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Conservatives Stand Up! — Zilla's Resistance Honor Roll Keeps Getting Bigger!

2011-10-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

The freak leftist fascists are unrelenting, but again I'm overwhelmed by the awesome moral support I'm seeing across the blogosphere. So, here's a follow-up to my earlier entry, "Huge Shout Out to Ladd Ehlinger!"

Thanks again to Zilla, by the way. She had oral surgery the other day. But I got a tweet shortly thereafter, and she was doing fine! (And ICYMI, see "Stand Against Evil - Never Let it Win.")

And well, before I forget, at word of thanks to SHOUT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER. The support is much appreciated.

Also at WyBlog, "Free Speech for thee but not for me?":

Donald was the first guy to link WyBlog, way back when I was starting out. And he got me hooked on Twitter too. He's a gentleman and a scholar; really. We don't always agree, but that's OK. Disagreeing without being disagreeable seems to be purely a right-wing / conservative trait. The politics of personal destruction was invented by the Left, and they're masters at it. Silence is Golden, unless it's their own shrill cacaphony which of course must be tolerated by all.

If Free Speech is to mean anything it absolutely must mean that the other guy has the inalienable right to say things you don't like. There is no right to not be offended. Sorry, but that's the truth.

Thanks Chris!

Also, check Bob Belvedere, "Right Wing Bloggers Under Relentless Attack: The Battle Rages On":

Donald, the man behind American Power, has been subject to efforts by these radicals to get him fired from his job as a college professor. He has posted a Roundup on Progressive Campaign of Workplace Intimidation and Harassment that I urge you to read all of, including the links, so that you can get a real understanding of th extent of these attempts to destroy this good man and hurt his family. What the Left is doing to him is but one instance of many that I fear will grow in number as the Progressives become more desperate. By having rejected tradition and morality and, thus, decency, the Left is free to achieve their end [the silencing of all opposition] by any means necessary. There is nothing to restrain them; God-like, they have given themselves license to do as they see fit.

And more, at Marooned in Marin, "Standing With a Fellow Blogger & Friend Against Vicious Attacks By Leftists":

Just as The Lonely Conservative writes here, I have also found it ironic how liberals, Leftists, whatever you want to call them, have always claimed to be such great champions of free speech and free expression. Yet when someone has a different point of view, the Left are always the first ones who try to obscure and censor differing opinions. We saw it during the Prop 8 campaign in California, where lists of people who donated to defend traditional marriage had their workplaces and or businesses distributed in order to punish and silence them.

There is nothing traditionally liberal about that. In fact, it is the totalitarian and fascistic face of the Left that has also existed in nations where Americans spilled their blood to defeat their tyrannical regimes. If you want to disagree with another point of view, fine. But when it comes to threatening one's livelihood, libeling critics, falsely accusing them of crimes, etc--that crosses a line. Not only that, it shows how these Leftists cannot support their own arguments, and must silence their dissenters by any means necessary. Which is the essence of totalitarianism.

It is for this purpose that I stand with my friend and fellow blogger against these attacks.

I'll continue updating.

Meanwhile, thanks to Blazing Cat Fur for linking some time back.

And Adrienne's Corner.

And Doug Ross.

And Invincible Armor.

And Right Wing News.

And That Mr. Guy.

And The Pagan Temple has a really interesting take on things, "Donald Douglas — Struck By The Poison Of Progressive Ideology."

BONUS: Maggie Thornton e-mailed a while back and I've been meaning to post her comments. I'll get to that over the next few days, and anyone else I might have missed.

Thanks again, everybody!

Kristin Cavallari Bikini Pics!

2011-10-20T07:00:00.001-07:00

She looks great.

See Celebslam, "Kristin Cavallari is in love again."

Outrage Over Exotic-Game Animals Hunted Down in Ohio

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Strange story. And look for activists pushing for even more regulations.

At WaPo, "Dangerous exotic animals turned loose, hunted down in Ohio." And at NYT, "Police Kill Dozens of Animals Freed on Ohio Reserve."

Hyatt's Houston Sugar Land Hotel Cancels Tea Party Event on Islam

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

From Pamela Geller, "The Quisling Cowards at the Hyatt Place Sugar Land Caved to Intimidation," and "Across the Pond the Hyatt's Craven Quisling Cancellation Makes News."

And following Pamela's links takes us to London's Daily Mail, "Hotel cancels Tea Party event after learning that anti-Islam activist was due to be a speaker."

Cain's Stimulating '9-9-9' Tax Reform

2011-10-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Arthur Laffer's down with it, at Wall Street Journal:

It used to be that the sole purpose of the tax code was to raise the necessary funds to run government. But in today's world the tax mandate has many more facets. These include income redistribution, encouraging favored industries, and discouraging unfavorable behavior.

To make matters worse there are millions and millions of taxpayers who are highly motivated to reduce their tax liabilities. And, as those taxpayers finagle and connive to find ways around the tax code, government responds by propagating new rules, new interpretations of the code, and new taxes in a never-ending chase. In the process, we create ever-more arcane tax codes that do a poor job of achieving any of their mandates.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's now famous "9-9-9" plan is his explicit proposal to right the wrongs of our federal tax code. He proposes a 9% flat-rate personal income tax with no deductions except for donations to charity; a 9% flat-rate tax on net business profits; and a new 9% national tax on retail sales.

Mr. Cain's 9-9-9 plan was designed to be what economists call "static revenue neutral," which means that if people didn't change what they do under his plan, total tax revenues would be the same as they are under our current tax code. I believe his plan would indeed be static revenue neutral, and with the boost it would give to economic growth it would bring in even more revenue than expected.

Dirty DUIs

2011-10-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

A bizarre story, at LAT, "Coming Clean on 'Dirty DUIs' in Contra Costa County."

Romney Strikes Back After Lousy Performance at CNN Debate in Las Vegas — UPDATE: Ad Pulled!

2011-10-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

More background on the CNN debate at Riehl World View, "Don't Stick A Fork In Perry, He Isn't Done, Yet."

Mitt Romney obviously agrees.

At Politico, "Team Mitt Romney video tries to remind on Rick Perry."

UPDATE: The ad was pulled. See Hot Air, "Brutal new Romney ad: Rick Perry’s a moron; Update: Romney pulls ad?"

And here's a copy of it:

Bank of America's Death Rattle

2011-10-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

I bailed out of Bank of America a couple of years ago, after my wife and I consolidated some of our accounts. But the service was getting just awful.

And here's this at Protein Wisdom, "'Not With a Bang, But a Whimper: Bank of America's Death Rattle'."

And follow the links over there.

Large Majority Backs 'Occupy Wall Street' in Latest National Journal Poll

2011-10-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's interesting.

See, "Occupy D.C.? Most Back Protests, Surtax":

At a time when protests have erupted across the country over a growing inequality of wealth and Congress is considering measures to impose a surtax on those earning more than $1 million annually, the public seems to be in a populist mood—one that’s tempered by skepticism about Washington’s ability to do anything about the grim economy.

A new survey shows that Americans overwhelmingly support the self-styled Occupy Wall Street protests that not only have disrupted life in Lower Manhattan but also in Washington and cities and towns across the U.S. and in other nations. Some 59 percent of adults either completely agree or mostly agree with the protesters, while 31 percent mostly disagree or completely disagree; 10 percent of those surveyed didn’t know or refused to answer.

What’s more, many people are paying attention to the rallies. Almost two-thirds of respondents—65 percent—said they’ve heard “a lot” or “some” about the rallies, while 35 percent have said they’ve heard or seen “not too much” or “nothing at all” about the demonstrations.

The results appear in the latest edition of the United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll.

More at the link.

It's not going to end well for the administration. Recall Ronald Brownstein's essay from earlier, "Obama's Disapproval Ratings Hardening Among Voters."

Obama Flush With Cash from Financial Sector

2011-10-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

At WaPo, "Obama has more cash from financial sector than GOP hopefuls combined, data show":

Despite frosty relations with the titans of Wall Street, President Obama has still managed to raise far more money this year from the financial and banking sector than Mitt Romney or any other Republican presidential candidate, according to new fundraising data.

Obama’s key advantage is his ability to collect bigger checks from fewer donors, because he raises money for both his own campaign committee and for the Democratic National Committee, which will aid in his reelection effort. As a result, Obama has brought in more money from employees of banks, hedge funds and other financial service companies than all the other GOP candidates combined, according to a Washington Post analysis of contribution data.

Right.

And the administration's "sympathetic" to the protesters?

See: "Obama campaign announces it will protest Obama administration."

Patricia McAllister Fired by LAUSD: Anti-Semitic Teacher Caught on Tape at 'Occupy L.A.' Protest

2011-10-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

McAllister, in a local TV interview, discusses her termination at the video. She's holding a sign that reads, "Congress Should Print the Money, NOT the Zionist Jews":

McAllister was fired by LAUSD after her anti-Semitic statements went viral over the weekend on YouTube. Reason's Tim Cavanaugh, who interviewed her, has responded with his own commentary --- and it's not very compelling, frankly, considering Reason's reputation as the premiere libertarian magazine: "Reason Guilty of Anti-ANTI-Semitism: Sub Teacher Fired." Go read it all. Cavanaugh attempts to split the difference between being a parent and being a journalist, and he fails badly.

And more failure from the editors at Los Angeles Times, who applaud the district's decision: "Free speech — Within Limits." It's a horrible editorial. The woman's entitled to her opinions, no matter how sick, and the Times offers the slipperiest of slopes to defend her termination:

As a teacher, McAllister works with a captive audience of vulnerable children. Her comments certainly raise questions about her ability to treat them all equally and fairly. What's more, even if she's been the soul of discretion on the job, as well as kind and evenhanded with all her students, by making herself a public symbol of intolerance, McAllister no longer can serve effectively as a teacher.

For one thing, Jewish students likely would feel intimidated in her classes, no matter how nicely she treated them; their parents and many others might storm the principals' offices demanding her removal. Other students and parents might rally to her cause, or, alternately, they too might feel threatened by her bigoted positions. She would be a disruptive element on campus, and her future effectiveness as a teacher would almost certainly be compromised. (After she was fired, McAllister expanded on her views in an interview with Fox TV: "The word Jew is similar to communism today … Jews have been run out of 109 countries through history and we need to run them out of this one.")

As execrable as her comments were, it might be a different matter if McAllister were, say, a Department of Motor Vehicles clerk. There, she would be dealing with adults who could hold their own, and would have little direct authority over them. It also might be different if she had expressed a controversial opinion that was not an inflammatory attack on a particular ethnic or religious group.

We're reluctant to restrict anyone's ability to express even the most loathsome views openly and publicly. But when a teacher trumpets hateful opinions that could intimidate the impressionable young people she's supposed to be serving, that's not just free speech — it's a performance issue. In speaking out so intemperately, McAllister's ability to do her job was fatally compromised.

I find McAllister's comments reprehensible. But as one who's been the subject of a three-year campaign attempting to get me fired, I have serious issues with concern trolling bullshit like this. Watch the video above. Toward the end the news clip, the district's statement flashes on screen:

As Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), I want to emphasize that we condemn the remarks made recently by Patricia McAllister.

Her comments, made during non-work time at a recent protest rally, were her private opinions and were not made in the context of District services. At LAUSD, we recognize that the law is very protective of the freedom of speech rights of public employees when they are speaking as private citizens during non-working time.

I further emphasize to our students, who watch us and look to us for guidance, to be role models and to represent the ideals by which LAUSD lives, that we will never stand for behavior that is disrespectful, intolerant or discriminatory.

As a day-to-day substitute teacher, Ms. McAllister was an at-will employee. As of today, she is no longer an employee of the LAUSD.

Notice that? The district states a principle, yet abandons it because the teacher is untenured. Thus, being tenured creates rights that are denied to individuals not similarly situated. Ugly or not, the woman was stating her opinion, a political opinion, at a political rally while acting in private capacity. The district's decision reaches into the realm of personal space. And it should not. This is tyranny. They fired her because they could, not because it was right. And there's so much more going on there: McAllister taught small children, so perhaps parents would have been upset, as the Times suggests. Fine. Let the parents pull their kids out of class. Or better yet, let them pull their students out of the school altogether. McAllister's comments are not an aberration. That kind of progressive anti-Semitism is inherent to radical left-wing ideology. And people just like McAllister are like grotesque malignancies growing all through public education in the United States. LAUSD burned off a cancerous growth but they didn't cure the disease. The solution to offensive speech is more speech. Let more McAllisters bloom and Americans will soon be taking a closer look at the public schools, and they won't like what they see. Note how McAllister is not misspeaking when she spouts her hatred. It would have come out on the job, sooner or later. And if the kids in her charge are young and vulnerable, transfer her into the higher grades. If students are offended they'll know without having to be force-fed outrage. They can complain fair and square and the school would have been on solid ground in terminating her for racist, discriminatory speech in the classroom, prohibited by statutory regulation.

And here's this from Gary, at the comments at Libertarian Republican:

Big Brother keeps marching.

Your employer will not allow freedom of speech on your own time and away from your place of employment.

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

You got it.

Chinese Toddler Dies Brain-Dead After Hit-and-Run Accident

2011-10-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

It's hard to even call it a hit-and-run. How about kill-a-kid and who gives a damn?

Background at China Daily, "Hospital offers little hope for girl's survival."

The child was pronounced "brain dead."

And now the hand-wringing.

