More Media Photo Bias

Via a tip from a reader...

Just when you though the media would have learned from USA Today's manipulating of photos of the Secretary of State, the New York Times run a photo in this article that gives conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito a sickly green pallor.

Is this an accident, incompetence on the part of the NY Times, or a deliberate act by a liberal news organization to taint a conservative Supreme Court nominee?

This photo clearly violates the National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics and Articles I, IV, V, and VI of the American Society of Newspaper Editors Statement of Principles.

We can hope that the Times will correct this image and print an apology similar to that of USA Today's.

Cross-posted at Newsbusters.org.

Update: The photo has now been removed from the NY Times story, without a retraction.

Blog Drive Ends Soon

I want to thank everyone who has so generously donated to the Confederate Yankee Blog Drive. Your donations mean a lot, when combined with my expected advertising from Pajamas Media, it brings me very close to being able to afford a "brand" laptop to work from very soon.

As Confederate Yankee expects to be doing some more investigative journalism (now in progress) and blogging from "on the road" in our second year (which starts after our Nov. 5 "blogiversary" this upcoming Saturday), this is a welcome addition to our blogging toolkit.

Thanks so much to those of you who have given from your hearts so far.

"An Offer You Can't Refuse..."

Fox News, CNN, and ABC News are all announcing that Bush will tap conservative jurist Samuel A. Alito, 55, for the Supreme Court.

Michelle Malkin has the details, which will make judicial conservatives very happy and already has some far left liberals screaming for a filibuster.

My prediction: Liberals will shriek themselves into irrelevancy, the "Gang of 14" will fold, Alito will be easily confirmed, and both sides will squirrel away cash and rhetoric for the '06 and '08 campaigns.

Of course, this was the Evil Rovian Plan all along.

Side Note: How long will it be before the "tolerant left" will try to smear Alito based upon his religion and his heritage?

The Best so Far

The Anchoress is one of my favorite reads a a fellow blogger, and in my opinion, this piece may be her best yet, putting this intellectually dishonest turd from Jonathan Alter into perspective.

And before you ask, yes, I've to my own reaction to Alter's steaming pile, which I'll post sometime later in the week.

"Activists"

Via FoxNews.com:

"Activists," you say?

At least 61 of their fellow "activists" were killed and another 188 "activists" were injured as four nearly simultaneous "combustible demonstrations" occurred in New Delhi on Saturday, October 29, 2005.

Someone should tell the Associated Press and Fox News that watching your friends and neighbors get blown up does tend to make people active.

Bacon-Phobics are At it Again

Via Drudge. I'm pretty sure it wasn't Methodists...

Three teenage Christian girls were beheaded and a fourth was seriously wounded in a savage attack on Saturday by unidentified assailants in the Indonesian province of Central Sulawesi.

The girls were among a group of students from a private Christian high school who were ambushed while walking through a cocoa plantation in Poso Kota subdistrict on their way to class, police Major Riky Naldo said.

The area is close to the provincial capital of Poso, about 1000 kilometres northeast of Jakarta.

Naldo said the heads of the three dead victims were found several kilometres from their bodies.

In Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the police to begin a hunt for the killers.

"In the holy month of Ramadan, we are again shocked by a sadistic crime in Poso that claimed the lives of three school students," he told reporters at the airport as he prepared to fly to Sumatra island.

"I condemn this barbarous killing, whoever the perpetrators are and whatever their motives."

You know who they are, just as I do, and the "motive" was that these girls were Christian.

Cropdust with bacon grease, then an ARCLIGHT strike. Sounds about right to me.

'Bout That Scooter thing...

So I'm still coming down off this headache and I'm still trying to understand all this:

Patrick Fitzgerald is indicting Scooter Libby for outing Mr. Sulu?

Indictment here (PDF)

No word on whether or not Jeff Gannon was involved. (Actually, yes there is).

Skullcrusher

Sorry for the light posting. I'm now starring in a production of "Fun with Migraines."

I hope to be back tonight...

Update: See what a lack of sleep can do?

Slitting Their Wrists With Occam's Razor

In response to this morning's post on photo ethics at USA Today, USA Today Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Kinsey Wilson dropped by this humble blog and left the following comment:

I'd like to explain how that happened. USATODAY.com, like other news organizations, often adjusts photos for sharpness and brightness to optimize their appearance when published online. In this case, a USATODAY.com editor sharpened the photo and then brightened a portion of Rice's face. Those changes had the effect of distorting the photo and failed to meet our editorial standards for accuracy and integrity. The photo has been replaced with a properly adjusted copy and an editor's note has been published here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-10-19-rice-congress_x.htm. The photo did not appear in the USA TODAY newspaper.

The editors of USATODAY.com will make every effort to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again.

Kinsey Wilson
VP/Editor-in-Chief
USATODAY.com

I am very thankful for Wilson's direct response. It is rare for a media officer to respond directly to a blogger, and rarer still to admit that mistakes, indeed, distortions, were made and published.

But I humbly suggest that the techniques cited by Mr. Wilson are not the most likely techniques used to develop the now infamous Rice manipulations. The actual techniques were probably both less sophisticated, and more intentional in design than USA Today would have us believe.

To borrow one of the more popular interpretations of principal of Occam's Razor, "when you have two competing theories which make exactly the same predictions, the one that is simpler is the better."

In other words, the most direct route is often the most likely process, and the process USA Today's Wilson would have us believe created this photo is not the most direct, nor the most logical.

But let's start with what we know.

This is the photo that USA Today originally ran in this article.

It has since been replaced by this image.

The area of manipulation in this photo is on Rice's face, specifically her eyes. Look at the USA Today's manipulated version at 400% enlargement.

Notice that while the eyes and eyelids are heavily manipulated, other areas appear untouched, even if blurry from being blown up to this scale. Now let's take a look at how this photo could have been manipulated in the easiest possible manner.

In the various graphics applications that I've used over the years (Photoshop, Fireworks, Paint Shop Pro), there has always been a "paint bucket" fill tool. The paint bucket fill is just that, a tool that enables the user to "dump" a selected color in an area to fill it.

I created the following image using the replacement image now on the USA Today site.

Now compare:

The image on the left was created in less than 30 seconds using nothing more than the paint bucket fill tool in Fireworks to create something very similar to the "Zombie Rice" photo that was created in-house, and made its way past a photo editor (and perhaps others) and onto USATODAY.com.

When scaled back down, it is all but impossible to tell the difference between the 30 second paint bucket dump and resize, versus USA Today's claim of selecting a specific region of the photo, sharpening it, and then brightening it, to accidentally produce an unflattering photo.

Using Occam's razor, I'd suggest that it was unlikely that USA Today would spend a great deal of time to enhance such a small photo. I future suggest that the end result of USA Today's manipulated photo was quite possibly intentional, and accomplished by a "quick and dirty" technique similar to the one I used.

Now the most important question is how this intentionally manipulated image was created at USA Today, was placed into a story, made it past a photo editor, possibly a content editor, and into production. How did this photo manage to get past several layers of editorial review? Multiple instances of incompetence, or a wink and a nod?

Ethically, there is no excuse for this image making it online. Photographers and editors have a responsibility to the integrity of a photo and the personalities in those photos. Most news organizations take this responsibility very seriously, and photo editors have been dismissed for far less obvious offenses including this example from the Los Angeles Times.

This manipulated image specifically violates the National Press Photographers Association Digital Manipulation Code of Ethics, adopted in1991 by the NPPA Board of Directors:

As journalists we believe the guiding principle of our profession is accuracy; therefore, we believe it is wrong to alter the content of a photograph in any way that deceives the public.

As photojournalists, we have the responsibility to document society and to preserve its images as a matter of historical record. It is clear that the emerging electronic technologies provide new challenges to the integrity of photographic images ... in light of this, we the National Press Photographers Association, reaffirm the basis of our ethics: Accurate representation is the benchmark of our profession. We believe photojournalistic guidelines for fair and accurate reporting should be the criteria for judging what may be done electronically to a photograph. Altering the editorial content ... is a breach of the ethical standards recognized by the NPPA.

USA Today clearly violated these long established guidelines. It remains to be seen how much they actually value the ethics and editorial standards they claim to adhere to.

Notes
Much more from Michelle Malkin's follow up post, USA TODAY REMOVES DOCTORED PHOTO. Malkin's original post DEMONIZING CONDI. My response to Malkin's original post Photo Ethics Eludes USA Today.

Update: Classical Values conducted a similar Photoshopping experiment. California Conservative offers up a version every bit as credible as the original.

From the Pen seems to have beaten us all to the story, but I don't know if I agree with Dan Riehl's assessment of the origins.

Iran Volunteers to Test Israeli Nukes

Having not yet fully developed their own nuclear capabilities, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems intent on testing the capabilities of Israel's nuclear warheads... on the Iranian population:

"The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," the president told a conference in Tehran on Wednesday, entitled The World without Zionism.

"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land," he said.

"As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map," said Ahmadinejad, referring to Iran's revolutionary leader Ayat Allah Khomeini.

Are Syrian and Iranian leaders in some sort of a contest to see who gets deposed next?

Hear That?

Three Iraqi Sunni parties are forming a political coalition. Don't expect to see that on page 1 of the NY Times.

That tapping sound you here is the sound of Iraqi democracy driving nails into to coffin of al Qaeda in Iraq.

al Qaeda's strategic war is lost, their tactical capabilities steadily eroded. The terrorists have the ability to still kill, sometimes spectacularly, but they no longer have any chance of containing a nation of people that has demonstrated that it wants freedom, and is willing to trust the ballot more than the bullet.

As daily developments continute to prove, Allah is not on the side of the Jihadis.

Confederate Yankee Blog Drive: I Can't Beleive It's Not Butter!

I want to start out by thanking everyone who has generously donated to what I should probably call the "Buy Bob a new computer once he jump starts a charity (if needed)so he can sleep every now and then" fund. I plan to run this drive periodically until my Nov. 5 first "blogiversary," but thought it might help if I had a specific target in mind.
For that, I turn to you.
I'm looking for a notebook computer as my replacement computer, for a couple of reasons, the primary reason being I'd like to be capable of mobile computing, especially as I might have the opportunity to do some on-location blogging in the not-too distant future. But while I'm comfy in my desktop knowledge, I can hardly claim to be anything approaching an expert on notebooks, with my only real experience coming from work-issued Thinkpads at several of my last jobs. I liked them, but they are all I know. What are my other options? I know I'd like:

• something with a quiet keyboard.
• something wireless.
• something rugged.
• enough "horsepower" to run multiple applications at once, including some memory hogs.
• to burn CDs and DVDs here and there.
• long service life.

P.S. -- That "Santa's Slays" movie in my last Blog Drive post? I actually watched it, well, subjected myself to it, last night. Let's just say it was everything you would expect in a holiday-themed horror/comedy starring a professional wrestler.

Photo Ethics Eludes USA Today

Michelle Malkin busts the photo editor of USA Today for manipulating a photo of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in a way that makes Dr. Rice look just a wee bit possessed.

As she notes, Richard Curtis is USAT's Graphics and Photos Managing Editor, and while I don't know if he directly had a hand in deciding to run the doctored photo, he is ultimately responsible for a manipulation that would appear to be a violation of most people's concept of photo ethics (If you have a problem seeing this ethics violation, slap a pair of Linda Blair eyes on Hillary Clinton or Jesse Jackson and you should be able to suddenly see it clearly).

What are responsible photo ethics? When is it acceptable to manipulate photos, and to what extent? Fred Showker at 60 Second Window has a wonderful practical guide for photo ethics, which defines in part what acceptable photo ethics entail:

editing procedures are allowed to compensate for limitations and defects inherent in the digital photographic process. However, the editor must be diligent to protect the photo's true-to-life accuracy.

And isn't:

For the sake of representing honest and accurate information, the digital editor should avoid anything that will change the actual event or scene as it was captured by the camera. This includes adding, removing or moving objects in such a way that the context of the event is altered. The digital image editor must be careful to let the photos speak for themselves. So it's not permissible to alter any aspect of place or time -- like removing wrinkles or gray hair. Additionally they should never enhance or distract from the apparent quality or desirability of a subject, or the aesthetics of a place.

It is quite clear that USA Today violated these guidelines, creating an image that was a misleading, decidedly negative representation of an individual. The person or persons who directly manipulated this photo and the person who allowed it to run should be disciplined, and possibly terminated for a gross and deliberate abuse of journalistic integrity.

Now is when we will discover if USA Today is a responsible news organization, or a tabloid. The ball is in your court, Mr. Curtis.

(Cross-posted to NewsBusters.org)

Update: Horrible, pre-coffee grammer cleaned up.

Update #2: Welcome Matt Drudge/Michelle Malkin/Instapundit readers to my little corner of the web. Confederate Yankee usually writes about politics and media bias, and you caught us on one of those media bias stories. We're currently soliciting funds to replace an aging (circa 2001) computer, and if you have a few bucks to spare, it would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to know more about Confederate Yankee before you donate, please visit the main page for more articles.

Thanks!

Update #3: Horrible, post-coffee oversight of the incorrect spelling of grammar as "grammer" cleaned up.

Update #4: Please read the updated follow-up post "Slitting Their Wrists with Occam's Razor."

This Post Intentionally Left Untitled

I'm glad to see my favorite former Congress idiot is getting along just fine without me (h/t: Doc Paul).

Galloway: Getting It In The End?

If even a fraction of this Senate report (pdf) is true, blowhard British MP and left wing hero, is in for a world of trouble -- or at least two countries worth.

If the Senate report is correct, Galloway not only commited crimes on American soil, but he commited perjury in a libel case in England that he won as well, based upon these same claims of innocence.

Galloway appears to have counted on illegal Iraqi oil for his future.

