Would-be Ford assassin freed from prison on parole

She is now 77 years old.

One of the women who unsuccessfully tried to assassinate President Ford 32 years ago was released on parole Monday from a federal prison in California, according to a Bureau of Prisons spokesman.

Sara Jane Moore was released in the morning from the federal women's prison in Dublin, outside San Francisco, according to Mike Truman of the Bureau of Prisons.

There was no immediate comment from the prison facility itself, where Moore had been Inmate No. 04851180. Officials said she had a recent parole hearing, but did not know what prompted her release at this time.

Nor was it clear what her plans are, or where she is headed.

Hillary says she risked life on White House trips

Failing miserably to channel Benazir Bhutto.

VINTON, Iowa - Ever since Barack Obama suggested Hillary Clinton's eight years as first lady were a glorified tea party a few days back, she's looked for an opening to strike back.

On Saturday night in Dubuque she pounced, arguing she risked her life on White House missions in the 1990s, including a hair-raising flight into Bosnia that ended in a "corkscrew" landing and a sprint off the tarmac to dodge snipers.

"I don't remember anyone offering me tea," she quipped. The dictum around the Oval Office in the '90s, she added, was: "If a place was too dangerous, too poor or too small, send the first lady."

Jeez, give me a freaking break.

RASMUSSEN Poll

From Drudge:

McCain 17%

Romney 16%

Huckabee 16%

Giuliani 15%

Thompson 12%

Five candidates all within 5 points of each other. Brother that's a horserace!

Hillary: Pakistan troops might have killed Bhutto

What a completely speculative and irresponsible statement.

Hillary Rodham Clinton waded into Pakistan's volatile internal political situation Saturday, raising the possibility the country's military might have assassinated Benazir Bhutto because the killing took place in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Clinton's remarks came as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's government seemed to reject a call for an independent international investigation of the murder that Clinton and John Edwards proposed on Friday.

During a question-and-answer session at an elementary school here, Clinton offered a detailed prescription for the troubled country, suggesting that the U.S divert aid away from its military to social welfare programs.

And for the second time in as many days, she cast doubt on Musharraf's contention that the suicide bombing that led to the death of the country's most popular opposition leader was masterminded by al-Qaida.

Huckabee Confused about Borders

This guy is literally a walking agglomeration of unforced errors.

NYT/DES MOINES — Mike Huckabee used the volatile situation in Pakistan Friday to make an argument for building a fence on the American border with Mexico and found himself trying to explain a series of remarks about Pakistanis and their nation.

On Thursday night he told reporters in Orlando, Fla.: “We ought to have an immediate, very clear monitoring of our borders and particularly to make sure if there’s any unusual activity of Pakistanis coming into the country.”

On Friday, in Pella, Iowa, he expanded on those remarks.

“When I say single them out I am making the observation that we have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than all other nationalities except those immediately south of the border,” he told reporters in Pella. “And in light of what is happening in Pakistan it ought to give us pause as to why are so many illegals coming across these borders.”

The Nature of Our Enemy

I sympathize but with what this women obviously knew of her advisary's, did she have a death wish or what?

The next to last assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto came on Dec. 13, when a man in the crowd got the former prime minister’s attention. He was holding a one-year-old baby — Bhutto said later she thought it was a girl — and tried to hand the child across the sea of bodies. Bhutto said, “He kept trying to hand it to people to hand to me. I’m a mother. I love babies. But the [streetlights] had already gone out and I was worried about the baby getting dropped or hurt.” So she turned away and ducked into her armored vehicle. Just then, the baby’s body, rigged with explosives, detonated.

That is the nature of the enemy. Thursday morning brought news that another bomber has succeeded in killing Bhutto. Early reports suggest that this time the terrorists relied on a suicide bomber and a gunman. Al-Qaeda was quick off the mark. “We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahedeen,” said commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu al-Yazid in a phone interview with Adnkronos International. Whether al-Qaeda really did the killing or opportunistically claimed credit is unclear. But there is no doubt that Bhutto represented a modernizing movement within the Islamic world and was accordingly seen as a threat by the seventh-century zealots who rig babies with explosives.

How long before Huckabee suggests that WE have been brutal and need to negotiate with these misunderstood malcontents?

Benazir Bhutto Critically Injured At Rally

Pakistan, ground zero for World War III.

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been critically injured after a suspected suicide attack at a political rally in Pakistan.

She is undergoing emergency surgery at a nearby hospital, Sky News sources say.

The explosion went off just after Ms Bhutto left the rally in Rawalpindi, minutes after her speech to thousands of people.

Update: Per AP, "she's dead".

This from Sky News

Huckabee's illegal-alien record hit

Something that is becoming increasingly evident...Mike Huckabee is long on lip service and very short on action.

Mike Huckabee is overselling his record of cracking down on illegal aliens as governor, claiming he ordered his state police to arrest illegal aliens when in fact he never signed the agreement with federal authorities that would have allowed it.

Mr. Huckabee signed a bill that began the process, but he never followed through with signing an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to secure training for state police officers. Without it, they cannot enforce federal immigration law.

"This is a policy difference, but the facts are the facts — under Governor Huckabee's administration, there was never even any effort to begin negotiating with Homeland Security," said former state Rep. Jeremy Hutchinson, the Republican who sponsored the 2005 law.

Holes in Global-Warming Theory Put Mitigation Effort at Risk

Iraq's looking good, economy's solid and now this? E-gad all that hysteria on the left and no place to go...

Has global warming stopped? The Earth's temperatures have held steady since 2001, says a veteran science writer, a pattern that raises questions about the intense efforts under way to stem the impact of greenhouse gases.

What is indisputable, says David Whitehouse on the Web site of the New Statesman, a generally left-leaning British weekly, is that the amount of gases such as carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has been increasing steadily for decades as humans burn more fossil fuels. Scientists believe those gases absorb outgoing infrared radiation from the Earth's surface, causing heat to be retained. In principle, that produces the greenhouse effect that is the fundamental theory behind global warming.

The world's temperatures rose sharply from 1980 to 1998 but have leveled off since then, according to Mr. Whitehouse's reading of U.S. and United Kingdom government statistics. In other words, he says, global warming has ceased.

While scientists have proposed a variety of theories for the recent plateau in temperature, those explanations are inadequate, says Mr. Whitehouse, who spent 18 years covering the sciences at the British Broadcasting Corporation and holds a doctorate in astrophysics. The working hypothesis of global warming remains a good one, says Mr. Whitehouse, but it doesn't fully explain what is occurring in the Earth's atmosphere. "Something else is happening and it is vital that we find out what" or risk wasting billions of dollars on the wrong solutions.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

"To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among people." Luke 2:1-21

Woman shops for three days inside Wal-Mart

If it was a Home Depot I could relate...

LILBURN, Ga., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Police in Lilburn, Ga., said an elderly woman spent three days shopping inside a local Wal-Mart.

Lilburn Police Detective Matt Lake said the 70-year-old woman ate at the Blimpie sandwich shop inside the store but it wasn't known where -- or whether -- she slept during her three-day shopping spree, the Gwinnett (Ga.) Daily Post reported Monday.

"She spent three straight days in Wal-Mart," Lake said. "Employees called the police department. She asked an officer for a ride home, she paid for her merchandise and the Lilburn police gave her a ride home."

Now's the time to come Out for Fred (Updated and Bumped)

As most of you are aware Romney is our second choice for the nomination. Just the same we have some serious concerns with the man and Rick Moran is both brutal and eloquent in addressing some of them...

In my case, it was between Fred and Romney. But today's news about Romney backpedaling on his contention that Governor George Romney marched with Martin Luther King during the civil rights era is the straw that broke the camel's back. It never happened, and his campaign disingenuously came out with a statement saying that Mitt was "speaking figuratively" not "literally."

Well, figuratively speaking, I'm a fine figure of a man, devilishly handsome, and have women three at a time when I'm not battling terrorists and making liberals' heads explode.

