Huma Abedin Pregnant!

Man, that's a lot of news in one day.

At New York Times, "Weiner’s Wife Is Pregnant."

And previously, "Anthony Weiner X-Rated Photo Released!"

There's likely to be a flood of calls for Weiner's resignation now. And now more than ever, if only for his wife's privacy, and for the well-being of his unborn child, Weiner should quit Congress, get away from the hostile media glare, and start rebuilding his life. There is political rehabilitation after sordid sex scandals. (Just ask former San Francisco Mayor and current Calilfornia Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsome.)

Anthony Weiner X-Rated Photo Released!

I'm just now seeing this, at Memeorandum.

Of course, sleaze website Gawker has the explicit details: "Weiner’s Cock Shot Emerges." Following the links takes us to a tweet with the alleged photograph:

This is going viral.

Andrew Breitbart's statement is here: "Statement on Opie & Anthony’s Illicit Capture and Release of Photograph."

Aaron Worthing has more, "Breaking: The X-Rated Picture Has Been Leaked."

RELATED: Robert Stacy McCain hasn't posted on this yet. He must be taking a nap, or doing more research on Khloe Kardashian, who appeared on Fox & Friends baring her right nipple. I'm not posting that video, although not because ASFL Scott Eric Kaufman might object. The dick.

Added: More calls for Weiner's resignation, at ABC News, "Two Congressional Democrats Call for Rep. Weiner to Resign."

Progressives Take Aim at Bush Tax Cuts

No surprise Ed Schultz is mouthing talking points from the Soros-funded Think Progress smear machine. Schultz just came back from his suspension after attacking Laura Ingraham as a "right-wing slut." And here he is going off about exploding deficits and lost jobs, blah, blah. Is there a prize for being too obvious? The Anthony Weiner ethics disaster is just some foul topping for all the horrendous economic news of late, and Democratic prospects for 2012 are simply getting hammered. It's the smell of desperation, and it stinks.

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Here's Think Progress, "Ten Years Of The Bush Tax Cuts." And here's Joan Walsh, who just got beaten up on Twitter over her attacks on Andrew Breitbart and Weinergate, "Happy anniversary: Bush tax cuts turn 10." Folks can go back and forth on this forever. The truth is that higher taxes stifle initiative and entrepreneurship, and small businesses are among the hardest hit. Besides, no single variable explains current growth trends, least of all the first round up Bush tax cuts on 2001. As Mark Murray points out, "Judging the Bush tax cuts -- 10 years later":

Chris Edwards, the director of tax policy studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, has a different take on the Bush tax cuts.

Edwards says the 2001 cuts (which included lower individual tax rates) turned out to be less effective than the later ones enacted in 2003 (on dividends and capital gains). "Bush's cuts were half and half in my view."

He also contends that it's too simplistic to extrapolate from the last 10 years that tax cuts -- in general -- don't work. "So much goes on in the economy," Edwards said, referring to external events, trade policies, and spending. "Clinton's higher tax rate doesn't prove any kind of relationship."

The current crop of Republican presidential hopefuls are continuing to bet on lower taxes. In his speech at the University of Chicago today, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed decreasing individual income-tax rates to just two levels: 10% and 25%; 35% is the current top level. And he also called for a lower corporate-tax rate.

"Growing at 5% a year -- rather than at the current level of 1.8% -- would net us millions of new jobs," Pawlenty said. "How do we do it? In short, we create more economic growth by creating more economic freedom."

See also Martin Feldstein, at Wall Street Journal, "The Economy Is Worse Than You Think":

The policies of the Obama administration have led to the weak condition of the American economy. Growth during the coming year will be subpar at best, leaving high or rising levels of unemployment and underemployment.

The drop in GDP growth to just 1.8% in the first quarter of 2011, from 3.1% in the final quarter of last year, understates the extent of the decline. Two-thirds of that 1.8% went into business inventories rather than sales to consumers or other final buyers. This means that final sales growth was at an annual rate of just 0.6% and the actual quarterly increase was just 0.15%—dangerously close to no rise at all. A sustained expansion cannot be built on inventory investment. It takes final sales to induce businesses to hire and to invest.

