I got this in an email from Don Carl this morning. Apparently there’s something in the First Amendment of the Constitution that protects lying, butt pirates from facing up to their malfeasance (SFGate link);
An elected official charged with falsely claiming he earned the military’s highest honor has filed a motion to dismiss the federal case against him on free speech grounds.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Christopher Conklin writes “Bridge Safety Stirs Funding Debate“;
A congressionally mandated panel yesterday recommended more than doubling the tax, which since 1993 has been set at 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel, over five years to boost funding for transportation projects. The panel of public and private experts is hoping that states also will opt for big gas-tax increases.
Banita Jacks murdered her four daughters and their decomposing bodies were found this last week in the Northeast DC house in which the family had been “squatting”. It’s a crying shame, a REAL crying shame. How can you avoid moist eyes when you think about a mother murdering FOUR daughters in this day and age? And yes, it’s the mother’s fault completely, I’m not making excuses for her – like DC Mayor Adrian Fenty made excuses for city government yesterday (Washington Examiner link);
Since today is the sixth anniversary of the first group of terrorist thugs to arrive in Guantanamo, the ACLU and Amnesty International pooled their resources in DC and organized Wear Orange Day to protest the isolation of murderous thugs from the rest of the world. And this blogger was there.
It began down on the National Mall on 12th Street in the pouring-ass rain
The theme was “Counter Terror With Justice”, which was a pretty phrase for infantile disregard of the realities of the world. Especially since the jihadists are countering justice with terror.
Of course, those are fake Guantanamo detainees on the stage (out of the rain) but they had extra detainee uniforms if you didn’t have your own. And apparently they had psychologists if you needed one of those, too;
There was a lot of speechifying about how we’ve lived under a dictatorship for the last six years, and how the people dressed in detainee clothes was the future of the country if we don’t have some change soon. There was even some guy who claimed to have been a prisoner in the Philipines and somehow his imprisonment there for some unspoken crime gave him insight to the torture in Guantanamo the detainees were “suffering”. I missed his point but he got big applause for his bravery.
After standing in the rain for an hour or so, they announced that everyone who borrowed their detainee suits should turn them in – apparently because they’ll need them again. Then after a half hour of herding cats, they got everyone lined up two-by two and marched the half-mile to the Supreme Court, carrying five coffins.
I don’t know why there were five – only four have died out the hundreds of detainees. Three from suicide and one because of colon cancer (at the age of 68).
This one of the evil US troops (hippie pretending to be an evil US troop) that herded the hooded actors to the Supreme Court;
And her pony-tailed partner
Taking Capitol Hill with the media in the lead;
When I first got to the Supreme Court, there was a guy singing “Guantanamera” (YouTube link) I guess he thought the song set to lyrics by Jose Marti (who inspired the revolution against Spain) was appropriate. But other than the name, it has nothing to do with Guantanamo. Lucky for you, my readers, I turned off the camera before he started harmonizing for himself and decided to try and rap the song in English. You’re welcome.
In this video (YouTube link), we learn that the detainees are poets, which makes them human – I guess their humanity was a product of their imprisonment because be fore they arrived there, they were thugs and murderers.
Well, the Capitol police were waiting for us when we got to the Supreme Court Building;
For good reasons – the organizers and the police had collaborated to stage arrests. There’s a YouTube video link here – I think my camera was wet but the important is part is the “Arrest George Bush” rants. More video of the crowd here – serious cases of BDS. The worst I’ve witnessed in person.
I got some pictures of the most orderly arrests in history (since the perps were already handcuffed when they got arrested);
But it was all very carefully crafted. While I was taking pictures behind the podium, one guy ran up to another and said “OK, the police want to go ahead and arrest them now”. That was a pretty good hint to me.
Associated Press reports 81 people were arrested. Not while I was there. I doubt there 81 protesters – but the only people I saw arrested were the 15 or so who went up the steps of the Supreme Court Building against the warnings of the Capitol Police. The Washington Post writes about the arrests;
They were charged with violating an ordinance that prohibits demonstrations of any kind on the court’s grounds. Those arrested inside the building also were charged under a provision that makes it a crime to give “a harangue or oration” in the court building. The maximum penalty is 60 days in jail, a fine or both.
BBC has pictures of events around the world.
Michele Malkin (whose work Thursday alerted me to the protest on Friday) has more on the protests in rest of the country. And now, Michele has linked to this post – thanks tons. Thanks to the Gateway Pundit for linking, too. Welcome readers of other gracious bloggers who’ve also linked here; my buddy the Bloodthirsty Liberal, Jay at Stop the ACLU, Pirate’s Cove, and Darcey at Dust My Broom.
So if you won’t listen to Republicans that we need to cut spending instead of raising taxes, how about listening to Moody’s (Financial Times link); (more…)
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that the only officer to face court martial charges in the Abu Gharaib incident had the major charges dismissed yesterday; (more…)
The Miami Herald carries a story about an anthropology professor, Katherine Herschfeld, who believed the hype about the Cuban healthcare system until she had it foisted upon her during a bout with dengue fever; (more…)
Photos from WOOD TV8
In the Washington Times this morning Jerry Seper writes the story destined to be the most ignored story in the media today;
Three young women have returned home to Michigan after being rescued from an orphanage in a remote village of strife-torn Kenya by Blackwater Worldwide.
Yep, those border-line terrorists (um, sarcasm, folks) of Blackwater acting completely out of character (more sarcasm) stopped murdering innocent civilians (more sarcasm, in case you haven’t noticed a pattern yet) long enough to stage a rescue mission;
“I knew the girls were in incredible danger, and I was calling anyone and everyone I could trying to get help but without success,” Mr. VanderMey said. “Then Erik Prince called, asked about the situation and said he was going to do what he could to get my girls out of harm’s way.
“It wasn’t the image that most people have of Blackwater,” he said. “But I can assure you these are dedicated men, professionals who know how to help people in times like this.’ ”
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrrell said the “best thing” about being a company owned, managed and staffed almost entirely by U.S. military veterans and former law-enforcement agents “is that it puts us in a position to help people who need it most.
“These are three incredible girls who went to Kenya to help and ended up needing help,” she said. “We are delighted they are safe and at home with their families.”
My personal thanks to my fellow veterans in Blackwater for the countless other lives they’ve saved in addition to these. If all of their stories were told, maybe the country would have another opinion of them.
For more information on the situation in Kenya, I always check out Baldilocks first.