Gilad Shalit Deal Rattles Mideast Politics

At New York Times, "Israeli-Hamas Agreement to Trade Prisoners May Reshape Politics in Region":

JERUSALEM — The prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel that is expected to begin next week could reshape regional relationships, strengthening Egypt, Hamas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel while posing an acute challenge to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

One result might be a more confrontational — and Hamas-imbued — Palestinian movement that could, in the long run, increase Israel’s difficulties, drawing inspiration from and invigorating popular protests across the Middle East. It could also tighten the relationship between Hamas, Egypt and Turkey.

“Hamas has been in the shadows, and this moves it into the Palestinian forefront for now,” said Zakaria al-Qaq, a political scientist at Al Quds University in East Jerusalem.

Under the deal, announced on Tuesday, Israel will free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized in a cross-border raid by Hamas in 2006 and held ever since in Gaza.

President Shimon Peres of Israel announced that Turkey, which has angrily downgraded its relations with Israel in the last year, had played an unexpected role in helping broker the deal. Turkey is close to Hamas.

Some of the details of the Hamas-Israel deal have not been disclosed, making it hard to determine why the two sides suddenly came to agreement after failing to in past years, on what seem to have been similar terms. But the growing turmoil in the region played an important role, as did domestic politics.

More at the link.

I had a bad feeling about this when I first heard of the deal on Tuesday, especially that Israel was releasing 1000 prisoner, some the most hardened terrorists. Melanie Phillips has more, "A Deal With the Devil":

The dramatic news this evening that Israel and the Hamas have agreed a deal which will see the return to Israel of its kidnapped solider, Gilad Shalit, will provoke the most bitterly mixed reactions amongst Israelis and all who care about peace and justice. If Shalit is indeed returned alive and well, it will of course be a matter for rejoicing that he is unharmed after his appalling five-year ordeal and that the terrible suffering of his family is now at an end.

But the price that Israel has reportedly agreed to pay for his release is itself a terrible one which will have untold consequences. For Israel will apparently release 1000 Palestinian prisoners, including 400 serving long sentences for some of the worst terrorist atrocities in the country's history.

For the Israel Defence Force, it is a moral imperative to bring home its fallen or captured soldiers. But the terrible thing is that by releasing 1000 terrorists back to Gaza and the West Bank, it makes it more likely that not just the Hamas but Hezbollah in Lebanon too will redouble their efforts to kidnap yet more Israeli soldiers in order to further this devilish barter.

So while this deal – brokered by Egypt and Germany -- redeems one Israeli soldier, it puts more Israeli soldiers at risk. Moreover, it strengthens Hamas in Gaza -- they are already boasting that this is a great victory -- makes it more likely that more Israelis will be murdered by terrorism in Israel, and demoralises those IDF soldiers who brought these 1000 terrorists to justice in the first place.

More here.

Ads for Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson Signal New Tactics for Outside Groups

At New York Times, "Ads by Democratic Senator May Open Door to New Tactics":

WASHINGTON — A new series of political advertisements on behalf of an embattled Nebraska senator could open the door to a flood of similar ads financed by outside groups and even businesses working directly with political candidates — a sharp departure from past practice.

The ads are innocuous enough on their face: Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat up for re-election next year, is featured on television and radio commercials discussing Social Security, the national debt, war veterans and other hot-button issues. What is remarkable, campaign finance lawyers and political operatives say, is that the ads were produced and paid for by Democratic Party officials in Nebraska and Washington — with the senator’s close involvement as their star.

Federal campaign rules restrict politicians from “coordinating” their advertisements with outside groups except under certain circumstances. Politicians — worried about tripping over the legal restrictions — have usually shied away from working directly with outside groups on ads. Instead, “issue” ads paid for by outside groups will typically hit on broad themes without focusing so squarely on a single lawmaker.

The Nebraska ads, which have cost Democrats more than $600,000 to run so far, could change that practice in a way that has wide implications for the 2012 elections, when 33 Senate seats and all 435 House seats will be up for grabs.

Interesting.

More at the link.

Republicans Increasingly See Mitt Romney As the 'Inevitable Candidate'

It does seem that way, but Herman Cain sure is coming on strong.

Besides, Democrats though Hillary Clinton was the inevitable candidate in 2008.

At WaPo:

NASHUA, N.H. — Buoyed by a series of strong debate performances, Mitt Romney is suddenly attracting new support from major donors and elected officials, some of whom had resisted his previous entreaties, as people across the GOP grow more accepting of the presidential contender as the party’s standard-bearer.

“He’s viewed as an almost inevitable candidate,” said longtime strategist Ed Rollins, who until last month managed the campaign of Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), one of Romney’s opponents. “He’s the heavy favorite.”

The party establishment seems to be moving Romney’s way, even as a new national poll highlighted the volatility of the race. A Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll showed the surging businessman Herman Cain numerically ahead of Romney for the first time, 27 percent to 23 percent, with Texas Gov. Rick Perry third, at 16 percent.

On Wednesday, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) became the latest in a string of current and former elected officials who have announced their support for Romney over the past week. Former Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson, hedge fund manager Paul Singer and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone are among the major Republican fundraisers supporting the candidate.

“It’s all coming together for him,” said Cochran, who formally endorsed Romney on Wednesday. “People are beginning to be impressed with him and his thoughtful comments about the issues.”

Neoconservatives Still Dominate GOP

From Robert Merry and Robert Golan-Vilella, at National Interest, "The Neocon GOP: By Design or Default?" (via GSGF). And this doesn't sound fully accurate, considering Romney's statements in his foreign policy speech the other day:

The presumed frontrunner, Mitt Romney, seems particularly lacking in any coherent philosophical framework. He attacks Obama for the speed of his Afghanistan drawdown, for example, without offering a timetable of his own. (He says he would go with the recommendations of his generals.) He supported America’s role in the NATO intervention in Libya but criticized the way it was handled. His website calls for U.S. leadership in creating a “global military alliance of democracies dedicated to ensuring security and protecting freedom.” This scheme, expropriated from Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and the writings of polemicist Robert Kagan (also a Romney adviser), would be a recipe for an expanded American role in the world in the name of humanitarian principles—pure Wilsonism.

But Romney is relentless in his hostility toward China. He says that on his first day in office he would unilaterally slap trade sanctions against that Asian nation in retaliation for its currency policies (likely result: a devastating trade war), and he says Obama “caved” to Beijing by not selling the most sophisticated U.S. fighter jets to Taiwan. In his more general foreign-policy pronouncements, extolling “American greatness” and calling for a new “American Century,” Romney sounds rather like George W. Bush.

And frankly, I like Michele Bachmann's foreign policy:

Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is an interesting case. She advocated aggressive action against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying, “We must defeat them in their backyard.” And she wants no cuts in the defense budget. But she seems cautious on questions of where and when America should intervene in the world. She says she would confine such interventions to instances when the country’s vital interests were at stake. Hence, she opposed the Libyan intervention as having no relation to the country’s well-being. And she is wary of democracy promotion in general. Indeed, she criticized Obama not for abandoning Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak too soon but for abandoning him at all. “We saw President Mubarak fall while President Obama sat on his hands,” she said. She later suggested the Arab Spring (which she, interestingly, sees as a disaster rather than a trend to be applauded and encouraged) emerged in part because Obama had demonstrated weakness in not being sufficiently supportive of Israel in the ongoing maneuvering between that country and the Palestinians.