On the other hand, if you want to be "literal" about it, I'm 50 pounds overweight, devilishly cute, haven't spoken to another woman since I met my Zsu-Zsu, and I write long, logical, cogent articles against terrorism while making liberals' heads explode.

I don't trust a man who speaks "figuratively" as an adjunct to using plain English. Romney speaks "figuratively" fluently – on abortion, gay marriage, immigration, and other issues. I can't abide politicians who find it necessary to shade, color, or otherwise try to obscure their positions on issues. It smacks of pandering which is not only dishonest but reveals an inconstant character and someone without any core principles or beliefs.

Read the whole thing

WHOA NELLY, scathing.

UPDATE: Four Pinocchios for Romney on MLK

Hopefully this will put an end once and for all to the obfuscation and spin on this subject...

"They [George Romney and Martin Luther King] were hand in hand...They led the march. We all swung our hands, and they held their hands up above everybody else's."

Quote distributed by the Mitt Romney campaign.

After news reports challenged Mitt Romney's repeated accounts of his father marching with Martin Luther King, his campaign put a reporter from Politico in touch with eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen the former Michigan governor "hand in hand" with the civil rights leader. But their memories are almost certainly flawed as contemporaneous news reports show that King was addressing a meeting in New Jersey at the time the eyewitnesses supposedly saw him in Grosse Pointe, MI.

The Facts:

Romney did show up at a smaller march the following Saturday in the exclusive Grosse Pointe suburb of Michigan to protest housing discrimination. But contemporaneous news reports show that King had left the Michigan area by then, and was traveling in the Northeast

"I was fifteen feet away from them [Romney and MLK]," said Robertson, 64, who attended Grosse Pointe high school. "You don't forget that kind of thing."

I called up one of the eyewitnesses cited by Politico and the Romney campaign, Ashby Robertson.

When I told Robertson that news reports placed Martin Luther King in New Jersey at the time, he replied: "Well, it was somebody who certainly looked like him."

Al-Qaida confirms death of top operative in Iraq

Photo via AP

The purported leader of al-Qaida's umbrella group in Iraq has confirmed the death of a top operative who the US military said was killed in an attack last month, according to a new audiotape.

The US military had said it captured or killed 40 al-Qaida fighters last month, including a Syrian who died in a Nov. 17 raid on a reported propaganda house. The Syrian, identified as Abu Maysara, had escaped from an Iraqi prison in March.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, praised Maysara as "a well experienced mujahid (holy warrior) and propagandist."

Sunni, Shia Peace March

Something you won't see on the front page of the NYT.

BAGHDAD — Approximately 1,000 Iraqi citizens, of both Shia and Sunni religions, joined together on the sectarian fault line in Rawaniyah, the Karkh District of Baghdad, to march with one another in what they called a “Peace March”, Dec. 19.
It was an Iraqi initiative to ease sectarian tensions, solely driven by Iraqi Neighborhood Council (NAC) and District Advisory Council (DAC) leaders and Sheiks from both religious sects in the area, said Capt. Marcus Melton, commander of Pale Horse Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

With Iraqi Army and Iraqi policemen maintaining the security on the streets and within the crowd during the event, they were able to successfully complete the march for united peace among all Iraqis.

We're in Good Company

The fact that the majority of conservative political bloggers back Fred Thompson is no surpise to this political junkie. Jay at StoptheACLU has a list and we are proud to be in their company.

In blogger poll, after blogger poll it has been Fred Thompson hands down, despite the efforts of Ron Paul bots. Most conservative bloggers I know have either came out and endorsed him, or are rooting from him. Below are just a handful.

John Hawkins of Rightwing News, Erick Erickson of RedState.Com, Pejman of RedState, Eugene Volokh of Volokh's Conspiracy, Polipundit of Polipundit, Ala from Blonde Sagacity, Beth at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Kender at Kender's Musings, Gribbit at Gribbit's Word, Bill Quick of Daily Pundit, Misha of Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller, Bob Krumm, Brandon at Conservative Superiority, Curt at Flopping Aces, Darrell of Alpha Patriot, Jimmie of the Sundries Shack, Justin Higgins of Right on the Right, Kim du Toit, MacRanger of Macsmind, Rick Moran of Right Wing Nuthouse, Mike Hendrix of Cold Fury, Rob Port of Say Anything, Stix of Stix Blog, TraderRob of Opinipundit, William Dyer of Beldar Blog, Nate of Irate-Nation, William Teach of Pirate's Cove, Kate of Ol Broad, Steve of Pencilnub, and though he is getting doubts…Ace of Ace of Spades. Plus many more.

Get the full story HERE

Huckabee "A Dean Scream Moment?"

Michelle Malkin says Mike Huckabees ad going after Rush Limbaugh was a major "Huck up"...

I was in the car listening to Rush Limbaugh responding to the Mike Huckabee campaign’s attack on him. What an unbelievably knuckle-headed move by Huckabee’s minions. Casting Limbaugh as part of the Beltway-Manhattan elite? Those who’ve been tuning in and listening closely know that Limbaugh has scrupulously avoided playing favorites with any of the GOP candidates. He’s been an equal-opportunity scrutinizer. What possible benefit could accrue from going after one of the conservative movement’s most popular figures?

Say goodnight Gracie.

But he sure is popular with the left: Ohio governor says Huckabee is his favorite GOP candidate

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who already has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, said former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is his favorite among the Republican candidates.

Huckabee, like Strickland, is an ordained minister.

"He's a very socially compassionate man who obviously has concern for the poor and the working middle class, while at the same time, having rather conservative views when it comes to a matter like abortion or gay marriage," Strickland said.

Beginning of Thompson's Iowa Surge?

Thompson is essentially where Kerry was at this point in 04. Huckabee and Romney are about where Dean and Gephardt were.

Mike Huckabee 31%

Mitt Romney 25%

Fred Thompson 16%

Regardless of your persuasions it's going to be interesting.

Consumer Spending Surges in November

The economic pronosticators ought to get with the hurricane predictors and deliberate their mutual record of accuracy.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers put aside worries about slumping home sales and soaring gasoline prices and headed to the malls in November, pushing spending up by the largest amount in 3 1/2 years.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending surged by 1.1 percent last month, nearly triple the October gain. The gain reflected various promotional efforts by retailers such as heavy discounting and longer store hours at the start of the holiday shopping season.

Physics 101

Tancredo Out

It's being widely speculated that Tom Tancredo has called a press conference this afternoon to announce he is withdrawing from the Presidential race. As a staunch conservative and strong anti-illegal immigration proponent his campaign never left the starting gate. Will he endorse anyone at the announcement? We'll see.

Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo plans to drop out of the race during an announcement Thursday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa, GOP sources close to the campaign have told FOX News.

Tancredo, who has aggressively pushed his anti-illegal immigration message throughout the GOP primary race, has not been able to break through in the polls against his better known competitors. He and California Rep. Duncan Hunter typically poll in the single digits behind Texas Rep. Ron Paul in national surveys.

Tancredo would not personally confirm whether he will pull out of the race.

48% of Americans think Iraq "going well"

Good news is no news...

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A recent decline in U.S. news coverage from Iraq coincides with improved public opinion about the war just as the 2008 presidential campaign heads to an early showdown, a study released on Wednesday said.

The study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism said the volume of coverage from Iraq fell from 8 percent of all news stories in the first six months of 2007 to 5 percent between June and October due mainly to a decline in news accounts of daily attacks.

The falloff coincided with a 14 percentage point climb -- from 34 to 48 percent -- in the number of Americans who believe the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going either fairly or very well, according to Pew.

BREAKING-Edwards takes lead in InsiderAdvantage Iowa poll

Ayone who thinks that things aren't fluid in Iowa, think again.

John Edwards has leapfrogged over his rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and leads the Democratic field in Iowa, according to the latest InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll.

