Under New Management (by Dawn Summers)

It's been more than 48 hours since any contact from Karol.

I can only assume this means that there was a fierce battle, and she did not survive.

In accordance with her expressed wishes, this site is now all mine.

Be prepared for some big changes in the coming New Year.

Oh, and I should probably say some kind words about my predecessor...ummm...she had red hair.

And I have an air tight alibi.

Have a happy and healthy 2006!

Wiretapping that ass (by guest blogger Julia)

Hey, I finally figured out why liberal Democrats have been up in arms over the discovery that the government wiretaps some telephone conversations. They’re worried that their own conversations could be tapped, and that Bush will hear all their phone sex calls.

Seriously, sex is usually the driving force at the bottom of any liberal policy position. You can trace almost any of their positions back to sex. For example, why do you think they don’t want the Ten Commandments hanging in the classrooms? Because one of those commandments says thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, and liberals are like, “We think the kids should make their own decisions about that.” And why do you think a liberal doesn’t want you to own a gun? Because he doesn’t want to get shot in case he sleeps with your wife.

I outline a good many more of these in an old article titled “It’s the Sex, Stupid.”

Unacknowledged Liberal Credo: Give me liberty or give me tyranny. Just so long as I can still have sex.

Psychic Arabia (by guest blogger Julia)

In what seems to be becoming an annual tradition in Lebanon, psychics and astrologers go on TV on New Year’s Eve to tell viewers what to expect for the following year, according to this AP report. In his annual appearance on LBC TV last year, psychic Michel Hayek "said a huge attack in the capital would disrupt life in downtown Beirut. Six weeks later, a car bomb killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others."

Hey, here’s a question for a Lebanese psychic: When are your people going to stop blowing stuff up?

Give these people a state, and quick (6th in a series)

Search British Human Rights workers kidnapped in Gaza continues

Suicide Bomber Kills 3 at West Bank Checkpoint

See previous.

Although it's hardly clear that they succeeded

BBC fought 'hippie' influence in the 70's

Quote of the Day

Dave Barry:

In a strongly worded rebuttal, angry congressional Democrats state that, because of a scheduling mixup, they missed the President's speech, but whatever he said, they totally disagree with it, and if they once voted in favor of it, they did so only because the President lied to them.

Sick

Charges against Gary Glitter, who was arrested in Vietnam on November 19th for child molestation, have been dropped.

Two weeks ago, according to Glitter's lawyer, the former glam rocker paid the families of the two Vietnamese girls he was accused of abusing $2,000 each for their "cooperation." Since then, both families have gone to the local authorities and requested that the charges be dropped.

Who's in?

Bloggers to be embedded with journalists in Iraq.

Update: Yikes. Apparently this story has already made quite a splash in the blogosphere. That's what I get for being at sea this week.

More scenes from my vacation

*
On the beach in Barbados, a guy smoking a joint and carrying a jar of weed approaches my mother and brother. He asks my brother if he'd like to buy some. The dialogue:

Brother: 'Is this generally good for business, approaching a guy sitting with his mom?'
Drug Dealer: 'That's your mom!? I thought it was your girlfriend.'
Mom: 'Heehee, the druggie thought I was young enough to be your girlfriend!'

*
Note to self (and advice to fair-skinned people everywhere): Do not forget to put sunblock on the tops of your hands and feet and-- most importantly-- on your ears.

Cookie Cutting (by guest blogger Julia)

Hopefully the Orlando NAACP chief who recently switched to the GOP doesn't go through what Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele went through when he was running for the Lt. Governor position in 2002: his Democratic opponent's supporters came to a debate with boxes of Oreo cookies, and reportedly started pelting them at the black Republican candidate. The message, of course, being that real black people can only be Democrats.

But if it does happen again, Republicans should know that Oreo is keeping up with the times. They developed a new cookie called White Fudge. Because if you can't be black and be a Republican, then you can't be white and be a Democrat, or else you're acting black. Let the pelting ensue.

Ramadan/Eid al-fitr Post Script (by guest blogger Julia)

The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Pembroke Pines, Florida offered his view to Florida's Sun-Sentinel about why this year's Ramadan was special:

"What I think is very significant this year is that taking into consideration all that has happened within the Muslims who live in America and the … challenges that we faced, the month of Ramadan once again boosts our morale and it increased our self-esteem," he said. "And once again we apply forgiveness toward those who have wronged us in many ways; the negative publicity and the injustices passed upon us."

That's all we need: Muslims with even more self-esteem than whatever it is that's making them ensure that theirs is "the world's sole supreme religion." In fact, it seems that as soon as you convert to Islam, you get an immediate morale boost. Just listen to new Muslina (Muslim Latina) Melissa Matos, who "clasps her hands excitedly and a smile spreads from ear-to-ear" when she talks about her new faith:

"Its simplicity and its universality, it's for every culture, for every time, every country, it's for everyone," she said.

I'd say that if you're recruiting people to kill and be killed for you, you've got pretty good self-esteem. Although if your goal is to make your people more suicidial, boosting their morale may be a bit counterproductive, no? Unless, of course, we're looking at a new diagnosis wherein excessive self-esteem produces suicidal tendencies.

Eid al-fitr is the holiday that closes Ramadan. A friend of mine who had never heard of it before this year asked, "What do they do--exchange bombs?"

Welcome (Bumped- scroll down for new posts)

The fabulous Julia Gorin is a stand-up comic and writer. Her writing has appeared everywhere including FoxNews.com, Opinion Journal, Frontpage Magazine, Jewish World Review and many other places. Make sure to check out her site for all her articles, interviews (including one in Penthouse magazine) and her brand new blog. Like me, she's a Russian-born Jew. Until recently she lived in my building with her cutie husband Lev but then they moved away to Las Vegas. The upper east side hasn't been the same since. I think she's a little skeptical about this whole blogging thing. Be nice to her and show her what it's all about. Thanks, Julia!

Update: While putting together Julia's bio, I had a chance to read a few of her pieces that I'd missed in the last few months. Check out her article about her birth in a Russian hospital and her scathing takedown of the ADL's Abe Foxman and the American Jewish left.

We are the world: View of different cultures from one Carnival Cruise

Conversations I've heard in the last 24 hours:

*
British blackjack dealer: 'Oh, you're from Canada? What's that like?'
Canadian guy at the table: 'It's beautiful, you should come visit, there's a lot to see.'
American guy at the table: 'Are you telling me there's something worth seeing in Canada? You must be joking Where?! Where?!

*
Same British blackjack dealer as above: '...and we don't get a lot of snow so when we do get it, everything shuts down.'
Same Canadian guy as above: 'Well, I don't think that's because of the snow, everyone knows the British can't drive.'

*
Overheard: 'And they say that if Christopher Columbus traveled through time and visited the new world he had discovered, Dominica would be the only place he'd be able to recognize, they've made just about no progress since then.'

*
Overheard: 'That table? No, a fat Puerto Rican family sits at that table.'

*
A man in a turban walks by wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a clock with a peace sign inside. The lettering reads 'Time for Peace.' Guy walking by says to his wife: 'that would be a lot more believeable if I didn't see the clock and picture it as part of a bomb.'

Happy New Year from Bill Clinton! (by guest blogger Julia)

Well, it looks like the Albanian mafia in this country—much of whose proceeds are exchanged with al Qaeda et al—is outpacing both its Italian and Russian counterparts. Boy, it’s a good thing we “rescued” and resettled that clan here.

In Kosovo, meanwhile, the Albanian Muslims have been attacking UN and NATO ever since NATO “saved” them, and gearing up for all-out war against the West this year if it stands in the way of the logical conclusion of the jihad we helped them fight six years ago. That is, full independence (i.e. an Islamic-narco-terror Mafia state without peacekeeper oversight). Such are the fruits of Bill Clinton’s “successful war.” Then again, for Democrats, that is a successful war. After all, we fought for the enemy.

