Mitt Romney: 'The Context Is Worse Than the Quote'

From Alana Goodman, at Commentary, "Obama Video on “Context” Doesn’t Even Play Speech Clip":

The Obama campaign is pushing back against attacks on the president’s “you didn’t build that” remark with a new web video claiming the Romney campaign took the line “out of context.” Obama’s deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter says the following:

“Mitt Romney recently launched a new TV ad that blatantly twists President Obama’s words on small business owners and entrepreneurs. Romney’s not telling the truth about what the president said and is taking the president’s words out of context. Romney claims the president told entrepreneurs they didn’t build their own businesses. Actually, he didn’t say that. And even the Washington Post called this attack ‘ridiculous.’ Anyone who’s seen the president’s actual remarks knows the truth. The president said that together, Americans built the free enterprise system that we all benefit from.”

Cutter then goes on to defend Obama’s record on small businesses, but doesn’t even play a clip of his comments in whatever “context” she claims is missing from Romney’s ad. Instead, viewers are asked to click a link over to the Obama website if they want to see it. Why? Probably because the campaign knows the context sounds just as bad as the line in question.

Mitt Romney touched on this point in one of his strongest interviews of the campaign so far:

Finish Goodman's post here.

Greg Sargent went after Romney last week, "Romney video deceptively edits Obama speech to make it sound anti-business." He provided the "missing" context, but again, you can't put lipstick on a pig.

Here's the whole thing, in any case:

And the caption at the video:

This is the same clip President Obama is using to try and recant his comments that denigrated small business owners, but we know the truth. He said it and he meant it. If you keep attacking success, you'll continue to have less of it. It's as simple as that. See for yourself -- you be the judge http://mi.tt/OCJ3Cv.

But wait!

Still more push back from the left!

Here's Sargent again, "What the war over `didn’t build that’ is really about." Sargent's a socialist spin doctor. Read it all at the link, if you want. And here's Obama's "rapid reaction" video released yesterday, which shows the president once again making the same argument that "you didn't build that" on your own, you had help, you had roads and bridges, etc., which is basically what Elizabeth Warren said some time back and has been taking grief for it. See: "President Obama Pushes Back On Romney Campaign's Small Business Attacks."

Americans aren't buying the Democrats' snake oil, which is why the Obama campaign is pushing back so hard, desperately trying to get out from the hole they've dug for themselves.

Al Qaeda's Hand Now Detected in Syria Conflict

At the New York Times, "Al Qaeda Taking Deadly New Role in Syria’s Conflict" (via Memeorandum):

CAIRO — It is the sort of image that has become a staple of the Syrian revolution, a video of masked men calling themselves the Free Syrian Army and brandishing AK-47s — with one unsettling difference. In the background hang two flags of Al Qaeda, white Arabic writing on a black field.

“We are now forming suicide cells to make jihad in the name of God,” said a speaker in the video using the classical Arabic favored by Al Qaeda.

The video, posted on YouTube, is one more bit of evidence that Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists are doing their best to hijack the Syrian revolution, with a growing although still limited success that has American intelligence officials publicly concerned, and Iraqi officials next door openly alarmed.

While leaders of the Syrian political and military opposition continue to deny any role for the extremists, Al Qaeda has helped to change the nature of the conflict, injecting the weapon it perfected in Iraq — suicide bombings — into the battle against President Bashar al-Assad with growing frequency.

The evidence is mounting that Syria has become a magnet for Sunni extremists, including those operating under the banner of Al Qaeda. An important border crossing with Turkey that fell into Syrian rebels’ hands last week, Bab al-Hawa, has quickly become a jihadist congregating point.

The presence of jihadists in Syria has accelerated in recent days in part because of a convergence with the sectarian tensions across the country’s long border in Iraq. Al Qaeda, through an audio statement, has just made an undisguised bid to link its insurgency in Iraq with the revolution in Syria, depicting both as sectarian conflicts — Sunnis versus Shiites.

More at that top link.

The first video's referenced at the Times' piece, and the second is from CNN earlier this year.

North Koreans Meet Their First Lady

At the New York Times, "North Korean Leader Marries."

Newsweek Projected to Lose at Least $22 Million This Year

Well, I wonder why?

See Bloomberg, "Newsweek Owner Says Magazine Will Eventually Shift Online."

British ex-pat and Newsweek executive editor Tiny Brown denies it, "Scaremongering."

But see The Other McCain, "Not Surprising: Tina Brown’s ‘Newsbeast’ Still Losing Millions of Dollars a Year."

IMAGE CREDIT: "Barebackers for Barack, UPDATED! — Andrew 'Milky Loads' Sullivan Cover Story at Newsweek, 'The First Gay President."

Voula Papachristou, Greek Olympic Athlete, Expelled for Mocking African Immigrants on Twitter

At Telegraph UK, "London 2012 Olympics: Greece athlete Voula Papachristou expelled for racist comment on Twitter":

Team GB athletes have now been reminded to keep their tweets “in a tasteful manner” or risk breaching their athlete team agreements, which allow for expulsion from the Games.

Papachristou a supporter of the far-right political party Golden Dawn, posted the offensive tweet two days ago, which she now claims was a joke.

The tweet said: “With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitoes will eat home made food!!!”

But the Hellenic Olympic Committee came under pressure from within Greece to take action against 23-year-old Papachristou, who had also publicly supported the Golden Dawn politician Ilias Kasidiaris, when he criticised Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s immigration position.

She had previously retweeted promotional videos from the political party, which gained seven per cent of the vote in the recent Greek elections.

Also at London's Daily Mail, "Greek triple jumper booted off Olympic team in disgrace after she mocked African immigrants on Twitter."

Boy, mock African immigrants and the IOC comes down on you like a ton of bricks. But request one minute of silence for the Israeli athletes murdered in 1972? Nope, that's too political. See: "Olympic Committee Won't Hold Moment of Silence for Slain 1972 Israeli Athletes."

Iraq Veteran Sgt. Robert Delgado Touts Rep. Allen West in New Campaign Ad

At the Los Angeles Times, "Iraq war vet: 'Allen West saved my life'."

WASHINGTON – An Iraq war veteran has come to the aid of his former boss, Rep. Allen West, to tell how the Florida congressman handed over his body armor on the way to combat in Iraq, an act that might have saved the soldier’s life.

In a campaign spot that will air on Florida television during the Olympics, Sgt. Robert Delgado (Ret.) says he worried when he was deployed to Iraq that he might not make it home to see his new child – his wife was eight months pregnant at the time.

“I’m going to make sure you come home to your wife and your newborn baby,” Delgado recalls West saying to him. West, who was Delgado’s commander at the time, handed his body armor to the soldier.

“This car came flying by and this AK-47 just starts firing,” Delgado says. “And I got shot. If I hadn’t had that body armor, though, I don’t think I’d really be here because where it hit is where my lung was.”

“Because of that, I’m here today,” Delgado says in the ad, which was first reported by Politico.

Homosexuals Plan 'National Same-Sex Kiss Day' to Protest Chick-fil-A

At OC Weekly, "Gay Rights Advocates to Protest Chick-Fil-A With Same-Sex Kissing In Front of Restaurants."

This whole thing has gotten way out of hand.

Recall that first it was Boston Mayor Thomas Menino who went authoritarian on Chick-fil-A. See Legal Insurrection, "When political correctness runs amok, it will look like the Mayor of Boston."

Now we have the idiots in Chicago following suit, at Volokh, "No Building Permits for Opponent of Same-Sex Marriage." (Via Memeorandum.) And check Jeff Goldstein, "“Alderman to Chick-fil-A: No deal”":

So now a Chicago petty tyrant pol joins with the bigoted mayor of Boston to declare that, to the contemporary “liberal,” tolerance is nothing more than policing conformity of thought — and that he will proudly cast himself as intolerant of intolerance!

Well, yeah. Gay rights advocates are the biggest bigots of them all.

