DanielC's Blog

Bill O’Reilly Discusses Rosie O'Donnell, Charlie Sheen and 9-11 Conspiracy Theories Posted by Noel Sheppard on March 23, 2007 - 14:38.

There are a lot of conspiracy theories running through extreme left-wing circles about the attacks on 9/11. One such piece of drivel is an Internet movie called “Loose Change.”

On Thursday’s “O’Reilly Factor,” the host invited a New York City detective named Bo Dietl, and author Gerald Posner to discuss some recent developments surrounding the conspiracy theorists. O’Reilly began (video available here, h/t Hot Air):

The far-left fringe has embraced the conspiracy theory that elements of the U.S. government carried out the attacks on 9/11. It's unbelievable, but that's what they're saying. Now some mainstream individuals are buying into it. Rosie O'Donnell discussed it on her blog. And the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, billionaire Mark Cuban, may distribute a movie called "Loose Change." That piece of propaganda may be narrated by Charlie Sheen. And it says the U.S. government was criminally negligent on 9/11.

Hostage fears over troops seized by Iran Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor, and James Bone in New York

Britain’s crisis with Iran deepened last night after Tehran justified seizing 15 British servicemen by claiming that they had strayed into Iranian territorial waters “illegally”.

The announcement appeared to rule out any hope that the incident was a simple mistake that could be quickly rectified.

Instead, there were growing fears that the 15 British sailors and Royal Marines were victims of a deliberate ambush on the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway by Iranian Revolutionary Guards, perhaps seeking to use the captives as hostages in the increasingly tense stand-off between the West and Iran over its nuclear programme.

As tensions rose on the Iraqi border, the US House of Representatives set a deadline of August 31 next year for the withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq. In Baghdad, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister, Salam al-Zubaie, was seriously injured in a suicide attack within his fortified compound.

Expert View The fear must be that the fate of the British servicemen will now be connected to what happens at the UN with regards to the resolution against Iran Richard Beeston

Related Links

• Comment: Pawns in a deadly game of high stakes

• Iran to hit back at US ‘kidnaps’

• Iran’s President to address UN

Iran blamed Britain for the border incident. “British chargé d’affaires Kate Smith was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to receive a firm protest from Iran against the illegal entry of British sailors into Iranian territorial waters,” said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran.

“This makes a number of times that British sailors have illegally entered Iranian territorial waters at Arvand Roud. They were arrested by border guards for investigation and questioning,” the statement added.

The defiant Iranian message appeared to dismiss earlier appeals by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Iranian Ambassador in London for the British servicemen to be returned immediately with their equipment.

The incident occurred mid-morning when a boarding party left HMS Cornwall, the flagship of the multinational task force in the northern Gulf, in two small craft to inspect an Iranian merchant ship.

When the inspection was completed the British were surrounded by six larger vessels from a Revolutionary Guards naval unit.

The Iranian ships are normally armed with heavy mounted machineguns while the British had only side arms to protect themselves. The British personnel were then escorted at gunpoint into Iranian territorial waters, where they have now disappeared.

Commodore Nick Lambert, the commander of HMS Cornwall, said that a helicopter monitored the boats being moved up the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which demarcates the Iran-Iraq border, towards an Iranian base.

There were hopes that the situation could be resolved as it was in 2004 when eight Royal Marines and sailors were abducted in similar circumstances by the Iranians. The men were paraded on television and made to “apologise” but were eventually freed.

Relations with Britain have since become much more strained. British commanders in southern Iraq have openly accused Iran of arming, training and funding Shia militias responsible for attacks on British forces.

The Iranians are also angered by a build-up of US forces in the region and the arrest and detention of five of their officials in northern Iraq by the US military in January.

There are also fresh tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. Britain is the co-author of a United Nations Security Council Resolution, due to be voted on today, that would impose sanctions on Tehran.

President Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader who was due in New York today to debate the motion, abruptly cancelled his visit last night, citing delays in obtaining US visas for his entourage.

Illegal immigrants allowed at least five strikes
Border-crossings guidelines revealed amid probe into U.S. attorney firings

By SUSAN CARROLL and MICHAEL HEDGES
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Documents released in the controversy about eight fired U.S. attorneys show that federal prosecutors in Texas generally have declined to bring criminal charges against illegal immigrants caught crossing the border — until at least their sixth arrest.

