Rating the other blogs

Here's how other blogs rate on the ol' Gematriculator:

Instapundit: 74% good
Daily Dish (Andrew Sullivan): 73% good
Power Line: 71% good
Meaningful Media: 70% good (how did Steve get ahead of me??)

hmmm ... I was on board with this until I saw Steve's ratings ... lemme see who else scores high:

NakedJen: 65% good (ahead of me, too!)
Merde in France: 62% -- a tie!

But something tells me that this is not terribly accurate. For instance:

Michaelmoore.com: 82%
CBC.com (Pat Robertson's website): 96% good

These two are deal-killers, I'm sorry to say ...

Told you I was mostly right

OK, now it's confirmed ... I'm 62% good:

... which means, of course ...

These calculations come to me via the Gematriculator, using arcane mathematics to analyze word and phrase patterns on the website. How does it work? Haven't got a friggin' clue, even (and especially) after reading through the explanation on their website.

Thanks to Alicia over at Twilight Café for the link! (I'm 6% more good than Twilight Café ... just for the record.)

First Mate much improved

Just wanted to post a note thanking everyone (especially Alicia) for your kind thoughts -- my wife is feeling much better. If she continues to improve and tolerate her new medication, she should be out of the hospital in a couple of days.

Fighting Irish Fight Back

Notre Dame, who has had two losses already this season, goes on the road and upsets 15th ranked Pittsburgh, 20-14. The Fighting Irish played tough defense and relied on their traditionally strong running game, rather than the new West Coast offense of Ty Willingham. It wasn't exciting, but it was convincing. Go Irish!

(and note that I didn't post a damn thing until the game was over this time!)

Robertson Declares 700 Club as a Nuclear Power

If there was still any doubt at all, Pat Robertson has made it clear that he is a dangerous lunatic with no credibility at all to speak on issues. Last seen exhorting his mindless sheep to pray for the deaths of certain Supreme Court justices, now Robertson has decided that it's quicker to nuke the State Department rather than praying for the 10,000 or so heart attacks it would take:

"I read your book," Robertson said, according to a transcript of the interview posted on his Christian Broadcasting Network's website (www.cbn.com).

"When you get through, you say, 'If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that's the answer'," he said.

"I mean, you get through this, and you say, 'We've got to blow that thing up.' I mean, is it as bad as you say?" Robertson asked.

The State Department, oddly, takes offense to suggestions that they require nuclear remodeling:

Spokesman Richard Boucher called the remarks -- which Robertson made last week on his nationally televised "700 Club" program -- "despicable" and a senior department official said a protest had been made "at the highest level."

"I lack sufficient capabilities to express my disdain," Boucher told reporters when asked about Robertson's comments. "I think the very idea, though, is despicable."

It's high time that God gave Robertson some time off in a comfortable, preferably padded, environment.

Haunted House of Ill Repute?

Here's an idea whose time, apparently, has not quite come -- an adult haunted house, complete with simulated genital mutilation and lesbian scenes:

To open, a couple of exhibits had to be toned down, including a mock mutilation of male genitals, as well as a couple of women kissing. Says one performer, "They've completely violated our right to free expression."

But due to the adult content, and the fact that many of the actors are minors, Wentzville city officials decided the haunted house needed an adult entertainment permit.

I suspect it was the lesbian kissing scene (oh! I'm so shocked!) that really got panties in a twist, but the simulated male genital mutilation certainly seems beyond the pale and qualifies the exhibit as adult entertainment. I certainly can't imagine allowing kids to work there or go through the house, but not everyone agrees:

A much different opinion comes from event promoter Dean Kemper. Kemper says, "That's not really up to them. That's up to parents. That's why anyone 17 and under can't be allowed in unless they're accompanied by a parent or guardian. The kids that work here all have parental permission."

Ah, well. I report, I make cynical comment, you decide.

Priests Want Married Clergy Discussed

This has been bubbling under the surface for some time, and apparently is about to break into the open:

Some Los Angeles area Roman Catholic priests are urging an open discussion on whether to allow married clergy as one solution to the growing priest shortage, and say they hope Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will raise the issue to church authorities nationally and in Rome.

For those who are not familiar with the history of the Church, married men were allowed to be priests for the first thousand years of the Church's existence, although celibacy was the preferred state. It did not become a rule until around the time of the schism between Rome and the Eastern church. It is still considered a rule, not a doctrine, which means it is open to change by the Church hierarchy if desired. (Restricting the priesthood to men, on the other hand, is considered doctrine and cannot be changed.) It may come as a surprise that there are married priests in the Roman Catholic Church, but they are converts from either Protestant or Eastern Rite churches that were already married ministers or priests.

Another interesting development:

Msgr. Terrence Richey said he told Mahony during an "open mike" session that many priests wanted "the discussions to go on among clergy and bishops in a way that is not seen as being disloyal to the church." Richey said Mahony "basically agreed with those sentiments."

But, participants said, opposition to such sentiments was voiced in a way that took many priests by surprise: open booing by younger clerics.

That reflected an ideological divide among priests ordained during the reform years of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s and those who entered the priesthood during the 25-year papacy of Pope John Paul II, who has celebrated the value of celibacy.

I believe that it will be the younger ordained members, and not the laity, that will press Rome to reconsider the celibacy requirement, although it will probably occur with the next Pope and not John Paul II, who has repeatedly stated his opposition to change in this area. However, they will need to overcome this reflexive reaction:

"Rome knows what it's doing," said Father Donatus Ekanachi, a Nigerian native and associate pastor of St. Raymond Church in Downey who attended the conference. "The Catholic Church has one head, and anyone who challenges that head becomes a rebel."

There is a worldwide shortage of priests that is fueling this controversy. As families have grown smaller, especially in developed countries, there has been less economic incentive for younger sons to enter into the priesthood as a route to education and survival. In feudal times, younger sons could not inherit, and either lived as a laborer on their eldest brother's farm, learned a trade and moved to town, or entered into the priesthood. Now, however, the feudal systems are gone, inheritance is largely irrelevant for the middle class, and there aren't as many "younger sons" to handle the need for new priests. The Church will have to adapt to new realities if it wants to remain committed to delivering the Eucharist to all of its community.

Next up, on America's Most Wanted ....

How the heck do you let a guy like this escape?

A suspect in the murders of five people whose bodies were unearthed from his backyard escaped Friday night from the jail where he was awaiting trial, officials said.

Hugo Selenski, who was charged Monday in two of the deaths, and another inmate used bedsheets to escape from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility around 9:30 p.m., officials said.

I'm thinking about Ted Bundy, and what happened when he escaped ... I hope they catch this guy quick. I hope that the Luzerne County Correctional Facility changes its security procedures ASAP.

Lawyers outta control

I'm sorry that this little girl got paralyzed, but I fail to see how you can blame it on anyone but the drunk driver.

The parents of a girl paralyzed in a car wreck caused by a drunken football fan have sued the National Football League, claiming it should be held responsible for the girl's injuries. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, contends the league promotes the type of behavior that led the fan to drink 14 beers at a New York Giants game in 1999 and then drive home.