More at Weasel Zippers, "Another Dem Politician Moves to Ban Chick-Fil-A Restaurants – Update: Mayor Rahm Emanuel Backs Ban, “Chick-Fil-A Values Are Not Chicago Values”…"

Look, this is what the Democrat Party has come to in America. Even the far-left Los Angles Times called out the left's bigotry and bullying, "Free speech and Chick-fil-A":

The Muppets are well within their rights to shun Chick-fil-A after the chain restaurant donated to anti-gay groups and its president, Dan Cathy, made statements implying a strong, biblically-based stand against same-sex marriage. They're private, um, puppets. But public officials have a responsibility to carry out their ministerial tasks fairly and evenhandedly — and to uphold the principle of free speech — whether or not they like a business executive's social or political stances. We disagree heartily with Cathy, but are far more troubled by the reaction of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who vowed to block Chick-fil-A's effort to open an outlet in that city.

Boycotts are a time-honored way for consumers and groups to express their views through their spending power, though it's worth noting that just as Americans have split along more divisive lines politically, so have their shopping habits. Some people won't travel to Utah because of Mormon support for Proposition 8; others won't step foot in aJ.C. Penneybecause of its ads featuring same-sex couples. As both a private citizen and a prominent public figure, Menino is welcome to abstain from fried chicken sandwiches and urge others to do likewise.

It's a different matter if he attempts to trample the free-speech rights of others by using the power of his office to fight against a business license for Chick-fil-A. Menino suggested that it would be appropriate to block the chain from opening in Boston because Cathy's views amount to discrimination. That would rightly apply if Chick-fil-A were to refuse service to gay customers; the city has a right and an obligation to prevent discriminatory actions against its residents and visitors. But there's no evidence that any such thing has occurred.

More at Michelle's, "Hey, Boston: Leave Chick-fil-A alone." (Via Memeorandum.)

PHOTO CREDIT: OC Weekly.

Sheldon Adelson Courts Jewish Voters for GOP

A front-page report at the New York Times, "Mogul’s Latest Foray Courts Jews for the G.O.P." (via Memeorandum). An excerpt:

The advertising campaign features a testimonial from Michael Goldstein, 48, a community college administrator from New Jersey, who said he enthusiastically supported Mr. Obama’s candidacy but became disillusioned by his administration. A lifelong Democrat, he said he was planning to support Mr. Romney by casting his first vote for a Republican in a presidential race.

“I was enamored with Obama,” Mr. Goldstein said in an interview. “I thought he was sharp, intelligent and brought a new sense of wonder to politics. The fact that we were helping elect the first African-American president of the United States made me very proud, but I don’t believe anything he says anymore. I go more by his actions than by what he says.”

Mr. Goldstein said he gradually became disenchanted with Mr. Obama when his promises to change Washington did not come to pass. He said he was particularly incensed by the administration’s stance toward Israel, particularly the president’s view that the 1967 borders should be a starting point for negotiations for a two-state peace solution. He said he also believed that Mr. Obama showed disrespect to Mr. Netanyahu.

It remains an open question how many voters share the views of Mr. Goldstein, who conceded that some of his frustrations at Mr. Obama were also a result of what he saw as the president’s failure to uphold liberal principles on gun control and some social issues. But he said that his discontent was strong enough that he would cast a vote for Mr. Romney and that he intended to campaign aggressively in Pennsylvania.

“It doesn’t take a lot of buyer’s remorse to potentially shift the outcome,” said Ari Fleischer, a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s board and a former press secretary to President George W. Bush.

RELATED: From ABC News, "Sheldon Adelson May Stop By Romney Jerusalem Fundraiser." (Via Memeorandum.)

Anaheim Shooting Protest Turns Violent

The local channel KCAL 9 had live coverage last night. The police presence was massive, with essentially SWAT-style gang units out in front. See: "24 Arrested Following Clash Between Protestors, Anaheim Police."

And see the Orange County Register, "ANAHEIM PROTESTS: 1,000 demonstrators clashed with Anaheim police."

More at the Los Angeles Times, "Scattered crowds roam Anaheim streets to protest officer shootings."

Kyrsten Sinema, Bisexual Israel-Hating Antiwar Radical, is Face of Today's Democrat Party

Look, while even some Democrats might take pause at the extreme left-wing candidacy of Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema, who's running for Congress from the state's Ninth Congressional District, the fact is as more and more younger activists rise up the party ranks, this is what you're going to get. Sinema is the mainstream of today's Democrat Party.

Alana Goodman reports, at Commentary, "The Reinvention of an Anti-War Activist":

You wouldn’t normally expect Washington Democrats to spend much time fretting over a congressional primary in Arizona. But the three-way Democratic race between Kyrsten Sinema, Andrei Cherny, and David Schapira is getting a surprising amount of attention from national Democrats, the pro-Israel community and the political media.

Ten years ago, Sinema was one of those radical left-wing activists who donned pink tutus at anti-war rallies and organized with anti-Israel groups. Today, the 36-year-old is running for Congress as an AIPAC-supporting moderate who would have voted in favor of the Afghanistan intervention.

The problem? Some Democrats say her evolution doesn’t add up. For one, Sinema’s been involved with anti-Israel and anti-war groups much more recently than her campaign has acknowledged. And while she recently released a strongly-worded pro-Israel position paper, her latest comments on foreign policy issues have been dodgy and confusing.

“Is she for or against killing bin Laden?” asked former AIPAC spokesman Josh Block. “Based on her record, you don’t know. You would think when you’re considering a member of Congress, you would know their positions on these issues.”

One Democratic Arizona state representative who has worked with Sinema said her views are impossible to decipher.

“When she wanted to be an activist, she was anti-war, all these kinds of things that now she says she never was,” he said. “I don’t think she actually has a foreign policy core, I think she has a political core.”

According to the Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo, Sinema didn’t just dabble in radical circles; she helped organize and lead extreme anti-war groups that took anti-Israel positions on issues like the right of return and Israel’s self defense. Townhall’s Guy Benson reported that she was involved in anarchist riots that encouraged property destruction.

Sinema’s campaign disputed the claim that she was involved with anti-Israel activism, calling it a smear tactic by opponents.

Continue reading.

Look, obviously the woman wants to hide her really despicable past. She wouldn't talk to Goodman on the phone, told her to schedule an interview with her staff, and after Goodman called back she hasn't returned her messages. I guess that's getting too close to home.

It's so bad that even Philip Weiss has denounced Sinema at the anti-Israel Mondweiss, "Once she joined ‘Women in Black’ and opposed aid to Israel. And then – she ran for Congress and went to AIPAC."

Following the links, it turns out that Marc Tracy has a report on the Ninth District race at the Tablet, which has this on Sinema:

Soon after 9/11, at 25 years old, she co-founded Local to Global Justice, a local advocacy group. Its initial mission was to oppose the invasion of Afghanistan, but in 2007 it signed a petition calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and another in 2008 decrying Israeli “human rights violations against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and against civilians in Lebanon.” Sinema joined Women in Black, a group founded by Israelis during the First Intifada to protest human rights abuses in the territories—a history of which Sinema claimed to be unaware. (That’s pretty hard to believe, since the group was founded in 1988 and is easily located on Google.) Also in 9/11’s aftermath, she helped organize the Arizona Alliance for Peaceful Justice; its motto was, “military action is an inappropriate response to terrorism.” According to The Hill, this was her position, too. At least as late as 2010, she continued to associate with these groups, speaking, for example, at an antiwar rally several sponsored. She has since severed ties.

The post is documented with lots of links, damning links.

BONUS: Sinema is a switch hitter, according to the Advocate, "Bi Politician Announces Congressional Bid":

Arizona state senator Kyrsten Sinema has resigned from her post to pursue a U.S. House seat that has been created due to redistricting. If elected, Sinema would be the first openly bisexual member of Congress.

More at the Washington Free Beacon, "Adult Sinema."

