UPDATE WITH THE UPDATE [Dave]: Screw this pitosin shit, we're going in after this boy. C-Section.

A son.

Moses Glenn, unless they're still arm wrestling over the name, and she's on morphine so Russ might win.

3 pounds 5 ounces. 16.5 inches long. He's healthy, as is mom. Bacon later. Get him up to fightin weight. But he'll be there for several days puttin on weight and making poopies.

Russ said thanks everyone.

UPDATE above the post [Dave in Texas]:

Just spoke with Russ... things are going well, and they're in good hands. I asked him to call me with news. Will update.

There's a baby happening in Winterset tonight! I can't think of anything better happening at all, really.

God bless pal. Don't step on the wires and stuff, pisses the docs off.

Lord I know.

Russ' post:

As you all know from previous entries, my wife Janis is pregnant with our first child. She's suffering from pre-eclampsia, a condition where high blood pressure can create complications for both the mother & child. She went in for her regular weekly appointment yesterday, and the doctors decided that her BP was too high to risk continuing the pregnancy any further. We're at 34 weeks right now, and as I type this, we're sitting in a suite on the maternity ward waiting for the doctors to induce labor.

Everything's looking pretty good right now, and I'll try to give out the vital information as soon as we get it. The ultrasound they did yesterday indicated that the baby's just shy of 4 pounds, and since Janis had a steriod shot for the baby's lungs about a month ago, the nurses & doctor are confident that the baby will be OK, even if he/she is a little premature. They think we'll have to let Baby hang out in the incubator for a couple of days, but then we should be able to take him/her home.

Thanks to everyone here for the previous good wishes, and NO, we decided against naming the baby "Ace Allah (from Winterset)". Now "Laura BBeck (from Winterset)"? We haven't eliminated that one yet.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 05:31 PM | Comments (106)
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Eh, I sweetened that. She said that if he weren't black, he wouldn't be in the position he's in.

I realize liberals aren't exactly bears for consistency, but how in the hell are the Democrats going to play the same "racial code words!" game on us in the general election when they themselves are using those "code words" now?

The Obama campaign accuses the Hillary campaign of an "insidious pattern" of racial appeals. Maybe, maybe not. (More maybe than maybe not.)

I'm just really wondering how the Democrats are going to cry shame, shame on us when the wife of the first black president herself stands accused.

Questions for debate: Is Ferraro right about Obama owing most of his success to his skin tone? And is Obama right about the Hillary camp employing an "insidious pattern" of racial attacks? And is Obama cynically crying "racism" at any negative comment about him in order to work the media refs and stop all uncomfortable examination of his paper-thin, doctrinaire liberal record?

Answer to all debate questions: Yes.

Well that was quick. Glad we took care of that.

Via Cuffy Meigs. I had to steal it. Had to.

I'll try to make up for that by directing traffic to this, which is is positively surreal -- Iranian policewomen in full burkas rappelling down the sides of buildings like frumpy ninjas.

The Man, as in The Black Man, Always Be Keepin' Me Down: Ferarro squeals she's being picked on because she's white.

Well, if she means that being white, her words are subject to a level of media and political scrutiny bordering on the paranoid and oppressive... Welcome to the party, pal.

And you thought that "D" after your name was always going to protect you, huh?

Posted by: Ace at 05:30 PM | Comments (48)
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No real surprise.

Now there's 6 weeks until the next contest, the Pennsylvania primary on April 22nd.

My sympathies go out to the residents of the Keystone State who will now have the undivided attention of the candidates. Enjoy the ads, the robo-calls and all the news stories.

On the upside, we have 6 glorious weeks of Democrats tearing themselves apart.

Posted by: DrewM at 04:48 PM | Comments (39)
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Which party? It's a mystery. We could say "Ah, well this is a Detroit paper, they just assume everyone knows the mayor is a Democrat," except, um, this is the Los Angeles Times.

So, while Axel Foley, solving a crime in Beverly Hills, might pick up the paper and immediately know the mayor's party, for the rest of us, it remains a stone-cold mystery.

Then again, I suppose it's no big deal. What's another murdered stripper in Detroit, anyway?

