Franken Wins

The Minnesota Supreme Court has announced that Al Franken is to be seated in the US Senate.

The court wrote in its 5-0 ruling:. "We affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under (Minnesota law) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota

Norm Coleman has conceded.

The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results.

That only took 8 months and $11 million dollars.

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Michael Jackson Countdown | #5

Number five on the countdown: 'Rock With You'.

Eat your heart out Justin Timberlake.

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Quote Of The Day

"[W]e certainly are working with [Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's] office here in DC, and have already had a briefing with her to explain the rules of the Census and why they’re there, and explain some of the Constitutional law. I mean, the Supreme Court has upheld the powers of the data to be collected. But we’re not asking anything on the 2010 Census that I can see that would be intrusive in terms of the basic information. For the most part, people put more information on a credit card application than they do on the Census form." -Census Bureau spokesman Steve Buckner, in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, commenting on the inaccuracies of Ms. Bachmann's allegations about the U.S. Census.

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Sotomayor Gets A Case Reversed

More fodder for anti-Sotomayor activists: The Supreme Court reversed her ruling for the quasi-famous 'Connecticut Firefighters' case:

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday, in a case with enormous implications for workplaces across the country, that white firefighters in New Haven suffered unfair discrimination because of their race when the city scrapped the results of a promotional exam.

“The city’s action in discarding the tests violated Title VII,” the court held in a 5-to-4 decision, referring to a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The majority said the city’s fundamental arguments were “blatantly contradicted by the record.”

Monday’s decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428, came on the last day of the court’s term and was one of the most closely watched discrimination cases in years. The ruling is sure to be closely studied by personnel departments and their lawyers for indications of how far employers can go, and under what circumstances, in considering race in decisions on hiring and promotion.

And while the case concerned public employees, the ruling is likely to affect private employers as well, since Title VII of the Civil Rights Act covers private employers as well as public ones, according to Prof. Sheila Foster of Fordham Law School. (Professor Foster teaches anti-discrimination Law and has been involved in litigating cases under the Civil Rights Act.)

The case was rooted in tests given in 2003 for promotion to lieutenant and captain. The exams yielded no black firefighters eligible for advancement, prompting the city to throw out the results and promote no one. That move, in turn, triggered a lawsuit by 18 white firefighters, one of them Hispanic, who claimed racial discrimination, or what is often termed “reverse discrimination.”

The ruling reverses a federal district court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which had found in favor of the city, and sends the case back to the lower courts for further action. (Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, had ruled in the city’s favor as a Second Circuit judge.)The ruling on Monday, written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, acknowledged that the city faced a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation, as Justice David H. Souter put it when the case was argued on April 22. That is, if the city had allowed the promotional exam to stand, it would have faced a lawsuit from black firefighters.

But the city’s dilemma did not justify scrapping the exam results, Justice Kennedy wrote, in a conclusion also embraced by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.

“Fear of litigation alone cannot justify the city’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions,” the majority said.

Doug Mataconis notes:

Sotomayor is, as James Joyner notes, a left-of-center Judge, which isn’t surprising considering that she was appointed by a left-of-center President. To argue that she’s outside of the mainstream, though, is just plain nonsense.

...but that likely will not stop her Republican detractors.

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'Love Is My Message'

Car Lust pays tribute to Michael Jackson by showing an early endorsement of his.

I think ad is funny/interesting because when I first watched it, I tried to put myself in the director's shoes:

'Okay, now what we're going for here is a completely pointless advert with a superstar pop singer and an attractive model. Have the superstar dance around the product while the model sits on it and looks pretty. Yeah. PERFECT!'

Head nod: Instapundit

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Inhofe: 'Investigate The EPA'

James Inhofe (R-Ok) will never 'believe in' global climate change -- so why even bother trying to convince him.

Inhofe is a longtime critic of the science on global warming; he called it "probably the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people" during the interview Monday.

But now he thinks that the EPA has been deliberately misleading the American people:

Inhofe said the EPA "absolutely" buried evidence undermining policy on global warming after a researcher's report claimed that carbon dioxide has had little effect on the environment.

"They've been cooking that science since 1998," Inhofe said during an interview on Fox News.

Inhofe argued that there should be a criminal investigation into the EPA report, as well.

"I don't know whether there would be or not," he said. "There could be, and there probably should be."

Call me crazy, but what would be the justification for the Obama administration lying about global warming? Honestly. What advantage would that give them in the grand scheme of things?

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Tweet Of The Day

"Everyone at SCOTUS signing Souter's yearbook. 'Remember when you got wasted during oral arguments?!' 'Soots Magoots rules!'" -pourmecoffee

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Keepin' It Real With Joe The Plumber

A man has got to know his limitations -- and for JtP, that does not include being an expert on socialist ideals but apparently does include veiled threats to sitting U.S. Senators:

[Samuel "Joe The Plumber"] Wurzelbacher has a reputation for being a blunt, politically incorrect speaker. Referring to Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., more than once, Wurzelbacher asked, "Why hasn't he been strung up?"

