Continuing Lies by Cowardly Hate-Blogger W. James Casper in Left's Demonic Workplace Intimidation Campaign

W. James Casper continues to lie about his involvement in the long campaign of workplace attacks that have been repudiated by the army of righteous conservatives in recent weeks. (See: "Online Disagreements and the Offline World We Live In...")

Typically, the epic coward at American Nihilist ignored the universal moral approbation directed against all of those making the attacks. Further, he's now justifying the attacks by saying that both sides do it and that it's not just a progressive thing, or something. Casper keeps claiming that "right-of-center" bloggers are also among those who've launched demonic campaigns. And that's just more lies. Specifically, Casper is lying about E.D. Kain's ideological attacks of workplace harassment. I blogged about E.D. Kain because he betrayed me and a number of other bloggers who he burned by pulling the plug on Neo-Constant without even so much as a thank you or acknowledgment of their contributions. Kain did that because he embarrassed himself by selling out the right to join up with the likes of communist Freddie deBoer. I didn't like it. I blogged about it. I make no apologies. That's life. And Erik Kain's a cowardly little prick and Andrew Sullivan wannabe. I don't like him. But I never lied about him. I never contacted him personally. I simply wrote about my disagreements online. I wrote the truth. And for that E.D. Kain contacted my employer not once but twice. As many have pointed out, including law professor William Jacobson at the time, it's extremely bad form to contact someone's work, especially if you're unhappy that someone posted things about you that are entirely true, no matter how inconvenient. That is, you don't have a right to harass someone for speaking their mind, but that's what E.D. Kain did and that's what W. James Casper has endorsed. Indeed, that's who James Casper is.

W. James Casper, who, folks will recall, endorsed racist attacks against me by The Pale Scot, praises the workplace campaigns as not only deserved but effective:

Donald barely mentions any of the people who contacted LBCC, anymore...

That's another malicious falsehood. There's only one person I've stopped mentioning, one of the asshats at Lawyers, Guns and Money, and that's because there's a legal arrangement in place that prevents me from making references to this asshole at the blog. As for the others, they haven't been worth my time, but it's not because their attacks have been effective, as racist W. James Casper claims. In fact, that's just more lies from Comrade Racist Repsac3. I called out E.D Kain in June, for example: "Erik Kain of Forbes: Wishy Washy Pussy." And I'll continue to call him out when I see fit. Kain's a weasel. He'd prefer the world not know about his cheap ass ideological opportunism, so he attempted to get someone fired rather than just debate the issues like a man. And for the record: E.D. Kain long ago came out as a progressive. Despite this, W. James Casper, for over a year, has been spreading a disinformation campaign about how Kain's allegedly right-of-center. He's not, and he said so himself at the hardline progressive blog Balloon Juice: "Why I am Not a Conservative."

And that's yet another example of the kind of routine lies spread by Racist Repsac3.

Now I probably wouldn't be commenting on this again, but some of Racist Repsac3's lies are particularly egregious. For example, there is no moral equivalence between the left's campaign to get me fired and the right's response to whatever happened years ago to Jeff Goldstein. The fact is that a deranged progressive troll named Deborah Frisch threatened Goldstein's family. See: "Blog blunder fells UA teacher." And at Black Five, "Dr. Frisch (did I mention she's a psych[o] professor at the University of Arizona?) has repeatedly and quite disturbing levied DEATH THREATS against Jeff's 2 year old child."

When someone makes death threats it's damned right for people to be concerned. But I don't endorse workplace attacks for any reason. And I take exception to W. James Casper's sick moral relativism. In Casper's nihilist hate world, speaking my mind on my blog is tantamount to making death threats like those of Deb Frisch against Jeff Goldstein's 2 year-old child. And let's be clear about this, THAT IS EVIL. W. James Casper is consumed by hatred of difference. My conservative posse stood up because they saw evil directed against me, by Carl Salonon, E.D. Kain, Alex Knepper, the atheists, and now Captain Fogg. Am I forgetting anybody? Because that's a progressive thing. IT'S THE LEFT THAT DOES THIS.

