Tangerine Destruction Sobering

Liberal Larry discovers, in his house, the presence of...(gasp)...tangerines:

How long had these evil things been in my possession? How long had they sat there on my dining room table, mocking me from their cozy little basket of hate? Days? Months? There's no way to know for sure, as I've been pretty much stoned out of my gourd since the Live Earth show. Luckily, Mother came down from her glaucoma medication long enough to call me about Elizabeth Edwards' courageous sacrifice, or else my tangerines could have damaged the climate beyond even Duran Duran's power to repair.

Awareness was raised and a LiveEarth chronic binge ended!

Reading a Defense as Art

Rest in peace Bill Walsh.

In a time when professional sports is loosing its luster fast, Walsh always seemed like a stand up guy. And, there can be no question as to the impact he had on the NFL.

When I think of Walsh I think of Joe Montana swinging out of the pocket to the right after a beautiful play action that Walsh, no doubt, made him practice and practice until it was perfect. Or, I think of Roger Craig high-stepping through the line on a draw or catching a swing pass with nothing but green in front of him.

West coast baby. All the way. Walsh changed football in a way you can't help but notice every time you watch a game. Many try the scheme, few pull it off, only one really perfected it.

The way he taught it, and coached it, it wasn't football...it was art.

The Usual Scientific Jousting

The EPA will investigate Michael T. Eckhart, president of ACORE, who is incapable of agreeing to disagree. He sent a threatening letter to one Marlo Lewis, senior fellow at CEI, because though Lewis believes in global warming, he disputes the cause:

"It is my intention to destroy your career as a liar," Mr. Eckhart wrote. "If you produce one more editorial against climate change, I will launch a campaign against your professional integrity. I will call you a liar and charlatan to the Harvard community of which you and I are members. I will call you out as a man who has been bought by Corporate America. Go ahead, guy. Take me on."

Eckhart cares about the planet a lot. And he is insane. He offers the usual non-apology apology:

In a written response sent to Inside the Beltway last week, Mr. Eckhart apologized to "all the public who were offended" by his choice of words. He said he intended his letter to be a "private communication" in the context of "personal combat and jousting."

Very personal. In fact, personal insults and threats are the typical scientific response to global climate warming change skepticism these days. Among other things, global warming apparently causes uncontrolled outbursts of pre-adolescent rage.

What He Said

This week's Upsider, on Barrack Obama's statement that genocide is not a reason to stay in Iraq:

When the U.S. was cajoled into pulling out of Viet Nam, millions of people were slaughtered in the wake. Millions. Were we to pull out of Iraq, the possibility of the same looms, even as the anti-war movement will be patting itself on the back for creating the opportunity for a peaceful solution.

It will be peaceful all right, a peaceful caliphate.

Today, James Taranto does the subject more justice.

It's kind of fun, albeit humbling, to measure ones work against the work of national opinion makers, and I've been getting a lot of opportunities lately. Another example of similar subject matter is the last Upsider "State's energy plan will affect economy, but little else," and yesterday's Robert Samuelson column on state energy plans, "Prius Politics."

One Step at a Time

She might be tearing up her property to add on to her house, or water skiing behind a boat powered by emission causing gasoline, but Laurie David has found the time to do a good deed since leaving her husband for Bart Thorpe, a land developer:

Thorpe, a Republican, is lately driving a hybrid car.

Awareness has been raised!

Problem Solved

Elizabeth Edwards will solve the global warming crisis by swearing off tangerines:

"We've been moving back to 'buy local,'" Mrs. Edwards said, outlining a trade policy that "acknowledges the carbon footprint" of transporting fruit."I live in North Carolina. I'll probably never eat a tangerine again..."

Edwards did say she would eat the fruit again if the price were increased, which would have the added effect of removing it from the diets of the "other America," who will soon become visibly identifiable by their advanced cases of scurvy.

Plame Lawsuit Bites Dust

Valerie Plame's lawsuit against the administration was dumped today, by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates:

"The alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson's comments and attack his credibility may have been highly unsavory, " Bates wrote. "But there can be no serious dispute that the act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush administration's handling of prewar foreign intelligence, by speaking with members of the press is within the scope of defendants' duties as high-level Executive Branch officials."

Duh.

Our Red Bull

We went to Scroo-Loo's brother's deployment ceremony in Mankato yesterday and it was quite the scene. The governor and first lady were there, and yes, the governor still has those pearly whites. He is also very eloquent and has a wonderful ability to capture the moment, as he marveled at the generosity of Minnesota's finest toward complete strangers in a foreign land.