I should have update on developments with GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD. I'm waiting to hear back from Courtney.

Miranda Kerr Returns for 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

At Telegraph UK, "Miranda Kerr to return to Victoria's Secret catwalk with a $2.5m bang."

Accusations Against Iran Fleshed Out

At WSJ (via Google):

Top U.S. officials Wednesday provided fresh details about an alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's U.S. ambassador, seeking to bolster their contention that the Iranian government was behind the scheme.

The officials said they were skeptical at first about Iranian involvement, but grew persuaded when a $100,000 payment to the alleged plotters was traced to an elite Iranian military branch, the Qods Force. They described the logic for believing that the Qods Force chief knew of the plan, and alleged that an assassination was seen as a trial run for a broader string of attacks for which Iran was ready to spend $5 million.

The case they presented, however, relied heavily on inference and contained gaps, including a lack of direct evidence that the most senior Iranian officials knew about the alleged operation.

Check that Google link for the whole thing.

Deadly Shooting at Seal Beach Beauty Salon

This is just horrible.

At LAT, "Salon Shooting."

More: "Custody dispute blamed in killing of 8."

'Torn'

Natalie Imbruglia, love her:

Herman Cain Surges Ahead in New Wall Street Journal Poll!

This is amazing, at WSJ, "Cain Vaults to Lead in Poll" (at Google):

CONCORD, N.H. — Former restaurant-industry executive Herman Cain has catapulted to the lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, as GOP voters grow disenchanted with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and remain wary of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.

Drawn by Mr. Cain's blunt, folksy style in recent debates, 27% of Republican primary voters picked him as their first choice for the nomination, a jump of 22 percentage points from six weeks ago.

Mr. Romney held firm in second place at 23%, his same share as in a Journal poll in late August, while Mr. Perry plummeted to 16%, from 38% in August.

The poll of 1,000 adults, conducted from Oct. 6-10, comes as many Republican donors and officials have begun to rally around Mr. Romney as the party's likely nominee, despite a continued lack of enthusiasm for him documented in the new poll.

For Mr. Cain, the question is whether his newfound prominence, driven in part by his signature "9-9-9" plan to overhaul the tax code, will be a lasting phenomenon in a campaign that has seen many others surge and then fade. Since the spring, conservatives have given short-lived bursts of support for a string of contenders, including Donald Trump, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Mr. Perry.

"Will I be the flavor of the week?'' Mr. Cain said Wednesday in New Hampshire, where reporters followed him as he addressed the state legislature. "Well, the answer is an emphatic, 'No,' because Häagen-Dazs black walnut tastes good all the time."

Mr. Cain in many ways isn't operating a traditional campaign. He was on tour promoting his new book in recent weeks, and he will make stops between Memphis and Nashville on Friday and Saturday, though Tennessee is unlikely to factor in the Republican nomination. He doesn't plan to return to Iowa, site of the first nominating contest, for weeks, his aides say.

Also at Public Policy Polling, "Cain leads nationally" (via Memeorandum).

Cain discusses the Wall Street protests around 10 minutes at the video.

See also The Other McCain, "Pundette Likes Herman Cain."

Israel and Hamas Agree to Gilad Shalit Release

At NYT, "Israel and Hamas Agree to Swap Prisoners for Soldier."

And at Israel Matzav and Yid With Lid.

'Long Live Revolution! Long Live Socialism!'

Via Zombie, "Occupy L.A. Speaker: Violence will be Necessary to Achieve Our Goals" (at Memeorandum):

Martin Scorsese Discusses the Making of 'George Harrison: Living In the Material World'

I like how he notes that George's spirituality was an "intellectual spirituality."

Hank Williams, Jr. — 'Keep the Change'

Via Linkmaster Smith:

NewsBusted: 'NJ Gov. Chris Christie will not run for president in 2012'

Via Theo Spark:

Ann Coulter on 'Occupy Wall Street'

This is perfect!

Following up on my post from yesterday, "Barbara O'Brien is the Mob!", here's Ann Coulter (via Astute Bloggers):

RELATED: "COULTER ENDORSES ROMNEY-CAIN."

The Explosive Child

My wife and I are taking a parenting class. My youngest boy has an attention deficit that we help control with medication. He's been doing really well, but occasionally he's hard to handle. My wife attended a workshop through my son's elementary school, and she signed us both up for the six-week parenting course. We're reading Ross Greene's, The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children. The class started last week and we're reading through chapter 4 for this week's meeting. I planned to write about this more later, but it turns out yesterday's Los Angeles Times ran a front-page story on childhood psychiatric disorders, "Just what is troubling my child?":

The final straw for Carolyn Alves came last fall when she tried to help her daughter Cecelia dress for kindergarten.

The volatile 6-year-old had worked herself into a frenzy as she tried on outfit after outfit, rejecting each as unacceptable. The tantrum at full bore, she scooped up a pile of clothes and hurled them at the front door of the family's Spanish-style bungalow in Glendale.

The clock ticked past the school's 8 a.m. bell. Alves pulled her wailing child into her arms and held her on the couch. After several minutes, Cecelia stopped, took a breath and announced that she was ready to go to school.

"It was like watching someone who was having a mental breakdown," Alves said. Then "a switch went off and she went back to being normal."

Alves and her husband, Marcos, have consulted five doctors and therapists in the last four years. Cecelia has been diagnosed with a smorgasbord of psychiatric disorders — including the controversial diagnosis of child bipolar disorder — in addition to being called a normal kid.

Experts in pediatric mental health readily acknowledge that their failure to pinpoint the problem with children like Cecelia makes a difficult situation worse. And some of them are pressing for an unconventional solution: a new diagnostic category called disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, or DMDD.

Creating a diagnosis is considered a radical step in mental health circles, and the proposal has sparked much debate. The controversy underscores the fact that therapists simply don't know what to make of the estimated 3% of children in the U.S. who suffer from severe irritability and emotional outbursts.

"Everyone wishes we could have a genetic test or a blood test" to determine which disorder a child has, said Erik Parens, senior research scholar at the Hastings Center, a bioethics think tank in Garrison, N.Y. "Unfortunately, nature doesn't work the way we wish."

As a result, parents may be told their children have conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, depression or bipolar disorder — if they get a diagnosis at all.

Continue reading.

My son wasn't diagnosed until he was almost in kidergarten, and it's taken a long time to reach a functioning routine that allows both him to do well and a little peace for mom and dad. And one thing I learned the other night at the class is that there's a social stigma attached to these disorders. And honestly, I didn't take them all that serious myself until I had to deal with these issues as a parent. And it must be hell for parents who aren't getting good medical advice. More on that at the Times.

Paul McCartney Married Nancy Shevell on John Lennon's Birthday

I guess I'm not that big of a Beatles fan, because I didn't realize that McCartney remarried on Lennon's birthday. I was listening to Larry Morgan at The Sound during yesterday's drive time and he was celebrating McCartney's wedding and mentioned Lennon's birthday.

Speaking of Lennon, there's a review of Tim Riley's, John Lennon: the Man, the Myth, the Music — The Definitive Life, at New York Times: "John Lennon’s Primal Screams."

How Dare You Lawrence O'Donnell!

See Robert Stacy McCain, "‘Mr. Cain, Who Is Lawrence O’Donnell to Tell You How to Be a Black Man?’."

VIDEO CREDIT: Maroon in Marin, "Herman Cain Draws Big Lunchtime Crowd For Booksigning At Costco, Pentagon City, VA. Urges Palin Supporters To Check Out His Candidacy."