A heavily redacted Department of Justice memo from late 2005 disclosed the prosecution guidelines for immigration offenses, numbers the federal government tries to keep classified. DOJ officials would not say Thursday whether it has adjusted the number since the memo was written, citing "law enforcement reasons."

The prosecution guidelines have been a source of frustration for years among the ranks of U.S. Border Patrol agents, said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council. Smugglers can figure out the criteria by trial and error, he said, and can exploit it to avoid prosecution.

"It's devastating on morale," Bonner said. "Our agents are risking their lives out there, and then they're told, 'Sorry, that doesn't meet the criteria.' "

The memo was written in response to DOJ inquiries at five U.S. attorney offices, including Houston, about immigration prosecutions. The others — San Antonio, San Diego, Phoenix and Albuquerque — cover the 2,000-mile border.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston declined to comment.

In a statement, DOJ spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the agency sent 30 prosecutors to districts along the Southwest border in 2006. The added manpower "will permit districts to adjust their guidelines and take in more cases," according to the statement.

The controversy about the guidelines dates back years, but much of the recent unrest centers on a push by some members of Congress for more aggressive immigration prosecutions, particularly involving smuggling cases.

As part of the inquiry into the firing of the U.S. attorneys, the House Judiciary Committee has posted on its Web site thousands of pages of e-mail, memos, reports and testimony.

The documents offer a glimpse into the overburdened federal court and detention systems, which suffer from a "lack of resources and bed space to detain and prosecute every illegal entry violator," the DOJ memo states.

With Border Patrol agents making about 1 million arrests annually, the DOJ is forced to prioritize the most serious offense and repeated offenders, the memo states. The guidelines vary from district to district, depending on issues such as staffing and the local crime level.

In 2005, the Southern District of Texas was the busiest in the country, and sentenced 6,414 defendants, including 4,313 for immigration-related offenses, according to data from the Sentencing Commission included in another memo. The West District of Texas was second, with 5,839 defendants sentenced in 2005, records show.

In late 2005, the Border Patrol cracked down on crossings through a 200-mile zone near Del Rio and pledged to prosecute and jail each illegal immigrant arrested there before being deported, a sharp deviation from normal practice.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has canceled his trip to New York to address the U.N. Security Council before a vote on whether to impose further sanctions against his country for refusing to stop enriching uranium, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday.

Mohammed Ali Hosseini, the spokesman, told Iranian state television that the trip was scrapped because of "America's obstruction in issuing visas" to the Iranian delegation that was to travel to New York.

A diplomat on the Security Council said Ahmadinejad would instead send his deputy foreign minister Saturday to address the Security Council before the vote. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because there had not been an official announcement.

Mohammad Mir Ali Mohammadi, press secretary of Iran's mission at the U.N., told The Associated Press the U.S. did not deliver a visa to the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, in time for the Iranian president to pick it up before for the council session Saturday.

He said Russia and China were trying to postpone the session until Monday and if the session was put off Ahamdinejad would decide whether to come.

Ahmadinejad had said he wanted to address the Security Council before it takes up a draft resolution seeking to pressure Iran to cease uranium enrichment, a process that can make fuel for civilian reactors or fissile material for a nuclear warhead.

The five veto-wielding members of the Security Council want a vote on the resolution Saturday. However, diplomats said the vote could be delayed because negotiations were continuing in an effort to reach unanimity and give the sanctions more weight.

"Maybe we will vote tomorrow, maybe not because the priority is to make this vote unanimous," said Maria Zakharova, first secretary of Russia's U.N. mission.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier claimed on Iranian state-run radio that the U.S. government had not issued a visa for Ahmadinejad.

But Daniel Wendell, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland said Ahmadinejad's and other Iranian officials' passports had been handed over in Bern on Friday. Another 31 other passports for support staff were to ready later in the day. The passports would then be taken by courier to Tehran in time for the Iranians to fly to New York.

Zarif told reporters "the visas for (Ahmadinejad's) crew were not ready yet."

The United States says Iran's nuclear efforts are cover for a weapons program, but Tehran insists it only wants electricity.

In December, the Security Council voted unanimously to impose limited sanctions on Iran, ordering all countries to stop supplying Iran with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programs and to freeze assets of 10 key Iranian companies and 12 individuals related to those programs.

Iran responded by announcing an expansion of its enrichment program. Ahmadinejad has remained defiant and asked to speak to the Security Council just before it votes on the new draft resolution.