The race among the three top Democrats is extremely close, with the potential for any of them to finish first – or third.

Edwards leads with 30 percent in a poll of Democratic voters who said they intend to participate in the Jan. 3 presidential caucuses, followed by Clinton with 26 percent and Obama with 24 percent. When the sample was narrowed to the most likely caucus-goers, based on several questions, Obama leads Edwards by less than a percentage point with 27 percent, with Clinton in third place at 24 percent.

Endorsements Endorsements...

It's been a good week so far for Fred Thompson. First he received the endorsement of Representative and opinion maker Steve King followed up shortly by nods from Wisconsin, Minnesota and California RTL groups.Then just yesterday 2 influential blogs came out strongly for Fred. Polipundit states "Fred Thompson would be one of our great presidents", Redstate comments that Thompson "is more interested in doing something than he is in being somebody".

It's anyones guess as to whether Fred can pull this thing off. One things for sure, the Republican nomination is wide open and if there was ever a time to be seizing the momentum it is now.

Minuteman reconsiders Huckabee endorsement

OOOPS...

Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist says he will have to reconsider his endorsement of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee after learning the Republican presidential candidate favors allowing illegal aliens to wait only days to receive documents allowing re-entry into the U.S.

In a Dec. 9 Fox News interview, just two days before Gilchrist's endorsement, Huckabee was questioned by host Chris Wallace about an apparent contradiction between statements last year that he preferred a pathway to citizenship and his current plan. On his campaign website, Huckabee outlines a proposal that would require illegal aliens to repatriate and get on the back of the line, which could mean years for re-entry into the United States.

Huckabee insisted there is no discrepancy, specifying that "the pathway to get back here legally doesn't take years. It would take days, maybe weeks, and then people could come back in the workforce."

Who Are America's Biggest Givers?

Just goes to show once again that liberals are only charitable with other peoples money.

The stereotype holds that conservatives are mean and don't care about the poor, and that liberals who do care for the poor give more. But in his book, Who Really Cares, economist Arthur Brooks says that's not the case.

"The average conservative-headed household gives 30 percent more money to charity than the average liberal-headed household, despite earning six percent less income," Brooks said.

Brooks also found that the biggest givers in America are religious people from traditional families

Steve King Endorses Thompson

Iowa GOP Representative and kingmaker Steve King announced his endorsement for president this morning. He’s supporting Fred Thompson.

Probably the most important Iowa endorsement there is. Will this cause Thompson's stock to skyrocket? Anyones guess.

UPDATE: From MSNBC...

King just announced that he's supporting Thompson. Team Romney is in the back of the room looking bewildered. They were all here, leading all the press to conclude that it was an endorsement for Romney.

Stand by for more.

*** UPDATE II *** Thompson just issued this statement on King's endorsement: "Congressman King's leadership in support of the sanctity of life and his efforts in the fight against illegal immigration have made him one of Iowa's great Republican leaders. He's a tireless fighter for the 5th district of Iowa and I'm honored by his support. I look forward to working with Congressman King over the next three weeks and into 2008 in support of the traditional conservative values he and I share."

Mitt’s Meet mistakes

Why all the unforced errors? Credibility with the Republican electorate is not a commodity that Romney can afford to erode.

It has turned out that Mitt Romney’s Meet the Press appearance appeared decent at the time, but mistakes seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Race 4 2008 has one write-up.

First, there was Romney’s lie about the NRA endorsement. He claimed that he had received it in 2002. He hadn’t. Just made it up.

Second, he claimed that "…every piece of legislation which came to my desk in the coming years as a Governor, I came down on the side of preserving the sanctity of life." Fred Thompson’s campaign sent out a press release basically blowing that up.

Third, Jen Rubin at the Spectator drills down and finds Romney’s statements on taxes totally lacking.

Bush Nears a Victory Over Spying Powers

An important victory for the WOT.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate appears poised to hand the White House another victory with a measure that would make permanent an expansion of government spy powers and shield phone companies from liability for assisting government eavesdropping.

With floor consideration scheduled to start today, Democrats are split on how to cut back on the administration's surveillance powers. The only option that appears to have sufficient backing is a bipartisan measure the White House has blessed. Opponents of the White House-backed bill are increasingly predicting a White House win.

And yet another in the string of Democrat defeats.

Huckabee DWI Clemency, Donations Raise Questions

What is in the water down there??

Questions are being raised about then-Gov. Huckabee's 2004 decision to grant clemency to a repeat Driving While Intoxicated offender in Arkansas named Eugene Fields, despite the objections of a law enforcement official at the time. Documents obtained by NBC News reveal Fields' case was handled differently from any other DWI clemency or pardon granted by Huckabee, and some Republicans are now suggesting significant political contributions may have influenced the governor's decision.

In August 2001, Fields, of Van Buren, Ark., was convicted of his fourth DWI charge, a felony in the state of Arkansas, was sentenced to six years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Fields reported to prison in August of 2003.

But prison records obtained by NBC News show that six weeks into that six-year sentence, Fields' application for clemency, a commutation of his sentence the governor could issue to grant Fields an early release from prison, was unanimously supported by the parole board. Within months, Huckabee issued his intent to grant executive clemency to Fields, who was released from prison soon thereafter.

Des Moines Register, IA Presidential Candidates Endorsements

The endorsements go to Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

Considering the embarrassing performance of the EIC of the Register in the debates I suspect this could prove to be a net negative for both candidates.

Update: McCain keeps racking up the liberal rag endorsements...

Globe endorses McCain, Obama

Iraqi oil exceeds pre-war output

Well, if it was all about oil we've won!

Iraqi oil production is above the levels seen before the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA said Iraqi crude production is now running at 2.3 million barrels per day, compared with 1.9 million barrels at the start of this year

Videotape shows Sharpton cutting a deal

Finally, it appears that the luck for this race charlatan has run out....

With a hidden FBI camera rolling inside a New York hotel suite in 2003, an unsuspecting Rev. Al Sharpton, Democratic candidate for president, spoke candidly.

Sharpton offered to help Philadelphia fund-raiser Ronald A. White win a multimillion-dollar business deal, if White helped him raise $50,000 for politics.

White offered $25,000. "If you bring my guys up on this hedge fund, and I have the right conversation," White said, "I'll give you what you need."

"Cool," Sharpton said

Maybe now Bill O'Reilly will quit giving this demagogue legitimacy with air time.

Huckabee on His Education

"I don't have a theology degree but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Fake but accurate.

Goofy Story of the Week: 40% of Japanese men sit down to "tinkle", survey shows

Primarily due to sooo small penis'

About 40 percent of adult Japanese men sit on the toilet to urinate -- a staggering figure almost three times the number recorded in 1999 -- according to a survey by Western-style toilet manufacturer Matsushita Electric Works Ltd.

The survey of 518 men and an identical number of women whose ages ranged from their 30s to 50s showed that the younger the man, the more likely he is to sit down while peeing instead of the traditional method of standing up.

The 40 percent of men who sit while urinating is almost three times more than the 15 percent of men who did so when the company first started surveying toilet habits in 1999.

If they polled the male left in this country it would easily be twice that percentage.

Update #219 ROP Chronicles: Woman raped before "honor killing": court

JEEEZ

LONDON (Reuters) - A Kurdish woman was brutally raped, stamped on and strangled by members of her family and their friends in an "honor killing" carried out at her London home because she had fallen in love with the wrong man.

Banaz Mahmod, 20, was subjected to the 2-1/2 hour ordeal before she was garroted with a bootlace. Her body was stuffed into a suitcase and taken about 100 miles to Birmingham where it was buried in the back garden of a house.

Her badly decomposed body was found in April 2006, three months after the killing.

Hillary Presser

Sock puppet theater? We shall see.

What a non-event. Aside from the fact that the babbling idiots on MSNBC prefer to hear their own voices rather the the person they're covering, Hillary said nothing of consequence. Commented on the firing of her campaign operative in New Hamshire over the "Obama drug" story and then launched into non sequitors about the Iowa campaign and how hard she’s working and how hard she’s always worked yammer yammer.

