Congressman Allen West: Political Correctness Biggest Threat Facing America Today

At the Heritage Foundation:

NewsBusted: 'Census: 50m Hispanics in U.S.'

Via Theo Spark:

BWAHAHA!! — MANCHILD REPSAC = CASPER Bawls After Blogger Help Forum Ignores Pitiful Whining!

Poor Manchild Racist Repsac3 = Casper. Blogger wants nothing to do with his epic mewling:

All I know is I'm not especially happy that this board and the FAQ are pretty much all we have, and if your question gets ignored (as this one's been for the last 24 days or so) there's nothing one can do but just keep waiting... This day & age, it ain't no way to run a railroad...

And boy, the dude's really given up on the hairline.

Those were the days, I guess. What a loser. Sad.

(So sad, actually. A liar and a hypcrite as well, but it kills me to pile on. ASFL.)

'Grotesque Anti-Semitic Imagery' — Literature for Circumcision Ban in San Francisco Features 'Monster Mohel'

Here's the press release from the Anti-Defamation League: "ADL Says Anti-Circumcision Comic Book Offends With 'Grotesque' Anti-Semitic Imagery."

San Francisco Chronicle has the backgound: "Literature for SF's anti-circumcision measure stars "monster" rabbis and blonde superheroes."

And at Los Angeles Times, "Jewish activists call circumcision ban superhero anti-Semitic":

A ballot measure to ban circumcision in San Francisco has taken a strange twist with the publication, by the measure’s sponsors, of a comic book in which an anti-circumcision superhero -– blond, buff and handsome -– battles evil Jewish characters who recall the stereotypical images of classic anti-Semitism.

"Foreskin Man" was written and created by Matthew Hess, one of the leaders behind the initiative to ban circumcision, the ritual cutting of foreskin on a baby's penis that, in the Jewish religion, is considered central to the covenant between the Jewish people and God. Opponents consider it painful and barbaric, akin to female circumcision rites in Africa that have attracted international condemnation.

The measure will be on the ballot in San Francisco in November. Hess is with a San Diego group, MGM Bill, which is also seeking signatures to put a similar measure on the ballot in Santa Monica.

From the rather crude comment thread at Joe. My. God.:

A guy whose last name is Hess probably should think about immediate perceptions that his work might be antisemitic.

Word.

Also, Zombie at Pajamas, "Proof that S.F.’s circumcision ban Is anti-Semitic" (via Memeorandum). And Atlas Shrugs, "NAZI LEGISLATION FOR A "JUDENREIN" (JEWFREE) CALIFORNIA: BANNING JUDAISM," and Bookworm, "The circumcision ban on the San Francisco ballot is driven by blatant antisemitism."

I blogged previously on the proposed circumcision ban in Santa Monica. Reports at the time didn't raise the issue of anti-Semitism, but something's really off with these proposals. See the Jerusaleum Post, 'No to a ‘brit mila’ ban."

Markos Moulitsas: Daily Kos' Anti-Semitic 'Decline and Death of Israel' Not Offensive

Still up at Daily Kos, "Eulogy before the Inevitability of Self-Destruction: The Decline and Death of Israel."

Yet, in an e-mail exchange with Tommy Christopher, regarding the extremely inappropriate publication of identities of minors at Daily Kos, Markos Moultisas responded:

from Markos Moulitsas
to Tommy Christopher
date Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 10:34 PM

subject Re: VERY Urgent you call me! One of your bloggers is compromising identities of two minors

That’s a community member’s post. Not my staff. I don’t exert editorial control over what the community writes absent legal imperatives or deeply offensive material. Right now, I’m seeing neither ...

Read Tommy's report for the whole e-mail exchange.

But look, that "Decline and Death of Israel" post would make the authors of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" blush. But apparently, that's not "deeply offensive material."

Moultisas doesn't care about protecting the identities minors at Daily Kos, obviously. Tommy Christopher is bothered: "It disgusts me to see any person behave this way, particularly a fellow liberal." Okay, well how about Markos Moultisas and the Jews, Tommy? Disgusted?

Take a good look at that entry, Tommy. Still call yourself a "liberal"?

Kudos to Tommy on the report, in any case, "Andrew Breitbart Did Not Run ‘Weinergate’ Evidence Which Turned Out to Be Fake" (via The Other McCain).

Shannan Click Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011

Well, the weekend is here, so might as well break up #Weinergate with some good old-fashioned Rule 5. I've decided against a full-(er)-blown Ginger Lee post, but Bob Belvedere's on the case: "Weiner Snits-Full: Starring Ginger Lee." And, well, more to the point, at POWIP, "A Break from Weinergate… sort of – or, A Good Woman is Hard… ehem… to Find."

Meanwhile, from Sport Illustrated, "Shannan Click":

Palestinians Ready Major Action Against Israel

Big news from the Middle East.

At Haaretz, "Dress rehearsal: The Palestinians are gearing up for more protests in the wake of their Nakba Day successes."

June is shaping up to be one big dress rehearsal for the tsunami in September. On Sunday, Palestinians will mark the anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War with processions and demonstrations in the territories and along Israel's borders. Toward the end of the month, a new flotilla to Gaza is planned, with the declared aim of breaching the blockade - which in practice has long since been lifted. In the meantime, the Palestinians will continue pressing their initiative for a unilateral declaration of a state come September.

From the Golan Heights to the West Bank, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's suggestion to the Palestinians will continue to resonate: to march en masse to Jerusalem. The idea is to create a popular, nonviolent demonstration along the lines of Tahrir Square, which would leave Israel unable to mount an effective response.

More details, and then:

Without ignoring the plans for Naksa Day, the country's leaders are now primarily concerned with blocking the Gaza flotilla, which is scheduled to depart on June 20. Currently, the plan is to have 15 boats carry about 1,500 Islamic and European left-wing activists who are seeking a bloody clash with the IDF. So far, only four boats have been recruited. Gantz promised the MKs that the IDF would block all attempts to breach the maritime blockade of Gaza, and added the self-evident: that the flotilla is a provocation, not an actual attempt to assist Gaza's residents.

Maj. Gen. (res. ) Giora Eiland, who headed the internal IDF inquiry into last year's flotilla episode, offered an interesting hypothetical proposition this week. If it were possible to get the Turkish government (as opposed to the organizers, who are from the extremist Islamic organization IHH ) to promise to examine the boats in advance, and ensure that they are not carrying weapons, he said, then Israel should consider letting the vessels into Gaza.

Yeah. Weapons.

See Ynet, "IDF has photos of armed flotilla activists" (via Memeorandum) Also at Israel Matzav, "IDF has photos of armed Mavi Marmara terrorists... but won't release them?!?"

RELATED: At CSM, "Israel's navy trains for second major Gaza flotilla."

Michelle Malkin: 'The Ick-arus of Capitol Hill'

At Michelle's:

Like the mythical jerk who ignored common sense and flew too close to the sun, Weiner keeps flapping his lips while the brouhaha’s heat melts the wax off his sullied wings.

Great essay. And a great interview:

And also:

* Robert Stacy McCain, "Weiner's Week."

* And Yid With Lid, "Reporting of Truth Behind Andrew Breitbart's Weinergate Coverage Proves Liberal Reporter Tommy Christopher's a Mench."

