Hate Crime, Schmate Crime?

Remember the Columbia prof who found a noose hanging in her office doorway? A grand jury is looking into it and its looking a little suspicious.

The New York Post:

According to sources, the subpoenas obtained recently by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and prosecutors demanded the college hand over a laundry list of records pertaining to embattled professor Madonna Constantine, whose colleague found a 4-foot hangman's noose on her office doorknob last October.

The incident happened at the height of the school's probe of plagiarism charges against her.

Wouldn't be the first time a hate crime turned out to be self-inflicted.

Opening Day

First pitch in 26 minutes. And Obama's advertising on Comcast.

UPDATE: He says the oil companies should pay a penalty on windfall profits since we pay over three dollars a gallon for gas. What's next? Penalities on overpaid baseball players for high tickets prices.

UPDATE II: Maybe it's just the lighting. but what's up with Brett Myer's Groucho eyebrows?

The Mumia Circus Continues

An appeals court claims the death penalty phase of Mumia Abul Jamal's trial was flawed.

But it's what his lawyer said that jumps out at me:

"I've never seen a case as permeated and riddled with racism as this one," Robert R. Bryan said. "I want a new trial, and I want him free. His conviction was a travesty of justice."

The travesty here is that murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner has become such a cause celebre for so many left-wing conspiracy kooks, fruitcakes and lawyers.

There are examples of real judicial travesties in American history. The Mumia case is NOT one of them. And yet it is clung to by anti-American and anti-Death penalty zealots around the world.

Nothing in the judges' ruling, however, suggests the court believes that an innocent man was convicted of a crime he didn't commit.

There is a reason for this: No reasonably sane person can believe, based on the evidence, that Mumia didn't murder Daniel Faulkner. The travesty here is a court system that permits its own abuse.

A Deep Thought from Jack Handey

This is how I want to be remembered too.

Only thing left out: How I one-putted the 18th hole at Pinehurst No. 2 to shoot 59 on my 59th birthday.

Al Gore and the Hot Earth Society

Al Gore tells CBS that not believing that global warming is man-made is akin to believing the earth is flat.

Hmmm. What about believing that even if man does contribute in some measure to global warming that the threat isn't as great as Al Gore and his friends make it out to be?

According to Al, that makes you an idiot too. And this man was nearly President of the United States.

UPDATE: A friend says, believing that Al Gore is smart is akin to believing that Soupy Sales was a visionary.

UPDATE II: Joe Klein asks "Is Al Gore the Answer?" Yes, if the question is: Name a former vice president who is both arrogant and goofy at the same time.

Hillary Dillary Dick

I'm getting the feeling that prostitute toe-sucker Dick Morris doesn't like Hillary Clinton much.

We were told during the Clinton years it was OK to lie about sex. But all that other stuff...?

An Educational Success Story Rewarded

The Williamson Trade School is one of Delaware County's great but -- far too quiet --educational success stories.

Yesterday, the school made a little noise by earning the respect (and $40 million in donations) from two local philanthropists, Lee Rowan and the Lenfests.

Nice job by the school's administration and the donors to get together for such a worthy cause.

Trade and vocational schools too often get the short end of the educational stick. While most high school kids are learning the joys of parroting the latest craze in environmental science or reading the Cliff's Notes for Moby Dick, the students at Williamson actually learn how to make things. And do things.

We need more school like Williamson in this country and the attention (and dough) of big wheels like Rowan and Lenfest could make that happen.

Congrats to all.

He's No Sowell Brother

Thomas Sowell, who even formerly "brain-dead liberal" playwrite David Mamet has come to admire, carves up Barack Obama, his voting record and his choice of "friends."

The Wit of Bill Mahr

At the HuffPO, comedian Bill Mahr says:

"New Rule: If Phil Spector gets to kill people, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island is allowed to drive with pot in her car."

Isn't he funny? Isn't it funny how screwed up our legal system and social priorities are.

Only, let's see Phil Spector was arrested and tried for murder and managed a hung jury. It was O.J. that got away with murder. But somehow that joke isn't as funny.

