Powerline takes on the AP and its “sources.” His conclusion:

In short, what the Associated Press has done is to assemble a rogues’ gallery of anti-American, anti-Semitic Bush haters and, without identifying them to its readers, presented these far-out extremists as though they represented a sober consensus of world opinion to the effect that the elections in Iraq can do no good.

The AP may have sunk to a new low.

And that’s saying something.

HT: Michelle Malkin

Good Iraqi election round up and links from Steven Taylor at Poliblog.

Class Teaches Appalachian Kids How To Lose Accent. Apparently this is an “age-old debate.”

A theater group in eastern Kentucky is teaching middle and high school students how to lose their Appalachian accents.

The class has set off an age-old debate — should mountain natives drop their drawl or hold on to their twang.

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From a blog called Life in Baghdad come some thoughts on the voting.

Personally, I very much do want to vote, but up to this moment I have not decided whether I actually will. I think I’ll wait till the elections day, see how things will go and decide then. My family is afraid of voting and are asking me not to go fearing for my safety, but as I said, I have not decided yet.

He elaborates on his quandry:

But what if everyone thinks like me, Which means no one will vote and the elections will fail. Then I should vote to prevent that. But will my decision really have to do with that of any other? The answer is no (I forgot what this case is called in the probability theory – I think it was that my decision and that of any other is mutually exclusive). If this is the case, then I can ‘not vote’ since this will not affect the decision of others, and being one person whose decision ‘not to vote’ will not affect the whole process, then it’s safer not to vote. Problem solved. Unfortunately, I am still not convinced :(

And winds down the internal debate:

One thing you don’t know about me, is that I can keep on with such an argument for ever, but luckily for you, I will not.

He also posts a mini Iraqi voting guide.

Interesting musings from inside of Baghdad.

UPDATE: For lots more on the elections from inside of Baghdad, check out Friends of Democracy, “Ground Level Election News from the People of Iraq.” (hat tip: BlackFive)

Wizbang has an update this morning on the Yellow Ribbon fiasco at the U of O.

He’s found some student newspapers.

Also, Captain Ed weighs in, commenting on Kevin’s WND article:

No one doubts that the university has the right to determine the materials affixed to their own vehicles, but to claim that Oregon was forced to remove “Support Our Troops” stickers in order to remain politically neutral, which was their first excuse, is as ridiculous as it is false. Kevin’s update (which links back here) demonstrates that Oregon not only has played with the facts more than once, but also had no preparation for the onslaught of publicity this generated.

(Incidentally, if you haven’t seen it, Ed has asked for prayers for the situation with his “First Mate’s” pancreas transplant).

From the dumb criminals file comes this one.

A guy phoned in a bomb threat to the Super Bowl and left his real name and number on the voicemail.

A man is in custody in Jacksonville, FL, police linked him to a Super Bowl-related bomb threat found on the voice mail of a city council member.

A man who said his name was Albert Strickland left a cell phone number police traced to 56-year-old Albert Ray Strickland at an address in Hyde Park. [emphasis mine]

Check out AP this story:

The Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, once seen as a costly impediment to development, is now viewed by the government as a critter that never really existed — and is no longer in need of federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The Interior Department said Friday that new DNA research shows the 9-inch mouse, which can launch itself a foot and a half into the air and switch direction in mid-flight, is probably identical to another variety of mouse common enough not to need protection.

So a mouse that needed federal protection, and was an impediment to evil human developers, turns out to be a common ordinary mouse that is “common enough not to need protection.”

“Oops… well, they looked cute.”

Interesting Billboard Campaign from Citizens United.

A survivor of the LA train crash though the was writing his last message to his family.

He thought he was going to die.

He was having trouble breathing. As he lay wedged under a train seat and metal debris, with whatever energy he could summon and a heartbreaking economy of words, he scrawled a farewell in blood on the seat. “I {heart} my kids. I {heart} Leslie,” he printed. The blood ink seemed to be running out as he got to the second sentence.