Mitt Romney Commemorates Memorial Day in San Diego (VIDEO)

The Washington Post reports: "Romney’s Memorial Day promise: to maintain a US military ‘with no comparable power anywhere’."

Eagles 'Hotel California' at No. 5 — Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time

They've wrapped up the Memorial Weekend marathon at The Sound L.A.

Check the link for the top finishers. The Eagles' "Hotel California" came in a No. 5 — a fine entry and a fine performance at the clip:

PREVIOUSLY: "Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time."

Dog Tags

I'm hanging out blogging and my youngest boy comes over and slips a little necklace over my shirt with dog tags on it. I thought that was pretty cool so we took a  photo.

As the Nation Remembers This Memorial Day, Don't Forget That Barack Obama Was Most Antiwar Candidate for President Since George McGovern

I'm watching President Obama's commemoration at the Vietnam War Memorial on CNN. And there's more coverage at The Hill (via Memeorandum).

While I appreciate the president's word of gratitude for our nation's fallen, I can't help feeling that his words are cheap. In 2007, as a candidate for the Democrat nomination, Obama laid claim to being the most far-left, antiwar candidate in the race. After he was elected, he set out to reorient American national security toward a dramatic and precipitous downsizing of our military presence overseas. I do not discount that Obama has made some monumental decisions as Commander-in-Chief --- decisions that undoubtedly made the country safer --- but those decisions should be always viewed through the prism of naked partisan politics, and not the more noble politics of our nation's higher calling to goodness in the world. Here's what I wrote in 2010, when the administration announced the final drawdown from Iraq, "President Barack Obama Claims Credit on Iraq War":

For all of the socialism and Islamist-appeasement of this administration, the one thing that has bothered me the most about this president (and candidate in 2007-08) is his screechingly perverse antiwar ideology and opportunism. Barack Obama was the most antiwar Senator in Congress throughout 2007 and in 2008 he tried to play both sides of the fence: After opposing the surge he then turned around and hailed its success, while insisting once more that the war was wrong.

There's more at the link.

This Cold Fury headline also captures the feeling back in 2010: "Obama singlehandedly wins Iraq war, comes home victorious, pats wonderful self on back."

So again, while I appreciate the dignity that Obama now brings to Memorial Day, I simply can't look at this president and consider him sincere. Indeed, when I hear MSNBC commentators like Chris Hayes diss the troops as false heroes "rhetorically proximate" to neo-imperialist warmongering, I'm reminded of the president. The Veterans of Foreign Wars is now demanding an apology from Hayes, "VFW Seeks Apology After MSNBC Host's 'Reprehensible and Disgusting' Comments" (via Memeorandum). And while some might be calling this a mini-tempest, I'd simply point out that Hayes' wife, Kate Shaw, is Associate Counsel to the President in the Barack Obama White House. Perhaps Ms. Shaw should step down so as to eliminate the close connections to Chris Hayes at MSNBC. No worries thought, right? I'm sure in no time we'll be hearing Press Spokesman Jay Carney promising that such associations have no impact on the president's national security policy making, wink, wink.

PHOTO CREDIT: "President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet the U.S. Navy’s first contingent of women...", via the White House Flickr page.

Remarkable Men and Women Are Still Stepping Forward to Defend Freedom

From Tom Manion, at the Wall Street Journal, "Why They Serve—'If Not Me, Then Who?'":

I served in the military for 30 years. But it was impossible to fully understand the sacrifices of our troops and their families until April 29, 2007, the day my son, First Lt. Travis Manion, was killed in Iraq.

Travis was just 26 years old when an enemy sniper's bullet pierced his heart after he had just helped save two wounded comrades. Even though our family knew the risks of Travis fighting on the violent streets of Fallujah, being notified of his death on a warm Sunday afternoon in Doylestown, Pa., was the worst moment of our lives.

While my son's life was relatively short, I spend every day marveling at his courage and wisdom. Before his second and final combat deployment, Travis said he wanted to go back to Iraq in order to spare a less-experienced Marine from going in his place. His words—"If not me, then who . . . "—continue to inspire me.

