Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Weekend: Get Ready for Progressive Attacks on 'Racist' America

I just don't get into all the hand-wringing about alleged "lingering" racism in America, or that MLK's "Dream" is still a long way off, blah, blah.

If you're not successful in America today the reasons have little to do with the "institutional" forces of racism or whatever other fantasies progressives are spinning. That's not to say that bigotry and discrimination have been eradicated forever, but that at no time has America made a fuller commitment to equality before the law than today. Barack Obama is the ultimate testimony, and public opinion polls routinely indicate a level of support for full inclusion that makes the country's progress on rights look like light years from the 1950s and 1960s.

More on this later, especially when the racial grievance masters start publishing their annual screeds against "racist" America.

Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor has a decent piece on the topic, "Martin Luther King, Jr.: How would American life be different without him?"

OMG! Media Matters Writes Book-Length Blog Post Looking to Get Dana Loesch Fired!

You gotta see it to believe it, jeez.

These idiots go after Pamela Geller as well.

At the Soros-backed hate-site.

Gateway Pundit has the front-page screen-cap from the Media Matter hate hole, "Today’s American Hero Spotlight Goes to Dana Loesch: “I’d Drop Trou and Do it Too”." (Via Memeorandum.)

And Pamela develops the story, digging down the the motives for leaking that video: "Tinkle Timing":

 As soon as the Marine victory tinkle story "broke," I went public immediately with my support here and here on news broadcasts: "So what?" The name-calling and attacks commenced, trying to squelch the beginnings of any support for our fighting men. The enemedia cannot get enough of the trashing of our men and women in uniform. Pure evil.

Who leaked the marine video? That is the real story. The timing of its release is deliberate and points to the ugliest of motives.

Our boys and girls are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan after ten years of battling an enemy so evil and bloodthirsty that most Americans would weep if they had any idea what these savages do, how they "live" and die. The people haven't a real clue, because an enemedia obfuscates and either under-reports or doesn't report at all the actual news -- and when they do, they speak affectionately of an enemy so brutal and bloodthirsty that it defies the Western mind. Jihadis did far worse to American corpses in Fallujah and Somalia, and it was excused, downplayed, denied, forgotten. But this? The coverage is nonstop.

Our troops are coming home, and this story breaks? Now? Why? So that our troops have a Vietnam welcome? So that the American people will rebuke our returning soldiers? The victory tinkle took place in Spring or Summer of 2011. Why now?

The media is all over the victory tinkle like maggots on dead flesh. The nonstop reportage focuses on the "outrage." Whose? Theirs, that of the enemedia and our enemies. Americans by and large think it's no BFD. And they're right.

Cruise Ship Costa Concordia Runs Aground Off Italy

A huge report at London's Daily Mail, "Fears for 129 Americans who were on liner that capsized off coast of Italy as rescuers hunt for 69 'missing' after three confirmed dead."

Bombing Kills Dozens of Pilgrims in Iraq

Hey, great job Barack Hussein. That precipitous withdrawal is working exactly as planned.

At Telegraph UK, "Iraqi suicide bomb kills at least 53 pilgrims in Basra."

Obama Now Says He Wants to Reform Government

I watched the president's announcement. When he started touting the "billions" saved reforming the check mailing process I almost gagged. And I'm not the only one.

See the Wall Street Journal, "The Reorganization Man":

The Washington rap on President Obama is that he's humorless, but that's unfair. He may not be Jay Leno funny, but his bit Friday on reforming and reducing government was great.

There he was in the East Room, explaining that "the government we have is not the government we need." That's for sure, and Mr. Obama even added the Gingrichian theme that "We live in a 21st-century economy, but we've still got a government organized for the 20th century. Our economy has fundamentally changed—as has the world—but our government, our agencies, has not."

Alas, the President wasn't talking about modernizing Medicare or the entitlement state. He merely wants Congress to give him more power to reorganize the government. He says he wants his team to scrub down the executive branch looking for waste, duplication and bureaucratic complexity, and then to fast-track their proposals to Congress for an up-or-down vote within 90 days.

Mr. Obama's first targets for such "consolidation authority" are the six agencies related to business and the world economy, from the Commerce Department to the Export-Import Bank to the U.S. Trade Representative. Maybe the White House chose to start there because, with an eye on the GOP campaign, Rick Perry wants to eliminate Commerce and a few other cabinet departments he can't remember.

Another way of putting it is that this new emphasis on streamlining the bureaucracy is Mr. Obama's version of the Texas Governor's "Oops." Having presided over the largest expansion of government since LBJ—health care, financial reregulation, spending 24% of GDP, the surge of industrial policy—Mr. Obama's pollsters must be saying that voters have the jimmy-legs about bigger government and that he thus can't run only as a Great Society man.

But let's go to the videotape...

Yeah, go to the tape, at 7:00 minutes above, where Obama gushes about "rooting out waste" in the check delivery process. There's got to be some deeper Freudian ironic significance in there somewhere. I mean, really: "rooting out waste" by sending checks to the right place? Maybe we could stop sending out so many checks in the first place, eh? Oh, well, perhaps not. That wouldn't be funny.

Husky Pony-Tailed Hate-Blogger Charles Johnson Slurs U.S. Marines as 'Bloodthirsty' on Twitter

Screencapped before it goes down the memory hole.

John Nolte has been just just destroying the husky hate-blogger on Twitter.

PREVIOUSLY: "Pissing Marines Identified in Dead Taliban Investigation."

France Downgrade Puts Europe's Financial Crisis Back in News

At Telegraph UK, "Debt crisis: Eurozone back on the brink as France has credit rating downgraded."

Also at New York Times, "Downgrade of Debt Ratings Underscores Europe’s Woes," and "In France, the Pain of Rating Downgrade Is Especially Acute."

Plus, at Der Spiegel, "Triple-A Headache: Ratings Agency Set to Downgrade France."

Obama's Racist Revolving Door Nominee Brings No Victory For the Middle Class

Michelle just destroys Barack Hussein's nominee for domestic policy, Cecilia Muñoz.

See: "Obama’s “Razist” Lobbyist Moves Up."

PREVIOUSLY: "Obama Appoints Open Borders Radical Cecilia Muñoz as Top White House Domestic Policy Advisor."

Liz Cheney Slams Obama's Defense Cuts as 'Irresponsible'

I really hope Liz Cheney has a future in electoral politics, because she calls 'em as she sees 'em. I especially like her discussion of our massive bloat on entitlement spending. And I'm amazed at her uncanny resemblance to her father, her speaking mannerisms in particular:

Obama Pushes Debt Ceiling Hike to $16.4 Trillion

Here's the figure with all the zeros: $16,400,000,000,000.00.

See Telegraph UK, "Obama seeks to raise US debt limit by $1.2 trillion."

And at Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Debt Nears $15.194 Trillion Ceiling."

Plus, this is mind-boggling, at Weasel Zippers, "Obama On Pace to Borrow $6.2 Trillion In One Term — More Than All Presidents From Washington Through Clinton Combined…"

Greek Exceptionalism: Parents Dump Children They Can 'No Longer Afford'

Recall what the president once said: "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."