Update: Christopher Hitchens is having a field day with these developments.

Fitzgerald to Clear Rove?

Yeah, I know I've been ignoring the whole Plamegate thing for the most part until tonight, but what do you take away from this 11th hour story in the New York Times:

With the clock running out on his investigation, the special counsel in the leak case continued to seek information on Tuesday about Karl Rove's discussions with reporters in the days before a C.I.A. officer's identity was made public, lawyers and others involved in the investigation said.

Three days before the grand jury in the case expires and with the White House in a state of high anxiety, the special counsel, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, appeared still to be trying to determine whether Mr. Rove had been fully forthcoming about his contacts with Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Robert D. Novak, the syndicated columnist, in July 2003, they said.

How would you read that?

Digby, of Hullabaloo (according to Memeorandum the first and only blogger commenting on this story at the moment), apparently didn't read anything into that at all. He seemed more intent on trying to furtively establish links dragging in Vice President Cheney in a section future down the page.

But I don't think the Times would bury the lead on this story; they want Rove and they're interpreting the special counsel's last-minute information gathering as tying up loose ends that could lead to an indictment of Rove.

But there is, of course, at least one other explanation for this apparent last-minute flurry of activity: Fitzgerald might be making sure that he is justified in not bringing charges against Karl Rove at all.

If special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has decided not to indict the man that liberal's most hate, he better have his ducks in a row and able to withstand intense scrutiny. This last second fact-checking would appear to be consistent towards that end as well.

Time will tell.

Almost Over?

According to anonymous sources in the Washington Note, indictments are coming from Plamegate prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald tomorrow:

1. 1-5 indictments are being issued. The source feels that it will be towards the higher end.
2. The targets of indictment have already received their letters.
3. The indictments will be sealed indictments and "filed" tomorrow.
4. A press conference is being scheduled for Thursday.

Will anyone else simply be happy when this is over? I'm tired of the idle speculation, the "educated" guessing, the bloviating, the bile, and leaks from the investigation that seem to dwarf the events actually being investigated.

If folks commited crimes, they out to be help accountable, and that's about all that matter from where I sit. Give them a fair trial, and let the chips fall where they may.

Update: Now what could this mean?

Ulterior Motives?

Via WaPo:

"I'll be laying down and not getting up," Sheehan said Tuesday to a small crowd in which the number of journalists exceeded the number of protesters. "When they let me out, I'll do the same thing if I get arrested."

I wonder why....
*sings* "I'll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places..."

Re-update: added the lyrics. It felt so wrong, and yet so right.

Confederate Yankee Blog Drive (Day Whatever): Threats of Evil Santa

I'd like to thank those of you who have so generously donated to the Confederate Yankee Blog Drive so far. As you know, proceeds with go to a new PC so that I can turn this aging Dell (circa 2001, we've liberated two countries and had elections there since then) over to my wife and daughter for their web -surfing and educational game-playing needs, and then have a dedicated 'puter to blog with. As it is, I'm having to share computer time, and that leads me to writing until 1-2 AM (like now), which wipes me out and lowers the quality of my output as well. I wants to write good for you.

Besides, if you don't, I'll slip this onto your Amazon Wish List:

You don't want to know the "plot":

Santa ([Former Pro Wrestler Bill] Goldberg) is actually Satan, who 1,000 years ago lost a curling match to an angel...

Bill Goldberg. Acting. Look, I hate to do this, but daddy needs a computer...

So help a blogger out, will ya?

A Defense Without Bite

Poor Gorgeous George Galloway is have a tough time of it lately. First Christopher Hitchens ate him alive in a televised debate, and now the U.S. Senate says it can prove he took payments from Saddam Hussein totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, and lied about it under oath in front of Congress.

Via The Independent:

George Galloway, the British MP, was last night accused of lying by a US Congressional committee when he testified earlier this year that he had not received any United Nation food-for-oil allocations from the deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

In a report issued here, Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman and his colleagues on the Senate Subcommittee for Investigations claim to have evidence showing that Mr Galloway's political organisation and his wife received vouchers worth almost $600,000 (£338,000) from the then Iraqi government.

The Senate subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, cites testimony from former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and wire transfers recorded by both Citibank and the Arab Bank.

So how does that den of critical thinking, the Democratic Underground, respond to the charges against one of their favorite Saddam sycophants?

By attacking the credibility of Coleman's teeth. Yes, the quality of your dentistry determines your credibility in DU Land.

Now, who said that the Democrats were a party without ideas?

One More Stop to Make

Good luck and Godspeed on your final journey, Mrs. Parks.

Rosa Parks, American Hero, dead at 92.

Learning From The Master

Via Yahoo!

Havana, Cuba, October 24, 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Wilma

Fidel Castro proves that he, too, can learn something from New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Landfall

Folks, Hurricane Wilma is makinging landfall as a 125 MPH Category 3 major hurricane near Marco Island, Florida. It is stronger than almost anyone predicted.

Please say a prayer for all the people too stupid or arrogant to get out of the way, of which there were many, (including members of my family in West Palm Beach).

After Rita and Katrina, you'd think people would learn.

Repost: Go To Hell, Cindy Sheehan

[The American military is on the eve of losing its 2,000th soldier in combat in Iraq after well over two years in action. In that time, 26 million Iraqi people have been given a say in the future of their country, and two rounds of national voting have proven that democracy has a chance in a part of the world that detractors said it would never take root.

This post was originally released August 9, 2005.]

Let me make this perfectly clear: I loath Cindy Sheehan.

I despise everything she stands for, and love the ideals she stands against. I hate how she dishonors her brave son's memory. I cringe when she utters stupid talking points—“why did the president kill my son?”—and I cannot stand the fact that she egotistically thinks she is more important than the tens of millions of people she would undermine in her quest for vengeance. Clearly, her arrogance knows no limits.

The most important mother in the world.
Cindy Sheehan thinks she is the most important mother in the world.

She is holding a vigil to speak to the president—again—even though she has made it abundantly clear in her comments to the news media that she has nothing new to offer other than clichés. She wants the troops to pull out of Iraq now, no matter the future costs or the wasted sacrifices. She wants Bush to personally account for her son's death. She wants Bush to personally tell her why her son died. She, she, she. Well guess what Cindy?

You are not the only mother who has sent a son off to war. You are one mother of the more than 1,800 troops who died serving their country in a military they volunteered to join, knowing that they could be sent off to war. There are thousands of other mothers who have had their sons and daughters wounded in combat. There are mothers for each and every one of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, from more than a dozen nations, that have served in Iraq in an effort to bring democracy and hope to that region.

Nor are you more important than the mothers of the 25 million Iraqis that your son Casey was trying to bring freedom. You didn't understand his courage or commitment, and you can't understand why someone who lay down their life for a stranger. That is your problem Cindy Sheehan, and you dishonor your own son's memory every time you open your mouth to fight against everything he gave his life for.

Nor are you more important, Cindy Sheehan than the mothers of the tens of millions in Afghanistan, Lebanon, and other nations tasting freedom for the first time because of brave men like your late son.

Despite what you think, Cindy Sheehan, you are not more important than any of these millions of other mothers, though you would make all their sacrifices in vain to bring down a President.

Vengeance, not Justice. Hatred, not Hope.
Your son died trying to bring freedom to an oppressed people. I can think of no more noble sacrifice. But you, Cindy Sheehan, you want revenge for your heartache, and you don't care who gets hurt in the process.

That is why you, Cindy Sheehan, can go to hell.

You decided, in a mind warped by your association with head cases like Code Pink and Veterans for Peace, that George W. Bush made your son patriotic and gave him the heart to serve his country, and that George W. Bush made him volunteer for military service, and that George W. Bush forced him to want to make the military his career, and it was George W. Bush that made him re-enlist. And of course, George W. Bush pulled the trigger on the RPG in the Sadr City slum that took his life.

Cindy Sheehan doesn't give a damn about the millions of Iraqis her son was trying to bring freedom. Cindy Sheehan doesn't give a damn about the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that have rotated in and out of Iraq in that same quest. Cindy Sheehan doesn't give a damn if Iraqis are ruled by themselves or if they are tortured by tyrants. She is petty. She is vengeful. She wants revenge, and she doesn't care who gets hurt or who dies in the process.

I am ashamed for Casey Sheehan. He understood that there are things in this world worth giving up your life to create, and he made that sacrifice. His mother Cindy, full of hate, seeks only seeks to destroy.

I can understand her grief, but I cannot forgive the fact that she is willing to threaten the lives of others and give our enemies hope to satisfy her need for revenge.

A terrorist RPG killed the body of Casey Sheehan. It took his mother to try to kill his legacy.

Confederate Yankee Blog Drive (Day 5) The Delay Factor

As you know, we're trying to raise funds so that we can replace an aging Dimension L733R computer that is on it's last legs. I want to thank each and every one of you who has donated to the Confederate Yankee Blog Drive so far.

Unfortunately, I'd like to do what us conservatives are always accused of doing anyway: I'd like to misappropriate these funds.

WTF?

Yes, "where are those funds?" No, not campaign contributions, but something far more insidious. I hope Ronnie Earle doesn't find out.

After church this morning, my wife and I were discussing a mission she volunteers for called the Hope Chest (part of my volunteering is working on its web site, which isn't ready yet). Think of Hope Chest kind of like a Goodwill, before Goodwill had buildings and was operating out of private homes and garages, and you won't be far off.

Anyhow, were trying to do some fundraising for the Hope Chest for the holiday season, and we're waiting on our appropriations committee to get funds for supplies we need for the drive. Well, someone in the process is dragging their feed and we might not get funded in time, so I'd like to take the money you guys have graciously donated for a replacement PC and use it for the Hope Chest. Yes, I'm evil like that.

I will get reimbursed by the church, and I'll put that money directly back into the Confederate Yankee Blog Drive computer fund in a few weeks.

If anyone who has donated has a problem with this please let me know.

Thanks for every dime. It will get spend on a PC, jut not as quickly as I thought.

End the Quag-Miers

For several weeks I've tried to withhold judgment of President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers. Even at the beginning of this debacle I never held the illusion that she was the most qualified of candidates, but the question for me was, would she be qualified enough.

I have been firmly underwhelmed by the arguments of Will and Krauthammer and other pundits, just as I've annoyed by the tone deaf defenses of Miers by the administration.

I wanted to hear from the nominee herself before I offered my opinion of her suitability for the Supreme Court.

Now I have.

I've had several days to digest her 57 pages of answers to Senate Judiciary Committee, and time to read commentaries from other pundits that I respect, and I have now formed an opinion that I think I can be comfortable with.

I oppose the Miers nomination.

I do not oppose her for her convictions; I oppose her because she appears to have none.

I do not oppose Harriet Miers for having the wrong academic pedigree; I oppose her for not being able to write a cogent, or even a comprehensible, opinion.

I am sure that Harriet Miers is wonderful human being and a good friend, but she does not belong on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Hey, It's Only Genocide...

After reading this post at Michelle Malkin's site, I felt a bit embarrassed that a story like this happened on my turf, and I completely missed it. I shouldn't have felt bad, because our local North Carolina media was doing all it could to ignore the story of a former North Carolina State visiting professor who called for nothing less than the genocide of every last white person on the planet.

Dr. Kamau Kambon

The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, collectively known as the Triangle, has a handful of major regional media. Those I frequent are:

• WRAL-TV (Raleigh)
• WTVD-TV (Durham)
• The News and Observer newspaper
• WPTF talk radio

As expected, the area also has a slew of smaller media including alternative and college newspapers, the local NPR affiliate, and even a rumored Air America outlet, though I don't know of anyone that has actually heard it. Collectively, they have little overall community impact.

Of the regional media I monitor --The News and Observer, WRAL-TV, WTVD-TV, and WPTF, only the Bill Lumay show on WPTF talk radio discussed the story before Malkin's Friday column, with a segment on Thursday afternoon.

Using Malkin's post as a template (but not using her as a direct source to keep from offending tender liberal sensitivities), I alerted the N&O, WRAL, WTVD, and WPTF radio of the story via email.

I'd missed WPTF talk radio earlier in the week, but the host himself, Bill Lumay sent back an email confirming they'd discussed the issue on Thursday afternoon.

The News & Observer, ran a story today, and actually credited bloggers with fanning the flames.

To date neither of the regional television news stations, WPTF-TV (Durham) or WRAL-TV (Raleigh), have deemed to give this story any notice at all.

Nationally, on the Washington Times has given this story mention in an editorial today.

In North Carolina, the only other mention of Kamau Kambon was in passing in the Wilmington Journal, "Part of the BlackPressUSA Network," which was happy to mention that:

Dr. Kamau Kambon, co-director of the Bennu Cultural Center and Blacknificent Books and More in Raleigh, spoke at a pre-Millions More Movement conference at Howard University on developing new black media for effective activism, that was carried by C-SPAN last Friday.

Dr. Kambon said the black community must develop new systems of ensuring not only bits [sic] survival, but liberation, as it faces the challenges ahead.

Apparently the reporter, Cash Michaels, didn't think that the "exterminate white people" portion of Kamon's C-SPAN commentary was worth mentioning, unless that is what he meant with his comment about how the black community could ensure it's survival.

Apparently in this day and age, it is fine to be a genocidal racist psychopath, just as long as you happen to have the right skin color and ideology.

Note: Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom interviewed Kamon yesterday.

Stock Market Funnies

I've never seen such a simple graph make me giggle so hard...

A Miered Religion

Via LGF:

In Alexandria, Egypt, a Muslim mob attacked a Christian church and rioted to protest the release of a DVD that portrayed Muslims attacking Christian churches...

It is getting harder and harder to think of Islam as anything other than a poorly written and over-extended joke.