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

Suspect James Holmes No Easy Fit for Mass Murderer Profile

Okay, there's a couple of new articles that relate to Colorado suspect James Holmes' acadmic difficulties (which I discussed here and here).

First, Holmes did indeed take the first year oral exams in his neuroscience department, according to a report from the Denver Post, "CU officials defend academic, personal support available to Holmes (via Bob Agard). Key officials from the University of Colorado Denver are seen at the video below. And according to the Post:

The officials, referring to the ongoing investigation, would not answer specific questions about him or his academic standing. They did say that Holmes withdrew from the program June 10, three days after taking a preliminary oral examination before three professors.

Clearly, officials realized immediately the massacre's implications for the university. They talk about how the support system was the envy of the world, as if it would have been impossible for students to slip through the cracks. And listen to the Graduate Dean Barry Shur at the clip, saying "it's very unusual, very unusual, for a student to withdraw from our program." Also, the department apparently allows struggling students to take their exams over again.

So, I'll refer folks back over to my earlier entry on this, "James Holmes' Academic Frustration and Social Isolation."

What's interesting now is how extremely hush hush university officials have handled their response. Numerous reports indicate that campus personnel were told by administration not to speak to the press, but to refer questions to the university's public relations office. And you get that feeling as well at the clip, when Chancellor Don Ellman erects the stonewall on personal questions about Holmes immediately. So, this is going to be something to watch. Something I didn't mention the other day is that although Holmes may have done well during his orals, he might in fact have been abused by one of his examiners. I mean "abused" in the sense of a particular line of questioning. Research professors can be arrogant pricks and their egos can take over during situations like a formal exam, etc. If Holmes felt as though he'd been condescended to, perhaps that sent him off a bit, even if he did well otherwise. But there's the university gag order now, so we may never know that aspect, or at least not in the near term.

That said, the one faculty member apparently spoke out before the gag order was distributed. According to Jenna Johnson at the Washington Post:

A colleague of mine just spoke with a neuroscience faculty member who said he taught shooting suspect James Holmes in a class at the University of Colorado medical campus.

The faculty member, who asked for anonymity because of privacy concerns, said Holmes was “very quiet, strangely quiet in class,” and said he seemed “socially off.”

When the staff member heard Holmes’s name in connection with the shooting today, he thought that the suspect could well be his student, and he was not surprised to find out later that it was.

When Holmes and other neuroscience students took their comprehensive exams last semester, Holmes did very poorly, he said. The school’s staff wasn’t going to toss him out, the educator said, but they were planning to do something remedial, and contemplated putting him on academic probation.

Given this information, if correct, it appears if Holmes' disaffection could date back to his first semester at the school. Also key is that the suspect had begun to amass his arsenal before his first year orals in June, so whatever rage he felt could have been building up for some time. That might help explain why university officials are keeping such a heavy-duty lock on information. Perhaps Holmes was that one super exceptional case of a student about to be dismissed from the program.

A second piece that relates here is at Reuters, "Accused Colorado killer no easy fit for mass murderer profile." Here's a key bit:

As experts in forensic psychiatry try to figure out from afar what is wrong with Holmes, they are focusing on three details of the shooting: The targets were strangers to the killer, not colleagues or acquaintances; the shooter did not commit suicide or invite his own death at the hands of police; and Holmes warned authorities about his booby-trapped apartment before the explosives he rigged killed anyone.

Murdering 12 strangers and shooting dozens more points to a generalized paranoia and rage against the world rather than a specific grudge, forensic psychiatrists say.

"Most mass murderers kill specific people for specific reasons," said criminologist James Alan Fox of Northeastern University, who with colleague Jack Levin has studied every mass murder in the United States since the early 1980s. "They kill the bosses who fired them, the professors who wronged them. These are revenge killings."

One of the many mass murderers who fit this profile is Nathan Dunlap, who killed four employees at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora in December 1993, after he was fired and reportedly felt his boss had "made a fool" of him.

Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from the University of Colorado's graduate program in neuroscience, which has prompted speculation that academic failure might have played into his motives. But he did not target either professors or fellow students.

That he did not target people from the university points away from the hypothesis that the orals or something else like that drove Holmes to violence, but only to a point. As the article continues:

If the victims did not represent a category of people Holmes specifically hated or resented, then he would fall into the category of mass murderers who target strangers indiscriminately, the least common profile.

In such cases, "the perpetrator has a grudge against the world and feels that if it were not for the system, things would have gone better for him," said Fox. "He doesn't care who he kills as long as he kills a lot of people."

About 16 percent of mass killings target complete strangers, said Levin, professor of sociology and criminology at Northeastern. They are not necessarily more or less severely mentally ill than murderers who target acquaintances or people who belong to a group they resent, but their pathology takes a distinct form.

Wide-ranging suspicion that the world has treated you unfairly can be a sign of paranoid personality disorder. The American Psychiatric Association defines that condition as "a pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood."

The condition has an estimated lifetime prevalence in the United States of 4.4 percent; schizophrenia affects 1.1 percent of U.S. adults, according to the National Institutes of Health. There is no evidence Holmes felt paranoia, nor have any records emerged showing he was ever diagnosed with or treated for any form of mental illness. But the absence of such evidence does not rule out the disorder, experts said.

"Of all the psychoses, paranoia is the most difficult to detect," said John Jay's Schlesinger. "Unless you broach a particular subject - like work, if someone thinks his boss is out to get him - they might very well seem normal if you sat down and talked to them. In Holmes' case, it could have been an encapsulated paranoia, focused on one particular area of life where he thinks people are out to get him."

If so, Holmes would fit the profile of the mass murderer whose act has been triggered by a severe strain and led him to externalize blame, Levin and Fox's studies have shown.

"They blame everyone but themselves for their frustration and disappointment," said Levin. "Then there is some acute strain, which usually takes the form of a catastrophic loss - of a job, of money, of a child in a custody battle, or of academic standing. ... The catastrophic strain sets the stage for the planning phase of the mass murder."

By all accounts, Holmes displayed no signs of mental illness during his upbringing. At this point the key will be either statements from the suspect himself or more information released though the investigation. Basically, Holmes was a relatively isolated individual, shy buy not completely asocial, who had some difficulties making the transition to the very competitive world of professional education. The exact catalyst is missing, but some kind of stress sent him off on a really dark and terrible direction.

More Universal Condemnation of ABC News' Brian Ross

NewsBusters has Jon Stewart's amazing take down of Brian Ross at ABC News, "Jon Stewart Slams Brian Ross: 'What Story Does a Guy Have to Blow to Get in Trouble at ABC?'" (Video.)

And Peter Wehner comments, "Jon Stewart Destroys ABC’s Brian Ross":

Anyone who watches Jon Stewart knows that he’s a person of liberal political views – but he also shows impressive flashes of independence. Last night was such an instance. In the course of his show, Stewart skillfully rips apart ABC News and its chief investigative correspondent, Brian Ross, for falsely suggesting that the Aurora, Colorado, killer was a member of the Tea Party.

Ross, based on the flimsiest evidence, took an innocent man and, in the words of Stewart, “casually, baselessly, and publicly accused [him] of – I don’t know – maybe being a mass murderer.”

Stewart then explains why this occurred. The mindset of Ross, according to Stewart, is that linking the Tea Party to the atrocity fits into “a pre-existing narrative. I should get that on the TV.” As Stewart puts it, “Tea Party, low taxes, madman. You do the math.”

Stewart then asks, in the form of a joke, quite a serious question: What story does a guy have to blow to get in trouble at ABC? What exactly does a chief investigative correspondent have to get wrong in order to be grounded by the news division?

When it comes to ABC News, apparently, tendentious, reckless and false allegations aren’t terribly problematic – at least when the object of the smear is the Tea Party.

Exactly.

And even Stephen Colbert hammers Brian Ross for his "partisan" hackery, "Partisan Speculation & Campaign Pauses Around Colorado Shooter."

