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I hate to give any attention to such a despicable crowd, but as a Christian and a Baptist I feel an obligation to condemn them. I hope it's obvious to everyone, but just to be clear: Westboro Baptist Church is a hateful, evil organization that doesn't represent the teachings of Christ and doesn't have anything to do with Baptists other than despoiling our name.

Yet again they're in the news for protesting at a soldier's funeral. Disgraceful.

The American Civil Liberties Union has won a temporary restraining order that would allow members of the Westboro Baptist Church to protest at the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Michael Bailey.

Corporal Bailey died June 16th in combat operations in Afghanistan, and will be buried from his old high school, West County High in this St. Francois County community.

The church protests at some military funerals, to promote its anti-gay agenda.

It's hard to think of a way that these "Christians" could be less Christlike and more damaging to Christ's mission for the church.

Oh, and thanks ACLU! I hope this lawsuit lets you put a check mark on your annual report about how you vigorously defend the rights of "Baptists" even though you disagree with them!

I agree with Victor Davis Hanson's perspective on General McChrystal.

There are plenty of other causes to worry: McChrystal’s derision of a dinner with a French diplomat, the entire notion of letting off steam to a leftwing reporter in Paris during a war, even the revelation of whom McChrystal voted for (i.e., Obama). Once one digests all the ramifications of this, I think one will see this is not a partisan issue, but one of judgment and deference for the chain of command.

Surely if a colonel or a major gave the same sort of interview about the general, and such an officer’s subordinates told the press the same sorts of things about McChrystal (much less Obama), he would be gone yesterday. I recall in Iraq overhearing a conversation among some reporters. One asked out loud, “Do you think Petraeus will ever run for office?” Another piped up, “Maybe, but who knows on which side?” — the point being that even though Petraeus worked with the Bush administration, and even though the Left took after him, he deliberately set a tone of professional nonpartisanship. He would never have disclosed to a reporter his past voting record, or had subordinates relay that information to the press. And he would never have disclosed any of his private concerns about Washington competency to a reporter, much less in a long-running conversation with a pesky Rolling Stone tag-along.

And now President Obama has hitched his horse to General Petraeus, the same man Obama's followers once labeled "General Betray Us". (The Senate voted to condemn the ad, and Senator Obama voted "present". and Senator Obama called the vote a "stunt" and didn't show up.) I guess we should take some solace in the fact that not even Obama can justify sticking one of his incompetent Chicago cronies in charge of an actual war.

"SHR" outlines that we're now facing the worst case scenario in the Gulf. It's a slow-motion disaster that is only going to get worse over time.

All of these things lead to only one place, a fully wide open well bore directly to the oil deposit...after that, it goes into the realm of "the worst things you can think of" The well may come completely apart as the inner liners fail. There is still a very long drill string in the well, that could literally come flying out...as I said...all the worst things you can think of are a possibility, but the very least damaging outcome as bad as it is, is that we are stuck with a wide open gusher blowing out 150,000 barrels a day of raw oil or more. There isn't any "cap dome" or any other suck fixer device on earth that exists or could be built that will stop it from gushing out and doing more and more damage to the gulf. While at the same time also doing more damage to the well, making the chance of halting it with a kill from the bottom up less and less likely to work, which as it stands now?....is the only real chance we have left to stop it all.

It's a race now...a race to drill the relief wells and take our last chance at killing this monster before the whole weakened, wore out, blown out, leaking and failing system gives up it's last gasp in a horrific crescendo.

We are not even 2 months into it, barely half way by even optimistic estimates. The damage done by the leaked oil now is virtually immeasurable already and it will not get better, it can only get worse. No matter how much they can collect, there will still be thousands and thousands of gallons leaking out every minute, every hour of every day. We have 2 months left before the relief wells are even near in position and set up to take a kill shot and that is being optimistic as I said.

Over the next 2 months the mechanical situation also cannot improve, it can only get worse, getting better is an impossibility. While they may make some gains on collecting the leaked oil, the structural situation cannot heal itself. It will continue to erode and flow out more oil and eventually the inevitable collapse which cannot be stopped will happen. It is only a simple matter of who can "get there first"...us or the well.

We can only hope the race against that eventuality is one we can win, but my assessment I am sad to say is that we will not.

I haven't read of an optimistic scenario presented by anyone knowledgeable. Links welcome.

(HT: Wizbang and Instapundit.)

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) assaults student interviewer and demands, "Who are you?"

Maybe this apology will make everything better.

