POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

Pelosi Turns Over Gavel with Typical Class

Byron York chronicles the occasion, here.

Dan Collins

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

Website - More Posts

More Pigford Justice on Alleged Clergy Sex Abuse

Sorry, doesn't fit the narrative:

In a stunning ten-page declaration recently submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, veteran attorney Donald H. Steier stated that his investigations into claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have uncovered vast fraud and that his probes have revealed that many accusations are completely false.

Counselor Steier has played a role in over one hundred investigations involving Catholic clergy in Los Angeles.In his missive Mr. Steier relayed, "One retired F.B.I. agent who worked with me to investigate many claims in the Clergy Cases told me, in his opinion, about ONE-HALF of the claims made in the Clergy Cases were either entirely false or so greatly exaggerated that the truth would not have supported a prosecutable claim for childhood sexual abuse" (capital letters are his).

Mr. Steier also added, "In several cases my investigation has provided objective information that could not be reconciled with the truthfulness of the subjective allegations. In other words, in many cases objective facts showed that accusations were false."

Read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, regarding Muslim atrocities committed against Christians:

The Obama administration's blinders to the motives behind these attacks are part of Mr. Obama's larger strategy of outreach to the world's Muslims, the belief being that discussing the radical Islamic ideology adhered to by jihadist terrorists only creates misunderstandings. This outreach effort has proved to be a dead end. Public approval of the United States in most Muslim-majority countries has reset to the extremely low level it was before Mr. Obama became president, and in some cases is even lower.

By leaving some doubt as to the identity and motives of the attackers, the White House leaves room for the conspiratorial-minded to fill in the blanks with their own pet theories. In Egypt, there is already a widespread belief, disseminated by a variety of voices in the press, government, the religious establishment and outsiders like the Iranian regime, that the anti-Christian bombing was the work of the Israeli secret service. When the United States fails to take a position in situations like this, it's official silence can be read as tacit acceptance.

Dan Collins

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

Website - More Posts

That’s So Random

I can’t help but roll my eyes at this.  Morale is a funny thing on deployments, and often the things that improve morale for some can damage it for others.  Not having seen the videos, nor having the inclination to watch them, I can only comment generally on this.  Sexually charged jokes and pranks are nothing new in the field or even “in garrison.”  One of the striking issues to me, though, is the fact that some of the “old guard” have a difficult time adjusting to the realities of the new military.  For good or ill, the fact is sexually charged jokes coming from the command level can lead to problems for the command.  I’ve known many officers through my career, and most of them have been willing to let loose and have some fun on occasion.  But when they’ve been promoted to command even a small group, they have tended to buckle down just a bit.  This situation illustrates why.

I used to think Kathy Griffin was funny.  Now I hope she just rots in her own filth someday.  I have no special affinity for the Palins, other than the Schadenfreude they give me via the lefty wingnuts’ reactions to Sarah’s ability to take a breath whenever necessary.  I just think kids should generally be off limits for this stuff.  You could even, I suppose, make a failing argument that Bristol was fair game because of her advocacy efforts.  But this is just too much.  Rot, I tell you.

Another event of mass bird deaths, this time in Louisiana.  I think I’ve seen this movie, and it didn’t end well. 

Speaking of movies.  Mrs. Snaqwells and I went to see Tron the other night on IMax 3D.  Other than the gratuitous global warming and corporate greed tripe, it was enjoyable.  I was left wondering just exactly how they took 20 years off of Jeff Bridges' face for his CLU character.  That in itself was an amazing effect.

If you have a few minutes to kill, watch this video of a 20 car pileup in progress. 

And JFK’s ambulance/hearse is going up for auction.  I think it should be required that whoever buys it has to put on vanity plates of some sort.  I could probably get myself in trouble by coming up with ideas. 

Yes, I'm familiar enough with the Disney Channel lineup (kids are 5 and 10) to have to admit I blatantly stole the title of this post.

Adam Wells

Living life at 84 mph and 7000 feet. All I ask is that you don't block traffic, act like a professional, and don't act all surprised when your actions have consequences. Oh, and don't complain about the refs; trust me, they don't care if your team wins or not.

PBS Shows Interest in Campaign Corruption Issues

involving possible 2012 rivals to Obama:

The former business manager for best-selling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell pleaded guilty Monday to lying about the source of 21 contributions of $2,300 apiece to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Evan Snapper told a federal judge he had been aware that the 21 contributors did not ultimately make the donations in 2008, but instead they were reimbursed from an account belonging to someone identified in court papers as "Person A."

Snapper's lawyer declined to identify Person A, but Cornwell's attorneys issued a statement saying that "as this criminal charge confirms," Snapper had abused the trust that Cornwell placed in him to prudently and lawfully handle all her financial affairs, including political contributions.

In other words, Snapper used Cornwell's funds to make the reimbursements.

Widely quoted in the news media on tax issues, Snapper worked for New York accounting and wealth-management firm Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP, which serves privately held businesses and high-net-worth individuals.

Not directly related, Booze Crews video taped over:

Surveillance video caught Sanitation Department supervisors buying six-packs of beer at a Brooklyn bodega and then heading back to their official car during last week's blizzard chaos -- but the footage has since been taped over, and officials want to know why, The Post has learned.

"DOI investigators immediately responded after it learned that a Post reporter heard allegations that sanitation workers had been inside a store buying beer instead of working," said a Department of Investigation spokesman last night.

But when probers went to retrieve video of the men, they discovered that it had been "overridden," he said.*

Investigators are now looking into the circumstances of how that occurred, "taking steps to reconstruct [the video] . . . and are attempting to identify the sanitation workers," the flak said.

