Brand Democrat™ image courtesy of the Slublog estate.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 04:45 AM | Comments (207)
Post contains 16 words, total size 1 kb.

Drew was going to post about this, but gave up, I guess, because what can you say about Keith Olbermann in full froth?

The Murrow of the Modern Age begins his Very Special Comment on the Ground Zero Mosque by quoting First they came for the Communists, but I said nothing, for I was not a Communist... and it really just kind of gets more hyperbolic than that.

He warns, quite seriously, of a New Holocaust coming, based on objections to the Ground Zero Mosque (and he then goes on to explain it's not a mosque and there is no ground zero or something).

At Olbermann watch, they have a robot voice reading his script. It's a little better than Olby's histrionics.

Newsbusters has the script.

Look, you have to admit: The guy is funny. When he starts frothing it up, look, I laugh. He brings me pleasure. He brings me joy.

He will bring me more joy when he cries so hard in the bathtub on November 3rd that he calls out sick from work for the fiftieth time, but this is pretty good too.

Finally, tonight, as promised, a "Special Comment" on the inaccurately described "Ground Zero mosque."

I like how he says, "as promised," as if we were all sitting around wondering, "Gee, is he going to do it tonight? Is he going to do it tonight as promised?"

It's like when a friend who borrowed money pays you $3000 back. And he says, "There you go, as promised." And you say, "Thank you so much!" Because you really did want that $3000 back, and you're very happy your friend honored that promise to repay.

Except in this case it's not $3000, it's a broken-down fat-bodied old fool ranting and raving on the air because he's mixing medications again, and yeah, he promised you he would do it, but it was more akin to a threat than a promise you wanted honored, seriously, you're kind of upset he remembered, and yet here's this fat-assed old gray fairy telling you "I am reading to you this retarded script I stream-of-conscious brain-queefed out fifteen minutes ago, as promised," and you're like, "Um, thanks...? I guess...?"

I will attempt to indicate his Extended and Emphatic Nostril-Exhalations of Righteous Fury as they occur. more...

Posted by: Ace at 08:12 PM | Comments (406)
Post contains 3006 words, total size 18 kb.

The big question on all the counts where the Blagojevich jury couldn't reach a verdict was what was the breakdown of the convict/acquit votes? Well, looks like it was a lone holdout.

But one juror said the panel was deadlocked 11-1 in favor of convicting Blagojevich of trying to auction off the Senate seat.

Juror Erik Sarnello of Itasca, Ill., said one woman on the jury "just didn't see what we all saw." The 21-year-old Sarnello said the counts involving the Senate seat were "the most obvious."

Other jurors tried to persuade the holdout to reconsider, but "at a certain point, there was no changing," he said.

That so many jurors were convinced of Blagojevich's guilt bodes well for prosecutors, said Joel Levin, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago who won a conviction of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan on corruption charges.

"At the end of the day it signals very strongly they will get a conviction next time," Levin said. "It sounds like the case was lost in jury selection."

I think the only question is whether or not he pleads this out before the retrial (he's apparently out of money for lawyers). Of course, we can only hope that he realizes he's going down and decides to go out in a blaze of glory and calls all sorts of Democratic officials next time. Keep hope alive!

Added: I demand that the Taiwan animation people CGI Blago's hair and the jury deliberations.

Rehash [ace]: Yeah, I don't know if you saw my updates but I became increasingly convinced it was 11-1, with the request for the oath by the 11 to convince the 1 to do her frickin' duty.

I also guessed (not confirmed yet) that she might be a big tv watcher: more...

Posted by: DrewM at 06:31 PM | Comments (99)
Post contains 586 words, total size 3 kb.

Good evening all M&Ms. Don't forget about the job bank at the AoSHQ yahoo group.

Video: Why You Shouldn't Try To Drive Through A Forest Fire

And for sure never stop and open the door in the middle of it.

This video was taken a few weeks ago when forest fires were raging in Russia. Apparently these guys volunteered to go help a village fight the fire, but it was beyond saving when they got there. So they tried to take the same road out and very nearly got trapped by the fire.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:16 PM | Comments (538)
Post contains 651 words, total size 7 kb.

It's like they're just playing to us now.

