Misinformation and Anxiety in Boston Terrorism Investigation

From Andrew McCarthy, at PJ Media:

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading.

National Republicans Dump Mark Sanford

At WaPo, "National GOP abandons Mark Sanford."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scores Injured in Huge Explosion at Texas Fertilizer Plant

Some reports indicate hundreds have been injured.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No. Shame on you, Gabby Giffords.

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

More at Memeorandum.

Manchin-Toomey Fails in Senate, Obama Hardest Hit

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

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

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

CNN Botches Boston Bombing Investigation Reporting

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

Possible Suspect in #BostonMarathon Bombing Identified

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

Here's the Boston Globe homepage seen earlier today:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Via Memeorandum.

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

Unbridled Feminist Orthodoxy and the 'Snakepit of Injustice'

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

Read it all.

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

Harry Reid Goes for Assault Weapons Ban

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah. Okay.

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

Climate Scaremongers Struggle to Explain Warming Slowdown

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

Frank Shorter on Boston and Munich

A great interview.

Frank Shorter talks to Jake Tapper:

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

Margaret Thatcher Funeral

At Astute Bloggers, "RIP LADY THATCHER."

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

The full video is here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pretty sick.

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

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

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

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

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

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

More at that top link, and at the Globe.

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

The Case for Regime Change on Abortion

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

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

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

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

'Marathon Terror'

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

How Kirsten Powers Finally Shamed the News Media

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

Who Tried to Suppress Pamela Geller's Speech?

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

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

The Grotesque Politicization of the Boston Bombing

From Dana Loesch, at Red State:

This isn’t journalism. This is speculation. It’s hackneyed. It’s malicious, unprofessional, and dangerous. The lack of professionalism demonstrated by the above should be enough to shame them forever from the profession, but the profession now thrives on tabloid-level “reporting.”

After a tragedy the normal person responds by falling to their knees in prayer. The compassionate person responds with concern for the affected. The professional reports the facts and differentiates between speculation and confirmation.

It is the desperate and professionally and spiritually anemic who heartlessly view tragedy as a chance to settle some imaginary score. These individuals are baselessly impugning innocent groups and in doing so, inadvertently impugn themselves and their profession.

See all Dana's examples at the link.

Also, at Twitchy, "Detective Chris Matthews speculates on tax day connection to Boston bombing," and "Michael Moore puts two and two together after Boston Marathon bombing."

Progressive ghouls. Same bullshit. Different day.

More on this later...it's going to be a major part of the story, unfortunately...

Terror at the Boston Marathon

Photos, at the Big Picture.

'That much smoke and dust suggests AMFO; Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil, with a 1lb TNT kicker. Crude but effective enough in a packed crowd, especially with the ball bearings...'

From Stormbringer, at Theo Spark's, "THE BOSTON BOMBS."

Bill Iffrig, 78-Year-Old Marathoner, With Piers Morgan on CNN

The shock waves of the blast just knocked Mr. Iffrig to the ground. I'm sure many people, like me, couldn't stop watching that moment during the replays.

PREVIOUSLY: "Deadly Terrorist Attack at Boston Marathon."

Deadly Terrorist Attack at Boston Marathon

I checked Twitter between my morning and afternoon American government classes, at about 12:25pm this afternoon. I've been checking Twitter pretty much all day since then, especially after I got out of my 12:45pm class. There's no underestimating how devastating the bombs were, even though "experts" have dismissed them as "unsophisticated." Tell that to the guy below who lost both of his legs, seen at Mediaiate on video, "Live Video From Boston Explosion Shows Man With Legs Blown Off, Official Talking About Deaths."

You can't trust media reports at this point. Maybe later. The New York Post is over the top, given the level of confirmed reports, "12 dead, nearly 50 injured after 2 explosions rock Boston Marathon, law enforcement sources confirm." That's wrong, I pray.

However, the Boston Globe is outstanding, "Live blog: Explosions in Copley Square." And check the photos, "PHOTOS: TWO EXPLOSIONS AT BOSTON MARATHON FINISH LINE."

Also at the New York Times, "Blasts at Boston Marathon Kill 3 People." (At Memeorandum.)

I'll be updating...

Marxist Melissa-Harris Perry: 'Maybe We Can Make Taxes a Bit More Like Giving to Charity...'

Boy, this lady just endlessly loves her some government!

And this is why people can't stand collectivists like this. Charitable giving is a private good. People decide on their own when and how much they can help others. Patterns of per capita giving separate the U.S. as the most generous Western democracy compared to European countries. But, astonishingly, collectivists like Harris-Perry want people to feel good giving taxes, since such coerced payments to the state will go to redistributing resources in support of the progressive collectivist agenda. I'll give it to this lady, though. She does't hide her Marxist program like so many other radical left-wingers. Morally bankrupt and evil. Yes. But as least she's transparent:

White House Exploits Newtown Mom Francine Wheeler to Push Depraved Gun-Grabbing Legislation

At Twitchy, "President Prop-aganda taps Newtown mom to push ‘gun responsibility reforms’ in weekly address."

And AWD, "FRANCINE WHEELER, I’M SORRY YOUR SON WAS MURDERED AT SANDY HOOK BUT YOU’RE BEING USED!"

And the latest on the left's outrageous gun-grabbing program at the New York Times, "Rifts in Both Parties Complicate Odds for Gun Measure."

Marxist Melissa Harris-Perry Strikes Again!

At Weasel Zippers, "MSNBC Marxist Melissa Harris-Perry: “We Need To Impinge On Individual Freedoms” For “The Common Good”…"

Hateful Anti-Semitic Ghoul Walter James Casper III Tweets Jew-Bashing Attack on Pamela Geller — and Israel!