Definate signs of desperation.

Fred vs. Huck: Substance vs. Stupid

Brother has this guy got Huckabee pegged...

The 40% of Iowans who self identify as Christian conservatives evidently don't get out much. Either that, or they've simply decided to take an early Christmas holiday from reality. Otherwise, I can't understand why so many would have fallen so completely for the flim flam being perpetrated by the least knowledgeable, least prepared, and most backward thinking of all the Republican candidates in the field -and that includes candidates going back to the 1950's.

I am talking about the walking, talking disaster-in-the-making that is Mike Huckabee - former governor of a small, impoverished state, a baptist preacher whose conservative views on social issues make him a perfect candidate for the Leave it to Beaver wing of the GOP, and a man whose thinking is so shallow a warning sign should be plastered on his forehead reading "Absolutely no diving beyond this point."

Now one might think the best way to get our Iowa brethren to abandon this silly love affair with a silly candidate would not accuse them of being dunces. I disagree. Sometimes, you need to throw a bucket of cold water on people to call their attention to erroneous thinking. And I would think they would find that preferable to the buckets of bullsh*t Huckabee has been tossing their way for months.

It's well worth your time to read the whole thing.

Another Alleged Bus Beating In Baltimore

Paging Mr. Paul Kersey...

WBAL-TV reports that two men aboard the #64 bus in Brooklyn claim they were attacked by a group of 7 black teens. The two men say they were attacked because they were white. They also claim the bus driver refused to call police for them.

The two men suffered cuts and bruises.

The MTA says it is investigating the claim.

This comes less than a week after a white woman was beaten on a bus. 9 black middle school students have been arrested in that case

Leaders and Followers

You can see from this picture who has cajones and who does not.

Question of the Day

Separated at birth?

Republican Debate: IOWA

Thompson and Hunter had the gloves off, Huckabee lectured (Jeez I can't stand that man) Guiliani was pretty good throughout, Romney steady and smooth as usual, McCain completely uninspring.

From the NRO "Thompson came to the debate in Des Moines today to do two things: Kick butt and chew gum. And it appears he's all out of gum.

Fred Thompson absolutely won this debate. I know, I know I'm biased. Maybe so, but I've got my fair and balanced cap on and it was obvious even to some of my blog comrades who are not supporting Fred.

Here's how I rank it:

1. Thompson
2. Romney
3. Hunter
4. Guiliani
5. Huckabee
6. McCain
7. etc. who cares

In all fairness Romney really did very well and arguably was just as strong as Thompson.

Update: NRO agrees with me as does Redstate. The Weekly Standard concurs.

Concerning Luntz's "focus group"..."The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
-Winston Churchill

Romney: Attacks on Religion Go Too Far

Bill commented on this in an earlier thread and I agree it's not only significant but also very telling. The Hucksters feigned ignorance of the Mormon religion is total bu!!sh!t. He was reminding Christian conservatives of who the "real" Christian in the race is.

AP/Republican Mitt Romney retorted to questions about his faith by surging rival Mike Huckabee on Wednesday, declaring that "attacking someone's religion is really going too far."

In an article to be published Sunday in The New York Times, Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

Romney, vying to become the first Mormon elected president, declined to answer that question during an interview Wednesday, saying church leaders in Salt Lake City had already addressed the topic.

Bush vs Congress

No wonder the Dem leadership isn't commenting on Bush's approval numbers latel.y

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll, conducted Dec. 6-9, finds 37% of Americans approving of the job George W. Bush is doing as president, an improvement from his recent scores in the low 30s. Meanwhile, 22% of Americans approve of Congress, essentially unchanged from last month. Both Bush's and Congress' ratings remain low by historical standards.

In early November, 31% of Americans approved of Bush as president -- just two points off his term-low rating of 29%. Since then, his rating has improved on each Gallup Poll, and although none of these individual changes have been statistically significant, the long-term increase from 31% in early November to 37% in the new poll is.

Red is as Red Does

The two special elections (Va,Oh) held in historically Republican Districts yesterday gave Democrats little encouragement...

The vote in Ohio wasn't close, with the Republican, Robert Latta, winning by a 57%-43% margin. In Virginia, the result was even more one-sided, with Republican Rob Wittman winning by a landslide 63% to 35% margin.

DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION

From Drudge:

Within the DNC, Huckabee is known as the 'glass jaw -- and they're just waiting to break it'... The last DNC press release critical of Huckabee appeared back on
March 2nd.

Unfortunately they are dead right.

Stupidest Headline of the Week

This time from the venerable Wall Street Journal...

Can Barack Obama win? If not, is it because he's black?

Does anyone with half a brain actually think he would be running much less a serious contender if he wasn't black????

Fred steps on Huck's big endorsement

Huckabee is increasingly looking as though he comes from the Jimmy Swaggart wing of the Evangelical dominion.

Although the candidates kept it polite on stage, Fred Thompson's campaign circulated press clippings from 2002 in which Huckabee called for an end to the trade embargo with Cuba. In a letter to President Bush, Huckabee wrote at the time: ``U.S. policy on Cuba has not accomplished its stated goal of toppling the Castro regime and instead has provided Castro with a convenient excuse for his own failed system of government.''

That stance is bound to rile many Cuban Americans in Miami-Dade, who believe that the embargo helps undermine Fidel Castro's repressive regime.

Huckabee is certain to face questions about the embargo at a Monday morning press conference in Miami, where he is expecting an endorsement from Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, one of the most prominent Cuban-American Republicans in the state.

Caught off guard, Huckabee's campaign said two hours after the debate that he had since changed his position on the embargo after consulting with Cuban-American leaders. ''He's committed to vetoing any legislation that lifts sanctions on Cuba,'' said Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart.

Uh huh.

Huckabee Pardons Under Scrutiny

The more we look the worse he looks.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee had a hand in twice as many pardons and commutations as his three predecessors combined.
The case he's asked about most concerns the parole of a castrated rapist who later killed a woman.

Although the Republican presidential contender plays down any personal involvement in that release, Huckabee granted 1,033 pardons and commutations in his 10 1/2 years as governor of Arkansas. The acts of clemency benefited the stepson of a staff member, murderers who worked at the governor's mansion, a rock star and inmates who received good words from their pastors.

Biden Wants Special Counsel in Tape Case

Huckabee exhibits a spine of clay...

The Senate and House intelligence committees are both investigating the destruction of the tapes and Hagel said one goal is to know whether justice was obstructed and who in the White House might have known about the fate of the tapes. Rockefeller, citing the confidentiality of certain intelligence briefings, said he could not comment on the existence of any other interrogation tapes.

On the presidential campaign trail, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said destruction of the tapes "harms the credibility and the moral standing of America in the world again. There will be skepticism and cynicism all over the world about how we treat prisoners and whether we practice torture or not." Rival Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, questioned whether the action was taken for security purposes "or to cover somebody's rear end."

"If we're covering somebody's rear end, we need to expose their rear end and kick their rear end for doing something that's against the best interest of the United States," he said.

Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002

More selective amnesia from the Dem leadership.

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

Al Gore is criticised for lining his own pockets after £3,300-per-minute green speech

Mercenary little hypocrite ain't he...

Al Gore has come under fire for making personal gain from his mission to save the planet – after charging £3,300 a minute to deliver a poorly received speech.

The former American Vice-President was also accused of being "precious" at the London event, demanding his own VIP room and ejecting journalists, despite hopes the star-studded gathering would generate publicity for the fight against global warming.

Many of the audience at last month's Fortune Forum summit were restless as Mr Gore, who has won both a Nobel Peace Prize and an Oscar for his campaigning work this year, delivered the half-hour speech that netted him £100,000.

'Golden Compass' 2007's Biggest Bombs

Another anti-religious themed movie destined to flop. This time on a grand scale...