What's the best part? Well, what would you say the most bizarre and lurid story of the 2010 election season is? If you know that then you've answered your own question.

Also at Hot Air: Obama's inspiring new rhetoric. Oh it's good. Remember when he said the difference between 1994 and now is "Now you've got me"?

Well, the man is delivering on the promise of "Me."

Nate Silver noted on his twitter feed today that most Democrats don't understand how "terrifying" the Generic Congressional numbers are; I was going to write about that, but Allah already did. Allah also notes that Charlie Cook has further downgraded the Democrats. 68 Democratic seats are now toss-up or merely lean Democrat, and, given a wave, almost all of those are likely to be lost.

I didn't really hit his hard enough in yesterday's post: Gallup's generic reading of 50-43 and Rasmussen's of 48 to 36 are really extraordinary, all-time highs of Republican sentiment. And mutually confirming.

And usually the rule is "add on 2-3 points" to represent better Republican turnout than polls indicate, and then subtract a point or two for Democratic dispirit... And well, it's hard to be a pimp.

Silver is trying to figure out how determinative the CGB is to November results, and while he's drawn no firm conclusions, here's a chart showing the congressional generic from 2002, when Republicans picked up a handful of seats, like 10:

Now imagine that graph for this year, extended out to November, with an unheard of 8 point (or more) lead for Republicans.

Kos is now using a more reputable pollster, but one (PPP) still widely believed to skew left, and, now bound by more credible numbers, his sycophants are... angry with him.

PPP has delivered a poll on the Missouri Senate race for Daily Kos, and IÂ’m seeing genuine anger at the results, which are now filtered for those likely to vote in November.

As Kos says, “So what’s going on? Our old friend, the intensity gap.”

...

The way the races stand today, I think it’s fairly likely that the Republicans will hold all their seats in the Senate, and gain more besides. Because, again as Kos says, “If the current malaise persists, it won’t be so close.” He says that about Missouri, but I think the same applies to the national Congressional situation.

No, it won't be close.

People make a decision as far as party on three main bases: 1, foreign policy/security, 2, similar values, and 3, the economy.

Which of these helps the Democrats? None. They all go in the same direction.

Everything already was going against the Democrats and now they have the suddenly-discovered constitutional right to gay marriage in all 50 states and President Praise Allah.

What the hell? If there were serious betting on elections, and if the mob were involved, I'd swear they were being paid off to throw the series. I'd start looking in Judge Walker's driveway for a shiny new hooker's-lipstick-red Ferrari and I'd look to see if any members of Obama's family were suddenly taking luxe vacations in countries conveniently near Switzerland--

Hey....! Wait a minute...!

Oh: Hat tip to the Editor who suggested I include a picture of Chris Matthews wincing in all poll posts... I think I'll do just that.

Posted by: Ace at 05:12 PM | Comments (100)
Post contains 572 words, total size 4 kb.

Good list, and there's more to the post:

1. A mosque isnÂ’t a mosque if it includes a pool and a basketball court.

2. Ground Zero does not extend one single inch past the lip of the crater.

3. Shut up.

He catches lefties disputing it's hallowed ground, too, jeering at the idea. Not only is that offensive... it puts them in disagreement with the New God Obama.

Okay, I have a lot of Ground Zero links. I'm just going to dump them on you, rapid-fire.

"The Mosque Elections:"

Now imagine that youÂ’re a Democrat in a tight race (and there are many of you). What do you say? If you support Obama on this question, you open yourself up to full-bore fire from the populist right. And if you donÂ’t support Obama, you not only undermine the Democratic edifice, you must also resort to freelance language that is at pains to explain why you are somehow a Democrat, but not an Obama Democrat.

Imagine if that were to happen in race upon race across the country. And imagine, also, the collective unspooling of the party that could result from all of this: Once you start to differentiate yourself from the president on the mosque, you are tempted, also, to talk down health care, and the stimulus, and everything else that Obama stands for. What is left, then, of a collective platform? And what is left, then, of Obama?

No wonder Harry Reid is in a profound panic, calling—at the risk of embarrassing his president—for the mosque to be built elsewhere. Is this the start of an insurrection? Perhaps. Facing possible defeat in November, the principle-free Reid is alarmed enough to stress publicly that he “isn’t with” the dude who likes the mosque. Good luck to him.