The Post on Sunday revealed how the four men, clad in green Sanitation uniforms, strolled into the Ocean Mini Mart on 18th Avenue in Kensington on the evening of Dec. 26 as the snow was wreaking havoc on the city.

Video from inside the store, taped at around 8:20 p.m., shows a sanitation worker buying a six-pack of Corona Light -- followed by another worker about a half-hour later who purchased a six-pack of Heineken Light.

They and their two colleagues are then seen hanging around outside the bodega laughing amid the piles of snow.

Strangely, NPR doesn't seem to think this worth reporting.

* It's just possible he might have said "over-written."

Kind of, sort of related, too. This will have to do until Iowahawk gets around to it.

Won't you stay home, Bill Daley? As Tom Bennett noted yesterday in comments, rumor has it that Obama is considering the "business friendly" "scion of Chicago’s powerful political dynasty" to replace Rahm Emanuel, since apparently the best corruptocrats come from Obama's home town, otherwise known as "The Base."

As our state is sinking beneath a sea of red ink, our state pols have been doing such important work as making sure that pet owners will get more information on animal care from the state and at the expense of the taxpayers. They have also made a law against synthetic marijuana, oh, and we now have that really, really important new law that forces people that braid hair to get a state license to allow them to do so.** Yeah, that one was important.

So, while this state is about to collapse all around us, our state legislature was making sure that stores can’t sell cigarette lighters in the shape of little guns or tubes of lipstick, and now people that want to be sports agents will have to register with the state.

** Popularly known as the Braidy Bill

Dan Collins

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

Website - More Posts

Patterico Pops In, Thanks SunAnt . . .

Well, he thanks Aaron Worthing, who's been blogging there, and his very loyal readers, too. He's had a pretty crushing workload of late. But here's his mention of Enoch:

I would like to thank Matt Collins of SunAnt, who helped me get through the early part of last year by providing free hosting and innumerable hours of site tweaking and the like. Matt, who goes by the Internet name Enoch Root, is Dan Collins’s brother, and was truly a lifesaver at a time when the site was going through some very rough times. I will never be able to pay him back for all he did. I have been able to recommend his services to others who have been pleased, but I always told him I wanted to issue a public and prominent thanks, and here it is.

His company, SunAnt, does web development (including graphics and programming) as well as Search Engine Marketing (including pay per click, search engine optimization, and inbound link building). Their model includes “direct to client” and also “white label” services — wherein they handle small and large projects for traditional agencies and consultants and marketing companies. The idea is that Matt and Co. do the work, but the client gets the credit and works directly with the end client. Pretty good deal for the client.

Anyway, thanks very much to Matt and his team for everything they did for me last year.

Thanks, Pat, and hoping you have more time to blog in 2011.

Dan Collins

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

Website - More Posts

Obama’s Recess Appointments and Other Matters

Obama has installed James Cole as Deputy Attorney General. There's a lot more to dislike about the appointment, but this will give you a taste:

In a 2002 op-ed, Cole wrote: “For all the rhetoric about war, the Sept. 11 attacks were criminal acts of terrorism against a civilian population, much like the terrorist acts of Timothy McVeigh in blowing up the federal building in Oklahoma City, or of Omar Abdel-Rahman in the first effort to blow up the World Trade Center… Our country has faced many forms of devastating crime, including the scourge of the drug trade, the reign of organized crime, and countless acts of rape, child abuse, and murder.”

What a bag of douche.

Dana Loesch has exercised her usual intelligence and discretion in choosing the most under-reported stories of 2010.

Shaved Douchester says MSNBC's much less biased, much more mainstream, than Fox.

Bartholemew and the AGW-Induced Oobleck.

La donna e portabile.

Classical Liberal's Top 20 Hotties of 2010, of whom all are women. NTTAWWT!

CIVILITY NOW!!! Wasteful witch hunt woes!

Flogging RawMuscleGlutes. Personally don't care about Sully's sexual practices, except insofar as they might endanger others, but he wouldn't know an epiphany if it whacked him upside the head with a cluebat.

Dan Collins

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

Website - More Posts

I’m Sure All You Cool Kids Have Seen It Already

but:

Dan Collins

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

Website - More Posts

Ancestral Dynamics and Happy Holidays

The past week and a half was spent largely enjoying the company of the ancestors, and that’s my excuse for not really posting too much.  Politics played only a minor role in the time I spent with Dad, as he and I disagree on some very fundamental issues.  I still don’t understand how he doesn’t think higher taxes will stifle jobs and investment simply by reducing the reward side of the risk/reward calculation; but that’s stuff for other times, not the holidays with family you don’t see often enough.

Mom’s sticking around an extra week or so to help out with the kids during my surgery and immediately afterwards, so that’s a huge help.  But, as you can imagine, that creates an interesting ancestor-in-law dynamic between adult women.  Add to that a bit of added tension stemming from the troubles Mrs. Snaqwells and I experienced in 2009 (you can guess which side the ancestors took when push came to shove), and you can get  a feel for what’s happening at 7000 feet.  Your prayers (and thoughts for those who are inclined to think “positive thoughts” would be helpful) are coveted in the Snaqwells household. 

The kids love having grandma around, so it’s always fun to have her visit for a few days.

Maybe this weekend I can submit some medication-induced posts.

Adam Wells

Living life at 84 mph and 7000 feet. All I ask is that you don't block traffic, act like a professional, and don't act all surprised when your actions have consequences. Oh, and don't complain about the refs; trust me, they don't care if your team wins or not.