Vladimir Putin just made off with Bob Kraft's 2005 Superbowl ring:

Russian President Vladimir Putin walked off with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's diamond-encrusted 2005 Super Bowl ring, but was it a generous gift or a very expensive international misunderstanding?

Following a meeting of American business executives and Putin at Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg on Saturday, Kraft showed the ring to Putin — who tried it on, put it in his pocket and left, said Russian news reports.

It isn't clear yet if Kraft, whose business interests also include paper and packaging companies and venture capital investments, intended that Putin keep the ring.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said Wednesday that Kraft was traveling and he hadn't talked to him in four or five days, despite e-mails and calls. "He's still overseas, I can't even tell you where. ... He's not due back until next week."

"It's an incredible story. I just haven't been able to talk to Robert Kraft to confirm the story," James told The Associated Press.

However, a Kremlin official who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of compromising his position said the ring was a present. "Such a present was made," the official said.

This is going to make the Pueblo incident look like a John Mayer concert.

Posted by: Ace at 09:27 AM | Comments (10)
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If they'd just watch their dumb mouths and avoided saying what they really think, they wouldn't be forced to subsequently say all these things they don't really believe at all:

Senators from both sides of the aisle competed on Monday to extol the humane treatment of detainees whom they said they saw on a weekend trip to the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. All said they opposed closing the center.

"I feel very good" about the detainees' treatment, Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said.

That feeling was also expressed by another Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Orin Judd is so damn cynical he thinks this has something to do with poll numbers, and suggests:

Nothing makes a Democrat serious about national security faster than a competitive seat.

What a gob-smackingly vile suggestion.

Posted by: Ace at 08:52 AM | Comments (6)
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Around the edges of the president's demeanor and rhetoric, I sensed a little panic. -- Excitable Andrew Sullivan

But of course you did, darling. But of course you did.

Andy also gives us the left's new talking point, reading an awful lot into a sentence by Bush. Joe Biden hit this point last night; all the liberal parrots will be, um, parroting it soon enough:

I do think that the following, however, was pretty striking:

To complete the mission, we will prevent al-Qaida and other foreign terrorists from turning Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban — a safe haven from which they could launch attacks on America and our friends. And the best way to complete the mission is to help Iraqis build a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.

The inference here is clear. The U.S. intervention, and its ill-planned, under-manned, haphazard execution, has made Iraq more of a terrorist threat than it might otherwise have been.

No terrorists in Iraq before the war-- none. Certainly Saddam Hussein never hosted a terrorist conference, nor refused the extradition of Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist Zarqawi.

Nor did he expressly offer Al Qaeda a safe haven and operating base in Iraq (an offer which Al Qaeda refused for its own reasons; but Saddam made the offer).

But that's the day's week's month's year's talking point. So get used to it.

Posted by: Ace at 08:07 AM | Comments (14)
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As a commenter pointed out, the fallen hero whose burial was so viciously tainted by "FAG BODY BAG" placards was not, in fact, even gay.

Fred Phelps and his merry band of morons just think that this sort of horrific acting-up is a good way to advance the cause of getting all the homos (even the closeted ones) out of the military.

Yeahp. That should enlist public opinion on your side, Fred. When they're not dreaming of PR campaigns like this, they're smoking Meershaum pipes in their basement lab-or-atories splittin' atoms.

Karol argued on the show yesterday that this guy wasn't "of the right," which is a fair point, although I think a semantic one. Obviously he's not part of the mainstream, or even close to mainstream, conservative movement or GOP. How do you characterize extremist folks like this? As I personally lump in the lefty nasties with the left generally, it would be inconsistent of me to argue too strenuously he's not somewhere on the right.

But, you know -- he is a Democrat.

Posted by: Ace at 08:00 AM | Comments (22)
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Some of Applebaum's conclusions are a bit glib, but it's interesting to note that British lower classes like America, while in India it's the wealthy and well-educated who do.

Posted by: Ace at 07:45 AM | Comments (2)
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I didn't watch the President's speech, alas. Had some things that needed taking care of.

But Dave from Garfield Ridge did. Sure, his commentary is "old," but what the hell.

I guess I'll have to watch the Fox repeat later tonight. Although I know what I'm already going to say: B-. That's what Bush always delivers.

Update: B-.

It was okay. But it was mostly just rhetoric, and mostly just a restatement of previous rhetoric to boot. It was subdued and sober and serious, an appropriate tone. And Bush showed that bit of emotionalism at the end, which, look, if I were a liberal, I'd be claiming he was doing on cure.

But there really weren't any new facts, and I think facts persuade. Rhetoric really doesn't, or only a little and only for a time. Yes we're making some progress with Iraqi army and all that, but it's not like Bush could blow our minds with some new metric of progress. I suppose in that respect I'm evaluating the speech based on a criterion it couldn't possibly deliver; but that's why I generally don't bother with speeches.

A fair speech, well-delivered. Meh.

Posted by: Ace at 05:31 PM | Comments (26)
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Hey, he wrote the ruling, so why not?

Surely we can imagine better uses of his land than a simple residence. So why not turn it into a hotel>

Posted by: Ace at 01:02 PM | Comments (41)
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Right-wing/libertarian-leaning comedienne Julia Gorin. A lot of people in New York know her well, as she's part of the "Republican Riot" comedy revue that happens at a caberet called "Don't Tell Mama" every month.