The Smelly Hippies of Occupy Wall Street

Via BCF:

From Incendiary Insight: 'Capitalism — The Hated Enemy of the Children of the West'

An amazing essay (via Instapundit):

At this moment, I'm sitting in my home and watching television. Typing this I'm using a Dell XPS laptop. Outside, I can see my swimming pool with moonlight reflecting off its shimmering surface. If you are reading this, you're also using a computer. The air conditioning turned on, and my refrigerator is running. Tomorrow, I'll shower, get in my car, and go to work. I'll head home around 5, exercise, and watch a movie with the family.

If I were living in any non-Western country, I would not have a laptop, a television, a refrigerator, air conditioning, or a car. If I did have any of those, they'd be in shockingly poor shape and probably break by year's end. I'd earn a paltry sum that could barely keep my family from starving. I'd not even have a 'social safety net' because so little of the country has wealth to give anyway.

Read it all...

Occupy Protests Gain Support of Democrats

I'm amazed at how the country's descended into some kind of mass stupification.

At New York Times, "Protests Offer Help, and Risk, for Democrats":

WASHINGTON — Leading Democratic figures, including party fund-raisers and a top ally of President Obama, are embracing the spread of the anti-Wall Street protests in a clear sign that members of the Democratic establishment see the movement as a way to align disenchanted Americans with their party.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party’s powerful House fund-raising arm, is circulating a petition seeking 100,000 party supporters to declare that “I stand with the Occupy Wall Street protests.”

The Center for American Progress, a liberal organization run by John D. Podesta, who helped lead Mr. Obama’s 2008 transition, credits the protests with tapping into pent-up anger over a political system that it says rewards the rich over the working class — a populist theme now being emphasized by the White House and the party. The center has encouraged and sought to help coordinate protests in different cities.

Judd Legum, a spokesman for the center, said that its direct contacts with the protests have been limited, but that “we’ve definitely been publicizing it and supporting it.”

Right.

Soros is funding the damned protests, but the Times is a leftist mouthpiece, so they're busy whitewashing the progressive astroturfing.

And see ABC News, "Democrats Seek to Own 'Occupy Wall Street' Movement."

Plus, Allahpundit as well, "Bloomberg to Occupy Wall Street protesters: Feel free to stay forever."

Governor Jerry Brown Signs Law Banning Open Carry of Handguns

Paradoxically, the law could lead to more folks carrying concealed and loaded weapons.

At LAT:

Sam Paredes, executive director of the advocacy group Gun Owners of California, said the ban could lead, paradoxically, to more carrying of handguns. Courts, he reasoned, could now force the state's police to distribute more concealed-weapon permits to allow citizens to exercise their rights.

"This situation will be a catalyst to unite all of the gun community in lawsuits,'' Paredes said. "The probable outcome is you will have far more people carrying concealed loaded guns as opposed to openly carrying unloaded guns.''

Love Blooms After Wounded Soldier Returns from Afghanistan

At WaPo, "Love for wounded soldier upon return from Afghanistan."

Rebecca Taber and the Army lieutenant kissed on the sidewalk outside her 16th Street apartment.

They had met through friends and had spent, at most, six hours together over the course of two evenings. In a few weeks, 1st Lt. Dan Berschinski was going to Afghanistan, where he would lead a platoon of 35 men. It was June 2009.

Rebecca, then 23, noticed the black memorial bracelet that he wore as a reminder that his soldiers’ lives would depend on his decisions. “It made me think that he was mature,” she recalled. The looming danger of his combat tour only added to the evening’s excitement. Rebecca felt as though she were playing a part in a movie.

She had graduated from Yale University one year earlier, where she had been student body president. She was slim and pretty with a high forehead and dark hair. People told her that she resembled actress Natalie Portman.

Like most of her friends, she knew no one her age in the military and gave only passing thought to the wars. Speaking to students at Duke University last year, former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates lamented that “for a growing number of Americans, service in the military, no matter how laudable, has become something for other people to do.” He could have been describing Rebecca.

After graduation, she landed a sought-after job working for McKinsey & Co., a management consulting powerhouse that each year hires a small number of the country’s best college students. She was one of those earnest Ivy League graduates who come to Washington convinced that it’s their destiny to do something of consequence.

Earlier that night, at a U Street bar, she had asked Dan if he was scared of combat. The 25-year-old lieutenant said his biggest worry was making a mistake that would cause one of his soldiers to be injured.

As they kissed on the sidewalk, Dan’s mind shifted to less consequential matters. He wanted to get upstairs to her apartment, but she kept putting him off. She had work the next morning, she said. Her Indian roommate’s conservative parents were staying in her spare bedroom. She barely knew him.

He reminded her that he was leaving for war in just two weeks and gave it one last shot.

“Don’t let me die a virgin,” he joked. She turned him away.

What a guy.

Keep reading. An amazing story.

'The United States may face the biggest economic crisis since the 1930s — but 'isolated Obama knocks off by 4pm'

At London's Daily Mail, "Obama finishes work at 4pm... but he could be saying bye for good as only 41% want him to have a second term."

That piece draws on Michael Goodman, "Aimless Obama walks alone." And some reactions at Memeorandum.

Paul Krugman: Hypocrite, Clown

At Michelle's, "Snortalicious: Former Enron adviser Paul Krugman joins progs’ war on “plutocrats”."

Columbus Day Rule 5

At The Other McCain, "Rule 5 Monday: Global Exploitation Edition."

And at Maggie's Farm, "'Ho-hum. Another day, another continent.' - Christopher Columbus", and "Monday morning links."

The usual suspects beclown themselves, at WaPo, "Columbus Day, reconsidered."

Bedtime Totty via Theo Spark.

Rick Perry at Just 4 Percent in New Harvard/Saint Anselm Poll

The most startling thing is how drastically Rick Perry has faded from the top-tier. No wonder's he's out with these heavy hitting ads against Mitt Romney:

It's a good line of attack, as I noted this morning here.

But see: "NEW POLL FROM INSTITUTES OF POLITICS AT HARVARD, SAINT ANSELM FINDS ROMNEY LEADING NH PRIMARY FIELD BY 18 POINTS" (via Memeorandum).

And also Lynn Sweet, "Romney 18 point NH lead: Harvard, St. Anselm Institutes of Politics poll."

Mitt Romney .................................................................. 38%
Herman Cain ................................................................. 20%
Ron Paul ....................................................................... 13%
Newt Gingrich................................................................ 5%
Jon Huntsman ............................................................... 4%
Rick Perry...................................................................... 4%
Michelle Bachmann ....................................................... 3%
Gary Johnson................................................................ 1
Rick Santorum............................................................... 1%
Don't know .................................................................... 11%

Michele Bachmann started fading after getting into hot water with her comments on HPV vaccines. She's betting on a big win in Iowa to carry her trough. Maybe a win in the Hawkeye State (or a place in the top three) will help her with these drastic numbers in New Hampshire. Beyond that, keep an eye on Herman Cain. I'm pleased to see him doing well in the polls, and it's a national trend in the surveys.

RELATED: From The Other McCain, "'Mr. Cain, Who Is Lawrence O'Donnell to Tell You How to Be a Black Man?'"

Barbara O'Brien is the Mob!