RELATED: At New York Post, "Lewd-pic recipient worn out by Weiner scandal" (via Memeorandum).

Coldplay: 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall'

The new single.

And the band's endorsing the movement of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel? That's lame. See Uncoverage, "Rock Group “ColdPlay” Endorses Jihad Against Israel."

Jack Kevorkian Dies

Dr. Death is dead.

At New York Times, "Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83; Backed Assisted Suicide."

Rihanna 'Man Down' Controversy

A couple of months back, my oldest son was playing Rihanna's "Man Down" 24/7, and I asked him if she had a video. She didn't. But she does now, and it's quite a sensation. See Los Angeles Times, "Rihanna, BET defend 'Man Down' video":

Rihanna had a simple response Thursday for advocacy groups condemning her latest video: She's not anyone's parent.

The singer found herself in the center of controversy this week after the premiere of her latest video, "Man Down," on BET's "106 & Park" — a video she promised in a Twitter message would have a "very strong underlying message 4 girls like me."

It's that message — which shows her killing a man who has assaulted her — that has drawn the ire of three advocacy groups that work, in part, to combat violent imagery in media.

The Parents Television Council, Industry Ears and the Enough Is Enough Campaign joined to condemn the video and urge Viacom, BET's parent company, to pull it.

BET said Thursday that it had no intention of doing so.

In a statement, Paul Porter, co-founder of Industry Ears and a former music programmer for BET, described "Man Down" as "an inexcusable, shock-only, shoot-and-kill theme song. In my 30 years of viewing BET, I have never witnessed such a cold, calculated execution of murder in prime time. Viacom's standards and practices department has reached another new low."

"If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET premiered it, the world would stop," Porter said, referring to the singer who pleaded guilty to assault in the 2009 beating of Rihanna, his then girlfriend. "Rihanna should not get a pass, and BET should know better."

The "Man Down" video, which has also been shown on Vevo, the YouTube music site, begins with the singer shooting a man as a crowd of bystanders flee. He is shown dead in a pool of blood. It then flashes back to the previous day, as the singer hangs out with friends, goes clubbing and on the way home is accosted in a dark alley by the same guy. It is implied that he sexually assaults her.

Representatives for Rihanna could not be reached for comment Thursday, but the singer took to Twitter to address the fallout.

Also at Baltimore Sun, "Rihanna's 'Man Down' Controversy Heats Up."

And check Rihanna on Twitter.

Added: At ABC News, "Rihanna Defends 'Man Down'; BET Stands by Video."

Linked at Zilla of the Resistance, "Parents: It's YOUR Job, Not Rihanna's To Be A Role Model For Your Kids!"

Plus, more at Pop Crush, "RIHANNA SPEAKS OUT ON ‘MAN DOWN’ CONTROVERSY."

Krauthammer on Palin

Rush Limbaugh's not pleased.

Weiner Now Silent Over Lewd Photo

At Wall Street Journal.

PLUS: "Nancy Pelosi, House Dems Cool on Anthony Weiner Twitter 'Prank'."

Obama Challenged on War Powers

He's getting hammered on this, and folks are talking about the introduction of ground troops. And Congress hasn't authorized the deployment? Obama's lame...

See Business Week, "Boehner Offers Libya Resolution Demanding Details on Objectives.." And New York Times, "House Sets Votes on Two Resolutions Critical of U.S. Role in Libyan Conflict":

WASHINGTON — The House will vote Friday on two measures that are strongly critical of President Obama’s decision to maintain an American role in NATO operations in Libya, reflecting increasing disenchantment among elements of both parties about the United States’ involvement in the conflict.

The decision to put the resolutions to a vote came after Republican leaders earlier this week postponed consideration of one of them, which would direct the president to end American’s military involvement in the operations. It was sponsored by Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, the Ohio Democrat who is one of the most liberal members of the House.

The leadership feared that the Kucinich measure would pass with backing from an unlikely coalition of liberals and conservatives, a step they contended would send the wrong message to allies engaged in other conflicts with the United States.

On Thursday, Speaker John A. Boehner took the unusual step of presenting his own resolution to his caucus to be voted on by the full House on Friday, along with the Kucinich measure.

If either or both were to pass, it would represent the most assertive stance by Congress to date on the Libya conflict and highlight the chronic tensions between the executive and legislative branches over the president’s ability to wage war without Congress’s express approval.

Amazing. The deadline for congressional authorization was May 20th. This is an illegal war without legislative action. Even President Bush got approval for Iraq. Boy, that's some change.

Mitt Romney Officially Launches 2012 Campaign

From PBS:

And at NYT, "Romney, Opening Race, Presents Himself as the Candidate to Face Obama."

I like Romney. But as I've said, I worry he's not conservative enough to generate enthusiasm, and if he's the nominee he may not differentiate himself enough from Obama, especially on the RomneyCare albatross.

Andrew Klavan: The One State Solution

It's Klavan on the Culture:

New York Times Scrubs Jill Abramson's 'Substituted for Religion' Quote from Executive Editor Announcement

Quite a few folks notice this.

As she often does, Althouse used the quote for the title of a post, at 12:18 PM: "'In my house growing up, The Times substituted for religion. If The Times said it, it was the absolute truth'."

And from a post timestamped 06:32 PM at Paxalles Blog:

Ms. Abramson, 57, said that as a born-and-raised New Yorker, she considered being named editor of The Times to be like "ascending to Valhalla."

"In my house growing up, The Times substituted for religion,” she said. “If The Times said it, it was the absolute truth."

And here's the quote from the updated entry:

Ms. Abramson, 57, said being named executive editor was “the honor of my life” and like “ascending to Valhalla” for someone who read The Times as a young girl growing up in New York. “We are held together by our passion for our work, our friendship and our deep belief in the mission and indispensability of The Times,” she said. “I look forward to working with all of you to seize our future. In this thrilling and challenging transition, we will cross to safety together.”

Maybe the New York Times as "religion" wasn't the kind of image the paper's trying to convey. Hits too close too home, obviously. Glenn Reynolds picked up on this. Abramson's not off to a good start, it turns out.

The Haley Williams Theory of Anthony Weiner's 'Hacked' Twitter Account

Parsimonious theories are best.

At AoSHQ, "The Curious Case of Hayley Williams" (via Paco Enterprises).

Ace has content warnings at the post, which is appropriate. Apparently, she was "hacked."

Barry Manilow New Album Release

The new album is 15 Minutes.

Manilow's a featured performer at Paris Las Vegas. My wife's been dying to see him. She's trying to get a vacation schedule approved and we'll take another trip out there. Recall that we stayed at the MGM last time. I really recommend it. An awesome hotel.

Anyway, Manilow's interviewed at Vanity Fair, "Barry Manilow Only Ever Played One Bathhouse with Bette Midler."

Huma Abedin, Wife of Congressman Anthony Weiner, Puts on Brave Face Amid Scandal

I feel bad for her. She's beautiful, and apparently a deeply trusted aid to Hillary Clinton. See London's Daily Mail, "As Weinergate goes on, Congressman's wife puts on a brave face and goes back to work with Hillary Clinton":

Amid the controversy and the scandal, as poised and unfaltering as ever, Anthony Weiner's wife returned to work.

