I (still) heart Fitty Cent

And I'll be the same when Jay-Z's around, won't scream and holler whenever Usher's in town.*

*It's a line from "I know you don't love me" by Tony Yayo.

Extra edition of "terrorist or crazy?"

Armed man threatening to commit suicide infiltrates UK Embassy compound in Tel Aviv.

Crazy or terrorist? (An Alarming News Continuing Series)

Omeed Aziz Pop, drives SUV into crowd of pedestrians in California.

Previous:

French teenager with gun threatens tourists.

Woman freaks out on airplane, implies she's Al Qaeda, pees on floor.

That's us! That's us!

From an article in the Wall Street Journal on guest-blogging:

At the same time, the guest blogger can't follow a script or act like a substitute teacher who regurgitates the lesson, says Ms. Gelman. Without some creativity or flavor from the new writer, postings sound stale. "Not all voices are created equal," notes Aaron Adams, an information technology consultant from Missouri who reads nearly 20 blogs a day. "Some guest bloggers don't do much more than just keep the light on. They're not as interesting or as stimulating."

Michelle Malkin, host and namesake of a political blog, recruited guest writers carefully when she decided to take her first vacation in several years. All four replacements had a "similar vibe" to her own, says Ms. Malkin. Two of the guest bloggers were well-versed in subjects popular in the news at the time and the other two were friends whose work she admired.

A slice of Ms. Malkin's audience didn't take to the guest bloggers. She chalked that up to a "fickle" bunch who prefer her work as a syndicated columnist. But overall the guest bloggers held readers' attentions, says Ms. Malkin. During the week she was gone, hits averaged around 140,000 a day, down from about 200,000 before she went on vacation. Last week, before she eased back into posting, her average daily visitor tally dipped below 120,000. The numbers didn't faze Ms. Malkin. "For the dog days of August, they did tremendously well," she says of her fill-ins.

What a crazy little dude

"Peaceful nuclear energy is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen that based upon international regulations, it wants to use it and no one can stop it," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference.

It's like he saw what happened to Saddam and is dying to get a piece of that action.

UPDATE: Cox and Forkum have some interesting thoughts and an incredible, perfect illustration.

I am not questioning his patriotism. I'm questioning his ethics.

John Murtha says he's disappointed in Hillary Clinton for not joining his call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

Earth to Murtha: Your idea for a pullout was rejected 403-3.

But here's the kicker: YOU WERE ONE OF THE 403 WHO VOTED AGAINST THE RESOLUTION TO IMMEDIATELY WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ, YOU TOTAL FRAUD.

SAVE THE DATE

September 9th, blogger party NYC. BE THERE. Location and time to be announced. Watch this space.

We know who our friends are

Three-quarters of U.S. adults identify Israel as either a close ally or "a friend, but not an ally."

Unfunny because it's true

Hat-tip Swoose.

Blogroll Update

NYC:

Cross Molina- As I said in Donny Baseball's comment section "a poker-playing, Yankee loving conservative in NY? I think I'm in love."

California:

Jeremayakovka- One of the cool people who got in touch with me while I was blogging for MM (that's for you, Ken). Jeremayakova also introduced me to the work of....

Cinnamon Stillwell- I love ex-liberals and Cinnamon is one of those. Check out her story here.

Read to me

Sunday night I, along with the good-looking Allah, had the pleasure of meeting the visiting Patterico and his lovely family. We had a great dinner, then grabbed some drinks and chatted politics, blogging and lots of other stuff I can't remember now because I was on 4 hours sleep.

After I left the fellas, I went over to Weenie Enema's for her legendary Emmy-watching party. As I don't watch TV, much less awards show for TV, I was chalking it up to 'it'll be an experience'. And it was. Emma is quirky and sarcastic and generally cracks me up. I could spend like 2 days looking at all the cool stuff she has in her room. She's got a great book collection too, and kept encouraging me to borrow something. I demured, because while totally wanting to borrow like 10 of her books, I have plenty of my own books that I have yet to read. And then I saw it. The book that I had read in the 6th grade and loved more than any other book. The one that had gotten me obsessed with reading. It was "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. I read that book a million times, rented the movie with C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio and every other famous young man of that era. I had to borrow. I had to. I started reading it that night and continued it on the way to work. It makes me feel just how I felt in 6th grade, completely immersed in the world of greasers and socs.

