AP Declares Era of 'Big Clintons' Is Over

Big Clintons?

Never heard that one before, even during the Monica Lewinsky heyday.

Clearly though, the Big Media push is on the have Mrs. Clinton drop out of the presidential race.

There's been a Clinton running for the White House or living in it for approximately forever. Bill, it could be said, was born to run. Running became Hillary's destiny, too.

One quarter of Americans have never known life without a Clinton trying for or having the presidency. Millions have gone from diapers to diplomas in the time of the Clintons.

C'mon, it's not as if they're the Kennedys and have been around forever. Wait, is it OK to mention the Kennedys or is there still a moratorium on?

When Hillary Rodham Clinton finally exits the 2008 Democratic presidential race, she will end a decades-long, power-couple streak of unique political energy, savvy ideas, colossal policy flops and raw ambition dressed in pants suits and briefs, not boxers.

"Every day is an adventure," Bill said cheerfully at the start of it all. And how.

Colossal policy flops? Hmmm. The media conveniently ignored those (and exactly what are they referring to?) when it appeared Hillary would coast to the nomination, but now they mention colossal flops?

Once the media darlings, now they're trash, kicked to the curb.

The story even chronicles some of the voluminous Clinton scandals. Who'd have thought we'd hear about them again from Big Media?

Seems to me she's sticking around waiting for Gaffe Man to keep stepping in it, not that Big Media will report it.

How McCain Can Lose the South

In two words: Michael Bloomberg.

There are rumors, which I don't take very seriously, but if the worst-case scenario came true and he did pick Bloomberg as his VP pick he can just about kiss off the south.

Why?

Nanny-stater Mayor Bloomberg sent some of his goons down to Georgia a while back to make some fraudulent gun purchases and then turned around and filed suit against all of them. We have one gun shop owner in my county who is challenging him, at great expense.

Wallace's store was one of 27 named in two 2006 federal suits that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg brought against gun shops in states with weaker gun laws. Bloomberg's suits said Adventure Outdoors and the others did little to ensure they were making only legal sales and, as a result, those weapons were used in crimes 900 miles away.

Adventure Outdoors is one of three shops that hasn't settled, been dropped from the case or gone out of business. Its case goes to trial first, on Tuesday, while the other two are set for September.

The whole thing was a scam carried out by officials of New York City. They sent people into the gun shops to purchase the guns and then took them out of state or transferred them to other people not authorized to possess hand guns. Once the gun leaves the store the seller cannot be held responsible for what happens. The store did its due diligence and ran all required checks and had the undercover people sign and initial all the documents required by law.

This was nothing but a publicity stunt pulled by the mayor of NYC at the expense of honest gun store owners in Georgia, and with the money that his office has he has forced most of the wrongly accused to either settle out of court or go out of business.

I hope this guy can continue the fight, but it is despicable what he did.
New York City needs to clean up it owns house and quit coming down here and crapping in our yard.

I hope that in the countersuit Mr. Wallace takes the city of New York for everything they've got for this wrongful and illegal prosecution.

Eco-Lunacy: Brits Want to Force 'Carbon Ration Cards' on Public

A crazy scheme designed solely to gouge the public under the guise of cutting carbon emissions.

There's absolutely no way to enforce this madness, but why would that ever stop them?

Every adult should be forced to use a 'carbon ration card' when they pay for petrol, airline tickets or household energy, MPs say.

The influential Environmental Audit Committee says a personal carbon trading scheme is the best and fairest way of cutting Britain's CO2 emissions without penalising the poor.

Under the scheme, everyone would be given an annual carbon allowance to use when buying oil, gas, electricity and flights.

Anyone who exceeds their entitlement would have to buy top-up credits from individuals who haven't used up their allowance. The amount paid would be driven by market forces and the deal done through a specialist company.

MPs, led by Tory Tim Yeo, say the scheme could be more effective at cutting greenhouse gas emissions than green taxes.

But critics say the idea is costly, bureaucratic, intrusive and unworkable.

No kidding. If the Tories want to find a quick way to be jettisoned from power, go along with this idiocy.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report into the scheme found it would cost between £700million and £2billion to set up and up to another £2billion a year to run.

Tory environment spokesman Peter Ainsworth added: 'Although it does have potential we should proceed with care. We don't want to alienate people and we want everyone to be on board.'

If you don't want to alienate people, stop relieving them of the money on these wacky schemes.