The picture is even gloomier if we look in more detail. Estimates of monthly GDP indicate that the only growth in the first quarter of 2011 was from February to March. After a temporary rise in March, the economy began sliding again in April, with declines in real wages, in durable-goods orders and manufacturing production, in existing home sales, and in real per-capita disposable incomes. It is not surprising that the index of leading indicators fell in April, only the second decline since it began to rise in the spring of 2009.

The data for May are beginning to arrive and are even worse than April's. They are marked by a collapse in payroll-employment gains; a higher unemployment rate; manufacturers' reports of slower orders and production; weak chain-store sales; and a sharp drop in consumer confidence.

How has the Obama administration contributed to this failure to achieve a robust and sustainable recovery?

The administration's most obvious failure was its misguided fiscal policies: the cash-for-clunkers subsidy for car buyers, the tax credit for first-time home buyers, and the $830 billion "stimulus" package. Cash-for-clunkers gave a temporary boost to motor-vehicle production but had no lasting impact on the economy. The home-buyer credit stimulated the demand for homes only temporarily.

As for the "stimulus" package, both its size and structure were inadequate to offset the enormous decline in aggregate demand. The fall in household wealth by the end of 2008 reduced the annual level of consumer spending by more than $500 billion. The drop in home building subtracted another $200 billion from GDP. The total GDP shortfall was therefore more than $700 billion. The Obama stimulus package that started at less than $300 billion in 2009 and reached a maximum of $400 billion in 2010 wouldn't have been big enough to fill the $700 billion annual GDP gap even if every dollar of the stimulus raised GDP by a dollar.

In fact, each dollar of extra deficit added much less than a dollar to GDP. Experience shows that the most cost-effective form of temporary fiscal stimulus is direct government spending. The most obvious way to achieve that in 2009 was to repair and replace the military equipment used in Iraq and Afghanistan that would otherwise have to be done in the future. But the Obama stimulus had nothing for the Defense Department. Instead, President Obama allowed the Democratic leadership in Congress to design a hodgepodge package of transfers to state and local governments, increased transfers to individuals, temporary tax cuts for lower-income taxpayers, etc. So we got a bigger deficit without economic growth.

More at the link.

The bottom line is that the economy will continue to stagnate until the Democrats cut spending and lower taxes to spur entrepreneurship and investment.

Calls for Anthony Weiner to Resign

At the clip, Andrew Breitbart expects Antony Weiner's resignation.

And see New York Times, "Weiner Faces Calls to Resign and Tries to Make Amends" (via Memeorandum):

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Representative Anthony D. Weiner of New York, reeling from revelations of salacious online behavior that threaten his political career, moved rapidly on Tuesday to make amends as Republicans called for his resignation and leading members of his own Democratic Party distanced themselves from him.

Mr. Weiner spent much of the past 24 hours apologizing over and over to stunned Congressional colleagues and Democratic leaders angry at him for misleading them and the public. Even neighboring House Democrats seemed shaken, with many of them worrying that worse disclosures may still surface.

During a tense telephone call with Mr. Weiner, during which he apologized, Representative Nydia M. Velázquez of Brooklyn scolded him, as she recalled: “How can you explain that somebody can be so smart but so stupid?”

Asked if Mr. Weiner should resign, she replied, “The most important thing in this business is credibility.”

Signs of a redrawn political reality quickly emerged for Mr. Weiner, once considered a top contender to become mayor of New York. His campaign donors said they were especially shocked and furious because a week ago the congressman attributed his online travails to a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” a contributor who spoke with him said.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Mr. Weiner said, according to the contributor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the uncertainty surrounding the congressman’s future.

But Mr. Weiner’s problems have only intensified as new and more embarrassing details of his online relationships emerged. After adamantly proclaiming for a week that he had been the victim of a hacker, Mr. Weiner admitted during a tearful news conference on Monday that he had sent suggestive photographs and messages to at least six women and had repeatedly lied to cover up his actions.

RTWT. Bill and Hillary Clinton are said to be deeply upset by this (wonders never cease, I know). I'm personally surprised he's held out this long. I expected his resignation at the time of the press conference.

Amanda Marcotte's #Weinergate Embarrassment

I checked out Amanda Marcotte's Twitter feed yesterday morning. She's a strange woman. I was tempted to write something but didn't. Kinda burnout out on #Weinergate, although the complete destruction of progressives on this is simply too much. (Joan Walsh was off Twitter all day Monday, hoping to avoid an expected backlash.) Anyway, count on Robert Stacy McCain to come through with an epic report on Ms. Marcotte, "WeinerGate Götterdämmerung":

Life is a big joke and Ms. Marcotte is the punchline, so that all we need do is to say, “Hey, go read what this idiot wrote,” and everyone will see for themselves why she is so transparently absurd.

