Bloggers Against #BrettKimberlin Fracture Over Ali Akbar and the National Bloggers Club

It's been about a week since I last blogged about the Kimberlin affair. I've been following along closely, at The Other McCain, in particular, but haven't posted on developments, mostly because I've been busy. For example, on Father's Day I was offline and missed the pretty harsh backlash against Paul Lemmen of An Ex Con's View. See Ann Barnhardt's hit piece over at iOWNTHEWORLD: "Stop Drinking the LemmenAde – Ann Barnhardt." Folks should spend a few minutes with the post, and be sure to read the comments there and also at this one. Reading through there you will see how nasty things have gotten among conservative bloggers who would normally be allies in the fight against the left's criminal harassment network.

One reason I backed off Kimberlin blogging is my own issues with people like Scott Jacobs, which I posted about here: "Hip Hip Hooray for John Hawkins! — '7 Ways Conservative Activists Are Being Harassed By the Left'." But that was nothing, really. Now battle lines are being drawn between people who I consider good friends in the blogosphere. So I'm mostly just going so say just a few things here and link around to others who've taken sides.

Paul Lemmen quit his Kimberlin blogging in response to Barnhardt's attacks. See: "The Darkness" and "After Due Consideration." But he's also been contacted directly by Ali Akbar and Stranahan, both of whom pressured him to STFU. I have spoken to Paul on the phone. He decided to step aside, for now at least, in the interest of the greater good. I can't defend Paul against the attacks. He's got a very sketchy background and I'm still learning about him. But I can say that not once have I felt I couldn't trust him during these controversies and I think, frankly, he's got one of the more vital voices standing up against the progressive thugs. I hope he comes back to blogging the fight. He's being thrown under the bus after being a stand up guy in this so far.

Now, I've also spoken to Mare Zilla. She's pretty upset since she was attacked in the comments at iOWNTHEWORLD. Zilla can't blog a whole lot because she's dealing with some painful and debilitating illnesses. But few people have gone to bat for so many in the "dextrosphere," as she likes to call it. So it pains me to see this post of hers, which is a response to the conservative infighting, "It’s Just How I Am." Read the whole thing for the background (Zilla is a friend to everyone), but check the conclusion:

It has been many years since I have tended bar (or even drank alcohol, for that matter), but my little personality quirk has stayed with me and it has both served me well and caused me harm, but it is part of who I am and it’s just how I roll. Some people have a problem with that; they take issue with the fact that I am not quick to turn my back on outcasts or jump on a bandwagon to throw a social pariah beneath its wheels, but I think that perhaps that is more THEIR problem than it is mine.

Zilla's been good to me personally. She organized a blogburst to smack down the despicable hate-blogger Walter James Casper III. I won't ever forget that kind of support, so I'm doubly irked by how she's been treated by some folks on the right.

Most of this is directly a result of the revelations of Ali's criminal background. It turns out that Ali's not only been (seemingly) hiding a shady past, but it's not clear he's fully owned up to it when called out. I'm not one to judge, but I can see why a good number of people have some serious issues with Ali's management of the National Bloggers Club. Honestly, there's some history that makes people uncomfortable, especially since a lot of folks are putting their hard-earned money where their mouths are. So when the news came out that Paul had been pressured --- even harassed --- to step aside, that was the last straw for a few. See Film Ladd's post, for example, "Good Luck National Blogger's Club"

Look, I'm not a collectivist. I don't care about celebrities. I don't care if someone is "important" or not. Screw Ali's political connections. You love him? Want to blacklist me? Be my guest. Won't be the first time that's happened. Been happening for two years now anyway. It's the sort of thing I think Ali likes to do to people who get crosswise with him - trash them, prevent them from getting work, and so on. I could regale you with first-hand stories I've heard, but this post is already too goddamn long.

Go read it all at that link.

And don't miss Dan Collins as well, who's not pleased: "MORE INSIDE BASEBALL KIMBERLIN FALLOUT: PAUL LEMMEN, ALI AKBAR, LADD EHLINGER."

And this just in, from The Impolite Canadian, "WE WILL NOT BE BULLIED INTO SILENCE!!!":

Ann Barnhardt, one such elitist bastard, says she wrote the rag on Paul Lemmen at the request of friends. BULLSHIT. She wrote it to draw attention away from Ali Akbar, the president of the NBC where she is a full fledged member, for fear the recent revelations on him would bring her drama-queen ass down with him. She pushes the envelope as far as to TELL Paul to withdraw from the fight on the Kimberlin goon squad, and the SWAT-ing incidents. Followed by her kiss-ass minions, she goes on to say that Paul is still conning people.

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, Ann Barnhardt?? Who died and made you queen of the right-wing dextrosphere?? What gives you the right of life and death over smaller bloggers who engaged in this fight to expose the left wing terrorists?? You are the most self-centered, elitist piece of shit I have EVER encountered. Fuck you, Ann Barnhardt! You won't silence us! Nor will you silence the STRONG voices of MUCH BETTER bloggers than you are who sided with Paul.

Keep reading.

And after you finish that, go read Da Tech Guy's post, "And now by request…I jump into the middle of it."

Folks will have to read Da Tech Guy in full at the link. Bottom line is that the internecine battles are distracting from the larger war. And that's where I'll conclude. First, no one has a monopoly on this story. Of course those who have been personally sued, targeted or SWAT-ted should be rightly at the forefront, as best as they're able. But the battle needs reinforcements, especially when bloggers like Aaron Worthing have been silenced, albeit temporarily. It doesn't do any good for those more central to the controversy to attempt to marginalize those who're providing backup. We all have a lot to add to the fight, we compound the firepower. Michelle Malkin has repeatedly reminded us that conservatives have a common enemy in the left and that we can win if we keep the pressure on. Victory will take place piecemeal at times, but victory will certainly come. But if some so-called conservatives insist on taking exclusive monopoly ownership of the fight, attacking others for supposed heresies and other crimes, virtually the entire campaign will fold after a time, as conservatives decamp to their respective redoubts, holding grudges against folks nominally on their side. And that's not good, because the multiple blogbursts have been very effective so far. As it is, some of the biggest participants in past solidarity actions are now on opposing sides. It bugs the hell out me, frankly, and I'm already alienated a bit from entering the mosh.

Finally, I'll just repeat what I've said before: This is indeed a partisan battle of conservatives fighting a progressive program to shut down right-wing speech by any means necessary. A few well-meaning allies on the left have contributed quite a bit, but in the end it's going to break down along partisan and ideological lines. How it all shakes out, in the near-term, I don't know. I do know that the outcome of the Brett Kimberlin battle will have implications all the way to the top of national politics. Members of Congress have engaged and put pressure on the Justice Department. But that's only a start. Robert Stacy McCain and others keep digging away with their investigations and we may see some of the left's subversion reaching right up into the top ranks of the Democrat-Media-Complex. Time will tell. But either way, the push back against progressives criminals won't develop as well when various battalions are taken out with friendly fire. There's one common enemy ultimately, and for a variety of factors (diverse short-term interests on the right, outsized ego, etc.) the focus among conservatives has been lost.

I will continue to engage no matter what happens. But it'll be a whole lot easier without all the lame fissiparous backstabbing on the right side.


ADDED: I'm being told on Twitter that Paul Lemmen was NOT told to STFU by either Ali or Stranahan or both. But that's not what Paul told me personally. So, my essay stands until I have evidence otherwise that Paul wasn't told to stand down.

MORE: Here's Paul Lemmen in the comments, which I want to preserve at the post just in case he comes under more pressure:

Thank you Don. I have no words beyond there that will be believable by those who found it necessary to repeat their blacklist of me from March. I get it, okay? "STFU and go away" is the order of the day. They want and need the intel I have gotten but can't be seen putting me in any positive light.

