Just 2 in 10 Latino Students Complete Community College in Six Years

I think most reports downplay the key factors in the lack of student success. There's a general social breakdown in discipline and habits, largely cultural/socio-economic, and these are compounded by the failure of students to attain basic proficiency in their K-12 years. Top that off with a lot of kids coming from recent immigrant families, often the first in their family to attend college (and there's less linguistic and knowledge-based support in the home environment), and the basic foundation of learning isn't as strong as it might be in other demographics. It's politically incorrect to say this, but it's the truth.

See the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "Latino college students in Long Beach struggle to graduate in college graduation struggle":

LONG BEACH -- Gerardo Raya enrolled in college in 2008 with the hopes of graduating in four years and scoring a job as an animator or illustrator.

But four years later, Raya is still at Long Beach City College struggling to finish the minimal coursework he needs to transfer to a four-year university.

The 24-year-old said he's had trouble balancing his work as a recreational aide for a local high school while trying to study for a full load of classes. He's had to drop classes over the years due to work conflicts and financial problems, but Raya said he's hopeful he can transfer to Cal State Long Beach next year.

"I thought I'd be done by now but it's been really hard," he said. "I didn't think it would be this hard."

Raya isn't the only student struggling to finish college. Studies show that while more students are enrolled in college, they're taking longer to graduate.

Of the students who start four-year bachelor's degree programs, just over half finish within six years, according to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. Fewer than three out of 10 full- time community college students graduate with an associate degree within three years.

As a young Latino, Raya may face additional hurdles. A study released in March by the California-based Campaign for College Opportunity found that the college transfer rate for Latino students is about half that of white students -- 14 percent compared with 28 percent.

And while Latino students make up almost half of California's college-age population (age 18 to 24), they remain critically underrepresented in the state's four-year universities, according to the report, titled "Latino Students and Higher Education: California Profile."

Among the key findings:

-- Seven percent of Latinos age 25 and older held a college degree in 2009.

-- Two in 10 Latino students in community college complete an associate degree or transfer after six years, compared to 37 percent of whites.

-- Of the Latino students who graduated from high school in 2009, 16 percent met the requirements for admission into the Cal State University and University of California systems.

'Our future workforce'

Michele Siqueiros, executive director of the Campaign for College Opportunity, said the findings show a disturbing trend in one of the state's fastest-growing populations.
"Over half of the children in public schools are Latino, and these are the people who are going to make up our future workforce," Siqueiros said. "If we don't pay special attention to this group now, we can just assume this gap will continue. If we work to prepare more Latino students for college, we'll benefit as a whole society."

Siqueiros said many factors contribute to the lag in Latino graduation rates, including poverty, language barriers and lack of college information. Many Latino students are the first in their families to attend college, and while parents may have high aspirations for their children, they don't always understand the financial and academic demands of college, she said.

More at the link.

Coast Community College District Avoids Layoffs

I'm not sure about the differences between CCCD and my college, but I get the feeling the former's administration is a little less hard-line and Machiavellian.

See the local Costa Mesa/Newport Beach paper, The Daily Pilot, "Cuts stop before touching faculty at CCCD."

And then compare to this report at the Long Beach Business Journal, "City College Board Approves $5.1 Million In Staffing Reductions":

May 8th - On April 24, the Long Beach City College (LBCC) Board of Trustees voted unanimously to enact steep budget cuts that eliminate 55 employment positions and reduce the assignment of 96 others.

Of the 55 layoffs, 12 management positions have been cut. The approved assignment reductions will result in 10-month employee contracts rather than full year contracts. These staffing reductions will impact the upcoming 2012-2013 fiscal year.

The college attributes the need for one of the most significant staffing reductions in recent memory to the declining financial support from the state government. LBCC anticipates further reductions from the state.

This cut follows a $3.5 million mid-year reduction impacting this school year due to underperforming student fee and property tax revenues. Another cut is being planned for 2012-2013 in the event that Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax proposal on the November ballot fails.

Those "management" positions do not include top-level administrative positions, for example, at the vice presidential level. LBCC is bloated at the top and the union recently rejected a new contract that would cut faculty compensation but did not affect the bloated administrative structure. Morale is really bad. I'm looking forward to being away from the college for three months. I guess that's a benefit of summer school being cancelled (except for a bare minimum of classes).

The Burden Obama Places on Americans

From the House Republican Conference, "The Burden."

U.N. Me

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

Sammie Hicks Bionic Ear

I have hearing loss, so stories like this warm my heart more than you would know:

Also at ABC News, "Deaf 10-Year-Old Regains Hearing with Cochlear Implant":

The sound of Sammie Hicks's own breathing moved her to tears three weeks ago.

That's because it was the first time she ever heard it.

"I started to cry because it was overwhelming," 10-year-old Sammie told ABC affiliate WFAA. "I had no idea what the sounds were."

Born with a genetic mutation that caused her to lose her hearing.

Obama's Worst Week Ever?

Via Weasel Zippers:

Weiner Truthers

You may have noticed that Ron Brynaert, one of Patterico's Kimberlin stalkers, was in large part motivated by the Anthony Weiner scandal. Sure, progressives no doubt got screwed on that one, but it's literally insane to dismiss WeinerGate as a manufactured conspiracy to bring down a Democrat congressman. But these people so criminal it's f-king crazy, so it's no surprise.

See Buzz Feed, "Meet the Weiner Truthers":

New York congressman Anthony Weiner resigned in disgrace a full year ago, admitting to having sent lewd photos to female fans of his on Twitter.

But for one corner of the Internet, Weinergate is very much not over. A group of liberal bloggers believe that Anthony Weiner was blackmailed by Andrew Breitbart into a false confession, and are carrying out a lonely Twitter crusade to spread their theory — in spite of the fact that Weiner himself has never claimed this to be the case.

In a post on the blog Cannonfire, the blog's proprietor Joseph Cannon describes the "weird subculture of bloggers" that sprung up around Weinergate.

Cannon was a more vocal proponent of the theory when the story broke, but "Their obsession with that scandal soon went way beyond Weiner, and perhaps even beyond conventional left-right politics," he writes. "A very personal twilight war broke out."

A major locus of modern Weiner trutherism is BreitbartUnmasked.com, a site "dedicated to unmasking the underbelly of Andrew Breitbart and his crew of rogues, criminals, wannabe journalists, various right wing extremists and the religious intolerant," per its "About Us" section. Breitbart Unmasked features a large GIF of Breitbart's face morphing into a mask, and lists the name of everyone in Breitbartworld, from editors of Breitbart.com to people only tangentially related.

One of its related Twitter accounts, @OccupyRebellion, regularly tweets about Weinergate and the alleged conspiracies therein.

Continue reading.

One of the outlandish claims at Patterico's post was that Patterico's wife --- who is also an L.A. County ADA --- was one of the accusers against Anthony Weiner, that she was one of the women on Twitter who claimed Weiner sent explicit pictures. That's the kind of criminal crackpot sh*t you see with these people. Crazy, but genuinely diabolical and calculating as well. (And note that these freak conspiracies in no way absolve these assholes of their crimes. Kimberlin and his criminal allies are out to destroy political enemies, first and foremost. So don't let BuzzFeed's "truther" meme minimize the significance of what's happening. Charles Manson was criminally deranged, but he's still serving a life sentence without any practical chance of parole.)

RELATED: From Robert Stacy McCain, "Kimberlin v. Walker Hearing Scheduled: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in Rockville, Maryland" (via Memeorandum).

Dan Collins is on it too, "Bombshell: Kimberlin Peace Order Hearing Against Aaron Walker Scheduled for Tuesday, 5/29."

Bob Page, Replacements Ltd. CEO Who Turned Firm Into Pro-Gay Campaign Outlet, Now Concerned His Radical Politics Could 'Hurt Our Business'

This is a very interesting report at the New York Times, "A Company’s Stand for Gay Marriage, and Its Cost."