People talk about George W. Bush alienating Europe? Hello-o! Bill Clinton BOMBED Europe! Interestingly, in his penchant for apologizing to people of color, Clinton recently apologized to Rwandans for failing to prevent their genocide. But he has no intention of apologizing for the genocide he helped mastermind--that of Serbs in Kosovo. After all, Serbs are white and--barf--Christian. So what would be the political point of that?

Incidentally, subsequent investigations have found that there was no ethnic cleansing or genocide of Albanian "Kosovars" (Muslims) by Serbs. But who gives a damn? So what if we bombed the Serbs and handed the Balkans to al Qaeda on a silver platter? What’s a Serb, anyway?

Meanwhile, here’s a mini starter guide on the pronunciation of Kosovo—a region that hasn’t finished with us:

The correct spelling of Kosovo is Kosovo, accent on the first syllable. The made-up Muslim spelling is Kosova, accent on the middle syllable. The latter pronunciation is used by Muslims and dhimmis like Wesley Clark, Bill Clinton, Richard Holbrooke and other Dhimmicrats. So if you're not a Muslim but pronounce Kosovo as 'Kosova', then you should be pronouncing Muslim as 'Master', or 'Massa'.

What does Kosovo mean in the Serbian language? “Black bird” (or, more accurately, “of the blackbird"). And what does 'Kosova' mean in Albanian? It doesn’t.

Because Kosovo is Serbian. But we'll be taking it from the Serbs and giving it to the terrorists over the next few months. After all, we gave them Bosnia; let's be consistent. And what are we giving the Serbs? Nothing. Because unlike the others, they don't attack UN, NATO and Americans, so why should we give them anything?

Slight problem: Serbia isn't giving up Kosovo, and Albanians aren't taking "no" for an answer. So look for a 2006 war in Kosovo (the Albanians have been readying for it since '99). Can we take the right side this time? Please?

White Guilt is Confusing the Minorities (by guest blogger Julia)

Brent Bozell has announced the Media Research Center's "Notable Quotables" for 2005, awards for the year's worst reporting. The best comes from Asian-American CNN anchor Carol Lin, in which she reported, "It’s been 11 days since two African-American teenagers were killed, electrocuted during a police chase, which prompted all of this.”

She was talking about the riots in France. (And the teenagers were Tunisian-French.)

Politically Incorrect Christmas/Hanukkah Party? (by guest blogger Julia)

Last week, I got an e-vite from a conservative group to come to a “Politically Incorrect Christmas/Hanukkah party". While it’s a good-willed and much appreciated gesture to include the minor Jewish holiday that falls around Christmas, it occurred to me that you can’t have a politically incorrect Christmas/Hanukkah party. You can only have a politically incorrect Christmas party—and invite Jews who are happy about it. Because Hanukkah was the original minor ethnic holiday that the no-godniks seized on to play up and undermine Christianity. On the other hand, Jews are the politically incorrect minority, so I guess they have a point. Never mind.

We Hope It's Not Royal Caribbean! (by guest blogger Julia)

While I'm waiting for that perfect introduction by Karol, I just want to wish her and her family a safe return from the cruise next week, ESPECIALLY AFTER READING THIS! (I've stayed off of ships ever since getting stalked myself on a Carnival cruise at the age of 14 by a one-eyed Spanish porter.)

Forget the ships, people. If it's buffets and gambling you want, come to Vegas. The Strip is like a sprawling cruise ship except without the kidnappings, rapes and "pirates" (i.e. Muslim terrorists).

A market for everything

Headline: WRITER HELPS THE LIVING WRITE THEIR OWN OBITS

It had nowhere to go but down

Poker's popularity is fading.

Actually, this is the first ship that I've been on that has poker. They only have one table, and it's $4-8 limit. I didn't play anything last night but according to my brother 'the biggest clowns in the world were all huddled around the poker table'. Looking forward to playing tonight.

To the Jews in the audience

Happy Hannukah! All the best to you and yours. Eat some latkes for me.

The Christmas Nightmare

Nearly every year since I was about nine years old, the Sheinins have gone on a cruise for New Years. There have been two exceptions to this; the year my parents went to China and my brother (age 14) and I (age 19) spent three weeks traveling through England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and the year we stayed in NY because my grandmother was in her final days.

My parents split up in 1999. You'd think that with the myriad of changes that came with that we'd have given up on the cruise tradition. But no, we adapted, and my mom, brother and I have been continuing with our yearly cruise.

This year, our flight was to leave NY's JFK airport at 7am and, with a stopover in Orlando, land in San Juan, Puerto Rico around 2pm. My brother is a bad flier so we have another yearly tradition: he and I stay up all night before the flight, hanging out with our friends, and then about an hour before we're set to depart for the airport, my brother drinks something like 5 beers, insuring that he doesn't think about the plane going down in fiery flames and also that he is asleep upon getting into his airplane seat. I don't like to drink before flying but staying up all night is enough to make me fall asleep for the duration of the flight as well.

This is all well and good when things go smoothly. We get to the airport kind of sleepy but we're quickly asleep in our seats only to wake up somewhere warm. This year, not so much with the 'smoothly'.

My mom is all kinds of paranoid so we left the house 3 hours ahead of our flight and, since JFK airport is 20 minutes away made it to the airport with over 2 1/2 hours to kill before our domestic flight. Then, due to fog, our flight was delayed another 2 hours. We missed our connection in Orlando and were rerouted to another airline, meaning we had to collect our baggage and go back through security. We got chosen for the full-on search, of course, and they went through every item in each of our bags. Then we waited for another 2 hours and arrived in Puerto Rico around 9pm. We took a cab in stand-still traffic and arrived at the port about 10 minutes before the ship was set to leave. Oh yeah, and my father, who I haven't spoken to in about 5 years, with the exception of a 2-month stretch where I had back surgery and my paternal grandmother died, decided to show up at the airport at 6am and announce that he was coming with us. Surprise! As my drunk brother said at the time 'but no one that you're surprising is happy with the surprise.'

I hope your Christmas went better than mine. On the bright side, we're in St. Thomas today (84 degrees) and no one in my family has killed each other yet. There are, however, 6 days left.

I'll be in and out for the next few days. There is internet access but it's like a million dollars a minute. The lovely Julia Gorin will likely be guest-blogging in my absence, but we're still firming up the details. I'll give her a full introduction as soon as we're confirmed.

The consistency of the anti-war left

From an article out of North Carolina titled: Locals mixed on planned troop reductions in Iraq comes this foragainst position:

Tim Pluta, 50, of Mars Hill, is president of local Chapter 099 of Veterans for Peace. Pluta was part of an Air Force Special Forces rescue team from 1976-79. He now works as a massage therapist and as a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry.

“My first reaction is hip-hip-hooray that our administration is listening to what the world has to say.” But he fears the reduction will mean a higher risk for troops left behind. “Now there are fewer targets and just as many people fighting for their freedom. I think it will be more dangerous for U.S. troops.”

Best wishes

Happy Christmas everyone.

What's the best thing about being Jewish?

When you spaz out on sending Christmas cards, that's ok, because you're not Christian. And if you decide on December 24th that you really should send some out, New Years cards aren't at all weird.

Not me, I was going buck-wild in my apartment

Headline: NYC Seen As Well-Behaved Throughout Strike

On a separate note, how many tragedies and tribulations will New Yorkers have to survive without mauling each other to death before it ceases to be news that we behaved ourselves?

Overheard in an apartment in south Brooklyn circa 3am this morning

Her: A woman's handbag should say something about her.
Him: What? That she's living beyond her means?

Andrew Sullivan has 'in-laws'?