That's okay with me, the fight is not about me but about Brett Kimberlin and his associates. That is what should be remembered instead of the rhetoric about me.

Someone, somewhere in all of this is not telling me the truth. So this all stays up for the record.

Mitt Romney Debunks ABC News Report: 'Marco Rubio is Being Thoroughly Vetted'

I like how Mitt Romney is completely at ease and confident at the clip. He looks like he's having a great campaign.

And check Memeorandum for all the commentary, especially regarding that ABC News report.

'Fast and Furious' Stalemate Continues: Eric Holder Contempt Charges Still Looming

Katie Pavich reports, "BREAKING: After Issa and Holder Meet, Still No Documents, Contempt Charges Still Looming":

The meeting between Attorney General Eric Holder and Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa has ended after 20 minutes of discussion. Holder came with an offer of a briefing on Fast and Furious documents, but did not physically turn over any documents. This is unsatisfactory to Issa who has said repeatedly that in order for Holder to avoid a contempt vote Wednesday at 10 AM, he must hand over 1300 Fast and Furious documents to the Committee.

"The documents they may choose to give in the future, we need before tomorrow," Issa said to reporters. "“Ultimately the documents needed for postponement seem to be in their possession.”

Holder's failure to produce documents at the 5 PM meeting come after he failed to present them by this morning as requested, after he failed to respond to an October 2011 subpoena as requested and after more than a year of requests for transparency surrounding his role in Operation Fast and Furious.

Issa said there is a chance Holder would submit the requested documents tonight but that a contempt vote is still scheduled for Wednesday and has released an official statement.

Continue reading (via Memeorandum).

Hosni Murbarak Declared 'Clinically Dead,' Egypt State News Agency Says — UPDATE: Egyptian Officials Deny Reports Mubarak is Dead

At Israel Matzav, "Mubarak declared clinically dead."

But see CNN, "Mixed reports about whether Mubarak has died."

And the election crisis continues. See Telegraph UK, "Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood backs away from conflict with army":

The Muslim Brotherhood signalled a step back from confrontation with the army as it called for dialogue to solve Egypt's worsening constitutional crisis.

Expect updates.

*****

UPDATE: From the Los Angeles Times, "Egyptian officials deny reports that Mubarak is clinically dead":

CAIRO -- Egyptian officials denied reports Tuesday night that deposed President Hosni Mubarak was clinically dead after he suffered a stroke and slipped out of consciousness at a prison hospital in Cairo, according to state and independent news media.

Conflicting reports about the former leader’s health emerged after a report by the official state news agency MENA that Mubarak was declared “clinically dead” after he was transferred from a prison hospital to a nearby military hospital. The report could not be independently verified.

Ahram Online said the 84-year-old Mubarak, who was sentenced to life in prison this month for complicity in the deaths of hundreds of protesters in last year’s uprising, was on life support. Al Jazeera quoted Mubarak’s lawyer Farid Deeb as denying his client was dead.

CNN quoted Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, as saying: "He is not clinically dead as reported, but his health is deteriorating and he is in critical condition."

Also at Jerusalem Post, "Egyptian ex-president Mubarak on life support."

Harry Reid on DREAM Act: "That's a Clown Question, Bro'"

Actually, the Senate Majority Leader's a clown.

See Fox News, "Reid swipes line, says question on immigration is 'clown question, bro'."

And at USA Today, "Harry Reid loves Bryce Harper, invokes 'Clown Question, Bro'."

Roll Call's Steve Dennis questioned Reid, and here's his report: "Mitch McConnell Waiting on Mitt Romney on DREAM Act."

MSNBC Hack Andrea Mitchell Won't Apologize For — Much Less Retract — Doctored Footage Smearing Mitt Romney on Wawa Hoagies

The Right Scoop reports, "NO APOLOGY: MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell refuses to acknowledge they misled their viewers over Romney’s Wawa comments" (via Memeorandum):

This is pathetic. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell refused to even apologize for misleading their viewers yesterday by distorting and mischaracterizing Romney’s comments yesterday. Instead Mitchell simply said there was more and “we didn’t get a chance to play it”, and then played a few more seconds adding context to Romney’s comments. And then they quickly moved on:

Ed Morrissey has more: "Video: MSNBC as apologetic as you’d imagine for deceptive editing on Romney WaWa visit" (via Memeorandum).

And the background from last night is here: "Mitt Romney's Story About Wawa Hoagies."

Added: At Twitchy, "#MSNBCIn4Words: Citizens hold lapdog media accountable for false reporting."

The Euro's Global Security Fallout

A great piece, from Walter Russell Mead, at the Wall Street Journal (via Google):

The crisis of the euro zone is a geopolitical as well as an economic event. While Europe may yet find a path out of its economic quagmire, it will turn inward for some time as it reorganizes some of its core institutions. The world will not stand still while this happens.

To begin with, Europe's disorder is a grand opportunity for Russia. It is not all good news in the Kremlin—Russia will hurt economically, as the European Union is its most important trading partner and customer for oil and gas. But geopolitically, Russia will have a lot of new opportunities. Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus will feel less pull from the West and more from the East.

It is also likely that Russian commercial and to some degree political penetration of countries like Romania and Bulgaria (to say nothing of Cyprus and Greece) is going to become easier. Those countries will be hurting from the general slowdown in Europe. EU aid budgets could be cut or redirected if the crisis deepens, and issues like judicial transparency and reform will loom less large in a Brussels consumed by the struggle for the euro. Europe's East will be less deferential to its West as this crisis drags on.

Elsewhere, the euro crisis has reinforced Turkey's decision to drop its long courtship of Europe and become an independent actor. Europe looks less and less to the Turks like a model to imitate and more and more like a fate to avoid. Turkey in any case would like to replace the EU as a major political and economic force in the Arab world, and it is likely to use this period of European introspection and preoccupation to advance its agenda.

Between Russia's new geopolitical opportunities and Turkey's detachment from Europe, the situation in the Balkans is going to become much more confused and perhaps even dangerous. If Greece ends up leaving the euro or is deeply embittered with Brussels and the EU over the long term, and if Cyprus is similarly affected (likely, given its close economic ties to Greece), we could see Greece and Cyprus tilt toward Russia.

Plus, Mead has summary comments here: "WRM on the Geopolitics of the Euro."

Kate Upton's 'Raunchy' at GQ Magazine

Actually, I don't think it's "raunchy" at all.

Kate Upton's got it going on and she's making the most of it --- more power to her.

At London's Daily Mail, "No need for a bikini! Kate Upton covers her chest with her hands as she poses for raunchy poolside shoot."

And don't forget, "Fantasizing About Young Sexy Women is Called 'Normal'."

ADDED: Here's the link to GQ: "Photos: Kate Upton's GQ Cover Shoot."

Vaginas Will Vote You Out of Office!

From Dave in Texas, at AoSHQ, "Overreacting to The V Word."

Despite my discomfort in general with this girl part thing (they are confusing like calculus except calculus has rules and shit) her specific statement, "'And finally, Mr. Speaker,’ she said. ‘I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but no means no.’" is just silly. A cutesy little shocka line. The controversial part of the bill that was passed was a halfway mark "no abortions after 20 weeks" thing.

It seems silly to me for Republicans to muzzle her in response to her use of the word "vagina" however cutesy stupid her motivation.

Oh shit. I said it.

Yeah, it's silly, but radical progressives are using it like a cudgel to hammer the evil troglodyte Republicans.

And at the clip below, MSNBC's Ed Schultz interviews Michigan Representative Barb Byrum. It's boilerplate radical feminism, but don't miss the protest sign at 1:38 minutes: "VAGINAS BROUGHT YOU INTO THE WORLD AND VAGINAS WILL VOTE YOU OUT!"

