‘Dude, I’m So Wasted’
Posted on | March 10, 2010 | 2 Comments
It was nearly midnight in D.C., and I was sitting on the patio of the Dubliner with my friends Victor Morton and Pete Parisi of The Washington Times, when I saw Sean Pean walking past on F Street.
“Dude, that’s Sean Pean,” I said.
Pete and Victor turned to look, but Penn had his back to us, and they seemed doubtful of my celebrity-spotting ability.
“No, seriously, it’s him,” I said.
Evidently, while we had been enjoying our post-deadline refreshments at the Dubliner, Penn had been next door at Kelly’s Irish Times and was now departing, walking eastward toward North Capitol Street. A gaggle of women who had been at the Irish Times caught up with Penn, and he stopped to have his picture taken with them.
I had my camera in my pocket, and didn’t want to miss the opportunity to add Penn to the “known associates” category (i.e., like former DNC chief Terry McAuliffe), but the Dubliner patio is surrounded by an iron fence, that separated me from the target.
I began preparations for scaling the fence when a woman sitting on the patio said, “No! Don’t try it.” The fence, about 3-1/2 feet high, is topped with iron spikes, and the woman was obviously concerned that while going over the fence, I might impale myself in a most unpleasant way.
Indeed, on second glance, there was a real possibility of an accidental orchiectomy, and so I returned to the table with Victor and Pete — disappointed, but not disconsolate. Penn continued to the corner and caught a cab.
“You should Tweet this,” I said to Victor. He grabbed his iPhone to send out this message:
Was 10 feet from Sean Penn outside DC bar, had clear 2nd Am. view; all I did was hit my shoe against my head and say “dude, I’m SO WASTED”
Perhaps that reference to the Second Amendment was a bit hostile, but we’re professional journalists, after all, and we know what Sean Penn thinks of journalists:
First Amendment be damned . . . If Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn had his way, any journalist who called Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a dictator would quickly find himself behind bars.
Penn, appearing on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday, defended Chavez . . .
“Every day, this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it, and accept it” said Penn, winner of two Best Actor Academy Awards. “And this is mainstream media, who should — truly, there should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies.”
Chavez is a Marxist thug, and Sean Penn is a ginormous douchebag. These are simply the neutral, objective facts.
My Big Day in D.C.
Perhaps this is as good a place as any to describe my experiences Tuesday, which were kind of weird. My plan was to go down to the Heritage Foundation for their weekly blogger briefing, just to show up and let my D.C. friends know I hadn’t fallen off the planet.
My 10:30 a.m. departure from Hagerstown would have put me in D.C. by noon, but I stopped at Sheetz to grab a sandwich, gas up the 2004 KIA Optima and put air in the right front tire. (Old tire with a slow leak. New tire, $75. Just sayin’ . . .) So it was past 11 before I got out onto I-70 and switched the radio to WARK 1490 AM.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
Glenn Beck was on the radio, issuing a groveling apology to Michelle Malkin, but there was no context – Beck just rambled on, abasing himself, without saying exactly what he’d done that necessitated the apology. Rolling down the interstate at late-for-a-meeting speed, I grabbed my cellphone and started calling friends, trying to find out what this was about.
Eventually, of course, I discovered that Malkin and Beck had gone ’round over Beck’s coverage of Rep. Eric Massa:
Ed Morrissey at Hot Air and Michelle Malkin give the background, and there’s more at Memeorandum.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
NY-23: Hoffman Is Back.
Opposition Seized By Dismay.
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | 4 Comments
by Smitty
Having met the gentleman at CPAC, it is a pleasure to point to Robert Stacy McCain’s article on Doug Hoffman over at The Washington Times.
Mr. Hoffman’s Conservative Party campaign last fall became a nationwide crusade after party leaders backed state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, whose liberal record angered conservatives bloggers, such as Erick Erickson and Michelle Malkin. Republican 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and the Club For Growth were among those who endorsed Mr. Hoffman.
As polls showed a Hoffman surge in the final weeks of the race, Mrs. Scozzafava quit the campaign and shocked Republicans by endorsing Mr. Owens, who won with a 48 percent plurality.
Mr. Hoffman’s supporters immediately began urging him to run again, with House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence praising his “brilliant” campaign.
Mr. Hoffman has reassembled most of his 2009 campaign team, including Mr. McLaughlin’s polling firm and TV advertising specialist Nelson Warfield, and begins with more than $200,000 in campaign cash remaining from last year.
