: Senators have stated they will not filibuster except in “extraordinary circumstances.”

This is the agreement. This.

And here I was thinking that filibusters were only supposed to be used under “extraordinary circumstances” to begin with.

Paul Mirengoff at Powerline:

From my perspective, here are the two essential facts: (1) as virtually every Republican involved stressed, thr Deal makes sense for the Republicans only if the seven Democrats they worked with can be trusted to act in good faith on President Bush's current and future nominees and (2)Robert Byrd is the leader of the seven Dems.

Left

Iocaste:

So as I understand it... the Democrats promise to let the nominees go through, and the Republicans promise to let them.

Great job, guys.

Senator Russ Feingold:

This is not a good deal for the U.S. Senate or for the American people. Democrats should have stood together firmly against the bullying tactics of the Republican leadership abusing their power as they control both houses of Congress and the White House. Confirming unacceptable judicial nominations is simply a green light for the Bush administration to send more nominees who lack the judicial temperament or record to serve in these lifetime positions. I value the many traditions of the Senate, including the tradition of bipartisanship to forge consensus. I do not, however, value threatening to disregard an important Senate tradition, like occasional unlimited debate, when necessary. I respect all my colleagues very much who thought to end this playground squabble over judges, but I am disappointed in this deal.

Be there

Peter and Mike's monthly party, The Archives Listening Project is happening this Wednesday at 9pm at 12", 179 Essex St, just below Houston. This week they'll be playing The Grey Album, a DJ Danger Mouse mash-up of the Beatles' White Album and Jay Z's Black Album.

'Comedian' Franken bombs at Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press' dinner

Other than 'I'm good enough, I'm smart enough...' has Al Franken ever said anything even remotely funny?

Editor&Publisher:

There were some humorous moments in the presentations, but the evening's least successful joke was delivered by Al Franken, who made the final award presentation, to Ivins. He opened with a funny bit claiming that Dan Rather had told him a great story about Ivins during the cocktail hour that would make a perfect anecdote for his introduction. "Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to confirm it, and there's just one source, so I can't use it," he said to laughter. "Too bad; it's a good story."

Then he turned toward The New York Times table in the front of the room, where sat Judith Miller, best known these days for two things: her articles on weapons of mass destruction that didn't quite pan out and the possibility she will go to jail for not revealing sources in the Valerie Plame case. "Judy,"" Franken said, "maybe you can find some WMD in your cell." Silence. "OK, I shouldn't have told that joke."

How to tell in 50 words or less (41 to be exact) that the NY Times article on blogs has no clue

NY Times:

'To analyze Web log buzz, the study zeroed in on a few dozen political blogs, from left-leaning forums like Daily Kos and AmericaBlog to conservative ones like Instapundit and Power Line, as well as middle-of-the road sites like BuzzMachine and Wonkette.'

Instapundit is conservative but Wonkette is middle-of-the road. I highly recommend to mainstream journalists that they actually read blogs before writing whole articles about them. I'd think that was journalism 101, but what do I know, I'm just a blogger.