Check out this hilarious post from numbskull progressive Barbara O'Brien at Mahablog: "Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right …" Barbara is practically hysterical in attempting to distance her own ideological commitments from the freak show communists at International ANSWER. But of course, while ANSWER is no doubt a full-time (leaching) faux-vanguard organization, the revolutionary change they spout is simply mainstream on the progressive left. Barbara can't separate her shit from the left's genocidal anti-Israel agitation, because it's all over the occupy movement. And of course this woman at the clip below, identified as a planner on the ground in New York from day one, represents the Democrat-Socialist, SEIU-ACORN-Working Families Party radical nexus. She's calling for the destruction of capitalism through revolutionary change. That's the exact same change ANSWER calls for, and that's the exact mob-style change that forms the left's historical ideology, as Ann Coulter points out in her new book, Demonic. Most of the occupiers have been too stupid to articulate their revolutionary agenda, and the media's been equally stupid in attempting to compare them to the tea parties. Coulter responds to the comparisons, saying "This Is What a Mob Looks Like":

I am not the first to note the vast differences between the Wall Street protesters and the tea partiers. To name three: The tea partiers have jobs, showers and a point.

No one knows what the Wall Street protesters want — as is typical of mobs. They say they want Obama re-elected, but claim to hate “Wall Street.” You know, the same Wall Street that gave its largest campaign donation in history to Obama, who, in turn, bailed out the banks and made Goldman Sachs the fourth branch of government.

This would be like opposing fattening, processed foods, but cheering Michael Moore — which the protesters also did this week.

But to me, the most striking difference between the tea partiers and the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd — besides the smell of patchouli — is how liberal protesters must claim their every gathering is historic and heroic.

They chant: “The world is watching!” “This is how democracy looks!” “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!”

At the risk of acknowledging that I am, in fact, “watching,” this is most definitely not how democracy looks...

Back at Barbara O'Brien's post, she calls wistfully for some popular groundswell to pick up the sleazebaggers protesting around the country, to give the occupy movement some non-communist legitimacy: "Big nationwide marches filled with middle-class, working people could actually get the attention of politicians in Washington."

Well, yeah. Like the tea parties. Or as Ann Coulter writes:

The Tea Party name is meant in fun, inspired by an amusing rant from CNBC’s Rick Santelli in February 2009, when he called for another Tea Party in response to Obama’s plan to bail-out irresponsible mortgagers.

The tea partiers didn’t arrogantly claim to be drafting a new Declaration of Independence. They’re perfectly happy with the original.

Tea partiers didn’t block traffic, sleep on sidewalks, wear ski masks, fight with the police or urinate in public. They read the Constitution, made serious policy arguments, and petitioned the government against Obama’s unconstitutional big government policies, especially the stimulus bill and Obamacare.

Then they picked up their own trash and quietly went home. Apparently, a lot of them had to be at work in the morning.

In the two years following the movement’s inception, the Tea Party played a major role in turning Teddy Kennedy’s seat over to a Republican, making the sainted Chris Christie governor of New Jersey, and winning a gargantuan, historic Republican landslide in the 2010 elections. They are probably going to succeed in throwing out a president in next year’s election.

That’s what democracy looks like.

Exactly.

Get a clue, Barbara.

'Blackthorn'

I saw "Blackthorn" on Saturday night, at the Regency Theater across from South Coast Plaza, which is now a little art house venue. I just felt like seeing a flick and picked "Blackthorn" while skimming through the listings. I love westerns, and this one's unusual:

It’s been said (but unsubstantiated) that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a standoff with the Bolivian military in 1908. In BLACKTHORN, Cassidy (Sam Shepard) survived, and is quietly living out his years under the name James Blackthorn in a secluded Bolivian village. Tired of his long exile from the US and hoping to see his family again before he dies, Cassidy sets out on the long journey home. But when an unexpected encounter with an ambitious young criminal (Eduardo Noriega) derails his plans, he is thrust into one last adventure, the likes of which he hasn’t experienced since his glory days with the Sundance Kid.

There's a review at Los Angeles Times, and while the film drags on in parts, this pretty much nails it:

... there is that allure of the Old West that is hard to resist, and there's plenty of grist in the story worth milling and mulling. If nothing else, the film reminds just how arresting an actor Shepard can be. Like Blackthorn, he's only gotten better with age.

Sam Shepard is the perfect actor for the aging outlaw role, and he brings a lot of warmth and humanity to it. An enjoyable film. See also: "Indie Focus: Sam Shepard plays with the Butch Cassidy myth."

Chris Muir's 'Day by Day' Slams Erick Erickson as 'Not Very Classy'

Well, you gotta love this 'Day by Day' panel:

PREVIOUSLY: "David Frum Joining Asshat Erick Erickson as Political Analyst on CNN," and "Erick Erickson: Dude Picks Fight With Sarah Palin Supporters, Loses Badly."

Robert Stacy McCain's Herman Cain blogging is here.

Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan

I showed Herman Cain's "Water" video to my classes last week. After my 9:00am class, a student stayed after to ask me about the scene from Little Rock, Arkansas, where black student Elizabeth Eckford was violently heckled as she tried to integrate at the school. And now, wouldn't you know it, but Telegraph UK has an update on the story, on the reconciliation between Eckford and the woman most infamously remembered from the photograph, Hazel Bryan.

See: "Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan: the story behind the photograph that shamed America."

I think I'll show this article to my students this week.

Is Mitt Romney the Next John Kerry?

It's an interesting conjecture, which assumes Romney gets the nomination. Where it falls flat is that Barack Obama, unlike George W. Bush, has the economy hanging around his neck like an albatross.

See Matt Latimer, at The Daily Beast, "Is Romney the Next Kerry?"

Well, come to think of it, the flip-flopping analogy is pretty damning.

El Caminito Del Rey

There's no way I'd do it!

At Daily Mail, "Are you sure this is the right way? Thrillseekers risk their lives ... taking a walk along 'world's most-dangerous path'."

The #OccupyWallStreet Photos You Won't See in the Mainstream Press

At Doug Ross, "15 Photos from #OccupyWallStreet you'll never see in legacy media."

The Iranians 'Tricked and Misled Us'

At Der Spiegel, "Interview with Former Nuclear Watchdog Olli Heinonen":

SPIEGEL: Mr. Heinonen, if you consider your time as the United Nations' atomic "watchdog," do you look back in anger? Or did you succeed in making the world safer from nuclear bombs?

Heinonen: There are quite a few things I'm proud of. While I was at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), we played a significant role in putting Abdul Qadir Khan -- the most dangerous nuclear smuggler of all times -- out of action. But when I think about the nuclear activities of certain states, for instance Iran's nuclear program, I have to say that we allowed ourselves to be placated too often. We should have done more than carrying out our inspections. Yes, with hindsight you could perhaps even say we failed.

SPIEGEL: You sound worried. Is Tehran really on a direct path to becoming a nuclear state?

Heinonen: It's undeniable that Iran's nuclear program is far more advanced than it was in 2003, when the discovery of the Natanz facility brought it to the IAEA's attention. At the time, uranium enrichment tests were being carried out in secret on a small scale. But at the end of 2003, the Iranians admitted they were also planning to set up a heavy-water reactor in Arak to generate plutonium.

SPIEGEL: In other words, the other ingredient you need to create either nuclear power or an atom bomb.

Heinonen: Iran always told us it was only interested in the civilian uses of atomic energy. I've always had my doubts about that, more so now than ever.

SPIEGEL: Why don't you say what your former boss, Mohamed ElBaradei, said: That you haven't found the so-called "smoking gun" -- i.e. clear proof that Iran is developing nuclear weapons?

