Greatest. Comment. Thread. Ever.

And the original post isn't bad either. A "must read" over at Sippican Cottage.

Iran Update

From The New York Times:

CAIRO — The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as criminals and traitors, a strategy that now becomes more difficult — if not impossible.

We Hold These Truths To Be....

For those that have not seen the excellent "John Adams" the people sitting in this room are Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.

And The Rockets Red Glare....

Quote Of The Day

“It hurts to make this choice, but I’ve given my reasons. I’m reminded of a sign on my parents’ refrigerator, ‘Don’t explain; your friends don’t need it, and your enemies won’t believe you anyway.’”
-Governor Sarah Palin during her resignation speech yesterday.

Oh, Say Can You See....

Happy Independence Day!

Journalism 101

Priceless

This must be seen to truly be believed. Is this the beginning of the Washington Press Corps reawakening? Not that it matters. They are "shocked" to find out that some of them have been manipulated by the White House.

I personally have no use for Helen Thomas strictly because of her unabashed liberalism. But you have to give the old girl credit - she really gives Gibbs a beating. Though if she doesn't get with the program I predict Obama will accomplish what the Bush White House could not - she will be drummed out of the press corp while all of her colleagues watch.



Update: CNSNews.com - Following a testy exchange during Wednesday’s briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press.

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.

“What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”

Thomas said she was especially concerned about the arrangement between the Obama Administration and a writer from the liberal Huffington Post Web site. The writer was invited by the White House to President Obama’s press conference last week on the understanding that he would ask Obama a question about Iran from among questions that had been sent to him by people in Iran.

“When you call the reporter the night before you know damn well what they are going to ask to control you,” Thomas said.

“I’m not saying there has never been managed news before, but this is carried to fare-thee-well--for the town halls, for the press conferences,” she said. “It’s blatant. They don’t give a damn if you know it or not. They ought to be hanging their heads in shame.”

Rock And Roll

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones sit in with the Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium June 7, 2008.

Thank You, Thank You Very Much.

Iraq Today

From Ralph Peters:

"We all recall the delighted leftist claims that Iraq had entered a hopeless civil war. Wrong. That Iraqis preferred al Qaeda to us. Wrong. That Shia militias represented the people. Wrong. And that Iran would seize control. Wrong again.

Looking back over six years of good intentions, tragic errors, generosity, arrogance, partisan vituperation, painful deaths and ultimate vindication, two things strike me: the ever-resisted lesson that human affairs are more complex than academic theories claim, and the simple truth that most human beings prefer a measure of freedom to immeasurable repression."

My Thoughts Exactly

"A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?'

'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked.

Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.'The man gestured, and the gate began to open. 'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked.

'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.
As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

'Excuse me!' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?' 'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.' 'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog. 'There should be a bowl by the pump.'

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.

'This is Heaven,' he answered.
'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.'
'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell.'
'Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?'

'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'"

CWCID: Sam Norton at Theo's.

Bring It On

Another Fierce Moral Urgency Vote

Last Friday while we were being bombarded by the 24/7 news cycle coverage of Michael Jackson's untimely demise the US House of Representatives passed the Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Bill. I will not go into details about why the bill alone is a travesty. What I wish to point out is that for the second time in recent memory the Representatives of the People have failed to even read a major piece of legislation that will impact this country for generations to come - before they passed it.

There will be a reckoning for this

Guy Magic

Folding: How To Fold A T-Shirt In 2 Seconds