New York Times Shills for Convicted '60s Revolutionary Terrorist Judith Clark

I first saw this story at Althouse, where Ann noted how Clark represented herself at trial and most certainly screwed up her own defense, resulting in a prison term lasting until 2056. Her co-defendants made pleas and were sentenced to shorter terms and are out on parole today. So then I was reading the comments from Ron Radosh on this as well, "The Sad Story of Judith Clark: How Ideology can Ruin a Life. The Question Remains: Should She Go Free?" It's an interesting commentary, especially since Radosh thinks Clark's done her time and she should get clemency from the State of New York.

The problem, of course, is that the New York Times is hardly a neutral observer. The article, by freelance correspondent Tom Robbins, is basically a long plea for forgiveness, making the case for Clark's "radical transformation," which is a bunch of baloney for many observers and contemporaries. The editors at the New York Post weren't fooled a bit, for example, "Sick push to spring radical Judith Clark." And David Horowitz is practically livid, "The NYT Shilling Again for Leftwing Murderers":

The New York Times, which played a key role in getting convicted and unrepentant murderer Kathy Boudin a parole, has now published a similar massive plea posing as a news story for her accomplice, Judy Clark. The piece is maliciously titled “The Radical Transformation of Judy Clark” as though Clark, understanding the heinous nature of her crime which left 9 children fatherless, is prepared to renounce the life that led to it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of course Clark is in her sixties now and regrets her separation from the infant she abandoned to commit the crime (her last crime not her only crime). Her daughter  is now 31 and she would obviously like to be able to share the kind of life with her that her victims cannot share with their dead fathers. And, of course, being old and gray, she no longer thinks Amerikkka is on the brink of a violent revolution and liberation. Unlike Boudin, moreover, she does seem to have given some thought to the enormity  of what she did to those nine fatherless children. But that said, there is no indication that her parole plea is anything but self-serving, or that she has turned her back on the progressive terrorists — Boudin, Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn among them — who were her comrades-in-arms through the twelve years of armed warfare she conducted against her country and its citizens, which left more than a handful of people dead.

To begin with, Clark and her mouthpiece at the Times, present the culprit as an absent-minded accomplice to the one crime for which she was convicted, the Brinks robbery in Nyack NY in 1981. According to Clark,  her participation  was an “obligation” — the fulfillment of a promise she had made to participate as a getaway driver in a robbery she thought would never take place. This is baloney. Clark was part of a group that called itself “The Family,” which  was a working alliance between the Black Liberation Army and the May 19th Communist Movement (so-named in part to commemorate the day the BLA murdered a black and white police team in New York for no reason other than that they were a black and white officer working together).

The May 19 gang was mainly women (among them Boudin, Clark and Susan Rosenberg) who served as the getaway team for the BLA in a string of bank robberies in which people were killed. One attempted assassination of  a New York judge was unsuccessful. All these crimes were committed in the name of the revolution, which in the perverse eyes of progressives like Judy Clark, justified them. The Family had also sprung a cold-blooded killer — Assata Shakur — from federal prison. Clark’s role in the May 19th organization was not the beginning of her criminal career but its fulfillment. Previously she had spent 7 years as one of the most fanatical members of the Weather Underground, helping to conduct many bombings and kill at least three people, and probably also two police officers whose deaths are still under investigation.

Continue reading.

Horowitz suggests that Clark could have atoned by turning her back on terrorism and her terrorist past, and by turning state's evidence against those radicals still working their ways of criminal destruction and mayhem.

Now, it turns out that Radosh faced some heavy pushback for suggesting leniency for Clark, and he's updated with a new post, "Second Thoughts on the Plight of Judith Clark: An Answer to My Critics." Here's this from Radosh's third consideration for leniency:

What Judith Clark is most vulnerable on, and what Tom Robbins did not ask her about, is her violent past with the May 19th Communist Organization. The Black Liberation Army, which they supported, killed a guard and two police officers. They were probably responsible for other actions in past years. As Horowitz points out in as yet unpublished article, May 19th was picked as their name for the birthday of both Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X, as well as being the date that the BLA murdered two cops in Harlem, one white and one black. The group also helped free the convicted cop killer JoAnne Chesimard, aka Assata Shakur, whom they broke out of prison and who has since fled to Cuba, where she now lives.

