Obama Supporters Cheer 'Four More Years' During President's Tribute to Colorado Shooting Victims

CNN reports on what should be a somber moment, "Obama, after shooting, tells supporters 'Such evil is senseless'."

I guess Obama failed at the solemnity part. The crowd is roaring "four more years" as he leaves the stage. Maybe O will schedule a campaign rally at a nearby Colorado university next week, in a much-needed call for civility.

Also, "Remarks by the President on the Shootings in Aurora, Colorado" (via Memeorandum).

Plus, at Weasel Zippers, "Obama Refers to Himself at Least 17 Times During Speech On Colorado Movie Shooting…", and Gateway Pundit, "Obama on Aurora Shooting: It’s All About Me, My Kids and I."

Jessica Redfield Killed in Aurora Movie Theater Massacre — Aspiring Sportscaster Survived Toronto Shopping Mall Shooting Last Month

Blazing Cat Fur had this earlier, "Colorado movie shooting victim wrote about escaping Eaton Centre shooting last month."

And New York Daily News has the story, "Aurora victim Jessica Ghawi had survived Toronto mall shooting last month."

The woman used a pen name, Jessica Redfield. Her blog post from last month's Eaton shooting is still up, "Late Night Thoughts on the Eaton Center Shooting":

I can’t get this odd feeling out of my chest. This empty, almost sickening feeling won’t go away. I noticed this feeling when I was in the Eaton Center in Toronto just seconds before someone opened fire in the food court. An odd feeling which led me to go outside and unknowingly out of harm‘s way. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting.

Keep reading, if you're not crying too much.

All I can say is God rest her soul. And, well, perhaps shopping malls and movie theaters aren't the safest places to be, sadly.

More at the Detroit Free Press, "NHL blogger who died in theater massacre had escaped Toronto shooting."

And this part is, I guess, so contemporary, at Twitchy, "Aurora shooting victim Jessica Ghawi was tweeting just before her death; was present at mall shooting in Toronto six weeks ago."

Jessica's brother, Jordan Ghawi, is blogging.

May God be with you.

ABC News Apologizes for Tea Party Blood Libel in Colorado Movie Massacre

Mary Katharine Ham reports, "Details about Colorado shooter emerge as ABC apologizes for false Tea Party reporting."

I first saw the news this morning at my sidebar blog feed, for example, at Lonely Conservative, "Batman Massacre is Already Being Politicized," and Instapundit, "POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM":

CNN’s Piers Morgan, First to Use Colorado Tragedy to Assault Second Amendment Rights. I’m sure he won’t be the last.

Others may blame Hollywood. In both cases, it’s a mix of opportunism and a desire not to confront the existence of evil. Well, okay, in Piers Morgan’s case, it’s not much of a mix, really.

UPDATE: Left Blames Aurora Shooting On Rush Limbaugh. Of course they do. Hey, never let a tragedy go to waste, when you might use it to smear an opponent.

Every time something like this happens, they roll out the blood libels.

Click through here for all of Glenn's links. Plus, "FIRST, ABC NEWS CONNECTS THE COLORADO SHOOTING WITH THE TEA PARTY, now Brian Ross says oops, sorry about that" (lots of links there too). And, "BUT REMEMBER, THE BIG MEDIA FOLKS ARE “RESPONSIBLE,” NOT LIKE THOSE GRUBBY BLOGGERS..."

More, at The Other McCain, "MULTIPLEX MASSACRE: 13 Dead After Shooting at Colorado ‘Batman’ Opening; UPDATE: Suspect Identified by Police as 24-Year-Old James Holmes; UPDATE: ABC News Interviews Suspect’s Mother? UPDATE: Despicable — Stephanopoulos Implicates Tea Party in Tragedy," and "‘Higher Education Bubble’? Colorado Shooter Is Medical School Dropout."

And Steve at No More Mr. Nice Guy was out of the gate looking for a tea party perp:

Well, I'll confess that I tried to find this guy online, and, searching "jim holmes aurora" in Google Discussions, I found messages at rec.guns (the one here that begins "(unknown) Hitech sells them") and alt.survival (click the second "no one" message here) -- but in both cases the messages are from more than a decade ago. The suspect is 24. I don't think he'd be offering to buy a bunch of weapons (as he is in the second message) as a middle-schooler.

