The Wages Of Hysterics

If anything, the insane frenzy from the Democrats over the made for television "docudrama" The Path to 9/11 has reached a pitch I cannot remember ever having seen in American politics before.

And it makes them look like utter and complete fools. Especially since they appear to be unable to comprehend how bad they look right now. The also are proving that they are completely out of touch with human nature and the American psyche. IF you forbid it, they will come. The Democrats have made this a must see for a lot of Americans. And they will see it. They will also judge the Democrats more harshly for having tried to hide it.

In order to convince the public that this is all about factual accuracy, not politics, the Dems enlisted a few of America’s leading historians — all of a decidedly “Olbermann-friendly” bent, shall we say — to draft a letter to Bob Iger. Read it for yourself at TPM Cafe; it won’t take more than 30 seconds. After you’re done, read it again and ask yourself where that very same letter was when Michael Moore was releasing “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Some leftists have been trying to downplay comparisons to F9/11 on grounds that it was a private theatrical release whereas “Path” makes use of the public airwaves, and therefore demands a higher standard of accuracy. That’s nonsense on stilts, of course; if CBS wanted to air F9/11, you could count on one hand the number of American liberals who’d demand that they pull it. (It’s doubly foolish since more people likely will have seen F9/11 here and abroad than will see this.) But even that’s besides the point: from the historian’s perspective, one hopes, it makes little difference whether propaganda appears in a public or private forum. Facts is facts and lies is lies, and posterity suffers either way if the two are confused.

I have had the full court press here in the comments section that this is all about "truth" and "accuracy". By someone defending Michael Moore's garbage as "empirically" true. But the fact is, this has nothing to do with truth. This has to do with the Democrats naked attempt to suppress this film. Period. They laid a lot of smoke that they wanted changes, then called for the film to be pulled after changes were made.

As Allah said. This is thuggery, pure and simple. This is not about ideals, truth, honor or justice. This is a naked attempt at a power grab. It will backfire, but the Democrats are too stupid or blinded by a lust for power to see it. The wages of the hysterics will also surprise the people doing this. It will not achieve what they want and they won't understand that.

By the way, the post by Allah is a must read.

UPDATE: Never fear, lefties! Maddy the Enforcer is here! She'll make those evildoers repent!

Bucky Wimps Bigtime

Ralph "Bucky" Phillips gave up without committing "suicide by cop" or without actually have to face up to New York State troopers who were not unsuspecting and ready to be ambushed. In other words, he wimped out of all his big talk and gave up with a whimper.

Ralph "Bucky" Phillips walked out with his hands up, ending the state's largest manhunt for the 44-year-old career thief who broke out of a Buffalo-area jail in April, New York State Police Investigator Gary Colon said.

The arrest capped a frantic day of searching that included troopers firing at Phillips earlier in the day as he dodged authorities in a wooded area.

For hours, police had methodically moved closer to Phillips. Just before nightfall, 25 SWAT officers and 12 dogs swept through a field where he was thought to be hiding. He gave himself up around 8 p.m., police said.

"A few of my guys had spotted him in an open field, the helicopter zeroed in on him," said Lenny DePaul, commanding officer of the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force.

He did not know what condition Phillips was in.

Phillips was being taken to a jail in Buffalo — the same one he broke out of — and was to be arraigned Saturday morning. He faces a charge of attempted murder in connection with the shooting of a state trooper on June 10.

I am very glad nobody else - even Phillips - was hurt in this. I am glad he showed exactly what he really was all this time. Phillips now gets to face trial on all the various crimes he is alleged to have committed while on his little spree. The jerk who escaped jail with less than one week to go on his sentence will now, almost certainly, never breath free air again. (And killing a police officer in New York is still a death penalty offense, last I heard.)

So add 'genius' to the term 'coward' when describing him.

Major Jill Metzger Safe

I read about this at Opfor but had not linked it until now do to a lot of other blogging activity. Major Jill Major disappeared in Kyrgyzstan three days ago while out on a shopping trip. She had become separated from the rest of her group and simply vanished.

Maj. Jill Metzger, a personnel officer, was last seen at a Zum shopping center in Bishkek, according to the Air Force.

In response, 22 OSI agents have been dispatched to Kyrgyzstan to aid in the search. Col. Joel Reese, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Commander, has sworn "not to rest" until Maj. Metzger is found.

Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, is 75% Muslim. It's also infamous for the brutal tradition of "bride kidnapping," where brides are kidnapped and forced into marriage by Kyrgyz men.

