From The Loop

Excellent Point Mr. Lifson

2007-02-15T14:32:00.000-06:00

The NY Times sucks up to the left again, and this time The American Thinker springs into action.

Meet Harvard President Drew Faust

2007-02-14T12:13:00.000-06:00

Heather MacDonald has a report about Harvard's new president over at City Journal.

I'm not so sure this is what Lawrence Summers had in mind.

HRC Canned Employee Makes NY Times

2006-10-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

David Kirkpatrick writes the story that appears in the NY Times.

The rights campaign’s spokesman, David Smith, said the employee, whose name he declined to disclose, was a junior staff member hired last month to help mobilize the organization’s members in Michigan. “The minute we learned about it we took decisive action,” Mr. Smith said.

Human Rights Campaign is an advocacy group for homosexuals. I have a feeling they will have more to say about one of their paid employees participating in the forced outing of a homosexual.

Stopsexpredators blogger works for HRC

2006-10-25T15:31:00.000-05:00

So much to read. So useless quoting it. Read it all.

http://stopoctobersurprises.blogspot.com/

The Fabulous Misadventures of CREW and John Aravosis

2006-10-12T13:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a screenshot of the "Blogroll" over at The Citizens Blogging for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington. Their sources are 'unimpeachable'.

Below I recreate the URL links according to their HTML code. Click them for super happy fun ball lolling.

This isn't very good, this isn't very good at all, it doesn't look a thing like...

2006-10-11T00:17:00.000-05:00

Charles Johnson provides the last laugh.

Update: AJ Strata Provides Another Clue

2006-10-11T00:02:00.000-05:00

I promise this is the last post of the evening.

AJ Strata posted something interesting in regards to the public story that John Aravosis continues to tell on television and at the Americablog. What's interesting? John Aravosis posted screen captures of the same emails that were posted to the amazingly timed stopsexpredators blog. Click for full size versions.

John's Image

SSP's Image

UPDATE: This an image I put together from CREW's PDF.

There are really two timelines. One covers the entire Foley issue. The other covers the passing, doctoring, faxing, and emailing of these initial emails.

A Collection of Quotes

2006-10-10T23:47:00.000-05:00

Don't mind me. My mind is still rolling even if my contacts are screaming for a bath. Here's a collection of quotes from John Aravosis, one of the many that received the Foley emails prior to the ABC broadcast on 09/28.

Note: I have removed most, if not all, of John's sillyness. Go to his site for the laughs. You gotta see the ads to get the laughs.

I had received the emails in July, as I already explained on this blog last Thursday, but I didn't think it was appropriate to publish allegations of pedophilia/child sex predation, even against a member of the other political party, until I had all the facts. Shortly after I received the emails, I found out that CREW had also received copies of the emails and had immediately passed them to the FBI.
Source: Americablog - 10/04/2006

More.

The Co-Chair of the US House Missing and Exploited Children Caucus cannot be someone even under the appearance of possibly being a potential child sex offender (soliciting a minor is a crime). No one is saying Foley is a child sex offender, but his email exchange has raised understandable concerns in some minds. It's time to get to the bottom of this, for the sake of our children. It's time to waterboard GOP Rep. Mark Foley.
Source: Americablog - 09/29/2006

I expect to fill this post with a bunch of updates, so just consider this another work in progress.

Another Spoke Tightens in the Foley Wheel

2006-10-10T23:27:00.000-05:00

Ken Silverstein writes over at Harper's that he was provided the initial 'overly friendly' emails by a source that put him "in touch with a Democratic operative". That creates another unknown source passing this information along. Add it to the list.

Silverstein goes on the offer his own opinion of the affair. He runs a couple of plays from the Democrats' playbook, but he's not moving the chains. Instead he's just operating in four down territory. He does connect for a first down though towards the end.

Among those who received information about the story but declined to pursue it were liberal outlets such as Talkingpointsmemo.com, Americablog.com, and The New Republic (The Hill, Roll Call, and Time magazine also had the Foley story, though I'm not certain when it came to their attention.)