Yet Amanda Marcotte is taken seriously by influential people, who pay her to preach to the rest of us, and it would be wrong to dismiss her without at least attempting a serious analysis of her errors. It may be true of Ms. Marcotte, as Mary McCarthy said of Lillian Hellman, that every word she writes is a lie, including “and” and “the.” But exactly why and how her writing is so pervasively false requires further explanation.

Note how Ms. Marcotte deploys “ideologue” as an epithet against Breitbart when she is herself an avowed adherent of the ideology of feminism. Indeed, if it weren’t for her idolatrous devotion to feminism, Ms. Marcotte would have nothing to write about. Her entire raison d’être as a writer is to filter the world through a feminist lens.

She is one of those writers who, despairing of achieving notoriety in the larger literary world, seeks a readership in some ghetto niche occupied almost entirely by third-rate talents, so that her occasional second-rate contributions appear conspicuously impressive by comparison. And in her feminist niche, the only standard by which anyone may be judged is according to their zealous devotion to The Sacred Cause:

Weiner has an outstanding record supporting sexual rights of others, with100% ratings from NARAL and Planned Parenthood, and has a strong record of support for gay rights.

See? He votes the right way. And isn’t that what really matters?

RTWT. It's a long exegesis of Amanda Marcotte's utter depravity. She's got some kinda record. Wow. Even Jill Stanek piles on: "Liberal Feminists Blow Off Weiner Sex Scandal." (And linked there is Jessica Dweck at Slate, "The Case for Tolerating Left-Wing Lotharios.")

My interest wavers on radical feminism, because it's so complicated, frankly (radical feminists can be found on the left and right, although those on the latter side deny it). But considering all that's happened of late, I should probably have more on this in upcoming posts shortly.

Photo Credit: Flickr.

'Room for Debate' — Can Weiner Survive?

That's survive electorally. Whether his marriage survives is another question.

At New York Times, "Can the Democrats Keep Weiner's Seat?" An interesting panel of debaters, but I like Kay Hymowitz, "Parochial, Not Puritanical":

Will the people of New York’s Ninth District give their disgraced Congressman, Anthony Wiener, the boot? On the face of it, it seems they will – and hard. The bizarrely shaped district, designed to facilitate the election of black leaders in an adjacent area, is largely white and ethnic: Italians, Irish, and Jews, not Upper West Side Jews mind you, but Orthodox and Russian immigrant Jews.

In fact, the Ninth seems to be among the last of 20th century ethnic enclaves in the outer boroughs. And as everyone knows, that crowd tends to be socially conservative, anti-abortion, anti-same sex marriage, and, it would follow, more unforgiving of philanderers.

On closer inspection, however, a culture war-inspired ouster of the besieged Congressman seems unlikely. Yes, the district has trended more Republican in presidential races in the past decade, but that has more to do with 9/11 than with hot button social issues. The Irish of Breezy Point and the Rockaways like Weiner because of his support for the first responders; the Jews of Ocean Parkway are on his side because of his enthusiasm for Israel, which also explains why Chuck Schumer, no virtuecrat, retains a strong standing among his Orthodox constituents.

Remember also: white ethnics are no longer so predictably seeped in family values. A 2010 report from the National Marriage Project found a dramatic rise in single motherhood, cohabitation and divorce among the working class, which presumably would include many of Weiner's constituents.

And then there’s this: for Weiner to lose, someone has to win. But in the Ninth District, as in New York City as a whole, interests are parochial -- and the Republican Party, weak as a kitten.

Yep. His constituents may be forgiving, although there's still a campaign next year. See ABC News, "Anthony Weiner: Poll Finds Majority of New York Voters Think He Should Not Resign."

Yale Kills Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism

From Abby Wisse Schachter, at New York Post, "Yale's Gift to Anti-Semitism":

Yale University last week killed the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplin ary Study of Antisemitism -- the only program of its kind in the country, an academically stellar one-stop anti-Semitism research shop. Worse, it almost certainly did so because YIISA refused to ignore the most virulent, genocidal and common form of Jew-hatred today: Muslim anti-Semitism.