Flashback to 2011, "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street":

Racist Repsac3 has a big butthurt post whining about how he's not really a racist anti-Semitic Jew-basher, despite endorsing a movement that was founded on property expropriation, revolution, and anti-Jewish and anti-Israel eliminationism.

Oh, and the anti-Semitic Hatesac denied he hates Israel.

Right.

"Not hating" Israel no doubt explains why the despicable Hatesac's tweeting out this heinous attack on Pamela Geller, which includes an endorsement of the genocidal Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions program:

Why Pamela Geller's Hate Speech Should Be Barred — But BDS Allowed jd.fo/e1hh#.UWrMDaQv… via @jdforward
— J. Casper (@repsac3) April 14, 2013

And by the way, the lies in that Forward piece are so mendacious as to border on criminal insanity. Seriously. You can't take this argument seriously, unless you're a piece of inhuman refuse like Walter James Casper III:

Pamela Geller preaches venomous hatred of Muslims. She is one of the leading voices promoting the idea of “creeping Sharia” in the United States. Claiming that Islam, as a religion, is dedicated to eradicating Jews and eventually turning all others into Muslims by whatever means necessary is the very definition of hate speech. One might oppose BDS, consider it unfairly anti-Israel, or even consider it an unjust and threatening movement. But it is not hate speech, it is a political point of view.

Lies. All of it.

Pamela Geller rejects Islamic jihad not Muslims. Indeed, she's saved Muslims from honor killings. She's the ultimate advocate for the value and protection of human life. And of course, there is no such thing as "hate speech" in the United States. All political speech is protected short of advocacy of imminent violence. If anything, it's the BDS stormtroopers who fit the "hate speech" bill, if there ever was such a thing. The BDS program is truly genocidal, calling for the complete elimination of the Jewish state through the scam of the "right of return" of "Palestinian" refugees. This is Middle East Politics 101. See the Tablet, "NY Times, MSNBC Whitewash BDS":

Omar Barghouti, one of the Brooklyn BDS panelists, is on record saying that an end to occupation and settlement would not end the call for BDS, that he opposes the two-state solution, and that the right of return is the movement’s “foremost demand.” As he put it in 2001, Israel “was Palestine, and there is no reason why it should not be renamed Palestine.”

But RTWT.

None of these facts will matter to the literally demonic Walter James Casper III. Truth is no corrective to moral depravity --- which is why he was banned from this blog ages ago.

Pamela Geller Stands for Freedom at Chabad of Great Neck

My good friend Norman Gersman lives an "outfielder's strong arm throw" from the Chabad of Great Neck. He sent along the picture below. Norm mentioned to Pamela that he'd be forwarding it to me, and she says, "I love the American Power Blog!"

That's cool!

In any case, at Atlas Shrugs, "FORWARD: 'PAMELA GELLER GOT THE LAST LAUGH'." And, "HUNDREDS RALLY FOR FREE SPEECH AND THE OUSTER OF HABEEB AHMED."

Katy Perry and Alessandra Ambrosio at Coachella

Well, that looks like quite a weekend gathering. At London's Daily Mail, "Alessandra Ambrosio channels her inner hippie at Coachella as she lounges poolside in hot pink daisy dukes," and "Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio heats up desert music festival in hippie chic style."

Plus, "Katy Perry bares her midriff in whimsical Dali skirt and top at celeb-studded Coachella pool party."

Boy that would've been fun!

BONUS: LAT has more: "Coachella 2013 | April 12-14 & April 19-21."

Syrian Rebel Gets Head Blown Off

Great special effects!

Wait. That's not special effects. It's supposedly a Syria FSA rebel who gets half of his head blown off.

Not for the squeamish: "Warning: This is really grisly."

Skateboarding Photos From the Old Days

I dug out some old photos to show my youngest son.

Here I'm skating at Paul Schmitt's house back in 1985. Schmitt was featured in the Los Angeles Times in 2008: "SKATEBOARD MAKER STILL ROLLING ALONG."

At Paul Schmitt's backyard half-pipe, Costa Mesa, 1985. twitpic.com/cjegss

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) April 14, 2013

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

More at Jill Stanek's, "Stanek Sunday funnies: “Gosnell” edition," and Reaganite's, "Reaganite's Sunday Funnies."

Also at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Hot Shot."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

Chillin' in Santa Monica and Venice Beach

I wasn't expected to be heading up to Santa Monica yesterday.

My oldest son comes into my room a little after Noon and asks, "Dad, will you take me up to Santa Monica so I can hang out with my friends?" I'm like, "Hey, you think that's a little far?" (We live close to an hour's drive South, in Irvine.) So I had my boy check with my wife to see if she thought that wasn't too much, and she was cool, so off we went.

Here's the Third Street Promenade. My boys are at left:

My oldest boy took off to have lunch with his friends (at Hooters, it turns out). So I took my little guy to Johnny Rockets. It was packed. We sat at the lunch counter stools at the back side. That's my son's reflection behind our vanilla shakes:

I love the Apple Store at the Third Street Promenade! It's freakin' huge, like a gymnasium. And you're not bugged by the sales associates every two minutes. Products everywhere:

American Power!

Heading over to Venice  Beach after lunch, greeted by Jim Morrison:

Here's the skatepark:

This dude had some skills:

And this lady skater was freakin' hot. Great style, reminiscent of the surf-skaters of the '70s:

Here's the awesome bookstore and sidewalk cafe. That's where I'd be chillin' most of the time:

After hanging out at the bookstore, as well as the skateboard shop next door, we run into the Sperminator on the way back to the van:

Folks were getting stoned up and down the boardwalk, and a bong shop was located right next to the bookstore. So as we were leaving, my son says, "That guy's sign says 'No meth! No crack! No homo!" You gotta love it. No Deranged Left Wing Bakers either!

