'Blackthorn'

I saw "Blackthorn" on Saturday night, at the Regency Theater across from South Coast Plaza, which is now a little art house venue. I just felt like seeing a flick and picked "Blackthorn" while skimming through the listings. I love westerns, and this one's unusual:

It’s been said (but unsubstantiated) that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a standoff with the Bolivian military in 1908. In BLACKTHORN, Cassidy (Sam Shepard) survived, and is quietly living out his years under the name James Blackthorn in a secluded Bolivian village. Tired of his long exile from the US and hoping to see his family again before he dies, Cassidy sets out on the long journey home. But when an unexpected encounter with an ambitious young criminal (Eduardo Noriega) derails his plans, he is thrust into one last adventure, the likes of which he hasn’t experienced since his glory days with the Sundance Kid.

There's a review at Los Angeles Times, and while the film drags on in parts, this pretty much nails it:

... there is that allure of the Old West that is hard to resist, and there's plenty of grist in the story worth milling and mulling. If nothing else, the film reminds just how arresting an actor Shepard can be. Like Blackthorn, he's only gotten better with age.

Sam Shepard is the perfect actor for the aging outlaw role, and he brings a lot of warmth and humanity to it. An enjoyable film. See also: "Indie Focus: Sam Shepard plays with the Butch Cassidy myth."

Chris Muir's 'Day by Day' Slams Erick Erickson as 'Not Very Classy'

Well, you gotta love this 'Day by Day' panel:

PREVIOUSLY: "David Frum Joining Asshat Erick Erickson as Political Analyst on CNN," and "Erick Erickson: Dude Picks Fight With Sarah Palin Supporters, Loses Badly."

Robert Stacy McCain's Herman Cain blogging is here.

Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan

I showed Herman Cain's "Water" video to my classes last week. After my 9:00am class, a student stayed after to ask me about the scene from Little Rock, Arkansas, where black student Elizabeth Eckford was violently heckled as she tried to integrate at the school. And now, wouldn't you know it, but Telegraph UK has an update on the story, on the reconciliation between Eckford and the woman most infamously remembered from the photograph, Hazel Bryan.

See: "Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan: the story behind the photograph that shamed America."

I think I'll show this article to my students this week.

Is Mitt Romney the Next John Kerry?

It's an interesting conjecture, which assumes Romney gets the nomination. Where it falls flat is that Barack Obama, unlike George W. Bush, has the economy hanging around his neck like an albatross.

See Matt Latimer, at The Daily Beast, "Is Romney the Next Kerry?"

Well, come to think of it, the flip-flopping analogy is pretty damning.

El Caminito Del Rey

There's no way I'd do it!

At Daily Mail, "Are you sure this is the right way? Thrillseekers risk their lives ... taking a walk along 'world's most-dangerous path'."

The #OccupyWallStreet Photos You Won't See in the Mainstream Press

At Doug Ross, "15 Photos from #OccupyWallStreet you'll never see in legacy media."

The Iranians 'Tricked and Misled Us'

At Der Spiegel, "Interview with Former Nuclear Watchdog Olli Heinonen":

SPIEGEL: Mr. Heinonen, if you consider your time as the United Nations' atomic "watchdog," do you look back in anger? Or did you succeed in making the world safer from nuclear bombs?

Heinonen: There are quite a few things I'm proud of. While I was at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), we played a significant role in putting Abdul Qadir Khan -- the most dangerous nuclear smuggler of all times -- out of action. But when I think about the nuclear activities of certain states, for instance Iran's nuclear program, I have to say that we allowed ourselves to be placated too often. We should have done more than carrying out our inspections. Yes, with hindsight you could perhaps even say we failed.

SPIEGEL: You sound worried. Is Tehran really on a direct path to becoming a nuclear state?

Heinonen: It's undeniable that Iran's nuclear program is far more advanced than it was in 2003, when the discovery of the Natanz facility brought it to the IAEA's attention. At the time, uranium enrichment tests were being carried out in secret on a small scale. But at the end of 2003, the Iranians admitted they were also planning to set up a heavy-water reactor in Arak to generate plutonium.

SPIEGEL: In other words, the other ingredient you need to create either nuclear power or an atom bomb.

Heinonen: Iran always told us it was only interested in the civilian uses of atomic energy. I've always had my doubts about that, more so now than ever.

SPIEGEL: Why don't you say what your former boss, Mohamed ElBaradei, said: That you haven't found the so-called "smoking gun" -- i.e. clear proof that Iran is developing nuclear weapons?

Heinonen: Before opponents of the Iranian regime exposed the existence of Natanz, those in power in Tehran had kept parts of their nuclear program secret for two decades. Today the facts are as follows: The conversion plant in Isfahan has produced 371 tons of uranium hexafluoride. Some 8,000 centrifuges in Natanz are being used to enrich this raw material. In February 2010, Iran began increasing enrichment to 20 percent. That's a significant step closer to making an atomic bomb because it takes only a few months to turn that into weapons-grade material. And at the beginning of this year, Fereydoun Abbasi was appointed the head of the atomic energy organization in Tehran ...

Continue reading.

I'm reminded of a few years back, toward the end of the George W. Bush administration, when the global left was pushing back hard against a tough inspections regime and there was talk of preemptive war. It didn't happen. But Iran sure seems more powerful today.

Demi Moore Seeks Divorce From Cheatin' Ashton Kutcher?

At Daily Mail, "'Humiliated' Demi seeks divorce after last-ditch bid to save marriage fails."

But People Magazine has this, "Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore Spotted at Services."

Neither of the pair's reps have responded for comment about the status of their relationship.

Ashton the asshat is blowing it. He's the one who should be humiliated.

RELATED: "Ashton Kutcher's Mistress Sara Leal Bares All In Topless Photos."

Paul McCartney Marries Nancy Shevell

This is great.

At London's Daily Mail, "Introducing Lady McCartney! Nancy and Sir Paul can't stop smiling as they emerge as husband and wife."

Steve Jobs and the Beauty of Capitalism

From Kevin Williamson, at National Review, "A Jobs Agenda" (via Serr8d's Cutting Edge).

There's no takeaway block quote. Just go read it all.

Slovenly Anarchist Idiots for Big Government

From Mark Steyn, "‘Occupy’ is anarchists for Big Government" (via Astute Bloggers and Memeorandum).

Michael Oher, offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, was online Wednesday night when his Twitter feed started filling up with tributes to Steve Jobs. A bewildered Oher tweeted: "Can somebody help me out? Who was Steve Jobs!"

He was on his iPhone at the time.

Who was Steve Jobs? Well, he was a guy who founded a corporation and spent his life as a corporate executive manufacturing corporate products. So he wouldn't have endeared himself to the "Occupy Wall Street" crowd, even though, underneath the patchouli and lentils, most of them are abundantly accessorized with iPhones and iPads and iPods loaded with iTunes, if only for when the drum circle goes for a bathroom break.

The above is a somewhat obvious point, although the fact that it's not obvious even to protesters with an industrial-strength lack of self-awareness is a big part of the problem. But it goes beyond that: If you don't like to think of Jobs as a corporate exec (and a famously demanding one at that), think of him as a guy who went to work, and worked hard. There's no appetite for that among those "occupying" Zuccotti Park. In the old days, the tribunes of the masses demanded an honest wage for honest work. Today, the tribunes of America's leisured varsity class demand a world that puts "people before profits." If the specifics of their "program" are somewhat contradictory, the general vibe is consistent: They wish to enjoy an advanced Western lifestyle without earning an advanced Western living. The pampered, elderly children of a fin de civilisation overdeveloped world, they appear to regard life as an unending vacation whose bill never comes due.