[Added: I did forget somebody, Captain Fogg's sleaze-blogging ally, (O)CT(O)PUS) of The Swash Zone: "Libel Blogger David Hillman (Swash Zone) Workplace Harassment Fail."]

And to top it off, Repsac3 alleges that I had it coming. No, asshole W. James Casper. It's never okay to campaign against someone's work because someone legally spoke their mind on a blog. Hey asshole W. James Casper, there's no justification for it, and everyone can see through the bullshit and lies that you're spewing. You are a hate-blogger and stalker. I close the comments to my posts (like this one) not for ideological reasons, but because you are banned. YOU ARE BANNED, GET IT, STUPID FUCK? You are not to comment here because I said so. But you have no values, no morals, so you continue your hate campaign, attempting to harass and intimidate at my comment threads. You are a stalker. You long ago crossed the line, and that's what my conservative posse called out, and that's what your own commenter has ridiculed. It's not funny anymore: YOU HAVE CROSSED THE LINE.

Stop the hate. Stop the intimidation. Stop the threats against me. Stop endorsing, promoting, supporting, republishing, distributing, and football spiking the workplace attacks against me. These are designed for one thing and one thing only: to do me harm because progressives can't stand the light of truth being flashed on their ideological hatred. And that's why you continue to back the attacks. And that's why you have escalated to a personal campaign against me and my family.

Stop contacting me, W. James Casper. Stop attempting to intimidate me. And for God's sake, stop lying about your involvement in all of these attacks. American Nihilist has been the one-stop shop for the workplace attacks against me from day one. You are a sick, sick asshole. Quit e-mailing me. And get some help:

Cardinals Stun Rangers, 10-9, in 11 Innings to Force Game 7

Hey, hoping for another night of baseball? You got your wish.

At Los Angeles Times:

Reporting from St. Louis — St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa probably summed it up best.

"You had to be here to believe it," he said.

But even after seeing St. Louis rally three times in the final three innings to deny the Texas Rangers a World Series title Thursday, it was still hard to believe.

David Freese's leadoff home run in the 11th inning provided the deciding run in the Cardinals' 10-9 victory in Game 6, forcing the exhausted teams to return to Busch Stadium on Friday for a decisive game.

Yet while that one swing may have won the game, it was the Cardinals' grit and heart that may swing the count.

Twice, St. Louis was a strike away from its winter vacation — but both times the Cardinals came back.

"We never quit trying," La Russa said. "I know that's kind of corny, but the fact is we never quit trying.

"The dugout was alive even when we were behind. And sometimes it works."

Also at Hot Air, "Video: The greatest World Series game ever?"

Occupy Wall Street: The Enemy Within

See Discover the Networks, "Occupy Wall Street":

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is a movement whose activism is planned and coordinated via a free, open-source social-networking website that is maintained by an independent group of organizers who describe themselves as “committed to doing technical support work for resistance movements.” Strongly anti-capitalist, OWS characterizes America as a “ruthless,” materialistic society where the chief objective is to “always minimize costs and maximize profits”; where “lives are commodities to be bought and sold on the open market”; and where “the economic transaction has become the dominant way of relating to the culture and artifacts of human civilization.” The “deep spiritual sickness” that necessarily results from this repugnant philosophy of perpetual economic "growth for the sake of growth," says OWS, has caused “vast deprivation, oppression and despoliation ... to cover the world.” OWS's prescribed remedy is to replace the foregoing arrangement “with a society of cooperation and community” – i.e., a socialist economy....

Front groups of the community organization ACORN played a major role in organizing the OWS protests nationwide. For instance, the Working Families Party (WFP), a longtime ACORN front, helped mobilize the demonstrations in New York City. "[We are] actually trying to change the capitalist system that we have today because it’s not working for any of us," WFP organizer Nelini Stamp told Laura Flanders of Free Speech TV in an interview.