Here we are back at the Apple Store waiting for my oldest son to meet up so we can head back to the O.C.

I have some photos from the Tesla showroom at the Promenade as well, and will post some of those later...

The Sperminator

I took the boys up to Santa Monica today and we got back a little while ago. After I dropped off my oldest at the Third Street Promenade, I took my youngest over to Venice Beach to check out the skate park. I'll post more photos tomorrow, but I couldn't stop laughing when my son called me over to this effigy of Arnold Schwarzenegger as "The Sperminator." Gawd, this is hilarious:

More from Santa Monica later. We had a blast. And a nice break from blogging too.

The Los Angeles Times and the #Gosnell Blackout

Following up on my previous entry, "Mainstream Media Reporting on #Gosnell: 'Did You Guess Zero? You Win!'," I decided to search for "Kermit Gosnell" at the Los Angeles Times --- and it's more of the same. Until yesterday you would have found "0 Search Results for 'Kermit Gosnell'." This morning you'll find two results, and one of those is for the photograph on a story that itself is a story on the mainstream media's #Gosnell blackout. Can you say meta-journalism? See, "Dr. Kermit Gosnell abortion case: Why no national media spotlight?" And you gotta love the explanation from the Times' Jon Healey, suggesting that perhaps this wasn't really a national abortion story because #Gosnell's abortions weren't legal. That is, only abortion stories on legal abortion are news worthy, or something?

I read a lot of news on a daily basis, online and in print, and the Gosnell story hadn't crossed my radar screen until Friday. So I agree with the likes of Salon's David Weigel and the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg that this story has received surprisingly little attention -- from the mass media, that is.

Why? Several readers of The Times say it's because the liberal media are trying to protect their abortion rights agenda. I don't like trying to guess what's on the minds of the editors and reporters who decide what to cover; "the media" are still a collection of individuals who compete with one another. Reporters and editors make news judgments for themselves, not for the group. On the other hand, there's a herd mentality among the major outlets, which is why some stories become national causes and grounds for societal soul-searching even though they're not, objectively, all that extraordinary.

So perhaps the main reason the Gosnell allegations didn't get elevated to that level is because none of the big media powers took the plunge. And you have to wonder why. The testimony at the trial seems to have been pretty dramatic too. Conspiracy theorists on the right argue that the liberal media avoid this story because it might prod the public to demand more limits on abortion. But because Gosnell is accused of operating a site for illegal abortions, he could just as easily illustrate what happens when government makes it hard for women (especially low-income ones) to end their pregnancies early and legally. (Read this piece by Carole Joffe, a professor of reproductive health at UC San Francisco, for a good elaboration on that point.)

Right? Let's make it hard for women to "choose" to go to murderers like Kermit #Gosnell.

The Los Angles Times is ghoul-worthy! Chalk one up for being fair and balanced!

Perhaps Healey might just ask his own colleagues why this story wasn't newsworthy at the Los Angeles Times, a newspaper that at one point in its history, during the leadership of Otis Chandler, sought to challenge the dominance of journalism's leading national newspapers, such as the New York Times and the Washington Post. I guess these days the L.A. Times just aspires to line up, in malign neglect, behind the rest of the sheepish national press corps. Here's Healey's bio at the Times:

He is a member of the editorial board at the Los Angeles Times, which means he is one of a nameless, faceless group writing screeds that, technically speaking, reflect the views of the publisher (whoever that happens to be at the time)...

Well, as a "member of the editorial board" we can place the blame directly on dolts like Healey for the Times' complete absence of coverage of one of the most important national stories on reproductive rights in decades. Way to carry on the legacy of the great Otis Chandler!

Mainstream Media Reporting on #Gosnell: 'Did You Guess Zero? You Win!'

Mollie Hemingway is doing God's work, at Patheos, "Politico, Atlantic and the Gosnell Blackout":

Earlier I shared what happened when I asked an AP reporter and a Washington Post reporter about their personal Gosnell blackouts. It was so illuminating that I decided to check out a few other media outlets. I headed over to Politico. Since Washington Post reporter Sarah Kliff tried to justify her lack of coverage of the Gosnell trial by calling it a local crime story, I thought I’d add other local stories into my search. Thanks for the idea! So here’s what I found out. Politico‘s search engine pops out 165 results on Trayvon Martin (local crime story in Florida), 94 stories on Komen, 233 on Sandra Fluke and 866 on Todd Akin.

Guess how many stories Politico has published on Gosnell.

Did you guess zero? You win!

I’d love to ask the reporters in question about the shocking disparity but I noticed that the reporters who wrote some of the histrionic Komen coverage aren’t even around any more. Politico is known for its turnover. So I should probably ask editors. Once I figure out who I should talk to (I’m also trying to find Kliff’s editor since she has revealed some problems with her ability to cover this issue) and will let you know how it goes.

Well, WaPo's editors have already admitted their paper's paucity of coverage, but don't hold hold your breath on Politico. Those idiots were BuzzFeed before there was a BuzzFeed.

BONUS: And wouldn't you know, but Scott Lemieux, the most despicable pro-baby-killing ghoul at the ghoulishly despicable far-left hate-site Lawyers, Guns and Money, blames the lack of MSM coverage on --- wait for it! --- RAAAAACISM!!

