Lorie Byrd at PoliPundit has been all over the false story of the Palestinian boy being shot by Isreali security forces. Powerline is now onto to it as well. This isn’t just a run-of-the-mill biased story. It may have been staged. What’s worse is that this story was a trigger point of the Palestinian intifada.

Setting off an uprising in a political tinderbox – I thought trying to influence a U.S. presidential election with forged documents was rock bottom. How low will it go?

Via RCP is an article by The Daily Star about ordinary Iraqis increasingly speaking out against the terrorist attacks. I’m glad the media is starting to report on this, but I don’t buy this “tired of terrorism” stuff. The article included the following:

While it may be too early to say public opinion has shifted, one thing is clear: Many Iraqis have grown tired of two years of constant insecurity, and some are directing their anger at insurgents for the first time.

As if the average Iraqi is thinking “hey, I didn’t mind watching my fellow countrymen get blown to bits on a daily basis, but this is getting a little tiresome.” As for “public opinion”, well we don’t have to rely on that elusive concept in Iraq any more. Iraqis actually voted and did so in spite of terrorists’ calls to stay away. Every Iraqi now knows he or she doesn’t stand alone against the tyranny. In a democracy people are allowed to speak their minds, and so they are.

The Democrats are predicting economic devastation as a result of Bush’s budget. How surprising. My question is this: aside from core Democrats who’ll drink any flavor of Kool Aid offered up by the liberal leadership, who’s actually going to take this attack seriously.

Leading up to the elections we heard the Dems compare the economy to the Great Depression. I’m no economist but a 5.4% unemployment rate and a growth rate over three percent is kind of the opposite of a depression. In Afghanistan the Dems warned that we would suffer the same fate as the Russian forces, but instead we got successful elections. Iraq and the greater Middle East…well, need I say more?

It also wasn’t as if the Dems were merely offering skepticism, reservation or another perspective that is a healthy part of democratic debate. No, it was blindingly rank, partisan bitterness that drove the Dems further and further away from reality.

Now we’re facing Bush’s budget. There’s no doubt that the deficit is a concern to any economist worth his salt. Instead of a healthy debate towards a reasoned solution, again the Dems will claim the sky is falling. Oh yes, except Social Security, that part of the sky is rock solid up there.

This is a photo of a seven month fetus, part of a National Geographic Channel Special In The Womb, to be shown Sunday evening at 8 pm Eastern/9 pm Pacific.

We are now Large Mammals in the TTLB Ecosystem.
>here.

There’s a certain mystique surrounding the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When living in America a few years back I recall a discussion I had with some collegues about their perception of the Mounties. Were they these brave, dedicated professionals driving to “always get their man”? “That’s what they say” was my response. I didn’t really know any.

After moving back to Canada over the last couple of years I was lucky enough to get to know quite a few “members” (that’s what the Mounties call themselves). To a person, they fit the stereotype.

Yesterday some scumbag killed four members.

They died getting their man.

Note: this post has been bumped/kimsch

In Declan McCullagh’s interview with Bradley Smith at C-Net there is an editor’s note (top of page 2): (Editor’s note: federal law limits the press exemption to a “broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication.” ) (emphasis mine)

We are periodical publications. Sometimes we publish several times a day, sometimes just once a day, or once a week. Our “periods” aren’t defined like the weekly publication of Newsweek, or the daily publication of the Chicago Tribune, but we do, indeed, publish “periodically”. Bloggers should be covered under the Press Exemption. We are press. We self-publish with varied periods, that’s all.

Others on McCain/Feingold (with links to even more):
Anchoress
Michelle Malkin
La Shawn Barber
Pajama Hadin
Say Anything

See also the Captain’s Open Letter below.

Ed Morrisey at Captain’s Quarters has posted an open letter that he sent to all 100 Senators. Unfortunately, some got bounced back because some Senators only allow contact through a form on their website or only from their constituents. He’s asking that we copy and paste his letter and with an introduction of our own, send it to both Senators from your home state. He’s hoping that we will be able to reach all 100 Senators this way. Here is the letter:

To the honorable Senators McCain and Feingold, et al:

I have read with considerable dismay the effect that your recent lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, upheld by Judge Colleen Kollar-Ketelly, will have on political speech on the Internet. I write a political media-watchdog blog, Captain’s Quarters, which enjoys a not-insubstantial daily readership. No one pays me to do this; I operate my site and write on topics purely from personal convictions and a deep desire to improve the world around me and make the nation stronger. I can unequivocally say the same about my many colleagues in the “blogosphere”, both liberal and conservative.