Meanwhile, ACORN’s newer front groups were likewise deeply involved in launching and expanding the OWS movement throughout the fall of 2011. For instance, New York Communities for Change -- led by longtime ACORN lobbyist Jon Kest -- helped WFP organize the demonstrations in lower Manhattan. In Pennsylvania, Action United participated in the "Occupy Pittsburgh" rallies. In Florida, Organize Now took part in "Occupy Orlando." The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment led the "Occupy L.A." protests. And New England United for Justice, headed by former ACORN national president Maude Hurd, participated in the related “Take Back Boston” rallies in Massachusetts.

The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) was also heavily involved in OWS's formation and early growth. At the heart of "Occupy Los Angeles," for instance, were two Southern California communists -- veteran Party leader Arturo Cambron and his comrade Mario Brito. In early October 2011, Brito declared that OWS's chief objective was to achieve “economic justice,” and added: “This is an international movement ... The vast majority of Americans actually believe income inequality is a major problem. The only reason they haven’t acted upon it is because there hasn’t been a mass movement.” In an October 15, 2011 address to the nearly 3,000 attendees at an "Occupy Chicago" rally, John Bachtell, a spokesman from the CPUSA's national board, claimed to “bring greetings and solidarity from the Communist Party”; he received a number of loud ovations from the crowd.

The early OWS demonstrations imposed considerable monetary costs on the cities in which they were staged. By mid-October 2011, for example, the protesters' then-month-long siege of Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan had already cost New York taxpayers some $3.2 million for overtime police pay. Meanwhile, Boston City Council president Stephen Murphy reported that the costs resulting from the protests in his city were approaching $2 million.

Quite popular at OWS demonstrations across the United States are T-shirts and speeches glorifying such renowned Marxists as Che Guevara, Emiliano Zapata and Mao Zedong; lionizing convicted cop-killer Troy Davis and WikiLeaks collaborator Bradley Manning; promoting the DREAM Act and 9/11 Trutherism; and denouncing Fox News, the American Legislative Exchange Council, Wisconsin's Republican governor Scott Walker, the Koch family, the New York Police Department, and "Nazi Bankers" and Jews.

Indeed, anti-Semitism is clearly in evidence at many “Occupy” events nationwide, where placards and chanted slogans denouncing the alleged conspiracies of “Jewish bankers” (and "Zionist Jews") square neatly with OWS's relentless condemnations of “greedy Wall Street bankers” and thus go unchallenged by the protesting throngs. According to the American Nazi Party, which supports OWS, the movement strikes a welcome blow against an obscenely corrupt "Judeo-Capitalism."

Check the link for the full entry.

IMAGE CREDIT: Communist Lalo Alcaraz.

Israel Matzav on Erick Erickson's Anti-Semitic Attack on Jennifer Rubin

Carl in Jerusalem picks up on my second post on Erick Erickson's attack on Jennifer Rubin.

See: "Eric Erickson charges Jennifer Rubin with dual loyalty, then backtracks":

What I want to get to is Erickson's labeling of anyone who advocates for Jonathan Pollard's release as having dual loyalties (yes, that still comes through in his apology) and of automatically not being a conservative. Over the last year, Lawrence Korb (formerly Caspar Weinberger's number 2 at the Defense Department), former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, former Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former US Secretary of State George Schultz, and Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree have all come out in favor of releasing Pollard. Of those, to the best of my knowledge, only Mukasey is Jewish and only DeConcini and Ogletree are not Republicans.

Additionally, some 500 American Jewish and Christian leaders called for Pollard's release in a letter to President Obama in January. That letter cites all of the following (some of whom are already listed above) as favoring Pollard's release:

Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Senators Charles Schumer and Arlen Specter, Harvard Law Professors Charles Ogletree and Alan Dershowitz, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, Rev. Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame, Benjamin Hooks of the NAACP, former federal Judge George Leighton, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, Pastor John Hagee, and Gary Bauer.

And 39 members of Congress.

