Blog Heap of Links for the day 27 May 2011

The First Lady is not content with corrupting American children at the White House. In a Q&A with British high school girls at Oxford University Michelle continued to promote the rapper Common. Bizarre.

Obama's new Minister of Propaganda gets a tweetful

the last few weeks have cast him as the least competent manager of America's Middle East diplomatic portfolio in a very long time. He has infuriated and frustrated long term friends, but made no headway in reconciling enemies. He has strained our ties with the established regimes without winning new friends on the Arab Street. He has committed our forces in the strategically irrelevant backwater of Libya not, as he originally told us, for "days, not weeks" but for months not days. Where he has failed so dramatically is in the arena he himself has so frequently identified as vital: the search for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. His record of grotesque, humiliating and total diplomatic failure in his dealings with Prime Minister Netanyahu has few parallels in American history.

"He has never been rejected in his life, and I think there's something -- I'm not qualified to diagnose him -- but there's something wrong with a guy that is s going to go out of his way to do all these things... he is incredibly arrogant and he really believes that he can talk anybody out of anything." -Okla US Sen. Jim Inhoff, in an excellent mood.

House Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, on Wednesday blamed most of President Barack Obama's political problems on racism. [They're getting lamer and lamer, these race-baiting Democrazies. It's raaaacism — sorry… not!]

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday met with representative delegates of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC). But while the meeting was meant to shore up bipartisan support for Israel from American Jewish political organizations, it quickly became a partisan bickering match, with the chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Debbie Wasserman Schultz, using the platform to tell Republican Jews to stop doing what they're doing.... Sitting in front of Netanyahu, the DNC chair asked the RJC to "pledge to refrain in 2012 from using Israel as part of the issues in campaigns...." RJC executive director Matt Brooks [said]... ""They decided to hijack these meeting in order to, in front of the prime minister, put a gag order in effect to prevent us from speaking out on Israel...." Asked about Netanyahu's reaction, Brooks said Netanyahu was "clearly uncomfortable and at one point said, 'do you guys want me to leave the room and give you guys some privacy?'"

On the merits, Judge Sumi takes an expansive view that all that flows from an Open Meetings violation is subject to being voided. The alleged violation took place at a committee meeting which merely moved the legislation to a full vote. The actual vote approving the legislation complied with the Open Meetings Law under any scenario. Beyond these procedural problems, Judge Sumi made a fundamental -- and unbelievable -- mistake. Judge Sumi found (Opinion at page 10, Findings of Fact and Conclusion of Law no.79) that there was "no conflicting Senate" rule which would contradict Open Meetings Law time requirements. But there was such a rule, Senate Rule 93(2), which provides that no notice to the public, other than posting on a bulletin board, is needed for a committee meeting when the Senate is in special session. In her findings of fact (nos. 15, 29, 57), Judge Sumi found that the Senate was in special session at the time of the committee meeting at issue. At no point in her decision does Judge Sumi address Senate Rule 93. If there were an argument why Rule 93(2) was not a conflicting rule of the Senate, one would have expected Judge Sumi to address it.

In a decision issued Thursday, Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi said she would freeze the legislation because GOP lawmakers on a committee broke the state's open meetings law in passing it.... Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) filed a complaint saying that GOP legislative leaders had not given proper notice to the public in convening a conference committee of lawmakers from both houses to approve Walker's budget-repair bill.... [Uh-huh....]

It's one thing to titillate progressive theatergoers with scenes of physical abuse and psychological torture and lines like "You're f—ing f—ed." But David Mamet had at last gone too far. He'd turned into a f—ing Republican.

Mildred "Patty" Baena's daughter is breaking her silence about her mom's scandal -- claiming the ONLY reason people care about it is because Arnold was in an interracial affair. [Until i read this, I had no idea about "race" being any kind of factor in Da Governator's betrayal of his marraige, nor does it make any difference.]

for Dale and Tara Cameron and their six children, what they expected to be a warm welcome at nearby Del Crest Middle School instead turned dark and ugly as the Camerons were initially greeted with a firm "no" from the school's assistant principal Sheila Wilson. It was only after the entire Cameron family appeared at the door — storm clouds growing darker behind them — that Wilson "reluctantly" let the Camerons into the school cafeteria where Wilson's family and pets were safe and out of the approaching storms. ...