And he glosses over facts. Referring to the Constitution as "almost like the Bible," Wurzelbacher said of the Founding Fathers: "They knew socialism doesn't work. They knew communism doesn't work." The Constitution predates the origins of socialism by nearly 100 years.

Republicans: Why haven't you told this guy to keep his mouth shut? I'm just wondering...

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Photo: JD Pooley/Getty Images

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Michael Jackson Countdown | #6

Number six on the countdown: 'Bad'.

Keep an eye out for Wesley Snipes. Click the image...

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Bernie Madoff: In The Jailhouse Now

Madoff got his:

NEW YORK (CNN) — Bernard Madoff, the mastermind behind the largest and most sweeping Ponzi scheme ever, was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison, the maximum he could have received.

I'm no psychic, but my guess is that the people that he swindled will say that it's not enough of a punishment...

GAH! Vast beat me to it!

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Breaking: Madoff Sentenced

Breaking News, Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years for largest US fraud case.

Madoff, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a tie, sat and listened as emotional witnesses described how he spoiled their security, and they urged U.S. District Judge Denny Chin to send him to prison for life.

“Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can’t wake from,” said Carla Hirshhorn.

“He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values,” said Tom Fitzmaurice. “He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife Ruth could live a life of luxury beyond belief.”

Dominic Ambrosino called it an “indescribably heinous crime” and urged a long prison sentence so “will know he is imprisoned in much the same way he imprisoned us and others.”

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The Case, For And Against, Marriage Equality

... in a fancy-schmancy flow-chart format.

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'The Waffler'

No, I'm not talking about Dane Cook's alter-ego. Instead, I'm referring to Obama campaign strategist and now White House senior adviser David Axelrod, and his less-than-positive rhetoric concerning taxes:

The White House seems to be retreating from President Barack Obama’s campaign promise that he would not raise taxes on families making less than $250,000.

Under persistent questioning from ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Sunday, Obama senior adviser David Axelrod declined to restate the vow and left open the possibility that the president might sign health care reform legislation that taxes high-cost, employer-provided insurance plans which some middle-class families currently receive tax free.

“The president had said in the past that he doesn't believe taxing health care benefits at any level is necessarily the best way to go here. He still believes that, but there are a number of formulations and we'll wait and see,” Axelrod said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going. We've gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey.”

Wiffle-waffle. If during your campaign, you pledged to not raise taxes for folks making under $250k per year, then dammit -- you had better not raise taxes. Remember George H.W. Bush's "Read my lips... no new taxes" line? Yeah, that worked out great for his re-election, no?

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Basij Thugs On The Rooftops In Iran

...shooting at people on the streets. Unreal.

Head nod: Gateway Pundit

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Adventures In E-mail v2

Yes. Another screenshot from my personal e-mail account. Apparently, 'Poop' is following me on the Twitter.

I would really hate to see what their avatar looks like...

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Governor Sanford: 'I'm Not Resigning'

... and he's comparing himself to King David... you know, from the Bible:

“I remain committed to rebuilding the trust that has been committed to me over the next 18 months, and it is my hope that I am able to follow the example set by David in the Bible — who after his fall from grace humbly refocused on the work at hand,” Sanford said in a statement following a meeting with his Cabinet. “By doing so, I will ultimately better serve in every area of my life, and I am committed to doing so.”

But Kathy Kattenburg at ModVox makes a good point:

Good rule of thumb: When you’ve violated the Ten Commandments every which way from Sunday, you’re probably better off choosing a non-biblical analogy to explain why you’re not giving up your powerful public office...

Shoot. I wouldn't even use analogy if I were Sanford. I would just say, 'I ain't leaving folks.' You know that no matter what you say, your critics will blast you anyway. Why give them the ammunition?

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Photo: Getty Images

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Sanctity of Marriage

Head nod: Joe.My.God.


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The Ayers Connection

Dave Weigel finds that there are those who simply will not let it go. Move on folks, nothing to see here...

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Quote Of The Day

"It’s hard to quantify that... but clearly there’s been damage. Any time you have leading figures engaged in behavior that’s sad, troubling, hypocritical —- other people are going to look at that and say, ‘They don’t walk the walk.’" -Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-Mn), commenting on the infidelities of both John Ensign and Mark Sanford.

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RIP: So Much For The Trifecta

It started with Ed McMahon, then in a very devastating day moved to Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Today we lose another icon: Billy Mays.

If you don't recognize the name I'm sure you'll recognize the face and the infomercials. Billy was the King of Infomercials.

OxiClean,Orange Glo,Orange Clean, and my personal favorite Kaboom!.

Yesterday, Billy was on a plane heading back to his home in Tampa, FL when the front tire blew out. Billy did mention that things were falling from up above and he did get hit in the head but thanked his hard noggin for protecting him.

