Comrade Repsac3: Racist Commissar of State Security, People's Commissariat for Internet Affairs?

Folks might recall Comrade Repsac3, Commissar of State Security, People's Commissariat for Internet Affairs.

Now, I saw this coming some time back, but didn't say anything because I thought it minor: Turns out Comrade Repsac3's been attacking me as "Halfrican-African." I guess Rush Limbaugh used the term to attack President Obama. But it's a term I don't endorse and have never used at this blog (although I like Rush, and I don't think he's a bigot).

That said, if "Halfrican-American" is really racist, why is Repsac3 trying to smear me with it? I thought progressives were all about decency and tolerance? I guess not. Basically, Comrade Repsac3 thinks that it's somehow okay to attack me as "Halfrican" while at the same time suggesting it's a base, vulgar term. And note that Repsac3, in this context, is not being snarky: According to leftist logic, he's attacking my ethnic identity, and this out of spite and hatred, spewed under the cover of a collateral Limbaugh smear. Now that's disgusting. And for what? I don't ideologically identify as black, unlike some bloggers, such as Ta-Nehisi Coates (whose entire schtick constitutes black-self-loathing socialism).

But that's not all: I've known this about Comrade Repsac3 for some time, but because I'm not one to flinch from the attacks and smears -- capitulating to the left's totalitarianism -- he's become a deranged stalker who hosts a blog just to demonize me and who cruises the entire Internet to attack me in various comment threads.

When Patrick at Political Byline responded to me a month or so ago, Comrade Repsac3 followed Patrick over there to spray his bile:

Anyone who’s spent time at AmPow knows what I think of Douglas’ politics… …but even putting that aside, he’s kind of a douchebag, as your post here so aptly shows. He has no understanding of sarcasm, and has yet to learn that he is not the center of the universe. He gets kinda cranky when someone doesn’t see things his way, and all too frequently lashes out, just like he did to you…

When it comes right down to it, I feel sorry for him...

And this morning the Comrade left this filthy comment at my blog:

Leaving all the ego and personal vitriol of post and comment aside, I wonder whether the folks who believe that Dr. Douglas cannot speak or act in racist or bigoted ways because of his heritage also feel the same about "full blood" minorities (Jesse Jackson, Sharpton, Farrakhan), or even others of mixed heritage, such as President Obama...

And even if one does believe that no black man or a "halfrican" (thanks, Rush) can be a bigot toward other black folks, what is it that prevents such a man from behaving as a bigot toward hispanics, Muslims, Christians, gay folks, Jews, or women?

Dr Douglas may or may not actually be a bigot--folks can read his words, and decide for themselves--but the argument that he can't be, because he himself has minority blood--whether made by him, or by those who would defend him--doesn't hold water, at least as far as I'm concerned...

See that? Attacking me as "Halfrican" while simultaneously attacking my alleged "bigotry." Orwell would be proud.

But there's more at TNLib's hate-master site, where Comrade Repsac3 hijacked the thread to issue a long screed alleging how awful I am compared to "good" conservatives:

@LOT:

Perhaps I shouldn't bring this up, but I'm surprised you didn't speak up in defense of our evil, hateful, jihadi, "seething toxic dump of leftist hatred," tnlib over at Don's place...

While you didn't exactly toss tnlib under Don's bus, it might've been nice had you made it more clear that those sites with the name-calling and vitriol didn't include Parsley's Pics, in your opinion...

I'm sorry if you think this query rude, but after reading your generally reasonable replies on sites like this one-- Douglas labeled "hate site" The Swash Zone and Truth101's place come to mind, immediately--I've taken to wondering how you walk that fine line between Donald Douglas considering you a blog buddy and he and his thinking you an evil nihilist collaborator for actually treating folks with whom you disagree with common decency and respect.

While I disagree with your politics, I for the most part think you a fine fellow, but I do kinda wish you'd speak your mind more clearly when Donald engages in these attacks on the individuals and blogs you visit pretty regularly, whether in agreement with him or otherwise...

(Two bits well spent, after waiting entirely too long... Unless there's a comment in need of reply, that itch is scratched, and I'll say no more on the subject...)

I could go around all day and find posts that Comrade Repsac3's hijacked for nothing more than the smears. I don't read the comments at Right Wing News, where I'm a guest blogger, but the Comrade goes to town over there as well, for some damned reason, another example of the hated.

And that's not even mentioning American Nihilist, Comrade Repsac3's own blog, where representative entries are entitled, "Why Donald Douglas is a Scumbag."

This is what these people do: They use race as a cudgel to harass constitutionalists and traditionalists as "God-bagging racist homophobic Nazis." Meanwhile, out of the other side of their mouths, they mount the most vicious sexist, racist attacks of their own -- and the media gives them cover. It's an upside down world. So, I called out the Comrade at my post this morning (with corrections in bold italics):

Repsac3: You can quit with the racist allegations. First, nothing Swash Zone alleges is true, so forget that. And what I've written on my own blog is politically incorrect, but in no way bigoted.

As you know damned well, I love all people of all colors, races, religions, etc. I attack people on ideological grounds.

Finally, to keep attacking me as "Halfrican" IS racist. Show me where I've endorsed Rush Limbaugh's use of "Halfrican," or where I've ever attacked Obama as "Halfrican."

In sum, the bigotry is found in your desperation to get the goods on me. And you and your SWASH ZONE hordes are all about hate, as I've shown in this post on TNLib.

This is not really something I would have written about today, but considering all the recent manufactured smears against conservatives as "racists," this one needs to be put to bed.