As I've noted, the condemnation of ABC has been universal, left and right. See, for example,"Of Course Brian Ross Blamed the Tea Party."

And now even more, from Jonah Goldberg, "Brian Ross’s Brain Cramp: The facts don’t always suit the ideological agenda."

RELATED: "Repsac3, Hate-Addled Internet Predator, Screams 'Liar' at Virtually Entire World on Politicization of Colorado Shooting," and "When Even Sick Left-Wing Sites Like 'Wonkette' Want Brian Ross Fired, Despicable Hate-Blogger Repsac3 Attacks Michelle Malkin as 'Whiney Wingnut Victim'."

Al Qaeda in Iraq Returns After U.S. Withdrawal

Thanks Baracky.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Iraqi Distress Signals" (via Google):

The Obama Administration last year made little serious effort to keep a smaller contingent of noncombat troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 withdrawal deadline. An American presence had calmed sectarian fevers and gave Mr. Maliki more confidence to share power.

But the White House priority was a total withdrawal it could point to as a promise kept to the political left as the re-election campaign neared. Now the U.S. has little leverage as the factions compete for power and self-preservation in a region where Iran now counts for more than America does.

Iraq has to find its own democratic way, and the U.S. can't serve as mediator forever. But Mr. Obama took the U.S. out of the country cold turkey and has since shown no interest in a crucial Middle East country where so much American blood was shed. The last ambassador left Baghdad in early June, and the Administration has no replacement on deck.

The abandonment of Iraq is consistent with the Administration's response to the 17-month conflict in Syria. President Obama says "the tide of war is receding," but you wouldn't know it from the arc of instability that is forming from Lebanon, through Syria, Iraq and into the Persian Gulf.

God, he's been just a horrible president. I can't wait to send the dude packing, and his fat-ass hypocrite wife MOoch.

Elton John Praises President George W. Bush and Conservatives for Saving Lives of More Than 8 Million Africans With AIDS

Well, he really goes against the grain, doesn't he.

From Peter Wehner, at Commentary, "The Human Drama of Saving Lives."

BONUS: Sky News has an interview with Sir Elton here.

PREVIOUSLY: "'Replace the Stigma With Compassion' — Elton John at International AIDS Conference."

Mitt Romney Hammers Obama in Speech to Veterans of Foreign Wars

At the Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney strongly criticizes President Obama in VFW speech."

Also at Nice Deb, "Video: Romney Blasts Obama For “Contemptible” Foreign Policy Leaks – WH Responds – Feinstein Backtracks."

Shocker — Employers Plan to Drop Health Care Coverage Under ObamaCare

Wizbang has the post.

Also, more on ObamaCare at the New York Times, "3 Million More May Lack Insurance Due to Ruling, Study Says":

Of Course Brian Ross Blamed the Tea Party

From Dennis Prager, at National Review, "Explaining Brian Ross’s Mistake: Why ABC Tried to Blame the Tea Party for Aurora.":

James Holmes is a human earthquake. We are as ill-equipped to predict the eruptions of such human beings as we are to predict the eruptions of the earth.

But that doesn’t mean that nothing meaningful came out of the Aurora tragedy.

Something quite important did, though few Americans are aware of it because it has already entered the mainstream media’s memory hole.

On ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday morning, Brian Ross, chief investigative reporter for ABC News, announced to George Stephanopoulos and millions of viewers that there’s “a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado page on the Colorado Tea Party site,” which mentions Holmes “talking about joining the Tea Party last year.”

Ross acknowledged that “we don’t know if this is the same Jim Holmes, but it is Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado.”

As the Baltimore Sun’s TV critic, David Zurawik, wrote: “So, why put it out there in the first place, if you don’t have it nailed down?”

While blaming ABC News and Brian Ross for besmirching reputations and irresponsible reporting, Mr. Zurawik doesn’t answer his question.

I will.

The news media — as there are almost no non-liberal mainstream news media, the term “news media” means liberal news media — believe they have a higher calling than reporting news.

In order to understand this, I offer this anecdote. A number of years ago I was asked to moderate a panel of judges that included a former, very liberal, California Supreme Court justice. At one point the justice said that his role as a judge was to fight inequality, poverty, and racism. I respectfully disagreed: If that is what he wanted to do professionally, he should have chosen another profession; his role as a judge is solely to administer justice in his courtroom.

People on the left think the way the judge did. The primary purpose of every profession, as they see it, is to increase what they call “social justice.”...

There is an additional explanation.

In general, the Left believes the Right is evil. Not wrong, evil. And to Brian Ross and most of his colleagues at ABC News, the Tea Party is the current apotheosis of American evil.

If you think this is hyperbolic, former New York Times columnist Frank Rich wrote that when an anonymous individual threw a brick through a congressman’s window, this somehow proved that the Tea Party was engaged in a “small-scale mimicry of Kristallnacht.”

Kristallnacht, the “Night of the Broken Glass,” is considered the opening act of the Holocaust. In November 1938, over the course of two days, tens of thousands of German Jews were arrested and deported to concentration camps; scores of Jews were beaten to death; 267 synagogues were destroyed; and thousands of Jewish-owned businesses were vandalized — often by having their windows smashed, hence the term Kristallnacht.

No one at the New York Times criticized Rich for his comparison of the Tea Party to Nazi murderers. Why would they? Nearly everyone at the paper probably agreed with him. And defeating the Right is more important than moral or factual accuracy.

On the day after Jared Loughner killed six people and gravely injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others, in an almost perfect preview of Brian Ross, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that right-wing hate had provoked Loughner: “It’s the saturation of our political discourse — and especially our airwaves — with eliminationist rhetoric that lies behind the rising tide of violence. Where’s that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let’s not make a false pretense of balance: it’s coming, overwhelmingly, from the Right . . . .”

Lest the ABC News smear be forgotten, I thought it important to devote a column to it. But the truth is that, in varying degrees and in a variety of ways, it happens every day — in movies, in schools, in courtrooms, and, of course, in the news media.

Excellent.

PREVIOUSLY: "When Even Sick Left-Wing Sites Like 'Wonkette' Want Brian Ross Fired, Despicable Hate-Blogger Repsac3 Attacks Michelle Malkin as 'Whiney Wingnut Victim'," and "Repsac3, Hate-Addled Internet Predator, Screams 'Liar' at Virtually Entire World on Politicization of Colorado Shooting."

'Let America Be America Again'

The great new Scott Brown ad, via Weekly Standard, "GOP Operatives Praise Scott Brown's Latest Ad."

'Batman' Star Christian Bale Visits Aurora, Colorado

At the Los Angeles Times, "Batman actor Christian Bale visits Aurora, Colo., shooting victims."

Christian Bale, star of the Batman trilogy of movies, paid a surprise visit Tuesday to injured victims of the recent shooting rampage in Aurora, Colo. The shooting occurred during a midnight screening of the latest Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Twelve people were killed and 58 were injured in the attack early Friday; a suspect was arrested in a nearby parking lot afterward.

Bill Voloch, interim president of Medical Center of Aurora, told the Denver Post that Bale spent about 2½ hours Tuesday at the hospital, where he met with seven of the victims. Five are being treated at the center; the two others came from Swedish Medical Center to meet with the Welsh actor.

"The patients were really happy to meet Bale," Voloch was quoted as saying. "They are obviously big fans of his movies. They wanted to see Batman and were really pleased to see Bale."

Bale, who was accompanied by his wife, Sibi Blazic, also met with doctors, police officers and emergency medical technicians who were among the first responders, the paper reported.

Keep reading.

Lots of folks wanted Bale to to visit victims' families in costume, which is really bad idea. I'm glad he went as is.

