'Precious'

I'm heading out to see "Precious" in a few minutes. A review is here, "'Precious' cuts deep." As always, I'll say a few words about the film tonight. I'm also planning a lengthy essay or two on education, as well as a guest post from a student of mine this semester. Always great stuff coming down the pipeline!

Readers: Do me a favor and post some of these entries to Twitter. Spread the word, for some real analysis on what's going down. Thanks.

Back later, yo!

Obama in Copenhagen: President Spins Climate Hysteria as Convention Fizzles to Close (VIDEO)

True to form, President Obama, in Copenhagen and paralyzed by fear of alienating key constituencies, pleases no one -- not developing countries nor the left's global warming shakedown industry. See especially, Ed Morrissey, "Breaking: India, China walk out of Copenhagen." Plus, "Copenhagen dead as India, China, Brazil walk out,", and "India, China, Brazil Briefly Walk Out of Climate Summit."

And, on the speech, from the Wall Street Journal, "Obama’ Copenhagen Speech: Some Reactions":

For all the expectations that President Barack Obama’s appearance at the Copenhagen climate conference could part the waters and break the deadlock, his 8-minute speech thrilled nobody.

Granted, he met beforehand with a score of world leaders, and a dozen more at lunch—not to mention an hour-long one-on-one with the Chinese premier in between—but his speech left plenty of frustration inside Copenhagen’s Bella Center and without.

Here’s a smattering of reactions to the speech ...

Check the links at the post.

I like the title from the Guardian, "Barack Obama's speech disappoints and fuels frustration at Copenhagen." Not cited at WSJ is Mother Jones, "Obama's Copenhagen Speech: The Collapse of a Deal?"

And this piece from WSJ has an analysis, "Obama, Wen Meet as Clock Ticks."

President Barack Obama said "time is running out" to salvage a deal to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases at a global summit here, as he and China's Premier Wen Jiabao "made progress" in a private meeting.

But President Obama warned that the U.S. is prepared to walk away from the talks empty handed, rather than accept a "hollow victory" in which developing nations refuse to allow their own emissions controls to be monitored.

"These discussions have taken place for two decades, and we have very little to show for it other than an increase and an acceleration in the climate-change phenomenon," Mr. Obama said, in his appearance on the final day of a United Nations climate summit.

The White House later said that Mr. Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met for 55 minutes in a room at the Bella Center, and "made progress" in discussions toward a climate accord. The meeting ended at 1:35 p.m. Copenhagen time, the White House said.

A White House official said the discussion was constructive and that the two leaders asked negotiators to meet with each other, and with other countries, to see if an agreement could be reached. "They took a step forward and made progress," the White House official said. He said that the hope is to reach an agreement today.

Also, at the New York Times, "Obama Presses China on Rules for Monitoring Emissions Cuts."

I've listened the speech. Check the opening segments, around 1:00 minute. Obama says:

This is not fiction, it is science. Unchecked, climate change will pose unacceptable risks to our security, our economies, and our planet. This much we know.

Of course, we actually don't know. The entire premise of global warming has been shattered by scandal, and piling on top of the hoax have been the anti-American diatribes from leaders around the world.

The best bet for the U.S. is to defeat global warmingn legislation at home and eject the Democrats from office at the polls in 2010. China and India are going to look out for themselves, and the rest of the developing world is looking to cash in on the global warming shakedown. It's all one monumental disgrace.

RELATED: Fell the pain at the Guardian, "Copenhagen heading for meltdown as stalemate continues over emission cuts."

Added: Protein Wisdom, "Mr. Thin-Skin."

Socialist Revolt on Health Care Stings White House

I'll tell you. One of the things that bugs me about current political discourse is the super-extended half-life of the word "liberal." American leftists aren't "liberals." And I'm not even talking about "classical liberal" ideology, which is essenally the natural rights "Lockean" liberalism of limited government constitutionalism. I just mean left-liberals as those who have long been associated with the left of the political spectrum. Normally, we'd think supporters of the Democratic Party. The usage of "liberal" and "conservative" is so institutionalized in American politics that of course we won't see changes any time soon. But those of the Democratic Party-left today are not liberals in any sense, if we take the party back to its post-WWII Truman-Kennedy roots. The point is not new, but it needs to be restated amid this long healthcare debate we're having.

I'm looking at the New York Times' piece this morning, with the headline, "Liberal Revolt on Health Care Stings White House." (Via Memeorandum.) Again, what liberals? We've got radical leftists, communists, socialists ... shoot, we'd probably find a couple anarcho-syndicalists if we rummaged through the inner recesses of the White House a bit.

Anyway, it's this whole healthcare debate that's driving everyone to teh stupid, even the Times. Sure, they get some of the particulars right, for example, in identifying Senator Bernie Sanders (below at the video) as a "self-avowed democratic socialist," but why stop there? For some reason, with the exeption of Sanders, the remainder of the "Democratic left" that's revolting against the administration, is described as liberal.

All one has to do is just troll around the netroots blogosphere enough to hear folks talking way more radically than Senator Sanders.

Note this e-mail from one of "Hammering" Jane Hamsher's readers at Firedoglake:

As Dave Johnson writes (via email):

Most other countries provide health care as a right – a core function of government. But here privateers have seized it for themselves for profit. So to maintain this, to keep taxes low for the rich and keep the profits privatized we are ordered to buy it from companies instead of having it provided as a government service. This is the battle between democracy and corporatization.

Notice that? "Privateers" and that battle between "democracy and corporatization"? This tension is also on display at Booman Tribune, "One Reason Why Democracies Fail."

Nothing in democratic theory requires economic equality. Indeed, Robert Dahl, who is perhaps the most widely cited contemporary political scientist on the foundations of democratic societies, omits socialist conceptions of equality as a key criterion for a democraty society. (See, Robert A. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics , and especially, On Democracy). This is not to say that political power in unaffected by the distribution of economic resources. It is to argue that the solution offered by radical leftists -- state socialization of the economy -- has nothing to do with increasing democratic participation. And in fact, taken to its extreme, we'd see the opposite effect: The increasing concentration of power, first in the revolutionary vanguard, and then in the communist state itself, where bureaucratic apparatchiks would concentrate power and economic resources in their hands.
This will happen if folks the "Hammering Jance" and Senator Bernie Sanders get their way. And that's why conservatives oppose the monstrosity of "democratic" healthcare reform.

