I take a few days off ...

and I'm reassured to see that IQ's haven't increased. In fact, even the Curmudgeon had to take a time-out.

Fun with Barney!

And I don't mean the White House dog. Dick Johnson in the NY Post (now requiring annoying registration) gets to the bottom of the story:

OPENLY gay U.S. Rep.Barney Frank got caught blatantly fondling an up-and-coming politician's buttocks at a public event.

I guess the ole gaydar got a lock and he couldn't help himself!

According to gay weekly the Washington Blade, the frisky Frank was escorting rising gay politico Mike Evans into the VIP section at Philadelphia's Equality Forum when he boldly seized the opportunity to cop a feel from the younger man. The tush-grabbery was caught by alert photogs covering the event, and the pictures soon surfaced on the Internet. A rep for Frank, who is in a relationship with his domestic partner, Sergio Pombo, declined PAGE SIX's request for comment.

(Hat tip: Freepers)

Henry Ford to the rescue!

Of course ole Henry is long gone, but his money lives on under the control of the leftoid apparatchiks running the Ford Foundation and the cash is just burning a hole in their pockets - Public TV and Radio to Receive Big Grants. You see, they're mighty upset that the usually reliable mainstream media seem to be in such sad disarray:

"The media in general is at a crossroads in our country," said Susan V. Berresford, the foundation's president, pointing to declining newspaper circulation, a drop over the last decade in coverage of international affairs, and continuing market pressures that demand ratings successes while eating into news-gathering budgets.

So to keep the propaganda stream steady, they've anted up some of Henry's loot:

The initiative will funnel $50 million over five years to a baker's dozen of public television, radio and other media organizations. A major focus of the effort will be to spur the creation and distribution of public affairs programming, particularly programs dealing with international affairs.

The Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio will receive the largest grants, $10 million and $7.5 million respectively. But less well-known entities will also share in the wealth, including Link TV, a television network devoted to explaining the rest of the world to the United States; the Sundance Documentary Fund, which supports documentaries about human rights issues; and New California Media, a consortium of more than 600 print, television, radio and Internet outlets devoted to ethnic news.

Hey, those are some familiar faces! We all know PBS and NPR, the official leftoid TV and radio networks respectively. And there's Link TV, who in between sets of armpit music from Lower Elbonia, seems to be the official network of MoveOn.org and similarly exotic moonbats. And ITVS? Why they're a founder of Link TV and more to the point:

ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since its inception in 1991, ITVS programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing TV audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. More information about ITVS can be obtained by visiting www.itvs.org. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American People.

Translation: "We take the citizens' money and spit in their face."

How about the Sundance Documentary Fund? Here's a hint, it used to be called The Soros Documentary Fund, one of whose greatest hits was The Women of Hizbollah. Sounds like a warm bunch! The Sundance version was made possible by a $4.6 million grant from the New York–based Open Society Institute (OSI). We sure wouldn't want to start any substantial leftoid enterprise without involving SPECTRE!

And let's not forget New California Media. They're the "ethnic" subsidiary of The Pacific News Service who has been toeing the party line since the Vietnam War.

It's sure nice to know that the Ford Foundation is thinking of us little people.

Zsa Zsa blog alert!

Zsa Zsa launched her big blog extravaganza today. And yes, it's the expected snoozefest unless you've got a powerful passion for the spicy one's ego trips and her cast of whingeing pals. Even the "Drudge style" headlines are lame. I wonder who financed this boat anchor?

Best comment so far is from Michelle Malkin:

Pssst, did you hear? Arianna Huffington's new celebrity/grass-roots/pundit elite/progressive/whatever blog launches today. I'm informing you because, as the Huffers tell us, those evil, corporatist media meanies don't allow enough little voices to be heard. As Hollywood moonbat-turned-Huffington blogger Laurie David crowed: "The Huffington Post is going to balance the power out there that the media has had forever."

Hmmm. Now, where did I read David's statement? Oh, yeah, in the forever right-wing-controlled Washington Post. Which devoted its Style front-page to The Huffington Post and covered it ad nauseam.

Ah, it's the ole Err America gambit - if you get enough big media suckups to boost it, an audience might show up. Lotsa luck with that. Zzzzzzz's for Zsa Zsa.

UPDATE: (Via Drudge) Nikki Finke has the inside scoop on the blowsy bimbo's blovatron. My choice for best graf:

Forgive them, these bleating blowhards on Arianna's blog, because they know not what they do. Not Seinfeld has-been Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her untalented TV-hyphenate husband, Brad Hall, making unfunny shtick of the anti-gay-marriage movement. Not has-been director Mike Nichols, using the forum to parade his high school grasp of U.S. history by mentioning "de Tocqueville" and "Dr. King" in the same paragraph. Not has-been brat-packer John Cusack, penning the 459,308th remembrance of Hunter Thompson for the sole purpose of letting the world know that the actor scored an invite to the writer's intimate memorial service. Still, the celebs aren't to blame here, because they made the bad mistake of allowing Arianna to sweet-talk them into believing that they had something to say in the first place. ("I was very moved, for example, by what Mike Nichols sent," Huffington told Newsweek. "It was just such a beautiful expression of his thinking." Arianna must have been swooning over the fact that Nichols is married to Diane Sawyer, because it can't possibly be over the director's bombastic blog b.s.)