The interesting thing is that Silverstein says there are others, but he names Americagblog.com. The founder(I believe), and editor, John Aravosis, operates Americablog.com. John is Mike Rogers' former partner in outing homosexuals that work for Congressman that do not share 100% Aravosis/Rogers records on homosexual rights.

Silverstein received the emails in May. Harper's took a pass on the story and that is what prompted him to distribute the emails to other outlets. It's very interesting that papers that specifically cover activity on Capitol Hill(The Hill, Roll Call) didn't pursue this story. Clearly they would have good relationships on both sides of the aisle, with members of Congress, in addition to their staff members, yet they still didn't pursue it. Why not?

Still making contacts to answer these questions. More to come.

TPM Muckraker Running Ads for Tim Mahoney

2006-10-09T13:25:00.000-05:00

Reading TPM Muckraker again this morning because Josh Marshall says so, I come across a new ad I had not previously seen on TPM Muckraker. Tim Mahoney is now featured in the TPM Muckraker blogads.

I'm reading the Muckraker to see what which parts of the Foley story they are choosing to grant attention, and there's Tim Mahoney staring back at me asking for money. He's dreamy, but I don't think he could dream about collecting cash from Muckraker readers as they're getting the dirt on Foley.

Foley's out of the race. He's resigned. But his name is stuck on the Florida Congressional District 16 ballot. The Republican is Joe Negron, but you have to check the box next to Mark Foley in order to vote for Negron. Does Mahoney even need blog ads?

Regardless, Mahoney is cashing in and I'm asking TPM Muckraker editors when they added Mahoney to their blog ads listing. I've got an early response, but it was awfully dodgy. I thought I was clear with my inital question so I rephrased to try and gain a more concise response.

Here's some imagery for your viewing pleasure. To quote my favorite left of center blogger, "more on this later".

Drunken Soldiers Telling Tall Tales

2006-10-06T22:44:00.000-05:00

Justin Rood corrected the record earlier today, so I'll see what kind of muck they're digging up over at TPM Muckraker.

Paul Kiel posts an AP story from a woman that claims she overheard US servicemen bragging about beating detainees at Gitmo. Paul doesn't link to the AP story, he quotes from it. Argh. I guess there are no links in Muckraking.

The TPM folks are just reporting this, but where's the commentary? Soldiers, at a bar, telling stories to tipsy women? Get me an attorney. It's affidavits and cocktails, and dreams?

I'll tell you something. The next time I am at a bar and the bar jock starts telling his story I am going to ask if there's a lawyer in the pub and demand we take the whole tale down in an affidavit. Honestly, everything utterred in a bar is true. Could we get a cautionary note from TPM that they still serve alcohol in bars?

Bad guys finish first, unless you're hitting on the uncomfortable sober gal.

CREW Does Video

2006-10-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

CREW nearly lost a fumble earlier today. Justin Rood reported over at TPM Muckraker about the ongoing spat between the Citizens for Responsibility for Ethics in Washington and the FBI's unnamed spokespeople that continue to rebuke Melanie Sloan's claims. Naomi Seligman, press spokesperson for CREW, told Rood that CREW sent the emails to the FBI one week after they had received them.

I emailed Rood about that new week of time. Turns out it wasn't a new week. Seligman just fumbled, but recovered her own fumble. Fair enough. Moving along.

The CREW blog, one in which I still cannot determine the names of its editor(s), has provided vidoe of Melanie Sloan's interview on CNN from today. There's lots of great footage of Sloan walking in a plaza. There's also footage of her walking in a plaza. Then there's footage of her walking in a plaza. If there going to keep showing her walking in a plaza, is it so hard to get a shot of her walking away from the camera?

It's Friday and it's happy hour. The taps are flowing. Don't mind me. But seriously, Sloan again confirms that she thinks the 'overly friendly' emails were in her view enough for the FBI to launch an investigation. That's why she sent them to an unnamed special agent in Washington. Apparently the FBI disagreed that the emails between Foley and a Louisiana page were criminal.

