Mobs and Slobs Turn Madison Into Progressive Pigsty

I mentioned last night that I was taking break from the union blogging, but it just keeps getting better.

First is the utter laugh riot over at Whiskey Fire, where dolt-douchebag Thers claims "that this is a damned disciplined protest." Yo, Einstein, getting up close and personal with screams of "F*ck you" in the face of a Wisconsin state legislator is not "disciplined." It's by definition mob rule. But it gets even better still. It turns out that Senator Grothman went on MSNBC last night and rebuked the filthy dirtbag protesters as a bunch of slobs:

And notice how Democrat State Representative Cory Mason responds with "these are police officers and firefighters and nurses and people who keep us safe." Yeah, and he might have mentioned officers from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections who harass citizen journalists with whistleblowing while their allied union thugs knock video cameras to the ground (toward the end of the clip):

Bunch of socialist scumbags.

At Althouse, "'You are a person against all of us. The whole nation is looking at you." — says an old woman with a "Solidarity" sign who gets right up in Meade's face...' (via Memeorandum). See also Hot Air and Legal Insurrection, "More Police Insurrection In Madison."

Yet More Union Thuggery: Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman Trapped by Mob at Capitol Grounds

At Say Anything, "Wisconsin Protesters Mob Republican Legislator, Block His Entrance to The Capitol" (via Instapundit):

This all over Memeorandum, for example, at Gateway Pundit and Michelle's, "Mob rule video: Uhinged crowd corners Wisconsin GOP senator shouting “F**k you,” “Shame!”":

I got bad chills up and down my spine watching this group of crazed, pro-union Madison thugs gang up on a lone conservative in a public space just trying to do his job.

Been there, done that. It’s no fun.

Mass. Democrat Rep. Michael Capuano’s words “Get a little bloody” echoed in my mind like a soundtrack while watching the video clip.

The scene: The Madison, WI state capitol grounds.

The target: Wisconsin state Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman.

The mobsters: Anti-Scott Walker agitators shouting “Shame! Shame! Shame F***k you! F***k you!” while beating their tribal drums, blowing their horns, and hounding Sen. Grothman into an alcove.

First, they back him up on the side of a building, chase him across the lawn, and then corner him.

Sick to my stomach.

Revolutionary Socialist Union Rally in Dallas

Because, you know, they're not representative, or anything. Freakin' asshat commies. At The Blaze, "Working Together: ‘Revolutionary Socialist’ Leads Moveon.org Union Rally in Dallas":

Boy, those union hacks really hate screaming, "NO WAR BUT CLASS WAR."

Right.

Behold the mainstream of the Democratic Party base, as I've been reporting all along.

More at Red, White and Blue News, "Socialist propaganda, Code Pink, Marxist chants: Just a typical union rally in Dallas."

Both Ends Burning ... 'Till the End...

I'm taking a break from union blogging for a bit. Here's conservative rocker Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, "Both Ends Burning":

Please don't ever let me down
'Cause you know I'm not so sure
Do I have the speed to carry on
Burn you out of my mind, I know
You're a flame that never fades
Jungle red's a deadly shade
Both ends burning, will the fires keep
Somewhere deep in my soul tonight
Both ends burning
Burning
Burn ...

The fires raging in my soul tonight
Oh will it never end?
Put your foot around the bend
Drive me crazy to an early grave
Tell me what is there to save tonight
Both ends burning
Burning
Burn
Keep on burning till the end, until the end
Keep on burning till the end, the very end ...

Update on New York Times Poll on Public Sector Unions

I wrote previously about the latest survey from the New York Times: "There's something fishy about this poll ..." One thing that bothered me was how the Times indicated that 25 percent of those surveyed included "a public employee in their household." And that's not quite right, as Ed Morrissey indicates:

... 25% of respondents are either public employees or share a household with a public employee. Federal employees comprise less than 2% of the workforce at around 2 million. Overall, the US has 22.22 million government employees out of an employed workforce of 130.27 million, according to the Current Employment Statistics survey at the BLS. Government employment accounts for 17% of all workers, so a sample consisting of 25% public-sector households for a survey of adults (not registered voters) seems a little off.

Anyway, that's a fantastic analysis. And while I'm at it, folks might check out William Jacobson's work as well, focusing on Public Policy Polling, "Skewed Sample Data Used In PPP Wisconsin 'Do Over' Poll." Here again, the survey's oversampling Democratic households. What's amazing, though, is that if it wasn't for bloggers analyzing the findings, most folks wouldn't know otherwise (see U.S. News, for example, "New Polls Bring More Bad News for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker").

Natalie Portman Condemns Dior Designer for Anti-Semitic Slurs

At Jerusalem Post, "Portman condemns Dior designer for anti-Semitic words." And New York Times, "Natalie Portman Condemns Galliano‎":

The actress Natalie Portman, who has an endorsement contract with Dior for its Miss Dior Cherie fragrance, has strongly condemned its chief designer, John Galliano, for anti-Semitic remarks after a video surfaced of Mr. Galliano appearing to deliver a tirade in a Paris bar. In a separate incident, he was accused of verbally abusing a French couple last week in the bar. He was suspended Friday from Dior.

In a statement released Monday evening in Los Angeles, Ms. Portman said: “I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”

RELATED: The Other McCain on Natalie Portman and feminist ax-grinders, "‘The Most Important Role of My Life’."

Poll Shows Support for Public Sector Workers

At New York Times, "Majority in Poll Back Employees In Public Unions." (Via Mememorandum.)

