A Truly Sick Halloween Costume

Over at the Democracy Project, we learn the following...

University of Pennsylvania president Amy Gutmann threw her annual Halloween costume party at her home Tuesday night. Among the guests was Saad Saadi, who came dressed as a suicide bomber, complete with plastic dynamite strapped to his chest and a toy automatic rifle. Worse, Gutmann posed with Saadi!

(hat tip: Instapundit) I'd be shocked, but I stopped being shocked by the academic left a long time ago. The last time I saw anything this perverse as a Halloween costume, it was being used as satire by Parker and Stone on South Park when Cartman alternated between Hitler and KKK "ghost" in the first Halloween episode. At least in that context, it was played for laughs. This is just sick. And yes, while I have a sense of humor, I think there are Halloween costumes that should get you kicked out of parties. This is one of them.

We Debunk Another Non-Rumor

Our occasional feature that is dedicated to putting out fires that don't exist...

There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that I caused the Reese Witherspoon-Ryan Phillippe split due to Reese's obsession with me. The damn media needs to stop spreading these rumors.

What Annoying Song is Stuck in My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

Seriously, don't ask why. Let's just say an old friend is going to great lengths to make me suffer by sending me the link to this video. TK, I hate you. As always.

All that aside... this song by Mr. Mister is memorable for the brilliant episode of Silver Spoons where Ricky Schroeder cries about losing his girlfriend. That's the best thing about the song, which should tell you everything you need to know about it.

Here's "Broken Wings"...

The John Kerry Post of the Day

My latest discovery about my favorite cheese-eating surrendermonkey-looking Ketchup King cum former Presidential candidate:

Dear Holy God. You know, normally I think Democrats are paranoid about Karl Rove, but even I'm starting to wonder if he has some kind mind-control device that makes Democrats act like idiots. Thanks to the joy of YouTube, we have the latest from the legend himself...



Here's the quote, which somehow looks even worse...

You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.

Seriously, I'm not sure how to react to that. Did he have an alien take over his mind or something? This is so off-the-wall absurd that Jim Geraghty may have to return to calling his old blog "The Kerry Spot" again. Phillip Klein hits the nail on the head...

What struck me about this comment beyond the obvious fact that it is insulting to our troops, is just how politically incompetent John Kerry is. Here we are, a week before Election Day, Democrats are favored to win back control of the House and possibly the Senate, so you'd think it would make sense for the party's leaders to play it safe. Republicans have tried very hard to convince voters that Democrats don't support our troops, a charge that Democrats have been countering by saying that they do support the troops, only that they oppose the war and want to bring the troops home. But in this video Kerry, the party's most recent candidate for President and one of it's most recognizable figures, is out there calling troops fighting in Iraq a bunch of morons. The RNC should run an ad featuring this video in every competitive race in the country. Just like his "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it" helped Republicans portray him as a flip-flopper, Kerry's recent remark succinctly captures what Republicans have been trying to say about Democrats all along--that they are anti-military and can't be trusted on national security.

(hat tip: Instapundit) Do I know what Kerry was trying to say? Sure, he was probably trying to insult President Bush. But one of the lessons we all learned from the 2004 campaign is that Kerry's sense of humor flat-out sucks. I submit as evidence his unbelieveably bad appearance on The Daily Show two years ago.

Of course, it got worse. The first follow up is so over the top that I had to get it from his website...

Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record:

“If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.

The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re afraid to debate real men. And this time it won’t work because we’re going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq.”

Seriously, is Karl Rove paying this man? The right feels pretty down right now... but now Kerry's just waving red meat in front of conservatives, not to mention the troops. And hey, it's not like he's never bad-mouthed U.S. troops before... oh, wait. The worst part -- it's not even true...

In summary, the additional years of recruit data (2004–2005) sup­port the previous finding that U.S. military recruits are more similar than dissimilar to the American youth population. The slight dif­ferences are that wartime U.S. mil­itary enlistees are better educated, wealthier, and more rural on aver­age than their civilian peers.

Recruits have a higher percent­age of high school graduates and representation from Southern and rural areas. No evidence indicates exploitation of racial minorities (either by race or by race-weighted ZIP code areas). Finally, the distri­bution of household income of recruits is noticeably higher than that of the entire youth population.

John McCain wants an apology. So does the American Legion. It should be noted that Kerry's response is to tell McCain to get an apology from Donald Rumsfeld.

I'm guessing the list asking for an apology gets a lot longer before it get shorter. Hot Air and Instapundit have lots more. Meanwhile, Captain Ed has the key question...

We'll see if Kerry's peers in the Democratic Party support Kerry's description of our fighting men and women. If Democrats that have had John Kerry campaign on their behalf refuse to address Kerry's remarks or openly supports their characterization, it will expose the hypocrisy and the contempt that the Left has for the military. All of the talk of "supporting the troops" will be revealed as lip service.

More on that later. Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan, who's been hammering Bush for over two years and supported Kerry in 2004, hits the nail on the head...

