Watch video below: more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:03 PM | Comments (33)
Post contains 9 words, total size 1 kb.

Captain Henry T. Waskow was killed in action in Italy, in December, 1943.

Ernie Pyle wrote these words about him, in his (perhaps) most memorable post from the war.

In this war I have known a lot of officers who were loved and respected by the soldiers under them. But never have I crossed the trail of any man as beloved as Capt. Henry T. Waskow of Belton, Texas.

His account goes on so sadly, but sweetly, to tell how much this young officer was admired, respected. Each man gving a different kind of farewell.

Ernie Pyle moved on to the Pacific after the war in Europe drew to a close. He was killed by a sniper on Ie Shima near Okinawa in April of 1945.

He wrote dispatches from the front lines, for millions of people back home. He gave them some idea of what their boys were doing, and going through. Beloved by so many and small wonder that.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 09:59 AM | Comments (32)
Post contains 171 words, total size 1 kb.

If you want. I really need to get out of TwitterWeinerVille, population me, so I'ma gonna see the Hangover, which someone said wasn't so good, but movie critics are, what's the German word?, ignorant talentless tasteless buffoons.

Besides, I didn't think the Hangover 1 was all that either, so I don't have high expectations, and besides, I could lose myself forever in Bradley Cooper's diamond-blue eyes I just want to laugh at monkeys.

Posted by: Ace at 09:59 AM | Comments (89)
Post contains 77 words, total size 1 kb.

Before linking this, I have to note that I have never heard of this guy before 72 hours ago.

As usual, that doesn't mean I don't believe him. But it does mean I have no history with him by which to judge credibility.

He says he's got the Exif metadata from the cached picture. The results are slightly, slightly bad for Weiner: the pic was taken by a Blackberry, which his other Yfrog pictures were also taken with.

But the data fails to note Blackberry model or time-stamp (not even sure why the time-stamp matters; anyone could have had this photo from months ago).

So it's not dispositive -- even the model of the Blackberry, I think a 9650 in Weiner's case, would not have really proved things beyond doubt because it's a popular cellphone/camera -- but it is yet another case where the evidence could turn towards the exculpatory side but fails to do so.

And this is all assuming this is the actual data recovered as it was originally presented, and that this analysis is accurate.

I do not know this type of stuff. I did my very first photoshop yesterday and I continue to be unable to even keep my phone in a charged state.

Doubts? Lee Stranahan, that liberal who usually says honest stuff about his own side, has been covering this case for Big Breitbart, and has tended to be pretty firmly on the "Wasn't a Hack" side of things.

But he says he doubts the picture would contain Exif information. I'm trying to find out why he doubts that now, and if he doubts it, if he believes it's faked.

Here are his problems: 1, that the information in question indicates the photo was taken hours later than it assumedly was. Corrected: He's saying the "last modified" stuff for the Exif is later than the picture was snapped. But see below.

2, that the phone's model number was present in Weiner's other photos but is now absent in this one.

3, Wrong resolution? He says other pictures were in a different resolution.

Let me say the obvious: If Stranahan has evidence of fakery, that is very, very good for Anthony Weiner. On the other hand, if this can be explained, it's not really good for him, but only slightly bad. Basing a case on the fact that a picture taken by a Blackberry is like a basing it on the suspect escaping in a Ford.

Eh: FilmLadd says the "modified" information on my avatar, for instance, shows today's date. When someone else opens the Exif of the photo, they get today's date. So Stranahan's point that the Exif shows a later date is irrelevant -- anytime you look at this stuff it gives you a "last modified" date of right now.

Posted by: Ace at 08:56 AM | Comments (176)
Post contains 479 words, total size 3 kb.

I never heard of this cartoon. Doesn't really matter though.

He's never going to top Honey Badger. It is sad to hit one's peak so early in one's career.

But still. more...

Posted by: Ace at 08:41 AM | Comments (35)
Post contains 54 words, total size 1 kb.

"Expressed my dissatisfaction to NYDN over their implication that I backed the hacking theory."

She did seem to say a little less than the media claimed.

Ah well, lesson 1 for our journalism student: When the media has a quote they're looking for to hook their story all together, they're either going to put that quote in your mouth ("Would you agree that...?") or they're just going to paraphrase you into saying it.

Either way, you will wind up saying that necessary quote.

Thanks to DrewM.

Posted by: Ace at 07:32 AM | Comments (227)
Post contains 114 words, total size 1 kb.

Via Ben Domenech, Walter Russell Mead makes a very, very important point: Osama bin Laden had a vision for fighting America and the non-Muslim world and it died in Iraq.

But on this Memorial Day it is not enough to remember, and give thanks, that OsamaÂ’s dream died before he did and that the terror movement has been gravely wounded at its heart.

Because the dream didnÂ’t just die.

It was killed.

And it was killed by coalition forces. They killed it by fighting harder and smarter than the enemy and they killed it by winning trust and building bridges better than the enemy. They did it because they were better, more honorable warriors and better, more honorable partners for peace. Mostly American and mostly Christian, the coalition forcers were more compassionate, more just, more protective of the poor and more respectful of Arab women than the crazed thugs who thought setting off bombs in the market was fulfilling GodÂ’s will.

