Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut — who staved off a well-connected, Democratic multi-millionaire’s attempt to buy the office last fall — gave Manu Raju of The Hill a nice interview.
Let’s see:
Chief Justice John Roberts takes a bad fall.
Liberal blogger crosses fingers and hopes he dies.
The Lord can work in mysterious ways.
Sometimes not.
Americablog is claiming a victory in the boycott of Fox News: Home Depot vowed in an e-mail: “we will not and have not advertised on the Bill O’Reilly show.”
That’s a lefty victory: Getting someone who has never advertised on a show to vow to stop advertising on that show. It is sort of like bragging that the Pittsburgh Pirates have not lost a football game in 50 years.
I’ll admit it. There were so many broken promises by the speaker that I stopped counting. House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio pointed out the latest flip-flop: Updating the 29-year-old foreign intelligence surveillance act.
The Hill today bemoaned: “Alt-fuel vehicle center could lose out in earmark battle.” The story included:
This week’s edition of Ask Dr. Helen tackles the question: “Is everyone motivated by some sort of self-interest when they engage in an altruistic act?”
Alaska’s three Republicans in Congress are an embarrassment. They should be impeached, er, expelled.
Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina admitted that he is worried that the Surge may work in Iraq and ruin Democratic Party plans to impose a timetable for a surrender. Clyburn is the Majority Whip — No. 3 man in the House — and he said that if Gen. Petraeus has a positive report in September that would be “a real big problem for us” (Democrats).
Summertime and the pork-barrelings easy …
I see where Democratic Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia earmarked $2 million in federal funds to put a canopy on Haddad Riverfront Park. It is a few rows of seats on the sun-baked north riverbank of the Kanawha River in Charleston. It cost $8 million to build a dozen years ago. Byrd secured $3.8 million of that.
So how much did her little stay in jail cost Paris Hilton? $60 million. Australia’s news.com.au reported that grandpappy Barron Hilton, very much alive at 79, has cut off her inheritance.
Perhaps I’ve come down with NYT-DS. But My Miami Beach bureau chief pointed out that the New York Times on Saturday called for the Democratic Congress to drop its 300 investigations into the Bush administration and get on with the business of legislating.
The Washington Post reported: “German Hard-Coal Production to Cease by 2018.” But environmental concerns are not killing coal in the Ruhr Valley. Subsidies are. Once again, they’re from the government and they’re here to help.
“Vanity Fair” is doing another hit piece on a Republican, reported Richard Johnson of the New York Post. Am I alone in noticing that in this gilded age that the rich and elites (and wannabes) who read VF are mainly Democrats?
Last Sunday, I noted that the NYT/CBS poll showed the public rallying a little behind the war. On the question of whether going into Iraq was right 42% said yes, 51% said no.
Bush Derangement Syndrome finally got to the editorial board of the New York Times. That is the only explanation for today’s lead editorial, “Mr. Gonzales’s Never-Ending Story,” a seething piece of factually challenged illogic that shows not only does power corrupt, but apparently it causes brain damage.
EBTEHIGBF = Everything Bad That Ever Happened Is George Bush’s Fault. Today’s example is from Say Anything: “Brits Wouldn’t Hand Over Intelligence On Bin Laden In 1998, Guardian Blames Bush.”
Cue the “Twilight Zone” theme song. Hat tip: A comment.
Baldilocks rocks: ”A new kind of Chickenhawk.”
Ending farm subsidies will help win the Global War on Terrorism. Let me explain.
The guardians of civil liberties on the left are calling for a boycott of Fox News, AP reported. They are going after the advertisers. Said AP:
I don’t know if the Surge is working or not. I am not in Iraq. But Thomas Frank of USA Today reported that U.S. casualties are at their lowest number in the past year.
The Sachem of Snark — Ferdy the Conservative Cat — has defended the contention by Democrat John Edwards of North Carolina that all the fuss about his campaign-paid $400 $1,250 haircuts is meant to silence him. Ferdy pointed out how way different Edwards is from anyone else running for president. Ever.