What Kerry said he must apologize for. Sooner rather than later. He may not have meant it the way it came out. That doesn't matter. It's wrong to talk about the military that way - wrong morally, empirically and ethically. And the way he said it can be construed as a patronizing snub to the men and women whose lives are on the line. It's also dumb politically not to kill this off in one news cycle. Is Kerry not content to lose just one election? Does his enormous ego have to insist on losing two?

I believe the answer to that might be yes. In the meantime, let's do something good with this controversy, as suggested by several bloggers -- give some money to Project Valour.

No Tenure For You, Dr. Jones

And here I thought he would be denied tenure for not being a left-wing schmuck...

Far more times than I would care to mention, the name "Indiana Jones" (the adopted title Dr. Jones insists on being called) has appeared in governmental reports linking him to the Nazi Party, black-market antiquities dealers, underground cults, human sacrifice, Indian child slave labor, and the Chinese mafia. There are a plethora of international criminal charges against Dr. Jones, which include but are not limited to: bringing unregistered weapons into and out of the country; property damage; desecration of national and historical landmarks; impersonating officials; arson; grand theft (automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft, and watercraft in just a one week span last year); excavating without a permit; countless antiquities violations; public endangerment; voluntary and involuntary manslaughter; and, allegedly, murder.

Dr. Jones's interpersonal skills and relationships are no better. By Dr. Jones's own admission, he has repeatedly employed an underage Asian boy as a driver and "personal assistant" during his Far East travels. I will refrain from making any insinuations as to the nature of this relationship, but my intuition insists that it is not a healthy one, nor one to be encouraged. Though the committee may have overstepped the boundaries of its evaluation, I find it pertinent to note that Dr. Jones has been romantically linked to countless women of questionable character, an attribute very unbecoming of a Marshall College professor. One of these women was identified as a notorious nightclub singer whose heart he attempted to extract with his hands, and whom he then tried, and failed, to lower into a lake of magma.

Maybe this will be the topic of his next movie.

Stupid Human Tricks, Part Two

I said all I wanted to say about David Letterman last time he had Bill O'Reilly on his show. That's here in the archives. The latest interview... sigh. It's here (and the rest of it is here). Draw your own conclusion.

Me? I'm not O'Reilly's biggest fan. But everybody who thinks O'Reilly is rude to his guests should watch Dave's pompous, self-serving and simplistic interview to understand why I think liberals are blinded by a belief that the Iraq war is terrible, so we should get out, no matter what the consequences. O'Reilly is the one who comes across as humorous, polite and better yet, reasonable and well-informed. My favorite example -- Dave makes the statement: "A reasonable person can't believe what you're saying." No, Dave, a reasonable person can't believe what you're saying. It's not often O'Reilly comes across as more nuanced, calm and reasonable. Heck, it may only happen with Letterman.

I do give Dave credit for admitting at the end that he doesn't know what he's talking about. If only most of the nutjobs on the far left could be so self-aware.

Barack and Me

Speaking of Senators... one of the advantages of living in DC is the opportunity to run into the famous politicians everyone else just tries to ignore on TV. On occassion, this becomes an advantage because it gives your intrepid correspondent an opportunity to do some on-the-spot reporting.

Last Sunday, I was getting ready to board a flight to Phoenix. As I stood by the gate, a figure approached the gate agent and asked about picking up a ticket for an aide. I realized I was standing next to current newsmagazine coverboy and junior Senator from Illinois. Yup, it was me and Barack Obama... and several other passengers.

I actually thanked him for working with Senator Coburn on the transperency bill. That got a smile. So did questions from several other passengers about whether he was running for President (little did we know he'd just answered similar questions on Meet the Press by switching his previous position and saying he'd consider it). His response was terrific -- "Well, I thought about it, and I think I'll announce right here at the airport. " He then told us the press might not like it, which was even funnier.

He's definitely got charisma, and I have to also give the guy credit for flying coach. Of course, I can also report that when I walked back to use the restroom, the Senator wasn't reading briefing papers; instead, he had headphones on and was intently watching the in-flight movie. It was The Devil Wears Prada. Yeah, I'm not sure if that helps or hurts his campaign.

But my recommendation is that he run, or get the hell out of the Senate some other way. Otherwise, he could turn into John Kerry. Shudder.

Those Wacky Mid-Atlantic Senate Elections

The left-wing dishrag endorses Bob "I Swear, I'm Not Crooked" Menendez in New Jersey's Senate race. I know, I'm shocked, too. But the rationale is funnier than one might expect...

The 38-year-old Mr. Kean, a son of the former New Jersey governor and co-chairman of the 9/11 commission, is the latest in what has become a very long line of second- and third-generation politicians hoping to achieve high office on the back of their parents’ reputations. Many of his positions seem to come from a campaign playbook rather than conviction. He has called for the ouster of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld while failing to criticize President Bush for keeping Mr. Rumsfeld on.

