Effective Sept. 14. It doesnÂ’t seem to be health related which is good news, just time to go and he needs to make some more money.

I hope Snow is the new model for White House spokesmen, especially for Republican administrationsÂ… an aggressive advocate for the policies of the President and one who isnÂ’t afraid to take on the smug, preening members of the White House Press Corps.

On the upside, his replacement is Dana Perino. I might start watching more press briefings on CSPANÂ…in my bunk.

Posted by: DrewM. at 08:33 AM | Comments (31)
Post contains 103 words, total size 1 kb.

We don't really need a flaming skull or sirens for this news. It's the typical anticlimactic end to a sordid Washington tale. See you at the inevitable "where are they now" retrospective a few years from now, Senator.

Several well-placed GOP sources in Washington and Idaho have told CNN that embattled Republican Sen. Larry Craig is likely to resign soon, possibly as early as Friday.

A GOP source with knowledge of the situation told CNN's Dana Bash that the Republican National Committee was poised to take the extraordinary step of calling on Craig to resign.

However, that move was put on hold, the source said, because top party leaders have received indications that Craig himself is preparing to step down.

Sources have confirmed that high-level meetings on the matter were being conducted in Idaho on Thursday.

Posted by: Slublog at 05:47 AM | Comments (227)
Post contains 157 words, total size 1 kb.

Part of a Continuing Series: The national debate about the War on Terror has led to intense discussion of laws both international and domestic. In my other Law Lessons posts IÂ’ve focused on international law because I believe conservatives too often assume that it is an obstacle to their goals. Leftists and lazy journalists like to rely on ignorance or distaste for international law to get away with shady arguments.

However, law that is wholly domestic is just as contentious as its international variation. LetÂ’s face it, Americans love to argue about the law. So I am expanding my Law Lessons series to include issues of domestic law that have been the subject of debate during the last few years.

ItÂ’s been a few weeks since youÂ’ve been bothered at either the coffeepot or the watercooler. Then some coworkers hear the newsÂ…

Current Event That Prompts Discussion: The court martial of Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, former director of the “Joint Interrogation Debriefing Center” at Abu Ghraib, ends with Jordan acquitted of: (1) cruelty and maltreatment for subjecting detainees to forced nudity and intimidation by dogs; (2) dereliction of a duty to properly train and supervise soldiers in humane interrogation rules; and (3) failing to obey a lawful general order by ordering dogs used for interrogations without higher approval. He was convicted only of disobeying an order not to discuss the military’s investigation into the Abu Ghraib matter. His punishment is a reprimand. more...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:51 PM | Comments (57)
Post contains 1030 words, total size 7 kb.

Giant. f'n. Spiderwebs!

Uncle Jonathan's corncob pipe! They found a frickin ginormous spiderweb in a state park in Northeast Texas, hoovering up mosquitoes like Michael Moore on a plate of cheesy fries.

Entomologists (bug scientists) scratch their collective heads over how it came to be. "Were they collectivists, building a giant web for the common good"?

That's it. Commie spiders in Texas.

Burn it up. Burn it all up. Or better yet, nuke it from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.

Giant. f'n. Spiderwebs!

From lauraw, who has spider-eating wrens in her back yard, who could eat like kings if they could find lake Tawakoni.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 03:37 PM | Comments (98)
Post contains 119 words, total size 1 kb.

Matt from the Malcontent blog has an excellent piece on the double standards of both the Left and the legacy media, cleverly entitled: Barkeep, Make Mine a Double Standard! He also contrasts the response of Republicans with that of Democrats in various scandals.

Excerpt:

I was in the shower this morning listening to the Larry Craig story stretch into its fourth day — the network happened to be CNN, but that isn’t especially relevant — when anchor Kiran Chetry asked her Democrat and Republican pundit-guests about a “double standard.”

Naturally, I thought she was referring to the recurring fact that Republicans are quick to discipline or expel Republicans enmeshed in scandal, whereas Democrats generally are not. But in the actual context (I’m still waiting for the transcript), the discussion focused on the “other” double-standard: that Republicans seem to deal more harshly with gay-related scandals than with others.

Go read the whole thing.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 03:04 PM | Comments (49)
Post contains 160 words, total size 1 kb.

Co-blogger Dave in Texas noted that Clinton and Franken are giving their questionable donations from convicted felon Norman Hsu to charity. A Clinton spokesman is reported as saying:

"We regularly review contributions as we receive them," he said, adding that "we will continue our practice of scrutinizing contributions and, should we have a basis to return a contribution, we will do so.

Former (Bill) Clinton campaign strategist Hank Sheinkopf doesnÂ’t sound like such a fan of the senator from New York. He says:

They've taken money from criminals in the past; now we learn that Sen. Clinton took money from people when they don't know where their money came from -- bundled money from a convicted felon. That ain't good.

The same article says that the Obama campaign has no plans to return the money.