Ok, what's the big deal here? Well, CNN figured that maybe the FBI was wrong. Maybe there was something there. So they talked to other law enforecement agencies. They asked the NYPD, which told CNN, they would find cause to launch an investigation in the emails if they were submitted by a parent of the minor.

Wait, so the parents of a minor would garner more traction with law enforcement than an alleged non-partisan special interest dedicated to ethics? So what else is knew? The actual parents of the Louisiana page just wanted the emails to stop, which did stop, and they wanted the issue dropped to protect the privacy of their son, which the did occur, that is until ABC News broke the story wide open on the evening of September 28th.

I really want to believe in the mission of CREW. The more special interests watching over Washington, the better off we Americans are. But CREW has to be more diligent. If Ethics is their battlefield why didn't they refer the emails to the House Ethics Committee? Did they really think that the emails were MORE criminal than a potential ethics violation? Is the organization going to police the area it knows, or rely on the investigations of others in a field they don't know?

I'll tell you what I know. I'm watching the video again.

Curious Timing

2006-10-05T23:36:00.000-05:00

I'm following up on some links review for stories quoting CREW(Citizens for Ethics and Repsonsibility in Washington) and I came across a link via Google to a mobile version of the Center for American Progress's "Progress Report". The date is 09/28/2006. In that mobile report the editors blurb that CREW "launches a blog".

These are the headlines for the posts at the CREW blog for 09/28/2006.

8:41AM - 485: Number of documented White House/Abramoff team interactions
9:25AM - The Rove-Abramoff connection: much closer than previously revealed
11:11AM - CREW asks House Ethics Committee to investigate Rep. Mark Foley

At 6:39PM that same day, the editors post that the server is responding slowly due to an "extremely heavy load". After that, the editors go all Foley all the time.

Is it strange that that the CREW blog timeline begins 09/06/2006? Not really.
Is it strange that the the Progess Report doesn't even notice the blog of an organization they have linked to repeatedly over the past year until 09/28/2006? Not really.
Is it strange that on the morning the Foley story breaks, prior to airing, the Progress Report highlights the CREW blog with the misleading headline indicating it just launched?

I can't conclude much beyond the presence of curious timing. And that's the way it appears, for now.

Feminist Majority Celebrates Abortion

2006-10-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

The Feminist Majority Foundation, through it's propaganda rag, Ms. Magazine, is publishing an issue this month that celebrates abortion and includes a petition signatures from over 5,000 women that are admitting they've had abortions.

The foundation is doing this as a swan song to its founding roots. They're trying to connect the woman of today with the woman of 1973.

I find this celebration rather strange. Does the foundation actually want abortions? Not even the poltical candidates they support want abortions. On the contrary, politicians want less abortion, even Senators Clinton and Boxer.

The cover story is easily rebutted by the self sacrifice of the great American people. 5,000 women are putting their names to an "I had an abortion" petition. Do you think I could make some calls to adoption clinics around the US and find couples willing and wanting to adopt 5,000 children?

I'm glad Ms. Magazine is running this issue. I hope as many media outlets as possible cover this story. The more people are exposed to the bottom feeders at Feminist Majority the better chance another baby has to be born. I pray for Feminist Majority.

Who Did Mark Foley Instant Message?

2006-10-04T13:25:00.000-05:00

Wild Bill's "Passionate America" blog reports that he will reveal the name at 4PM CST.

How CREW Received Foley Emails

2006-10-04T12:58:00.000-05:00

C-Span needs to put their "Washington Journal" program on their podcast page. Transcripts would be a lot easier to derive from audio. I could process them during my commute. Fortunately, the program is available online later in the day after it airs in the morning.

Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Reponsibility and Ethics in Washington, was the first guest on the show. She indicated that CREW received the Foley emails -- the "overly friendly" ones -- from a Capitol Hill source. The Capitol Hill source received them from a staffer in Congress.

I'll provide a transcript later.

YouTube User Banned

2006-10-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

I picked up this story via Hotair. A YouTube user was suspended for the content of their videos. The user was uploading videos made by US soldiers. The staff at YouTube didn't like their content.

