I suppose this makes sense, and Lord knows I despise Howard Dean, but didn't Dean, you know, win the elections?

SkinnerSphere thinks that it's to counter Michael Steele's possible assumption of the RNC chairmanship.

He needn't bother. Black voters didn't vote in especially large numbers for Steele.

Posted by: Ace at 12:03 PM | Comments (34)
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Where could a naked man possibly conceal a weapon?

Yeah. You know it.

A man was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon after police found him outdoors - naked - and he told them he had a tool in his rectum.

The man was lying on a tree stump, masturbating beside a nature path near a train station, police said.

Happy days -- when the Democrats take the Congress, this will only get you a ticket.

John Sheehan, 33, was initially arrested for indecent exposure, but when asked whether he was carrying anything police should know about, Sheehan mentioned the tool.

The other tool.

Sheehan removed a 6-inch metal awl wrapped in black electrical tape without incident.

Sheehan, who was paroled from state prison last week, was then booked into jail on suspicion of parole violations, indecent exposure and one felony count of possessing a concealed weapon in his ass, which is considered an "aggravating circumstance" to the crime, because it makes the weapon all smelly.

I added that last bit. But it really should be on the books.

This guy was paroled. The state decided he was no longer likely to re-offend.

America is doomed.

A hat-tip is owed here, but I really don't know where I got this from.

Posted by: Ace at 11:48 AM | Comments (61)
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The cops declared it a suicide. Her husband (a blogger as it turns out) refused to believe she would do such a thing, and leave him and their kid behind.

He was right.

Now, the police say the woman put up a "hell of a battle" against her murderer.

How the hell can police have ever thought a crime scene showing a "hell of a battle" was a suicide?

This hardly means that most illegal immigrants are violent criminals, but it does seem to me there is less of deterrent to committing a crime when one can easily slip back to one's actual homeland on 24 hours notice.

Actual US citizens can't do that.

If we believe that the promise of likely incarceration has any deterrent effect at all on crime, it cannot be easily doubted that those who can easily immunize themselves from such punishment are less deterred, no?

Michelle also runs down the MSM's -- including, of course, the wildly-pro-immigrant WSJ's -- attempt to spin the immigration issue generally. They all seem to be claiming that many GOPers lost seats due to their vicious, racist anti-amnesty positions, while forgetting to inform you that most of their Democratic opponents either parroted their security-first rhetoric or actually tried to outdo them and portray themselves as being further to the right on this issue.

Kausfiles has been re-evaluating his belief that the Democrats' victory in the House means that the Bush-McCain-Kennedy amnesty plan will sail through easily. Since so many of the new Democratic congressmen campaigned on enforcement-first, they have a hard choice to make: Support Pelosi and the Democratic establishment that can pour money into your next election, or actually uphold your campaign promises to your constituents?

I think, though, that most of them will give the finger to their constituents.

That's what politicians do.

Correction: Right, they are committing a crime by being here illegally. I meant they weren't violent criminals or otherwise criminals, and I corrected to say that.

Posted by: Ace at 11:24 AM | Comments (24)
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An October Surprise a decade in the making.

Posted by: Ace at 11:11 AM | Comments (6)
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Not just a rumor, it seems.

Now Chafee will bring to the Democratic Party all the experience, smarts, fresh ideas, and charisma that his dad had but he doesn't.

Two days after losing a bid for a second term, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (news, bio, voting record) said he was unsure whether he would remain a Republican.

Chafee lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in a race seen as a referendum on President Bush and the GOP. On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat.

"I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is," Chafee said at a news conference. When pressed on whether his comments indicated he might leave the GOP, he replied: "That's fair."

Gee, I wonder if that has anything to do with his intent to block Bolton's appointment as Ambassador to the UN:

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., who was defeated by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse on Tuesday, told reporters in Rhode Island on Thursday that he would continue opposing Bolton. That would deny Republicans the votes they would need to move BoltonÂ’s nomination from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the full Senate.

...