Rare Opportunity to Meet, Listen, and Talk to Real Hero

Readers of this blog are probably very familiar with the name David Bellavia. He is a true hero of this global war on terrorists,is a candidate for Congress in New York, and now is your chance to meet him, listen and even talk to him. He is going to be the guest of one of the most entertaining hosts on Blog Talk Radio, Jenn of the Jungle. Tonight at 8 PM EST

For those not familiar with BTR, it is a combination of radio talk show and chat. All of the shows have call in numbers to allow you to call in and talk to the guests and hosts and unlike the regular talks radio shows, you actually get on the air and the phone with them. I urge everybody to tune in and even call in and ask David some questions or just say thanks.

To participate in the chat it will be necessary to register so I urge you to go ahead and click the button below and pre-register so that you can be ready to participate at showtime. It is not necessary to register if you just want to listen.

Iraqi Teens Forced to Become Suicide Bombers

In a stunning development, it's been discovered these teenage boys were being trained by a Saudi. And all this time I thought the Saudis were our friends?

Six teenage boys who said they were being trained as suicide bombers were detained Monday in the northern city of Mosul, Iraqi officials said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf told The Associated Press that the boys were between the ages of 14 and 16 and initial investigations show they were being trained by a Saudi militant who was killed in military operations.

The soldiers were acting on tips when they found the boys in the basement of an abandoned house that was being used by insurgent groups in the Sumar area in southeastern Mosul, deputy Interior Minister Kamal Ali Hussein said later at a press conference.

He said the boys had been recruited over the last month to carry out suicide bombings against Iraqi security forces in Mosul, although the specific targets had not been revealed to them.

The insurgents had threatened to kill the boys or their families if they refused to obey, Kamal said, adding that the group included the son of a female physician, the son of a college professor and four who belonged to families of poor vendors.

"They were trained how to carry out suicide attacks with explosive belts and a date was fixed for each one of them," he said.

Obviously these monsters are desperate now that violence has been rapidly decreasing and are left to recruiting children.

The U.S. military said Sunday that the number of attacks by militants in the last week dropped to a level not seen in Iraq since March 2004.

About 300 violent incidents were recorded in the seven-day period that ended Friday, down from a weekly high of nearly 1,600 in mid-June last year, according to a chart provided by the military.

'Germany Is Obamaland'

The fawning idolatry has spread across the Atlantic. Not only does the American media slobber and drool incessantly over this lightweight, but Messiah Mania has taken root with the European press.

"Germany is Obamaland," says Karsten Voigt, the German government's coordinator for trans-Atlantic relations. He says Germans see the African-American senator as a kind of "mixture of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr."

Oops, I hope nobody draws any sinister inference there considering those two were both assassinated. They might need to run their copy by the nutroots to see that nobody is offended.

People are projecting their hopes and dreams on Obama, adds Constanze Stelzenmüller of the German Marshall Fund in Berlin. He's perceived here as peace-loving and cooperative, and those are the kind of traits Germans admire in a foreign politician.

Peace-loving and cooperative. Translated roughly as a willing dupe who's easy to roll.

Memorial Day 2008

Let's start off with Gene Simmons' tribute to the military. If you have ever watched his reality show "Family Jewels" you are probably aware of Gene's commitment, respect, and admiration of those who serve.


President Bush's Proclamation for Memorial Day with a request for a Prayer for Peace and a National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 PM

The history of Taps, the final bugle call played at military funerals followed by the 21-gun salute which sends a fallen comrade on their flight to heaven, as explained by John Wayne. For some of us there is nothing like Taps and the volley of fire to send a shiver up the spine, inspire us to never forget, and bring such sorrow.


If you have someone you would like to honor who has served this country in uniform visit this Flickr page to post a tribute or view the photos.

This is my favorite.
On this Memorial Day, remember the fallen, but also remember what they sacrificed to preserve. It is not wrong to go to picnics, enjoy outdoor concerts or parades, because that is exactly what they would want you to celebrate and it is the best way to prove that their sacrifice was not in vain. This is a day to honor the fallen but not to grieve.

Indoctrination for the Kiddies: Cop a Feel for the Environment

Such a cute way to indoctrinate the children. Making farmers out to be evil, having them calculate their carbon footprints and for that extra special touch, exploding pigs and trails of blood.

In other words, just your average day for environmental extremists. And to think, they resent being called wackos.

You could imagine this is some sort of underground enviro-porn. The problem is this is on a television station's website.

