The Other McCain

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

Viva, Californication?

Posted on | June 24, 2011 | 7 Comments

Three mommies, no daddy:

On a leafy drive in west Los Angeles, at a newly renovated home with cathedral ceilings and a backyard pool, 4-year-old Kate Eisenpresser-Davis’ friends have been known to pose an intriguing question: “Why does Kate have three mommies?”
Lisa Eisenpresser, 44, and her partner, Angela Courtin, 38, share custody of Kate with Eisenpresser’s ex-partner.

Is this “progress”? Donald Douglas is somewhat skeptical.

Category: American Power, California, Family, Gays, Marriage

Miracles Happen: Government Employee Unions Get Screwed Over in New Jersey

Posted on | June 24, 2011 | 5 Comments

Stranger than fiction:

New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved a broad rollback of benefits for 750,000 government workers and retirees, the deepest cut in state and local costs in memory, in a major victory for Gov. Chris Christie.

I like Jazz Shaw’s headline:

Christie goes all Scott Walker on Jersey

Thirteen Democrats voted for the bill, and Tony Blumer at Newsbusters fact-checks the New York Times story.

UPDATE: University employees in Illinois might get screwed over, too. Because, hey, you can trust Illinois Democrats, right?

Category: New Jersey, Unions

Libya: Who, Whom?

Posted on | June 24, 2011 | 22 Comments

“But the bottom line is, whose side are you on? Are you on Qaddafi’s side or are you on the side of the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been created to support them? For the Obama Administration, the answer to that question is very easy.”
— Hillary Clinton, June 22

Everyone is having fun recalling the Good Old Days — which ended about three years ago — when liberals loved to lecture us that “dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” Dissent against liberalism, however, apparently doesn’t count, even when liberals are doing the exact same things they once denounced Republicans for doing.

Obama’s Illegal War™ cannot be justified under any logic the Left would have accepted during the Bush years, and yet Democrats are cynical enough to realize that the Left has nowhere else to go: Whatever else happens, liberal peaceniks aren’t going to vote Republican next year, so Hillary can impute treason to them at no political cost. And political costs are the only costs that concern her. Read more

Category: Hillary Clinton, Libya

Pawlenty Campaign Broke?

Posted on | June 24, 2011 | 14 Comments

This report from the Washington Post suggests that T-Paw hasn’t exactly been a fundraising superstar:

At least five top advisers to former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty have been working for little or no pay for several months, a campaign source said Wednesday.
The news establishes with more certainty the emerging portrait of Pawlenty as struggling to keep up with the larger and better-funded operation of his main rival for the Republican presidential nomination, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. . . .
While some staffers are temporarily forgoing a larger paycheck, others signed up with the understanding that they would volunteer their time for the long term, said the Pawlenty aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel matters. . . .

They’re trying to spin this as a good thing:

“Our consultants are either volunteering their time or working for peanuts,” he said. “This may be hard for some in Washington to accept, but they’re on Team Pawlenty for the right reasons — they believe in the candidate and cause.”

Politico‘s Ben Smith observes “if their unpaid status was a point of pride, they hadn’t been advertising it.”

Category: Election 2012, Tim Pawlenty

LIVE AT FIVE – 06.24.11

Posted on | June 24, 2011 | 5 Comments

TOP NEWS
Captured Cellphone Offers Clues To Bin Laden’s Pakistani Ties

How tight were Bin Laden's connection with the ISI?


Call records show links to longtime catspaw of ISI

JCS Chairman Admits Withdrawals Faster, More Than Recommended By Pentagon
Admiral Mullen questioned by House Armed Services Committee

Quake Shakes Aleutian Islands
7.2 magnitude quake does no damage to remote, mostly uninhabited islands off Alaska

More Evacuations In Minot As Flood Threat Worsens
As many as 10,000 people evacuated as Souris reaches above-record flood stage



POLITICS
Cantor, Kyl Pull Out Of Biden Talks Over Taxes

Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA)


Up to Boehner and Obama now

Perry Selective In Remarks To NALEO

Conrad Black Faces Resentencing In Chicago

NY Senate Session Drags On, No Decision Yet On Gay Marriage Bill

NJ Assembly Passes Worker Benefits Overhaul

Palin Cancels Visit To Sudan


Obama’s Fundraisers In Political Spotlight

Congressman McCotter Considers Campaigning For President



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Rebounds After Strategic Reserve Announcement
German Bonds Slump As Greece Clinches Deal
Multiple Antitrust Probes Of Google Reported
Williams Makes Bid For Southern Union
Sears To Spin Off Orchard Supply Stores
Stock Market Tumbles 200 Points On Weak Jobs, Housing News
European Stocks Rise From Three-Month Low
IT Managers Unhappy With Quick Demise Of Firefox 4
Nokia N9: First MeeGo Smartphone A Beauty
Team Fortress 2 Now Free To Play
Feds Declare Victory Over Coreflood Botnet
Apple iPhone’s Patent A Huge Blow To Other Touchscreen Phone Makers