In the meantime, Mary Ann will get probation or whatever and never go to trial. Maybe she should hire the silver-tongued, marvelously-witty Mahr and go to trial. She could get a hung jury too and all would be right with the world.

The "I Have A Disease" Defense

My print column on the sentencing of Ridley's Carol Ackley is up.

In court yesterday, I asked my colleague Marlene DiGiacomo why all these recent embezzlers -- n Ridley, Lansdowne, Chester Township, etc. -- seem to be women.

"They're underpaid," Marlene smiled.

Nothing funny about Ackley's sentence, though. She got 4 to 20 years.

I wonder if she and her lawyer had focused less on her "gambling addiction" and more on her apology and taking personal responsibilty for her thievery, the judge might have been more impressed and considered a slightly lesser sentence.

Probably not. But at least she could have gone to the slammer with a little more dignity.

Economic Gloom and Doom

Robert Samuelson says "hold the hysteria" when it comes to the economy.

Money Q:

There's a disconnect between what people see around them and what they're told is happening. The first is upsetting (rising gas prices, falling home prices, fewer jobs) but reflects the normal reverses of a $14 trillion economy. The second ("panic," "financial meltdown") suggests the onset of something catastrophic and totally outside the experience of ordinary people. The economy, said The New York Times last week, may be on "the brink of the worst recession in a generation" -- an ominous warning.

Perhaps, but so far the concrete evidence is scant.

Chavez Suck-Up Watch

Looks like McCain might lose the pro-Chavez vote.

Hillary and Obama anxiously await the Venezuela strongman's endorsement decision.

Freedom Never Cries

John Ondrasik has a nice music vid about freedom, the soldiers who fight for and protect it, and how we should all appreciate it more.

You can also donate to his charity there.

Spencerblog Announcement on Comment Decorum...

... for those interested can be found in the comments section

First Polar Bears, Now Frogs

Frogs aren't disappearing because of Global Warming?

Why are people still talking and writing about this sort of thing? Isn't the debate supposed to be over.

Al Gore, look away.

UPDATE: If not climate change, what caused this?

There Will Be Cheese Whiz

Joey Vento gets more national exposure. Good.

These sorts of inquisitions need to shown up for what they are. The country would be a better place if these sort of bureaucrats and thought-crime bureacracies were put out of business. They won't be though. These people like their little gigs of "pretending to care" about "victims" and the power to play judge and jury a little too much.

Another Black Eye for Chester

"5 wounded as gunfire tears through Chester"

The good news: At least it didn't tear much through any of the victims. Mostly nicks and scrapes. Is this any way to party?

Sniper Fire from CBS News

Hillary misremembers Bosnia. CBS News remembers for her. Dan Rather must be spinning in his journalistic grave.

UPDATE: Her chances of winning the nomination are down to 5 percent. And that was BEFORE her most recent novel: The Bourne Exaggeration.

UPDATE II: And Hillary supporter Ed Rendel must be spinning in his Clinton Orgasmatron. No Clinton Administration Soup for You, Ed.

Obama's Security Breach: It's Bush's Fault

The Washington Times reports a couple of computer contractors for the State Department accessed Barack Obama's passport records. The two were fired and one was disciplined.

The motive for the breaching so far appears to be nothing more than "idle curiosity" but the investigation continues. The Obama campaign reacted in typical political fashion by blaming the Bush Administration.

"(This is) an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an Administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years," a campaign spokesman said.

Given that it was, in some sense, the Bush Administration that caught and fired these people, that's a pretty lame charge. What if it turns out that the two contract workers who violated their clearances were nothing that Obama fans who were curious about the comings and goings of their hero?

Nevemind, this is good for Obama, in so far as it will remind others that when it comes to such illegal snooping it was much worse during the Clinton Administraiton when hundreds of FBI files on prominent Republicans were discovered in the White House. Hillary was up to her neck in that scandal.

I think the most telling thing about this episode so far is what it says about the Obama campaign and its willingness to jump on any bit of bad news and twist it to their advantage. This is, of course, what political campaigns do. But given their candidate's high-minded, nuanced and impressive speech on race last week this all has a whiff of low-brow opportunism and demagougery.