Well, here's some Greek exceptionalism for you, at London's Daily Mail, "Children 'dumped in streets by Greek parents who can't afford to look after them any more'."

Hundreds of children have been abandoned in the crisis of economic austerity. I would rather work my fingers to the bone before abandoning my kids somewhere, and I think most people I've ever met would do the same.

HAT TIP: "Larwyn's Linx, Everything Is At Stake, All Right.

Added: It could happen here, or it could happen again, I should say. Thinking further, I found this about the Great Depression:

The Depression had a powerful impact on family life. It forced couples to delay marriage and drove the birthrate below the replacement level for the first time in American history. The divorce rate fell, for the simple reason that many couples could not afford to maintain separate households or pay legal fees. But rates of desertion soared. By 1940, 1.5 million married women were living apart from their husbands. More than 200,000 vagrant children wandered the country as a result of the breakup of their families.

I would die before I abandoned my own family. And dumping children is un-American if you ask me. And I believe it's people who've been coddled their entire lives, and who sponge off others and the state, who'd be the first to dump their kids on the side of the road. In other words, progressives. And if it comes it will be the result of the Obama administration's profligacy and recklessness. He's driving this country into the ditch. All the more reason to get rid of these people in November.

Mobs Riot Over iPhone Shortage in China

Well, there's some soft power for you.

At Los Angeles Times, "Apple halts iPhone 4S release in China stores after near-riot." And, "China's communists really, really want the iPhone 4S."

South Carolina May Settle on Romney

See Peggy Noonan, at Wall Street Journal, "South Carolina Will Likely Choose Romney."

Plus an interesting discussion from political scientist Danny Hayes:

PREVIOUSLY: "Mitt Could Lock Up Nomination in South Carolina."

Cell Phone Stops New York Symphony

It's gonna happen, but the offender was right in the front row so there was no ignoring the disruption.

What a story.

At Toronto's Globe and Mail, "Conductor shames man after cellphone goes off at philharmonic."

And at London's Daily Mail, "Are you quite finished? New York Philharmonic conductor dramatically halts performance after cell phone interruption."

Also at New York Times, "Ringing Finally Ended, but There’s No Button to Stop Shame."

Pissing Marines Identified in Dead Taliban Investigation

Well, there's more in the "outrageous" pissed-on Taliban corpse story.

At New York Times, "4 Marines in Video With Dead Taliban Are Identified." And at Business Week, "NCIS Opens Investigation Into U.S. Marines in Urination Video."

And at Pamela's, "VIDEO CBS: PAMELA GELLER ON MARINES VICTORY TINKLE, "SO WHAT?'"

I was interviewed yesterday on WTSP (CBS Florida affiliate) on the US Marines breach of protocol and the ... ensuing brouhaha.

Have you seen the firestorm in the enemedia and among Obama's craven apologists over the US Marines victory tinkle? The media is beside itself at the idea that we somehow disrespected devout murdering jihadists.

Did the three jihadis attack in America this week get this much press?

Did the Alabama Muslim shooting at police in order "to draw attention to islam" get as much press?

Did the devout Florida Muslim who was arrested plotting to blow up nightclubs, a sheriff's office and use an explosive belt to "get in somewhere where there's a lot of people" and take hostages get as much press?

Of course not. The Democrat-Industrial-Complex cheers our enemies.

See also Daniel Halper at Weekly Standard, "Allen West on the Marines Incident: 'Shut Your Mouth, War Is Hell'."

And of course the faux outrage on the progressive left is spilling off the charts, via Google and Memeorandum.

This headline is only slightly over the top, at the gay extremist hate site, New Civil Rights Movement: "America Isn’t Denouncing Our Marines, America Is Denouncing Dana Loesch."

PREVIOUSLY: "Progressives Attack Dana Loesch For 'Cheering' Marines Pissing On Dead Taliban," and "Video Appears to Show U.S. Marines Pissing on Dead Taliban."

Also, "Outrage Over Video of Marines Urinating on Taliban Corpses."

Mitt Could Lock Up Nomination in South Carolina

At National Journal, "The Stars Align for Romney in a Changed South Carolina":

The idea that South Carolina could seal the deal for Mitt Romney seemed fanciful mere months ago. Its Republican electorate—conservative, Southern, evangelical—doesn't seem like fertile political ground for a moderate northeastern Mormon. Yet Romney is well positioned to win the state's Jan. 21 primary and all but lock up the Republican presidential nomination.

Four years ago, Romney took 15 percent of the primary vote and came in fourth. This time around, he is facing an onslaught of attacks aimed at his Bain Capital credentials from challengers desperate to make their last stand in the state.

But South Carolina isn't the same state it was in 2008—and Romney is not the same candidate. He has distinct political advantages this time: a splintered conservative electorate that hasn't been able to coalesce around a single alternative; an economy in much-worse shape; and a two-for-two record heading into a state where momentum makes all the difference.

Indeed, when examining the changing landscape of South Carolina politics—and the current dynamics of the GOP race—the stars are aligned for Romney to win South Carolina. Here are the three main reasons why...

Continue reading at the link.

And CNN doesn't think Romney's a slam dunk in S.C., "New poll in S.C. indicates tight race for top spot."

But see Rasmussen Reports, "South Carolina Primary: Romney 28%, Gingrich 21%, Santorum 16%, Paul 16%."

Progressives Attack Dana Loesch For 'Cheering' Marines Pissing On Dead Taliban

I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.

It's not so much that the Marines pissed on the corpses of Taliban terrorists, it's that by doing so they've given the hate-America progressives powerful ammunition to attack the deployment and its conservative backers. I know Dana Loesch and she's politically incorrect, and unapologetically so. And if the past is any indication, she's being stalked and tracked by far left-wing demons who'd love to beat her to a bloody pulp if they could. Here's the audio clip from Dana's show yesterday:

And Politico has the reaction, "CNN's Loesch champions Marine video" (via Memeorandum).

The progs want Loesch fired from CNN, obviously. Notice the kind of passive query at Politico on this, and CNN's appropriate response:

 CNN hired Loesch, a co-founder of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition, to join the "Best Political Team on Television" in February of last year. "I’m excited to be working with CNN and am appreciative of their efforts to showcase diverse political thought on their airwaves," Loesch said at the time. “I look forward to the discussions.”

CNN, which has looked to bring in voices from across the political spectrum, also prides itself on being positioned in the center of the more ideologically driven Fox and MSNBC networks.

I've reached out to CNN to ask for their response to Loesch's comments, and whether or not it will have any impact on her role at CNN. Updates here if and when I hear back.

UPDATE: CNN spokesperson Edie Emery emails:

CNN contributors are commentators who express a wide range of viewpoints—on and off of CNN—that often provoke strong agreement or disagreement. Their viewpoints are their own.

