Weinergate Foreplay?

While Americans were celebrating the Memorial Day Weekend honoring our fallen heroes, visiting family and friends and gathering at barbecues, a political scandal was unzipping.  New York Congressman Anthony Weiner (D) is accused of sending a lewd photo to a woman in Seattle.  Weiner has claimed his Twitter account was hacked into.

Comrade Karla sent us the the story from American Spectator:

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/05/31/is-america-ready-for-weinergat#

Since the woman is question is a Seattlite, I thought I'd see if the Seattle Times was aroused by the story:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015197202_apuscongressmantwitterphoto3rdldwritethru.html

So this of course, set off a flurry of ribald messages among my friends:

Couldn't happen to a more deserving blowhard.

...I would revel in a Weiner roast!
 
The next step would be for organs of state security to get involved.

It might be a hard case, though...

Well, if they can stand up to the challenge, this whole thing could be consummated in short order.

This will be a brief story. I don't expect any penetrating coverage by the media.

Indeed the media has most certainly shot their wad on this already.

I just hope they can straighten the whole thing out before it gets too hard...

It would be too bad if the Weiner hacker remains at large.

MSNBC won't report on this - something about a bad taste in their mouth.
 
No doubt some of the other networks won't swallow it, either.

Given that he has now switched from being "hacked" to it being a "prank," one wonders if this will stand up in court.

And speaking of sex scandals, Weiner isn't the only one, (allegedley at this point), being unable to control his urges.  ere's the latest on "Ahnold's" love child saga, from Fox News:

http://nation.foxnews.com/arnold-schwarzenegger/2011/05/31/schwarzenegger-be-sued-over-child-falsifying-birth-certificate 

Local Soldier To Be Awarded the Medal of Honor

From the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015196633_medal1m.html 

Today's Italian Inquisition

Several seismologists in Italy are being charged with manslaughter.

Their crime?

They failed to predict an earthquake a couple years ago that killed hundreds of people.

Fox News has the story:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/05/27/italian-scientist-charged-manslaughter-failing-predict-earthquake/ 

Honoring Memorial Day

A quick summary of Memorial Day from Yahoo News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20110526/us_yblog_upshot/the-meaning-of-memorial-day

(Image by Mike Shelton, published in the Orange County Register, 2003)

Gun Control "Under the Radar"

Team Obama is stealthily working on re-affirming gun control.

From FOX News: 

http://nation.foxnews.com/guns/2011/05/25/obama-were-working-gun-control-under-radar 

How?  Via transnational treaties, in order to "backdoor" the issue.

From a Washington Times editorial:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/27/the-un-gun-grabber/ 

Of course, we all know that...

Hopefully, after the 2012 election, Obama won't be added to this panel of "experts."



The Ho Chi Arafat Trail?

...or Yasser Min Trail.

Egypt was scheduled to open its border crossing with the Gaza Strip today. 

From Yahoo News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110525/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_gaza_border_3 

Either way, this won't help at all.

What do you think our current president feels about this?  If his past associations is anything to go by, he probably thinks this is a cool idea.

Stanley Kurtz unearths some of Obama's Palestinian ties in the National Review Online (NRO):

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/print/268159 

This garnered the following exchange between friends:

 ...I did not know that Samantha Power recommended the U.S. impose a 2-state solution by force.

I recall the Power comment. She’ll be a shoe-in for SecState in this administration with effed up views like that.

More Tornadoes Possibly on the Way

(Image: From the Seattle PI)

Search, rescue and recovery efforts continue in Joplin, MS:
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Mo-tornado-single-deadliest-in-US-since-1950-1393666.php

Meanwhile, another line of storms is racing across the midwest, generating tornado watches and warnings:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/24/storms-horizon-devastated-missouri-city/?test=latestnews

Looking at the images of devastated communities is heartbreaking, especially when I think about the lives that have been lost.

Update, 28 May:

The death toll from the tornado that struck Joplin, MS is up to 142 with 156 people still missing.

