Jon Huntsman's Father Isn't Helping Him

These sorts of comments do not endear the junior Huntsman to the Republican electorate:

"If he were running for president of China, he would have already won the election," his father said. "But he's had to come here and start from scratch."

Yes, he'd just sail into the leadership of a dictatorial autocracy. But for the whole 'convincing people to vote for him' element, Huntsman would be doing swimmingly. 


And just as important - why didn't his father have the courtesy to tack on an 'h' to his name?

What's The First Thing Al Sharpton Does In The Morning?

From Atlantic Wire:

I'm an early riser so I'm usually up by 5:30. I first open up my laptop to The Huffington Post, Politico, The Grio, The Root, Yahoo and News One. Then I google myself and google my civil rights group National Action Network. [emphasis added]

Should anyone be surprised that Sharpton starts his day by Googling himself?

This Is What Annoys Me About Fox News

I don't really care, as some do, about the political bias of Fox News. Claiming to be neutral is mildly annoying though. But what really bugs me is their claiming to stand in opposition to the 'mainstream media.' Witness this bit from Megyn Kelly interviewing Matt Block (of that awesome Cain video):

“Were you trying to appeal to, you know, folks who are out there, you know, living their lives, working the farm, working in Detroit, that kind of thing as opposed to the East and West Coast elite, people in media circles who shun smoking and, you know, sort of real American things?” [emphasis added]

Look, Fox News, you have to face that you're part of the media elite. You can't attack 'media circles' while in a TV studio located in a huge building owed by a multi-national media conglomerate. And you certainly can't attack those on the coasts while in front of a huge window looking out onto the middle of Manhattan. 

Herman Cain's Entry For The Strangest Campaign Ad Ever Award

From the strange (and most likely high) minds of the Cain 'campaign':

Solid entry into the weird campaign ad contest, but the winner for all eternity is still this gem from the Mike Gravel campaign in 2008:

Short Note To Anyone Calling Obama Weak On National Defense

Let us review the last few months in international affairs. Obama managed a complex and highly risky operation to find and kill Osama bin Laden, something that President Bush couldn't do in nine years. He also approved an operation to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a man of small but growing operational importance, but great propoganda importance to al-Qaida.
Also, Obama used the United States' influence with Egyptian military leaders to push Mubarak out of power. Faced with a growing rebel movement in Libya which was confronted by the prospect of elimination by the Gaddafi regime, Obama backed an actually multilateral force to fight Gaddafi. It was a force that, most importantly of all, had the backing of numerous African and Arab governments. Today that decision has resulted in the killing of Gaddafi, a goal that President Reagan was unable to achieve by lobbing in a few missiles.
Added to the many terrorist plots that have been stopped by our law enforcement agencies, these events all form a strong riposte to anyone trying to argue that Obama is weak or an ineffective leader. Results matter.

Exclusive Video Footage of Attack on Gaddafi

Occupy Wall Street Isn't A Liberal Tea Party, It's A Modern Free-Silver Movement

Much digital ink has been spilled in the last few weeks trying to analyze the recent Occupy Wall Street Movement, and many have tried to understand them through the lens of the Tea Party. It's an understandable comparison, as many see similar motivations behind the protesters. But these two movements are not partisan mirror images of each other. The Tea Party is composed of the traditional Republican base, even if they're now more vocal than before. They care just as much about immigration and religion than they do the economy. If anything, what the Tea Party movement represents is an intra-party war, albeit one that the party elite have tried to co-opt, with mixed support (see: Bennett, Robert, Former Senator). For all their talk of fighting 'socialism', they seem infinity more obsessed with purifying their own Republican ranks.

Occupy Wall Street, though, is not an intra-party feud. They are not protesting Democrats, they are focusing on the financial and power elite in our country, a far more sensible target given the events of the last few years. They are not anti-corporation (despite the greatest wishes of conservative commentators who love to giggle and point out that the protesters are using products made by Apple, a huge corporation), but rather they are anti-corporate greed. They are anti-corporate power in our political system. Our nation's campaign finance laws still stop corporations from directly buying off politicians, but they can buy a campaign's victory. The politician can't get them to build him a second house, but he can buy all the adds he can find air time for with their money. What's more, those on Wall Street took our bailout money in a moment of extreme desperation, and then have the balls to complain about regulations that have only timidly began to corral investment firms' most egregious behavior. That, not an antipathy towards capitalism, is what is motivating these protesters.