See USA Today, "Toddler's hit-and-run case prompts Chinese soul-searching," and Washington Post, "An injured toddler is ignored, and Chinese ask why."

Perry, Romney Spar in CNN Debate

2011-10-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ed Morrissey has a great report, "Who won the Vegas fight?", and also at Michelle's, "Fight Club: GOP candidates brawl on CNN":

Romney and Perry — both flip-flopping squishes on immigration enforcement — tried to out-tough each other on the issue.

Perry resurrected Romney’s illegal alien problem from 2007. (See here for background.) Romney counter-attacked by calling out Perry’s opposition to E-verify.

Bottom line. They are both, in Perry’s words, “conservatives of convenience” on the issue. What is it with the GOP andimmigration cross-dressers? Ugh.

RELATED: At LAT, "Perry accuses Romney of 'shape-shifting,' promises 'unbridled truth'."

VIDEO HAT TIP: Althouse.

The Occupy Movement's Anti-Semitism

2011-10-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Kathy Shaidle on the Michael Coren Show, via Blazing Cat Fur:

Occupy Philly

2011-10-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tania Gail posts some photos at Flickr:

Videos from Occupy Philly at Tania's Twitter feed, here and here.

It could probably go without saying, but these idiots really test my patience. All the coverage here at the blog today, and you get the picture. And Obama's backing these mofos? Again, I can't wait for November 2012. Talk about restore sanity. The nation'll need to take a month-long shower before even attempting a presidential transition.

Occupy Denver

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

A phenomenal report: "Neo-Cannibals, Deadbeats, Dopers and Democrats Occupy Denver."

The best shot is the immigrant cab driver who says, "I’m working, and I’m studying. What do they mean, there’s no jobs?"

Well, they don't really want to work, or they'd be working.

'There is overwhelming evidence that the University of Wisconsin in engaging in racial and ethnic discrimination, and it should stop'

2011-10-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Says Roger Clegg from the Center for Equal Opportunity, speaking yesterday at the University of Wisconsin. State Assemblyman Mark Pocan, a Democrat, attacked Clegg pretty agressively, according to Althouse:

Whether the University complies with the standard laid down in the Supreme Court case law is, of course, crucial, but the state legislature has the power to impose a stricter standard on the University (if it thinks that's a good idea). In addition, it's possible that the CEO plans to use this case to get affirmative action back into the Supreme Court with the hope of changing the legal doctrine.

RTWT for the context.

Iraq War Draws to a Close

2011-10-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

At National Journal, "Iraq War Ends with Whimper, Not Bang":

The Iraq War began with Pentagon officials boasting about an initial offensive that would “shock and awe” the enemy, then-President George W. Bush flying a military plane to an aircraft carrier for a high-profile address to thousands of cheering troops, and round-the-clock coverage on the nation’s TV networks. Eight and a half grueling years later, the deeply unpopular conflict is set to end with a whimper, not a bang.

Washington and Baghdad’s failure to agree on a troop-extension deal means that virtually all of the 43,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq will stream out of the country over the next six weeks, bringing a quiet end to a conflict that began with so much bombast.

Scorsese's George Harrison Documentary Was on Again Last Night...

2011-10-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, HBO's been showing it pretty regularly if you've missed it: "'George Harrison: Living in the Material World'."

And Wikipedia has the background on this video:

"In 2004, George Harrison was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' was played in tribute by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Ferrone and Dhani Harrison, along with fellow inductee Prince."

Philippine Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2012 Schedule

2011-10-18T03:01:00.000-07:00

The Philippine Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 (PFW S/S 2012) starts in 5 days and there are plenty of reasons to get excited about, such as the star-studded Bench Fashion Show on the first day, the L'oreal event the next day presenting international fashion designer Michael Cinco with Ford Supermodel of the World 2011 winner Danica Magpantay, and the Penshoppe Fashion Show on the 29th with (wow!) Thai superstar Mario Maurer (photo) gracing the runway.

Check out the super exciting Philippine Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2012 schedule, happening from October 23 to October 30, 2011:

October 23 (Sunday):
6:30 PM - Human, Kashieca, Bench at SMX Function Rooms 4 & 5

October 24 (Monday):
7:30 PM - L'Oreal Paris presents Michael Cinco with Danica Magpantay at SMX Hall 2

8:30 PM - Guess at SMX Function Room 4

October 25 (Tuesday):
7:30 PM - SM Ladies' Fashion by SM Department Store at SMX Hall 2

9:30 PM - Premiere Collections by Derick Hibaler, Melchor Guinto, Russell Villafuerte, Ulysses King and Veejay Floresca at SMX Function Room 4

October 26 (Wednesday):
5:30 PM - Design Fushion Collections by Bo Parcon, Dax Bayani, Dimple Lim, Jaki Penalosa, Jot Losa, and Xernan Ortocio, and the Visions & Trends Collections by Enrico Carado, Joshua Guibone, Kenneth Chuan, Regine Dulay and Roland Alzate at SMX Function Room 4

7:30 PM - SM Men's Fashion by SM Department Store at SMX Hall 2

9:30 PM - Arnold Galang, Gerry Katigbak and Jun Jun Cambe at SMX Function Room 4

October 27 (Thursday):
5:30 PM - Triumph at SMX Function Room 4 (featuring Ruffa Gutierrez and more)

6:30 PM - Freego at MOA Main Atrium

7:30 PM - SMDC presents Chris Diaz, Eric delos Santos and Lizanne Cua at MOA SMDC Showroom

October 28 (Friday):
5:30 PM - Cybershot presents Luxewear Collections by Anthony Ramirez, Aztec Barba, Delby Bragais, Julius Tarog, Melvin Lachica, Nolie Vineza, Pablo Cabahug, Popoy Barba, Roel Rosal, Roland Lirio, Ronaldo Arnaldo, Santi Obcena, Tina Daniac and Yvonne Quisumbing at SMX Function Room 4

6:30 PM - Lee at MOA Main Atrium

7:30 PM - Oxygen at SMX Hall 2

October 29 (Saturday):
2:30 PM - SM Kid's Fashion by SM Department Store at SMX Function Room 4
4:00 PM - Crossings at SMX Hall 2

5:30 PM - Ipanema presents Anthony Nocom, Catherine Cavilte, DAve Ocampo, Lyle Ibanez and Raoul Ramirez at SMX Function Room 4

6:30 PM - Vans at MOA Main Atrium

7:30 PM - Penshoppe at SMX Hall 2 (featuring Mario Maurer and more)

9:30 PM - Slim's at 50 by Cesar Gaupo, Chito Vijandre, Erika Adona, Ezra Santos, James Reyes, Joe Salazar, Joey Samson, Martin Bautista, Michael Cinco and Riza Bulawan at SMX Function Room 4

October 30 (Sunday):
2:30 PM - Ready to Wear Collections by Emi Alexander Englis, Harley Ruedas, Jian Lasala, John Guarnes, Joyce Pilarsky, Louis Claparols, Mike Lavarez, Nixon Marquez, Reian Mata, Ricky Abad, Simon Ariel Vasquez and Ziggy Savella at SMX Function Room 4

4:00 PM - Grand Allure Collections by Albert Andrada, Alma Rae Roa, Frederick Policarpio, Gerswin Cua, Gil Macaibay, June Pugat, Luis delos Santos, Marc Rancy, Norman Noriega, Philipp Tampus, Popo Go and Richie Bondoc at SMX Hall 2

5:30 PM - Jerome Salaya Ang, Noel Crisostomo, Sassa Jimenez and EsAc by Raoul Ramirez, Lyle Ibañez and AudieE at SMX Function Room 4

7:30 PM - L'Oreal Paris presents Menswear Collections by Aries Lagat, Chris Jasler, Dodjie Batu, Drei Soriano, Edgar Buyan, Jesson Capuchino, Jinggo Inoncillo, Odelon Simpao, Ronan Opina and Shanon Pamaong at SMX Hall 2

Photo courtesy of Ms. Joyce Ramirez / PR Asia Worldwide Communications Inc.

'Occupy Wall Street' Almost Entirely Socialist/Marxist

2011-10-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

AoSHQ with a blinding realization.

And following the links takes us to Charles Gasparino, at New York Post, "New York’s Marxist Epicenter":

The standard portrayal of the Wall Street protesters goes something like this: Ragtag group of unemployed young adults, venting often incoherent but overall legitimate populist outrage about economic inequality. But go down to the movement’s headquarters, as I did this past weekend, and you see something far different.

It’s not just that knowledge of their “oppressors” -- the evil bankers -- is pretty thin, or that many of them are clearly college kids with nothing better to do than embrace the radical chic of “a cause.” I found a unifying and increasingly coherent ideology emerging among the protesters, which at its core has less to do with the evils of the banking business and more about the evils of capitalism -- and the need for a socialist revolution.

But, of course, these aren't REAL communists, or anything. Nothing to see here. Move along.

BONUS IMAGINARY COMMUNISTS!! From Kevin Williamson, "‘Follow the Red Flag!’" And, yawn, more here: "Communist Marching with #OccupyChicago Identified as OFA Organizer for President Obama."

Rick Santorum Slams 'SNL' Debate Parody as 'Bullying'

2011-10-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Well, GOP candidates are gonna get this stuff from the "tolerant" progressive-entertainment types. And I'll bet SNL's writers couldn't wait to smear Santorum as some closeted-gay conservative hypocrite cruising the Castro.

At The Hill, "Santorum calls SNL sketch 'bullying'."

I gotta admit, though. Bachmann taking down Newt was pretty good.

'Don't Hold Us Back'

2011-10-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

At LA Weekly, "Los Angeles Charities and Minority Groups Tell United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD: 'Don't Hold Us Back'" (via Instapundit).

Ten years ago, most of these people would have been extremely reluctant to call out UTLA.

That would have been seen as anti-union.

But with Los Angeles kids circling the drain (and remember the frightening fact that LAUSD educates one in every eight or nine kids in all of California) and with the union fighting most attempts at change, those days seem over.

At my college, my head hurts sometimes when the union pushes positions that harm students, but you can't get a word in edgewise. After a while, you don't even try. Hopefully the "Don't Hold Us Back" coalition will have an impact.

Herman Cain's Campaign Song Also Aims to Be Tea Party Anthem

2011-10-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

At New York Times, "Song Adopted by Cain’s Campaign Also Aims to Be a Tea Party Anthem."

Huge Shout Out to Ladd Ehlinger!

2011-10-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

Zilla put the call out for conservatives to stand against evil, and a number of folks have answered the call, joining Zilla's honor roll of moral right.

I've been off the grid, so I'm just now reading all the responses. Ladd Ehlinger responded at his blog with an entry, and I read that first and was moved to write without delay. See "When Flame Wars Spill Offline: Conservative Media Should Stand Up." And my comments there:

Ladd, we've engaged enough times by Twitter that I certainly consider you a friend. The battle is of one big piece. The collectivists go by many names, with the Democrat Party being the most familiar. From there you can go on down to real Marxist-Leninists, the folks so closely tied to the party in power today. Values-wise, they're all the same. Perhaps there are degrees, but it's the obliteration of the individual vis-a-vis the state that's the result. I'm going do a roundup of all the support I've received. I can't begin to thank you all enough. I've been on a high all day and I haven't come down yet. That strength from conservative solidarity is unconquerable, and I hope we sustain it!

The progressives mock and ridicule the notion of secular collectivism, but when I argue that the left's attacks on truth and honesty are "satanic," that's the referential understanding. Marxism is a secular religion. It is a belief system which seeks a totalizing dominion over truth and over those who claim a truth based on universal right. According to Leonidas Donskis, in Forms of Hatred: The Troubled Imagination in Modern Philosophy and Literature:

A world religion, a secular belief system, and a rival civilization, Marxism came into existence as a false secularization of consciousness. Marxism has always rested on a sort of secular demonology, splitting humanity into warring groups and demonizing what it took as agents of exploitation and social evil.

As a kind of secular Church, Marxism succeeded, in a historically unprecedented way, in satisfying the ideological, political, and psychological needs of marginalized and alienated intellectuals scattered around the world. It became the first secular Umma of intellectuals. Moreover, it provided its adherents, those secularly religious radicals and doctrinaires, with a sense of pride --- after all, Marxism made intellectuals a major force in history and a presence in all societies, Marxist and non-Marxist alike --- and also with a spiritual fatherland. Marxism designed the revolutionary-ascetic moral culture, which has always been at odds with all other modern systems of moralization, especially with the liberal and nationalist moral cultures.

Linkmaster Smith, at The Other McCain, responds to developments with a version of this, "They Truly Hate Liberty." But more formally is Lisa Graas, "Is American Power Blog Under Attack From Satan?" Both warn that conservatives, in fighting evil, must stay true to God. Conservatives must live good and decently, for then they will have even more strength to carry them forward. Here is my response to Lisa Graas:

Thanks Lisa. Your advice is welcomed. I live by Him in my actions. None of us are perfect, but I never waver from the truth in my dealings with people, I never bear false witness. I can thus claim a moral position that my opponents repeatedly have made frightening haste to abandon. At my blog I linked the series of workplace attacks I've endured, with a record there of the libelous allegations made against me. Even were these normal political and ideological differences, one must beware the forces of evil lurking about in all the lies. This is what I believe. And in that I believe in God, in that He would have me stand for truth and against the lies. And more, in that all politics for me is moral, I do good by Him if I push ahead for a political vision of goodness and right. Sometimes, I'm told, I might use more care to stay on the side of right. So, I'm working on it. I succumb to emotion at times. But in faith I find strength, for no one should be subject to these campaigns of destruction. Those endlessly and remorselessly working against me are secular demons who live not by His holiness, but by the opposite that attempts to pull the Christian warriors asunder.