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt says he's asking the federal government to reimburse 100 percent of the cost to local governments dealing with the Joplin tornado aftermath. [Why?]

the man supplied a Texas driver's license to police called to investigate a suspicious person report. But police say the man, who arrived on a flight from Dulles International Airport and was carrying a black duffel bag, couldn't get his birth date right on the first try. Investigators say he fled, tossing away a wallet containing counterfeit ID cards from states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Florida. The man was captured outside the airport

Q: Your decision could have a very negative impact on tourism in Egypt and on the image of the post-revolutionary Egypt… A: "I know. I agree with you, but what can I do? I cannot work during this mess. Antiquities are my life. I cannot see with this mess in front of me. I cannot work with these dishonest people trying to tell everyone else that they are honest. I was writing an article before you came about a situation similar to this that happened 4000 ago in Egypt. A nice man, his name was Ipuwer, tells us on a papyrus what he saw when he took a look at the state of the country. He describes chaos - how the poor became rich and rich became poor. The lady who had a mirror before cannot find the mirror now. She looks at her face in the water. People robbed the pyramids, they robbed everything. That is what is happening now too! It is something I cannot stop! I can work if there is discipline and honesty, but dishonest people have begun to appear and to attack the honest people. I can stand against them if antiquities are safe, but at the moment antiquities are not safe!" [h/t to templeofmut.wordpress.com for the link & quote]

In a passage likely to attract particular scrutiny, the BEA said the pilot "maintained" the nose-up command despite fresh stall warnings 46 seconds into the four-minute emergency. "The inputs made by the pilot flying were mainly nose-up," the report added. The Airbus jet climbed 3,000 feet to 38,000 feet despite the crew having decided earlier against a climb, and then began a dramatic descent, with the youngest pilot handing control to the second most senior pilot a minute before impact. The captain returned after "several attempts" to call him back to the cockpit but was not at the controls in the final moments, according to information gleaned from black boxes. By the time the 58-year-old returned, just over a minute into the emergency, the aircraft was in serious trouble: plunging at 10,000 feet a minute with its nose pointing up 15 degrees and at too high an angle to the air to recapture lift.

Aviation industry sources told Reuters pilots appeared to have acted contrary to normal procedures in raising, rather than lowering, its nose in response to an alert that the plane was about to lose lift or, in technical parlance, 'stall'. But they said information from black boxes hauled up from the Atlantic floor earlier this month was still incomplete. The 2009 emergency began with a stall warning two and a half hours into the Rio-Paris flight and nine minutes after the captain had left the cockpit for a rest period. Shortly before, a junior pilot had told flight attendants to prepare for a "little bit of turbulence"

The Walt Disney company has withdrawn its application to trademark the term 'SEAL Team 6', on its toys, games and a TV show... said it was withdrawing its application with the US Patent and Trademark Office "out of deference to the Navy's application" for these trademarks… [All the massive criticism and mocking had nothing to do with it. Micky, Goofy, and Donald going after Osama bin Beagleboy seemed like such a good idea at the time?]

In my recent article on 60 Minutes and its coverage of Al Sharpton, I mentioned a little about the Dunbar Village rape story. This is another one of those stories (like Pigford) that SHOULD be something everyone in America has heard of. But you've probably never heard of Dunbar Village because (like Pigford) it's a story with both black victims and black wrongdoers, where professional race-baiters like Sharpton and the NAACP were on the wrong side. This creates a strange vacuum where nobody really wants to touch the story. It's so outside of the mainstream media's narrative and usual demographics that they have no idea how to approach it.

Who will watch the watchers? In a world of ubiquitous, hand-held digital cameras, that's not an abstract philosophical question. Police everywhere are cracking down on citizens using cameras to capture breaking news and law enforcement in action.