Why include the NFL? Because you won't get that much money out of a guy who's serving several years in prison for the crime. Tailgating is not inherently a bacchanalia; most people handle their alcohol respectably, and there's a lot of other things that go into tailgating, like grilling food, etc etc. It frustrates me when lawyers attempt to hold people responsible for others' behaviors (except parents for children, where there is a clear legal obligation). The only person in this story who may have a moral liability is the vendor who took the bribe and sold the guy more beer than he was supposed to sell at one time:

The NFL forbids beer sales after the third quarter, and the stadium also mandates that fans can buy only two beers at a time. Arnold said Lanzaro sidestepped that rule by giving the vendor a $10 tip and was allowed to buy six beers.

That is an overt act, and there should be some liability for that, but again, how much money can you get out of the vendor? Not much, which goes against the first rule you're taught in law school: Never sue poor people.

"Zero tolerance" rules make zero sense

I understand the motivation behind dress codes such as this, but when they're implemented in an inflexible manner, it makes everyone look ridiculous.

An 11-year-old Oklahoma girl has been suspended from a public school because officials said her Muslim head scarf violates dress code policies.

Board officials met Friday to discuss the fate of suspended sixth-grader Nashala "Tallah" Hern, who was asked to leave school in the eastern Oklahoma town of Muskogee on October 1 because she refused to remove her head scarf, called a "hijab."

"Zero tolerance" rules really mean "zero thinking", and this is a great example of it. Gang members do identify themselves through clothing, including headgear, usually with professional sports merchandise. Prohibiting such displays makes sense, and public schools should try to eliminate them. However, instead of exercising some judgment or making the effort to determine what is and is not acceptable to wear, administrators take the easy way out and simply ban all headwear, regardless of purpose or motivation, and then assign that policy a "zero tolerance" label. Trapped by these policies, schools inevitably make idiots of themselves by making decisions like banning a Muslim girl from wearing her hijab, even though there is no earthly harm that will result to anyone if she does. Even the attorneys end up sounding like fools:

"As I see it right now, I don't think we can make a special accommodation for religious wear," said school attorney D.D. Hayes. "You treat religious items the same as you would as any other item, no better, no worse. Our dress code prohibits headgear, period."

School policies should be specific, but should allow for some judgment, in order to promote a safe environment and respect for their authority. Promulgating foolish decisions out of a refusal to use judgment does nothing but create hard feelings and reinforce the notion that administrators are out of touch with reality, neither of which promotes an environment of safety and trust. Remember this whenever you hear about zero-tolerance policies.

Ugh ...

Okay, just as I was posting that last one, the Gophers just allowed the Michigan Wolverines to score 31 points in the fourth quarter to come back and win the game, 38-35. I stayed up for that?

Long day ... I'm gonna go to bed.

Final note for tonight

I don't know if you are a praying person, but if you are or aren't, send up a good thought for my First Mate. She's in the hospital for the fourth night in a row, struggling with some of the more unpleasant effects of chronic Type 1 diabetes. I spent five hours there tonight (thankfully, my bosses are very understanding family types) and she had a rough day. We're turning the corner on it, but it'll be another couple of days before she'll be able to come home.

Thank you.

Dodgers sold to Boston real estate man

My beloved Dodgers have been sold to Frank McCourt, who has been trying to buy a major-league baseball team for years. He finally succeeded with one of MLB's crown jewels, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium, which comes as part of the deal.

Frank McCourt, a Boston real estate developer who failed in two earlier attempts to buy major league teams, has reached an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers from News Corp., both parties said Friday.

McCourt will head an investment group that reportedly has offered more than $400 million for the team, Dodger Stadium and adjoining real estate, plus training facilities in Vero Beach, Fla., and the Dominican Republic.

Tommy Lasorda, the legendary Dodgers' manager for 20 years (and the winner of two World Series championships, four National League pennants, and I believe seven division titles), waxes optimistic about the sale:

"It's been an organization of great pride. An organization under the O'Malley regime that was very, very successful," said the 76-year-old Lasorda, who has been in the organization for 54 years. "We won many championships and lately we've struggled and now what we have to do is bring this organization back to where it once was."

When I was a kid, baseball was Dodger Stadium to me. My dad would take me to at least a couple of games every year (starting during the Walter Alston era), and we'd have those Dodger Dogs under the cool LA twilight and watch some of the best baseball in the world. I'm sure we saw Wes Parker playing first base, although I was too young to remember that, but I sure remember Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey, the infield with the longest playing time in baseball history. When I didn't go to the games, I would hide my radio under my pillow at night so that my parents couldn't tell I was staying awake to listen to Vin Scully call the game. I remember in high school when the Dodgers went up against the Yankees in two consecutive World Series, and lost both of them to a buzzsaw named Reggie Jackson. In '81, Fernandomania swept through LA and the nation, and it swept the Dodgers to its first World Series championship in over 15 years. In '88, while I was struggling through unemployment, the lightly regarded Dodgers fought their way past the heavily favored Mets to face off against the even-more-heavily-favored Oakland A's in the World Series. The Dodgers stunned the A's in five, led by Orel Hershiser, Tommy Lasorda, and one fateful at-bat by Kirk Gibson which is still one of the most memorable moments of all time in sports.

Frank McCourt, whatever you do, you'd better honor the Dodger tradition. You've bought more than just a ball club and some great real estate. You've bought history.

Little Brown Jug status

At the end of the third quarter: Minnesota Golden Gophers 28, Michigan Wolverines 7.

Go Gophers! Take back the Little Brown Jug!

Have a drink at the Twilight Cafe

Too often, blog readers tend to focus on those sites where they expect to find no disagreement with their own opinions and prejudices. When I started this blog, I took a quick look around at a few other TypePad blogs, and I stumbled across the TwilightCafé. (Literally stumbled, by the way; I still have a Band-Aid on my elbow.) The next day, Alicia was the first person to post a comment on one of my posts, and I added her to my blogroll, and now she's done the same for me. My first link! We probably don't agree on a lot, as Alicia acknowledges:

Since I started this weblog on TypePad, I have found lots of interesting people's sites. I have finally found a conservative (that is safe to say, I believe) whose arguments are well thought out and logical. (I am sure there are more out there, but I haven't come across them in my normal browsing.) While I don't agree with everything he says, he is a pleasure to read, and I have learned some new things. Welcome Captain's Quarters to the sidebar show.

Alicia, I could say the exact same thing about your blog as well, and I'm happy to be on board. Thanks!

If you're just surfing by, stop in at the Twilight Café and have a drink. You'll be glad you did.

Steve Wynn explains tiger "attack"

I have to admit, what Steve Wynn says about the tiger "attack" makes sense. It's a real shame that it happened, but it appears to be an outrageously unlikely fluke.

One question, though: if your tiger is going to be distracted by "big hair", why would you use that tiger in Las Vegas? Have you ever seen the women in the audience for these shows?

Let Immigrants Run?