Syria Chemical Weapons Threat

Note first this excellent on the ground video report at Russia Today, "Syria warns will use chemical weapons in case of foreign attack." I say excellent, all but the last minute or so when RT's anchor went to radio show host and 9/11 truther Kevin Barrett, who argued that Syrian WMDs are being hyped by the West to justify invasion, allegedly just like the U.S. did in 2003 with the Iraq war. William Jacobson reported on that yesterday, "Syria threatens to use WMD which are figment of neocons’ imagination."

That said, there is some controversy on the nature of the threat, but given Syria's border with Iraq, and Iran's funding of terrorist groups in Lebanon and elsewhere, the absence of threat is not a foregone conclusion by any means. Here's Telegraph UK, "Syria raises prospect of using chemical weapons arsenal":

Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime, fighting for its life, has shocked the west by threatening to use its arsenal of chemical weapons if outside forces intervened in its civil war.

And at the New York Times, "Syria Threatens Chemical Attack on Foreign Force":

Lebanon — Syrian officials warned Monday that they would deploy chemical weapons against any foreign intervention, a threat that appeared intended to ward off an attack by Western nations while also offering what officials in Washington called the most “direct confirmation” ever that Syria possesses a stockpile of unconventional armaments.

The warning came out of Damascus, veiled behind an assurance that the Syrian leadership would never use such weapons against its own citizens, describing chemical arms as outside the bounds of the kind of guerrilla warfare being fought internally.

“Any stock of W.M.D. or unconventional weapons that the Syrian Army possesses will never, never be used against the Syrian people or civilians during this crisis, under any circumstances,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, said at a news conference shown live on Syrian state television, using the initials for weapons of mass destruction. “These weapons are made to be used strictly and only in the event of external aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic.”

Mr. Makdissi said that any such weapons were carefully monitored by the Syrian Army, and that ultimately their use would be decided by generals.

Though it has for many years been an open secret that Syria possessed a large cache of such weapons, the government has traditionally tried to retain some strategic ambiguity to keep its enemies guessing. Then on Monday, after Mr. Makdissi appeared to confirm that reality, the government quickly retreated to its familiar position, saying its remarks were misinterpreted.

Asked whether Syria was finally acknowledging that it had chemical weapons, Mr. Makdissi repeated roughly the same response, but began it by saying that any stock of unconventional weapons or chemical weapons “if they exist” would not be used domestically, but would be used against foreign intervention.

But the attempt at verbal sleight of hand did little to conceal what appeared to be Syria’s intent, experts and Western diplomats said.

Now, though, Syria is backtracking a bit. See CSM, "Chemical weapons? Syria 'backpedaling furiously' over weapons threats."

BONUS: At Jerusalem Post, "Russia warns Syria against using chemical weapons."

Ho-Hum, Sally Ride Was Lesbian

I cracked open the hard-copy version of the Los Angeles Times this morning with my coffee. Sally Ride's obituary is front page news, "Sally Ride dies at 61; first American woman in space."

It's a straightforward obit, but getting to the end of the piece we have this:

Ride is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years; her mother, Joyce; her sister, Karen, known as "Bear"; and a niece and nephew.

I thought, great, she's lesbian and decided to keep her personal life private while she pursued her career. She was married in 1982 but divorced five years later with no children. That would be 1987, and in fact, it's quite possible that she left her husband, astronaut Steven Alan Hawley, for a woman. Now that would have been news! She could have caused a sensation, struck a blow against the patriarchy! Women of the world unite! But no, she was at the pinnacle of her profession and decided to continue achieving. She could have come out as lesbian any time after that. Why not? Who knows? But it's not like there wasn't a massive homosexual rights campaign raging all those years. I think she just thought better of it, and went about pursuing her dreams without all the gay extremist showboating. Frankly, just being a woman in space was f-king pathbreaking. No doubt she thought busting through one glass ceiling was enough, at least in her case. Indeed, according to the Times, Ride saw the rights of women as the key civil rights struggle:

In 2001, she founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to encourage women and especially young girls to become interested in science. She also wrote five children's books encouraging an interest in science.

So it turns out when I logged onto Memeorandum, I found the big headline from the sensationalist BuzzFeed, "First Female U.S. Astronaut, Sally Ride, Comes Out In Obituary." Looks like everyone else wanted Ride out of the closet except Ride.

And here's this at excitable Andrew Sullivan's page, "America's First Woman In Space Was a Lesbian":

Now talk about a buried lede! The only thing preventing the NYT from writing an honest obit is homophobia. They may not realize it; they may not mean it; but it is absolutely clear from the obit that Ride's sexual orientation was obviously central to her life. And her "partner" (ghastly word) and their relationship is recorded only perfunctorily. The NYT does not routinely only mention someone's spouse in the survivors section. When you have lived with someone for 27 years, some account of that relationship is surely central to that person's life. To excise it completely is an act of obliteration. I'm afraid the Beast's tribute is worse. Lynn Sherr manages to write an appreciation which essentially treats Ride as a heterosexual.

The horror!

Homophobia! It's homophobia!

Isn't it always?

Notice that the New York Times "buried the lede!" Imagine what that would been, "Rockin' Sally Ride, First Butch to Blast Into Space, Dies at 61."

And for more humorous pleasure, notice how Towleroad missed the part about Ride's lesbianism, and the readers go batsh*t crazy in the comments: "Towleroad jumps the shark - every hour, on the hour." And note Joe. My. God., "Sally Ride Outed In Obituary," which includes Twitter embeds bemoaning the awful, just awful situation where Ride's partner, Tam, would be "denied" federal survivor's benefits. That would be a monstrous inhumanity, except that according to the Sally Ride Science homepage:

Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy is the COO and Executive Vice President of Sally Ride Science and a Professor Emerita of School Psychology at San Diego State University. Dr. O'Shaughnessy has been interested in science since she was a little girl.

Right. I'm sure Dr. O'Shaughnessy will live out the remainder of her life in crushing destitution, or at least that's what the idiot progressives would have you believe.

Frankly, Sally Ride is one more example of a great American, a great American who happened to be lesbian. She made a life for herself and her partner and thrived. I mean, what held her back? Nothing. But don't tell that to the hate-addled homosexual progressives currently attempting to dismantle decency and respect in this country.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Americans Prefer Romney on the Economy

This USA Today poll is likely to be repeated over and over again until election day. See, "Poll: Romney preferred over Obama to handle the economy" (via Memeorandum):

WASHINGTON – Despite concerted Democratic attacks on his business record, Republican challenger Mitt Romney scores a significant advantage over President Obama when it comes to managing the economy, reducing the federal budget deficit and creating jobs, a national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.

By more than 2-1, 63%-29%, those surveyed say Romney's background in business, including his tenure at the private equity firm Bain Capital, would cause him to make good decisions, not bad ones, in dealing with the nation's economic problems over the next four years.

The findings raise questions about Obama's strategy of targeting Bain's record in outsourcing jobs and hammering Romney for refusing to commit to releasing more than two years of his tax returns. Instead, Americans seem focused on the economy, where disappointment with the fragile recovery and the 8.2% unemployment rate are costing the president.

To be sure, Obama retains significant advantages of his own. By 2-1, he's rated as more likable than Romney. By double digits, those surveyed say the president better understands the problems Americans face in their daily lives. He has an 8-percentage-point advantage on being seen as honest and trustworthy.

However, Romney has the edge when it comes to being able to "get things done," and the broad landscape seems tilted in his favor...

Continue reading.

Republicans and independents are more enthusiastic about the election by 18 points, and 61 percent say the government is taking too activist a role in the economy, "trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses." And the Obama-Democrat attacks on Romney's business experience have had virtually no effect on the public's perception of the candidate's leadership qualities.

As always, though, what matters most is what's happening around the battleground states, and all signs point to a close election.

More on that from Nate Silver, "July 23: Is Minnesota a Battleground Again?"

Vitaly Churkin, Russian Ambassador to U.N., Blasts Western Nations for 'Propaganda' on Syria, Defends Moscow's Veto of Sanctions Resolution Against Assad

This is an amazing interview, decidedly bellicose and "stridently," in Ambassador Churkin's words, propagandistic.