My son is one of thousands to die in combat since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Because of their sacrifices, as well as the heroism of previous generations, Memorial Day 2012 should have tremendous importance to our entire nation, with an impact stretching far beyond one day on the calendar.

In Afghanistan, tens of thousands of American troops continue to sweat, fight and bleed. In April alone, 35 U.S. troops were killed there, including Army Capt. Nick Rozanski, 36, who made the difficult decision to leave his wife and children to serve our country overseas.

"My brother didn't necessarily have to go to Afghanistan," Spc. Alex Rozanski, Nick's younger brother and fellow Ohio National Guard soldier, said. "He chose to because he felt an obligation."

Sgt. Devin Snyder "loved being a girly-girl, wearing her heels and carrying her purses," according to her mother, Dineen Snyder. But Sgt. Snyder, 20, also took it upon herself to put on an Army uniform and serve in the mountains of northeastern Afghanistan as a military police officer. She was killed by an enemy roadside bomb, alongside three fellow soldiers and a civilian contractor, on June 4, 2011.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Daniel Douville was an explosive ordnance disposal technician, doing an incredibly dangerous job depicted in "The Hurt Locker." He was a loving husband and father of three children. "He was my best friend," his wife, LaShana Douville, said. "He was a good person."

Douville, 33, was killed in a June 26, 2011, explosion in Afghanistan's Helmand province, where some of the fiercest fighting of the decade-long conflict continues to this day...

Continue reading.

Mitt Romney Video Thanks Veterans on Memorial Day

Via Blogs4Mitt:

Also at the Los Angeles Times, "Romney campaign thanks veterans on Memorial Day."

Memorial Day 2012

I'm always thankful for the untold sacrifices, each and every day.

See the editorials at Buffalo News and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Photo Credit: Arlington National Cemetery, via Wikimedia.

Brett Kimberlin and 'SWATting': Where Is the Establishment Press?

From Tom Blumer, at NewsBusters:

As the clock in the Eastern time zone officially tells me that it's Memorial Day, it occurs to me that the men and women we honor today did not fight and die so they would see their country become one where a person could be hounded from their home, see themselves and/or loved ones lose their jobs, worry about the safety of their kids, or be visited by police with guns drawn as a result of a false anonymous tip -- all of which has "just so happened" to occur in close proximity to having blogged about the activities of a certain person or his associates.

It also occurs to me that part of the way of life these men and women died to preserve had to do with defending the rights of the press (which at the time of our Founders was understood to be anyone "down" to the level of a pamphleteer) to conscientiously do their jobs, and that part of the reason why what is happening as described in the first paragraph goes on may be because those involved know that they often won't be called out by the local, regional, or national press -- virtually no matter how egregious their offenses.

If they somehow do get caught, tried, and jailed, they frequently become objects of orchestrated sympathy -- and too many in the media aren't averse to playing along. What's more, it seems that some of the worst perpetrators of these crimes against basic human decency, and in some cases actual crimes, are doing so with the assistance of money obtained from people who like to think of themselves as politically correct but should nevertheless know better.

Which leads us to the subject of Brett Kimberlin...

Continue reading.

Last night Stranahan, Patterico, Liberty Chick and others recorded a radio show (here), and there's some speculation that the swatting suspect called in. Skip forward to 65:00 minutes at the recording. It was chilling. The voice resembled the caller at the YouTube clip above, the Patterico swatting.

Check for updates at all the usual blogs and on Twitter.

And starting Tuesday folks need to make their voices known. Contact your Member of Congress and some of the mainstream media outlets, especially CNN (on Twitter here).

Michelle has more: "A post-Brett Kimberlin blogburst to-do list." And I'll be updating.

Democrats Giving Up on Wisconsin Recall?

Asks Ed Morrissey, at Hot Air.

The buzz is that DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz claims the recall won't matter for November --- which is almost as big a whopper as the president's lies about his administration's unprecedented spending.