The Air Force maintains a refueling and airlift base (Manas AB) in Kyrgyzstan which supports operations in Afghanistan.

They asked for prayers for her. The prayers must have worked. The Associated Press is reporting that Major Metzger knocked on the door of a civilian house and told the people she had been kidnapped by three young men and a woman in a minibus. It is not clear how she got away from her abductors.

Maj. Jill Metzger, who went missing Tuesday, knocked on the door of a house in a town outside the capital early Saturday morning and told residents she had been abducted, Deputy Interior Minister Omurbek Suvanaliyev told The Associated Press.

Metzger said that she had been seized by three young men and a woman in a minibus and held in a rural area 30 miles from the Central Asian nation's capital, Suvanaliyev said.

Thanks for praying for her.

UPDATE: ABC News is reporting that Major Metzger was beaten. She is undergoing physical evaluation right now. She is reported to be coherent.

Air Force Maj. Jill Metzger, who vanished Monday in Kyrgyzstan, has been found and now is back in Air Force control, ABC News has learned.

"We are elated to have Jill back with us," said Air Force spokesman Col. Scott Reese. Local police notified U.S. officials that she had been found at 1:15 a.m. local time in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Air Force officials say she was found alone and appears to have been beaten. Officials say she is "coherent," in "relatively good condition" and is talking to investigators. She is also undergoing medical evaluation.

Officials would not comment on the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and said the investigation is ongoing

The news brought elation to Metzger's family.

"It's a dream come true. The most significant event of our lives," said Kelly Mayo, Metzger's father-in-law. Mayo said he has not spoken to Metzger yet, but believes she had been kidnapped and "whoever had her dropped her off on the side of the road."

(I typed  an initial reaction to this particular news, then decided I had better wait until it was confirmed.)

Projection

Shrinkwrapped has a rather scary analysis of what is going on right now, as exemplified by the unholy row the Democrats are raising over The Path to 9/11. This is  a classic case of projection with terrifying implications.

[As an aside I do not blame the Clinton or Bush administration for 9/11.  Our society was singularly unable to take the threat from al Qaeda and Islamic terrorism seriously.  The nature of a democracy is that we are slow to respond to threats; in fact, we rarely respond to attacks until after they occur.  We would not have entered WWII without Pearl Harbor and would not have engaged the Islamists in the current war without 9/11.  In the first case, Japan was wholly responsible; in the second case, al Qaeda was wholly responsible.]

When powerful government officials begin to use intimidation openly, it is chilling, to say the least.  Perhaps all the claims of incipient fascism that the left sees all around it embodied in the Republicans is a projection of their own authoritarian tendencies.  This is, of course, not a novel idea; the left has been accused of authoritarianism for quite some time.  What is most troubling is the apparent lack of awareness of the impact and importance of this letter from the most powerful and important members of the Democratic party.

I would not expect the DU crowd to show any awareness of their own projections; they are quite openly authoritarian and are willing to use almost any means to silence those they oppose.  This kind of authoritarian silencing of those who do not espouse the proper political line is also common in academia, which is troubling but not surprising.  When the disease of authoritarianism, the readiness to silence one's opponents rather than engage them, has spread to the core of one of the two major parties, the danger to our political system is real, though one hopes it is transient.

This ties into exactly what I have been saying for the past couple of days. It can be seen in the comment sections of several posts.

Better Draft That Letter To NBC, Harry

Harry Reid and his fellows better do a quick cut-and-paste and release a letter to NBC threatening their license. After all, they showed actual video from a predator drone that proves Clinton and Company missed an opportunity to kill bin Laden.

Add to that the fact that the two martyrdom videos of the 9/11 hijackers vowed to avenge Bosnia.

The fact is that the failures that led to 9/11 stretched across years and administrations. It is the most shameful kind of politics to try to hang all the blame on Bush. Clinton missed a number of opportunities to get bin Laden, including having Sudan offer to give him to the US.

(Note, I am also monitoring the ABC website. They are still running promos for The Path to 9/11).

Please Pass The Smelling Salts

No! This is an alternate universe, that's the ticket! Brigham Young University has placed Steven Jones, 9/11 conspiracy theorist extraordinaire on paid leave while they investigate his involvement in the cult of nuts group called the "9/11 truth movement". Rank sanity has broken out in the ivory tower….

PROVO — Brigham Young University placed physics professor Steven Jones on paid leave Thursday while it reviews his involvement in the so-called "9/11 truth movement" that accuses unnamed government agencies of orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.