Say, it isn't so O. But it does.

How Perceptive Are You?

Take this awareness test. It's really cool.

(hat tip: Volokh Conspiracy)

Night of the Living Brain-Dead Liberal

Dan Henninger notices celebrated playwrite David Mamet's escape from "Brain-dead liberal(ism)." (So did I thanks to Matt Drudge).

But it seems not too many liberals did. I wonder why? Henninger thinks he knows.

Read Mamet's epiphany in the Village Voice here.

This is America, When Hauling Someone into A Star Chamber on Trumped Up Charges of Discrimination Please Speak English

Joey Vento is found not guilty of an absurd charge of illegal discrimination.

Whatever he shelled out for lawyers fees, he should be reimbursed by the bozos on the Human Relations Commission.

Gennaro Likes Dinero But He's Mad at Me

My print column is up, another entertaining bit about mortgage fixer and slum-lord Gennaro Rauso.

In it, I mention that Gennaro was not happy with Friday's column.

He was not happy with today's column either. Instead of calling me, he called my editor this morning.

His complaint? Not that there were factual mistakes in the column. Not that I misquoted him. His complaint was I never identified myself as a newspaper person.

I sure did.

When I called him last Thursday at the number I had for his office, I told his secretary, Tiffany, who I was. We had a nice talk. She thinks Gennaro is a "great guy," but then, she said, she's only worked for him for a month.

In any case, he called me back very quickly after Tiffany said she would try to get a hold of him.

Gennaro and I had a nice talk too. He was quite forthcoming, right up to admitting he was late checking himself into jail.

Anyway, when he called me on Sunday to complain about what he believed was unfair in my column, he didn't mention not knowing who I was or what I did for a living. He just seemed to think I'd been harder on him than I should been.

Given that he didn't deny stuffing his client's house with 11 tenants, serving her with eviction papers and that as the trustee of property, he never paid a dime of her mortgage, I thought it was pretty gutsy for him to talk to me at all.

Now, he's saying he didn't know he was talking to a journalist. Gennaro is the gift that keeps on giving. And taking, if Makra Opoku can be believed.

She's suing him, alleging fraud and other not nice things. The DAs office also continues to investigate his activities.

I have a question for Gino? Who did he think I was - asking all those impertinent questions - if not a journalist? A vacuum cleaner salesman?

Read the column. It's good.

UPDATE: I just heard from Gennaro. More later.

This Does Not Compute

Right next to me is a copy of "Unstoppable Global Warming - Every 1,500 Years," by S. Fred Singer and Dennis Avery, which claims that global warming is more episodic than many scientists have acknowledged and caused by solar cycles.

And now I come across this, from NPR, no less.

"Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them."

Somebody tell Singer, Avery and these robots that the debate about global warming is over. There is only one robot we need to pay attention to.

And his name is Al Gore.

"Not God Bless Pennsylvania, God Da...," You Know the Rest

Clinton leads Obama by 26 points here in the Keystone State.

Those darn racist Democrats. Or is it an anti-male bias. Dag, these identity politics are tough to figure out.

Thaddeus Kirkland Has a Dream

State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland thinks Obama's speech was more powerful than anything John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King ever came up with.

Yes, well...

UPDATE: The editorialists at the WSJ have a different view.

Money Q:

The Senator noted that the anger of his pastor "is real; it is powerful," and in fact it is mirrored in "white resentments." He then laid down a litany of American woe: "the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man who has been laid off," the "shuttered mill," those "without health care," the soldiers who have fought in "a war that never should have been authorized and never should've been waged," etc. Thus Mr. Obama's message is we "need unity" because all Americans are victims, racial and otherwise; he even mentioned working for change by "binding our particular grievances."

In other words, "Grievance groups of the world, unite!"

UPDATE: You be the judge. Obama's speech in its entirety is here.

No Surrender

Fouad Ajami advocates No Surrender in Iraq.