Huma Abedin - who has only been married to the Congressman since July last year - put on a brave face and went to work as one of Hilary Clinton's most trusted aides.
The 34-year-old, who is the Secretary of State's right-hand woman, is said to have been carrying out her job as if nothing happened ...

RTWT (lots of photos.)

PREVIOUSLY: "Anthony Weiner's Political Obituary.

Added: At New York Post, "Weiner's unflappable wife finally gets flapped."

Anthony Weiner's Political Obituary

I have a snarky post already scheduled for Midnight, but the hits keep coming for Representative Anthony Weiner. And since I've been on this, well, here goes some more ... Robert Stacy McCain has the latest: "Finally, Weiner Calls the Police!" Actually, it turns out that Marcia Kramer of CBS News (New York) tried to get an interview with Weiner and he called the cops. So, yeah, this is the big development I was talking about this afternoon. And not only that, I like this headline, at CSM, "Anthony Weiner: Were his dreams of being mayor just Twittered away?":

It's clear Anthony Weiner wants to be mayor of New York. Just as clear, say analysts, is that 'Weinergate' will arm his political rivals for years to come, and isn't likely to 'just go away.'

Also at AoSHQ, "Hey, I Don't Want To Cast No Aspersions Or Nothin', But Anthony Weiner May Be Lying."

Also, see how long this holds up, at NYT, "Some Question a Congressman’s Uncertainty, but Others Take It in Stride."

Blake Lively Nude!

It's going wild right now on WeSmirch. Could be a hoax. Still, might get some Google traffic out of it.

PREVIOUSLY: "Leonardo DiCaprio and Blake Lively!"

New Ad from Emergency Committee for Israel Slams Obama on Israel Peace Proposal

Thanks both Democrats and Republicans alike, for standing with Israel. Puts Debbie Wasserman Schultz on the outs as well:

Voiceover: When President Obama sided with the Palestinians, members of both parties stood with Israel.

Harry Reid: Nobody should set premature perimeters about borders.

Steny Hoyer: Israel’s borders must be defensible.

Bob Casey: Jerusalem is the undivided and eternal capitol of Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu: And I see a lot of new friends of Israel here…. Democrats and Republicans alike.

Voiceover: The Emergency Committee for Israel thanks Israel’s true friends, Democrats and Republicans alike.

ADDED: Alana Goodman has more: "Here’s to Bipartisan Support for Israel."

Anthony Weiner Investigation Forthcoming?

I'm not sure if the latest developments are all that significant. Anthony Weiner's probably safe for now, unless somebody with real power puts the pressure on for an investigation. A wonderfully clear and concise case for investigation is offered by Jack Ford, in his interview with the lovely Erica Hill at CBS News: "Jack Ford Speaks to Erica Hill." And a report from Nancy Cordes also at CBS hits on the key inconsistencies in Rep. Weiner's denials: "Anthony Weiner Avoids Denying Racy Pic Is of Him." That said, this tweet from Katie Couric powerfully condenses the abject failure of the mainstream press to take seriously dirtbag Democratic scandals. And that's just Couric. MSNBC's the left's institutional channel, and Weiner got yesterday's softball interview of the day with Rachel Maddow. NewsBusters has an analysis of the interview, with some video highlights: "Maddow Gets Weiner to Admit That Pickle in Twitter Pic Could Be His." Maddow's queries are nearly all open-ended and she specifically avoids asking the key question: Why hasn't Weiner gone to the authorities?

Weiner is completely at ease with Maddow, of course. Contrast that with Bret Baier's interview yesterday, where the issue of contacting the FBI nearly burst a couple of Weiner's vessels. So, we've hit the wall on this story unless new evidence emerges or the pressure builds on Weiner to really come clean. If Weiner's innocent, why is he acting so guilty? And from the Wall Street Jounal, "Police could figure out Weiner guilt or innocence":

NEW YORK — There's one way Rep. Anthony Weiner could show that he didn't send a salacious photo to a female college student from his Twitter account: Ask law enforcement to investigate.

The New York congressman has so far declined to ask for an investigation into the photo, saying it's not a worthy use of government resources. The U.S. Capitol Police said it would not launch an investigation unless requested.

In asking a private security firm to investigate instead, Weiner won't be able to prove his innocence by obtaining logs from Twitter showing where his account was accessed from. Twitter says it requires a subpoena or court order to hand over such information. A subpoena or court order would have to be initiated by police or the FBI, not private detectives.

The scandal, which erupted last weekend, has been fueled by Weiner's initial refusal to answer questions about it. Although he started explaining his side Wednesday in a series of media interviews, some of his answers were perplexing.

Weiner was clear about one thing: He says he didn't send the picture, which was addressed to one of his Twitter followers, identified by news outlets as Genette Cordova.

If he didn't send it, that points to someone else using his account at Twitter or at yFrog, the photo-sharing site that stored the picture, according to conservative website BigGovernment.com, which first reported on the tweet.

Sites such as Twitter usually keep logs of which Internet addresses are used to access an account, sort of like an online guestbook. It doesn't contain names, but these numerical Internet Protocol, or IP, addresses identify computers and phones.

That's really it. The rest is just partisan baloney at this point ...

RELATED: At The Other McCain, "#WeinerGate: Who Is @PatriotUSA76? @AndrewBreitbart Wants to Know."

China Hacks Google

At WSJ, "Google Mail Hack Blamed on China":

Google Inc. said Chinese hackers targeted the email accounts of senior U.S. officials and hundreds of other prominent people in a fresh computer attack certain to intensify growing concern about the security of the Internet.

The victims, including government and military personnel, Asian officials, Chinese activists and journalists, were tricked into sharing their Gmail passwords with "bad actors" based in China, Google said in an unusual blog post. The attack's goal was to read and forward the victims' email.

The company, which in 2010 blamed China for an attack on its computer networks, said it recently discovered the Gmail campaign, which "appears to originate from Jinan, China," and targeted specific individuals.

In Washington, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security said they were working with Google to investigate the attacks. "We have no reason to believe that any official U.S. government email accounts were accessed," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

More at the link.

Interesting how the FBI got involved. It's a hacking case, you know, like Representative Weiner's. A Member of Congress certainly merits concern, although we've heard so many lies and distortions by now I think the dude's safe.

Anyway, see the Google blog post, "Ensuring your information is safe online." (Via Memeorandum.)

Sports Illustrated Investigative Report on Ohio State Football Program

I read this at my son's orthodondist's yesterday. A fascinating report: "SI investigation reveals eight-year pattern of violations under Tressel."

For more than a decade, Ohioans have viewed Tressel as a pillar of rectitude, and have disregarded or made excuses for the allegations and scandal that have quietly followed him throughout his career. His integrity was one of the great myths of college football. Like a disgraced politician who preaches probity but is caught in lies, the Senator was not the person he purported to be.

Apparently folks had come to call Coach Tressel "The Senator." Perhaps that once sounded kinda regal. Sounds kinda chinsey now. I don't follow Ohio State's program all that much, but they came to the Rose Bowl back in the 70s, and I've always admired the team.

