Aren't They Pesky Little Rascals!
New California Media files a report from Outer Space:

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the "dean" of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), said the Black legislators "are all opposed to any proposed invasion of Iraq" that is being pursued by the Bush administration.

He also said the group would welcome a briefing by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on findings from his recently completed Peace Mission to the Middle East and Africa, including a visit to Iraq.

"We don't have a policy to articulate to you," Rep. Conyers said July 20, referring to lack of a united statement by the CBC on Iraq, "but we oppose any extension of war on terror" that operates outside the parameters of the U.S. Constitution, Rep. Conyers said, adding that only Congress can declare war against a nation.

Rep. Conyers made the statement to reporters during a press conference at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters at the start of the organization's 5-day annual convention, which will include a speech by former President Bill Clinton. Reps. Bobby Rush and Jesse Jackson Jr., both Chicago Democrats, flanked Rep. Conyers.

"Minister Louis Farrakhan should be in before the Congressional Black Caucus to give a briefing on his trip to share information from an Iraqi perspective of what's taking place in the Middle East," Rep. Jackson told The Final Call.

"He should be seeking a meeting with (Rep.) Dennis Hassert (D-Ill.) and (Rep. Dick) Gephart (D-Mo.) for they are policymakers in Congress. [Min. Farrakhan] can be very helpful to our government at this time," Rep. Jackson said.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) put her position more bluntly.

"The U.S. has a schizophrenic policy toward Iraq," she said, adding that the U.S. international policy is "completely destructive."

"We have to work with the world community to build bridges, not walls," she said. "We should be looking for different ways to show a better face."

...

For the past 11 years, the tiny Muslim nation has been under strict no-fly zones along its northern and southern borders. With the UN embargo and sanctions still in place, the country cannot purchase or build conventional arms to secure its own sovereign airspace.

The last bon mot was thrown in by James Muhammad, the author of this screed. But back to the main players: John Conyer is a truly diverse fellow - his official website is available in Arabic as well as English and Spanish. By the way, if the Democrats win the House, he will be the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Marcy is just a knee jerk white liberal and would lead the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Jesse Jr. apparently has other fish to fry - he does not even have an official House of Representatives web site, but does have http://www.jessejacksonjr.org/ . I was astonished that a Jackson would pass up a government freebie, until I noticed that having his own site outside www.house.gov allows him to run commercial ads including the Jesse Jackson Jr. Book Club (via an Amazon affiliation). Check it out!

I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree.

This Sucks!
The Sacremento Bee titillates with "Berkeley event to try for mass breast-feeding record"

Breast-feeding advocate Ellen Sirbu wants to create a lactation sensation.

Sirbu and other city officials have invited hundreds of mothers and their babies to Berkeley on Saturday to try for a world record in simultaneous suckling.

One of the more benign Berkeley events.

A Novel Approach
The National Post has the skinny on how they handle illegal immigrants in Malaysia:

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants descended on Malaysia's ports yesterday, looking for a ship back home to Indonesia and the Philippines to avoid tough new immigration laws.

Under harsh legislation that took effect yesterday, foreigners caught working without a permit in Malaysia could face fines of US$2,600, mandatory jail terms of five years and six lashes of a rattan cane.

Anyone who employs or houses an illegal migrant is subject to the same penalties.

...

Immigration laws introduced in March gave illegal immigrants an amnesty, which lasted until yesterday, to give them time to leave the country without fear of being arrested.

...

There are about 750,000 legal migrant workers, but anywhere between 600,000 and two million illegal immigrants as well.

Two-thirds of the illegal foreign workers are thought to be Indonesian. Most of the rest come from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

They frequently live outside the law in a constant game of hide and seek with the police after overstaying their work permits or entering Malaysia without them.

In the five years since Asia's economic meltdown in 1997, the demand for foreign workers has slowed, while unemployment in Malaysia has soared to its highest level in 10 years, about 3.7%.

With its small population and relatively prosperous economy, Malaysia has long been a magnet for people from its poorer neighbours.