Mr. Hoffman used his Facebook online network to announce his 2010 candidacy to supporters Monday night.
Ed Morrissey also offered analysis at Hot Air, along with a CPAC interview clip:
Circumstances should favor Hoffman this time. In the previous contest, a special election to fill John McHugh’s seat, the state didn’t allow for a primary contest, throwing the nominations to the county chairs of both parties. Democrats chose Bill Owen, while Republicans passed over Hoffman to select DeDe Scozzafava. Hoffman ran as a third-party candidate instead, winning over Tea Party enthusiasts while Scozzafava campaigned poorly and alienated voters in her district. Hoffman came within a couple of percentage points of winning the whole race.
More at the Memorandum River.
This blog predicts that Hoffman’s straightforward honesty will go over in the 112th Congress like a musician at a rap concert. Clearly we need to send more musicians like Doug to DC.
The Babies Speak In Protest
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | No Comments
by Smitty (h/t Power Line)
The shame here is that they didn’t think of a way to work in some unborn people to protest the homicide.
A Good Day It Was, When A Young Robert Gibbs Found That Missing Head Of His
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | 2 Comments
by Smitty

(h/t Anorak News)
Rep. Pelosi Offers A Quote That Shall Live In Infamy
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | 5 Comments
by Smitty
Tabitha Hale brings you the video:
Ace had an excellent riff:
In fairness, she’s quoting from the Federalist Papers, which spoke eloquently of “passing some laws so we can find out what great shit’s in them, and stuff.” Pretty sure that was John Jay.
Let’s channel a actual Founding Father, then. Alexander Hamilton:
It seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind.
Federalist No. 1, October 27, 1787
If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify.
Federalist No. 33, January 3, 1788
It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow.
Alexander Hamilton and Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 62, 1788
Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?
Federalist No. 62, 1788
If it be asked, What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? The answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws — the first growing out of the last…. A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.
Essay in the American Daily Advertiser, Aug 28, 1794
Pelosi is consistently atrocious, if you recall her Are you serious? Are you serious? interrogative from last October.
Yes, Madame Speaker, we’re as serious as a
Godforsaken Heart Attack!
Update: More links at Ed Driscoll.
Update II: Dan Riehl, as is his wont, puts a ‘positive’ spin on matters:
I think I need a shower after watching the political news. And I’d really appreciate it if Rahm Emanuel left me alone long enough to scrub off the grime of the Democrats we’re getting to see in all their glory right now.
Heckuva job, Barry! Through incompetence and trying to foist your agenda on a nation that mostly rejects it, you are destroying the Democrat brand. He really is, you know. This all begins and ends with Obama. And at this rate, there may not be much of a party left by the time he’s finished. And he will be finished in 2012. Mark my words.
In defense of BHO, while the POTUS is nominally the head cheese of the party, the fact that he’s been national-level goods only since he Gave Good Speech in 2004 means that older, saner heads should be offering Rehoboam more forceful advice.
Congratulations To Fishersville Mike On The Prospective Daughter-In-Law
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | 1 Comment
by Smitty
I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, but her thumbs have been an interest item recently.
Cindy Sheehan Might Make A Better Public Servant Than Rep. Pete Stark
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | 1 Comment
by Smitty
Uncoverage.net introduces
“Coach” Luis Garcia, Republican candidate for the 13th to replace Stark.
Uncoverage notes that Stark is already a Maryland resident, as a California tax dodge.
Rep. Stark may be OK, as he really knows how to deal with opposition, for example, in this classic rant where he threatens to eject an interviewer with the temerity to ask economic questions of him without gravitas afforded by an Economics PhD:
Quote Of The Day
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | 6 Comments
by Smitty
From Basil at IMAO
How can Congress possibly balance the federal budget without raising taxes?
It’s easy. Make Congress make up for any shortfall in the budget. Take it out of their pay. Cut Congressional pay (House and Senate) for every dollar the budget is in deficit.
What about the president? Well, if he vetoed the deficit budget, he’s off the hook. If he signed it, he’s liable. Dock his pay, too.
Now, what happens if the deficit is more than the pay of Congress? As is the current situation? Congress is on the hook for the balance. Personally. If Congressman A has twice wealth as Congressman B, he’s responsible for twice as much of the deficit.
When that still doesn’t cover the deficit, spread the debt around to other members of the government, exempting military pay only.
