Aside from the Xerox moment, this debate was a big snooze. But it may be noteworthy because it was so boring.

If Clinton thought that she had a chance, she would have done everything possible to shake things up. Sure, she took lots of shots at Obama's healthcare plan, but she never really got that into it. She killed at the early debates; now, not so much. She even stumbled over the Xerox line that her staff thought up. Obama's plan this evening was to make the debate as uninteresting as possible and he succeeded, but he sure didn't have to try all that hard. He's ahead already, so a humdrum debate helps him most. If there was a winner this evening, it was him, despite all the media praise for Clinton's final answer.

And that's the other thing that makes this debate noteworthy: in a moving speech, she talked about how--if she lost--everything would be alright for her, but that she's just so darn worried about the country. There were no tears, but it was close. I've been wondering what she plans to do if she doesn't become the nominee, and now we have the answer: she intends to stay in Democratic politics. She's going to keep at it in New York and if McCain wins, she'll try for the presidency in four years.

The next week and a half is a face-saving exercise for Clinton. She wants to make a nice exit.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:41 PM | Comments (18)
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Really, Jesus 2.0?

Really?

You really going with that, buddy?

You sure of that?

Really?

Really?

thanks to CJ.

Just So I Understand This... But Afghanistan is apparently awash in NATO 5.56mm ammunition, which can be used to load NATO guns, if only it can be taken (via fisticuffs, I imagine) from the local Afghan warlords and Taliban fighters?

Really? NATO 5.56mm, huh? In a third world country? A third world country with tons of AK-47s and AK-74s because it is 1) a third world country and 2) a former conquest off the Soviet Union?

But they're, like, completely stocked with NATO 5.56mm rounds over there, huh?

Really?

Really?

Correction: Actually, he claims alternately that the US troops are "capturing Tally-ban weapons" and that they have to capture "the equipment" they need.

He doesn't say ammo.

It's weapons/equipment.

But, of course, if we're capturing AK-47s, we also need to be capturing the Soviet or Chinese 7.62mm ammo that loads into it.

Amazing. Fucking amazing.

It's All Too True: Below, captured footage of US soldiers forced to fight hand to hand against a Taliban Warlord/dragon-man for lack of ammo.

Winess the plight of the undersupplied Captain that Obama was speaking of.

Upcoming footage will show US troops constructing crude cannons using a pipe made of a bamboo-ike substance, sulphur, phosphorus, saltpeter, and diamonds.

US Army Rangers Captain J.T. Kirk was quoted as saying, "Diamonds. Diamonds. Worth... a fortune. But to me-- useless. I'd trade them all, all. For. A simple. Phaser."

Posted by: Ace at 06:57 PM | Comments (140)
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At our lunchtime Rotary meeting today, we had visitors. The Rotary District 6000 Governor came & gave a short speech, but the Main Event was a visit from Iowa's own Senator Chuck Grassley (R). The next time I hear Chuck Grassley dodge a question will be the first time - I LOVE listening to this guy speak. Even when you disagree with him, he's still answering questions and defending his positions. For a politician, he's unusually honest in front of an audience of his constituents.

He essentially got up, gave a quick salutation to Winterset, and then opened the meeting to questions from the audience. He got farm program questions, capital gains tax questions, a question about federal matching funds for hospice services at our local hospital, and other questions that slip my mind right now. The two questions that caught my attention were regarding his efforts to oversee the operations of "Prosperity Gospel" televangelists and a question about his preferred Democratic Presidential nominee. more...

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 06:49 PM | Comments (8)
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Two tons of gold and possibly the looted Russian Amber Room contents.

The books aren't really even "closed" on WWII, yet people think they know the definitive story about other conflicts that are much more recent and less comprehensively documented. Very curious that.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 06:03 PM | Comments (15)
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Right now on CNN.

Can Hillary derail the Second Coming?

It's kind of like watching two rivals of your favorite team play each other. You aren't really rooting for anyone, just a tie and lots of injuries.