Dana's game for the fight. See her response, at Big Journalism, "Correcting the Progressive Spin on My Defense of the Marines":

My entire point of the past two days was to highlight the absurd reaction from militant troop-bashers to these Marines. In my Twitter timeline yesterday progressives called our military “killers, kids, barbaric trash, murderers …” The only time soldiers are celebrated by the left is when they engage in protests like OWS. The rest of the time they’re demonized....

The disproportionate anger on the part of progressives is fueled by their dislike of our military. That['s] what this proves. The left is attacking me so they can give the Obama administration a pass–unlike what they did with Bush and Abu Ghraib. Like it or not, I’ll stand up for our troops no matter which president is in charge.

PREVIOUSLY: "Outrage Over Video of Marines Urinating on Taliban Corpses."

BONUS: At Astute Bloggers, "MARINES WHO PISSED ON DEAD TALIBAN ARE HEROES."

Mitt Romney Hits Back Against Bain Attacks

The progressive character assassination machine would have launched these attacks in the fall either way, so Romney might as well be sharpening the knives now for the coming radical left-wing onslaught.

See Fox News, "Romney strikes back at critics of Bain record with new South Carolina ad."

And yesterday at Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney steps up defense of Bain Capital tenure":

Reporting from Greer, S.C.  — Facing efforts by his Republican rivals to paint him as a heartless corporate raider who preyed on struggling companies while working in the world of private equity, Republican front-runner Mitt Romney stepped up his defense of his tenure at Bain Capital on Thursday -- gently pushing back against those attacks by arguing that his goal had been to make businesses successful over the long term.

Supporters of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have promised a "strong and sustained" campaign in the Palmetto state attacking Romney's career at Bain. Channeling their resources into a super PAC known as inning Our Future, the committee is now running a "trailer" on South Carolina television directing voters to a film that focuses on four companies that Bain acquired more than two decades ago. The documentary-style film portrays Romney as a "corporate raider" who pursued profits at the cost of jobs.

On Thursday at Cherokee Trikes, which manufactures the "trikes" that turn two-wheel motorcycles into three-wheelers, Romney said he believed his record at Bain had been vetted by reporters over the years and sought to steer attention toward the more positive stories of Bain's investments in companies that ultimately created jobs.

"There are a number of businesses that we helped start, which collectively, you can just look on their websites, added well over 100,000 jobs: Staples, Bright Horizons Children's Centers, the Sports Authority, Steel Dynamics. Those four alone added well over 100,000 jobs," Romney told reporters in Greer.

RTWT.

Sheldon Adelson Facing Blowback for Attacks on Mitt Romney

And this isn't your ordinary kind of blowback. Adelson's being threatened.

See Legal Insurrection, "Sounds like John Sununu threatened Sheldon Adelson":

Seeing John Sununu in the news again is some kind of weird timewarp, but I don't recall him playing the heavy like this. He definitely implies some payback against those making attacks against Romney --- you know, your finance capital at Wall Street's gonna dry up pretty quick if you don't knock it off. Here's William's comment from the post:

The message is clear. Anyone attacks Romney on Bain is going to get payback from Wall Street. When that message is conveyed by the leading candidate’s spokesman and confidant, it is a lot more than a casual observation. And if Sununu is so bold on television, you can only imagine what is going on behind the scenes from Romney supporters in the financial community.

No doubt.

And here's this at the Las Vegas Sun, "Sheldon Adelson distancing himself from documentary attacking Mitt Romney." (Via Memeorandum.)

And what's worse is that "King of Bain" is a really lousy documentary, full of distortions and omissions, pretty typical of the kind of smears you'd see from the Obama-progresssives. See: "Four Pinocchios for ‘King of Bain’."

See also The Other McCain, "Rick Santorum Distances Himself From Newt’s Lefty ‘Hit Job’ on Mitt Romney."

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Under Fire for Comments on Tea Party and Tucson Tragedy

From Tina Korbe, at Hot Air, "RNC, DNC Chairs spar about civility on Twitter."

And the Arizona Republic writes a scathing editorial, "Placing blame on foes is reckless":

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who recently spoke of the "edginess and lack of civility" evident "with the growth of the tea-party movement" at the same time she spoke of the Tucson-area shootings involving her friend, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

The insinuation was unmistakable. The finger-pointing at her political foes undeniable.

It was an accusation of guilt, the same accusation that President Barack Obama so eloquently pleaded with everyone to resist.

"What we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other," the president said a year ago at a gathering at McKale Center at the University of Arizona.

The messy nature of American politics is always apparent.

The loud and often angry and confrontational "Occupy" demonstrations around the country in recent months are testament to that.

Wasserman Schultz does not know what drove a madman to murder. For her to imply that she does merely constitutes one more occasion to turn on each other.

Progressives are hateful by f-king nature. And Wasserman Schultz is a horrible person.

PREVIOUSLY: "Debbie Wasserman Schultz Resurrects Tucson Tragedy Blood Libel to Smear Tea Party While Calling for More Civility."

Obama Appoints Open Borders Radical Cecilia Muñoz as Top White House Domestic Policy Advisor

She's a progressive La Raza racist.

At The Blaze, "Former La Raza VP Named White House Domestic Policy Director."

And from Aaron Klein, "Look who Obama’s new czar is tied to… Cecilia Munoz previously worked with infamous list":

Prior to her appointment yesterday as the next director of President Obama’s Domestic Policy Council, longtime immigration reform advocate Cecilia Muñoz served on the board of George Soros’ Open Society Institute.

Muñoz also chaired the board of directors of the Center for Community Change, or CCC, a Soros-funded community organizing initiative whose board boasts activists from ACORN, MoveOn.org as well as other notorious radical groups.

Muñoz is currently serving as the head of the White House office of intergovernmental affairs. She most recently worked for the National Council of la Raza, an open-borders group that lobbies for mass immigration and amnesty for illegal aliens.

The official White House statement announcing her new appointment yesterday noted Muñoz’s previous work for both the CCC and Soros’ Institute.

“Ms. Muñoz is the former Chair of the Board of Center for Community Change, and served on the U.S. Programs Board of the Open Society Institute,” the statement read.

“Over the past three years, Cecilia has been a trusted advisor who has demonstrated sound judgment day in and day out,” Obama in the press release. “Cecilia has done an extraordinary job working on behalf of middle class families, and I’m confident she’ll bring the same unwavering dedication to her new position.”

Muñoz’s new duties will include coordinating the policy-making process and supervise the execution of domestic policy in the White House.

While the White House release documented Muñoz’s work for the CCC, the statement did not further define the CCC, which recruits and trains activists to spearhead “political issue campaigns” while advocating for more citizen involvement in community organizations.

And at Knuckledraggin':

And La Raza is involved in actively seeking reconquista. That and flat-out open borders, among other things.

I swear to God above, that fucking socialist son of a bitch isn't happy just letting them in, now he wants to give our Nation to the Mexicans and let them turn it into the shithole Mexico is.

VIDEO HAT TIP: Verum Serum, "Obama Appoints Longtime Amnesty Proponent as Head of Domestic Policy."