It's fascinating that the Times turns this into some kinda hate-based campaign against the business, but the truth is far from it. Mr. Page gave $250,000 to campaign against North Carolina's Amendment One, and then he subsequently turned his flagship store into a campaign office. Longtime customers were turned off by the gay radicalism, which is their right. Nobody came after the dude in the manner of how the NOH8 extremists attacked regular citizens after the passage of California's Proposition 8. Nope. Mr. Page is out and proud, and now he's bumming at the backlash:

In the months leading up to North Carolina’s vote this month to ban gay marriage, most of the state’s business leaders were conspicuously silent. While some executives spoke out against it as individuals, not one Fortune 500 company based in North Carolina, including Bank of America, Duke Energy, VF Corporation and Lowe’s, opposed it.

But one company did: Replacements Limited, which sells silver, china and glassware, and is based in Greensboro. Its founder and chairman, Bob Page, is gay. The company lobbied legislators, contributed money to causes supporting gay marriage, rented a billboard along the interstate near its headquarters, and sold T-shirts at its showroom. Its experience may explain why no other for-profit company followed its example.

Hostile letters and e-mails poured into the company from customers canceling their business and demanding to be removed from its e-mail list. “I understand that your company donated $250,000 or so to the effort to ban the marriage amendment,” read one. “I am very concerned that with an increased visibility and acceptance of the gay and lesbian lifestyle, one of my children, who would have grown up and been happily married to a husband, could be tempted to the lesbian lifestyle.”

Another read: “I was excited to see your wares and expected a pleasant shopping experience. Instead I was accosted by your political views, which I do not share. It was very uncomfortable and unpleasant browsing with all those signs and T-shirts against amendment one, to the point where I had to leave.”

A third said, “Money you used to support this opposition came from my many purchases from your company and that is not O.K. with me,” adding, “I will look for my replacement pieces elsewhere.”

Several writers seemed more sad than angry. “Visiting Replacements Limited has always been one of my favorite treats,” said one. “I had the privilege of experiencing your beautiful store firsthand,” began another. Both said they would never return.

Andrew Spainhour, Replacement’s general counsel and a member of the steering committee that organized opposition to the amendment, tried to recruit other businesses. “I had a lot of phone calls and e-mails that weren’t returned,” he said. “If I did have a conversation, they’d say, ‘Gosh, we can’t do this, we can’t go out on a limb.’ There’s a tremendous amount of fear.”

The company did get a few letters and e-mails of support, but the outpouring against its stand shows that the subject of gay marriage “is hugely divisive in our state,” Mr. Spainhour said. “It’s exposed a lot of fault lines. It’s a natural reaction for people to say, ‘We’re not going to anger 50 percent of the people that we do business with or want to do business with.’ There’s too much downside.”

Mr. Spainhour said he worried about Mr. Page’s safety, and has discussed his concerns with him. He mentioned Charles C. Worley, pastor of the Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C., not far from Greensboro, who preached on May 13 that lesbians and gays should be separated from each other and society and quarantined behind electrified fences. “In a few years, they’ll die out,” Mr. Worley said. “They can’t reproduce.” Video of the sermon circulated on the Internet.

“Bob has been absolutely fearless in the face of that,” Mr. Spainhour said. “It’s a North Carolina that exists but that I don’t recognize. There are two North Carolinas: the progressive cities and college towns, and places where there are no openly gay people.”

Much the same could be said of America as a whole. Although recent polls suggest a majority of Americans favor legalizing gay marriage in their state, those who do are concentrated in the Northeast and on the West Coast. But even in those states most hostile to the idea, support for gay marriage has grown strongly over the last decade.

Most companies have traditionally tried to avoid taking positions on political and social issues. But corporate involvement in campaigns to support gay marriage has mirrored the shift in the nation’s attitudes, from nonexistent 10 years ago to some involvement by major companies in 2008, when Apple, American Apparel, Google and  Levi Strauss publicly opposed California’s Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage (it passed). Last year, corporate support in New York was deemed critical to the Legislature’s passage of a law allowing gay marriage. This year, major corporations based in Washington State, led by Amazon, Starbucks and Microsoft, have publicly opposed an effort to repeal the state’s law permitting gay marriage, scheduled to take effect on June 7.

Mr. Page, 67, said he didn’t like politics and wasn’t “extreme,” or “in your face” about being gay. But, he added: “I just refuse to hide. I did that way too many years and it’s just not healthy.”

At the same time, he said: “I’m always concerned I will hurt our business. I know we have lost business. But I don’t have a board or shareholders I have to answer to. My life is not about money.”

Rod Dreher has a post on this, "Punishing Businesses on Gay Marriage." From the comments there:

I doubt that the conservatives who stop shopping at Replacements will take the course of action that homosexual activists have taken against those opposed to SSM. The homosexual activists are especially aggressive and are determined to shut down all speech that they disagree with check out this link http://is.gd/2L2kRe ... to see an example...

Exactly.

But compare that to the headline at Towleroad, "Gay 'Replacements Ltd' Owner Faces NC Hate After Opposing Amendment One."

It's only "hate" when progressive businesses face political backlash, of course.

Gutless Pussies

I want to extend a big thank you to Bill Quick at Daily Pundit. He's posted on the death threat from No More Mister Nice Blog in exquisite fashion.

See: "Gutless Pussies of the Left":

I doubt that this loser killed anybody in Vietnam, either. In fact, I doubt he was even born while Vietnam was in progress.

Young lefties are raised on a spurious history that teaches that America was entirely in the wrong in Vietnam, and that those who went were all drug-addled, psychopathic murderers. So it makes a warped sort of sense that, in their abysmal ignorance of American history, they would assume that claiming to be Vietnam vets would be a useful subterfuge for presenting the notion that they were dangerous killers.

That's awesome.

 Thanks Bill!

Syrian Opposition Claims Government Massacre in Village of Houla

I've favored regime change for a while now, and I don't say that casually. But the world's response is pathetic.

At Telegraph UK, "32 children among 90 dead in Syrian government 'massacre'":

More than 90 people, including 32 children, have been killed in a Syrian government "massacre", as William Hague calls for an urgent session of the United Nations Security Council.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Friday's shelling in the city of Houla, in central Homs province, had led to what seemed to be one of the bloodiest episodes so far of the 15-month long uprising.

The Head of UN team in Syria confirmed over 32 children, 60 adults killed in Friday artillery attack.

Unconfirmed amateur videos posted by activists on YouTube showed around 20 bodies, mostly young children, lying in a room. One man holds up the limp body of a boy aged around seven, a gaping hole punched in the lower portion of his face. "This child, what did he do to deserve this?", he shouts.

Other footage shows the corpses of men and women lying under patterned blankets, including what is said to be one entire family. "We're being slaughtered like sheep here," says one voice. "Where are the UN observers?" adds another.

Also at the New York Times, "U.N. Observers View Bodies in Syrian Village," and Guardian UK, "Syria: children slaughtered as regime unleashes 18-hour attack on town."

Carl DeLong

The death of Carl DeLong is so senseless it really brings home the randomness of Brett Kimberlin's mayhem.

Dustin at My Thoughts wrote a moving commemoration yesterday, "In Honor of Carl DeLong."

And read up on this at the Indianapolis Star, "StarFiles: The Speedway Bombings, Part 1," and "StarFiles: The Speedway Bombings, Part 2."

Folks really do need to surf around to get a variety of the response to yesterday's blogburst.

Michelle has this, for example, "Letter from an Indiana reader about Brett Kimberlin."

And Popehat did a little research, "Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day."

BONUS: From Paul Lemmen, "What Now? The Day After #BrettKimberlin."

Angie Harmon Memorial Day Weekend!