SATURDAY AM: Friday night only $8.6 million from 3,528 theaters with anemic per screen average. Weekend estimate for $27 million. Cost of movie: $200+ million. Wildly expensive flop should sink New Line Cinema chairman Bob Shaye's chances to stay on when his contract expires in 2008.

Iraqi Tribal Leadership: Shut Down Iranian Embassy In Iraq

Quick, somebody send these people the NIE report!

Over 200 sheikhs of Iraqi tribes issued, on December 6, a communiqué condemning "the terrorist presence of the Iranian regime and of its collaborators in Iraq" and calling for Iran's embassy and consulates in Iraq to be shut down.

Conversely, the leaders expressed support for the presence of the Iranian opposition organization Mojahideen-e-Khalq in Iraq, "as punishment for the Iranian regime that is exporting terrorism and radicalism to Iraq."

The leaders also expressed support for a petition signed by over 300,000 Shi'ites in southern Iraq condemning Iranian intervention in Iraq and accusing the Iranian government of "fanning the flames of inter-ethnic violence that has caused the death of tens of thousands of Iraqis... and the uprooting of four million people."

Quote of the Week

Fred Thompson commenting on Mike Huckabee:

"Not only is Iran the major long-term threat to our country, the nuclear program is the most important part of the Iran consideration. For a presidential candidate not to know that and not to keep up with that is very suprising," said Thompson.

"These are the kinds of things I've been talking about all of my life. Now, if the American people have other priorities, if they want someone who smiles a lot more than I do, or someone who is a better quipster than I am, who has no experience in these areas, that's for the American people to decide."

DING!

Why parole a monster like Green

Now that the Huckster is in the top tier the big guns are scrutinizing him with fervor. What they're finding isn't pretty.

Gov. Huckabee probably never read the confession of a demented killer named Glen Green before he made the monster eligible for parole.

Green's confession is so depraved, its sadistic details so scary that no sane, responsible adult would consider him for parole.

If the governor didn't read the confession, he is guilty of dereliction of duty.

But if he read the confession and still considers Green deserving of parole, he's certainly unfit to hold office. Who would free a madman who beat an 18-year-old woman with Chinese martial-arts sticks, raped her as she barely clung to life, ran over her with his car, then dumped her in the bayou, her hand reaching up, as if begging for mercy?

We're publishing the gruesome picture of Green's victim on the front page because we believe her hand is reaching up to demand justice.

He's going down folks. His will be the fastest rise and and fall in the history of Presidential politics.

Graphic of the Day

The Arkansas Journal has the rest of the story.

Governor Mitt Romney's "Faith In America" Address

You all certainly know by now that I am a Thompson supporter. That being said I am not so blinded by that support that I can't recognise an outstanding speech by an opposition candidate when I see one. This was such a speech.

College Station, TX – Speaking at The George Bush Presidential Library, Governor Romney addressed the American people about his views on religious liberty, our country's grand tradition of religious tolerance and how faith would inform his Presidency.

Read transcript here.

My only gripe...Romney stated that he did not let his Mormon beliefs affect his Mass governorship. Frankly I would be a great deal more amenable to him if he had.

Skeptics Denied Press Credentials at UN Climate Meeting in Bali

Obviously this New Age religion has no room for climate athiests...

Newsbusters reports: Several reporters representing the conservative newspaper Environment & Climate News were refused press entry credentials to attend the U.N.'s climate change meeting in Bali this week.

As the first goals of the Kyoto Protocol are about to expire, the United Nations is preparing a "Conference of the Parties," the highest decision-making authority. The meeting will take place in Bali, Indonesia from December 3 to December 5.

But the event lost any claim of impartiality when organizers rejected attempts by representatives of Environment & Climate News to receive press accreditation for the conference.

UN press office coordinator Carrie Assheuer said the newspaper's representatives "do not meet the criteria for press accreditation." Environment & Climate News has been in continual publication for 10 years; is sent to more than 75,000 elected officials, opinion leaders, and environmental professionals in the United States; and is one of five newspapers published the by 23-year-old Heartland Institute.

NH NEA TO ENDORSE CLINTON, HUCKABEE

Oh this is helpfull...

The 16,000-member New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association has chosen to recommend to its members Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and Mike Huckabee in the Republican primary, according to a source within the state NEA.This is the first time the state affiliate has picked a candidate in the GOP primary, and it follows Huckabee’s showing as the only Republican who spoke to the NEA convention in July.

Al Qaeda Confession: Only 200 Foreign Terrorists are left in Iraq

This from translator extraordinaire and our friend jveritas at FR...

In his speech released yesterday Abou Omar Al Baghdadi the supposed leader of the Islamic State in Iraq which is Al Qaeda in Iraq said that only two hundered Mohajeroon are left in Iraq. Mohajeroon which means immigrants in Arabic are the foreign terrorists who came to fight in Iraq. This is yet the most stunning admission by Al Qaeda in Iraq that they are totally destroyed and from the tens of thousands of foreign terrorists they had, almost all of them are killed and captured and only two hundreds are left.

This is the quote translation of what Al Baghdadi said in his latest speech: “… with all that, the Mouhajeron in Mesopotamia left the world and went quickly to meet their lord after they sacrificed their money and their blood sometimes in the martyrdom operations and sometimes by throwing themselves in front of the enemy that only two hundreds Mouhajeron are left today in our beloved Iraq"

al-Qaida defeated in Iraq? More like decimated.

Mom: 'Carol Sue Would Be Alive Today' If Not for Huckabee

Unlike the feeble attempt to compare Romney's judge appointment with Dukakis' Willie Horton release, this truly IS analogous only worse.

A Missouri mother says she will do "whatever it takes" to stop former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee from becoming president, because he freed the man who went on to rape and murder her daughter, Carol Sue Shields (pictured).

"I can't imagine anybody wanting somebody like that running the country," Lois Davidson of Adrian, Mo., told the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Wayne Dumond was initially sentenced to life plus 25 years for raping a 17-year-old Arkansas high school cheerleader. In 1999, a parole board voted to free Dumond, after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his desire to see him released.

It's within the perview of every Governor to overrule a jury verdict by commutation, pardon or in this case "lobbying" the parole board. He better, however, make damn sure those actions are totally defensible and justified. I see no compelling evidence in this case that would indicate it was.

More from HotAir

Baseball Mascot Gets New Name After 'PorkChop' Is Deemed Offensive

What the he!!?

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, whose mascot is a large, furry pig, had selected PorkChop from more than 7,300 fan submissions. The team, which begins play in 2008, announced Monday that the mascot will be named "Ferrous" instead.

General Manager Kurt Landes said he heard from several Hispanics who said PorkChop was derogatory.

Guillermo Lopez, vice president of the Latino Leadership Alliance, said he was called "pork chop" when he worked at Bethlehem Steel decades ago.

"If my parents were alive, they'd be having fits," said Lopez, among those who complained to the team. "It meant much more to them than it does to Puerto Ricans now in the Lehigh Valley."

Go f*&k yourself Guillermo!! There, now you have something to be offended about.

Forty Qaeda leaders killed or caught in Iraq: U.S.

Good news from Iraq keeps coming.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Forty senior al Qaeda in Iraq members were either captured or killed in November, including a senior adviser to the Sunni Islamist group's leader, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

Violence levels in Iraq have fallen to their lowest levels since January 2006 after a security crackdown, which included a deployment of an extra 30,000 U.S. troops, targeting al Qaeda and Shi'ite militias across the country.

More Cracks in the Clinton Coalition

Former Clinton protege' and charter member of the Lollipop Guild speaks...

(CNN) – Bill Clinton's former Secretary of Labor issued a blistering criticism of the former president's wife on Monday, accusing her of "not telling the truth" on Social Security and taking marching orders from her top pollster.