The Quake That Disappeared

When I made my guestimate on October 9 that the Pakistani quake might lead up to 100,000 dead, I'd hoped that that figure would be substantially off.

Sadly, it may not be:

The top United Nations top relief coordinator Jan Egeland, incensed by what he saw as a woefully inadequate international response to the most difficult relief operation the world has ever seen, called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to stage a massive airlift to get survivors to safety.

That would mean helicopters, the only means of getting quickly deep into the rugged Himalayan foothills of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province where 51,000 people are dead. That toll, in addition to some 1,300 who were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, is still expected to rise substantially. Pakistan said the number of injured, now 74,000, could also leap because large quake-hit areas had not yet been reached.

Our own weather woes and political scandals de jour have all but erased this from the American mind. You can keep up with the rescue and recover effort at the South Asia Quake Blog.

Confederate Yankee Blog Drive (Day 3)

Update:

You guys are just wrong...

Change of Venue

Is it a bad sign that Arlen Specter has requested that Harriet Miers SCOTUS hearing be moved here?

La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, CA. source

The Other White Meat

The web is running wild with reports that U.S. soldiers desecrated the bodies of two Taliban terrorists by cremating them, and then used the action to taunt other terrorists.

According to Jason Coleman, some liberal blogs are claiming that the bodies were intentionally placed facing west as an insult.

That is demonstrably false, and easily proven.

Warning: graphic photo below the jump.

If the body was facing east or west, the shadows would be running parallel with the alignment of the bodies. As you can tell by looking at the feet of the bodies, they are perpendicular to the shadows.

The narrative does not hold.

Coleman and Dan Riehl, and Hyscience have much more about both the incident itself, the Austrailian embed who reported it, and the news organization that reported it.

This stinks

Confederate Yankee Blog Drive (Day 2)

Wilma Eyes Yucatan... For Now

Via CTV, eh?

Hurricane Wilma was downgraded to a still powerful Category Four storm on Wednesday night, but forecasters say it could regain strength as it rips across the Atlantic.

As of 11 p.m. EDT, the centre of Hurricane Wilma was about 380 kilometres south-east of Cozumel, Mexico. The storm was heading west-northwest at 13-kilometres per hour, and a turn toward the northwest was expected Thursday.

Syracuse Prof Compares Gang Riot to Boston Tea Party

Syracuse Professor Dr Boyce Watkins, author of What if George Bush was a Black Man?, compared the rioting of Toledo gang members to the Boston Tea Party just minutes ago on Hannity & Colmes.

It was the first time in recent memory that both Hannity & Colmes seemed to think that their guest was an idiot.

As Drudge might say, "Developing..."

Update: Ian Schwartz at The Political Teen has the video.

A partial transcript, picking up at the 2:00 mark:

Sean Hannity: But I don't understand the few people here... How do you.. you can't say poverty caused people to throw rocks at ambulances.

Boyce Watkins: I'm not saying that poverty causes peope to do anything, but the fact is that if you just look at the symptoms and you don't look at the cause, then you're always going to wonder,well What in the world's making people behave that way? You don't have the right to judge people who are in situations you don't understand...

Sean Hannity: Yes we do, yes we do...

*crosstalk*

Boyce Watkins: No, No...

*crosstalk*

Sean Hannity:.. we, we have the right to discern. sir, you are rationalizing -- hang on a second, I'll let you talk -- we have a right to discern
right and wrong, and people, good people, don't like those people who were marching [neo-nazis in a parade. --ed] and good people find it repulsive that people who are there in a community to help save lives have their windsheilds pelted out with rocks. Good people can discern right and wrong, you don't throw rocks at police cars sir--

Boyce Watkins: But good people will support programs that will give the angry youth opportunities so that they don't feel angry. You think this riot is because of... *crosstalk* This riot wasn't due to the neo-Nazis...

Alan Colmes: Boyce, hold on... Boyce this is Alan Colmes in New York. you can't make any excuses for this behavior, and the best thing that could have happened *crosstalk* -- hold on, and I'll give you a full chance to respond -- the best thing that could have happened to these neo-Nazis when they came to Toledo would be ignore them, and unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Boyce Watkins: I agree with you. I agree with you, but the thing is that if you simply look at the actions and you don't try to understand what is really going on, you're going to wonder why they're behaving this way. If you look at the Boston Tea Party for example--

Alan Colmes: You compare this to the Boston Tea Party?

Boyce Watkins: Yes, yes, becuase the fact is that you can look at the Boston Tea Party and say oh, well those thugs they're stealing tea, what wrong with them? But the fact is that there was a reason they were doing this--

Alan Colmes: A movement like the Boston Tea Party? You can't make that analogy!

Boyce Watkins: No-no-no-no. You don't define it as a movement, but the fact is that those peope who ae suffering do. And I'm not saying that all this was justified--

Alan Colmes: You're making excuses for them!

Boyce Watkins: No, I don't judge... I believe in a safer America, but if you want a safer America, you must have a fair and equitable America, in which everyone is given access to the same american Dream that you--

Alan Colmes: You're making it sound, Dr. Watkins, as if poverty somehow excuses the kind of behavior we're showing on our screen.

Boyce Watkins: Poverty, Poverty is not an excuse, but it s partly an explanation. And there's a diffrence between being poor and being trapped in poverty. And so until we as a country fully address the poverty issue, we're going to have another Katrina situation, we'e going to have another Toledo situation, we're going to have another Rodney King sitation...

Alan Colmes: That's a fine line between excuse and explanation.

[italics mine]

Yeah, gangbangers throwing bricks at squad cars is the exact same thing as colonists protesting excessive taxation without representation.

Somebody Forgot About Vince Foster

Via (yeah, I know) NewsMax:

"Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan is urging fellow Democrats not to support "pro-war Democrat" Hillary Clinton for president, saying she sounds too much like conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh in her support for U.S. efforts in Iraq.

In an open letter posted to Michael Moore's web site, Sheehan blasts Hillary for backing the Iraq invasion, saying, "I think she is a political animal who believes she has to be a war hawk to keep up with the big boys."

Letter at Slugzilla's here.

I guess that outburst answers any lingering questions about Cindy's intelligence...

Pimpin' Ain't Easy (But It's Gotta be Done)

...And now comes the hard part... what Ace calls "the shaking of the cyber cup."

While I'd love not to do it, this little slice of the blogosphere has to be cobbled together somewhere, and for the past year, that has occurred on a battle-weary Dell Dimension L733R, circa 2001, which has seen far better days. My wife and I, and our increasingly computer-savvy daughter, all jockey for time on this single and rapidly-aging desktop PC.

Yes, shamefully, I don't have a full-loaded WiFi-enabled laptop with 22' chrome rims. I'm an embarassment to pajama pundits everywhere.

So please consider this:

Over to the right are a Paypal donation buttons for this site.

If each of you frequent readers could see your way click over and donate a couple of bucks or three, it would go a long way towards getting a dedicated Confederate Yankified computer (sorry, no General Lee-type paint scheme, unless you guys go really nuts), which will give me more time to research and write quality posts to keep you entertained.

Is that a good "bang for your buck," or what?

WIIIILLL-MA! Monster Reaches Category 5 Overnight

...And she's rocking with enough power to scour Bedrock off the map.

Via Fox News:

Hurricane Wilma strengthened into a Category 5 monster early Wednesday packing 175 mph winds, and forecasters said a key reading of the storm's pressure showed it to be the most powerful of the year.

Wilma was dumping rain on Central America and Mexico, and forecasters warned of a "significant threat" to Florida by the weekend.

The storm's power multiplied greatly over the last day. It was only Tuesday morning that Wilma grew from a tropical storm into a weak hurricane with 80 mph winds.

Wilma's pressure readings Wednesday morning indicated that it was the strongest hurricane of the season, said Trisha Wallace, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Wilma had a reading of 892 millibars, the same reading as a devastating unnamed hurricane that hit the Florida Keys in 1935.

"We do not know how long it will maintain this Category 5 state," Wallace said.

Not long, I'd hope. Idaho sure sounds nice...

Torn

Law enforcement officers, like members of the military, firefighters, paramedics and other first responders are the sheepdogs that keep the wolves at bay. These men and women and their families make sacrifices every day that those of us they protect will never fully understand.

Because of all that these families do for us, when I find myself squaring off against the bereaved widow of a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty, I do not enter into such opposition lightly.

Mark Tucker, a Wake County, NC sheriff's deputy, was gunned down by Matthew Charles Grant, a felon who didn't want to go back to prison for being the possession of a weapon. Deputy Tucker's widow, backed by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, filed suit yesterday against Cary Jewelry & Pawn, saying via a press release:

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence today filed a lawsuit on behalf of the widow of a Wake County, North Carolina Sheriff's Investigator, charging that a gun shop's negligence helped arm his killer.

Investigator Mark Tucker was shot in the face with a shotgun and killed on February 12, 2004, by Matthew Grant, a convicted felon. The suit seeks to recover damages from Cary Jewelry & Pawn, who supplied Grant's friend, Van McQueen, with the 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun that was used to kill Investigator Tucker. Grant is also a named defendant.

The suit was filed in Wake County court and claims that Cary Jewelry & Pawn, of Cary, North Carolina, negligently and illegally sold the murder weapon to an obviously dangerous person.

In November 2003, Van McQueen and Matthew Grant went to Cary Jewelry & Pawn to buy a firearm. McQueen planned to purchase a firearm as a straw buyer for Grant, because Grant was a felon prohibited from buying guns, and in return Grant promised to buy McQueen a beer. McQueen was mentally deficient and was obviously intoxicated, and the shop's clerk refused to sell him a gun. Three days later, McQueen returned to the pawn shop with Grant, again wanting to buy a firearm. Although his home address was a local mission, McQueen had $120 in cash to buy the weapon. This time, even though the same clerk who had seen McQueen intoxicated three days earlier was on duty, the shop completed the all-cash sale. McQueen then transferred the shotgun to Grant, who used it to shoot Investigator Tucker in the face, killing him. Grant was arrested, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Investigator Tucker.

"The evidence in this case clearly shows that the gun dealer irresponsibly and illegally sold a shotgun to a man it knew to be dangerous," said Daniel R. Vice, Staff Attorney with the Brady Center. "The gun dealer chose to make a quick buck rather than protect public safety – greed and recklessness caused the death of a brave law enforcement officer."

The commentary in the press release does indeed sound damning when presented in such a manner. The truth, however, is another matter entirely.

The Brady Center hopes to use this case to accomplish via the courts what they have failed to do so legislatively in over a decade of futile attempts, which is to further restrict the ability of law-abiding citizens to own firearms. They are more than willing to exploit the loss of a bereaved widow in their cynical attempt.

The fact of the matter is that according to the case laid out by the Brady Center, Cary Gun and Pawn seems to have followed the law exactly as it was written.

Let's follow this through the press release case presented point-by-point.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence today filed a lawsuit on behalf of the widow of a Wake County, North Carolina Sheriff's Investigator, charging that a gun shop's negligence helped arm his killer.

Investigator Mark Tucker was shot in the face with a shotgun and killed on February 12, 2004, by Matthew Grant, a convicted felon. The suit seeks to recover damages from Cary Jewelry & Pawn, who supplied Grant's friend, Van McQueen, with the 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun that was used to kill Investigator Tucker. Grant is also a named defendant.

The suit was filed in Wake County court and claims that Cary Jewelry & Pawn, of Cary, North Carolina, negligently and illegally sold the murder weapon to an obviously dangerous person.

These opening paragraphs outline the basic premise of the case according to the side bringing the suit. According to Brady, a negligent gun shop sold a Mossburg shotgun to “an obviously dangerous person.”

But by what standard can we consider the pawn shop negligent, and by what standard was the purchaser of the firearm an “obviously dangerous person?” Obviously, these are legal standards that must be satisfied, not emotional standards. Even this early on, the Brady case, as presented appears paper-thin.

The Brady release continues:

In November 2003, Van McQueen and Matthew Grant went to Cary Jewelry & Pawn to buy a firearm. McQueen planned to purchase a firearm as a straw buyer for Grant, because Grant was a felon prohibited from buying guns, and in return Grant promised to buy McQueen a beer.

At this point, the Brady Center must establish that it should have been apparent to the employee of Cary Gun & Pawn that this was a strawman sale. Some Monday morning lawyers would opine immediately that when two people enter a store to purchase a firearm, that obviously it should be apparent that a strawman purchase is underway. That is an erroneous assumption.

Most people are not experts in a wide range of subjects. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and as a society we rely upon the expertise of others every day of our lives. We trust pilots to move us in large metal tubes hurtling through the skies, trust doctors to diagnose our ills and sometimes cut into our bodies, and insurance agents to make sure our families are well provided for using formulas and tables we don't always understand. In a nation with 200 million firearms, quite a few Americans know quite a bit about guns.

When members of our families and friends decide they would like to purchase a firearm for target shooting, hunting, or self-defense, they often chose to bring along their own "expert"—often an uncle or a friend—to help them make what they hope will be a wise decision. Because of this, many firearms purchases involve a seller, a buyer, and a third party.

Third party involvement does not mean a strawman sale is imminent, nor is it illegal, or even improper.

The release continues:

McQueen was mentally deficient and was obviously intoxicated, and the shop's clerk refused to sell him a gun. Three days later, McQueen returned to the pawn shop with Grant, again wanting to buy a firearm.

We have two incidents here.

In the first incident, the clerk notices that the prospective buyer, McQueen, is probably intoxicated. The clerk does exactly what he should morally and legally, and refuses to sell McQueen a firearm.

The Brady Center does not help us understand why the clerk should have judged McQueen "mentally deficient," and does not explain whether this deficiency was a permanent condition, or a temporary condition brought about by substance use.