RTWT.

Communists Against Wall Street

The New York Times is backing Occupy Wall Street: "Protesters Against Wall Street" (via Memeorandum). It's boilerplate economic redistributionism. And for what? More for the schools? The protesters have shown that we've wasted hella lot money on public education in this country. Idiots. See more #OccupyWallStreet at the tags, here and here.

Sizzlin' Jessica Gomes Rule 5

Nice:

And at Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup."

RELATED: Linkmaster Smith goes for some anti-communist humor at The Other McCain.

New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology Shuts Down After Lackluster Attendance

This is over in Santa Monica.

At LAT, "Eco-friendly festival can't sustain itself."

It was the first New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology and quite possibly the last.

The event near the beach in Santa Monica, which had been scheduled to run through Sunday, was shut down abruptly Saturday afternoon.

Its website had promised robots, a petting zoo, six stages of live music and more than 150 exhibits. But the gathering on Saturday looked more like a medium-sized, eco-friendly farmers market.

Howard Mauskopf, the festival's organizer, said he needed to shut down because so few people had shown up. "We're in a position where we don't have the financial ability to continue," he said, adding that he would have needed eight to 10 times the crowd that was present to make ends meet. He said he is going to try to reimburse food vendors next week.

"I don't know why people didn't come," he said.

Well, here's a clue: Even in far left-wing Santa Monica folks care more about finding a damned job than a bunch of bullshit eco-friendly enviro-crap.

Governor Jerry Brown Signs California Dream Act

A Democrat GOTV bill for the illegal alien electorate.

At LAT, "The law grants illegal immigrants access to state aid at public universities and colleges."

RELATED: At Michelle's, from 2010, "DREAM Act nightmare: A massive open-borders entitlement program."

Mother Trying to Beat Metrolink Train Struck and Killed in Riverside: Pushed Baby's Stroller Out of Way Just in Time

At KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Woman with stroller killed by train in Riverside; baby uninjured."

The Daily Mail suggests the baby was saved by the mom's final act of "heroism," but I don't think so. The initial act of stupidity almost got them both killed.

'This Is Not What Democracy Is All About': Occupy Atlanta Disses Congressman John Lewis

Amazing.

At Human Events, "‘Occupy Atlanta’ Mob Refuses to Let Civil Rights Icon Speak at Rally." And linked there, at CBS Atlanta:

A group known as Occupy Atlanta plans to protested Friday night in Woodruff Park.

About 200 people attended the event. U.S. Congressman John Lewis even stopped by for about half an hour.

Several demonstrators held signs showing their frustration with Washington's relationship with big business. Many people voiced general frustration. One woman said she was there for changes for animals. Another attendee said he didn't think either party represented his feelings.

Congressman Lewis (D, GA) was ready to talk to the group, but they didn't give him a chance to speak.

"I was going to say, I stand with you. I support you, what you're down," said Lewis to the media.

He said he wasn't disappointed he wasn't able to address the crowd. Several people CBS Atlanta spoke to were upset.

Michelle Williams was excited to attend the event and no longer wanted to be associated with the movement, citing how Lewis was treated.

"I am angry because this is not what democracy is all about. This is Marxist more Stalin like. Your movement, you're just riff-raff. You're an organized mob," said Williams.

And at Peach Pundit, "Occupy Atlanta every bit as ignorant, disorganized, cult-like as you think they are":

When Congressman John Lewis, an American Hero of the Civil Rights Movement showed up, after declaring himself in unity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, the geniuses in charge decided not to let him speak. They said he could speak later after they did their agenda, but the Congressman had to go. As a result, John Lewis didn’t address the group and they spent the better part of the next two hours arguing about how stupid they had been. Unbelievable.

And from the comments at Creative Loafing Atlanta:

Oh for fcks sake, why didn't this sht take place in a closed door meeting with the actual rally/protest happening in Woodruff Park? Who organized this sht? You're fired.

I fully support this cause, but the absolutely idiotic bullsht that I just saw on that youtube clip completely confirms the mainstream media's assertions that this movement is an unorganized clusterfck. Call & response?! Are you fcking kidding me? What, is this Kindergarten?! Why the fck WOULD John Lewis have stuck around? That was just embarrassing.

And I LOOOOOVE (well, HATE, actually) that douchebag in the red shirt talking about how the movement is too big for "one person" while practically salivating at the attention he was getting, clearly power-hungry. Get it together jackoffs. John Lewis could have lent an incredible amount of credibility to the Atlanta movement. MORE COVERAGE. Do. you. get. it? (sigh)

Texas Fred Attacks Mitt Romney's Faith

Well, it's been a while, but old Texas "Wifebeater" Fred is making news again, joining in with the bigoted anti-Mormon attacks on Mitt Romney.

See: "Pastor says Romney is not a Christian:

I am NOT a Biblical scholar, I have serious issues with *organized* religion, and I hate to go off on a tangent about religion, anyones religion, but I have to agree with Jeffress on this one, at least to a certain degree. I don’t know that Mormonism is a *cult*, but I do not view it as a Christian religion either.

Really.

Well, you coulda fooled me, for example, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints homepage, "Jesus Christ Is the Way":

If we believe in Jesus Christ, follow His teachings, and repent when we commit sins, His Atonement, or sacrifice, can wash us clean of our sins and make us worthy to return to God’s presence. Christ’s sacrifice and Resurrection also allow us to overcome physical death. Every one of us will be resurrected just like Christ was and live forever in perfected bodies after we leave this life.

Sounds pretty Christian-like to me. Of course, unlike Texas Fred, I don't hate "gooks," "negros," and "wetbacks" either.

Freakin' Texas Fred's the biggest loser and asshat this side of W. James "Costanza" Casper, and that's saying a lot!

Insurgents Strike U.S.-Afghan Outposts Near Pakistan

At NYT, "10 Years Into Afghan War, a Thunderous Duel."

FORWARD OPERATING BASE TILLMAN, Afghanistan — The sun had been up less than a half-hour on the 10th anniversary of the start of the American-led war in Afghanistan when the first rocket struck. Flying in from near the border with Pakistan, it shook this outpost with an explosion that hinted at the long day ahead.

Soon insurgents near the border were firing on four Afghan-American outposts simultaneously — a coordinated barrage and assault that included dozens of 107-millimeter rockets, and at one post, a suicide truck bomber, American military officers said.

Only one American soldier was wounded in the insurgent attack, which the American regional command called the largest in Paktika Province since 2009. His wounds were not life-threatening. But the events on Friday demonstrated that as the war begins its second decade and the Pentagon plans to start sending tens of thousands of soldiers home after a buildup that since last year has made significant gains, the United States remains bedeviled by a bold, resilient foe.

Most of the high-explosive rockets striking the outposts were fired from just inside Afghanistan, suggesting that the attack had been prepared and launched from Pakistan, and the rocket crews withdrew to sanctuaries there as the Americans fired back.

And the relative weakness of Afghan soldiers and police officers living and working on the American-built bases was equally clear.