Scandal-ridden mayor is now facing new allegations in stripper's killing

Police allegedly pressured to drop case

Los Angeles Times

DETROIT -- In a city that routinely sees more than 400 murders a year, the 2003 slaying of Tamara "Strawberry" Greene was an easily overlooked crime.

Few people initially took notice when the 27-year-old stripper was found slumped over the steering wheel of her green Buick Skylark. But soon the city was buzzing with rumors that she had danced at a party at the mayor's mansion--a story that never has been proved.

...

They recently filed a statement from a former Detroit police officer alleging that his homicide unit was pressured to drop the case, even though it appeared to him that Greene's death was a hit -- one possibly carried out by another police officer. They also have subpoenaed a slew of text-messages among city employees, including those sent between 1:30 and 5:30 a.m. on the day Greene was killed.

The city is petitioning for the case to be dismissed. A federal judge ordered SkyTel and the city to save certain messages from 42 city pagers, including Kilpatrick's, as well as all messages sent on the day Greene died.

The sordid tale of Greene's slaying revolves around the rumored party at Manoogian Mansion, the official residence of the mayor. Court documents lay out the following sequence of events:

An officer with the Executive Protection Unit reported that a party for the mayor and his friends had taken place and " ... the party featured nude female dancers," according to a 2003 internal affairs memo commissioned by Police Deputy Chief Gary A. Brown. The unit handles security for the mayor.

When the mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, unexpectedly arrived at the mansion, she saw her husband and the strippers, according to the officer who reported about the party, Harold Nelthrope.

Nelthrope, who was not at the alleged event but learned about it the following day, "further stated that a fight ensued between Ms. Kilpatrick and a dancer and that the dancer received injuries requiring medical attention." Nelthrope does not say who told him about the alleged events.

The dancer -- believed to be Greene -- was taken to a hospital, " ... and the Executive Protection Unit confiscated all activity log sheets (from the police precinct that responded)," Nelthrope said.

Apparently party affiliation is only relevant when it's Republican.

In related news, Elliot Spitzer's public relations advisers are focus-testing the "At least he didn't fucking kill her" spin.

Thanks to rcl.

Weird Joke Congruence:

Speaking of Axel Foley, his boss, Inspector Todd, was played by Gilbert Hill, actual former Detroit PD detective. Gilbert Hill was elected to the Detroit City Council in 1989 and at one point was its president.

Kilpatrick's opponent in the 2001 mayoral race? That would be one Gilbert Hill.

But Detroit is too far gone to elect people who investigate crimes: it elects the people who commit them.

Strange.

Thanks to David J.

Posted by: Ace at 03:49 PM | Comments (50)
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BUMP AND UPDATE:
This post has stimulated some heated debate in the comments and some fun 'mails for me. Because I had to post and run earlier I didn't get a chance to answer comments or give the news story the full treatment. I'm back now and have responded to some of the issues raised by commenters.

If you choose to write in the comments, keep in mind that discussions about religion can be pretty uncomfortable. I'm not asking you to behave (hah!). Just be aware that religious topics can really turn into fights.

ORIGINAL POST:
Things like this are coming between me and God. Yesterday, the Vatican published a new list of deadly--that is, mortal--sins. Believing that the usual (but informal) deadly sins are too "individualistic" in nature, these were selected for their "social resonance" according to Bishop Gianfranco Girotti.

The new deadly sins include polluting, genetic engineering, being obscenely rich, drug dealing, abortion, pedophilia and causing social injustice.

The Catholic Church divides sins into venial, or less serious, sins and mortal sins, which threaten the soul with eternal damnation unless absolved before death through confession and penitence.

It holds mortal sins to be “grave violations of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes,” including murder, contraception, abortion, perjury, adultery and lust.

Pollution, a waste product of higher standards of living is now a mortal sin? Genetic engineering that could feed millions or prevent disease will land us in Hell?

Once again I have to tell my Church to fuck off. I'm really getting tired of that.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 01:51 PM | Comments (165)
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Do I know my filth or don't I?