ABC kids' website shows Aussies as pigs

AN ABC website has been accused of portraying farmers and forestry workers as evil, and telling kids how much carbon they can produce before they die.

The Planet Slayer website, which can be accessed via the science section on the ABC home page, also demonises people who eat meat and those involved in the nuclear industry, a Senate estimates committee heard.

The site has several features including a cartoon series, Adventures of Greena, and a tool called Prof Schpinkee's Greenhouse Calculator to help kids work out their carbon footprint.

The calculator lets users compare their own carbon output to the "average Aussie greenhouse pig" and estimates at what age a person should die so they don't use more than their fair share of the Earth's resources.

Too much carbon production causes a cartoon pig to explode, leaving behind a pool of blood.

Victorian Liberal senator Mitch Fifield today questioned the accuracy and appropriateness of some of the imagery and content on the website.

"I know there's a little bit of goth in all of us, but this might be taking it just a little too far," Senator Fifield said of the quasi life-expectancy calculator.

"Do you think it's appropriate that the ABC portray the average Australian as a pig and is it appropriate for a website obviously geared towards kids to depict people who are average Australians as massive overweight ugly pigs, oozing slime from their mouths, and then to have these pigs blow up in a mass of blood and guts?"

Senator Fifield said the Adventures of Greena cartoon series, which follows the exploits of a young female activist, also raised questions.

He said episode two of the 12-part series, Fistful of Woodchips, portrayed a logger as "rough and evil".

"I don't think that it's a particularly helpful way of depicting hard-working Australians who are trying to go about making an honest living, as though they're these rough and evil dudes out to do bad."

Such irreverence. Nice to see they even have an episode entitled Cop a Feel and another called Make Pies Not War.

Have to make sure to work in that omnipresent anti-war angle.

Hand Of Fate

Jumbo jet splits in two as it tries to take-off
These pictures capture the moment a jumbo jet soared off a runway and split into two.

The accident happened as the cargo plane tried to take off at Brussels' Zaventem airport.

The plane narrowly escaped landing on a railway line as it came crashing onto the tarmac.

The Boeing 747's five crew all escaped via an inflatable emergency slide on the American Kalitta plane on Sunday.


"The accident happened during take-off of the plane, which was going from Brussels to Bahrain," a Zaventem airport spokeswoman said.

"We don't know what caused it, there is an investigation under way."

Be sure to at least hint that global warming climate change al-Gore's Hoax was considered as a possible cause or contributing factor. Wouldn't want you to offend anybody by omitting it. Troofers, you know.

Fire brigade spokesman Francis Boileau said that four of the crew had minor injuries.

The plane was carrying cars and was full of fuel.


It came to a halt some 200 metres from the runway and only 10 metres from a railway line.

"There was a danger of an explosion just after the accident because it was full of kerosene, about 100 tonnes of it, and there was a big leak when it broke," Boileau said.

"We see from the tracks on the runway that the pilot tried to stop the aircraft because he understood he could not bring it up into the air, and he drove it off the runway."

The Kalitta Air company's website says it is a Michigan Limited Liability Company owned by Conrad Kalitta.

It started in November 2000 with three Boeing 747 aircraft and the fleet has grown to a present total of 18 B747 freighters.

Amazing.

Interviews with the crew should make for some interesting reading.

Via The Daily Mail

Bush Greets Rolling Thunder 2008

Rolling Thunder invaded Washington today and President Bush was on hand to meet with them and became an honorary member.

For the 21st year in a row, Rolling Thunder roared into Washington, D.C., on Sunday for its annual veterans tribute, bringing together an estimated 350,000 motorcyclists — along with thousands of activists, fans and spectators.

Bikers from the group's 88 chapters —across the country and overseas— came together to bring attention to U.S. service members held captive or missing in action.

Riders took off on their rumbling "Ride For Freedom," driving from the Pentagon, across the Potomac River by way of the Memorial Bridge and on to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The party-like atmosphere was punctuated by speeches, tributes and music. Actor John Amos, who read Gen. Colin Powell's "A Letter to a Soldier" lent his voice to the cause.

"This is the most important gathering I have ever been a part of. I share their convictions that all these men and woman must be accounted for. We live in the greatest country in the world, and a gathering like this confirms that we have have more freedom," Amos said.

Jonn Lilyea was also on hand today and has a variety of photos.

Meanwhile, we had a tribute to the last known WWI veteran.

Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last known living American-born veteran of World War I, was honored Sunday at the Liberty Memorial during Memorial Day weekend celebrations.

"I had a feeling of longevity and that I might be among those who survived, but I didn't know I'd be the No. 1," the 107-year-old veteran said at a ceremony to unveil his portrait.

His photograph was hung in the main hallway of the National World War I Museum, which he toured for the first time, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States presented him with a gold medal of merit.

On Monday, he will be presented the American flag flying outside the memorial.

Cannes Film Festival Results Are In

Or worthless awards handed out to hack actors and movie industry folks you have never heard of.

Sean Penn was the presiding judge for this years "we are better then you cause we can stay awake watching 4 hour films with subtitles" competition. And speaking of 4-hour films, the winner for best actor went to Benicio Del Toro, I think it stands for "I am so full of bull", for his portrayal of, wait for it, Che Guevara.

Benicio Del Toro won Cannes' best-actor prize for "Che," Steven Soderbergh's four-hour-plus epic about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara. Presented as two films, "Che" follows Guevara and Fidel Castro's triumphant guerrilla campaign to overthrow Cuba's government in the late 1950s and Guevara's downfall and execution after trying to foment a similar rebellion in Bolivia in the 1960s.

Del Toro, who co-starred in Penn's "21 Grams," also won in a unanimous jury vote, Penn said.

"I'd like to dedicate this to the man himself, Che Guevara," said Del Toro. He also thanked Soderbergh, "who got up every day, forced me to this. ... He was there pushing it, and he pushed all of us."

His previous roles included Duke the Dog-Faced Boy in 1988's Big Top Pee-Wee.

Healing the Racial Divide: The Fight Against Segregated Camping

While most of you enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, rest assured the media is feverishly toiling, looking to keep us as up-to-date as possible as we all enjoy ourselves.

Selfless, they are.

Now what better time to bring to our attention to one of the deep dark secrets that stains America's collective soul: the stark, grim racial divide that exists at campgrounds across the fruited plain.

The throngs filling campgrounds across America this weekend will include hardy outdoors types and those who prefer creature comforts, but they'll have at least one important thing in common: Nearly all of them are white.

A small but committed group of campers is trying to change that by growing a generation of black campers, one person at a time.

If you think this is an Onion parody, trust me, it's not.

Getting more blacks into the woods would mean breaking decades of stereotypes and overcoming a long-standing leeriness that members say many have about camping. Bad things happen to black people in the woods, the story goes, and they can't afford recreational vehicles.

Good grief.

It never occurred to me when I was camping with black friends they were breaking racial stereotypes. I'll let them know next time we're toasting to what a mean, racist country this is.

In another earth-shattering discovery, AP notes that blacks and whites (gasp!) often have varying tastes in music.

Gladys Curtis of Houston is active in both NAARVA and mostly white camping groups, and she has noticed at least one difference between the way the races camp.

"When we go to the (white) rallies we hear a lot of country and western," said Curtis, president of a black camping group from Texas. "We've had a Motown review, big band, blues. Not a lot of country."

Who knew?

Minister of Hope and Change Preaches for 'Collective Salvation'

The great unwashed swoon and the Supreme Being Obama speaks.

Just imagine a Republican talking like this and the cacophony of wailing about separation of church and state that would follow.

Instead, the media is mesmerized by the great orator.

Barack Obama, standing in for Senator Edward M. Kennedy as commencement speaker at Wesleyan University, invoked the Kennedy family's legacy of public service and challenged students to look beyond material gains and work for our ``collective salvation.''

``No one is forcing you to care,'' Obama said. ``You can take your diploma, walk off this stage and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should buy. But I hope you don't.''

Big house and nice suits. Like the kind he has?

With a commanding lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama said that if he is elected he will call upon the students and the nation to ``be unified in service to a greater good. I intend to make it a cause of my presidency.''

A blog at the Hartford Courant gushes.

On the way in, I met the MIller family, a mom, her two daughters and son, who came from all over Ct and NYC to see Obama - big Obama fans, they said, and the only reason they are here.

"Obama is like back from the sixties, said the mom, who called herself a diehard hippy.

"Obama is like back in the sixties, he makes you feel like you did back in the sixties...a sense of inspiration. He's somebody you can believe in, his mission of hope speaks to this wide group of sexes and races," she said.

Her daughter was more blunt, she said Obama is 'America's last hope,' and if he doesn't succeed, she fears nothing will. "Oh don't say that, that's not true!" said her mom.