Don't You Know That You Are a Shooting Star...

It's Paul Rogers' birthday today, so here's a cool overnight rock video from just this summer. The clip was taken by a fan at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, June 17, 2009 -- exactly six months ago. Rogers is 60 years-old today. He looks great. Enjoy Bad Company, "Shooting Star":

More lovely sounds at my good friend Anton's place, "Sunday Music – Lost Highway" (Hank Williams). Also, lots of miscellaneous goodies at Blazing Cat Fur and Theo Spark's.

Sometime either tomorrow or over the weekend I'll be writing about my experience of reaching 1 million visitors to this blog. Nothing special. I'll have a few words about where I've been on this blog and where I hope to go. Thanks dear readers.

Well, There's Nothing to Lose and There's Nothing to Prove...

A super-grainy live clip of Billy Idol and Generation X. The sound is good though:

I love the history of this song. The Wikipedia entry nails it pretty good here:

"Dancing with Myself" is a song by the band Generation X released in 1981, from their album Kiss Me Deadly. It was one of their first true hit singles. At the time of its release, the band shortened their name to simply "Gen X." Also of note, the band contained only Billy Idol and Tony James from the original line-up. Idol went on to have great success with the single when he released a more pop friendly version (absent of the driving guitar and bass in the Gen X version) on his first solo release, Don't Stop.

Some have speculated that the song is about masturbation, but Idol himself said during his VH1 Storytellers appearance that the song was inspired by Tony James and Billy Idol witnessing patrons watch themselves dance in the space enhancing mirrors which covered the walls of a Japanese night club during the band's 1979 Japanese Tour.

Actually, I bought Kiss Me Deadly right when it came out. It was a British import and the "Gen X" thing was just getting going. Billy Idol was glam-punk, and everybody thought he was cool -- obvously, since "Dancing With Myself," along with "White Wedding," made him a huge star over the next couple of years.

I loved the album. Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols played guitar on a number of tracks. The production was Phil Spector-ish, with lots of overlaid sounds and booming kinds of bass and vocals. It wasn't a tinny kind of trash-punk, but a supremely polished outing.

Personally, the whole masterbation debate came around later. I was just 20 years-old at the time (and naive). Thinking about it now, it's pretty obvious with Idol's ejaculatory screams at the song's conclusion.

I saw Billy Idol, with Tony James on guitar, twice, at the Roxy Theatre on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood - 1981 or so ... seems like ages ago, but great times.

Black Death: The Coming Influenza Pandemic

I've been meaning to write something on the swine flu scare, but the news cycle's been WAY busy with other stories, and that's not to mention (threats to) my day job.

In any case, the kids' doctor's office called the other to notify us that our swine flu shots had come in. We asked about this a couple of months back, when folks were in a panic about getting vaccinations, and shots weren't available. Both my boys received nasal vaccinations for the flu, but now that the doctor's called, my wife and I are thinking twice. It's always seemed like a bit of government hysteria to me, especially with this administration. Besides, it's almost Christmas now, and the urgency has been winding down.

So, despite reports of overreaction to the threat, federal officials are calling for universal vaccinations "to prevent another wave of illnesses after the holidays." See the Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Health Officials Urge H1N1 Shots for All Groups."

I wrote previously, "Swine Flu Hysteria: Perfect Timing for Democrats' National Health Emergency."

But folks should really spend a some time with Robin Cook's spectacular essay at Foreign Policy, "Plague: A New Thriller of the Coming Pandemic." Here's an excerpt:

BeforeI reveal the infectious agent of this putative coming plague, I would like to refer the reader to my 17th book, Contagion, published in 1995. A cautionary tale about the hazards of bioterrorism, the story involves a microbiology technician who is bent on starting an epidemic but who has to learn on the job, so to speak, about the critical importance of both virulence and transmissibility. He starts with Y. pestis, but his intended plague quickly fizzles with only a few victims because the necessary perpetrators of the scourge, rats and their disease-transmitting fleas, are not available. Undeterred, he finally comes to recognize that for a really scary epidemic to occur, it needs three things: the availability of a self-sustaining reservoir (usually an animal as an asymptomatic carrier), easy human-to-human transmissibility, and impressive virulence. By the end of the book he finds his agent: the influenza A subspecies H1N1 that caused the 1918-1919 Spanish flu, which he obtains from digging up in Alaska the frozen corpse of a victim of that dreadful pandemic.

Influenza A is perfect not only for my villain in Contagion but also as the infectious agent in Plague. It has a normal reservoir in the guts of birds, spreads via aerosols (the easiest and most efficient method of disease transmission), and can be amazingly virulent. By some estimates, as many people died from the Spanish flu as from the Black Death. Contemporary anecdotes of the Spanish flu describe asymptomatic people boarding the subway in Brooklyn and being dead by Manhattan. Such a death is hardly the torture of bubonic plague, but singularly impressive for its rapidity nonetheless. With today's medical knowledge, such an event would be explained as a "cytokine storm," in which the stricken individual's immune system reacts against the invading virus with such ferocity and such inflammation in the victim's lungs that death results from drowning in one's own secretions..

I personally developed great respect for influenza as a 17-year-old when I contracted the avian H2N2 subspecies during the 1957 Asian flu pandemic -- along with most everyone else at my high school. I suffered through an unpleasant illness that forever gave me a keen appreciation of the benign-sounding term "general malaise." My respect for influenza was further reinforced by the 1968 Hong Kong flu pandemic, caused by H3N2. At the time, I was a surgical resident, confronting seriously ill patients in the intensive care unit struggling to breathe. So when a new and highly virulent subspecies of influenza, designated avian H5N1 flu, appeared in Southeast Asia in 2006 and quickly began to spread globally, I felt compelled to do something for myself and my family. Despite this new subspecies's low human-to-human transmissibility, I stocked my isolated ski cottage with Tamiflu, antibiotics, ibuprofen, and N95 face masks. In the back of my mind was Isaac Newton's flight to the countryside from plague-infested London in 1665.