Behold the modern Democrat Party-progressive feminist anatomical identification industry. It's the modern left's women's movement in a nutshell. Oops, I probably shouldn't say "nuts" --- I'll be attacked as a patriarchal oppressor!

More at London's Daily Mail, "Michigan congresswoman's Vagina Monologues performance in protest against being banned from using THAT word turn into 2,500 strong rally."

Linked at Weasel Zippers Headlines. Thanks!

Barack Obama's Lawless Presidency

At IBD, "Obama's Lawless Presidency Close to Totalitarianism" (via Memeorandum):

The Obama Record: The chief executive who swore to faithfully execute the nation's laws picks those he'll ignore and makes up others through regulation and executive order. He sees no need for a Congress or Constitution.

Maybe it's because Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts stumbled a bit in leading President Obama through the oath of office that the president doesn't feel bound by it.

But through the awkwardness these words were heard: "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

It would not take Obama long to make clear he meant his interpretation of the Constitution, not the Supreme Court's, a principle established in Marbury v. Madison, the 1802 case that formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the U.S. under Article III of the Constitution.

In his State of the Union address a year later on Jan. 27, 2010, he shamefully scolded the justices on national television for "having reversed a century of law" in the Citizens United ruling in which the court was protecting the freedom of political speech enshrined more than two centuries ago in the First Amendment. We agree with Justice Samuel Alito's eloquent rebuff of the president, in which he was seen mouthing the words "Not true."

Then came ObamaCare...

Continue reading. It keeps going, and going...

Luka Rocco Magnotta Back in Canada to Face Justice

At the National Post, "With Luka Rocco Magnotta back in Canada, police turn attention to finding Jun Lin’s head":

With accused killer Luka Rocco Magnotta back on Canadian soil, Montreal police must now question the 29-year-old suspect to try to get to the bottom of a grim mystery: where is Jun Lin’s severed head?

Dressed in a green sweatshirt, dark jeans and handcuffs, a sullen-looking Luka Rocca Magnotta faced the cameras back in Canada Monday night for the first time since his arrest earlier this month in Berlin.

Magnotta will appear in court at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday via video link to face five charges, including first-degree murder in the dismemberment death of 33-year-old Lin.

Lin’s dismembered torso was found inside a suitcase behind Magnotta’s Montreal apartment last month. His hands and feet were mailed separately to the offices of two political parties in Ottawa, and to two schools in Vancouver.

Also at CBC News, "Luka Magnotta arrives home to face Canadian justice" (via Blazing Cat Fur).

Back by Popular Demand: Wisconsin Anarchist Thistle Pettersen

I saw the video of this lady on election night, but didn't get a chance to post on her.

It turns out that the MacIver folks uploaded the full interview on request. Check it out:

Brooke Goldstein Discusses 'Lawfare' With Michael Coren

A great clip:

And see the Epoch Times, "Legal Warfare Undermining Global Court System."

Plus, check the homepage, The Lawfare Project.

Egypt's Presidential Election Crisis

At the Wall Street Journal, "Egypt Showdown Gains Momentum: Muslim Brotherhood, Claiming Victory in Presidential Election, Calls Protests and Moves to Reclaim Powers From Military" (via Google):

CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood appeared headed for a showdown with Egypt's ruling generals hours after claiming victory in Egypt's first freely contested presidential election, even as the military sought to assure the public it would hand over power.

The Brotherhood, intent on reclaiming some of the powers that the military has claimed for itself in recent days, said it would convene Parliament on Tuesday in defiance of a court order dissolving the body, and called on Egyptians to take to the streets to challenge the military's recent moves to consolidate power.

The calls sets up a possible showdown with security forces who have been ordered to keep all lawmakers from entering the Parliament building.

The Brotherhood's presidential candidate, Mohammed Morsi, and his rival, ex-Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, both claimed victory in the weekend vote. But the Brotherhood's precinct-by-precinct reporting of results convinced many analysts it was the more reliable of the two camps, showing Mr. Morsi winning 52% of the vote.

Mr. Shafiq's campaign has claimed victory by the same margin, but hasn't provided numbers of its own to challenge the Morsi campaign's results for any individual precinct.

Instead, Mr. Shafiq's campaign appears to be hoping the Presidential Election Commission will back its allegations of voter fraud and irregularities to tip the race in Mr. Shafiq's favor.

Mr. Shafiq's candidacy was made possible by the commission, which rejected a law passed by the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Parliament—and approved by the military—that would have banned Mr. Shafiq from running because of his ties to the old regime.

he commission is headed by a judge who was appointed to the Supreme Court by former President Hosni Mubarak and came up as a judge serving in state security courts used to try political dissidents. The commission's decisions are unappealable.

The confrontation with the Brotherhood, brewing for months, has boiled over in just the past week, as the Egyptian state seemed to mobilize on multiple fronts to trim the Brotherhood's political ambitions.

See also Pamela Geller, "Obama Threatens Any Opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt with the Withdrawal of All U.S. Aid."

But compare to Max Boot, "Let the Brotherhood Rule in Egypt."

I doubt Boot reads Barry Rubin, who's commentary is 100 percent opposite. See: "Muslim Brotherhood Wins Presidency; Egyptian-Islamist/Hamas Jihad Against Israel (Apparently) Begins."

Obama Fails to Secure Support From Putin on Solution to Syria Crisis

From the Guardian UK:

US president sought pledge against Bashar al-Assad at G20 summit, leaving Syria facing the prospect of increasing violence.

Barack Obama and Russia's president Vladimir Putin completed a bilateral meeting on the margins of the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Monday with an agreement that there should be a cessation of hostilities in Syria.

But, crucially, Obama failed to secure the support of Putin for regime change in Syria. The US president had been seeking Putin's help in trying to persuade Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to relinquish power and leave the country.

A joint statement issued after their meeting said simply that the Syrian people should independently and democratically be allowed to decide their own future, but there was no joint call for Assad to stand down, as the White House has been urging.

Relations between the US and Russia have been cool for months over several issues, including continued concerns in Moscow over US missile plans for Europe as well as Syria.

The White House has publicly expressed frustration with Russia for its support for Syria, a Cold War ally, and its blocking of tougher United Nations actions against the Syrian government, such as sanctions.

There was little sign of rapprochment at Los Cabos, with Obama describing the discussion as 'candid', diplomatic-speak for disagreement. Their body language was poor too, with no smiles and little eye contact between the two in the short period in which journalists were invited in.

More at the link.

And that top clip has Wolf Blitzer interviewing David Gergen, and it's right on.

And ICYMI, that Thomas Donnelly piece from earlier is a must-read: "Obama Fails to Act In Syria."

Roger Clemens Acquitted on Drug Use Charges

Althouse reports, "Roger Clemens — not guilty."

And see Jonathan Tobin, "Arbitary Misuse of Government Power Struck Out in Clemens Case."

The news reports are at the Los Angeles Times, "Roger Clemens acquitted of all charges he lied about steroid use," and the New York Times, "Clemens Found Not Guilty of Lying About Drug Use."

Mitt Romney's Story About Wawa Hoagies

This is excellent, from Sooper Mexican, "Another Ridiculous Lie From Liberal Media – Distorting Romney’s “WAWAs” Hoagie Speech."

Here's the MSNBC segment, a disgustingly edited hit piece:

Sooper Mexican has the full clip, so head back over there, and see the reactions at Memeorandum.


BONUS: It's so bad even the left-leaning New York Magazine is calling out the cable network: "MSNBC Misrepresents Romney Speech, Invents Wawa 'Gaffe'."

Reports: University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan Fired Because She Wouldn't Cut German, Classics Programs

Actually, it's theoretical, but Inside Higher Ed makes a strong case.

