POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

Finger-Pointer-in-Chief Decries Fingerpointing

Judges it unseemly. Big British Petroleum beneficiary decries cozy relations between pols and oil companies. And they're the same person.

President Obama on Friday angrily decried the "ridiculous spectacle" of oil industry officials pointing fingers of blame for the catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico and pledged to end a "cozy relationship" between the oil industry and federal regulators that he said had extended into his own administration.

Mr. Obama said he shared the "anger and frustration" felt by many Americans, and he acknowledged differing estimates about just how disastrous the damage from the leak could become. He said the administration's response has "always been geared toward the possibility of a catastrophic event."

The hell with your anger and frustration, peevish boy. Just do your job and STFU.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

Sowell’s New Book on Intellectuals

If you've read any of my analyses of the trouble with the liberal arts, you'll know that my diagnosis is similar to what's represented here. For example, in departments of literature, you'll find people advocating deconstruction as a kind of talking cure that will translate us out of the hidebound confines of the human condition. It's really that important. Likewise, for those who've made their living deriving apocalyptic scenarios due to AGW, part of the motivation seems to be the seductive idea that meteorologists suddenly hold the key to the continued existence of humanity at large.

All of which is balderdash, of course, but ladle me on a little strokage and some grant monies, please, because I am the truly indispensable man. Do I look a little Caliban-ish? That is only because of the superficiality of your bourgeois conception of beauty, pig.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

DoJ Cites Lack of Evidence in New Black Party Case

Intimidate and verbally harass people at a polling place, and this is what happens, if you're a member of a racist organization:

Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez told the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on Friday there was "insufficient evidence" to bring a civil complaint against members of the New Black Panther Party who disrupted a Philadelphia polling place in the 2008 general elections.

Mr. Perez, the only Justice Department official to testify publicly before the commission about the case, said that without sufficient proof that party members or the organization's leader, Malik Zulu Shabazz, directed or controlled unlawful activities at the poll or made speeches to incite or produce lawless action, the complaint "would have likely failed" in court.

"Based on the totality of the evidence and the relevant legal precedent, the acting assistant attorney general made a judgment about how to proceed, choosing to seek an injunction against the only defendant who brought a weapon to the Philadelphia polling place on Election Day and to voluntarily dismiss the other three defendants," he said.

Well, let's see. You've got video and sworn testimony from a variety of witnesses regarding the intimidation and racist threats. So, saying there's a lack of evidence sets the bar pretty high, don't you think?

The internal documentation has been subpoenaed but not provided, because, I suppose, it touches on matters of domestic security and Presidential privilege. And that default judgment? Why insist on people respecting the law by answering summonses?

A written statement by the party conceded that one member -- Minister King Samir Shabazz -- should not have brought a nightstick to a Philadelphia polling place, but described it as "an honest error."

"What these Republican witch hunters repeatedly fail to mention is that the individual member involved in the nightstick incident was, in fact, legally penalized," said the statement from Minister Hashim Nzinga, chief of staff to party leader Mr. Zulu Shabazz.

Mr. Samir Shabazz, head of the Philadelphia chapter, and Jerry Jackson, a Philadelphia party member, were videotaped outside a polling place wearing black military-style uniforms, which included combat boots and black berets. Mr. Samir Shabazz also brandished a nightstick.

It was honest terror, and the one punishment doled out was . . . stay away from polling places. Oh, the crucifixion!

None of the defendants answered the charges or made any court appearances, and the Justice Department won the case by default. But the department ultimately chose to drop the allegations against Mr. Jackson, Mr. Zulu Shabazz and the party as a whole. The department did obtain an injunction against Mr. Samir Shabazz prohibiting him from brandishing a weapon outside a polling place until 2012.

As far as I know, I'm not allowed to brandish my nightstick anywhere in public.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

Friday Night Persistence of Badgers Post

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

We Don’ Need No Steenkeen Papers

And, via Ace, Duelling Phobes:

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

A Grotesque Spectercle

High-mileage Senator, rebuilt title, lots of bells and whistles:

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) caught the crowd at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner by surprise with his greeting: "I thank the Allegheny Republican Committee for endorsing me for the Democratic nomination." Ten minutes later, Specter concluded his remarks by saying, "Great pleasure to be endorsed by the Allegheny County Republicans, and together we'll win for a victory."

Just one problem: Specter was speaking to the Allegheny County Democratic Committee. The five-term incumbent had a similar slip of the tongue last month when he spoke to a group of College Democrats and said, "I'm proud to have been endorsed by the College Republicans," before an aide prompted him to correct his error.

*******

When Specter returned to the Democratic Party, he wasn't shy about admitting why: "My change in party will allow me to be re-elected." He also acknowledged at the time, "I am not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate."