Sounds familiar right? (Except that the illegal immigrants are actually leaving.) Well, hang on for the whining:

But some Malaysians are unhappy with the immigration crackdown. Many employers say they rely on the illegal immigrants to fill menial and low-paying jobs Malaysians refuse to do. Now, they say, the country's export-driven economy will suffer.

Indonesians have been the backbone of Malaysia's construction industry, accounting for up to 70% of the unskilled workers on job sites. Tens of thousands of Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis also work as low-cost labour on rubber and tea plantations.

Large numbers of Filipinos have been attracted to Sabah, the Malaysian sector of the island of Borneo, which lies close to the southern Philippines, to work as domestic help.

The sudden expulsion of so many workers could destabilize Malaysia's neighbours, placing a strain on local governments and families that have relied on the money they sent home.

It's deja vu all over again.

Can I Get A Witness?
The Houston Chronicle reveals a tawdry tale:

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Sanchez today fired a staff member who issued a casting call looking for black actors for background and white actors to criticize Republican Gov. Rick Perry in a commercial.

John Robert Wright, who posted an ad through the STAGE Web site for Dallas/Fort Worth-area actors, was fired from the campaign shortly after reporters started asking questions about it.

"What we had was an overzealous employee who has been dismissed from the campaign," said Sanchez spokesman Mark Sanders.

The casting call said the campaign needed "a couple of African Americans to help with a shot with Tony." They would be "background/customers" while Sanchez read a script in a TV commercial to be filmed in a body shop.

It also sought 10-15 people "who are willing to do testimonials on camera. I need a mix of people, with emphasis on Caucasian. They need to be willing to say something like `I am sick of Perry's negative attacks. Why won't he talk about issues that effect people like me?'"

It also said the campaign was looking for a "middle class neighborhood with a sidewalk for Tony to walk in and a friendly house for him to stage in."

That's what I like - authenticity!

Dissent Stifled Again!
Bill Moyers, left wing poster boy, has been busted for drunk driving:

ARLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Journalist Bill Moyers was charged with drunken driving after he left a friend's birthday party, but has denied the accusation and vows to fight it.

"I intend to contest the charges," Moyers said in a statement faxed Thursday to the Bennington Banner, which first reported the arrest.

"Not only was I observing the speed limit, but my companions - my wife and two friends - testified they had detected no signs of any problem with my driving, and that I appeared to be in full control of my faculties, as indeed I was."

Yeah, but...

Moyers said he had just left a friend's birthday party about 10 p.m., and admitted to the arresting officer he had drunk a glass of champagne and "a small amount of wine."

According to Trooper Travis Kline, Moyers, who said he was staying at a hotel in Manchester, was stopped after he swerved repeatedly across the centerline of the road and had trouble negotiating a curve.

A roadside breath test showed Moyers' blood-alcohol level at .10. The legal limit is .08. A follow-up test 90 minutes later showed Moyers' blood-alcohol level had dropped to .079, which is within the legal limit.

That's all she wrote, Bill. If I were one of your smarmy pals, I could always call you a white-knuckle drunk. But instead I'll offer advice. Why don't you just tuck it up and pay the fine like any normal citizen? I know, that's for the little people.

Standby for another "chilling effect" brought to you by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

Racism Alert!
Shocking news from Bakersfield, CA:

Two Bakersfield City council members, at odds for almost a month over a doll, are now on better terms.

At Wednesday night's meeting, Vice Mayor Mark Salvaggio apologized to councilwoman Irma Carson.

Last month, Salvaggio displayed a singing James Brown doll during a meeting. Carson complained it was culturally insensitive.

Salvaggio claims he was just having fun, saying if he had a Buck Owens doll, he would have used that.

Since when is a singing statue of the Godfather of Soul culturally insensitive? On the other hand, who brings a singing doll to a City Council meeting? Billy Bass maybe, but never a singing doll.

And that's the least of it
The LA Times (via Drudge) is running with "White House says Sept. 11 skyjacker had met Iraqi agent", apparently based on an interview with "a senior Bush administration official ". I'm glad someone finally noticed.

