The Oddfather, Part IV

I love sequels, don't you? And what's better than another organized crime story featuring the sinister Oddfather and his goofy clan?

Fuhgeddaboutit!

Here's yesterday's teaser trailer:

Once again, we discover why the Democrats quietly dropped their "culture of corruption" theme for the upcoming midterms. The AP catches Harry Reid without a disclosure on real-estate deals that netted him $700,000 in profit...

In fact, this isn't a new development for Harry Reid. Less than two months ago, I wrote about Reid's questionable involvement and compensation in a related real-estate deal outside of Las Vegas, and the post turned into a column for the New York Post. Harvey Whittemore, a lobbyist and real-estate investor, plied Reid with campaign contributions and employed Reid's family members -- and in exchange, Reid did a number of favors that allowed Whittemore to realize large profits at the expense of environmental regulations that Reid helped Whittemore bulldoze.
...
What did Reid get in exchange for all of this support? According to the Times, Whittemore contributed $45,000 to Reid and his PACs since 2000. He also gave the DSCC $20,000 in 2000, when it pushed Reid as a leader for the party in the Senate. Reid's son Josh got $5,000 for his unsuccessful campaign for a city council seat; his other son Rory got $5,000 for his successful effort to win a spot on the Clark County Board of Commissioners.

Gosh, it's even got "Little Dingy" and "Melon Balls" in the thick of the action!

If that's not exciting enough, there's a new trailer out today:

Harry Reid, stung by the AP's exposure of his complicated land deals with a lobbyist he helped make rich through his personal interventions in Congress, has told the Senate Ethics Committee that he will file amended disclosure statements that would reveal his business relationships for the first time. Reid claims the amendment would be "technical."

I can just see the steely glint in Harry Reid's eye and that bold outthrust chin while he says, "It's technical." Boy, this is going to be exciting.

For collectors:

The Oddfather
The Oddfather, Part II
The Oddfather, Part III

Today's Hoot!

Fun with the cleaning lady:

Frankly, I've never seen Madeleine Albright looking so good. The only thing missing is Jimmy Carter (aka Miserable Failure) giving Kim Jong Il a tongue bath.

Wait there's more:

It's our favorite moonbats again

Yep, the religion of perpetually aggrieved ignorance:

According to a report on The Middle East Media Research Institute, Apple's NY Fifth Avenue store has been slammed by "an Islamic website" as a "new insult to Islam".

The reason? Well, it resembles the Muslims' sacred Ka'ba, situated in the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca:

The "Islamic website" claims that since the offending structure is known as the "Apple Mecca", and "contains bars selling alcoholic beverages", it constitutes "a blatant insult to Islam". The site accordingly calls on Muslims to spread the word in the hope that "Muslims will be able to stop the project".

Aside from the Apple info being BS, I don't see what why they have their caftans in a twist:

Update: Sheesh, it looks like it's all Mark Morford's fault. Based on the comments to his post, the Queen of San Francisco Sex Toys finally found some folks whose derangement is greater than his.

It's always polite to say "Thank you"

North Korea claims test of nuclear weapon.

I guess I missed out on Muslim Jeopardy

Too bad, it sounds like a hoot:

Popular morning host Dave Ryan at Minneapolis radio station KDWB took a satirical whack at the jihadist mania that has America in its sights. Ryan postulated a "Muslim Jeopardy" game show that was, as they say in show business, inspired by a true story (or two). The folks at CAIR have successfully extracted the usual apology on behalf of the religion of perpetual outrage.

Oh well, there's always MAD TV's rendition of Al Jazeera:

Today's Hoot!

Malibu Poop Patrol Makes a Stink With Celebs:

Health officials plan to use DNA testing to reveal the poopy perpetrators behind the sewage fouling Malibu's famously star-studded coastline, the Associated Press reports.

"This is going to get messy," predicts Mark Pestrella, the public works official assigned to the project.

Humorous too.

There are an estimated 2,400 septic tanks in this city of mansions strung along 25 miles of coast — many of which are buried in the backyards of the estates of environmentally-minded celebs like Tom Hanks, Sting and Barbra Streisand — and authorities suspect these tanks are responsible for the rise in disease-causing bacteria levels in the ocean after heavy rains.

Malibu's famously wealthy residents are notoriously private and defend their right to use the septic tanks, and many deny their tanks are the source of the problem.

But the poopy patrol isn't buying it, and this time they are getting serious. They're going to use DNA testing and court warrants to hunt down the leaky septic tanks — starting with the most flush-happy of the bunch, like restaurants and Streisand's former abode — and identify offenders.

Woohoo! Who knew Babs' palace had a plethora of poopers?