Speaking of capturing moments, John Cross of the Mankato Free Press captured the moment pictured here of my brother-in-law and members of his family. What a great photo.

Scroo-Loo has a whole lot more on the ceremony and her thoughts on saying goodbye to her dearest brother for a year. He's headed to Kosovo along with about 400 more Minnesota National Guard troops. Interestingly enough, according to one of the speakers at the ceremony, the Minnesota National Guard has been selected for this mission because it has the highest readiness status in the nation.

It is just another chapter in what is rapidly becoming the legend of the Red Bulls, which has already made quite a name for itself in Iraq, so say members of the Marines deployed along side it, as interviewed by the irreplaceable Michael Yon.

The Sgt. Major and I had been trying to find sometime to go riding together this summer, but we never did. Now his scooter is up on blocks. I tried to tell him that it would be better served if it were ridden once in a while, a task I would more than willingly perform, but he saw right through me. Damn.

Fluid, Babies, and Bluegrass

We got some bad news from PFC Teaparty today. She has suffered a significant knee injury and there is some looseness and quite a bit of fluid buildup. Long story short, she will be unable to complete basic training this summer. Instead she will be allowed to rehab for a year and try again.

We expect her home by July 25.

Hockey Rube called last night with the news of the birth of his second child. It is a masculine child - six pounds, eight ounces. Mom and baby are fine. Dad is still a rube.

Finally, there is a certain bluegrass fan out there that GD2 wants to inform that she went to the Alison Krauss concert last night. She would dearly love to rub that in, but isn't sure if you were there or not. Please advise in the comment section as to your status regarding the concert, so the "in your face" can commence.

It's "For the Party"

This is rich. Cindy Sheehan has been booted from Daily Kos because she is planning a run against Pelosi. In her final statement to the heavy breathers Sheehan had this to say:

I know a lot of you are hostile towards my candidacy. Please understand that I am doing it for your children and grandchildren (and my surviving ones.)

Suddenly, the heavy breathers - for which everything from higher taxes for the richest one percent to partial birth abortion is "for the children" - are full of righteous indignation. Despite Kos's apparent effort to remove this post, it lives at LGF:

...according to you, we simply don’t understand that you’re doing it for “our children.”

That is the arrogance of someone who believes their own hype. That is the condescension of someone who believes they are larger, better, smarter than everyone else.

Hallelujah! Does this mean we'll no longer have to suffer through an endless stream of Democratic politicians admonishing us to "do it for the children?" No more bumper stickers that say "I voted for the children?"

Can we expect that DailyKos is prepared to blast any future Democrat willing to so callously use children to guilt votes out of the electorate? More likely, their indignation is reserved only for those running against Democrats.

But, can we at least hope that DailyKos itself will stop using the phrase? Nope.

There is an ad on the Daily Kos home page right now that says "Susie for President - Any government that puts war before the health of 9 million children has its priorities wrong." As well, a quick search of Kos for the phrase "for the children" turns up 576 posts in the last two years. Posts like this one:

With leaders in the White House and their ilk in congress working ceaselessly to convince the public that global warming is 'junk science', they do nothing but ensure the devastation of the planet for future generations -- for their children -- for our children.

Or this one, entitled "Won't Someone Please Think of the Children?"

Clearly the "condescension" of people who believe they're "larger, better, smarter than everyone else."

I wonder what "principle" they wouldn't turn on to protect the Democtratic Party.

Land of Opportunity

It's been 38 years since the body of Mary Jo Kopechne was discovered at the bottom of Poucha Pond after Ted Kennedy drove his mama's Oldsmobile off a bridge the night before:

Although there was a telephone at the Lawrence Cottage, nobody called for help. When their efforts to rescue Kopechne failed, Kennedy decided to return to his hotel. However, the Edgartown-Chappaquiddick ferry (which connects Chappaquiddick to the rest of the island) had shut down for the night. Kennedy swam across the 500-foot channel, back to Edgartown.

The next morning, the police recovered Kennedy's car and the body of Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy discussed the accident with several people, including his lawyer and Kopechne's parents, before discussing it with the police the next morning. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning, and no autopsy was performed.

38 years later, Ted Kennedy is the "conscience of American liberalism."

America is a great country indeed.

Will Murtha Apologize?