Media, politicians, bloggers, world: please stop creating any more "witty" meanings for the initials of British Petroleum. It wasn't clever the first time someone did it, and it's still not clever the ten thousandth time.

• "Big Problems"
• "Barely Paying attention"
• "Blasted Profusely"
• "Bored Poorly"

Just stop.

Thank you to all the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who have served our country and protected the liberty that we'll all enjoy today.

I missed last night's fireball but thanks to the power of the intertubes I can at least watch the replay!

Here are some pictures I took from today's Tax Day Tea Party in Saint Louis. There is a short video of the crowd near the bottom.

A huge "thank you" and "congratulations" should go out to Jim Hoft and the other organizers of this event for a job well done. The crowd was enthusiastic, and everyone had a great time.

There were flags everywhere, especially the Gadsden Flag as you can see below.

Even dogs hate socialism!

Here's Jim Hoft, warming up the crowd for Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder.

More:

Pictures from the 2009 Tax Day Tea Party in Saint Louis.

Pictures and video from the Tea Party Express visit to Saint Charles, Missouri.

(HT: Gateway Pundit.)

I was so upset by the health care vote last night that I stayed up late and built a new website: DollarBillStamps.com! There you can purchase high-quality stamps with witty conservative slogans you can use to brand every piece of currency that passes through your fingers. Take a look and tell me what you think!

(And buy something, so my daughter might one day be able to pay off her share of the national debt!)

I'm glad I had the good sense to help this kind fellow out with his money transfer before he got caught.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - A former Nigerian state governor who serves as ranking member of the nation's ruling party was arrested for allegedly embezzling $100 million of government money meant for public projects, an anti-corruption official said Tuesday.

Agents from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested Abdullahi Adamu on Monday after a more than yearlong investigation, agency spokesman Femi Babafemi said. Agents seized Adamu's passports and have asked him for his personal financial records to try and find the money they claim he stole, Babafemi said.

You'll never find it! After we hooked up via email, GovernorOfNigeria@yahoo.com transferred all the money to my personal account. I knew that if I kept helping those poor Nigerians with their money problems it would eventually pay off!

After annihilating Harry Reid's re-election chances by mocking Las Vegas President Obama issued a "you misunderstood me" non-apology. First, the offending comments:

During the president's town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, he discussed the need to curb spending during tough economic times. "When times are tough, you tighten your belts," the president said. "You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college."

Despite President Bush's media-constructed reputation for ineloquence, I can't recall the former president sticking his foot in his mouth as many times in eight years as President Obama has in one. Naturally everyone in Nevada was offended by the off-hand insult of their premier city.

His statement Tuesday drew sharp criticism from Nevada lawmakers. "The President needs to lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn't be spending their money," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat. "Las Vegas is suffering through one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and we cannot afford for the President to bring us down any further," added Republican Senator John Ensign. "Nevada has one of the most distressed economies in the country, and the President has done little to focus on job creation over the past year. Discouraging people from coming to our state to make a political point adds insult to injury," said Republican Congressman Dean Heller.

So let's take a look at the non-apology letter he sent to Harry Reid (but not to the citizens of Nevada).

Dear Harry:

I hope you know that during my Town Hall today, I wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas. I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun. There is no better place to have fun than Vegas, one of our country's great destinations. I have always enjoyed my visits, look forward to visiting in a few weeks, and hope folks will visit in record numbers this year.

The needless proliferation of commas is a topic for another day... let's focus on the utter lack of an actual apology. The words "sorry" and "apologize" don't appear anywhere in the letter -- instead, the President uses extremely condescending language to defend his statement as-said and to belittle the offense taken by anyone who understood his plain language to mean anything different than this post hoc explanation.

The primary points of condescension are the phrases "I hope you know" and "simple point". "I hope you know" is crafted to appear to be expressing the sincere hope that you were not misunderstood, but what it really means is "I will be surprised by your stupidity if you don't believe". "Simple point" doubles down (ha! a Vegas pun!) on the implication that your preferred interpretation of the earlier statement is so obvious, clear, and easy to understand that only a fool would read it any differently. You aren't a fool, are you? Of course not! So "I'm sorry" and "I apologize" are not needed!

I don't expect this "apology" to soothe many hurt feelings, and I don't expect the President to receive a warm welcome if he actually goes to Nevada to campaign for Harry Reid's re-election. My bet is that the trip is canceled.

U.S. President Barack Obama bows to Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio at MacDill Air Force Base on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Edmund Fountain, Pool)

Just a reflex now or what?

To all America's veterans and those currently serving: thank you.