And she'll be calling in from Vegas.

Vegas, baby.

When she's not workin' the big rooms, she's busy writing op-eds for the Wall Street Journal.

We'll be talking to her about... well, everything, really. Durbin, Rove, liberals' idea of patriotism, maybe South Park Republicanism, maybe even sex.

Well, probably not sex. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Then again, who knows? I'm sure she's got a few bits about sex. It's one of the four food groups of comedy (sex, masturbation/porn, the difference between men and women, and, of course, airplane peanuts, even though they don't even serve those anymore).

As always, on Rightalk at 4 Eastern time. Look for "Now Playing-- Channel One."

Call in, you bastards. I don't care if you have nothing to say; you think Karol and I do? I assure you we don't. If no one calls in, I'm going to just start naming my all-time favorite breakfast cereals.

Clocking in at Number One: Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch and/or Kaboom

1-866-884-TALK.

And someone please say "Long time listener, first time caller." I only did this dumb show so I could get to hear that once.

Like the only reason I started having sex was so I could hear, "Baby, that was great."

Still waiting on both.

But-- fingers crossed!

Never Thought It Would Happen To Me: I just used the words "revue" and "cabaret" in the same sentence.

What is happening to me?

Plus... Special guest blogger commentator Dorian Davis.

He has this cool little skill where he can (he claims) tell you when any Number One song hit the Billboard top position and for how many weeks. He's also writing a book about Iraq.

Posted by: Ace at 11:49 AM | Comments (32)
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Because I can just sort of put that Pete Townsend internet-child-porn thing out of mind long enough to dig 5:15 again, but then he does something stupid again.

Like speaking up on behalf of Michael Jackson:

PETE TOWNSHEND is thrilled MICHAEL JACKSON has been acquitted of child abuse charges, and has slammed the star's harrowing child abuse trial as"absurd".

The WHO guitarist, who was also at the centre of a media frenzy after he visited a child porn website for research purposes two years ago (03), sympathises with the THRILLER singer, and is convinced his intentions around children have always been pure.

A statement on his official website reads, "So, another absurd celebrity trial collapsed. I was pleased Michael was cleared.

"My only experience of his dealings with children is that he's unselfishly helped every cause, and individual child, I have sent his way."

Next up: Tom Sizemore and Robert Downey Jr. defend Nick Nolte and Billy Joel.

Daniel Baldwin will defend them too, but who the hell cares about Daniel Baldwin? On the Baldwin-meter, he just barely rates above Cousin Bernie the Accountant.

Thanks to Master of None.

Posted by: Ace at 09:54 AM | Comments (21)
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So, a Special Forces soldier was killed. Apparently he was gay. OR WAS HE? See Update below.

So, we've got some morons out there waving placards that read, and I shit you not, "THANK GOD FOR IED'S" and "FAG BODY BAG."

There is homophobia -- of the genuine, not phantasmal sort -- on the right, same as there is genuine racism.

This is sadly undeniable.

Let's assume that these people are correct that God looks quite disfavorably on homosexuality. Does God want his name invoked, in this hateful fashion, at the funeral of a man who gave his life for his country?

I also can't help noticing that the Ten Commandments don't mention anything about homosexuality. Nor did Jesus (I think; feel free to correct me). So, again, assuming these people are right about God's stance on homosexuality, they seem to be elevating that to a higher priority than God Himself made expressly clear.

I'm sure some slain soldiers have coveted their neighbors' wives. Why no protests at the funerals of those soldiers?

These people have issues. I don't like the kneejerk cliche that anyone who opposes some part of the gay agenda must himself be a closeted, panicked gay, but plainly, this isn't just politics to these folks. It's personal. And I wonder what makes it so personal.

Swiped from Andrew Sullivan, whom I only read because I wanted to see his response to Taranto's/my citation of his Rove-like trashing of liberals. So far, he's ducking it; perhaps he's not so stupid as to not know when he's beaten.

Why Hollywood Should Stop Making Racists and Homophobes Like This The Villains In Movies: Because they're fucking stupid, and we all know it, and a good bad guy has to be smart.

"Fag Body Bag"? Are you kidding me wit this shit?

Somehow I get the impression that the meeting of the local MENSA chapter was not adversely affected by the fact that these people had alternate plans.

Not Sure If This Is True, But I Am One of Those Irresponsible Bloggers: Russ tips--

From what I've heard about the situation, the soldier being protested wasn't gay. Phelps and his merry band of morons (most of them family members & in-laws - anyone hear the theme from "Deliverance" playing in the background?) consider those who fail to condemn homosexuality as rabidly as they do to be as bad as the homosexuals themselves. Since the armed forces have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, they are advocating homosexuality in the eyes of Rev. Fred, and might as well go ahead and wear a dress.

Good Heavens.

Reminds me of a favorite quote from Catch-22:

"You'll be convicted," Yossarian told Havermeyer. "It doesn't matter what the evidence is. They hate Jews."

"But I'm not Jewish," Havermeyer said.

"That won't make any difference to them," Yossarian said sagely.

Or something like that.

Posted by: Ace at 08:47 AM | Comments (56)
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