BYU will conduct an official review of Jones' actions before determining a course of action, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. Such a review is rare for a professor with "continuing status" at BYU, where Jones has taught since 1985.

Jones was teaching two classes this semester, which began Tuesday. Other professors will cover those classes, and Jones will be allowed to continue to do research in his area of academic study, Jenkins said.

Jones became a celebrity among 9/11 conspiracy-theory groups after he wrote a paper titled "Why Indeed Did the World Trade Center Buildings Collapse?" The paper was published two weeks ago in the book "9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out" and lays out Jones' hypothesis that the three towers fell because of pre-positioned demolition charges — not because of the planes that hit two of the towers.     

When Jones began to share his demolition theory publicly last fall, he politely declined to speculate about who set the charges other than to say terrorist groups couldn't have been the source.     

Then, later, he started to speak publicly about research conducted at BYU on materials from ground zero. He said he found evidence of thermite — a compound used in military detonations — in the materials.    

In recent weeks, after becoming the co-chairman of the group Scholars for 9/11 Truth, Jones seemed willing to go further, implicating unnamed government groups but not President Bush.     

The Deseret Morning News requested a statement from the university Wednesday afternoon for a story it was preparing on Jones and his high-profile role in the 9/11 truth movement. University officials informed Jones of the decision to place him on leave Thursday afternoon and released a statement to the newspaper Thursday night.

"BYU has repeatedly said that it does not endorse assertions made by individual faculty," the statement said. "We are, however, concerned about the increasingly speculative and accusatory nature of these statements by Dr. Jones." (Emphasis mine)

Jones does not have tenure, which is not used at Brigham Young. This is actually huge news. Jones is doing damage to the one thing the University must protect at all costs. Its reputation.

UPDATE: Notice to any "truthers" who like to come by and troll. Read the comment policy ("About" page). I've already nuked the first one that violated the policy. I will continue to do so. This site happens to belong to an engineer and I know and understand structural steel and NFPA fireproofing. That would be the only warning I am inclined to give.

UPDATE: Thanks for the tip, Allah! Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, Loose Change, 

UPDATE: For the people who have not succumbed to the nonsense the "truthers" spew, here's a handy dandy point by point rebuttal of the "evidence" they claim.

More On Counterfeit Bikini Contestants

Well, the Daily Mail picked up the story I posted about yesterday about Mariyah Moten, the Pakistani-born American resident who appeared as Miss Pakistan in China. (It doesn't get any more clear telling it the second time.) Anyway, the Mail leads their headline with "Muslim Fury". Yeesh.  Moten has an explanation in a Reuters story today:

Officials in Pakistan, which does not hold beauty pageants, said Thursday they were investigating how Texas-based Mariyah Moten, 22, entered a "Miss Bikini" pageant in China last month as a Pakistani contestant.

Pakistan-born Moten, who holds an American passport, won a "Best in Media" title for being the most photographed and interviewed contestant, media reports said.

"I have broken all the barriers, and in the coming years there will be other Pakistani contestants who will carry this title," Moten, described by Pakistani media as the country's first bikini queen, told the Times of India newspaper.

"My intention was to project Pakistan in a very modern way."

We fully understand why the authorities want to look at Ms. Moten. Which Howie from the Jawa Report also wants to do. Plus he found additional evidence many people will be interested in, judging by my out click logs…

Showdown

Dread Pundit Bluto reports that Ralph "Bucky" Phillips has been cornered. There was a high-speed chase with shots exchanged and Phillips ran into some woods in Southern Chautuaqua County in New York State. The AP is reporting shots fired as well.

UPDATE: Buffalo, New York television station WGRZ has an interview with the owner of the golf course where the manhunt is now focused.

UPDATE: Fixed bad link to Bluto.

Had Enough?

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred sure as heck has had enough.

Timely Advice For Men - Round Two

When trying to sneak away for a weekend away from your wife, it could be argued that faking your own disappearance at sea is not the smartest thing to do.

Matthew Harvey, 35, was reported missing by his wife Katie on Saturday after he failed to return from a diving trip on the Channel Island of Guernsey, triggering a massive rescue hunt involving 20 boats.

He was eventually found unconscious in the water on Monday evening, telling how he had survived in the icy waters for 56 hours before being struck by a boat when he surfaced from a dive, then being swept out to sea.

