Sorry that took so long -- I actually was out and had no idea there was a problem. The moment I saw emails alerting me to it, I wrote to Pixy, and he fixed it three seconds.

Sorry about that.

Posted by: Ace at 06:57 PM | Comments (51)
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Kathleen Parker: Obama Is Our First Woman President

It isn't that he isn't "cowboy" enough, as others have suggested. Aren't we done with that? It is that his approach is feminine in a normative sense. That is, we perceive and appraise him according to cultural expectations, and he's not exactly causing anxiety in Alpha-maledom.

When he finally addressed the nation on day 56 (!) of the crisis, Obama's speech featured 13 percent passive-voice constructions, the highest level measured in any major presidential address this century, according to the Global Language Monitor, which tracks and analyzes language.

Of course it could just be that he's not very good at actual leadership and his speeches tend to be airy-fairy and formulaic. But then Kathleen could never admit to that. more...

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:04 PM | Comments (627)
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Let me distinguish between what we might call emotional insanity -- from which he clearly suffers -- and a derangement of the intellect, which produces non-lucid thinking.

I'm drawing a distinction between those who are emotionally disturbed but keep the basic integrity of their intellectual-level reason, and those who lose the latter, too. more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:35 PM | Comments (510)
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If the law's on your side, argue the law.

if the facts are on your side, argue the facts.

If neither is on your side -- lobby friendly industry groups to change their reporting of the facts.

Now, according to a report Americans United for Life furnished to LifeNews.com, KaganÂ’s lobbying for changes to medical associationsÂ’ positions while in the White House is further evidenced by an email found in her White House documents.

...

Kagan discussed with other Clinton administration officials whether the AMA could reverse its policy saying there is not an identified situation in which partial-birth abortion is the only appropriate method of abortion. The AMA also noted ethical concerns with partial-birth abortions and said that it should not be used unless it is absolutely necessary.

“We agreed to do a bit of thinking about whether we (in truth, HHS) could contribute to that effort [convincing the AMA to reverse their policy]," Kagan wrote in the email.

Testilying.

Posted by: Ace at 11:15 AM | Comments (145)
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Sullivan is outraged at Breitbart's offer to buy old emails from a 400 person list.

Slublog notes Sullivan had no problems pouring through Sarah Palin's hacked emails.

Or, of course, starring in Raiders of the Lost Uterus.

I'll also note that Sullivan was among the first to publicize Levi Johnson's claimed (absurd) recollection of stuff he'd overheard Palin saying in her own home.

Bonus! David Frum Defended By... David Brock, Charles Johnson, and Andrew Sullivan. Hawkins notes that gallons of irony spilled here but not a drop splashed upon these fine gentlemen.

David Frum did fire back, but honestly, just between you, me, and all the other people who will read this today, I initially wasn't planning to respond because it was well...very weak tea. It was like Frum wrote the response while he was really sleepy or something. So, what's the point of rehashing the same old argument, right?

However, something happened that turned me completely around on the idea of doing a post. Blogs started supporting Frum -- but, not just any blogs. Andrew Sullivan from the Daily Dish, Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs and David Brock's Media Matters all spoke up to defend David Frum.

Hey, wait a second. There's something about those three websites....Let's see, they're all liberal. They all hate anything and everything conservative. They all stick up for Frum -- which, and this is probably breaking some heretofore unknown corollary of Godwin's law, but for a "conservative" to be defended by all three of those websites is like a liberal being praised by Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and Daniel Ortega. Gee, it's almost like there's something else. Oh, yeah -- didn't Andrew Sullivan, Charles Johnson, and David Brock all used to be on the Right before they flipped and started attacking everybody on their own side? Now, they're all defending David Frum who's making a name for himself by attacking people who are supposed to be on his side? Ah, that's probably just coincidence. Still, maybe it's just me, but isn't it a wee bit odd that all of these websites that spend their days ceaselessly venting their spleen at all things conservative, are all sticking up for David Frum? Weird, isn't it?

He notes that as they praise Frum, they attack conservatives like Erick Erickson, which tends to support Hawkins' belief that, um, Frum's not really a conservative.