See also, Blazing Cat Fur, "When It Comes To Hate-Speech And Violence, Liberals Rule":

"In the past 11 years of writing op-ed columns from a conservative pro-life perspective, I've received mail that is so vile that when I submitted some to a magazine relating my experiences after criticizing jihadists, I was told it was too strong for their readers. I've been called a bigot, a homophobe, and every obscene female name in the vernacular. Someone even set up a Face Book page branding me a bigot." ...

[Violence toward outspoken conservatives by liberal thugs is much more common but not widely publicized. Why was Sarah Palin's church in Wasilla, Alaska, set on fire with a church group still inside? Republican Gov. Rick Perry saw the Texas state mansion firebombed and destroyed in June 2008. Californians who were for Proposition 8 were viciously targeted for assault by militant gay rights advocates. One man in Modesto Calif., Jose Nunez, 37, was brutally assaulted outside his church where he was passing out "Vote Yes on Prop 8" stickers.]

...

Same same everywhere...

*******

P.S. According to my Sitemeter, someone at Zoner's Scratchpad's written an entry called "DD's Magic Wand," with an April date. As you can see, it's gated. Lord knows what's being said about me at that place.

It's hard out there!

Man it seems like I'm duckin dodgin bullets everyday
Niggaz hatin on me cause I got, hoes on the tray
But I gotta stay paid, gotta stay above water
Couldn't keep up with my hoes, that's when shit got harder ...

Palestine House Teaches Hate

If you check the Palestine House website, you'll see this welcome to "immigrants":

Members of the Palestine House Board of Directors offer counseling on immigration, family problems, citizenship, legal matters and housing, in addition to referrals to specialized professionals and institutions. We also maintain lists of people looking to volunteer in community organizations and coordinate volunteer activities.

And all of that's sponsored by Canada's "Citizenship and Immigration Bureau." In turn, the community organzations at Palestine House publish stuff like this, so you can see why some good folks protest on the streets like this:

Gateway Pundit has more on the hate at Palestine House (at the bottom of the post).

Tea Party Clones of the George Wallace Fan Club!

In the words of Democrat Representative Steve Cohen:

Also, from WHNT-TV Huntsville, "Memphis Rep. Steve Cohen Decries Tea Party in Radio Interview":

U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen is drawing national attention for remarks he made about the tea party movement in a recent radio interview.

The Commercial Appeal reports that the two-term Democrat said the tea party — "without hoods and robes" — has shown an angry, hardcore side of America that's against diversity.

He made the comments Thursday night on The Young Turks, an Internet and satellite radio talk show.

Cohen went on to say tea party members have shown hostility toward anybody who isn't "a clone of George Wallace's fan club," and that he has seen no Republican standing up to appeal for reason.

Memphis Tea Party founder and chairman Mark A. Skoda calls Cohen's remarks "hate speech."

Yep, hate speech.

Pretty standard on the left. See, "When It Comes To Hate-Speech And Violence, Liberals Rule."

Plus, at Hot Air, "House Democrat: All That’s Missing From the Tea Party Are the Robes and Hoods" (via Memeorandum).

I Guess I'm an Honorary Member of the Canadian Anti-Jihad Alliance!

Hey, this is a huge hat tip to my awesome anti-jihad blog buddies up in Canada. Give it up for Blazing Cat Fur, Kathy Shaidle, and Josephine:

I'm proud to be in the company of those of such unmatched moral integrity and power. It's makes a difference and is always appreciated.

Thank you!

Adam Sharp on Representative Phil Hare: 'Not Worried About the Constitution'

I posted previously on Georgia's Representative Hank Wilson, who's "Guam will tilt" gaffe is pure laughingstock material. That was funny. But when teh Democratic stupid extends to congressmen who not only dismiss the founding documents, but don't even understand them, then our government's in worse shape than we'd thought.

Via Glenn Reynolds at Memeorandum:

See Also: Sharp Elbows.

Racist Jews? Toronto Star 'Reporter' Trivializes Islamist Jihad Genocide Chants at JDL Protest

Part of the fight against leftist totalitarianism, and the alliance of socialism and Islam, deals with the media's disgraceful terror-enabling "objectivity."

Blazing Cat Fur's got another piece up this morning on Denise Balkissoon, the ignorant Toronto Star "reporter" who didn't know that the "money-changer" slur is the hate language of the Holocaust. Ms. Balkissoon also tweeted that the Islamist hate slurs were nothing more than "petty" taunts. Mark Steyn noted yesterday how the West is giving up the game to the PC-jihadi industry:

Palestine House officials were caught on tape telling Jewish protesters "You need another Holocaust" and "We love jihad ... We love killing dogs ... your bitches with you". As a notorious "Islamophobe", I certainly don't begrudge anybody his Judeophobia. What I don't understand is why Canadian taxpayers should subsidize it.

Yet any attempt to roll back funding for such organizations would be met by howls of protest that the government was attacking "immigrant groups" and "human rights". Lenin famously said the west would "sell us the rope by which we will hang them". He was underestimating our suicidal stupidity: We're happy to give it away.

Unreal.

This is what were fighting, "A View From Toronto – A Hub of “Israel Delegitimization”."

So, my leftist readers, with whom do you stand? I'll be on this side of the street:

Jihadi Thugs at Palestine House -- 'You Need Another Holocaust'

From Blazing Cat Fur, "Palestine House Thugs Screams 'You need another Holocaust'":

And this is from Grumpy, "'We Love Jihad. We Love Killing You ... We Love Killing Dogs'":

Part II's here, "'You F*ckers Need Another Holocaust'":

Of course, the "objective" press is on the job, at the Toronto Star: "Each group accused the other of hate, shouting “go home.” JDL members hurled overt racist slurs, while Palestine House men threw pennies on the ground, calling the JDL “thieves”."