But boy, if there was an age match that would have made an excellent tea party smear, right Steve? Stay classy, dude. More at Memeorandum.

Added: Here's the Brian Ross segment:

Also at Twitchy, "Ghouls: Daily Kos editor, Amanda Marcotte say nothing wrong with ‘scoring political points’ on the backs of the dead; Update: Geraldo Rivera also ghoulishly defends politicizing tragedy."

100-Pound Mountain Lion Captured in Orange County

This was a few days ago, but amazing. The local news reports said that the coyote tried to drive off the mountain line, seen at the video. The lion is said to be the same one captured by authorities.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Mountain lion caught in O.C. park will be kept in captivity."

O.C. Parks spokeswoman Marisa O'Neil told the Orange County Register the mountain lion was first spotted July 9, prompting rangers to close the trail and set up a video camera to catch the cat on tape.

Rangers found mountain lion tracks in a nearby creek bed, but after the camera didn't capture any activity and no new tracks were spotted, officials reopened the trail Friday.

But park officials closed the park again Monday and contacted Fish and Game after a video posted online showed a coyote barking at the cat as it crossed the trail.

Mountain lion sightings are not unusual in the park. In 2004, a 120-pound lion killed one bicyclist and mauled another at the park, marking the state's first fatal mountain lion attack in a decade. Authorities shot and killed the cat four days later and later determined through forensic tests it was the animal responsible for both attacks.

Also, "O.C. park reopened after mountain lion is trapped."

Russia, China Veto Security Council Resolution on Syria

At the Wall Street Journal, "Russia, China Veto UN Resolution on Syria for Third Time":

Also at the New York Times, "Border Posts Fall Into the Hands of Syrian Rebels."

Rep. Michele Bachmann Wants Investigation of Huma Abedin, Aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Ms. Abedin has family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

See Robert Spencer, "Huma Abedin and the Muslim Brotherhood: Bachmann vs. McCain."

And David Horowitz writes:

It’s disgraceful that that there are still influential Republicans who are clueless when it comes to the internal threat to this country posed by the Muslim Brotherhood, its front groups and its allies in the White House and the Democratic Party. It is also dangerous.

Also, from June, Jamie Glazov's interview with Walid Shoebat, "The Dark Muslim Brotherhood World of Huma Abedin."

'This Is the Worst Economic Recovery America Has Ever Had'

You know it's really bad when the left-wing media outlets are saying it, but then again, O seems to have been losing some of the MSM folks of late, so there's change you can believe in.

Via The Right Scoop:

And ICYMI: "Soaring Unemployment Claims Showcase Failed Obama Economic Policies."

Three Burger King Employees Fired Over Viral Photo of Worker Standing in Lettuce Bins

Well, I prefer McDonald's actually.

At New York Daily News, "3 Burger King employees fired over viral photo of worker standing in lettuce bins."

DNC Regrets Offending Ann Romney, No More Horse Videos

From Jonathan Karl, at ABC News:

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the Democratic National Committee is offering an apology of sorts to Ann Romney.

At issue is a DNC video featuring footage of Ann Romney’s dancing show horse. The DNC used the horse in mocking way to attack Mitt Romney for not releasing his tax returns (and dancing around the issue).

Continue reading.

Suspect Arrested in Pennsylvania Child Abduction Attempt

Every parents nightmare.

At the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Man, 34, surrenders in attempted abduction of girl."

It's Come to This: Obama Tells Supporters to Hit the Mute Button When Opponent's Ads Come on the TV

At Astute Bloggers, "DESPERATE OBAMA TELLS SUPPORTERS TO USE MUTE BUTTON WHEN A ROMNEY AD COMES ON THE TV."

'America's Not the Greatest Country in the World Any More...'

Shoot, Jeff Daniels sounds like a far-left Harvard academic.

This is typical lefty crap. If you haven't read it, don't miss Dennis Prager for the corrective, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph.

RELATED: From Sultan Knish, "Why The Newsroom is Good News for Republicans."

Israel's Burgas Terror Victims

At the Times of Israel, "Israel releases names of the five Burgas terror victims." Also at Jawa Report, "Five Israeli Victims of Bulgaria Terror Attack Named."

More: "Lifelong friends and an expectant mother, expecting a few days’ vacation, to be laid to rest today: Israel begins mourning Burgas bombing victims."