SPORTS
NBA Players Union Says It Won’t Take A Bad Deal

NBPA President Derek Fisher


Owners want NHL-style flex cap, players say no way

Wimbledon: China’s Li Falls To Wildcard Lisicki

A Bunch Of Noise About The NBA Draft

Broad Street Bombshell: Flyers Trade Richards & Carter

Nationals Sweep Mariners, Move Above .500, Lose Manager As Disgruntled Riggleman Quits

FOX Not In McCourt’s Corner

Back Injury Puts Oswalt’s Career In Jeopardy



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Startled Bieber Takes Swing At Plainclothes Cop

Teen dream Justin Bieber

Failure to communicate leads to disorderly conduct charge for bodyguard

Life Imitates Art for “Grey’s Anatomy” Star

Lindsay Lohan Dodges Jail Again

Missy Elliott Battling Graves’ Disease

Supremes Smack Down Anna Nicole Smith’s Estate; No Claim To Late Husband’s Fortune

Reggae Star Buju Banton Gets 10 Years In Drug Case



FOREIGNERS
1500 Syrians Flee To Turkey As Army Approaches Border
Intel: Qaddafi May Flee Tripoli
No Interviews, Twitter Or Travel For Dissident Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei
Clinton: Pakistan Must Take “Concrete Action” Against Terrorists
Iran Arrests Ahmadinejad Ally
Congo Rebels Accused Of Mass Rape
Senegal Drops Constitutional Changes After Rioting Erupts In Capital
PRC: US Should Stay Out Of Regional Disputes


BLOGS & STUFF
Allahpundit: Delta No Longer Allowing Jews On Saudi Flights?
American Power: Obama Heckled At LGBT Fundraiser In New York
Blackfive: President Obama’s Terrible Mistake
Jammie Wearing Fool: NJ Unions Dealt Crushing Defeat
NRO Corner: Kagan On Obama’s Afghan Drawdown
Jawa Report: Two Men Charged In Plot To Attack Seattle Military Processing Center
Reihan Salam: Jeffrey Goldberg, Alison Benedikt, And The Perils Of The Personal Essay
Weasel Zippers: Michelle Obama Wants Four More Years
Sister Toldjah: Why I Love Conservative Legal Minds

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five

Teen Bride’s Mom: ‘Courtney Is Used to This Type of Reaction Towards Her’

Posted on | June 23, 2011 | 81 Comments

There was a strong reaction to yesterday’s post about Courtney Stodden, the 16-year-old aspiring singer who married her 51-year-old manager, actor Doug Hutchison, and so I’m sure readers will find lots to say about this bit of information: Courtney’s new husband is four years older than her father.

That’s just one item in Sasha Bogursky’s Fox News interview with Courtney’s mom, Krista Stodden:

“We all needed a good man in our lives,” said Krista, adding the 35-year age gap does not faze her. “After a while you don’t look at the age. You look at the love they started to have towards each other. He became more than a number to us.”
Courtney, an aspiring actress, model and pop singer, met her husband when he began managing her career. Her parents welcomed Hutchinson, who is four years older than his new father-in-law, into their lives when he started dating their daughter.
“He was her manager, and then as we got to know him, we got to see what kind of person he was,” Krista said. “He just became a wonderful person in our eyes, and he’s a great Christian man.” . . .
“She never thought that she would find the right person and when she found Doug, she said ‘I never really wanted to get married but I found someone perfect for me and you never know what age you’re going to find that person at’,” said Krista.
According to Krista, Courtney is used to being in the spotlight. She began modeling at the age of 12 and by 14 she was hosting her own online show called “The Courtney Stodden Show.”
Courtney has also been the victim of cyber bullying, addressing many hurtful comments she has encountered on her YouTube channel.
“Courtney is used to this type of reaction towards her,” said Krista. “She’s a very beautiful girl and she stands out, because she’s shockingly beautiful when you see her in person. She reads some of the negative things people wrote about her but she’s strong.”