And on Harry Reid: President Racial Healer has declared that, while the rest of us might be hateful bigots bitterly clinging to our religion and our xenophobia, Harry Reid's position is perfectly understandable, nay, even praiseworthy.

President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have agreed to disagree on a Muslim groupÂ’s controversial plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque a couple of blocks from ground zero in lower Manhattan.

Obama “respects the right of anybody — Democrat, Republican, independent — to disagree with his opinion on this,” White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters Tuesday.

“Senator Reid is a fiercely independent individual,” Burton said. “It’s one of his strengths as a leader of the Democratic Party. So the president feels completely fine that [they] might disagree.”

Yet Burton declined to say whether the White House perceives Monday’s statement from Reid’s office — that the mosque should be built “someplace else” — as a disagreement between the president and the majority leader.

“It’s a different take on this issue,” Burton said.

Isn't that nice? New God Obama says it's okay for Harry Reid, or any other Democrat in a tight race, to disagree with him. On to the Bigot Pyre with the rest of you.

That catch and that take thanks to Jim Treacher's Twitter feed.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 03:24 PM | Comments (236)
Post contains 2034 words, total size 14 kb.

Millions are now homelesss, disease is about to run rampant, there's potential for massive political and economic destabilization in a Muslim nation already on the edge and with nuclear weapons and oh yeah, it's essentially an active battlefield for the US.

Welcome to the Pakistan floods of 2010.

Pakistan's economy was already fragile, dependent on a $11.3 billion support package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Before the floods, the country was struggling to meet the fiscal-discipline requirements of the package. Pakistan has a bloated public sector, a narrow tax base and a chronic balance-of-payments problem. "Now, it alters all the calculations, all the projections, all the scenarios," Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Pakistan's Finance Minister, tells TIME. "It is still too early to assess the full impact of the disaster, but the damage is colossal, it's still unfolding. It will run into billions and billions of dollars." So far, some 40 countries have contributed $222 million, according to figures collected by the government of Pakistan — a fraction of what's needed. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry is still mulling whether to accept India's offer of $5 million. The U.N. is hoping to raise a further $460 million for Pakistan.

(Update: On Tuesday, Pakistan took out a $900 million loan from the World Bank, adding to its already huge debt burden of $55.5 billion.That figure will rise in the next few years as debt rescheduled after 9/11 returns. Economists see the loan as expensive borrowing that the country can Ill-afford, but given that donors aren't coming forward with the aid the country needs, Islamabad has little choice.)

Here's another assessment on the range of issues facing Pakistan and how they may play out. It's mostly mixed but seems somewhat optimistic to me.

So with a disaster of such reach and scope in a very important part of the world, how come Obama has been so silent and the donation levels are so low? Naturally it's a combination of things. Donor fatigue (Didn't we just go through this with Haiti?), distrust of aid organizations in that part of the world and their connections to terrorist groups and a case of mutual dislike.

A June poll taken by CNN shows that 78 percent of Americans hold mostly unfavorable views of Pakistan. A 2010 Gallup poll showed similar results, with 47 percent of respondents saying they were mostly negative on Pakistan, while 24 percent said they held "very" negative views of that country.

Pakistanis apparently feel the same about the United States.

A recent July poll conducted by the Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project showed that 17 percent of Pakistanis held a favorable opinion of the United States, with 59 percent actually describing the United States as an "enemy." President Obama was less popular in Pakistan than in 22 other nations surveyed.

All true but Americans are a very generous people. Even in crushing economic times like these, I think if there were a concerted effort to raise awareness and to solicit help there would be more donations. I'm surprised that President "Better Relations With The Muslim World" isn't on the case. I have a sneaking suspicion that W. The Cowboy would have made more of an effort.

Pro tip: If you want help from the US you better not have a natural disaster while Obama is on vacation.

Now watch this drive.

We can't buy Pakistan's love and turn them away from the terrorists they love to flirt with but we might be able to have some impact on the margins. To do that we are going to need to focus attention on whatever it is we are doing. Nothing in the world focuses attention like a little POTUS time (notice how the GZ Victory mosque heated up with two little comments?). My guess, and it's only that, is Obama doesn't want to acknowledge that part of the world exists. It's a tough nut to crack and he's not doing well there. As Ace has pointed out numerous times, when things don't work for him, Obama simply ignores it and pretends it's not an issue. Problems in Pakistan are too close to reminding people about Afghanistan so he ignores it. His personal situation takes precedence over the nation's needs.