Thanks again.

I will be updating and adding new posts --- with links to others blogging on this--- in appreciation for all the support. Please head over to Zilla's if you haven't already. She'll add your link to the honor roll.

Baby Thinks Paper Magazines Function Like iPad

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Amazing video, undoubtable (via Laughing Squid):

California Public Schools to Teach Homosexual Curriculum to Children as Young as Kindergartners

2011-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

This was in the news when the legislature authorized teaching homosexual studies some time back.

And now at LAT, "California schools scrambling to add lessons on LGBT Americans."

If this were being introduced when kids are in, say, 5th or 6th grade, I personally wouldn't have an issue with it for my own kids. But as it is, kindergarten or 1st grade, and so on? God, that's almost obscene in its assumptions. It's understandable why parents would object. I recently asked my 10-year-old if he knew what homosexuality was. He didn't have a clue, so I explained it to him. He didn't seem to care that much about it, but the point is I'd prefer it was my wife and I talking about these things with him, especially in the moral context. I would not teach my child that all family structures are equal, for example. My position is that the traditional household with one father and one mother is the most healthy and prosperous for children. Schools will teach kids that all alternative family arrangements are equally valid, and that's a radical curriculum.

In any case, from the article:

At Wonderland Avenue Elementary School in Laurel Canyon, there are lesson plans on diverse families — including those with two mommies or daddies — books on homosexual authors in the library and a principal who is openly gay.

But even at this school, teachers and administrators are flummoxed about how to carry out a new law requiring California public schools to teach all students — from kindergartners to 12th graders — about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans in history classes.

"At this point, I wouldn't even know where to begin," Principal Don Wilson said.

Educators across the state don't have much time to figure it out. In January, they're expected to begin teaching about LGBT Americans under California's landmark law, the first of its kind in the nation.

The law has sparked confusion about what, exactly, is supposed to be taught. Will fourth-graders learn that some of the Gold Rush miners were gay and helped build San Francisco? Will students be taught about the "two-spirited people" tradition among some Native Americans, as one gay historian mused?

"I'm not sure how we plug it into the curriculum at the grade school level, if at all," said Paul Boneberg, executive director at the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.

School districts will have little help in navigating this sensitive and controversial change, which has already prompted some parents to pull their children out of public schools.

Well, yeah. I don't have kids that young, kindergarten or 1st grade, but my youngest would still be introduced to these topics as a 4th grader. I don't think he's ready. He barely knows that much about sexuality at all. We talk about it when he has questions. He's more worried about Beyblades.

The Professional Left and 'Occupy Wall Street'

2011-10-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

From last Monday, at Weekly Standard, "The Professional Left Embraces Occupy Wall Street."

And now from Dan Riehl, at Big Government, "Democrats Have Serious Connections with #OccupyWallSt":

With more revelations likely to come, initial emails released by Big Government demonstrate that not only do Democrats all the way up to the White House support the ongoing Occupy movement, they have formally partnered with it in terms of fundraising and support.

RTWT.

And from Dana Loesch, at Big Journalism, "Journolist 2.0: OccupyDC Emails Show MSM, Dylan Ratigan, Working With Protesters to Craft Message."

RELATED: At Maggie's Farm, "Potemkin Protests."

The Academic Roots of Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

At Chronicle of Higher Education, "Intellectual Roots of Wall St. Protest Lie in Academe":

Famous scholars like Cornel West, Slavoj Zizek, and Frances Fox Piven have spoken to the crowd, with their remarks dispersed, word-for-word, from one cluster of people to the next through a "human megaphone." Many others, such as Lawrence Lessig, have lent their support from farther away, as the demonstrations have spread to cities and college campuses nationwide.

The movement has repeatedly been described as too diffuse and decentralized to accomplish real change, and some observers have seen the appearances by academic luminaries as an attempt to lend the protest intellectual heft and direction. Certainly, its intellectual underpinnings and signature method of operating are easier to identify than its goals.

Economists whose recent works have decried income inequality have informed the movement's critiques of capitalism. Critical theorists like Michael Hardt, professor of literature at Duke University, and Antonio Negri, former professor of political science at the University of Padua, have anticipated some of the central issues raised by the protests. Most recently, they linked the actions in New York and other American cities to previous demonstrations in Spain, Cairo's Tahrir Square, and in Athens, among other places.

But Occupy Wall Street's most defining characteristics—its decentralized nature and its intensive process of participatory, consensus-based decision-making—are rooted in other precincts of academe and activism: in the scholarship of anarchism and, specifically, in an ethnography of central Madagascar.

More at that top link.

RELATED: At Los Angeles Times, "UK Uncut fights for 'tax justice' in Britain."

'Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street'

2011-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, you learn something new everyday.

See the Tumblr, "Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street" (via Verum Serum).

Communist Party U.S.A. Marches in Solidarity With Occupy Chicago

2011-10-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

At Rebel Pundit, "Video: Communist Party U.S.A. Spokesman Gets Overwhelming Applause from Occupy Chicago."

Via Memeorandum.

Senegal Abandons Female Genital Mutilation

2011-10-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

I shudder to think of how extreme backwardness harms women. It's unconscionable.

At New York Times, "Senegal Curbs a Bloody Rite for Girls and Women."

Obama's Disapproval Ratings Hardening Among Voters

2011-10-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

From Ronald Brownstein, at National Journal, "Obama's Performance Rating Slips Again."

Like an early-autumn frost, a blast of pessimism about the country’s direction has snapped a slow but steady warming trend toward President Obama in the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor survey.

Just 44 percent of those surveyed said they approved of Obama’s performance as president—his lowest rating in the 10 Heartland Monitor polls conducted since April 2009. Likewise, the share of adults disapproving of his performance also reached a high at 50 percent. Those results reversed modest but consistent gains for Obama since his previous low point in the survey in August 2010. In the most recent survey, conducted last May in the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden raid, Obama’s approval rating had edged up to 51 percent, with only 41 percent disapproving.

Equally ominous for the president: 70 percent of those polled in the new survey said that the country was on the wrong track. That’s a sharp increase just since the most recent Heartland Monitor in May—and by far the highest level of dissatisfaction over the country’s direction recorded in any of the 10 polls. (The previous high was 62 percent in August 2010, just before the GOP landslide in the midterm elections that year.) Only one-fifth believed the country was moving in the right direction.

Most political scientists and pollsters agree that, especially in presidential races involving an incumbent, those bottom-line measures—the approval rating and the right-track/wrong-track assessment—are the most powerful predictors of the vote. Obama still has time to regain lost ground, but on both fronts, his position today more resembles the profile of incumbents who were defeated than those who won reelection.

Keep reading.

Just thirty-five percent of independents approve of Obama's job performance. This political scientist thinks he's toast. I can't wait for November 2012.

Andrew Breitbart on 'Occupy Wall Street' at Ezra Levant's 'The Source'

2011-10-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

The SEIU assigned a "minder" to Breitbart when he showed up at the Occupy L.A. event.

Unreal.

At Vlad Tepes, "Ezra Levant interiews Andrew Breitbart on the Wall St. ‘faux-tests’."

Israelis Divided on Prisoner Swap

2011-10-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

At Wall Street Journal, "Most Back the Exchange With Hamas, But Others Petition Court to Halt Move":

TEL AVIV — The initial phase of an Israel-Hamas prisoner swap began on Sunday, as mediators finalized the details of a controversial exchange to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli Sgt. Gilad Shalit, held prisoner for five years by Gaza-based militants.

Israel's prison service gathered 477 Palestinian prisoners at two jails for exit interviews and medical examinations before their release, scheduled for Tuesday, as several private citizens and a group representing victims of terror attacks in Israel submitted petitions against the releases to Israel's Supreme Court. The court has refrained from intervening in similar cases in the past.

Late Saturday, Israel's prison service published the names of the 477 prisoners—many of whom were involved in deadly terror attacks against Israelis over the past decade—starting the clock on a 48-hour period for legal challenges to the release. A total of 1,000 Palestinians are to be exchanged under the deal, which doesn't include Marwan Barghouti, a West Bank militant leader serving five consecutive life sentences after being convicted in Israeli court for masterminding the murder of civilians. The remainder of the 1,000 will be released at a later, unspecified date.

Continue reading.

It's heartrending. People want Gilad to come home. But the deal is going to weaken Israeli security. What a price to pay.

RELATED: At New York Times, "In Israel, Swap Touches Old Wounds." (Via A Soldier's Mother, "A Child's Murderer.")

Occupy O.C.

2011-10-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

The occupy movement made it to affluent, suburban Orange County this weekend.

At Los Angeles Times, "Hundreds join Occupy O.C. protest while others scoff."

And at O.C. Register, "Hundreds rally in Occupy O.C. protest," and "Facebook helps spread word on 'Occupy O.C.'"

Added: A huge Flickr set. Click "slideshow" and watch it. Closest you'll get to a leftist tea party. No matter though. The "occupy" brand is brutally damaged goods.

UPDATE: Instapundit links! Thanks!

More Anti-Semitism at Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

At Astute Bloggers, "Occupy Wall Street organizer has history of anti-semitic writing."

Also, at Jewish Telegraphic Agency, "Video shows anti-Semitism at Occupy Wall Street protests." The video is here: "Hate at Occupy Wall Street."

More, at Israel Today, "Israelis worried by anti-Semitic flavor of 'Occupy Wall St.' protests" (via Memeorandum).

Zilla of the Resistance! — 'Stand Against Evil - Never Let it Win'

2011-10-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

I'm having a really incredible outpouring of support in response to the latest round of attacks by the fascistic leftists. Now that I think of it, I should do a roundup of all the support I've been given. That might have to wait a few days, but I'm proud to share Zilla's essay just posted this afternoon, "Stand Against Evil - Never Let it Win":

Donald Douglas is a college professor, a father, a husband and the author of the American Power blog - he is also my friend and he is a really nice man. Donald has been under relentless brutal attack by filthy commie pinko rat bastard d-bag jackasses for years now, and it goes far beyond the usual trolling and anonymous death threats that most of us Conservative bloggers have become so accustomed to; the demonic progs have repeatedly published Donald's workplace information and have undertaken a scorched earth endeavor to destroy Donald's life and livelihood. In addition to that, they have viciously slandered him with the most vile false accusations and have even attempted to have law enforcement investigate him for imaginary crimes. There are entire blogs devoted to nothing else but the destruction of this decent and honorable man.

And Zilla puts things in context:

Let me tell you something; these attacks against Donald are attacks against us all in that they are attempts to intimidate the truth tellers into silence. There's no telling who could be next on their hit list, maybe me, maybe someone else, maybe even you. It mustn't be tolerated, not even a little.

Zilla's initiating an honor roll at the post. Folks can leave a comment there or check her out on Twitter.

And I'll be working on that supporters' roundup I mentioned above. I'm humbled that so many folks are standing with me for right and justice in the world.

Occupy Toronto

2011-10-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Coverage from up north, at Blazing Cat Fur, "Occupy Toronto: Carnival of the Commie Crazies."

Of the 2500 to 3000 partcipants at yesterday's Occupy Toronto silliness about 3/4's came from the ranks of the city's professional protesters; The anti-semites of the The Canadian Peace Alliance etc.

In short this was a typical march by all the usual suspects of the pseudo-left...

Can We Credibly Compare the Current Economic Crisis to the Great Depression?

2011-10-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's long been cliché to remark that our current recession is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Indeed, President Obama, while a candidate and once in office, incessantly harped about how today's economy is the worst since the 1930s. While I think most people realize the magnitude of the current crisis --- my best comparison is to 1990-91, when I can literally recall people fleeing California's recession by the truckload --- it strains reason to endlessly hammer away at the Great Depression analogy. And that's why, as sympathetic as I am to the historical scale of our dislocation, I'm still not convinced by arguments like Joe Nocera's, at New York Times, "The 1930s Sure Sound Familiar." Nocera discusses Since Yesterday, a history of the 1930s by Frederick Lewis Allen. After a bunch of nostalgic whimpering, Nocera gets down to what's really bugging him:

What dominates “Since Yesterday” — as it must dominate any history of the Great Depression — is the government’s responses to the crisis. Herbert Hoover was “leery of any direct governmental offensive against the Depression,” writes Allen. “So he stood aside and waited for the healing process to assert itself, as according to the hallowed principles of laissez-faire economics it should.” Sticking to his convictions, Hoover allowed the country to sink deeper and deeper into Depression, becoming in the process one of its victims — “along with the traditional economic theories of which he was the obstinate and tragic spokesman.”

Then came Roosevelt, untethered to any economic theory and willing to try anything to get people back to work. Allen describes the alphabet soup of agencies he created, the deficits he generated, the regulations he enacted. The economy, which bottomed out in 1932, steadied and then began to grow until, by 1937, it appeared that the Great Depression had ended.

Allen then takes us through the terrible days of late 1937, when the economy collapsed again. “Roosevelt’s Depression,” businessmen called it, blaming it on a business tax they particularly loathed. In fact, Allen makes the convincing case that the real problem was that Roosevelt had tried to do something business wanted: balance the budget. Shrinking government spending dried up demand. And not until the following spring, when he reversed course and decided to “go in for heavy spending again,” did conditions begin to improve.