Republican Fundraising Recovers Under Reince Priebus

I donate to candidates not parties, but if the RNC Chairman is picking up the pace after Michael Steele's disastrous term, more power to him.

From Kim Strassel, at Wall Street Journal, "The GOP: Back in the Money Game."

Massachusetts Moderate Mitt Romney

Oh boy, this ad is just pounds on Romney mercilessly. Pure brutality, via Pundette:

Woman Calls Police Alleging Drug Dealer Stiffed Her With Fake Crack Cocaine

No doubt she's a pro-decriminalization Democrat.

At KTLA 5 Los Angeles, "Woman Calls 911 After Dealer Sells Her Sugar Instead of Crack."

Demi Lovato at People's Choice Awards

Well, it looks like her post-meltdown recovery is coming along quite well.

At London's Daily Mail, "Here comes young Hollywood! Vanessa Hudgens and Demi Lovato don slinky gowns as they lead the glamour at People's Choice Awards."

North Koreans Sent to Labor Camps for Not Crying Enough Over Death of 'Dear Leader'

Seriously.

At London's Daily Mail, "Punished for not crying: Thousands of North Koreans face labour camps for not being upset enough about death of Kim Jong-il."

Outrage Over Video of Marines Urinating on Taliban Corpses

Look, I was only being slightly sarcastic yesterday. While I don't care one way or the other about jarheads despoiling Talilban dead, there's a wider war to be won and events like this make victory that much harder. Worst of all is giving the antiwar commie-progressives a cudgel to hammer home their anti-American talking points. So, yeah, the public relations backlash is probably well deserved, at New York Times, "Video Inflames a Delicate Moment for U.S. in Afghanistan."

More at Telegraph UK, "US defence secretary Leon Panetta condemns 'utterly deplorable' behaviour of US Marine 'urination' video."

And see the contrasting opinions, at Outside the Beltway, "Marines Piss on Taliban Dead: Understanding War Crimes," and Black Five, "The Nature of Warriors...":

Wars and battle are ugly things. The very insides of the dark side of humanity and the razor thin margins of how close we come to being animals when we fight our enemies rises to the very top for all to see. It is not pretty and it is not polite. When you fight an enemy that prefers death to surrender and straps bombs to little children and records it for posterity to blast out all over the world wide web, you need to start fighting a little fire with fire.

RTWT.

U.S. Deploys Additional Troops and Warships to Persian Gulf

At Los Angeles Times, "U.S. boosts its military presence in Persian Gulf":

The Pentagon quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.

Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.

Officials said Thursday that the deployments are not meant to suggest a buildup to war, but rather are intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The Pentagon has stationed nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait, including a small contingent already there. The new deployments include two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit, a substantial increase in combat power after nearly a decade in which Kuwait chiefly served as a staging area for supplies and personnel heading to Iraq.

The Pentagon also has decided to keep two aircraft carriers and their strike groups in the region.

Continue reading.

California Legislative Analyst Says Not Enough Rich People to Fund State's Bloated Government

At some point you just run out of obscene 1 percenters people to rape and plunder.

At Los Angeles Times, "Tax hikes won't stop school cuts, California budget advisor says."

Even if the Governor Brown's confiscatory ballot initiative passes, Mac Tayler, the Legislative Analyst, warns that:

...state revenue will become increasingly unpredictable if government relies more on tax receipts from high earners, whose income can fluctuate dramatically. That reliance would grow under Brown's tax plan.

"Already, California's budget is dependent on volatile income tax payments by the state's wealthiest individuals, and the governor proposes that these Californians pay more for the next few years," Taylor's report said. "As has become evident in recent years, differing fortunes for these upper-income taxpayers can create or eliminate billions of dollars of projected state revenues."

'I Just Wanted to Tell You How Much I Enjoyed Your Class Last Semester'

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

'So Lonely'

From yesterday morning's drive time, at The Sound L.A.:

9:02 - Shattered by The Rolling Stones

9:06 - 30 Days In The Hole by Humble Pie

9:17 - Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

9:21 - Rebel Yell by Billy Idol

9:27 - Tiny Dancer by Elton John

9:33 - Point Of Know Return by Kansas

9:36 - So Lonely by Police

9:49 - Breathe by Pink Floyd

9:52 - Goodbye Stranger by Supertramp

9:58 - Run Through The Jungle

Florida Man Charged With Plotting Terror Campaign in Name of Islam

The main story's at New York Times.

And see also Bare Naked Islam, "Once again, terror-linked CAIR accuses FBI of entrapment for the arrest of a Muslim man who was preparing to blow up Americans."

Also at Jihad Watch, "Florida jihad suspect brawled with Christians, warned on YouTube to convert to Islam "before it is too late',"  and Pamela's, "All-American Muslim Arrested in Florida in Massive Night Club Bomb Plot: 'We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?'"

Religion of peace.

Smokin' Sarah Palin Interview on Sean Hannity's Show

See Big Government, "BREAKING: Palin Urges Romney to Release Tax Returns, Provide Proof of 100,000 Jobs Created at Bain Capital," and at Gateway Pundit, "It’s On… Sarah Palin Rips Michelle Obama’s Defense of Her Husband (Video)."

Pathetic Far-Left Protests Against Guantánamo Bay on 10th Anniversary of U.S. Military Prison

At Los Angeles Times, "Hundreds protest on 10th anniversary of Guantanamo prison."

And the coverage at commumnist Amy Goodman's Democracy Now!:

Americans Feeling Better About Economy, but Not About Obama

At IBD, "Independents Sour On Obama Despite Better Economy":

Americans are feeling better about the economy, but they aren't giving President Obama credit as he seeks re-election, according to the latest IBD/TIPP survey.

The Economic Optimism Index shot up 11% in January to 47.5, still below the neutral 50 level but the fifth straight monthly gain and the best reading since February 2011.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Leadership Index fell 3.3% to 46.7, little changed over the last several months despite less gloomy views on the economy.

Most ominously for Obama, the president's leadership rating fell 9.7% among independents to 41.7. They disapproved of his job performance by 52%-39% in January vs. 46%-44% in December.

Obama will find it very difficult to win in November without substantial support from this key voting bloc. He won them 52%-44% over GOP candidate John McCain in 2008. The IBD/TIPP poll shows that 40% of independents think Obama deserves a second term while 52% prefer a "different candidate." The re-elect numbers across all voters are 45%-49%.

January's economic bounce may reflect typical "New Year hopes," says Raghavan Mayur, president of TIPP, a unit of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, IBD's polling partner.

However, recent data suggest that the U.S. economy is gradually firming, including manufacturing and jobs. It's unclear though if that can continue with Europe falling into recession and global growth slowing significantly.

Continue reading.

Romney Defends Comments on 'Politics of Envy'

At TPM, "Romney Slams Foes For Practicing ‘Politics of Envy’."

I agree with Romney: These attacks aren't going to work.

See also the essay from NYU Journalism Professor Joe Peyronnin, at Huffington Post, "Romney: The Politics of Envy."