Now we understand from Bradley Smith, one of the FEC commissioners, that your lawsuit forcing them to regulate speech on the Internet will have the effect of turning our efforts into in-kind contributions, especially when we provide hyperlinks back to candidate sites for referencing their positions and excerpt text from their on-line documents. Hyperlinks allow our readers to check our references to ensure our accuracy and context, and perform the hygienic task of holding our politicians accountable for their campaign practices. All of this not only should fall under the protection of the First Amendment, but it should be the primary reason for the First Amendment — to protect and encourage free political speech and foster genuine debate.

Your legislation and the accompanying lawsuit that forced the FEC to regulate Internet political speech threaten all of that. If my links to political sites such as Georgewbush.com and Johnkerry.com counted as contributions and I was forced to accept responsibility for the cash value that the FEC designated to them, I would have been charged with several misdemeanors and possibly felonies, as I provided many such links during the past election cycle. During this cycle, my blog published over 680 essays on the presidential election. In fact, I linked to Senator Kerry’s site four times as often as President Bush’s site, which would have meant to the FEC that I was a major contributor to his campaign — when in fact I opposed Senator Kerry and supported President Bush. These regulations would have forced me to retain the services of a full-time accountant and retain an attorney to understand when and where I overcontributed. At the very least, the burden of proof would be on me to make the FEC believe that my blog does not constitute in-kind contributions subject to the limits imposed on both hard and soft money contributions.

The effect of this would have been to force me to shut down my blog, or convert it to something else. In fact, it would have caused me less legal heartache to convert my site to a porn blog and do nothing but post hard-core pictures all day long. In the twisted environment of the McCain-Feingold Act, that kind of website would enjoy greater First Amendment protection than my political speech, a result for which every single Senator should feel shame and outrage.

Each of you should read the Constitution you swore to uphold and defend, and reflect on the unequivocal language of our forefathers:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

We may debate about the effect of unregulated cash on our electoral system, but if this new FEC effort comes to pass, the only people debating will be the corporate-owned media and the politicians. The rest of us will have been effectively bound and gagged, unable to contribute in any way thanks to the efforts of those who fear their own constituents. You can be assured that none of us in the blogosphere will fail to recognize those who do not act to defend our rights to free and unfettered political speech, and regardless of political party, none of us will rest until those voices of repression are stripped of office by the voters they hold in such low regard.

I, for one, will not be daunted by your attempts to stifle us. My many friends and colleagues on both sides of the political aisle stand as ready as I to defend the Constitution. We demand a hearing on McCain-Feingold, with open testimony before the press and our colleagues, and we demand action to reform or repeal this dangerous and un-American muzzle on political speech.

We await your response, sirs.

Edward Morrissey
Captain’s Quarters

Mine have been sent. (Obama and Durbin).

Update: I received an auto-reply from Barak Obama almost immediately. It thanked me for contacting him by email and suggested I go the the website and use the webform there. That is how I sent it in the first place.

The AP reports that Utah has passed a bill requiring undocumented workers illegal aliens to turn in their drivers’ licences for a “driving privilege” card. Activists are upset about this, and one “compared the legislation to the marking of Jews during the Holocaust.”

The card, according to the bill passed Wednesday by the Legislature, could not be used as identification to board a plane, open a bank account or obtain a driver’s license in another state. It would have to be renewed annually and would be a different color than Utah’s regular blue driver’s license and be printed with the words “FOR DRIVING PRIVILEGES ONLY – NOT VALID FOR IDENTIFICATION.”
…
Leo Bravo, of the Hispanic Center of Cache Valley in northern Utah, argues that the measure singles out undocumented workers because they are foreigners.
…
“I thought he would be good for the community,” said Bravo, who supported [Utah Governor Jon] Huntsman for office. “You remember the time of the Jews and Nazis? They were marked. I hope he doesn’t betray me.”

Mr. Bravo, the measure doesn’t single out illegal aliens because they’re foreigners (which, of course, they are), it singles them out because they’re illegal.

We’ve heard a lot about the tipping point of Democracy in the Mid East. It seems we’ve reached a tipping point with the media as well. Even Bush’s most ardent critics are starting to see the light. From Jon Stewart and the New York Times in the U.S. to the Guardian and Spiegel in Europe…

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.

(Bob Dylan)