I agree with Horowitz that these radicals are part “of an ongoing community of political radicals” who try to conceal their agenda through playing the victim, and always pointing out how they only want “social justice,” the term through which they hide their actual goal of communist revolution. They are anything but the noble idealists the Times paints them out to be.

And he continues with more concurrence with Horowitz: Clark should be asked what she knows about the unsolved crimes of her radical comrades, and she should come clean with the whole truth about her activities, which would demonstrate a real remorse for her terrorism --- something that so many others of the '60s generation have not done.

Bonus, from Curtis in the comments at Neo-Neocon:

Again, the real injustice here is not that Clark, while being the least of the terrorists received the most punishment. Her punishment is apt and deserved. The real injustice is the appalling lack of value and respect shown to the victims of terrorist violence and the amount of credence and play the lies and disingenuous stories the New York Times receives.

Word.

States Move to Protect Climate Change Skeptics in Classrooms

Well, this is interesting.

At Los Angeles Times, "Climate change skepticism seeps into science classrooms":

Reporting from Washington— A flash point has emerged in American science education that echoes the battle over evolution, as scientists and educators report mounting resistance to the study of man-made climate change in middle and high schools.

Although scientific evidence increasingly shows that fossil fuel consumption has caused the climate to change rapidly, the issue has grown so politicized that skepticism of the broad scientific consensus has seeped into classrooms.

Texas and Louisiana have introduced education standards that require educators to teach climate change denial as a valid scientific position. South Dakota and Utah passed resolutions denying climate change. Tennessee and Oklahoma also have introduced legislation to give climate change skeptics a place in the classroom.

In May, a school board in Los Alamitos, Calif., passed a measure, later rescinded, identifying climate science as a controversial topic that required special instructional oversight.

"Any time we have a meeting of 100 teachers, if you ask whether they're running into pushback on teaching climate change, 50 will raise their hands," said Frank Niepold, climate education coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who meets with hundreds of teachers annually. "We ask questions about how sizable it is, and they tell us it is [sizable] and pretty persistent, from many places: your administration, parents, students, even your own family."

Well good.

Whoa: That's What I'm Talkin' About – Anti-Mormon Bigotry and Racist Allegations in the Primaries, and More On the Way

I'm mentioned on a number of occasions that the 2012 general election is going to one of the nastiest in generations. The preview was the left's attack on the Mormon Church following the rejection of Proposition 8 at the ballot in 2008 in California. And the left will have absolutely no inhibitions in 2012, especially if Mitt Romney wins the GOP nomination.

Check out William Jacobson's post from the other day, "Saturday Night Card Game (How nasty will the general election race card get? This nasty)."

I was hesitant to post the video below, but since it is receiving a lot of press coverage, particularly in Utah, it’s not like I’m helping spread something that’s not already out there. And you have to see what is coming down the pike.

And more at William's, "“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a thread on LI get so heated and nasty”."

It's going to be interesting.

Ezra Levant: Lifestyles of the Green and Famous

Via Blazing Cat Fur, "Ezra Levant Meets the Hollywood Eco-Divas!"

Politics at the Golden Globes

At The Hill, "Meryl Streep, George Clooney talk politics at the Golden Globes."

At Los Angeles Times, "Golden Globes: Irrelevant? Maybe. But not the speeches."

Kelly Brook Promotes 'New Look' Lingerie Project

Nice pictures.

 At Mirror UK, "Kelly Brook, bra, knickers, sexy face - this story sells itself really, doesn't it?"

Added: At London's Daily Mail, "'Push 'em up I say!' Kelly Brook shares some sexy beauty secrets as she slips her curves into her new range of New Look underwear."

Newt Gingrich Schools Juan Williams on 'Food Stamp President'

This was an interesting moment at the debate in Myrtle Beach.

Newt hit that one out of the park.