Heinonen: Before opponents of the Iranian regime exposed the existence of Natanz, those in power in Tehran had kept parts of their nuclear program secret for two decades. Today the facts are as follows: The conversion plant in Isfahan has produced 371 tons of uranium hexafluoride. Some 8,000 centrifuges in Natanz are being used to enrich this raw material. In February 2010, Iran began increasing enrichment to 20 percent. That's a significant step closer to making an atomic bomb because it takes only a few months to turn that into weapons-grade material. And at the beginning of this year, Fereydoun Abbasi was appointed the head of the atomic energy organization in Tehran ...

Continue reading.

I'm reminded of a few years back, toward the end of the George W. Bush administration, when the global left was pushing back hard against a tough inspections regime and there was talk of preemptive war. It didn't happen. But Iran sure seems more powerful today.

Demi Moore Seeks Divorce From Cheatin' Ashton Kutcher?

At Daily Mail, "'Humiliated' Demi seeks divorce after last-ditch bid to save marriage fails."

But People Magazine has this, "Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore Spotted at Services."

Neither of the pair's reps have responded for comment about the status of their relationship.

Ashton the asshat is blowing it. He's the one who should be humiliated.

RELATED: "Ashton Kutcher's Mistress Sara Leal Bares All In Topless Photos."

Paul McCartney Marries Nancy Shevell

This is great.

At London's Daily Mail, "Introducing Lady McCartney! Nancy and Sir Paul can't stop smiling as they emerge as husband and wife."

Steve Jobs and the Beauty of Capitalism

From Kevin Williamson, at National Review, "A Jobs Agenda" (via Serr8d's Cutting Edge).

There's no takeaway block quote. Just go read it all.

Slovenly Anarchist Idiots for Big Government

From Mark Steyn, "‘Occupy’ is anarchists for Big Government" (via Astute Bloggers and Memeorandum).

Michael Oher, offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, was online Wednesday night when his Twitter feed started filling up with tributes to Steve Jobs. A bewildered Oher tweeted: "Can somebody help me out? Who was Steve Jobs!"

He was on his iPhone at the time.

Who was Steve Jobs? Well, he was a guy who founded a corporation and spent his life as a corporate executive manufacturing corporate products. So he wouldn't have endeared himself to the "Occupy Wall Street" crowd, even though, underneath the patchouli and lentils, most of them are abundantly accessorized with iPhones and iPads and iPods loaded with iTunes, if only for when the drum circle goes for a bathroom break.

The above is a somewhat obvious point, although the fact that it's not obvious even to protesters with an industrial-strength lack of self-awareness is a big part of the problem. But it goes beyond that: If you don't like to think of Jobs as a corporate exec (and a famously demanding one at that), think of him as a guy who went to work, and worked hard. There's no appetite for that among those "occupying" Zuccotti Park. In the old days, the tribunes of the masses demanded an honest wage for honest work. Today, the tribunes of America's leisured varsity class demand a world that puts "people before profits." If the specifics of their "program" are somewhat contradictory, the general vibe is consistent: They wish to enjoy an advanced Western lifestyle without earning an advanced Western living. The pampered, elderly children of a fin de civilisation overdeveloped world, they appear to regard life as an unending vacation whose bill never comes due.

RTWT.

Communists Against Wall Street

The New York Times is backing Occupy Wall Street: "Protesters Against Wall Street" (via Memeorandum). It's boilerplate economic redistributionism. And for what? More for the schools? The protesters have shown that we've wasted hella lot money on public education in this country. Idiots. See more #OccupyWallStreet at the tags, here and here.

Sizzlin' Jessica Gomes Rule 5

Nice:

And at Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup."

RELATED: Linkmaster Smith goes for some anti-communist humor at The Other McCain.

New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology Shuts Down After Lackluster Attendance

This is over in Santa Monica.

At LAT, "Eco-friendly festival can't sustain itself."

It was the first New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology and quite possibly the last.

The event near the beach in Santa Monica, which had been scheduled to run through Sunday, was shut down abruptly Saturday afternoon.

Its website had promised robots, a petting zoo, six stages of live music and more than 150 exhibits. But the gathering on Saturday looked more like a medium-sized, eco-friendly farmers market.

Howard Mauskopf, the festival's organizer, said he needed to shut down because so few people had shown up. "We're in a position where we don't have the financial ability to continue," he said, adding that he would have needed eight to 10 times the crowd that was present to make ends meet. He said he is going to try to reimburse food vendors next week.

"I don't know why people didn't come," he said.

Well, here's a clue: Even in far left-wing Santa Monica folks care more about finding a damned job than a bunch of bullshit eco-friendly enviro-crap.

Governor Jerry Brown Signs California Dream Act

A Democrat GOTV bill for the illegal alien electorate.

At LAT, "The law grants illegal immigrants access to state aid at public universities and colleges."

RELATED: At Michelle's, from 2010, "DREAM Act nightmare: A massive open-borders entitlement program."

Mother Trying to Beat Metrolink Train Struck and Killed in Riverside: Pushed Baby's Stroller Out of Way Just in Time

At KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Woman with stroller killed by train in Riverside; baby uninjured."

The Daily Mail suggests the baby was saved by the mom's final act of "heroism," but I don't think so. The initial act of stupidity almost got them both killed.

'This Is Not What Democracy Is All About': Occupy Atlanta Disses Congressman John Lewis

Amazing.

At Human Events, "‘Occupy Atlanta’ Mob Refuses to Let Civil Rights Icon Speak at Rally." And linked there, at CBS Atlanta:

A group known as Occupy Atlanta plans to protested Friday night in Woodruff Park.

About 200 people attended the event. U.S. Congressman John Lewis even stopped by for about half an hour.

Several demonstrators held signs showing their frustration with Washington's relationship with big business. Many people voiced general frustration. One woman said she was there for changes for animals. Another attendee said he didn't think either party represented his feelings.

Congressman Lewis (D, GA) was ready to talk to the group, but they didn't give him a chance to speak.

"I was going to say, I stand with you. I support you, what you're down," said Lewis to the media.

He said he wasn't disappointed he wasn't able to address the crowd. Several people CBS Atlanta spoke to were upset.

Michelle Williams was excited to attend the event and no longer wanted to be associated with the movement, citing how Lewis was treated.

"I am angry because this is not what democracy is all about. This is Marxist more Stalin like. Your movement, you're just riff-raff. You're an organized mob," said Williams.

And at Peach Pundit, "Occupy Atlanta every bit as ignorant, disorganized, cult-like as you think they are":

When Congressman John Lewis, an American Hero of the Civil Rights Movement showed up, after declaring himself in unity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, the geniuses in charge decided not to let him speak. They said he could speak later after they did their agenda, but the Congressman had to go. As a result, John Lewis didn’t address the group and they spent the better part of the next two hours arguing about how stupid they had been. Unbelievable.

And from the comments at Creative Loafing Atlanta:

Oh for fcks sake, why didn't this sht take place in a closed door meeting with the actual rally/protest happening in Woodruff Park? Who organized this sht? You're fired.

I fully support this cause, but the absolutely idiotic bullsht that I just saw on that youtube clip completely confirms the mainstream media's assertions that this movement is an unorganized clusterfck. Call & response?! Are you fcking kidding me? What, is this Kindergarten?! Why the fck WOULD John Lewis have stuck around? That was just embarrassing.