In the second encounter, three days later, McQueen is sober. While the clerk was correct in not selling a firearm to McQueen when he had been drinking, there is no law on North Carolina books that I am aware of that tells a seller or buyer that he must wait a predetermined number of days to purchase a firearm after he had had an alcoholic beverage. As McQueen had not been drinking on the day he tried to make the second purchase, the Pawn Shop clerk had no compelling legal or moral reason to deny the sale at that time.

Although his home address was a local mission, McQueen had $120 in cash to buy the weapon.

Is there a burden of proof upon the seller to verify that the place of residence cited upon the criminal background check is not only valid, but palatable? The obvious answer is no, and even implying such a charge speaks to issues of race and class, where someone literally from the wrong side of the tracks cold be denied their rights as American citizens based upon where they call home.

This time, even though the same clerk who had seen McQueen intoxicated three days earlier was on duty, the shop completed the all-cash sale.

Again, McQueen at this point was dead sober. As there is no statute mandating how many days a purchaser must wait to buy a firearm after imbibing, nothing remotely criminal occurred. All-cash sales, carried out in school lunchrooms across the country, are also not an actionable offense.

McQueen then transferred the shotgun to Grant, who used it to shoot Investigator Tucker in the face, killing him. Grant was arrested, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Investigator Tucker.

McQueen committed a crime by transferring a weapon to a felon. Grant got more time than he deserved. He got a lifetime. He should not be allowed that lifetime, and I'd like to see any cop killer face a mandatory death sentence, but unfortunately, I don't make the laws.

The Brady release concludes:

"The evidence in this case clearly shows that the gun dealer irresponsibly and illegally sold a shotgun to a man it knew to be dangerous," said Daniel R. Vice, Staff Attorney with the Brady Center. "The gun dealer chose to make a quick buck rather than protect public safety – greed and recklessness caused the death of a brave law enforcement officer."

Mr. Vice and I must have different definitions of the word "clearly."

The sale of a shotun to Van McQueen was an issue of judgment, an issue well inside the confines of the law as this case is presented, if oe that had a tragic ending. However, unless the clerk can reasonably be assumed to be psychic, there was no apparent compelling reason for the clerk to withhold the sale of a shotgun to a man simply because he had ingested a few beers some days in the past and went shopping with another person.

The "quick buck" theory—all $120 of it—would hardly seem to be enough of an incentive to build a credible "it's all about the Benjamins" case, especially with only one Benjamin ($100 bill) was involved.

This is less of a legitimate legal case than it is a cynical attempt by the Brady Center to use the grief of a widow to try to generate self-serving P.R. and raise funds. Consider me less than impressed, and more than a little disgusted at their tactics.

My heart goes out to Patricia Tucker for the loss of her husband. I hope she can find peace, but this is a case that she should not win. If she does, we all lose.

Be an Animal In Bed

The Llama Sutra

Heh.

Responsible Journalism

Sometimes, journalists simply flub a key fact, as did San Francisco Chronicle Washington correspondent Edward Epstein in this article about Saturday's constitutional referendum in Iraq:

Analysts do not see an end to Iraq's nonstop jockeying among competing ethnic and religious groups or to an insurgency that is averaging 570 attacks a day, despite voters' apparent approval of a new constitution on Saturday.

Epstein claimed that terrorists in Iraq were averaging 570 attacks each day in Iraq. When I emailed him asking for the source of this staggering figure, he quickly responded:

From latest CSIS report:

"The Bush administration's Oct. 2005 report to Congress does not show any decline in the number of attacks before the referendum. They totaled some 570 a week during 29 Aug. to October 2005. This compares with about 470 during 12 Feb-28 Aug.'"

When I pointed out that the report was claiming 570 attacks a week, not a day, (a difference of 3,420 attacks a week), Epstein quipped:

Where were you yesterday, so you could have caught that mistake?

Thanks, we'll run a correction tomorrow.

Professionals and amateurs alike, we all make mistakes from time to time in the stories we write. A certain columnist at the NY Times could learn a lot from Mr. Epstein on how to handle those mistakes.

Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.

(Hey folks, don't forget... we do have a home page with more posts!)

Chain Chain Chain... Cheney Fools

hilzoy at Obsidian Wings. Anonymous Liberal. Bilmon. O-Dub.

The last time the left got this excited a dress got ruined, but what exactly does today's Washington Post article Cheney's Office Is A Focus in Leak Case by Jim VandeHei and Walter Pincus actually tell us?

Not a whole lot, actually.

While full of speculation and reputed leaks from inside special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's office, the WaPo "bombshell" is using much of the same powder it has tried to fire before, only to watch it fizzle.

But don't take it from me. Ask Kevin Drum:

Today's Washington Post story about Dick Cheney being a target of the Valerie Plame probe turns out to have no actual new information about Cheney being a target of the Valerie Plame probe. In fact, it quotes a former Cheney aide saying that "it is 'implausible' that Cheney himself was involved in the leaking of Plame's name because he rarely, if ever, involved himself in press strategy."

It looks like the WaPo is slinging stuff against the wall and hoping that something sticks. We'll find out soon enough if and of it does, and should the charges have it have merit, I'm sure that the White House can think of someone to step into the vacated position...

...but at this point, VandeHei and Pincus seem to be engaged more in wishful thinking than serious journalism. I'll take everything I hear regarding "Plamegate" with a mine full of salt until Special Prosecuter Fitzgerald lays out his case, at which point I hope justice is served.

Bats in the Belfry, Rove in the Garage

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville, who first gained critical acclaim for her whimsical Plasterer's Digest expose, "Cheney: A Study in Stucco," and turned heads with the tawdry American Builder Weekly home foundations article, "What's in Condi's Crawlspace?" has now turned out her finest work yet in the riveting, "Rove: A KingBuilders Garage:"

He is "the architect" who steered George W. Bush to victory four times, twice as Texas governor and twice as president.

But can Karl Rove organize his own garage? Can the master of Bush's political planning figure out where to put the ladders, paint cans and cardboard boxes?

Engrossing, isn't it? Just the kind of stellar reporting you've come to expect from the Associated Press. But that's not all the sordid detail Superville has to offer:

There was no car in the garage. And the stuff left behind turned out not to be much different from what gathers dust inside most American garages.

The inventory, seen from outside:

_Some cardboard file boxes stacked one on top of the other, labeled "Box 6," "Box 4" and what appears to be "Box 7." No sign of boxes 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Could it be possible? Are these the same "boxes 1, 2, 3 and 5" that a secret operative of "G.W" removed just last week, claiming that the only contained jeans and assorted ties? Was there in fact a spotted blue dress? Has Patrick Fitzgerald Fitzgerald Patrick been notified?

What appear to be paint cans stacked alongside a folded, folding chair.

Are these really paint cans, or are they the WMDs planted in Uncle Saddam's Happy Fun Palace, used to justify an illegal and immoral war to force democracy upon unwilling Iraqi torturers, and then smuggled back to Rove's lair for later use against Syria or Finland?

A rather large wood crate marked "FRAGILE" and painted with arrows indicating which way is up.

Could she verify that this crate contained the stolen and almost mythical Daily Kos Plan For Taking Over The Democratic Leadership Council?

On top of the crate, two coolers.

Uday? Qusay? Oh, Bartleby! Oh, humanity!

A tall aluminum ladder.

Because the ice caps are melting and sea level is rising! Proof of global warming!

A snow shovel leaned in front of another cardboard box.

Because the ice sheets are returning and glaciers are coming! Proof of global cooling!

Wicker baskets inside of wicker baskets on top of a shelf running the length of the rear wall. Transparent plastic storage bins crammed with indiscernible stuff. Another cardboard box.

Is it really "indiscernible stuff," or Ohio ballots carefully hidden from Keith Olbermann among the Longaberger?

In one corner, the rear wheel of a bicycle sticks out, along with what appears to be a helmet.

Just a reminder of who's really in charge, eh George?

Another ladder, this one green, leaning sideways.

Leaning right, you devious shill.

I can hardly wait for Somerville's next article, "Scooter Libby's Private Privy."

Update: Don Surber has similar thoughts.

Counterpoint

M.D. Patrick Cunningham sent the following email to Instapundit today regarding avian flu hype:

As a medical researcher, I want to make a gentle but sincere plea to the blogosphere to calm down this flu hysteria just a bit. The main way that flu kills is by predisposing its victims to "superinfection" by bacterial illnesses - in 1918, we had no antibiotics for these superimposed infections, but now we have plenty. Such superinfections, and the transmittal of flu itself, were aided tremendously by the crowded conditions and poor sanitation of the early 20th century - these are currently vastly improved as well. Flu hits the elderly the hardest, but the "elderly" today are healthier, stronger, and better nourished than ever before. Our medical infrastructure is vastly better off, ranging from simple things like oxygen and sterile i.v. fluids, not readily available in 1918, to complex technologies such as respirators and dialysis. Should we be concerned? Sure, better safe than sorry, and concerns about publishing the sequence are worth discussing. Should we panic? No - my apologies to the fearmongers, but we will never see another 1918.

Patrick Cunningham M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Section of Nephrology
University of Chicago

I emailed Glenn the following as my response:

I am not a doctor, nor a biologist, nor a chemist. In any way that matters, I am completely unqualified to challenge the theory of Patrick Cunningham M.D. that the avian flu is over-hyped to the point of hysteria.

Sincerely,

It seems that a lot of the experts are blindly focusing on what we might have the knowledge to do, but not on the technical capability we have to execute their schemes in the compressed period of time in which a pandemic will likely occur.

What I've seen from the medical community so far (and what they've gotten wrong) makes flu pandemic planning look like Hurricane Katrina evacuations in a lab coat.

Bush Lied, Grandma Fried

Via ABC News:

The driver of a bus that caught fire while carrying nursing-home patients fleeing Hurricane Rita was charged Monday with criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of 23 passengers.

Juan Robles Gutierrez, a 37-year-old Mexican citizen, was taken into federal custody on an immigration violation five days after the Sept. 23 explosion near Dallas...

* * *

...Sheriff Lupe Valdez said investigators also found no evidence that Robles helped several people off the bus before it was engulfed in flames, which was widely reported after the explosion.

"After an exhausting number of interviews, we have been unable to confirm any of those claims," Valdez said in a statement.

However, Peritz said a failure to help crash victims was not part of the charges against Robles.

Great.

It makes you wish that the Minutemen, or more properly the Border Patrol, had been their to intercept this coward at the border instead of not picking him up until he after stood by and watch 23 elderly people in his charge burn to death.

Perhaps if the President gave a damn about border security, this loser wouldn't have been behind the wheel, or the motorist who tried to flag him down before the bus caught fire might have been able to communicate with him. Possibly not.

I've had it up to here with illegals in this country, those businesses that employ and them, and enablers in the government (local, state and federal) like President Bush. This issue only gets more pressing as time goes on, and these 23 nursing home residetns are just the latest victims.

Are you listening, '08 hopefuls?

There Goes The Dem-Love

John Fund in today's WSJ OpinionJournal:

Two days after President Bush announced Harriet Miers's Supreme Court nomination, James Dobson of Focus on the Family raised some eyebrows by declaring on his radio program: "When you know some of the things that I know--that I probably shouldn't know--you will understand why I have said, with fear and trepidation, that I believe Harriet Miers will be a good justice."

Mr. Dobson quelled the controversy by saying that Karl Rove, the White House's deputy chief of staff, had not given him assurances about how a Justice Miers would vote. "I would have loved to have known how Harriet Miers views Roe v. Wade," Mr. Dobson said last week. "But even if Karl had known the answer to that--and I'm certain that he didn't because the president himself said he didn't know--Karl would not have told me that. That's the most incendiary information that's out there, and it was never part of our discussion."

It might, however, have been part of another discussion. On Oct. 3, the day the Miers nomination was announced, Mr. Dobson and other religious conservatives held a conference call to discuss the nomination. One of the people on the call took extensive notes, which I have obtained. According to the notes, two of Ms. Miers's close friends--both sitting judges--said during the call that she would vote to overturn Roe.

I'd still like to see Harriet Miers get a chance to get up in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee before I make my decision on whether I'd support her or not, but at this point...

Let's just say things don't look too good.

Update: Brian at TBSC discusses the relaunch of Miers and explores a bit of SCOTUS nominee history. I think the "ship of state" above pretty much sums up the extent I think relaunching the nomination will now accomplish. They've played this badly since the beginning.

The Mouse as Judas

[please note: this post is about the marketing of the film, not the film itself, which I have not seen.]

Quick: What movie does this describe?

"This story is about four kids, disempowered by the war in their own world, World War II, who enter this land where they're not only empowered, but they're ultimately the only solution to war in that land. And it's only through betrayal and forgiveness and finally, unity as a family, that they can overcome those odds... We're taking the story of a family, and exaggerating it to the level of the battle between good and evil. But at its heart, it's still a very personal story."

"This story" of Andrew Adamson is not one I would easily recognize, even though I've read it through several times as a child, and later as an adult.

Adamson's quote comes from the Educator's Guide, to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a 15-page PDF that literally misses the point of the source material entirely. There is not one reference to Lewis' background as one of the greatest Christian writers and apologists of all time, nor of the importance and power of the story as Christian myth.

Adamson, devotes quite a bit of his time and quite a bit of Walt Disney's money to ignoring the fact that this series by C.S. Lewis is one of the greatest Christian stories told in the 20th century.

When I heard that they were having a go at the C.S. classic Chronicles of Narnia I was both excited and filled with trepidation. I was worried they would botch the script, and that they would rip the Christian not-quite-an-allegory (Lewis called it a "supposal") that is The Lion... to shreds in an attempt to be politically correct.

To be honest, we still don't know how or what they did with the actual film, but their marketing of the film so far is chilling...

