Should Twitter, Facebook and Google Executives be the Arbiters of What We See and Read?

I loathe Glenn Greenwald as a traitor, although I've never discounted that he occasionally makes a very good point.

In this case, on the widespread censorship of the James Foley beheading. I know. Why share terrorist propaganda? Well, one reason is broadcast the evil widely. Maybe the public will demand an overwhelming response from the American eagle. Certainly, the White House isn't going to do it on its own.

In any case, here's Greenwald at the Intercept:

Given the savagery of the Foley video, it’s easy in isolation to cheer for its banning on Twitter. But that’s always how censorship functions: it invariably starts with the suppression of viewpoints which are so widely hated that the emotional response they produce drowns out any consideration of the principle being endorsed.

It’s tempting to support criminalization of, say, racist views as long as one focuses on one’s contempt for those views and ignores the serious dangers of vesting the state with the general power to create lists of prohibited ideas. That’s why free speech defenders such as the ACLU so often represent and defend racists and others with heinous views in free speech cases: because that’s where free speech erosions become legitimized in the first instance when endorsed or acquiesced to.

The question posed by Twitter’s announcement is not whether you think it’s a good idea for people to see the Foley video. Instead, the relevant question is whether you want Twitter, Facebook and Google executives exercising vast power over what can be seen and read.

Right.

They already have so much power. It's ridiculous.

But keep reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Google Takes Down Blog Post: 'GRAPHIC VIDEO: Islamic State Beheads U.S. Journalist James Foley in Warning to Obama'."

RELATED: At the Los Angeles Times, "Social networks crack down on terror posts."

We've Got the Terrorists on the Run

Now, if we could just get them going in the right direction.

Via Andrew Malcolm:

Obama was right about alQaeda running, but he got the direction wrong. pic.twitter.com/yEISocPt6u http://t.co/lCluNOdxJ5

— Andrew Malcolm (@AHMalcolm) August 21, 2014

Unprecedented Obstruction! Delegitimize This President!

At Free Beacon, "De-Legit to Quit: Revealed: MSNBC's favorite talking points."

Rapper Talib Kweli Hilarious Interview with CNN's Don Lemon

This interview generated wild headlines.

The best part is Don Lemon's body language at 2:50 minutes. He knows he got pwned, lol.

Sylvie Van de Vaart Perfect Bikini Bod

At the Superficial, "Sylvie van der Vaart in Mykonos, Greece. (August 6, 2014).

'Let's be honest. The United States has crossed the threshold on Iraq. We're in it to salvage the country — again — using American military might...'

From Robin Wright, at the Los Angeles Times, "Obama, be upfront on Iraq."

New Poll Shows Hagan and Tillis Statistically Tied in #NCSEN

Most analysts have been crowing about how little effect the outside ads have been having on Kay Hagan's standing in the race. Although now, with the new survey from USA Today and Suffolk University, folks are going to have to come up with another deflection point for the left's epic Democrat Party fail.

And remember, Tillis is supposed to be an objectively bad candidate, having supposedly alienated North Carolinians with a take-no-prisoners conservative reform agenda as Speaker of the North Carolina House (remember "Moral Mondays"?). Well, I guess that argument's not holding much water anymore either.

I noted the race was tightening the other day, when we had the blatantly partisan Democrat Party survey out from Public Policy Polling. But USA Today has long run a very reputable series of public opinion polls. And now they've got #NCSEN deadlocked.

Here's the report, from Susan Page, "Poll: In a sour N.C. Senate race, it's all but a tie":

ICYMI: In a sour #NCSen race, it's all but a tie http://t.co/mI8tyX3sKA via @SusanPage pic.twitter.com/dGR0br6Smj
— USA TODAY Washington (@USATWashington) August 21, 2014

North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan is all but tied with Republican challenger Thom Tillis in a midterm showdown likely to help determine control of the Senate, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll finds.

The Tar Heel State survey, which launches a series looking at key Senate and gubernatorial contests across the country this fall, shows an electorate that is feeling a bit better about the economy but decidedly negative toward politics. Voters are inclined to have an unfavorable view of each candidate and overwhelmingly disapprove of the legislative bodies in which they serve.

Hagan leads Tillis, the speaker of the North Carolina General Assembly, 45%-43%, an edge within the poll's margin of error of +/-4.4 percentage points. Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh could hold the balance: His supporters, 5% overall, disproportionately identify Tillis as their second choice.

The impact of the hard-fought campaign already has left some scars.