The tragedy of Washington today, as the supercommittee begins its task of finding $1.2 trillion in cuts, is that nobody seems to remember the lessons of “Since Yesterday” — and most other books about the Great Depression.

When I think back to the 1930s, I don't necessarily pine for the return of Franklin Roosevelt. Economists differ on the downturn of 1937, and from my recollection it wasn't until the economic mobilization of World War II that the American economy really recovered --- and hence it was war mobilization, and not Democrat industrial policies, that finally brought an end to the era. That said, I'm not an economist. But there was a good piece from Bradley Schiller back shortly after Obama took office, "Obama's Rhetoric Is the Real 'Catastrophe'." What's interesting is the incomparability between the scale of crisis then to today:

President Barack Obama has turned fearmongering into an art form. He has repeatedly raised the specter of another Great Depression...

This fearmongering may be good politics, but it is bad history and bad economics. It is bad history because our current economic woes don't come close to those of the 1930s. At worst, a comparison to the 1981-82 recession might be appropriate. Consider the job losses that Mr. Obama always cites. In the last year, the U.S. economy shed 3.4 million jobs. That's a grim statistic for sure, but represents just 2.2% of the labor force. From November 1981 to October 1982, 2.4 million jobs were lost -- fewer in number than today, but the labor force was smaller. So 1981-82 job losses totaled 2.2% of the labor force, the same as now.

Job losses in the Great Depression were of an entirely different magnitude. In 1930, the economy shed 4.8% of the labor force. In 1931, 6.5%. And then in 1932, another 7.1%. Jobs were being lost at double or triple the rate of 2008-09 or 1981-82.

This was reflected in unemployment rates. The latest survey pegs U.S. unemployment at 7.6%. That's more than three percentage points below the 1982 peak (10.8%) and not even a third of the peak in 1932 (25.2%). You simply can't equate 7.6% unemployment with the Great Depression.

It goes on like that (here). And Schiller argues that the administration's economic fearmongering is actually dangerous, in how it perverts economic expectations and consumer confidence.

But then again, things are bad, right? Just not as bad as the 1930s? Well, I'm interested in a different comparison being made, that the U.S. might be entering into a long period of sustained high unemployment, and that the American economy could be resembling the European economies after the oil shocks of the 1970s. The major industrial states like France and Germany became accustomed to long-term (secular) unemployment rates of often 10 percent or more. Thinking about that, David Leonhardt, at New York Times, gives us another reason not to compare the current era to the 1930. The economy of the Great Depression was in fact one of the most technologically productive ever, "The Depression: If Only Things Were That Good." The counter-intuitive economic innovation of the day, combined with the drastic shedding of dead weight bloat and over-appreciation in the economy, laid the basis for the sustained recovery by the 1940s:

UNDERNEATH the misery of the Great Depression, the United States economy was quietly making enormous strides during the 1930s. Television and nylon stockings were invented. Refrigerators and washing machines turned into mass-market products. Railroads became faster and roads smoother and wider. As the economic historian Alexander J. Field has said, the 1930s constituted “the most technologically progressive decade of the century.”

Economists often distinguish between cyclical trends and secular trends — which is to say, between short-term fluctuations and long-term changes in the basic structure of the economy. No decade points to the difference quite like the 1930s: cyclically, the worst decade of the 20th century, and yet, secularly, one of the best.

It would clearly be nice if we could take some comfort from this bit of history. If anything, though, the lesson of the 1930s may be the opposite one. The most worrisome aspect about our current slump is that it combines obvious short-term problems — from the financial crisis — with less obvious long-term problems. Those long-term problems include a decade-long slowdown in new-business formation, the stagnation of educational gains and the rapid growth of industries with mixed blessings, including finance and health care.

Together, these problems raise the possibility that the United States is not merely suffering through a normal, if severe, downturn. Instead, it may have entered a phase in which high unemployment is the norm.

On Friday, the Labor Department reported that job growth was mediocre in September and that unemployment remained at 9.1 percent. In a recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, forecasters said the rate was not likely to fall below 7 percent until at least 2015. After that, they predicted, it would rarely fall below 6 percent, even in good times.

Not so long ago, 6 percent was considered a disappointingly high unemployment rate. From 1995 to 2007, the jobless rate exceeded 6 percent for only a single five-month period in 2003 — and it never topped 7 percent.

“We’ve got a double-whammy effect,” says John C. Haltiwanger, an economics professor at the University of Maryland. The cyclical crisis has come on top of the secular one, and the two are now feeding off each other.

In the most likely case, the United States has fallen into a period somewhat similar to the one that Europe has endured for parts of the last generation; it is rich but struggling. A high unemployment rate will feed fears of national decline. The political scene may be tumultuous, as it already is. Many people will find themselves shut out of the work force.

And if this is so, the solution is not to become more like the European Union nations. That is, the Obama administration's massive debt and deficit policies are more likely to turn the U.S. into France, or heaven forbid, Greece. And thus, back to Joseph Nocera pining for the governmental activism of the 1930s. He's wrong in his comparisons, and he's wrong in his proposals. We need to invigorate the private sector and productive individualism and innovation. We need to see 1000s of Steve Jobs bloom. I'm not so pessimistic that we won't see that happen. I expect the U.S. to have another decade of booming growth similar to the 1990s. We just need to let markets work and get the hell out of the way.

RELATED: At The Hill, "Obama wants $35 billion for teachers, first-responders first" (via Memeorandum). Sounds laudable, but more of the same, unfortunately.

Butcher of Ramallah to Be Released in Israel-Hamas Deal on Gilad Shalit

2011-10-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

I've posted the picture before, of Abed el-Aziz Salha, hands covered with blood, screaming out the window after disemboweling two IDF soldiers who took a wrong turn. Dan Friedman has the story, "Two Israelis Will Not be Released From Arab Hands..."

More here: "The Savages of Ramallah."

UPDATE: Legal Insurrection links, "Butcher of Ramallah soon to be free."

'I want people to have the freedom to eat what they want...'

2011-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Amazingly on point.

That's the chef interviewed at New York Times, "In California, Going All Out to Bid Adieu to Foie Gras."

“I want people to have the freedom to eat what they want,” said Ludo Lefebvre, one of the chefs behind the stove here on Friday. “Animal rights people would turn everyone into a vegan if they could. I don’t want animal rights people to tell me what to eat. Today it’s foie gras. Tomorrow it’s going to be chicken, or beef.”

Around the World, Protests Against Economic Policies

2011-10-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

At New York Times, "Buoyed by Wall St. Protests, Rallies Sweep the Globe."

Buoyed by the longevity of the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Manhattan, a wave of protests swept across Asia, the Americas and Europe on Saturday, with hundreds and in some cases thousands of people expressing discontent with the economic tides in marches, rallies and occasional clashes with the police.

In Rome, a rally thick with tension spread over several miles. Small groups of restive young people turned a largely peaceful protest into a riot, setting fire to at least one building and a police van and clashing with police officers, who responded with water cannons and tear gas. The police estimated that dozens of protesters had been injured, along with 26 law enforcement officials; 12 people were arrested.

At least 88 people were arrested in New York, including 24 accused of trespassing in a Greenwich Village branch of Citibank and 45 during a raucous rally of thousands of people in and around Times Square. More than 1,000 people filled Washington Square Park at night, but almost all of them left after dozens of police officers with batons and helmets streamed through the arch and warned that they would be enforcing a midnight curfew. Fourteen were arrested for remaining in the park.

Other than Rome’s, the demonstrations across Europe were largely peaceful, with thousands of people marching past ancient monuments and gathering in front of capitalist symbols like the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. Similar scenes unfolded across cities on several continents, including in Sydney, Australia; Tokyo; Hong Kong; Toronto; Chicago; and Los Angeles, where several thousand people marched to City Hall as passing drivers honked their support.

Continue reading.

Wow, people defecating on cop cars around the globe. That's quite an accomplishment.

District Attorney Expects Insanity Defense in Seal Beach Shooting Case

2011-10-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

At LAT, "Seal Beach shooting: D.A. expects an insanity defense":

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said he expects the defense team to argue that the alleged gunman in the Seal Beach shooting rampage is insane.

"I think we're hearing something about the defense at this point," Rackuackas said shortly after Scott Dekraai's arraignment was postponed. "I won't be surprised if we get an insanity plea."

Dekraai faces the death penalty if convicted on eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Authorities say that, in an act of revenge, he opened fire at Salon Meritage, killing his ex-wife, Michele Fournier, and seven other people. The two had been embroiled in a years-long custody dispute over their 8-year-old son.

Those Wanting to Silence Donald Douglas Are the Ugliest of Human Beings

2011-10-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

I'm paraphrasing from Lonely Conservative, "Nasty Progressives Try to Get Conservative Blogger Fired":

Professor Douglas is a husband and father who has every right to speak his mind and still earn a living. Those wanting to silence him are the ugliest of human beings.

Word.

Leftist Occupiers and Double Standards

2011-10-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

From Jamie Glazov, at FrontPage Magazine:

The behavior of the Occupy Wall Street protesters has raised some curious questions about the continuing double standards in our society. When it comes to fascistic leftist behavior, our mainstream media overlooks and excuses it — while conservatives are demonized and blamed for every dead sparrow that falls from the sky. If members of the Tea Party behaved in a fashion similar to the leftist occupiers on Wall Street, their antics would be the target of rabid moral indignation on the front pages of the New York Times and Washington Post and on the lead stories of every cable news show.

Take, for instance, the charming individual whose name is apparently Danny Cline — also known as “Lotion Man.” He is fighting for “social justice” on Wall Street, as can be witnessed in some intriguing videos posted at TheBlaze.com. In one video, he engages in an anti-Semitic verbal attack on an older Jewish man and tells him to “go back to Israel.” Then, in this heart-warming video, he uses extremely profane language and racial slurs — including the N word:

[Warning: very graphic language]

One can’t help from wondering: is there any video out there of a Tea Party member acting this way? No, there isn’t. But if there were, imagine what the Left and the media would do with it and what accusations they would make. In this case, we hear nothing; the media does not report on this individual and the Left does not denounce him. And if the Left were forced to account for Danny Cline’s behavior, its answers would be obvious: he is just a nut that doesn’t represent anything. But we know that this excuse would never wash if Cline was a Tea Partier. It is clear, of course, that the Lotion Man’s behavior represents what the Left truly is at its core: hateful and lusting after destruction. There is no better poster boy for the Left than the Lotion Man.

Well, perhaps not, but I can sure think of a few equally fascistic leftists. This is their currency. But continue reading here.

Britain's Royal Navy Unearths 61 Bombs After Two-Day Sweep of Nudist Beach

2011-10-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

Amazing news.

At Telegraph UK, "Royal Navy finds 61 bombs in two day sweep at nudist beach."

Britney Spears Femme Fatale Trailer

2011-10-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Via Britney, on Twitter:

The State of Black America (at Al Sharpton's March on Washington for Jobs and Justice)

2011-10-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

The man yelling "house nigger" is pretty offensive, but the folks chanting "Obama! Obama! Obama!" are way creepy as well.

From Marooned in Marin, "Al Shaprton & Unions' Rally For Obama's "Jobs" Bill Masquerades As MLK Memorial." (Via Gateway Pundit and Memeorandum.)

AUDIO — Rush Limbaugh Rejects Obama Administration's Uganda Mission to Remove Lord's Resistance Army

2011-10-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here's the audio on YouTube (transcript here):

Rush does not mention that L.R.A. is a gross violator of human rights. See Human Right Watch: "CAR/DR Congo: LRA Conducts Massive Abduction Campaign." And again at New York Times, "Armed U.S. Advisers to Help Fight African Renegade Group." And from March 2010, "Fleeing Rebels Kill Hundreds of Congolese." No doubt L.R.A. is a pretty atrocious outfit. The Bush administration had been supporting the Uganda army's campaign against the group. And here's a scholarly source as well, from Frank Van Acker, at African Affairs, "Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army: The New Order No One Ordered."

But listen to Limbaugh. His argument is internally consistent: He opposes sending more troops to the region in what may escalate to an open-ended commitment. Rush compares Obama's authorization of force in Libya. The administration promised the mission would be measured in "days, not weeks." That was 7 months ago. No president in the post-Vietnam era has been this reckless on war powers. See, "Obama's Illegal War." And Rush Limbaugh's reference to Christians is an attack on the administration's hypocrisy. We've done nothing to help Christians in Egypt, so Limbaugh snorts:

Lord's Resistance Army are Christians. It means God. I was only kidding. Lord's Resistance Army are Christians. They are fighting the Muslims in Sudan. And Obama has sent troops, United States troops to remove them from the battlefield, which means kill them. That's what the lingo means, "to help regional forces remove from the battlefield," meaning capture or kill.

So that's a new war, a hundred troops to wipe out Christians in Sudan, Uganda, and -- (interruption) no, I'm not kidding. Jacob Tapper just reported it. Now, are we gonna help the Egyptians wipe out the Christians? Wouldn't you say that we are? I mean the Coptic Christians are being wiped out, but it wasn't just Obama that supported that. The conservative intelligentsia thought it was an outbreak of democracy. Now they've done a 180 on that, but they forgot that they supported it in the first place. Now they're criticizing it.

That's the context.