The new sanctions would ban Iranian arms exports and freeze the assets of 28 additional individuals and organizations involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs. About a third of those are linked to the Revolutionary Guard, an elite military corps.

Several non-permanent members of the Security Council have resisted the draft resolution, agreed upon last week by the five council powers—the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France—along with Germany.

In an effort to overcome their concerns, Russia proposed a compromise Friday over a proposal by Indonesia and Qatar calling for the Middle East to be free of weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. Including such an appeal could have implications for Israel, a U.S. ally widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it has never officially acknowledged it.

The Russian proposal would include a recognition that "a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue would contribute global non-proliferation efforts, including those in the Middle East."

France and Britain approved of the wording, while the United States was considering it, said Axel Crau, a spokesman for France's U.N. mission.

"It's definitely a key point and probably the key to unanimity," Crau said.

He said the resolution's co-sponsors—France, Germany and Britain—still wanted to call a vote Saturday but may delay it to seek consensus. "For the sake of unanimity we are willing to make some efforts because unanimity has a value," he said.

Alejandro Wolff, the acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said the nuclear debate should not be affected by the Iranian seizure of 15 British sailors and marines in the Persian Gulf Friday.

Why Isn't Russia's Denial Of Nuclear Fuel To Iran A Bigger Story?

This would seem to be a rather significant development, one that should be headline news. However, I suspect it's not getting the attention it deserves for no other reason than because it might reflect well on George Bush,

 

"Russia is bringing home its technicians and engineers from Iran's unfinished nuclear reactor site at a time of growing international pressure on Tehran to curb its atomic ambitions, U.S. and European representatives said Tuesday.

 

Although both Russia and Iran officially say their differences are financial, the dispute has a strong political component that the West hopes could result in Moscow lining up closer behind U.S.-led efforts to slap harsher U.N. sanctions on Tehran for refusing to freeze uranium enrichment.

The representatives - a European diplomat and a U.S. official - said a large number of Russian technicians, engineers and other specialists were flown to Moscow within the last week, around the time senior Russian and Iranian officials tried but failed to resolve differences over the nuclear reactor outside the southern city of Bushehr.

Russian officials deny links between the dispute over Bushehr and Iran's nuclear defiance. But two senior European officials, speaking separately, said Moscow recently dropped all pretexts and bluntly told Iran that Russia would not make good on pledges to deliver nuclear fuel for Bushehr unless Tehran complies with the U.N. demand for an enrichment freeze.

Asked about the approximately 2,000 Russian workers at Bushehr, the U.S. official said: "A good number of them have left recently."

 

Do people get the importance of this story? This could be the event that prevents a US or Israeli bombing run on Iran. In other words, this is, if it lasts, an incredible foreign policy victory for the United States that actually has the potential to prevent a war down the road.

So, why isn't this being treated as the enormous newsmaking event that it is? Perhaps because the Russians don't do anything out of the goodness of their hearts, which means that someone, perhaps with the middle initial W., managed to make this happen. Better to downplay the whole thing, rather than play it up, and risk Bush getting the credit he deserves if it's his doing.

RWN

U.S. SOLDIER BURNED IN EFFIGY AT PORTLAND ANTI-WAR PROTEST...

Click above... 

This is absolutely going way to far, if you do this in my home town, I'm not going to stand for it.

 

I've lost toleranc for this type of Un-American Free Speech. These people need to be dealt with in an appropiate manner.

Never Too Young to Indoctrinate: 'Why Mommy Is a Democrat'

 Mark Finkelstein

Oy, did Google's algorithims ever misfire this morning. There at the top of my Gmail inbox was an ad, which the Google wizards presumably determined to be geared to my predilections, for a book called . . . "Why Mommy Is a Democrat."

I suppose Google was right, in the sense that the ad piqued my interest, though the odds of my buying a copy of the book are as remote as Outer Mongolia. But let's have a look. According to the About page:
Why Mommy is a Democrat brings to life the core values of the Democratic party in ways that young children will easily understand and thoroughly enjoy. . . this colorful 28-page paperback illustrates the Democratic principles of fairness, tolerance and peace, and concern for the well-being of others. It's a great way for parents to gently communicate their committment to these principles and explain their support for the party.

Why Mommy is a Democrat may look like a traditional children's book, but it definitely isn't just for children. With numerous subtle (and not-so-subtle) swipes at the Bush administration and the Republican party, Why Mommy is a Democrat will appeal to Democrats of all ages.And what better way to teach kids "tolerance" than by taking "not-so-subtle swipes" at those who have different opinions?!