I'm a little behind on my Rule 5 postings, although I'm hoping to stay with the patriotic themes this weekend.

I usually post this pic on the Fourth of July, but no need to wait!

In lieu of a larger roundup, check Randy's Roundable entry with linkage: "Thursday Nite Tart: Sandra Valencia."

BONUS: At Pirate's Cove, "If All You See…is an evil fossil fueled airplane, you might just be a Warmist."

'He Ain't the Leavin' Kind'

Via Theo Spark:

Rascal Flatts perform their hit single "He Ain't the Leavin' Kind" live at the Grand Ole Opry for the Opry's salute to the U.S. Military.

Salon's Joan Walsh: 'I Didn't Think it Was Possible to Get Lower Than Andrew Breitbart but His Spawn Have'

Skip forward to 2:45 at the clip.

Breitbart has the story, "MSNBC Covers Obama Lit Agent Booklet: 'I Didn't Think It Was Possible To Get Any Lower Than Andrew Breitbart'."

The Real Meaning of Memorial Day

I'll be blogging a lot about freedom this weekend, freedom and sacrifice.

The American experience is the most special experiment in human freedom, and I'm literally freaked out at how easily it can all be thrown away.

Katherine Cathey Grieves for Her Fallen Husband in 2005

I've posted a thumbnail of the first photo from Todd Heisler 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning series.

Her grief is literally unbearable.

See the full series here.

And at the New York Times, "As Memorial Day Nears, a Single Image That Continues to Haunt":

Memorial Day. The unofficial kickoff to summer. Barbecues sizzling. Lawn sprinklers hissing. Local marching bands tooting out Sousa. Red, white, and blue bunting hanging from the porch railings, and on T.V., someone begins a recitation of Lt. Col. John McCrae’s classic poem: “In Flanders field, the poppies blow. Between the crosses row on row …”

In the run-up to every Memorial Day weekend, for the past several years, a certain photo takes top spot in those most circulated among my fellow military and veteran wives. On blogs, on social media sites, it is shared and “liked” over and over. Taken by the photographer Todd Heisler, from his 2005 award-winning series for the Rocky Mountain News, “Jim Comes Home,” which documents the return and burial of Marine Second Lt. Jim Cathey, who lost his life in Iraq, the photo shows his pregnant widow Katherine lying on an air mattress in front of his coffin. She’s staring at her laptop, listening to songs that remind her of Jim. Her expression is vacant, her grief almost palpable.

It is the one and only photo that makes me cry each time I see it. What brings the tears to my eyes is not just the bereaved young woman, but the Marine who stands behind her. In an earlier photo in the series, we see him building her a little nest of blankets on the air mattress. Sweet Lord, I cry just typing the words, the matter-of-fact tenderness is so overwhelming. So soldierly. But in this photo — the one that lives on and on online — he merely stands next to the coffin, watching over her. It is impossible to be unmoved by the juxtaposition of the eternal stone-faced warrior and the disheveled modern military wife-turned-widow, him rigid in his dress uniform, her on the floor in her blanket nest, wearing glasses and a baggy T-shirt, him nearly concealed by shadow while the pale blue light from the computer screen illuminates her like God’s own grace.

Continue reading.

'Cold Fury' Responds to Patrick Frey's Post on the Left's Criminal Harassment Network

I gotta agree here, that Patterico is too kind when he argues that this isn't an ideological issue. See, "This Means War":

Read all of the incredible, sick-making story – which includes some perfectly typical and disgusting bile spewed by some of the violence-supporting left-wing animals who think things like this are just peachy – and gird your loins. Because it’s going to come down to shooting with these vermin eventually, if we’re to retain any rights at all. Patterico wouldn’t like me saying that, I’m sure; I don’t much like having to say it myself. But it’s a mere acknowledgment of current reality: we are in a cold war with neo-Marxists who are trying to steal our country, have already done enormous and probably permanent damage to it, and will stop at nothing–absolutely nothing–to see to it that our voices are silenced. That war must inevitably go hot, unless we’re willing to surrender to them.

RTWT.

And ICYMI, Dan Collins posted an epic entry, "Notorious Domestic Terrorist Brett Kimberlin Exposure Day Post."

BONUS: From Bob Belvedere, "Right Wing Bloggers Under Relentless Attack."

YouTube Pulls Madeleine McAulay Gay Marriage Video as Violating Guidlines on 'Hate Speech'

Madeleine's tweet is here.

It's freakin' upside down that a person can't speak their mind without being attacked and targeted by the left, but that's where things are going in this country at the moment.

And see her blog: "The Good, the Bad, and the Disgusting."

Glenn Beck Interviews Patterico and Aaron Worthing

This is an awesome day for conservatives online.

The Brett Kimberlin story is still trending at Memeorandum.

And here's Glenn Beck's coverage from his program today, featuring interviews with Patrick Frey and Aaron Worthing:

And see also, "Do You Know What 'SWATting' Is? Victims Tell Beck How They Were Targeted by Terrorist Brett Kimberlin."

Plus, "Meet Soros-Funded Domestic Terrorist Brett Kimberlin Whose 'Job' Is Terrorizing Bloggers Into Silence," and "Why Is The State Dept. Partnering With 'Speedway Bomber' Brett Kimberlin?"

More at Memeorandum.

I'll be updating throughout the evening.

Progressives at 'No More Mister Nice Blog' Issue Death Threat: 'I Haven't Killed Anyone Since 'Nam...'

This took place last night. I've been commenting periodically over at Steve M.'s "No More Mister Nice Blog," and here's the post from yesterday: "Warren Surges Like a Republican."

I called out commenter "Ten Bears" for his genuinely asinine defense of Elizabeth Warren's alleged Cherokee ancestry. After a couple of iterations with Steve M. --- and after I linked the video of Michelle Obama boasting of Barack's "Kenyan birth" in 2007 --- I get threatened with death. Here's the key comments at the thread.

This is pretty interesting considering the massive conservative blogburst on the Brett Kimberlin story.

While these dwids are epic clusterf-ck losers, the episode is yet another example of the left's inclination to violence against those who stand up against progressive lies and propaganda.

It's no surprise, then, that my old hate-blogging stalker Walter James Casper III shows up in the comments there.

These people will stop at nothing. But the tide is turning and conservative sunshine is disinfecting the menace.

See: "Kimberlin Funders Stunned to Discover they Fund Kimberlin." (Via Memeorandum.)

UPDATE: Paul Lemmen links: "Death Threat: ‘I Haven’t Killed Anyone Since ‘Nam…’."

#StandYourGroundConservatives! — May 25th Solidarity Blogburst Stands Up to Brett Kimberlin and the Left's Intimidation Network

#StandYourGroundConservatives is the hashtag I created some time back when Michelle Malkin put out the call for patriots to stand their ground against the Color of Change intimidation campaign targeting free-market conservatives and business organizations who've been working with them. And boy, folks are really standing up and holding firm against the left's radical program of harassment, threats, and criminal intimidation.

Here's the screencap for the lead stories at this morning's Memeorandum. I'm just logging on so I'm kinda blown away! There's been some buzz that Patterico had a big exposé in the works, and it's up now. See: "Convicted Bomber Brett Kimberlin, Neal Rauhauser, Ron Brynaert, and Their Campaign of Political Terrorism."

And Michelle has updated her big post from the other day, "Free speech blogburst: Show solidarity for targeted conservative bloggers; Update: It’s Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day; Donation fund for targets." And also at Michelle's, "Letter from an Indiana reader about Brett Kimberlin."

See also this outstanding editorial from Mark Tapscott at the Washinton Examiner, "How to kill the First Amendment" (via Memeorandum).

Plus, at The Other McCain, "The Kimberlin Files (Revise Title)." Also at Aaron Worthing's, "If You Are Coming Here for the First Time Today."

And here's this frrom Mandy Nagy, "Flashback: Progressives Embrace Convicted Terrorist."

