Want to listen to the guy who smeared John Gibson?

Via Hot Air Headlines, here you go:

As you know, I used that video myself – and I have to tell you, I can’t remember seeing the annotation either. I don’t know enough about Scott Baker’s delivery and general style to tell if he was discreetly calling nonsense on this, but I’m just the smallest bit jaundiced. People do do stupid stuff and think that they won’t get caught doing it, after all…

Sen DeMint and the ‘Fairness Doctrine:’ bringing it on next week.

(Via Hot Air) To quote the great William Shakespeare, “Let’s get ready to RUMMMMBBBBLEEE…”

Sen. Jim DeMint announced that he will force a vote next week on a bill that prevents the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine.

The South Carolina Republican’s bill, the Broadcaster Freedom Act, is co-sponsored by John Thune, R-S.D., and 27 others and will be offered as an amendment to the D.C. Voting Rights bill.

[snip]

Sen. DeMint stated: “I’m glad President Obama finally confirmed his opposition to the Fairness Doctrine, which attacks the right of free speech on talk radio, but many Democrats in Congress are still pushing it.

“With the support of the new administration, now is the time for Congress to take a stand against this kind of censorship. I intend to seek a vote on this amendment next week so every senator is on record: Do you support free speech or do you want to silence voices you disagree with?”

Continue reading Sen DeMint and the ‘Fairness Doctrine:’ bringing it on next week.

Apparently, the meme is female eye-candy.

As exemplified by CNN (H/T: Protein Wisdom), which tells us that men see bikini-clad women as objects. This has been seized upon by large sections of the blogosphere as an excuse to show cheesecake, of course: fortunately, as a SF/fantasy/SCA geek I have a secret weapon.

Women in armor.

Pic after the fold. Continue reading Apparently, the meme is female eye-candy.

AP: Pentagon Report declares Gitmo ‘humane’.

(Via Brother Pejman of RedState) As it stands, there’s a problem with this report, and it’s not what you think:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says the Guantanamo Bay prison meets the standard for humane treatment laid out in the Geneva Conventions, according to a report for President Barack Obama, who has ordered the terrorist detention center closed within a year.

The report recommended some changes, including an increase in group recreation for some of the camp’s more dangerous or less compliant prisoners, according to a government official familiar with the study. The report also suggested allowing those prisoners to gather in groups of three or more, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not officially been released.

Continue reading AP: Pentagon Report declares Gitmo ‘humane’.

Looking for someone to read? (Kim Newman)

(Today’s author: Kim Newman)

This one is pretty much all about the Anno Dracula series.

Don’t get me wrong: his Diogenes Club occult-detective stories (ranging from the Victorian era to the Mod, and found in The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club and The Man from the Diogenes Club) are lots and lots of fun, particularly if you know anything about the eras involved.  One of Newman’s cardinal virtues is that he clearly likes middle-class popular entertainment, even when he’s poking gentle British fun of it.

But the Anno Dracula series is something special.  Comprised of Anno Dracula, The Bloody Red Baron, and Dracula Cha Cha Cha, it explores a world where the events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Enriched Classics Series) are real… up to the point where Dracula actually wins, and brings vampirism out of the shadows of Victorian society.  The result is three well-written books that demonstrate an encyclopedic knowledge of the classical horror genre, from the penny-dreadfuls of the 1820s to the moderns.  For that matter, there are plenty of elements brought in from non-horror genre, particularly detective fiction: this is the sort of world where Biggles flies nighttime sorties against the Red Baron while Dr Herbert West takes a frighteningly handy position as a battlefield surgeon.

If you understood the references in that last sentence, you probably want to check out this series.  It’s both full of allusions like that, and a good read.

Hey, they caught Stanford!

Hiding out in Fredericksburg, which is… look, I have nothing against the place, but it’s not exactly billionaire territory. I figured that he had a volcano lair, or something.

Via Fausta, and now I understand this story. I should have realized that it was based on something right from the start; the old I get, the more that line from Men in Black rings true…

Crossposted at RedState.

Gov Pat Quinn calls for Burris to resign.

[UPDATE] Well, well, well: I may be happy to be proven wrong in this case: “Illinois governor says Burris should resign
Quinn says a new senator should be chosen by special election.” Via Hot Air.

Reported by Jim Geraghty: given the drumbeat of articles cropping up (“Black Ministers May Rethink Backing Sen. Burris,” and “Blagojevich aide tells of Burris call in fall,” and “What people are saying about Burris“) this was probably inevitable. More as it comes in; thoughts after the fold.

Continue reading Gov Pat Quinn calls for Burris to resign.

Moby Hit: Whale-based anti-piracy manuevers in Gulf.

I suppose that it says something about me that I really would rather live in the Weekly World News‘ world:

WHALES TAKE DOWN SOMALI PIRATES

CAIRO—The Egyptian government is calling on the gentle giants of the sea to take out pirate ships, and the whales are getting the job done.

Somali privateers operating in the Indian Ocean have been robbing trade ships in the region and taking hostages, sometimes with political overtones. Egypt has responded with an elite fighting force of ramming whales trained to neutralize the vessels through headlong collisions.

[snip]

“They’re not human!” wailed a captured Somali pirate, after an engagement that left his ship a wreck and his crew prisoners. “I mean, I know they’re not human, but like…I mean it in the superlative sense, like they’re not bound by human limitations.”

In a very odd way, it’d be a bit more coherent. The weird stuff that happens there have reasons behind them. Or, at least, better ones than “Just because” or “because there was money in it.”