A desperate cry for attention:

Her most-recent tailspin into the gutter involved a photo shoot with Heeb magazine wherein she is seen wearing an Adolf Hitler moustache and swastika as she takes burnt gingerbread "Jew Cookies" out of an oven (pictured right).

Thanks to many commenters for pointing out this story. I think. Click through for the pictures in all their anti-Semitic glory.

Do me a favor, parents: Teach your kids that it's never okay to wear a swastika. No one, but no one is gonna "bring it back."

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 12:59 PM | Comments (1)
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I love Thursdays because that means it is time for Speaker Botox's weekly press conference! Anytime she is the plastic and expressionless face of an issue, good things happen.

"The public option -- that's where the insurance companies are making their attacks -- it's almost immoral what they are doing, " said Pelosi, addressing reporters outside of her office a few minutes ago.

"Of course, they've been immoral all along," she added. "They are the villains in this, they have been part of the problem in a major way. They are doing everything in their power to stop a public option from happening and the public has to know.. They have had a good thing going for a long time at the expense of the American people and the health of our country."

"This is the fight of our lives," she added.

Yeah, people bitch out their health insurance and the health care system but most don't want the government to mess with what they have.

"Something needs to be done, especially to help the kids and the elderly," said Williams, 48, who works for the school district in Forsyth County, Ga. "But if the reforms affect the insurance I have now, I would have a deep issue with it."

Proposals to change the system must allay concerns like Williams's, which seem to have increased since the debate began.

"It's a huge barrier," said Robert J. Blendon, a professor of health-care policy and political analysis at Harvard University. He cited a Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,001 adults in June that found that 83 percent were either "somewhat" or "very" satisfied with the care they receive and 81 percent felt the same way about their insurance. "These people have something to lose. If they think reform is going to actually make it worse for them, they get really scared."

So by all means Democrats, keeping putting one of the most unpopular figures in US politics out there bashing something most Americans like. That's an awesome plan!

And oh yeah, please keep Barney Frank availible to pimp the 'public option' as a backdoor to a single payer system.

Video shamelessly swiped from NRO.

Posted by: DrewM at 11:11 AM | Comments (1)
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Remember when you were a kid and you thought a game was too hard? You changed the rules.

Enter the Progressive Caucus. The Far Left is getting a bit pissed at the Medium-Far Left for trying to get Republican cover on the healthcare boondoggle. Now they want to change the rules:

[Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max] Baucus, who is more conservative than most of the Democratic Conference, has frustrated many of his liberal colleagues by negotiating for weeks with Republicans over healthcare reform without producing a bill or even much detail about the policies he is considering.

“Every two years the caucus could have a secret ballot on whether a chairman should continue, yes or no,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “If the ‘no’s win, [the chairman’s] out.

“I’ve heard it talked about before,” he added.

Harkin did not mention Baucus, but his suggestion would likely resonate with the senior Montana Democrat, who has often clashed with his colleagues over important bills.

Liberals are also upset by reports that Baucus and other members of the Finance panel have tossed aside the proposal to create a robust government-run insurance program.

This is just an extension of the chaos on Capitol Hill we've been talking about for the past month.

Get your popcorn. This is getting good.

Oh, very good update: Commenter t-bird notes a bit of hypocrisy from the progressives:

Now, why would you want a secret ballot?

Why indeed? We're all friends here, right?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:19 AM | Comments (1)
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More wacky TOTUS hijinx ... or choking on a whopper? Quick video below the fold: more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 10:02 AM | Comments (2)
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Via the Corner, the Center for Immigration Studies confirms what people have been observing in the last few months: they're leaving. From the précis:

The evidence indicates that the illegal population declined after July 2007 and then rebounded somewhat in the summer of 2008 before resuming its decline in the fall of 2008 and into the first quarter of 2009. Both increased immigration enforcement and the recession seem to explain this decline. There is evidence that the decline was caused by both fewer illegal immigrants coming and an increase in the number returning home. However, this pattern does not apply to the legal immigrant population, which has not fallen significantly.

One more time let's give props to Oklahoma and Arizona for cracking down on illegal employers. I can tell you from my own experiences in Oklahoma that it works. Amusingly, Napolitano's DHS is doing a better job than Chertoff's did.