I checked the raw data and the sampling methodology. There's something fishy about this poll, and I wasn't quite sure. Yet, Allahpundit does a thorough fisking, and seems to think the survey's not an outlier after all: "CBS poll: 60% oppose stripping any collective bargaining rights from public workers." Basically, when push comes to shove the public stands firm on support for education, and by implication the larger public sector work force. More particularly, folks recoil at the idea of making real cuts that have real impact on people's lives. Let's face it, it's scary as hell to contemplate a lifestyle downsize, to say nothing of jettisoning old-age retirement security for the ups and downs of stock market pension accounts. But we'll know more in time. The Democrats may well have erred big time in their methods of obstruction, despite sympathetic trends in public opinion. And if the mainstream press were to widely feature pictures like this on a day-to-day basis, then the public would at least get more of the real-world information needed to make accurate and holistic decisions about public policy. Seriously. Look what's happened on ObamaCare. Opponents were right all along, and now the administration's letting go of its legislation piece by piece. As we move forward through 2011 we'll be hearing from states with way deeper fiscal sinkholes than Wisconsin, and the public will get to see new rounds of progressive tantrums over public benefits systems that are inherently unsustainable. In any case, the unions are hoping to keep the protest spirit going, and they've had the corrupted police union giving them the green light for further disruptions in Madison. They're finally clearing the place out now, so check Althouse for more on that, and then back here later today:

Public Sector Unions Bankrupting America

At Pajamas TV:

Previously: "The Battle of Wisconsin Rages On," and "Wisconsin Police Union in Solidarity with Progressives, Socialists, and Big Labor Squatters."

BONUS: "Public Unions and the Socialist Agenda."

No Support for Terrorism Whatsoever? Uncovering Students for Islamist Jihad at UCLA

My investigative report is up at David Horowitz's NewsReal Blog: "UCLA’s Palestine Awareness Week: Students for the Extermination of Israel."

ICYMI: See my initial report, "Israeli Apartheid Week, Students for Justice in Palestine, UCLA, February 23, 2011."

Public Workers and Political Power

An awesome editorial, at Wall Street Journal, "A Union Education":

The raucous Wisconsin debate over collective bargaining may be ugly at times, but it has been worth it for the splendid public education. For the first time in decades, Americans have been asked to look under the government hood at the causes of runaway spending. What they are discovering is the monopoly power of government unions that have long been on a collision course with taxpayers. Though it arrived in Madison first, this crack-up was inevitable.

We first started running the nearby chart on the trends in public and private union membership many years ago. It documents the great transformation in the American labor movement over the latter decades of the 20th century. A movement once led by workers in private trades and manufacturing evolved into one dominated by public workers at all levels of government but especially in the states and cities.

The trend is even starker if you go back a decade earlier. In 1960, 31.9% of the private work force belonged to a union, compared to only 10.8% of government workers. By 2010, the numbers had more than reversed, with 36.2% of public workers in unions but only 6.9% in the private economy.

The sharp rise in public union membership in the 1960s and 1970s coincides with the movement to give public unions collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin was the first state to provide those rights in 1959, other states followed, and California became the biggest convert in 1978 under Jerry Brown in his first stint as Governor. President Kennedy let some federal workers organize (though not collectively bargain) for the first time in 1962, a gambit to win union support for his re-election after his cliffhanger victory in 1960.

It's important to understand how revolutionary this change was. For decades as the private union movement rose in power, even left-of-center politicians resisted collective bargaining for public unions. We've previously mentioned FDR and Fiorello La Guardia. But George Meany, the legendary AFL-CIO president during the Cold War, also opposed the right to bargain collectively with the government.

Why? Because unlike in the private economy, a public union has a natural monopoly over government services. An industrial union will fight for a greater share of corporate profits, but it also knows that a business must make profits or it will move or shut down. The union chief for teachers, transit workers or firemen knows that the city is not going to close the schools, buses or firehouses.

This monopoly power, in turn, gives public unions inordinate sway over elected officials. The money they collect from member dues helps to elect politicians who are then supposed to represent the taxpayers during the next round of collective bargaining. In effect union representatives sit on both sides of the bargaining table, with no one sitting in for taxpayers. In 2006 in New Jersey, this led to the preposterous episode in which Governor Jon Corzine addressed a Trenton rally of thousands of public workers and shouted, "We will fight for a fair contract." He was promising to fight himself.

Thus the collision course with taxpayers.

More at the link above, and be sure to check the graph on the rise of public sector unions.

Petra Němcová Joins 'Dancing With the Stars'

And Kendra Wilkinson as well. This season's gonna be steamin'.

At LAT, "New 'Dancing With the Stars' cast announced":

ABC just has to maintain its presence at the water cooler. First with the Academy Awards. Then with Charlie Sheen. Now with the "Dancing with the Stars" lineup announcement.

We've all heard rumors. But the wait is finally over. The network announced the new cast during the East Coast airing of Monday's episode of "The Bachelor."

So let’s now (officially) take a look at who will be twirling (and/or fumbling) across the stage this season. Here are the folks likely to take up your time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays...

Click through for the roster. Kirstie Alley's a beauty, and geez, Ralph Macchio? Dancing with the Karate Kid.

Republican Governors Association Launches Pro-Walker Ad in Wisconsin

At LAT, "GOP governors to launch ads backing Wisconsin Gov. Walker":

In a sign of the ramifications the budget standoff has beyond Wisconsin's borders, the Republican Governors Assn. plans to become the latest outside group to launch an advertising campaign in the state, supporting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's effort to end collective bargaining rights for public employees.

The association's chairman, Rick Perry, announced the ad campaign during a briefing with reporters Monday in Washington, where the Wisconsin showdown has loomed over the annual meeting of state leaders.

"Republican governors aren't going to back down from our support of Scott Walker and what he's doing to make the tough decisions in his state to balance the budget," said Perry, the governor of Texas.

The television ad says leaders "don't run away from tough problems," referring to Democratic state senators who have left the state to prevent a vote on Walker's plan. It mentions the Republican governor's position that state employees should pay for more of their own benefits, but it omits the issue of collective bargaining that has fueled weeks of demonstrations at the state capitol.

The ad campaign by the Republican governors is the first salvo of what Perry said would be a two-year effort by the association to "provide some effective oversight of the Obama administration" and offer solutions to issues affecting the states.

Why Koch Industries Is Speaking Out

From Charles Koch, at Wall Street Journal (via Memeorandum):

For many years, I, my family and our company have contributed to a variety of intellectual and political causes working to solve these problems. Because of our activism, we've been vilified by various groups. Despite this criticism, we're determined to keep contributing and standing up for those politicians, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are taking these challenges seriously.