You'll be missed Billy. Late nights when there is nothing on TV will never be the same without you.

This post was cross posted at The Fury Blogger with enhanced features and extra videos.

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Michael Jackson Countdown | #7

Number seven on the countdown: 'Smooth Criminal'.

And you can check out Alien Ant Farm's homage here as well.

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Housekeeping

Well, I'm not sure if this classifies as housekeeping -- I suppose that it's more of a heads-up.

I've been tapped again this year to be a counselor at a three-day college workshop for high school students. Basically, I'll be working both in individual counseling sessions, as well as larger group workshops, preparing students for their college search. This afternoon I'll be traveling to the workshop and it continues through Wednesday. Last year, I only blogged a little bit during the conference -- but I did get some posting in. I hope to do the same this year.

Then, on Friday (July 3rd), TPW and are I packing up the kids and heading to the Jersey shore (BEACH!!!). I can't believe that it's only a week away already...

So, I guess the overall message here is that, for the next two weeks, my voice will be much more sporadic than usual. Instead of 15 to 20 posts per day, it may only be two or three (or none?). Please bear with me while I attend this workshop -- and while The Pajama Family ducks out for a while. =)

With any luck, the combination of Vast, B-Diddy and Fury will be able to hold down the fort in my relative absence.

Although, you will continue to get my Michael Jackson countdown... so enjoy that.

Nooch.

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Tweet Of The Day

"In memory of Michael Jackson, I hope that the Oxford Dictionary incoporates 'Shamon' into its next edition" -pwgavin

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Michael Jackson Countdown | #8

Number eight on the countdown: 'They Don't Really Care About Us'.

I recall that the big 'stink' about this song was that Michael used the word 'kyke' and Mtv bleeped it. Click the image...

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Spammers: Who Are You Kidding?

This is an actual screenshot of my e-mail inbox this morning...



Now, I get breaking news updates from CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NYT, WaPo and The Politico nearly every day... but I have never gotten a spammer ad masquerading as one of these news organizations.

BREAKING NEWS: Add 44 inches to your penis!

Really? Come on guys, you are better than that. For Pete's sake, you didn't even spell 'inches' correctly...

Although I will give these douches extra points for thinking outside of the 'way-too-many-numbers-and-consonants-in-the-subject-line' box.

Postscript: it goes without saying that I did NOT open the e-mail -- and I've blocked the sender. Nooch.

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Saturday Morning Cartoon

Gobble up those Pop-Tarts -- it's cartoon time!


Ah, back in the days when Howie Mandel had hair...

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Clean Energy And Security Act Passes

The Congress House barely squeaked it through:

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A sharply divided House of Representatives narrowly passed a White House-backed climate change bill Friday after hours of cajoling and arm-twisting by Democratic leaders among members worried about the legislation's potential economic and political fallout.

The bill passed 219-212, with virtually no Republican support.

The bill would reduce nationwide greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 through a so-called "cap-and-trade" program under which companies would buy and sell emissions credits.

Among other things, the bill would also require utilities to generate an increasing amount of power from renewable sources.

The House vote came one day after President Barack Obama made an urgent plea for congressional approval in what could be an early make-or-break test of his young administration.

"Now is the time for us to lead," Obama said during an appearance Thursday in the White House Rose Garden. "We cannot be afraid of the future. We cannot be prisoners to the past."

The president said the bill will spark a "clean energy transformation" of the U.S. economy and "make possible the creation of millions of new jobs."

"Make no mistake," he emphasized. "This is a jobs bill."

The vote was 219-212? Yowza. Seven votes. That's a razor thin margin.

Now it's off to the Senate...

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Michele Bachmann: Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

A refresher on Michele Bachmann's outlandish claims about the U.S. Census, ACORN and her family withholding information from the government can be found here.

Politifact has weighed in on Ms. Bachmann's nearly incoherent ramblings:

[L]et's count the ways Bachmann is wrong:

ACORN will not be "in charge" of going door-to-door and collecting data from the American public, as Bachmann said. The U.S. Census will be in charge of that. Some of the 1.4 million people who get Census-taking jobs may learn about the job through ACORN. Workers who apply to the Census through ACORN have no better shot at the job than those who apply through any of the 30,000 other partners. That's it.

And despite Bachmann's claim, ACORN gets no money for signing on as a partner.

Once again, she is making a scaremongering claim about ACORN with facts that are ridiculuusly [sic] wrong. So we have to set the meter on fire once again.

Why is it that I'm not completely surprised?

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Justice John Roberts Didn't Like Michael

Apparently the Chief Justice preferred Prince:

Charlie Savage digs into the history of a well-remembered visit that Michael Jackson paid to the White House in 1984, and how a 29-year-old associate White House counsel named John Roberts — yes, that John Roberts — tried to stop the president from signing a letter congratulating the pop star. The whole thing’s a scream, but I lost it at this part:

In today’s Post there were already reports that some youngsters were turning away from Mr. Jackson in favor of a newcomer who goes by the name “Prince,” and is apparently planning a Washington concert. Will he receive a Presidential letter? How will we decide which performers do and which do not?

