Arizona's Fight – America's Fight

At FrontPage Magazine. (PDF document here):

In mid May, 2010, Mexican President Felipe Calderon took advantage of a state visit to the U.S. to excoriate Arizona before a joint session of Congress. He called the law recently passed by the state that allows police to question the citizenship status of individuals detained on other matters “a terrible idea” and, echoing the pronouncements of many of the liberal legislators he was addressing, stigmatized it as “racial profiling.”

The Arizona law is explicitly not about that, as anyone who bothered to read it would know. (Not that Sr. Calderon should be particularly faulted in this regard, since Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano, and others in the current administration who have also criticized Arizona haven’t read it either.) But the deliberate mischaracterization of what Arizona has done — creating state law that mirrors a federal law that the federal government has ignored — was only one small part of the cynicism that characterized Calderon’s unseemly harangue. Far more glaring was the spectacle of the head of a country so precariously close to failed statehood, a country devolving more deeply every day into violence and mayhem, lecturing a neighbor—in this case, Arizona—for trying to protect its people from the spillover of that chaos.

Arizona was forced to act because it is being squeezed by two hostile forces. On one side is a foreign government, the Republic of Mexico, whose leading export to America are the millions of illegal immigrants now living in the U.S. and creating social and financial costs that threaten the stability of communities, regions, and state governments through the Southwest. A growing problem for America because of the legal, economic, and cultural chaos they create, these illegal immigrants are for the Mexican government merely a form of human capital to be manipulated — people who send home hundreds of millions of dollars every year in the form of “remittances,” thus helping to keep in power an oligarchy whose policies have helped create the poverty that leads to massive flight across the border in the first place.

Squeezing Arizona from the other side is WashingtonD.C, which has stood by fecklessly as ...

RTWT.

Stimulus Signage Stirs Up GOP Angst Over Wasteful Spending

At Fox News:

Some local officials are spending freely to post street signs that let people know the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- better known as the stimulus bill -- has funded a highway project in local neighborhoods, an expense that has Republicans blistering over why taxpayer money is being used to promote how taxpayer money is being used.

State governments are estimated to be using millions of dollars to put up the signs that say what a great job they are doing spending money. Some examples:

-- In Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spent $10,000 for a single 10-by-11-foot sign displayed at a highway project, advertising that the $15 million in stimulus funds the District received were provided by the stimulus.

-- Illinois spent about $650,000 during the last 14 months for 950 signs to be placed on 850 highway projects, Department of Transportation spokesman Josh Kauffman told FoxNews.com.

-- Pennsylvania spent $157,477 of the $1 billion in stimulus funds it received on 70 signs for 37 projects, Department of Transportation press officer Alison Wenger told FoxNews.com. The average cost of each sign was $2,250.

-- Tennessee bought 324 signs for $12,931, ABC News reported.

But some states, including Florida, Vermont, Arizona and Virginia, aren't following neighboring states' signs.

"We decided that we were going to take all the money that we got from our stimulus projects and put it into the road," said Jeff Caldwell, chief of communications for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

RTWT.

Few Americans Think Stimulus Helped

At Fox News, "Obama Job Approval Down, Few Think Stimulus Helped":

Most Americans see little benefit from the federal government's economic stimulus plan, as President Obama's job performance rating drops overall, and hits a new low among Democrats.

A Fox News poll released Thursday finds that 43 percent of voters approve of the job Obama's doing, matching a previous low in early April. Two weeks ago 47 percent approved, and a year ago 54 percent of voters approved. His highest approval thus far was 65 percent in January 2009 ...

More than 6 in 10 American voters think the economy would be in the same or better shape if Congress hadn't passed the economic stimulus bill
, while a small minority thinks things would be worse without it.

If Congress had done nothing, the largest number of voters — 43 percent — say the economy would be in about the same shape as it is today. Another 22 percent think the economy would be in better shape without the stimulus plan. About a third — 31 percent — thinks the stimulus bill helped and the nation's economy would be in worse shape without it.

Wednesday the White House said the $862 billion stimulus bill was responsible for saving or creating between 2.5 and 3.6 million jobs.

The poll finds about a third of voters think the economic stimulus plan created "a lot" (5 percent) or "some" new jobs (29 percent). Twenty-three percent think the plan created "a few" jobs, while the biggest portion of voters — 40 percent — thinks the stimulus created "hardly any new jobs at all."

Fail.

NewsBusted — Obama Approval at 38% With Independents...

NewsBusted 7/16/10 (via Theo Spark):

And from Gallup previously, "Obama Job Approval Rating Down to 38% Among Independents."

Audacity of the Dope: Obama Pushes Agenda That Public Disapproves

At New York Times (via Memeorandum):

If passage of the financial regulatory overhaul on Thursday proves anything about President Obama, it is this: He knows how to push big bills through a balky Congress.

But Mr. Obama’s legislative success poses a paradox: while he may be winning on Capitol Hill, he is losing with voters at a time of economic distress, and soon may be forced to scale back his ambitions.

The financial regulatory bill is the final piece of a legislative hat trick that also included the stimulus bill and the landmark new health care law. Over the last 18 months, Mr. Obama and the Democratic Congress have made considerable inroads in passing what could be the most ambitious agenda in decades.

Mr. Obama has done what he promised when he ran for office in 2008: he has used government as an instrument to try to narrow the gaps between the haves and the have-nots. He has injected $787 billion in tax dollars into the economy, provided health coverage to 32 million uninsured and now, reordered the relationship among Washington, Wall Street, investors and consumers.

But as he has done so, the political context has changed around him. Today, with unemployment remaining persistently near double digits despite the scale of the stimulus program and the BP oil spill having raised questions about his administration’s competence, Mr. Obama’s signature legislation is providing ammunition to conservatives who argue that government is the problem, not the solution.