So, audience participation time: what was your favorite childhood book? My second favorite, when I was in 2nd grade or so, was "Lulu's back in town" but "The Outsiders" was the one for me. What's yours?

I love America

Saddam forced to repeatedly watch South Park Movie.

A post that will be of no interest to anyone

Former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, becomes manager of Sunderland (my favorite English 'football' team)

In NYC?

I'm going to this tonight and this on Wednesday. Anyone else?

UPDATE: Dawn blogs up the bi-partisan comedy show.

Ooorah!

Lefties lose crackie vote challenge in Mexico. But vow to keep protesting and shut the country down.

Our friends and neighbors

"I don't think you can take pictures in the tunnel."
"Oh. How come?"
"Terrorist concerns."

I was going to take him over the Brooklyn Bridge and show him the spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline. But the traffic was so heavy, despite the fact that it was after 11pm on Thursday, so we headed into the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. He turned around to snap some pictures, and I warned him against it.

We hadn't talked politics yet and I hoped to avoid it. We hadn't seen each other in 5 years, since the last time I was in Scotland. I didn't want to spend our limited time together arguing over the Iraq war and I felt like this exchange was going to lead us into that political territory.

I know the pattern--"that's a dumb way to combat terrorism, don't Americans understand that you can't fight terrorism in this way, no I don't have a better suggestion beyond some vague 'hearts and minds' blather, but obviously you see Bush is an idiot, don't you?, you don't?, I'm really surprised at you, I thought you were smarter than that, don't you listen to "Bright Eyes" and "Radiohead"?, don't tell me you support what Israel is doing in the Middle East, obviously the Iraq war is a disaster, Bush only did it for oil/money/daddy/power, what about what the Americans did in Central America in the 80's?, well I think it is relevant to prove Americans are power-hungry imperialists who want to keep the brown man down."

I was exhausted just thinking about it. But he didn't go there. In fact, he seemed understanding and sympathetic to the fact that we have to live this way now, that a tourist probably can't take pictures in certain places in NY and that's the way it's going to be for some time. And though we hung out for three days, we never talked politics at all. It was such a happy time.

But my nervousness at the course our conversation could have taken got me thinking: I hate terrorists for killing innocent people and I hate them for forcing us to live a life where you can't take pictures where you please, you can't carry certain things onto airplanes, etc. But I really hate them for the divide they've caused in the western world. I hate hating France and being suspicious of Europe. I don't see them as the enemy, but I do see them as turning a blind eye to this growing, immediate problem. And I know they see us in the same way--as this bumbling superpower who just can't get things right. We yell at them for not doing enough, they yell at us for doing too much. It's every Islamofascists dream. We are completely divided to where I expect a certain amount of hostility from Europeans, not even for being rightwingish, but just for being American. And I assume they'll all be leftists, more concerned with pc-ness and intellectualism than doing what they must to survive. Even the ones I like and respect.

I don't know how to get around this, exactly. But if we don't thaw relations, and soon, then the cliche is true, the terrorists will have won.

"If he comes to kill you, kill him first"

A great article in the Washington Post about the agonizing that Israel does over the use of target killings. I'm fairly certain Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda have no such moral dilemma.

H/T Frank White.

History can make you anything.

Barry Goldwater: Liberal. Al Franken, Ted Kennedy, James Carville and Hillary Clinton say so.

When the populace has resolve but the leadership does not

Most Israelis want prime minister to resign - poll

I wrote about this on Michelle Malkin's blog (shut it, Ken):

The problem, of course, is that Israelis are feeling that their mission was not accomplished. Hezbollah remains operational, and now defiantly so, while Israeli civilians remain a target. What did Israel win, exactly?

