I love the Democrats

Paul Hackett on being pushed out of the race against U.S Senator Mike Dewine:

Schumer and Reid, the guys who said my country needs me, had a change of heart. There was never any explanation given. Schumer, in particular, actively sought to undermine my insurgent campaign, in part by calling up my donors and telling them not to raise money for me, which is like a doctor cutting off oxygen to a patient. He also worked through others to get state and local politicians to publicly urge me to quit.

Hat tip UB.

Blogroll Update

NYC:

Super Fischel- My good buddy Fisch (who also happens to be my poker hero) has started a blog. His first post wonders if Bush could ever abandon the Iraq mission. Go leave him some comments and welcome him to the blogosphere.

David Teten- David is the head of a really cool group called Young Jewish Leadership PAC whose mission is 'to maintain and strengthen the relationship between the United States pro-Israel community and the Republican party'. His blog, however, is about 'investing, leadership, management, career acceleration, personal productivity, securities research, and online networks.' Pretty dynamic guy.

Out there in America:

Virginia- Black Market Baby Dealer- I discovered Brent after my My Space post prompted him to add me to his list of friends. Anyone that counts Dorian Davis among people he'd like to meet must be pretty cool.

Boston:
Also, it's sad but true but Ace of Spades is being moved to the Boston section. NY misses him already.

Oh snap.

Ari Goes Down is rarely political but she's mucho annoyed at Bryant Gumbel's comments about the Olympics...and she's not afraid to say so.

Thought for the day

Support for the Iraq war is decreasing not because of the casualty rate of our troops but because Americans are losing faith in the concept of Muslims having a democracy. They've watched the murder of Van Gogh, the beheadings, the kidnappings, the suicide bombers, the riots for weeks in Paris, the insanity over the Muhammad cartoons and they've concluded that these people can not live in our world and instead of bringing them closer to our point of view, the best thing to do might be to get as far away from them as possible (see Dubai port deal). At this point, there's very little the American government can do to restore faith in Muslims being compatible with freedom and democracy, despite Bush being the biggest champion of the idea that Muslims are no different than the rest of us. Muslims can only help themselves now.

The blogger's non-blogger

For a man without a blog, Peter sure gets quoted a lot.

Die Hard 4: Willis vs. Winfrey (by guest blogger Dorian Davis)

Bruce Willis Takes on Oprah

“Let me say something. They're giving James Frey all this s*#@ (about) his book,” Bruce said. “He didn't tell the truth. You actually wrote something that's fiction? Now he's banished from the kingdom.’

Bruce, who was supposed to be promoting his new film, “16 Blocks,” unexpectedly defended disgraced memoirist James Frey and bashed Oprah's very public berating of the author.

“Oprah, you had Bill Clinton on your show,” Bruce said. “Do you remember? Give this guy a break.”

Bush the hypocrite? [posted by Allah]

Inbound meme spotted on radar; lefty pundits flying in formation. Tumulty in Time:

How could Bush have failed to foresee the potential public relations consequences of an agreement to hand over terminals to a company owned by a country that had been home to two of the 9/11 hijackers, both of whom laundered their money in its banks? A distraught Republican summed up the party's problem: the episode was "caviar for Democrats." And it was a role reversal that must have been most satisfying for them too, since it put Bush in the position of arguing nuances of international diplomacy that got lost in the alarmist din over security.

Ron Brownstein in the Dog Trainer:

The president ... is stewing in a pot he brought to boil....

The administration is building its case on experience. It says the risk in the port deal seems minimal because the UAE has cooperated in the war on terrorism since Sept. 11 and participates in our international program to monitor cargo shipping.

But, the critics fire back, that record offers no guarantees about tomorrow. Things could change. Somehow, someone in the Dubai company could facilitate a terrorist plot or gain knowledge about American security that might help terrorists. When the consequences of a mistake are potentially so grave, as Santorum and others argued last week, why take the risk?

If this division sounds familiar, it should. It roughly tracks the divide in the national security hierarchy over Iraq. Only in that case, Bush took the opposite side.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it: find the common thread in Bush's positions on Iraq and the port deal. Hint -- there may be more than one.

Have a banana, Barry [posted by Allah]

This guy teaches polisci at MIT.

Would Iran give nuclear weapons to terrorists? We know that Tehran has given other kinds of weapons to terrorists and aligned itself with terrorist organizations, like Hezbollah in Lebanon. But to threaten, much less carry out, a nuclear attack on a nuclear power is to become a nuclear target.

Anyone who attacks the United States with nuclear weapons will be attacked with many, many more nuclear weapons. Israel almost certainly has the same policy. If a terrorist group used one of Iran's nuclear weapons, Iran would have to worry that the victim would discover the weapon's origin and visit a terrible revenge on Iran. No country is likely to turn the means to its own annihilation over to an uncontrolled entity.

True. I suppose under certain circumstances a fanatic might be willing to commit suicide in order to do damage to his enemy. But then, how often do you see that sort of behavior from Muslims?

