Business as Usual: Obama Spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter Lies and Prevaricates Her Way to Election Day

The video is gold, and Lonely Conservative has the lies.

See: "Wow! That Stephanie Cutter Sure is a Liar!"

Democrat National Convention Shaping Up as Unprecedented Celebration of Infanticide

From Paul Bedard, at the Washington Examiner, "Dem Convention becomes anti-Akin affair" (via Instapundit):

With an eye on Rep. Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" comments and the GOP's mad dash away from the sinking Missouri Senate candidate, the Democrats are turning their upcoming presidential convention into a pro-choice assault on the Republicans with the help of major abortion supporters.

Just as the Akin crisis was reaching a crescendo, the Democrats on Wednesday announced that three starlets of the pro-choice movement will be featured at the convention, an event that will now drive the liberal charge that the Republicans are anti-women.

Democrats said that they will feature Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parent Action Fund, Nancy Keenan, president of the NARAL Pro-Choice America and Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University student whose plea for federal birth control funding drew the ire--and a subsequent apology--from Rush Limbaugh.

What's more, the Democrats are expanding their list of women ready to assail the GOP on women's issue, adding Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski and actress Eva Longoria to the list that already includes Sen. John Kerry and Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren.

Democrats led by party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz believe that the Akin controversy--and his refusal to leave the Missouri Senate race--has revived their chances of winning a majority of women in the presidential race, key to re-electing President Obama. On Wednesday, for example, the party turned their homepage over to the affair with the headline: "The GOP is dangerously wrong for women." And with a devilish move, they included pictures of Mitt Romney, running mate Paul Ryan and Akin.

"Romney, Ryan, Akin and the GOP want to take women back to the dark ages," the Democrats add.

Wow!

That's apocalyptic. Let's capitalize that: "THE DARK AGES!"

The infant-killers ought to get major distraction mileage out of that. Whoo!

Bring it on, I say. Let's get the Democrat abortion extremism out in to the open.

FLASHBACK: "The Secret Life of Senator Infanticide."

More at Lonely Conservative, "Democrats Finally Come Up With Convention Theme – It’s An Abortion Festival!" (via Memeorandum).

Tropical Storm Isaac Heads Toward Florida Ahead of GOP Convention

That'd be a freak of nature --- or an act of God --- if the storm hit Tampa just in time for the convention. A cancellation is possible, astonishingly.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Republican Convention Threatened by Storm."

'Progressive labor is a revolutionary communist organization. Its objective is to make revolution in the United States, overthrow the capitalist system and build communism...'

Well, yeah.

At Left of the Mark, "Mike Golash: 'Goal is to Overthrow Capitalist System and Build Communism'" (via Linkiest).

Tony Nicklinson, British Assisted Suicide Activist and 'Locked-In' Patient, Has Died

This is an interesting story, at the New York Times, "Briton Who Fought for Assisted Suicide Is Dead":

LONDON — A 58-year-old British man suffering from so-called locked-in syndrome died Wednesday, six days after a panel of High Court judges rejected his request for help in ending his life. His death is certain to galvanize the already contentious debate about assisted suicide in Britain.

The man, Tony Nicklinson, a former rugby player and sky diver who suffered a stroke in 2005, died at his home in Melksham, 80 miles west of London, at 10 a.m., according to a statement issued by the law firm that represented him.

Mr. Nicklinson’s family used his Twitter account to say that he died of natural causes. At a news conference, Saimo Chahai, the family lawyer, said Mr. Nicklinson had been refusing food since the court ruling and had declined rapidly over the weekend after contracting pneumonia. “The fight seemed to go out of him,” she said.

After having a stroke while on a business trip to Athens, Mr. Nicklinson, a civil engineer, developed locked-in syndrome, an incurable condition in which a patient loses all motor functions but remains awake and aware, with all cognitive abilities. He had spent the last seven years paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak, feed himself or even clean his own teeth, communicating through a system that allowed him to write messages on a computer screen by blinking his eyes.

He had argued in court that he would be physically unable to administer a lethal drug to himself, and that his only path to release from his “living nightmare” would be permission from the court to have somebody else — in his suggestion, a doctor — administer the necessary dose without fear of prosecution.

Under British law, anybody, including a doctor, who knowingly helps a terminally ill person to die faces possible criminal prosecution and a lengthy jail term if convicted.

In an essay he wrote before the court case, Mr. Nicklinson said, “It cannot be acceptable in 21st-century Britain that I am denied the right to take my own life just because I am physically handicapped.” He added, “It is astonishing that in 1969 we could put a man on the moon, yet in 2012 we still cannot devise adequate rules for government-assisted dying.”

More at the link.

And also at Telegraph UK, "Right-to-die campaigner Tony Nicklinson dies of pneumonia after refusing food."

'Now, you're on notice that making distinctions between types of rape could utterly destroy you. Don't talk about it...'

That's from Ann Althouse, who's got a very informative --- and fascinating --- discussion of rape, and the politics of rape. See, "Big UK lefty George Galloway fired for saying something about rape."

Althouse's discussion is breezier than that of Louise Mensch, who also compared Galloway to Todd Akin in an essay the other day, at Telegraph UK, "George Galloway, Todd Akin and other male politicians still getting it wrong on rape."

I guess that piece went over pretty well; there's a write-up on Mensch at the paper, "Louise Mensch: male politicians diminish rape."

Good advice, in any case, not to talk about rape. It's not good for your career, obviously.

'The President's Utility' — Chicago Energy Behemoth Exelon Corporation Scored $200 Million in Stimulus Funds, and Holder's Justice Dept. Approved Exelon's $7.9 Billion Utility Merger With Constellation Energy of Maryland

I'm surprised this piece is even running at the New York Times. It's falling way outside of the approved narrative. See, "Ties to Obama Aided in Access for Big Utility":

WASHINGTON — Early in the Obama administration, a lobbyist for the Illinois-based energy producer Exelon Corporation proudly called it “the president’s utility.” And it was not just because it delivers power to Barack Obama’s Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago.

Exelon’s top executives were early and frequent supporters of Mr. Obama as he rose from the Illinois State Senate to the White House. John W. Rogers Jr., a friend of the president’s and one of his top fund-raisers, is an Exelon board member. David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s longtime political strategist, once worked as an Exelon consultant, and Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago mayor and Mr. Obama’s former chief of staff, helped create the company through a corporate merger in 2000 while working as an investment banker.

With energy an increasingly pivotal issue for the Obama White House, a review of Exelon’s relationship with the administration shows how familiarity has helped foster access at the upper reaches of government and how, in some cases, the outcome has been favorable for Exelon.

White House records show that Exelon executives were able to secure an unusually large number of meetings with top administration officials at key moments in the consideration of environmental regulations that have been drafted in a way that hurt Exelon’s competitors, but curb the high cost of compliance for Exelon and its industry allies.

In addition, Exelon, which provides power to more than 6.6 million customers in at least 16 states and the District of Columbia, was chosen as one of only six electric utilities nationwide for the maximum $200 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department. And when the Treasury Department granted loans for renewable energy projects, Exelon landed a commitment for up to $646 million allowing it, on extremely generous financial terms, to finance one of the world’s largest photovoltaic solar projects.

Exelon’s seemingly easy access to top administration officials has hardly gone unnoticed among competitors.

“I would like to get some treatment in Washington like that,” said Ken Anderson, general manager at Tri-State G&T, a Colorado-based power supplier that has been at odds with Exelon over environmental regulations. “But Exelon seems to get deference that I can’t get.”