See: "Who’s Ignoring Gosnell?":

The fact that the exploitation of poor women, predominantly of color, hasn’t been subject to extensive coverage is pretty much the ultimate dog-bites-man story ... The story is now being exploited by opponents of legal abortion, although the idea that the proper response to this is to make safe abortions more stigmatized and inaccessible is a massive non-sequitur.

"Dog-bites-man?" Hmm, seems like I've been hearing a lot about that kind of reporting lately? Oh, yes, the Other McCain had a couple of related bits the other day -- because you can always count on the ghouls at Lawyers, Guns and Money for depravity fodder.

Angels Drop Fifth Straight Game

I'm watching games mostly on the weekends, but I had a chance to switch on last night's game, and the Angels got buried from the get go. I was ruminating last season on the hopeful possibility that the Angels would fire Mike Scioscia, but to no avail. Maybe we'll see a shakeup this year. It's long overdue. This ties the team's worst start in franchise history, a mark that's been held for 52 years.

See, "Angels fall to Astros, 5-0, for fifth straight loss":

Just when it looked as if the Angels couldn't sink any lower, they hit rock bottom with a thud Friday in a 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros.

These are the same Astros who lost 213 games the last two seasons; the same Astros whose $22-million payroll is less than the free-spending Angels pay the right side of their infield.

These are the same Angels who started the season with World Series aspirations, then started Friday's game with five All-Stars in their lineup.

It should have been a rout — and it was, with the Astros scoring three times in the first inning while the Angels failed to get a runner past first base all night.

The loss was the Angels' fifth straight, leaving them winless on their first homestand of the season. At 2-8, they not only have the American League's worst record but they've equaled a 52-year-old mark for the worst start in franchise history.

And if all that wasn't embarrassing enough, the game ended with Josh Hamilton forgetting how many outs there were, allowing himself to be doubled off first base on Mark Trumbo's foulout.

Afterward Angel Manager Mike Scioscia didn’t have to think long to sum up his team’s problems.

"It’s pretty simple. We’re not pitching and we’re getting behind early," Scioscia said. "When you get behind early it really gives the other team a chance to match up, to use their  bullpen. Gives their starter some breathing room."

More at that top link.

Here's the Blood

Via Live Action.

Dodgers' Zack Greinke Broken Collarbone in Scuffle With San Diego's Carlos Quentin

At the Los Angeles Times, "Dodgers starter Zack Greinke injured by enraged Carlos Quentin."

Also at the New York Post, "Dodgers warn Padres, post 'Anchorman' photo to Twitter after teams brawl."

#Gosnell Murder Trial: 'They’ll acknowledge it in lower-profile formats..."

A great post from Allahpundit, at Hot Air, "Gosnell might be the worst serial killer in history, says … “Nightline” anchor."

That's the mainstream media hacks at the title, by the way. They'll acknowledge the enormous crimes against humanity on Twitter, etc., but when it comes to making a monstrous story like this the lede, well, um, we wouldn't happen to dampen the Democrat momentum, or anything.

Scientists Find the 'Missing Link'

At the Los Angeles Times, "Evidence points toward solving evolutionary 'missing link'":

A team of paleoanthropologists, after four years of analysis, has made its most detailed case that Australopithecus sediba is a direct ancestor of modern humans. But many experts are unconvinced.

With long arms, high shoulder blades and powerful fingers, the ancient creatures were built for climbing trees. But they also had long lower limbs, flat feet and a flexible lumbar spine that gave them a distinct evolutionary edge: They could cover long distances by walking upright on two legs.

After four years of intense analysis, a team of paleoanthropologists is making its most detailed case yet that a pair of ancient skeletons discovered in a grassy South African valley could represent the direct evolutionary link between modern humans and the family of human ancestors that includes the Australopithecus known as Lucy.

In a series of six papers published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, the researchers argue that the "mosaic nature" of the Australopithecus sediba specimens makes them a strong candidate to be the "missing link" — the branch of Australopithecus that ultimately gave rise to the genus Homo, which includes Homo sapiens.

The skeleton fossils have so many human-like features "across the whole of the body that it must be considered, at the very least, a possible ancestor," said Lee R. Berger, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, who discovered the fossils in 2008. Berger was senior author of all the new studies.

But not everyone accepts this view. Critics say the skeletons are not old enough to be the precursors to Homo. Others say the similarities can be chalked up to the diversity of early hominids, but that certain aspects of A. sediba's anatomy make it an unlikely candidate for being our forebear.

At a minimum, the new details revealed in the papers are causing scientists to revise, or at least question, some long-held assumptions about the anatomical makeup of our extended evolutionary family...

Continue reading.

VIDEO: Lucy Pinder for Nuts Magazine

Yowza!

VIDEO PULLED.

PREVIOUSLY: "Lucy Pinder Photoshoot for Nuts Magazine April 2013."

Boom! Conservatives Hammer Despicable Blame-Shifter @AmandaMarcotte on #Gosnell Murder Mill

See: "Disgusting Marcotte: Pro-lifers drove women to Gosnell’s house of horrors."

Gosnell atrocities didn't happen because someone was denied a "safe" and "legal" abortion. So kindly shut the hell up @amandamarcotte .
— LilMissRightie (@LilMissRightie) April 12, 2013

Exactly.

These blame-shifting progressives are absolutely death-mongering ghouls.

Mind-boggling. And f-king sick.

Stop the #Gosnell Media Blackout

There's a backlash building against the Obamedia and its refusal to report on the Kermit Gosnell murder trial.

