More From Las Vegas!

I took my youngest son to "Shark Reef" at Mandalay Bay. I love that place. And my son's still a few months short of his 10th birthday, so he's still endlessly fascinated by animals and nature. We had a great time. The photos are okay, but what the heck? They're worth sharing.

The jellyfish exhibit:

My kid really liked the Komodo dragon. We got all the way to the end the facility, to the "ship wreck" shark tank, and he wanted to go back up to see the Komodo! And he made sure to justify it, since we somehow missed the python exhibit, which we then noticed was right next to the dragon. Hanging with my kid's a riot:

He liked the piranhas too. Big suckers:

Everybody loves sharks:

But the sawfish was another one of my son's favorites. This shot's blurry because the sawfish swims up over the top of the glass after skimming along the bottom. He surprises you, unlike the sharks, who just kinda hover around:

Walking back out to find my wife, who hit the casino and then the Red, White and Blue restaurant, here's the "beach" at Mandalay Bay, which features a wave pool:

There's a tram that takes you back to the Excalibur Hotel, and then a skywalk leads back over to New York New York, and then MGM Grande. A view of the interesection:

We always have fun, but this was our first time staying at MGM and I'm completely sold. An excellent experience all around. I'll have another update on this later ...

Excavating Pure Evil — Failed New York Actor Carl Salonen Revealed as 'Tintin' at Sadly No!??

Take a few minutes to listen to this PJTV segment. Dr. Helen Smith interviews Barbara Oakley and Amy Alkon. The former has a new book out called Cold-Blooded Kindness: Neuroquirks of a Codependent Killer, or Just Give Me a Shot at Loving You, Dear, and Other Reflections on Helping That Hurts. And she's also the editor of Pathological Altruism, the thesis of which forms the basis for much of the discussion. Also interviewed is Amy Alkon. She's an author and a blogger at The Advice Goddess.

Especially interesting is the discussion, about a third of the way through, of Sadly No!'s attack on Alkon, which included a campaign of fake book reviews at her Amazon book page, as well as earlier allegations that she's a transsexual (Tintin at Sadly No! slurs her as Amy Arnold Alkon). This apparently became quite involved, and included a defacement of Alkon's Wikipedia entry (obviously by the "Sadly Nauts" but denied by Tintin). At the clip, the PJTV techs display a picture from Sadly No!'s post, "The “Lady” Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks." It's interesting that Alkon herself claims to be an independent, and thinks that "both sides do this." But there are key differences, as she notes in a blog post:

These are leftists, all these losers, and while I'm neither left nor right (I'm fiscally conservative and socially libertarian), it's my experience that people on the right will tell me they think I'm an idiot right to my face or openly, on a blog (because I was against the Iraq war, for example), while the left has resorted to denigrating me by trying to hurt my livelihood. And they do it anonymously.

And then, there's the manner in which they do it, by using transsexuality in hopes of derogating me. Who has a harder time in this world than somebody who's born one sex and feels very strongly they're another? They're using this to put me down? Ugly. And they're the left?

Alkon identifies Tintin as a "a 52-year-old unsuccessful actor in New York City named Carl Salonen ..." (And she slams the folks at Sadly No! as a bunch of "sick fuck adult losers.")

Interestingly, notice how Barbara Oakley doesn't hesitate to place these fuckers in the historic pantheon of history's most diabolical killers.

In any case, I'm glad I took the time to watch this clip, because boy was this like a treasure trove of information on the true lies of the progressive left, and especially the progressive thugs at Sadly No!

I'm not done with this. Because some claim that Sadly No! is a European blog --- no doubt to avoid lawsuits --- it's possible that Tintin's entire enterprise is based on lies and deceit. But I need more information. (And maybe I'm slow on the uptake here, but there's no way a Belgian blogger would have that degree of U.S. knowledge and American parochialism, so again, this PJTV clip has been quite a revelation.)

Lady Gaga 'Judas' No Shows in Easter Debut

I've been keeping my eyes open for this, given the major press for the video, with claims about an Easter release. At NME, "Lady Gaga to release 'Judas' video over Easter?" And Gigwise, "Lady Gaga 'Judas' Video to Debut Over Easter." Perhaps not, since no sign yet, and no clue at Gaga's Twitter feed.

Anyway, there's an interesting background report from Steve Pond, "Lady Gaga's Easter Marketing Plan for 'Judas': Tweets, Leaks, Sacrilege." Also, at In This Week, "Lady Gaga is In Love with 'Judas' and the Catholic Church is Pissed: What Would Madonna Do?"

RELATED: At Hollywood Life, "Catholic League On Gaga’s ‘Judas’: ‘If She Had More Talent, We’d Be More Offended’."

Lyrics here.

Road Trip Roundup

We're on the road from Vegas back to the O.C.

Should see regular posting pick up late tonight or in the morning. I have more photos to post. And some stories to tell.

Until then, check Bob Belvedere's, "Rule 5 Saturday." Also, William Teach, "Sorta Blogless Pinup Sunday."

And The Other McCain's 10 year-old son got one hella haircut.

BONUS: Theo Spark's "Bedtime Bunny."

President Reagan's 1983 Easter and Passover Address

Via Marathon Pundit:

British Monarchy Tottering

Says John Burns, at New York Times, "A Royal Wedding, a Tarnished Crown":

For years, polls have been showing support for the monarchy running at levels that have made republicanism more than the marginal phenomenon it has been for most of modern times. While many Britons retain a bulletproof affection for the 85-year-old Elizabeth, their support beyond her seems conditional. This is especially so in the case of Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; they stand first in line to the throne on Elizabeth’s death, but far behind Prince William and Miss Middleton in public preference. A clear majority in the polls favors the younger couple’s jumping past Charles and Camilla and acceding directly to the throne.

RTWT at the link above.

It's no big mystery that if Britons want the monarchy to continue and thrive, William should become king, and right away, not long after the wedding. The couple are perfectly modern, and they can help modernize the institution. Kate's as beautiful as Diana was, and perhaps she might come to be even more popular than Diana in the public's eye. At stake is the Britain the world knows as the preeminent democratic system, with a constitutional monarchy that's the symbol of political continuity. Things just wouldn't be the same should republicanism prevail. Political correctness and multiculturalism have already challenged the basic survival of the British state as it's long been known. Get rid of the monarchy and you can call it a day.

RELATED: At CBS News, "Poll: Brits, Americans think Prince William should be king."

Spring Spheres

Read this essay from Matt Gurney at the National Post, on yet another effort by progressives to destroy the culture. Hint: They're not Easter eggs. They're "spring spheres."

UPDATE: An anonymous leftist commenter slams this as a fake story. So, for the record, here's the other side: "Can KIRO Prove Its "Spring Spheres" Easter Egg Story?"