What Mr. Obama and his allies portray as progressive, activist government has been framed by his opponents as overreaching and profligate when it comes to the economy.

Even before the November elections, the White House is being forced to recalibrate. This week, Mr. Obama and Senate Democrats decided to press ahead with a scaled-back energy bill, having concluded after months of gridlock that the sweeping measure they once envisioned simply would not pass. It is a tactic that the president will likely have to employ more and more after the November elections, when Democrats will almost certainly lose seats — and may even lose control of the House or Senate.

“They clearly made a decision that political capital was something that should be used, not saved,” said Steven Elmendorf, a Democratic lobbyist who worked for years as a senior leadership aide on Capitol Hill. “The reality is, he talked before the election about what he wanted to do, and he’s done it. He didn’t trim his sails, he didn’t change his philosophy. He didn’t compromise. The test will come in the fall: can he and Democrats in Congress make the case to the American people that what he did was the right thing to do?”

See also, Jennifer Rubin, "Gray Lady to Obama: You Sound Like George Bush on a Bad Day":

We get a brutal assessment of Obama’s performance from none other than the New York Times, which tells its doubtlessly shell-shocked liberal readers that all those “wins” in Congress are really losses. (”While he may be winning on Capitol Hill, he is losing with voters at a time of economic distress, and soon may be forced to scale back his ambitions.”) Here’s a low blow:

You know, sometimes these pundits, they can’t figure me out,” the president said last week, campaigning in Kansas City, Mo., for the Democratic Senate candidate there. “They say, ‘Well, why is he doing that?’ That doesn’t poll well. Well, I’ve got my own pollsters, I know it doesn’t poll well. But it’s the right thing to do for America.”

It is an argument that sounds eerily similar to the one Mr. Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, made to justify an unpopular war in Iraq as he watched his own poll numbers sink lower. Mr. Bush and his aides often felt they could not catch a break; when the economy was humming along — or at least seemed to be humming along — the Bush White House never got credit for it, because the public was so upset about the war.

The difference, however, is that Bush turned around the war. Obama has failed to do so on the economy and is now paying the price for his liberal joyride ...

Gulf Spill Cap Won't Save Obama's Political Disaster

At Politico, "Obama: Oil disaster not over yet."

A day after BP temporarily capped its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama welcomed the development as “good news” but cautioned Friday that the largest oil disaster in US history is far from over.

“It's important that we don't get ahead of ourselves here,” said Obama, speaking from the Rose Garden before departing to Maine. “You know, one of the problems with having this camera down there [in the Gulf] is that when the oil stops gushing, everybody feels like we're done, and we're not.”

BP finally restrained the growing environmental catastrophe Thursday by placing a tighter sealing cap over the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig that’s been spurting oil into the ocean since April 20. After the cap was installed, the live video feed of oil and gas billowing from the broken pipe on the ocean floor showed the leak gradually slowing before it stopped completely.

It's doubtful that Obama political disaster is over yet, despite declining news coverage of the oil spill:

Remember this week's polling, "Confidence in Obama reaches new low, Washington Post-ABC News poll finds." And it's off to the Maine vacation, and that's after Michelle Obama's exhortation that Americans holiday in the Gulf States. "Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Michelle Obama Encourages Americans to Vacation in Gulf, Obama Family Takes Mini-Vacation to Maine."

Fail.

Terrorist Attorney Lynne Stewart Gets 10 Years in Prison

At New York Post, "Attorney who helped terrorist gets 10 years in prison." (Via Memeorandum.)

And from the background at Discover the Networks:

After Stewart's arrest, a litany of leftwing organizations and activists instantly rushed to her aid. These included Pravda; the World Socialist website; the Committee to Support Revolution in Peru (an arm of Peru's "Shining Path" rebels); International ANSWER; the National Lawyers Guild (which condemned "the witch hunt against Stewart" as "yet another attempt by the government to dismantle the Constitution and deprive fundamental rights in furtherance of the War on Terrorism"); Refuse and Resist, a group headed by Revolutionary Communist Party leader C. Clark Kissinger; the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (which filed a number of amicus curiae briefs on Stewart's behalf); George Soros's Open Society Institute (which made a September 2002 grant of $20,000 to the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee); and the Center for Constitutional Rights (which issued a press release describing Stewart's indictment as "an attack on attorneys who defend controversial figures and an attempt to deprive these clients of the zealous representation that may be required").

Quickly becoming a veritable icon of the left, Stewart was invited to speak at college campuses all across the United States.

Also, at NewsReal, "America-Hating Terrorist Lynne Stewart May Die In Prison. Good."

Additional commentary at Commentary, JammieWearingFool, Jules Crittenden, and Weasel Zippers.

Racist TBogg Swallows SEK Lies, Smears AmPow as Juvenile Sexual Predator

Resident Racist FDL Secular Demonologist in Chief is over at Lawyers, Gays and Marriage joining Scott Eric Kaufman's smears of AmPow as a juvenile sex offender:

Based on the fact that Donald is now linking to soft core teen porn, I guess we should be grateful that he’s teaching at a juco and not at a middle school.

Recall this kinda stuff below at TBogg's is considered cool left-wing social commentary. And if you check the thread, Godless freak-nozzle and Xtremist hate-merchant Repsac3 piles on the allegations of juvenile sexual predation despite facts that put the lie to these sick malevloent dopes as totally FUBAR. THIS IS THE FACE OF NIHILISM, with deep-dreaded ice-cold blackness in the heart. This is why good conservatives like Michelle Malkin travel with a bodyguard --- these folks have already tried to destroy my economic livelihood; I expect physical threats to my safety as forthcoming ... so always remember --- leftists are pure evil.)

