I Suppose They Don’t Teach Reading in Los Angeles.

From, Agence France-Presse,  

Los Angeles – Los Angeles on Friday voted to ban the racist “N-word” with city councillors saying they hope the symbolic gesture will stop people from using the epithet in any context.

The Los Angeles City Council discussed a ban on use of the word “nigger” for roughly 30 minutes before passing the resolution.

Hey Bit, if I call you a nigger, can we get the blog banned in Loa Angeles?   I quess the jokers on the Loa Angeles city council have never heard of either the First or Fourteenth Amendments.   Does  Los Angeles plan on banning Dick Gregory’s autobiography?

Hat Tip: Lucianne  Goldberg, Lucianne.com.

Was Ron Paul a PLO supporter?

Yes. 

COALITION FORCES DISRUPT AL-QAEDA IN IRAQ NETWORKS; THREE TERRORISTS KILLED, NINE SUSPECTS DETAINED

Posted: 07 Nov 2007 12:34 PM CST

COALITION FORCES DISRUPT AL-QAEDA IN IRAQ NETWORKS; THREE TERRORISTS KILLED, NINE SUSPECTS DETAINED

IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER VISITS AL MUTANABI STREET

Posted: 07 Nov 2007 12:31 PM CST

IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER VISITS AL MUTANABI STREET

SUSPECTED EXTREMIST CAUGHT DURING IRAQI POLICE RECRUITMENT DRIVE IN DOURA

Posted: 08 Nov 2007 11:57 AM CST

SUSPECTED EXTREMIST CAUGHT DURING IRAQI POLICE RECRUITMENT DRIVE IN DOURA

COALITION FORCES CAPTURE SPECIAL GROUPS LEADER, FIVE OTHERS DETAINED

Posted: 08 Nov 2007 11:18 AM CST

COALITION FORCES CAPTURE SPECIAL GROUPS LEADER, FIVE OTHERS DETAINED

(New York Times) -Norman Mailer, the combative, controversial and often outspoken novelist who loomed over American letters longer and larger than any writer of his generation, died today in Manhattan. He was 84.

Conservative Reader Blog points out:

Much of his writing was left-leaning, and he tended to take an anti-establishment position, but regardless he deserves respect for this: he served in WWII with honor, and wanted to be part of the first wave of invasion troops to go to Europe… he was however sent to the South Pacific theatre instead.  Some of writings, such as “The Naked and the Dead”, were drawn from that experience.  Mailer was also a supporter of U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Amazing how many folks don’t know that about him.

I’ll let McQ intro this one:

You’ll find this story in no news outlet that I know of. It is being carried primarily by the blogs. A young LT presented the second highest award for valor, just below the Medal of Honor, and no one covers it.

Think of it. A young officer, a 2LT at the time, just beginning his career, and he’s faced with a situation that 99% of those of his age group will never be called on to face. And he comes through like a true leader should…

Go and read, and be amazed.

At the risk of waxing political, I will point out that this is the second story today surrounding the prosecution and support of the Iraq war, that the press has held its silence.

Time was in this country, when faced with a mortal enemy, we didn’t have to fight that mortal enemy, while also fighting our own press.  Has it come to this, that such an act of courage in support of these United States gets ignored by our own press because the very existence of that act doesn’t match the narrative of one of our political parties?

Others: Memeorandum, Argghhh!!! and NorthShore Journal

Project Hero, is a worthy attempt on McQ’s part to remind us that we have heroes among us. Further, that these need to be honored as such. We at BitsBlog are proud to lend our voice to such a project.

Major Garrett At Fox News:

IOUX CITY, Iowa —Fox- Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy.

Clinton campaign spokesman Mo Elliethee admitted that the campaign had planted the question and said it would not happen again.

“On this occasion a member of our staff did discuss a possible question about Senator Clinton’s energy plan at a forum,” Elliethee said.

“However, Senator Clinton did not know which questioners she was calling on during the event. This is not standard policy and will not be repeated again.”

In a state where the caucus is held sacred and the impromptu and candid style of the town hall meeting is held dear, Clinton’s planted question may come as a great offense to Iowans.

Fellow Swamp Stomper Blue Crab Boulevard calls this kind of activity a huge mistake:

I noted yesterday that there are signs that the Clinton campaign is overreacting and fumbling over issues in a very clumsy, almost frantic way. Today comes a revelation that indicates there may be real trouble ahead for the campaign. The campaign planted at least one question at a townhall meeting in Iowa. They swear it was just one question and they promise it won’t happen again. Yeah, right.