Kevin Williamson's Guide to Socialism

Have you read his book? I've read some longer snippets, but held off going further for now, mainly because I think he's taken a public goods approach and applied it broadly to any economic situation where states supplant markets. Socialism in this sense isn't necessarily Marxism, but that's all I can say until I finish it. You get the gist of it at the clip, in any case:

Hotel Maids Get Panic Buttons

At Jawa Report, "Dear Foreign Visitors to NY: Hotel Maids Are Not Meant to Be Laid."

And Wall Street Journal, "After Hotel Attacks: Panic Buttons."

The Pierre hotel has suspended a supervisor and agreed to equip all room attendants with panic buttons in the wake of two alleged sexual attacks on Manhattan hotel housekeepers in about as many weeks.

The decision came after meetings with union officials, who pressed for strengthened protection for workers.

"Let everybody in the world traveling to New York know that when they stay in a hotel room, the person cleaning that room is armed with a button that they can immediately press if you're stupid enough to get inappropriate," said Peter Ward, president of the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, which represents about 30,000 workers.

A Pierre spokeswoman, Nora Walsh, confirmed that the hotel will give room attendants the alarms—modeled after those used by some elderly people to alert a central security office—as soon as a system can be devised.

The Sofitel New York—where former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of an assault—has also agreed to arm attendants with panic buttons, union officials said. Sofitel officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Well, I doubt if it's just visitors. See, FWIW, "Sex, Lies, Arrogance: What Makes Powerful Men Behave So Badly?"

'Islam is Chiefly an Ideology' — Dutch Lawmaker Geert Wilders Final Statement at Trial

Recall I saw Wilders speak on September 11, 2010. His cadence is the same, in Dutch or English. Via Blazing Cat Fur, "Geert Wilders Final Remarks To The Court, June 1, 2011":

That is why I have spoken, why I speak and why I shall continue to speak. The statements for which I am being tried are statements which I made in my function as a politician participating in the public debate in our society. My statements were not aimed at individuals, but at Islam and the process of islamization. That is why the Public Prosecutor has concluded that I should be acquitted.

Also at France24, "Anti-Islam lawmaker demands his acquittal."

Driver Accused of Murder in Crash That Killed Cheerleader Ashton Sweet

My oldest son ran upstairs a few nights ago to tell me that one of his friends had been killed. They weren't real close, but the teen girl, Ashton Sweet, was in my son's social circle, for football games and social networking. Ashton was declared brain dead by doctors but she was kept on life support while the logistics of organ donations were worked out. My wife took my two sons to the candlelight vigil at the scene of the accident on Monday. The story was on KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Irvine teen Ashton Sweet dies from injuries following Sunday crash" (with video). And at the Los Angeles Times yesterday morning, "Irvine family and students mourn death of cheerleader in car crash." And here's this from late Wednesday, "Irvine man accused of murder in crash that killed cheerleader."

One of those stories that really does come close to home.

We've said our prayers. It's so sad.

Children Are Among Casualties of Syrian Military Raids After Demonstrations

At New York Times.

Also, at Globe and Mail, "How a 13-year-old became a symbol of Syrian revolution."

RELATED: At CNN, "Report: Syrian abuses could be 'crimes against humanity'."

Anthony Weiner Can't Deny That Lewd Twitter Photo is Him

The Los Angeles Times sums up yesterday's news, "Rep. Weiner says he didn't tweet lewd photo":

Reporting from Washington— Rep. Anthony Weiner continued Wednesday to try to extricate himself from allegations that he sent a college student a lewd photo over Twitter, though the congressman's explanations did little to contain the sordid drama.

Weiner, a brash Democrat from New York who is considered a rising star in his party, maintained that his personal Twitter account had been hacked, but in television interviews he would not say for certain whether the crotch-level photo of a man dressed only in underwear was or was not him.

Weiner denied sending the photo to a 21-year-old female student in Seattle, an incident that became public over the Memorial Day weekend after conservative bloggers circulated the Twitter message.

He said that he had retained a private security firm to look into the matter, but would not call in the Capitol police or the FBI.

"I just don't think it rises to that level," Weiner told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. But "I know for a fact that my account was hacked. It happens hundreds of thousands of times every single day."

More at the link.

I blogged this all day on Wednesday, and perhaps the story's peaked (although I said the same thing previously).

RELATED: Also at LAT, "Anthony Weiner: No photographic memory of his underwear drawer." And from New York Times, "Lawmaker Denies Sending Suggestive Photo but Doesn’t Rule Out It’s of Him."

Lawrence O'Donnell: 'Not all sex scandals are actually scandalous'

Says the MSNBC host on Twitter.

And I watched his show tonight. What a disgrace. O'Donnell's a self-proclaimed socialist who rejects the values of a majority of the American people. Nothing wrong with it? We're all human, blah, blah ...? Well, I'd be more accepting of Anthony Weiner if he came out with some integrity in his response to all of this. Even left-leaning New York Magazine winced at the sheer stupidity of Weiner's press relations yesterday.

I'm not finding the whole clip, but Noel Sheppard has commentary and some video at NewsBusters, "Lawrence O'Donnell on Weiner: 'Voters Need to Realize Sex Doesn't Matter'."

Added: Interestingly, just found this at Neo-Neocon, "More on not caring about Weinergate: morality in private and public life."Maybe it's a libertarian thing. Oh, well, that reminds me why I'm not libertarian.

Bret Baier Gets Best Weiner Interview of the Day: 'I Know for a Fact That My Account Was Hacked'

Well, what is it? Representative Weiner told Wolf Blitzer it was just a prank. The guy's hopeless. And boy does Bret Baier put it to him: "It would take one call to the FBI and they would subpoena Twitter and within five minutes you could probably get the IP address ..."

Man, maybe Weiner should've avoided the media sit-downs today. It's like Ann Coulter said, "He cannot have an investigation for the simple reason that it will show that he posted the photograph himself."

RELATED: Howard Kurtz has a mini-roundup of today's interviews: "Anthony Weiner's Junk Defense."

Humiliating Tiny Stub of a Male Organ

Ouch.

From Ann Coulter, at Human Events:

Only a full and complete investigation will show that he had absolutely nothing to do with that humiliating photo of the tiny stub of a male organ sent to a 21-year-old coed from his Twitter address last Friday night.

And not kidding:

The reason the congressman is so eager to forgive the hacker is that there is no hacker. He cannot have an investigation for the simple reason that it will show that he posted the photograph himself.

In a panic when he saw he had hit the wrong button and sent a private tweet of his pecker to his entire Twitter following, Weiner blurted out the hacker defense, quickly typing: "FB hacked. Is my blender gonna attack me next?"

Unfortunately, there was no lawyer in the room to tell him: "Don't say that! They'll have to investigate!"

On Sunday, his staff followed up with a press release, saying: "Anthony's accounts were obviously hacked."

So he can't now claim he didn't say it.

After hiring a lawyer, Weiner quickly backpedaled from the "hacker" claim and began insisting, in another press release: "This was a prank. We are loath to treat it as more."
If it was a prank, then why did he hire a lawyer?

Weiner isn't a celebrity: He's a CONGRESSMAN. Whoever can hack into his Twitter account may be able to hack into other congressmen's accounts -- or into Weiner's briefing files from, say, the Department of Defense.

(Indeed, unless the alleged hacker is arrested, who knows how many Anthony Weiner penis shots could start circulating on Twitter?)