I'll have more blogging on this throughout the day. Meanwhile, if you you have time, via Weasel Zippers, "*Must-See* Documentary About Gosnell Clinic:Tying Women To Bed, Forcing Abortions on Them, Dead Babies In Jars, And The ‘Special Room’ For The White Women."

More at Legal Insurrection, "Tweet to break the #Gosnell news blackout."

From Conor Friedersdorf at the Atlantic, "Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story" (at Memeorandum), and from Mollie Hemingway, at Patheos, "Washington Post reporter explains her personal #Gosnell blackout."

Also, from Erika Johnson at Hot Air, "Gosnell abortion-clinic worker: I assisted with abortions while in high school."

Plus, AoSHQ has some of the pathetic push-back on the left, "More Gosnell: Wikipedia Weights Deleting Gosnell's Entry Due to Failure to Attract National Media Attention; Amanda Marcotte Declares, Contrary to the Facts, That Gosnell's Abbatoir Was "Underground" and Pro-Lifers Drove Women There."

Also, the hilarious Irin Carmon, at Salon, "There is no Gosnell coverup" (at Memeorandum).

Well, no, actually --- but the progs don't care about the facts.

I'll have more later...

Anthony Weiner's Second Coming

Via Glenn Reynolds, "WHY YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE NEW YORK POST":

And see Robert Stacy McCain, "‘It’s Really Astonishing. It’s Just a Deliberate Lie From Start to Finish’."

Also at AoSHQ, "The New York Times Deliberately Misstates All of the Key Facts in Weinergate, In Order to Deny Breitbart Credit, and to Suggest That Anthony Weiner Decided Himself to Do the Honorable Thing and Confess It Was No 'Hack'."

Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead

Simply amazing news out of Great Britain, at the Guardian UK, "Thatcher's death prompts chart success for Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead." And, "BBC to play Ding Dong in chart show despite anti-Thatcher Facebook push."

And at Telegraph UK, "Play Margaret Thatcher death song, her supporters tell BBC":

Two ardent supporters of Margaret Thatcher have called on the BBC to broadcast the song mocking her death.

The anti-Thatcher anthem Ding Dong the Witch is Dead has seen a surge in popularity since Baroness Thatcher’s death and looks set to retain a top slot when the Official Chart Show airs on Sunday.

In a controversial move the BBC are likely to play the track if it is in the top five, after executives are said to see little reason to take it off of the airwaves. A final decision will not be made on grounds of taste or decency.

But the move has found support in some unlikely corners as UKIP leader Nigel Farage and Tory MP Philip Davies, who have both paid glowing tribute to the former leader, said broadcasting the song was the right thing to do.

Mr Farage said: “If you suppress things then you make them popular, so play the bloody thing. If you ban it it will be number one for weeks.

The Radical Left Running Wild Across America

A great talking points memo from O'Reilly. And I think Charles Krauthammer is badly underestimating the deleterious effects of the progressive assholes. Free speech is under assault. Yeah, these may be fringe geeks, but they're having a real perverse impact on college campuses, shutting down debate and making leftist totalitarianism mainstream. Just ask Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Stops Traffic in West Hollywood

This is something else, at London's Daily Mail, "Bravely braless! Rosie Huntington-Whiteley shows off her sensational figure in tight halterneck sweater and sheer skirt."

Democrat Group Progress Kentucky Behind Secret Mitch McConnell Campaign Recording

I didn't write about the "big" Mother Jones scoop the other day. It was just too stupid. Hack journalist David Corn attempted to get another "47 percent" moment on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and now it has backfired badly on the radical left.

It turns out that activists from the far-left group Progress Kentucky have been fingered in the scandal. WPFL Louiseville broke the story, "Source: Progress Kentucky Behind Mitch McConnell Campaign Recording." And here's the update, "Mitch McConnell Tape Fallout: FBI Digs In, How Progress Kentucky Helps the GOP, Was it Illegal?"

The Inquisitor has more, "Progress Kentucky Secretly Taped McConnell’s Campaign Office, Democrat Reveals."

And here's Megyn Kelly's interview with Jacob Conway, the state Democratic official who outed the two Progress Kentucky idiots:

Lots more at Legal Insurrection, "Wow, bombshell in McConnell bugging case." And Memeorandum.

Communist Romany Blythe Organized Campaign to Celebrate Death of Margaret Thatcher

This is frankly incomprehensible to me, but then again, she's a communist member of Britain's Labour Party. The woman organized "The Witch Is Dead Parties!"

Seriously.

At Telegraph UK, "Woman behind street parties to 'celebrate' death of Margaret Thatcher named."

And at PJ Media, "Woman Behind Parties Celebrating Thatcher's Death Is, Surprise!, a Drama Teacher."

Michelle Malkin Slams MSNBC: 'What we're talking about here is the worst kind of collectivism ... and yes, it's anti-American...'

MSNBC = Maoist Socialist Nutball Broadcasting Company.

Watch Michelle on Hannity's:

And see Hot Air, "New MSNBC promo: You have the right to health care, education, housing, and food at all times."

Great Neck Synagogue Cancels Pamela Geller Speech

At Atlas Shrugs, "PAMELA GELLER EVENT AT GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE CANCELLED:"THE SYNAGOGUE IS UNABLE TO BEAR THE BURDEN."

And a news video here, "Pamela Geller cancelled at Great Neck Synagogue in Long Island."

Also, "VIDEO: CBS NEWS ON GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE CANCELLATION OF PAMELA GELLER TALK."

Plus, "CREATIVE ZIONIST COALITION STATEMENT ON GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE GELLER TALK CANCELLATION."