Romney Advisor Smears Sarah Palin as 'Not a Serious Human Being'

I saw this story last night, and now it's picking up steam. Dehumanization is dehumanization, but this one's over in Andrew Sullivan territory, which is helluva feat.

At Politico, "Palin aide swats Romney team." (Via Memeorandum.)

Tammy Bruce has the must see essay, "When it Comes to Palin, Romney Decides the Gutter Suits ":

So, let’s interpret this–the Decent Man-of-Faith Mitt Romney is so decent, so trustworthy, that his first plan of action, his first choice of attack is to call into question not Palin’s ideas, or strategy, or approach, but her very humanity; an attack which blatantly attempts to dismiss her as a silly girl, someone not with whom he disagrees, but beneath complete human status. Normally, your first plan of attack is your best, most thoughtful plan. This says volumes about Romney’s nature and character and it will not be forgotten.

Romney’s flip-flopping and hypocrisy on most every important issue during the last campaign is chronicled by Conservatives4Palin. Perhaps Romney knows his lack of character and political opportunism make it impossible to confront Palin on the issues. But if he’s hoping for the traditional conservative ‘turning of the other cheek ‘ this time around, he’s got another thing coming,

And the Republican operative? Attempts to reduce her to an animal, literally, and a cat, no less. Sleek (attractive) and fast (dangerous), but also, essentially, not serious. An interesting conjunction and indicative of established Romney and frightened Republican party line.

Here’s a word of warning to all the establishment politicians who think dismissing or denigrating Sarah Palin will pay off. The tact has been tried and has already failed. The same smear was tried by Nikki Haley’s opponents, and it helped propel her to victory. Why? Because the American people are sick and tired of gutter-tripe tossed at women who dare to pursue their American dream.

We already know of the rank and obscene sexism rife in the Democrat Party. Men in the Republican Party were supposed to be more decent, have more character, and be more understanding of the diversity and strength of the American people. So here’s a suggestion to you more decent, more Godly, more in-touch Republican Elitists, contemplating the gutter from which to smear Palin, or Haley or any other conservative woman–instead of working out your issues about women while campaigning or in public office, work them out in a psychiatrist’s office and let the women who are striving to right this nation get to work.

Arizona Will Scrap Janet Napolitano's Highway Speed Trap Cameras

I noticed these damned speed trap buzzards when I drove out to AZ for the immigration protests. Freaky.

At NYT, "Arizona Halts Photo Enforcement of Speed Laws":

PHOENIX — At the first tick of the clock Friday, an array of automated cameras on Arizona freeways aimed at catching speeders were to stop clicking.

There is no glitch. The state, the first to adopt such cameras on its highways in October 2008, has become the first to pull the plug, bowing to the wishes of a vocal band of conservative activists who complained that photo enforcement intruded on privacy and was mainly designed to raise money.

It was a tumultuous, impassioned run here. A man wearing a monkey mask racked up dozens of tickets, fighting them in court, to protest the system. Vandals at different times attacked the cameras with Silly String and a pickax.

More seriously, the operator of a van carrying a mobile speed camera was shot to death on the side of a freeway in April 2009. The suspect is being prosecuted on first-degree murder charges and the family of the victim has announced a lawsuit against the Department of Public Safety.

Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican seeking election to a full term, never embraced the program, begun under her predecessor, Janet Napolitano, a Democrat whose revenue projections from the tickets fell short largely for a simple reason: violators tended to ignore them.

The cameras, which included 76 units either mounted near the shoulder or operated from vans, were adept at snapping speeders as they whizzed past sensors, but getting offenders to pay after the tickets were mailed to them was another matter.

Less than a third of the 1.2 million tickets issued were paid, and the state collected $78 million, far below the projected $120 million annual revenue.

Some of those tickets, typically $181 apiece, no doubt were lost in the mail; others no doubt were not paid as violators tested a legal theory that they needed to be served in person. Process servers who were supposed to follow up could hardly keep up with the load.

Ms. Brewer made no secret of her disdain for the system operated by Redflex Traffic Systems, which will turn off the cameras the moment its contract expires.

Florida Teenager Loses Hand in Alligator Attack

These kinds of stories are unreal, and not just fascinating to my 8 year-old and his age-cohorts. At LAT, "Florida teen loses hand in alligator attack":

A Florida teenager was attacked by an alligator and had his left hand torn off when swimming in a popular neighborhood canal.

Tim Delano, 18, of Golden Gates Estates, Fla., was attacked by the 10-foot alligator while he was swimming at dusk Sunday in a drainage canal known to locals as "the Crystal."

"I saw my bone, I had no hand," Delano told the Naples News.

The animal attacked Delano, pulling him underwater and going into a "death roll," during which gators roll over and over until their prey drowns.

"Fortunately, I had enough sense to take my right hand and I started punching it," Delano said. He got the alligator to release him, but when Delano got to the surface he realized that his left hand was gone.

Delano started screaming, saying that the pain was "excruciating."


With the help of his friends, Delano called 911, and while awaiting the emergency medical services arrival he called his mother, leaving her the message: "Mom, I have no left hand. Goodbye."

RTWT.

Censorship as ‘Tolerance’

From Jacob Mchangama, at National Review:

The ubiquitous European hate-speech laws represent a clear and present danger to freedom of expression in the Western world. Not only do they interfere with the basic right of the individual to speak his or her mind even if it causes offense, they are inherently arbitrary and prone to abuse. The determination of which expressions are “hateful” or “derogatory” is highly subjective; the atheist and the fervent believer are unlikely to agree on where the limits of religious satire should be drawn. And in an era of identity politics, when people are encouraged to think of themselves primarily as members of racial, religious, or ethnic groups with special rights rather than as individual citizens with equal rights before the law, “racism” and “hatred” have become very broad concepts indeed.

RTWT.

Hat Tip: BCF.