See, "Reports Suggest UVa Board Wanted President to Eliminate Language Programs":

One of the key complaints of the board members who orchestrated the ouster of Teresa A. Sullivan as president of the University of Virginia was that she rebuffed their suggestions that she eliminate or sharply cut German programs, sources familiar with the discussions have told Inside Higher Ed. The Washington Post on Sunday reported that one of the most specific disagreements between board members and Sullivan was their view that she "lacked the mettle to trim or shut down programs that couldn't sustain themselves financially, such as obscure academic departments in classics and German."

To faculty members and others at the university who have been puzzled and dismayed since word last Sunday of Sullivan's forced resignation, news that she may have been punished for protecting liberal arts disciplines seems likely only to increase support for Sullivan and anger with the Board of Visitors. Protests by faculty members and students are expected today as the board meets this afternoon, and more calls came Sunday from prominent Virginians seeking to have Sullivan continue on as president. Sullivan has asked to speak to the board in open session, but has been told that she will be permitted to speak only in closed session.

Since her resignation, Sullivan issued a brief statement citing a philosophical difference of opinion with the board and has said nothing more. Board leaders have spoken about a sense that Sullivan was not moving to address changes in higher education and was not bold enough to deal with financial challenges facing the university. Since board members have declined to elaborate, and Sullivan had instituted a well-received new budgeting system that many have said was long overdue, various theories have been floating around campus (many of them without substantiation) about the clash between Sullivan and the board.

The reports that board leaders pushed for cuts of some liberal arts programs and that Sullivan resisted are the most specific details to date about what led the board to seek her removal. So even though most people at the university assume that multiple issues were at play, the difference of opinion over these departments has many faculty members and students angry, even beyond their frustrations with Sullivan's dismissal. In part that is because UVa -- unlike many universities -- is considered a place where liberal arts are central to the institution's identity.

Continue reading.

More at WSET-TV Lynchburg, "Debate Over UVA President's Resignation."

'This is Our Time'

Via Theo Spark:

Also at the Boston Globe, "New Mitt Romney video uses President Obama’s early term words to assign blame for the economy."

Spain Back in Cross Hairs as Greek Election Results Fade

At the Wall Street Journal, "Spain Back in Cross Hairs: Greek Election Results Fade Quickly as Madrid's Borrowing Costs Set Record" (via Google):

The brief afterglow from Greece's vote Sunday to try to remain in the euro was quickly extinguished by a cascade of bad news out of Spain that again rattled faith in the currency bloc's ability to support its most troubled members.

Fresh data from Spain's central bank showed the country's lenders were sitting on the highest level of bad loans in 18 years and that their deposits continued to leak away. The gloomy figures—and worries that consultants scouring the creaky banking system will find yet more problems—helped drive Spanish bond yields deep into territory that is widely viewed as unsustainable.

The yield on the Spanish 10-year bond was at 7.18% late Monday in London, an unwelcome euro-era record for the zone's fourth-largest economy. The worrying signal demonstrates how Spain's troubles continue despite what plays out in Greece or elsewhere in the bloc.

The Spanish stock market fell 3%, and Italian stocks slid 2.8%. Italian bonds weakened somewhat, and other global markets largely shrugged off the Athens results. The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%. In early Asian trading Tuesday, stocks edged downwards after rising Monday.

"Spain is the bigger uncertainty and until there is greater clarity around Spanish bank recapitalizations and sovereign funding costs, risk in financial markets will remain elevated," said Jeffrey Rosenberg, chief investment strategist for fixed income at asset manager BlackRock Inc. in New York.

Greeks voted Sunday for pro-Europe parties who will try to continue the troubled country's bailout program, relaxing fears of a popular uprising that could have threatened Greece's place in the euro zone. Many analysts had feared that a vote for antibailout forces in Greece could cause sudden deposit or capital flights there that would quickly spill over to Spain.

The streets were calm in Athens Monday as political leaders met to wrangle over the terms of a coalition government. That effort appeared on track, and even as Germany stressed it would not abide any delay in Greece fulfilling its budget-cut targets, the Athens stock exchange ended the day up 3.6% and the country's thinly traded, highly volatile bonds were stronger.

But Greece's results did little to help Spain's troubles. "The picture doesn't change that much for Spain," said Juan Pablo Lopez, an analyst with Espírito Santo Investment Bank in Madrid.

The country appears to be in a vicious cycle in which the deteriorating economy weighs on the banks, whose declining fortunes weigh on the government, which moves to slash spending, hurting the economy.

Spain's chief problems are its banks and its bonds. Last week, the country was thrown a lifeline of as much as €100 billion ($124.5 billion) from other euro-zone countries to rescue the banks from a morass of bad real-estate loans that is worsening amid the diving economy. There hasn't been any conclusion on how much bailout money is needed or whether the latest pledge will be enough.

That has helped crush investors' appetite for Spanish government bonds. The country's financial plan calls for it to sell more than €30 billion of long-term debt this year.

This week, the Spanish government is expected to receive the results of a "stress test" on its banking system, done by consultants Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Preliminary news reports, which rattled investors Monday morning, said that the total needed funds recommended by the outside consultants could be higher than the €100 billion bailout figure.

Spain hired the external consultants in May, amid a surprise announcement that one of Spain's biggest banks needed €19 billion in funds. The government could disclose some aspects of the report as early as Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. Both firms declined to comment on the contents of the report.

Spain's going to need another bailout --- or it's going to default. Plain and simple.

Greek Pro-Bailout Parties Seek Governing Coalition

At the Wall Street Journal, "Parties in Greece Near Coalition":

ATHENS — Greece's two leading pro-bailout parties appeared late Monday to be headed into an alliance that would give them the majority needed to keep promised overhauls on course, but they were working to find support from others in Parliament for a broad cross-party coalition government.

After formally receiving an exploratory mandate from Greek President Karolos Papoulias earlier in the day, conservative New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras met with the heads of four other parties. Following those meetings, Mr. Samaras signaled a deal between him and his Socialist Pasok party counterpart, Evangelos Venizelos, would be reached within three days.

"Mr. Venizelos and I are in agreement that, no matter what, a government of national salvation must be formed within the deadline for the mandate given to me by the president," Mr. Samaras said after the third of the four scheduled meetings.

Although New Democracy won the most votes in Sunday's elections, it doesn't control enough seats to govern on its own and must seek a coalition partner to form a majority in Greece's 300-member Parliament.

Its former coalition partner, Pasok—which also supports the country's European-led bailout—came in third in the vote. Combined, the two parties would control 162 seats, giving them a comfortable margin of support.

The new government will face high hurdles, with a central administration threatened by a cash crunch within weeks, an economy in free fall and an angry public exhausted by two years of austerity measures.

Its first task will be to come up with €11.5 billion ($14.6 billion) or more of new austerity measures demanded by the country's creditors, which could further inflame the public.

Facing strident opposition in Parliament from Greece's antiausterity Syriza party—which came in a strong second in Sunday's vote—Messrs. Samaras and Venizelos have been trying to bring in other party leaders to gain broad backing for tough decisions ahead.

One possible candidate could be the small, Democratic Left party, which accepts the loan deal but wants an easing of the terms of the austerity measures.

But even without that support, the two are ready to reach a deal and have held advanced talks on forming a government, officials from both parties said.

Continue reading.

BONUS: From Walter Russell Mead, "The Greek Election Solves… Nothing."

Mitt Romney Predicts Wisconsin Win

At the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Romney predicts a win in Wisconsin":

JANESVILLE, WIS. - Mitt Romney, expressing confidence while campaigning with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, said Monday that he plans to win the battleground state that Democrats have dominated in recent presidential elections.

"We're going to win Wisconsin, and we're going to get the White House," the presumptive Republican nominee told an audience at a textile factory in Janesville.

Romney is keeping his focus on the economy as he campaigns through contested states, saying he'll promote a climate friendlier to small business, domestic energy production and job creation, while asserting that President Obama has mismanaged the recovery.