Posted by: DrewM at 02:58 PM | Comments (188)
Post contains 729 words, total size 5 kb.

And I wonder if she ♥ getting a serious challenger for that seat, a seat which is putting me into a Scott Brown level pudding-crazy sort of mood.

If only someone would take it.

All-in with the transnational, trangressive progressive vanguard.

It's time to set things right.

If we the people won't be heard, we the people will be vindicated.

As Reagan said of Communism: We win, they lose. What's so difficult about that?

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand made her position known today in the controversial surrounding the building of an Islamic community center near Ground Zero. “This has been reviewed and considered by the community board…I support the community board’s decision.”

In other words, she supports the building of a $100 million dollar Mosque in an abandoned property near Ground Zero.

“The community board is (made up of) people who live at Ground Zero and many of them experienced the terror of Ground Zero,” she says further explaining her position.

61% of New Yorkers are against this, not the regulation-vermin that burrow into small-ball political positions because they can't reach sexual climax without the eroticizing knowledge that they have a position of minor power they can use to dominate their fellow citizens.

I have to tell you-- I don't know who her opponent is yet. I see Bruce Blakeman and Joe DeGuadio mentioned. Even Drew doesn't know and he's all over NYS politics.

Oh God It's a Rotten Mess: There is a split between the GOP and the Conservative Party and someone pushing for a Tea Party Candidate.

We have to figure out who we want and push out everyone else.

Closing out a raucous and at times contentious state convention on Thursday, New York Republicans designated Bruce A. Blakeman, a lawyer and former Nassau County legislator, their preferred candidate to run against Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand this fall.

A second candidate, David Malpass, a former chief economist at Bear Stearns, also earned enough votes to qualify for the primary ballot. But Joseph J. DioGuardi, a former New York representative, failed to make the threshold, and said he would seek a spot on the ballot through a petition drive.

That sets up a split between New YorkÂ’s Republicans and the Conservative Party, which has endorsed Mr. DioGuardi. In Democrat-dominated New York, it is hard for Republicans to win statewide office without the endorsement of the Conservative Party.

The outlook for the Republican Party was further clouded on Thursday when Carl Paladino, the wealthy Buffalo developer and outspoken candidate for governor, said that he would spend about $500,000 to mount a petition drive for a spot on the Republican primary ballot and to create a third party to attract Tea Party supporters.

Posted by: Ace at 01:59 PM | Comments (154)
Post contains 499 words, total size 4 kb.

Last Thought: I've re-titled this "Reality TV."

Patty Blagojevich appeared on last summer's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. She wasn't there to win. She was only there to influence the jury pool, to convince people how gosh-darn all-American and sweet she was.

I have to admit: I watched this a bit, and did in fact buy into her act. A little.

Then Rod Blagojevich went on The Celebrity Apprentice. He too didn't care if he won or not; his job was to appear human.

He did less of a job than Patty. Pretty much he appeared like an ineffectual jerkoff who, understandably, cursed at his lawyers a lot on the phone. But in the "boardroom," he was all "Mr. Trump this" and "I have the utmost respect for my competitors that."

It was a sales job, two people seizing upon a sad fact of American life: Celebrities are permitted to murder people. If they're allowed to kill other human beings, what's a little graft?

All they had to do was gain some kind of shady, sketchy, bottom-feeding what's-below-the-D-list celebrity status, and some shut-ins and social retards whose only friendship and comfort comes from a glowing box would imprint upon them and deem them "good people."

Is this what happened? Or is it just a political thing, someone either defending sugar-daddy ward-heeler Blago, or defending him because they see past him and worry that if this domino falls then Jesse Jackson Junior or -- God forbid -- the New God Obama could be damaged?

I don't know. Seemed pretty solid to me. Guy was asking for money for a Senate seat. Even in Chicago, that strikes me as over-the-line.

...

Reminder: In federal court, unanimous decisions are required (in a few states they're not), so remember, this could just be one crazy person/Blago fan hanging the jury, living out a 12 Angry Men fantasy.

