From the dissident frogman

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Posted by: Purple Avenger at 05:55 PM | Comments (2)
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Plus: Bathroom etiquette.

Posted by: Ace at 05:41 PM | Comments (14)
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It’s hard to ignore the fact that one of our most persistent enemies in Iraq is publicly throwing in the towel (at least temporarily) and that momentum is clearly on our side. Of course I am sure the Democrats and the MSM (but I repeat myself) will find a way to do just that.

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his dreaded Shiite militia on Wednesday to stop attacks on US-led forces as part of a six-month suspension of the militant group's activities.
…

"I direct the Mahdi Army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed," Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the city of Najaf.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani, a Sadr aide who led a bloody rebellion against US forces in Najaf in 2004, said the suspension included a ban on any attacks on US-led forces.

"The suspension means that the Mahdi Army will stop all armed activities against the occupiers or any other groups," he told AFP. "The aim is to reorganise the militia but not to dismantle it. It is also an effort to root out the rogue elements."

…

Most of his fighters are reported to have disappeared to avoid the military crackdown and taken shelter in the Shiite south of the country.

It’s unclear exactly what Mookie’s game is here. He could simply be lying, laying low and waiting for his allies in Congress to bail him out or any number of other possibilities. And while Sadr is the most well known Shiite militia leader, he isn’t the only one. Regardless, I hope that the US military doesn’t take a 6 month break in operations against Sadr’s group…keep kicking them, especially when they are down.

Here’s an early attempt at spin from Bassem Mroue of the Associated Press.

But it's unclear how much influence al-Sadr still wields over Shiite groups blamed for waves of attacks, including powerful roadside bombs that remain the chief killer of U.S. troops. American officials, meanwhile, reacted with skepticism and urged al-Sadr to show tangible steps to rein in his fighters.

I eagerly await the newest talking point from the left….”Just because our enemy is giving up doesn’t mean we are wining in Iraq!” or something like that.

Posted by: DrewM. at 02:53 PM | Comments (32)
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ItÂ’s hard to ignore the fact that one of our most persistent enemies in Iraq is publicly throwing in the towel (at least temporarily) and that momentum is clearly on our side. Of course I am sure the Democrats and the MSM (but I repeat myself) will find a way to do just that.

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his dreaded Shiite militia on Wednesday to stop attacks on US-led forces as part of a six-month suspension of the militant group's activities.
Â…

"I direct the Mahdi Army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed," Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the city of Najaf.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani, a Sadr aide who led a bloody rebellion against US forces in Najaf in 2004, said the suspension included a ban on any attacks on US-led forces.

"The suspension means that the Mahdi Army will stop all armed activities against the occupiers or any other groups," he told AFP. "The aim is to reorganise the militia but not to dismantle it. It is also an effort to root out the rogue elements."

Â…

Most of his fighters are reported to have disappeared to avoid the military crackdown and taken shelter in the Shiite south of the country.

ItÂ’s unclear exactly what MookieÂ’s game is here. He could simply be lying, laying low and waiting for his allies in Congress to bail him out or any number of other possibilities. And while Sadr is the most well known Shiite militia leader, he isnÂ’t the only one. Regardless, I hope that the US military doesnÂ’t take a 6 month break in operations against SadrÂ’s groupÂ…keep kicking them, especially when they are down.

HereÂ’s an early attempt at spin from Bassem Mroue of the Associated Press.

But it's unclear how much influence al-Sadr still wields over Shiite groups blamed for waves of attacks, including powerful roadside bombs that remain the chief killer of U.S. troops. American officials, meanwhile, reacted with skepticism and urged al-Sadr to show tangible steps to rein in his fighters.

I eagerly await the newest talking point from the left….”Just because our enemy is giving up doesn’t mean we are wining in Iraq!” or something like that.

Posted by: DrewM at 02:53 PM | Comments (32)
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People are already mocking this defense of Craig's. Bruce writes to say:

(1) I predict that will become a staple punchline on late-night
television for years to come.

(2) I used a bathroom at an airport yesterday. It's pretty impossible to have a wide stance when your pants are down around your ankles -- so was Craig lying about his 'wide stance' or did he still have his pants all the way up? And if so, then why was he sitting on a toilet?

Ummm.... that's a pretty good question.

Maybe he had his pants all the way off.

Though I guess that's not a very good explanation either.

Posted by: Ace at 01:44 PM | Comments (68)
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The over-the-edge thing is just a bit of dumb speculation from FoxNews.

What isn't speculation is that Kate Hudson dumped Owen Wilson for Dax Sheppard.

Why is this weird?

I'm glad you didn't ask.

This is weird because Dax Sheppard, apart from being a generally funny guy, does a hilarious, and as far as I know the only, impression of Owen Wilson.

I just found a tiny little bit of it on Comedy Central. And unlike the six billion Jack Nicholson impressions, this one is singular.

So Katie Hudson breaks up with Owen Wilson to date a guy who shares Wilson's laid-back druggie slacker persona, and general look, and the one guy in the entire world who can do a dead-bang accurate imitation of Owen Wilson?

