Etnies Skate Park of Lake Forest

I took my youngest son to Etnies Skatepark today. It was his very first time at a skatepark. He's been playing Tony Hawk games on Wii --- and while that's not new, he's also been watching Zeke and Luther on Disney XD. So the combination's implanted skateboarding in the brain. Thus I thought I'd take him out to see how he could do. And not bad for his first time. He took a little spill down one of the smaller bowls. You can see the park's layout at the top clip. There's a $5.00 sign-up fee and parent's sign a liability waiver, and that's it. After that it's free. I signed up too, but I need to buy some gear. I haven't done any serious skateboarding in years. But I'm gonna go for it again. You're only young once. At the second clip below is Ryan Sheckler, who's featured in some of the Wii Tony Hawk games my kid plays. And at bottom is Christian Hosoi and Eddie Reatigui, dudes I used to skate with back in the day:

Barrett Brown Cross-Posts Lame Response to R.S. McCain at Sick and Evil Little Green Footballs

There's little advantage for me in posting on Barrett Brown's cross-posting of a hit piece against Robert Stacy McCain to Little Green Footballs. That's because while Barrett is likely to respond, I'm not sure if he can link to my blog from Little Green Footballs (since Charles Johnson often refuses links to enemies). And it's definitely no linkage at Ordinary Gentlemen, which is home to sleaze-blogger E.D. Kain. It's okay actually, since I often refuse to throw links to those who're unworthy --- the lying dirtbag RepRacist3 comes to mind. But in this case the stakes are fairly high. Barrett Brown has threatened Robert Stacy McCain with a libel suit. I sometimes communicate with Barrett Brown, and of course I'm a long-time blog buddy to Robert, so I thought I'd just throw out a few thoughts for the heck of it. Maybe there's some utility in this as an excursion in the blogospheric politics of flame wars.

I do link to Ordinary Gentlemen, as folks will recall. It's hilarious when E.D. Kain checks out my blog while analyzing his stats. E.D.'s ashamed to this day of once being the proprietor of a boldly neoconservative webzine known as NeoConstant. He got tired of it just as the ideological winds were shifting toward the Democrats in 2008. Long-time readers will recall that in response to my series of essays on E.D.'s craven ideological and moral machinations, he launched a campaign of workplace harassment at my college. I had bestowed upon him the "Conor Friedersdorf Wannabe Award for Faux-Conservative Punditry!", and no doubt that didn't sit too well. (See, "Sleaze-Blogger E.D. Kain Reaches Pinnacle of 'Conservative' Blogosphere! Simultaneously Linked by Andrew Sullivan and Charles Johnson!") And while I often hear folks still refer to E.D. as a libertarian-minded conservative, the truth is he's a dyed-in-the-wool progressive. He finally gave up the ghost at Balloon Juice a few months back, "Why I am Not a Conservative." E.D.'s obviously on a search for acceptance --- by someone, anyone, no matter how deeply immoral and without possibility of redemption. It's pretty bad.

And that's why E.D. refuses to link me at Ordinary Gentlemen. I've hammered him mercilessly. The truth hurts, seriously. And ignoring me is his way of admitting he's a tool of the even cheapest sleazeballs higher up the blogging chain, like RAWMUSLGLUTES and husky über narcissist Charles Johnson.

Anyway, I'm perplexed that Barrett Brown has decided to go all out with the cross-post to Little Green Footballs, linked here and here. (And the Confederate illustration appears only at LGF, although Ordinary Gentlemen is not above those kinds of base smears.) Barrett's post is the basis for his accusation of libel against Robert. And folks can read the latter's original post here: "Narcissism, Isolation and Trolls." And Robert's response to the libel threat is here: "Nothing Says ‘Merry Christmas’ ..." All of this entails a lot of reading, and frankly I don't really see where Barrett's case for libel can be found. Robert's a judicious blogger, and having made a living as an established journalist I'd expect he knows how to avoid litigation. But here's a quote in any case, for a flavor:

Brown pretends to disprove my skeptical remarks about his characterization of Vanity Fair reporter Michael Hastings as his “colleague.” What I wrote was that, in using this term in his YouTube video lecture to National Review editor Rich Lowry, Brown was “expressing a collegiality that probably exists mainly in Brown’s mind.”

The jury will please note the word “probably” in that sentence. Of course I could not know the extent of Brown’s acquaintance with Hastings, despite Brown’s having written sundry things about that relationship, for we have already established that by his own admission Brown perpetrates falsehoods on the Internet. (See defense Exhibit B.)

Given Brown’s confessed use of online deception (his phony “alter-ego,” etc.), his mere assertion as to any particular state of affairs — e.g., an alleged professional relationship with Michael Hastings — proves nothing, as an admitted liar has no credibility. Therefore, skepticism toward such an assertion by Brown was entirely warranted. And what does Brown say of his relationship with Hastings?

We talked on the phone several times and exchanged some number of e-mails . . .

Brown does not say, “We’re best buds,” or “We hung out and had beers together.” No, it’s e-mails and phone calls. By that standard, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’ve got a whole crapload of “colleagues,” including several members of Congress. But you’ll notice that, so far as we can tell from Exhibit A, Brown and Hastings have never met in person, thus sustaining my assertion, in the blog post that the plaintiff claims is libelous, that “while Brown and Hastings were both True/Slant contributors, it wasn’t like they were hanging out around the office coffee machine, swapping stories.”

