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Saturday, September 16, 2006
A Hit Man Gets WhackedThis is an odd story. She was struck in the head and wrested the weapon away, but the struggle continued and Haffey bit the nurse, according to police. A large woman, she was eventually able to get the slight Haffey into a chokehold and police later found him dead in a hallway. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as strangulation.
Friday, September 15, 2006
The Real Ugly American Interviews a Journalism ProfessorWho supports blogs!
Impeachment Watch XXVA town selectman is going to Washington to teach the clowns at Cindy Sheehan's circus how to impeach the President. Dan DeWalt, who made national headlines in March by introducing an impeachment resolution in a town meeting, will unveil hints to those wishing to do the same.
Right Wing Blogburst! Lorie Byrd and several other conservative bloggers are trying to get 100 donations each for a total of 21 candidates for Congress and the Senate. If you can spare $20 or $40, go over there and donate it to one of the candidates. If I were to pick one candidate who could really use the money, it's Tom Kean, Jr.; he's facing an incumbent who's under fire for some clear ethical violations; we may see the Democrats try another Toricelli switcheroo if the bad news continues. Obviously everybody likes Diana Irey; my only concern is whether she has a realistic chance of winning. Anybody heard any polling data from that race?
The French Strategy Doesn't WorkLooks like they won't be the last to be eaten by the crocodile: Deputy al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has urged a militant Algerian Islamist group to punish "crusader nation" France, even though it vehemently opposed the US-led war in Iraq, a newspaper said on Thursday.
The Le Figaro daily cited a security expert who had reviewed the entire tape, released on Monday, in which Zawahiri called on the Algerian GSPC group to become "a bone in the throat of the American and French crusaders."A ban of the traditional Muslim headscarf in secular state schools, close French intelligence links with its former North African colonies combating Islamist extremists, and its role in NATO operations in Afghanistan against the Taliban militia, have secured France's status as a "crusader nation," experts say.And of course if they were to change all those things, they'd still be a "crusader nation" because they don't allow honor killings of young women. 
Thursday, September 14, 2006
NM Political Blogger on Madrid's Payroll?Mario Burgos looks into a supposedly unbiased New Mexico political blogger and discovers he's on the payroll of a major donor to Patricia Madrid, who's running against Congresswoman Heather Wilson. Mr. Monahan has long been employed by Stan Fulton. Stan Fulton is Patricia Madrid's largest individual donor - not surprising as Madrid has already proven to be a sound investment for him. It is a widely accepted fact that Mr. Fulton is known to expect performance for his significant investments. So, I guess it's no surprise that the "home of Campaign 06" is only to happy to oblige again and again.Be sure to click on the links in that post.
Kerry: Next Time I'm Kicking Swift Boat ButtOf course, we all know there won't be a next time for DYKWIA. Kerry says the only reason he didn’t compete in more states in 2004 was that he ran out of money. He says this was also the reason he did not adequately respond to a series of devastating TV ads by Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth, a group that questioned Kerry’s service in Vietnam and criticized his later opposition to the war.
“They had money behind the lies, and we did not have sufficient money behind the truth,” Kerry laments.
Asked if he dreads the prospect of being “Swift-Boated” all over again, Kerry counters that he would relish such a fight.
“I’m prepared to kick their ass from one end of America to the other,” he declares. “I am so confident of my abilities to address that and to demolish it and to even turn it into a positive.”This is hilarious. For one thing, remember that Kerry still had $15 million in the bank at the end of the campaign. Party leaders, including some of Kerry's top campaign aides, said this week they were surprised and angry to learn that he had more than $15 million in accounts from the Democratic primaries. They demanded to know why the money wasn't spent to help Kerry defeat President Bush or to aid congressional candidates.Of course, the real reason Kerry didn't fight back against the Swiftees is obvious to anybody who looked into their charges: They had him dead to rights.
Not Too BrightLet's see, the starting punter for a college football team is stabbed in his kicking leg. Who could possibly have done it? You guessed it: Charged in the attack: His backup, Mitch Cozad.
Diebold Voting Machines Hacked?Okay, I've pretty much ignored this whole Black Box Voting stuff, because a great deal of it seems nonsensical. But this story does indicate that there is some cause for concern. In a paper posted on the university's Web site, Edward Felten and two graduate students described how they had tested a Diebold AccuVote-TS machine they obtained, found ways to quickly upload malicious programs and even developed a computer virus able to spread such programs between machines.And: Felten and graduate students Ariel Feldman and Alex Halderman found that malicious programs could be placed on the Diebold by accessing the memory card slot and power button, both behind a locked door on the side of the machine. One member of the group was able to pick the lock in 10 seconds, and software could be installed in less than a minute, according to the report.
