The Daily Caller's Jim Treacher Trolls the Internet to Track Down Those Who Kicked His Ass in the 'Wombshifter' Controversy

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Maybe I'm Amazed — At Turning 50...

Linda McCartney would have turned 70 today. Paul McCartney wrote "Maybe I'm Amazed" for her, so here you go. I just turned 50. So, perhaps this might be a nice musical break. I feel good. I walked yesterday for a couple of hours. Cleared my head and saw parts of the neighborhood I hadn't seen before. I'm going to try to make that a habit. I used to walk just about every day. Blogging replaced some of that time. I've been getting some of it back lately, spending less time online. Anyway, thanks for the readership and friendship. More later today:

RELATED: At TigerHawk, "Happy birthday, Scott!"

Hot Reebok Photo Shoot with Kelly Brook

This lady's something else:

Elizabeth Warren Viral Speech on Class Warfare

Doug Ross has the epic takedown: "Elizabeth Warren, Totalitarian Moron, Translated."

I don't recall conservatives denying that the nation's social contract provides the foundation for entrepreneurial attainment. Conservatives just want less of it. They'd do even better. Warren's speech is a huge straw man, but progressives love this stuff. Not just because they're so stupid, but because they'll swallow anything that gives them greater pretense to other people's money.

Also at The Week, "Elizabeth Warren's 'kick-ass' class warfare rebuttal."

More Voters Considering Romney Than Obama, Perry

One of the things I learned in 2008 is that it's probably better to not alienate your conservative blogging colleagues by attacking them for supporting this or that candidate during the primaries. I pissed off a couple of people back then, perhaps even Allahpundit. And it's hard to recover if you're a blogger looking for some linkage. I've worked hard to mend fences and make some new friends, and at this point I don't worry about driving traffic that much anyway. Conservatives are pretty fractured on the right (with some nasty dust ups over Rick Perry), but I'm not worrying about pissing folks off. I like who I like. It's been no secret. Back in '08 I was excited about John McCain's campaign because national security was the top issue for me and I thought McCain was the best candidate by far. A lot of folks had strong reactions against McCain, and by now the best thing I can say about him is that he nominated Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. This time around, my top issues are economic, especially the need to expand the economy and to reduce the national debt. Those preferences in turn relate to my hope that the U.S. will return to more limited government principles while still retaining a commitment to national security. That's why I've been a huge fan of Sarah Palin's for a long time. But she's delayed a decision to enter the race. So, Michelle Bachmann's campaign appealed to me for the same reasons. Bachmann's now struggling. If she can maintain some momentum until Iowa I think she could still be a contender in some of the early primaries, but she's close to long-shot territory. And after that? Well, as I said when he announced, I frankly don't know that much about Rick Perry and I'm still learning. His debate performance the other night was a disaster, apparently. And now the speculation is that Romney is recovering and positioning himself back atop the GOP field. See James Taranto, for example, "Everything's Coming Up Romney." And also, William Jacobson, "Post-Debate Diagnosis."

And according to Gallup, Romney's well positioned at this point vis-a-vis both Barack Obama and Rick Perry:

More registered voters say they would definitely vote for Mitt Romney or might consider doing so (62%) than say the same about his two main rivals in the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama (54%) and Republican Rick Perry (53%)...

At the moment, Romney has a greater reservoir of potential voter support than does either of his main rivals for the presidency. To prevail, Romney must convert as much of that potential support as possible to actual support. Should he defeat Perry for the nomination, his level of actual support among Republican voters should increase to levels approaching those Obama currently enjoys among Democratic voters. Perry's level of support among Republicans would probably also approach those levels if he wins the nomination.

Thus, a key to gauging candidate electability and ultimately the winner of the 2012 election will be the candidate's appeal to independent voters. Currently, Romney seems to have an edge in three respects: the greatest number of independent voters would definitely vote for him or consider voting for him; he leads Obama among independent voters in a head-to-head matchup; and he fares slightly better among independent voters in a head-to-head matchup with Obama than does Perry.

I've met Mitt Romney and I like him personally. His flip-flopping bothers me -- it bothers me a great deal -- but he's got the kind of "earnestness" -- to use James Taranto's term -- that lends itself to presidential leadership, and I mean genuine earnestness, not an arrogance that hides inexperience, as we've seen with President Obama.

So, while I don't think Mitt Romney's a genuine conservative, I like him. I've read his book and listened to him speak. He's a patriot and he seems pretty well-grounded concerning the problems facing the country. Let's see how it goes. If it's Romney by next March or so, I won't be be reluctant to support him.

Gold and Silver Plummet in Latest Market Selloff

There are no financial havens at this point.

At Wall Street Journal, "Market Rout Claims New Victim":

The wave of selling that has washed over financial markets in recent weeks swamped precious metals on Friday, sending gold and silver prices plummeting and raising the stakes for key weekend meetings of global finance officials.

In the past week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 6.4%, its worst week since October 2008. Currencies, too, have had a wild ride. The dollar this month has soared against its rivals. The euro has tumbled 6% in September, while emerging currencies like Brazil's real have been punished.

Gold futures dropped 5.8% Friday, the biggest one-day loss in five years, as investors rushed to cash out of some of their most profitable investments in the hopes of making up for losses elsewhere. The decline capped gold's worst week since 1983. Silver was even harder hit, plunging 18% for its largest single-day decline since 1987.

The week highlighted a growing sense of despondency among investors concerned that policy makers have neither the will nor power to juice their economies.

More at that top link.

Palestinians Make Bid for Statehood at United Nations

See New York Times, "Palestinians Request U.N. Status; Powers Press for Talks."

And see Jonathan Tobin, "No Moral Equivalence Between Abbas and Netanyahu."

Little People Rule the World

Kind of depressing, but I can't disagree too much, except who's to say John McCain wouldn't have been better than our President Barack Democrat Dunderhead?

See Margaret Wente, at Toronto's Globe and Mail, "The world’s problems are so big, and our politicians are so small":

For the past 18 years, many of the world’s most powerful men and women have worked strenuously to impose peace on the Israelis and the Palestinians, who together occupy a piece of real estate that’s smaller than Nova Scotia. Yet, peace is as far away as ever. And nothing that happens at the UN is going to change that.

But it’s not just the Middle East they can’t fix. On the biggest issues of the day, our leaders seem more powerless than ever. The European Union is coming unglued. The United States is stuck in the slough of despond. Even if our leaders knew what to do, they seem incapable of doing it.

In the heroic version of history, extraordinary times produce extraordinary men. When the U.S. was on its knees, it produced FDR. When Britain was threatened by Hitler, along came Churchill. Today, great men are absent. Instead, the EU has faceless Eurocrats such as Jean-Claude Trichet, the man who runs the European Central Bank, and divided leaders who continue to insist that Greece will not default, even though everyone knows it’s just a matter of time. Back in the days of 2008, people could at least count on the central banks to get together and figure out a bailout plan. This time, that’s not going to happen.

The EU, as it turns out, has suffered from the same delusions that doomed the Mideast peace talks. The leaders thought you could change human behaviour from the top down. They thought you could make people figure out how to divide up a piece of land and get along. They thought you could make the Greeks behave like Germans because they share a currency. They ignored all the evidence. Culture matters more than policy and good intentions.

The other unpleasant fact of modern times is that some problems are too big to fix. We’re still under the illusion – relentlessly promoted by politicians – that if only we push the right policy buttons or pull the correct levers, our problems will be solved. “Mr. President, we need jobs,” one newspaper headline implored, as if Barack Obama could slide down the chimney and leave some jobs under the Christmas tree. But it’s far from clear that either the Democrats or the Republicans or even Santa Claus himself knows how to speed up job creation. What’s clear is that businesses are unlikely to create jobs so long as stock markets keep plummeting, European banks remain on the verge of failing, and political leaders appear impotent.