"If there's ever been a president who has not been able to provide the American people a fair shot, it's this president," Romney said. "We're going to replace him with someone who will go to work again for you."

Walker, introducing Romney at a Monterey Mills factory, referred to his recent recall election victory.

"It is my honor to still be the 45th governor of the great state of Wisconsin," he said. "And it's my honor to be on stage with the man I hope is the 45th president of these United States."

The Obama campaign called Romney's speech Monday "an exercise in angry and evasive rhetoric."

"He offered no ideas of how to create jobs now or strengthen the economy," campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in an e-mailed statement.

Romney was also joined by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the House Budget Committee chairman who endorsed him in March and is often mentioned in media reports as a possible running mate.

More at the link.

Nine San Diego 7th-Graders Caught Masturbating In Class While Watching Porn

The joys of technology in the classroom.

Pat Dollard reports, "Middle Schoolers Suspended For Masturbating While Watching Porn on Cellphones in Class."

But wait!

It turns out there's more to the story, at Huffington Post, "San Diego Students Suspended After 'Gay Test' Involving Watching Porn Videos On Cell Phones":

Nine seventh grade students at a San Diego-based middle school were suspended last month after watching pornographic videos as part of a so-called "gay test," according to reports.

According to U-T San Diego News, students in all-boys English class at Bell Middle School in Paradise Hills allegedly wore gym shorts as they watched videos on their cell phones. Whoever became sexually aroused while watching the videos was labeled gay, and several adolescents masturbated openly during the class.

In addition, peers complained of inaction by teacher Ed Johnson, who is now reportedly under fire because he did not respond to students who told him about the behavior while it was allegedly happening, according to NBC San Diego.

Among those to condemn the news was Patiti Boman of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, who called the incident "terrible," even though Bell Middle School officials have yet to confirm many details.

"I was thinking we were getting better and that’s why we go out and speak in schools. This is news to me and this gives me chills,” Boman, part of the team which helped craft the district’s anti-harassment policy, told U-T San Diego news. "They use that to attack and intimidate."

Oh brother.

They're 7th graders and obviously their teacher doesn't know how to manage a classroom. So instead of a discipline problem (and the appropriate consequences for the boys), this case will likely metastasize into a "hate crimes" investigation against these kids.

It's not getting any easier to be a kid these days, that's for sure.

Cherokee Activists Will Travel to Boston to Challenge Elizabeth Warren on Native American Claims

It seems to me that if one had such a wonderful background as a Native American you'd be exciting about meeting with those of your tribal origins. Of course, very few people make claims like Elizabeth Warren, so it's no surprise she's blowing smokescreens over the Bay State.

At the Boston Herald, "Cherokee, Warren showdown: Tribe activists find Liz claim ‘offensive’."

Cherokee activists who say Elizabeth Warren’s campaign has ignored their emails and phone calls will trek to Boston this week in hopes they can force a meeting with the Democratic Senate candidate over her “offensive” Native American heritage claims.

“It’s almost becoming extremely offensive to us,” said Twila Barnes, a Cherokee genealogist who has researched Warren’s family tree. “We’re trying to get in contact and explain why her behavior hurts us and is offensive, and she totally ignores that. Like we don’t exist.”

Late last night, a Warren campaign official told the Herald that staffers will “connect” and “offer to have staff meet with them.”

The four women, who Barnes said are all registered Cherokee tribal members — from Missouri, Oregon, Oklahoma and one within the Bay State — are due to arrive in Boston late today for four days. But they are closely guarding their itinerary, and Barnes would not say exactly what they have in mind.

“We’re going to be visible. We have some things planned,” said Barnes, hinting: “It’s (Warren’s) birthday this week.”

These women are Democrats and independents, so it's about authenticity not politics.

Should be good.

More at Legal Insurrection, "Cherokees travel to Mass but Elizabeth Warren refuses to meet them."

Mitt Romney Tours Rural America, Locking In Core Support Against Obama's Urban Progressives

At the Los Angeles Times, "Romney, cows and ice cream: Targeting conservative, white 'backbone'":

TROY, Ohio — Mitt Romney posed for a roadside photo with a herd of grazing cows in rural Pennsylvania. He scooped ice cream for locals in the quaint town square of Milford, N.H. In Brunswick, Ohio, he served pancakes at aFather's Day breakfast.

Romney calls his five-day trek across remote regions of presidential battleground states a journey along "the backbone of America."

It is also the backbone of Romney's campaign: Republican strongholds of older white voters, many of them blue-collar.

For Romney, rural areas, small towns and outer-edge suburbs like Brunswick, on the outskirts of Cleveland, are crucial to offsetting President Obama's strength in urban centers.

Shifting demographics — the Democrats' coalition of younger and racially diverse voters is growing while the Republican base of white conservatives is shrinking — play to Obama's advantage. In several states, such as Nevada and Colorado, Obama's order Friday to stop deportation of many young illegal immigrants could add to his edge by lifting his standing among Latinos, putting more pressure on Romney to turn out his own voters.

But the stalled economy has given Romney a chance to overcome any erosion of his party's core of support. As he traveled across swing-state back roads over the weekend, Romney focused relentlessly on the nation's meager job growth, laying blame on Obama.

Romney also played up the struggles of small businesses that are vital to the far-flung communities on his route.

In Weatherly, Pa., on Saturday, he pounded Obama in remarks to supporters at the Weatherly Casting & Machine Co. factory. Obama, Romney told the crowd, may be "well spoken and articulate and eloquent" on the economy, but has failed to turn it around.

"If you want to know who can really get this economy going, go and talk to small businesses in your community," said Romney, who was introduced by the company president, Michael Leib. "Talk to people like Mike."

Romney's tour, which hits Wisconsin and Iowa on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday, is aimed not only at ensuring robust turnout of conservatives who shunned him in the Republican primaries, but also at small-town voters inspired by Obama to abandon the GOP in 2008. Many are disappointed in Obama and poised to vote Republican, just as they did in the 2010 midterm election.

"When you just look at where the votes come from, clearly a Republican candidate has to do well in the suburbs, exurbs and rural areas to carry states like Ohio," said Russ Schriefer, a senior Romney campaign advisor.

Continue reading.

Also, "Scott Walker lends Mitt Romney a hand in Wisconsin."

And from Chris Stirewalt, at Fox News, "Romney’s Path to Presidency Runs Through Rust Belt."

Michelle Malkin at Right Online: 'We Are Winning'

Michelle illustrates how conservatives are dominating Twitter and how much the progressives hate it.

The video has some disconnections, but it's good.

And see Joel Pollak, "RightOnline in Review: What Would Breitbart Do?"

Russia Sending Marines to Syria

The Los Angeles Times reports, "Russia reportedly sending 2 warships with marines to Syria."

And see the New York Times, "Russian Warships Said to Be Going to Naval Base in Syria":

MOSCOW — Introducing an unpredictable new element into the Syrian crisis, a news agency said on Monday that two Russian naval vessels with marines on board were ready to head for Syria to protect Russian citizens and a naval base there, in what would be the first known reinforcement of Moscow’s military presence since the start of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Interfax news agency quoted a Russian naval official, who was not identified, as saying that the two amphibious assault ships would head for the Mediterranean port of Tartus, where Russia has its only warm-water naval base in the region. Russia has been the staunchest ally of Mr. Assad in the 16-month-old conflict, shielding the Damascus government from stern international measures to remove him from office.

Moscow is also Syria’s biggest arms supplier, and the relationship provides Russia with its main foothold in Middle East diplomacy.

Interfax quoted the official as saying the ships were “ready to ensure security of Russian citizens and infrastructure of the Russian Navy logistics base” in Tartus.

The official said the crews “jointly with the marine units they carry are capable of protecting the security of Russian citizens and evacuating a part of the property of the logistics base.”

