Promotional Tour for 'Iron Man 3'

I love this franchise:

The Media's Leftist Priorities

From Glenn Reynolds, at USA Today, "Breaking media silence: Media bias exists not only in how they cover stories, but in their choice of stories to cover":

It was fine to dwell at length on the Newtown, Conn., shootings, because those could be blamed on the evil NRA. But writing about these dead innocents might be a political liability instead of a political asset. It might have been awkward for President Obama.

Yes. Awkward.

More at that link.

Misinformation and Anxiety in Boston Terrorism Investigation

From Andrew McCarthy, at PJ Media:

Misinformation rather than enlightenment has been the order of the day in the investigation of Monday’s terrorist bombing of the Boston Marathon. The anxiety stemming from the attack and the stream of inaccurate news about it is further freighted, moreover, by the FBI’s confirmation that two letters addressed to top political officials – President Obama and Senator Richard Wicker (R., MS) – tested positive for ricin, a deadly poison. As noted below, a man identified as Kenneth Curtis of Tupelo, Mississippi, has reportedly been arrested in connection with the mailings.

Early this afternoon, massive confusion was generated when mainstream media outlets first reported that an arrest had been made in the bombing case, then retracted that claim. CNN, in particular, kept insisting there had been an arrest even after other press agencies denied it. When all was said and done, though, it appeared that no suspect had even been in police custody, much less been formally charged – and that perhaps no suspect has even been identified yet.

This is a common phenomenon in the high profile investigations that follow terrorist attacks. The investigators actually working the case would rather there were no disclosures made about the status of the investigation. At this point, their work is best done in secret – or, at least, as much secrecy as is possible. Otherwise, any conspirators who may not already have fled will be alerted that it’s time to skip town, destroy evidence, and intimidate witnesses. These investigative agencies actually work for the public, however, and the public has an extraordinarily high level of interest in the progress of the case. Thus the agencies have official press agents whose job it is to keep the public reasonably informed without compromising investigative leads and tactics – not an easy job.

Then there is the most unruly and damaging dynamic in the equation: the media and its anonymous law-enforcement sources. It seems every media outlet is in a rabid competition to be first, rather than most accurate, with every breaking development. This combines toxically with the fact that sources who hide behind anonymity – precisely because they are not supposed to be running off at the mouth – have widely varying levels of knowledge about the actual goings-on in the case.

Couple this with the fact that most journalists and many agents are not well-versed in the esoterica of the justice system – in which, for example, “arrest” is different from “custody”; a “suspect” is different from a “person of interest”; and “detention” is different from “apprehension” – and you have the roadmap to error-ridden reporting.

Continue reading.

National Republicans Dump Mark Sanford

At WaPo, "National GOP abandons Mark Sanford."

Following revelations that his ex-wife accused him of trespassing on her property earlier this year, former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford (R) has lost the support of his national party.

The news comes as controversy continues to swirl around Sanford and his personal life — a process that began with his well-publicized 2009 affair but was inflamed, the Washington Post has learned, when one of the Sanfords’ sons met Mark Sanford’s former mistress for the first time the night he won the GOP nomination.

The National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday took the unusual step of telegraphing that it will not spend money on his special election campaign.

“Mark Sanford has proven he knows what it takes to win elections. At this time, the NRCC will not be engaged in this special election,” the NRCC said in a statement, which was first reported by Politico.

The committee has spent very little on the race so far, but Sanford’s problems have put a conservative district in jeopardy for the Republicans. And the report Tuesday of the trespassing complaint seems to assure that he wouldn’t sail to victory.

Also, "Can Mark Sanford survive?", and "Sanford campaign faces wife’s accusations, GOP group’s retreat."

Scores Injured in Huge Explosion at Texas Fertilizer Plant

Some reports indicate hundreds have been injured.

Terrible news, at KWTX-TV Waco, "EMS Director Says 60 To 70 Dead In West Explosion" (via Memeorandum).

Also at Dallas Morning News, "Live video: Explosion, injuries reported at fertilizer plant near Waco in West, Texas":

A fire had broken out earlier at the fertilizer plant, and the explosion occurred while firefighters were trying to put it out.

“It was a small fire and then water got sprayed the ammonia nitrate, and it exploded just like the Oklahoma City bomb,” said Jason Shelton, a clerk at the Czech Best Western Hotel in West. “I live about a thousand feet from it and it blew my screen door off and my back windows. There’s houses leveled that were right next to it. We've got people injured and possibly dead.”

Numerous buildings were reported to be on fire, including West Middle School and a nearby nursing home. A dispatcher calling for multiple ambulances said, “We do have a lot of injured here.”

Gabby Giffords Jumps the Shark With Pathetic Gun-Grabbing Op-Ed in the New York Times

I imagine she's already jumped the shark by coming out as one of Newtown's biggest Second Amendment hypocrites, but this commentary piece really seals the deal, "A Senate in the Gun Lobby's Grip" (via Memeorandum):

SENATORS say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets. The fear that those children who survived the massacre must feel every time they remember their teachers stacking them into closets and bathrooms, whispering that they loved them, so that love would be the last thing the students heard if the gunman found them.

