The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

LIVE AT FIVE – 11.01.11

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | 12 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Palestinians In, US Out Of UNESCO

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki (L) and Ambassador To UNESCO Elias Sanbar (R) face the press

Administration cuts off funding for UN agency on Monday, won’t be making November payment either after Palestinians admitted as full members.
Related: Canadians considering exit as well


Feds To Investigate Collapse Of Corzine’s Brokerage
Millions in customer money missing

More Than 1.7 Million Still Without Power After Weekend Storm
At least 13 deaths so far; Halloween postponed in many areas



POLITICS
Massive Smuggling Ring Dismantled In Arizona

Diagram of cash & drug flow provided by ICE

Sinaloa Cartel takes hit from ICE, Arizona sheriffs; Pinal County Sheriff Babeu slams administration for failure to secure border

Conservatives Rally To Cain, Recall Thomas Hearings


DOJ Sues South Carolina Over Immigration Law

Supremes Hesitate To Extend Rights On Plea Deals

DOJ Official Knew About ATF Gunwalking In April 2010

Facing State Takeover, Harrisburg Pols Talk To Save Phony-Baloney Jobs



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
MF Global’s Collapse Ripples Through Futures Exchanges
Asian Stocks Fall On MF Global Failure, Greek Fears
US Stocks Decline Amid Growing Concern About European Funding
Greek Referendum Threatens New Eurozone Crisis
Judge Rejects Competing Bankruptcy Plans For Tribune Companies
PRC Promises Retaliation If Senate’s Anti-Yuan Bill Becomes Law
Crude Oil Up, Heads For Biggest Monthly Increase Since 2009
PRC Hackers Hit Chemical Companies
Opposition To Online Piracy Act Grows
B&N Expected To Launch New Nook Tablet November 7
Bill Gates Shrugs Off Criticism In Steve Jobs Biography
$150 TouchPad Returns To Best Buy, But There’s A Catch



SPORTS
Rivers’ Epic Blunder Dooms Chargers

Chargers QB Philip Rivers under pressure

Quarterback’s error kills comeback drive; Chiefs win 23-20

La Russa Retires As Champion

Yankees Extend Sabathia For One Year, $25 Million

Callahan Leads Rangers Past Sharks




NBA Fines Heat Owner $500,000 For Lockout Tweets

Tebow Can’t Save The Broncos; Nobody Can

Fisher Refutes Fox Reports Of Backroom Deal With Stern

Stewart Wins At Martinsville, Moves Into Second In Sprint Cup Chase

Nationals Confirm Davey Johnson As Manager For 2012



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Anyone Not See This Coming? Kim Kardashian Files For Divorce

Soon-to-be-exes Humphries, Kardashian

Sure glad we didn’t waste any pixels or time on their wedding

Jessica Simpson Is/Will Be Mummy

Christina Aguilera Reunites With Ex-Husband

Taylor Swift’s “Nude” Pix Obviously Photoshopped Fakes

Rihanna KO’d By Flu In Sweden

Amanda Seyfried Flaunts Her Legs

Bill Murray To Join Charlie Sheen In Roman Coppola Flick


Rep: Adele Does Not Have Throat Cancer

Queen Latifah To Host Talk Show Eyed For 2013

Ellen: “Making People Feel Good Is All I Ever Wanted To Do”



FOREIGNERS
Libyan NTC Elects Former Alabama Prof El-Keib As Interim PM
Er…Roll, Tide?
Thai Flood Frustration Grows, Cabinet Eyes Recovery
Aiming Low At Istanbul Meeting On Afghanistan
Somalia And Kenya Looking For Help Against Shabaab Jihadis
Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral Resigns Over #OWS Protests
Anonymous Takes On The Zetas
Residents Flee As Quake Shakes Szechuan, Kansu Provinces In PRC
New FBI Tapes Reveal Russian Spies’ Behavior
Pakistani Cricket Legend Leads Massive Anti-US Rally



BLOGS & STUFF
Legal Insurrection: A Taste Of The Medicine
Rush Limbaugh: We Shouldn’t Be Surprised At The Left’s Racist Hit Job On Herman Cain
Conservatives4Palin: Typical Gossip From J-Mart And The Gamg At Politico
Allahpundit: The Obligatory “Rick Perry Feelin’ Good In New Hampshire” Clip (Video)
Weasel Zippers: Eric Cantor Slams Occupiers’ “Ire And Hatred”
Gateway Pundit: Homeless Man Dies In Tent At Occupy OKC
Lonely Conservative: Food Prices To Go Up, Home Prices To Go Down
Jihad Watch: ACLU Director Complains About “Islamophobia” And Government Profiling Of Muslims
Ed Driscoll: Adweek, Newsweek, And The Missing L-Word
Big Government: Get Government Out Of Welfare Now! An Interview With Star Parker (Video)


SOTD: Gold Guns Girls

Category: Live at Five

Question: How Many Deadbeats Does It Take To Staff A ‘Working Group’?