My credibility once more vindicated, I next call to your attention this statement by Brown:

. . . the rest can be confirmed by Andrew Sullivan, with whom I discussed the events after he linked to my piece.

Andrew Sullivan. Andrew Sullivan? Does the plaintiff really wish to bring to this honorable court’s attention his professional collaboration with Andrew Sullivan? Your honor, the defense would like to introduce at this time Exhibit C, showing that this same Andrew Sullivan has a criminal record for possession of illegal drugs. We also introduce Exhibit D, a blog post from Ace of Spades HQ, containing certain relevant information about Suliivan’s other behaviors, although there is perhaps no need to discuss this information at this time.

So far, then, we have established that Barrett Brown is a confessed drunkard, by his own admission “arrogant and narcissistic,” a deceptive Internet “troll” who is friends with others who engage in similar deceptive activity online, and an associate of a criminal drug abuser, Andrew Sullivan.

Given all this, your honor, it is the belief of the defense that Barrett Brown is a person of such infamous ill-repute that any negative comments made about him on the Internet could not possibly be considered defamatory.

I'm now going back over Barrett's response, and I see that he's quick to engage in race-baiting allegations against Robert and the latter's ties to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, ad nauseum. And Barrett has a book coming out on all of this as well, with an entire chapter devoted to McCain, Hot, Fat, and Clouded: The Amazing and Amusing Failures of America's Chattering Class. (In recalling this I'm understanding why Robert has something to be pissed about.)

And for a flashback, here's Barrett Brown attacking me as dishonest earlier this year. I later updated a post he criticized (don't remember which one), so I guess this is mostly of entertainment value at this point, if that. Related: "Barrett Brown Doesn't Read Well."

Footnote: For the origins of the "sick and evil" reference to LGF, see "Ace of Spades Smacks Charles Johnson in a Post Every New* Blogger Should Read."

Tensions in Orange County Jewish Community Erupt

From Reut Cohen, at Pajamas Media.

I don't really see a brief passage worth quoting, so folks'll have to RTWT. I can say though that an allegedly "pro-Israel" Jewish student group is really no friend of Israel if it believes it can promote "interfaith understanding" with the likes of the International Solidarity Movement. And that's what's going on at base, along with the controversies and reactions to developments by the wider community.

RELATED: I just plugged "International Solidarity Movement Mavi Marmara" into Google, which gives you an indication of what I'm taking about.

Plus, at FrontPage Magazine, "Solidarity With Terror" (on the ISM). And, "Jews for Jihad? Hillel does interfaith with the Hamas linked Muslim Student Association" (on Hillel). But see, "Rutgers Hillel: Rutgers University Organization Funding Illegal Gaza Flotilla."

No time for more research. UC Irvine Hillel needs to think through these relationships, and thus I'm on the side of the wider O.C. Jewish community here.

Army Chaplain Makes Ultimate Sacrifice for God and Country

At LAT:

Reporting from Colorado Springs, Colo. — When Christy Goetz's husband, Dale, told her at the outset of the war in Iraq that he wanted to join the Army to become a chaplain, she rebelled.

"I told him: 'You're not going over there and getting killed,' " Christy Goetz recalled. "I mean, he's my honey. I love him. I don't want anything to happen to him."

Dale Goetz, a Baptist minister, signed up anyway in January 2004. Before long he was Chaplain Goetz, ministering to troops in Iraq later that year and the next. He volunteered for a second combat tour last summer, in Afghanistan.

"I prayed on it and realized that this is what God wants him to do," Christy Goetz recalled. "Who am I to stand in God's way?"

She knew what every chaplain's wife knows: They may carry holy books instead of rifles, but they're still soldiers, and they still tread in harm's way.

On Aug. 30, a chaplain and another soldier knocked on the door of the tan split-level Dale and Christy bought here last year — the first house they had ever owned.

Capt. Dale Goetz was dead at 43, the first chaplain killed in combat since the Vietnam War.

He was on a trip that day to conduct services and counsel soldiers at several remote combat outposts in Kandahar province when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle. Goetz and four other soldiers were killed.

His soldiers say the chaplain died doing what he loved — talking to them, praying with them, helping counsel them through long days and nights of fear and dread. He had been carrying CDs for them to record personal messages to their families.

"He was committed to his soldiers — that was his gift," said Pastor Jason Parker of High Country Baptist Church in Colorado Springs, which Goetz and his family officially joined the day he left for Afghanistan.

RTWT.

I read this piece all the way through and was amazed at the absence of left-wing antiwar propaganda. I good piece of reporting. My prayers are for Christy Goetz, who's heckuva good woman.

WikiLeaks Cables Reveal Unease Over Mexican Drug War

At LAT:

In contrast to their upbeat public assessments, U.S. officials expressed frustration with a "risk averse" Mexican army and rivalries among security agencies that have hampered the Mexican government's war against drug cartels, according to secret U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed Thursday.

The cables quoted Mexican officials expressing fear that the government was losing control of parts of its national territory and that time was "running out" to rein in drug violence.

The cables gave a much starker view of the pitfalls and obstacles facing Mexican President Felipe Calderon, a departure from the public statements of unwavering support that have come out of Washington for most of the 4-year-old war, which has claimed more than 30,000 lives.

Two cables from U.S. Embassy officials in Mexico, one dated January of this year and the other October 2009, praise Calderon for persisting in his campaign to tackle "head on" the powerful cartels that traffic most of the cocaine, heroin and marijuana that reaches the U.S.