Last week, I attended a “sneak peek” of the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, put on by Disney for local pastors. The purpose of the event was to encourage pastors both to encourage their congregations to see the movie, and to the release as an outreach opportunity.

But what are they getting at?

This is all an attempt to replicate some of the success of The Passion of the Christ, which has made something like 600 million dollars primarily by marketing to church groups.

As I said yesterday, I think this is going to be a great movie, and I look forward to seeing it. But I have two main concerns about the marketing effort:

1) The people that are making and marketing the movie are non-Christians who have no concern whatsoever for the promotion of the gospel, except that they have now realized that there is a lot of money to be tapped into in the church...

Disney is willing to sell out Christ for coins. That sounds familiar.

You should click over to FoolishBlog to read Eric's full concerns about some of the things surrounding film, which are troubling, and to my mind, justified.

Mel Gibson had wonderful success with a movie about Jesus Christ. Andrew Adamson and Disney would appear to deny Christ's role in this series, despite author Lewis's own clear intent:

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the fifth book of the series, Aslan tells the children that although they must return to their own world, they can find him there also (Hooper 123). Aslan says, "There I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there" (Hooper 123). Some of Lewis' readers wonder what the significance of this statement is and begin to search for Aslan here on earth. Hila, an eleven year old girl from the United States asked Lewis what Aslan's name is in this world (Dorsett 31-32). His response was this:

As to Aslan's other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the great Emperor. (3.) gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb.... Don't you really know His name in this world. Think it over and let me know your answer! (Dorsett 32)

When Lewis' readers find Aslan in the real world, they will find out that his true name is Jesus Christ. And when this occurs, Lewis is successful at opening a person's heart to accepting Christianity.

The Mouse seems more than willing to take Christian money, but not before betraying the essential Christianity that runs in, around, and through this series of books.

Disney had a wonderful opportunity to share a wonderful story with the world, and if the director's all-too-P.C. slant in the marketing materials is any indication of the slant of this movie, then they have failed their audience and the intent of the author by half.

I had great hopes for this film, but right now those hopes are only running on faith.

"Blair" Witch

Judith Miller: The New York Times "Blair" Witch

via Editor & Publisher:

Saturday's Times article, [my link] without calling for Miller's dismissal, or Keller's apology, made the case for both actions in this pithy, frank, and brutal assessment: "The Times incurred millions of dollars in legal fees in Ms. Miller's case. It limited its own ability to cover aspects of one of the biggest scandals of the day. Even as the paper asked for the public's support, it was unable to answer its questions."

It followed that paragraph with Keller's view: "It's too early to judge."

Like Keller says, make of it what you will. My view: Miller did far more damage to her newspaper than did Jayson Blair, and that's not even counting her WMD reporting, which hurt and embarrassed the paper in other ways.

Anniversary Post

This is our 7th Anniversary weekend for "Mrs. Yankee" and I, and as my parents have our daughter, blogging will be light (you're looking at it).

I'm a very, very lucky guy, and it will be nice to have some time for just the two of us. We don't have a whole lot planned (I did manage to sneak in a reflexology pedicure for her), but I'm sure we'll think of something to do later.*

Shakespeare and Bush

WS: "George, have you ever read 'Much Ado About Nothing?'"

GWB: "No, I never read the Times."

Update: (ht:MM)

WS: "All the world's a stage."
GWB: "Um, No."

Bush's Brilliant Move

Not only is George W. Bush one of the most "misunderestimated" presidents in American history, he is also one of the most ambitious, a fact that the Harriet Miers nomination now proves.

John Paul Stevens is 85. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 72.

Both could conceivably serve on the court for years to come, potentially outlasting the Bush administration... if they wanted to. But what if they didn't want to?

What if the court was stripped of its prestige and dignity, and was instead ridiculed and scorned by the press and citizens alike? What if the press ignored your contributions and body of work, and continually focused upon the capricious whims of the "new kid" on the court, a mash-note writing cheerleader that cites odd bits of scripture in her opinions?

After years of prestigious service, retirement might start looking like quite an attractive option. With Michael Luttig and Janice Rogers Brown waiting in the wings, Bush's "trust me" nomination of Harriet Miers is nothing less than a court-packing trojan horse.

Misunderestimating "Captain Trips"

According to an article in the 10/12 Raleigh News & Observer titled "N.C. flu plan needs checkup," reporter Amy Gardner notes in her opening paragraphs:

The potential for a catastrophic flu outbreak has public health leaders worldwide reviewing how ready they are. In North Carolina, the bottom line is the same as nearly everywhere else: A pandemic would overwhelm the state's health care system.

With a shortage of hospital beds and vaccines, the state would struggle to treat the sick in a worst-case epidemic infecting 1 million North Carolinians, hospitalizing 25,000 and killing 5,000.

Wait just a minute. 5,000 dead?

The numbers cited by Gardener came from the N.C. Division of Public Health's Pandemic Influenza Plan.

The NC DPH begins its report by admitting it was calibrated using obsolete data, basing their population data on 1999 NC population figure of 7,425,183, and readily admits that these figures are substantially off by approximately 1 million residents. This concurs with 2004 US Census Bureau estimates, which states North Carolina had an estimated population of 8,541,221. Acknowledging that your base numbers are wrong to begin with doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Based upon woefully outdated population figures, the DPH actually cites a worst case scenario (PDF) of nearly 1.4 million North Carolinians infected and requiring outpatient visits, 30,631 hospitalized, and resulting in the deaths of 6,994. The figures cited by the News and Observer story above were actually mid-range figures from the same report, not the worst case as the article claims.

With a rough calibration taking into account the 15.044-percent jump in population from 7.43 to 8.5 million, more accurate numbers are probably that same percentage (15.044%) higher.

A worst-case scenario flu pandemic based up these figures with a 35% infection rate claims to kill fewer than 11,000 North Carolinas, or something in the neighborhood of 0.129-percent of the total North Carolina population.

This is what we are afraid of?

Not quite. These are estimates based upon one software model that I am highly suspicious of, as history shows us something else entirely.

The closest-known relative of the H51N avian flu we currently fear is the H1N1 Type a Influenza virus responsible for the 1918-19 pandemic.

Overall infection rates of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic were 20-30 percent of the overall population. Global mortality rates from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic ranged from 2.5-percent to 5-percent of the infected population.

Figuring a 20-percent infection rate in a population of 8.5 million, and a minimal mortality rate of 2.5-percent of the infected population, we are looking at 42,500 dead, not 5,000.

I may be wrong on the math. It has been consistently been my worst subject throughout my educational career.

That said, I cannot understand the huge apparent discrepancy between the anemic pandemic forecast by the NC Division of Public Health, and the historical example of the last major Influenza Type A infection seen in the Spanish Flu of 1918.

Comments and a thorough debunking are encouraged. I'd be thrilled to be wrong on this one.

Note: "Captain Trips" was the nickname of a weaponized super-flu that escaped a military weapons lab and killed 99.6% of Earth's human population in the 1978 Stephen King opus, The Stand.

Remembering the Cole

The al Qaeda attack on the U.S.S. Cole five years ago today was my first awakening to the willingness of Osama bin Laden to attack the United States head-on. Michelle Malkin has the definative round-up.

Missed Again

Via Fox News:

...two rockets exploded near the U.S. Embassy in the center of the Afghan capital Wednesday, wounding two people hours hours before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due to arrive on an official visit. Rice's visit on Wednesday is her second trip to Afghanistan as secretary of state.

Sooner or later, people are going to learn that terror attack just serve to make make Condoleeza Rice that much more determined.

al-Zawahiri: Annotated & Unhinged

Overall al Qaeda #2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri sent a letter to al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zaqawi, a letter that was intercepted by coalition forces. That letter hasnow been made public. Download the entire letter al-Zawahiri letter here, or read the conveniently annotated version below.

In the name of God, praise be to God, and praise and blessings be upon the Messenger of God, his family, his Companions, and all those who follow him. .................................

The gracious brother/Abu Musab, God protect him and watch over him, may His religion, and His Book and the Sunna of His Prophet @ aid him, I ask the Almighty that he bless him, us, and all Muslims, with His divine aid, His clear victory, and His release from suffering be close at hand. Likewise, I ask the Almighty to gather us as He sees fit from the glory of this world and the prize of the hereafter.

1-Dear brother, God Almighty knows how much I miss meeting with you, how much I long to join you in your historic battle against the greatest of criminals and apostates in the heart of the Islamic world, the field where epic and major battles in the history of
Islam were fought. I think that if I could find a way to you, I would not delay a day,
God willing.

[I know if I left the cave, the Americans and Pakistanis would light me up like an infidel Christmas tree.

2-My dear brother, we are following your news, despite the difficulty and hardship. We
received your last published message sent to Sheikh Usama Bin Ladin, God save him.
Likewise, I made sure in my last speech-that Aljazeera broadcast Saturday, 11 Jumadi I,
1426h, 18 June 2005-to mention you, send you greetings, and show support and thanks for the heroic acts you are performing in defense of Islam and the Muslims, but I do not
know what Aljazeera broadcast. Did this part appear or not? I will try to attach the
full speech with this message, conditions permitting.

Likewise, I showed my support for your noble initiative to join with your brothers,
during a prior speech I sent to the brothers a number of months ago, but the brothers'
circumstances prevented its publication.

[Infidels once again captured my messengers before the could carry out their mission]

3-I want to reassure you about our situation. The summer started hot with operations
escalating in Afghanistan. The enemy struck a blow against us with the arrest of Abu
al-Faraj, may God break his bonds. However, no Arab brother was arrested because of
him. The brothers tried-and were successful to a great degree-to contain the fall of
Abu al-Faraj as much as they could.

[For a change, the capture of al-Faraj did not lead to the capture of his entire cell. You could learn from this. Ha-ha.]

However, the real danger comes from the agent Pakistani army that is carrying out
operations in the tribal areas looking for mujahedeen.

[They're on us like a fat kid on a pork chop]

4-I want to keep corresponding with you about the details of what is going on in dear
Iraq, especially since we do not know the full truth as you know it.

[It's hard to get good television reception this far underground, so no Olbermann for us]

Therefore, I want you to explain to me your situation in a little detail, especially in regards to the political angle. I want you to express to me what is on your mind in regards to what is in my mind in the way of questions and inquiries.

[Beheadings? Car-bombing civilians? Beheadings? Dude, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?]

A-I want to be the first to congratulate you for what God has blessed you with in terms
of fighting battle in the heart of the Islamic world, which was formerly the field for
major battles in Islam's history, and what is now the place for the greatest battle of
Islam in this era, and what will happen, according to what appeared in the Hadiths of
the Messenger of God @ about the epic battles between Islam and atheism. It has always
been my belief that the victory of Islam will never take place until a Muslim state is
established in the manner of the Prophet in the heart of the Islamic world, specifically
in the Levant, Egypt, and the neighboring states of the Peninsula and Iraq; however, the
center would be in the Levant and Egypt. This is my opinion, which I do not preach as
infallibile, but I have reviewed historical events and the behavior of the enemies of
Islam themselves, and they did not establish Israel in this triangle surrounded by Egypt
and Syria and overlooking the Hijaz except for their own interests.

[I've got free time galore]

As for the battles that are going on in the far-flung regions of the Islamic world, such
as Chechnya, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Bosnia, they are just the groundwork and the
vanguard for the major battles which have begun in the heart of the Islamic world. We
ask God that He send down his victory upon us that he promised to his faithful
worshipers.

[‘cause right now, we're getting spanked.]

It is strange that the Arab nationalists also have, despite their avoidance of Islamic
practice, come to comprehend the great importance of this province. It is like a bird
whose wings are Egypt and Syria, and whose heart is Palestine. They have come to
comprehend the goal of planting Israel in this region, and they are not misled in this,
rather they have admitted their ignorance of the religious nature of this conflict.

What I mean is that God has blessed you and your brothers while many of the Muslim
mujahedeen have longed for that blessing, and that is Jihad in the heart of the Islamic
world. He has, in addition to that, granted you superiority over the idolatrous
infidels, traitorous apostates, and those turncoat deviants.

[“superiority,” being defined as the ability to reach paradise in an ever-more-expedited manner]

This is what God Almighty has distinguished you and your brothers with over the
mujahedeen before you who fought in the heart of the Islamic world, and in Egypt and
Syria to be precise, but this splendor and superiority against the enemies of Islam was
not ordained for them.

God also blessed you not only with the splendor of the spearhead of Jihad, but with the
splendor as well of the doctrines of monotheism, the rejection of polytheism, and
avoidance of the tenets of the secularists and detractors and inferiors, the call to the
pure way of the Prophet, and the sublime goal that the Prophet @ left to his companions
{. This is a blessing on top of blessing on top of blessing which obliges you and your
noble brothers to be constantly thankful and full of praise. The Almighty said: (If ye
are grateful, He is pleased with you) and the Almighty says: (If ye are grateful, I will
add more unto you.)

B-Because of this, we are extremely concerned, as are the mujahedeen and all sincere
Muslims, about your Jihad and your heroic acts until you reach its intended goal.
You know well that purity of faith and the correct way of living are not connected
necessarily to success in the field unless you take into consideration the reasons and
practices which events are guided by. For the grandson of the Prophet Imam al Hussein
Bin Ali }, the Leader of the Faithful Abdallah Bin al-Zubair }, Abdul Rahman Bin
al-Ashath ~, and other great people, did not achieve their sought-after goal.

[Dude, you are like TOTALLY hosed. You'll be lucky to make it to Hanukah.]

C-If our intended goal in this age is the establishment of a caliphate in the manner of
the Prophet and if we expect to establish its state predominantly-according to how it
appears to us-in the heart of the Islamic world, then your efforts and sacrifices-God
permitting-are a large step directly towards that goal.