As the attacks escalated in the morning, only the American military possessed the firepower, communications and skills to fight back in what developed into a long-range, artillery-and-rocket duel — raising once more the familiar questions about how Afghan forces, underwritten at tremendous expense, will fare when the United States pulls back.

More at the top link.

And at USA Today, "Afghanistan: A decade of war."

Rodney Hunt, Co-Founder of Mississippi Federation for Immigrant Reform and Enforcement, Wages One-Man Battle Against Illegal Immigration

At Los Angeles Times, "One man helps mount Mississippi's anti-illegal-immigrant movement":

Latinos have moved to the South in growing numbers over the last decade, and their presence has been accompanied by growing anger and resentment aimed at illegal immigrants. If Hunt gets his way, Mississippi will become the latest Southern state to pass a law aimed at driving illegal immigrants out — establishing the Deep South as the U.S. region with the most-stringent restrictions on illegal immigrants.

In Mississippi, there's a struggle that goes beyond immigration. Latinos, regardless of legal status, are part of a grand contest to define the state's future.

Blacks, who vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, make up 37% of Mississippi's population, the highest percentage of any state. Latinos, if they vote Democratic, could one day tip the balance of power in a state where whites — that is, white Republicans — have the upper hand.

When Hunt describes this dynamic, it is not in racial terms — because, he says, these are not the terms he thinks in. Though he is a white Mississippian raised in the '60s, he says, "I changed, along with most of the people in my generation. We try to accept people as they are, and not by the color of their skin."

His public appeals have been based on familiar arguments about illegal immigrants: the jobs they are taking, their flouting of the rule of law, their burden on government coffers.

His broad goal, he said, is not to retain white power in Mississippi. It's to retain conservative power.

"It has nothing to do with race," he says.

Well, it's about the rule of law, if you ask me. But that won't stop progressives from screaming RAAAAACIST!!!

Why Labor Backs 'Occupy Wall Street'

From Mary Kay Henry, at WSJ (and at Google).

Amazing how the jobs she cites are public sector jobs nearly to the one. And that's going to reinvigorate the economy?

We can't begin to fix what is wrong with our economy without creating good jobs. We have work that needs doing in this country and millions of Americans looking for full-time work. It's time to put the two together to make America a stronger nation. And it's time to use the money being made on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms across the country to put Americans back to work.

Congress can begin by passing the American Jobs Act and immediately put Americans to work rebuilding our outdated and dangerous roads and bridges and ensuring our kids have first-class schools. We can invest in our communities to keep teachers in our classrooms, police on the beat, health-care workers at our hospitals and clinics, and ensure that we have enough firefighters to protect our communities.

The 2.1 million nurses, janitors, school-bus drivers and other members of the Service Employees International Union stand arm in arm with the peaceful Occupy Wall Street protestors. While unions cannot claim credit for Occupy Wall Street, SEIU members are joining the protesters in the streets because we are united in the belief that our country needs a change.

Nobody can predict what's next for the Occupy Wall Street movement. And no one institution or person should try to exert their pressure on this inspiring collective of people.

The importance of the Occupy Wall Street protests lies in the simple fact that all it takes is a small group of courageous people to light a spark and forever change the arc of history. The auto workers in Flint, Mich., lit that spark in the 1930s through their sit-down strikes and forever changed American industry. The civil-rights activists lit that spark when their sit-ins forced us to confront the racial inequality that poisoned our nation.

We saw that spark in Tahrir Square and across the Middle East this Arab Spring as a few brave people inspired millions of fed-up citizens to challenge their governments and demand better lives.

Actually, it took a Radiohead concert hoax to get (some resemblance of) a critical mass of people to show up. And these same union people are astroturfing the rest. It's pretty much a joke. The Egyptian street overthrew a dictatorship that held power for 40 years. Wall Street is not Mubarak. People who need jobs need banking, finance, investments, and savings. And it's the Democrats who have failed people for the last 30 months. Up is down and down is up in these freaked out political times. One sure thing is that Obama's gonna be a one-termer, and perhaps then we'll have some change folks can believe in.

Glen Campbell's Spirit Still Shines Through

A great music review, at Los Angeles Times, "Live: Glen Campbell at Club Nokia."

It was thrilling too to watch the spirit rushing through Campbell. At times these gusts of musical inspiration blew harder than his fingers could contain, like a delicate kite weathering a windstorm. But then the clouds would break and the guitarist and his muse would reveal blue-sky lines as effortlessly as he did on “Wichita Lineman” in 1968. The man who stepped onstage and kicked off his first solo hit in 1967, “Gentle on My Mind,” had less hair but just as much insight, and the knowledge that this man was part of the legendary Wrecking Crew session team responsible for hits by Phil Spector and the Beach Boys' classic hits, among others, added extra weight.

And I posted on Campbell back in August: "'Rhinestone Cowboy'."

USA Today on Debit Card Fees

See: "What debit card fee critics miss on capitalism":

Ever since Bank of America announced a new $5 monthly fee on debit card use, an outcry has echoed from Main Street all the way to the White House. A Fox Business anchor cut up her BofA debit card on the air in front of a sign that read "Big Bad Bank of America." Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told BofA customers to "get the heck out of that bank." President Obama slammed the charge as a bad business practice. And Consumers Union called on Congress and regulators to investigate the new fee, which will go into effect in early 2012.

Let's everybody take a deep breath...

As annoying as the fees are, they're a far cry from the industry's past egregious practices, now banned or blunted. Those included raising rates "at any time for any reason" on existing credit card balances, re-ordering debit transactions to drive up overdraft penalties, and "disclosing" practices in incomprehensible language in type that required a magnifying glass to read.

So what power do aggrieved bank customers have to respond? They can take their business elsewhere. Switching is a hassle, but there's no lack of competition. If enough consumers bolt or howl, then perhaps Bank of America and others will reconsider.

Well, yeah.

In fact, I think the editors are reading my blog: "It's Robbery to Charge for Debit Cards?"

Missing Baby Lisa Irwin: Statistics Say Unlikely Abducted by Stranger

My wife and I were talking about this story.

The video's from a couple of nights ago. And at USA Today, "Statistics say it's unlikely Mo. baby taken by stranger."

And an update from ABC News, "Missing Baby Lisa: Parents Once Again Cooperating With Investigation, Police Say."

Prosecute War Criminals David Barron and Martin Lederman!

Well, that's all one can conclude from this report at New York Times, "Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen":

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.

The memo, written last year, followed months of extensive interagency deliberations and offers a glimpse into the legal debate that led to one of the most significant decisions made by President Obama — to move ahead with the killing of an American citizen without a trial.

The secret document provided the justification for acting despite an executive order banning assassinations, a federal law against murder, protections in the Bill of Rights and various strictures of the international laws of war, according to people familiar with the analysis. The memo, however, was narrowly drawn to the specifics of Mr. Awlaki’s case and did not establish a broad new legal doctrine to permit the targeted killing of any Americans believed to pose a terrorist threat.

The Obama administration has refused to acknowledge or discuss its role in the drone strike that killed Mr. Awlaki last month and that technically remains a covert operation. The government has also resisted growing calls that it provide a detailed public explanation of why officials deemed it lawful to kill an American citizen, setting a precedent that scholars, rights activists and others say has raised concerns about the rule of law and civil liberties.

