Barbarella!

JANE FONDA PROTESTS WAR

Controversial actress Jane Fonda is planning a cross-country bus tour to call for an end to U.S. military operations in Iraq. "I have not taken a stand on any war since Vietnam," Jane said. "I carry a lot of baggage from that." The Monster-in-Law star — who's been promoting her autobiography, My Life So Far — her kick off her anti-war tour in March. -- National Enquirer, July 29,2005

Kinsley Smushed

From The LA Weekly
The Michael Kinsley Experiment Ends
Why he was the wrong guy for the Los Angeles Times
by NIKKI FINKE


Years ago, there was a notorious movie based on a best-selling book called The Harrad Experiment, whose plot centers on a college that conducts an avant-garde policy of encouraging students to experience sexual freedom. Tension and confrontation ensue, yet this intentionally dramatic film just appears ludicrous. That’s how it is with The Kinsley Experiment, which officially ended this week at the Los Angeles Times not with a bang but with him whimpering to a rival newspaper. It also leaves behind a readership confused by Michael Kinsley’s yearlong fling with editorial freedom during which he flippantly recast the venerable editorial and opinion sections into a comedy of errors — describing readers as “assholes,” hyping wikitorials, inciting blog porn on the Web site, and snidely dubbing his domain “The Opinion Manufacturing Division.”
Good riddance, Mikey. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out to your new $6.2 mil Seattle mansion, purchased right before you took the LAT job.

New Democrat, Old Socialist

From Clinton Chases Her Husband's Legacy,
NY Sun, July 26, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Should Senator Clinton be considered the sole rightful heir to her husband's political legacy as a "New Democrat"?

That was the lingering question yesterday as the annual policy conference of a group of centrist Democrats was transformed into a showcase for Mrs. Clinton and three other politicians seen as possible candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

PIAPS

Spank the Monkey

Recently, Senator Hillary Clinton compared the president to "Mad" magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, he of "What, me worry?" fame. Demeaning, impolitic and an embarrassing cheapshot from a potential presidential candidate in 2008 who's best strategy is to downplay her mean-spirited reputation. Not off to a good start, Hillary.

'No Sale' for the New Hillary

From WSJ.com Opinion Journal, July 21, 2005:

Hillary's Rebranding is a Work in Progress

The good news for Hillary Clinton is that polls increasingly suggest the American
public thinks a woman can be "tough enough" to be president. The bad news for
a certain Senator from New York is that the same public has yet to be convinced
that she's that woman....snip...

Ms. Clinton's bigger problem may be her failure to challenge the naysayers in
her own party. The anti-war, defeatist rhetoric from Ted Kennedy, Howard
Dean and MoveOn.org has been on the rise, yet Ms. Clinton has barely
stirred to speak out against this Democratic view, or explain coherently why she
has taken stances so at odds with her party's noisiest voices. This is the sort
of nonaction that makes voters question if her tough talk on national defense is
more a political calculation than a matter of heartfelt belief. No wonder the
public still has doubts about whether Ms. Clinton is "tough enough" to be
POTUS.

Mad World II

Sondrak asks, "In whose army?" As Paul Harvey says, "Now you know the rest of the story."

From NewsMax.com, July 19, 2005:

Hillary Clinton: I Tried to Join the
Marines

USA Today's report on Sen. Hillary Clinton's newfound appeal as a possible
commander in chief omitted a key part of her resume that proves she's long been
a hawk on military and defense issues: her attempt to join the Marines 30 years
ago.
Or at least that's what she claimed.
Seated beside her husband, the former first lady recounted her military
experience during a 1994 TV interview.
"Gee, now it was probably 19 years ago - in 1975," Mrs. Clinton recalled.
"I decided that I was very interested in having some experience in serving in
some capacity in the military."
'Because we all love the military so much,' Mr. Clinton interjected
helpfully. ...

Hat Tip: Curmudgeonly and Skeptical

Mad World

From NewsMax.com, July 19, 2005:

Hillary Clinton: I Tried to Join the
Marines

USA Today's report on Sen. Hillary Clinton's newfound appeal as a possible
commander in chief omitted a key part of her resume that proves she's long been
a hawk on military and defense issues: her attempt to join the Marines 30 years
ago.
Or at least that's what she claimed.
Seated beside her husband, the former first lady recounted her military
experience during a 1994 TV interview.
"Gee, now it was probably 19 years ago - in 1975," Mrs. Clinton recalled.
"I decided that I was very interested in having some experience in serving in
some capacity in the military."
'Because we all love the military so much,' Mr. Clinton interjected
helpfully. ...

Hat Tip: Curmudgeonly and Skeptical

A Toast to Judge Roberts!

Screwdrivers tonight come with a parasol, extra fruit and a Chuck Schumer swizzle stick. Bottoms up, Chuck!

Caught in MSM's Sausage Machine

Objective, unbiased journalism is at its best when making news into elephant sausage.

Man on a Mission

Riding a roach to fame and fortune.

