Memeorandum is teh funny.

QOTD.

virginiacentrist:

The moment Hillary Clinton becomes a serious threat to win the presidency, it will be like putting a cattle prod up every Republican's ass.

Only Bill O'Reilly looks forward to such a scenario.

New Ripostes, Please!

"Is it possible to be quoted yawning?" -- Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines

"Is it possible to quote me yawning?" -- American Leadership Project spokesman Jason Kinney

Yawn.

Bob Wright Gets 15 5 Minutes of Peace.

Um, Victor? STFU.

Sweet Jesus, make it stop:

So Wright goes on, Obama goes on, Hillary goes on. When they have all finished, the wife of the first “black” President, the candidate who “transcended” race, and “old uncle” Wright — and the liberal Democratic Party — will have done more to destroy racial relations than all the David Dukes in the world.

Oprah/Maya Split?

Have Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou, whom Ms. Winfrey considers her "mentor," split? And does this mean Oprah's had second thoughts about Barack?

Ms. Angelou, you see, is stumping for Senator Clinton.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Just This Once.

I'm glad Putz doesn't have comments.

No, He's Just a Prick.

Putz:

MICKEY KAUS keeps bringing up the John Edwards / Rielle Hunter story. Does he think there's a chance Edwards might get back in the race?

Glenn Reynolds surprisingly unpersuaded by Obama's repudiation of Wright.

Shocker!

I guess this sort of takes the suspense out of who he's going to vote for in November.

/snark

UPDATE

Sully:

It's extremely depressing that the first major national black politician who takes on the victimology of Sharpton and Jackson is greeted by the right with the kind of cynicism you see at Malkin or the Corner or Reynolds. It reveals, I think, the deeper truth: the Republican right only wants a black Republican to do this. They are not as interested in getting beyond the racial question, in changing the hopes and reams of black America, as they are in exploiting it for partisan advantage. Their response to the first major black candidate for president tackling the old racial politics? "We don't believe him."

Brendan expresses dismay at Glenn Reynolds. But Reynolds voted against Harold Ford. There's no black Democrat who could ever pass muster. Because they're Democrats.

One of these days, people will finally figure out that Putz is a pro-choice Hew Hughitt. I'm not quite sure why they haven't gotten there yet.

Housekeeping.

Say hello to the newest member of our illustrious blogroll, Veritably Bare. It's such a goddamn wonderful site, I wish I'd discovered it sooner:

In truth, I do not think that my trials are any worse or better than is normal for the human condition. It may seem like it at times, but all it takes is a good dose of perspective to realize that it's not so bad.

Fucking perspective.

Reap, Sow, Etc.

Putz:

A DNC AD that shows U.S. soldiers being blown up. Remember when they were complaining about politicizing the war? What's more, the clip comes from Fahrenheit 9/11.

Dude, even Baghdad Bob doesn't say the ad depicts soldiers being "blown up." He says, "an explosion goes off beside them."

I understand, though do not excuse, Putz's discomfort. I, too, would not want to be reminded of my continued support for a very bad in which people die violently.

One gets the impression that were the RNC to put out an ad filled with happy, purpled-fingered Iraqis, Putz would not be displeased and there would be no accusations of politicization.

Noted Without Comment.

bstraub:

I've followed politics for a long time -- even covered a few presidential races -- and I can't recall a time when a candidate was held responsible for the remarks of his/her minister. Some Republicans have been chided for seeking the support of the likes of Robertson and Falwell, but only because they sought that support after they said ridiculous things.

The thing is this -- white people are scared of black people. Obama presents a non-threatening persona, so a straw man had to be constructed to remind white folks of their fears. Enter Wright. This provides white folks with a clear concious to vote for either Clinton or McCain.

I would be glad to be wrong on this, but I think Obama is cooked. Fear is the biggest impetus in elections and it's now okay for white folks to fear the black candidate.

Gah.

Roger Simon:

And Americans don’t want presidents who are too brainy. (Obviously.) We would rather plunge into foreign wars or fall off economic cliffs than have presidents who know too much. That is because braininess is elitist, and being an elitist is the worst thing you can be if you want to be president.

Obama now gets this. Since his loss in Pennsylvania, he has been emphasizing his non-elitist roots. At a recent news conference at a gas station in Indianapolis, he said, “I basically buy five of the same suits and then I patch them up and wear them repeatedly.”

(I guess Obama thinks this is supposed to appeal to the working classes, but my father was a truck driver, and he would have thought that owning five suits was a lot.)

Yes, you dumb fuck, I imagine he would have. Because truck drivers don't wear suits in the rig. (No offense meant to truck drivers, obvs.)

Also, That Britney Spears Is Going Places.

The Onion or Pajamas Media?






It's bad enough that PJs reports yesterday's news -- they're still front-paging Kyle Smith's wankfest from last week.

I know it's confusing, fellas. But just because The Clenis is on the front page of every paper does not mean it's 1998.

Yikes.

Even Taylor Marsh will not pleased with this endorsement:

WHERE THE BOSTON GLOBE SEES Hillary Strangelove, I see someone who just might be the most uncompromising wartime President in U.S. history.

Given the second link, it's possible that Putz is kidding. But who knows?

"Thoughts" is a Strong Word. How About "Blog Farts"?

This is a collision of stupid at high velocity:

THOUGHTS ON THE FLAG PIN: "If John McCain wore a confederate flag lapel pin, very few of these people would be saying 'it's just a lapel pin.'"

Oh! Oh! I like this game!

THOUGHTS ON BABIES: "If John McCain kissed dead babies, very few of these people would be saying 'it's just a baby.'"

Clark Stooksbury takes down Glenn Reynolds.

This is gonna leave a mark.

OMG this ad is SO UNFAIR.

McCain never said it. Never!!11!!!

"If we call it literary porn, you will understand that this is not an insult."

Samuel Shem Parker weighs in on The Enchantress of Florence, the new Rushdie book. He (as in Parker) writes like 20-year Jameson made flesh, even if he puts way too much stock in the Booker.

...Related.

Next Week: "Damn Pushy Jews and What To Do About Them!"

"If your oppressors' major charge against you is that you're stupid, violent, sexually insatiable, childishly drawn to shiny objects, and not to be trusted around expensive mechanical objects, how do you help yourself by demanding millions of dollars for chanting 100-decibel doggerel about how many gold chains and guns you're wearing while you screw all the beautiful blondes in your neighborhood in the back seat of your Bentley Mulsanne? Oh, and by the way, you'll actually KILL anyone who claims he's wearing MORE chains while screwing MORE beautiful blondes in the back seats of even MORE expensive Bentleys."