Citing an official review by a faculty committee that it refuses to identify, Yale will shut down the program at the end of next month. The university's top flack, Director of Strategic Communications Charles "Robin" Hogen, wrote an e-mail claiming that YIISA had failed a key test: It was supposed to "serve the research and teaching interests of some significant group of Yale faculty and . . . be sustained by the creative energy of a critical mass of Yale faculty."

Funny, last year, at YIISA's hugely successful inaugural conference on global anti-Semitism, Yale Deputy Provost Frances Rosenbluth said just the opposite, noting that YIISA was "guided by an outstanding group of scholars from all over the university representing many different disciplines," including professors of history, sociology, comparative languages, psychiatry, economics and political science. Actually, Hogen's e-mail itself contradicts Yale's stated excuse: He notes that "the steering committee did express continued support for the faculty reading group on anti-Semitism." Plus, "institutional support will remain for the group of faculty who wish to continue their scholarly exploration of this important subject."
Which is it -- no faculty interested in studying anti-Semitism, or lots of faculty interest in studying anti-Semitism?

Well, depends on what kind of anti-Semitism. Can't be studying the Islamic kind, now can we?

Oh, Pretty Baby...

I know this is a romantic song, but when it comes on the radio it reminds me of my whole family. Love your loved ones. My wife and children are miracles to me. I can't take my eyes off of them. They're too good to be true ...

Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America

A longer discussion with Ann Coulter, at Sean Hannity's.

I've been looking forward to reading this. I'm interested in Coulter's theory. She talks about how mobs are always demonic, but there's more to it. So, until I've read some of it. Available at Amazon: Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America.

Ashton Sweet Memorial Service

The story made the front-page of this morning's Orange County Register, "1,000 attend funeral for Ashton Sweet." And also the second section at Los Angeles Times, "About 300 gather to celebrate life of Irvine teen Ashton Sweet." I don't know where the Times got that figure. There were well over 300 people, if not quite 1000. And the local media turnout was huge. See KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Loved ones remember Irvine teen Ashton Sweet at funeral service." My wife spoke to Michael Ghaemi, the driver. He said he could never forgive himself for what happened. My wife gave him a hug. And from the Register's report:

Michael Ghaemi, who was driving the car carrying Sweet and three friends when the crash took place, described "slow-motion flashbacks" with scenes of glass shattering, teenage girls screaming and a prayer he said to himself that none of them would be harmed.

Seconds after the wreck, Ghaemi said, "I knew that my wish was not granted."

Ashton's mother was forever grateful for the love everyone shared with her. Her daughter was loved in the community. Too soon an angel.

Breitbart on 'The Today Show'

There's a big long post at NewsBusters, "NBC's Lauer Claims Breitbart Violated Conservative Principles by Breaking Weiner Story."

The full clip is at Big Government, "Breitbart on TODAY: Big Gov’t Publisher Tells the Incredible Story Behind the Weiner Presser."

Watch how hesitant Matt Lauer is to credit Breitbart with legitimacy and vindication. He tries to trip up Breitbart as a conservative hypocrite.

And at New York Times, "A Conservative Blogger Looks for Legitimacy."

Ann Coulter on 'Good Morning America'

She talks WeinerGate and her new book, Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America.

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Supreme Court Allows In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrants

At Los Angeles Times, "Supreme Court allows California to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants."

And also, "Supreme Court ruling on California immigrant tuition rates could affect other states' policies."

And checking that link we see a picture of students with "DREAM" signs, like "The DREAM is Coming." More like the open borders nightmare is coming. See: "America’s Bad DREAM."

RELATED GRAPHIC: "Illegal immigrants and state universities."

Al-Qaeda Still World's Greatest Threat

Political instability bolsters Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, via AEI:

And at Reuters, "Interpol says al Qaeda remains biggest global threat":

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Al Qaeda and groups linked to it remain the world's biggest security threat despite the killing of Osama bin Laden, the head of Interpol said on Tuesday.

Airlines and other forms of public transport are most at risk, with terrorists using fraudulent passports to travel undetected an area of particular concern, Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble told reporters on the sidelines of an aviation meeting in Singapore.

"Even before bin Laden was captured and killed, the biggest threat was not only al Qaeda but al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups around the world," he said "I think that remains the biggest threat now as it was before his death.

