BBC Contributor: I'll Dance With Delight Should Iran Nuke Israel
— Ace

Is this the sort of loony tunes comment that will get you kicked out of polite liberal politcomedia culture?

No, it is not.

The Deciders have determined it falls well within the parameters of reasoned comment.

Posted by: Ace at 08:36 AM | Comments (8)
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Fred Thompson To Speak On Conference Call At 4PM Today; May Announce
— Ace

...his plans to announce next week.

A Thompson aide confirms that they'll share the news about the long-awaited formal launch. "By the end of the day, we'll have more clarity," the aide said, declining to reveal which day the announcement would take place.

Everyone's been saying September 5th, possibly appearing in the September 27th debate in Baltimore.

Which I might be getting a pass to attend, awesomely enough.

Posted by: Ace at 08:26 AM | Comments (15)
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Shock Photos: Mastiff Mauls Baby
— Ace

...with love.

My Mom sent me these. more...

Posted by: Ace at 08:20 AM | Comments (42)
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4.0: Economy Posts Sweet GPA For Second Quarter
— Ace

Cowbell.

Surging exports and business spending propelled U.S. growth to the fastest pace in more than a year before turmoil in the credit markets forced the Federal Reserve to warn of a bleaker outlook.

Gross domestic product rose at a 4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said in Washington, up from an initial estimate of 3.4 percent. The median forecast of economists polled by Bloomberg News was 4.1 percent.

...

The Fed's preferred inflation measure, which is tied to consumer spending and strips out food and energy costs, rose at a 1.3 percent annual rate. The pace of increase was the slowest in four years.

Worst economy since Herbert Hoover October 2000.

Re-Post: How the NYT spins economic growth. more...

Posted by: Ace at 07:52 AM | Comments (7)
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Milwaukee Mystery
— LauraW.

Defense attorney receives the severed head of a goat in a pink gift bag.

Presented with such a lovely gift, most seasoned attorneys would squeal with joy and suck the eyes out like escargot.**
And then dial up the Dark Lord on their cauldron of fire and thank Him for the bonus.

But this particular lawyer decided to issue a cryptic statement instead:

"August 27 was a full moon, and also was a lunar eclipse. It is also my understanding there haven't been any of our elected officials' sons or daughters charged with slashing tires or voter fraud. And since I haven't invented any new criminal defenses for any of my clients in the last few months, I assume the individual was trying to get my attention."

She defended one of the guys who was convicted of slashing Republican campaign workers' tires before the 2004 election. I don't know about you, but I get the impression she's wacky. And probably not very good in court.

**Helpful Hint: If you need to send a gift to a lawyer, you'll find that a bag of severed goat heads makes attorneys very, very happy. Try it and see. And don't forget to attach a personal note!

Posted by: LauraW. at 07:10 AM | Comments (22)
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An Open Letter of Sorts to New Orleans
— Slublog

This is really getting tiresome.

Before Katrina or "pre-K" as the locals say, Ventura worked in real estate and owned several rental properties. But all of that changed when the levees broke. Storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain inundated their house with 7.5 feet of water. The couple were displaced, and to make ends meet Ventura took a temporary job as a loss verifier for the Small Business Administration. His wife continued her studies in occupational therapy.

Ventura, like many others, feels like New Orleans has been forgotten.

"America really doesn't give a s*** about New Orleans. We forget. The bridge that collapsed [in Minnesota] -- it's gone, it's yesterday's news. The miners -- if they're not digging a sixth hole, we forget about them. We as a society, we really don't give a damn," Ventura said.

In the two years since the hurricane hit, Congress has appropriated $114 billion to the rebuilding of the region. Church groups and missions organizations from across the country send crews there on a regular basis to help rebuild and clean up the storm damage. The Red Cross spent about $2 billion in the region after the storm. World Vision spent $12 million. The Salvation Army spent $84 million. Volunteers from Samaritan's Purse and Habitat for Humanity have been there since the storm, fixing houses. Countless other charity organizations have also spent significant time and money in the region.

There comes a point where charity has to end, and some of the city's residents have to make the conscious decision to start rebuilding their neighborhoods and lives instead of spending so much time blaming everyone else for the lack of progress in recovery. We're a generous nation, and we've demonstrated that in New Orleans.

I know this rant seems unsympathetic, but all I ask is that the complainers (and the mayor) who talk to the media stop insulting the country that has given them so much. We do care, we do want to help. And a special note to "The Deciders" - it would be nice to see just one story where New Orleans residents thank America for its generosity instead of calling us cheap and asking for more, more more. As noted in the comments, those people exist. How about doing some, you know, reporting and less narrative-setting?

We've given them a lot of fish. Time for the complainers to pick up the net.

Note - Made some changes to keep from sounding as though I'm indicting the entire population of the city.