And at the Jewish Press, "Gagged at Great Neck: Geller's Talk Cancelled, L.I. Shul, Sun. School Kids Threatened:

Geller was dismayed that her talk was shut down, but once her opponents were willing to put the safety of Jewish Sunday School children at risk, or simply to persuade the parents that there was a risk to their children, she understood her talk would be cancelled.

They threatened the children. Way to go progs! Hard to beat that for utter authoritarian thuggery!

Media Disgraces Itself in Abortion Doctor Trial

From Kirsten Powers, at USA Today, "Philadelphia abortion clinic horror":

Let me state the obvious. This should be front page news. When Rush Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke, there was non-stop media hysteria. The venerable NBC Nightly News' Brian Williams intoned, "A firestorm of outrage from women after a crude tirade from Rush Limbaugh," as he teased a segment on the brouhaha. Yet, accusations of babies having their heads severed — a major human rights story if there ever was one — doesn't make the cut.

You don't have to oppose abortion rights to find late-term abortion abhorrent or to find the Gosnell trial eminently newsworthy. This is not about being "pro-choice" or "pro-life." It's about basic human rights.

The deafening silence of too much of the media, once a force for justice in America, is a disgrace.

Progressivism is collective evil, and the mass media is working overtime to perpetuate it. This is truly a stain on our national conscience.

Goat's Head Delivered to Wrigley

Gnarly.

At the Chicago Tribune, "Goat's head addressed to Cubs owner Ricketts sent to Wrigley":

A goat’s head was delivered to Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon, addressed to Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, and police are investigating the dropoff of the “intimidating package,” officials said.

Cubs spokesman Julian Green said an unidentified person dropped off a package with a goat’s head at Gate K of the ballpark at 1060 W. Addison St.

The head was all black and had a U.S. Department of Agriculture tag on its ear, a police source said.

It was delivered by a man who drove up to the ballpark's security gate, the source said. The man gave the package to a security guard and asked him to deliver it to Tom Ricketts, the source said. The man then got back into his truck and drove away.

The package, which did not contain a note, was never delivered to Ricketts, the source said...

Continue reading.

MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry Doubles Down on Collectivist 'Lean Forward' Propaganda

See Andrew Johnson, at National Review, "Melissa Harris-Perry ‘Doubles Down’."

And a great Megyn Kelly panel at Fox News:

Freedom, Patriotism, Integrity, Service, and Character

Allen West discusses the Joe Foss Institute and the Bowdoin College NAS report:

Nothing Is to Be Gained by Appeasing the Radical Left

A letter to Instapundit, from Professor Stephen Clark:

Over time, I’ve read opinion pieces in which the writer ponders the question of why Obama persists in pushing gun-control legislation: Is he sincere and actually believe his own BS, or is it simply to gin up his base? Well, probably both. But the real issue continues to be that guns have taken center stage in an ongoing cultural war. In particular, any legislation passed will be something to defend against the depredations of the cultural other. Look at the distorting effects of Roe v Wade over the years. In how many venues have supporters of abortion rights amplified criticism of the decision into a general assault to be resisted at all costs.

From this point forward, criticism of any control legislation will be demagogued; the critic painted as one indifferent to the murder of children.

The best reason for unyielding opposition to any of the legislation being contemplated is that the legislation is terrible on its face – even failing to address the advertised concerns of those supporting it. However, running a close second to that reason is this: Nothing is to be gained and much is to be lost by appeasing those who simply dislike you. They will continue to dislike you, and all that they think you represent, regardless.

That's actually the main reason to oppose anything from the left. It doesn't matter how good the legislation is, there's no upside in joining the radical progressives. They'll twist and distort any public policy to push the socialist agenda and destroy anyone who stands in the way.

Resist. These. Assholes.

Origins of CIA's Not-So-Secret Drone War in Pakistan

At the video, a Democracy Now! interview with Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times.

And here's his report from last Sunday's New York Times, "RISE OF THE PREDATORS: A Secret Deal on Drones, Sealed in Blood."

Part II is here.

And see Jonathan S. Landay, at McClatchy News, "Obama’s drone war kills ‘others,’ not just al Qaida leaders."

You'd think the left would be calling for war crimes tribunals for Obama/Biden, but not.

Planned Parenthood's Defense of Infanticide

From Marc Thiessen, at the Washington Post:

The fact that Planned Parenthood aggressively lobbies against legislation requiring medical care for such children is appalling. The fact that a Planned Parenthood official testified that killing such children is permissible is shocking. And the fact that most major media outlets — including The Post — all but ignored her comments is distressing.

Our country is deeply divided over the question of abortion. But can we not all at least agree that killing a born child is murder — not a question that “should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician”?

RTWT.

Companies Track Employees' Every Move

I've had bosses like this, but never this bad.

At yesterday's Los Angeles Times, "Tracking workers' every move can boost productivity — and stress":

Employers count keystrokes, read emails and monitor personal social media accounts. They time bathroom breaks. The cost of efficiency may be worker satisfaction.

Phil Richards used to like his job driving a forklift in a produce and meat warehouse. He took pride in steering a case of beef with precision.

Now, he says, he has to speed through the warehouse to meet quotas, tracked by bosses each step of the way. Through a headset, a voice tells him what to do and how much time he has to do it.

It makes the Unified Grocers warehouse in Santa Fe Springs operate smoothly with fewer employees, but it also makes Richards' work stressful.

"We're just like human machines," said Richards, 52. "But with machines, they don't care whether you feel good, or if you're having a bad day."

Technology has eliminated many onerous work tasks, but it's now one of the factors contributing to a harsher work environment.