Both Democrats and Republicans have done a poor job of managing our finances. They've raised debt ceilings, floated bond issues, and delayed tough decisions.

RTWT.

The essay focuses on much more beyond Wisconsin, although for Koch Industries, and freedom-loving people everywhere, the Madness in Madison is the tipping point.

The Battle of Wisconsin Rages On

The Hill has the Beltway angle, "AFL-CIO Chief Blesses Obama's Handling of Wisconsin Labor Battle." (And more at Memeorandum.)

But see Weasel Zippers, "Top Union Chief Refuses to Condemn Protester Signs Comparing Gov. Walker to Hitler ..." And especially, Rich Trzupek, at FrontPage Magazine:

Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press yesterday, AFL-CIO Richard Trumka was given two golden opportunities to do the very thing the left claims is so important to them: tone down violent, incendiary rhetoric. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Asked to condemn the angry words and images that union supporters have employed in Wisconsin, Trumka chose to dance around the question instead:

“We should be sitting down trying to create jobs,” he said. “In Wisconsin, a vast majority of the people think this governor has overreached. His popularity has gone down. They’re saying to him, sit down and negotiate; don’t do what you’ve been doing. So he’s losing.”

Even if one were to accept the dubious premise that Governor Scott Walker is “losing” his battle with the teachers union in Wisconsin, Trumka’s answer is at once disingenuous, troubling and typical of the leftist mindset. The disingenuous part is obvious: Trumka never actually answered a question that was posed twice. Imagine how the old media would have reacted if a conservative leader like Sarah Palin or Rand Paul sidestepped an opportunity to denounce violent rhetoric on the right.

What’s troubling, though sadly unsurprising, is what this reveals about the way a leftist leader like Trumka thinks. Asked to denounce a tactic, he comes back with an answer that implies that such tactics are working. Trumka doesn’t actually come out and say that the end justifies the means, but it’s pretty obvious that he feels that way. Far from discouraging leftist protestors from employing violent imagery and rhetoric, Trumka’s answer sounds an awful lot like a nod of approval for the results that those tactics have supposedly achieved ....

The left says that public discourse ought to be civil, unless it involves a position that’s important to the left, in which case anything goes. Teachers unions are always demanding more for their members in the name of the best interests of the kids they educate, but they don’t have a problem orchestrating what amounts to an illegal strike when the union’s interests are threatened. Elections and majority rule are wonderful concepts on the left, until they lose an election and are in the minority. In that case, running away and hiding so that you don’t have to accede to the will of the majority is perfectly acceptable. If the battle of Wisconsin proves anything, it’s another demonstration of the self-serving hypocrisy that permeates the left in America.

Word.

PREVIOUSLY: "Wisconsin Police Union in Solidarity with Progressives, Socialists, and Big Labor Squatters," and "Public Unions and the Socialist Agenda."

Note: I pulled the Meet the Press clip with Trumpka, but check Weasel Zippers, where it seems to be playing fine.

Wisconsin Police Union in Solidarity with Progressives, Socialists, and Big Labor Squatters — UPDATE! Police Threaten Insurrection!!

Well, the Boing Boing commies are down with the Big Labor squatters in Madison, and the cops are as well, "Wisconsin Cops For the Win":

And here's this, from Glenn Reynolds:

YOU CAN SEE WHY TEA PARTY PROTESTERS WORRY THE COPS MIGHT TAKE SIDES: L.A. Police Union Urges Members to ‘Stand in Solidarity’ with SEIU and MoveOn.Org. The folks at BoingBoing seem to like it that the Wisconsin cops are siding with protesters, but where’s the reason for trust from those who feel otherwise? Do we want police to take sides in political disputes?

Apparently some do. This is why (1) you should always bring a camera; and (2) public employee unions should be illegal. If union protesters turn violent — as they increasingly have — can you trust pro-union police to intervene?

More at the link.

RELATED: At Althouse, "'The administration of Gov. Scott Walker abruptly locked out protesters from the Capitol on Monday morning...'"

UPDATE: From William Jacobson, "Wisconsin Police Union Members Threaten Insurrection":

It's unclear to me what the lines of command are in Wisconsin, and whether the departments in which these policemen work ultimately are under the control of the Governor and/or legislature. Clearly, the Governor does control the National Guard. Regardless, the police union members involved have actively advocated and offered to participate in insurrection against the legal authority in Wisconsin.

More than anything, this shows the dangers of public sector unions. Those who work for the state occupy a different position than those who work in the private sector because they carry the weight of state authority. When those state workers are in law enforcement, they carry special obligations not to use their positions for political purposes.

When an off-duty policeman wearing police insignia takes a megaphone and announces that he and his fellow police union members will disobey orders, that policeman -- at a minimum -- has dishonored his pledge to uphold the law.

It appears that by the end of today we will know whether the police union members' talk of insurrection was bluster (which I suspect is the case), or if they really will risk their careers by disobeying lawful orders from legitimate and duly elected state authority.

Public Unions and the Socialist Agenda

One of the more interesting things about the left is the refusal of its partisans to admit they're socialists. The truth, of course, is obvious to anyone who witnesses the massive progressive demonstrations, of recent years, for example the big One Nation rally the Democratic base held last year (see, "Democrats, Union Workers, and Communists Rally Together in Washington"). Indeed, we often hear that conservatives are chasing after "imaginary communists" and that attacks on Democrat Party extremism is "McCarthyism." The only problem for the left's denialists is that when one actually goes out to the protests and mobilizations, communists are everywhere, and they're usually in fact the key organizers. Progressives know that if the socialist label sticks they'll get slammed at election time, and rightly so, since Americans are by nature individualistic and entrepreneurial. By definition, then, the social program is anti-American, to say nothing of totalitarian. So it's interesting to see the AFSME members saying here that they're all about inclusion, and that they'd prefer the socialist alternative to the rational budget planning of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

And see also, Robert Tracinski, "Public Unions & the Socialist Utopia" (via Memeorandum):

The Democratic lawmakers who have gone on the lam in Wisconsin and Indiana-and who knows where else next-are exhibiting a literal fight-or-flight response, the reaction of an animal facing a threat to its very existence.