Would Erickson accuse all of them of dual loyalty? Are none of them Republican or conservative enough for Erickson? Surely Hagee and Bauer (at least) ought to be. And if that's the case, why is Erickson going after Jennifer with a charge like this and not after any of them?

Pollard committed a crime and he's paid for that crime disproportionately. It's long past time to let him go. Unfortunately, much of the American Jewish community cannot find its voice on this issue precisely because it is intimidated by the type of dual loyalty charges made by Erickson against Jennifer Rubin. But the American Jewish community ought to find its voice.

There's still more at the link, and Erickson's getting beaten up in the comments.

Also, at The Other McCain, "Erickson’s ‘Anti-Semitic Screed’?"

Michael Moore: I'm Not in the 99 Percent!

It's not just the hypocrisy. Michael Moore's lying through his teeth on national television. It's really pathetic. At The Rhetorican, "RICH MAN, POOR MAN, YOU’RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE, MAN!"

And the key quote:

Well, then, if you believe that about me, then that’s really something, isn’t it? That, even though I do well, that I don’t associate myself with those who do well. I am devoting my life to those who who have less and who’ve been crapped upon by the system. And that’s how I spent my time, my energy, my money on trying to upend this system that I think is a system of violence; it’s a system that’s unfair to the average working person of this country, and it was a mistake to ever give me a dime, from the day Time Warner, actually, gave me money to buy Roger & Me… I hope they rue the day that they ever allowed me up on the movie screens.

And at NewsBusters, "OWS Supporter Michael Moore Lies on National Television About His Wealth: No I'm Not Worth Millions."

Also, from Peter Wehner, at Commentary, "Michael Moore, Hypocrite and Liar":

Greeks Attack Merkel Government as Nazi Regime

At London's Daily Mail, "Furious Greeks lampoon German 'overlords' as Nazis with picture of Merkel dressed as an SS guard."

Greeks angry at the fate of the euro are comparing the German government with the Nazis who occupied the country in the Second World War.

Newspaper cartoons have presented modern-day German officials dressed in Nazi uniform, and a street poster depicts Chancellor Angela Merkel dressed as an officer in Hitler’s regime accompanied with the words: ‘Public nuisance.’

Greeks are furious at the deal, even though it means the banks will write off 50 per cent of the country’s debt and Socialist prime minister George Papandreou said Greece had ‘avoided a mortal national danger’.

Opposition parties blasted the landmark agreement, with conservatives warning it condemned the country to ‘nine more years of collapse and poverty’.

But it is the fury of ordinary Greeks which is raising eyebrows.

Greek government officials who agreed to the belt-tightening moves have been portrayed in cartoons giving the Nazi ‘Sieg Heil’ salute.

And German visitors flocking to ancient tourist sites are being met with a hostile welcome from some Greeks.

Berlin’s interference has revived historical enmities and evoked comparisons to the massive destruction of Greece at the hands of Hitler’s Germany more than 65 years ago.

That's pretty cheap.

Of course, Greece is the freeloader of Europe, so naturally they'd attack the powerful Germans as "Nazis."

This is What Mobocracy Looks Like: Street Artist 'Above' Hangs Banker in Effigy Along Florida's I-95

Taking things too far?

Hardly, this is where things are headed.

At Weasel Zippers, "Effigy of Wall Street Banker Hung From a Noose Over Miami Highway…"

And London's Daily Mail, "Is this taking the protests too far? Occupy Wall Street-inspired artist hangs dummy of banker from telephone wire."

Iran Defeats the United States in Iraq?

From Frederick Kagan and Kimberly Kagan, at Los Angeles Times, "Out of Iraq":

Iran has just defeated the United States in Iraq.

The American withdrawal, which comes after the administration's failure to secure a new agreement that would have allowed troops to remain in Iraq, won't be good for ordinary Iraqis or for the region. But it will unquestionably benefit Iran.

President Obama's February 2009 speech at Camp Lejeune accurately defined the U.S. goal for Iraq as "an Iraq that is sovereign, stable and self-reliant." He then outlined how the U.S. would achieve that goal by working "to promote an Iraqi government that is just, representative and accountable, and that provides neither support nor safe haven to terrorists."