Wow. I never thought in my wildest dreams that there could be some remote and obscure connection between Michael Jackson and politics -- and yet here we are.

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'It's Fast Enough For You, Old Man'

I'm a Lego maniac!

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Tweet Of The Day

"Qualifications for cable news 'Jackson Family Friend' interview/chyron: 1) availability, 2) own copy of 'Thriller.'" -pourmecoffee

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99 Green Balloons

A silent protest in Iran.

Head nod: Justin Gardner @ The Donk

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Toying With The Idea Of Running

Will Joe Sestak run against Arlen Specter?

As Greg Sargent points out, jeez Joe, if you are going to run, do it already and stop messing with the political press.

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Quote Of The Day II

"Senator John Kerry makes this joke, I don't know if you saw this, but he makes this joke saying, 'Shoot of all the governors in the nation who disappeared, too bad it couldn't have been that governor from Alaska.'

"But the way he said it, he looked quite frustrated, and he looked so sad, and I just wanted to reach out to the TV and say, John Kerry, why the long face?" -Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, speaking to troops at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo today.

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Proper Respect

I suspect that I won't be long before the late-night comedians start in to joking about Michael Jackson again. Until then, it's nice to have some real displays of respect for the late pop star:

There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.

[snip]

I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.

I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.

For all his shortcomings (of which there were allegedly many), Michael Jackson was more than a person or an entertainer, he was a phenomenon. Godspeed.

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Words Fail

Just when you think that you've heard it all... 'the Birchers' come into focus:

The John Birch Society.

For some, that name means nothing. Or it sparks flashbacks to the 1960s, when the John Birch Society was synonymous with seeing red here, there and everywhere. Maybe you displayed a Birch bumper sticker on your car; maybe you enjoyed the Chad Mitchell Trio song mocking the Birch obsession with communism:

You cannot trust your neighbor or even next of kin

If mommy is a commie then you gotta turn her in.

Yet for others, the John Birch Society is urgently relevant to the matters of today, in its support of secure borders and limited government, its distrust of the Federal Reserve and the United Nations, and its belief in a conspiracy to merge Mexico, Canada and the United States.

This so-called North American Union, it asserts, is part of a larger plot by an amorphous, amoral group of powerful elite — including but not limited to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and the Rockefellers — to take over planet Earth. Call it the New World Order.

Some of these theories may sound like cable television chatter, or the synopsis of a Dan Brown bestseller. But Birch leaders say this plot is real, with roots going back more than 200 years to a secret, insidious brotherhood called the Illuminati, and with most American presidents among its many dupes and abettors.

Continue reading >>

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Michael Jackson Countdown | #9

Number nine on the countdown: 'Remember The Time'.

You remember, Eddie Murphy and Magic Johnson are in this Egyptian themed video. Click the image...

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Vote Facebook/Twitter In 2012

Jamie Boulding at NewMajority.com has some prescient thoughts for the GOP regarding technology. Money:

Globalization and technology are reshaping our world in exciting and empowering ways. But they are also contributing to the kind of massive uncertainty and disruption experienced by working-class, temperamentally conservative voters that Reihan Salam and Ross Douthat described in Grand New Party. By foolishly mocking Obama’s time as a community organizer, Republicans were reminding these people that he understands their concerns, and is aware of the importance of social groups, of communities, of families, of stability. He will continue to present himself as a solidly dependable moderate with a keen sense of social responsibility, while also exploiting his awesome online presence to mobilize voters and advance his agenda.

Jean Paul Sartre used to say that hell is other people. In the era of social networking, it would be amusing indeed if the Republican Party was capsized by clinging to the ideology of a communist French philosopher.

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Quote Of The Day

"I'm not the one to cast the first stone and not many of us are blameless as we go through life, but I don't have any sympathy in a situation where you got a wife and four fairly young kids. Do it on your own time and do it on your own dime. Don't play it out in public don't do press conferences and wallow around in it. If you're going to play out your midlife crisis...try not to do it as a part of a career in public office, because everything is exacerbated. When you screw up, your family is hurt more.

"You can't have your cake and eat it too." -former Senator and Presidential candidate Fred Thompson commenting on the Mark Sanford affair.

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Hard Wuerk

-M. Wuerker, Wuerking Drawings

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'The Fellowship'

A very interesting article on the mysterious house on C Street in Washington, D.C.

The house's residents mostly adhere to a code of silence about the place, seldom discussing it publicly, lending an aura of mystery to what happens inside and a hint of conspiratorial speculation. In a town where everyone talks about everything, the residents have managed largely to keep such a refuge to themselves and their friends. On a street mostly occupied by Hill staffers and professionals in their 20s and early 30s, some of the Democratic staffers nicknamed it "the Prayer House." On summer evenings, the congressmen would sometimes sit out front smoking cigars and chatting, but what went on inside stayed inside.