Why? Because it is a threat to their existence. The battle of Wisconsin is about the viability of the Democratic Party, and more: it is about the viability of the basic social ideal of the left.

It is a matter of survival for Democrats in an immediate, practical sense. As Michael Barone explains, the government employees' unions are a mechanism for siphoning taxpayer dollars into the campaigns of Democratic politicians.

But there is something deeper here than just favor-selling and vote-buying. There is something that almost amounts to a twisted idealism in the Democrats' crusade. They are fighting, not just to preserve their special privileges, but to preserve a social ideal. Or rather, they are fighting to maintain the illusion that their ideal system is benevolent and sustainable.

Unionized public-sector employment is the distilled essence of the left's moral ideal. No one has to worry about making a profit. Generous health-care and retirement benefits are provided to everyone by the government. Comfortable pay is mandated by legislative fiat. The work rules are militantly egalitarian: pay, promotion, and job security are almost totally independent of actual job performance. And because everyone works for the government, they never have to worry that their employer will go out of business.

In short, public employment is an idealized socialist economy in miniature, including its political aspect: the grateful recipients of government largesse provide money and organizational support to re-elect the politicians who shower them with all of these benefits.

Put it all together, and you have the Democrats' version of utopia. In the larger American culture of Tea Parties, bond vigilantes, and rugged individualists, Democrats feel they are constantly on the defensive. But within the little subculture of unionized government employees, all is right with the world, and everything seems to work the way it is supposed to ...

This is why the left is treating any attempt to fundamentally reform the public workers' paradise as an existential crisis.

Well, some folks are for the insurrection, as we've been seeing for weeks.

See also, Pejman Yousefzadeh, "Marxists. I Hate These Guys" (via Instapundit).

Well, of course Ezra Klein doesn't hate 'em, "Do We Still Need Unions? Yes" (via Memorandum).

Natalie Portman Wins Best Actress at Oscars 2011

Commentary from Betsy Sharkey, at Los Angeles Times, "'Black Swan's' Natalie Portman made worthy sacrifice for her art."

RELATED: "Oscars: Natalie Portman and the anatomy of a dress." And some coverage at New York Times, "Oscar Coronation for ‘The King’s Speech’."

Wally Pfister's Union Call Out at Academy Awards

More Oscar coverage later, but the Wally Pfister call-out captured the imagination of the neo-communist left, "Oscar Winners Celebrate Union Crews That Are ‘A Very Important Part Of The Middle Class’" (via Memeorandum):

Notice the part about supporting "any other country." Hey, there's some neo-communist international solidarity for ya!

RELATED: At PuffHo, "Charles Ferguson's Oscar Speech Rips Wall Street: 'Inside Job' Director Levels Criticism During Acceptance."

Also, from Jammie, "Shocker: Obama Makes Oscars Cameo": "I'd have probably thrown up if I'd bothered to watch this dreck."

New York Times Searches for Union Victory in Wisconsin Protests

More reporting from Althouse, "The NYT strains to find a "victory" for the Wisconsin demonstrators." The "victory" is the police capitulation to the union thugs:

Notes Althouse:

A decision was made that it wasn't worth the drama to oust these people who've been clean and orderly enough. Plus, the police are — it seems to me — sympathetic to the protest. As for the GOP politicians who dominate the state government: Why would they want to make martyrs out of the folks who've worked so long and hard to demonstrate how strongly they care? They've been hanging out in the Capitol, enduring the cacophony of their own drumming and chanting and sleeping on the hard stone floor for 10+ days. They're punishing themselves. Why not let them suffer, unmolested, and continue to generate images that disturb the Wisconsinites who voted the Republicans into office 3 months ago?

Plus, from Michelle, "Capitulation: Madison capitol police give in to Big Labor Slumber Party occupiers":

In Madison, Wisconsin — the Berkeley of the Midwest — deadlines don’t mean diddly-squat. Rules don’t apply. And the People’s House belongs not to hard-working taxpayers, but to Big Labor squatters who have grimed and slimed up the Capitol for almost two weeks.

The Capitol police had set a deadline this afternoon for the grievance mob to clear out their sleeping bags, crock pots, and other makeshift camp paraphernalia. The occupiers ignored them. The Capitol police then promptly…capitulated. Rest assured, rewarding the breakdown of civil order will lead to more civil disorder. Way to go, Madison.

The New York Times piece is here: "Demonstrators Can Continue Overnight Stays in Wisconsin Capitol." (Via Memeorandum.)

More at Pundit & Pundette, "Monday various & sundry."

Unions Plot Strategy to Prolong Wisconsin Protests

At Chicago Tribune, "AFL-CIO works to keep Wisconsin protests going":

WASHINGTON — AFL-CIO leaders, sparked by the strength of pro-labor protests in Wisconsin, are deciding how they can help keep the crowds large and the pressure high as demonstrations enter a third week.

Officials at the nation's largest labor federation said Monday they are looking for a more strategic approach to keep the protests going strong.

"This thing rose from the streets of Wisconsin, and if you've got any brains as a leader, you see a parade, you get out in front of it," said Greg Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers and a member of the AFL-CIO's executive council.

"Before this thing starts to diminish, we need to make sure it gets a shot of vitamins at all appropriate times," he said.

Also, at New York Times, "In Wisconsin, Flinging Blame and Citing Deadlines." And from Ed Morrissey, "Walker gives 24-hour deadline to fleebaggers."

Oil Flows as Rebels Gain

At WSJ, "Libyan Opposition Presses Gadhafi, Establishes Government, Sets Crude Shipment":

Libyan rebels pressed the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi Sunday, taking control of a key city near the capital of Tripoli, declaring a provisional government and allowing oil shipments to resume from territory under their control.

An oil tanker was expected to depart the port of Tobruk in the northeast corner of Libya sometime Sunday night carrying 700,000 barrels of oil, said Hassan Bulifa, a member of the management committee of Arabian Gulf Oil Co., Libya's largest oil producer and the only oil company based in the country's opposition-controlled eastern territory.