All this begs the question: Could an influenza pandemic as bad as the one that struck in 1918 occur again? In our current state of world complacency and unpreparedness, I'd have to say absolutely yes, which is why my supplies are still in my ski cottage.

In fact, such an outbreak could be worse than the Spanish flu, even with the antiviral drugs we now have, the antibiotics that are today available for secondary infections, and the modern equipment in our intensive care units. For though medical science has learned a lot about viruses in general and influenza in particular since the World War I era, there is a long way to go. What we do know is that viruses are highly evolutionarily developed, quintessential parasites. To reproduce, they end up stealthily slipping inside and then hijacking the biomolecular machinery of other life forms, such as bacteria or mammalian cells, as they don't have this machinery themselves. The problem, of course, is that the invaded entity is often killed in the process; for us humans, an attack from the influenza virus means that the cells lining our respiratory tract begin to die, as it is these cells that are selectively chosen. The flu is primarily a respiratory disease.

The fact that viruses such as influenza do their dirty work within cells is what makes treating them so much more difficult than treating bacterial diseases such as bubonic plague, which, in contrast, does most of its dirty work outside cells. In some respects the situation is akin to the difficulties of dealing with cancer in that killing infected cells can put normal cells in jeopardy, too. Modern medicine does have some antivirals in its armamentarium, but the highly evolved, wily viruses are quick to mount resistance. What it comes down to is that the best way to deal with influenza is to prevent it.

Don't miss the whole thing.

Abandoning Senate Norms, Al Franken Shuts Down Joe Lieberman: John McCain Responds, 'First Time I’ve Ever Seen a Member Denied...'

From Mediaite, "Senate Drama: Al Franken Shuts Down Joe Lieberman, Angers John McCain":

Today, Senator Joe Lieberman asked for an additional minute for the floor, but was denied by Senator Al Franken. This appeared to infuriate Senator John McCain. High drama indeed!

Actually, it's a fun bit of drama, according to TalkingPointsMemo (via Memeorandum).

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has the transcript:

Lieberman: “I wonder if I could ask unanimous consent for just an additional moment.”

Franken: “Um. In my capacity as a Senator from Minnesota, I object.

Lieberman: “Really. OK. I don’t take it personally. I will ask unanimous consent that the remainder of my remarks be included in the record as if read.”

Franken: “Without objection. The Senator from Arizona.”

McCain: "Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Rhode Island be recognized for 10 minutes followed by the Senator from Michigan, the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services committee who will be speaking on the bill and that I be recognized to follow them.”

Unidentified: "I assume that that’s for 10 minutes each.”

Franken: "Is that for 10 minutes each?

McCain: "Yea. I do. But I just saw – I‘ve been around here 20-some years, first time I’ve ever seen a member denied an extra minute or two to finish his remarks. And I must say that I don’t know what’s happening here in this body, but I think it’s wrong. And so it’s fine with me that it be 10 minutes but I’ll tell you I’ve never seen a member denied an extra minute or so as the chair just did."

Levin: "… I think that the same thing did occur earlier this afternoon for reasons which have to do with trying to get this bill going, but any --"

McCain: "I just haven’t seen it before myself, and I don’t like it. And I think it harms the comedy of the senate not to allow one of our members at least a minute. I’m sure that time is urgent here but I doubt if it would be that urgent."

Leftists are getting a thrill up their legs, naturally.

Have to say there's something that just feels right about hearing people call Sen. Franken -- Mr. President. But even better is watching him essentially tell HoJo to STFU.

And here:

Senator McCain, you don't know what's going on here? It's called your buddy is a dick and everybody's tired of pretending he's not. That's what's going on here.

Of course it was McCain who got up to defend Joe! I bet he even took him out for a milk shake afterwards so that he could cry about it.

Also, at Hot Air, "Video: Franken refuses to give Lieberman extra time for ObamaCare speech":

Nutroots porn from the Senate floor as Stuart Smalley silences the left’s hate object. If it were anyone else, this could be dismissed as simple Grayson-style pandering to liberals, but given Franken’s “issues,” his pique here might well be from the heart. It’ll be fun watching lefties simultaneously argue (a) that this has nothing to do with Lieberman and simply reflects the urgency of keeping things moving in the Senate and (b) that Franken totally pwn3d Traitor Joe, and isn’t it nice to see a liberal who’s willing to fight fight fight the corporate phonies who blah blah blah.

Biodome10 on Twitter Falsely Reports Death of Chris Henry: Bengals Star Succumbs to Injuries 12 Hours Later

I'm not surprised. I've long considered the Internet a 21st-century Wild West. But this is the most bizarre and genuinely evil story I've seen in some time -- and that's saying a lot, considering my investigations into the secular demonology of the radical left.

Cincinnati Bengals wide-receiver Chris Henry passed away this morning from injuries sustained after a fall from on open pickup truck yesterday. The Charlotte Observer reports, "Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry dies after Charlotte accident." And also, at CNN, "Bengals coach: Henry 'beacon of hope' before death."

Cincinnati Bengals football player Chris Henry died after he fell from the bed of a moving pickup truck during a fight with his fiancée, police said Thursday.

"Chris Henry died as a result of his injuries sustained during this incident," a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police news release said. "Department detectives continue to work diligently on this active investigation."

Henry died at 6:36 a.m. ET Thursday, the statement said.

Shortly before noon Wednesday, Henry's fiancée tried to drive off during a "domestic situation," only to have Henry jump into the bed of the truck, police said.

"The domestic situation continued between the operator and Mr. Henry," according to a police statement. Henry "came out of the back of the vehicle" about half a mile from the house, it said.

Henry was a native of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, according to the Bengals' Web site. He and his fiancée, Loleini Tonga, had planned to be married in March, the team said. Henry leaves three children -- two sons and a daughter, the team said.