But the document that laid out the administration’s justification — a roughly 50-page memorandum by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, completed around June 2010 — was described on the condition of anonymity by people who have read it.

The legal analysis, in essence, concluded that Mr. Awlaki could be legally killed, if it was not feasible to capture him, because intelligence agencies said he was taking part in the war between the United States and Al Qaeda and posed a significant threat to Americans, as well as because Yemeni authorities were unable or unwilling to stop him.

The memorandum, which was written more than a year before Mr. Awlaki was killed, does not independently analyze the quality of the evidence against him.

The administration did not respond to requests for comment on this article.

You see? The Office of Legal Counsel. That's where John Yoo and Jay Bybee were working when they wrote the dreaded "torture memos." And ever since then they've been excoriated and hounded as war criminals.

So, how about the authors of the Awlaki memo, David Barron and Martin Lederman? War Criminals!!

Actually, nobody's calling for prosecutions at Memeorandum, at least not yet. But see Volokh, "Secret DOJ Memo re Awlaki Targeting, and NYT Public Editor on Policy-By-Leaks."

Overnight Rule 5

At Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Joanna Krupa." And at Bob Belvedere's, "Rule 5 Saturday: Flávia Alessandra."

BONUS: A roundup at Say Anything, "Saturday Linkaround."

Added: At Maggie's Notebook, "Rule 5 Saturday Night: Paris Hilton."

Antiwar Protests Close Air and Space Museum

Someone's gonna get hurt one of these times. It's a museum, for crying out load.

At WaPo, "Air & Space Museum in DC closed after demonstrators try to enter with signs; 1 pepper-sprayed."

Occupy Wall Street Unleashes Beast of Radical Progressivism

At the video is Occupy Portland: Anti-Israel, eat the rich.

Pretty typical, I know.

But see Daily Mail, "Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR." (Via Hot Air, "EvacuateOnWallStreet?")

RELATED: Left Coast Rebel reports from San Diego: "(PHOTOS) OccupySanDiego October 7, 2011."

Meanwhile, the vacuous MSM thinks this is just great, "'Occupy' protesters garner increased support."

Al Davis, 1929 – 2011

At New York Times, "Al Davis, the Controversial and Combative Raiders Owner, Dies at 82."

Allen Davis was born in Brockton, Mass., on July 4, 1929, and he grew up in Brooklyn, where his father, Louis, was a successful businessman. In interviews he often spoke of learning toughness on the city streets, but he came from a relatively affluent home and at least once confessed to a reporter: “I don’t want this in the story. I wish you wouldn’t print it. You follow me? But when I got out of public school, I won the American Legion medal for all-around kid.”

RTWT.

Davis was a fascinating man, and I've always had a soft spot for the Raiders, back in 2002, for example.

Wall Street Protest Spurs Online Conversation

Here's this at NYT, "Wall Street Protest Spurs Online Dialogue on Inequity."

And this is what they're trying to spur? If these idiots out in Portland are any clue, this isn't the kind of conversation the country needs:

Mitt Romney Acknowledges Attack on His Mormon Faith

At Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney subtly acknowledges attack on his Mormon faith."

RTWT at the link. I think Anderson Cooper handled the situation very well last night, in his interview with the Texas pastor. See: "Texas Evangelical Leader Robert Jeffress Attacks Mitt Romney's Mormon Church as 'Cult'."

And see Lonely Conservative, "Perry Supporter Bashes Romney’s Religion." And at Memeorandum.

Texas Evangelical Leader Robert Jeffress Attacks Mitt Romney's Mormon Church as 'Cult'

I saw this interview earlier on CNN.

And now here at New York Times, "Prominent Pastor Calls Romney’s Church a Cult." (At Memeorandum.)

WASHINGTON — A Texas pastor introduced Rick Perry at a major conference of Christian conservatives here on Friday as “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ” and then walked outside and attacked Mitt Romney’s religion, calling the Mormon Church a cult and stating that Mr. Romney “is not a Christian.”

The comments by the pastor, Robert Jeffress of Dallas, injected a potentially explosive issue into the presidential campaign: the belief held by many evangelicals that Mormons are not Christians.

And it raised immediate suspicions that the attack might have been a way for surrogates or supporters of Mr. Perry, the Texas governor, who has stumbled in recent weeks, to gain ground by raising religious concerns about Mr. Romney. Mr. Jeffress similarly attacked Mr. Romney and his faith during the 2008 campaign.

The Perry campaign sought to put some distance between Mr. Perry and Mr. Jeffress, stating that the governor “does not believe Mormonism is a cult” and that Mr. Jeffress was chosen to speak by the organizers of the event, the Values Voter Summit, which was put on by the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and other evangelical Christian groups.

But in a statement, the Family Research Council president, Tony Perkins, said the Perry campaign had approved using Mr. Jeffress to introduce the governor. “Pastor Jeffress was suggested to us as a possible introductory speaker because he serves as pastor of one of the largest churches in Texas,” Mr. Perkins said. “We sent the request to the Perry campaign which then signed off on the request.”

Someone is making a big mistake. Attacks like this are radioactive and will end up hurting the Perry camp more so than Romney.

Pat Condell: The World Needs to Stop Pretending Palestine is About Justice and Human Rights

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

Also from Linkmaster Smith, "Pat Condell Offering Simple, Sad Truth."

'Occupy Wall Street'

The video's from The Blaze, "‘THE JEWS CONTROL WALL STREET!’: 2ND ALLEGED WALL ST. PROTESTER SPEWS ANTI-SEMITISM."

And at Pamela's, "Calling All the Dregs of the Earth #occupywallstreet."

NewsBusted: 'Six million Americans age 25-34 still live at home with their parents'

Via Theo Spark:

American Power Surges to #74 at Wikio Top Blogs: Hardest Hit — W. James 'Costanza' Casper

I don't bother with these rankings all that much. This time I'm mostly surprised that my blog surged 16 spots to #74 from #90 in September. Half the battle is just stayin' in the ball game, adding something original or worthwhile to the debate now and then. And of course keepin' tabs on the dickwipe commies. Speaking of which, this burns W. James "Costanza" Casper, who claimed some time back (at the top result):

... aside from your sycophants, fewer and fewer people are taking your schtick seriously... You may still get your precious hits--dreck often does--but that doesn't mean folks respect you or what you have to say...

Nope.

Nobody respects what I have to say, nobody like the New York Times or anything, at "The Occupy Wall Street Quiz."

See that? Wishing hate, once again. W. James 'Costanza' Casper is just a hatemongering blog troll, living in his own nihilistic hell, looking to do harm, recruiting progressive asshats and commies, stalking and monitoring, endorsing and sponsoring workplace attacks, and God knows what other Satanic acts. As I've documented here numerous times, RACIST = REPSAC is a coward, fraud, and a liar. And that's just totally pathetic. ASFL.

It's Robbery to Charge for Debit Cards?

Well, yeah, according to Lloyd Constantine, at New York Times, "Debit Card Fees Are Robbery":

Debit cards were developed by banks as a replacement for paper checks. When a consumer pays with a debit card instead of a check, the bank saves money. In the 1980s, Visa calculated the savings at 55 cents to $1.60 per check. The savings is much higher today. For decades, Bank of America, the founding owner and member of Visa (originally called BankAmericard) and all of the Visa and MasterCard banks, including Chase, hid the identity of their debit cards from stores by designing them to look and function like their signature authorized credit cards and by charging stores the same price for debit and credit transactions. Banks did this despite the fact that purchases made with a debit card didn’t involve a loan from the bank, posed very little fraud risk and were extravagantly profitable to banks because they eliminated the costs of processing and clearing checks.