But when one of Weiner's colleagues, Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., requested a congressional investigation into cybersecurity based on Weiner's self-proclaimed computer attack on his Twitter account, Weiner denounced and insulted Stearns.

The best Weiner can do now is try to take his utterly humiliating penis photo out of the realm of criminal law by eliding "hacked" into "pranked." Legally, it's not clear what the difference is.

Anthony Weiner Google Traffic

It's a pretty big story. I noted previously my personal dislike for Anthony Weiner (still more to come on that), but mostly I'm not one to let a traffic opportunity go to waste. And if you think that's shameless, you should see Robert Stacy McCain, "All the Weiner You Can Handle: Why MSM Can’t Ignore This Scandal Now."

RELATED: An indication of how bad this is for the Democrats is how frantic are the efforts to debunk the story. The progressive blog Cannon Fire's getting some play on Memeorandum right now, but check Red State for the debunking of the debunking. Indeed, idiot progressives are further making the case for a formal investigation: "Case Closed? Leftblog Claims Definitive Proof Weiner Was Framed." Also, at Founding Bloggers, "BREAKING WEINERGATE UPDATE: Lefty Blogger Exposes Massive yFrog-Twitter Vulnerability! Weiner Might Not Have Sent The Wiener" (via Instapundit).

Also, at Christian Science Monitor, "Twitter scandal: a mess for Anthony Weiner, a lesson for Congress":

Rep. Anthony Weiner has been unable to put questions about a lewd picture on his Twitter account behind him. The rest of Congress might become more wary of Twitter.

Ya think?

Joan Walsh on #WeinerGate

I don't like Anthony Weiner, obviously, but another reason I'm fascinated by the story is the fail factor on the left. More on that later. For now just dig into Joan Walsh's dishonest, pathetic partisan rant: "Lessons I won't learn from Weinergate."

Also, Weiner was on CNN, and I'll look for the video later. Meanwhile, Ace has comments: "Wolf Blitzer Asking Weiner The Most Candy-Cane Questions Possible."

Anthony Weiner Comes Clean! — UPDATE! MSNBC Interview Added (VIDEO)!!

Not quite, although the congressman's agreed to media sit-downs. I'm watching MSNBC right now. And at Politico, "Rep. Anthony Weiner 'can’t say with certitude' photo isn't him":

"I was a victim of a prank ..."

Rep. Anthony Weiner says he “can’t say with certitude” that the photo of a man’s crotch sent using his Twitter account isn’t of him.

“I didn’t send that picture out,” Weiner says.

“That’s not a picture of you?” he is asked by NBC News.

Weiner responds: “You know, I can’t say with certitude.”

The New York lawmaker continued to claim that his Twitter account was hacked.

Developing ...

12:15 PDT: The Other McCain reports: "Oh, My: In NBC Interview Weiner Won’t Deny Authenticity of Lewd Photo."

And basically the same story at CBS News.

I'm waiting for Rep. Weiner to sit down with Bret Baier at Fox News. This is gonna be killer!

12:45 PDT: Emily Miller tweets this photo:

Still waiting for further interviews. CNN says they have a sit-down with Weiner coming right up ...

1:10 PDT: Okay, here's the clip from MSNBC:

Kashmir Hill: The Perfect Media Storm That Is 'Weinergate'

She writes the "Private Parts" column at Forbes. And she's good:

Unless you unplugged during Memorial Day weekend, and never managed to plug back in, you’ve heard of ‘Weinergate.’ Back story for those that have been in the hospital with firework injuries: a conservative blog reported over the weekend that New York representative Anthony Weiner tweeted a photo of the Congressional member’s member at a young woman in Washington. No actual nudity was involved, though an outline of the littlest member of Congress is visible in the photo of gray boxer briefs and a man’s thighs.

The story has been the perfect storm for news coverage, involving social media, political scandal, and fun word play given Rep. Weiner’s last name.

Weiner has called it a prank, saying initially that his Twitter account must have been hacked. Lots of media are reporting on the story but with little evidence to go on. The photo was taken down right away from Rep. Weiner’s Yfrog account, saved and noticed only by a Twitter user with a conservative bias with the handle PatriotUSA76. Topsy.com indicates the original tweet was retweeted just 16 times, which seems odd since Weiner has tens of thousands of followers on Twitter.

Weiner himself originally joked about the incident, but now, Day 5 into Weinergate, is making clear that he’s sick of answering questions about it. The scandal would have stamina regardless, but unfortunately for Weiner, this happened at a terrible time — during a holiday weekend, when there’s little other news. Weiner’s attempts to move on seem to just be making it worse.

You can say that again.

More at the link.

Also at U.S. News, "PR Pros Say Weiner Is Bungling the Twitter Sex Scandal."

Fox News is reporting that Congressman Weiner will speak to the media shortly. I asked previously if Weiner would resign? I don't think so, but he may come clean and let the chips fall where they may. We'll see.

London's Daily Mail Reports on Anthony Weiner and Porn Star Ginger Lee (PHOTOS)

And then some. It's a story made for the tabloids. See: "Revealed: The glamorous Twitter girls followed by Congressman Weiner as he denies sending lewd picture."

PREVIOUSLY: "Tony Weiner's Tweetin' Heart!"

Tony Weiner's Tweetin' Heart!

Aaron Worthing's unimpressed with Jon Stewart's Anthony Weiner coverage: "Jon Stewart on Weiner: My Friend is Innocent Because He is Not That Well Hung." Video's at the link. And you gotta admit that's something else. Weiner's definitely in Stewart's wheelhouse. And that's not all. The folks at the New York Post are working up a storm on this. Not only are they digging some dirt on Weiner's 'tweet-hearts', but they're killin' the dude at the editorial page. See, "Weiner's tweet-hearts: Babes revealed amid his cranky non-denial on pic," and "The Weiner weirdness: unanswered questions in Anthony Weiner photo flap":

What a creep.

As The Post reports today, it turns out that Twitter, for the recently married Rep. Anthony Weiner, is a cool place to meet girls.

Which may well explain why he was following the Twitter account of a winsome 21-year-old community-college student from Seattle, Gennette Cordova, who last weekend received a lewd photo apparently originating from the congressman's own Twitter feed.
And maybe why, during an extraordinarily contentious Washington press briefing yesterday, Weiner repeatedly refused to answer any questions on the incident.

Weiner initially claimed he was the victim of a hacker -- and then tried to dismiss the whole thing as a harmless "prank."

But by Monday night, the lawmaker had lawyered up -- saying he might pursue "civil or criminal" avenues, although he still hasn't called the cops and yesterday refused to say why.

That's strange: Identity theft involving ordinary people, let alone a congressman, is a serious crime.

So why the reticence to go after someone he says hacked into his accounts, and thus to clear his name as the candidate field forms for the 2013 mayoral race?

Does he hope that the story will just fade away? Not likely.

And still more at the link. The Post indicates that it's about far more than who Congressman Weiner's following on Twitter (not insignificant in itself, of course), but what his handling of the scandal reveals about his fitness to serve --- especially as mayor of New York City.