Here is a video of the super-serious ex-senator.
No, that’s his other station. He topped those proposed call letters. Jerk.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Lindsay Lohan led the battle against al-Qaeda forces in Iraq, then Lindsay organized a trip to the Grand Canyon for poor kids, then Lindsay jumped in a river to save an old woman who had fallen in, then Lindsay saved a mother and 3 kids from a fire, and then she rescued a kid from the bottom of a pool. Knows CPR, too.
Oh wait a second. I got that wrong. She became the first Hollywood star to be busted for DUI — since the last one was busted.
And now, the rest of the week that was:
Hillary Clinton is clutching her pearls over a fashion column in the Washington Post that dared use the word — may we say it in a newspaper blog? — cleavage.
The RNC seems to think so. New data from the RNC shows Bush’s job approval holding steady while the approval for the Democratic Congress drops like a stone.
The police department in Bastrop, La., population 12,998, has 23 people, including the secretaries. If Republican Congressman Rodney Alexander has his way, the Bastrop PD will have enough money to buy 2,000 bulletproof vests, the Bastrop Daily Enterprise reported.
I always suspected this. From Republican Congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia:
Multi-millionaire trial lawyer John Edwards wants to raise taxes, the Wall Street Journal reported:
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont issued a subpoena to compel Karl Rove to appear before Leahy’s Star Chamber, the Hill reported.
Monday night’s CNN/YouTube debate among the Democrats was decidedly unpresidential. It was a ratings gimmick, meant to amuse more than inform.
The tax-exempt Environmental Integrity Project in Washington, D.C., issued its annual list of the 50 dirtiest power plants in America. This is illustrated by a photo showing steam — water vapor — escaping from a cooling tower. Sigh.
Tired of fantasy role-playing games involving swords and wizards? Take heart. There is a new one that features mops and brooms: Chore Wars!
From the site:
Republican Congressman David Davis went to Iraq and reported back to Congress. His message was clear and heartening:
Lawhawk at A Blog For All tries to keep track of all the political corruption in NYC. But according to press accounts, none of these crooks has a political party … with one exception. We identify people accused of crimes by their middle names (John Wayne Gacy) to avoid confusion with similarly named individuals. We should also identify the political party of a public figure.
My weekly column in the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail is up. I suggest Congress change its name — to Sara Lee — among other things. Hey, nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller has proposed a new government giveaway — to government employees. Rockefeller is pushing for “amnesty” for student loans for government workers, reported Mannix Porterfield, perhaps the best reporter in the state.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd’s blast of Michael Vick over charges of dog-fighting drew the mockery of Jimmy Kimmel in this video earlier this week.
Now Byrd’s words have come to bite him back in this letter to the editor in the Stateman-Journal in Salem, Oregon.
A DNC apologist last night accused Bill O’Reilly of cherry-picking foul-language comments and hateful comments left at the Daily Kos web site. The DNC guy may have had a better case if Kos himself could make a point without resorting to profanity.
Republican Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas:
Mr. Speaker, traveling to Iraq this past weekend to see firsthand how the surge is working, I really expected the worst. Instead I am very encouraged. Communities all across Iraq are turning against al Qaeda and working with Iraqi and coalition forces to take back their cities. Half of Baghdad is no longer safe for insurgents. Al Qaeda is not down and out but clearly back on its heels rejected by the very communities and religious leaders its claims to fight for. Make no mistake, there are still serious challenges, including high profile bombings, the need for Iraq ’s government to resolve key issues now, and Iran ’s continued support for terrorism. I’m convinced the new strategy is working and we have impressive leaders and impressive troops in place to see even more progress. Mr. Speaker, while congress has the right to debate this war, it has the responsibility to help win it as well. That means letting this new strategy work to the end of the year or the beginning of the next if we are truly serious about a stable Iraq and safer America.