Backdraft [posted by Allah]

Can't burn embassies without starting other kinds of fires, boys. Last week, smoke Down Under:

"Before entering a mosque visitors are asked to take off their shoes," [Costello] told the Sydney Institute last night. "This is a sign of respect. If you have a strong objection to walking in your socks, don't enter the mosque.

"Before becoming an Australian you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objections to those values, don't come to Australia."

Mr Costello said those who broke the compact should be stripped of citizenship, if another country would take them.

And now in the UK:

Muslims must accept that freedom of speech is central to Britishness and should be preserved even if it offends people, says Sir Trevor Phillips.

The chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) said we should "allow people to offend each other".

And he suggested that Muslims who wanted a system of Islamic Shariah law should leave the UK.

When the guy in charge of promoting multiculturalism starts talking common values, you've got yourself a trend.

Firemen have been spotted rushing to the scene.

What's wrong with this picture? [posted by Allah]

The set-up. The punchline.

The best places in America to pinch a loaf [posted by Allah]

Vote now.

Holler-palooza [posted by Allah]

Our entertainment news tonight comes from Houston, where luminaries of black liberal grievance culture met earlier to try to one-up each other in a spirited game of Who Can Say The Craziest Shit.

Second runner-up goes to Julianne Malveaux for wondering, "What are black folks doing in Utah?" Bonus points for use of the self-consciously authentic term "folks" to describe black people.

First runner-up goes to crowd favorite Louis Farrakhan for asserting that the "the only way to accomplish real freedom and equality was to remove the president". That's not a direct quote, incidentally; the actual quote was "the only way to accomplish real freedom and equality was to remove the president, and then replace him with Hitler."

And the award for Most Righteously Outraged Black Man Whose Righteous Outrage Entitles Him to Spout Inane Bullshit belongs to ... Cornel West, for insisting that "There's a parallel between the killing fields of the slave ships ... and the killing fields of the Super Dome." Congratulations, Dr. West! You win the first copy of Sketches of My Culture ever purchased; I'll send it to you just as soon as I order it.

Harry Belafonte was there too, but no quotes from him in any of the articles. I like to think he was simply rendered speechless by his indignant, aggrieved rage.

UPDATE: Everyone realizes that the Farrakhan quote about Hitler is a joke, right? A joke based in fact, to be sure, but a joke nonetheless.

Brave, brave Sir Oscar [posted by Allah]

Steyn's got a piece in NR this week on how Hollywood considers itself "brave" for re-fighting political battles that were won fifty years ago, even while it steafastly refuses to take a position on issues that are still in doubt.

It's subscription-only, alas. But if you want a taste of his argument, be sure to watch the Oscars this year. A "sexy jihad," indeed.

Anyway. Which flick, do you suppose, will be the frontrunner for Best Foreign Film at next year's awards?

Port deal reached? [posted by Allah]

Sounds purely cosmetic. But then, it doesn't really matter anyway. Or does it?

Whatever. I'm still totally taking my imaginary girlfriend on vacation to the underwater hotel, assuming we're still together in '08. Love is hard!

UPDATE: Sweeeeet.

Confound an American feminist [posted by Allah]

Toss this link at her and ask her which side she comes down on.

Total. Fucking. Meltdown.

Spaniards march against appeasement [posted by Allah]

A dying breed:

Victims of ETA's campaign of violence led tens of thousands of protesters through Madrid on Saturday in a warning to Spain's Socialist government not to negotiate with the Basque separatist group....

A sea of umbrellas, placards and flags moved slowly through Madrid's posh Salamanca district, as the crowd shouted "Zapatero resign" and "Negotiation is surrender".

Opposition conservatives have accused Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of being soft on ETA since his offer last May to talk to the outlawed group if it abandoned violence for good.

A recent poll showed most Spaniards agree with the policy.

It'd be a lot easier to throw rocks at Zapatero here if his policy were any different from Bush's vis-a-vis Hamas, or Britain's vis-a-vis the IRA. Of course, it isn't.

Ah, what the hell. Peace in our time!

War in slow motion [posted by Allah]

Interesting, oft-depressing report on shifting U.S. strategy in Iraq set to splash on page one of tomorrow's WaPo. The article describes three steps in the evolution of U.S. tactics, with the current focus on pushing out from Baghdad into the countryside to capture territory and then setting up checkpoints to hold it, one slow half-mile at a time.

The goal is to keep the jihadis out of Baghdad, although I'm not quite sure why; sounds like their presence couldn't make things any worse:

The streets of the capital already feel as unsafe as at any time since the 2003 invasion. As one U.S. major put it, Baghdad now resembles a pure Hobbesian state where all are at war against all others and any security is self-provided.

Army Reserve Capt. A. Heather Coyne, an outspoken former White House counterterrorism official, said, "There is a total lack of security in the streets, partly because of the insurgents, partly because of criminals, and partly because the security forces can be dangerous to Iraqi citizens too." When this reporter was permitted to review an in-depth classified intelligence summary of recent "significant acts" occurring in the capital, it appeared surprisingly incomplete, generally listing only two sorts of events: anything that affected U.S. troops, and the killing of Iraqis. Other actions affecting Iraqis -- kidnappings, rapes, robberies, bombs that don't kill anyone, and a variety of forms of intimidation -- don't appear to be on the U.S. military's radar screen. As one soldier put it, that's all "background noise."