This wouldn't be all that interesting without another key detail. YouTube restricts content. They have many users that violate the terms of service. But does YouTube selectively enforce its policies?

Check out Crusader's blog to determine for yourself if YouTube permits Al Qaida recruitment videos, but bans users that upload videos from US Soldiers?

UPDATE: More people chiming in with their stories of YouTube removing their content with little explanation. Michelle Malkin's Mohammed cartoon collage has been pulled. Michelle also posts a comment from another YouTube user, Intelsum, with a similar story.

STILL MORE: You Tube has plucked another video they didn't like. This time it's one of Rusty's from My Pet Jawa.

Iranian Speaker Threatens Israel

2006-07-18T15:26:00.000-05:00

From the "We're neutral, honest, you don't believe us, hoorj Hizbullah" files, the Iranian Speaker of Parliament let one slip and AP is there to report it.

"The towns you have built in northern Palestine (Israel) are within the range of the brave Lebanese children. No part of Israel will be safe," Haddad Adel told thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators in Palestine Square.

More denial of the existence of the state of Israel, not that this is the first time an Iranian official has declared the real intentions of the Islamists. But the AP is right there with their parantheses to correct Mr. Speaker.

Explain This

2006-07-18T15:18:00.000-05:00

I'm reading Laura Rozen's piece in the American Prospect interviewing Mark Perry, co-director of "Conflicts Forum". Mr. Perry mentions that the other co-director of the forum is Alistair Crooke. That name rang a bell.

It did when I reviewed my reading list. Frontpage Magazine had a piece that discussed Alistair Crooke's, a former MI6 agent and security adviser to the EU's Middle East envoy, activities in the disputed territories. Crooke conducted a secret meeting with the now deceased Shiekh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual founder of Hamas.

How did we learn about this meeting?

The veil of secrecy was broken, however, when the Israel Defense Forces seized a transcript of the meeting in November 2002 at the compound of the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Service in Gaza.

Why would the PA be in possession of a transcript of a meeting between Hamas and the EU Envoy's security adviser? Another tie between the PA and Hamas is revealed.

News on British Intelligence regarding Iraq-Niger?

2006-07-18T14:48:00.000-05:00

Christopher Hitchens has a piece up at Slate about the Novak non-story. Read the whole thing for all the details. But Hitchens slips a blurb in about something I'm very interesting in reading.

Meanwhile, the evidence continues to mount that the original British intelligence on the Niger connection was genuine, and that Wilson missed it. And I have some more material on that, which I shall be sharing with you soon.

Do tell Mr. Hitchens.

lol, Podhoretz

2006-07-18T09:41:00.000-05:00

heh.

FINALLY!!!

2006-07-14T15:12:00.000-05:00

President Bush is vetoing a bill!

Break out the champagne. The President is vetoing the embryonic stem cell bill in a ceremony at the White House this Wednesday.

It's a two-for-one celebration. The President is killing a terrible bill and it's his first use of the Veto powers.

California Supreme Court Decision

2006-07-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

This story caught my attention last night as it was scrolling by on the news ticker. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of two California plaintiffs that their privacy rights were violated by Salomon Smith Barney when their phone calls to brokers from California to Georgia were recorded by SSB. Their rights were violated because SSB did not inform or seek consent of the California callers to record the conversation.

I used to work in the securities industry. I was responsible for the audio recordings. We recorded everything. Every call made to the order desk or the help desk was recorded. It didn't matter from where those calls originated. We recorded the conversation because we had to make sure that if there was any miscommunication we could go to the "videotape" to listen to the exact words.

We had major clients in California. Were they aware we were violating their privacy rights? I doubt it.

I'm curious if this case can be appealed to Federal court due to the interstate commerce involved. I imagine the General Counsel's office at SSB will do so.

The DCCC's Ad Source Material

2006-07-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

Update below.

Source

This is the image created by the proprietors of chickenhead.com. Chickenhead.com is the creator of whitehouse.org. Browse on over to their site if you wish to view their exhibitionist humor. But before you do, ask yourself why the same image would show up in Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee ads?