It occurs to me the other 11 jurors, in my scenario, could have requested the oath they took to show to the hold-out to demand he or she live up to the obligation he or she had sworn to.

So this could just be one maniac holding out. All is not necessarily lost.

Prosecutor vows to go forward with second trial, which may be evidence he knows something like this happened and is unlikely to happen again.

...

Another Feed: This one from ABC -- According to them, Blago found guilty on only a single count-- false statement?!!?

And the statement was merely that he didn't care to know where his money was coming from, that he kept a firewall between politics and money.

What?

What?

...

Chicago Radio News Live-Streaming: Thanks to a commenter.

...

Update: Again, there is a verdict, but not on all counts... I guess they did as the judge asked and continued deliberations but re-reported themselves hopelessly deadlocked.

...

The verdict's ready-- but is the verdict ready to rock?

I swear to God, it seems to me their first question for the judge was "Are we allowed to indulge in jury nullification?" Can you see any other likely meaning?

They ask exactly what oath they, the jurors, took upon being sent into deliberations.

In their latest note to U.S. District Judge James Zagel, jurors signaled they may be getting close to wrapping up their negotiations. They have asked for two things.

First, they requested a copy of the oath that they took when they were sent to deliberate the case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"Do you and each of you solemnly swear that you will well and truly try and a true deliverance make between the United States and ______, the defendant at the bar, and a true verdict render according to the evidence, so help you God?"

Second, they asked Zagel how to fill out a verdict form when they can't agree on a specific count. "Do we leave it blank or report the vote split?" the note asked.

Zagel agreed to send a copy of the oath to jurors and said he would also instruct them to write on top of the verdict form if they cannot reach a consensus on a count.

Zagel also ordered Blagojevich and his brother, Robert, to remain no more than 30 minutes from the courthouse.

It's like they want to know if they're breaking the law if they render a knowingly false verdict.

For Blago? Really? This guy's worth repudiating an oath made before God? This guy has that kind of appeal?

Blind partisan/tribal loyalty -- it's a valuable fuckin' thing.

Now, earlier they were told to be near court; now the Brothers Blago are told to come to court.

The verdict was expected an hour from that last report, which was at 3:14 Central, so it should come down in about half an hour or so.

Posted by: Ace at 01:21 PM | Comments (340)
Post contains 853 words, total size 5 kb.

Yeah, like we all were just thinking as the Obama Administration moved to outlaw effective but expensive anti-cancer drugs Avastin and Provenge: We know damn well the political class will have access to lifesaving drugs they outlaw for us because they want to cut costs.

What she did here, specifically, wasn't so bad. It's not that what she did here is bad, so much as she only will do this for million-dollar donors, and meanwhile she has put into operation rationing boards death panels to deny others the same sort of medicine.

It makes sense in her head, I'm sure: Some lives are just worth more than others.

Dallas' top Democratic donors will cut big checks to share dinner later this month with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Most will be motivated by a desire to protect the party's congressional majority.

Lisa Blue will have an extra reason: to say thanks for Pelosi's efforts when her husband, Fred Baron, was dying of bone marrow cancer. His only option was an experimental drug whose manufacturer refused to give permission to use it for Baron's condition.

...

A prolific Democratic fundraiser, he served as finance chief that year for his friend John Edwards, who also made his fortune in court. Baron later acknowledged funneling large sums to Edwards' mistress – a scandal that gave ammunition to those who already despised trial lawyers.

...

Somehow – Blue still isn't sure how – Pelosi cajoled the FDA to find a legal justification that let Mayo administer the drug, even without Biogen's consent.

"Nancy figured out a way," she said.

The drug beat back the cancer for a few days, but not enough.

Blue has no illusion that a typical family could pull such strings.

"There are so many cases like Fred's," she said. "One thing he taught me was politics matters. What a personal experience for me to understand how politics matters."

P.J. O'Rourke noted that when legislators control buying and selling, the first thing bought and sold are legislators.

What happens when legislators control life and death?

Via The Anchoress' comprehensive round-up of the day's top headlines.

Posted by: Ace at 12:55 PM | Comments (90)
Post contains 395 words, total size 3 kb.