Living Like a Liberal (Progressive)

This is one of those articles that you have to consume casually, perhaps with a drink. I found myself laughing quite a bit. It turns out Matt Labash lived the life of a liberal (progressive) for ten days. His point of departure was Justin Krebs's leftist manifesto, 538 Ways to Live Work and Play Like a Liberal.

At Weekly Standard, "Living Like a Liberal: It’s Hard Work, Politicizing Your Whole Life." Here's a snippet:

If I am to be a good liberal ... I can no longer be a conservative child, harboring trace amounts of arsenic and ignorance. I have to think harder about what I am putting in my mouth. So no more Safeway for me. Krebs urges joining a food co-op. I check out the Maryland Food Collective, a “not-for-profit, worker-owned and operated organization” providing “quality, organic, seasonal, fair-trade, and healthy food” at affordable prices. I scout them using the Internet, because it’s 40 miles away, and I’m trying to drive less and “shrink my hoodprint” (whenever multiple Krebsian commandments are in conflict, I usually err on the side of laziness).

Most of their recipes have offputting names. Food incongruity dominates the menu: “Famous Nut Burgers,” “Peanut Stew,” “Rainy Day Chili of Doom.” But with a full price list, I set about making my fantasy liberal sandwich with my fantasy liberal fixings: Three Seed Healthy Loaf Bread (90 cents), baba ghanoush (60 cents), four slices of tofurkey (80 cents), hummus (60 cents), bean spread (60 cents), tzatziki (35 cents), three slices of soy cheese (90 cents), and “goddess dressing,” which is like Thousand Island to non-Gaia worshippers (25 cents). It comes out to five dollars on the nose, without tax. What corporatist chain would’ve thought of making fantasy sandwiches with fresh ingredients for a mere five bucks?

But unlike the so-called “sandwich artists” at Subway, with their functional uniforms and plastic gloves, the Maryland Food Collective posts staff photos. Here, workers often use the co-op “as a platform for politics and creative expression.” They look it, too. They don’t appear overly clean. The creative expressionists aren’t wearing gloves. There’s lots of facial hair and flannel and piercings. Their staff guide says they have to “wear sleeves that cover their armpits”—not very reassuring. Most look like they’re on sandwich-making work release from a prison-hospital’s heroin treatment program. I think, sandwiches-wise, I’ll go locavore and stick with the nearby Subway.

But I still have to grocery shop. Krebs suggests going with a green-conscious option, like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, even though the latter is currently being boycotted by some of its liberal base since its CEO did not support Obamacare. That doesn’t matter to me, though. Both stores are like Willy Wonka’s wonderland of progressive goodness.

At first, I am intimidated, as any rookie would be standing in front of the vast selection of sea salts at Whole Foods. But as I fill my cart, I quickly get my sea-salt legs beneath me by realizing the principle upon which liberal grocery-shopping turns. Liberals don’t just need their food to come comestible or tasty or biodynamic or free-range or locally grown. They—rather, we—need it to come with a philosophy and a parable. We need our food to tell a story. Why else would I pay 17 bucks for 32 ounces of McLure’s Pure Dark Amber Maple Syrup? Easy. Because it makes me feel better about my purchase to hear the story of how five generations of Granite State McLures have been overcharging for syrup that doesn’t taste as good as Aunt Jemima’s. In other words, our food should have the same affectations as the people eating it.

So as much time as I spend filling up my cart with blueberry muesli and tomato-basil artisan foccacia and gluten-free organic red quinoa, I spend even more time taking notes on the histories, core values, and Samarian proverbs on the labels, which, like my Tazo Brambleberry Herbal Infusion juice, promise “an enticing source of wonder, inspiration and antioxidants.”

By the time I get home with my liberal bounty, I feel more like I’ve been shopping at Holy Foods. I tried to be mindful of Krebs’s admonition to “think of plant-based foods—beans, grains, fruits, veggies, nuts—as your own personal source of solar power.” Sounds more like a source of wind power, if you know what I’m saying, but I feel good nonetheless. I feel clean surrounded by my Rosemary & Olive Oil Asiago and my Pomegranate Green Tea. Seeking further validation of the nobleness of my purchases, I follow another of Krebs’s directives and check out everything I buy at the Responsible Shopper guide at Greenamericatoday.org. I punch in “Whole Foods,” and that’s when the horror begins.

It says that Whole Foods has been less than transparent about the use of genetically modified organisms in store-brand products and has ignored shareholder requests for information on the use of toxic chemicals in products such as baby bottles. (Damn you, Whole Foods, if I’d wanted to poison my baby, I’d have stayed conservative.) Likewise, union organizing at Whole Foods met with opposition from management, “with reports of surveillance and termination of employees who solicit union participation.” That seems to be in direct violation of three of the seven core values that I saw posted in their store (delight, happiness, and partnership).

The 'Hotness Gap' Just Too Much for Illiterate English Professor Scott Eric Kaufman!

I've hammered Scott Eric Kaufman so many times now it's ridiculous. The guy's a deranged stalker, of course (and an English professor who can't write English), so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he keeps coming back for more. And this time I'm not just getting allegations of sexual harassment of my female college students, but allegations of criminal activity as well:

“Shoot, I’m not even always right, LOL!”

So writes everyone’s favorite conservative blogger, seemingly confused as to whether he’s a teenager now or in 1955. Not that he’s “teenybopper blogging,” but when you think that Selena Gomez, whoever that is, quitting Wizards of Waverly Place, whatever that is, constitutes “breaking news,” you’re damn close. Either way, someone should inform him that just because he thinks and writes like he’s underage doesn’t make it legal for him to possess or disseminate semi-nude images of jail bait.

