Jeffrey over at ThreeBadFingers has a fascinating disection of the People for the American Way’s filibuster talking points that have been recited by the left.

UPDATE: Powerline also has a post discussing the out of context (and completely incorrect) quotations of Senator Orrin Hatch by Terry Neal of the WaPo. Neal’s quote:

Eleven years ago, when Republicans were still in the minority, Sen. Orin [sic] Hatch (R-Utah) said the filibuster tool should be used because ‘the minority has to protect itself and those the minority represents.’

The full context:

Mr. President, one of the games that is being played around here is that whenever the majority leader wants to move something along, he files cloture, whether or not anybody has decided to use extended debate. I have heard the majority leader—who is a person I have great regard and respect for—say how beset we are with filibusters in this body.
Naturally, in the last week or so of a session, there is going to be the threat of some filibusters. It is one of the few tools that the minority has to protect itself and those the minority represents. But this is not a filibuster. I find it unseemly to have filed cloture on a judgeship nomination—where I have made it very clear that I would work to get a time agreement—and make it look like somebody is trying to filibuster a Federal court judgeship.

I think it is wrong, and I think it is wrong to suggest in the media that this is a filibuster situation, because it is not.

I personally do not want to filibuster Federal judges. The President won the election. He ought to have the right to appoint the judges he wants to.’

Hewitt:

What Neal’s abuse of the much-abused Hatch quote tells us is that Neal is either comfortable working with Democratic talking points that he did not suspect were cut-and-paste jobs, or that he didn’t care since it helped make his (false) point that everybody does it.

Quite a story from a high school journalist:

For one thing, he told his recruiter, he was a dropout and didn’t have a high school diploma.

No problem, McSwane says the recruiter explained. He suggested that McSwane create a fake diploma from a nonexistent school.

McSwane recorded the recruiter saying on the phone: “It can be like Faith Hill Baptist School. Whatever you choose.”

…

“I have a problem with drugs. I can’t kick the habit. Just marijuana,” McSwane recalls telling the recruiter. “And he says, ‘Not a problem. Just take this detox.” He said he would pay for half of it, and told me where to go (to get it).”

Drug testers Sallinger contacted insist it doesn’t work, but the recruiter claimed in another recorded phone conversation that taking the detoxification capsules and liquid would help McSwane pass the required test.

“The two times that I had the guys use it,” the recruiter says on the tape, “it’s worked both times. We didn’t have to worry about anything.”

the Mother:

“We got this house locked down like Fort Knox,” she said. “I’m going to have to sleep with the keys around my neck now.”

Funny post about dating computer geeks. Check it out.

(Via Johan Danforth)

NYSun: Three Political Web Logs Make a Run for the Mainstream

Glenn

Roger L. Simon

Smith & Wesson settled a lawsuit that will open the floodgates of litigation and liability for gun manufacturers.

Lawyers representing a former Wichita boy who suffered brain damage in 1998 when another boy shot him said Wednesday that they had reached a landmark settlement with the gunmaker, Smith & Wesson.

“The settlement marks the first time a gun manufacturer has paid to settle a claim for failing to childproof a gun,” said a statement by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C.

Smith & Wesson said in a statement that “there was no deficiency with this firearm.”

A 15 year old took the gun from his parents’ dresser and accidentally shot his 8 year old brother (thinking the gun was not loaded). And the gun manufacturer settled!? That is nuts.

By this logic, a knife manufacturer is responsible when I leave my butcher knife on the counter and my son grabs it and accidentally cuts his brother. Or when I leave matches on the dresser and my kid burns the house down the manufacturer of the matches is liable. Or … the list goes on. It’s insanity. Let’s accept a little personal responsibility for our actions.

SayUncle agrees, as does AlphaPatriot. And Clayton Cramer thinks that the tables should be turned:

Wouldn’t it be fair if a few attorneys with some time on their hands decided to file suit against the Violence Policy Center, the Brady Campaign, and some of the other gun control lobbying groups, on behalf of victims of violence? The argument would be something like this:

1. Gun control laws that make it difficult for law-abiding adults to carry a gun for self-defense increase the risk of injury or death to good people because armed victims deter criminal attack. Not every gun control law fits this description, of course, and the suit can stipulate that some gun control laws are either neutral, or may actually reduce crimes. However, laws that effectively prevent law-abiding adults from carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense are not in that category.

This is kind of cool. (Via LifeHacker).

Check out this article from the American Forces Press Service (Via Rusty via Dread Pundit Bluto)

Task Force Baghdad soldiers this morning rescued a man apparently blackmailed into a suicide-bombing mission by terrorist master Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

…

An initial investigation revealed that terrorists had kidnapped the driver’s family and that he was forced to carry out this suicide-bombing mission to protect his wife and children, coalition officials said.

Shackleford:

Zarqawi is now capturing women and children, and then telling the fathers that if they don’t blow themselves and a few infidels up then he’s going to chop their heads off? Interesting recruiting tactic. Michael Moore’s Minutemen indeed

Secure Liberty adds:

Rusty’s right, al-Zarqawi has himself one pretty severe recruiting problem. … As a side note, what does it show the Iraqi people that we rescues this guy? How big a PR loss is this for al-Zarqawi? Pretty big.

Check out their new billboard:

Also posted at Benelli Brothers, Michelle Malkin and Uncorrelated.

California Mafia wondered if maybe this was all a big PR game, but then did a bit more digging and debunked his own theory.

There is something about this that just doesn’t sit right with me. I’m wondering if this is something that someone at Clear Channel came up with this whole thing as a way to draw ratings. I mean, this is the sort of thing that John and Ken would go off on, and that just has to help ratings.

AP:

At least two aides to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and two Democratic congressmen received travel expenses initially paid by lobbyist Jack Abramoff on his credit card or by his firm, internal records of the lobbying firm show.

Longtime House ethics rules that applied to the 1996 and 1997 trips to the Northern Mariana Islands have strictly prohibited lawmakers and their staffs from accepting any congressional trips from lobbyists or their firms.

…

Abramoff, whose lobbying is under criminal investigation, pressed his clients, the Northern Marianas government, to reimburse him for the travel because of concerns the payments might draw scrutiny from the House committee that investigates lawmakers’ conduct, the documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

Now, I’ve never been a lobbyist or a congressman, but I find it interesting that the rule prevents lawmakers and their staff from accepting trips from lobbyists or their firms, but not that if said lobbyist or firm passes the cost on to their clients, it is apparently ok. At least that’s how I read this AP story. So Jack pays for the trip and is reimbursed by his client, the Marianas Government, then all is above board. But if he pays out of pocket, it’s not. I don’t quite get the logic of that, though I’m probably missing something obvious.

Enlighten me in the comments section….

And interesting Museum has opened in Argentina.

Three years after staging the largest debt default in modern history, Argentina on Thursday opened what may be the first Museum of Foreign Debt to teach people the perils of borrowing abroad.

…

“I liked best the black hole with everything the debt swallowed — education, families, jobs,” said Fabian Jader, 34, an opening night visitor. “I feel anger and pity for the people, but above all helplessness.”

…

“People know absolutely nothing about how we accumulated all this debt, they only know about the misery they have seen lately,” said museum director Simon Pristupin, who dreamed up the idea in 2001 and struggled to convince sceptics.

…

Pristupin said his favourite part of the museum is a golden cart sculpture made out of cardboard.

“It symbolizes Argentina’s reality: everything’s golden, but it’s made of cardboard and that reminds us of all those people who today collect cardboard for recycling.”

Via Socioeconomics.com