[Okay, God maybe isn't permitting this, but just in case he might change his mind, keep at it!]

So we must think for a long time about our next steps and how we want to attain it, and
it is my humble opinion that the Jihad in Iraq requires several incremental goals:

The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq.

[Though this Cindy Sheehan is not nearly as helpful as Senator Kerry suggested in our meetings in Paris]

The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support
it until it achieves the level of a caliphate- over as much territory as you can to
spread its power in Iraq, i.e., in Sunni areas, is in order to fill the void stemming
from the departure of the Americans, immediately upon their exit and before un-Islamic
forces attempt to fill this void, whether those whom the Americans will leave behind
them, or those among the un-Islamic forces who will try to jump at taking power.

[These un-Islamic forces being the Army and police forces of a democratically elected Iraq that outnumber us more every day, the bastards]

There is no doubt that this amirate will enter into a fierce struggle with the foreign
infidel forces, and those supporting them among the local forces, to put it in a state
of constant preoccupation with defending itself, to make it impossible for it to
establish a stable state which could proclaim a caliphate, and to keep the Jihadist
groups in a constant state of war, until these forces find a chance to annihilate them.

[Nutty as I am in this cave, even I am not unhinged enough to expect this cockamamie plan to actually work.]

The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq.

[A little help, please!]

The fourth stage: It may coincide with what came before: the clash with Israel, because
Israel was established only to challenge any new Islamic entity.

[And let's just skip over that “O-fer” record okay?]

My raising this idea-I don't claim that it's infallible-is only to stress something
extremely important. And it is that the mujahedeen must not have their mission end with
the expulsion of the Americans from Iraq, and then lay down their weapons, and silence
the fighting zeal. We will return to having the secularists and traitors holding sway
over us. Instead, their ongoing mission is to establish an Islamic state, and defend
it, and for every generation to hand over the banner to the one after it until the Hour
of Resurrection.

If the matter is thus, we must contemplate our affairs carefully, so that we are not
robbed of the spoils, and our brothers did not die, so that others can reap the fruits
of their labor.

[That reminds me, I need to complete my will…]

D-If we look at the two short-term goals, which are removing the Americans and
establishing an Islamic amirate in Iraq, or a caliphate if possible, then, we will see
that the strongest weapon which the mujahedeen enjoy - after the help and granting of
success by God - is popular support from the Muslim masses in Iraq, and the surrounding
Muslim countries.

[It's there. I saw it on CNN.]

There is of course more, if you are interested. Download the letter for yourself.

NOTE: Dan Riehl has the full (unannotated) text online.

Accuracy ni Media

If you a member of the media and you intend to snipe at a critic over the quality of localized newspaper reporting, you might want to start by not mischaracterizing what he says.

Jay Rosen of PressThink takes News and Observer Executive Editor Melanie Sill to task on her blog for getting it wrong.

John in Carolina has more.

The Quag-Miers Store

I expect at least 27 orders from the Senate...

The Quag-Miers Store

Undecided on my vote (well, if I had a vote), unabashed in my capitalism.

et tu, Bushe?

As previously on-the-fence conservative pundits make their decisions about Harriet Miers and others reverse course, I'm starting to feel more than a little lonely at the table marked "wait and see."

Despite all the emotionally inflated commentary to the contrary by some very smart people, Harriet Miers is qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice. The Constitution is not the sole property of Ivy League law school graduates, and it never should be.

Intelligent Americans can understand and interpret the Constitution without a degree from Harvard or Yale. If our system gets to the point where only elites are allowed to understand and interpret the Constitution, then it is time to re-write the Constitution (and yes, we have that legal option as Americans).

Miers is not the most experienced, nor the most highly educated, nor the best pedigreed candidate... but she appears to be as qualified as some who have worn those black robes, and more qualified than a few. That said, while Miers seems qualified on paper, it remains to be seen if she should be confirmed. Miers, if anything, is a cypher.

She has given up precious little in her defense, and sadly, neither has the administration. She is presented as a shoo-in conservative bysome because she is an evangelical. Kids, I got news for you; I belong to an evangelical church that saw its membership skyrocket in the 60s by recruiting California hippies. Slapping on the label "evangelical" on someone doesn't make them a lockstep conservative, and other elements of Miers' past paint her as being a potential—you know—"S"-word.

I still want Harriet Miers to have her day in front of the Senate. That said, if the President doesn't start providing her some support soon, her experience is likely to resemble that of Caesar's.

The Quag-Miers Deepens in the Senate

This can't be good news for President Bush (via Drudge):

Nearly half of Senate Republicans say they remain unconvinced that Harriet Miers is worthy of being confirmed to the Supreme Court, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Times.

As with the nomination of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the vast majority of senators say they will not announce their final decisions about the nomination until after Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, which are expected sometime next month.

What's troubling for President Bush, however, is that 27 Republican senators -- almost half of his party's members in the chamber -- have publicly expressed specific doubts about Miss Miers or said they must withhold any support whatsoever for her nomination until after the hearings.

While I want to see how Harriet Miers performs in front of the Senate before I render a verdict on her nomination, it is increasingly apparent that Miers is not gaining support in the Senate, and is at best holding her own. Pro-Miers advocates have their work cut out for them.

Judgement Day, Update 2

Pakistani Earthquake Round-Up, Sunday Evening Edition

I want to start this post off by talking to those in "disaster shock."

Less than a year ago was the Boxing Day Tsunami, and then here in the United States we've just had Hurricanes Katrina and Rita smash their way through the Gulf states. A mudslide in Guatemala triggered by Hurricane Stan wiped out an entire Mayan village just days ago. The Pakistani quake is the latest in a series of disasters that has come one after another.

People have been generous, raising money and donating time and services. So many people have given so much of themselves that they may feel that they have nothing left. To you, I'll get Biblical for a moment and offer you this from Malachi 3:10:

¹⁰ "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, " and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. ¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.

In other words, just, give baby. It will come back to you multiplied.

Now, back to the linkage.

Taking Donations
International Red Cross/Red Crescent

Getting Local
Links from India
Kashmir Times news site.
BBC coverage.
Metroblogging Karachi is still blogging from southern Pakistan.
Metroblogging Lahore is posting from near the impact zone.
South Asia Quake Help
Pakistan Earthquake 2005

Getting Political
News,Views 'n Opinions asks where relief is from other Muslim nations.
Lew Rockwell, a liberal blog, blasts Fox for mentioning Bin Laden.
Holy Coast intelligently addresses the "Does God hate _____ (group name goes here)?" question.
Daily Pundit talks building codes and corruption. On title alone, I wasn't certain if he was talking about Pakistan or New Orleans.

Getting Scientific
Geology News gets down to the science.

Analysis
Bird's Eye View has his latest post up on the quake.
A new photoblog of the quake from a Pakistani-Canadian.
Powerline weighs in.
Global Voices Online blogs about the bloggers blogging the earthquake.
The Moderate Voice maintains one of the better roundups.

Previous:
Judgement Day
Judgement Day, Update 1

Qaug-Miers: The Musical!

Okay, so we don't really have a musical based upon George Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee, but we do have buttons and other stuff.

More

NOTE: I'm still on the fence about Harriet Mier's nomination (kinda like Captain Ed), but I am also a capitalist.

Judgement Day, Update 1

The death toll continues to rise:

Villagers desperate to find survivors dug with bare hands Sunday through the debris of a collapsed school where children had been heard crying beneath the rubble after a massive earthquake killed more than 30,000 people in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir alone.

"I have been informed by my department that more than 30,000 people have died in Kashmir," Tariq Mahmmod, communications minister for the Himalayan region, told The Associated Press.

Saturday's magnitude-7.6 quake also struck India and Afghanistan, which reported hundreds dead.

Using early estimates from the Boxing Day Tsunami as a guide, I'll sadly suggest that the final tally may be far higher - as high as a hundred thousand dead once disease, infection, and other factors have their say - across the affected countries. While in the west we tend to overestimate initial fatalities because of media sensationalism, deaths in the east often seem to be underestimated.

A possible silver lining?

The shared tragedy confronting India and Pakistan in disputed Kashmir could pay dividends for the fragile peace process, experts said on Sunday after a massive earthquake left thousands dead there.

"It will certainly help in furthering the peace process," former Indian foreign secretary and ambassador to Washington Lalit Mansingh told AFP.

Joint relief efforts could boost confidence, Mansingh said, noting that Indian and Pakistani civilians as well as the troops that face off across the Kashmiri border had lost their lives in Saturday morning's massive quake.

"This is a common tragedy. There is nothing political about this. It can help bring people together," Mansingh added.

Top Blog Coverage
South Asia Quake Help
Metroblogging Lahore
Metroblogging Karachi
Bird's Eye View
Gateway Pundit
The Moderate Voice
The Jawa Report

Previous:
Judgement Day

Judgement Day

Brietbart is currently showing that the 7.6 magnitude earthquake centered near the Pakistan-Kashmir border may have killed thousands:

A devastating earthquake triggered landslides, toppled an apartment building and flattened villages of mud-brick homes Saturday, killing more than 18,000 people across a mountainous swath touching Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

The casualty toll from the 7.6-magnitude tremor rose sharply Sunday as rescuers struggled to dig people from the wreckage, their work made more difficult as rain and hail turned dirt and debris into sticky muck. Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, Pakistan's chief army spokesman, told Pakistan's Geo TV network early Sunday that more than 18,000 had been killed _ 17,000 of them in Pakistani Kashmir, where the quake was centered. Some 41,000 people were injured, he said.

Eyewitness accounts compare the scene to Judgement Day, with many homes and buildings completely flattened. Damage spread across remote regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and disputed Kashmir.

Maps of the area show mountainous terrain, and landslides have shut down major highways, making rescue efforts very difficult. It may be days or even weeks before some regions receive substantial aid. Thousands more may die. If you are religious, please say a prayer for these people.

And while this thought briefly crossed my mind as well, now is not the time to speculate about such things.

President Bush has already offered assistance. I hope the Pakistani and Indian governments to allow American military units from Afghanistan to come in and assist with humanitarian missions.

Let's try to save as many of these people as we can. There will be plenty of time to count the dead later.

Localized Blogging:
South Asia Quake Help
Metroblogging Lahore
Metroblogging Karachi

Others Blogging
Bird's Eye View has multiple detailed posts.
Gateway Pundit has a roundup.
The Political Teen
The Moderate Voice
Clarity & Resolve
Speed of Thought has posts here and here.
PunditGuy has posts here and here.
Joe's Dartblog
Laurence Simon
In the Bullpen
The Jawa Report

What Would It Take?

What would it take for you to vote Democrat?

Via Protein Wisdom, I found an intersting post from Rox Populi, where she is asking moderate Republicans and moderate Independents what it would take for the Democratic Party to get your vote.

Please head on over and let Rox know what it would take, and if you would be so kind, copy your comment here as well.

These Sheep Are Made For Eating.

I've made a horrible mistake of not blog-rolling Michael Yon before. The former Green Beret turned independent journalist shows why we - and more importantly, our Iraqi allies - are winning the war against the terrorists in Iraq.

A sample from his latest dispatch, The Battle For Mosul IV - Soldiers, Spies, and Sheep:

Colonel Noradeen wanted to put his office in the middle of Yarmook Traffic Circle, which might ring familiar to folks who have read my previous dispatches: it might well be the most dangerous traffic circle in the universe. On my first mission in Mosul, we lost two American soldiers and an interpreter just nearby after a man rammed his explosives-filled car into a B Company Stryker.

Sandbags cover the window of Noradeen's office. During one meeting, we took sniper fire, but it didn't make much difference—we were inside. Another day when I was not there, some mortars landed just outside Noradeen's office and heavily damaged some American Humvees. Those types of attacks are not show-stoppers, but giant truck bombs can flatten a building and kill the entire unit. Noradeen's current office was safe from giant bombs, but he wanted to move his office to Yarmook traffic circle—where shootouts and car bombs are guaranteed. Designing the outpost to withstand multiple simultaneous car bombs or giant truck bombs would require some thinking. When one of the American officers had asked Colonel Noradeen, “Why do you want an office at Yarmook Traffic Circle?” he answered simply, “If I build it there, they will come to me.”

Full stop.

That hung in the air.

One second.

Two seconds.

Kurilla said under his breath to one of his own officers, “That's why I love this guy.”

Go read Michael Yon, and come to understand why this war is being won.

One sheep at a time.

Still Fighting Vietnam

I was asked by Swift boat veteran Tom Mortenson to pass along the following letter.

Dear Friend,

Last year, when my fellow Swift Boat veterans and I spoke out about John Kerry, you rallied to our side. We will never forget your faith in our cause and your belief in our honesty. It made all the difference. Together we made history.

Like most of you, I believed our mission was over. We could all move on with our lives, return to our families and homes secure in the knowledge we had done the right thing for America, and for our children's future.

Regrettably, that has not been the case for a distinguished group of Vietnam combat veterans who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us during last year's campaign. Their situation has become so critical that I felt compelled to break our long silence to inform you of this urgent matter.

The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, an organization founded by some of the same POWs and their wives who joined with us to form Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth, has become the target of vicious legal assaults – multiple lawsuits designed to silence the voices of the POWs.

The VVLF is being sued to punish the organization for the content of the POW documentary Stolen Honor, which contrasts their own accounts of their service in Vietnam and suffering in North Vietnamese prison camps with the claims of the antiwar movement.

They desperately need our help and I am asking, once more, for your support. I urge you to give what you can to assist these truly noble men and women.

It is no accident that this campaign to coerce and silence some of America's most heroic figures from the Vietnam War has intensified just as the shrill voices of the extreme Left's anti-military, blame-America-first propagandists are once again on the rise. Even Jane Fonda has resurfaced.