On the upside, Iraqi troops do seem to be making progress, especially re: intelligence-gathering. But where their true loyalties lie, and whether it's too late for the U.S. military to implement the new strategy effectively, seems very much in doubt. Even -- especially? -- among the troops interviewed for the piece.

Darren McGavin, R.I.P. [posted by Allah]

The old man in "A Christmas Story," the older old man in "Billy Madison," gone at age 83.

Only in death are we reminded how fra-GEE-lay life is.

Tonight, in memoriam, Allah's leg lamp goes dark.

Savanna Samson, winemaker [posted by Allah]

"[R]eally opulent and luscious." And the wine's not bad, either.

You pervs are googling her right now, aren't you?

Not Allah. That's what bookmarks are for.

Nevermind the politics, here comes the poker

I'm just checking: You all know I co-write a Poker Blog with Dawn Summers called 'I Had Outs', right? Leave us some comments and show off your poker skill.

We love the Allahpundit

I've been busy and away so a huge thanks to blog-legend Allahpundit for filling in here at Alarming News. I hope he will stick around for awhile as I'm still otherwise occupied but he's welcome to guest-blog whenever the mood strikes. No one tells Allah what to do.

For my pal Kashei [posted by Allah]

Remember that article a few months ago about abortions in Russia exceeding the number of live births?

Well, maybe it's for the best:

In the past decade, 200 books and films about Stalin, some eulogies, have appeared. Polls show that 18 per cent of Russians believe he was their best leader since 1917, while almost 50 per cent view him in a positive or very positive light....

He is popular among the young, say pollsters, mainly because of rising nationalism, the result of the humiliation of Russia's diminished place in the world.

Volgograd University students lauded Stalin on everything from collectivisation, the agricultural policy that resulted in the deaths of millions through famine, to his supposed love for human rights.

"To change a weak country into the world's greatest power, we had to collectivise," said Andrei Ivanov, a history student. "We were able to produce tractor factories and to win the war."

Students insist Stalin's crimes were exaggerated by Khrushchev to avenge the death of his son, Leonid, whom they believed was executed during the war for passing secrets to the Nazis - a rumour that has long been debunked.

Khrushchev's great-granddaughter commemorates his "secret speech" with an op-ed on the great flaw in the Russian character.

UPDATE: Let's hurry it up with those abortions, 'kay?

Russian cinemagoers are flocking to see an unlikely tale of forbidden love between the late Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, and a married woman whom he calls "Lizzie" - otherwise known as Queen Elizabeth II....

The success of the film demonstrates a shift in Russians' view of Brezhnev, who was long an object of derision, not least because of his penchant for kissing male foreign leaders. His 18 years at the top, which ended with his death in 1982, are increasingly viewed as an era of stability and prosperity compared with the chaos of the present day.

Political violence is always wrong [posted by Allah]

Can't condone this, I guess, without finding yourself on the jihadi side in the cartoon flap.

Although.... Remember that old Chris Rock bit about O.J.? "So you gotta think about OJ's situation. 25,000 a month, another man drivin' his car, fuckin' his wife, and a house he's still payin' a mortgage on. Now, I'm not sayin' he should have killed her, BUT--

I understand."

Brown U. divests from brutal, racist regime [posted by Allah]

It's not what you think.

UPDATE: America will not divest from brutal, racist regime.

Gay post of the day [posted by Allah]

My heart genuinely breaks for this guy, jackass though he may be.

Which is better: to suck forever, or be good enough to make it to the big stage -- and then flame out spectacularly?

These are the thoughts that try Allah's soul.

Good news from Iraq [posted by Allah]

Zeyad's still alive. For the moment.

Photos at the link.

Paging Jeff Goldstein [posted by Allah]

One of Steyn's recurring themes is the danger posed by people with 14th-century mindsets having access to 21st-century technology. In a way, this is the ne plus ultra of that paradox. (Video here.)

Post-modernism and anti-modernism joined at last. Why go to the trouble of making "Jew Suss" when you can pull the same message out of Saturday morning TV?

Although, now that I think about it ... that roadrunner always did look a bit "ethnic" for my taste.

UPDATE: One of several problems with his theory -- "Tom and Jerry" wasn't a Disney cartoon. NOTE TO JG: On the plus side, though, at least he's an intentionalist.

UPDATE: You were saying, Mr. Steyn?

"What do you want me to do, bomb the Internet?" [posted by Allah]

Send in the Marines State Department:

The Pentagon is highlighting four key principles in its strategy, several of which will sound remarkably like the advice from critics of the Iraq war prior to the invasion.

First, the Pentagon accepts that to beat al-Qa'eda and its allies requires co-operation with other arms of government, in particular the Treasury and the State Department....

The Pentagon had learned from its roles in the Balkans, Vietnam and Central America, but in every new campaign "there are brand new 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds who need to be taught nuance," [Kimmitt] added.

Is Buckley right?

Terrible [posted by Allah]

Disturbing. It's disturbing how badly I want these.

