John Bolton To Be 'Arrested'
— LauraW

This I gotta see.

John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, faces a citizen's arrest when he addresses an audience at the Hay Festival in Wales this evening.

George Monbiot, the journalist and activist, is planning the action because he believes Mr Bolton is a "war criminal".

He said he was surprised that Mr Bolton would be allowed to "swim through the politest of polite soirees – which is of course Hay."

Let us be clear.

This guy

Monbiot, relaxing with a cup of chai while exuding a tousled intellectual charm. He uses the word 'soiree' non-ironically in front of other men, and his favorite blue shirt is by Brioni.

....versus the Moustache.

JB, replacing spectacles after cleansing them of brain bits.

Posted by: LauraW at 08:18 AM | Comments (71)
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Global Warming Comes to Congress
— Gabriel Malor

John Hinderaker is sounding the alarm on the Lieberman-Warner climate control bill which comes to a vote in the Senate next week. John writes:

The EPA estimates that by 2030 it will reduce GDP by 0.9% to 3.8%, and that is based on assumptions that appear hopelessly optimistic. Even the EPA's assumptions contemplate an additional increase of 44% in the cost of electricity over what would occur without Lieberman-Warner.

The Wall Street Journal seems way too optimistic about the chances of having a productive debate on the subject. The editorial seems to think that Democrats and voters will come around on climate change if only we had the chance to educate them as to the error of their ways.

It doesn't work that way. If educating the public would do away with the climate change fantasies of Democrats and some notable Republicans, we wouldn't even be having the debate. Joe Lieberman is not a fool; a lack of information on the subject is not what impels his desire to legislate our economy into disaster.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:51 AM | Comments (16)
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How Come Conservatives Don't Also Feel Liberal White Guilt?
— Ace

So asked Ron Rosenbaum in a goofy essay praising liberal white guilt, and Jonah Goldberg responds.

I think Rosenbaum stumbles on what may be the biggest problem with the whole liberal guilt business. I'm not sure we're really talking about guilt, at least not as we commonly understand it. Note how Rosenbaum basically puts all the blame on people other than him, i.e. not liberals.

...

There's a lot going on here emotionally, but I don't think "guilt" comes close to capturing the most interesting parts of it. I believe liberal or white guilt is often used as a pose, a political strategy, to proclaim that non-liberal whites should agree with liberals, particularly on racial issues. The motivating passion behind this nonsense isn't "I feel bad" so much as "you people should feel bad." And, you — you mean, bad, retrograde conservatives — should translate that enlightened self-hatred and guilt into doing what we morally numinous liberals say you should do. In short, if you really felt guilty, you'd be a liberal. And if you don't feel guilty, you aren't one.

He notes that liberals don't in fact feel any guilt about the numerous political tragedies liberals are directly responsible for. Their "guilt" is of a curious outwardly-directed sort.

Liberals want credit for ruthless self-criticism, but in fact almost all of their searing critiques of the "self' turn out to be risible attacks on others. It hardly needs to be pointed out again at this point that when liberals "bravely" ask what America has done to so anger certain parts of the world, what they're really asking is not what they themselves might have done, but what other Americans -- those bitterly clinging to God and guns -- have done.

It's a dishonest and passive-aggressive method of indulging in base name-calling and blame-throwing while posturing as highmindedly critiquing themselves. If only.

Posted by: Ace at 07:51 AM | Comments (39)
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Vet To ObamaÂ…How About A One On One Meeting With Gen. Petraeus?
— DrewM

Heh.

Meetings with dictators and thugs? Yes he will!

Meet with American commanders and our Iraqi allies? Political stunt.

More about Veterans For Freedom here.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:41 AM | Comments (44)
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MSNBC.com: Illegal Immigrants ArenÂ’t Stealing Identities, They Are Sharing Them!
— DrewM

You see the poor, hardworking people who can’t come to this country legally really are the victims who had no other choice but to ‘share’ the Social Security number of actual citizens.

From the subheadline for the front page tease to the May 27 edition of "Red Tape Chronicles" (see screencap above at right):

Millions of Americans find themselves sharing Social Security identies with others, mostly undocumented workers looking to get around federal employment laws.

Of course, you're lucky if just one person is "sharing" your Social Security Number (SSN). MSNBC.com blogger Bob Sullivan noted one Chicago woman who had 37 other people fraudulently claiming her number. Yet at no point in his 33-paragraph post did Sullivan describe the claiming of other people's SSNs as "fraud."

Newsbusters has more on this story of ‘sharing’.