You might ask why the VVLF has been targeted in this legal assault – why attack men who endured years of unspeakable torture and suffering in defense of America? The answer lies in the question. These are among the most credible, living eyewitnesses to the trail of deceit and betrayal. All are highly decorated and each bears the scars and permanent physical disabilities of his long years in captivity. One is the recipient of our nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. They paid for the right to voice their opinions with years of indescribable pain, hardship and torment. Their individual histories of perseverance under the direst of circumstances, and their fidelity to the principles of honor instilled in each American serving in uniform belie the despicable slanders laid at the feet of our military.

The POWs' very existence and their willingness to go public threaten the foundation of the Left's propaganda, a lifetime of lies that accuse the U.S. military of being no better than the “armies of Genghis Khan.” It remains the Left's most potent weapon as they continue to undermine the efforts of our Armed Forces and provide aid and comfort to America's enemies.

The war for America's conscience and soul rages on in the media, on the streets and quietly behind courtroom doors. In the vanguard of that battle, as they were some 40 years ago, are the POWs; some of America's greatest heroes; men and their wives, fathers and mothers, many of them grandparents, who have already paid a heavy price for their loyalty and devotion to America and, sadly, find they must do so again today.

They deserve our respect, admiration and gratitude, but most of all our support, even as they try to protect and preserve the honor and reputations of an entire generation of American troops vilified by the extreme Left.

Won't you stand up once more to defend our troops and veterans? Please give what you can to help the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation continue the still-unfinished task of setting the record straight about the Vietnam War and Vietnam vets.

Thank you again and God bless you and America.

Sincerely,

John O'Neill

The Lefties are still trying to silence those who would dare try to defend their service to this nation.

I don't think we should stand for it.

Blog For Sale

Seriously.

And I'll do it for less than $25 million dollars.

And I'll even stay on to write (with appropriate salary and benefits, of course).

Deal?

(h/t Glenn)

I Want One...

The XM29 OICW System has been shelved for myriad reasons, but some good did come out of it.

One part is the XM8, an incrimentally better replacement for the the M16 and M4 rifles, though it still suffers from being chambered for the anemic 5.56mm NATO round, instead of the more effective 6.8 SPC or a similar cartridge. In most regards, it is evolutionary, not revolutionary, but it will get the job done.

And then there is the XM25.

Via ATK:

The XM25 air-burst assault weapon is a next-generation, semi-automatic weapon system designed for effectiveness against enemies protected by walls, dug into foxholes, or hidden in hard-to-reach places.

The XM25 provides the soldier with a 300 to 500% increase in hit probability to defeat point, area, and defilade targets out to 500 meters. The weapon features revolutionary high-explosive, air-burst ammunition programmed by the weapon's target acquisition/fire control system.

The XM25 integrates ballistics computation in the full-solution Target Acquisition/Fire Control (TA/FC) system. The soldier places the aim point on target and activates the laser rangefinder. The fire control system provides an adjusted aim point. The soldier places the adjusted aim point on target and pulls the trigger. Target information is communicated to the chambered 25mm round. As the round speeds down range, it measures the distance traveled and bursts precisely at the distance preprogrammed.

All I'm saying is that deer season starts in a couple of weeks, and I just happen to have an Amazon Honor System account over to the right...

Thanks, Jamie

Did you catch it?

An early version of this story stated that:

According to sources in intelligence, emergency services and police headquarters, when three Iraqi insurgents were arrested several days ago during a raid by a joint FBI-CIA team, one of those caught disclosed the threat.

A newer version of the exact same article states:

According to sources in intelligence, emergency services and police headquarters, the intelligence community developed information that the threat may have involved pharmacists from Iraq coming to New York for some kind of chemical attack targeting the subways.

Three insurgents, one or more of whom are pharmacists, were arrested during a raid by a U.S. military and intelligence community team, sources said, and one of those caught disclosed the threat. Because it slipped out during the arrest, the plot was deemed credible.

A joint task force of the FBI and CIA caught the terrorists. Working together.

It makes you wonder what these joint agency teams might have prevented if it wasn't for Jamie Gorelick's "wall of separation," which prevented these agencies from working together to thwart terrorist attacks in the past.

Update: Jason Smith at Generation Why? noticed the disappearing CIA-FBI jointstrike team as well in his second update to this post. Could someone at ABC News have been worrying about how this story reflects on Gorelick?

This bears further discussion.

Talk About Turn-Down Service...

Via BrietBart:

Hilton Hotels, the parent company of Hampton Inn and other brands, is trying to find other rooms for the evacuees but said they were warned when they checked in that their stays would be limited by room availability, said Hilton spokeswoman Kathy Shepard.

"We're doing our very best to accommodate these people," she said.

It's an uncomfortable situation for the hotel industry: risk bad publicity for kicking out hurricane evacuees, or anger big-spending repeat customers who travel for business.

This marks the first time in history a Hilton has asked someone to leave a hotel room prior to filming.

New York Terror Alert

LIVE-BLOGGING,so it might be sloppy:

Fox New television is reporting the New York Police Department has raised the terror threat level on the New York subway system, and has increased police patrols.

Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commisioner Ray Kelly says there is "sufficient concern" of a a specific terror threat against a specific target in the subway system in coming days, but the nature of the threat remains classified, though he did reveal that this threat originated overseas. Police officials are increasing bag searches and increasing the number of undercover officerson subway trains.

Interestingly enough, unlike similar threats in the past, they have mentioned that elements of this threat have been "partially disrupted," which I take to mean that this threat is concrete, though Bloomberg is saying no arrests or detentions have been made. I read this to mean that the bombers were denied entry into the United States, but that is just wild speculation.

According to Mayor Bloomberg, this is the first credible threat to the NYC subway system.

To my friends in NYC keep your eyes open, and come home safe.

Update:

Via ABC News:

The New York Police Department is investigating what it deems a credible tip that 19 operatives have been deployed to the city to place bombs in the subway, and security in the subways will be increased, sources told ABC News.

While the police department is taking the threat seriously, it is also urging the public not to be alarmed because – while the source is credible – the information has not been verified.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said this was the most specifically detailed threat made against the subway system, and he urged New Yorkers to be vigilant.

"I wanted to assure New Yorkers that we have done and will continue to do everything we can to protect the city," Bloomberg said. "We will spare no resource. We will spare no expense."

According to sources in intelligence, emergency services and police headquarters, when three Iraqi insurgents were arrested several days ago during a raid by a joint FBI-CIA team, one of those caught disclosed the threat. Because it slipped out during the arrest, the plot was deemed credible.

After several days of work, sources said, the NYPD is increasingly concerned because it has been unable to discredit the initial source and additional information from the source.

The 19 operatives were to place improvised explosive devices in the subways using briefcases, according to two sources. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said officers will continue to check bags, briefcases and strollers, and additional uniformed and undercover officers will be riding in individual subway cars.

Wait a minute...the Iraqi insurgency is involved? Where were these guys arrested? I'll be very interested to find out if these terrorists report to al-Zarqawi or Bin Laden.

MSNBC is showing live shots of crowded Manhattan sidewalks, scanning their cameras back and forth like they are hoping to catch a blast live. Maybe I'm misinterpreting this, but it looks sick. Then they jump to their story of Rove testifying befor the grand jury again. Priorities, and all...

More
The Jawa Report here and here.
GOP in the City even has a chilling email forecasting the attack from within DHS. So much for operational security.
Newsday
Michelle Malkin
In the Bullpen
The Political Teen has the press conference video
CounterTerrorism Blog
Terrorism Unveiled
Clarity & Resolve thinks the threat might be because of Ramadan.
Generation Why has similar thoughts.
Crooks and Liars tries to blame it on Rove. What. A. Tool.
Democratic Underground likewise, but then, they think air is a Rovian conspiracy.
Tapscott's Copy Desk theorizes about a OU suicide bomber tie-in. Not completely off the wall, but I think he's stretching it to the limit.
Parkway Rest Stop finds the most dangerous place to be.
Ace of Spades gets the final word.

I think that's about it for the live-blogging and first reactions. I'll try to shoot for some analysis later.

Update: Analysis posted.

Lies of Omission

The same story that rendered this little gem from Cindy Sheehan also has one heck of a finish.

Via the Tucson Citizen:

Sheehan is a Californian whose soldier son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

Along with winning supporters, she has provoked vitriolic reactions as Americans disagree over the war. Sheehan clarified an oft-quoted remark that has brought intense criticism.

When she said, "This country isn't worth dying for," she was referring to Iraq, she said.

"I believe America is worth dying for."

Sadly, that isn't the truth. It isn't even close.

From Lee Kaplan's article "SFSU Hosts a Terrorist" we draw the full quote, in context:

Cindy Sheehan followed this act. Wearing a sweatshirt advertising the website for United for Peace and Justice, Sheehan was interviewed outside just before the meeting by an ABC-TV news reporter. Sheehan said then that military recruiters should not be allowed on college campuses, maintaining they trick naïve 18-year-olds with offers of money and scholarships. Tragically, Cindy Sheehan lost her son Casey who was in the Army and was killed two weeks after arriving in Iraq. She claimed he was promised a job as a chaplain's assistant although once in the service was placed in a combat role and killed, certainly a moving story – one she exploits to promote venomous anti-Americanism. “George Bush and his neo-conservatives killed my son,” she said tearing up a bit. “America has been killing people on this continent since it was started. This country is not worth dying for.” [italics mine]

She was obviously talking about America not being worth dying for. Iraq was never part of the conversation.

What is even more interesting about this Tucson Citizen article is that it appears to have been created by lifting selected pieces of this Arizona Republic article using what your elementary school teacher would have considered plagiarism, but journalists call precis. The Citizen staff apparently didn't think the Republic article was biased enough, and so they slanted it even further left by picking an choosing which parts of the Republic article to quote.

Cindy Sheehan blatantly lied to try to cover up her anti-Americanism. The Arizona Republic and Tucson Citizen must have known the Kaplan article was the source of the original claim, and yet refused to challenge Mrs. Sheehan's historical revisionism.

They seem to be operating on the unwritten rule, "You lie, and I'll swear to it."

No wonder newspaper readerships are in decline.

Cross-posted to NewsBusters.

RE: Leandro Aragoncillo

Who does he think he is, Sandy Berger?

Ignorant, Delusional, and on the Take: Cindy Sheehan's America

Via the Tucson Citizen:

… Sheehan told the editorial board of The Arizona Republic that Americans who continue to support the war in Iraq fit into three basic categories.

They're ill-informed," Sheehan said. "Next, and I think this defines a lot of people, they don't want to admit they were fooled . . . . They don't want to believe they made a mistake in supporting the war.

"And the third is that they have a vested interest, either politically or monetarily, to keep this war going."

No wonder she has so many fans.

Overwrought Over Quag-Miers

After three days of debate and conjecture from various sources, I see no way in good faith that I could either come out unabashedly in favor of, or wholly against, the nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court at this time. I remain both disappointed and uncommitted, and will remain so until Miers is questioned in her Senate confirmation hearings. Then, and only then, do I think it will be time to render an opinion on her suitability for the position.

New revelations aside, I probably will have little to say on the nominee until her confirmation hearings beyond the following observations:

• Miers is not among the best or most obvious of nominees for the high court. That said, Miers has more of a résumé than some SCOTUS nominees that have won confirmation.
• Fears that Miers will become a liberal justice seem baseless, and the invocation of “Souter” is hardly appropriate or even vaguely relevant.

The overwrought hysterics of George Will aside and others, I don't think any pundit has conclusively proven she is unfit for the position, when she clearly has more experience than some past justices.

Harrier Miers is a not a great nominee, but on paper, neither was Clarence Thomas. She at least deserves a confirmation hearing, something that The Anchoress also believes.

I also predict that, barring a withdrawal or major misstep during the confirmation process, she will be confirmed as the replacement to Sandra Day O'Connor.

Editor & Publisher's Wishful Thinking

Once upon a time, Editor and Publisher, as "America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry," had a certain degree of respectability. These days, conspiratorial speculation and advocacy are every bit as important as fact, and the byline "By E&P Staff" means that anything to follow needs to be parsed very carefully to distill facts from wishful, often overtly partisan projection.

A prime example of this concerns this August 6, 2001 AP Photo as seen in this MSNBC article:

E&P had this to say:

On its front page Tuesday, The New York Times published a photo of new U.S. Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers going over a briefing paper with President George W. Bush at his Crawford ranch "in August 2001," the caption reads.

USA Today and the Boston Globe carried the photo labeled simply "2001," but many other newspapers ran the picture in print or on the Web with a more precise date: Aug. 6, 2001.

Does that date sound familiar? Indeed, that was the date, a little over a month before 9/11, that President Bush was briefed on the now-famous "PDB" that declared that Osama Bin Laden was "determined" to attack the U.S. homeland, perhaps with hijacked planes. But does that mean that Miers had anything to do with that briefing?

As it turns out, yes, according to Tuesday's Los Angeles Times. An article by Richard A. Serrano and Scott Gold observes that early in the Bush presidency "Miers assumed such an insider role that in 2001 it was she who handed Bush the crucial 'presidential daily briefing' hinting at terrorist plots against America just a month before the Sept. 11 attacks."

So the Aug. 6 photo may show this historic moment, though quite possibly not. In any case, some newspapers failed to include the exact date with the widely used Miers photo today. A New York Times spokesman told E&P: "The wording of the caption occurred in the course of routine editing and has no broader significance."

The photo that ran in so many papers and on their Web sites originally came from the White House but was moved by the Associated Press, clearly marked as an "Aug. 6, 2001" file photo. It shows Miers with a document or documents in her right hand, as her left hand points to something in another paper balanced on the president's right leg. Two others in the background are Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and Steve Biegun of the national security staff.

The PDB was headed "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.," and notes, among other things, FBI information indicating "patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks."

