When someone is willing to sue, it usually means they're telling the truth. Discovery is a bitch, and if there's a there there, she wouldn't risk it.

Thanks to CJ.

$27 Million: I missed the amount she's seeking. 27 large.

Posted by: Ace at 01:41 PM | Comments (84)
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Noah Pollak tossed out this term to describe Hamas' apologists. Like LadyHumps or London Bridge, I didn't know exactly what it meant, but I knew it meant something, and I liked it.

It occurred to me he might be using it in the way that it's used here -- "Get me a juicebox," from that Will Ferrel movie whose title escapes me -- implying that the moment Hamas demands that Klein, Yglesias, et al. fetch them a juicebox, they go and fetch them a frickin' juicebox.

Here's that clip. Mike Ditka here is actually playing Mike Ditka, whose doing Ferrel a favor by acting as his assistant coach.

I still think that's what it means. But My Pet Jawa thinks it has something to do with this Hamas supporter's placard, vowing, oddly enough, "Death to all Juice."

It occurs to me that I could resolve this rather easily by sending this guy an email, but, you know, I'm a blogger. I don't do reportage. I speculate. Even when actually getting the facts would take five minutes.

Okay, I will email him and find out. Just this once, and never again.

But it's worth the speculation just to note that in addition to dancing, homosexuality, rock music and the clitoris, the would-be global caliphate has also declared war on juice.

Not that it affects me. Atkins and all. But I don't want to live in a world where I can't drink a nice cool glass of Cran-Grape.

Thanks to either Duane or his wife (one of those joint email accounts). I would say his wife's name, but then I'd probably be outing them as a couple.

PS: This is a constant thing I have to consider -- how do I hat-tip people? By their real name?

If you send a tip, maybe tell me how you want to be referred to on the blog, if at all.

Oh-- and if you have a blog, please include it in the sig so I can h/t the blog! So many people have blogs now, but don't mention them in their emails.

More Obvious: He may just mean they are young and callow and filled with equal measures of youthful overconfidence and SunnyD.

Posted by: Ace at 01:16 PM | Comments (58)
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I guess that ends this drama.

Reid won't even have to intercede.

In an act of political audacity, embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named former state attorney general Roland Burris to fill President-elect Obama's Senate seat, a position he is accused of trying to "sell."

The appointment was instantly rejected by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White who said he would refuse to certify Burris' selection, and by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who said Burris would not be allowed to be seated.

SecState White is black, by the way. Not sure how that matters, except that, you know, it matters. Because he's racist against Burris or somethin'.

Thanks to Alice H.

Gabe's Analysis: Gabe sends this--

Regarding the Illinois Secretary of State refusing to certify Blagojevich's appointment, I think there's a good case to be made that he has no choice in the matter.

15 Ill. Comp. Stat. 305/5 provides:

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State:
...
2. To make a register of all appointments by the Governor, specifying the person appointed, the office conferred, the date of the appointment, the date when bond or oath is taken and the date filed. If Senate confirmation is required, the date of the confirmation shall be included in the register.
The use of "shall" typically indicates a mandatory act without discretion.

Of course, I don't really know anything about Illinois law. It was just my first thought that since the state delegates the power to make appointments to the Governor, the Secretary of State would also have to have been delegated some authority to stop him. As far as I can tell, it doesn't. So, if I were going for the crazy defense like Blagojevich appears to I'd go ahead with the appointment anyway, and declare Buriss a Senator. Of course, this now gives Harry Reid cover to refuse to seat him...

Gabe may be right, but I think he's forgetting that this is Illinois. It doesn't seem that the letter of the law is particularly important to the political class. Expediency, self-interest, and raw political muscle -- the political class simply agreeing this can be done, the law be damned -- seem to be the real law of the state.

Posted by: Ace at 12:35 PM | Comments (85)
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An email, letting me know how precious I am to the Obama team:

Barack Obama will be sworn in as President of the United States of America on January 20th, 2009.

It will be an unprecedented event in the history of our country, and hundreds of thousands of people will come together in Washington, D.C. to share the moment.

Supporters like you made this happen. You know that real change comes from the bottom up, not from the top down, and Barack and Joe want you to join them on this historic day. They want to start off this administration with the people who worked so hard and will continue to fight for change with them.

Between now and January 8th, 10 supporters and their guests will be selected to join the Inaugural activities.

If you make a donation -- in any amount -- to make the Inauguration a success, you and a guest could be flown to Washington, D.C., put up in a hotel, and be there as Barack is sworn in as the 44th President.

Make a donation of $5 or more right now. You and a guest could receive your ticket to history.

They're auctioning off ten (10!) tickets total (yes, with hotel and airfare, which is no big shakes, really), while soliciting donations from millions.

Do we on the right need to be more childish about all this?

Here's what I mean. Regarding Obama playing golf as war breaks out continues apace as usual between Hamas and Israel. Remember how George W. Bush was castigated by Michael Moore and the left for playing golf under identical circumstances?

The American media rises above such pettiness, of course, content instead to admire the uber-coolness of his shorts.

...