But the Mexican president's struggles with "an unwieldy and uncoordinated interagency" law enforcement effort have created the perception that he is failing, the cable dated Jan. 29 said. His inability to halt the violence or contain the rising death toll has become a principal political liability as his public ratings have declined, it said.

The U.S. assessment said Calderon's tools are limited: "Mexican security institutions are often locked in a zero-sum competition in which one agency's success is viewed as another's failure, information is closely guarded, and joint operations are all but unheard of," said the January cable, which is signed by the No. 2 official in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, John D. Feeley, a veteran diplomat with extensive experience in Latin America.

"Official corruption is widespread, leading to a compartmentalized siege mentality among 'clean' law enforcement leaders and their lieutenants," he said. "Prosecution rates for organized crime-related offenses are dismal; 2% of those detained are brought" to trial.

Tom Flanagan, Former Aide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Calls for Assassination of Julian Assange

At London's Telegraph, "Julian Assange should be assassinated, Canadian official claims." And the response, at the National Post, "WikiLeaks' Assange lashes out against former Harper aide," and from the Toronto Sun, "WikiLeaks fugitive wants ex-Harper aide charged."

And at the Montreal Gazette, "WikiLeaks fights to stay online as founder’s arrest looms."

Previously at New York Times, "U.S. Diplomats Fretted About Canadians Carrying a ‘Chip on Their Shoulder’," and The Lede, "Latest Updates on Leak of U.S. Cables, Day 6."

The Political Economy of NC-17 Ratings

At LAT, "Two Films, Two Sex Scenes, Two Different Ratings":

One new movie generating Oscar buzz shows a woman engaged in a steamy sex act with another woman in a scene that lasts just over a minute without any nudity. Another new movie also piquing the attention of Academy Awards voters shows a man performing an identical act on a woman in a scene that lasts just over a minute without any nudity.

Filmgoers who watch both movies, especially those oral sex scenes, would be hard-pressed to describe how one is more explicit than the other.

Yet the first movie, "Black Swan," a supernatural drama from Fox Searchlight that opened this weekend, was given an R rating by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which means it can play in nearly all theaters across the country. The second film, "Blue Valentine," which opens Dec. 31, was given a dreaded NC-17 because of what the Weinstein Co. studio says is that scene.

An NC-17 rating means anyone younger than 17 cannot see the movie in theaters — even if they are accompanied by an adult. Many theater chains have a policy of not exhibiting NC-17 films, and some media outlets refuse to carry ads for NC-17 movies. That means the box office receipts and cultural impact of an NC-17 film are likely to be much more limited than an R-rated movie. No NC-17 rated film has ever won a major prize at the Oscars.

The "Blue Valentine" rating is the latest in a string of controversial decisions by the MPAA and its Classification and Ratings Administration board that have raised the anger of filmmakers and moviegoers. Critics of the system say that the raters take a much harsher line on sex, language and drug use than they do on violence and that the panel's standards are murky and inconsistent.

"I don't have an answer for why that movie ["Black Swan"] would be OK and ours wouldn't," said "Blue Valentine" director Derek Cianfrance, who called the NC-17 rating "a form of censorship." "There's not an ounce of skin, and it's not gratuitous in any way. I'm confused and baffled."

XM25 Supergun Goes to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

At The Australian, via Jawa Report, where there's additional video:

Unpacking Progressive Trolling

Robert Stacy McCain, at "Narcissism, Isolation and Trolls":

What does this dynamic [of social isolation] mean to the progressive troll? In his virtual world, he feels the need to “represent” as a loyal member of the online tribe. So when a hostile target comes into view – e.g., the self-proclaimed neocon Donald Douglas — there is a competition among the trolls to make the most vicious attack possible. Through these attacks, the troll who excels others in obxnoxious thereby enhances both his self-esteem and his status within the virtual community.

A narcissistic quest for admiration — if only self-admiration — is therefore deeply implicated in the behavior of trolls. Their comments are neither informative nor entertaining, because that is not their purpose. They are engaged in destructive activity and expect to be admired for it by others who share their opinion that the target is worthy of destruction.

Their relevant peer-group (whose admiration they seek) are not people they actually know in real-life, but rather their fellow members of the ideologically organized virtual community. And this sort of behavior is not limited to blog trolls.

RTWT.

Robert's representative troll is c u n d gulag at Mahablog, and by implication Repsac3, who was also trolling the thread there.

And as "this behavior is not limited to blog trolls," Robert's further example is our old antagonist Barret Brown, who's now blogging at Ordinary Gentlemen. Barret responds to Robert: "R.S. McCain accuses me of being a violent militant." (Folks will recall that Ordinary Gentlemen is the blog home of uber weasel E.D. Kain, who, like Repsac3's nihilist horde, mounted a campaign of workplace intimidation against me. Barrett's an okay guy, but E.D. Kain's a spineless freak-nozzle loser who also fits into Robert's theory of narcissistic progressive hatred. Perhaps I'll develop that out a bit more later ...)

Added: From Robert, "Nothing Says ‘Merry Christmas’ ... quite like the threat of a libel action ..."

Progressives Tell Obama to Get With the Program

Hey, the progressive creeps got their man, so it's all schadenfreude with icing on top as far as I'm concerned. See Hammering Jane Hamsher (via Memeorandum):

Lucy Pinder Holiday Rule 5

She was featured previously for a topless Christmas, so who's to argue?