Despite the results of the recall, letting foreign-born citizens run for President is a bad idea. As the descendent of immigrants -- I am third-generation on my mother's side -- I do not see the need or the benefit of a foreign-born citizen filling the role of head of state. The Washington Post editorializes:

The nation has profited from the service of naturalized citizens in sensitive posts such as secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and American public life is rife with people whose commitment to this country is one of choice, rather than birth. In every other sphere, American law welcomes such citizens and acknowledges parity between them and the native-born.

Yes, I agree, although Kissinger's loyalties were often questioned during and after his tenure. Look at the vitriol thrown at American-born Jews in the Bush administration, such as Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle. Their loyalties have been repeatedly questioned during the past two years. Can you imagine the amplification of protest that would result had they been naturalized citizens from, say, Israel?

Maybe neither party feels so flush with first-rate, nationally electable politicians that it is eager to categorically exclude potential leaders who happen to have been born somewhere else.

A lack of candidates is no reason to lower expectations! Maybe both parties feel this, although I rather doubt it. What's really wrong is the process of developing national leaders has broken down into Jerry Springer-type media crapslinging events. Honorable people from both parties (and their families) get humiliated with unsubstantiated and irrelevant charges. It's no longer about voting records or policy positions; it's about boxers or briefs, or about what happened on a date 30 years ago, or whether you sleep around. And we are ALL guilty. It's no wonder fewer and fewer people want to go into public service. Talk about reducing the talent pool!

The peculiar anachronism that the presidency alone is different should not persist.

The Presidency is different; the President represents America abroad and domestically. It is a singular position for which the singular requirement of natural-born citizenship makes sense. Governors Schwarzenegger and Granholm can contribute greatly to American political life in many other ways.

Go Gophers! (to the bank?)

Tension mounts as perennial football power Michigan comes to Minneapolis to play against the undefeated Minnesota Golden Gophers tomorrow at the Metrodome. So far, this is Minnesota's best season in 40 years, and if they beat the Wolverines, they have a shot at a national title.

Of course, at the same time we have to get a lecture on econmics:

Exhibit A: At the start of 1993, when Maturi was assistant athletics director at the University of Wisconsin, the Badgers' athletic department was $3 million in debt. Then the football team went to the Rose Bowl.

"We went from $3 million down to a million in reserves almost overnight,'' Maturi said.

While Minnesota's $47 million athletics budget is not currently in the red, it definitely could use a cash infusion as it attempts to raise money for an on-campus football stadium.

C'mon, guys, this is supposed to be fun!

Kobe plays a nasty defense

Lawyers, as officers of the court, are expected to play by the rules. One or two slips is forgivable, but six times should have resulted in a contempt charge. Kobe's lawyers knew that they weren't supposed to identify the alleged victim by name during the hearing.

It looks like this will be going to trial soon. Let's hope the judge gets more control over the court. Kobe's going to have enough problems as it is; if he's really innocent, he won't want a OJ-style circus that will undercut the validity of an acquittal with the general public.

Heh heh heh ...

I'm more a fan of green, myself ...

This is what happens when people don't learn history

Power Line features an excellent essay on the history of the Liberty Bell, and how the historically ignorant are misrepresenting it in its new setting. A sample:

The Liberty Bell was little known until it was shown to a group of abolitionists in the 1830's. They were struck by the universality of its Biblical message and it was they who named it the Liberty Bell. The bell became famous because a prominent abolitionist newspaper put the bell and its inscription on the paper's masthead.

Given this history, for a black person to say that he "doesn't feel included" when he contemplates the Liberty Bell is like an Italian claiming to feel excluded on Columbus Day, or a Scandinavian who says he feels "left out" when he goes to a Minnesota Vikings game. Or an Irishman who goes to Notre Dame and....Well, you get the point.

As always, read the whole thing, and check out some of their other excellent posts.

Has the LA Times No Shame?

Seldom do you see a major news outlet sell itself out so completely, but the recall seems to have unhinged the editors of the Los Angeles Times. I read the Times on the Internet, as you will see if you scroll through my archives, but I do so with the knowledge that this newspaper has almost no credibility in its news coverage.

Consider the following:

The Los Angeles Times said it "corroborated" its stories that Schwarzenegger groped or humiliated more than a dozen women over a nearly 30-year period. But in no case did an eyewitness substantiate for the Times any of the tales despite the fact that the alleged incidents took place while hundreds of crew members on movie sets were present.

As for the important "second source" news organizations often require on sensitive stories, the Times usually used a friend or relative who heard about the incidents afterward from the alleged victims.

This is the same LA Times who refused to pursue abuse allegations about Gray Davis in 1997 because of the lack of independent corroboration and anonymous sourcing. More:

One incident that allegedly occurred in 2000 wasn't actually news. The account appeared in a magazine and the only witness to the alleged encounter said it wasn't true.

Another woman in the story said she was grabbed by Schwarzenegger while working as a secretary in an office. Three people were said to have seen the incident but none was quoted. The victim also refused to identify one witness and instead told the paper to get verification from a friend who had heard about the incident from the supposed victim.

On election day, the Times ran a story about a stunt double who said Schwarzenegger pulled up her shirt, took pictures and touched her breasts. Two eyewitnesses, however, said the story wasn't true.

While the allegations swirled about Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, at the same time the Los Angeles Times ran a story with a headline that read: "Schwarzenegger Admired Hitler," suggesting that the candidate held in high regard the Nazi leader and perhaps most hated man in the 20th century.

Even after the editors were made aware that the story was inaccurate, the Los Angeles Times perpetuated the allegation by quoting Schwarzenegger opponents who repeated six times the allegation that Schwarzenegger admired Adolf Hitler.

This pathetic performance, in my mind, far outstrips the Jayson Blair scandal at the New York Times. For all of the poor management and false reporting that went on, none of it was related to political machinations intended to torpedo anyone. John Carroll's head should roll for this and any other editors with responsibility for this travesty.

This boosts my confidence in air travel

I'm sure this all started with a directive that a certain percentage of all screeners had to pass their tests. From there, it's easy to get to this point. I mean, even if they weren't given most of the answers, how hard is it to answer questions like these:

One question asked "How do threats get aboard an aircraft?" The possible answers were (a) In carry-on bags; (b) In checked-in bags; (c) In another person's bag; and (d) All of the above. The correct answer is (d).

A second question asked why it is important to screen bags for improvised explosive devices (IEDs). A possible answer: "The ticking timer could worry other passengers." The right answer: "IEDs can cause loss of lives, property and aircraft."

Chuck Schumer said that the questions "appear as if they were written by Jay Leno's gag writer," but that seems unduly harsh ... to Jay Leno.

Strange Bedfellows

Arnold the Governator has picked his transition team, and it's certainly unusual. There will be 65 people from such diverse viewpoints as Mayor Willie Brown, the former King of the Assembly (I'm not kidding about that), Bill Simon Jr, Susan Estrich, and Rep. David Dreier, a well-connected Republican with close ties to the Bush administration:

Today, he characterized the transition team that he will head as widely varied, made up of people who are both "very liberal and very conservative."

"I will tell you this will be a somewhat unusual group," Dreier said. "The reason I'm so convinced we can have a diverse group is the strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He's in a position where he will get a wide range of recommendations from people throughout the state and from around the country."

