In case you missed it, last week, because I sure did…

From HuffPo:

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is not sure whether the public should be told when the federal government kills an American citizen.

“Maybe. It just depends,” she said in an interview with The Huffington Post this week, when asked whether the administration should acknowledge when it targets a U.S. citizen in a drone strike.

Pelosi disputed the assertion that Democrats are less critical of the drone program than they would have been if George W. Bush were still president, arguing, “Those opposed are pretty critical, and other people are just listening to see what this is and why this is necessary, because we’re in a different world.”

But she also hinted at another reason that the administration may be getting the benefit of the doubt from some lawmakers: Polls.

“It’s interesting how popular it is in the public,” she said, recalling that the same polling dynamic prevailed during the fight over warrantless wiretaps. “People just want to be protected. And I saw that when we were fighting them on surveillance, the domestic surveillance. People just want to be protected: ‘You go out there and do it. I’ll criticize you, but I want to be protected.’”

The Obama administration currently takes the position that it can essentially disappear U.S. citizens. It is never under any legal obligation to admit, even after the deed is done, that it has assassinated anyone.

“The…idea that if you just let people talk, it will be this pit of racist pandemonium…is sort of childish and it oversimplifies. But it is a great justification for having a lot of power over speech,” says Greg Lukianoff, the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).

Lukianoff spoke with Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie about his new book Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, where he details the slow and steady withering of free expression on America’s college campuses.

In some ways, the modern on-campus free-speech movement dates back to 1993′s “water buffalo incident” at the University of Pennsylvania, where a student was brought up on racial harassment charges for using the term “water buffalo” as an insult. That case led directly to the founding of FIRE, which “defends free speech, due process and basic rights on campus.”

A Stanford Law-trained liberal who blogs at the Huffington Post, Lukianoff insists that by restricting controversial or potentially offensive speech, “you’re putting people into echo chambers” where they only interact with people with whom they already agree. That sort of groupthink is dangerous to a free society, says Lukianoff, but it’s particularly appalling to see it instituted at the nation’s colleges and universities, where the free exchange of ideas is supposed to be the whole point of higher education.

WASHINGTON — A senior Republican senator on Tuesday accused House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — and President Obama by extension — of basing their tax policy position on “Democrat dogma.”

“I saw Nancy Pelosi’s comments … saying you can’t get enough revenues through the itemized deductions and closing loopholes. That’s just not accurate. I mean, it’s just not accurate. You can,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told The Huffington Post.

“You can get more revenue if you wanted to. So I don’t know where her math is coming from. It sounds to me like it’s more just a matter of Democrat dogma that they want to be sure that people’s tax rates go up,” Portman said in a phone interview.

“The problem with that is, it’s going to result in more lost jobs at a time when we’ve already lost too many. Rates do affect people’s behavior. They do make the small business owners I was with today less likely to take a risk, make an investment, add the job, buy the truck,” he said.

From Eric Odom at The Campaign Trail Report:

I almost can’t believe I’m actually posting this. It’s 2:00 PM, I’ve been reading stories about manipulated jobs data all day and I needed something else to post about for a minute.

Meet the Paul Ryan girls.

Have to say I think the video is pretty silly in general. I do think, however, that it’s interesting to see this sort of entertainment club developing around Paul Ryan in this election cycle. This sort of attention was reserved for Obama in 2008 and it appears as though the internet world somewhat lost interest in him.

My favorite character in the video…

(Las Vegas, NV) – A new ad from Shelley Berkley consists of nothing but insinuations and false claims that show just how desperate the Congresswoman is to talk about anything but her ethics problems, not to mention her fourteen-year legislative record.

“This ad is a pathetic, transparent attempt from a fourteen-year Congresswoman desperate to hold onto power. Shelley Berkley, the same Congresswoman who is being investigated by her own Democratic colleagues on the House Ethics Committee, is throwing ethics arrows at Dean Heller? Unfortunately for Shelley Berkley, Dean Heller did nothing wrong. Period. Thousands of dollars in paid advertising cannot erase that fact, no matter how desperately Shelley Berkley wishes it would. Shelley Berkley is nothing but a sad, desperate politician who will do anything to get elected,” said Chandler Smith, Heller for Senate spokeswoman.