But there's a really disturbing twist here. Last night, a Twitter user named Biodome10 falsely reported that Henry had died, and the story was retweeted widely around the Internet, and apparently even the Huffington Post reported the information. See, "The tragedy of Chris Henry and the disaster on Twitter." There's a screencap of the tweet at the link, which reads:

Just spoke to Dr. Allenberg, the head of the ICU at Piedmont Regional Medical Center, he confirmed Chris Henry has passed away and ...

The initial tweet is still available on Twitter, as well as this update:

See also, "How a Fake Twitter Death Report Tragically Came True" (which has more screencaps).

I'm not linking to Biodome10. I checked one of the other tweets. It reads, "Ive received numerous requests for my source regarding Chris Henry's passing. I just finished my article on the DMN blog," and then sends readers to a gay porn blog post. There's another that I haven't clicked. It reads, "Footage of the accident. DO NOT CLICK IF YOU GET UPSET EASILY.Very gruesome." That's followed by a tinyURL link to who knows where?

You'd think Twitter would take the page down. There's no First Amendment protections for falsehoods like this, and I imagine the family could seek legal damages.

Like I said. Nothing surprises me any more. As we've seen just this week with the campaign of intimidation against me by E.D. Kain, there are few taboos left any more.

I'm praying for the family of Chris Henry. And I'm praying for my readers at American Power. Please be careful out there.

Majority of Americans Don't See Global Warming as Crisis

Fox News has the report, "Majority of Americans Don't See Global Warming as Crisis":

While a majority of Americans believe global warming is happening, far fewer see it as a crisis.

A Fox News poll released Wednesday finds that a 63 percent majority of Americans say they believe in global warming, down from 69 percent earlier this year, and from a high of 82 percent in 2007.

Just over half of Americans (51 percent) believe in "man-made" global warming, that is, believe it is caused by human behavior (33 percent), or by both people and climate patterns (18 percent).

Less than a third (29 percent) believe global warming is caused naturally (11 percent climate patterns and 18 percent both human behavior and climate patterns).

Click here to see the poll.

Among groups, women (58 percent) are somewhat more likely than men (50 percent), and young people under age 30 (59 percent) are more likely than seniors 65 and over (50 percent), to believe in man-made global warming. Democrats (78 percent) are more than twice as likely as Republicans (32 percent) and significantly more likely than independents (54 percent) to believe it exists.

More at the link.

Meanwhile, this is a kicker: "Blizzard Dumps Snow on Copenhagen as Leaders Battle Warming."

RELATED: Hall of Record, "Oh, My! Canada - Record Cold Temperatures."

No I Won't Back Down...

In my in-box, from a regular reader, "Fight on Don ... you have support and I pass your blog onto others if they want to stay informed of political events."

And from Tom Petty, "I Won't Back Down":

Well I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down.

Hey, I won't back down
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey, I will stand my ground
And I won't back down.

And recall Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' awesome performance at Super Bowl 2008 ... the video's here (embedding disabled). A lot of happy fans in the crowd there, and that's what I love about music!

'Down With Imperial Dictatorships'!

There's not much to add, really. If folks want to understand the current political alignments in world politics, and thus domestic politics as well (since leftist radicalism is grounded in international solidarity), just pay attention to Hugo Chavez's rant at Copenhagen ... well, what you can make of it. Or, from Andrew Bolt, "Putting our economy in the hands of Chavez fans":

These maniacs in Copenhagen are voting on your future:

President Chavez brought the house down.

When he said the process in Copenhagen was “not democratic, it is not inclusive, but isn’t that the reality of our world, the world is really and imperial dictatorship…down with imperial dictatorships” he got a rousing round of applause.

When he said there was a “silent and terrible ghost in the room” and that ghost was called capitalism, the applause was deafening.

But then he wound up to his grand conclusion – 20 minutes after his 5 minute speaking time was supposed to have ended and after quoting everyone from Karl Marx to Jesus Christ - “our revolution seeks to help all people…socialism, the other ghost that is probably wandering around this room, that’s the way to save the planet, capitalism is the road to hell....let’s fight against capitalism and make it obey us.” He won a standing ovation.

UPDATE

And at the end of this first clip, Chavez rouses the rabble with more anti-Americanism, too:

I don’t think Obama is here yet. He got the Nobel Peace Prize almost the same day as he sent 30,000 soldiers to kill innocent people in Afghanistan.

Bolt links to the Australian, "Penny Wong jeered, Hugo Chavez cheered." More at Memeorandum.

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic...

I always like this video for its energy of happiness. Plus, it's a little more upbeat than Black Flag. Enjoy The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic..."

E.D. Kain's Alinsky Rules in Action!

Michael van der Galien, at David Horowitz's Newsreal blog has picked up on E.D. Kain's intimidation campaign, "The Alinsky Rules in Action":

That's a kicker, actually. I hadn't looked at it that way. But, makes sense. The "rules" are here, "Alinsky's Rules for Radicals." But for a perfect comparison to E.D. Kain, see James Lewis, "Barack Obama and Alinsky's Rules for Psychopaths."

Normal people slow down in School Zones where kids might run across the street -- not because they're afraid of getting a speeding ticket but because they can't stand the thought of hurting kids. They don't need to cheat compulsively on wives and husbands to prove how irresistible they are. Normal people have internalized some modesty and humility, and are capable of respect and love for others. A common feature of psychopaths is the inability to feel authentic love and respect for others.

Yep, normal people. Sounds about right. I wrote on E.D. Kain's Alinsky tactics earlier. See, "E.D. Kain Denies 'Disciplinary Action' as Motive for Workplace Intimidation!"

RELATED: Michael van der Galien's blog is PoliGazette.

Voters Reject Democrats in New Poll

Mark Murray reports on the dramatic collapse of the Democratic Party in public opinion. See, "Tea Party more popular than Dems, GOP." (Via Memeorandum.)

But the Wall Street Journal's got the full report, "Democrats' Blues Grow Deeper in New Poll: For First Time, Voters Split Over Who They":

Less than a year after Inauguration Day, support for the Democratic Party continues to slump, amid a difficult economy and a wave of public discontent, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The findings underscored how dramatically the political landscape has changed during the Obama administration's first year. In January, despite the recession and financial crisis, voters expressed optimism about the future, the new president enjoyed soaring approval ratings, and congressional leaders promised to swiftly pass his ambitious agenda.