But suspicions were raised when a member of the public in England recognised Harvey from media coverage of his miraculous survival and contacted police to report having seen him on land over the weekend.

It subsequently emerged that he had not gone diving at all, but taken a ferry to England on Saturday for a secret weekend away. He returned on Monday, put his wetsuit on and swam out into the sea, waiting to be rescued.

We're keeping a close eye on the news. It is, of course, quite possible that the man's wife will make his disappearance at sea come true. Soon.

Some Timely Advice For Men

Should you have occasion to take a drive down the highway, it would be best to leave your penis pump at home.

Police said the 42-year-old man, driving an old Citroen in the Slovak town of Levice, had ignored a "give way" sign.

"It's very likely he had auto-sex (Ed Note: Adds a whole new dimension to that term, doesn't it?) while driving, it is a matter of investigation. After the accident he was found lying in the seat, his pants were off and it (the pump) was placed on his penis," police officer Peter Polak told Reuters.

"I've never seen anything like this, nor have my colleagues," he added.

The man was taken to hospital with head injuries.

That last sentence could be a cause for some confusion. We here at Blue Crab Boulevard are trying to confirm whether the man in question was a judge.

Shuttle Launch Postponed

NASA has postponed the launch of Atlantis scheduled for today. A fuel sensor has begun acting up, as well as the other problem with a fuel cell. If the shuttle does not lauch by tomorrow, the window will close.

Reuters Picks Up Story

Reuters has picked up the story about the Democratic Senators demanding that ABC cancel The Path to 9/11. Since I have plenty of people trying to spin this in comments, let me point something out. This will not play well with the middle. It may make party faithful happy or unhappy depending on political bent. But it will not make the middle happy. They do not like to see government pressuring speech. They really don't like being told what they can and can't watch.

I will also point out that bootlegs are reportedly already out and will multiply like a plague of locust. By trying to silence this film, certain people have instead ensured it will go viral.

Ready, fire, aim, folks. This was a really stupid move politically. It will actually get even worse if ABC does yank the film.

UPDATE: Confederate Yankee sees this much the same way.

How To Win Friends….

…And influence judges. A new self-help bestseller? No, just an object lesson on how not to do so. We here at Blue Crab Boulevard strongly recommend that when on trial for threatening a judge that one should avoid threatening the judge hearing the case.

Ignacio Javier Bilbao Goikoetxea, a convicted murderer and member of armed separatist group ETA, kicked the dock's bullet-proof screen and launched a torrent of abuse at judge Alfonso Guevara and Baltasar Garzon, the judge he had threatened at a previous trial who was appearing as a witness.

"If you're a man, come here … I'm going to skin you alive. Come here if you've got the balls… I look forward to shooting you seven times when I get my hands on you," the shaven-headed Bilbao Goikoetxea told Guevara in the Madrid courtroom.

It is the second time he has been tried for threatening Garzon after being jailed for two years at a previous trial.

Several violent court appearances by ETA defendants have outraged mainstream Spanish opinion over recent months just as the government prepares peace talks aiming to end 38 years of ETA violence following its ceasefire declaration in March.

We presume that the defendant doesn't have much hope of beating the rap.

Nothing To Laugh At

Judging by the email I get, one popular feature here at the Crabitat is the continuing "animal uprising" silliness that gets posted whenever there's something in the news worthy of mention. This particular animal story, however, is no laughing matter. A black wolf attacked six people on a Canadian beach. Four of those injured were children. The wolf was later killed, and did not have rabies.

The victims at first believed the animal was a large black dog when it appeared in broad daylight Monday and then attacked beachgoers along the shores of Lake Superior, Melanie Dufresne, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Natural Resources, told AFP.

The victims were bitten in the arm, hands, ankles and head and were hospitalized but have since been released, she said.

It took several terrifying minutes before the animal was finally chased from the beach.

The incident occurred in a provincial park, only a few hundred meters (yards) from a main cross-country highway, where the animal was shot several hours later.

The wolf, which weighed some 33 kilos (73 pounds), did not have rabies and appeared to be healthy, said Brent Patterson, a wolf specialist at the ministry.

The animal was most likely two to three years old and "was not starving," Patterson said.

Wolf attacks on humans are considered extremely rare, he said. "There's never been any proven fatality in the wild in North America."

That last statement would appear to be completely untrue as there was a reported fatal wolf attack in Canada itself. This is a serious problem that will get worse as more of these predators are reintroduced into areas near human populations. It is a policy that really needs to be looked at very hard.