“After her speech, Clinton accepted questions. But according to Grinnell College student Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff ’10, some of the questions from the audience were planned in advance. ‘They were canned,’ she said. Before the event began, a Clinton staff member approached Gallo-Chasanoff to ask a specific question after Clinton’s speech. ‘One of the senior staffers told me what [to ask],’ she said.

“Clinton called on Gallo-Chasanoff after her speech to ask a question: what Clinton would do to stop the effects of global warming. Clinton began her response by noting that young people often pose this question to her before delving into the benefits of her plan.

“But the source of the question was no coincidence — at this event ‘they wanted a question from a college student,’ Gallo-Chasanoff said.”

The tape of the event shows that the question and answer went as follows:

Question: “As a young person, I’m worried about the long-term effects of global warming How does your plan combat climate change?

Clinton: “Well, you should be worried. You know, I find as I travel around Iowa that it’s usually young people that ask me about global warming.”

The comments at Blue Crab are priceless, go and read.

There are several questions that arise from this;

• Is this yet more proof that these “concerns” over “Global Warming” are a manufactured crisis for the purpose of gaining the Democrat party, power?  I would certainly take it as a sign of that, yes.
• Is this a sign that Hillary Clinton is starting to feel a whole slew away from her?  Certainly, The Crab seems to think so.  I tend to agree.
• Is this going to affect the number of people voting in the primary for Hillary Clinton?  I tend to think not.  As I stated the other day, the woman could come out of a veterinary hospital, a bloody attacks over her shoulder, covered in blood, holding the severed heads of a puppy and a kitten, and take no political harm from it, amongst her rapidly dedicated supporters. Her dedicated supporters do not base their support on fact, but fantasy.  Thereby, mere fact is not going to sway them away from her.  I think more correctly the question is ;
• Will this damage Hillary Clinton’s chance of winning the presidency in the general election?  I think undoubtedly the answer is yes.

More, Memeorandum

Addendum: Billy Beck points out that Hillary Clinton has a history of charging others of engaging this kind of thing. The word “projection” comes to mind.

Understanding her ideology, the only thing left here is to marvel at her brazen audacity. And that should be a very serious point to ponder.

Indeed so.

UPDATE (Coffee260 in comments): Fox News is now reporting on another Q & A planting incident by the Clinton campaign. Below’s an excerpt and here’s the link:

“SIOUX CITY, Iowa — For the second time in as many days, Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign has had to deal with accusations of planting questions during public appearances.”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310417,00.html

Yeah, well, let’s not consider this a trend, huh?

(Yeah, right)

We’ve spoken several times in these spaces as regards Joe Liberman, and the treatment he’s been getting at the hands of Democrats for supporting the Iraq war effort.  We’ve also mentioned many times that the Democrats and the mainstream media seem to be in lockstep at least since Jimmy Carter was in office, and likely, before that.

This morning, William Kristol over at the Weekly Standard puts another example of lockstep between left and the press, this time directly involving Joe Lieberman himself:

If a senator gives a speech, and no major newspaper reports it, does it matter? Joe Lieberman spoke in Washington Thursday on “the politics of national security.” The next day, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today ignored his talk. Most Democrats will ignore it. But five guys named Rudy, John, Fred, Mitt, and Mike will read it.

I will urge you to go read the whole thing.  However, here’s a taste of what Mr. Lieberman had to say;

Between 2002 and 2006, there was a battle within the Democratic Party. . . . We could rightly criticize the Bush administration when it failed to live up to its own rhetoric, or when it bungled the execution of its policies. But I felt that we should not minimize the seriousness of the threat from Islamist extremism, or the fundamental rightness of the muscular, internationalist, and morally self-confident response that President Bush had chosen in response to it.

But that was not the choice most Democrats made. . . . Since retaking Congress in November 2006, the top foreign policy priority of the Democratic Party has not been to expand the size of our military for the war on terror or to strengthen our democracy promotion efforts in the Middle East or to prevail in Afghanistan. It has been to pull our troops out of Iraq, to abandon the democratically elected government there, and to hand a defeat to President Bush.

Iraq has become the singular litmus test for Democratic candidates. No Democratic presidential primary candidate today speaks of America’s moral or strategic responsibility to stand with the Iraqi people against the totalitarian forces of radical Islam, or of the consequences of handing a victory in Iraq to al Qaeda and Iran. And if they did, their campaign would be as unsuccessful as mine was in 2006. Even as evidence has mounted that General Petraeus’ new counterinsurgency strategy is succeeding, Democrats have remained emotionally invested in a narrative of defeat and retreat in Iraq, reluctant to acknowledge the progress we are now achieving. . .