Despite recent administration claims to the contrary, Iraq today meets none of those conditions. Its sovereignty is hollow because of the continued activities of Iranian-backed militias in its territory. Its stability is fragile, since the fundamental disputes among ethnic and sectarian groups remain unresolved. And it is not in any way self-reliant. The Iraqi military cannot protect its borders, its airspace or its territorial waters without foreign assistance.

Although Obama has clearly failed to achieve the goals for Iraq that he set five weeks after taking office, Iran, in contrast, is well on its way to achieving its strategic objectives. Since 2004, Tehran has sought to drive all American forces out of the country, to promote a weak, Shiite-led government in Baghdad, to develop Hezbollah-like political-militia organizations in Iraq through which to exert influence and intimidate pro-Western Iraqi leaders, and to insinuate its theocratic ideology into Iraq's Shiite clerical establishment. It has largely succeeded in achieving each of those goals.

Well, they don't beat around the bush, do they?

There's more at that top link.

And see Omri Ceren, at Commentary, "Untangling Ideology From Incompetence on Obama’s Iraq Withdrawal."

Protesting Outside People's Homes — Is This What Democracy Looks Like?

From Elizabeth Ames, at Fox News:

Protesting at people’s homes ... is not about asserting an opinion. It is a warning of potential violence. It implies, 'We’re outside your house because we're angry enough to hurt you unless you do what we want.'

But they're progressives, and thus purely virtuous.

Not.

Archaeologists in France Discover Underground Remains of 21 German Soldiers from World War I

At Der Spiegel, "WWI Grave Find Tells Story Germans Want to Forget":

Archaeologists in northern France have unearthed the bodies of 21 German soldiers from World War One in an elaborate underground shelter that was destroyed in a French attack in March 1918, and hasn't been opened since.

Individual war casualties are still frequently found during construction work on the former Western front battlefields of France and Belgium, but the discovery of so many soldiers in one location is rare.
The tomb, poignant and grisly, sheds light on the lives of the soldiers who died in explosions from heavy shells that penetrated the tunnel.

"It's a bit like Pompeii," Michaël Landolt, the French archaeologist leading the dig, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "Everything collapsed in seconds and is just the way it was at the time. This is an extraordinary find."

Fascinating. It turns out Germans don't really like digging up the past, so to speak. German newspapers buried the story on the inside pages.

RTWT.

Obama Gets a Lifeline on Reelection?

President Obama's toast in 2012, right?

I think he'll lose reelection, but my prediction is based on continued high unemployment and depressed presidential approval ratings. So it's interesting that Obama's getting some improvement on those measures today.

The New York Times has the report on the new third-quarter GDP numbers, "Economic Growth in U.S., Though Still Modest, Speeds Up." And Gallup has the latest approval numbers, which show some improvement in the president's standing, "Obama Job Approval Showing Modest Improvement, Now 43%."

On the economy, continued improvements in economic growth rates must translate into a decline in the unemployment rate. We're still at 9.1 percent nationally, and higher in key states like Florida, Michigan, and Ohio. (BLS data is here.) My hunch is that unemployment needs to come down to below 7 percent nationally by next summer, and perhaps to a similar degree in some of those key battleground states.

On public opinion, Charlie Cook's out with a new analysis, at National Journal, "Underwater":

With the 2012 presidential general election just a year away, it’s a good time to look at the national polling and talk about the state of play. Obviously, we have to make allowances for changing circumstances and unexpected events.

The best barometer of how a president is going to fare is his approval rating, which starts taking on predictive value about a year out. As each month goes by, the rating becomes a better indicator of the eventual results. Presidents with approval numbers above 48 to 50 percent in the Gallup Poll win reelection. Those with approval ratings below that level usually lose. If voters don’t approve of the job you are doing after four years in office, they usually don’t vote for you. Of course, a candidate can win the popular vote and still lose the Electoral College. It happened to Samuel Tilden in 1876, Grover Cleveland in 1888, and Al Gore in 2000. But the popular votes and the Electoral College numbers usually come down on the same side.