RELATED: Via Dan Collins, "Hard On Weiner?" Dan's looking to move on to some breast blogging! And well yeah, I'm, a little hung up on the Weiner story, but you gotta go for the SEO when the action's, er, hot. See AoSHQ on that as well, "No Seriously We're Going To Put Up Other News, But, Just This."

Anthony Weiner on 'Good Morning America'!

Man, that's some morning coffee.

And interesting to see George Stephanopoulos reporting. Word has it that Step's mentor Bill Clinton did the honors at Weiner's wedding. Democrats all around would like this to go away, but news is news, and Weiner's making it hard to ignore.

And that's now all. Mediaite has more on the morning news coverage: "Breakfast Sausage: TODAY Shows Weiner Pic Sent From Rep. Weiner’s Twitter."

And The Other McCain takes stock:

Yesterday’s televised meltdown was, I think, complete vindication for those of us in the online community who spent Memorial Day weekend trying to convince people that #WeinerGate was an honest-to-goodness genuine news story.

It’s not only real, it’s spectacular.

Space Shuttle Endeavour's Final Landing

I watched on Fox, and check NASA's Shuttle page for updates. And at ABC News, "Space Shuttle Endeavour Lands Safely in Florida."

I'll post video later this morning.

Added: AP Video.

Paris Hilton Discusses Sex Tape on 'Piers Morgan Tonight'

In yesterday's post, I went without any scintillating photos, etc., of Paris Hilton (well, I actually couldn't resist posting the Stones' "Respectable). But what the heck? She's in the news again with her Piers Morgan interview, so here you go. Breaks up the #Weinergate reporting.

Emotional:

Sarah Palin Meets Donald Trump

See ABC News, "Sarah Palin, Donald Trump Meet In New York City Tuesday Night, Eat Pizza."

Also, "Palin punks the media — again," and "Matt Lewis: Palin’s bus tour causes media bickering on Twitter." Plus, "Palin fakes out reporters at Gettysburg hotel."

RELATED: At Los Angeles Times, "Sarah Palin's bus tour steals spotlight from GOP presidential candidates":

Reporting from Philadelphia

Sarah Palin's bus tour took her to Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and a pizza dinner with Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday, moves that may not have telegraphed serious presidential intentions but at least gave her another day of something immeasurable: attention.

Republican candidates who are intensely wooing early-state voters found themselves eclipsed for another day by the former Alaska governor, who repeated Tuesday that she was pondering whether to run. Unlike them, Palin found herself surrounded by reporters and voters, her bus tour bringing her back to the forefront of GOP politics regardless of her ultimate decision.

"Whether she runs or not, Palin needs to stay relevant in order to leverage her celebrity, influence and earning capacity," said Mark McKinnon, a Republican consultant who helped coach Palin when she was preparing for her vice presidential debate with Joe Biden in 2008. "She just proved that she still can generate crowds anytime she wants. Her machine just got oiled and taken out for a test drive."

McKinnon said that because of Palin's unique status — 100% name recognition and ability to raise money quickly — she could delay her decision longer than any other potential candidate. "And there's no downside to teasing the possibility just as long as possible," he said.

Republicans on the ground in the two earliest voting states agree.

"I do think she's being very smart, sort of helping to keep all her options open," said David Carney, a political consultant who is helping Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire. He has seen no evidence that she is organizing there, but said that if she chose to run, her effect on the race would be "huge."

Andrews Breitbart Calls Out Jeffrey Toobin for 'His Own Sexual Scandal'

Look, I couldn't believe Jeffrey Toobin earlier today, dismissing the Weiner scandal as a silly little matter. I've never thought that way about Toobin, although I never knew the guy was a total dirtbag either. Turns out that Toobin's alleged to have knocked up Casey Greenfield, daughter of CBS News' Jeff Greenfield. I saw this earlier at Moe Lane's, "Hey, Remember Jeffrey Toobin?" Then I caught Andrew Breitbart's tweets on this as well. And as sure as the spring, here comes the Daily Caller, "Breitbart drops the hammer, calls out Jeffrey Toobin on ‘Weinergate’":

“Look, there’s clearly a double standard with the mainstream media,” Breitbart said. “If this were a Republican, like Mike Lee or Larry Craig or Mark Foley, it becomes the single most important story in the history of the media for three weeks, four weeks. We are inundated with it and then the Nancy Pelosis and Anthony Weiners of the world come out there and say there has to be the ethics investigation because this is how Republicans are but yet the Democrats right now are going out there on TV just like Jeffrey Toobin who has been involved in his own sexual scandal – Jeffrey Toobin who sought out during Monica Lewinsky tried to investigate into Henry Hyde’s sex life going back years and this guy is going on television today to say we shouldn’t pay attention to an alleged hack into a congressman’s computer? It’s ridiculous.”

More at the link, including video.

I'm adding this Anderson Cooper clip, with Dana Bash and Jeffrey Toobin. Bash works hard to be a respectable journalist and Toobin, well, he's another ASFL:

The Other McCain's having a huge traffic day as well, and he's probably resting now, but will no doubt be pumping out blog posts when he wakes up in a few hours.

Meanwhile, at Ace of Spades, "In Which I Attempt To Explain Human Behavior To the Reality-Based Community."

Anthony Weiner Resignation Forthcoming?

Sarah Palin's all over the news channels, obviously, since MFM outlets are generally loathe to report honestly on scumbag Democrats. That said, Instapundit links to Mickey Kaus: "The MSM does not seem to be buying Weiner’s line." (Dana Bash was awesome today.) But check Bill O'Reilly on the odd absence of a federal investigation (via Gateway Pundit):

PLUS, Ace of Spades suggests we "Place Your Bets." Okay, I'm betting Weiner's running outta lifelines. Resignation coming soon? Folks joking about it on Twitter. We'll see though.

Anthony Weiner's Angry Exchange With CNN's Dana Bash

At the Other McCain, "#WeinerGate OMFG! @RepWeiner Gives Worst Press Conference EVAH! (Video)."

I'm going with CNN's clip, "Weiner says he's done talking about Twitpic":

And Doug Ross has the transcript: "Kudos to CNN's Dana Bash: Absolutely Shreds Anthony's Weiner Over His Refusal to State Whether He Tweeted the Weiner (Transcript)."

Kaboom! Anthony Weiner Scandal Explodes!

I was wrong last night. When I posted on the New York Times's Weiner twitter story I thought perhaps the scandal was peaking. Maybe it was just me, although, yeah, we had the long holiday weekend and establishment D.C. is back to work. But still, Weinergate has taken off exponentially on the web. If People Magazine's on the case, no doubt reports of a congressman's bulging underwear have some, er, longevity. See, "Did Rep. Anthony Weiner Tweet a Lewd Photo to a Woman?" Well, to answer, Weiner denies it, but his story's been changing and most folks on the right are having none of it. See Cold Fury: "Of COURSE he’s lying." Plus, Aaron Worthing and Lee Stranahan, at Patterico's, have some great reporting, for example, here, here, here (hilariously), and here.

And check out Andrew Breitbart's interview on CNN:

Be sure to listen through to Jeffrey Toobin's ridiculous comments about how Breitbart's statements are "outrageous" and that, "look, this is a lighthearted story ... and everybody knows that on the Internet stuff happens ..." And get this: "Look, Twitter is not a very secure environment ... sometimes the information is unreliable ... it doesn't even come from the people it appears to come from ..."