Keep reading for that bit on McCain.

NASA Satellite Falls to Earth

I haven't followed this that closely, but it's fascinating.

At WaPo, "As satellite slows, NASA works to peg crash site," and NYT, "It’s Safe to Go Outside: NASA Says Its Falling Satellite Will Miss the U.S."

And at Telegraph UK, "Second giant chunk of space junk heading for Earth."

Childhood Being Eroded by Modern Life

At Telegraph UK, "Childhood is being eroded by a “relentless diet” of advertising, addictive computer games, test-driven education and poor childcare, a powerful lobby of more than 200 experts warns today."

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, the group of academics, teachers, authors and charity leaders says children’s wellbeing and mental health is being undermined by the pressures of modern life. They urge the Government to address a culture of “too much, too soon” in Britain.

This includes a ban on all forms of advertising aimed at the youngest children, the establishment of a play-based curriculum for infants and a public information campaign warning of the dangers of screen-based entertainment.

The comments came five years after many of the same experts sent similar letter to the Telegraph that criticised politicians and the public for failing to allow children to develop properly at a young age. It led to a debate on the state of childhood in Britain and coincided with the publication of Labour’s Children’s Plan — a policy document covering all aspects of young people’s lives.

But the group, which includes Philip Pullman, the children’s author, Baroness Greenfield, the Oxford University neuroscientist, Lord Layard, emeritus professor of economics at the London School of Economics, and the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Tim Stevens, claims that the “erosion of childhood in Britain has continued apace since 2006”.

I'll take the consumerism over this decrepit nanny statism. Kids should spend more time with their families, or, well, if they have families, and I mean in the traditional sense of a mother and father, with regular employment and good values. Given what we saw with the London riots earlier this year, it can't be said that those prerequisites are firmly in place in Britain.

Rule 5 Weekend Update

My Lindsay Ellingson post garnered some attention from The Other McCain: "Topless Supermodel Lindsay Ellingson Really Wants You to Hit My Tip Jar."

Also, Bob Belvedere linked: "Rule 5 News: 23 September 2011 A.D."

And don't miss Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Priscilla Monroe." And Theo's "Red Friday Totties ..."

BONUS: At Astute Bloggers, "GUARANTEED NOT HALAL: Mallika Sherawat."

EXTRA: From BCF, "Michael Coren Gets Beat Up By a Girl."

Prime Minister Benajamin Netanyahu Lays Wreath at National September 11 Memorial

He's a good man.

At CBS News, New York, "Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Bloomberg Visit World Trade Center Memorial."

NewsBusted: 'A new study claims that 4-year-olds who watch SpongeBob may suffer mental impairment'

Via Theo Spark:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu United Nations Address, September 23, 2011

At National Post, "Netanyahu chides UN, seeks renewed talks with Abbas":

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, returned to the United Nations’ General Assembly Friday with all the confidence of a former ambassador, who has frequently used the assembly podium as a pulpit.

With a familiarity that almost bordered on contempt, Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in 1984-88, upbraided the General Assembly for even entertaining a Palestinian request for statehood.

“The truth is that Israel wants peace; the truth is that I want peace,” he said, adding, “We cannot achieve peace through UN resolutions.”

Mr. Netanyahu criticized the UN, calling it a “theatre of the absurd.” He noted the Security Council is now headed by Lebanon, whose government is controlled by Hezbollah, an internationally recognized terrorist group.

“It was here in 1975 that the age-old yearning of my people to restore our national life in our ancient biblical homeland was branded shamefully as racism,” he said.

“And it was here in 1980, right here, that the historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, wasn’t praised, it was denounced. And it is here, year after year, that Israel is unjustly singled out for condemnation … more often than all the other nations of the world combined.”

The Israeli leader’s message was as simple as it was blunt: “The Palestinians should first make peace with Israel and then get their state.”

If that were to happen, “Israel will not be the last state to welcome a Palestinian state into the United Nations,” he said. “We will be the first.”

Also at Legal Insurrection, "Netanyahu at the U.N. – Theater of the Absurd."

Actress Kim Delaney Escorted Off Stage at Liberty Medal Award Ceremony

This is both strange and sad.

At Los Angeles Times, "Kim Delaney delivers incoherent speech; booted from Philly stage."

And another video, showing the audience and former defense secretary Robert Gates, at WPVI-TV Philadelphia.

Also, at Philadelphia Enquirer, "Kim Delaney is escorted off stage at Phila. ceremony":

Her barely audible delivery and long pauses appeared to make Gates and other dignitaries on stage uncomfortable.

In a tweet Thursday night from the auditorium, Inquirer Staff writer Tom Infield reported that Delaney "seemed high or ill, or something. She stumbled in speaking. Had to be led to seat."

No word yet from Delaney's representatives what might have caused her behavior.

Soldier Stephen Hill Honors America: Gay Progressive Hate-Mongers, Not So Much

Okay, let's put some things in perspective.

As I reported last night, there were literally just a couple people who booed at soldier Stephen Hill, according to Sarah Rumpf, who was on hand and responded to the controversy on Twitter. And Sarah expanded on her tweet with a full blog report, "The Truth About the Booing at the Debate," where she indicates:

The debate included video questions that were submitted on YouTube, and one came from a soldier serving in Iraq who is gay and asked about the candidates' opinions on don't ask don't tell. There was audible booing after his question...however, please note that it was not the crowd booing. It was only one or two people.

I was at the debate, in the audience on the right hand side about halfway back (here's my tweet of the video screen that was right in front of us). The person who booed was just a few rows in front of us. The booing got an immediate and angry reaction from nearly everyone sitting around him, who hissed and shushed at him. Lots of loud gasps, "Shhhh!" "No!" "Shut up, you idiot!" etc.

So, not only was it just "one or two people," their boos were immediately repudiated by those sitting nearby.

Now, this episode is getting a lot of attention online, and as is usual with progressive extremists, the commentary is both dishonest and hysterical. Excitable Andrew Sullivan is particularly over the top, at "The Anger Builds." Sullivan's post is ugly on a number of counts. He attempts to slur the GOP as "a religion." He attacks Rick Santorum's comments as a "despicable lie." And he claims that "Republicans don't actually deep down care for the troops, if that means gay troops. Their constant posturing military patriotism has its limits." And on top of that:

The shocking silence on the stage - the fact that no one challenged this outrage - also tells me that this kind of slur is not regarded as a big deal. When it came to it, even Santorum couldn't sanction firing all those servicemembers who are now proudly out. But that's because he was forced to focus not on his own Thomist abstractions, but on an actual person. Throughout Republican debates, gays are discussed as if we are never in the audience, never actually part of the society, never fully part of families, never worthy of even a scintilla of respect. When you boo a servicemember solely because he's gay, you are saying he is beneath contempt, that nothing he does or has done can counterweigh the vileness of his sexual orientation.

This is completely decontextualized and patently absurd. Not only do we have Sarah Rumpf's first hand report of the audience reaction to the (one or two) boos, but it turns out that Rick Santorum didn't even hear them. He's interviewed by Megyn Kelly at the clip. She correctly observes that there were just a couple of people who booed, and Santorum responds that he didn't hear booing, and "when you're in that kind of environment, you're sort of focusing on the question and formulating your answer..." And Santorum repeatedly notes that "this man is serving our country" and he thanks him for his service.