We must continue to honor and thank the Arab allies and tribal leaders who made the choice for America in a dark and a difficult time. But especially on this Memorial Day we must honor and remember the American heroes who by their lives and by their deaths brought victory out of defeat, understanding out of hatred and gave both Muslims and non-Muslims a chance to get this whole thing right.

The story of AmericaÂ’s victory over terror in Mesopotamia needs to be told. In justice to those who sacrificed so much, and for the sake of those who may have to face similar dangers in the future, somebody needs to tell the real story of how, against all odds and in the face of unremitting skepticism and defeatism at home, our armed forces built a foundation for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East.

Read the whole thing. It's worth it.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:23 AM | Comments (46)
Post contains 355 words, total size 2 kb.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 06:04 AM | Comments (68)
Post contains 302 words, total size 2 kb.

I saw this FNS piece when it aired 5 years ago and make a point of watching it again every Memorial Day.

God bless our troops and the memory of the fallen.

Posted by: andy at 03:30 AM | Comments (66)
Post contains 44 words, total size 1 kb.

I call him the number one "suspect" because @patriotusa76, Dan Wolfe, is being named as the hacker in the left-wing media.

See the first comment at Gawker, for example. And most of the subsequent ones.

Where did they get this idea?

Inferentially, from two places, and synthesized together, at a third place:

1. Inferential bit: Anthony Weiner claims he was "#Hacked!," as he calls it, which is a cutesy way on Twitter to say something. Like #Jinx! So he's joking lightheartedly about this despicable and invasive hacking, an attempt to ruin his career and his marriage.

In any event, if you've been #Hacked!, there must be #Hacker! Right? Follows.

2. Inferential bit: The Comely Coed claims in her very-short-on-details NY Daily News piece that she was "harrassed:"

. When I checked one of the posts that I had been tagged in I saw that it was a picture that had supposedly been tweeted to me by Congressman Anthony Weiner.

The account that these tweets were sent from was familiar to me; this person had harassed me many times after the Congressman followed me on Twitter a month or so ago. Since I had dealt with this person and his cohorts before I assumed that the tweet and the picture were their latest attempts at defaming the Congressman and harassing his supporters.

Now, from what I gather, @patriotusa76 was in fact a persistent critic of Rep. Weiner. And because @patriotusa76 was frequently watching Weiner's account (and, apparently, some of those Weiner was himself following), he caught the dic-pic when it was sent.

Clarification: The lady in question objects that she did not imply @patriotusa76 was a hacker. This is true, and I hereby clarify. But while she didn't imply that he was the hacker, other people sure as hell inferred it -- see Gawker's comenters seizing on this connection.

It is true she didn't say anything about Wolfe being a hacker. But the left is looking for a patsy, and "harasser" easily enough slides into "hacker." Hell, they even contain many of the same letters.

3. Statement of "reasonable flag for suspicion:" But mostly, this idea came from Colby Hall, writing for Mediate. Hall is very very cautious to be fair to Rep. Weiner but becomes unfair in suggesting that @patriotusa76 might have been the one-moment-elite-the-next-moment-e-lame hacker:

Why We Should Be Suspicious Of These Allegations:

If this was in fact a hack, as Weiner claims, then itÂ’s not unreasonable that the alleged hacker would do everything that he or she could do to make the individual look guilty, including retweeting the offending image, and then deleting it. Rep. Weiner is not just a progressive provocateur who has very few fans on the right, but he is also a very public figure with 45,000 Twitter followers. So it is perfectly reasonable to wonder why it would appear that his offending tweet was only retweeted once, by a Twitter user who goes by the handle @patriotusa76:

So who is this Twitter user that appeared to luck out and sent the only unique RT of Weiner’s image? The Twitter profile claims that he is an individual named Dan Wolfe, and his bio reads: “Conservative Reagan Republican. No Obamacare, socialism, sharia. Proud of the USA & Proud to be an American with NO apologies. No elitists need apply.”

Its not an exaggeration to say that Wolfe is somewhat obsessed with Weiner; a simple search reveals that, since April, he has mentioned Rep. Weiner 287 times via twitter. Also, skeptics might see that Wolfe and his Twitter clique have been building a narrative about Rep. WeinerÂ’s followers for months, perhaps best evidenced by this tweet to an underage high school girl, who requested a follow from Weiner and got it:

So, a guy who has been building exactly this narrative for months turns out to be the one and only unique retweet of the picture in question? Just as Rep. Weiner’s cryptic hashtag about the Seattle time zone is reason to raise reasonable flag of suspicion, so too is this. Lest anyone think that Wolfe is somehow in cahoots with the Big Government report (and/or vice versa) Breitbart claims that Wolfe has refused to speak to him then adds “if he is involved in a conspiracy, then it is a very expensive one and a remarkably long narrative for this to pay off,” adding “that defies reason.”

Note that Colby feels far more confident in accusing Dan Wolfe of being a hacker than of accusing Weiner of sending a dic-pic to a girl who had a crush on him.