That's Orwellian, man!

Also, at Powerline, "More Proof That Canada is Slipping Over the Edge":

From Mark Steyn we learn that the the Palestine House in Toronto is hosting Abd al-Bari Atwan, editor of the London newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi. Atwan is, in Steyn's words, "a celebrity eliminationist" who declared on TV that "if the Iranian missiles strike Israel, by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight."

Plus, Pamela nails it:

Any Jew who ever asks again, "how did it happen?," needs a swift kick in the head. Go over to the left wing sites (Puff Ho, KOS) -- they are preparing the ovens, asshats.

But JBW, Comrade Repsac3, and Tim will continue bleating and slobbering, "but, b ... but both sides do it, Alluha Akbar!!!"

Desperation! Octobama to Campaign for Babs Boxer!

With Octobama polling at 44 percent today, it's intriguing that Barbara Boxer's still excited about getting the "Expropriator" out to California for an event (Democratic incumbents are keeping Octo at arms length). April 19th is a Monday, so it'll be rough, but I'd sure love to get an impromptu tea party going that night. Man, I would love to be out front of the hotel with an "Obama-Crypto-Marxist" tea party sign. God, that'd make my day!

TNLib at The Swash Zone: Prototypical Leftist Hatemonger

Readers will recall that The Swash Zone's a hate site. The proprietor, genuinely evil, has waged a personal jihad against this blog, which culminated recently in an unsuccessful campaign of workplace harassment and intimidation. It's a group blog and one of those who writes there is TNLib, which is a pseudonym for a woman out of Nashville, Tennessee.

Anyway, TNLib's left a comment at JBW's amateurism of the day (to which I responded earlier):

As you know, I share your revulsion to people like DD. I don't visit his blog - not only because he's an ignorant vicious prick but because of his commenters who are just as vile.

I have several conservatives on my blog - not because I agree with them but because they themselves write what they perceive to be well-reasoned arguments and they do so civilly. They do not rant the SOS, they are quite civil and do not make personal attacks or use racial slurs.

I visit their blogs, read their posts but never leave a comment. It is their followers who are less than human. I don't look upon these dog fights as sport and I guess there are more rewarding places to be.

People like DD are a waste of my time and energy. It's like walking into a biker joint where the beer drinkers are course, mean and where their brains are fried from too much beer and drugs. These people can not be reasoned with.

I believe in academic freedom but I can only imagine what kind of professor he is.

I can be a vicious prick (especially when deflecting neo-communist nimrods such as this), so I'll give her that. But ignorant? Not so much. Like libel blogger David Hillman, TNLib's a seething toxic dump of leftist hatred. And note that part about "can not be reasoned with." Actually, that should probably read, "he's too sharp for me to win a debate, so I'll just demonize him as a vicious prick and avoid his blog like the plague."

Folks like this aren't good people. That comment above pretty much constitutes hate mail, only let's say it was published at a screaming communist message board.

And that's the first time I've seen the "what kind of professor dig" in a while, although I'll confess: I'm a good one.

RELATED: "You're a Professor, Really?"

'Father, Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit'

I just finished "Passion of the Christ."

From Luke 23:46, "'And speaking in a loud voice, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit'. Having said this, he breathed His last breath."

And the image, from Wikipedia, "Cross-section diagram of the location of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, in relation to the site believed to be Golgotha."

And from this morning, with video from "The Passion," "Thousands of Christian Pilgrims Flock to Jerusalem for Good Friday."

The Capitol Hill Tea Party Smear

Weasel Zippers has the lengthy title, "Black Dem Rep. Who Was Reportedly Spit on by Tea Party Protester: I Never Claimed to Have Been Spit on Intentionally, Others Are Making the Claim on My Behalf, Refuses to Confirm it Happened ... (Update) He's Full of Shit..." (via Memeorandum).

But see, Jack Cashill, "How Quickly Spread the Tea Party Smear":

To make the racial smear of the Tea Party protestors at the Capitol clear to anyone with eyes to see, I have assembled this four-minute video ...

Obama Falls on Camera But Plays It Off Like Nothing Happened!

Via AOSHQ:

RELATED: From Doc Zero, "The Principle of Repeal" (c/o Cold Fury).

March Employment Numbers Padded by Obama's Census Bureau 'Cultural Facilitators'

Everyone's making a big deal out of the job numbers up today. Excitable Steve Benen titles his post, "BREAKTHROUGH MONTH FOR U.S. JOB MARKET...."

But fully one-half of the increase comes from the addition of dead-end "cultural faciliator" census jobs that the administration is promoting as part of its $14.8 billion head-count pork-barrel vote-stuffing project. From LAT, "Census Project Adds to the Job Picture When it Counts":

When March employment figures are released Friday by the Department of Labor, analysts are expecting to see the biggest U.S. job gains in more than two years.

But perhaps half the 200,000 or so positions expected to be added to payrolls may be the byproduct of a government effort that has turned into a fortuitous job generator: the U.S. census.

The constitutionally mandated nationwide head count arrives this year at a crucial time -- after the start of the country's economic recovery, but before private-sector employers have created many jobs. That's a stroke of luck for the Obama administration, which has been criticized for failing to revive the labor market. And it's a windfall for the 700,000 temporary employees the census expects to hire, although most of the jobs will last only two to six weeks.

