Britain and France to Share Aircraft Carriers

I think every American should read Tom Clancy's, Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier. The ships are the sine qua non of global power projection, and a key indicator of great power status. CSM just reported last month on the increasing prestige of carriers among nations, amid heightened international security demands requiring that kind of operational mobility. See, "Aircraft Carriers Gain Naval Clout." At the clip below is the USS Abraham Lincoln, which I visited in 1999. It's a Nimitz-class carrier. The last carrier from the group is the USS George H.W. Bush, commissioned in 2009. The Navy is moving to the Gerald R. Ford class carrier program, with the first two ships expected to be commissioned in 2015 and 2019. Ten carriers from that groups are expected to be deployed, guaranteeing a global U.S. ocean-going preponderance throughout most of the 21st-century.

I mention this just as news reports indicate that Britain and France are set to share aircraft carriers. See Telegraph UK, "We should share aircraft carrier, say French." I wasn't quite sure what to think of this, so checking around I found this at Reuters, "INTERVIEW-French navy boss sees Libyan military humanitarian aid":

ENTENTE CORDIALE

One area earmarked for cooperation is the use of aircraft carriers. In a sweeping review last year, Britain cut its defence budget of 36.9 billion pounds by 8 percent in real terms up to 2015, scrapping its only aircraft carrier.

While the short distance between coalition bases and Libya means an aircraft carrier is not essential, Forissier said a British carrier would have been useful to reduce air time, boost attacks and relieve the Charles de Gaulle.

Forissier would like the French flagship to return to base to replace older Super Etendard jet fighters with the latest Rafales. If it were forced to continue its operations "it would only begin to have serious problems in the autumn," he said.

A new British carrier, the Queen Elizabeth, due by 2020 will be designed so each country could fly its planes off the other's ship. The aim is to have one carrier at sea at all times.

British crew will learn on the Charles de Gaulle so that the Queen Elizabeth can enter operation once finished. One British watch officer is currently operating on the French vessel.

While similar foreign policy aims made a Franco-British alliance inevitable, national sovereignty remained, he said.

"France needs its aircraft carrier and Britain needs one to carry out its sovereignty as it wishes, but what is important is to make the planes inter-operable so that we can train on either one in periods of maintenance."

Forissier believes the two governments should consider building together a cheaper carrier to be used for training.

"If we both want to have a permanent operating presence then we'll both need two aircraft carriers and I don't think given the financial situation our governments have the means."

While Paris has hardly touched its military budget, Forissier said he was "stunned" by the Royal Navy cuts, at a time when it has had costly operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The Royal Navy, which was always an example for us, is in a tough situation," he said. "It makes me wonder whether we'll also have to go through this in the future."

Part of avoiding that has been the closer cooperation.

"I know in Great Britain you pay tribute to Nelson and here we pay tribute to Napoleon, but really we have good reasons to work together," he said, looking at a painting celebrating a French naval victory over the Royal Navy in 1781.

Now, go check out James Fallows, who suggests we not belittle China's efforts to deploy an aircraft carrier fleet, "Please Read This Article About the Chinese Navy." And whether one agrees with Fallows or not, the key to remember is that at one point Britain's navy was the unrivaled master of the seas. Today the U.S. fills that role. Britain and France are now both struggling to maintain a single operational aircraft carrier, while in the U.S. our outgoing secretary of defense has recommended military downsizing. It all relates in the rise and fall of nations. Quite an interesting set of interrelated developments.

You Just Can't Get Good Goons Nowadays

Via Glenn Reynolds, although Kenny Gladney might quibble on the efficacy of union beatings, historical comparisons aside.

At Washington Examiner, "Sunday Reflection: Hard to get good goons these days":

So the public employee unions have been on the defensive across the nation, and they've been losing battles in state capitols from Wisconsin, to Ohio, to Tennessee.

Although there have been some violent incidents and death threats, overall, despite the talk from many right-leaning pundits about "union goons," the actual danger posed by the union members appears to have been very small by labor-historical standards. Apparently, you just can't get good goons nowadays.

And that makes sense. In the old days of the labor movement, the unionized industries were, you know, actual industries, involving miners, steelworkers and the like. And those are trades that foster exactly the qualities you need in good goons.

Why? Because they're very dangerous activities that put a premium on teamwork. (Even in totalitarian countries, people know that it's dangerous to get the miners upset.)

Those kinds of work foster a mind-set that's not entirely different from what you find in successful combat troops: team spirit, the sense that you have to rely on your peers to cover your back, and you'd better do the same for them. (Also, in those lines of work it's easy for those suspected of shaky loyalty to have "accidents.")

When people who are used to dealing with cave-ins, or ladles of molten metal, hit the streets, they're putting those traits to work in an environment that's probably less dangerous than the one they work in every day. That makes them pretty formidable.

In fact, it made them so formidable that they were able to put together unions solid enough to send the industries they depended on overseas, where labor was more tractable, because the bosses weren't willing to face the headache of trying to get rid of the unions, and couldn't afford to pay the wages the unions, with their toughness, had managed to extract.