Money Q:

So we did not turn Baghdad into a democratic city on a hill, and we learned that the dismantling of Sunni tyranny would leave the Arab world's Shiite stepchildren with primacy in Iraq. A better country has nonetheless risen, midwifed by this American war. It is not a flawless democracy. But compare it to the prison it was under Saddam, the tyranny next door in Damascus and the norms of the region, and we can have a measure of pride in what America has brought forth in Baghdad.

The Politics of Hatred

Michael Gerson on Obama's speech:

"In Philadelphia, Obama attempted to explain Wright's anger as typical of the civil rights generation, with its "memories of humiliation and doubt and fear." But Wright's problem is exactly the opposite: He ignored the message of Martin Luther King Jr. and introduced a new generation to the politics of hatred.

King drew a different lesson from the oppression he experienced: "I've seen too much hate to want to hate myself; hate is too great a burden to bear. I've seen it on the faces of too many sheriffs of the South. ... Hate distorts the personality. ... The man who hates can't think straight; the man who hates can't reason right; the man who hates can't see right; the man who hates can't walk right."

Barack Obama is not a man who hates -- but he chose to walk with a man who does."

UPDATE: Dick Morris thinks Obama can walk this tight-rope right into the Oval Office and has good advice for him to help.

Forged of Steele? Not Barack

I've said it before and I'll say it again, nobody -- NOBODY -- writes more insightfully, more penetratingly, about race in this country than Shelby Steele, which makes him indispensible right now.

Check this out!

Money Q:

Thus, nothing could be more dangerous to Mr. Obama's political aspirations than the revelation that he, the son of a white woman, sat Sunday after Sunday -- for 20 years -- in an Afrocentric, black nationalist church in which his own mother, not to mention other whites, could never feel comfortable. His pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a challenger who goes far past Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in his anti-American outrage ("God damn America").

How does one "transcend" race in this church? The fact is that Barack Obama has fellow-traveled with a hate-filled, anti-American black nationalism all his adult life, failing to stand and challenge an ideology that would have no place for his own mother. And what portent of presidential judgment is it to have exposed his two daughters for their entire lives to what is, at the very least, a subtext of anti-white vitriol?

What could he have been thinking? Of course he wasn't thinking. He was driven by insecurity, by a need to "be black" despite his biracial background. And so fellow-traveling with a little race hatred seemed a small price to pay for a more secure racial identity.

Teachers' Pet Project

"Tenure" the movie is going to be shot at Bryn Mawr College next month with one of the Wilson boys.

Hint: It isn't Cliff.

Does this mean that no matter how bad the movie is we'll never be able to get it off the screen?

Ethnic Ties That Bind and Explode

George Will's observation about Kosovo and rise of ethnic nationalism does not bode well for the future of Iraq.

While Obama and Hillary Mud Wrestle...

... John McCain's favorability rating is the highest its been in years.

Bush Like Lincoln? We'll See

Letter of the Week (so far) goes to Charles Ednie of Brookhaven who compares George Bush to Abraham Lincoln.

Though it is hard to imagine, Bush speaking as eloquently as the Great Emancipator, Ednie makes some nice points about the Civil War and how Lincoln was hated, laughed at and ridiculed during those trying times.

He doesn't mention that Lincoln's war was a war of "choice," but it was. He could have let the South peacefully secede but he didn't. This is why the "war between the states" is still referred to by southerners as "the war of northern aggression."

As I have said, Ednie says only time will tell whether deposing Saddam and nation building in Iraq was a wise thing to do. Those who claim to know already, one way or the other, by definition don't know what they are talking about, any more than John Wilkes Booth knew what he was talking about when he declared Lincoln a "tyrant" after shooting him in the back of the head.

Less of, But Still a Travesty

Fred Moran was sentenced yesterday to six months probation and a $10,000 fine for his alleged extortion attempt against a developer.

I say alleged, even though a jury convicted him of bribery. I'm betting his conviction is overturned by an appeals court that recognizes we'd have to lock up just about every politician in America if what Moran was found guilty of is a crime.

This is nothing short of prosecutorial abuse.

The man asked for no money and took no money for himself. While negotiating the price of the Haverford State Hospital property as a public official, he tried to get the developer to pay $500,000 more when the deal changed.