Arnold obviously wants to project an inclusive, healing image for his new administration, and I'm sure Willie Brown is on board to help reach out to the heavily Democratic Legislature. Willie -- who is so well-known in California that you only need to use his first name -- ran the place for many years and is a very, very slick political operator. He doesn't make too many mistakes, and if he's truly on board with Arnold, his help will prove invaluable. I don't know how far you can trust him, but Willie may be eyeing Boxer's Senate seat in 2004 and a solid centrist effort here could help.

One large helping of grapes, extra-sour please

California Democrats are mighty grouchy today. It's like waking up with a huge hangover, I guess. (via California Insider)

Aides to Sen. John Vasconcellos confirmed the liberal San Jose Democrat called Republican Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger "a boob," said voters "made a mistake," and announced that when the Legislature reconvenes in January, "I'm not sure I'll go back... If people want this actor to govern ... they don't need or deserve me."

Which just goes to show you that Arnold really does get results. Is this what the Democrats has picked as a new strategy? Picking up their ball and going home?

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said he will introduce legislation he dubbed "Arnold's Law" to increase the penalty for sexual battery in the workplace.

At least that has some wit to it.

In what would be a pointed show of dissatisfaction, some Democrats may boycott Schwarzenegger's State of the State address.

"I don't know if everybody is going to go to the State of the State because frankly I don't think there is going to be a lot of content that anyone's interested in," Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, told the Sacramento Bee.

Remember this when Democrats complain that Republicans don't exhibit enough "bipartisanship".

Diva alert

Ever wonder what it takes to get someone fired? If you're Deborah Norville, not much, although it's not clear if she actually initiated the termination.

Last week, [Norville] was in town and had to stop by the KTVT-Channel 11 Dallas studios to do a live spot at 2 p.m. For the past year, Richard Daniels, 72, has been the front desk security guard in Dallas. At about 1:45, he looked into his monitor and saw Norville hurriedly approaching, assistant in tow. Daniels went to meet Norville--whom he did not recognize--at the door, which stays locked. According to Daniels and another Channel 11 employee who witnessed the following, Daniels began to say, "May I help you?" At this point, they say Norville--lessee, how would Inside Edition put this?--[deep baritone] they say Deborah Norville began acting more like Diva Norville.

"I'm Deborah Norville!" Daniels said she screamed. "I'm late!"

According to Daniels and the other witness, Daniels looked shocked but allowed her to storm in. A news producer, who says she only saw the end of the incident but says Norville was loudly announcing her name, hurriedly rushed Norville back to the office of Steve Mauldin, president and general manager of Channel 11 and UPN Channel 21.

Daniels says he was fired for this, although station management has a different -- and unusual -- take on the situation:

Mauldin acknowledges the call was made to get rid of Daniels because of the Norville incident but says it was because Daniels was often rude to outsiders entering the studio. He intimated that Daniels took his security role too seriously. "It's not like people are trying to break down the door to get into our station," Mauldin says.

Yeah, in the post-9/11 world, be careful that you take security too seriously, especially at a public broadcast center, because we know that nuts and terrorists wouldn't be interested in attacking those. Sounds to me like the wrong person got fired. (via Romanesko)

Sasha Volokh discusses "blue laws"

Sasha Volokh discusses "blue laws" and their possible change in Massachussets. We have blue laws in Minnesota as well, on the sale of alcohol and (oddly) automobiles on Sundays. Sasha argues for efficiency; I would argue that government really has no business regulating sales of legal products based on the day of the week. Regulating alcohol sales by the hour of the day, on the other hand, has an overriding safety concern that makes government intervention appropriate. I'm not inclined to fix it if no one's complaining, though.

Mickey Kaus' suggestion for Davis

I have to admit, I never thought about this, but if Davis wanted retribution for Bustamante's defection, this might just work!

Omission Impossible but True for O'Malley

It's a shame that a story like this is even necessary. I didn't know that Walter O'Malley wasn't in the Hall of Fame.

Judge: Minnesota Internet phone company not bound by telecom regulations

This seems intriguing, although until the written decision is released, it will be difficult to determine how far-reaching the effects will be. If the states are not allowed to regulate voice-over-IP, start putting some money into these companies, and divest from any long-distance carriers you may have money in.

The utilities commission wants Vonage -- which charges $34.99 a month for unlimited calling in the United States and Canada -- to be certified as a local phone company. Among other things, Haar said, that would require it to file a complete listing of its various offerings to consumers, a description of its plans for offering emergency 911 service and a plan for participating in a state program than subsidizes phone service for poor people in Minnesota.

Vonage believes that the judge, Davis, agreed with its argument that the state lacked regulatory authority in this case because the Constitution prohibits states from interfering with interstate commerce. Vonage, a privately held company based in Edison, N.J., said that it cannot tell where its calls originate from because the phone number may be linked to a portable computer.

"We can't tell where you are making the call," said Jeffrey Citron, Vonage's chairman and chief executive. "Our business is interstate by its very nature."

Yanks decked by knuckle sandwich in Game 1

The fans in Boston must be happy with this -- the Red Sox just negated the Yankee's home-field advantage in this round of the playoffs. I'd love to see that Cubs-Red Sox series, and while the Cubs also lost their home-field advantage, at least they evened the series last night.

Strib idiots strike again

Comparing California voters to unruly toddlers, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune spouts off again on a subject about which they know little.

Most parents have witnessed a version of the Toys "R" Us scene in which a child, caught up in the frenzy of toy overload, cries out, "Mommy, I want it, and I want it now!"

California politics, always a raucous affair, has become over the last 30 years more shrill, impatient and petulant, more of a toy-store experience.

This may be a funny metaphor but sells voters short. California didn't get rid of Gray because of shiny, cool Arnold: they got rid of Gray because Gray has repeatedly sold out Californians to his contributors, and Californians got tired of it. Or perhaps the Strib never bothered to research sweetheart deals like the Oracle contract.

Voters in the largest state knew what they didn't want -- more Gray Davis, whom they judged an unlikable, indecisive politician of the worst sort, who had made a mess of things, although they weren't sure quite how.

On the contrary, they have had ringside seats into how Gray Davis has made a mess of things, including enabling the tripling of the car tax during a recession and his refusal to address workers-comp rules that are driving businesses out of California.

The best profile of today's angry American voter may have been best described 170 years ago by the astute observer Alexis de Tocqueville. He noticed a rising class of "eager and apprehensive men of small property [who] continually and in a thousand ways feel they might lose [it]."

Which neatly and accurately describes the entire American middle class, although it's revealing that the Strib chooses such a snooty tone in its reference. In California especially, where "user fees" have replaced tax increases and Democratic legislatures continue to create expensive programs in the middle of the worst state budget deficit in history, it sure seems like there's a lot more than 1,000 ways to lose "it".

In modern terms, it's people who believe (often mistakenly) that they've made it wholly on their own and that, except for government's interference, everyone would follow their example.

It's not that the middle class feel like they made it on their own; it's that it wasn't handed to them by the government! They worked for their property. They don't take kindly to it being redistributed by an increasingly aggressive political class.