The sample pages are very revealing. Have a look at the one shown here: "Democrats make sure we all share our toys, just like Mommy does."  I wonder how Dems "make sure" we share? Sounds a bit ominous. And so the socialist indoctrination begins!

Another pages assures us: "Democrats make sure we are always safe, just like Mommy does." Strength through sharing toys!

A quick, well, Googling doesn't turn up a companion volume, "Why Daddy is a Republican." Market opportunity, anyone?

'We want this baby polar bear dead' say animal rights lobbyBy ALLAN HALL

 

Tiny, fluffy and adorable, Knut the baby polar bear became an animal superstar after he was abandoned by his mother.

 

He rapidly became the symbol of Berlin Zoo, whose staff bottle-fed him and handed out cuddles in between

 

• See YouTube footage of Knut here! (Note: commentary on the video is in German)
• Baby polar bear 'will be spared,' proclaims zoo

Scroll down for more...

When Knut was born last December his mother ignored him, zoo officials intervened and chose to raise him themselves

 

At three months old, however, the playful 19lb bundle of fur is at the centre of an impassioned debate over whether he should live or die.

Animal rights activists argue that he should be given a lethal injection rather than brought up suffering the humiliation of being treated as a domestic pet.

 

Activists argue that it is inappropriate for a predator, known for its fierceness and ability to fend for itself in the wild, to be snuggled

 

"The zoo must kill the bear," said spokesman Frank Albrecht. "Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws."

See also...
• ASBO Gorillas: how delinquent gorillas were given a second chance

 

When Knut was born in December, his mother ignored him and his brother, who died. Zoo officials intervened, choosing to raise the cub themselves.

But Albrecht and other activists fret that it is inappropriate for a predator, known for its fierceness and ability to fend for itself in the wild, to be snuggled, bottle-fed and made into a commodity by zookeepers.

They argue that current treatment of the cub is inhumane and could cause him future difficulties interacting with fellow polar bears. "They cannot domesticate a wild animal," added Ruediger Schmiedel, head of the Foundation for Bears.

The charity cites a similar case of a baby sloth which was put to sleep after being abandoned by its mother last December in the Leipzig city zoo.

But Berlin Zoo holds different opinions. Its chief vet Andre Schuele says the activists' criticisms would make him angry if he could take them seriously. "Polar bears live alone in the wild. I see no logical reason why this bear should be killed."

Schuele also argued that given the increased rarity of wild polar bears, it makes sense to keep them alive in captivity so that they can be bred. "Polar bears are under threat of extinction, and if we feed the bear with a bottle, it has a good chance of growing up and perhaps becoming attractive as a stud for other zoos," he said.

Knut, who recently made the official A-list when he was pictured by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz for an environmental protection campaign, is scheduled to make his public debut at the zoo in the next few days.

The New Democratic Motto: Millions For Surrender, Not One Cent For Victory. This is absolutely grotesque, House Democratic leaders are offering billions in federal funds for lawmakers' pet projects large and small to secure enough votes this week to pass an Iraq funding bill that would end the war next year. ...But at least a few Republicans and conservative Democrats who otherwise would vote "no" remain undecided, as they ponder whether they can leave on the table millions of dollars for constituents by opposing the $124 billion war funding bill due for a vote on Thursday. "She hates the games the Democrats are playing," said Guy Short, chief of staff to Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.), a staunch conservative who remains undecided, thanks to billions of dollars in the bill for drought relief and agriculture assistance. "But Representative Musgrave was just down in southeastern Colorado, talking to ranchers and farmers, and they desperately need this assistance." ...A few Republicans are at least considering a vote for the bill, including Reps. Wayne T. Gilchrest and Roscoe G. Bartlett of Maryland. Some conservative Democrats who had been expected to vote no on Thursday are wavering. To get them off the fence and on the bill, Democrats have a key weapon at their disposal: cold, hard cash. The bill contains billions for agriculture and drought relief, children's health care and Gulf Coast hurricane recovery. For Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), there is $25 million for spinach growers hurt by last year's E. coli scare. For three conservative Democrats in Georgia, there is $75 million for peanut storage. For lawmakers from the bone-dry West, there is $500 million for wildfire suppression. An additional $120 million is earmarked for shrimp and Atlantic menhaden fishermen. So far, at least in public pronouncements, the $21 billion in funding beyond President Bush's request has earned Democrats nothing but scorn. ...House GOP leaders have accused Democratic leaders of flagrant vote-buying. "The war supplemental legislation voted out of the Appropriations Committee last week was an exercise in arrogance that demonstrated the utter contempt the majority has for the American people and their hard-earned tax dollars," fumed Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.). "We are at war with a ruthless global terrorist network, yet the appropriators allocated hundreds of millions in funds to gratuitous pork projects." ...But the success of adding the spending measures will not really be known until the votes are tallied. Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-La.), who is running for his state's governorship, has conspicuously refused to say whether he can vote against $2.9 billion for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery, including $1.3 billion for New Orleans levee repairs. Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), usually a reliable vote for the Republican leadership, is undecided as he ponders how he can vote against drought relief he has worked for months to secure. The same goes for Musgrave, whose district has been devastated by drought." In this country, they used to say, "Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute." Now, the Democrats want to change that to, "Millions for surrender, not one cent for victory." And these Congressmen who are considering surrendering to Al-Qaeda for pork? Disgraceful. Imagine one day, far in future, dying of old age and having this on your tombstone, "I did my part to see my own country humiliated and defeated in Iraq for $75 million in peanut storage." Ugh...

