Was Mancow Waterboarded, No

Clip first.

Video embedded below. (from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mancow/2009/05/29/bored-bloggers-are-all-wet)



Looks pretty bad, but I am not all that convinced. Here is where the controversy comes in. What happened to Mancow was not actually waterboarding.

We have some emails from http://gawker.com/5272691/mancows-waterboarding-was-completely-fake which suggest the whole thing was meant as a hoax. Mancow denies these charges (see video source link).

The problem I see goes beyond that. If it really was meant as a hoax you would think Mancow would have used it to confirm his belief that waterboarding is not torture. My problem, shared by others, is that what happened was not actually simulated drowning (as waterboarding is) but actual drowning.

As Ace so delicately puts it: (language Content Warning)
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/287917.php

"He got "waterboarded" by some untrained guy -- who now says he had no idea what he was doing, and just guessed based on what he read on Wikipedia.

The "waterboarding" consisted of just pouring a buttload water from a pitcher into his mouth until he coughed it up.

Mancow sprang up and declared he felt like he was drowning.

Idiot, you were drowning, you stupid douchenozzle.

That's why it felt "just like you were drowning." See how that works? Like if I pour lighter fluid all over my genitals and then ignite it, it will feel just like my hog is on fire."

The guy they used had never waterboarded anyone before and had no idea what he was doing and did it all wrong. He was not waterboarding Mancow he was drowning him. Mancow was not secured and was in the wrong position. They also used way to much water to fast and in the wrong way.

US Weapons Lab Debuts a Super Laser

A US weapons lab has debuted a 'Super Laser' that can generate the temperatures and pressures that exist at the core of a star. To create this effect requires a house size sphere that focuses 192 lazes onto a single point.

Read about it at http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.12fab6f6c00a65e15e6fb5e305aacbb7.41&show_article=1.

Psychic Experiment on Twitter

In what may be the first scientific use of the service Twitter (Berman Post's twitter page is Twitter.com/BermanPost) the public is being asked to tweet their impressions of randomly selected spots in England that they have not seen. This is an effort to test the validity of 'remote viewing' or 'extra sensory perception'. Those are fancy ways of saying that a person is somehow able to see or know information about an area that conventional wisdom says they should not. That is being able to describe a location that they have neither been to nor seen any representation of. It would be the equivalent of you being able to describe a room in detail in China selected at random that you have never been to nor seen a picture of.

This can also test a phenomenon known as 'the wisdom of the crowds'. That phenomenon says that the most accurate guess comes not from an individual but the average from a group.

To participate in the experiment head to https://twitter.com/RichardWiseman. You will need a Twitter account to participate.

The results should be in by Friday.

More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/twitter/5415852/Twitters-psychic-experiment.html.

George Tiller Shot Dead

George Tiller was shot dead this morning at his church. If his name sounds familiar to you, it is likely because of the controversy surrounding his performance of late term abortionist. This earned him the nick name of 'Tiller the baby killer' from some pro-lifers. A suspect is in custody.

No official motive has been confirmed, but it is widely suspected that it has to do with Tiller's abortion work. If that is the case, Tiller's death would be the first such death in over a decade in this country.

More at http://www.kansas.com/news/breaking/story/833730.html, http://www.kansascity.com/703/story/1225840.html, and http://rightwingnews.com/mt331/2009/05/george_tiller_famed_late_term.php.

29 Year Old Man Fathered 21 Children By 11 Woman, at Least

A 29 Year Old Man is the father of 21 Children from 11 Woman. As high as that number is, it may actually be more then that. Asked how/why he set this apparent record, he responded "It just happened". If the state is successful at taking half of his minimum wage pay check (the legal max), that would come out to less then $2 a month for child support. He has said that he is finished having children.

Video embedded below. (from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1189232/Desmond-Hatchett-fathers-21-children-11-different-women--hes-29.html)

Reporter Dragged Off Air Force One

A properly credentialed Georgian newspaper reporter named Brenda Lee was dragged off Air Force One apparently for wanting to had President Obama a note directly. She was not arrested. This all happened a few minutes before Obama arrived on the scene.

Head to http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/05/28/reporter_dragged_away_kicking_and_screaming_from_air_force_one.html for the video.

Newspaper Accidentally Runs an Ad Calling For Obama's Assassination

The Warren Times Observer published an ad that said, "May Obama follow in the steps of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy". An astute observer, an even a not so astute observer, may realize that all four of those presidents were assassinated. Basically, the ad is professing a hope that Obama get assassinated. The paper has "apologizes for the oversight" and is helping the secret service with their investigation.


More at http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090529_ap_panewspaperadcallsforobamaassassination.html.

Obama Learns About The NGA at a Burger Place

First the video/transcript, then the explanation.

Video embedded below. (from http://www.breitbart.tv/html/350053.html)



""So explain to me exactly what this National Geospatial..." Obama said, after the worker mentioned his employer, according to a video of the event.
"We work with, uh, satellite imagery," the worker, Walter replied.
A POLITICO reader caught the exchange, which starts around 5:45 on this C-SPAN video.
The transcript:
Obama: What do you do Walter?
Walter: I work at, uh, NGA, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Obama: Outstanding, how long you been doing that?
Walter: About six years
Obama: Yea?
Walter: Yes.
Obama: You like it?
Walter: I do, keeps me...
Obama: So explain to me exactly what this National Geospatial...uh...
Walter: Uh, we work with, uh, satellite imagery..
Obama: Right
Walter: [unintelligible] ...support systems, so...
Obama: Sounds like good work.
Walter: Enjoy the weekend.
Obama: Appreciate it."

As Politico explains:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0509/In_which_the_president_discovers_an_American_intelligence_agency_at_Five_Guys.html

"

According to the Defense Department:

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a Department of Defense combat support agency and a member of the national Intelligence Community (IC). NGA develops imagery and map-based intelligence solutions for U.S. national defense, homeland security and safety of navigation.



NGA provides timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security objectives. The term "geospatial intelligence" means the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. Geospatial intelligence consists of imagery, imagery intelligence and geospatial (e.g., mapping, charting and geodesy) information.

Guess they're not getting much airtime in the President's Daily Brief.

"

I do not know if this is as bad as it seems. Hopefully, Obama was briefed on the information generated by the NGA without ever being told or consciously registering the name of the organization. Still, it does look rather bad.

"Young Con Anthem" - Conservative Rap

Here is a new conservative rap video which is making its way around the web.

