TUCKER CARLSON: It's gonna be such a great election; it has been so far.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Especially when you have the media loving one candidate as much as they love Barack Obama.
CARLSON: But it's more than love. I mean, it's the kind of love that anybody who's been a 9th-grade boy understands this species of love. Do you know what I mean?
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Wow.
SCARBOROUGH: No, it's the truth. It's all-consuming.
CARLSON: It's red-in-the-face, I-think-about-you-when-I-go-to-bed, too embarrassed to stand up, it's sealed-with-a-kiss love. I mean, it's real, it's palpable.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman says the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested in the northern city of Mosul.
Spokesman Mohammed al-Askari says the arrest of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province.
There was no immediate confirmation from U.S. forces on the arrest.
This would indeed be good news if it's true, we'll have to wait and see.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the state of Israel is a "stinking corpse" that is destined to disappear, the French news agency AFP reported.
"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as having said.
"Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."
Ahmadinejad further stated that Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese" - referring to the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Photo: AP
The rat speaks again. Of course this will be spun so many times that it will sound like he's just talking about what 'might' happen in some distant future and not what he plans. I'd be more interested in seeing the text before the AP got their hands on it to see what it really says. There are those that still believe Mahmoud isn't out to destroy Israel; some of those actually help him and some are just willfully ignorant.
The Associated Press’s business writers just won’t let go of their claim (or is it audacious hope?) that we are in a recession — not heading towards one, but actually in one.
Despite yet another decent economic report, this one on productivity, the AP’s Martin Crutsinger downplayed a significant beating of expectations, and continued to invoke the R-word (bolds are mine):
Click through to read the rest. At least if Obamessiah wins the Presidency we'll start to get good news from the MSM on the economy (regardless of the actual numbers). Just look at today compared to '96 heh
A man is at work one day when he notices that his co-worker is wearing an earring. The man knows his co-worker to be a normally conservative fellow, and is curious about his sudden change in 'fashion sense' The man walks up to him and says, 'I didn't know you were into earrings.' 'Don't make such a big deal, it's only an earring,' he replies sheepishly. His friend falls silent for a few minutes, but then his curiosity prods him to ask, 'So, how long have you been wearing one?' 'Ever since my wife found it in my truck.' (I always wondered how this trend got started) *I do have an earring (2 in left ear) but that isn't how mine started :)
A favorite of James Taranto is his section called 'wannabe pundits' where he quotes part of an article and asks you to guess what it is about.
Philadelphia: Rev. Jeremiah Wright was born in Philadelphia. Even if, like me, you think many of Wright's remarks are being lifted out of context for political purposes, now would be an excellent time for him to meditate in a remote monastery in Nepal for the remainder of the year. Example of context: attack ads show Wright saying only "God damn America." Deleted is the full quote, "God damn America for treating its citizens as less than human." The full quote isn't extremism, just an overblown choice of words. Steven Waldman, author of the must-read new book "Founding Faith," about the religious values of the Framers, recently noted, "Many of the Framers believed God would either bless or condemn the new nation based on its moral behavior, and so would have found perfectly fitting a warning that God would damn the country for wickedness."*
(*the 'context' of the quote by Rev. Wright is his sermon, not just his sentence. So in bitching about context and 'lack of it', the writer does the same thing he complains about)
A Southern wife came home just in time to find her husband in bed with another woman.
With super-human strength, borne of fury, and cutting firewood power, she dragged him down the stairs, out the back door, and into the tool shed out back of the barn.
She put his tally-whacker in a vice and then secured it tightly and removed the handle. Next she picked up an old carpenter's saw.
The banged up cheater was terrified, and hollered, "Stop! Stop! You're not gonna cut it off with that rusty saw, are you?"
The wife, with a gleam of revenge in her eye, put the saw in her husband's hand and said......
"Nope. I'm gonna set this old shed on fire, and go to town for a cold beer. You do whatever you want."
Right before getting his soon to be jumped up Ayatollah assets surged out of the hood, Mookie spoke glowingly about the support - spiritual and tactical - that the most proficient killers and serial tormentors of Americans til 911 time had provided Mahdi Army.
Nothing but love between intolerant, illegetimate militias that are frightened of free choice, girls unbound or future militaries like those only found in democracies arsenals. It's only natural - natch.