Right. My god, that's almost a criminal. Any wonder everyday Americans get so angry at the pompous cable talking heads who don't know shit, frankly? Well, it's not all bad. See also Liberty Chick, at Big Journalism, "Blame Breitbart!: Salon.com Editor Joan Walsh Lies and Bullies on Weinergate."

So, yeah, I was wrong about this story peaking. Coverage continues to build, at ABC News, for example, "Rep. Anthony Weiner Gets Combative With Reporters About Lewd Twitter Photo."

And of course, keep up on things at Big Government.

Added: Don't miss Michelle's essay, "Weighing in on Weiner." (Fit is hitting the shan.)

Also, at Hot Air, Weiner has a heated exchange with CNN's Dana Bash!

Jim Tressel Resigns

I got the news on Twitter last night (of course).

And a good read on this, from Chris Dufresne, at LAT, "Ohio State's Jim Tressel dug himself into a hole with handling of scandal":

Hubris is part of the plague of being one of the most powerful people in town, as Tressel was in Columbus. Control freaks think they can control things. Control freaks with power think they can control everything.

Tressel's 106 wins in 10 years, 2002 national title and 9-1 record vs. Michigan made him virtually unimpeachable.

It must have made him think he didn't need to disclose NCAA violations even as he signed a "certificate of compliance" form in September certifying he knew of no violations in his program.

That was grounds right there for his dismissal.

Tressel kept lips zipped in December when the violations became public. He stood by as his players took five-game suspensions for the 2011 season.

His lie was the worst kind — confessed only when discovered by canvassing his emails.

Not only did Tressel know of the violations, having been tipped by Columbus attorney Chris Cicero, he forwarded the information to one of the player's mentors.

You'd think the adults couldn't mess it up more than that, but they did.

RTWT.

So Respectable: Paris Hilton Eager to Shed Party-Girl Image

At LAT, "Paris Hilton's higher aims":

When you're sitting in Paris Hilton's living room, plenty of things catch your attention. The half-dozen dogs, three Munchkin cats (bred to have absurdly miniature legs), and one 150-pound pot-bellied pig sashaying around the backyard pool. The Pepto-Bismol-pink Maserati in the driveway, next to the powder-blue Maserati. The throw pillows emblazoned with pictures of her famous face. The two gigantic nudes of herself on opposing walls, displayed above gold-trimmed couches.

But it's the voice — that's the thing that stands out most when you sit down for a talk with Paris Hilton. It's mature. Deep, even. "Yeah, I have a normal voice," Hilton said. "That's the one thing people say when they meet me. That I don't speak like I do on TV. I don't speak like a baby."

Poised and perfectly coiffed, with long, white-blond extensions tumbling below thin shoulders, the hotel heiress is promoting her latest reality series (her third, for those keeping track). "The World According to Paris" airs Wednesday on Oxygen, a basic-cable channel that targets women and is owned by NBC. It's pitched as being different from anything else she's done because this is, as Hilton puts it, "the real" her.

"I wanted to get at this whole spoiled-heiress perception," said the great-granddaughter of hotelier Conrad Hilton. "There are a lot of heirs out there that don't work because they don't have to. That's not me. I've had success on my own. I bought this house myself, I've bought every car I own. It's all me and my hard work."

More at the link above.

Sociology and Other 'Meathead' Majors

From Harvey Mansfield, at Wall Street Journal (and here, in case it's behind the paywall).

Substituting "political science" for "economics" at the essay also works. (Recall this post.)

David Horowitz: 'The Totalitarians Within'

At FrontPage Magazine:

On May 11, 2011, I spoke to a student audience at UCLA for about an hour. My speech was video-taped and recorded on audio. Frontpage Magazine posted the video and an edited transcript of the speech. We are now posting an unedited transcript (accessible here) for reasons I will make clear in a moment.

On May 24, the Undergraduate Students Association at UCLA, by a 10-0 vote passed a resolution proposed by the Muslim Students Association declaring that “UCLA is a UC Campus Against Islamophobia.” I don’t mean to suggest that my appearance was the sole trigger of this resolution but it didn’t surprise me to find that among the numerous “Whereas” clauses in which the reasons for the resolution are stated, I am the only individual mentioned, or that it just came two weeks after the “controversy” surrounding my appearance which was really not so much a controversy as a series of one-sided assaults on myself and the College Republicans who invited me. “Islamophobes! Racists!” Call it an opportunity that I presented for the MSA and its supporters to extract concessions from the broader student population and to attempt to reach into their pockets in the process. Since student governments are proving grounds for future politicians, it is also a moment for the rest of us to reflect on what is in store for the country if these university elites can repeat their gains in the world beyond the campus.

Here is how the Muslim Students Association formulated the concept “Islamophobia:”

Islamophobia is defined as ideologies, beliefs, and actions that perpetuate inaccurate and xenophobic views toward the culture and practice of Islam and the personification of its followers, such as being seen as monolithic, seen as a separate and ‘other’ culture that does not share common values, seen as inferior to the West, seen as violent, aggressive, and supportive of terrorism, seen as sexist and oppressive of women, seen as a political ideology used for political advantage, anti Muslim hostility, and exclusionary or discriminatory practices against Muslims from mainstream society;

Please note, “Islamophobia” is manifest in statements about Islam that are “innaccurate” (and by whose standard you might ask); by statements that reflect the view that Islam “does not share common values” (as for example, a belief in the separation of church and state?); by attitudes that regard Islam as “inferorior to the West” “as sexist and oppressive of women” (in other words no more noticing that in sharia-governed countries women are consigned to a second class status that renders them the virtual chattel of males); nor can one entertain the opinion that Islam is a political ideology (as it indubitably is in Iran, Saudia Arabia, Lebanon and Gaza, just to name a few zones where the lines between politics and religion are invisible). In other words no noticing that the “Party of God” (Hezbollah) or the Muslim Brotherhood which is now the most powerful political party in Egypt are actually political. Nor can you link the Islamic beliefs, codified by a warrior named Mohammed who urged his followers to slay infidels and cut off their heads with terrorists who invoke those beliefs when slaying infidels by cutting off their heads.

My recent speech at UCLA is adduced as evidence of the Islamophobia directed against Muslims in this clause:

Whereas, On Wednesday May 11th controversial speaker David Horowitz made false allegations on campus against the Muslim Students Association and the Afrikan Student Union, and further instilled hate against Muslims by stating that “Islam is a sick, sick culture” (5)(6);

Two footnotes are attached to this clause as if there were some actual connection to facts of my appearance at UCLA on May 11. One of the footnotes links to a column by a UCLA Muslim, Asra Ziauddin, which seizes on the “Wall of Lies” that I had written and that College Republicans had erected to counter the slanders of Palestinian Awareness Week at UCLA. Palestine Awareness Week claimed among many similar blatant falsehoods designed to demonize Jews and the Jewish homeland, that Israel is an “apartheid state.” Our response: Israel is not only not an apartheid state, it is the only real democracy in the Middle East. To this Ziauddin countered — “Myth: Israel it is the only democracy in the Middle East. Fact: This democracy only works for Jewish citizens.”