Plus, here's Emily Elkins on the Reason-Rupe pollings for Tuesday: "Reason-Rupe Poll on Wisconsin Recall: Walker Leads Barrett 50-42, Obama Leads Romney 46-36."

Maxim's Hot 100 Party

A couple of videos from the Maxim party:

Heidi Klum Pole-Dancing Music Video

Actually, she looks a little worn and weary, if you ask me.

But see Telegraph UK, "Watch: Heidi Klum turns into pole-dancing popstar."

The Left's Brett Kimberlin Truthers

Okay, the breaking story late today is that Erick Erickson's home was SWATted.

See Patterico, "BREAKING: Bogus Call Sends Police to Home of Kimberlin Critic Erick Erickson."

And lots more from Memeorandum:

* Aaron Worthing, "BREAKING: Another Critic of Convicted Terrorist Brett Kimberlin Has Been Swatted!"

* Bob Owens, "Soros-funded left-wing terrorists target second conservative blogger with potentially deadly SWATting attack"

* Jawa Report, "SWATing a CNN Contributor, Who's Next Beotches??"

* Robert Stacy McCain, "ERICK ERICKSON GETS SWATTED."

Folks are tweeting CNN and other major media outlets in an effort to get some major media coverage on this: "After Brett Kimberlin blogburst, RedState blogger/CNN contributor Erick Erickson and family victims of SWATting; will CNN cover the story?"

Meanwhile, the progressive left is circling the wagons. Markos Moulitsas tried to blow off Everybody Blog Brett Kimberlin Day, and he got called out on it: "Markos Moulitsas gets schooled on ‘nobody’ political terrorist Brett Kimberlin."

And as is generally the case, few progressives have blogged this story, and those who have blogged it are denying Kimberlin's campaign of criminal harassment --- they're in fact blaming the victims. Barbara at Mahablog dismissed the threats from Kimberlin and dissed the conservative response as a "lynch mob." But you get real hardcore Kimberlin trutherism at No More More Mister Nice Blog, "I WANT THE KIMBERLIN TRUTH TO PUT ON ITS BOOTS":

You know the saying ascribed to Mark Twain: "A lie goes halfway around the world before the truth puts on its boots." That's pretty much what happens when the right pushes and distorts a story, while the mainstream press says nothing. That's what happened, for instance, with the "Ground Zero mosque." The right-wing media and blogosphere pushed the story for months before the rest of the media took notice of the right's distortions....

That's what must be prevented in the case of Brett Kimberlin. In addition to convicting him in the media, the right is already trying to tie him to the Obama administration, and, by inference, to every liberal and Democrat in America. That's only going to continue.

Let wingnuts be the mainstream press's assignment editors? I say yes, but just in order to tell the truth. At worst, we learn that Kimberlin really was a nasty guy; the fact appears to be that liberals and Democrats who may have allied with him simply didn't know that. (Yeah, he's an ex-con, but so is Don King, who once killed a guy, which didn't stop the GOP from expressing delight as his endorsement of George W. Bush in 2004.) Or we may find out that behavior is being ascribed to Kimberlin and his friends that's someone else's doing, or that's being exaggerated and distorted, just to score political points. Either way, the right is prevented from owning the story for the next several months and presenting it in a way that exclusively helps the right. If these hissyfits are ignored, they don't go away.

Right.

All one has to do is read Aaron Worthing 28,000 word report and you'd be a long way toward "the truth." But progressives don't want the truth. They want to destroy conservatives. So by denying Kimberin's evil and by attempting to turn it all around so it's really the right who's harassing Kimberlin, the left ends up enabling and empowering the left's criminal intimidation network. But read more of the comments from No More Mister Nice Blog. These people have got it bad. Here's this one, for example, from Jymn:

I just wish there was some equivalence between media coverage of the left and the right. Judging by Memeorandum in the aftermath of Breitbart's death, the right has gone around the bend. With Erick Erickson and Dana Loesch on CNN with no lefty blogger counterpoint, the right is monopolizing the media. Sure, let the right shoot itself in the foot. But it doesn't work that way. Righties advance the more they screw up. Not so for the left. With this latest kerfuffle, probably the wildest and most obscure I've ever encountered in the blogospher, how will we ever know the truth? The media is no longer diligent enough to wade through the bull. I have a feeling McCain is only telling a purple prose version of the events. He may not be the victim here but if the right keeps trumpeting his victim status, the lazy media is sure to do the same, despite the underlying facts.