This year's census isn't just about counting heads, it's helping create jobs in an economy that needs them badly ...

Despite the exuberance of the enumerators, some observers worry that the census hiring will do little but temporarily mask ongoing weakness in the labor market. Some analysts said it's unlikely that other parts of the economy would begin generating significant numbers of new jobs to take up the slack by the time census hiring winds down. And the stimulus generated by all those new paychecks will be modest.

"It's helpful, it's in the right direction, but the amount of income being created is small compared to the overall size of a $14-trillion economy," said Dana Johnson, a chief economist with Comerica Bank.

Still, something is better than nothing, said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's.

"We'd rather they were real jobs as opposed to temporary jobs," he said. "But $10 an hour beats zero dollars an hour."

Michael Steel, the spokesman for House Republican Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, was harsher in his criticism.

"The U.S. economy has lost more than 3 million jobs since President Obama signed the trillion-dollar 'stimulus' into law amid promises it would create jobs 'immediately,' " he said. "Everyone understands that temporary census hiring may inflate the statistics released on Friday, but the American people will rightly continue to ask, 'Where are the jobs?' "

The government is spending $14.8 billion on the latest census to count the population, Census Bureau spokeswoman Shelly Lowe said. Training has begun across the country, but most enumerators will begin hitting the streets in early May to conduct head counts.

Image Credit: NYT, "A Wall in East Harlem Speaks: Stand Up and Be Counted."

JBW Polling 'Analysis': NEW. MORE. DESPERATE. FAIL.

ROTLMFAO!!

It worked! My post this morning caused JBW to shoot his twaddle-wad like the adolescent dork he is. See, "I Don't Think Donald Douglas Likes Me..."

Actually, I don't even know JBW, although I don't particularly care for atheist online-troll sex-predators who harass attractive women across the web. And besides, what I really don't like is noodle-headed analysis like this ... JBW misspecifies my essay as predicated on polling data, and then he even gets that wrong:

He ... quotes two polls concerning Obama's approval ratings that seem to definitively prove that the president is also subject to this bout of "epic fail", except of course that they don't. The most recent RealClearPolitics accumulation of polling data shows the Rasmussen poll to be a statistical outlier (there is a consistent right-leaning bias in Rasmussen's methodology; pay attention to how often the right points solely to this organization's polling data to back up their talking points) while every other major polling firm shows Obama's approval rating to be either positive or within the margin of error (he's +2 overall)

Actually, RCP's "accumulated" polling averages have been dismissed by experts as wildly inappropriate indicators of public opinion. I wrote about that here, "Mixed Poll Averages Risky as Handicapping Tool" (in political science lingo, the pooled findings are flawed due to "incommensurability"). Moreover, leftists call Rasmussen an "outlier" not because of methodological errors, but because they disagree with the results. Or, as JBW puts it, "pay attention to how often the right points solely to this organization's polling data to back up their talking points) ..."

I hate to be hard on the boy, but JBW's proven badly wrong by this morning's CBS poll, "Obama's Approval Rating Hits New Low." (hardly a "wingnut" outlet):

Last week, President Obama signed historic health care reform legislation into law -- but his legislative success doesn't seem to have helped his image with the American public.

The latest CBS News Poll, conducted between March 29 and April 1, found Americans unhappier than ever with Mr. Obama's handling of health care - and still worried about the state of the economy.

That's after ObamaCare passed. So yes, JBW. EPIC. FAIL.

Not only that, I actually added this poll to my previous JBW decimation, so the only reason he would have omitted it from his entry is denialism, especially since JBW sits lapping his tongue across the keyboard all day waiting for blog updates at American Power so he can create yet another photoshop that's somehow supposed to convince people that he's got skills (although to his credit the latest iteration isn't racist).

And one more thing: JBW, being the small-penis prick he is, tries to act big nevertheless, by throwing down some kind of challenge that's supposed to, er, put me in my place on predictive analysis? Too bad I've never predicted that the GOP will take control of Congress in November:

If however Don is so certain about Obama's dismal approval ratings translating into epic failure then I'll offer him this meager yet serious wager: $100 says that the Republicans fail to gain a majority in either house of congress this November. I'm making the offer publicly so that every one reading this will be privy to it. I think Obama's a chess master of the highest caliber Don, and he's moved his pieces into position to retain his party's majorities through the remainder of his first term. Care to put your money where your mouth is, Fat Boy Slim?

No, I don't want that bet, JBW FAIL. Simply because it's still way too early to predict what will happen in November. But also because congressional elections aren't generally national referendums. The president almost always loses seats in the midterms. And this year will be no different. But we're talking individual House and Senate races around the country, and the GOP's defending even more open seats than the Dems. It's a tough political environment for both parties, which is something the tea parties frequently remind stupid RINOs.

Anyway, Obama's epic fail no matter what. He and the Pelosi-Reid Dems rammed through an unpopular bill while ignoring the economic crisis. The reckoning will come in November, and I hope it'll be the 40 or so seats needed in the House and the 8 or so in the Senate. But it'd be foolhardy to put money on something like that so soon, and without enough critical indicators. That said, Stanley Greenberg, who was President Bill Clinton's pollster in the 1990s, suggests that 2010 is shaping up to be a 1994-style election. See, "Clinton Pollster: If Election Were Today, It Would Be Like '94."

If JBW wasn't so stupid, he'd at least catch up on the latest analysis before throwing down the gauntlet.

Typical though.

EPIC. JBW. FAIL.