Naturally progressives would go on the offensive against this, given how much they hate all American holidays, especially Christian holidays. And I'm especially delighted that progressives are coming over here to fact check, anonymously or not. Freakin' progressive asshats.

The End of Family Practice

Or, at least the end of the neighborhood family practitioner who knows everyone's name, some of the same folks he spends time with out on the lake.

This is one more of those reports on the decline of traditional America, at New York Times, "Family Physician Can’t Give Away Solo Practice." It's Dr. Ronald Sroka in Maryland, who's been in practice for 32 years. He was looking to sell the practice, but no buyers. Sheesh, he couldn't give it away:

He tried to sell his once highly profitable practice. No luck. He tried giving it away. No luck.

Dr. Sroka’s fate is emblematic of a transformation in American medicine. He once provided for nearly all of his patients’ medical needs — stitching up the injured, directing care for the hospitalized and keeping vigil for the dying. But doctors like him are increasingly being replaced by teams of rotating doctors and nurses who do not know their patients nearly as well. A centuries-old intimacy between doctor and patient is being lost, and patients who visit the doctor are often kept guessing about who will appear in the white coat.

The share of solo practices among members of the American Academy of Family Physicians fell to 18 percent by 2008 from 44 percent in 1986. And census figures show that in 2007, just 28 percent of doctors described themselves as self-employed, compared with 58 percent in 1970. Many of the provisions of the new health care law are likely to accelerate these trends.

“There’s not going to be any of us left,” Dr. Sroka said.

RTWT at the link. And there's a video as well, at NYT's homepage.

When my wife and I moved to Orange County, in 2000, to get resettled for my new job at LBCC, we ended up looking through a big fat book of doctors who were part of our Blue Cross HMO. We picked a doctor just by the sound of his name, and we've been happy ever since. It's been just like the family doctor we had as kids. The doctor gets to know you. He's friendly and even offers his own personal counseling if necessary. It feels like the old days.

Yet it's been quite different with the pediatricians. Our oldest son was 5 when we moved down here from Fresno, and the first doctor we found --- also looking in the HMO physicians catalog --- was a prick. When my son was referred to a specialist for breathing problems, we ended up going with the new doctor, who had a large practice in Newport Beach, with about a half-a-dozen doctors. We're still visiting that office. Our youngest son is 9 and he's had a couple of different doctors from that medical group, but for a while it was just one women who was a specialist on learning disabilities. She helped us with some attention issues my son was having, and it worked out really well. But it's definitely a crap shoot if you don't have good references. You're picking names out of a book and ending up with these fancy, modern multi-physician practices where you'll be lucking if the doctors remember your kids' names. It's a nightmare, frankly, especially with a baby. So I can relate to this story about Dr. Sroka in Maryland. It's just him at the office. Unless he has some other local doctors to fill in for him on call he's screwed. That's why no one wanted to buy his practice. Here's the quote from NYT:

Indeed, younger doctors — half of whom are now women — are refusing to take over these small practices. They want better lifestyles, shorter work days, and weekends free of the beepers, cellphones and patient emergencies that have long defined doctors’ lives. Weighed down with debt, they want regular paychecks instead of shopkeeper risks. And even if they wanted such practices, banks — attuned to the growing uncertainties — are far less likely to lend the money needed.

That's interesting. It shows again how social changes --- especially affluence and the pursuit of leisure --- have influenced the way coming generations view traditional occupations.

In any case, what can you do I guess?

More later ...

Communists Coming to UCLA!

Once again, these folks must be "imaginary communists" --- or at least check it out with Tintin, the blogging asshat at Sadly No! Maybe he'll set the record straight, or not:

Because we do in fact hate commies, at least real commies, not the imaginary commies that community college Assistant Associate Professor Douglas sees lurking behind every potted plant."

More lurkers will be speaking at UCLA on April 29th. See, "A Dialog Between Cornell West and Carl Dix":

Live From the MGM Grand Las Vegas!

We're on the 18th floor. This is the view from my suite, looking north from the MGM Grand. A blogging room with a view:

A look inside:

Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton out in the foyer, near the elevators:

And the view south from the elevator landing. Excalibur Hotel is kitty corner across the from the MGM. And that's Mandalay Bay at center and Tropicana at left:

Guests gather around the lion exhibit:

Now coming back around under the glass canopy, some close-ups of one of the lions:

The view from the skywalk over to Tropicana Hotel, here's New York New York. That replica Statue of Liberty recently made it onto a U.S. Postal Service stamp by mistake:

Looking from the Tropicana across to the MGM:

David Copperfield is a big draw for the hotel, although my wife is taking me and my oldest son to see KÀ| Cirque du Soleil, which is supposed to the most popular among the many Cirque du Soleil productions in Las Vegas.

I'll have more blogging either very late tonight or in the morning. I'm looking forward to meeting up with The Vegas Guy tomorrow as well.

In any case, I'll be back ...

Henry Farrell, Political Scientist at George Washington University, Calls (Vaguely) for Easter Egg Bombing of Charles Krauthammer

In a blog post at Crooked Timber (at Memeorandum), George Washington University Political Scientist Henry Farrell suggests that columnist Charles Krauthammer celebrate "Charles Krauthammer Day" with exploding Easter Eggs:

And so the year rolls around yet again to Krauthammer Day, the day on which we all celebrate Charles Krauthammer’s confident assertion eight years ago that:

Hans Blix had five months to find weapons. He found nothing. We’ve had five weeks. Come back to me in five months. If we haven’t found any, we will have a credibility problem.

Or nearly all of us celebrate it anyway. Charles Krauthammer himself seems to prefer to mark the occasion with an entirely unrelated Run, Paul Ryan Run! column ... It would be nice to see him (and others) mark the occasion more formally ...

The post continues, in deliberately vague fashion, and notice how Professor Farrell would like it that Charles Krauthammer and "others" be blown to bits in a "Krauthammer Day" celebration featuring Easter egg bombs, and even that might not in fact be "dangerous enough to really mark the occasion properly." A little screencap to remember this occasion.

Added: Linked at Instapundit, "THE “NEW CIVILITY” FACES another grim milestone." Also, Newsbusters links, "Liberal Suggests an 'Exploding Easter Egg Hunt' for Charles Krauthammer."

Inside Job: More Than Half of Democrats Believed George W. Bush Was Complicit in September 11 Attacks

It's the mother of all conspiracy theories. As Ben Smith reports, in 2006 a majority of Democrats believed President Bush had a hand in the September 11th attacks, "More than half of Democrats believed Bush knew" (via Memeorandum).

Pure evil. There's no other word for it.

But Democrats are evil, so no surprise there (or at least the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Democrats are evil, and their base, folks who are working their hardest to destroy America).

