Uh Oh

This could be bad. We're the evil twin…

And it's not a monkey. It's a mandrill.

Joementum?

The Hartford Courant is reporting that Joe Lieberman is working very hard to secure the Democratic nomination for Senator from Connecticut. Ned Lamont, backed by the Koz Kidz and (stealthily by proxy) Howard "Screamin'' Howie" Dean is making a play for the nomination. The story is very, very interesting.

In recent weeks, Lieberman has labored to calm and cajole restive Democrats, dialing hundreds of the 1,607 delegates who will convene in Hartford at the Connecticut Expo Center.

Delegates will endorse a candidate for senator Friday, then return Saturday to choose between New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy for governor.

"What I'm saying to them is I understand your anger," Lieberman said in an interview this week. "On a lot of this stuff I share your anger, but let's do something constructive about it. Let's elect a Democratic Senate and let's elect a Democratic House of Representatives so we can really put some checks and balances on George Bush."

In an abundance of zeal to unseat Lieberman, who is a very reliable party-line voter on almost every Democratic issue, the Lamont supporters are taking a major player out of the national campaign. Lieberman is an utterly reliable Democrat except on the issue of Iraq.

So the party will suffer for this. Lieberman could very well have made a difference to other candidate's campaigns. Now he'll be fighting to hold his seat from a challenge - driven mostly by people outside of Connecticut - instead of helping others.

Well, that's an interesting strategy. I'm sure the voters in Connecticut will be proud to have out-of-staters dictating their candidates.

Or as AllahPundit put it:

UPDATE: Chez Diva has a really good take on Lamont and Kos. Not that they would like it, but she's spot on. And her links freaking rock.

Putting Down Some Gravel

Wordsmith, posting over at Flopping Aces, has some truly shocking pictures out of Iraq that the world must see right away. How could this be hidden for so long? I demand Congressional hearings at once.

Wow - What A Day In The Crabitat

This has been one busy day here at blue Crab Boulevard. Many, many inbound links, for which I am thankful. Hopefully, I'll catch most of them here and be able to thank people.

Sommerschool, Blue Star Chronicles, The Absurd Report, Carry On America, Gateway Pundit, Hugh Hewitt, Ninth State, All Things Beautiful and probably a bunch more that I missed in the uproar. It doesn't help that Technorati keeps losing things, either!

Thanks to everyone for the links, I sincerely appreciate it.

UPDATE: Some More I found. Three Brothers, California Conservative.

Hamas Versus Fatah

Hamas gunmen fought with units of the Palestinian police force in Gaza today. Fatah elements were involved as well. Things are getting ugly in the Palestinian territories.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said fighting subsided after contacts between the forces. He accused unidentified "suspicious gunmen" of opening fire to instigate the clash.

"There is no reason for the two forces to fight. There is no dispute of authority," said Khaled Abu Hilal. Police accused Hamas of starting the clashes by opening fire on the police station.

The 3,000-strong Hamas-backed force, formed under the authority of Interior Minister Saeed Seyam, was deployed in a challenge to the authority of Abbas, whose Fatah movement was defeated by Hamas in elections in January.

In response, Abbas ordered the deployment of a Fatah-loyal police unit. The decision marked the latest step in a deepening power struggle between Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, whose Hamas movement took power in March.

I'm not exactly sure what the Palestinians expected when they elected openly avowed terrorists for their government. I hope they can come to their senses before it comes to outright civil war, but it's looking pretty shaky right now.

Hayden: Intellegence Gathering Has Become Political Football

In his first day of testimony (is that the correct term?) General Michael Hayden appears to be handling his confirmation hearing quite well. His opening statement probably contained the understatement of the century. "Hayden said that intelligence-gathering has become “the football in American political discourse” since the terror attacks of Sept. 11."

The majority of the questions the Senators are asking him so far appear to be about past failures and practices at the CIA. I'm not really sure what asking about past failures has to do with Hayden, but that definitely seems to be the theme. Hayden defended the NSA program as legal, and frankly, it does not sound as if any of the Senators seriously challenged that assertion. But Diane Feinstein sure wanted to know about waterboarding. Yeesh.

Hayden declined to answer a string of questions by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., saying he would answer them later in a closed-door session.

They included whether he believed that “waterboarding,” in which prisoners are strapped to a plank and dunked in water until nearly drowning, was an acceptable form of interrogation. He also declined to say publicly how long he believed the United States could hold terror suspects without a trial.

“He didn’t answer any of them,” Feinstein said into an open mike as the hearing recessed for lunch.

Well, at least Feinstein can discern the obvious when prompted.

No Wonder They Don’t Like Us

The cockpit canopy of a vintage P-51 Mustang fighter came off while the plane was in flight over Germany. Apparently, the aircraft was en route to an airshow. The falling Plexiglas dome demolished a small food stand when it crashed to earth.

No one was hurt when pieces of the glass covering of the single-propeller plane crashed into the roof of a house and demolished the takeaway stand on Wednesday, police said. The debris missed hitting a woman by about one metre (yard).

But the British pilot of the plane, which had taken off from near London, carried on another 400 km (250 miles) to his destination at Berlin's Schoenefeld airport without reporting the loss of the cockpit's glass cover.

The pilot cannot be located even though the airplane was parked properly at the airshow later.

61 years after the end of the war and we're still bombing them. That explains this poll.

I’ll Bet He Can’t Wait To Get It

The raging psychotic Iranian president is planning to send another of his famous "Submit" letters. This time the Pope is the lucky winner.