So, contrary to Andrew Sullivan, it's simply not true that Republicans deem gay soldiers "never worthy of even a scintilla of respect." If Santorum is to be faulted, it's simply that he didn't acknowledge the soldier for his service. But that's a question of Santorum's personal decorum, and upon reflection, he clearly regrets how he came off and has corrected the record in his interview with Megyn Kelly. But what's key is the progressive left's willfully false attacks on Republicans. David Nir does the same thing at Daily Kos, "In face of boos for gay soldier, Republicans stay silent." And Greg Sargent attacks Republicans along these lines while fully cognizant that the outrage is bogus:

It would obviously be unfair to use this episode to tar all Republicans. Some, to their credit, have already registered their dismay about what happened. Even audience members reacted badly and told the hecklers to shut up. But it’s perfectly fair to see it as representative of the caliber of the candidates that stood on the stage last night.

No, it would not be fair, for the reasons that Rick Santorum indicates. The debate environment is basically a high stakes performance. The boos might not have registered with the candidates. And they likely were trying to anticipate the line of questioning and the direction of the debate rather than the appropriate salute to a soldier who submitted a question via YouTube. That's not fair, perhaps, but it's a long way from indicating that the Republican Party is filled with hordes of anti-gay bigots whose "posturing military patriotism has its limits." The truth is, as I've pointed out many times, the gay progressive left is a hate-cult powered by intolerance of difference. What bigotry we learned out this episode came from those on the radical left. And the outrage is especially rich in Andrew Sullivan's case, considering he's probably the last person who should be lecturing others on "gay sexual misconduct."

Pro-Terror Students Found Guilty in Michael Oren Protest Case at UC Irvine

At LAT, "'Irvine 11' jury finds all 10 students guilty." (At Memeorandum.)

Pamela has the background on the Irvine 11: "ACTION ALERT: PROSECUTE MUSLIM STUDENT UNION FOR FREE SPEECH ATTACK."

And I reported previouslly on Taher Herzallah, president of UCR's Muslim Student Union and Irvine 11 defendant: "UCLA’s Palestine Awareness Week: Students for the Extermination of Israel."

Bristol Palin: 'Is it Because You're a Homosexual?'

Bristol Palin asked a perfectly good question. And of course, "homosexual" isn't a slur, but the progressive media's gay-hate enablers are on the case nevertheless. At Hollywood Gossip, for example, "Bristol Palin Harassed by Heckler, Responds With Unnecessary Gay Remark." And The Examiner, "Bristol Palin makes homophobic remarks during barroom altercation." Plus, New York Magazine calls it "polite homophobia":

Palin, who is flanked by her own film crew and the paparazzi, is clearly playing up the confrontation for the cameras, barely holding back a smile as she engages in an argument that can only go ugly places. That said, besides the relatively polite homophobia, her defense is spirited and her opponent can barely put together a sentence. It almost looks staged as Bristol taunts the guy until he screams, "Fuck you, you fucking bitch!" There couldn't be more perfect fuel for the Palin family fire.

Again, nothing homophobic about asking that. And note this from a decent fellow in the comments at Towleroad:

Sorry, folks, but that guy was way out of line. From what I saw in this video, he was the one behaving poorly, while Ms. Palin was just defending herself and her mother. I'm not fan of Sarah Palin, but that doesn't mean it is ok to heckle and harrass her daughter, and it certainly wasn't ok to heckle her about her relationship with Levi. That guy set gay rights back a few steps with his bitter, hysterical behavior.

More at ABC News, "Bristol Palin Gets in Verbal Brawl at Bull Riding Bar."

Alec Baldwin Attacks Michelle Malkin on Twitter

Alex Baldwin's a brainless progressive dweeb.

And more from the tolerant left on Twitter:

CBS has a roundup: "Michelle Malkin, Alec Baldwin spar on Twitter over Troy Davis." And at Right Scoop: "Screenshots: Michelle Malkin attacked on twitter from Alec Baldwin and his rabid followers."

And at Michelle's, "Calling out Alec Baldwin’s pre-SNL hide-the-tweet whitewash; Plus: Laughing at liberal hate." Michelle's got the screencap. Baldwin tweeted, and the link works for me:

Wonder if the McPhail family will seek death penalty for US leaders who killed thousands of US soldiers and countless innocent Iraqis.

And Michelle notes the McPhail tweets are accessible again on Twitter.

BONUS: Listen to Glenn Beck: "Alec Baldwin Attacks Michelle Malkin."

Supermodel Lindsay Ellingson Behind the Scenes: Gorgeous TV Commercial, Fall 2011

Hopefully I can get some decent Rule 5 posted this weekend. Until then, more from Victoria's Secret:

RELATED: Some non-Rule 5 blogging at The Other McCain: "RICK PERRY IN FREEFALL?"

Crowd Boos Gay Soldier's Question on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'?

Actually, Sarah Rumpf on Twitter says, "Only a few booed." But see GOProud, "Rick Santorum Owes Gay Soldier an Apology."

Towleroad has the transcipt: "GOP Debate Crowd Boos Gay Soldier Serving in Iraq: VIDEO":

And at Memeorandum.

Santorum doesn't owe anyone an apology. That said, I'd be surprised if restoring DADT became a plank in the GOP platform. We're at war and gays are serving honorably. Let's see how things go for a while.

Besides, I have much more respect for a guy like Stephen Hill than I do for folks like Dan Savage. The former's willing to lay his life on the line for his country. Dan Savage just makes freaked out butt-lube slurs against conservatives. ASFL.

Markets Are Pounded

At Wall Street Journal, "Markets Swoon on Recession Fears."

Global investors dumped everything from stocks to corporate bonds to foreign currencies and fled to the relative safety of U.S. Treasurys on fears of another recession and a Greek debt default.

Markets, already reeling from economic weakness around the globe, have been further destabilized by a growing sense that governments and central banks are unable to get growth back on track. Stocks began tumbling Wednesday after the Federal Reserve unveiled a new round of economic stimulus, and they kept falling Thursday.

RTWT.

Obviously, we're still a long way toward limiting the volatility. I'm just excited for election season. Economic turmoil brings change, and hopefully this time we'll have something genuinely to believe in.

United States Walks Out on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speech at United Nations

At LAT, "At U.N., Iran president again denounces U.S.":

With his now-familiar mix of bombast, politics and theater, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday denounced the United States and its European allies as colonialist "slave masters" intent on wrecking the world economy, prompting dozens of Western diplomats to walk out.

As in previous years, Ahmadinejad used his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly to condemn the United States and its allies, accusing them of causing centuries of misery. He charged that they were responsible for the suffering caused by slavery, world wars, nuclear attacks and the current global economic turmoil.

As before, his presence also sparked protests outside the U.N. But this time around, his influence seems to be ebbing in Tehran, and his speech was overshadowed by the week's dominant topic, the Palestinian Authority's bid for U.N. recognition.

Ahmadinejad had no comment on the Palestinian issue, keeping instead to his usual themes and invective. He accused Israel of causing "60 years of war," and railed that European nations used the Holocaust "as the excuse to pay ransom or fines to Zionists."

Perry, Romney Go on Attack at Debate

Last night was open house at my youngest's school, so I missed the debate, although I doubt I actually missed all that much. See Wall Street Journal":

ORLANDO, Fla. — Republican presidential front-runners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, taking up where they left off in their last on-stage meeting, attacked each other over Social Security and health care in a televised debate Thursday, with the Texas governor on defense for much of the contest.

The third Republican presidential debate in as many weeks showed the same dynamics as the prior two, with many of the candidates jabbing away at the Texan. In one exchange on immigration, Mr. Romney said he couldn't understand why Mr. Perry signed a Texas law giving in-state university tuition to illegal immigrants, something he said amounted to as much as a $100,000 subsidy for each.