CBS has this sad story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/28/national/main20067073.shtml

Bibi Delivers a Bang in Congress



Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress today: 

http://nation.foxnews.com/benjamin-netanyahu/2011/05/24/netanyahu-delivers-epic-pro-american-speech-congress 

Bibi rejects Obama's demand for a return to the 1967 border:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/24/supportive-congress-hear-israeli-peace-vision/?test=latestnews

This the first time in my life I've sided with a foreign leader over an American president.  I actually enjoyed "Bibi's" speech, especially is impromptu comments.  Our own politicians can learn a thing or two from this.

Clarice Feldman called Obama's demand a tectonic shift in middle-east policy.  From her "Clarice's Pieces" in the American Thinker:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/clarices_pieces_obama_and_the.html 

Tornado Slashes Through Missouri

A single tornado devastated the town of Joplin, MO last night.  

From the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015124327_apusmidweststorms.html 

Authorities are still digging through the rubble.

Very Little Chemistry Indeed

(Image:  Oil & Water.  Leaders in their youth.  Netanyahu, aka "Bibi" is on the right, while Barack Obama is on the left)

Relations between our current president and the Israeli prime minister have been frosty for quite some time.  The US-Israel relationship plunged into a deep-freeze after Obama gave a televised speech a couple days ago, calling for Israel to return to the 1967 borders.

The initial story, from Ynet News:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4071317,00.html 

Yesterday, the two leaders met in an attempt to come to grips with this issue...

(Image from Ynet News)

I'm surprised the White House staff didn't bring out parkas for these two to wear during their less-than friendly little chat. 

In the end, Bibi stuck to his Uzi submachine gun and refused to give into the demand for a pre-Six Day War border realignment.

Bibi's story in the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015110002_obama21.html 

Most of us like-minded folks are outraged over, yet another, slamming of an American ally.  Andrew McCarthy states it best in his National Review Online (NRO) article:

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/267796/borderline-treachery-andrew-c-mccarthy 

Mark Steyn rolled-in on the Hugh Hewitt show:

http://www.hughhewitt.com/transcripts.aspx?id=9ef90326-5f62-4694-9b35-36def9d1642e

While Obama slamed Israel, another issue in his middle east foreign policy plan erupts:  A $2 billion aid package, promised to Egypt.

FOX News rolls-in on how we're going to come up with the money--to pay the Muslim Brotherhood:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/21/lawmakers-resist-obamas-offer-2b-loan-assistance-egypt/ 

"Judgement Day" Scheduled for Tomorrow (21 May 2011)

Well this one snuck up on me.  Harold Camping, a religious broadcaster has predicted that the Rapture will occur tomorrow at 6 PM GMT, or 2 AM EST.  The first I heard about this prediction was in Monday's Doonsbury strip.  I guess I was too focused on the hoopla over the Mayan Calendar ending on 21 December 2012.

Anyway, here's some tidbits on what tomorrow is "predicted" to bring--

From the International Business Times:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/149216/20110520/harold-camping-doomsday-judgement-day-harold-camping-family-radio-end-of-the-world-may-21.htm 

Despite the "impending" rapture, kids still have to do their chores.  From a New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/us/20rapture.html?_r=1 

A short bio of Harold Camping from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Camping 

Family Radio Website:

http://www.familyradio.com/index2.html 

So what's a good way to end a blog post about an apocalyptic event?

How about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4&feature=related 

Democrats Out of Gas (Again)

(Image from Auto-World.com)

Mark Steyn rehashes an article he wrote ten years ago, when gas peaked at around $4/gallon.  As much as I love Mark's writing, I find myself hoping that, one day, he's wrong.  Unfortunately for Western Civilzation, this doesn't happen very often.

From Steynonline:

http://www.steynonline.com/content/view/4048/30/ 

Not Going Away Anytime Soon...

(Image:  Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers films)

Charles Krauthammer rolls-in on the fallacy that terrorists will merely "go away."  From the Washington Post: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/evil-does-not-die-of-natural-causes/2011/05/05/AFhTKG2F_story.html 

(I love the title of his article!).

The Way It's Always Been (Not!)