If Congress tries to get around it by raising taxes, count every tax increase as deficit money, and cut Congressional pay accordingly.
I learned a long time ago, that if someone had the solution to a problem, but had no interest in solving the problem, it was because it didn’t personally affect them; it wasn’t their problem.
Make it their problem.
This is certainly too simple, but the fundamental truth of the idea is in the feedback loop. Congress still is feeling insufficient discomfort.
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT?!
Fox News Smears Geert Wilders?
UPDATE: A Completely Crazy Idea
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 39 Comments
A hero, a man who is risking life and limb to rescue the Netherlands and Europe from radical Islamization and communism taking grip of his country and continent. Everyday he has to wear a safety vest and hide his family and give them 24-hour security because he is willing to say the unpopular thing to protect and defend his nation.
First on “Special Report” with Brett Baier:
Then on Glenn Beck:
Now, there is perhaps some “fair and balanced” ambiguity here, and perhaps a good deal of unnecessary sensationalism – “Ooooh! The controversial far-right leader!” — but the overall tone of the portrayals, and the fact that these two reports were filed practically back-to-back suggests to me that somebody at Fox News (and somebody pretty important) is guilty of accepting liberal media reports of Dutch politics at face value. I’ve got a hunch about this, but it might take a while to investigate, so look for updates.
(Hat tip: Dan Riehl.)
UPDATE: I’m still trying to figure out where this anti-Wilders theme is coming from, and just got a call from a friend who suggests that Fox News is under pressure from Saudi interests – suggestions I’ve heard before, but prefer to discount. I think it far more likely that some senior producer or executive at NewsCorp has been listening to BBC or NPR or reading the New York Times and accepting those liberal characterizations as gospel.
It’s like what happened with the Sparkman “murder” in Kentucky. All it took was for one anonymous source at the Justice Department to tell an Associated Press reporter that they were looking at ”anti-government sentiment” as a motive and next thing you know, it’s “Send the Body to Glenn Beck” time.
You can’t judge people you’ve never met, in places you’ve never been, based on what you get from the media. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Kentucky or Kampala, there is simply no substitute for direct knowledge. And based on personal experience, I’m profoundly suspicious any time I see this “dangerous right-winger” theme in the media. Here is Roger Simon of Pajamas Media:
Regarding Wilders, I had the pleasure of meeting the man at a party in Los Angeles last year and spent thirty minutes or so talking with him, often one-on-one. He is extremely well-spoken and personable.
Pamela Geller, who knows Wilders, is outraged by the Beck segment. Whereas there is this from Charles Johnson:
Geert Wilders is a far right ideologue, and the European far right does often equal fascism. How the heck did Beck ever get this one right?
Frankly, now I’m tempted to start rattling the tip jar for a trip to Amsterdam, just to check out the situation on the ground. A quick check on Travelocity shows I could get a round-trip flight for about $800. If I could find somebody over there who speaks English, and has a sofa I could crash on . . .
It’s a completely crazy idea, but I’ve done crazier things.
UPDATE Tuesday 10:30 a.m.: Now a Memeorandum thread. David Horowitz, Robert Spencer and Diana West (a veritable Murderer’s Row of LGF enemies) have commented on the situation. Paul Mirengoff wisely notes: “A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.” Noticing an Associated Press report of an “anti-fascist” protest against Wilders in England, I observed at the Hot Air Green Room:
If the protesters against Wilders are “anti-fascist,” then what does that make Wilders? He’s a “fascist” in the same sense that Mark Steyn is a fascist — which is to say, someone the Left hates.
A couple years ago I covered a David Horowitz speech at George Washington University where the left-wing protest pests chanted, “Racist! Sexist! Anti-Gay! David Horowitz go away!”
Horowitz is none of those things, but the protesters chant that stuff because they know that the accusations have propaganda value, stigmatizing Horowitz in the eyes of people who don’t know anything about him but who don’t want to be associated with racism, sexism or homophobia. A group calls itself “Unite Against Facism” and anyone they target for protests is immediately on the defensive: If you’re not a fascist, why are “anti-fascists” protesting against you? It’s like “peace” groups and “environmental” groups — who is against peace? Who wants to be labeled “anti-environment”?
The effectiveness of the Left’s propaganda against Wilders, I think, explains why he got such hostile treatment Monday from Fox News.