"Nobody on this stage…has spent more time on border security than I have," Mr. Perry responded, charging that his rivals don't "have a heart."

He also said, "I feel pretty normal getting criticized by these folks," a week after saying the previous debate left him feeling like a piñata.

Each time Mr. Perry tried to go on offense against Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor brushed him off, twice with a dismissive "nice try."

More at the link.

And at Michelle's, "FOX News/Google GOP 2012 debate: The “Obama lite” label and venture socialism; Updated: Wrap-up," and "Video: Perry’s cringe-worthiest debate moment."

Georgia Executes Cop Killer Troy Davis: Progressive Heads Explode

I went to bed last night upon hearing the news that the Supreme Court was granting an 11th hour review. I didn't hear anything more until I was in my office this morning reading the Los Angeles Times, "Georgia puts convict to death despite protest." And then also at New York Times, "In Death-Penalty Debate, Execution Offers Little Closure."

And see the very even-handed piece from Associated Press, which notes that all the second thoughts on witness testimony were presented to jurors at the time of the trial, "Counting down, Ga. inmate nears execution in policeman’s killing despite pleas in US, Europe."

But the best piece on this is from Ann Coulter, "COP-KILLER IS MEDIA'S LATEST BABY SEAL":

It's nearly impossible to receive a death sentence these days -- unless you do something completely crazy like shoot a cop in full view of dozens of witnesses in a Burger King parking lot, only a few hours after shooting at a passing car while exiting a party.

That's what Troy Davis did in August 1989. Davis is the media's current baby seal of death row.

After a two-week trial with 34 witnesses for the state and six witnesses for the defense, the jury of seven blacks and five whites took less than two hours to convict Davis of Officer Mark MacPhail's murder, as well as various other crimes. Two days later, the jury sentenced Davis to death.

Now, a brisk 22 years after Davis murdered Officer MacPhail, his sentence will finally be administered this week -- barring any more of the legal shenanigans that have kept taxpayers on the hook for Davis' room and board for the past two decades.

(The average time on death row is 14 years. Then liberals turn around and triumphantly claim the death penalty doesn't have any noticeable deterrent effect. As the kids say: Duh.)

It has been claimed -- in The New York Times and Time magazine, for example -- that there was no "physical evidence" connecting Davis to the crimes that night.

Davis pulled out a gun and shot two strangers in public. What "physical evidence" were they expecting? No houses were broken into, no cars stolen, no rapes or fistfights accompanied the shootings. Where exactly would you look for DNA? And to prove what?

I suppose it would be nice if the shell casings from both shootings that night matched. Oh wait -- they did. That's "physical evidence."

It's true that the bulk of the evidence against Davis was eyewitness testimony. That tends to happen when you shoot someone in a busy Burger King parking lot.

Eyewitness testimony, like all evidence tending to show guilt, has gotten a bad name recently, but the "eyewitness" testimony in this case did not consist simply of strangers trying to distinguish one tall black man from another. For one thing, several of the eyewitnesses knew Davis personally.

The bulk of the eyewitness testimony established the following...

Continue.

Of course, the progressive left latched onto this case as a way to bring an end to capital punishment in the United States. It's just routine leftist conformity to be against the death penalty, even when the inmate's the classic poster boy for it. Progressives are stupid that way.

RELATED: At The Other McCain, "The Death of a Cop-Killer." And the reactions at Memeorandum.

'Proven Leadership'

Rick Perry's new ad, via Althouse:

Actually, Perry's fortunes are starting to slide a bit. But keeping with our thesis on the Republican enthusiasm for change, no matter who the nominee is, this administration's toast. See Gallup: "In U.S., Slight Majority Now Blame Obama for U.S. Economy."

Noam Chomsky Spews Lies About Palestinian Statehood on Democracy Now!

This video's a week old, but quite timely considering President Obama's speech at the United Nations today and postponement of the vote on Palestinian statehood. And just listen to Chomsky around 4:00 minutes:

The U.S. has blocked ceasefire efforts at the time of Israeli attacks. In fact, Obama himself—you can take a look at his—I don’t know if he still has it, but in his website prior to the election, there was a section on the Middle East. And it’s worth looking at. It gives you an indication of what’s been happening since. It’s full of, you know, adoration of Israel. You expect that. Practically not a word about the Palestinians, a few phrases saying maybe they should have some rights. But that was right in the middle of the latest Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006, a brutal, murderous invasion, without any credible pretext — you can go into that—actually, the fifth such invasion. And Obama took pride, in his webpage, in having co-sponsored a Senate resolution, right in the middle of the invasion, insisting that nothing be done to impede Israel’s attack in Lebanon and that the U.S. should censure and maybe sanction anyone who tried to interfere with it—Iran and Syria.

That's just one long astonishing stream of lies. It's not just this part about Israel's alleged "brutal, murderous invasion" of Lebanon in 2006, but notice how Chomsky piles on 4 more lies, with this part about "the fifth such invasion" by Israel, etc. So, counting back, we have Gaza in 2009, Lebanon in 2006, Lebanon in 1982, Yom Kippur in 1973, and the Six Day War of 1967. There are a few other conflicts, but these are probably the ones Chomsky's referencing. And in each case, Israel acted in self-defense, or as preemption in the case of 1967. That is, the "credible pretext" has been either border incursions into Israel, rocket attacks, terrorism against Israel civilians, or full-scale massed army warfare waged by "murderous" Arab regimes against the Jewish state. Here's Wikipedia, for example, on the origins of the 2006 Lebanon war:

The conflict began when militants from the group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli border towns as a diversion for an anti-tank missile attack on two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence. The ambush left three soldiers dead. Two additional soldiers, believed to have been killed outright or mortally wounded, were taken by Hezbollah to Lebanon. Five more were killed in a failed rescue attempt. Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon that damaged Lebanese civilian infrastructure, including Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport ,[35] an air and naval blockade, and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northern Israel and engaged the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions....

At around 9 AM local time on 12 July 2006, Hezbollah launched diversionary rocket attacks toward Israeli military positions near the coast and near the border village of Zar'it[60] as well as on the Israeli town of Shlomi and other villages. Five civilians were injured. Six Israeli military positions were fired on, and the surveillance cameras knocked out. At the same time, a Hezbollah ground contingent infiltrated the border into Israel through a "dead zone" in the border fence, hiding in an overgrown wadi. They attacked a patrol of two Israeli armoured Humvees patrolling the border near Zar'it, using pre-positioned explosives and anti-tank missiles, killing three soldiers, injuring two, and capturing two soldiers (Master Sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and First Sergeant Eldad Regev). In response to the Hezbollah feint attacks, the IDF conducted a routine check of its positions and patrols, and found that contact with two jeeps was lost. A rescue force was immediately dispatched to the area, and confirmed that two soldiers were missing after 20 minutes. A Merkava Mk III tank, an Armored personnel carrier, and a helicopter were immediately dispatched into Lebanon. The tank hit a large land mine, killing its crew of four. Another soldier was killed and two lightly injured by mortar fire as they attempted to recover the bodies.

Hezbollah named the attack "Operation Truthful Promise" after leader Hassan Nasrallah's public pledges over the prior year and a half to seize Israeli soldiers and swap them for four Lebanese held by Israel...

What's interesting about the Wikipedia entry is not only how devastating it is to Noam Chomsky's argument, but also that Wikipedia's widely perceived as hopelessly left-wing on top of that. See, "How the Left Conquered Wikipedia, Part 1."

I've seen Chomsky in person. It was a creepy experience, basically attending a function surrounded by hippies, progressives, and terrorists. And Chomsky just spewed lies the whole time. And here he is on Democracy Now!, and of course, cited as the high holy authority on the Middle East by activists on the communist left. And it's all a bunch of lies.