At Los Angeles Times, "Gingrich defends calling Obama 'the food stamp president'."

Rick Santorum Goes Up With Merciless Ad Attacking Mitt Romney in South Carolina

Oh boy, this is harsh, via Mark Helperin and Memeorandum:

And at The Hill, "Santorum calls on Romney to release tax returns."

America Pauses to Honor King's Legacy

The Los Angeles Times has this, "Martin Luther King Jr. honored across U.S. (and in Google Doodle)."

And I wanted to give another shout out for my essay today at PJ Media: "How Progressive Race-Baiters Destroyed Civil Rights Progress in America."

And see also, Joel Kotkin, "Martin Luther King, Economic Equality and the 2012 Election." Kotkin notes that the administration's policies have lifted white collar trades at the expense of working class minority communities:

From its inception the Obama administration’s focus has been on the largely white information economy, notably boosting universities and the green-industrial complex based in places like Silicon Valley. The Obama team’s decision to surrender working class whites to appeal to what Democratic strategists call the “mass upper middle class” makes political sense but could lead to problems for an American working class that is itself increasingly minority.

An emphasis on green industries and strong across-the-board regulation often works against traditional industries like heavy manufacturing, warehousing and fossil fuel development that historically have employed many minorities. Opposing development of new petrochemical plants and such things as the XL Pipeline — opposed by many greens and their allies in the Obama Administration — could reduce new opportunities for minority workers, many of them unionized, particularly in the heavily African-American, and increasingly Latino, Gulf region.

I have never seen this administration's concerns for blacks go further than a second thought for a guaranteed voting constituency. Obama gives a lot of lectures to old line civil rights groups, and he hams it up for the cameras on the holidays, getting in all the right PR for brothas in the 'hood.

At Los Angeles Times, "Obama marks Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with call to service."

More at CSM, "Martin Luther King, Jr. and the decline in what younger generations know about him."

Larry Holmes, International ANSWER Co-Founder and World Workers Party Secretariat Member, Announces Occupy Wall Street is 'Beginning of the End of Capitalism'

At The Last Tradition, "American Communist sees #OWS as reawakening to push U.S. toward Marxist-Leninist path."

And following the links takes us to Big Government, "US Communist Leader: OWS ‘a Wake Up Call to All Who Remain Committed to a Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist Direction’."

At the photo, Holmes is seen with convicted communist traitor and "human rights attorney" Lynne Stewart.

These assholes are destroying the country, f-king loser scum.

PREVIOUSLY: "Walter James 'Occupy' Casper Continues Campaign of Lies: Childishly Whines About 'McCarthyism' While Endorsing Anarchists and Anti-Semitic Communists."

At PJ Media: 'How Progressive Race-Baiters Destroyed Civil Rights Progress in America'

My latest essay is posted at Pajamas Media.

I'm personally astounded by the left's manufactured racism, and Professor Melissa Harris-Perry is so shameless it's criminal.

And from the comments at the essay:

The reactionary Left is hopelessly addicted to racial division. It’s a shame to see so-called academics like Harris-Perry working so hard to distort reality.

Attacking Republicans as Economic Terrorists is 'Civil Discourse'

Seems to me that progressives get up in arms when conservatives go over the top with attacks on opponents. But when progressives spout genuinely over the top nonsense it's "free speech" and "civility." That's the takeaway from the Froma Harrop fiasco, whether or not she was in on the comedy or not. James Taranto explains:

Remember Froma Harrop, the civility scold and Baroness Catherine Ashton look-alike who called Tea Party congressmen "terrorists" and couldn't understand why anyone found this hypocritical? She provided us with lots of material last summer and now Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" has recycled it into comedy gold, somehow persuading her to sit for an interview in which she looks utterly ridiculous. You have to watch it to believe it.

A colleague who did watch it posed an interesting question: Was she playing the straight man, or is she really that oblivious? There's no way to know for sure, but based on our back-and-forth with her last year, the hypocrisy and cluelessness ring entirely true.

More at the link.

And check AoSHQ, "Froma Harrop on the Tea Party."