Brooke Baldwin Didn't Take Tony Perkins 'to the Woodshed'

No, but a guy can dream, in any case.

Here's the headline at Mediaite, "CNN’s Brooke Baldwin Takes Tony Perkins to the Woodshed: ‘Why Do Homosexuals Bother You So Much?’" (via Memeorandum).

And watch the clip:

As much as I like Ms. Baldwin, her line of questioning's in fact ugly and pernicious, for it assumes that people who favor preserving traditional marriage dislike gays. Tony Perkins is a very genteel man and I know he's sincere when he says he has no problem with gay people. And in fact, he stays on point quite effectively despite Ms. Baldwin's illogical questioning.

One of the biggest lies on the left is that conservatives are "haters." Frankly, calling people "bigots" and "racists," etc., is all they have, as folks have been saying for a long time. I think it's good that Mr. Perkins stands his ground. I'm sure he's been attacked mercilessly by the left, as have others who've spoken out on the issues. What I don't like --- who I don't like --- are the radical progressives who demonize and attempt to destroy people on the basis of political differences. The Prop. 8 mobs literally targeted people who gave money to the campaign. They were outed, their businesses boycotted, they were spat on in public and physically threatened. And then progressives put up a website with Google maps of the initiatives supporters.  It was all about intimidation. That's what I don't like and that's what and who I fight against. Folks can be as homosexual as they choose, but don't come after me and call me a bigot or a "homophobe" because I believe that marriage is best defined as between one man and one woman.

S.E. Cupp on 'The View'

Via Jawa Report.

She's visibly shaken with this incident. It's no joke when I say it's hard out there. It really is.

PREVIOUSLY: "Celebrity Fantasy? Hustler's Obscene Misogynist Attack on S.E. Cupp."

BONUS: Cassandra at Villainous Company linked also: "Malum in Se."

EXTRA: From Audrey Ference at The L Magazine, "It's Not Cool to Photoshop a Dick into a Woman's Mouth, Even if You Disagree With Her Ideas."

CSU Chancellor Charles Reed to Retire

Well, I guess now's as good a time as any.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Cal State Chancellor Charles B. Reed to retire":

California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed announced Thursday that he is retiring after 14 years of leading one of the largest public university systems in the nation through a tumultuous period of cutbacks, spiraling tuition and controversy over executive pay.

Officials said that Reed, 70, had been contemplating retirement for some time but wanted to oversee the search for new presidents, which is nearly compete, at seven of the system's 23 campuses.

In a message to employees, Reed praised the university, its mission and staff.

"Out of all of the many experiences I have had, what I have enjoyed the most about my time in California is working with so many bright and talented individuals," Reed said. "Some of my favorite moments as chancellor were those I spent learning about the leading-edge research and teaching innovations of our faculty members; the incredible dedication of our staff; and the against-all-odds success stories of our students."

Among his endeavors, Reed launched a broad effort to recruit and retain Latino, African American, Native American, Asian Pacific Islander, veterans and other underserved students.

He also collaborated with the California Department of Education and the state Board of Education to create a program to assess the readiness of 11th-graders for college-level English and math.

University of California President Mark G. Yudof, with whom Reed has frequently lobbied and commiserated over declining state funding, called Reed a dynamic and innovative leader.

"The chancellor has been an effective and reliable ally in the fight to keep alive for future generations of Californians the promise of an affordable, top quality education," Yudof said in a statement.

A. Robert Linscheid, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said Reed has had to make difficult decisions under tremendous pressure.

"Charlie has persevered through the worst budget crisis in the history of California and has had to deal with deep budget cuts to the CSU," Linscheid said in a statement. "He has a deep desire to do what is best for students."

He has a thankless job, notwithstanding the kinds words from the other administrators. Frankly, the whole lot of them are overpaid, and I doubt they have a clue of what's really going on in the trenches.

That said, the striking communists all up in solidarity at the campus protests are a laugh riot.

See my entry from last year: "'Down With Capitalist Education!' — California Faculty Association Strikes at Cal State Dominguez Hills."

The President and the Democrats Have a Problem

Well, they have quite a few of them, but Michelle's first talking about White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and the gaping spaces in his response to Wendell Goler of Fox News on the president's previous support for #OWS.

It's excellent:

Government Spending Has Never Been Higher Than During the Obama Administration (Not Counting World War II)

See Doug Ross, "Double Whammy: Investors Business Daily Pimp-Slaps Rex Nutting's Pravda-Style Propaganda Piece at MarketWatch":

Yesterday, James Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute delivered a major-league rhetorical beat-down to some Obama drone named Rex Nutting. MarketWatch had somehow allowed Nutting to publish one of the more preposterous press releases from David Axelrod ever seen on a business news site.

The gist of the story is this. Obama is running from his spending record, using manipulated statistics to assign his block-buster "shovel-ready" Stimulus package to... wait for it... George W. Bush. Did Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and George W. Bush pass the Stimulus package? Obamacare? Cash-for-Clunkers? Green energy scams like Solyndra, First Solar, Solar Trust, etc.? So the Obama campaign is busy churning out propaganda that disavows all the work he took credit for in 2009 and Nutting simply regurgitates it, like a good little Marxist.

No human being in world history has deficit-spent like Barack Obama. And everyone knows it, including Rex "Leni Riefenstahl" Nutting.

Today, it's Investor's Business Daily's turn to pimp-slap Nutting. One simple chart is all it takes.

Continue reading at the post.

Mother in Shock Over Teen Daughter's Plot to Murder Her

I don't know.

Perhaps the lady's daughter had gotten too hard to handle --- and the kid was obviously running with a rough crowd.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Mother shocked by daughter's alleged murder plot against her":

HESPERIA — Worried that her daughter may be on drugs, or worse, Angelica Aquirre did what any parent of a rebellious 13-year-old might do. She cracked down, set a curfew and thought about moving closer to her family in Mexico.

Now a distraught Aquirre is left wondering whether she was too harsh. Her daughter on Wednesday was in a juvenile detention facility in Apple Valley, accused of hatching a murder plot with two of her middle school friends.

The target: her mother.

"I don't know what to say. I just can't believe it," Aquirre said, weeping as she sat at a kitchen table in the family's tiny mobile home, a framed picture of Jesus on the wall.

Aquirre said she was in bed asleep early Tuesday morning when two attackers, strangers, broke into the trailer and began pummeling her.

"I thought they were robbing me," she said in Spanish. "Then I saw my daughter was missing."

Aquirre called police to report her daughter missing, but omitted the attack, according to police. By late Tuesday, detectives with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department reached a disturbing conclusion: They believed her daughter had plotted the attack with two friends at Ranchero Middle School, a 14-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl.

"She just said that her daughter was gone, that she'd run away with two other kids," sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Rose said.

About 6:30 a.m., after her daughter had been found, the mother realized the gravity of what had happened and reported that "kids tried to kill her," Rose said.

"There were three different means of attack," she said, declining to elaborate because the incident remains under investigation. "We don't really know the motive. We just believe it was more in line with the curfew and friends."

Because all three suspects are juveniles, their names have not been released by sheriff's officials. The Times is keeping the name of the daughter confidential.

The dad's a long-haul trucker who's rarely ever home, so no doubt that has a lot to do with it. Families need a strong father in the household to set boundaries and keep things in line. This lady wasn't even a single mom, and she still almost wound up dead.

Crazy Injun Elizabeth Warren Stonewalls Questions About Supposed Cherokee Ancestry

I personally think she's lost her marbles, so forget political correctness. I'm mocking her for all it's worth.

See the report at Breitbart, "Elizabeth Warren Stonewalls Reporter on Why She Claimed Minority Status":

Appearing in Brookline, Massachusetts for a Senate campaign event, Elizabeth Warren stonewalled questions about her supposed Cherokee ancestry. She has maintained that she does have Cherokee ancestry despite all evidence to the contrary.