The house, which is assessed at $1.84 million, is registered to a little-known organization called Youth With a Mission of Washington DC. Carver, who said his Fellowship group is affiliated with the house, said that he has never heard of Youth With a Mission of Washington DC and that he did not have a phone number for it. Later, he said, he spoke with someone who "at one time was involved with the house" and had "heard secondhand" that the organization that runs the house is "subscribing to the no-comment."

What is the relevance? Both Governor Mark Sanford and Senator John Ensign are entwined with The Fellowship (Sanford has sought spiritual guidance there and Ensign lives there). Interesting...

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The Fickle Media Machine

Glenn Reynolds criticizes the media -- and I completely agree with him:

A TV LOW POINT: Turned on the TV to see Geraldo interviewing Tommy Mottola about Michael Jackson’s death. In the background, footage of the body being delivered to the coroner’s office by helicopter. Glad to see Fox is keeping us up on what’s really important, the night before a big cap-and-trade vote in Congress, while revolution simmers in Iran, and people are trying to nationalize healthcare.

On the upside, Mark Sanford is probably pleased.

Andrew Sullivan foresaw it right away:

Michael Jackson: Cardiac Arrest?

That's what TMZ is reporting. So cable coverage of Iran is now over.

I could have told you that as soon as I found out about his passing.

The way that I see it, the media (cable news in particular) are collectively akin to a three-year-old child. Anytime something new and shiny comes along, they become completely entranced by its presence -- to the point of near-obsession. However, the enchantment lasts only a few news cycles (save for OJ, Chandra Levy and perhaps that blonde girl who went missing in Aruba) and then the fickle media throws down their metaphorical toy and starts whining for something newer, better and -- if possible -- sexier.

Call it what you want. I call it sad -- especially when you have a humanitarian issue such as Iran right in front of you. Sexy it is not, but important it definitely is.

[note: don't get me wrong, I am distraught by the passing of The King Of Pop -- I just fear that other very important stories will now be buried by the wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson]

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Stay Classy, Perez Hilton

This from a photo of Michael Jackson on PerezHilton.com. I normally refrain from calling people names, but really Perez? You're going to make fun of someone hours after they died? Only one word comes to mind:

Douchebag.

Gawker has the full story and screenshots from Hilton's original post (since he has since taken it off of his site).

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Robert Gibbs Is In The Tank

Quite literally, it would seem:

At least three dozen reporters, producers, photographers, and cameramen joined Obama staffers on the South Lawn this afternoon for a chance to plunge Gibbs into a dunk tank set up -- as part of a luau the White House is staging for members of Congress and their families.

The informal event was added to the schedule after reporters pressed Gibbs for the opportunity during the afternoon briefing.

Outside, thatched roof huts and multicolored table spreads decorated the lawn along with a volleyball net and a band shell, while inflatable sharks floated in the fountain.

Gibbs removed his glasses and passed them to an aide as he took his spot in the tank, behind bright red bars. He wore a long sleeved navy shirt and shorts.

Fox Correspondent Mike Emanuel was the first up to pitch, but missed at all three attempts. Second up was AP correspondent Ben Feller.

"Feller did you play college baseball?," Gibbs called out from the tank, joking about the water temperature ."It's warmer than it was when I checked earlier."

Feller sunk Gibbs on his third try and got cheers and high fives from the assembled press and a handshake from the press secretary.

I guess even the folks in the West Wing need a break from their concern about Iran...

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Let's Have A Disqussion

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Time to face the strange
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Okay, so... it's really not that strange, but there is a relatively big change here today. Comments.

I've decided to with a third party commenting forum called Disqus (if you frequent other blogs, you've probably heard of and/or used it). Their landing page is here. The process really does not change anything as far as how your read the blog -- just how you comment. The structure is forum-styled, so that our 'conversations' about each post feel exactly like that: conversations.

If you are so inclined, set up a profile with Disqus (then you can pick a nifty little picture to go with each of your comments) and start commenting. In the next couple of days, I will be adding another part to the sidebar to replace the 'commentariat' section. There will be 'recent comments', 'top/frequent commenters' and 'popular threads' for you to peruse.

As always, if you have feedback, let me know!

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Michael Jackson Countdown | #10

For the next 10 days, I will be counting down my top 10 Michael Jackson songs (and videos). #10 is 'Scream', a duet with Janet Jackson. Enjoy.

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Michael Jackson, R.I.P.

Wow. First Farrah Fawcett, now Jacko:

Michael Jackson, the singer, songwriter and dancer who earned the title “King of Pop” in a career that reached unprecedented peaks of sales and attention, died Thursday at the age of 50, a Los Angeles city official confirmed.

The city official said Mr. Jackson died at 1:07 p.m. Pacific time. The circumstances of Mr. Jackson’s death were not immediately clear. Mr. Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Center on Thursday afternoon by paramedics who performed C.P.R., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Thriller is indeed the greatest album of all time in my book. Led Zeppelin IV comes close... but Michael is still in front.