Continue reading.

This company is the administration's mother load for green energy crony capitalism.

My gosh. They've got open access to the White House.

My first thought at reading this was how Michelle Malkin could have a field day here, and lo and behold, she already has. See, "Obama’s Green Robber Barons":

Had enough of fat cat Barack Obama, his jet-setting wife and his multi-millionaire Chicago consigliere/real-estate mogul Valerie Jarrett attacking the “rich”? Well, brace yourselves. You’ll be hearing much more from the White House about the “wealthy few” who aren’t paying their “fair share” as Obama’s re-election campaign doubles down on class-war demagoguery.

As usual, there’s always a set of immunity charms for the privileged friends and family of the ruling class. When it comes to all the Green Robber Barons who’ve reaped an obscenely unfair share of billions of tax dollars from the Obama administration, the envy trumpeteers will be quieter than a nest of mute church mice.

Obama’s State of the Union address defiantly pitched a new round of clean energy spending orgies to help the “middle class.” But how have the serial bankruptcies and near-bankruptcies of several federally subsidized solar companies — all under Obama’s watch — helped anyone but an upper-crust elite of eco-crats and their lobbyists and consultants?

*****

My scouring of White House visitor logs shows nine visits from another Green Robber Baron, Illinois-based Exelon’s CEO John Rowe, who met with the president and former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel multiple times. As Forbes magazine reported: The clean energy company “has very deep ties to the Obama Administration. Frank M. Clark, who runs ComEd, helped advise Obama before he ran for president and is one of Obama’s largest fundraisers. Obama’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod, worked as a consultant to Exelon. Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, helped create Exelon” — where he raked in more than $16 million over two years.

Right.

"Very deep ties" indeed.

Heading back over to the New York Times' piece, here's this:

... one person who met with Exelon representatives as a federal official, and requested anonymity because the discussions were confidential, said that while the company’s connections did not guide specific decisions, federal officials knew to handle Exelon carefully.

“It is not necessarily unethical or immoral,” he said, “it is just a fact of life that Exelon has more relations with senior administration officials than others, which means Exelon has a direct line to fairly high places in the White House if they need to.”

Even without any political connection, as a nuclear energy producer Exelon was well positioned to take advantage of the administration’s drive to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

The administration’s tightening of clean air rules was a particular boon, since it took aim at Exelon’s main competitors — coal-burning power plants in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions. In 2010, Exelon estimated it would earn an extra $400 million annually because the regulations would force dozens of coal-burning plants to close.

“We were the hyena looking for the dead stuff on the road,” John W. Rowe, Exelon’s recently departed chief executive, told Wall Street analysts this year.

While other nuclear and natural-gas-focused energy producers also stood to benefit, Exelon stands out for its size. Last December, the Justice Department approved its $7.9 billion merger with Constellation Energy of Maryland, despite objections from Maryland’s consumer advocate. Although Exelon agreed to sell three Maryland power plants, among other concessions, it still emerged as the nation’s largest unregulated electricity generator, meaning that in many of the states its rates are not set by government officials but by what customers will pay.

Oh brother.

This is frankly just a pay-out racket, since there's not been a single green energy company so far that's created a successful new renewable program.

There's still more at the Times. It's just one big exposé on the Obama administration's pay-to-play cronyism. We'll see how much play this gets among the MSM types today, however, the same people Jake Tapper claimed had tipped the scales for O in 2008.

Who knows? Maybe the Niall Ferguson piece at Newsweek was a bellwether.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

UPDATE: Now a Memeorandum thread. And linked at Jawa Report and iOWNTHEWORLD. Thanks!

More at The Lonely Conservative. Thanks!

Chicago Teachers Union Attacks 'Hating Breitbart' Filmmaker Andrew Marcus

This is amazing, at Legal Insurrection, "Teachers Union releases hit piece video against director of Hating Breitbart":

The Teachers Union may ... have been upset about Marcus’s coverage of some of their protest marches, particularly the documentation of their collaboration with Occupy and Anarchist organizer Lisa Fithian...

More at "Hating Breitbart" on Twitter.

According to Discover the Networks, Fithian "Served as a human shield in actions conducted by the International Solidarity Movement in the Palestinian cities of Jenin and Nablus," and "Has accused Israel of “slaughter[ing] Palestinians every single day in Gaza and the Occupied territories”." Plus, Fithian "Is the top street-level organizer of the Occupy Wall Street movement..."

Boy, that's a huge surprise.

See also, FrontPage Magazine, "Occupy Wall Street: The Communist Movement Reborn."

Prince Harry Nude Photo Scandal

At the Mirror UK, "Back to face the music? Prince Harry flies home after Las Vegas naked photos scandal" (via Twitter):

The 27-year-old flew into the UK today amid a storm surrounding the saucy snaps published on a US website.

The U.S. website is TMZ, "PRINCE HARRY: NAKED PHOTOS - During Vegas Rager" (via WeSmirch).

CBS News has a video report, "Do we love Prince Harry for his flubs?"

He's a cool chap.

Rose Mayr and Elizabeth Nass, Both 19-Years-Old, Killed in Maryland Train Derailment

This CNN report is abrasive in its constant reference to the two women as "girls." They were both 19-years-old, actually --- old enough to serve in combat.

See: "Two Maryland teenagers killed when train derails, spills coal."

The Los Angeles Times does better, "Train derails, tumbles from bridge near Baltimore; 2 women killed":

A coal train derailed and tumbled from a bridge in Maryland early Tuesday morning, crushing cars in a nearby parking lot and killing two women who were on the tracks, officials said.

Just after midnight Tuesday, 21 of the train’s 80 cars flipped over on a bridge in Ellicott City,  about 12 miles west of Baltimore. Some cars spilled coal across the town’s Main Street, and seven cars fell onto vehicles in a county-owned parking lot nearby, Howard County Police Department spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn told The Los Angeles Times.

"All you could see was train cars tumbled every which way and coal everywhere,” Benjamin Noppenberger, a chef at restaurant on Main Street, told the Baltimore Sun. “Cars were on the road and parking lot and everything in the lot was crushed.”

As officials cleared the scene Tuesday, using cranes to pry the train cars from the wreckage, they found the bodies of two young women, Llewellyn said.

The victims have been identified as Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Mayr, both 19 from Ellicott City. Nass was studying at James Madison University in Virginia and Mayr attended the University of Delaware, police said.

Two train operators were not harmed in the accident, officials said. The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Howard County officials declined to comment further, saying the National Transportation Safety Board had taken charge of the investigation.

More at the link.

Tweet CNN here and CNN Breaking News here.

These two women were attending university. And CNN's calling them "girls." If they'd been deployed and killed in combat would the network still be calling them "teenage girls."

All this talk about how the left --- and by extension the MSM --- is so "tolerant" toward women is about to make my hurl.

'Dug In, Defiant, and Going Rogue'

I'm watching CNN, and the caption on their Akin coverage is, "Dug In, Defiant, and Going Rogue."

I doubt Sarah Palin appreciates the similarities (she wants Akin to quit), but the slogan pretty much sums it up. Akin gave some hints at withdrawing this morning, apparently, but it's prime-time on the East Coast now, and there's no word yet.

Here's this at Hot Air, "Akin: “I don’t know the future”."

My previous coverage is here.

More at Memeorandum. And see especially, William Kristol, "Advice Regarding Akin."