Video embedded below. (From http://www.theyoungcons.com)



Lyrics to "Young Con Anthem": http://web.me.com/david.rufful/Young_Conservatives/Lyrics_to_Young_Con_Anthem.html

"Serious C:

“Yo this ones for all the young conservatives.
I rep the Northeast and I’m still a young con,
Let your voice release, you don't have to be obamatrons.
I debate any poser who don't shoot straight,
Government spending needs to deflate,
Your ideas are lightweight,
Ya careers in checkmate
I frustrate. I increase the pulse rate
I hate when,
government dictatin, makin, statements, bout how to be a merchant,
How to run a restaurant, how to lay the pavement
Bailout a business, but can't protect an infant
Deficiencies are blatant, young con treatment
I stand one man, outnumbered at my college
Thank you Miss Cali for reminding us of marriage
Can't support abortion, and call yourself a Christian
I support life, you're a puzzled politician
Terrorists were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay,
Now they're in our neighborhoods, planning out doomsday
No such thing as utopia,
no government can control ya, baby ya,
Reap the benefits hard work, self reliant
Listen to Stiltz, my dude’s a lyrical giant

Yo Stiltz... make it two time... please”

Stiltz:

“I'm 6'9 head and shoulder above the rest
Liberals playin checkers, I'm playin chess
My conservative view is drill baby drill
You can say you hate me but
I'm praying for you still
My dislike for thee most def is not hyperbole
Taxes are the subject and I will spit them verbally
I'm just livin life a conservative philosophy
Sorry Hilary not a right wing conspiracy
We need more women with intellectual integrity
I'm talkin Megyn Kelly not Nancy Pelosi
My main motto is you best work hard
It's not the hand you were given, but how you lay down your cards
I don't speak lies but I spit the facts
28% the new capital gains tax
Porkulus bill lacks a few stats
The more money we spend, the more mine is worth Jack
The Bible says we're a people under God,
Usin radar for radical Jihad
AIG was hooked up by Chris Dodd
A classy gift ain't an Ipod
The standards of my crew ain’t republicans dude
I'm reppin Jesus Christ and conservative views
Study history and true conservative moves
Every single time they refuse to lose
I’m starting to see a modern day Jimmy Carter
When really nothin but a Reagan era starter”

Serious C:

“Yo, We americans son
Hit ya with some knowledge
The movement has begun
Everyone can succeed
Because our soldiers bleed, for us
I said it in the verse,
now I'll say it in the chorus”

Stiltz:

“We young conservatives son
Hard work is our motto
The movement has begun
EVERYONE can succeed cause our soldiers bleed, daily
My views are rock solid, no chance you can break me”

Serious C:

“Phase me, make me, into something that ain’t me
Serious c... can’t nobody shake me
great like the Gatsby, poppin posers like acne
Don't matter if your gay, straight, Christian or Muslim
There's one thing we all hate, called socialism.
It's loathsome, and America ain’t the outcome,
Raise taxes on the people,
And you’re gonna feel symptoms, problems
I gotta message for a young con:
superman that socialism,
waterboard that terrorism”

Stiltz:

“I fulfill the role that's inherently mine
Teaching politics through my rap and my rhyme
I'm signing off this track with a question in mind
How will this country get its precious change in time?
Three things taught me conservative love:
Jesus, Ronald Reagan, plus Atlas Shrugged
Saving our nation from inflation devastation
On my hands and my knees praying for salvation”

Serious C:

“Yo, We americans son
Hit ya with some knowledge
The movement has begun
Everyone can succeed
Because our soldiers bleed, for us
I said it in the verse,
now I'll say it in the chorus”

Stiltz:

“We young conservatives son
Hard work is our motto
The movement has begun
EVERYONE can succeed cause our soldiers bleed, daily
My views are rock solid, no chance you can break me”"

Voter Intimidation Complaint Against Night Stick Wielding Black Panther Members Dismissed

On November 4th (2008), a few members of the Black Panthers were standing outside a voting area wielding a night stick (Berman Post: Black Panthers Intimidating Voters in Pennsylvania?). This was a clear case of voter intimidation.

If you missed this story, here are a few videos to get you up to speed before getting to recent developments.

Videos embedded below.







Career lawyers were apparently overruled by political appointees and forced to dismiss the civil complaint.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/29/career-lawyers-overruled-on-voting-case/?feat=home_cube_position1

"The incident - which gained national attention when it was captured on videotape and distributed on YouTube - had prompted the government to sue the men, saying they violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by scaring would-be voters with the weapon, racial slurs and military-style uniforms.
...
a prominent 1960s civil rights activist who witnessed the confrontation and described it as "the most blatant form of voter intimidation" that he had seen, even during the voting rights crisis in Mississippi a half-century ago.

The lawyers also had ascertained that one of the three men had gained access to the polling place by securing a credential as a Democratic poll watcher...

The career Justice lawyers were on the verge of securing sanctions against the men earlier this month when their superiors ordered them to reverse course, according to interviews and documents."

Complaints against two of the three were dismissed, while the third has been ordered not to brandished a weapon outside a polling place any more. This does not even register as a slap on the wrist, more like a feather tickle on the wrist. Let us just hope that this is not an indication of the degree to which we care about voter intimidation or else we could be in a lot of trouble.

Obama - "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"

If you listen close enough, you can almost hear the collective simultaneous shudder /'gulp' coming from fiscal conservatives.

Video embedded below. (the money line comes toward the end)

When Life Experience Apparently Matters (in Politics)

Let me tell you about a man named Frank Ricci. Well, let the Washington Post tell you.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803613.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

"Ricci is a New Haven firefighter stationed seven blocks from where Sotomayor went to law school (Yale). Raised in blue-collar Wallingford, Conn., Ricci struggled as a C and D student in public schools ill-prepared to address his serious learning disabilities. Nonetheless he persevered, becoming a junior firefighter and Connecticut's youngest certified EMT.

After studying fire science at a community college, he became a New Haven "truckie," the guy who puts up ladders and breaks holes in burning buildings. When his department announced exams for promotions, he spent $1,000 on books, quit his second job so he could study eight to 13 hours a day and, because of his dyslexia, hired someone to read him the material.

He placed sixth on the lieutenant's exam, which qualified him for promotion."

I think you will agree that it is a compelling story. The story does not end well, at least not yet. You see, despite the sacrifice, perseverance, and ultimate success experience by Ricci, he was not promoted. What happened was that of the top scorers there was one Hispanic and the rest were White (Ricci is White). The results were tossed because of it and Ricci, along with the other people who put in the time and effort, were not given the promotion. Ricci and the rest sued. Sotomayor, while serving on the circuit court panel, upheld the dismissal of their case. That decision is now in front of the Supreme Court. It is interesting how Ricci's life experience was apparently of no interest to the main stream media.