It’s a further gloss on the boss’s point about how workout regimens magically shift from “creepy” to “disciplined” when it’s Obama doing the push-ups instead of Bush: When Dubya plays a round while bombs fall in the Middle East, he’s lazy and callous, but when The One does it, he’s taking a much-needed break from the rigors of planning to run the free world. Like Geraghty, I don’t begrudge him the respite — after two years of campaigning and with tough times to come, he needs it...

Now the trouble is, I have a problem with rising to the very high bar of petulant pettiness the left has established this past eight years. I sorta want to freak out about this, like the left did, but I'm... you know, an adult and everything, and have trouble shrieking over such minor nonsense.

But is the right's sense of proportion -- not to mention our sense of embarrassment about acting like jackasses -- a hurdle for us? Would it be better to shriek endlessly about stuff like this?

I don't know. I suspect it didn't work a lot for the left, but the constant sniping and carping about everyfuckingthing must have had some impact.

So: Do we boldly become caterwauling cretinous Cassandras ourselves?

Posted by: Ace at 12:05 PM | Comments (109)
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Holiday hangover.

A preview of the the bad economy a-comin':

The fallout from the horrific holiday season for retailers has begun, with the operator of an online toy seller filing for bankruptcy protection and more stores are expected to do the same — meaning more empty storefronts and fewer brands on store shelves.

A rash of store closings, which some experts predict will be the most in 35 years, is likely to come across areas from electronics to apparel, shrinking the industry and leading to fewer niche players and suppliers.

The most dramatic pullback in consumer spending in decades could transform the retail landscape, as thousands of stores and whole malls close down. And analysts expect prolonged woes in the industry as the dramatic changes in shopping behavior could linger for another two or three years amid worries about the deteriorating economy and rising layoffs.

...

A number of stores couldn't even make it to Christmas. Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection last month. It plans to keep operating, but toy seller KB Toys, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, is liquidating its stores and will shut down.

...

About 160,000 stores will have closed this year and 200,000 more could shutter next year, said Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. That would be the industry's biggest contraction in 35 years. In March and April of next year, Flickinger expects 2,000 to 3,000 malls to shutter.

Via Hot Air's headlines.

Posted by: Ace at 11:23 AM | Comments (89)
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Personally, I doubt they can. They're like a couple of teenage sex-gibbons.

Let there be no doubt: 2009 will rock like no other ear has rocked before.

Related: Sweet, Anti-PUMA Caroline.

Cuffy's "You know" buzzer vid has been linked by Drudge, Breitbart, the LAT, and now CNN, incidentally.

Posted by: Ace at 11:06 AM | Comments (38)
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Yeah.

Nice Deb wonders what comments this would provoke. I can only think of the obvious, and I don't want to go there.

I mean, yes, we now know what to get Andrew Sullivan for Boxing Day.

Maybe you can do better.

Posted by: Ace at 10:46 AM | Comments (104)
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Gabe sends a post by email -- damn his job.

The New York Times reports "the Treasury Department has agreed to take a stake of $5 billion in GMAC, the auto lending company, and agreed to lend $1 billion to General Motors to help GMAC reorganize itself as a bank holding company."

The Detroit Free Press adds "the money for the injection would come from the $700 billion financial industry bailout, and that GMAC would have to meet restrictions on executive pay as part of the deal."

And finally, the Wall Street Journal chimes in:

The move represents the second tranche of government aid that redounds to the benefit of giant private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Chrysler and, until these recent moves, a majority stake in GMAC. John Snow, a top player at Cerberus, was the Bush Administration's Treasury secretary before Henry Paulson.

...

In bailing out GMAC, Treasury officials aren't just stabilizing an auto-finance company but a major player in the housing market's boom and bust. GMAC played a big role in purchasing riskier adjustable-rate mortgages.

Posted by: Ace at 10:07 AM | Comments (32)
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This is that story you've heard: a student was silently reading a book called Notre Dame vs. the Klan, a book about Notre Dame's efforts, um, versus the Klan. You know, the Klan being defeated.

A black student saw him reading it, and told him she didn't like the Klan. The student agreed -- the Klan is bad. She reported him anyway. And, incredibly, the university took action against the student for racial harassment.

Unbelievable.

Posted by: Ace at 10:02 AM | Comments (48)
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I guess that Hamas part wouldn't fit in the headline.

Both sides rejected any notion of a ceasefire soon, three days after Israeli leaders launched bombing raids with the declared aim of halting rocket salvoes from the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave.

Keep an eye on that headline, it's been changing (as has the storyline) since I noticed it this morning. Both that headline and the "both sides" paragraph were in this feed earlier today, but they're gone now. Replaced with the only slightly less objectionable "Israel presses on with Gaza strikes amid truce talks".

Hamas could end this today if they wanted to. But they don't want to.

In other war news, Cynthia McKinney's good ship lollipop gets bumped by an Israeli patrol boat.

"Our mission was a peaceful mission to deliver medical supplies and our mission was thwarted by the Israelis -- the aggressiveness of the Israeli military," she said.

I don't doubt their effectiveness at enforcing their own blockade, but I'll bet you a paycheck they can be a lot more aggressive about it if they want to Cynthia. For example.

(offer withdrawn if she doesn't in fact earn a paycheck.)

There's video, but I can't bring myself to watch her or post it.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 09:13 AM | Comments (43)
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