$5.00 a Gallon Gas Prices

Here's the photo from last night, after getting gas at the California-Nevada state line. That's a first for me: $5.00 a gallon fuel prices. So I can tell you, it's not the "prospect" of $5.00 gas prices the president will face. He should be facing them right now, freakin' presidential asshat.

At USA Today, "Obama: We will end 'manipulation' of gas prices" (via Memeorandum):

Faced with the prospect of $5-a-gallon gas this summer, President Obama said today his Justice Department is creating a team to "root out any cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices."

"That includes the role of traders and speculators," Obama said at a town hall-style meeting in Reno, Nev. "We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of American consumers for their own short-term gain."

"This gas issue is serious," Obama said, adding that the best solution is developing alternative energy sources.

Yeah, better hurry up with that. The White House itself is doing its best to deplete existing reserves. See Paul Bedard, "Earth Day Ends Obama's 53,300 Gallon Trip" (via Mememorandum and Doug Powers).

Earth Day Founder Murdered and Composted Helen 'Holly' Maddux

Because of all the tea party action last weekend, I missed the chance to cover CSU Fullerton's 7th Annual Social Justice Summit. The keynote speaker was Captain Paul Watson, who is extolled in a quote at the announcement as "the world's most aggressive, most determined, most active and most effective defender of wildlife." What's not indicated to students attending is that Captain Watson's also known as one of the world's most notorious eco-terrorists. See, "The Greens' Favorite Terrorist." It's an affront to decency and the public trust that a violent activist like this was given a platform at the state-sponsored university to spit hate and vitriol against the system with calls for anti-capitalist revolution.

But no one should be surprised. It's all part of the left's Big Lie of progressive goodness, compassion, and benevolence.

The truth is, people like this are murderers and tyrants.

Case in point today is the surprising story at MSNBC on Ira Einhorn, said to be a co-founder of Earth Day, which is today, and who also murdered his girlfriend and kept her remains in a box in his apartment for 18 months. Facing trial for murder, Einhorn jumped bail and fled to Europe. As MSNBC reports:

After 23 years, he was finally extradited to the United States from France and put on trial. Taking the stand in his own defense, Einhorn claimed that his ex-girlfriend had been killed by CIA agents who framed him for the crime because he knew too much about the agency's paranormal military research. He was convicted of murdering Maddux and is currently serving a life sentence.

Unsurprisingly, no one is writing about this currently at Memeorandum. Doesn't fit the narrrative.

Five Guys Takes On In-N-Out

LAT had a write-up a couple of weeks ago: "Will Five Guys Overtake In-N-Out?"

It's a great restaurant. A couple of weeks ago I ate at Five Guys with my wife and the boys. And yesterday on the way to Las Vegas we stopped in Corona, where a brand-new Five Guys just opened off the I-15:

The place was packed. You can help yourself to some peanuts (on the counter) while you're waiting:

I had the single-patty cheeseburger "all the way" (with everything), which includes lettuce, mushrooms, onions, pickles, and tomatoes.

The food's more like home-made compared to In-and-Out, and so far the quality has been excellent. The french-fries are cooked in peanut oil, which gives them a different look and flavor. I could eat Five Guys regularly. The only problem is the price. A small, single-patty cheeseburger, small fries and a coke runs almost $9.50. That's about $4 more than In-and-Out. Both are good, but the restaurants are pretty different actually. Five Guys has no drive-through service, which is a disadvantage IMHO. And while Five Guys is delicious, In-and-Out remains the industry standard for service, speed, and quality. And unlike Five Guys, In-and-Out doesn't come on like it's got a lot to prove (restaurant reviews aren't splattered across the walls at In-and-Out). The rivalry could become a Coke-Pepsi, Hertz-Avis kind of thing. And it all might boil down to location. And personal preference, too, which for a lot of people will mean affordability.

Check it out, by all means!

I'll have some blogging from Vegas later.

Bright Light City Gonna Set My Soul ... Gonna Set My Soul On Fire...

I'm on the way to Las Vegas.

I'll be blogging from the strip at the MGM Grand. Check back late tonight or in the morning for more of the great stuff!

Until then ...

Marxism in the Classroom

At Washington Times, "NYC school teacher: Here's how you promote socialism in the classroom":

I'll have more on this later. Progressive asshats keep claiming there are few (if any) "real" communists in America, but they're actually coming out of the woodworks like a mass infestation. Must be "imaginary" communists, messin' with my head. Freakin' cobags.

High Gas Prices

From Doug Powers, "Obama: Gas Prices are High Because Climate Change Deniers Refuse to Tackle Global Warming." And Aaron Worthing, "Obama Cries Crocodile Tears Over High Gas Prices."

And at Wall Street Journal, "Oil-Price Fraud Targeted in Crackdown," and CNN, "High gasoline prices prompt Justice Department to eye energy industry."

Advertisers Flee Wonkette

From Steve Ertelt, at Life News, "More Companies Pull Ads From Wonkette After Trig Palin Post" (via Weasel Zippers).

Check that post. That's a beefy list of companies. Ouch.

Progressives Never Miss an Oportunity to Let the Mask of Hatred Slip

You gotta love this, from Michael Walsh, "The Tolerant Left" (via Memeorandum).

Just go read it.

Sarah Palin on Sean Hannity's Show, April 19, 2011

I'm going to have to catch up with all the Trig Palin news a little later.

Meanwhile, check Linkmaster Smith at The Other McCain, "Once In A Lifetime."

And Sarah Palin seems positively vibrant of late, and she's already the most politically vibrant woman in America!

More later.

Obama's 4/20 Facebook Fat Ones

Last time he hosted something like this the stoners came out in full force, putting the pressure on for marijuana legalization.

And apparently attempts the block the Bogarts didn't work out so well: "Obama's Facebook Forum Fails to Silence Marijuana Legalization Advocates." Which is like, duh. The Obamunist scheduled the event on April 20th, the date coinciding with 420 Magazine, apparently the main online journal for the drug decriminalization crowd.

Man, the White House planning office sho' be gettin' jiggy wit' it!

RELATED: At King Shamus, "4/20, Stoners, Legalization."

And actually, WaPo wants to ignore the pot promotions, "At Facebook, Obama seeks friends for deficit plan."

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube.

Added: At The Hill, "Obama gets warm reception from Facebook crowd" (via Memeorandum).