Just to be clear, I do not think Ricci's life experience should have mattered in the case. I think the decision was wrong because denying someone a promotion based on the color of their skin is racist. Still, why does the media seem to think that Sotomayor's experiences are important in the legal world apparently not caring about Ricci's life experience? Neither should matter. I think it may have something to do with how that life experience shaped the person.

Slublog seems to agree.

http://www.slublog.com/archives/2009/05/nyt_political_c.html

"In October of 1991, the editorial board had a much different opinion of such political considerations:

The fault, in the end, is not that of the nominee but of the man who nominated him, the patron of little-known, untested or inflammatory appointments for offices reaching up to the Vice Presidency. By nominating this black conservative, President Bush serves a narrow partisan interest when the public has a right to expect him to nominate a lawyer or judge of proven distinction.

The Sotomayor editorial has great praise for how Sotomayor's life experience has shaped her judicial rulings. The day after Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court, the Times dismissed his life experience because they didn't like how it influenced his judicial philosophy:

As the nation waits to learn more about Clarence Thomas, the questions will concern not so much his talent but his character. Even his rise from poverty and racial isolation will be less interesting than how that experience has affected his regard for other Americans and whether he understands how their lives and rights are affected by law and official action.

The Times editorial board does display a double standard, but at the same time an appalling consistency to the belief that one cannot be a member of a historically aggrieved class and hold conservative viewpoints."

Apparently life experience only matters when it is an apparent liberal or liberal cause that is up for consideration.

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Supreme Court Justice David Souter Will Retire
Berman Post: Obama Comments On Supreme Court Justice David Souter's Retirement
Berman Post: Specter's Defection May Hurt Obama in Picking a New Supreme Court Justice
Berman Post: ObamasFrontrunners.com
Berman Post: Obama Nominates Sonia Sotomayor For Supreme Court Justice
Berman Post: Is Sotomayor a Racist?

Patriotic Symbols Now Considered Advertisements ?!?

Take a disabled veteran Marine who served for more than 14 years and a year of service In Vietnam who is understandably openly patriotic, and you have the beginning of a rather sad and bizarre controversy. Frank Larison has a number of decals on his car, and the home owners association is telling him that the decals are considered advertisements and are not allowed. They have threatened to tow his car and fine him.

Conspicuously apparently not considered an advertisement is an actual advertisement and a pro-Obama decal.

This is just sad, and smacks of almost intentional persecution of patriots.

Video embedded below. (from http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/national/dpgo_HOA_Asks_Vet_to_Remove_Bumper_fc_20090528_2518563)

Coitus Interruptus is About as Effective as Condoms

A new study has found that Coitus Interruptus (also known as 'pulling out') is about as effective as condoms. Condoms are found to be more effective, but not by much.

With perfect use, condoms have a 2% failure rate and Coitus Interruptus (CI) have a 4% failure rate. While you make look at that and say that condoms are double CI in effectiveness, you may want to consider that they are only two percentage points apart. This is also with perfect use. They get closer when considering typical use.

With typical use, the failure rate of condoms jumps to 17% and the failure rate of CI jumps to 18%. Condoms are still more effective, but not by much even when compared to each other.

Instead using this to boost your opinion regarding the effectiveness of CI, you may want to use this to reflect on just how imperfect condoms are and how often they fail.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Economy/story?id=7688558&page=1

"Her studies found that in perfect use -- meaning the man pulls out every time -- withdrawal has a 4 percent failure rate, as compared to condoms, which have a 2 percent failure rate.

"But nobody's perfect," said Jones, who published her commentary in the June issue of Contraception magazine.

In typical use, when used consistently and correctly, coitus interruptus and condoms have an 18 and 17 percent failure rate, respectively."

Using Pulsars For a Universal Position System

GPS works well on earth provided that the necessary satellites are maintained. Venturing out in to space however, they would not be able to help guide us. Some scientists are proposing we use four pulsars in place of the satellite network on earth for what would essentially be a Universal Position System.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23576

"Today, Bertolomé Coll at the Observatoire de Paris in France and a friend propose an interstellar GPS system that has the ability to determine the position of any point in the galaxy to within a metre.

Their idea is to tune in to the signals from four pulsars: 0751+1807 (3.5ms), 2322+2057 (4.8ms), 0711-6830 (5.5ms) and 1518+0205B (7.9ms), which each generate regular millisecond radio signals.

These form a rough tetrahedron centred on the Solar System.

Why four pulsars? Coll points out that on these scales relativity has to be taken into account when processing the signals and to do this, the protocol has to specify a position in space-time, which requires four signals.

Coll then defines the origin for this system of co-ordinates as 00:00 on 1 January 2001 at the focal point of the Interplanetary Scintillation Array, the radio telescope near Cambridge in the UK that first observed pulsars.

With the co-ordinate system established, any interplanetary spacecraft could then use the signals from these pulsars to determine its position in this co-ordinate system to within a few nanoseconds, which corresponds to about a metre.

Handy, and cheap too."

White House Briefing 'Laugh Count'

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is far outpacing his recent predecessors in terms of instances of laughter during the daily briefs. The White House stenographer uses "(Laughter.)" to indicate the laughter in the transcript. In his first four months, Gibbs has averaged more then ten such indications a day. That is a total of more then 600 such incidents.

How does this compare to recent White House press secretaries' first four months?
(Robert Gibbs - 600+)
Dana Perino - 57
Scott McClellan - 66
Tony Snow - 217

Why is Obama's first spokesman laughing it up with the reporters significantly more than G. W. Bush's more recent people? There really is no agreed upon answer. There are a few thoughts on the matter though. One theory is that it is because the reporters have more political affinity with Obama's policies the Bush's. Another is that Gibbs is just funnier, or at least more comfortable making a joke, then Bush's people. It may also have something to do with the larger audience Gibbs has then then Bush's last few with more people in the audience willing to play along.

I do not think this is of any real significance, it is just stylistic differences between White House press secretaries. This only becomes problematic if someone injects humor inappropriately into a situation.

More at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/23015.html.

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt

Behold, the Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt:

Picture embedded below.



ABC News explains what is so special about this shirt.

Video embedded below. (from http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/05/why-has-this-t.html)

Here is that YouTube video they were talking about.