A Jerusalem Post article notes that Israelis feel their "sacrifice has been betrayed".

I can't help but feel there is a similiar phenomenon going on with the Iraq war. The president's approval numbers are dismally low, so low that when they hit the upper 30s, it seems like he's "back". But more than ever I feel it isn't because he is too much of a hawk or a cowboy--it's because he's not enough of those things.

I think that like Olmert, Bush is now perceived as weak and ineffective by a majority of his countrymen. Forget the wacky left, who think Bush likes to kill people for sport. Bush has lost the right, the majority of the people who supported the Iraq war and re-elected Bush by a majority in '04, mostly because he hammered John Kerry on being a weakling. Americans are tough, it wasn't accidental that they picked the cowboy over the guy offering a 'global test'.

My feeling is that Americans are souring on Iraq for two reasons:

1. They feel our kid glove treatment, with more focus on winning hearts&minds and less on killing terrorists, just isn't working. They are not seeing toughness. We're frequently told we're at war...but it feels like we're in some weird gray area where yeah, we're sort of at war but we're also sort of trying to be some kind of good samaritans. I love the idea of helping the Iraqi people while making that part of the world safer, but I was for this war to destroy terrorists wherever they may breed--helping Iraqis was a noble side goal. Which brings me to point #2:

2. We've lost faith in the Iraqi people. Let's face it, we thought Iraqis would step up and welcome their freedom. Its happened to some extent but the big image out of Iraq is of a people resigned to live under Saddam's thumb who don't want the big responsibility of governing themselves. I hear this from friends who have served in Iraq. They were for the war, and still are, but they wish the Iraqi people would begin to take over some of the burdens of civilization--building roads, forming governments, and, most of all, killing terrorists--so that our boys can come home.

I still support the Iraq war, I supported it when it began and I support it now. But Bush should take some lessons from the problems of Olmert. Israelis and Americans have a common enemy, it's clearer now than ever. And both of our peoples are resolved to defend ourselves as needed. If only our leadership doesn't falter, I believe we will be successful.

A Jew, but not for Jesus

I saw a Jews for Jesus pamphlet recently with Jackie Mason's face on it. I thought that was odd...Jackie a Jew for Jesus? That just can't be! It turns out, it isn't. And Jackie is suing.

Wait. What?

National Weather Service Issues New York City Tornado Warning

Hat-tip Frank White.

How?

How did I know Jeff Goldstein was going to be adorable (though as I don't have sound where I am I can't add "how did I know he was going to be hilarious)?

UPDATE: Jeff Goldstein is hilarious.

Tentative

How is September 9th for a NY blogger party?

Stop talking crazy, everyone knows there was no mideast tension before the Iraq war

Wall Street Journal:

One harsh lesson is that France -- the lead proponent of projecting Europe as an alternative to U.S. global leadership -- is little more popular with Hezbollah, Iran and others in the Muslim world than the U.S., despite Paris's opposition to the Iraq war.

ABM '08

Drudge: McCain heads overseas to observe 'global warming' effects...

UPDATE: On another note, it looks like McCain's Straight Talk PAC has hired Howard Dean's webmaster and they've been less than straight in answering Jim Geraghty's questions.

Anybody but McCain '08

McCain faults Bush administration on Iraq: Americans led to believe war would be a ‘day at the beach,’ senator says.

After 5 seconds of googling, here's Bush talking about our upcoming beach day, on the eve of the Iraq war, March 19, 2003:

I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm. A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.

If anything, Bush has said so much to dispel the idea that this war would be easy. Many of his early speeches centered around the idea of a long and difficult war, not only in Iraq but in general when we fight global terrorism.

So many people that I respect (hi W.O!) like McCain and if he is the Republican candidate in '08, I pledge right now to support him. But I will fight against him in the primary. I don't want someone that watches polls and "mavericks" his way into constantly offending his fellow Republicans. Anybody but McCain for the Republican nomination in '08, anybody.