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 12 Comments

by Smitty

Allahpundit catches us up on the deterioration of #OccupyWallStreet, but misses the obvious question posed in the title.

So says Time magazine. Meanwhile, thanks to the nasty weather, there were reportedly between 50 and “just over a hundred” protesters in the park this weekend, which means on some days the ratio of “Occupy” oversight committees to actual occupiers is roughly 1:1. No surprise, and not just because a proto-utopia founded by leftists would naturally have lots and lots of redundant government. The more I read about the movement, the more subordinate their political grievances seem to be to the underlying experiment in communal living.

How can people who don’t work form a ‘working group’, I would like to know.

There are some who see dark possibilities for #OWS. When it was pitched down there in the bunker, the decision maker may have heard tales of how these shock troops were going to be the heralds of the revolution that would make the world safe for Social Democracy. A healthy, non-paranoid eye on things with that in mind is perfectly sane.

Not unlikely, however, is that, as #OWS gets a hot blast of climate change over the next few months, it peters out.

‘Working group’. Hah!

Category: #Occupy, Uncategorized

Ed Koch Writes Around The Topic Of Corruption With A Neurosurgeon’s Skill

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 11 Comments

by Smitty

One must admit, it’s quite a well done piece by Ed Koch in the Puffington Host to talk about corruption in the U.S. while mentioning no more than Dick Durbin in terms of Democrat corruption.

What this country needs is a Congress and a president who will investigate the corruption that Americans feel is rampant. The Occupy Wall Street crew, unfocused and inarticulate, unwashed and motley, nevertheless has captured support because of the uneasiness of Americans, conservative and liberal, that our lawmakers at every level of government have been compromised, if not purchased and that money not only talks, money rules, and the average American feels used and powerless.

Yeah, the Tea Party thanks you, man.

We look around us and see corporate America — particularly the banks and Wall Street securities firms — that were responsible for bringing us to our knees as a result of the Great Recession which they brought on, now richer, bigger and more powerful than ever. This, while 15 million Americans remain unemployed and many in their 60s and 70s knowing they will never work again.

But Having Only Blinded, Hubristic Ocular Bits Helps Only Boorish, Hateful #Occupiers.

Read the whole thing. Koch very carefully bemoans the overgrowth of the government at all levels, and the problems that breeds, and managest to recommend fertilizer in the form of more investigations to address the issue. As if Eric Holder and the Department of Injustice could ever do the right thing, except by pure accident.

Wake up, Koch, and realize that the people causing the problem are not a likely source for a remedy.

Or do you already know that?

Category: New York

#OccupyGreece

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 14 Comments

by Smitty

Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution points to something a little more important than a Herman Cain allegation. Greece was not supposed to have a confidence vote so soon, but:

Mr. Papandreou also said that he would seek a parliamentary vote of confidence in his administration, just four months after seeking, and winning, a similar vote to bolster his government before pushing an earlier batch of austerity measures into law.
Government sources said that the confidence vote was expected by the end of the week, with the referendum much later, in December or even January. Exactly what voters would be asked was not clear.

So, if I’m understanding this correctly, the Greek government is getting hit with the second confidence vote in 5 months, and has to get the Greeks to eat their end of the 50% haircut within a month or two.

In late October, after a series of delays, European leaders reached agreement on portions of a three-part plan to save the common currency.
They obtained an agreement from banks to take a 50 percent loss on the face value of their Greek debt. That would bring Greek debt down by 2020 to 120 percent of that nation’s gross domestic product, a figure still enormous but more sustainable for an economy driven into recession by austerity measures.

‘Reached agreement on portions’ was, according to Cowen, quoting FT, the verbal equivalent of a wardrobe malfunction:

the specific elements of the deal, that is to say the structure of the new claim on Greece, remains to be negotiated

In other words, any agreement purportedly reached by the EUrocrats is worth as much as Barack Obama’s college transcripts: you’d better see the deal in writing.

Is this the end of things? The Unreliable Smith Prediction is that the Greek people treat the German bailout with all the respect the Palestinians treated the Oslo Accords; Greece melts down; the Greeks start using their police cars for commodes by, say, January.

Category: Greece

In Single Guy News, Slightly Tarnished Armenian Gal With A 72-Day Definition Of ‘Forever’ May Be Available

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 42 Comments

by Smitty

Just a Conservative Girl quotes Her Kimness:

After careful consideration, I have decided to end my marriage. I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision. I had hoped this marriage was forever, but sometimes things don’t work out as planned. We remain friends and wish each other the best.