Mr. Kean supports both balanced budgets and all of the administration’s tax cuts. Except for vague promises to vote against pork and to be tough against corruption, he fails to suggest any budget reductions to deal with the deficit. He wants voters to believe he would practice his father’s moderate brand of politics, but there is little to suggest he is much more than a conservative Republican who opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

...New Jersey voters have a choice between a lawmaker who has done a good job of representing the state’s concerns and the nation’s interests in the House and the Senate and a state legislator with a shallow grasp of the issues and a famous name. Our unqualified endorsement goes to Robert Menendez.

The dishrag also tries to gloss over Menendez's ethical lapses by pretending they're relatively unimportant. After all, he can clean up now -- and I'm sure the dishrag felt the same way about Bob Ney, Mark Foley, Tom DeLay and others.

But it's the first and last paragraphs above that had me laughing. I'm just wondering if the dishrag would say the same thing about the Senate race in neighboring Pennsylvania, where Bob Casey will likely unseat Rick Santorum while doing his best impression of a mute. And Santorum has none of the ethical baggage of Menendez (then again, Menendez has the advantage of the dead vote).

Of course, the dishrag would sooner endorse a flying monkey than Santorum (of course, the monkey might have more positions on the issues than Casey). But voters in my former home state of Pennsylvania should consider their choice. They may not agree with everything Santorum supports -- but they know he works his tail off for the state, understands the issues and has shown a remarkable ability to actually pass legislation (from anti-poverty legislation to welfare reform), which is something most Senators don't get to in between speeches. Meanwhile, there's Bob Casey, and his interview with the Inquirer on wiretapping...

Interviewer: Let me ask you to shift gears to the anti-terrorism initiatives. Last night in the debate, I think you said that you'd support warrant- less wiretapping. How does that square with your suspicion about this White House? Why would you be willing to let them do that without judicial oversight? And on the Military Commissions Act, would that have been something you would have supported? In general, your outlook on anti terrorism initiatives.

Casey : Yeah, I think going backwards the, with regard to the detainees and interrogation, look, we've had people like John McCain, and you could give other examples as well, but people who have looked at this for a long time who have been very serious about making sure that we are very tough in our interrogation, that we get as much information as possible from those we detain and interrogate and also John McCain, showing the kind of independence that Rick Santorum never seems to show, took on the administration and I think they, based upon their experience, I think they got it right and I think I would have support that. Secondly, on the question of wiretaps, my position all along has been we've got to do everything possible and give every tool that government agencies need, intelligence, law enforcement, give them the tools they need to fight this war on terror. And I think we, in terms of wire tapping, whether its terrorists, known terrorists, or suspected terrorists, we've gotta give this government all the tools it can. And I think what we've seen in the past is the system that has been setup when its operated according to the law, and when the administration goes and puts a wiretap in place and then comes back later and gets a warrant after the fact, the system that has been setup is a pretty solid system, but they often don't comply with it. You can support having a lot of tough wiretapping, but also support the kind of tough oversight of the administration, which I think has been lacking. And I think we can have the two in balance at right.

Interviewer: Well, it might have been misreported this morning, but it certainly seemed to me as if you were endorsing the NSA program which is warrant less wiretapping without court oversight.

Casey : Well, I think, look, my position all along has been you've got to have the ability to wiretap known or suspected terrorists, and I am going to make sure that everything I do in this area is focused on anti terrorism and making sure that we are being as tough as possible to ferret out any kind of plot or and kind of terrorist activity.

Interviewer: Bob, it's real simple, and it seems to me you are dancing around it. Either you believe that the President or his designees need to go to the FISA court and provide some probable cause for the wiretapping, or you don't. They say they don't. They say they can do it on their own say so and there's no oversight of whether the person they're wiretapping is actually credibly a terrorist suspect or not. That's the issue. Do they have to go through the FISA court or not? Nobody's debating that we need to wiretap suspected terrorists.

Casey : You know very well that Senator Specter has worked very hard on this to try to get this right and I think with bi-partisan cooperation, working with people like Senator Specter, as I know I can, that we can get this right. I don't, I don't, I don't see what the...

Interviewer: It's a real simple question. Do they need to go through the FISA Court as the FISA law has said since 1973 or don't they? They say they don't. We say they do. What do you say?

Casey : I think it's worked well.

Interviewer: What has worked well?

Casey : I think it's worked well when you use that system and you use it in the context of making sure that we are doing everything possible to, to...

Interviewer: So, are you saying that the president has been breaking the law since 2002, or whenever the NSA program started?

Casey : I'm saying that people like Senator Specter have a lot of questions about whether or not the law was broken. I don't think anyone has made a determination about that. I think that's pretty clear.

I'm guessing the Inquirer endorsed him anyway -- probably because they figure he's too smart for them to understand what he's saying. I'd like to think Pennsylvania doesn't like voting for a phantom simply because they dislike the current candidate... but the dead voters in Philly and Pittsburgh probably prefer a silent candidiate anyway.