The Russia Today English-language television news channel said the vessels were currently moored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Talk of evacuation of material and “protection” of Russian citizens in Syria, who include military advisers, seemed to be one more sign of alarm about the deteriorating security situation there after United Nations monitors announced over the weekend that they were suspending their operations as violence mounts.

The United Nations said the monitors would not be withdrawn from Syria, but were being locked down in Syria’s most contested cities, unable to conduct patrols. While the decision to suspend their work was made chiefly to protect the unarmed monitors, the unstated purpose appeared to be to force Russia to intervene to assure that the observers are not the targets of Syrian forces or their sympathizers. Russia has opposed Western intervention and, by some accounts, continues to arm the forces of Mr. Assad.

RELATED: From Thomas Donnelly, "Obama Fails To Act In Syria."

A Greek Reprieve

A commentary on the Greek elections, at the Wall Street Journal, "The Germans might have preferred a victory by the left in Athens."

There's no tasty quote to pull out so RTWT. I'll be updating on the market reactions throughout the day.

Los Angeles Times Pumps Up 'Difficulties' of 'Transgender Children' While Reporting That Clinical Treatment Is Based on 'Instinct and Observation' Rather Than Science

I'm sure it's a difficult thing dealing with the social ostracism of being "transgendered."

When I read the stories I feel sympathy for people, especially children. But I recall some reports over the last few years of parents of transgender children pushing their kids towards the opposite sex of their birth. For example, having young boys dress like girls all the time, which does nothing but cause gender identity confusion. See the recent story out of Britain, via the Daily Mail, "The boy of five living as a girl... helped by his parents, counsellors from the NHS and a school that give him a 'gender-neutral' loo," and also the commentary from Carl Sarler, "Pity poor Zach, a five-year-old victim of the politically correct gender identity industry."

So now here comes this report at LAT, "Transgender kids get help navigating a difficult path," with the moving introduction:

Amber, a soft-spoken, feminine 12-year-old who loves Hello Kitty and fashion design, lives with a secret. It is a secret most sixth-graders can't fathom, one she hides behind pink skirts and makeup. It is a secret that led to all her baby pictures being tucked away as though her childhood had never happened.

Amber was born a boy.

When she was 10, she stopped going by her given name, Aaron, and began dressing as a girl. Last year, she started taking medication to keep her from going through puberty.

"I can be who I am," Amber said. "I can be a girl."

An increasing number of children like Amber are realizing they are transgender and seeking care at clinics around the nation. Because of their age, the complex and emotional journey is as much their parents' as their own. Families are forced to make tough decisions about therapy and medication, and about what to tell friends and relatives. They are trying to give their children a normal upbringing with summer camps and sleepovers while protecting them from harm and embarrassment.

"How do you move through society with a gender-variant child?" said Nancy Quay, a psychotherapist at the University of Michigan gender services program. "What do you tell your neighbors? How do you keep your child safe?"

Okay, keep reading at the link.

Here's the part that just kills me:

Just a few clinics around the nation serve transgender children. It wasn't until about five years ago that doctors began treating them with puberty-blocking drugs to give them time to explore their gender identity before taking hormones whose effects would be irreversible.

The medication is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for children who start puberty prematurely but not for transgender adolescents. Two professional organizations that study hormonal and gender issues recommend the drugs' use in certain transgender cases, but doctors remain divided on whether to prescribe the controversial and expensive medication.

Supporters say the drugs can prevent the devastation a transgender girl feels when she grows facial hair or her voice drops and when a transgender boy develops breasts or begins menstruating. They can reduce depression and anxiety and eliminate the need for some future surgeries, said Jo Olson, Amber's doctor and the medical director of the transgender clinic at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

"Puberty in the right body is hard enough," Olson said. "Puberty in the wrong body is really hard."

Other doctors, however, express caution based on a lack of research. Walter Meyer, an endocrinologist and psychiatrist in Texas who works with transgender patients, said that puberty blockers are helpful for some adolescents but that knowing which ones is sometimes difficult. Not all children who identify with the opposite gender end up as transgender adults, he said, and giving medication to those may be going too far.

The drugs are administered through a surgical implant in the arm or monthly injections. They suppress the production of sex hormones, making it easier to pass as the opposite gender, Olson said. If the youngsters stop taking the drugs, they will go through puberty.

Olson acknowledged that doctors are making clinical decisions based on instincts and observations rather than research. "That's what makes this incredibly difficult," she said. Olson said she prescribes blockers only to adolescents who are in counseling and have been persistent about their gender identity.

Amber's father said he thinks of the puberty suppressors as a stopgap to "make sure everybody is 100% on board with the way it's going."

But Amber insists she never wants to be male. "Why would I have started if I am going to change my mind?"

There's absolutely no science involved in such treatment. It's all touch-feely and emotionally driven.

So, back over to Sarler commentary at London's Daily Mail:

These days, ‘gender identity’ has become one of the fashionable syndromes of our time and, in the hands of the politically correct, one of the latest social tyrannies, to which we must all pay heed. ‘Trapped in the wrong body’ has been said so often that it has slipped into public consciousness in such a way that it is now beyond the pale to question it.

Ain't that the truth.

Maricopa County Sheriff Deputies Arrest 6-Year-Old Suspected Illegal Immigrant

The progressives think this is just outrageous!

Here's the report from the Arizona Republic, "MCSO arrests girl, 6, suspected of illegal immigration" (via Memeorandum):

Maricopa County Sheriff Office deputies arrested a 6-year-old suspected illegal immigrant Friday, the day President Barack Obama softened the country's deportation policy toward young illegal immigrants.

The girl was with 15 other people believed to be in the country illegally who were traveling to the Midwest and northeast United States, said Chris Hegstrom, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

"She's been turned over to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to try to determine where she's from. She told us she's from El Salvador. That's what she told us," he said.

It goes on like that, but see Bryan Preston at PJ Media, "Six-Year-Old Illegal Alien Gets Arrested. Whose Fault Is It?":

President Obama announced a new immigration policy on Friday that tells the whole world he has no intent of doing his job, which is to faithfully execute the laws of this nation. That announcement probably played no role in this specific case, but it will attract more illegal aliens, and it will create more business for the coyotes who smuggle these people, and drugs and other things, into the United States. It will make it more difficult to secure the border. Sheriff Joe will see more six-year-old illegal aliens making a very dangerous journey in the hands of some unsavory and dangerous characters thanks to President Obama.

We also shouldn’t exonerate the little girl’s family in all this. Six-year-old girls don’t make the decision to cross borders on their own, they don’t hire the smugglers, they don’t make this trek unless some adult has made the decisions for them. These family decisions to abandon one country and break the laws of another, and continue to break those laws every day, don’t start with the six-year-old, and they don’t end with a presidential declaration either. Sheriff Joe still has to do his job. We are either a nation of laws, or we are not.

Word.

Fantasizing About Young Sexy Women is Called 'Normal'

ICYMI, my friend David Swindle kicked off a big debate on fantasizing about young women at PJ Media. Here's David's original post, "Revolting: Kardashian Mom Allows Bikini Photo Shoot of 16 and 14 Year-Old Daughters."

Dave's key point is that men should not be fantasizing about slutty "girls" in the 18-22-year-old range, as they're immature and most likely to bring pain and unhappiness.

The argument's not going over too well, however. Dr. Helen Smith responds, for example, "‘When Do Cute and Sexy Young Girls Stop Looking Cute and Sexy? Death’":

Women are often at their most fertile and attractive at the ages (18-22) that Swindle is describing. Men being attracted to women of this age is called normal. Should you act on it? Maybe not, but that’s not the point that Swindle is making. He doesn’t even seem to think that you should be fantasizing about women who are of age 18-22. Why not? Why should men only be interested in “mature women,” especially for a fantasy?

