Obambi to Sponsor a NASCAR Competitor?
— Dave in Texas

Feels like a trial balloon to me. Still, pretty funny if true.

According to sources, Barack Obama's campaign is in talks to become the primary sponsor of BAM Racing's No. 49 Sprint Cup car for the Pocono race on August 3. Details of the agreement are expected to be worked out over the coming days.

I think it's total horseshit. Too inconsistent with his greeny marxism.

But if it's true, we will enjoy kicking his carbon footprint over it.

Which is why this story will die.

[tip: ghengis, in a manner remniscient of jenjis]

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 10:43 AM | Comments (55)
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From $41 mil to zero [Alice H]
— Open Blog

Did you know that the AFL-CIO spends no money on political expenditures?

I'm not an accountant, I'm just a lowly geek, so maybe someone can explain to me how this is possible:

According to their annual LM-2 financial disclosure form filed with the Department of Labor, the AFL-CIO spent $41,620,583 on political activities in 2006.

However, on the AFL-CIO’s Form-990 for July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006, they report spending zero dollars ($0.00) on direct or indirect political expenditures.

I guess Labor2006 never happened, and not one red cent went to a political candidate in 2006.

(h/t Mount Virtus)

Update [Gabe]: Check the comments for my quickie examination. The even shorter version: much ado about nothing. The Labor report requires the AFL-CIO to include its political expenditures; the IRS does not. Segregated political funds can file their taxes separately.

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:55 AM | Comments (23)
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Tony Snow, 1955-2008
— Dave in Texas

Damn.

Survived by his wife and three children.

Remembered here by President Bush:

"It was a joy to watch Tony at the podium each day. He brought wit, grace, and a great love of country to his work," Bush said. "His colleagues will cherish memories of his energetic personality and relentless good humor."

It was fun to watch him in that role, even for that brief year and a half. But what I really enjoyed was listening to him being interviewed. He spoke about what a fortunate man he was, how life had been far better to him than he deserved. I didn't know the man, but he sure came across as a genuinely nice guy.

Ed Morrissey talks about meeting him in 2004.

RIP Tony.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:26 AM | Comments (91)
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Ninth Circuit: Strip Search of a Thirteen Year Old for Ibuprofen Violates Fourth Amendment
— Gabriel Malor

Ace blogged about this case back in April; it caused quite a ruckus in the comments so I've been keeping an eye on it. Today the en banc Ninth Circuit reversed the earlier decision that got our attention. The opinion is here (PDF).

This is the one where a 13 year-old student was subjected to a strip search in the nurse's office after another student who was caught with prescription-strength ibuprofen implicated her. The search of her bag turned up nothing, but the school has a "zero tolerance policy" when it comes to drugs of any kind, so the administrators lost their minds and made her strip. And shake.

Still, it was only 6-5, so this was a close call. The majority pulls no punches:

Nowhere does the T.L.O. Court tell us to accord school officials’ judgments unblinking deference. Nor does T.L.O. provide blanket approval of strip searches of thirteen-year olds remotely rumored to have had Advil merely because of a generalized drug problem. Rather, the Court made it clear that while it did not require school officials to apply a probable cause standard to a purse search, it plainly required them to act “according to the dictates of reason and common sense.” As discussed below, the public school officials who strip searched Savana acted contrary to all reason and common sense as they trampled over her legitimate and substantial interests in privacy and security of her person.

(T.L.O. is the Supreme Court case that largely sets out how the Fourth Amendment modernly applies in public schools.)

The appeals court is unequivocal about how far from reasonable this search got once it went beyond a mere bag search. The administrators didn't have much reason to expect to find what they were looking for and ibuprofen pills do not represent all that great a danger of physical harm to students or disruption in school. The court explains that blanket claims regarding prescription drug problems in schools do not justify outrageous behavior from school administrators. The drug in question must actually be causing a problem for a search to be reasonable. It doesn't rule out strip searches in all cases, but it does make clear that the circumstances must actually warrant such a drastic intrusion. Also, the court concludes that the assistant principal who ordered the search should have known that his actions were a violation of the student's constitutional rights. The opinion uses the phrase "common sense" a lot.

Now the case goes back to the district court.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:39 PM | Comments (45)
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Massachusetts state energy policy finally clues up
— Purple Avenger

In an otherwise mundane article about solar power, I noticed this little gem:

...A novel program included in the state's new energy bill would allow utilities to own solar panels for the first time...

So, in the past, the state the esteemed ultra-liberal senators Kennedy and Kerry represent, has apparently by law prohibited power companies from doing things with solar. This raises the question -- what other profoundly retarded legislative brakes has the Bay State put on new power source development? These sort of drooling retardations are usually like cockroaches. There's never just one.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 06:14 PM | Comments (26)
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Whole Iranian Missile Firing a Hoax?
— Ace

Drudge is probably overstating the case, but the NYT is set to report the missiles fired were in fact old and not new, and did not have 2000 km ranges, and could not reach Israel.

Hmmm... Now that I think about it, our intelligence services are filled with liberal doves who seek to bind the president's decision-making by issuing farcical findings that supposedly take away any rationale for the use of force -- like claiming Iran has no nuclear weapons program.

Not sure if I should buy a NYT leak coming from our Cocksucker Intelligence Agency.

Posted by: Ace at 02:52 PM | Comments (51)
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Obama Spins on Demand that You "Need to Make Sure" Your Kids Learn Spanish
— Ace

He only meant your kids should learn some other skills. Despite him specifically saying you "need to make sure" your kids learn one skill in particular, speaking Spanish.

Captain Bullshit strikes again.

Of course, McCain can make no hay with this, despite 83% of the public favoring English as the official, and unchallenged, language of America. Both he and Obama are too busy pandering to people who are already going to vote for Obama:

See? John McCain just doesn't even sound good pandering.

Hmmm... I'm finally getting this whole clip-making thing.

Posted by: Ace at 01:47 PM | Comments (21)
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The Most Relentlessly Compelling Video You've Ever Seen
— Ace

Content Warning for intense imagery, strong sexual themes more...

Posted by: Ace at 01:12 PM | Comments (89)
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Man Sues Church for $2.5 Million For Filling Him With Too Much Holy Spirit
— Ace

So filled up with the Spirit of God, he lost his balance and hit his head and says he still suffers from pain due to the Divine Assault.

Posted by: Ace at 01:08 PM | Comments (14)
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Building on Success of "Guitar Hero," Activision to Release Even Tougher Fingering Challenge -- Vagina Hero
— Ace

Not really, it's a parody. Moderate content warning for the one really good chuckle in the piece, the vagina-shaped controller.

Posted by: Ace at 01:01 PM | Comments (17)
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