Source

Send this one to your family? Good idea. My family would love to know that the Democrat Party is using source material from an array of sites that features such slogans as "Jesus was a Pinko Commie".

UPDATE: The DCCC has pulled the ad.

Kidnappings and Strikes: Iran's Psychotic Attempt to Buy Time

2006-07-13T11:27:00.000-05:00

Last week's kidnapping of Gilad Shalit in the Gaza Strip appeared to be an isolated incident at the time. Hamas denied responsibility for the kidnapping, but was not apologetic for it even as the elected government of the Palestinian people. Hamas defended the kidnapping, thus condoning it, to use it as a way to negotiate the release of terrorists in Israeli jails. Again, this appeared to be an isolated squabble between Israel and Hamas.

That was until the strike in Northern Israel by Hizbullah killing eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two more. The strike inside Israeli territory was a blatant act of war by a so called militia that cannot be controlled by the government from within whose borders they thrive. If Lebanon cannot control a militia within its borders, then it cannot protest actions taken against the militia when it permeates offensive strikes against neighboring countries. Russia and France have condemned the Israeli retalitory strikes inside Lebanon. Note to Russia and France: pinch the critiques of Israel. The real problem here is the refusal by the Lebanese government to reign in the terrorists they harbor.

What seem like two independent strikes against Israel conjoin together when analyzed along side the negotiations with Iran to quell their nuclear program. Iran has delayed negotiations time and time again. They've deliberately stalled in order to buy as much time as possible. What could potentially buy them an infinite amount of time? Pull off some strikes against Israel to force an Israeli retaliation thus sending all the anti-Israel forces at the UN into a dizzy spin. The General Assembly will no doubt condemn the Israeli strikes and demand the matter be addressed by the UN Security Council. The same Security Council that is about to take up the Iranian nuclear issue.

The trend is blatantly obvious to any serious observer to Iranian foreign affairs. For years they have fought a proxy war against Israel's right to exist. They have NEVER been punished for their policy. In fact, western nations have pinch-hit for Iran at the UN to defend the proxy war.

Iran has now staked their nuclear program on a time table of war between their proxies and Israel. The affair will tie all the surrounding nations of Israel to the conflict by the presences of the proxies within each nation, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Egypt respectively.

What can be done?

Update: Bill Roggio says that a well known Hizbullah terrorist is likely behind the strikes gainst Israel.

Austin Bay notices the Boston Globe's Editorial Board and I are in agreement.

Charles Johnson is highlighting the implications made by "Little Arafat", of Hamas, from Damascus, regarding the previously alleged[ed. totally obvious from the beginning] cooperation between Hamas political wing and Hamas militant wing.

Robert Novak on Hannity & Colmes

2006-07-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

Ghana Player Celebrates Goal with Israeli Flag

2006-06-17T13:33:00.000-05:00

This was strange to me. A Ghana player celebrated each goal by waving an Israeli flag. What's the story behind this?

Adviser to Iranian President: "This Religious Group has inflicted the Most Damage on the Human Race."

2006-06-15T09:17:00.000-05:00

He must be talking about the occult. However, this is from the mouth of an adviser to the crackpot Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This means we all know to which "Religious Group" Mohammad Al Ramin is referring.

The link will take you to MEMRI's translation. It's probably just MEMRI up to no good again as they confirm Juan Cole's theory that MEMRI just focuses on radicalism and uses it to paint a generic extremist view of the Arabs and Persians. Then again, maybe the Arabs and Persians really are extremists.

"'Historically, there are many accusations against the Jews. For example, it was said that they were the source for such deadly disease as the plague and typhus. This is because the Jews are very filthy people. For a time people also said that they poisoned water wells belonging to Christians and thus killed them,' Ramin said.

Must have been "truthiness day" in Rasht.

The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Juliet Schor

2006-05-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

"I mean, this is a person who, not too many years from now, we may be seeing in front of a war crimes tribunal."

Juliet Schor is a professor of sociology at Boston College. She has written a number of books analyzing the American labor market. What I have quoted is an obvious acknowledgement by an extensively trained, well executed professional of academe, providing her insight on the future of Saddam Hussein or Usama bin Laden. However, I would be lying.