More info here.

I'm going to drop them on my Snuggling Ifbot, which used to be my best friend until it annexed Mongolia and raped about a million women in China.

Spot the assumption [posted by Allah]

From tomorrow's NYT editorial:

It is time for moderate Muslims to abandon the illusion that they can placate the Islamists by straddling the fence. It is they who must explain to their people that the cartoons were an isolated incident, and not the face of hostile crusaders. It is they who must make it clear to their people that blowing up mosques, beheading hostages and strapping on belts of explosives are far, far greater evils than a few drawings in a distant paper. They must do so because their future is at stake — not Denmark's.

Did you find it? Look closely!

UPDATE: Upon which Middle Eastern country's fate does the future of Islamism depend? According to this piece in tomorrow's WSJ, that's a trick question.

UPDATE: "A long struggle."

Women, minorities hardest hit [posted by Allah]

The apocalypse, BBC-style:

In the event of all-out nuclear war, the BBC was to distract the nation by broadcasting a mix of music and light entertainment shows, secret papers released by the Home Office reveal.

Hundreds of security-vetted BBC staff and a select band of unnamed radio artistes were to be clandestinely dispatched to transmission sites across the country at the first signs of international tension.

Just before the first missiles had reached Britain, the BBC was to use regional centres in Birmingham, Sheffield, Bristol and Middlesbrough to broadcast a national service that the Government hoped would create "a diversion to relieve strain and stress".

By 1960 the BBC had stockpiled thousands of recordings of "war" programmes and records for possible broadcast at the height of an attack.

The article goes on to call it "highly questionable" whether dance-hall music would really boost morale among radioactive mutants.

The golden age is upon us [posted by Allah]

The silent prayers of a billion beta males, answered at last.

More here.

Turns out not only is the Singularity near, it's covered with semen.

I know one guy from England who looks like that [posted by Allah]

In his defense, it was either this or an $87 million bandwidth drive.

I know 6 guys in England that look like this

Late night French edition

*Please welcome France to 2004: France says Iran has secret nuclear program

*Ilan Halimi was kidnapped, tortured and killed in France. French authorities are calling the crime 'anti-Semitic'. It's kind of a stretch because it looks like the motive was robbery and extortion and his being Jewish was a factor in their choosing him since, obviously, all Jews have lots of money (I'm still waiting on my own cash delivery but that's another story). Roger Cukierman, head of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions said about the murder: "This case is very serious, because it is the first time in 60 years that a person was killed because he was Jewish." Well, except for this guy. And that's not to mention all the arson, beatings, and kidnappings involving Jews in France. France has a big problem and it's a sad state of affairs when even the Jews in Paris don't seem to recognize it.

*Italy critical of France's less-than-free market.

Like something out of a Guy Ritchie movie

Robbers dressed as cops get $50 million in English bank heist

This is no way to ingratiate us to the international community

Bolton takes U.N. colleagues to Knicks game

Related: NY Knicks "the biggest single laughingstock in professional sports at this time."

Now there's an idea

Let's hand the ports over to Halliburton. Who's in?

Get your leaked Guns-N-Roses songs here

If you've been waiting forever for Chinese Democracy, you can have a sneak preview here. Sounds really good to me but then Axl can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned (well, except his obvious plastic surgery, that's pretty wrong)

H/T Peter.

My thoughts on the port issue

A million things have been written on this already so here's my quick take:

I agree that Americans should be in charge of American ports. That makes tons of sense as presumably Americans would be take American security very seriously. And, one of the main arguments against Dubai taking over the ports is the possibility of a terrorist infiltrating our security system via this foreign port company. But, what is an American? Can't someone from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran become an American, or even just get a work visa, and get a job with one of the fine American companies running the ports?

Have we suddenly admitted, as a country, that we're not at war with Islamofascism or terrorism but actually Muslims, specifically of the Arab variety? I understand the mistrust but we have all spent the last 5 years since 9/11 saying that's not the case. The war in Iraq is proof of that. Why would we even bother democratizing the Mideast if we believe the people there to be inherently evil? Why bother with elections in Iraq or building the infrastructure in Afghanistan? Why not carpet bomb the place and call it a day? As for people who deny that there is any racism (I realize this isn't the right word because Arabs are not a race but I'm in a hurry and can't think of the correct word right now) involved in the criticism of this move, I have to wonder where they all these critics were when China took over a couple of our ports.

No, it doesn't seem like a great idea to leave our security to foreign companies but the reaction to this move has been beyond odd. Agree/disagree? Let me know.

Quote of the Day

I suppose I'm supposed to condemn the mob violence on both sides equally. But that's a lot of bullshit. The Muslim mobs killed, beat, maimed, and burned because of some cartoons published in small country thousands of miles of way.

The Christian mobs are killing, beating, maiming, and burning because they were themselves killed, beaten, maimed, and burned last week.

-Ace of Spades.

Our local government is more useless than your local government

It's actually not all that competitive, NY's City Council will be in the top 5 every time.