------
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images

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Fox News, On The Ball

*groan*

Why is it that Fox News always seems to mix-up the party affiliation of Republicans who are in hot water? ...or those that they consider RINOs? Coincidence?

Head nod: Justin Gardner @ The Donk

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Ah, The Internets

Anything that you ever said in public is here. December 1998, then-Representative Mark Sanford -- what was his opinion of incoming Republican Speaker Bob Livingston and his infidelity?

Many conservative Republicans seemed ready to overlook the disclosure. "We're not going to say, 'Bob, you can't be Speaker because you violated your vows with your wife,'" said Representative Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. Like many, including Mr. Livingston, Mr. Graham distinguished Mr. Livingston's conduct from Mr. Clinton's by saying that the President had 'trampled' on the legal system whereas Mr. Livingston's behavior was strictly private.

One of the few Republicans who overtly questioned whether Mr. Livingston should be sworn in as Speaker in January, as planned, was Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina. He said that although Mr. Livingston did not break a vow under oath, he did break a vow to his wife.

Ouch.

Head nod: Glenn Thrush

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Afternoon Funny

"...just another politician with a conservative mind and a liberal penis."

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Ahmadinejad Gets Fussy

Ahmadinejad strikes a tough tone with the U.S. -- President Obama in particular:

TEHRAN — As Iran’s embattled opposition leader said he would “not back down for a second” in challenging the disputed elections, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told President Obama on Thursday to avoid interfering in Iran’s affairs and demanded an apology from the American leader for purportedly striking the same critical tones as his predecessor, George W. Bush.

The sharp words offered no prospect of eased tensions between Washington and Tehran at a time of profound differences over issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, which the United States calls terrorist organizations.

Mr. Ahmadinejad’s comments, quoted on the semi-official Fars news agency, came as at least three Iranian newspapers reported that only 105 of 290 members of the Iranian Parliament invited to a victory party for him Wednesday night actually attended the event, suggesting a deep divide within the political elite over the election and its aftermath.

I suppose when less-than-half of your 'supporters' show up for your 'victory' party, it's understandable that you would lash out.

If you haven't seen the video of Neda Agha-Soltan dying in the street, you can check it out here (warning: not for the weak-of-stomach). Perhaps it is footage like this that is troubling the President of Iran...

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'Sorry I'm Late'

Stop animation is pretty cool...

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Goodbye Farrah

This morning Farrah Fawcett, age 62, lost her battle with cancer.




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Quote Of The Day II

"Attacking women and children is the vanguard of the Republicans, and when we do so we become just like them. In fact I have to say that Olbermann's heartless display rivals Limbaugh, Cheney, et al. in the blackheart sweepstakes. To see him do things that would brutalize this family and get apparent sexual pleasure out of it might have been one of the most disgusting things I have ever witnessed. Once again I must ask, have you no decency man?

"So Keith Olbermann has just become boycotted in my home. He rushed to the bottom faster than Rush Limbaugh, and did so in record time. Watching him tonight made me want to vomit. So I'll sign off by saying this:

"Keith Olbermann! Biggest piece of crap in the world!" -Larry Wohlgemuth, a diarist at the Daily Kos.

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Hard Wuerk

-M.Wuerker, Wuerking Drawings

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Cool It With The Jokes, John Kerry

He sure knows how to deliver the unfunnies, no? In this episode, we find Senator John Kerry being, well, kind of dickish:

The Bay State senator was telling a group of business and civic leaders in town at his invitation about the 'bizarre' tale of how South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had 'disappeared for four days' and claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but no one was really certain of his whereabouts.

"Too bad," Kerry said, "if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin."

The Democratic-centric crowd laughed.

Of course, Kerry couldn’t know that 24-hours later the Sanford story would get even stranger when the Republican governor confessed he had actually been in Argentina over Father’s Day weekend – a long, long way from the Appalachian Trail – and with his paramour, no less.

Soooo, because he made the joke before the affair was acknowledged, John Kerry was 'jokingly' hoping that Sarah Palin was lost or possibly hurt or in some kind of danger?

Look, I've got no love for the Governor from Alaska -- but I think that 'joke' is uncalled for and simply in bad taste.

Head nod: Allahpundit

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Bull Clinton

PJ asked for it so here it is... Introducing Bull Clinton.



The tag on it reads...

Infamous Meanies

Bull Clinton is "full of it" they say. His "staff" couldn't get out of the way. He's in and out of courts 'cause of his fallen shorts. He leans to the left, so they say.

Thier web site is www.meanies.com.

It was a gift from my mother by the way.

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Mitt Romney's Favorability Up

Romney jumps in the polls:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s favorability rating has spiked since the 2008 presidential primary, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.

