BitsBlog Update

Some of you will have noticed by now a major change in the way Bitsblog handles rollovers on links.  If you pause for a moment over a link, Bitsblog will now give you a preview of the page you are about to click on.I thought it was kinda neat, and thought you might like it, too.  Hope it works well for you.

It’s been a while since I’ve linked Iowa Hawk.

I will this, however.

NSFW, but funny as all get out.. because it’s got a grain of truth at the middle.

Appendum:  (David L)   Jim Geraghty, Hillary Spot, asks, “Why Is Iowahawk’s Parody Showing Up on Edwards’ Blog?”  Good question. 

On the campaign trail, John Edwards is fond of talking about Two America’s, one rich, one poor.  Recently to bolster his campaign Edwards hired two left wing bloggers, Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon, and Melissa McEwan, Shakespeare’s Sister Edwards then proceed to fire, Marcotte and McEwan, and then rehired them.   Now the Washington Post is reporting:

But Edwards said he wanted to give the bloggers a “fair shake” and that he accepted their word that they never intended to malign anyone’s faith. In an obvious allusion to denunciations of the two women by conservative bloggers, Edwards said he would not allow his effort to debate the issues to be “hijacked.”

Dawn Eden, Dawn Patrol:

Pandagon blogger Amanda Marcotte, a familiar name to readers of this blog, whose online persona caused controversy after John Edwards hired her as his campaign blogmistress, has issued an apology of sorts:

My writings on my personal blog Pandagon on the issue of religion are generally satirical in nature and always intended strictly as a criticism of public policies and politics. My intention is never to offend anyone for his or her personal beliefs, and I am sorry if anyone was personally offended by writings meant only as criticisms of public politics. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are central rights, and the sum of my personal writings is a testament to this fact.

I guess it’s nice to know that all those times her blog referred to Our Lord and Saviour as “Jeebus” — in 114 blog entries to date (the most recent last Sunday) — she was only kidding

A search of Pandagon archives shows that Amanda has yet to devise a similarly ha-ha name for Mohammed. Well, give her time; she’s been on the Edwards campaign for only a week and a half.

Earth to Edwards, when a blogger makes reference to Jeebus over a  hundred times, their intent is to malign.   Anybody who fails to either recognize or admit Marcotte’s malicious intent, is either too stupid or too dishonest to be president.  

(H/T:  Michelle Malkin )

It’s not like history isn’t replete with this kind of thing.

And of course, our own left snuggles up to him.

?

I see Wade Phillips managed to land a head coaching gig in Dallas.

We have some rather painful personal experience in our history with the man up here in western New York, from when he leaped in and tried to fill shoes that were much too big for him ; that of Marv Levy’s.  Now he’s trying to fill another big pair of shoes… that of The Tuna.   And this time, Phillips doesn’t have the Bills organization behind him.

Well, good luck with that, Jerry.   You’ll be in the market for another head coach a year from today.

So reports Channel 2 in New York, by way of Channel 2 in LA. Big shock, huh?

Don Imus is a biased, talentless old hack… he and pMSNBC deserve each other.

Out.

* We’re still getting news, as regards to the death of Anna Nicole Smith, whether we want it, or not. I’ve pretty much written myself off as to having to deal with that for at least a couple of weeks. If not longer.

I see McQ’s initial reaction is pretty much the same as mine. One reaction that surprised and encouraged me, was that of Bernard Goldberg, who appeared on Fox news this evening, (O’Riley I think) to suggest that for all of the coverage that cable news has been giving this event, you’d think we were dealing with the death of a head of state.

I think Bernie’s tapped into something with that comment. What in the world about anything this woman has done, is cause for such responses from the news media? The woman couldn’t pass wind, without AP blowing out 15 bells.

(Hint to the clueless… back in the old days of the slow news ticker.. the A-wire as it was called… 15 bells was reserved for only the highest priority traffic, on the level of Apollo 13’s O2 Tank exploding in space, the death of a sitting President, and so on. Such was the header when Reagan got shot, for example… I know… I was on the air that day…)

Large boobs, small brain, seems to me the only attraction she ever had going.
Don’t misunderstand my comments; That she died, was tragic, certainly. But as best I can tell it was no less tragic than her life. I am forced to conclude that she occupied as much news space as she did, for one of two reasons… I’m not sure which is more depressing;
++She struck a chord with her fellow idiots in the news media

++ She struck a chord with her fellow idiots in the general population, and the news media was simply responding to that interest

I suppose some of the interest comes down to “Gee, there’s actually someone more screwed up than I am”. The sadder part of that is that there are still some people consider that to be a role model, of all things. Given what we know about the lack of thought processes in most people today, I suppose that should be no surprise at all. It still makes one shake their head, though.

And if you think role models don’t come into this, I would suggest you look at the parallels between her and another bleached blond with large bazooms and no brain; Marilyn Monroe.