I was floored when I heard this story.

It started last November when the Iman's in question where removed from a flight.

They prayed before they got on board, chanted, acted suspiciously, asked for seat-belt extentions when it was clear they were'nt needed, and bottom line in a post 9/11 world acted in a way that would raise the concerncs of many. We all know that they were removed from the flight.

I think everyone knows they sued the Airline, and now they want to sue the civilians who complained to the flight attendants. The flight attendants were suspicious of their intent as well.

Now folks, I don't claim to be the know all of everything but this seems to me to be another thought out plan and an attack on our Judicial system and our Freedoms using our basic Civil Rights.

I wonder what thoughts you all have on this?

And if I have the story wrong or I have mis-represented the facts, please feel free to add to the story.

EIB

Now on to the movie 300. How many of you people know about the battle of Thermopylae? It's one of the most famous battles in all of battles. The battle of Thermopylae happened in 480 BC. That's 480 years before Christ. What happened was the Persians were on the march to try to take over Greece and a bunch of Peloponnesia. Now, Greece had a bunch of city states. Sparta was one of them. I don't know how much you know about the Spartans, but there is a reason why the term Spartans means spartan. Spartans were all born and bred to be nothing but warriors. There was not one convenience in their lives. I'm speaking of the times. There was no leisure. The Spartans were just pure, 100 percent warriors. It was the reason they lived. Three-hundred of them withstood a battle at the Thermopylae pass in the face of thousands of Persians, led by their king, Leonidas. In Greece there is now a huge monument to him. Now, they were wiped out, but they delayed the thousands and thousands and thousands of oncoming Persians long enough that the rest of the Greek army was able to head them off in naval battles and other areas. In fact, there was a traitor involved in this.

The traitor hooked up with the Persians and gave them an alternate route beyond the Thermopylae pass to get where they were headed, and that was a factor in this story. Anyway, this movie 300 was filmed in Canada and totally filmed inside a warehouse. Not one frame of this movie was shot outdoors. It’s set a box office opening weekend record for the month of March, anyway, at over $70 million. So, lo and behold, “An Iranian official on Sunday lashed out at the Hollywood movie ‘300’ for insulting the Persian civilization, local Fars News Agency reported. Javad Shamqadri, an art advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused the new movie of being ‘part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological war aimed at Iranian culture,’ said the report. Shamqadri was quoted as saying ‘following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hollywood and cultural authorities in the U.S. initiated studies to figure out how to attack Iranian culture.’”

Persia is what Iran now is, for those of you in Rio Linda.

“The movie's effort wound be fruitless, because ‘values in Iranian culture and the Islamic Revolution are too strongly seated to be damaged by such plans,’ said the Iranian official.” Yeah, there might be some license taken with this. Just more evidence that to these people, you leftists and Hollywood types are in their crosshairs if they ever get here. Mark my words. Anyway, this is not the first movie depiction of the battle of Thermopylae. In 1962, there was a movie called The 300 Spartans, and Richard Egan was in the movie.

 

Well we have people here to who think movies are real! Great Show, go see it!

Bozell Column: Bush's Eight vs. Clinton's 93

Posted by Brent Bozell on March 13, 2007 - 17:27.