But idiot progressives are spinning this as backing terrorists. See Matthew Yglesias, "Rush Limbaugh Endorses the Lord’s Resistance Army." Well, no he does not. He's not endorsing any action in Africa, actually. He's arguing a realist position that our interests aren't threatened. He's attacking this administration's ad hoc foreign policy, which is classical wag-the-dog interventionism. And he's attacking the euphoria over the "Arab Spring" in Egypt early this year, which has now deteriorated into ethnic cleansing. But radical progressives hate Limbaugh so much they refuse to place his commentary in the proper context. Typical.

Added: From Blake Hounshell, at Foreign Policy, "Rush Limbaugh on Lord's Resistance Army: "Obama Invades Uganda, Targets Christians."

Anti-Semitic Protester at Occupy Wall Street — Los Angeles

2011-10-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Via JammieWearingFool:

"These people aren't even trying to hide their ugly anti-Semitism."

And from the blurb at the video:

Here's one of the protesters Reason.tv spoke to at Occupy Wall Street in Los Angeles on October 12, 2011. She identifies herself as Patricia McAllister and as an employee of Los Angeles Unified School District.

"I think that the Zionist Jews, who are running these big banks and our Federal Reserve, which is not run by the federal government... they need to be run out of this country," she said.

Well, no doubt Satan's progressives will be flooding the phone lines at LAUSD. Not.

Wall Street Bankers Diss Protesters as Fringe Losers

2011-10-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

At New York Times, "In Private Conversations, Wall Street Is More Critical of Protesters.

Roundup on Progressive Campaign of Workplace Intimidation and Harassment — UPDATED!!

2011-10-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while something encourages me to believe that there are still Americans who understand what makes us different from other nations, and who are willing to preserve that difference. Your blog ... is one of those things." -- Maj. Steven Givler.

"Your unconquerable strength is in your ability to express the truth. They despise you for it. Let them!" -- Matt Cassens.

*****

Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41) -- and for all liars!

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Revelation 21:8.

Revelation 25:15 sharpens the focus even more when it describes deceitful persons as "everyone who loves and practices lying." In other words, it is not the person who occasionally lies, for even the best Christian might do that (Abraham, for example); but it is the person who makes lying the love of his life and whose entire life is characterized by deceit. Such a person is so like Satan that he must end up where Satan ends up -- in hell.

*****

The quotes at top are from friends of American Power. They attest to the recurring patterns (and thus appraisals) of my writing: attributes of honesty, decency and patriotism, and the belief that these qualities are most hated by progressives. The quote above at bottom is a passage from The Strategy of Satan: How to Detect and Defeat Him. Together these quotes indicate what's at stake in my blogging at American Power, that is, whether the forces of good and decency will prevail against the dark agents of hate that relentlessly work their way against me and the work I do here.

Some time back, one of my colleagues suggested that no matter what the nature of online disagreements, no matter how intense or vile, taking such disagreements to an opponent's employer is outside the bounds of decency: it is simply un-American. And I would add that when those same workplace complaints involve blatant and patently false allegations amounting to libel, those taking such actions are not only un-American, but genuinely satanic. And I have to apologize to longtime readers who might be getting bored with such blogging, but writing about the progressive left's perpetual campaign of personal destruction, against my economic livelihood, is how I'm able to deal with the issues, keep my sanity, and of course clear my good name. As I noted earlier, there is essentially no lie that's beyond the pale for the radicals. They'll do anything to destroy opponents. And they don't stop. And virtually to the one, the complaints leveled against me have been pure lies. I'm not going to recount them. All of this is of a piece. But since many on the left are coordinating these attacks, the frequency seems to be accelerating. I'll soon know more about the latest round of allegations and lies. In the meantime, here's a roundup of the workplace attacks I've defended against now for almost three years. In each case, there's never been any finding of impropriety or wrongdoing. In fact, the opposite's been true: Accusers have been revealed as the hateful demonic scum that they are. The fact is, people who want to destroy me have recourse to civil litigation if they feel they've been wronged. But because everything I write about the asshole progressives is true, they can't file suit (they have no case), so they go after my employment, with the most diabolical attacks anyone can imagine. My mind reels at reading some of the lies. My only thought is that people who make such claims have no God-given decency. They are in fact sociopaths bent on destruction. They do the devil's work.

Anyway, here's the links:

* "(O)CT(O)PUS = CYBER-BULLY."

* "Libel Blogger David Hillman (Swash Zone) Workplace Harassment Fail."

* "E.D. Kain Alleges Defamation: True/Slant Blogger's Workplace Intimidation Attempts to Shut Down American Power!"

* "E.D. Kain Contacts Department Again: Intimidation Campaign Escalates; Fake 'Apology' Seals Moral Indictment Against True/Slant Blogger!"

* "The Case for Faith."

* "The Secular Religion of Radical Progressivism."

* "Alex Knepper Contacts My College in Campaign of Workplace Harassment."

* "'Isn't it funny the way lefties are, at bottom, puritanical about sex?'"

* "Carl Salonen Libelous Workplace Allegations of Child Pornography and Sexual Harassment at Long Beach City College."

* "The Claims of Grievance-Bearing Identity Groups Will Always Prevail Over Fairness."

* "W. James Casper's Demonic Band of Progressive Totalitarians."

* "'It doesn’t matter if an accusation against a conservative is true or false...'."

RELATED: Demonic hate-blogger and harassment ringleader confirms his clinical obsession with seeing me fired: "Donald Douglas and his Paranoid 'Henchmen' Conspiracy" (the top result).

*****

UPDATE: Tania from Midnight Blue comments via e-mail:

skye820@xxxxx.com to me
show details 10:07 AM

Donald,

Do these sociopaths have an earned income? I suggest you start going after that, although I doubt is will garner you much coin, but turnabout is fair play.

Tania

Lawsuits are expensive and time consuming, Tania. But I haven't ruled it out. Although they're leeches so I doubt there'd be much financial gain to it. Yep, these idiots are ASFLs big time!!

*****

From Lonely Conservative...

... to me
show details 11:31 AM (1 hour ago)

Well, you're right - they are assholes, and evil.

Regards ...

Yeah, they're evil --- and persistent!

*****

And from Amusing Bunni, at the comments to a previous post:

I wanted to comment on your top post about the demonic attacks by the lefties against you.

Liars really are of the devil! These "people" have NO SHAME and don't care about anyone. They LOVE to destroy a person, at work, and get them fired, or worse yet, arrested, or whatever they can do.
They are vile, evil and there's a special crappy circle in hell reserved for them.

I will pray for you that you prevail. These creeps who lie about you are just pawns of satan. The bible says that we fight not against people, but against principalities and such. The devil is scared of you, because you speak the truth. I hope everything turns out alright for you Don.

Pawns of satan! You're right --- these people are the devil's henchmen!

Thanks!

*****

From Norm in New York:

Norman Gersman to me
show details 2:14 PM (2 hours ago)

Dear Donald,

The left has no moral compass. To the left, the end justifies the means. In every one of my area's local election we see that the left has no shame: from stealing every political sign off private property to publishing outright lies in their literature. Therefore, it is no surprise that instead of partaking in argument the left seeks only to destroy, in every way possible, their opponents.

Warm regards...

Thanks Norm!

And from Reliapundit:

Astute Bloggers to me
show details 3:46 PM (38 minutes ago)

Leftists have no principles beyond their desire for power - and to use that power to satisfy their covetousness, envy, and sate their hedonism.

They are moral and cultural and political relativists - EXCEPT when it comes to attacking the people who get in the way of their socialist plans. On the one hand, they have no problem attacking so-called right-wingers as immoral people whose behavior is beyond the pale, while on the other hand defending horrifying practices of other peoples as being acceptable on the basis of culturally relativity.

This is why they practice no-holds-barred politics everywhere - including the blogosphere - and yet decry and attack people they see as political foes.

On the so-called right --- (I say so-called because as Mark Levin correctly points out, people who are called right-wingers today are at the center of traditional American politics and are actually only as "right-wing" as Paine and Jefferson and Madison and Adams) --- we have principles that guide our politics and personal behavior. This makes us fight fair.

What they've done to you is what they've done to opponents for years and years and decades and decades. It's what they did to Palin and what they did to McCarthy. (McCarthyism is now synonymous with witch-hunting even though McCarthy has NOTHING to do with the HOUSE Un-American Activities Committee, and only went after communists in the government and he was largely correct in his targets. Read Coulter's book on the subject.)

I grew up on the hard left - in the lap of the radical chic. I know these people like the back of my hand - and know many of them to this day. Their politics disgusts me. They need to be deprogrammed. It requires relentlessness, courage, and steadfastness to high moral principles.

You have all three. Keep Fighting Baby!

God Bless You and Yours!

God bless you, Reliapundit!!

And from Matt Cassens:

St. Blogustine to me
show details 5:37 PM (1 hour ago)

Don, I've always admired your desire to fight on the front line, but never realized how deeply you fight behind enemy lines (beyond blogging).

There must be some conservative version of the ACLU that go beyond defending religious expression (like ADF and ACLJ) that could come to your defense in an organized and imposing manner to defend your God-given rights to express yourself conservatively.

Have you tried calling into conservative radio talk shows? Laura Ingraham may not have a huge audience, but I'll bet she has great advice or at least knows who you could contact. Hannity has the audience, and your plight may be of interest to his show. Think big and let the world know what you're up against.

Matt

Great comments, Matt.

I'll think about it, especially that going big part!

Eat Bulaga coffee table book: Ang Unang Tatlong Dekada

2011-10-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

'Eat Bulaga!', the longest running variety show in the Philippines, has launched its own coffee table book last week, book that highlights its 3-decade existence on Philippine television.

The coffee table book, which is titled "Eat Bulaga: Ang Unang Tatlong Dekada", contains photos from the show's first 30 years, such as pictures showing what Eat Bulaga has achieved and the people who were part of the show as co-hosts.

Yeah, even Toni Gonzaga, who now hosts rival noontime show "Happy, Yipee, Yehey!", is there. (See sample photos below)

They haven't announced yet the official release of the Eat Bulaga coffee table book, but reportedly it will cost about P2,000.

Happily-married actress Sherilyn Reyes, who once hosted in the show, already got her complimentary copy of the book and happily shared about it on Twitter (@sherilynRtan):

"Got my complimentary #Eat Bulaga Coffee Table book. I will always be thankful for being part of that show I loved very much! Great avenue where I was able to showcase my talents and hone my skills in hosting. What an honor and privilege to work with showbiz icons Tito,Vic and Joey! Will forever cherish the friendships I made with the other co-hosts especially Kristine Florendo and Toni Rose. My 2 beautiful years in Eat Bulaga belong to my treasure chest! :)"

Sherilyn co-hosted the show from 2000 to 2002.

In Eat Bulaga's first 30 years, more than a hundred celebrities were once part of the show as co-hosts. Aside from Toni and Sherilyn, other co-hosts of the show in the past were Sharon Cuneta, Kris Aquino, Maricel Soriano, Pops Fernandez, Aiko Melendez, Carmina Villaroel, Jericho Rosales, Ruffa Gutierrez and even Charo Santos-Concio, who's now President of ABS-CBN.

Photos courtesy of Jako de Leon (
@jakoraphaelle) via Twitter and Majo Villanueva via Facebook

Prosecutors Want Death Penalty Against Shooting Suspect Scott Dekraai

2011-10-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

At LAT, "Prosecutors seek death penalty in salon shooting case."

And see the background report, "Seal Beach shooting suspect was a haunted man."

NewsBusted: 'NYC Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to rebuild Times Square to make it safer and friendlier'

2011-10-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Via Theo Spark:

Obama Administration to Deploy Military Advisors to Uganda

2011-10-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

This is out of the blue, or something.

At New York Times, "Armed U.S. Advisers to Help Fight African Renegade Group":‎

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Friday that he had ordered the deployment of 100 armed military advisers to central Africa to help regional forces combat the Lord’s Resistance Army, a notorious renegade group that has terrorized villagers in at least four countries with marauding bands that kill, rape, maim and kidnap with impunity.

The deployment represents a muscular escalation of American military efforts to help fight the Lord’s Resistance Army, which originated as a Ugandan rebel force in the 1980s and morphed into a fearsome cultlike group of fighters. It is led by Joseph Kony, a self-proclaimed prophet known for ordering village massacres, recruiting prepubescent soldiers, keeping harems of child brides and mutilating opponents.

“For more than two decades, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has murdered, raped and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women and children in central Africa,” Mr. Obama wrote in a letter to Congress announcing the military deployment. “The LRA continues to commit atrocities across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan that have a disproportionate impact on regional security.”

The decision by Mr. Obama to deploy armed military advisers into the region was welcomed by human rights advocates who have chronicled the atrocities committed by Mr. Kony and his subordinates. But it also raises the risk of putting American military personnel in harm’s way in another region while the United States is winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Well, it's certainly fits the progressive rationale for foreign military intervention: human rights. But 100 "advisers"? Sounds like how the Kennedy administration sent advisers to Vietnam and we ended up with 500,000 troops in country by the end of 1965. And boy, it's that some creepy group, the LRA. I'd be interested to hear some of the internal White House debate on the mission.

Anyway, see Rush Limbaugh for the critique, which I'm not necessarily endorsing, "Obama Invades Uganda, Targets Christians." (Via Memeorandum.)