Apparently it's OK for Obama to invoke Bobby Kennedy.

"We need you to help lead," Obama said. "It's about time to avoid catastrophic consequences in our world...all it takes is an act of service that act Robert F. Kennedy called one tiny ripple...One act from you. I am asking you and if I have the honor of serving this nation as president, I will be aksing again and again in the coming years."

There's more hope.

Umotibol, a handsome young man with a Nigerian name from West Hartford came specifcally to listen. He likens Obama to John F. Kennedy because both men inspire and give hope to people "He's an inspiration, not just to the African American community but to the United states and the world abroad, there's a negative hatred that is coming it, it's awful...I'm thinking Obama gives us hope, they talk about Obama in relation to JFK...I'm hoping for that kind of leadership."

Republicans Begin Their 40 Years of Wandering in the Wilderness

I hope it doesn't take them 40 years to figure out what their problem is, but if Rep Tom Cole (R-OK), Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, (pictured on the right) is any indication that appears to be where they are headed. First off when visiting his official web site, the most current entry is from January 8, 2007; uh, I think it is time to update, dude. It is an entry about digital television. How about the whole digital age?

What brought this Congress critter to my attention is remarks credited to him earlier this week about Republicans needing to campaign on a platform of change. Really? But the change he proposes is adopting the previous agenda of failed policies from the Democrats now that they have moved on to far more socialistic goals.

How about trying to come back to the right? You know, reduce government wasteful spending of my tax dollars. It was my money before it was yours. How about standing up in defense of military and quit letting all the slanders and lies about them and their mission going unanswered or unchallenged? How about at least pretending you are serious about securing our border and exporting the illegal aliens?

Anyway, Mr. Cole. along with his Democrat counterpart, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD),(pictured on the left) were on Fox News Sunday today with Chris Wallace and while neither man appears to possess one bit of knowledge of anything outside of that giant vacuum of Washington DC, the Dem once again managed to get off some jabs that went unchallenged.

The basic strategy outlined by the two representatives was this.

For the Dems they simply want to continue stalling legislation, even though they have the majority and should be able to get around any Republican attempt to block it, so that they can plead with the American public to please send them more Dems and also to hopefully have their man in the White House to really get their socialist agenda fast-tracked. Really, the only thing that has stopped the Dems is the so-called Blue Dog Dems; it certainly hasn't been the Republicans.

As for Mr. Cole, his basic strategy for the Republicans appears to be vote Republican because we aren't Democrats. Real good plan, Bubba.

When Wallace asked him about the Republicans voting for the earmark-laden Farm Bill, his defense was "Well it was less then we originally asked for." Well ain't that special? What happened to setting a bottom line and sticking to it? What happened to cutting out all the earmarks in all legislation? Why can't the Republicans stand up say that while some of these bills have great sounding titles the devil is in the details?

The same thing is being done on the Defense Appropriations bill and the GI Bill. Republicans afraid to vote against them because of the title rather then what is contained in the bills.

I don't know if videos of the segment of these two men will be available later but if you manage to see it either on a replay of the Fox News Sunday show or from video somewhere I urge conservatives to view it and see just why the Republican Party no longer cares or represents the conservative voices that used to be in their party.

Yes, I said used to be, because more and more in talking to people I am hearing folks that are not even what could be considered hard conservatives, talking about how frustrated they are with the Republicans and are earnestly in search of a new party to represent them.

If the Republicans don't make a right turn soon they are going to find themselves in a dead-end alley from which they will not be able to get out of.

Of course I could be wrong, but that is certainly my opinion.

Marcus Luttrell Speaks to the NRA

For the folks that don't know Marcus Luttrell, he is the recipient of the Navy Cross and a member of the Navy SEAL team that got attacked by the Taliban, which resulted in the highest loss of life in a single engagement to SEALS, and author of the book "Lone Survivor," which I finally got around to reading, and this book should be required reading for every high school student in America.

For the folks that never get to hear about today's generation of heroes, here is one, even if he doesn't thinks so. The other members of that team might be familiar to some of you. They included Michael Murphy, awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, Danny Dietz, awarded the Navy Cross and who was the subject of some controversy when his hometown in Colorado wanted to erect a statue in his honor and people objected because the statue would include him with a weapon. He got his statue and he kept his gun. The other member was Matt Axelson who was also awarded the Navy Cross.