Jail time for unpopular opinions

Not in Iran or in Saudi Arabia but actually in Europe:

Three years for Hitler's apologist

Riots in Nigeria

This is not going to end well:

Christian mobs rampaged through a southern Nigerian city Tuesday, burning mosques and killing several people in an outbreak of anti-Muslim violence that followed deadly protests against caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad over the weekend.

The violence appeared to be in reprisal for anti-Christian violence Saturday in the mostly Muslim northern city of Maiduguri in which thousands of Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad attacked Christians and burned churches, killing at least 18 people.

Um, ewwww.

Fast-Food Ice Dirtier Than Toilet Water

Just because they want to kill you is no reason to stop giving them money

UN faults Israel for halt in funds to Palestinians

I'm a redhead and all but whoa, dude.

PARLIAMENT: Newly elected Palestinian parliament member from Hamas Abu Tir (L) from Jerusalem with colleague Yasser Mansour from Nablus in Ramallah, on February 17. The new Palestinian parliament is to be sworn in on Saturday.
(REUTERS)

More

Cartoon protests leave 15 dead in Nigeria

Spot on

Ken Wheaton sums up NPR news:

1. International News. Something horrible happened in the world today and

A) It was America's fault.

B) America intervened, making it worse.

C) America didn't intervene, making it worse.

D) America was slow to respond, making it worse.

E) On the slim chance that America had nothing to do with it, Israel did.

2. Domestic news.

A) People are suffering in America because the government programs failed them.

B) We need more money to fund government programs.

Very crazy

10 People Killed in Libya Cartoon Riot

Italian consulate in Libya set on fire because Italian Minister Roberto Calderoli wore a t-shirt with a Mohammad cartoon on TV.

"In Pakistan, the cleric Mohammed Yousaf Qureshi said the mosque and the religious school he leads would give a $25,000 reward and a car for killing the cartoonist who drew the caricatures — considered blasphemous by many Muslims. He said a local jewelers‘ association would also give $1 million, but no representative of the association was available to confirm the offer."

All here.

Not that crazy

The BBC has a piece on Roberto Calderoli, 'the Italian minister who has quit in the latest row over cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad' and 'is known for his outspoken and often inflammatory comments.' Some of his comments are indeed ridiculous for a public official like 'All these Ali Babas should turn to Allah, or to their own governments - if they find time to devote to the needs of their people rather than the atomic bomb or buying arms.' But the BBC quotes some other things he said in the 'isn't he crazy?' context and they really lose me. What's wrong with saying this?:

He has also said anyone trying to enter the country illegally should be "returned to sender" and those living illegally in Italy should be expelled.

"All the forces of law and order ought to be used and all, the good and the bad, should be removed - all, I stress all the illegals in town," he said.

"The period of the carrot has come to an end and now it's time for zero tolerance."

Wrath of Cheney

Laugh at Cheney, get shot while hunting. Too good to be true, really.

Ads

I will be attending the party advertised in the first slot of my sidebar. If anyone else is going, drop me an email.

And, as always, do support this site by visiting my advertisers.

It's news when someone in the arts is anti-terrorist

Allahpundit sends along a story on fashion designer Apollo Braun using the Mohammad cartoon images in his pieces. "Speaking about terrorists of Muslim background, Braun added, 'They will kill me anyway. I'm bisexual, an artist and American.'... Braun announced that his next T-shirt will say, 'The president of Iran is an impotent.'"

Gore is gaining

Gallup has a poll of potential 2008 Dem candidates. Clearly polls this far in advance are virtually meaningless but it's interesting to see that support for Gore, as he publicly loses his mind, has only increased.

Free speech for everyone

My Scottish friend Urbane McMeercat sends along this article, about the possible imprisonment of Holocaust denying historian David Irving, to challenge my 'conception of Europe as a bastion of anti-semitism'. Actually, it challenges my conception of Europe as a mostly free place.

The British academic will go on trial in Vienna next week over two speeches he made in Austria in 1989, in which he disputed the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz.

Like most reasonable people, I find Irving's views ridiculous. And, as the descendant of those killed in the holocaust, I am repulsed by his callous suggestion that the atrocities did not occur. But, why should I care what he thinks?

As Christian Fleck, a sociologist at the University of Graz, points out in this article: "Are we really afraid of someone whose views on the past are palpable nonsense?" I'm not. Why should Europe jail someone for conspiracy theories? I heard a boatload of ridiculous, totally wrong ideas while I lived in Scotland (the Scots love conspiracy theories). I'm not for locking anyone up just because they have wacky thoughts on the world. Let's fight actions, like people who would gas Jews, or riot over cartoons, rather than words on a page or in the air.

Calling all Protest Wariors

The anti-Danish protests come to New York.

Al Gore is a menace

I missed this, but apparently Al 'not quite president but doesn't seem to realize it' Gore, gave a speech to 'our friends the Saudis' the other day. He accused the US government of "terrible abuses" of Arabs who had, apparently, been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions after 9/11. Actually, what's unforgivable is that speeches like this that rile up our enemies are considered completely acceptable. We're at war with fundamentalist Muslims who get remarkably insulted at just about everything (see rioting over Muhammad cartoons, rioting over Koran flushing, rioting over French teens electrocuting themselves, etc.) Should Al Gore be spreading lies to these people about the treatment of Arabs in America? Is he trying to cause America harm?