Stanley Ann Dunham's 'Naughty Mama' Pics Left Out of New York Times Report, 'Obama's Young Mother Abroad'

Here's this at the New York Times (via Memeorandum):

The president’s mother has served as any of a number of useful oversimplifications. In the capsule version of Obama’s life story, she is the white mother from Kansas coupled alliteratively to the black father from Kenya. She is corn-fed, white-bread, whatever Kenya is not. In “Dreams From My Father,” the memoir that helped power Obama’s political ascent, she is the shy, small-town girl who falls head over heels for the brilliant, charismatic African who steals the show. In the next chapter, she is the naïve idealist, the innocent abroad. In Obama’s presidential campaign, she was the struggling single mother, the food-stamp recipient, the victim of a health care system gone awry, pleading with her insurance company for cover­age as her life slipped away. And in the fevered imaginings of supermarket tabloids and the Internet, she is the atheist, the Marx­ist, the flower child, the mother who abandoned her son or duped the newspapers of Hawaii into printing a birth announcement for her Kenyan-born baby, on the off chance that he might want to be president someday.

Also, some perhaps not-so fevered Internet imaginings, at The Astute Bloggers, "Naughty Obama Mamma."

That said, Janny Scott wrote a commendable piece, drawn on her new book, A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother.

Combat Photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros Killed by Mortar Strike in Libya

At LAT, "Libya blast kills photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros."

Hetherington directed "Restrepo," which I saw and wrote about last year.

More at ABC News, " 'Restrepo' Partner: War Photographer Tim Hetherington Never Thought Himself Brave: Colleague Sebastian Junger on Friend and Veteran War Photographer Killed in Libya Attack."

Lady Gaga 'Judas' Video Controversy

From Kurt Schlichter, at Big Hollywood, "Lady Gaga, Fearless Artistic Visionary, Risks It All By Taking on Christians."

Image Credit: NME, "Lady Gaga to release 'Judas' video over Easter?"

Advertisers Ditch 'Wonkette' After Diabolical Attack on Trig Palin

You have to check Robert Curlin's Twitter page, which is lighting up with tweets and re-tweets about major advertisers pulling their ads from the despicable left-wing blog, Wonkette.

See Weazel Zippers, "Über-Classy: Liberal Website Relentlessly Mocks Palin’s Son With Downs Syndrome – Update: Papa Johns, Huggies Pull Their Ads From Wonkette…"

And NewsBusters, "Liberal Website Wonkette Disgracefully Attacks Trig Palin On His Third Birthday" (via Memeorandum).

And for the record: This is not an aberration. This is not an anomaly. Try denial as they might, progressives simply can't get around this, for this is what they do.

God help them.

ADDED: From Glenn Reynolds, "EVEN TODAY, AND EVEN FOR WONKETTE, THERE ARE LINES. Wonkette crossed one. Now people are boycotting advertisers."

Soak the High Achieving Students

From each according to ability, to each according to need:

And don't miss William at Pirate's Cove, who has video from the petition drive at UC Merced to redistribute grades. Not going over too well, (un)surprisingly: "Libs Love Redistributing Everything But What Is Their Own."

Ban the Burka?

Perhaps.

See Licia Corbella, at Calgary Herald, "More evidence why the West should ban the burka" (via Blazing Cat Fur):

"Women who do not wear head scarves are being threatened with violence and even death by Islamic extremists . . .," states opening sentence of an April 18 story in the Daily Mail in Britain.

Sadly, nothing unusual there, except that these threats are being made to non-Muslim women. Again, this is not unusual, since that happens throughout much of the Islamic world that imposes rules about dress on all women, regardless of their religion.

What makes the above news so disturbing is the women who are being threatened with violence and even death by Islamic extremists for not wearing a hijab (the Muslim head covering) and a veil (the niqab) are non-Muslim women living in . . . wait for it . . . Great Britain. Yes, you read that correctly. Non-Muslim women in a free and democratic country are being threatened with violence or death in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of London, no less.

But hey, no need to worry about creeping sharia in the West.

RTWT.

President Obama's Addiction to Lies

"We Lost By a Few Percentage Points in Texas?" Sorry, Mr. President, it was by about 10 percentage points, as WFAA-TV's Brad Watson pointed out on Monday, to the scorn of the Thugger-in-Chief.

And yesterday we heard about "Millionaires and Billionaires" (yet again) and "Collapsing Bridges."

Here's the video from Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, Virginia:

The Wall Street Journal, in a Monday editorial, corrected the president on his "millionaires and billionaires" claim: "Obama targets the middle class while pretending to tax only the rich."

And lots of folks are picking up on the failed bridge dishonesty, including Ed Morrissey: "Video: Obama uses false bridge-collapse argument to argue for more taxes," and CBS News --- CBS News!! --- "Obama invokes bridge collapse in criticizing GOP budget plan."

Progressives lie.

Lying is the basic foundation of the progressive model for the socialist political economy. But it's not just top conservative blogs taking exception. The local Texas news channel grabbed some glory on Monday, but hey, even the folks are CBS News are getting tired of the deception.

More at The Blog Prof, "Video of Obama's Madness: Raising Taxes On Rich Will Encourage Them To Keep Their Businesses In America or Something." And Memeorandum.

Los Angeles Times Wins Pulitzer Prize for Public Service

No begrudging this.

The Los Angeles Times did good. When I first blogged on this last year I had a hunch the paper would get a Pulitzer, and sure enough, what d'ya know? A throwback to old-school journalism. Good to see we still have some reporters keeping alive a tradition of excellence in investigative reporting. See: "The L.A. Times' coverage of the Bell scandal, which led to multiple felony charges against city officials, wins the Pulitzer for public service. Images that document the lives of crime victims win for feature photography."

California Teachers Union Plans 'State of Emergency Week'

It's embarrassing, but this is my union.

I just got the word that a mass protest is planned next month at Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles on Friday the 13th, naturally. It's the culmination of the union's State of Emergency Week, May 9-13.

Allyshia Finley had a report earlier, at Wall Street Journal, "When Unions Get Desperate" (via The Last Refuge):

There haven't been any major earthquakes or wildfires in California recently, but teachers apparently think that the potential budget cuts to education merit a "State of Emergency Week."

The California Teachers Association, the state's largest teachers union, is planning a week of activities in May. The goal is to pressure Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the state legislature to raise taxes rather than cut education spending.

Earlier this week the union posted a 10-page list of potential activities on its website, CAstateofemergency.com. Ideas included stalking legislators for a day; boycotting corporations like Microsoft that advocate for education reform; attempting to close down major roads; dyeing their hair red; holding night-time vigils with coffins and black arm-bands; picketing companies; and withdrawing funds from banks that "are not paying their fair share of taxes." They also planned to work with Ben & Jerry's to create a "labor-union flavored ice cream."

Apparently, the union didn't realize that documents posted to the Internet are available for public consumption. Once the CTA heard that the list was bouncing around blogs, it was removed. Soon, a new three-page list appeared that omits many of their more ludicrous and heavy-handed ideas but still includes plans to use students as props. Instead of bullying and boycotting businesses, the union now intends to meet with local chambers of commerce and to "focus [their protests] on how much money has gone to bail out Wall Street and big corporations."