RTWT.

Constantine won a huge antitrust lawsuit against the banks in 2003, so he's knowledgeable about this. But he's practically arguing that the big banks are public utilities, entities ostensibly in the public trust. Businesses certainly have social responsibility, but don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining when you're alleging robbery for $5.00 monthly fees to use a debit card. I don't love the big banks, obviously, but having a debit card has simplified life for untold millions of people. And some banks having eliminated banking fees for basic checking accounts, and careful consumers who maintain their balances, avoid overdrafts, etc., avoid penalty fees. So, shop around. That's how it works. Constantine makes a decent point at the conclusion, in any case:

Retail customers of Bank of America and of any other bank that follows its lead should swiftly move their business. I am certain that other banks will welcome the competitive opportunity that Bank of America has given them with its arrogant and disingenuous action and justification.

Glenn Reynolds has some brief comments as well, perhaps sympathetic to Constantine.

Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy Speech at The Citadel (VIDEO)

"It is only American power—conceived in the broadest terms—that can provide the foundation of an international system that ensures the security and prosperity of the United States and our friends and allies around the world."

I was impressed with Romney's foreign policy back in 2008, and I met Romney at the book signing for his autobiography. I admire his values, which really come out here. Bruce Kesler has more, at Maggie's Farm, "Serious Republican Foreign Policy." And at Weekly Standard, "Romney Criticizes Obama at Military College."

Give Me Love: Thoughts on the George Harrison Documentary

German photographer and Beatles groupie Astrid Kirchherr is interviewed at Part I of "George Harrison: Living in the Material World." She said that George Harrison was kind to everyone he met. And that sense of Harrison is expressed again and again in interviews throughout the documentary. My personal policy is to avoid meeting stars and celebrities, to avoid the disappointments, but I would have never missed the chance to meet George Harrison. Part II was perhaps better than Part I, in that it focuses on Harrison's post-Beatles life and legacy. The New York Times stresses these disparate aspects as well, "A Life of Guitars, Girls and Gentle Weeping."

"Give Me Love" is one of the George Harrison songs I often forget about, but it came to me out of the blue while I was in the car yesterday, and parts of it are played in Part II, during the coverage of Harrison's commercial successes as a solo artist. And that reminds me, the Phil Spector interview is one of the more amazing segments of the film. And Olivia Harrison is a fascinating woman as well. She has an interesting manner of speech, and her affection for George is almost scholarly in its expression. I'm watching an encore broadcast on HBO as this post goes live. Try to catch it if you can.

Hot Britney Spears Blogging!

At What Would Tyler Durden Do, "Britney Spears is Easily Influenced."

HAT TIP: Linkmaster Smith @ The Other McCain.

War and Sacrifice in the Post-9/11 Era: The Military-Civilian Gap

A new survey at the Pew Research Center:

Only about one half of one percent of the U.S. population has been on active military duty at any given time during the past decade of sustained warfare. Some 84% of post-9/11 veterans say the public does not understand the problems faced by those in the military or their families. The public agrees, though by a less lopsided majority—71%.

David Frum Joining Asshat Erick Erickson as Political Analyst on CNN

Some of the responses to Sarah Palin's announcement this week were self-serving and beyond the pale, most spectacularly: David Frum and Erick Erickson.

Frum published an amazingly deranged attack on Sarah Palin, "Palin: Already Almost Forgotten." I'm not linking it, so check Legal Insurrection and Neo-Neocon for responses. And Legal Insurrection came back with a second response: "David Frum: Already Almost Forgotten."

Erick Erickson took to his blog Red State and Twitter to gloat about his predictions that Sarah Palin wouldn't be a candidate, in the process revealing himself as a petty little man and insecure wannabe conservative honcho. See here, here, and here, plus at Red State, "BREAKING NEWS: As I have been telling ALL OF YOU, Sarah Palin is not running." Legal Insurrection comments on Erickson as well:

At a moment when Erickson could have shown himself to be a mensch he showed himself to be a schmuck. And of course, managed to make it about him. As pointed out in the comments, he is asking “Can we all be friends now?” The answer is no.

So with all that I find it appropriate that David Frum's joining his fellow asshat as an election analyst on CNN:

Beyond this, others had strong opinions on Palin, for example, Jonathan Tobin at Commentary, "Palin's Path to Irrelevance." I disagree with Tobin on the reasoning and significance of Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska. But in contrast to Frum and Erickson, Tobin's comments contribute to the debate rather than grandstand for attention. And of course, the classiest response was Charles Krauthammer's, "Palin Not Running Like 'Sun Rising In The East'."

Obama and the Occupy Wall Street Movement

The most honest and genuine development I've seen with Occupy Wall Street is the protesters marching on the White House. The New York Times has this, "Protests Offer Obama Opportunity to Gain, and Room for Pitfalls" (via Memeorandum):

WASHINGTON — Anti-Wall Street protesters marched past the gates of the White House on Thursday, bringing their message of economic injustice to the capital and posing an opportunity, but also a threat, to President Obama, who presents himself as a fervent defender of the middle class.

Brandishing placards that said “No More Wall Street White House” and chanting “Shame! Shame!” the crowd took aim at the president, even if it saved most of its vitriol for the nearby headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — or as one banner labeled it, “Chamber of Corporate Horrors.”

To hear some Democratic analysts tell it, the mushrooming protests could be the start of a populist movement on the left that counterbalances the surge of the Tea Party on the right, and closes what some Democrats fear is an “enthusiasm gap” between their party and Republicans in the 2012 election.

But that assumes the president is able to win the support of these insurgents, rather than be shunned by them.

Mr. Obama, in a series of recent hard-edged speeches around the country, has channeled many of the grievances of the movement known as Occupy Wall Street: deepening economic inequity, a tax code that gives breaks to the wealthy and corporate interests and banks that profit from hidden consumer fees.

Yet the president also oversaw a bailout of those banks, appointed a Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, who is viewed by the protesters as a shill for Wall Street and pushed a reform of the financial industry that many in the movement condemn as shamefully inadequate in curbing its excesses.

“There’s a lot of discontent with Obama’s policies,” said Kevin Zeese, an organizer of the protest, which drew about 500 people. “Obama is out of touch. He’s busy going around the country raising $1 billion to run for re-election.”

At his news conference Thursday, Mr. Obama seemed to recognize the potential and pitfalls of the moment. He sympathized with the frustration of the protesters and criticized Republicans for trying to roll back regulations. But he also defended the bailout and the financial reforms known as Dodd-Frank.

“These days, a lot of folks who are doing the right thing aren’t rewarded, and a lot of folks who aren’t doing the right thing are rewarded,” he said. “And that’s going to express itself politically in 2012 and beyond until people feel like once again we’re getting back to some old-fashioned American values.”

Even before the protests welled up, Mr. Obama’s political advisers said he would focus heavily on the issue of fairness, tapping into a widespread sense among middle class voters that they lost the most in the recession.

Underscoring his more populist tone, Mr. Obama confirmed that he was open to paying for his $450 billion jobs bill by levying a tax surcharge on people with incomes of more than $1 million. The White House had earlier been cool to the proposal, made by Senate Democrats, in favor of taxing a broader group.