Heads Explode! Doctor Tells ObamaCare Supporters 'Changes to Your Healthcare Begin Right Now..."

At the Orlando Sentinel, "Mount Dora Doctor Tells Obama Supporters: Go Elsewhere." (Via Memeorandum.)

Small Dead Animals calls this "The Dirty Little Secret of Universal Health Care." And Ed Morrissey commentary.

Photo via Deidre Lewis

*****

But heads are exploding on the left. Shakesville wants this guy to STFU:

Doctors are entitled to their right of free speech and free association, just like anyone else. But I would also call into question his judgment and maturity as a person and as a practitioner if he is so petulant about his politics that he has to post them on his office door.

And from the comments at Think Progress:

Sorry, little repiggies, but Sarah Palin has already picked her Wasilla witch doctor to serve as Surgeon General in a Palin administration, which thankfully will not occur.

Speaking of the delightfully stupid Sarah:

Who is Trigg’s real mommie?

Who is Trigg’s real daddie?

And at the same thread, this comment has been voted down:

No matter how hard the left in this country tries, they will never be able to totally squash FREEDOM.

And further down, we find this:

Dear Teabagging Hick Terrorists,

Now is your time to step up to the plate, or shut the f**k up. Here is your anti-socialist teabagging pledge. Sign it.

I,________________, as a member of the Tea Party, take an oath that I will not use “socialist” programs such as SS, Medicare, other medical coverage provided by the Feds, take out loans from the Feds, use the Fed highways, roads, fire departments, use 911 emergency system, the police departments, the Armed Forces will not protect me, will not use libraries, schools, use cell phones, land phones since the [sic] use Fed money, over the air television or radio stations, use the internet, use Fed workers to guide my plane to an airport, public transportation, etc.

Anything that uses Fed money, included free wood from national forest, hunting land, fishing resources, camp grounds. I will ... take a chance on the food I eat, the water I use, since I will have to test it myself along with the waste water leaving my property.

If I am using or benefiting from any Fed program, I will immediately stop and return said money.

Sincerely, __________________ Date___________

Wow. Just. Wow.

Get Your Own 'Anti-Obama' Billboard!

Left Coast Rebel's got the video, and more commentary at Lonely Conservative.

And at 11Alive Atlanta, "Anti-Obama Billboards Appear on Metro Highways" (via Memeorandum):

Thousands of Christian Pilgrims Flock to Jerusalem for Good Friday

At the Montreal Gazette, "Christian Pilgrims Flock to Holy City for Good Friday":

Thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world thronged the narrow cobblestone alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City to pray along the route tradition holds Jesus took to his crucifixion on Good Friday.

"For me this is a very special visit, this is the first time for me here," said Andrea Schroetter, a pilgrim from Germany. "We prayed in all the places where Jesus marched, it is very moving," she said.

As part of the Good Friday ceremonies, the faithful descend onto the Old City to walk the Via Dolorosa, or Way of Suffering, the route tradition says Jesus carried the cross on which he was to be crucified by the Romans.

The procession begins at the Monastery of Flagellation, where Jesus was beaten, mocked and crowned with thorns.

It follows the narrow often climbing street and the 14 stations of the cross along its way, including where Jesus met his mother, fell several times, was helped in carrying the cross, and met the lamenting women of Jerusalem.

The procession ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the sites where Christians believe Christ was crucified and buried.

As bells tolled across the city, black-robed priests and nuns mingled with pilgrims and tourists. Many carried crosses while some, including a group from California smeared in fake blood, re-enacted the crucifixion.

BONUS: Go here for a virtual tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Church of the Resurrection).

Founding Bloggers!

See, "Founding Bloggers on The Daily Show":

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
You're Not Helping - Harry Reid Supporters
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Nancy Pelosi Historically Unpopular After Health Vote

At Gallup, "Views of Pelosi Not Fundamentally Changed After Health Vote" (via):

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Nancy Pelosi - 2008
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Americans' views of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are not fundamentally changed after the passage of healthcare reform. Though more Americans now have an opinion of her, both her favorable and her unfavorable ratings are up from the last reading, to 36% and 54%, respectively.

The currently net-negative view of Pelosi from the March 26-28 USA Today/Gallup poll stands in stark contrast to opinions of her as she became speaker of the House in January 2007. At that time, twice as many Americans viewed her favorably (44%) as unfavorably (22%).

Opinions of Pelosi grew more negative over the course of her first two years as speaker, such that about as many Americans viewed her favorably as unfavorably. During the last year, Americans' views have become much more negative than positive.

April Fools: Fail Blogger James B. Webb on Fail President Barack Obama

From fail blogger James B. Webb, November 2008 ...

... I plan to hold our new president's feet to the fire for the next four years; having defended him on many different levels and issues over the past few years I now fully expect him to follow through on his promise of trying to build a better tomorrow for the citizens of this country ...

Okay. Right.

JBW hypocrite fail:

JBW fail and Barack Obama fail. Separated at birth?

From April Fool's Day approval ratings at Rasmussen:

Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove ...

Fail.

And last week at CNN: "Majority Disapprove of Obama for First Time."

EPIC. JBW. FAIL.

ADDED BONUS FAIL: "Obama's Approval Rating Hits New Low" (via Memeorandum).