Posted by: Slublog at 05:35 AM | Comments (106)
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Pentagon Says “No” to Pain-Ray Gun; AP Writer Uses It as Excuse to Editorialize
— Gabriel Malor

The headline caught my eye: “Pentagon nixes ray gun weapon in Iraq.” To be fair, the article does have a lot of information on the Active Denial System and why the Pentagon is turning it down. I suspect that the first reason will make some of the Ace’s readers’ blood boil:

It's a ray gun that neither kills nor maims, but the Pentagon has refused to deploy it out of concern that the weapon itself might be seen as a torture device.
…
The main reason the tool has been missing in action is public perception. With memories of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal still fresh, the Pentagon is reluctant to give troops a space-age device that could be misconstrued as a torture machine.

So they think it’s a PR problem to save the lives of U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians. (I’m not sure why they think images of troops confronting a mob with loaded rifles are better than troops confronting mobs with Active Denial.)

This is one occasion when you cannot blame the lawyers:

Reviews by military lawyers concluded it is a lawful weapon under current rules governing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a Nov. 15 document prepared by Marine Corps officials in western Iraq.

I think it is fair, though, to say that Abu Ghraib and the abuse scandals will continue to have long-lasting effects on the military. This also falls under the heading of “Avoidable Mistakes.”

Back to the article: the Pentagon also cites the weapon’s cost and the fact that it still isn’t ready for production. Defense contractor Raytheon disagrees. (Raytheon calls it Silent Guardian; the product page is here.)

Mike Booen, Raytheon's vice president for directed energy programs, said the company has produced one system that's immediately available.

"We have the capacity to build additional systems as needed," he said.

It will not surprise you that the AP’s factual writing gives way to editorializing. The writer of the piece feels that you need these crucial images to set the tone (they are the first two paragraphs):

Saddam Hussein had been gone just a few weeks, and U.S. forces in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were already being called unwelcome invaders. One of the first big anti-American protests of the war escalated into shootouts that left 18 Iraqis dead and 78 wounded.

It would be a familiar scene in Iraq's next few years: Crowds gather, insurgents mingle with civilians. Troops open fire, and innocents die.

I won’t bore you with the writer’s numerous other diversions. NOTE: if you click through, the article is spread out over three pages.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 11:16 PM | Comments (41)
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Pentagon Says “No” to Pain-Ray Gun; AP Writer Uses It as Excuse to Editorialize
— Gabriel Malor

The headline caught my eye: “Pentagon nixes ray gun weapon in Iraq.” To be fair, the article does have a lot of information on the Active Denial System and why the Pentagon is turning it down. I suspect that the first reason will make some of the Ace’s readers’ blood boil:

It's a ray gun that neither kills nor maims, but the Pentagon has refused to deploy it out of concern that the weapon itself might be seen as a torture device.
Â…
The main reason the tool has been missing in action is public perception. With memories of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal still fresh, the Pentagon is reluctant to give troops a space-age device that could be misconstrued as a torture machine.

So they think itÂ’s a PR problem to save the lives of U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians. (IÂ’m not sure why they think images of troops confronting a mob with loaded rifles are better than troops confronting mobs with Active Denial.)

This is one occasion when you cannot blame the lawyers:

Reviews by military lawyers concluded it is a lawful weapon under current rules governing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a Nov. 15 document prepared by Marine Corps officials in western Iraq.

I think it is fair, though, to say that Abu Ghraib and the abuse scandals will continue to have long-lasting effects on the military. This also falls under the heading of “Avoidable Mistakes.”

Back to the article: the Pentagon also cites the weaponÂ’s cost and the fact that it still isnÂ’t ready for production. Defense contractor Raytheon disagrees. (Raytheon calls it Silent Guardian; the product page is here.)

Mike Booen, Raytheon's vice president for directed energy programs, said the company has produced one system that's immediately available.

"We have the capacity to build additional systems as needed," he said.

It will not surprise you that the APÂ’s factual writing gives way to editorializing. The writer of the piece feels that you need these crucial images to set the tone (they are the first two paragraphs):

Saddam Hussein had been gone just a few weeks, and U.S. forces in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were already being called unwelcome invaders. One of the first big anti-American protests of the war escalated into shootouts that left 18 Iraqis dead and 78 wounded.

It would be a familiar scene in Iraq's next few years: Crowds gather, insurgents mingle with civilians. Troops open fire, and innocents die.

I wonÂ’t bore you with the writerÂ’s numerous other diversions. NOTE: if you click through, the article is spread out over three pages.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 11:16 PM | Comments (41)
Post contains 462 words, total size 3 kb.

Astronaut Stalker Will Use Insanity Defense
— Gabriel Malor

Former astronaut Lisa Nowak came to our attention for being so crazy that she wore diapers on her cross-country trip to kidnap and maybe kill her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. Now she plans to tell the jury exactly that.

Yesterday her attorneys filed notice with the court that they may use the insanity defense. She's already plead not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, battery, and burglary.

More about Florida's insanity defense and my thoughts on the likelihood that anyone would buy it in this case are in the extended entry. more...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:13 PM | Comments (16)
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All You Have to Do is Give it Back
— Dave In Texas

That bad fundraising cash? Troublesome stuff.

Just donate it to charity.

That makes it all better now.

Hillary! Al Frankenstein. And three congresscritters.

Who do they think they are fooling?

90% of the electorate.. that's who.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 06:55 PM | Comments (32)
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