She cites "irreconcilable differences;" he counter-files, citing "The bitch keeps smokin' all my crack"

Sad, sad news. I'm sure no one saw this coming. I haven't been this surprised by a celebrity break-up since Robin Givens announced on live tv that sometimes she feared Mike Tyson "might actually eat [her]."

Thanks to IreneFingIrene, who questions the timing, and suspects this is a Rove-orchestrated manuever to lure Osama bin Ladin out of his cave.

Posted by: Ace at 11:55 AM | Comments (21)
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Women, Minorities, Al Franken Hardest Hit

Based on my experience, they're very popular with foreign-born NYC cabdrivers.

Not so much anyone else.

The New York Times was big on Air America's launch, but, as Michelle Malkin notes, they've been entirely unwilling to cover its (inevitable) demise. Or its Enron-ish financing shenanigans.

They'll now have to mention it, but I can already tell you what they're going to say. Liberals are too smart and too complex and too nuanced to either do, or tune in to, the simplistic format of political talk radio.

The real reason Air America failed is that there was already an Air America on the dial, a little known outfit called NPR.

Posted by: Ace at 11:39 AM | Comments (45)
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Wow. Pretty hard stuff.

Not only is Novak burning a source, but he's possibly exposing him to legal jeopardy. Because what Armitage tells the press he did (and assumedly, what he told Fitzgerald's investigators he did) doesn't match with Novak's recollection of what he did.

"When Richard Armitage finally acknowledged last week he was my source three years ago in revealing Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA employee, the former deputy secretary of state's interviews obscured what he really did," Bob Novak claims in a column set for Thursday release.

Novak, attempting to set the record straight, writes: "First, Armitage did not, as he now indicates, merely pass on something he had heard and that he 'thought' might be so. Rather, he identified to me the CIA division where Mrs. Wilson worked, and said flatly that she recommended the mission to Niger by her husband, former Amb. Joseph Wilson. Second, Armitage did not slip me this information as idle chitchat, as he now suggests. He made clear he considered it especially suited for my column."

...

"When Armitage now says he was mute because of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's request, that does not explain his silent three months between his claimed first realization that he was the source and Fitzgerald's appointment on Dec. 30. Armitage's tardy self-disclosure is tainted because it is deceptive.

He also slams him for remaining silent while reporters were grilled before a grand jury.

Lefty Spin: This proves there was a concerted WH effort to "smear" Joe Wilson, even if Armitage was against the Iraq invasion and despised the WH.

I think it just proves that Washington bureaucrats feed reporters and columnists tips to keep them on their side.

Posted by: Ace at 10:52 AM | Comments (16)
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By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

6 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The federal budget deficit, helped by a surge in government revenue, is running 14.1 percent below the pace of last year, the government reported Wednesday.

The Treasury Department said that with just one month to go in the budget year, the deficit totals $304.3 billion, down from $354.1 billion during the same period a year ago.

The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for the entire year will be $260 billion, which would mean that September will see a sizable surplus.

The administration is somewhat less optimistic, forecasting a deficit of $295.8 billion for the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30.

Let's not get too excited. This is just an election year gimmick by Karl Rove.

Treasury: Federal deficit down 14.1 pct.

The Cowbell:

I was trying to think of a new cowbell chick, but didn't have much luck. I could only think of Colleen Camp:

...who played "Yvette the French Maid" in Clue, but has been in, like, a thousand things you don't recognize her in, including Die Hard With a Vengeance, where she played the very plain middle-aged female cop with the Brooklyn accent ("Connie Kowalski") just ten years later.

I thought about Dave from Texas' Pamela David pics, but decided they were just too damn out of hand.

Posted by: Ace at 10:49 AM | Comments (33)
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Well, the "Torricelli option" appears to be picking up steam, as Democratic Candidate/Subject of a Federal Criminal Investigation (funny how often those words appear together) "Honest" Bob Menendez continues to watch his electoral viability slowly implode against the irresistable political force that is Tom Kean, Jr.

OK. I admit it. "Irresistable political force" may be overstating it. How about, "apparently ethical, at least by Jersey standards". Better?

In any event, whispers of the withdrawl of the legalistically-challenged Mr. Menendez have made it into the New York Observer today. It will be interesting to see how much traction this notion gets in coming days. Especially as National Dems begin to see their chances for a Senate majority becoming ever slimmer.

The most revealing passage in the article, to me, was the following:

The '02 switch worked because in Mr. Lautenberg, a very well-known and reasonably well-liked retiree, Democrats had a
serviceable replacement in the wings. This time they have a rock star: one Richard J. Codey, who left office in January, kicking and
screaming, as perhaps the most personally popular chief executive in the state's history.