In Crazy Mahmoud’s mind, he has now written to the chief of the world’s top secular superpower and is writing to the chief of the world’s unbelieving (vis a vis Islam) religious superpower (there being no equivalent of the pope in Islam). He is inviting them both to accept Islam, both personally and on behalf of their nation and church. Unless I miss my guess, in the letter to Benedict he will be, in essence, calling upon the Catholic Church to accept Islam–or die.

This is very serious, folks. You really, really want to stop screwing around with partisan politics and pull this country together while we still have time to stop this nutjob.

 (By the way, if anyone wonders why I use the strikeout text it is because I know for a fact this blog is read by someone in Iran. My logs show it.

I’m Pretty Sure She’s Not REALLY A Friend

A German woman stopped to buy some gas for her car. After filling the tank, she discovered she did not have enough cash to pay the bill. So she told the gas station attendants she'd have to go withdraw some more cash and she left a deposit to ensure her return. Specifically, she left her friend as a sort of human IOU. And off she drove to the bank.

And never came back.

After two hours or so, the folks at the gas station got just a tad suspicious and called police. After questioning the human deposit, they released her and are now searching for the owner of the car on suspicion of fraud.

Wow, what a way to treat a friend.

Why I Have Little Faith In Politicians These Days

Because of stuff like this:

But here's the substance of the debate– Should ILLEGAL immigrants, once made legal by the McCain legislation, be entitled to receive the Social Security benefits they have paid into the system while ILLEGALLY using FRAUDULENT Social Security numbers STOLEN from actual, legal citizens of the United States of America.

……

Sen. Ensign, God bless him, offered an amendment suggesting illegals should not be eligible for Social Security benefits accrued while illegal.

The U.S. Senate voted to kill that amendment, 50-49.

Got that? They voted to kill an amendment that would have denied retroactive benefits. For people who used fraudulent papers.

God help us. I was starting to feel a little better about what might come out of the Senate. Not anymore.

101st Blog Of The Day

Marching on in my self-imposed project to visit one member of the fighting 101st each day, today I quick timed over to Six Meat Buffet for a quick meal. Well, figuratively speaking. Cranky found absolute proof positive that Big Brother is already here! And, quite frankly, the Dozier/Sasquatch Back Hair scale is entirely too much information. Waaaaaay too much.

Hey! And this is my 14th blog of the day, so I must have been at this two weeks.

*sigh* My goal is to be done by Christmas. I ain't sayin' what year, though.

About Time

The House ethics committee is finally going to start investigating at least some Congressmen. Add Molohan to the list as well and just about everyone would be happy that they have at least gotten started doing something.

After 16 months of inactivity and partisan infighting, the House ethics committee launched investigations last night into bribery allegations against Reps. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and William Jefferson (D-La.) and a separate inquiry into the widening scandal surrounding former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.).

A full investigation is overdue. IF they are found to have violated the law or ethics rules, the country does not need them.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Welcome In US: State Department

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick publicly announced that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is welcome in the United States. Thankfully, there is still one refuge for the canaries.

Zoellick, on a visit to the Netherlands, told journalists Hirsi Ali would be admitted to his country.

"The government of the Netherlands is still discussing her ultimate status and that is … for the Netherlands to determine along the way, but she is obviously welcome to the United States," Zoellick said.

He added that if she did move to the United States her status would depend on decisions taken by the Dutch government and that her special security needs would be attended to.

"I am not going to comment on specific security matters but obviously she needs to be taken care of," Zoellick said.

America is still the best hope for this world. Maybe it's last. We must stop tearing ourselves apart.

UPDATE: A (bleak) glimpse at the future at Klein Verzet. The lights are going out. The canaries are swaying.

Irey Responds

Congressman John Murtha is being challenged for the 12th district (Pennsylvania) Congressional seat by Diana Irey. This is her press release on Murtha's press conference.

Irey Responds to Murtha’s Comments that
U.S. Troops Killed Iraqi Civilians in Cold Blood

Monongahela, PA – Today, Washington County Commissioner and Republican Congressional nominee Diana Irey responded to her opponent’s recent comments claiming that U.S. Troops were responsible for the death of innocent Iraqi civilians.

“I was shocked and dismayed by my opponent’s charge that U.S. Marines are responsible for murdering Iraqi civilians in cold blood. Why John Murtha would say such a thing in the wake of an ongoing investigation and accuse our troops of such horrific actions is beyond comprehension,” Irey said.

Murtha made these comments at a press conference yesterday. “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood,” Murtha said. He made these comments to reporters regarding an incident that occurred November 19th in Haditha, Iraq.

“There is no doubt that my opponent’s disregard for the presumption of innocence and Due Process will have an adverse effect on troop morale. Unfortunately, instead of showing support for our military personnel, his partisan rhetoric will only harm our country at this fragile time. His continued comments are a devastating blow to millions of men, women and children in the Middle East who are just getting their first taste of Democracy.” Irey said.

Diana Irey has spent the last decade in public service as a Washington County Commissioner, and she is now running to bring her vision of government responsibility, lower taxes, and family values to the United States Congress as the Representative of Pennsylvania’s 12th District.

Irey Website here.

Got Tartar Sauce?

Ok, here's a story that a school of piranha, the voracious South American predator fish, are being put on a diet. The fish have been overeating at the Birmingham's Sea Life Centre in England.

Regular mealtimes mean the razor-toothed predators have become a bit podgy in the last month so they are now only being fed half-portions in a bid to shift the excess, Lynsey Thompson, from Birmingham's Sea Life Centre said.

Piranha, which are normally found in the River Amazon in South America, are capable of stripping a whole dead pig to the bone within minutes and can literally eat themselves to death, she explained.

Now, it's a good thing they are trying to keep their pets in good shape, no doubt about that. However, please take a good look at this photo:

Let me ask you a simple question. Would YOU get into a fish tank with a school of piranha on half rations?