Not to over-gay you guys on Christmas but, Andrew Sullivan writes that he's 'headed off to the in-laws for a Michigan Christmas'. I find this amusing because Andrew is the most prominent supporter of gay marriage and lives, at least part of the time, in a state where gay marriage is legal. Yet he hasn't gotten married but does call his boyfriend's parents 'in-laws', almost as if there is no real difference between having a long-term relationship and saying 'I do', an idea Sullivan has worked so hard to dispel.

A Brokeback Review

It had been a running joke on Ace's site that he and Allahpundit would go see Brokeback Mountain together. I had wanted to see the film (Heath Ledger, yum) and so it happened that the three of us ended up at an afternoon showing on the upper east side. To prove we were all straight, I sat between the boys.

In the first 35 reviews of Brokeback Mountain on the Rotten Tomatoes site, twelve use the word 'love' in the first 3 sentences. 'Unfulfilled love, 'forbidden love', 'greatest love story', 'heartbreaking love story', 'compassionate love story', 'emotional love story', etc. The thing is, if what was shared between the two main characters of this movie was love, then the word has really ceased to mean anything. The story was hardly about love. In fact, it was hardly even about lust. It just seemed to be about dysfunction and two guys who stew in their lonliness and feel apart from everything in the world, definitely including each other.

The main characters in this story, Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) meet on a sheep herding job on Brokeback Mountain. They have maybe two conversations over 4 words long yet we're supposed to believe that a deep enough connection was made that when these two men share a tent for warmth, the inevitable happens. It's literally unbelieveable. Beyond on-screen chemistry, there was no story-line that would explain how they bonded so deeply. It plum made no sense.

The most telling scene that proved love had nothing to do with the relationship between these two men is when Ennis meets Jack's father. The father tells him that Jack always had some crazy daydream (which he had discussed with Ennis onscreen) about living on the family ranch with Ennis. But, Jack's father adds, Jack had recently mentioned the same fantasy, this time with another rancher-- not Ennis. It's so clear that Ennis could've been anyone, that what they had wasn't special--Jack easily replaced Ennis in the dream of their life together. He quit him just fine.

For all the hoopla from the left over this movie, I reject the idea that anyone will leave this film more 'open-minded' or more understanding of gay relationships. The movie is a terrible example of liberal thought on gayness. For one thing, the movie treats homosexuality as a behavior, and not as something innate. Jack and Ennis both marry women, and Ennis never has other encounters with men. Jack is just as eager to have sex with his future wife as he is to do it with Ennis. It's possible that the movie was about two bi-sexual ranchhands in Wyoming, but it just doesn't ring true. Jack embodies all the stereotypes of gay people that liberals want to dispel. He seems happy to sleep with just about anyone: Ennis, his wife, Mexican rentboys, the rancher next door.

My poker buddy Lewis Wittig reviews the movie for National Review and quotes a Village Voice write-up calling the film 'propaganda on behalf of gay couplehood.' If this is encouragement for gay couplehood, this miserable picture of two unhappy, unfulfilled men who have empty relationships lacking in emotion or depth, I'm not sure what a discouraging film would look like.

I enjoyed this movie. Heath Ledger was hot, the scenery was beautiful and it had a couple of funny moments. But, I take it for what it is and anyone trying to define or promote homosexuality by this film is probably doing the gay agenda a disservice.

I'm scared

What does it mean that everyone (ok, all two people) that I know that took the December LSAT have already gotten their scores but I have not?

Victims of the strike

Matthew Long, son of Conservative Party chairman Mike Long, and a firefighter who owns the NY bar Third&Long, has been in a serious accident:

A firefighter riding his bicycle to work because of the transit strike was critically injured yesterday when he was hit by a bus that had been chartered to move stranded riders, police said. Matthew Long, 39, broke both legs, an arm and his pelvis and suffered internal injuries after he was hit and dragged underneath the bus.

The bus was chartered by Bear Stearns to move office workers during the strike.

Daniel over at Urban Elephants has a suggestion of something nice you can do for Matthew.

I forget how much I like Dick Cheney

ABC News:

After a four-day overseas trip that took him to four countries in the Middle East, Vice President Dick Cheney really wanted to get his iPod charged for that long return flight to Washington.

Since it is his plane, the vice president's iPod took priority and was plugged into one of the only working power outlets on Air Force Two, frustrating reporters who were trying to file stories.

H/T Peter.

Welcome to NY, Johnny Damon. You're looking better already.

Not at all elitist

NY Times on the Strike's impact on fashion: We know you're freezing while you walk 3 miles to work but seriously people, what's up with those outfits?

Joe Grossberg is the man

A big thanks to Joe Grossberg for getting my comment section working again. And DC-area ladies, he's currently single, and a total honey, so snap him up before it's too late.

Sometimes, I love the Russians

Reuters:

One Manhattan restaurant, the Russian Samovar, said it had filed a law suit against the union, the MTA, the city and the mayor on behalf of itself and other businesses seeking $250 million in compensation for lost business due to the strike.

Phillip Klein was the first person I saw suggest the idea of lawsuits.

Just like the mafia, except ineffective

Dawn Summers: "Who's a genius?"
Me: "Compared to Roger Toussaint, everybody"

If there were prizes for stupid, Roger Toussaint would take first place every time. New York's 3-Day transit strike has just ended.

Let's review: What have Toussant and his union accomplished?

Well, none of their demands have been met, New Yorkers despise them, they've been fined a million dollars a day, and the union leadership is facing jail time. The transit employees will be returning to work sans contract, which is where they were when this began.

Big win for unions. Big.

Conversation with my brother

Me: ...And you'll have to pick me up because of the strike. You know there's a strike, right?
R: (dripping sarcasm)No. What strike?(/dripping sarcasm)
Me: Ok, I don't know. You drive everywhere. So have you ever experienced a strike before?
R: No, have you?
Me: Yes, two times. Once in Turkey for a taxi strike and once in France, a railway strike.
R: Oh.
Me: Oh! And when I was a kid our neighbor went on strike while working for Pan Am.
R: Yeah, and look at Pan Am now.

Let's play a game: what drugs was this judge taking to make this retarded decision?

A judge has granted a temporary restraining order to a Santa Fe woman, Colleen Nestler, who claims Dave Letterman 'used code words to show that he wanted to marry her and train her as his co-host.' Her request alleged 'that Letterman has forced her to go bankrupt and caused her "mental cruelty" and "sleep deprivation" since May 1994.'

So, what does Nutso, eh, Nestler want? 'Nestler requested that Letterman, who tapes his show in New York, stay at least three yards away and not "think of me, and release me from his mental harassment and hammering."'

I'm going to go ahead and say 'crack'.

No, really.

Dead body found in Big Bird's shed.

Give these people a state, and quick (5th in a series)

In a story about the kidnapping of a Dutchman and an Australian, in Gaza, there's this:

Gaza has been wracked by lawlessness and a total security breakdown in recent months marked by a spate of kidnappings, bombings, as well as shootings targeting PA officials, foreigners, and members of the judiciary.

Hmm. Odd. The infidels are gone, what could possibly be stopping Palestinians from having a perfect society now that they've forced out the evil Jews?

Read the whole article for some good insight into what a disaster area Gaza has become since the 'occupation' withdrew.

Previous in this series.

Surprise! Tony Blair is in Iraq.

Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Iraq Thursday on a surprise visit to British troops. Blair flew into the southern city of Basra from Kuwait aboard a British military plane. The trip was not disclosed in advance for security reasons.

Now that's a Beta male

New Jersey governor remembers being turned down by girls while choosing a state slogan:

New Jersey, trying to overcome its reputation for corruption, traffic and toxic waste dumps, has rejected dozens of sardonic and sarcastic entries in a contest for a new tourist slogan.

A list of five possible slogans released on Wednesday leaves out "New Jersey: We can always use another relative on the payroll," and "Come to New Jersey: It's not as bad as it smells."

Voters get to pick the winner in the competition launched after Gov. Richard Codey nixed "New Jersey: We'll Win You Over," created by a consultant who was paid $260,000.