Reich, who has not endorsed a candidate but has written glowingly of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in recent months, ripped Hillary Clinton for saying Sunday that Iowa voters will have a choice "between someone who talks the talk, and somebody who's walked the walk."

He also picked apart Clinton's health care plan: "HRC doesn’t indicate how she‚d enforce her mandate, and I can’t find enough money in HRC’s plan to help all those who won’t be able to afford to buy it."

"I don’t get it," Reich wrote on his blog. "If there’s anyone in the race whose history shows unique courage and character, it's Barack Obama. HRC’s campaign, by contrast, is singularly lacking in conviction about anything.

Horrible Huck Pushing Populist Pap

I am not a big George Will fan and disagree with him on a host of issues however he's hit the bullseye here...

On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee's candidacy rests on serial non sequiturs: I am a Christian, therefore I am a conservative, therefore whatever I have done or propose to do with "compassionate," meaning enlarged, government is conservatism. And by the way, anything I denote as a "moral" issue is beyond debate other than by the uncaring forces of greed.

Many Iowans think it would be wise to nominate a candidate who, when the Republicans were asked during a debate to raise their hands if they do not believe in evolution, raised his. But, then, Huckabee believes America can be energy independent in 10 years, so he has peculiar views about more than paleontology.

Huckabee combines pure moralism with incoherent populism: He wants Washington to impose a nationwide ban on smoking in public, show more solicitude for Americans of modest means and impose more protectionism, thereby raising the cost of living for Americans of modest means.

Although Huckabee is considered affable, two subliminal but clear enough premises of his Iowa attack on Mitt Romney are unpleasant: The almost 6 million American Mormons who consider themselves Christians are mistaken about that. And - 55 million non-Christian Americans should take note - America must have a Christian president.

I only wish that Mr.Will could exhibit such diagnostic clarity when scrutinizing his candidate of choice, Rudy Guiliani.

Chavez Loses Constitutional Vote

Venezuezlan people-1
Sawed off tin pot dictator-0

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez suffered a stunning defeat Monday in a referendum that would have let him run for re-election indefinitely and impose a socialist system in this major U.S. oil provider.

Voters defeated the sweeping measures Sunday by a vote of 51 percent to 49 percent, said Tibisay Lucena, chief of the National Electoral Council, with voter turnout at just 56 percent.

She said that with 88 percent of the votes counted, the trend was irreversible.

Morris, Huckabee keep lines open

This for those misguided souls who think Hucks the guy...

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been holding private conversations with Dick Morris, according to aides, a longstanding relationship that is raising new questions as Huckabee’s campaign begins to take off.

Morris’ most prominent calling card has been with Bill Clinton — for two decades, starting in 1977, as his most influential (if sometimes erratic) political adviser and for the past decade as one of his most persistent (if sometimes erratic) public critics.

But the Arkansas connection the controversial consultant and commentator established through Clinton also brought Huckabee onto his client roster, beginning in 1993 when he advised the Republican’s winning campaign for lieutenant governor.

Hillary Clinton Draws Boos at Iowa Campaign Event, 1 Day After Hostage Situation

Folks this thing is getting murkier by the minute on both the Democrat AND the Republican side. Clinton's shoe in has suddenly become not such a given as has Rooties. All bets are off; I've got a gut feeling the entire race could break wide open. Watch the polls over the next couple of weeks, this could get very interesting and a bit scary.

Hillary Clinton speaks via satellite during the Heartland Presidential Forum Saturday.

Whatever public sympathy Hillary Clinton had built up during the tense hostage situation at her New Hampshire campaign office appeared to dissipate Saturday, as she was met with a round of boos during an address over the phone to an Iowa political event.

At the Heartland Presidential Candidates Forum in Des Moines, community activists lustily booed the Democratic frontrunner after she declined to commit to passing comprehensive immigration reform in her first 100 days in office.

Clinton said reform would be a "high priority" for her, but that didn't satisfy a crowd looking for legislation that would move illegal immigrants swiftly on a path to legalization.

Iraqi civilian killings drop sharply in November

Even the political front is looking up as oil revenues continue to be divvied and former Baath party members are being integrated back into society. Now the only question is how long can the Democrat leadership continue to deny the obvious.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The number of civilians killed in violence throughout Iraq fell this month to the lowest level in nearly two years, according to government statistics obtained by Reuters on Friday.

The data showed 538 civilians were killed in November, down 29 percent from October. The statistics are compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries, and represent the best Iraqi count of the bloodshed.

They confirm a sharp fall in violence in the 10 months since U.S. forces launched a "surge" of 30,000 additional troops and a new tactic of moving from large bases into small neighborhood positions to reduce violence.
The number of civilians killed in violence in October was 758. The November figure is nearly 75 percent down from the almost 2,000 deaths per month at the beginning of this year.

Republicans Report Much Better Mental Health Than Others

Democrats suffer from "Oh woe is me syndrome" and have as long as I can remember. The fact that they actually admit is is what's surprising.

Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent, according to data from the last four November Gallup Health and Healthcare polls. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans report having excellent mental health, compared to 43% of independents and 38% of Democrats. This relationship between party identification and reports of excellent mental health persists even within categories of income, age, gender, church attendance, and education.

The basic data -- based on an aggregated sample of more than 4,000 interviews conducted since 2004 -- are straightforward.

More crAP

When is up not up but rather down? When AP reports it....

Spending Down 0.2 Percent in October

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers, battered by a slumping housing market and a credit crunch, slowed the growth in spending to the smallest amount in four months.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending edged up 0.2 percent in October, the weakest showing since a similar increase in June. Individual incomes grew by just 0.2 percent last month, the poorest showing in six months.

The weak gains in spending and incomes were likely to raise new worries about spreading economic weakness caused by a severe slump in housing and a credit crisis triggered by rising mortgage defaults. In addition, consumers are also being battered by surging prices for gasoline and other energy products.

It's gone beyond mere spin to out and out lies.

Update: The headline has mysteriously changed to: Consumer Spending Slows in October. Way to cover your tracks boys.

Quote of the Day

Rush Limbaugh commenting on last nights debate: "FRED THOMPSON was the only true conservative on the stage".

That's as close to an endorsement as one will ever get in the primaries from Rush folks.

Huckabee Hooplah (the Gomer factor)

After reading the reviews of last nights debate I wonder if anyone really watched it. The glowing analysis from the left on Huckabees performance is unsurprising as he is one of the most liberal of the contenders and is also the one most easily defeated by Hillary. The positive comments from the right are the ones I find difficult to square.

The hucksters answer on the immigration question was a disaster. For most of the evening he came across as preachy, insincere and evasive bordering on slimy. There are times he reminds me of Bill Clinton lite....the words are smooth and well delivered but you just know he's lying.

What's also suprising is the pass he's getting on his record from the big names in the blogospere. The man is a pro amnesty tax increasing nanny stater who if he wasn't conservative on some social issues could be running for the Democrat nomination. George Bush looks like Pat Buchanan next to Huckabee.

Hopefully we will begin to get a bit more scrutiny now that Huckabee has risen to the top tier. One thing for sure though, it won't be coming from the MSM at least not during the primaries.

Republican Debate #10 (seems like more)

Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson were excellent and scored some points. Mitt Romney started out strong but faltered as the debate progressed. Not one of his best performances. McCain had a couple of strong moments but looked tired and pi$$ed most of the night.

Huckabee had his worst debate performance to date. The few good answers he did have came across as preachy. Guiliani was just plain terrible. He was booed on more than one occasion and looked completely outmatched, a first for him.

Tancredo was solid if anyone cared and Ron Paul was idiotic as usual.

Ratings best to worst:

1. Hunter
2. Thompson
3. Tancredo
4. McCain
5. Romney
6. Huckabee
7. Giuliani

Man Tries to Deposit Fake $1M Bill

Note the verification marker strikes on the right side of the bill, too funny.