#ObamaSpellingBee — Epic Lulz From Baracky's 'O-I-H-O' Moment

Seriously.

This isn't supposed to happen to a sitting president --- you DON'T make these kind of mistakes, period.

But of course, we've been saddled with Baracky "57 States" Obama for almost four years now, and that's to say nothing of the corrupt Democrat-Media-Complex that's been covering for the administration's world-historical stupidity.

November 6th can't come soon enough.

At Twitchy, "H-I-L-A-R-I-T-Y: Obama’s Dan Quayle moment inspires #ObamaSpellingBee," and "Bias: WaPo ‘real reporters’ falsely claim Obama ‘O-I-H-O’ pic was photoshopped."

More at Instapundit.

Sino-Japanese Conflict Over Senkaku Islands

The conflict has a long history.

There's video here, "Japan-China island row opens diplomatic wounds."

And at the New York Times, "Dispute Over Islands Reflects Japanese Fear of China’s Rise":

ISHIGAKI, Japan — When the flotilla of 21 fishing boats arrived at an island chain at the center of a growing territorial dispute with China, the captains warned the dozens of activists and politicians aboard not to attempt a landing.

Ten of the activists jumped into the shark-infested waters anyway, swimming ashore on Sunday and planting the rising sun flag that evokes painful memories of Imperial Japan’s 20th-century march across Asia.

“We feel that they dragged us into an international incident,” said Masanori Tamashiro, one of the boat captains.

That feeling is widely shared in Japan, where a small number of nationalists has pushed the country to assert itself more boldly to counter China’s and South Korea’s economic rise and China’s quickly evolving territorial ambitions. The conflict with China has raised the specter that the United States, Japan’s longtime defender, could be pulled into the fight.

The nationalists have gained traction for their cause in recent months by taking advantage of the government’s political weakness, forcing the governing party to take a tougher stand on the islands west of here, known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

But the activists are also tapping into a widespread anxiety over China, which intensified two years ago during the last major flare-up over the Senkakus. China retaliated then for Japan’s arrest of a fishing captain by starving Japan of the rare earths needed for its already struggling electronics industry. That anxiety became more pronounced in recent months as China expanded its claims in the nearby South China Sea, challenging Vietnam, the Philippines and others over more than 40 islands in a vast area, and backing its statements with aggressive moves that included sending larger patrol boats to disputed waters.

There is still little appetite in pacifist Japan for a full-blown confrontation with China. But analysts say consensus is growing on the need to stand up to China as power in the region appears to slip further from economically fading Japan and the United States.

“We are all gearing up for an international tug of war in this region,” said Narushige Michishita, an expert on security issues at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. “Whenever the distribution of power changes in a dramatic way, people start to redraw lines.”

I personally welcome the dispute --- one, because neither China nor Japan has the slightest interest or inclination toward military conflict; but second, in the case of Japan, a forceful and independent stand will allow it to make the case for its geographic interests independent of the United States. It's time to cut the cord. The U.S. will need Japan to stand up as China's regional balancer in the Pacific. The balance of power is changing, but Japan's a powerful country. Let those two East Asian giants work things out on their own.

'Keith Lemon: The Film' — World Premiere

Time flies when you're having fun, so enjoy Kelly Brook while she's still lovely.

Obscene Undercover Video of Inhumane Killing at Central Valley Meat Co. in Hanford, California

It's hard to defend such treatment of animals. I don't like it. Millions of cows are killed annually, I imagine, for meat consumption in the U.S. Technically, by definition, the slaughter is inhumane --- you simply wouldn't kill the animals at all, for meat production or any other reason. So, the only purpose of videos like this is to get people to stop eating meat altogether, which is an agenda item of environmental extremism. I can't stand those idiots.

The video is here. Viewer discretion is advised.

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Central Valley slaughterhouse closed over inhumane treatment."

This quote is good, but again, how do we know all the animals really killed "humanely"?

Fallout from the video was swift, with Irvine-based In-N-Out Burger announcing Tuesday it had severed its relationship with Central Valley Meat, one of its suppliers.

"In-N-Out Burger would never condone the inhumane treatment of animals and all of our suppliers must agree to abide by our strict standards for the humane treatment of cattle," Mark Taylor, In-N-Out's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

You make a choice when you eat meat. You have to kill the animals. They're going to puke up bile and gunk, their eyes are going to bulge out, they're going to go down ugly, no matter how it's done. So, make a choice. If animals were blessed with "human" rights, then we wouldn't eat them. They're not. But environmentalists are anti-human, so it goes without saying they'll put the welfare of animals over that of humans.

Labor Department Spent $100s of Thousands in Obama Stimulus Funds for Ads on Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow's

Because progressives really are all about corruption.

The Lonely Conservative Reports, "Stimulus Funds Went to Advertising Obama Policies on MSNBC."

Misogynist Hatebag Tom Boggioni of Firedoglake Attacks Dana Loesch as Just 'Like Herpes'

Longtime readers are quite familiar with the racist misogynist Christian-bashing hatebag TBogg of Firedoglake. His latest putrid attack is routine for this asshole:

@jesseltaylor @dloesch When you've lost Dana Loesch ... well, she's like herpes. So actually she'll probably be back.
— TBogg (@tbogg) August 21, 2012

Republican Abortion Platform Rejects Exceptions for Rape and Incest

The Fox News panel discusses the Todd Akin scandal, and the discussion inevitably moves toward the GOP's "extreme" position on abortion. Krauthammer notes that the rejection of exceptions for rape and incest have always been in recent Republican platforms, but Democrat demagoguing on social issues has heightened the focus this time around. And the Akin scandal is the gift the keeps on giving.

At the New York Times, "G.O.P. Approves Strict Anti-abortion Language in Party Platform":

Even as the Republican establishment continued to call for Representative Todd Akin of Missouri to drop out of his Senate race because of his comments on rape and abortion, Republicans approved platform language on Tuesday calling for a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion with no explicit exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

The anti-abortion plank, approved by the Republican platform committee Tuesday morning in Tampa, Fla., was similar to the planks Republicans have included in their recent party platforms, which also called for a constitutional ban on abortions. The full convention is set to vote on the party’s platform on Monday.

While Republican officials stressed that the plank did not go into granular details, saying that they were better left to the states, the language of the plank seems to leave little room for exceptions to the abortion ban. It states that “the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.”

“Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed,” said the draft platform language approved Tuesday, which was first reported by CNN. “We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.”

The timing of the approval of the Republican anti-abortion plank was awkward for Mitt Romney, who has denounced Mr. Akin’s comments about rape and abortion and who has said that he supports exceptions to allow abortions in cases of rape. And it comes as his selection of his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, was already drawing scrutiny for his support for a more absolute ban on abortions, even in cases of rape or incest.

RELATED: At the Los Angeles Times, "Todd Akin touts support from crusader who espoused theories on rape" (via Memeorandum).

NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll: Romney Faces Hurdles Heading Into Conventions

At MSNBC, "NBC/WSJ poll: Heading into conventions, Obama has four-point lead" (via Memeorandum).

Here's the Wall Street Journal's report, "In Tight Race, Romney Faces Hurdles" (via Memeorandum):

Heading into next week's Republican convention, Mitt Romney remains within striking distance of President Barack Obama but faces steep challenges in inducing voters to warm up to him as a candidate, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found.

Mr. Romney's choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate has stirred excitement within the GOP that he can defeat the president. But the poll found little evidence the pick will affect the election, beyond helping unify Mr. Romney's conservative base.