Take a closer look at the article used as the source for this ad, from the left-leaning Huffington Post.

Please note: This article appeared after the Berkley campaign spent months unsuccessfully pushing the story on reporters nationwide, and then decided to run the ad anyway:

The Huffington Post article states that Dean Heller did not know the CEO of CMKM Diamonds: “Stoecklein also said Heller did not know Casavant.” (Michael McAuliff, “Dean Heller, Shelley Berkley Spar Over Diamond Scam,” Huffington Post, August 16, 2012)

The Huffington Post article verifies this statement: “According to Stoecklein’s sworn deposition, Heller declined to offer any advice to Casavant, saying ‘the problem may be far greater than the state wanted to get involved in at that point. (Michael McAuliff, “Dean Heller, Shelley Berkley Spar Over Diamond Scam,” Huffington Post, August 16, 2012)

Jon Ralston noted that “newspapers” are not claiming any deception on the part of the Heller campaign: “‘Newspapers say the Heller campaign is openly trying to deceive the press on this issue.’ Love the chutzpah there. Newspapers say? No, they don’t. One columnist at a ‘newspaper’ says. No one else has.” (Jon Ralston, Morning Flash – August 24, 2012, August 24, 2012)

Regarding the meeting mentioned in the ad, here is what the Heller campaign actually said: “While Dean Heller does not remember this meeting, court transcripts show that Dean Heller did not have a relationship with the individual in question…Senator Heller was never contacted or questioned during the SEC investigation because he had no involvement or relationship with the company.” (Michael McAuliff, “Dean Heller, Shelley Berkley Spar Over Diamond Scam,” Huffington Post, August 16, 2012)

There is ample evidence showing that Dean Heller would not have known about CMKM Diamonds.  Again, even the left-leaning blog Huffing Post reports: “Though the CMKM probe was big enough that Heller might have known about it, no one pointed to evidence that he actually did.” (Michael McAuliff, “Dean Heller, Shelley Berkley Spar Over Diamond Scam,” Huffington Post, August 16, 2012)

Mark Faulk, the author of a book dedicated to CMKM Diamonds, himself said: “I would agree that it’s probably overreaching to say there’s evidence that Heller knew about the fraud at CMKM Diamonds.” (Michael McAuliff, “Dean Heller, Shelley Berkley Spar Over Diamond Scam,” Huffington Post, August 16, 2012)

The Huffington Post also reports that Dean Heller did no wrongdoing: “There is no indication that Heller was aware of the furor around the company. Though Heller had long sought to beef up his office’s role in policing securities, such investigations are generally handled by the state attorney general. Corporate registrations in Nevada also number in the tens of thousands every year, and are handled almost automatically.” (Michael McAuliff, “Dean Heller, Shelley Berkley Spar Over Diamond Scam,” Huffington Post, August 16, 2012)

The “newspapers” referenced in the ad – the single column written by columnist John L. Smith — admitted that the ad was “an attempt to divert attention from her ethics imbroglio…” (John L. Smith, Berkley’s campaign ad raises a $64 million question, August 14, 2012)

Here’s what others are saying about this issue:

Jon Ralston called the attempt to connect Dean Heller with scandal on this issue “ridiculous,” saying: “As usual, a ‘newspaper’ columnist puts himself above the ‘political media’ to do the bidding of the Berkley campaign by drawing a still-tenuous connection between Sen. Dean Heller and a fraudster. Really?…How clever. How droll. How…ridiculous. I am shocked that the Berkley campaign sent the column out to its email list this morning. (Jon Ralston, “Morning Flash – August 14, 2012,” August 14, 2012)