AIKEN, S.C. - A bank teller in Clearwater had a million reasons not to open an account for an Augusta, Ga., man Monday, authorities said. Alexander D. Smith, 31, was charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of forgery after he walked into the bank and tried to open an account by depositing a fake $1 million bill, said Aiken County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Michael Frank.

The employee refused to open the account and called police while the man started to curse at bank workers, Frank said.

This guys obviously been hanging with Rotwang.

Reporters say Baghdad too dangerous despite surge

A perfect illustration of how out of touch the MSM in Iraq really is. After all it's hard to know the temp outside when ones cowering in their basement.

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Nearly 90 percent of U.S. journalists in Iraq say much of Baghdad is still too dangerous to visit, despite a recent drop in violence attributed to the build-up of U.S. forces, a poll released on Wednesday said.

The survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed that many U.S. journalists believe coverage has painted too rosy a picture of the conflict.

A separate Pew poll released on Tuesday showed that 48 percent of Americans believe the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going very or fairly well, up from 34 percent in June, amid signs of declining Iraqi civilian casualties and progress against Islamist militants such as al Qaeda in Iraq.

If you really want to know what's going on in Iraq, ask a cabbie.

Stephen King thinks that Jenna Bush should be Waterboarded

How can someone with so much talent have so little sense.

How Big Man In McAllen Bundles Big For Clinton

300 dirt poor families giving 8% of their total yearly income to a politican is way beyond inexplicable.

McALLEN, Tex. -- During the first nine months of this year, Sen. Barack Obama raised just $2,086 for his presidential campaign from people who live in and around this border town of stucco bungalows and weed-covered farm lots, and most candidates raised even less. But Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has already raised more than $640,000 here, and her campaign expects to collect even more.

Clinton's success in this unlikely setting is based almost entirely on her friendship with one man, McAllen developer Alonzo Cantu. A self-made millionaire who once picked grapes on the migratory farm labor circuit, Cantu persuaded more than 300 people in Hidalgo County, where the median household income in 2006 was $28,660, to write checks ranging from $500 to $2,300 to the senator from New York.

Oft-missing Mitt let cons run free

Personally I think this line of attack is unfair as a candidate cannot and should not be held responsible for every dimwitted action one of their nominees makes. And even though this situation bears little resemblance to the Willie Horton/Dukakis debacle, expect continued disingenuous comparisons to surface.

During former Gov. Mitt Romney’s last year at the helm in Massachusetts, there were plenty of dangerous ex-cons like Daniel Tavares mingling with the public while our presidential wannabe was rubbing elbows with big-shot Republicans across the country.

Tavares - the sick Bay State killer who allegedly executed a pair of beautiful young newlyweds in Washington state last weekend months after being sprung early from prison for killing his mother - was coddled by a criminal justice system largely ignored by Romney.

Romney was out of the office 212 days in 2006.

DePalma Iraq Flick Bombs

Doesn't it just warm your heart to see a self important liberal prima donna lose his shirt on a pretentious ideological turd offering like this...

Americans won't see their movies. While the public is staying away in droves from “Rendition," “Lions for Lambs" and “In the Valley of Elah," audiences are really avoiding “Redacted," De Palma's picture about US soldiers who rape a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, then kill her and her family. The message movie was produced by NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who insisted on deleting grisly images of Iraqi war casualties from the montage at the film's end. Cuban offered to sell the film back to De Palma at cost, but the director was too smart to go for that deal.

“Redacted" - which “could be the worst movie I've ever seen," said critic Michael Medved -took in just $25,628 in its opening weekend in 15 theaters, which means roughly 3,000 people saw it in the entire country. “This, despite an A-list director, a huge wave of publicity, high praise in the Times, The New Yorker, left-leaning sites like Salon, etc. A Joe Strummer documentary [of punk-rock band The Clash] playing in fewer theaters made more in its third week," e-mailed one cineaste. “Not even people who presumably agree with the movie's antiwar thesis made the effort to see it."

Woman Aborts Child To Help Save the Planet

The one silver lining to this disgusting story is that at least this lunatic will not be perpetuating her bloodline.

Giving birth is a burden on the world. This is according to British born, Toni Vernelli, 35, who had an abortion 10 years ago to ensure her carbon footprint would be kept to a minimum, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reported Sunday.

Vernelli -- who works for an environmental charity -- was later sterilized to help "protect the planet", the Mail reported.

"Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet," Vernelli told the Daily Mail, adding she believes bringing new life into the world only adds to the problem.

100,000’s of Iraqis Enthusiastically Return Home

They'll be some bumps in the road but for all practical purposes this thing is won. Expect the left to start harping on the economy, health care and foreclosures. This dog hasn't hunted for 3 months now it just has taken them that long to finally realize it.

Iraqi refugees are returning home in dramatic numbers, concluding that security in Baghdad has been transformed. Thousands have left their refuge in Syria in recent months, according to some estimates.

The Iraqi Embassy is organising a secure mass convoy from Damascus to Baghdad on Monday for refugees who want to drive back. Embassy notices went up around the Syrian capital yesterday, offering free bus and train rides home.

“In the last month, 60 per cent of the Iraqis I know have returned,” he said. “The situation has been changed completely. They all want to go back. Even my own family back in Baghdad is telling me the situation is much better.”

The return of so many Iraqis is a strong vote of confidence in the security situation in Baghdad. However, it also reflects the tightening of visa regulations by Syria two months ago, making it more difficult for refugees to stay and impossible for most to come back if violence flares up again. The border crossing into Syria is closed for them. Their trip to Iraq is one way.

Group Names Naughty, Nice List Of Stores

When some witless store goof gives me the Happy Holiday's crap I promptly reply "Oh I'm in the wrong store, I was looking to buy Christmas gifts" and promptly turn around and walk out.

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- A Christian advocacy group has some advice for Christians as they prepare to do their Christmas shopping: Don't shop at stores that censor the word "Christmas."

As part of its Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign, Liberty Counsel has released its fifth annual "Naughty and Nice" list of stores seeking to attract gift buyers.

The "Naughty List" names stores that make no mention of Christmas in their advertising, vaguely observing the "season" or "holiday" instead. The list includes Gap, Kohl's, Bloomingdale's and Marshalls, to name a few.

The "Nice List" consists of stores that still name the reason for the season. Some stores on that list include Macy's, Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us.

List is HERE.

Democrats party of rich

Democrats realized decades ago that taxation is much more about power than it is about helping the less fortunate.

Democrats like to define themselves as the party of poor and middle-income Americans, but a new study says they now represent the majority of the nation's wealthiest congressional districts.

In a state-by-state, district-by-district comparison of wealth concentrations based on Internal Revenue Service income data, Michael Franc, vice president of government relations at the Heritage Foundation, found that the majority of the nation's wealthiest congressional jurisdictions were represented by Democrats.

He also found that more than half of the wealthiest households were concentrated in the 18 states where Democrats hold both Senate seats.

"If you take the wealthiest one-third of the 435 congressional districts, we found that the Democrats represent about 58 percent of those jurisdictions," Mr. Franc said.

Disabled veterans jeered at swimming pool

This from the UK but it is just as likely to have happened here.

Injured soldiers who lost their limbs fighting for their country have been driven from a swimming pool training session by jeering members of the public.

The men, injured during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, were taking part in a rehabilitation session at a leisure centre, when two women demanded they be removed from the pool. They claimed that the soldiers "hadn't paid" and might scare the children.
The incident has sparked widespread condemnation. Adml Lord Boyce, a former head of the Armed Forces, said last night the women should be "named and shamed".

"These people are beneath contempt and everything should be done to get their names and publish them in the press," he said. "It is contemptible that people who have given up their limbs for their country should be so abused when they are trying to get fit again."

They've paid, more than a short sighted self involved twit like you will ever know.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

The funniest Thanksgiving skit in the history of sitcoms.

Rasmussen 11/21

The all important South Carolina...