I discussed Churkin at my earlier entry, "U.S. to Focus on Forcibly Toppling Syrian Government."

The Diseased Mind of the Rampage Killer

A lengthy essay from Victor Davis Hanson, at PJ Media, "The Demons of the Modern Rampage Killer."

Tonight, I wish to know nothing about him other than the information necessary to try, convict, and punish him—and any data that might provide some sort of deterrence in preventing another such rampage.

In comparison to those he killed and maimed, and the legions of their relatives and friends, he is nothing. We the sophisticated with university degrees are supposed to know better: that hanging such a nightmarish criminal when convicted is both barbaric on our part and offers no statistical evidence that it will deter future such killers.

Perhaps. But society needs to be affirmed with a certainty that it has the clear sense of evil and good to try, convict, and punish the killer. Hanging Saddam or Eichmann, for all the controversies over their trials, at least offered some finality: they were evil and now are no more—and now we don’t worry whether Saddam was unloved, or the circumstances of Eichmann’s childhood.

In other words, I don’t care a whit whether the Aurora killer was a loner. I don’t care if he was unhappy or if he was on medication. Millions share such pathologies without killing a mouse. I don’t even know whether giving him swift justice will deter the next mass shooter. Yes, give the suspect expert legal counsel; call in all the psychiatrists imaginable; sequester the jury; ensure the judge is a pillar of jurisprudence; but if he is found guilty, I would prefer the gallows and quickly so, to remind us that we live in a civilization that prefers to remember the victims and to remember nothing at all of their killer.

Carol Chambers, Arapahoe County District Attorney: Decision on James Holmes Death Penalty 'Months Away'

At Telegraph UK, "Colorado shooting: 'death penalty decision is months down the line'." And CNN, "Death penalty decision months away, DA says."

RELATED: At CBS 4 Denver, "District Attorney Carol Chambers Put 2 of 3 Inmates On Death Row."

In Bizarre, Bitter Diatribe, Washed-Up Leftist Bill Moyers Attacks United States as 'Arsenal of Death'

Holy cow!

And I thought Rep. Jim Moran had blown a gasket.

Bill Moyers is so over the top he's about blast off to Mars. What a freak! He's contemptuous of the Constitution and he completely ignores the real facts of gun violence in this country, which I've discussed here in recent days. He rants about how the U.S. used to be the "arsenal of democracy" but is now the "arsenal of death." And he attacks the NRA as death's "enabler ... paranoid, delusional, and as venomous as a scorpion."

I am so glad that I never, ever see this man on television. Seriously. Is he even on PBS anymore? I would personally show up at his studio, weekly, to stage a one man protest, I find him so repulsive. But he's got the right to rave on as such, just as much as any person retains the right to own a gun for protection against the real lone killers out there, killers for which there's little explanation other than the grip of evil.

Progressivism is a disease, and Moyers is its embodiment. What an bitter little man, and awful bitter decrepit man-stump.

Here's an old piece on Moyers at FrontPage Magazine, which places him right along with all the other commie-enabling America-bashers that just infest the progressive left. What a hateful, hateful man. See: "Bill Moyers: Fat Cat for the Fifth Column."

Sensuous Katie Holmes Photo Shoot Just Days Before Divorce from Tom Cruise

The piece suggests you wouldn't know that Katie Holmes was under any marital stress. And frankly, given the speed at which they settled, I think she came out looking like a pro --- a strong, capable woman, the kind that feminists are supposed to be raving about.

In any case, lovely pictures, at London's Daily Mail, "The reinvention of Katie: Miss Holmes gets a sultry fashion makeover in photoshoot taken just days before dumping Tom Cruise."

Second Fatal Shooting in Anaheim Weekend Unrest

Jeez, it's getting to be a long, hot summer out in Anaheim.

At the O.C. Weekly, "Anaheim Police Kill Second Man on Sunday," and at the Orange County Register, "Anaheim shootings: Police prepare for protests."

More at the Los Angeles Times, "Anaheim chief 'very concerned' about uptick in police shootings."

Mariah Carey Joins 'American Idol'

She might have the star power to keep it going for awhile.

At the Los Angeles Times, "It's official: Mariah Carey will join 'American Idol'." (And see WeSmirch.)

And earlier at the Times, "With Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez out, the 'Idol' fun begins," and "Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler quit 'Idol'; Randy Jackson next?"

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

Holmes Family Statement on Colorado Theater Massacre

See the Los Angeles Times, "Suspected Colorado gunman's family stands by son, attorney says," and "Colorado theater shooting: The next legal steps for James Holmes."

More at the Wall Street Journal, "Colorado Suspect Is Silent at His Hearing."

'Replace the Stigma With Compassion' — Elton John at International AIDS Conference

I love Elton John. And I'm so glad he's not dead.

At Telegraph UK, "Elton John tells Aids conference 'I should be dead'":

In his address at the International Aids Conference, Elton John tells the audience "I should be dead" because he didn't take precautions against HIV in the past.

Musician Elton John spoke to a packed audience at the 19th International Aids Conference in Washington, DC on Wednesday and said that because he did not take precautions, he should have contracted HIV years ago.

"Ladies and gentlemen by all rights I shouldn't be here today. I should be dead. Six feet under in a wooden box. I should have contracted HIV in the 1980s and died in the 1990s. Just like Freddie Mercury, just like Rock Hudson, just like so many friends and loved ones of yours and mine," Elton John said.

He also called on people to stop marginalizing people with HIV-Aids during his key note address.

More at that link above.

Thank goodness medical science has developed effective treatments to lessen the effects of the disease.

And I hope those at the conference follow John's model behavior as a gay man: live a stable life, be good to your family and support traditional values, and by all means eschew the radical homosexual politics that alienates so many decent people of good faith.

PREVIOUSLY: "Elton John Admits It's 'Heartbreaking' for Son Zachary to Grow Up Without a 'Mummy'."

Air Force C-17 Lands at Wrong Airport

At MyFox Tampa Bay, "Giant military cargo plane lands at small Tampa airport."

FLASHBACK: "Long Beach Boeing C-17 Tour."

'Batman' Moviegoers Undeterred by Tragedy

I'm not surprised. It's supposed to be an excellent film.

See the Los Angeles Times, "'Dark Knight Rises' opens to estimated $160 million amid tragedy."

Repsac3, Hate-Addled Internet Predator, Screams 'Liar' at Virtually Entire World on Politicization of Colorado Shooting

For all of hate-blogger Walter James Casper III's embarrassing, over-the-top bleating, he's in fact never shown that Brain Ross's premature speculation wasn't political. In fact, that Ross sought to tie suspect James Holmes to the tea party was nothing but political, because his statement couldn't be farther from a routine mistake of fact. Ross "investigated" the suspect's name, found out there was a "James Holmes" in Colorado who belonged to tea party groups, and then went on the air with it. He didn't wrongly report the suspect's age or occupation, or some other descriptive non-political fact. He instinctively went with the same well-worn blood libel smear against the allegedly "violent" tea party movement. He was comfortable smearing the tea party for mass murder because that's what network elites do. Simple as that. And of course it was entirely wrong and Ross has been universally condemned for "politicizing" the reporting. Not "misreporting" the story, "politicizing" it in the most disgusting way imaginable. Regina Thomson, President of the Colorado Tea Party Patriots, repudiated Ross's smear as "shameless and reprehensible." This happens every time there's some kind of horrible massacre, for example last year in Tucson. Left-wing journalists, pundits, and bloggers jumped to exploit the bloodshed to destroy conservatives. And that Repsac3 is now so blindingly enraged to be called out on his dishonesty--- when even far-left "Wonkette" called Ross's smear a reprehensible move --- is just, well, pathetic.