UPDATE: Ace was right yesterday. She's dead. Not resting and not pining for the fjords. Just dead.

There's nothing she could have done tonight or in the last few weeks. She's too well known, too locked into who she is. People can talk about she should have done this or done that tactically with her campaign but the fact is, once Obama became a viable alternative, voters looked at Hillary and said, "Do Not Want".

Below the fold, Slu's instant classic of a PhotoShop. more...

Posted by: DrewM. at 05:00 PM | Comments (52)
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Looks like the Mookster wants to feed his American Idol addiction for a while longer before getting his 72 virgins.. Good call Mook - I'm told they all look like Helen Thomas.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 04:42 PM | Comments (10)
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Indulging further in nostalgia, I almost converted this blog at one point to a full-on Streets of Fire fan-site. (Thinking that was too obscure, I instead changed it to a Miami Vice fan-site.)

As a goof, of course.

Anyway, people of a certain age are into Streets of Fire, so I thought I might let you know it's on EncoreAction tonight at 1:20am Eastern.

It's also on right now, near the end. The sledgehammer fight is coming up.

Sledghehammer Fight! Actually I don't know if these are sledgehammers or, I don't know, brickbats or something.

But it's an awesome fight.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 04:36 PM | Comments (41)
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It's a bit sad that we have to beg popular Representatives to continue serving.

Senator Trent Lott, on the other hand, is reportedly under investigation for involvement in a judge-bribing scam.

Indicted lawyer Timothy Balducci testified Wednesday in Federal Court in Oxford, that Lott's brother-in- law Dickie Scruggs had tried to use Lott to influence rulings made by Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter. He said in turn, Lott would recommend Judge DeLaughter for a seat on the federal bench. This involved a dispute over millions of dollars in asbestos legal fees. Lott is not charged with any wrong doing in the case. He unexpectedly resigned his Senate post just two days before Scruggs was indicted in November. We have not been able to contact Mr. Lott.

Posted by: Ace at 03:44 PM | Comments (17)
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Is vengeance actually a cause of action? Eh, I'm sure they gussied it up in more appropriate legalese:

More than three dozen members of the 2006 Duke University men's lacrosse team and members of their families filed suit against Duke University, its President Richard Brodhead and other officials, Duke's medical center, and the City of Durham and city officials for emotional distress and other injuries in connection with false rape charges and a corrupt police investigation against team members in 2006.

...

The suit, filed today in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, said University officials remained silent even though they possessed convincing evidence of the players' innocence and also "lent credibility to the rape allegations by capitulating to an angry mob's demands to condemn and punish the innocent players and their blameless coach."

Chuck Cooper said the private university turned its back on the players to protect the school's image. "This lawsuit is born out of Duke and Durham's sustained wrongdoing and callous conduct against the players," Cooper said

...

Pamela Bernard, Duke vice president and general counsel, issued the following statement in response to the lawsuit filed by Attorney Chuck Cooper: "We have not yet seen the lawsuit, but if these plaintiffs have a complaint, it is with Mr. Nifong. Their legal strategy -- attacking Duke -- is misdirected and without merit."

Bernard statement went onto offer help to the families of the lacrosse players. "To help these families move on, Duke offered to cover the cost of any attorneys' fees or other out-of-pocket expenses, but they rejected this offer. We will vigorously defend the university against these claims," Bernard stated.

None of the lawsuits were filed against the woman who said she was raped. In the lawsuit filed Thursday, the accuser was called a "deeply mentally disturbed, drug-dependent young woman."

The amount of damages sought is unspecified and "to be established at trial."

Nifong wasn't named as a defendant... because he's about to declare bankruptcy. Boo-YAH!

Against Duke, their case seems somewhat weak; some of the allegations include the assertion that Duke had a "special" duty to the Lax players as student-athletes, which seems, what's the word, fucking crazy. I rather doubt that Duke actually had evidence the boys were innocent; the proof of that was Crystal Gail Mangum herself, and I doubt Duke had a chance to interview this bipolar crackwhore (or a duty to do so).

