The ACLU and terrorist recruiters hit hardest.

The courts could still order it to happen but at least Obama is wiling to fight the good fight (even if he doesn't really want to).

The president "believes their release would endanger our troops," a White House official says, adding that the president "believes that the national security implications of such a release have not been fully presented to the court."

At the end of that meeting, the president directed Craig to object to the immediate release of the photos on those grounds. In an Oval Office meeting with Iraq Commander General Ray Odierno, the president told him of his decision to argue against the release of the photographs.

The move is a complete 180. In a letter from the Justice Department to a federal judge on April 23, the Obama administration announced that the Pentagon would turn over 44 photographs showing detainee abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush administration.

Does Andrew Sullivan's Heartache Meter (tm) go to 11?

It seems this being President thing is harder than whipping a bunch of lefty Democrats up during the primaries. Who knew?

Snark aside, good for President Obama. The is may be (and very likely is) a move of political expedience but it is the right move and he should be congratulated for it. Yes, doing the obviously right thing is a low bar but let's be honest, it's more than I, and likely you, expected from him. I don't want to be like Sullivan, Olbermann and various and sundry lefties who wouldn't give Bush credit for anything, no matter how clearly right he was.

Obama is doing the right thing here not just for him but the troops and the country. Good for him.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:25 AM | Comments (118)
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Empty airline baggage cart gets misplaced by airline at LAX.

Little news video at the link. "Slight problem with Engine number 1".

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 07:56 AM | Comments (60)
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You often see articles on conservatives written by liberals who treat them as an alien species that they are studying a la Jane Goodall. I actually entered the blogging/citizen journalism realm in a similar way cataloging the many and varied moonbat species in the free range environment of Madison, WI. This is the first piece I think I ever published on the topic, from the run up to W's re-election and the left's virulent efforts to reclaim America. Below the fold is the video I shot yesterday with the proprietor of "Arrest Bush 2009" on the National Mall in front of his 15 ft. tall inflatable Bush Pinnochio. I give him a little rope at the start and he hangs himself quite well.

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Posted by: Uncle Jimbo at 05:58 AM | Comments (69)
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Hey Christopher, Kathleen, David and Peggy... I guess a rapidly-expanding government takeover of the financial services industry is a small price to pay to keep that Alaskan hick out of DC, huh?

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration has begun serious talks about how it can change compensation practices across the financial-services industry, including at companies that did not receive federal bailout money, according to people familiar with the matter.

The initiative, which is in its early stages, is part of an ambitious and likely controversial effort to broadly address the way financial companies pay employees and executives, including an attempt to more closely align pay with long-term performance.

Administration and regulatory officials are looking at various options, including using the Federal Reserve's supervisory powers, the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission and moral suasion. Officials are also looking at what could be done legislatively.

Among ideas being discussed are Fed rules that would curb banks' ability to pay employees in a way that would threaten the "safety and soundness" of the bank -- such as paying loan officers for the volume of business they do, not the quality. The administration is also discussing issuing "best practices" to guide firms in structuring pay.

In related news, the Tax Cheat wants to start taking control of extending TARP money to smaller banks.

And how are our conservative intellectual betters who told us not to worry about Obama responding? By completely ignoring the fact they were wrong about Obama and criticizing you. And these folks wonder why we're angry?

(h/t: Hot Air)

Posted by: Slublog at 05:34 AM | Comments (86)
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Idiots. As the infamously leaky CIA demonstrated over the past eight years, the intelligence agency is out for itself more than any other objective. That means prioritizing protection for its agents, analysts, and methods, above partisanship. The Democrats thought the CIA was an ally against Republicans and they were happy to encourage it's embarrassing tendency to leak. They were right about the means, but wrong about the objective:

The CIA has long been on the receiving end of harsh rebukes from Congress — on intelligence failures leading up to the war in Iraq, on secret prisons abroad and on the harsh interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects. But with the release of records showing that it briefed members of Congress along the way, the CIA has effectively put lawmakers on the defensive.

Intelligence officials insist it wasnÂ’t intentional and have not taken responsibility for publicly releasing the documents.

Asked for comment about the Democrats’ charges, CIA spokesman George Little said only that the CIA “understands the importance of a strong relationship with the Congress, which in our democracy, conducts oversight of secret intelligence activities.”

But another U.S. intelligence official went further, noting that the records of the congressional briefings were “prepared in response to a request from Congress.”

Intelligence Committee member Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said it appears that “members of the committee or their staff were not in any way involved in [the release of the document]. It appears to come from the executive branch itself. ... I think it’s unbelievable.”

A top congressional official who has participated in the briefings added: “I think the agency wanted to get this out, quite frankly.”

The 10-page document, which was prepared after an April 20 request by Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), lists 40 instances in which the CIA briefed members of Congress between September 2002 and March 2009. But they provide a vague description of the briefings, giving just enough information to fuel claims that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top officials have long known about waterboarding and other tactics but did little to stop the techniques from being used.

Congress hung the CIA and its contractors out to dry. Of course individuals and the agency itself are going to hit back. I'd say it's likely that the average American is more likely to believe the CIA than Congress, especially since San Fran Nan has so obviously been lying about what she knew and when she knew it.