The person Ms. Schor refers to is United States Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice. Madamn Secretary is slated to receive an honorary doctorate from Boston College for her services to the Republic from the highest offices of the Executive Branch. This honor is adversarial to the Jesuit tradition in the words of Professor Schor. Madamn Secretary's proper place is before a war crimes tribunal.

Professor Schor made these comments on the May 10th broadcast of "Democracy Now". She was debating Professor Marc Landy, also of Boston College, about the honor the university has offerred to Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice. Professor Landy provides proper demonstration of response by refusing to dignify one as a result of Ms. Schor's war crimes tribunal opinion. Professor Schor continues to air her opinions.

"It's just speaking to the facts. I mean, this is an illegal war. It is an immoral war. This week, the same week that the university made this announcement, the U.S. government was defending itself at a U.N. Commission on Torture, and very much on the defensive. A major report was presented at that commission, showing that the U.S. is involved in “widespread” -- and that's a quote -- torture at U.S.-run detention centers all over the world, evidence emerging about extraordinary renditions."

Ms. Schor is right. She is speaking the facts. A report was presented at a meeting of the UN Committee on Torture. The presenter ALLEGED that torture was WIDESPREAD. Another fact, that Ms. Schor did not air, is that the presenter was immediately challenged on the claim by multiple representatives at the hearing. Obviously the United States objected to the use of the word "widespread", but others did as well. No evidence was presented to support the allegation. But the bleeding isn't over.

From the press release from the same hearing we learn of this.

"Moreover, it was well-known that al-Qaida were trained to lie and that the 'Manchester Manual' instructed all al-Qaida members, when captured, to allege torture, even if they were not subject to abuse."

Apparently someone forgot to bring this small detail to Ms. Schor's attention. Perhaps if she had examined the press release she would have the necesary information so as not to appear intellectually bankrupt.

Professor Schor is not lost. She is human. She is going to make mistakes. Let us hope and pray that those closest to her build the confidence through love to urge Ms. Schor to enter a treatment facility to deal with her addiction to intellectual bankruptcy.

Iran's Pledge Application to the UN Human Rights Council

2006-05-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

Military Leadership Running CIA?

2006-05-10T10:52:00.000-05:00

Dennis Hastert mades some comments that he doesn't like the idea of a military general in charge of the CIA. He says the idea would bring the CIA too close to the Pentagon.

I wonder about this question. President Carter named Admiral Stansfield Turner as CIA Director in 1977. President Clinton named General Colin Powell as his National Security Adviser. What is the problem with naming Military personnel to "civilian" positions.

Methinks Mr. Speaker has someone else in mind to run the CIA and it doesn't really matter who the President names, if it is not Hastert's choice then he'll find something he doesn't like about it. I'll pay close attention to appearances by Brent Scowcroft in the press commenting on the President's selection of General Hayden. Something tells me he'll point to Hastert's comments as a solid reason to oppose Hayden.

Scowcroft was, afterall, the National Security Adviser to President's Ford and George H. W. Bush. As a uniformed man, was he not qualified for these critical appointments? Of course not. The idea that solely because a person is uniformed is reason enough to oppose them is nonsensical. Qualifications are important. Demonstrative leadership is as well.

We'll see how the issue plays out. It may just be that General Hayden is still active duty. Perhaps General Hayden will take the opportunity to retire from uniformed service to take on the roll of director of the CIA. He's already the Deputy Intelligence Czar. Is moving him to Director of the CIA a big leap?

Chicago Bulls v Miami Heat

2006-04-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

The Bulls head into Miami for Saturday's game 1 of a 7 game series of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Each team is led by young players in Dwayne Wade and Ben Gordon. The Heat are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference posting another 50+ win season to finish second in the conference.