Gossip Blogs and Journalism's New Career Trajectory

The piece covers gossip blogs, but the career model is fairly generalizable to the new media environment. At least two of the blogs cited are political blogs. At New York Times, "The Rising Stars of Gossip Blogs":

IT had all the elements for the perfect tabloid gossip item — a clash between star financial journalists, big egos and a surprise ouster that had Wall Street buzzing: Henry Blodget, the well-known disgraced-analyst-turned-financial-pundit and co-founder of the much-read blog, The Business Insider, stunned the financial community last week by firing John Carney, the star managing editor of the site’s Clusterstock blog, reportedly because of philosophical differences over the site’s coverage.

The news, which was quickly picked up by the Reuters financial blogger Felix Salmon, who subsequently sparked an online spat of his own with Mr. Blodget, did not break in a gossip column like The New York Post’s Page Six or in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, which in a previous era might have owned this story. Rather, the scoop came from a 25-year-old Village Voice gossip blogger and University of Utah dropout named Foster Kamer.

Surfing the Web after business hours one evening, Mr. Kamer ran across speculation about Mr. Carney’s job status on a Twitter post by Gawker Media’s owner, Nick Denton. After 90 minutes of phone calls to sources within the financial journalism subculture, Mr. Kamer nailed down the item and posted it on the Voice site.

The lines between “reporter” and “blogger,” “gossip” and “news” have blurred almost beyond distinction. No longer is blogging something that marginalized editorial wannabes do from home, in a bathrobe, because they haven’t found a “real” job. Blogging now is a career path in its own right, offering visibility, influence and an actual paycheck. As more gossip action in a variety of fields moves online, young writers who might have hungrily chased an editorial assistant job at Condé Nast a few years ago now move to New York with the dream of making it as a blogger — either launching their own blog into the big time, à la Perez Hilton, or getting snapped up by a prominent blog network like Gawker Media or MediaBistro.

And although the better-known newspaper gossip columnists still churn along, among them Richard Johnson and Cindy Adams of The New York Post, and George Rush and Joanna Molloy of The New York Daily News, much of the action has moved online, with the up-and-coming players having little in common with legendary predecessors like Walter Winchell and Liz Smith. While Ms. Smith, 87 and still active, toiled in journalism for nearly 30 years before getting her own by-lined column (working first, among other things, as a typist, proofreader and radio producer), some of the newest notables in gossip are still in their 20s and only a few years removed from the days when they blogged from their college dorm rooms about fraternity hazing mishaps and the quality of the cafeteria food.

The following are profiles of nine emerging gossip bloggers, whose names came up in interviews with influential blog entrepreneurs, fellow bloggers and other journalists as potential future stars of the online world. The list, by no means exhaustive, represents a cross-section of New Yorkers covering varied beats — entertainment, fashion, real estate, finance —for a variety of prominent blog networks. Some, like Sara Polsky of Curbed and Lilit Marcus of The Gloss, are relatively new to the business, but recently installed in a position of prominence by Web star-makers like Lockhart Steele, who runs Curbed and Eater, or Elizabeth Spiers, a founder of Gawker in 2002 who has introduced a number of successful blogs since then. Others, like Fred Mwangaguhunga of MediaTakeOut.com, are popular niche players who are quickly crossing into the mainstream.

Check the link for the full list of industry-moving blogs.

National Tax Day Tea Party - April 15, 2010

Well, since the controversy's already building, I should mention that I'll be rallying at my local local Tax Day Protest, April 15, 2010, at the Santa Ana Civic Center. Jenny Erickson of Smart Girl Politics will be speaking, as well as a number of other friends I've met since April 15, 2009.

Events are planned around the nation. And some big-gun personalities are coming out: "Cincinnati Tax Day Tea Party rally to include Sean Hannity."

And from Sir Smitty, "A Million Plus Protesters Around the Country on Tax Day?"

Pushback Against Move On Race-Baiting!

Great story at Politico, "Liberal Group March Meets Pushback" (via Memeorandum):

A handful of liberal groups — but only a few dozen protesters — marched on the Republican National Committee offices Thursday to denounce the threats against members of Congress during the health care vote.

But in an oddly Washington moment, the gathering of MoveOn.org, Color of Change and CREDO, was met by Jordan Marks, a 28-year old conservative activist who interrupted the event and held up signs accusing the group of race-ba-ting.

Marks, of Young Americans for Freedom, shouted that the protestors were “politicizing race,” as the progressive groups sought to deliver a petition to RNC Chairman Michael Steele asking him to denounce threats against lawmakers and incidents of vandalism.

Of course they're politicizing race. Everyone's a racist now since Obama came to office.

And at Gateway Pundit, "Unreal. Lib Hate Groups Demand Apology From RNC (?) -- For Fabricated Hate at Tea Party Rallies."

Of course, Moveon.org is the same hate group that slandered General Petraeus and created Bush-Hitler ads during the 2004 election:

But of course, idiot slob JBW will be blathering, but, b... but ... "both sides do it"!

Anarchists to Crash April 15th Tea Parties!

Jim Hoft is all over this story, "Anarchists Plan War On April 15th Tea Parties." (Via.)

And not this from Illinois Review:

Conservatives tend to be up front about who they are and what they want to do. The thought of infiltrating a lefty organization to cause mischief has probably never crossed the minds of most conservatives. Lefties have proven that they will, and they are planning to do so. Be prepared for people to show up at the April 15th rallies trying to subvert what is happening. It wouldn't surprise me to see people show up and act like racists Obama haters. They may come with Hitler signs. They may come with signs that suggest violence. They will probably be plants. Don't let them con people into thinking that they are with us. On the other end of the spectrum, expect counter protests. Come with your cameras. Come with your camcorders. Just because you are law-abiding and peaceful, don't expect those on the left to act the same way. Kenneth Gladney found that out.