But there's a whole lot more by following the link.

Yeehaw!

It's Cowboys, Indians - et les Français:

My first contact with le country was accidental. While travelling last summer in Lorraine, I saw a banner reading "Marange-Texas Rodeo" and decided to investigate.

Two smiling Frenchmen dressed in 10-gallon hats, cowboy boots and spurs welcomed me to the event. I paid €2 (£1.42), but only because I had showed up in a Peugeot hire car. Anyone riding a Harley-Davidson got in free.

Hold on a sec while I clean my specs!

Inside the fairground, the United States and Texas flags flew proudly as French families disguised as cowboys or Native Americans waited in line for the "Apache Dinner", a fixed menu of chili con carne and corn on the cob topped off with a French twist, a delicate tarte aux fruits rouges.

My specs are fine, but I can't believe my eyes!

As it turned out, the Marange-Rodeo was not a rodeo but rather a celebration of country music and culture. Sporting a cowboy hat and a red bandana around his neck, Yves Muller, the organiser of the annual event, explained that le country is a growing trend around Europe, having started in Germany because of the influence of American military bases there.

"When I started the event six years ago, I thought it would work for a year or two, but it has just kept on growing. Last year we counted 5,000 attendees," said Yves. That's a big crowd for a town such as Auboué, which has a population of only 5,454.

Muller views le country's popularity as a reaction to the times we live in. "French people are looking for ways to escape the stress of our modern, isolated lives and congregate, as a community. Like we used to in France, for example, after the grape-harvesting."

So why don't the French look to revive traditional French community events? "The costumes aren't as much fun," he said. "And even if le country is not technically our culture, we grew up watching Westerns and playing cowboys and Indians. America is our dream, too."

I'll be dipped! Much more by following the link.

[Listening to: Old Dogs - Bobby Bare - Old Dogs (02:55)]

Nothing to see here, move along

Economy up, deficit down:

The budget deficit, despite the 2004 election campaign's gloomy forecasts of a fiscal meltdown, is falling sharply due to increasing tax revenues from stronger economic growth. Period.

I get to reuse the graphic!

Mexico may sue reservist in migrant detention:

The Mexican government is considering filing a lawsuit against a U.S. Army reservist who detained seven Mexican illegal immigrants at gunpoint in Arizona, a Mexican official said yesterday. Prosecutors in Arizona declined to charge the man.

The Mexican government is discussing the lawsuit with a human rights group based in Los Angeles, said Geronimo Gutierrez, the Mexican deputy foreign secretary for North America.

No word on the Mexican government and the "human rights group" helping out the American citizens who live along the border and are terrorized every day by illegal aliens.

Wait there's more! Mexico's embattled first lady writes book:

First lady Marta Sahagun, battered by several unflattering biographies, promoted her own book Friday describing her rise from provincial schoolgirl to the leader of a large and controversial charity organization.

Sounds like Eva Peron!

Sahagun's appearance at a book fair in the central state of Guanajuato came just days after a new book by journalist Olga Wornat accused Sahagun's three sons of enriching themselves through preferential treatment by the government.

Sahagun's 131-page book "Caminando," or "Walking," does not directly address Wornat's accusations. But she issued a statement earlier denying them, and has since announced she will file a lawsuit against Wornat for "moral damages."

Sheesh, her hubby is pimping out the citizens of his country and she's whining about moral damages. Ole Vincente really ought to keep a bunch of shysters on retainer. In both the USA and Mexico.

But it's not all bad news for Vincente - Mexicans Working Abroad Send Record $$$ Home:

Mexicans living abroad sent more than $4 billion home in the first quarter of 2005. The Bank of Mexico says that's a 20% increase over the same period last year.
...
Such remittances are Mexico's second largest source of foreign income after oil.
...
Nearly 11 million native born Mexicans live abroad, 98% of them in the United States.

I'll bet Vincente is all excited! Of course, it may just be a reporting anomaly:

Officials believe remittances have increased, in part, because it's become cheaper and easier to send money home.

It used to be going to Mexico in someone's pocket.

Big Trouble on Turtle Bay!

Congress keeps papers which threaten Annan:

American congressional investigators are refusing to hand back potentially explosive evidence which may threaten Kofi Annan's position as the secretary general of the United Nations.

Ruh Oh! But hold on a sec, I thought Kofi said he was exonerated after the first report of the big investigation run by Paul Volcker?

The controversial evidence was turned over to the House International Relations Committee (IRC) last week by Robert Parton, who recently resigned as a Volcker investigator claiming that the inquiry played down evidence incriminating Mr Annan.

Ah, the high standards of the United Nations. There's more in Volcker Lawyer Asks U.N. to Block U.S. Subpoenas, but the best part (from the first link) is:

Senior members of the UN secretariat [i.e. UN kleptocrats - ed.] said last night that they feared that the public wrangling over the subpoenaed evidence left the Volcker investigation "hanging by a pretty thin thread". They were concerned that the credibility of the committee, whose report is due in August, has been so badly damaged that it might not complete its task.