L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Strikes Homeless Woman in Bus Confrontation

At NBC 4 Los Angeles, "Woman in Bus Video Threatened Violence: 911 Caller."

You can see something's about to happen:

Also at Los Angeles Times, "Baca says deputy who struck woman in video may need retraining":

 Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca says the sheriff's deputy who was captured on video striking a woman on a Metro bus will be held accountable for his actions, but stopped short of saying he should be disciplined.

"If the individual deputy who swung an elbow at the lady is looking at that as a sensible solution, we need to retrain that individual," he told Ed Mertz of KNX-AM (1070) in an interview Wednesday.

In the video, a female deputy holds the woman from behind while her partner appears to deliver a sweeping blow to the left side of her face. It's unclear whether he strikes her with his fist or right forearm.

The man who recorded the video told NBC-TV Channel 4 that the woman was polite and friendly toward the other passengers as she boarded the bus. He said she started cursing at the deputies when they asked her to get off.

Authorities said the deputies boarded the bus in Bellflower on Monday night after somebody called 911 to report an out-of-control woman.
Deputies knew the woman and were aware that she had four prior convictions for assaulting a police officer, said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Apartheid in the Middle East: Arab Discrimination Against the Palestinians

Via Gary Fouse:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Resurrects Tucson Tragedy Blood Libel to Smear Tea Party While Calling for More Civility

You can't make this stuff up.

And it needs to be said again: Progressives are really bad people. From the DNC Chair on down, there is no sense of decency on the left.

At Washington Examiner, "DNC chair blames Tea Party for Tucson shooting."

And at Michelle's, "Femme-a-gogue Debbie Wasserman Schultz smears Tea Party, exploits Tucson massacre anniversary."

How dare her. How dare her.

After a year of unhinged Tea Party-bashing and false accusations from New Tone Democrats, the DNC and DWS have done nothing to tone down their own poisonous, hypocritical vitriol.

“Tone things down?” Practice what you preach, trash mouth.

Word.

Can Mitt Romney Be Beat?

Well,what do you know? Larry Sabato has a video crystal ball!

And he's both super edifying and entertaining. I like it!

Obama's Scary Postmodern Vision

From Victor Davis Hanson, at National Review, "Obama's Postmodern Vision."

Video Appears to Show U.S. Marines Pissing on Dead Taliban

Well, it's not as if support for the Afghan war was bottoming out, or anything. I'm sure the mission could use a few goofball jarheads to whip it out for the cameras and send the progressives clamoring for some kind of "war crimes" tribunal, or something.

At ABC News, "US Marines Allegedly Urinate on Taliban Corpses."

Plus, from USA Today, "Video allegedly shows Marines urinating on dead Taliban." And at London's Daily Mail, "Marine Corps probe after video emerges showing American troops 'urinating on dead Afghan bodies'."

There's a YouTube clip here. And also at LiveLeak here.

South Africa University Stampede

A woman was killed.

At New York Times, "Fatal Stampede in South Africa Points Up University Crisis."

NewsBusted: 'President Obama's recess appointments'

Via Theo Spark:

Doomsday Clock Edges Closer to Midnight

These people jumped the shark years ago.

Nuclear proliferation is one thing, but when we're closer to doomsday because of the epic meltdown of the global warming "consensus," it's time to pull the plug on this show. What a freakin' joke. And these people are scientists.

At Christian Science Monitor, "Doomsday Clock suggests world is worse, not better."

Mitt Romney New Hampshire Victory Speech

A pretty good preview of a general election stump speech.

PREVIOUSLY: "Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire Primary."

Santorum's Iowa Surge Deflates in New Hampshire

At National Journal:

As Rick Santorum left Iowa, after battling Mitt Romney to a draw, he spoke hopefully of the time he had invested in New Hampshire, of the 30 campaign trips he had made to the state, and how he hoped to surprise folks in its storied primary.

But Santorum’s wings wobbled in the less-favorable climate of New Hampshire. With voters tuning in, and ready to give him a listen, he failed to convey the stirring message of national revival that he offered in his Iowa victory speech.

In the end, the former Pennsylvania senator failed in New Hampshire to achieve his own stated standard of success: “To show that we are the strong conservative alternative.”

Santorum’s unbending promotion of traditional values, which appealed to evangelical voters in Iowa, was out of place in the famously independent, more libertarian, state with the motto "Live Free or Die."

The lingering image of his campaign in New Hampshire is that of him being jeered by an audience of young people during a testy exchange over gay rights and marriage. It seemed to confirm the media portrayal of Santorum as a polarizing figure in Congress, and something of a scold.

Video of Santorum's New Hampshire speech is here.

Jon Huntsman Should Quit

I can't imagine him doing better in South Carolina, but Huntsman's pledged to take the race to the Palmetto State.

At Los Angeles Times, "Huntsman, projected to finish third, says onward to South Carolina." And at National Journal, "Huntsman Surged — But Not Enough":

In the end, Jon Huntsman’s long-awaited surge came too late. After a double-digit gain in the polls, the former Utah governor finished a disappointing third and staggered to less-familiar turf in South Carolina in hopes of saving his campaign. “We’re in the hunt,” he told supporters.

Huntsman gambled his candidacy on New Hampshire, spending almost all of his time and money in the Granite State. He now has few resources—and not much more hope—in South Carolina. Putting a positive spin on the New Hampshire results, the candidate told his supporters on primary night, “I say third place is a ticket to ride!”

Huntsman believed the state’s moderate, independent streak was a good match for his bipartisan resume. But despite moving his headquarters there from Florida in September, the White House hopeful struggled to gain traction until last week. In one of two strong debate performances, Huntsman belittled front-runner Mitt Romney for criticizing his service as U.S. ambassador to China in President Obama’s administration. Crowds at his events had also begun to swell, and he began airing his first official ads of the campaign.

Channeling that momentum to South Carolina, however, could be difficult. He’s visited the state only about 10 times, according to Richard Quinn, his Palmetto State consultant. By contrast, he held roughly 160 public events in New Hampshire, which he turned into his adopted home state in the months before the primary. His infrequent visits raise questions about the quality of the organization that awaits Huntsman when he arrives—he has only four staffers in the state.

More at that link.

I'm still kind of dumbfounded by this man's campaign. What was he thinking? He was going to pull another John McCain in the Granite State? Highly circumspect, to say the least. Anyways, if he drops out now and endorses Mitt he might still have a chance for a choice appointment in a Romney administration. What else is there for him, really?

Newt Gingrich Looks to Revive Foundering Campaign

Well, he just peaked three weeks too soon. I doubt we'll see much of a revival at this point, as noted previously.

From the Los Angeles Times:

It was a significant fall for the former House speaker, whose candidacy surged in November. Polls had him in second or third place in the state for much of November and December.

GOP Campaign Heads to South Carolina

From Byron York, at Washington Examiner, "Attacks on Romney now shift to South Carolina."