Mr. Obama's lead over Mr. Romney was 48% to 44% in the new poll, about the same as a month earlier and within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3 points.

The survey of 1,000 registered voters, taken Aug. 16-20, showed that significant swaths of the electorate harbor reservations about the former Massachusetts governor, concerns that have budged little since the general-election fight began in earnest four months ago.

At the same time, Mr. Obama continues to receive low marks for his handling of the economy, particularly among undecided voters, who are more pessimistic than are voters overall about the country's economic future. The dour outlook among undecided voters could hamper Mr. Obama's ability to turn his current lead into a winning majority.

Mr. Romney outscored the president on leadership qualities. He polled higher when those participating were asked which man has better executive skills, ideas to improve the economy and ability to change "business as usual'' in Washington.

But since the spring, Mr. Romney has made scant headway in persuading the public that he understands the concerns of average Americans.

Barely a third of those polled gave him better marks than the president on caring about average people, dealing with the concerns of women or seniors, or being a calm and steady leader.

More than half said Mr. Romney was "out of step with most Americans' thinking," compared with 44% who said that of Mr. Obama.

"Mitt Romney heads into his convention with a lot of repair work to do with his image," said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the poll along with Republican Bill McInturff.

The full results are here. Looks like a good sample, although it's a little heavy on Democrat respondents (34 percent). That said, the findings are in line with what we know already, and swing state polling shows Romney very competitive.

This race is too close to call.

More at Hot Air, "Bounce: New polls show Romney leading in Michigan, Wisconsin after Ryan pick."

Kelly Brook Afternoon Rule 5

Via Tumblr.

And see London's Daily Mail, "Hello, boys! Kelly Brook strips off (again) in sexy photos to launch her second New Look lingerie line for women with curves." Lots of photos at the link.

BONUS: At AceofSpadesHQ, "In Which, Depressed and Bored, I Post An Article About Christina Hendricks, Hoping To Get An "I'd Hit That" Thread Going."

Reince Priebus: Akin 'Ought to Do the Right Thing for the Country and Get Out of the Race...' (VIDEO)

I mentioned how abortion has moved to the center of the debate on the GOP. The Republican Convention is gearing up in Tampa, and I'll have more on that. Meanwhile, here's the RNC Chair putting the pressure on Akin::

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin."

* "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."

* "'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin."

* "Social Conservatives Stand Up for Todd Akin."

* "Obama Emerges From the Bunker to Declare 'Rape is Rape'."

* "Missouri's Todd Akin Asks for 'Forgiveness'."

* "'Rush to the Gunfire': Embattled Todd Akin Vows to Stay in the Race."

* "Dana Loesch Withdraws Support for Todd Akin."

Dana Loesch Withdraws Support for Todd Akin

She's been fighting almost a one-woman battle for Akin. And she's from Missouri, knows local politics, and has talked with the candidate personally.

Unfortunately I can no longer go forward with confidence believing that Akin can win this race. #mosen
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 21, 2012

After Akin attacked party ticket I'm not sure how he can walk it back. It's his decision to withdraw , I hope he makes right one. #MOsen
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 21, 2012

I have been on the front lines of this battle for a long while. Akin is a good person, has a good record. He and the party hurt his chance.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 21, 2012

And the golden rule: as a GOP candidate, you DO NOT attack the ticket. Period, period, period, period, period. THE END.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 21, 2012

Check Dana's Twitter feed for updates.

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin."

* "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."

* "'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin."

* "Social Conservatives Stand Up for Todd Akin."

* "Obama Emerges From the Bunker to Declare 'Rape is Rape'."

* "Missouri's Todd Akin Asks for 'Forgiveness'."

* "'Rush to the Gunfire': Embattled Todd Akin Vows to Stay in the Race."

More at Memeorandum.

Akin's dug in. The question now is whether the GOP can force him off the ballot? If he goes, will that help? And if he stays, can he beat McCaskill? She's not well liked in Missouri.

I think the whole thing sucks. But if Akin's a shitty candidate, my sense is that it's up to the voters to decide, not the party bureaucrats.

CNN's reporting that abortion's now becoming a key issue for the GOP, so I doubt that an Akin exit from the race will make this go away or make things better for the national ticket. The left has been running on social issues for a while so it's no surprise they'll keep hammering on 'em. Perhaps #RomneyRyan can get the focus back on the economy. Even Mitt's called on Akin to go, "Mitt Romney calls for Rep. Akin to drop out."

'Rush to the Gunfire': Embattled Todd Akin Vows to Stay in the Race

Rockin' conservative Dana Loesch gets an awesome interview with Rep. Akin, and the Los Angeles Times reports, "Todd Akin says he will 'rush to the gunfire,' stay in Senate race":

Defiant Senate candidate Todd Akin said in a pair of radio appearances Tuesday that he will not drop out of his race against Sen. Claire McCaskill, promising to “rush to the gunfire” rather than away from it, following his controversial remarks about rape and abortion.

Despite urgings from much of the Republican Party hierarchy to drop his candidacy before a deadline this evening, Akin told radio hosts Mike Huckabee and Dana Loesch that he still believes he can beat McCaskill.

Akin, 65, portrayed himself as a man of principle, unwilling to give up his fight just because of comments that he portrayed as a minor misstep. “One word, one sentence, [on] one day out of place and all of a sudden the entire establishment turns on you,” Akin told Loesch, whose syndicated show is broadcast from KFTK-FM in St. Louis.

More at the link. And follow all the action at Dana's Twitter feed.

Plus, Anne Sorock updates at Legal Insurrection, "Akin confirms he’s staying in on The Dana Show, Huckabee."

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin."

* "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."

* "'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin."

* "Social Conservatives Stand Up for Todd Akin."

* "Obama Emerges From the Bunker to Declare 'Rape is Rape'."

* "Missouri's Todd Akin Asks for 'Forgiveness'."

CNN's doing back-to-back stories on this, so expect more updates. Akin's not dropping out. This leaves the state and national GOP establishment stuck with a quandary. But listen to the interview. Akin sounds like a patriot and a fighter to me. Lots of folks on the right are out for this guy's blood, but he's apologized and made that emotional plea for "foregiveness." How often do Democrats do that? Right. Never, the f-king asshats.

"Rush to the gunfire" is right. Take 'em out, Akin.

Expect updates...

'Toddler Fight Club': Delaware Daycare's License Revoked After Video Shows Kids Fighting

Howard Portnoy reports, at Hot Air, "Daycare workers arrested for urging toddlers to fight one another."

And at News One, "Child Care Workers Cuffed For Organizing ‘Toddler Fight Club’."

It was two black chicks and a f-king Latina --- but we wouldn't want to make any "sweeping generalizations" about these stupid c*nts. That would be unfair.

I hope the childrens' families win a huge settlement.

Gallup/USA Today Poll: Americans Worse Off in 12 Battleground States

Glenn Reynolds keeps reminding us not to get cocky, but my gut sense says a president at 45 percent nationally, with unemployment still above 8 percent, cannot be reelected. The election is close, I believe, because the White House has been successful in deflecting from its own historical failures, and also because of missteps on the part of Mitt Romney's campaign. But the Paul Ryan pick has powerfully clarified the choice facing Americans, and with the national party conventions beginning next week, we'll truly see an epic campaign for the future of the nation.