In December's survey, for the first time, less than half of Americans approved of the job President Barack Obama was doing, marking a steeper first-year fall for this president than his recent predecessors.

Also for the first time this year, the electorate was split when asked which party it wanted to see in charge after the 2010 elections. For months, a clear plurality favored Democratic control.

The survey suggests that public discontent with Mr. Obama and his party is being driven by an unusually grim view of the country's status and future prospects.

A majority of Americans believe the U.S. is in decline. And a plurality now say the U.S. will be surpassed by China in 20 years as the top power.

Democrats' problems seem in part linked to their ambitious health-care plan, billed as the signature achievement of Mr. Obama's first year. Now, for the first time, more people said they would prefer Congress did nothing on health care than who wanted to see the overhaul enacted.

"For Democrats, the red flags are flying at full mast," said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. "What we don't know for certain is: Have we reached a bottoming-out point?"

The biggest worry for Democrats is that the findings could set the stage for gains by Republican candidates in next year's elections. Support from independents for the president and his party continued to dwindle. In addition, voters intending to back Republicans expressed far more interest in the 2010 races than those planning to vote for Democrats.

More at the link.

See also, Allahpundit, "Waterloo: Obama approval at 47 in new NBC poll, tea party more popular than Dems or GOP."

On the video, see Backyard Conservative, "RNC Ad Nods to Tea Party."

E.D. Kain Denies 'Disciplinary Action' as Motive for Workplace Intimidation!

E.D. Kain has yet to post an apology, but I did find more clues to his completely unhinged denialism at American Nihilist:

For the record, I didn't ever attempt to have disciplinary action taken against Douglas. I simply vented my frustrations.

Look, the evidence is out there, and I've documented repeatedly E.D. Kain's campaign of workplace intimidation and harassment. And the reason for contacting someone's place of work is more than intuitively obvious: The motive can only be explained by an overwhelming desire to crush the target. The possibility of losing one's job is so unacceptable that it brings about a change of behavior in the subject of the intimidation campaign. It's an under-the-belt attack on someone's livelihood. And of course, one does not "vent" to a total stranger who happens to be the chairman of the political science department of the target! ("Venting"? This is so fantastically monumentally absurd.) The fact is, making contact with my department chair was done precisely to get me to STFU. And why not? Who can afford to lose their means of economic support? No one, of course, and if they could, they wouldn't be blogging on Blogger! And that's what makes E.D. Kain's campaign so utterly despicable. This is someone who'd rather destroy than debate. It's cowardly yet vicious at the same time, typical of leftists.

See my post on E.D. Kain's pathetic denialism, from this morning: "E.D. Kain's Double-Standards: Claims of Libel Continue Amid Bleatings to Christian Ethics - Wallowing in Denial, Little Bully Refuses to Apologize!"

And last night, William Jacobson addressed the dangers to employment from partisan blogging, "Blogging While Employed":

Blogging under one's own name is a choice, but it carries risks for those who have a real job and blog as a pastime. One of those risks is attempts to disrupt the blogger's employment by contacting other people at the employer, particularly the boss. It's happened to me, and I'm sure it has happened to many people on both sides of the political aisle.

And Grizzly Mama left a comment this morning at my post:

I can't believe he contacted your place of employment - not just once but twice. It's Christmas though - Donald - you have to forgive and forget according to him! What a bunch of crap.

Erin Andrews Confronts Peephole Stalker in Court

At the New York Daily News, "ESPN beauty Erin Andrews wants maximum sentence for her convicted stalker Michael Barrett":

Sportscasting siren Erin Andrews faced her convicted stalker in court for the first time and pleaded with a judge to show him no mercy.

The ESPN beauty broke down in tears Tuesday when she first spotted peephole perv Michael Barrett.

Minutes later, the Illinois insurance executive stood before a federal judge and admitted he hunted Andrews down at hotels in three cities and shot naked videos that he posted online.

"I am a victim of this sexual predator. I would like to see him immediately put in prison for as long as possible," Andrews, 31, told the judge.

She said she fears for her safety as long as he's free.

"I have nightmares," she told the court.

"I walk in crowds and I see him in my peripheral vision. When I'm alone in my house, I have fears that he's going to walk inside and hurt me.

"I don't know him. I've never met him. I don't know why he chose me. But I hope he never sees the light of day again."

Barrett, 48, faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced Feb. 22. His plea agreement recommends about two years. Andrews wants the maximum.

"My career has been ripped apart, which I've worked very hard for," she told Judge Manuel Real.

"I am subjected to crude comments and suggestions that I have partnered in a crime," she continued. "I walk into stadiums, and fans say obscene things to me."

Barrett avoided eye contact with Andrews and pleaded guilty to one felony count of stalking.

He admitted he secretly rigged peepholes at hotels in Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin in 2008 and secretly shot the videos.

Andrews said outside court that she's coping by throwing herself back into work.

She said she puts on her broadcast headphones and blocks out everything but the football game she's covering.

"Day by day, it's getting better," Andrews said.

My previous coverage of the Andrews case is here.

If You Know What's Good For You, You'll Get Out of My Way...

Well, I'll post something a bit more warm and fuzzy later. This one certainly captures how I feel sometimes. L.A. punk rock at its best, circa 1981. This is Dez Cadena, Black Flag frontman before Henry Rollins came on the scene:

I'm about to have a nervous breakdown
My head really hurts
If I don't find a way out of here
I'm gonna go berserk cause
I'm crazy and I'm high
Head on my shoulders
It's going... Berserk!
I hear the same old talk talk talk
The same old lines
Don't do me that today
Yeah if you know what's good for you, you'll get out of my way
Cause, I'm crazy and I'm high
Head on my shoulders
Going... Berserk!
I won't apologize
For acting outta line
You see the way I am
You leave any time you can cause
I'm crazy and I'm high
Head on my shoulders
Going... Berserk!
Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!
I don't care what you fuckin' do!
I don't care what you fuckin' say!
I'm so sick of everything
I just want to... Die!