Remember Michael, Danny and Matt this Memorial Day and all the service members who have paid the ultimate price in the service to their country.

But in the meantime listen to Marcus tell you why we are winning in spite of ourselves and why we will continue to win.



And, oh yeah, if you can help him out with that lawyer thing.....

H/T American Infidel.

Thanks to Jules Crittenden for the link.

Arlington

Thank you.

Shocker! Washed-Up Actress Turns Commencement into Bush Bashfest

My question obviously is who on earth would invite an empty head like Jessica Lange to give a commencement address?

Oscar-winner Jessica Lange bashed the Bush administration and denounced the war in Iraq during a commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College.

The star of "Tootsie" and "Blue Sky" was applauded by students Friday at the small liberal arts college after comparing the conflict with the Vietnam War. She said the graduates have "a heavy burden" to chart a new path for the country.

"We are living in an America that, in the last seven and a half years, has waged an unnecessary war, established prison camps, condoned torture, employed corporate armies, eliminated the right of habeas corpus, practiced extraordinary rendition, and believe me, this is only a partial list," Lange said.

I'm sure she could drone on for hours about it.

Is this drivel what needs to be heard at commencements? As if we don't have enough of this delusional garbage 24/7 from the left already. Give your ego a rest for five minutes and let the graduates enjoy their day.

H/T Hot Air.

Skinflint Saudis Finally Contribute to World Food Program

Earlier this month we noted how stingy Arab nations are, the Saudis in particular, when it comes to helping feed the world's poor.

Well, it looks like the criticism may have sunk in, as the oil ticks have now pledged $500 million to the program.

Now if they could just do something about exporting so many terrorists.

Two weeks after a FOX News investigation showed oil-rich Saudia Arabia had donated nothing this year to help the United Nations World Food Program feed the world's hungry, the globe's number one oil exporter is finally opening its checkbook.

The United Nations this morning told FOX that the Saudis have pledged WFP a whopping $500 million contribution in response to the urgent WFP appeal in early April for $775 million to help it cope with a crisis caused by lower international grain stocks and rising energy costs. According to WFP that threatened to put at least 100 million more people around the world on the edge of starvation.

The Saudi contribution came two weeks after FOX revealed, based on WFP donor records, that Saudi Arabia had given nothing at all to the food agency this year, despite spiraling oil prices that had brought on the food crisis.

All of OPEC — the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — had collectively given just $1.5 million, or about 1 minute and 10 seconds worth of OPEC's 2007 oil revenues, FOX disclosed.

I Guess He Can Cancel That Sitdown With President Obama

Another al Qaeda honcho has been vaporized. What a pity. He won't be around to negotiate when President Obama ventures out on his world appeasement tour, spreading the gospel of hope, change and naivete.

Of course, there would have been plenty of preconditions and preparation before Sunshine sat down with terrorists.

An Al Qaeda figure killed in a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan last week is believed to have been an Algerian allegedly involved in training militants and plotting attacks against the West, officials said Friday.

The Algerian, known by the nickname Abu Sulayman Jazairi, apparently died May 14 in the strike that killed as many as 14 people and destroyed a compound near the village of Damadola, an Al Qaeda stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. A knowledgeable U.S. official and a senior European anti-terrorism official said Jazairi was thought to be dead.

U.S. anti-terrorism forces are targeting front-line planners in Pakistani hide-outs, and Jazairi would be another in a series of recent losses for the Al Qaeda leadership, the two officials said.

"He was a significant person within the Al Qaeda ranks," said the senior European official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. "Not in the top five, but he's up there. The suspicion is he was one of those individuals involved in training and targeting Western interests. There is uncorroborated intelligence that he was involved in plots against Europe."

H/T HA headlines.

OK, So Let's See the Evidence

The fallout continues from the Tania Zaetta-Digger scandal in Australia.

She claims it's all lies, the troops say they have evidence.

A HIGHLY confidential briefing document written to Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says Angry Anderson informed the ADF that Diggers based in Tarin Kowt had "the photos and video" to prove allegations that Tania Zaetta had sex with Defence personnel while in Afghanistan.

The security branch investigators are expected to examine email traffic from Afghanistan as part of an investigation into whether video or photographic material existed and was sent back to Australia in breach of Defence regulations.

Australian troops serving in the Middle East will be interviewed by Defence security investigators as the fallout over the alleged Tania Zaetta sex scandal widened yesterday.