The good news for Romney:

Fred Thompson 21%
Mitt Romney 21%
Rudy Giuliani 13%
Mike Huckabee 12%
John McCain 9%
Ron Paul 8%

Very Favorable:

Fred Thompson 32% * Mitt Romney 28% * Rudy Giuliani 24% * Mike Huckabee 22% * John McCain 19% * Ron Paul 14%

Very Unfavorable:

Ron Paul 25% * John McCain 12% * Mike Huckabee 9% * Rudy Giuliani 8% * Mitt Romney 8% * Fred Thompson 4%

Voters who will certainly vote for their choice

Fred Thompson 24% * Rudy Giuliani 16% * Mitt Romney 16% * Mike Huckabee15% * John McCain 13% * Ron Paul 12%

The bad news for Romney...his support is the softest as 68% are open to changing their mind, while every other candidate is between 47-57%.

‘Voters’ Who Broke Story on Romney Calls On Romney Payroll

Pilfering a tactic from NARAL? Most of us are familiar with the tactic of the pro-abortionists that vandalize their own property just to create a cause celebre to blame on the pro-lifers.

Erick Erickson at Redstate (disclosure I too contribute to Redstate) has uncovered some more information on the Mitt Romney phone scandal. Leon Wolf, another Redstate contributor who today endorsed Mitt Romney, also pointed out that this happened previously (described then) when Leon was on the Brownback campaign.

The basic facts are that a Romney staffer, Marshan Roth contacted the Salt Lake Tribune, identified herself as "leaning towards Romney", and told her story:

Marshan Roth, of Fairfield, Iowa, got a call on Wednesday night. It started out like a regular poll, she says, but then asked positive questions about Sen. John McCain and delved into disparaging things about Romney. She was asked whether she knew that Mormons have ‘baptized thousands of dead people’ and that the Book of Mormon was more important than the Bible to Mormons. ‘It was sick. It really was. It made me just furious,’ says Roth, who is leaning toward backing Romney. ‘If you didn’t know enough about McCain, you’d think he was the white knight coming in on his charger saving the world and that Mitt Romney was tantamount to the devil

Erick points out that Roth receives $500/month from the Romney campaign.

Similarly, Rose Kramer, another Romney staffer who describes herself as "a supporter," told a McClatchy reporter her story:

Rose Kramer was at her Dubuque, Iowa, home, waiting for the TV show ‘House’ to start at 8 p.m. Tuesday when a pollster called and started asking her about John McCain. After a few polite questions, the caller started saying unflattering things about Mitt Romney. Kramer, a Romney supporter, got so angry that she missed the opening of her show. ‘I was still ranting at my husband,’ she said.

Rose isn’t just a supporter. She is a staffer, making $1,000/month. She is also a co-chair of Romney’s Iowa Faith & Values Steering Committee.

Again let me make it clear that I do not believe Romney himself is behind any of this. I do, however, and have since it first broke, believe that the Mittophiles are. One of the reasons I don't support Romney is the despicable and ruthless behavior of his followers and this sort of thing would not surprise me one bit.

Update: Blogger in contact with Western Wats resigns from Romney campaign
November 21, 2007 – 2:52 pm

Justin Hart has notified me (JRochelle) that he has resigned from his position as a Vice Chair of the Romney campaign’s Faith and Values Steering Committee after I challenged himfor not disclosing that he was an official in the Romney campaign.

Justin had been, until today, the only person who Western Wats would speak with. This afternoon Liz Mair wrote about a discussion she had with Jeffery Welch, a senior Western Wats executive and Romney donor.

He appears to have resigned soon after contacting the Romney Iowa staffers who the Romney campaign has now admitted to misrepresenting to the press. More HERE.

More of interest HERE.

Mike Huckabee Supported Bill to Give Driver's Licenses to Illegal Aliens

OUCH, this is going to leave a mark.

During the 2001 regular session of the Arkansas Legislature, Mike Huckabee supported giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

Mike Huckabee's Human Services Liaison expressed the governor's position, supporting the measure to repeal the law denying the issuance of drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. In 2001, there was discussion of HB 2212 in the state assembly to repeal a 1997 Arkansas law prohibiting issuance of driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Proponents said the bill was necessary because legal immigrants were getting harassed when they went to get drivers licenses. Huckabee's Human Services liaison defended the bill, saying the following:

"People shouldn't be harassed based on who they are or what they look like," said [Robert] Trevino, who also is Gov. Mike Huckabee's human services liaison. "We just don't want to be treated as second class. We don't have a problem with prohibiting illegal aliens from getting driver's licenses. We have a problem with hassling those who are here legitimately." (Michael Rowett, "Bill Aims To Help Immigrants Get Driver's Licenses," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/18/01)

Quote of the Week

Fred Thompson at a coffee house in northeastern Iowa:

"Now, when Rudy and Mitt come down here from New York and Massachusetts, I want you to be nice to them. And the first thing I want you to do is explain to them what NASCAR is," It's not a hybrid automobile."

Rasmussen: Florida

It appears that even Ron Paul could beat the beast in Florida.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the presidential race in Florida shows former Big Apple Mayor Rudy Giuliani with a modest lead over Senator Hillary Clinton of 46% to 41%. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leads the former First Lady 46% to 39%. Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson has a nine point edge 47% to 38% while Arizona Senator John McCain leads by ten, 48% to 38%.

These numbers flip the scenario Rasmussen Reports witnessed in an August poll of the race in Florida. Then, Clinton enjoyed a five-point edge on Giuliani and double-digit leads over Thompson, McCain, and Romney. Another change: today a lot more voters prefer a third option and express support for Some Other Candidate.

Rosie O'Donnell: George Bush Is a War Criminal

This from the brilliant intellect that gave us "Fire can't melt steel"...

Yes, she said it. Rosie O'Donnell, hosting the 10th annual fundraiser for her very charitable For All Kids Foundation, was riffing and having fun from the dais during an auction of pricey gifts such as spending a day on the set of "Nip/Tuck" or taking a 14-day cruise in the Mediterranean on a luxury liner.

"George Bush is a war criminal," she blurted out. Earlier she’d told the audience in the ballroom of the Marriott Marquis that New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg was her candidate.

"I re-registered as an Independent because of him," she said. It was part of a very funny series of monologues and adlibs Rosie offered as she cajoled a couple million bucks more out of well-heeled types for her charities. And, by the way, she looked very smart in a black pants suit.

Not possible

Clinton Slips in Iowa Poll

Hmmmmmm.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama gets the support of 30 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa, compared to 26 percent for Clinton, 22 percent for former senator John Edwards and 11 percent for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The results are only marginally changed from a Post-ABC poll in late July, but in a state likely to set the course for the rest of the nominating process, there are significant signs of progress for Obama -- and harbingers of concern for Clinton.

Did Mitt Romney Push Poll Himself?

RUH ROH....this coming from the pro-Romney National Review is troubling.

News broke Thursday that voters in New Hampshire and Iowa had received phone calls from pollsters raising questions about aspects of Republican Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. Who made the calls? Although the Romney campaign denies involvement, evidence points in its general direction. -SNIP-

“Un-American” in the Campaign Family?

Shortly after reports of Romney being targeted in a push poll emerged, the firm making the calls was identified as Western Wats, which is based in Utah and has a number of Romney campaign contributors on the payroll. Western Wats was founded by Ron Lindorf who has ties to the business school at the Mormon-owned Brigham Young University, Romney’s alma mater (Lindorf has since divested himself from the company). Lindorf’s brother Paul and his wife Teena are avid supporters of Romney (Paul is a former employee of Western Wats who retired five years ago; Paul and Teena claim not to know Romney or have a vested interest in his campaign).

Evidence collected from Internet bulletin boards dedicated to tracking telemarketers and nuisance phone calls suggests that Western Wats may be tied directly to the Romney campaign.

For Romney's sake we better hope it just a group on overzealous Mittwitts behind the calls although even that would reflect poorly on the candidate himself.