The management committee has assumed control of day-to-day operations at the company after its chairman, Abdulwanis Saad, resigned during the uprising against Col. Gadhafi. Mr. Bulifa said he believed the tanker would be bound for China.

The turmoil across the Middle East, cradle of much of the world's oil production, has sent prices soaring. Last week, crude oil for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $8.17 per barrel, or 9.11%, to $97.88, and for the seventh time since 1982 prices jumped 10% within two days. Month-to-date, U.S. benchmark crude is up 6.17%.

The Arabian Gulf Oil shipment would be the first oil exported from the eastern territory in more than a week—the last left on Feb. 19, before much of eastern Libya had slipped out of government control. Money earned from exports from rebel-controlled territory still goes into the accounts belonging to the National Oil Co., which is based in Tripoli and remains under the control of Mr. Gadhafi's government. Nevertheless, the relaunching of exports would be good news for Arabian Gulf Oil, which has had to cut back production rates for fear of running out of storage capacity amid a lack of export outlets.

More at the link.

'These People Hate'

Yeah, well, I was saying the same thing yesterday about my deranged commenter, who may well have been the deranged hatemaster REPSAC = CASPER. Horrible people, progressives. See Nice Deb, "Video: Fox News Reporter On Madison Protesters – “There’s Hate In Their Eyes”":

Partial transcript via The Daily Caller.

“One thing I think should make clear – the people coming after us from every live shot here, these people hate,” Tobin said. “These are people who don’t respect diverse viewpoints. In fact, they’re so afraid I’ll present a diverse viewpoint, that’s why they try to heckle me and shut down every live shot. They’ve made it clear, that what they want to make it harder for me to do my job. They are proud of that when they disrupt a live shot, when they really trample over the First Amendment rights or the First Amendment’s obligations of a reporter. Now, I am not saying that’s all of the people. Those are the people that come here and heckle and try to disrupt things. I look in their eyes – there is hate in their eyes. They don’t want to hear any kind of viewpoint that is different from their own. That’s why they do what they do.”

Yep, that's them.

Nice Deb's got additional commentary, and see the thugs beating on the reporter at Freedom's Lighthouse, "Fox News’ Mike Tobin Shouted At and Hit During Live Report In Wisconsin."

Andrew Sullivan Moving to Daily Beast

The news is here.

And when you finish that recall the piece a while back at The New Ledger, "Through the Looking Glass With Andrew Sullivan."

And always entertaining commentary from The Other McCain, "Who Speaks for America?":

A Harvard-educated, AIDS-infected, Internet-cruising, marijuana-using gay British expatriate presumes to speak for Americans who reject Sarah Palin because of “a meanness, a disrespect, a vicious partisanship.”

We await a response from Sarah Palin’s uterus ...

In any case, I saw this first on Twitter, but if Memeorandum starts a thread I'll be updating. Last time I really read Sully was during the Iran democracy protests in 2009, and he was indeed a force of nature at the time. Other than that, I can do without RawMuscleGlutes.

ADDED: In bonus pervy news, I'd forgotten that David Frum was blogging a while back at the left's leading forensic gynecology outlet, and from that whacked pedestal he defended pro-pedophile blogger Alex Knepper against the folks at NewsReal Blog. And of course recall how well that turned out: "Pro-Pedophile Propaganda: For It Or Against It, David Frum?"

OKAY, now a thread at Memeorandum. And the link there to New York Times, "Andrew Sullivan Joins Tina Brown’s ‘Daily Beast’/'Newsweek’ Team":

The launch date of Tina Brown’s reinvented Newsweek after its merger with her Daily Beast Web site remains vague, but Ms. Brown’s efforts to continue building an impressive roster do not: Andrew Sullivan announced Sunday that his popular blog, “The Dish,” would be leaving TheAtlantic.com and joining Ms. Brown’s team in April.

Also, Tina Brown's announcement, "Andrew Sullivan Joins The Daily Beast!"

I tweeted on this a little earlier, suggesting that Sully might actually lift Newsweek's viability. When Niall Ferguson published his critical cover story over there a couple of weeks ago it was the first time that I'd been genuinely interested in reading the magazine. Tina Brown's a veteran at this sort of thing, although as for Newsweek's potential success, it's like "the British are coming," or something ...

Libya Rally Toronto

The video's c/o Blazing Cat Fur:

And see Michael Coren, "Absence of Outrage":

The bigots, the blind, the barbarous and the bullies have formed a coalition. Know them and expose them, before it’s too late.

The Latest Frank Rich Hissy Fit

The entire country is focused on the left's fits of moral depravity and violence, and once again for Frank Rich of the New York Times, it's the tea party that's the biggest threat to democracy, "Why Wouldn’t the Tea Party Shut It Down?" (via Memeorandum):

The highest priority of America’s current political radicals is not to balance government budgets but to wage ideological warfare in Washington and state capitals alike. The relatively few dollars that would be saved by the proposed slashing of federal spending on Planned Parenthood and Head Start don’t dent the deficit; the cuts merely savage programs the right abhors. In Wisconsin, where state workers capitulated to Gov. Scott Walker’s demands for financial concessions, the radical Republicans’ only remaining task is to destroy labor’s right to collective bargaining.

That’s not to say there is no fiscal mission in the right’s agenda, both nationally and locally — only that the mission has nothing to do with deficit reduction. The real goal is to reward the G.O.P.’s wealthiest patrons by crippling what remains of organized labor, by wrecking the government agencies charged with regulating and policing corporations, and, as always, by rewarding the wealthiest with more tax breaks. The bankrupt moral equation codified in the Bush era — that tax cuts tilted to the highest bracket were a higher priority even than paying for two wars — is now a given. The once-bedrock American values of shared sacrifice and equal economic opportunity have been overrun.

That last line is the laugher of the month, but of course progressives have seized on it faster than union dues from a teacher's paycheck: "Frank Rich: “The once-bedrock American values of shared sacrifice and equal economic opportunity have been overrun”."

Yes, bedrock values have been thrown out the window, but it's progressives doing the dumping. Ann Althouse has had the best coverage, for example, "Althouse and Meade return to the Veterans Memorial and encounter apologetic protesters, the police, and a rudeness expert":

Ann also destroys petulant Eric Kleefeld of Talking Points Memo, "Who invited Peter Yarrow to the Wisconsin protests? And why was he the only entertainer on the bill?"