USA Today reports, "Obama faces historic challenge":

Barack Obama, who made history when he was elected president four years, would make a different kind of history if he wins re-election in November: claiming a second term when most Americans say they aren't better off than they were when he moved into the Oval Office.

Since Ronald Reagan challenged President Carter nearly three decades ago, the rhetorical debate question has become an iconic one for voters. Are you better off than you were four years ago? Now, in USA TODAY/Gallup polls nationwide and in the 12 top battleground states, most voters say the situation for them and their families hasn't improved over the past four years -- the most downbeat response of the electorate in elections since then.

Even so, President Obama, who in 2008 became the first African American elected president, maintains a lead over challenger Mitt Romney in the battleground states likely to decide the election, 47%-44%. That's better than his standing in the non-battleground states, where Romney leads 47%-45%.

Despite airing millions of dollars in TV ads and taking a high-profile trip abroad, Romney has failed to budge in the swing states, stuck at 44% or 45% since April. In that time, Obama has maintained a steady 47% despite a string of disappointing monthly jobs reports and an 8.3% unemployment rate.

The president's vulnerabilities on the economy have opened the door to a re-election rebuke, analysts of all stripes agree, but so far Romney has failed to walk through that opening. In the survey and follow-up interviews, voters say they have lost much of their faith that Obama can fix the economy but aren't convinced they can trust Romney to watch out for them and their interests.

Romney's biggest opportunities to do so lie ahead, at the Republican National Convention that opens Monday in Tampa and in the presidential debates in October. "I'm really kind of torn, and I'm glad I don't have to vote today," says Kerry O'Hearn, 55, of Grandville, Mich., who was called in the poll. "There's just something about Romney that I'm not sure I like." She voted for Obama four years ago, but if she had to grade him now on the economy, she would give him a D.

Romney will close the deal in the remaining months of the campaign.

More, Ed Morrissey parses the numbers, "Gallup swing state poll shows virtual tie, only 40% better off than in 2008."

GOP Congressman Apologizes for Nude Swim in Israel

Rep. Kevin Yoder took off his clothes before jumping in the water --- the only one of six GOP members of Congress present for the drunk skinny-dipping in Israel.

Sounds like fun to me. At The Hill, "Rep. Yoder apologizes for skinny-dipping in Sea of Galilee."

And here's the report at the New York Times, "House Member Is Rebuked After Nude Swim in Israel":

WASHINGTON — They came to town promising something new and different, a fresh reprieve from the antics and proclivities of a “Washington” they disdained.

But during a trip to Israel last summer, several House Republican freshmen engaged in a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee, complete with one skinny-dipping congressman whose choice threatened to tarnish the reputation of the House newcomers as superserious number-crunchers who sleep on their office couches and go to bed before midnight.

On a trip billed as a foreign policy fact-finding mission last year, a large group of Republican members of Congress, and some of their staff and family members, decided to take a swim in the sea after a long day.

Several members — including Representative Steve Southerland II of Florida, who jumped into the water holding hands with his 21-year-old daughter — said they were moved to dip for religious reasons. (The sea is believed by Christians to be the location where Jesus walked on water.)

While most of the members remained clothed, or largely so, Representative Kevin Yoder of Kansas decided to disrobe entirely, as reported first by Politico on Sunday. This sent most of the members fleeing for the shore, said a participant, and prompted a harsh rebuke the next day from  Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, who was on the trip but did not swim in the sea.

More than 80 members of the House went on the trip, which was arranged by Mr. Cantor, as guests of the American Israel Education Foundation, a charity affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group. It was believed to be the largest number of members of Congress to make the trip during a single recess, according to the organizers at the time. Mr. Cantor’s comments were made to the entire traveling group, said one person there, saying that members should not detract from the trip’s mission.

RELATED: At LAT, "FBI not investigating Republican skinny-dipping, drinking in Israel."

GRAPHIC: Video Shows al Qaeda in Iraq Executing Policemen in Haditha

It's at Long War Journal. They've got a content warning up there and they're not kidding.

An extremely violent clip, "Al Qaeda in Iraq video details deadly raid in Haditha."

The situation is badly deteriorating there. See the Guardian UK, "Iraq hit by wave of deadly bombings and shootings." Apparently, the insurgency in Iraq is being revived by the war in Syria.

Good going, Baracky! You came with open arms to Cairo, saying that America and the Muslim world shared more in common than not, and the natives rose up to greet you, just not the way you were hoping.

Apple Now Biggest-Ever U.S. Company

An interesting report, at the Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc. AAPL surpassed Microsoft Corp. MSFT Monday as the largest U.S. company ever, measured by stock-market value.

Apple hit the new milestone—$623.52 billion—at a time when its influence on the economy, on the stock market and on popular culture rivals that of some of the most powerful companies in U.S. history: General Motors Co., GM whose Corvette and Impala typified a confident postwar manufacturing giant; Microsoft, whose technology heralded the arrival of the personal computer and the early Internet age; and International Business Machines Corp., IBM whose buttoned-down rigor inspired rivals to reach for greatness.

"It is one of those iconic companies," says Richard Sylla, professor of financial history at New York University's Stern School of Business. "When I think about these companies, their products were used by all kinds of people and their leaders were considered geniuses."

Continue reading.

Missouri's Todd Akin Asks for 'Forgiveness'

I can't remember anything like this. It's not quite the Checkers speech, but Akin invoking his "two daughters" provides some emotional impact.

At Politico, "Exclusive: Akin ad asks for 'forgiveness'" (via Memeorandum):

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin."

* "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."

* "'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin."

* "Social Conservatives Stand Up for Todd Akin."

* "Obama Emerges From the Bunker to Declare 'Rape is Rape'."

EXIT QUESTION: How long until Akin drops out?

Tempted Angela? Breaking Up the Euro Area

I mentioned previously that I'd try to come back to this story.

At the Economist, "The Euro: Tempted, Angela?":

FOR all you know, Angela Merkel is even now contemplating how to break up the euro. Surely Germany’s long-suffering chancellor must be tempted, given the endless euro-bickering over rescues that later turn out to be inadequate. How she must tire of fighting her country’s corner, only to be branded weak by critics at home. How she must resent sacrificing German wealth, only to be portrayed as a Nazi in some of the very countries she is trying to rescue.

But for this very practical woman there is also a practical reason to start contingency planning for a break-up: it is looking ever more likely. Greece is buckling (see article). Much of southern Europe is also in pain, while the northern creditor countries are becoming ever less forgiving: in a recent poll a narrow majority of Germans favoured bringing back the Deutschmark. A chaotic disintegration would be a calamity. Even as Mrs Merkel struggles to find a solution, her aides are surely also sensibly drawing up a plan to prepare for the worst.

This week our briefing imagines what such a “Merkel memorandum” might say (see article). It takes a German point of view, but its logic would apply to the other creditor countries. Its conclusions are stark—not least in terms of which euro member it makes sense to keep or drop. But the main message is one of urgency. For the moment, breaking up the euro would be more expensive than trying to hold it together. But if Europe just keeps on arguing, that calculation will change.

Keep reading.

This piece adds up the costs of break up, and it ain't pretty. But it might be a sooner or later question, so who knows?

But see C. Fred Bergsten, at Foreign Affairs, "Why the Euro Will Survive."

Bernard-Henri Lévy: Regime Change in Damascus

The French philosopher supports Western military intervention in Syria, and sees France leading the charge.