Kerfuffle

From Plame-Wilson Love Story in Kerfuffles:

Jim Lynch at "bRight & Early" is one astute blogger! He hit the nail on the head yesterday with Wilson Weirdness Weekend Wrap-up.

“Now comes the time for the Main Steam Media, known affectionately as the MSM, to drink the 'frog-marching' truth serum like the men that they aren’t.” is how Neddy at Kerfuffles begins "Lady Spy Plame and the Frog", which is, at it’s heart, a beautiful love story.

A beautiful love story, spun in Washington as only the Washington spinsters can do. Plame-Wilson is a scandal-less romance told in the voice of the unbiased Main Stream Media and including all the Washington prerequisites; Subterfuge, Ethics, Politics, Lying Liars, Truth-tellers, Back-stabbing, Sex, Spies and Money.

Yo!

Plame security breach? It just ain't so, Joe.

Mark Steyn: "What's this really about? It's not difficult. A big chunk of the American elites have decided there is no war; it's all a racket got up by Bush and Cheney. And, even if there is a war somewhere or other, wherever it is, it's not where Bush says it is. Iraq is a ''distraction'' from Afghanistan -- and, if there were no Iraq, Afghanistan would be a distraction from Niger, and Niger's a distraction from Valerie Plame's next photo shoot for Vanity Fair." --
"Plame security breach? It just ain't so, Joe"

Coulter Claus

You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why ...

Joe Wilson: Return of the Pink Panther

Joe Wilson has been whining, wailing and accusing Rove of putting his wife's life and livelihood in danger because he outed her from her under cover position at the CIA. Not only did Rove not out her, but Wilson's wife wasn't even under cover... as reported today... by Wilson's own admission:

"But at the same time, Wilson acknowledged his wife was no longer in an
undercover job at the time Novak's column first identified her. 'My wife
was not a clandestine officer the day that Bob Novak blew her identity,' he said.." -- See Rove Learned CIA
Agent's Name From Novak

---

It's a good thing Dems are so prone to the feckless persuasion, because we haven't learned to act like the majority party yet.

From Polipundit, July 15, 2005, recalling comments posted on December 30, 2003:

The decision by John Ashcroft to recuse himself and turn over the Wilson/Plame investigation to a special counsel is stupid, stupid, stupid! I’d always thought the whole Wilson/Plame thing would amount to a big ball of nothing; but Washington Republicans seem determined to prove me wrong by giving Democrats everything they want.

This is just another illustration that Republicans are hopeless at using the wheels of power in Washington to perpetuate their grip. When you control the executive and legislative branches, what possible reason do you have for ceding control of politically sensitive investigations to “neutral” investigators?

The president made the same mistake in appointing RINO former-Governor Tom Kean to head the 9-11 commission. Democrats, meanwhile, appointed former-Senator Max Cleland - a bitter Bush hater - to run their side of things.

It’s time the administration stopped caving in to Democrats on these issues and started appointing hardcore Republican partisans to every conceivable office.

That says it all, no?

Progress

Progress, as in 'Progressivism'

Supreme Court Nominee Named 

Obama: Dems Lost

"The Democrats have lost their way," conceded Obama. "We are trying to decide what our core values are." Orlando Sentinel, July 10, 2005.

(Um, if you have to decide on your core values, it means you don't have them, right?)

Twofer

"I sometimes feel that Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington," Clinton said referring to the freckle-faced Mad magazine character.

Neuman Sisters

"I sometimes feel that Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington," Clinton said referring to the freckle-faced Mad magazine character.

Keep Out

Only liberal elites need apply.

Commandeering the Ship of State

Replacing elections with activist judges.

Treasure Island

Parrot says if you can't win it in elections, you can always steal it.

Chirac Asserts Robust Response

From The Therapist:

France Passes Emergency Mandatory Turban Law

Chirac to wear solidarity Burka

Paris—In a defensive posture taken after the still-developing 7/7/05 transportation attacks in London, French president Jacques Chirac signed an executive order, ordering all French citizens to “adorn themselves, and their children in attire commensurate with Islamic sympathies.”

“The time has come to stand up," said Chirac to a televised audience. “Besides, it’s easier to step into Muslim clerical robes when you’re not sitting down.” ...snip...

Marshall Plan to End Terrorism

From Scott Ott at Scrappleface:

G8 Mulls Qaeda Offer to End Modern Civilization

(2005-07-07) -- Leaders of the world's major industrialized nations, meeting in Scotland at the G8 Summit today, said they would consider al-Qaeda's latest proposal to "end modern civilization and return to the glorious days of feudalism."

The al-Qaeda offer came in the form of multiple explosions during rush hour in London, drenching buses and trains with the blood of ordinary working people.

"Modern civilization had a good long run," said one unnamed global diplomat, "and these Qaeda chaps have made a serious proposal that one must consider. It should spark thoughtful discussion at the G8 about whether Western values have become obsolete in the face of the growing popularity of this progressive Islamic lifestyle." ...snip...

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