These people aren't too smart.

More at the link above.

God and History Will Judge

Via Theo Spark:

The Face of Progressivism

Yeah, you know, because radical progressives are just so much more intelligent than everyone else:

BONUS: Progressive anti-school choice thugs show their true colors in D.C., at Washington Times (via Memeorandum):

Sixteen Years After the Oklahoma City Bombing

From Garrett Graff, at Fox News, "How the Attacks Led to the FBI's Counterterrorism Focus":

Also, at Time, "Oklahoma City Remembers Terrorist Attack, 16 Years Later."

Jerry Brown's Sweetheart Deal For Corrections Union Members Could Lead to Massive Payouts, in $100s of Millions, When Prison Guards Retire

This is extraordinary.

No other interest group in California politics is getting this kind of deal. See LAT, "New contra for California prison guards lifts cap on saved vacation":

Deep in the 200-page contract that Gov. Jerry Brown recently approved for state prison guards is a provision that could generate a cash windfall to the officers when they retire.

The guards, who are among Brown's largest political benefactors, would be able to save an unlimited number of vacation days under their new deal. When they leave state service, those days could be exchanged for cash at their final pay rate, which would probably be higher than when they earned the time off.

The governor is extending this benefit only to members of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., a union that spent nearly $2 million to help him win election last year.

Removing the decades-old limit on accrued vacation — now 80 days for most state employees — would be a "huge liability" for taxpayers, said Nick Schroeder of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Schroeder said he had not determined the cost of lifting the cap, but his analysis of the deal showed the average corrections union member has accumulated nearly 19 weeks of leave time to date. All of that time off has "a current cash value of over $600 million," he said.

The deal also would give the members 18 more days off over the life of the two-year contract, according to Schroeder, bringing the typical prison guard's time off to more than eight weeks in the first year.

Also in the proposed contract is a change in a provision that encouraged corrections officers to remain physically fit. In the past, they could get up to $130 extra each month if they met certain fitness standards. In the new contract, they would be eligible for the money if they simply go to the doctor for an annual physical, Schroeder said.

Hmm ...

No exercise recommendations. Prison guards as fat cats, literally.

More at the link.

California's going down, and I thought Schwarzenegger was bad. This is ridiculous. People in the private sector just don't get sweetheart deals like this. Brown campaigned on reform and reinventing government, but this might as well be news from today's Party Congress in Cuba. Propping up the old guard and delaying any meaningful Perestroika.

Trumka-Obama-Moonbeam Democrats.

Lord have mercy.

Fidel Castro Resigns as Head of Cuba's Communist Party

Actually, Los Angeles Times says he was removed as leader: "Fidel Castro officially removed as head of Cuban Communist Party." And noted there, Castro received a "sustained standing ovation" as he walked to the dais with the help of an aide. Also, at Wall Street Journal, "Cuba's New Guard Borrows From the Old Guard":

Cuba's ruling Communist Party named President Raúl Castro as its new leader and chose an aging former guerrilla as second-in-command Tuesday, dashing hopes the party might choose younger politicians to implement key reforms to the island's economy and introduce fresh ideas.

At the end of the first Communist Party assembly in 14 years, Mr. Castro, 79 years old, was ratified as first secretary, succeeding his brother Fidel, who last month said he had vacated the position. The party also tapped José Ramón Machado, 80, a hard-liner, as Mr. Castro's second-in-line.

While the choice of Mr. Castro was expected, the appointment of Mr. Machado, a vice president and former guerrilla fighter during the 1959 revolution, disappointed those who thought the party might introduce new faces to help manage major economic reforms that are planned.

The Cuban economy grew just 1.9% last year and the country's top leaders, including Fidel Castro, are old men. The party summit had been seen as a key chance for party leaders to manage change before it is thrust upon them by events, be it death or demands for change by the Cuban people.

"They're keeping to the hard-line, ideological old guard," said Uva de Aragón, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. "The problem is you can't have Stalin and Lenin trying to be Gorbachev at the same time."

Andrew Breitbart on Sean Hannity's Show, April 18, 2011

I watched this last night. Breitbart has come into his own. He timed his talk with Hannity very carefully, stressing the history of his personal life transformation. He notes at 6:00 minutes that "people come out of the woodworks and thank you for doing what is right." So true. But he continues --- and I love this --- with his discussion of folks from Hollywood wanting to come out of the ideological closet, including "punk rockers, people with mohawks" who are conservative.

A great interview. Buy the book here.

EXTRA: Folks will have noticed the Ann Coulter banners at the sidebar. She announced her forthcoming book last night during Hannity's broadcast: Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America. And right on cue, progressives have attacked her (as racist?) because --- get this --- the book's cover is black. Of course the slam's from Demon TBogg, so no doubt Coulter's hit the bullseye at the heart of progressive evil. Expect far more diabolical assualts and who knows what else from these genuinely demonic freaks. Coulter's got 'em down cold, and the book's not even out yet.

Thugger-in-Chief!

Oh boy, Obama Hussein was not cottoning to this interview, discussed by Doug Powers, "‘Let Me Finish My Answers’."

And at the end of the clip, Chief Thug indicates his displeasure, "Let me finish my answers the next time we do an interview, all right?"

Yeah, and don't forget the cannoli Mr. President:

And see WFAA-TV Dallas-Ft. Worth, "News 8 goes one-on-one with President Obama," (via Memeorandum).

Half of All Americans Disapprove of Obama's Job Performance

I'm surprised it's that high, although we've got 57 percent disapproval of Obama on the economy, so he is trying.

At WaPo, "Economic anxiety threatens Obama in 2012, but in poll he edges GOP rivals" (via Memeorandum):

Deepening economic pessimism has pushed down President Obama’s approval rating to a near record low, but he holds an early advantage over prospective 2012 rivals in part because of widespread dissatisfaction with Republican candidates, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

In the survey, 47 percent approve of the job Obama is doing, down seven points since January. Half of all Americans disapprove of his job performance, with 37 percent saying they “strongly disapprove,” nearly matching the worst level of his presidency.

Driving the downward movement in Obama’s standing are renewed concerns about the economy and fresh worry about rising prices, particularly for gasoline. Despite signs of economic growth, 44 percent of Americans see the economy as getting worse, the highest percentage to say so in more than two years.

The toll on Obama is direct: 57 percent disapprove of the job the president is doing dealing with the economy, tying his highest negative rating when it comes to the issue. And the president is doing a bit worse among politically important independents.

If Obama is running into headwinds, however, his potential Republican opponents face serious problems, as well. Less than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are satisfied with the field of GOP candidates.