An angry Defence Minister is believed to have demanded the names of all investigators and a detailed report on their progress on his desk by early Monday morning.

Three separate investigations are now under way into the scandal, which follows the leaking to The Daily Telegraph of the briefing document containing the unsubstantiated allegations abour Zaetta.

She has vigorously denied the sex allegations contained in the leaked Defence report.

Gaffe-Prone Obama: 'Thank you everybody. It's good to be in Sunshine!'

How many gaffes can a politician get away with?

Obviously none if you're a Republican.

But Barack Obama can pretty much say anything and the media brushes it off.

Aren't double standards wonderful?

SUNRISE, Fla. -- At first, it seemed as if Barack Obama might just be speaking figuratively, as is his wont sometimes. "How's it going, Sunshine? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you everybody. It's good to be in Sunshine!" Obama declared on taking the stage this afternoon for a rally at the BankAtlantic Arena in Broward County, Fla., just west of Ft. Lauderdale.

Obama, who often comments admiringly on the climate and regional aura of his various destinations, may simply have been evoking the warmth of the Sunshine State, which he campaigned in for the first time this week after staying away for months to observe the Democratic Party's primary ban against the state. Or perhaps it was a term of endearment, similar to his recent (and later regretted) use of "sweetie" in speaking to a woman reporter.

But then he said it again, and again -- "When we are unified sunshine, nobody can stop us!" -- and it became clear: Obama thought he was in Sunshine, Fla. But he was not. He was in Sunrise, the name given to this particular swath of South Florida palm trees, bungalows and outlet stores.

If the 16,000 in attendance noticed, they didn't make it known. There was no dropoff in applause as Obama experienced recently when he opened a speech in Sioux Falls, S.D. by declaring, "Thank you, Sioux City!" before realizing that he had named the Iowa city by mistake. Perhaps the crowd here also thought the "Sunshine" might be a figurative reference, or perhaps there is simply less local possessiveness when it comes to a Sun Belt exurb with vaguely defined borders and an even more vaguely defined identity, especially given that many of those in attendance came from elsewhere in the county.

The poor thing. Maybe he just had too much sun.

At four different points during the speech, Obama referred to the town as “Sunshine,” as opposed to “Sunrise.” Amazingly, the crowd of 16,000 played along and no one corrected him. Sunrise is a city in Broward County, possibly best known for its role in 2000 presidential election.

Good grief.

Let's face it, the media doesn't want to poke fun at him because they dread being called racist.

It is what it is, and what it is is a fawning press gives this guy a free pass.

Somewhere, Dan Quayle scratches his head in bewilderment.

Michelle Malkin and Hot Air link. Thanks!

Thanks also to LGF for the link.

Update: Conservative Punk sends along the video.



Thanks also to Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, Ed Driscoll and The American Mind for the links.

Eliot Spitzer Was Unavailable for Comment

More sad fallout from Troopergate. Another New York State Police employee with a peripheral relationship to the scandal has committed suicide.

A veteran State Police forensic scientist hanged himself yesterday under circumstances shockingly similar to the suicide of another state police official just eight days ago

Garry Veeder, 59, left a note in his Albany suburb home saying he was concerned about becoming a target of an internal probe regarding the handling of a high-profile case, the Albany Times Union reported.

But sources said Veeder, who recently put in his retirement papers, was not implicated in the investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is probing suspected political espionage by a rogue group of State Police officials.

Veeder's death comes eight days after Gary Berwick, a retired State Police inspector, was found by his daughter, hanged in his garage in the Albany area.

Veeder was found by his wife, also in his garage, at about 7:30 a.m. yesterday.

"She came out and screamed," a neighbor in Voorheesville said.

Sources said Veeder apparently overreacted - with tragic results - to a recently concluded report on a kind of forensic-science cheating called "dry-labbing."

Meanwhile, a central figure in the case was abruptly terminated Friday.

The New York Power Authority announced it has terminated Daniel Wiese effective this afternoon.

NYPA's action against its own inspector general comes amid a probe by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo into allegations of political espionage within the State Police. Weise, a former trooper who ran gubernatorial security details, has been a figure in the probe.

Weise's termination comes as he is mulling a lawsuit against his employer for suspending him without pay two weeks ago. On Monday, he advised the authority that it had no right to remove him from office and complained that it had harmed his reputation.

I hope Eliot Spitzer is enjoying his forced retirement.

Thanks to Instapundit for the link.