Certainly, you can imagine why the Democrats wouldn’t be very happy with Joe Lieberman just now. The actual ramifications as regards the any future political aspirations of Liberman, are nearly nil.  As Jules Crittenden points out this morning:

Lieberman’s obviously figured out for himself a Dem run is a no go, and an independent run could be destructive, and he’s opted not to go all the way and switch sides.  Probably too late at this point for an independent run intended to underscore the single most important issue of our time, say a lot of things like he just said about the Dems very loudly, and bow out with a GOP endorsement or a veep slot at the opportune moment.  Lieberman appears to have decided to be useful in the Senate instead, which measure such as the al Quds terrorist-designation amendment.

So, Joe was going nowhere, politically, with this one.  At least, in the short term.  And yet, the question at the top of Kristol’s column becomes more pronounced by this apparent lack of motion, given the demonstrated fear on the part of the Democrat Party.  Well, about that…If Joe doesn’t plan to gain any more power at the expense of other Democrats, what is it they fear? What is the threat the Democrats see in Lieberman?

For that matter, if the press were as it claims unbiased, why on earth would there be complete silence as regards this speech from Lieberman?

The only conclusions to be drawn is that the press are not unbiased, but rather are working in concert with leftist Democrats.  Democrats who, demonstrably, would rather not see the kind of message that Lieberman is sending, here, to get any traction in the mainstream.

That, dear reader, is the take- away from this ;

It’s not Lieberman, per se’, that the Democrats and the press fear… Rather, it is the message he is sending. HIs choice of wording on that is correct; they are paranoid about it.  Clearly, the contents of that message gaining serious traction in anywhere but among staunch Republicans, particularly heading into an election year, is the Democrat party’s worst nightmare.  And the press, being the willingly obedient dupes that they are, simply follow along… as they have since… well… Jimmy Carter.

More, Memeorandum

Also, Swamp Stomper Sister Toldjah 

The sharp tack, Clarice Feldman, in American Thinker:

The psycho-dynamics of the marriage between Hillary and Bill continue to fascinate and appall me. Bill Clinton now  that he was responsible for the failure of  the health care plan which Hillary authored and which spectacularly cratered.

[…]

I suppose when Bill starts praising her shapely ankles and butt, the game will be obvious to all.

Is the the Clinton’s faux marriage which so fascinates Clarice or is it Mrs. Clinton’s shapely ankles?     Well Mrs. Clinton isn’t called PIAPS for nothing.

Drew Cline, Union Leader, quotes Joe Biden talking ot the democrat party: 

 “I think they’ve really lost faith in the American people in terms of leveling with them,” he said of his leading rivals. 

Who knew Joe was a dittohead. 

Hat Tip, Don Surber:

“Fat and stupid is no way to go through life, Son.” -Dean Wormer

I envision that line being fed to Rosie O’Donnel. It fits so very well.

Fat we know about. Stupid, we know as well, though there seems to be a new item pointing at that… Steven Chu at Half Life Source:

Rosie O’Donnell and MSNBC have parted ways after negotiations to host her prime-time show had fallen apart on account of her inability to keep her mouth shut about the deal.

Now that the deal is off, O’Donnell said her successful career as a talk show host is over before it began. In some ways, she seems to be blaming MSNBC for her inability to remain quiet during the negotiations. O’Donnell says that everything happens for a reason, “And on we go.”

Yeah, but then again, your inablity to admit just what the reason was, seem rather crucial, here, Rosie.

Your making lots of noise, about how you’re going up against Larry King and Hanity and Colmes didn’t help. Even people outside the business said that matchup was a disaster in the making.  Let’s face it; Rosie O’Donnel has been a walking liability for some time, now.  My guess is the ownership at NBC foresaw some less than positive investor reaction, and kiboshed the whole thing.

The cause? Well, roll over the picture with your mouse and see.

Like I said… Stupid.

SAO PAULO, Brazil: A monster offshore oil discovery and promising fields near the find could help Brazil join the ranks of the world’s major exporters, but full-scale extraction is unlikely until 2013 and will be very expensive.The “ultra-deep” Tupi field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro could hold as much as 8 billion barrels of recoverable light crude, and initial production should exceed 100,000 barrels daily, though experts believe the amount will then go much higher.State oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA will start pilot pumping in 2010 or 2011 but it will take several more years for full production to get under way, at a cost of billions of dollars (euros).Bear Stearns analyst Marc McCarthy estimated the value of the oil in the block at US$25 billion to US$60 billion (€17 billion to €41 billion) depending on international prices.