Howard Dean, Former Presidential Candidate and DNC Chair, Says Sarah Palin Could Win

And economic conditions are going to be key, as I noted this morning.

At The Hill, "Howard Dean Warns Dems Sarah Palin Could Beat Obama in 2012" (at Memeorandum):

“I think she could win,” Dean told The Hill in an interview Friday. “She wouldn’t be my first choice if I were a Republican but I think she could win.”

Dean warns the sluggish economy could have more of a political impact than many Washington strategists and pundits assume.

“Any time you have a contest — particularly when unemployment is as high as it is — nobody gets a walkover,” Dean said. “Whoever the Republicans nominate, including people like Sarah Palin, whom the inside-the-Beltway crowd dismisses — my view is if you get the nomination of a major party, you can win the presidency, I don’t care what people write about you inside the Beltway,” Dean said.

VIDEO HAT TIP: Nice Deb.

John Edwards Mistress Cover-Up Casts Spotlight on Rachel Mellon, One of America's Richest Women

This was at ABC News some time ago, "John Edwards Meets Privately with Bunny Mellon, Potential Witness in Cover Up Case." And now at New York Times, "Edwards Case Casts Spotlight on a Long Reclusive Donor":

Rachel Mellon, now 100 years old and long one of the richest women in America, has lived a life of maximum discretion and minimum exposure. Even in her prime, in the 1960s, when she redesigned the White House Rose Garden for her friend Jacqueline Kennedy, she avoided the public eye.

So it was a rude shock when Mrs. Mellon, known chiefly for her passion for horticulture (she has collected more than 10,000 books on botany) and her simple yet impeccable taste, became ensnared in the protracted scandal surrounding John Edwards, the former Democratic candidate for president.

Mr. Edwards was indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday on charges that he violated campaign finance laws in an effort to conceal an extramarital affair while running for president in 2008, mainly by using $725,000 given to him secretly by Mrs. Mellon. Mr. Edwards pleaded not guilty, and the case is headed for trial. Mrs. Mellon was not named in the indictment — she was referred to as Person C — but is essentially an unindicted co-conspirator.

“It was so sad,” said Mario Buatta, a New York decorator dubbed the Prince of Chintz who knew Mrs. Mellon in earlier days. “She’s had such a clean life.”

Check the whole thing. Mrs. Mellon was widowed to Paul Mellon, heir to the Mellon family banking fortune (think "Carnegie-Mellon"). Paul Mellon died in 1999 and Mrs. Mellon also lost her daughter, Eliza, from her first marriage, and a longtime companion, Robert Isabell, "a legendary events planner ... she buried him on her property." Basically, the old dame got lonely, and thus:

Mr. Edwards ingratiated himself with Mrs. Mellon to the point where she gave him millions of dollars as well as a gold necklace as a good-luck charm for the campaign trail, according to a tell-all memoir by Andrew Young, Mr. Edwards’s former aide, who is also an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.

In May 2007, when Mr. Edwards’s mistress, Rielle Hunter, told Mr. Edwards she was pregnant, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Young began looking for people who could give them money to help conceal the affair, the indictment said.

About the same time, it said, Mrs. Mellon wrote a note to Mr. Young, saying: “I was sitting alone in a grim mood — furious that the press attacked Senator Edwards on the price of a haircut. But it inspired me — from now on, all haircuts, etc. that are necessary and important for his campaign — please send the bills to me. ... It is a way to help our friend without government restrictions.”

At that point, the indictment said, Mrs. Mellon had already contributed the maximum permitted by law — $2,300 — to Mr. Edwards’s campaign.

Over the next eight months, the indictment said, Mrs. Mellon sent checks for Mr. Edwards through Mr. Huffman, the decorator, totaling $725,000, “falsely” referring in memo lines to things like “chairs,” “antique Charleston table” and “bookcase.”

After Mr. Edwards dropped out of the presidential race in early 2008, Mr. Young said, he still hoped that Mrs. Mellon would give him $50 million and access to her private jet so he could lead a fight against poverty around the world. (This never occurred.)

I can't even express my contempt for John Edwards. Political scandals are a dime a dozen, but this one's among the sleaziest I can ever recall --- and that's saying a lot, considering the deep bench among Democrat Party scumbags.

11 Year-Old Abiah Jones Dies in Ferris Wheel Fall in New Jersey

A video report at WPVI-TV Philadelphia, "Girl who died in fall from NJ Ferris wheel identified."

Also at ABC News, "Girl, 11, Dies on Jersey Shore in Fall From Ferris Wheel at Wildwood Pier."

She was alone on the gondola, but that's all we know.

Economy is Rough Road for Obama

Economic issues are the toughest for a president seeking reelection. That's why whoever wins the GOP nomination will have an excellent chance of beating Obambi.

See LAT, "With economy stumbling, Obama hails auto industry bailout":

Reporting from Toledo, Ohio — Facing a cascade of slipping economic signs that could endanger his reelection, President Obama sought to shift attention to a decision he made early in his term that appears to be paying off: bailing out the auto industry.