Duchess of Cambridge Visits National Portrait Gallery

Some remarkable photography, at London's Daily Mail, "Duchess of Cambridge heralds Olympics with hooped necklace as she visits Games exhibition at National Portrait Gallery - Kate visited the Road to 2012."

Inside Tom Cruise's World of Hurt

My wife's People Magazine came yesterday, and here's this from the cover, "Inside Tom Cruise's Private Pain":

This was not how Tom Cruise expected his life to be.

The 50-year-old megastar, who was blindsided when his wife of five years, Katie Holmes, filed for divorce on June 28, "was thinking, 'What did I not see?' " a source who knows the former couple tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story.

Especially tough: His month-long separation from 6-year-old daughter Suri, which finally ended when the pair reunited on July 17 in New York City.

What took so long?

"He's wanted to see her as fast as possible since this started," says a source, who cites Cruise's obligation to his sci-fi thriller Oblivion as the main obstacle. "He couldn't shut down production, cost people their jobs. People count on him."

In agreeing to a divorce settlement in a mere 11 days, "Tom tried his best to do what's right for Suri," according to his longtime friend and lawyer Bert Fields, who says the star is "sad" but not "bitter" about the situation.

More: "Tom Cruise Visits Suri in New York City."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Hints at Iran's Responsibility for Bulgaria Bombing

At the Times of Israel, "Gloating Ahmadinejad hints at Iranian responsibility for Burgas terror attack":

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gloated publicly on Thursday over the deaths of Israelis in a terror bombing in Bulgaria, and hinted that Iran was responsible for the attack.

Speaking hours after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had publicly blamed the bombing Wednesday at Bulgaria’s Burgas airport on “Hezbollah, directed by Iran,” Ahmadinejad described the attack as “a response” to Israeli “blows against Iran.”

“The bitter enemies of the Iranian people and the Islamic Revolution have recruited most of their forces in order to harm us,” he said in a speech reported by Israel’s Channel 2 TV. “They have indeed succeeded in inflicting blows upon us more than once, but have been rewarded with a far stronger response.”

He added: “The enemy believes it can achieve its aims in a long, persistent struggle against the Iranian people, but in the end it will not. We are working to ensure that.

RTWT.

Kenneth Turan Review: 'The Dark Knight Rises'

He likes it, hey Kenny!

At the Los Angeles Times, "Review: 'The Dark Knight Rises' more than shines, and on many levels":

Potent, persuasive and hypnotic, "The Dark Knight Rises" has us at its mercy. A disturbing experience we live through as much as a film we watch, this dazzling conclusion to director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is more than an exceptional superhero movie, it is masterful filmmaking by any standard. So much so that, its considerable 2-hour, 44-minute length notwithstanding, as soon as it's over, all you want to do is see it all over again.

That desire comes despite — or perhaps because of — the fact that "The Dark Knight Rises" might be the bleakest, most despairing superhero film ever made. It uses a wholly terrifying villain to emphasize the physical vulnerability of a hero we sometimes forget is no more than human. And it underscores the black moods and sense of dark destiny that have always clustered around the psyche of billionaire Bruce Wayne and his somber compulsion to fight crime.

Read it all at the link.

Turan's review reminds me of when I first saw "Batman Begins." After it was over I thought, "Damn, that was an excellent movie."

Jessica-Jane Clement Strips Down for PETA

I can't stand PETA, but you gotta give it up for the advertising.

See London's Daily Mail, "What a playful bunny: Jessica-Jane Clement strips off completely naked for new PETA advert to urge against animal testing."

And for the record, Ms. Clement is a Nuts model, seen at the video here and a photo roundup here.

Officials Deny Bulgaria Bomber Was Guantanamo Detainee

The Lawfare blog has a summary, "Conflicting Reports on Whether Bulgarian Suicide Bomber Was Former Guantanamo Detainee Mehdi Ghezali."

Also at Forward, "Officials Deny Bomber Was Guantanamo Detainee," and the Times of Israel, "‘Bulgarian officials deny bomber is Mehdi Ghezali’."