Yes, Dr. Martin Luther Old Punk once again tackles The Negro Problem. He's predictably screwy, but also comes up with a kind of solution:

Treat them as you would anybody else -- with suspicion and distaste -- like those damn pushy Jews, workaholic Koreans, money-grubbing Indians, getting-by-on-looks-alone blondes, evil chicks who sleep their way to the top, old boy networks who've always had the inside track. You know what I'm talking about.

I'll say it again: The prospect of this filthy old bastard living in a country presided over by Barack Obama amuses me to no end.

JFC, People. She Wasn't Even Topless.

NY:

If you smell burning synthetic hair today, it's probably a Hannah Montana novelty wig angrily set ablaze following the news that 15-year-old Miley Cyrus will appear in the June issue of Vanity Fair "topless," which means, in this case, that if the photograph were one of those magic Harry Potter photographs where the people are alive inside the picture, and Miley were to turn around to face the camera and drop the sheet she has wrapped around herself, you could quite possibly see her breasts.

For the record, 15-year-old Olivia Hussey showed just much skin in Romeo and Juliet, but no one bitched about that.

Confessions of a Name-dropper.

Sad:

I used to be friends with Nora Ephron back in the day.

Uh huh. The list of "what Roger used to be" -- Civil Rights activist, screenwriter, not-bald -- grows ever longer.

As pathetic as Roger believes Nora Ephron to be, it's certain that Ms. Ephron would never write a sentence like, "I used to be friends with Roger L. Simon back in the day." And for that, I am grateful.

Onward, Christian soldiers.

Just great.

When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Oh jeebus.

Republican asshole of the day.

Rush Limbaugh:

"There won't be riots at our convention," Limbaugh said of the Republican National Convention. "We don't riot. We don't burn our cars. We don't burn down our houses. We don't kill our children. We don't do half the things the American left does."

Getting a little desperate maybe?

You may run like Mays, but you hit like shit.

Bummer.

This is kind of a weird statment, though.

"The three-year sentence Mr. Snipes received today sends a loud and crystal-clear message to the tax defier community that if they engage in this illegal conduct, they can and will go to jail," Hochman said.

Tax defier community?

Not Seeing It.

All due (considerable) respect to Molly, but I don't see the problem with KO's admittedly weird turn of phrase. When he said, "Somebody who can take [Clinton] into a room and only he comes out," I assume he's referring to "backroom" -- as in, a backroom deal in which someone, perhaps Howard Dean, convinces her to step aside.

"Really, it can only mean one thing," says Rachel Sklar, but that's not so. I don't think my interpretation is unreasonable and it's not like KO has a history of advocating physical violence.

That said, if KO had implied physical harm, well, that's pretty fuck repulsive.

Noted Without Comment.

Get Thee To The Dogtrack!

The next time Roger L. Simon shits all over The New York Times, remember his recounting of a blogger conference call:

This was my second time interviewing McCain, although on this occasion I wasn’t able to get in a question, not that I had a particularly good one. ...

Nevertheless, there were a couple of people on the call who sounded as if they would rather be “right” than win. I’m not going to name names simply because I can’t. (Hey, I’m not that polite.) I couldn’t hear very well. ...

In any case, my reportage on the call is therefore a bit slipshod.

The punchline: he refers to PJs as a "serious media organization."

Slow Day.

I've read Kyle Smith's review of Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay several times. As criticism, it's worthless, but this is hilarious:

The very funny extended cameo by Neil Patrick Harris in the first movie revived the former Doogie Howser, M.D. star’s career and won him a role on How I Met Your Mother, but this time we know Harris is coming and he doesn’t do much when he does. Harris (again playing a wild-eyed parody of himself) gives the boys a ride while gobbling magic mushrooms. And this leads to…nothing. Oh, he thinks he sees a unicorn. That’s about it.

That's about it. Jesus Christ, man, he saw a unicorn! As one who has, on occasion, um, partaken, I assure you that seeing these mythical beasts is highly unusual, and for Smith to pretend otherwise is lunacy.

(Even more offensive is his suggestion that we "commit to memory" Team America: World Police, for reasons I have neither the time nor the bandwidth to address.)

GK, World's Greatest Critic, what say you? I, for one, have a choice of seeing H&K or Last Tango in Paris this fine evening and will probably see the former.

McCain's Tell.

Today:

On his campaign bus today, McCain responded to Hagee’s comments, calling them “nonsense” at least “eight times”:

It’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense. I dont have anything additional to say. It’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, I don’t have anything more to say…it’s nonsense. I reject it categorically.

2004:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Trying to stamp out speculation that he might consider joining Democratic Sen. John Kerry's ticket, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona insisted Sunday that he would not do so under any circumstances.

He said he would campaign and vote for President Bush in the fall, despite their policy differences.

"No, no and no. I will not leave the Republican Party. I cherish the ideals and principles of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan," he said on NBC's "Meet The Press."

[His people did, in fact, approach John Kerry about joining the ticket.]

2000:

Bush and McCain emerged from their 90-minute private meeting with a public handshake to cement their political alliance to defeat Vice President Al Gore, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Still, strains from their bitter GOP primary bout were evident.

"I endorse Governor Bush, I endorse Governor Bush, I endorse Governor Bush," McCain replied when reporters asked if he had difficulty using the "endorse" word.

My People Have a Word For This: "Chutzpah".

NYT:

NEW ORLEANS — ­Senator John McCain took direct aim at the Bush administration on Thursday as he stood in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and declared that “never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way that it was handled.’’

Yeah, you know, I'd be more persuaded if (via the invaluable TP) McCain hadn't been sharing a birthday cake with the President...

-- after Blanco declared a state of emergency in Louisiana
-- after Barber declared a state of emergency in Mississippi
-- after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane
-- after federal emergency was declared and FEMA and DHS given authority to respond
-- after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane
-- after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane
-- after Mayor Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation order of New Orleans
-- after the National Weather Service issued a "special hurricane warning"
-- after reports of water toppling over a levee
-- after 30,000 evacuees had gathered at the Superdome
-- after Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane

It was not, to put it mildly, one of his finer moments.

...Why must Atrios be all-knowing? How can I compete?

Hacktastic.

I haven't read it, but I assume that a review by Rumsfeld's spokesbot of a book written Rumsfeld's lackey will be wholly objective.

...Ah. Putz says the review is "very positive." No fucking way?

Terry McAullife, useful idiot.

New Headline, Stat!

This hedder...






...is offset by the first quote:

“We hold onto a lot of traditional values,” said Brian L. Thomas, 39, as he bought a cup of coffee along the courthouse square here on Wednesday. “Saying you’re ready to change is probably not the best or only thing you would want to say around these parts. Frankly, we want it to be like it used to be.”