Former governor Rod Blagojevich told jurors hearing tapes in which he refers to a U.S. Senate Seat appointment as ''f--ing golden'' makes him wince. ''I'm an f-ing jerk and I apologize,'' he said on the stand Thursday.

"By next month, every driver in the U.S. will be required to have a black box in their vehicle... in order to monitor driving habits..." Somehow, I completely missed this one sneaking up on us in the rear-view mirror. It's one thing to have a crash monitor, but with just the addition of transmitters -- and you know, if they aren't there already they soon will be -- any cop (or robocop automated traffic monitoring device) will be able to look inside your car and pull out everywhere you've been, every turn you took, whether you unbuckled your seat belt for a moment, and anything about your body that can be remotely monitored. If laws were reasonable, this would be offensively invasive. Since cops have increasingly become "[you name it] warriors" instead of peace officers, traffic cops are increasingly required (and some delight) to be unforgiving, and citizens are increasingly seen as "revenue enhancement" sources, this is FRIGHTENING TYRANNY.

A 22-year-old Australian university student has solved a problem which has puzzled astrophysicists for decades, discovering part of the so-called "missing mass" of the universe during her summer break. Undergraduate Amelia Fraser-McKelvie made the breakthrough during a holiday internship with a team at Monash University's School of Physics, locating the mystery material within vast structures called "filaments of galaxies".

Cabler leads a team of volunteers [from Bartlesville] who use chainsaws to clear debris. He says removing downed trees typically leads to more meaningful conversations when people are in great times of need. "That's what's really saddened us a lot of times," he shares. "You'll run into people who no one has even come to check on them, or their neighbors haven't even checked on them. Neighbors don't know each other anymore a lot of times."

A puppy crawled home with two broken legs after being thrown high into the air by a tornado that ripped through Alabama.... "This is probably the most dramatic we've seen as far as an injury in an animal that's survived this long," said Phil Doster at Birmingham Jefferson County Animal Control shelter, who is caring for Mason following surgery. The shelter has dealt with hundreds of pets hurt by the storms....

Bartlesville police responded to a call of a domestic disturbance in the 100 block of Northwest Cheyenne. Officers were looking for a man who resisted arrest. Reportedly, the police didn't find the individual. Officers were searching the neighborhood and smelled a strong odor of marijuana. A man opened a door and slammed the door at an officer's face. The officer searched the home and found a bottle of marijuana on the sink. [DAMN PROHIBITION! DAMN PROHIBITION! DAMN PROHIBITION!]

Scientists hope robotic suits to be tested at a Bochum University clinic will enable paraplegics to regain the ability to walk, according to a Friday news report. Daily Die Welt reported that the technology could also prove controversial because of the unnatural strength it affords anyone wearing such a suit.... Yoshiyuki Sankai, the CEO of Cyberdyne, said multiple requests to use the suit for non-medical purposes have been turned down. Several military agencies, for example, have inquired about the suits, apparently attracted by the unnatural strength they afford the person wearing it. All military requests have been rejected though, according to Sankai, because the technology is ultimately intended to benefit people, not hurt them.... [Yeah, like we can put the toothpaste back in the tube.]

Italian government officials have accused the country's top seismologist of manslaughter, after failing to predict a natural disaster that struck Italy in 2009, a massive devastating earthquake that killed 308 people. A shocked spokesman for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) likened the accusations to a witch hunt.

School officials in Neptune Township, N.J., have bowed to the demands of the ACLU and will cover decades-old religious signs posted in the historic Great Auditorium to allow a 70-year tradition of high school graduations to continue. Instead of the sign, "Holiness to the Lord," a banner will be posted over it saying, "Neptune Township School District … A Community of Learners." In addition, a banner with the words "So Be Ye Holy" will be covered with another banner saying, "Neptune High School: A School of Excellence and No Excuses."