Anyway, William Jacobson has more on that, "The Palestinian bubble bursts again."

Sarah Palin Within 5 Points of Barack Obama in Latest McClatchy-Marist Poll: Will Decide on GOP Race by November

See: "Nearly Half Plan to Vote Against Obama, But Is There a Winner in the GOP Field?"

And at The Hill, "Palin suggests she'll make a 2012 decision by November." (At Memeorandum.)

PHOTOS: The scene at Newport Lido Theatre, "The Undefeated" screening, Wednesday, September 7, 2011.

Obama Rejects Palestinian Bid for Statehood Through the United Nations

Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by the president's comments on Israel. I thought he was going to come down harder on Jerusalem. His comments on the Middle East begin just before 19:00 minutues:

And here's this from the Business Week editorial:

... we were struck by the force of Obama’s description of the U.S.’s “unshakable” commitment to Israel. Rarely has a speaker at the UN rostrum spoken so clearly and obviously sympathetically on how Israeli and Jewish history shapes that nation’s security concerns. That point might seem self-evident, but it was a pointed and welcome rebuke to Holocaust deniers or minimizers in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Odder still was his silence on U.S. opposition to establishing a Palestinian state in the current UN session. Obama offered only a tepid endorsement of Palestinian aspirations to independence. Obama might feel that he made his stand against the Palestinian strategy clear by stating that negotiations and compromise offer the only path to Israeli- Palestinian peace and that “there are no shortcuts.” But we believe that most in the audience expected an explicit explanation of U.S. policy and its plan to veto a resolution of recognition in the Security Council.

Actually, I think New York's special election last week, and the role of Ed Koch, sent a huge message to the White House. The president's U.N. speech was just one of the first instances of Jewish outreach we'll be seeing a lot of over the next year.

See also New York Times, "Obama, at U.N., Explains Rationale for Opposing Palestinian Statehood Bid."

And at Business Week, "Palestinians to Delay Call for Fast UN Vote on Statehood Bid."

RELATED: Caroline Glick, "Obama's War on Israel." And from Pamela, "Obama Gaslights the Jews."

Tom Sizemore Wrongly Arrested After Clerical Error Shows Outstanding Warrant for Battery

The guy's unmatched as the contemporary big screen's iconic infantryman. He's had personal problems, including drug addictions, but appears to be getting it back together.

At Radar Online, "Tom Sizemore's Arrest Was ‘A Misunderstanding,’ Community Service Has Been Completed" (via Tom Sizemore on Twitter).

The dude had in fact completed community service, and was arrested on a clerical error. His letter indicating completion of community service is here.

Gay Extremist Dan Savage Organizes Hate Campaign Against Rick Santorum on Google

This is the progressive, tolerant homosexual left in action.

At Politico, "Rick Santorum contacted Google, says company spreads 'filth'."

And Dan Savage is apparently behind this: "That frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex..."

Yeah, I know. You're ready to puke. Gay "rights" will do that to you.

See also, TPM, "Search Engine Expert: Rick Santorum’s New Crusade Against Google Is Total Nonsense."

These people are the dregs of the dirtbag progressive homosexual dregs.

PREVIOUSLY: "Gay Sexual Abandon and the Perverse Inversion of Values by Same-Sex Extremists."

NewsBusted: 'Bad poll numbers are fueling speculation that Obama is too depressed to run for reelection'

Via Theo Spark:

Republicans Slam Obama's Mideast Policy

At LAT, "GOP candidates target Obama's Middle East policy":

With world leaders in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Republican presidential hopefuls seized the opportunity Tuesday to blame President Obama for the most contentious issues looming over the gathering, saying he had emboldened the Palestinians to push for statehood and endangered Israel by kowtowing to Iran, Muslim militants, and, in the words of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, "the orchestrators of terrorism."

Perry, speaking at a Manhattan hotel, made a pitch to Jewish voters by calling for Jerusalem — including East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians envision as the capital of their future state — to be the undisputed territory of Israel.

More at the link.

Also, at Yid With Lid, "Was Rick Perry's Israel Speech Over-The-Top? Let's Look at the Facts."

Greta Van Susteren Interviews Her 'Friend' Tucker Carlson 'On the Record' (VIDEO)

Honestly, this is hard to watch --- and I mean Tucker Carlson debasing himself. When he pleads that he's got a wife and three daughters, that's it:

And see William Jacobson, "Can the Daily Caller survive?"

BONUS: Dan Riehl, "The Caller and How Not to Manage a Media Crisis."

What Comes After 'Europe'?

From Bret Stephens, at Wall Street Journal:

What is now happening in Europe isn't so much a crisis as it is an exposure: a Madoff-type event rather than a Lehman one. The shock is that it's a shock. Greece was never going to be bailed out and will, sooner or later, default. The banks holding Greek debt will, sooner or later, be recapitalized. The recapitalization will be borne by German taxpayers, and it will bring them—sooner rather than later—to the outer limit of their forbearance. The Chinese will not ride to the rescue: They know not to throw good money after bad ....

What comes next is the explosion of the European project. Given what European leaders have made of that project over the past 30-odd years, it's not an altogether bad thing. But it will come at a massive cost. The riots of Athens will become those of Milan, Madrid and Marseilles. Parties of the fringe will gain greater sway. Border checkpoints will return. Currencies will be resurrected, then devalued. Countries will choose decay over reform. It's a long, likely parade of horribles.

Man, that's harsh.

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repealed

At LAT, "'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal lets gays, lesbians serve openly."

Cartoon Credit: Matt Bors.

RELATED: From David Horowitz, "Issues That Dare Not Speak Their Name":

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is a way of containing the destructive force of sex on a combat capability called “unit cohesion.” To create the perfect killing machine, the military works hard to drain recruits of their individuality and their self-interested desires in order to make them think like cogs, well, in a machine. An essential part of the military mind is that the members of a fighting unit don’t think for themselves, but do as they are told. They work as a unit in which each performs an appointed task. The mission objective – not personal consideration – guides their actions. Suppose a commander were faced with the choice of risking his unit or risking the life of his own son, for example. Suppose the life of his son were threatened, but to save him would risk the military objective his superiors had set. Suppose he let the human override the imperatives of the machine. He would be doing what was natural, but the military objective he sacrificed might cost the lives of hundreds or thousands.

To avoid such breaches of military discipline, military policy does not allow family members to fight in the same unit. The same principle underlies its policy towards gays. Sacrifice of unit cohesion and military order is the threat that sex between soldiers poses for any combat force. The open inclusion of gays in the military is regarded by military men who oppose it a threat to effectiveness of the military as a fighting force.

Also, Mackubin Thomas Owens, "The Case Against Gays in the Military":

Winning the nation's wars is the military's functional imperative. Indeed, it is the only reason for a liberal society to maintain a military organization. War is terror. War is confusion. War is characterized by chance, uncertainty and friction. The military's ethos constitutes an evolutionary response to these factors—an attempt to minimize their impact.

Accordingly, the military stresses such martial virtues as courage, both physical and moral, a sense of honor and duty, discipline, a professional code of conduct, and loyalty. It places a premium on such factors as unit cohesion and morale. The glue of the military ethos is what the Greeks called philia—friendship, comradeship or brotherly love. Philia, the bond among disparate individuals who have nothing in common but facing death and misery together, is the source of the unit cohesion that most research has shown to be critical to battlefield success.

Philia depends on fairness and the absence of favoritism. Favoritism and double standards are deadly to philia and its associated phenomena—cohesion, morale and discipline—are absolutely critical to the success of a military organization.