And at Telegraph UK, "US election 2012: Mitt Romney hopes support 'carries on to South Carolina'":

Meeting voters at a polling station in Manchester, the front-runner in the New Hampshire primary Mitt Romney said he expects "good support around the country," as he moves to to take a step closer to the Republican presidential nomination.

The former governor of neighbouring Massachusetts, who carries a sizeable lead in polls, was campaigning at the same polling station visited earlier by Republican candidate New Gingrich.

As supporters chanted, "Go Mitt Go," Mr Romney is fighting to ride out last-minute attacks labelling him a corporate raider who enjoyed firing workers.

"You see the exciting people behind me talking about winning this one and hopefully that kind of spirit carries on to South Carolina next," he said.

Mr Romney, 63, would be the first Republican who is not an incumbent president to win the first two early voting states, after his slim eight-vote victory over former Pennsylvania Senator Santorum a week ago in the Iowa caucuses.

A more resounding win would provide momentum going into South Carolina on January 21 and Florida on January 31.

Also, at Wall Street Journal, "Conservatives Target South Carolina":

FLORENCE, S.C.—With the New Hampshire primary behind them, conservative challengers for the Republican presidential nomination are descending on South Carolina, which they see as their best chance to halt lead candidate Mitt Romney's momentum.

South Carolina, the third major vote of the primary season, has picked the eventual GOP nominee in every primary since 1980. It also has a reputation for gloves-off campaigning, as faltering candidates target the front-runner.

Mr. Romney holds the lead in polls here, but he faces a much tougher race than he did in New Hampshire. He will have to win over a majority of GOP voters who are sympathetic to the tea-party cause and who strongly oppose the health-care plan he championed in Massachusetts. He also will have to overcome mistrust among evangelicals who are skeptical of his positions on abortion and gay marriage, and view his Mormon faith with suspicion.

Such doubts about Mr. Romney—who finished fourth in the 2008 primary here—are giving hope to his opponents. "In South Carolina, Mitt Romney seems to be everybody's second choice," said Danielle Vinson, chair of the political-science department at Furman University in Greenville. It's "very feasible" that Mr. Romney could be upset by a conservative on Jan. 21, she said, but only if one can emerge from the pack in coming days.

My sense is that Romney's momentum is nearly insurmountable by now --- and it's difficult to see a new frontrunner emerging at this point. Who's it going to be? Ron Paul? He's been running in the top three so far, but folks keep saying there's no way he'll win the nomination. And New Gingrich? The former Speaker was hovering around 10 percent with about half the precincts counted in New Hampshire last night? Will the much-heralded huge flow of Super PAC money effectively resuscitate his campaign? We'll see, but I'm not holding my breath. Romney leads Gingrich in both South Carolina and Florida. Gingrich can hang on if he places second in both states, but anything less than that will mean a failure to take the lead or runner-up spot in any of the first four contests of the year. I can't imagine his big money backers bankrolling a shaky campaign much longer than that. Besides, as Gallup reported yesterday, "Mitt Romney is the now the only candidate that a majority of conservative and moderate/liberal Republicans nationwide see as an acceptable GOP nominee for president."

So, on to South Carolina.

 PREVIOUSLY: "Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire Primary."

Israel MK Anastassia Michaeli Suspended From the Knesset

She's out for a month.

At Jerusalem Post, "MK Michaeli suspended from Knesset for a month." Also at YNET, "MK Michaeli suspended for one month."

Israeli leftist Ami Kaufman wastes no time in issuing a denunciation: "WATCH: Right wing MK pours water on Arab MK."

Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire Primary

CNN and Fox News are project Mitt Romney as the winner in New Hampshire. [Added 6:23pm: More from CNN.]

Updates forthcoming... [All times Pacific Standard Time.]

5:13pm: At New York Times, "Romney Wins G.O.P. Primary, Projections Show."

5:24pm: CNN's projecting Ron Paul as second place winner and Jon Huntsman in third. Mitt Romney's about to make his victory announcement.

5:32pm: At Los Angeles Times, "Romney gets easy win in first primary."

5:49pm: From AP, "Romney wins in NH, Ron Paul runs second" (via Memeorandum). And at Wall Street Journal, "Romney Wins New Hampshire Primary":

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, giving him significant momentum as he seeks to consolidate his claim to the Republican presidential nomination in coming weeks.

Mr. Romney had been expected to win the contest, since he was governor of neighboring Massachusetts and invested substantial time and money in the campaign. But his capture of about 36% of the vote in early returns, along with a narrow victory last week in Iowa, will make it harder for his rivals to slow his momentum.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was coming in a solid second with 25%, while former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who bet his campaign on a strong performance in New Hampshire, was running third with 17%.

The campaign moves next to South Carolina, whose Jan. 21 primary could provide the last chance for another GOP hopeful to emerge as the chief conservative challenger to Mr. Romney.

The story of the campaign so far has been the inability of any of Mr. Romney's rivals to cement that role, leaving Mr. Romney as the front-runner even without being widely embraced by Republican voters.

That may create pressure on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Gov. Rick Perry or former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum to drop out before the South Carolina primary, so conservative voters there can coalesce around a single individual.

6:08pm: The Other McCain is blogging: "NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY HQ UPDATE: Romney Wins; Ron Paul Second; Huntsman Third; Gingrich, Santorum Fight for Fourth Place."

6:10pm: Some video from New Hampshire is becoming available:

Reforms Seek Transformation at California's Community Colleges

At the Los Angeles Times, "Community College Makeover":

Until a few years ago, just about any Californian could attend a community college, and many did. The colleges offered a wide variety of options: They conferred two-year associate's degrees; prepared students for junior-year transfer to a four-year college; provided vocational training and certification; offered remedial courses for high school grads who lacked college skills; taught English to immigrants and enrichment courses to the elderly; offered recreational classes; provided college-level education — and credits — for ambitious high school students; and were the leading source of lifelong learning and career retraining for the state's adults.

But at this point, open access to higher education in California is more theoretical than real. Budget cuts have drastically reduced course offerings, making it extremely difficult for students to reach their educational goals. In 2009-10, nearly 140,000 entering students couldn't get into any classes because they had low priority in the registration system. Large numbers of students who are already attending community college are routinely shut out of courses they need to graduate or transfer. At the same time, other students meander through courses year after year, racking up far more credits than they need and taking up seats in classrooms. Many eventually drop out or never move out of the system at all. People who take courses for personal enrichment similarly fill classes that are needed by those aiming for degrees or specific training.

Bravo to the many Californians who value and seek out some form of higher education. But with the state no longer able to provide for all of them, a state task force is calling for sweeping changes. Some of the recommendations would use public dollars more efficiently while providing students fairer access. Others go too far, threatening to turn the colleges into certificate-production machines rather than true institutions of higher learning.

Continue reading.

The reform initiative is here: "California Community Colleges Student Success Task Force."

This was just sent out by my college Superintendent-President's office, and I haven't yet read all the proposals. It's a program for rationing educational opportunity at the community colleges, which sounds harsh. But as it is, there's so much waste and abuse in the system I can't say this isn't a step in the right direction. But I'll have more after I look over some of the materials. California can't do everything, and money's tight. And so far Democrats haven't done jack to get the economy humming again, so you do what you have to during slim times.