“I see no point in considering Mr. Bolton’s nomination again in the Foreign Relations Committee because regardless of what happens there, he is unlikely to be considered by the full Senate,” said Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Can you take someone off a committee? Why not? If it's possible, take him off the committee, replace him with someone who will vote for Bolton, and bid a fond farewell to Linc Chafee.

Needless to say, Republicans everywhere are devastated by Chafee's defection.

Thanks to Dave in Texas, who's grateful the "Democratic wave" finally filled his f'n' pool.

Posted by: Ace at 11:08 AM | Comments (29)
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I added a donation button in my sidebar to donate to Project Valour, IT a charitable effort to provide voice-activated laptops to wounded soldiers. The donation button's at the left sidebar, just below the BlogAds.

Cassandra explains:

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, provides voice-controlled laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at home or in military hospitals. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse. The experience of CPT Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered severe hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important this voice-controlled software can be to a wounded servicemember's recovery.

Donations are tax deductible. You can send them to my site for more info if you don't feel like reinventing the wheel - here's my original post.

There's a competition going on among bloggers, with different bloggers raising money specifically for donations for the four different service branches. I joined up with the chicks who are supporting the Marines.

I've meant to add this for a while, but the elections got in the way.

A great cause and a way to really support the troops.

Posted by: Ace at 10:46 AM | Comments (5)
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Mr. and Mrs. Sobek have recently discovered they are pregnant.

With....something.

(follow the link at Sobek's)

Posted by: LauraW. at 10:07 AM | Comments (14)
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Funny, I don't remember reading any MSM reports about Al Qaeda's voting preferences before the elections.

A purported audio recording by the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda wing gloated over the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as a top U.S. general said the military was preparing to recommend strategy changes.

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, said in the recording posted on the Internet on Friday that the group had 12,000 armed fighters and 10,000 others waiting to be equipped to fight U.S. troops in Iraq.

"I tell the lame duck (U.S. administration) do not rush to escape as did your defense minister...stay on the battle ground," he said.

He said his group would not rest until it had blown up the presidential mansion in Washington.

"I swear by God we shall not rest from jihad until we...blow up the filthiest house known as the White House," the voice on the recording said.

...

This being Reuters, it's time to break out the sneer-quotes:

Bush said he was open to any idea for a new approach and publicly reaffirmed a belief that "victory" was possible.

Apparently this word "victory," like "terrorists," is a strange term of art whose meaning Reuters isn't quite sure of.

Posted by: Ace at 10:00 AM | Comments (14)
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Not even pretending anymore (Just One Minute link):

How Democrats Turned The War Into An Ally

On a warm night in mid-September, Representative Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois Democrat leading his partyÂ’s campaign to win back the House, stood in front of I Ricchi, a stylish Italian restaurant in downtown Washington, screaming at an aide who happened to be in his sight.

Why, he demanded, had Iraq fallen off the front pages and the evening news, replaced by President BushÂ’s weeklong commemoration of the Sept. 11 anniversary? How could Democrats win if this unpopular war was fought uncovered? As he headed in for dinner, he pronounced himself as despondent about his partyÂ’s hopes as he had been all year.

Two weeks later, the political world had turned, propelled by new bursts of violence in Iraq, new questions about incompetence in the waging of the war in Iraq, and an intelligence report suggesting that the American invasion had actually worsened the terrorist threat.

Just One Minute notes the selective quotation by the report, and how the media refused to correct previous misreporting once the fuller report was declassified.

Because, you know, the media is dedicated to getting all relevant information to the public.

Posted by: Ace at 09:41 AM | Comments (20)
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Open/ chit chat thread. Gonna be a slow day at work.

Wanted to thank everybody for making the last contest we will ever have (just kidding!) a smashing success, and for helping with the judging. I will be leaning heavily on your suggestions.

Trying out a new pizza delivery place for lunch today. Wish me luck. The dude on the phone was rude and had a thick accent, so that's encouraging.

Posted by: LauraW. at 07:47 AM | Comments (157)
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