Hat-tip Ark.

Oh stop it. Everyone knows that since we never found stockpiles of WMDs they never existed and that Saddam was no threat.

Drudge: ABCNEWS TO AIR SADDAM TAPES TONIGHT: Saddam talking with his advisors about hitting Washington with WMD, hiding weapons, etc... Developing...

Yikes

Prison guard confesses to helping with jailbreak to help Democratic primary candidate.

Things that make my head hurt

Scalia calls people who believe in a "Living Constitution", idiots. I tend to agree but he loses me when he goes on to say:

"Scalia does have a philosophy, it's called originalism," he said. "That's what prevents him from doing the things he would like to do," he told more than 100 politicians and lawyers from this U.S. island territory.

Whyyyyyyyyyyyy in the third person, Antonin, why?

Rightalk Show

As you may or may not have noticed, I wasn't hoisting the black flag with Ace of Spades yesterday. We're not sure what's going to happen with the show, as it seems I can no longer do Tuesdays, but I will keep you all posted. Sadly, he had two of my internet faves on the show yesterday, guest Julian Sanchez and caller Jeff Goldstein. You can listen to the replay here.

Love and stuff

If you're looking for some Valentine's Day sentiments, perhaps you better check the poker blog. It's the best I can do, I'm just not mushy enough a person (as Ken Wheaton once wrote about me 'about as romantic as a mechanical engineer living in a Dilbert comic strip.')

The hits just keep on coming

“Now I understand why Dick Cheney keeps asking me to go hunting with him,” said Jim Brady, the former Ronald Reagan aide-turned-anti-gun-advocate.

Hat-tip W.O.

Sometimes....

....Dawn Summers is really funny.

It's past the time to get a grip

Two killed in Pakistan cartoon protests

Your space?

After being on Friendster forever, and using it only to look up people I haven't seen in years to see how they're looking these days, I got coerced into joining My Space. And, after building up the popularity roll on Friendster, it's almost sad to see my 12 My Space friends. So, if you have My Space, go ahead and add me. Maybe you'll even make my coveted 'top 8'.

The key to being on a hunger strike is someone needs to care if you die

Saddam says he's on a hunger strike

Some things go without saying

Mom accused of severing baby's arms 'very sick'

Priorities, people.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, fresh from making our airports free of nail clippers and lighters, takes on the real important issue of the day: Britney Spears driving with her baby in her lap.

Oh no

Is it really Valentine's Day tomorrow? What do girls get guys, anyway?

Freedom is on the march

South Pacific island-chain Tonga gets first elected government

"Tongan Prime Minister 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata has resigned, six months after pro-democracy protests, putting an elected official at the head of the South Pacific kingdom's government for the first time."

Actual headline in Canada's National Post

Cheney steps up war on lawyers

Japanese people are genius

If I ever have a kid, I'm definitely getting it one of these.

In case you didn't know.....

I co-write a poker blog as well as keep a list of events for NYC right-leaners. The poker blog isn't heavy technical poker terminology, more funny stories and random gossip. And, the calendar site isn't just for Republicans, it's for libertarians, conservatives and right-curious folk too.

Let the conspiracy theories begin.

Dick Cheney accidentally shoots a man.

Via Dawn.

Well, that's it, clearly Bush is implicated in the Abramoff scandal

Time Magazine [corrected] has a picture.

Something that will only be interesting to Anglophiles like me

Tesco's comes to America.

PA '06

Pa. GOP leaders endorse Swann for governor

It's shaping up to be an interesting election season in PA:

The Republican State Committee also endorsed Jim Matthews, the brother of the host of MSNBC's "Hardball With Chris Matthews," for lieutenant governor. He's now the commissioner of Montgomery County near Philadelphia.

Jim Matthews, 56, joked Saturday about going from being known as "Chris Matthews' brother" to "Lynn Swann's running mate."

Bill Frist (Mark Harris, Guest Blogger)

I just did an interview with Bill Frist. Nothing very important to note, other than his sounding like a Presidential candidate. He gave a less than ringing endorsement of Chaffee. We'll see how it plays out.

Audio of interview

Gilchrist (Mark Harris, Guest Blogger)

Jim Gilchrist stopped by the bloggers row and our contributor Nathan did a short interview with him. Audio is below. Gilchrist had run in the special election for California 48 to replace Rep. Cox. He recieved 25.1% of the vote.

Unfortunately, technical dificulties caused the interview not to record, but Gilchrist emphasized how important it was for the GOP to address immigration as an issue or else it risked losing a lot of votes among the conservative base.

Some Pics (Mark Harris, Guest Blogger)

Bloggers row...

Rick on the radio yesterday

RINOtastic (Mark Harris, Guest Blogger)

The morning of day two at CPAC has been pretty boring so far. The only really big name speaker was Mitch McConnell who made a speech that I've heard described as "RINOtastic." AKA One giant apology for the Bush administration. I am rather dissappointed by this, as I've always been a fan of mitch for his principled stand against McCain-Feingold. I will have audio up of Coulter, Mehlman, and Frist today.