And I LOOOOOVE (well, HATE, actually) that douchebag in the red shirt talking about how the movement is too big for "one person" while practically salivating at the attention he was getting, clearly power-hungry. Get it together jackoffs. John Lewis could have lent an incredible amount of credibility to the Atlanta movement. MORE COVERAGE. Do. you. get. it? (sigh)

Texas Fred Attacks Mitt Romney's Faith

Well, it's been a while, but old Texas "Wifebeater" Fred is making news again, joining in with the bigoted anti-Mormon attacks on Mitt Romney.

See: "Pastor says Romney is not a Christian:

I am NOT a Biblical scholar, I have serious issues with *organized* religion, and I hate to go off on a tangent about religion, anyones religion, but I have to agree with Jeffress on this one, at least to a certain degree. I don’t know that Mormonism is a *cult*, but I do not view it as a Christian religion either.

Really.

Well, you coulda fooled me, for example, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints homepage, "Jesus Christ Is the Way":

If we believe in Jesus Christ, follow His teachings, and repent when we commit sins, His Atonement, or sacrifice, can wash us clean of our sins and make us worthy to return to God’s presence. Christ’s sacrifice and Resurrection also allow us to overcome physical death. Every one of us will be resurrected just like Christ was and live forever in perfected bodies after we leave this life.

Sounds pretty Christian-like to me. Of course, unlike Texas Fred, I don't hate "gooks," "negros," and "wetbacks" either.

Freakin' Texas Fred's the biggest loser and asshat this side of W. James "Costanza" Casper, and that's saying a lot!

Insurgents Strike U.S.-Afghan Outposts Near Pakistan

At NYT, "10 Years Into Afghan War, a Thunderous Duel."

FORWARD OPERATING BASE TILLMAN, Afghanistan — The sun had been up less than a half-hour on the 10th anniversary of the start of the American-led war in Afghanistan when the first rocket struck. Flying in from near the border with Pakistan, it shook this outpost with an explosion that hinted at the long day ahead.

Soon insurgents near the border were firing on four Afghan-American outposts simultaneously — a coordinated barrage and assault that included dozens of 107-millimeter rockets, and at one post, a suicide truck bomber, American military officers said.

Only one American soldier was wounded in the insurgent attack, which the American regional command called the largest in Paktika Province since 2009. His wounds were not life-threatening. But the events on Friday demonstrated that as the war begins its second decade and the Pentagon plans to start sending tens of thousands of soldiers home after a buildup that since last year has made significant gains, the United States remains bedeviled by a bold, resilient foe.

Most of the high-explosive rockets striking the outposts were fired from just inside Afghanistan, suggesting that the attack had been prepared and launched from Pakistan, and the rocket crews withdrew to sanctuaries there as the Americans fired back.

And the relative weakness of Afghan soldiers and police officers living and working on the American-built bases was equally clear.

As the attacks escalated in the morning, only the American military possessed the firepower, communications and skills to fight back in what developed into a long-range, artillery-and-rocket duel — raising once more the familiar questions about how Afghan forces, underwritten at tremendous expense, will fare when the United States pulls back.

More at the top link.

And at USA Today, "Afghanistan: A decade of war."

Rodney Hunt, Co-Founder of Mississippi Federation for Immigrant Reform and Enforcement, Wages One-Man Battle Against Illegal Immigration

At Los Angeles Times, "One man helps mount Mississippi's anti-illegal-immigrant movement":

Latinos have moved to the South in growing numbers over the last decade, and their presence has been accompanied by growing anger and resentment aimed at illegal immigrants. If Hunt gets his way, Mississippi will become the latest Southern state to pass a law aimed at driving illegal immigrants out — establishing the Deep South as the U.S. region with the most-stringent restrictions on illegal immigrants.

In Mississippi, there's a struggle that goes beyond immigration. Latinos, regardless of legal status, are part of a grand contest to define the state's future.

Blacks, who vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, make up 37% of Mississippi's population, the highest percentage of any state. Latinos, if they vote Democratic, could one day tip the balance of power in a state where whites — that is, white Republicans — have the upper hand.

When Hunt describes this dynamic, it is not in racial terms — because, he says, these are not the terms he thinks in. Though he is a white Mississippian raised in the '60s, he says, "I changed, along with most of the people in my generation. We try to accept people as they are, and not by the color of their skin."

His public appeals have been based on familiar arguments about illegal immigrants: the jobs they are taking, their flouting of the rule of law, their burden on government coffers.

His broad goal, he said, is not to retain white power in Mississippi. It's to retain conservative power.

"It has nothing to do with race," he says.

Well, it's about the rule of law, if you ask me. But that won't stop progressives from screaming RAAAAACIST!!!

Why Labor Backs 'Occupy Wall Street'

From Mary Kay Henry, at WSJ (and at Google).

Amazing how the jobs she cites are public sector jobs nearly to the one. And that's going to reinvigorate the economy?

We can't begin to fix what is wrong with our economy without creating good jobs. We have work that needs doing in this country and millions of Americans looking for full-time work. It's time to put the two together to make America a stronger nation. And it's time to use the money being made on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms across the country to put Americans back to work.

Congress can begin by passing the American Jobs Act and immediately put Americans to work rebuilding our outdated and dangerous roads and bridges and ensuring our kids have first-class schools. We can invest in our communities to keep teachers in our classrooms, police on the beat, health-care workers at our hospitals and clinics, and ensure that we have enough firefighters to protect our communities.

The 2.1 million nurses, janitors, school-bus drivers and other members of the Service Employees International Union stand arm in arm with the peaceful Occupy Wall Street protestors. While unions cannot claim credit for Occupy Wall Street, SEIU members are joining the protesters in the streets because we are united in the belief that our country needs a change.

Nobody can predict what's next for the Occupy Wall Street movement. And no one institution or person should try to exert their pressure on this inspiring collective of people.

The importance of the Occupy Wall Street protests lies in the simple fact that all it takes is a small group of courageous people to light a spark and forever change the arc of history. The auto workers in Flint, Mich., lit that spark in the 1930s through their sit-down strikes and forever changed American industry. The civil-rights activists lit that spark when their sit-ins forced us to confront the racial inequality that poisoned our nation.

We saw that spark in Tahrir Square and across the Middle East this Arab Spring as a few brave people inspired millions of fed-up citizens to challenge their governments and demand better lives.

Actually, it took a Radiohead concert hoax to get (some resemblance of) a critical mass of people to show up. And these same union people are astroturfing the rest. It's pretty much a joke. The Egyptian street overthrew a dictatorship that held power for 40 years. Wall Street is not Mubarak. People who need jobs need banking, finance, investments, and savings. And it's the Democrats who have failed people for the last 30 months. Up is down and down is up in these freaked out political times. One sure thing is that Obama's gonna be a one-termer, and perhaps then we'll have some change folks can believe in.

Glen Campbell's Spirit Still Shines Through

A great music review, at Los Angeles Times, "Live: Glen Campbell at Club Nokia."

It was thrilling too to watch the spirit rushing through Campbell. At times these gusts of musical inspiration blew harder than his fingers could contain, like a delicate kite weathering a windstorm. But then the clouds would break and the guitarist and his muse would reveal blue-sky lines as effortlessly as he did on “Wichita Lineman” in 1968. The man who stepped onstage and kicked off his first solo hit in 1967, “Gentle on My Mind,” had less hair but just as much insight, and the knowledge that this man was part of the legendary Wrecking Crew session team responsible for hits by Phil Spector and the Beach Boys' classic hits, among others, added extra weight.