One thing I found funny in Frum's lame post -- he claimed Hawkins' problem with Frum was the Frum engages in "too much self-criticism."

If only.

Frum rips into every other conservative. That's not self-criticism, Frum. That is in fact criticism, but it is, you know, outwardly directed.

By that standard I engage in too much "self-criticism" by riding Frum's ass.

"Self-criticism." If that doesn't give the game away. Because every movie, book, or play which savages the right is sold as being important for "questioning our own beliefs."

But they're not questioning "our own" beliefs. Such works question other people's beliefs, not the authors', and not the intended audiences' either. The beliefs being challenged reside safely outside the theater's walls, while the beliefs of everyone within the auditorium are nicely flattered and reaffirmed.

I can't take this extremely liberal habit of terming one's cheap attacks on others as some kind of brave and ruthless philosophical examination of one's own beliefs.

Has David Frum ever confessed a doubt over his own position on, say, gay marriage? No?

Then shut up with the "self-criticism" crap, idiot.

Posted by: Ace at 10:18 AM | Comments (211)
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She indicated she agreed with the Heller decision, but, shock of shocks, immediately joined a dissent that denied the central finding of the Heller majority.

Gee, I wonder if Elena Kagan might do the same thing.

What document?

In Fairness... She didn't lie so much as deliberately mislead.

Contrast that with her Senate testimony: "I understand the individual right fully that the Supreme Court recognized in Heller." And, "I understand how important the right to bear arms is to many, many Americans."

I don't know how hard the GOP pressed her on that; either way, she'd refuse to answer.

But once burned, twice shy, or so it should be.

Kagan's statements about "understanding" opinions should be taken as deliberately misleading.

Posted by: Ace at 09:57 AM | Comments (66)
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Dear Lord.

The memo, reported yesterday by National Review, has caused a stir in conservative circles because it appeared that Kagan, then a White House policy aide, put words in the medical groupÂ’s mouth in order to soften its position on the controversial procedure. But when Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch brought the subject up with Kagan, he had a hard time getting her to admit that she did, in fact, write the document in question.

“Did you write that memo?” Hatch asked.

“Senator, with respect,” Kagan began, “I don’t think that that’s what happened — ”

“Did you write that memo?”

“I’m sorry — the memo which is?”

“The memo that caused them to go back to the language of ‘medically necessary,’ which was the big issue to begin with — ”

“Yes, well, I’ve seen the document — ”

“But did you write it?”

“The document is certainly in my handwriting.”

Emphasis added. This is not just politics (which, for whatever reason, we're supposed to pretend we don't take into account). This is demonstrating a clear preference for deception over truth.

The original shenanigans were the first proof of unethical and shady behavior. And now her Vinnie Barbarino act -- "What? Who? Where?" -- is further proof of her fundamental determination to lie and game the system.

She is without candor -- a key prerequisite for a lifetime judicial appointment.

More at the link, via Gabe.

Sounds like she got some interview prep from Hillary Clinton, who famously claimed she didn't remember Whitewater, despite having herself billed hours on it, because she only knew it by its three-letter billing code and never once heard the word "Whitewater."

Posted by: Ace at 09:12 AM | Comments (125)
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"Whatever that process is."

What I support is making sure that the federal government [plays] each and every one of its roles: Securing the border, enforcing immigration laws, and having an orderly process -- whatever that process is -- for people to gain citizenship."

He added: "It's a very easy issue to demagogue and I'm just not going to participate in that."

Christie said more resources -- specifically, "money" -- were needed to support federal law enforcement and border security, along with "having a clear understandable law that people can follow."

"Until you have both of those...you're not going to fix the problem," he said.

Posted by: Ace at 08:49 AM | Comments (117)
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Is this real?

I have been pretty skeptical. But...

She says she has evidence of the attack, including DNA from a pair of pants she was wearing that night four years ago.

Okay, so test it already!

I know they don't have a sample of Gore's to compare it against, but any male DNA on the pants would be enough to push the case forward, at least as far as getting a warrant for a sample of Gore's.

If it's just sweat, though, what does that prove? She was a masseuse; of course she was touching Al Gore, and he's a big fat lumpy sack of fat, so of course he was sweating like a fevered castrati boar.