In his 11th and most recent quarter in office (July 20-Oct. 19), President Obama averaged a 41 percent approval rating among registered voters, according to Gallup. His average for the month of September was the same. For the week of Oct. 17-23, the president’s approval was 41 percent with a disapproval rating of 51 percent. It’s worth noting that in the Oct. 17-23 aggregation of Gallup tracking, Obama’s job-approval rating among independents was only 38 percent. This was a group he carried by 8 percentage points over John McCain in 2008, 52 percent to 44 percent. Among “pure” independents, those who don’t lean toward either party when pushed, the president’s approval rating was 32 percent.

Focusing on the big picture and that target of 48 to 50 percent among the total electorate, if Obama is to win in 2012, he needs to raise his approval rating at least 7 to 9 points. (Obama got some good news on Wednesday when the CBS/New York Times poll, conducted Oct. 19-24, pegged his approval rating at 46 percent—closer to his target.)

Keep reading.

Well, Obama's up 2 points in the latest Gallup survey, so things are heading in the right direction. And as I reported yesterday, the president, while unpopular, performs better in head-to-head matchups in recent polls. So, Obambi's looking a little more competitive. But it still early and there's lots still to shake out between now and November 2012. And I'll be keeping an eye on things.

'Pushin Too Hard'

The Seeds, from my afternoon drive time on Tuesday:

2:01 - American Woman by Guess Who

2:01 - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by Elton John

2:07 - Pushin Too Hard by Seeds

2:17 - Dangerous Type by Cars

2:21 - Light My Fire by Doors

2:28 - Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie

2:32 - D'yer Mak'er by Led Zeppelin

2:36 - In The Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett

2:39 - Take It On The Run by Reo Speedwagon

2:49 - Life's Been Good by Joe Walsh

2:57 - Lookin' Out My Backdoor by CCR

And speaking of pushing too hard, I hope Tania doesn't. See: "Chasing 26.2." Just go nice and easy, my friend.

Harvard's Stephen Walt: 'The Myth of American Exceptionalism'

At Foreign Policy.

I saw this a couple of weeks back and wasn't the least bit surprised, especially since I learned that Walt was a featured speaker at communist Code Pink's Jew-hating anti-AIPAC conference in May. I considered writing a full take-down, but thought better of my time. Besides, Walt gets hammered in the comments:

Typical Revisionist Thinking

As an American, I have absolutely no qualms with the content of this article. That said, we all need to take a deep breath and realize that this is just another contribution to the millions of pages of standard revisionist political thinking in the US. And it seems like every time another page or two is written, the author and/or his/her readers act as though they have just unearthed a treasure trove of hidden truth that typical "brainwashed" Americans have never heard before.

There is nothing in this article that is not taught in every basic US history class (at least at the university level), that has not been widely reported in the US media, or that is not a common topic in US political discussion. As much as people outside of the US like to think of Americans as lost in a world of false euphoria stemming from their very "Americanness," the harshest critics of the United States, much like this author, are to be found right within the US itself, teaching at its universities, publishing articles in its journals and newspapers, lecturing at events, and participating in public political discussion. Believe me, as a nation, we are quite sober and objective.

This is a full-length feature in the magazine's November/December issue, and it might be useful for international relations course syllabi. Or, well, perhaps as part of a debate on exceptionalism. Either that, or as a museum piece of elitist (egghead) political science, worth a read for its curiosity value (at the link)

Blackbeard's Cannon Recovered After Almost Three Centuries Underwater

At Telegraph UK, "Blackbeard's pirate ship cannon recovered from ocean."

Also, at London's Daily Mail, "Blackbeard's cannon salvaged from wreckage of pirate's ship on ocean floor."

Polls Suggest Obama Victory in 2012, But Economy Suggests a Defeat

This bugs me.