"We have formal links with Hiz'B'Allah, we do exchange ideas and discuss the situation facing Shiites in both countries. It is natural that we would want to improve ourselves by learning from each other.
We copy Hiz'B'Allah - the way they fight and their tactics, we teach each other and we are getting better through this.
We go and discuss what Israel's future plans are in the Middle East because we are part of whatever will happen."
These buddied up brain storming sessions are part of an overall strategy - aided, abetted, funded, guided, fed and bled by Preacher Command in Tehran along with their foreign act out meddlers in the Revo Guard.
"The rockets fired from Gaza and from Sadr City are two prongs of an offensive aimed at forcing the United States out of Iraq, putting Israel on the defensive -- and leaving Iran as the region's pre eminent power.
The third front, in Lebanon, is also the model. The fourth front is in Afghanistan, where Taliban militiamen near the Iranian border now come armed with Iranian-made weapons."
"The Iraqi government is negotiating with both Sadr and Iran; Israel is talking to Hamas through Egypt.
Both militias say they would be happy to observe a cease-fire in exchange for political concessions. (GsGf - Mookie says being weaponry free would never work. They are de riger to seize control of Iraq and impose a - your choice - emirate, caliphate, mohammedist society or theocracy).
But neither will agree to disarm.
This is again the model of Hezbollah, which participates in the Lebanese parliament but refuses to give up its weapons, giving it the ability to wage war at any time of its -- or Tehran's -- choosing.
Strategic smokescreens code named 'Grand Bargain" with Iranian revolutionary exporters in Persia is even less likely to succeed.
"A grimmer possibility: that Iran believes that its offensive is succeeding and that its goals are within reach, and that it has no intention of stopping. As long as neither Israeli nor U.S. commanders can find a way to win the war of the rockets, that's likely to be the case. "
“We have multiple detainees who state Lebanese Hizbollah are providing training to Iraqis in Iranian IRGC-QF training camps near Tehran. We have captured other Iraqis who have discussed their training in Iran and who state many of their instructors were Lebanese Hiz'B'Allah.”
This is significant. The inventers of Chess could be facing upstarts that invented Strip Poker.
“This is a case where the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we’re not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do.
Then the ball would be in Iran’s court to draw the appropriate lesson to stop harming our troops.”
In such a happy event, few tears would be shed for the annihilation of HBA on TDY, AL Qods cadre or Mahdi Army weapon depots.
If Iraqi stability is all the rave - then progenitors of destability may need to get sent to the grave.
HBA's Al Manar TV (courtesy of Faux News) sheds really cool light on a revenge heavy hanky panky plot by Great Satan
"was unprecedented in its scope. From Lebanon to Afghanistan--but is also far more sweeping in the type of actions."
About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow bride of Christ because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.
Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow sisters at Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.
The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.
"One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, 'I don't want to go do that,'" Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.
They weren't given provisional ballots because it would be impossible to get them to a motor vehicle branch and back in the 10-day time frame allotted by the law, Sister McGuire said. "You have to remember that some of these ladies don't walk well. They're in wheelchairs or on walkers or electric carts." (emp added - LN)
Notice the highlighted passages there? Old nuns not being able to vote because of voter ID laws; one simply didn't want to get an ID and the rest can't get one in the 10-day allotted time. Yet each and every one of them could get to the polling station KNOWING they couldn't vote.
One newly married woman said she was told she couldn't vote because her driver's license name didn't match the one on her voter registration record, said Myrna Perez of the Brennan Center Justice at New York University's law school, coordinator of the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hot line. Another woman said she was turned away from casting her first-ever ballot because she had only a college-issued ID card and an out-of-state driver's license, Perez said.
"These laws are confusing. People don't know how they're supposed to be applied," she said. (emp added - LN)
The first case happens already in Alabama, people actually seem to already KNOW that the names have to match and accordingly get the name change done on the voter record, so maybe she just didn't know about it (yet). The second case applies to the 'confusing' aspect of the law, as in people not knowing or caring what the law says, and then complaining when they fail to abide by it. How come in judicial matters, ignorance of the law isn't a defense, but in voting (democratic) it is?
The Republican-led effort was designed to combat ballot fraud, said supporters, who also have acknowledged that no case involving someone impersonating a voter at the polls has ever been prosecuted in Indiana. (emp added - LN)
Notice that the evil Republicans have to be mentioned (heh). Also, it seems that without a voter ID law, it would be damn hard to actually prosecute someone for illegal voting on a secret ballot. But of course we only pass laws that stop past crimes right?