It's only real proof if the DNA in question is, uh, the effluent from the second chakra.

Al Gore Poetry... from garrett.

One thin September soon

A masseuses hand disappears

Beneath the sheet

Vapors rise as
Fever settles on my lower abdominals
Make my bone dissolve

Slow strokes from the moobs to belly
Ice fathers floods in your pants
A hard tug and my recount comes quickly

Then my throat is parched
Your hand is placed near wood
For the VP's celebration

Unknown creatures in my shorts
Take their leave, unload!
Gynecologists ready their stirrups

Passion seeks a 2nd Chakra release
The belle wants a tip?
On the hill I was the most Hung

The client cries
The hour of release has arrived
Here! Is my tool.

Posted by: Ace at 07:59 AM | Comments (179)
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Unfortunately, the list does not include "Work on my putting" or "Sing-a-long with Sir Paul."

So this might be out of Obama's wheelhouse.

Still, here are few things he can do with a penstroke, which I trust even he is capable of doing.

Here are two related ones:

4. Release the S.S. A-Whale: The S.S. A-Whale skimmer is a converted oil tanker capable of cleaning 500,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf waters. Currently, the largest skimmer being used in the clean-up efforts can handle 4,000 barrels a day, and the entire fleet our government has authorized for BP has only gathered 600,000 barrels, total in the 70 days since the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The ship embarked from Norfolk, VA, this week toward the Gulf, hoping to get federal approval to begin assisting the clean-up, but is facing bureaucratic resistance.

As a foreign-flagged ship, the S.S. A-Whale needs a waiver from the Jones Act, but even outside that three-mile limitation, the U.S. Coast Guard and the EPA have to approve its operation due to the nature of its operation, which separates the oil from the water and then releases water back into the Gulf, with a minor amount of oil residue. The government should not place perfection over the need for speed, especially facing the threat of an active hurricane season.

...

7. Waive or Suspend EPA Regulations: Because more water than oil is collected in skimming operations (85% to 90% is water according to Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen), operators need to discharge the filtered water back into the Gulf so they can continue to collect oil. The discharged water is vastly cleaner than when it was skimmed, but not sufficiently pure according to normal EPA regulations. If the water has to be kept in the vessel and taken back to shore for purification, it vastly multiples the resources and time needed, requiring cleanup ships to make extra round trips, transporting seven times as much water as the oil they collect. We already have insufficient cleanup ships (as the Coast Guard officially determined); they need to be cleaning up oil, not transporting water.

Note that 85-90% is not about the purity of the cleaned water, but of the water that is collected.

With the stroke of a pen Obama can waive this ludicrous requirement and permit skimmers that merely scrub 99% or even 98% of oil from water.

But apparently he thinks it's better to have the oil washing up on our beaches.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Alex approaches, and may hit Texas, and it's already pushing oil up on Gulf shores.

Rough seas generated by Hurricane Alex pushed more oil from the massive spill onto Gulf coast beaches as cleanup vessels were sidelined by the far-away storm's ripple effects.

The hurricane was churning coastal waters across the oil-affected region on the Gulf of Mexico. Waves as high as 6 feet and winds over 25 mph were forecast through Thursday just off shore from the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

In Louisiana, the storm pushed an oil patch toward Grand Isle and uninhabited Elmer's Island, dumping tar balls as big as apples on the beach.

"The sad thing is that it's been about three weeks since we had any big oil come in here," marine science technician Michael Malone said. "With this weather,we lost all the progress we made."

...

Dozens of vessels that were being used to combat the oil spill were tied to docks Tuesday as Alex, more than 500 miles away, approached the Texas-Mexico coast. Most days, the fleet would have been skimming oil from the Gulf and ferrying workers and supplies. But the hurricane turned many people fighting the 11-week-old spill into spectators. And they will be for days.

Well whatever we do let's make sure we leave the oil out there until we can Batman ourselves up a miracle machine together that will do better than 99% purity. We really need to hold out for the EPA's 99.9985% standard, even if it kills us.

There are millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf right there that didn't need to be. They are just there because of bureaucratic stupidity, and Obama's utter lack of interest in the issue.

Posted by: Ace at 07:14 AM | Comments (186)
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