And note now that the epic hate blogger didn't think it enough to attack Michelle Malkin, who had written a perfectly reasonable and well-documented report, as a "whiney wingnut victim." No, in his insane descent to dangerous incoherence, he's now basically calling virtually everyone who's responded to the Colorado politicization a "liar":

Politicizing the CO Shootings bit.ly/LEojKb A lie every time @ampowerblog repeats it. ABC ran w/ bad TParty link 2b first, not bias.
— J. Casper (@repsac3) July 22, 2012

Actually, it's Repsac3 who's lying. As I've reported throughout, the condemnation has been virtually universal, left and right, attacking Ross's initial report as disgustingly political. Here's IBD's editorial from Friday, for example, "ABC News' Tea Party Apology Isn't Good Enough":

ABC News quickly apologized after one of its reporters tried to tie the Colorado massacre to the Tea Party. When will the network apologize for the blatant media bias that led to this monumental screw-up?

Less than eight hours after the movie theater shooting spree left 13 dead, "Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos turned to reporter Brian Ross who, he said, had "found something that might be significant."

Ross' finding? There's a guy named Jim Holmes who joined the Colorado Tea Party last year.

Stop the presses!

Never mind that a simple online search of the Denver area turns up more than a dozen Jim Holmeses, any one of whom was just as likely to be the shooter as the guy Ross found on the Tea Party site. And never mind that Ross had zip, zero, nada information on the Jim Holmes whose name he did find.

Why bother taking such elemental journalistic steps when you can possibly be the first to tag a right-wing group with a mass shooting?

There's also the question of why Ross' first instinct was to go trolling around Tea Party sites. That, as much as Stephanopoulos and Ross' decision to go on the air with the bogus information, reveals the enormity of the media bias at work here.

This is the same bias that was on glaring display after the Gabby Giffords shooting, when reporters tried — falsely and based on no evidence whatsoever — to pin the shooting on heated Tea Party rhetoric.

It's the same bias that pushed the mainstream press to trumpet unfounded claims that Tea Partyers hurled a racial epithet at a black congressman. And that propelled these same reporters to cover up actual crimes — rapes, murders, destruction of property — perpetrated by their "Occupy Wall Street" friends.

Shortly after Ross' report, ABC News apologized "for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted."

Sorry, but that's not good enough. If ABC News was genuinely sorry, it would take a hard look at how such a fantastically biased report could have made it on the air in the first place.

Exactly right.

And this is the same basic point that Michelle made in her post on Friday, "Blame Righty impulse blows up in media faces…again." And tea party groups are still indignant that they get blood libeled every time there's a national tragedy. See Jennifer Stefano, the Pennsylvania State Director of AFP, at Fox News, "Media must stop falsely accusing the Tea Party every time tragedy strikes."

And here's John Kass, at far-left Chicago Tribune, "ABC makes a wrong — and biased — snap judgment: Colorado massacre quickly becomes political":

How long does it take for a major American television news network to politicize mass murder and blame conservatives for the blood of innocents?

Not long.

It happened on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday morning, as the country woke to the news of the mass murder during the midnight showing of the new Batman movie: A heavily armed man named James Eagan Holmes allegedly killed 12 and injured 58 others in a suburban theater outside Denver.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos, once a top aide to former President Bill Clinton, and ABC reporter Brian Ross teamed up to quickly place the horror at the feet of American conservatives.

Stephanopoulos: I'm going to go to Brian Ross. You've been investigating the background of Jim Holmes here. You found something that might be significant.

Ross: There's a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado tea party site as well, talking about him joining the tea party last year. Now, we don't know if this is the same Jim Holmes. But it's Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado. Stephanopoulos: OK, we'll keep looking at that. Brian Ross, thanks very much. And that's all it took, a mention, a name, a possible connection about a Jim Holmes joining the tea party movement that is reviled by establishment Democrats and (though not often reported) establishment Republicans. The connection was made. It was artfully done.

But there was one thing wrong with the ABC report.

It was the wrong Holmes.

The Holmes ABC referred to was a middle-aged man. The one arrested with the guns and the gas bombs and the mask and the booby-trapped apartment is James Eagan Holmes, a 24-year-old graduate student who was in the process of dropping out of school.

After an onslaught by bloggers over the Internet on Friday, ABC news issued a correction.

"An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado tea party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect," said ABC News in a statement. "ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted."

We all make mistakes. But this one smacks of political bias. And when you add political bias to the rush of breaking news, as seems to have happened here, things get stinky.

It could have been an honest mistake, perhaps. It might have come across as a mistake if Stephanopoulos had interjected and said, "No, Brian, we don't have enough evidence to make that connection to the tea party." Instead, the former aide to Bill Clinton thanked Ross for his reporting. It's no wonder that virtually the entire political establishment reacted the way it did. ABC News was out there on a limb, as James Taranto reported at the Wall Street Journal --- and for someone to come along and then essentially call all these people "liars" is simply beneath contempt. But that's Walter James Casper for you. He's been working the Internet for years, attempting to undermine and destroy conservatives.

I could keep going, because the examples are all over the web. But in fact there's no need to keep going. The facts are out there, but those blinded by ideological bigotry refuse to see them.

Walter James Casper is now back to stalking this blog and sending me unsolicited tweets. He's even kicked back up the old "American Nihilist" hate-site after I reported it to the Irvine Police Department previously. But it's all of a piece, I guess, as a conservative on the web shining truth on progressive evil. The left tries to shut folks down with stalking and intimidation, but you have to shine a light on the hate and defeat them. It takes a lot of time, but Repsac3 is a particularly resistant form of progressive pestilence. He never went away after being reported to the police, despite announcing that I'd "won the Internet." He just shifted gears a bit, and is now back in the hunt for his next political kill.

PREVIOUSLY: "When Even Sick Left-Wing Sites Like 'Wonkette' Want Brian Ross Fired, Despicable Hate-Blogger Repsac3 Attacks Michelle Malkin as 'Whiney Wingnut Victim'."

BACKGROUND: "Intent to Annoy and the Fascist Hate-Blogging Campaign of Walter James Casper III."

Are Politicians 'Cowed' by the NRA

I think the example of the rampant bloodshed in Chicago this month is a very effective response to all the left-wing cries for gun control coming out of the Colorado shooting. But it's interesting seeing progressives getting all worked up about this.

One of the New York Times pieces I've linked recently (I don't care enough to go back and find it) quoted Democrat New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy to the effect that Members of Congress were "afraid of the gun lobby." I'll have more on the congresswoman later (she's interviewed at Democracy Now! here), but for now I wanted to share this piece at the Guardian UK, "America's love of guns: how attempts to tighten gun laws have foundered" (Americans are "cowed" by the NRA), and also this CBS News clip featuring Democrat Rep. Jim Moran --- who is factually wrong on at least one or two points (suspect Holmes did not walk into the theater armed, so metal detectors at the door wouldn't have stopped him, for example). And while the "politically castrated" remark is colorful, notice after that how Moran essentially argues that nothing would have stopped the shooter --- he was wearing a "bullet proof vest" --- and citizens defending themselves "would have just caused even more deaths." Perhaps not, especially since Holmes' AR-15 jammed and someone familiar with firearms who was packing would have recognized an opening and perhaps saved lives. It's all conjecture. No one wants a movie theater breaking out in gunfire like "the O.K. Corral," but people like this are ridiculously loose with their statements and fabulously hostile to the Second Amendment. It's been a very revealing last couple of days in that respect.

And toward the end there Moran drops that magic number of "6,000 rounds of ammunition," which as I mentioned is like honey to the busy-bees of the anti-gun lobby. These people sound like raving idiots overwhelmed by all the political opportunity this week. Sheesh.

PREVIOUSLY: "'As Easy as Ordering a Book From Amazon' — Suspect James Holmes Amassed 6,000 Rounds Via the Internet."

'As Easy as Ordering a Book From Amazon' — Suspect James Holmes Amassed 6,000 Rounds Via the Internet

The public isn't moved toward greater gun control coming out of Aurora, although it's amazing the kind of arsenal the suspect amassed.