Video embedded below.



You can find and purchase the shirt at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZW3IY.

Burris Promised Money to Blagojevich Before Being Appointed Senator

Newly released tapes seem to show that Burris promised to raise money for Blagojevich through his brother before Blagojevich appointed him to fill Obama's vacated Senate seat. While there is no direct quid-pro-Quo, the implication is all but unmistakable. This looks really bad, but will it be enough for him to leave (be booted from) the Senate? It is a little to early to tell.

More at http://ace.mu.nu/archives/287773.php and http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-new-burris-full-transcriptmay27,0,6395405.story.

Is Sotomayor a Racist?

There are some people that are attacking Sotomayor by saying that she is racist. Is she actually a racist? It seems to me that she has made not only a racist comment, but a sexist one as well:

""I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," Sotomayor said in that speech, describing how life experience can inform judicial opinions."

Saying that a 'Hispanic Female' would reach a better conclusion then a 'White Male' can only be described as racist/sexist. Some term it reverse racism/sexism but the basic meaning is the same.

Does that mean that she is racist or has made racist comments? Is there a difference?

Perhaps more to the point, should this disqualify her as the next Supreme Court Justice? I do not think that one slip of the tong should destroy a persons life, though I have not seen any sort of retraction. If she actually believes this then that could be a problem.

As bad as that concept within that quote is, there is another that disturbs me. The richness of someone's experience should not effect someones legal conclusions. A judges job is to apply the law. Where the judge grew up should have no impact on applying the law.

More at http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/27/gingrich-sotomayor-racist-should-withdraw-nomination.

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Supreme Court Justice David Souter Will Retire
Berman Post: Obama Comments On Supreme Court Justice David Souter's Retirement
Berman Post: Specter's Defection May Hurt Obama in Picking a New Supreme Court Justice
Berman Post: ObamasFrontrunners.com
Berman Post: Obama Nominates Sonia Sotomayor For Supreme Court Justice

Policy Makers Thinking About a National Sales Tax

Is it time for a national sales tax? From what I have seen, I think a flat consumption tax is a better system then the income tax system we have now. A consumption tax penalizes spending instead of penalizing saving as the sales tax does. Here is the important distinction between what I am thinking and these policy makers. I favor a consumption tax over the income tax; read either or. The policy makers are thinking about instituting a value added tax without first getting rid of the income tax; read and.

What this looks like to me is just increasing taxes anyway they think they can get away with it. It will be a huge mistake.

Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/26/AR2009052602909.html?wprss=rss_politics.

Biden Goofs on Obama After His Teleprompter Broke

While Biden was giving a speech, a strong gust of wind knocked over a teleprompter he was using. He decided to use it as an opportunity to goof on Obama.

He then said "What am I going to tell the President when I tell him his teleprompter is broken? What will he do then?"

Video embedded below. (extra humor added in)




Past Teleprompter Posts:
Berman Post: Obama And The TelePrompter
Berman Post: Obama Has a Teleprompt Blunder on St Patrick's Day
Berman Post: BaracksTeleprompter.blogspot.com
Berman Post: Obama's Teleprompter Blunder on St Patrick's Day Was Actually a Joke?
Berman Post: Obama "I Jumped The Gun" (Referring to The Teleprompter)

Miss California Carrie Prejean Co-Hosts 'FOX & Friends'

Miss California Carrie Prejean co-hosted Fox & Friends this morning (as reported would happen at Berman Post: Miss California Carrie Prejean to Guest Host Fox & Friends). Here is a short clip.

Video embedded below.



Past related posts:
Berman Post: Perez Hilton Calls Miss California (Carrie Prejean) a "Dumb B*tch", Was Thinking The thinking of the "C-Word"
Berman Post: Is The New Miss USA Pro-Gay Marriage?
Berman Post: Crowder Attacks Perez Hilton Over His Comments About Miss California
Berman Post: Miss California (Carrie Prejean) Happy to be Championing a Cause
Berman Post: Miss California (Carrie Prejean) Used in a Traditional Marriage ad
Berman Post: Savage Attacks Continue Against Carrie Prejean (Miss California)
Berman Post: Perez Hilton, The Latest Copyright Thug?
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Attacked With 'Racy' Photo
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Attacked Through Her Parents
Berman Post: New Topless Photos of Carrie Prejean (Miss California)
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Keeps The Miss California Crown
Berman Post: Olbermann attacks Carrie Prejean (Miss California), Again
Berman Post: Miss California Carrie Prejean to Guest Host Fox & Friends
Berman Post: Miss California Carrie Prejean's Mom Had a Lesbian Affair?

North Korea Fires Another Round of Missiles

North Korea has fired off another round of missiles (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSEO14165620090526?sp=true). This following the first round which occurred around the same time as their recent successful nuclear test (Berman Post: North Korea Detonates a Nuke).

Could this be in part to show the world that they really do not care what Obama (or the rest of the world for that matter) has to say regarding their weapon program?

Obama The "Underpants Gnome"

If you are unfamiliar with the 'Underpants Gnomes' this post is not going to make much sense to you. The Underpants Gnomes come from an episode during season two of South Park. The Gnomes went around stealing underpants. When asked what they were doing with the underpants, the Gnomes explained that it was part of their business plan. Phase one is collecting underpants. They did not know what phase two was, but explained that phase three was profit. More simply:

Phase one - collect underpants
Phase two - ?
Phase three - profit

To see the short clip head over to (minor Content Warning for language, but this is something that you would see on cable at night) http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/151040 or for the full episode go to http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103595/?autoplay=false.

The 'Underpants Gnome theme' has become a decently well known metaphor. It is a criticism of a plan that is missing an important step. The Gnome's business plan was missing the important step or phase of how the underpants turned into profit. That would be phase two which is blank.

Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal makes a comparison between Obama and the Underpants Gnomes. He explains the missing step as requiring a leap of faith. I think that may be a little kind.

Obama is by no means the only 'Underpants Gnome offender', or someone who proposes one policy in the hopes of a specific outcome without clearly accounting for how the policy will lead to the outcome. As Stephens' article shows, Obama is one such offender. In my experience, offenders are generally liberals.