Actual Fact: Israel’s democracy works for 1.4 million Arabs who are Israeli citizens as well. To prove his fallacious point Ziauddin writes: “Six million Palestinian refugees have not been granted the right of return.” I don’t for a moment believe that Ziauddin’s invented figure “six million” is a coincidence, but there is no such right of return except in the minds of Palestinian revanchists.

RTWT at the link.

It's a tough battle, but truth prevails.

Peter Ingemi at New York Post: 'Too many coincidences in Weiner's tale'

"DaTechGuy in Da New York Post."

He's got a Memeorandum thread as well:

On Twitter, famous people tend to have tens of thousands to millions of followers — but they themselves follow only a fraction of that amount.

Rep. Weiner is a man of national prominence, a rising star in the Democratic Party, frequently on TV, a past and likely future candidate for mayor. He knows and is known by thousands of movers, shakers, members of the press and politicians on the city, state and national levels.

Yet, as of yesterday, he was following fewer than 200 others — and, with all those famous folks to choose from, one of the few he followed was Cordova, a 21-year-old college student who lives nearly 3,000 miles away in Bellingham,Wash.
Run that though your head for a second and at the same time remember two important facts about Twitter:

1. If two people follow each other on Twitter, they can send private messages unseen by others.

2. The difference between a direct message, seen by only the recipient, and a public tweet, seen by the world, is a single character.

The biggest problem for Weiner and his defenders on the left is not bloggers from the right. It’s the details of “#weinergate” can be understood by millions of ordinary people in 140 characters or less.

Great stuff.

Follow Datech Guy on Twitter!

Added: Don't miss IowaHawk, "Help Me Bring the Weiner Hacker to Justice":

The Weinergate facts, as we so far know them: on May 28, @RepWeiner, the verified Twitter account of US Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY), posted a tweet of a y.frog photo of a slightly-built white male straining to pitch a pup tent in a pair of grey Hanes Underoos. Within seconds, Congressman Weiner arrived at the scene of the cybercrime and instantly recognized it as the work of a hacker who had simultaneously broken into his Twitter, Facebook and y.frog accounts. Working quickly, and without regard to his own safety, Congressman Weiner used his elite law school-honed internet security coding skills to wrest back control of his accounts, delete the offending tweet and photo, as well as unfollow a Seattle coed to whom it was sent. His Twitter perimeter once again secured, the intrepid Congressmen sent out a new tweet explaining how he was victimized by an Internet criminal mastermind.

Also, at The Other McCain, "The AOSHQ Legal Department: Now Offering Advice to Victims of ‘Pranks’." And Dan Collins, "#Weinergate: The Four-Second Hack [Update: Now it's an unnamed staffer!]."

School's Out

For summer, at Pat Austin's, "On The End of School and Classroom Discipline Measures."

I'm not teaching this summer either, the first time in 11 years.

For Anthony Weiner, Twitter Has Double Edge

At New York Times, "Congressman, Sharp Voice on Twitter, Finds It Can Cut 2 Ways":

For nine months, Representative Anthony D. Weiner has been tweaking others via Twitter, poking fun at Sarah Palin, John A. Boehner and especially Michele Bachmann as he offers his 46,000-plus followers an unusually candid window into the thoughts, activities and edgy humor of a politically ambitious congressman.

Mr. Weiner always knew that his sharp tongue, combined with his frequent use of Twitter, had a potential risk. But over the weekend, Twitter trouble found Mr. Weiner in an unexpected way.

A sexually suggestive photograph of a man from the waist down, in nothing but underwear, was sent from Mr. Weiner’s Twitter-related photo-sharing account to a woman in Seattle. Mr. Weiner dismissed the picture, saying his account had been hacked and writing on Saturday in a Twitter message (of course): “Tivo shot. FB hacked. Is my blender gonna attack me next?” He told Politico, “The wiener gags never get old, I guess,” and his office issued a statement on Sunday saying, “Anthony’s accounts were obviously hacked.”

The recipient of the photo, a college student who follows Mr. Weiner on Twitter, told The Daily News that someone had been harassing her online for weeks and that “I assumed that the tweet and the picture were their latest attempts at defaming the congressman and harassing his supporters.”

Twitter would not discuss the episode, saying, “We don’t comment on individual user accounts, for privacy reasons.”

Mr. Weiner’s spokesman, Dave Arnold, said on Monday, “We’ve retained counsel to explore the proper next steps and to advise us on what civil or criminal actions should be taken. This was a prank. We are loath to treat it as more, but we are relying on professional advice.”

The episode was quickly dubbed Weinergate, and proved a cautionary moment for Mr. Weiner, who has embraced Twitter as an outlet for his feisty, in-your-face and occasionally off-color personality.

More at the link. The Times discusses Weiner's ambitions and abrasive personality. The report suggests that his tweets are "sometimes juvenile." Beyond that, though, the Times concludes with a breezy "this too shall pass" kind of tone, actually ending with Rep. Weiner's own jokes about the scandal. To be expected, I guess.

Anyway, at top, the photo's from the New York Daily News. Commenting on it at The Other McCain, Darleen Click argued:

... scroll down ... to see a picture of Weiner and bride out for a Sunday stroll hand-in-hand coincidentally.

Good lord, if that doesn't say something (how many press conferences of men with their stoic wives beside them do we endure?) ... I am more convinced than ever there was no "hacking".

Well, not only was there no "hacking," but Weiner and his office are referring to the episode as a "prank," not as a "hack." Big Government has the significance, "Weinergate Shift: From ‘Hack’ to ‘Prank’":

These statements, plus the fact that there is no indication yet that Weiner has reported the alleged hack to authorities, suggest a new possibility: the offensive tweet may not have been a “hack,” but perhaps an inside job by someone with access to Weiner’s social networking accounts.

It is fairly standard practice in congressional offices and on congressional campaigns for multiple staffers to have access to the politician’s social networking accounts.

There's still more at that post, but the conclusion is unfounded, IMHO. The Times makes no mention of, nor makes even the slightest alllusion to, the notion that Representative Weiner allows staffers to use his Twitter feed nor his yfrog image hosting application. Indeed, the report states that "his Twitter personality is all him," and that "Twitter is now part of his “morning constitutional, with The New York Times, the tabloids, my e-mail,” and he takes postings from his followers seriously, often making adjustments and trying new things at their urging."

That hardly sounds like someone who made spare keys for all his "trusted" aides. The conservative blogosphere has pretty much shown exactly what happened. Weiner (apparently) tried to send a direct message to Gennette Nicole Cordova, the Washington state college student who has confirmed most of the facts of the story, while omitting any discussion of some key issues. The story continues to play on Memeorandum. By the tone of the Times' piece, most in the MSM are yawning, and doing obligatory write-ups to head off anti-media outrage in the 'sphere. Meanwhile, Andrew Breitbart's taken to Big Government to dismiss progressive allegations that Weiner was "Breitbarted": "WeinerGate: We Are Simply Reporting the Facts."

We'll see how it goes from here. Tomorrow's a regular news day and some "real" journalists might decide there's still more to this story to be revealed.

Until then ...

Memorial Day Tribute — United States Navy

Via Terri Green, on Facebook:

In lieu of our weekly multimedia production, we felt it appropriate to honor our fallen shipmates. We remember their sacrifice this and every day.