...and Hillary -- Defender of the Common Man, as Allah calls her -- votes against it.

Interesting.

But also pointless. It's pointlessly interesting.

"Soul-Sucking:" The left (for example, an ACLU blogger) reacts predictably hysterically.

Just as predictable? They'll deem Obama a hero for his courage in facing down the GOP in 48 hours.

Posted by: Ace at 11:36 AM | Comments (26)
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After noticing that McCain's energy plan made no mention of the cap and trade system and a conversation with a campaign official, Larry Kudlow at NRO seems to think so.

So then I asked this senior official if the campaign has taken cap-and-trade out behind the barn and shot it dead once and for all — buried it in history’s dustbin of bad ideas. The answer came back that they are interested in jobs right now — jobs for new energy production and jobs from lower taxes. At that point I became satisfied. Even though a McCain presidency might resurrect cap-and-trade, it will be a much different format. More important, the campaign is cognizant of the conservative rebellion against it.

Kudlow pronounces himself satisfied. Me? After McCain's 'lessons learned' spiel on immigration and his "glad to examine" ANWR and Juan Hernandez dodge, I'm not entirely sold but it's a start.

I'd like to see McCain out on record saying cap and trade is off the table and why. This way if he does try and resurrect it in the future we can remind him of what he said.

Still, it's nice to see that the Republican nominee might have come around to the idea that heavily regulating the economy in the name of global warming is not a good idea. Thank heaven for small mercies.

UPDATE: Apparently reports of McCain's sanity on this issue were greatly exaggerated. Marc Ambinder reports:

Jill Hazelbaker, McCain's communications director, calls the notion that McCain is abandoning or minimizing his support for cap-n-trade "totally false."

Well, that was fun while it lasted.

Posted by: DrewM at 11:27 AM | Comments (24)
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Just on FoxNews; I couldn't find a print article yet.

Apparently part of the new (?) evidence that cleared (?) John and the now-dead Patsy was the DNA match of male DNA found on the panties JonBenet wore the night she died to DNA found on leggings she wasn't wearing.

If that's confusing, well, it's confusing to me too. I'm not sure how that actually clears anyone, given that it's possible that the same man touched both clothing for innocent reasons, such as laundering her clothes or moving them.

Stub: The AP has a short report. The prosecutor says the DNA points to an "unexplained third party."

Yes, but, it always did, didn't it? That DNA always suggested (though it did not prove) another person might have been there that night. But there are other possible reasons. I don't see how finding matching DNA on another article of clothing proves the Outsider Theory.

Update: Longer story from KUSA.

I got a key detail wrong -- the previously-known DNA was in panties she wasn't wearing at the time, the new DNA, which matches that DNA, is on the leggings she was wearing.

That's... incrementally more suggestive. But not really proof of anything.

Hard to know until we know whose DNA it is. If it turns out to be someone who might handle her clothing at her beauty pageants, it means nothing. If it's a sex offender, it means a lot.

Posted by: Ace at 11:26 AM | Comments (7)
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Community penalties will instead be the "sentence."

I assume such penalties will include standing outside doing make-work like picking up trash in neighborhoods, becoming familiar with local houses and security systems and blind spots and police presence.

Or, as burglars call it, state-mandated casing.

Posted by: Ace at 10:55 AM | Comments (27)
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I don't know if I missed the definitive statement, but it seems that all the Crystal Skulls -- the objects hunted in the latest Indiana Jones flick -- are quite fake. Some were created in the 1950's; earlier ones in the 1870's or so. None of them, though, were created in pre-Columbian America, though.

George Lucas is a fucking jackass, did I mention that?

Posted by: Ace at 10:36 AM | Comments (30)
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Taking the form of the test-firing of nine missiles, reputably capable of hitting Israel and all US bases in the Middle East.

Obama promises more diplomacy -- hopefully we can diplomacy our way to the Iranian nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile.

Snark aside, diplomacy can only work when one side wants something from the other side, which the other side is prepared to give. This situation does not exist with respect to Iran. For diplomacy to work, the situation would have to change -- the most obvious (though unlikely) game-changer would be US jets pounding Iranian nuclear, military, and governmental sites for a few weeks. In such a case, Iranian would want something from us, namely, to stop with the bombing already.