As noted here, the "Haditha massacre" may not be all it has been cracked up to be by the media and certain left-wing politicians who revel in trashing the military:

An investigating officer has recommended dismissing murder charges against a Marine accused in the slayings of three Iraqi men in a squad action that killed 24 civilians in Haditha, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Guardian reports that this is the second time an investigating officer has recommended dropping the charges.

James Taranto wonders if Jack Murtha will apologize for calling Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt a murderer.

Common Sense Missing

Ed Koch asks a good question:

Would anyone, particularly someone in high government office with an exemplary record of public service and admittedly a high achiever under these circumstances, lie, deliberately misstate the facts where his testimony would be refuted by a popular television personality certain to be asked? It defies common sense. If he were deliberately lying, he would have said, "I can't recall," or "I think it was Tim Russert," leaving the opportunity to admit error, and in neither case could he, I believe, have been indicted and convicted.

Scooter Libby said he heard Valerie Plame's name from Tim Russert. Russert's recollection is that he did not reveal the name. Libby is convicted, while nothing happened to Russert. Interestingly enough, revealing the name of Valerie Plame was not, in fact, a crime in the first place.

More Fuzzy Math

The numbers are coming in now on LiveEarth, and they are falling well short of the "2 billion" quoted by promoters. The Daily Mail called the show a "foul-mouthed flop:"

Live Earth peaked with 4.5 million viewers in Britain, compared with 14.8 million for the Diana concert.

Other estimates have the BBC's average audience under a million:

BBC’s live afternoon television coverage attracted an average British audience of just 900,000...

NBC turned a bad night even worse:

The estimated 2.7 million viewers were slightly less than the 3 million NBC would average on a normal Saturday night in the summer with repeats on what already is the least-popular night of television.

The show seemed to do best in Australia, where it garnered 1.34 million viewers

Only in the mind of a global climate warming change disciple could less than 10 million become 2 billion.

Energy Gluts Party for Planet

Like so many attention seeking idiots these days, Al Gore starts off his international effort to stop global warming by insisting people are trying to shut him up:

"Some who don't understand what is now at stake tried to stop this event on the Mall," the former Democratic presidential candidate said in a thinly veiled hit on members of President George W. Bush's Republican party.

Yawn.

Whatever it is that is "at stake," it is far worse as a result of LiveEarth:

John Buckley of Carbon Footprint, an organization that helps companies reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, said Saturday that Live Earth will produce about 74,500 tons of the gas.

"We would have to plant 100,000 trees to offset the effect of Live Earth," he said, speaking by telephone. But, he added, "if you can reach 2 billion people and raise awareness, that's pretty fantastic."

Two billion? As with their issue, disciples appear willing to exaggerate just about anything:

Organizers say that in addition to the tens of thousands of fans at the gigs, the television, radio and internet audience could be as large as two billion.

Somehow, "could be" became a forgone conclusion overnight. We'll see, but the early reviews don't bode well:

As the halfway point beckoned, the event needed a serious lift.

These folks sure weren't buying it:

"I'm not even sure who Gore is," said Georgie Simpson, 35, from Ipswich, in eastern England. "I saw Gore on TV," added Sue Bourner, 38, a health service manager from Hampshire. "But frankly, I think it's cheeky of Americans to come over here and lecture us. They are the worst polluters."

Actually, it's China, but never mind. Either were these people:

Certainly, on the way into the show, some of the 65,000 people who'd spent $110 on a ticket appeared unaware of the seven-point pledge that Al Gore, the event's chief impresario, had asked all spectators to make. Asked about it, they offered blank looks and said they were there for Madonna (whose annual carbon footprint, according to Buckley, is 1,018 tons -- about 92 times the 11 tons an average person uses per year).

Luckily, they could not have helped but have their "awareness raised," which seems to have been the point of the entire exercise:

"Personally, I think it makes people more aware," said Sherry Ramsey, 44, who came to the concert with her husband by plane and train. "It was mass transit all the way here."

Now we're calling air travel "mass transit?" These people will tell themselves anything to keep up the illusion.

No word yet on how much trash was produced by LiveEarth. But there can be little doubt Gaia was weeping while the privileged partied at her expense.

A Disappointment, I know

Unfortunately for expectant readers, I will not be able to live blog GoreAid as events unfold tomorrow. GD4 has soccer games in the extreme weather all day. As crushed as you are, imagine my distress.