Las Vegas Sun labeled the ad “laughable” (David McGrath Schwartz, Line of Attack: Did Dean Heller let a diamond scam happen under his watch? Las Vegas Sun, August 12, 2012)

Las-Vegas Review-Journal reports the ad is a “reach and a diversion”  (Laura Myers, Berkley ad hits Heller on stock scandal, Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 10, 2012)

Channel 8 stated the ad ranges from “misleading to false” (Steve Kanigher, Fact Check: Berkley Ad Ties Heller to Alleged Scam, Channel 8 News Now, August 10, 2012)

Somehow, confidential tax documents filed with the IRS by the National Organization of Marriage illegally made their way out of the IRS (which is part of the Obama administration) and into the hands of one of NOM’s political opponents, the Human Rights Campaign.  HRC’s president, Joe Solomonese, is also a co-chairman of Obama’s Re-Election campaign.  HRC posted the illegally obtained tax information on its website and gave same to the Huffington Post, which also posted it.  Within 24 hours of NOM demanding, in writing, an investigation by the Treasury Department, HRC quietly removed the information.  Huffington Post still has it posted.  NOM has proof they came from the IRS so someone’s in a lot of trouble and, as we all have learned from experience, the uncomfortable questions are coming, starting with: was it really just a “third rate burglary” and who knew what and when?

Human Rights Campaign Quietly Removes Illegally Obtained Tax Information from Website

“We demand that federal authorities immediately launch an investigation into this crime…This is reminiscent of Watergate.”

– Brian Brown, NOM president –

Washington, D.C. – Following the release yesterday of proof by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the source of leaked confidential donor information, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) removed from its website all reference to NOM’s un-redacted 2008 1099 tax form, which it had previously posted.  The action by the Human Rights Campaign comes within a day of NOM’s attorneys contacting them and demanding they remove the material and is a clear indication of the seriousness of the criminal activity that has occurred.

“They now realize that they have done something tremendously wrong here or they would not have removed the references,” NOM President Brian Brown said today.  “A felony has been committed and the Treasury Department must investigate who within the IRS has committed it, and whether people with the Obama Administration or the HRC are co-conspirators in the criminal release of our confidential tax return. We demand that federal authorities immediately launch an investigation into this crime. This is not a routine leak of some obscure document. We’re talking about someone in the Obama Administration’s IRS releasing to a group headed by President Obama’s national co-chair the private tax return containing confidential donor information of their main opponent. This is reminiscent of Watergate, and the American people are entitled to know the truth of what has occurred.”

On March 30 The Huffington Post ran NOM’s 2008 1099 tax form without redacting confidential donor information. The outlet said it obtained the scanning of the document from the Human Rights Campaign. The president of that organization, Joe Solmonese, is a national co-chair of President Obama’s reelection campaign. At press time, The Huffington Post had not removed its scanning of the 1099.

“As we stated in our letter to The Huffington Post, we demand they immediately take down all references to our illegally released tax documents,” Brown said.

To view NOM’s demand letters to the IRS, HRC and The Huffington Post, click here.

AOL’s billion-dollar payday in a patent and licensing agreement with Microsoft is standalone news. But the real story has more to do with the future of the Huffington Post.

We’ve known for months that HuffPo is pulling the partnership into the new wild west of big-time online video, drawing $30 million from AOL’s coffers to kickstart the major enterprise:

As envisioned by Mr. Sekoff and Ms. Huffington, the network won’t be CNN or YouTube or “The View,” but it will incorporate elements of all three. Mr. Sekoff described it as a “never-ending talk show.”

The ambitious plans come at a time when all manner of media organizations are trying to expand into live video, creating a new set of online competition to established television channels like CNN. The Wall Street Journal streams about four hours of live video each weekday on its Web site. The New York Times started its first daily business Webcast earlier this week.        More

Admission from Awards Ceremony was Edited Out from Administration’s Friday Night 59 Minute Huffington Post Dump

The video clips below are from the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) October 2010 Western Region Conference in Las Vegas, NV.  It was played on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at the “Capstone Dinner Event.”