Specifically regarding Obama's plans:

Create a Healthy and stable Economy
Phase one - Deficit spend in the trillions a year for the next decade
Phase two - (pray for the Keynesian effect)?
Phase three - Healthy, stable, and debt free Economy

Middle East Peace
Phase one - High level talks with the Terrorists and other despots
Phase two - ?
Phase three - Peace in the Middle East and an end to terrorism

Closing Guantanamo Bay prison
Phase one - Announce the closing of Guantanamo Bay
Phase two (what to do with the prisoners) - ?
Phase three - Guantanamo Bay Prison is shut down and empty

Nuclear free North Korea
Phase one - Continue with the ineffective six party talks
Phase two - ?
Phase three - A North Korea without nuclear weapons

Protect America from terrorists
Phase one - Curtail what our guardians can do to ensure our continued protection
Phase two - ?
Phase three - A safer America

Do not get me wrong. There may be some legitimate connection between various phase one and phase threes. That said, the connection must actually be legitimate and the proposer should be forced to make that connection clearly.

I think the 'Underpants Gnome' metaphor can also be used to criticize a plan where the linking step of phase just seems ridiculous or impossible.

For the 'Protect America from terrorists', Obama's phase two logic seems to be that stopping certain intelligence gathering practices the terrorists will not hate us as much or not be able to recruit as many members. That is basically a question mark because it is not clear exactly how one leads to the other. I would go one step further and say that that the explanation is especially necessary because logic seems to dictate the opposite result. I do not recall the terrorists citing detainees at Gitmo nor the use of harsh interrogations as part of their reason for flying planes into buildings. Of course, 9/11 predates those actions on our part so they could not have been part of the terrorist's attempt at justification. While the effect of reducing terrorists desire to strike us seems minute at best, restricting the ways in which our agents can gather intelligence has an obvious detrimental effect.

This type of 'Underpants Gnome offense' may be cover for a real reason that a person for what ever reason does not want to admit. Staying with the same topic; Obama may truly believe that harsh interrogation is torture and it is not acceptable for Americans to torture even if it would save lives. This is not meant as a criticism or to support that notion. Everyone has (or at least should) have a line they believe should not be crossed. Taking it to extremes, I would not support nuking Detroit to prevent a terrorist shooting spree in NYC. It is meant to show the 'offender' might be doing it intentionally to hide the real reason.

Summing this up a bit, we are left with two rather disheartening possibilities when people do not connect the dots committing an 'Underpants Gnome offense'. The first is that they do not know any or can not show a logical connection between their stated goal and their chosen course of action. The second is to cover the real reason they have because they think it would not be generally accepted.

To try to end on a positive note there is a third reason which is not a disheartening one. There may be some logical connection but the person forgot to or did not think they needed to connect the dots for people. The logic of the latter is that they believe the connection to be obvious enough as to not merit the explanation. Sorry to be a downer, but given the importance and complexity of these high level issues it seems the third reason is the least likely.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329131991652291.html#mod=rss_opinion_main

"The president's plan can briefly be described as follows. Phase One: Order Guantanamo closed. Phase Two: ? Phase Three: Close Gitmo!
...
Now take the administration's approach to the Middle East. Phase One: Talk to Iran, Syria, whoever. Phase Two: ? Phase Three: Peace!
...
Now Kim Jong Il has tested another nuke, and we're back at the familiar three-step. Phase One: Propose a "structure." . . .
...
Mr. Obama's energy policy goes something like this: Phase One: Inaugurate the era of "green" energy. Phase Two: Overturn the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Phase Three: Carbon neutrality!

Take any number of Mr. Obama's other initiatives. Rescue Detroit? Phase One: Set a national mileage standard for passenger cars of 39 miles per gallon and force auto makers to make the kind of cars that drove them to bankruptcy in the first place.

Reduce the deficit? Phase One: Approve $3.5 trillion in government stimulus, and then await the mythical Keynesian multiplier."

Responses to Olbermann's Over The Top Attack Against Cheney

Here are two responses to Olbermann's over the top attacks against Cheney (Berman Post: Olbermann Regarding Cheney - 'As Insane as Any Terrorist' + 'Culpable For 9/11').

John Gibson
Video embedded below. (from http://www.olbermannwatch.com/archives/2009/05/john_gibson_sma.php)




The folks from Red Eye.
Video embedded below. (from http://www.olbermannwatch.com/archives/2009/05/video_red_eye_r.php)

Obama Nominates Sonia Sotomayor For Supreme Court Justice

Obama has Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.

Here is the clip of Obama's announcement.

Video embedded below.



Obama had said that race and gender would not be determining factors, but he has picked someone who is female and Hispanic. Sotomayor would not necessarily be the first Hispanic. Justice Benjamin Cardozo had Portuguese ancestry. To many he is considered the first Hispanic Justice, but to others he does not qualify (http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2009/05/13_kaufman.html and http://volokh.com/posts/1243348317.shtml). She would be the third women (only one of which is still a Supreme Court Justice) and the first Hispanic women.

Sonia Sotomayor is not without controversy. Even before serious opposition research began, a few things have come to light. Among the more notable is Sotomayor saying that the court of appeals is where policy is made. This is the conservative fear of an activist judge when the courts basically take the law making powers away from the legislature creating the laws themselves.

Video embedded below.



She also made a comment about how a Latin women would more often then not reach a better conclusion then a white male. Many have pointed out that if the races and genders were reversed, the potential nominee would never have been nominated because of the accusations of racism and sexism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/15judge.html

"“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sotomayor"

Attacks against her had commenced even before she was officially nominated by Obama.

Video embedded below (from ObamasFrontrunners.com first reported at Berman Post: ObamasFrontrunners.com)



If recent history is any indication, the only thing we really know for sure is that this is going to be a tough couple of weeks/months for Sotomayor regardless of if she will eventually be confirmed.

I will end with Sotomayor's comments from right after Obama gave her the official nod.

Video embedded below. (The video starts as Obama is ending his announcement; a few seconds of overlap with the Fox video at the top of the post.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Supreme Court Justice David Souter Will Retire
Berman Post: Obama Comments On Supreme Court Justice David Souter's Retirement
Berman Post: Specter's Defection May Hurt Obama in Picking a New Supreme Court Justice
Berman Post: ObamasFrontrunners.com

Obama - "We Are Out of Money"

Any chance this means Obama will stop trying to spend more or cut back on some of the proposed spending? I would not hold your breath.

http://drudgereport.com/flashocs.htm (transcript can be found there)

"SCULLY: You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?

OBAMA: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we've made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we've seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades."

The quote happens 30 seconds into the clip.