Speaking of distress, Iowahawk has an important public service message from the English government to its people:

"We ask the public to report any behaviors by various people that may or may not be of a suspicious nature," said Lt. Clive Jameson of the Metropolitan Police Service. "We further ask the public to be especially vigilant for activities of broad stratas of people who may be from countries of some sort, especially those within the eastern and/or western hemisphere."

The elevated alert levels come on the heels of a week when London and Glasgow narrowly escaped potential events that intelligence experts say may have been related to diverse groups of people doing things.

Do your part for England and keep those eyes peeled for people from countries located in a hemisphere doing things, except for very skinny guitar-slingers wearing Greenpeace t-shirts. Aside from the copious amounts of CO2 they give off, these folks are relatively harmless as long as they are kept from your stash.

Unsuitable Activists

Even bands are bristling at the hypocricy of GoreAid:

Rock group Arctic Monkeys have become the latest music industry stars to question whether the performers taking part in Live Earth on Saturday are suitable climate change activists. "

It's a bit patronising for us 21 year olds to try to start to change the world," said Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, explaining why the group is not on the bill at any of Al Gore's charity concerts.

"Especially when we're using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting. It'd be a bit hypocritical," he told AFP in an interview before a concert in Paris.

Bass player Nick O'Malley chimes in: "And we're always jetting off on aeroplanes!"

And with each example of lagging ticket sales, the percentage of emissions per disciple goes up.

How Quickly They Forget

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than with a round up of Libby opinion. Let's start with Alan Dershowitz, who has the heavy breathers at HuffPo...well...breathing heavily:

This was entirely a political case from beginning to end. Libby's actions were political. The decision to appoint a special prosecutor was political. The trial judges' rulings were political. The appellate court judges' decision to deny bail was political. And the president's decision to commute the sentence was political. But only the president acted within his authority by acting politically in commuting the politically motivated sentence.

The column is, in fact, an indictment of the judicial system in this case.

Jack Kelly wonders where all the "outraged" Democrats were just a few short years ago, or even a few short months ago:

...no complaints were heard from these worthies when Sandy Berger, who had been President Clinton's national security adviser, received no jail time -- and only a $50,000 fine -- for stealing classified documents from the National Archives. We still don't know why Sandy stole those documents, or why he destroyed some. The news media aren't pursuing the story.

No complaints were heard either, when Bill Clinton opened the pardon floodgates to any criminal with the ability to sign a check. Michael Goodwin summarizes the list of 140 pardons and 36 commutations:

The list of people Clinton let off the hook was a rogue's gallery of drug dealers, petty criminals and the politically well-connected. One was Bill Clinton's brother Roger, one was a college friend and another was a former business partner. Their lawyers' connections were key in others, including the lawyer for a man who laundered more than $100 million for the Cali cartel.

Some cases reeked of blatant corruption. Hillary's brother, Hugh Rodham, collected $400,000 from two big-time criminals who got pardons. When the news of the payments broke, the Clintons claimed surprise and demanded Rodham give the money back.

But Bill Clinton never gave Denise Rich her money back. The former wife of disgraced financier Marc Rich gave $450,000 to Clinton's presidential library and raised and contributed more than $1 million to campaigns of the Clintons and other Democrats. Her husband, who had fled the country rather than fight charges of massive tax fraud and trading with Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis, suddenly received a pardon.

Let's remember, Libby will pay a $250,000 fine, serve two years of probation, and has been publicly disgraced, for having a different recollection than reporters in a case that had already been solved by the special prosecutor, and in which no one was charged with a crime. Now, Democrats are outraged. Interestingly enough, not about overly aggressive prosecutors, a bullied media, the CIA's undermining of an elected official, or a judicial system playing politics.

HIllary Plays Pretend

We don't have a pardon yet, but today Bush commuted Scooter Libby's sentence.

Of all the reactions, this is the most stunning:

"This commutation sends the clear signal that in this administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice." - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

Is that a joke? Or, is she being serious?

Not Worth Celebrating

Leave it to rebel Howard Zinn to put the 4th of July in its proper context:

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

Why?

...in a nation like ours -- huge, possessing thousands of weapons of mass destruction -- what might have been harmless pride becomes an arrogant nationalism dangerous to others and to ourselves.

So, you know, put those flags away before you hurt someone. Rather, do humanity a favor and spend the 4th of July kneeling on a broomstick, begging forgiveness for the Mexican War. It's the least you can do as a willing dupe for the government's lies.