"It makes me think of when I was young and single and asked a girl out," Codey said in a statement. "She turned me down. I said, 'Give me a chance, I'll win you over."'

I'm in!

I just got the email that I'll be blogging CPAC again this year. It's happening February 9-11 in Washington, DC so get your tickets now. And if you're planning to go, leave me a comment and let me know.

"What year is this, 1997?"- Dawn Summers

3 stabbed at Notorious B.I.G. record party

She's out

Shocking no one at all, Jeanine Pirro will be running for Attorney General and not U.S Senate.

Via Dawn Summers.

Striking Creative

There's something about this strike that has brought out the poet in so many bloggers. This Banterist poem is my favorite but Jessica and Yaron can lay down a haiku with the best of them.

Leave your words on the strike in the comment section.

Quote of the Day

"This intra-class warfare has been brought to you by socialism. Making life harder on the poor for close to 100 years."

-Baylen Linnekin who has a great post on the 'biggest class confrontation in the US in a generation.'

Via Politicker.

So I'm 'seductively conspiratorial' with Nate this time?

""Seldom Sober," "Another Attempt," and "Joey McKeown" had all moved to the city for the obvious reasons--to live fabulously. In our 20's, ambitious, attractive, determined to find the only down-to-earth-victoria's-secret-model-on-the-face-of-the-planet, we moved to the center of it all--Queens."

-Joey McKeown blogs the blogger party.

Yet another poker post

How much does drago6424 hate me?: A whole lot. Also note, only 1 hand was played between these two hands. Ugly.

Maybe it's just because I love the long-haired boys...

....but I can live with this.

No hoisting until January

Hoist the Black Flag will return to Rightalk.com in January. Until then, listen to our repeats, why don't you.

Ways to tell you're living in a dying society

Iranian president bans all western music

For the record

It's true, I didn't think there would be a strike, but my bet with Mr. McKeown was for Thursday night only, the night the strike was initially supposed to begin.

New York Shutdown

Apparently, the transit strike is on.

If we're going to look for a bright side to this debacle, which will cost the city millions, it's that I've heard so many of my liberal friends slam the Transport Workers Union. I like that people get to see what Unions really are, and what they really do. What private sector employee gets a mandatory 8% non-performancep-based raise each year? What private sector employee has a standard retirement age of 55? How does driving a train or a bus entitle someone to these types of benefits? And then when they don't get what they demand, they shut the city down and make us look like Paris. It's just not right, and I'm happy people are starting to recognize that.

Update: Evan Coyne Maloney has a phenomenal post on the subject.

Another Update: GOP and the City, Robert George and Red Guy in a Blue State have more.

More cool poker hands

It's just wrong to flop two pair and get beat by a set.

But this made up for it.

I've got a way with the anonymous men of the blogosphere

Ace and Allahpundit to meet, for the first time, today at my place. Film at 11.

Update, 5:23pm: "Are you going to live-blog this, you geek?"-Allah to me.

Update, 8:30pm: "You seem to have a lot of opinions, maybe you should start a blog or something."-Ace to Allah.

Update, 9:30pm: "More beer?"- Ace to Allah. "Eh, I've had 13 already"-Allah to Ace.

Blogger Party Recap (bumped)

Red Guy in a Blue State posts pics from the party. I think I look better in the one on the right

Host of the party, Suitably Flip has this excellent line about meeting bloggers in person: Every time I had a conversation with a blogger, I kept waiting for them to say something like, "You know who has something interesting to say about this topic? Stan. Here, let me point you out to Stan. But first, let me quote you a little sample of what he told me."

Urban Grind recaps snippets of conversations from the night with links to various attendees.

Atlas Shrugs has more.

Exit Zero has a round-up.

Another Attempt has some funny tales from the night.

If you blog about the party, let me know and I'll link it.

A reason (two, actually) to click over to AndrewSullivan.com

Julian Sanchez of Reason.com, and Atlantic Monthly's Ross Douthat (whose excellent site, American Scene, I've been remiss in blogrolling- that's fixed now) will be blogging there for the next few weeks.

C'mon, get happy

Happy people tend to be more successful.

I'm excellent at spotting phishing emails

I got two wrong on this quiz.

Nightmare?

"Leftist Evo Morales, a former coca leaf farmer who says he is a "nightmare for the US," was poised to become Bolivia's first indigenous president on Sunday after his conservative rival conceded defeat."

A nightmare for the US is 19 men killing three thousand people in one day. It's that 4+ years after that day, we're back in blathering and bickering mode, instead of kicking ass and taking names. It's that most of the world doesn't seem to care if the Islamofascists do win, as long as its a black eye for Bush. Some farmer becoming leader of, sorry, where now? Bolivia? That's not even a blip in our REM sleep. We've got bigger problems than which leftist is running which South American country into the ground today.

This is classic

Iran tells West to be tolerant of Holocaust views

Do they have the liberal playbook, or what?

In other words, I didn't think it was a big deal until the NY Times told me otherwise

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she had been told on several occasions that Bush had authorized unspecified activities by the National Security Agency, the nation's largest spy agency. She said she had expressed strong concerns at the time, and that Bush's statement Saturday "raises serious questions as to what the activities were and whether the activities were lawful."

"Is there anything sadder than being all-in in a limit game?'- Dawn Summers

Yes: two all-ins in a limit game.

Don't be jealous....

....just because I met Allahpundit last night. If you pay me, I'll show you exactly in which chair he sat at O'Monia cafe in Astoria, Queens. If you pay me a lot, I'll tell you what he ordered.

How many times do we have to review that the Berlin wall kept people in, not out?

Headline with picture right now on AOL News:

A 'Berlin Wall' On the Border
Mexico Angry at Border Plan
Should U.S. Build a Fence?

Help

For a long time, my comment section would hold some comments for my approval while giving the commenter an error message that read something like 'you must define a comment error template'. I recently installed a new comment error template and now the error message for some comments is 'Thank You for Commenting
Your comment has been received. To protect against malicious comments, I have enabled a feature that allows your comments to be held for approval the first time you post a comment. I'll approve your comment when convenient; there is no need to re-post your comment. Return to the comment page.' However, I see no comments held for my approval, even test comments posted by me. Can someone help?

Update: Now I've really messed it up. If anyone knows how to fix my comment section issue, email me, because it seems comments are completely disabled right now.

Another Update: Sort of working but very messed up. Still in dire need of help.

Wow.

Please tell me I'm not alone in being horrified at this.

Via Jane Galt.

Oh yeah, McCain definitely looks like the winner here.

Libertarian Times

Walking around the Upper East Side today, I passed a newspaper box I had never seen before. Apparently, there will be (or is currently, though the box was empty) a new newspaper called 'Serf City' which promises 'New York Politics from a Libertarian Perspective.' It's published by the Manhattan Libertarian Party and there is an online version here. With headlines like 'New York Taxes Hurt Our Children' I imagine the paper will be a jolt to New Yorkers with their sheep-like liberal thinking.

Shot

If anyone writes about the party last night, do drop me a note and I'll link to it. I may write about it later but at the moment the only thing I can think is 'coffee'.

Never see it coming

I was Big Blind and I flopped a flush. Then the turn was the same suit, and my high card was an 8. I was just about to fold when I realized....

As to why I was playing limit: 2am after a wild blogger party is no time to be playing no limit.

This guy was president. President!

Jimmy Carter claims to have seen a UFO and also admits to using a woman in a trance to find a downed plane. Weirdo.

Gawker notes that perhaps Carter told this to GQ 'in an effort to make President W. seem normal'. Yeah, that's what it is. And not that he lost his mind circa 1978.

And this will be different from previous elections how?

Dem Leader: 2006 agenda won't include position on Iraq...

Weblog voting

Make a last minute difference: Vote for Garfield Ridge.

Previous endorsements here. Give 'em all one last vote.

Check me out

I've got a profile in National Journal's Blogometer today.