Video embedded below. (from http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=344843)

Olbermann Regarding Cheney - 'As Insane as Any Terrorist' + 'Culpable For 9/11'

This is pretty bad even for Olbermann. Among the many, many highlights; 'as dishonest, as insane as any terrorist; the former vice president has today humiliated himself beyond redemption', 'culpable, morally, ethically for 9/11' and 'At best, you are guilty of malfeasance and eternally lasting stupidity. At worst, sir, in the deaths of 9/11, you are negligent.'.

(Olbermann was talking about the speech Cheney gave which is posted at Berman Post: Cheney-Obama Duel.)

The transcript of the clip can be found at http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/05/22/olbermann-calls-cheney-insane-any-terrorist.

Video embedded below.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Obama's Boilerplate Speech

Obama's speeches do seem to follow the same basic pattern. Victor Hanson breaks it down and lays it out:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZGY5NjU2MmFiN2FjZmRjYTFhMDAzYWE2NzY3YmY1NDE=

"In essence, the script is the following: First, the president clears his throat by trashing Bush and/or the prior administration.

Then, as many have noted, Mr. 50/50 creates the proverbial straw men on the two extremes (e.g., those who wish to shred the Constitution to fear-monger, those who do not take threats as seriously as he does), as he places himself in-between two false poles.

Next he evokes his past (three themes usually here: He has lived in a different country; he is of a different race than mainstream America; and, in extremis, his father was of a religion other than Christianity), with a grand finale of pulling all that together to imply to us that if we don't share his present views, then a rare avatar of hope and change such as himself would never have been president — he being the true reification of what America always could have been (a refined trope of Michelle's "first time" she was proud of her country.)"

North Korea Detonates a Nuke

North Korea has successfully tested a nuclear weapon (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,521617,00.html). The bomb, detonated under ground, is believed to have exploded with about the same force as the weapons used at Hiroshima or Nagasaki. The North Koreans also test fired a few missiles.

The United States was given less then an hour of notice and was reportedly caught by surprise (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/25/north-korean-nuclear-test-catches-surprise). Then again, John Bolton did predict this would happen (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124277648950937029.html).

This is what Obama had to say:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/05/barack-obama-north-korea-statement.html

"Today, North Korea said that it has conducted a nuclear test in violation of international law. It appears to also have attempted a short range missile launch. These actions, while not a surprise given its statements and actions to date, are a matter of grave concern to all nations. North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security.

By acting in blatant defiance of the United Nations Security Council, North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community. North Korea's behavior increases tensions and undermines stability in Northeast Asia. Such provocations will only serve to deepen North Korea's isolation. It will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants action by the international community. We have been and will continue working with our allies and partners in the Six-Party Talks as well as other members of the U.N. Security Council in the days ahead."

Somehow I do not think this will have much of an impact Kim Jong-il.

Spanish Dictator General Francisco Franco Had One Testicle

A new book about the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco is saying that the dictator had one testicle. General Francisco Franco is thought to have suffered the injury in the same year Hitler suffered his (Berman Post: Hitler Had One Testicle). The specific battle was El Biutz which is near Ceuta (situated on the Moroccan coast).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/5340068/Spanish-dictator-Franco-only-had-one-testicle.html

"A new book suggests that the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco lost a testicle when injured on the battlefield in 1916, the same year that the future Nazi leader is believed to have suffered his own, much mocked, loss.

In a new book by the Spanish historian José Maria Zavala, Ana Puigvert, who is a doctor, is quoted claiming that her grandfather Antonio Puigvert, a urologist known to have had Franco as a patient, had told her that the dictator only had one testicle."

Bodybuilders Flee From Drug Testers

Few things offer a stronger commentary on the prevalence of illegal drug use in a sport then a championship being canceled because all the competitors literally fled at the site of doping officials. To bad there was not a camera around. That would have made for a great video.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520555,00.html

"The Belgian bodybuilding championship was canceled after doping officials showed up and all the competitors fled.

A doping official said bodybuilders just grabbed their gear and ran off when he came into the room.
...
During testing of bodybuilding events last year, doping authorities of northern Belgium's Flanders region found that three-quarters of the competitors tested positive."

'Thomas Paine' Sends an Open Letter to President Obama

Here is the latest 'Thomas Paine' video message. It is an open letter to President Obama.

Video embedded below.



Past 'Thomas Paine' posts:
Berman Post: Beck Channels Thomas Paine For Tax Day Tea Parties
Berman Post: 'Thomas Paine' Returns, Calls For a March on Washington

DownForEveryOneOrJustMe.com

DownForEveryOneOrJustMe.com is a very simple site which lets you know if the problem you are having with a website is on your end or the website's. Just go to the site, copy the URL into the search box slot, and click enter. DownForEveryOneOrJustMe.com will then tell you if the website is down, or if the problem is just on your end.

Drinking Cola Could Cause Paralysis

Excessive cola drinkers beware, your daily fix could cause an irregular heartbeat muscle problems, or paralysis. Large quantities of cola can cause hypokalaemia which is is a condition where the levels of potassium in your blood fall to. By large, we are talking about two liters to ten liters daily (slightly more then half a gallon to slightly more then two and a half gallons). The condition appears fully reversible with potassium supplements and taking a break from your fix.

More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/5350530/Drinking-large-amounts-of-cola-can-cause-paralysis-doctors-warn.html.

Iranian TV - 'America And The Jews Responsible For Swine Flu'

My favorite part of this insane video is the animation of the chicken sneezing on the pig. You would think people would get tired of blaming the Jews for everything eventually, but it has been a few thousand years and counting and they are still going strong.

Video embedded below. (from http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/iranian-tv-blames-donald-rumsfeld-jews.html)




Past Related Posts:
Berman Post: Obama May Have Come in Contact With The 'Swine Flu'
Berman Post: United States Declares a Public Health Emergency For The Swine Flu
Berman Post: Swine Flu Patient Zero Found as WHO Raises Alert Level to Phase 5
Berman Post: Biden - 'Avoid Public Transportation'
Berman Post: First US Resident Dies of Swine Flu
Berman Post: First Swine Flu Death in NYC

ObamasFrontrunners.com

Obama has not released his choice to be the next Supreme Court Justice. That is not stopping some organizations from pushing hard against who they think may be some of his likely picks. ObamasFrontrunners.com is one such site put together by the Judicial Confirmation Network.

The website ObamasFrontrunners.com is pretty basic. There are three attack ads, one for each perceived front runner for which they strongly oppose. All three ads are extremely well put together. Once you have watched them you can vote for which one "is the worst liberal judicial activist". You have to fill out some information (name, state and email) before you can vote. Presumably, this is so they can reach you via email with future updates.

Here are the attack ads.

Video embedded below.

