Yet another victory for Moqtada al-Sadr, I'm sure.

Why, we're playing right into his hands!

Iraq's major Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties have closed ranks to force anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to disband his Mahdi Army militia or leave politics, lawmakers and officials involved in the effort said Sunday.

Such a bold move risks a violent backlash by al-Sadr's Shiite militia. But if it succeeds it could cause a major realignment of Iraq's political landscape.

The first step will be adding language to a draft election bill banning parties that operate militias from fielding candidates in provincial balloting this fall, the officials and lawmakers said. The government intends to send the draft to parliament within days and hopes to win approval within weeks.

"We, the Sadrists, are in a predicament," lawmaker Hassan al-Rubaie said Sunday. "Even the blocs that had in the past supported us are now against us and we cannot stop them from taking action against us in parliament."

...

Al-Rubaie said the threat was so serious that a delegation might have to discuss the issue with al-Sadr in person....

In a rare public signal of dissent in Sadrist ranks, al-Rubaie complained that "those close" to al-Sadr "are radicals and that poses problems," suggesting that some of the cleric's confidants may be urging him toward a showdown.

"We must go and explain to him in person that there's a problem," he said.

...

President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said Sunday that the statement was adopted after "heated, cordial, frank and transparent discussion," Al-Rubaie and another Sadrist lawmaker who attended objected to the call for militias to disband, he said.

Al-Rubaie confirmed Talabani's account and said "our political isolation was very clear and real during the meeting."

Seems like progress to me.

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 01:10 PM | Comments (31)
Post contains 324 words, total size 2 kb.

Eli Sanders went to yesterday's second-round Democratic district caucus in Washington's 43rd. It's too early in the day for popcorn (no popcorn before Mass!), but this is just the sort of thing I hope to see at the convention: grouchy participants, "Hussein" oversensitivity, and boos for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Sean Astin (yes, that Sean Astin) delivered Clinton's surrogate speech, trying to rally delegates to her camp. He stuck a foot in it when he referred to "Barack Hussein Obama," which the mostly pro-Obama crowd were not pleased about hearing.

I don't think anyone can be surprised--given that we are talking about a group of Obama supporters--that they were also less than enthusiastic about the Pledge of Allegiance:

There was some time to kill as multiple tallies of the delegates and alternates were done, and when the time-killer of taking audience questions had run its course and the idea of teling jokes had been nixed, someone suggested doing the Pledge of Allegiance to pass the time. (Are you listening, right-wing bloggers? This is going to get good.) [I'm a simple creature of simple pleasures -GM]

At the mere mention of doing the pledge there were groans and boos. Then, when the district chair put the idea of doing the Pledge of Allegiance up to a vote, it was overwhelmingly voted down. One might more accurately say the idea of pledging allegiance to the flag (of which there was only one in the room, by the way, on some delegateÂ’s hat) was shouted down.

Don't you think that they would have figured out that if they want their guy to win they're just going to have to fake it until November 4th?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:49 AM | Comments (68)
Post contains 287 words, total size 2 kb.

This article about the woes of blogging is overstated. I really doubt that bloggers are under any more pressure than any small business owner -- less, really, when you consider the hours most spend in commuting (and showering, grooming, and dressing) are right out the window and thus free time most don't enjoy.

I wouldn't link a dopey inside-baseball self-serving piece like this, but sometime earlier this week I just got burnt out, again. So it's kismet. It comes and goes. At some point the prospect of writing the six billionth post on Guess that Party! or even the three-thousandth on global warming just loses all luster.

They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong. In the last few months, two among their ranks have died suddenly.

...

“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”

“This is not sustainable,” he said.

Eh. That's what crystal meth is for.

And Democratic whore scandals.

Posted by: Ace at 09:14 AM | Comments (41)
Post contains 348 words, total size 2 kb.

The libs favorite crooning Torquemada and idol of librarians everywhere catches heat for an innocent slip of the tongue:

Posted by: Open Blog at 04:01 AM | Comments (20)
Post contains 34 words, total size 1 kb.

RIP

I can't say I was a huge fan of most of his movies, but the man had a huge impact on American society whether it was marching with Martin Luther King Jr. or representing the NRA he was distinctive and had class.

Trollbuster UPDATE:

Diderot's Dog has graced us with a clumsy and all too predictable screed from the bitter left.

As tempting as it would be to ban him/her and delete or edit the venomous post, we think it better stands on its own, symbolic of the unremitting hatred that is all too common from the sewers of the Left. DD, I'd ask if you have no shame, but the answer is as pathetic as it is obvious. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 10:47 PM | Comments (101)
Post contains 163 words, total size 3 kb.

Kase Lawal, a Houston oil trader who holds dual Nigerian and US citizenship, stands accused of defrauding the Nigerian government of ten million barrels of oil. Mr. Lawal is also a major contributor to the Hillary Clinton campaign earning the distinction of "Hillraiser" because he held an event at his home that generated $100,000 in donations. Mrs. Clinton attended that August 2007 fund raising event.

Jay Carson, a Clinton campaign spokesman:

"While no vetting process is perfect, our vetting department does extensive vetting in order to catch any issues with donors," he said. "And to our knowledge, Mr. Lawal is an upstanding member of his community in Houston."

However, a simple Google search by McClatchy produced reports of serious allegations about some of Lawal's business dealings in Nigeria and South Africa.

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:41 PM | Comments (30)
Post contains 307 words, total size 2 kb.

Not that I care much. You might.

Some of the leaders in the moron picks have Memphis as their winner, Laddy, nick and rudytbone. Quick glance at the Kansas fans, I think the first one I see there is anotheranon.

All servants of Satan. Every one of them. So there you go.

Momma's boys too.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 07:13 PM | Comments (22)
Post contains 69 words, total size 1 kb.

Hugo Chavez, widely respected leader of the nation of Venezuela.

OH, I am clutching my sides.

Just...beautiful.

Posted by: LauraW at 03:17 PM | Comments (27)
Post contains 25 words, total size 1 kb.

Caminito del Rey (The King's pathway) is a narrow, decrepit walkway connecting two waterfalls at El Chorro near the southern Spanish port city of Malaga. It was built over a century ago and the years have not been kind. Adventurers with a death wish can test their mettle and their bowel control by traversing the pathway suspended precariously 2100 ft above a rocky gorge. This video will make parts of your body pucker faster than sitting naked on a sour ball. There is another video of the walkway beneath the fold. Enjoy.

more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 02:59 PM | Comments (58)
Post contains 98 words, total size 1 kb.

Regardless of your political persuasion.

From John at Stop The ACLU:

HmmmÂ…looks like GodÂ’s wrath against homosexuals isnÂ’t being cast upon a Marine or little Amish girls this time around.

A federal judge in Maryland on Thursday ordered liens on the Westboro Baptist Church building and the Phelps-Chartered Law office.

If the case presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett is upheld by an appeals court, the church, at 3701 S.W. 12th, and the office building, at 1414 S.W. Topeka Blvd., could be obtained by the court and sold, with the proceeds being applied toward $5 million in damages Bennett imposed on church members for picketing a military funeral.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of evil scumbags.

Please to be clicking through to the article cited by John, and readthewholedeliciousthing.

Posted by: LauraW at 02:49 PM | Comments (36)
Post contains 151 words, total size 1 kb.