Notice first how in the final two paragraphs how E&P tries to morph the documents in the photo (contents unknown) into the Bin Laden PDB, presumably to damage Bush and/or Miers. Otherwise, the infomration is largely irrelevant. this is advocacy journalism at it's worse.

Now, I don't claim to be a first-rate investigative reporter, but given the media's proclivity towards leaking classified documents, do you really think they'd use top secret briefing documents for an AP photo op? Not surprising, this isn't the first time Editor & Publisher ran a story based on toilet-grade documentation within the past month. Whatever veneer of respectability that E&P once had seems to have disappeared.

The Wheels on the Bus Go "Squish, Squish, Squish."

It just gets worse for incompetent New Orleans Mayor Nagin.

Paul at Wizbang! discovered Monday (10/3) that not all New Orleans buses went swimming in the Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool. At least 60, maybe more, were above water and under Nagin's control across the Mississippi in Algiers, LA.

According to Paul's estimates, which seem reasonable, Nagin could have completely evacuated the Superdome on his own by sundown the day after the storm, just by using assets under his control.

But it doesn't end there, kids.

Via Google Maps,we have this image showing three areas of primary importance.

• The area marked "1" is the bus parking lot in Algiers.
• The area marked "2" is Algiers Landing on the West bank of the Mississippi river
• the Area marked "3", as you may have guessed is the Superdome.

The unmarked bridge at the bottom of the picture is the Crescent City Connection, the bridge where civilians trying to escape downtown New Orleans were turned away by the Gretna Police Department.

Dr. Rusty Shackleford over at The Jawa Report dug up photographic evidence that these same buses in area 1 in the photo above were used to evacuate a large number of people from area 2, Algiers Landing, but we don't know at this time who was evacuated, or to where. None of these buses apparently ever made it across the Crescent City Connection to attempt an evacuation of the Superdome in area 3, even though they apparently had unobstructed, multi-lane, dry road access according to overhead the imagery.

The questions raised by Paul and Rusty are many:

• Was Ray Nagin aware that these buses were available? If not, why not?
• Were these buses used in an evacuation in Algiers as apparently shown by Rusty, and if so, who was evacuated, and to where?
• Even if under Nagin's control and requested for an evacuation, would Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson have allowed these buses to pass over the bridge he had shut to pedestrians trying to get out of New Orleans?

This new information provides no answers, but it does raise even more troubling questions about the competency of the local government in New Orleans surrounding the landfall of Hurricane Katrina.

Quag-Miers

Now that we've had 24 hours to digest the Harriet Miers nomination, the reaction on the right side of the blogosphere is that the President's nominee is much better / worse that we had originally thought.

Contrasting opinions on the Right seem to only have solidified as more information about the nominee has come to light, and neither side seems to be gaining any advantage, nor shows signs of backing down.

Of course, you know what that means.

What we have here, is a quag-Miers.

Simcox: Mexican Government "Corrupt and Heartless"

Chris Simcox and the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps are not backing down from apparent threats by the Mexican government.

Via KRISTV.com:

The Minuteman group became alarmed when the following statement appeared in the Brownsville Herald on Sunday. It said, "The [Mexican] consulate will be alert for human rights violations or anything illegal, and would be disposed to sue the group for any trespasses."

Now, the Minutemen took that as a threat and lashed out Monday at the Mexican Government, calling it 'corrupt and heartless', saying they don't blame Mexican nationals who are "voting with their feet" by crossing the Rio Grande. The Minutemen blame the Mexican government for the problem.

Chris Simcox, the president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps also said Monday, "Rather than threatening law-abiding, concerned American citizens, the Mexican government should concentrate on making Mexico a country where its citizens want to live instead of a country their people risk death to flee by the millions each year."

Of course, if the federal government took steps to try to protect the border and dissuade illegal immigration to begin with, this would be a moot point.

As the Minuteman carry on being a thorn in the side of coyotes smuggling illegals and drugs, it seems to be merely a matter of time before a violent, potentially deadly confrontation occurs along the border. If an American citizen is harmed—or worse—doing the job of protecting the border that this President refuses to take seriously, George W. Bush's second term agenda may crumble, and deservedly so.

The Consensus on Miers

I'm not yet willing to make a commitment about Harriet Miers one way or the other as a Supreme Court nominee. I'd like to trust President Bush (he appears to have selected a sterling Chief Justice in John Roberts), but after misfires on Brown, Myers, and Mineta, I'm not 100% certain that I can.

I'm not going to stand against her just yet, but with her meager qualifications she is not getting an unqualified benefit of the doubt.

What the Anti-War Left Wants

I really don't understand these people. They say they want war to cease, and they encourage the terrorists to win. They say they want peace, and they wish the dictator and the radicals to reign over us. They say they are Progressives and secularists, and they allow the fundamentalists to massacre us. They say they promote liberties, and they want ours to vanish. They say they demonstrate for the Iraqi people, and their actions are aimed at plunging the Iraqi people under terror and oppression. What on earth do they want with us?

I'd say the answer is pretty obvious.

Read it all, via The Anchoress.

Libs Already Questioning Miers Sexuality

Wow.

It took liberals less than two hours before questioning SCOTUS nominee Harriet Miers sexuality.

At least this time they are going after the candidate, instead of their kids.

Update: GayPatriot made the prediction at 8:49 AM. Can we call him Kreskin now?

Welcome Instapundit fans. This is an archived page. More Miers coverage is available on the main page.

Bush a Uniter, not a Divider for Second SCOTUS Pick

It seems that President Bush has managed to do what many would have though was almost impossible: he achieved a near-consensus from political bloggers on both the right and left, who overwhelmingly seem to agree that Harriet Miers was an underwhelming selection to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.

Conservatives seem to think that she is poorly-qualified and lacks a sufficiently conservative background, while liberals whowould see an inherent threat to Roe with any Bush pick, can now add cronyism to their list of gripes.

Bush finally delivers on his promise of being a uniter, not a divider, just not in a way that makes anyone happy.

And the Punchline Is...?

Harriet Miers?

She may very well shake out to be a competent justice, but Bush seems to have made the conscious decision to go with someone hard to debunk rather than the most qualified peerson for the position.

Via CNN:

President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers on Monday to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Bush announced his choice in a televised Oval Office event saying, "For the past five years Harriet Miers has served in critical roles in our nation's government."

Miers said she was grateful and humbled by the nomination. (Watch: Miers has little judicial experience -- 2:30)

"It is the responsibility of every generation to be true to the founders' vision of the proper role of the courts in our society," she said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Miers, 60, would join Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second sitting female justice on the bench. O'Connor became the court's first ever female justice in 1981.

Miers, who has never been a judge, was the first woman to serve as president of the Texas State Bar and the Dallas Bar Association. She also served on the Dallas City Council.

Miers may very well end up being an excellent justice, but running purely by her bio, color me unimpressed for now.

On the other hand, if Democrats have pre-committed to a filibuster as some have theorized, Miers might be the perfect foil.

I can hear Chuck Shumer now: "Rooooooooove!"

Update: Feddie at Confirm Them is not happy, saying "I am done with Bush." David Bernstein offers up a more thoughtful analysis at The Volokh Conspiracy. Captain Ed seems to feel the same way about Miers as I do, so at least I'm in good company.

Protest Advertising at the Sun?

More than a few people think that this story is just the latest example of political cowardice in the face of encroaching Islamic cultural aggression in Great Britain:

NOVELTY pig calendars and toys have been banned from a council office — in case they offend Muslim staff.

Workers in the benefits department at Dudley Council, West Midlands, were told to remove or cover up all pig-related items, including toys, porcelain figures, calendars and even a tissue box featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

That said, the advertising staff at The Sun seems to have found a subtle way to make their feelings about the situation known. Look closely:

Accompanying the article is an advertisement for the movie Kingdom of Heaven, a film about the Crusades.

Ahem.

I don't often do this, but LawHawk is on a bit of a roll. Go read and just keep scrolling.

And thanks to my brother Phin for filling in while I was out playing in the woods this weekend with the wife and kid. Like him, I ate some pig too, but mine was right out of the hardwood-fired pit with some fresh apple cider, so I think I win.

Update: Greg has a very interesting post here that I woul direct you to. Those of us on the center-right should read it and reflect upon it.

Great Moments in Liberalism

Part One, from Daily Kos diarist Hunter:

You poor, hollow, blood-painted clowns. Cheering the trials and failures of your country with the same pennants and giant foam hands that you wave at your favorite sports teams. Willing to accept the most outrageous of lies, if they are spoken from your favorite talking heads, and soothe your own notions of America for you, and only for you.

And as for the audacity of Democrats speaking up during this process... the redfaced, flatulent fury with which you declare Republicans off-limits to that which you so gleefully hurl yourself...

Welcome to the world of the politics of personal destruction, you tubthumping, chin-jutting, Bush humping gits. Welcome to the nasty and partisan world that Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, Grover Norquist, Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, and a legion of insignificant lowest-rung toadies like yourselves nurtured into fruition daily with eager, grubby hands, and now look upon with dull-faced faux horror.

I know you hate me, and anyone else who dares disturb the thin strands of alternate reality in which George W. Bush is an intellectual giant, Saddam really was responsible for 9/11, the economy is getting better by the minute, and we capture the most very important members of al Qaeda on a weekly basis.

But here's some advice. You'd better start hating me more. This is the world you forged and, unfortunately for you, I'm beginning to take a fancy for it. Welcome to the politics of your own party, finally sprouting from the ground on which you planted the seeds and shat upon them.

Step back from the edge? You poor boy, asleep in the back of the car the whole trip, finally waking up and wondering where you're at.

Swift boats. Aluminum tubes. Niger uranium. "Mushroom clouds". Whitewater.

Vince Fucking Foster.

You can't even see the edge from here. You left it behind a hundred miles back.

So don't give me chest-thumping crap about civil wars, if your politicians are indicted. Don't give me visions of a lake of fire, if all those who find you loathsome refuse to suck at your teats of scientific ignorance in the name of religion, racism in the name of freedom, and corruption in the name of the New World Order.

Get used to the world you have created, and the stench your worshipped heroes have unleashed.

Part Two, from Daily Kos Diarist Raybin:

It's become more and more apparent to me over the past five years that all the activism and non-violent protesting in the world will do precisely squat. When you're dealing with evil people who have no shame, the old rules of the game don't and, indeed, can't apply if you have any hope for success. Hundreds of thousands of people have marched, millions of letters have been written, tens of millions of votes cast, and hundreds of trillions of electrons expended pontificating on blogs...for nothing. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change. Not unless it comes in the form of something akin to the French Revolution.

We need terror. We need horror. We need the streets running awash in rivers of blood of these thugs and criminals and zealots. Activism didn't prevent 60,000 deaths in Vietnam. All the activism of the Civil Rights era has gotten African Americans precisely nowhere. Segregation may not be the law of the land anymore, but it's still the de facto state of America.

When y'all want to start throwing molotovs and sniping from windows come and talk to me. Until then, I will be content to retire, be a hermit, and laugh at everyone. Even then, I may still just feel like laughing as the world falls apart around me, but at least I'll be willing to listen.

Discuss.

Zarqawi quits al Qaeda, joins C.O.B.R.A., Part II

Confederate Yankee has managed to obtain exclusive photos of the two U.S. Marines that al Qaeda claims to have captured in Iraq:

Via ABC News::

Al Qaeda said on Sunday it had captured two U.S. marines in western Iraq and issued a 24-hour ultimatum to U.S. forces to release female Sunni Muslim prisoners, a statement posted on a Web site said on Sunday.

The latest statement came in the midst of a new U.S. offensive in towns in the far west of Iraq to track down al Qaeda militants U.S. forces believe are hiding near the Syrian border.

"Al Qaeda soldiers succeeded in kidnapping two U.S. marines … and al Qaeda is giving the infidels 24 hours to release female Sunni Muslim prisoners," it said.

"Or they should not bother to look for their children," said the statement, on a Web site often used by the group.

The statement said the two marines were captured in the midst of Operation Iron Fist, "in which they (U.S. forces) have been disappointed and have failed."

It was not immediately possible to verify independently the authenticity of the Web statement, which was signed off with a name that usually accompanies the group's official announcements.

A spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan, said: "I have not heard anything about any of our folks being taken. I would suspect that these are unfounded rumors, as that is what has happened in the past."

Come up with a new gag.

We've seen this before.

A little something for everyone...

With C.Y. away on a brief vacation this weekend I'm upholding my obligatory familial commitment and keeping his blog from going to sleep. Plus I get to poke a lot more people with a sharp stick here than I do at my humble abode on the blogidoxiweb.

There's been a lot of hullabaloo made regarding the comments made by President Regan's education secretary. The Maximum Leader of Naked Villainy puts the comment Bennet made into context. I'm still trying to figure out why the White House made a statement and why many liberals don't feel the Bush has done enough to admonish Bennet. After all the current administration had as much to do with the appointment of Bennet as Clinton did and nobody's demanding they condemn his statements.

The Brady Bunch has also been getting quite a bit of media attention and discussion in the blogidohexitagon. One of their advertisements is warning European travelers that with the new law passed in Florida they could be shot due to upsetting someone while driving their car (road rage). If somebody in Florida legally uses deadly force you shouldn't have been driving through their yard in the first place. I guess leaving the part about being on your property makes the argument a bit more interesting.

There has been quite a bit of discussion on many blogs I regularly read regarding Intelligent Design(ID). I haven't weighed in on the topic. Proponents of ID say it's as valid as evolution and opponents say it's a back door method of teaching religion. Both sides point to the lack of scientific proof of the other's theory. With all the arguing back and forth I'm starting to think it really was the Flying Spaghetti Monster's doings, anybody else want to be a Pastafarian?