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Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

More at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES." And Theo Spark, "Cartoon Round Up..."

More at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies."

CARTOON CREDIT: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – No Child Left Behind."

Melanie Phillips Reveals How She Fights the Left

An amazing essay, at London's Daily Mail, "Why the Left hates families: MELANIE PHIILLIPS reveals how the selfish sneers of Guardianistas made her see how the Left actively fosters – and revels in – family breakdown..."

Via Josh Painter on Twitter.

James Gilkerson Middlefield Police Shootout Video

The video's here.

Jawa Report has a bit longer version, "Crime Porn: Idiot With AK-47 Versus Police."

And amazingly, the idiot leftists thought this would seal the deal for the failed assault weapons ban?

At PuffHo, "Against Banning High Capacity Firearms? Then Watch This."

Well, I'm against extreme mental cases with high capacity firearms actually.

More at the Right Scoop, "Piers Morgan believes he has the smoking gun on why AK-47s should be banned…."

Background at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "2 Middlefield officers shoot, kill man after he opens fire on them, injuring both (911 audio recording)," and "Gunman who fired at Middlefield police said to oppose authority."

Jihadi Files Found on Computer of Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, Widow of #Boston Bomber

London's Daily Mail reports, "FBI focuses on Boston bomber's widow after agents discover radical Islamist files on her computer and traces of explosive residue throughout her home":

Federal officials investigating the Boston bombings have discovered radical Islamist materials on a computer belonging to the widow of the deceased suspect, it was revealed Friday.

Katherine Russell, 24, has repeatedly claimed through her attorney that she knew nothing about the deadly April 15 bombings allegedly set off by her late husband, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and his younger brother, Dzhokhar.

However, the discovery of al Qaeda’s Inspire magazine on Russell’s computer, along with the presence of explosive residue throughout their home, have raised new questions about Russell's possible involvement in the act of terror.

According to a government document obtained by NBC News, an analysis of the bombs used at the Boston Marathon and pipe bombs that the Tsarnaevs had allegedly thrown at police may have been built following instructions that appeared in an Inspire article titled: Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.

Officials have yet to determine whether the Islamist files found in Russell’s possession belonged to the 24-year-old mother, her late 26-year-old husband or a third party, a source told The Washington Post.

Tamerlan Tsranaev was shot dead in a gun battle with police four days after the marathon bombings when he and his brother allegedly carjacked a vehicle in a Boston suburb.

His younger brother, 18-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, had fled, setting off a massive manhunt that ended when he was discovered gravely wounded hiding in a boat. Russell's attorney, Amato DeLuca, had previously said his client was kept in the dark about the deadly plot, and she was shocked to learn that her husband and brother-in-law were allegedly responsible for the attacks.

Continue reading.

Plus, at Jawa Report, "'Sources': Feds Find AQAP's Inspire Mag & Other Jihadi Stuff On Computer Of Boston Bombers Widow."

And following the links, at the Washington Post, "Investigators sharpen focus on Boston bombing suspect’s widow."

PREVIOUSLY: "Tsarnaev Widow Katherine Russell Stops Cooperating With Police."

'Iron Man 3' Review

From Kenneth Turan, at the Los Angeles Times, "Review: 'Iron Man 3' smartly reboots the suit midflight":

The most interesting thing about this new "Iron Man" is that, far from being slicker than the first two versions, it is unexpectedly — and successfully — darker and more serious than its predecessors, with a cast including top actors like Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley and Rebecca Hall.

With former director Jon Favreau reduced to his acting role as Happy Hogan, now the obsessive head of security for Stark Industries, this latest "Iron Man" (co-written by Drew Pearce) has thankfully done away with most of the previous installments' tone-deaf repartee between Stark and Gwyneth Paltrow's indispensable (to him at least) Pepper Potts.

Pepper, now in charge of Stark Industries, is in residence at Stark's Malibu compound and sharing his life, though the man himself is far from his former carefree self. Skittish, uneasy, unable to sleep and given to compulsively building one high-maintenance Iron Man suit after another, Stark is still dealing with the anxiety attack aftereffects of fighting off all those aliens in last summer's "The Avengers," a movie which "Iron Man" blithely assumes everyone on the planet has seen (which may in fact be true).

Read it all at the link.

The most recent trailer is here: "Marvel's Iron Man 3 - TV Spot 11 - Now Playing."

I'm heading out right now with my boys to catch it at the Irvine Spectrum.

I'll be back!

Obama: Israel Has Right to Defend Itself From Hezbollah

Well, you think?

At the Times of Israel, "US president speaks out amid news of Israeli airstrike early Friday on missile warehouse at Damascus airport":

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — President Barack Obama said he won’t comment on an Israeli airstrike against Syria that targeted a shipment of advanced missiles believed to be headed for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israeli officials on Saturday confirmed the Israeli Air Force strike, which took place early Friday.

