...which a critical mass of Republicans could join and thereby takeover? Preferably one without so much crank baggage. Preferably not the Libertarian Party (though it would be such fun to take that party over and begin pushing for the FMA and, uh, what the hell, making gambling illegal, just to piss them off).

Preferably one already on most state's ballots.

I guess... the Conservative Party is the obvious choice.

Maybe it's time.

Hmmm... The Conservative Party, at least from what I've found so far, seems confined to NY State. I'm sure other states must have it, but I don't see a link for the national organization.

Posted by: Ace at 02:24 PM | Comments (128)
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I didn't read deep enough into the article I quoted. Allah did:

With the GOP votes in hand and a finite list of amendments to be offered by 11 Democratic and 11 Republican senators, Democratic sources said Reid is now determined to see whether the legislation can survive the amendment process intact. If it does, the Senate could vote on final passage of the bill by next Friday, Democratic sources said.

GOP sources tell FOX News that the new bill has enough support from Republicans for Reid to prevail on a procedural vote to get the bill to final passage.

At your peril.

A few phone numbers to dial, via Michelle:

+ + Call to Action #1 -- Call these Senators and say you oppose
this "Amendments for Amnesty" deal

Sen. Hagel (202) 224-4224
Sen. Nelson (202) 224-6551

Key Senators to call:

McConnell 202/224-2541
Lott 202/224-6253
Kyl 202/224-4521
Brownback 202/224-6521
Burr 202/224-3154
Chambliss 202/224-3521
Cornyn 202/224-2934
Hutchison 202/224-5922
Isakson 202/224-3643
Warner 202/224-2023
Webb 202/224-4024

Mention you know that anyone voting for cloture is effectively voting for passage of the bill, and that you -- and everyone you know -- will be quite aware that claims that a Senator "voted against the bill" are lies if he also voted for cloture.

The Special Hotline For Non-Americans Who Are Better Than Us! There's a special line set up for amensty supporters (including, of course, Spanish-language help!) to bypass the normal difficulties associated with calling a Senator.

Here's the number: 1-800-417-7666

Michelle Malkin suggests you use it to tell your Senator he's cutting his political throat if he dares vote for closure.

Unbelievable. They don't even have to "wait in line" when calling Senators who represent a country other than their own.

But we, of course, do have to wait in line.

Posted by: Ace at 02:05 PM | Comments (40)
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It's like Milli Vanilli, except with people who aren't quite as hhhhhottt.

That Obama crush video is done by "Bunny," who hired a buxom actress to lip-synch it. She's done this before -- her "Box in the Box" video was also "visualized" by a cuter actress.

Bama Pachyderm has pics of the Obama model, some of which, I'm promised, aren't safe for work.

Posted by: Ace at 01:55 PM | Comments (6)
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Some preamble:

Gunmen of rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah sharply escalated their fight for supremacy on Tuesday, with Hamas taking over much of the northern Gaza Strip in what is beginning to look increasingly like a civil war.

Will NBC make a bit deal about announcing their intention to brand it as such?

Five days of revenge attacks on individuals — including executions, kneecappings and even tossing handcuffed prisoners off tall apartment towers — on Tuesday turned into something larger and more organized: attacks on symbols of power and the deployment of military units. About 25 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 wounded, Palestinian medics said.

No mention of adorable tykes killed, nor corpse-parades for the international press, I notice.

In one Hamas attack on a Fatah security headquarters in northern Gaza near Jabaliya Camp, at least 21 Palestinians were reported killed and another 60 wounded, said Moaweya Hassanein of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

After a senior Fatah leader in northern Gaza, Jamal Abu al-Jediyan, was killed Monday, FatahÂ’s elite Presidential Guards, who are being trained by the United States and its allies, fired rocket-propelled grenades at the house of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, of Hamas, in the Shati refugee camp near Gaza City.