George F. Will gives liberals a history lesson in this Washington Post (WaPo) article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/history-lessons-for-obama-and-other-liberals/2011/05/11/AFXxmdsG_story.html?hpid=z4 

Meanwhile, let's have a look at today's robber barons:

Ding! Dong! The Moonbats Whine

(Image from The Wizard of Oz)

The whining about our "tacky" glee over Usama Bin Laden's demise.  Mark Steyn rolls-in:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/266676/whom-bin-tolls-mark-steyn

News Real Blog's Rod Taylor also takes a look at the "Tale of Two Londons:"

http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/05/07/bin-laden-supporters-vs-patriots-a-tale-of-two-extremisms-in-london/

Meanwhile, here in the Good O'l Tacky US of A, S.E. Cupp rolls-in on Noam Chomsky, Moonbat Critic-in-Chief:

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/columnists/cupp/index.html

Back at News Real Blog, Lisa Richards writes about liberals' soft views on terrorists:

http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/05/08/osama-bin-laden-al-qaeda-dysfunctional-naughty-boy-1/

Criticizing our euphoria over the death of a mass murderer is like criticizing the Munchkins celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the East.

20,000 Cocaine Bales Under the Sea

A Seattle-based Coast Guard cutter boarded and sunk a "narco sub" back in January.  The Seattle Times has the story:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015001894_narcosub09m.html

The living conditions on board the submersible sound appalling.  Makes life on board a German U-boat, as depicted in the movie Das Boot, seem like a pleasure cruise.

America: "Tacky & Undignified" and Proud of it!

(Image from The GOPnet.com's Comically Incorrect)

Well, it looks like us Yanks have once again offended Euro-sensitivities.  This time our crime against genteel society is our celebration of Usama Bin Laden's death.  From Commentary Magazine:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/05/05/backlash-against-bin-laden-celebrations-says-more-about-europe-than-america/ 

The most aggrieved are the Germans.  Apparently, it's illegal to express joy over the demise of a mass murderer, as Chancellor Merkel is finding out.  From Die Spiegel:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/a-761077.html 

Nor is America's celebratory mood over the killing of a bad guy limited to crowds shouting "USA!  USA! USA!"

During Cinco de Mayo, a Facebook friend encouraged everyone to order a "Bin Laden" drink.  That is:  Two shots and a splash of water, as seen in the marquee below:

American humor may also be considered environmentally unfriendly as well...

Londonistan Calling...

Last Friday, London celebrated the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Today, the denizens of Londonistan turned out for an entirely different purpose.  The Daily Mail has the story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384344/Osama-Bin-Laden-death-UK-Muslims-stage-mock-funeral-outside-US-Embassy.html 

The Daily Express, also rolls-in:

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/245148/ 



It's sad and frightening to see swaths of Great Britain degenerating into a banana republic--and to see a similar erosion taking place within America.

Remember, they aren't really Muslims. Or is that country really the UK anymore?

Sorcery in the Heart of the Islamic Repbulic

(Image: From Wizards of the Coast)

Looks like the Sorcerer's Apprentice relocated to Tehran.  The Guardian has the following story about Ahmadinegad's cronies being charged with sorcery of all things:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/ahmadinejad-allies-charged-with-sorcery 

A story like this appears amusing to us.  However, Mark Steyn likes to point out what's truly frightening about a development like this:  A nation is so riddled with superstition that people can be charged with sorcery is hell-bent on developing its nuclear weapons.

T-Shirt of the Day (3 of 3)

Here's the last of the T-shirt styles available from the good guys at Ranger Up: 

http://www.rangerup.com/waldo.html 

One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Spins

Shortly after the Bin Laden Raid, the above photo of the White House "War Room" was posted.  (Altough, maybe the more appropriate name should be the "White House Kinetic Activities Room").

According to anonymous sources cited by Socyberty, there are several fault lines running through the White House Staff:

http://socyberty.com/issues/white-house-insider-obama-hesitated-panetta-issued-order-to-kill-osama-bin-laden/ 

While this mere speculation, Comrade Karla made this point:

My.  Not sure whether to be disturbed or reassured by this.  But it has the ring of authenticity, given what we know about the personalities involved

The multi-culti crowd quickly put their own interpretations on the photo.  Earlier today, a friend sent us this story from CNN, with the following warning:

I've read plenty of crap this week, but this one may take the cake. Read at peril of losing your lunch:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/05/iconic.photo/index.html?hpt=C1 
 
The response to this story, are, shall we say, less-than politically correct:
 
I guess there's nothing like trying to put spin on it; or, perhaps more aptly, perfuming a turd.