Both appeared in Playboy, of course… and that was her major claim to fame, I suppose, in both cases… Cathy made mention of an old column that comes to mind, yesterday…One of the memes in the column was the change of style over the years away from the cheesecake into the harder core, and back again. And that change, I think to be reflective of a change in the society, which in turn, was as much driven by the likes of Playboy as by anything else; they tended to feed on each other. I never figured I’d be suggesting relative modesty to be societally groundbreaking, but there it is.
I’m sure I’ll think of a better way to lay out this comparison, at some point, but for the time being I suppose the only difference between those two is that when Monroe did it, it was strictly out of bounds, and very unusual. Smith blazed a trail that had been already trod, 40 years before. She couldn’t even add ‘pioneer’ to her list. Ultimately, the only way she could cut her own path, was to be more revealing, and in the end more vulgar, which proved to be of less value to the people whose attention she so craved. What she got back, wasn’t worth what she traded for it.
Here, in the end, is a train wreck of a life, that even the intelligent among us, couldn’t look away from for very long. Truly sad.

The discussion going on over at No More Mr. Nice Blog is, will this death push the story about John Edwards and his tolerance of intolerance towards Catholics in his campaign staff, off of cable network news. The answer, for my part, is likely yes…. they’ve been looking for the distraction, I think. And that’s sad, too.

* Speaking of that; I’ve pretty much held my peace as regards his staff and his choices ; I’ve done so because it seems to me that Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwen are right in line with what constitutes the Democratic party today. (mind you, that’s not a compliment, gang..) Nothing remarkable about it. I’ll say this again; their anti religious attitudes, their bigotry, are center line for the Democratic party today. (A recent example) Can I make that any more clear for you?

Apparently, Edwards, in his arrogance, has decided to keep them on staff, hoping apparently that the death of Anna Nicole Smith and the resulting 24/7 treatment of it, is going to keep his staff, and his choices thereof, off the front page, as it were. Another interpretation of this action, might be that Edwards is in an untenable situation, either way; he can either react to the firestorm, as he did initially, and anger his base, or he can placate his base, and anger everybody else. Apparently, given the distraction of the moment, (Smith, room temp) he’s decided that angering everyone else isn’t going to be quite as painful, since the majority of the people that would be voting for a man like Edwards, wouldn’t be paying attention just now, anyway.

I tend to doubt, however that he’s going to be successful in keeping this off the table for very long. And it’s a long way to November 2008… besides, neither one of them has been known for keeping their mouths shut at inopportune moments; That rather goes hand in hand, with the vitriol that got them the gig with Edwards in the first place. My guess is they’re gonna dig their own grave between now and then… and Edwards along with them.
* I notice that Oliver Willis has not had the courage to address my question of the other day. Like Smith’s death, it doesn’t surprise me in the least.

* Another matter I’ve not commented on, is Lisa Nowak. That certainly is a tragedy, as well, albeit in a different kind of tragedy. By every report I have seen, the activities that she became involved with that were reported on, are completely out of character with everything she’s done previously. That speaks to me of someone who felt their world slipping away and reacted accordingly.

Certainly, we’re going to be arguing about the sordid details on this for a long time; the wheels of justice are not exactly fast in this area… and I do not say this to defend her, but I can tell you from some personal experience (Second hand… a good friend) that losing a relationship that you had spent a lifetime building is traumatic enough to drive the most strong willed individual into acts that they normally wouldn’t even contemplate. Acts beyond all logic and reason. I am I no means suggesting that I approve of her actions; merely that I understand them.

* I see by way of Byron York at The Corner that the Pelosi/Reid Congress is running on the order of a 55% disapproval rating. Somehow, that doesn’t strike me as being much of a success. But by God, Pelosi got airplane, don’t she?

Fox news is reporting:

Reality star Anna Nicole Smith died Thursday after collapsing at a South Florida hotel, one of her lawyers said.

Smith, 39, did not respond to CPR, and her boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, was with her when she passed, her attorney, Ron Rale, told FOX News.The former Playboy Playmate was found unresponsive Thursday in her Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino room in Hollywood, Fla.

Somehow, I can’t really say Im shocked by this sad development.

Appendum:  (David L) Steve Huff, True Crime Blog, who says good-bye Vicky Lynn  has more on the person born Vicky Lynn Hogan and died Anna Nicole Smith. 

Socialism produces poverty.

Fidel Castro, Snap9:

In June 1960, Eisenhower reduced Cuba’s sugar import quota by 7,000,000 tons, and in response, Cuba nationalized some $850 million worth of U.S. property and businesses. The revolutionary government grabbed control of the nation by nationalizing industry, expropriating property owned, collectivizing agriculture, and enacting policies which would benefit the population. While popular among the poor, these policies alienated many former supporters of the revolution among the Cuban middle and upper-classes. Over one million Cubans later migrated to the U.S., forming a vocal anti-Castro community in Miami, Florida, actively supported and funded by successive U.S. administrations.