That field is still taking shape, but the sentiment is a big falloff from four years ago, when nearly two-thirds of Republicans were satisfied with their options.

Well, it turns out Sarah Palin launched a new website yesterday, which stoked speculation that she's going to formally announce her candidacy. I hope so. She'll fire up the GOP. Game on.

IMAGE CREDIT: Serr8d's Cutting Edge.

Panel on Egypt's 'Facebook Revolution' at Long Beach City College

I'm posting the video as promised. An outstanding event. Folks were quite pleased all around, and I'm proud of my colleagues for putting this together. My talk begins after 49 minutes:

And a write-up at LBCC's Viking newspaper, "Social Confrontation."

Rising Fuel Costs Hit Air Travel, Consumers Hammered; Los Angeles Food Trucks Feeling Economic Pinch: Who's Next?

Vin Suprynowicz discussed the role of fuel prices in his review of "Atlas Shrugged." Gas was at $37.50 a gallon, so railroads became the most economical form of transportation. At those price passenger air travel would be 100 percent prohibitive. We're not there yet, but it's happening. See LAT, "Summer airfares may climb 15% from a year earlier":

As the summer travel season approaches, airline industry experts predict that soaring fuel prices and a sharp pickup in passenger demand will push airfares up 15% over a year earlier — to levels not seen since before the economic downturn.

Fare hikes have already begun, with six of the nation's largest airlines each raising rates at least five times since Jan. 1 for nearly all routes.

By the time the peak summer travel season rolls, travel industry experts predict, domestic airfares may reach an average of nearly $390, up from a low of $302 two years ago.

"We are definitely getting higher and higher and higher fares," said Tom Parsons, who runs the popular website BestFares.com. "They've been going up once or twice a month, a nickel here and a dime there."

And at the video, L.A.'s food truck business is getting hammered?

RELATED: From Pat Austin, "Is Atlas Shrugging Where You Are?"

Man's Rights

Well, with all the recent talk about "Atlas Shrugged," I've been skimming back over some of her writings. The novel is almost 1,100 pages, and I have no plans to re-read it (although I'm considering The Fountainhead for another round). I have been reading some of Rand's essays, for example, "Man's Rights", which is featured in her book, The Virtue of Selfishness. A sample:

The principle of man’s individual rights represented the extension of morality into the social system—as a limitation on the power of the state, as man’s protection against the brute force of the collective, as the subordination of might to right. The United States was the first moral society in history.

All previous systems had regarded man as a sacrificial means to the ends of others, and society as an end in itself. The United States regarded man as an end in himself, and society as a means to the peaceful, orderly, voluntary coexistence of individuals. All previous systems had held that man’s life belongs to society, that society can dispose of him in any way it pleases, and that any freedom he enjoys is his only by favor, by the permission of society, which may be revoked at any time. The United States held that man’s life is his by right (which means: by moral principle and by his nature), that a right is the property of an individual, that society as such has no rights, and that the only moral purpose of a government is the protection of individual rights.

A “right” is a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man’s freedom of action in a social context. There is only one fundamental right (all the others are its consequences or corollaries): a man’s right to his own life. Life is a process of self- sustaining and self-generated action; the right to life means the right to engage in self-sustaining and self-generated action-which means: the freedom to take all the actions required by the nature of a rational being for the support, the furtherance, the fulfillment and the enjoyment of his own life. (Such is the meaning of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.)

The concept of a “right” pertains only to action—specifically, to freedom of action. It means freedom from physical compulsion, coercion or interference by other men.

More at the link.

Tricia Willoughby Speaks to Madison Tea Party Rally

Via Ann Althouse:

RELATED: From Althouse, "A 14-year-old girl speaks at the Tea Party rally in Madison and is drowned out by chants, boos, and cowbells."

Pentagon Clears Gen. Stanley McChrystal After Rolling Stone Hit Job

In case you missed it, I reference McCrystal here: "Patterson School of Diplomacy, University of Kentucky, Screens Steven Soderbergh's Che to Commemorate Fiftieth Anniversary of Bay of Pigs." (And the reaction in the comments is precious.)

And here's this from New York Times, "Pentagon Inquiry Into Article Clears McChrystal and Aides":

WASHINGTON — An inquiry by the Defense Department inspector general into a magazine profile that resulted in the abrupt, forced retirement of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal has found no proof of wrongdoing by the general, his military aides and his civilian advisers.

Pentagon investigators said they were unable to confirm the events as reported in the June 2010 article in Rolling Stone, and found the evidence “insufficient” to demonstrate a violation of Defense Department standards.

The inspector general’s report, released Monday, also challenged the accuracy of the profile of General McChrystal, who was the top commander in Afghanistan. The article, with the headline “The Runaway General,” quoted people identified as senior aides to the general making disparaging statements about members of President Obama’s national security team.

The profile prompted a furious debate about whether the commander’s staff had used insubordinate language, and about the professionalism of General McChrystal’s team. He was recalled by the president, accepted responsibility for his staff’s actions and resigned.

One aide was quoted referring to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. using the phrase “bite me.” Gen. James L. Jones, then the national security adviser, was labeled a “clown” by one aide, according to the article, and General McChrystal was described as reacting with disdain to an e-mail from Richard C. Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who died in December.

The article did not directly quote the general as saying anything overtly insubordinate.

More at the link above.

What a tragedy. Progressives stabbed McCrystal in the back. Progressives stabbed the people of Afghanistan in the back. Progressives stabbed our uniformed men and women in the back. And they're currently destroying our nation from within and without. As Andrew said to the Trumka-Obama hordes in Madison: "Go to Hell."

What Trump Wants

Don't forget that I was in the house at CPAC when The Donald announced he was a candidate for the presidency. That's when he smacked down the Paulbots, which was priceless. I wouldn't have expected that he'd come on as strong as he has in the polls. Ed Morrissey has in interesting headline on that, "Rasmussen survey shows Obama can’t clear 50% even against Trump."

But see Politico, "What's Donald Trump really after?" (via Memeorandum):

More than anything else, according to those who’ve spoken to him, he doesn’t want to be seen as the butt of this particular joke.

“He gets mad that people aren’t taking him seriously,“ said a Republican who’s spoken with him.

Still, while he is “serious” from the organizational point of view and appears very likely to emerge as a formal candidate for office, he will struggle hard to be taken seriously as a potential Republican nominee. Trump may not be in on the joke — he rarely jokes about himself — but he has been a punch line as long as he’s been a public figure. He’s still more of a sideshow than anything else, most Republican insiders are convinced, and his respectable showings in largely meaningless early polls reflect little more than his widespread notoriety.

Zombie Tea Party Coverage San Francisco

Excellent photo essay, as usual.

See, "Tea Party vs. US Uncut: A San Francisco Tax Day Showdown."