However, the New York Times makes the Iranian connection, "Hezbollah Is Blamed in Attack on Israeli Tourists in Bulgaria":

BURGAS, Bulgaria — American officials on Thursday identified the suicide bomber responsible for a deadly attack on Israeli vacationers here as a member of a Hezbollah cell that was operating in Bulgaria and looking for such targets, corroborating Israel’s assertions and making the bombing a new source of tension with Iran.

One senior American official said the current American intelligence assessment was that the bomber, who struck Wednesday, killing five Israelis, had been “acting under broad guidance” to hit Israeli targets when opportunities presented themselves, and that the guidance had been given to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, by Iran, its primary sponsor. Two other U.S. officials confirmed that Hezbollah was behind the bombing, but declined to provide additional details.

The attacks, the official said, were in retaliation for the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, which Iran has blamed on Israeli agents — an accusation that Israel has neither confirmed nor denied. “This was tit for tat,” said the American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.

The bombing comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes but Israel and the West say is a cover for developing weapons. The United States and Europe imposed sanctions this month aimed at crippling Iran’s vital oil industry, while Iran has sworn to exact revenge for the assassinations, as well as for cyberattacks on its nuclear industry.

A senior Israeli official said on Thursday that the Burgas attack was part of an intensive wave of terrorist attacks around the world carried out by two different organizations, the Iranian Quds Force, an elite international operations unit within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, as well as by Hezbollah.

“They work together when necessary, and separately when not necessary,” the Israeli official told reporters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss national security issues.

While the Burgas attack fit the modus operandi of Hezbollah, the Israeli official said, it was not clear whether the bomber intended to blow himself up or had suffered what the official called a “work accident,” adding, “We will never know.”

The bomber had a fake Michigan driver’s license, but there are no indications that he had any connection to the United States, the American official said, adding that there were no details yet about the bomber like his name or nationality. He also declined to describe what specific intelligence — intercepted communications, analysis of the bomber’s body parts or other details — that led analysts to conclude that the bomber belonged to Hezbollah.

“This looks like he was hanging out for a local target, and when this popped up he jumped on it,” the official said, referring to a bus carrying Israeli tourists outside the airport in Burgas.

More at Independent UK, "Israel threatens a 'heavy price' for Iran after deadly bus bomb: Mr Netanyahu went out of his way to link the attack with Tehran's nuclear ambitions."

Glenn Reynolds Talks to David Horowitz About His New Book, The New Leviathan: How the Left-Wing Money-Machine Shapes American Politics and Threatens America’s Future

I've been actually skeptical about Horowitz's new book, The New Leviathan: How the Left-Wing Money-Machine Shapes American Politics and Threatens America's Future. It's a good thing to expose the left, but the solutions to the progressive money machine end up sounding like the solutions the left proposes to silence the so-called right-wing money machine: to stanch the flow of money in politics, especially corporate money. Horowitz, however, is focusing on non-profits, which set up tax-exempt charitable organizations under IRS rules. At the clip below Horowitz advocates legislative changes, but that's going to affect both sides, potentially limiting conservative non-profits from advocating for political causes. So it's a balancing thing, and I sense the remedy is worse than the disease, as awful as it is.

Part of the first chapter is available at the Amazon page, and it's a familiar story about the stealth power of institutional progressivism. And this reminds me of the old saw about political money: if you dam up the river the water eventually backs up and bubbles over, finding a way to keep flowing. When the McCain-Feingold Act banned soft money contributions to parties, the 501(c) charities took off as a new big money vehicle, because some of the activities could be directed to political advocacy. What Horowitz is calling for is a new round of political finance regulation. At the clip he mentions that Planned Parenthood ran ads in Wisconsin, warning about the impact of Scott Walker's agenda on abortion rights. Okay. But the ad cited was placed by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, which is a 501(c)(4) organization promoting political action. And what happened? They lost. Scott Walker defeated all the unions and the progressive interest groups like Planned Parenthood. That is, progressives got their money out there in a big way --- they were not out-funded by conservatives, as the lying hacks on MSNBC claimed --- but still lost in the marketplace of ideas. My sense is that for all the worry about this huge leftist money machine, Horowitz has lost his confidence. The best remedy is to get the facts out there and rebut the left's charitable institutions, not shut them down.

So again, that's why I'm skeptical of the basic outlines of the book, but check back with me when I've read the whole thing.

In any case, via Instapundit:

ADDED: Instapundit links. Thanks!