"It's so easy not to not get caught," reformed Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss tells Radar, adding that she provided service to many a well known politician her day. "I saw many famous people—more famous than Eliot Spitzer—and you know what, you pay people right, you treat them right, you don't have a problem." The devil, she says, was in Spitzer's particular freak, which left the gals who are alleged to have serviced him describing the governor as "difficult," with demands that involved "things that, like, you might not think were safe."

"I'm sure he wanted anal sex without condoms," Fleiss says, speculating but strangely confident.

Don't we all.

As usual, I'm getting sick and tired of always being right.

When traffic spiked big here yesterday, I was joking with somebody that traffic only spikes for me on sex scandal tabloidy stuff. No one reads the headline Pakistan Roils on Brink of Civil War and says, gee, I need to get over to Ace's for the in-depth coverage.

Ah well. Guns, tits, and D&D. Dance with the girl that brung ya I guess.

Thanks to someone.

Posted by: Ace at 01:23 PM | Comments (89)
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It's so obligatory and obvious I have to say it, despite the fact no one's said Mary Jane since an early episode of Mannix.

Okay, let's get the hack SNL style one-liners out of the way:

Police seized a quantity of marijuana along with a sophisticated bong constructed out of a coconut shell and palm fronds. Also seized was a pocket pipe she called her "Little Buddy."

Although she faces 1 to 5 years in prison, she's hoping to plea bargain down to a three-hour tour... though bad circumstances could always wind up extending that.

She won't have such a bad time adjusting to prison, though. She's dealt with the isolation, with living with a female bunkmate, and with wearing the same damn outfit for seven years straight.

Okay, enough with the stupid jokes. I feel like Gallagher.

Here's her stupid picture:

Thanks to dri.

Mary Anne In Your Fantasies: In shackles, no less.

Cute... but man, is she wearing a lot of make-up. What's with the grease-painted eyebrows? She looks like Groucho Marx.

Again, dri, clearly very invested in this whole Mary Anne situation.

Posted by: Ace at 12:14 PM | Comments (98)
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Resigns, pushed. Tomato, tomahto.

WASHINGTON — Admiral William Fallon, the head of U.S. Central Command, which leads U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is stepping down, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Tuesday.

Gates said Fallon said misperceptions about differences between his ideas and U.S. policy are making it too difficult for him to operate. Gates said their differences are not extreme, but the misperception has become too great.

I don't know whether he was misinterpreted or whether people attributed views to him that were not his views, but clearly there was a concern," Gates said.

Apparently this had a lot to do with an article in Esquire where the Admiral voices disagreement with the administrations thoughts on Iran.

The article credits Fallon with "brazenly challenging his commander in chief" over a possible war with Iran, which Fallon called an "ill-advised action," and implies Fallon would resign rather than go to war against Iran.

Fallon took command of CentCom (the command responsible for both Iraq and Afghanistan) a few days less than a year ago.

Expect Democrats to have a field day with this.

MORE:

HereÂ’s the Esquire article. Admiral Fallon clearly takes an expansive view of his role but the administration canÂ’t claim surprise on that front. His actions at CentCom seem in line with what he did at PacCom.

Also, I am not familiar with the author, Thomas Barnett, but he throws around the term ‘neocon’ a little too much for my liking. Absent an actual definition, it seems to be nothing more than a taunt for people he doesn’t like.

Admiral Fallon was not pleased with the results of the article, calling it, "poison pen stuff" and "really disrespectful and ugly."

Not everyone thinks this move is about policy differences. Blackfive says it may be part a plan for General Petraeus to take over Central Command.

Posted by: DrewM at 11:38 AM | Comments (43)
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Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been soliciting high-priced hookers for at least six years and possibly for more than a decade, sources tell The Post.

The question has to be asked:

Why was the Emperor's Club never investigated, and did Elliot Spitzer ever spike an investigation or demand that cops close a file on it?

Some will say "Ah, well, perhaps no one ever really knew about the Emperor's Club, so no such action was ever necessary."

Well. The Attorney General and then the Governor sure seemed clued in, eh?

This whole thing is like Pretty Woman but with ugly people.

Any Spurned Political Wives Missing From These Pictures? Hm! I can think of one.