His intent was to benefit the people of his community. Even if an ancillary benefit of being well thought of by his constituents might have accrued to him that is an amazing and terrible reason to charge anyone with a CRIME!

This case reeked from the very beginning. If Moran can charged, so can the Attorney General of Pa. -- with prosecutorial misconduct. After all, can we not wonder his motive in bringing this case at all. Can we not suppose that the AG wanted to be thought of as a crusader against political corruption? Maybe to help him get elected governor one day?

Let's keep it simple people. "Any public official (anyone acting on behalf of the United States, such as a senator, witness, or juror) who demands, receives, or accepts a bribe in exchange for orchestrating an illegal change in his duties" is guilty of bribery.

Nothing like that was proven in the Moran case. And yet we say that Moran got a "break." Well, maybe he did yesterday. But if Moran is an example of the luck of the Irish. I'm glad I'm English.

Maoists Being Maoists

Meanwhile in Tibet, the Chinese government is killing people by the hundreds for peacefully and non-violently protesting...

A Moment of Creepiness

Smart move, I suppose, by the new governor of New York, but... Ick!

Is this going to be the standard from now on? Politicians admitting to indiscretions in their sex lives before even being asked about them?

Why not just require them to appear on FOX's "The Moment of Truth."

Obama's Spirtual Advisor II

More on the Religious Wright, as James Taranto calls him. Just scroll down a little until you find it.

And check out the passages on Black Liberation Theology.

I think Obama can survive this to win the nomination but it could be real trouble for him in the general election.

The War is Over and We Won

I have noticed that many editorial pages are bemoaning the five-year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, including our own.

The recent headline on our editorial is lifted from the title of the anti-war documentary, "No End in Sight."

Well, not to put too fine a point on it, the Iraq War is over and we won.

We won it early, the day the Baathist government of Saddam Hussein fell with not a crash but a whimper.

After that, it was a mop-up operation and it remains one. The difficulty with this endeavor was never the winning of the war, it was the winning of the peace. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, proved far easier than even the most optimistic hawks could have hoped for. The Not-So-Grand Bluffer proved not to have all the WMD that he pretended to have hidden from UN weapons inspectors.
He got called and he had squat. American and allied forces rolled over his supposedly scary and loyal troops like butter.

The war was won. The mission was accomplished. Then the hard part started.

The difficulty, as all reasonable people knew from the start, was in building the first Arab democracy in the Middle East. And it remains so. Getting people from different religious sects and tribes who have been oppressed and ruled over for centuries to govern themselves is no small trick.

It takes money (ours), blood (mostly theirs) and time.

Five years later, a democratic central government is in place. But more importantly, with the brave and necessary help of U.S. Armed forces, community organizations in cities across Iraq are building semi-democratic institutions from the ground up.

This remains a work in progress. After five years of hard work and bloodshed there is an end in sight. That end is not the withdrawal of all U.S. troops, any more than that was the goal of the war in Europe during WWII. The goal is a stable, non-threatening, and reasonably democratic Iraq.

It wasn't that before we invaded. It is a lot closer to that now that Saddam is dead and his oppressive regime gone. And today, according to recent polls and despite much knashing of teeth by liberal editorialists, a majority of Americans believe we will ulitimately prevail in Iraq.

It took America years of political wrangling and debate to fashion a contitutional government. And that was without gross interference of our neighbors and terrorists bent on our distruction.

Coming out of the constitutional convention of 1787, Ben Franklin was asked what type of government he and his fellow had devised for the country. "A republic," he replied, "if you can keep it."

There are plenty of defeatists and peaceniks in our communities who literally hate the idea of success in Iraq. They hate it because it would mean democracy will have been brought there on the barrel of a gun. And they don't like guns. They conveniently forget that is how our ancestors won the right to rule themselves.

Whether invading Iraq to depose a brutal dictator was worth the cost in time, blood, and money only time will tell.

But, according to the men who are there, men like Gen. David Petraeus, the withdrawal of all our troops could allow al Qaida and other terrorist groups to stage a comeback. Until, the Iraqi government is capable of dealing with these groups on their own, we should ignore the bleatings of the Cindy Sheehan Left and stay the course.