After you listen to the live version above, take a few minutes with the studio clip featuring Keith Morris on vocals. Side "B" features "Wasted," perhaps the most brilliant punk anthem of the generation. (Morris later joined the Circle Jerks, also one of the defining bands of the early 1980s hardcore punk scene.)

RELATED: The Other McCain, "A Friendly Note to James Wolcott," and the Sundries Shack, "I Keep Saying We Need to Bring Back Duelling. Or At Least the Punch in the Nose.

E.D. Kain's Double-Standards: Claims of Libel Continue Amid Bleatings to Christian Ethics - Wallowing in Denial, Little Bully Refuses to Apologize!

E.D. Kain has confirmed that he contacted my department chair for a second time. See my post, "E.D. Kain Contacts Department Again: Intimidation Campaign Escalates; Fake 'Apology' Seals Moral Indictment Against True/Slant Blogger!."

Yet, predictably, E.D. Kain denies the escalation of intimidation, pleads ignorance of his harassment, and offers bleating Christian guilt-mongering while groveling for me to leave him alone. Here's an excerpt:

Donald,

That's not true at all. I contacted your department chair again this morning after reading your post saying that I had thought the email was confidential and that if he had wanted no part in this that he could have simply told me so and been done with it. I said nothing more on the issue of defemation or to shut you down. I apologized in the other comment thread for the initial email. The second email had nothing whatsoever to do with you, and only mentioned briefly that I had believed the emails to be confidential. That's it. So this whole notion of escalating intimidation is simply untrue.

My blogs are not forums for my apologies to you any more than your blog ought to be a forum to drag my name through the dirt. Once again, I'd ask you to find one single instance of my smearing your name and bring it forward. It hasn't happened.

Meanwhile you write awful, slanderous things about me on a fairly regular basis. As I am a writer, this amounts to basically bringing personal attacks into my business. I don't think that's either Christian or charitable in the least given that I have never once attacked you. Ever.

Well, to be clear, as I said before, ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

But let's go through this once more, hopefully for the last time:

At my earlier entry, "E.D. Kain Alleges Defamation: True/Slant Blogger's Workplace Intimidation Attempts to Shut Down American Power!," I specifically demanded that E.D. Kain cease and desist from contacting my department colleagues. Yet he claims, "The second email had nothing whatsoever to do with you ..." No sir, it has everything to do with me. It's my place of employment, it's my department chair, and it's my responsbility to respond to this harassment campaign. E.D. Kain has no business contacting my place of employment. None. So once more, I demand of E.D. Kain to STOP THIS WORKPLACE HARASSMENT.

This is a de facto escalation. He is harassing my colleagues, and BLAMING THEM for HIS campaign of intimidation. Blame-shifting. Another spineless attribute to E.D. Kain, libel-blog-facilitator extradinaire. More on that below.

Alright, what about E.D. Kain's public apology? I'm reissuing my demand for a published apology. Contacting my employer is a serious threat to freedom of speech. And it has also disrupted my life personally, bringing my colleagues into a matter that should have been handled in online debate between two reasonable men. E.D. Kain is not a victim here. He needs to take full responsiblity for his actions. Perhaps Andrew Sullivan's recent apology to Charles Krauthammer might serve as a template. If libel-blogger Andrew Sullivan can apologize at his blog, so can E.D. Kain:

And I want to note that I take special exception to this comment from E.D. Kain: "My blogs are not forums for my apologies to you any more than your blog ought to be a forum to drag my name through the dirt." No sir. It's just the opposite. Blogs are calling cards to professional reputation. I stand by what I write here. That E.D. Kain refuses to speak on these issues at his own "forums" substantiates E.D.'s premium on hush-hush secrecy -- it also reveals his rank hypocrisy, given that he's the blogosphere's top proliferator a slanders against Robert Stacy McCain, and conservatives generally. That is to say: NO ONE tells me what my blog is for, and hence E.D. Kain's double-standard: Mr. Yellow Belly has ignored the true dirt-dragging among his blogging allies, to wit: Charles Johnson's post last night, ""White Supremacist Blogger Robert Stacy McCain's Neo-Nazi Pal on Trial." That's right, notice not one word here from E.D. Kain in response to his accessory to the mud-dragging smears against Robert Stacy McCain at LGF. E.D. Kain's silence -- his refusal to speak out against the despicable actions of Charles Johnson -- constitutes endorsement of libel-blogging against conservatives. And recall, that's just perfect, because in E.D. Kain's own words, McCain, or myself, or any other conservative reading this blog are in need of "salvation." See, "Conservatives as Self-Parodies":

It just makes me throw my hands up in the air. I try too hard to retain the word “conservative” – to hold on to some other sense of its meaning, some other definition that the American right has no hold over ....

I’ve tried to come to terms with the idea that the movement can be changed for the better but I’m beginning to doubt myself even there. The invention of the modern Tea Party only reveals how deep the fraud runs.

In the end I’m just at a loss. I see less and less hope for the American right however much they bellow and bluster to the contrary. I don’t even mean this in terms of electoral hope. I mean this in terms of salvation.

And further, notice the total hypocrisy in this idea that blogs aren't forums to air personal debates. It turns out that Kain posted an attack on Dan Riehl that was apprently so brutal that he had to take down the most egregious smears:

Dan Riehl responded here:

So basically, it's a myth that E.D. Kain rejects personal debates in public forums. In fact, it's unlikely he would have retracted his attacks had it not been for his co-bloggers' revulsion at E.D. Kain's merciless vituperation. He tries to walk it back in a later comment thread, suggesting that his "personal feud" was indeed over the top. And pay attention to the section about the unnamed blogger who is "slandering" the League of Ordinary Gentlemen (emphasis added):

I just got the distinct impression that everyone was very uncomfortable with the post, that it was a direction nobody wanted to take the site, that it was the possible start of a feud that I had no right dragging the rest of the group into. I wrote it on a day I’d felt especially cantankerous. I wrote it largely out of anger toward not just the target of that post but toward another target who we’ve all agreed we would never actually mention or link to for various reasons (but primarily in the hopes that said blogger would stop slandering various members of the League) and I felt that it was not only unfair to the rest of the group but to the person I wrote the post about. Beyond that, I decided it was the wrong tone entirely for this blog.

