Apparently thorazine isn't yet speaking truth to early-onset dementia:

"I commend MoveOn for their ad and for speaking truth to power," said Stark. "Up is not down, the earth is not flat, and the surge is not working. General Petreaus betrayed his own reputation by standing with George Bush in opposition to the timely withdrawal of all of our brave men and women from Iraq. I thank MoveOn for their patriotic ad and call on Petreaus to help Bush end a war the President should have never started."

Lefty blogger Matt Stoller then squeals:

That's how a Democrat acts!

Indeed, Matt. And that's the problem.

That's the problem.

Here are the 25 Democrat-acting Democrats who refused to condemn the MoveOn ad today in a Senate resolution:

Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Swell party you have their, Colonel. Be a shame were something t' 'ahppen to it.

Careless, Careless: Copied the wrong list; thanks for pointing that out.

Posted by: Ace at 01:48 PM | Comments (35)
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Powerful stuff.

A childhood friend named Steve Brown said, "Travis was the first person to ever really stick up for me," after they had just met in the 5th grade. Manion had lectured a racist store clerk who ignored Brown because he was black, insisting that his new friend was served first....

***

There was the time that Manion and his team were struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) while conducting a mounted patrol. After absorbing the blast and verifying that no one was seriously injured, he saw the glint of a "command wire" that sometimes leads to a bomb's owner. Jumping from the safety of the armored vehicle, Manion spotted and charged after the triggerman fleeing the scene. Though wearing 80+ pounds of "battle rattle" - armor, equipment and ammunition - Manion won the footrace against the small, wiry man, cornering and capturing his terrified prey in a building. As fellow MiTT Marine Maj Joel Poudrier put it, "He just stormed in and knocked a bunch of boxes the guy was hiding behind out of the way, flexi-cuffed him and dragged him out. That kid was a stud."

What bothers me about the perpetual "chickenhawk" baiting from the left is the unstated assumption that for mere want of desire we'd all be over in Iraq fighting the bad guys.

They don't seem to acknowledge or comprehend: These are heroes. These are better people. It's true I lack what Manion had, and I will never be what he was. Is that shameful? Indeed, it is a source of some shame; but I can acknowledge, reluctantly, what is denied by the chickenhawk-baiters: There are better men than me, better, braver, and stronger in body and mind and spirit.

The constant question: Are you afraid to go to Iraq? Of course I'm afraid, Champ. The only people who aren't afraid are the Fool and Hero, and since you're asking me from the safety of a nice cozy apartment in Chelsea, I'm pretty sure you're not the latter yourself.

The childish baiting seems to deny the credit which Lt. Travis Manion is owed, as if the only thing keeping an army of would-be novelists from writing a best-seller is an extra hour a day and a clean desk.

Bill suggests you donate to a memorial fund in Lt. Manion's name.

Posted by: Ace at 01:42 PM | Comments (11)
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They did it for a reason: because no one's had the balls to ask yet. True. Can't think of many rumors that have floated that the press has shied away from asking; why not this one?

Her answer: Well, pretty much as you'd expect. Dismissing the question as absurd with a fake Hillary! laugh.

Posted by: Ace at 01:30 PM | Comments (27)
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Imagine you are a relatively low level drug smuggler for a big trafficking ring and you misplace a load of cocaine. Who amongst us can say that’s never happened to them? Of course you figure your boss is not going to be cool with that and just write it off, so what do you do? If you are Leroy Carr-Super Genius, you call your local Immigration and Custom Enforcement office and ask for a little help.

According to the complaint, he told agents that on Aug. 3, he had stashed two blue backpacks containing 68 pounds of cocaine by the entrance to a Boy Scout camp near the Canadian border. When he returned the next day, they were gone, he said.

Carr, of suburban Federal Way, asked if ICE could put out a news release saying that federal agents had seized the drugs. That way, according to the complaint, the organization he was working for would believe his statements that he hadn't stolen them.

But did these so called ‘public servants’ do this citizen a solid? No. No they did not. The SOBs arrested him! Leroy Carr-Super Genius has been charged with possession with intent to distribute.

Whatever happened to ‘we’re from the government and we’re here to help’?

Posted by: DrewM. at 01:18 PM | Comments (15)
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Imagine you are a relatively low level drug smuggler for a big trafficking ring and you misplace a load of cocaine. Who amongst us can say thatÂ’s never happened to them? Of course you figure your boss is not going to be cool with that and just write it off, so what do you do? If you are Leroy Carr-Super Genius, you call your local Immigration and Custom Enforcement office and ask for a little help.

According to the complaint, he told agents that on Aug. 3, he had stashed two blue backpacks containing 68 pounds of cocaine by the entrance to a Boy Scout camp near the Canadian border. When he returned the next day, they were gone, he said.

Carr, of suburban Federal Way, asked if ICE could put out a news release saying that federal agents had seized the drugs. That way, according to the complaint, the organization he was working for would believe his statements that he hadn't stolen them.