Frazier Manning, a 75-year-old retiree from Hope Mills who was among those surveyed, is voting for Tillis in large part because he's dismayed by Hagan, especially for her support of the Affordable Care Act. "She voted for it, but she won't respond to me about how she's going to fix it," he says. "I think he'll do more to repeal it and replace it." ...

North Carolina has been a Republican-leaning state but one Democrats increasingly see as competitive. Hagan, elected in 2008, is one of the GOP's prime targets in its effort to gain six seats and with it control of the Senate. After Tuesday's primary in Alaska, where Dan Sullivan won the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Mark Begich, the most closely watched Senate races now are set. Sullivan and other establishment-backed contenders defeated Tea Party primary opponents, a development expected to boost GOP prospects in November.

The USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of 500 likely voters, interviewed by landline and cellphone, was taken Saturday through Tuesday. Other recent statewide surveys also have shown a tight race. Tillis had a lead of 1.7 points in four surveys over the past month tracked by realclearpolitics.com.

More.

After James Foley Statement, Obama Wasted No Time Getting Back to the Links!

Heh, even the mainstream networks couldn't let this go.

"NBC: Right After Statement on ISIS, Obama Returned to the Golf Course."

Why Wrigley Field Is Suddenly So Empty

Well, it's not because of the tarp gaffe the other night.

Turns out the new ownership is all about winning. Management has a long-term plan to make the Cubs competitive, and strategic trades, etc., have weakened the ball club's standings in the short-term.

An interesting piece, at the Wall Street Journal, "The Cubs Are Trying Harder to Win, But Is That Hurting Attendance?"

Jennifer Nicole Lee Mighty Bikini in Miami

This lady's great for blogging. Check the link for previous iterations.

And at Egotastic!, "Jennifer Nicole Lee Bikini Booty Show Poolside in Miami."

BONUS: Also at Egotastic!, "Stacey Poole Poses for Some Bath Time Fun."

Bank of America Agrees to Pay Record $16.65 Billion in Obama-Holder Housing Settlement Shakedown

Look, we know what happened.

Many analysts, including Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times, in Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon, indicated that Democrat-leftist policies pushed government-backed financial institutions, such Fannie Mae, to issue sub-prime home loans to unqualified minorities. This dates back to the Clinton years. Democrats called for "partnerships" between government and the private sector, which ultimately removed all limits on mortgage lending, feeding an unchecked real-estate bubble and ultimately the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression.

But now here comes Barack Obama's shakedown Attorney General, who strong-armed B of A into this record shakedown payout.

The announcement is at the corrupt DOJ website, "Bank of America to Pay $16.65 Billion in Historic Justice Department Settlement for Financial Fraud Leading up to and During the Financial Crisis" (via Memeorandum).

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Record Bank of America Settlement Latest in Government CrusadeBank Agrees to Pay $16.65 Billion in Cash and Consumer Aid":

On Thursday, the bank agreed to pay $16.65 billion to settle the government's accusations it sold flawed mortgage securities in the run up to the 2008 crisis, the largest settlement ever reached between the U.S. and a single company.

For the U.S. government, the deal is a chance to put an exclamation point on a string of crisis-era enforcement actions and lawsuits that have cost big U.S. banks tens of billions of dollars. The Charlotte, N.C. lender will have to pay $9.65 billion in cash to the Justice Department, six states and other government agencies. The bank also will provide $7 billion in consumer aid by modifying mortgages for borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth, demolishing derelict properties or other relief.

For Bank of America, the settlement is a bitter coda to its decision in 2008 to buy two companies, Countrywide Financial Corp. and Merrill Lynch & Co., as they teetered during the housing crisis. Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan, who has spent his 41/2 years as CEO wading through litigation, has told investors this is the last of the big crisis-era problems. His next challenge: proving the bank has the mettle to make money in an era of weak loan demand and low interest rates.

In a statement, Mr. Moynihan said the settlement "is in the best interests of our shareholders, and allows us to continue to focus on the future." Giant legal charges have depressed the bank's earnings for years, frustrating some investors. The bank said the settlement will cut third-quarter pretax earnings by $5.3 billion, or 43 cents a share after tax.

Shares in the company rocketed more than 4%, to close at $16.16, as investors welcomed the resolution of a long-running legal headache.

The Justice Department's case against Bank of America provides perhaps the clearest window yet into the behavior that fueled the 2008 financial crisis: Lenders knowingly providing credit to borrowers who couldn't afford the loans and selling those mortgages to unwitting investors. Borrowers ultimately defaulted, sending them into foreclosure and saddling investors with hefty losses.