Ann's the best.

Foaming Rabid Union Thug Captures and Exemplifies Today's Progressive Politics

I'm very thankful for some of the praise of my readers, for example, Stogie at Saberpoint and my friend and occasional contributor Norman Gersman from New York. I have other readers as well who correspond by e-mail but would prefer to stay out of the scrum of the left's demonic totalitarianism. I've called out REPSAC = CASPER recently, and I've been requesting that he retire his stalking blog American Nihilist. REPSAC = CASPER is perfectly representative of the demonic progressive left, and I wouldn't be surprised if he logged in anonymously and left this comment at my blog last night:

Anonymous said...

Actually, all Republicans are Satanic Nazi rapist terroristic treasonous child-molesting scumbags, who would rape my two year old niece to death happily, and sell the video on www.gop=666.cum.

Anyone who doesn't agree with this truth, as priven by Scott WalKKKer, Satanic Nazi rapist pig whore governor of WisKKKonsin, let them rape, torture, and brutally murder me - I would rather die than support all of you Satanic Nazi rapist terroristic treasonous child-molesting scumbags.

February 26, 2011 9:27 PM

Hey, words fail, but how about this, from Rebel Pundit, "Exclusive: Rabid Union Thug Foams at the Mouth $1Mil bet GOP Hearts KKK.. “Wussy MotherFxxkers, I’ll make you pay, Tea Baggers”" (via Lonely Conservative and Memeorandum):

Behold today's Democrat Party progressive left. When conservatives stand up for values, they're standing up for right and goodness in the world. The opposite of right is found in the left's relentless campaigns against truth, decency, and the individual in society. The hatred at websites such as REPSAC = CASPER's --- and in the comments cited here, and in endless attacks by union thugs --- are perfect examples of the new neo-communist totalitarianism. What's sad is that the lamestream press is totally in the tank, so again that's all the more reason for folks of God and decency to stand up.

Sweden Sees Backlash Against Open Immigration Policies

You think?

At New York Times, "In Sweden, Immigration Policies Begin to Rankle":

MALMO, Sweden — Nick Nilsson, 46, decided to vote for Sweden’s far-right party last fall because of a growing sense that his country had gone too far in letting so many immigrants settle here.

A truck driver, Mr. Nilsson lives a half mile from the Rosengard section of this city, where dreary apartment buildings are jammed with refugees from virtually all the world’s recent conflicts: Iranians, Bosnians, Palestinians, Somalis, Iraqis.

“No one has a job over there,” Mr. Nilsson said recently. “They are shooting at each other. There are drugs. They burn cars. Enough is enough.”

For a time, Sweden seemed immune to the kind of anti-immigrant sentiment blossoming elsewhere on the European continent. Its generous welfare and asylum policies have allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees to settle here, many in recent years from Muslim countries. Nearly a quarter of Sweden’s population is now foreign born or has a foreign-born parent.

But increasingly, Swedes are questioning these policies. Last fall, the far-right party — campaigning largely on an anti-immigration theme — won 6 percent of the vote and, for the first time, enough support to be seated in the Swedish Parliament.

Six months later, many Swedes are still in shock. The country — proud of its reputation for tolerance — can no longer say it stands apart from the growing anti-immigrant sentiment that has changed European parliaments elsewhere, leading to the banning of burqas in France and minarets in Switzerland.

In Malmo, a rapidly gentrifying port city in Sweden’s south, support for the far-right Sweden Democrats was particularly strong, about 10 percent of the vote. It is a place where tensions over immigration are on full display.

The city’s mayor, Ilmar Reepalu, a Social Democrat, ran his hands over a city map in his office, pointing out working-class neighborhoods like Mr. Nilsson’s that voted heavily for the Sweden Democrats, as might be expected, he said. But he could point to wealthier neighborhoods, too, that produced support for the far right as never before.

“We must dig deeper to understand that,” he said quietly.

There's more at the link, but really? Dig deeper? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that North African and Middle Eastern immigration is straining the Swedish political culture and stressing the melting pot ethic of the socially progressive Swedes. And tack on high unemployment and the social disintegration that comes with it, and what's the mystery? What's going to be a bit more challenging to explain is how an essentially leftist social services regime will be able to accommodate the increasing influence of rightist parties not particularly hostile to fascist doctrines and exclusionist solutions the national crisis. It's not going to fall neatly into the "racist" framework, since too many citizens of a more tolerant persuasion will also be throwing up their hands. The best that can be hoped for is that economic growth remains robust in Sweden and elsewhere, although given the vote in Ireland this weekend it's still going to be a while for economic prosperity --- however modest --- to take some of the pressure off. Not only that, some folks argue that Europe's already given itself over to immigrants from the less developed world, and Islamization itself. Depending on your perspective, that will hardly be good for the preservation of the Western ideal.

Who Was Worse, Hitler or Stalin?

At New York Review, "Hitler vs. Stalin: Who Killed More?":

In the second half of the twentieth century, Americans were taught to see both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as the greatest of evils. Hitler was worse, because his regime propagated the unprecedented horror of the Holocaust, the attempt to eradicate an entire people on racial grounds. Yet Stalin was also worse, because his regime killed far, far more people, tens of millions it was often claimed, in the endless wastes of the Gulag. For decades, and even today, this confidence about the difference between the two regimes—quality versus quantity—has set the ground rules for the politics of memory. Even historians of the Holocaust generally take for granted that Stalin killed more people than Hitler, thus placing themselves under greater pressure to stress the special character of the Holocaust, since this is what made the Nazi regime worse than the Stalinist one.