In all seriousness, I hope she and the husband repent. The institution of marriage will outlive any individual idiocy, but that should not be an occasion to behave like an idiot.
So, if you’re loaded, have a two-dimensional, present tense view of what matters in life, and better hair than I do. . .no, pursue happiness instead.

Kris Humphries was reportedly blindsided, and not keen on being just another video tape in her collection.

I wish him the best in saving the marriage, and I thank the Lord that destiny did not put me in similar shoes.

Update: linked at the POH Diaries.

Category: Celebrities, Culture, Family, Farce, Rule 5, Uncategorized

Shocker: UNESCO Thumbs Its Nose At American Interests

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 9 Comments

by Smitty (via Atlas Shrugs)

The ‘Stache reports:

UNESCO, true to form, has voted today to admit the Palestinian Authority as a member. So ineffective was Obama administration diplomacy that France voted in favor of Palestinian membership, and Britain and Japan abstained. U.S. statutes, dating from 1990, now require a full cutoff of U.S. funding, which Congress should insist occur immediately. Should the administration seek changes in the applicable statutory provisions that would eliminate or weaken the funding cutoff, Congress should reject them.

I expect Boehner to be all over that and really turn the screws on the Administration. . .real soon now.

Category: United Nations

Scott Ott Skewers The News

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

His Herman Cain opener is very well played. Click the image for a family-friendly chuckle:

Update: linked at The Conservative Hideout 2.0

Category: humor, PJTV

Walter Russell Mead Talks Around The Decay Of Political Parties

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

Mead is always interesting, but apparently he hasn’t read Army of Davids. He sees the decay of our two Ruling Class parties

American political parties are increasingly being reduced to flags of convenience; party organizations and party institutions have little influence over events. That didn’t use to be true. Party leaders and officials once exercised significant power over the choice of nominees, over the careers of aspiring pols, and over patronage. These days, outside Chicago and a handful of other places, we no longer think of party “bosses”.

but nowhere does he seem to grasp why this occurs: information control. With the traditional media going the way of Borders Books, people are turning to outlets such as this blog both to figure out what’s important now, and to fill in the blanks on what public education left out. History, Economics, &c.

Previously, a Herman Cain may have gone under the bus and stayed there, because there was no way to get a word in edgewise and ask for, you know, facts, to back up the finger pointing. A Ted Kennedy can have his Chappaquiddick  and still have a political career. John Edwards’ scandal takes him down.

Our weak party structures also contribute to one of the worst features of contemporary American politics: the rise of political dynasties. While these were not unknown in the country’s past, ever since the Kennedy clan made its bid for permanent political power, we have seen more sons and daughters of politicians try to carry on the family trade. In general, organized political parties try to fight that trend; advancement in politics is given to the loyal as a reward for long service, not to glamorous upstarts as a reward for their genes.

This explains Jeb Bush’s preeminence in the 2012 field. Oh, wait: we’re sick of dynasties. Because, as a result of the information revolution, we don’t have to accept the big party dynasty. Not to say that Bush isn’t well qualified; he has supporters. But for 300 million+ people, come on. No ball hogging.

Historically, the common sense of the American people and the public spirit of American wealth have helped keep our politics on a relatively even keel. We still have plenty of patriotic and generous, spirited rich people, and the American people continue to have a healthy respect for laws and the limits of democracy.

Yes, but #OWS really points out that Progressivism is to our politics what osteoporosis is to the elderly. And even the likelier candidates for 2012 seem strangely comfortable with the over-extended federal government.

Bringing coherence to the politics of a diverse country of 300 million is a difficult task. The answers to our problems are seldom obvious, and even when they are, the path to achieving them is not. And because the United States is on the cutting edge of world history, and our effort to build mass prosperity in a post-industrial era is something that has never really been tried before, we need political movements and leaders with the ability to imagine new ways forward and to inspire faith.

Not obvious? Federal over-reach is the general description of the problem. Admittedly, unwinding the last century is going to be tough. It will take inspired leadership to convince the people to re-assume their liberty, and discharge the debt. Greece is about what you expect from humans. We must again prove exceptional.

The reason there is even hope of arriving at an exceptional turn-about is the Information Age. Thus, I think Mead noted a positive symptom and talked his way around the effects.

Update: I’ll go with Daily Pundit on most of his ideas, but #3 really needs to understand that, for political purposes, “any aggregation of people, to include Unions” would be an improvement over “corporations”.

Via Instapundit

Category: Instapundit, Progressivism
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