The Bulls are a very young team heading into their second consecutive playoff appearance after failing to post a winning record since 1997-98, the final year of the Michael, Scottie, Phil years. The Bulls' roster is filled with young players and new players to the franchise. First year players include Malik Allen(PF), Michael Sweetney(PF), and Luke Schenscher(C). The veteran Bulls player is Tyson Chandler in his fifth season. The rest of the roster is filled out with 2nd and 3rd year players such as Kirk Hinrich(PG), Ben Gordon(SG), Jannero Pargo(SG), Chris Duhon(PG), Eric Piatkowski(SF), Luol Deng(SF), Andres Nocioni(SF), and Othella Harrington(PF).

The Bulls finished their season winning 12 out of 14 games to reach .500, an amazing run considering they traded two starters from last year's 3rd best record in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat are a tough team for anyone in the league with Shaq roaming in the paint. However, the Bulls have matched up well with the Heat this season despite finishing 1-2 in 3 games. The last meeting the Bulls blew the Heat out in Miami. In the previous two meetings the games were decided by a total of 5 points. Dwayne Wade was held to well below his average statistical output by a Bulls team that led the league in FG% defense for the second consecutive season.

The series should be competitive. It will be decided by which team is able to draw the other into foul trouble and by which team is able to sink the big shots.

LA Times Columnist's Blog Suspended

2006-04-20T20:56:00.000-05:00

Today it was revealed that an LA Times columnist was using his own pseudonyms to defend his own writing. It's another low point for people that work for the mainstream media, yet act like children to defend their work.

The columnist is Michael Hiltzik. His pseudonym is Mikekoshi.

Patrick "Paterrico" Frey wrote about his accusation and conclusion early this morning where he laid out the evidene that Michael Hilztik is Mikekoshi.

Michael Hiltzik wrote about the accusation at the LA Times blog "Golden State".

Patrick Frey responded to Hiltzik later in the day.

Later, the LA Times suspended the "Golden State" blog for Hiltzik's LA Times' ethics violations.

The entire story is required reading. It is long and drawn out, but it presents very important details about using resouces on the Internet in order to create hype yourself. Michael Hiltzik repeatedly uses his own pseudonyms to pump his own arguments. It's like the Little Rascals only Hiltzik is every single rascal.

I look forward to announcements from the LA Times concerning the ethical violations of Michael Hiltzik.

Update: The blogswarm is likely to have begun. Captain Ed is up and running with his own commentary on the affair.

There's lots of quality comments at Captain's Quarters, Patterico's Pontifications and the Golden State blog.

Sy Hersh: Blair Believes in Rapture

2006-04-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

Democracy Now! | Seymour Hersh: Bush Administration Planning Possible Major Air Attack on Iran

In talking with Amy Goodman about his New Yorker piece, Sy Hersh opines that Tony Blair believes in the Rapture.

Blair's the wild card in this. He and Bush both have this sense, this messianic sense, I believe, about what they've done and what's needed to be done in the Middle East. I think Bush is every bit as committed into this world of rapture, as is the president.

Again we learn that Sy Hersh is a die short in the craps table of foreign policy. Previously, Sy Hersh was heard making comments at Riverside Church in New York that an 8 man cabal has taken control of all the levers of government. Today it's Rapture.

Sy Hersh writes what he can source. His personal opinions are delusional.

UPI: German Companies Raided for Iran Nuke Links

2006-03-28T13:12:00.000-06:00

First German companies were assisting Saddam Hussein's regime in acquiring nuclear weapons, now it is Iran.

Look for stories out of Switzerland for similar raids. If the German firms have already been raided, then the Swiss can't be far behind.

Andrew Card Folds

2006-03-28T10:37:00.000-06:00

Andrew Card is out as White House Chief of Staff effective April 14. Joshua Bolton moves over from OMB to replace Card.

It's about time. The last year has been one huge fumble for the White House. Something had to change. The President essentially wasted the re-election capital in trying to tackle a major political football in Social Security, but then was ill prepared to handle all matters that require a strong federal government.

I've read rumors that Andy Card wants to jump over to Treasury, though, John Snow captains that ship at the present.