Emphasis mine. Call it what you like, Mr. Thomas, but that's "change."

Words of Wisdom.

Invoking a certain Nation staffer is the "Al Gore is fat" for the morerubbleslesshehindeed set:

Saying “Naomi Klein said it!” does not actually refute anything.

Ackerman's Law?

Your Mom.

Please forgive the incivility, but I'm not sure how else to respond to this:

There are Feith-haters out there, just as there were haters of those who opposed appeasement in the mid-30s.

Putz Never Disappoints.

Heh.

LATE FROST DAMAGES CALIFORNIA VINEYARDS: As reader Jim May notes, this is "the sort of short-term weather news that would be front-page news if global *cooling* were the Left's cause-du-jour." Yes, they never seem to let natural variability get in the way of a good things-are-really-hot story.

Meanwhile, there's pushback on the whole Ice-Age-Is-Coming story.

Indeed.

Al Gore Is So Fat

AND HE'S SOOOOOOO WRONG ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING!@!$$$$@

McCALL -- Near-record snowfall and low spring temperatures are creating ideal conditions at Brundage Mountain Resort. Resort officials announced today that they will be open for a third bonus weekend in May.

Quote of Teh Year.

Douglas Feith:

And I mean now, you hear people describing Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld as neocons. And you know, if they’re neocons, then the term has no meaning anymore.

Kind of like habeas corpus, eh?

Morale Booster.

Those who defend our country deserve to enjoy porn and so help me god Kathryn Jean Lopez isn't going to deprive them of that inalienable right!

Who's with me?!

QOTD.

ratnerstar:

People have suggested that Peretz is a spy?! Seriously? What the hell kinda information is he supposed to be handing over to the Israelis? Advance copies of TNR?

Republican asshole of the day.

Tony Zirkle.

Stupid Question.

How come I never hear/read/whatever that Senator Clinton is "having trouble winning over African American voters"?

Glenn Reynolds hearts Hillary.

His concern about Hillary not sufficiently getting enough credit is touching, but the PA primary essentially didn't change the delegate count and didn't make a large enough dent in the popular vote to change the fundamentals of the race.

In other words, status quo.

That's not "minimizing" anything -- it's telling it like it is.

As If WFB's Corpse Hasn't Been Desecrated Enough...

*

"If I Am Out of My Mind, It's All Right With Me, Thought Moses Herzog Hugh Hewitt."

Um, yeah.

Sure, there are crazed people on both left and right, but the vast majority of the big name commentators are almost all genial in person, serious in thought, and respectful of their opponents dignity as human beings even though the disagreements are deep between the two sides. It doesn't advance the idea of civil debate to continually blast your opponents as somehow different from your allies. We have Rush; they have the Jon Stewart. We have Ann Coulter and Michael Savage. They have Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews. For every force in commentary there is a counter-force...

Oy. How can we "have" Chris Matthews? He's possibly the most hated pundit in America and it's pretty clear from that recent profile that even Matthews's wife thinks he's a gasbag!

But kudos to Hugh for reminding us of that notorious incident in which Olbermann told an audience member to "get AIDS and die, you pig."

A Conservative's Just a Liberal Who's Been Caught With Coke.

Robert Downey Jr.:

“I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal.”

Prediction.

It's not too late, right?

Obama loses by 11 and tomorrow's episode of Lost -- at 10 p.m.! -- will suck ass.

Good Company.

Putz is pushing a new book:

IN THE MAIL: Lawrence Solomon's The Deniers: The World Renowned Scientists Who Stood Up Against Global Warming Hysteria, Political Persecution, and Fraud**And those who are too fearful to do so.

I hope The Deniers is as intellectually rigorous as Richard Vigilante's other tomes, Irak is Teh Roxxrs! (Michael Yon), Joe McCarthy Got a Raw Deal (M. Stanton Evans) and Brown People Suck (Mark Steyn).

Oh, Come On.

Think Progress:

Is [John Ashcroft] saying that he would rather have traded places with a detainee and been waterboarded that night?

Gosh, I dunno. Give me a minute.

TP's larger point, that

conservatives have repeatedly tried to make light of waterboarding in order to downplay the severity of the tactic

is on the money, but this Ashcroft business seems like a cheap shot.

Once I Was Afraid...

Redstate is bonkers:

Just as importantly as advising Obama though, Lessig is an adviser to Google. And it was at a Google employee event that Lessig showed off a video of an effeminate Jesus who strips down to all but a loin cloth diaper singing "I Will Survive" until getting run over by a bus.

Trust me, that doesn't make any more sense in context.

[via Cole]

Remember, He's a Libertarian.

When I saw Putz claim that he'd been "bashing Bush" yesterday, I assumed he was lying. And I was right.

Sure, he hehindeed someone else's post critical of Bush, but even this tepid criticism was offset with the words, "On the other hand, the slam at Bush isn't completely fair..."

Bashing, it ain't.

Bill Clinton Endorses Obama.

"Troglodytes."

Stunningly, we have a flat earth caucus in the United States Senate. There are some troglodytes there who just don't believe in science, don't listen, think this is a crazy conspiracy, and they're still pushing back.

That's John Kerry a few hours ago at Barnes and Noble, referring to climate change skeptics. He didn't name names, of course, but this was a refreshing departure from how he conducted himself during the '04 campaign.

Dr. Helen doles out some helpful advice.

Noted without comment (I'm not sure how the hell I'd top this):

I have some advice for your long suffering husband, Jeremy. Next time you need something fixed around the house, your wife needs help lifting something, or you need a blowjob, resort to yelling and complaining. Threats are also effective, as long as she knows you mean business. Huff and puff and complain to all of your friends about her inadequacies and let the world know what a loser she is. Then crow about your newfound equality. Finally, call yourself a hero and write a lousy piece for Men's Health or some other men's magazine about your loser of a wife and see how your married life takes off after that. For deep down, even if Jeremy won't admit it, my guess is, just like the women mentioned in the article, he is seething inside. It's no wonder he won't scrub toilets for this woman.

Stay Away from Teh Classics, Wingnuts.

Oh boy.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What does it mean to be American “in the most romantic sense of the word” and why is it essential to counterinsurgency?

Michael Yon: Remember the scene in Lawrence of Arabia, where Peter O’Toole executes an Arab friend? “It was written,” Anthony Quinn tries to console him. Lawrence turns on him furiously and declares “Nothing is written.” It’s a very American moment in an English story.