This was her first public appearance in a week. She was accosted by a reporter, and consistently attempted to redirect the questioner to another topic.

Plus, a new poll out from Suffolk University finds that voters don't care so much about Warren's claims to Native American ancestry --- and who can blame them, get f-ked over in this Obama depression. See Politico, "Poll: Elizabeth Warren unscathed by Cherokee flap."

But frankly, I'm just really getting a kick out of the progressives who're blowing this off as some made up conspiracy. Nothing to see here, move along. For example, from the comments at No More Mister Nice Blog:

It's not a controversy - the claim, as yet unverified to both as to whither or no she actually made the claim and the claim itself, dates back five generations. Statistically anyone whose family has lived here that long has a splash of "Indian" blood. No doubt Scott Brown, blue-blood "American Royalty" that he is, has a splash of "Indian" blood.'

And I'm having a debate with the proprietor there, Steve M., who's attempting to ridicule me as a "birther" for calling out the left on Barack Obama's Kenyan birth. As I've said repeatedly, it's not so much that Obama was born in Kenya. It's that the Obamas enthusiastically campaigned on Barack's "Kenyan birth" in the 2007 Democrat primaries. If Barack wasn't born in Kenya, and he and Michelle campaigned on the claim that he was, that makes them liars. Conservatives have been all over this, but the Democrat-Media-Complex won't touch it. See: "Obama Gets Pass on Kenya from Democrat-Media-Complex."

Obama's Economic Attacks Could Backfire

At the New York Times, "Strategy on Rival’s Career Holds Pitfalls for President":

Last week, a few dozen hedge fund and investment executives arrived at the Park Avenue home of Hamilton E. James, president of the private equity firm Blackstone. Each had paid $35,800 to spend two hours at a fund-raiser with President Obama, but the timing proved awkward: A few hours earlier, Mr. Obama’s campaign had begun a blistering attack on Mitt Romney’s career in private equity, the same business in which Mr. James has earned his many millions.

“Campaigns do what campaigns have to do,” Mr. James later told friends. But not everyone was as forgiving. “People were incredulous,” said one person who attended the dinner. “They could have waited a week.”

Debates over how much to blame — and regulate — Wall Street have stoked tensions between Democrats and the financial industry ever since Mr. Obama took office amid a financial crisis. But now Mr. Obama is leveraging his bully pulpit and advertising dollars to argue that Mr. Romney’s career as a successful financial executive exhibited values that are not those of a good president.

In doing so, he has not only drawn criticism from allies like Steven L. Rattner, the investor and former adviser on the auto industry, and Cory A. Booker, the mayor of Newark and a favorite of New York’s hedge fund world. Mr. Obama may also be testing a bond first formed by Bill Clinton, who persuaded much of his party’s elite that Democrats could be both populist and friendly to Wall Street.

“I think the consensus, such as it was, has badly eroded under the pressure of events,” said William Galston, a former Clinton adviser who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “The depth, the severity, and the length of the Great Recession have exacerbated strains within the country and within the Democratic coalition.”

For some Democrats, the line Mr. Obama is trying to walk — between asserting that Mr. Romney’s career at Bain Capital does not support his claim to be a job creator, and criticizing the private equity industry as a whole, between his acknowledgments of the vital role in the economy played by big investors and the scorching attack ads aired by his campaign — is a perilous one.

At stake are not only a political and policy relationship Democrats have nurtured over decades with the financial services industry, but the millions of dollars in campaign cash that have come with it. Already this year, securities and investment firms have given Republicans 59 percent of their donations, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the party’s highest share since the center began tabulating campaign money. Mr. Obama has raised millions of dollars on Wall Street, but far less than he did four years ago.

It is one of the most delicate topics within the party these days. Two Democrats with close ties to Wall Street, Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand of New York, declined to comment on Wednesday. Other lobbyists, donors and industry executives declined to speak for the record, saying they did not want to highlight internal divisions and debates.

There's also this big debate today on fiscal policy. Lonely Con has that: "Obama Flat Out Lied About His Spending." (Via Memeorandum.)

Rashad Richey, Georgia Democrat Party Political Director, Launches Libel Suit to Squelch Blogger Andre Walker of Georgia Politics Unfiltered

I saw this first at WSB-TV Atlanta, "Georgia Democrats' director record comes to light."

And here are Andre Walker's key posts, via Bates Line:

* "Georgia Democrats Say No Comment to Political Director Rashad Richey's Recidivism."

* "Democratic Party Political Director Assaulted Girlfriend & Kicked In Her Front Door."

* "GA Federation of Democratic Women Prez Tried Keeping Woman Abuser Out of Jail."

* "The MSM Reports on Rashad Richey the Recidivist."

And yesterday at Walker's blog, "Good Trouble vs. Bad Trouble."

But see Bryan at Legal Insurrection, "Is conservative blogger in Georgia another victim of “lawfare”?"

While the conservative blogosphere is focused on Brett Kimberlin, there is another instance of possible “lawfare” which deserves attention.

Roughly three weeks ago a lawsuit alleging defamation against a conservative blogger was filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia.

The claim was brought by Georgia Democratic Party Political Director, Rashad Richey, against conservative blogger Andre Walker of Georgia Politics Unfiltered, as well as a number of other named and unnamed Defendants.

In Richey’s complaint, a number of points were cited as evidence of libel and libel per se. Both of these categories fall under the legal umbrella of defamation. The complaint referenced, among other things, blog posts where Walker wrote that Richey had a “history of making poor personal decisions,” that he was a “criminal,” and a “jailbird.”

Walker has answered the complaint saying not only that this lawsuit is without merit, but also that it is an exercise of frivolity, actionable under the Georgia Abusive Litigation Act.

Walker further asserts that the statements at issue were made in the exercise of Walker’s “right of free speech under the Constitutions of Georgia and the United States of America…” and that truth is an absolute defense to a defamation claim.  News reports have publicized Richey’s history of run-ins with the law.

Additionally, Richey likely will be considered a “public figure” under the law, requiring him to prove actual malice.

Lots more at Instapundit.

And don't forget: "Friday, May 25th Is “Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day”."

'Just One Minute' for Murdered Israeli Olympic Athletes

From the Office of Danny Ayalon, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister:

Hat Tip: Theo Spark.

Iran Renews Call for Israel's 'Annihilation'

An interview with Dennis Prager:

Background at the Times of Israel, "PM says Iran’s chief of staff vowed Sunday to eliminate Israel."

Crossroads GPS: 'Basketball'

Via Objective Conservative:

Will.i.am's Helicopter Spews 3/4 Ton of Carbon 'Pollutants' En Route to Oxford Climate Change Debate

The dude flew 286 miles in a private helicopter, touching down at Oxford's University Parks, and then rode an "environmentally-conscious bike" over to the Radcliffe Observatory in a lame attempt to avoid looking like a bigger hypocrite than Al Gore.

See London's Daily Mail, "Oh the irony! The Voice judge Will.i.am turns up to climate change debate... in a huge gas-guzzling helicopter."

 And at Telegraph UK, "Will.I.Am attends climate change talk in helicoper" (via Memeorandum):

Musician Will.I.Am has been criticised for arriving at a climate change debate in a private helicopter, producing the same amount of CO2 most people do in a month.

I don't see video of the helicopter landing, but the Black Eyed Peas star tweeted the flight: "Taking off in the hip.hop.copter...i loved tauton...great people..."

Celebrity Fantasy? Hustler's Obscene Misogynist Attack on S.E. Cupp

I'm shocked, and I don't shock easily. But progressives keep finding news ways to dig down deeper.

At The Blaze, "Fake Explicit Image of S.E. Cupp Reportedly Appears in Hustler (Graphic)."