Plus, a roundup of reactions at Da Tech Guy's, "Too frightful to use, except against conservatives."

No one is that stupid, so the only conclusion is that she was in on the act. Perhaps. The problem is that while Harrop has fun lampooning her own hypocrisy, she has no intention of abandoning it. She posts the link to her essay from August, and writes, with a completely straight face, "For those interested in my argument, here it is..."

Either way, the episode is emblematic of the postmodern reality the drives progressive discourse and demonization. It's something I've written about quite a bit, but it's amazing to witness over and over again.

Laura Kaeppeler Hot White Bikini Shots

She's an interesting woman. I was just listening to her on Good Morning America.

And check the photos here: "Miss America: Who Wore the Best Swimsuit?"

And lots of coverage at London's Daily Mail, "Tears and tiaras: Opera singing Wisconsin beauty crowned Miss America (after dodging politics question)," and "Miss America's secret heartache: Beauty queen reveals she graduated without her father after he was jailed for mail fraud."

Here's Andrew Sullivan's 'Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb?' Piece at Newsweek

ICYMI, here's the earlier entry with the "dumb" cover shot: "Andrew 'Milky Loads' Sullivan Smears Obama Critics as 'Dumb' in Newsweek Cover Story."

And here's the moment you've all been waiting for, "How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics."

When reading this, I'm reminding of Sullivan's piece from December 2007 at The Atlantic, "Why Obama Matters." The kind of emotional attachment Sullivan invests in Barack Obama is unique in all of journalism, and apposite of Sullivan's parallel and literally deranged obsession with Sarah Palin's uterus, it's obviously psychologically unhealthy. But he indeed speaks for all of those who saw in Obama the messiah candidate, and this tendency's a deviance that's been evident in wider media reporting now for years: Barack Obama as the "Lightworker" repeatedly portrayed in photography and art as the miracle man with the halo. Such political deification is the essence of the cult of personality built around leaders in totalitarian regimes. That it happened here should make people think again about political partisans calling their enemies "dumb."

At the Newsweek piece, Sullivan deploys his showmanship as a writer, but fails badly at any semblance of evenhandedness --- a disgraceful situation, considering Newsweek continues to bill itself as an objective news source practicing professional journalism. Here's a flavor, from the introduction:

A president in the last year of his first term will always get attacked mercilessly by his partisan opponents, and also, often, by the feistier members of his base. And when unemployment is at remarkably high levels, and with the national debt setting records, the criticism will—and should be—even fiercer. But this time, with this president, something different has happened. It’s not that I don’t understand the critiques of Barack Obama from the enraged right and the demoralized left. It’s that I don’t even recognize their description of Obama’s first term in any way. The attacks from both the right and the left on the man and his policies aren’t out of bounds. They’re simply—empirically—wrong.

A caveat: I write this as an unabashed supporter of Obama from early 2007 on. I did so not as a liberal, but as a conservative-minded independent appalled by the Bush administration’s record of war, debt, spending, and torture. I did not expect, or want, a messiah. I have one already, thank you very much. And there have been many times when I have disagreed with decisions Obama has made—to drop the Bowles-Simpson debt commission, to ignore the war crimes of the recent past, and to launch a war in Libya without Congress’s sanction, to cite three. But given the enormity of what he inherited, and given what he explicitly promised, it remains simply a fact that Obama has delivered in a way that the unhinged right and purist left have yet to understand or absorb. Their short-term outbursts have missed Obama’s long game—and why his reelection remains, in my view, as essential for this country’s future as his original election in 2008.

I have highlighted Sullivan's dishonesty. The 2007 Atlantic piece was a paean to Obama as a supernatural being, the personification of a new kind of intellectual faith. It struck me as bizarre at the time, and after all that's happened in three years of Democrat Party lies, corruption, scandal, and incompetence, the reader is once again forced to ask if Andrew Sullivan is in his right mind.