The March 13 Washington Post erupted on the front page with the revelation that the White House played a role in the dismissal of eight U.S. Attorneys. "Firings Had Genesis In White House," screamed the headline. Documents showed that back in 2005, White House counsel Harriet Miers recommended the idea to the Justice Department that all 93 U.S. Attorneys be replaced. Instead, the Bush team dismissed only eight.

But something quite amazing was omitted by those hard-charging Post reporters Dan Eggen and John Solomon digging through White House E-mails for their scandalized front-page bombshell. Didn’t Bill Clinton’s brand new Attorney General Janet Reno demand resignations from all 93 U.S. attorneys on March 24, 1993? Wouldn’t that fact be relevant to the story? Wouldn’t it have the effect of lessening the oh-my-God hyperbole on the front page if the reader was shown that what Bush did was one-tenth as dramatic as what Team Clinton did? Yes, and yes.

 

House Republicans Don't Want Muslim Group Using Capitol Conference Room

Monday, March 12, 2007

 

WASHINGTON —  A House Republican leadership group said Monday that Democrats should retract an offer to let the nation's largest Islamic civil liberties organization use a Capitol conference room for a seminar.

The House Republican Conference referred to the Council on American-Islamic Relations as "terrorist apologists" and called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to cancel the forum scheduled for Tuesday.

"Democrats arrange official meeting with pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah group in U.S. Capitol," headlined a Conference press release carrying a Washington Times article on the planned meeting.

"It's really disappointing," said CAIR national communications director Ibrahim Hooper, that whenever there's an attack from elective officials "we don't even ask any more which party it is. It should be a concern to ordinary Republicans that the party is being viewed as a reservoir of anti-Muslim hate."

CAIR has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada and says its mission is "to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding." 

Tuesday's seminar takes up global attitudes on Islam-West relations. It's common practice for lawmakers to authorize use of rooms in the Capitol for advocacy group meetings. The CAIR meeting was arranged by Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., in a room used by the Ways and Means Committee. The Speaker's office said it has no direct say over the room's use. Pascrell did not have an immediate comment.

The Republican Conference also put out past statements by CAIR officials and several Democrats suggesting support of or links to terrorists.

But Hooper noted that the organization had launched public service ads on TV against terrorism and had worked closely with the FBI and other government agencies. CAIR officials joined President Bush in a visit to Islamic centers after the Sept. 11 attacks, he said

 

HOW DOES A DEMOCRAT EXPLAIN THIS!!

STOP USING OUR FREEDOMS AND GOOD NATURE AGAINST YOUR OWN PEOPLE.

Firedoglake Bloggers Fantasize About Killing RovePosted by Lance Dutson on March 12, 2007 - 14:33.

The ultra-left echo chamber blog Firedoglake is continuing to excel in its pursuit of the worst in political hysteria. This time, the notorious blog articulates its wish for Karl Rove's demise by describing the hyper-violent murder of the early twentieth century Russian mystic Rasputin. The post is titled 'Rovesputin', and features an image of Rove superimposed on a painting of the unfortunate advisor to Czar Nicholas.

FDL was founded by Jane Hamsher, who made her big name by posting a picture of Joe Liebermann in blackface on The Huffington Post,and then being forced to apologize for it. She is also known for being the producer of the ultra-violent film Natural Born Killers. According to Wikipedia, "Hamsher had an uncredited cameo in the film as a female demon." Hamsher has recruited a fine group of contributors to FDL, and the result is a continuing escalation of conspiracy-theory rhetoric.

 

What if a Republican said it?

Global Warming Expedition to North Pole Cancelled Due to Cold and FrostbitePosted by Noel Sheppard on March 12, 2007 - 16:53.

Folks, you can’t make this stuff up. However, I sincerely beg all readers to properly stow potables, combustibles, and sharp objects before proceeding further.

An expedition to the North Pole to bring attention to global warming was cancelled due to the extraordinarily cold weather. I kid you not. As reported by the Associated Press Monday (emphasis mine throughout):

The explorers, Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, on Saturday called off what was intended to be a 530-mile trek across the Arctic Ocean after Arnesen suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment.

"Ann said losing toes and going forward at all costs was never part of the journey," said Ann Atwood, who helped organize the expedition.

I’m verklempt, and having difficulty typing through the tears of laughter. But, unlike our intrepid explorers, I must go on for the benefit of mankind:

 

MY WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN LAUGHING ABOUT THIS FOR WEEKS.