The Republican’s favorability rating has climbed to 40 percent — a 10-point increase over the past 16 months. The Pew poll found that 28 percent of Americans view him unfavorably and another 32 percent don’t know.

And he still trails Governor Sarah Palin. Despite this, I still stand by my post yesterday...

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Snipers In The Streets

Warning: graphic footage.

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To My Fellow Republicans...

I just have one question.

WHAT IS SO DIFFICULT ABOUT KEEPING IT IN YOUR PANTS!? Seriously...guys...control your freakin self! There is no excuse...no pity...no reasoning that is ok with cheating on your spouses. You think you would have ALL learned from Johnny Edwards...but NO! You keep doing it. ENOUGH ALREADY!

When BJ CLINTON got lucky in the Oral Office...and all the Democrats forgave him...that gave the "ok" for these guys to keep doing it. But it's NOT OK to cheat on your wife. If you can't control yourself...if you can't think with your brain instead of...well anyway...just stop already.

Disgusting. Sanford and Ensign should resign.

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Quote Of The Day

"It’s the only fitting word for a man who abandons his wife and four sons on Father’s Day weekend to indulge his “overdrive” on an Argentinian fling.

"Mark Sanford: Bastard." -Michelle Malkin

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Haircut

My boy's new hairdo.

Ah, to be the age where a haircut doesn't matter...

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You'd Better Check Your Source

Via Dave Weigel at The Washington Independent, check out this new ad from Republican Congressman Todd Tiahart (TEE-Hart) of Kansas, who is running for U.S. Senate.

Now, note the screen capture to the right. Wordpress.com is not a source folks, unless you are referencing a free, on-line blogging site. Weigel:

And while it’s possible that some blog used the phrase “Obama loses 2.19 million jobs” in the last month, a search for that phrase on WordPress blogs and via Google comes up empty.

This sort of stuff is a bipartisan problem; Terry McAuliffe inverted the meaning of a quote in his final ad during his failed bid for governor of Virginia. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s strange.

Strange indeed. What campaign manager okay'd that ad? That 'source'?

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Which Is Better?

Winning the Superbowl -- or becoming ambassador to Ireland? Dan Rooney doesn't have to choose:

Steelers owner Dan Rooney took another step toward confirmation as ambassador to Ireland today with an appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mr. Rooney could be approved in a vote by the full Senate in the next few days, as there appears to be little to no opposition.

The comments of committee members Edward Kaufman, D-Del., Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. -- the only members who stayed for the entire hearing -- focused on the economic difficulties in Ireland and admiration for Mr. Rooney.

"Mr. Rooney, you're having quite a year," said Mrs. Shaheen. "I'm not going to ask you whether it's better to win the Super Bowl or be nominated to be an ambassador."

"I'm not sure I can answer that," Mr. Rooney replied.

Head nod: Pam101

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Mouthpiece Theater

I thought it was funny --

-- but apparently there are those who do not agree with me.

I will grant both Linkins and Sullivan that, while I think that Milbank and Cillizza are entertaining (hence the smoking jackets and bowties), they could be devoting more of their time to pressing issues such as the struggle in Iran. But come on people -- there has to be some escape from all fo the dreadful headlines.

Enter Mouthpiece Theater...

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It's Not Over For Mark Sanford

The Sanford Saga continues to grow. From NRO:

Sanford's Days Are Numbered

There will be an effort to impeach Sanford, a Republican strategist with ties to South Carolina tells me. "He's going to have to resign. It's South Carolina."

His rivals in the state legislature were among those fanning the flames of "Where the hell is he?"questions yesterday.

Head nod: Doug Mataconis

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More Violence In Iran

Eye-opening updates via CNN:

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons beat back demonstrators who flocked to a Tehran square Wednesday to continue protests, with one witness saying security forces beat people like “animals.”

At least two trusted sources described wild and violent conditions at a part of Tehran where protesters had planned to demonstrate.

“They were waiting for us,” the source said. “They all have guns and riot uniforms. It was like a mouse trap.”

“I see many people with broken arms, legs, heads — blood everywhere — pepper gas like war,” the source said.

Around “500 thugs” with clubs came out of a mosque and attacked people in the square, another source said.

The security forces were “”beating women madly” and “killing people like hell,” the source said.

“They beat up a woman so bad she was all bloody,” the source said in a description that underscores the growing and central role of women in the uprising.

Which has me asking myself: At what point does somebody else get involved, if at all? I consider myself uber-conservative when it comes to foreign policy. If it doesn't directly affect the U.S., then we should not be involved. In other words, unless Iran (or Iraq, or North Korea, et al.) becomes an overt threat to our nation, we should let them sort out their business on their own.

But the humanitarian in me is pissed off (for lack of better terminology) at the Iranian government for acting as they are.

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Expialidocious

From the same cat who did 'Alohomora'. My kids are in love with Mary Poppins right now.

Postscript: Potter Progress Update - I just visited the library and checked out Goblet Of Fire. T'will make for great beach reading methinks...