Its cyclical economy, its über-populist system of initiative and recall, and its media-driven political discourse all combine to make the state increasingly ungovernable.

All economies are cyclical, the initiative process is also sometimes referred to as "democracy", this is the first successful recall of a governor in California history, and show me a state where political discourse isn't "media-driven". Do they read these things before they publish them?

As historian David Kennedy wrote in last Sunday's New York Times, "Legislators have been reduced to diddling uselessly in Sacramento while various interest groups routinely bamboozle the electorate with proliferating ballot initiatives that are poorly written, often contradictory and nearly always bad law."

This is, of course, a veiled reference to Prop 13, the tax revolt that started in California in 1978 and is still influencing politics today. As for legislatures "diddling uselessly" -- they may be "diddling" the electorate, they may mostly be "useless", but the California legislature can and does control the vast majority of spending in California. The only part they don't control are unfunded federal mandates, which is another issue altogether. What the Legislature doesn't easily control is revenue, thanks to a two-thirds requirement for raising taxes. It's not revenue that is the problem -- it's spending. If the Legislature decides to ignore the message from the recall and continue to spend like drunken sailors, then Arnold will have a perfect platform for mid-term state elections next year.

Still, we wish Schwarzenegger well. Perhaps a rebound in the high-tech economy will do most of the work for him. Minnesotans know that celebrity hulks don't necessarily make bad governors.

Clever -- this is editorial CYA. If Schwarzenegger is successful, the Strib can chalk it up to an improving economy, although it would be nice if they would finally acknowledge that it is improving. And Minnesotans know that thin-skinned, crybaby ex-wrestlers who get elected Governor turn out to be an embarrassment. The Strib loved Jesse, which explains a lot about their editorial policy and their writing ability.

Wasn't this guy supposed to be the competent Democrat?

Just three weeks into his campaign, and Wesley Clark is already self-destructing. First his campaign manager quits after three weeks on the job, and now it looks like the General is breaking federal election laws:

Under the laws governing the financing of presidential campaigns, candidates cannot be paid by corporations, labor unions, individuals or even universities for campaign-related events. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) considers such paid political appearances akin to a financial contribution to a candidate.

Clark is getting paid as much as $30,000 for speeches, according to people familiar with his arrangement. He has two more scheduled for next week.

Clark, like any other candidate, would likely be permitted to deliver the paid speeches only if they did not "expressly" cover his campaign or his political opponents, the experts said.

But in his speeches, Clark has talked about his campaign positions and criticized President Bush's policies. At DePauw, during a question-and-answer session after the speech, Clark "absolutely" covered his political views on everything from education to the economy, said Ken Bode, a visiting professor of journalism who moderated the session.

What kind of organization did Clark put together? Don't they have someone who knows federal election law? If this is the best he can do, and if he's supposed to be the centrist Democrat standard-bearer, then the Democrats are in serious, serious trouble.

Doesn't anyone in Europe believe in enforcing treaties?

The Euro took another baby step towards oblivion by ignoring France's economic violations of its underlying agreements. Isn't this the same country that insisted that countries could not act unilaterally in defiance of the community of nations? Sweden's looking smarter and smarter every day.

Steve Lopez crosses the line

Roger Simon is right about this title and article; Steve Lopez takes a cheap shot (specifically about the Fuhrer part of it). Otherwise, bitter as it may be, it's still a pretty good article. I'm happier about the outcome than Lopez, but he is right in that the situation that created the recall in the first place -- gridlock, Gray Davis in office, mandated spending -- was created by California voters in the first place. Gray Davis only made it a hell of a lot worse than it had to be.

Gunman's Mom Wants Worker Compensation

This is the new dictionary definition of chutzpah.
Let's see -- did his job description include the following task: "May be called on occasion for some lightweight slaughtering of defenseless and terrified co-workers"?

No?

Then someone needs to tell this lady to shut the **** up and have the decency to hide in shame for the rest of her life.

Numbers firming up

It looks like a ten-point margin of victory for the recall, and Arnold took 46.4% of the second part, against 31% for Bustamante and 12.8% for McClintock (99% of all precincts reporting now). This means that slightly under 60% in a record turnout voted Republican against a lone Democrat.

Also, since Proposition 54 went down in flames (64% no), you can't chalk it up to a conservative turnout. If anything, Prop 54 turns out to be the bellwether, the control group if you will, on who voted in this election. The 7.7 million people who voted were completely representative of Californians statewide, and they enthusiastically rejected Gray Davis and the Democrats. Unless Arnold [that's Governor Arnold to you, ex-pat boy!] screws up, this is trouble for the Democratic visegrip on California politics.

Chocolate HQ No More

The "chocolate makers" have dropped their plans to create a military organization outside of NATO. Apparently, France, Germany, Beligium, and that military powerhouse Luxembourg decided that their combined might would only challenge the Junior ROTC in Berkeley. Instead, they plan to create a military "planning" cell. Do these guys have any clue about how that sounds during a war on Al Qaeda? No, apparently not. (Via Merde in France)

Day By Day again

Another good point made by Chris Muirabout the Big Lie of dissent-crushing in America these days. I get so tired of people screaming in the streets and all over television that the Bush administration is forcing them to stay silent, without any sense of irony whatsoever.

Quick way to see if you live in a free society: If you call the leader of your country a Nazi, which happens in a fascist state?

1: You're arrested and spend 20 years in a prison or mental facility;
2. You get put on TV and Hollywood sends you cash.

If you're too dense to pick Option 1, perhaps you aren't qualified to speak to any other issues.

Dan Barreiro Must Be Happy

Do you think Dan Barreiro is celebrating this, or crying in his beer? If his earlier column is any indicator, probably both.

At least they're leaving ...

... even if they couldn't leave with a vestige of class and grace. (via California Insider) This type of insult-based dirty campaigning explains why Gray Davis' approval ratings are below Richard Nixon's post-resignation ratings.

Good riddance. Take Cruz with you.

Many Democrats Vote Against Davis and for a Republican

The LA Times is all over this trend. They're so ahead of the curve! This is the same paper that just a couple of days ago was insisting that the recall was trending Davis' way. It's hard to remember when a major news outlet was so wrong (like here).

Dissatisfied Democrats showed their displeasure with Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday, with about a quarter each breaking ranks to vote for the recall and for a Republican candidate to replace him, according to a Times exit poll.

Despite the governor's efforts to rally Democrats to his side, a quarter of liberals and at least 3 in 10 moderate Democrats voted "yes" on the recall, according to the survey of voters.

And here's an odd fact:

Meanwhile, McClintock, who made a strong appeal to the right wing of the GOP, won support from only about a fifth of conservative Republican voters.

Some Democrats crossed party lines to support the state senator, making up nearly a quarter of his voters — the majority of them Democratic women.

How did that happen?

Recall Results

With 94% of all precincts reporting, the results are clear -- Californians spoke clearly for a sea change in state government.