The comparison between Occupy Wall Street and the tea parties is bogus, of course. And it's frankly obscene that folks think Obama should benefit politically from these protests. The White House has been in bed with Wall Street. The dilemma for the Democrats is how they can channel the protests against the Republicans without getting caught up in a generalized anti-government tsunami in 2012. As was clear at the press conference yesterday, the president will basically lie through his teeth, blaming the economic crisis on his predecessor and waging a morally bankrupt class war on the high-income earners.

Nazar Al Bussam, Drug-Dealing Doctor Linked to Patient Overdose Deaths, Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison in Los Angeles Federal Court

One of my students came to office hours on Tuesday to ask about the writing assignment. Students complete a News Analysis Notebook for the critical thinking requirement in the course. Students write on (or they're supposed to write on) U.S. politics and public policy, although there's lots of room for topics on the margins of the top news. My student mentioned that her brother died a few years ago and that his story was going to be featured in the Los Angeles Times. My student didn't mention much more than that. She mostly wanted to know if she could write about the Times' piece in her notebook. I said sure, but I wanted to take a look at it first. The story ran yesterday, and it turns out it was a big investigative report: "Deaths linked to doctor accused of recklessly prescribing painkillers":

And from the article:

As California's top prescriber of narcotic painkillers and other commonly abused drugs, Dr. Nazar Al Bussam made hundreds of thousands of dollars feeding the addictions of strung-out patients who packed into his offices in Downey and Los Angeles, according to authorities.

Federal prosecutors concluded it was "pure luck" that his reckless prescribing had not resulted in any known deaths.

A Los Angeles Times review of coroners' records, however, reveals that at least three of the doctor's patients died of drug overdoses in 2007 and 2008. Two other people died — one from an overdose, the other by falling off a cliff — with drugs in their systems and pill bottles bearing Al Bussam's name in their possession.

A judge is expected to sentence Al Bussam on Wednesday. Prosecutors have asked for nearly 20 years in prison for the 71-year-old physician, arguing that his conduct was worse than that of a street corner drug dealer.

"Unlike a street dealer, defendant well understood the effects of the poison he peddled," wrote Assistant U.S. Attys. Ariel A. Neuman and Benjamin R. Barron.

Al Bussam, who graduated from the University of Baghdad College of Medicine in 1963 and began practicing in California more than three decades ago, is the latest in a string of Southern California physicians accused of violating their oaths by dealing drugs. The charges come amid a prescription drug epidemic that recently pushed drugs ahead of traffic accidents as a cause of death nationwide.

Al Bussam was arrested last October after a three-year investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. He was accused of operating a so-called pill mill in which he wrote prescriptions in exchange for cash, regardless of a patient's true need for the drugs ...

Ryan Thompson, 30, died on the doorstep of his younger sisters' Costa Mesa home a day after being prescribed methadone pills by Al Bussam, records show. His sisters cared for him while he suffered through a withdrawal, throwing up so often his vomit was streaked with blood. He wanted to kick his methadone habit and had been sober for weeks when he got his last prescription, family members say. Al Bussam wrote him a prescription for 100 methadone pills to be taken three at time three times daily, records show.

Thompson's sister Hailey said he came home obviously high that evening. Upset and saddened by his relapse, she told him they would discuss it in the morning.

When Hailey found her brother sitting cross-legged outside her front door, a friend began CPR, but it was too late. Toxicology tests later revealed methadone, as well as morphine and oxycodone, in his body. The coroner ruled his death an accidental overdose.

Thompson's mother, Niki, said a coroner's investigator told her that if her son had resumed taking methadone at the amount he was used to before kicking the habit, it could have killed him.

"If you know someone is an addict, why in the world would you hand them a bottle of pills and say, 'Here, take three at a time,'" Niki said.

Gluck, Al Bussam's attorney, said he did not believe that Thompson was a patient of his client. Coroner records list Al Bussam as his doctor and show that Al Bussam's office provided medical records to an investigator.

Others who, according to coroner records, died after being prescribed drugs by Al Bussam or while in possession of drugs he prescribed are:

• Christopher Vargas, 47, who overdosed in his Echo Park apartment in May 2007 on a cocktail of prescription drugs, including a commonly abused muscle relaxant sold under the brand name Soma, which had been prescribed by Al Bussam 26 days earlier, according to coroner's records. Vargas had multiple drug-related arrests, the records state.

• Terry Ridgeway, 42, who family members said had been a crack cocaine abuser but had been clean for seven years before developing a prescription drug habit. He was found dead on the kitchen floor of his Santa Monica apartment in December 2008. A pill bottle containing an anti-anxiety drug prescribed by Al Bussam was found in his bedroom. That drug was one of three that caused his death, coroner's records show. The vial bearing Al Bussam's name had a partially torn label, which law enforcement officials say is a sign of illegally traded drugs. Gluck said he did not believe that Ridgeway was a patient of Al Bussam.

• Lisa Vanzandt, 49, who was an aspiring nurse and primary caretaker of her elderly mother, according to coroner's records. Vanzandt had several medical problems, including back pain, her mother said. She was fond of walking along the cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula near where she grew up in Redondo Beach. A friend told coroner's investigators that the family lost their home and that Vanzandt had always dreamed of moving back. The friend said Vanzandt had a prescription drug problem and speculated that she fell off the cliff while intoxicated. Prescription bottles bearing Al Bussam's name were found in Vanzandt's purse. The same drugs as he prescribed — a painkiller and anti-anxiety medication — were among a cocktail of drugs found in her body, coroner's records show. The labels on both bottles were torn. The death was ruled an accident.

Al Bussam was sentenced yesterday, "Drug-dealing doctor sentenced to seven years in prison":

A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a drug-dealing doctor who was once California's top prescriber of narcotic painkillers and other commonly abused drugs to seven years in federal prison, saying he was being somewhat lenient because he did not want the 72-year-old physician to die behind bars.

"It fills me with shame to stand before you today," Dr. Nazar Al Bussam told the judge shortly before he was sentenced. "I failed to live up to the standards I tried to set for myself. I can only hope for some opportunity to redeem myself, so help me God."

As Al Bussam spoke in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom, his adult son put his head in his hands and quietly wept. His wife stared straight ahead, expressionless. Minutes later, the doctor was stripped of his tie, jacket, belt and watch and was led from the courtroom in handcuffs by U.S. marshals.

U.S. District Judge S. James Otero imposed the sentence after telling the court he had read a Times report Wednesday that linked Al Bussam to the deaths of three patients to whom he had prescribed drugs and two other people who had drugs prescribed by him in their possession.

Authorities did not discover those deaths during their three-year probe of Al Bussam, who they said generated nearly $2 million in cash while recklessly prescribing addictive narcotics to drug addicts and dealers.

Before sentencing, prosecutors Ariel A. Neuman and Benjamin R. Barron brought the article to the judge's attention, saying they thought he should be aware of it, but did not seek to enter it as evidence or to postpone sentencing to conduct further investigation.

Otero, after summarizing the report aloud in court, said it would be improper for him to consider the article for a number of reasons, including that it contained statements from people who had not testified in court. After imposing the sentence, the judge said that if he had considered the "very troubling" information in the article and found the doctor responsible for the deaths, he probably would have imposed the nearly 20-year sentence prosecutors had requested.