Palestinian Teens Arrested in West Bank Fogel Family Massacre

I saw this first at William Jacobson's, "Fogel Family Murderers Captured."

Also at Joshua Pundit, "Fogel Family's 'Palestinian' Murderers And Their Accomplices Arrested," and Uncoverage, "Two Palestinian Teenagers Arrested for Murders of Israeli Family of Five."

And see John Hayward, at Human Events, "West Bank Killers Captured":

The murder of the Fogel family was an invisible atrocity, reported in very muted tones by the global media despite (or, more accurately, because of) its lurid savagery. Udi and Ruth Fogel were a young couple with sons Yoav and Elad, aged 11 and 4, plus a three-month-old baby daughter named Hadas. They were “settlers,” which means “people who live in parts of Israel where terrorists say Jews are forbidden to live.” The family was slaughtered with guns and knives. Their 12-year-old daughter Tamar was away from the house on the night of the massacre ...

Today is the beginning of Passover, when Jews remember the night when the Angel of Death walked the streets of Egypt, passing over Jewish homes, which had been marked with the blood of lambs. The Angel of Death has been making up for lost time with the Jews ever since. These days, the blood of lambs flows from the open veins of children. The “civilized” world finds many excuses to ignore their murders, and grows colder in the process.

Mary Katharine Ham — 'A Taxpayer Can Dream: My Special Day with the IRS'

At Daily Caller:

See also the Wall Street Journal, "Where the Tax Money Is: Obama Targets the Middle Class While Pretending to Tax Only the Rich." (Via Memeorandum.)

BONUS: At Doug Ross, "Larwyn's Linx: I Repeat to the Trumka-Obama Class War Cult: Go To Hell," and TrogloPundit, "This Week in Automotivators, April 11-17."

Atlas is Shrugging in California

I probably should have avoided the movie reviews before seeing the new film version of Ayn Rand's magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged. Rand's relentless affirmation of the individual against the state would be censored if today's socialist saboteurs of the economy had their way. And thus the reactions among the progressives --- while not unexpected --- were simply visceral in their condemnation. Of course the eternally angry Roger Ebert panned the film, but a bevy of other reviewers were only slightly less disgusted. Roy Edroso's piece is actually quite hilarious, but I doubt the diarists at Daily Kos have even read the book: If it's about the supreme morality of individualism and markets, then scoffs and guffaws attacking "greed" is about as sophisticated a response as you'll get. And other reviewers are just piling on by now, for example at Creative Loafing Atlanta, "Atlas Shrugged. Critics Deplored. Ideologues Flocked":

... it's a monumental piece of crap.

Left-wing propaganda? Perhaps. But when The Atlantic's Megan McArdle threw in the towel, herself a connoisseur of the free market, that sure seemed like a little much.

But just in the nick of time comes Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, with a fabulous review, where he notes:

The best word to describe Atlas Shrugged Part 1 is … surprising. It’s surprisingly well-paced, surprisingly intelligent, surprisingly well-acted, and surprisingly entertaining. Perhaps most surprising of all, it has me thinking about re-reading the novel again. I would highly recommend it to friends and their families.

And he adds in an update:

I deliberately avoided reading reviews of the film until after I saw it first...

I'm not that disciplined, alas, but RTWT. And see also the outstanding piece by Vin Suprynowicz at the Las Vegas Review Journal. I'd quote it, but considering the Review Journal's a Righthaven partner, folks can just read it at the link.

I have to admit being a little disappointed in the film, a disappointment only partially influenced the left's anti-Randian diatribes. I just felt that it needed to be bigger somehow, bigger in reaching to the majesty of the novel. I know I'm idealistic. Atlas Shrugged is larger than life, especially life in these United States where to celebrate achievement and self-interest is to be attacked as a class warrior. (I know, it should be the other way around, but I just last week had debates with people who attacked conservatives as fomenting class warfare, strangely enough.) That said, I did like the movie. I liked it a lot. I think Taylor Schilling plays a perfect Dagny Taggart. Not too different from how I envisioned her. And the sleek cinematography was perfectly riveting. I know this is Part I of a trilogy, but the movie was short and I wanted more. I wish I could just go back out to see Part II this afternoon.

One thing I worried about was how well the filmmakers would be able to place the setting in present times, 2016, amid a crisis of severe economic dislocation (like we're having under the Obamacrats in D.C. and across the nation). After seeing the opening scenes, and thinking about it a bit more, the scenario of disappearing industrialists seems entirely accurate. Indeed, as I've been reporting here of late, in California we've got the same kind of wrecked economy that Ayn Rand inveighed against. The Los Angeles Times was touting the expansion of the tech sector in February --- 100,000 new jobs were created --- while burying the lede on lingering massive unemployment in the state. But then the March job numbers --- unemployment edged back up to 12.1 percent --- forced the paper to be more honest. And then this weekend the Orange County Register published a devastating piece on the exodus of 69 businesses from the state for the first quarter of 2011. Reading the top ten list of reasons for businesses bailing is a jaw-dropping experience, but one that I'm getting used to. Between Sacramento and Washington, California can't get a break. Indeed, state officials have taken a fact-finding trip to Texas in hopes of stemming the flow of jobs to the Longhorn State and elsewhere.

Let's hope it gets better. For the past two years, the old Sunset Ford dealership in Westminster has been vacant, a symbol of the depression-like marketplace that hammered key sections of the local economy. For more than 40 years Sunset Ford did business at the intersection of the 22 and 405 Freeways, and so it was a shock to see that enterprise close its doors in 2009. And despite the Obama administration's economic stimulus, the location remains idle, like a ghost town:

Here's the old Sunset Ford sign, in disuse with no indication of replacement, down the way along Garden Grove Boulevard next to the 22 Freeway. It's a constant reminder of a collapsed marketplace:

As I was returning home, I saw this fellow with his homeless sign at the Jamboree offramp at Interstate 5. Notice the sign asks not for handouts, but for help finding ANY work.

This was a couple of weeks ago, and later that afternoon I went shopping at the District in Tustin. Borders is closing its location there, one of the 200 stores nationwide going belly up:

They were unloading everything:

But copies of David Remnick's recent book on the Radical-in-Chief weren't moving so well, and that's at 60 percent off:

And elsewhere around the mall stores have had trouble staying open , so it's not just Borders over here:

And checking over at Jamboree and Main Street in Irvine, this copying business, MyPrint, consolidated with an equity firm and closed this location. The local printing market is pretty messed up:

A lot of commercial real estate available throughout the Irvine business district.