Obama told the Spanish-language network Telemundo in an interview that he will defer to the Israeli government for comment. He also repeated his view that the Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weapons to organizations like Hezbollah. The US considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Obama conducted the interview Saturday, and a portion of the president’s answer to a question about the airstrike was broadcast on MSNBC.

Earlier Saturday, US officials told the New York Times that the Israeli airstrike hit a shipment of advanced surface-to-surface missiles from Iran that Israel believed was intended for Hezbollah...

More at Memeorandum.

Holy Freakin' Cow! Judge Jeanine Pirro Lights Righteous Second Amendment Wildfire at NRA 2013!

Wow!

Get in, sit down, shut up, and hold the freakin hell on!

Via Maggie's Notebook, "Jeanine Pirro NRA Speech 2013: Accused of Denigrating All Muslims “How About Not Blaming All Gun Owners”."

Niall Ferguson Apologizes for 'Tactless and Stupid Remarks' About John Maynard Keynes

On Twitter:

I apologize deeply and unreservedly for stupid and tactless remarks about Keynes that I made on Thursday bit.ly/13cZ6B7
— Niall Ferguson (@nfergus) May 4, 2013

Well, mob justice was swift. With luck he'll be able to hang onto his position at Harvard, although the Lawrence Summers precedent isn't encouraging.

Previously: "Harvard's Niall Ferguson Slams Famed Economist John Maynard Keynes: 'A Homosexual Married to a Ballerina'."

Ventura County Springs Fire — 30 Percent Contained

According to Christine Mai-Duc, "At this point, #SpringsFire is at 28,000 acres, 30% contained. Firefighters focusing most on Potrero road area."

Also at the Ventura County Star, "Day 3: Springs fire now 30% contained."

Fire crewsthat have worked 24 hour-shifts wait for relief crews this morning at #springsfire #kpcc twitter.com/ReporterSteph/…
— Stephanie O'Neill (@ReporterSteph) May 4, 2013

And from today's Los Angeles Times front-page, "Destructive 1993 blaze led to new firefighting strategy":

Scott Dettorre was a young firefighter in 1993 when the infamous Green Meadow wildfire swept through, leaving a path of destruction from Ventura County to Malibu.

The fire, which destroyed 53 homes and consumed 44,000 acres, caught firefighters unprepared and prompted officials to rethink the way they fight blazes driven by fierce Santa Ana winds.

This week, Dettorre helped lead the battle against the Springs fire, which like the devastating 1993 blaze covered a wide swath of the county. Dettorre, now a captain, said crews fought the blaze much differently this time.

It's a game plan that as of Friday evening was showing signs of success. Although the fire licked against several subdivisions and hillside estates, it has largely remained confined to rugged wildlands and agricultural zones.

"With this fire, having experienced Green Meadow, our commanding officers realized much sooner that we were not going to get ahead of this fire," he said Friday. "Consequently, we were able to put plans in place to minimize damage to a much greater extent. It is the lessons of Green Meadow that is allowing us to do what we are doing out here."

The fire, which had burned more than 28,000 acres by Friday evening, ignited Thursday morning amid historically dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds considered unusual for May.

Fire officials quickly determined that the leading edge of the fire was too dangerous to confront head-on.

"It became apparent very quickly that this fire was going to overwhelm us," Dettorre said. "Instead of us being able to outflank the fire, the fire was outflanking us and putting all of the fire personnel in grave danger."

More at the top link. Check back for updates.

Harvard's Niall Ferguson Slams Famed Economist John Maynard Keynes: 'A Homosexual Married to a Ballerina'

Oh boy, this is too juicy!

At Financial Advisor Magazine, "Harvard Professor Trashes Keynes For Homosexuality":

Harvard Professor and author Niall Ferguson says John Maynard Keynes' economic philosophy was flawed and he didn't care about future generations because he was gay and didn't have children.

Speaking at the Tenth Annual Altegris Conference in Carlsbad, Calif., in front of a group of more than 500 investors, Ferguson responded to a question about Keynes' famous philosophy of self-interest versus the economic philosophy of Edmund Burke, who believed there was a social contract among the living, as well as the dead. Ferguson asked the audience how many children Keynes had. He explained that Keynes had none because he was a homosexual and was married to a ballerina, with whom he likely talked of "poetry" rather than procreated. The audience went quiet at the remark. Some attendees later said they found the remarks offensive.

It gets worse.

Ferguson, who is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, and author of The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die, says it's only logical that Keynes would take this selfish worldview because he was an "effete" member of society. Apparently, in Ferguson's world, if you are gay or childless, you cannot care about future generations nor society.

This takes gay-bashing to new heights. It even perversely pins the full weight of the financial crisis on the gay community and the barren.

Not only is this intellectually void, it's mad. And anyone with a moral conscience should be outraged. It is one thing to take issue with a society fueled by self interest and one fueled by a larger ethic. But it's entirely vulgar to make this argument about sexual preference -- and to do so glibly.