Many of the mortgage securities in question were made by Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. But the government found problems with Bank of America's own mortgage securities as well, including efforts to circumvent underwriting standards by changing applicants' financial information.

In at least one instance, an underwriter at Bank of America made more than 40 attempts to win an "accept" rating from an internal Countrywide system—known as CLUES—that would allow Bank of America to make a loan, according to a statement of facts signed by the U.S. and Bank of America.

"One underwriter characterized what she was doing as trying to 'trick' the CLUES system into giving an 'accept' rating," according to the document.

The ramifications of originating weak loans was predicted by former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, who warned in an Aug. 1, 2005 email to other executives that real-estate developers were anticipating a condo-market collapse in areas like South Florida and Las Vegas, and said the firm should avoid putting certain loans on its own balance sheet. Mr. Mozilo was worried the large increase in monthly payments required by many of the Countrywide-issued mortgages ultimately would cause borrowers to default.

"The simple reason is that when the loan resets in five years there will be enormous payment shock and the borrower is not sufficiently sophisticated to truly understand the consequences then the bank will be dealing with foreclosure in potentially a deflated real estate market. This would be both a financial and reputational catastrophe," Mr. Mozilo wrote, according to Justice Department documents.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles are preparing to file civil charges against Mr. Mozilo and other former Countrywide executives, according to a person familiar with the situation. Mr. Mozilo's lawyer, David Siegel, said, "There is no sound or fair basis, in law or in fact, to pursue any claims against Angelo Mozilo."

Countrywide, in particular, has morphed from trophy to albatross for Bank of America. The bank had a history of gobbling up competitors when it bought Countrywide in 2008 and the deal launched it to the top of the mortgage world.

The purchase, though, has brought legal headaches and regulatory scrutiny, including a multistate settlement over alleged predatory lending practices just months after Bank of America bought the lender. The bank's mortgage unit hasn't turned a profit in years.

The settlement comes on the heels of similar, but smaller, deals over precrisis mortgage-related conduct with Citigroup Inc. C +2.55%  for $7 billion and J.P. Morgan Chase JPM +1.49%  & Co for $13 billion. The Justice Department is expected to turn its attention next to other banks accused of selling flawed mortgage securities, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS +0.64%  and Wells Fargo& Co., according to people familiar with the matter. Those cases are expected to be smaller than the previous three settlements.

GlobalPost CEO Philip Balboni: James Foley Murder, #ISIS Threat, 'Cannot Go Unanswered...' (VIDEO)

Amazingly calm and rational statement. Simply, this threat "cannot go unanswered."

At National Review, "GlobalPost CEO: U.S. Must Respond to James Foley’s Murder, ‘Cannot Go Unanswered’."



And at the Global Post, "Foley beheading video followed prior threat," and "Full text of the last email the Islamic State sent to the Foley family."

REPORT: James Foley Rescue Mission Failed Because Obama 'Dragged His Feet' — #IslamicState

This has been the big news all day,

And now at Atlas Shrugs, "Report: U.S. Special Forces Rescue Attempt Of James Foley Failed Because Obama Kept “Dragging His Feet”."

Listen to the audio here, "Retired Intel Officer Tony Shaffer: Foley Rescue Attempt Failed Because Obama ‘Dragged His Feet’." (Via Free Beacon.)

Unless we get "ahead of the curve" we're going to see people being killed "on a level not seen since World War II."

Pamela Geller: 'Obama Has Constantly Denied the Jihad Threat...' #JamesFoley #ISIS #Appeasement

America has virtually disarmed in the face of savagery.

Here's Pamela Geller, "VIDEO: Pamela Geller on The Rick Amato Show, One America News, Discussing the Islamic State and the Beheading of James Foley."



More, "Obama Uses Jihad Beheading of American Journalist to Proselytize for Islam."

Mo'ne Davis!

I'm just tryin' to keep up with the pennant race in the American League West Division.

But this young lady is getting a lot of attention, at the New York Times, for example, "Mo’ne Davis: A Woman Among Boys at the Little League World Series."

And she'll be on the cover of Sports Illustrated:

Mo'ne Davis just landed the cover of Sports Illustrated http://t.co/mBw1At8LUq pic.twitter.com/eXYf7SZQ1R

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 21, 2014

It wasn't Mo'ne Davis's night, but her story is far from over: http://t.co/IMTCdPrp7a pic.twitter.com/3EYDGVq1OU

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 21, 2014

Miss Colombia Paola Builes Stripped of Beauty Crown Because of Racy Bikini Photos

Seriously? In this day and age?