That thought was echoed in South Bend, where Elizabeth Bridges, 63, said half of the people working in her voting precinct were family members, but still she showed her ID.
"I think the law is a good thing because a lot of people are crooked," she said.
John Parker III, agreed.
"I think it's a good thing because I don't want anyone coming in and voting for me," he said. "Someone could come in here and just use my name."
Makes you wonder who wrote the last part. Of course when news is picked up, it is usually truncated for size and effectiveness, so this little bit will probably get axed. Breitbart(AP story)
What is it Insty says... world ends, women, old people hardest hit (no mention of minorities actually being hampered.
Obama Strikes Back With Negative Ad New York Times By Ariel Alexovich As the campaigning for Indiana and North Carolina voters comes to a close, the Democratic presidential candidates are letting loose on one another over the TV airwaves.
I thought Obama was a 'new' kind of politician (/snark). There's basically no way the DNC is going to let this man lose, it would kill the party. It will be bad enough for them when he wins, because Hillary will probably have a majority vote (All Votes Count! TM) when it is over. This is almost guaranteed to split the Democratic party (how bad, no one knows; they could all pull together in time for McCain in November), yet a Hillary win would tear the party much worse (affluent whites, blacks hardest hit).
'DC Madam' apologized to mom, sister in suicide notes The Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The woman known as the "DC Madam" apologized to her mother and sister in suicide notes, saying she couldn't bear going to prison and saw killing herself as the only "exit strategy.
She vowed to never again go to prison, and she kept her word (although she also once said she couldn't imagine taking her own life). Hopefully the apology will help to close the chapter for the family and they will be able to take some solace in it.
Image by Banamine via FlickrThe 134thKentucky Derby produced another undefeated winner, but the big story of the day was 2nd place:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Thoroughbred racing at its best. Thoroughbred racing at its worst. In a jarring matter of moments, the Kentucky Derby gave us both. It gave us an overpowering tour de force from Big Brown, stomping the competition despite inexperience and unfavorable post position. And it gave us a fatal injury after the race, when filly Eight Belles followed a sensational effort of her own to finish second by fracturing both ankles, falling to the track and being euthanized on the spot. Brilliance and brittleness. Triumph and tragedy. A superstar performance and a ghastly postscript. It was an evening of violent mood swings at Churchill Downs.
ESPN It's reminiscint of Babaro after he got injured (Preakness instead of KD) but instead of months of rehab with a sad ending, this ending happened on the same day.
I love horses, grew up riding them and hate to see this happen, but with 2 fractured ankles, the prognosis would never have been good; slim to none hit none in a hurry for the filly. RIP
Image from FlickrSoccer game today was 7-1 in lil bit's favor :) She scored another goal but I didn't get video (was using the cell phone and ran out of room); she knocked it off the defender into the goal.
I slept when we got home (midnights) and came out to find this: I'm very proud! (gotta goto work now)
We had a double header last night (game 1 vs WarHawks and game 2 vs Rage) and came out undefeated (link).
We won the first game 9-2 (had a chance to take it in 5 innings but couldn't push the last run across and then gave up 2 in the 6th) and turned around to play Rage (who were undefeated themselves).
We went up 3-0 on Rage going into the 5th inning before they scored 2 to make it 3-2. We did nothing in the bottom half and Rage tied it up and took the lead in the top of the 6th (5-3). We went scoreless in the 6th and great defense in the 7th to hold the deficit at 2 runs.
We scored 2 runs (on 2 outs) in the bottom of the 7th to extend the game and eventually scored the winning run in the bottom of the 8th (1 out, runner on 2nd and a basehit to the left). To go 4 and 0 on the season.
Smoke and us (S&S Electric) are the last 2 unbeatens and it will be a couple of weeks before we play them. We have some hard games coming, but hopefully we can set up a winner-take-all regular season title with Smoke.
Russia's Peter the Great Military Academy is an ancient War College founded way back in the 1820's. Named after the cat who dragged Russia kicking and screaming into the age of sail and empire - the Academy today is cutting edge and egalitarian.
Russia's GRU site has a cool pic featurette featuring babettes learning and prepping for careers in Strategic Missile Forces.