'George Harrison: Living in the Material World'

I watched Part I last night.

And the day before, Los Angeles Times had this: "Documentary examines George Harrison."

When Martin Scorsese and Olivia Harrison first sat down about five years ago to strategize about a documentary on the life of George Harrison, both quickly zeroed in on a letter the young Beatle wrote to his family at the height of Beatlemania.

"It was a letter George had written when he was not more than 22," Harrison said of the man to whom she was married for 23 years before his death from cancer a decade ago. "It was in 1965, and the Beatles would have been really cresting at that point. He was writing home and told his family, 'I know that this isn't it. I knew I was going to be famous, but now I know I can reach the real top of what man can achieve, which is self-realization.' He knew then that [material reward] wasn't it."

That letter figures into a pivotal moment in Scorsese's film, "George Harrison: Living in the Material World" (taken from the title of Harrison's 1973 album), which premieres on HBO over two nights Wednesday and Thursday to accommodate its 31/2-hour length.

In the scene, George says how lucky the Beatles were to acquire so many of the material goods early on that most people spend their entire lives yearning for, because they learned relatively young how hollow such things ultimately ring.

Olivia Harrison gave Scorsese and his team virtual carte blanche access to home movies, family photos, audio recordings and other items from her husband's estate for use in the film, which paints a richly detailed and unvarnished picture of the man initially pigeonholed as "the quiet Beatle."

A more accurate sobriquet might have been "the spiritual Beatle" to reflect the inward quest that seemed to capture Harrison early in a life about which he once famously said that his biggest break had been getting into the Beatles; his second biggest, getting out.

More at the link.

Also, "TV review: 'George Harrison: Living in the Material World'," and "George Harrison: A video miscellany."

Getting It Right: Dean of George Mason Law Sets Excellent Example

At FIRE:

Recently, two student groups at George Mason University School of Law, the Federalist Society and the Jewish Law Students Association, have taken heat for inviting controversial activist Nonie Darwish to campus for a lecture. Specifically, the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the school to disinvite Darwish because of her past statements regarding Islam. (Above the Law has more.)

So what happened next? Did GMU cancel the speech, as other institutions have done when faced with calls for disinvitations of unpopular or controversial speakers? Did it impose heavy security fees on the student groups, a sadly common tactic for campus censors looking to silence outside speakers?

No. Instead, GMU School of Law Dean Daniel Polsby got it exactly right. In a statement sent to students and faculty late last week, Polsby issued a stirring defense of free speech on campus.

I'm very pleased to reprint his statement in full...

Check that top link to RTWT.

Plus, "Victory at UW-Stout: Chancellor Folds after Censorship of 'Firefly' and Anti-Fascism Posters."

Parole Denied for Omaima Nelson, Ex-Model Who Ate Husband's Body Parts

This is the strangest case.

At LAT, "Parole denied for woman who cooked, ate husband."

Michael Jackson Audio Clip Played at Conrad Murray Trial

At LAT, "Murray's iPhone offers snapshot of Jackson's final weeks."

Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011

Apple founder Steve Jobs has died.

At New York Times, "Steve Jobs, Apple’s Visionary, Dies at 56."

Also at Memeorandum.

Sarah Palin Won't Run for President in 2012

I cant' remember how long it's been, but I wrote off a Palin candidacy long ago.

And now, apparently, we have official word, at ABC News, "Sarah Palin Will Not Run for President":

Sarah Palin will not run for president. She made the announcement in a letter to supporters Wednesday night.

Read Palin’s letter here:

October 5, 2011
Wasilla, Alaska
After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation’s governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the “fundamental transformation” of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law.
From the bottom of my heart I thank those who have supported me and defended my record throughout the years, and encouraged me to run for President. Know that by working together we can bring this country back – and as I’ve always said, one doesn’t need a title to help do it.

I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets, including in the race for President where our candidates must embrace immediate action toward energy independence through domestic resource developments of conventional energy sources, along with renewables. We must reduce tax burdens and onerous regulations that kill American industry, and our candidates must always push to minimize government to strengthen the economy and allow the private sector to create jobs.

Those will be our priorities so Americans can be confident that a smaller, smarter government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people can better serve this most exceptional nation.

In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.

Thank you again for all your support. Let’s unite to restore this country!

God bless America.

– Sarah Palin

Also at Los Angeles Times, "Sarah Palin says she will not run for president in 2012," and National Journal, "Palin Won't Run for President."

And The Right Scoop has the full interview: "UPDATE: Full interview added – BREAKING: Sarah Palin NOT running for president."

Wall Street's 99 Percent Took Out Too Much Student Loan Debt

Ezra Klein gives it the old college try, but I'm not buying it. See: "Who are the 99 percent?" (via Memeorandum):

College debt shows up a lot in these stories, actually. It’s more insistently present than housing debt, or even unemployment. That might speak to the fact that the protests tilt towards the young. But it also speaks, I think, to the fact that college debt represents a special sort of betrayal. We told you that the way to get ahead in America was to get educated. You did it. And now you find yourself in the same place, but buried under debt. You were lied to.

I don't think so. Scroll down at the website, "WE ARE THE 99 PERCENT." I honestly don't know what people expect? What are they thinking? They attend college, perhaps for a Bachelor's degree, and graduate with $100 thousand in student loans? That's gotta be the definition of insanity. I graduated with a Bachelor's of Political Science at the age of 30 with no debt. None. Zero. Nothing. My first year of graduate school I continued working part time on Saturdays for extra income. That allowed me to borrow less that I could have in federal student loans. Then by the second year of the program I won a four-year fellowship that paid for tuition along with a stipend and teaching employment (guaranteed two TA assignments per year). I quit my part time job to attend my studies. I graduated with my Ph.D. with about $60 thousand in loans. I've been paying them down ever since. It was a good investment. But I would've never taken out that kind of money for a Bachelor's. These young people haven't been betrayed by the poor economy. They've been lied to and ripped off by all the people who told them they could borrow their way through undergraduate college rather than pay their own way.

Added: From Bruce Kesler, at Maggie's Farm, "Tea Partiers Against The Biggees, Wall Street Protesters Want To Be Biggees."

Two Mountain Lions Found Sitting Outside of Home in Sierra Madre

Those are huge cats.

At KABC-7 Los Angeles, "2 mountain lions spotted outside Sierra Madre home."

More at Instapundit.

President Solyndra

From Steven Hayward, at Weekly Standard:

The spectacular collapse of Solyndra has all of the trappings of an epic Washington scandal, with serial revelations of embarrassing and potentially improper White House machinations to secure a $535 million federal loan guarantee for a startup company with dubious prospects of success. The sudden bankruptcy of the Fremont, California, manufacturer of solar panels​—​after it was feted as a model creator of “green jobs” by President Obama and Vice President Biden​—​has already featured FBI raids, contentious congressional hearings, and demands for a special prosecutor to investigate. The plot thickened further last week when Solyndra’s two top executives, who made 20 trips to the White House while their loan application was under consideration, invoked the Fifth Amendment rather than answer questions from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Even if the administration eventually escapes any finding of legal wrongdoing, Solyndra threatens to haunt the green energy campaign in much the same way that the collapse of Lincoln Savings became the emblem of the savings and loan industry’s recklessness in the 1980s. The Solyndra story includes Obama campaign donors and everybody’s favorite Wall Street whipping boy, Goldman Sachs, in the middle of the whole sorry mess. Yet it would be a mistake to mark the story down as merely another excrescence of crony capitalism. It is much worse.