In one part of an awarded video submitted by GSA Region 7 employees, a roomful of participants holding a picture of President Barack Obama sings:

“POTUS wants a press event, a project he can show … Are you ready for a miracle? GSA’s going Green.”

After showing the video at the convention, the following exchange (which was edited out of footage released Friday night by an “administration official” to the Huffington Post) occurs:

GSA Convention Organizer Jeffrey Neely: 
“That was amazing, was there anybody in Region 7 who wasn’t in that thing?

GSA Region 7 Representative:
“If they didn’t work on Friday, then chances are they weren’t in the video.”

(Convention Laughs)

CLICK HERE to Watch the Full “POTUS Wants a Press Event”

Donny Deutch was going on about how rich people he knows are greedy about sharing their money in the form of higher taxes, as if what you pay in taxes makes all the difference in how good you are.

I’ve already written a post on it titled “I don’t give Jobs, I hire men”. The title comes from this clip from the movie McLintock

That should be required watching for every teenager.

That simply annoyed me, what really set me off was Mike Barnicle’s speech about his late friend Anthony Shadid who died of an Asthma attack while covering the war in Syria.

“RIP Anthony Shadid, a truly great journalist and a great colleague,” said Stephen Farrell, who was captured in Libya with Shadid, in a message on Twitter on Thursday.

Hicks told the Times that Shadid suffered a severe asthma attack triggered by the horses used by their Syrian guides.

The pair had snuck into Syria by crawling under a barbed-wire fence in the mountainous northwestern corner of the country, Hicks told the Times.

Barnicle opined that Anthony “didn’t blog and didn’t tweet” and thought about what he said before he wrote it.

As a matter of fact he DID tweet, and although not an avid tweeter almost 10000 people followed him.

Now I’m sorry for the death of his friend, and all indications are Mr. Shadid was a fine reporter but let me tell you something, many bloggers do fine reporting, and use twitter as a tool to spread info live from events. People like Stacy McCain, Ed Morrissey, Verum Serum the Breitbart crowd and many others have been in the thick of things. Many other too numerous to name have gone to events and covered stories that his friends in the MSM have chosen to ignore.

Now perhaps like Ann Coulter after 9/11 he is speaking too close to the death of his friend but I’m not going to sit by and watch friends of mine hit on national TV without challenge.

There as a story on CNN this week that was so amusing that it could only come from a the MSM.

“The Catholic bishops and their allies in the Republican Party are increasingly isolated,” James Salt, executive director of a liberal group called Catholics United, said in a statement over the weekend supporting the White House’s contraception rule.

The left always seems to roll out “Catholics United” who’s only purpose seems to be to give Catholic pols cover when acting against church doctrine, meanwhile 100% of bishops who head dioceses (181 out of 181) and over two dozen actual catholic organizations have come out against the mandate.

But what’s that next to Catholic’s United and their fax machine to the MSM?

Another big annoyance lately has been the constant hits on Santorum on twitter by the Romney camp. The notion Mitt keeps his hands clean while Rick takes hits online.

Santorum has counted with his rather clever Rombo video

There are real positive reasons to vote for Mitt Romney but if he hasn’t made the sale over the last 5 years with conservatives despite a boatload of cash, how is he going to make the sale to general public now?

I’ll still vote for Mitt over Obama if nominated, if you are thinking: “If you don’t’ nominate my guy I’m staying home.” Keep this in mind from William Jacobson:

For everyone who says that under no circumstances would they vote for a particular Republican candidate if that person were the nominee, ponder this list of potential Obama nominee replacements for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a second Obama term.

Be sure to go far down the list to some politicians who are lawyers and may seriously be considered.

Sure, you say, replacing a liberal with a liberal, no change.

Then imagine one of these people replacing Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas.

And I thought The Exorcist was scary

Flying home I passed though security and all the hoops it involves. Unlike most of my conservative friends it doesn’t bother me and I part with them on this topic of the airline security.