As they say on Arrested Development, "She does have a type."

If I were Wilson, I wouldn't take this as heart-breaking. I'd take it as a huge ego-boost.

I gotta think Sheppard is going to retire that impression for at least four or five years, just to not be a total dick. So that might be the only time you'll get a chance to see it.

Posted by: Ace at 01:21 PM | Comments (16)
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I shy away from calling him heroic, but I thought I'd give him props for exactly that which made him suspicious in the eyes of the FBI: the man took his job to protect the public and find evidence of foul play very seriously, and advanced the case, or would have, at least, had the FBI not immediately deemed him their chief suspect and branded him a psycho bomber.

The media was pretty eager to run with that story. "Local security cop finds bomb evidence FBI didn't, ergo he must be a crazed psychopath in on the crime." It's almost as if they don't believe someone could just have a quite-healthy interest in protecting the public from harm, or have difficulty accepting the possibility that someone not formally credentialed by a prestigious institution could have any talents to contribute to society.

Thanks to krakatoa.

Posted by: Ace at 12:05 PM | Comments (47)
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The mathematically perfect hips-to-waist ratio, resulting in the ideal waggle.

I'm really only linking this for this line, right from the story:

The Jessica Alba sashay beat off competition ...

Why was I not informed? I'm pretty sure I could have made it to the national quaterfinals, easy, if I'd known they were running a Jessica Alba Sashay Beat Off Competition.

Via Allah. more...

Posted by: Ace at 11:55 AM | Comments (53)
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At Drudge...

'I believe that he -- that he pled guilty, and he had the opportunity to plead innocent. So I think he should resign,' Senator John McCain told CNN. 'And suppose he comes back to Washington and says, I want to serve. That's -- that will be a decision that he will make and most importantly, the people of the state of Idaho. But my opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, then you shouldn't serve. And that's not a moral stand. That's not a holier than thou. It's just a factual situation. I don't try to judge people. but in this case, it's clear that it was disgraceful.'

Rep . Pete Hoekstra, too.

Thanks to JackM. for those tips.

Norm Coleman Now, Too: Well played, for once, GOP. It seems the GOP has persuaded those not associated with the social right -- you know, the ones the MSM doesn't scorn as troglodytes -- to do the heavy lifting of removing Craig from office.

...

Iceman argues that Craig was not merely arrested for and charged with mere "foot-tapping." He was not arrested merely for an "intent" to do something wrong, as I suggested before. He did do something wrong, the original complaint maintains, by peeping into someone else's stall.

Craig didn't cop to that in his plea, but he was charged with both that and the disorderly persons rap. He pleaded to the less creepy and more vague disorderly conduct charge.

Iceman's rebuttal below. more...

Posted by: Ace at 11:43 AM | Comments (38)
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Who says this isn't as newsworthy and deserving of flood-the-zone coverage as the Jack Abramoff scandal?

The Deciders, of course.

The Federal Election Commission has fined one of the last cycleÂ’s biggest liberal political action committees $775,000 for using unregulated soft money to boost John Kerry and other Democratic candidates during the 2004 elections.

America Coming Together (ACT) raised $137 million for its get-out-the-vote effort in 2004, but the FEC found most of that cash came through contributions that violated federal limits.

The groupÂ’s big donors included George Soros, Progressive Corp. chairman Peter Lewis and the Service Employees International Union.

The settlement, which the FEC approved unanimously, is the third largest enforcement penalty in the commissionÂ’s 33-year history.

ACT, which ceased operations in 2005, was formed in late 2003 and rapidly deployed an enormous organization to do the retail-level grunt work of politics.

It opened more than 90 offices in 17 states from which it mobilized an army of more than 25,000 paid canvassers and volunteers to knock on doors, stuff envelopes and make phone calls urging voters to defeat President Bush and support Democratic or “progressive” candidates including Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate.

The FEC dismissed allegations that that KerryÂ’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee violated campaign laws by coordinating with ACT or accepting excessive contributions from the group.

ACT was among a new breed of political committee, known as 527 groups, that stretched campaign finance rules on their way to shaping the 2004 elections.

Operatives used the 527s, named for the section of the IRS code under which they were registered, to spend money on politics outside the FECÂ’s purview.

But the groups have largely faded from the political landscape as the FEC has sought to rein them in. Late last year, commissioners handed down a total of $630,000 in penalties to three top 527s: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, MoveOn.org and the League of Conservation Voters, and there are more complaints pending.

But the heads of two of the non-profit campaign finance reform groups behind many of the complaints, including the one that led to the ACT penalty, say itÂ’s all too little, too late.

“This action comes more than three years after our FEC complaints were filed and nearly three years after the 2004 presidential election was held,” read a statement from Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, and Gerry Hebert, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center.

Plus, they argued, the fine “represents only a tiny fraction” of the amount ACT spent illegally on the 2004 elections.

The Deciders. Deciding what information is important so that you don't become "misled" away from the Metanarrative.

Thanks to JackStraw.

Posted by: Ace at 11:35 AM | Comments (10)
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