Thanks to Larwyn.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:42 AM | Comments (24)
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Obama's Fundraising Nuance
— Slublog

Yesterday, President Bush attended a number of fundraisers for John McCain. The media was not invited, and Barack Obama was outraged.

If you blinked, you missed it - John McCain and fellow GOPer President Bush held a private fund-raiser Tuesday night, but Democrat Barack Obama made sure it lasted all day.

"No cameras, no reporters, and we all know why," Obama said of McCain's powwow with Bush.

"Sen. McCain doesn't want to be seen, hat in hand, with the President whose failed policies he promises to continue."

You guys know where this is going, right?

Yeah, he's being a hypocrite. That's not the only private event he's attended, either. And those "bitter" comments? They were also made at a private fundraiser. I guess Obama doesn't want to be seen, hat in hand, with billionaires. Given the stupid remarks he made about guns and religion, "we all know why."

I guess Jeremiah Wright never got around to talking about Matthew 7:2-4.

To be mildly fair to Obama, though, I think he's simply trying to hang the presidential albatross around McCain's neck. Still, making that criticism about the privacy of the fundraiser instead of about the fact that it was the president raising money seems odd for a man who has raked in considerable cash at such events.

Update - In the comments, some of our more expressive liberal friends are saying Obama's statement was about McCain's association with Bush, not the privacy of the fundraiser.

If that's the case, then it would have been more effective for Obama to base his comments just on the association without mentioning the privacy. After all, politicians hold private fundraisers all the time - it's part of the process. Obama just opened up a can of worms here - apparently, it's now okay to question why the private fundraisers are private.

So in that vein, why is Obama afraid to shine some sunlight into his own fundraisers with liberal San Francisco billionaires? What is said behind closed doors?

Posted by: Slublog at 05:09 AM | Comments (54)
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"Experts say Climate Change is going to lower Corn yields while almost ignoring that Ethanol is a problem. (Aurvant)
— Open Blog

Well, they say we're going to have less corn, but that Ethanol ball is going to keep right on rolling.

So, scientists are claiming that the the impending destruction brought on by the rampant, out-of-control "don't look now the boogeymans coming", man-made climate change is going to think out our yields in the corn industry because of rapidly increasing temperatures.

U.S. corn output dips and rises from year-to-year but has risen
overall as farmers use new seeds and fertilizers to maximize growth.

But output of the corn crops grown today could fall as much as much
as 5 percent in coming decades as expected higher temperatures brought
on by greenhouse gas emissions cause droughts and weaken plants,
scientists said in a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released on
Tuesday.

Hmmm....that sounds drastic. If that was indeed true then you would think that they would focus on keeping Corn as a food source, but the simple fact of the matter is that they aren't. They'll just keep right on converting that valuable commodity in to a worthless piece of fuel that has proven to cause more problems than it solves.

Food crisis anyone?

If man-made Global Warming was an irrefutable fact (which there are tons of evidence these days to show that it is shaky theory at best) and we were going to actually have a percentage loss in supply of corn then would it not be logical to abandon the process of destroying a food source to make fuel? Surely, food and survival comes before environmentalism? Right? Riiiight?

Well?

I guess the answer to that question is "Do they even care"? Because, obviously, despite the recent rise in food prices, numerous countries rioting over the availability of corn products (or just food in general), and now our own limited ability to buy food here in the States, they are adamant about using ethanol to "save the planet".

Regardless of how hungry or financially broken we become.

Posted by: Open Blog at 04:57 AM | Comments (40)
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Exposed!: The Acemobile (genghis)
— Open Blog

Ever wonder why Ace doesn’t post on the weekends anymore? Well, it’s not because he doesn’t want to entertain you sad, needy people, but because he’s busy running his side corporation Ace Craft perfecting his latest infernal flying machine, the so-called “Gen H-4 co-axial counter rotating helicopter.”

His site boasts that it’s “World’s smallest one man helicopter.” Does it work, you ask?

It's the "GEN H-4." The world's smallest co-axial helicopter ever made! (that actually flies) This is a Japanese designed and manufactured ultralight one-man helicopter. The total empty weight of this helicopter is only 155 lbs.

Japan, of course. When theyÂ’re not busy firebombing Dresden and creating anime involving interesting new ways to use tentacles on young women, this is what they come up with.

We can has flight?

So, AceÂ’s constant complaints about the lack of flying cars is just a ruse to divert attention and investment dollars away from his plans to dominate the personal flight industry.

(found this via Iowahawk who actually links to a Mexican “strap-on” rocket helicopter company…yep, you heard me right…”strap-on”. Let your imagination run free on this one.)