Thanks to Hot Air for that.

The Sort of Irresponsible Speculation That Only Blogs Engage In (And Not the MSM, at Least Not When It Involves Democrats!): Let's assume, as seems highly likely, the Emperor's Club is mob-protected. Someone said it would be under the control of the Bonano Crime Family, but it's not necessary that we know exactly which mafia it pays tribute to.

Now. Spitzer's famous prostitution-ring prosecutions. Did they, by any chance, involve prostitution rings not controlled by the Bonanos (or whoever)?

Were these prostitution rings he busted Bonano (or whoever) controlled?

Or did he... you know... kind of only take down whoremongers who were not in the crime family of his own particular favored whoremongers?

I could throw something out there like taking out the competition but I really don't need to go that far. Do we know for a fact he went as tough on his own preferred mob's whore-rings as he went on other mobs'?

That seems to be an interesting question to ask. The answer may turn out to be quite uninteresting and disappointing to us Republicans, but then it could turn out to be very interesting and also disappointing to the MSM.

Wouldn't that be something relatively easy for the MSM to dig into and find out about?

Posted by: Ace at 11:23 AM | Comments (47)
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Above the Post Update: Quarterback is in motion, repeat, Quarterback is in motion...

Sources tell CBS 6 that Lieutenant Governor David Paterson has left his home in Schenectady and is en route to the state Capitol.

...

The lieutenant governor will step into the position of governor if Spitzer resigns. Sources say Paterson has been preparing to make the transition since the possibility of Spitzer's resignation was raised yesterday.

May or may not be the end. But this is of course a necessary step when Spitzer is about to step down.

Thanks to Mark.

Update: DrewM. knows considerably more about NYS politics than I do (which is rather easy, as I know nothing) and he says the media are just being idiots with this-- Patterson is supposed to come into work, as he presides over the state senate.

In fact, he's scheduled to preside over the senate at 3 pm today, so his leaving for work at 1pm is... um, normal.

I guess I should note here that the media is being idiots but DrewM figured this out in three seconds based on his knowledge and a quick google-search.

I should note that, but having been an idiot myself, it stings.

...

Well, of course.

Allah finds it strange that his wife seems one of the few in his inner cockring circle to suggest he might want to stay on. If I had to guess, I'd say her thinking is along the lines of that suggested by sports commentators regarding Brett Favre's retirement: He shouldn't let that boneheaded interception be the period at the end of his NFL story. Similarly, I guess, Ms. Spitzer probably doesn't want her exit from the public stage to be that of her standing in abject humiliation by her unsafe-sex whoremonger of a husband.

I'd imagine she wants to Spitzer to rehabilitate himself publicly, and thereby rehabilitate her out of humiliation as well.

Karol meanwhile wants to know what kind of woman would stand by her husband in such a situation. Literally stand by him; figuratively standing by him is understandable.

Charles Krauthammer opined on Hume's show that while Spitzer's slut-banging and money-laundering (allegedly... but who are we kidding) was odious, it was him asking -- or even allowing -- his wife to stand publicly by him for that humiliation which constituted "a hanging offense."

S'true: Even if a wife offers to do such a thing, a husband really ought to forbid her from doing so. The fact that she's even willing to suffer additional humiliation and heartbreak for the sake of her husband should be the prime reason he refuses to allow her to subject herself to that.

He didn't have her by her side when he was having unsafe sex with a hooker on Valentine's Day; he shouldn't ask to have her by his side as he faces the cameras.

Or perhaps he should have just paid "Kristen" a few grand for the photo op.

On the hypocrisy front, by the way, the MSM had great fun at David Vitter's wife's expense when she appeared with her husband.

One difference there, though: Mrs. Vitter had learned of her husband's whoring "several years ago" and had already forgiven him. Presumably he'd stopped all that; can't imagine his wife allows him as much leash as he once enjoyed.

So yes, that was certainly humiliating for her. But it was also a rather old wound which had had time to heal over. Mrs. Vitter could appear not just as a betrayed wife, but as a betrayed wife who had reined her straying husband in and (presumably) rescued their marriage through forgiveness. And punishment.