More at the link.

And see WSJ, "White House Brushed Off Solyndra Worries, Emails Show."

Stock Market Nears Bear Territory

At Wall Street Journal yesterday (and at Google):

After turning in the worst quarter since the financial crisis, U.S. stocks started the new one by approaching the level considered a bear market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 2.4% Monday, leaving the index down 16.8% from its April high, 3.2 percentage points away from the 20% decline that many analysts believe signals that a bear market is under way. The broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index also fell sharply and is even closer to bear-market territory, down 19.4% since April. The indexes are at their lowest closing levels in more than a year...

Check those links at top to continue.

NewsBusted: 'Recent crowds have gathered near Wall St. to protest corporate greed and wealthy Americans'

Via Theo Spark:

Hank Williams Jr. Apologizes for Obama-Hitler Comparison

At Los Angeles Times, "Are you ready for Hank Williams Jr. for president?":

Hank Williams Jr. apologized Tuesday for comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler, saying he let his mouth get the better of him.

But, if some of his fans had their way, Williams wouldn't apologize to anyone. Further, he'd run for president and oust "the enemy," as he labeled Obama.

Williams found himself in hot water Monday after letting loose on Fox News, saying that Obama playing golf recently with GOP House Speaker John A. Boehner was like Hitler doing so with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also called the president not only "the enemy," but one of the Three Stooges. By day's end, ESPN had pulled Williams' "Are You Ready For Some Football?" song and video from its "Monday Night Football" opener, a position that it has held since 1989.

Williams initially stood firm in the face of controversy...

Continue reading.

VIDEO CREDIT: The Lonely Conservative, "Hank Williams Jr Booted By ESPN After Bizarre Fox and Friends Interview."

"The Top 150 Conservative Websites — 4Q11"

From Doug Ross.

My blog came in at #112.

Herman Cain's Mojo

I mentioned that Herman Cain was catchin' the big mo' over the weekend. And he's really got it going this week. At WaPo, "Rick Perry slips, Herman Cain rises in bid for GOP nomination, poll finds":

After a quick rise in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has experienced an almost equally dramatic decline, losing about half of his support over the past month, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Perry’s slide, which comes after several uneven performances in candidate debates, has allowed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to resurface atop the GOP field. But the most direct beneficiary of the disenchantment with Perry is businessman Herman Cain, who is now tied for second place.

Also at Public Policy Polling, "Cainmentum" (via Memeorandum). Cain's rise could be temporary, and this sounds pretty accurate:

The Republican race has always been pretty wide open, but never more so than it is now. The fact that Cain and Gingrich, pretty much given up for dead just a few weeks ago, could have this kind of poll surge is really indicative of how weak anyone's support is right now- very few Republican voters are strongly committed to a particular candidate and most of them can shift in a heart beat. I'll be pretty shocked if Cain is still leading our state polls a month from now but if there's any lesson to be learned from the GOP race at this point it's not to be surprised by anything.

VIDEO: Roseanne Barr Wants Guillotine for the Rich

At Hot Air, "Great new idea from the Hollywood Left: Behead the bankers."

PREVIOUSLY: "The American Revolution Was Not About Wealth Redistribution."

BONUS: Additional reading at Larwyn's Links.

Dr. Martin Hertzberg Letter at the Vail Daily Skewering the Gore-Hansen-IPCC Climate Change Clique

It's so clear and logical, via Anthony Watts, "Thanks to Michael Mann’s response, a newspaper censors a letter to the editor ex post facto" and Pastebin:

Knowledgeable scientists, including the more than 30,000 such as myself who have signed the Oregon Petition, know that changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide do not correlate with human emission of carbon dioxide, that human emission is a trivial fraction of sources and sinks of carbon dioxide, that the oceans contain about 50 times more dissolved carbon dioxide than is present in the atmosphere, that recycling of carbon dioxide from the tropical oceans where it is emitted to the arctic oceans where it is absorbed is orders of magnitude more significant than human emissions, and that the carbonate-bicarbonate buffer in the oceans makes their acidity (actually their alkaline pH) virtually insensitive to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The data for the glacial coolings and interglacial warmings for the past 500,000 years always show that temperature changes precede atmospheric carbon-dioxide changes by about 1,000 years. That indicates that temperature changes are driving carbon-dioxide changes and not the reverse as the Gore-Hansen-IPCC clique claims. As oceans warm for whatever reason, they emit carbon dioxide, and as they cool they absorb carbon dioxide.

The carbon-dioxide “greenhouse effect” argument on which the fearmongering hysteria is based is actually devoid of physical reality. The notion that the colder atmosphere above can reradiate its absorbed infrared energy to heat the warmer earth below violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics. For details, see “Slaying the Sky Dragon: Death of the Greenhouse Gas Theory,” co-authored by myself and several other scientists, which was published earlier this year by Stairway Press.

In any case, if one compares the effect of water in all of its forms (polar ice, snow cover, oceans, clouds, water vapor in the atmosphere) with that of human emission of carbon dioxide, the carbon-dioxide emission is about as significant as a few farts in a hurricane...

Go to Watts Up With That? for the background.

And see climate hoax-monger Michael Mann's letter to the editor, attacking Hertzberg, which apparently got the latter's pulled from the web and perhaps a lot more: "Vail Valley Voices: Global warming denier's claims are falsehoods." Amazing how Mann refuses to acknowledge that Hertzberg's a scientist. The author's book biography is here: Slaying the Sky Dragon: Death of the Greenhouse Gas Theory.

A Homecoming Queen With a Helmet

Pretty cool.

At New York Times, "Homecoming Queen and Winning Field Goal on the Same Night":

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In his 18 years at Pinckney Community High School, Jim Darga, the principal, said, the homecoming queen had always been crowned at halftime of the school’s football game. Never before, though, had she had to be summoned from the team’s locker room.

And that was just the beginning of Brianna Amat’s big night.

If being named homecoming queen is a lifetime memory for a high school student, so, too, is kicking a winning field goal. For Amat, 18, they happened within an hour of each other.

On Friday, with Pinckney leading powerful Michigan rival Grand Blanc, 6-0, at the half, Amat, the first girl to play football for the school’s varsity, was asked to return to the field. When she arrived, she was told that her fellow students had voted her queen. When the tiara was placed on her head, she was wearing not a dress, like the other girls in the homecoming court, but her No. 12 uniform, pads and all.

A short while later, with five minutes to play in the third quarter, Amat was called to the same field to attempt a 31-yard field goal. She split the uprights.

RTWT.

The Yo-Yo Effect: Mexican Immigrants Repeatedly Brave Risks to Resume Lives in United States

At New York Times, "Crossing Over, and Over."

I'm borrowing from the Times for the title of this post. I guess repeated border hoppers are "brave," as if there's something noble about illegal immigration. The big takeaway here is simply how badly we're failing at staunching the flow of illegal immigrants. And the aliens know it:

Maria García, 27, arrived here after being deported for a traffic violation. She said she had spent six years living in Fresno, Calif., with her two Mexico-born sons, 11 and 7. She was one of many who said that without a doubt, they would find their way back to the United States.

"They can’t stop us," she said.