Yes taking off the shoes and everything else is a pain in the rear and all that, but somehow I find exploding in mid air just as annoying if not more.

And lets remember sooner or later some bastard will decide to target a checkpoint, there is a tiny chance that you will be there when it happens, but there is a 100% chance that TSA agents will be there and if you are a TSA agent at whatever airport gets targeted there is a 33% chance that this will go down on your shift.

Imagine going to work every day with that hanging over your head and then tell me just how much these guys enjoy “groping” you.

Right now Media matters is reeling from the daily caller’s story on their internal works.

“They were using our research to write their stories. They were eager to use our stuff.” Media Matters staff had the direct line of MSNBC president Phil Griffin, and used it. Griffin took their calls.

Stories about Fox News were especially well received by MSNBC anchors and executives: “If we published something about Fox in the morning, they’d have it on the air that night verbatim.”

But MSNBC executives weren’t the only ones talking regularly to Media Matters.

“The entire progressive blogosphere picked up our stuff,” says a Media Matters source, “from Daily Kos to Salon. Greg Sargent [of the Washington Post] will write anything you give him. He was the go-to guy to leak stuff.”

“If you can’t get it anywhere else, Greg Sargent’s always game,” agreed another source with firsthand knowledge.
Reached by phone, Sargent declined to comment.

“The HuffPo guys were good, Sam Stein and Nico [Pitney],” remembered one former staffer. “The people at Huffington Post were always eager to cooperate, which is no surprise given David’s long history with Arianna [Huffington].”

The Atlantic notes the lack of response and provides excuses but makes one point as well:

On the part of Media Matters, it likely declined due to how personal the attacks were against its founder David Brock (they include reports of him using cocaine, insulting ugly employees, being paranoid and “manic,” and drinking heavily).

But soaking in the overall lack of response from the reporters, The Washington Post’s media blogger Erik Wemple makes a valid point. “Speak up, journos — that’s what you ask people to do every day.”

I don’t see why anyone would comment to a reporter who answers “no comment” to them.

This is a story the MSM and the left REALLY hates and they will suppress it as much as they can but in the end if media matters dies they will go back and start yet another organization, the big money people on the left will fund it and they’ll start again.

That’s what the left does. It’s what they’ve always done.

Apparently it is sweeps week in the blogosphere because we have seen more posts focused on skirtlines and thighs than anything else. The various posts all over the net from Stacy McCain to Little Miss Attila to myself have all drawn a ton of comments and although I can’t speak for the others, my own post, drew more traffic than all of my CPAC coverage combined , is as of right now the 5th 4th most popular post since I’ve moved to the new blog and may rise to 3rd by the time this column is published. There is even an outside shot it will get the #1 spot.

Here I thought all the interviews, all the writing and all the posting I did at CPAC would get attention. Apparently all I needed to do to get hits was to write about “thighgate”

Mel Brooks was wrong Merchandising isn’t where the real money from the movie is made, beautiful women with incredible legs apparently is.

Glenn Reynolds quipped:

I predict a vast increase in CPAC attendance next year.

I think it would be hilarious if that did happen and the skirts dropped to the knee then we could see a thousand young guys lamenting as the skipper in Rescue from Gilligan’s Island about missing mini-skirts

“We missed from here to here!”

Just got the word that Tim Wakefield is going to retire from baseball after 19 years, 17 with the Red Sox. He was my favorite player on the team. A man who always put the good of the organization above his own ego.

If selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame was based on Character Wakefield would be selected unanimously

BTW no Wakefield no comeback vs the Yanks and no World Series PERIOD!

Finally I wasn’t aware that the conservatory was up for best new blog. Unlike Joy Dan and Bruce I don’t have a stake in their site other than the pieces I write but it’s nice to be involved in a blog that’s been recognized.

Joy is determined to bring home the gold next year, I’m going to work hard to make it happen Joy, honest I will.

Of course I will do the same for the Minority Report, maybe we can win for best regular internet column?