So, take those three together. Weiner alleges a hack. the Comely Coed says she's been "harassed." Colby Hall, looking for some damn reason to cast doubt on the indubitable, strongly implies that Dan Wolfe is a good suspect for the "hacker."

Now throughout this saga, Weiner has refused to say if police had been contacted. In fact, Colby Hall's piece even mentions this. So does Ben Smith's at Politico's. So does the Washington Post piece, if I recall correctly.

Weiner, for reasons unknown, refuses to say if he's contacted the police or FBI.

So people continue reporting they don't know if he's called the police.

Calling the police would be the move of an innocent man who was hacked.

Not calling the police would be the move of a guilty man who was making up a bullshit story about a hack to cover the fact he'd actually hit the public tweet channel on his dic-pic when he meant to send a DM.

And we don't know which it is.

Odd that Weiner won't just say which, eh?

Well, he doesn't have to say.

I spoke to the Accused on Twitter a half hour ago. Dan Wolfe himself. @patriotusa76, the man that Hall suggested was a possible suspect for the "hacker."

I asked a simple question:

Have you been contacted by any law enforcement officers or agents whatsoever?

His answer:

No one. Nada. I keep saying bring it on. I have nothing to hide. Not my IP nothing to hide at all.

No one from law enforcement contacted the number one suspect in the hacking case of the decade? No one? No one at all?

Not a single LEO?

No, Wolfe told me repeatedly. And then he went further. Here are his tweets, my Columbo-like questions omitted, as well as answer-beginnings to those questions:

I keep saying I would love an investigation because I know the outcome. It won't be me.

I hope he comes after me. Look up my IP. Nothing to hide here.

I'd voluntarily hand anything they want over. Check me and my IP. Anything. I did not post that tweet. Weiner did it.

It could be solved in minutes why is no one but me asking for authorities?

At this point I'm seriously wondering if I can call the authorities myself and ask for investigation.

Whatever it takes to get it started. Fine with me. I just want it investigated. Someone please?

So: What do we know?

We know the following: That Representative Anthony Weiner has not contacted law enforcement at all.

If law enforcement doesn't call the all-but-named "hacker" suspect, then law enforcement wasn't brought in at all.

What do we know further? We know that the media-types who have shyly dipped a toe into this lake have long hinted that it was quite telling whether Weiner contacted the police, or he didn't.

If he did contact him: Innocent and hacked.

If he didn't contact them: Guilty and not hacked.

He didn't contact them. Unless Dan Wolfe is lying, but has anyone bothered to ask Suspect A-1 in the "hacking case" if he got even a phone call from a LEO?

Does anyone have any evidence he's lying?

Does Weiner have evidence he's lying? Can he tell us which FBI agents are handling the case? Or which security men from Congressional IT? Or which Capitol Police?

Further, Wolfe isn't hard to find, and will cooperate, gladly, with such an investigation.

Should one ever occur. Which I don't think one will.

So Weiner, Comely Coed, Detective First Class Colby Hall:

Dan Wolfe wants an investigation by law enforcement.

Why doesn't Anthony Weiner oblige him? He maintains he was a victim of a serious cybercrime. And he's a Congressman with a security clearance -- this isn't a bullshit prank. Weiner is top-secret cleared.

Pranksters don't hack Congressmen; spies hack Congressmen. This is a bit more serious than #Hacked!

Why doesn't the Comely Coed oblige him? By her account, she, a girl who had just cracked the age of majority, had been sent, unsolicited and unaware, an obscene picture of an erect penis. This is generally considered illegal-- at least a smaller crime. So she too can call the cops.

Isn't it odd that Weiner and the Comely Coed are not calling the police, while the man the left has all-but-accused as being behind this is the only one who wants a police investigation?

I now turn the matter back over to you, Colby Hall.

Corrected: It's Dan Wolfe, not Gary Wolfe.

It's late-- 2am. #Thats545inSeattleIThink.

Okay, it's not. But you get the joke.

Oh: I asked Rep. Weiner 40 different times, in 40 slightly different ways, if he had contacted law enforcement, posting to his Twitter account.

Representative Weiner did not respond to questions in time for this article's publication.

I always wanted to say that.

Scrubbed: The Comely Coed expresses her desire to slip back into anonymity and while I can't quite do that, I can drop all mentions of her name. So she's back to The Comely Coed.

Corrected: Colby Hall objects to the statement that he "accused" anyone. Accused is a stronger word than warranted. I had intended to distinguish between inferential bits and his piece, which put the inferences together, but he's right, "accusation" overstates things by a ways. I have rewritten to quote him accurately: "reasonable flag for suspicion."

He also objects to the idea this "mostly" came to him, noting the Daily Kos says all sorts of ludicrous things here (they are currently working on the theory that Weiner was hacked, and also, that he wasn't hacked at all and Breitbart just photoshopped a picture). Yes, they do say that, and yes, the leftwing reads DKos more than a reporter.

But to me, he carries the weight, since he's a reporter. Anyway, noted and corrected.

Posted by: Ace at 09:58 PM | Comments (310)
Post contains 1766 words, total size 11 kb.