Three's Company?

Furious that the Spitzer Scandal might out-shine it, the McGreevey Scandal takes it up a notch.

All The Nudes That's Fit to Print

Your government signs at work.

Much more entertaining than the Dead Nudes at Exit 30.

Donations from Eugenicists Welcomed by Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood of Idaho falls victim to a hoax and reveals a willingness to target black babies for elimination.

Check out the transcript, it's pretty chilling.

They're sorry, though. What a relief!

In His Shoes...

Europe's politicans are better than ours at sex scandals, brags the excellent Theodore Dalrymple.

Money Q:

"Can there really be a man living, after all, who would relish the idea that every detail of his sex life, past and present, would be revealed to the public and those whom he loves?...

"I wish I could say that I felt sorry for Spitzer, but I don't. His statement that "I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself" makes him sound like the disgraced member of a politburo indulging in self-criticism before being sent into exile in Siberia or Kazakhstan. On the other hand, I don't want to be too hard on him, just in case someone investigates me one day. The fact is that I too have failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself."

Here, here.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming

Uncle Jeremiah could be a bigger problem for Obama than I first thought.

This is the guy he took his children to hear preach?

UPDATE: Mark Steyn has more here.

Mortgage Crisis A-Go-Go

Check out Friday's column here.

In writing about the crazy situation Makra Opoku finds herself, I didn't get into one thing: the amount she paid for her Darby Township home in the first place.

According to the deed, she paid $240,000 for the Sharon Avenue house, which she purchased from "friends" who were also from Liberia. They, however, bought the 5-6 bedroom home just a few years earlier for $20,000.

Did they really fix up the property enough to justify the $191,000 mortgage she was granted by the mortgage company?

If the mortage company forecloses will it get anything close to that? Not from what I saw. No wonder there's a mortgage crisis in America.

In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from Gennaro Rauso, the "self taught paralegal" and real estate genius who stuffed 11 squabbling tenants in the house to... well, just read the column.

A Real Bribery Case

Spencerblog has very critical of the bribery case against Haverford Township's Fred Moran, who as a public official attempted to get the best deal possible for his township during negotiations with a developer.

There was no evidence presented in court that he attempted to extort money for himself, a family member, or friend.

You want to see a real bribery scandal? Look here.

Zillionaire class action attorney Dickie Scruggs may not be guilty of participating in a scheme to pay $40,000 to a federal judge for a favorable ruling in this case, but at least the prosecutors know what a real bribery case looks like.

UPDATE: More on Tricky Dickie Scruggs here.

Best in the State

Hats off, to Fred Pickett and his state champion Chester Clippers.

Boy, can these kids play.

How the World Always Disappoints Lefties

Those stupid Vietnamese, preferring capitalism to Tom Hayden's socialist workers' paradise.

Ingrates.

Abortions Are Driving Them Crazy?

This isn't going to go down very well at Planned Parenthood or NOW

Keith Olbermann: The GOP's Best Friend

The Mad Prophet of MSNBC compares Geraldine Ferraro to white supremacist David Duke.

The liberal crack-up continues.

Democrats, look away.

O's Minister and His Deck of Race Cards

Obama's "spiritual advisor" has a tendency to sound a lot like anti-Semite and racist Louis Farrakhan.

"America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. . . . We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns, and the training of professional killers . . . We bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi . . . We put [Nelson] Mandela in prison and supported apartheid the whole 27 years he was there. We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."

For a candidate who is supposed to transcend race, he's keeping pretty big company with a major league racialist.

Must-Read Column Tomorrow

Good column in tomorrow's paper on a "self-taught paralegal" and real estate specialist named Gennaro Rauso and how he came to stuff 11 battling tenants in the Darby Township home of one Makra Opoku.

Don't miss it! It's a lulu.

The EWC is Scandalized

Iowahawk reports on the flipside of the Emperors Club scandal.