Students4Allen (Mark Harris, Guest Blogger)

Just did an interview here on the floor with Chris Finnigan, National Director, of Students4Allen (can we just start using the words instead of numbers, but I digress...). The audio is below but it was clear that Allen is maneuvering behind the scenes to setup all the structures he needs to make a succesful presidential run.

He is speaking at the dinner tonight, but is not making the rounds shaking hands, which to me seems like a major mistake. If I were his folks, I would have him out glad handing these CPAC folks, they are the ones that make the party work and he will need them in the primary.

Anyway, here is the audio of the interview.

CPAC (Mark Harris, Guest Blogger)

I'm here at CPAC guest blogging for Karol. Thanks Karol, for this great press access. I've done a few great interviews and extended coverage available at SaveTheGOP.com.

I'll just start by posting my thoughts on CPAC. I like this venue a lot better than the Reagan center and there seems to be another great turn out. There has been a lot of immigration and civil liberties debates. I would say that this is probably fairly reflective of the internal party struggles that are likely to break out post-Bush. So in that sense this is the first post-Dubya, conservative gathering where everyone is trying to stake out where the future of the movement is.

So, no longer just a Republican scandal?

AP: Dem Leader Reid Aided Abramoff Clients, Records Show

Via Drudge.

CPAC

The Save the GOP boys have started their CPAC blogging. They will be cross-posting some of it here but in the meantime check out their site.

Google Censorship in China

An illustration.

CPAC

For the first time in a long time, I'm going to have to miss CPAC. I have work obligations that will need me in NY on Friday. I'm sad that I can't go but it's out of my control. Thanks to everyone, uh I mean Jake, who gave me a donation for my CPAC cause. I will be returning the donation.

Guest-blogging for me from CPAC will be Mark Harris and Alex Brunk of Save the GOP. If you're not reading Save the GOP, you should be. It's the site for movement conservatives and I know they will do a great job covering the event.

I want to be smoking what they're smoking

NY Sun Headline: Bloomberg for President?

Liberals on Cartoons and angry Muslims

Iocaste compares the Muslim rioting over a cartoon to Christian anger over the removal of 'Christmas' from American life. Gib says it best in Clarified's comment section: "I once called the Danish embassy during December. They said "Happy Holidays." So I burned it to the ground."

Charles of Stay Free Magazine emails that not all leftists are pandering to the Islamist set. He points to this piece by Choire Sicha and this one by Daniel Radosh as proof.

I think it's great that some on the left are defending free speech and criticizing murderous mobs who would take it away. Although, is it a good sign for the left that this is news? Shouldn't defending free speech, from those that burn things to get their way, be a given?

Nightmare

Who knew the power of the cartoon? "Editor-in-Chief Harry Siegel, managing editor Tim Marchman, arts editor Jonathan Leaf and one-man city hall bureau Azi Paybarah" have resigned from the NY Press over its publisher's refusal to reprint the Muhammad cartoons. Siegel only took over the paper in August and its sad to see him go so soon. Azi Paybarah had become a must-read for local politics and I have a feeling that wherever he ends up, he'll be a wild success. I look forward to reading all of them elsewhere.

Update: Azi im's me that his new site is now up. Check out 51st State.

Law School

Since this blog is partly personal, and since enough people have asked, I thought I'd give y'all an update on my law school situation. After a lot of thought, I had decided to apply to Fordham University's night program. It's the best part-time program in NY and Fordham was always the school I thought about when I considered law school. But, after a serious review of my finances, I've realized it just isn't feasible for September. Don't tell me about loans, I haven't even started paying my grad school dues yet. Maybe next year. Now I just have to tell my mom.

Today, 4pm EST

(Click the pic to listen)

Update: Call in number is 866-884-8255 (TALK).

Our guest today is the fabulous Glenn Reynolds, aka Instapundit. We'll be talking to him about his new book 'An Army of Davids'.

Dawn Summers has returned to live-blogging the show.

It's true

Blogging makes people happy.

I can do many things....

....predict sports games is not among them.

Sticks and stones

Nikhil writes that insane rioting over words and images doesn't only happen in the Muslim world and that it should be condemned wherever it surfaces. A great read.

Don't wait for Sullivan to make sense

Philip Klein takes issue with Andrew Sullivan's love of Lincoln and hatred of Bush.

To clarify

Rumors of my leaving Peter for Angelina Jolie are grossly exaggerated.

Happy Birthday

You were the man. We miss you.

Thanks to ex-blogger Oschisms for the reminder.

CPAC

Who is going to CPAC?

The list of CPAC bloggers is here.

If you've enjoyed my previous CPAC blogging and want to help me defray the cost of the trip, feel free to hit the paypal button:

An apology

Blogs are generally snarky, sort-of biting and most commentary is quite off-the-cuff. I have been guilty of this on several occasions, I'm sure, but I want to apologize for one in particular.