Discussion of numbers can blunt our sense of the horrific personal character of each killing and the irreducible tragedy of each death. As anyone who has lost a loved one knows, the difference between zero and one is an infinity. Though we have a harder time grasping this, the same is true for the difference between, say, 780,862 and 780,863—which happens to be the best estimate of the number of people murdered at Treblinka. Large numbers matter because they are an accumulation of small numbers: that is, precious individual lives. Today, after two decades of access to Eastern European archives, and thanks to the work of German, Russian, Israeli, and other scholars, we can resolve the question of numbers. The total number of noncombatants killed by the Germans—about 11 million—is roughly what we had thought. The total number of civilians killed by the Soviets, however, is considerably less than we had believed. We know now that the Germans killed more people than the Soviets did. That said, the issue of quality is more complex than was once thought. Mass murder in the Soviet Union sometimes involved motivations, especially national and ethnic ones, that can be disconcertingly close to Nazi motivations.

Ultimately, folks'll have to assess this essay themselves, given the nature of the discussion. The author, Timothy Snyder, isn't as clear as he should be, given that he's claiming the Nazis killed more than the Soviets. But the basic gist is that the Soviet numbers have been revised downward. And does it matter at this point, despite the discussion of the marginal enormity of one more single death out of the 100s of thousands or even millions? Only God knows the suffering of each of the families that lost loved ones. It becomes a metaphysical thing, at some point. And despite the author's numerical exegesis, I'm not convinced that Stalin's modernization planning and ruthless political liquidation programs are of the same kind of totalitarianism that resulted in the Holocaust. It's all depressing, and if folks recall Hannah Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism, the permissive causes (especially anti-Semitism) were found all across Europe following the turn of the 20th century. Beyond this, I'm leaving it to the experts. At least in reflecting on these things, the last thing that comes to mind is the GOP's budget balancing programs today. Progressive Democrats are hoisting signs emblazoned with STALIN, HITLER, WALKER. And the effect --- beyond sheer stupidity --- is simply to illustrate how fleeting is the left's legitimacy and its grip on the social welfare state in early-21st century America.

'Wall of Lies' From David Horowitz Freedom Center

At FrontPage Magazine, "UCLA Daily Bruin Prints Center’s “Wall of Lies”."

NewsReal Blog Editor David Swindle debuted the Wall of Lies at CPAC, and the response was a bit unexpected. See, "The Anti-Semites Who Swarmed Us at CPAC and the Future of the Right."

I'm looking forward to attending a campus event featuring the Wall of Lies, especially given my recent visit to UCLA, "Israeli Apartheid Week, Students for Justice in Palestine, UCLA, February 23, 2011."

RELATED: At Jawa Report, "'Islamo-Fascism Awareness Campaign' vs 'Israel Apartheid Week'."

100,000 March on Wisconsin Capitol

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has the story, "Protesters deriding bill again fill Capitol Square."

And the video's c/o Althouse, "Outside the Capitol today — a march, snow, and Peter Yarrow":

1:38 — "HITLER STALIN WALKER."

Yep. Watch the clip and see that sign. The enormity of evil, trivialized.

RELATED: At Legal Insurrection, "50-State Union Protest Falls Far Short Of Predicted Turnout" and "FAIL… Dems Left Red-Faced; Protesters Fail to Materialize at National MoveOn Rallies" (via Instapundit).

And Los Angeles Times blends it all together, "Protesters out in force nationwide to oppose Wisconsin's anti-union bill":

Nearly two weeks into a political standoff, tens of thousands rallied in Madison and in dozens of cities around the nation to oppose a bill that would severely limit collective bargaining rights for most Wisconsin public employees.

Joel DeSpain, spokesman for the Madison Police Department, said the rally — in steadily falling snow — drew between 70,000 and 100,000 and may have been the largest protest in Madison since the Vietnam War.

"I've been around Madison for 50 years, and I have not seen anything like it so far," he said.

A Republican-backed bill containing the anti-union provisions prompted 14 Democratic state senators to flee Wisconsin, denying the Republican majority a quorum to pass it. The Republican-dominated state Assembly passed a version of the bill early Friday, but the Senate remains stymied until Democrats return.

Despite exhortations by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Democrats were still hiding in Illinois as supporters rallied across the nation. The liberal group MoveOn.org said it organized rallies in 66 cities, including every state capital.

"From what we can tell, it was kind of an amazing wave of energy around the country," said MoveOn.org Executive Director Justin Ruben.

Look, I marched with 50,000 people last year in Phoenix. Seeing 100,000 in the snow in Madison is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. That said, I think the Times is gilding it a bit on the rest of the nation business. We'll be seeing more protests when the budget axe starts to fall in other Statehouses. Today is Madison's glory.

End Hamas' Violence

An impressive essay, from Molly Cornfield of UCLA's Bruins for Israel, at The Daily Bruin:

In 2005, Israel evacuated all Israeli citizens from Gaza. This peaceful gesture went unrecognized, and Hamas responded with an increase in rocket attacks. Hamas also retaliated by perpetrating 52 suicide bombings, killing 288 Israelis and wounding hundreds more.

Hamas refuses to pursue a peaceful coexistence between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, despite the compromises Israel has made. Hamas’ charter and spokesmen continue to call for the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews. What the international community had hoped would be a thriving Palestinian democracy has become a launching pad for terrorism. Efforts have been made by the international community to revive the peace process.

More at the link.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin, founder of Hamas, "Israeli Apartheid Week, Students for Justice in Palestine, UCLA, February 23, 2011."

Wisconsin State Capitol as Permanent Free Speech Zone

Althouse isn't thrilled by the idea, "Is it viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment for Wisconsin to permit the protesters to use the Capitol building as it has over the past 10+ days?":

The Capitol has for years and years been a solemn place. For 25 years, I have brought visitors there and walked slowly through the beautiful spaces looking at the different colored and patterned marble on the walls and gazing with awe up into the dome. This is the Capitol Wisconsinites know and treasure. It can't become an all-purpose free-speech forum.

And in related news, from Glenn Reynolds, "A NEW WEB AD targeting those fugitive Wisconsin legislators":

Also at Hot Air, "Perry: Fleebagging tactic “immature, juvenile”."

More news at New York Times, "In Wisconsin and Beyond, Rallying Behind Unions." And The Hill, "Labor secretary: GOP govs asking workers to give up their rights." (via Lonely Conservative and Memeorandum).