The influx of tip-jar contributions for a Holland trip hasn’t materialized yet. Maybe y’all don’t trust me over amongst all those foreigners. Anyway, I’ve got to run to D.C. today on business, so blogging will be light until this evening.
As The System Of Checks And Balances Disintegrates, Congress Becomes A Messy Signing Statement
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | No Comments
by Smitty
The Purple Avenger over at AoS seems kinda shocked that, once Harry Reid pulls his finger out of the dike, a flood of Really Bad Ideas follows, as captured in the WSJ. In this particular case, it’s the Federal takeover of education. Got to make sure that the tender collegiate brains are programmed properly.
The stream of Congressional slurry is based upon:
- Outright deceit,
- Jacking the noise-to-signal ratio. (2,711 pages?, according to Hair of the Dog)
- Making all the rules of order moot (HotD, Orrin Hatch ~4:40)
Overall, it’s too alarmist to view the 18th of March vote in the House as the pivotal day in US history. The sober truth is that there is no safety until a 112th Congress is sworn in.
Keep in mind that the Roman Senate too had a very long hang time, for all it was mostly a decoration after the Caesars . . .
On Any Top Ten List of ‘Really Bad Ideas for Blog Post Titles’ . .
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 16 Comments
. . . I’d say “Dan Riehl Sucks“ has got to be at least No. 3. And when you call Dan a “Little Green Footballs wannabe” . . . Dude.
John Doe at Smashmouth Politics objected to Dan’s criticism of Glenn Beck.
Hey, it’s a free country, and people disagree. But having worked with Dan on a few projects, I know that I would never want him as an enemy. Trust me.
You could probably write a post titled “Glenn Reynolds Is a Total Douchebag” and the worst that would happen is you’d never get linked at Instapundit, ever again — which is the kind of nightmare vision that sometimes makes me wake up at 3 a.m. screaming in a cold sweat.
If you think there is no worse fate in the world than that, however, you don’t know Dan Riehl. He’s from New Jersey. IYKWIMAITYD.
(For the record, I know total douchebags. Some of my best friends are total douchebags. And Glenn Reynolds is not a total douchebag.)
UPDATE: Instalanche, to which we are partial.
UPDATE II: Speaking of Glenn Beck, his portrayal of Dutch leader Geert Wilders has angered many conservatives.
HOLLYWOOD EXCLUSIVE!
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 2 Comments
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Hollywood reacted with shock today when it was learned that Sunday night’s Oscar telecast was edited to omit one of the most prestigious Academy Awards.
“This is an outrage,” said Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Officials of the ABC network had no immediate comment about the apparent production error that resulted in the omission of the Academy Award for Read more
Question 9 — “Some other race” — “American”
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 3 Comments
by Smitty
Mark Krikorian offers a perfectly legal, sensible, and proper means of answering the Census Bureau’s race question. Say you’re American, if that is what you are.
Racism* is DNA-based decision making. We must oppose it, and also the data gathering that supports and perpetuates it.
*Sexism, too.
Paco Uses ‘Elitist C*nt’ In Reference To David Brooks!
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 4 Comments
by Smitty
The Enterprising Paco appears to have gone all Dan Riehl over a certain John Feehery at the Daily Caller.
Feehery’s piece is a prime example of Brooksian nematodery. The title of this post comes from the following passage of Paco’s flogging:
You have unhappily tripped up upon your very entrance into the arena of public discourse by saluting that blackguard, David Brooks – a self-styled “conservative” whose principles have proven to be infinitely malleable, and whose worldview is a veritable windsock of elitist cant.
Read the whole thing; it’s a drubbing most delightful.
PHOTOS: Huntsville, Alabama — Protest Against Boehner, Griffith and GOP
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 3 Comments
As I explained Saturday at the American Spectator blog, there is bipartisan grassroots resentment in Alabama’s 5th District against Rep. Parker Griffith, who switched from Democrat to Republican. Today about 200 people showed up at a protest in Huntsville, Al., where House Minority Leader John Boehner appeared at a Griffith fundraising dinner. Thanks to Stephen Gordon for sending these cell-phone photos.
Clever slogan against the incumbent, who is hated by Democrats and mistrusted by Republicans in the 5th District.
This is one of the liberal Democrats at Monday’s demonstration who joined with Tea Party activists and local grassroots Republicans in an unusual bipartisan protest.
This sign summarizes widespread resentment of national party interference in local politics.
“It’s another ‘Dede Moment’ for the GOP” — a reminder of notorious RINO Dede Scozzafava — and notice the guy on the right with the “No Griffith” bumper stick on the seat of his pants.