Tupi “is immense and marks the beginning of a new horizon for Brazil,” he said in a note to clients.

Several thoughts come to mind.

The first is political; crazy uncle Hugo just got through promising the Chinese a million barrels a day to pay off about $4 billion worth of loan the Chinese provided him to keep his socialist monstrosity afloat. Given the circumstances, I can’t imagine that the Chinese aren’t going to want to sweeten the deal somewhat.

Secondly, here again, we see that oil is going to be with us for a while. Granted that the current projections are for this oil to be fairly expensive, because of how deep it is. That said, technology has a way of showing up on the scene when it’s needed. Free enterprise is like that. If there’s anything to slow the process down , it’s that Brazil’s oil production is state owned and operated.

Thirdly I find it amusing that Brazil should even be looking for oil, given their dependence on sugar cane for fuel. Ethanol, you know.

Finally, one has to wonder just what opportunities like this we are missing out on, because of bans on exploration off our own coasts ?

Fred Lucas and Kevin Mooney at CNS note:

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Tuesday that the troop surge, which began in June, has had a significant impact on the situation in Iraq and noted that he had always been critical of the Bush administration for deploying an insufficient number of troops in previous years.

“Stability and a decrease in violence, they’ve done that – God bless them. I’m not surprised that they did,” Hoyer told Cybercast News Service in response to a question about steadily declining U.S. casualty rates in Iraq.

Of course, they’ll never DARE mention this, unless it’s an attempt to remove Hoyer as whip.  Which I predict at the 08 election. Watch for it.

James Joyner at OTB:

Der Spiegel’s Gabor Steingart has written “The Comeback of a War President,” the first positive piece on President Bush I’ve seen (outside the usual suspects) since roughly since maybe the spring of 2005.

He may be America’s most unpopular politician, but George W. Bush is no lame duck. As a wartime president, Bush dominates the political agenda. He is discreetly influencing his party’s choice of presidential candidate while committing his country to an aggressive foreign policy, the effects of which are likely to continue well beyond his term in office.

The first sentence is obviously true, even if it goes against the conventional wisdom. That says little about Bush; it’s just the nature of his office. The second sentence, though, is a harder sell. Certainly, it conflicts with the wisdom of the recent “Most Influential American Conservatives” assessment.

Not really, James.  Perhaps it’s time that I reiterate what I’ve been saying for eight years now; George W. Bush ,  for all that he is, is no conservative.  He is a centrist.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto tried to leave her Islamabad home Friday to lead a protest against a state of emergency but was stopped by police, her party said.”She tried to come out of the house. Police turned her back and we are trying to find another way,” her spokeswoman Naheed Khan told AFP

I hold with my comments of the other day as regards Musharaf, though this would seem to be a bit more problematic than we discussed at the time I made those comments.

That said, however, I’m not sure that we can assume that Musharaf is behind that arrest. There are many people in Pakistan who do not support Musharaf… and many people who also do not support Bhutto are among them… many in positions of power, in that country. With loyalties split in so many directions it’s not always easy to tell from where an action comes within the government.

Note the author of this post was in a somewhat vile mood this morning.   Alas. 

I am impressed.  Two black men quote Dr. Martin Luther King.    Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint in Christian Science Monitor:

Martin Luther King had a dream that some day his children would “live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

He wanted his children to become strong, beautiful people. But what we see today in poor African American neighborhoods is a nightmare.

And here I thought that only racist, (read, “white”),  men quoted King.

Now I suppose the Reverends Sharpton and Jackson will demand that the federal goverment issue dignity stamps.

Hat Tip:  John Hawkins, Conservative Grapevine.

Addendum I:  (Bit) See also, Unequal Justice

And by the way.. make no mistake… there are many in the black community who are uncomfortable with Cosby. He has long been preaching this particular gospel, as a waltz through our archives here, will indicate.

Addendum II:  (David L)

I suspect that Bill Cosby has much more support in the black population than found in the media.    La Shawn Barber  been on her soapbox for years.

The black socioeconomic disparity can be explained by Nature, Nurture or white anti black discrimination.    Suggest the two former and the media calls  you everything nasty.   Try to find evidence of overt white anit-black discrimination you forced to cite the twelve rednecks who constitute the entire membership of the Klu Klux Klan,  Bobby Byrd excepted.