Curious Parallels Between the Iranian Assassination Attempt and Fast and Furious

2011-10-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

An essay from Steven Givler:

...Fast and Furious resulted in multiple deaths in Mexico and the United States, and inestimable damage to relations between our countries. It represents a far more serious transgression than Iran’s bungled assassination attempt. It was a betrayal of the American people – a steadfast refusal to enforce laws, which resulted in the endangerment of the citizens those laws are designed to protect. It also provided material aid to a brutal gang, and facilitated its countless acts of torture, murder, and intimidation. The Iranian operation was conducted by a nation known to be hostile to the US, but Fast and Furious was a stab in the back of a government with which we are supposed to be on friendly terms.

Obama Administration Scraps Key Portion of Affordable Care Act

2011-10-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

The main story's at New York Times, "Obama to Scrap a Portion of Health Care Law."

But see the editorial at Wall Street Journal, "Class Dismissed":

Late Friday afternoon, naturally, the Obama Administration formally conceded that it had shut down one of the Affordable Care Act's major new entitlement programs. The Department of Health and Human Services had already closed down the office in charge of creating this insurance program for long-term care last month. But HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius's act of fiscal damage control is still a welcome if overdue admission that ObamaCare's claims of deficit reduction were always an illusion.

Continue reading.

Also at Lonely Conservative, "CLASS Dismissed! Obama Dumps Long Term Care from Obamacare."

Gilad Shalit and the Price Freedom in Israel

2011-10-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

More on the Shalit release, from Caroline Glick, at Jerusalem Post, "A pact signed in Jewish blood":

"The deal that Netanyahu has agreed to is signed with the blood of the past victims and future victims of the terrorists he is letting go. No amount of rationalization by Netanyahu, his cheerleaders in the demented mass media, and by the defeatist, apparently incompetent heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad and IDF can dent the facts."

RELATED: At Legal Insurrection, "“What happens after the next soldier is kidnapped?”"

'It doesn’t matter if an accusation against a conservative is true or false...'

2011-10-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

"...the only question is: can we use it to win (or discredit and demoralize conservatives)."

Or to literally destroy conservatives.

I can attest to that from first hand experience. But see Charles Sykes, "The Goal: Chaos" (via William Jacobson).

RELATED: "W. James Casper's Demonic Band of Progressive Totalitarians."

If You Think You Gonna Leave Then You Better Say So...

2011-10-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tom Petty, "I Need to Know."

From yesterday morning's drive time, at The Sound LA:

8:01 - Roxanne by Police

8:04 - Before You Accuse Me by Eric Clapton

8:17 - In Your Eyes (new Blood) by Peter Gabriel

8:22 - Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix

8:26 - School's Out by Alice Cooper

8:29 - Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd

8:38 - For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield

8:48 - Rough Boys by Pete Townshend

8:52 - I Need To Know by Tom Petty

8:54 - Silly Love Songs by Paul Mccartney And Wings

9:00 - Who Do You Love by George Thorogood

W. James Casper's Demonic Band of Progressive Totalitarians

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

I was notified of yet another round of workplace attacks at the college.

I don't yet know who's once again contacting my employer (I should know next week), but I've got a clue. It turns out that Captain Fogg left a comment at stalking hate-blogger W. James Casper's hell-hole, American Nihilist (check the comments at the top result):

I certainly don't participate in what anyone but you would call retaliation, but then I'm not as worried as you that I've stepped over the line of common decency. You in fact, have good reason for retrospection and introspection. At this point I worry for the public at large and for students taught by you. I think you sound dangerous. I almost expect to see you in some headline some day.

I have no problem with people being called to task for harm they might have done to others. As an educated man, you certainly can distinguish between justice and retaliation even if you're somehow unable to get any point across without behaving like a foul-mouthed and spoiled little boy with serious self-esteem and impulse control problems.

How this makes me improperly retaliative or dishonest in your eyes, is beyond me, but then I know more about electrical engineering than about abnormal psychology.

So do you think people need to know about how you express yourself or is someone "retaliating" for quoting you? You either stand behind your words or you have your nose rubbed in them. It's up to you.

Was it you who showed up out of the blue at The Impolitic raving about impotence and penises and stupidity and all that after a rather dry assessment of Mitt Romney? Seems odd that you could dare to accuse anybody of excess after that repetitive example of your obsessive and obscene program of hounding and punishing anyone who writes anything you disagree with. The only reason I'm here is that you were there.

Frankly I think you're so far beyond the bounds of responsible civilized behavior that some public light should be shed on it and you know it because you wouldn't be squirming and squealing about persecution if you didn't know damn well how inappropriate it is for a teacher of young people to be what you are. You've got a body of "work" out there and it speaks for itself and it doesn't speak well of you.

I'll know more later about this. Folks can read the whole comment thread at that top Google result. I have no idea what Fogg is talking about with "retaliation." But I can say that this is the new line of attack from W. James Casper's demonic band of progressive totalitarians. It's a variation on the old line: "Dr. Douglas has no business being in front of a classroom." And so in the progressive mind, this is reason enough to mount campaigns of libel and workplace harassment for the sole purpose of getting me fired. This was the attack of the atheists some time back, during the Elizabeth Edwards backlash. This was the same basic attack launched by Carl Salonen and one of the asshats at Lawyers, Guns and Money. And this has been W. James Casper's latest ploy to continue his hate campaign of sponsoring threats against my livelihood. Now it's not just that I'm conservative, but that I use salty language in responding to these assholes. Yep, they're assholes and dickwipes and I have no problem pointing it out. So now, yet again, we've got the same bunch of idiots down with the defecations on Wall Street screaming like stuck pigs and contacting my employer? Heaven forbid I used some profanity! Fire that man! He's a danger to the commons! Fogg mentions Libby Spencer's The Impolitic, where I commented last week. But those comments have been deleted, so there's no actual record of what Fogg's talking about. And that's it exactly: If someone disagrees with comment at a blog they can delete it, or they can moderate them in advance. But for stalking asshats like Casper and Fogg it's always about contacting my employer, and making libelous allegations. Notice above how Fogg claims I'm "dangerous." That would be perfect, wouldn't it, to allege that "Donald Douglas is a danger to his students and the college community, and he shouldn't be permitted anywhere near a classroom full of impressionable kids"?

I'll have more on this later.

I just love how classic this is. Every time these people attack they prove one more time just how demonic they are, just like the mob.

PREVIOUSLY: "Libel Blogger David Hillman (Swash Zone) Workplace Harassment Fail." And, "Carl Salonen Libelous Workplace Allegations of Child Pornography and Sexual Harassment at Long Beach City College."

BONUS: Hey Fogg, here's the link to the properly spelled "Muphry's Law," and you can thank your idiot hate-sponsor RACIST = REPSAC3 on the origins of your epic self-douche. BWAHAHAHA!!!!!

EXTRA: The only reference to "penises" I can think of would be "Captain Fogg Just Can't Go Long!" And that's a parody, protected by the First Amendment. But hey, progressive totalitarians hate free speech!!

NOTE: Comments are closed. Readers who'd like to comment may reply to me by e-mail (at my Blogger profile) and I'll add comments in updates to this post.

Gilad Shalit Deal Rattles Mideast Politics

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

At New York Times, "Israeli-Hamas Agreement to Trade Prisoners May Reshape Politics in Region":

JERUSALEM — The prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel that is expected to begin next week could reshape regional relationships, strengthening Egypt, Hamas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel while posing an acute challenge to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

One result might be a more confrontational — and Hamas-imbued — Palestinian movement that could, in the long run, increase Israel’s difficulties, drawing inspiration from and invigorating popular protests across the Middle East. It could also tighten the relationship between Hamas, Egypt and Turkey.

“Hamas has been in the shadows, and this moves it into the Palestinian forefront for now,” said Zakaria al-Qaq, a political scientist at Al Quds University in East Jerusalem.

Under the deal, announced on Tuesday, Israel will free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized in a cross-border raid by Hamas in 2006 and held ever since in Gaza.

President Shimon Peres of Israel announced that Turkey, which has angrily downgraded its relations with Israel in the last year, had played an unexpected role in helping broker the deal. Turkey is close to Hamas.

Some of the details of the Hamas-Israel deal have not been disclosed, making it hard to determine why the two sides suddenly came to agreement after failing to in past years, on what seem to have been similar terms. But the growing turmoil in the region played an important role, as did domestic politics.

More at the link.

I had a bad feeling about this when I first heard of the deal on Tuesday, especially that Israel was releasing 1000 prisoner, some the most hardened terrorists. Melanie Phillips has more, "A Deal With the Devil":

The dramatic news this evening that Israel and the Hamas have agreed a deal which will see the return to Israel of its kidnapped solider, Gilad Shalit, will provoke the most bitterly mixed reactions amongst Israelis and all who care about peace and justice. If Shalit is indeed returned alive and well, it will of course be a matter for rejoicing that he is unharmed after his appalling five-year ordeal and that the terrible suffering of his family is now at an end.

But the price that Israel has reportedly agreed to pay for his release is itself a terrible one which will have untold consequences. For Israel will apparently release 1000 Palestinian prisoners, including 400 serving long sentences for some of the worst terrorist atrocities in the country's history.

For the Israel Defence Force, it is a moral imperative to bring home its fallen or captured soldiers. But the terrible thing is that by releasing 1000 terrorists back to Gaza and the West Bank, it makes it more likely that not just the Hamas but Hezbollah in Lebanon too will redouble their efforts to kidnap yet more Israeli soldiers in order to further this devilish barter.

So while this deal – brokered by Egypt and Germany -- redeems one Israeli soldier, it puts more Israeli soldiers at risk. Moreover, it strengthens Hamas in Gaza -- they are already boasting that this is a great victory -- makes it more likely that more Israelis will be murdered by terrorism in Israel, and demoralises those IDF soldiers who brought these 1000 terrorists to justice in the first place.

More here.

Ads for Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson Signal New Tactics for Outside Groups

2011-10-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

At New York Times, "Ads by Democratic Senator May Open Door to New Tactics":

WASHINGTON — A new series of political advertisements on behalf of an embattled Nebraska senator could open the door to a flood of similar ads financed by outside groups and even businesses working directly with political candidates — a sharp departure from past practice.

The ads are innocuous enough on their face: Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat up for re-election next year, is featured on television and radio commercials discussing Social Security, the national debt, war veterans and other hot-button issues. What is remarkable, campaign finance lawyers and political operatives say, is that the ads were produced and paid for by Democratic Party officials in Nebraska and Washington — with the senator’s close involvement as their star.

Federal campaign rules restrict politicians from “coordinating” their advertisements with outside groups except under certain circumstances. Politicians — worried about tripping over the legal restrictions — have usually shied away from working directly with outside groups on ads. Instead, “issue” ads paid for by outside groups will typically hit on broad themes without focusing so squarely on a single lawmaker.

The Nebraska ads, which have cost Democrats more than $600,000 to run so far, could change that practice in a way that has wide implications for the 2012 elections, when 33 Senate seats and all 435 House seats will be up for grabs.

Interesting.

More at the link.

Republicans Increasingly See Mitt Romney As the 'Inevitable Candidate'

2011-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

It does seem that way, but Herman Cain sure is coming on strong.

Besides, Democrats though Hillary Clinton was the inevitable candidate in 2008.

At WaPo:

NASHUA, N.H. — Buoyed by a series of strong debate performances, Mitt Romney is suddenly attracting new support from major donors and elected officials, some of whom had resisted his previous entreaties, as people across the GOP grow more accepting of the presidential contender as the party’s standard-bearer.

“He’s viewed as an almost inevitable candidate,” said longtime strategist Ed Rollins, who until last month managed the campaign of Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), one of Romney’s opponents. “He’s the heavy favorite.”

The party establishment seems to be moving Romney’s way, even as a new national poll highlighted the volatility of the race. A Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll showed the surging businessman Herman Cain numerically ahead of Romney for the first time, 27 percent to 23 percent, with Texas Gov. Rick Perry third, at 16 percent.

On Wednesday, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) became the latest in a string of current and former elected officials who have announced their support for Romney over the past week. Former Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson, hedge fund manager Paul Singer and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone are among the major Republican fundraisers supporting the candidate.

“It’s all coming together for him,” said Cochran, who formally endorsed Romney on Wednesday. “People are beginning to be impressed with him and his thoughtful comments about the issues.”

Neoconservatives Still Dominate GOP

2011-10-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

From Robert Merry and Robert Golan-Vilella, at National Interest, "The Neocon GOP: By Design or Default?" (via GSGF). And this doesn't sound fully accurate, considering Romney's statements in his foreign policy speech the other day:

The presumed frontrunner, Mitt Romney, seems particularly lacking in any coherent philosophical framework. He attacks Obama for the speed of his Afghanistan drawdown, for example, without offering a timetable of his own. (He says he would go with the recommendations of his generals.) He supported America’s role in the NATO intervention in Libya but criticized the way it was handled. His website calls for U.S. leadership in creating a “global military alliance of democracies dedicated to ensuring security and protecting freedom.” This scheme, expropriated from Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and the writings of polemicist Robert Kagan (also a Romney adviser), would be a recipe for an expanded American role in the world in the name of humanitarian principles—pure Wilsonism.

But Romney is relentless in his hostility toward China. He says that on his first day in office he would unilaterally slap trade sanctions against that Asian nation in retaliation for its currency policies (likely result: a devastating trade war), and he says Obama “caved” to Beijing by not selling the most sophisticated U.S. fighter jets to Taiwan. In his more general foreign-policy pronouncements, extolling “American greatness” and calling for a new “American Century,” Romney sounds rather like George W. Bush.