Of course, I'm not "in possession" of "semi-nude images of jail bait." Well, semi-nude, perhaps, but not jail-bait. The alleged "jail-bait" in question is in fact 21 year-old Lauren, sidekick to über neocon Courtney at GSGF:

Note too that Little Scotty suggests some kind of pattern around here, considering my recent post on 17 year-old Selena Gomez (of whom SEK admits no clue). But as noted previously, when the Disney Channel constitutes the main staple around the AmPower family room 24/7, it's real news when the network's top actresses call it quits.

But I'm sensing something much larger here, and that's SEK's middle-aged loser syndrome, which is obviously exacerbated by the radical left's hotness gap. So let's compare: American Power mentors neocon hotties like GSGF (and then some) while SEK (and his loser posse) boasts women like the unsightly lefties below. Yep, that hotness gap is a bitch, although it does help explain SEK's completely unhinged attacks on AmPow.

Fail!

Bell, CA – Poor L.A. County City, 90 Percent Hispanic, 53 Percent Foreign-Born – Boasts Among Highest Paid Municipal Governments in the U.S.

Talking Points Memo is all up in arms about Erskine Bowles, who co-chair's the Obama administration's deficit commission. It turns out TPM's hammering Bowles for his alleged "ignorance," with special emphasis on how much Bowles earns as an employee of Morgan Stanley, a bailed out TARP institution:

Some may wonder how much people get compensated for such extraordinary displays of ignorance. This is easy to answer. One of Mr. Bowles paying gigs is as a director of Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street investment bank that was rescued from bankruptcy by the taxpayers two years ago. Mr. Bowles gets $335,000 a year for that job.

By comparison this is almost 25 times as much as the average Social Security benefit that Mr. Bowles has said he wants to cut. It is more than 10 times what the median household over age 65 earns. Such are the rewards of ignorance.

I find it hard to be outraged. Bowles is currently President of the University of North Carolina system and a longtime Democratic political insider dating back to the Clinton administration. I can't see that he's overcompensated, and if ignorance is a disqualifier, Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano should both be out of jobs.

Speaking of which, this bring me to the City of Bell, in Los Angeles County. It turns out this tiny municipality, which recently took over city services for the bankrupt immigrant sanctuary city of Maywood, boasts among the highest paid municipal governments in the county. Maybe TPM should be getting fired up about that. At Los Angeles Times, "Is a city manager worth $800,000?", and "Bell city manager might be highest paid in nation: $787,637 a year":

Top city officials in the small, relatively poor city of Bell might be the highest paid in the nation, according to documents reviewed by The Times.

In addition to the $787,637 salary of Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, Bell pays Police Chief Randy Adams $457,000 a year, about 50% more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck or Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and more than double New York City's police commissioner. Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia makes $376,288 annually, more than most city managers.

Experts in city government said they were amazed at the salaries the city pays, particularly Rizzo's. "I have not heard anything close to that number in terms of compensation or salary," said Dave Mora, West Coast regional director of the International City/County Management Assn., and a retired city manager.

By comparison, Manhattan Beach, a far wealthier city with about 7,000 fewer people, paid its most recent city manager $257,484 a year. The city manager of Long Beach, with a population close to 500,000, earns $235,000 annually. Los Angeles County Chief Executive William T Fujioka makes $338,458.

Leftist love the adjective "criminal," as in the "criminal wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc. So, where's the outrage? The Bell City Council may well in fact be – wait for it – criminal!! See, "$100,000 salaries for council members in small town of Bell: Is that a crime?"

Heads Exploding on the Left

I'm proud to be able to say Pamela Geller is my friend. What I especially like about her is her willingness to speak up when others won't. And there are few writers in the 'sphere who can match her passion. Is she always right? Of course not. Shoot, I'm not even always right, LOL! But I'm sometimes amazed by her laser-like intensity combined with her crack newshound skills. She's a treasure for all of those fighting for what's right and showing the dark side of Islam.

She's been working on a number of campaigns recently, and those have been generating a lot of heat. And as the headline shows, heads are exploding. At Pamela's blog, "Atlas TV: Heads Exploding on the Left."

Hellzapoppin' over at Media Matters, the mothership for the tin foil hat crowd. The moonbats are howling now, warning their news shills never to have Geller on their shows :)

They are afraid their bots might .............learn something. I am very flattered. Thanks, boys. Well, we know where Chris Matthews No Balls gets his marching orders.......

Gotta love how those libs love free speech: Geller now spewing hate on MSNBC is their hateline. I've been telling you, truth is the new hate speech. Here's the Media Matters clip of my appearance on MSNBC News Live.

Laguna Beach Trip — Glorious SoCal Weather, Finally!

Okay, friends ... a quick top-shot of me at BJ's pizzeria on PCH in Laguna Beach.

I've been whining about the weather, so I might was well write about it since I'm finally fired up for summer!

I took my youngest son. We found a parking spot about a half-mile up Park Street in downtown Laguna Beach. After putting on sunscreen, we gathered up all of our stuff (newspapers, toys, etc.) and rumbled down the lane (walked down actually, but rumbled sounds more ... more like something awesome!):

My son stopped to dwell at St. Mary's Episcopal Church. He had questions, so we stopped to talk about faith for a second:

Almost down to the restaurant. A group of young ladies enjoying ice cream nearby:

And here's PCH at not-quite peak (weekday) July summer tourist season (compared to last January, remember? ...):

We made it to BJ's. I ordered a Piranha Pale Ale. I've been visiting this restaurant for 30 years, and this is the first time we've had this window seat — that was kinda cool! ...:

Meanwhile, my son, after a bit of coloring, set up his Iron Man toys in full fighting mode:

In he background, I'm catching up with the dead-tree media while waiting for our order:

My son doesn't enjoy a bunch of toppings, so it's just a straight deep-dish pizza with tomatoes. Your server will dish up the first serving (although you're responsible for cleaning up those hot cheese strings):

A nice family from Arizona (I'm guessing, given the D-Backs t-shirt) waiting outside to be seated. Mom was hovering around nearby with a sibling:

Now we're over at the main beach. What a day!