That's not how it went down. The invaluable Tim Dirks describes the scene to which Yon refers:

In their camp the night before the attack on Aqaba's undefended landward side, a potentially divisive event occurs that could split the rival tribes into a bloody feud, as Ali forecasts: "This is the end of Aqaba." One of the Harith Arabs has murdered one of Auda's men and the reason could be one of many: "theft, blood feud, it makes no matter why...It is an ancient wound." As a non-Arab neutral who stands above petty tribal rivalries and age-old blood feuds ("I have no tribe, and no one is offended"), Lawrence proposes to even-handedly execute the offender - becoming 'godlike' by deciding for himself who shall live or die. As the offender raises his head, Lawrence sees it is Gasim - the man whose life he saved in the Nefud desert when he risked his own life. With a look of disturbed shock, he cold-bloodedly fires all six shots from his pistol into Gasim's body. The two rival chieftains exchange words about the just execution and the emotional uncertainty displayed by Lawrence:

Auda: What ails the Englishman?
Sherif: That that he killed was the man he brought out of the Nefud.
Auda: Ah, it was written then. Better to have left him.
Sherif (to Lawrence): It was execution, Lawrence. No shame in that. Besides, it was necessary. You gave life and you took it. The writing is still yours. (Lawrence throws the gun away in disgust.)

The famous lines quoted by Yon (“Nothing is written.”) are from an earlier scene:

The awesome Arabian desert crossing is treacherous - searing heat in the "Sun's Anvil," dust storms and swirling cyclones - an endless trek that exhausts and kills some of the men. As they begin to reach the end of the desert, it is noticed that Gasim's camel is riderless, and Lawrence unhesitatingly insists and proposes going back for him:

Ali: In God's name understand, we cannot go back.
Lawrence: I can...
Ali: If you go back, you'll kill us all. Gasim you have killed already.
Lawrence: Get out of my way.
Another Arab: Gasim's time is come, Lawrence. It is written!
Lawrence: Nothing is written.
Ali (riding back with Lawrence): Go back, then. What did you bring us here for with your blasphemous conceit? Eh, English blasphemer? Aqaba? What is Aqaba? You will not be at Aqaba, English. Go back, blasphemer! But you will not be at Aqaba!
Lawrence (riding ahead and turning): I shall be at Aqaba. That is written...(He points at his head.)..in here!
Ali (shouting after him): English! English!

It's no wonder his Iraq reporting sucks. He can't even get Lawrence of Arabia right.

A Fight I Would Pay to Watch.

“[Lou] Dobbs needs a reality check. I’d be glad to give him one if he would like.”-- Bill Donohue

Pass the popcorn!

He's Kidding, Right?

Andrew Sullivan:

[Obama] is not perfect; and not a savior. But he is the best thing to happen to the Democrats in a very long time, and sometimes it takes an outsider like the FT to see it. Among the most perceptive of his critics, I'd put [Maureen] Dowd and [Peggy] Noonan.

I would not.

Has writing for The Atlantic dulled Sullivan's ability to recognize mediocrity? Keeeeeeeerist.

Glenn Reynolds: Obama has "terrorist associates."

Yes, we expected this.

Yes, it's still shocking when they actually do it.

By October, Obama will be a full-blown jihadist.

I Call Bullshit.

Not a single word of this is true, including "and" and "the." Burt Prelutsky has gone from being merely a douchebag to a full-blown liar.

I'd very much like to hear from Gene Reynolds (Burt gutlessly refers to him only by his first name) for his take on the incidents related therein.

Mr. Reynolds, if you're out there, drop us a line.

Heh.

It's a sign of how inconsequential the wankersphere has been that, nearly four years later, Rathergate remains the high watermark.

Incidentally, whatever happened to Alberto Gonzales?

The Alpers Law of Trolling.

Ben Alpers:

Unless this is an attempt at dada trolling, it helps if your comments are internally coherent even if they're totally disconnected from reality.

"Tell it to Jack Abramoff."

Fun for a Friday night.

Hitchens lost his mind with Iraq, but this moment is priceless.

I'm Off!

I'm told there's a party up in Harlem with a smattering of thirty-something-year-old virgins. Let's just say I'm anthropologically curious. And on that chaste note, the finest first line in modern American literature:

“Either forswear fucking others or the affair is over.”

You're welcome!

Ya Can't Win.

Putz:

ANTI-WAR FOLKS ARE CALLING FOR A DRAFT: Jules Crittenden says let them have it.

Like me, you're no doubt wondering why you haven't heard the call. Maybe because the only "folks" Crittenden cites are Frank Schaeffer, Aileen Morey and some readers of The Sacramento Bee.

But on a broader scale, isn't this a sea change of sorts? Gone are the days when anti-war types were painted as objectively pro-fascist defeatocrats, who, Putz would insist, were on "the other side."

Now, even an egalitarian measure that would beef up the military's ranks is worth mocking, too.

Hmmm.

Forgive the following wonkiness: Slate's use of the word "O-Ring" has, to a science geek or Feynman groupie, negative connotations.

Wikipedia:

The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster took place when Challnger, a Space Shuttle operated by NASA, broke apart 73 seconds into its flight leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, United States at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC) on January 28,1986. Disintegration of the shuttle stack began 73 seconds into its flight after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff.

Oh Boy.

Powerline:

OBAMA SEEKS DISTANCE FROM HAMAS

So, John Hinderaker, when did you stop sodomizing your wife dog?

Why does the Pope hate America?

What an unserious defeatist Chamberlain.

Pope Benedict XVI began his three-day visit to New York City with a 29-minute speech to the United Nations, where he called for global cooperation on matters of international security and offered a vigorous defense of individual conscience.

The pope used his speech — delivered from 11:20 to 11:49 a.m., the first half in French, and the second half in English — to call for global cooperation and to argue against unilateral action, saying, “We are witnessing the obvious paradox of a multilateral consensus that continues to be in crisis because it is still subordinated to the decisions of a small number, while the world’s problems require from the international community that it act on a common basis.”

Those remarks could be read as an implicit criticism of the United States, though the pope did not mention specifically the conflict in Iraq, which he has publicly questioned several times since he was invested in 2005.

The pope emphasized that he was not ruling out any use of armed intervention to protect human rights, but said such action should arise from global consensus:

The action of the international community and of its institutions, provided that it respects the principles the underlie international order, should never be interpreted as an unwarranted imposition or a limitation of sovereignty. On the contrary, it is indifference or failure to intervene that do the real damage. What is needed is a deeper search for ways of pre-empting and managing conflicts by exploring every possible diplomatic avenue, and giving attention and encouragement to even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation.

Global test global test global test!

Further Adventures in Civility.

From Peggy Noonan:

This is what I think will happen. At some future point Mrs. Clinton will leave, and at a more distant one she will try to come back. But more than one cycle will have to pass before she does. She'll need more than four years to shake off the impression she made in 2008. And this is how you'll know she's making another bid for the presidency. She will wear skirts. Gone will be the pantsuits that made her look like a small blond man with breasts. It's the new me, I wear skirts! Her first impulse is to think cosmetically. A long and weary life in politics has left her thinking this is the way to think.