'What Makes You Beautiful'

Well, I did a lot of chauffeuring for the boys over the holidays (and they dominate the radio dial), so here's some kids pop for you, until later:

Occupy Hypocrisy: After Beyoncé Gives Birth, Other Patients Protest

Michelle Malkin was cracking me up on Twitter the other day, hammering Jay-Z for his Occupy hypocrisy with his leasing out of an entire hospital floor for Beyoncé's delivery. And here it is at New York Times, "As R&B Royalty Gives Birth, Security Irks Hospital’s Other Patients":

The couple were visiting their twin daughters in the neonatal intensive care unit at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan on Friday night, as they have done daily since the babies’ premature birth on Dec. 28. But when they tried to leave the sixth-floor unit to go home to Brooklyn at about 11 p.m., the new mother, Rozz Nash-Coulon, recalled, a burly security guard suddenly blocked their way.

The familiar area outside the neonatal unit had been transformed: partitions had been put up, the maternity ward windows were completely covered, and even the hospitals’ security cameras had been taped over with paper. Guards with Secret Service-style earpieces roamed the floor.

“We were told we could walk no further,” Ms. Nash-Coulon said Monday. And when she and her husband, Neil, demanded an explanation, she added, the guard claimed, unconvincingly, “ ‘Well, they’re handling hazardous materials,’ ” even as a large group of people screened from view were passing through the main hallway he had declared off-limits.

It was just the first of a series of indignities that they and several other noncelebrity maternity patients say they experienced over the weekend, as Lenox Hill Hospital went all-out to protect the privacy of Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z, whose daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, was born there on Saturday.

At one point, another father, Edgar Ramirez, 25, said, security guards kept him out of the neonatal unit for three hours while his wife and newborn were waiting for him. At another point on Saturday, a guard declared that “the floor is on lockdown,” Ms. Nash-Coulon said, and told her that if she left the neonatal unit, she would not be allowed back in to see her babies.

“It was just really disgusting,” said Ms. Nash-Coulon, 38, who is still recovering from her C-section, while one of her twins remains in the hospital. “We really believe the hospital is culpable in this because they didn’t let us know what was happening. And the security of our children is at risk when you cover security cameras.”

More at that top link.

And at Human Events, "Occupy's Celebrity 1 Percent Backers."

Chris Christie Backhands Occupy Protesters at Mitt Romney Rally

The folks at Slate are all outrage at the alleged --- wait for it! --- anti-feminine bigotry, "N.J. Gov. Chris Christie Responds to Female Hecklers With Offensive Oral Sex Joke." But Nice Deb thinks it's a hoot, "Awesome: Christie To Occupy Heckler In NH – “Somebody’s going down tonight, but it ain’t going to be jobs, sweetheart” (Video)." And Taylor Marsh is unfazed, amazingly.

More at London's Daily Mail, "Chris Christie calls heckling Occupy protester ‘sweetheart’ as he stumps for Romney in New Hampshire."

Also at The Blaze, "'Really?': Chris Christie 'Shouts Down' Occupy Protesters at Romney Rally With Anti-Obama Tirade."

Still, there's a usual assortment of progressive heads exploding at Memeorandum.

Lisa Wagner's Lawsuit Against University of Iowa Law School

This is an amazing story.

At New York Times, "Suit by Conservative Sees Bias in Law School Hiring":

WASHINGTON — Teresa R. Wagner is a conservative Republican who wants to teach law. Her politics may have hurt her career.

An official of the University of Iowa College of Law, where Ms. Wagner applied for a job in 2006, certainly seemed to think so.

“Frankly, one thing that worries me is that some people may be opposed to Teresa serving in any role, in part at least because they so despise her politics (and especially her activism about it),” Associate Dean Jonathan C. Carlson wrote in 2007 to the law school’s dean, Carolyn Jones.

Ms. Wagner, who graduated from the law school in 1993 and had taught at the George Mason University School of Law, was not hired. She sued, alleging discrimination because of her political beliefs. Late last month, a unanimous three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in St. Louis, ruled that her case should go to trial, saying she had presented enough evidence to suggest that “Dean Jones’s repeated decisions not to hire Wagner were in part motivated by Wagner’s constitutionally protected First Amendment rights of political belief and association.”

Ms. Wagner’s lawyer, Stephen T. Fieweger, said the decision was a victory for an important sort of academic freedom.

“It’s gotten to the point where the law school’s diversity efforts are to eliminate everyone from the mainstream,” he said. “They espouse cultural diversity, but won’t consider the conservative viewpoint.”

According to Ms. Wagner’s lawsuit, the law faculty at Iowa in 2007 included a single registered Republican among its 50 or so members. The Republican professor was appointed in 1984. In 2009, The Des Moines Register found that there were two registered Republicans on the faculty.

Ms. Wagner would have added some balance, her lawyer said.

“My client is an ideologue,” Mr. Fieweger said. “She does believe in conservative values.” Ms. Wagner has worked for the National Right to Life Committee, which opposes abortion and euthanasia, and the Family Research Council, which takes conservative positions on social issues.

Althouse posts on this, focusing on libertarian scholar Walter Olson's comments at the article. I don't have misgivings about the lawsuit. I can't imagine Ms. Wagner going to work at the law school, however. This kind of stuff generates an enormous amount of ideological hatred. Seriously. To call out the law school deans for that kind of bigotry and win the matter at the appellate level? It's a crushing repudiation of the left's hypocrisy on difference and diversity, to say the least. And here's hoping that Ms. Wagner prevails should there be further appeals. Universities need to hold their faculty accountable to the very principles of inclusion they mouth when allegations of bias are lodged against those bastions of discrimination and favoritism so historically hated by the left.

Progressive Heads Explode at the Audacity of NYU Student Sara Ackerman

New York University student Sara Ackerman rejected the Occupy Wall Street assignment of Professor Caitlin Zaloom.

Pamela has the report, "Professor Forced NYU Student to Go to #OWS Against Her Will for Class Requirement."

I have some questions about Ackerman. For example, was her course a requirement, and if not, why not just drop the class if she opposed the ethnography assignment on Occupy Wall Street? And her demand that Professor Zaloom be fired is a bit much. That said, it's alleged that the university was ready to giver her an "A" in the course in exchange for her keeping quiet about the matter. That'd be hush money, if true, and obviously those offering such payments have something to hide (the administration denies it). See the original article, "NYU Student Weaves Elaborate Email-Drama, Beefs With Administration Over OWS And Student Ethics." (The e-mails are at the link, and Ackerman appears perfectly lucid to me.) Whatever happened, my hunch is that folks at NYU couldn't believe Ackerman wasn't down with the program --- and you know how progressives react when conservatives deviate from the accepted narrative: KABOOM!! These f-kers bring down the hammer of PC totalitarianism and progressive hate and recrimination. They libel and smear dissenters as "unhinged" and "threatening" --- Ackerman's mental health was questioned --- and the university threatened her with "disciplinary action."