The presence of open homosexuals in the close confines of ships or military units opens the possibility that eros—which unlike philia is sexual, and therefore individual and exclusive—will be unleashed into the environment. Eros manifests itself as sexual competition, protectiveness and favoritism, all of which undermine the nonsexual bonding essential to unit cohesion, good order, discipline and morale.

We'll of course see how these arguments play out in real life.

Don Henley Harrah's Rincon San Diego, September 25

My birthday's coming up and my wife scored some tickets. So, we'll be heading out on Sunday for Don Henley live, Open Sky Theater at Harrah's Rincon. Recall, my wife and I saw The Eagles April 25, 2010. At the clip is "Dirty Laundry," from the same tour:

And see "Don Henley extends solo trek of western U.S."

The Public Has Rejected the Left's Radical Agenda

From Victor Davis Hanson, at National Review, "Obama Becomes the Fall Guy":

From January 2009 through 2010, Obama advanced the liberal dream with a passion not seen since the New Deal days of Franklin Roosevelt. He bulldozed all opposition and rammed through most of what he wanted with the help of a Democratic Congress: Obamacare, record borrowing, record spending, and hundreds of hard-left presidential appointees and judges.

Far from being namby-pamby, Obama has gone after opponents like no president since Richard Nixon. He urged Hispanics to “punish our enemies.” He called his political opponents “hostage takers.” The affluent were lumped together with the super-rich and derided as “millionaires and billionaires,” “corporate-jet owners,” and “fat cat” bankers. His supporters in unions and the Congressional Black Caucus freely blasted the Tea Party with slurs — with the unspoken assurance that the president’s constant calls for civility certainly did not apply to them.

Critics may lampoon Obama’s use of a teleprompter, but he still uses it to good effect in his near-daily speeches. Obama is a far better megaphone for left-wing policies than was the lackluster Jimmy Carter, the pompous Al Gore, or the condescending John Kerry. He easily outshines the wooden Harry Reid and the polarizing Nancy Pelosi. Compared with Obama and his smoothness, an often gaffe-prone Vice President Joe Biden can seem a liability. Obama is as charismatic as “I feel your pain” Bill Clinton — as we saw in 2008, when Obama destroyed the primary challenge of Hillary Clinton.

So the Left cannot really complain that Obama either betrayed the cause or proved particularly inept in advancing it. Instead, what Obama’s supporters are mad about is that the public is boiling over chronic 9 percent unemployment, a comatose housing market, escalating food and fuel prices, near-nonexistent economic growth, a gyrating stock market, record deficits, $16 trillion in aggregate debt, and a historic credit downgrading. And voters are not just mad, but are blaming these hard times on the liberal Obama agenda of more regulations, more federal spending, more borrowing, more talk of taxes, and more “stimulus” programs.

A mostly moderate-to-conservative public has concluded that it does not like the new liberal agenda. After three years, it believes that the big government/big borrowing medicine made the inherited illness far worse. Voters may or may not like Obama, but they surely do not like what he is still trying to do.

In response, the Left needs a sacrificial lamb. So it has nonsensically turned with a fury on Obama as if he were culpable for pushing through the Left’s own agenda. If Democrats do not blame the public’s anger on their once-beloved messenger, then they are left only with their message itself. And that is something they simply cannot accept.

Obama's $1.5 Trillion Election Ploy

Check the editorial at IBD.

Obama's hoping to make the Republicans look obstructionist. And Professor Caroline Heldman's down with that. Indeed, she's even sold on the (voodoo) economics of it all, saying she's convinced the administration's jobs act will --- wait for it! --- actually create 1.9 million jobs.

Right.

Explaining the Enduring Pop Culture Fascination with Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie

Well, since I've been writing about celebrity marriages, I'll admit this is something I've given some thought.

At Married Man Sex Life, "Why Brad Pitt is With Angelina Jolie and Not Jennifer Aniston":

Jennifer Aniston comes off as a "good girl" and possibly in need of fresh sheets on the bed to be able to come to orgasm. Well okay, maybe that's a bit much, I was saving that line for a Martha Stewart joke and got tired of waiting. Anyway... Angelina Jolie comes off as a fair bit slutty and into having sex. When she was married to Billy Bob Thornton she used to have a vial of his blood in a necklace - I think once bodily fluids become jewelry for a chick, anal is actively ruled in. Plus the tattoos are a fairly good sign of brazen sexuality too. Jennifer Aniston did get that whole cult following of women getting their hair cut in "The Rachel", but guys didn't give a toss about it. Angelina Jolie was Lara Croft for crying out loud, so guys care about that seeing polygon count was involved.

There's a lot more at the link, and that's an explicit analysis, but Angelina's no doubt got the rougher edges.

Image: "Angelina Jolie Quashes Rumors of a Secret Wedding and Admits to Fears About Writing and Directing Her First Feature Film."

HAT TIP: Kathy Shaidle.

SoCal Grocery Stores Reach Deal with United Food and Commercial Workers

At LAT, "Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons, union reach labor deal, avert strike."

Apparently, both sides realized a strike would be devastating, as this earlier LAT report indicated, "In the event of a walkout, the chains' competition would be the big winners":

Today, Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons have fewer stores in Southern California, and fewer employees. Albertsons has closed 67 locations since the 2003-04 strike and worker lockout. Ralphs has closed 48 stores, and Vons and Pavilions are down 47.

The competition is filling the gap. Unified Grocers, which represents at least 526 stores owned by independent chains, controls 12.1% of the grocery market in Southern California and Las Vegas, according to research by the Shelby Report, a grocery industry publication.

Trader Joe's, with 106 stores, has 5.4% of the market. Smart & Final, Tesco's Fresh & Easy and Whole Foods combined control another 5.4%, according to the report.

Although these companies all target different consumers, they have one thing in common: They are, for the most part, non-union shops. And like the airline and auto industries, the three big unionized retailers all have legacy health, pension and payroll costs that put them at an economic disadvantage.

Smaller chains can also tailor individual stores to the tastes of the neighborhood.

For independent grocer Jax Markets in Anaheim, that means packaging meat in smaller containers and wooing customers with personalized service. The four-store chain caters to predominantly Latino shoppers. A number of its customers don't have cars, so the grocer offers a free shuttle service for anyone who lives within a five-mile radius of a store and is willing to spend a minimum of $30 in their trip to the grocery store.

"When the gas prices were going up, I wondered, 'Is it really worth it?' But it is," said W. Bill MacAloney, chief executive of Jax Markets. "People are shopping around, and that gives us an opportunity. So we need to do what we can to help our customers."

Serving ethnic shoppers can go beyond carrying brands they like. A number of economic factors persuaded Vons to close one of its locations in a working-class Latino neighborhood of Long Beach. Superior Grocers snapped up the outlet in 2003, before the strike, and transformed it into a mid-size store with bargain-priced produce and fast-moving register lines.

On a recent Monday afternoon, a mostly Latino crowd jammed the produce section, plucking up bags of mangoes the size of softballs for 99 cents each. Customers reached for fresh tortillas made in the store, freshly baked French rolls and loaves of Mexican sweet bread. Flat-panel TVs played Spanish-language news clips. On the overhead speakers, daily specials rang out in English and Spanish.

Four miles to the southeast, in the upscale Belmont Shore neighborhood, Vons operates one of its smaller specialty stores, known as the Market by Vons. Sparkling clean and quiet as a library, the store features a bounty of wine and a limited produce selection. Mangoes there cost $1 more than at Superior Grocers and were half the size.

"I love this Vons, but I don't shop here all the time," said Patty Barnett, 38, an artist who lives in downtown Long Beach. "I shop where there are sales."

Boy, You're Gonna Carry That Weight...