It's only a matter of time before Noonan compares Barack Obama to the late Koko the Gorilla because, you know, they're both black.

Shorter Sean Hannity.

"George, you are such my bitch. "

An A.G. Andriod comment found!!!!

The origin of the beast.

Never Thought I'd Say This...

...but I wish K-Lo would go back to humping Mitten's leg. Her pope fetish has surpassed creepy is officially restraining-orderish.

Misery, anyone?

Hypocrites.

Glenn's book is up to #1 in politics, #5 in political science.

What ever happened to Ted Haggard?

Anyone know? Last I read he had dropped out of his 'cure teh gay' program.

Proof That No One Gives A Fuck About Michelle Malkin or Confederate Yankee.

E&P:

NEW YORK Just released Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who was freed Wednesday by U.S. military officials in Iraq, will remain on the AP staff, according to Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll.

Heh. Indeed. Wank, will you be running the "oops, he not a terrorist" post today or tomorrow?

Huh.

Fuck The Switchboard.

Alrighty then. I can't find Charlie Gibson's e-mail, but this one's legit:

george.stephanopoulos@abc.com
charles.gibson@abc.com

Please be civil.

(I keed.)

...Oy.

When I asked whether questions about flag pins or Bosnia are actually relevant to voters, [Stephanopoulos] replied: “Absolutely.”

Awesome speech.

It'll be nice when we have an actual grown up as a preznit and not an idiot frat boy.

Lovely.

From a reader of America's Shittiest Website:

You can thank Sean Hannity for [the Bill Ayers] question. Steph was on his show yesterday and Sean really hammered the point that no one in the media had asked Obama about Ayers. Stephy said he was writing down all the info Sean gave him.

Wake me up on the 23rd.

My Dictionary is Worthless.

K-Lo has redefined "funny" beyond recognition. Alas, the definition of "morbidly obese" remains operative.

Shorter Hugh Hewitt:

Don't worry, Metherell Family, Michael Yon says everything will be A-OK!

In light of such horrific news, a better man might pause to rethink the Glorious War. Hugh Hewitt is not such a man.

Christ, I'm depressed.

Buy Glenn's new book.

You know you want it.

It's Tempting, But I Think I'll Pass.

Putz:

YOU WON'T SEE A WHOLE LOT OF BENEDICT-BLOGGING HERE, but The Anchoress is going all Pope, all the time.

For serious, is there anything less appealing than the last nine words of that post?

Michael Ledeen's New Gig.

He's doing a bang-up job helming The New York Post.

The Village Voice's guide to the wingnut blogosphere.

Heh.

GLENN REYNOLDS (Instapundit.com)

ORIENTATION: Glibertarian (sex, drugs, guns, endless wars)

TONE: Gnomic

FUN FACT: Self-described “transhumanist”: “Once human technology passes a certain threshold . . . human beings will potentially enjoy the kind of powers and pleasures traditionally assigned to gods or beings in heaven.”

CANDIDATE: A transparent mystery (see Modus Operandi)

STUPID/EVIL RATIO: 5/95

HISTORY: Law degree from Yale. Currently a professor at the University of Tennessee. Many books and papers, mostly legal perspectives on firearms (“Kids, Guns and the Commerce Clause”) and outer space (“International Space Law: Into the Twenty-First Century”). Began online career as commenter A.G. Android at Slate (“The groupies I’ve seen backstage at rock shows are generally not especially attractive”), where he was praised as “the Pride of the Fray.” Founded Instapundit in 2001, with a stance both libertarian (“GLOWSTICKS AND BOTTLED WATER: DRUG PARAPHERNALIA?”) and pro-Bush. September 11 boosted his circulation (thanks in part to publicity from Fox News) and dramatically reduced the libertarian content. Reynolds cautioned citizens against “being stampeded into giving up their freedom,” but also intensified his identification with Bush (“It’s clear that adults are in charge”) and denounced leftists with increasing frequency and anger (“more than a little in common with Osama bin Laden”). As anti-war sentiment grew, he attacked “Big Media’s bias in favor of the left,” calling for a “guerrilla media” of bloggers to combat it.

MODUS OPERANDI: Expresses overt support only rarely, mostly in reviews of cars and consumer goods. Otherwise cites other (mostly right-wing) writers, adding a few words—or one word (usually heh, indeed, or ouch)—to denote approval. This style is, probably purposely, hard to engage. For example, after a lengthy quote in defense of the 1980s Salvadoran death squads, Reynolds adds this: “makes me wonder if making comparisons to Central America will help the Left, or simply bring up a lot of things that a lot of people would rather gloss over today.” Inquiries as to meaning are likely to go unanswered, as Instapundit has no comments feature.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Quotes denunciatory of Democratic candidates, followed by snotty asides involving Walter Mondale, Robert Heinlein, and Osama Bin Laden. Also, heh.

QOTD.

Loadpants on Senator Obama:

He's a black Mario Cuomo.

Happy Friday Wednesday.

Jackass 2 End (The best of time is now) - MyVideo

An e-mail to K. inadvertently got this stuck in my head.

You're welcome. And I mean that sincerely. It's genius.

They make TV ads.

Who Is "Us," White Girl?

About Senator Obama's "small town" remarks, Taylor Marsh says,

He insulted a huge segment of this country, while also calling us racist.... again.

My emphasis. The "racist" bit aside, I think it's instructive to remember that Taylor Marsh claims to live in Los Angeles. (But as with most her bio, who knows?)

I'm Not Really Sure What To Say About This.

Um.

HH: 45 seconds, Fred Kagan, well, actually, maybe I can keep you over, because I want to follow up on this a little bit. The issue of quality of life in Baghdad, we’ll go to break in 30 seconds and come back, what is the quality of life in Baghdad?

FK: Well, it’s complicated. I mean, in general terms, the quality of life in Baghdad has enormously improved over what it was 15 months ago when people were actually worrying all the time about whether they were going to be killed. Now, increasingly, you hear Iraqis talking about quality of life, and how aggravated they are that things aren’t getting better faster, which is very, you know, it’s good news of its own, in a certain way.

HH: That’s a good sign.

Dear Jimmy Carter,

Please don't endorse Senator Obama.

Love,
TS

Heh.

OK. Raise your hand if you're shocked, shocked! that a paper odious enough to employ objectively pro-brain-scooping Jules Crittenden has run an Andy Borowitz article... as if it were straight news?

More!

Keep up the Blood on Tracks quotes and Attackerman might just land on the ol' blogroll.