UPDATE: Allah has video and thinks that distancing oneself from the war will become a fact of life for anyone running for president in '08. I'm not convinced and will try to write more on that in the next day.

Fox News crew still missing (bumped with new info)

WHERE IS THE MEDIA?

Michelle Malkin:

My opinion: No news is news. So is unchecked terrorist thuggery against Western journalists. The disappearance of Centanni and Wiig is at least as newsworthy as--and far more threatening to our national security than--people falling off cruise ships or getting eaten by alligators or attacked by bees.

UPDATE, 8/23/06 10:17am: Reader Sara writes in:

"A new terror group - the holy jihad brigade has them and says they want all muslims held in US jails to be released in 72 hours and the world should convert to Islam. Plus, they say that the muslim leaders are too weak and speak too much to Non Muslims. They have a 90 sec video with the two men. They say they are bring treated well and have fresh water, food, clean clothes and bathroom accessibility."

Update, 10:46am: Allah has got the video.

I realize this isn't my poker blog, but I need to share

I had quad aces last night. And, the most miraculous part is I got paid on them

Crazy or terrorist?: A new fun game for all ages.

A French teenager who threatened tourists with a toy gun on top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was Friday undergoing a psychological evaluation after being arrested by police, officers said.

The 17-year-old, a resident of a northern Paris suburb, was taken to a police psychiatric ward in the capital following the incident late Thursday.

He was not immediately identified. Police said he had no prior criminal record.

According to officers, the teenager waved his compressed air pistol at tourists on top of the landmark building at the top of the Champs-Elysées, and even fired once into the air.

He had written the words "revendication Al-qaeda" ('in the name of Al-Qaeda') on his T-shirt and on his torso.

So, is anyone giving odds that the kid is Muslim? I assume he was, not because he was waving a (toy) gun at tourists and not because he wrote "Al Qaeda" on himself, but because he was "not immediately identified" which seems to mean, lately, that he's going to have a distinctively Arabic/Islamic name. Just. A. Hunch.

Hat-tip Ark.

UPDATE: Though I love the NRA, I don't know my guns. According to Ken and Jake in the comment section, a "compressed air pistol" IS NOT a toy and can do damage.

MK is prett-ay.

My co-guest-blogger from Michelle Malkin's site, Mary Katharine Ham, is guest-hosting Vent over at Hot Air. Check her out.

Say what now?

There's a Superhero Supply Store in Brooklyn, owned by writer Dave Eggers (whose first book "Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" I couldn't put down and whose second book "You shall know our velocity", I couldn't finish).

Via Johnny Triangles.

UPDATE: Store website here.

News you may have missed

A majority of Americans think things are going well.

How about that.

The sun'll come out tomorrow

The United Nations has given Iran until the end of August to end its uranium enrichment program. If Iran doesn't, I'm positive the UN will write a strongly worded letter. They might even send 200 French soldiers--but, of course, only if they are promised that they will not be in any danger.

Anyway, this isn't actually a bash-the-UN post, fun as that is. The Iranian leadership has self-imposed tomorrow as the deadline for response. "Iran on Sunday said it will offer a "multifaceted response" to the incentives proposal." There are rumors that that means some kind of military action by Iran. My boyfriend, Peter, is worried they will launch something at Israel or at us. Personally, I doubt it. Multifaceted can just mean incorporating music and dance in their response. Perhaps some doves.

I'm not worried about Iran because I feel they must know (they must!) that Iran will be completely wiped off the map if they do anything to the U.S or Israel. Peter thinks I'm imagining them as much more rational than they are.

What say all of you? Are you worried about tomorrow? And is the Iranian leadership more crazy or less crazy than they seem?

That blogger party....

...is definitely not happening in August. I just don't have the time to put it together. Stay tuned for info in early September.

Stop judging their culture....

....this is totally normal:

Islamic clerics in eastern India have ruled that a woman divorced by her husband in a fit of drunkenness can remarry him only after she takes another husband for three months, police said on Monday.