Terrorist Gossip
Alan Cullison and Andrew Higgins dish the dirt on the uneasy relationship between Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar:

A relationship that appeared smooth and even symbiotic to the outside world was rent by disillusionment, anger and petty one-upmanship. A country the U.S. considered a terrorists' paradise was, in the view of many of the terrorists who arrived there from other lands, more like a hell: They couldn't trust the locals, the food was bad, they considered the Taliban leader a bumpkin, and their work was stymied by the near-medieval backwardness of the place.

...

The Taliban, in turn, grumbled that Mr. bin Laden was arrogant, publicity-seeking and disrespectful. The rift ran so deep that some of his entourage of Arab revolutionaries expected to get booted out of Afghanistan, as they had been earlier from Sudan. Indeed, by the summer of 1998, according to a former Saudi intelligence chief, Mullah Omar had agreed to send Mr. bin Laden packing.

But then came the 1998 lethal bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, to which the U.S. replied by raining down cruise missiles on a bin Laden camp in Afghanistan. The retaliation had fateful consequences. It turned Mr. bin Laden into a cult figure among Islamic radicals, made Afghanistan a rallying point for defiance of America and shut off Taliban discussion of expelling the militants. It also helped convince Mr. bin Laden that goading America to anger could help his cause, not hurt it.

It's a nice tale, constructed from interviews (some dubious) and letters found on captured PC's, but all political/military "tell all" pieces overemphasize discord. Despite the family squabbles, they still managed to be very lethal thugs.

Pond Scum Alert
John Bradley, failed Henry James scholar and now Islamist brown nose, stamps his dainty feet in Arab News:

Arab News has received e-mails from many American readers who were so disgusted when they visited OpinionJournal.com after reading the article about Taranto that, as a result, they have promised to cancel their subscription to the print edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Many others have promised to register their complaints and outrage about Taranto with the newspaper's main editor in chief.

Arab News is today alerting the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Muslim Alliance and the National Association of Muslim Journalists to the anti-Arab drive behind Taranto's website.

...

To what depths will this vile Arab-hater have to sink before the decent-minded readers of The Wall Street Journal finally wake up and, by resurrecting the voice of American reason and decency, insist that this newspaper get rid of the unethical Taranto once and for all?

My, my ... this boy sure does fuss a lot. Not to mention writing like he has a pipe up his ventral orifice. Whatever happened to the scintillating sentences like:

Just as in his life James resisted being labelled categorically 'a homosexual' in a way that would have neatly (and falsely) summed him up, nothing now could be more objectionable that an approach to James that had as its goal the crude summing up: 'It's all about his being queer!' However, it is important that gay and lesbian themes and characters are focused on in isolation because hitherto overlooked or deliberately ignored aspects of the fiction can then be brought clearly to the fore. In the essays that follow, homosexuality in the novels and stories is explored as a crucial aspect of fictional worlds in which both heterosexuality and homosexuality find (or fail to find) their proper place, which is to say alongside the many other to which they are intimately related, James will be seen, not to have been more narrowly focused and therefore easily understood - as certain hostile Jameseans would appear to fear is the inevitable outcome of a gay approach to James's fiction - but as an even more extraordinarily expansive, subtle and curious author than has previously been recognised.

Come to think of it - what does he say to his pals at Arab News when they ask him about his prior work?

UPDATE: Hop on over to Little Green Footballs where they are having a nut roast.

Kill Them All
John Derbyshire (link via LGF):

These savages are laughing at us. We should put the fear of Almighty God into them. Then, we should kill them all, along with everyone known to have shaken hands with them or given them a light for a cigarette. If we don't have the guts to do this--to avenge our own slaughtered citizens--let's engage proxies to do it for us. Yes, I am mad. Are we ever going to deal with these scum, these murderers of Americans? Do we actually have any plan to do so?

Because that's what they do. That's all they do. And they'll keep doing it until they're dead.



And laughing boy is at the top of the list.