Money Q:

NEW YORK - At a hastily scheduled morning press conference at the headquarters of New York's exclusive Emperors Club prostitution ring, high priced call girl "Kristen" announced that she would  temporarily step aside in the wake of charges that she had engaged in sex with New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

"I made a serious mistake and betrayed the trust of my co-workers, my many clients, and my pimps," she said in a quiet voice cracking with emotion. "I will be taking a leave of absence to earn their forgiveness, and redeem myself in the eyes of the entire expensive whore community."

No Cheering from the Press Box

Thoughts on what rouge prosecutors Spitzer, Nifong and Earle have in common.

Brothers and sisters in the MSM, look away.

Safe Sex and Unsafe Sex

U.S. syphilis rate up for 7th year in a row.

At least, you can't blame this on the girls at the Emperors Club. They insist on safe sex, though, not so safe that the ex-guv of N.Y. was protected.

And There He Goes....

Spitzer resigns

Eliot meet Kwame

Hey, how'd I miss this scandal?

The Motor City has become the Make Love City for its first "hip-hop" mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief-tess of staff.

Check out his State of the City address here blasting the media for reporting on his sexcapades.

I gotta' admit this guy is good. Eliot should be taking notes.

Picozzi Rests in Peace

My print column on Nick Picozzi's funeral is up.

As I wrote to one reader, it was an honor to be there.

Bribe A Bad Teacher to Quit

Spencerblog just discovered this e-mail from somebody named Craig Bannister:

"Americans are being asked to vote for the ten worst union-protected teachers in a contest that will offer a $10,000 bribe to each of the "winners" if they'll never teach again.

"Unions "have made it nearly impossible to fire bad teachers," which is a threat to education of America's children, the contest sponsor says.

"The contest is part of a campaign to show the adverse impact that the powerful teachers' unions -- especially the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers -- have on children, schools, and politics.

"Most teachers are doing a wonderful job under difficult circumstances," the sponsoring group says. "The overall effect of teachers unions on public education, however -- when lawmakers and voters leave their power unchecked -- is far from positive."

Cool. But watch out. The State AG might indict the group for bribery.

Anyone want to nominate a teacher from Delco?

UPDATE: Here's the link to the story

Oh My Aching Bank Account III

Diane Marish, the Primos cleaning lady who alerted me to the shady financial practices of Swarthmore chiropractor Hania Danko, writes in to say that Sovereign Bank has returned the $5,160 withdrawn from her account by Danko.

Glad to hear it, seeing as how Spencerblog is a Sovereign Bank customer.

I also heard from a fairly prominent chiropractor who happens to live in Swarthmore who says he's spoken to Danko and feels badly for her. He says she got mixed up with the wrong company and did things she shouldn't have.

She may well be a sympathetic figure, but the people she tried to rip off for thousands aren't feeling so charitable right now. Maybe later.

Whores for Spitzer: The Press

The very definition of a rouge prosecutor:

"Mr. Spitzer's main offense as a prosecutor is that he violated the basic rules of fairness and due process: Innocent until proven guilty; the right to your day in court. The Spitzer method was to target public companies and officials, leak allegations and out-of-context emails to a compliant press, watch the stock price fall, threaten a corporate indictment (a death sentence), and then move in for a quick settlement kill. There was rarely a trial, fair or unfair, involved."

Kimberly Strassel blames a fawning press corps.

It's a fair cop.

The Un-Fairness Doctrine

George Bush makes fun of and slams the Democrats' attempts to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine" in broadcasting.

Dems say it's about government requiring broadcasters to provide different points of view but it's really about shutting up conservative talk radio.

If Democrats are really sincere let's see them require different points of view espoused in federally-funded college classrooms.

Mamet: I'm a Born-Again, Thoughtful Progressive

Playwrite David Mamet announces to the world that he is no longer a "Brain-Dead Liberal."

Too often, he writes, government intervention in the lives of its citizens leads to "sorrow."

Money Q:

"I began reading not only the economics of Thomas Sowell (our greatest contemporary philosopher) but Milton Friedman, Paul Johnson, and Shelby Steele, and a host of conservative writers, and found that I agreed with them: a free-market understanding of the world meshes more perfectly with my experience than that idealistic vision I called liberalism."

Take heart Democrats. At least, he still hates Bush.