Other scenarios might change the situation such that Iran would affirmatively desire something from the US and would be willing to give up its missile and especially nuclear research to have it, but it's hard to imagine what those might be. Obama only suggests "more economic sanctions," without explaining what such sanctions might consist of, and why these sanctions would compel a change of behavior whereas previous sanctions did not.

A full-on embargo of refined gasoline to Iran might force a crisis, but that's a provocative step (and, if a blockade is used to achieve it, as it would have to, an act of war), so of course Obama doesn't suggest that.

What precisely is he thinking of here? As with every other "policy" of his, you'll just have to guess and/or hope for the best.

Or maybe he has actually told us already, but we just weren't listening.

More: Obama's statement was typically fatuous and insipid. Jim Geraghty breaks it down, stupidity by stupidity.

This guy isn't the Messiah. He's Captain Bullshit.

Posted by: Ace at 10:05 AM | Comments (32)
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Blogger and medical doctor Robert Lambert suggests that lecturing patients about their weight is unhelpful. He says that the obese are the "new pariahs in our culture," having displaced smokers as the lowest of the low.

Instead of patronizing obese patients with a lecture, I try sympathizing with them. Just because something is simple doesnÂ’t make it easy. How do you quit smoking? You just stop smoking. We should just pull out of Iraq. There should be peace in the middle east. People should stop hurting each other and start being nice. All of these are good ideas, but the devil is in the details. Losing weight is a struggle, and it really helps to have people giving you a hand rather than knocking you down.

He's not really saying anything new here. No one is happy about being told that they are fat, especially since that is usually obvious. This doesn't mean that doctors should just skip over the issue. They should be telling obese patients (1) you have a weight problem; (2) it is harmful to you; and most importantly, (3) here is what we can do about it. This third step is the whole reason the poor fat guy is standing in your office in the first place, Doctor. He's not paying you to be nice to him.

The same is true for dentists and flossing. Yes, I know, I don't floss enough. She said that last time and the time before that, too. Sure, I understand that not flossing can cause some problems. And I'm embarrassed that we have to go through this every time. Does that mean she should stop mentioning it? Of course not. It's her job to mention it. The entire purpose of my visit to her weird-smelling office (aside from ogling the dental assistants) is to take care of my teeth. I'm not paying you to be nice to me.

The same is true for university professors. The fact I payed for tuition did not mean that they had to go easy when they tore apart my thesis. If that were so, the entire point of attending university and working on a thesis would be lost.

This whole thing---"doctors should tip-toe around their patients' weight problems"---is just part of the no-guilt, feel-good trend. The idea is that no one should have to be feel shame for things over which they cannot control. Except, of course, that weight is entirely within the control of the individual. Humans seem to be the only species on the planet for which reducing caloric intake doesn't result in a reduction in weight. Figure that out.

Yes, it's difficult to lose weight. But it's certainly not outside of the control of the individual involved. The doctor who decides that his patient has heard it all before is derelict in his duty to help that patient.

(h/t HotAir Headlines)

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:01 AM | Comments (40)
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All accomplished by the departure of his black-clad thugs.

Dave Price notes:

By making his militia unpopular and surrendering control of Sadr City to the Iraqi government, Sadr has enabled the area to experience a renaissance that was otherwise impossible. The man is a diabolical genius.

He says he hopes someone in the media will recognize al-Sadr for the geopolitical genius he is.

Will recognize?

Posted by: Ace at 09:56 AM | Comments (5)
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Yup, girlfriend.

She reportedly confirmed the long-rumored lesbian love affair at a birthday party. Witnesses called it a "beautiful moment of desperate flailing for the male attention she once enjoyed," and noted that "even though she's starting to look like Brian Denehy, the whole 'lesbian conversion fantasy factor' should goose her sex appeal back up to the level of, say, Bob Costas."

Meanwhile, Lara Logan, CBS' former senior homewrecker in Baghdad, is now pregnant with her married paramour's love-baby.

Pic:

That pic was published on Ronson's (the girlfriend's) MySpace page a few days ago.

This feels a lot like a promotional campaign roll-out. First the leaks, then the teaser, then the trailer...

Thanks to DaveR.

Posted by: Ace at 09:49 AM | Comments (30)
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Uh-oh. This isn't going to fly.

Whoops: I see Gabe just posted this below. Well, here's the video, then.

Posted by: Ace at 09:39 AM | Comments (39)
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