Recall: 54% Yes, 46% No
Part B: Schwarzenegger 48%, Bustamante 33%, McClintock 14%

This means that in a statewide election, where Democrats have a registration lead of at least 10 percentage points, 62% voted Republican and only a third voted for the only major Democratic choice. Granted, Republicans may have been more motivated to go to the polls, but that excuse only flies if the overall turnout was low; instead, it was a record high for a non-presidential election. The state Legislature has to be very, very nervous now. Wait for the elections next year -- we'll see how pissed off the electorate is and will remain.

Numbers holding for a landslide

With 13% of precincts reporting, CNN reports that the recall is winning by 12%, and Arnold leads Cruz Bustamante by a margin of almost 2-1. I wouldn't get too complacent yet, but this is looking pretty darn good for the Terminator -- excuse me, the Governator.

Trouble Already??

This didn't take long. Wesley Clark's presidential campaign is already in disarray:

Wesley K. Clark's campaign manager quit yesterday in a dispute over the direction of the Democratic presidential bid, exposing a rift between the former general's Washington-based advisers and his three-week-old Arkansas campaign team.

Donnie Fowler told associates he was leaving over widespread concerns that supporters who used the Internet to draft Clark into the race are not being taken seriously by top campaign advisers. Fowler also complained that the campaign's message and methods are focused too much on Washington, not key states and the burgeoning power of the Internet, said two associates who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Keep in mind that this organization is only three weeks old, at least officially. If he can't avoid this kind of chaos in his own organization in that period of time, what does that say for his ability to manage the country?

CNN projection: Davis out, Schwarzenegger wins

CNN projection: Recall wins by 15 percentage points. It looks like it may well be a landslide.

Heavy Voter Turnout Marks Historic Election

Maybe the ACLU can explain why this is undemocratic:

The secretary of state said that turnout by late afternoon was running on target at about 60%, according to department official Terri Carbaugh. That turnout is consistent with earlier predictions that the rate would fall roughly between the 70.94% turnout in the last presidential election and the 50.6% turnout in the gubernatorial election last November.

The high turnout indicates that "voters are highly attentive and highly engaged," Carbaugh said.

Fox News Predicts Possible Landslide in Recall

No link -- I'm watching Fox News, and Brit Hume used the phrase "possible landslide" for the recall. Interesting. They're predicting Ah-nuld the winner, based on exit polling.

69% of voters opposed giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Oops!

Dan Barreiro: Cubs fans need (and fear) a Series victory

Sorry, Dan, but this is an indication of psychosis. Are you going to tell me that if the Cubs actually win a World Series, all you Cub fans will suddenly start cheering for the Cincinatti Bengals?

Of course, you still have the possibility I mentioned yesterday ...

Ladybug, ladybug, fly the hell away from me

Yeah, I came home from visiting my wife at the hospital tonight, and had to kill a half-dozen of these little suckers before I went to bed. I haven't been bit yet, at least not to my knowledge, but they're everywhere, and I'm surprised that it was only that many inside. These aren't the red variety; they're Asian lady beetles. Not too much difference, just the color.

Lady beetles pose no danger to humans, although they do bite. "They'll land on you and taste-test you to see if you're food," Hahn said. "It's more of a pinch, although they can break the skin. There's no disease associated with them, and they're not drinking your blood. . . . They don't mean to be attacking us. They don't know any better."

Well, that's comforting.

Jesse's Ratings Weak: What a Shocker

Jesse Ventura's new TV show aired on MS-NBC this past weekend, and as Glenn Reynolds points out, the ratings were abysmal -- only an estimated 194,000 people watched it. Glenn is being generous and suggesting that MS-NBC didn't give it the proper PR support. The Post reports:

Ventura fans would have had to be paying close attention to even know the show was on the air. MSNBC barely promoted it, running on-air promotions for the debut on Friday night and Saturday. The network bought no print ads and no commercials on other networks.

Ventura's show was troubled almost since MSNBC hired him. It was envisioned as a daily, prime-time fixture, but after its premiere was delayed several times, the network said it would run just once a week on Saturday - generally the least-watched night of television.

However, I had the opportunity to listen to the "Dork of the Week" segment of the show on the radio yesterday, and let me tell you, it was excruciating. First of all, "Dork of the Week" is an epithet that you would expect from a middle-school boy, not a grown man, and certainly not a former Governor of Minnesota. Even if you get past that, Jesse can't speak without sounding ... well, like a dumb middle-school jock. The story was about a scientist who thought that by lowering his heartbeat (through yoga), he could swim with sharks and not be detected. He was spectacularly wrong and apparently is lucky to be alive. This story could have had some entertainment value, if you enjoy literally adding insult to injury, if it had been delivered with a wry touch, the sort of thing that Jon Stewart or David Letterman could do without even thinking about it. Instead, Jesse beat it to death in that clod voice of his.

The final straw is that this story is over a year old (April 21, 2002, to be exact)-- so how could he be the Dork of the Week? Not coincidentally, MS-NBC has been working with Jesse for over a year to get this TV show in order. That means that Jesse has been practicing the same story for over a year!! Pathetic. Even with Gary Davis and Arianna Huffington, he couldn't outscore a rerun of a documentary of Laura Bush.

Playing Keep-Away from Chads

Here's a good interim report on Recall Day in California from the Post. The post I'm reading is from 2:30 PM, and it looks like a heavy turnout in California. Terry Neal points out that there's been some efforts to educate voters on the punch-card ballot process, but I voted in California for almost 20 years and I can tell you that every ballot I every used was punch-card, and most of those were of the notorious butterfly configuration. Californians aren't as stupid as Democrats would have you believe Floridians are.

There's an interesting point in one of Neal's earlier dispatches (10/6 11:10 PM):

Davis, the final speaker, was introduced by his wife, Sharon Davis, who alluded to the allegations against Schwarzenegger. "My husband has never been accused of anything worse than being dull," she said.

Maybe Sharon hasn't read this yet.

The first clue that your doctor isn't qualified ...

... is probably when he offers to slice off your testicles in the comfort of your own home. I mean, how difficult is it to figure this out? They should prosecute the doctor to the full extent of the law, but maybe the victim's family needs to set up a conservatorship on her behalf.

Just takin' it Day by Day

How cool is it to have a comment on your blog from Chris Muir, the artist behind Day By Day?

It's this cool! Thanks for dropping by, Chris!

I am so jazzed ... now go read Chris' comic strip, and you'd better read the entire archive.

Project BotWT Still a Failure

Still haven't gotten a link from Best of the Web Today -- I'll keep trying. They did mention my name in the credits, though, and a lot closer to the top than ever before ...

Gay marriage: What's the problem?

Here's where I part company with the Right, and my annoying libertarian streak comes out.

AndrewSullivan covers this topic in great detail, as he should; he's got a much larger stake in this than I do. (Full disclosure: I'm hetero, married, Catholic, pro-life, anti-death penalty.) He covers a USA Today poll showing the public is evenly split over this topic.

And here's my take on this. Marriage, in my faith, is considered a sacrament between a man and a woman which exists for the glory of God and the perpetuation of God's primary creation, etc etc etc. That is my faith, and I subscribe to that view. However, the Church is perfectly free to set those rules for itself and its members, and it's perfectly free to tell members who don't comply to take a hike. Most Christian denominations view marriage in a similar, but not exact, way.