Dave responds here, but it's the comment section that's especially good.

Exit question: Is Kate Upton a "girl" or a "woman"?

Hamilton Airshow 2012

Blazing Cat Fur reports, "And we're back...", and "Air Show Pics."

The homepage is here.

Islamists Claim Victory in Egypt Election

The New York Times reports, "Egypt’s Military Cements Its Powers as Voting Ends":

CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood early Monday projected its candidate, an Islamist, as the winner of Egypt’s first competitive presidential election, hours after the ruling military council issued an interim constitution granting itself broad power over the future government, all but eliminating the president’s authority in an apparent effort to guard against just such a victory.

The military’s new charter is the latest in a series of swift steps that the generals have taken to tighten their grasp on power just at the moment when they had promised to hand over to elected civilians the authority that they assumed on the ouster of Hosni Mubarak last year. Their charter gives them control of all laws and the national budget, immunity from any oversight, and the power to veto a declaration of war.

After dissolving the Brotherhood-led Parliament elected four months ago, and locking out its lawmakers, the generals on Sunday night also seized control of the process of writing a permanent constitution. State news media reported that the generals had picked a 100-member panel to draft it.

“The new constitutional declaration completed Egypt’s official transformation into a military dictatorship,” Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, wrote in an online commentary. Under the military’s charter, the president appeared to be reduced to a powerless figurehead.

Though final results were not available, Brotherhood supporters called the apparent victory by their candidate, Mohamed Morsi, a rebuke to the military’s power grab. “Down, down with military rule!” a crowd at Mr. Morsi’s campaign headquarters chanted as he prepared to give a victory speech shortly after 4 a.m. Monday.

Mr. Morsi thanked God, who, he said, “guided Egypt to this straight path, the path of freedom and democracy.” He pledged to represent all Egyptians, including those who had voted against him. And he made a special profession of support for the rights of members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority, many of whom had rallied against him out of fear of the Brotherhood.

More at that top link.

And see Barry Rubin, "Egypt: Things to Think About as We Await the Presidential Election Outcome":

While one can certainly sympathize with the idea of letting an elected parliament take office, that’s not necessarily such a clear call in strategic terms. The parliament — which will write the constitution and thus define the powers of the president — is almost 75 percent rabidly anti-American and antisemitic. (I don’t write that last word lightly, but it is quite accurate.) Imagine if this situation had arisen in Iran in 1979 with the Iranian military refusing to turn over power to the forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Would it have been wise for Washington to demand that this be done as soon as possible?

Yet, here is Defense Secretary Leon Panetta calling on Egypt’s military in a manner that “highlighted the need to move forward expeditiously with Egypt’s political transition, including conducting new legislative elections as soon as possible.” Senator Patrick J. Leahy has called for withholding U.S. aid to Egypt, saying, “I would not want to see the U.S. government write checks for contracts with Egypt’s military under the present uncertain circumstances.”  What circumstances are more appropriate for sending U.S. arms and money? When the Muslim Brotherhood dominates parliament, the presidency, has written a constitution mandating Sharia law, and follows a policy of death to America and death to Israel? Who are you going to cheer for if Islamists rebel against the regime?

Maybe now is a good moment for the U.S. government to remain quiet.

Read it all.

BONUS: At Telegraph UK, "Egypt presidential election overshadowed by further army power grab and voter fraud claims."

Rodney G. King, 1965-2012

The New York Times has an obituary, "Police Beating Victim Who Asked ‘Can We All Get Along?’":

LOS ANGELES — Rodney G. King, whose 1991 videotaped beating by the Los Angeles police became a symbol of the nation’s continuing racial tensions and subsequently led to a week of deadly race riots after the officers were acquitted, was found dead Sunday in a swimming pool at the home he shared with his fiancée in Rialto, Calif. He was 47.

There was no evidence of foul play, the Rialto police said.

Mr. King, whose life was a roller coaster of drug and alcohol abuse, multiple arrests and unwanted celebrity, pleaded for calm during the 1992 riots. More than 55 people were killed and 600 buildings destroyed in the violence.

In a phrase that became part of American culture, he asked at a news conference, “Can we all get along?”

“People look at me like I should have been like Malcolm X or Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks,” he told The Los Angeles Times in April. “I should have seen life like that and stay out of trouble, and don’t do this and don’t do that. But it’s hard to live up to some people’s expectations.”

Mr. King published a memoir in April detailing his struggles, saying in several interviews that he had not been able to find steady work.

He said he had once blamed politicians and lawyers “for taking a battered and confused addict and trying to make him into a symbol for civil rights.” But he was unable to escape that role. On Sunday, the Rev. Al Sharpton, said in a statement, “History will record that it was Rodney King’s beating and his actions that made America deal with the excessive misconduct of law enforcement.”

And more recently, Mr. King seemed to embrace the role himself, saying that his beating enabled others to succeed and “made the world a better place.”

“Obama, he wouldn’t have been in office without what happened to me and a lot of black people before me,” he told The Los Angeles Times. “He would never have been in that situation, no doubt in my mind. He would get there eventually, but it would have been a lot longer. So I am glad for what I went through. It opened the doors for a lot of people.”

Though Mr. King wrote in his memoir that he still drank and used drugs occasionally, he insisted that, with his fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, who had been a juror in a civil suit he brought against the City of Los Angeles, he was on the road to reclaiming his life.

“I realize I will always be the poster child for police brutality,” he said, “but I can try to use that as a positive force for healing and restraint.”

Mr. King said he was essentially broke, though he said he received an advance for his book, “The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption,” published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the riots.

He still walked with a limp and several of his scars were visible. His best outlets for relaxation, he said, were fishing and swimming.

More at the link.

King is quoted saying that he didn't think Barack Obama would have been elected had he not been beaten in 1992.

Lefty blogger Kathy Kattenburg commented at my earlier post, objecting to me pointing out the truth about the left and Rodney King. See: "Rodney King Dead: Fiancé Finds Him at Bottom of Swimming Pool."

And more at Twitchy, "Left uses Rodney King’s death as an excuse to bash Republicans," and "Twitter debates whether Rodney King was a civil rights hero."

BONUS: From Steve Lopez, at the Los Angeles Times, "Rodney King was tragic figure, unlikely symbol."

Senior White House Adviser David Plouffe Claims Obama's Backdoor Amnesty 'Not Political' (VIDEO)

No, not political at all (eye roll).

The Political Ticker reports: "Immigration change not political, Plouffe asserts." (Via Memeorandum.)

Socialist Party Wins Majority in French Parliament

The New York Times reports, "President’s Socialist Party Wins Clear Majority in France."

And at Telegraph UK, "France election: Francois Hollande and Socialists head for absolute majority":

President François Hollande received a powerful mandate to champion growth in Europe and take on the German-led austerity drive last night as his Socialist Party headed for control of parliament with an absolute majority.

French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault welcomed the victory of his Socialist Party in legislative elections, saying:"The goal is to shift Europe towards growth and protect the euro zone from speculation. The task before us is immense".

After gaining control of the Senate and the presidency, the Socialists now wield more national power than ever before and the outcome means that Mr Hollande is unlikely to make major changes to his largely social democratic cabinet.

But the result of the election, marred by record low turnout of 44 per cent, is likely to mark the end of Mr Hollande's honeymoon period as he faces the economic realities of a debt-ridden Europe and domestic unemployment of 10 per cent, a 13-year high.

He clinched the presidential election in May in part by warning that his conservative rival Nicolas Sarkozy had erred towards too much belt-tightening and calling for more state-sponsored stimulus to boost growth.

But with Spanish banks just given a new bail-out and Greece's future in the euro in doubt, some commentators warn France could be next for market turmoil unless it makes deeper structural reforms.

Mr Hollande's first wake-up call could be the release of a public finance audit late June expected to show France must slow spending promises to meet its deficit goals.