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Mark Sanford Wasn't Hiking

Of course that has been pretty clear for some time now. I had a feeling that things were going to end up badly for Governor Mark Sanford:

A choked-up South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford issued a raw apology to his wife, family, staff, friends, in-laws, people of faith, and South Carolinians for "creating a fiction with regard to where I was going" and cheating on his wife.

"God's law indeed is there to protect you from yourself, and there are consequences if you breach that . This press conference is a cosequence [sic] of that," Sanford said. "I've been unfaithful to my wife. I've developed a relationship with what started out as a dear, dear friend from Argentina."

Sanford said he and his wife had been "working through this thing" for some five months and that she'd been aware of the affair.

Sanford, who dismissed in passing any suggestion of 2012 presidential ambition, also resigned from his post as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

The affair, he said, began as "a casual e-mail back and forth" but that "recently, over this last year, it developed into someting much more than that."

Sanford asked forgiveness and said he'd tour the state talking to constituents.

So, I guess that scratches another Republican Presidential hopeful off of the list? Or does it? Could either Mark Sanford or John Ensign still run for the GOP ticket and get the nomination -- despite admitted infidelities?

What do you think?

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Something in the Water?

Is there something in the water at the GOP convention hall?

Just recently John Ensign of Nevada admitted to having an affair, his name had been kicked around as a 2012 possibility, and now, another 2012 potential and mysteriously vanishing South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford. I know infidelity among politicians crosses party lines, but come on now. This is getting a tad ridiculous. And people call me immoral simply for being gay, yet I've been in a solid monogamous relationship for 11 years.

From MSNBC:

Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday he's been having an affair with a woman he visited on a secret trip to Argentina and said he'll resign as head of the Republican Governors Association.

Sanford, a rumored 2012 presidential candidate, refused to say whether he'll leave office.

"I've let down a lot of people, that's the bottom line," Sanford said at a news conference. He said he's known the woman about eight years, but their relationship turned into something more a year ago while he was on an economic development trip to Argentina.

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The Nico Pitney 'Controversy'

Jiminee. Here's the 'story'. And here is a great response to all of the hoopla from Marc Ambinder. Money:

[The press conference was] no more choreographed than the centuries-old tradition of calling on Helen Thomas first long after her then employer, United Press International, had become a mere shadow of its former self. The practice stopped when Thomas moved to Hearst to become a columnist. The president continues to live by the tradition of calling on the Associated Press first and everyone knows that the broadcast networks will all be called on as well as the other wire services, Bloomberg and Reuters. Major papers usually, but don't always, get called on too. That's a kind of staging, too.

What makes the Pitney-Obama exchange different is that the White House seems to have called Pitney and told him that they might call on him for an Iran question because of his yeoman's work aggregating Tweets and blogs from Iran. But since Pitney didn't tell the White House what question it was, I don't think there was any untoward coordination. I've known other reporters who have gotten subtle hints that they might be called on at a presidential press conference. So what?

I admit that if this had been Newsmax or Redstate chatting it up with Ari Fleischer before a news conference the mainstream media might be raising more of a stink. But I think the basic idea that the White House didn't know the question before hand, only that it might come from an Iranian citizen means that this was all above board. And certainly the idea of trying to reach out directly to Iranians was a reasonable one for the White House to pursue.

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Hey, Big Spender(s)

Question: why isn't this news getting more coverage?

WASHINGTON - Democrats in Congress crafting spending bills are largely rejecting the roster of program eliminations and budget cuts wanted by President Barack Obama.

Obama proposed the cuts last month after what he promised would be a line-by-line scrub of the federal budget to counter Republican charges that he's spending the country into too much debt.

The House already has rejected his effort to kill a $400 million program that helps states with the cost of incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants. And a homeland security spending bill up for a House vote this week keeps in place the World War II-era LORAN-C maritime navigation system that Obama wanted to ax, even though it's been rendered obsolete by the modern global positioning system. The homeland security measure also preserves $12 million in security grants for bus systems and $40 million in grants to local governments for emergency operations centers — both programs that Obama had proposed killing.

All told, lawmakers in both parties — California Republicans were a driving force in preserving the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program that subsidizes the cost of keeping criminal illegal immigrants in jail — have combined to preserve more than $750 million worth of cuts suggested by Obama.

Now, it seems to me that critics of the President's spending need to be looking to the Congress for at least some of the blame...

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Coleman, A Waste Of GOP Dollars?

Numbers from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, via Political Wire:

The NRSC spent nearly $938,000 last month to help Norm Coleman (R), "with most of it going to pay legal bills to firms in Minneapolis and Washington," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Meanwhile, the DSCC reported raising more than $282,000 in May contributions earmarked to help Al Franken (D) in the Senate recount fight.

That's a TON of money being tossed toward, what appears to be a lost cause. Thoughts?

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Hard Wuerk

-M.Wuerker, Wuerking Drawings

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