The view looking south:

A group of junior lifeguards cruised by ... not sure if this was a tryout day or not, but they were young:

That's all for now.

Democrats Calling the Kettle Black — Hey, That's RAAAAACIST!!

JENNY BETH MARTIN and MARK MECKLER have some pushback against the bogus left-wing anti-tea party RAAAAACIST smears (via Memeorandum).

And as I've chronicled many times over the years, nobody beats the Dems for mainstream political party racism. Just ask Firedoglake race-baiters Blue Texan and TBogg!

(And it took me maybe all of 5 minutes to round up a few embarrassing clips of Democratic Party racism and stupidity. No doubt we could fill a book or two of examples, and genuine instances of conservative racism are so infrequent that leftists have to invent them.)

June Gloom is Gone for Now

As noted, I've been complaining about the gloomy weather we've been having, but today's clear and hot out, and I'm about to head down to Laguna Beach with my youngest son.

There's a story on this as well at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "June Gloom is Gone for Now":

That dreary and solar obstructing weather that plagued the area for most of June and crawled into July for a few days is gone, and here comes the sun, a meteorologist said.

"The June gloom is gone for now," said Mike Pigott, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com

Tuesday was cloudless and had sunny skies. The recorded high at Long Beach Airport was 87 at 2 p.m., Pigott said.

Thanks to a high pressure system, warm, sunny weather is in the forecast through the weekend, he said.

More blogging this afternoon, and hopefully some good pics as well!

And hey, don't forget about your summer reading, for example, S. C. Gwynne, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.

National Security Expert Thomas Ricks Gets 'The Best Defense' Intel at GSGF

Either that, or national security expert Thomas Ricks gets the best intel on the hoochies and hotties at GSGF!

See "Jello Shooters."

RELATED: "The Fall of The House of Saud."

Call or Write Commissioner Bud Selig's Office and Urge Him NOT to Change the Place of the 2011 All-Star Game

At MAinfo, "La Raza Trying to Get ML Baseball to Move 2011 All-Star Game Out of AZ." With the contact information for MLB Commission Bud Selig:

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
Phone: (212) 931-7800

So far, Selig says he's not budging, but you never know. LAT's interview with Commissioner Selig is here: "All-Star Game Phoenix 2011 in Crosshairs of Open Borders SB 1070 Backlash."

Pornography on Trial

At Cato, "John Stagliano’s Obscenity Trial."

And at Reason.TV, "OBSCENITY VS. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION":

I'll have more on this later.

Hat Tip: Theo Spark.

The Warrior Song: A Tribute to the United State Marines Corps

Via Jawa Report, "The Warrior Song":

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston Are Getting Married!

Well, that explains Levi's recent apology to Sarah.

And amazingly, it's another story that keeps the Palins in the news. The 2012 GOP primaries are just around the corner, so it's no wonder why even folks like hard-leftie Michelle Cottle are calling the former Alaska governor a "strategic genius."

At US Magazine, "Exclusive: Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston Are Engaged!":

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston reveal exclusively in the new Us Weekly that they are getting married.

And, they tell Us Weekly, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been kept in the dark about their plans ... until now.

"We got engaged two weeks ago," Bristol, 19, tells Us Weekly. "It felt right, even though we don’t have the approval of our parents."

Bristol and Levi, 20 -- who famously called off their previous engagement two weeks after welcoming son Tripp in December 2008 -- tell Us Weekly they reconnected three months ago while working out a custody plan for their 18-month-old son.

"I really thought we were over," Levi tells Us Weekly. "So when I went, I had no hope. I think we both just started talking — and then we took Tripp for a walk."

Also at Washington Post, "Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston engaged (Photos)."

Irvine is 22nd in Money Magazine's Best Places to Live

Via Althouse, in Wisconsin, where Madison is ranked 95th.

And clicking over to Money's entry for Irvine, the picture at the link includes a shot of Bill Barber Park.

Coincidentally, I just introduced readers to Colonel Barber the other day. Love the patriotism:

RELATED: Wisconsin beats Irvine in U.S. News and World Report's top national universities, but not by much.

Hey, ¡Ask a Mexican! — What's a Little Marriage Fraud Between Amigos?

From anti-Latino stereotype columnist Gustavo Arellano, at O.C. Weekly:

WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM STALLED, SOME YOUNG, ASSIMILATED IMMIGRANTS ARE ENTERING INTO SHAM MARRIAGES WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS.

If Juan and Juana were going to stage a fake marriage to help Juan get his green card, the two of them figured, they might as well treat some friends to a great meal.

They invited eight of their closest pals—four guys, four girls, people whom they could trust with a felony—to dinner at Thai Nakorn in Garden Grove. A dress code was enforced: men in suits, or at least long-sleeved shirts, and women in dresses. No slacks, no heels, no curry.

Over plates of nam sod and fried trout, washed down with some beers, Juan and Juana enjoyed an evening out with amigos. She wore an off-white strapless dress; he, a suit bought off the rack at Men’s Wearhouse, his first. Juana’s friend snapped photographs throughout the night—at one point, Juan stood up to propose a toast so the friend could take the shot, but he merely posed for the camera, mouth open, and said nothing. Everyone laughed, as the disposable camera flashed and whirred onto the next frame.

The following day, the group drove to the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana, wearing the same clothes from the faux banquet. They posed for pictures at the western entrance of the historic building, on the steps near the marriage license office. In pairs, just the guys, just the girls, just the couple, everyone together. Juan even pulled off the garter belt from Juana’s thigh for a photo—the first time he ever placed his hands within a foot of her nether regions. Friends developed the photos at CVS Pharmacy, the better to play the part of poor kids in love.