And frankly, I like Michele Bachmann's foreign policy:

Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is an interesting case. She advocated aggressive action against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying, “We must defeat them in their backyard.” And she wants no cuts in the defense budget. But she seems cautious on questions of where and when America should intervene in the world. She says she would confine such interventions to instances when the country’s vital interests were at stake. Hence, she opposed the Libyan intervention as having no relation to the country’s well-being. And she is wary of democracy promotion in general. Indeed, she criticized Obama not for abandoning Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak too soon but for abandoning him at all. “We saw President Mubarak fall while President Obama sat on his hands,” she said. She later suggested the Arab Spring (which she, interestingly, sees as a disaster rather than a trend to be applauded and encouraged) emerged in part because Obama had demonstrated weakness in not being sufficiently supportive of Israel in the ongoing maneuvering between that country and the Palestinians.

I should have update on developments with GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD. I'm waiting to hear back from Courtney.

Miranda Kerr Returns for 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

2011-10-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

At Telegraph UK, "Miranda Kerr to return to Victoria's Secret catwalk with a $2.5m bang."

Accusations Against Iran Fleshed Out

2011-10-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

At WSJ (via Google):

Top U.S. officials Wednesday provided fresh details about an alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's U.S. ambassador, seeking to bolster their contention that the Iranian government was behind the scheme.

The officials said they were skeptical at first about Iranian involvement, but grew persuaded when a $100,000 payment to the alleged plotters was traced to an elite Iranian military branch, the Qods Force. They described the logic for believing that the Qods Force chief knew of the plan, and alleged that an assassination was seen as a trial run for a broader string of attacks for which Iran was ready to spend $5 million.

The case they presented, however, relied heavily on inference and contained gaps, including a lack of direct evidence that the most senior Iranian officials knew about the alleged operation.

Check that Google link for the whole thing.

Deadly Shooting at Seal Beach Beauty Salon

2011-10-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is just horrible.

At LAT, "Salon Shooting."

More: "Custody dispute blamed in killing of 8."

'Torn'

2011-10-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Natalie Imbruglia, love her:

Herman Cain Surges Ahead in New Wall Street Journal Poll!

2011-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

This is amazing, at WSJ, "Cain Vaults to Lead in Poll" (at Google):

CONCORD, N.H. — Former restaurant-industry executive Herman Cain has catapulted to the lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, as GOP voters grow disenchanted with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and remain wary of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.

Drawn by Mr. Cain's blunt, folksy style in recent debates, 27% of Republican primary voters picked him as their first choice for the nomination, a jump of 22 percentage points from six weeks ago.

Mr. Romney held firm in second place at 23%, his same share as in a Journal poll in late August, while Mr. Perry plummeted to 16%, from 38% in August.

The poll of 1,000 adults, conducted from Oct. 6-10, comes as many Republican donors and officials have begun to rally around Mr. Romney as the party's likely nominee, despite a continued lack of enthusiasm for him documented in the new poll.

For Mr. Cain, the question is whether his newfound prominence, driven in part by his signature "9-9-9" plan to overhaul the tax code, will be a lasting phenomenon in a campaign that has seen many others surge and then fade. Since the spring, conservatives have given short-lived bursts of support for a string of contenders, including Donald Trump, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Mr. Perry.

"Will I be the flavor of the week?'' Mr. Cain said Wednesday in New Hampshire, where reporters followed him as he addressed the state legislature. "Well, the answer is an emphatic, 'No,' because Häagen-Dazs black walnut tastes good all the time."

Mr. Cain in many ways isn't operating a traditional campaign. He was on tour promoting his new book in recent weeks, and he will make stops between Memphis and Nashville on Friday and Saturday, though Tennessee is unlikely to factor in the Republican nomination. He doesn't plan to return to Iowa, site of the first nominating contest, for weeks, his aides say.

Also at Public Policy Polling, "Cain leads nationally" (via Memeorandum).

Cain discusses the Wall Street protests around 10 minutes at the video.

See also The Other McCain, "Pundette Likes Herman Cain."

Israel and Hamas Agree to Gilad Shalit Release

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

At NYT, "Israel and Hamas Agree to Swap Prisoners for Soldier."

And at Israel Matzav and Yid With Lid.

'Long Live Revolution! Long Live Socialism!'

2011-10-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

Via Zombie, "Occupy L.A. Speaker: Violence will be Necessary to Achieve Our Goals" (at Memeorandum):

Martin Scorsese Discusses the Making of 'George Harrison: Living In the Material World'

2011-10-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

I like how he notes that George's spirituality was an "intellectual spirituality."

Hank Williams, Jr. — 'Keep the Change'

2011-10-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Via Linkmaster Smith:

NewsBusted: 'NJ Gov. Chris Christie will not run for president in 2012'

2011-10-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Via Theo Spark:

Andi Eigenmann was chosen to play Maria Mercedes

2011-10-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

Andi Eigenmann, now 8 months pregnant, is now very much comfortable flaunting her bulging belly.

A very pregnant Andi Eigenmann is on the cover of StarStudio Magazine this month of October and recently, she has granted TV interviews talkin' about her pregnancy and her plans after she gives birth this November.

Andi was interviewed by Boy Abunda during the latter's first night as Bandila anchor (that was last October 3) and then on The Buzz last Sunday, October 9.

Then just this morning (October 12), Andi guested on KrisTV where she revealed to host Kris Aquino that she's supposed to portray the title role in the Philippine remake of Mexican telenovela "Maria Mercedes".

But the role was offered to her before she got pregnant. Will Andi still do the remake after she has given birth? Or will ABS-CBN look for another one to replace her?

She also revealed in the show that her baby girl will have two names (with Gabrielle as her 2nd name) and will be nicknamed Eli [Gabrielle was the name of Andi's character in "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin"].

Kris also asked Andi if she's open for DNA Testing of the baby, which is being asked by the family of the baby's father. And here's what Andi said: "I wouldn't go through all that hussle because 'di naman sila kailangan, wag na mag-ganon. Pero if it will come from them and I'd have no choice, okay why not, para naman sige tumahimik na sila. But it wouldn't change anything. I will still do everything on my own and no matter what happens, di ko sila hihingan ng kahit na ano or aasahan na mag-take ng any responsibility."

Watch videos of Andi Eigenmann's recent interviews, one month before she gives birth to Baby Eli:

(Bandila, October 3)

(The Buzz, October 9)

Videos courtesy of ABS-CBN / Uploaded on Youtube by aprielle18 and on DailyMotion by TFC Godfather (HappyYipeeYehey)

Pia Guanio and Steve Mago wedding photos

2011-10-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

The "Pia Guanio and Steve Mago wedding" was held October 1, 2011 in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

It was already reported last week in some tabloids that TV host Pia Guanio and businessman boyfriend Steve Mago already married each other last Oct. 1 (Saturday), but no official confirmation yet from the couple themselves.

And it's only last Sunday, October 9, that Pia confirmed her wedding to Steve via her Sunday program "Showbiz Central".

According to Pia in a phone patch interview, their "Christian and civil" garden wedding was a solemn one, meaningful and heartfelt, and was a very private ceremony attended by less than 50 people.

Check out Pia Guano - Steve Mago wedding photos as featured on Showbiz Central last Sunday (Pia's gown designed by Jerome Salaya Ang):

The wedding rings

Pia Guanio and Steve Mago got involved first in a "kissing scandal" back in April before Pia confirmed that she's already engaged to marry Steve.

The engagement happened in May 7, 2011 but during that time, there was no date yet for their wedding. (Read: Pia Guanio engaged to Steve Mago, wedding not yet set).

And reportedly, Pia being pregnant was the reason of their sudden wedding.

Photos courtesy of GMA 7's Showbiz Central, 24 Oras and GMA News TV's Balitanghali / Wedding rings photo by ANN2429 on Youtube

Ann Coulter on 'Occupy Wall Street'

2011-10-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

This is perfect!

Following up on my post from yesterday, "Barbara O'Brien is the Mob!", here's Ann Coulter (via Astute Bloggers):

RELATED: "COULTER ENDORSES ROMNEY-CAIN."

The Explosive Child

2011-10-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

My wife and I are taking a parenting class. My youngest boy has an attention deficit that we help control with medication. He's been doing really well, but occasionally he's hard to handle. My wife attended a workshop through my son's elementary school, and she signed us both up for the six-week parenting course. We're reading Ross Greene's, The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children. The class started last week and we're reading through chapter 4 for this week's meeting. I planned to write about this more later, but it turns out yesterday's Los Angeles Times ran a front-page story on childhood psychiatric disorders, "Just what is troubling my child?":

The final straw for Carolyn Alves came last fall when she tried to help her daughter Cecelia dress for kindergarten.

The volatile 6-year-old had worked herself into a frenzy as she tried on outfit after outfit, rejecting each as unacceptable. The tantrum at full bore, she scooped up a pile of clothes and hurled them at the front door of the family's Spanish-style bungalow in Glendale.

The clock ticked past the school's 8 a.m. bell. Alves pulled her wailing child into her arms and held her on the couch. After several minutes, Cecelia stopped, took a breath and announced that she was ready to go to school.

"It was like watching someone who was having a mental breakdown," Alves said. Then "a switch went off and she went back to being normal."

Alves and her husband, Marcos, have consulted five doctors and therapists in the last four years. Cecelia has been diagnosed with a smorgasbord of psychiatric disorders — including the controversial diagnosis of child bipolar disorder — in addition to being called a normal kid.

Experts in pediatric mental health readily acknowledge that their failure to pinpoint the problem with children like Cecelia makes a difficult situation worse. And some of them are pressing for an unconventional solution: a new diagnostic category called disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, or DMDD.

Creating a diagnosis is considered a radical step in mental health circles, and the proposal has sparked much debate. The controversy underscores the fact that therapists simply don't know what to make of the estimated 3% of children in the U.S. who suffer from severe irritability and emotional outbursts.

"Everyone wishes we could have a genetic test or a blood test" to determine which disorder a child has, said Erik Parens, senior research scholar at the Hastings Center, a bioethics think tank in Garrison, N.Y. "Unfortunately, nature doesn't work the way we wish."

As a result, parents may be told their children have conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, depression or bipolar disorder — if they get a diagnosis at all.

Continue reading.

My son wasn't diagnosed until he was almost in kidergarten, and it's taken a long time to reach a functioning routine that allows both him to do well and a little peace for mom and dad. And one thing I learned the other night at the class is that there's a social stigma attached to these disorders. And honestly, I didn't take them all that serious myself until I had to deal with these issues as a parent. And it must be hell for parents who aren't getting good medical advice. More on that at the Times.

Paul McCartney Married Nancy Shevell on John Lennon's Birthday

2011-10-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm not that big of a Beatles fan, because I didn't realize that McCartney remarried on Lennon's birthday. I was listening to Larry Morgan at The Sound during yesterday's drive time and he was celebrating McCartney's wedding and mentioned Lennon's birthday.

Speaking of Lennon, there's a review of Tim Riley's, John Lennon: the Man, the Myth, the Music — The Definitive Life, at New York Times: "John Lennon’s Primal Screams."

The Smelly Hippies of Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-11T05:00:00.001-07:00

Via BCF:

How Dare You Lawrence O'Donnell!

2011-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

See Robert Stacy McCain, "‘Mr. Cain, Who Is Lawrence O’Donnell to Tell You How to Be a Black Man?’."

VIDEO CREDIT: Maroon in Marin, "Herman Cain Draws Big Lunchtime Crowd For Booksigning At Costco, Pentagon City, VA. Urges Palin Supporters To Check Out His Candidacy."

From Incendiary Insight: 'Capitalism — The Hated Enemy of the Children of the West'

2011-10-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

An amazing essay (via Instapundit):

At this moment, I'm sitting in my home and watching television. Typing this I'm using a Dell XPS laptop. Outside, I can see my swimming pool with moonlight reflecting off its shimmering surface. If you are reading this, you're also using a computer. The air conditioning turned on, and my refrigerator is running. Tomorrow, I'll shower, get in my car, and go to work. I'll head home around 5, exercise, and watch a movie with the family.

If I were living in any non-Western country, I would not have a laptop, a television, a refrigerator, air conditioning, or a car. If I did have any of those, they'd be in shockingly poor shape and probably break by year's end. I'd earn a paltry sum that could barely keep my family from starving. I'd not even have a 'social safety net' because so little of the country has wealth to give anyway.

Read it all...

Love Blooms After Wounded Soldier Returns from Afghanistan

2011-10-11T02:00:00.002-07:00

At WaPo, "Love for wounded soldier upon return from Afghanistan."

Rebecca Taber and the Army lieutenant kissed on the sidewalk outside her 16th Street apartment.

They had met through friends and had spent, at most, six hours together over the course of two evenings. In a few weeks, 1st Lt. Dan Berschinski was going to Afghanistan, where he would lead a platoon of 35 men. It was June 2009.

Rebecca, then 23, noticed the black memorial bracelet that he wore as a reminder that his soldiers’ lives would depend on his decisions. “It made me think that he was mature,” she recalled. The looming danger of his combat tour only added to the evening’s excitement. Rebecca felt as though she were playing a part in a movie.

She had graduated from Yale University one year earlier, where she had been student body president. She was slim and pretty with a high forehead and dark hair. People told her that she resembled actress Natalie Portman.

Like most of her friends, she knew no one her age in the military and gave only passing thought to the wars. Speaking to students at Duke University last year, former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates lamented that “for a growing number of Americans, service in the military, no matter how laudable, has become something for other people to do.” He could have been describing Rebecca.