An hour later, HamasÂ’s military wing fired four mortar shells at the presidential office compound of Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, who is in the West Bank, a Fatah spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, said in a telephone interview

So here's the quote of the yesterday:

The head of the Egyptian mediation team, Lt. Col. Burhan Hamad, said neither side responded to his call on Tuesday to hold truce talks. “It seems they don’t want to come [to the peace talks],” said Colonel Hamad, who has brokered several brief cease-fires between the two. “We must make them ashamed of themselves. They have killed all hope. They have killed the future.”

The Palestinians? Killing? Killing hope? Killing the future?

The deuce you say!

I suspect that this "Colenel Hamad" character just might be a Likud Jew type.

Posted by: Ace at 01:29 PM | Comments (17)
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They just don't get it. Some dogs take a couple of kicks before they get the picture. Others need to be, errrm, "brought to a nice big farm where they can run around and chase butterflies all day."

We need to send a bunch of our "representatives" to that nice big farm.

There will be primary challenges -- and the conservative base is strongly united on this issue. If you think Big Daddy NRC can save you, think again. They can toss you some money but guess what? They can't actually donate votes to you.

I'd vote for a goddmaned space mutant before I'll vote for an amnesty jagoff.

We'll cull you. And then we're repeal your goddamnable amnesty.

Details of the immigration compromise remain to be finalized, but top Democratic sources say Reid has closely monitored the behind-the-scenes dickering over policy changes and a finite list of amendments due for consideration. Based on the latest updates on the policy and amendments, Reid will approve the compromise and move late Thursday to put the bill back on the calendar for Senate consideration in the middle of next week.

"He's going to bless it and he's going to get the Senate back in the business of dealing with immigration," said a source in the Democratic Senate leadership.

The principal change to the bipartisan immigration compromise that Reid shelved last week is the addition of $4.4 billion in added border security spending. That money will be added to the base bill to return to the floor. Any other changes to the immigration bill will have to be made through the amendment process.

We've already lost Larry Criag, by the way, who cast a vote against cloture last time but this time has already announced he's voting in favor of it.

Here's something that will surprise you not at all:

... the conservative leaders of the anti-amnesty movement are refusing to cooperate, and won't give Mitch McConnell a list of amendments that they want considered. My source tells me that the reason for this is that the game has now been rigged. McConnell is essentially promising to bring the amendments up in exchange for cloture votes, but he's publicly saying that they will strip any problematic amendments out in committee.

In other words, if the bill gets through the Senate and the House, the Democrats and the open borders Republicans will work together when the bills have to be reconciled in committee to strip out any amendments that the "grand bargainers" don't like. Therefore, at this point, it doesn't matter what amendments pass, because any tough enforcement provisions slip through will be rendered toothless when the bills are reconciled.

My source also noted that the cloture vote to end debate will be the "real" vote on the bill because if debate is closed off, the bill is sure to pass. Then, what will happen is that the votes for the bill will be counted, and a few Senators who are afraid that their election prospects will be jeopardized by a "yes" vote, will be allowed to vote against the bill.

So, the amendments will all be blocked and those few that are passed will be immediately stripped out in conference. And then they're going to try fool us by voting yes to cloture (guaranteeing passage) but no on the actual bill, so they can claim they voted against it.

Wrong, fellas. We're smarter than that. A vote for cloture is a vote for the bill itself, and we will never allow you to peddle your shoddy lie to the public without challenge.

Posted by: Ace at 01:08 PM | Comments (22)
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Big E:

What's this you say? Hamas and Fatah senselessly murdering each other willy nilly? Why, I haven't been this upset since the last time I got a blow job.

In entirely unrelated news, Fred won't add me to his stupid blogroll.

Posted by: Ace at 12:45 PM | Comments (29)
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Wow, I think I'm catching Ron Paul Feveh!

Oh, wait... this law was passed in reaction to the Virginia Tech shootings, and merely requires streamlinging of reporting so that mental defectives, barred from owning guns, are enterred into the background-check system in a timely manner.

So, Ron Paul is against a law designed to make it harder for a mental incompetent to buy guns?

Is this 1) doctrinaire dogmatism taken to a lethal end or 2) simple self-interest on Paul's part?

Posted by: Ace at 12:35 PM | Comments (36)
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A brief article on the ruling.