Sullivan at the Newsweek "dumb" piece aims his ire and vindictiveness at the "unhinged right," as he calls conservative opponents of the administration. And his style is something of an argumentative Gatling gun: he spews out an endless stream of purported achievements and facts whiles simultaneously omitting even the slightest bit of dis-confirming evidence. We hear, yet again, that Obama inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression, but we then get comparisons to the George W. Bush years that are completely removed from the context of that administration's crises (recession, September 11). Sullivan posits that Bush added over $5 trillion in news spending? But Obama added only $1.2 trillion (projected for two terms total), so it's really George W. Bush who is the fiscal socialist, not Obama. Right. Meanwhile, Sullivan neatly ignores the Obama administration's unprecedented deficits and debt and insists again and again on calling the president "moderate" --- even, he "dare says," conservative. ObamaCare is pooh-poohed as a trivial health care reform that "crosses the Rubicon" toward universal access. Not mentioned are the literally thousands of waivers that have been given to companies large and small, especially those belonging to well-connected Democrat Party cronies. This is why Republicans say it should be repealed. It's the biggest farce of social policy since at least the Great Society's "war on poverty."

And don't even get me going on foreign policy. Sullivan trumpets the killing of Osama bin Laden as Barack Obama's personal success (it is not) and he praises the president for America's precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, which was the result of a negotiation blunder of historic proportions. And for some reason Sullivan thinks "leading from behind" is a phrase that deserves praise. The fact is the Obama administration's policy on Libya demonstrated the most amateur conduct of American foreign policy in the last fifty years. Obama was, on the one hand, demanding Muammar Gaddafi's removal from power while, on the other, insisting that regime change wasn't America's end game in Libya. The administration's ineptitude has been replayed over and over again, in the Middle East and beyond, and one foreign policy pledge after another has been broken and disregarded, with virtually the entire national security architecture established during the previous Bush administration retained and expanded --- completely the exact opposite of that promised during the "Lightworker's" campaign in 2008.

Barack Obama's foreign and national security policies have left America both weaker and less secure. Seriously, it's Andrew Sullivan who's looking thoroughly "dumb" here, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of this nasty, partisan hack job piece of journalism. Yep, Newsweek's has done it again with a disastrous cover story and disgraceful example of fluff reporting attempting to leverage a failed administration back in power for four more years. I think I'm going to puke.

Deconstructing the Demonized: The 1 Percent Unpacked

At New York Times, "Among the Wealthiest One Percent, Many Variations."

RTWT.

This is interesting:

Of the 1 percenters interviewed for this article, almost all — conservatives and liberals alike — said the wealthy could and should shoulder more of the country’s financial burden, and almost all said they viewed the current system as unfair. But they may prefer facing cuts to their own benefits like Social Security than paying more taxes. In one survey of wealthy Chicago families, almost twice as many respondents said they would cut government spending as those who said they would cut spending and raise revenue.

Even those who said the deck was stacked in their favor did not appreciate anti-rich rhetoric.

“I don’t mind paying a little bit more in taxes. I don’t mind putting money to programs that help the poor,” said Anthony J. Bonomo of Manhasset, N.Y., who runs a medical malpractice insurance company and is a Republican. But, he said, he did mind taking a hit for the country’s woes. “If those people could camp out in that park all day, why aren’t they out looking for a job? Why are they blaming others?”

To many, 99 vs. 1 was an artificial distinction that overlooked hard work and moral character. “It shouldn’t be relevant,” said Mr. Katz , who said he both creates job and contributes to charitable causes. “I’m not hurting anyone. I’m helping a lot of people.”

Andrew 'Milky Loads' Sullivan Smears Obama Critics as 'Dumb' in Newsweek Cover Story

Newsweek should post the full story to the homepage, but it's not up yet.

Folks will remember Newsweek's Obama worship from 2008. With "Milky Loads" now over at Daily Beast/Newsweek, get ready for an especially long year of attacks from the formerly august newsweekly. (See: "Andrew Sullivan Moving to Daily Beast.")

Added: Linked at Blazing Cat Fur and Weasel Zippers. Thanks!

Okay, Rawmuscleglutes' piece is up: "How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics." I'll have commentary on it later...