His stance has put him on collision course with Germany in recent days, with Chancellor Angela Merkel pointing out that France risked further falling behind economically with his policies.

Well, it's going to be interesting, to say the least.

Check back for continuing coverage.

Conservative New Democracy Party Set to Lead New Government in Athens

There are live updates at the Guardian and Telegraph UK.

And here's Der Spiegel's report, "Pro-Bailout Party in the Lead: New Democracy Looks Set to Win Greek Election":

Official projections on Sunday evening showed the conservative New Democracy as having won the Greek election, whose outcome is seen as crucial to the euro zone's future. The party may be able to form a pro-bailout coalition government with the Socialists, but Greece could still face months of uncertainty.

London's Daily Mail reports that the socialist PASOK party has agreed to form a unity government. See, "Greece chooses austerity over Euro withdrawal, as latest election results show voters back pro-bailout parties." And see the analysis from James Pethokoukis, "Greek election results: What they mean for Greece, the euro, the EU — and beyond" (via Memeorandum).

The Romney Boys Share Their Favorite Memories About Their Dad on Father's Day

From the Romney campaign:

Rodney King Dead: Fiancé Finds Him at Bottom of Swimming Pool

CNN reports (via Memeorandum).

Rodney King was found at the bottom of his swimming pool at his home in Rialto early Sunday, authorities said.

King’s fiancé called 911 about 5:25 a.m. and said she found King at the bottom of his pool, Sgt. Paul Stella told The Times. Officers pulled him from the pool and began CPR until paramedics arrived and took King to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

King was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6:11 a.m., Stella said.

Preliminary information indicated King drowned and there were no immediate signs of foul play, Stella said.

An autopsy will be conducted.

King was drunk and unarmed when he was pulled over in 1991 for speeding by Los Angeles Police Department officers, who responded to his erratic behavior by kicking him and striking him dozens of times with their batons.

The incident was captured on video by a civilian bystander, and the recording became an instant international sensation.

Four of the officers were tried for excessive force. Their acquittal on April 29, 1992, touched off one of the worst urban riots in U.S. history.

Continue reading at the link.

Dennis Prager discussed Rodney King in his book, Still the Best Hope. Prager mentioned King while discussing the left's shopworn "socioeconomic circumstances" theory to explain (and justify) black crime. And Prager cited King in a footnote:

The 1992 riots provide a perfect example. The Left did not blame the arson or the beatings and shooting of innocent non-blacks, especially Korean-Americans, on the blacks who committed these acts. They blamed white America and the allegedly racist police brutality they contended occurred during the arrest of a black man named Rodney King. The liberal news media were very largely responsible for creating the frenzy, indeed the hysteria, in America, and especially in black America, that led to these riots. For weeks, national and local news shows repeatedly televised a tiny segment of a video showing white police officers beating a black man identified only as "a black mortorist." The "black mortorist" was in fact a convicted criminal who was finally caught by police after a long car chase at high speeds through residential neighborhoods. One part of the video never shown on American television showed King refusing police orders to exit his car and to lie down to be frisked. The members of the jury were among the only Americans to see the entire video, which is why they acquitted the police officers. And that acquittal was the ostensible reason for the riots, fires, beatings, and murders.

More at Memeorandum, including this headline at Gawker which substantiates Prager's argument: "Rodney King, Victim of Police Brutality That Spawned L.A. Riots, Dead at 47."

But see TMZ, "RODNEY KING: Drinking, Smoking Weed Before Drowning."

ADDED: At the Los Angeles Times, "Rev. Al Sharpton calls Rodney King a 'symbol of civil rights'."

Obama's Presidency and the Pathologies of Progressivism

From Bruce Thornton, at FrontPage Magazine:

Obama’s presidency has failed miserably, but it has accomplished one thing: it has revealed for all to see the lethal pathologies of progressive ideology. This doesn’t mean progressivism will go away. We thought the New Democrat Bill Clinton had put progressive ideas to rest when he said that the era of big government was over, and then reformed welfare and cut government spending from 23.5% of GDP to 19.5%. Yet despite the success that followed his rejection of failed liberal policies, here we are in the fourth year of Obama’s term, saddled with $5 trillion in new debt, a stalled economy, a National Labor Relations Board carrying water for the unions, a blatantly politicized Department of Justice, and rapidly metastasizing entitlement programs. Meanwhile the president indulges in class-warfare rhetoric young a century ago, and calls for even more redistributionist deficit spending to benefit his political cronies and clients.

The worst economic recovery since World War II that Obama and the Democrats midwifed has exposed the failure of the notion that the government can create economic growth and wealth rather than merely expropriating it from the creative and productive, and that centralized planning and regulating by “experts” can more efficiently allocate resources than the free market does. But more important is the underlying idea of progressivism that Obama’s policies is predicated on: Perfect justice, prosperity, and equality are possible if enlightened elites are given the power to organize and run society according to “scientific” knowledge about human nature and behavior. For two centuries this hubristic idea has led to failure, misery, and murder on a vast scale, yet progressives continue to increase government power in order to create this impossible utopia. Obamacare is just the latest iteration of this frequently demonstrated fallacy that complex human behavior, which reflects the unpredictable free will of millions of unique individuals, can be organized, controlled and regimented in order to achieve some dream-world utopia. That progressives still cling to this exploded idea despite the evidence of history and a disintegrating E.U. shows just how reactionary and blinkered they are.

But the list of progressive fallacies exposed by Obama is much longer. He has laid bare the hypocrisies and failures of the race-based identity politics that lie behind affirmative action and other racialist policies. Only by dint of the Jim Crow one-drop rule can someone who is half-black, who was raised in one of the least black states in the union by white grandparents, who had no exposure to black American culture and mores in his formative years, and who graduated from exclusive, elitist, predominantly white universities be considered authentically black. Moreover, his manifest ignorance about everything from pronunciation of common words to the basics of history and economics has exposed the gross inflation of his abilities by whites, one based not on performance but on assertion. Remember the presidential historian who claimed, with no evidence from transcripts or test scores, that Obama was probably the smartest president ever? Obama illustrates the truth that progressive racial policies are based on the illiberal idea that predicates minority identity on simplistic group stereotypes and the presumption of victimhood based on nothing other than melanin quotient and hair texture.

Continue reading.

I mentioned earlier that the failed Wisconsin recall signaled the end of a viable progressive ideological program. Leftists won't quit, as Thornton also notes, but their ideology has been totally discredited.

How our Fear of Talking Honestly About Race Hurts Us All

I'm reading Harry Stein's new book, No Matter What...They'll Call This Book Racist: How our Fear of Talking Honestly About Race Hurts Us All.

It's great!

The Southern California Chevelle Camino Club 15th Annual Car Show

Here's the link to SCCCC website.

I was out in Los Alamitos this morning.

My buddy Greg Joseph invited me. Here's his 1971 Dodge Charger:

Nice interior. I like that little cassette player below the dash.

The car's completely original, with a new paint job back in 1986. I'm told it's probably worth $125,000.

I'll come back to this one. My memory escapes me:

This one's a 1941 Ford Woody, hard to forget:

Here's a Chevrolet Bel Air, 1956 or so:

I should have brought a notepad or something. I took a shot of the identification card on this one, knowing I wasn't going to remember the details:

It's an incredible 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline:

The interior:

The trunk:

Here's the Transformers Ironhide from Trinity Worldwide Reprographics. It's the original truck from the movies Transformers 1 and 2.

Trinity set a up an information table. Here's the Mission Statement.

This is one of my favorites, a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Convertible:

A really clean car:

The event was held at the Cottonwood Church. Here's the lineup of Chevelle's on the grass out front:

Here's clean Dodge Coronet, I think 1965:

And here's a 1929 Ford Model T:

That's it.

Good clean fun.