"When the results of these tests come back, I'll bet that once again we'll find that it's people's meat addiction, not their septic tanks, is causing this pollution," Malibu actress/activist Pamela Anderson wrote in an email. "The best thing any of us can do to fight pollution is to adopt a vegetarian diet."

While they're doing the DNA tests, maybe they could do a few other tests.

Another dirty blue dress

Don Surber:

The tape and the report come a weekend after Bill Clinton wagged his finger and said he tried to get that man, that Osama bin Laden. This tape is a stained blue dress to that lie.

Story and video here - The laughing 9/11 bombers.

Breaking news! Bears do sh*t in the woods!

Wildlife Waste Is Major Water Polluter, Studies Say:

Does a bear leave its waste in the woods?

Of course. So do geese, deer, muskrats, raccoons and other wild animals. And now, such states as Virginia and Maryland have determined that this plays a significant role in water pollution.

Scientists have run high-tech tests on harmful bacteria in local rivers and streams and found that many of the germs -- and in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, a majority of them-- come from wildlife dung. The strange proposition that nature is apparently polluting itself has created a serious conundrum for government officials charged with cleaning up the rivers.

I'm shocked, I tell ya! Who knew those pesky pooping critters were ecologically irresponsible?

"They're pooping in the water," said Chuck Frederickson, an environmentalist who is keeper of the James River, gazing at geese slurping algae off river rocks one recent day. He said the goose population is an obstacle to improving the river: "Do we want less bacteria in the water, or do we want geese around?"

But it is one thing to blame wild animals for pollution and another to figure out how to get them to stop.

How about getting those perpetually unemployed Hurricane Katrina refugees to slap diapers on the critters and then change them regularly? Sounds like a win-win to me. Of course they'd have to be those eco-friendly cloth diapers and I suppose we'd need a special diaper wash, but I'm sure the taxpayers won't mind laying out the dough to make the rivers cleaner than Mother Nature does. Hmm, I'm not quite sure what the ecoweenies can do about the fish, though.

More seriously, do you think it'll ever occur to these goof balls that nature isn't like a Disney movie and that there's a certain amount of mess involved and the temperature isn't always perfectly regulated?

Having fun with today's favorite bogus cause

Most speeches in the US Senate are eminently forgettable, but one worth your time is Sen. James Inhofe's takedown of global warming on Monday. One of my favorite parts:

Many in the media, as I noted earlier, have taken it upon themselves to drop all pretense of balance on global warming and instead become committed advocates for the issue.

Here is a quote from Newsweek magazine:

“There are ominous signs that the Earth’s weather patterns have begun to change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food production– with serious political implications for just about every nation on Earth.”

A headline in the New York Times reads: “Climate Changes Endanger World’s Food Output.” Here is a quote from Time Magazine:

“As they review the bizarre and unpredictable weather pattern of the past several years, a growing number of scientists are beginning to suspect that many seemingly contradictory meteorological fluctuations are actually part of a global climatic upheaval.”

All of this sounds very ominous. That is, until you realize that the three quotes I just read were from articles in 1975 editions of Newsweek Magazine and The New York Times, and Time Magazine in 1974.

They weren’t referring to global warming; they were warning of a coming ice age.

Let me repeat, all three of those quotes were published in the 1970’s and warned of a coming ice age.

In addition to global cooling fears, Time Magazine has also reported on global warming. Here is an example:

“[Those] who claim that winters were harder when they were boys are quite right… weathermen have no doubt that the world at least for the time being is growing warmer.”

Before you think that this is just another example of the media promoting Vice President Gore’s movie, you need to know that the quote I just read you from Time Magazine was not a recent quote; it was from January 2, 1939.

Yes, in 1939. Nine years before Vice President Gore was born and over three decades before Time Magazine began hyping a coming ice age and almost five decades before they returned to hyping global warming.

Time Magazine in 1951 pointed to receding permafrost in Russia as proof that the planet was warming.

In 1952, the New York Times noted that the “trump card” of global warming “has been the melting glaciers.”

It's deja vu all over again, I guess.

Since 1895, the media has alternated between global cooling and warming scares during four separate and sometimes overlapping time periods. From 1895 until the 1930’s the media peddled a coming ice age.

From the late 1920’s until the 1960’s they warned of global warming. From the 1950’s until the 1970’s they warned us again of a coming ice age. This makes modern global warming the fourth estate’s fourth attempt to promote opposing climate change fears during the last 100 years.

I figure Ook the witch doctor ran from cave to cave in the Stone Age peddling similar nostrums. There's something inherently satisfying to busybodies in saying that some vast force will punish you if don't do what they say is best. Oh well, not to worry, Pres. Ahmadinejad told the United Nations that the 12th Imam is due shortly.

Today's Hoot!

Clinton Kills Bin Laden. Sheesh, I'd forgotten about the pizza.