Rick Perry Slams Obama Administration's Response to Marines Pissing on Dead Taliban

Well, maybe Perry can expand on this during Monday's presidential debate. What a chance to call out the progressive left for its epic America-bashing and hypocrisy.

At Los Angeles Times, "Rick Perry: Marines who urinated on dead bodies are 'kids'." And at USA Today, "Perry slams Obama team's response to Marines video."

Image Credit: The People's Cube.

The Economy Still Sucks and It's Not Likely to Surge In Time to Save Barack Hussein

Check the great post from Reliapundit, "The Real Unemployment Rate Under Obama."

THINGS SUCK AND THEY ARE NOT GETTING BETTER.

OBAMA'S DOMESTIC POLICIES HAVE NOT IMPROVED THINGS.

Well, yeah.

See IBD, "Unprecedented, Tepid Recovery Under Obama Begs Question: Where Did All the Workers Go?" (Via Doug Ross.)

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We all wish for a healthy economy. All of this dislocation sucks. But progressives are fooling themselves if they think the economy's coming back and Obama deserves the credit. When the economy truly expands and job growth is restored it will be in spite of the efforts of this administration to destroy the private sector. Steve Benen sucks donkey balls.

RELATED: "The Economy Still Sucks Democrat Donkey Dongs, No Matter What Islamo-Socialist President Barack Hussein Says Otherwise."

Former U.S. Marine Suspected in Series of Homeless Murders in Orange County

This adds a particularly disheartening twist to the story.

At Los Angeles Times, "Suspect in O.C. killings of homeless men is an Iraq war veteran."

Romney's National Campaign Operation Will Be Hard to Overcome

At Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney's rivals don't have time on their side":

Five Republicans are fighting mightily to deny Mitt Romney a quick coronation as the party's presidential nominee. But if one of them emerges as his top challenger, a monumental task lies ahead: building a national campaign operation on the fly.‬

‪For Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich or any other successful insurgent, the state-by-state scramble for delegates would require quick hiring of staffers scattered across the country — first and foremost in Florida, where Romney could essentially lock up the nomination in the Jan. 31 primary.‬

‪Offices must be rented, cellphones purchased. Endorsements must be lined up and scores of surrogates deployed. A deluge of media inquiries will gush in not just from the national media, but also from far-flung local news outlets, many of them in strategically vital regions that cannot be ignored.‬

‪Simultaneous challenges abound: new TV ads to be produced and tested with focus groups, polls to be taken, brochures to be printed, and databases to be culled to target voters susceptible to persuasion through phone calls and mail.‬

‪Seasoned advance staff must navigate the candidate through multiple events a day in diverse and unfamiliar towns. Trivial missteps can escalate instantly into YouTube nightmares.‬

‪Not least, operatives steeped in arcane state election rules must run petition drives to get the candidate's name on ballots for primaries weeks or months away, a chore neglected early on — to their detriment — by Santorum, Gingrich and Rick Perry.‬

‪All the while, any Republican who manages to become Romney's chief opponent will have to keep raising money at a breakneck pace and maintain a vigorous schedule of events — and compete against a front-runner whose national infrastructure is set firmly in place.‬

‪"It's very difficult to put the wings on while the plane is flying," said Steve Schmidt, who managed John McCain's campaign in 2008. "It becomes a very, very complicated operation — very, very quickly."‬

Now, notice that advertisement at the clip. Romney's racked up a load of social policy flip-flops, so perhaps the campaign's putting the message out that he's got bona fides. Either way, evangelicals dissed him in Texas yesterday. See Tina Korbe, "Tony Perkins Announces Evangelical Support for Rick Santorum."

Militants Attack Police Station in Northwest Pakistan Town of Dera Ismail Khan

At Telegraph UK, "Militants storm police station in northwest Pakistan."

Also from Agence France-Presse, "Pakistan quells militant attack, eight killed: Official":

 Pakistani security forces on Saturday quelled a militant attack on a police station in which eight people were killed including four suicide bombers, one police and three civilians, police said.

The attackers targeted the main police station in Dera Ismail Khan city near the lawless tribal region, provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told AFP.