We have a winner for 'dumbest thing I've read this week'

Black men should boycott King Kong because it's secretly about black male hypersexuality.

And check out this final line: 'It left me thinking, that if censors look at violence, sex, and sexual violence when giving a certificate why do they not look at negative racial stereotypes?'

Update: Well, at least he's not alone in his insanity.

Nice.

This post has been removed. The people in the post have been cleared of all charges and it is unfair to them to keep the post up. I have apologized for writing on the matter before all the information was available and for my snarky tone. Albert and Adelphi deserved better from me.

And another one. (Bumped)

If you haven't received an evite and you'd like to, please let me know. Also, please feel free to invite other bloggers as we can't possibly know them all.

Eye on the big prize

Mitt Romney Not Running for Reelection in Massachusetts.

By all accounts Romney's announcement today means that he is running for president in '08. My overall thought is: trainwreck. Republicans are going to lose the governorship of Massachusetts and Mitt Romney will discover that his Mormonism is the least of his problems and that his abortion position is a major roadblock on his path to the White House. As I've written many times before, and despite the fact that some people like Ken and Judith don't believe me, a coherent pro-life position is make or break in the Republican presidential primary. Read Red Hot for more reasons why Romney is no-go, but abortion is the big one. I think it's unsurpassable for ole Mitt.

Just so no one thinks I'm a sourpuss who thinks all our current candidates can't win (and, well, if we're talking about Rudy, Condi, McCain and Pataki, then yes, they can't win) here is the bright side: while Romney isn't so hot on paper, he sizzles in person. He doesn't have National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez drooling over him just because he's got great hair. I heard him speak recently and he was very engaging, handsome, articulate and generally affable. In an alternate universe, he'd be a dream candidate. In this one, he's dead on arrival.

Newsflash

Ken Wheaton discovers that Christianity doesn't get the same sensitivity and respect that other religions do.

I hate agreeing with Dawn Summers....

....but when she's right, she's right.

The Reverend

Catching up on my Page Six reading, I came across this item:

HEATH Ledger took a break from promoting "Brokeback Mountain," and from being a new husband, new father and new homeowner, by partying with Leonardo DiCaprio, Lucas Haas, Kevin Connelly, a couple of party promoters and a bevy of models at Rocco Ancarola's party at One on Sunday night. The next night, he wasn't with the three musketeers at the wrap party for their new flick "Garden of Eden" at Butter. Earlier, Leo, Luke and Kevin stopped by the Christmas party of DiCaprio's p.r. man Ken Sunshine at Fiddlesticks on Greenwich Avenue, where they spoke with Al Sharpton and his girlfriend.

Emphasis mine.

Girlfriend? Isn't the good Reverend married? I seem to remember a wife during the joke he called a presidential run.

I did some digging and found that, indeed, Al Sharpton was married when he ran for president. The British Telegraph noted his wife in a piece about the wives of the candidates:

The one I really have hopes for, however, is the Reverend Al Sharpton's wife, Kathy Jordan Sharpton. She met Al 20 years ago on a James Brown tour. Al was part of the Brown entourage. Kathy was a back-up singer. Hello. Now that's what I call a hip First Lady! Sadly, Ms Sharpton has played no active role in her husband's campaign as yet. But there are encouraging signs that she may be coming out of her shell.

That didn't happen. In fact, Accuracy in Media reports that Sharpton had another chick on the campaign with him:

Marjorie Harris (also known as Marjorie Fields-Harris), the executive director of his National Action Network and the woman named in two Daily News gossip pieces."

Sharpton has denied having an affair, but black columnist Errol Louis of the New York Daily News notes that "both split from their spouses around the same time and traveled around the country together during Sharpton's presidential campaign. Louis was intrigued by the report that Harris "lives in a swanky Trump Place apartment and sports top-drawer toys like a Mercedes, a mink coat and a $7,000 Rolex."

AIM also notes that it was Sharpton who 'revealed in 2001 that Rev. Jesse Jackson was involved in an extramarital affair and had an illegitimate child. Jackson was discredited, at least for a while, enabling Sharpton to emerge as a national black spokesman, with enormous access to the national media.'

Nice.

Friendstering

I recently joined Dodgeball, mostly because Manhattan Transfer always makes it look so fun. MT is the only person on my list right now so do join up or add me to your existing list.

I've updated my Friendster list and added a bunch of people with whom I'd like to friendster. I also checked into my LinkedIn and My Space accounts only to confirm that I'm not really sure what they're supposed to be or how I'm supposed to be utilizing their services. I get Dodgeball, which is a service that makes meeting up with your friends slightly easier and I get Friendster, which essentially lets you check out your friends' friends from the privacy of your computer. But Linked-In seems very business-network-orientated and My Space seems cool but mostly made for musician types to upload and share their music.

Finally, someone sent me an invite to HI5.com and I'm pretty sure that's the final 'meet people' service that I'm joining-- considering that I'm not looking for a job or a man or even friends.

Do y'all use any of these?

Sleep with one eye open, Canadians

Headline: Canada shrugs off U.S. warning to back off

We're on right now!

(Click this graphic to listen)

Our guest today is Thomas Maguire of Just One Minute. We're on right now so click and listen and call in 866-884-TALK(8255).

Living in NY: not so great on paper.

In a new book called 'The Average American' Kevin O’Keefe discovers that 'the average American drives a car (eight years old, no vanity plates) and owns a home (permanent, freestanding, occupied by 2.62 people, with a washing machine, a dryer, an outdoor grill, and a private lawn requiring forty hours a year of mowing). He lives within fifty miles of the town where he grew up, has a listed phone number, and is regularly in bed before midnight.'

Of course, New Yorkers defy all standards of normal. O'Keefe did an experiment with The New Yorker magazine and discovered that:

'The average New Yorker has no owner-occupied dwelling, no car.... would be single (56.6 per cent), live in a building that has more than ten units (53.9 per cent) and that was built before 1960 (67.2 per cent), and have been born in a different state (50.5 per cent).'

To review, I don't own my own home or have a car. I'm single, live in a building that has more than ten units (a lot more), which I'm pretty sure was built before 1960. I was born in different country (that counts, according to the author of the book). I am the average New Yorker.

So, I win? But, how come being an average American, what with the house, the car, a yard and a grill, seems so much better than being an average New Yorker? Are we just suckers?

Does Kabbalah teach you to be as obnoxious as possible?

"If I was a car, I’d be an Aston Martin.
If I was a star, I would be who I am today.
If I was a fighter, I’d be Cassius Clay.
If I was emotion, I would be intense.
If I was a man, I would be president."

-Lyrics to new Madonna song 'Super Pop'.

How many degrees of separation?

The fantabulous Nate of Another Attempt is guest-blogging this week at National Review's Media Blog while Stephen Spruiell is covering (actually live-blogging right this minute) the WTO in Hong Kong. Check them both out here.

Meanwhile, Nate's brother is wondering if extreme opinions really can be classified as mental illness and Nate's roommate Joey is offering relationship advice to the romantically challenged.

Also, Joey's friend from college, Rich of Seldom Sober is posting about... well Rich doesn't post that often and when he does it's sort of fascinatingly cryptic so I don't actually know what he's posting about but mentioning him fit this post so there you have it.

Ooooh I want in.

$60M Winner-Take-All Poker Tourney Set

The NY Governors race

I wrote back in August that Golisano was a flawed candidate because of his past independent runs for Governor. Some Republicans love the whole 'independent' thing which to me is always code for either 'liberal', 'unprincipled', 'wishy-washy' or more likely all three. Here's a story about the independent Golisano. Still think he's a good candidate for Governor? From the Note:

Tom Golisano continues to play coy on his 2006 intentions, according to Pat Healy's Saturday New York Times story which concluded with this detail, "Next Wednesday, Mr. Golisano plans to meet with former President Bill Clinton in Buffalo, where they will watch a Sabres game. Mr. Golisano has contributed to Mr. Clinton's causes in the past."