YHGTBFSM! Where do these people come up with this nonsense?

Note:  YHGTBFSM stand for--You Have Got To Be "Freaking Crapping" Me.

Helicopter? What Helicopter?

Speculation is running high over the downed helicopter that took part in the Bin Laden Raid.

Richard Fernandez of Pajamas Media, rolls-in:

http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2011/05/04/airwolf/#more-14510 

This might explain why the PakAF had trouble seeing this coming.

From ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/top-secret-stealth-helicopter-program-revealed-osama-bin/story?id=13530693 

T-Shirt of the Day (2 of 3)

Ranger Up's "SEAL Memo" T-shirt:

http://www.rangerup.com/osamaseal.html 

My favorite, though, is the caption on the back of this one:

T-Shirt of the Day (1 of 3)

Brought to you by Ranger Up:

http://www.rangerup.com/5111.html

Message Traffic Regarding UBL Raid

The floodgates of news from the raid on Usama bin Laden's hideout are still wide open.  As a part-time blogger, I'm too overwhelmed to comment on all of it.  So for now, I'll merely express my gratitude to the men of special ops who conducted the raid and to our intelligence gatherers who connected all the dots in order to find bin Laden.

Yesterday morning, FOX News showed scened of crowds celebrating UBL's death at the White House and Times Square. The question though: Have we reache a turning point in the Global War on Terror (GWOT)? And is it cause for "much rejoicing?"

Opinions about the ramifications of the raid into Pakistan (and whether or not Pakistan helped hide bin Laden) are all over the map.

So here's a rundown of the news so far...

The latest details from Yahoo News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theenvoy/20110503/ts_yblog_theenvoy/in-aftermath-of-bin-laden-raid-new-intelligence-shifting-accounts 

From The Long War Journal:

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/05/al_qaeda_emir_osama.php 

The New Yorker asks some critical questions:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/05/notes-on-the-death-of-osama-bin-laden.html

So if the Pakis are hiding the other AQ higher ups, will this event start unraveling that protection, now that we've shown we can "reach out and touch them" no matter where they are?

Could be some interesting times ahead (as if they weren't already).

Andrew McCarthy "discusses the value of an indictment v. a more "kinetic" solution:"

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/266212/killing-bin-laden-andrew-c-mccarthy

And we got a lot more than taking out bin Laden:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54151.html

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/02/al-qaeda-is-dead/?hpt=T2 

Salman Rushdie (who's still in hiding, btw), comments on Pakistan:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-02/salman-rushdie-pakistans-deadly-game/ 

Not everyone's happy over bin Laden's demise.  Here are some of the sour notes:

Comrade Carla introduces Peter Bienhart:

More “Yamamoto is dead, WW2 is over” idiocy from a guy who should know better.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-02/osama-bin-ladens-death-time-to-end-war-on-terror/ 

The UN human rights grandee wonders why we killed, instead of capturing UBL:

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-rights-boss-asks-us-for-facts-on-bin-laden-killing

Get Samantha Powers on this right away!!!!

The Germans, or at least Der Spiegel readers aren't too happy either:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,760358,00.html 

Der Spiegel's contribution to the discussion is so dumb it was making my nose bleed.

This from the country that once killed 6 million Jews and 5 million assorted other undesirables in gas chambers?

Well at least the pundits and comedians are having fun with this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20110503/bs_yblog_upshot/bin-laden-news-finds-pundits-forsaking-usual-comfort-zones 

AQ's Tango-in-Chief Terminated

I heard the historic news that Usama Bin Laden was killed last night.  We've been hosting visiting family members for the past few days.  Last night my wife was about to watch a movie with her niece.  When she turned on the TV she yelled:  "Usama Bin Laden was killed!"  So, we silently watched NBC's "pre-game show" and then Obama's address to the nation explaining how Usama Bin Laden, or "UBL" was taken out.

From Yahoo News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110502/wl_time/08599206885800 

Information is still pouring in like a broken fire hydrant.  It will take a few days to process it all and more importantly, the ramifications in our on-going war on terror.