But did these so called ‘public servants’ do this citizen a solid? No. No they did not. The SOBs arrested him! Leroy Carr-Super Genius has been charged with possession with intent to distribute.

Whatever happened to ‘we’re from the government and we’re here to help’?

Posted by: DrewM at 01:18 PM | Comments (15)
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Killer quote: "The new iteration has an age cap, allowing only those under the age of 30 to lie about sneaking into the U.S. before the age of 16."

Posted by: Ace at 12:07 PM | Comments (20)
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Another grim milestone for the Democrats and their liberal media spirit squad:

Violence across Iraq has fallen to its lowest level since before the bombing of a Shiite mosque in February 2006 that sparked savage sectarian bloodletting, a US military commander said on Thursday.

There has also been a 50 percent fall-off in violence in Baghdad since January, Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, the number two commander of US-led forces in Iraq, told a press conference in Baghdad.

"Attacks nationwide have fallen to the lowest level since before the Golden Mosque bombing," he said, referring to a bombing which destroyed the revered shrine in Samarra and unleashed a relentless wave of reprisals and counter-reprisals across Iraq that has already killed thousands of Iraqis.

"Car bombs and suicide attacks have dropped to their lowest level in a year," Odierno said. "Attacks in Baghdad have reached the lowest level this year and the trend continues to be down."

Civilian casualties had dropped from a high of about 32 per day to 12 per day, the US commander said.

"Al-Qaeda in Iraq is increasingly being pushed out of Baghdad and the surrounding areas," he said. "We are starting to see a normalisation of life across Iraq and also in Baghdad."

...

"There are about 507 neighbourhoods in Baghdad and before operation Fardh al-Qanoon (Imposing Law) was launched (in February), two-thirds were controlled by terrorists and criminal gangs," the general said.

"Today, only five or six neighbourhoods can be considered hot zones," he said.

Thanks to DaveP of Dean's World.

Posted by: Ace at 11:59 AM | Comments (18)
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I realize that the MSM is always looking for news of the strange and changed, rather than than the normal and time-tested, but I also can't help but think this article would have a slightly more judgmental tone were it men discussing wives in such a way.

The Starter Husband

"You'd never buy a car without test-driving it first right? So why settle into a lifelong marriage before trying one on for size?"

Andi takes a throaty slug of her second raspberry martini, picks at her fish taco, then sits back in her chair. "I think marriage is the new dating and having kids is the new marriage," she proclaims loudly, as yet another woman dining with her partner turns to stare. "It's true. I wouldn't have married him if I didn't think I could get out of it...."

...

For some, a starter husband is like a starter home — a semi-commitment where you're willing to do some of the surface work, like painting the walls, but not the heavy lifting, like gutting the whole foundation; he's just not a long-term investment. Others compare a starter husband to a first job, where you learn some skills and polish your resume before going after the position you really want....

It's easy to write these women off as callous or self-absorbed. And yet on some level, they just might be pioneers: Why stay put in an empty shell of a marriage — an arrangement on paper only — instead of calling it what it is? "This generation is reinventing marriage," says Paul.

Some women are in love with the philosophical/political idea of treating men contemptuously, and then seem to scratch their heads in wonderment when they detect that feeling might be mutual.

Remember seventh grade and "I like him but only if he likes me back"?

Yeah. Look into it, "pioneers."

Posted by: Ace at 11:36 AM | Comments (96)
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Of course it's a pander; our European allies aren't even eager to honor their current NATO commitments nevermind any fresh ones made to "that shitty little country," as an English diplomat undiplomatically called Israel.

Still, I like being pandered to. Who doesn't?

Via Newsday, by Tom Brune.

LONDON - Rudy Giuliani talked tough on Iran yesterday, proposing to expand NATO to include Israel and warning that if Iran's leaders go ahead with their goal to be a nuclear power "we will prevent it, or we will set them back five or 10 years."

...

Giuliani's implied threat of a U.S. or allied attack on Iran's nuclear capabilities goes further than the hard line against Iran by most other Republican presidential hopefuls, and even exceeds the stern warnings of the Bush White House.

But it was his threatening words aimed at Iran that caught the most attention, even prompting GOP rival Fred Thompson to schedule a briefing today to offer his views of Iran.

...

"If they get to the point that they're going to become a nuclear power, we will prevent it, or we will set them back five or 10 years," he added.

"It isn't a threat, it's just a reality. And I think if that reality sinks in, there is a better chance that we will never have to use a military option to deal with them," he said.

While Giuliani did not explicitly address the implications for Iran of adding Israel to NATO in his speech, his aides later highlighted a 2006 Heritage Foundation paper by Nile Gardiner, a former Thatcher aide who was announced as a new Giuliani adviser yesterday.

Thanks to Funky Chicken.

Posted by: Ace at 11:16 AM | Comments (29)
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Don't taze my bro's.

“Doctors said the lightning went through my body and because I was wearing rubber boots it earthed itself through my penis.”

The dude's dick literally spat lightning.

Dick Cheney just emailed to say, "And...?"

Posted by: Ace at 10:45 AM | Comments (31)
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