Too bad

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford says no to '08 presidential run.

The draft Mark Sanford for President movement will surely be disappointed.

(On a sidenote, I am not related to Aaron Sheinin, the writer of the linked piece in The State, but I am always amused to come across his stuff. I've never met another Sheinin in my life.)

Bizarro

Really, really evil Dawns:

The two women, both named April and with the middle name Dawn, lived in different parts of Fairfax County and dated 22-year-old men. Now, both women have been charged in separate murder-for-hire plots with trying to have those boyfriends killed, police said yesterday.

In what authorities called a bizarre coincidence, police charged April Dawn Shiflett, 33, with plotting the slaying of her 22-year-old boyfriend and charged April Dawn Davis, 27, with soliciting the murder of her former significant other, also 22. Police released the information yesterday, though the two were charged a week ago.

Murder for hire is an unusual charge, and Fairfax police said announcing two separate plots on the same day, involving two women with the same first name, is extraordinary.

Welcome to Bright Springs Harbor, formerly Bushwick

Renaming neighborhoods, particularly in my hometown of Brooklyn, is a pet peeve of mine. I grew up in Flatbush, dammit, not Kensington or Ditmas Park or any other fancy sounding neighborhood made up by real estate agents. The only renaming that was done back then was to refer to the nearest train station, the Newkirk Avenue stop on the then D-train, as Newcrack, for obvious reasons. Dawn Summers is having a laugh about the latest, Prospect Lefferts Gardens:

Here's the funny thing about giving the ghetto fancy schmancy names.

When ghetto type things happen and the news vans roll through, the on-air talent has to try --with a straight face, mind you -- to utter the words "The police chased the suspects through Brooklyn's Prospect Lefferts Gardens, where they were finally apprehended at 2 o'clock this morning."

If you listen real carefully, you can always hear the snicker right before the word "Gardens," since the camera -- filming against a backdrop of abandoned buildings and fried chicken joints, just doesn't lie.

More endorsements

Vote 'Save the GOP' in the 6751-8750 category.

Vote Vodkapundit or Dean's World (I love 'em both, don't make me choose) in the Top 250 Blogs.

I like both Club for Growth and the Stalwart for Best Business Blog.

Shape of Days for Best Designed Blog.

Best LGTB Blog: Classical Values.

Best Group Blog: Redstate.

Protein Wisdom for Best Humor Blog.

Ace of Spades for Best Conservative Blog.

Best of the Web for Best Media/Journalist Blog.

Tim Blair for best Australian/New Zealand Blog

And don't forget:

Clarified for Best Liberal Blog.

Joust the Facts in 5001-6750.

If I'm forgetting any blog friends in other categories, please let me know.

Attention Catholics: Your afterlife possibilities have just decreased

Pope to abolish 'limbo'.

Via Iocaste.

Calogero, how could you?

I'm just stunned by this. A police officer was shot and killed in the Bronx today and the suspect is Lillo Brancato Jr. Lillo played Calogero Anello in one of my favorite movies, A Bronx Tale. He was breaking into a basement 'when a gunfight erupted and an off-duty city police officer was killed.' Apparently, he was arrested earlier this year for heroin possession. I don't know anyone that didn't have a 'I saw Calogero' story when I was a teen. I saw him on 86th street in Bensonhurst once, coming out of the Gap. He was kind of a Brooklyn fixture and everyone swore he had a bright future. Too bad.

I only wish I was kidding

Suicide Bombers Honored at the UN

What is treason?

A couple of conservative blogs picked up on Sen. Jay Rockefeller's appearance on Fox Sunday last month but I haven't seen anyone mention this angle (via Blissful Ignorance):

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) on the November 14, 2005 edition of "Fox Sunday" divulged "I took a trip by myself in January of 2002 to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, and I told each of the heads of state that it was my view that George Bush had already made up his mind to go to war against Iraq--that that was a predetermined set course which had taken shape shortly after 9/11."

Senator Rockefeller was at the time of his trip, less than four months after 9/11, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which means he was entrusted with "sensitive secured information" as relates existing intelligence regarding Iraq WMD, ongoing intelligence operations looking into Iraq’s WMD program and America’s national security plans concerning the ongoing threat.

Syria was then and remains today on the State Departments list of terror regimes, clearly defined for some years as an enemy to America itself. But Syria was also a close ally to the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, the very subject of the information Senator Rockefeller chose to share with Hussein’s allies in Syria.

In the weeks that followed Senator Rockefellers’ friendly visit with Syria, CIA operatives began reporting Iraqi convoys traveling across the Syrian border; - a suspected "outsourcing" of Iraq’s WMD, which became the centerpiece of Colin Powell’s case against Iraq before the UN. Those same WMD that would later go missing by the time America entered Iraq 12 months later.

Random links and news

Crain's Insider, a political news fax sent to subscribers, had a story in yesterday's edition about the possibility of Randy Levine, president of the Yankees, becoming GOP Field Marshall in NY, a position that would be created for him to 'reign over borough and county chairs'.

----
Sometimes people send me things that don't have anything to do with what I blog about here but they're so nice I want to throw them a link anyway. Here are two such examples:

*A contest for best recruiting blogs.

*A bad credit repair blog.

----
REMINDER: NYC Blogger Party this Thursday, 6pm at Proof, 239 Third Avenue bet. 19+20. $30 Open Bar for 4 hours. There's also a pay as you go option.

This hand is called 'what happens when you try to slowplay pocket aces'

Also called 'how many times does this have to happen for me to learn?'

Update: Just so no one stages an intervention, the $1750 I lost on this hand is tournament chips, not real money.

The Nation: Bush administration murders journalists

Alexander Cockburn writes:

The Bush era has brought a robust simplicity to the business of news management: Where possible, buy journalists to turn out favorable stories, and as far as hostiles are concerned, if you think you can get away with it, shoot them or blow them up. As with much else in the Bush era, the novelty lies in the openness with which these strategies have been conducted.

But that's not all. Apparently, America has always murdered inconvenient journalists. That's just how we do.

I know calling someone anti-American makes me positively Stalin-esque in wanting to shut down outsider opinions, but I just want to know how is it possible to believe that the American government, which is elected by the American people, is essentially a bunch of murderers and yet still maintain that one is not anti-American. If it was me, I would hate a government of killers and the people that put them in power. But then, I guess I'm just one of those conservative types who sees things in black and white.

Matter of trust

John Zogby released a poll a few days ago noting that a majority of Americans believe Walmart is bad for America. Joel Mowbray notes today that Zogby 'cannot be considered an objective third-party when it comes to Wal-Mart.'

The poll was paid for by unions who are anti-Walmart. Additionally, 'Mr. Zogby has pocketed roughly $90,000 to serve as an expert witness for individuals suing Wal-Mart'. This was not mentioned anywhere in the press release of the poll results. Personally, I can't imagine why the Zogby polls are considered at all credible.

Even without his conflicts of interest, or perhaps because of them, his polls have been more than a little flawed. He predicted a Kerry win on election day of 2004. And, that's not as bad as his past predictions of a Delay loss in '02 (while working for his opponent) and a Lazio win against Hillary in '00 (while working for the New York State Republican Committee).

Endorsement

Vote for Joust the Facts in the best 5001-6750 blogs category in the Weblog awards. And since Dawn Summers is no longer in last place, you can stop voting for her.

Ouch

Headline: SPITZER SLAMS FELLOW DEM DEAN ON IRAQ

"He's flat out dead wrong," Spitzer said. "Of course we can win that war."

New State Party Chair, please.

After reading this great piece in the Observer about potential candidate for governor John Faso, I'm convinced that I would be happy with any Republican candidate for governor not currently supported by State Chairman Stephen Minarik.