"The airline and air industry continues to be a prime target for terrorists, but we've seen from recovered intelligence etc that they are also focusing a lot on mass transit. But airlines continue to be a special target."

More at the link above.

Also, at National Journal, "The Latest in Yemen, Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Tunisia."

RELATED: At Telegraph UK, "Online preachers of hate: Anwar al-Awlaki, ‘bin Laden of the internet’."

Who Should Trust Anthony Weiner Now? No One. He Should Resign

Watch this clip with James Poulos (via Instapundit). Then read Emily Miller's commentary, "Anthony Weiner Should Resign Now":

Mr. Weiner is out for himself and has shown no regard for his constituents or the duty of his public office. From his embattled stance, it seems that the only way to force him out of office is for the Pelosi- launched ethics investigation to determine what he has lied about and what rules and possible laws he has broken. If he had any decency, he would resign.

Charles Johnson Won't Apologize for Smearing Andrew Breitbart

Read it all at Legal Insurrection: "Charles Johnson: I Won't Apologize to Breitbart."

Take a minute and send your thoughts to the Lizard Man, via Twitter.

Plus, Glenn Reynolds has more.

And C.J.'s response is available through Google, if you're interested. He's all about science and facts and stuff. Except when he's not.

Weiner Scandal on 'Nightline'

Just caught this segment, with Terry Moran. ABC News is in the news, of course. See, American Glob, "Watch Anthony Weiner Lie Through His Teeth Just Three Days Ago."

Weiner Admits He Lied

The headline's long at NYT, "Weiner Admits He Sent Lewd Photos; Seeks Not to Resign." Just read the whole thing. Amazingly good piece. I especially like the suggestion that by the standards of Rep. Christopher Lee, who resigned from his own shirtless scandal, there's really no reason Weiner should stay in the House. And Nancy Pelosi's not pleased. She's promised an ethics investigation, and while normally that's a joke, I think Weiner's travails are hurting Democratic prospects for 2012, and they know it.

Andrew Breitbart Vindicated

Great video.

Breitbart challenges the media to prove he's a liar. And he says, "I'm here for some vindication."

Also, at Politico, "Andrew Breitbart's day of vindication":

In Andrew Breitbart’s up-and-down career as a conservative agitator, it doesn’t get any better than this.

Ten days ago, he broke the Rep. Anthony Weiner Twitter scandal on his website, Big Government, then on Monday pushed it to its conclusion with the release of more photos of Weiner, forcing the beleaguered New York congressman to hold a self-flagellating press conference hours later.

At the same time, Breitbart managed to steer clear of the accusations of selective editing and bias that have stuck to him as a result of several high-profile “scoops” that turned into fiascos, while painting himself as a victim of a left-leaning press quick to blame him for somehow engineering a scandal that, in the end, was entirely of Weiner’s own making.

Breitbart’s glee was apparent even before Weiner’s confession when he jumped up on the podium before the New York congressman’s press conference Monday afternoon to take questions from reporters and demand an apology. So, too, was his sense of exoneration after the way the left-leaning and mainstream media had painted him as a questionable source in the past.

“I would like an apology for allowing his political protectors – and this was his strategy – to blame me, to blame me for hacking,” Breitbart said. “’Don’t worry, Breitbart is a regular whipping boy. We can accuse him of anything and the press will not hold those journalists to account no matter what they say.’

“So I’m here for some vindication,” he said, declaring that “the big problem here is the coverup and the problem of trying to deflect blame on a journalist for doing his job.”

I checked Google trends a little while ago and Breitbart was trending "spicy" and above "Rep Weiner" searches.

Read all of Politico at the link. And more at Memeorandum.

Added: At Yid With Lid, "The Revenge of the Nerds: Breitbart Vindicated Again."

Where's NOW and Planned Parenthood? Anthony Weiner Stands for Women?

I meant to post this earlier. I promised I'd have more on my dislike of Anthony Weiner, which goes beyond his epic personal moral failures. His policy advocacy is way, way to the left. His fall is thus a major defeat for Democrat party progressivism, and I'm glad.

Here's the embattled congressman speaking at the New York Planned Parenthood's Rally to Protect Women's Health in February.

I don't see statements from NOW or Planned Parenthood, but if they comment I'll update.

Meanwhile, see Jenn Taylor at FrontPage Magazine, "Anthony Weiner's Feminist Rhetoric Meets Reality."