Employers are using technology to read emails and monitor keystrokes, measure which employees spend the most time on social networking websites and track their movements inside and outside the office. They can see who works fastest and who talks the most on the phone. They can monitor how much time people spend talking to co-workers — and how much time they spend in the bathroom.

It's all part of an effort to drive down costs and squeeze as much production as possible out of each employee.

Continue reading.

And Part I is here, from Sunday's paper, "As employers push efficiency, the daily grind wears down workers."

A Foe of Unions and Communism

From Kim Hjelmgaard, at USA Today, "Divisive and dynamic, Thatcher leaves an indelible mark":

British leader stood up to unions, backers of government subsidies, foreign policy doves.

LONDON -- For years after her tumultuous time as prime minister, it seemed as if no one in the United Kingdom was undecided about Margaret Thatcher. You are either for her or against her.

But it's not clear whether the enmity and adoration she sparked in her conservative confrontation of labor unions, government subsidies and foreign policy doves will outlast Thatcher, who died Monday at 87 after a stroke.

"It's undeniable that for certain generations she is always going to divide the country," said Timothy Stanley, a historian and writer at the University of Oxford.

"I remember when I was a student, for example, there was a lecturer who at the beginning of the British political history course said: 'Now we all know Margaret Thatcher is evil, but please don't write that on the exam paper,'" Stanley said. "That speaks to how a certain generation in the U.K. feels about her."

But he said Brits born 20-odd years ago are not going to feel very strongly about the coal-mining unions she faced down in the mid-1980s.

"I know it still moves grown men to tears in some places," he said. "But if you grew up in the last 20 years, the days of Margaret Thatcher may as well be in the 19th century."

Continue reading.

Three Who Saved the West

From William Kristol, at the Weekly Standard:

And now the last of them is gone. Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and Pope John Paul II—three who won the Cold War and, it isn't too much to say, saved the West (at least for a while!)—are no longer with us. Their examples remain.

IMAGE CREDIT: The Looking Spoon.

The Paradoxical Marxist Response to Margaret Thatcher's Death

From Dave Swindle, at PJ Media:

I’ve written in the past about the big impact [Richard] Metzger had in introducing me to counterculture and my disappointment following his embrace of Orthodox Marxism in 2009 — the same year that I started working full time as a conservative new-media troublemaker in the Breitbart tradition. I’m not offended by Metzger’s poor taste, rather just at how predictable and nonsensical it is. Two observations of the paradoxes inherent in the strange tradition that has emerged of using social media to emotionally unload on recently deceased public figures...

Continue reading.

Vladimir Putin Visibly Amused by Topless Femen Protest in Germany

Instapundit has the best shot, "I LOVE THE EXPRESSION ON PUTIN’S FACE: Topless Protester Confronts Putin and Merkel."

And at Der Spiegel, "Surprise Welcome: Topless Protesters Confront Putin in Germany" (be sure to click the slideshow).

Plus, from John Hinderaker, "A Futile Protest."

How Teachers Unions Hurt Schools

From Prager University:

But see Althouse:

"'Since Wisconsin stopped forcing public employees to pay union dues against their will...

... union membership in that state has plummeted," writes John Hinderaker'."

Ghoul-in-Chief Exploits Newtown's Dead Children Again

At Twitchy, "Ghoul in chief: Obama flying in Newtown human props for anti-gun speech."

More, "‘I love you back’: President’s gun control rally turns to lovefest."

And at NYT, "Invoking Dead From Newtown, Obama Presses Gun Laws."

The most shameless political exploitation I've ever seen. Utterly shameless.

BONUS: At Astute Bloggers, "OBAMA DEMAGOGUES GUNS AND NEWTOWN AND ATTACKS THOSE OF US WHO BELIEVE IN THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS."

Arianny Celeste and Brittney Palmer

At the Sun UK, "Octagon Girls show sexy their side: Arianny Celeste and Brittney Palmer in FHM shoot."

Thatcher Saved Britain With Message of Freedom

At the Wall Street Journal, "Not for Turning":

In that dreary winter of 1979, the piles of uncollected trash in London's Finsbury Park seemed to stretch for miles. The garbagemen were on strike. So too, at one time or another, were hospital workers, ambulance drivers, truck drivers, railwaymen. Also gravediggers: In Liverpool, corpses had to be warehoused as they awaited burial—yet another long queue that socialist Britain had arranged for its patient masses.

This was the "Winter of Discontent," when Great Britain came about as close to economic collapse as at nearly any point in its peacetime history, and it was the country Margaret Thatcher inherited when, on May 3, she defeated the Labour government of James Callaghan to become Prime Minister—the first woman in the office and 49th in a line that includes some of the greatest figures of Western civilization: Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, the Duke of Wellington, William Pitt the Younger.

***
Thatcher died in London Monday, at age 87, having earned her place among the greats. This is not simply because she revived Britain's economy, though that was no mean achievement. Nor is it because she held office longer than any of her predecessors, though this also testifies to her political skill. She achieved greatness because she articulated a set of vital ideas about economic freedom, national self-respect and personal virtue, sold them to a skeptical public and then demonstrated their efficacy.

Consider economic policy...

Continue reading.

Socialists 'Rejoice' at Death of Margaret Thatcher

It's no surprise, although the left's reaction to Thatcher's death is an amazing statement on today's polarized politics in the age of social media.

Image via Louise Mensch and Nick Sutton on Twitter:

Tuesday's Socialist Worker front page - "Rejoice!" #tomorrowspaperstoday #Thatcher (ht @bysshe1) twitter.com/suttonnick/sta…
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) April 8, 2013

Plus, Glenn Greenwald reverts to form with a defense of progressive grave dancing, "Margaret Thatcher and misapplied death etiquette" (at Memeorandum).