I like John Faso, I like Pat Manning, and I like Randy Daniels. I'm turned off by Bill Weld, Minarik's candidate, and I am distrustful of Tom Golisano, the other possible candidate. The fact that Minarik has been disparaging to Faso, Manning and Daniels only makes me like them more. Minarik has been a disaster as party chair. I wrote about him back in August when the candidate pickings were slim and Minarik was stepping all over anyone who made a move to run for the seat. He has made extremely unprofessional comments about candidates. I wish someone would remind Minarik that we exist in a state where the Republican party is dying. It would be good if our State Chair wasn't helping to kill it.

Good news from Iraq?

Not if the media can help it.

Blogroll Update

NYC:

Banterist

Malcontent

Perez Hilton

Notice

Ace sucks at air hockey, Street Fighter II, Ms. Pacman, and some shooting game but is better than me at pool.

Wasting time

Pajamas Media rounds up various blogger reactions to the White House sending out 1.4 million 'holiday cards without the world "Christmas"'. The Washington Post calls certain religious conservatives 'miffed' at the exclusion of the word:

"This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture," said William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Bush "claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian. But he sure doesn't act like one," said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com. "I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it."

I have 3 words for you people: get over it. This president could not possibly be more open about his faith. I received the card the other day. It has a verse from Psalm 28:7 inside: 'The Lord is my strength and my shield; In Him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.'

I often find the changing of 'Christmas' to 'holiday' to be absurd, but defenders of Christmas are going after a wrong target. A president who includes a verse from scriptures in his cards is a president who is not ashamed of his religion or cowering to political correctness. Pick your battles, conservatives: this is not one of them.

Running for president in '08? Who's running for president in '08?

Sen. Clinton co-sponsors anti-flag burning law.

Via Dawn Summers.

From the category 'you've got to see it to believe it'

Playboy in braille.

Via Mediabistro.

Today, 4pm EST

(Click this graphic to listen)

Our guests today are Maxim UK's (and Huffington Post's) Greg Gutfeld and Just One Minute's Tom Maguire.

Update: Tom Maguire has cancelled.

She's not going to win, she just doesn't want to be last

I nominated her so I guess I should promote her candidacy: Dawn Summers for Best Liberal Blog.

Say what?

Watch this video and tell me Chris Matthews makes one iota of sense.

Communism in practice

Simon's Brain writes about the food co-op in Brooklyn:

The good things: quality food at low prices (20% above wholesale).

The bad things: the work, the busybodies, the queues, the chaos, the untrained staff, the weird smell, the claustrophobic atmosphere, the pettiness, the stock shortages, the conversations, signing in, trying to push the shopping cart, the queues again (you queue a second time to pay), being unable to find things, the cretinous messages over the loudspeakers, being overcharged and the queues once more (you queue a third time to get your receipt stamped before you’re allowed to leave).....

If you are one of those naïve people (younger than 25) who think communism is a good idea in principle, you need to spend 30 minutes in the food Coop. See how petty, bitter and mean people become when they are working for the collective. Everyone is paranoid that everyone else is shirking on their responsibilities, not working hard enough or disobeying a rule they themselves obey. I’ve been told off more times than I can count for such minor offences as leaving the queue for a moment to grab something I forgot, having 16 items in my basket instead of 15 when on line in the xpress queue, reaching over somebody’s head, not having my membership card out and ready the second it was requested and on and on… By the time you are done in there you want to shatter glass with a hysterical screaming fit.

Yes, but are the chicks still hot?

Via Englishman in NY.

Especially if Dean's party can help it.

"The idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."

-Howard Dean

Young Killer

Lionel Tate 'once the youngest person in modern U.S. history sentenced to life behind bars' was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2001. In 2004, an appeals court threw out the conviction after finding that it was not clear whether Tate understood what was happening to him.

"Tate was 12 when he killed Tiffany Eunick, a family friend, in 1999. His lawyers initially claimed the girl died accidentally while the 160-pound boy was imitating wrestling moves he had seen on television, but experts said the girl died of a beating that lasted up to five minutes."

So where is 18-year old Tate now? Back in jail, actually, after being arrested in May on charges that he robbed a pizza delivery man at gunpoint thereby violating his probation.

Like anyone who heard about Tate's case, I was stunned that a 12 year old was going to spend his life in prison. But throwing out the conviction was clearly not the way to go either. Tate is claiming some kind of insanity defense that includes hearing voices. Test him. Find out. And if it shows that he is just a calculating young man with no mental illness, lock him up and call it a day. Feeling bad because someone is evil at a very young age should not preclude us from acting in the best interest of society and putting him away where he can do no further damage to any of us. In fact, Tate's case is damaging to other youthful offenders, as the courts will be less likely to believe a troubled 12 year old who committed one crime, perhaps accidentally, as they will remember letting Tate out of jail only to have him continue his violence.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES (by guest blogger Dorian Davis)

I can't update my blog...will start Celebrity Feud Week on December 6.

Hillary challenge

Via Politicker, I learn that Hillary Clinton has a primary opponent for her Senate seat. His name is Jonathan Tasini and he is part of the 'the Web-organized, anti-war wing of the Democratic Party', according to Ben Smith. And, while I wish Jonathan success, I have a feeling that just like other 'web-organized, anti-war' candidates such as Howard Dean, he will be going down in flames to the party-chosen candidate. But hey, he's endorsed by Cindy Sheehan. That has to count for something, right?

24 hours in Atlantic City

Best poker moment of the night: Taking down a $400 pot with a draw.

Most intimidating poker room: Taj Mahal

Least intimidating poker room (see $400 pot bluff above): Caesars

Best new song that I first heard on this trip: 'Georgia' by Ludacris.

I discovered my biggest weakness in poker: I'm a bad winner. I don't tilt. When I lose, even a big hand, it doesn't affect my play. But when I win big, like the big hand noted above, I'm a wreck. I had to stand up from my table, walk up to a friend and have him give me a pep talk to try to stop my heart from pounding so hard. It's also the reason I don't do well in tournaments. I always start really strong and but the wins mess up my head and make me play very dumb. If it was realistic, my ideal play would be to win a big hand, go take a walk, make a phone call, have a cup of coffee, even throw some chips around the roulette table, then come back and play some more poker. And yes, I do realize that's not at all realistic.

Two comeuppance stories:

When I was a kid, my parents would drag me to their friends' house and leave me to hang out with their children. One time, they left me alone with a mean older kid who tricked me (I was like 6, ok) into touching the radiator and burning my hand. Years later he became the first person I ever knew to drop out of high school and the boogie man in my parent's tales of what would happen to me if I didn't do well in school. Turns out, they weren't entirely wrong. I saw him at Ceasars and he looked homeless or on crack or, actually, worse. Stay in school, kids, stay in school. And don't go around burning little girls' hands, the universe will get even with you.

On a slightly less serious note, back during the summer when Dawnie and I were doing bi-weekly runs to the Tropicana for our poker fix, we found ourselves sitting at the same 2/4 limit table as this trashy couple on more than a few occasions. Dawn hated the wife, something to do with her staying in and winning on the river with a queen. I don't remember the details but I'm sure Dawn does. I was annoyed with the husband because he would give me bizarro poker advice about slow-playing, based on his extensive online poker playing experience in the free-play rooms. Anyway, the last time I saw this couple, I was sitting at a 2/4 Limit table at the Trop with the wife, and her husband came over to tell her about a big hand he won at a NL table. He then addressed the table about how someday we too would be good enough to play NL and how different it was than Limit, which he now referred to as 'for beginners'. Needless to say, when I saw him at Ceasar's, he was back at the Limit table.

Update: I randomly came across this post which describes almost exactly how I bluffed the big hand mentioned above (but with more callers pre-flop who folded to a small flop bet).

Forever? Not so much.

Apparently, romantic love only lasts around a year.

Whether you believe it or not, let's hope it discourages people that get married after knowing each other less than a year.