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the state Supreme Court Thursday, ruling that the state teachers' union can't collect fees used for political purposes from nonmembers unless those nonmembers specifically give their permission.

In 1992, Washington voters approved the Fair Campaign Practices Act, and a provision of that initiative required unions to get permission from nonmembers before using dues for political purposes. The state Supreme Court, however, ruled that requiring that permission violates the First Amendment.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the state court, ruling that requiring that permission doesn't violate the First Amendment.

Sorry for the over-hype. It's a relaltively minor ruling.

Thanks to Sticky Notes for tipping me to this.

Correction: I originally wrote the post in the mistaken belief that the Supreme Court had itself imposed the permission requirement on unions as a constitutional prequisite for such spending. That's not even close to what the decision says; it merely says that a law passed by a state (or the federal government) requiring such permission is not a violation of the First Amendment.

Which seems pretty obvious to me. But it's nice to have that cleared up.

Posted by: Ace at 11:52 AM | Comments (11)
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...despite the fact this is very shaky conviction and an extremely shaky sentencing and stands a fair chance of being overturned.

Former White House official Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been told he cannot delay starting his jail term while he appeals against his conviction.

...

Ahead of the hearing, US District Judge Reggie B Walton had indicated he saw no reason to grant Libby's request for a delay in starting his jail term.

Giving his ruling on Thursday, he said: "Unless the Court of Appeals overturns my decision, he will have to report."

Libby's lawyers will now go to an appeals court to seek an emergency order delaying his prison sentence. They are also appealing against Libby's conviction.

...

Before giving his ruling, Judge Walton said he had received "harassing, mean-spirited" letters and phone calls, targeting him and his family, since sentencing Libby to jail.

The Bush Administration is meanwhile making no noises about a pardon or commutation. Quite the opposite, in fact, stating that Libby should appeal.

From jail, I guess.

Thanks to Chad.

Not that it's a major concern to me, but it does seem that pardoning Libby is one of the few things Bush could accomplish that would actually shore up his support among Republicans.

And yet he continues pandering to his perceived base -- liberal Democrats and the MSM.

Posted by: Ace at 11:30 AM | Comments (27)
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I can't believe they just fucking said that. Yes, it's true: Israel is to be blamed for the current fighting for both the vicious, racist occupation of the Palestinian territories as well as the vicious, racist "unilateral" end to the occupation.

Paternalism plus anti-semitism plus 30 years of apologism on behalf of the terrorist Palestinians equals this latest stupidity. The left's metanarrative blaming whites/Jews for everyfuckingthing is getting increasingly convoluted, but they don't care.

The Boston Globe editorial board looks at the Gaza civil war, and finds it's the fault of the Jews:

The people of Gaza are the true victims of the civil war most of all because the fighting is destroying their future. With the military wing of Hamas poised to seize complete control of Gaza in what Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rightly called a "coup attempt," Gaza's residents stand to lose whatever hope remained of achieving independence and a decent life in a viable Palestinian state.

The Hamas campaign to eradicate Fatah from Gaza is certainly not the sole cause of Gazans' misery. They long suffered from Israel's suffocating occupation, and then from Ariel Sharon's foolishly unilateral withdrawal in 2005, a move that allowed Hamas to bid for power with the misleading claim that its rockets and suicide bombings had driven Israeli soldiers and settlers out of Gaza.

According to the Globe, Israel is to blame both for its "occupation" and for having ended it--the latter of which "allowed Hamas to bid for power." But "the people of Gaza" are innocent victims. It somehow escapes the Globe's notice that Hamas came to power because Palestinians voted for it. The Globe denies that Palestinians are responsible for their own actions, and thereby dehumanizes them under a pretense of compassion.

Is the Boston Globe actually urging Israel to re-occupy the Palestinian Death Zone? If that's what they're implying, why don't they have the balls to actually say so forthrightly?

Also at that link: While killing each other, the Palestinians also find the time to plot suicide attacks against Israelis, of course. The latest attempt (foiled, thankfully) by a pregnant woman.

Jihad begins at conception, after all.