Gaddafi Massacres Protesters: U.N. Security Council to Meet on Libya

Some sources are claiming that thousands have been killed in Libya's protests. See Monsters and Critics, "Libya death toll mounts, officials warn of chemical weapons' use." Also, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier, "United Nations chief warns of escalating toll from violent crackdown." And The Lede is running updates with reports from Tripoli, "Latest Updates on Libya’s Revolt and Mideast Protests." Here's video (note security forces dragging a wounded protester at the second clip):

See also, Business Week, "Qaddafi Vows More Deadly Attacks as Army Units Defect." Plus, at New York Times, "Following U.S. Sanctions, U.N. Security Council to Meet on Libya."

And from last night, at Los Angeles Times, "Enough with the warnings, Obama finally sanctions Libya and Kadafi," and USA Today, "Obama: Gadhafi should leave Libya 'now'."

RELATED: At Big Peace, "U.S. Concerned Libya May Use Chemical Weapons."

Unions and Ventriloquist Journalism

A couple of entries worth sharing. For background, check Mark Steyn's essay, "STATES OF THE UNIONS." Following the links takes us to John Hinderaker at Power Line, "No Word From Eric Lipton." The Lipton in question is a New York Times correspondent and author of the recent report, "Billionaire Brothers' Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute" (the article's previous title was even more explicit, "Koch Brothers' Money Fuels Wisconsin Fight." And it turns out that some of the statements at the article have been manufactured, or at least completely decontextualized from the actual statements of those on record, specifically Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity.

Here's Steyn's excellent summary:

The Times managed to get the salient feature of the story entirely wrong. They were not an “anti-government” mob, but a government mob, a mob of "public servants" objecting to austerity measures that would end, for example, the tradition of 14 monthly paychecks per annum. You read that right: the Greek public sector cannot be bound by anything so humdrum as temporal reality. So, when it was mooted that the “workers” might henceforth receive a mere 12 monthly paychecks per annum, they rioted. Their hapless victims - a man and two women - were a trio of clerks trapped in a bank when the mob set it alight and then obstructed emergency crews attempting to rescue them.

You don’t have to go to Athens to find "public servants" happy to take it out on the public. In Madison, politicized doctors provide fake sick notes for politicized teachers to skip class. In New York's Christmas snowstorm, Sanitation Department plough drivers are unable to clear the streets, with fatal consequences for some residents. On the other hand, they did manage to clear the snow from outside the Staten Island home of Sanitation Dept head honcho John Doherty, while leaving all surrounding streets pristinely clogged. Three hundred Sanitation Department workers have salaries of over $100,000 per year. In retirement, you get a pension of 66 grand per annum plus excellent health benefits, all inflation proofed.

That's what "collective bargaining" is about: It enables unions rather than citizens to set the price of government. It is, thus, a direct assault on republican democracy, and it needs to be destroyed. Unlovely as they are, the Greek rioters and the snarling thugs of Madison are the logical end point of the advanced social democratic state: not an oppressed underclass, but a spoiled overclass, rioting in defense of its privileges and insisting on more subsidy, more benefits, more featherbedding, more government.

Big Unions fund Big Government. The union slices off two per cent of the workers’ pay and sluices it to the Democratic Party, which uses it to grow government, which also grows unions, which thereby grows the number of two-per-cent contributions, which thereby grows the Democratic Party, which thereby grows government… Repeat until bankruptcy. Or bailout.

Well there you go.

It's endlessly fascinating how the New York Times is perfectly playing the hardline Soros-backed class warfare attack on capital. What's not reported by Think Progress and the other progressive goon outlets, is that unions have actually dominated political giving in recent election cycles, and it's the Democrat Party that's benefited from the huge public-sector sugar daddy. It's taken bloggers to cut through the bull and bring some real clarity to the issues. So it's worth checking Steven Hayward update at Power Line, "The 'Ventriloquist Journalism' Beat" (at Memeorandum).

Anyway, here's a palette cleanser from last year, featuring MSNBC's inveterate liar and progressive propagandist Rachel Maddow:

Pam Spaulding Promotes 'Barebacking' Blog Post With '1000 Load F**k (NSFW)' Videos

Call it milestones in gay rights.

First is the news that the Obama administration has chosen the first-ever homosexual man to be the next White House Social Secretary. It's one thing for this to be about appropriate gender roles, but the dude's gay, so that complicates things a bit. Perhaps that's a sop to the radical gay left-wing lobby. Lord knows Obambi's been dealing these folks a cold cucumber since he took offfice. But second is Pam Spaulding's mainstreaming of the radical gay sex culture of "barebacking," which is the practice of condomless homosexual sodomy: "It's Time to Get Angry About the Promotion of Unsafe Sex in the Gay Community." The author claims to be upset by the breakdown of safe sex norms in the radical homosexual community, but what's quite revealing is the depth of this dude's expertise on the gay fringe sexual culture of non-commitment and the extreme left's bareback/rim-station hookup scene. I mean seriously. I'm reading the comments, at Pam's House Blend and at the cross-post to Daily Kos (natch). It turns out for the gay left, non-infected HIV-negative is the new virginity. There's progressive self-loathing for you. Let's just f**k until we're dead, y'all. But again, what really tripped me out is that if the diarist is so angry about the rejection of the healthy norms that followed the gay plague of the 1970s, you think he'd avoid links to the extreme gay porn websites that aggressively extol the culture. Labeling this stuff NSFW is hardly warning enough. Folks would be advised to rethink their kids' Internet usage after this. Just think, young middle school students looking for information on same-sex marriage might just pull this up and then find 1000 loads of cum dumped up some guy's behind. Is this the art and culture that new White House Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard is now going to promote?

“Jeremy shares our vision for the White House as the People’s House, one that celebrates our history and culture in dynamic and inclusive ways,” President Obama said in a statement, “We look forward to Jeremy continuing to showcase America’s arts and culture to our nation and the world through the many events at the White House.”

See that? Inclusive ways. Wouldn't want to alienate the gay radical barebacking community.

And for those who click through to Pam's House Blend, EXTREME RADICAL BUNGHOLE WARNING! TOTALLY NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE, MUCH LESS KIDS.