Lazy Friday afternoon in July+spotty internet connection=Not so much blogging.

A few thoughts to throw around....

Via John Noonan of the Weekly Standard, an interesting look at the precursor to the American Revolution (consider this your Military/American History Geekery warning).

Via Jim Treacher of the Daily Caller, they don't teach history so good at the part of Cornell Keith Olbermann went to.

And some guy left Cleveland for Miami. Um, who wouldn't do that if they had the chance?

Posted by: DrewM at 11:40 AM | Comments (546)
Post contains 87 words, total size 1 kb.

It's my guess this case never should have gone to trial. I am guessing the defendant was credible before the jury when he stated he grabbed his pistol instead of his taser, and therefore he was just as credible when relating this to prosecutors.

And let me guess further then that they, like the jury, believed him, and really knew that the involuntary manslaughter charge was appropriate. And should have offered that plea, avoiding the trial (and the chance of a life sentence for intentional murder).

But they didn't do that because of politics. Specifically, racial politics.

So the guy -- I am guessing -- has already been exposed to the possibility of life in prison for an intentional murder he didn't intend.

Is there anything else we can do to this sacrificial lamb to appease the gods of racial grievance?

Why yes, now that you mention it, there is.

The U.S. Department of Justice will conduct an independent review of the Johannes Mehserle case in order to determine whether or not the shooting merits federal prosecution, according the department.

"The Justice Department has been closely monitoring the state's investigation and prosecution," the department said in a statement.

"The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the FBI have an open investigation into the fatal shooting and, at the conclusion of the state's prosecution, will conduct an independent review of the facts and circumstances to determine whether the evidence warrants federal prosecution."

I suppose if the case is merely "reviewed," and then the Justice Department finds that the shooting was just as the jury called it, this could have some positive effect: ameliorating current passions while not doing much to cause additional injustice.

Still, I can't help but note that the "facts and evidence" did not support any sort of case against the guilty-as-sin New Black Panthers, but here we've got a white guy, found guilty of a serious crime (involuntary manslaughter), and Eric Holder needs a look-see at this case.

A nation of cowards, eh? You know, one misstep I never thought the Obama Administration would make was a determination to insert itself into high-profile racially-charged situations (and to pander to his community activist sort of radical buddies). I just thought he was smarter than that.

But race is like catnip to these guys. They can't help themselves.

Posted by: Ace at 08:07 AM | Comments (600)
Post contains 410 words, total size 3 kb.

Remember the rule: if this type of poll shows Republicans a little behind, they're tied. If it shows them tied, they're a little ahead. If it shows them a little ahead, they're solidly ahead.

What happens if the poll shows them solidly ahead?

A solid majority think Obama is too liberal and too much a socialist, too.

Deep in the poll, they ask, “Now, I am going to read you a list of words and phrases which people use to describe political figures. For each word or phrase, please tell me whether it describes Barack Obama very well, well, not too well, or not well at all.”

On “too liberal,” 35 percent of likely voters say it describes Obama “very well,” 21 percent say “well,” 21 percent say “not too well,” and 17 percent say “not well at all.” In other words, 56 percent of likely voters consider Obama too liberal.

When asked about “a socialist,” 33 percent of likely voters say it describes Obama “very well,” 22 percent say “well,” 15 percent say “not too well,” and 25 percent say “not well at all.”

In other words, 55 percent of likely voters think “socialist” is a reasonably accurate way of describing Obama.

The Democrats' response? De-nationalize the race and, actually, drain most of the factual texture out of it to boot, and run on... the misstatements and overstatements of individual Republican candidates.

Democratic strategists want voters to know that House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio sees regulatory reform as a nuclear weapon aimed at the ant of Wall Street's financial misdeeds. That Rep. Joe Barton of Texas wants to apologize to BP rather than hold the oil company accountable for the widening environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. And that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele believes that a land war in Afghanistan is the last thing the United States should be involved in. In short, Democrats seem to care an awful lot about the Republicans' minor inside-the-Beltway flare-ups that won't get a lot of attention from swing voters.

It's all part of Democrats' effort to make the election about more than their performance. Given President Obama's lousy approval ratings and polls that show a plurality -- if not a majority -- of voters in the mood to kick the bums out, Democrats have to offer voters a choice.