And for what? Ackerman claimed that she wanted an alternative assignment for fear of her safety. As the report indicates:

Sara says she refused to go down because of ethical disagreements and concerns about “the criminals, drug addicts, mentally ill people” that were there.

Well, considering the dregs of society populating OWS, I can't say I blame her.

Either way, the reaction across the institutional leftosphere is a stark reminder of the deep divisions in society over the scope of decency and freedom of conscience. The progs practically want Ackerman's scalp.

See, for example Huffington Post, "NYU's Sara Ackerman Tries to Get Professor Fired Over Occupy Wall Street Assignment."

And Sydney Brownstone, at The L, rips into Ackerman for her evil representation of "the degree of segregation by economic status in which this country is currently steeped." See: "NYU Student Goes Apeshit Over OWS Assignment, Reaches Out to Lady Gaga, TV Talk Shows on Facebook." And more over the top headlining at Gawker, "The Crazy Department-Wide Emails That Everyone at NYU Is Talking About," and New York Magazine, "NYU Student Flips Out Over Occupy Wall Street Assignment."

Capitalism Comes Under Fire in Republican Primary Campaign

Continuing on the theme I broached earlier.

From Beth Reinhard, at National Journal:

NASHUA, N.H. – The Democrats started it, and now Republican rivals are piling on. Mitt Romney is suddenly playing defense about his career as a venture capitalist--and in a Republican primary campaign, of all things.

The attacks on Romney’s Bain Capital career from fellow Republicans may be coming too late in the game to knock him off his path toward the nomination. They may also be ineffective in a party that lionizes capitalism and the business sector that propels it. Raising hackles about Romney's flip-flops on abortion and other key issues and comparing his Massachusetts health law to "Obamacare'' seems like safer ground.

But at the very least, the GOP field is providing a cache of video that Democrats are no doubt already hoarding for use in the likely event that Romney is President Obama’s opponent.
On Monday, a super PAC bankrolled by allies of Newt Gingrich said it is planning a $3.4 million media blitz in South Carolina that attacks Romney as a ruthless corporate titan who profited on the backs of hundreds of laid-off workers.

In Concord, meanwhile, Jon Huntsman turned a Romney remark about liking to be able to fire service providers who fall short into a Bain reference. "What's clear is, he likes firing people; I like creating jobs," Huntsman said.

Rick Perry also took up the anti-Bain attack at a campaign event in Anderson, S.C. "I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips - whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out,'' he quipped, poking at Romney’s attempt at a feel-your-pain moment on Sunday.

If the attacks on his career at Bain Capital sound familiar, it's because the Democratic Party has been waging them for weeks, trotting out bitterly unemployed people who blame Romney for their predicament.

More at the link.

And for some contrasting views on the right, see Michelle, "The abysmal incompetence of the non-Romneys; Huntsman, Gingrich, Perry all go Occupier; Santorum declines" (via Memeorandum), and William Jacobson, "Republicans should thank Newt for bringing up Bain now."

RELATED: At Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney gives foes a gift with 'fire people' remark," and "Now, it's Romney facing a 'context' issue with firing remarks."

Royal Premiere of 'War Horse'

At Los Angeles Times, "Will and Kate light up 'War Horse' London premiere."

And at Telegraph UK, "Steven Spielberg 'honoured' to meet Royals."

I saw 'War Horse' over the weekend. I liked it, although it I had some unexpected thoughts about it.

I'll update on this later. It was a magnificent movie.

Erin Langworthy Survives Bungee Jump Accident in Zimbabwe (VIDEO)

Well, no wonder this is going viral.

It's an amazing clip:

Ahmadinejad Seeks Support in Latin America

The axis of evil expands.

At Business Week, "Ahmadinejad Woos Chavez-Led Allies in Latin America Tour":

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, facing tighter U.S. sanctions and rising tensions in the Persian Gulf, will turn to his diminished group of allies in Latin America for support this week.

Ahmadinejad arrived in Venezuela yesterday to kick off a four-nation tour to push investment projects such as a hydro- electric power plant in Ecuador. He’ll be joining forces with leaders like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s Raul Castro in taking shots at the U.S. in its own backyard, defying attempts to isolate Iran over its nuclear activities.

Iran’s Latin American allies shouldn’t expect too much in return. Iran has yet to fulfill pledges made by Ahmadinejad on previous trips -- he’s made five since 2005 -- to build a port in Nicaragua and an oil refinery in Ecuador. Unlike during his last regional tour in 2009, he won’t visit Brazil, where President Dilma Rousseff has shown little interest in deepening ties forged by her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“The promises of aid and investment have not been kept,” Cynthia Arnson, Latin America program director at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, said in a phone interview. “This is clearly a political solidarity tour to reinforce relationships with a small number of allies.”

After holding talks with Chavez today, Ahmadinejad will travel to Nicaragua to attend the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow of President Daniel Ortega, who was re-elected to a second consecutive term in November. He’ll also visit Cuba and Ecuador during the five-day tour.

More at the link.

Smokin' Mila Kunis Attends Children's Hospital Gala in Purple Dress With 'Plunging' Neckline

She's lovely.

At London's Daily Mail, "Dressed to frill! Mila Kunis steps out in flirty and feminine plunging purple dress as she attends children’s hospital gala."

Occupy Oakland Protesters Arrested for Assaulting Police

And not to mention possession of dynamite.

See JammieWearingFool, "Six Mostly Peaceful Occupy Oakland Losers Arrested for Assaulting Police."

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube, "OccupyPuncture: Wall Street Occupiers Stab NYPD Officer, Surround Ambulance Trying to Rush Him to the Hospital."

Because, you know, it's just some strangers from outside the movement, or something.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Stumped on Obama's 'One-Term Proposition' if Economy Doesn't Recover

This is interesting:

PREVIOUSLY: "Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Shills for Barack 'Occupy' Obama on Greta Van Susteren's Show."

Amanda Seyfried to Play Linda Lovelace in '70s-Era Biopic

Well, they say there's a shortage original dramas, so why not cull the '70s for something to sell movie tickets, right?

At London's Daily Mail, "Pimp my ride! Amanda Seyfried sits in top down car with on-screen husband Peter Sarsgaard on set of Linda Lovelace," and "Not ready for your close up? Amanda Seyfried looks sloppy in her dressing gown on set of Linda Lovelace."

And turns out it's an all-star cast: At MTV, "Demi Moore Joins ‘Lovelace’ Biopic: Actress will play feminist icon Gloria Steinem in flick about adult film star Linda Lovelace."

Santorum's Momentum Stalls

Well, being falsely and maliciously attacked as a bigot 24-7 probably didn't help.

From Nate Silver, at New York Times, "Some Signs in Polls That Santorum’s Momentum Has Stalled."

RELATED: At Los Angeles Times, "Rick Santorum says South Carolina his 'best chance to win'."