Did Ms. Spitzer already forgive her husband?

Well... the latest trollophump was just three weeks ago. Think he told her what his Valentine's Day activities had been before a few days ago? Think she's had time to reflect and forgive?

If the answer's yes, then she's not the sort of wife one typically imagines.

Indeed, if the answer's yes, she's the greatest goddamned wife to ever walk the face of the earth.

Walking It Back: The NYT has apparently now backtracked its claim about Spitzer's aides a bit now. But the previous headline (see bottom of post) said they "expect" Spitzer to resign.

Oh... Didn't Larry Craig trot out his wife/beard too? I think he did.

It really is quite a good point. It's one thing for a man to stray. That's betrayal enough, but people (men and women) are often incapable of thinking clearly, or behaving properly, when sex is on the line.

But to bring out the wife for such humiliation at a presser? Sex may sometimes overwhelm one's judgment and morality, but can we extend this I-wasn't-in-my-right-mind to pure political ambition.

Her Motivation: Some are suggesting she's married to the power, not to the man. That's possible, but it's also possible she's just a stunned, jilted, heartbroken woman, so finding fault in that situation would be adding insult to injury.

Sure, it's possible that she's just seeking to preserve something of selfish value to her -- a marriage to a rich, high-status man which in turn grants her status -- but it's also possible just saw a considerable swath of the real estate of her world coming crashing down all around her and doesn't know what the hell to do or think.

It's just an undeniable fact that anyone being cheated on is relatively easy to lie to. They want to believe. The are, sadly, the easiest marks in the most brutal sort of confidence game. The cheated-upon never fully believes the lies of the cheater, but he or she does entertain them as far, far more plausible than any rational outside observer would.

In addition, unless Reversal of Fortune has lied to me (and why would it? I've been nothing but nice to it), there's another consideration: People can often embrace the European Model of fidelity -- which is to say, infidelity -- but with the proviso that the cheating spouse never dabble in one's own social circles nor become romantically attached to the outside lover such as to actually threaten the emotional relationship. "Kristen," being a call girl (even if a very beautiful and charming one, I'm guessing) is still obviously Not-Quite-Our-Class-Dear for the very rich Spitzers, and is hence viewed by the wife as a sexual threat, but not a romantic threat. She may be more willing to forgive his whoring knowing it's purely physical and not what she considers a true threat to the marriage.

Women seem to fear the romantic/emotional threat more than the physical one at least as compared to men. Oh, women sure the hell are not happy about physical betrayals, and men are not happy about purely "emotional cheating" either, but women do seem a bit more forgiving of the actual physical act of betrayal.

So she might have stood by her man for any number of reasons. Including the hope that he's telling the truth when he says it's just a mistake, and a meaningless one, and that he'll never do it again.

But he should never, never have allowed her to stand by him.

More: Will He Try To Remain Governor? It's a bit like solving a kidnapping -- if it's not solved in 24 hours the odds it will ever be solved quickly diminish towards zero.

Hot Air wonders if Spitzer will attempt to tough it out a la Bill Clinton and Larry Craig.

While it's most likely Spitzer is bartering with federal prosecutors to free him of legal jeopardy should he resign, every moment of delay on this makes it more and more likely he'll decide he's taken the worst of the beating and can probably recover from the bruises.

However, the entire New York state law enforcement system is compromised by t his; there are many conflicts of interest should any state's attorney or cop open a file on the Emperor's Club, which, by the way, is almost certainly protected by/paying tribute to the mob. So the feds are very nearly obligated to prosecute Spitzer, simply because his dual role as Chief Law Enforcement Officer and Chief Criminal of New York require an outside agency to do something.

And that is going to still be there, whether Spitzer thinks he can ride out the political storm or not.

Funny Spitzer Ad:

Trustworthy Street, Honesty Avenue, Integrity Lane, Responsibility Road... funny he never mentioned Unprotected Anal Sex with a Hooker Alley, huh?

But I guess that's the Republicans' fault, for forbidding important real-world-relevant sex ed in grade schools.

Posted by: Ace at 09:30 AM | Comments (98)
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