Hugo Chavez, Washington Times:

For Venezuela’s firebrand leader Hugo Chavez, oil is the indispensable crutch that props up his regime. Mr. Chavez’s recent moves to bring Venezuelan oil assets under control of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), while not surprising, are another reason Washington should be concerned. The Chavez government has turned its attention to bringing more state control to the oil operations currently managed by foreign firms, including Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, in the Orinoco River basin, considered to be one of the largest remaining oil reserves in the world

Hillary Clinton Las Vegas Review-Journal:

But, “Threatening to hijack private property in the energy industry is a serious matter,” the business daily points out, in a mild understatement. “If (Sen.) Clinton were able to seize profits, shareholders would suffer harm and Americans who use energy — that’s all of us, except maybe Ted Kaczynski in his Unabomber days — would be saddled with higher prices and lower supplies.”

Today Cubans enjoy a per capita personl income of $3,900, to wit poverty.   Chavez is hell bent on following Catro’s path.   And Mrs. Clinton would nothing more than to do the same.   What you to the thought near universal poverty?

Mrs. Clinton is a socialist.

Someone apparently is watching closer than I’ve been, of late. Word this morning via Email, that Actor Ron Carey died on the 22nd of last month, at age 71.

And the Oregon state climatologist may lose his title because he does not accept the theory that humans are the main cause of global climate change. A Portland TV station is reporting that Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski wants the title taken away from George Taylor — who insists natural cycles explain most of the planet’s climate changes. Taylor is a climatologist with Oregon State University — which gave him the title of state climatologist.

The governor is seeking the authority to appoint his own climatologist — and says it’s important to have one that agrees with the state’s goals of reducing greenhouse gasses.

That’s Fox’s Britt Hume, last night. Go ahead, gang and tell me again how this ‘global warming’ myth is science, and not politics.

Tim Russert had been described as the king of the Washington press corps.  Well the king did not have a good day. 

Tim Russert hobbled into the courtroom this afternoon on crutches. When he left the stand at the end of the day (slated to return for more cross-examination tomorrow) his credibility had been so hobbled it needed a pair of crutches of its own.

That is Arianna Huffington describing her reation to Russet’s testimony in the Scooter Libby perjury case.   It does get any prettier for Russrt.  Puffy is less than impressed with Russert and Clarice Feldman is down right hostile, “Then cross examination began, and Russert’s credibility as a witness was deeply shaken.”

McQ notes a trend here in NY:

The Nanny State is alive and well and further developing in New York.

Walk, jog or bicycle across a New York street with an iPod plugged in your ears and you could get slapped with a $100 ticket under a new law proposed by a legislator from Brooklyn.

State Sen. Carl Kruger’s bill would also outlaw the use of cell phones, Blackberries, video games or other electronic devices when crossing the street.

He cited the death of a 21-year-old man who was listening to music when he stepped off a curb and was hit by a bus in Brooklyn in September, and the death of a 23-year-old iPod listener last month.

“If you’re so involved in your electronic device that you can’t see or hear a car coming, this is indicative of a larger problem that requires some sort of enforcement beyond the application of common sense,” Kruger said.

Not said, of course, is that thousands, perhaps millions, successfully negotiated street crossings within that same time period while doing any of the above things Kruger wants to ban. These sorts of laws seek to treat everyone as though they were as stupid as the 2 who managed to kill themselves. That is the epitome of Nanny State thinking.

Actually, I head about this a few minutes ago while listening to WABC/77… the Senator is on, just now, at around 9 eastern. The host, whose name escapes me at the moment, is incredulous.  I think, justifiably so.

I’d make a call to the place but I figure my chances are positioned between a snowball and hell to get in down there on their switchboard.  What what I say if I actually got on the air there?  I would respectfully ask the senator a series of questions along these lines…

*Are we now going to ban conversations in cars?

*Are we are going to ban pretty girls from walking down along the sides of city streets?  Or good looking men, for that matter.

*Are we now going to ban advertising which is designed for drivers to read?

*Are we going to ban car radios ?

All these things and quite a bit more, constitute distractions. They are not even much of the leap from the logic (sic) the senator is using.  So why does the senator’s bill, not include a ban on these things?  After all, the public safety depends on it.

Mrs.Pelosi wants her and her family to travel in the lap of luxury, and she wants you,  the taxpayer, to foot her bill.   Mrs. Pelosi has requested that Air Force provide with a Air Force C-32, the military designation for  a Boeing 757 for her personal use.

It costs fifteen thousand dollars per hour to fly this bird, and it will cost you over three hundred thousand dollar to fly Mrs. Pelosi around trip to San Francisco and back.

Contact the Henry Waxman, House Committee on Oversight and Governent Reform hotline to report Mrs. Pelosi’s waste of the taxpayer’s money.  I sent Chairman Waxman a message.   Have you?

More:  Republican Study Committee ; NRO.?