Duke behaved abominably, but I don't think they did so in any legally culpable manner.

Still, fuck it: I'd find in their favor, and I know this is mostly bunk. It's not always about legal technicalities and guilt and innocence.

Sometimes it's just about acting like a fucking cocksucker and needing to pay.

Thanks to Alice H.

Hmm... Some commenters point out that Duke's employees (independent contractors? not sure), the Professors United For Mob Justice, condemned the players. That's a fair point but I don't know Duke has an obligation or a right to stifle the speech of its iditotentsia.

steve_in_hb writes:

I seem to remember that one of the deans told the all the lacrosse players to talk to the cops and that it wasn't necessary for them to talk to a lawyer or tell their parents first. I believe the dean had her law degree.

Also, it seems very likely that the advertisement taken out by a bunch of the professors condemning the players and praising the lynch mob was payed for by at least one of the academic departments - in other words with school money.

The school also allowed the New Black Panthers on campus, non-students, who embarked on a pattern of physically harassing players while they were attending classes. Essentially, the school allowed an open season on its students without lifting a finger to protect them.

Okay, now fortified with that background, I'm reading the "Case Summary" and I see the specified allegations as follows and do see some of that here:

Against the Duke Defendants specifically the complaint, among other claims, alleges:

• Intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress based on the false and misleading information about the medical and physical evidence of rape provided by Levicy to the Durham Investigators that spurred on the rape investigation, the active suppression of exculpatory evidence, conduct and statements that maligned the lacrosse players and active conspiracy with the Durham Investigators and Supervisors.

• Breach of various duties of care owed the plaintiffs including the duty of care in conducting and reporting of forensic medical examination and the duty to warn of the hazards created by the Duke Defendants in providing false and misleading information to the Durham Investigators and not disclosing exculpatory information in their exclusive possession.

• Fraud, negligent misrepresentation, abuse of process, and violations of fourth amendment rights based on Duke University’s disclosure of confidential key card reports to the Durham Investigators in violation of FERPA and Duke’s attempt to cover-up that illegal disclosure by collaborating in the issuance and use of a sham subpoena.

• Fraud through abuse of the confidential relationship between various Duke Defendants and the lacrosse players during the rape hoax crisis when defendants advised team members not to tell their parents and not to seek or obtain legal representation and by steering the players to Duke’s chosen
advisor, Defendant Wes Covington.

• Breach of duty based on Duke’s special relationship with its student athletes. Duke failed in its duty to seek to protect these students from harassment, harm to their reputation, a rogue criminal investigation

• Breach of contract for Duke’s failure to follow and enforce its own antiharassment policy, cancellation of the lacrosse season, violation of
procedural rights.

I gave it a quick and dirty -- as in, "movement" dirty -- reading and that stuff flew by me. There's a lot of weak tea crap in there, but it seems there are some legally cognizable claims made. ("Cognizable" is legal term meaning "awesome.")

Posted by: Ace at 02:32 PM | Comments (50)
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A debate in Austin tonight, that appears almost meaningless now. Unless she's bloodthirsty or insane (I have not ruled those out), Hillary understands that ripping the nomination from Obamarama would implode the Democrats.

Too bad. I kinda hoped she'd wig out on "IT'S MINE DAMMIT" and watch the fun, but I don't think it's gonna happen. It would be fun (and by fun I mean, "Fun! Like drinking a quart of Valu-Rite and holding a "how many coasters can I staple to my testicles?" contest would be fun) to watch the goofballs in Austin watch the debate. I'll see if I can catch the highlights tonight.

I still plan to vote for her on March 4, but I don't think it matters anymore.

Still, she had that certain, something.

Eve-rything's com-ing up ro-ses!

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 02:07 PM | Comments (37)
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