Insane Blogger at Pajamas Media Thinks Occupy Wall Streeters are Nazis

Under the headline "Bizzare neo-swastika reminiscent of 'The Great Dictator' used as power symbol by OWS leaders", they point to this image:

...which is a hashtag. Not realizing this, or just engaging in some incredibly high-level sarcasm, they go on to say that it's just like the fascist symbol worn by Charlie Chaplin in the Great Dictator. Besides the fact that they look nothing alike (pound symbol vs. two sideways X's next to each other), does an association with Charlie Chaplin make anything sinister?
You can tell though just how desperately they want someone to show up with a swastika (though in fairness, if someone had showed up at a Tea Party rally with a noose, all the Huffington Post writers would have climaxed simultaneously).

Shocking Updates From Romney and Perry Campaigns

According to exclusive reporting from The Washington Fancy's David Epstein, Perry supporter Robert Jeffress has argued that only true followers of Jesus should be president, and Romney now supports civil unions in certain cases.
Drones & Groans will follow these stories as they develop.

For Some Reason, Santorum Does Not Like That SNL Put Him In A Gay Bar

I cannot fathom why Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Google) would not like to be in a "crowded gay bar in the Castro District":

New Hampshire radio station WGIR caught up with Santorum and asked him his thoughts about the skit. "We’ve been hammered by the left for my standing up for the traditional family and I will continue to do so," Santorum told WGIR's "White House Brief" show despite admitting that he had not seen the skit yet. "The left, unfortunately, participates in bullying more than the right does. They say that they’re tolerant, and they’re anything but tolerant of people who disagree with them and support traditional values."  Santorum added, "I welcome the criticism, go ahead. I'm going to stand up for the values that made this country great ..."

(via Atlantic Wire)

Just When I Thought I Could Go A Day Without Critizicing Martin Peretz

This man just keeps pulling me in. His most recent collection of words is on the subject of Elizabeth Warren, I think. It rambles a bit. His main point seems to be that he doesn't like her. She, apparently, is an elitist based on the fact that she's a Harvard professor. For the record, Peretz used to be an assistant professor there. And combined with his former editorship of The New Republic, Peretz has permanent membership in the elite.

He also says this of Warren:

Actually, Warren is a perfectly presentable woman, pleasant looking and handsomely dressed. She might not be noticed on the campus. But almost no one is noticed at 62 in these parts ’cept young ’uns. Or the nearly hundred year-old Sam Beer who daily sauntered quickly down Brattle Street to get to his office at Littauer. Except he’s dead now.

Aside from the words: "no one is noticed at 62 in these parts ’cept young ’uns" making no sense, this is just ridiculous.  Look Marty, I know you're new to the whole gay thing, but we don't actually spend out time bitching about women, much as lesbians don't go around saying how much men suck (all the time, at least). You should really drop the bitchiness, it's unbecoming a former Harvard professor.

Idiotic Political Punditry Of The Day - Right Wing Class Warfare Edition

For once, I have taken issue with an opinion piece written by someone other than Martin Peretz. Today's idiotic punditry comes from Politico, the girl-who-will-do-freaky-things-just-to-be-liked of the Washington journalistic scene. George Nethercutt, which as far as I can verify is his actual name, writes an angry screed against the bottom half of taxpayers who don't pay federal income taxes. (note there how I called them taxpayers, more on that in a minute). Here is his general argument:

Roughly 76 million tax filers, or 46 percent of the total, are expected to owe no income tax in 2011, according to the Tax Policy Center. The top 1 percent pays about 40 percent of all income taxes — which means 54 percent of all tax filers are “carrying” the 46 percent who pay nothing.
That’s fundamentally unfair. It has led, over time, to inequities and a dependency on government that is unhealthy for a free society. Forced dependency ultimately breeds contempt.

This man is either an idiot who does not understand how our tax and economic system works, or he thinks the rest of us are. Yes, approximately half of Americans do not pay federal income tax, but that is only saying something about federal income tax. There are other taxes. Indeed, there are no Americans, or even non-Americans in America, who pay no taxes. Every working person pays federal taxes - payroll, Social Security, Medicare. And everyone pays state taxes - property, sales, etc. So again - no one pays no taxes.

Honest To god Schmuck: Congressman Joe Walsh

I could easily enter into a discussion about how a politician's political stances affect their constituents, and the moral dimensions of how they wield that power. Indeed, it would be a stretch to say that a leader who would pull a reverse Robin Hood on the economy is a moral leader. But instead, I would like to talk about someone whose picture should occupy the space next to the entry for schmuck  in a Yiddish dictionary for what they've done in their private life: Joe Walsh.
Rep. Walsh, a tea-flavored freshman congressman from Illinois, is divorced and as part of that divorce proceeding, was ordered to pay child support. But the schmuck hasn't:

U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) says he hasn’t paid his court-ordered child support because he and his ex-wife reached a “verbal agreement” three years ago that he could stop paying her child support.
Laura Walsh says her ex-husband, elected to Congress last year as a leading voice of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, owed her $117,000 in child support and interest.
In a court filing in December, a month after he was elected, she said he stopped paying child support because, he told her, he didn’t have any money.