At The Daily Beast, "End the Syria Slaughter Now!":

Is it possible to intervene? What can be done in the face of the Russian and Chinese vetoes in the U.N. Security Council? The answer is not as complicated as those who are determined not to intervene would have us believe. It is the answer that French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave to the representatives of Libya’s Transitional National Council on March 11, 2011, when they asked him what would happen if France and the United States could not persuade the Security Council to go along with their plans. “That would be very unfortunate,” Sarkozy responded. “And we have to do everything we can to keep that from happening, but if we don’t succeed, then it will be necessary, together with the appropriate regional organizations (the Arab League, the African Union), to establish an alternative supervisory authority that will enable us to act.” Indeed, that is just what Susan Rice, the U.S. permanent representative to the Security Council, suggested with respect to Syria on May 30, 2012, following a briefing by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Kofi Annan’s deputy, who was already beginning to come to grips with the failure of the U.N. mediation. If it did fail, Rice said, the international community would have to consider “whether they’re prepared to take actions outside of the Annan plan and the authority of this Council.” From the American ambassador! In this case, it was a question of law. Or more precisely of the need to amend the law when its provisions conflict with the requirements of natural law and justice. The Russian and Chinese vetoes are not an argument—they’re an alibi, the alibi of those who secretly believe that Assad will be strong enough to crush the insurrection and get us off the hook. The bloodbath is his—the crocodile tears, ours.

Keep reading.

He's not calling for a full-on Iraq-style ground invasion, favoring limited measures like a no-fly zone instead, but I doubt a stepped-up military initiative would avoid a large ground deployment in the long run. Interestingly, BHL sounds a lot like Max Boot on this.

Obama Emerges From the Bunker to Declare 'Rape is Rape'

Interesting.

Obama's finally facing the press. He couldn't pass up a chance to smear the GOP on Todd Akin faux-troversy, no doubt. At least the left's Sandra Fluke wannabes are swooning.

At The Hill, "President Obama: ‘Rape is rape’":

President Obama on Monday called Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks about rape “offensive” and sought to tie the Republican Senate candidate to the GOP presidential ticket.

“Rape is rape,” Obama said at a White House press briefing. He called Akin's comments “way out there.”

Defining rape, he said, “doesn't make sense to the American people and doesn't make sense to me.”
“What I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, the majority of which are men, making decisions that affect health of women,” Obama said.

Democrats have pounced on Akin’s comments, which could make Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) a favorite in the Missouri Senate race overnight.

Akin wasn't defending rape, and he's apologized for those comments, but O's got his meme and he's sticking with it.

More news at Legal Insurrection, "PPP finds Akin still leads McCaskill – Troll poll?"

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin."

* "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."

* "'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin."

* "Social Conservatives Stand Up for Todd Akin."

This will be the big story throughout the day, especially whether Akin changes his mind on dropping out. The pressure might be unbearable.

Social Conservatives Stand Up for Todd Akin

At CNN, "Leading social conservatives rally to Akin's defense" (via Memeorandum):

Tampa, Florida (CNN) – While much of the Republican universe spent Monday condemning Missouri Senate hopeful Todd Akin for his comments about "legitimate rape" and abortion, one of the nation's most prominent conservative organizations rallied to his defense.

Two top officials from the Family Research Council said the Missouri congressman is the target of a Democratic smear campaign and chided those Republicans who have condemned Akin.

Connie Mackey, who heads the group's political action committee, said the group "strongly supports" Todd Akin.

"We feel this is a case of gotcha politics," Mackey told reporters in Tampa, where the Republican National Committee was gathering ahead of the party's convention next week. "He has been elected five times in that community in Missouri. They know who Todd Akin is. We know who Todd Akin is. We've worked with him up on the hill. He's a defender of life."

"Todd Akin is getting a really bad break here," she added. "I don't know anything about the science or the legal implications of his statement. I do know politics, and I know gotcha politics when I see it."

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins fired back at Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, a leading moderate voice in the GOP who called Akin's remarks "outrageous" and encouraged him to drop his challenge to Democrat Claire McCaskill.

"He should be careful because based on some of his statements there may be some call for him to get out of his race," Perkins said of Brown. "He has been off the reservation on a number of Republican issues, conservative issues I should say. His support among conservatives is very shallow."

Actually, a lot of very conservative people are calling on Akin to quit, although I'm inclined towards Perkins' argument. More at Memeorandum.

So far, it doesn't look like Akin is quitting. Here's the New York Times's report, "G.O.P. Presses Akin to Quit Race Over Rape Remark." But see TPM, "Todd Akin Launches 'I'm Not Quitting' Ad Campaign."

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin."

* "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."

* "'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin."

Still more news at Memeorandum.

Heidi Klum Chillin'

That looks relaxing, from Ms. Klum's Twitter feed:

And at London's Daily Mail, "Now that's just showing off! Heidi Klum tweets picture of her impeccable bikini body."

'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin

At RCP, "Hannity Urges Akin to Consider Dropping Out In Interview With Him" (via Memeorandum).

And the Wall Street Journal weighs in, "Todd Akin's Sinking Ship":

Mr. Akin may not be a quitter, but the question now is whether he is a sure loser in November. He had won a three-way primary earlier this month and faced a tough but winnable race against vulnerable Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill. The race will be that much tougher given that his remarks about rape are likely to repel the women voters he will need to prevail.

National Republicans, including GOP Senators Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, quickly suggested Mr. Akin should drop out. The Senate GOP campaign committee let it be known that if Mr. Akin stays in the race, it won't be advertising on his behalf, and conservative groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS are reported to have pulled their advertising for the candidate. Mitt Romney also made a point to criticize the remarks. If Mr. Akin withdraws before 5 p.m. today, another GOP candidate can still get on the ballot.

Mr. Akin and his most loyal supporters may consider this party reaction unfair given that it is only one comment and he has apologized. But Senate control could well be decided by a single seat, and on that hangs the future of ObamaCare and much more than one candidate's fate. As John Paul Jones might have put it, Mr. Akin has sunk his own ship.

Ouch.

Dana Loesch is still pulling for Akin.

WSJ's argument is that the dude hung himself. Perhaps. But again, it's a campaign, and things like this are rarely decided by one gaffe. The national GOP --- and I saw Reince Priebus on CNN a bit earlier --- thinks Akin should go. Clearly, what folks worry about is the distraction Akin will cause, and how his staying in the race would be gift to Democrats. There's a way the GOP to try to minimize the issue, and that's for the top of the ticket to say that the left's remorselessly demagoguing, and that attacks on Akin are just one more indicator that Obama can't talk about the real issues facing the country, the economy and lingering high unemployment.

That, alas, is a tall order (Romney pretty much blew Akin off, in any case), and folks rightly worry about the damage to the party's gains in November. At this point it's basically a countdown to see when Akin will quit.

The Hill has a comprehensive report, "Republicans pressure Akin to drop out of Missouri Senate race," and it notes:

The initial deadline for a candidate to withdraw from the race is Tuesday at 5 p.m., but the final deadline, with a court order, is Sept. 25 by 5 p.m. The state party committee would then have to choose a new nominee within 28 days or by 5 p.m. on Oct. 12, whichever comes sooner.

PREVIOUSLY: "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin," and "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."

Pamela Anderson Photo Shoot for Lovecat Magazine

Very summery, at Lovecat, "Pamela Anderson by Sante D’Orazio for LOVECAT MAG 5."

Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race

I posted on Rep. Akin's comments previously, "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin." His comments were dumb, but throwing him under the bus to appease the radical left is the last thing I'd do. This is why we have political campaigns. People make gaffes. They have to stand up for the comments, apologize, and move on. I see no reason for someone like Akin to drop out for what clearly was a garbled message on a controversial topic, comments for which the candidate has now apologized. But now there are cries across the conservatives 'sphere for Akin to step aside, most prominently, at National Review, "Step Aside, Todd Akin" (via Memeorandum). William Jacobson weighs in, "Yes, Akin should drop out." And Robert Stacy McCain has a huge roundup, and laments that Akin's campaign is "beyond recovery."

The obvious reason for Akin to bail is that his continued presence in the race threatens a possible GOP takeover of the Senate in November. RCP's Missouri Senate polling is here. Claire McCaskill is the most vulnerable Democrat Senate incumbent facing reelection this year, and Obama is expected to lose Missouri, a defeat which will negatively impact down-ballot races. But Republicans need to pick up 4 seats with little room to spare. A Missouri pick-up is deemed essential, and Akin's comments have caused problems, "'Legitimate Rape' Gaffe May Cost GOP Senate Control." So while there's a pretty good case for Akin's withdrawal, the larger implication is that conservatives will have caved to a larger progressive Democrat progressive narrative, no only on political speech, but on abortion and health care reform.

Dana Loesch has been a stalwart voice for standing up against the left's thuggery on this. See, "AKIN ON 'LEGITIMATE RAPE': 'I MISSPOKE'." And below from Dana's timeline on Twitter, her first and second tweets yesterday on the Akin affair, and a couple of powerful later tweets. And check Dana's feed for updates. A leftist lynch mob has attacked her, screaming to have her raped.

Wow, I see a lot of people freaking out over Akin's remarks.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 19, 2012

Seems to me like Akin was trying to fit medical explanation into a soundbite. Not the best statement, but some are stretching it majorly.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 19, 2012

Some on our side don't understand the difference between rectifying an error and completely folding to the left.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 19, 2012

More than anything, all of this proves how desperate Dems are to change the subject from their losing Medicare narrative.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 20, 2012

Michelle Malkin has a sobering must read on this as well, "The Todd Akin mess." And all the news updates are at Memeorandum.

Akin's campaign has rejected calls to drop out, despite earlier reports.

Expect updates...

Testing the Surge in Iraq

I read this piece a few weeks back, as soon as the journal hit my mailbox. I meant to get this posted earlier, but better late than never.

This is excellent research, from Stephen Biddle, Jeffrey Friedman, and Jacob Shapiro, at International Security, "Testing the Surge: Why Did Violence Decline in Iraq in 2007?"

At issue: What explains the decline of military and civilian fatalities in Iraq after mid-2007? The decline in violence coincides with the Bush administration's high-profile shift in war strategy, popularly called "the surge." Opponents of the war dismissed the administration's claims that the decline in violence was the result of a successful military reorientation under General David Petraeus, who combined increased troop contingents with a new war-fighting doctrine that sent patrols out into the most dangerous Baghdad neighborhoods to clear and hold the areas most wracked by sectarian violence. Troops were dismounted and mobile and military bases were dispersed, in contrast to pre-surge war-fighting that stressed large, fortified bases and mounted troop patrols. The antiwar opponents argued instead that sectarian violence was so unchecked that there remained no more ethnic groups left to cleanse. Ethno-religious rivalry played out between Sunni and Shiite Muslim factions. According to the authors:

Proponents of the cleansing thesis argue that it was the spatial intermingling of prewar Sunnis and Shiites that led to violence: large, internally homogeneous communities would be defensible and thus secure, but the prewar patchwork quilt of interpenetrated neighborhoods created a security dilemma in which each group was exposed to violence from the other. In this view, the war was chiefly a response to mutual threat, with each side fighting to evict rivals from areas that could then be made homogeneous and secure. While the populations were intermingled, the violence was intense, but the fighting progressively unmixed the two groups, yielding large, contiguous areas of uniform makeup with defensible borders between them. This in turn resolved the security dilemma, and as neighborhoods were cleansed, the fighting petered out as a product of its own dynamics rather than as a response to U.S. reinforcements [p. 14].

Political bloggers will remember these debates quite well, which makes this research especially interesting. It provides a careful empirical rebuttal to the debased arguments of the antiwar left, groups who worked to politically destroy the Bush administration, and often gave aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States.

The authors demonstrate that the cleansing thesis, despite its intuitive appeal, cannot explain the reduction in violence over the time period. However, it wasn't just the surge alone that prepared the way for the military victory in Iraq. The authors indicate that a complex interaction took place between the surge of military force (and the change in troop deployments) and the rise of what's been called the "Anbar Awakening" --- the mobilization of local Sunni tribal forces in an uprising against the insurgency of al Qaeda in Iraq. Antiwar opponents also latched onto the Awakening thesis as a means to deny the Bush administration credit for the improvement of conditions on the ground. If local tribesman rose up against outside forces, aided by cash payments (amid the decline of sectarian violence, since everything was all cleansed out), then it wasn't more troops or the innovations of the COIN doctrine. It was local contingencies, and the Bush adminstration was not only wrong about the war, but its top officials should be tried as war criminals.

But the authors show that there was synergy between the surge and the Awakening, and that military improvement would not have taken place without the synergistic interaction of these two variables. Folks will want to read the piece for the full argument and evidence. The authors employ historical process-tracing analysis combined with a statistical data set charting the "standing up" of the Sons of Iraq forces (SOI). From the article:

The surge-Awakening synergy thesis ... sees the reinforcements and doctrinal changes as necessary but insuficient. In this view, the surge was too small, and the impact of doctrinal changes insufªcient, to defeat a determined insurgency before the reinforcements’ time limit was reached and their withdrawal began. Hence the surge without the Awakening would have improved security temporarily but would not have broken the insurgency, which would have survived and returned as the reinforcements went home. The surge added a temporary, yearlong boost of about 30,000 U.S. troops to a pre-surge coalition strength of about 155,000 foreign and 323,000 Iraqi troops and police as of December 2006 (Iraqi Security Forces, or ISF, grew by about another 37,000 by September 2007, when violence had begun to drop). Thus the surge entailed only a marginal increase in troop density: an expansion of less than 15 percent overall and perhaps 20 percent in U.S. strength. Half of the overall increase, moreover, was in Iraqi forces, which were far from proªcient in the new U.S. methods by 2006–07.

And as mentioned above, the U.S. component had only about a year in which to function at this strength, after which it was to return to pre-surge numbers or fewer. For this reinforcement per se to have been decisive, one must assume that previous troop density lay just below some critical threshold that happened to be within 20 percent of the presurge value. Although this coincidence cannot be excluded, there is no prima facie reason to expect it.

For synergy proponents, the Awakening was thus necessary for the surge to succeed. In this view, the Awakening had three central effects. First, it took most of the Sunni insurgency off the battleªeld as an opponent, radically weakening the enemy. Second, it provided crucial information on remaining holdouts, and especially AQI, which greatly increased coalition combat effectiveness. And third, these effects among Sunnis reshaped Shiite incentives, leading their primary militias to stand down in turn.