I'm not sure what this was, probably a restaurant. This is down by Lake Forest, off the 5 Freeway:

I haven't had a chance to update with more pictures over the last couple of weeks, and not for lack of material. That said, there's indeed some robust sectors of the economy, especially entertainment and high tech. But overall California's economy is stagnating, and it's not going to improve as long as Democrat-socialists continue to sabotage the business climate with high taxes to fund out-of-control spending.

Sounds like something out of a movie, or something.

Protesters Booed the National Anthem at Sarah Palin Rally in Madison?

Freedom Eden has a roundup featuring this video:

But Althouse disagrees, specifying exactly what was happening, "Did the anti-Tea Party protesters boo the national anthem at the Madison rally yesterday?:

I'm seeing some assertions about this on blogs and in YouTube videos, and it's wrong if not unfair and deceptive ...

Meade and I have observed some of the most raucous rallies at the Capitol over the last 2 months, and the national anthem was sung many times, by the protesters themselves, and we witnessed respect for the anthem. In fact, you could go into the rotunda and start singing the anthem and people would go silent and even sing along with real feeling. They might have resented having to switch to solemnity when they were into raucousness, but they knew very well that they had to at least look like they respected the anthem.

Ann says that protesters yesterday were just successful in drowning out everything, and no doubt, especially with hate-addled progressives equipped with vuvuzelas:

Ann wants to be fair, and it helps of course to have been there. That said, Gateway Pundit has this: "TrumkaObama Thugs Scream, Curse, Beat Drums, Blow Whistles & Make Obscene Gestures During Palin’s Wisconsin Speech" (via Memeorandum).

This what democracy looks, or so they say.

Patterson School of Diplomacy, University of Kentucky, Screens Steven Soderbergh's Che to Commemorate Fiftieth Anniversary of Bay of Pigs

According to Robert Farley, who is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Patterson School, University of Kentucky.

See his entry at Lawyers, Guns and Murder: "Happy Bay of Pigs Day!"

Seriously. This is not a joke.

Farley indicates that watching the Che movie is "In support of my COIN seminar this semester..." Farley's seminar spends a week reading books on "the other side," including two on Che Guevara. I'm looking over the assigned readings, and it's "assumed" that students will read David Petraeus', U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, which is arguably the most important work on counter-insurgency published in the post-Vietnam period. Hopefully they'll have read it in time for its "deconstruction" in Week 4: Time for the Deconstruction of Field Manual 3-24. But better to "assume," since Farley wouldn't want to overload the students. In Week 12 they have to wade through "The Runaway General," at Rolling Stone, the article that helped bring the early retirement of General Stanley McChrystal, former Commander of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Some former uniformed personnel had only the warmest thanks for McChrystal's service, and no doubt McChrystal wasn't thrilled that President Obama was handing out medals to troops who did not kill the enemy. Now that's important! So I'm sure Professor Farley has students spend extra time studying the administration's debilitating Rules of Engagement (ROE) that have placed American lives at risk. And that's not all! Farley features Firedoglake's Spencer Ackerman as a guest speaker during that same week. Ackerman, who's also a military affairs writer at Wired, infamously quipped on Christmas 2009 that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempted airline bombing was "a joke" about how some guy was trying to "set off firecrackers" on a plane in a "failed bid for relevance." Boy, that's one crack seminar!

But hey, rejoice! Our future diplomats are in the best of hands! As I note at Farley's post:

The Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce is a propaganda outlet for the Cuban Revolution? Hey, way to train America’s next generation of diplomats! No doubt students get target practice as well, so they’ll be prepared to put the bullet in the next generation of counter-revolutionaries — just like Che!!

Whooo heee!!!!

RELATED: Some alternative readings for Farley's next "counter-insurgency" seminar. See Adam Hassner, "Why The 50th Anniversary of The Bay of Pigs Should Matter To All Who Cherish Freedom." And Babalú Blog, "April 17, 1961."

BONUS: From Ron Radosh, "Marx in the American Academy: When Will its High Priests Ever Learn?"

EXTRA: At ABC News, "Cubans Mark 50th Anniversary of Failed Bay of Pigs Invasion: Country Celebrates 50 Years of Staying Power and Standing up to America."

Tea Party Reshapes New Hampshire Calculus

At WSJ, "Movement Emerges as Wild Card for Republican Hopefuls In Presidential Primary Often Dominated by Independents"

CONCORD, N.H. — In the brewing battle for New Hampshire, the tea party is emerging as a wild card for Republican presidential hopefuls who want the movement's energy but must also appeal to the state's crucial independent voters.

The nominal GOP front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, appears to be hedging his bets on the tea party. He was a no-show at a tax-day, tea-party rally at the state Capitol here Friday, choosing instead to talk taxes in Florida.

By contrast, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, whose low-key demeanor and blue-state roots were once considered his strong suit, fired up the faithful at the rally. In a rousing speech, he hit at what he called "the triangle of greed" that feeds off ordinary Americans: Big Government, Big Unions and Big Bailout Businesses.

"Let's send them this message: Don't tread on me," he told about 500 tea partiers, many carrying a yellow flag bearing that same phrase.

Independent voters, however, have been fickle in the Granite State, and it is not clear how they will respond to that kind of rallying cry.

Interesting piece. There's more at the link.

And see Frontloading HQ for the list of 2012 candidates. Six Republicans have either announced a presidential exploratory committee or simply thrown a hat in the ring: Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. I'm not feeling a vibe for anyone here as the tea party candidate. Sarah Palin put a fire under media speculation yesterday following her barnburner in Madison. But she's still quiet on a formal announcement. I think Herman Cain's going to have a nice base of support, but we'll see how strong a contender he turns out to be. He's working on it, that's for sure. He's been truckin' it up to New Hampshire, as we can see with this clip from Brad Marston's shop:

And see The Last Tradition, "GOP prez hopeful Herman Cain Gives Rousing Speech at Tax-Day Rally: We Need Some ‘Altering & Abolishing’."

Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est ...

Well, since I'm trippin' on old music, this Talking Heads clip is surprisingly fresh:

And a shout out for The Other McCain, since I've missed linking over lately.

Animalistic Progressives

At Althouse, "How animalistic, frenzied, loud, rude, and desperate was the Wisconsin Capitol today?"

Andrew Breitbart confronts an angry union mob in Wisconsin," Says Instapundit, quoting Breitbart, who goes on about how ugly the "mob" was today at the Capitol:

[T]he defeats that the union’s leadership have suffered in that time have plunged these losers into an even more animalistic state of frenzy. Still stinging from last week’s election reaffirmation of Gov. Scott Walker’s policy of requiring public sector unions to face some of the economic realities that the rest of us have to deal with, the counter protesters both homegrown and bussed in them were louder, ruder and more desperate than ever....

Whoa!

Speaking of animalistic, here's VOM. Looks like it's filmed in Huntington Beach, but as it's 1976, who the heck knows?