R.S. McCain's lagging on the Rule 5 Sunday entries, although he's been trolling for some Natalie Portman hits: "Prediction: ‘The Black Swan’ Will Break Record for DVD Sales of Ballet Movies." And I'm not planning another epic Rule 5 roundup any time soon, since the return to labor isn't all that great. A few blog buddies do the reciprocal thingy --- Bob Belvedere, Mind-Numbed Robot, Pirate's Cove, Washington Rebel, and Yankee Phil, so far --- but not too many others.

Drop me a comment in the box below if I've forgotten your links. Rule 5 and Google bombs keep the traffic pretty decent around here. RealClearPolitics hasn't been linking lately, and links from Glenn Reynolds are unpredictable. More Lucy Pinder here, although NSFW.

'I'm equating Bloggingheads.tv and its visitors with liberalism'

Right.

Anyone with half a brain would have known, but not the despicable stalking asshat RepRacist3.

But Althouse explains:

I'm equating Bloggingheads.tv and its visitors with liberalism. The GWAR video, which shows the graphic depiction of torturing and killing a woman, is presented by the website for its readers amusement. My point, which I make extremely concisely at the link, but will make verbosely here, is that liberals often put party politics ahead of feminist values, and when they do, I like to point it out. If the female victim were not Sarah Palin, the feminist issue would be obvious.

They're not "liberals," as I always say, but radical progressive manchildren. Besides, finding buttwipe bjkeefe in the comments at the Gwar Bloggingheads was a dead giveaway.

And of course I was extremely concise at my post on Gwar, not only indicating that we should be fair but adding a video of Gwar beheading Barack Obama. But despicable dumbshit RepRacist3 makes a lame gotcha attempt anyway, mumbling stupidly about "you're a fool if you in any way agree with her ..."

So much for RepRacist3's close reading skills. Stupid asshole.

Britney Spears Slams Tabloid Allegations

Jeez, I'm getting behind on my celebrity reporting, and it's Britney no less!

At Us Weekly, "Britney Spears Slams Star Report: 'Kiss My Ass!'"

See all the latest at WeSmirch.

WikiLeaks' Dishonesty and Hypocrisy

The latest WikiLeaks dump could be breaking a record for provoking debate. I've said a lot already. But I'm thinking back to how badly the MFM and progressive manchild bloggers got beat on the Apache video last April. Jawa Report was doing yeoman's work, for example, "For The Idiots Who Still Say There Was no RPG -- UPDATED: Wiki Leak as Left Wing Propaganda."

Liars and hypocrites. And lots more in the news. For example, at The Guardian's reader-response interview, Julian Assange refused to answer this question:

Julian.

I am a former British diplomat. In the course of my former duties I helped to coordinate multilateral action against a brutal regime in the Balkans, impose sanctions on a renegade state threatening ethnic cleansing, and negotiate a debt relief programme for an impoverished nation. None of this would have been possible without the security and secrecy of diplomatic correspondence, and the protection of that correspondence from publication under the laws of the UK and many other liberal and democratic states. An embassy which cannot securely offer advice or pass messages back to London is an embassy which cannot operate. Diplomacy cannot operate without discretion and theprotection of sources. This applies to the UK and the UN as much as the US.

In publishing this massive volume of correspondence, Wikileaks is not highlighting specific cases of wrongdoing but undermining the entire process of diplomacy. If you can publish US cables then you can publish UK telegrams and UN emails.

My question to you is: why should we not hold you personally responsible when next an international crisis goes unresolved because diplomats cannot function.

Julian ASS-ange

More later ...

PREVIOUSLY: "Progressive Manchildren and WikiLeaks."

Democrat Robert Menendez Likens Working With GOP to Negotiating With 'Terrorists'

At ABC News, "Dem Senator: Negotiating with Republicans "Almost" like Negotiating with 'Terrorists'," and The Blog Prof, "Video of Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on negotiating tax rates with GOP : "It’s almost like the question of do you negotiate with terrorists”."

GOP Rolls Out Strategy of Confrontation

At LAT, "GOP Resolve Dominates the Agenda in Congress":

Republicans rolled out a confrontational, no-compromise strategy this week that may carry long-term risks, but has put them in position to dominate the lame-duck session of Congress and marginalize President Obama's agenda.

Among congressional Republicans, confidence levels are so high that they are barreling over what might be considered standard political traps. As they fight to preserve tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers, for instance, they are prepared to let unemployment insurance benefits run out for 2 million jobless Americans unless offsetting spending cuts can be found.

Republican Senate leaders on Wednesday threatened to derail a bill that had previously received bipartisan backing — a food-safety measure — on the grounds that nothing should move until a deal on tax cuts is reached.

The White House and congressional Democrats have been largely reduced to symbolic responses, such as House passage Thursday of an extension of middle-class tax cuts. Republicans in the Senate have vowed to block it because it did not include an extension for the wealthy.

The Democratic bill was greeted scornfully by Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R- Ohio), who described the exercise as "chicken crap."

Yeah. And progressive heads exploded at that.

More later.

Meanwhile follow developments at Memeorandum and The Other McCain.

Holland Reynolds Crawls to Finish Line to Honor Coach Sidelined by ALS

Fascinating story:

"She finished in 37th place, with a time of 20 minutes 15 seconds, giving University the title it would not have won without her struggle over the line."

HAT TIP: Gateway Pundit, "INCREDIBLE VIDEO - High School Runner Crawls Over Finish Line to Win Title For Her Ailing Coach."

RELATED: "University High coach Jim Tracy fighting ALS."

President Obama Addresses Troops at Bagram Airbase Afghanistan — UPDATED!!