I'm eager to see the changes made in WH policy under the direction of Joshua Bolton.

lol, quid pro quo

2006-03-24T12:18:00.000-06:00

Scientist Alleging Bush Censorship Helped Gore, Kerry -- 03/23/2006

Another whoops moment from the crew at "60 Minutes".

"Dr. Hansen, 63, acknowledged that he imperiled his credibility and perhaps his job by criticizing Mr. Bush's policies in the final days of a tight presidential campaign." according to the Oct. 26, 2004, edition of the New York Times.

Dr. Hansen, have you met Ambassador Wilson?

Apparently not. When will they learn?

lol, true

2006-03-23T14:58:00.000-06:00

Vision America President Rick Scarborough, the conference organizer, commented: "Here you have a movie -- 'V for Vendetta' -- with one of the strongest anti-Christian messages we've seen in a long time. The movie depicts a future Christian dictatorship in Britain that crushes dissent and persecutes other faiths. No such regime exists anywhere in the world. Nor could it."

"But you'll notice," Scarborough continued, "that Hollywood isn't making movies about Islamic regimes that rule by brute force, assign women to an inferior role, subsidize terrorism, conduct anti-Semitic campaigns and kill people for converting from Islam. Yet such regimes aren't fictional. They're all around this."

+1 Accuracy
Press Release

Duckworth Defeats Cegelis

2006-03-22T11:38:00.000-06:00

Chicago Tribune | Disabled Iraq war vet wins

Christine Cegelis came up short in her race with Tammy Duckworth to be the Democrat Party participant in the 6th Congressional District of Illinois.

It was unclear how this race would turn out for the Democrats. Cegelis was the political veteran in the race as she performed adamently in the 2004 election against the Republican incumbant Henry Hyde. Cegelis was the beneficiary of the Presidential ticket on the same ballot as John Kerry easily best President Bush in the race for Illinois' electoral votes. District support was strong for Cegelis since she is from the district and has a working group of district veterans assisting her campaign.

Duckworth was the outsider in the race. An insert courtesy of Rahm Emanuel's chairmanship of the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee. A veteran of the Iraq War, she was brought into the race to give Democrats credibility in their buildup to criticize the White House for its handling of the war and to attack the Republicans in the Congress for not providing adequate oversight of the White House for its mistakes. Duckworth has no political experience at all. She raised little money from within the district. And she doesn't live in the 6th District. She meets every definition of a political transplant.

The 6th District Democrats still voted for her though as Duckworth won by 3 percentage points. I am curious if there were any crossover votes by Republicans in this district to vote for Cegelis or Duckworth. It's unlikely since there was a primary vote for a number of Republican races, most importantly for Governor.

Rahm's got his girl in the race, but the 6th District still is not left of center so the battle is still uphill. Duckworth touted her Planned Parenthood endorsements in the primary. We'll have to wait and see if she even talks about abortion in the general election campaign against Republican Peter Roskam.

More Iraqi Files Translated

2006-03-22T11:23:00.000-06:00

PJ Iraq Files: Document: ISGZ-2004-009247

The Army of Translators continues to produce through their valiant efforts to examine documents siezed from the previous Iraqi government to detail connections between Saddam's Iraq and bin Laden's Al Qaida.

The link above is to an english translation of a meeting between Iraq and bin Laden. This is how the Iraqis viewed UBL.

And because of his stands against the Saudi Royal family because of the foreign presence inside it, the Saudi authorities made a decision to withdraw his Saudi citizenship, and we moved toward The Comission from our side and through the following:

What more does this excerpt tell us than the Iraqis wanted to develop a relationship with UBL BECAUSE the Saudis were moving away from him. The report goes on to say that UBL is reluctant to be seen as an ally or puppet of Saddam which is easy to follow when citing the Sunni tradition. However, such hesitation is not a sign of an unwillingness, nor demand, to not seek further cooperation between Saddam and UBL.

As more translations are provided we'll examine the relationship further.

Note To Self

2006-03-20T12:35:00.000-06:00

Create a Chicago Template.

Is This Thing On?

2006-03-20T12:32:00.000-06:00

Likely.

For My Blogger Profile

2006-01-04T11:31:00.000-06:00