Update: According to Friday's NYTimes, Obama will give away $7,000 he received from Hsu.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:32 PM | Comments (13)
Post contains 193 words, total size 1 kb.

The odd thing here is that liberal leaking is not necessarily harmful to conservatives, who really need to push Craig out of office.

Still, I have to imagine this would have remained under wraps had a Democrat been involved.

I know this from the conservative Washington Times. Liberals leak to them, too.

Anyway, via the Washington Times' Fishwrap,enjoy the most cringey audio of the year.

"Wide stance" is said here.

So is "I don't call the media," this from the arresting officer. Well, someone in the department sure does.

And also: "I don't want to get into a pissing contest here."

And: "I tend to spread my legs as I take down my pants."

This stuff is going to be in a thousand remixes.

Reason hand went down to the floor: To pick up a piece of toilet paper on the floor.

Ummm... everything on a public restroom floor is radioactive. And he's playing Cleaney McPickerupperson?

Posted by: Ace at 12:58 PM | Comments (130)
Post contains 176 words, total size 1 kb.

Connosieurs say the shock piece makes a "powerful statement"
about gluing a lot of gems to objects; the piece is said to be a
"groundbreaking" and "audacious" use of the Bedazzler

The piece is called, quite appropriately, "For the Love of God." Some call it "pretty fucking stupid if you think about it, and even if you don't." Well, that's a paraphrase, but some art-types sort of see through this as the stunt it is, noting it's nothing more than an "outrageous" concept which is fairly easy to actually execute. And the work was actually done by the artist's technicians. He just comes up with the "concept."

Which, in this case, consists of gluing some things to other things.

Hirst slapped a 50 million pound price tag on it. At Crosblog, you'll be annoyed to know he got his asking price yesterday.

This Just In: I just made my debut into the world of avant-garde art by gluing a spatula to an old funked-up copy of Juggs. It's meant to be an ironic commentary on sexuality. And cookware.

I'm asking, oh, let's not get too crazy right out of the gate... six buck.

It's Not Even A Real Skull:

The skull, cast from a 35-year-old 18th century European man but retaining the original teeth...

How ghey.

For $100 mil, you'd at least think you were getting a real skull. How are you going to get ass from sixteen year old Goth whores when it's not even a real skull?

Posted by: Ace at 12:31 PM | Comments (45)
Post contains 263 words, total size 2 kb.

"You want some of this?" he sexily offered the clerk.

It's old. I did all this and more back in 2004.

Life imitates the Ace of Spades Lifestyle ™.

Related: Dude arrested for masturbating naked... while driving.

Key detail: "hands covered in vaseline."

Another key detail: "on his way to visit his mother."

Posted by: Ace at 12:10 PM | Comments (13)
Post contains 89 words, total size 1 kb.

Isn't it funny that whenever Republicans have control over an institution, that institution's reports are presumptively dishonest and skewed by partisanship, but when Democrats or liberals control one, its reports are presumptively the Gospel?

This is part of the reason why obviously-ideological liberal organizations like CREW are called "nonpartisan watchdog groups" whereas Heritage is always branded a "conservative think tank." I've got news for the media: Heritage is nonpartisan too. But nonpartisan does not mean non-ideological, nor does it mean "neutral." And yet the media forever apply the "nonpartisan" label to extremely ideologically driven groups like the Sierra Club, whereas the same term -- "nonpartisan" -- is never applied to nonpartisan but conservative leaning groups.

At any rate, William Kristol discusses the fudged-up GAO report, ordered by its Democratic masters to serve up a gloomy report and of course dutifully complying. The report studiously ignores signs of progress in order to focus like a laser on those areas in which progress is lacking, chiefly the top-down political situation. As Carl Levin, I think, unabashedly announced, it was the Democrats' intent to ignore military and grassroots poltiical progress in order to focus exclusively on the sluggish national political situation. He was so sure the media would make no issue of this intent he felt perfectly comfortable announcing it. And of course he was quite right in his comfort and lack of shame, and needless to say the GAO, under his fellow Democrats' control, reflects his political agenda.

Incidentally, on FoxNews, Shep Smith reported this inaccurately. For example, the report says that there is no progress in fielding additional Iraqi army units capable of acting independently of US forces; as Kristol notes, this is a rather contrived standard, as most coalition troops of all countries in Iraq are incapable of acting "indpendently" of the US. But Shep just said there was "no progress" being made in the Iraqi army, which is flatly, demonstrably untrue.

He then reported the White House had denigrated the report by setting the standards "too high," and smirked as he noted that, indicating his contempt for the explanation.

He's a real cocksucker, all right, and he continues auditioning for another, more respectable, more liberal news outlet on Murdoch's dime. I'll be happy to see him go, delighted to see him finally among his own at CNN or MSNBC.

Posted by: Ace at 12:02 PM | Comments (28)
Post contains 410 words, total size 3 kb.