But of course, idiot slob JBW will be blathering, but, b... but ... "both sides do it"!

Yeah. Right.

Austerity Program for Long Beach City College

The Long Beach Press-Telegram has endorsed LBCC Trustee Jeff Kellogg for reelection to the board on April 13th. See, "LBCC Trustees Area 1: Jeff Kellogg Points Out Record of Fiscal Responsibility." I don't know him personally. He's got a reputation as a pretty boy of the city's old-money power establishment. Be that as it may, the college is facing the most severe budget crisis in my ten years. Reserves have run out and last week tensions were running high between faculty and administration over a cost-cutting proposal to cancel the 2010 summer session. When students at the college turned out in large numbers for a recent board meeting, administrators and board members saw some real emotion on display. Too bad Kellogg turned himself into a Class-A prick:

That said, the college president published a long letter in Tuesday's Press-Telegram, "An Austerity Program for Long Beach City College." It's worth posting in its entirety:

For generations, Long Beach City College has been synonymous with success in Long Beach. The college has produced many of this community's leaders, including former mayors and its current superintendent of schools.

Just last week, LBCC was joined by Long Beach Unified School District, California State University Long Beach and the community to celebrate the second anniversary of the Long Beach College Promise - the unique seamless partnership that has put the Long Beach education system in the national spotlight.

Through the Long Beach College Promise, the Pathways to Success Partnership with CSU Dominguez Hills and the Student Success Initiative, LBCC students have experienced measurable improvements in the successful completion of their education goals. LBCC is now the number one transfer college to CSULB and has nearly tripled its applications to CSUDH.

However, these and other student successes are now in jeopardy. Due to the state budget crisis, LBCC has experienced a significant reduction in revenue that has dramatically reduced the number of students it can serve. Coupled with a tremendous surge in enrollment resulting from large high school graduating classes, high unemployment and cuts to CSU and UC, the competition for classes at LBCC has left thousands of students without the classes and services needed to succeed. Despite the efforts of the Board of Trustees to set aside funds for a rainy day, the loss in revenue and costs to operate the college have nearly erased that reserve.

These pressures have become visible to the public. This academic year, LBCC has cut 12 percent of its course sections. Programs and services that serve the neediest students have been reduced even further. Layoffs have occurred and the management team has taken a 5 percent reduction in salary through a one-day-a-month furlough. Recently, discussions about scaling back summer classes brought out teary eyed students to a board meeting expressing their frustration and fears for their future. Despite the economic realities faced by the college our faculty leaders have protested the canceling of classes and union leaders have pointed fingers instead of offering realistic solutions.

While LBCC has decided to offer one summer session this year to further our students' progress, this does not change the fact that the state is not providing funding to meet our enrollment demands. Without additional funding, which is highly unlikely, this shortfall will force further reductions in course and service offerings unless other savings in fixed costs can be achieved.

LBCC now stands at a crossroads. In order to continue to serve the most fundamental needs of our students: career certificates, Associate Degree and transfer success, I have asked the college to do the following: to reduce or eliminate programs that do not serve the core mission of the college and to streamline or consolidate services while protecting the courses that students need to graduate or transfer.

Most importantly, I have asked that every employee group make reductions to its salary and benefits in an equitable way to ensure that our students continue to have the classes they need to succeed. This point is critical since nearly 90 percent of the college's operating budget consists of salaries and benefits for employees.

If our employee groups join with the administration and temporarily reduce their salaries, and agree to health benefit plan modifications to reduce overall health insurance costs, we can preserve access for over 1,000 full-time students next year alone. This task will not be easy but it is necessary for the college to continue its long tradition of academic excellence and student success.

I ask for this community's continued support as we work through these issues. I hope that you will support our efforts to preserve access for students and that you will communicate to our legislature and the governor that the education of our youth can no longer be compromised.

You have my commitment that Long Beach City College will remain steadfast in its commitment to student success for this and the generations to come.

Eloy Oakley is president of Long Beach City College.

My union, the leadership of which I haven't the highest regards, has responded, FWIW: "CCA Response to Eloy Oakley's Press-Telegram Editorial."

I'll have more later ...

National Census Day

Today is National Census Day. April 1st is the deadline to turn in the census form. I'm heading over to the post office in a few minutes to mail mine. It's been sitting on my kitchen table. I brought it to school today to discuss with my classes. Hispanics are asked to identify their "national origin" (in 2010 Hispanic background is not classified as race). The follow-up question asked respondents to identify themselves by race, and some folks are just saying "American."

I filled out the racial sections of the forms. Despite my concerns over partisan manipulation and abuse, the census is nevertheless an important document. That said, Abigail Thernstrom has more, "Answer the Race Question":

Many of us believe America is too preoccupied with race. The race question on the census reflects that preoccupation. Why answer it, when it just perpetuates race-think? Aside from the question of whether doing so is against the law, why not refuse to fill in the blank?

Race is an obsession, and we conceptualize the term in a peculiar way. We are an ethnically diverse society, and presumably that’s good. But, in defining the diversity of the nation, why focus on blacks and Hispanics and ignore, for instance, Jews? Like Hispanics, Jews are an ethnic group. In fact, if we are going to understand America as a pluralistic society, why not both expand the definition of ethnicity and add a religious question?

In addition, the race/ethnic categories are a mess. For instance, East Indians are classified as Asians, but only because East Indian spokesmen in the 1980s pressured to have the group treated as a protected minority group by the Small Business Administration in order to get below-market-rate loans — even though East Indians generally have incomes far above the national average. The census picked up the classification from the SBA. It’s an arbitrary classification — and not uniquely so.