The researchers say they designed software capable of modifying all records, audit logs and counters kept by the voting machine, ensuring that a careful forensic examination would find nothing wrong.But: Felten said hacking dangers could be mitigated with better software, more restrictions on access to machines and memory cards, and paper receipts verified by the voter.
Radke said Diebold already has implemented many of those things.Let me just say that the value of the paper receipt thing has been overblown. If it's given to the voter, it will not be available for elections officials to review later. Personally, I think the optical scan ballots work better; there are no "dimpled chads" to deal with.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Down Goes Air America! Down Goes Air America!I'm shocked, shocked I tell you! Here I thought the network would last forever.
Chaffee Defeats LaffeyAlthough a lot of my fellow conservative bloggers opposed this result, I'm happy. Why? Just look at the headline: In Setback for Democrats, Incumbent Wins Republican Senate Primary
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Cracks in the Lefty Gatekeeper's Wall?As many of you know, I've been covering the 9-11 Denial Movement over at Screw Loose Change for several months now. One of the interesting things about 9-11 Denial has been the reluctance of the lefty blogosphere to touch it. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, aka Kos, actually issued a fatwa at his site against anybody posting 9-11 conspiracy theories: Diaries on certain topics are likely to generate angry responses. Most of these topics fall under the general heading of "conspiracy theories", i.e. "JFK was killed by Martians". The rule for posting such diaries is "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". The more extreme the claim, the higher the burden of proof that commenters will demand. If you can't provide evidence to back up your claim, it is best not to post the diary. This guideline also applies to recommending extraordinary-claims diaries. If a diary makes an extreme claim with little or no evidence to back up that claim, it shouldn't be recommended, no matter what that claim is.
Controversial 9/11 Diaries
DailyKos accepts that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by agents of Al-Qaeda. It is forbidden to write diaries that:
1. refer to claims that American, British, Israeli, or any government assisted in the attacks
2. refer to claims that the airplanes that crashed into the WTC and Pentagon were not the cause of the damage to those buildings or their subsequent collapse
Authoring or recommending these diaries may result in banning from Daily Kos.For the most part, the liberal blogosphere has gone along with that. I check Technorati every day or so to see who's talking about "Loose Change", and almost no major liberal blogs have done so. But... there appear to be cracks in the wall. Dr Robert Bowman, a former fighter pilot, recently won the Democratic nomination for Congress from Florida's 15th District. And major liberal bloggers are getting aboard, acknowledging Bowman's 9-11 Denial: Firedoglake: But, enough about ABC’s Path to Shame. The other press conferences this morning were even more interesting than the Kean/Hamilton dog-and-pony show. I wonder how many reporters showed up to a press conference, sponsored by the McClendon Group. Info at the National Press Club site reads:
On the Fifth Anniversary of the Attacks and just three hours before the Kean-Hamilton luncheon address, the former top Air Force officer who won Florida’s 15th District Democratic primary with 54% of the vote on an explicit platform to expose the fraud of the Kean Commission Report, and top 9/11 researchers, authors and activists will present hard proof that the official narrative of the Kean-Hamilton Commission and Bush-Cheney Administration is a fraud of world historic proportions. Proposed legislation for a new and genuinely independent expert investigation, the first reality-based 9/11 feature film, and the International Grand Jury on the Crimes of 9/11 will be announced. Speakers will make brief presentations and take questions from the press: BradBlog: In the barrage of Curtis-Feeney blogging, I neglected to mention another Democratic primary victory which in its own way was equally important and perhaps even more encouraging: Robert Bowman's victory in Florida's 15th district was a powerful shot in the arm for those of us who agree with what Bowman says about 9/11.
Clinton's Top Nine Complaints About The Path to 9-11Our buddy Buckley F. Williams finds comedy gold: 9. Did not think casting Rosie O'Donnell as Monica Lewinsky was funny. At all.
Republicans Surging?Oh, boy, is this going to cause some wailing and gnashing of teeth on the left: A tied Senate race in New Jersey and last-minute Republican surges in Pennsylvania and Ohio may confound Democratic hopes of retaking the upper chamber of Congress, new Zogby Interactive polling suggests.
The online polls of Senate and gubernatorial races in 26 states find Democrats, who began this election cycle hoping to capture the Republican-held House and Senate, losing ground in New Jersey. There, incumbent appointee Bob Menendez suddenly finds himself running dead-even with Republican Tom Kean Jr. Menendez had been leading since a June poll.I suspect more than anything else, the polls may reflect the lower gas prices we've all been enjoying over the last month or so. Rasmussen Polling confirms the movement with their history of changes: On September 8, Tennessee moved from “Leans Republican” to “Toss-Up.”