And here's this from my old hate-blogging stalker Walter James Casper III:

Exactly right, Steve... I want the truth of the thing to come out, whatever it is... The ones involved/telling the story are politically biased, and--because they're involved--not objective or trustworthy on that front, either.

It just bothers me that a deputy district attorney for LA county (Patterico), a lawyer (Worthing), and a former news reporter (McCain) can't get much help or traction from law enforcement, the court system, or the media. (Both Frey and Worthing have specifically said the law isn't following their leads or taking their plights seriously.) Meanwhile, the rightwing blogs are hanging on their every utterances as though they're Gospel. If professional law enforcement is skeptical of their stories, I fail to see why I should believe them, either.

When I start to see movement from unbiased legal and media sources, I'll take their stories more seriously.

And that is from a guy who is the publisher of a criminal harassment blog. He only stopped his harassment after I went to the police: "Intent to Annoy and the Fascist Hate-Blogging Campaign of Walter James Casper III."

I'll have more on the Kimberlin trutherism later, and of course more on all of the attacks. This is personal: "Carl Salonen Libelous Workplace Allegations of Child Pornography and Sexual Harassment at Long Beach City College."

Added: Again, putting aside the truthers for a moment, where there have been a few folks on the left who've blogged this story, it's frankly been either among those who've also been targeted by the Kimberlin network or simply a few sympathetic progressives. Amazingly, TBogg, the guy who've I've called out as a racist anti-Christian bigot, actually writes something decent, but only so much:

Whoever “swatted” Patterico is an asshole and deserves to be in prison. I’ve had my own issues with Patterico, as well as Aaron Worthing, over the years, but nobody deserves the shitstorm they’ve been through. Having said that, if rightwing bloggers put as much time and coordinated effort into ‘vetting’ Barack Obama that they have in rehashing the same odd Kimberlin stories, we’d probably know if Obama was truly the murderous socialist Kenyan muslim Breitbart-killing Tonton Macoute terrorist that they keep telling us he is. Also, too: Robert Stacy McCain’s story reeks of grift. McCain has spent the last few months moaning about how he’s not making any money and how he’s going to quit blogging and nobody likes him – everybody hates him, he’s gonna eat some worms and now: mysteriously vague threats … GIMME MONEY! I call bullshit.

Well, no, TBogg, you pea-brained progressive creep. Had he not gone into hiding, Stacy would have been SWATted faster than you can say Carl DeLong. If you're going to have a good word to say, say it and be done.

So, as folks can see, I'm skeptical that this is just a "free speech issue" and not a Soros-backed criminal harassment network issue. Patterico argues that this isn't partisan, and that people should be judged by their actions not their ideology. And I know that Patterico's serious (I'm listening to him on Blog Talk Radio as this update goes live). But whatever left-wing sympathy we see on this will be thin as thawing ice on a lake and as shortlived as a TNT fuse. I don't trust these people. Mike at Cold Fury nailed it best, and I won't change my mind on this leftist or that leftist until I see some sustained advocacy on behalf of those who've been targeted. See: "This Means War."

Sunday Cartoons

I should have posted this earlier today. For some reason, the long weekend, I guess, it hasn't felt like Sunday. My days are messed up a little, especially now that I'm off for the summer. I have three months to hang out with the family.

Anyway, check Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

Also at Reaganite Resistance, "Reaganite's Sunday Funnies," and Theo Spark, "Cartoon Round Up..."

BONUS: At Jill Stanek's, "Stanek Sunday funnies 5-27-12."