On Wednesday, a minority of senators gave into fear and blocked common-sense legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and people with dangerous mental illnesses to get hold of deadly firearms — a bill that could prevent future tragedies like those in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., Blacksburg, Va., and too many communities to count.

Some of the senators who voted against the background-check amendments have met with grieving parents whose children were murdered at Sandy Hook, in Newtown. Some of the senators who voted no have also looked into my eyes as I talked about my experience being shot in the head at point-blank range in suburban Tucson two years ago, and expressed sympathy for the 18 other people shot besides me, 6 of whom died. These senators have heard from their constituents — who polls show overwhelmingly favored expanding background checks. And still these senators decided to do nothing. Shame on them.

No. Shame on you, Gabby Giffords.

It's hard to take seriously a former Member of Congress who campaigned for reelection on a Second Amendment platform who now criticizes senators who have made political decisions in tune with the policy preferences of their constituents. If the senators have done the wrong thing in voting against this ridiculous legislation they'll certainly pay for it at reelection time. And in time you too shall be repudiated in contest of public opinion, for your despicable political hypocrisy and your reprehensible exploitation of your injuries ---- and the deaths of children --- to punish law-abiding gun owners who've had nothing to do with the killing of the innocents.

More at Memeorandum.

Manchin-Toomey Fails in Senate, Obama Hardest Hit

At Hot Air, "Video: Obama not handling gun-control failure in Senate very well."

And at National Journal, "At Pivotal Point in Presidency, Obama Routed on Gun Control." (Via Memeorandum.)

Well, I hope it's a "turning point" in Obama's presidency, turning toward failure, the asshole gun-grabbing Exploiter-in-Chief.

CNN Botches Boston Bombing Investigation Reporting

See UPROXX: "Maybe We Should All Just Tune Completely Out Whenever Events Like The Boston Bombing Happen."

Possible Suspect in #BostonMarathon Bombing Identified

There was some false reporting on a suspect in custody earlier today, although sources are sill reporting that authorities have videotape with a possible ID forthcoming.

Here's the Boston Globe homepage seen earlier today:

And see, "Confusion engulfs Boston Marathon investigation as authorities find photo of suspect":

An official briefed on the Boston Marathon bombing investigation said today that authorities have an image of a suspect carrying, and perhaps dropping, a black bag at the second bombing scene on Boylston Street, outside of the Forum restaurant.

Authorities are “very close” in the investigation, said the official, who declined to be named. But law enforcement officials issued statements later in the afternoon firmly denying widespread media reports that a suspect was in custody or had been arrested.

The Globe’s source also said a surveillance camera at Lord & Taylor, located directly across the street, had provided clear video of the area, though it was unclear whether the image of the suspect was taken from that camera.

“The camera from Lord & Taylor is the best source of video so far,” confirmed Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “All I know is that they are making progress.”

Two bombs exploded within seconds of each other at 2:50 p.m. Monday near the Boylston Street finish line of the world-renowned race, killing three people and injuring 176, many of whom suffered major trauma from flying shrapnel, including nails and ball bearings that authorities have said were stuffed into the explosive devices by their makers.

A massive investigation is underway, involving local, state, and federal law enforcement. Officials have promised to go to the “ends of the earth” to find whoever is responsible.

Via Memeorandum.

Also at London's Daily Mail, "Boston bomber 'is trapped by his phone': FBI 'use phone records to identify suspect after he is spotted on store cameras talking on his cell just seconds before blast'." (Via Memeorandum.)

Unbridled Feminist Orthodoxy and the 'Snakepit of Injustice'

Yet another damning indictment of contemporary progressivism, from Judith Grossman, at the Wall Street Journal, "A Mother, a Feminist, Aghast."

Read it all.

And at FIRE, "In 'The Wall Street Journal': 'A Mother, a Feminist, Aghast'."

Harry Reid Goes for Assault Weapons Ban

Well, this is interesting, at NYT, "Background Checks in Peril as Reid Backs Gun Curbs":

WASHINGTON — As the Senate began debate on a number of gun measures on Wednesday, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, broke his long faith with the National Rifle Association and said he would vote for a ban on assault weapons.

“We must strike a better balance between the right to defend ourselves and the right of every child in America to grow up safe from gun violence,” Mr. Reid said from the Senate floor Wednesday morning.

“I’ll vote for the ban because maintaining the law and order is more important than satisfying conspiracy theorists who leave in black helicopters and false flags,” he said. “I’ll vote for the ban because saving the lives of police officers, young and old, and innocent civilians, young and old, is more important than preventing imagined tyranny,” he said.

The Senate will vote Wednesday afternoon on gun measures that may determine the shape of legislation inspired by the shootings in Newtown, Conn.

By late Tuesday night, a bipartisan amendment to the legislation, which would expand background checks for gun buyers, seemed all but doomed as two members who the measure’s sponsors had hoped would support it announced they would not.

Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, citing constitutional worries, said he would vote against it. And late Tuesday night, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said she too would reject the amendment, and threw her support behind a competing Republican measure. A handful of Democrats who were key to its passage would not commit to voting for it, and seemed increasingly likely to turn against the measure as its prospects for passage dimmed.

Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said Wednesday he was still scrambling for votes on the background check amendment that he created with Senator Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania.

Wasn't someone recently proposing intelligence tests for government officials?

Yeah. Okay.

Put the Senate Democrats at the front of the line. These people are f-king idiots.

Climate Scaremongers Struggle to Explain Warming Slowdown

Read it all, at AoSHQ, "Global Walkback: "Scientists" Struggle to Explain Why Their Theories About Global Warming Are Failing."

Frank Shorter on Boston and Munich

A great interview.

Frank Shorter talks to Jake Tapper:

RELATED: At USA Today, Cameron Stracher, "Bomber attacks essence of Marathon -- freedom."

Margaret Thatcher Funeral

At Astute Bloggers, "RIP LADY THATCHER."

And at Telegraph UK, "Thatcher funeral: the applause came from nowhere and followed the coffin to St Paul's."

The full video is here.

And at the New York Post, "Thatcher's Fight: Freedom vs. Tyranny."

And see the awesome leader at the Economist, "Freedom fighter."

Despicable Leftist David Sirota: 'Let's hope Boston Marathon bomber is a white American...'

I'm not linking the filthy scumbag piece at Salon, but Aleister's got it at American Glob, "SHAME ON YOU SALON.COM":

This, is where I draw the line and speak up. This is the point at which I can no longer remain silent.

This is beyond bad taste, it’s the promotion of racial hatred and violence for the sake of partisanship.

Everyone, every single person who works for Salon.com should be ashamed of themselves.

Especially you, David Sirota. You are a horrible human being.

These people are the lowest of the low, the scummiest of the scum.

But I'm not surprised at all. The radical leftists are chomping at the bit to ID the perp so they can have a "national conversation" smearing conservatives for tea party terrorism. See the Other McCain, "Shorter @DylanByers: ‘Hurry Up, FBI, So We Can Start the Media Blame Game!’"

Pretty sick.

Investigators Find Circuit Board Believed Used as Detonator in Boston Marthon Bombing

At the Boston Globe, "Investigation of Boston Marathon bombings continues: Circuit board found near site of blasts."

Investigators combing through the scene of the deadly Boston Marathon terrorist attack have recovered a circuit board that they believe was used to detonate the bombs, according to an official briefed on the investigation.

Investigators have also recovered components of the bombs, enabling them to determine that they consisted of two 6-liter pressure cookers packed with nails, ball bearings, and other metal. The makeshift bombs were placed in black duffel bags, the official said.

The one that exploded first was placed on the ground on Boylston Street, across from the finish-line viewing stands where dignitaries, including Governor Deval Patrick, had been sitting earlier. The second bag was placed on the ground about 75 to 100 yards down the street, outside the Forum restaurant at 755 Boylston, according to the official.

The bombs, detonated about 12 seconds apart, killed three people and injured 176 others, including 17 who are still in critical condition. The attacks created a scene of bloody carnage near the finish line of a race that is a colorful rite of spring and draws runners from around the world, who are cheered to the finish line by happy crowds.

More at that top link, and at the Globe.

And see the Wall Street Journal, "Boston Bomb Clues Surface: Officials Believe Lethal Devices Built From Pressure Cookers; Scene Is Scrutinized."

The Case for Regime Change on Abortion

An amazing review and analysis of Kermit Gosnell and abortion rights, from James Taranto, at the Wall Street Journal, "From Roe to Gosnell":

The reductio ad absurdum of the pro-abortion side is Kermit Gosnell. That is why the Gosnell case has crystallized our view that the current regime of abortion on demand in America is a grave evil that ought to be abolished. It is murderous, if not categorically then at least in its extreme manifestations. Maintaining it requires an assault on language and logic that has taken on a totalitarian character. And it is politically poisonous.

Some pro-abortion commentators have denied that the horrors of the Women's Medical Society implicate their ideology. While they have little to say about the babies Gosnell allegedly killed, they certainly don't approve of the way he treated his pregnant patients, at least two of whom, according to the grand jury, ended up dead, with untold others mutilated or infected. No, these advocates assure us, they want abortion to be "safe and legal." (The Clintonian "rare" is not heard anymore. In a Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed last month, Kate Michelman of NARAL Pro-Choice America came right out and said that she wants abortion to be "common.")

But the grand jury--which described its members as covering "a spectrum of personal beliefs about the morality of abortion"--directly blamed "pro-choice" politics for the regulatory failure that allowed the clinic to remain open for decades. The Pennsylvania Department of Health had conducted occasional inspections of the clinic starting in 1979, although it failed to act on the violations it found...

'Marathon Terror'

Today's Boston Globe front-page, via BuzzFeed:

How Kirsten Powers Finally Shamed the News Media

From John Fund, at National Review, "The Media After Gosnell."

Who Tried to Suppress Pamela Geller's Speech?

At Atlas Shrugs, "Israel National News: 'Who Tried to Silence Pamela Geller?'"

Also, "NEWS 12 EXPOSES HABEEB AHMED'S ATTEMPT TO CRUSH FREE SPEECH OF PAMELA GELLER."