Robot love.

Hilarious.

Cute.

Hugh thinks that Senator Obama's threat to investigate the (alleged) crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush Administration -- which has a favorability rating of somewhere south of the Mendoza line -- will lose him votes.

One commenter notes, "You had the surge. We have the purge."

Shorter Stephen Bainbridge.

It's a shame we're getting distracted by Geoff Davis' hateful racist term because he raises an interesting question.

What a tool.

Republican asshole of the day.

Geoff Davis refers to Obama as "that boy."

Lots more of this stuff to come. These wingnuts can't help themselves.

And If My Mom Had Testicles She'd Be My Dad.

Apparently, Roger Simon wasn't content to threaten to sell Google stock he didn't have but would've totally sold if he did, he swears!

Two years and not an ounce of sense later, he writes:

I'd sell my stock (if you have any) in those "Lonely Planet" travel books after the revelation that one of their (apparently main) writers dealt drugs and plagiarized to support writing their Colombia guidebook.

Nice! He's gone from maybe pretend-selling his own stock to theoretically selling yours.

Somebody Please Get Armando Off The Cross.

He's got to be exhausted.

I condemn both Clinton and Obama for using right wing character attacks against fellow Democrats. Anyone think the "Creative Class" blogs will do the same? Me neither.

Wah fuck? Are we still playing the 'I condemn thee' game? I was so sure that ended after the Jeff Goldstein/Deb Frisch thingee, during which the entire liberal blogosphere had to denounce some wackadoodle professor because, well... I'm sure there was a good reason!

Ha. Strong words from Mr. Holier Than Thou! Yes, lecture us on civility while having the nerve to type the word "Bittergate" (without irony) with a straight face. Or does Pup Tent Democrat really believe that the "gate" suffix -- applied with abandon by such intellectuals as The Nativist Queen -- confers real scandal?

Wake me up on April 23.

QOTD.

Chuckling:

Voting for a Republican doesn't make one a Republican. It makes one an accomplice.

I Will Continue to Beat This Dead Horse.

Thank you belatedly, Boston Globe, for having the good sense to mention John McCain's support for teaching intelligent design in the classroom.

Granted, it's on the editorial page, but in light of the fact that no other traditional media outlet -- in at least a month! -- wants to poke the hornets nest, I'm grateful.

I mention this only because Libby Quaid's article, which purports to be about how McCain is "more conservative than his image," does not.

(This also serves as a reminder for Hillary supporters who are a) threatening to sit it out or b) vote for The Last Honest Man.)

...Previously flogged here and here.

Suck it, you Clinton-hating media.

John Cole is my new hero.

"Not relevant"? Geez.

McCain hearts Putz.

The nonpartisan libertarian makes St. McCain's blog roll. Look at the company he's keeping!

• Hugh Hewitt (Townhall)
• Hot Air
• Redstate
• Power Line
• Captain's Quarters
• Blogs 4 McCain
• Little Green Footballs
• Instapundit
• Michelle Malkin

Obama tells the truth, wingnuts freak out.

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

The RNC targets struggling working class whites with anti-gay marriage legislation, "the Democrats are going to take away your bibles" direct mail, and "the libruls are gonna take away your guns" talking points. They won the 2004 election precisely because of these tactics. And they've been doing it for years. In 2006 it was "keep the brown people out" - but that backfired because they misunderstimated the bigotry of their own base.

This is a controversy?

Speaking of Part-Time Employment...

Hey now...

Now we have a clear and irrefutable example of Clinton’s campaign staff actively promoting the work of a blogger who has repeatedly referred to Michelle Obama as a “blow job queen” (among other things).

Charming!

...Well done, K. Solid work, but it's only his second-finest achievement.

Make It Stop.

Shorter Verbatim Dr. Mrs. Putz:

Are men in this country keeping other men down? Do you ever wonder if part of the anti-male bias in this country has to do with various groups of men keeping other groups of men down? I am not saying here that women are not responsible for anti-male bias — they are. But much of the bias against men is also tolerated because of a number of professional or business men in this country who benefit from, or get accolades for, spitting on their brothers.

One of her examples?

Even Paul McCartney with all of his success and money was caught up in the court system in England. He had to hand over millions, time with his daughter, and property to Heather Mills — and this was considered a triumph!

"What would have happened," Dr. Mrs. asks, "had McCartney not been rich?" Eh? I doubt she's looking for a Kanesian " if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man. " But if she wants to go the counterfactual route: Not being rich would've meant not being a Beatle, in which case Heather Mills, amputee and all, would not have given McCartney a second look.

Problem solved!

The post simply gets worse; eventually, she gets around to Bill Clinton (it is apparently impossible to go 24 hours without a mention of Teh Clenis), who, she opines, "has left men in his wake vulnerable to lawsuits and losing their livelihoods and their reputations."

Well, I certainly live in fear that I might not be able to receive some "part time employment" in the privacy of my own office.

Another Day, More Happy Talk From Michael Yon.

There's a lot wrong with Michael Yon's new piece -- he opines that "to say that the tribes who fight with us are "rented" is perhaps as vile a slander as to say that George Washington's men would have left him if the British offered a better deal," as if we had, you know, invaded England -- but this takes the cake:

This leads us to the most out-of-date aspect of the Senate debate: the argument about the pace of troop withdrawals. Precisely because we have made so much political progress in the past year, rather than talking about force reduction, Congress should be figuring ways and means to increase troop levels. For all our successes, we still do not have enough troops. This makes the fight longer and more lethal for the troops who are fighting. To give one example, I just returned this week from Nineveh province, where I have spent probably eight months between 2005 to 2008, and it is clear that we remain stretched very thin from the Syrian border and through Mosul. Vast swaths of Nineveh are patrolled mostly by occasional overflights.

We know now that we can pull off a successful counterinsurgency in Iraq. We know that we are working with an increasingly willing citizenry. But counterinsurgency, like community policing, requires lots of boots on the ground. You can't do it from inside a jet or a tank.

Over the past 15 months, we have proved that we can win this war. We stand now at the moment of truth. Victory – and a democracy in the Arab world – is within our grasp. But it could yet slip away if our leaders remain transfixed by the war we almost lost, rather than focusing on the war we are winning today.

Does anyone believe this shit? We have "proved" nothing, not least because even Gen. Petraeus doesn't even know what "victory" looks like.

What's especially bothersome is that "increasing trooping levels" means "more dead U.S. soldiers" -- which St. Yon doesn't acknowledge. Until he does, his opinion is pretty well worthless.

...BT is shrill.

TS's McCain post hits Le Monde.

An Instaputz triumph.

All I can think of to write is: heh.