MSNBC's Chris Hayes 'Uncomfortable' Honoring Fallen U.S. Troops, Spews About 'Rhetorically Proximate' Justifications for More War

This is how progressives "remember" the fallen, by dissing them as warmongering tools of imperialism.

See Daley Gator, "Chris Hayes epitomizes the definition of educated beyond one’s hat size" (via Memeorandum and NewsBusters):

I like to say that people who are, while educated, lacking in real wisdom, are educated beyond their hat size. What I mean is that they do not possess the ability to apply their education to the real world. They are, at times, lacking common sense, and do not, apparently have the capacity to accept simple truths. These people are too enamored with nuance. I have worked with such people. Yes they are intelligent, well educated, but they can never seem to grasp that the solution to a problem, or the answer to a question might be the simplest one available. Maybe to them, simple always equals stupid. Their addiction to over thinking and over analyzing everything prevents them from accepting that some things just are what they are.

Read it all at the link.

I started blogging to fight the antiwar left. Mr. Hayes brings back old memories.

Obama's Fiscal Blowout That Never Happened, According to Obama

Obama's the biggest presidential liar, ever.

See the Wall Street Journal, "The History Boys":

Riffing on the re-election trail, President Obama often tells crowds that "We've got to move forward to the future we imagined in 2008." An imaginary future from the past—got it. Then there's the imaginary history of the past that Mr. Obama has been recounting lately, when his first-term spending and debt boom never happened.

Mitt Romney "warned about a 'prairie fire of debt.' That's what he said," Mr. Obama said on the Des Moines fairgrounds on Thursday, as if he couldn't believe it either. "He left out some facts. His speech was more like a cow pie of distortion," Mr. Obama continued, with the finely shaded eloquence for which he is known. "What my opponent didn't tell you was that federal spending since I took office has risen at the slowest pace of any President in almost 60 years."

Making this a new White House theme, press secretary Jay Carney chimed in to "make the point, as an editor might say" to White House reporters that they should not "buy into the B.S. that you hear about spending and fiscal constraint with regard to this Administration. I think doing so is a sign of sloth and laziness."

Mr. Carney the media critic deeply sourced his view to someone named Rex Nutting, who wrote an 856-word column for MarketWatch that argued "There has been no huge increase in spending under the current President, despite what you hear."

Mr. Nutting claims that spending is rising at 1.4% annually, versus 8.1% for George W. Bush's second term. How did he manage to suss out the insights that have eluded every other human being who has spent time with the historical budget tables? His accounting methods are, er, unusual.

Continue reading.

And see also, IBD, "Obama Is a Spendthrift — And Here's the Proof."

Police Shoot and Kill Savage Naked Cannibal on the MacArthur Causeway in Miami Beach

This is definitely one of the most bizarre news stories in years.

Perhaps the dude actually wasn't so much a cannibal, according to reports: "Police theorize the attacker might have been suffering from 'cocaine psychosis,' a drug-induced craze that bakes the body internally and often leads the affected to strip naked to try and cool off."

See the Miami Herald, "Naked man killed by Police near MacArthur Causeway was ‘eating’ face off victim."

Also, "Police seek witnesses to savage attack on the MacArthur Causeway; exclusive video shows snippets of the crime scene."

Happy Memorial Day From U.S. Navy's Pacific Partnership 2012

See the Pacific Partnership on Twitter.

Musta Been Those Throwback Uniforms: Pujols, Callaspo Lead Angels in Powerhouse Win Over Mariners 5-3

I was tweeting this out a bit yesterday.

The Angels wore old minor league franchise uniforms for their game in Seattle, and boy, they oughta hang onto those for a while. What a game.

A nice picture at the link, at The Orange County Register, "Surging Angels use grand slam to win fifth in a row."

And at The Los Angeles Times, "Alberto Callaspo hits grand slam in Angels' 5-3 win over Seattle":

SEATTLE — He's the other Alberto, the one who makes a fraction of what slugger Albert Pujols does and whose presence in the batter's box does not cause the heart rate of opposing pitchers to rise.