Okay, yes.

I'll feign my outrage now. How about this?

"Oh that is horrible, HORRIBLE!

That Professor Ferguson is a nasty brute. And so unfair to the homosexuals and the barren. It's an abomination. Economic conservatives are just like, well, HITLER!

Boycott Harvard until it fires that horrible, HORRIBLE man. Boycott I say! And disinvest!

How could anyone possible say such a thing, and so glibly, yes! That makes it extra mean. That he said it glibly is just HORRIBLE."

HAT TIP: Tufts Professor Daniel Drezner, who apparently thinks Ferguson is just horrible!

Also, here's the conference program and roster. Maybe a video will surface and we'll get some bonus lulz.

UPDATE: The story's building attention at Memeorandum. Ferguson is horrible, HORRIBLE! Extreme outrage all over the place. The speech ayatollahs are out in force! See especially Andrew Gelman at the Monkey Cage and Henry Blodget at Business Insider.

Sources Say Israel Launches Airstrike on Syria

From Barbara Starr at CNN, "Sources: U.S. believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria." (Via Memeorandum.)

Also at the Times of Israel, "Israeli planes hit targets in Syria, say US officials."

UK Independence Party Surges to Best Showing Ever, Winning 150 Local Council Elections

From Tim Stanley, at Telegraph UK, "Ukip is a very British revolution":

The results aren’t all in yet, but it’s obvious what’s happening: Ukip are the moral victors in yesterday’s local elections. A party that was just two men on a golf cart ten years ago has placed second in South Shields and won county seats across the country. A few early observations:

1. The Lib Dems are at risk of becoming politically irrelevant. In South Shields they came seventh, a pathetic result for a governing party.

2. Ukip have helped to smash the BNP. By providing a non-racist Right-wing alternative, they reduced the BNP’s result in the Spalding East and Moulton ward in Lincolnshire from 20.5 per cent in 2009 to just 3.9 per cent today.

3. Labour did well but its gains were only modest. It held South Shields (the kind of seat that a donkey in a red rosette could win) but on a lower majority. Miliband is not popular in southern England and that will prove a problem in 2015.

4. Dan Hannan’s dream of a Ukip/Conservative coalition might actually happen in Lincolnshire and Gloucestershire – a fascinating laboratory for any future pact.

But the big story is the rise and rise of a tiny party once derided by its critics as full of fruitcakes and closet racists. It probably won’t gain any parliamentary seats in 2015: the electoral system is stacked against it and while Ukip’s support is broad, it isn’t deep enough in individual constituencies to win anything. This doesn’t seem to trouble Nigel Farage who says that he sees his party as playing the same role that the SDP played in the 1980s – driving the political agenda in his preferred direction.

RTWT.

Plus, "Ed Miliband needs to fear Ukip, too: Right-wing populism is in the ascendant."

Camarillo Springs Fire Has Now Charred 18,000 Acres

Here's the latest from KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Springs Fire: 10K acres burned from Camarillo to coast."

Sarah Palin Speech to National Rifle Association 2013

It wasn't as choreographed as the CPAC speech this year, and not quite as funny, but she's always a crowd-pleaser. And slamming Michael Bloomberg with that box of Skoal Tobacco was priceless.

Watch it at the link.

Motorcycle Crashes Into Cyclists on Dead Man's Curve

Well, it's an awful crash but there were no serious injuries --- thank God.

More at Biking L.A., "Exclusive — What really happened in the Mulholland motorcycle crash that took out two bike riders."

Jess Davies for ZIP Magazine April 2013

At Egotastic, "Jess Davies poses for ZIP Magazine April 2013."

Flaming Cocktail Fail

And it looked like it was going so well!

Via Blazing Cat Fur, "When bartending goes wrong..."

Unravelling the Boston Terror Plot

An interesting piece from Arnold Ahlert, at FrontPage Magazine.

Just go read it over there. These guys were hardly "knock off" jihadis. But it's still early. We'll know a lot more in due time.

NRA Convention Opens in Houston

And Emily Miller is on hand, "Rick Perry says Obama wants to ‘disarm the America public’":

Guns galore twitter.com/EmilyMiller/st…
— Emily Miller (@EmilyMiller) May 3, 2013

Gov. Rick Perry sat back in shock when I told him President Obama told Mexicans that an upside of his efforts to infringe the Second Amendment would be to make them safer. The Texas Republican, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), pushed back his chair and thought before speaking.

“The idea that a United States president would go to Mexico and make that statement is incredulous,” the 2012 president candidate told me in an interview after his rousing speech at the NRA annual meeting in Houston Friday. “His goal — well before he became president of the United States — was to try to disarm the American public. He just disregards the Constitution.”

Continue reading.

Also at Dallas Morning News, "At NRA convention in Houston, official says 'culture war' more than gun rights."