You mean they might not finish the cover-up? Just, dang!

If that were the case, the UN would be left at the mercy of its congressional critics who are investigating alleged corruption and inefficiency.

Be still my heart! And a more precise description would be "tripping over evidence of corruption and inefficiency".

"The knock-on effect won't just be to allow Washington to get Kofi, but the UN as an instrument of mediation too. There will be huge resentment in the rest of the world against the US."

He's kidding, right? How could we tell?

Everyone whines when you have a good racket

And who's got a better racket than Vincente Fox? He sends his un- and underemployed citizens to enter the USA illegally where they get free education, free medical care, and send back money to prop up his feckless and corrupt government. What's not to like? So you can see why he's a little upset that a small town police chief in New Hampshire figured a new way to cut down on the local plague of illegals. Poor baby!

The life of a racketeer must be tough one. If it isn't the law, it's someone else trying to horn in on your turf. How about: Non-Mexican immigrants pour into Valley:

May 8, 2005 — Brazilians, Central Americans and others are expected to overtake Mexican nationals as the largest group of undocumented immigrants entering the Rio Grande Valley.

Although some federal authorities said the demographic shift has already happened, figures given to The Brownsville Herald this month show the number of OTM (Other Than Mexicans) immigrants detained in Deep South Texas has exploded in the last two years but remains slightly behind the number of Mexican nationals.

Border Patrol officials said the number of OTMs detained in the Valley could overtake undocumented Mexican immigrants in the next few months or sometime in the next fiscal year.

U.S. Consul John Naland in Matamoros says the shift has already happened.

“It is very much an area of concern for the U.S. government,” Naland said.

No word on them actually doing anything about it, though. In case you weren't aware of it, the Border Patrol has a swell deal for OTM illegal aliens. Think of it as a "catch and release" program:

If there is no detention space and no criminal record or other cause for concern, Cervantes said Brazilians and other undocumented immigrants are released with a promise to return for an immigration court hearing.

There's never enough space and they're going to look up the criminal record based on the name provided by the illegal alien himself.

Court figures show that more than 88 percent do not return.

Does Drew Barrymore sh*t in the woods?

But it's not all bad news for ole Vincente. There are lots of useful idiots in the USA who don't mind the invasion for various perverse reasons of their own.

Business as usual with Hill and Bill

Martha Carr and Gordon Russell at The New Orleans Times-Picayune kick over the anthill - Sex, lies, secret tape at center of trial:

Hotshot political fund-raiser David Rosen didn't hesitate when an old friend, visiting Chicago, called to invite him to a pricey meal at Morton's steakhouse.

What Rosen didn't know was that his buddy, Democratic Party operative Ray Reggie of New Orleans, was working with FBI agents to record secretly the entire conversation, a tape that is expected to be key evidence as one of the hottest political trials of the year begins Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

A partial transcript of the Sept. 4, 2002, tape obtained by The Times-Picayune captures a conversation rife with gossip about the seamy side of political life, including the sex, drugs and prostitutes enjoyed by big-name Democratic stalwarts. But in due course Reggie deftly steers the conversation toward the feds' main interest: an August 2000 Hollywood fund-raiser for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton that is at the center of Rosen's alleged crimes.

In a detailed discussion of the event, Rosen acknowledges that the gala probably cost far more to produce than he reported on federal campaign forms, a criminal offense and the central question at issue in the case.

The Clintons and "hot" campaign cash. Gosh, what a shock! At least the Chinese government wasn't in on this one.

Then there's the steamy stuff:

Reggie first met Rosen when he signed on as a fund-raiser and media strategist for Hillary Clinton's Senate bid. Rosen was Clinton's national finance director, and Reggie, with his ties to the Kennedy family, was a powerhouse fund-raiser for the Clintons in Louisiana. After their months spent together separating wealthy Democrats from their hard-earned cash, Rosen was likely not surprised that Reggie would call to catch up with him during a stop in Chicago.

During their chat, the familiarity between the two is clear as they trade war stories and exchange gossip about the rich, powerful and politically connected.
...
The chitchat ranges from speculation that a wealthy Clinton donor was using cocaine to lusty remarks by Rosen about the donor's young daughter. Rosen does not hesitate to disparage President Clinton, noting that he began calling regularly -- once a week -- after Rosen went to work for Hillary Clinton. "Go screw yourself , Mr. President," Rosen says, pretending to pick up one such call.

The salaciousness reaches its pinnacle with Rosen's rambling anecdote about a fat cat Clinton donor who said after a night of partying that he sent prostitutes to the hotel rooms of two top Clinton loyalists.

"So the next day, (one of the loyalists) calls (the donor) from the golf course with Clinton," Rosen told Reggie. "Clinton gets on the phone, he goes, I just wanna tell you something. . . . The day I'm outta office, I'm going out with you."

Party hearty, dude! I expect ole Bubba had good reasons why he never released his medical records.