And see "S.E. Cupp, Hustler and the Left's Ongoing War on Conservative Women" (via Memeornadum).

More at Ironic Surrealism, "The Left’s Obscene Misogynistic War On Conservative Women Continues… [Graphic]."

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

And keep up with developments on Twitter, with Mandy Nagy and Michelle Malkin.

Plus, at Twitchy, "Weaponized misogyny: Hustler punishes S.E. Cupp for pro-life views with explicit fake image."

Blogburst! Conservatives Stand Up Against Left's Criminal Harassment Network

This story is gaining Olympic-level velocity --- wow!

I want to keep Aaron Worthing front and center here, since his story has helped launch a movement: "Everyone Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day?"

Also, Linkmaster Smith notes that Chris Muir picks up the story at "Day by Day": "Shout Out to Muir @daybydaycartoon."

Michelle Malkin gives a huge push to the movement, "Free speech blogburst: Show solidarity for targeted conservative bloggers." And Goldfish and Clowns posts a Gold Medal roundup: "Silence Screams Louder Than Words."

Finally, check Ladd Ehlinger: "What Did Barbara Streisand Know ... And When Did She Know It?" (Via Memeorandum.)

I'm no longer attempting to link everyone. I've been doing that for the last few days and by now it's impossible to aggregate everyone. I will add Zilla of the Resistance here, "Violent Convicted Terrorist Bomber Given Million$ by Progressives Now Terrorizes Bloggers."

And keep up with developments at Instapundit.

Who Is Brett Kimberlin?

See Lee Stranahan, "Friday, May 25th Is “Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day”."

More at Aaron Worthing's (via Memeorandum).

I'll have another roundup later.

GOP Butt Plugs Have Progressives Masturbating

I'm not kidding.

See NewsBusters, "The Newest Low in GOP Mockery: Comparing Them to Anal Sex Toys":

Liberals keep finding new ways to demonstrate their civility and class. NYU graduate student Matthew Epler fashioned polling data for the Republican candidates during the 2012 primary into sex toys called butt plugs – for a telecommunications class. He decided to market his creations, which met with the winking approval of left-wing outlets.

The plugs represent the polling data of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Mitt Romney, rotated around a 3D axis.

Epler has decided to market what he calls “Grand Old Party” butt plugs. Epler’s brainchild doesn’t sell cheap – the whole set costs $350, while individual pieces sell for $45-65.

Progressives were literally eating this stuff up.

The Frisky has more: "If the GOP Candidates Were Sex Toys, This Is What They’d Look Like."

Hunter Rogers Interview on Fox News: 'I Wanted to Laugh'

At London's Daily Mail, "'I wanted to laugh': Student whose teacher said he could be arrested for criticizing Obama speak outs."

Lou Dobbs Mystified by Apparent 'Taboo' on Barack Obama's 'Kenyan Birth'

For me, it's not whether Obama was born in Kenya. The question is why was he so excited to trumpet his purported African origins. Mark Steyn and others have destroyed progressives on this ("The Great Barry"), and of course it is a taboo to discuss it --- for fear of being smeared as a "birther." But too many people are asking questions (see WND, for example, "Arizona Flooded by Emails on Obama Eligibility"). I think Obama should be at least forced to explain it, his fascination with exploiting his Kenyan origins.

 And see Joseph Farah, "I'm with Lou Dobbs":

Fox Business anchor Lou Dobbs says he’s mystified by an apparent “taboo” Republicans and the national media have as they continue to bury any question or news story probing the eligibility of Barack Obama to be president of the United States.

I’m with Lou Dobbs.

Last Friday night, on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on the Fox Business Network, the veteran broadcaster was having a political discussion with National Research founder Adam Geller.

“Let me ask you a question,” Dobbs said to Geller. “Why aren’t the Republicans talking about what was all over Drudge, which is from 1991 to 2007, a publisher’s document talking about him being born in Kenya? I mean, there’s like a taboo about it. How did this wall come up around that?”

He was referring to a WND story linked by the Drudge Report showing that Obama apparently never objected to being depicted as Kenya-born by his own publishers and literary agents – right up through 2007....

Dobbs has shown great courage and independence in raising this issue for years. He probably left CNN under pressure because of his persistence in raising it.

PREVIOUSLY: "Associated Press Declared Obama 'Kenyan-Born' in Report on 2004 U.S. Senate Race From Illinois - UPDATED!"

Regulators to Investigate Facebook IPO

Could be insider trading.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Facebook IPO flop drawing increased scrutiny."

Plus, at the Wall Street Journal, "Investors Pummel Facebook: Stock Falls 11% in First Full Day of Trading; Complaints of Too Many Shares":

Criticism of the Facebook Inc. FB -8.90% stock deal grew as the shares dropped below their offering price in their first full day of trading Monday, wiping $11.5 billion off the social network's market value.

The company, its investment bankers and the Nasdaq Stock Market came under fire for failing to ensure a smooth debut for one of the most anticipated deals in recent memory. Facebook shares, which began trading Friday at $38 and managed to add just 23 cents by the end of that day, fell 11% Monday to $34.03.

The selloff came partly because some investors who were allotted more Facebook shares than they expected moved to pare their holdings, said people familiar with the matter. Retail, or individual, investors usually are allocated up to 20% of the total shares allotted in an IPO, but in Facebook's case, retail allocation was around 25%, the people said.

Days before the initial public offering, Facebook, whose executives played an active role in the IPO process, according to people familiar with the matter, increased both the price and the number of shares being offered. As a result, many retail investors weren't hungry for more shares once trading began, according to the people.

A representative for Facebook declined to comment. The company raised $16 billion in the offering.

George Brady, a 66-year-old recruiter in North Carolina, bought 1,000 shares of Facebook a few minutes after it opened for trading Friday. He said by Monday morning, he sold his holding, taking a $2,770 loss.

Mr. Brady said he tried not to purchase the shares in the first place, but was unable to withdraw his order on his Charles Schwab account, calling the situation "ridiculous." Technical problems on the Nasdaq Stock Market prevented some investors from confirming their trades or trade cancellations.

"I was stuck for six hours trying to figure out whether I owned this dog or not," said Mr. Brady. He said he has been in touch with Schwab. Schwab didn't return a call requesting comment.

Facebook's offering, one of the biggest U.S. IPOs, was supposed to burnish the reputations of Morgan Stanley, MS +0.91% the deal's lead banker, as an underwriter, and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. NDAQ -2.02% as the listing exchange of choice for hot technology companies.

"This has been a train wreck," said one hedge fund manager, whose fund also decided to sell some of its shares Monday. He said his fund was allotted 500,000 more Facebook shares than he expected.

BONUS: From Henry Blodgett, at Business Insider, "EXCLUSIVE: Here's The Inside Story of What Happened on the Facebook IPO" (via Techmeme).

Animal Planet 'Monster Week'

My young son turned on "Animal Planet" last night and we've been hooked.

Here's the homepage: "MONSTER WEEK: Episode Guide."

Black Religious Leaders Slam NAACP Homosexual Agenda: Folks Weep at 'Horrors of this Holocaust'

At Charisma News, "Black Leaders Decry NAACP Endorsement of Homosexual Agenda" (via Memeorandum):

Alveda C. King is among the growing number of African-American leaders speaking out about President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage.

Specifically, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr. is joining black spiritual leaders in decrying the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP’s, move to give a nod to gay marriage in the United States.

The NAACP released a resolution on May 19 supporting marriage equality. At a meeting of the 103-year old civil rights group’s board of directors, the organization voted to support marriage equality as a continuation of its historic commitment to equal protection under the law.

In recent years the NAACP has taken public positions against state and federal efforts to ban the rights and privileges for LGBT citizens, including strong opposition to Proposition 8 in California, the Defense of Marriage Act and, most recently, North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which changed the state constitution’s to prohibit same sex marriage.

“Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP.

“Neither my great-grandfather, an NAACP founder, my grandfather Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., an NAACP leader, my father Rev. A. D. Williams King, nor my uncle Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. embraced the homosexual agenda that the current NAACP is attempting to label as a civil rights agenda,” says King, founder of King for America and Pastoral Associate for Priests for Life.

“In the 21st century, the anti-traditional marriage community is in league with the anti-life community, and together with the NAACP and other sympathizers, they are seeking a world where homosexual marriage and abortion will supposedly set the captives free.”

Exactly.

And keep reading for that "horrors of this holocaust" quote.

New NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll: Obama, Romney Locked in Tight Race for the Presidency

At the Wall Street Journal, "Obama, Romney Toe to Toe: Poll Finds Economy Hurts President, but Rival Has Concerns" (via Google):

Voters remain deeply pessimistic about the nation's future and uncertain of President Barack Obama's ability to set the economy on the right course, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll that found Mr. Obama locked in a tight race with Mitt Romney.

The president tops the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, 47% to 43%, when Americans are asked their choice today for president, a lead little changed from last month and within the poll's margin of error.

But the poll found much to stir concern within the burgeoning Obama re-election campaign. Despite signs of economic recovery, nearly half of Americans said the country is at the start of a long-term decline. Americans by a sizable plurality said Mr. Obama's approach has worsened the nation's budget deficit and health-care problems, and increased its partisan divide.

After emerging last month as the all-but-certain Republican nominee, Mr. Romney is consolidating support among conservatives, the poll found, and much of the public is open to the idea that his business background would help him improve the economy.

His supporters express more enthusiasm about the election than do Mr. Obama's.

But the former Massachusetts governor faces his own challenges. He has yet to engender deep confidence in his economic policies, the core of his campaign pitch. Three-quarters of respondents said they were only somewhat confident or not confident at all that Mr. Romney had the right ideas to improve the economy. And nearly three in 10 said electing a Mormon president would cause them or their neighbors concern, including one-quarter of independents.

In all, the poll of 1,000 Americans found abundant signs of a hardening of opinion toward both Mr. Obama and his GOP rival as both camps and the new breed of independent "super" political action committees prepare to spend upward of $2 billion competing for a dwindling slice of undecided voters in a handful of states.

"Never before will so much money be spent by so many to persuade so few," said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who directed the poll along with Republican Bill McInturff.

The poll found a striking symmetry in the pessimism Americans express about whether either candidate can nudge the country in the right direction.

Asked to weigh their faith in the men, around a third of respondents expressed confidence that Mr. Obama would bring the right kind of change, with a nearly equal share saying the same of Mr. Romney. But large majorities said the two would bring either no change or the wrong kind of change, reflecting a general lack of optimism about the election's outcome.

Based on the poll and other data, Mr. Hart put Mr. Obama's chances of re-election in November at "no better than 50/50."

Incumbents win, Mr. Hart said, "when voters are buoyant with the economic times." At this point, he said, Mr. Obama "is in the Twilight Zone—neither safe nor gone," while signs that the public sees an economic upturn "have yet to appear."

See also First Read, "NBC/WSJ poll: Obama, Romney locked in tight contest." (Via Memeorandum.)

And Allahpundit notes this about the poll's sample:

Last month’s WSJ poll had it 43D/39R/14I if you included leaners. The new poll: 44D/36R/16I. The spread between Democrats and Republicans has increased by four points since April — and yet O’s lead over Romney has shrunk by two points. Hmmmm.

Actually, most polls have oversampled Democrats and still found Obama to be struggling, especially on the economy. Indeed, WSJ's sweet spot is the electorate's favorable views of Romney's Bain experience, especially for improving the economy and handling the nation's debt.

That said, the bottom line for me is that as much as any election in recent history, the campaigns are going to matter enormously --- the messaging and the mobilization especially. And on both those counts the Democrats are not holding up too well.

Note William Jacobson's post from this morning, "For the first time in my adult life I believe Romney might beat Obama":

Why now?

Because Team Obama is proving itself to be too smart by half, and too incompetent by three-quarters.

And on mobilization, see Gerald Seib, "As in 2004, energizing the base a key to victory."

RELATED: The background on that video at top, from Politico, "Exclusive: RNC slams Obama campaign for Cory Booker 'cover-up'."

Brett Kimberlin Death Threats Against Robert Stacy McCain?

I don't know, actually.

Robert Stacy McCain wrote yesterday that the police had been notified about the suspicious behavior of Brett Kimberlin, so my first thought was that Robert and his family were in physical danger. See: "Never Doubt That God Answers Prayer."

Kimberlin is a convicted terrorist bomber, so you can't be too careful under the circumstances. As of yesterday, Robert has been blogging from an undisclosed location, and he has updated this morning: "Brett Kimberlin Saga Takes a Bizarre Turn, Forcing Me to Leave Maryland""

My own encounter with Kimberlin’s attempted intimidation appears typical of his modus operandi, which students of psychology recognize as the habitual behavior of a deviant sociopath: Attempting to distract from his own malevolent actions by accusing his targeted enemies of doing to him what he is doing to them – and to many others. Several sources to whom I have spoken in recent days, who for obvious reasons wish to remain anonymous, have expressed suspicion that Kimberlin is doing this not only to hide his criminal past, but also in a misguided attempt to conceal his current malicious (and perhaps felonious) activities.

These are not accusations I make; rather, these are crucial elements of a newsworthy story that I am attempting to report. Kimberlin seems to be determined to prevent me – or anyone else – from reporting this story. In order to continue reporting it, without jeopardizing the safety of my family and other innocent people, I have been compelled to leave Maryland. Many people have responded to my appeal for prayer and financial assistance in this difficult crisis, but it is important to emphasize that this story is not about me.

Continue reading at the link. And be sure to hit Robert's tip jar --- I just did.

My previous entries are here: "Criminal Attacks on Conservative Bloggers: Update on Brett Kimberlin Intimidation Network," and "Convicted Terrorist Brett Kimberlin and the Left's Political (and Criminal) Intimidation Network."

And don't forget Aaron Worthing!

Aaron has been the primary target of these latest Kimberlin attacks, and he has an update: "“The More You Tighten Your Grip”: Brett Kimberlin’s Latest Petition For a Peace Order."

And Patterico weighs in on the latest developments:

Kimberlin and his crew have relentlessly harassed Aaron, me, and others over the course of the last several months. It is not harassment for us to tell the world what happened to us. It could happen to any of you. His supporters have outed or threatened to out commenters to this very site. They talk about wives, children, and fathers of bloggers and commenters. They ceaselessly abuse everyone they can who speaks the truth about Kimberlin’s past.

Ultimately, this is a free speech issue. Kimberlin and his group of thugs have done their level best to attack everyone in the blogosphere who wrote anything negative about him. Now the blogosphere is starting to wake up, and there are so many critics he can’t possibly intimidate them all.

But you can see he’s still trying.

So with that, here's a roundup of others blogging:

* An Ex-Con's Views, "We Are All Victims of Brett Kimberlin."

* Blazing Cat Fur, "Brett Kimberlin - Lunatic."

* Bob Belvedere, "ALERT: Stacy McCain And Family Forced To Flee Threats."

* Common American Journal, "Robert Stacy McCain and his family flee for safety. Credible threats from leftist terrorist and convicted felon Brett Kimberlin."

* Darleen Click, "RS McCain – undisclosed location."

* Film Ladd, "Politics Unusual: Stacy McCain Flees Home; Social Media Gate Breaks All the Rules."

* Gator Doug, "Funny thing about God and prayers."

* Glenn Reynolds, "BRETT KIMBERLIN UPDATE..."

* Israel Matzav, "OMG: Blogger threatened by terrorist."

* Kathy Shaidle, "Gee, this sounds SO familiar… if only I could put my finger on it…."