Click for The Video.
Is that flop sweat I see on Hillary? On Edwards? On Kerry?
Hat tip: My Washington bureau.
UPDATE: Instapundit linked. Thanks!
UPDATE 2: Republican Congressman David Davis of Tennessee testifies.
So easy, even a caveman can play.
The editorial board of the Washington Post is disgusted with the farm subsidies for the dead, farm subsidies for millionaires, and farm subsidies for dead millionaires. Today’s editorial, “Will the Democrats keep wasting money on farm subsidies?” is a praise-worthy performance of the press’s duty to point out the purloining of the public purse.
AP reported that “angry senators” want a special prosecutor to persecute the attorney general. Enough of these Spanish inquisitions. President Bush should tell Congress no — and in no uncertain terms.
Ben Smith of Politico has the latest target of wrath from the left — tangerines. The wife of John Edwards said that eating foods from far away leads to global warming because of the “carbon footprint” left by transporting the food.
I noticed that the Senate adopted a ban on colleges using tax money to lobby Congress for even more money. I thought this already was the law. I thought wrong. From the office of Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma comes this word:
A few days late and a few dollars short, the New York Times finally reported today: “Spitzer Aides Cited for Use of Police to Tarnish Bruno.”
Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s political affiliation is disclosed in the 7th paragraph. Maybe that’s how newspapers should handle the political affiliation of fallen Democrats: Gov. Spitzer, 7th paragraph-N.Y.
Hat tip: Instapundit with a salute to my new Michigan Bureau Chief.
Linked by Instapundit. Thanks!
James Taranto has a nice take on it.
Via lefty blogger Oliver Willis: Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is working to ban the already banned dogfighting. The press release:
Lindsay Lohan has a problem. How’d that Julie Brown song go again? Was it “everybody run, the homecoming queen has got a gun” or “everybody flee, the Lindsay Lohan has an S-U-V”?
As a proud member of the Dead Tree Media, I feel compelled to point out the missteps in my trade, always bearing in mind that writing opinion is easy; reporting is difficult. Peggy Noonan overlooked that when she reviewed for the Wall Street Journal the memoir by Bob Novak, “The Prince of Darkness.”
Small Dead Animals has a scary but ultimately humorous post about a gunman in Canada.
Grouchy Old Cripple reported that AP still does not know what party former Newark Mayor Sharpe James belongs to. His party was not identified in the 435-word AP dispatch on James pleading not guilty to federal corruption charges. Did get his age in there.
So is he A. a Democrat or B. a Democrat?
A YouTube debate? What were the Democratic presidential candidates thinking last night? I can see where the ratings-starved CNN would host such a gimmick, but why would anyone who wants to be considered a serious person submit to questions from a snowman?
The Travelodge hotel chain is kicking “adult films” — porn — off its in-room televisions, CEO Guy Parsons announced (ironically to the London Sun which features topless women on its Page 3).
I am not in Iraq. I have no idea if the Surge is working overseas. But back home, the Surge seems to be working. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows a small surge in American public support of the war.
Glenn Reynolds and Dr. Helen interviewed Michael Yon from Iraq. The world is getting smaller. He reported the people have turned on al-Qaeda and it is making the Surge easier. The whole podcast is here. For all the bull that goes on in the blogosphere, there are still plenty of moments where the amateur journalists outstrip the pros. This is one of them.
Chris Muir (recently returned from Iraq) mocked this in today’s cartoon.
UPDATE: Rush Limbaugh had some upbeat thoughts on the Surge. I do not get to listen to him because of work, but he remains the voice of conservatism.
This was the headline at a global-warming panic site: “Black Bears Bulldozed in West Virginia.”
This was the headline in the Daily Mail today: “Bears making pests of themselves as they forage close to homes.”
How do you lower the military’s standards, undercut effectiveness and raise its costs? Why just restore the draft, the Congressional Budget Office found.