The serious, old-fashioned people are saying that there's a conventional, old-fashioned way to finance a campaign, and if Sarah Palin isn't using it, then she must not be running. And York is adding: If she is running, she will fail. But there may be a new way, despite what happened to Fred, and she may be doing it, and it may very well work. The Tea Party worked. Things have changed since the days of Fred Thompson.

like Mr. Trump, whose flirtation with a presidential run may or may not have been a stunt to ramp up ratings for his show on NBC, Ms. Palin is a celebrity and an entertainer whose motivations for keeping political speculation alive remain unclear to everyone but herself (and, maybe, her husband, Todd.) "Together let's prepare ourselves for the days ahead by reminding ourselves who we are and what Americans stand for," she announced on her Web site. The days ahead? Was she hinting at a campaign that is coming? Or perhaps setting the stage for a new reality show on The Learning Channel [Oh, how clueless the clueless can be!]

Rather than use a new unit, Sarah wisely chose to inexpensively wrap the family RV with vinyl, just as they do in NASCAR and the NHRA. High impact, low dollars. Folks, this is how Sarah Palin ran Alaska, and put billions of dollars away for a rainy day. Remember, she sold off the high dollar, and useless jet the previous governor bought, and also laid off the cook and much of the staff at the Governor's Mansion. In fact, her office spent a cool million less than either of the previous two governors, in the same time period. This is why we need Sarah Palin sitting in the Oval Office. The woman is thrifty.

Palin's bus tour will begin this Sunday with a Memorial Day Weekend appearance at a motorcycle rally on the National Mall — a clear move by Palin to align herself with the blue collar, downscale, working stiffs who fueled her rise. At the end of Palin's bus tour, the documentary commissioned by Palin to show off her political accomplishments will see its release — starting in the first voting state of Iowa. Does that sound like a woman who isn't launching a 2012 bid for the White House?

The insiders are largely agreed: Sarah Palin isn't really running for president. She is more interested in making money and getting publicity. So her movie, bus tour, and poll numbers mean nothing. Zero. Nada. The best example of this is probably found in Byron York's column today: "The bottom line is Sarah Palin is not going to run for president," says a Republican adviser close to front-runner Mitt Romney. "She's making money, she's moved on, she's kind of an entertainer rather than a politician. She still has some sway with the grass roots, but she is not going to run." "I don't think she's going to run," says a Republican close to Tim Pawlenty. "She has faded a lot in the last few months. I look at what she's doing now and say that she's found a way to get back in the story." The obvious point here is that operatives working for Palin's rivals have an incentive to dismiss her. (Ironically, I think this might actually entice her to run.) It would be a mistake for readers to believe analysis coming from Palin's political rivals. But they're not alone. A lot of political insiders and campaign experts I talk to are convinced Palin is just in this for the attention — that she won't run because running and losing would destroy her "brand." They point to the fact that her team isn't engaged in the organizational logistics a traditional presidential campaign must have in place to win in, say, Iowa, as evidence she isn't running.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A judge has ruled that the campaign finance law banning corporations from making contributions to federal candidates is unconstitutional.

Utah looks likely to be the next state to follow the example set by Texas in attempting to make TSA grope downs a felony. Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman has introduced a bill into the Utah House of Representatives that would ensure TSA agents would have to abide by the same Fourth Amendment limits that police do when performing searches on Americans.

Two injured US military veterans traveling to a ceremony to honor the lives of fallen friends who gave their lives to protect the rights enshrined in the Constitution were harassed by TSA thugs, with one of them having his crotch grabbed... The TSA agents responded to the men having set off metal detectors by interrogating them about what they were hiding in their bodies. "What are you hiding in your face?" screamed one. "My friend told me that one TSA agent came up to him and asked what he was hiding in his leg, but before my friend could answer he said that the TSA agent grabbed him, without notice, right in the crotch area as if trying to find something hidden," writes Bellow. When the TSA goon grabbed his crotch and didn't let go, the veteran felt inclined to lash out violently but was somehow able to control his fury.... But it's not just airports that are being manned by this cadre of cretins — sports stadiums, prom nights, highways, bus terminals and train stations are all being patrolled by this literal occupying army that is turning America into a checkpoint-festooned police state....