I"m always good for another Beatles clip, via American Digest: "Something Wonderful: The Beatles in 5 Minutes and 3 Songs."

Obama Calls for $1.5 Trillion in New Taxes

On the "wealthy," of course.

At Washington Post, "Obama sharpens contrast with GOP, issues forceful call for new tax revenue."

President Obama made a defiant call on Monday for $1.5 trillion in new taxes as part of a plan to find $3.2 trillion in budget savings over the next decade, issuing his most detailed proposal yet to tame the soaring federal debt.

Abandoning earlier compromises, Obama adopted a posture that cedes far less ground in cutting the nation’s social safety net and demands much more in terms of new levies on millionaires, other wealthy Americans and some industries.

The proposal drew an angry response from key Republicans, underscoring the considerable opposition to his plan on Capitol Hill as a special bipartisan committee on deficit reduction ramps up its work in coming weeks.

Also at Chicago Sun-Times, "Tax the rich, Obama says; class warfare, says GOP."

Progressives are all energized about how Obama is supposedly throwing the "class warfare" attack back in the GOP's face. But all day I've been reading post after post from progressives just mercilessly demonizing the so-called corporate rich. Think Progress is seriously on the warpath, for example, "While Lobbying For Huge Tax Giveaways, Corporations Hoard Record Amounts of Cash Instead of Hiring," and "Multi-Millionaire Rep. Says He Can’t Afford a Tax Hike Because He Only Has $400K a Year After Feeding Family."

These are Marxist attacks, in essence. High earners or the wealthy don't deserve to keep their money. Repeatedly we hear Democrats speaking in terms of "shared sacrifice" and "fairness," but such appeals, nice sounding at first, are cancelled out by vicious attacks on those who aren't poor or unemployed. It's ridiculous. Indeed, it's un-American.

RELATED: "Anti-American Graffiti: Marxist Scribblings Sighted in Suburban Orange County."

Kathia Maria Davis, Laguna Niguel Hockey Mom, Accused of Sex With Son's Teammates

Some of the boys were as young as fourteen. The investigation arose initially out of suspicion that Ms. Davis threw parties serving alcohol for the boys. One of the victims told his mom, who, strangely, contacted the woman's ex-husband. Seems to me you'd go straight to the police. Either way, this is sickening.

At Los Angeles Times, "Hockey mom accused of having sex with son's underage teammates."

The Buffett Tax

At Wall Street Journal, "The Buffett Alternative Tax."

And a great Gerry Willis interview with House Speaker John Boehner:

Greta Van Susteren: Tucker Carlson Neglected to Tell Politico That Mike Tyson's a Convicted Rapist

Yeah, that does seem to be a significant omission.

See Greta, "Journalism and Judgment – filling in the blanks for Tucker Carlson to Politico":

Tucker neglected to include in his remarks to Politico this am – and which I am now completing for him – is that it is a convicted rapist (not Peyton Manning!) who is spewing the most vile violence against women. Maybe Tucker wants to troll the prison to see what pretty things they have to say about women? And he can call that news? I am sure he can find some really, really, really famous rapist in prison to get a quote or two about women.

And Tucker's a friend of Greta's! Who needs enemies??!!

And Josh Painter has a huge roundup of reactions, at Texans for Sarah Palin.

The Politico story's at Memeorandum.

Floyd Mayweather Knockout of Victor Ortiz

YouTube's taking down the videos after copyright claims from HBO Entertainment, but this one's still pretty good. And if it gets pulled, check The Blog Prof, who has footage from TMZ: "Video: Mayweather Wins On ‘Cheap Shot’ KO; HBO's Larry Merchant: ‘I Wish I Was 50 Years Younger I’d Kick Your Ass’."

VIDEO PULLED

Also, at Los Angeles Times, "Floyd Mayweather basks in aftermath of knockout of Victor Ortiz."

Alisha Smith, Lawyer for New York State Attorney General's Office, Suspended for Moonlighting as Dominatrix

Well, it's a tough economy, so you gotta scratch together a living. But the lady's basically an assistant state attorney general. See New York Post, "Manhattan AG's office suspends lawyer who moonlights as a dominatrix." Also at Daily Mail, "Pictured: Prosecution lawyer suspended after 'moonlighting as dominatrix at S&M events'."

RELATED: At Daily Mail, "Strip or starve: Cash-strapped lawyer turns to exotic dancing to pay her debts."

It's hard out there.

Mike Tyson's 'Disgusting' Comments Violently Sexualizing Sarah Palin on ESPN Radio

Well, I'm definitely late to this story.

Greta Van Susteren has the headline, "Tucker Carlson’s THE DAILY CALLER’s DISGUSTING POST." And the entry's still up at Daily Caller, with a disclaimer, "Mike Tyson: Sarah Palin met ‘the wombshifter’." I'd rather not link, only because I agree with Greta that Daily Caller's probably circling the drain and no need to prolong the agony at this point. This is the kind of stuff you'd see from TMZ types or folks like A.J. Daulerio at Deadspin.

Anyway, R.S. McCain's on the story, "HOLY. FREAKING. CRAP."

And Dan Riehl's in the thick of things with a number of posts, but read this first: "Link and Post Removal Notice." Also, "Daily Caller Runs For Cover Over Vile Palin Smear, Threatens Blogger With Lawsuit For Exposing It."

There's a Memeorandum thread, although this should be a bigger story than it is so far. Mike Tyson grotesquely and viciously attacks Sarah Palin. I don't even have the vocabulary to describe it.

More from Sissy Willis, "Greta Van Susteren takes Tucker Carlson to the woodshed."

Original Ray's Pizza Serving its Last Slice in New York's Little Italy

I wrote about it at my old blog, and it's the funniest thing, but when my mom came to visit a few weeks back, she brought back a couple of the business cards we picked up in New York in 2007. She was using them for bookmarks. My son and I loved Airways Pizza in Queens. My mom also had a card for Dean's Pizzeria, in Manhattan, not far from the U.N. My son really liked that one. It was a little upscale and we were dressed casually. I asked my son if he wanted to go somewhere else and he said no, he liked Dean's and wanted to eat there. Anyway, I'm thinking of New York pizza again after reading the front-page story at NYT, "Ray’s Pizza, the First of Many, Counts Down to Its Last Slice":

It did not call itself the flagship Ray’s Pizza because it never really had a fleet. It was not Original Ray’s or Famous Ray’s or Original Famous Ray’s or Real Ray’s or Ray’s on Ice or any of the other cloned shops sprinkled like shredded mozzarella all over town. It was simply Ray’s Pizza, and in the great pizza wars of New York City, it was respected as having been the first, standing more or less above the fray at 27 Prince Street in Little Italy, with tree limbs holding up the basement ceiling and an owner whose name wasn’t even Ray.

And now, it seems, barring any surprises, Ray’s Pizza — the original that was so original it did not have the word “original” in its name — appears doomed to close at the end of the month.

This is not a popular topic at Ray’s right now.

“I don’t want you to put that this is the end,” said Helen Mistretta, the manager who, seven months before her 80th birthday, is in no mood for weepy nostalgia. “It’s the end of 27 Prince, not the end of Ray’s of Prince Street.”

The closing, long story short, follows a legal dispute among heirs with various interests in the building at 27 Prince, which includes apartments and the two sides of Ray’s: the pizzeria and an Italian restaurant, each with its separate entrance, but sharing a kitchen and the corporation name, Ray’s of Prince Street. When the Ray in Ray’s, one of the owners of the building, died in 2008, a row arose over whether the restaurant’s lease was valid and whether it should pay rent. A lawsuit was filed in 2009 and settled this year.

Now Ray’s Pizza is moving out amid a lot of head-shakes and shrugs and what-are-you-gonna-do Little Italy resignation.