At New York Times, "Obama Makes Unannounced Visit to Afghanistan," and Foreign Policy, "Obama in Afghanistan."

I watched the president's speech live. He declared that terrorists will never again attack us on American soil — a dramatic claim that could potentially provoke even greater attempts by our determined enemies. I'll post the video when it's available.

VIDEO UPDATE:

Progressive Manchildren and WikiLeaks

That's John Hawkins:

And here's Progressive Manchild #1: Glenn Greenwald, "WikiLeaks Debate With Steven Aftergood." And seriously. Is Julian Assange a hero? Hardly. The dude should be dead.

RELATED: Just now seeing another manchild, "Doctor Science" at Obsidian Wings (hmm, could be a womanchild), "The culture of conspiracy, the conspiracy of culture" (via Memeorandum). This isn't all that complicated, as I discussed yesterday: "Misunderstanding WikiLeaks." Indeed, it's pretty much broken down to a debate between serious folks on national security and antiwar nihilists. And yes, idiotic manchildren, or in the case of Charli Carpenter ... well, I won't go there: "What is Wikileaks?"

Unemployment Rises to 9.8%

At WSJ, "Economy Added Fewer Jobs Than Expected in November":

The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in November and the unemployment rate rose to its highest level since April, indicating the economic recovery remains weak 17 months after the recession ended.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 39,000 last month as private-sector employers added only 50,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast payrolls would rise by 144,000 and that the jobless rate would remain unchanged at 9.6%.

The unemployment rate, which is obtained from a separate household survey, unexpectedly rose to 9.8% last month. More than 15 million people seeking work can't get a job.

The October payrolls number was revised up slightly to show a 172,000 increase from a previous estimate of 151,000.

The weaker-than-expected data caused the dollar to weaken against the yen and euro and other major currencies. Treasurys rallied on the report.

The U.S. unemployment rate has now been above 9% since May 2009, or 19 months. That matches the longest stretch at such an elevated level since World War II. In the deep recession of the early 1980s, the jobless rate crept to 9% in March 1982 and remained above that mark until September 1983.

Federal Reserve officials believe the jobless rate could still be around 9% a year from now.

Unemployment is a serious thing. Beyond the politics, folks are hurting. I started to post on the debate over unemployment extension, but thought second of it considering some blogger-buddies who aren't working. That said, R.S. McCain isn't shy: "As a Freelance Independent Blogger Consultant, I Have Enormous Sympathy …"

Meghan Daum Back From the Brink

She almost died:

Since I told part of the story in this space last week, many people have asked why the diagnosis took so long. The answer is that I didn't have much of the telltale body rash that goes with this type of typhus; moreover, blood and spinal fluid tests suggested that what I had was viral, not bacterial.

Even more people have asked if they should be afraid of encountering the bacteria in their own backyards. The answer is no. There were 18 cases of murine typhus reported in Los Angeles County in 2008, the most recent year for which data are available. Many more cases probably went unreported because the subjects were barely affected. The chances of getting the disease in any form are very small. The chances of getting as sick as I did are infinitesimal.

Besides, I hardly ever went into the backyard of the north-central Pasadena house my husband and I have been renting. That's probably why I didn't care much that there were piles of leaves left over from last year and that two palm trees on the property were harboring flea-infested rodents. Nor did I fret much in late September when I noticed that my ankles were covered with fleabites, most likely transmitted by our dog, who did sometimes go into the backyard and who sometimes also slept at the foot of the bed. After all, why be scared of a flea?

But a month later, in the hospital, after the results of my lumbar puncture came up positive for typhus, it was apparent we should have been a bit more discriminating about our landscaping. Either that or we shouldn't have let the dog on the bed. Of course, I could have gone to the doctor sooner, but ironically my general good health may have worked against me. I kept thinking recovery was around the corner. Instead, the disease was gaining momentum on its way to a full-blown attack.

Amid all the conjecture about what had happened to me, one thing was certain: I'd gotten better, and that made me exceedingly lucky. I was lucky not only to be alive but to have somehow avoided brain damage, deafness, blindness, loss of limb and paralysis. I was lucky, perhaps above all, to have countless friends and family members pulling for me.

I think that's why my dad never liked animals, but I'll no doubt keep an eye peeled for downed palm trees.

RTWT, plus Meghan's essay from last week.

Blogger's Choice Conservative of the Year 2010

It's Gov. Chris Christie, at RWN:

He's a charismatic, bold, and pugnacious fiscal conservative who has absolutely no qualms about taking on Democrats, the unions, the media, and anybody else who tries to separate the taxpayers of New Jersey from their hard earned money. At a time when the people are terrified that our country is spending itself into bankruptcy while our politicians are too scared to do anything about it, Chris Christie has proven that one man with courage can make a real difference.

Sarah Palin was runner up, but check the post for the full details.

House Votes to Extend Middle Class Tax Cuts

At LAT (via Memeorandum):

The House of Representatives has narrowly passed a measure to keep lowered tax rates for individuals earning less than $250,000 a year.

The final vote was 234-188, with 20 Democrats joining a nearly unanimous block of Republicans against the plan.

The vote in Congress' lame-duck session was a symbolic one boosted by Democrats, still in the majority, who sought to force Republicans to vote against a tax cut.

Republicans, who want an extension of the lower rates at all income levels, framed the vote as one that would raise taxes on small-business owners who create jobs.

Ohio Rep. John Boehner, who will take the gavel as speaker in the new Congress, called the Democrats' maneuver "chicken crap."