And I posted on Campbell back in August: "'Rhinestone Cowboy'."

USA Today on Debit Card Fees

See: "What debit card fee critics miss on capitalism":

Ever since Bank of America announced a new $5 monthly fee on debit card use, an outcry has echoed from Main Street all the way to the White House. A Fox Business anchor cut up her BofA debit card on the air in front of a sign that read "Big Bad Bank of America." Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told BofA customers to "get the heck out of that bank." President Obama slammed the charge as a bad business practice. And Consumers Union called on Congress and regulators to investigate the new fee, which will go into effect in early 2012.

Let's everybody take a deep breath...

As annoying as the fees are, they're a far cry from the industry's past egregious practices, now banned or blunted. Those included raising rates "at any time for any reason" on existing credit card balances, re-ordering debit transactions to drive up overdraft penalties, and "disclosing" practices in incomprehensible language in type that required a magnifying glass to read.

So what power do aggrieved bank customers have to respond? They can take their business elsewhere. Switching is a hassle, but there's no lack of competition. If enough consumers bolt or howl, then perhaps Bank of America and others will reconsider.

Well, yeah.

In fact, I think the editors are reading my blog: "It's Robbery to Charge for Debit Cards?"

Missing Baby Lisa Irwin: Statistics Say Unlikely Abducted by Stranger

My wife and I were talking about this story.

The video's from a couple of nights ago. And at USA Today, "Statistics say it's unlikely Mo. baby taken by stranger."

And an update from ABC News, "Missing Baby Lisa: Parents Once Again Cooperating With Investigation, Police Say."

Prosecute War Criminals David Barron and Martin Lederman!

Well, that's all one can conclude from this report at New York Times, "Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen":

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.

The memo, written last year, followed months of extensive interagency deliberations and offers a glimpse into the legal debate that led to one of the most significant decisions made by President Obama — to move ahead with the killing of an American citizen without a trial.

The secret document provided the justification for acting despite an executive order banning assassinations, a federal law against murder, protections in the Bill of Rights and various strictures of the international laws of war, according to people familiar with the analysis. The memo, however, was narrowly drawn to the specifics of Mr. Awlaki’s case and did not establish a broad new legal doctrine to permit the targeted killing of any Americans believed to pose a terrorist threat.

The Obama administration has refused to acknowledge or discuss its role in the drone strike that killed Mr. Awlaki last month and that technically remains a covert operation. The government has also resisted growing calls that it provide a detailed public explanation of why officials deemed it lawful to kill an American citizen, setting a precedent that scholars, rights activists and others say has raised concerns about the rule of law and civil liberties.

But the document that laid out the administration’s justification — a roughly 50-page memorandum by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, completed around June 2010 — was described on the condition of anonymity by people who have read it.

The legal analysis, in essence, concluded that Mr. Awlaki could be legally killed, if it was not feasible to capture him, because intelligence agencies said he was taking part in the war between the United States and Al Qaeda and posed a significant threat to Americans, as well as because Yemeni authorities were unable or unwilling to stop him.

The memorandum, which was written more than a year before Mr. Awlaki was killed, does not independently analyze the quality of the evidence against him.

The administration did not respond to requests for comment on this article.

You see? The Office of Legal Counsel. That's where John Yoo and Jay Bybee were working when they wrote the dreaded "torture memos." And ever since then they've been excoriated and hounded as war criminals.

So, how about the authors of the Awlaki memo, David Barron and Martin Lederman? War Criminals!!

Actually, nobody's calling for prosecutions at Memeorandum, at least not yet. But see Volokh, "Secret DOJ Memo re Awlaki Targeting, and NYT Public Editor on Policy-By-Leaks."

Overnight Rule 5

At Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Joanna Krupa." And at Bob Belvedere's, "Rule 5 Saturday: Flávia Alessandra."

BONUS: A roundup at Say Anything, "Saturday Linkaround."

Added: At Maggie's Notebook, "Rule 5 Saturday Night: Paris Hilton."

Antiwar Protests Close Air and Space Museum

Someone's gonna get hurt one of these times. It's a museum, for crying out load.

At WaPo, "Air & Space Museum in DC closed after demonstrators try to enter with signs; 1 pepper-sprayed."

Occupy Wall Street Unleashes Beast of Radical Progressivism

At the video is Occupy Portland: Anti-Israel, eat the rich.

Pretty typical, I know.

But see Daily Mail, "Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR." (Via Hot Air, "EvacuateOnWallStreet?")

RELATED: Left Coast Rebel reports from San Diego: "(PHOTOS) OccupySanDiego October 7, 2011."

Meanwhile, the vacuous MSM thinks this is just great, "'Occupy' protesters garner increased support."

Al Davis, 1929 – 2011

At New York Times, "Al Davis, the Controversial and Combative Raiders Owner, Dies at 82."

Allen Davis was born in Brockton, Mass., on July 4, 1929, and he grew up in Brooklyn, where his father, Louis, was a successful businessman. In interviews he often spoke of learning toughness on the city streets, but he came from a relatively affluent home and at least once confessed to a reporter: “I don’t want this in the story. I wish you wouldn’t print it. You follow me? But when I got out of public school, I won the American Legion medal for all-around kid.”

RTWT.

Davis was a fascinating man, and I've always had a soft spot for the Raiders, back in 2002, for example.

Wall Street Protest Spurs Online Conversation

Here's this at NYT, "Wall Street Protest Spurs Online Dialogue on Inequity."

And this is what they're trying to spur? If these idiots out in Portland are any clue, this isn't the kind of conversation the country needs:

Mitt Romney Acknowledges Attack on His Mormon Faith

At Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney subtly acknowledges attack on his Mormon faith."

RTWT at the link. I think Anderson Cooper handled the situation very well last night, in his interview with the Texas pastor. See: "Texas Evangelical Leader Robert Jeffress Attacks Mitt Romney's Mormon Church as 'Cult'."

And see Lonely Conservative, "Perry Supporter Bashes Romney’s Religion." And at Memeorandum.

Texas Evangelical Leader Robert Jeffress Attacks Mitt Romney's Mormon Church as 'Cult'

I saw this interview earlier on CNN.

And now here at New York Times, "Prominent Pastor Calls Romney’s Church a Cult." (At Memeorandum.)

WASHINGTON — A Texas pastor introduced Rick Perry at a major conference of Christian conservatives here on Friday as “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ” and then walked outside and attacked Mitt Romney’s religion, calling the Mormon Church a cult and stating that Mr. Romney “is not a Christian.”

The comments by the pastor, Robert Jeffress of Dallas, injected a potentially explosive issue into the presidential campaign: the belief held by many evangelicals that Mormons are not Christians.

And it raised immediate suspicions that the attack might have been a way for surrogates or supporters of Mr. Perry, the Texas governor, who has stumbled in recent weeks, to gain ground by raising religious concerns about Mr. Romney. Mr. Jeffress similarly attacked Mr. Romney and his faith during the 2008 campaign.

The Perry campaign sought to put some distance between Mr. Perry and Mr. Jeffress, stating that the governor “does not believe Mormonism is a cult” and that Mr. Jeffress was chosen to speak by the organizers of the event, the Values Voter Summit, which was put on by the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and other evangelical Christian groups.