Civil marriages are a completely different matter. Whether the Church, or most churches recognize them is not germane to their legality. Civil procedures do not confer "sacramental" status onto marriages. A civil marriage (especially over the past five decades) is a contractual arrangement between two people for the combination of estates, tax status, and parental rights of children, where applicable. These civil contracts can be broken at will by one party on its own with little legal recourse available to the other party. Once the contract is broken, the civil courts determine the resolution of community property, parental rights, etc.

Up to now, the law has not allowed gay couples to take advantage of the mechanism of civil marriage, and this has reflected the popular will of the people up to this time. This is within the purview of a democratic society, although hardly a noble instinct. Instead, our society has offered the "civil union": a contractual arrangement between two people for the combination of estates, tax status, and parental rights of children, where applicable. It's Marriage Lite, and it has required the passage of laws, eaten up resources of public discourse and legislative effort, and all to exactly duplicate what civil marriage already is. It's a laughably hypocritical way for people to avoid thinking about sexual acts that they find distasteful. What's more, the withholding of the civil marriage mechanism has made radicals out of gay people, who may have otherwise been politically mainstream.

To those who claim that gay marriage would devalue straight marriage, either out of a fear of gay promiscuity or a distaste of fringe, flamboyant elements, I would ask them whether they felt that marriage was similarly devalued by Drew Barrymore, Angelina Jolie, Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, or a host of "everyday" hetero people who treat marriage as a revolving door, or swap spouses, or engage in sexual acts in St. Patrick's Cathedral. The answer is that there are outrageous heteros as well as outrageous gays. It doesn't mean that we should ban Drew from getting married again, or keep heteros from civil unions. (I don't mean to pick on poor Drew -- I think she's great!)

We shouldn't pretend that civil marriage confers some religious meaning; it hasn't, not for a long time. Churches should not be required to recognize gay marriages if they choose not to. But civil authorities ought to quit playing hypocritical word games and make our laws applicable to all our people -- and quit treating gays as second-class citizens.

Dionne's Take in the Post

I have to admit, at first this pissed me off, and it's still irritating me. However, it is worth a read, and Dionne is trying to introduce constructive criticism, which is encouraging. I think this is based on a couple of mistaken notion, however, chief among them that there actually was a post-9/11 consensus. Domestically, that may have been true -- maybe. If so, it was short-lived. Dionne is incorrect to say that the Afghanistan phase of the war received near-unanimous support, however. We were regaled with history lessons about how the British became lost in their Afghanistan entanglement, and how it was the Russian version of Vietnam in the 1980s.

World reaction was decidedly more mixed. As Merde in France has repeatedly documented, French opinion was that we got what was coming to us, and our focus on Afghanistan should have been diplomatic rather than military, and our approach to bin Laden should have been law-enforcement rather than war. People around the world protested our campaign in Afghanistan, claiming that we were indiscriminately bombing civilians and creating a catastrophe of human suffering as a result. There were threats about indicting US leader and military commanders on war crimes charges. In short, it was pretty much a warm-up for the Iraq phase of the war. Since Dionne's main point is that the Bush administration has negated this nonexistent worldwide consensus and goodwill, his article takes us nowhere.

However, despite what I think is excessive focus on rationalizing an unprecedented victory, Dionne's article acknowledges the intellectual bankruptcy of the domestic opposition (most of it) and distinctly notes that there was/is a strong, traditionally liberal case for the Iraq phase. Perhaps the new organization that Bush is assembling will take some of these hints and start making their case a lot clearer -- and increase their volume -- in the coming days.

Ambivalence

Chris Muir captures my own ambivalence perfectly.

LA Times Blows Its Credibility

If anything should finally underscore the fact that the LA Times has become a Democratic Party shill, this ought to do it. Bill Bradley at the LA Weekly (as mentioned before, no friend to conservatives) reveals a pre-publication leak of the Ah-nuld hit piece to the Davis campaign, who took the ball and ran with it with suspicious "alacrity". More:

[T]he paper Monday backed off its previous contention that none of the women in subsequent stories came forward at the urging of Schwarzenegger’s opponents in the wake of the Weekly’s revelation that Jodie Evans, who pushed one of the women to come forward, is not merely the peace activist described by the Times but also a former close colleague of Governor Davis and longtime friend of chief Democratic hit man Bob Mulholland.

This is, of course, what the LA Weekly has reported before, and is finally getting out to the mainstream media.

Another, more minor point on the lack of balance evidenced in the Times' reporting:

In another intriguing bit of Times reporting, Schwarzenegger’s huge rally Sunday outside the state Capitol was not referenced until the 18th paragraph of Monday’s story. The rally was twice as large as the 5,000 people reported by the Times. Of course, observers can vary in crowd estimates. But another element of the reportage was very strange.

"Protesters nearly drowned out the early part of Schwarzenegger’s nine-minute speech with a steady chorus of boos," the Times reported today.

Viewing from the press riser with most of the rest of the press corps, I didn’t hear the protesters. They certainly didn’t drown out Schwarzenegger.

As Mickey Kaus said a few days ago, the real damage from this story will be felt at the Times, not by Schwarzenegger's campaign. Win or lose, his career will go on. Will John Carroll's? (via Mickey Kaus)

Gary Davis and his supporters in the home stretch

Daniel Weintraub has a hilarious bit on last minute campaigning by Gray Davis and his supporters. This, of course, could only take place in San Francisco:

As [Mayor Willie] Brown spoke, a man with an oversized Arnold Schwarzenegger mask strapped to his face, money in his hands and a large blue E symbolizing Enron pursued a woman dressed in pink around the plaza, groping her between faux slaps in the face.

And here's something that will make Davis sleep easier:

Charles Duff, 24, a student at San Francisco State University, sat with his back to the rally. I asked him what he thought of the recall.

“Crazy,” he said. “It’s crazy.”

What’s crazy about it? I asked him.

“The idea that you can take out a guy and have all these people running to replace him.”

So you’re going to vote against the recall?

“When’s the election?” he asked before answering the question himself. “Tomorrow, isn’t it? I don’t know. I have to work. I have to work most of the day.”

Repent Now!

Indianapolis scores 28 points in the 4th quarter to beat the vaunted Tampa Bay Bucs defense in overtime on Monday Night Football last night. This was unbelievable! The Bucs had them by the throat all game long, and in fact had a 21-point lead with less than 4 minutes to go. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the Colts' victory (or Bucs collapse, whichever you prefer):

Indianapolis became the first team in NFL history to win after trailing by 21 or more points with less than four minutes to play in regulation.

Wow! Too bad all of you turned the game off in the 3rd quarter ...

Yet another sign of the impending apocalypse

Both the Cubs and the Red Sox make it to the championship round. The Red Sox come back from two games down to beat the A's (but who hasn't?), but now have to face the Yanks without home-field advantage.

If the Cubs and the Red Sox both make it to the World Series, which jinx will be the strongest? Or will the world end during Game 7?