"We are 23 months from the next election and the political games have already started, trying to set up the next election," he said.

"I really do not believe we have disagreement on what this bill intends to do. It's just that some believe it does not do enough," Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on the House floor shortly before the vote.

The Senate is expected to hold a similar vote this week, though it is less likely to pass because of the threat of a Republican filibuster.

And from Patricia Murphy, "John Boehner Calls Vote on Middle-Class-Only Tax Cut 'Chicken Crap'."

NASA Reveals New Life Form Discovery

At NYT, "Subsisting on Arsenic, a Microbe May Redefine Life":

Scientists said Thursday that they had trained a bacterium to eat and grow on a diet of arsenic, in place of phosphorus — one of six elements considered essential for life — opening up the possibility that organisms could exist elsewhere in the universe or even here on Earth using biochemical powers we have not yet dared to dream about.

The bacterium, scraped from the bottom of Mono Lake in California and grown for months in a lab mixture containing arsenic, gradually swapped out atoms of phosphorus in its little body for atoms of arsenic.

Scientists said the results, if confirmed, would expand the notion of what life could be and where it could be. “There is basic mystery, when you look at life,” said Dimitar Sasselov, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and director of an institute on the origins of life there, who was not involved in the work. “Nature only uses a restrictive set of molecules and chemical reactions out of many thousands available. This is our first glimmer that maybe there are other options.”

And at National Geographic, "NASA Life Discovery: New Bacteria Makes DNA With Arsenic." With a link to NASA's homepage.

Misunderstanding WikiLeaks

There's some debate on the degree of international cooperation in apprehending WikiLeaks' Julian Assange. At Telegraph UK, "WikiLeaks: British Police Asked to Join Hunt for Julian Assange." Also at Memeorandum. And there's some breaking stuff at NYT that I haven't gotten to yet, for example, "Diplomats Noted Canadian Mistrust Toward U.S."

For now what's sparking my interest, and some frustration, is the easy accolades so many commenters are offering to WikiLeaks, with attention especially on claims that increasing transparency is a means to a greater libertarian end. And in this I'm finding, as a side note, through Ross Douthat, that Will Wilkinson is now blogging at The Economist. I was a subscriber for three years while in graduate school. I read that magazine religiously. But like just about every other mainstream periodical in recent years, its quality has deteriorated badly. Outside the pages of Wall Street Journal, The Economist used to be the place to read the most rigorous analysis of free market economics. Yet now the previously classically-inclined editors at The Economist have jumped ship. (Alan Caruba captured this unfortunate descent just the other day, "Climate Change Idiocy and The Economist.") So I guess it makes sense that Will Wilkinson's blogging there now. The countercultural left has increasingly joined with ideological libertarianism to escalate the contemporary attack on the modern moral regime and the foundations of social order. To take that attack to its logical conclusion is to launch an extreme repudiation on state power, since it's the state that controls the monopoly of force and the means to prohibit certain activities, such as drug use and prostitution. But with the recent WikiLeaks dump, the left-libertarian alliance has metastasized into a romantic nihilism, which sees a heroic purpose to WikiLeaks when the exact opposite is true. My old infantile antagonist E.D. Kain gleefully provides a synopsis, which perfectly illustrates the verbose left-libertarianism's replacement of firm realism with fluffy fawning:

The government has a monopoly on violence; the media has only words. We should encourage underdogs like WikiLeaks who continue to fight an uphill battle, not against the United States – this country is more than its government, after all – but against the over-reach of the state. We have ceded so much of our own privacy to our government, perhaps now we would like to return the favor.

WikiLeaks may be a small player, really, in the bigger scheme of things. But to some degree it is also a bellwether, a forecast of things to come as information and technology continue to nip at the heels of the state. Perhaps we really are approaching a time when government becomes less relevant, less necessary, where other institutions both real and virtual can begin to supplant the role of the state in our lives, subversively at first but then more openly as time passes. I don’t know. I’m not even sure what that would look like in practice. Predicting the future is not among my talents; I cannot see where frying pans leave off and fires begin. But if I am at all correct then we should also realize that when an institution is threatened it reacts accordingly. Things will get worse before they get better.

If this were just a philosophical excursion vis-à-vis theories of federalism and government devolution, that'd be one thing. But it's not. We're talking about a 21st century non-state actor conducting information warfare against the United States. It's not a big surprise that WikiLeaks' most enthusiast backers are found among the world's anarcho-communist contingents. What's pathetic --- although not new, just even more pronounced --- is how willingly the libertarians jump on board this lame new vehicle toward alleged greater government accountability.

So to be clear: Julian Assange despises America with all he's got. There's nothing good about his agenda. And libertarianism is deathly nihilism if folks can't get their heads around the idea that there's little functional alternative to the nation-state in today's post-modern advanced democratic societies. That's not to say we can't limit the expansion of the state nor improve government performance and accountability. But we'll destroy ourselves by radical attempts to tear it down. And back over at The Economist is a deep clue to the ideological confusion. Folks apparently never got the memo from earlier this year on the bogus WikiLeaks Apache video "Collateral Damage." There's wasn't anything "objective" about it. But tell that to The Economist:

WikiLeaks's release of the "Collateral Murder" video last April was a pretty scrupulous affair: an objective record of combat activity which American armed forces had refused to release, with careful backing research on what the video showed. What we got was a window into combat reality, through the sights of a helicopter gunship. You could develop different interpretations of that video depending on your understanding of its context, but it was something important that had actually taken place.