After graduation, she landed a sought-after job working for McKinsey & Co., a management consulting powerhouse that each year hires a small number of the country’s best college students. She was one of those earnest Ivy League graduates who come to Washington convinced that it’s their destiny to do something of consequence.

Earlier that night, at a U Street bar, she had asked Dan if he was scared of combat. The 25-year-old lieutenant said his biggest worry was making a mistake that would cause one of his soldiers to be injured.

As they kissed on the sidewalk, Dan’s mind shifted to less consequential matters. He wanted to get upstairs to her apartment, but she kept putting him off. She had work the next morning, she said. Her Indian roommate’s conservative parents were staying in her spare bedroom. She barely knew him.

He reminded her that he was leaving for war in just two weeks and gave it one last shot.

“Don’t let me die a virgin,” he joked. She turned him away.

What a guy.

Keep reading. An amazing story.

Governor Jerry Brown Signs Law Banning Open Carry of Handguns

2011-10-11T02:00:00.001-07:00

Paradoxically, the law could lead to more folks carrying concealed and loaded weapons.

At LAT:

Sam Paredes, executive director of the advocacy group Gun Owners of California, said the ban could lead, paradoxically, to more carrying of handguns. Courts, he reasoned, could now force the state's police to distribute more concealed-weapon permits to allow citizens to exercise their rights.

"This situation will be a catalyst to unite all of the gun community in lawsuits,'' Paredes said. "The probable outcome is you will have far more people carrying concealed loaded guns as opposed to openly carrying unloaded guns.''

Occupy Protests Gain Support of Democrats

2011-10-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed at how the country's descended into some kind of mass stupification.

At New York Times, "Protests Offer Help, and Risk, for Democrats":

WASHINGTON — Leading Democratic figures, including party fund-raisers and a top ally of President Obama, are embracing the spread of the anti-Wall Street protests in a clear sign that members of the Democratic establishment see the movement as a way to align disenchanted Americans with their party.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party’s powerful House fund-raising arm, is circulating a petition seeking 100,000 party supporters to declare that “I stand with the Occupy Wall Street protests.”

The Center for American Progress, a liberal organization run by John D. Podesta, who helped lead Mr. Obama’s 2008 transition, credits the protests with tapping into pent-up anger over a political system that it says rewards the rich over the working class — a populist theme now being emphasized by the White House and the party. The center has encouraged and sought to help coordinate protests in different cities.

Judd Legum, a spokesman for the center, said that its direct contacts with the protests have been limited, but that “we’ve definitely been publicizing it and supporting it.”

Right.

Soros is funding the damned protests, but the Times is a leftist mouthpiece, so they're busy whitewashing the progressive astroturfing.

And see ABC News, "Democrats Seek to Own 'Occupy Wall Street' Movement."

Plus, Allahpundit as well, "Bloomberg to Occupy Wall Street protesters: Feel free to stay forever."

'The United States may face the biggest economic crisis since the 1930s — but 'isolated Obama knocks off by 4pm'

2011-10-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

At London's Daily Mail, "Obama finishes work at 4pm... but he could be saying bye for good as only 41% want him to have a second term."

That piece draws on Michael Goodman, "Aimless Obama walks alone." And some reactions at Memeorandum.

Paul Krugman: Hypocrite, Clown

2011-10-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

At Michelle's, "Snortalicious: Former Enron adviser Paul Krugman joins progs’ war on “plutocrats”."

Columbus Day Rule 5

2011-10-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

At The Other McCain, "Rule 5 Monday: Global Exploitation Edition."

And at Maggie's Farm, "'Ho-hum. Another day, another continent.' - Christopher Columbus", and "Monday morning links."

The usual suspects beclown themselves, at WaPo, "Columbus Day, reconsidered."

Bedtime Totty via Theo Spark.

Rick Perry at Just 4 Percent in New Harvard/Saint Anselm Poll

2011-10-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

The most startling thing is how drastically Rick Perry has faded from the top-tier. No wonder's he's out with these heavy hitting ads against Mitt Romney:

It's a good line of attack, as I noted this morning here.

But see: "NEW POLL FROM INSTITUTES OF POLITICS AT HARVARD, SAINT ANSELM FINDS ROMNEY LEADING NH PRIMARY FIELD BY 18 POINTS" (via Memeorandum).

And also Lynn Sweet, "Romney 18 point NH lead: Harvard, St. Anselm Institutes of Politics poll."

Mitt Romney .................................................................. 38%
Herman Cain ................................................................. 20%
Ron Paul ....................................................................... 13%
Newt Gingrich................................................................ 5%
Jon Huntsman ............................................................... 4%
Rick Perry...................................................................... 4%
Michelle Bachmann ....................................................... 3%
Gary Johnson................................................................ 1
Rick Santorum............................................................... 1%
Don't know .................................................................... 11%

Michele Bachmann started fading after getting into hot water with her comments on HPV vaccines. She's betting on a big win in Iowa to carry her trough. Maybe a win in the Hawkeye State (or a place in the top three) will help her with these drastic numbers in New Hampshire. Beyond that, keep an eye on Herman Cain. I'm pleased to see him doing well in the polls, and it's a national trend in the surveys.

RELATED: From The Other McCain, "'Mr. Cain, Who Is Lawrence O'Donnell to Tell You How to Be a Black Man?'"

Manhunt International 2011 Official Results

2011-10-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Manhunt International 2011 was crowned Monday night, October 10, 2011, in Seoul, South Korea and he is Mister China Chen JianFeng beating 47 other contestants.

From L-R: Slovak Republic (4th RU), Belgium (2nd RU), China (Manhunt International 2011), Dominican Republic (1st RU), Vietnam (3rd RU)

Check out official results:

MANHUNT INTERNATIONAL 2011 - China, Chen Jian Feng

1st Runner Up - Dominican Republic, Nelson Omar Sterling

2nd Runner Up - Belgium, Gianni Sennesael

3rd Runner Up - Vietnam, Truong Nam Thanh

4th Runner Up - Slovak Republic, Martin Smahel

TOP 15 SEMI-FINALISTS:
6th South Africa, Ryno Swanepoel
7th Australia, Joseph Davidson
8th Korea, Lee Yong Bum
9th Philippines, Ron Marvin Miranda
10th Malaysia, Hazwan Hairudin
11th Ireland, Barry Holmes
12th Indonesia, Yohanica Januar
13th Mongolia, Amgalanbaatar Odonggavaa
14th England, Roland Johnson
15th Hawaii – USA, Rhonee Rojas

SPECIAL AWARDEES:
Mr. Internet Popularity - Vietnam, Truong Nam Thanh
Best National Costume - Indonesia, Yohan Januar
Best Runway Model - Hong Kong, Wu TianChao
Mr. Talent - Korea, Yongbum Lee
Mr. Photogenic - Costa Rica, Alvaro Peraza Artavia
Mr. Physique - Bulgaria, Bogomil Brezin
Mr. Friendship - Australia, Joseph Davidson
Mr. Personality - Hawaii – USA, Rhonee Rojas

Photos courtesy Manhunt International

Chen JianFeng from China is Manhunt International 2011 winner

2011-10-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Mister China Chen JianFeng has won the Manhunt International 2011 title during the pageant finale held Monday, October 10, 2011, in Seoul, South Korea.

JianFeng is 26 years old and stands 6'2".

Chen JianFeng becomes the 2nd from China to win the Manhunt International title (first was in 2007, Jeffrey Zheng Yu Guang) and so far, in the pageant's 15 editions, China is the only country to have won the title twice.

China is also one of two countries (the other one is India) having the most semi-finalists ever in the pageant (a total of 10).

Photos courtesy of Manhunt International

Barbara O'Brien is the Mob!

2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this hilarious post from numbskull progressive Barbara O'Brien at Mahablog: "Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right …" Barbara is practically hysterical in attempting to distance her own ideological commitments from the freak show communists at International ANSWER. But of course, while ANSWER is no doubt a full-time (leaching) faux-vanguard organization, the revolutionary change they spout is simply mainstream on the progressive left. Barbara can't separate her shit from the left's genocidal anti-Israel agitation, because it's all over the occupy movement. And of course this woman at the clip below, identified as a planner on the ground in New York from day one, represents the Democrat-Socialist, SEIU-ACORN-Working Families Party radical nexus. She's calling for the destruction of capitalism through revolutionary change. That's the exact same change ANSWER calls for, and that's the exact mob-style change that forms the left's historical ideology, as Ann Coulter points out in her new book, Demonic. Most of the occupiers have been too stupid to articulate their revolutionary agenda, and the media's been equally stupid in attempting to compare them to the tea parties. Coulter responds to the comparisons, saying "This Is What a Mob Looks Like":

I am not the first to note the vast differences between the Wall Street protesters and the tea partiers. To name three: The tea partiers have jobs, showers and a point.

No one knows what the Wall Street protesters want — as is typical of mobs. They say they want Obama re-elected, but claim to hate “Wall Street.” You know, the same Wall Street that gave its largest campaign donation in history to Obama, who, in turn, bailed out the banks and made Goldman Sachs the fourth branch of government.

This would be like opposing fattening, processed foods, but cheering Michael Moore — which the protesters also did this week.

But to me, the most striking difference between the tea partiers and the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd — besides the smell of patchouli — is how liberal protesters must claim their every gathering is historic and heroic.

They chant: “The world is watching!” “This is how democracy looks!” “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!”

At the risk of acknowledging that I am, in fact, “watching,” this is most definitely not how democracy looks...

Back at Barbara O'Brien's post, she calls wistfully for some popular groundswell to pick up the sleazebaggers protesting around the country, to give the occupy movement some non-communist legitimacy: "Big nationwide marches filled with middle-class, working people could actually get the attention of politicians in Washington."

Well, yeah. Like the tea parties. Or as Ann Coulter writes:

The Tea Party name is meant in fun, inspired by an amusing rant from CNBC’s Rick Santelli in February 2009, when he called for another Tea Party in response to Obama’s plan to bail-out irresponsible mortgagers.

The tea partiers didn’t arrogantly claim to be drafting a new Declaration of Independence. They’re perfectly happy with the original.

Tea partiers didn’t block traffic, sleep on sidewalks, wear ski masks, fight with the police or urinate in public. They read the Constitution, made serious policy arguments, and petitioned the government against Obama’s unconstitutional big government policies, especially the stimulus bill and Obamacare.

Then they picked up their own trash and quietly went home. Apparently, a lot of them had to be at work in the morning.

In the two years following the movement’s inception, the Tea Party played a major role in turning Teddy Kennedy’s seat over to a Republican, making the sainted Chris Christie governor of New Jersey, and winning a gargantuan, historic Republican landslide in the 2010 elections. They are probably going to succeed in throwing out a president in next year’s election.

That’s what democracy looks like.

Exactly.

Get a clue, Barbara.

'Blackthorn'

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

I saw "Blackthorn" on Saturday night, at the Regency Theater across from South Coast Plaza, which is now a little art house venue. I just felt like seeing a flick and picked "Blackthorn" while skimming through the listings. I love westerns, and this one's unusual:

It’s been said (but unsubstantiated) that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a standoff with the Bolivian military in 1908. In BLACKTHORN, Cassidy (Sam Shepard) survived, and is quietly living out his years under the name James Blackthorn in a secluded Bolivian village. Tired of his long exile from the US and hoping to see his family again before he dies, Cassidy sets out on the long journey home. But when an unexpected encounter with an ambitious young criminal (Eduardo Noriega) derails his plans, he is thrust into one last adventure, the likes of which he hasn’t experienced since his glory days with the Sundance Kid.

There's a review at Los Angeles Times, and while the film drags on in parts, this pretty much nails it:

... there is that allure of the Old West that is hard to resist, and there's plenty of grist in the story worth milling and mulling. If nothing else, the film reminds just how arresting an actor Shepard can be. Like Blackthorn, he's only gotten better with age.

Sam Shepard is the perfect actor for the aging outlaw role, and he brings a lot of warmth and humanity to it. An enjoyable film. See also: "Indie Focus: Sam Shepard plays with the Butch Cassidy myth."

Chris Muir's 'Day by Day' Slams Erick Erickson as 'Not Very Classy'

2011-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, you gotta love this 'Day by Day' panel:

PREVIOUSLY: "David Frum Joining Asshat Erick Erickson as Political Analyst on CNN," and "Erick Erickson: Dude Picks Fight With Sarah Palin Supporters, Loses Badly."

Robert Stacy McCain's Herman Cain blogging is here.

Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan

2011-10-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

I showed Herman Cain's "Water" video to my classes last week. After my 9:00am class, a student stayed after to ask me about the scene from Little Rock, Arkansas, where black student Elizabeth Eckford was violently heckled as she tried to integrate at the school. And now, wouldn't you know it, but Telegraph UK has an update on the story, on the reconciliation between Eckford and the woman most infamously remembered from the photograph, Hazel Bryan.

See: "Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan: the story behind the photograph that shamed America."

I think I'll show this article to my students this week.

The #OccupyWallStreet Photos You Won't See in the Mainstream Press

2011-10-10T02:00:00.002-07:00

At Doug Ross, "15 Photos from #OccupyWallStreet you'll never see in legacy media."

El Caminito Del Rey

2011-10-10T02:00:00.001-07:00

There's no way I'd do it!

At Daily Mail, "Are you sure this is the right way? Thrillseekers risk their lives ... taking a walk along 'world's most-dangerous path'."