Before addressing the terrorist attack at Fort Hood Thursday, President Obama opened his remarks with a "shout out" to Dr. Joe Medicine Crow who the president apparently believed was a "Medal of Honor winner". Crow did not receive the Medal of Honor, but was awarded the Medal of Freedom by... President Obama way way back in... August. Good thing we have such a cerebral president who is able to navigate the subtleties of leadership with such nuance.

Furthermore, am I the only one offended by the use of the word "winner" in conjunction with the Congressional Medal of Honor? The Medal of Honor is not won like a prize, it is earned by extreme bravery in the service of our country. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society uses the word "recipient" for people who have been given the medal, and that seems a lot more appropriate than "winner".

It's almost as if our president knows nothing and cares nothing about the military people he leads.

I've read a lot about the Fort Hood massacre, but one question hasn't been addressed: don't soldiers carry weapons? How did one gunman with two pistols manage to shoot 45 people without being stopped? Here's how it went down, according to most reports.

The shooting spree began as some 300 soldiers had been lined up to get vaccinations and have their eyes tested at a Soldier Readiness Center, where troops who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. Nearby, others were lining up in commencement robes for a ceremony to celebrate soldiers and families who had recently earned degrees.

Soldiers reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" — before opening fire, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander. He said officials had not confirmed that Hasan made the comment.

Officials are not ruling out the possibility that some of the casualties may have been victims of "friendly fire," shot by responding military officials. ...

The gunman was struck four times by a civilian police officer who was wounded herself. Base officials said Kimberly Munley fired on the suspect just three minutes after the gunfire erupted and that her efforts ended the crisis. Munley was recovering Friday at a hospital.

"It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer," Cone said.

So maybe some casualties were the result of friendly fire, but I expect that the shooter caused the vast majority of them. With two semiautomatic pistols. While surrounded by soldiers.

Something doesn't add up.

This is completely insane. Iraqis use magic wand to detect explosives.

BAGHDAD — Despite major bombings that have rattled the nation, and fears of rising violence as American troops withdraw, Iraq’s security forces have been relying on a device to detect bombs and weapons that the United States military and technical experts say is useless.

The small hand-held wand, with a telescopic antenna on a swivel, is being used at hundreds of checkpoints in Iraq. But the device works “on the same principle as a Ouija board” — the power of suggestion — said a retired United States Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, who described the wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod.

Still, the Iraqi government has purchased more than 1,500 of the devices, known as the ADE 651, at costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each. Nearly every police checkpoint, and many Iraqi military checkpoints, have one of the devices, which are now normally used in place of physical inspections of vehicles.

How do they work?

To detect materials, the operator puts an array of plastic-coated cardboard cards with bar codes into a holder connected to the wand by a cable. “It would be laughable,” Colonel Bidlack said, “except someone down the street from you is counting on this to keep bombs off the streets.”

Proponents of the wand often argue that errors stem from the human operator, who they say must be rested, with a steady pulse and body temperature, before using the device.

Then the operator must walk in place a few moments to “charge” the device, since it has no battery or other power source, and walk with the wand at right angles to the body. If there are explosives or drugs to the operator’s left, the wand is supposed to swivel to the operator’s left and point at them.

These quotes don't exactly inspire confidence:

The Iraqis, however, believe passionately in them. “Whether it’s magic or scientific, what I care about is it detects bombs,” said Maj. Gen. Jehad al-Jabiri, head of the Ministry of the Interior’s General Directorate for Combating Explosives. ...

“I don’t care about Sandia or the Department of Justice or any of them,” General Jabiri said. “I know more about this issue than the Americans do. In fact, I know more about bombs than anyone in the world.”

No doubt. If this device weren't getting people killed I'd say that the inventors at ATSC (UK) Ltd. are geniuses.

(HT: NW.)

Cost-per-word isn't exactly a useful statistic, but hey: health care "reform" measures in at $2.24 million per word.

It runs more pages than War and Peace, has nearly five times as many words as the Torah, and its tables of contents alone run far longer than this story.

The House health care bill unveiled Thursday clocks in at 1,990 pages and about 400,000 words. With an estimated 10-year cost of $894 billion, that comes out to about $2.24 million per word. .

And for some members, that may not be enough.

I'd rather have an extremely simple bill that spends far less money... but who knows what that would do to the cost/word metric.

These are the first pictures I've seen of the balloon-boy hoax balloon, but given these it's hard to imagine how the authorities thought there could actually be a boy on board.

There's no place for the boy to fit!