Obama's appearance Friday at a Chrysler plant in this politically important state showed how few economic stories he can highlight. New figures Friday showed unemployment rose to 9.1%, the second straight month that the jobless rate climbed. Speculation grew that the economy might slip into another recession, which would hurt families nationwide just as the 2012 campaign begins.

Obama's trip — his 13th to Ohio since his inauguration — follows a week's worth of coordinated messages in which administration officials depicted him as being able to make the "gutsy" decisions that should give voters confidence in uncertain times.

Drawing attention to the auto bailout would have been risky at one point. Before the 2010 midterm elections, independent voters disdained bailouts, deficits and stimulus measures.

But Democrats now believe the auto bailout in particular is a way to distinguish themselves from Republicans. They see government intervention as an important tool in protecting both workers and business from the shocks of unfettered markets, and they believe voters buy that argument.

Ohio. It's a key battleground state, with 18 electoral college votes. Keep your eye on the Buckeyes over this next 18 months. Obambi will be traveling up that way a lot more.

NRCC Demands Comcast Boston Pull Blatantly False Democrat Attack Ad Targeting GOP Rep. Charlie Bass

This is an extremely interesting piece, and my sense is that the controversy goes to show how desperate the Democrats are. Seriously. Does "end" mean "end", or does it mean something else, like "reform." Because reform is not a dirty word. "Ending" Medicare sounds bad, so progressives have to basically lie to make the case that Rep. Bass "voted to end Medicare." See Andrews Stiles, "Medicare: To ‘End’ or Not to End." The piece links to PolitiFact, "Democrats say Republicans voted to end Medicare and charge seniors $12,000," which slams another ad making the exact same claim. Still, it's going pretty far to intervene in market decisions. Seems to me that NRCC should pursue a litigation strategy if they think the Democrats are lying. Either that, or take to the airwaves with counter-ads defending Rep. Bass.

NRCC's letter to Comcast Boston is here.

College is Too Easy

Bird Dog links to Mark Bauerlein's discussion of Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa's research on student learning and college performance. And that reminds me of the Arum and Roksa piece that ran in Friday's Los Angeles Times, "College, too easy for its own good":

We recently tracked several thousand students as they moved through and graduated from a diverse set of more than two dozen colleges and universities, and we found consistent evidence that many students were not being appropriately challenged. In a typical semester, 50% of students did not take a single course requiring more than 20 pages of writing, 32% did not have any classes that required reading more than 40 pages per week, and 36% reported studying alone five or fewer hours per week.

Not surprisingly, given such a widespread lack of academic rigor, about a third of students failed to demonstrate significant gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing ability (as measured by the Collegiate Learning Assessment) during their four years of college.

The students themselves must bear some of the blame for this, of course. Improvement in thinking and writing skills requires academic engagement; simply hanging out on a college campus for multiple years isn't enough. Yet at many institutions, that seems to be sufficient to earn a degree. At many schools, students can choose from a menu of easy programs and classes that allow them to graduate without having received a rigorous college education. Colleges are complicit, in that they reward students with high grades for little effort. Indeed, the students in our study who reported studying alone five or fewer hours per week nevertheless had an average cumulative GPA of 3.16.

To be sure, there were many exceptions to this dismal portrait of the state of undergraduate learning. Some academic programs and colleges are quite rigorous, and some students we followed pushed themselves and excelled. In general, traditional arts and science fields (math, science, humanities and the social sciences) tended to be more demanding, and students who majored in those subjects studied more and showed higher gains. So too did students attending more selective colleges. In addition, at every college and university examined, we found some students who were applying themselves and learning at impressive levels.

These real accomplishments do not, however, exonerate the colleges and universities that are happy to collect annual tuition dollars but then fail to provide many students with a high-quality education.

There's more, especially the discussion of why higher education got off track. Still, it'd be worth checking the book itself, for in my experience it's the absence of skills and the culture of anti-intellectualism that's most detrimental to college learning. I'm tempted to say I struggled with maintaining high standards when I first started at LBCC. But that wouldn't be quite accurate. Over time experience has shown how I can better maintain high standards AND improve student performance (it requires intensely personalized instruction, which is hard to do with hundreds of students). That said, I'm less rigid than I was 8 or 9 years ago, and in some cases that means I'm just plain easier (flexibility is key, which sometimes might mean "easier"). Professors are dealing with a range of abilities starting with students who'd be doing just fine at Berkeley or UCLA to those who can barely string a couple of correct sentences together. I'm sad sometimes when I meet students who literally can't read. I largely quit having students do expository reading in class (reading aloud) because I felt bad for the students who struggled to read through a paragraph from the textbook. It's not one particular demographic in particular, although a lot of Latino students are ESL and a lot of blacks demonstrate something of a stunted degree of formal learning, and I'm talking rudimentary basic skills acquisition. And worse, with the exception of the odd student here or there, black kids generally don't seem to care. (Don't even get me going about the black student athletes.)

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!