The first two steps to resolving the damage caused by a large, unregistered and unpoliced illegal population are border control and employer control. Remove the common method of breaking immigration laws and the incentive to do so at the same time. The recession is helping to make clear the idea that incentives matter. There's no reason we shouldn't take a lesson from this. (And beat the libtards over the head with it.)

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:59 AM | Comments (1)
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In this case, my home state of Oklahoma isn't going to take it lying down:

In a stern letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., the lawmakers - six Republicans and one Democrat - said Justice officials were meddling in Oklahoma affairs when they issued a pre-emptive April warning letter, well before any potential violation of law would take place.

"The Civil Rights Division letter was dubiously timed at the peak of legislative debate rather than in response to a particular state action," the delegation wrote to Mr. Holder on Tuesday, questioning whether Oklahoma was being singled out and asking what funds would be jeopardized.

The lawmakers questioned why Oklahoma received a warning when other states have similar language requirements. State Rep. Randy Terrill, a Republican and sponsor of the referendum, said the letter was an effort to "blackmail" the state.

"The DOJ's argument is legally unsound and tries to equate English-language laws with national-origin discrimination. No court in the country has ever issued a ruling that supports the DOJ's specious legal claims," he said.

The Oklahoma legislature is putting an English-only ballot prop on next year's ballot. I think that's silly; what we need is an English+ policy which requires government proceedings and papers to be in English plus whatever other languages are appropriate. But it is absolutely Oklahoma's right to put the question to the voters. The national government should stay out of it.

On English+ Policy: It's like this. Bottom line: we absolutely need at a minimum for contact between people and government to be available in English at all times. That goes for all government proceedings, government documents, and government-public interactions (like 911 calls, town hall meetings, etc.). But there is no good reason those things should be provided only and exclusively in English.

No one here is going to argue that, for example, Spanish-only speakers shouldn't bother to call 911 or walk into the SSA office for help. (And don't accuse me of arguing straw men, I just wrote that's not their argument.) Spanish speaking Americans are entitled to those services just like everyone else and there are very good policy reasons for ensuring that they get them. So it wouldn't be a bad idea to provide them in Spanish, a fairly common language in this country.

By extension, the same goes for government proceedings and documents. It's fairly important that communication between the public and the government be straightforward and free from misunderstanding, considering how many papers have to be signed these days under penalty of perjury. It's not out of all reason to suggest that the government provide those documents in languages commonly spoken in the United States, once we've set the English-first baseline.

Now there's no reason to provide translation for every language under the sun. It's too expensive and largely unnecessary. It also depends on where you are in the U.S. The common languages vary considerably by region. The states are free to decide for themselves which are appropriate.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:59 AM | Comments (1)
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It's been 40 days since the violent clashes killed untold numbers of Iranians including Neda. This anniversary is a traditional day of mourning in Iranian culture and today's clashes centered around the cemetery where she is buried.

More than 1,000 opposition demonstrators clashed with riot police at Tehran's main cemetery Thursday as opposition leader Mir Hussein Mousavi tried to commemorate those killed in protests last month, including the 27-year-old Neda Agha Soltan, whose final moments were filmed and broadcast around the world.

Gunshots were reported around Vozara and Takth-e Tavous streets, Tehran's business district, with a witness reporting that at least one member of the Basij, Iran's voluntary militia, was firing into the air with a revolver. Riot police had cordoned off Agha Soltan's grave, which has become a point of pilgrimage for Mousavi supporters, who have formed a movement calling for the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won that election in a landslide, according to official results, but opposition candidates say the vote was rigged.

When Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, another defeated candidate, arrived near the grave at Tehran's vast Behest-e Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran, hundreds of supporters swarmed their white sport-utility vehicle, witnesses reported.

Authorities had banned memorial services and apparently threatened Neda's family.

Bastards.

Sorry, does that constitute 'meddling' Mr. President?

More:

It’s NUTS! I’ve never seen it like this before! It’s still going on, 9 pm now — raging! As I said, its more like a riot, totally out of control.