But campaigns matter, so we won't know for sure until the GOP race is settled in early 2012.

See Wall Street Journal.

I still think Obama's cooked in November 2012.

REMEMBER: "New Poll Finds Deep Distrust of Government."

Thailand Floods Bring Fears of Escaped Crocodiles

Interesting piece, at WSJ, "As Floodwaters Rise, So Do Thais' Crocodile Fears: Reptiles Escape Farms, Spurring Bid to Bring Them Back Alive."

Perry Steps Up Attacks on Romney for Changing Positions

The report's at Wall Street Journal.

And Perry's got his work cut out for him. See Time, "CNN/TIME Poll: Romney Leads Republican Rivals in First Four Primary States."

Mitt Romney's Finest Hour?

I don't recall WSJ's editorial board making any endorsements in the GOP race, but this sure comes close, "Romney's Finest Hour":

A friend of ours quipped recently that Mitt Romney could do his Presidential candidacy a lot of good if he took even a single position that is unpopular in the polls. Well, we can report that he has done that on housing policy, that he's being pummeled for it, and that it may be his finest campaign hour. It also contrasts favorably with the latest temporary, ad hoc and futile housing effort from President Obama.

Campaigning last week in Nevada, the epicenter of the housing bust, Mr. Romney was asked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board what he would do about housing and foreclosures. His reply:

"One is, don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom. Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up. Let it turn around and come back up. The Obama Administration has slow-walked the foreclosure processes that have long existed, and as a result we still have a foreclosure overhang."

How's that for refreshing? After five years of politicians trying without success to postpone disclosures and levitate the housing market, Mr. Romney dared to tell the truth. Parts of the U.S., including Nevada, still have too many homes, and that supply needs to be sold off and fixed up so the market can find a bottom before home prices can start to rise again. The faster that process proceeds, the faster the recovery will take hold.

That sounds good to me. I just wish Romney was so sure-footed on some other issues, like collective bargaining in Ohio.

Continue reading the editorial at that top link.

RELATED: At MSNBC, "ROMNEY'S KILLING IT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE."

Toronto Airport Security Employee of the Month!

Via Kathy Shaidle, "Toronto airport security employee hopes plane blows up! (video)"

Herman Cain 'Impresses' in Power Outsiders Poll at Huffington Post

From Mark Blumenthal, "Herman Cain Impresses GOP Power Outsiders":

Businessman Herman Cain may be the latest in a string of Republican presidential candidates to enjoy a bump in the national polls, but his appeal is real, even among GOP activists and party regulars in early primary and caucus states. That's the key finding of the latest Power Outsiders survey conducted by The Huffington Post and Patch.

Cain has impressed these local influential Republicans with his story of success and his advocacy of conservative issues. A surprising number believe he can beat President Barack Obama in 2012, although they are more hesitant about Cain's ability to win the Republican nomination.

The HuffPost-Patch Power Outsiders poll of political activists, party officials and officeholders in the early primary and caucus states attempts to listen in on the "invisible primary" under way among influential local activists and political insiders that has historically driven the outcome of party nomination campaigns. This week, we heard from 51 Power Outsiders in Iowa, 45 in New Hampshire and 63 in South Carolina.

As with the announced and prospective candidates tested previously, we began by asking respondents to pick just one word to describe Herman Cain. Nearly three out of four (74 percent) used a positive word to describe Cain, a slightly more favorable response than we have recorded for any of the others tested to date, including Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Chris Christie. The most frequently used positive words were "impressive," "leader," "successful," "likeable" and "charismatic."

Check the link for the tag cloud.

And you gotta love this. The poll shows Cain with the highest favorables among the entire GOP field:

There's lots more at the link.

GOP activists, party leaders, and elected officials were polled in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. It's not a scientific random sample, but the list of participants looks pretty good.

See also Fox News, "Fox News Poll: GOP Primary Voters Get on the Cain Train" (via Memeorandum).

RELATED: At The Other McCain, "James Carville Trashes Herman Cain."