This is from this morning's front-page at the New York Times, "Suspect Bought Large Stockpile of Rounds Online":

DENVER — Unhindered by federal background checks or government oversight, the 24-year-old man accused of killing a dozen people inside a Colorado movie theater was able to build what the police called a 6,000-round arsenal legally and easily over the Internet, exploiting what critics call a virtual absence of any laws regulating ammunition sales.

With a few keystrokes, the suspect, James E. Holmes, ordered 3,000 rounds of handgun ammunition, 3,000 rounds for an assault rifle and 350 shells for a 12-gauge shotgun — an amount of firepower that costs roughly $3,000 at the online sites — in the four months before the shooting, according to the police. It was pretty much as easy as ordering a book from Amazon.

He also bought bulletproof vests and other tactical gear, and a high-capacity “drum magazine” large enough to hold 100 rounds and capable of firing 50 or 60 rounds per minute — a purchase that would have been restricted under proposed legislation that has been stalled in Washington for more than a year.

Mr. Holmes, a graduate student in neuroscience with a clean criminal record, was able to buy the ammunition without arousing the slightest notice from law enforcement, because the sellers are not required in most cases to report sales to law enforcement officials, even unusually large purchases. And neither Colorado nor federal law required him to submit to a background check or register his growing purchases, gun policy experts said.

A few states like Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey, and cities like Los Angeles and Sacramento, have passed restrictions on ammunition sales, requiring permits for buyers or licenses for sellers, or insisting that dealers track their ammunition sales for law enforcement.

But in Colorado, and across much of the United States, the markets for ammunition — online and in storefronts — are largely unregulated, gun-control advocates say.

I imagine those gun control advocates see this angle as a way to get some leverage for stricter gun laws. But the same rebuttal applies: the suspect is an extreme anomaly and tighter gun control laws wouldn't have made a difference. He bought legally and would have been able to buy legally under whatever regime is in place. Had he been restricted in Colorado he could have gone somewhere else and a ban on Internet sales would probably violate the Second Amendment. And frankly, if someone's determined enough to amass a stockpile for a mass murder, he'll do it legally or not.

In any case, the Wall Street Journal also has a piece on the arsenal, "Rifle in Shooting Once Was Federally Restricted."

Obama Praises Himself for Ending Iraq War on Same Day Insurgents Kill at Least 100 in New Offensive

The administration's badly flawed Iraq drawdown is coming home to roost, ironically on the same day that President Obama was conducting a round of gutsy call, football-spiking political events, including campaign ads and military speeches.

Jake Tapper notices, "President Obama Praises Self for Ending War in Iraq on Bloodiest Day of the Year in That Country" (via Memeorandum). It's not insignificant, Jake, not at all.

See the New York Times, "Iraq Insurgents Kill at Least 100 After Declaring New Offensive" (via Memeorandum):

BAGHDAD — In a coordinated display intended to show they remain a viable force, Iraqi insurgents launched at least 40 separate attacks throughout the country on Monday morning, setting off car bombs, storming a military base, attacking policemen in their homes and ambushing checkpoints, the Iraqi authorities said.

At least 100 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in the single bloodiest day this year, according to Iraqi officials in the many areas where attacks took place.

The attacks, coming in the early days of Ramadan, the monthlong Muslim religious rite, were predicted Sunday in an audio message attributed to the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakir Al Baghdadi, and posted on the group’s Web site. Mr. Baghdadi vowed that a new offensive, which he called Breaking Down Walls, would begin soon.

The offensive was without precedent this year at least in the sheer number of attacks, spread over so many locations in a third of Iraq’s 18 provinces, from north to south. It was sure to raise concerns about the government’s ability to contain the violence, six months after the last American troops left the country.

“I think Al Qaeda in Iraq made a big joke of the government and the Iraqi security forces,” said Khalid Fadel, a military analyst and former instructor at the Iraqi Military College. “They were so clear that they were going to launch attacks during Ramadan, and the government said that they have information of about 30 terrorist groups entering the country, but still the security forces are unable to prevent the attacks.”

Mr. Baghdadi said in the Qaeda statement that “we are returning again to dominate territories we used to dominate, as well as more.” He depicted the attacks as part of a battle launched by Sunnis against the country’s Shiite leaders and people.

Continue reading. And just a few minutes ago I caught a few minutes of the president's speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nevada. He looks almost deathly glum, and he's still speaking at the live feed right now, at 1:05pm.

The Untold Story of the Arab Spring

At IBD, "Obama, Hillary Secretly Helped Bring Islamofascists to Power in Egypt" (via Israel Matzav).

And it all sounded so great at the time, the talk of freedom and democracy in Egypt. Recall former Bush NSC chief Stephen Hadley, "The Two Likeliest Political Outcomes for Mubarak."

The euphoria faded fast, or at least in my case. I don't think Hadley's updated his opinion, despite the accession to power of the Islamists.

Colorado Shooting Suspect James Holmes in Court

I'm watching CBS News, and there's a live feed here.

8:40am: Erick Weber has a picture of the suspect on Twitter.

8:43am: That's it. He's back out of the courtroom.

9:00am: The New York Times reports, "Suspect in Colorado Shooting Appears in Court."

9:05am: A video clip:

New Julie Henderson Bikini Pics!

At London's Daily Mail, "Bikini model Julie Henderson brings some Miami heat as she parades enviable figure on the golden sands."

She's a Sports Illustrated model. See: "Julie Henderson in Desroches Island, Seychelles."

NCAA Slaps Penn State With Huge Penalties

At the New York Times, "Penn State Penalties Include $60 Million Fine and Bowl Ban."

The NCAA vacated all of Penn State's wins going back to 1998, and I'm still trying to figure out the logic of that. You can't erase history, so I guess it just vacates the team's rankings. Anyway, read it all at the link. Late justice, I guess.

Anaheim Places Officers on Leave After Fatal Shooting

At the Los Angeles Times, "2 officers placed on leave after fatal shooting in Anaheim."

And at the O.C. Register, "2 officers on leave after Anaheim shooting":

[VIDEO PULLED]

ANAHEIM – Two police officers have been placed on paid leave after one of them fatally shot an unarmed man as he attempted to flee on foot in a residential alleyway, police Chief John Welter said Sunday.

The shooting victim, 25-year-old Manuel Angel Diaz of Santa Ana, was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 7 p.m. Saturday after being shot in the alley a few blocks northeast of downtown Anaheim.

Police described Diaz as a "documented gang member," and said he was shot after the officers saw three men near a car in the 600 block of Anna Drive, near La Palma Avenue and State College Boulevard. Believing the activity to be suspicious, the officers approached the vehicle, and all three men fled on foot.

The officers chased Diaz and observed him throwing unidentified objects onto rooftops as he ran, Welter said. What led one of the officers to shoot Diaz remained under investigation Sunday, Welter said.

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said he would be asking California's attorney general to assist in the investigation.

"I'm asking for a full investigation," Tait said at a Sunday news conference. "Transparency is essential. Whatever the truth is, we will own it."

The dead man's sister, Lupe Diaz, said Sunday that her brother was "just hanging out with friends" before the shooting.

"There is no explanation," Diaz said. "It's not fair."

Continue reading.

The suspect Diaz was shot in the butt, and then again in the head, according to an eyewitness.

And note this from the Register's report: "Police reportedly tried to buy any video taken by witnesses on their cellphones, residents said." And the reporter at the clip says the same thing, so there were probably a number of requests.

The police dog jumped out of the police car unauthorized as well, which is fail.

A little damage control, no doubt.

Prof. Glenn Reynolds has written on the right of citizens to record the police, at the Washington University Law Review, "A Due Process Right to Record the Police."

BONUS: There's a huge roundup at the O.C. Weekly, and witnesses reportedly identified the deceased as Manuel "Stomper" Diaz. See, "Anaheim Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Crowd After Officer-Involved Shooting."