* Lady Liberty, "Babs Streisand and “Activist Funding”."

* Lonely Conservative, "Stacy McCain and Family Leave Town After Threats from Domestic Terrorist."

* Small Dead Animals, "The Tolerant Left."

* Sundries Shack, "Clearing the Browser Tabs – Go Help a Brother Out Who Needs Your Back-Up."

* That Mr. G. Guy, "#DangerousDoofus #BrettKimberlin Threatens Another Conservative Blogger."

* Truth Before Dishonor, "Brad Friedman and Speedway Bomber Brett Kimberlin: Practitioners of the Stalking and Thuggery They Claim to Decry."

*****

I think that's it for now.

My previous link roundup is here.

Add your latest link in the comments if you're blogging, and I'll update.

Obama Defends Attacks on Romney's Record at Bain

See the New York Times, "Facing Criticism, Obama Defends Ads Attacking Romney’s Record at Bain Capital" (via Memeorandum).

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube.

Behind Obama's Bain-Bashing

FWIW, from Beth Reinhard at National Journal, "Why Obama Is Doubling Down on Bain Capital Attacks Against Romney":

Why is President Obama’s reelection campaign doubling down on its attacks on Mitt Romney’s business record at Bain Capital, despite blowback from some supporters? Because they might work.

While many voters recall an image of "hope" and "change" from Obama’s successful 2008 campaign, he ran as many negative ads as GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona—and sometimes more. The message in those 2008 ads wasn’t so different from the anti-Romney theme today: The Republican nominee favors the wealthy at the expense of the struggling middle class. Voters bought it.

Lessons from two other campaigns also illuminate Obama’s strategy in going after Romney’s record at Bain Capital. In President Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, the military record and foreign-policy experience of Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts was nullified with strident criticism of his Vietnam service and changing position on the war in Iraq. Similarly, Obama is trying to take one of Romney’s greatest assets in an economy-focused campaign—his business success—and turn it into a liability.

The other race shaping the 2012 campaign is Romney’s defeat at the hands of Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1994. The Indiana paper company that was the subject of the anti-Romney attack on Monday, Ampad, marked a turning point in that year's Massachusetts Senate race. After Bain bought the company in 1992 and used it to acquire a paper factory, workers were laid off and then rehired at lower wages and benefits. The company ultimately went bankrupt, yet Bain made millions. Ads about the saga helped Kennedy leap over Romney in the polls.

“Obama is absolutely doing the right thing," said longtime Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, who helped run Kennedy’s campaign. “This is a very powerful issue. I saw its power in 1994. Romney was unprepared to deal with it well then, and he’s unprepared to deal with it well now."

More at that top link.

Actually, I think Reinhard's a little too in the tank for O.

But if these scurrilous attacks deflect attention from the Democrat's failed record on the economy, perhaps she's got a point.

Either way, see my earlier report, "'Big Bain Backfire'."

Associated Press Declared Obama 'Kenyan-Born' in Report on 2004 U.S. Senate Race From Illinois - UPDATED!

UPDATE: Yid With Lid sends this along: "BREAKING- 2004 AP "Keynan-Born Obama" Phrase NOT From Associated Press."

Associated Press didn't not run the headline, just the main body of the story that ran in the Sunday Standard.

Either way, the fact remains the Obamas were only too happy to push the "Kenyan-born" meme. There are so many angles of duplicity now it's ridiculous.

**********

I just personally find this amazing, utterly amazing.

Recall that in 2007 the Obamas were campaigning for the Democrat nomination and touting Barack's Kenyan ancestry. So here's this news out that in 2004 AP was pumping up Obama as "Kenyan-born" in its reporting on the U.S. Senate race for Illinois. Maggie's Notebook has the report: "2004 Headline: Kenyan-born Obama Set for US Senate."

And see "INS Doc Found: U.S. Certificate Issued to One East African-Born Child of U.S. Citizen in 1961!" (via Radio Patriot).

This is frankly WND territory, for example, "Lou Dobbs Mystified by Obama-Birth 'Taboo'." But as reported widely among conservatives, it's clear that the Obamas were eager to tout Barack's Kenyan heritage right up to the 2008 presidential race. But as the story broke last week, the Democrat-Media-Complex was quick to attack the new "birther" controversy, and the explanation quickly became that a mistake was made with the initial press release reported by Breitbart the other day. Thus, the Daily Caller asks: "If Obama’s false claim of Kenyan birth was just a fact-checking error, why did it take over 15 years to fact-check it?"

But as I reported earlier, there's been too many rookie mistakes made by those on the professional left. It's going to add up and some of the stories will be too big even for the subdued Mitt Romney to avoid. We're reaching a breaking point for the Democrats. I'm more confident than ever that Barack's going to be blown out of the water in November.

See also: "Obama's Lit Agency Used 'Born in Kenya' Bio Until 2007."

IMAGE CREDIT: The Looking Spoon, "Obama's World Famous Kenyan Spaghetti Maker."

Commemorating 100 Years of Marine Corps Aviation

Via Theo Spark:

'Big Bain Backfire'

The Obama-Democrats are taking hits left and right.

Honestly, if things continue to go the way they're going, they'll be hit with the biggest presidential blowout since 1964. President Johnson was elected in his own right that year with 61.1 percent of the popular vote and the Democrats controlled the 89th Congress, starting in 1965, with a 295 to 140 majority in the House and a 65 to 35 seat majority in the Senate. Sure, that sounds miraculous, but with this economy and the circular firing squad of the Democrat Party's professional left, 2012 could at least beat the 1980 election, when Republican Ronald Reagan took 50.7 percent of the popular vote compared to 41 percent for incumbent Jimmy Carter (third party candidate John Anderson ran as an independent, taking 6.6 percent of the vote). Reagan in 1980 also took the Electoral College 489 to Carter's 49 .

It's still early, but if mainstream Democrat-Media-Complex outlets like ABC News start turning on the administration, things can't be looking good. See, "Obama Campaign Does Damage Control After Dems Question Anti-Bain Strategy" (via Memeorandum):

Chief Obama strategist David Axelrod today publicly rebuked Booker, a popular and high-profile surrogate for the campaign, saying he was “just wrong”....

Republicans have been gleeful with the apparent divide among Democrats over the portrayal of Romney’s Bain days.  The Romney campaign produced a web video – “Big Bain Backfire” – highlighting the comments, while the Republican National Committee purchased ads on Twitter to play up the Booker flap.

Here's the Romney ad:

More at Memeorandum.

Whoa! Bar Refaeli Tops Maxim's 2012 Hot 100!

Maxim did quite a number with this project.

Bar Refaeli is here.

But see it all: "2012 Hot 100."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Bar Refaeli tops Maxim hot list; her secrets to sexiness helped."

Trayvon Martin Fight Club Video

Blazing Cat Fur reports, "Trayvon at the fight club..."

Blazing has the video on LiveLeak.

YouTube pulled the clip, but here's another. Trayvon Martin is said to be wearing the striped shirt and white cap:


And check the report at The Last Refuge: "Trayvon’s Fight Club – The Inconvenient Truth."

Plus, from Doctor Zero, at Human Events, "The Zimmerman case disintegrates: Beating people up because they looked at you funny is wrong":

The release of evidence in George Zimmerman’s murder trial quickly made a mockery of his second-degree murder charges, and threw a further layer of shame upon media and political opportunists who misrepresented a tragic, but fairly straightforward, case of lethal force employed in self-defense.

It is remarkable to take stock of this evidence and realize that it supports every single aspect of Zimmerman’s statement to the police.  His injuries are consistent with his account of physical assault by Trayvon Martin.  Martin’s gunshot wound occurred at the very short range described by Zimmerman, demolishing fantasies about a racist mall-cop wannabe stalking and murdering an innocent black kid for no reason...

Continue reading.