"With history against them and a recession to boot, [Democrats] would be foolish to nationalize the election," party strategist Paul Begala said. "As David Axelrod keeps telling anyone who will listen, this needs to be a choice, not a referendum. Highlighting Boehner's comments about the economy, and Steele's comments about [Afghanistan], and Barton's apology to BP helps make it a choice by showing voters how the GOP would govern -- and whose side they are on."

The trouble is, voters don't much care, especially when the only good news -- that the unemployment rate went down last month -- is followed by the bad news that thousands of Americans gave up looking for work.

Polls show that voters overwhelmingly care about big-picture issues of immediate concern.

Candidates, take note: Your ill-considered comments are all your opponents have. So, like, consider them.

Affiliation Switch: In Maricopa County, AZ, at least, party ID changes favor the conservative side of things.

Posted by: Ace at 07:36 AM | Comments (138)
Post contains 579 words, total size 4 kb.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:37 AM | Comments (179)
Post contains 8 words, total size 1 kb.

Equities defied gravity for yet another day. The S&P 500 gained almost 10 points to close at 1,070.25, while the Dow gained 120 points to close at 10,138.99. Volumes were comparatively low, however. I am mystified as to what is driving the euphoria -- nothing substantial has changed in the world since the equities bloodbaths of last week, so what the hell is going on? The Federal Reserve experts may be right after all: I am just too stupid to understand what is happening here.

So given the mini-rally over the last few days, the inevitable CNBC story asks: Bull market or last gasp before death?. All the people who got the economic signals wrong last time assure you that this time the stock markets are going to the moon. To the moon! more...

Posted by: Monty at 03:13 AM | Comments (84)
Post contains 1788 words, total size 14 kb.

Jimmy Buffett knows who to blame for the oil spill.

The Obama-supporting musician told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he believed the Bush administration was responsible for the crisis, due to its alleged ties to oil companies.

"To me it was more about eight years of bad policy before [Obama] got there that let this happen," said Buffett. "It was Dracula running the blood bank in terms of oil and leases."

While celebrities from Larry King to James Cameron have already lined up to offer aid to people impacted by the oil spill, Buffett says he also hopes that his sea-side concert next Sunday in Gulf Shores, Alabama will soothe people's anger over the crisis.

"People were going, 'What are you going to do about things?' I mean, hell, I can't stick my finger in that hole. Everybody wishes they could," Buffett told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "What I'm best at is two hours of escapism for people that have to go back and either live jobs that they don't like or whatever...it's that Mardi Gras mentality."

Posted by: Slublog at 06:21 PM | Comments (186)
Post contains 428 words, total size 3 kb.

Happy Thursday all.

The Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time

In recent years it seems like most movies feel compelled to tack on a coda that reassures the audience that there really was a happy resolved ending - probably due to surveys where audiences say this is what they want. But there was a time when Hollywood routinely had major plot developments and twists in the last few minutes and even seconds of a film. So here's a list of movies that are known for their great finales.

And this is my addition to the list - one of the greatest Western standoffs ever:

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:49 PM | Comments (842)
Post contains 595 words, total size 6 kb.

If you care. If you'd rather comment about the ESPN douche-fest right now, that'd be fun too.

I haven't been this excited since Geraldo opened up Capone's vault.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 05:21 PM | Comments (192)
Post contains 32 words, total size 1 kb.

Remember this (graphic content)? Skip to 1:30.

The claim made -- which I guess is plausible; I mean, who kills people openly like that? -- was that he thought he was reaching for his Taser. I guess the jury bought that: two to four years.

Seems... well, I don't know. It seems light. But I'm guessing the guy testified about his fatal error and came across as truthful.

In Oakland, radicals and "community activists" have been agitating for a riot unless "justice" was done, and I'm guessing they'll have their riot after all.

Posted by: Ace at 03:43 PM | Comments (484)
Post contains 111 words, total size 1 kb.

Damn! That's causing so many problems!

Link, also from Drew.

It doesn't say anything you don't know, though.

Posted by: Ace at 03:31 PM | Comments (103)
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.