BONUS: The ghouls at Lawyers, Gays and Marriage throw Greenwald some linkage despite the latter's prodigious pissing on the blog. Disgusting partisan hacks put partisanship above principle, again. Assholes.

Katherine Heigl Bikini Pics

At London's Daily Mail, "Katherine Heigl shows off her killer beach body in floral bikini as she relaxes during girls' holiday."

'Vitriol infests Warren family grief: Thousands are responding to Pastor Rick Warren’s grief with compassion but others use the moment to attack him and his Christian message...'

The culture these days.

Sick. And that would be progressive culture, a culture of intolerance.

At Instapundit, "THE SENSITIVE, COMPASSIONATE LEFT."

And at Twitchy, "It gets better? Sickos continue to grossly gleefully gloat ‘Bet Rick Warren’s son Matthew was gay’."

Margaret Thatcher Dies at 87: 'The outstanding peacetime leader of the 20th century'

At Telegraph UK, "Margaret Thatcher: obituary":

Baroness Thatcher, who has died aged 87 from a stroke, was not only Britain’s first woman Prime Minister, she was also the outstanding peacetime leader of the 20th century.

For more than a decade Margaret Thatcher enjoyed almost unchallenged political mastery, winning three successive general elections. The policies she pursued with ferocious energy and unyielding will resulted in a transformation of Britain’s economic performance.

The resulting change was also political. But by discrediting socialism so thoroughly, she prompted in due course the adoption by the Labour Party of free market economics, and so, as she wryly confessed in later years, “helped to make it electable”.

As for the effects of the Thatcher phenomenon upon British society, these were both more ambiguous and more debatable. Her remark “there is no such thing as society” was wrenched altogether out of the context of the interview in which it was made, and made to seem to be an advocacy of naked individualism, when she was really calling for more personal responsibility. Yet, rightly or wrongly, the 1980s came to be seen as a time of social fragmentation whose consequences are still with us.

Margaret Thatcher was the only British prime minister to leave behind a set of ideas about the role of the state which other leaders and nations strove to copy and apply. Monetarism, privatisation, deregulation, small government, lower taxes and free trade — all these features of the modern globalised economy were crucially promoted as a result of the policy prescriptions she employed to reverse Britain’s economic decline.

Above all, in America and in Eastern Europe she was regarded, alongside her friend Ronald Reagan, as one of the two great architects of the West’s victory in the Cold War. Of modern British prime ministers, only Margaret Thatcher’s girlhood hero, Winston Churchill, acquired a higher international reputation.

Continue reading.

Indeed, she was the towering figure of postwar international politics. Next to Ronald Reagan, there is no one who stood more strongly in defense of the West and Western values in the face of the totalitarian ideological onslaught.

It's no wonder her enemies are just ripping into her and dancing on her grave.

See London's Daily Mail, "'Tramp the dirt down': George Galloway's extraordinarily crass tweet leads the Left’s sickening 'celebration' just minutes after Baroness Thatcher’s death." (At Memeorandum.)

And behold the hatred, at Twitchy, "‘Crack open the champagne’: Twisted Twitter users dance on Margaret Thatcher’s grave," and "#DingDongTheWickedWitchIsDead: Disgusting depravity continues over Margaret Thatcher’s death."

You Can Feel It All Over

My wife was tripping on the Academy of Country Music Awards. The show was broadcast from the Arena at the MGM Grand, where we just saw the Eagles a couple of weeks ago. I was watching Mad Men, but when I went down to get something to drink I see Stevie Wonder playing "Sir Duke" and hung out to watch for a minute. I don't see a video from the show but here's an old clip. Everyone can really feel it.

And Eddie at My World live blogged it:

They are rushing things at this point, they must be behind. Hunter Hayes, aka the 12 year old looking kid is performing. Apparently Stevie Wonder is singing with him. That's, um, an interesting collaboration. He's a pretty good performer, I have to give him that. He plays guitar & piano. He's like Bieber with an accent, musical talent, and no punk attitude. Ooh, a horn section, cool! And the Hunter & Stevie on Sir Duke (You Can Feel It All Over) was actually pretty decent.

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Miranda Lambert is Academy of Country Music Awards' top winner."

Vegans and Pagans Win 'Equal' Workplace Rights in Britain

This is another one of the stories that's just wow.

At London's Daily Mail, "What an insult to Christians! After crucifixes are allowed at work, human rights quango tells firms: Give vegans and pagans special treatment too":

Druids, vegans and green activists should be given special treatment at work, according to ‘lunatic’ advice from the equalities watchdog.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) warns employers that they risk ‘potentially costly legal action’ unless they allow staff to follow their ‘religion or belief rights’ in the workplace.

This could include giving believers time off to go on pilgrimages, such as druids and pagans going to Stonehenge, while environmentalists should be free to lecture other staff about their car use.

Also at Telegraph UK, "Vegans and druids to gain workplace rights under new equality rules."

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Here's a poignant clip from CBS News Sunday:

And see the U.S. Holocaust Museum's website, "Days of Remembrance."

RELATED: "Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Remembered By Holocaust Survivor Aliza Mendel" (via Instapundit). And following the links takes us to Yad Vashem, "Voices from the Inferno: Holocaust Survivors Describe the Last Months."

More at the Jerusalem Post, "Israel prepares for Holocaust Remembrance Day," and "On Remembrance Day, Canadian PM vows to fight anti-Semitism."

And at the Times of Israel, "Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day," and "30% increase in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide in 2012."

'Heartbreaker'

Heard yesterday on The Sound L.A.