While Pujols has been on fire for a week and a half, Alberto Callaspo has also stoked the offense, capping a productive week with a pinch-hit grand slam off Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in the sixth inning Saturday to lift the Angels to a 5-3 come-from-behind win over the Mariners in Safeco Field.

Pujols also hit a solo homer to left-center in the fourth, giving him six homers in 11 games and 21 runs batted in in 20 games, as the Angels extended their winning streak to five and moved into second place in the American League West, 61/2 games behind Texas.

"Our starting pitching has been a constant — they're giving us a chance to win every night," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "Now, we're combining that with a bullpen that is forming and some guys swinging the bats closer to their capabilities. The equation is adding up to wins, and we've been on a roll."

Jerome Williams (5-2) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, striking out five and walking two, the Angels' 27th quality start in 34 games.

Jordan Walden (2/3 inning), Scott Downs (one inning) and Ernesto Frieri (11/3 innings) blanked the Mariners over the final three innings, another fine relief effort by a bullpen that has allowed three earned runs in 371/3 innings over the last 12 games.

Frieri, acquired from San Diego on May 3, has been dominant, allowing no hits and striking out 22 in 10 innings. Downs has not allowed a run in 15 innings this season, and Walden has limited opponents to a .100 (three for 30) average since losing his closer job in late April.

The hits aren't coming in bunches, but they're coming at the right time.

RTWT.

Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time

It's a holiday weekend rock marathon at The Sound LA., the top 100 rock albums, voted by listeners:

Listen all Memorial Day Weekend as we count them down by playing entire sides from each album, off the original vinyl. You'll hear some pops and clicks, but no interruptions.

At #73 is Van Morrison's "Moondance." I listened while running errands yesterday afternoon:

And It Stoned Me
Moondance
Crazy Love
Caravan
Into the Mystic

Merchants of Despair

Bob Zubrin interviewed by Matt Welch, via Blazing Cat Fur:

And the book is here: Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism.

Depression-Era Neon Lamp Burns Continuously for 77 Years at L.A.'s Clifton's Cafeteria: Owner Estimates More than $17,000 in Electric Bills

Another one of those amazing stories, at the Los Angeles Times, "At Clifton's Cafeteria, someone left a light on. For 77 years":

They're not kidding when they say they'll leave the light on for you.

A long-forgotten neon lamp that was switched on during the Great Depression and left burning for about 77 years has been discovered hidden behind a dusty partition at Clifton's Cafeteria. The find was made amid an extensive renovation of the downtown eatery, according to the building's owner, Andrew Meieran.

The neon fixture is believed to have been installed in 1935 when Clifford Clinton purchased the lease to Boos Bros. Cafeteria on Broadway and 7th Street and converted the place into a forest-themed restaurant.

The discovery has delighted fans of neon lighting, who point out that America's first neon sign was erected blocks away at Olympic Boulevard and Hope Street. That's where automobile dealer Earle C. Anthony installed a glowing "Packard" emblem outside his showroom in 1923.

"Neon lamps can last 20 to 40 years before the glass deteriorates or transformers go out," said Kim Koga, executive director of the Museum of Neon Art. "That this one has survived, lit, for as long as it has is incredible."

The newly revealed lamp isn't exactly a work of art, however.

The walls of the restaurant featured numerous hand-tinted transparencies of mountain and forest landscapes, each of which was backlit by a rectangular neon light.

One such light was installed in a window-like nook in a basement restroom, where it softly illuminated a woodland scene.

In 1949, the nook was covered over with plastic and plywood when part of the restroom was partitioned off as a storage area.

But for some reason, workmen never got around to disconnecting the electricity. For the next 62 years the illuminated tubing was hidden within the wall. Meieran estimates that the neon tube has racked up more than $17,000 in electrical bills.

I written about Clifton's before. The company used to have a restaurant at the Lakewood Center mail, but it closed about 10 years ago. Their food reminded me of my dad's cooking, which is to say soul-food. I've been to the downtown location once since then. All the rest of the outlets are now closed.

Anyway, that's something else about that neon light. I guess they don't make 'em like they used to.

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."