Ershad, a rickshaw puller, uttered the word “talaq,” or divorce, three times earlier this month while he was drunk, and when news leaked out in their village in eastern Orissa state, the clerics said they must separate.

....

Under the rules, the woman, who is a mother of three, must marry another man and obtain a divorce from him before she can be reunited with Ershad, the clerics in the local mosque said.

The clerics have said the man the woman marries temporarily must be 70 years of age, Parida said.

UPDATE: Superfischel was on the talaq insanity way back.

Your tax dollars at work

Las Vegas outlaws snoozing within 500 feet of bodily waste

Hat-tip: Frank White.

Just think: this idiot was almost president

John Kerry was on George Stephanapolous's show bashing Joe Lieberman and made this comment about the war in Iraq:

Kerry told chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos, "Iraq is not the center of the war on terror," while also asserting, "Iraq is in a civil war; of course it's in a civil war."

Kerry said he supports the efforts of Senator John Warner, R-Va., to introduce a second resolution on Iraq if and when the country descends into outright civil war. Kerry believes that moment has come and reiterated, "We have to set a date for the withdrawal," before concluding, "The absence of diplomacy is putting our troops at greater risk and is reducing our ability for success."

Now, forget about the fact that Kerry is literally calling for the U.S to cut&run from our responsibility if Iraq descends into civil war, despite, you know, Kerry authorizing the war to happen in the first place.

What I want to know is with whom, exactly, is Kerry suggesting we introduce diplomatic relations? "The absence of diplomacy" suggests that Kerry believes diplomacy is possible. But with whom? With Zarqawi's replacement? With the mullahs in Iran? With bin Laden himself? Where are the follow-up questions from so-called journalists? I want to know whom, exactly, a president Kerry would've been diplomatic toward at this juncture of the war. I think his constituents deserve to know.

Blogroll Update

NYC:

Broken Chair- Ed and I went to the same high school, briefly. I spent my freshman year at the school where he was a senior, and then transferred to another school for the rest of my high school career. I cursed the first school because it stuck me with Dawn Summers, but now that it led me to the fine blogger at Broken Chair, I suppose I can hate it a little less. Check out Ed's poem that inspired his blog name.

Snarking Dawg- A snarky Queens blogger who earned his blogroll position with this post.

California:

House of Eratosthenes- Didja see MK Freeberg call me smart? Didja?

Rest of America:

Day by Day- Chris Muir's Day By Day Cartoon is excellent and deserves national syndication.

UPDATE: In the NY section, Blog News Network is doing an aggregate of NY blogs. Looks pretty cool so far.

Sniff

I'm done with my guest-blogging gig at Michelle Malkin's site. And while I'll miss having 200 times the amount of readers I have here, it's nice to be back home. I hope some of you who have come over from Michelle's come back again. It's been nice having you.

Adds "we have our hands full just now but maybe next year"

US says it has no plans to invade Cuba

Quote of the day

Or, ok, I just found this line funny:

Mr. Callaghan was wearing a bow tie, as is his wont, though I am loathe to mention it because I long for the return of the day when bow ties can be worn freely again without exciting comment.

-Michael Cooper, writing on the NY Times local politics blog, Empire Zone on a visit with Republican candidate for State Comptroller, J. Christopher Callaghan.

Apropos of nothing.....

Cathy Seipp is my badass woman role model.

Where I've been

I know I've been very neglectful of this site, I've had a busy work week in addition to blogging over at Michelle Malkin's site. Back in form soon.

For now, I've got a post up on MM about the woman who disrupted a flight earlier in the week. Lots of people seem to be concluding that she was simply crazy and not actually dangerous. I'm unconvinced.

"I'm deranged down down down"

My online scuffle with Andrew Sullivan continues. He takes me on, by name this time, here, I respond here.

Update: He responds, I respond.

Does it get any better than this?

Andrew Sullivan has called me deranged.

UPDATE: Wooooooooooooooo! James Taranto linked this post.

Headline of the day

The top one by James Taranto. Can y'all identify it?