But look at us, getting ahead of ourselves. No Democrat is going to abandon Mr. Menendez—unless his poll numbers drop. And even then, there’ll be no “switcheroo” unless Mr. Menendez, like Mr. Torricelli before him, falls on his sword.

Jersey Democrats, for now, arenÂ’t holding their breath.

As one put it: Mr. TorricelliÂ’s ego couldnÂ’t stand losing an election; Mr. MenendezÂ’s, apparently, can.

Emphasis added.

Inspiring, isn't it. Because, really, political parties shouldn't care if their nominees appear to be corrupt, or even if they are found guilty, so long as their poll numbers stay high. I mean, why would anyone think that would create an unhealthy cynicism about the political process?

At least Edwin Edwards (former Democratic Governor of Louisiana, and convicted felon himself) is finally getting his due as a visionary leader. When he ran against David Duke in 1991, Edwards supporters proudly displayed bumper stickers reading "Vote for the Crook: It's Important".

And in that singular, and exceptional, case it was.

It appears that, 15 years later, New Jersey Democrats couldn't agree more.

Posted by: Ace at 10:40 AM | Comments (116)
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See, it's just like Ace to think that once HE stops blogging for a few hours, the site stops.

When, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

This is a benefit of having guest bloggers. Especially guest bloggers who spend their early morning hours partying with Mary Katherine Ham, Bethany from realVerse, and Pamela at Atlas Shrugs. And of course, our own beloved (by the hour) Republican Whore, Feisty. This is the time of day when those guest bloggers are just rolling out of someone's bed.

Now, despite my best efforts, I'm not one of those kinds of guest bloggers, dammit! So I am left sharing nothing more than an aversion to mornings with them. So with Ace shutting down, I'm starting up.

That's right. I'll be posting throughout the afternoon and evening.

Because, I have no life.

But I do have the new Dylan album (#1 by the way) to listen to. And I just sold a house at the top of the market so I have a wad/mountain of cash to blow.

Which means Val-u-rite shots are on me.

Unless they are body shots. In which case they are on Mary Katharine Ham.

Posted by: Ace at 09:47 AM | Comments (44)
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One more before the shut-down.

Andrew Sullivan has proven again and again he's willing to believe pretty much any Al Qaeda operative, even those alledging being raped by women as part of their interrogations.

And he's not above a bit of selective quotation to make his idiotic case.

He ought to adopt the Ghostbusters' tagline: "We are ready to believe you."

Thanks to Larwyn.

Posted by: Ace at 09:17 AM | Comments (8)
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It's about that time. The computer is painfully slow, freezing once every two minutes (for three minutes a shot) and unable to handle gmail. Usually this is the time I shut it down, turn it over, and put ice-gel packs on the bottom of it to cool it down for about a half hour.

Fortunately, I won't have to suffer this piece of crap very much longer. A reader (whom I won't name, because I don't know if she wants to be named) contacted me about her husband, who works at Dell. He forwarded my complaints to a guy who just might be the coolest guy in the entire world, and Dell has very generously agreed to not only replace this computer with a new one, but replace it with a newer computer that's about two or three times the machine this one is (assuming it worked properly; a working machine would be ten times the machine this one is, even if it were a very low-end model).

I'm told Dell is trying to improve its once-heralded, now-derided customer relations/tech support divisions, and while I doubt that everyone out there would be lucky enough to have a connection working on his behalf, at this point I'm pretty high on Dell again.

The new computer is in "testing," and after that, they'll overnight it. Testing is taking a while, but they can test for two weeks if they like. I just want the thing to work.

A big thank you to my unnamed advocate and to Dell's customer service rep who's hooking me up big-time. (I won't name him either.)

Anyway... it sure will be nice to be able to watch videos without the computer freezing up and stuttering and shutting down.

And with that, the shut-down, and the ice-packs.

Posted by: Ace at 09:06 AM | Comments (24)
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Some great (meaning horrifying) pictures from that black day. Click on each picture to advance to the next one.

Time to move on?

Over it yet?

I don't think so.

Thanks to CraigC.

Posted by: Ace at 08:15 AM | Comments (11)
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I'd never engage in such shameless linkwhoring on this pristine site.

On the other hand, I can link, while noting my outrage at such tactics.

Most are anonymous, but Darleen identifies herself as Boobies Five and Six. She has great points.

Thanks to Agent Bedhead.

And here's an even bigger CONTENT WARNING on this video, in which Right Thoughts reads the news while a woman (his wife?) fondles her boobies while wearing a red bra.

It's part of an experiment to determine if tits equal hits.

Science.

Link Fixed.

Posted by: Ace at 08:11 AM | Comments (26)
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