And now, to answer a question to which you probably didn’t really want the answer (at least not from her mom):

“Everything is real,” insists Krista. “Usually when girls have little cute bodies, they don’t have large breasts, but she’s had no work done, and she doesn’t need anything done.”

OK, so there’s lots of comment fodder there — read the whole thing — but just for good measure, I’ll stir the pot by semi-defending this mismatched marriage. (It’s been called a “May-December” match, but isn’t it really more like April-October?)

Look, it’s show business. We’ve seen many, many examples of how ex-child stars like Lindsay Lohan crash and burn when they hit their 20s. (Lindsay has apparently averted her jail sentence.) Given how commonly these young women in Hollywood go bonkers, which is the greater risk: Letting your daughter go into show business at 16, or letting her get married at 16?

Go ahead, then. Feel free to predict a disastrous outcome for Doug and Courtney’s marriage. But how many Hollywood marriages end “happily ever after” anyway?

But wait — there’s more! Here is video of Courtney competing two years ago in a beauty pageant. She introduces herself at the 1:22 mark, then appears in the swimsuit competition at the 1:40 mark, and in evening gown competition at 3:15:

And she was only 14 years old, you sick freaks.

UPDATE: But wait — there’s still more! Here’s a video Courtney did last year about “Cyber Bullies & Cyber Victims”:

“I get harassed daily on the Internet,” she says, reading some of the cruel, rude comments people have made about her. You kinda wonder if maybe one reason she was so eager to get married was to have a refuge from all that. Haven in a Heartless World, so to speak.

UPDATE II: Welcome, Instapundit readers! For those kicking this topic around in the comments, let me ask: Is your objection to the age of the bride or the age of the groom? That is to say, would you oppose the marriage of a 16-year-old under any circumstances, or only if her husband was so much older? And is a 35-year age difference between bride and groom always objectionable? Would it be OK if a 25-year-old married a 60-year-old?


Category: Celebrities, Marriage, Rule 5

Biden Debt-Ceiling Talks Collapse as Republicans Cantor, Kyl Walk Out

Posted on | June 23, 2011 | 9 Comments

Several weeks of Potemkin “bipartisanship” go down the drain as Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats refused to agree to any debt-ceiling deal that didn’t include tax increases. Jon Kyl has not yet issued a statement, but Eric Cantor explains his exit:

[A]s it stands the Democrats continue to insist that any deal must include tax increases. There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don’t believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation. Regardless of the progress that has been made, the tax issue must be resolved before discussions can continue. Given this impasse, I will not be participating in today’s meeting and I believe it is time for the President to speak clearly and resolve the tax issue.

Let me explain what’s actually happening here: John Boehner and the GOP call the shots in the House — where it’s straight majority rule — but neither party can exercise such unilateral power in the Senate, where Democrats don’t have a veto-proof majority. Therefore, the White House would normally be expected to act as broker for a deal acceptable to both parties in Congress. However . . .

Obama’s gearing up his 2012 re-election campaign, and is therefore trying to paint Republicans into a box, to depict them as “extremist” and “irresponsible” if they don’t compromise with Democrats on a deal to increase the debt ceiling. And in this case, “compromise” means agreeing to a tax increase, which would be a 100% betrayal of the voters who gave Republicans the majority in last year’s mid-term election.

In other words, it’s a variation of the tactic by which Democrats in 1990 forced George H.W. Bush to agree to a tax increase, breaking his “no new taxes” pledge. And if Republicans let themselves be bamboozled that way now, they deserve to be defeated in 2012.

Category: Budget, Joe Biden, Taxes

‘Community Organizing’: Not a Joke

Posted on | June 23, 2011 | 8 Comments

My buddy Matthew Vadum has a new book, Subversion Inc.: How Obama’s Red Shirts Are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers, and it includes a very interesting passage (p. 27) where Newt Gingrich said Republicans were wrong to treat Obama’s “community organizing” career as a joke:

The GOP’s mockery “trivialized Obama and Obama is not a trivial person,” Gingrich said in an exclusive interview with Vadum featured in the book:

In [Gingrich’s] opinion it was a strategic blunder for Palin and Giuliani . . . [Gingrich said:] “Obama is the most serious radical threat to traditional America ever to occupy the White House.” It would have been better if Republican leaders “had gotten up and said, here is what [Obama] was teaching, and they had taken the audience through the five principles of [radical organizer Saul] Alinsky.” Such a discussion “would have sobered the country. It wasn’t a funny thing. It was a profound insight into how radical Obama is.”

You can read the rest at The American Spectator.

Category: Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich
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