Three suicide bombers detonated themselves and one was shot dead by the army, police chief of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Akbar Hoti told AFP.

"Army and police units have entered the police station and a search operation is over," he said after an operation lasting over two hours.

"We have recovered bodies of four militants, they were all wearing suicide vests," he said.

One police official and three civilians were also killed in the operation, he said adding that eight others including a policeman were wounded.

"We are checking the identity of the civilian casualties to ascertain if they included any militants," he said.

Interior minister Rehman Malik blamed Taliban militants for the attack. "Terrorists attacked security forces," he told reporters.

Police spokesman Mohammad Hanif said earlier police shot dead two militants and at least one other blew himself up.

He said he believed about half a dozen militants stormed the station located in a sensitive area housing government offices, district courts and lawyers chambers.

They hurled hand grenades and opened fire on the office of the district police chief, he said. The police chief was unhurt, he added.

Authorities summoned troops and commandos ringed the area, police said.

Document Dump: Obama Administration Knew About 2010 Solyndra Layoffs

Here's this from Ed Morrissey, at Hot Air, "Friday night doc dump: WH knew before Solyndra workers flew."

And Doug Powers has this, at Michelle's, "The 11 Other Solyndras."

The Democrats' culture of corruption.

Political Scientist Michael McFaul Confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Russia

This is cool.

McFaul's an accomplished scholar and has taken his expertise right to the top of the diplomatic side of things.

From Josh Rogin, at Foreign Policy, "Meet the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul."

And McFaul gets a shout out from Michael Rubin at Commentary, "Russia Resets Relations… With Syria."

(Here's one of the classic McFaul pieces, read widely in graduate school in the 1990s: "A Tale of Two Worlds: Core and Periphery in the Post-Cold War Era.")

Mercedes-Benz Apologizes for Graphic of Marxist Murderer Che Guevara

At USA Today, "Mercedes-Benz apologizes for image of Marxist Che Guevara."

Also at The Blaze, "Cuban-Americans Infuriated After Mercedes-Benz Uses Che Guevara to Promote Cars."

Background at American Digest, "Mercedes: Smart Cars. Stupid Executives."

San Francisco Upsets New Orleans, 36-32

Pretty exciting.

At Los Angeles Times, "There's a catch, natch, as 49ers stun Saints in epic playoff game."

God's quarterback wasn't so lucky, or blessed: "Patriots beat Tim Tebow and Broncos, 45-10."

Britain's Iron Lady

Well, I'm putting up another post to spread some linkage around.

The Lonely Conservative has the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher video, and it's excellent. See: "Saturday Night Link Fest."

Check the roundups as well at Proof Positive, "Saturday Linkaround," and Pat Austin's, "Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: The Good Friends, Good Times Edition."

Dan Collins has a roundup too, "Browser Tab Dump, 1-14-12."

And some pushback against the rank progressive attacks, at Marooned, "I Stand By Our Marines (and Dana Loesch)." More at Hall of Record, "Horrifying Marines."

And check Teresamerica, "Alyssa Milano - Rule 5." More Rule 5 back over at Proof's, "Friday Night Babe: Ana de la Reguera."

More later...

Candice Swanepoel (Almost) Takes It All Off for Victoria Secret's 2012 Swim Collection

Time for some weekend Rule 5!

The Victoria's Secret ladies never disappoint. Enjoy:

Also at Astute Bloggers, "ANOTHER GUARANTEED NOT HALAL: NICOLE SCHERZINGER."

And at American Perspectives, "Taylor Swift Rule 5," and Maggie's Notebook, "Rule 5 Saturday Night: All Swimsuits for a Warm Winter."

More at Randy's Roundtable, "Sweater Vests," and "Midweek Rule 5 Break: Ninel Conde."

Plus, at Jake Finnegan's, "Burkalesque Babes: Olivia Munn!," and Reaganite Republican, "Say 'Dzien Dobry' to Miss Poland 2011 Rozalia Mancewicz!"

Drop your links in the comments and I'll update!

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."