Assuming the motive for the airport shooting comes out as people expect, it's going to raise some questions. Assuming this guy has no connections with some broader terrorist network, then what do we call this crime?

I would like to suggest that it sounds like...

(drum roll please)...


a hate crime.



And the FBI agrees with me.


Now do some of you understand what a hate crime is?

"Second Suspect" suspect arrested.

Eye-witness accounts say:

Person had argument at El-Al ticket counter. Person brought out gun and started shooting. El-Al employee shoots him. Someone got a stab wound and no one knows how.

LAX update: gunman was shot by El-Al security.

I don't know what the motive for the shooting at LAX was, but just because there is a shooting at an airport does not make it terrorism. There could be a personal motive for this. Or not. Who knows. But, the media is, as usual, being rather irresponsible for talking about it as if it is a terrorist act.

Hey, King George does something right for a change. (Thank God I can get credit for saying at least ONE THING nice about him).


WASHINGTON -- President Bush is offering a Fourth of July gift to 15,000 immigrants serving active duty in the U.S. military: immediate eligibility for citizenship.

The president was to announce his executive order, which he signed on Wednesday, during an Independence Day celebration honoring veterans in Ripley, W.Va.

"Our fine service men and women are fighting and winning the war on terror. They deserve the gratitude of all people who cherish freedom," Bush said in a formal holiday statement.

A White House paper outlining the change to immigration policy described it as a way to reward noncitizen personnel serving in active duty during the post-Sept. 11 war on terrorism. Citizenship, in turn, will improve the retention of military personnel by allowing them to advance their Armed Forces careers, the White House said.


(via Vaara).

Happy Independence Day. I won't bother writing some long tribute to our country's greatness. Us liberals don't do that kind of thing. Let me just say that I hope everyone remembers that our constitution was established in 1789 which is the "real" start of our country. Let's hope people remember some of the things that are in it. Let's hope people remember some horrible Supreme Court decisions which seemed appropriate and justifed at the time but were later regretted (by some, at least). And, let's hope that those who wrap themselves in the flag and pay tribute to all things patriotic have read the thing once or twice and that enough of them aren't for goosestepping it into the bonfire.

Matthew Yglesias mocks conservatives for their nostalgia for them Good Old Days of Ancient Greece.

Reminds me of the Cambridge dons in Stoppard's Invention of Love . What was the line? Something along the lines of "a shame about all that buggery."

Charles Murtaugh has a good perspective on Harkengate.

Perhaps this explains Mr. Splotchy:

Well, I was in the mood to swat some flies today, and since 'ole Instapundit is on vacation, that left only one target.... AndyLand!

Check out this post:



Wednesday, July 03, 2002

HOW IS THE AMERICAN PROSPECT LIKE WORLDCOM? You've probably read lots of articles in the American Prospect, bemoaning big CEOs fiddling numbers, inflating profits, engaging in all sorts of creative accounting. Well, Bob Kuttner's online magazine should know. In the Columbia Journalism Review, they claimed 450,000 unique visitors a month. Amazing traffic. Eric Alterman, always alert to factual accuracy, pointed out that this showed the hegemony of the Left on the web. Well, after the equivalent of a blogger SEC investigation, they've finally released their amended report. Their actual unique visitors for June was 161,025 - a little over a third of their previous claim. In classic fashion, they don't admit their error; they don't apologize; they barely explain; they release the news the day before July 4. More spin. And I thought Chris Mooney was a straight-up kind of guy. These guys fibbed about something as basic as their web stats. And you're going to trust them on the economy?
- 11:09:11 AM



As Biggie the Neck well knows, or should, Tapped first reported some web statistics that their monitoring software gave them. People said they were probably incorrect. Tapped went back and got some more statistics. And reported them. They've had at least 5 posts on the subject, being very honest and forthcoming.

Hey, Joe Conason will be on NPR's Marketplace today to discuss his 2 year and 4 month old article.

Eric Alterman says that this picture crosses the line, arguing that suicide bombers are just something you can't joke about, even when the joke isn't actually about suicide bombers really.

Hasn't he seen The Producers ?


Heil myself
Watch my show
I'm the German Ethel Merman
Dontcha know !


Not that every joke on every topic is funny, but every topic can be funny.

And, some Israelis agree:



TEL AVIV
AFTER a week in March when 25 Israelis had been killed in terrorist attacks, nearly half in the suicide bombing of a Jerusalem café, the television show
"Only In Israel" presented a skit in which its two stars went out on a date. They sat at a table guarded by a rifle-toting sentry and ordered a full meal with
champagne. When the waiter popped the cork, they flung themselves to the ground for safety. "Are you mad?" screamed the woman. "What do you think
you're doing, going around opening bottles?"

The couple climbed back into their chairs and tried to calm themselves by singing a folk song about the beautiful night. The man accidentally knocked a glass
off the table, and as it shattered, they dived again. Seated anew, they launched into a famous anthem of the Israeli peace movement, waving a balloon all the
while. It popped. Once more they crumpled and shrieked. "Don't leave me alone!" the woman called as her boyfriend fled. "I can't move, my knees are
shaking."

Note to the DNC:

Florida was just a practice run. You'd better have an army at the polls next time.

Ah, now we know how White kept his job.


When President Bush was at the West Point commencement on June 1st he pulled aside Army Secretary Tom White and told him: "As long as they're hitting you on Enron, they're not hitting me. That's your job. You're the lightning rod for this administration."

So says a dynamite new article in the soon-to-be-released new issue of the Washington Monthly.


but it's a BUSINESS scandal, not a POLITICAL scandal...

god our press are pathetic.

Apparently the White House press corp is giving 'ole Crusader Bunnypants' little servant Ari a wee bit of a hard time over decade old BRAND NEW information about Bush's shady financial past.

Wonder how that liberal media missed all this during the campaign?

Get a late start and already there are so many exciting things going on. Us West Coasters are always a bit behind.

First we have this ruling, which is actually a few days old, but which I hadn't actually noticed. (Via Dan Kohn). Apparently the 4th circuit ruled that a public defender had no standing in representing Yaser Hamdi because he didn't know him well enough. Of course, because he didn't know him well enough he was barred from interracting with him...

Anyone know if Ashcroft ever had any dealings in Egyptian Cotton?


And, then we have this case of a Planned Parenthood receiving a subpoena for all records of recent pregnancy tests.

That Dr. Marshall is such a tease...

Americans consider Hillary "closest to their idea of what a first lady should be."

But I thought the media spent 8 years calling her the un-First Lady.

What a bunch of morons.

So, anyone want to place bets on which right wing moron will be the first to write a column defending Michael Ovitz, arguing that if a hypothetical Michelle Ovitz had complained that she was a victim of the white male boys club there would be no outrage?