Democrats who were so eager for "torture commissions" may not be so eager now. Republicans already fessed up to supporting harsh interrogations, which are not torture. Pelosi and her fellows, who spent the last four years lying about their involvement, are not eager for the truth to be widely known. Which means that with a little leak the CIA will have made this whole issue go away.

Another Thing: Consider the arrogance of the Democrats, who thought they could use the CIA like a punching bag, secure in the knowledge that the CIA would never dare punch back. What the Democrats failed to consider is that the CIA believes that it should be setting national intelligence policy. That makes it the natural enemy of Congress and the White House, no matter which party is in power.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 04:33 AM | Comments (108)
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Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 04:12 AM | Comments (34)
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Open coordination for something that wasn't quite as openly coordinated before.

The U.S. military has begun flying armed Predator drones inside Pakistan and has given Pakistani officers significant control over targets, flight routes and decisions to launch attacks under a new joint operation, according to U.S. officials familiar with the program.

The project was begun in recent weeks to bolster Pakistan's ability and willingness to disrupt the militant groups that are posing a growing threat to the government in Islamabad and fueling violence in Afghanistan.

For the U.S. military, the missions represent a broad new role in searching for Islamic militants in Pakistan. For years, that task has been the domain of the CIA, which has flown its own fleet of Predators over the South Asian nation.

Under the new partnership, U.S. military drones will be allowed for the first time to venture beyond the borders of Afghanistan under the direction of Pakistani military officials, who are working with American counterparts at a command center in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

I rather doubt that this is the first time Predators have been "allowed" to venture. But it does indicate an open level of coordination exists now beyond a wink and a nod, or an "act and ask forgiveness later" approach.

Asking forgiveness later is something I find useful nearly every day.

Best part? Dianne can flip her gums now without remorse.

I suppose the best way to keep idiots from revealing truly important secrets is to make them not secret anymore. You don't have to respond to charges from the President when he refers to the action as "say what?"

I for one am looking forward to the next headline,

Taliban Field Commanders Succumb to Atopic Dermatis, 3,000 pounds of Reaper Launched Air to Ground Munitions, but Mostly 3,000 pounds of Reaper Launched Air to Ground Munitions.

Am curious though, how Obama squares this approach with invasion plans.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:39 PM | Comments (57)
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News and views you canÂ’t (and shouldnÂ’t) get anywhere else without a biohazard suit rated for at least Level 4. Particularly if you read Item #3 below.

Item #1: Gabe couldnÂ’t be bothered to write a thorough 5,000 word legal treatise on the subject tonight, but the District 4 Court of Appeals in Wisconsin has ruled that police may attach GPS tracking devices to vehicles without requiring a warrant. (Note: Gabe just got in his latest order of BSG figurines from Amazon today, so heÂ’ll be spending the rest of the evening posing them in action-like stances. Well, at first that is. Later itÂ’ll degenerate into things weÂ’d all prefer not to think about.) So hereÂ’s a little more on the GPS ruling from the Chicago Tribune:

”MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin police can attach GPS to cars to secretly track anybody's movements without obtaining search warrants, an appeals court ruled Thursday. However, the District 4 Court of Appeals said it was "more than a little troubled" by that conclusion and asked Wisconsin lawmakers to regulate GPS use to protect against abuse by police and private individuals. As the law currently stands, the court said police can mount GPS on cars to track people without violating their constitutional rights -- even if the drivers aren't suspects. Officers do not need to get warrants beforehand because GPS tracking does not involve a search or a seizure, Judge Paul Lundsten wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel based in Madison. That means "police are seemingly free to secretly track anyone's public movements with a GPS device," he wrote.”

And why wouldnÂ’t there be more below the fold?
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Posted by: Open Blog at 04:10 PM | Comments (213)
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Apparently, there is a parasitic fly of some sort that turns fire ants into zombies.

...The flies "dive-bomb" the fire ants and lay eggs. The maggot that hatches inside the ant eats away at the brain, and the ant starts exhibiting what some might say is zombie-like behavior...There is no brain left in the ant, and the ant just starts wandering aimlessly...About a month after the egg is laid, the ant's head falls off and the fly emerges ready to attack any foraging ants away from the mound and lay eggs...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 02:17 PM | Comments (121)
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Ignore our memo, the liberals now say. It included passages from people who don't always agree with us and is, obviously then, heretical.

The quotations circulating in the press are from a document in which OMB simply collated and collected disparate comments from various agencies during the inter-agency review process of the proposed finding. These collected comments were not necessarily internally consistent, since they came from multiple sources, and they do not necessarily represent the views of either OMB or the Administration.

The memos note that cap-and-trade will of course harm the economy, and, even worse, that the finding that CO2 is a dangerous gas is unproven:

“In the absence of a strong statement of the standards being applied in this decision, there is concern that EPA is making a finding based on…’harm’ from substances that have no demonstrated direct health effects,” the memo says, adding that the “scientific data that purports to conclusively establish” that link was from outside EPA.

But this will be rewritten in 24 hours, scrubbed of any of that doubt I'm told by liberals is so vital for critical thinking, at least when it comes to doubting my own beliefs.

The science is settled.

What part of "the science is settled" don't you morons understand? Probably the "science" part, you corncob-smokin' banjo-strokin' cousin-pokin' inbred hillbilly retard mutants.

Thanks to AHFF Geoff.

Posted by: Ace at 12:49 PM | Comments (123)
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