A week later, Juan and Juana sat down for an interview with an officer in the Santa Ana offices of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency that handles requests by migrants to enter this country. They weren’t nervous—years of close, platonic friendship meant they knew each other’s stories, and they had consulted with friends and relatives who had staged fake weddings as well. They were prepared. Not even the penalties for marriage fraud—automatic deportation for the offending immigrant, a ban from ever applying again for legal entry into the United States, up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine—made them sweat. Much.

They showed the officer the pictures from Thai Nakorn, from family gatherings. Holding hands. Kissing.

The agent’s questions were accusatory when they weren’t outright skeptical.

Where were your parents for such an important ceremony? she asked the two. In Mexico.

Wouldn’t they have flown up for the occasion? Yes, but we’re having the actual celebration down there.

What about other family? They know this is just a civil ceremony and will fly down to Mexico for the real celebration.

And when is that? Near Christmas.

But that’s six months away. We know, but that’s when our families go down to visit.

Why not hold it here?

Juan and Juana didn’t look at each other—instead, they literally bit their tongues. The officer silently flipped through the photos. After about an hour of questions and photo-browsing, the officer put the pictures down. “That was a really nice dress you wore, Juana,” she said. “Hope your wedding in Mexico goes well.”

There would be no more investigations, the two thought. The ruse was a success. That night, Juan and Juana invited their respective lovers over to their house for a celebration.

You gotta read the whole thing.

This piece is pretty much about how illegal immigrants say they've been "fucked over" by the system, and how they're going to " fuck it up" in return. It's basically a more domesticated version of reqonquista. They'll do it one fake wedding at a time, one anchor baby at time, and one Bachelor's degree "Dream Act" flunky at a time.

Reading this, it's no wonder how pissed off Americans are at the left's open-borders industry. It's kinda sick, frankly. And what's interesting is how Gustavo Arellano, who's claim to fame is allegedly smacking down all the "bogus" stereotypes of Latinos in America, basically confirms a whole bunch of 'em with regards to the crisis of the undocumented in the United States.

Megyn Kelly Eviscerates Kirsten Powers on NBPP and Congressman Brad Sherman Town Hall Fail

Michelle has the background on the Fox News debate: "“Have your facts:” Megyn Kelly vs. Kirsten Powers on NBPP thug case." Also, at Fire Andrea Mitchell, "Megyn Kelly destroys liberal mouthpiece Kirsten Powers as Powers defends the New Black Panthers":

Can Mel Gibson Bounce Back?

At LAT, "Gibson scandal could doom his movie career":

Talent agents and studio executives say it will be difficult for Gibson to be hired as an actor or director on a mainstream project. Gibson is heard on tapes threatening former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva.

As Mel Gibson's legal and publicity problems mount, his prospects for a future in mainstream Hollywood grow dimmer.

Eight minutes of new audio surfaced on Monday capturing Gibson's angry and expletive-laden rant to ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. The recording, which appeared on the website Radar Online, follows an earlier release on the site of a tape in which Gibson uses foul and threatening language toward Grigorieva as well as the N-word. Monday's audio features an increasingly apoplectic Gibson threatening Grigorieva, with whom he's locked in a child custody battle, yelling at her that she needs a "bat to the side of the head" and that he could put her "in a … rose garden" if he wanted to. (Although the audio has not been independently verified by The Times, no one involved in the incident, including representatives from Gibson's camp, has called its authenticity into question.)

Interviews with a number of Hollywood talent agents and studio executives on Monday suggest that as a result of these recordings, Gibson has become anathema in the entertainment business; the insiders see little way Gibson would be hired as either an actor or director on any mainstream film.

On Friday, the news broke that Gibson had been dropped by his agency, William Morris Endeavor, around the time that the first reports of a diatribe against Grigorieva surfaced and as his longtime agent and supporter, Ed Limato, lay on his deathbed, both of which may have been factors in the decision.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department also has confirmed that it is investigating the actor in a domestic abuse case. In the new recording, which will be added to evidence already being reviewed by detectives, the onetime A-lister seems to acknowledge that he hit Grigorieva, the mother of his child, when he responds to her mention of him hitting her by saying, "you … deserved it."

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said the investigation would not be affected by Gibson's celebrity. "First of all there was no favoritism last time [referring to the 2006 Malibu incident]. There is no favoritism this time," Whitmore said. "We're just doing our job." The department faced criticism after Gibson's 2006 drunk driving arrest after it was suggested that the actor's anti-Semitic comments be expunged from the arrest report.

BONUS: At Radar Online, "EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Another Mel Gibson Slur Caught On Tape In Crazed Rage - Listen To It Here." And at Fox News, "Whoopi Goldberg defends Mel Gibson."

Immigration Protests at MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim

This bugs me to no end:

At O.C. Register, "Immigration activists target MLB All-Star game":

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game was the latest battlefield in the immigration debate with groups of protesters and counter-protesters turning out just before the event to demonstrate.

As traffic mounted at Angel Stadium Tuesday afternoon, about 20 activists in favor of Arizona’s new anti-illegal immigration law waved Arizona and American flags as they awaited the demonstrators who planned to protest the new law.

Deborah Craig of Mission Viejo coordinated the counter-protest a day after a group condemning the Arizona law announced that they had gathered 110,000 petitions asking Major League Baseball to move next year’s All-Star game from Arizona. The counter-protest began at 2 p.m., about an hour earlier of the expected demonstration.

"I think baseball should stay out of politics,’’ said Craig, whose husband, Britt, is a Campo Minuteman. “And second of all they (MLB) should not be on the wrong side and support illegal aliens.’’

The petitions are part of a national campaign called MoveTheGame.org, which has coordinated several rallies across the country to protest Arizona's recent passage of the anti-illegal immigration law SB1070.