The current yearly salary for Congressman is $174,000 (source: TheCapitol.Net). Factoring in attorney fees, that should about cover it.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Stephen Fry Passes Judgement On The New iPhone

From the Guardian:

Siri, the high quality and ultra-fast camera, 30 fps 1080p HD video, globally available voice recognition and the introduction of two antennae (the phone seamlessly switches between whichever is getting the strongest signal) are features that make the 4S irresistible; what is more, the unchanged form means that a whole new range of covers and accessories won't be required.
In a sad, sad week for Apple, come a new phone and a new operating system that between them show the company still at the top of its game, still innovating, still implementing new technologies at a level of perfection and fluency that is only possible when you make, design and control it all: device, chip architecture and operating system.If you are tired of the upgrade race or feel you can't justify the expense, you at least have the knowledge that iOS 5 will transform your existing iPhone enthrallingly.

Breaking News: FBI and DEA Say Iran Tried To Assasinate Saudi Ambassador In DC

This is breaking from ABC:

FBI and DEA agents have disrupted a plot to commit a "significant terrorist act in the United States" tied to Iran, federal officials told ABC News today.The officials said the plot included the assassination of the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, Adel Al-Jubeir, with a bomb and subsequent bomb attacks on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, D.C.Bombings of the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were also discussed, according to the U.S. officials.

If true, this is marks and incredible escalation of antagonism on Iran's behalf. The murder of a foreign ambassador on a third nation's soil violates every protocol of international diplomacy every established. The logic behind this, if I may speculate, does make some sense. It's no secret that the Saudis view Iran as their enemy (and the feeling is mutual). It's also not much of a reach to say that the Saudis are our best allies in the effort to contain Iranian influence in the Middle East at the moment, and I am sure that we cooperate significantly on sharing intelligence. So if Iran wanted to strike out at Saudi Arabia, they'd do it on a third nation's soil, and the US fits the bill. It is also not without precedent. In 1976, Orlando Letelier, a political refugee from Pinochet's Chile, was assassinated using a car bomb in DC. (The State Department was about to send a letter to several fascist South American regimes to warn them against conducting assassinations on US soil, as the CIA already knew that Uruguay wated to target then-Rep. Ed Koch. Henry Kissinger told them not to send it. Letelier was killed less than a week later.)
This detail also strikes me as accurate: 

The Iranian-American, identified by federal officials as Manssor Arbabsiar, 56, reportedly claimed he was being "directed by high-ranking members of the Iranian government," including a cousin who was "a member of the Iranian army but did not wear a uniform," according to a person briefed on the details of the case. Counter-terrorism officials said they believe the cousin may be part of the special operations unit of the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds force.

If the Iranians were going to do this, they would be smart enough to act through a non-uniformed source, providing themselves with some level of deniability. But if I hesitate to take this at face value, it is because the FBI and DEA had acquired a habit of waving money around to see if anyone will say they want to commit terrorism. However, if true, we are entering a new, even darker and more serious, phase in our dealings with Iran.

What's Up With Qatar?

Hugh Eakin writes in the NY Review of Books about the increasing role that Qatar is playing in the Middle East. And a strange role, considering that they bankrolled the Libyan revolt while maintaining their absolute monarchy: 

The emirate was instrumental in securing the support of the Arab League for the NATO intervention back in March, contributing its own military aircraft to the mission. It also gave $400 million to the rebels, helped them market Libyan oil out of Benghazi, and set up a TV station for them in Doha, the Qatari capital. Following the conquest of Bab al-Aziziya, however, it became clear that the Qataris were deeply involved on the ground as well. Not only did Qatar arm the rebels and set up training camps for them in Benghazi and in the Nafusa Mountains west of Tripoli; its own special forces—a hitherto unknown contingent—helped lead the August offensive on the capital.[emphasis added] (Although Qatar’s military is one of the smallest in the Middle East, with just over 11,000 men, its special forces were trained by the French and other Western countries and appear to possess considerable skill.) The day the rebels captured Bab al-Aziziya, Mahmoud Jibril, the leader of Libya’s interim government, singled out Qatar for its far-reaching support, despite “all the doubts and threats.”