You could say Ray’s on Prince Street kept to itself, perfectly content with its place in the constellation where others burned brighter. Just a block away, tourists line up on the sidewalk for a seat in Lombardi’s, waiting for a hostess wearing a microphone headset to call their names from loudspeakers. Wait for a pizza? This was not the Ray’s way, where pies come whole or by the slice, hot from the oven, enjoyed without hurry in a humble booth beneath a hand-painted “Ray’s Gourmet Pizza” board.

The closing of Ray’s would seem to remove from the neighborhood any vestige of the late Ralph Cuomo, its first owner, who once loomed large.

Keep reading.

My wife just walked in with pizza for dinner, from the local Lamppost, which is good, but nothing like New York pizza.

RELATED: At NYT, "New York’s Little Italy, Littler by the Year."

P.S. Checking the link to the old blog, turns out Repsac3 was commenting way back then. He wasn't banned. He might still be a commenter here had he not freaked out and turned stalker. I'll welcome progressives if they're cool. Repsac3 once was, but no longer. Too bad too. I had to go to moderation and all that.

Spectators' Deaths Highlight Risks of Popular Aerial Racing

The story's at New York Times, "Seeking Answers to What Turned a Nevada Airshow Deadly." But here's another video, which I just saw broadcast on the local news. The force of impact is overwhelming:

Also available here if this clip is pulled.

Day of Rage on Wall Street Fizzles

UPDATE: Zombie reports: "Day of FAIL: Nationwide anti-capitalist revolution flops."

*****

According to one source, only about 300 people showed up.

But see MyFoxNY, "'Day Of Rage' Protest On Wall Street."

And there's a big write-up at New York Times, "Wall Street Protest Begins, With Demonstrators Blocked," and Daily Mail, "'We won't put up with their greed any more': Demonstrators try to take over Wall Street in protest against corruption and budget cuts."

BONUS: At Michelle's, "“Day of Rage:” Alinskyites call for pointless mass sleepover on Wall Street."

Jennifer Lopez Hot New Fiat Ad

I'm watching Oakland at Buffalo, which features a major ad buy from Fiat.

See: "Jennifer Lopez Previews New Single In Fiat Commercial (Video)."

P.S. The Raiders just went up 21-3 with a little over a minute to go before the half.

Anti-American Graffiti: Marxist Scribblings Sighted in Suburban Orange County

Here's the writing on the restroom wall at Barnes and Nobles at the Irvine Spectrum, found this weekend. Recall last year Gallup found that a 61 percent majority of progressives had a positive image of socialism. And here's another example in real life. Remember Marx's exhortation: "Workers of the world unite." The Marxian system is built on the increasing immiseration of labor. The graffiti implies that no one can get rich without exploiting workers, that is, it's impossible to be entrepreneurial without exploitation, and hence the rejection of the foundation of the capitalist free-enterprise system. It's fundamentally anti-American, as is all progressivism, for as an ideology it rejects the exceptionalism that built the nation to world preponderance, instead invoking the state-socialist model of the stagnant European welfare states, if not the murderous totalitarianism of Stalin. Either way, the Democrat Party's 20th-century socialist model is dragging us down, which is exactly what progressives want.

RELATED: At New York Times, "Obama Tax Plan Would Ask More of Millionaires" (via Digby and Memorandum), and Washington Post, "Vast majority of tax breaks go to households."

Unemployment Rate Hits 12.1 Percent in California

At Los Angeles Times, "California unemployment rate rises to 12.1% in August." Another sign that things might not turn out badly for the Democrats in California 2012, but we'll see.

RELATED: "Another summer closure: Pat & Oscar’s." My family really enjoyed the food there. But when we were moving a few weeks back my wife went out to get dinner for everyone and she comes home with some fried chicken from Ralphs and says, "Pat & Oscar's is closed." So, I cruised by there to see for myself. A great location, right next to a movie theater and a Barnes and Noble. The restaurant always seemed busy. It's gone now:

Michele Bachmann Predicts Republican Victory in California Presidential Vote

I'm still not convinced, but Obama's losing his base even in the Golden State, so we'll see.

At LAT: "Bachmann predicts a GOP win in California in 2012."

The Harvard College Freshman Pledge

This is a fascinating report, from Virginia Postrel, "Harvard Now Values ‘Kindness’ Not Learning." For example:

Kindness isn’t a public or intellectual virtue, but a personal one. It is a form of love. Kindness seeks, above all, to avoid hurt. Criticism -- even objective, impersonal, well- intended, constructive criticism -- isn’t kind. Criticism hurts people’s feelings, and it hurts most when the recipient realizes it’s accurate. Treating “kindness” as the way to civil discourse doesn’t show students how to argue with accuracy and respect. It teaches them instead to neither give criticism nor tolerate it.

And at Bits and Pieces (the blog of Harvard Professor Harry Lewis, "The Freshman Pledge":

Its purpose is to make people think and to induce conversation on the important matter of civility and generosity. I am assured that the intention is not to make anyone feel compelled to sign the pledge.

In this case, alas, the line between an invitation and a compulsion is exceedingly narrow, and I doubt those who explain it to students can consistently do so with the required nuance. The pledge is delivered to students for signing by their proctors, the officers of the College who monitor their compliance with Harvard rules and report their malfeasances to the College's disciplinary board. Nonconformists would have good reason to fear that they will be singled out for extra scrutiny. And their unsigned signature lines are hung for all to see, in an act of public shaming. Few students, in their first week at Harvard, would have the courage to refuse this invitation. I am not sure I would advise any student to do so.

The substance of the pledge is critically important. This is not a pledge to refrain from cheating, or to take out the garbage. It is not a pledge to act in a certain way. It is a pledge to think about the world a certain way, to hold precious the exercise of kindness. It is a promise to control one's thoughts. Though it refers to sound institutional values affirmed at Commencement, the pledge pretends to affirm them not through the educational process to which the Dean testifies, but through a prior restraint on students' freedom of thought. A student would be breaking the pledge if she woke up one morning and decided it was more important to achieve intellectually than to be kind.

Chilling. Our very highest institution of learning, once again seen as among the most totalitarian.

Via Maggie's Farm.

How to Save the Euro

At The Economist, "It requires urgent action on a huge scale. Unless Germany rises to the challenge, disaster looms":

SO GRAVE, so menacing, so unstoppable has the euro crisis become that even rescue talk only fuels ever-rising panic. Investors have sniffed out that Europe’s leaders seem unwilling ever to do enough. Yet unless politicians act fast to persuade the world that their desire to preserve the euro is greater than the markets’ ability to bet against it, the single currency faces ruin. As credit lines gum up and outsiders plead for action, it is not just the euro that is at risk, but the future of the European Union and the health of the world economy.

Keep reading. The piece keeps mentioning the "restructuring of debt," which follows from the fact that some European states simply can't make good on their obligations, and sovereign default would hammer commercial banks and cause even deeper economic turmoil. But the larger issue is whether EU members deal with the crisis in multilateral fashion or retreat to narrower self-interest, casting off Greece to its own misfortunes, and so forth...

RELATED: At New York Times, "Suddenly, Over There Is Over Here" (via Memeorandum).

Tyndale University Buckles to Pressure From 'Social Justice' Activists, Cancels George W. Bush Speech

All someone has to do is scream "war criminal," and university administrators will cave. And this is a Christian institution.

At The Blaze, "CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY CANCELS GEORGE W. BUSH SPEECH AMID STUDENT & FACULTY PROTESTS." And Blazing Cat Fur, "Michael Coren: Tyndale University Caves to Cultural Marxists Cancels George W Bush Speech":