Earlier: This appeared to be the most successful protests since the crackdown began. It was more akin to a riot… The forces were decidedly not in control of the situation. The protests were too widespread and numerous, up and down Valiasr; and east and west, around the Mosala area entire main roads chock full — even stretching into side streets such as Yousef Abad (central
Tehran).

Posted by: DrewM at 08:42 AM | Comments (1)
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Latest from Rasmussen: he's not only merely dead, he's really most sincerely dead.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 28% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -12. ThatÂ’s the lowest rating yet recorded for President Obama (see trends).

He's losing liberals out of the "Strongly Approve" group. They thought they had a mandate and majorities in the House and Senate. Oh wait, they kinda did. It's just that Obama is such a bumbler they haven't been able to make anything out of it.

Card-check? Checked out.
Cap-and-tax? Stalled.
Healthcare? Stalled.
DADT & DOMA? Still the law of the land.
Guantanamo Bay? Still open for business.

For the Left, "Obama" is synonymous with "failure." And for the Right, his name is synonymous with "socialist." That's not a recipe for electoral success.

Remember, the President will never again have the support, the opportunity that he had during these six months past. This was his chance. He blew it. When he realises it, he's going to recalibrate his goals and his message. We've got to be ready for him.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:13 AM | Comments (1)
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If you want the big medical dollars you have to go to law school, not medical school.

Earlier this year the Los Angeles Times reported the somewhat surprising statistic that the most performed operation in America is the cesarean section, where a baby is delivered through an incision in the mother's belly and uterus. C-sections are now performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965.

They have not increased because they're more expensive than routine deliveries.

It's because of lawsuits.

Trial lawyers helped create a medical crisis through malpractice suits that raise costs while driving doctors from their practices.

Old Democratic presidential aspirant John Edwards won $175 million in judgments over a 12-year period suing doctors, hospitals and insurance companies, everyone but the candy stripers, over infant cerebral palsy cases allegedly caused by mishandled deliveries.

As the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists noted in a study in 2003, cerebral palsy could not be blamed in the "vast majority" of cases on delivery trouble. Edwards enriched himself by using bad science to bankrupt innocent physicians.

The New York Times has reported that as a result of such lawsuits, "doctors have responded by changing the way they deliver babies, often seeing a relatively minor anomaly on a fetal heart monitor as justification for an immediate cesarean."

But "tort reform" are the two words that may not be spoken during this debate. Gee I wonder if this might have something to do with it?

Amaya Smith, a spokeswoman for the American Association for Justice, the trial lawyers' trade group, declined to comment. The association's political action committee has given 95 percent of its donations in the 2008 campaign to Democrats.

Now I don't think donations usually affect votes as a quid pro quo but interest groups donate money to politicians who share their beliefs. We all know Democrats have an interest in screwing insurance companies and making people dependent on the government (you know, like all health care professionals are in places like the UK).

So no, you may not have tort reform but "Doctor" Obama will keep telling you how mean your family physician is. After all, he's seen the chart....

Thanks to Slu for the Slushop and "Andy" in the comments last night for the IBD tip.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:10 AM | Add Comment
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The post-racial President is going to have his hands full this evening when he shares a beer with Skip Gates and Sgt. James Crowley. The President says the contents of the meeting will not be made public, but I wonder if he'll be able to keep Gates from talking about it.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today the president is not going to talk to reporters during the photo-op. "There is no formal agenda, there is no legislative agenda," Gibbs said, adding that the sit-down is "not an after action report," and he does not expect they will go over the details of what happened at Gates' house.

Gibbs, instead, called it an opportunity to foster a dialogue. When told that Gates wants an apology, Gibbs said, "We're not here to mediate apologies."

The president will drink Bud Light, while the Harvard scholar has expressed his preference for Red Stripe. The sergeant mentioned to Obama that he likes Blue Moon. Thus the drinks will be red, light and blue.

God willing, the three will make inane small talk for half an hour and that will be the end of it. Not the end that I would have preferred, mind you (Gates should be apologizing), but at least an end that doesn't include another Presidential lecture on race which the media can call "Lincoln-esque."

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:56 AM | Comments (1)
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