John Morales of Los Angeles, one of the first of the protesters to arrive, said he wanted to bring the issue to baseball fans coming to the ballpark.
His group, Boycott Arizona Los Angeles, helped stage an earlier protest at Dodger Stadium.

“The All-Star game is just a small portion of a larger boycott,’’ Morales said. “If it doesn’t get pulled, we still have Arizona to boycott. This is just one of the targets.’’

'Wake the F**k Up Michelle Malkin, You’re Black'

Yep, more leftist hatred directed at Michelle:

Michelle's been tweeting the NAACP convention as well.

And just in from the Kansas City Star, "NAACP passes resolution on racism in tea party" (via Memeorandum).

Hmm... racism?

These folks know of where they speak:

Late this afternoon the NAACP passed a resolution calling on all people — including tea party leaders — to condemn racism within the tea party movement.

Passed on the fourth day of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s annual convention in Kansas City, the resolution also urged people to oppose what it said was the tea party’s drive “to push our country back to the pre-civil rights era.”

“We feel it’s very important that we educate our membership about the tea parties,” said Anita Russell, head of the Kansas City branch of the NAACP, as the debate on the resolution began. “We are concerned that there is a racist element within the tea parties.”

Well, as they say on Wizards of Waverly place, I think Ms. Russel sprinkled a little too much "Drama Queen" fairy dust into her Wheaties this morning.

RELATED: "Black Activists Condemn NAACP Resolution Against Tea Party Movement." Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!!

Plus, "St. Louis Tea Party Condemns NAACP Slur."

And William Jacobson writes, "Make no mistake, either under the original or the revised version, the NAACP has placed itself firmly within the Democratic smear machine which for two years has been attempting to portray all opposition to Obama's policies as racist."

I'm just waiting for them to call out there own members for, ahh, RAAAAACISM!!

Anarchy in Tel Aviv? John Lydon Will Tour Israel!

Well, so much for American music, LOL!!

Switching gears here with some John Lydon and Public Image. The dude is no Elvis Costello wanker! See, "John Lydon Set to Take Public Image Ltd to Israel":

Never one to shirk from controversy, former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon is set court an outcry as he prepares to take the reformed Public Image Ltd. for a gig in Tel Aviv in Israel. As previously reported in Spinner, artists including Elvis Costello, Pixies and Gil Scott-Heron have boycotted Israel in protest over the country's policy towards Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but Lydon feels that he can do more by way of protest by actually being in Israel.

Speaking with BBC 6 Music, Lydon said, "Of course, there are all sorts of terrible politics going on down there but there is just about all over the world. You cannot separate yourself from your audience because of the political powers-that-be.

Hello, hello, hello (ha, ha, ha)

You never listen to a word that I said
You only seen me
For the clothes that I wear
Or did the interest go so much deeper
It must have been
The colour of my hair

The Public Image

What you wanted was never made clear
Behind the image was ignorance and fear
You hide behind this public machine
Still follow same old scheme

Public Image

Two sides to every story
Somebody had to stop me
I'm not the same as when I began
I will not be treated as property

Public Image

Two sides to every story
Somebody had to stop me
I'm not the same as when I began
It's not a game of monopoly

Public image

Public image
You got what you wanted
The public image belongs to me
It's my entrance
My own creation
My grand finale
My goodbye

Public image
Goodbye

I've seen John Lydon in concert twice. He plays some Sex Pistols tunes during the set, and perhaps he'll do "Anarchy in Tel Aviv." Although, I don't think folks should take that too seriously. The guy's corporate at this point!

RELATED: See V Magazine, "Heroes: John Lydon."

Breaking: Selena Gomez Quits 'Wizards of Waverly Place'

No, I'm not embarking on teenybopper blogging. It's just that Disney Channel is on around my place 24/7 (we're watching Ratatouille at the moment), so this is actually pretty big news. See Showbiz Spy:

SELENA Gomez is set to quit her role on US TV show Wizards of Waverly Place.

The actress — who plays Alex Russo on the hit Disney Channel series — will leave the smash hit kids’ program when its fourth season ends.

“Unfortunately, I’m doing my last season of my show, which I’m really heartbroken about. That’s gonna be a terrible time for me,” Gomez, 17, told MTV.

Well, she's growing up, so perhaps she'll be branching out to bigger and better things.

Who is al-Shabab? (And How Will Obama Respond?)

At the Heritage Foundation, "Somalia’s al-Shabab and the Long War on Terrorism":

Sunday’s terror attacks in Kampala, Uganda are now known to be the work of Somalia’s Al-Shabab [the Youth], a self-declared ally of Osama bin Laden and operating arm of al-Qaeda in the Horn of Africa. Al-Shabab is increasingly being run by foreign fighters trained in Afghanistan. The group is also closely linked to Islamists in Yemen and to Yemini-American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, the spiritual adviser to the Fort Hood shooter, Major Nidal Hasan.

The venomous religious-ideological core of al-Shabab is readily apparent. As an Islamist organization, al-Shabab’s aims are to drive out or intimidate moderate Muslims in Somalia, impose strict sharia law, and eliminate infidels. While al-Shabab cast aspects of its radical views in nationalist and tribal terms, its core message is war against “Christian invaders.” As Francois Grignon of the International Crisis Group warns, “If the foreign jihadis fend off their local challengers, al-Shabab’s rapid transformation into a wholly al-Qaida franchise might become irreversible.”

RTWT.

Experts suggest this could be an escalation of the transnational terror threat throughout Africa.

And how's Obambi responding? Not a peep so far, which is to be expected, even though at least one American was killed. More at Foreign Policy, "How Will Obama Respond to the Uganda Attacks?"

RELATED: "Who is al-Shabab? Somali terror army extends reach."