So, I Had Totally Forgotten About That Bosnia Thing.

Leave it to the Big Dog to remind me.

Frankly, I don't give a parrot's perineum about it either way -- but what possessed him to reopen the wound?

On a lighter note, you really should see Wordplay, if for no other reason than that the Clinton interviews.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have an intellectually-curious President? One that didn't think the high point of his tenure was catching a goddamn fish? I think it would be.

Shrill Links.

1.

After that, we must take on the even harder job of sorting through the explosion of financial instruments that have proliferated in the boom and deciding which belong in our kit of tools and which should be relegated to the waste heap. If they genuinely spread risk and help move capital into more productive uses, they should stay. But some exotic derivatives seem mainly to reflect the efforts of traders to outsmart each other. Their opaqueness may entail more systemic risk than social value.

The folks who devise these exotica are talented enough to create something useful. We would all be better off if they were productively employed in the “real” economy — or pursued wealth in Las Vegas, where the risks the smartest gamblers pose to the house are carefully controlled.

2.

Look, I know that many progressives have their hearts set on seeing Barack Obama get the Democratic nomination. But politics is supposed to be about more than cheering your team and jeering the other side. It’s supposed to be about changing the country for the better.

And if being a progressive means anything, it means believing that we need universal health care, so that terrible stories like those of Monique White, Trina Bachtel and the thousands of other Americans who die each year from lack of insurance become a thing of the past.

And I Feel Just Like Jesus' Son Greatest "Head in the Sand" Blurb Ever.

"...every copy has a secret compartment in the spine that contains a full ounce of pure, uncut heroin. That alone makes the book a fantastic deal."

Yes, I imagine it would! It's also a better ploy than this classic:

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Could you tell us about the experiment you conducted a few years ago with the bestselling nonfiction books?

MICHAEL KINSLEY: Yeah. This was many years ago, and the leading bookstore in Washington was Olsson's. I went in there with some post-it notes, and I had someone else who did it, too, and we put them about three-quarters of the way through maybe 50 books - say, half a dozen titles, 10 each. And it said, "If you see this, call Mike Kinsley at The New Republic" - where I was then working - "and you'll get five dollars." And nobody called.

Give 'em what they want, Mike. On a slightly related note, how weird is this?

Afghan Warlord Loses A Round in N.Y. Court

BY JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
April 10, 2008

Investigators' promises to an Afghan warlord of safe passage in America will not protect him from facing trial in Manhattan on heroin charges next month, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

Bashir Noorzai, the leader of a 1 million-person tribe in southern Afghanistan, had traveled to New York voluntarily in 2005, aiming to gain an audience with American diplomats who could help him shore up his power in Afghanistan. The trip had been organized by employees of a shadowy and short-lived security company, Rosetta Research & Consulting LLC, that was seeking to help the federal government conduct investigative work in foreign countries. Contractors at the firm had courted Mr. Noorzai, believing at one point that the warlord had information to offer about Osama bin Laden, according to transcripts of conversations involving the contractors as well as an interview with a former government official.

QOTD.

Oliver Willis:

[Obama]’s laying the groundwork to opt-out of the public finance system in the general election....

I do find it highly amusing the mock umbrage the cons are taking to this. Change your mind on campaign finance and you’re apparently a confidence man, but lie the nation into a doomed conflict and they want to put you up on Mount Rushmore.

Clarification?

Hmmm.

HH: We’ve got about a minute, Senator Lieberman. You were just in Israel. They’re running Operation Turning Point 2 right now. What’s the level of angst in Israel about Iran, and the Syrian ambitions toward it right now?

JL: The level of angst in Israel about Iran is extremely high. You know, they deal with threats from Palestinian terrorists, from Hamas, from Hezbollah. Incidentally, both are supported by Iran. But the great fear is that Iran will get a nuclear weapon. And that represents a threat to the very existence of Israel. I tell you the other thing, Hugh, they’re sick and tired of those rockets coming in on the average of one every two hours, with fifteen seconds warning, into the towns and cities near Gaza, being fired by Hamas rockets, supplied by Iran. And I would not be surprised if they take some action to defend themselves pretty soon.

I'd kind of like to know more about this pending attack on Iran.

Amen.

MY:

I once upon a time thought that Bushite detestation of the International Criminal Court was some kind of principled defense of war crimes and war criminals. It's become clear, however, that the concerns are all too practical and personal -- it's vital for the Bush administration that the guilty go free and the laws go unenforced, because otherwise they'd be looking at cells in the Hague.

From your lips...

Go Bruins.

Nice.

Partially takes the sting out of Saturday.

Partially.

Let's See Some of that Self-Correcting I've Heard So Much About.

Several months ago, after Iraqi AP stinger Bilal Hussein was arrested, Putz glibly awarded the Associated Press the "Pulitzer Prize in Terrorism."

Clever!

Given Putz's hatred for the AP, he no doubt would've creamed his pants had Hussein been convicted and swiftly executed. Oh well. Despite what pieces of human feces these folks think ("There is more to this story, believe me. Amnesty does not equal absolution." Um, fuck you?), an update is probably called for:

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi judicial committee has dismissed terrorism-related allegations against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein and ordered him released nearly two years after he was detained by the U.S. military.

How about it, Putz?

Great Idea, Andrew.

Mr Sullivan kicks around some VP possibilities for Senator Obama.

[He] could well pick a woman: McCaskill, Napolitano, Feinstein, Harman? But why doesn't Obama approach Powell?

Oh, I get it. Then he'd get Deval Patrick, Alan Keyes and John Conyers to round out the Cabinet basketball team.

For fuck's sake.

Heh. Indeeb.

Here's a screen cap from McCain's latest ad:




















If McCain can't spell his name properly, how can we expect him to beat the terrorists?

(To his credit, this might explain his problems distinguishing between Iraq and Iran.)

There Will Be Teh Stupid.

Kyle Smith's thesis, that There Will Be Blood is pro-business, pro-family conservative movie, is preposterous. It's a transparently fuckheaded attempt on Smith's part to claim Paul Thomas Anderson as one of his own because, let's be candid here, Roger L. Simon and Ron Silver are the best his team's got.

And they suck lots of ass.

But even if the impetus for the piece is stupid, you'd expect the guy to at least nail down the plot line. Right?

Plainview first shows some humanity when he cradles his infant son while a mine turns into a gushing oil well before our eyes. Without a word being spoken, it’s clear that Daniel’s painful sacrifices are partly driven by his love for his son, whose mother never appears and whom Daniel never voluntarily discusses (although he will later claim she died in childbirth — his wavering glance tells us this is a lie — to a housewife whose property he needs for oil exploration).