"The academy offers career training in over 29 fields for the Strategic Missile Forces, Space Forces, Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Russian Defense Ministry’s main and central directorates."
With missiles, missile defenses and sheilding sprouting up all over Eurasia recent talk of buddying up with Tehran is a concern. The mullah's handpicked little rocketeer "Iran and Russia are two major powerful countries, and cooperation between our states in settling various problems will serve the interests of Russian and Iranian nations as well as regional and international security. We each serve an efficient role in establishing a new model of international relations."
Go over and check it out. As always, lots of links and great research.
Megan Fox (Transformers) topped the charts this year. I can live with that :) I'm posting the top 3 here, not sure if I would have put Keely #3 but not a bad choice.
No real surprises on here; although some are 'young' to be on this list. With Jessica Alba at #2 and Keely Hazel at #3, the list starts strong and keeps going.
Since the overt covert semi closed hearings in Great Satan's DC and all the leaky leaks that drip enough intrigue, super sexy entente's of WMD Witchcraft (of the Nukey variety - no less), exotic dangerous hottiesflying combat jets and Axis of Evil Super Villan hook ups to create a 007 movie blockbuster.
KuribaSuriya's Lion of Syria, Dr General Pres for Life Bashar Al Assad flees Basharopolis to take a leak himself with Al Watan- a semi free press in the semi Western UAE
"Is it logical? A nuclear site did not have protection with surface to air defenses? A nuclear site within the footprint of satellites in the middle of Syria in an open area in the desert?"
Such an easy target available to be spied out and struck out (kinda close to that Turkish border) that happened to be a carbon copy of fellow AOENoKo's reactor in Pyongban.
An alledged super sensitive spot unabashedly flashing tail and detail. Reactors like Pyongban are of antique graphite moderating design. Like Chernobyl. Hasn't been any built in like 40 years.
Ancient devices like this one create one devastating creation.
Plutonium 239 (Pu-239 for the elemental tablists) The same PU that put 'lo' in implosion school 'Atomic' weaponry (Fatman and Little Boy in Great Satan speak).
NoKo cats were busted on site - indeed - only NoKo fiddles about so wickedly graphitecally.
This undead reactor was never crunk to crank electricity directly or indirectly through Syria's electic power grid (Target #18 in IAF speak).
Even plotting a hot spot, such as and where fore - and hooking up with NoKo is an oath breaking violation of agreements signed in good faith with the whole world - the IAEA - UNSCR 1718.
Interesting too that no plutonium reposessing happened. To be fair though - maybe because the reactor hadn't cooked any off to reprocess.
"The truth is that the raid was at a military site under construction. We are against mass destruction weapons for Israel, Iran or others. "
Bashar also brought a curious logical point about where a device should or could or shouldn't or couldn't be deployed.
"Where would we use it? On Israel it would kill the Palestinians. I do not see this as logical."
True that - vaporizing and irradiating Palestine may not be the best way to regain Greater Syria, cut sweety security arrangements, trade concessions and recognized regional aspirations with Great Satan.
Though it does make one heck of a backup plan if the "totally O" word is Dr Strangelovinglyapplied to all the players in Damascus. If regime change is about to unfold - blackmail for bail is certainly an option. Super Villanesque too.
If a certain, sister Arab state (that back in the day was totally dominated turf in Greater Syria) currently chock full of Great Satan's on the ground and in their face combat regime changing, insurgency crushing hellions was horrifically Hiroshima'd - there's a chance Syria would get to move in and take control - for humanitarian reasons - no doubt.
All dot connecting aside, the dots are fairly danging for Syria and her despotic nepotistic semi nihilist regime:
Fiddling about with WMD, Feeding and funding Hiz'B'Allah - a sworn enemy of Great Satan with a blood debt that has no statue of limitations, Blatantly bombing a sister state like tiny tiny Lebanon into extinction, destabilizing Iraq, dissing UN reso's etc -
Of all the things that bestow righteousness to a fast death blitz on the regime and all it's precious assets and players - any one of those is on the list
The Orkin man came by yesterday and I have termites :(
Seems there's an infestation under my laundry room and it'll cost about $1600 or so to fix it. So feel free to hit the donate button :)
OT: Had a little global warming yesterday, had to wear a jacket most of the day and the economy grew another .6% as this 'recession' continues to go the wrong way.
Stumble!