But in a statement, the Family Research Council president, Tony Perkins, said the Perry campaign had approved using Mr. Jeffress to introduce the governor. “Pastor Jeffress was suggested to us as a possible introductory speaker because he serves as pastor of one of the largest churches in Texas,” Mr. Perkins said. “We sent the request to the Perry campaign which then signed off on the request.”

Someone is making a big mistake. Attacks like this are radioactive and will end up hurting the Perry camp more so than Romney.

Pat Condell: The World Needs to Stop Pretending Palestine is About Justice and Human Rights

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

Also from Linkmaster Smith, "Pat Condell Offering Simple, Sad Truth."

'Occupy Wall Street'

The video's from The Blaze, "‘THE JEWS CONTROL WALL STREET!’: 2ND ALLEGED WALL ST. PROTESTER SPEWS ANTI-SEMITISM."

And at Pamela's, "Calling All the Dregs of the Earth #occupywallstreet."

NewsBusted: 'Six million Americans age 25-34 still live at home with their parents'

Via Theo Spark:

American Power Surges to #74 at Wikio Top Blogs: Hardest Hit — W. James 'Costanza' Casper

I don't bother with these rankings all that much. This time I'm mostly surprised that my blog surged 16 spots to #74 from #90 in September. Half the battle is just stayin' in the ball game, adding something original or worthwhile to the debate now and then. And of course keepin' tabs on the dickwipe commies. Speaking of which, this burns W. James "Costanza" Casper, who claimed some time back (at the top result):

... aside from your sycophants, fewer and fewer people are taking your schtick seriously... You may still get your precious hits--dreck often does--but that doesn't mean folks respect you or what you have to say...

Nope.

Nobody respects what I have to say, nobody like the New York Times or anything, at "The Occupy Wall Street Quiz."

See that? Wishing hate, once again. W. James 'Costanza' Casper is just a hatemongering blog troll, living in his own nihilistic hell, looking to do harm, recruiting progressive asshats and commies, stalking and monitoring, endorsing and sponsoring workplace attacks, and God knows what other Satanic acts. As I've documented here numerous times, RACIST = REPSAC is a coward, fraud, and a liar. And that's just totally pathetic. ASFL.

It's Robbery to Charge for Debit Cards?

Well, yeah, according to Lloyd Constantine, at New York Times, "Debit Card Fees Are Robbery":

Debit cards were developed by banks as a replacement for paper checks. When a consumer pays with a debit card instead of a check, the bank saves money. In the 1980s, Visa calculated the savings at 55 cents to $1.60 per check. The savings is much higher today. For decades, Bank of America, the founding owner and member of Visa (originally called BankAmericard) and all of the Visa and MasterCard banks, including Chase, hid the identity of their debit cards from stores by designing them to look and function like their signature authorized credit cards and by charging stores the same price for debit and credit transactions. Banks did this despite the fact that purchases made with a debit card didn’t involve a loan from the bank, posed very little fraud risk and were extravagantly profitable to banks because they eliminated the costs of processing and clearing checks.

RTWT.

Constantine won a huge antitrust lawsuit against the banks in 2003, so he's knowledgeable about this. But he's practically arguing that the big banks are public utilities, entities ostensibly in the public trust. Businesses certainly have social responsibility, but don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining when you're alleging robbery for $5.00 monthly fees to use a debit card. I don't love the big banks, obviously, but having a debit card has simplified life for untold millions of people. And some banks having eliminated banking fees for basic checking accounts, and careful consumers who maintain their balances, avoid overdrafts, etc., avoid penalty fees. So, shop around. That's how it works. Constantine makes a decent point at the conclusion, in any case:

Retail customers of Bank of America and of any other bank that follows its lead should swiftly move their business. I am certain that other banks will welcome the competitive opportunity that Bank of America has given them with its arrogant and disingenuous action and justification.

Glenn Reynolds has some brief comments as well, perhaps sympathetic to Constantine.

Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy Speech at The Citadel (VIDEO)

"It is only American power—conceived in the broadest terms—that can provide the foundation of an international system that ensures the security and prosperity of the United States and our friends and allies around the world."

I was impressed with Romney's foreign policy back in 2008, and I met Romney at the book signing for his autobiography. I admire his values, which really come out here. Bruce Kesler has more, at Maggie's Farm, "Serious Republican Foreign Policy." And at Weekly Standard, "Romney Criticizes Obama at Military College."

Give Me Love: Thoughts on the George Harrison Documentary

German photographer and Beatles groupie Astrid Kirchherr is interviewed at Part I of "George Harrison: Living in the Material World." She said that George Harrison was kind to everyone he met. And that sense of Harrison is expressed again and again in interviews throughout the documentary. My personal policy is to avoid meeting stars and celebrities, to avoid the disappointments, but I would have never missed the chance to meet George Harrison. Part II was perhaps better than Part I, in that it focuses on Harrison's post-Beatles life and legacy. The New York Times stresses these disparate aspects as well, "A Life of Guitars, Girls and Gentle Weeping."

"Give Me Love" is one of the George Harrison songs I often forget about, but it came to me out of the blue while I was in the car yesterday, and parts of it are played in Part II, during the coverage of Harrison's commercial successes as a solo artist. And that reminds me, the Phil Spector interview is one of the more amazing segments of the film. And Olivia Harrison is a fascinating woman as well. She has an interesting manner of speech, and her affection for George is almost scholarly in its expression. I'm watching an encore broadcast on HBO as this post goes live. Try to catch it if you can.

Hot Britney Spears Blogging!

At What Would Tyler Durden Do, "Britney Spears is Easily Influenced."

HAT TIP: Linkmaster Smith @ The Other McCain.

War and Sacrifice in the Post-9/11 Era: The Military-Civilian Gap

A new survey at the Pew Research Center:

Only about one half of one percent of the U.S. population has been on active military duty at any given time during the past decade of sustained warfare. Some 84% of post-9/11 veterans say the public does not understand the problems faced by those in the military or their families. The public agrees, though by a less lopsided majority—71%.

David Frum Joining Asshat Erick Erickson as Political Analyst on CNN

Some of the responses to Sarah Palin's announcement this week were self-serving and beyond the pale, most spectacularly: David Frum and Erick Erickson.

Frum published an amazingly deranged attack on Sarah Palin, "Palin: Already Almost Forgotten." I'm not linking it, so check Legal Insurrection and Neo-Neocon for responses. And Legal Insurrection came back with a second response: "David Frum: Already Almost Forgotten."

Erick Erickson took to his blog Red State and Twitter to gloat about his predictions that Sarah Palin wouldn't be a candidate, in the process revealing himself as a petty little man and insecure wannabe conservative honcho. See here, here, and here, plus at Red State, "BREAKING NEWS: As I have been telling ALL OF YOU, Sarah Palin is not running." Legal Insurrection comments on Erickson as well:

At a moment when Erickson could have shown himself to be a mensch he showed himself to be a schmuck. And of course, managed to make it about him. As pointed out in the comments, he is asking “Can we all be friends now?” The answer is no.

So with all that I find it appropriate that David Frum's joining his fellow asshat as an election analyst on CNN:

Beyond this, others had strong opinions on Palin, for example, Jonathan Tobin at Commentary, "Palin's Path to Irrelevance." I disagree with Tobin on the reasoning and significance of Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska. But in contrast to Frum and Erickson, Tobin's comments contribute to the debate rather than grandstand for attention. And of course, the classiest response was Charles Krauthammer's, "Palin Not Running Like 'Sun Rising In The East'."