Update: James has been fielding complaints from people who don't get the reference and think it should be "your money". Fogeys.

Read over there, comment over here

What I've been blogging over at Michelle Malkin's site:

**President Bush says freedom beat Hezbollah. I want to know what freedom wins, exactly.

**The whole George Allen scandal seems awfully similar to the 'niggardly' case that happened in DC a few years back. Everyone knows they're mad but no one knows exactly why.

**I'm in favor of torture, particularly if it is immediately saving lives.

**I listened to, and loved, Glenn+Helen's podcast on debunking 9/11 conspiracy theories.

**Harry Reid returned a contribution from one of the liars in the Rathergate scandal. 'What a loser. Good.' Sorry, I've had that Wedding Crashers line in my head for days now.

Hot SJM seeks chick

I hope my shaming him had something to do with his return to blogging: Superfischel is back. And he wants a girlfriend.

9/11 did happen

I saw the issue of NY Magazine as it arrived in the mail. The blue sky behind the towers and the words "What If 9/11 Never Happened?"

If I was Andrew Sullivan, one of the writers of the alternative history featured in the magazine, I might have felt heartache or whatever, but I just felt anger. I can't be alone in my feeling that I'm not ready for this yet. I can't watch Nicholas Cage play a character in the 9/11 drama, and I certainly can't read Andrew Sullivan imagine a president Gore and an Iraq with Saddam still in power. It's just too soon for this, it's not even five years yet. A child born to a man that died that day still doesn't understand what happened to daddy. I'm not counting on NY Magazine to have any grace; after all, filth and drama sells, I'm just noting my stern opposition to encouraging it.

Allah has more.

UPDATE: I get further into it on Michelle's site.

Israeli politics

The word from Israel is that the Israelis didn't want this ceasefire and that Olmert is toast.

Over there

My first post is up at Michelle Malkin's site (first post following my bio post, that is). It's about Howard Dean calling Saddam Hussein a "pain in the neck". (Will Ferrell)What an idiot! What a loser! (/Will Ferrell)

I'm joined at MM by Mary Katharine Ham, Val Prieto of Babalu blog and Columnist Diana West of the Washington Times.

"Summer in the City" blogger party

With summer almost over, I thought it was about time to have one of those world-famous blogger parties. This is that initial post to gauge interest and enthusiasm, as well as learn which dates work best for the great majority of bloggers. Please use the comment section to express a preference so I can have all the information in one convenient location.

There are only 2 weekends left in August--either this upcoming weekend, August 18th or 19th or the following one, August 25th and 26th. I actually prefer the 19th but I'm fairly flexible. It wouldn't be unheard of to have the party sometime in September, either.

So, do let me know your preferences and I'll do my best to accomodate them.

Who knew England even had any other players?

Beckham Dropped From England

UPDATE: I mean, seriously:

Muslim charity in Britain aided planned terrorist attack

Where are the moderate Muslims? WHERE?

Money sent to Pakistan for quake rehabilitation was used to fund the Heathrow bomb attack plot that was foiled by British authorities, says an investigation by a leading Pakistani daily.

According to the Daily Times, the Muslim Charity of UK remitted a huge amount of money to three individuals in three different bank accounts in Mirpur, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in December 2005 as earthquake relief.

But the money in the three accounts in Saudi Pak Bank, Standard Chartered and Habib Bank Ltd was solely for the purpose of financing the foiled bomb plot, the paper said.

Just to recap: Brits, as well as other westerners I presume, donated money to earthquake relief in Pakistan. That money was then used to try and murder them.

Hat-tip Ark.

Unbelievable

I can't believe Michelle Malkin knows who I am. I can't believe she's heard of my blog. I can't believe she has sent me email.

But what I really can't believe is that she asked me to guest-blog on her site starting Monday.

I really can't.

Killing an Arab?

Bush reads Camus's 'The Stranger' on ranch vacation

Interesting choice considering its most memorable scene.

.....then the terrorists win

Israel accepts UN ceasefire deal