Okay, two points here: One, clearly E.D. Kain has no problem with taking "feuds" public at the blog. But especially revealing is the earlier allegations of "slander," the highlighted section in bold. I'm virtually 100 percent sure that "the target of that post" is yours truly. And while I'm not asking for confirmation from E.D. Kain, I think the whole thing is powerful substantiation of E.D. Kain's pathologies. This is a man in deep denial, one who is perfectly willing to attack others at his blogs, but has kept totally mum with regards to the issues I've raised. To wit, E.D. Kain is a coward and intellectual mountebank. He's deeply ashamed of his past ties to neoconservatism, having done a scheming about face to climb the rungs of post-modern libel-blogging (with his mentors Andrew Sullivan and Charles Johnson).

And as we have seen, to cope with his shame and hypocrisy, E.D. Kain has erected an elaborate psychological construct of avoidance, denial, and projection. Frankly, it's supremely infuriating to read E.D.'s comments blaming my department chair for not telling him that "he had wanted no part in this"! But these are the psychological pathologies of classic leftists. Indeed, checking Dr. Sanity's post, "STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH DENIAL - Part II : Logical Fallacies and Rhetorical Ploys Used in Denial," we can place E.D. Kain into a number of categories. Most striking, obviously, is "projection/denial." This whole exchange has been extremely frustrating simply for E.D. Kain's transparent evasion and denial of responsibility, capped with massive doses of "evasion/displacement," with smatterings of dishonest "smokescreens/rationalizations."

Also, important is the "minimizing/discounting" category. We see this twice in E.D. Kain, with his simplistic bleating of "un-Christian" behavior -- at the comments, where he tries to dismiss things, saying, "I don't think that's either Christian or charitable in the least given that I have never once attacked you. Ever." Well, no, actually. You've violated my trust, taken advantage for your own personal gain, and attacked tea partiers as needing "salvation" -- which of course, is an attack on me. And besides, none of E.D. Kain's arguments can justify a campaign of intimidation and harassment at my place of employment. God, that is just beyond the pale!

In short, it's time for E.D. Kain to grow up. And I reaffirm my demands:

* CEASE YOUR CAMPAIGN OF INTIMIDATION AND HARASSMENT AT MY WORKPLACE.

* PUBLISH FULL AND UNEQUIVOCAL APOLOGIES AT YOUR BLOGS.

But to reiterate as well:

* TAKE RESPONSIBLITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS.

* STOP BLAMING OTHERS FOR PROGRAM OF DESTRUCTION.

**********

Notice to Readers: Thank you for returning here again and again, and thanks for the support. Please accept my apologies for this unwanted diversion from regular blogging. But is has to be said: E.D. Kain's campaign of personal destruction is so serious that it cannot be avoided. Nothing I have written in all of this is untrue. Everything is documented and made public for the record. I will be commenting more generally on these conflicts in later posts. I especially want to revisit some of my earlier thoughts on anonymous blogging. Perhaps there's more benefits to anonymity or pseudonimity than I previoiusly acknowledged. Or, perhaps I'm just not as smart as those who have recognized that leftists cannot tolerate open debate, and they'll use any means necessary to stifle difference and shut down debate. It's pretty sad, but true. So more on that later.

First Snow, Cascadel Woods, California, December 2009

My wife's uncle owns a cabin at Cascadel Woods, in North Fork, California, about an hour north of Fresno. Family members sent pictures from the first snow last week. The sun is setting over the San Joaquin Valley, downs West from the mountains:

This view is literally just a few steps across the road from the driveway to the property. There's a creek that runs down to a waterfall. Sitting at this spot in 1992, I asked my wife to move to Santa Barbara with me, where I was headed to start grad school that September. It was Memorial Day weekend, if I recall. The family has a huge holiday barbecue there every year. Thought I'd leave this one at top overnight for a little more joyous holiday feel around here, considering ...

**********

UPDATE:

Thinking about it last night, it could have been 4th of July 1992 when I asked my wife to come with me to Santa Barbara. Either way, it's a pretty sentimental memory.

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

Okay, here's an update on developments since yesterday's report, "E.D. Kain Alleges Defamation: True/Slant Blogger's Workplace Intimidation Attempts to Shut Down American Power!"

I must say, things have taken a twist I never would have anticipated. When I posted the Elvis Costello video this morning, E.D. Kain had left a comment at the last night's post. This marks the very first time that E.D.'s engaged me directly, in all these months. Perhaps this was his breakthrough to maturity. He writes at the post":

So yes, I did contact your department chair - not to shut you down but to express my frustration, since I had no reason to believe that you would respond to me with anything but more of the same jeering. I was not and am not trying to "shut you down" and honestly only contacted the chair because I was upset over your last post which again called me numerous names over something that had nothing at all to do with you. It was an act of frustration and I was reaching out to someone who I thought might be able to help.

And you know what? I shouldn't have done that. You're right. That was me acting out of frustration and anger and it was not the right move. I apologize...

Sounds great, right?

Only one little problem: ONCE AGAIN -- AGAIN! -- E.D. KAIN E-MAILED MY DEPARTMENT TO ALLEGE DEFAMATION AND SHUT DOWN THIS BLOG!!

Jesus, what a freakin' crybaby!

But to be clear, right after I wrote "'Blame it on Cain ... Don't Blame it on Me...'," where I mentioned my pending response to Kain's "apology" above, my department chair approached me in the hallway. He said he'd gotten another e-mail from E.D. Kain, who complained that this was all supposed to be "confidential." Right. E.D. Kain can just keep threatening and intimidating, and I have to STFU because he wants it kept confidential? Sheesh.