Quote of Yesterday

Via Instapundit:

MICKEY KAUS on economic reporting at the New York Times: "It's indeed deeply disturbing to learn that higher gas prices have held down demand, causing those prices to fall back to a level at which demand begins to rise again! It's almost as if some insidious law was at work--as prices rise, demand declines! As supply increases, prices fall! You can't win!"

The LSAT didn't suck

And so I'm off to Atlantic City to celebrate. Be back in the AM.

Other people's lives

Since I'm in a gossip-y non-political mood today, here's a story of an internet romance between Maria and Will. They met, fell in love and Will left Britain to move to Mexico and be with her. He wrote: 'I tell you I am in love because I think you can understand the concept but I am not in love as you know it. I am waaaay beyond love. I am in a place I never knew existed. My Maria makes me whole, she fills in everything that was missing but she also inspires me. I am so much more than I was, I am slowly approaching my full potential. Every moment with her makes me a better person, teaches me to reach forward. She is my world, my everything, my all.'

Fairytale, right?

Well, not so much for his wife of 20+ years.

I'm completely fascinated with the various reactions to this from bloggers who 'know' the happy couple. I first heard about this on Bunniblog. She and others are on the 'I have a bat, let's go find the bastard' side of the aisle. Then there's others who write 'be supportive of love' or call it 'destiny'.

I don't know the whole story, but I tend to side with the bat people myself. It's not that I am so horrified by cheating, just that I see marriage as something that should be taken very, very seriously (which may go some way in explaining why I am in no hurry to get hitched). I also can't imagine the concept of leaving someone you have lived with and loved for 20 years in such a dirty way. It's one thing to own up to your affairs, apologize and work at your marriage. It's quite another to leave a note for your wife and kids telling them you've moved to Mexico. I don't believe in heaven or hell or anything like that, but I do believe that people eventually get theirs and that life has a funny way of making sure of that. If I were Will, I'd be watching for falling pianos.

File under 'things I have no reason to find as interesting as I do'

Brad Pitt is adopting Angelina Jolie's kids.

'Not guilty, y'all got to feel me.'

Murder Inc. rap mogul Irv Gotti acquitted

I'm not a Gotti or Murder Inc. fan but I do believe the NY Post owes Gotti an apology for including his trial in their editorial on the ills of the rap world.

HEH (by guest blogger Dawn Summers)

(From Karol: in case anyone doesn't get the joke, I'm taking the LSAT tomorrow.)

I know just the man for her.

Inspired by Brutally Honest personal ads, Dana Superstar has written her own.

"Who woulda thought/Slim Shady would be somethin that you woulda bought/that woulda made you get a gun and shoot at a cop/I just said it - I ain't know if you'd do it or not"

Police officer Dillon Stewart was killed in Brooklyn on November 19th following a car chase with a man who had run a red light. The bullet hit Officer Stewart under his left armpit just above the panels of his bullet-resistant vest. Apparently, this is a common problem with bullet-proof vests and has been a complaint among wearers for some time.

The blame game is in full effect. Gov. Pataki blames the lack of death penalty use in NY State. Various people blame lax federal gun laws. The Daily News blames the Criminal Court system. But the NY Post wins the prize for stupid with the most absurd editorial on the whole situation. Whose fault was the shooting? Basically, 50 Cent made him do it.

The editorial starts with a condemnation of the 'number of illegal guns in the city' but then quickly blames the 'perverted culture that feeds gun violence'. It mentions the violence at 50 Cent's movie, the murders of Jam Master Jay, Tupac and Biggie but also focuses on, completely nonsensically since these things are only marginally connected to violence, the money laundering case against Irv Gotti, and the perjury charges against Lil Kim. They quote lyrics by Lil Kim and 50 Cent, proving beyond any doubt that these people promote violence.

The editorial ends with this thought: Still wonder what motivates a thug like Allan Cameron? We don't. How the rap-rats sleep at night remains a mystery, however.

How do they sleep? They 'lay up in the sheets in presidential suites', so the Post doesn't need to worry about them getting their rest. They sleep just as soundly as Marilyn Manson or Judas Priest or Ozzy Osbourne or any number of musicians whose lyrics have been ridiculously blamed for various atrocities.

But what I want to know is how they know Allan Cameron is such a huge rap fan? I've read several articles on the killing and there is no mention of hip-hop in any of them. Is it just because he's black that he must've been a rap fan? Isn't that kind of, I don't know, racist? What evidence does the Post have that Cameron was even remotely motivated by rap music? Or that he was even a listener?

And, if they are drawing this assumption because he's black, can we then assume that Officer Stewart was also bumping 50 on the car stereo as he had his run-in with Cameron, since Stewart was also black?

Also, staying with the race theme, the title of this post is a lyric from white rapper Eminem. How come no blame for him from the Post?

It makes me so mad that I have to call 'racist!' on anything. I'm a conservative! We don't do that. But I don't see another explanation for this editorial. I would love to be enlightened. Robert? Ryan? Am I completely off-base here?

The funniest thing about using rap music as a target for all that ills society is that the blame is extremely effective in promoting rap music to youth. Young people will immediately be drawn to anything forbidden and assigning all this power to rap music will only make it more appealing.

But what do I know? I'm a hip-hop fan so clearly anything I say or do is far beyond my own control. 50 Cent controls me and made me write this post. I must do his bidding.

Blogroll Update

NY:

Arcane & the Profane

Eidelblog

Media Blog

Right Wing Dad

Spartacus

Internationally Known:

The Folk- sometimes commenter Urbane McMeercat is one of the bloggers at this site for 'an Edinburgh-based collective who gather to play and record music'.

Am I alone in thinking that sounds complimentary?

Venezuela's Chavez blames election problems on Bush, calls him 'Mister Danger'.

I didn't know Fitty does Bat Mitzvahs!

I have to find a rich 11 year old girl and befriend her. And quick.

Staying on the lying liars theme

Dawn Summers quotes Joe Biden on Meet the Press: '[R]emember what the resolution said, Tim, it didn't say "go to war." It said, "Mr. President, if you can show these things, then you can use force."'

Realllllllllly? That's funny, where in the resolution would such a statement be located, exactly?

Pants on fire

John Kerry says “withdrawing troops will lead to success” because we have too many troops in Iraq and they are serving as an appetizing target for terrorists (although I'm sure Kerry would use the word 'insurgents').

Of course, he campaigned for president on the idea that we didn't have enough troops. During the first debate Kerry said:

'This president just -- I don't know if he sees what's really happened on there. But it's getting worse by the day. More soldiers killed in June than before. More in July than June. More in August than July. More in September than in August.

And now we see beheadings. And we got weapons of mass destruction crossing the border every single day, and they're blowing people up. And we don't have enough troops there.'

But give Kerry some credit. Just because he's a wishy-washy flip-flopper doesn't mean he's not consistent. He is. He is a consistent exaggerator/liar, for example.

During the campaign he made headlines by claiming that foreign leaders were telling him they were rooting for him, this despite having minimal, if any, contact with any foreign leaders in the months preceding this statement and being unable to name any said leaders. A few days ago, Kerry said "Every troop I've met in Iraq comes up to me and says, 'Thanks for speaking out on this.'" Except, as far as I can tell, and do correct me if I'm wrong, Kerry hasn't been in Iraq since about a year ago, in January 2005, right after the election when his position was still 'more troops needed'. So, were the troops in Iraq thanking him for speaking out on the need for more troops?

At least Kerry is consistent with his inconsistent party.

Combining all my interests

Is there anything cooler than playing poker at National Review headquarters with a bunch of cutie young men? I say no. I couldn't stay as long as I would've liked but, as I left down a $1.50, I hope to be invited back. Thanks for the invite, Nathan.

His slogan: 'I can't possibly be worse than my dad'*

Jimmy Carter's son may run for Senate

*Per Peter.