In other news about the Palestinians' final bid at mass suicide, well, check out Drudge. Or anywhere, really. Great Moments In Arab Self-Government, The Continuing Saga:

President Mahmoud Abbas will dissolve the Palestinian Authority's government Thursday after fighting between rival parties Hamas and Fatah consumed the Gaza Strip and was expected to call for a state of emergency, sources close to Abbas confirmed to FOX News.

Abbas also intends to call for the deployment of a multinational force in Gaza and plans to appoint an independent politician to replace Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as prime minister, the aides said.

Hamas fighters took control from three of the rival Fatah movement's most important security command centers in the Gaza Strip, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen into the street and shot them to death execution-style.

Hamas has taken control of the Fatah-run National Security headquarters in Gaza City, the Islamic group claimed Thursday evening.

Earlier, Hamas forces took over the other main Fatah-linked security headquarters, in its steady takeover of important installations in the seaside territory.

Hamas also seized control of Rafah in the south, Gaza's third-largest city, according to witnesses and security officials. It was the second main Gaza city to fall to the militants, who captured nearby Khan Younis on Wednesday.

Good run-down at Gateway Pundit. Hamas, it seems, is calling its decimation of Fatah its "second liberation."

Actually, it's the third. The first was the liberation from the constraints of humanity, morality, and sanity, which really opened up the door for the later liberations.

Hamas executes Fatah members "one by one." Sweet. And check out the suprise cameo by Israeli tank rounds, resulting, of course, in the deaths of many children!

(AP) - Hamas fighters overran two of the rival Fatah movement's most important security command centers in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen into the street and shot them to death execution-style.

Meanwhile, an Israeli tank shell struck a group of siblings near the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Thursday, Hamas security officials said. Hospital workers said five children, all under 16, were killed.

They identified the children as members of the Abu Matrok family.

Hamas security officials said they were from the Bedouin community of Showka, east of Rafah.

The army said it would look into the report.

How did anyone even notice a tank shell blowing up?

Damn those Jew-bombs must be rigged to seek and destroy only sympathetic victims. We need to get ourselves some Jew-engineers and program our bombs to do the opposite! Imagine the implications of this amazing Jew-technology!

...

After the rout at the Preventive Security headquarters, some of the Hamas fighters kneeled outside, touching their foreheads to the ground in prayer. Others led Fatah gunmen out of the building, some shirtless or in their underwear, holding their arms in the air. Several of the Fatah men flinched as the crack of gunfire split the air.

A witness, who identified himself only as Amjad, said men were killed as their wives and children watched.

"They are executing them one by one," Amjad said in a telephone interview, declining to give his full name for fear of reprisals. "They are carrying one of them on their shoulders, putting him on a sand dune, turning him around and shooting."

Fred Barnes said on Brit last night that a Pentagon official said that the Hamas "militants" now running the show are the "extremists of the extremists," that is, the radical element of Hamas himself. Further, the official joked that this was a war between the extreme extremists and "mainstream extremists."

Me? I'm just hoping a lot of extremists get killed. I think for once I'll be pleased by the news coming out of a Muslim country.

Is joking appropriate? Why yes it is. These animals are making all their own decisions; if they choose to butcher everything that moves, including themselves, what can we do but laugh darkly at them?

This isn't a tragedy. Tragedies have heroes.

This is just a farce with a bodycount.

More: Another good run-down from Hot Air, and Newsbusters notes that Globe piece quoted above also pines for the Hero-Poet Arafat's vision of "unity."

The MSM is determined that we should care as much as they care about what atrocities the muderous Palestinians perpatrate on themselves.

Yeah. Good luck with that, boys.

Charles Krauthammer said (on Special Report) that this is all a prelude to a two-sided war against Israel coming by the fall, the Iran-backed Hamas on one side and the Iran-backed Hezbollah on the other. And also that this is a big step forward in Iran's attempt to create a Crescent of Terrorism throughout the region, with proxy armies, terrorist organizations, and a state ally (Syria) all now its clients and satellites.

Happy days.

When do we start bombing?

Posted by: Ace at 11:02 AM | Comments (47)
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