Cripes. Even The National Review, which hated TWBB, got this right:

Daniel Day-Lewis turns in a memorable performance as Daniel Plainview, a California prospector for silver and oil. The risk and brutality of this way of life is driven home in an early scene in which Plainview is seriously injured in a silver-mine accident. When his partner dies in yet another accident, Plainview takes in the dead man’s infant son and raises him as his own.

Got that? The reason the kid's mother is never discussed is because he's adopted. Nice job, PJs fact checkers!

Pussy.

I am utterly without sympathy for this asshole. " Now ain't the time for your tears...

Like Tennessee, Only Safer!

Petraeus to Chris Dodd:

Every Iraqi is allowed an AK-47 in his house, by law.

I assume Putz is delighted by this development and additionally supports arming each student at the University of Baghdad.

I Cans Cancel Subskripshun?

Get a sense of humor, kthnxbi!

Putz pimps his own traffic stats.

What a loser.

New Talking Point.

Josh Marshall is sexist.

Pass it on.

Bravo.

This might be the meanest thing ever written.

Catching Don Surber editing his posts.

This AM, no doubt to accompanying banjos, Donny Bugtussle wrote this:

Question: How will Democrats react when Gen. David Petraeus gives them good news from Iraq today?

But after my comment, he changed it to:

Question: How will senators react when Gen. David Petraeus gives them good news from Iraq today?

Oops!

The rest of the comments are quite amusing as well. We learn that Democrats are Nazis and traitors! And love Iran!

I wouldn't expect anything less from these people.

Joe Klein And Hugh Hewitt Are, Once Again, Kissing in a Tree.

I knew that, despite their differences, Hugh Hewitt and Joe Klein could not remain apart forever. Their love was too strong.

So I wasn't really surprised to see yesterday's exchange:

HH: The gay and lesbian community up in arms over his relationship with James Meeks, who is very, in the words that they use, very homophobic. Does that sort of an attack from a traditional Democratic interest group bother you?

JK: No. I mean, really, I’ll tell you, bother me? I mean, the things I’m interested in are the big ones. I’m interested in foreign policy, national security, an alternative energy plan, the economy, those sort of things.

HH: Gay rights don’t matter?

JK: …And on those issues. That’s where I think that this campaign can go. You know, Hugh, we have a big choice this year.

HH: But do gay rights matter, Joe?

JK: No, I mean, I don’t think that they matter nearly as much as this other stuff.

Way to walk yourself back, Joe.

I, for one, would like to see a list of Joe's priorities. I imagine gay rights falls somewhere between 'abolishing the penny' and 'having his oil changed.'

Isn't There a Law...?

It's hard to believe that a one-time publicist for Harry Chapin could be such a prick.

Anything for a Putzalanche, I guess.

Click the Links.

Putz:

OOPS: "Shadow of Wright Still Hangs over Obama Campaign."

Yes, that is James Joyner's headline in the linked post. But his conclusion, in fact, is quite the opposite. He describes the evidence as "thin," "pretty weak" and "silly."

Joyner concludes:

I find the Wright story interesting. And the fact that Obama has seen him as a mentor all these years probably means that he, too, is more complicated than his well crafted public image. But I don’t see this brouhaha being a decisive factor in who becomes our next president.

Putz either didn't read beyond the headline -- the "oops" suggests that he did not -- or he purposefully misconstrued the post's content to suggest Obama's unelectability. (It should go without saying that J. Wright may have mortally wounded the Obama campaign, but that's not the case Joyner makes.)

Either way, this is pathetic.

...The InstaPutz intern observes that this foolishness is a habit of Putz's, like saccharin.

This Has Been Another...

As an aside, do you think there will ever come a point where any of these guys will become too embarrassed to ever blog again? Do I dare to dream?

The answers, Right Reverend Bradrocket, is ha ha no and you probably shouldn't.

Today's Republican Personal Responsibility Award Goes To...

Douglas Feith.

Man, I hate that guy.

Aw, Isn't That Sweet.

Not very civil.

Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

Adds Radar: "Then, we assume, the two pushed aside the press gaggle and had a passionate grudgefuck right there on the Straight Talk Express."

You Can't Make This Shit Up.

[via]

O Rly?

This seems a little extreme, no?

Especially in some of the states that have yet to vote, the Wright affair “is a big vulnerability,” said Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, a Clinton superdelegate. And “all of this delegate stuff is artificial,” she added, alongside the reality that the party’s nominee must be able to carry big states like hers, where Mrs. Clinton won a disputed victory; Ohio, where she triumphed last month; and Pennsylvania, where she leads in polls.

Pretty soon, nothing is going to count. This might be the first-ever nihilist Presidential campaign ever.

I Did Not Make This Up.

Hugh Hewitt really wrote this:

I played excerpts from Hillary's speech from today, in which she references "hurling" her "bookbag" across her room at college on hearing of the assassination of MLK, as well as wearing a black arm band in a protest march in Boston in the aftermath of the murder.

Listeners are e-mailing skepticism about their being bookbags and arm bands in 1968. I have no opinion, being 12 at the time. E-mail evidence to hugh@hughhewitt.com

The man is completely cracked. I guess if I were a family member I'd be worried, but since I'm not, I just think it's funny.

If you have the time and inclination, I strongly suggest you e-mail Hugh "evidence" and for the love of god, cc me.

Shorter John McCain.

My experience in the military entitles me to incredible ignorance of non-military affairs.

Pathetic. A journalist rightly wonders why, at the age of 47, McCain voted against designating Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday.

REPORTER: But what didn't you know when you voted initially against it that you later knew...?

MCCAIN: I had not really been involved in the issue. I had not had a lot of experience with the issue.

REPORTER: But hadn't you been around during...

MCCAIN: In Arizona, I came from a military where we are the greatest equality opportunity employer in the nation and still are, and I had just not been involved in the issue. There were issues I had not been involved in when I was in the military and then I went relatively very quickly to being a member of Congress.

REPORTER: You just didn't realize the large role in American history...

MCCAIN: I think I just explained it about as well as I could, but I'd be glad to repeat...

REPORTER: It's not really an issue to be involved in, to be aware of his impact on this country...

MCCAIN: I think you're entitled to your option on it. And I respect your opionion on that. But I had not been involved in the issue. I had come from being in the military, running for Congress in a state that did not have a very large African American population and it had not been an issue. It simply had not been in my state at that time nor even in Congress. The momentum was building in that direction...

A pat on the head to Tapper: "It may be that what's called for here is not just straight talk, but some straight-from-the-heart talk. Because this tone seems just oft-putting."

...McCain routinely uses his military service to bolster his case for the Presidency, but here he uses it to excuse a dark blot on his record. Well, isn't that convenient?