I wrote about my alma mater, Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn, a couple of times. I took it as fact that financial shenanigans had been going on at the school and I kind of made fun of the accused, Albert Corhan. If I should've given anyone the benefit of the doubt, it's him. We were friendly enough in high school and I should've believed the best about him for this reason alone. I do want to note that my main reason for believing that something shady was happening with the funds allocated for alumni development is that there is minimal alumni development from Adelphi. There are no reunions or newsletters. There is limited contact from the school. All of this remains true. Still, that doesn't prove anything and I apologize to Albert and to the school for writing about unsubstantiated charges.

I note all this now because I understand the school is standing by Albert and to me that is indication that I had jumped to some wrong conclusions. I may be proven wrong again, if he is in fact convicted of any offense, but I hope that I'm not, I hope the charges are wrong and that no crimes have been committed. I love Adelphi and want to see it succeed. I'm sorry if anything I've written could ever get in the way of that.

Cartoons

Reprinting the offending cartoons to show solidarity with Danish newspapers is dumb, there I said it.

I first wrote about the Denmark-Muslims brouhaha on January 29th, a full week or so before Muslims began torching embassies. It is a problem for Europe, and for the whole world, that whole swaths of the world's population don't understand that arson rarely offers meaningful solutions to problems.

But reprinting the cartoons only makes the problem worse. We do not, nor should we, necessarily support or enjoy these cartoons, just because we believe in their right to be published without death threats to the newspaper's employees or violence directed at the citizens of the offending country.

It is well-known that many Arab newspapers have featured Ariel Sharon as a bloodthirsty monster, a demon who eats children and hopes for death and destruction. Had Jews rioted at this depiction, had they set afire embassies around the world or raged in the streets, I would denounce them harshly, advise them to get a grip and to deal with real problems that face us all. But if a newspaper reprinted the cartoons in some twisted show of solidarity, I would see the paper as merely fanning the flames of conflict.

It's important to focus on the bad behavior of some Muslims to content they find objectionable without celebrating the content. The content should be irrelevant. Normal, civilized behaviour should be expected of Muslims, as it is of people of other religions. That should be the lesson here, not just a middle finger to Islam in general.

Update: Protein Wisdom has a great post taking down Steve Gilliard's absurd idea that Europe must somehow cower to their Muslim citizenry and be careful not to offen them because of their colonial history, etc.

Wishing for Watergate (by guest blogger Dorian Davis)

For Some, Spying Controversy Recalls a Past Drama

Here are five references to Richard Nixon, and one reference to Watergate, in piece about Gerald Ford (mentioned once) and, later, George W. Bush (mentioned once).

Yes, it was another poker weekend

Any doofus that limps with kings, bets small on a dangerous flop and then puts me all-in when I've made my flush is a doofus I'll always be happy to see at the poker table.

ISLAM: A Religion of Peace (by guest blogger Dorian Davis)

Violence Spreads Over Muhammad Caricatures

Thousands of Muslims rampaged Sunday in Beirut, setting fire to the Danish Embassy, burning Danish flags and lobbing stones at a Maronite Catholic church as violent protests over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad spread from neighboring Syria.

Stupidity on display

Egypt declines Israel Navy's offer of search and rescue assistance.

Via Drudge.

File under 'what is he smoking?'

Eric Alterman:

Despite his lies and incompetence, President Bush remains more popular with elite media than Bill Clinton...

Via Media Bistro.

In Your Dreams (by guest blogger Dorian Davis)

A Cry of Concern by Republicans at Voter Unease

"If they are not worried about next November, they are whistling past the graveyard," said Joe Gaylord, a Republican consultant who helped engineer that 1994 Republican sweep that lead to the election of Newt Gingrich as the Republican speaker.

Mr. Gaylord said he did not think it would be enough for Republicans to reject someone closely identified with Mr. DeLay. To get through to voters, he suggested, the new leadership must change the way it does business after years of, for example, pushing legislation through on party-line votes.

ALERT: There is not one single person, anywhere in this country, thinking, "I might vote for the GOP if it stops this party-line sh**!"

I think she's got one more rocker in her

Heather Locklear, previously married to Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, is divorcing from husband Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi. Dave the Snake Sabo from Skid Row is reportedly rubbing his hands together in opportunity.

Just can't catch a break

Tornadoes Tear Through New Orleans

Quote of the Day

The conditions for this latest truce are of course impossible as well. All one needs, in order to earn Bin Laden's mercy, is to give up Afghanistan and Iraq. But this raises a more intriguing question. Why are formerly triumphalist jihadists using the language of "truce" at all? Not very long ago, God was claimed to be on their side and victory certain.

-Christopher Hitchen's on bin Laden's latest appearance.

Via the soon to be moving to Boston Ace of Spades.

Yep, 'thank goodness'

From an Adbusters interview with Helen Thomas:

AB: Do you recall a time or a moment in history when journalism was more heroic than it has been in recent years?

HT: Every other time but this time. And it’s because of 9/11. People wanted to be more patriotic and were afraid of rocking the boat. From there, we segued into a war where reporters were worried about jeopardizing the troops. So there was a heavy cloud and reporters had to fall in line for awhile. But they’re coming out of it, thank goodness.