Specter hopes Pennsylvanians will have similar motivations and re-elect him because of his seniority and skill at bringing home the bacon. He asks incredulously, "Why would you want to trade 30 years of experience and seniority... for somebody who's a back-bencher?" He said this the same day West Virginia Democrats bounced a 14-term incumbent and just three days after Utah Republicans booted a three-term senator who was also an appropriator.

Then there's NJ Governor Chris Cristie:

(via Daily Caller)

UPDATE: Hahahahaaaaaaa! The Democrats can keep him.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

Sympathy for the Blago

Forget it, Jake. It's Chi-Town:

As the Rod Blagojevich case goes, it may not be popular or easy but as fictional attorney Atticus Finch once said, “"The best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open."

Every year, thousands of bright and shiny new attorneys stand, raise their hand, and pledge a passionate oath to support the U.S. Constitution and the laws of the United States of America. Underscoring this oath, all lawyers pledge to serve the principles and maxims of the American legal system. Presumption of innocence. Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Burden of Proof. With the proverbial Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mocking Bird buzzing in their collective subconscious, they will set out to defend truth, justice, and the American way. However, at this tender, optimistic age, they have yet to be tested. Will they really truly defend a fair justice system? When it is unpopular? Will they defend it when the powers that be have decided the outcome? Will they defend it when the media has decided the verdict? When it’s been tried in the court of public opinion as influenced and manipulated by that media? When the social networks like Twitter and Facebook proclaim the person is guilty?

Will this next generation of attorneys defend the American system of justice when it is…hard? Will they be there when someone wrongfully points a finger at us and we’ve been tried by the media, the powers that be, the court of public opinion, and those social networking sites that disclaim any responsibility for what our “friends” wrongly and falsely post?

In physics, the path of least resistance is the one taken all natural objects. Water flows downstream to accommodate gravity’s downward pull. Sometimes human beings are like that too. Actually, they are like that most of the time. It is the few – the Atticus Finches among us – that stand up and take the road less traveled. The harder road.

At the end of his trial on June 13, 2010, I can tell you with 100% certainty that former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will be convicted on all counts. It has already been decided. You’ve decided. I’ve decided. Rahm Emanuel has decided. President Obama has decided. MSNBC has decided. The mainstream media has decided. The twelve angry men – with their prejudices and preconceived notions - have decided. Mr. Blagojevich has cost the system millions of dollars to prosecute him. Why don’t we just forget the trial and proclaim him guilty? Wouldn’t we be saving the taxpayers a lot of money? True, that doesn’t seem quite fair or American. However, isn’t this what has already happened here?

There seem to be few in any Atticus Finches around to defend former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Few have stood up to say that this man is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Few have stood up to say that all the tapes – which the government has under seal – should be heard. Shouldn’t a man who may go to prison, who was quickly impeached and removed from his elected position as Illinois governor – have the right to have all the tapes (and not just convenient excerpts that help the prosecution’s case) be heard? Doesn’t the government have the burden of proof and shouldn’t Blagojevich be entitled to any reasonable defense he can mount? Aren’t the release of the tapes a part of that?

For a year now, the media has tut-tutted any question in the Blagojevich case – even if legitimate - because it’s convenient, easy. It’s the path of least resistance. In the political subculture of Illinois politics, the popular kids rise up and beat up the runts. The Rahm Emanuels and their glee in political seat warming and outmaneuvering the law. Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s clan and their blackmail-heavy political orthodoxy. Jesse Jackson Jr. and the political masks he wears in order to find ways to enrich himself and his family. Could one of those masks have involved a U.S. Senate seat? To date, Lady Justice has turned a blind eye to all of this and more.

Yet somehow Rod Blagojevich managed to be ousted from his political clique and he is now being luxuriously fed to the political and legal lions. Where is Atticus Finch when you need him?

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

Venezuela’s State of Submergency

It will end badly.

Venezuela’s economic misery has inflamed anti-Chávez sentiment and fueled large-scale protests. Ordinary Venezuelans are mad about food and water shortages, power outages, and surging crime rates. There are national legislative elections scheduled for September; unfortunately, many Venezuelans fear those elections will never take place. It’s possible that Chávez will manufacture a phony “security crisis” and suspend the voting indefinitely. It’s also possible that he will permit the elections to go forward but disqualify certain candidates from running or preemptively arrest them on trumped-up charges.

If the elections are canceled, the last remnants of Venezuelan democracy will collapse. Opponents of Chávez may eventually decide they have no peaceful choice. I sincerely hope this scenario does not come to pass. It is still possible that Chávez can be defeated at the ballot box—but only if he allows the elections to proceed. The Venezuelan strongman has been organizing regime-backed militias to subjugate the democratic opposition and protect his socialist revolution. In essence, he is creating his own version of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (who are committed to defending the theocratic dictatorship in Tehran).

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts

Signs of the Milennium

Include a varsity cheerleader with a brain. Jerry Wilson talks about CSE's essay contest on driving safety and youth, a combination that I was fortunate to have survived.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

Website - More Posts