Against Elena Kagan


Against Diane Wood


Against Sonia Sotomayor

Obama Snubs The Children

Ok, that may be a bit unfair. The story seems to be that the children were delayed and by the time they got their it was to late. Obama was busy meeting the Steelers when the kids finally got their.

I will post the obligatory video of crying children when I have access to my laptop or desktop.

Parting thought: why not invite the kids to join the Steelers for five minutes? Give them a nice twofer.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/05/22/heart-ache-white-house-cancels-kids-tour-to-host-steelers

"This isn't Obama's fault — the schoolbus got stuck in traffic and arrived just before The One's long-scheduled meet and greet with the Steelers was set to start"

Update (5/25/2009):

Here is the clip.

Video embedded below.

Liberal Speakers Dominate Commencement Exercises

After doing a bit of research, the Young America's Foundation found what should be a surprise to few. They found the commencement speakers were overwhelmingly liberals. This is a trend that has now lasted at least 16 years. That is as long as the Young America's Foundation have been doing this research.

http://yaf.org/blog/?p=747

"College campuses have one thing that remains constant: administrators snuff out conservative ideas. How else to explain, for the 16th year in a row, liberal speakers dominating the list of graduation ceremonies? It’s worth repeating. For the past 16 years—the time period Young America’s Foundation has been keeping tabs—a disproportionate number of commencement speakers at our nation’s top colleges and universities have been liberal ideologues, big donors to liberal causes, and members of the “drive-by” media.

This year is no different. Using U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the nation’s top colleges and universities, Young America’s Foundation found that commencement ceremonies were dominated by those on the Left, while conservative representation was shabby, at best."

NY Times Selling Obama Memorabilia

The NY Times is selling Obama memorabilia. Michelle Malkin got the URL wrong, but she was right about the rest. To see what they are selling, and generally for a substantial amount of money, head over to http://www.nytstore.com/ProdCode.aspx?prodcode=1018 and http://www.nytstore.com/ProdInterCode.aspx?search=Obama&prodId=0.

Video embedded below.

Blockles

If you like Tetris, but do not like playing by yourself, Blockles may just be the perfect game for you. The best way to describe Blockles is to say that it is multi-player battle Tetris. You can play with up to six other people, but can play by yourself if you want. The game plays is the same as standard Tetris. The difference is in the items you can collect. When ever you complete a line you an item appears on your board. When you complete a line with items in it, the items move to your queue ready for you to use it. You can not skip around, and must use which ever is at the top first. To use the item you click the number of the player you want to use it on. You are number 1. The items range from lowering a screen, raising a screen, clearing a screen, to switching screens with a target. Clearing a few lines at the same time gives lines to everyone else instantly. Clear two lines and everyone else goes up one, clear three and everyone goes up two, or clear four and everyone else goes up three.

The longer the game goes on, the faster the piece fall. You can also play without items at the site. You can see the status of your opponents via a window below their number. If you get knocked out of the game but their are still others playing the round, you lose any items left in your queue but get three new ones to get revenge on a survivor. After someone wins, the next round begins.

Head on over to http://www.addictinggames.com/blockles.html to play.

Poster of Chuck Norris Enough to Stop Crime

How powerful is Chuck Norris? Powerful enough that a poster of him is a deterrent to crime. A bakery was being robbed on a weekly basis until they posted the picture. Now it has been over a month and no break ins.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Chuck_Norris_congratulates_bakery_over_use_of_Chuck_Norris&in_article_id=668800&in_page_id=2

"The bakers in Split, Croatia, had been broken into almost every week until they put up the poster of the martial arts legend with a sign saying: 'This shop is under the protection of Chuck Norris.'

In more than a month since the picture was first displayed, the bakery hasn't had a single burglary."

Cheney-Obama Duel

The Constitution Obama was using as a backdrop was a fake (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/fascimile-con-1.html). The amount of light used for the press conference would have been damaging to the document. Obama was referring to 'Robert Gates' when he said "Defense Secretary “William” Gates".

Videos embedded below.

Obama

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Cheney

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Full text of Obama's speech can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30866448.
Full text of Cheney's speech can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30867685

Was Pelosi Briefed on Waterboarding, Almost Certainly

This has been a rather strange story. First no one told her, then they told her that it was not going to happen, then they told her that they told someone else, then the CIA was a bunch of lairs, and now it seems that this is all the Bush administrations fault. I have not been able to do the play-by-play because I have been busy, but this ad does a good job of bringing you up to speed.



Link storm if you are interested and have not been paying attention: http://hotair.com/archives/2009/05/13/video-stewart-skewers-pelosi-on-waterboarding, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22531.html, http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/05/14/HP/R/18582/Hse+Spkr+Pelosi+claims+CIA+mislead+her+about+Torture+Methods.aspx, http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/17/pelosi.torture, http://hotair.com/archives/2009/05/15/pathetic-pelosi-plays-down-cia-criticism-blames-bush-instead.

Miss California Carrie Prejean's Mom Had a Lesbian Affair?

More attacks are being thrown at Miss California Carrie Prejean. Now they are saying that her mom (Francine Coppola) had a "steamy lesbian love affair right up until the night Carrie placed second in the Miss USA contest" with Valerie Vetrano.

They attacked her personally which just increased her resoluteness and fame. They tried to take her Miss California crown and failed. Now they are starting to pound her family. When is this going to stop? Her only 'crime' was having the audacity to state her opinion that marriage should be between one man and one women; the same opinion held by a majority of people in this country including the president. Do these attackers really not understand that they are hurting their cause more then helping it?

More at http://www.starmagazine.com/news/15614.

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Perez Hilton Calls Miss California (Carrie Prejean) a "Dumb B*tch", Was Thinking The thinking of the "C-Word"
Berman Post: Is The New Miss USA Pro-Gay Marriage?
Berman Post: Crowder Attacks Perez Hilton Over His Comments About Miss California
Berman Post: Miss California (Carrie Prejean) Happy to be Championing a Cause
Berman Post: Miss California (Carrie Prejean) Used in a Traditional Marriage ad
Berman Post: Savage Attacks Continue Against Carrie Prejean (Miss California)
Berman Post: Perez Hilton, The Latest Copyright Thug?
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Attacked With 'Racy' Photo
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Attacked Through Her Parents
Berman Post: New Topless Photos of Carrie Prejean (Miss California)
Berman Post: Carrie Prejean Keeps The Miss California Crown
Berman Post: Olbermann attacks Carrie Prejean (Miss California), Again
Berman Post: Miss California Carrie Prejean to Guest Host Fox & Friends

ACORN Logo on an 'Obama Dollar Bill'

Walking through Union Square (NYC) today, I noticed something. On the 'Obama 44 dollar bill' instead of the United States Treasury Seal they put the ACORN logo. I can understand wanting to put something more exiting the the Treasury Seal, and thinking it is best to put something else their just to make extra sure no one thinks it is any sort of legal currency. Still, the ACORN logo?