A lot of commentators apparently act as though they're offering profound insights of democratic theory when expounding on WikiLeaks. I note E.D. Kain as one exhibit, although Glenn Greenwald comes to mind as well. But it's really not such a super sophisticated or intellectually glamorous issue. WikiLeaks wants to destroy authority. People are going to get killed, and not in the name of any state interest that could be otherwise checked by the processes of democratic governance. IBD had a great editorial on Julian Assange the other day, and I'll close with this, "An Infoterrorist?":

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the soon-to-be chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is absolutely correct in calling for Assange's outfit to be classified a terrorist organization under U.S. law. King has called on Attorney General Eric Holder to charge Assange with a crime under the Espionage Act. While Holder's office has announced an investigation, don't hold your breath.

But what of Assange's accomplices in the U.S. and foreign media?

The New York Times, where Assange gets to dump "all the secrets fit to leak," boasts that its collaborations with WikiLeaks give "the unvarnished story of how the government makes its biggest decisions" — hardly a rationale for endangering our liberty.

This is a continuing, slow-motion disaster for the U.S., and our government has done little beyond having a State Department lawyer send a huffy letter to Assange's lawyer in Sweden.

These leaks must be plugged — by force if necessary — before it is American blood we find flowing.

At the video, more radical left-wing Wiki-boosting from communist Amy Goodman's Democracy Now!

RELATED: From Peter Feaver, "WikiLeaks Only Interested in Damaging U.S. Foreign Policy."

Disemboweling Sarah Palin

It's Gwar.

Althouse says leftists love this, and Repsac3's hating band of nihilists gets off on stuff like this, and more:

But to be fair, Gwar's bipartisan, as a commenter indicates:

Thanks again Ann for your one sided fanning of partisan hate. This crappy band according to Wikipedia has trashed on stage every president since Reagan, also John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore. But don't let the facts get in the way of throwing more red meat to your Althouse Hillbillies. They might just buy a toaster on Amazon for you!

The 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

I watched last night: "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2010: Katy Perry, Akon and a $2M Bra," and "Katy Perry Rules The Airwaves With Grammys, Victoria's Secret Shows."

Barbara O'Brien: Hate-Enabling Progressive

The comment I left at Mahablog after Barbara O'Brien called me "Mr. Douglas" and admonished me to "chill":

That would be Dr. Douglas, Ms. Barbara. Problem is, I “took my lumps” and moved on. You, on the other hand, have ignored the substantive points I’ve raised. It’s one thing to call folks “stupid.” It’s another to be willfully ignorant, as is your wont. You continually call me out, Ms. Barbara, while allowing the most vile personal invective to pollute your comment threads. You, my dear, are an enabler of hatred and an anti-intellectual. Chill that.

The Mahablog is a hate site. The commenters there as as bad as anything on the web, further substantiated by the demonic racist Repsac3.

PREVIOUSLY: "Barbara O'Brien's Mahablog: Apparently Not the Place for Scintillating Debate."

Noam Chomsky on WikiLeaks

At communist Amy Goodman's Democracy Now!

Fanatical Muslim and Reconquista 'MEChA Boy' to Lead Neo-Communist Congressional Caucus

The report's at Politico, "Ellison, Grijalva to Lead Progressives" (at Memeorandum):

Reps. Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva were elected co-chairmen of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Wednesday night, according to liberal lawmakers. Rep. Donna Edwards finished third in the three-way race for two spots.

And on Keith Ellison see:

* "Keith Ellison, CAIR, and Ties to Terror."

* "Keith Ellison, CAIR, and Hamas."

* "Keith Ellison shills for Hamas."

* "Muslim Brotherhood-Linked Congressman Keith Ellison Smears Defenders of Freedom."

* "Rep. Keith Ellison, the Islamists' Man on Capitol Hill."

On Raúl Grijalva see:

* "Despicable AZ Boycotter Rep. Raúl Grijalva Falling Behind in Polls, Rocket Scientist Conservative Ruth McClung Pulls Ahead."

* "‘MEChA Boy’ Raúl Grijalva Tries to Save Face on Push for Arizona Boycott."

* "Mexican Reconquista Raul Grijalva in the U.S. Congress."

* "Open-borders extremist Raul Grijalva running scared."

* "Mexican Reconquista Slob, Congressman Raul Grijalva Evades Border Security Question."

RELATED: "Communist: 'Progressive Caucus... Will Now Have a More Prominent Role Within... Democratic Caucus."

South Bay Murder Suspect Got Three-Strikes Leniency

Poster-suspect for the soft-on-crime set.

At LAT, "Multiple Murder Suspect Had Benefited From Three-Strikes Leniency":

To hear him tell his story, John Wesley Ewell was the victim of an overly harsh criminal justice system.

The South Los Angeles hairstylist complained to journalists over the last decade about the unfairness of the state's tough three-strikes law, saying he lived in fear that even a small offense would land him back in prison for life.

He even appeared on the "The Montel Williams Show" to argue the case against three strikes. A caption that flashed on the screen when Ewell spoke read: "Afraid to leave his house because he has 2 'Strikes.'"

But Ewell is now charged with murdering four people in a series of home invasion robberies that terrorized the South Bay this fall. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty during a brief appearance at the Airport Courthouse.

Far from embodying the severity of the justice system, Ewell benefited from its lenience over the last 16 years, according to a Times review of court records and interviews.