On September 6, New Jersey shifted “Leans Democrat” to “Toss-Up.”
On September 5, Rhode Island moved from “Leans Democrat” to “Toss-Up.”
On the first day of September, Rasmussen Reports changed moves the Minnesota Senate race from “Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.” Democrat Amy Klobuchar leads Mark Kennedy 47% to 40% in that race. In our previous poll, she held a 12-point advantage.
On August 25, we shifted Pennsylvania from “Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.” Santorum remains the nation’s most vulnerable incumbent, but he has closed to within single digits.
On August 24, Washington moved from “Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.”
On August 18, in the wake of controversial remarks by Senator George Allen, Virginia changed from “Republican” to “Leans Republican.” Two states where the Republicans moved down; six where the Democrats declined.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Brainster on the Radio! (Note: This post will remain on top today. Scroll down for newer content.) I will be on The World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge of AM 770, CHQR Monday night, September 11, at 10:00 PM Eastern Time to discuss the 9-11 Conspiracy Theories. For those of you not fortunate enough to live in Calgary, you can listen in live here. We will be taking callers. The call-in numbers are 1-800-563-7770, or 403-974-8255. Rob is hoping to fit in a whole hour on the topic of 9-11 Denial, but obviously it depends on the level of listener interest and breaking news that day. Update: Link added, thanks Dave!
9-11 Victim Remembered--Joann Tabeek(This post will be promoted to the top several times this weekend and on Monday, so scroll down for new content.)  I got the idea for this from this website. They are looking for 2,996 bloggers to each commemorate one of the victims of 9-11. Joann Tabeek was a vice president and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald and was working in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. She was 41 years old, and had worked there for 20 years already. She had a daughter from her first marriage, Krystal, who was 11 years old. She was engaged to be married on Christmas Day, 2001, to Vincent Milotta. She lived on Staten Island and planned to retire in three more years to Palm Beach, Florida. This article contains excellent information about Joann: Ms. Tabeek, 41, a vice president and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 103rd floor, was on the phone with Mr. Milotta when the first plane hit Tower 1. "Oh, God, a plane went through the building," she said. "That's it. I'm not going to work in New York City anymore."She was in WTC 1, and above the impact zone. Nobody from that location made it out alive. A Rose By Any Other Name has tributes to two other 9-11 victims. Michelle Malkin also has a tribute to a victim, as well as amazing coverage of 9-11.
The Heroes: Jeremy Glick In many ways, the hijackers on Flight 93 were unlucky compared to their counterparts on the other planes. First, there were only four hijackers on that plane, as compared to the others which all had five men. Second, the plane was delayed at the gate, meaning that the passengers found out what had happened to the other planes well before their own plane reached its intended destination. And third, they were extremely unfortunate in terms of the people they faced on the plane. Several of the passengers were athletes. Probably the most athletic was Jeremy Glick, who had won a national collegiate judo championship in 1993: Nagayasu Ogasawara's jaw dropped when he saw Jeremy Glick at the 1993 national collegiate judo championships in San Francisco. Ogasawara was coaching Army's team; Glick, a college senior, was at the tournament alone, competing independently.
"He had no team. He had no coach," said Ogasawara, who had taught Glick judo from the age of 7 until he left for college. "So I said, 'OK, I'll coach you.' "
Glick went on to win the title.His daughter, shown in the photo, is now five years old.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
The Path to 9-11Watched the first half tonight and found it thoroughly compelling. It was pretty obvious why various Democrats, including Richard Clarke, Madelaine Albright and Bill Clinton opposed the film; if this was the toned-down version I can't imagine what the original was like. Harvey Keitel was superb as John O'Neill. I was pleased that they got so many details right. I highly recommend watching the second half of the movie tomorrow night, and the first half in case you TIVO'ed it.
Steyn on Another Form of 9-11 DenialWe've been covering the more overt forms over at Screw Loose Change, but there is a subtler version: Five years on, half America has retreated to the laziest old tropes, filtering the new struggle through the most drearily cobwebbed prisms: All dramatic national events are JFK-type conspiracies, all wars are Vietnam quagmires. Meanwhile, Ramzi Yousef's successors make their ambitions as plain as he did: They want to acquire nuclear technology in order to kill even more of us. And, given that free societies tend naturally toward a Katrina mentality of doing nothing until it happens, one morning we will wake up to another day like the "day that changed everything." Sept. 11 was less "a failure of imagination" than an ability to see that America's enemies were hiding in plain sight.
They still are.Update: This cartoon seems particularly appropriate:  (Click 1-2 times to expand to readable size)
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