Rasmussen reported that the public not only sees MSNBC and CNBC as having a pro-liberal bias, but the Associated Press as well. Small wonder my Name That Party game is so popular.
Over the weekend, I had a little fun with the federal farm subsidy program, which pays billions to millionaire farmers. If “Green Acres” were a documentary instead of a 1960s sitcom, Oliver Wendell Douglas would be rolling in money. Alas, the actor who played him — Eddie Albert — died at 99 in 2005, taking with him the character.
But not the farm subsidies. If he were real and he died, Mr. Douglas would continue receiving taxpayer money.
Doug Ross has a graphic that illustrates just what the New York Times did to Harry Potter. At least the article had its facts straight this time, but Harry is fictitious — so the story kept up the NYT tradition of “fake but accurate.” Enjoy the Photo Shop.
BBC News reported the United Nations finally is investigating reports of abuse by U.N. “peacekeepers” in the Ivory Coast.
Or something like that. Hot Air has: “Video: Glenn Reynolds and Ana Marie Cox on the CNN YouTube debate.”
“It’s hard to say it’s not a gimmick … I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard about this debate today on CNN, but it’s been quite a few,” Cox said.
Noel Sheppard at News Busters has a transcript.
I pulled this post down, but after Scott Thomas was found to be “real” — a real big fat lefty liar — a few little minds asked why I pulled it.
Good question. I have nothing to hide. The original reposted:
Look who is upset with war atrocities
The New Republic has published some stuff by a “Scott Thomas,” who may or may not be an American soldier in Iraq. Then again, Jessie McBeth was a fraud (he was cut from the military during basic training, not an Iraqi War veteran).
Ray Robison at the American Thinker has his take on it.
Michael Goldfarb at the Weekly Standard, who busted the story wide open, has a take on it.
Howard Kurtz has a take on it and tossed in this grenade:
One commenter at the Ace of Spades blog wrote: “I have been awarded the Army Tracked Driver’s Badge for driving a Bradley . . . There is no way this story is true. A Bradley cannot routinely bust through concrete . . . It is loud and cannot pivot as quickly and easily as a M113 or M2a1 because of the steering system.”
Lucianne Goldberg asked: “Has The New Republic been Glassed again?”
But as we know, there really are atrocities being committed in this war. But by the enemy. Al-Qaeda is so vicious and inhumane that its soldiers are turning coats and ratting them out, the Times of London reported from Doura:
“They are turning. We are talking to people who we believe have worked for al-Qaeda in Iraq and want to reconcile and have peace,” said Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which oversees the area.
[DOT. DOT. DOT.]
“It is only after al-Qaeda has become truly barbaric and done things like, to teach lessons to people, cut their face off with piano wire in front of their family and then murdered everybody except one child who told the tale afterwards . . . that people realise how much of a mess they are in,” Lieutenant James Danly, 31, who works on military intelligence in Doura, said.
It is impossible to corroborate the claims, but he said that scores of junior al-Qaeda in Iraq members there had become informants since May, including one low-level cell leader who gave vital information after his arrest.
“He gave us dates, places and names and who did what,” Lieutenant Danly said. When asked why he was being so forthcoming, the man said: “Because I am sick of it and I hate them, and I am done.”
Now some of this may be overblown by people trying to rationalize their switch in allegiances by overstating and making crap up, like “Scott Thomas” may have done.
But we also have plenty of evidence of Iraqi torture over the years and al-Qaeda doesn’t bother with setting up a Gitmo of its own.
It simply beheads its captives.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wants to hold Harriet Miers for contempt of Congress, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Dr. Sanity hosts: “Carnival of the Insanities.”
British military leaders had a brilliant idea. Instead of fighting in Afghanistan (aka, the Graveyard of Great Armies), the Ministry of Defence decided to buyoff the other side. Hey if Saddam Hussein can buy off George Galloway, why not buy off the Taliban?
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