Okay, I'll be clear for the record: I HAVE NOT RECEIVED COPIES OF THE E-MAILS - THEY HAVE BEEN KEPT CONFIDENTIAL - I HAVE BEEN CONSULTED BY ADMINISTRATION. You see, obviously, as a matter of record, the department must inform me of the complaint. The allegations themselves would not be kept secret, only the substance of the communications. But E.D. Kain thought he had a contract to smear, intimidate, and harasss, and thus cried foul when I defended myself here at the blog. Can you freakin' believe it? What a pest! And I repeat, like I said yesterday, my co-workers want no part of the flame wars. THIS IS NOT college business, and E.D. Kain's contacts amount to NOTHING MORE THAN RANK HARASSMENT!! E.D. Kain needs to deal with me personally and he must STOP THE INTIMIDATION AT MY WORKPLACE!!

And also, very importantly, I spoke with the college's VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS. I gave him a heads up just in case the harassment continues. Everything's on the record -- everything. AND THAT'S IT -- MY COLLEGE'S INVOLVEMENT ENDS THERE!!

So, I am requesting from E.D. Kain once again to stay away from my place of work. This is a private blogging matter. American Power is hosted on Blogger. None of my college identification pages link to my blog. I recommend my blog for students to read, on a voluntary, non-assignment basis. Occasionally I'll pull up an academic post in class as a lecture launcher -- and actually, THAT'S A GOOD TEACHING THING!! (By the way, check William Jacobson's comments on this, "Blogging While Employed.)

I'm also doubling my request that E.D. Kain issue an apology, published at both of his blogs, the League of Ordinary Gentlemen and True/Slant. That's the least he could do, after proving beyond a shadow of a doubt the very case for dishonesty and abject duplicity I've laid out in previous entries. I'm starting to think E.D. Kain's got serious mental instabilities. This is ridiculous.

But I need to explain to readers why I'm doing this. Why do I engage in a flame war with a man who's clearly not equipped to deal with these issues, emotionally, intellectually, or morally? Well, frankly, it's all about ideology and politics. E.D. Kain's an enabler of all the extremist libel-blogging being waged by his two biggest heroes, Andrew Sullivan and Charles Johnson. And it's personal, given the confidence and access I had previously entrusted to him. Recall my point from last night: Had E.D. Kain just moved on from NeoConstant without taking up the standard at Daily Dish and LGF, things would have been perfectly fine. But no. E.D.'s gone on to emulate -- if not worship -- these merchants of hate. And his work distributes the libel. So, to be honest, E.D. Kain provides a perfect example -- from personal experience -- of how awful these people are, how totally bereft of moral foundations, as they seek to expand their power and take down conservatives.

Indeed, here's a perfect example. Recall E.D. Kain's interview with Charles Johnson at Ordinary Gentlemen, "The Evolution of Blogging: An Interview with Charles Johnson," and this quote from Charles in particular (in response to the query that LGF is "distancing itself from the right"):

I’ve never been on board with the anti-science, anti-Enlightenment radical religious right. Once I began making my opinions known on issues like creationism and abortion, I realized that there just wasn’t very much in common with many of the bloggers on the right. And then, when most of them decided to fall in and support a blogger like Robert Stacy McCain, who has neo-Nazi friends, has written articles for the openly white supremacist website American Renaissance, and has made numerous openly racist statements on the record … well, I was extremely disappointed to see it, but unfortunately not surprised.

Actually, I believe Charles Johnson "disappointment" about as much as I believe E.D. Kain's "apology" for his workplace intimidation. Behold today's post at Little Green Footballs, "White Supremacist Blogger Robert Stacy McCain's Neo-Nazi Pal on Trial":

The link above is to the Google search (just in case readers actually want to check over at LGF). Click here for Robert Stacy McCain's rebuttals to Johnson's smears.

By now readers might have realized E.D. Kain's fatal hypocrisy. One the one hand, he's literally mounting a campaign of harassment and intimidation against me for speaking God's honest truth. But on the other, he's a premier enabler of Charles Johnson's despicable libel blogging against Robert Stacy McCain, and by implication all those conservatives who back him. That's called incommensurability. Are you with me? Are you with me in fighting the smears, in standing up against these blogospheric ayatollahs? If so, then E.D. Kain's got your number too -- literally, as it may be, since he'll contact your place of work to shut you down!

**********

ADDENDUM: I want to emphasize that I've toned down my angry rhetoric at this post, and there's a reason for it. One, my initial entry, "Sleaze-Blogger E.D. Kain Reaches Pinnacle of 'Conservative' Blogosphere! Simultaneously Linked by Andrew Sullivan and Charles Johnson!," was mostly snark. In fact, what I wrote there barely reached the level of everyday attack blogging at Sadly No! or TBogg's. Yeah, my language was far from church-friendly, but blogging ain't beanbag, alright. Now, in my second post, "E.D. Kain Alleges Defamation: True/Slant Blogger's Workplace Intimidation Attempts to Shut Down American Power!," I was just plain mad and outraged. My invective was just getting warmed up, and frankly, I'd rather keep the safety on. I mention this because E.D. Kain needed a tissue in his comment at the blog this morning, where he bawls:

I have never written one single word against you. Not one. You can go back and search as hard as you can but you won't find one single negative phrase against you from me, ever, nor against any of the other writers who contributed to Neoconstant back in the day. Indeed, I have maintained friendly relationships with basically all of them.

And yet you, from the very outset, have decided to hurl insult after insult at me. You've called me the most horrible things I can think of - and never once have I responded in kind. Never once. If you can find one single time where I've attempted to smear you, please do. But it doesn't exist. While you smear me time and time again for apparently no reason other than I had a change of political heart. (sleaze-blogger, gasbag, slander-master, butt-freak arrogance, etc. etc.)

Earth to E.D.: Actions speak louder than words. It doesn't matter what you say when your modus operandi serves as an accessory to personal destruction. So, quit crying like a baby. And most of all:

* CEASE YOUR CAMPAIGN OF INTIMIDATION AND HARASSMENT AT MY WORKPLACE.

* PUBLISH A FULL AND UNEQUIVOCAL APOLOGY AT YOUR BLOGS.

I imagine the "insults" will subide if those two conditions are met. Regular political debate remains on the table, of course, thought it's not like E.D. Kain's got a record of defending against it.