VIDEO: Alabama 48, Obama 0
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 2 Comments
The Crimson Tide made Tim Tebow cry and knocked Colt McCoy out of the game on the fifth play from scrimmage, so there was never any doubt who would emerge as the victor in today’s post-season exhibition match at the White House:
As Coach Bryant once said, “I think the most important thing of all for any team is a winning attitude.” I think this team would make him proud, because they’ve got that winning attitude.
Some things are true, even when a Democrat says them.
Dan Collins Is Out of Control
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 3 Comments
Bob Belvedere will have to surrender his NSFW Rule 5 crown to Dan. Beyond the bear-breasted lady — not a typo — our favorite Piece of Work in Progress also features:
- Reports of “sectarian violence” in Nigeria that, for some strange reason, don’t actually identify the sects.
- No-bid contracts for political cronies in Chicago. (We’re shocked! shocked!)
- Eric Massa claiming he was “railroaded” by fellow Democrats. (Shocked!)
Dan Collins: Roll-Your-Own Blogging. Bookmark it.
Kathy Griffin + Levi Johnston = ?
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 7 Comments
While you’re pondering that unappetizing equation, watch this video, which Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters gives an “extreme vulgarity” warning:
“She was so famous as Governor, you know, when John McCain picked her after meeting her for ten minutes. And, um, that must have been some b—j–.”
Speaking of which, Levi Johnston sucks:
Kathy Griffin and her pal Levi Johnston are collaborating on a stage show in Anchorage that takes aim at Sarah Palin, the grandmother of Johnston’s love child.
As a general rule, only gay men hang out with Kathy Griffin. NTTAWWT. But maybe Levi’s just desperate enough to . . .
No, there’s not enough brain bleach in the world to erase that disturbing mental image.
(Hat-tip: Unsheathed.)
Canadians, Kardashians Blamed for Crackdown on Synagogues in Turkey
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 6 Comments
This could be a sign of big trouble to come:
A Turkish newspaper reports that police burst into an Istanbul synagogue during recent Sabbath services and demanded worshipers’ ID’s.
The Turkish Milliyet newspaper reported that the Muslim government in Turkey appears to be cracking down on non-Muslim minorities. . . .
Rabbi Yitzchak Haleva, Chief Rabbi of Turkey, says it’s “much ado about nothing.” . . .
(Suggestion to Turkish Jews: Get a new chief rabbi.) The story includes this intriguing addendum:
Turkey recalled its ambassador to the U.S. last week after the House Foreign Relations Committee narrowly approved a resolution recognizing the Turkish slaughter of Armenians during World War I as genocide. The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabiye editorialized that the “Jewish lobby” in Washington is to blame for the resolution.
Ah, so the Turks get mad at the U.S., and take out their frustrations on Turkish Jews? Let’s go back to last week’s news:
Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the United States on the heels of a vote on a resolution in the House Foreign Affairs Committee declaring the 1915 massacre of millions of Armenians a genocide, previewing the potential problems the measure could create for ties between the U.S. and Turkey.
The Obama administration moved quickly to smooth relations after the committee voted Thursday 23-22 and sent the resolution to the House floor, although it is unclear if the House will ever vote on the measure.
At a press conference Friday while traveling in Guatemala, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reacted, “As I made clear yesterday in Costa Rica the Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was passed by only one vote in the House committee and we’ll work very hard to make sure it does not go to the House floor.”
Is the Obama administration pro-genocide? Or just anti-Armenian?
Maybe Hillary Clinton is just jealous of Kim Kardashian’s big fine Armenian booty. That would be understandable.
What’s not understandable is why the ”Jewish lobby” gets blamed for this Armenian resolution.
It’s time for the Islamic world to find a new scapegoat. IYKWIMAITYD.
UPDATE: “Jewish lobby” blamed for deadly earthquake in Turkey.
Kim Kardashian’s big fine Armenian booty could not be reached for comment.
Condoms for 12-Year-Olds?
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 7 Comments
The inexorable logic of liberalism:
Extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 could soon be on our shelves.
The Hotshot condoms are going on sale in Switzerland after research found that not enough 12 to 14-year-old boys were having protected sex.
We cannot market cigarettes using a camel for fear of influence on children but marketing condoms to kids is just fine?
Next: Dora the Explorer Personal Lubricant!