She was stripped of the Miss Antioquia title.

At the Mirror UK, "Miss Colombia favourite kicked out of contest because bikini was 'too revealing'," and the New York Post, "Colombian pageant queen kicked out of competition over 'inappropriate' bikini pics."

More photos at the Lad Bible, "Miss Colombia Contestant Banned From Pageant Because Her Bikini Is 'Too Revealing'."

UPDATE! The Daley Gator does Ms. Paola some justice: "INJUSTICE! BEAUTY QUEEN STRIPPED OF CROWN BY BIKINIPHOBES! (PHOTOS!)"

Paola Builes de 20 años, quien fue nombrada señorita Antioquia, fue descalificada por polémicas fotos. pic.twitter.com/UGHDk7dhLd
— Q'hubo Barranquilla (@QhuboQuilla) August 12, 2014

This is so mean!

Obama's golf war gets Althouse riled: "Poor Obama!"

Obama blasted for golfing after speech: http://t.co/hwdD5DtiAh Editorial: Obama’s duty to act: http://t.co/2oNOndaTh6 pic.twitter.com/IBGhqqKnxF

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 21, 2014

British Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his holiday to deal with the crisis. Obama, phones it in from Massachusetts.

And from the Daily News' editorial:

Americans can only pray that President Obama was as serious as a drone strike when he vowed the United States would “see that justice is done” for the beheading of American journalist James Foley.

While his anger was palpable, Obama’s resolve to rain death on the savages of ISIS was far from clear. Worse, he signaled disdain for the gravity of the moment by going from the presidential podium straight to a vacation round of golf.

The country deserved better from its reluctant-warrior commander in chief. So, too, Foley’s family. So, too, the family of Steven Sotloff, a second American journalist held by ISIS. So, too, the tens of thousands of Iraqis and Syrians facing murderous barbarity.

Well, we need a different president. I think the terrorists have a cakewalk of carnage until January 2017, and possible longer, if a Democrat is elected.

Ace Pitcher Garrett Richards Injures Knee in #Angels 8-3 Win Over Red Sox

Looks like he'll need surgery and will be out for six months.

At LAT:

The Angels huddled around first base Wednesday night as medical personnel tended to Garrett Richards, who lay on his back, writhing in so much pain that first baseman Albert Pujols, on one knee, held the pitcher's hand to comfort him.

Richards, the hard-throwing right-hander who has emerged as one of baseball's best pitchers in his first full season as a starter, suffered what Manager Mike Scioscia called a "significant" left knee injury while covering first base on a potential double-play grounder in the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Richards spent eight minutes on the ground before being wheeled out on a stretcher. His 2014 season appears finished, and he will likely need surgery on the patellar tendon, a procedure that would require at least a six-month recovery.

No doubt, fans and followers of this star-crossed franchise were wondering: Did the team's World Series hopes get carted off with Richards?

"To have something like that happen is a crushing blow to any team," Angels right-hander Jered Weaver said. "I heard him screaming down there, so you knew something wasn't right. It doesn't look too good for him. He's been our guy all year, one you could count on to get deep into games and pull out a victory."

More.

The Angels will call up Wade LeBlanc, per Mike DiGiovanna:

#Angels will recall LHP Wade LeBlanc from triple-A Salt Lake today. Will be in pen tonight, probably start Monday night vs. MIA.

— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) August 21, 2014

Lt. Col. Ralph Peters Slams Obama Administration: 'Doesn't Know History ... Doesn't Want to Deal with Reality...'

A must-see video.

The reality is that we must kill the terrorists before the kill us. We must "kill them, keep on killing them until [we] kill the last one. Then, [we] kill his pet goat."

At Red Alert Politics, "Fox News analyst Ralph Peters on ISIS terrorists: ‘Hammer those suckers’."

CBS News Los Angeles Broadcasts Segments of #ISIS James Foley Propaganda Video

It's not distasteful, although it's hardly toeing the line with the left's #ISISMediaBlackout.

CNN's report, for example, by national security correspondent Barbara Starr, showed screencaps from the video, but no actual footage. Wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of the left's cultural censors ---- or God forbid, take too firm a stand against religious terrorism.

As I always say, it's better to spread the word about the evil of Islamic jihad.