Pictures embedded below.

Here is a wider shot of the table selling Obama memorabilia.


Here is the same shot zoomed in on the 'Obama dollar bills'.



Past ACORN posts (reverse chronological order):
Berman Post: New York Times Confirms They Spiked a Major Obama-ACORN Story Before The Election?
Berman Post: Glenn Beck Interviews Two ACORN Employee Whistleblowers
Berman Post: Glenn Beck Interviews Scott Levenson (ACORN Spokesman)
Berman Post: Former ACORN Employee - 'More Than Half Voter Registrations Invalid'
Berman Post: Megyn Kelly Interviews Scott Levenson (ACORN Spokesman)
Berman Post: ACORN to Participate in The 2010 Census
Berman Post: Stuart Varney Rips ACORN Chief to Shreds Over Reclaiming Foreclosed Homes
Berman Post: ACORN Breaks Into Foreclosed Home
Berman Post: Birth Control Cut From Bailout, ACORN Funds Still There
Berman Post: Obama on Voter Fraud
Berman Post: Voter Fraud vs Voter Registration Fraud - Who Cares
Berman Post: "ACORN" - John McCain Ad

New York Times Confirms They Spiked a Major Obama-ACORN Story Before The Election?

The article in question can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/opinion/17pubed.html?_r=3. Basically, the story goes that the NY Times had a source give them information that there was likely and illegal between the Obama campaign and ACORN. It is important to point out that the allegation is not necessarily against Obama, but that it had to be someone relatively high up in his campaign. ACORN was given a list of maxed out Obama donors so they could solicit more funds from them. The NY Times never reported that very important aspect of the story. For a more comprehensive explanation, head to http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/05/023580.php.

Here is a report on this from Fox New's Bill O'Reilly.

Video embedded below.



More on this at http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/confirmed-ny-times-spiked-major-obama.html.

Automatic Language Translation in Gmail

Google has put automatic language translation software in Gmail. Now Gmail users can rather seamlessly communicate with people who's native tong differs from their own. Gmail will translate their message within the email. That saves you the time of copying and pasting into a different translation service. It may not save much time, but that can start to add up if you do a lot of work with people who communicate with a foreign language.

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-in-labs-automatic-message.html

"I'm proud to announce the integration of Google's automatic translation technology directly into Gmail.
...
Simply enable "Message Translation" from the Labs tab under Settings, and when you receive an email in a language other than your own, Gmail will help you translate it into a language you can understand. In one click."

Obama's Federal Budget Includes Taxpayer Funded Abortions in Washington DC

Obama's budget includes a provision that would repeal the ban on using taxpayer money to fund abortions in Washington DC.

http://www.lifenews.com/nat5031.html

"Congress, as authorized by the U.S. Constitution, holds complete legislative authority over the District of Columbia and, therefore, determines whether taxpayer dollars will be used to fund abortions for poor women there.

Although Congress has banned taxpayer-funded abortions in D.C. for years, the budget Obama released today, on Appendix page 1209 asks Congress to repeal the ban."


Past related posts:
Berman Post: Obama Repeals Mexico City Policy
Berman Post: $410 Billion Spending Bill Propose by House Democrats
Berman Post: Obama to Overturn 'Conscience' Rule

The Missing Link?

Scientist think they have found the missing link in human evolution. The fossil is thought to be 47 million year old. Given the age, my admittedly baseless thought is that it may be 'a link' but not 'the link'. It seems there may be a few more fossils of creatures that need finding.

More at http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Missing-Link-Scientists-In-New-York-Unveil-Fossil-Of-Lemur-Monkey-Hailed-As-Mans-Earliest-Ancestor/Article/200905315284582?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15284582_Missing_Link%3A_Scientists_In_New_York_Unveil_Fossil_Of_Lemur_Monkey_Hailed_As_Mans_Earliest_Ancestor.

Norway Wins 2009 Eurovision Song Contest

You may remember the post about Georgia's entry to this years competition (Berman Post: Video - "We Don’t Wanna Put in"). Georgia withdrew from the contest rather then change the lyrics as the organizers demanded (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5890078.ece).

Here is the 2009 Eurovision winner, Norway (http://www.eurovision.tv/page/moscow2009/the-participants/final).

Video embedded below.



This also seems a good place to repost what was supposed to be Georgia's entry.

Video embedded below.

Obama Defunds Reliable Replacement Warhead Program

Obama effectively canceled the Reliable Replacement Warhead Program by not providing any money for it in fiscal 2010 budget. The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program is a project to develop new nuclear weapons that last longer, are more reliable, and do not need to be tested. The United States has not tested a weapon since 1992 and their is a fear regarding the reliability of the aging weapons. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been pushing hard for this program.

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/05/12/obama-breaks-with-gates-cancels-nuke-program.aspx

"One particularly interesting angle here: Obama has overruled his secretary of defense, Robert Gates, who has been pushing for months to maintain the warhead program. Last October, Gates warned that

"[t]o be blunt, there is absolutely no way we can maintain a credible
deterrent and reduce the number of weapons in our stockpile without
resorting to testing our stockpile or pursuing a modernization
program."

But even though "modernization" has now been halted, Obama will almost certainly not resume nuclear testing. So one has to presume Gates is not a happy camper on this score. 

"

As the reliability of our nuclear weapons comes into question, our deterrent effect diminishes. Without a Missile Shield (Berman Post: Obama to Drop Missile Shield For Russian Help Stopping Iran?), which we really need (Berman Post: Why we Need a Missile Shield), this could lead to disastrous consequences.

This does seem to be in line with "a world without nukes" which Obama professed a desire for (Berman Post: Obama Calls For "World Without Nuclear Weapons"). Well, at least a United States without reliable nukes or some other form of protection (namely a missile shield). I have zero confidence the other nations will give up their nuclear weapons.

In fairness to Obama, he did ask for "$143 million for advanced certification activities to ensure the viability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without explosive testing" (http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20090511_8613.php). Clearly however, Robert Gates thought the Reliable Replacement Warhead Program was a much better choice.