Ewell has a lengthy criminal history that includes two robbery convictions from the 1980s. Nevertheless, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office decided on four occasions against seeking to use the full weight of the three-strikes law when he was charged with new crimes.

And this year, after Ewell was arrested three times for allegedly stealing from Home Depot stores, a judge agreed to delay sending Ewell to prison so he could take care of some medical problems.

It was during that delay, authorities say, that Ewell robbed three homes and killed the victims.

"He should have been in prison a long time ago," said Leamon "Kelly" Turnage, whose parents were among the victims. "It is a shock to me that no one is willing to take responsibility for letting this killer go."

Ewell's case is likely to fuel more debate about the practice of many California prosecutors to seek less than the maximum sentence for some three-strikers.

No word on this from LGM's resident (non)constitutional expert Scotty Lame-ieux.

Progressive Trolls

Robin of Berkeley relates her experience with netroots demons, "The Care and Feeding of Progressives:

When I started my little blog, it didn't occur to me that trolls would come out in droves. Why would leftists expend their energies on me? And why would they subject themselves to scrutiny by a licensed psychotherapist?

But apparently, numerous trolls have been drawn to me, like venomous bees to honey. These trolls use the same weaponry of other extreme progressives: shame and degradation. They try to use ridicule as sort of stun gun, immobilizing the other. (Another interesting tidbit: People with character disorders do the very same thing. Coincidence?)

As a psychotherapist, I can see right through them to who they are and how they operate. Nonetheless, I still remain curious about these creepy crawlers, whom I have dubbed "My Friends, the Enemy." (This is my generally futile attempt to be magnanimous like the Dalai Lama, who uses the phrase to describe the Chinese.)

I wonder to myself: Where do these trolls come from? Where do they live and breed? ...

The most hardcore of the leftists seem almost feral, wild, and undomesticated. Many lack even the most rudimentary of social skills; some people may very well be diagnosable on the autism spectrum.

Many militants are devoid of an essential ingredient of being human: empathy. While they exude endless compassion for an endangered snail, they are contemptuous of living, feeling human beings. This is why they can cavalierly imagine snuffing out Granny, a late-term fetus, or, in fact, anyone who gets in their way.

With the progressives in charge, we now live in "interesting times," to quote the Chinese curse. There's a breakdown in the basic rule of law that keeps a society knitted together. Without the moral fiber to stitch us, it's survival of the fittest -- every man and woman for themselves.

It's no coincidence that God has also been shunned, because God is the thread that weaves together the rich tapestry of life. With Judeo-Christian values missing in action, the left engages in a manic free-fall-all. They afford themselves free rein to act out their basest of impulses.

Robin is more analytical than me. They're evil, plain and simple. This is why I've switched permanently to comment moderation, and I've closed comments on some post when the LGM and Sadly No! demons are sent my way. And that's to say nothing of the freaks at American Nihilist, for whom no undomesticated attack is out of bounds.

CWCID: Ace commenter Dennis with the intel, at "Barbara O'Brien's Mahablog: Apparently Not the Place for Scintillating Debate."

Amazon Bounces WikiLeaks

Update to this morning's entry.

At AoSHQ, "Amazon Kicks WikiLeaks Out of the Cloud." And at WyBlog, "Three Cheers for Amazon.com, they pulled the plug on WikiLeaks!" Also discussed at Hot Air, "Pentagon: We could have shut down Wikileaks but chose not to" (via Memeorandum).

And in related news, "Sen. McCain Wants Heads to Roll for Wikileaks, But Others Say Not Likely: New Wikileaks Express U.S. Fears Terrorists May Get Pakistan's Nukes":

Incoming Taliban Speaker John Boehner to Create Women's Restroom Adjacent to House Floor

Yeah, because Republicans treat women just like the mullahs in Afghanistan — "hostile to women's equality," as some progressive asshats might say.

At The Hill (via Memeorandum):

Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-Ohio) intends to commandeer a swanky office space adjacent to the House floor and build a women's restroom for female lawmakers.

For years, men have had the luxury of using facilities located adjacent to the House floor, just outside the Speaker's lobby. But women have had no such option.

If women need to powder their noses, they must instead go downstairs or to a restroom several halls away from the chamber.

But Boehner wants that to end, and plans to direct the Architect of the Capitol to construct a women's bathroom in the space currently occupied by the House Parliamentarian.

Boehner said on Wednesday evening of his decision that "as we continue to evaluate ways to open up the people’s House, it’s encouraging to be able to make changes like this that are long overdue.”

Amazing how outgoing Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn't think about "opening up the people's House." Well, okay. It wasn't really the people's House. It was the Politburo's House.

Update: Linked at Lonely Conservative and SWAC Girl. And Dana Loesch links on Twitter.

Mark Harvey, a.k.a. 'Snooper', Now at Collin County Conservative Examiner

Just got the notice from Snooper, coming soon at the Examiner:

Mark L (Snooper) Harvey began serving this nation straight out of High School. First, as a police officer and then as a member of an anti-terrorist tag-team. Mark started paying greater attention to the highly volatile political circumstances of the late 1960s after his brother was killed in action during the 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam. The things he observed during that time often left him troubled and wondering what was happening in America. Why was radically anti-social and dangerously irresponsible behavior being appeased and then excused as nothing more than normal “teenage angst”. Why were so many Americans willing to allow the enemies within to run amok virtually unopposed? Mark served the United States honorably both in and out of military from 1976 to 2004. During that time he began a crusade to inform and educate others about the often subtle, sometimes radical reeducation and indoctrination efforts.