He was running?

Bob Graham drops out of presidential race; polls show no one knew he was in it to begin with.

The world's smallest violin ...

CNN.com - WTC bomber loses appeal - Oct. 6, 2003

I have nothing to add here.

FBI Funded Hamas?

I'm wondering if someone shouldn't be losing their job over this story:

While President Clinton was trying to broker an elusive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the FBI was secretly funneling money to suspected Hamas figures to see if the militant group would use it for terrorist attacks, according to interviews and court documents...Several thousand dollars in U.S. money was sent to suspected terror supporters during the operation as the FBI tried to track the flow of cash through terror organizations, the FBI said in a rare acknowledgment of an undercover sting that never resulted in prosecutions.

"This was done in conjunction with permission from the attorney general for an ongoing operation, and Israeli authorities were aware of it," the bureau said.

One of the FBI's key operatives, who has had a falling out with the bureau, provided an account of the operation at a friend's closed immigration court proceeding.

Jill Stewart speaks out on LA Times, Gray, & Arnold

Jill Stewart, who wrote an article on Gray Davis that I linked a couple of days ago, puts the Times story in perspective at the LA Daily News. Main thrust:

After my story ran, I waited for the Times to publish its story. It never did. When I spoke to a reporter involved, he said editors at the Times were against attacking a major political figure using anonymous sources.

Just what they did last week to Schwarzenegger.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

The Davis Touch

Here's another article from LA Weekly -- hardly a conservative mouthpiece -- on the origins of these groping allegations about Da Tehmahnatuh. Hint: it ain't all just good investigative journalism. In fact, it looks a lot like previous Davis dirty-tricks schemes. (via Andrew Sullivan)

Budweiser for Bustamante!

Let's face it, Bud sucks anyway ... but I sure as hell won't be buying any of their beer now (third item). I wonder what all the anti-globalists and anti-corporate idiots who support Gray Davis, Algore, etc think about this corporate sponsorship. Could it be that, as opposed to Republicans who actively support businessmen and job creation, these guys spout off platitudes to hoodwink socialists while selling out to the corporate interests they supposedly oppose?

True. True.

U.S. to overhaul Iraq, Afghan efforts

Well, it's about time this administration started taking some action to win the peace. So far, while the Bush team is making all the right moves overseas, they've done a piss-poor job communicating back home. They've allowed the I-ANSWER stooges to occupy all the bandwidth, although Instapundit points out that this is now changing, too.

The memo, which outlines working groups to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts, economic development, political affairs in Iraq and the creation of clearer messages to the media, is “a recognition by everyone that we are in a different phase now”, Rice told the Times in an interview Sunday.

Was McNabb a ruse?

An interesting theory from Frater Libertas. Hmmmm .... Dittoheads should reserve judgment (not that I've ever been one; Rush irritates the snot out of me).

More from David Kay

Here's more from David Kay ... information that doesn't seem to be getting a lot of play elsewhere, but explains that we were right in going to war.

"We now have three cases in which scientists have come forward with equipment, technology, diagrams, documents and, in this case, actual weapons material, reference strains and botulinum toxin that they were told to hide and that the U.N. didn't find," he said Sunday.

Why the recall will win

Here's a great article by Daniel Weintraub about why the recall came to be, and why it will win.

Money quote:

Although Davis ridiculed the recall as sour grapes from sore losers and attacked it as a right-wing coup, he realized too late that it was much more than that. The movement might have begun on the far right, but it became a deep, almost cathartic expression of frustration on the part of voters who felt cheated in the 2002 election by the governor's meddling in the opposition party's primary, by two unsatisfactory candidates who ran uninspiring, negative campaigns, and by a political elite who seemed to relish leaving them out of the game.

Couldn't have put it any better.

Gray Davis: Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Oh, man ... if you want to read why Gray is going down, just read this article from today's Times. Here's a great quote of the master at work:

"We need immigrants to pick our food and put it on our tables," he said as the audience — middle-class Latinos, primarily — shifted uncomfortably. "We need immigrants to clean our hotels and office buildings and take care of the elderly."

And: "That work is important.... Whether people are janitors or maids or busboys or cooks, it's all part of the experience we enjoy when we're at a restaurant or a hotel."

If any of the Latinos in the studios of the Spanish-language station Univision felt patronized, they didn't say so. But the governor's words landed with a dull thud Monday night, creating one of many awkward moments as he fought for his political life in the final week of the recall campaign.

(courtesy of Powerline)

Makes a fella proud to be Minnesotan

Idiots. Maybe the best course of action would be to cancel next year's homecoming. It's one thing (still bad) when economically and socially repressed groups riot; while you don't condone it in any way, and you prosecute those responsible, there's some understanding of the desperation involved. What do we have in Mankato? A bunch of spoiled, rich kids who decided to piss all over their surrounding neighborhoods, beat people up, and destroy property. Everyone involved should be expelled, tried, and thrown in jail for a few weeks. It's only at times like this that I wish we had a military draft.

Another sign of the impending apocalypse

The Vikings beat Atlanta 39-26, and go to 5-0! I don't know what Tice did in the off-season, but these guys look good, and are starting to look confident. They're still making mistakes, but they're overcoming them.

Of course, their biggest test comes up after the bye next week. They play Denver, who is 4-1 and I think will be the first team with a winning record they've played. We should know a lot more about this team after that.

One sign of the impending apocalypse

Frog eggs fall from the sky onto home in Berlin

Mr. Kay's Report

The Washington Post has an intelligent, measured editorial aboutDavid Kay's report. This is the best coverage yet that I've seen on the report from the major media, and it doesn't surprise me that the Post was the newspaper that got there first. It makes an important point that hasn't really gotten the attention it deserves: our prewar intelligence was faulty, not faked, but we'd better figure out how to get it fixed.

Mary Carey, uh, Enlarges Leno's Ratings

Set your TiVos -- Mary Carey has an ad that will run on Monday night's "Tonight Show". Please submit any puns this inspires!!

Officer Charged in Sex Deal with Teen Defendant

Yeah, I know that there would be a different reaction if this involved a female defendant and a male officer, but I still can't help but have some small part of me think that this kid really lucked out. He got dinner, booze, pot, and lucky, and now as a result, he will probably wind up having the charges against him dropped or at least a very lenient sentence.

Steve Lopez again

Damn ... I still don't agree with him on everything, but you have to admit, he makes a pretty good point here. I just wish the Times covered Gray Davis like they covered Arnold. Then I wouldn't have a gripe.

Jail Interrupts Their Fairy Tale

So, let me see if I understand journalism ... Arnold gets accused of groping, mostly by women who won't identify themselves and entirely by women who never took any action about it, and he's the Antichrist. However, a bank-robbing Bonnie and Clyde wind up behind bars for multiple armed robberies, and the Times does a sympathetic multiple-column feature story on them? Even though "Clyde" left his wife and kids behind to rob banks and run around with this woman?

Odd set of priorities, that.

Israel attacks training camp in Syria, IDF says

This ... is not good. No word on Syria's reaction yet, although I doubt it will be very friendly.