As for the first two points, although the SOI movement never comprised just former insurgents, the insurgency nevertheless provided much of the SOIs’ combatant strength—and the bulk of the secular Sunni insurgency nationwide became SOIs over the course of 2007. By the end of the year, SOI strength nationwide had reached 100,000 members, under more than 200 separate contracts. As insurgents progressively realigned in this way, the remaining insurgency shrank dramatically. The fact that so many SOIs were former insurgents also made the SOIs uniquely valuable coalition allies: they knew their erstwhile associates’ identities, methods, and whereabouts in ways that government counterinsurgents rarely do. When insurgents who had been allied with AQI realigned as Sons of Iraq, the coalition suddenly gained intelligence on AQI membership, cell structure, the identity of safe houses and bombmaking workshops, and locations of roadside bombs and booby traps. Guerrillas rely on stealth and secrecy to survive against heavily armed government soldiers. When SOIs lifted this veil of secrecy, coalition ªrepower guided by SOI intelligence became extremely lethal, creating ever-increasing incentives for holdouts to seek similar deals for themselves; soon only committed AQI fanatics remained, marginalized in a few districts in Iraq’s northwest.

In the synergy account, Sunni realignment in turn had major consequences for Shiite militias such as the Jaish al-Mahdi. Many of these militias began as self-defense mechanisms to protect Shiite civilians from Sunni attack, but they grew increasingly predatory as they realized they could exploit a dependent population. Rising criminality in turn created fissiparous tendencies as factions with their own income grew increasingly independent of their leadership. When the SOIs began appearing, the Sunni threat waned, and with it the need for defenders. At the same time, the SOI cease-fires freed arriving U.S. surge brigades to focus on Shiite militiamen. These developments created multiple perils for militia leadership. In previous firefights with U.S. forces, the JAM in particular had sustained heavy losses but easily made them up with new recruits given its popularity. Shiites’ growing disaffection with militia predation, however, coupled with declining fear of Sunni attack, threatened leaders’ ability to make up losses with new recruits. At the same time, intraShiite violence among rival militias, especially between the Badr Brigade and the JAM, posed a rising threat from a different direction. When Shiites were united by a mortal Sunni threat and U.S. forces were tied down by insurgents and AQI, these internal problems were manageable. But as the Sunni threat waned, Shiite support weakened, internal divisions multiplied, and U.S. troop strength grew, Shiite militias’ ability to survive new battles with coalition forces fell. In the synergy account, these challenges persuaded Muqtada al-Sadr to stand down rather than risk another beating from the coalition, and the result was his announced cease-ªre of August 2007—which took the primary Shiite militia off the battlefield, leaving all of 2006’s major militant groups under cease-ªres, save a marginalized remnant of AQI, and producing the radical violence reduction of late 2007 and thereafter.

Proponents of the synergy thesis thus see the Awakening as necessary for the surge to succeed. In this view, however, neither the surge nor the Awakening was sufficient, nor did these factors combine in an additive way. As noted above, Sunni groups had attempted similar realignments on previous occasions—and those earlier attempts had all failed at great cost. For the synergy school, what distinguished the failures from the successful 2007 Awakening was a coalition force that could protect insurgent defectors from counterattack. The surge may not have been large enough to suffocate a determined insurgency, but it was large enough to enable cooperation with turncoat Sunnis and exploit their knowledge to direct coalition firepower against the still-active insurgents, enabling them to survive the kind of retaliation that had crippled their predecessors... [pp. 23-26]

The full article is here.

The authors caution against applying the lessons from their research to the war in Afghanistan. The correlation of factors in Iraq were highly idiosyncratic, and not likely to be replicated elsewhere. But the authors do indicate that much remains to be teased out on theories of counterinsurgency, that much more work along these lines awaits, which in turn will provide important information for policymakers.

Dude In a Coffee Shop Strikes Up Conversation With the Man Who Invented the World's First Internally-Programmable Computer

And it all started out with, "Do you like Apple?"

And the dude, Joel Runyan, for a second thought the man was dicking him around. Actually, not.

See, "An Unexpected Ass Kicking" (via Instapundit).

The man is Russell Kirsch. He also scanned the first digital image, of his baby son, in 1957. Check the Wikipedia entry, where that photo of Kirsch and Runyon is available from the Wikimedia Commons.

Candice Cohen-Ahnine, French Jewess in Custody Fight With Saudi Prince, Falls to Her Death From Four-Story Apartment

This sounded suspicious immediately, at Telegraph UK, "French mother in custody battle with Saudi prince falls to her death":

A French Jewish mother at the centre of a high profile custody battle with a Saudi prince has died after falling from a fourth storey apartment, amid suspicions of foul play.

Police are still investigating what caused the death of Candice Cohen-Ahnine, 35, who fell from her Paris apartment window on Thursday night.

Investigators reportedly had been leaning towards an accident as cause of death, but by Sunday reports in the French media suggested Ms Cohen-Ahnine had slipped and fallen to her death "as if she was escaping something dangerous".

Police refused to confirm the reports when contacted by The Daily Telegraph.

Ms Cohen-Ahnine's lawyer, Laurence Tarquiny-Charpentier, said the death "seemed to be some sort of accident," and did not know whether foul play was involved. She said witnesses had been at the scene of the crime, and more information about the circumstances of the death is expected Monday.

"What I can tell you is that it wasn't a suicide," Ms Tarquiny-Charpentier said.

Also at Atlas Shrugs, "'IT WASN'T A SUICIDE': FRENCH JEWESS IN CUSTODY BATTLE WITH SAUDI PRINCE HAS DIED UNDER "MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES'":

I have been reading about this horrid custody battle for years. I didn't blog on it because any Jewish girl that marries a devout Muslim, let alone a Saudi royal, is in for a world of pain. Now I have to write her obituary. There is no doubt in my mind that he had her killed.

Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin

Twitchy reports, "Twitter Lynch Mob calls for rape of Rep. Todd Akin."

Also, "Dana Loesch: Stop overreacting to Todd Akin’s comments."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Missouri Senate Hopeful Steps Back Rape Remarks":

The Republican vying for Democrat Claire McCaskill's Senate seat in Missouri said Sunday that he misspoke during an earlier television interview when he said pregnancies in the case of "legitimate rape" are rare and that women have a biological ability to prevent pregnancy in such cases.

Rep. Todd Akin (R., Mo.), who recently won the GOP primary to run for Ms. McCaskill's seat, made his comments in an interview broadcast Sunday by St. Louis television station KTVI and posted on its website. Mr. Akin was asked about whether abortion should be legal in the case of rape.

"From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare," Mr. Akin said of pregnancy caused by rape. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something…I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

In a statement later, Mr. Akin said: "In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year. Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve."

Ms. McCaskill, whose seat is widely seen as one of the Democrats' most vulnerable to a GOP pickup, was quick to seize on the issue. Her campaign featured Mr. Akin's earlier comments on its website and sought contributions.

"It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape," Ms. McCaskill said in a statement. "The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive."

Abortion is a key issue for Mr. Akin, a six-term representative from the St. Louis suburbs. In 2011, he supported a bill that would have redefined the circumstances under which some federally funded health-care programs could be used for abortions to include only cases of "forcible rape" as opposed to "rape," which critics said might prevent funding for abortions in cases of statutory rape and other circumstances.

Mr. Akin's Senate campaign website lists "Life," referring to his opposition to abortion, as the first of a handful of priority issues. "Our founders understood that life is a fundamental right granted to us by our Creator and that the government's role is to protect this right," he writes on his campaign site. "A government that doesn't protect innocent life fails at one of its most basic roles."

RTWT.

He misspoke, apparently. Suck it up and move on.

This isn't something that would normally sink a campaign. But the progs want this guy reamed, so we'll see.