Many legitimate arguments are being made for refusing to answer the race question on the census by dear and admired friends of mine. But I see two problems: One, if you don’t answer, census officials will just impute your race, most often on the basis of the color your neighbors. Refusing to answer is thus a no-win strategy.

More important, if we want accurate information on, say, black unemployment, would we rather rely on census data or on the NAACP, which is driven by a political agenda that is not necessarily in the national interest? Steve and I make much use of census numbers in writing about race and ethnicity in America; we like to think we are conveying an accurate picture, thanks to the Bureau of the Census.

Added: At Red State, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), "Returning the Census is Our Constitutional Duty" (via Memeorandum).

From Cynthia McKinney to Hank Johnson: Boy, Georgia's Fourth District Got teh Awesome Congressional Representation!

I met Cynthia McKinney in March 2009. She was on something of a speaking tour to maximize her exposure following a confrontation with the Israeli navy. To simply say she's a consiracy nut is charitable. In any case, it turns out her successor is pretty far out there as well, Representative Hank Johnson:

Via Top of the Ticket and Memeorandum.

About That Playboy in My Drawer . . .

I don't keep a copy of Playboy in my office drawer, but Bret Stephens does:

It's time to make a personal and professional admission: I keep a copy of the Feb. 2007 issue of Playboy in a desk drawer in my Wall Street Journal office.

This is not the sort of thing I ever thought I'd publicly confess. But I'm prompted to do so now in response to a string of online rebuttals to my Tuesday column, "Lady Gaga Versus Mideast Peace," in which I argue that Western liberalism (in its old-fashioned sense) has done far more than Israel's settlements to provoke violent Muslim anti-Americanism.

In particular, I was taken to task by Andrew Exum—the "Abu Muqawama" blogger at the Center for a New American Security—for allegedly failing to watch my share of racy Arabic-language music videos, such as those by Lebanese beauty queen and pop star Haifa Wehbe. "With music videos like this one," writes Mr. Exum, "Stephens can hardly argue that Lady Gaga is the one importing sexual provocation into the Arabic-speaking world and stirring things up, can he?"

So let me tell you about that Playboy, and how I came to purchase it.

In the spring of 2007 I wrote a series of columns from Indonesia about the battle lines then emerging between religious radicals and moderates in the world's largest Muslim-majority country. I profiled Abdurrahman Wahid, then the former (now late) president of Indonesia and a champion of his country's tolerant religious traditions. I visited a remote Sumatran village that had expelled an itinerant Islamic preacher for his militant Wahhabi teachings. I interviewed Habib Rizieq, head of the Front for the Defense of Islam, a vigilante group known for violently suppressing "un-Islamic" behavior.

I also spent a delightful evening in the company of Inul Daratista, the Indonesian equivalent of Shakira, who had been accused by a council of Muslim clerics of committing pornoaksi—or "porno action"—for gyrating a little excessively in one of her music videos. A million Indonesians had taken to the streets to denounce the video, and legislation was introduced in Indonesia's parliament to ban pornoaksi, which could be defined as any female behavior that could arouse a sexual response in a man, such as the sight of a couple kissing in public or a woman wearing a backless dress.

One person I didn't manage to interview was Erwin Arnada, the editor of the Indonesian edition of Playboy. I did, however, get hold of a copy of the magazine (the one now in my office): It contains not a single picture of a naked woman. The Playmate in the centerfold is clad in the kind of lingerie that would seem a bit old-fashioned in a Victoria's Secret catalogue; a second photo essay in my magazine looks as if it belongs in a J. Crew ad.

Nevertheless, upon beginning publication in 2006 Mr. Arnada was almost immediately charged with violating Indonesia's indecency laws. (He was ultimately acquitted.) His Jakarta offices were violently attacked by Mr. Rizieq's goons, forcing the magazine to move to the predominantly Hindu island of Bali. "For Arnada," wrote New York Times reporter Jane Perlez, "all the fuss represents fears about the intrusion of Western culture. 'Why else do they keep shouting about Playboy?' he asked."

Mr. Arnada's comment gets at the crux of the argument I made in my column, which is that it is liberalism itself—liberalism as democracy, as human rights, as freedom of conscience and expression, as artistic license, as social tolerance, as a philosophy with universal application—to which the radical Muslim mind chiefly objects, and to which it so often violently reacts ...

More at the link.

Steven Givler Online Back Online!

My good friend Maj. Steven Givler, USAF, is now blogging again after completing the geographical logistics of his reassignment from Saudi Arabia to Portugal.

He's taken some photos of the scenery ...

And his new digs ...

The home features a beautiful interior, and Steven writes:

After two weeks of looking, here's what we've chosen. There are lots of newer houses, but none had the room, central location, and uniqueness of this place. It's about 5 blocks from the ocean, and within easy bicycling distance of where I'll be working.

I'm thankful for Steven's service. Stop over and comment at blog.

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart Now, Baby...

It's Joplin's screaming, seriously. I mean she's bluesy, but the guttural emotion in those screams toward the end of "Piece of My Heart" is simply unmatched. I've been enjoying this song more recently since listening to Chrystal Bowersox sing it (posted here previously). And 100.3 The Sound played it during my drive time the other day. Enjoy:

From the comments at the second video, "This song is brilliant. Its a metaphor for intense love that you know is bad for you but you keep coming back for more."

That's it for me tonight. Check out Ken Davenport, Right Klik, The Other McCain, Theo Spark, and Washington Rebel.