Yeah, itÂ’s a little old. Get over it.

Posted by: Open Blog at 10:59 PM | Comments (30)
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Clinton Supporters Have a Good Cry; Obama Supporters Rub It In
Update: Protests Ahead?
— Gabriel Malor

This is a popcorn moment too good to let pass.

Lanny Davis, former Clinton White House Counsel and Hillary Head Cheerleader, has been all over print, television, and 'net media complaining about Obama. Here he is today at Huffington Post whining about the "four things that the Obama campaign couldn't resist doing to anger Clinton supporters."

1. Couldn't resist waiting one day after Sen. Clinton won West Virginia by 41 points to announce John Edwards endorsement.

2. Couldn't resist waiting to win majority of ALL delegates (not just pledged delegates) to do victory lap speech in Iowa the night Hillary won Kentucky by 36 points.

3. Couldn't resist waiting to win majority of all delegates to announce Jim Johnson as VP search committee head -- the first candidate in my memory ever to do so while his chief opponent is still fighting for nomination -- and winning in last primary in crucial border state by 36 points (Kentucky).

4. Couldn't resist listing Bill Richardson as under consideration for Veep - the one Red Flag name that infuriates even moderate Clinton supporters the most...

Davis plays "concern troll" in this effort to explain to the Obama campaign that it will need Clinton supporters in the general election. That's true, but proponents of the Clinton Deep Game theory (or whatever it is we're calling that) will probably read it not as advice for Obama, but as an attempt to rile up Clinton supporters. After all, it's never too early to start building that anger that they'll need to sustain them through to a McCain victory. Especially since Obama is only 48 delegates from crossing the finish line.

The fun over at HuffPo doesn't stop there. Obama supporters chime in to finish off the list:

More Things the Obama Campaign Couldn't Resist to Anger Clinton Supporters:
1. Enter the race.

2. Be so damn likable and inspirational.

3. Be a better candidate.

4. Win election contests - even in states like Iowa, Maine, Idaho, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Wisconsin where hard working White people live.

5. Encourage real people to send him money.

6. Be so solid on women's issues that NARAL threw their support behind him.

7. Draw huge crowds.

8. Appropriate hip-hop gesture from Jay-Z and not look stiff doing it.

9. Establish meaningful grass roots campaign organizations in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

10. Win in the South.

11. Win in the Northwest and Mountain states.

12. Win in the Midwest.

13. Always look unflappable.

14. Play by the rules of the DNC in Michigan and Florida... just like the other Democratic candidates other than Hillary.

15. Win over superdelegates, including many formerly committed to Hillary.

16. Not cheat on his wife.

17. Give citizens hope for the future.

18. Call Hillary out on that STUPID gas tax idea.

19. Write his own game-changing, law-dropping speech on race relations.

20. Not hire Mark Penn.

I think number 16 is hitting a little below the belt.

Later: Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope. The N.Y. Times blog reports:

The Democratic National Committee is bracing itself for protests outside its Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting on Saturday in Washington, where the fates of the Florida and Michigan primaries could finally be decided.

[...]

“They’re coming up on buses, they’re taking the train, they’re Metro-ing, they’re coming up with friends,” said Allida Black, a professor at George Washington University and an event organizer. “We’re trying to flood it."

All I want for Christmas is some fisticuffs. I promise, Santa. I can be good for the rest of the year.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:03 PM | Comments (28)
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Meet The Newest Darling Of The LeftÂ…Former Bush Spokesman Scott McClellan
— DrewM

They loved to hate him when he was working in the White House but now that McClellan has written a book that knocks the President, well itÂ’s Countdown appearances all around!

The Politico has his book and excerpts including:

• McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war.

• He says the White House press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war.

• He admits that some of his own assertions from the briefing room podium turned out to be “badly misguided.”

• The longtime Bush loyalist also suggests that two top aides held a secret West Wing meeting to get their story straight about the CIA leak case at a time when federal prosecutors were after them — and McClellan was continuing to defend them despite mounting evidence they had not given him all the facts.

• McClellan asserts that the aides — Karl Rove, the president’s senior adviser, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the vice president’s chief of staff — “had at best misled” him about their role in the disclosure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity.

Rove was on Hannity tonight and basically said McClellan was a second rate player he doesnÂ’t remember seeing much in important meetings. I am sure there will be a lot of that soon.

The fun part is the left is naturally licking their chops to embrace McClellan. Olbermann said he will have McClellan on next week.

Maybe Scott should remember what Olbermann used to think of him. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 07:17 PM | Comments (69)
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